Yeasayer to Release Odd Blood on Feb. 8th, 2010

Hide your Animal Collective records!

Yeasayer takes the first shot in the battle for most-hyped electronica/pschydelic album in 2010.

The band's second full-length studio album entitled Odd Blood is scheduled for release on Feb 8th through Mute in Europe and through Secretly Canadian in North America.

The album artwork (according to Pitchfork: http://pitchfork.com/news/37365-careful-the-new-yeasayer-album-artwork-might-warp-your-brain/).
Ill let you judge that one for yourself!


















The tracklist is as follows:
The Children
Ampling Alp
Madder Red
I Remember
O.N.E.
Love Me Girl
Rome
Strange Reunions
Mondegreen
Grizelda

You can get your very own digital copy of Ampling Alp here http://www.amblingalp.com/ for the price of your email address.
You can watch the trippy (sorry, censored) video for the single here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w-LmPa3h88&feature=related

The 2000's Begin Their Tween Years

With 2009 fading into 2010, it's time to welcome the 2000's into their Tween years. What awkward trends await as the 2010's try to hide painfully awkward social skills to impress other decades ?


Here at Pulled Pork, with the excitement of a newly magnified indie-world primed to make some great art that will be intermixed with a lot of really bad choices, there is a re-newed commitment for updates. Its time to document that rad pre-teen haircut, 2010's. Put on a smile so we can all see those braces and headgear.


Let's get started with a brief list of some interesting acts for the coming 2010 year.


Fitz and the Tantrums -- bringin' back the MoTown!

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes -- more 50's and 60's beats from the Bay area

Man/Miracle -- a little Yeasayer-esque, some janggly Vampire Weekend, some indie
shouting .. good times ahead

Geographer -- lovin' the low-fi electonica. Check out their single Kites .... let's hope it puts that
Owl City (Postal Service copyrite enfringement) in its place!

Sleigh Bells -- Simple, blunt, and fierce attack of the beat ... and she's a school teacher!

Surfer Blood -- Surfer-pop with an edge ... not your average beack-blanket bingo

Little Comets -- jumpy, janggly, angular, and poppy; sounds way 00's, but adds some new and
interesting textures that are just plain fun

Apes 0f Wrath -- Greasy and all the good parts of basic

Yeasayer -- They've been around the block a bit. But, their impending album seems like it is
generating some Merriweather PP-style buzz ... dont be surprised for a rushed
on-slaught of love early Jan.


For a bonus, here is a brief list of 09's that the 2010's should name-drop, just to prove how
Totally Tapped-In they are ....


Band of Skulls -- Have to say that Baby Darling Doll Face Honey gives me hope for ass-kickin'
Brit blues rock in the coming decade. That album may put them in arenas
early in the coming decade ... (But why they released "I Know What I Am" as the US single is beyond me ... Fires? anybody??)

The Big Pink -- The single "Dominos" will play, one day in the near future, at your local sports
arena ... and every movie about a bachelor party....

The XX -- Will the legend continue to grow as a three-piece band?

School of Seven Bells -- Lets have a contest between members of this band and The Secret
Machines to see who can produce the best record in the coming years! Who wins? Everyone who enjoys good rock music!

Neon Indian -- more lo-fi electronic fun!

Royal Bangs -- Noise with rythym and a purpose ... like a symphony at a demolition derby

The Answering Machine -- Brit pop-punk at its best

We Were Promised Jetpacks -- Scots with indie-rock crescendo

If you want to hear some samples, I suggest you use your Google machine.

Doves "Jetstream"

Manchester's The Doves will release their 4th studio album, entitled Kingdom of Rust, on April 7th. The first track to be released from their album is entitled "Jetstream" (This is likely not a single track, though). You can snake the track from their website (http://www.doves.net/) in exchange for your email address.

The track was envisioned by the band as a song accompanying the closing credits of the film "Bladerunner".

Like Doves previous work, "Jetstream" is atmospheric and layered. At first listen, it seems to stretch out against the backdrop of light staccato beats, almost laboring in its rhythym. But, the track begins its steady construction of pace and layers from this foundation, all in good time. The addition of thicker beats and fuzzy, imperfect guitars (all familiar to Dove's sound) propel the song.

