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I guess it s the first time we re presenting ourselves to a lot of people, s Ramesh Srivastava told Pitchfork when asked about his band s long-awaited debut, so maybe we ll just name it after us.
And self-title it they did.
Voxtrot, the debut LP from, yes, Voxtrot, arrives May 22 ( ) on / .

The 11-track set follows three favorably received EPs-- Raised by Wolves, Mothers, Sisters, Daughters Wives, and Your Biggest Fan-- and contains entirely new material. Tracks include Firecracker , which Ramesh cited as one of his favorites and called an odd marriage of styles, as well as previously mentioned jams Kid Gloves and Blood Red Blood .
Voxtrot-- whose Trouble single dropped just this past Monday in the UK-- wrap up a European tour this weekend, then return to North American for SXSW, a gig in Mexico, and a proper spring jaunt in late May.

After thirteen months of writing at their homes in Brooklyn, have announced the title and release date of their follow-up to 2005 s . The album s title is Boxer, and will release it on May 22.
Peter Katis (Interpol, Spoon) aided the NYC-via-Cincinnati quintet in Boxer s production and mixing, and Fred Kevorkian (Ryan Adams, Regina Spektor, Willie Nelson) handled the mastering.

The National will announce a full tour of the U.S. and European festivals shortly, but in the meantime, they have scheduled three dates in Europe and four at New York City s Bowery Ballroom in May.

Exclusive: Shearwater Sign to Matador, Expand Palo With more raucous rawkers like the Ponys, Times New Viking, and Love of Diagrams now under their wing, seems the good eggs at needed something to appeal to label fans sensitive sides. Alight , songwriting vessel for Okkervil River s Jonathan Meiburg and pals, who ve signed to the near-impeccable Ol e imprint.
While the avian quartet have a new LP tentatively slated for early 2008 release, Matador will reissue last year s excellent in a deluxe, two-disc/double-LP edition, on April 10.

The first disc boasts completely re-recorded versions of La Dame et la Licorne , Red Sea, Black Sea , Seventy-Four, Seventy-Five , Johnny Viola , and Hail, Mary -- all apparently more in line with the band s vision than the original recordings.
Disc two, meanwhile, collects a handful of Shearwater s Palo demos, along with several unreleased jams and covers of Skip James Special Rider Blues and Baby Dee s Lilacs . The latter cover is exclusive to the vinyl version of this release.

Check out the clearer, richer new version of Red Sea, Black Sea -- with sparkling chimes, upright bass thick as sap, Jonathan s fucking disaster! lash-out quite intact, and a riotous finale-- in mp3 format below.
In directly related news, Austin s -- who released the original Palo Santo last May-- have drastically reduced webshop prices on the album for a limited time.

This potential future eBay scorcher-- which, as mentioned, features different recordings of almost half the songs on the forthcoming Matador release-- can be yours for a mere four dollars! A fine album in its own right, score a copy while supplies last.
, Shearwater hit the road with Xiu Xiu in late March, with a few SXSW engagements to warm them up.

Given our devilishly short attention spans (and theirs), the new album is, like, the Chinese Democracy of ADHD indie rock. I mean, c mon guys, when did your come out? Like, last July or something?

What s the freaking hold up? Who are you, Kevin Shields?
Thankfully, the playful Montreal-via-Vancouver- via-Victoria quartet delivers its Shapes and Sizes follow-up-- Split Lips, Winnings Hips, a Shiner-- on May 22.

In cahoots once again with , the hyper squad of keyboardist Caila Thompson-Hannant, guitarist Rory Seydel, bassist Nathan Gage, and drummer Jon Crellin serves up another silver platter of spastic grooves, recorded at Vancouver s and mixed with labelmate Roberts.
, Shapes and Sizes hit the road with another Asthmatic labelmate, , this March. Furthermore, they-- er, what were we talking about?

Ah, nevermind.
Oh yeah, they're also touring with..

.the Ataris?!

NYC dreampoppers are partnering with labels left and right. They will release a 7 on in April featuring a new song, Stay Awake and a studio version of their cover of the Crystals Then He Kissed Me . That single will kick off a series of limited edition vinyl on Gigantic, and it will feature a gatefold sleeve with artwork by Sean McCabe (also responsible for designing both of Asobi Seksu s albums).

Speaking of those albums, will release 2004 s and 2006 s in Europe this summer, both boasting bonus material. The band will support the releases with a European summer tour.
Tonight in Philadelphia, Asobi Seksu kick off a tour supporting, why not, every middle-schooler s favorite boys of summer, the Ataris.

Hey, if they can discography, their work here is done.
Following in the footsteps of My Morning Jacket, are calling their forthcoming album Z. Main Man John Moloney says the record is about infinity and the double dimension we all live in yet don t fully understand.

Z is the sound of that feeling you get when you think you re being watched or followed by the omnipotent one.
In keeping with the metaphysical theme, the album s five tracks are titled simply with different numbers of infinity symbols. And since it would have been in keeping with their neo-hippie aesthetic, we are bummed that Sunburned didn t title the album Infinity While High.

will release Z on April 17, but the band will start touring in support of it quite a bit before then. They play one show tonight at SUNY Purchase before kicking off a larger tour on March 3, and even more tour dates are forthcoming.
The Sunburned folks plan to release new entries in the Manhand series of CD-R and live releases.

And later this year, they will release a collaborative record with Four Tet titled Fire Escape on the Norwegian label.
Boredoms, !!

! members to remix Lindstrom on forthcoming EP It s a Norwegian affair: spaced-out disco maestro Hans-Peter has joined forces with spaced-out friends, labelmates, and countrymen , producing tracks set to appear on the quartet s upcoming sophomore LP.
Fans of one another s work-- and both signed to -- Lindstr m and 120 Days have rendezvoused in the studio with designs on fashioning three new cosmic jams.

Look for those songs on a special 12 later this year, and on the follow-up to 120 Days 2006 self-titled debut sometime after that.
In other news, Lindstr m will soon release a 12 with vocalist and collaborator Isabelle Sandoo. He also has a remix EP on the way via Smalltown.

Titled The Contemporary Fix, this one s a topsy-turvy affair: Eye from Boredoms, Justin Van Der Volgen from !!!

, and labelmates Bjorn Torske all give esteemed remixer Lindstr m a taste of his own medicine.
120 Days are out there right now, cris-crossing the world. They ll hit up North American, , with Ratatat in March.

