As mentioned, Bon Iver's new album comes out June 21 via Jagjaguwar. It's currently available for pre-order in three different bundle packages. You can order the deluxe bundle with a 12" single of "Calgary" b/w "I Can't Make You Love Me/Nick of Time," immediate download code for "Calgary," T-shirt and album art poster. The catalog bundle also includes the poster and Calgary 12" and download code along with For Emma, Forever Ago and Blood Bank. You can also order just the album and poster with immediate download of "Calgary." All bundles are available as LP or CD.

If June 21 is too long to wait to hear the album, it's currently streaming on NPR.

Bon Iver, who was recently heavily featured in the NY Times Magazine, will head out on tour with The Rosebuds (who just released an album) later this summer and stop in NYC August 9 at United Palace Theatre and August 10 at Prospect Park. The Prospect Park show is sold out but tickets are still on sale for United Palace.

Justin Vernon's Volcano Choir bandmates Collections of Colonies of Bees are releasing their new album GIVING on August 2 via Hometapes. They've filmed a live video for the album track "Lawn." IFC posted the video, along with this lineup change announcement:

The Japanese tour during which this video of "Lawn"--the first public taste of GIVING--was the last hoorah for the iteration of Collections of Colonies of Bees seen here. Mueller is concentrating on the glorious solo work and collaborations he's done during the past few years for Table of the Elements (R.I.P.) and Type. Tom Wincek, who you see on stage right behind a stack of electronics, has moved on to lead his excellent outfit All Tiny Creatures.

So GIVING is an interesting double transition, since Collections of Colonies of Bees have never before been so concise and direct and since they'll never exactly be this band again. The new Bees hit the road later this year with a new sextet lineup, reworked GIVING tracks and 40 minutes of new material.

Continue reading "NPR streaming 'Bon Iver, Bon Iver' (listen), Collections of Colonies of Bees releasing GIVING (watch a video)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: All Tiny Creatures - An Iris (feat. Justin Vernon) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: All Tiny Creatures - Glass Bubbles (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: All Tiny Creatures - An Iris Mixtape SIDE A (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: All Tiny Creatures - An Iris Mixtape SIDE B (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: All Tiny Creatures - Glass Bubbles Mixtape SIDE A (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: All Tiny Creatures - Glass Bubbles Mixtape SIDE B (MP3)

Wisconsin's All Tiny Creatures are touring in support of their new album Harbors, making two stops in New York: June 4 at The Sycamore and then June 5 at Mercury Lounge. Both shows are with Washington D.C.'s The Caribbean. All dates are listed below.

All Tiny Creatures is led by Thomas Wincek of Collection of Colonies of Bees and Volcano Choir. The latter's bandmate, Justin Vernon, contributes vocals to Harbors track "An Iris" which you can download above along with another cut from the album ("Glass Bubbles," which features vocals from 12 Rods' Ryan Olcot). Like his other two projects, All Tiny Creatures features meticulous performances -- weaving guitar loops together into a larger pattern -- but this band is more rhythmic based. There are definitely Krautrock elements here but it is also effervescent and melodic. It's a lovely record.

Justin Vernon was recently in town to perform a Bonnie Rait cover on Jimmy Fallon who also interviewed him on the Monday night show. If you missed it, we posted the videos.

Both of the tracks above were released as part of mixtapes All Tiny Creatures made that features non-LP music which you can also download above. All tour dates are below.

Continue reading "All Tiny Creatures released 'Harbors' (Justin Vernon vocals included), going on tour (dates & a bunch of MP3s)"

The second annual Hopscotch Festival will go down in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, across 12 different venues with over 135 bands, from September 8th through 10th. The lineup this year runs the gamut of independent music... from traditional indie staples (The Flaming Lips, Guided By Voices, Superchunk) to southern-inflected rock (Drive-By Truckers) to noise (Prurient) to hip hop (Beans) to garage (Jeff The Brotherhood) to funk (Budos Band) to metal (Krallice), and everywhere in between (Swans, Rhys Chatham, etc etc). Tickets are currently on sale. Full lineup is below.

Hopscotch happens almost three months after Guided By Voices play a Brooklyn Northside Festival show in McCarren Park (tickets) which is one day after Beirut plays a Northside Festival show on the same McCarren Park stage with... Sharon Van Etten (though she may have been accidentally announced at one point, they officially kept her placement on the bill under wraps until after Saturday's Music Hall of Williamsburg show). Tickets for Beirut/SVE are still on sale, and another opener will be added too.

Guided by Voices (whose Brooklyn show also has more openers coming) are also playing Pitchfork in July with Animal Collective whose Prospect Park show is now on AmEx presale.

Swans' upcoming NYC show is now on AmEx presale too.

Hopscotch lineup below...

Continue reading "Hopscotch Fest returns to Raleigh (2011 lineup announced), Sharon Van Etten officially added to Northside Fest"