Cat Power Reschedules Canceled Dates

Photo by Jana Green

As her vocal cords rest in preparation for a still-very-full itinerary of summer shows, Cat Power has already rescheduled most of the dates she was forced to cancel less than a week ago.

The post-postponement dates include early May shows in Mexico and Colombia as well as October make-ups for the shows in Texas and Arizona. She's also added a few European shows in June. [MORE...]

Justice, Spank Rock Lead Ed Rec Vol III
With SebastiAn, Mr. Oizo, Busy P and Murs, Feadz, DSL, Mr. Flash, Krazy Baldhead, So Me

What a year it's been in Ed Banger land since the release of the last installment of their Ed Rec compilation series. Justice, of course, took off towards the stratosphere, and a bunch of the label's stable of artists accompanied Daft Punk on their world-conquering tour. And hey, some people even listen to Uffie without snickering now.

It's the perfect time to add yet another volume to the Ed Rec library. In keeping with the numerical order of things, they're following Ed Rec Vol. II with a Vol. III.

So what's in store for the third time out? Well, Justice, of course, plus SebastiAn, DJ Mehdi, Uffie, Feadz and Spank Rock, Busy P and Murs, Mr. Flash, So Me, DSL, Krazy Baldhead, and Mr. Oizo.

It's out June 9 in Europe on-- oh, you already know-- Ed Banger. [MORE...]

PAS/CAL Finally Ready to Share Full-Length Debut

"In early 2005, PAS/CAL will finally release their long-awaited debut album," read a Pitchfork news story on the subject dating from November 2004. "PAS/CAL Prepare Debut LP for Release," went the headline of a September 2005 posting. "Long-awaited full-length debut...out later this year," claimed Pitchfork's review of the band's Dear Sir EP from January 2007.

Um, yeah.

So here we are now nearly four full months into 2008, and the falsetto-fond Detroit troupe is finally finally finally prepared to preach the indie-pop gospel with I Was Raised on Matthew, Mark, Luke & Laura, their debut album-length offering. Raised follows quite a few fabulous EPs and will descend upon pop-savvy shops-- barring any more delays-- on July 22 via Le Grand Magistery.

Like the release date, both the title and tracklist have changed significantly since that September 2005 report. The sequencing has been switched up, tunes like "What Happened to the Sands" and "Poor Maude" are out, and "Suite Cherry" appears to have split into an actual three-track suite comprised of "Cherry Needs a Name", "Cherry Tree", and "O My Cherry". Gosh, I hope it turns to be the "The Wonder/Hyperstation/Elminator Jr." of twee freak-dom.

PAS/CAL have no other plans at the moment, but you can bet they'll want to celebrate a release this absurdly long in coming at some point soon. Then again, we don't want to jinx them anew. Thanks to reader Kyle Kabel for the tip! [MORE...]

Dirty Projectors Sign to Domino, Prep Two New LPs

Photo by Sung Kim

The weird and winding sounds of Dave Longstreth and his Dirty Projectors will soon be reaching even more ears. The band has signed to Domino Records in preparation for a (benevolent) world takeover.

According to a Billboard.com story and a press release, the band is currently working on two new albums, one of which will be their Domino debut (to be released worldwide in early 2009). The second will be the Dirty Projectors' final release for the excellent Dead Oceans label, which put out last year's breakthrough Rise Above. According to a publicist, that release will be "an album expanding upon and inspired by the arrangements of Rise Above." It's due in fall 2009.

While all of this is exciting, let's not get ahead of ourselves, Projectors. You folks still have a ton of tour dates to burn through!

Included in the updated itinerary after the jump are appearances at ATP vs. Pitchfork and the Pitchfork Music Festival. [MORE...]

Hold Steady, Vampire Weekend, LSF Rock Capitol Hill
With Girl Talk, Jay Reatard, Dodos

Those Congressfolk in Washington, D.C. only wish they could hold a Capitol Hill Block Party like the one in Seattle. This year's Capitol Hill Block Party goes down across several stages on a couple blocks of Pike Street and 10th and 11th Avenues in the Emerald City, and what a party it will be.

