Crystal Castles Caught Up in Artwork Controversy
Band lines up sizable tours of North America, Europe

Image via Torontoist

If you've attended a Crystal Castles show in the last couple years, in between all the strobe flashes you may have encountered the image up there. Perhaps you saw it on a t-shirt, or, if you made it to one of the really early CC shows, on a 7". Or maybe you picked up a copy of the "banned cover edition" of Crystal Castles' debut LP that Last Gang Records was selling for a minute.

That image there was created by UK-born, Tokyo-dwelling artist Trevor Brown (link NSFW)-- using Madonna's likeness, of course. Here's where things get sticky. According to Torontoist, the members of Crystal Castles, Alice Glass and Ethan Kath, allegedly found the image (without a credit) on a flyer a couple years ago. They took to using it on t-shirts and the aforementioned limited run 7", under the assumption that if it got around enough, the artist behind it would step forward, and some kind of usage/payment agreement could be reached.

Well, eventually Brown did indeed step forward, and he wasn't happy. The resulting saga is a long-winded and convoluted one, a veritable case study in he-said/she-said, further complicated by a number of auxiliary parties involved: Last Gang Records and recently appointed Crystal Castles manager Mikey Apples, to name two.

Torontoist has an excellent summary of the situation to date. In essence, Brown contacted the band and claims they promised him remuneration for the use of the Madonna image on more than one occasion, but never received any money. Crystal Castles and their camp claim Brown never responded to numerous letters from the band, and is just gunning for publicity. Brown went public with his grievances earlier this year, prompting Apples to intervene and eventually offer Brown a contract. Brown, however, refused to sign away his rights to the image, as required by Apples' contract.

And that's pretty much where we're at today. When contacted by Pitchfork, Crystal Castles elected not to comment on the matter, via their publicist. Oh, and John Darnielle is siding with Brown.

No word on how Madonna feels about all this.

Significantly less complicated is Crystal Castles' touring itinerary, featuring quite a few recently minted European and North American dates. The duo also recently issued a single for the absolutely killer "Courtship Dating" in the UK, and they'll serve up their self-titled debut over in Europe on April 28. [MORE...]

Essie Jain Readies Second Album for June Release

Photo by Shervin Lainez

Essie Jain-- the British-born songstress with the "timeless" voice-- has returned rather quickly with her follow-up to last year's We Made This Ourselves (which, incidentally, was just issued in Europe on Leaf).

Entitled The Inbetween, the new ten-track set was put to tape in Astoria, New York by contributors Patrick Glynn and Jon Mizrachi. The disc is due on Ba Da Bing June 3. May 13

Ms. Jain has a handful of European tour dates in the coming months, and we can expect a U.S. visit in the summer and fall. [MORE...]

Cut Copy Tour With Shocking Pinks, Juan Maclean

As Cut Copy gear up for the North American leg of their tour in support of the recently released In Ghost Colours, the Australian dance trio has added dates in its homeland. The tour, which spans a full two weeks in June, features opening sets from DFA dudes the Juan MacLean and Shocking Pinks, adding to CC's already impressive roster of tourmates.

Cut Copy's next show is in London tonight, and at the end of their current itinerary is an appearance at the final day of the Pitchfork Music Festival.

In addition to the Australian shows with Cut Copy, both Shocking Pinks and the Juan MacLean have some solo dates. [MORE...]

Shocker: Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III Pushed Back
Maybe it's writer's block? Nah.

Well, this was bound to happen. Lil Wayne's long-time-coming Tha Carter III will not, as previously reported, be released May 13 via Young Money/Cash Money/Universal Motown.

The new street date for the highly anticipated disc from Automatic Weezy now stands at June 10, though one should probably refrain from sending out invitations to any listening parties just yet. Wayne's talked quite a bit about how he doesn't want any leaked material to appear on the retail version of Tha Carter III, and that might be what's holding it up. Plus, he's a pothead-- you try getting one of those folks to adhere to a deadline.

No official word yet as to whether that incredible cover is, in fact, the genuine article, though it is still up on Amazon, and on purely aesthetic terms, it's way better than the other kinda boring grayscale one I've seen elsewhere.

Very real are a pair of Wayne dates over the weekend, listed after the jump. [MORE...]

Blood on the Wall Touring Yet Again

Photo by Jason Bergman

Invigorated by the addition of new drummer Zach Campbell and the still palpable cosmic energy coming from the release of their third album Liferz, Blood on the Wall kick off a North American tour tomorrow, April 24. The Brooklynites begin in Lawrence, Kansas and spend a month winding their way around to a May 23 finale in Chicago. [MORE...]

Architecture in Helsinki: New EP, Tour With El Guincho

Like it or not-- and, really, why wouldn't you like it?-- Architecture in Helsinki are all resettled following the departure of longtime architect James Cecil and officially back from their "well earned summer vacation."

The first order of business? A new EP for Places Like This' "Like It or Not". Really new, in fact, as the band has reworked the track for this release, and affixed brand-new B-sides "One Heavy February" and IQ cover "Beef in Box" to it. Additionally, El Guincho remixes "Like It or Not" and Max Tundra chops up "Hold Music" to close this puppy out.

The EP will be released by Polyvinyl digitally on May 27 and physically July 8.

After an appearance at Coachella this weekend, the band will show that El Guincho fella around their home country. All stops on the most joyous tour ever conceived after the jump. [MORE...]

Earth Hit the Road

Drone-icana master craftsmen (and woman) Earth begin a U.S. tour in support of The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull this Friday (April 25) in Chicago. The slow burning doomsters recently returned from Europe, and these new dates cover territory east of the Mississippi River.

Folks willing to purchase a few Earth releases at select independent record retailers can get into some of these gigs for free; details on that offer can be found here. And hold onto your skulls, because Earth bring omens and portents of even more dates in the months to come. [MORE...]

Apples in Stereo, the Coup, Mahjongg Play FreeKY Fest
With Jolie Holland, Hair Police, Robert Schneider's Robert Bobbert and the Bubble Machine

Marking the 20th anniversary of the University of Kentucky's student-run WRFL, the FreeKY Fest-- bugging out on the roof of downtown Lexington's Transit Center April 26-- lives up to just about every aspect of its name.

First, there's the stable of free-spirited talent, with sets from the Apples in Stereo, Mahjongg, the Coup, Jolie Holland, Hair Police, Apples in Stereo kiddie offshoot Robbert Bobbert and the Bubble Machine, something called Pezhead & the Blipsquad, and the Health & Happiness Family Gospel Band. Then there's a little body moving from, among other things, a troupe of break-dancing seventh-graders. And, best of all, the whole thing's free of charge. Let your free flag fly, WRFL.

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...]

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