by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Damien Jurado - "Nothing Is The News" (MP3)

Damien Jurado will release Maraqopa, the followup to 2010's Saint Bartlett, on February 21 via Secretly Canadian. The album was produced by Richard Swift, who also produced Saint Bartlett and is now a member of The Shins. That's the album artwork above. The album opener and first single, "Nothing Is The News," is a jammy cut that opens with Damien and his acoustic guitar, but as soon as dual lead guitars come in about half a minute through, they don't let up for the entirety of the song. Grab an MP3 of that track above and stream it below. The video for this track, which premiered today on Alt Press, and the album tracklist is also below.

Damien has a number European tour dates scheduled for the next few months (except for one show in his hometown Seattle in February) and he'll follow that with a North American tour that includes dates with Peter Wolf Crier and others with JBM. The tour includes a Chicago show and a NYC show which will happen on May 19 at Mercury Lounge with JBM. Tickets for the NYC show are on AmEx presale and go on sale to the general public on Friday (1/13) at noon.

All currently known dates, video, stream, and album info below...

Continue reading "new Damien Jurado album, tour dates, MP3 & video"

DOWNLOAD: The Myrnabirds - Numbers Don't Lie (MP3)

The Mynabirds

The Saddle Creek / Wichita CMJ showcase will take place at the Delancey in NYC on October 21st, and it looks something like this:

?? pm Sky Larkin
8:30 pm Old Canes
9:30 pm Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson
10:15 pm First Aid Kit
11:00 pm The Mynabirds
11:45 pm Frankie and the Heartstrings
12:30 Adam Haworth Stephens (of Two Gallants)

It's an exciting lineup for multiple reasons, but right now I just want to focus on The Mynabirds, aka Omaha singer-songwriter Laura Burhenn (and friends). You might remember her as 1/2 of Georgie James. The other half of that indie pop group was John Davis of Q and not U, and they were also a Saddle Creek signing.

Now she's (dropped the indie pop and is) collaborating with Richard Swift (on record), and "live in the flesh by a great collective of artists and musicians that include: Johnny Kotchian (drums), Dan McCarthy (bass & vocals), Pearl Lovejoy Boyd (vocals & percussion), Susan Sanchez (vocals), Ben Brodin (guitars & vocals), Alex McManus (guitars, horns & vocals), Rebecca Marie Miller (vocals & percussion), Nicole Childrey (drums), Patrick Damphier (bass), and Nate Walcott (horns)."

Her album What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood was released earlier this year by Saddle Creek, and can best be described, as it has by many, as country and soul. She has a great voice. Get a taste via the MP3 (above) and video (below) for "Numbers Don't Lie", and from the Daytrotter session that was posted earlier this month.

Get a live taste, way before CMJ, tonight/Friday, September 24th at Brooklyn Bowl when The Mynabirds open for David Bazan. The two groups are on tour together (and it's their only NYC show). $5.00 tickets are still on sale.

Speaking of David Bazan, Feltheart Filmworks recently put together a 3-part documentary about the ex-Pedro the Lion member. You can watch that in full, with all dates and stuff, below...

Continue reading "The Mynabirds on tour w/ David Bazan (Brooklyn Bowl Friday), playing Saddle Creek CMJ showcase (dates)"

DOWNLOAD: Damien Jurado - Arkansas (MP3)

"i am still awaiting the release of saint bartlett. soon. may 25th. i am excited and also anxious. it's wanting both, to go out and promote it and also stay at home. it's not how things work though. i'm going to be completely honest. over this past year, i wanted to hang this up. at least the going out into the world part. it was a lot that caused this. my deep growing love and devotion to my son, who is getting older. we have conversations all the time. he understands more. we teach each other new things daily. any day that i am not near him, is heart breaking. "the other part of me" is absent. he is encouraging in my pursuit of music.. well, so long as it's done at home. understandable. another thing that made me consider a change was the joy i felt being in the studio with richard swift. for the first time in my years of playing music, i felt able to really look at the songs for the first time. this is kind of vague. i am not even sure how i begin to explain it. picture a bird, for the first time walking on the edge of a tree limb and jumping. the bird's wings open as it is diving towards the ground, and just before it hits the ground, with the help of his own wings, he is taken to the sky. does this make sense? freedom. it's how i felt about the new songs. about the songs that i have still been writing. about my time in the studio with richard. about my time with him, talking about music and playing records. seeing his un dying devotion to his family and his music career. i left the studio no longer feeling "outside" or apart from other well known songwriters. i now see myself beside them. arm in arm. or at least near them. so here i am now. standing in this line. mentioned in the same breathe as those other musicians. considered a legend of my own time. i don't think that. some in the press said it. i'm fine with it. ...where am i going here? i guess it's to say, that i'm happy about my future and the songs. it's just getting out the front door first. or making it to the edge of the tree limb, to make a flying leap." [Damien Jurado]

Damien Jurado's new album Saint Bartlett will be released by Secretly Canadian on May 25th. Check out the sweet song "Arkansas" from that album above. And Damien will get out the door at least one more time. All tour dates still TBA, but tickets are now on sale for a June 17th NYC show at Mercury Lounge and for one the very next day (6/18) at Littlefield in Brooklyn. Both shows are with Kay Kay & His Weathered Underground. Caleb Engstorm is also listed on the Manhattan show. The new album's tracklist is below...

Continue reading "Damien Jurado is going to tour & release a new album despite wanting to hang it up (MP3 & NYC shows) "

Willamette Week's Musicfest NW announces this year's festival line-up which will be held at various venues around the Portland, OR metropolitan area on September 16, 17, 18 & 19. On the heels of the most successful MFNW to date, MFNW 2009 launches with nothing but the hope of a bigger and better festival. MFNW's ultimate aim is to provide Portland with a unique and special musical experience that features all types of acts including nationally renowned artists while still honoring and supporting the special musical scene of the Northwest.

Four-day passes to the fest are on sale now.

The lineup so far, including the newly-reunited Sunny Day Real Estate, is below...

Continue reading "Musicfest NW in Portland, OR (Sept 16-19) - lineup"

DOWNLOAD: Vetiver - Everyday (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Papercuts - Future Primitive (MP3)

Vetiver's new Sup Pop album, Tight Knit, is currently streaming in its entirety at AOL. I definitely recommend a listen.

Currently in Europe, the California folk band known for beards and hanging out with Devendra Banhart is kicking off a North American tour in Philly on March 10th. They'll play the Sub Pop showcase at SXSW in Austin on March 19th (unlike the Thermals who will play the Kill Rock Stars showcase), and they'll keep going with only short breaks until they hit Pittsfield MA on May 17th. Tour partners include Sian Alice Group, Larkin Grimm, Richard Swift and Papercuts. They're playing with the latter on May 3rd at Bowery Ballroom (on sale Friday at noon), and on May 7th at the Bell House in Brooklyn (on sale soon).

The Papercuts track for download above is from their/his new album You Can Have What You Want, out April 14th on Gnomonsong. Gnomonsong is the record label formed by Devendra Banhart and Andy Cabic of Vetiver.

All dates below...

Continue reading "Vetiver - 2009 tour dates w/ Papercuts, MP3s, album stream"