Joseph Arthur and his label Lonely Astronaut Records have unveiled ‘Vagabond Skies’, the third EP in the four-EP prelude to his September 16 full-length, ‘Temporary People’.

“It’s almost like the ’50s again when it was all about singles,” says Joseph. “I’ve always liked the EP because it has a looseness to it. I think songs work best off of each other.”

Download “Pretty Good Company” MP3

‘Vagabond Skies’ is the most ethereal of the EP series thus far. Opening with the transcendental pop of “Slow Me Down” and ending with the gorgeously delicate “It’s Too Late,” the album plays like an otherworldly suite with one song bleeding to the next. Among the songscapes is a haunting studio version of “She Paints Me Gold,” one of Joseph’s most requested and never-before-released songs.

An acclaimed painter and Grammy-nominated visual artist, Joseph often paints while writing and recording. He has written, performed and produced nearly all of the music released this year, most of which was recorded at his Brooklyn art gallery, the Museum of Modern Arthur.

Vagabond Skies Tracklisting:

1 Slow Me Down
2 Even When Yer Blue
3 Pretty Good Company
4 She Paints Me Gold
5 Second Sight
6 It’s Too Late

::Joseph Arthur 2008 tour dates::

Dates could be added or changed! Go to Joseph Arthur’s Official Website for the latest tour dates and information.

June 15 Manchester, UK - Night & Day
June 16 Glasgow, UK - King Tuts
June 17 Birmingham, UK - Glee Club
June 18 London, UK - Union Chapel
July 4 Montreal, QC - Club Soda
July 9 Boston, MA - Paradise
July 10 Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Live
July 11 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom (JA & the Lonely Astronauts)
July 12 Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell’s (solo)
July 15 Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
July 18 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
July 21 Portland, OR - Doug Fir
July 22 Seattle, WA - Triple Door
July 24 Vancouver, BC - The Media Club
July 26 Guelph, ON - Hillside Festival

Check out Joseph’s on-going living album, Bag is Hot, updated constantly with new songs and artwork.

Myspace
Joseph Arthur Official Website

Middle Class Rut (Zack Lopez - guitar/vox and Sean Stockham - drums/vox) are a two-piece hailing from Sacramento, CA whose visceral, garage-inflected wall of sound immediately brings to mind Jane’s Addiction, Death From Above 1979, My Bloody Valentine and Rage Against The Machine.

The band’s brand new self-titled EP is available now through digital retailers everywhere. Listen to Middle Class Rut’s excellent “All Walks Of Life” off the EP at the link below.

Download “All Walks Of Life” MP3. Be sure to crank this rockin’ track up!

EP Track Listing

1. All Walks Of Life (Mp3 download link)
2. Let It Go
3. Busy Bein’ Born
4. New Low
5. Dead Set
6. 25 Years
7. So Long
8. I Don’t Really Know

The second half of 2008 will see Middle Class Rut touring steadily, including a national tour in July 2008 with Burning Brides (all confirmed dates below).

Middle Class Rut July 2008 tour dates:

June 19 - Sidelines - Modesto, CA (w/ Idiot Pilot & Nurses)
June 27 - The Boardwalk - Orangevale, CA (CD Release Show)
July 7 - Rudyard’s - Houston, TX *
July 8 - Red 7 - Austin, TX *
July 9 - Club Dada - Dallas, TX *
July 11 - The Launch Pad - Albuquerque, NM *
July 12 - Hard Rock Hotel & Casino (Wasted Club) - Las Vegas, NV *
July 24 - Safari Sam’s - Los Angeles, CA *

* w/ Burning Brides

Middle Class Rut on amazon.com

For more music and information about Middle Class Rut, go to:

Middle Class Rut Myspace
mcrut.com
Imeem

Following on from November’s critically-acclaimed ‘Could They Be Jealous’ (”ample evidence, in short, that there’ll be bigger and bolder strokes to come in the new year from this twenty-year-old troubadour” - Drowned In Sound), Younghusband, AKA Euan Hinshelwood, returns June 2008 with his first fully-fledged EP, ‘The Judas Cow’, released on Culture Deluxe Records.

