Bill Callahan - Tiny Desk Concert

Three tracks taken from from this year's wonderful 'Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle'. 'Jim Cain' remains the year's unfailingly beautiful song. 'Sometimes' is one of those rare albums where you can use the word 'anthropomorphic' and not seem like a tit.

Oasis have left the building

Mindful of the fact that this has happened before and that the band are best mates with Richard Ashcroft - how many times have The Verve split up? - news from their official site that Noel has left the band. What odds on Gallagher senior hooking up with Ian Brown? Can't say I'll miss them but this is still fucking great.....

The Antlers

Beautiful. This might sound jaunty but then you realise that he's singing this;

"In the middle of the night I was sleeping sitting up
When a doctor came to tell me "Enough is enough".
He brought me out into the hall (I could have sworn it was haunted),
and told me something that I didn't know that I wanted to hear:
That there was nothing I could do to save you,
The choir's gonna sing and this thing is gonna kill you."

The Antlers play a number of UK dates at the beginning of September and return to the U.S. for further shows there but, as yet, no word of an Irish date.

The Antlers from jamesfeatherstone on Vimeo.

'The Wishing Seat' - Adrian Crowley

If you go down to the woods today.......

Adrian Crowley - The Wishing Seat from Souljacker on Vimeo.

'Hospice' - The Antlers

Holy fuck. Where did this come from then? 'Hospice' is a record which tells the story of a couple in love, one of whom is dying from bone cancer. Lyrically the album takes us through the physical crumbling of the victim and the disintegration of the relationship. Camera Obscura this is not. Grim as it sounds - and it is fucking grim - this is a quite wonderfully conceived record. Ploughing the same emotional furrow as Arcade Fire's 'Funeral' but at times making that record sound like something from Sesame Street, 'Hospice' is a quite beautiful collection of songs. Lend this your ears.
mp3: 'Two' - The Antlers
mp3: 'Bear' - The Antlers

'Trouble' - Hope Sandoval

Hope Sandoval and her Warm Inventions troupe release 'Through The Devil Softly' on September 29th. They'll play a number of Irish dates in October in support of the new album. Here's a track taken from the new record.
Stream: 'Trouble'

New Massive Attack EP

Even if the feeling persists that their best days are behind them, Massive Attack have always been judicious in their choice of collaborators. This October sees the release of a new EP entitled 'Splitting The Atom' which will contain guest turns from Elbow's Guy Garvey (difficult to see that one not working) and TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe. Their new album will be released in February 2010 and is set to feature a guest spot from Damon Albarn.
Massive Attack play two dates at the Olympia theatre on October 6th and 7th. Tickets still available here.

Fever Ray album re-release

So if you haven't got your mitts on one of 2009's finest records already, now's your chance. Fever Ray's self-titled album is being re-released on October 12th, preceded by a new single 'Seven'. The re-packaged album will contain a second disc featuring covers of Vashti Bunyan (now that should be interesting. Feist's cover of 'Train Song' is another highlight from '09) and Nick Cave. Best of all it'll contain each of the off the wall videos released to date including 'When I Grow Up' and 'If I Had a Heart'.

One Mark Eitzel date announced

He'll play Cyprus Avenue, Cork on November 10th. Tickets available here. Eitzel's new solo album 'Klamath' should be released in October. Other dates to follow surely.

New Sparklehorse

Wish the man would cease with the collaborations - Dangermouse and now Fennesz - and get into the studio again. Here's another side-project with the aforementioned Fennesz due for release on September 14th as part of the 'In The Fishtank' series. It's from the same label (Konkurrent) that brought you the Low & Dirty Three combo. Here's the ususal waffle from said label.....

Ever since 'Endless Summer' we were attracted to the music of Christian Fennesz. Where many laptop artists don’t reach further than idle electronic rumble without engagement, Fennesz manages to create a world of unheard and rich new sounds.
Christian’s idea to collaborate with Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse excited us immediately. The two artists had performed together a couple of times and both felt that there was further mileage in the collaboration.
Just two days in December 2007 were enough to record over 40 minutes of the sublime Fennesz and Sparklehorse combination. Prepared oddities and masses of inspiration make these recordings unique in their style and in this series in particular. Songs and soundscapes of rare beauty with stunning atmospherics, where abstract sounds and wellcrafted traditional songstructure meet and where acoustic instruments and electronics create outstanding ambience.
Tracks
1. Music Box Of Snakes
2. Goodnight Sweetheart
3. Shai-Hulud
4. If My Heart
5. Mark’s Guitar Piece
6. NC Bongo Buddy
7. Christian’s Guitar Piece

Sligo Live 2009

Much as I'd love to enthuse about this year's line-up......there's little to get enthused about. Best of luck with it though, eh? Perhaps Jinx Lennon will spice things up. And if I see the words 'sexy' and 'sassy' used in the same sentence with the woeful Imelda May again, I'll set Jinx on them......

