Posts Tagged ‘Explosions In The Sky’

Friday, September 20th, 2013

H2O

Hall & Oates at Casino Rama in Orillia

Photo By Frank YangFrank YangSo, yeah, a few people have asked if I really drove all the way up to Casino Rama (a 90-minute drive north of Toronto that never takes less than two-plus hours, for those not local) to see Hall & Oates on Wednesday night. To which I answer, “you’re damn right I did”. Not that it requires any justification, but having grown up in the ’80s and spent most of that decade glued to MuchMusic/MTV, I have a massive soft spot for the pop music of the era, and while a lot of it has not aged well, to say the least, the works of Darryl Hall and John Oates remains pretty effin’ great; had they ever toured any closer to Toronto I’d have surely seen them by now but since they basically stick to the lucrative casino circuit, it would take a perfect convergence of opportunity and company to make it happen. Which it did.

And if you equated working the casino circuit with phoning it in – which to be honest I sort of did – I’m happy to say that it was not the case. With an enthusiastic audience of around 5000 filling the theatre, Hall & Oates and their six-piece backing band opened up with “Maneater”; give the people what they want, right? But within a few songs were busting out the deep cuts, including their first-ever live performance, if they were to be believed, of “Alone Too Long” from their eponymous 1975 record. It was interesting that they’d include so many deep cuts, but perhaps that was the best way to remind folks of their old-school Philly soul credentials in addition to being pop stars.

But let’s be honest, we were there to hear the hits and they weren’t not going to play them. They emerged from the depths of their set book with the slow jams – “She’s Gone”, “One On One”, and “Sara Smile” thank you very much – before closing things out with the big guns; a jazzy “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)” with extended sax solo and two chart-topping encores comprised of “Rich Girl”, “You Make My Dreams Come True”, “Kiss On My List”, and “Private Eyes” as the finale. Yeah of course that was how it was going to go, but that didn’t make it any less enjoyable.

Performance-wise, both Hall and Oates sounded great, particularly when backed by the multi-part harmonies of their band, and were still looking pretty trim for their years and with Oates wisely sporting facial hair again. The band was loud and tight and although I’d have traded some of the extended jamming for, oh, “Method Of Modern Love”, they did a good job of playing according to score while Hall went off on vocal and keyboard ad libs – too bad they couldn’t cover up Hall’s Live From Daryl’s House-advertising guitar strap and t-shirt. Ah well. A fun show despite the amount of travel time – next time I’ll take one of those Chinatown buses – but not one I’m likely to make a habit of. Unless that Huey Lewis & The News Sports 30th anniversary tour makes a date…

Photos: Hall & Oates @ Casino Rama – September 18, 2013
Video: Hall & Oates – “Promise Ain’t Enough”
Video: Hall & Oates – “Don’t Hold Back Your Love”
Video: Hall & Oates – “So Close”
Video: Hall & Oates – “Love Train”
Video: Hall & Oates – “Downtown Life”
Video: Hall & Oates – “Missed Opportunity”
Video: Hall & Oates – “Everything Your Heart Desires”
Video: Hall & Oates – “Possession Obsession”
Video: Hall & Oates – “Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid”
Video: Hall & Oates – “Method Of Modern Love”
Video: Hall & Oates – “Out Of Touch”
Video: Hall & Oates – “Adult Education”
Video: Hall & Oates – “Say It Isn’t So”
Video: Hall & Oates – “Family Man”
Video: Hall & Oates – “One On One”
Video: Hall & Oates – “Maneater”
Video: Hall & Oates – “Your Imagination”
Video: Hall & Oates – “Did It In A Minute”
Video: Hall & Oates – “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)”
Video: Hall & Oates – “Private Eyes”
Video: Hall & Oates – “You Make My Dreams Come True”
Video: Hall & Oates – “Kiss Is On My List”
Video: Hall & Oates – “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'”
Video: Hall & Oates – “How Does It Feel To Be Back?”
Video: Hall & Oates – “Portable Radio”
Video: Hall & Oates – “Wait For Me”
Video: Hall & Oates – “Intravino”
Video: Hall & Oates – “She’s Gone”

Spin, The Daily Beast, and The Guardian talk to Mazzy Star about their new album Seasons Of Your Day, out on Tuesday. They play The Danforth Music Hall on November 16.

Exclaim have posted this month’s cover story on the one, the only, Janelle Monáe. She does her thing at The Kool Haus on October 19.

