Today's Hotness: Captain Polaroid, The Answering Machine

>> Devotees of lo-fi stalwart Captain Polaroid likely weren't expecting a shimmering shoegaze ballad with a convincingly Death Cab-esque vocal layered over it when they downloaded the Birmingham, England artist's recently issued Beat Nostalgia EP4. But that's what they got with a newly recorded version of "Jigsaw Of Planet Earth." Add in a spoken vocal track a la Michael Stipe in R.E.M.'s "Belong," and Captain Polaroid has turned out one of his most stirring tracks to date. All the more surprising because Mssr. Polaroid's brand of scrappy, home-recorded guitar pop tends to be more direct and dynamic. On "Jigsaw Of Planet Earth" a simple melody and punchy drum groove lay back and let the gorgeous guitar tone and tremelo effect breathe out and in and out and in, buoying the vocals on a dense curtain of guitars. We've embedded "Jigsaw Of Planet Earth" below; the original version -- a devastatingly sweet, whispery acoustic ballad -- appeared on Captain Polaroid's Pro Action Replay EP released in 2007 [stream it here]. You can stream the entire Beat Nostalgia EP4 here or download it here; it was released October 1. Captain Polaroid is now taking pre-orders for the Beat Nostalgia Surival Kit, a physical release that gathers two tracks from each of the five Beat Nostalgia EPs (there is as yet one more forthcoming) together with demos, a lyric book, badge, t-shirt transfer and various oddities, all for 10 pounds. Full details here.

Jigsaw of Planet Earth by Captain Polaroid

>> We've been waiting and waiting to finally have the time to tell you about the new single from Manchester, England-based indie rockers The Answering Machine. The tune is called "Animals" and it is available for free download from a Bandcamp page the quartet has erected here; a Soundcloud stream lurks below. A far cry from the scritchy, Strokes-channeling guitar pop of The Answering Machine's early days, "Animals" sounds as if it could have been lifted from the catalog of Swedish indie pop sensations Shout Out Louds. Although there is precedent for the soulful synth-pop in The Answering Machine's catalog: the closing track from the band's debut full-length Another City, Another Sorry [review here], "You Should Have Called," was more reserved than the rest of that album and drew heavily on '80s roller rink pop sounds. "Animals" will apparently be issued as part of a planned EP that will include a song rescued from the dustbin of the Another City, Another Sorry sessions called "A Courtyard;" the EP will likely be available through ITunes, according to this blog post from the band. As we reported here in August, The Answering Machine intends to issue its sophomore set Lifeline worldwide in early 2011. The band launches a short strand of tour dates across the U.K. tomorrow, and takes to the road in Europe next month. View all the tour dates here.

The Answering Machine - Animals

Everyone Everywhere Blog Tour: "Obama House, Fukui Prefecture"

So, seriously, have you been on the Everyone Everywhere blog tour yet? 10 blogs united to debut one each of the 10 tracks comprising the Philly-based indie punk act's superlative self-titled set due next week? We're the final piece in the puzzle: if you hit all the links below you'll be able to consume some nice bloggin' and pick up the first nine songs from the forthcoming full-length at one and the same time. It's so win-win, we think we should call it win-win-win. MP3s for all the songs will be available at the individual sites for download until May 4, at which time the files get yanked and Pun Canoes begins streaming the record. Clicky Clicky is the last stop on the tour, so if you haven't circumnavigated the links below yet, we'll wait.

01. "Tiny Planet" @ The Ripple Effect
02. "Raw Bar OBX 2002' @ Can You See The Sunset?
03. "From The Beginning To The Tail" @ Built On A Weak Spot
04. "Tiny Town" @ Dryvetyme Onlyne
05. "Tiny Boat" @ Battle Of The Midwestern Housewives

06. "Music Work Paper Work" @ Deckfight
07. "Blown Up Grown Up" @ The Album Project
08. "Fld Ovr" @ Familiarize Yourself
09. "I Feel Fine" @ Reviewsic

Which brings us to track 10, the amazing "Obama House, Fukui Prefecture." This song, perhaps more than any other on Everyone Everywhere's stellar debut, hits a well-defined musical sweet spot of ours: the juxtaposition of almost detached, murmured vocals underpinned by driving, heads-down rock. When fronter Brendan McHugh dreamily professes "I've never built a house myself..." as the band bashes away, guitars blazing, it's magic. It also sort of winks in the direction of the close of the excellent track "Thermal Dynamics" from the act's 2008 A Lot Of Weird People Standing Around EP.

