Review: Ava Luna | Infinite House

For the uninitiated considering the group on proverbial paper (is paper still a thing?), Ava Luna should never work. The Brooklyn quintet's principal songwriters have distinctly different approaches to the band's singular, malleable sound! Their most distinctive sonic influences are R&B and soul music, yet they tour primarily with indie rock troupes! Their bass player keeps a robust tour diary centered on the food they eat on the road! Madness! But the band's air-tight and mesmerizing live shows and catalog of next-level recordings -- including last year's dynamite platter Electric Balloon and now Infinite House, a new collection released this week -- are proof-positive that Ava Luna's music is no haphazard, teetering house of cards.

Ava Luna excels at balancing a fluid and grooved sensibility with the noisier, more angular sounds band principals Julian Fader and Carlos Hernandez routinely commit to tape for acts like Grass Is Green, Krill and Palehound whilst working their day-ish gigs engineering sessions at Brooklyn's Gravesend Recordings. Readers will recall we fell hard for the aforementioned and transcendent Electric Balloon [review], and were particularly struck by the nervy and boundless energy of its first side. That the band has turned around a new record as accomplished and unconstrained as Infinite House in a year is a testament to the powerful fecundity of Ava Luna. To our delight and surprise, Infinite House willingly subverts even the expectations created by the prior record, stretching the band's rubbery aesthetic across eleven tracks that subsume influences as disparate as dub ("Victoria") and house music ("Company").

While its horizons are more expansive and the no-wave and punk undertones of last year's excellent record are smoothed over, Infinite House is no less engaging and beguiling. Where Electric Balloon erupted out of the gate with "Daydream," a whirlwind art-funk number that's probably the band's most pronounced Talking Heads homage, Infinite House commences with the thrillingly unhinged and aforementioned "Company." The at-times cacophonous tune proffers pulsing, synth-led verses that nod in the direction of Stereolab or even Lali Puna, but willfully decomposes in a series of thuds during the smile-inducing chorus. "Tenderize" ups the funk with plucky bass notes that spangle a wash of guitar chords; the groove slowly unwinds in the tune's final minute in a thoughtful instrumental passage that exudes patience and confidence. The word-jazz, beat bouillabaisse "Steve Polyester" follows, echoes the vibe of classic work by Ken Nordine, and is easily Ava Luna's strangest, most alluring recording to date (a terrific, animated video for the tune was released this week and you can see it here). "Coat of Shellac" -- Felicia Douglas' star turn on the LP which you can stream below along with two other tunes -- is the set's catchiest composition, despite subdued verses held aloft by barely-there guitars and one hell of a bass line.

Infinite House is out now via Western Vinyl, and you can purchase a copy of the collection on LP or CD right here. The band embarks on a protracted tour today, which includes a stop on at O'Brien's in Boston's Allston Rock City Saturday; we've included all of the tour dates below. It is also well worth noting that Mr. Fader recently released to the wilds of the Internerds via Bandcamp a very lively and creative solo collection under the nomme de guerre Um Are; the set is called Child Prodigy and we highly recommend acquiring the paywhutchalike collection right here. -- Dillon Riley and Jay Breitling

Ava Luna: Bandcamp | Facebook | Internerds







04.24 -- Durham, NH -- Wildcat Den
04.25 -- Boston, MA -- O'Briens
04.26 -- New Paltz, NY -- SUNY New Paltz
04.28 -- Philadelphia, PA -- The Pharmacy
04.29 -- Baltimore, MD -- Metro Gallery
04.30 -- Washington, D.C. -- Comet Ping Pong
05.01 -- Richmond, VA -- Gallery5
05.02 -- Raleigh, NC -- Kings
05.03 -- Columbia, SC -- Brookland Tavern
05.04 -- Charleston, SC -- Royal American
05.05 -- Atlanta, GA -- 529
05.06 -- Savannah, GA -- Hangfire
05.07 -- Tallahassee, FL -- All Saints
05.08 -- New Orleans -- One Eyed Jacks
05.09 -- Houston, TX -- Walter's
05.11 -- Tucson, AZ -- Club Congress
05.13 -- Indio, CA -- Coachella Valley Art Scene
05.14 -- San Diego, CA -- Soda Bar
05.16 -- Los Angeles CA -- Pehrspace
05.17 -- Santa Barbara, CA -- Funzone
05.18 -- TBA
05.20 -- San Francisco, CA -- Brick & Mortar Music Hall
05.21 -- Oakland, CA -- 1-2-3-4 Go Records
05.22 -- Portland, OR -- Bunk Bar
05.23 -- Seattle, WA -- Cairo
05.24 -- Olympia, WA -- Obsidian
05.26 -- Boise, ID -- Neurolux
05.27 -- Salt Lake City, UT -- TBA
05.28 -- Denver, CO -- Leon Gallery
05.29 -- Lincoln, NE -- 2SMOOV
05.30 -- Chicago, IL -- Observatory
05.31 -- Detroit, MI -- New Dodge
06.01 -- Milwaukee, WI -- The Villa Terrace
06.02 -- Indianapolis, IN -- Joyful Noise
06.03 -- Knoxville, TN -- Pilot Light
06.04 -- Cincinnati, OH -- The Woodward
06.05 -- Columbus, OH -- Double Happiness