Having learnt his trade in the Liam Watson-produced glam garage noise merchants The New Shapes, as well as playing in British anti-folk superwoman Emmy The Great’s backing band (recording both XFM and Radio 1 sessions in the process), Euan has been writing music on his reel to reel eight track for more than a little while.

As sun kissed and slackeresque as a beach full of Pavement fans, this EP is a departure from the folkier influences of ‘…Jealous’, with Hinshelwood embracing the beautiful lo-fi fuzz-pop sound of Dinosaur Jr. on the opening track “Mass Kiss”, followed by some more magical lo-fi meanderings on the flipside, with the ‘Blur’ era Blur charm of “Mirror Man”.

Those two belters aside, the real jewel-in-the-crown of this EP is in the opening track of the second half of the EP, “French Grammar”. A stunning, psychedelic trip through the apathy of being indoors on a hot summer’s day, Younghusband has once again managed to make the ordinary sound extraordinary, with backwards guitars loping over a waltzy beat that bears lofty comparision with The Beatles, Love and Robert Wyatt. Already a favourite of BBC 6 Music’s Gideon Coe, Steve Lamacq and XFM’s John Kennedy, this track is shaping up to be the sleeper hit of alternative radio stations this summer.

Closing with the upbeat alt-rock chainsaw pop of “Woody Allen”, an eyes-wide-open paean to the wonder of love in a city that never sleeps, ‘The Judas Cow’ EP is the first steps on what looks to be a long and successful road for the Watford troubadour. It’s not arrogant, it’s not big but it is very clever.

‘The Judas Cow’ is released digitally in all major outlets (iTunes, Napster, 7Digital, Mbop Megastore) on June 16th, 2008 with the deluxe gatefold 7″ version following 2 weeks later on Monday June 30th, both through Culture Deluxe Records.

Younghusband UK Tour Dates:

Dates could be added or changed!

9 June 2008 The Horns, Watford
10 June 2008 Oh, Inverted World @ The Old Queens Head, London
11 June 2008 Cargo, London w/ Diane Cluck and Emmy The Great
12 June 2008 Deaf Intstitute, Manchester w/ Diane Cluck & Emmy The Great
13 June 2008 Nice n Sleazy’s, Glasgow w/ Diane Cluck and Emmy The Great
5 July 2008 The Troubador, London, with These United States and Vandaveer

For more info, head to:

Younghusbandmusic Myspace

Though he’s just over 30, Jon Foreman’s lyrics sound like words of wisdom from a man who has learned several lifetimes’ worth of lessons. Although he has sold millions of albums and performed for countless sold out crowds with his band Switchfoot, Jon is a man still journeying towards self-discovery, unafraid of questioning anything in his path.

Through a series of seasonally themed solo EP’s, Jon shows a whole new side to his artistry that falls outside the Switchfoot’s aesthetic. “Because of the autobiographical nature of these songs, they became a self portrait that was far too personal for a band to release,” Jon explains.

The latest installment, ‘Summer’, opens with “A Mirror is Harder to Hold,” a track that wholly reflects this sentiment. This final installment might be his most personal yet musically varied of the 4 EP’s. Jon wistfully sings about the struggles of examining one’s self over sunny acoustic guitar strumming and the warm mariachi-esque horns that color several tracks on the album. “Again” is a slow-burning, contemplative ballad and one of Jon’s most direct affirmations of his existential beliefs. ‘Summer’ also includes “Resurrect Me,” the most up-tempo tune of the series. The track has an east-meets-west flavor with its driving rock beat and sitar-like guitar lines.

Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer each serve as a chapter of Jon’s stripped down, intimate, and direct vision. It is one that begins with a foray into death and decay, but eventually transform into reflections on growth and rebirth. All four discs were produced by Jon Foreman with Grammy-nominated Charlie Peacock serving as the executive producer.

In other exciting news “The Cure For Pain”, from ‘Fall’, was used in the season finale of Grey’s Anatomy. Additionally, “This Is Home” was written and recorded by Switchfoot for the highly anticipated Walt Disney Studios and Walden Media theatrical release, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. The song will be heard in the body of the film, over the end title credits, and appears on the Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack CD.

