MP3: Deertick - “Long Time”

Partisan Records re-issued Deer Tick’s debut War Elephant on November 11, 2008. The re-issue will be released on both double limited edition vinyl and CD with new album artwork. Partisan Records will also be releasing a full-length album of early original Deer Tick songs at a later date.

Songwriting prodigy John McCauley III wrote and recorded War Elephant at the age of 20, and plays every single instrument on the album. Originally a very limited release, the album received immense praise from top national critics like The New York Times and NPR, but quickly went out of print. The War Elephant re-issue will also represent the first ever vinyl release from Deer Tick.

Praise for Deer Tick:

“Expression is rarely subverted on War Elephant which is not a problem at all with fourteen songs this strong and worth listening to over and over, which I’m doing right now and should be for some time to come.”- Three Imaginary Girls

“The fact that you can never quite pin this sound down is a testament to a certain originality. From the noisy steam-engine sound of “These Old Shoes” to the infectious glee of “Spend The Night,” McCauley and company work hard to wrap their debut in a shroud of nostalgia.”- The Tripwire

“This repackaged release is way better than the original for the simple reason that the cover art (a desert scene: girls in bikinis with automatic weapons, sunglasses, boys with cigarettes) is a visual representation of the music’s advocacy of excess and an outsider stance.”- Brainwashed Brain

“Much like Joanna Newsom, only with more grit, piss and vinegar, McCauley sounds like both the old and the young, simultaneously, which lends his debut full-length release War Elephant the benefit of sounding mature and fresh, simultaneously. “- Treble

“Deer Tick is exactly what the name suggests: a needling, ever present pain in the side of the too perfect majesty of some too beautiful creature, a “testament to how we are so animalistic.”"- Coke Machine Glow

“War Elephant is no doubt an accomplishment - and to think this is only a debut, the next half-decade is this kid’s to lose. “- 30 Music

“Deer Tick’s War Elephant ended up being one of my favorite addictions of 2007″ - Brooklyn Vegan

“The lone singer with a guitar will always be an icon of American folk music, but modern American folk is a diverse and rich genre that branches into rock, country and blues. Deer Tick understands this…” - NPR

“I got lucky and stumbled onto Deer Tick” - Jon Pareles, The New York Times

“There is plenty about Deer Tick’s debut album, War Elephant, to suggest that frontman John McCauley has seen more than his 21 birthdays.” - Pitchfork

Deer Tick
War Elephant
(Partisan)
Street date: Nov. 11, 2008

01. Ashamed
02. Art Isn’t Real (City of Sin)
03. Standing At The Threshold
04. Dirty Dishes
05. Long Time
06. Nevada
07. Baltimore Blues No. 1
08. These Old Shoes
09. Not So Dense
10. Spend The Night
11. Diamond Rings 2007
12. Sink Or Swim
13. Christ Jesus
14. What Kind of Fool Am I?

DEER TICK LINKS:

MySpace: www.myspace.com/deertick

Press Materials: partisanrecords.com/promo/deertick

MP3: Faunts - “Memories of Places We’ve Never Been (T.H. White Remix)”

Luckily for all of us, icy Canadian spacerockers Faunts have a lot of friends. And when a bunch of those friends came on board to offer their own remixes and interpretations of Faunts’ cinematic and ethereal music, they couldn’t say no. The result of their hard work is Faunts Remixed, a 14-track, 80+ minute long digital-only assembly of hugely creative remixes, spanning the gamut from four-on-the-floor dancefloor bangers to abstract electro-acoustic soundscapes.

Faunts Remixed includes reworked versions of songs from Faunts’ first two records, the going-to-bed-music masterpiece High Expectations / Low Results and the critically beloved M4 EP - the title track of which was featured in the multi-million-selling Xbox360 game “Mass Effect” and is remixed here by the Paronomasiac, otherwise known as Nik from fellow Edmonton band Shout Out Out Out Out. Remixers also include a wide swath of bands from both sides of the US-Canada border, all of whom have offered their own unique take on Faunts’ music: the electro-tinged track from hip-hop prodigy Cadence Weapon, the slinky 80’s synth sounds of San Serac, the dreamy shoegaze remixes of ambient musician Mark Templeton and thundering instrumental rockers Saxon Shore (recording under the name Brightest Feathers), and quite a few more, including a beautiful remix of “Gone With the Day” by the band itself.