Today's Hotness: Confessions, Landmarks, Steve Hauschildt

​>> Pair up the fronter of a notable Boston dream-pop act and the live drummer from the ranking darkwave act of the day, and that's all the ingredients you need to mix up a tall cool glass of Your Girl, the debut EP from Confessions. Somewhat surprisingly, the Boston-based duo of Amanda Dellevigne and Alex Garcia-Rivera make music that is neither as dreamy as the former's Night Fruit nor as deliciously unsettling as the latter's Cold Cave, but even so the four songs on Your Girl please with a lightness and retro-futurist bent. It's both easy on the ears and a firm footing for further exploration by the two. Although the EP's quasi-title track "I'll Always Be Your Girl" is conventionally pleasing and will draw kicks to the dancefloor in droves, we think the real standout here is "Wonder." The latter tune touts a gently deconstructed and generously reverbed chant that implies a carefree sway despite the repeated rumination, "I'm in trouble now." The Your Girl 12" will be issued on a vinyl 12" and digitally tomorrow by Vanya Records, the sister label to Vanyaland.com, to which -- full disclosure -- this writer contributes. And firsties abound, as this Friday (July 26) Confessions make their live debut at Boston's esteemed Friday night dance party The Pill to celebrate the release of the EP. Your Girl is available for pre-order now via Bandcamp for the digital files or Big Cartel for the 12." Stream all four songs from the EP via the YouTube embed below.



>> Music fans have grown accustomed to flocking to Chicago each summer to take in the likes of Lollapalooza, Pitchfork Fest, Electric Daisy Carnival and Riot Fest. But while those big productions draw prominent national and even international talent, the Windy City for decades has boasted a strong local scene that most of those tourists sadly may never see (or, well, hear). Take, for example, one of Chicago's newer exports, the dream-pop quintet Landmarks. Despite having just three tracks to sample on the Internerds, the act's hit-to-miss ratio impresses. Landmarks evidence on its latest, second single a firm grasp on the classic Creation Records sound. The Public House 7", released May 3 via Public House Sound Recordings, also emphasizes the Chicago five-piece's strong affinity for dream-pop styles more generally as well. The band establishes in the opening moments of its particularly winsome B-side "Overflown" an insistent, krautrock groove, upon which Landmarks gradually layers spiraling, squalling guitar leads and placid keys. It's a sound that also echoes in the work of, say, contemporaries such as Kent, England's It Hugs Back or even, to perhaps a lesser extent, Munich's Lali Puna. The aforementioned groove is driven by a snappy, repetitive bass line that pushes and pulls against the messy, unsettled guitars while offering a formidable melodic counterpoint. "Overflown," along with the more subdued, more somnolent A-side "Cuscutta," is available as a pay-what-you-like download via Landmarks' Bandcamp, and you can stream the tune via the Soundcloud embed below. -- Dillon Riley



>> It is perhaps unfair to the reserved brilliance of Steve Hauschildt's dreamy electropop gem "Enter Return" to say it was the perfect thing to chill out to while we waited for last week's heatwave to break. That's because the tune's gentle rhythm, light beats and steadily cascading melody can surely transfix fans of conventional electronic fare or chillwave with or without the interference of extraordinary weather conditions. Even so, "Enter Return" was just about the only thing that was able to get our mind off the heat engulfing Boston late last week. Mr. Hauschildt's surname and warm analog electronics might lead one to believe he is another talented European producer, but in fact he is based out of Cleveland. He was also a founding member of the apparently influential ambient/experimental act Emerald. "Enter Return" is taken from the forthcoming double CD S/H, a set that collects 32 of Mr. Hauschildt's home-recorded solo tracks -- many of them previously unreleased -- produced between 2005 and 2012. The tune is one of the more recent compositions, having been recorded in Sept. 2012. S/H will be released by Editions Mego Sept. 16, and you can pre-order the collection right here. At 24 euros for the import, the price is a bit steep. But remember: this is a very large program of music, and if "Enter Return" is any indication, it will provide hours upon hours of enjoyment. And don't we all want enjoyment? Stream the tune via the Soundcloud embed below while you think it over.

