The Antlers are streaming their new record Undersea via their Facebook page.  Undersea will be released via Anti- on July 24th. The band made Undersea after a year of touring and entered their studio.  The result is the ambitious sound of Undersea, only four tracks in length, but enlarging nonetheless.  Check it out at the link above.

The xx will release their new album, Coexist, on 9/11.   Today they released the first single, Angels.  Check out the uber-romantica of the song below (via Pitchfork).  They’ll be hard-pressed to top their masterful first album, but we’re all ears.

The xx have also announced additional tour dates, including a return visit to California in October.  Check out the new song below, followed by Coexist’s songlist and the tour dates below:

Coexisit:

1. Angels
2. Chained
3. Fiction
4. Try
5. Reunion
6. Sunset
7. Missing
8. Tides
9. Unfold
10. Swept Away
11. Our Song

The xx 2012 Tour Dates:
07/23 – Los Angeles, CA @ Fonda
07/25 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox at the Market
07/28 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix
07/29 – Montreal, QC @ Metropolis
07/31 – Boston, MA @ Wilbur Theatre
08/02 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
08/09 – Sibinek, CR @ Terraneo Festival
08/10 – Budapest, HR @ Sziget Festival
08/11 – St Pere, FR @ La Route du Rock
08/18 – St. Polten, AT @ Frequency Festival
08/19 – Biddinhuizen, NL @ Lowlands Festival
08/31 – Laois, IE @ Electric Picnic
09/07 – Isle of Wight, UK @ Bestival
10/05 – Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre
10/06 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theater
10/07 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
10/10 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Pool at the Cosmopolitan
10/11 – San Diego, CA @ Soma
10/12 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
10/13 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Forever Cemetery
10/14 – San Francisco, CA @ Treasure Island Music Festival
10/16 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex
10/17 – Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
10/19 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
10/20 – Chicago, IL @ Congress Theater
10/21 – Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theatre
10/24 – Quebec City, Quebec @ Imperial De Quebec
10/25 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
10/28 – Bronx, NY @ Paradise Theater
10/29 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
10/30 – Baltimore, MD @ Ram’s Head Live

Everyone’s jumping on the Frank Ocean-liner.  The Afghan Whigs have today made their cover of Ocean’s Lovecrimes available as a free download at the widget below or HERE.  In the Whigs’ defense, they have been covering the song live well before all the recent hoopla. Ocean originally released the song in 2011 on his debut mixtape, Nostalgia, Ultra.

Lovecrimes follows the Whigs’ recent release of See And Don’t See and their performance of the song on The Jimmy Fallon Show.  The band also announced today the addition of new shows in California and elsewhere.   If you haven’t seen ’em live, they are phenomenal (well, they were 20-ish years ago and they played well on Fallon, so time will tell so to speak).  Tickets for all shows go on sale this week.

THE AFGHAN WHIGS 2012 TOUR DATES

7/25/12 Melbourne, AUS Hi-Fi Bar
7/26/12 Sydney, AUS Factory Theatre
7/27/12 Byron Bay, AUS Splendour In The Grass – SOLD OUT
8/3/12 Chicago, IL Lollapalooza – SOLD OUT
8/4/12 Chicago, IL Metro – SOLD OUT
8/7/12 Helsinki, FI Circus
8/9/12 Oslo, NO Oya Festival – SOLD OUT
8/10/12 Goteborg, SE Way Out West Festival
8/11/12 Rees-Haldern, GR Haldern Pop Festival – SOLD OUT
8/14/12 Warsaw, PL Palladium
8/15/12 Prague, CZ Lucerna Music Bar
8/17/12 Hasselt, BE Pukkelpop
8/19/12 London, UK Koko
9/22/12 New York, NY I’ll Be Your Mirror Festival
9/26/12 Boston, MA House Of Blues
9/27/12 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory
9/28/12 Washington D.C. 9:30 Club – SOLD OUT
9/29/12 Pittsburgh, PA Mr. Small’s Theatre
10/3/12 Toronto, ON Phoenix Concert Theatre
10/5/12 New York, NY Terminal 5 – SOLD OUT
10/12/12 Austin, TX Austin City Limits Music Festival – SOLD OUT
10/19/12 New Orleans, LA Tipitina’s
10/20/12 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade
10/21/12 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle
10/24/12 Detroit, MI Saint Andrew’s Hall – SOLD OUT
10/25/12 Cincinnati, OH Bogart’s – SOLD OUT
10/28/12 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theatre
10/30/12 Denver , CO Ogden Theatre
11/2/12 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom
11/3/12 Seattle, WA Showbox
11/7/12 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
11/9/12 Los Angeles, CA The Fonda

New Additions In Bold

On Twin Shadow’s new album, Confess, leader George Lewis, Jr. has taken a brush with mortality (Dylan’s motorcycle motif) and melded the resulting survival theme to a driving ’80s new wave and synth-pop soundtrack.  The self-produced result is a thoroughly captivating mix that combines and transcends Peter Gabriel and Police elements to great effect.  To get a feel for the new album and to get primed for their August 18th show at Soho in Santa Barbara, check out below a few of their performances this past week for Alternate Side (Live at WFUV).   You can get tickets for the Soho show from Club Mercy HERE.  This could be the club show of the summer.

