Boards of Canada Prep New Album

The search will renew itself again when a new album from Boards of Canada is released stateside on October 18. Their first effort since 2002's Geogaddi, the album was produced by the duo themselves and is "very much classic Boards, building on themes and sounds that can can be heard in their intervening remix work for Beck, cLOUDDEAD and Boom Bip," according to their label, Warp Records. No album title has been announced yet and the tracklist is still being confirmed.

In between albums, Boards of Canada remixed Boom Bip's "Last Walk Around Mirror Lake," have had their work performed by the London Sinfonietta, contributed a psychedelic remix of cLOUDDEAD's "Dead Dogs Two," seen the reissue of Music Has the Right to Children, and remixed Beck's "Broken Drum" off Guero. Come October, these shards of light will burst through as a blinding parade.

* Boards of Canada: <a

Warp Records: http://www.warprecords.com

Bloc Party Schedule North American Shows

For those of you who were upset you missed out on catching one of their North American gigs earlier this year, stop being a such a baby: They're coming back in September for a run of shows from sea to shining sea. But more on that in a minute...

Bloc Party have also just announced that they will release a remix of their debut album, Silent Alarm, aptly titled Silent Alarm Remixed. It'll have the same track order as the original album, and will feature remixes by M83, Death From Above 1979, Four Tet, Nick Zinner, and others. The first pressing will have a second disc with bonus tracks ("Storm and Stress", "Always New Depths", and "Skeletons"). Vice will release this lil' gem on September 13.

Tracklist:

01 Like Eating Glass (Ladytron Zapatista Mix)
02 Helicopter (Whitey Version)
03 Positive Tension (Jason Clark of Pretty Girls Make Graves remix)
04 Banquet (Phones Disco Edit)
05 Blue Light (Engineers "Anti-Gravity" mix)
06 She's Hearing Voices (Erol Alkan's Calling Your Dub)
07 This Modern Love (Dave P. and Adam Sparkle's Making Time remix)
08 The Pioneers (M83 Remix)
09 Price of Gasoline (AUTOMATO Remix)
10 So Here We Are (Four Tet Remix)
11 Luno (Bloc Party vs. Death From Above 1979)
12 Plans (Replanned by Mogwai)
13 Compliments (Shibuyaka Remix by Nick Zinner)

Meanwhile, the lads recently had a chat with the NME regarding their new album. Frontdude Kele Okereke (oh wait, they can't hate the letter "K" after all...) told the mag: "We recorded two songs about a week ago, and we're not sure which is going to be a single now, but it's either going to be a song called 'Hero' or a song called 'Two More Years'. We've written about 20 songs, and we'll have more by the end of the year, and we're going to start next year off by recording a new album. We really can't wait."

Well, actually, they must wait because they've got a fuckload of tour dates coming up that will take the band into December. Seriously, a fuckload:

North American Dozen:

09-08 Boston, MA - Avalon Ballroom *
09-09 New York, NY - Roseland Ballroom *
09-10 Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory *
09-12 Toronto, Ontario - The Docks *
09-13 Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre *
09-14 Chicago, IL - Congress Theatre *
09-16 Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium *
09-20 Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Palladium *
09-21 San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theatre *
09-22 San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theatre *
09-24 Austin, TX - Austin City Limits
09-26 Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle

* with the Kills and Noisettes

International Fuckload:

07-21 Sydney, Australia - The Metro
07-24 Byron Bay, Australia - Splendour in the Grass Festival
08-13 Osaka, Japan - SummerSonic Festival
08-14 Tokyo, Japan - SummerSonic Festival
08-26 Leeds, England - Leeds Festival
08-28 Reading, England - Reading Festival
09-04 Bologna, Italy - Independent Days Festival
10-02 Edinburgh, Scotland - Usher Hall
10-04 Glasgow, Scotland - Carling Academy
10-05 Middlesbrough, England - Town Hall
10-06 Newcastle, England - Northumbria University
10-08 Cambridge, England - Corn Exchange
10-09 Norwich, England - UEA
10-10 Portsmouth, England - Guild Hall
10-12 Sheffield, England - Octagon
10-13 Birmingham, England - Carling Academy
10-14 Birmingham, England - Carling Academy
10-16 Nottingham, England - Rock City
10-17 Liverpool, England - Royal Court
10-18 Leeds, England - University
10-20 Manchester, England - Apollo
10-21 Manchester, England - Apollo
10-22 Leicester, England - De Montford Hall
10-24 Cardiff, Wales - University
10-25 Bristol, England - Carling Academy
10-26 Exeter, England - University
10-28 London, England - Brixton Carling Academy
10-29 London, England - Brixton Carling Academy
11-06 Belfast, Ireland - Ulster Hall
11-07 Dublin, Ireland - Olympia
11-10 Brussels, Belgium - Les Halles De Schaerbeek
11-11 Lille, France - Aeronef
11-12 Strasbourg, France - Salle des Fetes
11-14 Paris, France - Zenith
11-15 Nantes, France - La Carriere
11-16 Bordeaux, France - Le Vigean
11-18 Madrid, Spain - Aqualung
11-19 Barcelona, Spain - Razzmatazz
11-25 Zurich, Switzerland - Earshakerdays Festival
11-27 Stuttgart, Germany - Longhorn
11-28 Frankfurt, Germany - Batschkapp
11-29 Dresden, Germany - Alter Schlachthof
12-01 Bielefeld, Germany - Ringlokschuppen
12-02 Dusseldorf, Germany - Tor 3
12-03 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso

