The Besnard Lakes are the insanely long spring tour
By Nobodaddy on Mar 10 2010
This week, your favorite indie rock torchbearers of bombastic psych-prog song suites and wanton abusers of metaphor, The Besnard Lakes, are stopping in for one of those solid haircuts that “will last awhile,” washing one last giant load of laundry, hugging their significant others, and waving goodbye to civilized society before embarking on a giant tour of North America and Europe that is about as EPIC as the damn band is. Yes, yes, they’ll be back. Just not until, like, June.
The tour coincides with the release of their second full-length record of skyscraping ELO-isms and drums v. guns analogies, The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night, which was released yesterday via Jagjaguwar (TMT Review). Hopefully everyone in the band really digs these songs a lot, cuz they’ll be playing ‘em for a long, long time.
03.11.10 - Toronto, ON - The Horseshoe
03.12.10 - Montreal, QC - Il Motore
03.17.10 - Austin, TX - Mohawk (SXSW)
03.18.10 - Austin, TX - Stubb’s (SXSW)
03.25.10 - Liverpool, UK - Academy
03.26.10 - Bristol, UK - Arnoifini
03.27.10 - Leeds, UK - Cockpit
03.28.10 - Glasgow, UK - Captain’s Rest
03.29.10 - Manchester, UK - Dulcimer
03.30.10 - Birmingham, UK - Hare and Hounds
03.31.10 - London, UK - Cargo
04.01.10 - Groningen, Netherlands - Vera
04.02.10 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
04.03.10 - Antwerp, Belgium - Trix
04.06.10 - Oslo, Norway - Cafe Mono
04.07.10 - Stockholm, Sweden - Debaser
04.08.10 - Malmo, Sweden - Debaser
04.11.10 - Berlin, Germany - Magnet
04.12.10 - Munich, Germany - 59 to 1
04.13.10 - Basel, Switzerland - Sudhaus
04.14.10 - Neuchatel, Switzerland - Case a Chocs
04.15.10 - Nice, Paris - Theatre Lino Ventura
04.16.10 - Marseille, France - Poste a Galene
04.17.10 - Bordeaux, France - Espace Tatry
04.19.10 - Paris, France - Bus Palladium
04.27.10 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th St. Entry
04.28.10 - Winnipeg, MB - The Royal Albert Arms
04.29.10 - Regina, SK - The Exchange
04.30.10 - Saskatoon, SK - Amigos
05.01.10 - Edmonton, AB - Pawn Shop
05.02.10 - Calgary, AB - Broken City
05.04.10 - Victoria, BC - The Lucky Bar
05.05.10 - Vancouver, BC - The Media Club
05.07.10 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios
05.08.10 - Eugene, OR - W.O.W. Hall
05.10.10 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
05.12.10 - San Diego, CA - Casbah
05.13.10 - Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
05.14.10 - Tempe, AZ - Sail Inn
05.15.10 - Tucson, AZ - Plush
05.20.10 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
05.24.10 - Chicago, IL - TBA
05.26.10 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
05.27.10 - Washington, DC - Black Cat
05.28.10 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
05.29.10 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda’s
• The Besnard Lakes: http://www.thebesnardlakes.com
• Jagjaguwar: http://jagjaguwar.com
[Illustration: Todd Stewart]
Thee Silver Mt. Zion tour Thee Continent of Europe, East Coast
By The Creepster Network on Mar 10 2010
What better place for “post-rock” than the castles and causeways of Europe? Thee Silver Mt. Zion know their nitch, and hit it hard. But FINALLY they will tour the states. Well… the East Coast at least. The whole shebang is in support of their latest album, Kollaps Tradixionales, which was released last month on the veritable Constellation Records label.
Scope these dates, it’s a huge tour:
03.16.10 - Bristol, GB - The Fleece
03.16.10 - Bristol, England - The Fleece
03.17.10 - Birmingham, England- Asylum
03.18.10 - Dublin, Ireland - The Button Factory
03.19.10 - Glasgow, England - The Art School
03.21.10 - Manchester, England - Academy 3
03.22.10 - Leeds, England - TJ’s Woodhouse Club
03.23.10 - London, England - Electric Ballroom
03.24.10 - Nottingham, England - The Rescue Rooms
03.25.10 - Sheffield, England - Corporation
03.26.10 - Oxford, England - The Regal
03.27.10 - Brighton, England - St. George’s Church
03.30.10 - Rennes, France - Ubu
03.31.10 - Paris, France - Alhambra
04.01.10 - Reims, France - Cartonnerie
04.02.10 - Brussels, Germany - Botanique
04.03.10 - Zottegem, Belgium - Dunkfestival
04.04.10 - Munich, Denmark - Feierwerk
04.06.10 - Padova, Italy - Unwound
04.07.10 - Roma, Italy - Circolo Degli Artisti
04.08.10 - Bologna, Italy - Locomotive
04.09.10 - Torino, Italy - Spazio 211
04.10.10 - Arezzo, Italy - Karemaski
04.11.10 - Varese, Italy - Twiggy
04.13.10 - Toulouse, France - Le Bikini
04.14.10 - Marseille, France -Espace Julien
04.15.10 - Nicem, France - Theatre Lino Ventura
04.16.10 - Montpelier, France - La Taf
04.17.10 - Lausanne, Czech Republic - Impetus Festival
04.18.10 - Luzern, Czech Republic - Treibhaus
04.20.10 - Zürich, Czech Republic - Rote Fabrik
04.21.10 - Lyon, France - Grnd Zero
04.22.10 - Paris, France - Alhambra
04.23.10 - Lille, France - Le Splendid
04.24.10 - Groningen, Holland - Vera
04.25.10 - Amsterdam, Holland - Paradiso
