Birds and Whales, Plus Assorted Misc.

I took this at Grimey's New and Pre-Loved Music back in June.

First up, last Saturday Andrew Bird and St. Vincent played at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville-- I decided no to do a full blog post about it because that would have required me making notes and such through the concert, and it was all too perfect to do anything else but melt into the seat. I was dead center, only a few rows back from the stage. 'Nuff said. It was an experience.


Speaking of Andrew Bird, while on a short car trip last Friday, my friend played for me a band called Noah and the Whale. Noah and the Whale hails from the UK and has a lot in common with The National, sound-wise. Throw in more Andrew Bird-like instrumentation and you've got a pretty good picture. From the first song, "The First Days of Spring," to the epically orchestral "Love of an Orchestra," they had me. Their debut album, which came out Oct. 6th, is also called The First Days of Spring. It's lovely, layered orch pop, for lack of a better term. Like The National, Noah and the Whale has a certain entrancing quality and swells and flows like the music. Truly, it took a few bars before I thought to myself, "I have to have this."

Give it a listen, the album comes courtesy of my Googling skills and NPR.


Finally, in case you hadn't heard, Ben Gibbard is involved in a project to put words from Jack Kerouac's Big Sur to music. He partnered with Sun Volt's Jay Farrar to create One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur, a 12-song album set for release on October 20th. For more, you can click here for NPR's All Songs Considered blog write up. The entire album is also being streamed by NPR up to the release date. I'm listening as I type, in fact.

Flight of the Conchords's I Told You I was Freaky also comes out on the 20th, so budget yourself accordingly.

Cheers.

John Mayer Goes Pop. Again.

A few days late, but regardless, John Mayer announced that his next album is just about ready for release.

The last issue of Rolling Stone had a brief write-up describing Mayer's new effort. This time he's spinning himself back into the pop realm with Battle Studies, an 11 track disc that will be released on November 11th.

Mayer is pretty solid-- even Room for Squares is surprisingly good despite the teen ridiculousness of "Your Body is a Wonderland." So hearing he's shifting gears is a bit disappointing. Personally, I was really pleased with the direction he took on Continuum. It was like he managed to scrape off the bubble gum and turn himself into a legitimate musician who as more to offer than moody, breathy singing.

TMI won't count him out until the album has been played to satisfaction, but let's hope that he elevates the standards of pop rather than regresses to 2000. We've been there. let's not go back.

The first single, "Who Says" was released just a few days ago on the 24th. Look for a review soon.

Their Hearts Were Full of Spring to Release LP

Yesterday afternoon I decided to check in with one of my favorite obscure bands, Their Hearts Were Full of Spring, via MySpace visit. Much to my surprise, THWFOS is set to release their first full length album, How I Wasted My Youth, on Aug. 10th-- just a few days from now. It looks like they've got the entire album streaming on their MySpace, including that handful of songs from last summer when I first found them. Yep, those are on the album too.

Aside from the album release itself, the band is holding a contest where folks can remix St. Cecilia and win a spot on the B side of their next single. Mmmm... viral marketing. Mostly anything you want to know regarding what they're cooking up, you can find on their blog.

Apparently the album can be purchased from Marketstall Records. No idea if that applies internationally. It is available to pre-order from Amazon for $18.99.

Check out the track listing below.

01. Take Your Own Good Advice
02. A Question of Trust
03. In the Future Everything Will be Made of Light
04. New Favourite Band
05. Interlude
06. Record Breaker
07. Fire Eyes
08. I Saw The Lights Go Out
09. A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away
10. St. Cecilia
11. All my troubles stemmed from there
12. My Big Test
13. The End


Look for a full review sometime soon.

Round Two for Flight of the Conchords

Earning a place under the "reasons to dance" tag, Flight of the Conchords' Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie annouced the title and release date for their sophomore album. I Told You I was Freaky will hit stores October 20 courtesy of Sub Pop Records. TMI cannot wait.

But hey, if the suspense is too much for you, FotC has been releasing one single a week on iTunes, so you can appease your need for cheekiness until October.

Expect a review, kids.

The tracklisting is as follows:

01. Hurt Feelings
02. Sugalumps
03. We’re Both in Love with a Sexy Lady
04. I Told You I Was Freaky
05. Demon Woman
06. Rambling Through the Avenues of Time
07. Fashion Is Danger
08. Petrov, Yelyena and Me
09. Too Many Dicks (On the Dance Floor)
10. You Don’t Have to Be a Prostitute
11. Friends
12. Carol Brown
13. Angels

Indie Rock Alphabet Book

While stumbling around the internets the other day, I saw something that Paste did back in January that's pretty cool. They put together the "Indie Rock Alphabet Book." The book, like any good alphabet book would, goes through each letter, using a band as an example with an accompanying rhyme. It's pretty funny. You can check out the pages here. Now you can subtly push your snobby tastes on your tykes. Hey, no judgement here.

I wish I had thought of this.



Speaking of Vampire Weekend, apparently they've set to work on a new LP, currently slated for September. NME called it their "highly anticipated sophomore album." I think that's mostly because we're all curious to see if listeners will continue to care, and that's said with a complete lack of cynicism.

Ciao

Rob Thomas Releases New Song

Early this morning, or really late last night depending on how you look at it, this little item rolled in from Billboard magazine's RSS feed. Rob Thomas has a new single entitled, "Her Diamonds." (Click the link to hear it streamed) It' good, very much in line with Thomas's first solo effort, Something to Be. It's got that same studio sheen. In retrospect, I think Matchbox Twenty was moving toward that sound especially after hearing More Than You Think You Are in 2003, but that ship kind of sailed, didn't it?

