Arctics, Klaxons, Dizzee Make Mercury Shortlist

The Nationwide Mercury Prize, the annual artistic back-pat and big-time cashout bestowed upon the finest British or Irish album of the previous year (and sometimes, just for kicks, the top album by some guy who lived in the UK once), has announced its shortlist of nominees for the 2007 accolade. There's some good stuff, some great stuff, and-- perhaps inevitably-- some Winehouse. Here, in all their alphabetically-ordered glory, they are:

Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
Basquiat Strings (with Seb Rochford) - Basquiat Strings
Bat For Lashes - Fur and Gold
Dizzee Rascal - Maths + English
Jamie T - Panic Prevention
Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future
Maps - We Can Create
New Young Pony Club - Fantastic Playroom
Fionn Regan - The End of History
The View - Hats Off to the Buskers
Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
The Young Knives - Voices of Animals and Men

Poor Lily Allen!

Right, then. Eight of the twelve nominees enter the running with debut albums; an impressive feat considering the proclivity of our own Grammys towards age and experience (and, often, boredom). Even the oldest amongst the young folks may again have their day: the barely-legal Dizzee won in 2003 for Boy in Da Corner, and the Monkeys would be pulling a Tom Hanks should they win for Favourite, having taken the prize last year for their mouthful of a debut.

The winner will be presented with £20,000 (about 40 Gs American) in a ceremony September 4 at London's Grosvenor House Hotel.

The Mountain Goats Announce Fall Tour
Bowerbirds to open

Mountain Goat captain John Darnielle and first mate Peter Hughes will lead whomever else happens to be in the band (perhaps nobody?) on a tour of the East Coast of North America this fall. Along the way, they will play music, travel in vehicles, and, presumably, eat and drink for nourishment.

Joining them on this road odyssey will be fellow North Carolinians Bowerbirds, who count Darnielle as superfan #1.

The tour begins September 20 in D.C. and ends October 2 in Brooklyn. [MORE...]

Dizzee Rascal Readies "Pussyole (Old Skool)" Single

"Pussyole", "Old Skool"-- whatever you want to call the Maths + English track that reuses the "It Takes Two" sample-- is now a single. Dizzee Rascal and XL will release it in the UK on July 30.

The single also includes instrumentals, an acapella, and "My Life [ft. Newham Generals]" as B-sides. And though it seems like Dizzee wants to keep the name debate going by making the single's first two tracks "Pussyole (Old Skool)" followed by "Old Skool (Pussyole)", there's a fairly clear explanation for that: the former is the album version, and the latter is the clean version used for radio and in the track's video.

Also on July 30, BBC Four will air Dizzee Rascal: Bow Selector, a documentary about the London MC's career so far.

Otherwise, Dizzee has a fair amount of shows this summer to keep him busy, mostly at festivals. A UK tour is in the works for October. [MORE...]

Voxtrot Announce Fall Tour, New Single

With the release of their self-titled debut LP and their Pitchfork Music Festival set behind them, Austin indie poppers Voxtrot will keep the party going into the wee hours of the morning (aka the days of mid-October) with newly minted fall tours of the UK and North America.

After they play Coney Island's Siren Festival this weekend, they'll take a month-long break before heading to England in late August. Then it's back to our shores in mid-Semptember.

On August 27, Beggars/Playlouder will release the single for "Firecracker" in the UK. It will come out on CD, 7", and download, and features the B-sides "Honey Bee" and "Loan Shark". [MORE...]

Justice, Liars, Battles Play London's Field Day Fest
With Caribou, Electrelane, the Concretes, Matthew Dear, Four Tet, Fridge

Billed as "London's New Psychedelic Summer," the Field Day Festival-- tripping out at London's Victoria Park August 11-- will bring in top-tier dance and rock n roll from Justice, Liars, Caribou, Battles, Electrelane, Matthew Dear, Four Tet, White Rabbits, Gruff Rhys, the Concretes, Fridge, 1990s, Mystery Jets, the Aliens, Erol Alkan, Bat for Lashes, Vetiver, Adem, Cajun Dance Party, and a lot more than this already-overpacked sentence can handle.

And, hey, if music ain't your bag, organizers promise tug-of-war, "Morris Dancing," and a "largest marrow competition." Unsure as to exactly what that is, we'll just take this opportunity to encourage you to see Battles. And Justice. And so forth.

Bjork Comes Back to North America This Fall

Photo: Bernhard Kristin/ILC

Will that Björk ever quit? We sure hope not! Following tours and new albums and singles alike, you'd think she'd wanna take a nap or hang out with her kids or something. Not our Björk, though; when it comes to her public, she just gives and gives. And it's a good thing, too, 'cuz from her, we'll gladly just take and take.

She's added a few North American dates to her continuing trek in support of the colorful Volta. Atlanta, Detroit, Montreal, and New York, you're in luck. But don't you weep, continent: we have a feeling there are more dates on the way. [MORE...]