Faunts are putting the finishing touches on their next full-length album, Feel.Love.Thinking.Of., scheduled to come out in February 2009, and we can tell you that it’s a doozy. But in the meantime, Faunts Remixed should keep fans of the band more than happy while they wait for the new album. Oh, and did we mention it’s only $5.99?

Press Quotes:

[Faunts are] “driving along the same star-lit road as The Smiths’ “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out,” but these love-sick passengers are lucky enough not to get hit head-on by that double-decker bus” - Fluxblog

“Gorgeous, lush shoe-gazey indie rock…very pleasurable” - Music For Robots

“Despite the self-deprecating title, ‘High Expectations/Low Results‘ is an amazingly ambitious and expansive album, garnering the group comparisons to the likes of Sigur Ros and the Cure. While the record’s sound is completely Edmonton - cold, sparse, yet comforting - it’s hard to believe that the band’s combination of ambient guitar, soft drums and ethereal keys was born here rather than Montreal or Toronto” - Vue Weekly

Faunts
Faunts Remixed
(Friendly Fire Recordings)
Street Date: Nov. 18, 2008

Track List:
1. “M4 (Part I)” (DVAS Macho Mix)
2. “Memories of Places We’ve Never Been” (T.H. White Remix)
3. “M4 (Part II)” (The Paronomasiac Remix)
4. “Place I’ve Found” (Mark Templeton Remix)
5. “23″ (Cadence Weapon Dogcatcher Remix)
6. “Parler de la Pluie et du Beau Temps” (Copy Remix)
7. “Instantly Loved” (San Serac Instantly Dubbed Mix)
8. “Gone With The Day” (Graham Lessard Remix)
9. “Will You Tell Me Then” (Boy in Static Remix)
10. “Instantly Loved” (Set Transition Remix)
11. “Of Nature” (Brightest Feathers Remix)
12. “Memories of Places We’ve Never Been” (Domer Does Disco Remix)
13. “Parler de la Pluie et du Beau Temps” (Beaner’s Sleepy Mix)
14. “Gone With The Day” (Faunts Stars Are Out Remix)

FAUNTS LINKS:

MySpace: www.myspace.com/faunts

Band Page: www.faunts.com

Press Materials: friendlyfirerecordings.com/Bands/Faunts/faunts.html

MP3: Fol Chen - “Cable TV”

Asthmatic Kitty Records is pleased to announce the signing of the Los Angeles band Fol Chen. The label will release the band’s debut album, Part 1: John Shade, Your Fortune’s Made on Feb. 03, 2009. The band will be touring in 2009, including a stop at SXSW. In the meantime they have a show scheduled on Nov. 18 in LA at The Echo. The band is also taking part in Machine Project’s takeover of LACMA (machineproject.com/lacma) on Nov. 15, with a sound piece inspired by a textile pattern from the design collective, Wiener Werkstatte. The band composed a piece of instrumental music in which the chords spell out the name of the Viennese design collective, which was active from 1903 until 1932. A limited run of 100 CDs containing the Untitled music will be for sale at the LACMA event, and each CD will include a watercolor replica of a section of the original hand-blocked design.

A Transmission from Fol Chen:

“You know that mysterious black object that the creepy family is staring at on the cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Presence” album? Fol Chen sound like that. But we don’t sound like Led Zeppelin. (We actually do
a little.) Instead, we sound like Prince with Amon Duul II and a children’s religious revival, not to mention Hot Chip, Pink Floyd, Gwen Stefani, Pere Ubu, Danielson Famile, Scritti Politti, Boards of Canada, The Blow, and Pulp. (Mostly.) We are using secret powers and the guidance of legendary DJ Donna Donna to combat our nemesis, John Shade. We are cryptic and joyful and we would like you to dance.”