The icing on the cake that is "Obama House, Fukui Prefecture" is a sly little production touch, first encountered by us in the opening track of Death Cab For Cutie's wonderful We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes, wherein the equalization or mix on the drums shifts from your typical pop sound to a clobbering, roomy treatment. Rather than throwing the switch after the opening verse as Death Cab did, Everyone Everywhere waits until the thundering climax of "Obama House, Fukui Prefecture," knocking the proceedings slightly sideways to delicious effect. Anyway, grab the track at the link below for a limited time, then pre-order the collection at the other link. Everyone Everywhere is available digitally and on limited-edition, colored vinyl (350 maroon, 150 white). The band launches a short strand of tour dates May 7 that includes a Memorial Day weekend stop at Boston's O'Brien's Pub; all of the dates are listed below.

Everyone Everywhere -- "Obama House, Fukui Prefecture" -- Everyone Everywhere
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[buy Everyone Everywhere music from Tiny Engines right here]

ON TOUR:

05.07 -- Fennario -- West Chester, PA
05.08 -- Charm City Art Space -- Baltimore, MD
05.11 -- Kung Fu Necktie (Record Release Show) -- Philadelphia, PA
05.22 -- Bushwick Music Studios -- Brooklyn, NY
05.29 -- O'Brien's Pub -- Boston, MA

Prelude To The Beatleocalypse

We’re now just a week away from the Beatleocalypse and trust me, 9/9/09 may just end up the end of the world or the heralding of paradise on Earth if you follow any of the online forums discussing such matters. On one such den of iniquity (where I admittedly lurk. sigh), one of the key engineers in charge of remastering these Arcs of the Covenantses for the masses and smaller mass of obsessives actually posted and provided helpful corrections and calming words about the process and the source material. NOT GOOD ENOUGH. To paraphrase one response, “Are you sure they’re using the original original masters for Pepper? Are you sure? ‘Cause I heard they were lost…”

I won’t even get into the concerns over loudness. Or the count on the numbers of mono box sets left in the world. Or the great news that a collection of the oft-shoddily bootlegged Beatles Fan Club Christmas messages will finally be made available, but only locked deep within the Rock Band game.

How to calm my nerves then? Well, how about some Beatle tributes?

WAIT – DON’T CLICK AWAY YET! Look, I hate tributes. Especially Beatle tributes. Why? How can you win? Too close a cover, and what’s the point? Make it your own and you’re rolling the dice I’m not even going near that new Sgt. Pepper set that Cheap Trick put out last week (which seems to fall into the former category).

The solo stuff is even tougher. Remember Listen To What The Man Said: Popular Artists Pay Tribute to the Music of Paul McCartney? Didn’t think so – who thought that the world wanted to hear SR-71’s take on “My Brave Face?” (Side note: this set does, however, have one track worth seeking out: Sloan’s truly great cover of McCartney II’s “Waterfalls”).

Once in awhile, though, collections come through that have just the right spirit. Tom Scharpling, the host of the WFMU’s legendary “Best Show on WFMU,” a call-in show featuring the hilarious and strange characters of Superchunk (and usually several other bands) drummer Jon Wurster and whoever else calls in (who are sometimes even more strange), is known to regular listeners as an unabashed fan of McCartney (and Abba!) so it isn’t surprising that Tom: A Best Show on WFMU Tribute to Ram is a lovingly-curated tribute to McCartney’s second post-Beatles set.

The A&R on this is nearly perfect: the chamber-pop opener “Too Many People” goes to Aimee Mann; the demo-y solo track “Ram On” goes to Portastatic; the finely crafted “Dear Boy” could have been written by Death Cab For Cutie; the really strange one, Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” goes to Dump, the rollicking “Smile Away” gets torn up by Hank IV, the other strange one, “Monkberry Moon Delight” is inhabited by Danielson, and the soaring “Back Seat of My Car” is knocked out of the park by Ted Leo.

