So it sounds like Phil Ek convinced the Dodos to use a snare drum again. We are into it! Bring on the bombast! "Fables" is the first MP3 to surface from the San Francisco duo-cum-trio's new one, Time To Die, follow up to the still-on-the-turntable Visiter. Basically, this is the Dodos you know and love jacked up on Ek's studio steroids–in addition to the aforementioned snare, there are double-tracked guitars, shakers, bells, and friggin' vibraphone. Head to the album's website to stream a high quality version in full, and look for it online later this month and physically in August via Frenchkiss.
They might be from North Carolina, but theAvett Brothers' new single finds them in a Brooklyn state of mind. 'I and Love and You,' the title track for their new album, is a piano ballad soaked in folk flavor, crying "Brooklyn, Brooklyn, take me in." Makes sense, since the song was inspired by a gig at Brooklyn's Galapagos. "It was the coolest place we'd ever been, and the furthest from home we'd ever been in every sense," Scott Avett tells Spinner. "So the Brooklyn chorus kind of embodies the rest of the lyrics."
When we posted the tracklist and background information for Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy, we hadn't heard anybody's contributions. As we said then, the compilation's 21-track lineup is impressive, the reason behind it -- the sudden death of Mulcahy's wife Melissa (pictured), leaving him to raise his three-year old twins alone -- heartbreaking. Now, going beyond the names next to the contributions, we can report that the opening track, Thom Yorke's percussive, electro-tinged cover of Miracle Legion's "All For The Best," is also impressive. He didn't mail it in, making it his own, while retaining the spirit of the original. As a result, fans of Radiohead, Miracle Legion, and Mulcahy should equally enjoy.
You can download a new Bayonets song called "I Dream of Real Emergencies"here(<--zip). The track is fresh off their new record "Wishes & Wishes". It's solid a solid UK tribute to At The Drive In, Brand New and Fugazi. Actually, we'd prefer you go ahead and purchase/download the entire album on iTunes.
Go download Manchester Orchestra's "Fourteen Years of Excellence" along with a couple other tracks here at B Sides R Us. MO's acoustic version of "Shake It Out" is worth the time you'll spend alone.
Once you are done there, head over to myspace transmissions to watch an interview and performance and then download another exclusive EP.