Lindstr m, meanwhile, works crowds in Japan with frequent partner Prins Thomas. Click MORE for another lovely, exclusive portrait of Hans-Peter and the 120 Days boys in the studio. Dios (Malos) Hit the Road, Share Exclusive New MP3 In a bid for better days ahead, the men of Hawthorne, Califoria s embark on a U.

S. tour next week with pals (Chicago reprazent!!

) and (Delaware u at??).

While litigation may have turned the band s neutral Dios into grim Dios (Malos), they aren t the least bit down about it. Instead the upbeat troupe is hard at work on the follow-up to 2005 s Dios (Malos), tentatively titled Life Between the Tides.
As a special post-Valentine s Day love-hangover treat, Dios (Malos) have graciously shared an unmastered version of new jam In Control of the OJ with you, the loyal reader!

Rejoice! In Control boasts some sunny surface melodies, but its the chaos brewing beneath that intrigues us most and befits that parenthetical aside haunting their name. Happy Valentine s Day, fans!

has delivered a priceless gift, better than chocolate, flowers, and diamonds combined. On May 8, the label that helped launch Smith s career will release New Moon, a two-disc collection of songs recorded in 1994-1997, the period concurrent with the making of Smith s classic KRS albums Elliott Smith and Either/Or.
KRS will also release New Moon on vinyl, while -- which treated audiences outside North America to Elliott Smith and Either/Or-- will serve up New Moon there on May 7.

A portion of the proceeds from sales of New Moon will go to , a Portland, Oregon social service agency helping homeless youth. New Moon was mixed by Smith s longtime friend and collaborator, producer/engineer , who also serves as the archivist for Smith s estate. In a press release, Kill Rock Stars noted that the Los Angeles Police Department s investigation into Smith s death on October 21, 2003 remains open.

The mystery and legend of Elliott Smith continues to grow.
And on the eighth day, God created the . At least, that s what the Neon Bible says.

Now, those lovable scamps from Montreal will take the emoting and the shouting and the clapping of hands and the lobby busking and the on a massive North American tour proper.
After kicking off their five-night marathon run at NYC s Judson Memorial Church tomorrow night and all over Europe with Patrick Wolf and Electrelane, the Aracde Fire return to the continent that spawned them in late April. Chicago, Toronto, New York, and Montreal receive multiple-night stands, while various East and West Coast cities catch Fire for one night apiece.

Hope your Ticketmaster.com reloading fingers are extra itchy, people. With their breakthrough album just out on our shores last week, indie pop crushes have revealed the next step in their mission to claim our hearts: a full-scale North American tour.

The trek, which kicks off at Coachella and lasts through the first two weeks of May, follows a tantalizingly brief series of shows a few weeks ago in and L.A. PB J plan to release Objects of My Affection , the next single from Writer s Block, soon.

It will be available on 7 and CD and will be backed by .
Good news for everybody shut out of the s five-night New York City residency next week (and for that matter, those shut out of the London and Montreal as well): s will broadcast the band s February 17 show at Judson Memorial Church. So next Saturday night, grab a computer, some speakers, a bunch of friends, and a bicycle helmet.

Break into a local church, and boom: instant Arcade Fire show.
Fast cars, danger, fire knives: all in a day's jog Because nothing screams let s go for a run! like a guy who raps about the seedy underbelly of the human spirit, is the latest artist to contribute to Nike s series.

(You might recall that the was some dude who calls himself LCD Soundsystem.) The s piece, entitled All Day, is a 45-minute continuous mix [that] was created specifically with runners in mind and reflects Aesop Rock s distinct and unique style. The snippet that we ve heard has a retro space-funk feel, laidback with Aesop s typically gravelly voice flowing on top.

Not exactly pump-you-up kind of stuff, but maybe this is just the warmup? Or the cool-down? In a press release, the man known to his mother as Ian Bavitz had this to say: I wanted to create something that evolved enough that the sound was constantly fresh and attractive, as if the runner were moving through a set of differing cities or landscapes.

All Day: Nike + Original Run will be available only at the iTunes store starting February 13. It will set you back $9.99.

We guess this is what Aesop Rock was talking about back in December, when he about a mysterious project that s not really an album but it kind of is.
Though the of s Ed Rec series of compilations was just released digitally, the French label is already moving forward with plans for a physical release of Ed Rec Vol. 2.

Unlike Vol. 1, which was retrospective, Vol. 2 will feature 14 new and exclusive tracks, except for and Mr.

Flash s Disco Dynamite . Ed Banger will release Vol. 2 with in Europe on March 12 in both CD and double LP formats.

will release it digitally on March 6 and physically on April 10 in the U.S., with a currently untitled bonus track by label boss Busy P tacked on.

The package also comes with a page of original stickers from the label.
Ed Banger artists Justice, DJ Mehdi, Sebastian, and Busy P will tour North America together in March, after which Justice have a couple dates of their own. Parties in Chicago, Brussels, and Paris will precede the tour.

The compilation isn t the only upcoming Ed Banger release. The label also plans to release 12 s from Mr. Oizo ( Patrick 122 ), Busy P ( Rainbow Man , February 26), DJ Mehdi ( Lucky Boy EP, March 19), and Justice ( D.

A.N.C.

E , also on CD single April 16). A Justice album is in the works for June. Pitchfork s been crushing on Austin, Texas indie pop quintet for well over a year now, so it s hard to believe they ve yet to actually release a full-length record.

Oh, they ve got EPs alright-- three thus far, including last fall s . And they ve got . So what s going on with that inaugural full-length foray?

Well, it won t be long now. With the band in New York City mixing their debut, Pitchfork caught up with Voxtrot frontman , who generously disclosed some of the album s dark secrets, shared his thoughts on the record-making process, considered the blogosphere, and First, the essentials: imprint will deliver the Voxtrot full-length worldwide on (or around, as the case may be) May 22. It was produced and mixed by (Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, Mojave 3) and recorded in December and January at Premier and Cacophony studios in Austin.

To tide over fans in the UK, Beggars/Playlouder will release Trouble backed by Your Biggest Fan as a limited edition 7 and download single on February 26. have a name yet, but Ramesh is leaning toward either a self-titled affair ( I guess it s the first time we re presenting ourselves to a lot of people, so Blogs? At least we think he s joking.

full-length, the record will contain 12 or 13 entirely new Voxtrot songs (i.e., nothing from the three EPs or the seven inches) drawn from a pool of 16 new jams.

Among them, Ramesh s present favorites: Kids Gloves , Blood Red In particular, Ramesh loves Firecracker because it sounds the least like his band s previous material. It s kind of like an odd marriage of styles, he said. Beats that we haven t used before.