This is so good and worth your time that it pains me to tell you that you blew it. This was available only as a premium to donors to WFMU’s annual pledge drive. That’ll teach you. Give ‘em some money next year – the show and the station in general are well worth it.

All is not lost, though. You can drown your sorrow of missing out on Tom by spending some time with Tribute To, a somber and absorbing tribute to George Harrison by My Morning Jacket’s Jim James (operating here under the name Yim Yames for some reason). It sounds every bit like it was recorded shortly after Harrison’s death in 2001, which it apparently was. These sparsely arranged takes really capture a certain spirit that almost feels closer to the heart of these songs than some of the original versions. This may not be surprising to Harrison fans – when All Things Must Pass was reissued in 2001, Harrison indicates in the liner notes that he was tempted to strip some of the songs back from Phil Spector’s bigger production values, and the bootlegs of demos from that era certainly portray a haunting quality that, for all of its greatness, the finished piece downplays.

So there you go. Next week, I’ll either be listening exclusively Beatles for the next 6 months, or trying to avoid it. I suppose it’ll depend on how the already simmering marketing blitz goes. -- Michael Piantigini

The Beatles: Internerds | MySpace | Vidya Games |
WFMU: Internerds
Best Show on WFMU: Streaming Archive | Internerds | Recaps | Scharpling and Wurster | MySpace
Yim Yames: Internerds | MySpace

Today's Hotness: Dirty On Purpose, Frightened Rabbit

>> We join the chorus of outlets expressing disappointment at the breakup of Brooklyn-based nu-gaze superlatives Dirty On Purpose, who disclosed their demise via presser this afternoon. The quartet, which formed in 2002, will play a final show on New Years Eve at Manhattan's Mercury Lounge, where it will open for the purportedly "loudest band in New York," noiseniks-in-arms A Place To Bury Strangers. According to the statement, the band returned from tour a month ago, discussed making another record, and ultimately decided that was something it didn't want to do. Dirty On Purpose is survived by its members' various extra-band endeavors, which include Neckbeard Telecaster, Coin Under Tongue, Joe And The Flying Spoons, Purse Snatchers and Black Acid. All of the members will continue to live in New York, and the band quipped that it reserves its right to reform. Which would make a bunch of us pretty happy. We reviewed Dirty On Purpose's Oct. 2007 Middle East show right here. We also reviewed its two full-lengths Sleep Late For A Better Tomorrow and Hallelujah Sirens here and here respectively. We leave you with the song that we think first turned us on to the band, the early track "Practice For Having Sex." Thanks for all the indie rock, guys.

Dirty On Purpose -- "Practice For Having Sex" -- Show-Only EP
[right click and save as]
[buy Dirty On Purpose records from Newbury Comics right here]

>> Selkirk, Scotland-based indie rockers Frightened Rabbit will issue an updated version of its 2007 holiday single "It's Christmas So We'll Stop" Dec. 16, exactly 364 days after releasing the original version. The track has apparently been "reconstructed" by Oregon-based label mate David Karsten Daniels, who has adorned the spare ballad with a choir, horns, Fender Rhodes piano and strings. We wrote about version 1.0 of the single last November here. The new version has been dressed up with better cover art, which you can ogle here, and the b-side this go-round is not music but an etching by none other than band fronter Scott Hutchison. And there is even more FR news -- there is a brand new video for "I Feel Better," right here. Frightened Rabbit recently completed a European jaunt opening for Death Cab For Cutie (if you have read the band's recent tour diary for DIS regarding same here, you are missing out on some comedy gold). As we've alluded to previously, Frightened Rabbit return to the U.S. for a short stack of dates next month, which you can inspect below.

