Today's Hotness: Los Campesinos, ISAN, Speedy Ortiz

>> Cardiff-based indie pop heroes Los Campesinos delivered in a big way today on a surprise they've been teasing for a couple weeks. The news is the sextet is releasing a new live set titled It's A Good Night For A Fist Fight, and based on the preview track, a cracking version of "We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed," it would seem the record is going to be a fireball. It's A Good Night For A Fist Fight was recorded live at Islington Assembly Hall in London on December 15th of last year (the collection takes its title from a lyric in the band's thrilling hand-clapper "By Your Hands"). According to this tumblr post, the London date was actually the band's second try at a live recording, an earlier attempt planned for a show in Seattle, WA in the US was scotched for reasons Los Campesinos doesn't elaborate on. The London show -- 21 songs across 90 minutes -- was played to a sold-out crowd of 800 fans; the performance was the final show to feature Ellen Campesinos, and it also featured an appearance by Aleks Campesinos, who left the band three years prior to concentrate on academics. It's A Good Night For A Fist Fight is available for pre-order now for five British pounds, and the files will be emailed to purchasers May 4; the band is also selling a poster print and various cool t-shirts that can be bundled with the album, so make sure to look over all of the offerings at its Big Cartel yert. Pre-orders are rewarded with an immediate download of the final song of the main set, "Baby I Got The Death Rattle." In what is perhaps even more exciting news, the band says it will begin recording its fifth record in June; its prior two records, Romance Is Boring and Hello Sadness, each landed prominent spots on Clicky Clicky year-end lists. Pre-order It's A Good Night For A Fist Fight right here, and stream the slamming version of "We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed" via the Soundcloud embed below -- and scream along with the crowd when the line "THERE IS NO FUCKING FUTURE" rolls around.



>> We've found ourselves revisiting recently a lot of records that were released around the time we first began writing about music in earnest about 11 years ago. We were very excited at the time about the rising tide of IDM and ambient/minimalist electronic producers and electropop acts, many of which we first discovered by watershed compilations from Berlin-based label Morr Music such as the brilliant Slowdive tribute set Blue Skied An' Clear. A relatively veteran act of the then burgeoning electropop scene was the UK duo ISAN, which was founded in 1996 and is comprised of members Antony Ryan and Robin Saville. Morr Music has just announced it will re-release the pair's 1998 full-length debut Beautronics as a CD, and -- for the very first time -- vinyl. The vinyl issue will is a very, very limited gatefold double LP; it was previously made available on Record Store Day earlier this month, and at the time it drafted its press release Morr only had 30 copies left in its own warehouse. Samples of the entire 19-song album can be streamed via the player at this page, and a complete stream of the set's penultimate track "Xylomat" can be streamed via the Soundcloud embed below. "Xylomat" is a spare, echoing confection with subtle melodies whose click-pop sound was pretty much a template for quality ambient electronic and IDM music of the five years following its release. According to ISAN's web site, the song was one of four previously unreleased tracks added to Beautronics for this release. The duo, of course, continues to keep busy, and it recently composed music for a film soundtrack and last month released an EP of analog cassette loops titled Descette on a one-sided 12" via SecretFurryHole. Pre-order Beautronics from Morr via the ANOST store right here. Highly recommended.



>> Hotly tipped indie rock foursome Speedy Ortiz announced Tuesday that its pending debut full-length Major Arcana, which we first mentioned here a month ago, will be released by D.C.-based indie stalwart Carpark Records. While Clicky Clicky still mentally associates Carpark with the more experimental releases of yesteryear from acts such as Greg Davis and Ecstatic Sunshine, the label has been hitting hard more recently with the aggressive and guitar-centered sounds of Popstrangers and Cloud Nothings. In that latter context, of course, Speedy Ortiz is an obvious choice for the label, not to mention a feather in its proverbial cap. Carpark will issue Major Arcana, a 10-song collection, July 9. Next week the Northampton, MA-based quartet release the 7" single "Ka-Prow" b/w "Hexxy" via Inflatable Records, pre-orders for which are now being taken right here. The single is available in a limited edition of 500, with 40% of the vinyl coming in some combination of "piss yellow" and blue. Speedy Ortiz is in the middle of a stretch of tour dates that has them on the road through Sunday, and its live commitments going forward includes not only a stop at our alma mater's own WestCo Cafe in Middletown, CT May 8, but also a Boston show at Great Scott May 15. Stream the brawling gem "Ka-Prow" via the Soundcloud embed below.

Today's Hotness: M83, Johnny Foreigner, Ecstatic Sunshine

>> That new M83 single is brilliant, innit? Less bleary and more pop than the stuff we recall from the prior record, although we must admit having a hard time differentiating M83 and Amusement Parks On Fire in our memories. But "Graveyard" is a perfect synthesis of New Order and The Cure and big melodic washes and ringing guitars that we have been constantly searching for over the last 22 years (we date our interest in indie music to the release of The Cure's Standing On A Beach). Check out the video for "Graveyard" posted above. Mute unleashes M83's fifth studio album Saturdays = Youth, from which the single is taken, Tuesday. M83 plays The Middle East in Cambridge, Mass. Monday June 2; you can review all of the tour dates at the M83 YouTube page here.