I just like the bigness of it, The tune, as it turns out, is autobiographical. In a way first time with a record label, and what that s been like, and how it affects Srivastava and confidence, it seems, have an Fan EP late last year, Ramesh and self-confidence were on the outs. I like [the EP], and I like the songs on it, but I wasn t overjoyed with the way that it sounded, because it all had to be done in this very rushed environment.

I think when that came out I was overly terrified of critical response, because I Fortunately, they made up: In the end, it ended up not being that big of a deal. Now I like it, and I realize it s just songs. I like the songs, and it really doesn t matter that much, the sound of every instrument and every note.

Hey, even the academically successful get a little choked up sometimes! Hence, Canadian agit-pop tremblers have Tears of the Valedictorian, the quartet s fourth full-length, set for Swan Lake) and company, featuring typically zany titles and copious punctuation. The LP follows up last July s Acuarela EP , and guess what?

Frog Eyes hit the road this spring to support their latest creation, yapping and yelping down to SXSW for a one-off showcase spot, then circumnavigating the continent in May.
second LP, Back Numbers (out February 27 via / ), are ready for a little Avventura on the open road. The couple-- Dean, surname Wareham, best known for his work in Luna and Galaxie 500, and Britta, surname Phillips, known for playing in Luna and the Belltower, providing cartoon voice-overs, and whipping up a mean water filter-- take to the the tour trail this March, beginning in Philadelphia.

Along the way they ll hit up most major cosmopolitan areas in the U.S. and Canada, closing things out Johnson and keyboardist/melodica player Lara Meyerratken.

To get the kids stoked for the forthcoming jaunt and record release, Dean finished...

it was something we were creeping around with at home. Appropriately, it has that gauzy, homespun feel, and will likely make you wish you were back at your place cuddling up with a loved one, instead of staring at this cold, dispassionate computer screen.
is coming.

..to North America.

The debonair Pulp frontman will support the Stateside release of his debut solo album, , with a string of performances surrounding his appearance at Coachella on April 27. Only four dates are scheduled so far-- one in New York City and three on the West Coast-- but there s a nice, convenient four-day stretch in between the NYC show and Coachella, so, what say you to a little Midwest stopover, eh, Jarv? , Jarvis is out in America April 3 on / .

Before heading to our shores, Cocker will play a few UK shows in February.
has found a U.S.

home in , which will release his latest album, , on April 24. The U.S.

release of the album will have the same tracklist as the Japanese release, though it will also include bonus features (such Cornelius has plenty of tour dates scheduled in his native Japan before the U.S. release of Sensuous, and he ll follow those with a full-blown tour of the U.

S. Those dates have yet to be announced, except for his April 28 appearance at
Girl group to play NYC, Toronto, SXSW No longer will their kisses be wasted on Europe, as the fabulous ladies of have revealed their first-ever North American tour dates.
On March 10, Becki, Rose, Gwenno, and their backing boys will hit Toronto s Rivoli as part of , and on March 13 they ll play New York City s Bowery Ballroom.

(Unfortunately, Amy Winehouse is also on the latter bill.) Then it s off to Texas for the polka-dotted crew, where they ll charm the ironic t-shirts right off of the music industry bigwigs gathered at SXSW. The exact shows they ll be playing at SXSW haven t been announced yet, but we re sure they ll be very, very special.

Right now, the Pipettes only have one other performance scheduled, and that s on February 24 at the MX Beat 2007 festival in Guadalajara, Mexico. Still no word on a North American release for the group s fabulous debut album . But to tide you over, head to the Memphis Industries to hear a remix of the Pipettes Judy by labelmates Blue States.

, Brazilian genre mashers, Pitchfork Music Festival , and friends of (and who isn t these days?), have taken their party-starting to the next level by signing to . Their first release for the label will be the Solta o Frango single, scheduled to come out April 10, and they will follow that with a currently untitled album in May.

(We hope that a remix for their Animal Collective is in the works.) Before they fully become Domino artists, the trio will release the Gasolina EP on January 22 via Diplo s label. The EP features an extended mix of the album version of Gasolina as well as remixes of the song by Radio Clit, Buraka Som Sistema, and Scotty B and King Tut.

Bonde also have a full tour in the works, but for now they have four dates planned for March. The last date is an appearance at the Mad Decent showcase, which also includes sets by Diplo, Sinden, Amanda Blank, Flosstradamus, and DJ Blaqstarr. The latter happens to be the newest signing to the Mad Decent roster, and his Supastarr EP is scheduled for a spring release on the label.

The showcase s announcement appears on the Mad Decent with a cryptic reference to the addition of a very special guest ???

. Dudes, we can spot an M.I.

A. appearance a mile away. (Unless, of course, the are true.

)
First the good news: are making a killing in their to benefit the Portland youth organization . That Chris Funk ? It went for a cool $2,225.

? $183.50.

And the from the Picaresque liner notes? A whopping $455. (Why a cardboard sign is worth more money than a piece of clothing drenched in Colin Meloy s sweat is beyond me.

Mmm...

Colin Meloy s sweat...

) And there s still a few minutes left to give them your money, with on a few tour posters still in progress. Now the better news: the Decemberists have scheduled their second American tour in support of their latest album, the fabulous . It takes them from scenic Jersey City, New Jersey all the way to Bellingham, Washington in March and April.

My Brightest Diamond will open all of the shows except for Knoxville, Nashville, and Atlanta. Sorry, Vols and Hotlantans. , the band heads to the UK and Europe in February.

Also, the Decemberists The Decemberists: A Practical Handbook will be released on on March 20.
Break out the flannels, the faded blue jeans, the Malboros, and the unkempt facial hair: it s time for a / tour! The prolific bard and the stately outfit join forces for a winterlong tour of these United States, part ways for a spell, and then reunite just in time for spring to rattle your hormones.

Not to be confused with Richards Swift, Hell, and Simmons, Richard release . 6p7, as the cool kids call em, open all dates. They ll then join headliner Buckner to serve as his backing band-- at which point the collective entity will not be known as the Seven Parts Seven, praise the lord.

Six Parts Seven also play some scattered dates sans Buckner. , the sextet promotes informal violence with new LP Casually Smashed to Pieces, out January 23 on Suicide Squeeze. If you re feeling all wound up right now, Casually Smashed jam Night Behind the Stars (mp3 linked below) should lull you to a state of chilled-out contentedness, perhaps even to chilled-out sleep.

