Albums in 2005

[brennser]

another "best of" - this time one of my favorite bands
 
 Boo Radleys Ready 2xCD Compilation
 
 James Gregory reports:
 Though they played a major role in defining British indie in the 90s (before fellow countrymen Blur and Oasis launched it into the mainstream), chances are if you called the U.S. home, you were pretty much oblivious to the Boo Radleys, who unfortunately lacked the cheeky shenanigans to propel them onto the cover of the British tabloids. Well, your chance for a second date is on its way. According to Sanctuary Records, the influential (but sadly disbanded) group are prepping a career-spanning 2xCD anthology for release on July 4 through Castle Music, a Sanctuary offshoot.
 
 Entitled Find the Way Out, the comp marks the group's first comprehensive hits collection, and includes tracks culled from each of the three labels they recorded for during their lifespan-- Action, Rough Trade, and Creation Records. The 40 remastered songs included on the set offer a healthy number of selections from each of the band's six studio albums (most notably the classic Giant Steps), as well as singles, b-sides, and previously unreleased material. The album also features deluxe packaging with artwork by original collaborator Stephen Wood. Tracklist for Find the Way Out:
 
 >>Disc 1:
 01 Walking 5th Carnival
 02 Catweazle
 03 Hip Clown Rag (demo)
 04 Kaleidoscope
 05 The Finest Kiss
 06 Everybird
 07 Lazy Day
 08 Spaniard
 09 Does This Hurt?
 10 Sunfly II: Walking With the Kings
 11 Buffalo Bill
 12 Lazarus (12" version)
 13 Let Me Be Your Faith
 14 Thinking of Ways
 15 Best Lose the Fear
 16 I Hang Suspended
 17 I've Lost the Reason
 18 Wish I Was Skinny
 19 Cracked Lips/Homesick
 20 Barney (...and Me)
 
 >>Disc 2:
 01 Wake up Boo: Music for Astronauts
 02 Blues for George Michael
 03 Find the Answer Within
 04 Joel
 05 It's Lulu
 06 Reaching Out From Here
 07 From the Bench at Belvidere
 08 Nearly Almost There
 09 What's in the Box? (See Watcha Got)
 10 Four Saints
 11 New Brighton Promenade
 12 C'mon Kids
 13 Ride the Tiger
 14 Vote You
 15 Free Huey
 16 Kingsize
 17 Comb Your Hair
 18 Tomorrow
 19 Put Your Arms Around Me and Tell Me Everythings Gonna Be OK
 20 Blueroom in Archway

[brennser]

If you call him Carl, he may not answer you...not that we've tried. But just because A.C. Newman, who recently made pop hearts swoon with his solo effort The Slow Wonder, has a new and acronymic name, it doesn't mean he's not still doing what he does best. Yes, Mr. Newman is, of course, a member of one of Canada's finest exports (after Nickleback, of course), the New Pornographers, who are reportedly just finishing up work on their third full-length, Twin Cinema. Sources at Mint, the band's Canadian label, tell us Twin Cinema will be finished and ready for your grubby little hands on August 23-- we presume that date will be the same for the Matador release in the U.S., but that's currently unconfirmed. They also hit us up with a tracklist, and you know we love that:
 
 01 Twin Cinema
 02 The Bones of an Idol
 03 Use It
 04 The Bleeding Heart Show
 05 Jackie, Dressed in Cobras
 06 The Jessica Numbers
 07 These Are the Fables
 08 Sing Me Spanish Techno
 09 Falling Through Your Clothes
 10 Broken Breads
 11 Three or Four
 12 Star Bodies
 13 Streets of Fire
 14 Stacked Crooked

[HoyaSaxa03]

Originally posted by brennser:
  Sources at Mint, the band's Canadian label, tell us Twin Cinema will be finished and ready for your grubby little hands on August 23-- we presume that date will be the same for the Matador release in the U.S., but that's currently unconfirmed.

woo-hoo!
 
 if it's anything like the last album, this is already on my shortlist for best of the year

[brennser]

Elbow are putting the finishing touches to their third album and
 they say it sounds "terribly romantic." They're planning an album launch in May,
 at the studio in Salford where the album was recorded. The first single will
 probably be a song called Buddah With Mace, or one called Leaders of the Free
 World, although they don't have a title for album yet. They were in the studio
 in Manchester for the last eight months recording the record, before a short
 trip to LA to mix it.
 
