Hello Brooklyn, I said how are you? The boys of Oxford Collapse are doing just fine and are ready to release BITS, the fourth studio album and second release under Sub Pop. The follow up to last years guttural Remember the Night Parties [review here] shows some heavy refinement. But don’t be fooled, these are the same kids at heart and they know how to grind out the riffs and tease one another artistically. Check out the first single off their upcoming release BITS - due out August 5^th, entitled ‘The Birthday Wars’. It seems as if they’ve discovered harmony. Look out!

stream: Oxford Collapse ‘The Birthday Wars’
from Bits

Also catch the guys on tour this summer and feel the bits of love.

Tour Bits:

06-26 Mohawk - Austin, TX
06-27 One Eyed Jacks - New Orleans, LA
06-28 Drunken Unicorn - Atlanta, GA
06-30 Black Cat - Washington, DC
07-01 T.T.The Bears - Cambridge, MA
07-02 Southpaw - Brooklyn, NY
07-29 Johnny Brenda’s - Philadelphia, PA
07-31 Williamsburg Music Hall - New York, NY
08-01 Bowery Ballroom - New York City, NY
08-03 Basement - Columbus, OH
08-04 Magic Stick - Detroit, MI
08-05 Music Mill - Indianapolis IN
08-06 High Noon Saloon - Madison, WI
08-07 Varsity - Minneapolis, MN
08-08 Abbey Pub - Chicago, IL
08-09 Grog Shop - Cleveland Heights, OH
08-10 Southgate House - Newport, KY
08-11 Diesel Club Lounge - Pittsburgh, PA

related news:

• Oxford Collapse - Remember The Night Parties

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Chicago’s own hip hop team Cool Kids have gone big time. XL announced today that they have nabbed the duo for UK release. Due out August 4^th overseas, the UK debut will be the same affair we saw here, with a limited edition 12″ single of ‘88′ preceding on July 28^th. To celebrate this grand affair, you’d think the kids would throw a backyard bar-b-q in Chi-town. All for not, as they have gone the way of Kanye (not the cry baby Bonnaroo Kanye, but the successful upstage version) and will instead opt for a free Soho show on July 1^st at DPMHI followed by some select shows across the pond.

Cool Kids Party In UK Tour:

06-26 King Tuts - Glasgow
06-28 Academy 3 - Manchester
06-29 Bar Academy - Birmingham
07-02 The Scale - London
07-03 Wireless Festival - London

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UK based The Bees have been quiet for some time but it looks like they’ve pollinated some bits and pieces for the ravenous and growing fanbase. Their brand of funk/soul and pop will be in full effect later this summer with reported new music, some gigs, and a fancy pants website. For those who can’t get enough (we admit it - we’re a member) they’re also offering signed copies of The Bees Present The Sound Selection via their ebay shop [http://stores.ebay.co.uk/The-Bees-Shop].

related news:

• Mother Hips Shake it with The Bees; Spring Tour

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Kicking off their West Coast tour today, Montreal’s Plants and Animals will be performing live on the much ballyhooed Seattle based KEXP at noon (PST). What’s that you say? You have to work and web-nanny doesn’t let you stream great radio stations but instead have to hear the latest adult contemporary in the elevator?! Well, you can check out some live footage of the band below as well as they perform ‘Faerie Dance’ from their debut album Parc Avenue. No, its not an interpretive jig nor is it as queer as it sounds. Of course, if you stick it to the man and decide to see them live for yourself, look for them as they hop-scotch down the West Coast this month and an August appearance at Summerstage in New York.

For those not in the know - Plants and Animals are in an epic rock and pop-soul botany family tree all their own. Their debut album consists of appearances by alum such as Sara Neufeld from Arcade Fire, country songbird Katie Moore, and the Ideal Lovers.

video: Plants and Animals ‘Faerie Dance’ [Live]

Faeries Can Dance Tour:

05-23 KEXP Live Session - Seattle, WA
05-23 Nectar Lounge - Seattle, WA
05-24 Doug Fir - Portland, OR *
05-25 The Rickshaw - San Francisco, CA
05-27 The Glass House - Pomona, CA
05-28 Spaceland - Los Angeles, CA +
07-04 Central Park Summerstage - New York, NY