Pitchfork talks to Explosions In The Sky and director David Gordon Green about working on the soundtrack to Prince Avalanche. They play The Air Canada Centre on October 4 in support of Nine Inch Nails.

Drowned In Sound chats with Midlake v2.0 about their forthcoming album Antiphon, which is out November 5 and from which they’ve just premiered a new song at NPR.

Stream: Midlake – “Provider”

Sebadoh talks about their new album Defend Yourself to DIY, LA Magazine, and Drowned In Sound. They’re at The Horseshoe on November 8.

Matador has details on the forthcoming deluxe edition of Yo La Tengo’s latest album Fade, which will be coming out November 18 and contain a second disc of b-sides and rarities and the like. PandoDaily has a chat with Ira Kaplan about integrity and whatnot.

Having released their first new album in many years with last year’s The Tarnished Gold, Californian psych-country-pop mavens Beachwood Sparks are getting in the wayback machine to give their recorded-in-1996-but-never-released first album Desert Skies on November 20; you can download the first time capsule of a song below.

MP3: Beachwood Sparks – “Make It Together”

Jim James gives Billboard an update on the in-progress new record from My Morning Jacket.

Pitchfork celebrates the longevity – if not prolificness – of The Wrens.

Though she should probably be concentrating on her new album, Solange has gone ahead and released a new video from her True EP; that’s the sound of no one really complaining.

Video: Solange – “Lovers In The Parking Lot”

Esquire has premiered the latest video from Ra Ra Riot’s Beta Love.

Video: Ra Ra Riot – “I Shut Off”

NPR has posted up a World Cafe session with She & Him.

The Georgia Straight profiles The National.

NPR welcomes Neko Case for a World Cafe session.

Monday, September 9th, 2013

Horses

Patti Smith and Her Band at Massey Hall in Toronto

Photo By Frank YangFrank YangIn normal circumstances, seeing an artist live twice in a six-month span will yield pretty similar shows. Sure, set lists can change to some degree, but to be able to completely change the context and experience in such short order is a rare thing – but then Patti Smith is a rare artist. Her show at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in March – her first proper Toronto show in 13 years – was presented as “An evening of words and music, in memory of Robert Mapplethorpe” and while the song selection covered all the bases one could hope for, with Smith backed by her children on guitar and piano and songs interspersed with readings and anecdotes, it felt intimate and informal though no less powerful for it. Friday night’s show at Massey Hall, by comparison, was billed as “Patti Smith and Her Band” and while for other artists, the crediting of a full band might seem an unnecessary and presumptive detail, for Smith it made a world of difference; it meant that she’d be performing with drummer Jay Dee Daugherty and guitarist Lenny Kaye, and it meant that she was going to rock.

If you assumed the assemblage of the bandmates who’d been with her since her landmark debut album Horses almost 40 years ago – bassist Tony Shanahan, who’d also been along in March, and guitarist Jack Petruzzelli rounded out the ensemble – meant that there’d be more vintage material on offer, then you’d have been correct. Though the kick drum said “Banga” and the show could have been considered the Toronto stop of the tour for Smith’s last album, the set list tilted very heavily towards Smith’s ’70s output. They opened the show with “Dancing Barefoot” and “Redondo Beach”, and and though their collective influence on punk and garage rock can’t be overstated, Smith’s band performed with plenty of polish and refinement; even restraint. But it was pretty punk when towards the end of a sprawling “Birdland” – and not for the last time – Smith turned and spit onstage; not sure how many times that’s happened at Massey Hall.

But it should not have been taken as any mark of disrespect for the hallowed venue. Indeed, Smith was most excited to be playing the room again for the first time in 37 years, mentioning how excited she was in 1976 to be playing on the same stage that Maria Callas had once sang on. Hers was one of many ghosts evoked throughout the show, alongside Jim Morrison (“Break It Up”), Amy Winehouse (“This Is The Girl”), John Lennon (an unplanned cover of “Beautiful Boy”), and Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith (“Because The Night”). Still, unlike the Queen Elizabeth show, the theme of the show would be rebellion rather than remembrances, the tone more electrifying than elegiac.

