Okkervil River's new LP, I Am Very Far, will be officially released on May 9th.
For what we think is a web first, Okkervil River are not releasing their new album, I Am Very Far, today, but instead will perform it live, song for song, on KUT in Austin in collaboration with NPR. You can listen to the live cast at 7 pm EST Wednesday evening. The Foo Fighters recently performed their entire new album, Wasting Light, on a special web-only live cast, which you can still stream here. However, Foo Fighters had already released Wasting Light prior to the performance.
Although the new Okkervil River album doesn’t officially drop until May 9th (pre-order here), it will mark the band’s first album since 2008’s The Stand Ins. So, it has been a long time and waiting for fans of one of the best indie folk rock bands of the past decade.
Compared to a relative blitz of releases early on in the band’s career, Okkervil River has released just two LPs in the past six years. But the idea to perform the album live first is a great marketing event, and also a nice treat for hard-core fans. Here’s the first single from the album.
Okkervil River formed when former high school friends from New Hampshire, vocalist Will Robison Sheff and drummer Seth Warren decided to meet in Austin after college to work on some music they had been discussing. The duo added bassist Zachary Thomas soon after and recorded several EPs, including Stars Too Small to Use, in early 2000. About the same time, multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Meiburg joined the band just in time for the band’s SXSW debut in March 2000.
Producer Brian Beattie agreed to produce the band’s debut LP, Don’t Fall in Love with Everyone You See. During the recording of the album, Warren left the band to move to California and was replaced by drummer Mark Pendini. The band then signed to Jagjaguwar Records who released the debut LP in 2002. The next year, the band released their sophomore LP, Down the River of Golden Dreams. In 2005, Okkervil River broke out big time to the national stage with the release of Black Sheep Boy, and several months later, the Black Sheep Boy Appendix EP. In 2007 and 2008, the band released The Stage Names and The Stand Ins, respectively.
“Lost Coastlines” – Okkervil River from The Stand Ins (2008)
Okkervil River will officially drop I Am Very Far on May 9th. The following week, the band will headline at Heaven in London, and then at Gota Kallare in Stockholm on May 20th. On May 31st, the band will kick off their 2011 summer tour at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta.
The three week tour, according to the band’s MySpace page, will take the band across the U.S. (and Canada), but no shows are scheduled for California, which is a bit bizarre. The tour will end up at the magnificent Crystal Ballroom in Portland, Oregon – yes that gigantic room up the top of the stairs with the bouncing floor. We saw Panda Bear there last fall during MFNW. If you’ve never seen a show there, this would be a good reason to go, and you might just get to see the ghosts.
Some of you may have noticed the lack of Best New Releases posts in December. That was directly the result of an unusually short list of new releases to write about. It is a pretty standard practice in the recording industry for labels and bands to hold off releasing new albums in December until the new year.
Did you listen to our No. 1 Songs of 2010 playlist and vote for your favorite song? Please do. Poll closes on January 13th.
For one, most people are too busy with the holidays to pay attention to new releases, and perhaps more importantly, labels and bands understandably want to wait until the new year to drop a new LP to qualify for that year’s various music awards, as well as mainstream media and entertainment blogs year-end “best of” lists. Plus, because more young people have money given to them during the holidays than any other time of year, January is a good time to release an album.
Even thought they've been together for five years, Swim Party are an IRC Band to Watch in 2011
Nothing like starting off a playist mix with a new track from Bright Eyes. We’ve also got a few singles from December’s limited new releases to share with you in this post, and a couple of hot new tracks from this week’s new releases by acclaimed San Diego indie rock band, Swim Party. Even though they’ve been garnering praise from bloggers, newspapers and major entertainment sites since 2005, Swim Party are still completely DIY and unsigned.
“Shell Games”– Bright Eyes from The People’s Key – due out in March 2011
We think, based on their new album, and the slow, but steady building up of their discography and fan-base, not to mention all kinds of praise via the press, that 2011 might be the year for Swim Party to hit it big, especially if the ‘chillwave’ fad takes a hit that some bloggers and music fans hope it will (what do you think?). Also, check out new songs from Deadhorse and Mr. Dreamland.
Indie artist Perfume Genius will be one to watch in 2011
Stay tuned for Top Songs of 2010 mix, plus our guide to the best new music in 2011. If you haven’t listen to the playlist mix of the Top 50 No.1 Songs of 2010 on IRC, and cast your vote for the best No. 1, please do so. Voting closes Jan. 13th.
“The Glory of Economy” – Swim Party from There Is Too Much Wood in My Coffin– Jan. 4th
“Interstellar Remedies” – DeadHorse from DeadHorse – Jan. 4th
There are boat loads of new singles from new and upcoming albums coming at us from every direction. So, the first batch of new songs from 2011 albums include awesome new tracks from recent or upcoming releases by Bright Eyes, Cloud Nothings, The Brute Chorus, Emmanuel and The Fear, Duchess Leo, and others.