Jon Foreman’s ‘Summer’ EP to be released digitally on June 10th, 2008; Spring + Summer 2-CD Set to be Released June 24th on Credential/EMI.

Credential Recordings
Jon Foreman Official Website

Does this little guy look familiar? He was the star of Annuals‘ recent video for “Sore” off their EP ‘Wet Zoo’. Teqtonik created an amazing video centered around this character and his family and now he’s a living, breathing digital figurine for you if you want to check out the widget.

Just click him to play the video, or post him on your site. We don’t know what his name is, but he’s the perfect way to share Annuals’ new video. Click below to check him out and see what he can do:

In non-video news, Annuals will also be touring in the U.S. in June.

Annuals June 2008 tour dates:

June 4 - Phoenix, AZ at Modified
June 5 - San Diego, CA at Beauty Bar
June 6 - Los Angeles, CA at the Natural History Museum
June 7 - San Francisco, CA at Cafe DuNord
June 10 - Seattle, WA at Neumo’s
June 13 - Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater
June 14 - Chicago, IL at Empty Bottle
June 16 - Toronto, ONT at Drake Hotel
June 18 - Brooklyn, NY at Union Pool*
June 19 - Arlington, VA at Iota
June 20 - Philadelphia, PA - Millcreek Tavern
June 21 - Carrboro, NC at Arts Center

*You can purchase tickets for this show at Mercury Lounge

Annuals are also playing the Siren Music Festival in NY on July 19, 2008!

Purchase Tickets

Annuals Myspace

A one-man assembly of bold and vibrant caricatures in sound; The Voluntary Butler Scheme makes its debut with the EP ‘Trading Things In’ released on 16th June, 2008 on The Lowest Layer Of The Trifle Recordings.

22 year old Rob Jones aka The Voluntary Butler Scheme takes a wry look at life’s shortcomings and styles a plasticine pop of ruggedly organic and excitingly abstract songs, for the British suburbia they call home.

Opening track “Trading Things In” is lyrically vivid English-summer pop. With ambitiously realised harmonies, and pleasingly shabby arrangement, it recognises the truly defining symptoms of love and devotion; Broccoli, running shoes and bad MP3 playlists.

“The Eiffel Tower And The BT Tower”, welcomes a swinging, ska inflected Motown group into his Midland home, “The BT Tower is the first thing that catches your eye when you go into Birmingham. Some sort of warped Midlands pride made me want to put it in the title”. And the apparent pop soul whimsy of “Hot Air Balloon Heart”, shares the eccentric gifts of Nilsson and more immediately Gruff Rhys, as it spins classic songwriting into new, surreal and otherworldly shapes - “I’ve been dreaming of you so often, makes my hot air balloon heart soften…”

Hailing from Stourbridge, Rob’s inauguration as a solo artist was inspired - albeit indirectly - by fellow mid-lander Pato Banton. Under the misapprehension that a collaboration with the lyrical toaster might be on the cards, Rob wrote and recorded an album’s worth of songs. When the partnership inevitably came to naught, Rob set about filling in the gaps with his harmonica, The Voluntary Butler Scheme was born.

Calling forward his own proverb “a bass drum on the back is worth two on the floor”, Rob now tours with a collection of keyboards, guitars, kick drum and percussive accoutrements, recreating his progressive pop opuses as a one man band. He tours with Joe Lean And The Jing Jang Jong, and Duke Special from May 2008 onwards.

The Voluntary Butler Scheme May/June 2008 tour dates:

MAY 2008

10th BRISTOL, Thekla with JL&TJJJ
14th LEEDS, Cockpit
15th MANCHESTER, Academy 3 with JL&TJJJ
16th BRIGHTON, Po Na Na
17th SHEFFIELD, Leadmill with JL&TJJJ
18th BIRMINGHAM, Academy 2 with JL&TJJJ
19th NOTTINGHAM, Rescue Rooms with JL&TJJJ
20th BRIGHTON, Concorde 2 with JL&TJJJ
22nd LONDON, Scala with JL&TJJJ
25th PORTSMOUTH, Wedgewood with JL&TJJJ
27th NORWICH, Waterfront with JL&TJJJ
28th OXFORD, Academy with Duke Special
29th BRISTOL, Thekla with Duke Special
30th HEBDEN BRIDGE, Picture House with Duke Special
31st NORWICH, Arts Centre with Duke Special

