It should be noted that the decision to postpone the ATP curated by Jeff Mangum festival as made earlier today was not Jeff Mangum’s decision and he is as disappointed as everyone else that the festival is not taking place on the original date.

Visit ATPfestival.com for more information on the line-up for the rescheduled festival in March as it unfolds.

In the meantime, there are still tickets to Superchunk’s London show with Let’s Wrestle at Scala on December 1!

Gonzalez has now created a website to collect and showcase all of his drawings and paintings. Visit WesleyPatrickGonzalez.tumblr.com now to check it out!

Watch Let’s Wrestle’s latest video for “In Dreams Part II” and find their new album Nursing Home on CD, LP and digital download in the Merge store.

Let’s Wrestle’s new album Nursing Home is available on CD, LP and digital download in the Merge store.

Watch the “In Dreams Part II” video at Pitchfork.TV now

Don’t miss Let’s Wrestle’s new comic book Home, too. Wesley Patrick Gonzalez talked to Spinner about the inspiration behind the comic book.

Nursing Home is available on CD, LP and digital download now in the Merge store. US tour dates are coming soon!

Read Let’s Wrestle’s comic book “Home” now

Nursing Home is available on CD, LP and digital download now in the Merge store and wherever you buy records.

Let’s Wrestle’s catchiest, most mature record to date. ~ CMJ

Stream Let’s Wrestle’s Nursing Home now!

Paste describes Nursing Home:

English indie rockers Let’s Wrestle straddle the lines between silly and sincere, raw and ridiculous. While their tongue-in-cheek name mirrors the band’s approach to be taken seriously, it’s only a matter of time before their addictive hooks will leave you immersed in their angst-ridden sprawl. For their second record Nursing Home, the trio of Wesley Patrick Gonzalez (vocals and guitar), Mike Lightning (bass and vocals) and Darkus Bishop (drums) traveled overseas to record with heralded producer Steve Albini in Chicago, Illinois. Out of this partnership, the group have emerged from the studio with another compelling batch of songs blending equal parts punk candor and pop sentiment into their darker portraits of suburban life.

Pre-order Nursing Home now on CD or LP now in the Merge store and receive a free button! In case you missed it, be sure to check out Wes’ charming Mother’s Day card, too!

The drawing is of “Mrs. Collins” from the M. Night Shyamalan classic The Sixth Sense and includes words of wisdom about the importance of bonding with your “mum” this Mother’s Day.

Click to print the Let’s Wrestle Mother’s Day Card and share it with your mum!

Why not include a pre-order of Let’s Wrestle’s new album Nursing Home on CD or LP, too? Pre-orders from the Merge store also include a special Nursing Home button. Download a free MP3 of  “Dear John” from Nursing Home now!

Download “Dear John” from Nursing Home now, and stay tuned for tour dates & a full album stream very soon!

Let’s Wrestle are busy working on a video in their native London, and are documenting the shoot on their brand-new tumblr page! Follow them at tumblr and pre-order Nursing Home in the Merge Store, and download “Dear John” now!

Download “Dear John” from Nursing Home now!

Nursing Home, the second album by Let’s Wrestle, was recorded in Chicago last year with Steve Albini. With themes that include being trapped in the suburbs and dancing boys on drugs, the band show that their fantastically offbeat view of the world is the same, they’ve just put on some darker sunglasses. Let’s Wrestle may have lost some of their naivety lyrically, but it’s certainly still there.

If you ask singer Wesley Patrick Gonzalez what the record sounds like he’ll tell you Thin Lizzy and The Cars, which to some extent is true. It certainly is heavier than its predecessor – a result, no doubt, of Albini’s engineering – but the band’s unerring ear for an infectious chorus and nagging melody displayed previously remains, as shown on breezy, tearaway numbers such as “If I Keep On Loving You” and “Bad Mamories”. Conversely, the quiet songs on the album are quite possibly the most poignant the band have recorded to date, as on the brokenhearted “I Am Useful,” or the strangely affecting “For My Mother,” in which Gonzalez sings, “but now she’s gone/ my mother’s sad but I’ll take care of her.”

All up, Let’s Wrestle have grown up and reckon they’re heavier and depressed but are still laughing on the inside. They are still making some of the most exciting and electrifying songs around, but with the wit and noise sharpened to a knife edge, the emotion more pronounced and heart-rending. And this collection of songs is undoubtedly their finest to date.

