I didn’t go to SXSW this year, but I tried to live vicariously through Derek, whom I urged to go to the Envelopes show. His verdict? “They were freakin’ fantastic.” The Envelopes’ disc, Demon is finally getting a stateside release on April 4th. “Free Jazz” remains my favorite song of ‘06 thus far (but that’s not on Demon; I advise you to order the import single for that).

::: The Envelopes- Sister In Love :::
::: The Envelopes- Isabel and Leonard :::
::: The Envelopes- It Is The Law (Acoustic Version) :::
::: The Envelopes- Audrey In The Country :::

There was a great Destroyer bit on NPR this weekend, featuring commentary from both Carl and Carl. The best part is, hands down, when Dan is asked about the name ‘Destroyer’, and answers, “…It’s got three syllables, which is good, but it’s still one word, which is also cool.”

Pretty decent release week this week. Finally, that Band Of Horses record is out, there’s the new Essex Green record (I’m still loving that Mp3), and the Mclusky singles collection is pretty awesome. On top of that, there’s the new Quasi, the new Liars, a brand new Sparks album, and probably more crap that I’m forgetting about. My point is, get out to your record store this week.

Popsheep has a few tracks from Amber and Josh of Black Mountain.

Hand-Stitched Heart has put together a very nice looking new compilation, and it’s free with any purchase from their shop (or also, I think if you just pay the postage, they’ll send you a copy, as well).

Belltower has a new 5-track disc out on Ashtmatic Kitty that includes a lovely cover of the Pet Shop Boys’ “Two Divided By Zero:”

::: Belltower - Two Divided By Zero :::