Merge Records

Richard Buckner recently announced several new shows, an acoustic extravaganza that will revisit songs from past albums as well as material from his upcoming record. The troubadour will head through Oregon, Washington, and California with one east coast show in Kingston, NY. A mix of beloved tunes and new tracks from Buckner’s new album due later this year, these sets will appeal to new and longtime fans alike.

Richard Buckner’s latest album Our Blood and more are available now in the Merge store. Be sure to follow Buckner on twitter @BucknerTweets for more details on the new album as they unfold!

Richard Buckner on tour:
March 7 Seattle, WA Tractor Tavern
March 8 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge (w/ The Maldives)
March 10 Bellingham, WA The Green Frog
March 13 San Francisco, CA Cafe Du Nord
March 14 Mill Valley, CA Sweetwater Music Hall
March 16 Los Angeles, CA The Satellite
March 17 San Diego, CA Soda Bar (w/ The Midnight Pine)
April 13 Kingston, NY BSP Lounge (w/ William Tyler & Small House)

Our 2012 Record Store Day releases from Richard Buckner, M. Ward and Arcade Fire are now available at all of our usual digital outlets including the Merge store, iTunes, Amazon & Spotify.

Richard Buckner – “Willow” b/w “Lost” – Two new Richard Buckner songs! Stream “Willow” now at our SoundCloud page.

M. Ward – “Primitive Girl” b/w “The Twist” & “Roll Over Beethoven” – “Primitive Girl,” the first single from his new record, as well as two non-album b-sides including long-time live favorite “Roll Over Beethoven.”

Arcade Fire – “Sprawl II” b/w “Ready to Start” (Remixed by Damian Taylor & Arcade Fire) – The original versions of “Sprawl II” and “Ready to Start” can be found on Arcade Fire’s GRAMMY-winning album The Suburbs, but now you can add the remixes of the two songs by Damian Taylor and Arcade Fire to your collection.

 

Record Store Day is this Saturday, April 21, and we have four very special releases to mark the occasion of one of our favorite days of the year! Also, Hospitality, the Love Language & M. Ward will visit independent record stores for celebratory in-store performances. The only way to get your hands on these releases is to visit your local independent record store on April 21.

In addition to our exclusive releases (listed below), Hospitality, the Love Language & M. Ward have special in-store performances planned for Saturday. M. Ward will be performing a sold out in-store at Fingerprints in Long Beach, CA. Hospitality will take time out of their tour with Eleanor Friedberger to perform at Horizon Records in the Bohemian Cafe in Greenville, SC at 1:30 p.m., and Stuart McLamb from the Love Language will visit Gravity Records in Wilmington, NC for a solo set around 3 p.m.

Merge exclusive Record Store Day releases available only at independent record stores:

Richard Buckner – “Willow” b/w “Lost” 7-inch

“Willow” b/w “Lost” is Richard Buckner’s first 7-inch ever and will be available exclusively on Record Store Day! Containing two new songs and a free download with purchase, the 7-inch will also include a digital-only cover of The Cars’ “Candy-O.” Watch video of Buckner performing “Willow” live at Horizon Records at RecordStoreDay.com.


M. Ward – “Primitive Girl” b/w “The Twist” & “Roll Over Beethoven” 7-inch

M. Ward’s limited-edition Record Store Day exclusive 7-inch comes less than two weeks after the release of his highly anticipated new solo album, A Wasteland Companion. The 7-inch features “Primitive Girl,” the first single from his new record, as well as two non-album b-sides including long-time live favorite “Roll Over Beethoven.”

Arcade Fire – “Sprawl II” b/w “Ready to Start” (Remixed by Damian Taylor & Arcade Fire) 12-inch

The original versions of “Sprawl II” and “Ready to Start” can be found on Arcade Fire’s GRAMMY-winning album The Suburbs, but this special 12-inch pressing marks the first physical release of the remixes of those two songs by Damian Taylor and Arcade Fire. The remix of “Sprawl II” can be heard in the dance motion-activated music video by Vincent Morisset at Sprawl2.com, while the “Ready to Start” remix has previously only been available as a bonus download with the deluxe film-bundled version of the album.

Destroyer – Destroyer’s Rubies dbl-LP reissue

Destroyer’s Rubies will be released on vinyl for the first time in the US! The double-LP reissue will be pressed in limited quantities on ruby red vinyl exclusively for Record Store Day and will include a free download of the entire album. Side 3 features “Loscil’s Rubies,” a 20-minute bonus track remixed by Scott Morgan, who also remixed the bonus tracks on 2011’s Kaputt double-LP. Listen to “3000 Flowers” from Destroyer’s Rubies via the Merge SoundCloud page.