I say people should eat and drink music as much as they want. International success can make for some pretty basic misunderstandings. So when the vintage psychedelia of s third album-- 2004 s -- caught on outside of singer, songwriter, and bandleader Gustav Ejstes native Sweden, he was suddenly forced to answer questions about why he sang in Swedish, as if it was the result of an aesthetic choice and not simply his native tongue.

( Hey Sufjan, why don t you sing in Portugese? )
We were able to avoid the question when we talked to Ejstes recently, though we did ask if he ever writes nonsense lyrics just because he could probably get away with it (he doesn t). He also told us about the recording process, his interest in production, and his love for hip hop (especially Madvillain).

Oh, and there was the matter of Dungen s currently untitled upcoming record (tracklist below), which will release May 1 in the U.S. A Swedish release on is scheduled for around the same time, and Dungen plan to tour later this spring.

Pitchfork: How is this new album different from Ta Det Lugnt?
Gustav Ejstes: Each song stands out more. [There are] shorter songs than on Ta Det Lugnt, [which] had that collage vibe [where] one song slips into another one, changing and fading into each other.

Pitchfork: Are there fewer of the jazz-influenced instrumental passages?
GE: There are instrumental parts, and the jazz influences are still there. [But] I think the songs are more like traditional songs.

The album is not Ta Det Lugnt 2. I think it would be bad if it were just a volume two. Baltimore is supposedly one of the most depressing cities in America, full of drugs, crime, and failing schools.

Well, that s what The Wire tells us anyway. But somehow, that (allegedly) festering shithole has produced , who are responsible for Hat and Rabbit , one of the happiest, bounciest, and all-around peppiest songs of 2007 so far. The glockenspiel (or xylophone?

I can t tell the difference) alone provides enough mirth to light a seedy back alleyway for a month. Hat and Rabbit is available as an exclusive download by clicking on the link below. Or wait to hear it in context when it appears on Page France s forthcoming album .

..and the Family Telephone, due out May 8 on .

Or hop along with the tune in a live setting, as Page France hit the road with band for a cross-country tour in March and April. Page France have a string of dates with the Margot the Nuclear So and So s before that tour starts, and Headlights head to Europe with the Album Leaf in February. Headlights are also prepping a limited edition tour EP featuring live sets recorded at XM Radio, WOXY, Daytrotter, and Indie 103.

1 in the fall of 2006. The songs will be culled from the band s debut album Kill Them With Kindness as well as a brand new tune called This One .
For a solo artist, seriously stirs up a lot of noise.

Layering frenetic, in-your-face guitar over half-sung/half-spoken vocals and spastic drumming, the New York-based guitar virtuoso-- who last fall at CMJ-- makes it immediately apparent why she s described by her label as The DIY Lady Shredder.
Until recently, Stern was an unsigned, make-demos-in-her-bedroom kind of solo act (another epithet-- this one designated by her booking agency-- is The Upper East Side Recluse ). Then discovered her via one of those demos and signed her to its imprint almost immediately.

following , which means Marnie s much-anticipated, slightly-delayed debut full length, In Advance of the Broken Arm, will arrive February 20 on KRS. Collecting songs Marnie s written over the past two years, and produced by Hella s (who also drums on the album), the LP comes armed with 13 blistering tracks. We re priveleged to share one of them with you.

Get your click on with our exclusive download of Every Single Line Means Something , a slash-and-burn attack of Stern s shredding and Hill s epic pounding. This shit is bananas.
Not to be missed, Stern brings her sonic assault to the road in February with 5RC graduate , hits up SXSW, and will later join Hill for a TBA summertime rampage/romp.

That boy Gillis is at it again. Following up a Peter Bjorn and John remix and a , returns to repackage another Pitchfork favorite for the dancefloor, and this time around he actually employs the mash-up skills that made him a hit in the first place. Whether or not it works is for you to decide.

Gillis slices and dices s Knife (from the LP), buttering it up with what sounds like the opening to Tears for Fears Shout , mashing in a liberal portion of Clipse s Wamp Wamp -- including Slim Thug s entire chorus and Pusha s verse-- and stabbing in a dash of this and that to color Ed Droste s cryptic queries.
Girl Talk is out there right now, in fact, making the kids move their bodies in indecent fashion across the U.S.

Parents: do you know where your hip, young children are right now?
Grizzly Bear, likewise, hit the road soon ( ), doing for our minds and senses of beauty what Gillis does for our hips and rumps.
And speaking of rump-shakers, recently revealed to NME.

com that they re going to have their way with Grizzly Bear s Knife as well, covering the song for their own licentious purposes. After talking to the feisty Brazilians and giving the thumbs up, the Grizz also accepted an invitation to return the favor and cover a CSS jam. The Internet: bringing people together who probably don t belong together, because it s funny.

MC hits the road with Deerhoof, RJD2 in support of new album Like Native Americans with the buffalo, Los Angeles -- born Regan Farquhar-- uses every piece of the animals he hits while on the road. Hence RoadKillOvercoat, his fifth solo album and first for . and provided the production on the MC s follow-up to , and Busdriver also coaxed a guest vocal spot out of s Bianca Casady.

Anti- will release RoadKillOvercoat on January 30, but poetry-jam-for-robots flow over the track s dense electro beat, giving conspiracy theories. One thing Busdriver seems sure of: we re all Shakes beginning in his hometown on January 24. Then in March, he will Coast.

want to take us back to a time when Swedish garage rock was all the rage (oh, say, 2002). To that end, they re bringing their album Ode to Ochrasy, which first hit shelves last year via Majesty/EMI Music Sweden, to North America on April 24 via . the spring of 2006 and produced by the band with help from (ex-Soundtrack of Our Lives).

Long Before Rock n roll , the album s rompin , stompin first single, is available as an exclusive free download for 24 hours only by clicking on the link below. After those 24 hours are over, it will be available as a stream. Mando Diao have scattered performances scheduled from now through early March, most of which take place in their native Sweden.

The boys will, however, make their way to the U.S. this spring for a series of dates, including several at SXSW.

with s Simone Pace, the band was recording the follow-up to 2004 s , but still wholly undecided about all those silly logistical things we Pitchfork newsies love to report: an album name, song titles, a release date, and the like. Perhaps they resolved to make up their minds when the ball dropped, or perhaps they re just damned savvy marketers, but the art-rock trio has at last revealed all.
On April 10, will release Blonde Redhead s seventh album, 23, which we sure hope has nothing to do with that forthcoming Joel Schumacher-directed, Jim Carrey-starring .

But hmm, wait a minute...

