2006

Scottish chamber pop act Belle and Sebastian and Canadian indie outfit the New Pornographers will join forces for a twenty-city North American tour beginning this February. While the New Pornographers spent last fall on the road behind their critically acclaimed album Twin Cinema, Belle and Sebastian will debut songs off their Seventies-pop-inspired album, The Life Pursuit, out February 7th.

Though both bands are known for their expansive pop sounds, another common factor is sheer size: Each group is comprised of at least seven members, and often expands to upwards of nine players.

On this tour, however, two of the New Pornographers’ additional musicians, Neko Case and Dan Bejar, will not perform. But count on Kathryn Calder, Pornographers frontman A.C. Newman’s niece, to take over vocal and keyboard duties. “We’re going to be kind of like the Fiery Furnaces: the relatives band,” Newman says with a laugh.

And expect some changes to Belle and Sebastian’s live show, as well. “We were trying to do a kind of New Order thing,” guitarist Stevie Jackson says of some of The Life Pursuit’s shimmery, celebratory sound. “Everybody came in with a keyboard instead of their usual instrument.”

This tour, Belle and Sebastian’s largest in North America, brings the two bands to large clubs and theaters. The New Pornographers will appear on all dates, with the exception of the stop in their hometown of Vancouver.

Belle and Sebastian/New Pornographers North American tour dates:

2/25: Toronto, the Docks
2/26: Montreal, Metropolis
2/27: Boston, Avalon
2/28: Boston, Avalon
3/2: New York, Nokia Theatre
3/3: New York, Nokia Theatre
3/4: Philadelphia, Electric Factory
3/5: Washington, DC, 9:30 Club
3/6: Washington, DC, 9:30 Club
3/8: Nashville, Ryman Auditorium
3/9: Louisville, KY, Brown Theatre
3/10: Chicago, Riviera Theater
3/11: Milwaukee, WI, Riverside Theatre
3/12: Minneapolis, Orpheum Theatre
3/14: Dallas, Granada Theatre
3/18: Los Angeles, Wiltern Theater
3/19: Los Angeles, Wiltern Theater
3/21: San Francisco, Concourse at the SF Design Center
3/23: Portland, OR, Roseland Ballroom
3/24: Vancouver, Commodore Ballroom(Belle and Sebastian only)
3/25: Seattle, Paramount Theater

Source rollingstone.com.

Rock trio Loose Fur, which features Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and Glenn Kotche in tandem with multi-instrumentalist Jim O’Rourke, will release its sophomore album on March 21. The 10-track “Born Again in the U.S.A.” is the follow-up to Loose Fur’s self-titled 2002 effort.

Asked to compare the new album’s sound to the eclectic folk/rock mix heard on the debut, Tweedy previously told Billboard.com, “It’s maybe a little bit heavier. There’s definitely a lot of harmonized guitar parts. I think it’s a similar mix of folk-ish elements, but the rock elements are a little less stridently abrasive, and maybe a little bit more prog-rock or something.”

The new set will be the first concentrated batch of original O’Rourke material since his acclaimed 2002 solo album, “Insignificance.” “He has been really busy with other people’s music. I love getting to work with Jim and he has some really, really great songs on this,” Tweedy said.

Although Loose Fur played a handful of shows in support of the debut album, no live dates are in the works in conjunction with “Born Again in the U.S.A.,” according to a Drag City spokesperson.

In related news, Kotche will on March 7 release his next solo album, “Mobile,” via Nonesuch. He will also join Tweedy on another round of solo acoustic dates, beginning Jan. 31 in Vancouver. On his fall solo tour, Tweedy unveiled the new Loose Fur tune “The Ruling Class,” which features the lyrics “Well he’s back, jack, smokin’ crack, find him if you wanna get found.”

Here is the track list for “Born Again in the U.S.A.”:

“Hey Chicken”
“The Ruling Class”
“Answers to Your Questions”
“Apostolic”
“Stupid As the Sun”
“Pretty Sparks”
“An Ecumenical Matter”
“Thou Shalt Wilt”
“Wreckroom”
“Wanted”

Source billboard.com.

Tortoise is eyeing an April release for a three-disc set of 33 rare tracks via Thrill Jockey. According to a label spokesperson, the project was originally titled “Rhythms, Resolutions and Clusters” (after the group’s 1995 remix album) but will most likely wind up with another name.