href="http://pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/b/bloc-party/silent-alarm.shtml">Bloc Party: Silent Alarm
href="http://pitchforkmedia.com/news/05-07/19.shtml#bloc">Bloc Party Continue Work On New Album
* Bloc Party: <a

Spoon Announce Tour Dates

The UK single for "I Turn My Camera On" is in stores now, available both as a 7" and a CD. Recently, Spoon opened for Interpol throughout Western Europe; this time around, not a bespoke gentleman will be in sight. That doesn't mean you can pass yourself off as Carlos D just by showing up in a red tie. Seriously, we're onto you. Dates:

07-23 Atlanta, GA - 99x Festival
07-24 Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza
07-30 San Diego, CA - Street Scene Festival
08-12 Morrison, CO - Red Rocks
08-18 Boston, MA - WFNX Festival (free show)
09-05 Los Angeles, CA - Arthur Fest
09-08 Melbourne, Australia - Northcote Social Club
09-09 Melbourne, Australia - Corner Hotel
09-10 Adelaide, Australia - Fowlers Live
09-11 Perth, Australia - Rosemount Hotel
09-14 Canberra, Australia - Green Room
09-15 Brisbane, Australia - Tivoli
09-16 Sydney, Australia - Metro
09-17 Newcastle, Australia - Bandroom
09-23 Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Festival
09-28 Glasgow, Scotland - King Tut's
09-29 Manchester, England - Roadhouse
09-30 London, England - Koko
10-01 Brugge, Belgium - Cactus
10-02 Berlin, Germany - Kalkscheune
10-03 Frankfurt, Germany - Cooky's
10-04 Hamburg, Germany - Knust
10-05 Munich, Germany - Orange House
10-06 Treviso, Italy - New Age
10-07 Rome, Italy - Circolo
10-08 Bologna, Italy - Coveo
10-09 Zurich, Switzerland - Rote Fabrik
10-11 Paris, France - Nouvelle Casino
10-12 Bordeaux, France - TBA
10-13 Barcelona, Spain - Razz 3
10-14 Madrid, Spain - Moby Dick
href="http://pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/s/spoon/gimme-fiction.shtml">Spoon: Gimme Fiction
href="http://pitchforkmedia.com/news/05-05/31.shtml#spoon">Spoon Kick Off Gimme Fiction Tour

Spoon: http://www.spoontheband.com

Tortoise, Daniel Lanois Announce Collaborative Tour

Although you might recognize Lanois' name from the backs of CDs bearing artist brand names such as U2, Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel, Willie Nelson, and Bob Dylan, or seen his face throughout your secret collections of taped Grammy Awards presentations, he is also a keen musician in his own right, having released his share of solo albums over the years outside from his "other job." His latest, Belladonna, is perhaps the impetus for the Tortoise tour, as it is an all-instrumental collection primarily featuring one of Lanois' much-beloved obsessions, playing the pedal steel. In other Tortoise collaborative news, the band's site claims the release date for the Overcoat Recordings Tortoise/Will Oldham covers album will be October 11.

The Tortoise/Lanois hook up starts on October 6 in Boston, takes in both coasts, and ends in Los Angeles on October 22. Both Tortoise and Lanois will be playing some scattered dates apart before and after this announced tour.

