new St. Vincent (Actor) & Yeah Yeah Yeahs (It's Blitz!)

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St Vincent

On May 5, 4AD will release 'Actor' the anticipated new album by St. Vincent (nee Annie Clark), and the follow-up to her first album 'Marry Me'. 'Actor' was co-produced by Clark and John Congleton (Modest Mouse, Polyphonic Spree etc...) and features eleven new songs, all written and arranged by Clark.

'Actor' takes the ambitious compositional and sonic underpinnings of Clark's debut as a starting point and never looks back. The arrangements are more masterful, the songwriting grander, the performances ever more confident and inspired. "I wanted to make these songs technicolor animatronic rides," says Clark.

Clark, "a playful chanteuse [and] fearsome shredder" (NY Times), sings and plays guitar, bass and keys on 'Actor,' with woodwind contributions from Hideaki Aomori (Sufjan Stevens) and Alex Sopp (Bjork, Phillip Glass), and additional rhythm section work by McKenzie Smith and Paul Alexander of Midlake. Other musicians on the album include Mike Atkinson (French horn, score consultant), Daniel Hart (violin, sarongi), William Flynn (bass), and percussionists Jeff Ryan, Matthias Bossi, and Aynsley Powell.

St. Vincent will preview songs from 'Actor' with two shows at this year's South by Southwest conference in Austin: Wednesday, March 18 at the Central Presbyterian Church as part of the 4AD showcase, and Friday, March 20 at Antone's as part of the Billions Corporation showcase. Clark will also tour the U.S. this year with Bonnaroo and Sasquatch! Festival performances already confirmed and a full itinerary to be announced soon.

In other new album news, read about Yeah Yeah Yeahs' new album It's Blitz! and stream the new song "Zero" below...

Yeah yeah yeahs

Zero - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Ready yourself! The third studio album from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs titled It's Blitz! is set for release in Australia this coming April 10 on Modular. The follow-up to 2006's acclaimed Show Your Bones, It's Blitz! (spelt with an exclamation mark) is the first full-length album from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs in three years. New York trio Karen O, Nick Zinner & Brian Chase will unveil their all-new & more experimental sound when the lead single "Zero".

The new LP features 10-tracks and was recorded in numerous rural locations across the US countryside. From El Paso's 1,700 acre Sonic Ranch studio to a dairy farm in Massachusetts. The trio worked with two producers on It's Blitz!: long-term producer TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek (who did the production of the last two LP's) and Nick Launay (Arcade Fire, Talking Heads, INXS) who record their Is Is EP.

Producers aside, the band didn't do everything the same in the recording process. For one thing the band has taken a much more experimental approach, with guitarist Nick Zinner playing a whole lot of vintage synths on this new release. The album also features a few special guests including Bird and the Bee maestro producer Greg Kurtsin, TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone, and saxophonist Stuart Bogie (Antibalas) among others.

According to the band, It's Blitz! was inspired by the '70s disco collaborations between Italian producer Giorgio Moroder and R&B songstress Donna Summer, Joy Division, and, well, Karen O's love of dancing. It's Blitz! is not much like anything you've heard from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs before. But does it still sound like the band we have come to love? You bet you're sweet ass it does!

YEAH YEAH YEAHS NEW ALBUM IT'S BLITZ! - AVAILABLE IN AUSTRALIA APRIL 10 ON MODULAR

The album will also be released in the US sometime soon.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs appear on the new War Child Hereos comp, and are playing Sasquatch, Bonnaroo and Coachella. More info HERE.

Tags: 4AD, Midlake, St Vincent, Yeah Yeah Yeahs

posted at 12:33 PM on February 19, 2009 in music | Comments (20)

Comments (20)

Yeah yeah yeah: hopefully the new st. vincent will be less sufjan this time around and more annie clark live performance.

Posted by Anonymous | February 19, 2009 12:38 PM

I'D

Posted by Anonymous | February 19, 2009 12:55 PM

*BOING*

Posted by Anonymous | February 19, 2009 1:02 PM

Agree with Anon 1.

Posted by Anonymous | February 19, 2009 1:16 PM

I.H.I.

Posted by Anonymous | February 19, 2009 1:17 PM

YYY's LP is good news indeed!

Posted by Anonymous | February 19, 2009 1:29 PM

St. Vincent... Marry Me!

Posted by Casey | February 19, 2009 1:29 PM

I have to agree with the above posters.

She is absolutely AMAZING live. "Marry Me" was a good record, but didn't deliver much on the promise of her live show. I've seen her maybe 5 times already... but rarely put the record on.

Anyone know if "Bang Bang" will make an appearance on "Actor"? Would hear a studio version of that one.

Posted by wembley | February 19, 2009 1:31 PM

I have such a girl crush on annie.

Posted by Anonymous | February 19, 2009 1:42 PM

The YYY's single is a little disappointing to tell you the truth. It's just not as hard hitting as I would like. I am still really excited about this album but hope that the rest of the songs are in a more YYY's style.

Posted by Patrick | February 19, 2009 4:04 PM

sitek probably fucked another thing up

Posted by Anonymous | February 19, 2009 4:45 PM

I thought the YYY's last EP was really good, this single seems like a step in the wrong direction (sounds pop-py).

Posted by E | February 19, 2009 5:01 PM

soundszero

Posted by Anonymous | February 19, 2009 10:50 PM

they have always been poppy. this is not poppy. its boring. i'm telling you it's sitek land

Posted by Anonymous | February 19, 2009 10:52 PM

I thought the ep was pretty garbage retreads, personally. but you are entitled to your opinion...

Posted by Anonymous | February 20, 2009 9:13 AM

They have never been poppy. Have you even heard anything other than Maps?