Zach Condon-Boosted Alaska in Winter Debut Hits U.S.

Native New Mexican Brandon Bethancourt's nom de musique is Alaska in Winter, and that would be just another inscrutable band name if it weren't for the fact that Bethancourt actually began recording his debut album, Dance Party in the Balkans, in an Alaskan cabin one winter.

However, he returned to New Mexico to finish the record, and once back home, he recruited some noteworthy friends to help him out. Among them are Beirut's Zach Condon and A Hawk and a Hacksaw's Heather Trost. The former contributed vocals, trumpet, and ukulele to various Dance Party tracks, while the latter added violin.

Dance Party in the Balkans came out last year in the UK on Regular Beat Recording Co., but it made its U.S. debut this week via Milan Records. The U.S. release is a digipack featuring alternate mixes and bonus tracks not available on the original.

What's more, Regular Beat will press Dance Party's Condon-assisted "Close Your Eyes - We Are Blind" onto a UK split 7" due April 7. The B-side, "Trop Exprés", comes courtesy of Regular Beat labelmate Marianne Dissard and features Joey Burns of Calexico.

Bethancourt will launch an Alaska in Winter tour in April. Once that's wrapped, he'll hole up in Berlin to record his sophomore album. [MORE...]

Hold Steady, Vampire Weekend Hit Great Escape
With Okkervil River, No Age, Black Lips, Iron & Wine, Black Mountain, Sunset Rubdown

It's not just gonna be just some passable journey, a solid holiday, or a merely adequate jaunt. No, if the lineup has any say in the matter, the Great Escape Festival really oughta live up to its name. Cramming a couple hundred bands into 25 venues around Brighton, England May 15-17, the music festival and industry convention gathers artists, industry types, and lucky bystanders for three days of shop-talk, gin-and-tonics, and tinnitus. (Hey, sounds familiar!)

Among those who have reserved a spot at the Great Escape are the Hold Steady, Vampire Weekend, Black Lips, No Age, Okkervil River, Iron & Wine, Black Mountain, Sunset Rubdown, Yeasayer, the Twilight Sad, Bon Iver, Times New Viking, Fujiya & Miyagi, Crystal Castles, Saul Williams, the Futureheads, Born Ruffians, the Black Angels, Frightened Rabbit, Vashti Bunyan, These New Puritans, Lightspeed Champion, the Teenagers, Future of the Left, the Mae Shi, Envelopes, We Are Wolves, the Ting Tings, Glasvegas, Tunng, School of Language, Cut Off Your Hands, Jennifer Gentle, the Wombats, Hot Club de Paris, Matt & Kim, Kelly Stoltz, Cadence Weapon, Pete and the Pirates, Silje Nes, the Subways, Ida Maria, Nina Nastasia, Samamidon, Late of the Pier, the Fratellis, Laura Marling, Vetiver, AIDS Wolf, the Rascals, Plants and Animals, Telepathe and Johnny Foreigner.

There will also be panels and lectures about various music business topics. Escape greatly, folks; just don't forget those business cards!

Numero Group Manufactures Trading Cards!

Do you like the specificity and thoroughness of the compilations Chicago's Numero Group assembles but feel lost when it comes to recognizing the names of the myriad contributors? Are you excited for the upcoming baseball season but unwilling to scour flea markets for a Jay Bruce/Evan Longoria/Clay Buchholz rookie card? Well, dear reader, if you answered "yes" to those questions, Numero Group has solved both of your problems with the creation of its Numero Group 2008 No-Hitters.

The No-Hitters is a collection of trading cards spotlighting various artists from the label's stable of soul, funk, gospel, and rock also-rans. There are a total of 90 cards in the set, and each one features a vintage color photo of a contributor to one of Numero Group's many reissues and compilations.

At random, one No-Hitter comes in the package of any new Numero Group CD or LP, and there are also a limited number of full sets available from the label's website. Cheap too!

A full list of the No-Hitters follows the jump. [MORE...]

Chinese Democracy in 2008? Free Dr. Pepper for All!
This is some seriously good marketing, yo

Axl Rose photo by George Chin

Guns N' Roses are a once-great pop-metal band with a surprisingly long shelf life, led by a reclusive, volatile frontman who's spent roughly a decade and a half and, reportedly, upwards of $13 million crafting an album/punchline widely known as Chinese Democracy.

Dr. Pepper is a syrupy, prune-like soda beverage brewed by the Cadbury Schweppes corporation.

What the two had in common before this weekend, I couldn't rightly tell you (okay, yes, both are prune-like), but as of March 25, 2008, the fate of the two juggernauts is as intertwined as Dr. Pepper's trademark mélange of 23 flavors.

According to Billboard.com, Dr. Pepper has offered every single person in America (besides famed GNR deserters Slash and Buckethead) a free can of their brew, provided Axl Rose and company release the long-promised Chinese Democracy sometime in the year 2008.