>> So not only does Johnny Foreigner's forthcoming debut full-length now have a release date, it has a whole other market. The hotly anticipated Waited Up 'Til It Was Light will be issued in the UK June 2. On the same day it will also be issued in Japan on the Fabtone Records label, through a deal disclosed Friday. Fabtone has released in Japan records by notable Western indie rockers Dirty On Purpose and The Lodger. The Japanese release of Waited Up 'Til It Was Light will have two bonus tracks (we bet we know one of them, a cover, just guessing) and shmancier art work. We're sure we'll buy it for a crazy amount off EBay. To punctuate the Birmingham, England-based trio's conquest of Japan it will play the SummerSonic festival in Japan August 9. If you've read guitarist Alexei Berrow's March missive in DrownedInSound you know dude and his honchos Kelly and Junior just rock, smoke, drink and record rock, all with little rest and occasional illness. We can't imagine plying their wares is going to get Johnny Foreigner any more rest, but perhaps they'll be able to sleep on the plane? As we've reported over and over, Waited Up 'Til It Was Light will be preceded May 19 by the single "Eyes Wide Terrified," the video of which we posted below some days ago before our laptop exploded. See this little square picture to the left? It's the sleeve art for "Eyes Wide Terrified." 'Tis small, but it is obviously another Lewes Herriot design that we can't wait to see rendered in a seven-inch square. Anyway, what with the band's third single "Our Bipolar Friends" selling out, here's an MP3.

Johnny Foreigner -- "Our Bipolar Friends" -- "Our Bipolar Friends" b/w "The House Party Scene Is Killing You"
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[buy the entire single at EMusic here]

>> The smoldering track "Herrons" from Baltimore trio Ecstatic Sunshine's newly released sophomore collection Way has been moving us this morning. We never reviewed the band's 2006 debut on Carpark, but we certainly listened to it a lot. And while Freckle Wars featured tunes constructed by trebly, slithering guitars, "Herrons" displays a decidedly murkier -- even Fennesz-esque -- Ecstatic Sunshine. The band's recently enlarged line-up (it had formerly been a duo) apparently hasn't resulted in more slithering. In fact, at this point the act touts only co-founder Matt Papich on guitar, while co-founder Dustin Wong and new-ish Kieran Gillan wrangle electronics and loops. "Herrons" was recently PantsCasted and you can catch the stream at IMeem here. Highly recommended. You can download Freckle Wars and the acclaimed EP Living from EMusic here, and we don't expect it will be too long before you can get the three-track full-length Way -- which was issued by Cardboard Records Tuesday -- there as well. Ecstatic Sunshine will be on tour from April 17 through May 17. There's no Boston date among those currently booked; review all of the dates at the band's MySpace cabin here.

>> As we reported previously, Glaswegian indie rock quartet Frightened Rabbit will return to the U.S. next month to support the release of The Midnight Organ Fight. The dates have now been disclosed and we post them below as a public service. The boys curiously start things off and round them out in Ohio on May 28 and June 11 respectively. Between those two dates Frightened Rabbit heads up and down, but not to either coast. Anyway, The Midnight Organ Fight will be released digitally this week; a manufacturing delay apparently is keeping the physical product off of North American shelves until April 29, which means you can use your tax return to pick it up. We reviewed the band's two recent Boston shows here and here respectively, and in the event you missed it, here is our review of the new record.

05.28 -- Cleveland, OH -- Grog Shop
05.29 -- Chicago, IL -- Double Door
05.30 -- Madison, WI -- High Noon Saloon
05.31 -- Minneapolis, MN -- 400 Bar
06.01 -- Chicago, IL -- Do Division Festival*
06.02 -- Kansas City, MO -- Record Bar
06.04 -- Dallas, TX -- Granada Theatre
06.05 -- Austin, TX -- The Mohawk
06.06 -- Houston, TX -- Walters
06.07 -- Baton Rouge, LA -- Spanish Moon
06.09 -- Birmingham, AL -- Bottletree
06.10 -- Nashville, TN -- Exit/In
06.11 -- Columbus, OH -- The Basement