Tortoise tour dates:
07/22 Calgary, Alberta - Prince's Island Park, Calgary Folk Festival
07/23 Calgary, Alberta - Prince's Island Park, Calgary Folk Festival
07/24 Edmonton, Alberta - The Starlite Room
09/25 Austin, TX - Zilker Park, Austin City Limits Music Festival

Daniel Lanois tour dates:
07/27 New York, NY - Hudson River Blues Festival
09/30 Urbana, IL - Krannert Center, Wall-2-Wall Guitar Festival
10/01 Urbana, IL - Krannert Center, Wall-2-Wall Guitar Festival
02/03/06 New York, NY - Zankel Hall @ Carnegie Hall, New York Guitar Festival

Tortoise/Daniel Lanois tour dates:
10/06 Boston, MA - Sommerville Theatre
10/07 New York, NY -Irving Plaza
10/08 Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts
10/10 Chicago, IL - TBA
10/11 Madison, WI - Barrymore Theatre
10/12 Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line
10/14 Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre
10/15 Salt Lake City, UT -Suede
10/17 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom
10/18 Seattle, WA - Neumo's
10/19 Portland, OR - Aladdin Theater
10/20 San Francisco, CA -The Independent
10/21 San Francisco, CA -The Independent
10/22 Los Angeles, CA - Avalon

Daniel Lanois: http://www.daniellanois.com/
Tortoise: http://www.trts.com/

Carl Barât Readies Mix Comp, Solo LP

Originally released in the UK this past June, Barât's compilation has recently been given a U.S. release date of August 23, and features relatively obvious selections from UK punks the Clash ("Remote Control"), the Stranglers ("No More Heroes"), and the Jam ("Eton Rifles"), as well as a few surprises-- like Pulp's "Sorted For E's And Whiz", and Bob Dylan's Rueben Carter musing, "Hurricane". Influences:

01 "Dream a Little Dream" - The Mamas and the Papas
02 "Oh! You Pretty Things" - David Bowie
03 "Hurricane" - Bob Dylan
04 "The Universal" - Small Faces
05 "Son of a Gun" - Tha La's
06 "Sitting Up Straight" - Supergrass
07 "Personality Crisis" - New York Dolls
08 "Remote Control" - The Clash
09 "Eton Rifles" - The Jam
10 "No More Heores" - The Stranglers
11 "Too Much Too Young" - The Specials
12 "Bigmouth Strikes Again" - The Smiths
13 "Who's Got the Crack" - The Moldy Peaches
14 "Sorted For E's And Whiz" - Pulp
15 "Fit But You Know It" - The Streets

And with the Libertines now out of order, Barât has signed to Mercury records imprint Vertigo, and is currently assembling tracks for his solo debut-- leaving Vertigo Managing Director Greg Castell to gush: "Carl is one of the greatest talents in modern music. His contribution to the Libertines was fundamental to the band's success and we're delighted to have the opportunity of working closely with him."

According to the official Libertines site, which strangely keeps tabs on his post-band activity, the LP should see a release by the end of this year, although nothing has been confirmed yet.

The Libertines: http://www.thelibertines.org.uk/

Hard-Fi Release U.S. Single, Continue Tour

No U.S. release date has yet been announced for the album, but Hard-Fi are currently in the midst of a string of medium-to-high-profile North American tour dates:

07-20 New York, NY - Rothko
07-21 Toronto, Ontario - Mod Club
07-23 Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza
07-24 St. Louis, MO - Mississippi Nights *
07-25 Kansas City, MO - Madrid Theater *
07-26 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater *
07-28 Tucson, AZ - KFMA Radio Show
07-29 San Diego, CA - Street Scene
07-30 Los Angeles, CA - Troubador
07-31 San Franscisco, CA - Cafe Du Nord
10-19 London, England - Electric Ballroom
10-20 London, England - Electric Ballroom

* with the Bravery

Hard-Fi: http://www.hard-fi.com/

A Hawk and a Hacksaw Prep U.S. Tour

A Hawk and a Hacksaw will be touring with Leaf labelmate Colleen, who will be playing her first ever shows in the United States; which is not to say that she's never played shows before, but only to say that she lives in Europe. The dates:

08-05 Washington, DC - The Warehouse
08-06 New York, NY - Sound Fix (AHAAH instore)
08-09 New York, NY - Joe's Pub
08-10 Providence, RI - AS220
08-11 Montague, MA - The Montague Bookmill
08-12 Boston, MA - Pa's Lounge
08-13 Philadelphia, PA - Space 1026
08-15 New York, NY - Other Music (Colleen instore)
08-16 New York, NY - Glasshouse Gallery