23 times four (as in 4AD) times seven (seventh album) plus 23 minus one (um, just because) equals...

666!!!

!
Holy smokes, we ve got ourselves a conspiracy. And we haven t even considered the numeric significance of folks like 23 s co-mixers Rich Costey and Alan Moulder, nor that of Mr.

Chris Coady, who recorded the Blonde Redhead-produced affair at New York s .
And it wouldn t be a Blonde Redhead marketing blitz/occult conspiracy without the North American tour, which kicks off in mid-March at . But wait: if Kazu and the Pace brothers rock precisely four SXSW showcases/parties (a reasonable number for a band of their stature), that means they ll play exactly 23 shows on this tour!

!! Hot Jesus, somebody call Dan Brown already.

Exclusive: MP3: !!!

: "Heart of Hearts" Aww, we missed you guys. are back in action with a characteristic dancefloor odyssey ready for maximum maxi-single play. The six-minute Heart of Hearts is from the Myth Takes album, due out March 6 on .

And it s available as an exclusive download by clicking on the link below. The punk-funk crew have also just announced a massive tour that will take them around the world from February through August. They ll hit the UK, Japan, Australia, Europe, Scandinavia, and your bedroom, with a stop at Coachella marking the end of the trek s first leg.

Let s hope customs doesn t mistake all those percussion instruments for drug paraphernalia.
For someone who s known as one of the godfathers of experimental extreme metal, is a pretty happy guy. Or at least he sure seemed that way when he spoke to Pitchfork recently about his current band, , which also includes bassist Diarmuid Dalton and drummer Ted Parsons.

The former Napalm Death/Head of David/Godflesh/Techno Animal member was chatty as a schoolgirl when discussing Jesu s upcoming album and North American tour with , not to mention his slew of other projects. The second Jesu album, Conqueror, comes out on on February 20 in the United States, February 19 in the UK and Europe, February 2 in Japan, and February 27 in the rest of the world. (Whew.

) The Japanese version will be amended with a bonus disc containing the songs Sun Down and Sun Rise , originally released on a limited edition vinyl EP on . The vinyl version of Conqueror comes out February 27 on . The appropriately epic title track can be heard by downloading the exclusive mp3 below.

This mellow outtake features in the same plaintive mood he struck on songs like that album s The Boom Boom Bap , but not without references to things like the tree of cocaine and a river of beer. The layered vocals, pretty harmonies, and carefully placed slide guitar give the song an almost new grass feel, and the occasional xylophone adds a holiday touch. If only the French female voice in the middle were counting down from a dozen instead of seven, we d have a new 12 Days of Christmas .

Who better to bring good Yuletidings to you and your friends than Zac Pennington s , whose bells- and chimes-frosted songs-- such as those collected on 2006 s ( )-- pretty much sound like twisted carols anyhow?
The P-Girls (in various incarnations) have made a habit out of stuffing stockings with limited edition holiday EPs on the even-numbered years, including 2002 s Christmas With Swastika Girls and 2004 s Christmas With Parenthetical Girls-- and this being 2006, and six being an even number and all (fact-check it if you don t believe us), it s time for another one.
Santa Pennington and his merry elves will make A Parenthetical Girls Family Christmas (previously sold on tour in limited quantities) available for free download on the band s website very soon-- but the good boys and girls of the Pitchfork readership may download a chestnut of the joy this five-song EP will bring to the world right now.

Festive Friends (Forever) glides along at idle sleighride pace, glimmering in garlands of twinkling bell and xylophone percussion, Pennington and backing vocalists declarations billowing like Yule log smoke from a snow-touched chimney. That s a rather hokey description, but I can t help it-- Christmas songs just make me so damn sentimental. Public television rules!

In September, performed at a taping for PBS show. The episode, which also features , is scheduled to air on December 30, . But we can t wait that long.

Thankfully, the good people behind the program have made a clip from each band s performance available early, exclusively through Pitchfork. Both videos can be streamed by clicking on the links below. In the first clip, Cat Power and her band take on s Could We , highlighting the track s Southern, bluesy vibe (which blends right in with the fake skyline backdrop).

Next up, the Raconteurs take reason, Jack White seems overcome with onstage jitters up until his first solo. (Aww, celebrities get nervous too!) But once he loosens up and drops the shaky vocals, Level is spacey fun.

And by the way, White had better get that stage anxiety thing in check, because he might end up making a speech at the Grammys in February. The Raconteurs have been nominated for two and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group ( Steady, As She The mighty salmon is often invoked as a symbol of dogged perseverance in the face of adversity, leaping three paces forward for every two the raging river forces it back. This time, however, our model of determination is the mighty that will tear that mighty salmon to shreds.

Bouncing back after to nefarious thieves in Brussels, the Grizz have announced their plans tour the shizz out of North America beginning February 1 in Philadelphia. Joining them for a stretch are the consistently exciting of New York and, later, San Francisco s .
Thanks to all the everyone who sent their love and support for Dan s Dad [who has cancer] and the theft, wrote Grizzly Bear in a recent e-mail to Pitchfork.

We appreciate the support immensely.
The band dropped by s Soundcheck recently for an interview and performed a pair of Yellow House tunes: Plans and Knife . Hear them chat up the theft setback, tragic tales of ancestors, recording in a yellow house, and loving the choral music of Randall Thompson .

Our Grizzlies also hit up a short while back. Download an exclusive mp3 of Colorado from those sessions by clicking the link below.
Grizzly Bear s Ed Droste, meanwhile, proved himself a soft-rock loving teddy bear in with s Owen Pallett, published in Out magazine.

Among many, many other revealing tidbits, we learn it s Droste s deepest, darkest desire to be Daft Punk. No kidding, ours too man. Ours too.

, production on Grizzly Bear s Knife video is now well underway, with screenshots available to intrigue you . And finally, speaking of Knife , buddies (signed to in the UK) cover the tune on the mp3 linked below, courtesy of .
Joined by Essex Green, Portastatic Consider: s Tracyanne Campbell can t see farther than her nose at this moment, and given the winter chill, you pretty much can t feel your nose at this moment.

Clearly, the stars are telling you to go see Camera Obscura this frigid season, and as luck would have it the wistful Glasgow sextet has just announced its intent to get out of the country for real with an extensive North American tour.
The band behind this year s quite charming -- with whom you are now -- hits the road beginning January 17, with labelmates (touring behind this year s ) providing support for a bunch of dates on the Eastern half of this continent. -- who, like, totally copied their fellow Merge-rs by also dropping a full-length in 2006 ( )-- join our Glaswegians for a final stretch down the West Coast.

