“Underachievers March and Fight Song”

Click here to view the embedded video.

“Harnessed in Slums”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Hospitality on tour:
Feb 3 Brooklyn, NY Glasslands Gallery (Record Release Show)
Feb 25 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall (Noise Pop w/ Archers of Loaf)
Feb 26 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour w/ Archers of Loaf
Feb 29 Toronto, ON Horseshoe Tavern w/ Tennis
Mar 2 Boston, MA Brighton Music Hall w/ Tennis
Mar 3 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom w/ Tennis
Mar 7 New Haven, CT BAR
Mar 9 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506 w/ Tennis
Mar 10 Atlanta, GA The Earl w/ Tennis
Mar 11 Orlando, FL Orange You Glad Festival

David Kilgour & the Heavy Eights – Left by Soft is perfect road trip music. Order this album now in the Merge Holiday Store, and make your own bundle to save 20%!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Arcade Fire’s award-winning album The Suburbs is available on CD, LP, and digital download in the Merge store, as is the extended CD+DVD version, The Suburbs Deluxe.

At the end of 2009, SPIN magazine deemed The Knot one of the “10 Best Albums You May Have Missed” (along with Telekinesis’ self-titled debut!) and apparently, people took note. Since then, Jenn and Andy have put out an EP and another full-length and garnered heaps of praise from fans and critics alike for their recordings as well as for their compelling live shows. Wye Oak will join The National at the end of November, with some solo shows sprinkled in as well. Check their tour page for a full list of live dates.

Watch Wye Oak’s newest video below, for the song “Holy Holy” off of their latest album, Civilian:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Knot track listing:
1. Milk and Honey
2. For Prayer
3. Take It In
4. Siamese
5. Talking About Money
6. Mary Is Mary
7. Tattoo
8. I Want for Nothing
9. That I Do
10.  Sight, Flight

Filmed & directed by Alasdair Maclean.

Street of the Love of Days is available now on CD, LP and digital download in the Merge store.

To celebrate the release of Wild Flag, we’re giving away a trip for two to New York City! Enter the contest at the Merge Facebook page!

Gail O’Hara interviewed the entire band for Salon.com. Read it HERE.

And Rolling Stone reviews the album, saying “There are no wasted moments here – these are lifers who know exactly what they’re doing.”

Pitchfork has just premiered the Tom Scharpling-directed video for “Romance.” Watch it at Pitchfork, or on Vimeo below.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Order the album on CD or LP in the Merge store, or buy it from your favorite retail outlet today!

Wild Flag on tour:
# w/ Eleanor Friedberger
Oct 03 Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theatre
Oct 04 Omaha, NE – Waiting Room
Oct 05 Kansas City, MO – Record Bar
Oct 07 Champaign, IL – High Dive
Oct 08 Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle
Oct 09 Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle
Oct 10 Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop
Oct 11 Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace
Oct 14 Boston, MA – Paradise #
Oct 15 Brooklyn, NY – Bell House
Oct 16 Hoboken NJ – Maxwell’s #
Oct 18 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom # w/ Hospitality
Oct 19 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer #
Oct 20 Washington, DC – Black Cat #
Oct 21 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle #
Oct 22 Athens, GA – 40 Watt #
Oct 24 Birmingham, AL – Bottletree #
Oct 26 New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jacks #
Oct 27 Houston, TX – Fitzgerald’s Downstairs
Oct 28 Dallas, TX – The Loft
Oct 29 Austin, TX – Emo’s
Oct 31 Tempe, AZ – Rhythm Room
Nov 01 San Diego, CA – Casbah
Nov 02 Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour
Nov 03 Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour
Nov 04 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
Nov 05 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
Nov 07 Arcata, CA – Humboldt State
Nov 09 Portland, OR – Doug Fir
Nov 10 Portland, OR – Doug Fir
Nov 11 Seattle, WA – Neumos
Nov 12 Vancouver, BC – Biltmore Cabaret
Dec 08 London, UK – The Lexington
Dec 09 Minehead, UK – ATP Nightmare Before Christmas

Wye Oak

Click here to view the embedded video.

Tonight, Wye Oak play the first of two shows at Philadelphia’s Academy of Music with Yo La Tengo and The National. Next week, they embark on a tour opening for Okkervil River and then for Explosions in the Sky later in the month. Don’t miss them! Visit the band’s tour page for a full list of their live dates.

Wye Oak‘s latest album, Civilian, is available now on CD, LP, and digital download from the Merge store and your favorite retail outlets.