JUNE 2008

2nd BIRMINGHAM, Glee Club with Duke Special
3rd BRIGHTON, Komodia with Duke Special
4th CARDIFF with Duke Special
5th ALDERSHOT, West End Centre with Duke Special
13th LONDON, Luminaire with Darren Hayman

The Voluntary Butler Scheme Myspace

Already garnering much critical acclaim from all over the world, Lykke Li’s debut EP ‘Little Bit’ hit North American retail shelves this week.

Read what people are saying about Lykke Li:

“On a ye-ye-influenced pop-noir track, our favorite new Swedish Sienna Miller look-alike (a South by Southwest breakout) delivers her English lyrics with adorable ESL flair. We Lykke.” - Rolling Stone

“‘Little Bit’ is so gloriously coquettish that if, by some fluke, it ends up not being massive, we’re going to come round and crap through all your letterboxes. Consider this a warning.” - NME

Lykke Li download: “Dance Dance Dance” MP3

Brand Spanking New Widget

Show your support for Lykke Li by embedding the brand new Lykke Li and El Perro Del Mar widget on your blog or website (it also works on social network profiles). It has music, videos, pictures, biographies, tour dates, and more.

An Evening with El Perro Del Mar & Lykke Li with special guest Anna Ternheim has kicked off.

Make sure you don’t sleep on the tour that everybody is talking about!

May 2008 Tour dates:

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, QUE
May 11 - Mod Club - Toronto, ON
May 12 - Schubas - Chicago, IL
May 14 - The Red Room - Vancouver, BC
May 15 - Triple Door - Seattle, WA
May 16 - Doug Fir - Portland, OR
May 18 - Bimbo’s - San Francisco, CA
May 19 - El Rey - Los Angeles, CA

Lykke Li - Little Bit [EP] on amazon.com

Little Bit on amazon.co.uk

For more information, please visit:

Lykke Li Official Website
Lykke Li Myspace

El Perro Del Mar Official Website
El Perro Del Mar Myspace

Lizzie Nunnery is a 25-year old Liverpool-based singer/songwriter to watch out for. A prolific writer and incredible talent, not only has she been writing and performing her own music for over ten years, she’s also an award winning playwright. Her most recent play, “Tiny Chaos” was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April, 2008.

Lizzie’s first EP ‘Monkeys and Devils’ was released in 2006 and showcased a soulful, folky sound which set a high precedent for her latest EP, ‘Hungry’.

‘Hungry’ more than lives up to its predecessor and provides ample cause for comparisons to artists such as Joni Mitchell or Nick Drake. Lizzie’s is the same brand of delicate, confessional folk with wonderfully intelligent and emotive lyrics and quietly confident, dextrous turns on the guitar. Yes, Lizzie is one of those ludicrously gifted people who can write and perform with equal (and exceptional) skill.

It is the voice which first hits you: tremulous with feeling but with a body and strength which gathers momentum effortlessly as the tracks unfurl. The EP’s title track, “Hungry”, is the perfect prism for each facet of Lizzie Nunnery’s captivating vocals to shine through; the vocals begin softly enough but work up powerfully to express both a sense of sadness and slight anger. “Hungry” is a beautiful lament on the disappointment of lost love and Lizzie’s voice is at its most shimmering and affective. Similarly, closing song “Concertina” presents Lizzie’s enchanting voice in a live setting and illustrates her vocal range wonderfully.

Lizzie’s lyrics are both conversational and subtly poetic, demonstrating a huge awareness of the power of words when used effectively:

“We were drunk and don’t remember anyway
That’s the account we gave of it the next day
I remember clearly not being near you
Things we didn’t do and didn’t say … you not telling me not to be free”

The sense of regret for what could have been and the time wasted on an unrequited love is palpable and creates a huge impact in the listener. Without condemning either party, Lizzie’s words force the listener to review their own romances and behaviour - surely a sign of an exceptionally talented lyricist.