WPG eating a whole packet of M'n'Ms right round the corner from Mel Gibson's house

End of Year list from Mr. W P Gonzalez:

Albums (In No Particular Order):
Titus Andronicus – The Monitor
Grass Widow – Past Time
Male Bonding – Nothing Hurts
Dolly Mixture – Demonstration Tapes (Reissue)
Happy Birthday – Happy Birthday
Superchunk – Majesty Shredding
Quasi - American Gong
Cinema Red and Blue

Singles (No Particular Order):
German Measles – Color Vibration 7″
Veronica Falls – Beachy Head 7″
Fucked Up – Year Of The Ox

Best record I have bought all year:
Margo Guryan – Take A Picture (1968)

Spoon: Transference + “Written in Reverse” 7-inch

She & Him: Volume One + Volume Two (CD and LP)

Superchunk: Majesty Shredding + On the Mouth + No Pocky for Kitty (CD and LP)

Destroyer: reissues of City of Daughters + Thief + Streethawk: A Seduction (CD only)

Telekinesis: Parallel Seismic Conspiracies EP + Record Store Day 7-inch

The Love Language: Libraries + Record Store Day split 7-inch

Let’s Wrestle: In the Court of the Wrestling Let’s + Record Store Day split 7-inch

The Love Language/Let’s Wrestle + Telekinesis Record Store Day limited-edition 7-inches

Each full-length from Merge freshmen Telekinesis, Wye Oak, The Love Language, and Let’s Wrestle

All orders in the Merge store include free shipping and it’s not too late to use our Holiday Coupon and all orders over $150 get a free tote bag designed by The Clientele’s Alasdair Maclean!

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!



“I’m So Lazy” can be found on the limited-edition split 7-inch with The Love Language in the Merge store along with the new digital single “Getting Rest.” Go see Let’s Wrestle who are on tour now in the US!

Let’s Wrestle on tour:
Sept 15 Chapel Hill, NC Nightlight w/ Elf Power
Sept 17 Washington, DC 9:30 Club w/ Superchunk
Sept 18 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom w/ Superchunk (SOLD OUT)

“‘Getting Rest’ is about our first trip to the states when we were completely unknown here (apart from NYC and Austin),” says Wesley Patrick Gonzalez. “Me and Mike Lightning went for a stroll in Baltimore and were being idiots, taking photos of ourselves doing Kung Fu moves, and a homeless guy asked us for a cigarette. He said, ‘Welcome to Baltimore!’ and Mike said he was welcome in London anytime. The man started crying and asked us to get him out of there. This song is about being ignorant to the messed-up stuff that goes on around you.”

“‘When I Was In Hospital’ is a song I wrote when I started thinking about how I’d cope with being terminally ill,” Wesley continued. “It’s more about what I’d say to a friend than actually being ill myself. I’m afraid both of these songs are quite morbid, but get used to it! You are looking at the new Radiohead! Proggy sobbing!”

Let’s Wrestle’s “Getting Rest” digital single is available today at iTunes and in the Merge store. Mike, Wesley and Darkus are on tour in the US now with Man Man and will head east for dates with Superchunk later this month. Follow their tour adventures at their blog.

Let’s Wrestle on tour:
Sep 8 Seattle, WA Neumo’s w/ Man Man
Sep 9 Vancouver, BC Rickshaw Theatre w/ Man Man
Sep 10 Portland, OR MusicFestNW w/ Man Man
Sep 17 Washington, DC 9:30 Club w/ Superchunk & Tommy Keene
Sep 18 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom    w/ Superchunk

This song is from a limited-edition split 7-inch with The Love Language available now in the Merge store!

Let’s Wrestle met up with John Norris at a beer garden in New York City on their recent tour with Quasi to talk about the challenges of touring in the US and how they are never ever “goofy.”

Watch the full interview at noisevox.org and visit the Merge store to get your copy of In the Court of the Wrestling Let’s and the limited-edition split 7-inch with The Love Language now.

Let’s Wrestle will return to the US in September for dates with Man Man including MusicfestNW in Portland in support of their Merge Records debut, In the Court of the Wrestling Let’s available now on CD and digital download in the Merge store.

Let’s Wrestle on tour with Man Man:
9/05 Santa Barbara, CA SOhO Restaurant and Music
9/06 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
9/08 Seattle, WA Neumos
9/09 Vancouver, BC Rickshaw Theatre
9/10 Portland, OR MusicfestNW

As always, you can find new albums from all of these artists and more in our handy Merge store.

