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UK festivals are getting older

Jim James is currently touring the country in support of his debut solo album Regions of Light and Sound of God, but in October he’ll reconvene with the rest of My Morning Jacket to begin work on a new studio album.

Speaking to Rolling Stone, James said the band is “in the process of nailing down a studio.” They won’t however be returning to the Louisville church gymnasium where they recorded 2011′s Circuital. “We always try to do something a little different each time and we did that last time,” James explained. “We have a couple top-of-the-heap places we’re in the process of deciding what will work best.”

James said he already has ideas for new songs, but added: “I don’t know if anything’s come together yet. I’ve got a lot of starting places, I guess you could say.”

While you wait for more, why not revisit our recent cover story on James.

Photo by Nate Slevin

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Foxygen @ Knitting Factory 5/13/2013

Foxygen just wrapped up a three-night NYC run, that began with the BrooklynVegan-curated Red Bull Sound Select show at Knitting Factory on Monday (5/13) and a second night there (5/14) and finished last night (5/15) at Mercury Lounge. Anybody hit the second Knit or Mercury Lounge show? Anyone go to all three? We've got a second set of photos from the RBSS show, including ones of openers Amen Dunes, LODRO, and Prince Rupert's Drops, in this post.

Foxygen will spend their summer on the festival circuit, playing Pitchfork, Woodsist and Solid Sound amongst many others. That also includes another stop in NYC at the free River Rocks show on July 25 with Thao & The Get Down Stay Down. All tour dates are listed with more pictures from KF below.

Continue reading "Foxygen played three NYC shows (more pics from our RBSS one with LODRO, Amen Dunes and Prince Rupert's Drops)" at brooklynvegan

Gunplay, Maybach Music’s resident knuckle-throwing knucklehead, is both one of the most fearsomely unhinged rappers on the current rap landscape and straight-up one of the most gifted rappers out right now. One of the man’s crowning achievements is “Bible On The Dash,” a track from last year’s 601 & Snort mixtape that gives some emotive context to all the fire-breathing that Gunplay does on other tracks. It’s now got a video, one that Gunplay co-directed with Ryan Snyder, and it’s mostly shots of Gunplay driving around and looking contemplative. Watch it below.

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Tweens are a young Ohio trio coming to prominence both for their crisp and kinetic lo-fi garage-pop jams and for the fact that the Breeders plucked the heretofore obscure locals to open a bunch of their recent tour dates. Dream city. Below you can hear why the Deals gave the kids a break: Songs like “Be Mean” and “Rattle&Rollin’” are compressed, peppy, and fuzzy, sunny and snotty in equal measure; then there’s “Don’t Wait Up,” the demo they uploaded just this week, which introduces the slightest touch of melancholy to the equation. The tempo’s just a few ticks slower, and the title of the track is addressed at “mama.” Otherwise, the component parts are the same. Precocious stuff, which you can keep up with at Facebook, and which you can listen to listen:

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There is so much to consider with Gorgeous Children’s “Liberace Gems” that I have spent way too much time trying to suss out some kind of epic thesis statement to introduce these beasts to you, lovely Stereogum readers. I could wax eternally about the customs and culture of regional rap and how because of guys like them the Internet is one unto itself. There’s also a mess of blogspace that Denver-based producer and one half of GC Gila Monsta’s totally masterful SoundCloud deserves. But more important than a treatise on the ever-evolving rapscape or how Gila’s steely and quivering remix of “Make The Trap Say Aye” is this track. It’s maudlin, yet ethereal. Syrupy horns roll over a wavy bass and a cold shroud looms atop it. Other half of Gorgeous Children, rapper Face Vega of Seattle, maws across the dark space, but his delivery swells with bravado despite its pace. It will make you want to punch someone, but in slow motion. They’ll make their New York debut this weekend at 285 Kent this Saturday, opening for Evian Christ. I’ll be there, lighting the already-destroyed couches on fire when they play this cut.

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A new photo book chronicling the early years of the Pixies will arrive this fall — that’s if it reaches a Kickstarter goal of $150,000. Sean T. Rayburn, who operates the band’s official website, is spearheading the project and hopes to release three volumes of photo books in the future. A Visual History, Volume 1 will contain rare or unseen photos of the band between 1985 and 1993.

Rayburn explains the project and his decision to launch a Kickstarter campaign:

Some of you may be wondering, “so Sean, WHY do you need a Kickstarter to put this project together?” The answer is that book publishing is very expensive, especially to do it right. To make this a great project, I am meeting with hundreds of people from all over the world, people who have worked with the band, labels and press and managers, and roadies and fans. I am also going to be meeting with the band members themselves. And their families. Pretty much anyone who has a story and some photos or memorabilia, I am coming to see you. Speaking of which, if you have a story to tell, something that would be great for this project, I want you involved! I am starting a website to handle submissions and additional project info, so if you have something to contribute and would like a free copy of the book and some contributor credit, look for an announcement in the coming weeks.

Incentives for pledging include a limited edition pos...

Arizona pedal-mashing heavy psych band Destruction Unit are currently on tour with Merchandise and Milk Music, which ought to give you some idea how much noise they make; at least one friend has called them the loudest band he’s ever seen. The band’s got a new album coming in August, and they recorded “Sonic Pearl,” half of a new 7″ single, during its sessions. The track is halfway between basement-punk scrape and Spacemen 3 whoosh, and you can hear it below.

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by Bill Pearis

Not content with just two bands, Vivian Girls/La Sera singer Katy Goodman has formed Books of Love with Hush Sound's Greta Morgan. Please don't confuse the duo with '80s synthpop band Book of Love. (You probably won't, though they still exist.) Of the union:

While hiking past the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, friends Katy Goodman and Greta Morgan were struck with the idea to record a song together: A song about physics and love, science and romance, space and time. Have you ever felt the lovesick pain of falling for someone from a different dimension? We have too.

The next morning, the girls recorded "Space Time" in Greta's tiny rehearsal space in Glassell Park. While "Space Time" may not be a hit in this dimension yet, the song is topping charts in many others. The girls have plans to tour the Andromeda Galaxy this summer, appear in Bode's Galaxy this Fall, and make an appearance at the Omega-Palooza Festival to break up the 2.9 million light-year long trip home.

Continue reading "Katy from Vivian Girls/La Sera forms new group, Books of Love (watch a video)" at brooklynvegan

Surprise, surprise: director Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation, The Virgin Suicides) has put together another hip-as-hell soundtrack for tweens, teens, and shattered twentysomethings. This time around, she’s snagged the likes of Kanye West, Frank Ocean, deadmau5, M.I.A., Sleigh Bells, Azealia Banks, Can (!), and her hubby’s band, Phoenix, whose tunes will sugarcoat her latest picture, The Bling Ring.

What’s more, she’s recruited Oneohtrix Point Never’s Daniel Lopatin to score the film. For this project, Lopatin’s again working with Brian Reitzell, who serves as executive soundtrack producer and music supervisor (the two previously worked together on music for Kelsey Grammar’s television show Boss).

The Bling Ring is based on a true story of L.A. teens who robbed celebrities’ homes, originally covered in the 2010 Vanity Fair article, “The Suspects Wore Louboutins”. Emma Watson and Leslie Mann both star.

The soundtrack hits stores June 11th via Def Jam, with the film due in theaters on June 14th.

The Bling Ring OST Tracklist:
01. Sleigh Bells – ” Crown On The Ground”
02. Rick Ross [ft. Lil Wayne] – “9 Piece”
03. Rye Rye [ft. M.I.A.] – “Sunshine”
04. Azealia Banks - ”212″
05. Oneohtrix Point Never &#821...