Reviewed :: Guided By Voices - Let's Go Eat The Factory

Shortly after what was reported to be the final show of the classic line ups reunion at North Carolina's Hopscotch Music Festival in September, news came that the band had been writing and recording new songs back in Dayton, 21 one of those appear on the soon to be released Let's Go Eat The Factory, the line ups first new recording in fifteen years. The album will be released on January 1st to mail order and to record shops on January 17th. However if you're feeling a bit impatient and really who could blame you, the digital release is set for this Tuesday December 20th.

Over the past couple of weeks I've spent a lot of time listening to Let's Go Eat The Factory and to no one's surprise I'm completely bowled over by it. From the first listen, I wanted to experience these songs on their own merit, so not to compare them to what many (myself included) would call the bands holy trinity of Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes, and Under The Bushes, Under The Stars, not an easy task. The album has plenty of lo-fi charm and like the bands best work it sticks with you long after the final tracks ended. Laundry and Lasers opens the set with a mid-fi, distortion drenched anthem that does an effective job of both setting the tone for the LP, and providing a true eureka moment, similar to the first time you heard Buzzards and Dreadful Crows. Doughnut For A Snowman, shows off Robert Pollard gift for writing the perfect melancholic pop song, while Spiderfighter finds Tobin Sprout providing charging rhythms and angular guitar lines, before giving way to a gorgeous piano coda. Varied and inventive instrumentation add some depth to tracks like the string laden beatlesque, Hang Mr. Kite. It's not all anthemic pop songs, some the albums strongest moments are also it's darkest like on the wonderfully sleazy, The Big Hat And Toy Show, with squealing guitars, throbbing bass, and Pollards almost creepy vocal. The album closes with the sinister and ultimately triumphant, We Won't Apologize For The Human Race. You will wake up in the morning with these song playing in your head and the only thing to do is reach for Let's Go Eat The Factory, for more.

I had very high expectations for Let's Go Eat The Factory and remarkably the album surpasses all of them. But what makes the album so special, other than that it exists at all, is the fact that this line up has brilliantly picked up where they left off and delivered an album as great as Let's Go Eat The Factory.

[MP3] The Unsinkable Fats Domino
[MP3] Doughnut For A Snowman

Be There: Tiger Mountain| Future Carnivores, The Living Kills, & Soccer Mom @ The Cambridge Elks Lodge 12.16.11

The line up that will be featured at The Cambridge Elks Lodge tomorrow night is simply can't miss. The night will feature performances from Guillermo Sexo's, Reuben Bettsak and Noelle Dorsey's tribal psych concern, Future Carnivores which also features Bo Berringer of Me And Joan Collins. Boston's decibel raising shoegaze quartet, Soccer Mom and New York's spaced out drone pop, The Living Kills will also be on hand. See you in the Elks Lodge basement.

Short Bursts :: Gather Around The Christmas Tree For A Song

As we prepare to wind down the year, celebrate the holiday's, and get to work on our annual year end list we figured we'd churn out one more edition of Short Bursts. Today we turn to some recently issued holiday releases that we think sound smashing along side the seasons standards.

Midriff Records will close out what's been an exceptional year for the Boston/NY based indie, that featured five heralded releases, with Christmas On The Allston-Brighton Line from Eldridge Rodriguez. The digital EP features three original holiday tinged compositions, that the label has describes as "Christmas nostalgia for a neurotic future". This marks E.R.'s second release of 2011 following the superlative You Are Released EP and the first of three Christmas EP's that he has planned over the next few years.

In the spirit of the season, when you order Christmas On The Allston-Brighton Line from the Midriff Store you'll receive alternate downloadable album covers and a song book for your caroling needs.

Eldridge Rodriguez will perform an acoustic set at Porter Belly's Tavern in Brighton as part of the Cradles To Crayons Benefit on Friday December 16th

Eldridge Rodriguez - Baby, I'm Alone Tonight (Christmas Time) by ashgrayproclamation

Canada's venerable power pop institution, Sloan have recently recorded and released their take on the 12 Days Of Christmas. 100% of the proceeds from the digital only release will go to The Daily Bread Food Bank. The track will also be featured on their upcoming split 7" with Fucked Up.

You can order the single for .99 (Canadian) via Sloan's Bandcamp.