Today's Hotness: Fridge Poetry, Panda Riot, Fashoda Crisis

>> [UPDATED] Based on his remarks in our interview with his band a year ago about logging copious hours jacked into his beloved Japanese 8-track machine and Fruity Loops, it's little surprise that Johnny Foreigner drummer Junior Elvis Washington Laidley has finally revealed a bedroom project, the beats-and-electronics concern Fridge Poetry. The name itself is apt, as Mr. Laidley -- in the spirit of Dntel and The 6ths -- produces the music and then invites vocalists in to complete the tracks. Fridge Poetry's debut tune, a demo titled "Crash Down," is a remarkable, undulating dreamer that comes off as something of an update of the very early Johnny Foreigner song "Sword Buried," morphed into a contemporary remix of Crooked Fingers' "Crowned In Chrome" with a touch of Lali Puna thrown in because that is always the best thing you can do to a song. "Crash Down" features vocals and lyrics from Thomas Sherwood Nicholls, a name we assumed we knew until we did some fact checking and discovered this is not Tom from Calories or Tom from Tubelord or even Tom Campesinos! But as it happens, Mr. Nicholls' vocals previously appeared on an all-time-favorite song here at Clicky Clicky, Johnny Foreigner's somber and impressionistic ballad "All Moseley Gardens," which longtime Johnny Foreigner fans will recall as the hidden final track on the trio's smashing debut EP Arcs Across The City. Fridge Poetry's Soweto Slo Mo EP, which will contain a heretofore undetermined number of tracks, will be self-released late September or early October via Bandcamp. Fans can expect more collaborations with recognizable figures from Johnny Foreigner's constellation of indie pals, although it's a touch early for us to be naming names. For now, you've got the electronic bliss-out of "Crash Down" to occupy your ear canals; stream it via the embed below. For its part, Johnny Foreigner is about to reveal a slate of North American tour dates. Can we say that? Well, we guess we just did. The only date that's been announced as of this writing is Nov. 7 in Boston, Massachusetts. More details to come.



>> While much has been made about the more rock-oriented shoegaze revival acts of the past few years, there's less mention of the sugary, dance-oriented facet of the genre. But it's one that never truly dissipated and has been raving underground for years. Newer bands includingRumskib, Airiel and even the long-running Cocteau Twins continued to reliably release massive guitar washes paired with electronic beats long after My Bloody Valentine was left flummoxed by its own genius. Another proud and notable foot soldier of this ecstasy-rush movement is Philly-born and Chicago-based Panda Riot, whose limited-edition "Serious Radical Girls" 7" was released in early June by Saint Marie Records. The quartet's 2010 EP Far And Near established the band as a quality act, and the new three track single marks a welcome return, boasting more fully realized and bombastic production with just the right amount of cloudiness. The title track "Serious Radical Girls" features proudly chorused guitars and singer Rebecca Scott's sweet and clear vocal work (which pleasantly echoes that of Velocity Girl's Sarah Shannon). Follow-up "Golden Age Precursor" is a quick pastiche of clipped vocal samples and delay effects, and the single also includes a remix of "Serious Radical Girls" by Dean Garcia, formerly of U.K. dream-pop band Curve. Mr. Garcia is arguably one of the main drivers of the aforementioned shoegaze/dance stylistic melange, and it's doubtful Panda Riot could have identified a more logical partner for a remix. Listen to all three tracks via the embed below, and click through to Bandcamp to purchase the single, which is available in a limited edition of 400 vinyl pieces packaged with download code. -- Edward Charlton



>>Essex, UK-based smartpunx Fashoda Crisis are in the throes of creating a new vinyl EP for release this fall, according to an email from fronter Simeon Ralph. But in the meantime the act has released a characteristically cracking shouter "He's Got Gills" on a new compilation from the label Cognitive Dissonance. Well shy of two minutes in length, "He's Got Gills" touts a bruising guitar and bass attack, skull-rattling stops and starts and Mr. Ralph's throat-shredding vitriol, all of which could be said to earn the band a designation as Future Of The Left Jr. Cognitive Dissonance's compilation is titled Now That's What I Call Cognitive Dissonance Vol. 1, and you can stream the entire thing right here; it is selling for the criminally tiny price of one pound. Fashoda Crisis' previous full length, the deliciously caustic sophomore set Him They Make Learn Read, was issued last November. Stream "He's Got Gills" below.

