We All Want Someone To Shout For

Today, of Montreal announced that their new album False Priest, is coming out on September 14th via Polyvinyl. You can pre-order it now. The album art is posted above. The band is offering a free mp3 download of lead single “Coquet Coquette”. You can download that here (or at the end of this post).

The song is a damn tune. It has a major guitar riff that may just be one of the heavier moments that we have received from the band as of late. Kevin Barnes and his quirky vocals work with the riff to near perfection.The addition of live drums really does wonders for the band. Around the 2:40 mark it hits a Quentin Tarintnio/Kill Bill atmosphere that floored me. I wasn’t a fan of Skeletal Lamping, so my expectations for this new material were low. I certainly didn’t expect a song like this, but hot damn, this song is a major jam. It fucking rules!

Overall, I am very, very, impressed with “Coquet Coquette”. Grab it below, and see why:

[mp3]: of Montreal – Coquet Coquette

See the albums tracklisting, after the jump:

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Jack White and Conan O’Brien have created a new musical friendship that certainly makes the world a better place. So it makes sense that Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco website would premiere the new music video for The Dead Weather’s “Blue Blood Blues”. It was recorded live at Third Man Records, Jack White’s music label. Watch the high contrast video, which captures the band at their nittiest, grittiest, moment.

Animal Collective have been pretty quiet as of late, releasing some music through visual films and events. Aside from that, they have been in the shadows (except for Panda Bear). They have come out of their druggie abyss and decided to share a new music video for “Guys Eyes” on their website. It’s a chillwave video collecting clips of chill people doing their thing at the beach. Best Coast are probably somewhere in the video lurking.

Watch the video, below:

The Morning Benders performance of “Excuses” on Carson Daly‘s late night show is now available to watch. The band sounds top notch, and the direction for the video is fantastic. They filmed it in colors that gave it a vintage feel, a perfect fit for the song. I got it embedded below:

Tired Pony is a new super-group consisting of Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody, R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, and Belle & Sebastian’s Richard Colburn. A pretty impressive lineup, full of three pretty different bands in their own right.

The band will release their debut album, The Place We Ran From, on July 12th in the U.K. The official U.S. release isn’t until September 28th, which is frustrating. The album will be all over the internet by then, so it doesn’t make sense.

Anyway, the album will feature guest spots from the likes of Zooey Deschenal, M. Ward, and Tom Smith, of The Editors fame. If you are quick you can grab the Zooey Deschenal featured song, “Point Me At Islands” as a free mp3 right here (heads up – doing so automatically signs you up for their mailing list). The band said the offer is only good for a day, and this is a late night post, so who knows when it will end. If you are unsuccessful in obtaining the goods, let me know and I may be able to “point you in the right direction”.

Pitchfork reports that Gary Lightbody calls the album “a twisted love letter to the States”. He says he started the group in part because of how much he loves Americana/Alt-Country acts such as: Wilco, Calexico, Lambchop, Palace, & Smog. From the sound of “Point Me At Islands”, the band has captured the essence of a good alt-country song. Having the always lovely Zooey Deschenal add vocals certainly helps.

Could Tired Pony’s debut be the ultimate soundtrack to summer 2010 road trips? Looks like it is an early front runner.

I played the hell out of No Age’s Nouns back in 2008. Every now and then I just get in the mood for some great raw garage rock, and Nouns hit the spot. Finding out that No Age is well on the way to releasing their new album, Everything In Between, made my night. Sub Pop made the announcement earlier today. The album will come out on September 28th (two days before my birthday!), featuring 13 songs. You can check out the tracklisting below:

01 Life Prowler
02 Glitter
03 Fever Dreaming
04 Depletion
05 Common Heat
06 Skinned
07 Katerpillar
08 Valley Hump Crash
09 Sorts
10 Dusted
11 Positive Amputation
12 Shred and Transcend
13 Chem Trails

BrooklynVegan thinks there is a chance that No Age may be playing a free show in Brooklyn on July 25th w/ Lightning Bolt & Cap’N Jazz. If thats so, I will be there. I was at No Age’s free show at South Street Seaport in July 2008 and had a great time. The rest of No Age’s tour dates are posted after the jump:

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Last week Blonde Redhead gave us a new song called “Here Sometimes”, but no information regarding where the song came from. That has changed with the announcement of a new album called Penny Sparkle which will include “Here Sometimes”, which will open the album. The album will drop on September 14th via 4AD. Penny Sparkle was recorded in New York & Stockholm, with Van Rivers and the Subliminal Kid getting production credits.