Dead Man's Bones

Building up a head of steam on the hype front recently, DMB is the work of actor duo Zach Shields and Ryan Gosling, and their debut album is out in October by which time you'll have heard much more about them. Arcade Fire are frequently mentioned as a reference point (I've just done it too haven't I?) which is not entirely innacurate, but there's a creepiness about this which eludes the Bible thumping, Amish chic Canadians.

Dead Man's Bones Hypnotism from biz3 publicity on Vimeo.

'Klamath' - Mark Eitzel

And so the world's greatest songwriter completes another solo album, entitled 'Klamath'. American Music Club's main man has had some wonderful solo records over the years ('60 Watt Silver Lining' is up there with some of his best AMC stuff) and some not so great - 'Ugly American' immediately springs to mind. 'Klamath' contains 12 new recordings and the tracklisting is as follows;

1 Buried Treasure
2 Like a river that reaches the sea
3 The Blood On My Hands
4 I Miss You
5 There’s Someone Waiting
6 What Do You Got For Me
7 The White Of Gold
8 I Live In This Place
9 Why I’m Bullshit
10 Remember
11 Antennas
12 Ronald Koal Was A Rock Star

There's no release date as yet and there will be a European tour in October/November with a sprinkling of Irish dates but none confirmed as yet. Here's what Eitzel has to say about the new record.....

"I know I’ll never reproduce most of it on a stage - but believe me it is enough work / expense touring with a pianist. I don’t think that most people who come see me will be too disappointed that I don’t perform the songs in the same style as the record - because all they want to hear are Johnny Mathis’ Feet and Firefly anyway (which is fair enough and I am proud to play them).

Next I am going to record an album of newer songs to sell as merch. These will be particularly lo-fi recordings. I am giving myself an hour each to get them together... Should be fun. After that I will record the songs that me and my pianist play together...

Merch. I always used to hate it but now I have to live for it..."

Ah, therein lies the tragedy. Buy this record.

Karma?

So we're all familair with bitch fights between recording artists through the years -David Bowie vs Lou Reed springs to mind - but those inter-record label/blog fights rarely make the headlines. Until now it seems. Matador Records co-owner Gerard Cosloy recently had the misfortune of having his house burn to the ground. Fortunately no-one was injured in the blaze but it seems that not everyone shared his relief.
Some two days after news of the blaze broke, Cosloy received an email purporting to be from Victory Records founder Tony Brummel titled 'Good morning....' and containing one word 'KARMA', with a cute attachment of two shagging dogs with the words 'Fuck Victory'. Nice guy. Seconds out round two.....

Adrian Crowley signs to Chemikal Underground

Now labelmates with the likes of Mogwai, The Delgados and Arab Strap amongst others, perhaps his wonderful 'Season of the Sparks' album from earlier this year will get the backing it deserves - to these ears the finest Irish album of 2009 to date. He also plays the Westport Arts festival on October 10th. Other confirmed artists include the charmless Republic of Loose and Redmond O'Toole.

'These Are My Twisted Words' - Radiohead

For a band who claim that they're unlikely to release another album (perhaps it'll catch on and Kasbian or, say, Muse might follow suit), they've been pretty busy recording stuff. Here's another new track from them.
mp3: 'These Are My Twisted Words' (via Stereogum)

Edit: This track can now be downloaded for free on the band's W.A.S.T.E. site. Click here.

'Avalon or Someone Very Similar' - Yo La Tengo

The latest in a series of teaser videos from YLT prior to the release of 'Popular Songs'.

Morrissey vs The Pixies

Unofficially of course. One about to release a monstrosity of a back catalogue at prices a million miles away from a fire sale, the other determined to adhere to his very own self-fulfilling prophecy of 'Paint A Vulgar Picture' lyrics.

Morrissey's new box set of solo 7" singles, soon to be issued by EMI/Parlaphone (the bastards etc etc) has been condemned by none other than Morrissey himself. Perhaps not for the noble reasons espoused on 'PAVP' however. It appears that the infinitely re-packaged one objects to this release on the basis that he'll gain nothing from it. Bless.