Artist to Watch Cloud Nothings Releases Singles Ahead of New, Debut LP
One of our break-through artists of 2010, Cloud Nothings, has a couple of recent tracks worth checking out; first, a recent track via Mineo Records, “Understand At All” ; listen to it below. On January 25th, Cloud Nothings, aka Dylan Baldi, will drop his debut LP for CarPark Records. For a producer, Dylan chose Baltimore’s Chester Gwazda, known for his work with Dan Deacon and Future Islands. In October 2010, Cloud Nothings dropped an MP3 Amazon exclusive titled No Turn containing 14 new, demo and previously released tracks, like the starter hit “Hey Cool Kid”.
“Understand At All” – Cloud Nothings from Cloud Nothings
Recorded this past August in a warehouse studio in Baltimore‘s famed Copycat Building (home to the original Wham City and many of the city’s best musicians and artists), the self-titled Cloud Nothings album is full of energy, precision, and catchy bits. Dylan plays all the instruments on the album, but this time without the lo-fi scuzz.
The Brute Chorus Channel Rockabilly with a New Twist
Here’s an interesting track from a band to watch called The Brute Chorus. The track that the band recently sent to us, “Birdman”, is so many things at once – it’s freaky, it’s foot stompin with jyrations, it’s attitude, unnerving, quirky, intense. We love when raw talent emerges from obscurity with an arsenal of no frills, eclectic rock, and completely refreshing at a time when glo-fi and chillwave (and we love them) are such a force of the indie scene.
“Birdman” has an unmistakable influence and likeness of the 50’s ground-breaking rockabilly of Jerry Lee Lewis, mixed with dashes of Jack White’s guitar and drum intensity. It’s hard to not be enthralled by frenetic energy and force of the band’s songs. “Birdman” is the perfect starter track for people who are just learning of this rising UK band. There’s no question that The Brute Chorus’ upcoming release of the sophomore album, How The Caged Bird Sings, is on our 2011 music purchasing list.
“Birdman” – The Brute Chorus from How The Caged Bird Sings
Fresh Track from Emanuel and The Fear’s Upcoming Debut
Earlier in 2010 we introduced you to Emanuel and The Fear, and many of you liked the band’s music. Now, they (which means anywhere from 6-30 members depending) have a new and catchy track “Dear Friend” that will appear on EATF’s 2011 full-length debut; release date TBA. The band has toured Europe and U.S., sell-out shows regularly in New York City, were a hit at 2010’s CMJ and are in the process of completing a “live in studio” EP as well.
“Dear Friend” – Emanuel and The Fear from untitled debut, TBA
Brooklyn’s Duchess Leo Release New Single from Debut Album
This is a brand new track from the Brooklyn ambient electroindie band Duchess Leo. While the duo’s two members, Dan Ryan and Todd Buchler, have kept busy working on other music projects. Now, however, they’ve assembled a great bunch of great melodic tracks for their upcoming Jan. 25th LP debut, Golden Gray. The Village Voice said of the Duchess Leo: “they are a decidedly cohesive Drizzly Bear, a pair of rainy-day swooners obsessed with churning melodies and bliss-drenched textures.” Here is the first track from the debut, “Bloom”. You can stream Golden Gray via the band’s BandCamp page.
“Bloom” – Duchess Leo from Golden Gray – Jan. 25th
Stayed Tuned: We have a series of posts coming out soon looking at the most anticipated albums of the winter of 2011. You can also follow IRC on Twitter, Facebook or via RSS.
If you missed any of the other few December 2010 new releases, there are some awesome MP3 singles from Sufjan Stevens, Perfume Genius, Daft Punk, Acid House Kings, Sonny Smith with The Sandwitches and The Transients, and more.
“Mr. Peterson” – Perfume Genius from Learning
“Are We Lovers Or Are We Friends?” – Acid House Kings from Are We Lovers Or Are We Friends?
“Throw My Ashes From This Pier When I Die” – Sonny Smith and The Sandwitches and The Transients from 100 Records EP – Dec. 11th
“Learn The Language” – Mr. Dreamland from Never Elaborate – DIY Release, Dec. 1, 2010
“Derezzed” – Daft Punk from Tron Legacy
“Cool Jumper” – Wavves, advanced single
Jack White Produces Nashville’s Rising Artist PUJOL
Chances are that if Jack White is involved with a music project, it’s going to be something a lot of people will want to hear. Such is the case with White’s newest collaboration, as the producer of Nashville musician PUJOL, who is also known by some as the “Philosopher King of the Nashville Scene”.
The track, “Too Safe”, was released as a double seven-inch on Dec. 11th via White’s Nashville label, Third Man Records.
“Too Safe” – Pujol from Black Rabbit 7″ – Dec. 11th
Okkervil River formed when former high school friends from New Hampshire, vocalist Will Robison Sheff and drummer Seth Warren decided to meet in Austin after college to work on some music they had been discussing. The duo added bassist Zachary Thomas soon after and recorded several EPs, including Stars Too Small to Use, in early 2000. About the same time, multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Meiburg joined the band just in time for the band’s SXSW debut in March 2000.
The Brute Chorus Channel Rockabilly with a New Twist