01/16 -- Philadelphia, PA -- Johnny Brenda's
01/17 -- New York, NY -- Bowery Ballroom
01/18 -- Allston, MA -- Great Scott
01/19 -- Washington, D.C. -- Rock and Roll Hotel
01/22 -- Urbana, IL -- Courtyard Café
01/23 -- Ames, IA -- Maintenance Shop
01/24 -- Chicago, IL -- Empty Bottle

Fear Of A Rabbit Planet: FR Returns To North America

The ascent of Frightened Rabbit, Selkirk, Scotland's finest indie rock foursome, continues unabated. The band's folksy ballad "Poke" soundtracked several minutes of the American teen-targeted soap opera "One Tree Hill" earlier this week -- one can inspect the evidence at YouTube right here. While you're in the video-watching mood, treat yourself to this endearingly earnest fan vid for "The Modern Leper." And for a good laugh, this clip of band fronter Scott Hutchison debating his brother Grant about whether porn can be art is not to be missed. Just when you thought things couldn't get any better for FR, the band announced Wednesday it will support indie veterans Death Cab For Cutie on forthcoming November tour dates in the U.K. Could an invitation to Christmas dinner at Chris Walla's and a record deal with Atlantic be too far behind?

But wait -- we've mistakenly skipped passed more pressing information. Assuming we've counted correctly, in October Frightened Rabbit makes its fifth trip to North America in fewer than 12 months. As we reported here in July, Frightened Rabbit will be touting -- at least in the U.K. -- a newly minted third single from its stellar sophomore set The Midnight Organ Fight, which was released in April. The aforementioned third single will contain the cuts "I Feel Better" b/w "The Twist" [YouTube video preview]. The latter track may be our favorite from the set, so you singles junkies in the U.K. had better start saving your pocket change. The North American tour dates commence Oct. 17 in Philadelphia and wrap in Los Angeles two weeks later. Night three of the tour brings Frightened Rabbit back to The Middle East Rock Club in Cambridge, Mass. To whet your whistle, here's a nice acoustic version of "Head Rolls Off" from an Italian radio session earlier this year.

Frightened Rabbit -- "Head Rolls Off (Live)" -- Live at Maps RCDC
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[buy Frightened Rabbit records from Newbury Comics right here]

Frightened Rabbit: Internets | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

10/17 -- First Unitarian Church -- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
10/18 -- Music Hall Of Williamsburg -- New York, New York
10/19 -- Middle East -- Cambridge, Massachusetts
10/20 -- Petit Campus -- Montreal, Quebec
10/22 -- Skully’s Music Diner -- Columbus, Ohio
10/23 -- Metro -- Chicago, Illinois
10/24 -- High Noon Saloon -- Madison, Wisconsin
10/25 -- 7th Street Entry -- Minneapolis, Minnesota
10/28 -- Chop Suey -- Seattle, Washington
10/29 -- Media Club -- Vancouver, British Columbia
11/01 -- Bottom Of The Hill -- San Francisco, California
11/02 -- Bottom Of The Hill -- San Francisco, California
11/03 -- Echoplex -- Los Angeles, California

Selected Prior Frightened Rabbit coverage:

FR Live at TT The Bear's, July 2008
FR Live at the Middle East, March 2008
Review: Frightened Rabbit | The Midnight Organ Fight
FR Live at Great Scott, November 2007

Today's Hotness: Kurt Cobain, A Weather, Mobius Band

>> So we went 0-for-3 seeing shows this past week. We had intended to get out to see Seattle electropop act Say Hi at Great Scott last night after viewing the newly released DVD Kurt Cobain: About A Son. However, the film is so subdued, nearly static -- as well as somewhat repetitive of Michael Azerrad's very good Cobain biography "Come As You Are" -- that we were lulled into a state of not wanting to drive across the river come show time. So we didn't. Further comments on the film: The colors -- particularly the greens -- are stunning. Is that the work of a particular color filter, or digital processing, or was the footage just captured during those perfect spring days where the greens are so green? Also notable is the pleasantly diaphanous soundtrack written by Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard and producer Steve Fisk. Ultimately Kurt Cobain: About A Son is a somewhat unusual blend of video travelogue and intimate audio interview that succeeds most of the time, although we think viewers without any knowledge that the film is actually Azerrad's semi-legendary interviews set to pretty pictures may find the proceedings somewhat unsatisfactory. For those interested in seeing the film in tiny chunks, it appears this YouTube user has put the whole film online. We've posted the trailer for the film atop this item. Here's some free Death Cab For Cutie courtesy of the band's web site.

