The Black Lips drop new album, tour

ATL 'flower punks', The Black Lips signed to Vice what seems like just yesterday and already their brand spankin' new album is out. "Los Valientes Del Mundo Nuevo" was recorded in Tijuana, Mexico by John Reis (Drive Like Jehu, Rocket From the Crypt, Hot Snakes)..."the result, Los Valientes Del Mundo Nuevo manages to capture the chaos of their live show (they kidnapped a Mariachi band to play with them for fuckssake) and pounds out some of the greatest hits of their past records." I couldn't agree more. The Black Lips have been a staple around Atlanta for awhile, a guaranteed good time soaked in beer and reverb. Head down to Criminal Records to pick this shit up, or buy it from Insound.

Dates with destiny:
2/23/07 - Whirlyball Atlanta - Roswell, GA
2/24/07 - The 40 Watt Club - Athens, GA
3/18/07 - The Mink - Houston, TX
3/19/07 - One Eyed Jack's - New Orleans, LA
3/21/07 - The Earl - Atlanta, GA
3/22/07 - Cat's Cradle - Carrboro, NC
3/23/07 - Ottobar - Baltimore, MD
3/24/07 - Black Cat - Washington, D.C.
3/25/07 - Johnny Brendas - Philadelphia, PA
3/26/07 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY
3/27/07 - T.T. the Bear's - Cambridge, MA
3/31/07 - Logan Square Auditorium - Chicago, IL
4/01/07 - Mad Planet - Milwaukee, WI
4/03/07 - The End - Nashville, TN

Check out their Myspace for more.

Jesu forced to cancel 9 dates of first-ever US tour

Man, your first US tour ever, and you have to cancel the first 9 dates of the tour due to inept US work permit policies. That sucks. According to Justin Broadrick's (Jesu) blog, they're unfortunately waiting for their US work permits to be approved before they can head over to the states to start touring. (Update: Pitchfork announced today: "Justin K. Broadrick and co. have just secured the visas and will make their U.S. debut on March 5 in Orlando.") That's good news for the folks whose cities they'll be visiting on and after that date, and just plain sucks for those whose dates were canceled. No replacement dates have been scheduled as of yet.

Jesu's revised tour schedule:

02-22 San Diego, CA - Casbah * (canceled)
02-23 Tempe, AZ - The Clubhouse * (canceled)
02-24 Albuquerque, NM - Launchpad * (canceled)
02-26 Oklahoma City, OK - Conservatory * (canceled)
02-27 Fort Worth, TX - Ridglea Theater * (canceled)
02-28 Austin, TX - Emo's Alternative Lounging * (canceled)
03-01 Houston, TX - Numbers * (canceled)
03-02 Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon * (canceled)
03-03 Birmingham, AL - Bottletree Lounge * (canceled)
03-05 Orlando, FL - The Social *
03-08 Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club *
03-09 Charlotte, NC - Tremont Music Hall *
03-10 Richmond, VA - Alley Katz *
03-11 Washington, DC - 930 Club *
03-13 Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts *
03-14 New York, NY - Irving Plaza *
03-15 Austin, TX - Emo's (SXSW)
03-16 Austin, TX - SXSW
03-17 Cambridge, MA - The Middle East (Downstairs) *#
03-18 Montreal, Quebec - Theatre National *#
03-19 Ottawa, Ontario - Barrymore's *#
03-20 Toronto, Ontario - Opera House *#
03-21 Detroit, MI - St Andrews Hall *#
03-22 Chicago, IL - Metro *#
03-25 Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Social Club *# 03-26 Iowa City, IA - The Picador *#
03-27 Lawrence, KS - Granada Theatre *#
03-28 Denver, CO - Marquis Theater *#
03-30 Salt Lake City, UT - In the Venue *#
04-01 Boise, ID - The Big Easy *#
04-02 Spokane, WA - The Big Easy *#
04-03 Seattle, WA - Neumos *#
04-04 Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre *#
04-06 San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's 365 Club *#
04-08 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre *#

* with Isis
# with Zozobra

Tool Announce 2007 Spring Tour Dates

I haven't seen Tool live since 1996, and I think I might actually try and make it out for this show. They're amazing live, plus I would get to see what crazy-ass body painting/cross dressing Maynard will sport this time. Tickets go on sale this Saturday, 2/24/07 at 10:00am.