California's power poppers, Army Navy have enlisted the talents of Charlotte Froom (The Like) for their new holiday single. It's a lovely mid-temp duet between Froom and Army Navy fronter Justin Kennedy that features plenty of wit like the line,"Look at all the presents that we have to unwrap, I hope there is a gift receipt in case they're crap", not mention the ski resort from hell cover art.


Former Hefner linchpin, Darren Hayman has assembled some friends for The Christmas Advent Calendar Project where he has been posting two free songs a day leading up to Christmas. So far it's included contributions from The Wave Pictures, Paul Hawkins, Hayman's spot on cover of Elvis', Blue Christmas and more. Those can be found at Fika Records. He's also recently issued Christmas In Hayworth a 6 track 10"/digital EP that he recorded last Christmas. In typical Hayman fashion the EP comes with a vegetarian cake recipe and a bag of tea.



[Video] Darren Hayman - Photos Like Postcaards

On December 19th Super Fury Animals front man and recent recipient of The Welsh Music Prize, Gruff Rhys will offer the Atheist X-Mas EP. I recently performed a search for this EP and it turns up a host of christian conservative sites, that are none to pleased with the subject matter of the these songs. Free thinking can be scary folks. The EP features three tracks that deal with the dark side of Christmas, all of which are wholly wonderful, albeit a little bit twisted and unmistakably Gruff.

Gruff Rhys - Slashed Wrists This Christmas by PIASGermany

Boston guitar pop stalwarts, The Hush Now a preparing to wrap up a busy year. 2010 saw the band releasing their superbly crafted 3rd full length, Memos, completing a 17 date U.S. tour which culminated with an AGP/Clicky Clicky sponsored Homecoming show at Precinct in October, and their Halloween single, The Legend of Dudley Town. As if that wasn't enough the band have offered a somber, yet ultimately uplifting New Years Eve drinking anthem with the appropriately titled Happy New Year, Dear. Get to the free download over at The Hush Now's Bandcamp. They did the hard part, all that's left for you is to pop the cork and pour.

Transmissions :: The Cult Of Dom Keller - Heavy and Dead

Growing up I have distinct memory of my Father yelling up to my room, "turn down that acid rock" on more than one occasion. I can't remember what I was listening to, but I'm confident none of it was as drenched in acid sludge and blissful psychedelia as Nottingham, England's The Cult Of Dom Keller is. The bands latest outing EP3, which you can order from their interweb store features 7 new tracks of visceral and lysergic rhythms and otherworldy experimentalism. The Cult Of Dom Keller are busy readying their debut LP and planning a trip to our shores in the spring.

Support :: The Blue Dress /Flightless Birds Tour Fund

Ash Gray Proclamation favorites and Cape Cod's psych pop phenoms, The Blue Dress are teaming up with their good friends, Flightless Birds for a tour this summer. I realize that we've just begun the month of December, not mention the rabid consumerism season that is the Holiday's. However touring requires a good amount of planing, not to mention a considerable amount of funding, this is where the fans can lend some assistance. The Blue Dress have set up a Kickstarter fund where you can contribute and assist the band achieve their modest goal of raising $600 by January 29th. Plus they'll hook you up with some cool merch as a way of thanking you for your donation, which includes a copy of a forthcoming split tour EP with Flightless Birds. You can make a donation via The Blue Dress/Flightless Birds Summer Tour Fund. Also, if you haven't done so already, we recommend picking up The Blue Dress' recently released cassette/digital EP, These Happy Golden Years, which we reviewed last month and can be found here.

Lost Weekend :: Buffalo Tom's 25th Anniversary |November 25th-27th

When it was announced earlier this fall that Buffalo Tom would celebrate 25 years together with 3 successive shows at Brighton Music Hall my first thought was I have to go to at least one of those shows, but was hoping to make all three. Well I split the difference and attended two, Friday and Sunday, both were remarkable with the band offering varying sets and inspired performances each night.

Thanks to an older sibling with penchant for drilling whatever he liked into his little brothers head, sometime around 1990-91, I was introduced to Buffalo Tom with their sophomore release Birdbrain. Within about 10 seconds of hearing that albums title track, I was hooked and have followed the bands every move for nearly all of their 25 years so my excitement for these shows was palpable, to say the least.