Today's Hotness: Alta Mira, I Am Dive, Lower Dens

>> Alta Mira heretofore in these electronic pages warranted only a sidelong mention as billmates with local dream pop heroes The Hush Now at PA's Lounge a year ago. But we enjoyed their set and made a mental note to keep an eye on them, and we're glad we did, as the Clifton Park, NY-based indie rock concern has just released to the wilds of the Internerds one of the most delightful songs of the year, a rare, perfect pop song. "Good Enough" delivers bright guitar pop smoothed over lightly percolating bass and tempered with the laid-back tone and overt melodicism of The Sea And Cake. The tune is uptempo, perky, studded with handclaps and dolled-up with quick cascades of "ohohoh" that slide by like ice coming off your roof. "Good Enough" is from Alta Mira's newly minted sophomore set I Am The Salt, which was self-released by the band last weekend. As of today, the rest of the album is available to stream at the act's Bandcamp yert, and we look forward to taking the pulse of the rest of the collection; Alta Mira sounds like they are hitting their stride, just in time to rule your spring time. The band was in the Boston area last month playing at The Rosebud, but hopefully they'll be back sometime soon now that the record is out. Stream "Good Enough" over and over and over via the Bandcamp embed below.

 
>> As if we haven't been enjoying enough of a dream-pop resurgence lately in the States, it seems there is mutual appreciation for the form across the Atlantic. Or at least that's what we're led to believe based on what we've heard recently from Spain's I Am Dive. The Seville-based duo has announced it will reissue in the US an EP, Constellations, next week via Norman, Okla.-based Slanty Shanty Records. The band, a collaboration between Seville music veterans Esteban Ruiz and Jose A. Perez, trades in floating acoustics with a tasteful continental, digital sheen. A digital promotional track, "A Morning Walk," commences with a warm, pumping synth line that conjures images of drizzly streets in foreign ports of call. Indeed, despite the pair's Spanish heritage, "A Morning Walk" has much in common with pastoral and downcast Northern English outfits like The Engineers or Epic45, both groups that deliciously combine melodrama with the fuzzy introspection of damp seaside living. Perez's guitar lines melt away into the background, adding a tantalizing layer of delay to the proceedings. At the same time, I Am Dive incorporate the same sort of stark, programmed beeps and whirs that are sprinkled throughout Lali Puna's impressionistic Teutonic mumbles, making the Spanish band's four-song release a very compelling fusion of dream-pop elements that have really only come together in the last decade or so. Stream "A Morning Walk" via the Bandcamp embed below. Constellations was originally released in Spain last year on Foehn Records; it will be released by Slanty Shanty April 10, and you can download it for free right here. I Am Dive already has a new EP, Tides, available at its Bandcamp page and you can listen to it right here. -- Edward Charlton


>> While we've followed the career of Lower Dens' Jana Hunter since her haunting 2005 solo sort-of-best-of Blank Unstaring Heirs of Doom [capsule review], and marveled at the wonderfully small scale of her tour-by-boat in 2006, her current outfit seems poised to break big on the strength of its hotly tipped sophomore set. Indeed, the (lower-cased) hype machine is already cranking up for the upcoming Nootropics, which will hit racks May 1st on Ribbon Music. And for good reason, as the album seems rife with intricate instrumental showcases, judging by the already leaked "Propagation" and first single "Brains" (the two songs feature on a 10" with exclusive b-side "Hours" that Ribbon Music is using to promote the full length; details here). Like Philadelphia's Kurt Vile, Lower Dens' precise attention to detail and devotion to a  peculiar style lends the Baltimore foursome a fair helping of both relevancy and individualism among contemporary indie scene-makers. Krautrocker "Brains" makes a kind of sense, given a peek at the album cover featuring an image of early synthesizer wiring. The song latches on to a groove so quickly the listener simply falls in, while the bass and guitar scratch to the beat rather than strike substantive notes; it truly grabs the ear. Following that intro, open-string guitar leads and synth set up a thick stew for Hunter's continually captivating vocals. As much as Hunter coos, there's also often a distinct growl underneath that injects menace into her performance. As the song reaches its end, "Brains" finally breaks from its held chords, in true Stereolab tradition, while distant siren sounds flitter away. It's five minutes that are over too fast. While we find it hard to believe this quota has not already been met, Ribbon Music has announced that the first 50 pre-orders of Nootropics here at Insound will receive a free ticket to a secret NYC show on April 30th. We last wrote about Lower Dens here in May 2010. -- Edward Charlton