05.13.10 - Cambridge, MA - The Middle East Downstairs
05.15.10 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall Of Williamsburg
05.16.10 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
05.17.10 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
05.18.10 - Baltimore, MD - Ottobar
05.19.10 - Washington, DC - Black Cat
05.20.10 - Carrboro NC, - Cat’s Cradle
05.21.10 - Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle Tavern
05.22.10 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl
05.24.10 - Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge
05.25.10 - Newport, KY - Southgate House
05.26.10 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
05.27.10 - Chicago, IL - Schuba’s
05.28.10 - Pontiac, MI - Crofoot Ballroom
05.29.10 - Toronto, ON - Lee’s Palace
05.31.10 - Ottawa, ON - Mayfair Theatre
• Thee Silver Mt. Zion: http://www.myspace.com/asilvermtzion
• Constellation: http://cstrecords.com
Functional family debut album alert! Ortolan: all sibling, no quibbling
By David Nadelle on Mar 10 2010
Wounds may still be healing, but we are now well into 2010, so last year’s holiday season can now be talked and tackled about in a free and open forum. Methinks the Ortolan clan didn’t have the yuletide tension and Christmas chaos associated with your or my kin gatherings. More so than any of the tight Sounds Familyre artists Ortolan is a familyre affair beyond compare with three Cottingham siblings — Stephanie (16), Brianna (18), and Lara (20) — joined by sister-in-law Jill (23) in the band. Produced by label father figure Daniel Smith, Orolan’s debut disc is entitled Time on a String and will be released on March 9. Wait, that was yesterday!
Don’t passerine this by:
01. Once
02. Be So Bold
03. Changes
04. Gaze
05. Insist for More
06. Just Like Me
07. Ludwig
08. Mirror Image
09. Opposites
10. Sleep, Sleep, Sleep
11. Sticky Situation
12. Anything
The fem foursome are out now on the road with label mates Danielson and Ben + Vesper for what is undoubtedly a unique and memorable tour. Catch these rising songbirds at one or more of these shows:
03.10.10 - Baltimore, MD - Ottobar $
03.11.10 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506 $
03.12.10 - Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club $
03.13.10 - Orlando, FL - Stardust $
03.14.10 - Elkton, FL - Harvest of Hope Festival $
03.15.10 - Tallahassee, FL - Club Downunder %
03.17.10 - Austin, TX - SXSW @ Beauty Bar $
03.18.10 - Austin, TX - SXSW @ TBA
03.19.10 - Denton, TX - Hailey’s
03.20.10 - Memphis, TN - Hi Tone
$ Danielson, Ben + Vesper
% Fruit Bats, Danielson, Ben + Vesper
• Ortolan: http://www.ortolansong.com
• Sounds Familyre: http://www.soundsfamilyre.com
Animal Collective to release ODDSAC on DVD
By A Chugg on Mar 10 2010
It has been pretty tough to get access to just about anything Animal Collective have done live since the Merriweather Post Pavilion (TMT Review) beast was unleashed about a year ago. Particularly tough have been the ODDSAC (TMT Review) screenings and the March 4 exhibition of Transverse Temporal Gyrus (review forthcoming!) at the Guggenheim in New York.
Of no coincidence whatsoever, those visually-oriented projects have been the collaboration of both Animal Collective and visual artist Danny Perez, whose visual creations typically feature blacklight trickery and/or an androgynous-looking person eating raw meat. In addition to ODDSAC, he has also directed Animal Collective’s “Who Could Win A Rabbit” and “Summertime Clothes” videos, as well as videos by Kurt Vile and Black Dice. However, ODDSAC is his first visual album, and lucky for us, it’s coming out June 29 on DVD. So, for those of us who want to cozy up at home with an animal sac, this is the perfect opportunity.
Check out the trailer at the Chocolate Grinder and our review here.
Here’s hoping they’ll figure out a way to exhibit Transverse Temporal Gyrus in the privacy of our homes.
• Animal Collective: http://myanimalhome.net
• Paw Tracks: http://www.paw-tracks.com
From the ashes of Desolation Wilderness, Electric Sunset arises
By Liz Louche on Mar 10 2010
Just as it is for adorable cartoon lions, for indie rock bands there is a Circle of Life. Today’s case in point being Olympia-based Desolation Wilderness, K recording artists and purveyors of hazy indie pop. The band recently announced that, after two LPs (one of which was last year’s New Universe (TMT Review)), two 7-inches, and two nationwide tours (plus a European jaunt), they are calling it a day. And then, like a mystical phoenix soaring through the early spring night sky, another band was born from the old band’s ashes! That band is Electric Sunset.
Fronted by Desolation Wilderness’ Nic Zwart, the new project will feature “synthetic rhythms and ringing keyboards,” promised to be both dreamy and totally rock ‘n’ roll. The directional change was inspired by Zwart’s recent move back to his hometown, San Francisco. Expect a September 2010 release on K Records.
• Electric Sunset: http://www.myspace.com/electricsunsetforever
• K: http://www.krecs.com