Today's Hotness: Say Hi, Wendyfix, Gang Of Four, Meneguar

>> Songwriter and hopeless romantic Eric Elbogen returns this month with his fifth record under the Say Hi To Your Mom moniker. Well, sort of... as we reported here last August, the band has truncated its name to the breezier Say Hi to correspond with the issue of the new set The Wishes And The Glitch Tuesday on the Euphobia label. Ever since the release of the sophomore set Numbers & Mumbles Say Hi could be counted on for one undeniable indie anthem. In 2004 that track was the minorly ubiquitous yearner "Let's Talk About Spaceships." In 2008, it's "Zero To Love." We admit some small concern that Elbogen might not keep his streak of undeniable tracks alive with The Wishes And The Glitch, because the first preview track floated, "Northwestern Girls," was certainly good but seemed to fall slightly shy of great. Well fear not, for the punchy, unsteady and hand-clap-arific "Zero To Love" leaves no doubt. Every time Elbogen sings "this new heart of mine" the whole room seems to bend, and we are surprised to detect for the first time a hint of Morrissey's peanut butter in Mr. Elbogen's chocolate. The Wishes And The Glitch is the first record Say Hi has released since moving from long-time home Brooklyn to Seattle, and the move seems to have facilitated the notable vocal contributions of David Bazan and The Long Winters' John Roderick on the record. Say Hi begins an extensive, six-week North American tour Feb. 16. The band plays Great Scott in Boston March 1, and we'll review the show, schedule-permitting.

Say Hi -- "Zero To Love" -- The Wishes And The Glitch
Say Hi To Your Mom -- "Let's Talk About Spaceships" -- Numbers & Mumbles
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[buy Say Hi records directly from the band here]

>> We've been getting an unusually great number of search hits recently for underfamed, Evanston, Ill.-based '90s indie rock trio Wendyfix, and we thought such interest presented a good opportunity to post the songs from the band's sole single. "Slow" b/w "Silence" was the maiden release of the Spade Kitty label, and it streeted in 1995. The band was fronted by Haywood's Ted Pauly, who we write about here often (and who, incidentally, is also a proponent of Say Hi), and Brian McGrath, who we'd certainly like to write about more; McGrath's (presumably most recent) project Mantissa released a very nice full-length in 2003 [review here] and we've heard nothing from him since. Anyway, Mr. Pauly sings the single's A-side, an urgently sad confessional ("OK, this one's for your birthday, I was wrong...") that bristles with hooks. McGrath's monolithic "Silence" on the flip gradually builds to a cathartic climax during which mostly inaudible vocals finally break through the guitar fuzz. Both songs are posted below. A quick search of the Internets reveals that Spade Kitty continues to conduct business and even launched a new web site a couple years ago. Mr. Pauly, as regular readers know, continues to churn out high-quality music as a solo artist. We failed to mentioned Wendyfix drummer Todd Hyman, who continues to operate labels including the wonderfully eclectic Carpark (Beach House, Ecstatic Sunshine, Montag). There is a very good profile of Carpark and Mr. Hyman here at Terrorbird.

Wendyfix -- "Slow" -- "Slow" b/w "Silence" [SK-001]
Wendyfix -- "Silence" -- "Slow" b/w "Silence" [SK-001]
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[the newest iteration of the Spade Kitty site doesn't sell this. Try Ebay?]

>> There's an interesting fact buried in this Billboard story about reborn post-punk legends Gang Of Four's efforts at creating its first new music in 15 years. Four paragraphs down the piece imparts that original Gang Of Four drummer Hugo Burnham -- who we believe has taught in Boston for many years -- is not involved in tracking for the recording sessions due to an undisclosed health issue. Bassist Dave Allen tells Billboard "Hugo's still involved in some ways, but it's a very personal issue that will be discussed at a later date." Allen has been regularly releasing demo songs via his blog Pampelmoose, and we must admit not noticing any change in drumming. Despite releasing the re-envisioned hits collection of sorts Return The Gift on V2 in 2005 [buy it here for $9], Gang Of Four is currently without a label deal. The band plans to experiment with different distribution ideas, telling Billboard "[w]e might be releasing the first single or four songs for free on the Internet, or on vinyl, or both, and just see what the marketplace is like."

>> We're grateful to blog Raven Sings The Blues for sussing out here what exactly is up with the new Meneguar song "Some Other Life," and the FuckItTapes releases. We're still not clear on is whether the Tone Banks releases were the recordings the band said last year would be released as one-sided 12" on Woodsist. But either way, there's new music, it sounds great, and that excites us. We'd seen the song and visited the FuckIt site a week or two ago, but we couldn't dig up anything definitive about what is going on. We're also not sure whether the new Meneguar tune "Fields Of Gaffney," also available at the band's MySpace drive-thru, is an actual cover of a song by the eccentric two-time bassist of Sebadoh whose solo project had the same name, or if it is an homage of sorts. Either way, it is one of the most interesting Meneguar recordings ever. The biggest question is, will there be a proper vinyl or CD issue of these new tracks? Meneguar's Strangers In Our House topped our list of favorite records of 2007, which you can review here. Finally, the Brooklyn-based quartet has two live dates on the books for March, one in its hometown and the other at the fabled Terrace Club at Princeton University. Hit the MySpace link supra for more info.