 

Record Store Day is Saturday, April 21, and we have four very special releases to mark the occasion of one of our favorite days of the year! The only way to get your hands on these releases is to visit your local independent record store on April 21.

Richard Buckner – “Willow” b/w “Lost” 7-inch

“Willow” b/w “Lost” is Richard Buckner’s first 7-inch ever and will be available exclusively on Record Store Day! Containing two new songs and a free download with purchase, the 7-inch will also include a digital-only cover of The Cars’ “Candy-O.” Listen to “Willow” below via the Merge SoundCloud page.

M. Ward – “Primitive Girl” b/w “The Twist” & “Roll Over Beethoven” 7-inch

M. Ward’s limited-edition Record Store Day exclusive 7-inch comes less than two weeks after the release of his highly anticipated new solo album, A Wasteland Companion. The 7-inch features “Primitive Girl,” the first single from his new record, as well as two non-album b-sides including long-time live favorite “Roll Over Beethoven.”

M. Ward will be performing at Fingerprints in Long Beach, CA, on Record Store Day. If you live in the area, secure a spot for the show by pre-ordering your copy of A Wasteland Companion on CD or LP directly from Fingerprints.

Arcade Fire – “Sprawl II” b/w “Ready to Start” (Remixed by Damian Taylor & Arcade Fire) 12-inch

The original versions of “Sprawl II” and “Ready to Start” can be found on Arcade Fire’s GRAMMY-winning album The Suburbs, but this special 12-inch pressing marks the first physical release of the remixes of those two songs by Damian Taylor and Arcade Fire. The remix of “Sprawl II” can be heard in the dance motion-activated music video by Vincent Morisset at Sprawl2.com, while the “Ready to Start” remix has previously only been available as a bonus download with the deluxe film-bundled version of the album.

Destroyer – Destroyer’s Rubies dbl-LP reissue

Destroyer’s Rubies will be released on vinyl for the first time in the US! The double-LP reissue will be pressed in limited quantities on ruby red vinyl exclusively for Record Store Day and will include a free download of the entire album. Side 3 features “Loscil’s Rubies,” a 20-minute bonus track remixed by Scott Morgan, who also remixed the bonus tracks on 2011’s Kaputt double-LP. Listen to “3000 Flowers” from Destroyer’s Rubies below via the Merge SoundCloud page.


Richard Buckner – “Willow” (from Record Store Day exclusive 7-inch)


Destroyer – “3000 Flowers” from Destroyer’s Rubies

Richard Buckner & David Kilgour are currently on the road together in support of their new releases, Our Blood and Left by Soft! Don’t miss this opportunity to see two legendary songwriters and guitar “gods” share the stage!

David Malitz of the Washington Post writes, “The new Left by Soft is his seventh album and solidifies his status as an unlikely guitar god.” Read the interview with David Kilgour interview here.

Both Richard & David stopped by KEXP Seattle last week. You can now listen to the sessions online! David Kilgour’s set is archived here, and Richard Buckner’s set is here.

Richard Buckner & David Kilgour on tour:
Aug 23 Atlanta, GA – Smith’s Olde Bar
Aug 24 Chapel Hill, NC – The ArtsCenter
Aug 25 Arlington, VA – IOTA Club & Café
Aug 27 Brooklyn, NY – The Bell House
Aug 28 Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
Aug 31 Los Angeles, CA – Old Style Guitar Shop * David Kilgour only

Richard Buckner fans rejoice! His highly anticipated new album Our Blood is available today on CD, LP, and digital download from your favorite local record stores and digital providers, as well as in the Merge store!

“Our Blood, Buckner’s third for Merge, is worth the wait. Urgent but elaborate, it’s a record that finds Buckner’s baritone as fluid and forceful as it’s ever been, backed by arrangements that strike the perfect balance between Spartan and swollen.” —IFC

“The nine songs here provide an excellent crash course in Buckner’s unlikely combination of gifts, most notably his ability to sound bone-tired and weather-beaten at the same time his songs shimmer agreeably. Even when it slows to a crawl, Our Blood is full of stealthy, subtle earworms—appropriate, given the stubborn resiliency of the immensely gifted artist who crafted them.” —NPR

Magnet Magazine has a series of posts written by Richard this week, as he acts as editor of the site. The link will be updated through out the week with some of Buckner’s favorite things!

