Birthmark's new album, Antibodies, is officially out today on CD / LP / MP3 formats worldwide! The album is available directly through our online store, or at your favorite local record shop (LPs are limited to just 1000 on 180-gram white vinyl). The album is also available on iTunes right HERE.
Stream the first single "Stuck" below.
Birthmark is the solo project of Nate Kinsella, a name you might recognize from Chicago based bands Joan of Arc & Make Believe. With Antibodies, Kinsella's 3rd release under the Birthmark moniker, musical boundaries continue to be pushed. From vibraphones to violins, cellos to clarinets, each instrument on the album was played either by Kinsella or a session musician. Even the stunning backwards string section on "Shake Hands" was painstakingly composed and performed with an actual string quartet.
Antibodies has already been getting praised from various music publications worldwide. The 405 calls Antibodies "one of the best things Kinsella has ever done," while Under the Radar gets directly to the point in stating, "Birthmark does it right." Antibodies also landed in ALARM'S "Best Albums of the Week" feature.
Wanna find out more about Birthmark? Follow the band on Facebook, Twitter & Tumblr, and be sure to follow the links below for more info on Antibodies. Hide More
Yes, you read that headline correctly! Braid just announced that they'll be heading out on a US tour this August with Owen opening all the shows. If you weren't able to see Braid & Owen together at our 15-Year Anniversary show last year, here's your second chance. Check out the complete list of dates below. Tickets for these shows can be found HERE.
Braid / Owen Summer 2012 Tour
08/07 - Cleveland Heights, OH @ Grog Shop 08/09 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom 08/10 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer 08/11 - Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 08/12 - Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East 08/16 - San Diego, CA @ The Irenic 08/17 - Pomona, CA @ Glasshouse 08/18 - West Hollywood, CA @ Troubadour 08/19 - San Francisco, CA @ Slim's
It's been nearly 4 years since Saturday Looks Good To Me have played together as a touring band. All that changes tonight with the first show of their US tour with Wild Moccasins in North Manchester, IN at The Firehouse! If you live in one of the cities listed below, go see this band live. You won't be disappointed!
Saturday Looks Good To Me Tour Dates:
May 9, 2012 - The Firehouse, North Manchester, IN * May 10, 2012 - Schubas, Chicago, IL * May 11, 2012 - The Shitty Barn, Spring Green, WI * May 12, 2012 - Mike & Molly's, Champaign, IL * May 13, 2012 - Cosmic Charlie's, Lexington, KY * May 14, 2012 - Beachland Tavern, Cleveland, OH * May 15, 2012 - The Haunt, Ithaca, NY * May 16, 2012 - BAR, New Haven, CT * May 17, 2012 - Empire, Portland, ME * May 18, 2012 - Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, NY * May 19, 2012 - Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA * May 20, 2012 - Woodruff's, Ypsilanti, MA
Japandroids' vocalist/guitarist Brian King recently sat down with Matthew Perpetua of Rolling Stone to chat about their upcoming album, Celebration Rock (out June 5th). The two touch on tons of details - everything from the recording process of Celebration Rock, to the fact that the band almost broke up (not to mention Brian almost died) before their debut album, Post-Nothing, was even released. Check out the interview HERE.
After just getting back from a massive European tour in support of their new album, Always, Xiu Xiu are hitting the road here in the states & Canada starting tomorrow. The first half of the tour will be with Dirty Beaches, while the second half will see Yamantaka // Sonic Titan joining the party. Italy's Father Murphy will open all the shows. Check out the complete list of tour dates below.
On top of the tour, Xiu Xiu's new video for "Honeysuckle" just made its debut on Pitchfork. It features Xiu Xiu member Angela Seo and was directed by Amir Shoucri. Check it out above!