"Morrissey would like it to be known that he has not been consulted by EMI/HMV/Parlophone with regards to two forthcoming boxed sets of Morrissey singles. Morrissey does not approve such releases and would ask people not to bother buying them. Morrissey receives no royalty payments from EMI for any back catalogue, and has not received a royalty from EMI since 1992. Morrissey also does not approve of, and was not consulted on, the Rhino box of Smiths CDs, or the Warner releases of Smiths LPs on 180 gramme vinyl. Morrissey last received a royalty payment from Warners ten years ago, and, once again, he would ask people not to bother buying the reissued LPs or CDs."

Die-hard fans are, not surprisingly, advised to give this reissue a wide berth. So whilst The Pixies tour, ostensibly to encourage you to buy the same old product repackaged as a giant penis and retitled 'Minotaur', Morrissey encourages you, the consumer, to ignore his old 7" charms and relegate this one to the bargain bin. Pop stars eh? Who to believe?

50% of Whipping Boy = Fearghal McKee & the Shitty Shit Shits

Having clearly spent the years since the dissolution of Whipping Boy coming up with a band name that could encapsulate their musical vision, Fearghal McKhee (known as Fergal E McKhee back in the day but he's clearly not doing E's anymore) and Colm Hassett have recorded some new material under the moniker The Shitty Shit Shits.
With titles such as 'I Don’t Come From MySpace At All' and 'Who Can You Thank If You Can’t Thank God', clearly there's the same imbalance when it comes to anything McKhee's involved in. Judge for yourselves here (via drop-d).
Note: The Shitty Shit Shits should not be confused with The Shitty Shitty Shit Shit Shits (I'm not making this up). The latter bravely describe their music as the "sort of thing you'd find in the house of a serial killer, written underneath the floorboards in human excrement". They even have a myspace page.

Video: 'Periodically Double Or Triple' - Yo La Tengo

Get your chops around this.

There's always been a dance element to our music

Editors, it seems, are the latest in a long, long, looooonnnnng line of bands set to 'explore' a new direction on their third album entitled 'In This Light and On This Evening' due for release this September. It's a familiar tale from bands who ultimately run out of ideas. And Editors are a classic case in point. On album number 1 they sounded like Joy Division - no bad thing and not a bad album. By album number 2 it seemed as if Keane were their benchmark - not a good thing and not a good record.
So, for album number 3 they've decided to jettison the guitars altogether and aim for a 'synthetic' feel, with Flood the man at the controls of this venture into the world of faux-electronica. Essentially, it's Doves in reverse and it rarely works. Witness Mercury Rev's last album 'Snowflake Midnight' - a half-baked and underdone combination of bleeps and beats with Jonathon Donahue droning on about nymphs on the rocks and little or no input from Grasshopper, the man directly responsible for creating their classic debut 'Yerself Is Steam'. So instead of getting 'Chasing A Bee' or 'Syringe Mouth', we got 'Runaway fucking Raindrop' instead (profanity not in the original).
Taking the synth approach seems to be the classic method for bands who feel as if they've exhausted their traditional rock roots and it's rarely, if ever, done well. I don't expect Editors to buck this particular trend.
Editors play the Olympia in October but it's a sell-out.

'The Fountain' - Echo & The Bunnymen

Back in 1997 news of Echo and the Bunnymen's reform left yours truly in an advanced state of excitement, especially after Ian McCulloch's patchy solo work and his brief and unsuccessful stint fronting Electrafixion. That the band released 'Nothing Lasts Forever' as the lead single from 1997's 'Evergreen' heightened expectations, yet it was too much to hope that the band could go back and relive the halcyon days of 'Ocean Rain' and a stream of classic singles such as 'The Cutter', 'The Back of Love' and 'A Promise'. 'Evergreen' turned out to be a flawed record with one or two standout tracks and unfortunately everything they've released since has confirmed that perhaps you should never go back.
Well, they have and October sees the release of their 10th studio album 'The Fountain' (an archetypal Bunnymen title). There are samples from 4 tracks over on the official site
The album will be preceded by a single 'Think I Need It Too' on Sept 28th. The band also play Electric Picnic this September. This is what they used to do......

'Love Has Left The Room' - A Camp

Finest track from 2009's disappointingly patchy 'Colonia'.