Not sure that many people know, but I had another music blog that predates Catbirdseat.Org by a full 3 months: the Mommyheads fansite. The Mommyheads have been cult indie pop darlings since their inception at the tail end of the 80’s (catch yourself up to speed @ Wikipedia). Anyway, they started in NYC as a wonderful, quirky, art pop band, and over the course of the next 10 years, they continually matured and refined their sound until they ultimately became a tight, well-oiled pop machine. In 1997, they released a major label debut, The Mommyheads, but broke up soon after, and all’s been quiet since.

But there is now a new album out! On September 2nd, Bladen County Records released a new Mommyheads record called You’re Not A Dream. It features a mix of unreleased, updated, and brand new material, including this, the first single:

The newly reunited Mommyheads are playing TONIGHT at Arlene’s Grocery.

A new Catbird Records release is out today: the second full-length from Fulton Lights. It’s called The Way We Ride. On this one, Andrew Spencer and Co. sweep back the dense orchestral layering in favor of a stripped-down, lean and mean approach; and the results are great. This record melds the faded strums of music past with an austere technological bent.

The disc is 10 tracks, and comes in a gatefold Catbird Mini-7 sleeve designed by the inimitable Jez Burrows. $7. It’s also a free/pay-what-you-want download, if you prefer.

At the end of the week, Fulton Lights is kicking off a (solo) European tour. Current dates:

9/13 Stavanger (Norway) @ Kafe Akvariet
9/27 Hamburg (Germany)@ Hasenschaukel (Reeperbahn Festival)
10/1 Hamburg (Germany)@ Hasenschaukel
10/4 Frankfurt (Germany)@ Hinah House (email for details)
10/10 Berlin (Germany)@ Electronic Church
11/1 2008 Paris (France)@Abracadabar

Stay tuned to the Fulton Lights Myspace for updates, or give FL a shout if you’d like to have him play show in your little corner of the Continent.

Please enjoy the September Mix/Podcast, which I just posted about 3 seconds ago.

Oh, and lest I forget to post this yet again: our dear friends at Tiny Showcase are bringing the showcase down to Brooklyn THIS WEEK, for an mind-bogglingly unbelievable project: WE = TROUBLE, a collaboration show featuring Ferris Plock, Deth P. Sun, Jay Howell, Jen Corace, and about 9 zillion other amazing artists.

There’s a “soft” opening on Thursday, and a full hard-on opening on Saturday, featuring “bands, open studios, galleries and BBQs and everything.” ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY, PEOPLE.

Fresh from recording their contribution (new song “Catalysts”) to the mind-boggling Lifted Brow “Fake Bookshelf” project, Get Him Eat Him are headlining a show at the soon-to-be-dead NYC Knitting Factory on 8/28 (that’s tomorrow). Know what’s cool about this show? The Wrens‘ Charles Bissell is also playing. Know what else is cool? The elusive Dean Wells, aka The Capstan Shafts is playing too, ZOMG. Know what else is cool? Get Him Eat Him is gonna be Dean’s backing band!

Crikey, yet another new Final Fantasy MP3, this time courtesy of Zoilus. It’s another one from the Lukashevsky-homage disc, (Final Fantasy) Plays To Please; a real old-timey movie kinda tune:

The Donkeys have generously shared yet another MP3 from their forthcoming record Living On The Other Side, out 9/9 on Dead Oceans.

Their tour proper kicks off on 9/1 in Oklahoma, and goes for most of the month. They’ll be here in NY at Cake Shop on 9/12 (9/11 at Union Pool if you’re Brooklynish).

Stereogum just pooed 2 new tracks from Owen Pallett aka Final Fantasy. “Ultimatum” is from the upcoming Plays To Please EP (an homage to the, ahem, very “unique” Torontopian Alex Lukashevsky). “The Butcher” comes from another, different, upcoming EP, called Spectrum, 14th Century, which is apparently a collaboration with Beirut.

You’re probably aware by now of my great enjoyment of that Lord Dog Bird record. I wanted to post another track up, but the request I sent to Jagjaguwar went unanswered, so here instead is a stream of “March To The Mountain over at Tumblr.

(I was listening to the record really loud the other day and thought to myself, “this sounds like Peter Gabriel meets Wolf Parade.” Ten minutes later, Mrs. Catbird came home, and as she put down her bags, observed out loud, “hey, this sounds like Peter Gabriel meets Wolf Parade.”)

Everyone seems to be enjoying that new TV On The Radio streaming track.

Ex-Beulahmaniac Miles Kurosky’s Myspace has seen some activity lately: he’s just posted 2 different remixes that Beulah did back in ‘04 for Yoko Ono. Now, don’t misread that: it’s NOT remixes from Beulah’s album Yoko, it’s remixes of an actual YOKO ONO song, “Let Me Count The Ways.”

(Coincidentally, I was just recently about to bid on a vinyl copy of When Your Heartstrings Break, but got scared off by the description, “some slight scratches and small popping occur.” Plus I’m feeling pissy about eBay because of that recent copy of Thief that I wanted went for 185 freaking dollars. On top of that, I’m aggravated that people are dumb enough to pay $35 for a Vivian Girls 7-inch that they can buy from the label for $4.)

Our friends at Merge tipped us off to their upcoming release from LA’s Broken West, Now Or Heaven, out Sept. 9. I must confess, their first Merge release, last year’s I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On, slipped by me. So when I checked out these new tracks, I was very surprised: this band is not what I thought they were– with a name like “The Broken West” I was always under the impression that they were a dusty, sun-baked, country-leaning outfit. Turns out I was wrong. These guys actually have quite a handle on the sunny, upbeat, winsome pop angle, and that was a pleasant surprise.

I’m sending heartfelt thanks out to Jez today, for turning me on this morning to Edinburgh’s Meursault, who are sort of like a slightly happier version of Xiu Xiu, and to whom I’ve been listening all day.