Drive-By Truckers will be releasing The Big To Do on March 16th via the fabulous ATO Records. They’ll be touring in support of the album with a stop in Austin at SxSW 2010.
The band and label were generous to release the first single as a free download with an explicit song title.
Drive-By Truckers on tour:
Thu Jan 28 Huntsville, AL Crossroads Music Hall
Fri Jan 29 Mobile, AL Soul Kitchen
Sat Jan 30 Tuscaloosa, AL Jupiter Bar & Grill
Thu Feb 11 Greenville, SC Handlebar
Fri Feb 12 Raleigh, NC Lincoln Theatre
Sat Feb 13 Raleigh, NC Lincoln Theatre
Sun Feb 14 Knoxville, TN Bijou Theatre
Thu Feb 25 Charlotte, NC Neighborhood Theatre
Fri Feb 26 Charlottesville, VA Jefferson Theatre
Sat Feb 27 Charlottesville, VA Jefferson Theatre
Thu Mar 04 Wilmington NC Rox Nightclub
Sat Mar 06 Augusta GA Sky City
Fri Mar 12 Atlanta GA Variety Playhouse
Sat Mar 13 Atlanta GA Variety Playhouse
Thu Mar 18 Austin, TX SXSW
Fri Mar 19 New Orleans LA Tipitinas
Sat Mar 20 New Orleans LA Tipitinas
Thu Apr 01 New York NY Webster Hall
Fri Apr 02 Boston MA House of Blues
Sat Apr 03 Philadelphia PA Electric Factory
Tue Apr 06 Toronto Canada Lee’s Palace
Wed Apr 07 Toronto Canada Lee’s Palace
Thu Apr 08 Detroit MI St. Andrews Hall
Fri Apr 09 Chicago IL The Vic Theatre
Sat Apr 10 Lexington KY Buster’s Billiards and Backroom
Sun Apr 11 Cleveland OH Beachland Ballroom and Tavern
Wed Apr 14 Towson MD Recher Theatre
Thu Apr 15 Norfolk VA The Norva
Fri Apr 16 Asheville NC The Orange Peel
Sat Apr 17 Asheville NC The Orange Peel
Fri Apr 30 Nashville TN Cannery Ballroom
Fri May 07 Los Angeles CA Avalon
Sat May 08 San Francisco CA The Fillmore Auditorium
3/6 , 3/12, 3/13 David Barbe and the Quick Hooks support
4/1 – 4/17 Langhorne Slim supports
4/2 & 4/3 with Lucero
Athens, GA rockers The Whigs are headlining a tour, releasing a new album via ATO Records and giving fans a taste by giving away the title track. No word on a release date for In The Dark, but we’ll keep you posted.
October 28 - Middle East (Downstairs) - Boston, Massachusetts
October 29 - Funk & Waffles - Syracuse, New York
October 30 - Mohawk - Buffalo, New York
October 31 - Musica - Akron, Ohio
November - Mad Hatter - Cincinnati, Ohio
November - Newport Music Hall - Columbus, Ohio
November - Birdy’s - Indianapolis, Indiana
November - Cannery - Nashville, Tennessee
November 6 - Bottom Lounge - Chicago, Illinois
November 7 - Triple Rock - Minneapolis, Minnesota
November 10 - Bluebird Theater - Denver, Colorado
November 13 - Media Club - Vancouver, British Columbia
November 14 - Tractor Tavern - Seattle, Washington
November 15 - Doug Fir Lounge - Portland, Oregon
November 17 - The Independent - San Francisco, California
November 18 – Detroit Bar - Costa Mesa, California
November 19 - The Troubadour - Los Angeles, California
November 20 - Beauty Bar - Las Vegas, Nevada
November 21 - Soma (sidestage) - San Diego, California
December 1 - Emo’s - Austin, Texas
December 2 - The Loft - Dallas, Texas
December 4 - The Variety Playhouse - Atlanta, Georgia
December 5 - Rhythm & Brews - Chattanooga, Tennessee
December 8 - Visulite - Charlotte, North Carolina
December 10 - Black Cat - Washington, DC, Washington DC
December 11 - The Fillmore @ Irving Plaza - New York, New York
December 12 - North Star - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
December 14 - Local 506 - Chapel Hill, North Carolina
December 15 - Pour House - Charleston, South Carolina
With The Features (from October 28th – December 15th)
With The Dead Trees (from October 28th – November 21st)
With Mean Creek (October 28th and December 5th – 15th)
HearYa favs and live session alumni, Alberta Cross, just released a cover of John Lennon’s “Steel and Glass.” Their debut full length album, Broken Side Of Time, is coming out on September 22nd. Stay tuned for our review in the coming days and check out our Alberta Cross live session if you haven’t already.
The debut album from Alberta Cross, Broken Side of Time, is scheduled for release on September 22nd via ATO records. The first single is “Leave Us And Forgive Us” and it’s available as a free download on their site (in exchange for an email address).
Here’s the HearYa Live Session version of the song:
I love Spoon so when word leaked that their frontman, Brit Daniel, was going to be producing the follow up to the White Rabbits stellar debut, I got more than a little geeked up. For my money Spoon is the most consistent, if not the best, American indie band going right now. As for the Rabbits, Fort Nightly registered as one of the more exciting records of 2007, uniquely flavored by its steamrolling and varied percussion, charged piano and terrifically ragged lead vocals. The Rabbits perfectly wove all of these elements together to create a great record with a charming recklessness that seemed to offer up some punk characteristics.