Free Merge 2010 digital sampler track listing:
1. Radar Brothers – Horses Warriors (from The Illustrated Garden)
2. Let’s Wrestle – I Won’t Lie to You (from In the Court of the Wrestling Let’s)
3. Destroyer – The Very Modern Dance (from Streethawk: A Seduction)
4. Shout Out Louds – Fall Hard (from Work)
5. Spoon – Written in Reverse (from Transference)
6. Lou Barlow – Don’t Apologize (from Goodnight Unknown)
7. She & Him – Thieves (from Volume Two)
8. Superchunk – Learned to Surf (from Leaves in the Gutter)
9. Alec Bathgate – Glide (from Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox)
10. The Clientele – I Wonder Who We Are (from Bonfires on the Heath)
11. Caribou – Odessa (from Swim)
12. The Clean – In the Dreamlife U Need a Rubber Soul (from Mister Pop)
13. Wye Oak – I Hope You Die (from My Neighbor / My Creator)
14. Lambchop – Give It (from Live at XX Merge)

In the Court of the Wrestling Let’s is available on CD and digital download in the Merge store.

Let’s Wrestle have just two shows left of their US tour with Quasi:
4/30 – Newport, KY – Southgate House
5/1 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall

Click here to view the embedded video.

Telekinesis – “Dirty Thing” b/w “Non-Toxic” & “The Drawback”
This is the first new music from Telekinesis since their 2009 Merge debut, Telekinesis!, which was described by NPR Monitor Mix’s Carrie Brownstein as “perfectly crafted and utterly gleeful.”

Let’s Wrestle / The Love Language – “I’m So Lazy” b/w “Brittany’s Back (demo version)”

With this split 7-inch created exclusively for Record Store Day, we introduce two exciting new Merge bands: Let’s Wrestle and The Love Language!

Thank you for helping to make Record Store Day a rousing success!

Superchunk – “Misfits and Mistakes” b/w “Misfits and Mistakes” (Meatwad Version)
Originally released in 2007 in extremely limited quantity, “Misfits and Mistakes” is the first and only picture disc we have ever produced. Recorded for Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters, “Misfits and Mistakes” is performed by Superchunk and covered on side B by Meatwad himself!  Each 7-inch picture disc arrives in stores autographed by all four members of Superchunk and is available at a special price exclusively for Record Store Day!

Telekinesis – “Dirty Thing” b/w “Non-Toxic” & “The Drawback”
This is the first new music from Telekinesis since their 2009 Merge debut, Telekinesis!, which was described by NPR Monitor Mix’s Carrie Brownstein as “perfectly crafted and utterly gleeful.” These three tracks will be available on 7-inch vinyl only!

Let’s Wrestle / The Love Language – “I’m So Lazy” b/w “Brittany’s Back (demo version)”
With this split 7-inch created exclusively for Record Store Day, we introduce two exciting new Merge bands: Let’s Wrestle and The Love Language! Featuring brand new songs from both bands, these tracks will be available on 7-inch vinyl only!

Record Store Day is a yearly celebration in which independently owned record stores come together with artists to celebrate the art of music. Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for the day and hundreds of artists in the United States and in various countries across the globe make special appearances and performances.

For more information on Record Store Day and where you can find a store near you, visit recordstoreday.com.

See them on tour! In the Court of the Wrestling Let’s in stores tomorrow, but you can pre-order it now in the Merge store!

Our helpful flyer is below – click to make it larger & to print it to take with you! Share the link on your twitter & Facebook, too!

Spoon are headlining the NPR show at Stubbs BBQ on Wednesday, March 17 (12:15 am) and She & Him are playing a free, open to the public show at Auditorium Shores on Saturday March 20 (8 pm).  Superchunk are playing a free Village Voice day party at La Zona Rosa on March 19 (3 pm).

Merge Showcase @ Cedar Street Courtyard
208 West 4th St b/t Colorado & Lavaca
Thursday, March 18th
7 PM
(from first to last)
Special Guest
Let’s Wrestle
Radar Brothers
She & Him
Wye Oak
Lou Barlow + the missingmen
The Love Language

Merge @ Homeslice Pizza’s “Music by the Slice” Party
1415 Congress Ave.
Free & Open to the public

Thursday, March 18:
1:30 pm The Love Language
2:15 pm Radar Brothers

Friday, March 19:
Noon Let’s Wrestle
3:45  Wye Oak
6:45  Lou Barlow

Also, book events!

