I need the night off....

Normally I don't post on the weekend, but I need to take a break...so I'll be putting up the rest of today's posts tomorrow. Hopefully next week isn't so hectic (crossing my fingers).

VIDEO: Hot Chip "One Pure Thought"

MORE BEAUTIFUL NEW MUSIC: Wye Oak "If Children"

When spring approaches, and the weather starts to warm, I tend to gravitate towards music that accentuates those balmy, breezy (and extremely relaxing) evenings spent finally enjoying being outdoors after four months cooped up inside. Wye Oak's debut album "If Children" is about as perfect a soundtrack to one of these treasured spring evenings as you'll find. Beautifully orchestrated indie-rock-folky-pop with hushed flourishes of slow-core & shoegaze. Listening to this album, it's hard not to want to completely immerse & lose yourself for awhile. So as my jackets get packed away and my shorts get dusted off, I plan on doing just that.

"If Children" is out now via Merge Records.

:::TOUR DATES:::
4/10 - The G-Spot (CD Release), Baltimore, MD
4/11 - The Sugar Tank, Lancaster, PA
4/12 - Union Hall, Brooklyn, NY
4/13 - The Black Cat, Washington, DC
5/01 - Garfield Artworks, Pittsburgh, PA
5/02- Over the Top Festival, Toronto, ON
5/03 - Valentine's Downstairs, Albany, NY
5/04 - Great Scott, Boston, MA

[MP3] Wye Oak - Family Glue from "If Children" (via Box.net)
[MP3] Wye Oak - Obituary from "If Children" (via Box.net)

Wye Oak - website | Myspace

BEAUTIFUL NEW MUSIC: Sharon Van Etten

Sometimes when shitty things happen to me, I want to believe that there has to be a good reason why. Like maybe it's to make me a stronger person, or maybe there's a lesson to be learned. I'm not sure. All I know is that while I'm going through it, it just plain sucks. I'm unfortunately going through one of these "shitty things" currently, and although I know it's for the better, it still hurts none the less. So how serendipitous that I was sent this album while going through this mess. Sharon Van Etten's music has been so therapeutic with it's unyielding beauty that, at times, it has stopped me dead in my tracks. Muscles relax, racing thoughts slow down, and the dust clears. I'm not just responding to her engaging voice & beautiful music, but to the lyrics as well...some seem to mirror almost exactly what I'm currently going through. All in all, I've been completely taken with every song (I even love the faint tape-hiss throughout most tracks). This album comes highly recommended.

Right now you can purchase Sharon's album either through her website, or her Myspace page. If you live in the NYC area, you'll fortunately be able catch one of her upcoming live performances (dates below), for the rest of us we'll just have to wait patiently for her to grace one of our local stages. I've included a video of a recent performance at The Apartment below, as well as a couple of MP3s. Enjoy.

:::DATES:::
4/15 - The Cake Shop - w/ Naked Hearts, Werewolves
New York, NY, 8pm

4/21- Monkeytown - w/ Shilpa (of Beat the Devil), Forest Fire
Brooklyn, NY

4/26 - Collision Machine
Brooklyn, NY

4/29 - Pianos - w/ Jae (from Norway), She Keeps Bees
New York, NY, 8pm

5/29 - Zebulon - w/ WS Burn (from TX)
Brooklyn, NY, 9pm *FREE SHOW*


[MP3] Sharon Van Etten - Tornado from "S/T" (via Box.net)
[MP3] Sharon Van Etten - For You from "S/T" (via Box.net)

[VIDEO] Sharon Van Etten "For You (live at The Apartment)"

NEW SONG: El Perro Del Mar "Glory To The World"

ICTH fave, El Perro Del Mar (Sarah Assbring), will be releasing her new album "From The Valley To The Stars" on 4/22 in the US and has just released the first track from said album entitled "Glory To The World". It's a gorgeous example of what made me a fan of her music in the first place. Those unfamiliar with her should definitely check out her last self-titled album. El Perro Del Mar will be touring North America with Lykke Li and Anna Ternheim starting in early May.

[MP3] El Perro Del Mar - Glory To The World from "From The Valley To The Stars" (via Box.net)

:::TOUR DATES:::
May 6 - Johnny Brenda's - Philadelphia, PA
May 7 - Joe's Pub - New York, NY
May 8 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY
May 9 - Middle East - Boston, MA
May 10 - Lambi - Montreal, Quebec
May 11 - Mod Club - Toronto, Ontario
May 12 - Schuba's - Chicago, IL
May 14 - Red Room - Vancouver, British Columbia
May 15 - Triple Door, Seattle, WA
May 16 - Dough Fir - Portland, OR
May 18 - Bimbo's - San Francisco, CA

El Perro Del Mar - website | Myspace

ISLANDS reveal tour dates & "Arm's Way" cover art

Um...wow.