Friday/Night #1:This seemed to be the must see show of the three, largely due to the evenings special guests. Early arrivals were treated to a brief but hilarious set from Eugene Mirman (Bob's Burgers, Flight of The Concords) to start the evening. Comedy at a rock show can be a dicey proposition, but Mirman managed to win the room over with wit and sharp retorts for a few inebriated hecklers. It's inexplicable that after many years of buying Ted Leo's records I had never seen him before. With just a guitar and his far reaching voice, Leo ran through a cherry picked set that featured highlights of his back catalog and a stunning cover of Uncle Tupelo's Whiskey Bottle. Leo let the crowd know early on that he was suffering from voice/throat issue and was treating it with a concoction of hot sauce and Jameson's. As nausea inducing as that sounds, it must have done the trick because he delivered a passionate performance highlighted by his considerable vocal range and gave no hint of his current ailment. The room was at capacity with a mix of die hard 40 and 30 year olds as well as 20 somethings when the weekend's unofficial emcee, Mike O'Malley (Glee, Yes, Dear) ushered Buffalo Tom on stage. Within seconds of Bill Janovitz striking the opening chords of Velvet Roof the room erupted, with the woman standing next to me going into what can only be described as a Buffalo Tom induced seizure. Over the next two hours the band ran through an impassioned and energetic set with assistance from some notable friends. Former Throwing Muses, Breeders, and Belly songstress, Tanya Donelly provided vocals on a few songs which included a chilling version of Let Me Come Over's , Frozen Lake as well as Don't Forget Me from Buffalo Tom's 2011 release Skins . Former Fuzzy members Hilken Mancini and Chris Toppin provided harmony vocals on a couple of tracks and returned to provide backing vocals along with Donelly on Treehouse. Mike Gent of The Figgs and The Gentlemen arrived on stage to provide acoustic guitar and backing vocals to Arise, Watch and the Mike O' Malley sung The Seeker, I'm a sucker for a good Who cover and that certainly qualified. Arguably the nights most anticipated guest Dinosaur Jr.'s, J. Mascis joined the the band for a few of the nights best moments, which included some of the material he produced with the band, Birdbrain, Impossible, and Sunflower Suit. He would return later to assist in closing out the show for a blistering rendition of Neil Young's, Cortez The Killer. Much of the capacity crowd lingered afterwards completely awestruck by the mesmerizing performance we had all just witnessed. Sunday couldn't come soon enough.

Buffalo Tom @ Brighton Music Hall November 25th,2011

Velvet Roof

Summer

Kitchen Door

Larry

I'm Allowed

Three Easy Pieces

Impossible w/ J. Mascis

Sunflower Suit w/ J. Mascis

Birdbrain w/ J. Mascis

Frozen Lake w/ Tanya Donelly

It's You w/ Tanya Donelly

Don't Forget Me w/ Tanya Donelly

Reason Why w/ Ted Leo

Late At Night

Darl w/ Hilken Mancini

Your Stripes w/ Chris Toppin

Sparklers

Treehouse w/ Tanya Donelly, Chris Toppin, & Hilken Mancini

----

Taillights Fade

Arise, Watch w/ Mike Gent

The Seeker w/ Mike O' Malley & Mike Gent

Cortez The Killer w/ J. Mascis

Sunday/Night #3: Former Come, Uzi, and Live Skull member Thalia Zedek opened the evening with an impressive set of dissonant guitar, violin, and throbbing rhythms, showcasing her stark and melancholic work with The Thalia Zedek Band. The third and final night of Buffalo Tom's 25th Anniversary promised to be another special of night of guitar crunch and the bands understated but potent pop hooks. Although the band sent out a message via their Facebook page that there would be fewer guest and they would play a slightly shorter set. That announcement did not deter the nearly sold-out Sunday crowd from coming out on a school night, nor did it stop the band from delivering another exuberant set with a few surprises. Including a few return appearances, including The Figgs fronter, Mike Gent providing guitar and vocals to Fortune Teller. Mean Creek's Chris Keene joined the band for Would Not Be Denied and his band mate Aurore Ounjian provided backing vocals (and tambourine) on Soda Jerk. Janovitz let us know that the pair were at a party down the street and didn't realize they were expected for night 3, as the band played an opening set on Saturday. Chalk it up to rock and roll confusion, luckily for us they made it and contributed fine performances. The angel voiced Tanya Donelly returned to provide vocals to a few songs including Torch Singer, a track we were pining to hear and it did not disappoint. The band paid a fitting tribute to their late friend and ardent Boston music supporter, Billy Ruanne on Larry.