 Frontman Guy Garvey gave 6 Music a few clues to how it'll sound: "There's
 definitely some stuff there that Elbow fans will love, but there's also some new
 twists. "It's terribly romantic as a record, but then it's got some real sort of
 hard points to it as well." And he told us about some of the inspiration for the
 record: "It sounds like a band playing in a room. The most important thing for
 us was to get the room on the recording. "In the same way as, like, a Pixies
 album or a PJ Harvey album, you feel like you're in the environment for the
 duration for the record. "That was really important this time."

[helicon1]

Originally posted by brennser:
  Elbow are putting the finishing touches to their third album and
 they say it sounds "terribly romantic." They're planning an album launch in May,
 at the studio in Salford where the album was recorded. The first single will
 probably be a song called Buddah With Mace, or one called Leaders of the Free
 World, although they don't have a title for album yet. They were in the studio
 in Manchester for the last eight months recording the record, before a short
 trip to LA to mix it.
 
 Frontman Guy Garvey gave 6 Music a few clues to how it'll sound: "There's
 definitely some stuff there that Elbow fans will love, but there's also some new
 twists. "It's terribly romantic as a record, but then it's got some real sort of
 hard points to it as well." And he told us about some of the inspiration for the
 record: "It sounds like a band playing in a room. The most important thing for
 us was to get the room on the recording. "In the same way as, like, a Pixies
 album or a PJ Harvey album, you feel like you're in the environment for the
 duration for the record. "That was really important this time."

That is the best news I've heard all day. Thanks!

[SPARX]

New Oranger LP Out in September
 
 Ray Suzuki reports:
 If memory serves us right (and given our frequent hits from the office bong, we can't promise anything), it's only been about two years since San Francisco underdogs Oranger delivered Shutdown the Sun, a gem of an album full of timeless pristine pop, although with elections and wars and Michael Jackson and whatnot, it sure seems like longer. In any case, it's 2005 now, and Oranger have a new record, entitled New Comes and Goes, ready for release via Eenie Meenie-- perhaps not coincidentally the home of Oranger member Jim Lindsay's other project the High Water Marks, a band also featuring erstwhile Apple in Stereo Hilary Sidney. Or was that a tangent?
 
 The record is scheduled to be released September 20, and true to form, it will have songs with titles on it. Tracklist:
 
 01 Crooked in the Weird of the Catacombs
 02 New Comes and Goes
 03 Sukiyaki
 04 Garden Party for the Murder Pride
 05 Outtatoch
 06 RadioWaves
 07 X-Adjust
 08 Crones
 09 Haeter
 10 Flying Pretend
 11 Light Machine
 12 Target You By Feel
 13 Come Back Tomorrow

[kosmo vinyl]

BRMC Return With HOWL
 
 Oh happy day! Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have completed work on their third record, titled HOWL. The worldwide release date is set for August 22, which will be preceded by the single �??Ain�??t No Easy Way�?� sometime in early August. The record will be released in the UK on Echo, and in the US on RCA. If the audio from their website is any indication to the new direction of their music, this should make for a very interesting change for the group.
 
 You might remember the drama between the band and their drummer Nick Jago. Well, according to the band�??s website he is back in BRMC once again. In a message to their message board, bassist and co-vocalist Robert Turner said: �??For everyone that's been concerned and in the dark on what's happening with Nick, we've recently reconciled with Nick and he's back playing drums again. We're all really happy to be playing music together again. It's more fun than it's ever been in the past.�?�
 
 Although the album is still a few months away, BRMC went ahead and posted the tracklisting. Some UK dates have already been announced with The Brian Jonestown Massacre. Hopefully some US dates will show up closer to the release of their new record.
 