Opening track “Pubs That Never Close” also taps into a common experience, evoking the feeling of dragging “high heels home” from town after a big night out. Her deft guitar picking and a moody, distorted violin create a melancholic and brooding atmosphere perfect for the lyrics’ reflective tone.

Lizzie is someone who knows how to use language intelligently; she doesn’t use it to show off but to create emotions in her listeners, and her lyrics have a poetic economy which is startlingly insightful. Take “Not My Heart”, in which a failing relationship is documented against an incongruous but actually pretty effective ukulele:

“I was never a fire in your blood/I was a bird in your hand”.

By fusing the poetic and the colloquial, Lizzie raises the well-worn musical topic of bad relationships above tired cliché. She may be following in a folk tradition but her skill as a wordsmith is very original, with a gentle wit alongside moving content. Her singing style also signposts her separateness from the jostling crowd of female singers out there: clear and focussed, technically impossible to criticise and with the same kind of purity as the brilliant Joan Baez. At the same time, her soft Liverpool dialect nudges into her delivery to create a great sense of warmth, feeling and larger sense of individuality than many of her female contemporaries.

All songs are arranged by Lizzie and multi-instrumentalist and producer Vidar Norheim, and the result is testament to their accomplishment as musicians as well as each track’s natural charm.

The EP is beautifully produced by Vidar, who, whilst crafting a polished and professional sounding collection of songs, allows the natural qualities of Lizzie Nunnery’s voice to shine through to promote a feeling of intimacy between singer and listener.

Highly recommended.

Lizzie Nunnery Myspace
Lizzie Nunnery

By: Lindsey Davis

Annuals are back in action. Vocalist and songwriter Adam Baker, lead guitarist Kenny Florence, bassist Mike Robinson, drummer/guitarist Zack Oden, drummer/percussionist Donzel Radford and keyboard player Anna Spence are getting ready to release their ‘Wet Zoo’ EP April 1, 2008 on Canvasback Music.

The five-song EP starts out with three brand new Annuals track and ends with two tracks by the band Sunfold, which features songs written by Annuals’ Kenny Florence, in addition to the talents of the other Annuals members.

No, this is not an April Fools joke, and yes, you can hear a song from the EP!

Listen to the beautiful track, “Sore”:

Download Annuals - “Sore” MP3 from ‘Wet Zoo’.

The Annuals tracks are gorgeous, earthy, complex songs, featuring Adam Baker’s distinct vocals and a veritable cornucopia of instruments and themes. Sunfold brings in Kenny Florence’s guitar-driven compositions, intricate and dynamic and complimented by Kenny’s vocals which bring to mind “Grace”-era Jeff Buckley.

Annuals will release a new full-length, also on Canvasback, in early fall.

Wet Zoo EP tracklisting:

Annuals:

1. Sore
2. Around Your Neck
3. Just Stay In

Sunfold:

4. Between The Worlds
5. Watering Pail

Annuals upcoming 2008 tour dates:

27 April 2008 Coachella, Indio, California
6 June 2008 Museum of Natural History, Los Angeles, California

Top photo credit: Autumn De Wilde

For more information, go to:

Canvasback Music

Annuals on Myspace

Sao Paolo’s Telepathique have already toured in Europe, and now the duo are poised to bring their groove-based blend of electro-pop, rock, house, and baile funk to the U.S. with their new Love & Lust EP, out now on The Control Group.

Imagine Brazil…imagine Sao Paulo…Telepathique is a band that only a city like Sao Paulo could create. A melting pot of sounds and electronic grooves from the 21st century.

This Brazilian electro-rock band is made up of a singer (Mylene) and DJ/producer/drummer (DJ Periferico), who has remixed songs featured on the “City Of God” remix soundtrack album, and has produced such Brazilian acts as Otto, Trio Mocoto, BiD, and Sidney Magal.