Some artists doesn t push the envelope-- instead they draft warm, simple, thoughtful letters, slip them in that envelope, seal it with a kiss, and send it to you on a rainy day. That s pretty much what s been doing for years now on records that sound instantly comforting and familiar, like your favorite pair of mittens every time you bust them out for the first winter snow.
But enough with the precious metaphors!

On to the hard-hitting news: on January 23, Ms. Doiron and sign, seal, and deliver Doiron s seventh and latest unpretentious full-length opus, Woke Myself Up.
Produced by Rick White-- who played with Doiron in Sub Pop-signed early-90s college rock favorites -- the ten tracks on Doiron s Woke Myself Up buzz, hum, and murmur with the same timeless topical matter as those of many singers before her, no doubt-- love and regret and such-- but we can expect JD to tread these oft-trodden paths with a refreshingly warmth and clarity that have always been hallmarks of her work.

Bonus! Jagjaguwar have kindly shared an exclusive Doiron track with Pitchfork that won t appear on the new disc. Here she covers Paul Simon s Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard , foregoing the snap and zest of the original and slowing it down for a quiet, contemplative evening around the fire.

Doiron also has a quaint, charming, low-budget video for Woke Myself Up s closing track, Me and My Friend , linked below. This Saturday, December 9, Doiron will play with Jason Molina and Ghost Bees at St. Matthews United Church in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

That same day, she ll also play at Halifax s Stage 9 with her band . Shotgun and Jaybird will also perform on January 19 at the Stereophonic Festival in Sackville, New Brunswick.

Stephen Colbert claims he invented DVDs, challenges band to Sudoku match to the death While are busy using their major label money to get themselves into , the label from whence they came, , has announced the release of the band s first DVD.

The Decemberists: A Practical Handbook includes the band s November 4, 2005 concert at Portland s Roseland Theater in its entirety, as well as a documentary about the band called Paris Before the War and the videos for The Tain , The Bachelor and the Bride , 16 Military Wives , The Soldiering Life , and Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect .
Kill Rock Stars will release the DVD on March 20. The band s set list for the November 4 concert is listed below the jump.

In other Decemberists news, there is a tantalizingly short Making of The Crane Wife clip up on YouTube now. We can only imagine the in-depth interviews and pitch-perfect explanations of the recording process to come. But for now, content yourself with Part 1 , i.

e. a bunch of random aw shucks shots of the band in the studio. In anticipation of the U.

S. release of their fourth album, , via on January 23, have announced North American tour dates.
They have a sold-out show in London on December 14 and one in Glasgow in February, and they will hit American shores on March 2.

According to a press release, these shows will be their only appearances in these markets in 2007, so fanboys-and-girls have three months to decide which color surgical mask to wear. On February 5, Domino will release the single for If You Could Change Your Mind from Visitations.
surrounding their upcoming LP, the band s first full length since its 1997 release, Jersey s Best Dancers.

on the agenda. It s scheduled for December 27 at New Jersey s Starland Ballroom alongside Thursday and From Autumn to Ashes, but fans can expect additional tour dates in 2007.
When he s not busy producing ace UK acts like Bloc Party and Max i mo Park, or, um, , goes on a remixing rampage under the alias .

Here he grooves up and spreads out All Sparks , from the joyless division s debut LP, The Back Room. Dialed in? Not so much, lucky for you.

The Phones number was set to appear on an Editors remix EP, but didn t make the final cut. So happy belated Thanksgiving, have an exclusive mp3 on us.
The aforementioned EP hit iTunes a couple weeks back, and features Editors re-edits from Ghislain Poirier, Ed Banger s Sebastian, NYC DJ Prince Language, and Certified Bananas mash-up man P Nice.

hammered out its latest LP, Casually Smashed to Pieces, which is slated 12 formats. The album was recorded at Seattle s and Akron s Ice House, and produced new with the old in the form of a free download-only EP, . We recommend you click it, as those sneaky Squeezers squeezed in two Pieces songs in between the collection s than hearing something first and then bragging about it right off the bat, spinning new songs there.

Six Parts Seven were kind enough to share another fresh number, Night Behind the Stars , with us. The glistening instrumental, available exclusively below, lasts for a mere minute and fifteen seconds, and its title certainly captures its lullaby-esque nature.

Four Tet, Jesu, Paper Chase, Eluvium, Adem, Mountains, your mom remix new disc What s that up above?

Bird? Plane? Superman?

Ever better: It s po-ro torchbearers , setting the heavens aflame with their scintillating, pedal-punched, drama-drenched instrumentals.
The Austin four-piece return early next year with their first proper LP in nearly four years, the -stamped All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone, which crash-lands February 20. If that isn t pretty much the most emo album title ever, I ll eat my own broken heart.

I Miss Everyone showcases six soaring post-rock anthems, including 13+ minute epic It s Natural to Be Afraid , all recorded by the pAper chAse s John Congleton at in the boonies of Minnesota. Click the link below for an exclusive stream of the record s second track, the inspired Welcome, Ghosts .
And if that weren t enough to write home about, how s this: limited edition, deluxe versions of I Miss Everyone come packaged with a second, album-length bonus disc collecting six remixes-- one of each track-- by several of thee kewlest peeps in the game: Four Tet, Jesu, Eluvium, Adem, Mountains, and even Congleton s own Paper Chase.

Explosions celebrate the birth of their latest opus with two special New York gigs in February and a few scattered dates thereafter, with more tour destinations to follow. If you d rather experience the band s magic from the comfort of your easy chair, however, tune in to Friday Night Lights , the NBC football drama series inspired by the Explosions-scored film, which sets gridiron grind against some choice EitS slow-burners.
So do Spiritualized, Polyphonic Spree, Peaches, Le Tigre Taking aim at stereotypes while simultaneously playing straight to them, has titled her forthcoming album Yes, I m a Witch.

(It s also the name of one of her songs.) And the legendary artist/musician has conjured quite a list of guests to appear on the record. In fact, the record consists of almost nothing but guests.

The idea behind Witch goes like this: Ono chose the artists with whom she wanted to work, gave them access to her back catalog, asked them to chose a song to rework, and then provided [them] with the vocals and whatever other instrumental elements attracted them from that cut. Almost all the artists chose just the vocals, according to a press release. The result: a remixes/duets/covers record consisting of entirely new musical tracks.