 HOWL
 01. �??Shuffle Your Feet�?�
 02. �??Howl�?�
 03. �??Devil�??s Waitin�??�?�
 04. �??Ain�??t No Easy Way�?�
 05. �??Still Suspicion Holds You Tight�?�
 06. �??Fault Line�?�
 07. �??Promise�?�
 08. �??Weight Of The World�?�
 09. �??Restless Sinner�?�
 10. �??Gospel Song�?�
 11. �??Complicated Situation�?�
 12. �??Sympathetic Noose�?�
 13. �??The Line�?�

[SPARX]

Drawing its name from a line in his classic 1977 anthem "Lust for Life", the upcoming 2xCD collection A Million in Prizes: The Iggy Pop Anthology, is set to offer the most comprehensive overview of the aging punk predator's 35-year career yet released.
 According to Billboard, A Million in Prizes will see a U.S. release on July 19, and features 37 tracks drawn from Pop's massively influential output with the Stooges, as well as his numerous solo releases. Disc one kicks off the history lesson with a healthy dose of material from each of the Stooges three studio albums, as well as Pop's first two David Bowie-produced solo offerings, while disc two covers the highlights from Pop's subsequent, less-revelatory years up through his most recent release, 2003's Skull Ring. Tracklist:
 
 >>Disc one:
 01 1969
 02 No Fun
 03 I Wanna Be Your Dog
 04 Down on the Street
 05 I Got a Right
 06 Gimme Some Skin
 07 Search and Destroy
 08 Gimme Danger
 09 Raw Power
 10 Kill City
 11 Nightclubbing
 12 Funtime
 13 China Girl
 14 Sister Midnight
 15 Tonight
 16 Success
 17 Lust for Life
 18 The Passenger
 
 >>Disc two:
 01 Some Weird Sin
 02 I'm Bored
 03 I Need More
 04 Pleasure
 05 Run Like a Villain
 06 Cry for Love
 07 Real Wild Child (Wild One)
 08 Cold Metal
 09 Home
 10 Candy
 11 Well Did You Evah!
 12 Wild America
 13 TV Eye (live)
 14 Loose (live)
 15 Look Away
 16 Corruption
 17 I Felt the Luxury
 18 Mask
 19 Skull Ring
 
 Also set for release the same day is the DVD package Live From the Avenue B, which features 21 live performances recorded during Pop's 1999 European tour in support of the LP Avenue B. And while the album itself stands as one of Pop's most awkward failures (featuring a collaboration with-- shudder-- Medeski Martin & Wood), Pop's live performances still rank as one of the most primal spectacles money can buy.
 
 And finally, fans in need of an up-close-and-personal live fix will be able to see Iggy Pop this summer, as he hits up seven major European festivals, including a closing day performance at the UK's landmark Reading Festival. A reunited Stooges will also be playing a lone London gig in August, performing their classic second album Fun House in its entirity as part of ATP's "Don't Look Back" concert series on August 30. Nightclubbing:
 
 05-27 Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Festival
 05-29 Lisbon, Portugal - Super Bock Super Rock Festival
 06-04 Paris, France - Effervessonne Festival
 06-17 Bari, Italy - Yellow Festival
 07-22 Lucerne, Switzerland - Blue Balls Festival
 08-26 Leeds, England - Leeds Festival
 08-28 Reading, England - Reading Festival
 08-30 London, England - Hammersmith Apollo (The Stooges)
 
 * Iggy Pop: http://www.iggypop.com/

[grotty]

Dulli - Whigs - Twilight Singers record news:
 
 I think Amber Lights was the working last Afghan Whigs record...that evolved into a TS project.
 
 http://www.summerskiss.com/
 
 Three Twilight Releases on Their Way
 
 The precursor to Blackberry Belle, "Amber Headlights" is nearing its release date, with an EP due in the fall and the new full studio album from The Twilight Singers to follow in early 2006. The new LP is tentatively titled "Powder Burns" (previously referred to as "Period Rush").

[frostytheswami]

Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
  BRMC Return With HOWL
 
 Hopefully some US dates will show up closer to the release of their new record.
 
