The eighteenth release by Los Angeles-based Lucky Dragons details the continuing pursuit of a humble and ecstatic, drippy and explosive, smoldering and upset music for our experience in America right now–messages of unrest have long failed to be clearly understood, solitude and empty organization have given way to a very current volcanic desire for togetherness. Genre has never been less important–influences and ideas are consumed and digested and released in the spirit of a culture larger than music as it is bought and sold. This is world music for a world that doesn’t care about “music” as we have packaged it for the last 100 years. You could call it post-noise, or post-anything you like, but we would prefer to call it pre-something.

Lucky Dragons came together in the spring of 2000 in an attempt to create a band that would never break up. The name is borrowed from a Japanese fishing vessel caught in the fallout of a US hydrogen bomb test in the Pacific ocean that became a focal point for world-wide anti-nuclear sentiment in the 20th century. With a constantly shifting group of participants, each recording is a record of a specific time and place, and of those present and active as a community in the creation of the recording. For this recording, the time is 2007-2008, the place is California. The name of the record refers to the landfill-island in Tokyo harbor where the original Lucky Dragon now lives–”dream island”, and to the creation of imaginary languages–”laughing language”–that can be used to express things our own languages can’t. As with Lucky Dragons’ legendary live performances, these recordings strive to create a space where community and memory and ritual and perspective all come together as a crystal and then vibrate and shatter.

LUCKY DRAGONS US TOUR DATES

3/27 Los Angeles, CA Hope Gallery
3/31 Los Angeles, CA Pehr Space
4/03 Baltimore, MD SCarey Studios
4/04 Washington, DC Hirshom Museum
4/05 Purchase, NY SUNY Purchase
5/23 New York, NY Whitney Museum
6/01 Los Angeles, CA The Smell
6/07 New York, NY East River Music Project

LUCKY DRAGONS - DREAM ISLAND LAUGHING LANGUAGE
OUT MAY 6, 2008 ON MARRIAGE RECORDS

TRACK LIST:

Side A

01 clipped gongs
02 starter culture
03 drinking dirty water
04 morning ritual
05 free guys by the sea
06 desert rose
07 mirror friends
08 band hammer
09 givers

Side B

10 my are singing
11 i keep waiting for earthquakes
12 typical hippies
13 wander birds
14 realistic rhythm
15 tune for wind dog
16 wooden cave loop
17 oh i understand

Bonus (CD only)

18 layer hater
19 what layer
20 where’s adam
21 very 1
22 very 2

FEATURED ARTISTS:

sarah rara - - singing, rocks, hands, flutes, mbira, poppies, mini bongos
luke fischbeck - - singing, rocks, rubber bands, mini dulcimer, flutes, bells, bowls, hands, mbira, poppies, necklaces, cassettes, piano, editing
tom van buskirk - - rocks, tambourine (on “free guys by the sea”)
annelise grimm - - rocks (on “free guys by the sea”)

PRESS QUOTES:

“Lucky Dragons… create ecstatic music that completely transcends genres. My attempts to describe what their music actually sounds like always fall short of the magic they are making. I guess you could say it sounds like-ecstatic magic. Challenging stereotypes that electronic music is cold and sterile, Lucky Dragons’ live show, though conducted via computers, is a truly great celebration of the human spirit, giving real hope for the techno-future our society is racing toward.”

-artforum

“a line between the handmade and the distanced digital… …a successful forging of the personal detritus, the mic-ed moments between moments”

-all music guide

“Lucky Dragons have managed to create a completely new strand of West Coast American psychedelia”

-frieze

DISCOGRAPHY:

dream island laughing language (marriage records / upset the rhythm / mistletone 2008) cd + 12″
speak your own language (glaciers of nice 2008) 7″ + book
layer hater (veneer magazine 2007) 5″ split with gaeoudjiparl
very (caff/flick 2007) 7″ picture disk
bleach on bleach (no label 2007) 12″ split with YACHT
widows (marriage records 2006)12″ + remixes cd
widows (states rights records 2006) cd
mini dream island (marriage records 2006) cd
heart stopping drums of passion (glaciers of nice 2006) cassette
future feelings (undereducated2006) luckydragons / sweet potatoes split cassette
a sewing circle (states rights records 2005) 47 track reissue compilation cd
live on radio centraal (ultra eczema 2004) split cd (withYACHT)
faults (hawks and sparrows 2004) full length cd-r
norteñas (pregnancy series 2004) enhanced cd ep
shh…! (555 recordings2004) 8″ lathe cut record
hawks and sparrows (hawks and sparrows 2003) full length cd-r + download
dark falcon (555 recordings 2002 (re-released cd + lp marriage records 2008)) cd
boys (english muffin records 2002) 7″ ep
f_uxus (english muffin records 2000) 7″ ep

LINKS:

Band Page: www.hawksandsparrows.org

Myspace: http://myspace.com/luckydragons

Label Page: http://www.marriagerecs.com

Lewis & Clarke is the nom de plume of Lou Rogai and current collaborators Eve Miller, Russell Higbee (also of contemporary groups Rachel’s and Man Man, respectively), and Dave Ulrich. The moniker has been described as metaphor for journey on many levels, including musical, spiritual, and physical. The name is also a reference to the fellowship and correspondence between C.S. Lewis and Arthur C. Clarke., not the 19th century explorers. Rogai is credited as composer/musician/songwriter as well as founder of La Société Expéditionnaire, an artist-based cooperative record label dedicated to exposing the wild and/or fragile music of colleagues. Rogai also regularly collaborates with Strand of Oaks and Moon & Moon.