Read about the Invisible Children project here.

Wye Oak are on tour through October. Don’t miss them!

Kaputt is in stores on CD, double-LP, and digital download now!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Watch a clip of The Love Language on the road, and see them this weekend in DC and New York!

Aug 19 Washington, DC Rock & Roll Hotel
Aug 20 Brooklyn, NY The Rock Shop
Sep 08 Raleigh, NC Hopscotch Music Festival

Jordan & Stu McLamb played a few songs on the street for Boston’s Sleepover Shows. Watch Heart to Tell above, and Sparxxx & Summer Dust on the Sleepover Shows website.

Libraries is in stores now.

The Love Language on tour:
Aug 19 Washington, DC Rock & Roll Hotel
Aug 20 Brooklyn, NY The Rock Shop
Sep 08 Raleigh, NC Hopscotch Music Festival

Our Blood is in stores today!

Click here to view the embedded video.

The group is touring North America throughout the fall including dates with Eleanor Friedberger in October.

Wild Flag is in stores on September 13, and you can pre-order it now on CD or LP in the Merge store.

Wild Flag on tour:
# w/ Eleanor Friedberger
12 Aug Brooklyn, NY Williamsburg Waterfront w/ Sonic Youth
03 Oct Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theatre
04 Oct Omaha, NE Waiting Room
05 Oct Kansas City, MO Record Bar
07 Oct Champaign, IL High Dive
08 Oct Chicago, IL Empty Bottle
09 Oct Chicago, IL Empty Bottle
10 Oct Cleveland, OH Grog Shop
11 Oct Toronto, ON Lee’s Palace
14 Oct Boston, MA Paradise #
19 Oct Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer #
20 Oct Washington, DC Black Cat #
21 Oct Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle #
22 Oct Athens, GA 40 Watt #
24 Oct Birmingham, AL Bottletree #
26 Oct New Orleans, LA One Eyed Jacks #
28 Oct Dallas, TX The Loft
29 Oct Austin, TX Emo’s
31 Oct Tempe, AZ Rhythm Room
01 Nov San Diego, CA Casbah
02 Nov Los Angeles, CA Troubadour
03 Nov Los Angeles, CA Troubadour
04 Nov San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
05 Nov San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
07 Nov Arcata, CA Humboldt State
09 Nov Portland, OR Doug Fir
10 Nov Portland, OR Doug Fir
11 Nov Seattle, WA Neumo’s
12 Nov Vancouver, BC Biltmore Cabaret
09 Dec Minehead, UK ATP Nightmare Before Christmas

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Mountain Goats on tour:
July 28 Belknap, NH Meadowbrook Pavilion w/ Bright Eyes
July 29 Shelburne, VT Ben & Jerry’s Concerts on the Green w/ Bright Eyes
July 30 Montreal, QC Osheaga Festival
July 31 Baldwinsville, NY Paper Mill Island Amphitheater w/ Bright Eyes
Aug 02 Cleveland, OH House of Blues w/ Bright Eyes
Aug 03 Grand Rapids, MI Meijer Gardens w/ Bright Eyes
Aug 04 Indianapolis, IN Egyptian Room w/ Bright Eyes
Aug 05 Chicago, IL Lollapalooza
Sept 24 Ames, IA Maximum Ames Music Festival
Dec 02 Minehead, UK All Tomorrow’s Parties curated by Jeff Mangum

Click here to view the embedded video.

Superchunk is in New York for a free show at the House of Vans, and then plays Chicago’s Pitchfork Music Festival on Sunday! Stop by the Merge Records Booth if you’re at the fest & come on Saturday to see Destroyer!

Jul 14 Brooklyn, NY House of Vans
Jul 17 Chicago, IL Pitchfork Music Festival
Sep 08 Atlanta, GA Buckhead Theatre
Sep 10 Raleigh, NC Hopscotch Festival – City Plaza Stage
Dec 01 London, UK Scala
Dec 02 Minehead, UK All Tomorrow’s Parties curated by Jeff Mangum

Gary from The Ladybug Transistor was recently on a solo tour of Spain and performed “Oh Cristina!” from Clutching Stems on a Spanish beach with help on guitar from Darren Hanlon.

The Ladybug Transistor are currently on tour and will celebrate the release of Clutching Stems in their hometown of Brooklyn at the Knitting Factory on July 6!

Order Clutching Stems now on CD or digital download in the Merge store.

The Ladybug Transistor on tour:
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

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.”

