High On Fire Tour With Don Cab, Mono, Panthers

Photo by Taija Lynn

Bay Area eardrum-beaters High on Fire will make with the metal alongside Japanese one-lovers Mono, Orchid spores Panthers, and the non-Roman Coliseum on an upcoming fall tour. But not, it turns out, before they take on math rock legends Don Caballero over a series of July dates.

Why all this heat-up in the High on Fire camp? Probably has something to do with Death Is This Communion, the band's forthcoming full-length, out September 18 from Relapse Records.

Don Cab, meanwhile, add a spate of June and July dates before linking with High on Fire. The first is tonight (June 21) in Akron, Ohio. [MORE...]

Robyn Talks New Album, Artistic Freedom, Swedish Pop
"There's no compromise anymore. There's no point for me to really give any of this freedom away. I'm getting to do what I want."

Nearly a decade ago, Robyn did something most pop artists would dream of. She released a pair of perfect singles-- chart smashes, both-- from a platinum-selling album. Then she all but disappeared from the public consciousness. At least, that's the way the American version of the story goes.

In her native Sweden, Robyn's a big name; her last album, 2005's Robyn (self-released on her own Konichiwa Records) won the nation's equivalent of the Album of the Year Grammy, and she's revered as both a pure pop juggernaut and a musical innovator. In the U.S., though, it remains unissued, and most folks remember Robyn for "Show Me Love," if they remember her at all.

Those of us fortunate enough to track down a copy of Robyn discovered a savvy, silly, salacious dance-pop album that deserved to be heard by as many people as possible. But, despite the record's sonic commercial viability and no shortage of rave reviews (including a #39 placement on Pitchfork's "Best Albums of 2005" list), Robyn's new music remains largely unheard in America. It turns out, Robyn's just been waiting for the right time to strike. She recently issued Robyn in the U.K., and hopes to offer it to U.S. audiences at some point soon.

All this comes as Robyn makes plans for her next album, which-- though still in the early stages-- should feature collaborations with producer Andreas Kleerup (with whom she collaborated on "With Every Heartbeat") and Teddybears guitarist Klas Åhlund. We spoke with Robyn Tuesday morning while she recovered from a pair of festival sets she'd done over the weekend. She told us a little bit about her upcoming projects, a little more about her struggles to get her music heard outside of Sweden, and a whole lot about what it takes to be a pop star who cares equally about her craft, her image, and running her own business.

Pitchfork: You just got back from a couple of festival dates. How'd those go?

Robyn: I'm actually at home sick today with a little bit of fever. The shows went well, but I guess I had too many drinks and cigarettes, and that's why I'm sick.

Pitchfork: Ah, that'll do it. You don't play live too often. How is it, getting out there?

Robyn: It's amazing to see how it's been developing these last couple of months. The first shows I made were kind of like 150 people, and now it's a lot more. So I'm really excited to see it grow. I've never been able to be a part of it in that way, to see it actually happen. I've always wanted to work with a major, so you could push the record everywhere at the same time. But this time, it's really nice to see each show be a little bit bigger, and more and more people come.

Pitchfork: What do you attribute the growth to?

Robyn: Well, you have to have luck, of course. But I think, except for that, a really great album. And I think that, because I have the possibility to work with my own company and the people I really want to work with, I'm able to give the album the marketing it deserves. It connects with people in a natural way; it's not something that's forced on them. It's been there for a while and it's spreading, through the internet and stuff. It's a very, very exciting thing for that to happen for me, especially when the record executives were kind of bored with how my other records have been marketed.

Pitchfork: Is it hard to get excited about pushing a record that's two years old at this point?

Robyn: You get tired of your music after awhile. If I wouldn't have been working on my next album now, I think I would have been very bored. But I think that there's something good about doing things slow, you know? I mean, I get stressed because it's been two years since it was been released in Sweden. But at the same time, I've used those years to really find the right kind of situation for me to deal with. It would've been stupid of me to go over there and release it on a major label and kind of rout up everything I built in Sweden.

Pitchfork: You say you're working on the new album. How far are you into that?

Robyn: It's kind of in the beginning. I'm working with Klas Åhlund, the guy I worked with on the last album. And I'm also working with Andreas Kleerup, who I made "With Every Heartbeat" with. But it's very much in the beginning. It's taking forms in my head. [MORE...]

Magic Numbers to Tour With Rufus Wainwright
I was under the impression three, not four, was the magic number

Spit-shined sibling poppers the Magic Numbers will bring their syrupy harmonies and heavily bearded antics to a rather hefty world tour this summer. Their tense-shifting new album Those the Brokes is out in America July 3 on Astralwerks (it's been out for quite some time overseas), and to support it, they'll hit North America this August, mostly supporting a dashing young upstart named Rufus Wainwright. But first, they have a number of festival dates all over the world. [MORE...]