Here are the dates:
Thu 03/15/07 Las Vegas, NV Pearl @ The Palms
Fri 03/16/07 Las Vegas, NV Pearl @ The Palms
Sun 03/18/07 Reno, NV Reno Events Center
Tue 03/20/07 San Diego, CA Cox Arena
Wed 03/21/07 Tucson, AZ Tucson Convention Center
Fri 03/23/07 Albuquerque, NM Tingley Col.@New Mexico State Fair
Sat 03/24/07 Las Cruces, NM Pan American Center
Mon 03/26/07 San Antonio, TX AT&T Center
Tue 03/27/07 Corpus Christi, TX American Bank Center
Thu 03/29/07 Oklahoma City, OK Ford Center
Fri 03/30/07 Southaven, MS DeSoto Civic Center
Sat 03/31/07 Baton Rouge, LA Baton Rouge River Center
Mon 04/02/07 Pensacola, FL Pensacola Civic Center
Tue 04/03/07 Tallahassee, FL Leon County Civic Center
Thu 04/05/07 Tampa, FL USF Sun Dome
Fri 04/06/07 Orlando, FL Amway Arena
Sat 04/07/07 Coral Gables, FL BankUnited Center
Tue 04/10/07 Duluth, GA The Arena At Gwinnett Center
Wed 04/11/07 Winston-Salem, NC Lawrence Joel Complex
Fri 04/13/07 Pelham, AL Verizon Wireless Center Birmingham
Sat 04/14/07 Greenville, SC Bi Lo Center
Sun 04/15/07 Richmond, VA Richmond Coliseum
Tue 04/17/07 Reading, PA Sovereign Center
Wed 04/18/07 University Park, PA Bryce Jordan Center
Fri 04/20/07 Albany, NY Times-Union Center
Sat 04/21/07 Atlantic City, NJ Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall
Sun 04/22/07 Portland, ME Cumberland Co. Civic Center
Fri 04/27/07 Quebec City, QC Colisee Pepsi
Sat 04/28/07 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
Sun 04/29/07 Hamilton, ON Copps Coliseum
06/14-17/07 Bonnaroo Festival

As you probably can see (and already knew), Tool will be one of the headliners for this year's Bonnaroo festival in TN, along with The Police. Those tickets go on sale this Friday, 2/23/07.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: New Album "Baby 81" Out 5/01/07

One of my favorite bands, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club will be releasing their follow-up to 2005's "Howl" , "Baby 81" on May 1st, 2007. It is a reported shift back toward their Jesus and Mary Chain influences. Which I think is a very good thing. Their last album wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. I am a huge fan of the first two albums and I'm quite eager to hear what they have in store for us.

The full track listing is as follows:

Took Out a Loan
Berlin
Weapon of Choice
Window
Cold Mind
It's Not What You Wanted
666 Conducer
All You Do Is Talk
Lien on Your Dreams
Need Some Air
Killing the Light
American X
Am I Only

"Weapon of Choice" will be the first single off of the album.
Visit the official B.R.M.C. website.

Atlanta Local Spotlight: Spectralux

So I meant to post on this band a couple of weeks ago, but forgot to. Oh well, better late than never so they say. This band's been around since 1999, and just released it's fourth self-titled album in late 2006. A friend of mine turned me onto this band. Touting influences like The Pixies, Wire and David Bowie got me more interested, so I checked it out. Good thing too, because the band is better than the sum of it's influences. They've got a brit-pop, shoe gaze kind of sound with these hard-driving beats & some amazing keyboard melodies. Post-rock pop. Stand out tracks on this newest album: "Bunny", "Over and Out" & the psyche-ambient pop anthem "These Trees". A really stunning album overall. Check out their Myspace page to listen to some tunes.

THE ARCADE FIRE - Atlanta show on sale date

So I went onto Ticketbastard's site this morning, and apparently tickets for the 5/01/07 Arcade Fire show @ The Civic Center go on sale next Friday, 2/23. Tickets are $32.00 before fees!! Man that's fuckin' pricey. I may have to rethink how much I want to go to this show. Arghhh.

Beats. Beats. Ass-shaking beats.

Remember how much ass-shaking went on inside my car when listening to the Justice track "Phantom Part I"? Well the bounce is back. I got ahold of a remix of Snowden's "Black Eyes" by ATL dancefloor destroyer, Le Castle Vania (DJ DJ Dylan). This amazing track, and I do mean AMAZING, prompted me to search for more. I came across his Myspace page where he has several tracks primed & ready to bring the mayhem. Some are available for download including remixes of 120 Days' "Come Out" (soon to be featured on an upcoming Vice Records remix compilation) and the aforementioned "Black Eyes (Le Castle Vania remix)". But is there more? The answer is fuck yes. I also found the track "Tigertron (feat. Factory Aire)" which is yet another hot-ass-dance-punk scorcher. Check out his Myspace page for those tunes, and become his friend while you're there. This guy is gonna get huge!!

His "Troubletron" EP is now available to purchase through iTunes.

