The Pica Beats Sign to Hardly Art

Photo by Joseph P. Traina

Sub Pop offshoot Hardly Art has opened its doors to the newest members of its family: the Pica Beats. They're a Seattle group headed by Ryan Barrett, who self-released his debut album All Mysteries Solve Themselves last year.

On Beating Back the Claws of the Cold, the Pica Beats' forthcoming first album for Hardly Art, the band incorporates less traditional instruments like oboe and sitar into their five-person attack.

Beating Back the Claws of the Cold doesn't have a release date yet, but the Pica Beats do have a trio of hometown tour dates scheduled for March and April. [MORE...]

Cribs Recording With Johnny Marr, Touring
Putting out a bunch of singles for "I'm a Realist"

Call it robbing the cradle if you wish: Wakefield, England's the Cribs sure do attract the attend of older fellas. First, it was Lee Ranaldo, who appeared on their 2007 effort Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever.

Now, Smiths guitarist-- and, more recently, Modest Mouse guitarist-- Johnny Marr is linking up with the young act for some recording and possibly a little road trip. Turns out Crib bassist Gary Jarman met Mr. Marr at a party in Portland (where both are now living), got buddy-buddy real quick-like, and decided to write, perform and record together. No word on what form the sessions will take, but there's talk of an EP, an LP, and even the possibility of Johnny taking a little time away from the Modest Mouse to tour with the Cribs.

When they're not hanging out with rock royalty, the Cribs are putting out singles for "I'm a Realist" from Men's Needs. No, really: there are two out this week! In the UK, Wichita Recordings issued "I'm a Realist" backed with a cover of the Replacements' "Bastards of Young" (produced by Bernard Butler-- hey look, another old dude!) on Monday the 25th, making one wonder if there's a Westerberg in the Cribs' future.

Warner's U.S. single looks forward a bit, matching "Realist" with two new tunes, a live video for "Our Bovine Public", and the Postal Service remix of "I'm a Realist" we Forkcasted on Wednesday. That one's available only on iTunes at the moment, which sorta means another single for the song is planned for March 4 when it hits other digital retailers.

And, when they're not releasing singles for "I'm a Realist", the Cribs are gearing up to tour North America! The band will hit Mexico City March 8 before heading to the States, popping in at South by Southwest for a spell in between club dates. Hey, I hear Thurston's gonna be there if you guys need a fifth...

Oh wait... what's this? There's ANOTHER "I'm a Realist" single? A 7" backed by the Postal Service remix? And it's only going to be available on the North American tour? Jeez. [MORE...]

Tilly and the Wall Deliver New Single

You Tilly and the Wall fans-- and Lord knows there's no shortage of ya-- are already patently aware that Tilly and the Wall have a new album, their third, due this summer on Team Love, right? You were? Well, were you also aware there's a non-album single called "Beat Control" on the way from this Tilly lot, due March 4 digitally or on a limited edition 7" you can order from the Team Love website? Or that you can get said limited edition 7" on Tilly's forthcoming tour? Or that Flowers Forever, Derek Pressnall's new-ish side project, have a brand spankin' new self-titled LP and a couple live dates of their own? You knew that stuff too, huh? Here, why don't you write the music news, and I will listen to the fun pop rock and take all of the drugs. Wheee! [MORE...]

Final Fantasy Tangles With Canada's Healthcare System
Still more fun than dealing with an HMO

Photo by Zach Vowell

Final Fantasy, meet the grim reality of bureaucratic bullshit. It exists even in Canada, believe it or not, and even within the country's state-subsidized healthcare system that is-- while certainly not without flaws-- still the envy of quite a few folks here in the U.S.

Here's the sad tale [via Torontoist]: Final Fantasy's Owen Pallett recently went to renew the card that entitles him to health insurance coverage under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). As is customary, he was asked a number of questions, and in the process of answering them honestly, there arose some doubt as to Pallett's eligibility.

OHIP requires that those receiving health insurance coverage "are in Ontario for at least 153 days in any 12-month period." Pallett, as a touring musician and in-demand collaborator with neither car nor housing lease to his name, could not prove this to the Ministry of Health clerk.

"So, [the clerk] took my health card away," explained Pallett in a message board post quoted by Torontoist.

"I went back, very distraught, with some friends and a notarized document and my high school yearbooks and my diploma. I brought 12 months of cell phone records and Interac [debit card] purchases to prove that I had been in Toronto for 'a lot' of the last year, if not a total of five months' worth. Pathetic, perhaps, and it didn't work. I don't have a lease agreement, or own a car, or have any way to prove (legally) that I'm an Ontario resident.