Ryan Adams Expands Summer Tour (Again)

The June 26 release of Easy Tiger on Lost Highway keeps inching closer, and Ryan Adams keeps adding tour dates to support it.

Adams' July is now much busier thanks to a flurry of new U.S. dates, and his next show is tomorrow (June 22) in Toronto.

Thanks to reader Craig Nathanson for the tip.

Tonight, the Edge 102.1 in Toronto is broadcasting a live show from Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, which can also be heard via their website. The band will also perform on "The Late Show With David Letterman" on June 27.

According to Billboard.com, an Adams box set is in the works for release later this year. It might collect "odds-and-ends" from over the years, or it might not. Maybe he's recording a whole box set of new tunes right this second? We wouldn't put it past him. [MORE...]

Swervedriver's Adam Franklin Cuts Solo Disc, Tours
Setting Suns [ft. Sam Fogarino of Interpol] plan EP for fall

Determined to never lose that feeling, former Swervedriver frontman and UK expat Adam Franklin has continued with assorted musical endeavors-- including Toshack Highway and, with Interpol's Sam Fogarino, the Setting Suns-- since Swervedriver drove off into the sunset sometime around the turn of the millennium.

He's also been plugging away at a previously mentioned debut solo record, Bolts of Melody, which finally strikes CD players and iPods June 26 via San Diego's Hi-Speed Soul imprint. There's an awful joke about Ben Franklin and Bolts of lightning mucking about somewhere in here, but we're not even going to attempt it.

Franklin takes his Bolts of Melody on the road beginning June 24 in New Haven.

The Setting Suns, meanwhile, plan to release their debut EP this fall. It will include a cover of the Kinks' "The Way Love Used to Be", and an alternate version of the Forkcast'd tune "Cold War Kids", which has absolutely nothing to do with the lousy band of the same name. [MORE...]

Marnie Stern Kicks Off Full-Band Tour

Marnie Stern kicks off her first iPod-ditching tour tonight (June 21) to give In Advance of the Broken Arm the full-band (or at least live-drum) treatment it deserves.

Joining her on stage will be Hella's Zach Hill on drums and the Advantage's Robby Moncrieff on guitar.

The shredding begins in Portland and continues throughout North America and the UK until Marnie's last date (for now), which takes place at Chicago's Estrojam Festival on September 20.

In case you haven't checked out In Advance of the Broken Arm yet (what are you waiting for?!), here's a stream of the track "Absorb Those Numbers":

[MORE...]

Yes That's Kurt Cobain on a Lunchbox

Sure it's been floating around since last year-- not long after that Kurt Cobain action figure made some jaws drop and some fingers wag-- but the fact that we exist in the same world as a Kurt Cobain lunchbox is still a wee bit unsettling.

Indeed, the lunchbox is but one in an onslaught of Cobain-branded products from novelty toy manufacturers National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA), who also brought you the aforementioned action figure. Just in case you don't feel comfortable carting your PBJs (cut into triangles with the crust removed, of course), Handi-Snacks, and Juicy Juices to school in a container emblazoned with the image of a man who blew his brains out, well, why not try the lighter, the guitar picks, the dog tags, the necklace, the chain wallet, the flask keychain, or the "unplugged" edition action figure?

The Cobain lunchbox-- with thermos!-- runs around $20 at various online retailers. It's still nowhere near as ridiculous as the Danzig one.

UPDATE: THANKS TO READER THERESA DOUGHERTY, WE NOW KNOW THAT KURT COBAIN LUNCHBOXES HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR AT LEAST SIX YEARS. HOT TOPIC SOLD THEM AS FAR BACK AS 2001.

Handsome Furs Announce Fall Dates

Handsome Furs are a fair bunch (or pair, technically), so they've expanded their previously reported tour in support of their debut album Plague Park with a month-long trek across Europe.

The new dates begin October 5 in Dublin and end October 28 in Helsinki, with the full trek kicking off July 21 in Ottawa.

And of course, there are still those Wolf Parade dates just waiting there until August. [MORE...]

Yellow Magic Orchestra Reunite to Play Live Earth

It remains to be seen whether Live Earth will indeed save the world, but it should at least save one renowned act from a permanent hiatus.

The pioneering Japanese synth-pop trio Yellow Magic Orchestra-- which existed from 1978 to 1983 and included a young(er) Ryuichi Sakamoto, along with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi-- has announced plans to reunite for this year's Live Earth event in Kyoto, Japan. Holy crap, I just realized Kyoto and Tokyo are anagrams! Seriously, best thing to happen all day.