The most recent musical styling of Lewis & Clarke can be described as avant chamber folk, or neo-baroque, while the first 2003 self-release Bright Light EP represents a reflective, dusty Americana sound. In 2003, MAGNET magazine declared Rogai as “a gifted newcomer”. Xavier Benoit, owner of the Belgian Delboy Records, discovered the early incarnation of Lewis & Clarke while on tour in the US, prompting Delboy to release Lewis & Clarke’s debut full length Bare Bones and Branches in Europe. This was supported by a short tour of the Benelux, and the album was met with critical acclaim. A live Lewis & Clarke track surfaced on a compilation issued by PIAS entitled Duyster, a “best of” compilation from Belgian National Radio’s program of the same name. Also featured were contemporaries Joanna Newsom, Mogwai, and Cat Power.

Rogai returned to Delaware Water Gap, PA, a mountain town steeped in rich musical history. A second full length, Blasts of Holy Birth, was initiated with Dave Ulrich, Miller and Higbee, also a native of Delaware Water Gap. During this process, The US version of Bare Bones and Branches (alternate takes, mixes, tracks and artwork) was released in 2005 by Summersteps, a micro-label most noted for their Jandek tribute albums. (Jandek himself expressed gratitude in a handwritten letter for particular tracks on Down in a Mirror Vol. II, including Lewis & Clarke’s cover of “Nancy Sings”)

La Société Expéditionnaire released Live on WPRB as live vinyl-only 12″ EP in the Fall of 2006. This recording captures the chemistry of Rogai, Ulrich and Higbee live on Princeton Radio, (without Miller, who was healing from an injury) and prepared listeners for Blasts of Holy Birth. It sets an ambiance including various chimes, vocals, new humans, eastern drones, harp, guitar, banjo, piano, percussion, and other whims, including the Expeditionary Grace Singers.

Bare Bones and Branches, originally released in the fall was called “The perfect Autumnal album” by the Associated Press. One can begin to detect clues and identify patterns of Lewis & Clarke as an organic, ever changing life’s work, with Blasts of Holy Birth being a major cornerstone defining the current Lewis & Clarke sound. Released in May 2007, it dovetails the symbolic nature of spring and birth, and represents themes found in a Taoist text called “Secret of the Golden Flower” (also the opening title track). Pitchfork calls it “Eight tracks of delicate Beauty” and notes Rogai as a “guitar connoisseur.”

LEWIS & CLARKE

03/26/08 - Pittsburgh, PA - Garfield Artworks
03/27/08 - Columbus, OH - Surly Girl w/ The Black Swans
03/28/08 - Chicago, IL - AV-aerie
03/29/08 - Madison, WI - The Annex w/ A Catapult Western, Matt Jennings, Patchwork
03/31/08 - Bloomington, IN - Art Hospital w/ Resting Rooster
04/02/08 - State College, PA - Roustabout! @ Bar Bleu
04/03/08 - Wilkes Barre, PA - Fixture @ Fuse w/ Illinois
04/04/08 - Philadelphia, PA - Circle of Hope w/Caroline Weeks + Mary Hampton
04/05/08 - Brooklyn, NY - Union Pool w/Caroline Weeks + Mary Hampton
04/06/08 - Cambridge, MA - The Lily Pad - w/Caroline Weeks + Mary Hampton
04/07/08 - New Britain, CT - The Art League of New Britain w/Caroline Weeks, Mary Hampton, + Mandrake

LINKS:

Band Page: www.lewisandclarkemusic.com

Myspace: www.myspace.com/lewisclarke

Press Materials: www.la-soc.com/blastspreview.html

Label Page: www.la-soc.com/lewis&clarke.html

After quietly releasing a number of highly-praised, mostly hand-traded cult releases over several years, Stars Like Fleas re-emerged recently with new clothing, sonic plastic surgery, and a desire to shed its underground trappings and engage audiences in the flesh. Almost instantly creating a stir and an overnight name for themselves in the overcrowded and sentiment-suspicious Brooklyn music scene, the Fleas began selling out exponentially larger shows in secret spaces as well as established venues. The group now has a brand new label home in the US, the esteemed Hometapes label which will release the band’s third album, The Ken Burns Effect on June 3, 2008.

