Scotland alternative pop band We Were Promised Jetpacks appeared on the indie music radar last year when the band went on tour with indie rock band Frightened Rabbit. Now the buzz around We Were Promised Jetpacks is getting louder thanks to their new debut album These Four Walls. The album features a mixture of alternative rock, post punk and indie pop music, at times reminiscent of the Editors, The Strokes.

No good explanation can be found online for the origin of the band's name, but it does, and yet also does not, seem to fit. Prefix Magazine put it nicely: "Their name, though quite clever, indicates that they might traffic in the nerd rock of They Might Be Giants or the hipster pop of Phantom Planet. When the earnest voice of Adam Thompson first cuts through the thin veneer of dissonance that blankets nearly every song on These Four Walls, it is almost disorienting."

In addition to Thompson, band members include Michael Palmer (guitar), Sean Smith (bass) and Darren Lackie (drums). The Glasgow band was 'discovered' when folks at Fat Cat Records - label of Sigur Rós, Múm, Animal Collective, The Twilight Sad - had heard some of We Were Promised Jetpacks music on MySpace while browsing the friends section for Frightened Rabbit (who, by the way, are also signed with Fat Cat).

As one of the best debut albums so far this year, These Four Walls, demonstrates that We Were Promised Jetpacks are a band to watch.

"Quiet Little Voices" - We Were Promised Jetpacks from These Four Walls (2009)

"Conductor" - We Were Promised Jetpacks from These Four Walls (2009)

Labels: Bands to Watch 2009, Scottish Bands, We Were Promised Jetpacks

Camera Obscura, one of the most popular indie pop bands over the last few years, has released the dates and venues for an ambitious tour across the United States and Australia, kicking off their first show January 17 at The Earl in Atlanta.

According to their official website, there may be more dates added later.

If you get a chance to see them, IRC strongly recommends that you get your tickets early; they will sell out just about everywhere and you don't want to be dishing out double the price for concert tickets on eBay.

Meanwhile, listen to song samples and view the tour dates. You may also want to check out their official homepage, featuring streaming audio and music videos, MP3s and easy-to-use media formats, creating an interactive experience.

Listen now:

- If Looks Could Kill (official release in UK/Europe is set for Jan. 29)
- Let's Get Out of This Country - (one of the song's that got them noticed)

Note: Support the group and buy Camera Obscura music from Emusic.com or anywhere on the Internet.


TOUR DATES - January to March 2007

Jan 17 2007 8:00P	The Earl	Atlanta, Georgia
Jan 18 2007 8:00P	The Club Downunder	Talahasee, Florida
Jan 19 2007 8:00P	40 Watt Club	Athens, Georgia
Jan 20 2007 8:00P	Cat's Cradle	Carborro, North Carolina
Jan 21 2007 8:00P	Sun Satellite Ballroom	Charlottesville, Virginia
Jan 22 2007 8:00P	9:30 Club	Washington, Washington DC
Jan 24 2007 8:00P	Warsaw	Brooklyn, New York
Jan 26 2007 8:00P	Pearl Street	Northampton, Massachusetts
Jan 27 2007 8:00P	Paradise Rock Club	Boston, Massachusetts
Jan 29 2007 8:00P	La Sala Rossa	Montreal, Quebec
Jan 30 2007 8:00P	Barrymore's Music Hall	Ottawa, Ontario
Jan 31 2007 8:00P	Opera House	Toronto, Ontario
Feb 1 2007 8:00P	Blind Pig	Ann Arbor, Michigan
Feb 2 2007 8:00P	Kraftbrau Brewery	Kalamazoo, Michigan
Feb 3 2007 8:00P	Logan Square Auditorium	Chicago, Illinois
Feb 5 2007 8:00P	The Blue Note	Columbia, Missouri
Feb 8 2007 8:00P	The Bluebird Theatre	Denver, Colorado
Feb 9 2007 8:00P	The Record Bar	Kansas City, Kansas
Feb 10 2007 8:00P	Polyforum Siqueiros	Mexico City
Feb 12 2007 8:00P	Neumos	Seattle, Washington
Feb 13 2007 8:00P	Richard's On Richard's	Vancouver, British Columbia
Feb 14 2007 8:00P	Wonder Ballroom	Portland, Oregon
Feb 16 2007 8:00P	Bimbo's	San Francisco, California
Feb 17 2007 8:00P	El Ray Theatre	Los Angeles, California
Feb 22 2007 8:00P	Troubadour	Brisbane, Northern Territory
Feb 23 2007 8:00P	Laneway Festival	Melbourne, Victoria
Feb 23 2007 8:00P	Northcote Social Club	Melbourne, Western Australia
Feb 24 2007 8:00P	Laneway Festival	Melbourne
Mar 2 2007 8:00P	Perth International Arts Centre	Perth, Western Australia
Mar 3 2007 8:00P	Laneway Festival	Brisbane
Mar 4 2007 8:00P	Laneway Festival	Sydney
Mar 5 2007 8:00P	Annandale Hotel	Sydney, New South Wales

Labels: Camera Obscura, Scottish Bands