The Aliens Invade North America This Fall
Cool it, Lou Dobbs, they're just going on tour

The Aliens-- whom we should really start referring to as The Gamma Band-- seem rather fond of letting North America lag a little behind their home planet of, uh, Scotland. Having allowed Astronomy for Dogs room to invade the UK months before it captured the U.S., they're now following a run of UK dates with a couple weeks in the U.S. and Canada. Where will their interplanetary invasion take them next? By the looks of it, perhaps the barbershop. [MORE...]

Fennesz Remixes Nine Inch Nails, Reissues Debut LP

On the NIN tip, the headline really says it all. Austrian auditory augmenter Fennesz will be among those contributing a remix of a Year Zero cut to the Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D album. No word on which track, exactly, but we're working on it.

As for Fennesz, well, when he's not thinking about Year Zero, he's looking back a decade. Hotel Paral.lel, Christian Fennesz' debut LP, will be getting a decennial anniversary reissue September 25 in the U.S. (the day before in Europe) from Editions Mego. There's a bit of bonus material that comes with Hotel Paral.lel, too; "5", a track from a 1996 7", and a video by Tina Frank/Skot for the album's closer, "Aus".

Christian has a precious few live engagements scheduled over the next month or so. All those and the refurbished Hotel Paral.lel tracklist are yours after the jump. [MORE...]

Ben Curtis Talks School of Seven Bells, Secret Machines
"I've already gotten my share of hate mail."

Photo by Amanda Merten

With Benjamin Curtis having ended his tenure with Secret Machines, the School of Seven Bells is officially in session. The Brooklyn quartet-- comprised of Curtis, ex-On!Air!Library! sisters Alejandra and Claudia Deheza, and James Elliott (aka Ateleia)-- has plenty on the syllabus this fall, including a new EP, a Prefuse 73 collaboration, and a tour with Blonde Redhead.

"[We met] on an Interpol tour," Curtis told Pitchfork in a recent interview. Both his and the Deheza sisters' former bands were opening for the brooding NYC behemoths. "You know, it always takes a while-- bands are always so shy-- but we started talking. And we just became friends. Their thing fell apart and I was kind of moving on in my own direction too. That's just how it happened."

While Curtis says the combo has only been playing together for "maybe nine months," they already have a 7" on Sonic Cathedral, and a 12"/digital EP due September 11 on Table of the Elements. Listeners can expect "really chromatic synths...and a really visceral rhymthic context" from the songs on the Face to Face on High Places EP, according to Benjamin. "You know, and guitars. Because that's what I end up doing."

The sound apparently has Secret Machines fans divided. "I've already gotten my share of hate mail," Curtis admitted.

"It's kind of divided down the middle. [I'll] get messages like, 'I know at least 10 people that never ever buy your records now,'" Curtis offered with a laugh. "It's like, you can have those 10 people, it's all right man."

He continued: "But it's just totally different music. Fans of Secret Machines are very committed, more so than I ever thought. It's weird, it's like if you're a big fan of the hometown football team, whoever that is, and you're cheering on the quarterback and the quarterback gets traded somewhere else. And all of a sudden he's the enemy, you know what I mean? It's very much like professional sports. It's loyalty to the name, I guess, not the people."

Those hungry for beef about Benjamin leaving Secret Machines, however, should take their salivating elsewhere. Indeed, "it was the most boring split in the history of rock."

"We hang out, and they come to our shows and we go to their shows. Brandon [Curtis, Benjamin's brother] and Josh [Garza] dig [School of Seven Bells]. But I don't think they want to be doing what I'm doing either, so I think it's cool." [MORE...]

Adam Franklin (ex-Swervedriver) Tours U.S., Canada
Preps Setting Suns release with Sam Fogarino of Interpol

Having split ears (and, eventually, hairs) with Swervedriver, gotten friendly with Interpol's Sam Fogarino, and only just let loose his Bolts of Melody, Adam Franklin's ready to hit the road.

Following a brief late August jaunt with fellow ex-somethings Hopewell, Ad will rock October up and down all over the U.S. and just a smidgen in Canada. A Setting Suns release is in the works for the fall... fingers crossed. [MORE...]

YACHT & Architecture in Helsinki Team Up for Tour

YACHT photo by Sarah Meadows

It seems that YACHT and Architecture in Helsinki hit it off on their late July dates together in the latter group's native Australia, because the two acts have announced a second round of joint dates. The new tour takes place in Europe in mid-to-late September and is bookended by plenty of separate dates (some new) from both parties.

To coincide with the European tour, YACHT's latest album, I Believe in You, Your Magic Is Real will be released in Europe via the brand new label ERR. ERR is a joint venture between Jan Lankisch from Tomlab, and Matthew Thornhill from XL, but is not affiliated with either label.

Just a reminder: AiH's new album, Places Like This, comes out in the U.S. tomorrow, August 21, via Polyvinyl. And we posted some nice YACHT photos from his show at the McCarren Park Pool earlier today. [MORE...]

T.V. Eye: August 20-26, 2007

Monday, August 20:

CBS: "Late Show With David Letterman": New Pornographers
NBC: "Late Night With Conan O'Brien": Stephen Marley feat. Damien Marley (rerun)


Wednesday, August 22:

NBC: "Late Night With Conan O'Brien": Blonde Redhead (rerun)
PBS: "Tavis Smiley": Talib Kweli

Thursday, August 23:

NBC: "Last Call With Carson Daly": Lily Allen (rerun)

Friday, August 24:

FUEL: "The Daily Habit": The Donnas
IFC: "The Henry Rollins Show": The Duke Spirit
NBC: "Late Night With Conan O'Brien": Mando Diao (rerun)
CBS: "Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson": Ferraby Lionheart

Spoon Cancel Headline Shows to Open for the Shins

Photo by Autumn De Wilde

The Shins aren't made of squishy yellow foam like Spoon's other new friend, but the two bands have enough mutual affection to account for their appearance on the same October 22 bill at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. (Vetiver opens the show.)