On stage they’re like a hip hop duo with one dj and singer, always connecting with the audience and transmitting tremendous energy. Mylene is not an MC but sings the Funk Carioca (the favela’s Funk) like one; Periferico plays the turntables like a punk drummer and the drums like a techno DJ. Mixing in their sound the flavour of jungle music as well as house music, Telepathique’s first successful European tour proved them to be an entertaining group with roots on the dance floor and the horizon on the future soundsystem, never forgetting the present, with their electro and breakbeat. All of these ingredients make a terrific recipe and that is Telepathique.

Telepathique have played several festivals in Europe including Festival Hype at Tejo in Lisbon with Massive Attack, Diplo, and Hot Chip; the Brasil No Ar Festival in Barcelona; and the club Guanabara in London. The debut full-length ‘Last Time On Earth’ will be released summer 2008 and Telepathique will tour North America for the first time to support the release.

“DJ and producer Erico Theobaldo…,Could be considered one of the more versatile professionals in the Brazilian music scene.(…)” - Bruna Monteiro de Barros - Folha de Sao Paulo.

Love & Lust track listing:

1. Love & Lust
2. Eu Gosto
3. Deja Vu
4. Deja Vu (Hot Tape Remix)
5. Eu Gosto (Quicktime video)

Telepathique on Myspace

Joseph Arthur, NY-based song-crafter and visual artist extraordinaire will be releasing a series of four solo EPs in 2008, all leading up to the glorious month of August, when the series culminates with the release of a full-length record featuring his band, The Lonely Astronauts.

The full-length, ‘All You Need is Nothing’, is set for release on August 5, 2008.

We’ll be serving up a bunch of goodies along the way, so stay tuned.

The deluge begins March 18, 2008 with the release of EP 1: ‘Could We Survive’ (Lonely Astronaut) a 6-track collection of orchestral songscapes and gorgeous atmospheric pop written, performed and produced by Arthur.

‘Could We Survive’ opens with “Rages of Babylon,” the kind of timeless anthem only Joseph could write, which you can check out below.

Download “Rages of Babylon” MP3 off ‘Could We Survive’

‘Could We Survive’ tracklisting:

1) Rages of Babylon
2) Morning Cup
3) Shadow of Lies
4) Could We Survive
5) Walk Away
6) King of the Pavement

Catch Joseph Arthur at SXSW 2008 and on tour throughout the spring and summer.

If you find yourself in NYC, come by and visit his ongoing exhibition at the Museum of Modern Arthur (MOMAR) or check it out virtually.

Friday March 21st, 2008
The Resurrection Show @ MOMAR
Record Release Party at the Museum of Modern Arthur

Join Joseph Arthur, Lonely Astronaut Records and Museum of Modern Arthur in celebration of ‘Could We Survive’ on March 21st with a rare solo performance and party.

As with all Museum of Modern Arthur events, you never know what’ll happen and who’ll show up.

Space is limited. Tickets available exclusively through Joseph’s official online store.

Joseph Arthur at SXSW Austin, Texas:

Wednesday March 12, 2008 @ 4PM - The Big Texas Jumpstart @ Creekside Lounge
Thursday March 13, 2008 @ 3:30PM - “High Wire Hootenanny” w/ Bebo @ Habana Annex
Thursday March 13, 2008 @ 5:45PM - Performance at Lou Reed’s Berlin Celebration @ The FADER
Thursday March 13, 2008 @ 9:30PM - Cosmic American Music Experience @ The Compound
Friday March 14, 2008 @ 1AM - Official Showcase @ Buffalo Billiards
Saturday March 15, 2008 @ 3PM - Performance @ Red Fez
Saturday March 15, 2008 @ 6PM - Performance @ Home Slice Pizza

For more information, go to:

Joseph Arthur Official Website
Joseph Arthur on Myspace
Museum of Modern Arthur

I’ve been really enjoying The Rushes new ‘Corners’ EP the last few days. It’s been the first disc that I grab when I want to listen to music.

The singer really can sing. I like his voice - and their 70’s/80’s rock style harmonies and melodies have been pulling me in with each listen. I’m also quite intrigued with the subtle vocal effects, and the sound is very well mixed.