Xiu Xiu Tour Dates:
May 1, 2012 - King's Barcade, Raleigh, NC May 2, 2012 - Rock & Roll Hotel, Washington, DC * May 3, 2012 - First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, PA * May 4, 2012 - Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY * May 5, 2012 - Middle East Downstairs, Cambridge, MA * May 7, 2012 - Iron Horse, Northampton, MA * May 8, 2012 - Space Gallery, Portland, ME * May 9, 2012 - La Sala Rossa, Montreal, Canada * May 10, 2012 - Le Cercle, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada * May 11, 2012 - Mavericks, Ottawa, Canada * May 12, 2012 - Lee's Palace, Toronto, Canada * May 14, 2012 - The Crofoot Ballroom, Pontiac, MI * May 15, 2012 - The Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids, MI * May 17, 2012 - Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL * May 18, 2012 - Memorial Union Terrace, Madison, WI * May 19, 2012 - Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis, MN * May 20, 2012 - Vaudeville Mews, Des Moines, IA * May 21, 2012 - Waiting Room, Omaha, NE * May 22, 2012 - The Jackpot Saloon, Lawrence, KS * May 23, 2012 - Bluebird Theater, Denver, CO * May 24, 2012 - Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, UT # May 27, 2012 - Barboza, Seattle, WA # May 28, 2012 - Biltmore Cabaret, Vancouver, Canada # May 29, 2012 - Doug Fir Lounge, Portland, OR # May 31, 2012 - Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, CA # Jun 1, 2012 - Center For The Arts Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, CA # Jun 2, 2012 - Soda Bar, San Diego, CA # Jun 5, 2012 - Padre's, Marfa, TX # Jun 6, 2012 - The Mohawk, Austin, TX # Jun 7, 2012 - One Eyed Jacks, New Orleans, LA # Jun 8, 2012 - Bottletree, Birmingham, AL # Jun 9, 2012 - The EARL, Atlanta, GA #
* w/ Dirty Beaches # w/ Yamantaka // Sonic Titan Hide More
If you didn't get a chance to make it out to one of the recent of Montreal show's this year, NPR's got your back! They just posted of Montreal's entire performance from their 4/3 show at 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. Watch it above, then head to NPR for more by clicking the link below.
of Montreal's amazing new video for the Paralytic Stalks track "Spiteful Intervention" made its debut on Pitchfork TV today. The video was directed by Jesse Ewles and features a bunch of different paintings animated into one sequence. Check it out above, then head to Pitchfork TV for more.
We couldn't be more excited to announce that Dusted have officially joined the Polyvinyl family and will be releasing their debut album, Total Dust, on July 10th in conjunction w/ Canadian label Hand Drawn Dracula. The album is available for pre-order HERE and comes on 180-gram black or maroon LP & CD (includes a bonus track). The maroon LPs are limited edition of 500 and we only have 200 in the PV store, so act quick if you want one!
Hailing from Toronto, ON, Dusted is the side project of Holy Fuck's Brian Borcherdt. After 6 years of constant Holy Fuck touring, Borcherdt teamed up with producer Leon Taheny (Final Fantasy, Rituals, Bruce Peninsula) and fleshed out the songs that would eventually appear on Total Dust. They decided to keep it as a two-piece (Borcherdt on guitar/vocals, Taheny on drums/samples) and Dusted was born.
Stream the first single "(Into the) Atmosphere" above + watch a teaser video. SPIN.com debuted the track, describing it as "a dewy lo-fi pop ramble, with sweetly multi-tracked vocals, cavernous layers of melancholy guitar strums, and galloping, off-kilter percussion."
Follow the links below to pre-order Total Dust and to check out the single on SPIN.com. Hide More
We're very excited to announce that San Fancisco's Sonny & the Sunsets have joined the Polyvinyl family! The band's new album, Longtime Companion, will be released June 26th and is currently up for pre-order HERE (180-gram yellow vinyl / CD). All pre-orders receive an instant MP3 download for the entire album at checkout!
Longtime Companion is a country album centered around love & heartache, topics best suited for such a genre. Sonny Smith, the band's main songwriter, pours his soul into these songs, reflecting a break up with his girlfriend of 10 years. While Longtime Companion has hints of The Flying Burrito Brothers, Gene Clark, Townes Van Zandt and a little Johnny Cash, it still ultimately sounds like a Sonny & the Sunsets album through and through.
Check out the first single "Pretend You Love Me" above (also available on Soundcloud HERE).
Our favorite holiday is almost here! RECORD STORE DAY 2012! The one (and probably only) day where you're expected to blow off all your other more important plans and head down to your local record shop to support independent music.
While you're flipping through all the amazing records you're sure to find this Saturday, be on the lookout for the 9 releases we have. They're goodies! Read on for details on each release.
1. of Montreal / Deerhoof split 7" - Stygian x} Bisection - Limited to 2000 copies on clear gold vinyl, this 7" is the latest in Deerhoof's collaborative single series. Side-A features of Montreal's Kevin Barnes singing alternate vocals to Deerhoof's "Secret Mobilization," while side-B features of Montreal's song "Feminine Effects."
2. Xiu Xiu / Dirty Beaches Split 7" - Side-A features Xiu Xiu's cover of "Always" by Erasure while side-B features Dirty Beaches' cover of "Tu Ne Dis Rien" by Francoise Hardy. Limited to 2000 on black vinyl.
3. STRFKR - Heaven's Youth (Reptilians Demos) - Limited to just 1000 copies on white vinyl, Heaven's Youth gives you a glimpse into how STRFKR's main songwriter, Josh Hodges, created the songs on the band's latest full-length, Reptilians. Many of these versions were recorded in the van during STRFKR tours or back in Hodges' home studio. It also features new artwork. This is a must for any STRFKR fan.