Stars Like Fleas may truly represent a new branch on America’s phylogenetic musical tree, distinguishing themselves through an unlikely alchemy where anxiety and confrontation accompany something candid, joyous and unashamedly romantic. In already-mythic, transformational performances (praised in The Wire, Time Out, the Village Voice, etc, and countless blogs), Stars Like Fleas create music of its own haunted species; as accessible and humane as it is unsettling and extreme.

Having been compared to such far-flung groups as Xiu Xiu, Butch Morris, Animal Collective and Talk Talk, describing Stars Like Fleas is not a chore for the imagination-challenged: Pitchfork called Sun Lights Down On The Fence an uninhibited, “precognitive glimpse into the workings of the subconscious mind”; fellow Brooklynites Grizzly Bear called their live show “absolutely mind blowing” in a Dusted Magazine interview, and Salon.com said “few bands have the resolve to push their music as far toward formlessness, as well as the skill and concentration to coax that formlessness into something listenable, coherent and beautiful - brilliant”. Journalist Julianne Shepherd (Spin, XLR8R, Pitchfork) called Stars Like Fleas “possibly the best band i have seen in New York”; “quietly majestic”, said the Village Voice describing an electricity-free acoustic show in the Catskill Mountains.

The Ken Burns Effect, a document of the band’s growth over the past year, is an iconoclastic but more immediate, organic and lush album than its predecessors Sun Lights Down On The Fence, and Took The Ass For A Drive. When Fleas-fan, the composer Nico Muhly (arranger to Björk, Grizzly Bear, and Antony & The Jonsons) helped pass along early recordings drafts from The Ken Burns Effect to Björk producer/collaborator Valgeir Sigurðsson, the band were invited to Iceland to complete the record with him.

FUN FACT: Stars Like Fleas features (ex) members/contributors of TV on the Radio, Scarlett Johansson’s band, The Fiery Furnaces, Beirut, Tall Firs, Celebration, Mercury Rev, The Silent League and additional contributions by Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle, Sean Lennon, Fantomas)

STARS LIKE FLEAS - THE KEN BURNS EFFECT
OUT: JUNE 03, 2008 ON HOMETAPES

TRACK LIST:

1. Hoax Head
2. Karma’s Hoax
3. I Was Only Dancing
4. Falstaff
5. Early Riser
6. Berbers In Tennis Shoes
7. Toast Siren
8. See For The Woods
9. You Are My Memoir
10. Some Nettles

LINKS:

Band Page: www.slf.praemedia.com/

Myspace: www.myspace.com/starslikefleas

Label Page: www.home-tapes.com

Dear Spirit,

It may have been a while since you last heard from INDIAN JEWELRY.

In 2006, several members of the INDIAN JEWELRY songwriting and performance team found the bitch of fame licking them on the hand. Blinded by vanity, easy fame, self love, and the internet, they went into an early retirement.

For the last two years they have holed up between a private compound in Humboldt Park, Chicago and a private residence in Houston, Texas. There they put a light to the holes in their shoes and set to work on a perfect vision of the future.

In this time many people have attempted to wear their clothes and walk their dogs. Stop! These dogs can walk themselves.

Keep your ears open for the dulcet thunder. FREE GOLD! is just a key. A key to a perfect vision of the future. This vision is known by many names. Dog Cult. Many-headed persons. Blockhead.

FREE GOLD! was made to show you simple thing. You have the power! It is in your hand and it is within your reach.

You don’t have to walk alone.

INDIAN JEWELRY was gone, but now they’re coming back and there’s going to be a bloodbath.

Sir James Winnie

FREE GOLD! aka 120 KILOGRAMMS OF GOLD AND 10 KG OF DIAMOND

INDIAN JEWELRY - FREE GOLD!
OUT: MAY 20, 2008 ON WE ARE FREE

TRACK LIST:

1.SWANS
2.TEMPORARY FAMINE SHIP
3.SEASONAL ECONOMY
4.POMPEII
5.WALKING ON THE WATER
6.TOO MUCH HONKYTONKING
7.NONETHELESS
8.BIRD IS BROKE (WON’T SING)
9.SYLLABIC VIAAGRA
10.EVERYDAY
11.HELLO AFRICA
12.WERNER’S SUBTLE BODIES
13.OVERDRIVE
14.SEVENTH HEAVEN

LINKS:

Band Page: www.swarmofangels.com

Myspace: www.myspace.com/indianjewelry

Label Page: www.nowwearefree.com

Press Materials: www.nowwearefree.com/press/IJ.html

Wed. 3/12
Noon to 6pm
Force Field PR & Terrorbird Media present:

Emo’s Main Stage

12:00 - 12:30 - These United States
12:45 - 01:15 - Evangelicals
01:30 - 02:00 - These New Puritans
02:10 - 02:40 - YACHT
02:55 - 03:25 - The Raveonettes
03:40 - 04:10 - The Mae Shi
04:25 - 04:55 - WHY?
05:05 - 05:25 - The Blow
05:35 - 06:00 - El Guincho

Emo’s JR.

