Destroyer Kicks Off Trouble Tour Tonight

Minneapolis... ARE YOU READY TO ROCK? Sure you are. Here's a better question: ARE YOU READY TO BE DESTROYED? Yes indeedy, Mill City, prepare thyselves for the white-hot hard rock fury of DESTROYER, tearing down the walls of your 400 Bar. TONITE ONLY.

So, okay, Destroyer doesn't quite punish in the manner his name might suggest. But, in his wordy little way, Dan Bejar does slay live, and he'll do just that on a mess of tour dates from tonight through the end of May.

All this more than likely has something to do with Merge's March release of the Pitchfork Recommended Trouble in Dreams. But, hey, if Bejar and co. want to destroy us, we'll let them, no excuse required. [MORE...]

A Sunny Day in Glasgow Cover Pastels, Cut Singles, Tour
Also put debut on vinyl, get remixed by Asobi Seksu and Ulrich Schnauss

The sun has risen and set anew on the biggest city in Scotland plenty of times since the last time we heard much from Philly's A Sunny Day in Glasgow. But hey, here they are again! The band has a trio of vinyl releases and a handful of live dates on the way over the next few months.

First up on the release tip is a 7" featuring their cover of the Pastels' "Sometimes I Think About You", due May 26 from Slumberland. Then on June 3, WRAS-affiliated new label Geographic North will issue a 7" with a pair of brand new ASDIG jams. And finally, last year's Recommended Scribble Mural Comic Journal LP is due on vinyl sometime in early July, bolstered by remixes from Ulrich Schnauss and Asobi Seksu.

Then, there are the live dates, which find the band in California this week, and New York and Europe into the summer. Shine on, you crazy non-Glaswegians. [MORE...]

Half-Handed Cloud Splits 7" With Ariel Pink, Tours

Photo by Yoni Wolf

Asthmatic Kitty's Unusual Animals 7" series gets a third installment on May 20 with a disc split between Half-Handed Cloud, aka John Ringhofer, and Ariel Pink.

Half-Handed pal Bert Hiscock and Cryptacize's Nedelle Torrisi added cello and violin to HHC's A-side contribution, "Sewing Wind to Fabric". On the B-side, Ariel Pink contributes "Before Today". Illustrator Jared Chapman made the cover art for the 7".

Ringhofer has a couple weeks' worth of tour dates with Olympia-based LAKE in April and May. The next one is tonight (April 16) in San Francisco. [MORE...]

Morrissey Plans New Single, Show in Israel

Nuts to all that "love" business; all you really need is Morrissey.

Moz is set to release a UK-only single for recent live staple and Greatest Hits newbie "All You Need Is Me" May 19 on Polydor/Decca. B-sides include "Children in Pieces" and "My Dearest Love", recorded with composer Gustavo Santaolalla, as well as a live version of David Bowie's "Drive-In Saturday" from a spring 2007 gig in Nebraska.

Morrissey's 2008 plans include a European tour, which right now features a headlining slot at London's O2 Wireless Festival on July 4 and a performance in Tel Aviv, Israel on July 29 [via Idolator]. The Tel Aviv show has drawn criticism from the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, who accuse Morrissey of violating his avowed anti-racist attitude by performing in Israel. [Via the Daily Swarm]

A new album, helmed by producer Jerry Finn, is also in the works for the fall. But more immediately, there's the Under Review DVD detailing the making of the Smiths' classic-amongst-classics, The Queen Is Dead, and a pair of boob tube performances on "The Late Late Show With Craig Fergson" on April 28 and 29. He'll perform "All You Need Is Me" and "Irish Blood, English Heart", respectively. [MORE...]

Thurston, MacKaye, Watt in Record Store Documentary
Also: Glenn Branca, Noam Chomsky, members of Talking Heads, Of Montreal, Black Keys

Did you know that corporations tend to disregard the interests of small businesses, that people want to buy fewer physical copies of musical artifacts when they can get them on the internet for free, or that Fugazi frontman Ian MacKaye tends to interview for documentaries in kitchens while wearing a hoodie and a black beanie? If any of these things catches you by surprise, then a forthcoming documentary called I Need That Record! The Death (or Possible Survival) of the Independent Record Store will probably be very informative for you.