The Hold Steady, Vampire Weekend, Les Savy Fav, Girl Talk, Jay Reatard, the Dodos, Chromeo, Kimya Dawson, United State of Electronica, the Builders and the Butchers, and many others (including a bunch of Pacific NW talent) will hold down the block July 25-26.

There's plenty more rock to be announced, including a "surprise guest" billed above the Hold Steady. Above the Hold Steady? What a killer party this is turning out to be.

Richie Ramone Royalties Lawsuit Dismissed

Looks like it's back to the drawing board for onetime Ramones drummer Richie Ramone (born Richard Reinhardt), whose previously reported lawsuit against Apple, RealNetworks, and Wal-Mart over royalties has been dismissed by a federal judge in New York, according to reports from The Associated Press and Wired.

Richie, as you may recall, served in the Ramones from 1983-1987 and was seeking some $900,000 from the digital sale of six Ramones tunes he penned, as well as an injunction prohibiting the Ramones from selling or distributing those tunes. He claimed digital sales were not covered in his original contract with the band.

The judge, however, noted that the wording in Richie's contract clearly accounted for future reproduction technologies, including digital music sales. She also found a few holes in Richie's logic regarding digital music distribution and declared his argument that digital files are transmitted and licensed rather than manufactured and sold "without merit."

One of those Richie Ramone compositions, tellingly? "I Know Better Now".

Islands' Thorburn + Jim Guthrie = Human Highway
"Hot man-on-man vocal action."

Islands songwriter/frontman Nick Thorburn now has another name to add to a musical oeuvre that includes his main band, Th' Corn Gangg, Juiced Elfers, and Reefer (not to mention his previous work in the Unicorns).

The new group is called Human Highway, and it's a duo consisting of Thorburn and fellow Canadian songwriter Jim Guthrie. Guthrie is the man responsible for 2003's quite nice Now, More Than Ever.

Moody Motorcycle is Human Highway's debut album, and it was crafted in a week of sleeping and recording on Guthrie's couch in downtown Toronto. Thorburn told ChartAttack.com, "the Human Highway album is gentle, like lullaby-type stuff. We're really inspired by Everly Brothers harmonies, singing. And Jim is just such an amazing singer... It's really low-key, just like good times."

A press release describes the group's music as "a sound reminiscent to that of 50s/60s soul and doo-wop." Guthrie says that the album features "hot man-on-man vocal action."

Suicide Squeeze will release Moody Motorcycle in the U.S. on August 19. Secret City will release the album in Canada on the same date.

Islands' Arm's Way comes out May 20 via Anti-, and the band has a big tour going on right now. [MORE...]

My Bloody Valentine Lead Unfuckingbelievable Lineup for New York All Tomorrow's Parties Fest
Tortoise doing Millions Now Living Will Never Die! Built to Spill doing Perfect From Now On! Thurston Moore doing Psychic Hearts! Meat Puppets doing Meat Puppets II!

Oh. My. Lord. Where to start?

On the weekend of September 19-21, My Bloody Valentine will perform in the United States for the first time in 16 years. The occasion? ATP New York, the new American branch of the All Tomorrow's Parties festival. It will take place at Kutshers Country Club in Monticello, New York.

And... jesus... as if a My Bloody Valentine headlining set wasn't enough, ATP New York unveiled just the beginning of its completely astounding 30-act lineup, curated by both MBV and ATP:

My Bloody Valentine
Built to Spill performing Perfect From Now On
Meat Puppets performing Meat Puppets II
Thurston Moore performing Psychic Hearts
Tortoise performing Millions Now Living Will Never Die
Shellac
Mogwai
Polvo
Fuck Buttons
Autolux
The Drones
Low
Wooden Shjips
Edan with Dagha
Thee Silver Mount Zion Orchestra

I think I just peed myself.

In keeping with the spirit of the British ATPs, ATP New York is really, really small. As in, only 3000 people get to go. And you all live on the site for three days, staying in motel and hotel rooms. No single day passes will be available. Tickets go on sale this Friday, April 25, at the ATP website.

Kraftwerk Drama: Alleged Beef With Kling Klang, Florian Schneider Missing From U.S. Tour

Klingklang is the name of the studio German krautrock icons Kraftwerk have operated out of for more than three decades, as well as the name of the quartet's publishing and merchandise companies (and one of their tunes, too).

