According to Paste Magazine, Interpol has recorded a new album and it’s coming out shortly.  I didn’t so much care for their third LP, Our Love to Admire, but it had a couple of fantastic songs (”Pace is the Trick” and “There’s No ‘I’ in Threesome”), so here’s hoping it harkens back to happier times.

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New song “Cousins” from their upcoming album next year Contra.

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Pretty bad ass video for “Spacious Thoughts” from the N.A.S.A. album from earlier this year.

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On Jimmy Fallon last night, Neko Case performs “Red Tide”. She also has an upcoming show here in Dallas – she is playing the Granada Theater next Monday November 23rd, so be sure to check it out. You can get tickets here.

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The Swedes took over the HOB on Saturday as Swedish indie supergroup Peter, Bjorn & John and El Perro Del Mar took to the stage. I had seen both acts before and both did pretty well in front of what was a pretty sparse HOB crowd, but the show was also not quite mind-blowing either. This was a self-proclaimed 10th anniversary tour from PB&J, but I’m not sure that really added anything to the mix. They hit some high points and had the regular PB&J energy to bring a solid show to the HOB.

The HOB actually had the back bar closed and everyone ushered into the front part of the room, and it was actually not even really crowded given that. I have to admit I was kind of surprised at the crowd size, but maybe “Young Folks” is too far away at this point and without a real buzz-y single off of their new record maybe they have become a bit forgotten in the current landscape.

When I arrived El Perro Del Mar was on stage. I enjoyed her newest album Love Is Not Pop, though it was unremarkable in some ways, and her set here had some high points (”Gotta Get Smart”) but was ultimately a fairly short set. Her whole band was essentially shrouded in darkness for the whole set and she had some basic mood lighting on her. It wasn’t quite the organic, intimate show as it was when I saw her first at Schuba’s in Chicago, so in that sense I don’t think I enjoyed it as much, but she has also gone in a little more beat-oriented direction (with Bjorn producing now) with the new album and it fits in with that for sure. She made a nice reappearance on ‘Young Folks’ later in the night as well. She once again put on a good show, but I think the venue maybe didn’t quite fit her as well as when I have seen her before.

Before PB&J came out they ran a contest for someone to come up and whistle ‘Young Folks’ with them. This was a bit odd and while a nice treat for whichever fan it was actually kind of distracting once they actually got to the song. More on that in a second.

First, they came out to Writer’s Block standout track “The Chills”. It was nice to get a song from Writer’s Block to kick it off as when we saw them at SXSW the setlist was 100% Living Thing. Not really a bad thing but there are some songs on Writer’s Block I really like. They then proceeded through a lot of material off of Living Thing, including the title track and Nothing to Worry About. Everything was well done and they had a good energy to the show, but nothing really stood out.

Towards the end of the regular set they busted out ‘Young Folks’ and it was a good performance but I think it was somewhat distracting to have the audience member up there butchering the whistling on what should have been probably a triumphant moment for the night. I can also imagine that PB&J want to kind of get away from this song though as well (as indicated by the 180 that their newest record is) so maybe this is part of a tongue in cheek distancing of themselves from their runaway hit. I don’t really know. El Perro Del Mar joined them on stage for the song, which was really nice, and added a nice group dynamic to the song though (see picture above).

After ‘Young Folks’ they played a song off of their instrumental record (which I have not heard) which was a pretty good wall of sound kind of song that had a lot of noise and jumping around within a pretty solid hook. I’m not sure it really fit into the show that well but it was nice to hear something different.

For the encore Peter kicked out a largely solo version of ‘Paris 2004′ which was kind of nice, and then they ultimately closed the show down with ‘Object Of My Affection’ which was the big, epic closing number. Now this song is a really good song and it was done really well here, but I have to admit that I was kind of disappointed they didn’t bring out the song they closed with when I saw them two years ago, the great ‘Up Against the Wall’, which was MIA in this show.

All in all, a good show, but somewhat confusing and split in different directions. I don’t know if the show really ever gelled or was that cohesive, and I don’t know if that is because of the crowd or just generally other reasons, but the show was good but not quite up to the par of when I saw them on the Writer’s Block tour or when we saw them at SXSW.

They clearly still have a great sound and a great energy but maybe it is just that the new songs don’t mesh as well with the old songs and it is too jarring to put them together or something. Anyway, they are still obviously one of the preeminent Swedish bands out there, especially with Bjorn now producing seemingly everything recorded in Sweden, and are definitely worth checking out if you get a chance.

Peter, Bjorn & John – It Don’t Move Me – From Living Thing
Peter, Bjorn & John – The Chills – From Writer’s Block
El Perro Del Mar – Gotta Get Smart – From Love Is Not Pop

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The savory indie-pop goodness of Rogue Wave have announced that they will have a new album called Permalight coming out March 2, 2010 and they have announced some new tour dates in support of said album, including a stop here at the Loft in Dallas. I have caught these guys 3 times before and while they certainly fall into the easy-going indie-pop category, they have some damn good songs and some very hook-y hooks that you can’t deny. Full list of dates after the jump [via Pitchfork].