The movie, directed by Brendan Toller, explores the reasons why independently owned record shops are getting scarcer through interviews with MacKaye, Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), Mike Watt (Minutemen), Patrick Carney (The Black Keys), Patterson Hood (Drive-By Truckers), Glenn Branca, Chris Frantz (Talking Heads), Lenny Kaye (Patti Smith Group), Bryan Poole (Of Montreal), writer Legs McNeil, smart dude Noam Chomsky, and plenty of music business folk across the U.S.

The rough cut of I Need That Record! premieres May 3 at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, but the final cut and theatrical/DVD release are still forthcoming. In the meantime, you can watch the trailer at the link below or check out clips from the movie by clicking here.

This would also be an appropriate time to remind you: Record Store Day is April 19!

Earles & Jensen Reissue Prank Call Classic on Matador
Devendra Banhart, Matt Sweeney, Archer Prewitt contribute to liner notes

Cat Power is great, but her music's not exactly a picker upper. And Malkmus is sometimes funny, but in more of a heady way than a spit-coffee-at-your-computer-screen way. Thus, Matador has rectified its comedy void with the forthcoming reissue of Earles and Jensen's out-of-print double-disc Earles and Jensen Present... Just Farr a Laugh: The Greatest Prank Phone Calls Ever! Vols. 1 & 2. After a few delays, the record finally arrives April 22 May 6-- another delay!

The duo consists of Brooklynite Jeffrey Jensen and Memphis resident Andrew Earles, both writers and jacks of several other trades as well (e.g., Jensen was once the bass player for Homestead Records' Smack Dab). The Just Farr a Laugh reissue package comes with a book of photos, drawings, and written forewords from a host of cool contributors. Devendra Banhart, Matt Sweeney, and Archer Prewitt all lend drawings to the book, and the list of foreword writers includes Matador co-head Gerard Cosloy, Gregg Turkington (aka Neil Hamburger), and Neil Pollack.

As for the audio contents of the record, the title pretty much says it all, although the MP3 samples linked below say it even better.

The Chap Sign to Ghostly to Release New Album

Electro-rocking London foursome the Chap have signed to electronic-heavy label Ghostly International to release their third album, Mega Breakfast.

The record comes out July 1 in the U.S., although all the band's live affections for now will go to other countries. They have two Greek dates in April and a steady stream of European shows through early June. [MORE...]

Wombats Sign to Roadrunner in U.S., Issue LP, Tour

The Wombats are a zippy, upbeat little musical unit from Liverpool with a whole lot to say. How fitting, then, that for the U.S. release of their LP The Wombats Proudly Present... A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation, they've signed on with Roadrunner Records-- home to, um, a bunch of mean-looking dudes. Anyhow, Roadrunner will issue the set June 24.

And, man oh man, does this lot ever like to tour. With a ton of European gigs on the way, and a few in the U.S. as well, you are going to have a hard time not seeing the Wombats this spring and summer. [MORE...]

Roskilde Festival Lineup Announced
My Bloody Valentine, Jay-Z, Neil Young, Cat Power, M.I.A., Grinderman, Liars, Hot Chip, Streets, Dan Deacon, Gnarls Barkley, Girl Talk

A couple names have loomed large over the bill for this year's Roskilde Festival. As previously reported, the recently reunited My Bloody Valentine and the recently ubiquitous Radiohead lead the charge for the festivities taking place July 3-6 in Roskilde, Denmark (with a warm-up featuring local bands from June 29 to July 3). But now that the full lineup Roskilde 2008 has been announced, Thom and Kevin and them better make more than a little room.