"She then told me that I could appeal her decision, but that appeals rarely go through. She sneered as she told me this.

"So, if you travel for work, lie, lie, lie."

Some people in high places have already come to Pallett's aid, prompted to an extent, perhaps, by the fact that Pallett has some degree of celebrity in his home country, having won the prestigious Polaris Prize in 2006 for He Poos Clouds.

Two members of Ontario's Legislative Assembly, France Gélinas and Rosario Marchese, sent an open letter Tuesday (February 26) to the province's Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, George Smitherman, on behalf of Pallett [also via Torontoist].

The letter, the full text of which resides below, chastises the hasty revocation "made simply on the basis of a brief conversation" and cites an overlooked exemption in Pallett's case "on the basis of him being absent from Ontario for employment purposes."

Gélinas and Marchese call Pallett "an award winning artist who deserves our support," and ultimately declare that "Owen deserves to have his OHIP coverage immediately reinstated." So there may be hope yet for Pallett and others whose livelihood depends upon travel. We'll keep our violin and piano strings crossed.

And speaking of travel, Pallett's very own, uniquely-funded Maximum Black Festival tour hits Vienna tonight.

Finally, this wouldn't be a bad time to remind folks of the U.S.-based Future of Music Coalition's valiant efforts in the area of musician healthcare. [MORE...]

Wilco, Pornos, MMJ, Death Cab on "Heroes" Soundtrack
Plus: Jesus and Mary Chain, Bowie, Dylan, Iggy, Spank Rock, Nada Surf, Chemical Brothers

Well lookee here, my mom's favorite television program just got itself a nice little soundtrack. Yes, "Hogan's Heroes", you'll have a place on our iPods at last.

Oh wait, make that just "Heroes". The previously mentioned aural companion piece to the hit NBC series about super-powered human individuals, according to a Billboard.com report, will come packed with-- get this-- quite a few of our musical heroes.

There's that new Jesus and Mary Chain tune, "All Things Must Pass", the band's first recording in some ten years. There are unimpeachable legends like Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop (on a new track by Brighton Port Authority), and David Bowie (doing, yes, that one). And there's a whole mess of music culled from the indie elite, including jams by Wilco (exclusive new tune "Glad It's Over"), My Morning Jacket, Death Cab for Cutie, and the New Pornographers, plus Nada Surf and Spank Rock (as featured on a Chemical Brothers track).

Oh, and naturally, selections from singers of the show's theme song and old pals o' Prince Wendy & Lisa also feature on the disc.

But here's the kicker: if you want all this in your hot little hands on March 18, you'll need to be in possession of the super power that allows you to walk into a Best Buy store with a clear conscience. The NBC Records release will only be available in CD form at the electronics retail giant, though a digital version will be offered by a number of dealers in bits and bytes.

Finally, there are some videos packed in with the release, featuring characters from the TV show. 'Nuff said! [MORE...]

Beach House, Papercuts Kick Off Tour Tonight

Photo by Skizz Cyzyk

This evening, in their native Baltimore, Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally of Beach House will kick off a North American tour that will lilt its way gently but sure-footedly into April. On all but one of the band's dates, they'll be joined by San Francisco's Papercuts, who, curiously, won't be appearing with the band in their hometown.

Beach House, whose fine Devotion is out this week in the States on Carpark, are, at the moment, the most recent recipients of Pitchfork's Best New Music distinction. And Jason Quever of Papercuts won't just be there to look cute and kick out jams from his own Recommended album Can't Go Back; he'll sit in with Beach House on drums.

And take note, Beach combers: in addition to the recently Forkcasted clip for Devotion's "You Came to Me", the band mention on their MySpace blog that they've spent February working on videos for "Gila" and "Heart of Chambers". [MORE...]

Pelican Take City to More Cities

Chicago instru-metalists Pelican have scheduled yet another tour in support of last year's City of Echoes. Two, in fact! The first batch of new dates begins tonight (February 28) in Pelican's hometown, and all shows but the band's appearance at the Langerado Music Festival also feature Black Cobra and Unearthly Trance. The next tour, with Thrice and Circa Survive also on the bill, kicks off April 16 following a pair of Pelican headline gigs.