12:15 - 12:45 - Laura Barrett
01:00 - 01:30 - Radar Bros.
01:45 - 02:15 - Headlights
02:30 - 03:00 - Bowerbirds
03:15 - 03:45 - Let’s Go To War
04:00 - 04:30 - The Death Set
04:45 - 05:15 - Panther
05:30 - 06:00 - Hey Willpower

The event is FREE, ALL AGES and completely open to the public - no badges, wristbands or rsvp needed!

***

FULL SXSW SCHEDULE FOR ALL FORCE FIELD PR ARTISTS:

Laura Barrett

Wed Mar 12 12:15 PM Terrorbird/Forcefield Party @ Emo’s JR
Wed Mar 12 8:00 PM Habana Calle 6- Patio

Bell

Sat Mar 15 2:00 PM After the Jump House Party @ 1204 Salina Street
Sat Mar 15 8:00 PM 18th Floor of the Hilton Garden Inn

Blitzen Trapper

Thu Mar 13 4:40 PM Schubas Party @ Yard Dog
Fri Mar 14 3:00 PM Hot Freaks! @ Mohawk
Fri Mar 14 1:00 AM Sub Pop Showcase @ Bourbon Rocks
Sat Mar 15 2:00 PM Stereogum / PASTE Party @ Volume
Sat Mar 15 5:30 PM Free Yr Radio / The Current broadcast tent
Sat Mar 15 8:00 PM Live at KEXP at ACL @ KLRU Studios

The Blow

Wed Mar 12 5:05 PM Force Field / Terrorbird Party @ Emo’s Main Stage
Wed Mar 12 1:00 AM K Records Showcase @ Emo’s IV
Thu Mar 13 5:20 PM ASCAP Happy Hour @ Convention Center

Bowerbirds

Wed Mar 12 2:30 PM Force Field / Terrorbird Party @ Emo’s JR
Wed Mar 12 11:00 PM SXSW Showcase @ Central Presbyterian
Thu Mar 13 12:00 PM @ Urban Outfitters
Thu Mar 13 3:30 PM Other Music Party @ French Legation
Fri Mar 14 3:30 PM Hot Freaks! Party @ The Mohawk

Dan Deacon

Wed Mar 12 1:00 AM Dan Deacon and Jimmy Joe Roche Present: Ultimate Reality @ Emo’s Jr
Wed Mar 12 2:00 AM Unamplified Acoustic BBQ- @ UT AUSTIN MAIN QUAD

Deer Tick

Wed Mar 12 9:00 PM @ Club de Ville
Wed Mar 12 2:00 AM Unamplified Acoustic BBQ- @ UT AUSTIN MAIN QUAD
Thu Mar 13 2:00 PM Free Agency Party @ Ms. Bea’s
Thu Mar 13 9:45 PM @ The Texas Garage
Fri Mar 14 1:00 PM Knitting Factory / Satellite Party @ Cream Vintage
Sat Mar 15 8:00 PM @ Mohawk Patio

Headlights

Wed Mar 12 1:45 PM Force Field / Terrorbird Party @ Emo’s JR
Wed Mar 12 5:00 PM Tuscon Scene/ A Fine Tooth Day Party @ Beso Cantina
Wed Mar 12 1:00 AM Unamplified Acoustic BBQ- @ UT AUSTIN MAIN QUAD
Thu Mar 8:00 PM DAG and Tangled Snark Productions Party @ Hole in the Wall
Fri Mar 14 12:00 AM Polyvinyl/ Team Love showcase @ Habana Calle
Sat Mar 15 1:00 PM SXSW Day Stage
Sat Mar 15 3:00 PM Porchlight Fest @ Salvage Vanguard Theater
Sat Mar 15 5:30 PM Impose Magazine and KVRX Day Party @ Comm Courtyard U of T

Hey Willpower

Wed Mar 12 5:30 PM Force Field / Terrorbird Party @ Emo’s JR
Wed Mar 12 8:20 PM Todd P Party @ Ms Bea’s
Fri Mar 14 5:00 PM Knitting Factory / Satellite Party @ Cream Vintage
Sat Mar 15 1:00 AM Tomlab & Anticon Showcase @ Lambert’s

Indian Jewelry

Thu Mar 13 12:00 AM We Are Free showcase @ Emo’s IV Lounge
Thu Mar 13 2:30 AM KVRX party @ Austin Children’s Museum
Fri Mar 14 7:30 PM @ Nice House
Sat Mar 15 5:15 PM @ Black and Tan

The Little Ones

Fri Mar 14 3:30 PM Little Radio/ Noise Pop Party @ Red Eyed Fly
Fri Mar 14 9:00 PM Bowery Presents Showcase @ Cedar Door
Sat Mar 15 5:00 PM Porchlight Pop Fest @ Salvage Vanguard Theater

Lucky Dragons

Thu Mar 13 9:00 PM @ The Texas Garage
Thu Mar 13 3:20 AM @ KVRX Party @ Children’s Museum
Fri Mar 14 6:30 PM Upset the Rhythm Party @ Ms. Bea’s