Review: Johnny Foreigner | Johnny Foreigner Vs. Everything

Spoiler Alert: The chorus of "You vs. Everything" comes back, and when it does it's the greatest moment of the greatest song of the greatest album of the year. In a just world, the song would roll under the credits of dozens of feature-length teen dramedies by the middle of the decade. Or soundtrack montages of the young and the jilted, ditching soul-killing jobs, driving too fast in cars, smashing mailboxes, dreaming big dreams and proceeding with the business of Getting Over It And Getting On With It. In fact, the entirety of Johnny Foreigner's captivating third LP rides a unifying cinematic arc -- it's even divided into three acts -- from the first syllables of the blitzkrieging opening anthem (with the characteristically clunky name) to the final song's final beats winding down like a stiffening tin man.

The collection's cohesiveness is the product of something so very simple, it is easy to overlook it, that thing that elevates Johnny Foreigner Vs. Everything above the Birmingham, England-based indie titans' prior full lengths, that thing that likely makes the wildly ambitious 17-song set the best record of 2011. At bottom what makes Johnny Foreigner's new long-player so special is that it was created completely on the trio's own terms. No deadlines. No budgets. No producers. No one saying "no." As a result of the time and mental headspace this approach afforded the band, Johnny Foreigner Vs. Everything is not only beautifully conceived, but is also a completely unvarnished collection, in the sense that there is nothing that gets between what the band hears in its heads, and what fans hear on the record. It reminds us (although it occurs to us this may not be a real memory, brain is getting weird) of the reason Pennsylvania-based garage-psych legend Brother JT would strip off his clothes on stage: he didn't want anything inhibiting the transmission of the rock from him to the people.

On Johnny Foreigner Vs. Everything the melodies are grander, the emotions more potent, the texture and subtleties more refined. Sure, the record has a concept, but it needn't be speculated on or sussed out: fronter Alexei Berrow came right out and told fans what it was in one of the first interviews of the album's promotional cycle. As Mr. Berrow told Stereoboard in September, Johnny Foreigner Vs. Everything is less autobiographical than the prior two, and concerns itself with "the alternate universe theory; for every decision you make, there exists a world where you made the opposite. There's also internal monologue in the merits of experiencing stuff versus capturing it for posterity. There's some meta-fiction. The overall story is the world's only happy shipwreck, where, instead of drowning, everyone gains the power of flight."

The beating heart of the record, an amalgamation of harrowingly poignant ballads ("Johnny Foreigner vs. You," "Alternate Timelines Piling Up") and the band's characteristic, spitfire guitar anthems ("If I'm The Most Famous Boy You've Fucked, Then Honey, Yr In Trouble," "What Drummers Get"), is of course the songs. The threesome has continued to refine its songcraft while nodding affirmatively to various influences, resulting in the majesty of the grand piano on the ballad "Johnny Foreigner vs. You;" the melodic, Lali Puna-esque blip-pop of "200X;" the soulful brass appointments on "Jess, You Got Your Song, So Leave;" and the subdued, Album Leaf-y tone-and-groove of "Supermorning."

In a very interesting way, Johnny Foreigner Vs. Everything serves as an effigy for bummers. Early in 2011, the band invited fans to submit spoken-word bits about cursed songs, and many if not all of these were woven into sections of the record, to be celebrated, and to be auto da fe'd. The cliche is time heals all, but perhaps Johnny Foreigner has created a faster route to making the stomach-churning irrelevant by voila!-ing them into art. At the same time the process of incorporating these bits captures them for all time, like an insect in amber. Maybe some shit you never get over, it just gets wall-papered over, and eventually the wallpaper is more useful, more interesting, certainly much nicer than the shit under it. Lex, Kel and Jun had their own use for the bad mojo, turning it into three interstitials -- "Concret1" and "Concret2," as well as "The Swell," which ushers in the thrilling final numbers "Like Neverwhere" and the stunningly beautiful "Alternate Timelines Piling Up" -- that portion the record into digestible chunks for the ADD-addled.