Richard Buckner will be teaming up with David Kilgour for a co-headlining tour beginning August 16 in Los Angeles! It will be Kilgour’s first stateside visit since the release of his latest album Left by Soft. Don’t miss this opportunity to see two legendary songwriters and guitar “gods” share the stage!

Richard Buckner on tour:
# with David Kilgour
Aug 16 Los Angeles, CA – Bootleg Theater #
Aug 17 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall #
Aug 18 Arcata, CA – The Logger Bar #
Aug 19 Portland, OR – Bunk Bar #
Aug 20 Seattle, WA – The Triple Door #
Aug 23 Atlanta, GA – Smith’s Olde Bar #
Aug 24 Carrboro, NC – The ArtsCenter #
Aug 25 Arlington, VA – IOTA Club & Cafe #
Aug 27 Brooklyn, NY – The Bell House #
Aug 28 Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall #
Sep 09–11 Big Indian, NY – Truck Festival

Richard Buckner & David Kilgour will team up for a co-headlining tour beginning August 16 in Los Angeles! Don’t miss this opportunity to see two legendary songwriters and guitar “gods” share the stage!

Also, David Kilgour & the Heavy Eights have just released a live video for the title track off their latest release, Left by Soft. David shares some details about the video and his one-of-a-kind guitar:

“We were playing at the Empire in Dunedin, an old bar that only holds abut 140 people and was made famous by the old Dunedin Sound-ers. The guitar I’m playing is a hybrid—the neck is off an oldish Epiphone acoustic, and the body was made by a guitar dude called Rob Scott. One weird thing about it is that the pickups sit on rails, so I can move them to whatever position/sound I want. It has the sound of mountains collapsing, especially at volume.”

Watch David Kilgour & the Heavy Eights perform “Left by Soft” live in New Zealand

Richard Buckner’s new album Our Blood is available for pre-order on CD and LP now in the Merge store. While supplies last, Our Blood pre-orders come with a limited-edition “Don’t Blame Me I Voted for Richard Buckner” bumper sticker! Also, David Kilgour’s new album Left by Soft is available on CD and digital download now in the Merge store.

Richard Buckner & David Kilgour on tour:

Richard Buckner’s highly anticipated new album Our Blood will be in stores on August 2, but you can download a free MP3 of “Escape” and read an interview with Richard now exclusively at IFC.com!

IFC.com’s Grayson Currin writes:

Our Blood, Buckner’s third for Merge, is worth the wait. Urgent but elaborate, it’s a record that finds Buckner’s baritone as fluid and forceful as it’s ever been, backed by arrangements that strike the perfect balance between Spartan and swollen. In fact, as a Buckner devotee, I’m willing to claim it’s his best since the 1997 landmark Devotion + Doubt. What’s more, the second track, “Escape,” might just be the best three minutes of music he’s written since that album’s “Ed’s Song.” Informed by recent years of working tough jobs in upstate New York and by his generally peripatetic nature, it’s a resilient tune for temporary escape.

Download “Escape” right here, for the first time anywhere

Our Blood is available for pre-order on CD and LP now in the Merge store. Orders will include an album poster and a special Richard Buckner bumper sticker while supplies last.

Richard Buckner on tour:
July 29 Chicago, IL Schuba’s
July 30 Milwaukee, WI WMSE 3rd Annual Radio Summer Camp
July 31 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock Social Club

Since 2006’s Meadow, fans of Richard Buckner have been clamoring for new material and wondering what was keeping their hero from releasing the new songs he would perform on the road. Well, it’s a long story!

First, there was the score to a film that never happened. Then there was a brief brush with the law over a headless corpse in a burned-out car that had all eyes in Buckner’s small hometown in upstate New York turned toward him and his long-suffering truck. Shortly after a move to a safer, less popular corpse dumping ground, the death of his tape machine led to yet another reboot. After Richard called in pedal steel and percussion players and put new mixes on his laptop, his new “safer” place was burglarized. Goodbye, laptop.

Buckner says: “Eventually, the recording machine was resuscitated and some of the material was recovered. Cracks were patched. Parts were redundantly re-invented. Commas were moved. Insinuations were re-insinuated until the last percussive breaths of those final OCD utterances were expelled like the final heaves of bile, wept-out long after the climactic drama had faded to a somber, blurry moment of truth and voilà!, the record was done, or, let us be clear, abandoned like the charred shell of a car with a nice stereo.”

And so finally, we present Our Blood, in stores August 2, 2011!