No Kids

Thu Mar 13 1:45 PM Brooklyn Vegan party @ Emo’s Annex
Fri Mar 14 1:50 PM SC Distribution Party @ End of an Ear
Sat Mar 15 9:00 PM Tomlab/Anticon Showcase @ Lambert’s

Panther

Wed Mar 12 4:45 PM Terrorbird/Forcefield Party @ Emo’s JR
Thu Mar 13 5:00 PM Todd P/ Free Agency Show @ Ms. Bea’s
Fri Mar 14 1:30 PM Skyscraper Party @ Emo’s Lounge
Fri Mar 14 6:00 PM Knitting Factory / Satellite Party @ Cream Vintage
Fri Mar 14 11:00 PM Kill Rock Stars Showcase @ Emo’s Lounge
Sat Mar 15 1:30 PM MESS WITH TEXAS 2 @ WATERLOO PARK
Sat Mar 15 7:00 PM Impose/ KVRX party @ U of T communications courtyard

Tristan Perich

Thu Mar 13 1:00 PM Free Agency Party @ Ms. Bea’s
Fri Mar 14 8:00 PM Asthmatic Kitty Showcase @ Central Presbyterian Church
Sat Mar 15 7:00 PM The Molotov Lounge

Radar Bros.

Wed Mar 12 1:00 PM Terrorbird/Forcefield Party @ Emo’s JR
Thu Mar 13 4:00 PM End of an Ear Records
Fri Mar 14 5:15 PM Guero’s Taco Garden
Fri Mar 14 10:00 PM Merge Records Showcase @ The Parish
Sat Mar 15 4:00 PM Urban Outfitters
Sat Mar 15 6:00 PM Pop Culture Press Party @ Dog and Duck Pub

Sholi

Sat Mar 15 2:10 PM Mushpot/SAF Records Day Party @ 219 West
Sat Mar 15 1:00 AM @ The Hideout

Stars Like Fleas

Sat Mar 15 5:15 PM Hometapes/ Absolutely Kosher Party @ Gallery Lombardi aka Friend Island
Sat Mar 15 11:00 PM Leisure Tourniquet Party @ Hot Mama’s

These United States

Wed Mar 12 12:00 PM Terrorbird/Forcefield Party @ Emo’s Main Stage
Thu Mar 13 1:45 PM DC does TX @ Cream Vintage
Fri Mar 14 10:45 PM After the Jump SXSW Party @ 1204 Salina St.

WHY?

Wed Mar 12 4:30 PM Terrorbird/Forcefield Party @ Emo’s Main Stage
Thu Mar 13 2:30 PM Brooklyn Vegan Party @ Emo’s Annex
Fri Mar 14 5:30 PM Soundcheck Magazine Party @ Emo’s Annex
Sat Mar 15 12:00 AM Tomlab & Anticon Showcase @ Lambert’s

YACHT

Wed Mar 12 2:15 PM Terrorbird/Forcefield Party @ Emo’s
Wed Mar 12 6:45 PM @ Fader Fort
Thu Mar 13 11:00 PM NME Showcase @ Wave Rooftop
Fri Mar 14 3:00 PM @ Urban Outfitters
Sat Mar 15 3:00 PM Bust Party @ Habana Annex
Sat Mar 15 9:00 PM @ The Texas Garage

43 Songs About 43 Presidencies

Wed Mar 12 10:00 PM Creekside EMC @ Hilton Garden Inn

MP3: Awesome Color - “Eyes of Light” - http://www.ecstaticpeace.com/kits/mp3/eyes_of_light.mp3

Awesome Color is a power trio updated for the 2060’s, noise provocateurs and impressionists, ace players with punk rock flair, inspired citizens of a small modernist nation of musical, visual, and literary outrage on the outskirts of Brooklyn, or a rainbow amalgam of all of the above at once.

Since the June 2006 release of their eponymous debut album on Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace! label, Awesome Color have been busy touring relentlessly and spreading their psych-rock-Michigan-pride-free-radical sounds to anyone with ears to listen and hopefully some pancakes to eat, a floor to sleep on and directions to the local skatepark.

In addition to tours with Dinosaur, Jr., Sonic Youth, Radio Birdman, Be Your Own Pet and Tall Firs in 2006 and 2007, Awesome Color have ventured to the UK and Europe multiple times and they are learning how to say “Where is the nearest pizza parlor?” in as many languages as their sweaty brains can remember.

Amidst all their touring, Awesome Color managed to get into the studio (Joshua Kessler’s Bushwick Studios and Doug Rice’s Twist Palace) to make a second record. Their efforts are documented on the 10 tracks of the upcoming full-length album: Electric Aborigines, out April 29th on Ecstatic Peace!

Awesome Color are currently poised for a European tour in May through early June and will play at the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona, Spain (May 30-31) as well as select dates with Dinosaur Jr. with a US tour to follow.