Left by Soft is available on CD and digital download in the Merge store.

David Kilgour & Richard Buckner on tour:

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:

Street of the Love of Days is available now on CD, LP and digital download in the Merge store.

Directed by Steve Choo, who also directed the title track from 2007′s Life Like, “Woods” premiered on Pitchfork today! Kelly & Ivan are currently on the road in support of Loud Planes Fly Low, and recently chatted with Lingua Musica.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Rosebuds on tour:
$ with Other Lives
# with Bon Iver
Jun 17 Oxford MS Proud Larry’s $
Jun 18 Birmingham AL The Bottletree $
Jun 19 Little Rock AR Sticky Fingerz Rock ‘N’ Roll Chicken Shack $
Jun 21 Baton Rouge LA Spanish Moon $
Jun 23 Dallas TX Club DaDa $
Jun 24 Austin TX The Parish $
Jun 25 Houston TX Fitzgerald’s Downstairs $
Jun 28 Santa Fe NM Santa Fe Brewing Company $
Jun 29 Tucson AZ Solar Culture $
Jun 30 San Diego CA The Casbah $
Jul 1 Los Angeles CA The Satellite $
Jul 2 Visalia CA Cellar Door $
Jul 5 Santa Barbara CA SoHo Music Club $
Jul 6 San Francisco CA The Independent $
Jul 8 Portland OR Mississippi Studios $
Jul 9 Seattle WA Tractor Tavern $
Jul 10 Bellingham WA The Shakedown $
Jul 12 Vancouver Media Club $
Jul 14 Boise ID The Neurolux $
Jul 15 Salt Lake City UT Urban Lounge $
Jul 16 Denver CO Hi-Dive $
Jul 19 Minneapolis MN 7th Street Entry $
Jul 20 Eau Claire WI House of Rock $
Jul 21 Madison WI UW Union Terrace $
Jul 22 Milwaukee WI Riverside Theater #
Jul 23 Milwaukee WI Riverside Theater #
Jul 24 Chicago IL Chicago Theatre #
Jul 25 Indianapolis IN Murat Theatre #
Jul 27 Nashville TN Ryman Auditorium #
Jul 28 Atlanta GA Cobb Energy PAC #
Jul 29 Raleigh NC Raleigh Amphitheater #
Jul 30 Richmond VA The National #
Aug 1 Washington DC 9:30 Club #
Aug 2 Washington DC 9:30 Club #
Aug 3 Upper Darby PA Tower Theatre #
Aug 5 Boston MA House of Blues #
Aug 6 Holyoke MA Mountain Park #
Aug 8 Toronto ON The Sound Academy #
Aug 9 New York NY United Palace Theatre #
Aug 10 Brooklyn NY Celebrate Brooklyn! #

Last Summer is available for pre-order in the Merge Store now!

M. Ward recently visited KINK Portland’s Bing Lounge for an acoustic session! You can watch the entire set on KINK.FM now.

M. Ward on tour:
May 27 Barcelona, Spain Primavera Festival
June 10 Philadelphia, PA Mann Center for Performing Arts
June 11 Vienna, VA Filene Center @ Wolftrap
June 25 Berkeley, CA Greek Theatre
June 26 Davis, CA Mondavi Center
July 07 Winnipeg, MB Canada Winnipeg Folk
July 09 Ottawa, ON Ottawa Blues
July 11 Quebec City, QC Quebec City Summer Festival
July 31 Newport, RI Newport Folk Festival
Aug 11 Montclair, NJ Wellmont Theatre
Aug 13 East Hampton, NY Music to Know Festival

Stream the debut album from Amor de Días’ Street of the Love of Days now!

Design*Sponge spoke to Lupe about painting, art history, and her creative process. You can read the article here. They also premiered the new video for “Late Mornings,” directed by Xana Kudrjavcev-DeMilner!

Watch the video for “Late Mornings” now!

Lupe and Alasdair will also begin a North American tour with dream-pop duo Damon & Naomi on May 18 in support of Street of the Love of Days, which will be in stores on May 17.

When they tour across the country this spring, it will be the first tour where Alasdair and Lupe perform under the act Amor de Días (Spanish for “love of days”) but not the first time the duo have shared the same stage. Lupe would often appear onstage at the Clientele performances reciting the storybook lyrics of the Clientele song “Losing Haringey.”

Listen to “Bunhill Fields” from Street of the Love of Days and pre-order the album on CD or LP now in the Merge store.