Pelican already know that their next album won't come out until 2009, but Hydra Head did recently release the After the Ceiling Cracked live DVD of the band's December 20, 2005 show at London's Scala. The package also features bonuses in the form of extra live footage, an interview, a music video, and a 3" CD featuring contributions from These Arms Are Snakes and Prefuse 73. Not bad for an interim release! [MORE...]

Photos: Crystal Castles / HEALTH [Chicago, IL; 02/27/08]

Photos by Matthew Taplinger

Toronto's Crystal Castles transformed Chicago's Abbey into a bona fide arcade rave last night, punctuating pretty much every blip, bleep, and fuzzy bass throb with a strobe light that flickered nearly non-stop through their set. Rather than nauseate, this tactic further invigorated the already hyperactive crowd, who packed the small club on a Wednesday night despite Castles' lack of a proper album at the moment. That changes March 18, when Last Gang Records finally unleashes the duo's self-titled debut.

Los Angeles' HEALTH, meanwhile, served up balls-out, primordial blasts of noise and ruckus, aplomb being their defining feature. All this catharsis was at its best when tempered with slight psychedelic tendencies, redolent of, say, Liars' Drum's Not Dead.

Crystal Castles and HEALTH bring the fury to Minneapolis next, and continue sharing their respective brands of danceable audio carnage well into spring.

UPDATE: Check out this clip from the British teen soap opera "Skins", featuring Crystal Castles performing "Alice Practice" during a very, very melodramatic scene. It's weird.

CRYSTAL CASTLES






HEALTH







[MORE...]

Holy Fuck, Raveonettes, Stills Play Rachael Ray's Party
Cooking celebrity is apparently "America's favorite indie music lover"

Yes, the Rachael Ray SXSW party is happening. And, holy fuck, Holy Fuck are actually playing it. (They are referred to as "Holy *&%$" on the SXSW website.) As are the Raveonettes, the Stills, Scissors for Lefty, some band called Autovaughn, and the Cringe, which happens to be Rachael Ray's husband's band. The Ettes are not playing, as previously reported. Efren Ramirez-- aka Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite-- is DJing.

The thing is happening on Saturday, March 15 from noon to 6 p.m. at Beauty Bar. It's described by the SXSW website as "...a feast of hot bands and tasty foods, hosted by America's favorite cook and indie music lover, Rachael Ray...Drinks on us and lots of Rachael's Tasty Recipies."

Yum.

(Via Idolator.)

Animal Collective Announce Water Curses EP

Animal Collective's long-promised new EP Water Curses is due May 5 in the UK and May 6 in the U.S. on 12" and CD from Domino. The four-song collection is the follow-up to Pitchfork's #6 favorite album of 2007, Strawberry Jam.

The EP's first three tracks were produced by Scott Colburn at Tucson's Wavelab Studio during the same sessions that produced Strawberry Jam. The last, "Seal Eyeing", was recorded at Nicolas Vernhes' Rare Book Room Studio (home of the Living Bridge compilation), with Vernhes handling mixing duties for all four tunes. "All tracks find Animal Collective exploring strange new waters," says a press release. Sounds about right.

The Collective's tour plans, which we mentioned a while back, have slowly been getting a tad busier as the festival lineups come trickling in. Since our last check, the band have added dates at both Norway's Hove Festival and New Jersey's All Points West. [MORE...]

Constantines Announce Spring Tour, Cancel NYC Show

From Kensington Heights to a borough within spitting distance of yours-- if you live on the right half of North America, that is-- come the Constantines. They'll show off their weathered word-rock to fans in both the States and their native Canada this spring on a modest tour. Set to issue Kensington Heights April 15 in Canada and April 29 in the States via Arts & Crafts, the band will preview the disc at SXSW before really going for it in April and early May.

Note, however, that the band's previously reported date at New York's Mercury Lounge on March 3 has been moved back to April, as guitarist Steve Lambke broke a bone in his right hand and can't rightly sling his axe to the best of his ability just yet. The date has been moved to April 16 at the very same spot. [MORE...]

Wire Return to the Road, Record New Album

We reported in October that Wire were planning a new album; since then, the band has been as short on information about it as their earliest songs were on time. But according to a recent newsletter from the band, Wire are in the thick of recording and mixing their 11th record, and they plan to release it this year. Non-specific hooray!

To whet our appetites until then, Wire have announced their first three concerts of the year, which also happen to be their first live dates since 2004. Taking place in late April and early May in Belgium and France, these shows are only the beginning of the band's itinerary, which looks to include more European festivals this summer and a North American jaunt in the fall. [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.)