The Flaming Lips, Cat Power, Antony, Le Tigre, Spiritualized s Jason Pierce, Peaches, and the Polyphonic Spree are among those who contributed to Yes, I m a Witch, which will release in February. The label will follow it in March with a compilation of dance remixes of Ono songs. Last time Pitchfork reported on s Zach Condon ( ), we lovingly joked about him having nothing but good luck this year.

Um, looks like we totally jinxed the poor guy (sorry dude!). We ve just received word that Beirut have been forced to cancel the remaining shows on their current tour-- and that Condon has suffered a bought of extreme exhaustion, for which he was hospitalized for a short time this past Saturday in Paris, France.

The band was forced to cancel their show in Paris, as well as an appearance on French website s series.
This was an extremely difficult decision to make, wrote a representative for the band s U.S.

label, , about the tour cancellation, and was only decided on after doing everything we possibly could to make it work out.
This is Beirut s first-ever tour, and while the band played some of the greatest shows of their lives, the attendant stress of organizing and traveling with a full-blown, 12-person orkestar took its toll. Having put all of his energy into each and every performance, Zach was briefly hospitalized for extreme exhaustion.

, anyway, for giving s album by that name a proper Stateside release. Hear chief Comedian Neil Hannon chat up his new record in exclusive video interview, courtesy of the good folks at his label. As an added bonus, click the track titles listed below to watch Neil discuss the inspiration behind each song on his latest opus.

In the interviews, Hannon reveals the story behind the album s eclectic feel, how he finds inspiration in movies and Johnny Cash, his wife s insistance that the raunchy original lyrics to To Die a Virgin be changed, and his desire for Dolly Parton to sing Mother Dear . its U.S.

landing this coming Tuesday, November 14-- at which point Hannon and band will have just wrapped up a tour of Ireland/Northern Ireland, with no immediate we can t be too irked by Neil s snub of our continent, as he recently joined in on website) who, on November 3, released a self-titled LP on Records in Ireland. All profits from sales of the disc support the Oxfam organization s campaign (you know, the one Chris Martin loves). Others musicians who contributed to The Cake Sale include the Cardigans Nina Persson, Damien Rice, Josh Ritter, Gemma Hayes, the Thrills Padraic McMahon, and many more.

Meanwhile, the band s ) and digital download formats. One of Neil s finest songs to date, A Lady received a on this very website earlier this year.
Raucous indie roots band have been snapped up by , Pitchfork can exclusively announce.

After releasing two albums this year-- on and on (the vinyl version of the latter is out December 5, by the way)--the sextet plans to have their next full-length ready for the world by next August. Vocalist/guitarist Patrick Sullivan told Pitchfork that Oakley Hall chose Merge for several reasons. They re incredibly nice, approachable people, which is always a plus when you have business, he said.

We did a tour with M. Ward this September, and he was a major cheerleader for them; he couldn t recommend them enough. We hit it off with him and really respected his opinion.

They re also the kind of label that s getting rarer these days, [in that] you can trust the Merge brand. We look at everybody else on that label, and I m a fan of every one of those bands. We wanted to be a part of that tradition, and we re very excited about it.

The end of 2006 will also bring the end of , as the long-running band announced today that they will call it quits after two final shows, taking place December 15 and December 16 at Philadelphia s First Unitarian Church and New York City s Bowery Ballroom. Singer/bassist Caithlin De Marrais, guitarist Kyle Fischer, and drummer William Kuehn released the following statement:
We are grateful to our new listeners and especially our longtime fans for their endless support and attention. We feel incredibly fortunate to have come up during a unique time in rock music, in a community that grew with us from the Midwest to Brooklyn and beyond.

Making records has always been a revelation, and walking onto stage together we found a vision we could share.
For us, this transition can be nothing short of heartbreaking. But for reasons both musical and personal, the three of us have chosen this time to move on.

+/- Hit the Road, Share Exclusive Dining Tips Having been at the rock game for years, the punctuation-mongers of sensitive electro-acoustic outfit know a thing or two about the fine art of dining on the road. To celebrate their latest jaunt-- which kicks off tonight in support of their third LP, the recently-released, -stamped Let s Build a Fire-- the trio have graciously drafted a very special list for the Pitchfork readership: a list of their favorite places to eat on tour. Roadfood be damned!

Dates and dining tips after the jump. We get the impression these gentlemen are in it for the grub. What do you get when you put Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz), Paul Simonon (The Clash), Simon Tong (The Verve), and Tony Allen (Fela Kuti) together in a room, and then throw producer Danger Mouse in for good measure?

Well, judging from History Song , it kinda sounds like Gorillaz minus the hip-hop influence. On the lead-off track from supergroup s (due out early January), lo-fi acoustic guitar bumps up against eerie piano and scratchy sound effects, creating a mysterious mood perfect for soundtracking scenes of cartoon intrigue. Tonight in London, the Good The Bad and the Queen will perform (or perhaps are performing as we speak!

) their debut album in its entirety as part of the festival. You can stream the concert .
Friends of B.

P. turn out in earnest Don t let his slightly unkempt appearance fool ya-- Athens, Georgia resident (also known as the living Bryan Poole) shaves and showers at least twice a week. Okay-- actually we have no clue about the man s personal grooming habits, but we do know that however cleanly he is now, he s about to get significantly less so, because it s time for him to sleep on floors, subsist on two-week old tuna sandwiches, and spend 90% of his waking hours trapped in a moving vehicle.

Yep, it s tour time!
guitarist and dabbler the Late B.P.

kicks off his own jaunt tonight at his hometown s 40 Watt Club. Along the way he ll cross paths with Magnolia Electric Co. and Bishop Allen for a couple one-off shows.

As an introduction to the Late B.P. s world, why not check out the exclusive mp3 below?

A high-energy cover of 60s Brit pop-rockers the Move s Lightning Never Strikes Twice , it features Helium along with Ben Crum on guitar, s Ed Livengood on drums, and Casper Fandango of on bass. Dig it.
Friends of P.

turn out in earnest Don t let those boyish good looks fool ya-- Abilene, Texas resident writes and sings as though he s weathered far more years than he actually has, being only in his early twenties. hit us with Micah P. Hinson and the Opera Circuit earlier this month, and now not-so-little Micah takes to the tour circuit in support of the fine disc.

Along the way he ll cross paths with for a string of dates, and play one-offs with Figurines, Matt Pond PA, and Steve Shelley s Two Dollar Guitar. As an introduction to Micah s world, why not check out the exclusive mp3 below? A quick, celebratory jam flecked with banjo plucks, Opera Circuit standout Letter to Huntsville delivers.