A Hawk and a Hacksaw: http://www.brokenheartfoundation.org.uk/hawk/
Colleen: http://www.colleenplays.org

The Occasion Finish Second Album

Because our uptight, linear, Western mentalities can't accept anything as real until we give it a name, here are the names of all the songs on Cannery Hours, in order, even:

01 So Far
02 Cannery Hours
03 Back In Town
04 Register My Complaints
05 You May Know Me
06 All Over Idaho
07 Secret Shopper
08 Equine
09 The Maiden

These cats must know that our oil-based economy is about to tumble into a dark age of scarcity and chaos the like of which the world has never seen, because the Occasion are taking the opportunity to get a little travelling in with their friends the Ponys this summer. Before any Thunderdome-type shit goes down, they'll be at the following West Coast dates:

08-09 Seattle, WA - Crocodile Café*<br> 08-10 Portland, OR - Doug Fir*
08-12 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill*
08-13 Los Angeles, CA - Echo*
08-14 San Diego, CA - Casbah*

* with the Ponys

The Occasion: http://www.theoccasion.org
Say Hey Records: http://www.sayheyrecords.com

Franz Ferdinand Reveal New Single Details

Well, the good folks at the NME have uncovered the shocking truth behind Franz Ferdinand's new single. Are you ready? It's called "Do You Want To", and it will be hitting UK shelves on September 19. Other likely singles on the sophomore album Franz Ferdinand (yes, just like the first), which is just about finished, include "The Fallen", "Walk Away", and "Turn It On". That album hits international stores on October 3 and will reach the U.S. on October 4.

The Franziest of Ferdinands Alex Kapranos told NME that the new single is based on a party the band went to in Glasgow. "I picked up the guitar and had this little riff that I quite liked and I started singing some of these things that people had been yelling into my ear the night before. Suddenly, it turned into this song," Kapranos told the magazine.

Some of those sweet nothings turned into lyrics such as "When I woke up tonight I said 'I'm gonna make somebody love me'" and "So here we are at the transmission party/ I love your friends they're all so arty oh yeah." Transmission party!? I hope this was a Joy Division-themed affair.

Franz Ferdinand's previously announced North American tour has gained some heavyweight support: Aussie 80s synth lovers Cut Copy will open, followed by hip-hop/electronic/soul/indie/dance/whatever lovers TV on the Radio, who are currently in the midst of finishing an album themselves, but that's another news story altogether.

Teaching the Indie Kids to Dance Tour 2005:

09-20 Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom *
09-21 Minneapolis, MN - Target Center *
09-22 Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theatre *
09-23 St. Louis, MO - The Pageant *
09-25 Austin, TX - Austin City Limits
09-27 Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium *
09-28 Magna, UT - Great Salt Air *
10-01 Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre *
10-02 Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre *
10-03 Portland, OR - Rose Garden Arena *
10-04 Vancouver, British Columbia - Orpheum *
10-06 San Francisco, CA - Bill Graham Civic Auditorium *
10-07 Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre *
10-08 Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre *
10-09 San Diego, CA - SDSU Open Air Theatre *
10-11 Las Vegas, NV - The Joint *
10-17 New York, NY - The Theater at MSG *
10-18 Toronto, Ontario - Ricoh Centre *

* with Cut Copy and TV on the Radio

href="http://pitchforkmedia.com/news/05-06/29.shtml#tvotr">TV on the Radio Drop More Hints on New Album
href="http://pitchforkmedia.com/news/05-07/11.shtml#franz">Franz Ferdinand Announce LP Release Date

Cut Copy: http://www.cutcopy.net/
TV on the Radio: http://www.tvontheradio.com/
Franz Ferdinand: http://www.franzferdinand.co.uk/

Wilco to Support Rolling Stones, Play Farm Aid

First off, Wilco will be peforming at this year's Farm Aid concert, comin' at you September 18 from suburban Chicago. The band is joining a few artists you've probably never heard of-- Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, and Dave Matthews. Ring a bell?

Yeah, this is some big business, but I guess Wilco are too. I mean, they do have a couple Grammys under their belt now. Farm Aid was born way back in 1985, its intention to "sing a song of hope for rural Americans," according to the event's official website. Over the past 20 years, Farm Aid has given over 17 million dollars to a variety of farm organizations, churches, and service agencies across America. Said Jeff Tweedy of the awareness-raising event, "I grew up in Southern Illinois and I've seen farms close and the effect that can have on families and communities. I'll take any opportunity I can to help address that problem. To get to share a stage with the likes of Neil Young and Willie Nelson...well, that's just a great bonus."