What this means, though, is that Spoon were forced to cancel both of their shows at D.C.'s 9:30 Club on October 22 and 23. In addition to a simple refund, ticketholders for those shows have two options for attending the Merriweather Post Pavilion show:

1) Go to the 9:30 or Merriweather box office, and trade in the original ticket and an extra ten dollars for a General Admission Pit or Reserved Pavilion ticket.

2) Bring the original ticket to Merriweather on the day of the show for a lawn seat.

Other North American residents have a much easier decision to make: To go or not to go. The decisions continue September 5 in Seattle. [MORE...]

Photos: Spank Rock / YACHT / The Cool Kids / Flosstradamus & Kid Sister [Brooklyn, NY; 08/19/07]

Photos by Jason Bergman

A little rain couldn't dampen party spirits at Brooklyn's McCarren Park Pool, which became Earth's center of hipster gravity yesterday afternoon as Spank Rock, Kid Sister and Flosstradamus, YACHT, the Cool Kids, and Ghostland Observatory took turns making kids' rumps twirl in time with their umbrellas.

This latest Pool Party also played host to the usual dodgeball tournament and all sorts of other extra-musical fare. Scope the performers' other dates and more photos below.

SPANK ROCK


YACHT


KID SISTER


THE COOL KIDS

[MORE...]

Dr. Dre Sues Death Row Over Chronic Copyrights

Dr. Dre has brought a lawsuit against his former label Death Row Records (which is now defunct) over the rights to his 1992 classic album The Chronic. According to an AP report, he filed the suit with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles on Wednesday, August 15, and the report lays it out to be a pretty complicated case.

Here's the rough chronology behind the suit:

Fall of 1992: Dr. Dre grants Death Row a license to distribute The Chronic in exchange for royalties.

March 1996: Dre gives up his 50 percent ownership interest in Death Row and agrees to give Death Row The Chronic's copyrights as long as he continues to receive royalties.

2000: After Death Row has failed to pay royalties, Dre notifies the label that he is overturning their agreement and demanding The Chronic's copyrights back.

Present day: Dre's current suit asserts that he upheld his parts of the original deals and that Death Row and the Chapter 11 trustee in charge of the label's bankruptcy case are violating his rights as the owner of the copyrights by continuing to distribute the album without his permission.

So Dre wants the album's copyrights back, and he's asking the court to officially overturn the 1992 and 1996 agreements so that he can get them. He also wants Death Row and the bankruptcy trustee to pay him restitution for the revenue the label received from using the copyrights.

But why is this all coming to light now? Apparently, the new suit reflects Dre's belief that the trustee has solicited bids for the copyrights in the past month and plans to sell them. To take care of that concern in the meantime, he has asked the court to issue a permanent injunction to bar the sale of the copyrights without his written permission.

So it might become pretty hard to find a copy of The Chronic at your local record shop very, very soon.

Photos: Serena Maneesh [Bergen, Norway; 08/17/07]

Photos by Eirik Lande

Norwegian shoegazers Serena Maneesh rocked an intimate crowd at Bergen's Verftet club this weekend, on their way to wrapping up a string of late summer one-off gigs and festivals-- after finishing a brief trot with Nine Inch Nails.

Their last scheduled date before autumn sets in will see the band join the likes of Björk, Sonic Youth, and Jesus and Mary Chain at Ireland's Electric Picnic festival. More photos and the remaining tour dates below.




[MORE...]

The Latest on Le Tigre: DVD, Teaching, DJ Dates

First and foremost, Le Tigre have not broken up. As a recent post on their official website confirmed, the electro-politico trio have instead "taken an extended break from all things Le Tigre." Okay, that could be smoothed-over-ese for "split forever," but at least there's a glimmer of hope in a "break" not followed by an "up."

And just what non-Tigre things have these artsy kids been up to? Well, you already heard about Johanna Fateman presiding over Seagull beauty salon in NYC, which is apparently still going strong. JD Samson, meanwhile, has New England Roses and a new "DJ/production/remix team" with Fatemen called Men. Samson's even inverted her initials and lined up some DJ dates; scope those below.

As for the gal your mother always warned you about, Kathleen Hanna has turned to teaching. Catch a lesson from Coach Hanna at the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls (perhaps you've heard of its awesomeness?), or at "an art class of some kind" at New York University's graduate school in the coming term.

Beyond that, there is talk of one thing Le Tigre: a possible live DVD/CD. No details there yet, but those of us hurting for live Le Tigre would like it soon. Pretty please? Thanks. [MORE...]

Jesus and Mary Chain Plan New Album, Add Dates

Photo by Eirik Lande

Seems all your prayers for more Jesus and Mary Chain dates have been answered. The recently resurrected feedback-mongers have marked a quintet of October U.S. shows into their fall planners, which will have the brothers Reid and co. searing ears from Vegas to 'frisco.

This once again puts the band in close proximity to ScarJo, so who knows what will come of that (if anything). But while we can't promise indie-savvy starlets, we can promise fellow blast-from-the-past Evan Dando on all dates, plus the Mark Lanegan-boosted Soulsavers thrice providing support. 2007: the year flannel has its revenge?

The Chain-gang must first fulfill a handful of gig duties in Europe. Then it's time to record a brand new album, RIGHT GUYS?? Actually, yes, as according to this here press release, the band has confirmed it will soon return to the studio to get cracking on LP #7. No word yet where or when or what or with whom, but still, hooray! [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.)