Prolific Chillwave artist Toro Y Moi (aka producer, singer, and songwriter Chaz Bundick), releases What For? on April 7th, on Carpark Records, the fifth Toro Y Moi record in the past five years. The album:
“draws inspiration from Big Star, Talking Heads and Todd Rundgren, as well as Brazil’s Tim Maia and France’s Cortex, among many others. Unknown Mortal Orchestra guitarist Ruban Nielson appears on the album, as does multi-instrumentalist Julian Lynch.”
Singer/songwriter Mikal Cronin releases his third record, the logically-titled MCIII, on Merge on May 5. While it may seem somewhat naval-gazey to issue each of your three albums as essentially self-titled albums (I’m assuming it’s not referencing his future grandson), in Cronin’s case it makes sense. As with his previous two records, he plays nearly all the instruments on MCIII, including French horn, trumpet, saxaphone, and the tzouras, a traditional Greek string instrument, in addition to your traditional guitar/drums/bass. To top if off, he designed the album artwork again as well. So there you go.
Death Cab for Cutie release their eighth record (and last with founding guitarist Chris Walla, who quit the band last year), Kintsugi, on March 31, and have announced a set of tour dates starting in April. No Bay Area dates yet, but there are a lot of open dates on the schedule, so keep an eye out. As of now, the only California Date is July 12th at the Hollywood Bowl.
Death Cab just released “Black Sun,” the first single off Kintsugi, and it’s streaming below.
Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens is releasing his latest concept record (and 8th studio album overall), Carrie & Lowell, on March 31st. The record is described:
“Thematically the 11 songs address life and death, love and loss, and the artist’s struggle to make sense of the beauty and ugliness of love. The album is named for Stevens’ mother and stepfather and is a return to Stevens’ folk roots.”
One of the best things about Mary Timony’s new band Ex Hex is that the guitar virtuoso — once so fond of proggy guitar rock and then ultra-personal, Medieval-sounding songs about dragons and faeries (which, make no mistake, are still awesome) — has embraced her good time rock n’ roll side. Ex Hex’s debut record, Rips, basically sounds like an 80s party record in a lot of ways, so it’s fitting that for their new video (and third from Rips) for “Don’t Wanna Lose,” the band spoofs the 1982 Diane Lane/Laura Dern movie Ladies & Gentlemen: The Fabulous Stains, a film about three teenage girls who start a punk band. It’s pretty fantastic.
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The Mountain Goats return this spring with Beat The Champ, which, according to Mountain Goats main man John Darnielle, consists of 12 songs about wrestling. Of course, many of the songs may simply be using wrestling as a metaphor for various kinds of struggles. Then again, maybe not. He could just be following in the footsteps of noted musicians/wrestling marks like Bob Mould and/or Billy Corgan. Or Insane Clown Posse.
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NYC’s Interpol have announced a new set of North American tour dates behind their latest record, El Pintor, including a few dates to make up for cancelled shows due to snow trapping them in their tour bus last year. After a month of European dates starting on January 23, the band hit Mexico and then a bunch of South American Lollapalooza dates before returning to the states on April 8 in Tucson, AZ. The band’s Bay Area show last fall was at the Fox Theater in Oakland, but they return to San Francisco this time around, and will play the Warfield on April 21.
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Australia’s Twerps are prepping the release of the second LP and Merge Records debut, Range Anxiety, on January 27, but you can preview the record via Hype Machine now. Comparisons to Real Estate and fellow Aussies the Go-Betweens aren’t too far off the mark, though with more of a lo-fi (but warm) 90s indie rock aesthetic. They sound a lot like a band who are opening for one of your favorite bands in 1996.
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With a new album, No Cities to Love, out next week (and already streaming on NPR), reunited Sleater-Kinney hit The Late Show With David Letterman on Thursday, performing “A New Wave.”
Joined by Katie Harkin of the band Sky Larkin (who will be accompanying the bad on tour), Carrie Brownstein (now better known as “Portlandia’s Carrie Brownstein!” I guess) took lead vocals, and upped her Pete Townshend-ness to even new heights, supplementing her array of high kicks and guitar windmills with a very Townshend-esque all-white, flowy-pants ensemble. (Also keeping up S-K’s anti-establishment cred: white pants before Memorial Day!)
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Scottish indie rock stalwarts Belle and Sebastian release their 9th studio album, Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance, on January 20th, but you can stream the whole record right now on NPR’s website.
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Three Match Breeze 