4. Saturday Looks Good To Me - All Your Summer Songs - Named one of Pitchfork's Top 50 albums of 2003, All Your Summer Songs has been out-of-print on vinyl for some time now. To celebrate the band's upcoming album & tour, we wanted to make it available for your turntable again. Limited to 1000 on white vinyl.
5. Hey Mercedes - Hey Mercedes - After the break-up of Braid in 1999, Bob Nanna, Todd Bell, and Damon Atkinson went on to form Hey Mercedes and release this self-titled debut. Limited to 700 copies on black vinyl.
6. Rainer Maria - Rainer Maria - Features each of the band's 3 EPs (Rainer Maria, Atlantic, and Ears Ring) comprised into one vinyl release. This is the first time any of the EPs have been available on vinyl. Limited to 300 on black vinyl.
7. matt pond PA - Several Arrows Later - Back in print and limited to 1000 copies on black vinyl!
8. matt pond PA - Measure - First time ever on vinyl! Limited to 1000 on black vinyl.
9. Mates of State - Crushes (The Covers Mixtape) - A complete covers album from Jason and Kori of Mates of State! This is the first time this release has been made available on vinyl. Features covers of songs by Girls, Belle and Sebastian, Death Cab For Cutie, Fleetwood Mac, and others. Limited to 1500 on clear vinyl. Hide More
After recently completing a full US tour in support of their new album, Paralytic Stalks, of Montreal are already back on the road again, only this time they're across the pond in Europe. They're bringing their full 8-piece band and lighting crew, so if you reside in Europe, you're going to see a great show. Countries along the way include Norway, Germany, France, UK, Israel, Spain and more. Check out the complete list of dates below. Above photo by Joann Jovinelly.
of Montreal 2012 European Tour Dates:
Apr 16, 2012 - Tavastia Club, Helsinki, Finland Apr 17, 2012 - Rockefeller, Oslo, Norway Apr 18, 2012 - Train, Århus, Denmark Apr 19, 2012 - Die Werkstatt, Cologne, Germany Apr 20, 2012 - Motel Mozaique Festival @ Off_Corso, Rotterdam, Netherlands Apr 21, 2012 - Botanique @ Orangerie, Brussels, Belgium Apr 22, 2012 - Sound Control, Manchester, United Kingdom Apr 23, 2012 - Irish Centre, Leeds, United Kingdom Apr 25, 2012 - Koko, London, United Kingdom Apr 26, 2012 - Concorde 2, Brighton, United Kingdom Apr 27, 2012 - Le Trianon, Paris, France Apr 28, 2012 - Stereolux, Nantes, France Apr 29, 2012 - Apolo, Barcelona, Spain Apr 30, 2012 - Joy Eslava, Madrid, Spain May 2, 2012 - Theatre Lino Ventura, Nice, France May 3, 2012 - Circolo degli Artisti, Rome, Italy May 4, 2012 - Magnolia, Milan, Italy May 5, 2012 - Donau Festival, Krems, Austria May 7, 2012 - Barby Club, Tel Aviv, Israel May 9, 2012 - Babylon, Istanbul, Turkey Aug 19, 2012 - Green Man Festival, Wales, United KingdomHide More
During of Montreal's recent stop in San Francisco, Kevin Barnes stopped by Different Fur studios to play a stripped down version of "Dour Percentage" for a Yourstru.ly / Pitchfork.tv session. Check out the clip above, then follow the link below to watch more videos on Pitchfork.tv.
Any NPR lovers out there? Be sure to check out this week's episode of All Songs Considered, as the new Japandroids song, "The House That Heaven Built," is one of the talked about tracks! The song appears on the upcoming album, Celebration Rock (out June 5th), as well as the The House That Heaven Built 7" (out May 15th).
Follow the link below to listen to the episode, which also features new songs by The Dirty Projectors, Hot Chip, and others.
Ever wonder what Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin's song "What'll We Do" would sound like if it were played on a Fender Rhodes? I'm probably not the only one out there!
Will and Phil recently did a stripped down session for The Denver Post's Reverb blog where they recorded versions of "What'll We Do," "Accident," and "Yellow Missing Signs." Watch the live take of "What'll We Do" above, then follow the link below to listen to the others.
The fine folks at RCRD LBL just posted the brand new Birthmark song "Shake Hands" as a free download! The song appears on the upcoming album, Antibodies, which comes out May 15th on limited edition white vinyl / CD / MP3.
Follow the links below to grab the song from RCRD LBL and to pre-order Antibodies.