Although the lists of spacial guests was truncated and the band shortened their set by just one song compared to Friday's 22 songs, Buffalo Tom delivered an exhilarating set and reminded me and probably many of you of not just how important they have been over the years, but how absolutely essential they continue to be. I'd urge anyone who hasn't done so already to pick up the bands last couple of records, Three Easy Pieces and this years superb, Skins, both records are deserving of your attention. Here's hoping they do this again next year.

Buffalo Tom @ Brighton Music Hall November 27th, 2011

Tangerine

Stapples

Porchlight

Summer

Clobbered

Arise, Watch w/ Mike Gent

Fortune Teller w/ Mike Gent

Sunday Night

Kitchen Door

Would Not Be Denied w/ Chris Keene of Mean Creek

Soda Jerk w/ Aurore Ounjian of Mean Creek

Torch Singer w/ Tanya Donelly

Don't Forget Me w/ Tanya Donelly

It's You

Late At Night

Velvet Roof

---

Taillight Fade

The Seeker w/ Mike O'Malley and Mike Gent

Larry

Frozen Lake w/ Tanya Donelly

Treehouse

There was a professional video crew filming these shows and we assume they'll be a DVD release, until then be sure to check out this video from this weekends perfomaces.

[video] Buffalo Tom w/ J. Mascis - Cortez The Killer Live @Brighton Music Hall 11/25/11

Credits: Set list information courtesy of Michael Piantigini @ Clicky Clicky Music

Transmissions :: Echo Lake - Buried At Sea

Echo Lake - Buried at Sea from ///NO PAIN IN POP\\\ on Vimeo.

Back in August we told you London's rising dream pop outfit, Echo Lake and their then recently released Another Day/Breath Deep 7". Since then the band have been busy recording their debut full length, which is expected to be released in 2012. In addition Japan based Coco Heart Records have just re-issued the sparkling Young Silence EP and the band will issue a 4-way split EP with Gross Magic, Thoap, and Novella on December 12th via Marshall Teller Records. Echo Lake contributes the hazy pop gem, Buried At Sea, a track that they recently shot a video for off the coast of Granada, Spain with director Nalalia Stuyk.

This Weeks Short Bursts :: Hallelujah The Hills, Young Dreams, & Yale, Massachusetts

Wednesday brought us Amatuers the new two sided single from Boston's indie pop goliaths, Hallelujah The Hills. Neither of these tracks will be included on the bands next LP, III which is due out early next year. The A -side, Amateurs is spell-a-long rallying cry with fuzzy guitars, banjo, and fronter another set of superb anthemic lyrics from HTH lynchpin Ryan Walsh.

"Big time issues in air tight jars
There’s a furnace fuel that can outpace cars
We all made the cut so let’s break some laws
Can you turn me up in the speakers?"

The b-side, The Girls Are Here is equally as impressive and possible a little more triumphant, complete with female backing vocals courtesy of Noell Dorsey, Leah Hennessy, &y very Sleepy Very Sleepy's Katie Von Schleicher that add a certian sweetness to the bands already expansive canvas. You can grab a copy of the singles from the Hallelujah The Hills Bandcamp, for the ridiculously fair price of $2.00, and we recommend you get to that immediately.


The 10 piece Nordic pop collective, Young Dreams have announced that they have recently inked a deal with Australia's Modular Records. Last year when Young Dreams' multi-instrumentalist and mastermind, Matias Tellez posted three tracks to his bands Facebook page, Young Dreams became the immediate focus of international blog buzz and ended up on last summers festival circuit, with appearances at Larm, Camped Crawl, and Hove Festival. Young Dreams are readying their debut full length, due out in 2012.

The collectives eponymous track is an impressive marriage of psych, tropicalia,and borouque pop and completely in our wheel house.

