My buddy Jerry is neither black nor a swan, but he is, nonetheless, The Black Swans. On his prior album, Who Will Walk In The Darkness With You?, everything was quiet, distant, and whispery. On his new disc, the Sex Brain EP, the quiet’s gone, the distant’s gone, and the whispery, well not so much. But that’s Jerry’s style. Anyway, what I’m saying is that the guitars have been plugged in, and the poppiness has been turned up, and we can all be thankful for that, because the results are damn fine.

::: The Black Swans - I.D.W.2.F :::

Columbusites: The Sex Brain release show is tomorrow, 3/10, at Andyman’s.

Palo Santo, the upcoming record from Shearwater, is the first totally Sheff-less Shearwater album, and will be out on Misra in May. Here’s the first mp3; it’s a pretty good one:

::: Shearwater - Seventy Four, Seventy Five :::

Breaking News: Every band you’ve ever heard of just got their van/gear stolen.

Subpop signed The Oxford Collapse.

Jagjaguwar signed Vancouver beardoes Ladyhawk.

Note that, just prior to their tour with Sunset Rubdown, Frog Eyes will have a few new items in the stores. Absolutely Kosher is re-releasing both The Golden River and The Bloody Hand with bonus tracks, and Acuarela is releasing the new The Future Is Inter-Disciplinary Or Not At All EP.