There's an MP3 from "Arm's Way" a couple of posts down. I can't wait to catch these guys in June!

:::ISLANDS - TOUR DATES:::
04-16 Buffalo, NY - Soundlab
04-17 Cleveland Heights, OH - Grog Shop
04-18 Champaign, IL - IMC
04-19 Madison, WI - TBA
04-21 Denver, CO - Bluebird
04-22 Salt Lake City, UT - In the Venue
04-24 Los Angeles, CA - UCLA
04-26 Indio, CA - Empire Polo Field (Coachella)
04-30 San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's
05-23 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
05-24 New York, NY - Webster Hall
06-16 San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's 365 Club
06-02 Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium
06-24 Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
06-27 Atlanta, GA - Masquerade

Islands - website | Myspace

VIDEO: Bon Iver "Lump Sum" (Live on Back on Stages)"

Back On Stages #2 Bon Iver - Lump Sum
by lablogotheque

ATLANTA/ATHENS SHOWS (04/07 - 04/13)

Mon. 4/07/08 - Tokyo Police Club, Eagle*Seagull @ The 40 Watt Club
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Tue. 4/08/08 - The Weakerthans, Liam Finn @ The 40 Watt Club
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Wed. 4/09/08 - HEALTH, Club of Rome @ The Drunken Unicorn

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Thu. 4/10/08 - Howlies, The Orphins, The Hotpipes @ The Earl
Thu. 4/10/08 - Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Clue to Kalo @ The Drunken Unicorn
Thu. 4/10/08 - Colin Meloy (Decemberists), Laura Gibson @ The Variety Playhouse
Thu. 4/10/08 - Sleepy Horses, 13Ghosts, Jeff Whatley @ Caledonia Lounge
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Fri. 4/11/08 - Spy For Hire, Make The Fur Fly (ex-Continue and Save), Dwarfstarr @ Lenny's
Fri. 4/11/08 - Son Volt, Bobby Bare Jr. @ The Variety Playhouse

Fri. 4/11/08 - Tiger! Tiger!, The Black and Whites, Bobby & the Soft Spots @ The Earl
Fri. 4/11/08 - Abandon the Earth Mission @ The Drunken Unicorn
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Sat. 4/12/08 - Abandon the Earth Mission @ Caledonia Lounge
Sat. 4/12/08 - Noot 'D Noot, Judi Chicago @ The Drunken Unicorn

Sat. 4/12/08 - Wax Fang @ The Masquerade

Sat. 4/12/08 - Unknown Hinson, Syrens of the South @ The Earl
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Sun. 4/13/08 - Explosions in the Sky @ The Variety Playhouse 8pm show SOLD OUT!! / 2nd early show added @ 4:30pm
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FULL SHOW: Jay Reatard @ Cake Shop, NYC (10/10/07)

Man, this last week (and weekend) was brutal, my life has kinda been turned upside-down and it's really prevented me from doing much of anything with this here blog. This may mean fewer posts this week until the dust settles, my apologies. Pitchfork.tv launched today, and good god do they have some really great stuff on there, including this here Jay Reatard show from NYC on 10/10/07. I'm really looking forward to catching his Atlanta show at Lenny's Bar on 4/28, and this video will show you exactly why (tour dates below).



:::TOUR DATES:::
04-09 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre ^
04-10 Omaha, NE - Slowdown ^
04-11 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue ^
04-12 Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre ^
04-13 Indianapolis, IN - The Vogue ^
04-15 Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre ^
04-16 Ottawa, Ontario - Babylon %
04-17 Toronto, Ontario - Silver Dollar %
04-18 Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rossa %
04-19 Ithaca, NY - Cornell University Barn
04-20 Boston, MA - Harper's Ferry #
04-21 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom #
04-22 Brooklyn, NY - Europa #
04-24 Princeton, NJ - Terrace Club #
04-25 Swarthmore, PA - Swarthmore College #
04-26 Washington, DC - Black Cat #
04-27 Charlotte, NC - The Milestone #
04-28 Atlanta, GA - Lenny's #
05-01 Memphis, TN - Hi Tone #

^ with the Black Keys
% with CPC Gangbangs
# with Cheap Time