Art Brut Premieres “Lost Weekend” Video and Announces ‘Brilliant!Tragic!’ Release with U.S. Summer Tour


Art Brut recently released the music video for “Lost Weekend” and let me just say you will lose your mind when you hear it. And not in a good way. Eddie Argos, vocalist, proudly declared that this was the first album he has been the vocalist for and it shows. You don’t know if he’ll whisper the lyrics to you or just flat out say (note say, not sing) them to the melody. The only thing that redeems this song is the guitar solo at the end. Even that is a generic nod to Ian Catskilkin, lead guitarist. In the video while Catskilkin is wailing away, Argos walks off stage to get acquainted with a unicorn, as if the song couldn’t be more ridiculous, the band decided to kick things up a notch. If you decide, however, that this kind of music speaks to you then buy their album, Brilliant Tragic! When it’s released on May 24th. Art Brut will also be touring in the states if you don’t believe they truly sound that bad, see them live to confirm it. Below are the dates for June.
6/15 – Chicago at Double Door
6/16 – Cleveland at Beachland Ballroom
6/17 – Toronto at Mod Club
6/18 – Montreal at Il Motore
6/20 – Boston at Brighton Music Hall
6/22 – DC at Black Cat
6/23 – Brooklyn at Music Hall Williamsburg

The Cool Kids Drop A Bundle


The Cool Kids recently released their new video “Bundle Up,” featuring a mockumentary-style music video poking fun at the sometimes unoriginal rap industry as well as themselves for trying to be out of the box. It’s a hilarious commentary on this genre, which The Cool Kids are known for. Their beats are reminiscent of late ‘80’s rap with a modern twist. In fact, their very stance can be summed up in the opening lines of their track “A Little Bit Cooler:” “Eating a bowl of them fruity pebbles / How gangsta’ is that? / Not Gangsta’ at all / Oh, you judging me dog? / Please you shop at the mall.” The “Bundle Up” video, spearheaded by Maxim Bohchik and Alex Bergman, features mermaids, lost Rolling Stone wannabes, Polar Bears and a hell of a lot of fake snow. The sense of humor and solid beats will take this up and coming Chicago rap duo far.

Dawes Announce New Album

Dawes will be releasing their second album, Nothing is Wrong, on June 7th through ATO Records. If you can’t wait that long, you can get a little teaser of  the album with a free download of the song “If I Wanted Someone” available on their website. From there, you’ll be able to follow their weekly countdown to the release, which they are marking by putting out interview, candid, recording, and live performance footage until the big day. Should all this exclusive material tempt you to see them live, Dawes are embarking on a spring and summer tour in May. Check out the dates below!

Here are their upcoming tour dates:

May 05 – Houston, TX – Fitzgeralds (with Brett Dennen)
May 06 – Austin, TX – La Zona Rosa (with Brett Dennen)
May 07 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theatre (with Brett Dennen)
May 09 – Orlando, FL – Beacham Theater (with Brett Dennen)
May 10 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Culture Room (with Brett Dennen)
May 11 – Tampa, FL – State Theatre (with Brett Dennen)
May 12 – St. Augustine, FL – Café Eleven
May 13 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse (with Brett Dennen)
May 14 – Birmingham, AL – Secret Stages Festival
May 14 – Nashville, TN – Cannery Ballroom
May 15 – Asheville, NC – Orange Peel
May 17 – Charlotte, NC – Visulite Theatre
May 18 – Carborro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
May 19 – Athens, GA – Melting Point
May 20 – Chattanooga, TN – Nightfall Series
May 23 – New Haven, CT – Toad’s (with Brett Dennen)
May 24 – Portland, ME – State Theatre (with Brett Dennen)
May 25 – Northampton, MA – The Iron Horse
May 26 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground (with Brett Dennen)
May 27 – Montreal, QC – Le National (with Brett Dennen and Milow)
May 28 – Toronto, ON – Opera House (with Brett Dennen)
May 29 – Detroit, MI – St. Andrew’s Hall (with Brett Dennen)
Jun 01 – Louisville, KY – Headliners (with Brett Dennen)
Jun 02 – Indianapolis, IN – The Vogue (with Brett Dennen)
Jun 03 – Chicago, IL – The Vic Theatre (with Brett Dennen)
Jun 05 – Hunter Mountain, NY – Mountain Jam (with My Morning Jacket, Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros, Preservation Hall Jazz Band)
Jun 06 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant (with Bright Eyes and M. Ward)
Jun 07 – Louisville, KY – Iroquois Ampitheatre (with Bright Eyes)
Jun 08 – Columbus, OH – LC Ampitheatre (with Bright Eyes)
Jun 09 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE (with Bright Eyes)
Jun 10 – Philadelphia, PA – Mann Center (with Bright Eyes and M. Ward)
Jun 11 – Vienna, VA – Wolf Trap
Jun 13 – Vancouver, BC – Vogue Theatre (with Brett Dennen)
Jun 14 – Seattle, WA – Moore Theatre (with Brett Dennen)
Jun 15 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom (with Brett Dennen)
Jun 16 – Bend, OR – Athletic Club of Bend (with Brett Dennen)
Jun 17 – Chico, CA – El Rey Theatre (with Brett Dennen)
Jun 18 – Los Angeles, CA – Orpheum Theatre (with Brett Dennen)
Jun 20 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues (with Brett Dennen)
Jun 21 – Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theatre (with Brett Dennen)
Jun 22 – Phoenix, AZ – Marquee Theatre (with Brett Dennen)
Jun 23 – Las Vegas, NV – Silverton Casino (with Brett Dennen)
Jun 24 – Reno, NV – Knitting Factory (with Brett Dennen)
Jun 25 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theatre (with Brett Dennen)
Jul 02 – Emeryville, CA – High Sierra Music Festival
Jul 07 – Winnipeg, MB – Winnipeg Folk Festival
Jul 08 – Winnipeg, MB – Winnipeg Folk Festival