Wilco has also confirmed plans to play a handful of concerts within the next few months, including a date at 2005's Austin City Limits as well as Rio de Janeiro's Tim Festival this fall. Other plans for this upcoming season include the release of a live CD and DVD on Nonesuch Records, recorded over a series of four consecutive performances at Chicago's Vic Theatre earlier this year.

Anyway, here are the tour dates. Pay special attention to the asterisk next to October 15:

09-02 Vitoria, Spain - Azkena Festival
09-04 Palermo, Italy - Kal's Art Overground
09-06 Milan, Italy - Mazda Palace (Festia De L'Unita)
09-07 Munich, Germany - Backstage
09-08 Cologne, Germany - Live Music Hall
09-10 Berlin, Germany - Postbanhof
09-11 Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle
09-12 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
09-18 Tinley Park, IL - Farm Aid
09-21 Columbia, MO - Outdoors on 9th Street
09-22 Tulsa, OK - Cain's Ballroom
09-25 Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Festival
10-14 Asheville, NC - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
10-15 Atlanta, GA - Phillips Arena *
10-22 Rio De Janeiro, Brazil - Tim Festival

* with the Rolling Stones

* Pitchfork Review: Wilco: A Ghost is Born
* Wilco: <a

My Morning Jacket Discuss Upcoming Album

How would you describe the new album and its sound? "This one is totally different from everything else. It's the first album with two new members from the band...two new people and that's definitely going to change the sound a bit. They've opened up some new areas. It's a result of all of us growing up quite a bit. It's kind of a reflection of our attitudes on the state of the world. We could choose the low roads and be depressed; but we're choosing to be really positive. It's more spacious, as we took a kind of 'less is more' approach. More danceable, so to speak, but there are definitely rocking moments. We like music that moves you. That's definitely in there as well. This album is all over the place really."

What do you want to tell listeners about the album? "I just want to say that it's different; a sign of a new beginning, or I should say, the next step in the grand scheme of things of this band. I think with two or three years of non-stop, heavy touring, this is the band that came from all of that. We've all definitely grown as musicians and Jim has grown as a songwriter. We've grown together as a band and I think this album definitely represents all of that. We're all super proud of it. There's not one moment where any one one of us cringe. We put exactly what needed to be there; no filling up space. It's a little shorter, but we picked the cream of the crop."

And the crop stands as such:

01 Wordless Chorus
02 It Beats For You
03 Gideon
04 What a Wonderful Man
05 Off the Record
06 Into the Woods
07 Anytime
08 Lay Low
09 Knot Comes Loose
10 Dondante

Z will be the band's fourth full-length album. As for touring: "We took a long time off to make the album and collect our heads...but I think we're ready. We go to Japan in a week, so we're gonna start supporting this new album. We're ready to go."

The band will be playing at the Fuji Rock Festival in Niigata, Japan on July 30. Lead singer Jim James will also be playing a solo acoustic set at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island on August 7.

* My Morning Jacket: <a

Neutral Milk Hotel Re-Releases Coming

The vastly outdated band site alludes to the last period of activity concerning possibly releasing rare tracks in a two-disc collection. While Mangum or someone else must certainly be sitting on a pile of Neutral Milk Hotel rarities from the band's productive Elephant 6-associated days, the first fruits may be coming quicker than many ever suspected or ever dreamed. Domino Records will be re-releasing In an Aeroplane Over the Sea in the UK, where the album has been out of print and sans label for years. No release date or bonus track listing has been made available yet.

But that's not all, Fire Records will be re-releasing Neutral Milk Hotel's first album On Avery Island. Again the track details and date of issue are still up in the air but it seems that Fire are onto an actual band-endorsed re-release as it claims on the label's site, "We are very pleased to announce we'll be reissuing the classic Neutral Milk Hotel record On Avery Island at the band's request. They're planning a whole new package including some live bonus tracks. More to follow."

* Neutral Milk Hotel: <a

Do you have a news tip for us? Anything crazy happen at a show you attended recently? Do you have inside info on the bands we cover? Is one of your favorite artists (that's not somebody you know personally) releasing a new record you'd like to see covered? You will remain completely anonymous, unless we are given your express permission to reveal your identity. (Please note that publicists, managers, booking agents, and other artist representatives are generally exempt from this rule, but will also be granted anonymity if requested.)