I’ve been listening to the new record by The Battles, Tomorrow’s Eager Hands, which is out very soon on Soft Abuse. And no, I’m not talking about the band “BATTLES”, I’m talking about The Battles. The Battles on Soft Abuse do not feature former members of Don Caballero nor the son of an avant jazz legend. The Battles on Soft Abuse are headed up by Stephen Wood, the man who played guitar on Destroyer’s Streethawk, City of Daughters, and Thief. Yeah, I know. Here’s a track:

::: Suzanne :::

The disc is officially out Feb. 14th, but I bet if you ordered it from Soft Abuse right now, they’d probably go ahead and send your copy out, regardless.

Suicide Squeeze will be putting out the debut record by The Metal Hearts (called Socialize) on February 21st. The press release compares them to “Long Drive-era Modest Mouse, Arab Strap, and Cat Power,” and I’ll add that I think it’s a little bit Pinback-y. Anyway, here’s the title track; it’s quite good:

::: Socialize :::

There’s some charmingly lo-fi one-minute pop songs for you via the Capstan Shafts’ Halaluah Moancoxers digital EP from the Beat The Indie Drum Netlabel. You gotta minute? Like, literally, a minute? Check this track out:

::: Petals On An Austin Rose :::