Joining Radiohead and My Bloody Valentine at this year's big to-do are Jay-Z, M.I.A., Cat Power, Neil Young, Liars, Grinderman, Hot Chip, the Streets, Dan Deacon, Girl Talk, No Age, Gnarls Barkley, Goldfrapp, Battles, Black Mountain, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Jay Reatard, the Notwist, Band of Horses, Holy Fuck, José González, Yeasayer, Slayer, the Raveonettes, At the Gates, Santogold, Tokyo Police Club, Dillinger Escape Plan, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Supersilent, Extra Golden, Lykke Li, the Gossip, Sunburned Hand of the Man, Vieux Farka Touré, Various Production, Familjen, the Count and Sinden, Shackleton, Cadence Weapon, Joan as Police Woman, Kate Nash, the Chemical Brothers, Efterklang, Digitalism, Lady Saw, Dengue Fever, Kings of Leon, MGMT and, yes indeedy, Judas Priest.

Matmos Announce Summer Tour

Photo by AJ Farkas

Baltimore transplants, Matador recording artists, and conceptual electronic knob twiddlers Matmos have revealed their North American tour in support of the forthcoming album Supreme Balloon. The all-synthesizer LP comes out May 6 in the U.S. (May 5 in the UK and Europe), and the tour takes place in July.

M.C. Schmidt and Drew Daniel (a Pitchfork contributor) will be joined on the tour by two acts with awesome minimal names: Wobbly and Snacks.

Before that trek, Matmos will head to Europe for a few dates in June. And even before that, tomorrow night, April 17, Daniel will read from his recently published 33 1/3 series book about Throbbing Gristle at Red Emma's in Baltimore. He'll also spin a Throbbing Gristle DJ set at Liam's Pint Size Pub earlier in the evening.

Finally, we now have the Supreme Balloon tracklist, and it is listed after the jump. Yes, it's only seven songs, but take note: the title track is 24 minutes long. [MORE...]

Hold Steady, Nick Lowe, Regina Spektor Play Tribeca

Amidst the flurry of music festivals announcing their lineups/existences around this time of year, the film version of the festival phenomenon gets less play from the ol' Pitchfork News department. The reason for this is obvious: there's generally no live music featured at film festivals. Yet here comes NYC's Tribeca Film Festival to throw a wrench in that stereotype.

Aside from its music-oriented films (including a Gloria Estefan documentary and the Julian Schnabel-directed Lou Reed's Berlin, which presents footage of the titular 2006 live show), Tribeca will showcase music in two formats: the Tribeca/ASCAP Music Lounge and a one-off show called "Breaking the Band".

The Tribeca/ASCAP Music Lounge runs at the Canal Room from April 29 through May 2 and features sets by musicians who have contributed to films. The Lounge's four-day schedule includes appearances by Nick Lowe, Regina Spektor, Joseph Arthur, Ingrid Michaelson, Sondre Lerche, Jon Foreman, Rachael Yamagata, Sia, Augustana, and Chris Thile, among others.

Then there's "Breaking the Band", sponsored by Target, which takes place at Webster Hall on May 2. Curated by music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas (who has lent her talents to "The O.C.", "Grey's Anatomy", and "Gossip Girl"), the show sports one hell of a headliner: the Hold Steady! Hooray for really good bands! Also performing, two other bands: the Virgins and the Republic Tigers.

As for the non-music portion (read: the majority) of the Tribeca Film Festival, that starts April 23 and ends May 4.

New Pornos, Andrew Bird Play Sculpture Garden
Bon Iver and Cloud Cult, too

The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden-- adjacent to the Twin Cities' Walker Art Center-- is one of the more beautiful spots in the Midwest (that picture doesn't really do it justice). Featuring ornate landscaping and gargantuan sculptures from the likes of Alexander Calder, Claes Oldenburg, and others, it's a surreal, almost magisterial spot, and sounds just about perfect for a concert.

What luck, then, that in celebration of its 20th birthday, the Sculpture Garden is hosting a pretty great one. On June 21, the New Pornographers, Andrew Bird, Bon Iver, and hometown heroes Cloud Cult will, rain or shine, hit the outdoor stage for the Rock the Garden celebration. Happy birthday, place with the big cherry spoon!

Oh, and if you happen to call the Twin Cities home or happen to be in town for a Twins game or something, you'll have a chance to see local boy Dosh-- along with Andrew Bird, Jel, Fog, and others-- at the Garden's World of Dosh concert May 3.

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.)