Now we re cooking! The third and final exclusive mp3 from s forthcoming fifth LP is a lively, slightly paranoid, piano-dolloped rocker in the spirit of Burning the Cow and the band s best. Everybody Knows Everybody sees Aaron Espinoza musing on the fine art of discretion over build-up-and-release guitars-- and a few ethereal coos thrown in for good measure.

Not one of its 154 seconds is wasted.
Click below to download the new jam. , Espinoza hopes to share Earlimart s latest with the world early next year.

The disc also features Nevermind the Phonecalls and Don t Think About Me , which you may score and .
Catch Espinoza as he plays a solo set at California s Silverlake Lounge tonight, or see the whole band as they hit up for at least two gigs: October 30 at New York s Mercury Lounge, and November 2 at Brooklyn s Northsix. Exclusive: Sebadoh, Ted Leo to Play Noise Pop 1993, San Francisco s festival has grown into one of the most respected indie rock extravaganzas in the country.

In 2007, the festival will celebrate its 15th anniversary from February 27-March 4, and it has invited some stellar guests to the party. So far, Leo/Pharmacists, John Vanderslice, and Jolie Holland have all RSVPed to the event, and many others are on the way. In addition to the tunes, Noise Pop will put on its first-ever Noise Pop Expo, a two-day event (March 3-4) featuring panels, a designer fair, art installations, a poster show, and more.

It will also hold its annual film festival. Airbrushed t-shirt of the Chicago skyline? Check.

Catatonic hipsters snapping? Check. Directors Mark Bachara and Michael P.

McGrath s uncomfortable shots down the token hot blonde s nightgown? Check-- with a side of tighty whitey dude junk.
I didn t think it was possible, but Andrew WK got even gnarlier when he became the lead singer for .

Remember when that the re-release of s , due in stores tomorrow via , didn t contain any new tracks? Well, we lied. The Yoko Ono cover is available below as an exclusive download.

It s one of Love Is All s most post-punkish efforts, balancing skronky saxophone splatter with a jittery approximation of a disco beat. In other words, it sounds like a lost X-Ray Spex B-side. , Love Is All are headed to our shores for a North American tour starting next week.

But first, they ll perform at the Iceland Airwaves Festival this week.
Last week we with s Aaron Espinoza about the L.A.

act s as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2004 s Treble Tremble, and he kindly promised to share three new tunes. The first, which you may download , rode in on a moody bassline and showed Earlimart s poppier face, while this week s, Don t Think About Me , takes balladic piano for a lushly orchestrated autumnal stroll, emphasizing Espinoza s knack for thoughtful production.
Stay tuned next week for the third and final installment, then get those new jam requests ready in time for Earlimart s descent-- they play NYC s Mercury Lounge on October 30 and Brooklyn s Northsix on November 2, with a third show in the works.

As previously reported, sets his Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers Bastards loose on America November 21 and Europe the day before, via . Two already escaped prematurely-- and -- and Pitchfork just scooped up another one.
Its name is Road to Peace , and careful, cause it s one of the brawlers.

It s also quite the political scamp, going on for a good seven minutes about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and questioning the ethics of the sitting U.S. president.

At times it sounds like Waits is reading straight off the CNN ticker, but we forgive him, because these are vital topics that ought to be on folks minds.
, who just released their debut EP-- -- in North America on , have signed to in the UK and Europe.
The band s first single for the label will be Nature of the Experiment .

It comes out in the UK on November 20 with B-side Box , which is available as an exclusive download below. The Cheer It On single, the B-side of which is currently unspecified, will arrive in the UK on February 5. On February 12, A Lesson in Crime will finally arrive in both the UK and Europe along with bonus track Cut Cut Paste .

Tokyo Police Club will play a few dates with and on October 16 at the Middle East in Cambridge, MA before going on to play CMJ and a ton of dates in both the U.S. and Canada in November.

A video for Nature of the Experiment is currently in post-production. Memphis Industries has also signed two other bands: New Zealand s (formerly Ryan McPhun and the Ruby Suns) and Scotland s . The Ruby Suns self-titled debut comes out in the UK on December 4 and in Europe in January, and a second album is already in the works, according to a press release.

Bricolage are currently looking for the producer of their debut and hope to begin recording it in November.
Some bands come raging out the gates with some landmark debut album, then break up or fizzle off into mediocrity. Some toil for years and years before hitting their stride.

And a few just plug along the old fashioned way, learning from their mistakes, growing steadily as songwriters, and improving by degrees with each release. Like Los Angeles rockers .
The Aaron Espinoza-fronted combo has four albums under its belt, each building upon the merits of the last.

I think [with] every album I m getting better [as a producer], and the albums sound better and the songwriting gets better, Espinoza recently told Pitchfork. By that logic, the self-produced, as-yet-untitled latest offering from Earlimart should be the band s best yet. While he s still tinkering with the new disc, which has no label or set release date yet, Espinoza was happy to talk about its genesis.

Hey, it s a new song! Just kidding..

.but it sure sounds like one. On this track from s forthcoming debut album, , Destroyer/ Dan Bejar takes the lead over fellow Lakers Spencer Krug ( , ) and Carey Mercer ( ), turning their work into something straight out of his own back catalog.

The city of daughters can t be found where it ought to be found, Bejar sings in his trademark whine, accompanied by an acoustic guitar, squirrelly organ, and feminine-sounding backing vocals that may or may not be Mercer s. There are also mentions of an attack that s forever forewarned and a hex on the telephone wire -- could this freedom be the kind that a certain President claims we re always fighting for? Four years after the release of his first solo record, Fantastic Damage, label head is finally finishing its follow-up, the I ll Sleep When You re Dead.

The always busy producer-rapper said, It just feels good to be on the mic again, when he spoke to Pitchfork Monday about the album, which he hopes to release March 6 on Def Jux.
His collaborators on I ll Sleep When You re Dead include Trent Reznor, the Mars Volta, Aesop Rock, Cage, Mr. Lif (whose track might end up becoming a bonus cut due to scheduling), Tunde Adebimpe (TV on the Radio), Matt Sweeney (Chavez/Bonnie Prince Billy/Zwan), James McNew (Yo La Tengo), Rob Sonic, Mr.

Dibbs, and Cat Power (more on that later). El-P qualified their involvement by saying, I don t really like records that are all about hardcore collaboration. It s really just about friends, and when I m making shit people drop by, you know?

So they ll pop up on little things, background vocals, but most of these people won t be listed, except in the credits.
El-P met Trent Reznor and the Mars Volta in separate instances of mutual fandom, which led to him remixing their songs.