Here is a quote from lead singer Kazu Mazino about the record:

“I can’t say what Penny Sparkle is about just yet. I remember talking to Ed (from 4AD) one day and telling him that I had a vision that I was traveling to far away places to complete it. Then I landed in snowy slippery Stockholm….. and here. I fell in love with the music like falling for someone you’ve known for a long time. It was dreamy and sometimes was very stormy. At times I felt like a shepherd who was trying to herd five stallions into a yard (unsuccessfully). I felt like I was a link to everyone. I remained still and the others were constantly moving around it. I am not sure what Penny Sparkle is but I hope I offered to them as much as they offered me. I know that we have never made a record this way and if I could go back in time, I would do it exactly the same way again.”

Stream “Here Sometimes” below:

For the latest cover in the Levi’s Pioneer Sessions, they had Passion Pit cover Smashing Pumpkins alt rock classic, “Tonight, Tonight”. Passion Pit give the song a electronic re-working to their liking and the result is a light and airy offering.

Fans of Passion Pit will eat this one up. Something tells me fans of the Pumpkins may not be in unison on this one….Personally, I have enjoyed everything that Passion Pit have touched, so I’m lovin’ it.

[mp3]: Passion Pit – Tonight, Tonight (Smashing Pumpkins Cover)

Watch the background video with Michael of Passion Pit below:

I have listened to a lot of albums this year, but not many have stood out to me like the debut album from Villagers, Becoming A Jackal. It has acted as more than just another album in my life. I’ve woken up to it, and listened to it while falling asleep. I drive around with it, and listen to it when I’m in my contemplative states. It’s been a living, breathing, playlist to my life as of late. It was a no brainier for me to make a trip to the city to check out Conor O’Brien’s intimate gig at Joe’s Pub.

It was my first time ever at Joe’s Pub, and hopefully it won’t be my last. With a floor dedicated entirely to dinner tables, it is more of a restaurant than a venue. This setup was as perfect for any as an act like Villagers. The crowd couldn’t have been more than 100-125 people, and it played as a perfect atmosphere for Conor’s haunting set of tunes.

While Villagers have played many shows as a band, last nights show featured a bare bones acoustic set from Conor. I don’t know if I would have had it any other way. While the studio versions of the songs are great, there is something magical about having only Conor’s voice and guitar (which is named “Lolla”) there to comfort us. It’s intimate, sensual, but mostly emotional.

The acoustics in Joe’s Pub are top notch. They rival the like’s of Bowery Ballroom, who have some of the best sound, period. This certainly did wonders for Conor’s voice, which is astonishing to begin with. He has an amazing range that stretched to incredible lengths when needed. He spoke each lyric with passionate clarity that made his stories jump to life. “Becoming A Jackal” was as powerful as I hoped, closely rivaling the legendary performance that we witnessed on Jools Holland. Each song found a new life at Joe’s Pub last night, due to the acoustic setting that put the songs out there as they were truly meant to be.

Conor entertained the crowd throughout with playful banter, and some light comedy. He even admitted that he was a bit drunk at the show, which was the first time it’s happened in a while according to him. You wouldn’t have known though, because his performances of beauties like “Pieces” and “The Pact (I’ll Be Your Fever)” were magnificent. He played every song from the album except for “That Day”, which was made up by two non album tracks: “Cecilia and Her Selfhood” & “On A Sunlit Stage”, both of which you need to search for immediately.

I’ve been to a lot of shows in my life, but I haven’t been to many like the one I saw last night. Intimate shows with a powerful singer-songwriter like Villagers are a completely different monster. You actually feel like a crucial part of the audience. Its like Conor is actually singing to you, for you. Conor is an incredible talent who has a bright future ahead of him. His voice is incredibly deep and versatile live, giving me goosebumps more than once. I can legitimately say he is one of the best new singer song-writers that we have been introduced to this young decade.

Check out the setlist & photos from the show, all after the jump:

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Our Orthodox is the project of 26 year old Pacific Northwest born (L.A. native for 3 years), Neal Harris. He just released his first album, which is a self titled effort. It’s really easy to try and compare Neal to other artists. The obvious choice is Okkervil River. Then you can go from Neutral Milk Hotel, Josh Ritter, Conor Oberst, and Drive-By Truckers. No matter how you look at it, these are all great artists to garner comparisons to. I think fans of all of those artists would adore the magic coming out of Mr. Harris. The irony in the Okkervil River comparisons is that William Schaff who has designed Okkervil River albums in the past, was responsible for Our Orthodox’s album artwork. Go figure!

Our Orthodox brings real music back to the table. Neal’s lyrical content is the meat and bones of his songs, creating imagery that will sting the mind. He gets to the point, and it’s ultimately very effective.

The album is only 7 songs long, and it plays as a perfect introduction to this young mans career. I am very impressed with this little debut, and I don’t see why you won’t like it either. This is music in its purest form. Whats there not to love?

I want to personally share with you two songs from the album: “O Brother” & “My Records”:

[mp3]: Our Orthodox – O Brother
[mp3]: Our Orthodox – My Records

You can stream the entire album at his site, and its only $5 if you like it enough to buy it.