Though the front half of the show had many highlights – an impromptu ode to Nicole Kidman as a nod to the TIFF festivities going on around the city prefaced “My Blakean Year” – it was after Smith left the band in Kaye’s hands for a medley saluting Toronto’s garage rock roots to dance in the audience that things really kicked into high gear. A smouldering “Ain’t It Strange” lit the match, a Television/CBGBs-saluting “We Three” fanned the flames, and “Because The Night”, “Pissing In A River”, and raging “Horses”/”Gloria” absolutely blew the place up, punctuated by Smith’s declaration, “This is not a movie – this is real life!”. The encore kept the intensity up, with Smith passing guitar duties on “Banga” to an audience member (he was basically tasked with playing a D chord ad infinitum) but taking possession of a Strat at the tail end of a searing, show-closing “Rock’n’Roll Nigger” for the express purpose of feeding back and then tearing off every one of the strings. A majestic finish to the show and to a year where Smith more than made up for years of 416 neglect.

NOW, Radio Free Canuckistan, and Digital Journal also have reviews of the show.

Photos: Patti Smith @ Massey Hall – September 6, 2013
MP3: Patti Smith – “Wing”
Video: Patti Smith – “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
Video: Patti Smith – “People Have The Power”
Video: Patti Smith – “Summer Cannibals”
Video: Patti Smith – “Rock’N’Roll Nigger”

With The Electric Lady finally out tomorrow, Pitchfork, Stereogum, and Spin all have feature pieces on the inimitable Janelle Monáe. Advance streams of the album have been pretty tightly geoblocked, but Canadians can hear it via Exclaim; Americans can try VH1. She plays The Kool Haus on October 19.

Stream: Janelle Monáe / The Electric Lady

Portland’s Blouse are streaming their new record Imperium at Hype Machine until it officially comes out on September 17. Noisey also has an interview with the band.

Stream: Blouse / Imperium

NPR has got the new Sebadoh record Defend Yourself on stream before it comes out September 17. They’ll play it at The Horseshoe on November 8.

Stream: Sebadoh / Defend Yourself

The New York Times has a feature on Okkervil River while Interview sends frontman Will Sheff to talk to their album cover artist William Schaff and co.create finds out about the thinking behind the marketing campaign for the album. Okkervil River plays The Phoenix on September 28.

Clash talks to Explosions In The Sky. They play The Air Canada Centre on October 4 in support of Nine Inch Nails.

Still no album info, but Rolling Stone has premiered a new video from TV On The Radio.

Video: TV On The Radio – “Mercy”

Patrick Stickles details to The Missoulian his plans for the next Titus Andronicus album, which of course will be a rock opera.

Salon, The Chicago Tribune, Metro, and Noisey chat with Mac McCaughan of Superchunk.

Elle talks to Caitlin Rose about her wonderful cover of The National’s “Pink Rabbits”; State just talks to her about whatever.

Video: Caitlin Rose – “Pink Rabbits”

The National Post, NOW, and The AV Club have interviews with Neko Case.

The Fly interviews Zachary Cole Smith of DIIV.

The New York Times talks to Black Francis about the post-Kim Deal Pixies v2.0.

Yo La Tengo stops in at Daytrotter for a session.

Tuesday, August 13th, 2013

Your Theme

Review of Superchunk’s I Hate Music

Photo By Jason ArthursJason ArthursMajesty Shredding was a surprise on many levels: most obviously that it existed at all, coming almost a decade on from Superchunk’s last record, but also that it was so damn good. Rather than continue with the more contemplative and textured tones of their last couple of pre-hiatus records – which have their own strengths, make no mistake – they opted to channel their much more matured songwriting instincts through the adrenalized punkish power-pop of their most beloved records and majesty did indeed ensue. That record felt like such a gift that hoping for a follow-up, let alone one as good, seemed too much to ask. As it turns out, we didn’t need to – Superchunk were going to do it anyways.

The cheekily-titled I Hate Music remarkably carries forward almost all the momentum of Shredding. Perhaps with an iota or two less energy, maybe a slightly slower overall BPM, but it’s still bursting with hooks delivered via thick guitar riffs and leads and Mac McCaughan’s still-waiting-for-puberty vocals. It’s the same recipe that served them well in helping create the template for college rock in the ’90s and retains its potency today, its appeal not in nostalgia but in the timeless appeal of great songs played loudly and with passion. Through fuzz pedals.

There’s a temptation to equate Superchunk’s fruitful second act with their having discovered a fountain of youth or gone back in time, but there’s something about Shredding and Hate that sounds like they could only have been made by those who’ve got some years under their belts. A band who took enough of a break to maybe no longer need to make music together, but instead want to. They’re the sound of a great band having fun and just loving music.