The Wooden Birds Announce Tour and Drop New Single

Indie rockers The Wooden Birds have just announced they’re be going on tour in support of their new full length album, Two Matchsticks.  Led by Andrew Kenny of American Analog Set and Broken Social Scene, the band has also announced the release of previously unreleased songs.  You can listen to the title track of the new album right here: http://read.mtvhive.com/2011/04/18/song-the-wooden-birds-two-matchsticks/

Here are the spots you can see them on tour:

6/16 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room (all ages)
6/17 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo (18+)
6/18 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar (21+)
6/19 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Crepe Place (all ages)
6/23 – Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern (21+)
6/24 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir  (21+)
6/25 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill  (all ages)
7/8 – Chicago, IL @ The Hideout (21+)
7/9 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Founders Brewery (21+)
7/10 – Toronto, ON @ The Drake (all ages)
7/11 – Montreal, QC @ Casa Del Popolo  (all ages)
7/12 – Boston, MA @ Great Scott (18+)
7/14 – New York, NY @ Mercury (21+, 8pm)
7/15 – Brooklyn, NY @ Rock Shop (21+)
7/16 – Washington, DC @ DC9 (all ages)
7/17 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl (21+)
7/20 – Austin, TX @ The Mohawk (all ages)

Tom Vek Announces His Return!

Listening to Tom Vek’s first album We Have Sound was one of the first instances in my life when I thought, “I want to write about this. This is so good.” For some reason, I never did get to write my awesome review, but now that after five long years, Tom Vek is returning with a new album, if it’s as good (or better) than his first, I might get the opportunity. Leisure Seizure will be released on June 7th on Downtown/Coop USA/Island Records. It was put together during a 3 year set-up period that was followed by a 2 year stretch of musical output. To record it, Vek found a suitable studio space in east London, and set up PALLET Recording Studios.

All this effort seems to have paid off. I don’t want to get ahead of myself here but the first excerpt we have from the new album, a song called “A Chore,” sounds pretty good to me. The video for it, directed by Ollie Evans, is also fun: its retro feel recalls Glenn O’Brien’s show TV Party and BBC’s Desert Island Discs and shows Vek in great form. Figure out what you think about it by watching below!

Morning Birds Birds Release New Single for Upcoming Album


The Morning Birds’ new single, “Heart’s Desire,” is a soothing, relaxing ballad to be included on their second album,The Quickening, releasing on April 26.

The co-ed duo consists of Jennifer Thorington and Samuel Marcus who complement each other’s comforting vocals. Markus has a raspy sensuality while Thorington has a higher pitched, pleasingly frail voice, nicely fitted for this lullaby of sorts. In an added push for beauty, sorrowful strings come in half way through the song. This song could be a good option for setting the mood after coming home from a lively Saturday night, but certainly not for getting pumped up beforehand.