Yes. It's New Music Night Thursday, June 16, at River Gods in Cambridge, Mass. Your DJs are Brad of Bradley's Almanac and Jay of Clicky Clicky. Come marvel at the fresh sounds, come chug frosty beer, it all happens from 9PM-1AM a week from tomorrow. It's not just the place to be, it's the place to listen. Also, beer.
>> Merge Records announced Friday it will reissue all four full-lengths from seminal North Carolina indie rockers Archers Of Loaf, beginning with a remastered and expanded version of the quartet's 1993 debut long player Icky Mettle. Icky Mettle has been remastered by Bob Weston (who also recorded the band's devastatingly great 1995 full-length Vee Vee), and the reissue will include period-appropriate singles, b-sides and the completely bulletproof -- perhaps the greatest indie rock EP ever released -- Archers Of Loaf vs. The Greatest Of All Time. The expanded Icky Mettle will be issued Aug. 2 on CD and limited edition blue vinyl, and will also be available as digital download. Reissues of the aforementioned Vee Vee, All The Nation's Airports and White Trash Heroes (all of which were previously released on Alias, we believe) are slated for release in 2012.
Archers Of Loaf formed in 1991 in Chapel Hill (by way of Asheville), and along with Superchunk, The Connells, Small 23 (which at one time also featured Archers fronter Eric Bachmann on guitar) and countless others, helped establish the town and surrounding region as a mecca for indie rock. The quartet disbanded in 1998, but the Archers recently reunited and have 17 dates booked over the rest of the summer -- sadly none of the current shows are in Boston. For full dates and additional information, check out this post at the Merge Records blog.
>> Speaking of reissues and older stuff, it was disclosed today that Joyful Noise Recordings will reissue indie legends Dinosaur Jr's 1988 opus Bug -- the final record the band recorded with the original lineup intact before the reunion in the middle 2000s -- in a limited edition of 250 hand-numbered, purple cassettes with original eight-panel insert. Only half of those cassettes are being sold by the label online, and we wouldn't be surprised if they were already sold out (we just clicked the buy link and it still looks live). The other 125 copies will be sold by Dinosaur Jr this summer during its 15-date tour in which the band is playing Bug in its entirety. The 2011 Bug tour kicks off in Northampton, Massachusetts on June 21 and comes to Boston's Paradise Rock Club June 22.
>> The Books' Nick Zammuto disclosed at his blog Friday he is planning a new band that will perform new music he has been writing; the band will be a trio or quartet and Mr. Zammuto hopes the act will play shows before the year is out. A non-final version of one new song, "Yay," was posted to Soundcloud for a couple days over the weekend, but is now gone. However, folks who visit the Zammuto Soundcloud page will find a treasure trove of music to enjoy, not the least of which are several remastered songs from each of The Books' first three full lengths. The three records -- Thought For Food, The Lemon of Pink, and Lost And Safe [review] -- were re-mastered, re-designed and re-released by Temporary Residence after The Books signed on to the label for the release of last year's characteristically wonderous The Way Out; we reviewed The Way Outhere last July. Check out four remastered tracks from The Books' fantastic Lost And Safe below, including the Clicky Clicky fave "Twelve Fold Chain." Zammuto intends to continue releasing new tracks for limited amounts of time, so if you are on the Soundcloud you'd be wise to start following him stat.
There is a shape-shifting, new wave heart beating (ahem, loudly) within the Midriff Records camp, within a new band that is as comfortable trading in raunchy guitar is it is with fluid electronics. Louder My Dear is the vehicle of Dave Grabowski, who previously helmed Midriff act Scuba. In addition to steering the nine-month old Louder My Dear, Mr. Grabowski is currently part of a unit (along with his brother, The Beatings' drummer Dennis Grabowski, who also plays guitar with LMD), that aids and abets E.R. Louder My Dear's forthcoming collection remarkably expands the aforementioned label's sonic aesthetic by drawing upon sounds as disparate as those made by Echo & The Bunnymen ("Just Kids") or the lesser known German synth pop concern Camouflage ("Angels & Eurotrash").
But viewing the quartet's work solely within the context of the label likely unfairly constrains listeners' ability to appreciate everthing that What's The Matter With You, Rock? can be. For all of its myriad, interesting aural textures, it is the relatively straightforward ballad "Little Boat," which closes the album, that steals the entire show. Basic acoustic guitar, a poignant set of lyrics and tasteful synth appointments and backing ahhhhhs together result in a weighty and beautiful sadness that demands rapt attention. It's the sort of song Michael Stipe could use to finance complete private school educations for all of his non-existent children. If there is one shortcoming of What's The Matter With You, Rock?, it is that the band's dazzling, dazzling cover of Slowdive's "Alison" is left off the record. Midriff releases the collection June 10; it's only a matter of time before you can purchase the record for yourself right here. In the meantime, channel "Alison" and Louder My Dear's own "Clamshack" below.