I Hate Music is out next Tuesday, August 20, but available to stream in whole now at NPR.

Stream: Superchunk / I Hate Music

Crocodiles also have their new record Crimes Of Passion streaming at NPR before it’s in stores next week. They’re at Lee’s Palace on November 19.

Stream: Crocodiles / Crimes Of Passion

Head over to Nylon to hear a new track from the forthcoming Blouse record Imperium, coming September 17.

Stream: Blouse – “A Feeling Like This”

With Brooklyn electro-dream-pop trio Au Revoir Simone announcing a September 24 release date for their new record Move In Spectrums – a new video was just premiered at Spin – it logically follows that they’ll be on tour – and so they are, stopping in at The Drake Underground on October 20.

Video: Au Revoir Simone – “Somebody Who”

Interview, The New York Times, co.create, and Rolling Stone talk to Explosions In The Sky about recording the Prince Avalanche soundtrack, from which they’ve just released a new video. They play The Air Canada Centre on October 4 in support of Nine Inch Nails.

Video: Explosions In The Sky with David Wingo – “Send Off”

After a few near passes during festival season, Steve Earle has finally announced a Toronto date in support of his latest record The Low Highway; he and The Dukes will be at Massey Hall on October 29, tickets ranging from $35 to $64.50. The Edmonton Journal has an interview with Earle.

Video: Steve Earle – “Invisible”

NPR is hosting the premiered of the new video from Ra Ra Riot, taken from their latest record Beta Love.

Video: Ra Ra Riot – “Binary Mind”

The Daily Swarm asks James McNew about the secret to Yo La Tengo’s longevity.

Under The Radar and Vita.mn talk to Matt Berninger of The National.

John Darnielle talks to NPR and Salon about the making of The Mountain Goats’ recently-reissued All Hail West Texas.

Wednesday, July 31st, 2013

Anything We Want

Fiona Apple to do whatever she wants, including more touring

Photo By Dan MonickDan MonickFiona Apple did pretty much all anyone could have asked in 2012. Starting with a tense but triumphant comeback show at SXSW, she proceeded to release a stellar new record with The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver Of The Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do last June and toured reasonably extensively behind it, though by late Fall she was cancelling dates to tend to her ailing dog. If that was the end of the promotional cycle for The Idler Wheel and the beginning of another hiatus, then so be it. Her inclusion on the initial lineup for the 2013 edition Primavera Sound in Barcelona was an encouraging sign that she wasn’t done yet, but that didn’t last.

Then last week – more than a year after the first single and video from Idler Wheel was released – a new video emerged for the album’s closing track, directed by auteur and former partner Paul Thomas Anderson, and that was followed up earlier this week with the announcement of a new Fall tour. But not a conventional tour. For starters, Apple will be touring and performing with Los Angeles singer-songwriter Blake Mills, and as per the name of the tour – Anything We Want – the format of it promises to be free-form and unpredictable. One would assume that with the not-cheap ticket prices, they’re acknowledging that Apple’s exponentially-larger fanbase will make up the bulk of the audience and will be played to accordingly, but then again, maybe not. They don’t know, so how can we?

In any case, Toronto is probably lucky that the October 17 date at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre comes a couple weeks into the tour, so folks should have an idea of what to expect by that point. Of course, if they’ve already shelled out their $49.50 or $69.50 for a seat, it’s kind of academic. But still.

Video: Fiona Apple – “Hot Knife”

Portland’s Blitzen Trapper have announced details of the follow-up to 2011’s American Goldwing as well as accompanying tour dates. VII will be out on October 1 on their new home at Vagrant Records, and the accompanying tour hits Lee’s Palace a few days later on October 5, tickets $18.50. You can stream one of the new songs via Rolling Stone.

Stream: Blitzen Trapper – “Ever Loved Once”

Providence’s Deer Tick are also putting out a new record of their brand of Americana this Fall in the form of Negativity, due out September 24, and will also be hitting the road in support, kicking that tour off in Toronto at Lee’s Palace on October 10 – tickets for that are $22. They released a video for one of their new songs a couple weeks ago and are streaming another new tune via Rolling Stone.