Our Noise event @ Book People (603 N. Lamar Blvd)
Wednesday, March 17 at 6PM
Free & Open to the Public
Mac & Laura will read selections from their book, Our Noise, and will perform covers of songs from selected bands mentioned in the book. They’ll be available to sign books afterwards, too.

Our Noise panel @ SXSW Convention Center
Thursday, March 18 at 2PM
Open to convention registrants only
Michael Azerrad will moderate a Q&A-style event with Mac & Laura about Our Noise and 20 years of Merge Records.

Merge bands @ Music by the Slice!
Homeslice Pizza – 1415 S. Congress St. Austin, TX
Thursday:
1:30 The Love Language
2:15 Radar Brothers
Friday:
Noon Let’s Wrestle
3:45 Wye Oak
6:45 Lou Barlow

Full party line-up can be found here!

“. . . such exuberance is irresistible” ~ Pitchfork

Preview and pre-order In the Court of the Wrestling Let’s now in the Merge store.

Let’s Wrestle on tour!
% 3.21-3.31 w/ Titus Andronicus
^ 4.15-5.01 w/ Quasi
03.15.10     Brooklyn, NY  Knitting Factory *Brooklyn Vegan pre-SXSW show!
03.18.10     Austin, TX  Cedar St. Courtyard *Merge Records SXSW showcase (with Radar Brothers, Wye Oak, Lou Barlow + the missingmen, She & Him, & The Love Language)
03.21.10     El Paso, TX Black Market %
03.22.10     Scottsdale, AZ  Chyro Arts %
03.23.10     Los Angeles, CA  Bootleg Theater %
03.25.10     San Luis Obispo, CA SLO Art Center %
03.26.10     Visalia, CA  Cellar Door %
03.27.10     Sacramento, CA  Fungarden %
03.28.10     San Francisco, CA  Slim’s %
03.30.10     Seattle, WA  The Vera Project %
03.31.10     Portland, OR Mississippi Studios %
04.15.10     St. Paul, MN    Turf Club^
04.16.10     Madison, WI    Annex^
04.17.10     Detroit, MI    Magic Stick^
04.18.10     Toronto, ON    Horseshoe Tavern^
04.19.10     Montreal, QC    Il Motore^
04.20.10     Cambridge, MA    Middle East Downstairs^
04.22.10     New York, NY    Bowery Ballroom^
04.23.10     Philadelphia, PA    Johnny Brenda’s^
04.24.10     Washington, DC    Black Cat^
04.26.10     Carrboro, NC    Cat’s Cradle^
04.27.10     Atlanta, GA    529^
04.28.10     Birmingham, AL    The Bottletree^
04.29.10     Nashville, TN    Mercy Lounge^
04.30.10     Newport, KY    The Southgate House^
05.01.10     Chicago, IL    Lincoln Hall^

Again we say, the future looks pretty Mergetastic and Wrestlerific!  We think you’ll agree!

Let’s Wrestle met years ago and bonded over meat and records. After a while, a band was formed and soon the world shall be conquered. Let’s Wrestle have influences as vast as Black Flag, Buddy Holly, Faust, and Edith Piaf, but are ultimately trying to be as raw as possible. They try to write songs that make your soul crumble as well as making you smile, sing along and clap your hands.

Wesley Patrick Gonzalez’ statement upon being signed to Merge:

As I sit here watching Richie Rich on Halloween, I think of the exciting Merge release of Let’s Wrestle.  Let’s Wrestle are Big Rock Stars in England, fighting off girls and suing all the other pop stars (they once sued Seal and Heidi Klum for custody of their children), but they are relatively unknown in the US of stateside.  Let’s Wrestle are getting ready to play poker with the Yankee big dogs.  Now when I say Yankee big dogs, I mean Great fucking Danes which is something you have probably heard about Merge.  These guys are ruthless!  We don’t know if Merge have a motto, but I imagine it might be “don’t play with wasps if you don’t want to get stung by wasps.”

The future looks pretty Mergetastic and Wrestlerific!  We think you’ll agree!

Please enjoy a download of “We are the Men You’ll Grow to Love Soon” from In the Court of the Wrestling Let’s. There’s a video on the Merge blog, too! Singer Wesley Patrick Gonzalez describes this song as “Let’s Wrestle’s Barmitzvah from whence they turned from punk pre-teens into men who rock.”

Let’s Wrestle Are Wesley Patrick Gonzalez (Vocals and Guitar), Mike Lightning (Bass and Vocals) and Darkus Bishop (Drums)