The Black Heart Procession Spell It Out

San Diego, California's depressing and gloomy indie rock band The Black Heart Procession have lived on the dark side since late 1997 with no intension of breaking out from under the murk. However of the odd day the five piece band will surface to spread the gloom onto other via song and sound. With the release of their fifth full length album on May 9th entitled The Spell listeners can hear that the band is increasingly maturing yet still maintain the less then pleasurable music the most expect to experience from their sound system. Just listening to the samples that we got our hands you can't help but find yourself feeling isolated, depressed, and miserable, however there was still something there that had use wanting to hear the next track. From what we understand of their sound and style and from little exposure we have of the band if you enjoyed their last label Amore Del Tropico, then this new release is right up your lane. Below is a track entitled Not Just Words which can be found off the new album: Not Just Words The European Tour is on its way and it doesn't seem to stop. According to the bands website a North American tour announcement is also expected in the future. May 09th - Bologna, Italy May 10th - Rome, Italy May 11th - Marghera, Italy May 12th - Torino, Italy May 13th - Firenze, Italy May 14th - Rivolta, Mestre, Italy May 15th - Luzern, Switzerland May 16th - Zurich, Switzerland May 18th - Frankfurt, Germany May 19th - Koln, Germany May 20th - Camber Sands, UK May 22nd - Hamburg, Germany May 23rd - Amsterdam, Netherlands May 24th - Eindhoven, Netherlands May 25th - Groningen, Netherlands May 26th - Brussels, Belgium May 27th - Diksmuide, Belgium :: more :: Check out their MySpace page for additional track samples from the new album The Spell and another list of tour dates just as you would find from their website.

It seems that Neko Case is not out of gas from her current tour yet. According to Kati Llewellyn of Pitchfork she has extended her tour stops and will be busy until mid June. :: more :: Toronto, Ontario indie pop/rock band Pilate have just announced that they signed a deal with an American Label Wind-up Records. :: more :: Alex Kapranos is best known as the frontman for Franz Ferdiand is getting into more writing then just new songs. Apparently Alex is looking to publish a book and what do you know he likes to eat food too. :: more :: Rhino Records executives are really trying to milk everly last drop out of the die hard Jesus & Mary Chain fans. It looks their label will be re-releasing 5 albums by the british greats which will now include a DVD featuring 3 videos just to catch and grab more cash from those that have to have it. :: more ::

No Graves in the Future for Pretty Girls

Pretty Girls Make Graves are currently in Los Angeles, California getting ready for the big day tomorrow. On Tueday April 11th, the band will be hangin' out on Sunset Blvd. to promote the release of their new album "Elan Vital" at Amoeba Music. Even if you can't make it down to LA to see the band and pickup the album there we should all still have an opportunity to see the event through Derek Fudesco's eyes as he takes some pictures throughout the day. Check out his photo album of big day and other dates on his blog. Have a listen to some of the tracks off the new album from their MySpace site. The "Elan Vital" tour starts up on April 26th at the Wonder Ballroom in Portland, OR. Still no stops have been annouced for Canada during this North America trip... Canadian's will continue to cross their toes. :: more ::

There will be a name change for Jack White's (from the White Stripes) new band The Raconteurs in Australia. Because of legal issues with another band with the same name, The Raconteurs will be known as The Saboteurs in the land down under. :: more :: Mark your calendar with a big circle around January 2007, maybe even preparing to more that circle onto February later. Ever rising star Feist has plans to release her next studio album early next year, hopefully in the January timeframe. Following up her amazing last album "Let It Die" Feist fans have been keeping their ears and eyes wide open for news like this. She is keeping us from total withdrawal by releasing a remix album entitled Open Season in a couple of weeks. :: more ::

Neko Case has been making headlines around North America as she continues her tour in support of her latest album "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood". One thing you can expect from Neko Case is that her songs are not a joke and she isn't a joke artist... take her serious and get to know her as Pitchfork's Ryan Dombal sits down with her to discuss a think or two, including her thoughts on Feist. :: more ::

Elan Vital, the new album by Pretty Girls Make Graves which reaches store shelves tomorrow has much to be praised about. The third album by the Seattle group takes some risks with their instruments, which paid off in many ways, but the end result is that listeners will be hitting the play repeat button more often then not. Don't just take our word for it, get a second opinion and to help you along here are some additional reviews of the album by other sources. :: Jamil Ahmad, musicOMH.com :: Matt Schild, Aversion :: Stephen Thompson, Online Scene :: Fred Mills, Harp Magazine

Another Run for Joe Jackson

After 23 years in the music business it doesn't seem that anything is going to slow down the legendary Joe Jackson from hitting the road one more time. Not since the 2003 release of "Volume Four" has there been a reason to tour, but things have changed with the release of a live album "Afterlife" last March (2005). The Joe Jackson band is back and ready to hit the stage starting in June when he and his mates will be carving their way across the United States, hitting major cities along the way. Check out their full list of tour dates and cities and see if they will be performing anywhere near you.

Spot The Music reported a couple of days ago, that Giant Drag had re-released their their debut album Hearts And Unicorns in North America. This time around the album will contain a live cover of "Wicked Game" by Chris Isaac". Singer Annie Hardy has expressed that she is not a happy camper with her label Kickball because of their decision to repackage the ablum in the US with the cover song, Annie has been quoted as saying that "obviously the cover wasn't on the original version of the album because we didn't f#%king want it there." :: more :: In 'who cares' news, Eminem has reportedly split up from his wife, again!! :: more ::

Envelopes are a Swedish-French quartet that just release their debut album entitled "Demon". The simpliest way to describe Envelopes music is to say that its a combining of lo-fi electronic with a hint of pop and 'Scando-folk'. Now that we have you hooked, Demon means "demos" in Swedish and the album is meant as a taster for their first 'proper' album. Here are a few reviews on the album: :: John Burgess, The Guardian :: John Brainlove, Drowned In Sound :: Ryan Gillespie, PopMatters :: Paul M, SoundsXP :: Zoheir Beig, Gigwise :: Herman Snell, Jackson Free Press :: Daniel Levin Becker, dusted Here are three tracks off the album for your listening pleasure (promotional use only) :: Sister In Love :: It Is The Law :: Audrey in The Country

Neko Case :: The American singer-songwriter is best known for her solo career and as a member of the New Pornographers. She is currently on a month tour of North America and Europe to promote her latest CD release "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood" which hit store shelves in March. During her stop over in Toronto, Ontario NOW Magazine's Sarah Liss had the opportunity to meeting with Neko Case for a one on one. :: more ::

Save the Seals!!

Neko Case will be taping an episode of a new TV series called Beautiful Noise in Toronto on Monday April 3rd at the Berkeley Church and you can be a part of it. Could this be a new television series where Neko meets Neil Diamond? :: more :: Happy 45th Birthday to Rupert Greenall (photo) of The Fixx. After twenty-three albums the group is still playing strong and touring like a fresh teenage band straight out of the basement of their parents suburban home. Next stop, the Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando, FL on March 30th. :: more ::

Embrace will be recording the official England World Cup song "World At Your Feet". They beat out bands such as Kaiser Chiefs to obtain the rights to record the track. This could prove to be a big stepping stone for Embrace, following in the foot steps of bands like New Order and The Spice Girls who have previously ventured down this same path. :: more ::

Morrissey fans across Canada just received or will soon receive a big disappointment in their latest fan club news letter. According to this official website(www.morrisseymusic.com) he will not be visiting Canada on his latest world tour. This is in protest of Canada's "barbaric slaughter of over 325,000 baby seals" :: more ::