Watch The Rushes - “Corners” video:

Stand out songs on the four-track EP include debut single, “Corners” and “What You Waiting For?”.

They have a slower track, “Stop It” currently up on their Myspace page - hopefully that will be included on their upcoming album, it’s a great song.

Here’s some additional press info. on The Rushes:

The Rushes are a four-piece band from South London via Leeds who make surging melodic rock, with hooks so catchy they’re pop.

Since 2007 they’ve been amassing material for their debut album which has been produced by Victor Van Vugt (Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, Beth Orton, Athlete).

First, The Rushes will release the four-track ‘Corners’ EP, in March 2008, featuring the songs “Corners”, “To The Surface”, “What You Waiting For” and “Get The Feeling”. The album will follow in the summer.

Many of the songs on their debut were inspired by the band’s personal lives, particularly a “complicated relationship” Gerard had. “It’s the document of a two-year period,” he says. “They’re specific, accurate and honest.”

The Rushes combine the musical attack of Kings Of Leon with the melodic grace of The Police. They’ll be bringing their brand of big music to your town in the coming months. Still haven’t found what you’re looking for? Try The Rushes.”

Gerard O’Connell - Lead vocals / guitar
Dan Armstrong - Keyboards/vocals
James O’Connell - Bass
Joe Allen - Drums

The Rushes - “Corners” video link

The Rushes on Myspace
The Rushes Official Website

By: Jenny May - BandWeblogs.com

For Mardi Gras this year (February 5th, 2008), OK Go released ‘You’re Not Alone’, a five-song digital EP featuring New Orleans brass band Bonerama (as in TROMbone, of which there are four in the band). All proceeds from this project, available exclusively at iTunes, will benefit members of New Orleans’ music community. People like R&B legend Al “Carnival Time” Johnson, who are continuing to struggle to rebuild their homes and lives almost three years after the levy failures that followed Hurricane Katrina, the costliest hurricane in US history and one of the deadliest.

The project was born when OK Go singer Damian Kulash teamed up with Bonerama to play a New Orleans benefit concert last year. Completely blown away by Bonerama’s fiercely indelicate sound, Kulash knew it would mesh perfectly with his band’s bombastic rock. They reconvened, and spent Katrina’s second anniversary at Piety Street Studios, deep in New Orlean’s Upper 9th Ward, recording what would become ‘You’re Not Alone’. Together, they re-interpret three tracks from OK Go’s most recent album, Oh No: “A Million Ways,” “It’s A Disaster” and “Oh Lately It’s So Quiet.” A pair of covers - David Bowie’s “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide” and Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released” - round out the collection.

OK Go and Bonerama continue to play together live, and their benefit concerts in New Orleans and Washington, D.C. have brought out people like Brendan Canty (Fugazi), Russ Feingold (the coolest guy in the senate), and President Bill Clinton’s Press Secretary Joe Lockhart, who personally raised $18K for New Orleans relief from friends he brought to one show.

Proceeds from ‘You’re Not Alone’ will go to Sweet Home New Orleans, an organization dedicated to helping repatriate and support the thousands of local musicians who were scattered by Katrina, as well as building a new Habitat For Humanity home for Al “Carnival Time” Johnson. Johnson wrote “Carnival Time,” the unofficial anthem of Mardi Gras, and his haunting vocals can be heard on ‘You’re Not Alone’s’ “I Shall Be Released.” His Lower 9th Ward home was washed off its foundation by the levee failures during Hurricane Katrina and later demolished by the city without his knowledge or consent. He has been living in Houston, TX for the past two years.

“New Orleans is one of the last places in America where music is truly a fundamental part of everyday life,” said Kulash. “People get together on the weekends and parade through the streets just playing songs; 12-year-old-kids learn funk on the tuba; everyone dances. Life elsewhere in the world simply isn’t as celebratory. If we allow the culture of New Orleans to die by leaving its musicians marooned around the country, America will have lost one of its great treasures.”

Bonerama with Damian Kulash are set to appear on David Letterman February 11.

Buy - ‘You’re Not Alone’ on iTunes

Bonerama Official Website
OK Go Official Website

the bird and the bee announces digital-only release of their new Valentine’s Day EP ‘One Too Many Hearts’.