Young Dreams - Young Dreams by modularpeople

Boston's rising punks, Yale,Massachusetts will return to O'Brien's on December 4th, the site of last weeks raucous Act Like You've Been Here EP release show, you should probably just go ahead and cancel any other plans for that night right now. The new EP stands firmly within the power punk camp, with rhythmic complexity of math rock and the pop sensibilities of emo's first wave . The EP's closing track and superbly titled , Keep it Shitty is a high speed power punk anthem. Remember that time when you took all that trucker speed and listened to Sorry Ma, I Forgot To Take Out The Trash? Kinda like that.

The Grownup Noise November Residency| @ Toad Sommerville, MA

Ash Gray Proclamation favorites, The Grownup Noise will play their final installment of their November residency at Toad tomorrow night. Inexplicably we've never seen the band Live, that all changes tomorrow night when we drag are asses to Somerville's Porter Square, join us! Our review of The Grownup Noise' sparkling sophomore set, This Time With Feeling can be read here.

Now, how about some songs.

Reviewed :: Circus Devils - Capsized! | Happy Jack Rock Records #27

Since 2001 Robert Pollard, Tim and Todd Tobias have been quietly releasing unconventional and arresting records under the Circus Devils moniker. The band is if nothing else incredibly consistent, with each record bringing an element of the unexpected. Capsized! the trio's new and overall ninth offering was released last month is no exception. The album opens with To England With Tigers, the first of (count em') four instrumentals on the album which lend to the Capsized! cinematic feel and provides this varied collection with some breathing room from track to track. What follows is the the title track, complete with a twinkling piano and scuzzy guitars. If Circus Devils ever had a radio ready single, that is if commercial radio didn't completely suck, that song would undoubtedly be Cycopean Runways. That track is far an away the surprise of the set and easily the poppiest track to ever grace a Circus Devils album.

Circus Devils have always seemed to be Pollard's most polarizing outfit even for Pollard completists , but for the better part of the last 11 years it's featured some his most inventive and spirited output. Pollard makes a case for this throughout Capsized! , notably on the blissed out soft rock of Legendary Breakfast Code and it's nostalgic chorus "It's such a coffin sailboat everyday, I miss your legendary breakfast code" and again on the mid set stomper Leave The Knife Curtis with Pollard delivering spoken word verses a midst sinister and fuzzed out rhythms.

Capsized! deftly marries contrasting genres such as prog, soft rock, radio ready pop, and terrifying soundscapes, while retaining the trio's odd ball charm. Circus Devils have issued their most cohesive and mesmerizing LP to date. At times unconventional and even challenging, but ultimately it's completely spellbinding.

Circus Devils - Cyclopean Runways by ashgrayproclamation

Forthcoming :: Teenage Cool Kids - Denton After Sunset

Denton, TX's whimsical pop outfit, Teenage Cool Kids will release their third and quite possibly final LP with the aptly titled, Denton After Sunset on December 6th. The new set can be currently heard and downloaded via the Teenage Cool Kids Bandcamp page and will also be available on limited run vinyl from Dull Tools Records. Denton After Sunset was recorded shortly after an extensive tour of the U.S. and Europe for 2009's superlative Foreign Lands. The albums 9 tracks features TCK delivering earnest and discordant melodies as well as their trademark razor sharp pop hooks and lyrics that read like a Dear John letter from fronter Andrew Savage.

Transmissions :: Scratch Acid - Moron's Moron | Live in Atlanta

David Yow and David Wm. Sims are back and out on the road with their pre Jesus Lizard outfit, Scratch Acid. They play The Paradise on Wednesday and based on this video (shot at The Earl in Atlanta last week), madness will ensue.

Advance ticketing can be sorted out here.

Reviewed :: The Blue Dress - These Happy Golden Years [EP]

Cape Cod's psych pop stalwarts, The Blue Dress first popped up on our radar last summer with the release of their wonderful debut, Demo EP. In fact, we beat the shit of that release's 4 tracks on almost daily basis. So when we heard the band would be releasing a new cassette/digital EP via Chicago's excellent Already Dead Tapes we were more than a little eager to hear the new material. We wrote about the release and premiered one of the albums track earlier this fall, but that only upped our anticipation.