Download a free MP3 of “Traitor” now

Pre-order Our Blood on CD and LP now in the Merge store. Our Blood is the first Richard Buckner album to be released on vinyl!

Richard Buckner will be opening for Sebadoh on their tour beginning March 23 in Milford, CT and ending with two nights at the Bowery Ballroom in New York on April 10 and 11.

Richard is working on the follow-up to 2006′s Meadow, but in the meantime, you can visit the Merge store for digital reissues of Bloomed, The Hill, and Impasse. You can also find the two Merge releases – Meadow and Dents and Shells – on CD and digital download.

Richard Buckner on tour with Sebadoh:
Mar 23 Milford, CT – Daniel Street
Mar 24 Boston, MA – Paradise
Mar 25 Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s
Mar 26 Washington, DC – Black Cat
Mar 27 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
Mar 28 Atlanta, GA – The Earl
Mar 29 Orlando, FL – The Social
Mar 31 Birmingham, AL – The Bottletree
Apr 01 Nashville, TN – Mercy Lounge
Apr 02 St. Louis, MO – Off Broadway
Apr 03 Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
Apr 04 Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop
Apr 08 Northampton, MA – Pearl Street
Apr 09 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
Apr 10 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom

It’s easy to miss out on some of the digital-only releases we throw your way—the Internet is a pretty crowded place these days! Here’s a quick summary of what you may have missed:

The limited-edition Destroyer 12-inch “Archer on the Beach” is out-of-print in the Merge store, but you can now buy the songs via digital download!

Don’t miss out on Swim Remixes—Caribou’s answer to what happens when you put one of the year’s hottest dance records in the hands of some of the world’s best DJs! With reworks of some of Swim’s hottest cuts by Junior Boys, Fuck Buttons, Nite Jewel, DJ Koze, Walls, Gold Panda, Gavin Russom, and more, Swim Remixes contains over an hour-and-a-half of new, fresh takes on Caribou’s latest opus.

Let’s Wrestle bring us a tasty piece of next year’s sophomore record with the “Getting Rest”/“When I Was In Hospital” digital single. Be warned: these young Londoners are not to be missed.

Shout Out Louds’ Fall Hard EP expands upon Work’s catchy first single with non-album cuts “Fall Hard Pt. 2” and “Can’t Explain.”

Lou Barlow + the missingmen’s = Sentridoh III is Lou’s first recorded output with new backing band the missingmen. Described by the band as “an almost live representation of the Lou Barlow + the missingmen live show,” this mini-album breathes new, rocking life into Sebadoh and Sentridoh classics, Lou’s solo material, and even a haunting cover of the timeless Skip James song “I’m So Glad.”

Tracey Thorn followed up this year’s gorgeous Love and Its Opposite with a pair of digital EPs, Why Does the Wind? and Opposites, that offer up wildly creative remixes of some of the album’s most-loved songs. Why Does the Wind? pairs the album track of the same name with remixes by Morgan Geist, Michel Clies, and André Lodemann, along with a radio edit and dub version. As for the Opposites EP, Tracey herself probably says it best: “If the remixes for the last single ‘Why Does the Wind?’ were aimed at the dancefloor, these are perhaps aimed more at the head.” Visionquest (“Swimming”), Walls (“Kentish Town”), and Blue Daisy (“Late in the Afternoon”) provide penetrating new takes presented alongside the originals.

Let’s also revisit Lambchop’s magnetic Live at XX Merge performance; Portastatic’s Make It Sound In Tune EP; digital reissues of Richard Buckner’s landmark albums Impasse, The Hill, and Bloomed; and The Ladybug Transistor’s fantastic Here Comes the Rain covers EP.

Our Holiday Coupon applies to digital releases, too, so download away!



Merge artists The Rosebuds, The Love Language & Richard Buckner will perform as part of the first-ever Hopscotch Music Festival held in downtown Raleigh, NC from September 9-11.

Presented by The Independent Weekly, the Hopscotch Music Festival is the Triangle’s biggest music festival yet and a strong addition to the country’s festival circuit. Scheduled for Sept. 9-11, 2010, in downtown Raleigh, with 120 bands in 10 venues over three days, Hopscotch offers fans high-quality local, national and international options in just about every genre imaginable — rock, hip-hop, alt-country, heavy metal, dance, punk, classical, noise, drone, folk and more.

More than 110 bands will be spread between ten venues located entirely in downtown Raleigh throughout the festival’s three days. For more information and to buy your festival pass, visit hopscotchmusicfest.com.