Awesome Color - Electric Aborigines track list:

1.Eyes of Light
2.Already Down
3.Step Up
4.Come and Dance
5.Taste It
6.Outside Tonight
7.Do it Right
8.Burning
9.The Moon
10.Evil Rose

www.myspace.com/awesomecolor
http://awesomecolor.net/

Press materials at:
www.ecstaticpeace.com/kits/ac_kit.html

VIDEO: “Heart of Chambers” -

http://profile.imeem.com/

Beach House launches their 2008 tour tonight in, where else? their hometown of Baltimore. The streets of Baltimore and an abandoned train station also serve as the backdrop for the second video from their new album, Devotion, for the song “Heart of Chambers.” The video was directed by Alistair Legrand, brother to Victoria. DP is John Frost, filmed in January 2008 in the freezing cold. The video captures the sad yet whimsical sentiment of the song.

The band just took some new press photos, one of which reveals the outfits they’ll be wearing on stage for this tour, you can view that photo here

A few recent press nods for Beach House that are worth mentioning:

“Best New Music” from Pitchfork

“Breaking” feature in Rolling Stone

Lead review in this week’s Onion AV Club

NPR’s “Song of the Day”

BEACH HOUSE 2008 TOUR DATES

02-28 Baltimore, MD - G-Spot *
02-29 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506 *
03-01 Atlanta, GA - The Earl *
03-02 Birmingham, AL - BottleTree Café *
03-03 Memphis, TN - The Hi Tone Café *
03-05 Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon *
03-06 Houston, TX - Walter’s on Washington *
03-07 Austin, TX - Emo’s *
03-08 Denton, TX - Hailey’s *
03-10 Tucson, AZ - Solar Culture *
03-11 Phoenix, AZ - Modified *
03-12 San Diego, CA - The Casbah *
03-13 Los Angeles, CA - The Echo *
03-14 San Luis Obispo, CA - Steynberg Gallery *
03-15 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill
03-17 Portland, OR - Holocene *
03-18 Seattle, WA - The Crocodile Café *
03-19 Vancouver, British Columbia - Media Club *
03-21 Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court *
03-22 Denver, CO - Hi-Dive *
03-24 Omaha, NE - The Slowdown *
03-25 Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry *
03-26 Chicago, IL - Schubas *
03-27 Cleveland Heights, OH - The Grog Shop *
03-28 Toronto, Ontario - El Mocambo *
03-29 Montreal, Quebec - Casa del Popolo *
03-30 Winooski, VT - The Monkey House *
03-31 Cambridge, MA - The Middle East *
04-02 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom *
04-03 Philadelphia, PA - The Barbery *
04-04 Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel *

* with Papercuts

www.beachhousemusic.net
www.myspace.com/beachhousemusic
www.carparkrecords.com

Press materials - www.carparkrecords.com/devotionpresspage.html

PANTHER is the two-headed effort of Charlie Salas-Humara (The Planet The) on vocals, cello, guitar, and keys and Joe Kelly (31 Knots) on drums. But even when it was Charlie’s solo effort he was never really alone. Whether live or on record there was a sense that PANTHER was being overtaken by something, not an alter-ego, this was something else. Think Ian Curtis’ convulsive intensity and James Browns spastic swagger and you still won’t have PANTHER, but a sense of what-the-fuckness that all of them seem to call up. The early recordings born in the basements and warehouses of Portland OR around 2001 brought a new brand of broken electro that when coupled with the lunatic immediacy of his modern dance meltdowns defied categorization entirely PANTHER landed on bills as varied as opening slots from PEACHES to WOLF EYES. The monstrous throb of the beats matched by Charlie’s intensity bring a sense of religious visitation to any room PANTHER humps the floor in. His panic-driven falsetto howling non-sequiturs about paranoid sexuality make his jams hysterical, compelling but most importantly danceable.

After several successful releases on indie labels Kimosciotic and Fryk Beat, the art galleries soon turned to sold out venues when PANTHER caught the attention of headliners like GOSSIP and RATATAT. And while touring in support of 2007’s epic and cheerfully damaged SECRET LAWNS Charlie realized he wanted to dance to a new beat. Soon after employing the ferocious drumming of Joe Kelly the HE became a THEY and on14 KT GOD (released Feb. 19 on Kill Rock Stars) contagious hooks and loops over crushing drums usher PANTHER into new and lucid songwriting territory, even hinting at the political with songs like “Violence, Diamonds” and “Beautiful Condo.” But just when things seem to be making sense the fever kicks in and everything suddenly unglues and before you know it you’re dancing to full blown anthems about sexual obsessiveness and airplane paranoia. Rest assured, PANTHER hasn’t calmed down in the slightest, they’re just poised and ready to pounce.