Kling Klang are a group of krautrock-indebted music-makers from Liverpool who are signed to Mogwai's Rock Action label and who are opening for Portishead on their current European tour.

Both, when translated into English from the German idiom, more or less mean "ding dong."

Kraftwerk's love for their Klingklang is notorious; as, we suspect, is Kling Klang's love for their band name of nearly a decade. The two entities had coexisted peacefully since the British band's inception in the late 1990s. That is, until now.

Allegedly, Kraftwerk have issued a cease and desist order against Kling Klang, claiming trademark infringement. A statement thought to have been circulated on Kling Klang's behalf regarding the matter made the rounds on the internet prematurely, and it wasn't until late last week that Kling Klang posted an official dispatch on the on their MySpace. (The full text of the statement can be read after the jump.)

Kraftwerk, however, could not be reached for comment. Thus, all we know of the situation thus far comes from Kling Klang's side. Kraftwerk has not confirmed that they did, in fact, issue a cease and desist. Perhaps this is all an elaborate prank? We hope so.

In other Kraftwerk news, over the weekend, many readers emailed Pitchfork News expressing surprise that founding member Florian Schneider was not in attendance at the group's shows in Minneapolis on Saturday and Milwaukee on Sunday. It turns out Schneider will be absent from the entirety of Kraftwerk's current U.S. trek, including their performance at Coachella on April 26. A replacement is filling in for him. No explanation has been given for Schneider's absence. [MORE...]

Frightened Rabbit Tour Both Sides of the Pond

Wounds dressed from their recent Recommended Midnight Organ Fight LP, Glasgow's Frightened Rabbit are ready for round two. The quartet has a run of European gigs currently in progress, highlighted by the very tantalizing FatCat Records birthday bash May 17 in Brighton, England. They'll hit the States later on in the month, with those French Kicks in tow most of the way.

They'll also play Chicago twice in a week's time, much to the delight of the region's senior news editors. [MORE...]

Arcade Fire Plan Obama Shows With Superchunk!

Photo by Drew Angerer

Given how amazing these gigs turned out, who wouldn't want another round of Arcade Fire rallies for presidential hopeful Barack Obama? And with the North Carolina Democratic primary looming on May 6, that's just what we'll get.

After big-upping a recent Jay Reatard performance (not all Canadians hate him, see?) in a message posted to his web "scrapbook", Arcade Fire frontguy Win Butler writes, "Speaking of a high energy band with great melodies, we might be playing a couple of free outdoor shows in North Carolina for the Obama campaign with SUPERCHUNK!!! How cool would that be!"

How cool ain't the half of it, brother! And cooler still is that it is indeed happening. According to Merge, the Arcade Fire and Superchunk will link up in early May for a pair of afternoon Obama Early Vote Rally performances: May 1 at Greensboro's Coliseum Complex Pavilion Parking Lot, and May 2 at Carrboro's Town Commons. Free tickets are required for the gigs, both of which begin at 2 p.m. More info can be found here. Biking, walking, car-pooling, and public transportation are encouraged!

And hmm, a quick look at fellow Obama-backer Bruce Springsteen's calendar reveals the Boss will in fact be hanging along the Atlantic Seaboard in late April. Wouldn't hurt to stick around just a few more days, eh Bruce? Eh?? [MORE...]

Tegan and Sara Serve Up Live EP, Add Dates

Recorded in San Francisco on the last day of their previous tour, Tegan and Sara's iTunes Live Session EP gathers four acoustic takes on tracks from last year's fine The Con LP and one from 2004's So Jealous. The set is due at a certain digital music retailer April 29.

But there are plenty more live sessions from the Quin twins on the bubble. Their previously-reported tour kicked off a little while back, and they're up in Santa Cruz tonight with this weekend's Coachella quickly approaching.

Before that happens, they'll appear on the "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" Wednesday (April 23). And they've recently added a few dates, including gigs on that tolerance-forward True Colors tour with the B-52's, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Regina Spektor, Cyndi Lauper, and others. [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.)