Once the track hits its stride, there is a noticeable electronic, almost club-like feel to some of the short pumping rhythyms and the swirling keyboards that loft over the vocals. This isn't the track you want to break out the ol' glow stick in your living room for, but there are some hints of Cut Copy-esque backdrops and flourishes.

Ultimately, the track fits well with Dove's previous work, and introduces a more electronic feel to their previous atmospherics. The noticeable direction in this track , though, is an attention to the texture of the layers layed over the atmospheric body of the song. Each texture, such as a buzzing guitar or a choppy keyboard, is relatively clear and unique, but matches the feel of the song. It is as if Doves are analyzing their own elemental atmospherics and isolating particular pieces of that in the more pure forms.

Big Money ... No Whammies ... Come on 2009!

Like exuberant contestants on that 80's classic Press Your Luck, burgeoning indie artists and their record companies are looking for big spins in 2009. Will the usual sleeze-ball on the right make off with the cash, or will this be one of those episodes where the unassuming shy girl at the middle podium hits the jackpot? Who's gonna get that first whammy?

The scheduled releases for winter 2009 include some anticipated follow-up efforts to some excellent past albums, and a few potential freshman phenoms. A complete list of albums scheduled to hit shelves and internet outlets can be found at Pitchforkmedia.com (http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/148203-the-pitchfork-guide-to-upcoming-releases-winter-2009). Here's a short list of the albums Pulled Pork is looking forward to this winter.

January 20th

Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion (Domino)

Bon Iver: Blood Bank (Jagjaguwar)

Robert Pollard: The Crawling Distance (Guided by Voices Inc.)

January 26th

Franz Ferdinand: Tonight: Franz Ferdinand (Domino) (UK release)

January 27th

The Bird and the Bee: Ray Guns Are Not the Future (Blue Note)

Bruce Springsteen: Working on a Dream (Columbia)

Johnny Cash: Johnny Cash Remixed (Compadre)

February 3rd

Handsome Furs: Face Control (Sub Pop)

Heartless Bastards: The Mountain (Fat Possum)

Iran: Dissolver (Narnack)

February 9th

Lily Allen: It's Not Me, It's You (Regal) (UK release)

February 17th

Abe Vigoda: Reviver EP (PPM)

...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead: The Century of Self (Richter Scale)

Asobi Seksu: Hush (Polyvinyl)

M. Ward: Hold Time (Merge)

Morrissey: Years of Refusal (Attack/Lost Highway) (U.S. release)

February 24th

Black Lips: 200 Million Thousand (Vice)

March 3rd

Neko Case: Middle Cyclone (Anti-)

March 10th

Bishop Allen: Grrr... (Dead Oceans)

March 17th

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy: Beware (Drag City) (U.S. release)

April 7th

Lady Sovereign: Jigsaw (Midget/EMI) (U.S. release)

The Thermals: Now We Can See (Kill Rock Stars)

April

Art Brut: Art Brut Versus Satan (Downtown)

Ida Maria: Fortress Round My Heart (Upper 11) (U.S. release, out now internationally)

Other artists that Pulled Pork anticipates a new release from are The National, Jeremy Enigk, and Doves. All of these albums will arrive with high expectations.

Best Album of 2009 Crowned !

After an eternity of 6 days, the indie music world has finally found its best album of the 2009 music year. Why did it ever take this long ? I have already previewed all of the year's releases in my omnipotent clairvoyance, and can find no better candidate. Here it is !!

Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion

(from Domino)

Here are what the reviews are proclaiming.