PANTHER

3/01 - San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop - Noisepop
3/04 - Seattle, WA @ Nectar
3/06 - Portland, OR @ Holocene*
3/08 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Slowtrain
3/09 - Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
3/11 - Oklahoma City, OK @ Conservatory
3/12 - 3/15 Austin, TX SXSW
3/17 - Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon#
3/18 - Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn#
3/19 - Knoxville, TN @ Pilot Light
3/20 - Washington, DC @ Red and Black
3/21 - Philadelphia, PA @ Khyber
3/22 - New York, NY @ Knitting Factory#
3/23 - Somerville, MA PA’s Lounge%
3/26 - Detroit, MI @ Scrummage University
3/27 - Chicago, IL @ Abbey Pub
3/28 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
3/29 - Fargo, ND @ Aquarium
4/18 - San Francisco, CA @ Fillmore $
4/19 - Los Angeles, CA @ Henry Fonda $

* = w/ Parenthetical Girls
# = w/ WHY?
% = w/ Citay, White Hinterland
$ = w/ The Gossip

There’s a flurry of activity in the Blitzen Trapper camp, as the band kicks off their expanded, expansive 2008 tour with Sub Pop labelmates Fleet Foxes this week. A full list of updated tour dates is included below, including shows with Grand Archives, Menomena, Dr. Dog, Man Man, Mahjongg and Matt Pond PA.

First up, on Tues. Feb. 19 (TODAY) Blitzen will release a new EP exclusively through iTunes, made up of live tracks, cover songs and one new exclusive track:

“Live/Acoustic EP” exclusively available on iTunes
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa
01. Wild Mountain Nation (Live on The Current)
02. Shady Grove [Traditional] (Live at Holocene)
03. Silver Moon (Live at Holocene)
04. The Last Thing on My Mind [Traditional]
05. Going Wrong

And just posted yesterday is the band’s second session for Daytrotter.com. Recorded last year during their tour with Two Gallants, the session features three previously unreleased tracks and one from Wild Mountain Nation. Blitzen Trapper and Fleet Foxes will also be doing a collaborative session with Daytrotter, to be recorded on this tour.

Daytrotter session track list:
www.daytrotter.com/article/1177/wild-is-just-the-start-a-utopian-riot

01.Big Adventure (previously unreleased)
02.Stolen Shoes and a Rifle (previously unreleased)
03.Preacher’s Sister’s Boy (previously unreleased)
04.Wolf And Warp of the Quiet Giant

And finally, there’s the tour-only CD EP that we told you about before, which now has a track list (featuring all previously unreleased studio recordings), and will only be available at the merch table on the band’s upcoming tour dates:

Blitzen Trapper 2008 Tour EP
01. Silver Moon
02. Going Down
03. Shoulder Full of You
04. Preacher’s Sister’s Boy
05. Black Rock
06. Big Black Bird

BLITZEN TRAPPER 2008 SPRING TOUR

2/22 Seattle, WA Univ. of Washington#
2/23 Portland, OR The Artistery
2/28 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill*
2/29 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour*+
3/01 San Diego, CA Casbah*+
3/02 Phoenix, AZ Modified*
3/04 Denton, TX Hailey’s*
3/05 Houston, TX Walter’s on Washington*
3/06 Hattiesburg, MS Thirsty Hippo*
3/07 Tallahassee, FL The Beta Bar*
3/08 Everglades National Park, FL Langerado Festival
3/09 Jacksonville, FL Jack Rabbits*@
3/11 Birmingham, AL BottleTree*%
3/12 Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon*$
3/13 - 3/15 Austin, TX SXSW
3/16 Norman, OK The Opolis*
3/17 Columbia, MO Mojos*&
3/18 Memphis, TN Hi Tone Cafe*
3/19 Nashville, TN Exit In*
3/20 Atlanta, GA Drunken Unicorn*
3/21 Columbia, SC New Brookland Tavern*
3/22 Asheville, NC Grey Eagle*
3/23 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506*
3/25 Washington, DC Black Cat Backstage*
3/26 Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda’s*
3/27 Cambridge, MA Middle East*
3/29 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom*
3/30 Worcester, MA Clark University*
4/01 Montreal, PQ La Salla Rossa*
4/02 Toronto, ON El Mocambo*
4/03 Buffalo, NY Mohawk Place*
4/04 Cleveland, OH The Grog Shop*
4/05 Detroit, MI The Magic Stick*
4/06 Chicago, IL Schubas*
4/08 Madison, WI High Noon Saloon*
4/09 Minneapolis, MN 7th Street Entry*
4/10 Grinnell, IA Grinnell College*
4/11 Omaha, NE The Slowdown*
4/12 Lawrence, KS Jackpot*
4/14 Denver, CO Hi-Dive*
4/15 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge*
4/17 Vancouver, BC Media Club*
4/18 Seattle, WA Neumo’s*
4/19 Portland, OR Holocene*
4/26 Salem, OR Wulapalooza

# = w/ Menomena
* = w/ Fleet Foxes
+ = w/ Grand Archives
& = w/ Mahjongg
% = w/ Dr. Dog
$ = w/ Man Man
@ = w/ Matt Pond PA

www.blitzentrapper.net
www.myspace.com/blitzentrapper

IMEEM: http://profile.imeem.com/video/

In anticipation of the release of Devotion, their second full-length for Carpark Records, Baltimore recording artists Beach House (Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally) are proud to unveil their video for “You Came to Me,” directed by Baltimore underground film legend Skizz Cyzyk.