Their new album is due out in mid-May and after one listen, it’s obvious that any review of It’s Frightening will not do it justice without acknowledging the influence that Daniel has had in the studio. In fact, go no farther than the third song, “They Done Wrong/We Done Wrong” and you quickly recognize that it easily could have been lifted off Girls Can Tell. The Spoon recipe is wonderfully simple and stripped down to feature jagged guitar riffs that seemingly stab at you from every direction, paired with drums pushed forward, solid keyboards and the tremendous vocals of Daniel. And it is all here on this record, absent Daniel’s vocals of course.
So, what about the sum of the parts? Well, this is a pretty good record, but in my opinion a little too much may have been stripped away from what made the Rabbits and Fort Nightly so interesting. When the band strikes the right balance such as on “Lionesse,” it really works, but the end result lacks some of the charm and recklessness of the debut. It’s Frightening fails to scale the heights of Fort Nightly. The best song on this record, “Right Where They Left,” bears the closest resemblance to its predecessor and reminds the listener what made the debut so compelling. At other times, some of those Rabbit characteristics seem pasted in, almost as though they were an afterthought resulting in a lack of cohesiveness.
If you’re not familiar with White Rabbits, this is a very good record and you’ll become a fan. If like me, you are already a fan and were hoping for something groundbreaking from the combination of White Rabbits and Brit Daniel, you may find that this album falls a bit short. Assuming you temper your expectations, you’ll still enjoy the album.
White Rabbits have a new album called It’s Frightening coming out on May 19th via TBD Records (home of Radiohead and Other Lives). It was produced by Britt Daniel (Spoon), recorded by Nicholas Vernhes (Animal Collective, Deerhunter) and mixed by Mike McCarthy (Spoon, Trail of Dead).
But no one likes a name dropper, so here’s their first track released:
About a year ago we got an email about Alberta Cross and soon thereafter Oz and I had become enamored with their EP, The Theif & The Heartbreaker. We thought they were going to be a huge breakout band and the toast of the blog community. But then things went mostly silent. Oz and I were left completely befuddled.
After chatting with lead singer, Petter, the mystery was revealed. Apparently their old label, Geffen Records, wasn’t offering any sort of support and they were left in no-man’s land. They’ve since added three new members (including Alec from HearYa favorites The Morning Pages), have permanently set up shop in Brooklyn and just finished their first LP with Mike McCarthy in Austin. The tunes below are all off their upcoming LP that will be released on ATO Records, which is boasting an amazing stable of bands like The Whigs, White Rabbits, Other Lives, and a couple bands called My Morning Jacket and Radiohead
Their new sound is much heavier than the previous EP, but they still have a dash of that warm, 70’s hippie jam vibe. As Shirk was recording Alberta Cross, he was reminded of the Dead Confederate session. Both bands have a big, emotional, power rock sound that could fill an arena. During their set at Schubas that night, I couldn’t help but feel like I was watching a band with many similarities to My Morning Jacket. Petter has a truly unique voice, a la Jim James, and is backed by a jamming band. These guys are absolutely going places and, while Oz and I might have been sitting alone at the party for 18 months, we’ve got plenty of seats reserved. Please join us.
Other Lives is the name of an audio drama based on the television series Doctor Who. Not sure if the band from Stillwater, Oklahoma had the BBC show in mind when coming up with names, but I’m guessing they had Radiohead’s Hail To The Thief playing when composing the tracks on their soon to be released debut album on the ATO imprint TBD Records. By the way, this is the same ATO that released Radiohead’s 2007 classic In Rainbows. The influence is rather clear in my opinion, although the band also shares a number of similarities with other indie acts like Midlake.
Life can be fortuitous, and so it was that I was listening to the LP on the way downtown late last week, loving it, when I found out that they were opening for Delta Spirit on Valentines Day at the Double Door. After somehow securing the hall pass from my wife, I caught them with Woody, Shirk and Drinking Buddy (please hold off on the homophobic snickering comments). I will also refrain from reviewing an awesome, raucous show put on by Delta Spirit to concentrate on Other Lives.
This is one of the better albums to recently come across the wire. It’s melodic and moody with lyrical depth. The band is comprised of five members, but lead vocalist Jesse Tabish is the clear driving force. It combines solid vocals, strong guitar work, piano and, a pleasant surprise, a cellist. What is it about women behind string instruments that make them so appealing? Tabish even has a bit of a Thom Yorkian presence, but the dude needs a little work on the beard grooming. The band is beginning to garner some well-deserved recognition having been singled out on iTunes as one of the rising stars of indie rock.
Check out the following tracks, which are a good representative of the album and exemplify the range of their style. “E Minor” is an interesting, sprawling track that also seems to have some E Minor 7 in it as well (shameless plug letting you know that I can play guitar). Also, if you get a chance to see these guys with Delta Spirit, or at SxSW, you will not be disappointed. The album will be released on March 31st and I think it’s is going to be one of the big surprises in 2009.
