Chicago’s Distractions are the latest signing to the so best Infinite Best label. Their new album, just released on cassette by Plus Tapes, is getting the re-mix/re-master treatment for vinyl, which you’ll be able to get your paws on later this year. The band is here in NYC for a few days if you want to check them out– tonight at Union Pool w/Golden Bones, and tomorrow at Piano’s with Sunglasses.
And if, by some odd chance you haven’t clicked on the MP3, let me entice you with the description of the band from the press release: “…combining Arthur Russell detail and Bill Callahan sentiment on a Scott Walker sized stage of weird.” Try to wrap your head around that one…
Catbird Records alumnus Mathew Sawyer (& the Ghosts) just recently signed to Fire Records (home to too many legendary artists to mention– okay, I’ll name a few: The Pastels, Television Personalities, Jad Fair, Bardo Pond, Neutral Milk Hotel….), and his new record, How Snakes Eat is out now. I’m in 100% agreement with Everett True, when he said of Mathew’s previous album, Blue Bird’s Blood,
Yeah. I love this record.
I fully expect the same thing will happen (to both Everett and myself) with How Snakes Eat.
Portland’s mysterious Unknown Mortal Orchestra — the artist whose lone song I recently posted spawned more excitement / activity / buzz than I’m at liberty to speak of — has just turned loose a brand new one: Thought Ballune. Let’s see how long it takes my iTunes Play Count on this one to catch up to “Ffunny Ffrends” (at 99999).
SSLYBY‘s new LP Let It Sway was just announced; this is the title track. Recorded by Chris Walla and Beau Sorenson at Smart Studios, the album is due out on 8/17, and ready for pre-order now. It’s available on CD, LP, and special colored LP, and all pre-orders get a free digital EP (3 tracks), button, sticker & poster.
Because after 8 years of doing this, the sheer volume of daily submissions make it virtually impossible to listen to everything that gets sent my way. And there’s no “system” for choosing what I do click on– it’s pretty much random.
So I feel super lucky that, for whatever reason, I clicked on the succinct one-line email from Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Yes, they’re one of those bands with zero online presence (they’re from either Portland or NZ I think), and just one song. But damn, what a song it is.
Keep your eyes on Unknown-Mortal-Orchesta.Bandcamp.Com and cross your fingers that we get more songs. Because FFunny FFrends is fantastic, but I’m dying for more.
MP3:WOOM – “Quetzalcoatl’s Ship”
Oakland’s WOOM are deconstructing-and-rebuilding pop music much like recent sonic mavericks like Micachu and Tune-Yards– and I like it. Their debut full-length, Muu’s Way, (from whence the track above comes) is out 6/28 from Ba Da Bing– and make note if you’re from “The Continent:” the band is also joining Xiu Xiu on tour in Europe next month (just after their 2 NYC shows– 5/18 @ Cake Shop and 5/19 Death by Audio).
Like an idiot, I made a note on my calendar about this past Sunday’s Unbunny show in Brooklyn, but totally forgot to set an alarm to remind me when the time came. Feh. Anyway, it’s worth mentioning, though, that you don’t have to miss Unbunny in your town — if you live in the Northeast. There are still a good number of shows stateside before the European tour starts in May.
This is also a good time to point out that the all new Unbunny full-length, Moon Food, will be available next month; pre-order it now at Parasol.
And now that I mention that, did you know that there was an Unbunny Record Store Day exclusive 7-inch? There was. Is, I mean: you can pick up one of the remaining copies of the limited-to-300 item here, also via Parasol.
And just to give this post a little musical accompaniment, here’s “Water and the Spanish Tongue” from Black Strawberries:
Apollo Ghosts
Apollo Ghosts
Fulton Lights
G. Washington Brown
Unbunny - Black Strawberries 180g LP