Johnny Foreigner Vs. Everything is released tomorrow in the UK by Alcopop! Records; the collection will be followed by the single for the song "Johnny Foreigner Vs. You" Nov. 14. This coming weekend the band launches the album with shows in London and Birmingham; London appears to be sold out, but remarkably there appear to be Brum tickets yet BUYBUYBUY. If you've not done so already, read our comprehensive interview with Berrow, Junior Elvis Washington Laidley and Kelly Southern right here.

Johnny Foreigner: Internerds | Facepalm | YouTube | SoundCloud

(don't) show us your fangs by johnny foreigner

What Drummers Get by johnny foreigner

Selected Prior Coverage:
That Was The Show That Was: Johnny Foreigner | Bowery Ballroom
Review: Johnny Foreigner | Arcs Across The City EP
Review: Johnny Foreigner | Waited Up 'Til It Was Light
Review: Johnny Foreigner | WeLeftYouSleepingAndGoneNow
Review: Johnny Foreigner | Grace And The Bigger Picture
Review: Johnny Foreigner | You Thought You Saw A Shooting Star But Yr Eyes Were Blurred With Tears And That Lighthouse Can Be Pretty Deceiving...
Review: Johnny Foreigner | Certain Songs Are Cursed EP

Review: Lali Puna | Our Inventions [MP3]

According to its label, Lali Puna's fourth full length Our Inventions addresses modernity and "the driving forces of progress and technological obsession" -- themes that the Munich-based electropop quartet has plumbed since at least its 2001 sophomore set Scary World Theory. If there is an unexpected change manifested in Our Inventions it is the return of a softer tone and predominantly electronic palette. The change is perhaps too easy to associate with fronter Valerie Trebeljahr having become a mother for the first time since the release of the band's last record, but it also offers a ready raison d'etre for Lali Puna's retrenching its music nearer the minimalist style of its debut full-length, 1999's startlingly excellent Tridecoder. There is something to be cherished in the quiet and peaceful that new parents likely appreciate more than most.

The subdued tone contrasts sharply with the quartet's prior full-length, 2004's almost boisterous (and certainly Notwist-like) Faking The Books. That thrilling collection was replete with big guitar chords that complemented surprisingly well Ms. Trebeljahr's trademark electronics and wispy vocals. It targeted unpopular regimes and Orwellian corporations; we consider the set a strong rebuke of the U.S.-led "war on terror," and it is impossible not to recognize as criticism the coopting of a then-current Microsoft ad tagline for the chorus of the excellent (pardon this) rocker "Metronomic." There are hints of that outward-facing, critical voice on Our Inventions, such as the ominous, dense mid-album standout "Safe Tomorrow" (in which Trebeljahr repeatedly warns "never going anywhere" over pulsing laptop beats and droning synths). But for the most part the new set is the most insular and intimate since Tridecoder. Opener "Rest Your Head" and closer/album highlight "Out There" could prove serviceable as lullabyes.

Fans unfamiliar with Lali Puna's catalog prior to Faking The Books may find the limited dynamics on Our Inventions puzzling. But despite a mesmerizing (and perhaps hyperbole-deflecting) consistency across its 10 tracks, there is a degree of sophistication in the compositions that emphasizes that, in its 11th year of releasing records, Lali Puna continues evolving. Trebeljahr's quiet, breathy delivery is as arresting as ever (particularly on "That Day," which touts a Depeche Mode-mode rhythm track), and the intelligent electronic textures that underpin her pensive, quietly anxious tunes continue to present a captivating focal point. The wonderful unspoken truth of the music on Our Inventions is that, in fact, it is not minimalist at all: every synth tone or electro beat hides beneath still more layers of sound, be they understated guitars, chopped up vocals or more synths and beats.

Our Inventions will be officially issued by Morr Music in Europe April 9; it will be available in the U.S. on April 27, according to Newbury Comics' web site. The record was "pre-released" to ITunes last Thursday along with an ITunes-only bonus track "See The Wood For Trees," which was previously only available on the "Remember" 7". Fans who purchase the CD or vinyl version of Our Inventions directly from Morr receive a copy of the "Remember" 7" for free, which makes the ITunes exclusivity of "See The Wood For The Trees" seem less and less, well, exclusive. Lali Puna plan a European tour for May and early June, and you can inspect all the dates below.

