Pitchfork

Some overseas bands get a bit of a raw deal in the States, with Scottish indie band Aereogramme being a case in point. Hop on over to their website and you will find that they've just finished recording their fourth album, which will be mixed sometime early this year and presumably released shortly thereafter.

According to guitarist/frontman/erstwhile blogger Craig B., "We have eleven songs waiting to be released and we hope you like them. I guess they do sound quite different to previous Aereogramme releases but don't all boring musicians say that sort of thing? You lot will be the best judge of that. I can only promise you that it has some of our most joyous and most miserable songs yet."

(Yes, Craig, all boring musicians do say that.)

The album currently bears the working title My Heart Has a Wish That You Would Not Go, which has a nice ring to it, and will include the songs ""Exits", "Trenches", "Barriers", "A Life Worth Living", and Nightmares", according to the 'Gramme fansite The Saviours of the Underground. If you're an Aereogramme fan, you're probably looking forward to hearing it.

However, if you're in the U.S., you're a couple years behind things, as the band has only just secured North American distribution for their third album, Seclusion, which came out on Undergroove in the UK in 2004. The album will be released on March 21 via Sonic Unyon over in these parts, and hey, if you ever want to see My Heart... Stateside, you should probably get on board now.

Seclusion is a bit unique in format, as it features six traditional (so to speak) songs followed by a short film created by the band in collaboration with Scottish director Steven Morrison. Two versions of the film are included, with each one featuring a different score. According to the kind folks at Sonic Unyon, the film "is a respectful homage to Aereogramme's favourite Japanese horror directors that will both shock and challenge the listener/viewer." We have no idea what that means, but it's probably gross. Anyhoo, the songs (and visuals):

01 Inkwell
02 Dreams and Bridges
03 The Unravelling
04 I Don't Need Your Love
05 Lightning Strikes the Postman
06 Alternative Score
07 Seclusion [Dreams and Bridges Version - Video]
08 Seclusion [Alternate Score Version - Video]