Ah, wackiness, you win again! Though, really, this is an admirable feat of marketing wizardry for all parties involved. Today, folks are once again reminded that, yes, it sure would be great to hear Chinese Democracy before Axl Rose completes his transition into plastic he-beast. Dr. Pepper aren't risking much, since the likelihood of Chinese Democracy arriving this year (hell, this decade) is as slim as it's ever been. And, hey, if Chinese Democracy does, in fact, emerge before 2009? All that sweet Dr. Pepper should help wash down the taste of bitter, bitter disappointment, after nearly twenty years spent waiting for an album that sucks. I mean, unless it's good. Har har.

There's a blog charting the progress of the big "Democracy Now" experiment, with an accompanying press release that attempts to draw some parallel between the Pep and the rocker. "It took a little patience to perfect Dr Pepper's special mix of 23 ingredients, which our fans have come to know and love," Dr. Pepper's marketing director Jaxie Alt points out. "So we completely understand and empathize with Axl's quest for perfection - for something more than the average album. We know once it's released, people will refer to it as 'Dr Pepper for the ears' because it will be such a refreshing blend of rich, bold sounds - an instant classic."

Consider our review already written.

Mad Decent's Paul Devro Visits India for Aid Workshop

Urban Typhoon is a workshop that took place March 16-22 in the Koliwada neighborhood of the Dharavi district of Mumbai, India. The workshop gathered a cross-section of artists, thinkers, activists, and business people to brainstorm ideas for improving the future of life in the notorious slum area. Add to that list of participants Mad Decent DJ and Diplo buddy Paul Devro, who made the trip in the spirit of the label's recent string of good deeds.

Mad Decent threw a party for the locals and Urban Typhoon attendees on the last day of the workshop, but if Devro's blog posts are any indication, most of his time was spent recording Koliwada residents. As he tells it himself, "When I first got to Koliwada, I was trying to explain that I wanted to write some new songs with the locals and work together and make some tracks. They didn't really understand what I meant. I think it's because they mostly listen to Akon, Sean Paul, [and] Hindi film scores, or they just sing local songs that have been there for generations. So after four days I realized that I'd have to just do it to give them the idea. So we set up a speaker on the roof of the gym, and I played a bunch of beats and instruments to my friends. Then we started getting somewhere."

Devro's posts feature plenty of pictures, a promise of video in the future, and a story about the first "Koliwada Idol". There are four of them right now, and you can check them out here: #1, #2, #3, #4.

M.I.A., Holy Fuck to Tour Together
Apart, too!

M.I.A. tour? Great. And who's opening, you say? Well, Holy Fuck! Man, sometimes, this stuff just writes itself.

Yes, Toronto's foul-mouthed electro-rockers and the Sri Lanka/London sound-clasher have lined up a number of joint club dates around North America later in the spring. Once both make their ways to Coachella, they'll link up for a bunch of gigs in late April and early May, with a few additional dates in June for good measure. Blessed curse words, is this ever a good combo.

And, hey, while we're making with the puns, M.I.A.'s not exactly gonna be living up to her stage name through the rest of the spring, with a few more festivals and a bunch of North American club dates along the way. Holy Fuck will precede their time with Ms. Arulpragasam with a tour of the UK and Europe.

In addition to their joint dates, both Holy Fuck and M.I.A. have fairly fresh remix-laden releases to their credit: Holy Fuck for "Lovely Allen", and M.I.A. for "Paper Planes". Also, Holy Fuck likes Sally Shapiro and getting their nails done, and M.I.A. likes Chuck Taylor. [MORE...]

Teenage Jesus & the Jerks Reunite for Two NYC Shows

Photo by GODLIS

Reviled and revered in equal measure during their brief time together, the incalculably influential no wave icons Teenage Jesus & the Jerks will reunite for a pair of shows at the Knitting Factory in their native New York City on June 13. The gigs mark the first time in decades Lydia Lunch and company have performed under the Teenage Jesus moniker. Lunch will be joined by onetime Jerk and Sonic Youth-er/current Bad Seed Jim Sclavunos, as well as a "lost member" of the band on bass.

The shows are going down in conjunction with Abrams Image's June 1 release of No Wave: Post-Punk. Underground. New York. 1976-1980, the previously reported Thurston Moore/Byron Coley-edited book about the rise of the very scene Teenage Jesus & the Jerks helped forge.

Though the rest of the evening's lineup is currently unannounced, this tidbit from the Knitting Factory's press release certainly intrigues: "also on the bill will be a supporting act from the ashes of the original NYC No Wave nightmare. Don't be late, it will be over before you know it." Ladies and germs, start your speculating... pronto.

Atavistic plans to issue the complete works of Teenage Jesus & the Jerks in June.