Lali Puna -- "Remember" -- Our Inventions
[right click and save as]
[buy Lali Puna records from Newbury Comics right here]

Lali Puna: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

05.13 -- Conne Island -- Leipzig
05.14 -- Lido -- Berlin
05.15 -- Lagerhaus -- Bremen
05.16 -- Gebäude 9 -- Köln
05.17 -- Übel und Gefährlich -- Hamburg
05.18 -- Ekko -- Utrecht
05.19 -- Cactus -- Brugge
05.20 -- Pavillon Theatre -- Brighton
05.21 -- Le Grand Mix -- Lille
05.22 -- Mousonturm -- Frankfurt
05.28 -- Ampere -- München
05.29 -- Immergut Festival -- Neustrelitz
05.30 -- SC -- Zagreb
05.31 -- Gala Hala -- Ljubliana
06.01 -- Lokomotiv -- Bologna
06.02 -- Spazio 211 -- Turin
06.03 -- Exil -- Zürich
06.04 -- Exit 07 -- Luxembourg
06.05 -- Furia Festival -- Cergy

Today's Hotness: Calories, William, Lali Puna, A Weather

>> Readers will recall that earlier this month we expressed excitement at the prospect of a forthcoming Tough Love Records split single featuring Calories and William. Well, DrownedInSound got the hook-up from the label and is hosting streams and downloads of two of the four tracks on the single, namely Calories' "The Mortal Boys" and William's "Lustreless." Unsurprisingly, these tracks are awesome. "The Mortal Boys" is a typically anthemic shout-along with Birmingham, England-based Calories, and while the band has yet to alter its formula too much we can't see ourselves tiring of it soon. William, as we stated in the earlier post, is new to us, and while we don't necessarily find the referential equation (D. Boon + straightedge + Stinsons) completely accurate, we still like very much what William is doing here (clattering drums, splayed out guitar squawl, desperate vocals). Due once again to the magic of SoundCloud, we are posting the streams below. And in case you are not familiar with the SoundCloud interface, you are able to download the tracks as MP3s if you click on the downward-pointing arrow icon at right. The split single will be released Feb. 15 (and ship two weeks prior) in a hand-numbered, limited edition of 500 in white vinyl packaged with a 'zine and download codes. You want this. It wants you. Buy Buy Buy.

Calories -- "The Mortal Boys"

William -- "Lustreless"

>> Another follow-up to an earlier item: after anticipating it for more than a year, perhaps more than two years, we were thrilled to see the news of Lali Puna's next record. Our Inventions is out April 6 on Morr Music, and we've been digesting the record for a couple weeks already. The set is something of a return to the band's minimal and electronic roots, as the foregrounded guitars of Faking The Books are largely whack-a-moled back into the mix for the new collection. The first promo track from Our Inventions evidences this, and now that we think about it most of the guitar therein is actually bass. The midtempo toe-tapper pairs fronter Valerie Trebeljahr's voice with partner Micha Acher's, but it is largely electronics in the fore that drive the track. Fans will find that Lali Puna's skill at crafting pretty and affecting electropop has not diminished during the band's five year absence. Dig the MP3.

Lali Puna -- "Remember" -- Our Inventions
[right click and save as]
[buy Lali Puna records from Morr Music right here]

>> Word from Portland, Ore.-based slow-core standouts A Weather is that Magnet Magazine will debut an MP3 from the band's forthcoming sophomore set tomorrow Tuesday. The quintet is slated to released Everyday Balloons March 2 on Team Love, as we reported here in December. A Weather's debut Cove has been lauded in this publication a number of times; most recently we named it one of the best albums of the last decade here.

Be Prepared: Lali Puna | Our Inventions | 1st April

It's been more than five years (or just about five, if you count the comp I Thought I Was Over That: Rare, Remixed and B-Sides, which we reviewed for Junkmedia here), but Munich, Germany-based electropop luminaries Lali Puna are finally back with a new collection of music: Our Inventions will be released April 1 by Morr Music. We can tell you the collection is wonderful. A bit less guitar-oriented than the incredible prior release Faking The Books, but not as minimal as the stunning 1999 debut Tridecoder. Given the deliberate pace at which spouse, collaborator and Notwist fronter Markus Acher works, and the fact that the couple had a child in the last couple years, the lag between Faking The Books and Our Inventions is completely reasonable. But that doesn't diminish our excitement.

More On Morr's Kiwi Homage Comp Not Given Lightly

Speaking of blog items that mysteriously go missing at :: clicky clicky :: (wait... what?), voracious readers may recall we briefly posted an item a month ago that addressed in turn a new Rumble Strips song ("London," a real snappy one, that) and a planned Morr Music compilation featuring covers of the best in classic '80s and '90s New Zealand indie rock. Well, we now have more information about the latter, which appears to be available to order now. According to an email just in from Morr, the 34-track set is titled Not Given Lightly (A Tribute To The Golden Giant Book Of New Zealand's Alternative Music Scene). The storied New Zealand scene, of course, built its reputation on such notable acts as The Chills, The 3-Ds, The Bats, The Clean and so forth, whose music influenced -- among others -- American indie legends Yo La Tengo and Pavement and countless others.

