Ritter Animal Years

Not a lot comes out of the state of Idaho in the United States - other then the truck loads of potatoes which are being shipped across the country. Now there is a new export which is really starting to get a lot of attention. With the release of his new album (fourth LP) entitled "The Animal Years", Josh Ritter is moving up in the world from his days as a struggling musician. The new album has already been released in Europe and is expected to hit the shelves in North America on April 11th. He is currently on tour to promote the album, which includes a stop in Wakefield, Quebec tomorrow night. :: more :: You can now listen to the entire album "The Animal Year" online (streamed). :: listen :: Josh Ritter was first introduced to Canada during the 2004 cross country tour opening up for Sarah Harmer. :: more :: Check out some samples from his latest album "The Animal Years" from his MySpace page.

With the release of The Animal Years, by Josh Ritter a new talent will be launched at people who will be saying to themselves, "where the heck has they guy been?" For some reason or another it has taken 4 LPs to finally get the attention of people and open the ears to many. With this release Josh will be getting the recognition (mostly positive) that he has deserved since he released his last album Hello Starling (2003). Maybe Ireland was one step ahead of everyone else as they have been supporting Josh at a much higher degree then most other nations in the world and that includes this home in the United States. Debuted in the top five of the Irish charts it is only a matter of time before North America catches up and realizes that they are missing a great talent in their own backyard. A lot of people have gotten their hands on the album already, since it has already been released in Europe, so North America can get a good sense as to what is expected from the album when it becomes available to them on April 11th. Here are some people that can give you their opinion: :: Michael Hill, Concerted Efforts :: Jack Foley, indie London :: Elly Roberts, Glasswerk :: Mike Rea, Adult Contemporary Essentials

We found Jesus H Christ and some Hornsmen

Every once in a blue moon we run across a band that you just can't help yourself but smile, laugh and look to yourself wonder what the heck am I listening to?. What I do know is that it the sounds that are coming out of the speakers are really having me craving more or better yet (I think) can understand why it was described as juicy highbrow, acid-tongued, horn-dog power pop. This is exactly what I ran across today when I plugged myself into the infectious happy hardcore power pop world of Jesus H Christ & The 4 Hornsmen of the Apocalype. JHC, as I like to call them to limit the stress on my typing fingers, are an eight-person horn-fired band from New York who make glorious fun filled hard pop. This was immediately noticed after hearing a sample track from their upcoming self-titled debut CD called "Connecticut's For F*cking" via their MySpace site. The CD which makes its appearance in CD players across North America on April 23rd will no doubt turn some heads, don't be surprised if some of those heads have a strange look on their faces. No tour dates are schedules as of yet, but if you are in the New York area you can catch JHC at Joe's Pub for a CD release party on April 23rd. Hope to see you on tour north of the boarder in the near future.

The New Pornographers will be headlining the Arts County Fair this evening and many University of British Columbia students will be there to enjoy it, some won't remember it. Every year thousands of University students stagger into the campus Thunderbird Stadium on the last day of classes, to get drunk or celebrate in their way and listen to some great tunes. It just so happens that the Arts Country Fair is the largest student-run event in Canada. That's right, its organized, produced, and promoted all by the students of the Arts Undergraduate Society. All in the name of celebrating another survival year at school. This year is the 15th anniversary of the fair and to assist in the celebratrations will be local supergroup the New Pornographers, the Weakerthans, Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans, Cadence Weapon, the Salteens, and DJ my!gay!husband! Have fun kids, only 20 weeks till another year in the books. The Sleepy Jackson, a four-piece experimental pop/rock band from Perth, Australia have announced that they have a follow-up to there 2003 debut album "Lovers". The new release entitled "Personality" will be available July 1st 2006. The first single off the new album, "God Lend Your Soul", will be released on May 27th. The band expects to tour starting in June 2006. :: more :: With additional noice from down under, Arctic Monkeys are a big hit in Australia as they are selling out shows within minutes. Concert tickets went on sale this morning for shows in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and they all sold-out within minutes of going on sale. It sounds like additional shows will be added because of the high demand. :: more ::

Formed in Glasgow, Scotland the indie rock band Aereogramme have found a partner in North America to distribute their third album "Seclusion". Sonic Unyon will take the band and help get the album out to their fans in Canada and the United States. The album was originally released in Europe in late 2004 under the label Undergroove. It was originally reported that the album would be hitting store shelves on March 21st, but will some delay it is finally out as of April 4th. The album holds an additional treat for those in North America as it also includes six new songs there were not on the original release from 2004. Here are some individuals that put there two cents worth about the album: some reviews are from the original 2004 release. :: Jon Whitney, Brainwashed (+mp3 samples) :: Stu Chown, Drowned In Sound :: Ben Rice, Decoy Music (find the review in the list) :: Alexis Roberts, The Red Alert You can listen to some samples from their album on their MySpace site.

The Black Magic Show Tour

Indie-rockers Elefant have a new album which is expected to hit the streets on April 18th called "The Black Magic Show". As more bands follow up with a new release, Elefant have announced a North American tour schedule to promote the album. The band will start on May 3rd in Orlando, FL and finish up in Vancouver, BC on June 1st - along the way stopping in at a number of cities. :: More :: Check out some of the tracks off the new album "The Black Magic Show" from their MySpace page.