Death Cab Add Dates, Reveal Cover and iTunes Bonuses

Keep that meter running, sport; this Death Cab ain't fixing to slow up anytime soon. Death Cab for Cutie's tour in support of Atlantic's May 13 release of the band's sixth LP Narrow Stairs, just got a ittle bigger.

The band have added a number of dates well into the summer, which will keep this Death Cab moving in spurts from April 18 off into August. Notable new additions include a night at Red Rocks, a stop at the first-ever Pemberton Festival, and, finally, a trek to Japan's Summer Sonic in the hot season. Openers for various dates include Rogue Wave, Tegan and Sara, the Cave Singers, and Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls.

Oh, that kinda pixelated rainbow thing right up there? That's the cover art for Narrow Stairs. While you're looking longingly at those oozing hues, head on over to iTunes, where you can pre-order the album. The regular iTunes pre-order version of the album comes with several bonuses: the radio edit of first single "I Will Possess Your Heart" (which happens to be eight minutes long), the demo version of "The Ice Is Getting Thinner", and "Audio Credits (As Read by Mike West)", which we believe is a recording of this guy reading the album credits.

The deluxe iTunes pre-order version contains all of the above as well as the demo version of "No Sunlight" and the videos for both the long and short versions of "I Will Possess Your Heart".

No word yet as to whether or not there's going to be a deluxe version of the physical album as well. Surprise! There will NOT be a deluxe version. [MORE...]

Bat for Lashes Opening for Radiohead

Radiohead, you sure do know how to pick 'em. Fresh off the announcement that they'd be joined by Liars on a mess of their U.S. tour dates this spring, we've now learned that Natasha Khan's Bat for Lashes will warm up crowds at Radiohead shows in the UK and Europe. Bat for Lashes join the band on most, but not all, of their June gigs, with the joint engagements ending July 1 in Amsterdam. Well played, all.

When she's not palling around with one of the biggest rock band in the world, Khan is covering the Cure on a new compilation, and working on the follow-up to 2006's Fur & Gold. [MORE...]

Hydra Head Reissues the VSS' Nervous Circuits

Hydra Head-- home of nontraditionally extreme bands like Jesu, Pelican, Oxbow, and Xasthur-- will reissue San Francisco noise punk band the VSS' Nervous Circuits as a CD/DVD set on May 20.

The 1997 album, originally released on Honey Bear Records, was the VSS' only full-length release; members of the band went on to form Pleasure Forever and Year Future as well as found the Gold Standard Laboratories label.

For the Hydra Head reissue of Nervous Circuits, the first 1000 copies will come with a bonus CD of studio and live recordings from a set at Santa Cruz radio station KZSC. The DVD features a slideshow of photos and fliers, a compilation of performances from the 1997 Nervous Circuits Tour, and footage of full live sets at the DUMBO Warehouse in Brooklyn, the Depot in Boulder, CO, and the Co-op in Berkeley, CA. [MORE...]

Will Oldham, Andrew Bird Drop in on New Dosh Record

Photo by Cameron Wittig

It isn't enough for the word "wolf" and variations thereof to ruthlessly dominate band nomenclature in this century. Now the lupine lingo is finding a place in album titles as well!

Enter Wolves and Wishes, the fourth and latest official album from percussion whiz and Andrew Bird bandmate Martin Dosh. The proper follow-up to 2006's The Lost Take arrives May 13 on that clearinghouse of all things eclectic, Anticon. And while Dosh could certainly conjure a full-band sound all lone wolf stylee, here he's recruited a pack of collaborators.

Bird contributes his trademark violin stylings to "Don't Wait for the Needle to Drop" and "Kit and Pearle", while Fog members and associates turn up on "Don't Wait" and the sorta title track "Wolves". Elsewhere, Odd Nosdam lends some "tuneful noise" to "Keep Up Appearance". And then there's the granddaddy of guest appearance-makers, Will "Bonnie 'Prince' Billy" Oldham, who sings on "Bury the Ghost".

Dosh promises us a tour of North America in support of Wolves and Wishes, dates to come. [MORE...]

Vampire Weekend Reveal Record Store Day 7"

Indie rock newcomers Vampire Weekend will join indie rock AARP member Stephen Malkmus in boosting the cause of Record Store Day with the release of a single. Vampire Weekend's single is a 7" with the album version of "A-Punk" on the A-side and the "rehearsal version" of "Oxford Comma" on the B-side. It will come out on April 19, aka Record Store Day.

In keeping with the Record Store Day M.O. (holding special events and offering exclusive merchandise at participating independent stores "with the purpose of celebrating the culture and unique place that they occupy both in their local communities and nationally"), the only shops that will carry the single are the ones participating in Record Store Day. Otherwise, VW completists can find the little vinyl slab at their shows and their website.

By the way, the band still has plenty of shows left, including appearances at both ATP vs. Pitchfork and the Pitchfork Music Festival. Damn, it's like we like them or something! [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.)