. June 3, 2011: "I only think south 'cause I know you'd never get there to find me, and blame me for the things I said, beating on something that's already dead, killing every part of it that's in your head. Your head."
>> Contemporary dream pop giants Sun Airway disclosed today that Dead Oceans will issue in July a new 7" single from the Philly-based act. The single features the songs "Wild Palms" and "Symphony In White, No. 2;" both will be available at the usual digital storefronts this coming Tuesday. In a twist that we love, the songs will not debut at a blog, but on TERRESTRIAL RADIO SUCKAH! Philadelphia's WXPN gets the honor, and the songs will be played on Dave P's Making Time radio show Friday from 7-9PM, which yes, of course, you can stream right here. Dig it. Sun Airway recently wrapped a short tour supporting Asobi Seksu, and plays a special multimedia event Friday night in Philadelphia at the First Unitarian Church. Tickets and more information is posted right here.
>> While it isn't flawless, there is enough loose jangle and stray slack on Antiques' forthcoming, enigmatically titled JWNS that we keep listening. Lo-fi is the order of the day, but fortunately Antiques has the songs to back it up. Album opener "Turn Me Loose" (not a Loverboy cover), "Letter #2" and "Making Friends" carry the pleasant stale-beer smell of Bob Pollard sketches. The latter song we like in particular because of the vocal production; there is an interesting breathiness and reverb and layering going on. And when the big guitar chords (underpinned by some organ? Or are we just hearing things now?) kick in, "Making Friends" reveals itself to be an anthemic mid-tempo sparkler. For something a little more peppy, fractured and emo, we direct your attention to the big, diaphanous strummer "ETC." Antiques is based in at least three cities presently, which we expect makes it difficult for the band members to stop by to borrow a pack of Ernie Balls or smokes or whatnot. Despite that distance, JWNS -- which is slated for release June 28 -- will be Antiques' fourth full length (the band began life as an outfit called Sparrowhawk in 2003, apparently). The band's Tumblr jokes that tour dates are "coming never," but there also appears to be a live shot from Charlie's Kitchen in Cambridge, so maybe if you all wish very hard... In the meantime, check out the embed of "Making Friends" below.
>> [PHOTO CREDIT: Brad Searles] That distant rumbling you half-hear and half-feel can only mean that legendary chimp rock superheroes The Swirlies are powering up for an indeterminate span of time. We caught wind of the activity via a well-informed Facebook friend Tuesday, and confirmed this afternoon that, yes, in fact The Swirlies will play Philadelphia's Johnny Brenda's Saturday July 23rd. Curiously, the gig will be a matinee. We can't find other dates, not even at The Swirlies' web dojo, but we did notice that the band's bio was updated only last week. We have heard pretty credible information that additional but limited East Coast appearances beyond the JB's date are a possibility. Watch this space for more information. The Swirlies are best known for a series of spectacular releases on Taang! records in the early '90s, including 1992's What To Do About Them EP [MP3s], 1993's mind-blowing Blonder Tongue Audio Baton [MP3s] and 1994's Brokedick Car EP [MP3s]. The mercurial act last roared to life in the winter of 2009, and we wrote about the Philly and Cambridge shows here and here respectively.
>> Speaking of 2009: it's been a long time coming, but Good Dangers, the London-based guitar pop outfit that rose from the ashes of spiky pop purveyors Assembly Now, has finally issued a debut single. We'd been in touch with the quintet -- which touts the core members of Assembly Now along with new member Jenny on keys -- as far back as November 2009 and had been waiting on new recordings ever since. We are happy to report it has been well worth the wait. The digital-only single -- a split with Peppercorn issued by Cosine Records May 31 -- features the Good Dangers' "So Unkind;" catch the stream below and watch the video right here. The music isn't jarringly different from the latter Assembly Now efforts, particularly the earnest vocals, but there is a new lush density and hypnotic repetition that clearly sets "So Unkind" apart. While the song is the band's first official release, we are excited to find that there are already three other videos posted to Vimeo: "Brasilia;""Waves;" and "Beat Of Your Heart." All of the tracks are strong, and we're hopeful an EP or even full length is in the offing. Longtime readers may recall that Assembly Now's song "It's Magnetic" was [still is] one of our favorites of 2007, although our blog post from December 2007 saying as much was rendered useless by the shuttering of web playlister Imeem.