* with The Dodos
+ with Panther

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If great minds really do think alike, the forthcoming album from Beck (tentatively titled Modern Guilt) should be another gem for the LA songsmith. Why, you ask? Because Beck is not only giving fans his first new material since his digitally released and Grammy nominated single ‘Time Bomb’, he’s collaborating with one Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton! You’ve heard of him? Great!Recording over several months Modern Guilt could very well be a lesson in both economics to experimentation. Beck and Mouse selected ten tracks for the album (which clocks in at around 30 minutes) and mixes both pop heroes’ loves of psych-rock, folk and electronic minimalism. No release date announced yet, but we’d be willing to bet you’ll hear a few teasers throughout his summer tour, festival appearances, and just released date at The Hollywood Bowl with Spoon and MGMT. Dig in.

stream: Beck ‘Chemtrails’

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Saddle Creek’s Tokyo Police Club, fresh off their debut LP Elephant Shell- and a solid Pensatos review to boot- has left an impressive trail of believers along the spring festival circuit. Now, check out the video release for ‘In a Cave’, part of the MTVU & Best Film on Campus “Breaking the Video” competition. What is college if not an excuse to find innovative uses for the plastic Solo Cup? That’s exactly what Olan Rodgers did with his winning entry.

Have a look at the ole’ reliable “plastic Solo Cup on a string” telephone trick, a not particularly innovative yet effective homage to the retro uses of our favorite drinking game tool.

video: Tokyo Police Club ‘In A Cave’

Try to catch Tokyo Police Club on what remains of the US/ Canadian tour.

Burrow Your Tour:

05-12 Starlite Room - Edmonton, AB
05-14 The Habitat - Kelowna, BC
05-16 The Plaza - Vancouver, BC
05-17 Sugar Nightclub - Victoria, BC
05-18 Neumos - Seattle, WA
05-19 Hawthorne Theatre - Portland, OR,
05-22 Bluebird - Denver, CO
05-23 Slowdown - Omaha, NE

related news:

• Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell

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Diverse talent David Ramos is set to release his hip-hop/experimental folk debut This Up Here, a collection of remixes, psychedelic pop, Casio tones, hooks, and rap-style vocals. David Ramos is no stranger to the music scene, known for performing in folk band Little Wings, making beats for rappers Aceyalone and Busdriver and for his days as a teenage drummer savant.

Have a listen to hip-hop producer Ernest Gonzales’ remix of ‘Kings and Queens’, off of David Ramos’ May 27^th LP This Up Here.

video: David Ramos ‘Kings and Queens’ Remix
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r92_2VZeBSw[/youtube]

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Michael Nau, previously well known as the primary singer/songwriter for Page France, will be pushing back the release of his debut full-length as The Cotton Jones Basket Ride in favor of an EP series to be released through Quite Scientific records. The album, Paranoid Cocoon, had initially been slated for a spring release but will now be replaced instead by two more limited edition art book EPs.

How very Joseph Arthur, right?

The initial offering, a limited release this past fall, sold out in less than two weeks. A second EP, The Archery, will be available on May 13th. Beware, though, as it’s only a run of 500 copies. The third yet-to-be-titled EP will double that run, each bound with exclusive artwork.

Tracklisting:

01 Chewing Gum
02 Silver Piano Man
03 Blues from a Nest
04 Lords of Columbia St.
05 Midnight Monday & a Telescope
06 I Don’t Suppose

Have a listen to “Midnight Monday & Telescope” off of Archery, a seemingly more reflective sound than his Page France releases.

mp3: The Cotton Jones Basket Ride - ‘Midnight Monday & Telescope’

Check out Cotton Hones on his extensive US Tour:

The Cotton Jones Basket Ride Tour:

