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The Ladybug Transistor take “Clutching Stems” on tour!

The Ladybug Transistor’s new album Clutching Stems is now in stores, and the band will bring their new songs on the road this week!

Prefix Media reviewed the new album saying “Clutching Stems is the band’s finest record since The Albemarle Sound, and the kind of pop record that may break your heart, may even tear you apart, but it’s also generous and complex enough to put you back together in the end.”

Blurt‘s Lee Zimmerman says Clutching Stems is “as intoxicating as ever, it conveys a jubilant first impression that lingers long after.”

Order Clutching Stems now on CD in the Merge store, and don’t miss The Ladybug Transistor on tour beginning June 28 including special west coast dates!

The Ladybug Transistor on tour:
Jun 28 Hudson, NY – Spotty Dog Bookes & Ale
Jun 29 New Haven, CT – BAR (FREE SHOW!)
Jun 30 Cambridge, MA – TT the Bear’s
July 06 Brooklyn, NY – Knitting Factory
July 07 Pittsburgh, PA – Carnegie Museum of Art Sculpture Court
July 08 Kalamazoo, MI – The Strutt
July 09 Madison, WI – UW Madison Union Terrace
July 10 Chicago, IL – Schuba’s
July 11 North Manchester, IN – The Firehouse (FREE SHOW!)
July 12 Cincinnati, OH – Mayday (FREE SHOW!)
July 15 Baltimore, MD – Ottobar
July 16 Raleigh, NC – Kings Barcade
July 17 Charlottesville, VA – The Southern
Sept 06 Los Angeles, CA – Satellite
Sept 07 Santa Barbara, CA – Muddy Waters
Sept 08 San Francisco – the Hemlock Tavern
Sept 09 Portland, OR – Musicfest NW
Sept 10 Seattle, WA – The Comet Tavern

The Ladybug Transistor’s DJ LGBT remixes “Clutching Stems”

RCRDLBL posted a remix by the Ladybug Transistor’s own Michael O’Neill (aka DJ LGBT) today!

Listen to the remix at RCRDLBL.com

DJ LGBT—Michael O’Neill of both Men as well as the band in question—transforms The Ladybug Transistor’s “Clutching Stems” from a pretty anthem in the vein of Arcade Fire into an intensely percussion-driven epic that just barely carries the suggestion of club music. O’Neill raises the stakes by excavating the song’s darkness, latent in the lyrics. “It’s all coming apart,” Gary Olson sings and instead of a delay-drenched guitar sounding off, the song’s melody cuts out, leaving only the rhythm of the ominously clanging thump of the drums.

Clutching Stems is in stores on June 7. Pre-order in the Merge store now!

The Ladybug Transistor on tour:
May 31 Madrid, Spain – El Sol
Jun 01 Huesca, Spain – CC Matadero
Jun 02 Barcelona, Spain – Catwalk
Jun 03 Valencia, Spain - Matisse
Jun 04 Zaragoza, Spain – CAI Independencia
Jun 29 New Haven, CT – BAR (FREE SHOW!)
Jun 30 Cambridge, MA – TT the Bear’s
July 06 Brooklyn, NY – Knitting Factory
July 07 Pittsburgh, PA – Carnegie Museum of Art Sculpture Court
July 08 Kalamazoo, MI – The Strutt
July 09 Madison, WI – UW Madison Union Terrace
July 10 Chicago, IL – Schuba’s
July 11 North Manchester, IN – The Firehouse (FREE SHOW!)
July 12 Cincinnati, OH – Mayday (FREE SHOW!)
July 15 Baltimore, MD – Ottobar
July 16 Raleigh, NC – Kings Barcade
July 17 Charlottesville, VA – The Southern

The Ladybug Transistor announces “Clutching Stems” for June release!

Since the 1990s, the Ladybug Transistor has created formalist pop-rock albums with a dreamy, articulate sound that spans decades and genres. Anchored by Gary Olson’s organizing vision and restrained baritone, their music boasts intricate arrangements and soaring melodies that are at once modern and timeless.

This band’s narrative holds a rich history of heartfelt collaboration, tireless devotion, quiet and outspoken romance, new arrivals, unexpected departures, achy break-ups, and unspeakable loss. They have become agile at adjustment.

In 2007, the untimely passing of their beloved drummer San Fadyl left members Olson, Kyle Forester, and Julia Rydholm at an unimaginable loss, struggling with a prevailing sense of “What now?” At a time where moving forward felt possibly impossible, the band quietly gathered new recruits (Mark Dzula, Eric Farber, Michael O’Neill) and embarked on writing a new album with the memory of San squarely in mind.

The resulting effort is their forthcoming release Clutching Stems—a lush collection of potent refrains and brought-to-one’s-knees ballads. Set to an invigorated soundtrack of wave-pop arrangements, the songs detail stories of humbling heartbreak, profound longing, undoing distress, nagging regret, and coming-of-age awakenings. Olson’s lyrics express an overarching search to find one’s voice in the face of moments that knock the wind and words right out of a person.

This new line-up has found a distinct voice that honors diverse influences and the band’s own precedent sound. Clutching Stems assuredly underlines that while love can tear things apart, it can also capably mend them back together once again.

Bradley’s Almanac premiered the news and a free MP3 of the title track. Download “Clutching Stems” now!

The Ladybug Transistor are:
Gary Olson – vocals
Kyle Forester – keyboards
Julia Rydholm – bass
Michael O’Neill – guitar
Eric Farber – drums
Mark Dzula – guitar

2010 Year End Lists: Julia Rydholm, The Ladybug Transistor & The Essex Green

Julia & her Merge doppelganger, Annie Hayden

www.eatdavelove.com
Radio Dept. “Clinging to a Scheme”
Beach House “Teen Dream”
Viktor Sjöberg “Breakfast in America”
Superchunk show, Bowery Ballroom, Sept 2010, NYC
Shout Out Louds “Work”
Finally seeing Pavement live, “Way Out West” festival, Summer 2010
Wye Oak “I Hope You Die” (single)
Shimmering Stars “It’s Just As Well”
Mad Men Season 4

XX Merge: Saturday (The Cradle)

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all photos by Brian Vetter

Breaking Upwards

YouTube Preview Image

Kyle Forester (Composer) composed scores for the short film “Apartments” by Brian Perkins, and, recently, “Horsefingers 3: Starf*cker” by Kirsten Kearse. He co-wrote the theme for the the sci-fi erotica web serial “The Fold”. He is a member of the The Ladybug Transistor, Crystal Stilts, and Mark Dzula’s Magic Caravan, plays for neo-burlesque shows with the Fisherman Xylophonic Orchestra, and once played bass with Nina Hagen. This is Kyle’s third collaboration with Zoe Lister-Jones. He arranged the music for her debut covers album, “Skip the Kiss”, and wrote the music for her still-in-progress one woman musical “Crying for Cash.” The score for “Breaking Upwards” was written and recorded at Marlborough Farms, with the assistance of The Ladybug Transistor frontman, Gary Olson.

Breaking Upwards is available at iTunes and will be screened at the SXSW film festival.  For more information, visit breakingupwards.com.

See The Ladybug Transistor on tour this month!

03.25.2009 Buffalo, NY Mohawk Place
03.26.2009 Columbus, OH Treehouse
03.27.2009 Bloomington, IN Bear’s Place
03.28.2009 Madison, WI Der Rathskeller @ UW Madison
03.29.2009 Chicago, IL Schuba’s
03.31.2009 Grand Rapids, MI DAAC
04.17.2009 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg

2008 Year End Lists: Julia Rydholm of The Essex Green & The Ladybug Transistor

Favorite Things of 2008.  As always, this list goes to 11.
Lil Wayne’s Blog (espn.com)
Grouper Dragging a Dead Deer Up A Hill (LP)
Vetiver Thing of the Past (LP)
Sarah Haskins’ Target Women (especially: yogurt and botox episodes)
Crystal Stilts “The City In the Sea” (song from album Alight of Night)
sorryimissedyourparty.com
Horsefingers 3″ Starf**ker (short film): http://www.horsefingers.com/
High Places “From Stardust to Sentience” (song from s/t album)
30 Rock 3rd Season
Cocoa Tea “Barack Obama” (song from album Yes We Can)
caUSE co-MOTION It’s Time! singles and eps 2005—2008

Ladybug Transistor Sugarhill Session

Want to learn something about the Ladybug Transistor? Want to hear some great Ladybug tunes? Who doesn’t! Sugarhill (shout out to Houston!) did a studio session and interview with our favorite Brooklyn baritone and his merry band of . . . well, bandmates. For instance, here we see some of Kyle’s thoughts on the recording process:

Kyle: …when you’re in a real studio like this, you have this nervousness about… you have a certain amount of time, you have to decide what you’re going to do, you have to play a take you didn’t mess up on . . .
SugarHill: You have to be efficient.
Kyle: But when you’re recording at Gary’s house . . . you could always do it later.

You can also learn all about Julia’s heroic nature, Gary’s love of photographing food, the band being aimlessly driven around Moscow after hailing a random car, and on, and on. It is truly excellent.

A tracklist (with interviews interspersed throughout):

-Always on the Telephone
-Nico Norte
-Oriental Boulevard -> Three Days from Now
-Everybody’s Missing the Sun
-This Old Chase
-Lord Don’t Pass Me By
-Terry

Download an mp3 of this show right away! (length: 44:51, size: 60.6 MB)

wilson

Ladybug Alert!

The nyctaper has just posted a recording of this past Saturday’s Ladybug Transistor NYC Popfest performance at the Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Everyone would do well with a little more Ladybug in their lives.

wilson

The Ladybug Transistor + Antietam FREE this weekend!

Ladybug and Antietam will be playing a free show outside of the central branch of the Brooklyn Public Library on May 31st at 2pm. The library is located at Grand Army Plaza, across from the main entrance of Prospect Park! Also catch The Ladybug Transistor on June 14th at the NYC Popfest.

Ladybug Transistor and Antietam
Saturday, May 31st, 2008
2:00pm sharp!
Brooklyn Public Library Main Branch
10 Grand Army Plaza
Brooklyn, NY

In the event of rain, the concert will be held at the Dweck Auditorium inside the Library.

In other bloggy Ladybug Transistor news, our good friend Brad has posted an entire Ladybug set (mp3s) from the tour with the Lucksmiths/Still Flyin’. It is amazing.

In other, other Ladybug news the final episode of New York Noise for this season gives us a tour of the Ladybug Transistory’s legendary home and studio, Marlborough Farms (it’s in the last few minutes of the section).

The Making of the "Always on the Telephone"

Gary and Isobel chat about the making of The Ladybug Transistor video for “Always on the Telephone” on NY Noise. See the video below!

The Ladybug Transistor on Swedish TV

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