Finnish/Columbian/Norwegian collective Blank Blank have teamed up with Casiokids to produce a brand new video for their instrumental track "Kaskaden," which appears on the band's latest album Aabenbaringen over aaskammen.
The video, which just debuted on theartsdesk, is inspired by Kung Fu films & the 80's Hollywood era with a little bit of Norwegian flavour tossed in for good measure. It's based around a movie called Utfall!, which loosly translates to attack, outcome, result.
Check out the video above, then follow the link below to read more about the video on theartsdesk.
Time for some good news! The new Japandroids album, Celebration Rock, is officially available for pre-order now and will be released on June 5th. To go along with the album, the band will also release a brand new 7" featuring the new single "The House That Heaven Built" coming out May 15th. Stream the single below.
Celebration Rock will be available on limited edition 180-gram red vinyl while "The House That Heaven Built 7" will stay true to every other Japandroids 7" and remain on clear vinyl. The B-side to the 7" is a cover of "Jack the Ripper" by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. View everything, including various package deals, here: http://www.polyvinylrecords.com/celebrationrock
But this wouldn't be a proper Japandroids announcement if we didn't tell you about some new tour dates now would it? The band will be hitting the road this May for a European tour, then in June they'll return for a North American tour. Check out the complete list of dates below.
Japandroids 2012 Tour
April 27, 2012 - The Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids, MI * April 28, 2012 - The Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids, MI * May 17, 2012 - Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff, United Kingdom May 18, 2012 - The Green Door Store, Brighton, United Kingdom May 19, 2012 - Paradiso (London Calling Festival), Amsterdam, Netherlands May 21, 2012 - Cooler, Bristol, United Kingdom May 22, 2012 - Camp Basement, London, United Kingdom May 23, 2012 - Soup Kitchen, Manchester, United Kingdom May 24, 2012 - King Tuts, Glasgow, United Kingdom May 25, 2012 - Cockpit 2, Leeds, United Kingdom May 26, 2012 - The Bodega, Nottingham, United Kingdom May 31, 2012 - Parc del Fòrum (Primavera Sound Festival), Barcelona, Spain Jun 11, 2012 - Neumo's, Seattle, WA # Jun 12, 2012 - Doug Fir Lounge, Portland, OR # Jun 14, 2012 - The Independent, San Francisco, CA # Jun 15, 2012 - Echoplex, Los Angeles, CA # Jun 16, 2012 - The Casbah, San Diego, CA # Jun 19, 2012 - Larimer Lounge, Denver, CO # Jun 21, 2012 - Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL # Jun 22, 2012 - Grog Shop, Cleveland, OH # Jun 23, 2012 - Lee's Palace, Toronto, Canada # Jun 25, 2012 - La Salla Rossa, Montreal, Canada # Jun 26, 2012 - Brighton Music Hall, Allston, MA # Jun 27, 2012 - Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY # Jun 29, 2012 - Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA # Jun 30, 2012 - The Rock and Roll Hotel, Washington, DC # Jul 3, 2012 - 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis, MN # Jul 7, 2012 - Biltmore Cabaret, Vancouver, Canada
Loney Dear are back in the states and they're kicking off their US tour tonight in Los Angeles, CA @ The Bootleg Bar. From there they'll travel up the West Coast and meet up with of Montreal in Minneapolis, MN on 3/27 to close out the tour. Check out the complete list of dates below, and be sure to make it out to a show if you can! Tickets for these shows are available HERE.
Loney Dear US Tour
Mar 19, 2012 – Bootleg Bar, Los Angeles, CA Mar 20, 2012 – Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, CA Mar 22, 2012 – Mississippi Studios, Portland, OR Mar 23, 2012 – The Media Club, Vancouver, Canada Mar 24, 2012 – Chop Suey, Seattle, WA Mar 27, 2012 – First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN * # Mar 28, 2012 – The Metro, Chicago, IL * # Mar 29, 2012 – Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH * # Mar 31, 2012 – Webster Hall, New York, NY * Apr 01, 2012 – Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA * # Apr 02, 2012 – Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA * # Apr 03, 2012 – 9:30 Club, Washington, DC * # Apr 04, 2012 – Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro, NC * # Apr 05, 2012 – The Orange Peel, Asheville, NC * # Apr 06, 2012 – Track 29, Chatanooga, TN * # Apr 07, 2012 – Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA * #
One of the most asked questions we get here at Polyvinyl is this: WHEN'S THE NEW JAPANDROIDS ALBUM COMING OUT?
Details of the band's new album, Celebration Rock, have just been announced on Pitchfork's interview with guitarist/vocalist Brian King. Follow the link below for more details on the new album and to read up on Brian's influences.