The Story of Fol Chen:

Traffic was thick, thick, thick and Samuel Bing was unwell, strung out on the latest psychotropic fads: sleeplessness and feeling crummy. The Northern State was crawling like a funeral procession for Robert Moses. Above the overpasses, the clouds were lined with gristle. Even the horizon seemed to be sinking. So, it came just in time when Donna Donna transmitted her message over the open radio waves - a phantom broadcast from a station whose signal had long since dissolved into static. You could barely hear her voice between the Crazy Eddie ads, but Samuel Bing had his radio loud. She spoke backwards for security, but Samuel Bing understood each word. “Initiates in the society of Fol Chen,” Donna Donna whispered, “Let’s get to it. While you sit in traffic, John Shade is busy spreading his black mischief. Here’s the Screamer of the Week: ‘Birds Fly’ by Icicle Works.” Samuel Bing turned off his car and opened his trunk. No one was moving, so no one bothered honking. His trunk was filled with what looked like garbage, but this wasn’t just any piled crap — Every object was a module in a greater, yet-to-be-created whole. Samuel Bing fished out a cassette tape and a broken ice-scraper. He inspected the sides of each, found the hidden grooves, snapped them together. He grabbed a faded Polaroid, an old paperback romance, a polyester potholder, and a pair of drugstore sunglasses. He snapped each edge to edge. He chose twelve items, then another six, and arranged all eighteen in interlocking circles that together formed a wider circle. Just to be safe Samuel Bing welded the grooves with a cigarette lighter, slapped the whole thing on his back. From beneath a crusty blanket where the spare tire should have been, he pulled a wide, machete-like sword, and shoved it in his belt. Then Samuel Bing leapt into the air and let the currents carry him.

Melissa Thorne and Phat Jeph were waiting in room 12A when Samuel Bing landed in the parking lot of the Desert Hot Springs Hotel Spa. This is where they met in times of elevated risk - when the Highland Park compound was out of the question. Phat Jeph was ripped on peppermint schnapps, but he was a gentle, melancholy kind of drunk, and hard to deal with sober, so Melissa Thorne made sure his glass stayed full. Samuel Bing didn’t bother knocking. He already had a key. He searched the bathroom, looked under the bed. “Where are the others?” he asked. “G-Bone and Wass are on the way,” said Melissa Thorne. “What about
Baby Alex?” asked Samuel Bing. But they fell silent, just stared at the rug. Samuel Bing poured himself a schnapps and asked what happened, though he knew the answer. “John Shade got him,” Phat Jeph slurred. Samuel Bing gripped the pommel of his sword. “We don’t have time for this,” said Melissa Thorne, and elbowed Phat Jeph in the ribs. “Okay, here’s the idea,” he said. “We have to build a serious pyramid. That way we can measure the stars, the distances between them. Like the Aztecs and the Incas and King Tutankhamen. We have to take this battle to Shade.” “I’ve drawn up some plans,” said Melissa Thorne. She pushed the blueprints across the filthy bedspread. “You in?” Samuel Bing smiled for the first time all week. He pulled his sword from his belt, tested the blade with his thumb, nodded. “I’m in.”

- Ben Ehrenreich

FOL CHEN

Nov 15 Los Angeles, CA Machine Project at LACMA - Sound Installation
Nov 18 Los Angeles, CA The Echo

Fol Chen
Part 1: John Shade, Your Fortune’s Made
(Asthmatic Kitty)
Street date: Feb. 03, 2009

1.The Believers
2.No Wedding Cake
3.You and Your Sister in Jericho
4.The Idiot
5.Red Skies Over Garden City (The Ballad of Donna Donna)
6.Winter, That’s All
7.Cable TV
8.Please, John, You’re Killing Me
9.The Longer U Wait (Version)
10.If Tuesday Comes

FOL CHEN:

MySpace: www.myspace.com/folchen

Asthmatic Kitty Records: www.asthmatickitty.com

MP3: Crystal Stilts - “Crystal Stilts”

Crystal Stilts bio:

It’s no big secret that Brooklyn has been the home for some mighty happening music lately, but there are few bands with as unique a vibe and presence as Crystal Stilts. Formed in 2003 by Brad Hargett and JB Townsend, they quickly recorded their debut single “Shattered Shine” with their mate Sean Mafucci (Gang Gang Dance, Kid Congo Powers). The combination of Brad’s deep and mysterious vocals with JB’s classicist
garagey twang struck an immediate chord with New York’s music lovers, and 2005 and 2006 saw the band play with everyone from Blood On The Wall and Cause Co-Motion! to The Long Blondes and 1990s, culminating in the addition of organ player Kyle Forrester (Ladybug Transistor) and the recording of a 4 song EP.

2007 and 2008 were busy for the band as well, rounding out the line-up with bassist Andy Adler (The Ninjas) and drummer extraordinaire Frankie Rose (ex-Vivian Girls), and playing a string of insane shows with the likes of The Clean and The Vaselines. Recently, Brooklyn’s Woodsist label reissued the band’s single and EP to great acclaim from folks like Pitchfork and Stereogum. Along the way they’ve been working on the tracks for their eagerly-anticipated debut album, taking their time to ensure that each tune contributes just the right amount to the whole, crafting a perfect album with which to realize their distinctive music vision.

And now Slumberland is very proud to bring you Alight of Night, an album that more than delivers on the promise of those early singles. So what’s it like, you ask? There is a definite flavor of The Velvet Underground to be had, but Crystal Stilts’ spectral avant-garage also takes in such far-flung references as: the spooked 60s Texas psych of 13th Floor Elevators and Red Crayola, the gothic blues/punk howl of Gun Club, the dark, experimental DIYism of early Flying Nun/Xpressway groups Pin Group and Plagal Grind, and a post-punk minimalism that brings to mind early Rough Trade and Factory releases. There is definitely a strong pop element as well, with the buzzsaw bubblegum of early Mary Chain b-sides and Meat Whiplash coming to mind.

These are all just rough points of reference, though — Alight of Night is far more than just the sum of the bands influences. From the twang ‘n’ echo of “Crystal Stilts” to the primal pop stomp of “Prismatic Room” and the lovelyjangle of “Shattered Shine,” the band always adds something extra and unique to the mix, whether it’s a fleeting dash of harmonica, a hypnotic organ line or just an amazing guitar sound. There is a unity of purpose at work here, a special mood conjured by the sounds, production and sequence of songs that lifts this album into the realm of the classics, and reveals new
twists and turns on each listen.

Like all great albums, every piece just sits in exactly the right place, each song builds on the last and by the end you couldn’t imagine changing anything about it at all. Eerily familiar but totally now, Alight of Night is a brilliantly haunting slice of rock primitivism.

CRYSTAL STILTS

Nov. 21 New York, NY Less Artists, More Condos
Dec. 07 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom #
Dec. 08 Boston, MA Great Scott #
Dec. 10 Montreal, QC La Sala Rossa #
Dec. 11 Toronto, ON Horseshoe Tavern #
Dec. 12 Detroit, MI Magic Stick #
Dec. 14 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle #
Dec. 17 New York, NY Le Poisson Rouge %

# = w/ Love is All
% = w/ Vetiver

Crystal Stilts
Alight of Night
(Slumberland)
Street date: Oct. 28, 2008

1. The Dazzled
2. Crystal Stilts
3. Graveyard Orbit
4. Prismatic Room
5. The SinKing
6. Departure
7. Shattered Shine
8. Verdant Gaze
9. Bright Night
10. Spiral Transit
11. The City In The Sea

CRYSTAL STILTS:

MySpace: www.myspace.com/crystalstilts

Press Materials: www.slumberlandrecords.com/press/crystal-stilts/alight-of-night.html

Slumberland Records: www.slumberlandrecords.com