Rogue Wave 2010 Tour Dates:
03-01 Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club
03-02 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
03-03 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
03-04 Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church Sanctuary
03-05 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
03-06 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
03-08 Atlanta, GA – The Loft
03-09 Nashville, TN – Mercy Lounge
03-10 Birmingham, AL – Bottletree
03-13 Orlando, FL – The Social
03-15 New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jacks
03-16 Houston, TX – Warehouse Live
03-17 Dallas, TX – The Loft
04-07 Santa Cruz, CA – Rio Theatre
04-09 Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
04-10 Seattle, WA – Neumos
04-13 Boulder, CO – Fox Theatre
04-14 Lawrence, KS – The Bottleneck
04-15 Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line Café
04-16 Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon
04-17 Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
04-20 Columbia, MO – Mojo’s
04-21 Tulsa, OK – Bob’s at Cain’s
04-23 Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad
04-24 Tucson, AZ – Club Congress
04-27 Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up
04-29 Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre
04-30 San Francisco, CA – Fillmore

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Minneapolis rockers Motion City Soundtrack have a new album called “My Dinosaur Life” coming out on January 19th, 2010 and they have announced a bunch of new headlinin’ tour dates coming up in support and furtherance of said new record, which also happens to be their major label debut. They will also be making a stop here in Dallas at the Loft attached to the Palladium, awesome. Haven’t ever caught these guys live before but would really like to, full list of tour dates after the jump.

Motion City Soundtrack 2010 Tour Dates:

January
23rd First Avenue Minneapolis, MN
25th The Intersection Grand Rapids, MI
26th Bogarts Cincinnati, OH
27th House of Blues Cleveland, OH
29th Clutch Cargo’s Pontiac, MI
31st Mr. Small’s Pittsburgh, PA

February
1st Recher Theater Towson, MD
3rd Fillmore at Irving Plaza New York, NY
4th Webster Theater Hartford, CT
5th Crocodile Rock Café Allentown, PA
6th Amos’ Southend Charlotte, NC
8th Masquerade Atlanta, GA
10th The Door Dallas, TX
11th Emo’s Austin, TX

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The great Akron/Family has announced some tour dates coming up in February 2010, including a stop here in Dallas playing the Granada on February 25th. I thought we might have caught these guys at SXSW but I don’t think we did, but though I don’t know a ton about them and haven’t seen them, what I’ve heard I’ve liked and this should be a good one to check out. Full dates after the jump.

Akron/Family 2010 Tour Dates:
2/17/2010 Greensboro, NC – Artiska Cafe
2/18/2010 Athens, GA – 40 Watt Club
2/19/2010 Orlando, FL – Back Booth
2/20/2010 Tallahassee, FL – Club Downunder
2/21/2010 New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jacks
2/23/2010 Houston, TX – Walter’s on Washington
2/24/2010 Austin, TX – The Parish
2/25/2010 Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
2/26/2010 Memphis, TN – Hi Tone
2/27/2010 Nashville, TN – Exit / In
2/28/2010 Knoxville, TN – Pilot Light
3/3/2010 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg

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The Cribs have announced a run of tour dates coming up early next year and they will be playing the Big D, hitting the Granada on January 22nd. They have a new album hitting soon and it should be good stuff, I really enjoyed their show at Double Door I saw last year in Chicago, and I expect this will be quality stuff as well. Full tour dates after the jump.

The Cribs Tour Dates January 2010:

13 Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
14 Ferndale, MI – The Magic Bag
15 Toronta, ONT – Phoenix Theatre
16 New York, NY – Irving Plaza
17 Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club
19 Washington, DC – 9.30 Club
20 Atlanta, GA – The Earl
22 Dallas, TX – Granada Theatre
23 Austin, TX – The Parish
26 Pomona, CA – The Glass House
27 San Francisco, CA – Bimbo 365
29 Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
30 Seattle, WA – Showbox Theatre
31 Vancouver, BC – The Venue

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Also a little late on this one, but better late than never on what is easily one of the top few releases of 2009. This is such a great record and it just grows on you more each time you explore it honestly. I was initially kind of enamored with these guys after catching their set at the Pitchfork party at SXSW, and subsequent to that they released this great record Bitte Orca. I didn’t end up getting it right when it came out and picked it up just recently, but I have to say this album is truly a great record and everytime I listen to it I think I get more and more out of it. A really impressive achievement.

What this album really has and why it really shines is that basically most of the songs, but especially a few of the songs are just inimitable greatness on their part. “Cannibal Resource”, “Temecula Sunrise”, “Stillness Is The Move”, “No Intention” – these are all songs that are great all in unique and different ways and really move the listener in new and different ways, but in common they share their uniqueness and inventiveness. They all have that undefinable charm and intrigue to the way they set up and deliver, but though they are all great songs, they are not carbon copies of each other nor can you point to other songs elsewhere in indie-dom that are either clear precursors or followers of these songs. They really stand on their own almost in a vacuum, but they really push their own limits and take themselves to areas that only they can reach. To be so off-beat or off-kilter yet retain such a pop sensibility or such melodious hooks is really remarkable, yet this album is rife with examples of it.

You have truly original sounding songs and then you have traditional elements fit in unique places and taken in different directions (”Remade Horizon”, fitting title). This is one of those albums that feels more fresh and more real each time you listen to it and the creativity and passion of the band really comes through more and more each time you hear it. Because of their style (almost prog-rock ish) there is meticulous detail in most of the songs in the scales and melodies, but there lies a real subtlety behind all of the technical wizardry as well, almost in a jazz-ish kind of way. They are hitting so many interesting notes and parts, but when they step away or there is a moment of reflection in there, it really shines.

Anyway, this is really a great album by these guys. It is at first maybe not overwhelming but there is a lot beneath the surface on this one and it has slowly but surely found its way into my top several albums of the year, and it may even be my favorite of the year at this point (we’ll see when the list gets made). It is definitely strongly and solidly up there right now, and I heavily recommend picking up this gem.

BV Rate: 89

Dirty Projectors – Cannibal Resource – From Bitte Orca
Dirty Projectors – No Intention – From Bitte Orca

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