The new record from the Austin-based band is called “Transference” – and it’s really good.I think the stripped down production really suits their jagged, rhythm-centric rock music nicely.
Suggested Tracks * Got Nuffin, Who Makes Your Money
Artist * Spoon
Title * Transference
Label * Merge Records
Release Date * 1/19/2010
The Band * Britt Daniel, Jim Eno, Eric Harvey, Rob pope
Produced by * Britt Daniel and Jim Eno
Artw by * Britt Daniel and Christian Helms
Mastered by * Howie Weinberg
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Additional Resources
Band Site
Label Site
What the critics are saying
Find this artist at Insound
“Contra” is the brilliant sophomore release from the NY-based band. They are like a master chef the way they combine ingredients and flavors in unexpected ways. There is plenty of the classic Vampire Weekend sound and a good amount of experimentation and progression on this record.
Suggested Tracks * Cousins, Giving Up The Gun
Artist * Vampire Weekend
Title * Contra
Label * XL Recordings
Release Date * 1/12/2010
The Band * Ezra Koening, Rostam Batamanglij, Christopher Thomson, Chris Baio
Produced by * Rostam Batamanglij
Cover Photo by * Tod Brody
Design by * Rostam Batamanglij and Asher Sarlin
Mixed by * Rostam Batamanglij
Mastered by * Emily Lazar at The Lodge
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Additional Resources
Band Site
Label Site
What the critics are saying
Find this artist at Insound
Somehow, it should be mandatory for everyone to watch and reflect on one of the greatest speeches ever made..
I’ve really grown to like Citizen Cope’s music over the past year. He’s got a great voice and unique vibe. Can’t wait to hear the new record to arrive on March 2 [released on his own label] and hopefully I can get to the Chicago show.
From the release:
Citizen Cope, aka Clarence Greenwood, is very excited to announce the release of his new record, The Rainwater LP, on March 2, 2010. The record will be released digitally on February 9th. As on his past two records, The Rainwater LP was produced by Greenwood himself. It is his first record in nearly four years and the first on his own label, RainWater Recordings, Inc. A huge national tour that begins February 2nd in Carrboro, NC, and ends April 17 in Kansas City, MO, has been confirmed. Ful tour dates are listed below.
The Rainwater LP, a laidback gumbo of acoustic blues, singer/songwriter rock 'n' roll and deep soul grooves, was recorded over the course of 2009 at both Brooklyn Recording in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, and The Document Room in Malibu, CA, with extensive periods of touring in between sessions. Among the musicians accompanying him this time were such studio stars as bassist Preston Crump (OutKast, Organized Noize, Raphael Saadiq), keyboardist James Poyser (D'Angelo, The Roots, Jill Scott, John Legend), percussionist Bashiri Johnson (Whitney Houston, Donald Fagen, Madonna), legendary go-go bassist Michael "Funky Ned" Neal and top DC-scene go-go drummer Paul "Buggy" Edwards. 
Like the music therein, the album takes its name from a number of deeply personal sources. "It's pure," Greenwood says. "It's also the name of someone that was close to me when I was growing up, so it just made sense."
When discussing how he came to self-release his music after many years on major labels, he says: "A lot of labels wanted to put it out, but I kept hearing things like 'Retail's gonna need you to do this' or 'The artwork has to be like this.' I don't want to be led into those confines anymore. I want to be able to do it my own way. Being able to operate efficiently, not having to move buildings to do anything, just seems so basic for any artistic endeavor."
A remarkably charismatic live performer, Citizen Cope has been a committed road warrior, introducing his music to the people by traveling America's highways and byways, often performing in places where other major artists fear to tread.
"When you do the major cities, people come from all these other places and say, 'Come to this town,'" Greenwood says. "So the next time you tour you think, 'Okay, let's try Tulsa, Oklahoma or Oxford, Mississippi or Fayetteville, Arkansas.' It's been amazing, every year it just gets bigger and bigger."
Tour dates are below:
Feb
2 Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle
3 Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle
4 Towson, MD Recher Theatre
5 Towson, MD Recher Theatre
6 Richmond, VA The National
10 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg
11 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg
12 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
13 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
14 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
17 New Haven, CT Toad's Place
18 Philadelphia, PA Theatre of the Living Arts
24 Providence, RI Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel
25 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club
26 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club
27 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club
March
2 Indianapolis, IN The Vogue
3 Louisville, KY Headliner's Music Hall
5 Chicago, IL The Vic
6 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theatre
7 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theatre
9 Oklahoma City, OK Diamond Ballroom
10 Dallas, TX House of Blues
12 Austin, TX Stubbs
13 Houston, TX House of Blues
15 Baton Rouge, LA Varsity Theatre
16 New Orleans, LA Tipitina's
30 Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom
31 Portland, OR Roseland, Theatre
April
1 Seattle, WA Showbox at the Market
2 Seattle, WA Showbox at the Market
3 Seattle, WA Showbox at the Market
7 Los Angeles, CA Wiltern Theatre
8 San Diego, CA Wave House of San Diego
9 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
10 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
13 Boise, ID Knitting Factory
14 Salt Lake City, UT The Depot
15 Boulder, CO Fox Theatre
16 Denver, CO Ogden
17 Kansas City, MO The Midland Theatre
Is this cool or what? If the horns were live it would be mind-blowing. The Heavy's No Time EP is available now through iTunes.