 

I forget exactly where I heard this, but I seem to recall June/July for some US dates.

[cheshirecat44]

From Stellastarr* -
 
 We are pleased to announce that we have just finished recording our second album which will come out in the US this August on RCA.  We will be touring in September.  Stay tuned for the UK release date and touring plans coming soon.
 ------------------------------------------------
 Very much looking forward to it!

[kosmo vinyl]

Well the year of great releases continues
 
  The Posies - Every Kind of Light
 
  Out on Rykdisc end of June

[Random Citizen]

Originally posted by The Artist Formerly Known As grotty:
  I think Amber Lights was the working last Afghan Whigs record...that evolved into a TS project.
 

Amber Headlights was recorded after the Whigs split up. It was the album Dulli was working on when Ted Demme died. After that, he scrapped it and did Blackberry Belle.

[eltee]

Per Pete Yorn's website www.peteyorn.com (also see a picture of Pete drumming for GBV!)
 
 �??5.11.05
 UPDATE: WHAT'S GOING ON>>>>  
 
 Currently I am residing in Los Angeles, CA. I have been here for some time recording with people of various talents. AS OF TODAY, 11, MAY, 2005.....I am in the process of mixing THE NEW RECORD in a BALLROOM in GRIFFITH PARK. I recorded 24 NEW SONGS...however this WILL NOT BE A DOUBLE ALBUM. MOST of the TRACKS were produced with MICHAEL BEINHORN (Herbie Hancock, Social Distortion, Violent Femmes, Soundgarden, Korn, yes...Korn!) and myself, while others were produced by DON FLEMING (Sonic Youth, Teenage Fanclub) and myself. THE recording process was a roller coaster ride filled with moments of triumph as well as frustration. IT has NOW come together as something that I am extremely proud of and could not have done on my own. Some songs were recorded "live" with MINIBAR and Joe Kennedy providing the backup. Others were built from the ground up with either myself or Dave Grohl playing drums. We were fortunate enough to coax the great Leon Russell in for a day to play some excellent piano. Natalie Maines sings on two songs, while Emily Robison and Martie Maguire add banjo and fiddle respectively. Farmer Dave Scher (All Night Radio, Beachwood Sparks) provides pedal and lap steel guitar, as well as some non-conventional organ. Zach Schaeffer plays bass on a few songs. Doc Dauer and Ramee Jaffe showed up for some guitar and B-3 as well. Oh, and it has all been captured on film which is NOW being edited together for your enjoyment.
 
 PLAN ON HEARING THIS RECORD in THE FALL of 2005. AS FAR AS TOURING...STAY TUNED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME & LOYALTY.
 
 -PY

[brennser]

this sounds promising
 
 Iron & Wine, Calexico Reveal Details of Collaborative LP
 
 
 Remember when you were a kid and you thought combining two foods you liked would create some sort of delicious superfood? Remember how that shit never worked (ice cream pizza)? Thankfully, combining two bands actually can turn out better. Take, say, the dusty Southwestern sounds of Calexico and combine that with Iron & Wine's back porch sentimentality. What you've got is Lays in Reins, a seven-song mini-LP of some of Sam Beam's songs backed by Joey Burns and John Convertino of Calexico, as well as a few other Tucson musicians.
 
 The particular deliciousness of this collaboration is pure speculation, of course, as the li'l long-player won't be available until fall of this year, but Burns seems pleased with the results. "It's kind of got that Tucson, Arizona sound," he told Pitchfork this week. "It was funny, in the process of mixing some of these songs, we would send [Iron & Wine frontman Sam Beam] the mixes as MP3 files over the internet. So he would listen to them and he would say, 'No, no. Put more stuff in there.' He liked the idea of this being something different that what he would do with an Iron & Wine record, where the arrangements might be a little more minimal. So we've got some instruments that fills it out a little bit." Tracklist:
 
 01 He Lays in Reins
 02 Prison on Route 41
 03 History of Lovers
 04 Red Dust
 05 Burn That Broken Bed
 06 16, Maybe Less
 07 Dead Mans Will