For the recording of These Happy Golden Years, the adroit duo of Patrick Tottenham and Timothy Sylvia expanded upon their sound with multifarious instrumentation courtesy of contributions from Ben Raymond (trumpet), Kassie Carlson (violin), Kristie Defastano (vocals), and Rob Kelly of The Soft White 3-Way (keyboards). The EP was tracked by Silvia at Treetops Studios in September and features 3 new compositions and a re-working of the Demo EP's standout, Deth Ray, re-titled here as My Deth Ray. The set starts with arguably the bands strongest track to date with The Totem, it features driving and distorted guitar lines and a killer, albeit nihilistic chorus, "there's nothing on the other side". My Deth Ray has been transformed from an austere acoustic dirge to a triumphant foot stomper complete with trumpet wails and tenacious rhythms. Over Your Eyes finds The Blue Dress displaying their dexterous gift for creating chilling psych pop, with big chords and even bigger hooks. The EP comes to a close with the release's longest track, Frozen Daughter which comes in just under the six minute mark with not a second wasted, combining drone, noise, bursts of trumpet, and tribal drumming. It brings to mind the early work of Mercury Rev, particularly Yourself Is Steam, at least to our ears.

These Happy Golden Years finds The Blue Dress pushing their sound forward with an engaging and devastating collection of songs, albeit far too short for our liking, nonetheless it's one of the finest recordings we've heard all year.

Age Rings, Guillermo Sexo, Marconi, & The Future Everybody @ Radio| Sommerville| November 5, 2011

On Saturday Age Rings will celebrate the re-release of their brilliant Black Honey LP, via Boston's Midriff Records.We wrote about the re-release back in September. Foolishly, we've squandered our previous chances to catch Age Rings Live, but it looks like the stars will align themselves long enough for us to catch the owners of one our favorite records of 2011, in a couple days time. Age Rings will be supported by Boston's dream pop phenoms, Guillermo Sexo. Marconi and The Future Everybody will also perform. It seems like you just found your excuse to make it to the freshly opened Radio. Plan accordingly and acquire your advance tickets here.

Now some songs:

Important Guy by Age Rings

Forthcoming : Guided By Voices Issue 3 Singles with 3 Different Labels

Somewhere in or around Dayton, OH Robert Pollard is undoubtedly celebrating his birthday this evening in a way that we assume is completely Pollardian. Earlier today the pre-order links went live at Rockathon/The Factory of Raw Essentialls for the first recordings in 15 years from GBV's 1992-1996 line up, Let's Go Eat The Factory. Which will be released via and GBV, Inc on January 1st and to brick and mortar shops on January 16th/17th. As if that wasn't enough to get the total fan boys at The AGP HQ, giddy, we also learned today that the band will release 3 separate 7" singles with three different labels. On November 22nd Matador will issue the double A sided single, The Unsinkable Fats Domino b/w We Won't Apologize For The Human Race. U.K. based Fire Records will release Doughnut For A Snowman 7" wich also features 4 non album b-sides, Rockathon has already sold out of the 250 copies they had to see but you can still gran them from Fire. Finally in December GBV, Inc. will offer the Chocolate Boy 7" and features the Tobin Sprout b-side, As The Girls Sing Downing, available in shops on January 17th.

We've embedded Doughnut For A Snowman below, mainly because we can't stop listening to it. prepare yourself for a nostalgia inducing slice of perfect pop and a track Pollard recently described as "the twinkliest song he's ever written"

Guided By Voices - Doughnut For A Snowman by FIRE RECORDS

Short Bursts: Cloud Nothings, Fat History Month, + The Hush Now

We were a bit underwhelmed by last years full length debut from Cloud Nothings, don't get us wrong it had some nice lo-fi pop moments, but overall something seemed to be missing, compared to the bands early singles. Well Dylan Baldi is upping our expectations with album #2, by teaming up with the venerable Steve Albini for the recording of Attack Of Memory at his Electrical Audio Studio's in Chicago. Baldi has offered a teaser for the LP via this :46 sample of album track Wasted Days. Attack Of Memory will be issued by Carpark Records on January 24th.

Earlier this week Boston noise titans, Fat History Month celebrated the release their new 4 track, Gorilla 7" with a show at Charlies Kitchen. Gorilla follows FHM's fantastic full length debut, Fucking Despair released late last summer on Sophomore Lounge. The tracks found on this newly released 7" were recorded in 2009, we're glad they finally made on a proper FHM release. The band will head back out on the road next week to play 17 shows in 17 days, the tour is centered around an appearance at Louisville's Cropped Out Festival. Fat History Month will return home for a show at Doom Dungeon in Hadley and a TBA show in Boston on November 19th.