For more on The Heavy check out:
http://www.theheavy.co.uk
http://www.twitter.com/theheavy
http://www.myspace.com/theheavy73
http://www.facebook.com/theheavy73
From the Release:
Nada Surf bring their trademark sense of harmony and musical craftsmanship to 12 of their favorite songs with their latest release, if i had a hi-fi, their first album of covers. Only a group with their wide-ranging and eclectic taste could bring songs from such artists as Kate Bush, Dwight Twilley and the Go-Betweens together into a coherent, intelligent record. hi-fi also includes some intriguingly obscure numbers like Spanish band Mecromina's "Evolution" and Bill Fox's power-pop "Electrocution."
Although a great deal of thought went into the song selections, the band's intent is not to make an overarching musical statement. Singer-guitarist Matthew Caws says, "We really just wanted to do it organically, whatever we felt like covering in the moment, rather than trying to sum up our influences or something. It's whatever we were excited about in the months before making it. And I think we got to everything we wanted to." The result is both inspired and casual, like a conversation with a friend who shares your taste but also pushes your musical boundaries. A vintage Moody Blues tune, the proto-prog tempo-shifting "Question," shares space with The Soft Pack's blissfully rudimentary "Bright Side," Depeche Mode's grand "Enjoy the Silence," and experimental music icon Arthur Russell's terse but sweet "Janine."
Although the band had just returned from a worldwide tour in support of their 2008 release Lucky, and had looked forward to some time off, if i had a hi-fi mysteriously reenergized them. "The material came together spontaneously," says Caws. "We'd get together and kick ideas around and soon we had an A list, a B list, a C list.... ." They're particularly proud of the title, which is both a callback to the musical platform of their youth and a palindrome.
if i had a hi-fi was recorded over three weeks in September at Resonate Studios in Austin, TX with long-time collaborator and part-time keyboardist Louie Lino. Fans who attend shows during the spring tour will be able to get their hands on the record before it's in stores, offering true believers the opportunity for a double-first: hearing the songs for the first time and being able to take them home.
The tour begins March 25th with three "Album Shows" in NYC. On consecutive nights, Nada Surf will perform their three most recent albums: Let Go, The Weight Is A Gift, and Lucky in full, along with songs from if i had a hi-fi, fan favorites and b-sides. The band will then continue on to cover both the East and West coasts.
http://www.nadasurf.com
http://www.myspace.com/nadasurf
2010 Tour Dates:
MARCH
25 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom ("Let Go")
26 - Brooklyn, NY - Bell House ("The Weight is a Gift")
27 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg ("Lucky")
29 - Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace
30 - Montreal, QC - Cabaret du Musee Juste Pour
31 - Northampton, MA - Pearl Street
APRIL
01 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
02 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
03 - Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
13 - London, UK – ICA
15 - France - Printemps de Bourges Festival
17 - France - Strasbourg Artefact Festival
18 - Utrecht, Holland - Tivoli De Helling
19 - Brussels, Belgium – Botanique
20 - Cologne, Germany – Gloria
21 - Lausanne, Switzerland - D! Club
23 - Zurich, Switzerland – Abart
24 - Vienna, Austria – WUK
25 - Prague, Czech Republic - Lucerna Music Bar
26 - Berlin, Germany – Lido
27 - Hamburg, Germany – Knust
28 - Paris, France – Trabendo
29 - Madrid, Spain - Joy Eslava
30 - Murcia, Spain - Estrella Levante SOS 4.8 Festival
MAY
01 - Galicia, Spain - Villagarcia de arosa
15 - Longirod, Switzerland - Long'l'rock Festival
24 - Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern
25 - West Hollywood, CA – Troubadour
27 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
29 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
Bloomington, IL-based band Backyard Tire Fire is set to release their 5th record next month, “Good To Be”. The record was produced by Los Lobos’ Steve Berlin. They will be touring their asses off February through May. Check their web site for dates and locations. They’ve also got some streaming tracks up there for your listening pleasure.
Grown Locally is a series in which the spotlight shines on exciting Chicago-area bands & artists.
