Pitchfork

In just a little over a quarter century on this earth, Nico Muhly has collaborated with the lofty likes of Philip Glass, Björk, Antony, Will Oldham, the National, Rufus Wainwright, and many others. Which, of course, makes the rest of us mid-twenty-somethings feel both lazy and mildly angry.

But don't be mad at Muhly, who's doing us all a favor: he's helping coax classical music out of the dusty symphony halls of yore and off into a brand new era of sound. He did it in 2006 with his Speaks Volumes LP, and he'll have another go come July 22 when Brassland issues his sophomore set, Mothertongue. The disc sports contributions from a trio of frequent Muhly compatriots: violist Nadia Sirota, folkie Sam Amidon, and Icelandic producer Valgeir Sigurðsson.

Muhly plans to tour around the release of Mothertongue with Amidon and Doveman, though those dates have only begun shaping up. For now, head over to Muhly's terrifically entertaining blog, and see what other kinds of peer pressure he can inflict upon you from afar.

Mothertongue:

01 Mothertongue: I. Archive
02 Mothertongue: II. Shower
03 Mothertongue: III. Hress
04 Mothertongue: IV. Monster
05 Wonders: I. New Things & New Tidings
06 Wonders: II. The Devil Appear'd in the Shape of a Man
07 Wonders: III. A Complaint Against Thomas Weelkes
08 The Only Tune: I. The Two Sisters
09 The Only Tune: II. The Old Mill Pond
10 The Only Tune: III: The Only Tune

Nico:

08-23 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church *#
08-28 Chicago, IL - Lakeshore Theater *#

* with Doveman
# with Sam Amidon