Murder City Devils Schedule World Tour
There's a fine line between punk rock and Eddie & The Cruisers

The rumors are true: the Murder City Devils and Botch will be joining forces and kicking asses across the US during their joint fall tour. To get themselves warmed up, the Devils will be taking their fiery (literally!) live show across the world with a handful of different bands, including Dillinger Four, TSOL, and the Explosion.

The Murder City Devils, aside from starring in Edge of Quarrel, a moving tale of a town disrupted by opposing straight-edge and punk gangs, have released a handful of EPs and three full-lengths. Their latest, In Name and Blood, was released on Sub Pop in August of 2000, and will be followed by Thelema, expected on September 4th.

08-03 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
08-04 Milwaukee, WI - The Globe East
08-04 Milwaukee, WI - The Globe East
08-05 Detroit, MI - Shelter
08-07 Cleveland, OH - Warped Tour
08-08 Philadelphia, PA - TLA
08-09 New London, CT - El-N-Gee Club
08-10 Boston, MA - Middle East
08-11 S. Amboy - Krome
08-12 Syracuse, NY - Armory High
08-13 New York, NY - Knitting Factory
08-14 Washington DC - 9:30 Club
08-17 Erfurt, Germany - Highfield Festival
08-18 Cologne, Germany - Gebaeude 9
08-19 Berlin, Germany - Razzle Dazzle
08-21 Bielefeld, Germany - AJZ
08-22 Groningen, Holland - Vera
08-23 Rotterdam, Holland - Waterfront
08-24 Leeds, England - Leeds Festival
08-25 Hasselt, Belgium - Pukkelpop Festival
08-26 Reading, England - Reading Festival
08-28 Ireland - TBA
08-29 Ireland - TBA
08-30 Glasgow, Scotland - Dance Factory
08-31 Bristol, England - TBA
09-03 London, England - Garage
09-15 Redmond Firehouse 9th Anniversary Show
09-28 La Rioja, Spain - Serie B Festival

Pitchfork Review: http:///record-reviews/m/murder-city-devils/in-name-and-blood.shtml
Sub Pop: http://www.subpop.com

Techno Animal Embark on Debut U.S. Tour
Tekno the Robot Dog to replace keyboardist Aibo the Robot Dog

According to Matador Records, Techno Animal are gearing up for their first ever U.S. tour beginning early next month. Kevin Martin and Justin Broadrick, the duo that gave birth to the warped electronic noise that makes Techno Animal so loveable, will be opening for the abstract NY hip-hop Def Jux crew (El-P, Aesop Rock, Cannibal Ox and Mr. Lif) throughout the tour. They'll most likely be joined on stage at times by some of the MC's, who will appear on their forthcoming album, The Brotherhood of the Bomb. Some confirmed dates for August are:

08-08 New York, NY - Frying Pan
08-09 Detroit, MI - St. Andrew's Hall
08-10 Chicago, IL - Subterranean
08-13 Los Angeles, CA - Knitting Factory
08-15 Oakland, CA - Mom's Cookie Factory

Matador Records: http://www.matadorrecords.com
Techno Animal: http://www.avalancheinc.co.uk/technoanimal.html

Jade Tree to Launch Split EP Series
Release date for Explosion/N'Sync 7" still pending

Jade Tree has announced plans to launch a split EP series beginning in November. Boasting "surprising collaborations and superstar pairings," Jade Tree plans to feature a wide variety of bands and music styles. At the moment, they're keeping quiet as to who will be participating, but they have stated that the first artists to share EP space will be Good Riddance and Kill Yr Idols. This inaugural EP in the series is slated for a November 20th release. Good Riddance, who just issued a new album on Fat Wreck Chords, will offer up four brand new songs; the NY boys in Kill Yr Idols will contribute three.

Jade Tree: http://www.jadetree.com/

Trans Am and the Fucking Champs Team Up
Muscle cars and prog-metal shag like a mullet

The first EP is scheduled for an October 23rd release on Thrill Jockey. Drag City will release the second EP on an as-yet-unspecified date. The Thrill Jockey release will be credited to the ingeniously morphed name Trans Champs, and will be titled Double Exposure.