Back to the single though, Thomas uses what sounds like a toy piano, and the effect is intriguing. It's an interesting contrast, what sounds like a child's toy, but with a serious, mildly foreboding tone.

Thomas's latest, Cradlesong, will be available in stores June 30.

If you ask me, that took too long.

Death Cab "Opens Door" for New EP

I was on news posting duty for Twisted Ear this morning and found that Death Cab had four left over songs from the Narrow Stairs sessions, so they're sticking them on an EP called The Open Door and releasing it later in the year. The EP also includes the original version of "Talking Bird" where Ben Gibbard plays ukulele. What, was Dent May not available? Stick with TMI for any updates regarding release dates or the like.

Nick Drake Gets a Tribute Album

Garden State fans/indie music aficionados, heads up! Dave Grohl, Norah Jones, Eddie Vedder and Jack Johnson are working on a Nick Drake tribute album. Strange little bunch, isn't it? That's not all either, apparently Heath Ledger was working on a film version of "Black Eyed Dog," which will find a home on an accompanying DVD.

As anyone who's ever heard Pink Moon will tell you, Drake died way too soon at a mere 26 years of age.

Keep an eye out for the project later on this year.

Their Hearts Were Full of Spring...Err...Winter

I got a press release a little while ago and then a follow up email Monday regarding Their Hearts Were Full of Spring. It seems this lovely band has got themselves a bit of an ongoing project, recording season-appropriate songs for giveaway this year. You can check/get those here. I haven't gotten a good chance to listen to the covers of Fleet Foxes' "White Winter Hymnal" and Neil Young's "Winterlong," but I've got high expectations for these folks. The other part of the deal is that you can buy the limited-edition cds at their shows, but for those of us on this side of the Atlantic, the downloads will have to suffice.

I like the idea, it suits them well and also it means that there's more from THWFOS on the way. Can't complain about that. Someday it would be terrific to walk into a record store (you know what I mean) and lay hands on an LP. In the meantime, apparently they have a blog as well, so sit tight and we'll keep our fingers crossed.

The Killers review should be up sometime tomorrow and of course, TMI Top 10 Discoveries of 2008 will follow shortly after.

Peace

Odds & Ends as of Late

Nothing super important to report lately, just a few loose ends to tie or just mention, really.

Firstly, I just saw this on Pitchfork. The Kinks are releasing a box set entitled Picture Book on December 8th this year. It's 6 discs plus a 60-page booklet containing pictures, timelines, bios, etc. Looks pretty sweet, if you ask me. Though, I really don't want to see the price tag on that sucker. I think I'll just mop up the drool on my laptop and move on.

Secondly, it appears that the Fray are releasing their sophomore album, The Fray, Feb. 3rd, 2009. Why do I mention this? I was marveling at the fact that I don't really care, if that makes any sense at all. Recently it came to my attention that I didn't buy many albums this year and the reason is that I usually don't invest in a disc unless I think I might follow the band or singer in the future. Buying the kinds of albums that have less shelf life than a jug of milk only bolsters the record collection on a superficial level. Total waste of time and iPod space. When How to Save a Life came out in 2005, everybody bought it. They were plastered all over the place but when the hype died down, how many people continued to care? I sort of forgot they existed.

Thirdly, Stephen Colbert is releasing an accompanying Christmas album with his television special. I smell a new holiday favorite at the Musically Inclined.

Fourthly, I'm wondering why I haven't gotten into John Legend before. Both "Green Light" and Legend are about six kinds of cool. Happily, Legend will be on Colbert's special this Sunday.

Fifthly, is that a word? If not, it is now. The Killer's album comes out on the 25th. I'll buy it, but for some reason I'm preparing to be underwhelmed. We'll see.

Happy Friday

Even More Coldplay

I kind of figured that after an album release, compulsory television appearances, and tour kick off, we wouldn't be hearing much about Coldplay until, say...2010. Silly me. It's still 2008, a mere two months after Viva la Vida's release and Coldplay is already eyeing 2009 for the release of their fifth album. Busy boys. Some talk has been that they want to link it to the greatest hits collection which their label requires of them. Here's the best part-- apparently Coldplay has plenty of material left over from all those Brian Eno sessions and just a little fine tuning would be in order. Fantastic, Vida refuse.

Anybody feeling a little over saturated? Ok, me neither, but I just can't imagine this new album being as cool or inspiring as much anticipation when the last gap between albums was three years. Also, does this mean stunted growth? Even Coldplay's biggest critics gave them some props for the effort and heavy Radiohead influence. I think most of what I heard people say was that if they kept working and heading in that direction, they might actually be considered "decent" among snobs. Obviously, I think they're already good but there's always room for improvement and I do believe they have the potential to keep refining, crafting, and pushing themselves to be truly first class. I don't know what Viva la Vida part 2 does to this progression. I guess we'll have to see. On the upside, this probably means a new tour and I very much hope that they don't skip over my city again.

The Shins Shun Sub Pop?

This rolled in about an hour ago from the always trusty Rolling Stone news feed. Apparently The Shins' fourth album will be released on Aural Apothecary, frontman James Mercer's label. And the exodus continues. What's surprising here, is that I thought smaller labels such as Sub Pop, though it does carry hefty indie clout, would be safe if only a little while longer. Hold up though, before you drop to your knees and start praying for the music industry, Sub Pop isn't totally out of the picture though its role might be of a supporting nature as a "partnering label."

In any case, TMI is more than a little giddy at the prospect of a new Shins album. At the moment the best we can do for a date is it won't be "due out until at least 2009." Well, I guess I can be content in knowing that The Shins are at work.

Look for the Viva la Vida review by tomorrow.