05-10 Rite Aid Benefit - Frostburg, MD
05-13 Talking Head - Baltimore, MD
05-14 The Space - Hamden, CT
05-15 Union Hall - Brooklyn, NY
05-16 Pianos - New York, NY
05-18 The M Room - Philadelphia, PA
05-19 The Iota - Arlington, VA
05-20 The Boot - Norfolk, VA
05-21 Local 506 Chapel Hill, NC
05-22 The Milestone - Charlotte, NC
05-23 The Village Tavern - Charleston, SC
05-24 Caledonia Lounge - Athens, GA
05-26 The Dame - Lexington, KY
05-27 The End - Nashville, TN
05-28 Southgate House - Cincinnati, OH
05-30 Tea Bazaar - Charlottesville, VA
05-31 The 3rd Floor - Fredericksburg, VA
06-11 Mohawk Place - Buffalo, NY
06-12 Beachland Tavern - Cleveland, OH
06-13 Bear’s Place - Bloomington, IN
06-14 Mike N Molly’s - Champaign, IL
06-15 Bluebird - St. Louis, MO
06-16 The Replay Lounge - Lawrence, KS
06-17 The Waiting Room - Omaha, NE
06-18 The Aquarium - Fargo, ND
06-19 7th St Entry - Minneapolis, MN
06-20 The Picador - Iowa City, IA
06-21 The House Café - Dekalb, IL
06-22 Montmarte - Madison, WI
06-23 Schuba’s - Chicago, IL
06-24 Cactus Club - Milwaukee, WI
06-25 Alvin’s - Detroit, MI
06-26 Silver Dollar - Toronto, ON
06-27 London Music Club - London, ON
06-28 Brillobox - Pittsburgh, PA

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Champaign, Illinois based indie pop band Headlights are well on their way to averaging a show a day in 2008, a feat for them and a treat for their developing fan base. After winning universal acclaim for their sophomore album, Some Racing, Some Stopping, the band has, and will be, supporting the likes of The Flaming Lips, The New Pornographers, Girl Talk, Of Montreal, and Mogwai- not a bad way to tour!

Have a listen to ‘Cherry Tulips’ off the recently released LP Some Racing, Some Stopping.

video: Headlights ‘Cherry Tulips’
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ9p5_YSGt8[/youtube]

If all bands were from the dreary Champaign, IL, they’d all tour as faithfully as Headlights.

Headlights “Let’s Stay the Hell Away” Tour

05-03 Pabst Theater - Milwaukee, WI
05-16 Louis Hall - Evanston, IL
05-22 Schubas - Chicago, IL
05-23 Summercamp Music Festival - Chillicothe, IL
05-23 The Pike Room - Pontiac, MI
05-24 Drake Hotel - Toronto, ON
05-25 Le Divan Orange - Montreal, QC
05-26 TBA - New Haven, CT
05-27 Iron Horse Music - Northampton, MA
05-28 Middle East Upstairs - Cambridge, MA
05-29 Union Hall - Brooklyn, NY
05-30 Mercury Lounge - New York, NY
05-31 North Star Bar - Philadelphia, PA
06-01 Black Cat - Washington, DC
06-06 The Canopy Club - Urbana, IL
06-08 Bluebird - St. Louis, MO
06-09 TBA - Lawrence, KS
06-10 Bricktown - Oklahoma City, OK
06-11 Granada - Dallas, TX
06-12 Warehouse - Houston, TX
06-13 Emo’s - Austin, TX
06-14 Rev Room - Little Rock, AR
06-15 Hi-Tone - Memphis, TN
06-16 The End - Nashville, TN
06-17 Southgate House - Newport, KY
06-18 Mr. Smalls - Pittsburgh, PA
06-24 Turf Club - St Paul, MN
06-26 Alley Katz - Billings, MT
06-27 Badlander - Missoula, MT
06-28 Sled Island Festival - Calgary, AB
07-01 Royal Albert Arms - Winnepeg, MB
07-02 Aquarium - Fargo, ND
07-03 TBA - Madison, WI
07-04 Cactus Club - Milwaukee, WI
07-05 TBD - Chicago, IL

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The legendary Frank Black returns as Black Francis with a new seven song, mini-LP entitled Svn Fngrs. You can find him this summer traveling for a few shows with the recently reunited Stone Temple Pilots.

Black Francis with Stone Temple Pilots Tour:

06-24 Hollywood Bowl - Los Angeles, CA
06-25 Anselmo Valencia Amphitheatre - Tucson, AZ
06-27 AT&T Center - San Antonio, TX
06-28 Woodlands Pavilion - Woodlands, TX
06-29 Nokia Live - Grand Prairie, TX
07-02 Red Rocks Amphitheatre - Denver, CO
07-04 Summerfest - Milwaukee, WI

What you can’t find on the album is the Infadels remix of ‘The Seus’. This remix, along with two others, will be digitally released with two others on a soon-to-be-released EP Seus. Hear it here:

mp3: Infadels ‘The Sues’ [remix]

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