Lastly we'd like to point you to the terrific new Halloween single from Boston pop giants, The Hush Now. The Legend of Dudley Town was recorded at Mad Oak Studios during the Memos sessions and conjures up historical accounts of CT's haunted, Dudley Town. The single follows in the bands rich tradition of releasing exceptional holiday tinged tracks. After enjoying the creeped out goodness of The Legend of Dudley Town, be sure to go back and check out last years sinister offering, Please Mephistopheles , Leave Me Alone.

Nada Surf Returns with The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy

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It's been a relatively quiet four years for New York's indie pop institution, Nada Surf, save for last years covers collection, If I Had a Hi-Fi. Well, we're more than a little pleased to report that Nada Surf will return on January 24th with thier 7th LP, The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy on Barsuk Records in the U.S. and City Slang in the U.K. and the rest of Europe. This marks the first set of new material from the band since 2007's Lucky. While recording The Stars.. with Chris Shaw (Wilco, Super Furry Animals) the band made a deliberate attempt to capture their live sound and not over think things too much in the studio. The album features contributions from former Guided By Voices/Cobra Verde guitarist Doug Gillard as well as Martin Wenk (Calexico). The first single When I was Young, is winsome track that finds lyrical balance between the dreams of youth and the realities of adult hood, that we immediately connected with.

For the price of your electronic whereabouts you can grab the track from the bands interweb shelter, or listen below.

Nada Surf - When I Was Young by cityslang

Cameraphone :: The Hush Now's Homecoming Show with Soccer Mom and Chandeliers,Captured On Various Devices of The Cellular Variety

Photo Credits: Echoes Myron, Kristine Jelstrom-Hamill, Bryan Hamill & our crappy smart phones.

New Sounds Now: Guided By Voices - The Unsinkable Fats Domino

Earlier this week, to the surprise of pretty much everyone, except perhaps the folks at WORT's Wake Up Futuristic Radio Program, the world was given it's first listen to the new recordings of Guided By Voices classic line up's forthcoming, Let's Go Eat The Factory. Can we stop with the classic line up business and refer to them simply as GBV now? O.K. moving on, as we told you last month, the 21 track LP will be released on January 1st and will be the first of two new GBV albums in 2012. The Unsinkable Fats Domino is kind of what you would expect from Bob, Mitch, Tobin, Kevin, and Greg after they assembled in various basements and garages around Dayton. If you were expected pure GBV gold circa 1996, you will not be disappointed.

Programming note: WORT's Wake Up Futuristic is scheduled to play another new track from Let's Go Eat The Factory as well as a never before heard b-side this week. We thought you might want to check that out.

The Hush Now's Homecoming Show with Soccer Mom, Chandeliers, and The U.S. Premiere of Johnny Foreigner vs. Everything |@ Precinct Bar

You guys didn't actually think we'd let another chance to promote this show slip through our fingers did you? Tomorrow night along with our friends at Clicky Clicky Music we present The Hush Now's Homecoming show at Precinct Bar in Somerville. This line up is not to be missed. Along with The Hush Now, the bill also includes Chandeliers, Soccer Mom, and the freshly added Cooling Towers. The evening will begin with the North American premiere of Johnny Foreigner vs. Everything, from Birmingham, England's preeminent noise pop trio, Johnny Foreigner and thanks to Alcopop! Records and Jay Clicky Clicky we'll be giving away exclusive album samplers of the album. In addition if you arrive by 9:00 you will be gifted with a Hush Now shot glass. What you fill it with is between you and your bartender. We recommend arriving for the 8:20 start of the album, we've heard it and it's already messing up our year end list. If you find yourself in the building, be sure to say hello to teams Clicky Clicky and AGP, which will include a rare sighting of our very own Echoes Myron. We're expecting an epic night, plan accordingly.

8:00 Doors
8:20 North American premiere of Johnny Foreigner vs. Everything
9:30 Chandeliers
10:30 The Hush Now
11:30 Soccer Mom
12:30 Cooling Towers