Pitchfork Review: http:///record-reviews/t/trans-am/red-line.shtml
Pitchfork Review: http:///record-reviews/f/fucking-champs/iv.shtml
Drag City: http://www.thrilljockey.com
Thrill Jockey: http://www.dragcity.com

Godspeed You Black Emperor to Play Benefit for Anthology Film Archives
Forthcoming album to include guitar drones and weird noises

Official Kranky Records Website: http://www.brainwashed.com/kranky

Leonard Cohen to Release New Album
Appalachian feuding "grotesquely overrated"

After completing his 1992 LP The Future, the reclusive Quebecois retreated to a Zen monastery atop Mount Baldy. No friggin' joke. The 67-year-old Cohen divulged in a recent interview that he spent his downtime on a mountaintop as "the cook for the old master and his attendant... I came down a couple of years ago." Indeed. Maybe now he can resume his serious work: scribbling on bathroom walls and imitating the smoking PSA frog. Tracklist, boys?:

01 In My Secret Life
02 A Thousand Kisses Deep
03 That Don't Make It Junk
04 Here It Is
05 Love Itself
06 By the Rivers Dark
07 Alexandra Leaving
08 You Have Loved Enough
09 Boogie Street
10 The Land of Plenty

Pitchfork Review: http:///record-reviews/c/cohen_leonard/field-commander-cohen.shtml
Leonard Cohen: http://www.leonardcohen.com
Ten New Songs: http://www.10newsongs.com

Joy Division Box Set Gets U.S. Release
Ian Curtis lives! Kind of

Mournful Joy Division fans are about to almost crack a passing smile. The legendary gothic post-punk band will be celebrated on August 7th with the U.S. release of Heartandsoul, a four-disc box set. Included within the enormous 81 tracks are the band's complete studio library and an entire disc of live material. The box was assembled by Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook, the surviving band members who went on to form New Order following Joy Division's 1980 disintegration.

The first two discs will feature songs off classics like Unknown Pleasures and, of course, Closer, the band's best-known album, released just a few months after frontman Ian Curtis committed suicide. Disc three covers the band's earlier recordings, such as their first EP, An Ideal for Living, the group's Peel Sessions, and demos. The fourth disc contains rare live tracks taken from four different concerts. While this set has been available in the U.K. since 1998, most of these rare tracks have never been released in the States.

Money Mark Givin' Up Keyboard Repair
All 1960s analog gear finally deemed unsalvageable

Money Mark, the infamous "fifth" Beatle (er, make that "fourth" Beastie Boy), has closed up his keyboard repair shop for life in the fast lane. His third solo album, Change is Coming, will be released on September 18th through Emperor Norton, and will be followed by a tour of the United States of America, and parts of Canada. The new album will feature less of Mark's interesting vocal efforts and will focus more on his virtuoso keyboard playing, along with the help of members of Los Lobos and Ozomatli. Longtime Beastie collaborator Mario C. and Craig Silvery (REM, Portishead) are handling the production duties this time around, so expect a much more polished effort than Mark's downhome Mo'Wax releases. All this caps the recent infiltration of Money Mark into the public consciousness, including his work on Apple computer commercials, scoring the soundtrack for Blow (that it did), and the upcoming Fox Family Channel cartoon, "Da Mob." All he needs now is a remix on the Rush Hour 2 soundtrack, and Moby's gonna have some serious competition to contend with!

Pitchfork Review: http:///record-reviews/m/money-mark/push-the-button.shtml
Money Mark: http://www.moneymark.com
Emperor Norton Records: http://www.emperornorton.com

Robbie Fulks Self-Releases Album
Because, goddammit, nobody else will

At the end of last month, the Little King of Alt-Country, Robbie Fulks, self-released a follow-up to The Very Best of Robbie Fulks. The new album, Couples in Trouble, will be supported by a U.S. tour this fall. Robbie is currently seeking "appropriate corporate sponsorship" for his modest tour. I guess that means no giant flying pigs over the stadium.