Like Morr's excellent 2002 Slowdive tribute collection Blue Skied An' Clear [review here], a second disc of Not Given Lightly will contain new and exclusive material from Morr luminaries Lali Puna ("I Like Rain"), B.Fleischmann ("Not Given Lightly"), ISAN ("Harmonic Deluxe") and others. Not Given Lightly is available on 3 LPs or 2 CDs priced at 20 and 18 Euros respectively. Want to hear samples from the comp right now? Snippets can be streamed at the A Number Of Small Things page for the collection right here. We haven't an MP3 to share from Not Given Lightly, but here is a video of It's A Musical's wonderful cover of Tall Dwarves' "All My Hollowness To You." And what the hell, here is Future 3's version of Slowdive's "Alison" from Blue Skied An' Clear.

Future 3 -- "Alison" -- Blue Skied An' Clear
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[buy Blue Skied An' Clear and Not Given Lightly from Morr/ANOST here]

Reader Rewards: Win The New Notwist Single, Boston Tickets

[UPDATED: Congratulations to reader Chris for winning] Weilheim, Germany-based electropop superheroes The Notwist return to Boston for the first time in five-and-a-half years this weekend to promote the quartet's beautiful and sublime recent release The Devil, You And Me. And Domino Records wants you and a friend to go to the show for free (the show is 18+, sorry young'ns). And so do we. So we're having a little contest. To sweeten the deal, Domino is throwing in the brand new single for The Notwist's addictive strummer "Boneless," which was released Tuesday and features a remix by Animal Collective principle Panda Bear on the flip. So here's the deal: the first person to email us (our email address is linked in the righthand sidebar) with the phrase "Gloomy Planets" in the subject line wins the tickets AND the single. For realsies. It's that simple. Finding us at the show and buying us a beer is completely optional.

We saw The Notwist's 2003 set at T.T. The Bear's and found it remarkable how true the live set was to the recordings on the band's highly influential Neon Golden. Several tracks on The Devil, You And Me feature performances by the Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra, a 21-piece modern Classical ensemble also based in Germany, and we have to wonder how The Notwist will recreate their contributions Sunday at the Roxy. Although the live performance of "Consequence" we saw in 2003 could provide a clue: the band recreated the sound of the track rapidly slowing down like a stopped LP by actually playing an LP through the PA and stopping it. The Notwist's current North American tour begins Friday in Canada; we've posted the complete itinerary at the bottom of this item. The band will be two decades old sometime next year, which is sort of amazing. In our estimation The Devil, You And Me exudes -- to the extent such an understated band exudes anything -- the sound of maturity, and we feel like the recent fatherhood for Markus Acher colors the record a great deal: even the relatively rocking "Good Lies" sounds a bit like a lullabye. Anticon. founder Odd Nosdam remixed "Sleep" from The Devil, You And Me and we're posting it below to get you in the mood for the show Sunday.

The Notwist -- "Sleep (Odd Nosdam Remix)"
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[buy Notwist records from Domino USA right here]

The Notwist: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

10/10 -- Lee's Palace -- Toronto, ON
10/11 -- Le National -- Montreal, PQ
10/12 -- Roxy Theater -- Boston, MA
10/13 -- Webster Hall -- New York, NY
10/14 -- First Unitarian Church -- Philadelphia, PA
10/15 -- 9:30 Club -- Washington, D.C.
10/16 -- Beachland Ballroom -- Cleveland, OH
10/17 -- Logan Square Auditorium -- Chicago, IL
10/18 -- Turner Hall --Milwaukee, WI
10/20 -- Bluebird -- Denver, CO
10/21 -- In The Venue -- Salt Lake City, UT
10/22 -- Neumo's -- Seattle, WA
10/24 -- Commodore Ballroom -- Vancouver, BC
10/25 -- Berbati's Pan -- Portland, OR
10/27 -- Bimbo's -- San Francisco, CA
10/29 -- Henry Fonda Theater -- Los Angeles, CA

Related Coverage:
Today's Hotness: The Notwist, Mission Of Burma, Yah Mos Def
Review: Tied + Tickled Trio | Aelita [Streams]
Review: The Notwist | "On | Off The Record" DVD