Five Seconds:

I Can’t Wait:

I Don’t Care:

Over the last eight years Band of Horses has built an endearing discography which is soon to be augmented by new album, Mirage Rock.  Each of their albums has taken a good amount of time to register with us, but each time the wait has been worth it.  2010’s Infinite Arms was one of our favorite albums of that year.  Last week the band released the official video for uplifting rocker Knock Knock off the new album.  Knock Knock immediately grabs you sonically, and the video takes you on a GoPro wilderness foray that fits perfectly with this summertime.  The song’s immediacy bodes well for the new album.  You can pre-order Mirage Rock HERE.  Check out the video below and the tracklisting after.  The group will tour behind the album, but no Cali dates have been set yet.

Tracklisting:

1) Knock Knock
2) How To Live
3) Slow Cruel Hands of Time
4) A Little Biblical
5) Shut-In Tourist
6) Dumpster World
7) Electric Music
8) Everything’s Gonna Be Undone
9) Feud
10) Long Vows
11) Heartbreak on the 101

Bowery Presents has released additional segments from the Dirty Projectors concert that was streamed this past Monday from Brooklyn.

Check out the vocal gymnastics seen/heard in the band’s performance of Beautiful Mother off of their 2011 collaboration with Bjork, Mount Wittenberg Orca.  We hear some debts owed to Laurie Anderson’s O Superman, but multiplied times three and adding some entrancing innovation.  Afterwards, check out the challenging, but rewarding, See What She Seeing, also off of the new album, Swing Lo Magellan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FG7dIhtyyw&feature=channel&list=UL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkqTZplbcdM&feature=channel&list=UL

We’ve recently been singing the praise of a few beyond-Adele artists, including Brandi Carlile.  Check out Carlile with full band performing for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts series below.  Carlile is adept and additive, and deserves much more than she gets.

While we’re dabbling in this genre, we were recently taken aback by the captivating phrasing of Bonnie Raitt as she sang Love Has No Pride with David Crosby and Graham Nash at the 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert.  Check it out below the Carlile set.  As good as it gets.  Raitt plays the Santa Barbara Bowl with the always-marvelous Mavis Staples opening on September 23rd.  You can get tickets HERE.

Frank Ocean’s been in the press a lot recently. Who doesn’t love Mr. Ocean?  Don’t answer that–we don’t like the answers.  Ocean appeared on the Jimmy Fallon Show the other night to perform his intriguing song, Bad Religion, with full string ensemble and The Roots backing.  Check it out below.  The lad can both write and sing a mean song.

Damien Jurado’s album, Maraqopa, remains firmly slotted into our Top 10 Albums of 2012.  Check out below (via Spin) a new video for the song Museum of Flight off the album.  The video humorously attempts to capture Jurado ’s recent five-week tour of Europe.  Damien will join the fabulous Megafaun for a European tour in August.  He’ll then come back to the States and team up with shinkas, Sharon Van Etten, for a handful of shows. See a full list of tour dates below the new video.

Tour Dates:
07/20/12 Portland, OR – Oregon Zoo w/ The Head & The Heart
08/03/12 Ravenna, IT – Hana-Bi w/ Megafaun
08/05/12 Arco di Trento, IT – Arco Summer Festival
08/06/12 Munich, DE – Muffatwerk w/ Megafaun
08/07/12 Dresden, DE – Beatpol w/ Megafaun
08/08/12 Berlin, DE – HBC
08/09/12 Haldern-Rees, DE – August 9th-11th: Haldern Pop Festival
08/10/12 Rees-Haldern, DE – Haldern Pop w/ Megafaun
08/11/12 Haldern, DE – Haldern Pop Festival w/ Megafaun
08/12/12 Utrecht, NL – Tivoli w/ Bowerbirds
08/14/12 Brighton, UK – The Blind Tiger w/ Megafaun
08/15/12 Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club w/ Megafaun
08/16/12 Glasgow, UK – The Arches w/ Megafaun
08/17/12 Glanusk Park, Wales, UK – Green Man Festival (AUG 17th-19th)
08/17/12 Newcastle, UK – The Cluny w/ Megafaun
08/18/12 Liverpool, UK – The Leaf w/ Megafun
08/19/12 Powys, Wales, UK – Green Man Festival
08/20/12 London, UK – Dingwalls w/ Megafaun
09/01/12 Seattle, WA – Bumbershoot Festival
09/07/12 Raleigh, NC – Hopscotch Music Festival
10/25/12 Washington, DC –

Old Crow Medicine Show has a new album about to be released entitled Carry Me Back.  Check the band out performing Ain’t It Enough in what appears to be a lit dungeon, as captured by The Avett Brothers’ collaborationist, Crackerfarm.  A sweet song sung from a swell cell.  We hear this one sung around a campfire with a group of friends.

Ain’t It Enough:

“Show me a river I’ll show you an ocean
show you a castle turn into sand
for we rise and we fall and we crash on the coastline
and only our love will last till the end
Fortune is fleeting your time is deceiving
our bodies are weak and they turn into dust
All following blindly but love is like lightning
strikes only one time, but ain’t it enough?

Chorus:

Ain’t it enough to live by the ways of the world,
to be part of the picture, whatever it’s worth
throw your arms round each other and love one another
for it’s only one life that we got, and ain’t it enough?

Surely all people were made for each other
join in together when the days turn to dust
so let the prison walls crumble and the borders all tumble
there’s place for us all here and ain’t it enough?

Chorus

Bridge: Late in the evening, feeling the wind blow tall through the treetops, warm in the sun
lying beside you, watching the moon rise, if that’s all there is babe, ain’t it enough?

Show me a river I’ll show you an ocean
stars just like diamonds shining above
where the heavens are beaming and all the world’s dreaming
peace everlasting, and ain’t it enough?

Chorus.”