Pitchforkmedia.com's Mark Richardson rated the album a 9.6/10. He calls it " a new kind of electronic pop-- one which is machine-generated and revels in technology but is also deeply human, never drawing too much attention to its digital

nature." (http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/148230-animal-collective-merriweather-post-pavilion)

Stereogum's Amrit Singh proclaims it a "masterstoke." He adds that it "demands and rewards repeat, complete listening." (His article provides a nice overview of the Pitchfork and SPIN reviews.) (http://stereogum.com/archives/is-merriweather-post-pavilion-the-best-album-of-2_043641.html)

SPIN's Andy Beta gives the album four stars. He writes that "these stalwart innovators -- David "Avey Tare" Portner (guitar, samples), Noah "Panda Bear" Lennox (drums, vocals, samples), and Brian "Geologist" Weitz (electronics, samples), now scattered among New York, Portugal, and Washington, D.C., respectively -- elude all experimental-noise, freak-folk, and indie-rock tags, and create a startling, pounding, effulgent sonic template." (http://www.spin.com/reviews/animal-collective-merriweather-post-pavilion-domino)

Only 6 days into 2009, and I am already behind. Seriously ... I haven't even heard a track yet off this album and I already feel guilty for not owning 4 copies (and the vinyl). Really ... I haven't even finished my anticipated releases post ... ARGGHH!

If you want to get ahead of this blogger on the year, you can listen to the track "My Girls" on the band's MySpace.com page: http://www.myspace.com/animalcollectivetheband)

And you can hear "Brother Sport" on Stereogum. com here (mp3 provided by NPR Live): http://stereogum.com/archives/mp3/new-animal-collective-brother-sport_036271.html

The album is set for release on January 20th, 2009.

Left on the Burner in 2008

It happens every year. The best music of the year stands out in my mind rather clearly (in no particular order, of course). Those worthy albums, the artistic gems I want to pull from my glove compartment just at the right time so that the others in the car happen to notice (ohhh ... you saw that ... just a little album I heard of ... ), leap forward in my mind. And yet, those albums didn't always contain the tracks I listened to repeatedly.

Here is a list of tracks that I returned to over and over, and still did not find a place on a lot of "Best of ..." lists. These are the ones I came back to, just because they were flat out enjoyable.


Neon Neon: "Dream Cars," from the album Stainless Steel
(Hint: This is a fun album minus a few tracks that these lads should have contributed to a Justin Timberlake and T pain duet. The fellows of Neon Neon turn in some great 80's retro-tunes, which quite frankly they should concentrate on).


Delta Spirit: "Trashcan," from the album Ode to Sunshine
(Hint: Another great album for your full listening pleasure)


School of Seven Bells: "Half Asleep," from the album Alpinisms
(Hint: A really nice album as well, even if it does journey on into long psychedelic realms in some junctures.)

(Note: This album made some lists. I suspect it was released too late in the year to make the impression it probably should have on many lists).

Parts and Labor: "Satellites," from the album Receivers
(Note: This album suffered from the same problem as the School of Seven Bells release).

Glasvegas: "Geraldine," from the album Glasvegas

Kaiser Chiefs: "Never Miss a Beat", from the album Off With their Heads

Thao with the Get Down Stay Down: "Bag of Hammers," from the album We Brave Bee Stings and All
(Did anyone else notice this song in the background of a Kath and Kim episode? Wow ... I just admitted I watch that show!)

M83: "Graveyard Girl", from the album Saturdays=Youth
(Yes, this track and album did get a lot of critical attention. But, come on, it is a great song!)

Gentlemen Auction House: "The Book of Matches," from the album Alphabet Graveyard

Deerhoof: "The Tears and Music of Love", "Offend Maggie," and "My Purple Past"
(Hint: This is a fantastic guitar driven, experimental album. I understand the reservations you are having as you read this - it is Deerhoof. But, these tracks are very accessible, and may in fact kick your ass!)

The Stills: "Being Here," from the album Oceans Will Rise

Jenny Lewis: "The New Messiah," from the album Acid Tongue

Passion Pit:"Sleepy Head," from the album Chunk of Change

Frightened Rabbit: "The Twist" from the album Midnight Organ Fight

The Futureheads: "The Beginning of the Twist" from the album This Is Not the World

The Whigs:"Right Hand on My Heart" from the album Mission Control
(I have might have given this track, and the Hold Steady track below, the most spins of any other track this year.)

The Hold Steady: "Slapped Actress" from the album Stay Positive

This is not an exhaustive list. In addition, it is clearly biased towards the latter part of the year (what the hell was I listening to last January anyway ?).