Laurie Anderson's Science Augmented by Reed, Antony

Laurie Anderson's art-rock classic Big Science is 25, and to celebrate, Nonesuch are saving the candles and reissuing the thing instead. But that's not all: according to Uncut, Laurie, along with her pals Lou Reed and Antony Hegarty (of "and the Johnsons" fame), recorded a new version of the record's title track for a Big Science 2 EP. The EP also features a remastered version of "O Superman" from the Big Science LP. Both are due in the UK July 16. UPDATE: THEY WILL BE OUT JULY 17 IN THE U.S.

Laurie also has a few tour dates on the way in Spain and Portugal, which we'll get to after the tracklists. [MORE...]

Bat for Lashes Braces for U.S. Tour, Fests

With Fur and Gold (originally released last year in the UK) finally set for U.S. release July 31 via Caroline, Natasha Khan and her wood nymphs/backing musicians will treat U.S. audiences to a welcome little dose of their magic.

Following a couple scattered appearances here, Bat for Lashes' inaugural Stateside foray proper commences July 23 in happening Hoboken and wraps up barely a week later in the City of Angels. It's a brief spell of a tour, but what else Khan you do? (Groan!)

Bat has a pack of European festival commitments lined up as well, and the lady recently released a single in the UK for Gold nugget "What's a Girl to Do". Catch Khan giving us her best Sarah Nixey while on a surreal midnight bike ride in the song's video below. [MORE...]

Justice Criss-Cross Globe on Tour
Kris Kross, LOL

It's no electric pyramid, but Justice's gigantic, groove-powered, cross-shaped (imaginary) spaceship will soon descend upon cities across the globe as the breakout French duo shakes hips from Fuji to Philly in the coming months. Get ready to D.A.N.C.E. to the B.E.A.T., peoples.

The Ed Bangers behind the album known to Mac users as "Option T" do festival duty all summer long before hitting the Land Down Under in late September. They'll then invade the land of liberty and something-or-other for all in October.

Be there or be †.

Thanks to Ian for the tip! [MORE...]

Black Mountain Return to the Road

First, it was Pink Mountaintops. Then Blood Meridian. Then Lightning Dust. Good as they are, the glut of Black Mountain side projects can leave one wishing for the real thing.

Finally, the OGs are back in action, and Black Mountain-- the curiously strong stoner-indie rockers-- have a big ol' tour on the way. Following a stop next month at the Under the Volcano! fest in their native Vancouver, McBean and co. will trek across North America for a month or so starting in late September. They've also got that ever-better ATP Nightmare Before Xmas thing to think about in December. [MORE...]

New Pornographers Add Fall Dates

The New Pornographers thrive on life's little conundrums. Faced with crafting another full-tilt power-pop (er, power-folk) record, they came through with Challengers. Up against the threat of widespread pre-release leaks, they threw a ton of bonus stuff on the album and let it loose early, resulting in much glee amongst their rabid fans.

And now, they face yet another challenge: bringing the new album to the masses in the form of a fall North American tour. Thankfully, they'll have some help, from the likes of support acts like Lavender Diamond, Emma Pollock, and Pornographic side projects Immaculate Machine and Fancey.

But their two Texas dates with Spoon have us particularly excited. Is there a suggestion box where we can suggest that these two tour more together?

The New Pornographers' fourth record, Challengers, as you know, drops August 21 on Matador, though it kinda already did. And the band are playing some music festival this weekend put on by some website. Perhaps you've heard of it? [MORE...]

Flaming Lips-Scored Summercamp! Film Hits Theaters

Photo by Matt Jordan

Ah, summercamp. Sleepless nights in smelly, bug-infested cabins. Capsizing canoes, grueling hikes, bouts with poison ivy. Escaping the kids who beat you up at school to get beat up by kids out in the woods. Weeks of utter freedom for mom and dad. Those were the days!

It's too bad, though, that we didn't have the Flaming Lips soundtracking our summertime misadventures. Lucky for Cameron, Spencer, Holly, and Boo-- the young subjects of acclaimed documentary Summercamp!-- the Lips do in fact soundtrack theirs.

Eternally campy Wayne Coyne and co. contribute original music to the film, directed by Bradley Beesley and Sarah Price. Summercamp!, which premiered at several festivals last year, finally kicks off a theatrical run next week.

The film opens at New York City's IFC Center on July 18, and will play in Milwaukee, Chicago, Boston, Portland, Oklahoma City (naturally), Lincoln, Los Angeles, and elsewhere thereafter. Click here for a complete list of showings. And if you dwell in a decidedly more rural locale, fear not: Summercamp! is also available now on DVD.

Beesley, as you may recall, also directed the Flaming Lips doc The Fearless Freaks, and shares a co-directing credit with Coyne on the U.F.O.s at the Zoo DVD, which landed this week in Roswell and everywhere else. Beesley's also done a bunch of Lips videos and has a significant hand in the upcoming Lips flick Christmas on Mars.

The Lips themselves, meanwhile, wrap up an overseas jaunt this weekend. They return to North America in late fall for a spate of shows with Black Moth Super Rainbow 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.)