Anyhow. YMO will join minimalist composer Michael Nyman and others at the Kyoto concert, which goes down July 7 (with other Live Earth happenings popping off in various cities around the globe the same day). Rihanna, Linkin Park, and quite a few feisty-looking J-pop singers, meanwhile, play Live Earth Tokyo.

Plans for YMO activity beyond the reunion show remain unclear, although the original trio had already joined forces anew earlier this year to appear in a Kirin Lager commercial in Japan, which includes an updated version of their jam "Rydeen" titled "Rydeen 79/07". Hosono and Takahashi also play together in Sketch Show.

Warner Reorganizes, Slim Moon Lands Job at Rykodisc

On Monday, we learned Warner Music Group had axed Slim Moon, the Kill Rock Stars founder who surprised pretty much everyone by taking an A&R job at WMG imprint Nonesuch last fall. Seems Lady Luck payed Slim a visit sometime between then and yesterday, however, as he's now been named senior director of A&R and artistic development at WMG-owned Rykodisc.

Slim Moon's new post, reported on Billboard.biz and confirmed by the man himself, comes as the result of WMG's partnering of digital label Cordless Recordings and Rykodisc (home to Ladytron, Elf Power, Brian Eno, and Frank Zappa, among others).

As Ruby Marchand-- former A&R chief for Cordless who will now head A&R at Rykodisc and work closely with Slim-- said in a statement, "It is a privilege to work with Slim in bringing Rykodisc back to its cutting edge roots, especially knowing that we'll have the brain trust of the Cordless team helping us move forward in the digital world." Perhaps together they can mold Belinda Carlisle into the next Bikini Kill.

Yo La Tengo Sounds on Science DVD
Now here they go dropping science, dropping it all over

Many moons ago-- before the Summer Sun set, even-- the Jersey boys (and gal) of Yo La Tengo issued a strange little wordless wonder called The Sounds of the Sounds of Science, intended as a soundtrack to a series of showings of French director Jean Painlevé's oceanographic films.

Some six years after its premiere at San Francisco's International Film Festival, The Sounds of the Sounds of Science-- ostensibly a mere blip on the sonar for the chameleonic trio-- has surfaced again.

Recently, the British Film Institute issued Science Is Fiction / The Sounds of Science, a double-disc DVD featuring a series of Painlevé's films. The first disc is the originals, soundtracked by the lofty likes of Duke Ellington and French composer Pierre Henry. The second disc features eight Painlevé films with Yo La Tengo soundtracks, synchronized and swimming for the first time on DVD.

The Yo La Tengo music on the DVD is apparently different from what was on the 2002 CD, but, seeing as they're meant to sync up to the films, we're guessing not by much. Still, it's a must-have for the land-lubbing Yo La Tengo fan on your Christmas list, provided you can hold off on opening it yourself before 'tis the season. The DVD appears to be available via traditional retailers in the UK, though a visit to the shop on Yo La Tengo's website should get Americans what they're looking for.

In other Yo La Tengo news, the band will travel by air and by land to a few scattered gigs this summer, including a stop at London's Royal Festival Hall, where they'll perform their sounds for The Sounds of Science yet again. [MORE...]

Beirut Announce Album Release Date, Tracklist, Tour

Photo by Danelle Manthay

Before we even had a chance to miss them, Beirut are back with their second album, the one Zach Condon discussed at length in a Pitchfork interview last month. Although Condon suggested LP2 would bear the name The Flying Club Cup, the official title has not yet been announced-- but we do have some tasty tidbits to tide you over until that time.

Indeed, it's a tracklist, and holy Moses, a release date. The former, complete with a track #0 (whatever the hell that means-- maybe you have to hit the "rewind" button on your CD player past 0:00 on the first track?), can be yours to cherish and share just after the jump. Calendars ready? The latter is October 9, a day that will go down in infamy as the day a little band that could called Beirut dropped their second album (via Ba Da Bing!).

The new album was mixed and mastered by Griffin Rodriguez (of Icy Demons and Bablicon) and features string arrangements and guest vocals from Final Fantasy's Owen Pallett. It includes many of the act's first tunes laid to tape since Beirut evolved from boy-in-bedroom (as on last year's smash Gulag Orkestar) to boy-with-bodacious- band-at-his-disposal (as on this year's Lon Gisland EP).

Just don't expect Beirut's beloved Balkanisms on this one. As Condon told us last month, "I was listening to a lot of Jacques Brel and French chanson music-- pop songs shrouded in big, glorious, over-the-top arrangements and all this drama...very much throwing myself in the world of classical pop music" while writing and recording the latest LP.

And in fact, a Brel cover turns up on the flip of the latest Beirut single, "Elephant Gun", which the 4AD crew fires off in the UK on June 25.

Catch Beirut across Europe this summer, and back in North America for a couple week's worth of dates this fall-- with the exquisite Colleen opening. [MORE...]

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.)