Death Cab For Cutie -- "Company Calls Epilogue (Alternate)" -- Forbidden Love EP
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[Buy Death Cab For Cutie and Nirvana records from Newbury Comics here and here]

>> It is worth reminding you that Portland, Ore.-based quintet A Weather's exceptional full-length debut Cove will be released by Team Love Tuesday. We've returned to this record over and over again during the last 90 days and it is a good bet that the set will be included among our favorite records of 2008. We reviewed Cove here. Gang Of Four's Dave Allen recently interviewed the band for a recent Pampelmoose podcast you can download right here. And if you are fan of the band's stirring brooder "Oh My Stars" we highly recommended listening in, because the podcast includes a live or alternate version of the track -- it's never explicitly stated whether the band is actually performing live or not. The Pampelmoose version (for lack of a better descriptor) features some perfect slide guitar, which fits so nicely we wonder why it wasn't included in the studio recording. Also somewhat different in the Pampelmoose rendition: some clanking percussion; a different vocal arrangement at the climax of the song. Whatever the source of this version, we're hoping the track is eventually offered as a standalone MP3. For now, here's the studio version of "Oh My Stars."

A Weather -- "Oh My Stars" -- Cove
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[buy Cove from Saddle Creek right here]

>> There's no surer sign of spring than the waves of spring tours that kriss-kross the land like so many sets of youngsters wearing pants backwards. Clicky Clicky faves Mobius Band -- after returning from its current successful European tour next month -- sets its sights on America (with Cut Copy and hype-hamstrung blog darlings Black Kids in tow) with the aim of further evangelizing the October release of the sophomore set Heaven. Here are the your Mobius Band 2008 U.S. tour dates below. While we're on the subject, exemplary rockers Minus The Bear and Cardiff, Wales-based indie pop sensations Los Campesinos! will also circumnavigate the states this spring. Both acts will come to entertain in Boston, and Pantsfork has tour dates for each here and here respectively.

MOBIUS BAND TOUR DATES

04.28 -- Doug Fir Lounge -- Portland, Oregon
04.29 -- Richard’s On Richards -- Vancouver, British Columbia
04.30 -- Neumos -- Seattle, Washington
05.02 -- Urban Lounge -- Salt Lake City, Utah
05.03 -- Larimer Lounge -- Denver, Colorado
05.05 -- Waiting Room -- Omaha, Nebraska
05.06 -- 7th Street Entry -- Minneapolis, Minnesota
05.07 -- Abbey Pub -- Chicago, Illinois
05.08 -- Magic Stick -- Detroit, Michigan
05.09 -- Lee’s Palace -- Toronto, Ontario
05.10 -- Cabaret Music Hall -- Montreal, Quebec
05.12 -- Paradise -- Boston, Massachusetts
05.14 -- Bowery Ballroom -- New York, New York
05.15 -- Black Cat -- Washington, D.C.
05.16 -- Pure -- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

>> We've been spending some time with Scottish post-rock behemoth Mogwai's Come On Die Young as of late. And we'd like to show just how dense we can be sometimes. Despite the record coming out in 1999 and our listening to it for months on end upon its release, it occurred to us only just yesterday that the song title "Cody" is an acronym for the album title. Sometimes stuff just goes over our head.

Today's Hotness: Destroyer, Islands, Chris Walla

>> Fear not, Boston-based Destroyer fans. We were dismayed that the tour dates Merge distributed this afternoon lacked completely a Boston engagement for Mr. Bejar's flagship ensemble, so we dashed off an email to Merge HQ. Merge HQ responded that booking agents were still trying to get a local date that works for everybody, and that it was not an oversight. So there. Destroyer's forthcoming set Trouble In Dreams will be released by Merge in March.