“You Came to Me” picks up where dreamy, atmospheric tracks like “Master of None” on their 2006 debut Beach House left off, and Skizz’s video brings the song to lush visual life — honoring the elegant, exuberant, and mysterious aspects of Beach House’s music while bringing to the forefront in fresh and off-kilter ways the playful visuals suggested by the duo’s sound and stage presence.

Set in the near-empty sanctuary of a sleepy, well-weathered Baltimore church that could double as the backdrop for a David Lynch film, “You Came to Me” as seen by Skizz becomes a shimmering sermon strummed on toy instruments to a temperamental goldfish; a song for which time takes on magical qualities through visual layering, quick pans of stained glass, and soft dissolves — and to which even a man on crutches must shake (or at least gingerly sway) his tail feathers.

BEACH HOUSE are an integral part of the thriving Baltimore music scene, and one of the most acclaimed indie artists to emerge in the last few years. Since forming in 2005 and hooking up with Carpark (home to fellow Baltimoreans DAN DEACON, ECSTATIC SUNSHINE, LEXIE MOUNTAIN BOYS, and WZT HEARTS), the duo quickly garnered national acclaim. Their self-titled 2006 debut record was named one of the Top 20 Albums of 2006 by Pitchfork Media, and that album’s “Apple Orchard” was named one of the site’s Top 10 Tracks of 2006.

Victoria and Alex have both been playing music since their (separate) childhoods in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and France. They cite THE ZOMBIES, BRIAN WILSON, NEIL YOUNG, BIG STAR, and CHRIS BELL as shared favorites, but no one artist or record stands as chief inspiration for their sound. Rather, by not forcing their songs to come to fruition prematurely, an otherworldly space is created: organs, slide guitars, reverb, harmony, accidents, echoes and melodies intermingle into a swirl of sound that conjures dreams of childhood and hot summer nights.

Director SKIZZ CYZYK’s past reads like a timeline of Baltimore’s secret subcultural history of the ’80s, ’90s, and beyond. Since 1983, he has directed over 50 short films, music videos, and features — including Youtube sensation Manager’s Corner and the full-length doc Little Castles, featuring John Waters. He also founded, directed, and programmed one of the world’s premiere underground film festivals, Baltimore’s MicroCineFest.

Skizz was the frontman and chief provocateur of Bmore outsider-music heroes Blister Freak Circus (think THE RESIDENTS, NEGATIVLAND, and THE SHAGGS — and think forthcoming career retrospective on Public Guilt Records), and beat the drums for ’90s indie act Berserk (who released the first full-length on Go-Kart Records). Currently, he is the drummer for psych-warped pop artists The Jennifers (inspired by THE KINKS, THE PRETTY THINGS, and THE FEELIES). Additionally, many of Cyzyk’s photographs of Baltimore and DC’s music scenes in the early 80s appeared in the recent documentary American Hardcore.

“You Came to Me” appears on DEVOTION, Beach House’s second full-length album, which will be released February 26, 2008 on Carpark Records. They embark on a tour of the United States beginning February 28th.

Beach House:
www.beachhousemusic.net
www.myspace.com/beachhousemusic
www.carparkrecords.com

Skizz Cyzyk:
www.skizz.net
www.youtube.com/eskayizezy
www.myspace.com/eskayizezy

BEACH HOUSE SPRING TOUR

02/28 Baltimore, MD Gspot
02/29 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506
03/01 Atlanta, GA The Earl
03/02 Birmingham, AL BottleTree Cafe
03/03 Memphis, TN The Hi Tone Cafe
03/05 Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon
03/06 Houston, TX Walter’s on Washington
03/07 Austin, TX Emo’s
03/08 Denton, TX Hailey’s
03/10 Tucson, AZ Solar Culture
03/11 Phoenix, AZ Modified
03/12 San Diego, CA The Casbah
03/13 Los Angeles, CA The Echo
03/14 San Luis Obispo, CA Steynberg Gallery
03/15 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill
03/17 Portland, OR Holocene
03/18 Seattle, WA Chop Suey
03/19 Vancouver, BC Media Club
03/21 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court
03/22 Denver, CO Hi-Dive
03/24 Omaha, NE The Slowdown
03/25 Minneapolis, MN 7th Street Entry
03/26 Chicago, IL Schubas
03/27 Cleveland, OH The Grog Shop
03/28 Toronto, ON El Mocambo
03/29 Montreal, PQ Casa del Popolo
03/30 Winooski, VT The Monkey House
03/31 Cambridge, MA The Middle East
04/02 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
04/03 Philadelphia, PA The Barbery
04/04 Washington, DC Rock and Roll Hotel

Press materials - www.carparkrecords.com/devotionpresspage.html