In addition to a DVD whose contents have yet to be solidified, the collection will feature two audio discs full of hard-to-find remixes by the likes of Autechre, Yo La Tengo and Mike Watt as well as the contents of the original “Rhythms, Resolutions and Clusters.”

Watt’s recasting of “Cornpone Brunch” was intended to appear on that album, but the master DAT tape arrived damaged in the mail just before mastering. Unable to obtain a usable copy before time ran out, Tortoise sat on the broken tape for a decade until longtime collaborator Bundy K. Brown was recently able to resurrect it for use on the upcoming boxed set.

In addition, the audio discs will include tracks from such compilations as the Joy Division tribute “A Means to an End,” “Offbeat: A Red Hot Sound Trip,” “Chicago 2018: It’s Gonna Change” and “Lounge Ax Defense & Relocation CD,” plus limited-edition tour singles and EP cuts such as “Goriri” and “Gamera,” two of the group’s best non-album songs.

Source billboard.com.

New York rock trio the Yeah Yeah Yeahs will return on March 28 with its second Interscope album, “Show Your Bones,” according to a label spokesperson. First single “Gold Lion” will be commercially released a week earlier in the United Kingdom. The set was produced by Squeak E Clean and mixed by rock veteran Alan Moulder.

The group is planning to tour extensively in support of “Show Your Bones,” but for now the only event on its schedule is May 14 as part of the U.K.’s All Tomorrow’s Parties festival. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs will perform alongside their own handpicked roster of acts, including TV On The Radio, Oneida, Liars, Blood Brothers and Ex

Source: billboard

Kaiser Chiefs, James Blunt and Coldplay are amongst the main nominations for next month’s Brit Awards.

This year’s awards take place at London Earl’s Court on February 15, and will see live appearances from Coldplay, Kaiser Chiefs, James Blunt, Kanye West, Kelly Clarkson and KT Tunstall.

Hosted by Chris Evans, the awards have recognised Kaiser Chiefs who are nominated in five categories – the most of any band and only equalled this year by James Blunt. Kaiser Chiefs are nominated in the British Group, MasterCard Album, Breakthrough Act, Live Act and Rock Act categories.

Last year Franz Ferdinand were nominated for five awards, but this year have been nominated in three – Best Band, Best Live Act and Best Rock Act.

Source: nme

The Black Eyed Peas are topping the bill on this year’s Honda Civic Tour, with the kickoff date set for March 23 in Fresno, Calif.
No further dates have been confirmed, but the tour – now six years running – typically spans most of North America with about 35 cities on the itinerary.
A special 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid – customized to the Peas’ own specifications – will travel with the tour and be showcased at each venue, and one lucky fan will win the car.
BEP’s Will.i.am said the group is excited to team with the car manufacturer.
“It shows you that if you really try hard and don’t give up, the dreams that you have can even surpass the little dream that you once had,” he said.
“Here we are, we went from wanting a Civic to doing something with Honda Civic, launching a new hybrid. I mean, that’s dope.”
Past Honda Civic Tour headliners have included Maroon 5, Dashboard Confessional, Good Charlotte, New Found Glory, and Incubus.

Source pollstar.com.

Sonic Youth has begun recording its next Geffen studio album at Sear Sound Studio in New York, where the group put such prior albums as “Sister” and “Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star” to tape.

According to the band’s official Web site, among the tunes recorded so far are “Pink Steam,” “Do You Believe in Rapture?,” “Or” and “Sleepin Around.” The as-yet-untitled album is due for release sometime this year.

As previously reported, Sonic Youth is recording without the aid of multi-instrumentalist Jim O’Rourke, who had been part of the band on stage and in the studio since 2002’s “Murray Street.”

“Some of it seems to be an extension of the last couple of records, but some hearkens forward into territory and also back to earlier, more dissonant and atonal stuff we’ve done,” guitarist Lee Ranaldo told Billboard.com in October of the new material. “There’s definitely some rocking songs and also some sound piece-y kind of things that are pretty interesting as well.”

Also in the Sonic Youth pipeline for the first part of the year are reissues of the band’s 1982 self-titled EP, the peculiar 1988