>> We expect the closing of the major rock clubs on Boston's Lansdowne Street can't be helping matters, and there was new news relating to what heretofore was supposed to be a project combining all the Lansdowne clubs and real estate into some sort of crappy "lifestyle center" or something. Bostonist reported here yesterday that The Boston Globe reported that House Of Blues is "taking over" Avalon and Axis. Somewhere House Of Blues investor Dan Akroyd is twirling a villain's mustache he's grown and waxed lovingly just for occasions such as these, all the while murmuring "eggsellent." Anyway, House Of Blues won't own the clubs, but instead will hold a long-term lease with the property owner, real estate developer Patrick Lyons, who co-founded House Of Blues... wait, what? Speaking of blues, here is the long-gone, Boston-based indie rock juggernaut Come covering The Rolling Stones downer "I Got The Blues." The track closed the quartet's superlative 1992 release 11:11.

Come -- "I've Got The Blues" -- 11:11
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[buy Come records from Newbury Comics here]

>> Speaking of Boston, hit this link and bow down before the awesomeness that is Mission Of Burma, captured to video by the good people at The Phoenix while performing live at Great Scott earlier this month. The clip for "2wice" is particularly ferocious.

>> The opening of the new Islands track "The Arm" is very promising, and then the disco strings swarm. Man, we hate the disco strings. Otherwise, the song isn't a large departure from the quirky, scruffy indie rock on Islands' 2006 debut, Return To The Sea, which we reviewed here. But we're getting that sneaking feeling that this band is about to pass us by, and we're going to let it. We mean, come on, disco strings? If your name is not Jeff Lynne or if your band is not ELO, you shouldn't be getting mixed up with any of that. Nonetheless, Islands' sophomore set Arm's Way will be released by Rough Trade April 21.

>> At the opposite end of the spectrum, we love the new Chris Walla jam "Sing Again," and think the video posted at Stereogum here is quite entertaining. And some of the noisier production stuff going on in the midst of the catchy track gives us much encouragement that Mr. Walla's comments earlier this month about the forthcoming Death Cab For Cutie set being "polarizing," "dissonant" and "abrasive" weren't just lip service. Incidentally, The Cab Of Death disclosed this week that the title to its forthcoming set is titled Narrow Stairs. You can watch a little video clip hyping the record, which will be released in May, at the band's web site linked supra. It all sounds very promising. You can watch the video for Walla's "Sing Again" via the e-card for his record Field Manual posted here. The set was released this week.

>> More tomorrow about Paul McGuinness' speech at Midem and Say Hi's nice new track "Zero To Love," assuming we can squeeze it in before LOST is broadcast on the television.

Today's Hotness: Ringo Deathstarr, The Notwist, Daytrotter

>> Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you above the new Ringo Deathstarr video for the Jesus And Mary Chain-arific track "Some Kind Of Sad." It's quirky, in kind of a "Lovecats" vein. Scroll down to our earlier item listing The Deathstarr's upcoming tour dates. The other really good video we encountered today is for the new Morrissey jam, "That's How People Grow Up," which will be included on a forthcoming hits package from the fabled former Smiths fronter. The clip makes us want to see him perform even more than when we posted (and unposted) "The First Of The Gang To Die" here. Watch "That's How People Grow Up" at Pantsfork here.

>> Bradley's Almanac's excellent 2008 preview contains some particularly exciting news for us: there will be a new Notwist record this spring. At least according to the Notwist-Ultras.com blog, which we had never encountered before. A post there in late November reported that the recording was completed and that the set was being mastered in November and December 2007. The name of the new set, which will be The Notwist's sixth, has not yet been disclosed, but it will likely be released by City Slang in April or May. Longtime fans will be interested to note that founding drummer Martin Messerschmidt has left The Notwist, and that drumming in the new record was executed by Masha Qrella and Saroos timekeeper Andreas Haberl. Mr. Haberl will also drum on planned German tour dates. We reviewed the excellent DVD "On | Off The Record," which memorialized the making of Notwist's superlative 2002 set Neon Golden, right here last February. The Notwist contributed to the excellent Morr compilation Putting The Morr Back In Morrissey, which was released in 2000. We're posting their selection, a clicktronic instrumental called "Scoop," below.