Video: Deer Tick – “The Rock”
Stream: Deer Tick – “The Dream’s In The Ditch”

Pennsylvania psych-folkers Dr. Dog are also readying a new album for Fall release, with B-Room coming out October 1 – stream a new song below – and their touring itinerary in support of it runs pretty much the entire Fall, with the November 8 date at The Phoenix being one of the last. Tickets for that will be $22.

Stream: Dr. Dog – “The Truth”

Entertainment Weekly are streaming the whole of Explosions In The Sky’s soundtrack to the Prince Avalanche film ahead of its August 6 release date, just before the film opens on August 9. They play The Air Canada Centre on October 4, opening for Nine Inch Nails.

Stream: Explosions In The Sky w David Wingo / Prince Avalanche original motion picture soundtrack

Though you could be forgiven for assuming that we’d lost Tanya Donelly to the world of motherhood and domesticity – I certainly did – you would in fact be wrong. The former Belly/Breeder/Throwing Muse has been recording new music and will begin releasing it to the world in a series of monthly EP’s that she’s calling the Swan Song Series; the first volume will be available next Tuesday, August 6, via Bandcamp though those in the US with access to Pandora can apparently stream the songs in advance now. Lucky ducks.

The Justin Vernon-powered Volcano Choir have released a new video from their forthcoming Repave, which is out September 3 and brings them to The Phoenix on September 8.

Video: Volcano Choir – “Byegone”

Billboard talks to Neko Case about her forthcoming record The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You, out September 3.

Stereogum chats with Lou Barlow about the return of Sebadoh, while The San Francisco Appeal talks to drummer Bob D’Amico and The San Francisco Bay Guardian to bassist Jason Lowenstein. They’ve released a stream of one of the new tracks and a video of another, both from Defend Yourself which comes out September 17.

Stream: Sebadoh – “I Will”
Video: Sebadoh – “All Kinds”

Pitchfork has some specifics about the new Cults record Static, which will be out October 15.

Trailer: Cults / Static

Rolling Stone has premiered the second video for the first new Pixies song in ages, because if any band has mastered the art of miking it, it’s Pixies. Trivia: that’s not actually Kim Deal on the recording, it’s her replacement Kim Shattuck.

Video: Pixies – “Bagboy” (version 2)

Huffington Post has premiered a stream of the first new TV On The Radio music since 2011’s Nine Types Of Light. No info on the new album, but this is a start.

Stream: TV On The Radio – “Mercy”

Chicago Grid has a feature story on Wilco (the business).

Beatroute and The Edmonton Journal chat with M Ward.

The Creator’s Project have posted their mini-documentary on The Postal Service’s 10th anniversary tour.

Consequence Of Sound talks to Superchunk and Mountain Goats drummer Jon Wurster about his recent commitment to sobriety.

Airship Daily and The Huffington Post have interviews with Stephin Merritt about his work with Future Bible Heroes.

NPR has a video session with Yo La Tengo.

Friday, June 28th, 2013

Daddy Was A Real Good Dancer

The Dismemberment Plan still have a plan to dismember you. And a new record.

Photo By Shervin Lainez Shervin Lainez 2013 has been a pretty great year for reunited/formerly retired acts releasing good to excellent new albums after many, many years – hat tip to David Bowie and My Bloody Valentine – and now it’s time to hope that Washington DC’s Dismemberment Plan keeps that streak going. This isn’t to suggest that the D-Plan are or ever were of the status of those others; a unique and spazzy/funky amalgam of post-punk, hardcore, and experimental art-pop, they were never fated to be more than a cult act but those who liked them, liked them a lot.

Still, they disbanded in 2003 and after frontman Travis Morrison’s solo debut Travistan was Pitchfork-ed through the heart, the odds of hearing from him again in any context seemed unlikely. There was a one-off D-Plan reunion show in 2007, sure, but in 2009 Morrison, after one more solo album in All Y’All, declared himself retired from music. Of course that proved to be untrue, and the Plan reunited for sporadic shows in 2011, continuing into 2012 with some new material thrown in the mix.

Which brings us to Uncanney Valley, the band’s fifth album and first in 12 years since 2001’s Change, out October 15. The Dismemberment Plan was always so unique and no one ever replicated what they did so well – or even tried – that a new record might well prove to simultaneously be a very welcome breath of fresh air and a blast from the past. Pitchfork has details on the new record as well as an interview with Morrison – nice to see no grudges are held – and while no samples of the new record have been released, we can still dig up some classic tunes and tilt the expectation-o-meter a little more towards excitement than trepidation.

