Tennis Does a “Yours Truly” Session

Tennis has just released their debut album, Cape Dory, and so far it seems to be quite the epic tail. This folky pop/smooth listening group, are able to grasp listeners attention just by the wonderful storytelling intertwined within the songs. The inspiration behind the album involved newlyweds who escape the vigor’s of life and set sail, making countless memories and dreams come true.

Tennis goes more into detail on “Your Truly“, and you can read one of the letters that inspired the whole concept.

Listen to take me somewhere

  <span><a href=”http://soundcloud.com/forcefieldpr/tennis-take-me-somewhere”>Tennis – Take Me Somewhere</a> by <a href=”http://soundcloud.com/forcefieldpr”>forcefieldpr</a></span&gt;

Deer Tick Release Christmas Single, Acoustic Dates

Country-rock stalwarts, Deer Tick, have released your grandmother’s least favorite Christmas single. Titled “Holy Shit, It’s Christmas,” the Providence, Rhode Island natives bring a much needed kick in the pants to holiday music. This two song single, featuring both the title track and the song “Christmas All Year Long”, is out now on Itunes but can be picked up for free via the Partisan Records website with the purchase of any physical Deer Tick merch.

On the heels of their Christmas single, lead singer/guitarist John McCauley and guitarist Ian O’Neill have released a series of stripped down acoustic shows. McCauley has also added a solo date on December 20th to benefit Invisible Children, a non-profit committed to ending conflict in Uganda.

Tour Dates:

Mon-Dec-20  Los Angeles, CA Troubadour *
Fri-Jan-14    Boston, MA    Middle East Upstairs
Sat-Jan-15    Providence, RI    Met Café
Sun-Jan-16    Northampton, MA    Iron Horse
Wed-Jan-19    New York, NY    City Winery
Thu-Jan-20    New Haven, CT    Daniel Street
Fri-Jan-21    Philadelphia, PA    First Unitarian Church Santuary
Sat-Jan-22    York, PA    Strand Capitol Performing Arts Center
Sun-Jan-23    Washington, DC    Rock and Roll Hotel

* = John McCauley only, w/ Mountain Man, Guards

  Christmas All Summer Long by nmcollins

The New Odd Couple: Jaime xx and Gil Scott Heron

2010 saw a rise to fame for frontman Jamie xx of The xx and a return to prominence for fusion artist Gil Scott Heron. After a 13 year hiatus from music, Heron released I’m New Here to mostly rave reviews, while Jamie saw equally positive reviews pour in for his band’s debut album, xx.

Now, the pair are teaming up for what is sure to be one of 2011’s most intriguing releases. Less of a collaboration than a reinterpretation, Jamie plans on taking 13 of the songs Heron recorded during the I New Here sessions and twisting them into a new body of work. Entitled We’re New Here, the album is set to be released on February 22nd.

The first single from We’re New Here, “NY is Killing Me,” was released earlier this week and is currently available for download HERE. You can also peep the video down below.

The Joy Formidable Announces New Album

Photobucket

Welsh rock trio The Joy Formidable are set to release their debut album, The Big Roar, March 15th on Canvasback/Atlantic Records. The band spent much of 2009 touring, in support of Editors, Temper Trap, and Passion Pit. After self-releasing their A Balloon Called Moaning EP at home last February, The Joy Formidable quickly became critical darlings, receiving rave reviews from The Guardian, NME, The London Times, Spin and Pitchfork, as well as praise from Garbage’s Shirley Manson.

In late April, The Joy Formidable teamed with a new label started by Passion Pit’s Ayad Al Adhamy, Black Bell Records, to release A Balloon Called Moaning in the U.S. The New York Times‘ Jon Pareles praised the EP’s “cryptic lyrics that glint with urgency,” and said that “the music regenerates the turbulent haze of 1990s rock, but it’s less tormented and more anthemic, confident of the pop structures at its core.”

When touring came to an end, the band quickly got to work on crafting new material for The Big Roar. Lead Singer Ritzy Bryan, bassist Rhydian Dafydd, and drummer Matthew Thomas holed up in their London flat, recording ideas as they came along, ultimately creating a remarkable collection of modern rock songs that explore what Bryan describes as “the possibility of victory in a hopeless situation.”

Lead single “I Don’t Want To See You Like This” is available now. Full tracklisting below:

1. The Everchanging Spectrum Of A Lie
2. The Magnifying Glass
3. I Don’t Want To See You Like This
4. Austere
5. A Heavy Abacus
6. Whirring
7. Buoy
8. Maruyama
9. Cradle
10. Llaw = Wall
11. Chapter 2
12. The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade

The Duke Spirit Offer Up New Song, “Villain”

https://i0.wp.com/www.spin.com/sites/spin.com/files/101129-the-duke-spirit.jpg

The Duke Spirit are giving us a taste of their upcoming album Bruiser, due out on Shangri-La Music out in Spring 2011, with a free download of their new track, “Villain,” premiered on SPIN.com.

On this fiery track, we find the band’s leading lady, Liela Moss, on the piano, and singing as seductively as ever over hauntingly carnal guitar riffs. The British rockers are sure to leave you yearning for more new sounds with this one.

Listen to the “Villain” below, and download it for free HERE: