Merge Records

Caribou announce fall tour!

Caribou will return to North America next month for the second string of North American dates in support their latest release, Swim.

The full Caribou band have been on tour all over the world for most of 2010 in support of their Polaris-prize nominated album, Swim. Visit their website for photos and videos from the road, including a ride on the Great Wall of China, and follow them on twitter! Also, watch their recently released video for “Sun.”

Swim is available on CD, dbl-LP and digital download in the Merge store.

Swim is a reminder that even at his most challenging, the man’s compositional capabilities can dazzle.” – Pitchfork

Caribou on tour:
Sep 14 Guelph ON – Ebar^
Sep 15 Ottawa ON – Babylon ^
Sep 16 Montreal PQ – National^
Sep 17 Toronto ON – Phoenix ^
Sep 18 London ON – Lolafest @ Victorias Park
Sep 19 Boston MA – Paradise*
Sep 22 New York, NY – Webster Hall*
Sep 23 Washington DC – Black Cat*
Sep 24 Cincinnati OH – Midpoint Music Festival
Sep 25 Champaign IL – Pygmalion Music Festival
Sep 26 Chicago IL – Metro*
Sep 27 Minneapolis MN – First Avenue*
Sep 28 Winnipeg MB – West End Cultural Center*
Sep 29 Saskatoon SK – Amigos*
Sep 30 Edmonton AB – Starlite*
Oct 01 Calgary AB – Republik*
Oct 03 Vancouver BC – Vogue*
Oct 04 Seattle WA – Showbox*
Oct 05 Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom *
Oct 06 San Francisco CA – Regency*
Oct 07 Los Angeles CA – Dance Right @ La Cita
Oct 08 Los Angeles CA – Music Box*
Oct 09 Tempe AZ – The Clubhouse
Oct 11 Salt Lake City UT – Urban Lounge
Oct 12 Boulder CO – Fox Theatre*
Oct 14 Austin TX – La Zona Rosa
Oct 15 Baton Rouge LA – Spanish Moon
Oct 16 Tallahassee FL – Engine Room
Oct 17 Tampa FL – Crowbar
Oct 18 Orlando FL – Backbooth
Oct 19 Miami FL – Grand Central
Oct 21 Guanajuanto, Mexico – Mutek/Cervantino Festival
Oct 23 Santiago, Chile – Festival Fauna Primavera
Oct 27 Sao Paulo, BR – Clash Club
Oct 28 Bogota, Colombia – Downtown
Oct 30 Asheville NC – Moog Festival
Oct 31 Chapel Hill NC – Cat’s Cradle*
^With Russian Futurists
*With Emeralds

Versus video live from XX Merge

Versus released their new album, On the Ones and Threes last week and are playing their CD release show in Brooklyn at Rock Shop on Thursday night. To celebrate, we searched our video vaults for this performance from XX Merge of “Scientists.”

Watch the video below, see Versus on tour, and buy On the Ones and Threes on CD, deluxe-edition dbl-LP and digital download now in the Merge store!

photo by PJ Sykes

Versus on tour:
8/12 Brooklyn, NY Rock Shop CD release show w/ True Love Always
8/13 Toronto, ON Lee’s Palace w/ Polvo
8/14 Montreal, QC Cabaret Juste Pour Rire w/ Polvo
9/21 Boston, MA Royale w/ Superchunk
9/22 Philadelphia, PA Trocadero Theatre w/ Superchunk & Jenny and Johnny

She & Him announce limited-edition 7-inch & remaining 2010 tour dates

She & Him, the musical duo of M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel, will be playing their final shows of 2010 this fall, headlining select cities for the very first time. Following a smattering of sold out dates on the East Coast and Midwest this summer, including a glorious show at Chicago’s Millennium Park for over 15,000 people, these will be She & Him’s only Pacific Northwest dates this year.  Tickets for these shows are available now.

She & Him released Volume Two to widespread acclaim this spring. The album, which has been one of the most lauded of 2010, is filled with infectious choruses and sunny harmonies that were written by Zooey and produced by M.Ward. The band’s performances at Coachella, Bonnaroo and most recently at the prestigious Hollywood Bowl, have been some of the summer’s most incredible performances, and their lovely tunes will be absolutely dazzling when they hit the West Coast this fall.

The band recently released the video for second single “Thieves.” Directed by Norwood Cheek, the video is a brilliant homage to black and white silent films of the 20’s, reflecting all of the subtle charm and melancholy of the song itself. A limited edition 7-inch for “Thieves,” backed by the vinyl-only bonus track “I Knew It Would Happen This Way,” will be released on August 31. Pre-order your “Thieves” b/w “I Knew It Would Happen This Way” now in the Merge store.

She & Him on tour:
(new dates in bold)
8/26    Salt Lake City, UT @ Twilight Music Series
8/28    Omaha, NE @ Anchor Inn
8/29    St. Louis, MO @ LOUFest
8/30    Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater
9/1       Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
9/5      Los Angeles, CA @ LA Times Celebration of Food & Wine
10/17    San Francisco, CA @ Treasure Island Music Festival
10/22  Portland, OR @ Schnitzer Hall
10/23  Seattle, WA @ City Arts Music Fest
10/24  Vancouver, BC @ Orpheum Theatre

The Extra Lens announce Merge debut!

On October 19, The Extra Lens will release Undercard on Merge Records. The Extra Lens (previously known as The Extra Glenns), having streamlined their operation by dropping a G and a superfluous N from their name — and why gnot — enter the new century not a minute too soon, following up on 2000′s Martial Arts Weekend with Undercard, a collection of eleven original songs and a pretty ominous-sounding cover version.

Comprised of John Darnielle (the Mountain Goats) and Franklin Bruno (Nothing Painted Blue, the Human Hearts) and formed in the Inland Empire during the region’s brief next-Seattle shortlist period, the project began as a potential home for any song John wrote that had a) more than three chords or b) a bridge. New songs for the group only happened when John figured he’d written something that Franklin might find clever or amusing, although at least one such song, remembered as “Anti-Witchcraft Song,” is lost. Reasoning that permanent-bridesmaid status means you never have to actually buy the dress, the duo have approached record-making at a pace that one would call “leisurely” if it wouldn’t make the leisure class look like busybodies: one 7″, several compilation appearances, a one full-length at the dawn of the aughts, and now, arriving with Paul Masson-like deliberation, Undercard.

Recorded with Brian Paulson (Slint, Beck, US Maple) at the Rubber Room in Carrboro, North Carolina, and with Mitch Rackin (Excepter, Heavy Hands) at Seaside Lounge in Brooklyn, Undercard is the first Extra Lens record to arrive as a full collaboration between songwriters. The recording method, however, persists: John plays guitar, sings, and then gets the hell out of Dodge City, leaving Franklin to provide arrangements as the songs required: here sparing, here ornate; sometimes gentle, sometimes not; once with vibraslap, mostly without.

We are also happy to announce that the Mountain Goats will join the Merge roster, as well!

Download “Only Existing Footage” from Undercard now and see The Extra Lens on tour this fall!

Track list:
1. Adultery
2. Crusierweights
3. Only Existing Footage
4. Communicating Doors
5. Programmed Cell Death
6. How I Left the Ministry
7. Some Other Way
8. Ambivalent Landscape Z
9. In Germany Before the War
10. Tug on the Line
11. Rockin’ Rockin’ Twilight of the Gods
12. Dogs of Clinic 17

Telekinesis shares photos from the studio & hits the road with new band

Spin.com caught up with Telekinesis’ Michael Benjamin Lerner at Jackpot Studio in Portland where he is holed up with Chris Walla recording the follow-up to 2009’s Telekinesis! Michael shared photos and stories from the sessions for an as-yet-untitled new album due early next year.

The new incarnation of the Telekinesis band will be on tour beginning August 31 in St. Louis with Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin and ending on October 19 in LA at the Music Box with Superchunk. Featuring Jason Narducy on bass (Robert Pollard, Verbow) and Cody Votolato on guitar (Jaguar Love, The Blood Brothers), the new line-up promises to bring all of the energy and fun you have come to expect from the Telekinesis live experience!

Keep up with Telekinesis on Twitter, and visit the Merge store for a copy of the limited-edition “Dirty Thing” 7-inch while supplies last!

Telekinesis on tour:
* = w/ Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
% = w/ Superchunk
# = w/ Teenage Fanclub
Aug 31 St. Louis, MO – Firebird *
Sep 1 Urbana, IL – Canopy Club *
Sep 2 Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall *
Sep 3 Detroit, MI – Magic Stick *
Sep 4 Toronto, ON – El Mocambo *
Sep 6 Montreal, QC – Casa Del Popolo *
Sep 7 Cambridge, MA – TT the Bear’s *
Sep 8 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom *
Sep 10 Washington, DC – Black Cat *
Sep 11 Philadelphia, PA – The Barbary *
Sep 12 Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop *
Sep 13 Columbus, OH – The Basement *
Oct 13 Vancouver, BC – Venue %
Oct 14 Seattle, WA – The Showbox % #
Oct 15 Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom % #
Oct 19 Los Angeles, CA – The Music Box %

Spoon on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight!

Spoon are the musical guests tonight on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon! Check your local listings for channel and airtime information and set those DVRs.

Spoon are currently joining Arcade Fire for a few dates and will continue to tour through the rest of the summer/fall in support of their latest release, Transference. Los Angeles fans will finally get to see Spoon on Sep 30 at the Palladium!  Tickets on sale now!

Visit spoontheband.com and follow the band on twitter, too!

Spoon on tour!
Aug 4 New York, NY – Madison Square Garden with Arcade Fire
Aug 5 New York, NY – Madison Square Garden with Arcade Fire
Aug 6 Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion with Arcade Fire
Aug 7 Chicago, IL – Lollapalooza
Aug 9 Columbus, OH – LC Pavilion Outdoor Amphitheatre
Aug 10 Covington, KY – Madison Theatre
Aug 11 Atlanta, GA – Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre with Arcade Fire
Sep 11 Harrisburg, PA – The Forum
Sep 12 Clark, NJ – Union County Music Festival
Sep 30 Los Angeles, CA – The Palladium with Cold Cave
Oct 1 San Diego, CA – SOMA
Oct 2 Las Vegas, NV – Matador’s 21
Oct 4 Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theatre with Dale Watson
Oct 5 Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theatre with Dale Watson
Oct 6 El Paso, TX – Club 101 with Dale Watson
Oct 8  ACL Festival
Nov 10 Rockefeller, Oslo Norway
Nov 11 Tradgarn, Gothenburg Sweden
Nov 12 Vega, Copenhagen Denmark
Nov 13 Rolling Stone Weekender, Germany
Nov 15 Elysee Montmartre, Paris
Nov 16 Shepherds Bush Empire, London
Nov 17 Cockpit, Leeds
Nov 18 Academy, Dublin, Ireland
Nov 20 Crossing Border Festival, The Hague Holland
Nov 21 Crossing Border Festival, Antwerp Belgium

Independent Record Stores celebrate the release of Arcade Fire’s “The Suburbs!”

Beginning tonight, some of our favorite independent record stores are celebrating the release of Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs with midnight sales, listening parties & special giveaways. Visit the stores listed below to learn more about their individual plans to celebrate the release of The Suburbs & how you can win special prizes from Arcade Fire and Merge Records.

Check out the list below to find the participating store closest to you:
Amoeba – LA & SF, CA
Bull Moose – Maine
Cactus Music – Houston, TX
Criminal Records – Atlanta, GA
Dearborn Music – Dearborn, MI
Disc Exchange – Knoxville, TN
Ear X-Tacy – Louisville, KY
Earshot – Greenville, SC
Easy Street – Seattle, WA
The Electric Fetus – Minneapolis, MN
Fingerprints – Long Beach CA
Galaxy – Hamilton, OH
Good Records – Dallas, TX
Graywhale – Salt Lake City, Utah
Grimey’s – Nashville TN
Love Garden – Lawrence, KS
Magnolia Thunderpussy – Columbus, OH
Main Street Music – Manayunk, PA
Monster – Charleston, SC
Music Millennium – Portland, OR
Music Saves – Cleveland, OH
Newbury Comics – Boston, MA
Other Music – New York, NY
Park Ave – Orlando, GA
The Record Exchange – Boise, ID
Repo – Philadelphia, PA
Rhino/Mad Platter – Claremont CA
Schoolkids – Raleigh, NC
Sonic Boom – Seattle, WA
Sound Fix – Brooklyn, NY
Sound Garden – Baltimore MD
Strictly Discs – Madison, WI
Twist & Shout – Denver, CO
Vintage Vinyl – St. Louis
Waterloo – Austin TX
Zia Records – Arizona & Las Vegas

Tracey Thorn gets remixed on new “Opposites” EP

On August 31, Tracey Thorn will release Opposites - a special digital-only EP of experimental remixes of tracks from her acclaimed new album Love And Its Opposite. If the album, produced by Ewan Pearson, was heralded for its unadorned and direct honesty, the remixes are deliberately oblique reinterpretations that throw a new sidelight on three of the album’s key tracks.

“If the remixes for the last single ‘Why Does The Wind?‘ were aimed at the dancefloor, these are perhaps aimed more at the head.” says Tracey. “People often only remember the dance remixes I have been involved with, and forget the great futuristic re-works of my voice over the years by people like Photek, Omni Trio and Howie B. If my versions of my songs are often plain and direct, these mixes add question marks and blind alleys, and I like that. It adds a different colour and makes them closer to my work with Massive Attack perhaps.”

For the EP, the album’s closing track, ‘Swimming’ (featuring Nashville’s Cortney Tidwell) is remixed into a psychedelic West Coast journey by Visionquest. Fronted by Detroit’s Seth Troxler, Visionquest is Seth plus American sparring partners Ryan Crosson and Lee Curtiss, who all ran the influential Tesh Club together before Seth moved to Berlin to become resident DJ at the city’s pivotal Club der Visionare and Weekend Clubs in 2008. The move has made Seth one of Europe’s most in-demand DJs of late. Cortney and Tracey’s backing vocals are looped into a swirling head-swim before the track locks onto a killer Fleetwood Mac groove for a deep Balearic summer ride.

WALLS are Sam Willis (from influential electronic music blog, Allez-Allez) and Alessio Natalizia (Banjo or Freakout). Their recent debut album on German uber-label Kompakt has been one of the year’s sleeper hits. Mixing the same influences that pepper the album, their rework of ‘Kentish Town’ is a woozy blissed-out dream, part Krautrock, part Eno-esque ambience.

Kwesi Darko aka Blue Daisy runs Camden Town’s Black Acre and has turned it into one of the labels to watch over the past few months. The imprint has delivered a string of inventive post-dubstep soundscapes for forward-looking dancefloors and afterhours parties alike. Drawing on dub, hip-hop and rich synthetic orchestration, Blue Daisy’s take on ‘Late In The Afternoon’ is blunted and cinematic, heavy on sub-bass and twinkling stressed-out FX.

Tracey Thorn’s Opposites EP will be available beginning August 24 exclusively on Beatport and then on the usual digital outlets beginning August 31. Download a free MP3 of “Kentish Town (Walls Remix)” and feel free to share!

Tracklist:
1. Swimming (Visionquest Remix)
2. Swimming (Album Version)
3. Kentish Town (Walls Remix)
4. Kentish Town (Album Version)
5. Late in the Afternoon (Blue Daisy Remix)
6. Late in the Afternoon (Album Version)

Wye Oak extend fall tour to include dates with The Mountain Goats & David Bazan

Wye Oak are hitting the road beginning August 17 with Lou Barlow + the missingmen and have just added new dates with The Mountain Goats and David Bazan. Don’t miss the chance to see Wye Oak and hear new songs before they return to the studio to record the follow-up to The Knot!

Their new EP, My Neighbor / My Creator is available via digital download in the Merge store and at your favorite digital outlets and local record stores.

Wye Oak on tour:
* = w/ Lou Barlow
% = w/ The Mountain Goats
# = w/ David Bazan
Aug 17 Milford, CT – Daniel Street Club *
Aug 18 Washington, DC – Rock N Roll Hotel *
Aug 19 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle *
Aug 20 Asheville, NC – Grey Eagle *
Aug 21 Nashville, TN – The Basement *
Aug 23 Madison, WI – The Frequency *
Aug 25 Minneapolis, MN – 400 Bar *
Aug 26 Chicago, IL – Schubas Tavern *
Aug 27 Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop *
Aug 28 Toronto, ON – Horseshoe Tavern *
Aug 29 Montreal, QC – Il Motore *
Aug 31 Northampton, MA – Iron Horse *
Sep 01 New York, NY – Mercury Lounge *
Sep 02 Cambridge, MA – Middle East *
Sep 03 Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s *
Sep 04 Hoboken, NJ – Maxwell’s *
Oct 04 Lawrence, KS – Bottleneck %
Oct 05 Columbia, MO – The Blue Note %
Oct 11 Lubbock, TX – The Foundation #
Oct 12 Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad #
Oct 13 Tucson, AZ – Club Congress #
Oct 15 Los Angeles, CA – Spaceland #
Oct 16 San Diego, CA – The Casbah #
Oct 17 San Luis Obispo, CA – Downtown Brewing Co. #
Oct 18 San Francisco, CA – The Independent #

Arcade Fire to stream August 5th Madison Square Garden show live on YouTube – directed by Terry Gilliam!

Arcade Fire has partnered with American Express, VEVO, and YouTube to present a live stream of their August 5 performance at Madison Square Garden in the new series “Unstaged: An Original Series from American Express.” Featuring surprise musical guests and directed by Terry Gilliam (Brazil, 12 Monkeys), the performance will be live-streamed beginning at 10 p.m. EDT from the world’s most famous arena and will coincide with the band’s highly anticipated third album release, The Suburbs, on August 3.

Watch two special trailers for the event at Arcade Fire’s newly launched YouTube channel!

The August 5 live-stream performance by Arcade Fire will give audiences a visually stunning home viewing experience.  Additionally, viewers can access the Arcade Fire live-stream at: www.youtube.com/arcadefirevevo.

Music enthusiasts can digitally connect to these live music experiences in ways that further blur the line between an at-home and in-concert experience:

Choose Your Cam: The audience will be able to control their viewing experience throughout the concert performance by switching between the main director’s stream and a second camera to capture alternative vantage points, from backstage to the front row.

Digital “Happenings”: Featured artists will collaborate with the online audience in creative ways. In the case of Arcade Fire, fans will have the opportunity to submit photos of their suburbs which may be get featured on stage during the band’s performance of one song off their new album, The Suburbs.

“Unstaged: An Original Series from American Express,” is a new partnership with American Express and VEVO, the web’s leading premium music video and entertainment service, and YouTube, to live-stream five concerts over the course of the year. Bringing both the in-concert and at-home viewing experiences to entirely new heights, “Unstaged: An Original Series from American Express,” will feature some of the music industry’s most breakthrough artists playing at landmark venues across the country, tap some of today’s most influential filmmakers to direct the live-streams, and use digital and social media to connect the online audience to the live shows in unexpected ways.

The Suburbs is available for pre-order on CD, dbl-LP and digital download now in the Merge store.

On Tour

Arcade Fire [+]

September
02 Bologna Arena Parco Nord
10 Mexico City Palacio de los Deportes
22 St. Paul, MN Roy Wilkins Auditorium
23 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre
25 Saskatoon Credit Union Centre
[see all]

Lou Barlow [+]

September
02 Cambridge, MA Middle East
03 Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda's
04 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell's

Richard Buckner [+]

September
07 Charlottesville, VA The Southern
08 Asheville, NC The Grey Eagle
09 Columbia, SC Columbia Museum of Art
10 Raleigh, NC Hopscotch Music Festival
11 Charlotte, NC Evening Muse
[see all]

Caribou [+]

September
14 Guelph, ON Ebar
15 Ottawa, ON Babylon
16 Montreal, QC Le National
17 Toronto, ON The Drake
17 Toronto, ON Phoenix Theatre
[see all]

The Clean [+]

September
28 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
29 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell's
30 Chicago, IL Bottom Lounge
October
02 Lawrence, KS Granada Theater - SCION Festival
04 San Francisco, CA The Independent
[see all]

The Clientele [+]

September
06 Seattle, WA Bumbershoot
07 Portland, OR Doug Fir
09 Oakland, CA New Parish
10 San Francisco, CA Independent
11 Los Angeles, CA Echoplex
[see all]

Fucked Up [+]

September
05 Monticello, NY All Tomorrow's Parties
09 Washington, DC Rock n' Roll Hotel
10 Raleigh, NC Hopscotch Festival
11 Atlanta, GA The Drunken Unicorn
12 Charlotte, NC Amos Southend
[see all]

Lambchop [+]

November
11 Berlin Admiralspalast - 20 Years of City Slang
22 Katowice Ars Cameralis Festival
24 Zagreb Kino SC
25 Munich Amerikahaus
27 Copenhagen DR Concert House
[see all]

Let's Wrestle [+]

September
04 Los Angeles, CA FYF Fest
05 Santa Barbara, CA Club Mercy Presents
06 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
08 Seattle, WA Neumo's
09 Vancouver, BC Rickshaw Theatre
[see all]

The Love Language [+]

September
03 Atlanta, GA The Earl
03 Atlanta, GA Criminal Records
04 Charlotte, NC Visulite Theatre
09 Winston Salem, NC Earshot Records
09 Winston Salem, NC Krankies
[see all]

Conor Oberst [+]

September
28 Pioneertown, CA Pappy & Harriets
30 Santa Barbara, CA Soho in SB
October
01 Big Sur, CA Fernwood
02 San Francisco, CA Hardly Strictly Bluegrass

Polvo [+]

November
05 Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon
06 Houston, TX Fitzgerald's Downstairs
07 Austin, TX Fun Fun Fun Fest at Waterloo

Radar Bros. [+]

September
24 Montreal, QC Le National
25 Boston, MA Royale
27 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
28 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
October
01 Philadelphia, PA Trocadero Theatre
[see all]

The Rosebuds [+]

September
10 Raleigh, NC Hopscotch Festival

Shark Quest [+]

October
09 Carrboro, NC Carrboro ArtsCenter

She & Him [+]

September
05 Los Angeles, CA Paramount Studios
October
17 San Francisco, CA Treasure Island
22 Portland, OR Schnitzer Hall
23 Seattle, WA City Arts Music Festival - 5th Avenue Theatre
24 Vancouver, BC The Orpheum

Spoon [+]

September
11 Harrisburg, PA The Forum
12 Clark, NJ Oak Ridge Park
13 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg
30 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Palladium
October
01 San Diego, CA Soma
[see all]

Superchunk [+]

September
16 Durham, NC The Nasher Museum of Art
17 Washington 9:30 Club
18 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
19 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg
21 Boston, MA Royale
[see all]

Teenage Fanclub [+]

September
22 Toronto, ON The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern
23 Toronto, ON The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern
24 Montreal, QC Le National
25 Boston, MA Royale
27 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
[see all]

Telekinesis [+]

September
02 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall
03 Detroit, MI Magic Stick
04 Toronto, ON El Mocambo
06 Montreal, QC Casa Del Popolo
07 Cambridge, MA TT The Bear's
[see all]

Versus [+]

September
21 Boston, MA Royale
22 Philadelphia, PA Trocadero Theatre

Wye Oak [+]

September
02 Cambridge, MA Middle East
03 Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda's
04 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell's
October
04 Lawrence, KS Bottleneck
05 Columbia, MO The Blue Note
[see all]
see all tour dates

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