Couples in Trouble is not yet available in stores, but can be purchased now from the man's official website. The album is said to be an evolution of the Fulks style, but what that means (considering that The Very Best was a step back from the big country rock style of Let's Kill Saturday Night, his sole major label release) is anyone's guess. Perhaps the tracklist will, like bulletholes in a rusted old horse stable, shed some light:

01 In Bristol Town One Bright Day
02 Anything for Love
03 Dancing on the Ashes
04 She Needs You Now
05 My Tormentor
06 Real Money
07 Mad at a Girl
08 Brenda's New Stepfather
09 I've Got to Tell Myself the Truth
10 Banks of the Marianne
11 The Grip of Our Love
12 Never Could

Robbie Fulks: http://www.robbiefulks.com

Breeders LP Finally Slated for Fall Release
You loved them before, will you love them now?

The band have reportedly finished recording 16 tracks with their new line-up, which includes guitarist Richard Presley and bassist Mando Lopez (both ex-members of the punk band Fear), and 22 Jacks drummer Jose Medeles. Some titles include "Forced to Drive," "Fire the Maid," "Too Alive," "Full on Idol," "Little Fury," and "The She." The album is being tenatively refered to as Title TK, and is slated for release in October. Please, please hurry, ladies. It's been too long.

4AD: http://www.4AD.com
Breeders: http://www.noaloha.com

Joe Strummer Releases New Full-Length
Move over, Peter Gabriel!

Joe Strummer's new album, Global A Go-Go, was released on July 24th by Hellcat, a subdivision of Epitaph. Considering the 11-year wait before Rock Art and the X-Ray Style came out, eighteen months is not too shabby. While not going as far to say that Global A Go-Go is a world music album, Epitaph has said it is "informed by a deep appreciation of other cultures." Of course, this is followed by a grocery list of flavors added to Strummer's punk-informed roots-rock: Caribbean, South American, African, Arabic, Balkan and Celtic influences. But not Lithuanian. Poor underrepresented Lithuania. They have folk music, you know.

The album's lyrical content, for those who still listen to the words, is said to be a slight return to the political slant found in classic Clash. "It's music for people who are beyond the parameters of the demographic fascists who decide what sells and what gets advertised and what gets on the playlists," Strummer said. Good to see the old guy's still throwing around political terms like "fascist." Play nice, Joe. Dates ah'oi!:

10-04 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
10-05 Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts
10-06 Atlantic City, NJ - Trump Marina Hotel and Casino
10-08 Hartford, CT - Webster Theatre
10-09 New York, NY - Irving Plaza
10-12 Worcester, MA - Palladium
10-13 Montreal, QC - Spectrum
10-14 Toronto, ON - Guvernment
10-16 Chicago, IL - Metro
10-18 Scottsdale, AZ - Cajun House
10-19 Anaheim, CA - House of Blues
10-20 San Francisco, CA - Fillmore
11-17 Manchester, UK - Academy
11-18 Glasgow, UK - Barrowland
11-20 Birmingham, UK - Academy
11-21 Dublin, Ireland - Olympia
11-23 London, UK - Brixton Academy

What, no Germany?

Pitchfork Review: http:///record-reviews/s/strummer_joe/rock-art-and-the-x-ray-style.shtml
Joe Strummer: http://www.joestrummer.co.uk
Epitaph: http://www.epitaph.com

Jade Tree to Reissue Pedro the Lion Stuff
"Take of this demo, for it is my blood"

A record label dedicating itself to building the record collection of its many followers, or just a simple ploy to milk the cash cow? We may never know, but Jade Tree plans on issuing Pedro the Lion's debut album, It's Hard to Find a Friend, along with its follow-up EP, The Only Reason I Feel Secure. Both were originally released on the Made in Mexico label. To make it worth the extra bucks, Jade Tree made sure the new versions are remixed and repackaged to include lyrics so you can sing along. But wait, it gets better! The Only Reason I Feel Secure EP will include the first Pedro the Lion 7" as bonus tracks. We can't help but feel this all would have fit nicely on one CD.

The two discs will hit stores for the second time on October 16th. Suckers.

Pitchfork Review: http:///record-reviews/p/pedro-the-lion/winners-never-quit.shtml
Jade Tree: http://www.jadetree.com

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