And one can only hope that the new album will result in more touring – the band’s final Toronto show at Rockit in July 2003 and the “Death & Dismemberment” tour with Death Cab For Cutie at The Reverb in early 2002 were off-the-charts fun. Would love the opportunity to see them again (without hopping on a plane).

MP3: The Dismemberment Plan – “It’s So You”
MP3: The Dismemberment Plan – “You Are Invited”
MP3: The Dismemberment Plan – “The Things That Matter”
MP3: The Dismemberment Plan – “Superpowers”

Calexico has released a new EP led by a track from last year’s Algiers and intended for physical sale – at least for the moment – on their European tour only, though they promise a North American release is to come and you can get it digitally as of June 29. But you can stream Maybe On Monday right now, including its covers of Elvis Costello’s “Shabby Doll” and The Replacements’ “Unsatisfied”.

Stream: Calexico / Maybe On Monday

Yeah Yeah Yeahs have become the first band to record a video atop the Empire State Building and proven that the only thing you can really do atop the Empire State Building is run around it. The song is the latest single from Mosquito and the band are at Echo Beach on July 1.

Video: Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Despair”

Spin has got a stream of Iron & Wine’s contribution to the soundtrack to The Lone Ranger. The soundtrack is out July 2, the movie July 3, and Iron & Wine play The Sound Academy on September 28.

Stream: Iron & Wine – “Rattling Bone”

You can now hear a couple songs from the new Scud Mountain Boys record Do You Love The Sun? courtesy of BrooklynVegan. The record is out July 9.

MP3: Scud Mountain Boys – “Double Bed”
Stream: Scud Mountain Boys – “Do You Love The Sun?”

NYC Taper has got a recording of Wilco’s amazing all-request, mostly-covers set at their Solid Sound festival last weekend. Look at that set list and tell me you don’t want to spend the time it’ll take to download it. I imagine we’ll get a more conventional show when they play The Molson Amphitheatre supporting Bob Dylan on July 15.

The next record from Explosions In The Sky won’t be a proper follow-up to 2011’s Take Care, Take Care, Take Care, but the soundtrack to the Paul Rudd film Prince Avalanche. The film is out August 9, the soundtrack August 6, and one of the songs – written with composer David Wingo – has a video. Explosions In The Sky play The Air Canada Centre on October 4 opening for Nine Inch Nails.

Video: Explosions In The Sky w David Wingo – “Wading”

Under The Radar has more specifics on Okkervil River’s new full-length The Silver Gymnasium, out September 3. They play The Phoenix on September 28.

Matablog offers details on Kim Gordon’s first post/side-Sonic Youth project, entitled Body/Head and releasing their first album Coming Apart on September 10.

Janelle Monáe’s new album finally has a release date; The Electric Lady will be in stores on September 10. And damn, is her handwriting nice.

Willis Earl Beal has announced details of his second album, Nobody Knows. It’s out September 10 and a first track is available to stream below. More details at Under The Radar.

Stream: Willis Earl Beal – “Everything Unwinds”

Spin has compiled an oral history of Liz Phair’s landmark Exile In Guyville on the occasion of the record’s 20th anniversary.

I’ve been meaning to give Katie Crutchfield’s Waxahatchee and her second album Cerulean Salt a proper write-up for a little while now, but just haven’t gotten around to it. But given that with the record’s European release, it’s available to stream in whole at NME right now, you may as well just go and listen to it and not worry about what I have to say about it save that it’s really terrific. There’s feature interviews with Crutchfield at The Guardian, The Line Of Best Fit, NPR, and Time.

Video: Waxahatchee – “Coast To Coast”
Stream: Waxahatchee / Cerulean Salt

Also from NYC Taper and Solid Sound is Low’s set from the festival, as well as one from Brooklyn a few days earlier.

Chart talks to Fred Thomas of Saturday Looks Good To Me.

It was more shrugs than tears when it was announced Kim Deal was leaving Pixies earlier this month, what with the band having been more nostalgia profiteers than trailblazing artists since their reunion in 2004, but with the surprise drop of a new song – with Deal on it – this morning, we are reminded of how great they still could have been in the 21st century had they wanted to, and yes, a tear. Unless, of course, this isn’t the end but some sort of beginning…?

MP3: Pixies – “Bagboy”
Video: Pixies – “Bagboy”