The psychedelic and Folky duo It's Jo And Danny have announced that they will be releasing a download only EP from their website as of May 1st. :: more :: For those of you that have not heard of the duo from England, your most likely not alone. However, after running into this news of the upcoming release I could not help myself from checking them out and now I am glad I did. They live in the mountains of Wales where they run a music festival called The Green Man Festival (sounds interesting since it also shows short films and literature and DJs). Nevertheless, these guys have been hard at work with the festival as well as with their own music, which includes their latest release (fourth album) entitled "The Quickening" (if you like folk you'll like this one). They are getting their act together for their UK Spring tour which is just around the corner. Those lucky enough to be in England, you should take the opportunity to catch them on one of the following dates: :: April 29 @ Hanbury Ballroom (Brighton) :: April 30 @ Luminaire (London) :: May 3 @ Roadhouse (Manchester) :: May 4 @ Glee Club (Birmingham) Here's hoping that a North American set of dates will not be too far off in the future. The London based post-punk band The Futureheads have a new home as part of the Vagrant Records family. Up next for the band; a new release entitled "News and Tributes" which should hit store shelves in North America on June 13th (May 29th in the UK). They will be hitting the road around the same time in the UK, starting in Glasgow, Scotland on May 29th. :: more ::

Magneta Lane hail from Toronto and where they came together in the fall of 2003. Spending most of the next year playing in or around the Toronto area they really started to get noticed in the indie scenes in other parts. They released their first album "The Constant Lover" in 2004 and now are ready to follow that up with another release entitled "Dancing With Daggers". If you are in the Toronto area, they are having a CD release party at the Horseshoe tonight (April 6th). Here is what others think of the album: :: Noah Love, ChartAttack :: Michael Keefe, PopMatters :: Joe Tangari, Pitchfork Media :: Matt Hartwick, PartyInKingson.com :: Darryl Sterdan, Winnipeg Sun You can listen to some samples from their album on their MySpace site... Its worth the time, trust me!

Metric plays at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta tonight. Yuri Wuebsch of the Edmonton Sun catches the band's guitarist, James Shaw for a few words. :: more ::

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 ::

The Land of Applause Cheer Boo Hiss

Indie rock band 'Land of Talk' from Montreal, Quebec have a new album (ep) on store shelves today entitled "Applause Cheer Boo Hiss". Fronted by Elizabeth Powell's voice, Land of Talk could and should really open some eyes to this trio. They will be touring with Wintersleep and Contrived to promote the new cd in London, Toronto and Montreal (April 6-7-8) before heading south continue their journey. Have a listen to four of their tracks off their MySpace page and catch them live while you can.

The Reading and Leeds Festivals (a.k.a. The Carling Weekend) are to big weekend music festival that take place in Reading, England and Leeds, England respectfully. They recently revealed their lineups for this year festivities and as usual some big name acts will be present to show off their stuff. :: The festivals include: Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs, Belle & Sebastian, The Subways, Muse, Artic Monkeys, and many more.

The Concretes second album "In Colour" hit the streets of North America today. A lot of people have their thoughts on the Swedish groups latest release. Here are just a few: :: Ryan Dombal, Pitchfork Media :: Mike Rea, Adult Contemporary Essentials :: Emily Gosling, the Stereo Effect :: Charles Smith, Cherwell24 :: Darryl Sterdan, Winnipeg Sun (via CANOE) :: Alan Sargeant, Crud Magazine :: Sarah Liss, NOW Magazine :: Bernardo Rondeau, Los Angeles Alternative :: David McDougall, Chart Attack :: David Sheppard, Collective (bbc)

My Morning Jacket :: Dennis Cook of Pitchfork Media sits down with the alternative country-rock four-piece band from Louisville, KY to discuss their fourth album entiteld "Z". :: more ::

Portland, Oregon's Quasi released their seventh album entitled "When the Going Gets Dark" through Touch and Go Records on March 21st. The duo of Sam Coomes (singer/guitarist/keyboardist) and Janet Weiss (drummer/singer) have come together for music and marriage (later divorced) but have always had the same goal in mind, producing great music. Matt Schild of Aversion talks to Quasi about their latest album. :: more ::

Cat Power Is Coming

Cat Power - a.k.a. singer/songwriter Chan Marshall - has announced new dates for her tour for late April and early May. All shows will be in Arizona, Washington and California cities and will be accompanied by The Memphis Rhythm Band. Visit their tours page for all the details - we look forward to hearing more details for future shows in other cities. Cat Power will be making an appearance on David Letterman on June 13th.

Kaiser Chiefs have announced that they will be headlining the Airwaves festival in Reykjavik, Iceland in October. The Leeds, England band will joined by such artists as Wolf Parade, Jenny Wilson and many Icelandic talents. :: more :: Architecture In Helsinki out of Melbourne, Australia have announced their tour schedule for North America. This eight-piece band is out to promote their latest album "In Case We Die" from May 18th to the 27th. During that time they will make stops in New York, Montreal, Toronto, LA, San Fran., Portland, Vancouver and finally Seattle. For a full concert listing of their tour, check out their tour dates from their website.

Wicked New Release

Los Angeles duo Giant Drag have released their debut album Hearts And Unicorns. This time around the album will contain a live cover of "Wicked Game" by Chris Isaac. As mentioned previously, Giant Dragis about to hit the road with Pretty Girls Make Graves on a cross county tour of the United States. Have a listen to the track here, courtesy of Music Remendy. :: Giant Drag - Wicked Game (Real Medium) :: Giant Drag - Wicked Game (Windows Media Medium). Sam Roberts next album entitled "Chemical City" will be on store shelves as of April 11th, however your one of those fans that would love to have an autographed cd Maple Music has 300 copies of the album available on a first come first gets basis. :: here ::