Flaming Lips Announce Summer Tour (start blowing up your beach balls)

The Flaming Lips are coming back again to fill your lives with happiness and people dressed like bunnies, aliens & Santa Claus. The Lips put on one hell of a fun show, and you may want to join in on the dress-up fun & wear you're own costume to the show. My friends went to the Atlanta show awhile back as a lobster & Evel Knievel.

04-11 Athens, GA - Classic Center
04-12 Orlando, FL - House of Blues
04-13 Pompano Beach, FL - PB Amphitheater
04-14 St. Petersburg, FL - Jannus Landing
04-17 Myrtle Beach, FL - House of Blues
04-18 Raleigh, NC - Disco Rodeo
04-19 Norfolk, VA - The Norva

Arcade Fire Announce N. American Tour!!!!!!!

Ummmm...holy crap. This is only the best news since the Dems took back control over the House and Senate. The Arcade Fire have announced their North American Tour dates and here they are:

02-13 New York, NY - Judson Memorial Church
02-14 New York, NY - Judson Memorial Church
02-15 New York, NY - Judson Memorial Church
02-16 New York, NY - Judson Memorial Church
02-17 New York, NY - Judson Memorial Church
04-26 San Diego, CA - Spreckels Theatre
04-28 Indio, CA - Empire Polo Field (Coachella)
05-01 Atlanta, GA - Civic Center
05-02 Asheville, NC - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
05-04 Washington, DC - DAR Constitution Hall
05-05 Philadelphia, PA - Tower Theatre
05-07 New York, NY - TBA
05-08 New York, NY - TBA
05-09 New York, NY - TBA
05-10 Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre
05-12 Montreal, Quebec - Arena Maurice Richard
05-13 Montreal, Quebec - Arena Maurice Richard
05-15 Toronto, Ontario - Massey Hall
05-16 Toronto, Ontario - Massey Hall
05-18 Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre
05-19 Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre
05-20 Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre
05-27 Portland, OR - Schnitzer Concert Hall

Their show at the Variety Playhouse a couple of years ago, was like a religious experience. You are stupid if you miss this show. Really fucking stupid. For real.

Explosions in the Sky "The Rescue" - available for FREE download

So if you've contemplated spending obnoxious amounts of money on ebay for that out-of-print Explosions in the Sky album, "The Rescue"....don't bother. EITS have graciously put the entire album up for free download via their site. Just go the "albums" section and click on "The Rescue". Viola! Just right-click those suckas right onto your hard drive. Those guys in EITS are the best.

Or you can just click here: "The Rescue"
Enjoy.

Sorely underrated: Kind of Like Spitting "Bridges Worth Burning"

I was flippin' thru my iPod yesterday, lookin' for something to listen to when I kinda re-discovered an album I hadn't listened to in quite awhile. Not that it was a bad album, quite the contrary, it had just gotten lost in the pile of new stuff that I flood my iPod with on a daily basis. Kind of Like Spitting released "Bridges Worth Burning" in 2002 on Barsuk Records, with guests Ben Gibbard (Death Cab For Cutie) and Bob Nanna (Braid). KOLS is basically one guy, Ben Barnett, and he fills his band out with a rotating ensemble of musicians (not unlike Bright Eyes). He had a couple of albums under his belt by the time he released "Bridges Worth Burning", all of which were amazing..but this one stopped me in my tracks. This album was my #1 in 2002, I wore the damn CD out and had to purchase another. It is, in my opinion, one of the top albums ever. Musically and lyrically, it is perfection. I still can't believe he isn't talked about more, or that this album isn't garnering more attention. It is what I want all albums to be, solid all the way through & able to be listened to forever. Great albums stand the test of time, and after a year and a half without it, it continues to blow my mind.

Order it from Insound..

Bright Eyes "Four Winds"

So if you're a friend of mine, then it's no secret that I'm a big Bright Eyes fan. So when a new release of his comes creepin' around the corner, it's also no secret that I'm gonna get excited to hear it. Well my excitement got the best of me and I got ahold of the "Four Winds" EP (a mini-album to tide us over until the full-length "Cassadaga") a little early. Now I have to admit I was a little disappointed in "Digital Ash in a Digital Urn", it wasn't bad...just not as good as others (especially it's companion album "I'm Wide Awake.."). So I was a little worried that this too would disappoint. Ah, but my fear quickly dissipated after the first song "Cartoon Blues". You can definitely hear the M. Ward influence in this, and that ain't a bad thing! His music has always been a growing experience for me, slowly it matured until now it truly is pop/folk perfection. His lyrics are what drew me in at first, and those continue to blow me away. If this mini-album is any indication of what we're in store for with "Cassadaga", then I'm fuckin' ecstatic!! He really is deserving of all his Dylan-esque accolades.

Pre-order the album from Saddle Creek.