Tapes 'n Tapes are Looking XL

Things seem to moving in the right direction for Minneapolis, Minnesota based indie pop band Tapes 'n Tapes. With the recent announcement that the guys signing with the London, UK label XL Recordings as well as with the release of a debut album on the horizon and a tour with the Futureheads to follow things couldn't be going much better for the 4-piece movers. The debut album entitled "The Loon" will have you adding a well-written and striking collection of tracks to your existing library. The even better news in all this is that you, at least some of you, will have the opportunity to see them play live at a venue around the United Kingdom and North America. The band will be on the road in North America starting June 1st in Madison, WI, but before they even land in Madison they will be making the odd stops around the United Kingdom. Check out their tour schedule for further details including dates and locations this spring and summer. If you are in the Minneapolis, MN area get a night out and check out the CD release party at 7th St. Entry tomorrow night, May 5th. If you need a track sample or two in order to get you out to see them live, you can hear four songs via their MySpace page. Better yet, check of some of these MP3 files we found off their website off the new album. They should get you there! Insistor Cowbell Omaha

Lookout! Records continue find itself in the news in a negative way. This time around it is because the punk band Operation Ivy have removed their album from the labels catelog. This is just one example of many other artists that have made jumping the Lookout! ship a trend. :: more :: Montreal, Quebec's indie band The Dears have revealed details regarding their upcoming new release entitled Gang of Losers. You can expect to see the album in stores in August. :: more ::

ChartAttack caught up with singer-songwriter Josh Ritter to talk about this latest album The Animal Years. Could Girl In The War been inspired by Mark Twain? :: more ::

Chihei Hatakeyama :: Minima Moralia(Kranky Records) Released: February 21, 2006 :: If you arelooking for something completely different for your CD collection then look no further then the latest release by Chihei Hatakeyama - Minima Moralia. As a member of the computer oriented electro acoustic genre, which is very active in Tokyo, "Minima Moralia" is a carefully thought out album with sounds generated by computer programming and live performance. We can tell you one thing, you probably don't have an album like this in your home library. Even more impressive is the fact that Chihei Hatakeyama played electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vibraphone and electronics, mixed and mastered all to get the sounds to our ears. Here are what other think about the album as well as some sample tracks. :: Justin Cober-Lake, Stylus Magazine :: Mark Richardson, Pitchfolk :: P Funk, Tiny Mix Tapes :: Scott Hreha, PopMatters :: Mark Teppo, MarkTeppo.com Bonfire on the Field Towards a Tranquil Marsh Inside of the Pocket