The Notwist -- "Scoop" -- Putting The Morr Back In Morrissey
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[buy Notwist recordings from Newbury Comics here]

>> We think the sidebar to this Des Moines Register piece about Wolfgang's Vault's purchase of a majority stake in Daytrotter.com has the most interesting information. Daytrotter plans to record more well-known artists (Death Cab For Cutie and Stephen Malkmus are offered as examples); remove older recordings from the web site and sell them as high-quality MP3s; and press certain recording sessions to limited edition (500-1,000 copies) vinyl LPs. Which all sound like excellent ideas to us. Kudos to you, Daytrotter.

Today's Hotness: A Weather, Mobius Band, Wye Oak

>> The final solicitation of 2007 to catch our fancy was a pitch for A Weather, a Portland, Ore.-based quintet. A Weather's serenity and domestic intimacy recall for us the quiet rock of Track A Tiger, although we expect there are more on-point comparisons if we stop and think (perhaps Rocketship crossed with The Softies?). The verse of A Weather's "Spiders, Snakes" quietly marches and purrs and yearns, envisioning a tryst consummated while Bedhead plays on the hi-fi. The chorus offers some relief in the form of bright optimism, or at least some pragmatic pleading for managed expectations. On the whole the track is a perfect love song for the indie-conscious, cardigan-wearing set we struggle to believe survived the mid-1990s. No less affecting is the track "Oh My Stars," whose fractured waltz layers vocals into a spine-tingling minor crescendo in its final minute. Cove, A Weather's debut, will be released by Team Love March 8. The label also released a single by the band, "The Feather Test" b/w "One More One Night Stand," last spring.

A Weather -- "Spiders, Snakes" -- Cove
A Weather -- "Oh My Stars" -- Cove
[right click and save as]
[pre-order Cove from Team Love].

>> Daytrotter commences 2008 correctly by posting this new session featuring Brooklyn-based cyborg rockers Mobius Band. The session features four tracks -- although the ID3 tags suggests a fifth was also recorded -- including "A Hint Of Blood," "Friends Like These," "Hallie" and "The Loving Sounds Of Static." And while we take every opportunity to embiggen the formerly Massachusetts-based trio, the recordings of the first two tracks sound a little flat. The songs, of course, are excellent, each one a highlight of the band's near-decade of existence. But somehow the live mix here makes the songs sound small -- certainly much smaller and less potent than their studio counterparts. Whatever the problems, they are dispelled on the recording of "Hallie," which sounds significantly more peppy, despite the tune's down-in-the-mouth story. And the bluesy, almost Palace-ish rendering of "Static" with haunting and woeful vocal harmonies is a pleasant surprise. Download the tracks from the good people of Daytrotter here. Mobius Band released its sophomore set Heaven on Misra/Ghostly International in October.

>> We checked out Merge's new act Wye Oak on Frank Chromewaves' recommendation and we are saying "yes" to the Baltimore-based duo. Thank god bands are putting feedback back into their recordings. Or at least some of them -- we popped over to the band's MySpace wigwam and some of the other tracks are more basic acoustic numbers. Wye Oak releases its Merge debut If Children April 8. It is touring in an erratic path throughout January (Brooklyn last night, from the Carolinas to Florida next week, and then on to the Pacific Northwest); check out all the dates at the MySpace linked supra. Here is the first promo MP3 for a delightful cut entitled "Warning."

Wye Oak -- "Warning" - If Children
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>> Death Cab For Cutie guitarist Chris Walla characterizes the quartet's forthcoming release as "polarizing," "dissonant" and "abrasive," according to this Billboard article, which all sounds very promising to us. While we admit to only having heard half of the record, we didn't find much of interest on the popular indie rock band's major label debut Plans beyond "Marching Bands In Manhattan," and the record made us miss the Death Cab of We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes. Or even Transatlanticism, of which we were surprised to read recently there is some perception out there that the record is slagworthy. What? The Seattle quartet's next record, its second for Atlantic, is as-yet untitled and is slated for a May release.

>> Wow, Warner Music Group's ADA distro arm bought Insound.com, according to this bit at GloNo. Hope all those old school Insound dudes got paid, assuming they are still with the company. The full story, such as it is, is at Billboard.biz here.