The past year has been an eventful one for the bird and the bee, the Los Angeles band made up of singer Inara George and multi-instrumentalist/producer Greg Kurstin. The Los Angeles Times named them one of “10 Bands on the Horizon for 2007″ and their self-titled debut, a deliciously subversive indie-pop album, was released in January to rave reviews. The New Yorker called it “a sure delight” and Rolling Stone described their distinct sound as “audible sunshine.” Their music could be heard on shows like Grey’s Anatomy, and they toured throughout the United States, Europe and Japan, both as a headliner and opening band for such artists as Lily Allen, Sia and Rilo Kiley.

Always enchanting, the bird and the bee are now releasing the ‘One Too Many Hearts’ EP just in time for Valentine’s Day! The four-song EP includes three new songs by the duo: “Birthday”, “The Last Day Of Our Lives”, which Inara George describes as “kind of a flower child-funk/Serge Gainsbourg-thing”, and “Come As You Were”.

The EP’s closer, “Tonight You Belong to Me” is a duet sung by George and Gus Seyffert (a multi-instrumentalist who has toured with the band playing guitar and autoharp). The song was originally written in 1926 and was most famously made a Country hit by Dottie West in 1977 and later performed as a duet by Bernadette Peters and Steve Martin in the 1979 film The Jerk.

the bird and the bee - ‘One Too Many Hearts’ EP
(Released February 12, 2008; Metro Blue/Blue Note Records)

Have a listen to the first track on the ‘One Too Many Hearts’ EP, “Birthday” via the streams below:

QuickTime

Windows Media

Real Player

Also, if you haven’t already seen the video for “Polite Dance Song,” a single off of the bird and the bee’s EP ‘Please Clap Your Hands’, you can take a look at the link below. In this cute video, the duo’s quirky, sweet and old-fashioned charm is stylistically portrayed through outrageous costumes and extreme dance moves by director Eric Wareheim, creator and director for Adult Swim’s Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!.

Watch “Polite Dance Song” video:

For more information about the ‘Please Clap Your Hands’ EP, check out the e-card

the bird and the bee on Myspace
the bird and the bee Official Website

On February 26, 2008 the ever-effervescent psych-pop band Sunny Day Sets Fire will release the Stranger / Remix EP (I Am Sound Records) featuring remixes by CSS, XXXChange from Spank Rock, Diplo and The Cool Kids. The main track, “Stranger,” is a sneak peek from their forthcoming full-length, coming out later this spring, and you can check it out here:

Download “Stranger” MP3

With members hailing from Italy, Hong Kong, the UK and Canada, it’s no surprise that the now London-based group’s sound is as diverse and ecclectic as it is. Their music is a refreshing take on psychedelic and experimental pop - colorful, inventive and yet still catchy enough for everyone to enjoy.

With an eye firmly focused on the soaring beauty of classic pop moments, the music of Sunny Day Sets Fire reflects their shared loves - 60’s psych, the Beach Boys, classic Sun rock ‘n’ roll and far beyond.

Be on the lookout for the band in New York, Los Angeles, and at SXSW.

Stranger / Remix EP Tracklisting:

1. Stranger
2. Stranger (The Slips Remix)
3. Wilderness (CSS Remix)
4. Adrenaline (XXXChange Remix)
5. Stranger (The Cool Kids Remix)
6. Brainless (Baron von Luxxury Remix)
7. Brainless (Mad Decent Remix)
8. Stranger (Radio Edit)

Pre-order the Stranger / Remix EP here!

“The future of pop looks mighty bright if Sunny Day Sets Fire can ignite the masses” - Amplifier Magazine

“…Creates a sinister little playground ditty with twee, sun-kissed harmonies over a twittering acoustic guitar and a casual brass section that almost makes Belle and Sebastian seem irrelevant.” - Boston Globe

“To easily be labeled your fave new indie band” - 3HIVE

For more music and information, visit:

Sunny Day Sets Fire on Myspace
Sunny Day Sets Fire Remixes on Myspace
Sunny Day Sets Fire Official Website