Amor de Días on tour:
(all dates with Damon & Naomi)
May 18 Washington, DC – Red Palace
May 19 Carrboro, NC – ArtsCenter
May 20 Baltimore, MD – Metro Gallery
May 21 Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church Chapel
May 22 Brooklyn, NY – Knitting Factory
May 23 Allston, MA – Great Scott
May 25 Toronto, ON – Horseshoe
May 26 Pontiac, MI – Pike Room at Crofoot
May 27 Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
May 28 Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock
May 31 Seattle, WA – Tractor Tavern
Jun 01 Portland, OR – Bunk Bar
Jun 03 San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill
Jun 04 Los Angeles, CA – The Satellite
Jun 05 San Diego, CA – Soda Bar

Apex Manor visited the Grooveshark bus while they were in Austin! You can now watch the band performing “Under the Gun” on Vimeo. Check out Grooveshark and listen to your favorite Merge bands on their site.

The band is gearing up for a June tour with Jonny (Norman Blake of Teenage Fanclub & Euros Childs of Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci), but first play Los Angeles on Friday at the Satellite! Follow Apex Manor on Twitter to keep up with Ross!

The Year of Magical Drinking is available on CD and digital download now in the Merge store.

Apex Manor on tour!
May 13 Los Angeles, CA The Satellite
Jun 3 Toronto, ON The Drake Hotel
Jun 4 Toronto, ON The Drake Hotel
Jun 7 Northampton, MA Iron Horse Music Hall
Jun 8 Boston, MA Brighton Music Hall
Jun 9 New York, NY Le Poisson Rouge
Jun 10 Brooklyn, NY The Bell House
Jun 11 Philadelphia, PA World Cafe Live Upstairs
Jun 12 Vienna, VA Jammin’ Java
Jun 14 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle
Jun 15 Decatur, GA Eddie’s Attic
Jun 16 Nashville, TN The Bluebird Cafe
Jun 17 Louisville, KY Zanzabar
Jun 18 Chicago, IL Old Town School of Folk Music @ Gary and Laura Maurer Concert Hall

Congratulations to Google & Radical Media for winning the award for Best Use of Video or Moving Image at this year’s Webby Awards for The Wilderness Downtown! The project also won the “People’s Award” for Net Art. The Wilderness Downtown features the song “We Used to Wait” from Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs.

Open Google Chrome and experience The Wilderness Downtown!

The Suburbs is available on CD, LP and digital download in the Merge store.

Click here to view the embedded video.

03-14 Little Rock, AR Sticky Fingerz Rock ‘N’ Roll Chicken Shack
03-15 Beaumont, TX Victoria House
03-22 Nashville, TN Mercy Lounge
03-23 Asheville, NC Grey Eagle
04-02 Iowa City, IA Blue Moose Tap House

Video Marsh also produced the video for “Odessa” that came out just a year ago!

Swim is available on double-LP, CD, or digital in the Merge Store.

All Enternals Deck is available for pre-order from the Merge Store now!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Apex Manor covered The Outfield – Your Love at their first LA show earlier this month! The band plays Noise Pop this week and then heads to SXSW in March.

The Year of Magical Drinking is available on CD and digital download in the Merge Store & your favorite retailer now.

Adam Vine & Ross Flournoy wrote a song called “No Small Magic” for ABC Amplified, and sat down with Dan Harris to talk about their songwriting process!
You can listen to the song on YouTube, or watch their interview above!

The Year of Magical Drinking is in stores and online now!

The Year of Magical Drinking is out today! Follow Apex Manor on Twitter and Facebook.

Earlier today, Design*Sponge premiered the new video for She & Him – Don’t Look Back! Check out the post and watch the video! Volume Two is in stores on CD & LP now.

Directed by Peter Simonite and edited by Daniel Gibbs, the video was shot in September at Cake Shop in New York City.

Transference is available on CD, LP and digital download in the Merge store.

Watch the video for “Digging for Something” now.

Pre-order Majesty Shredding on CD and LP in the Merge store and get your tickets for Superchunk’s tour starting Thursday, September 16 at the Nasher Museum in Durham.

Click here to view the embedded video.

09-09 Oakland, CA New Parish
09-10 San Francisco, CA Independent
09-11 Los Angeles, CA Echoplex
09-12 San Diego, CA M-Theory in-store performance at 4:30pm
09-12 San Diego, CA Casbah

You can now watch the trailer version of the newly-released interactive video featuring “We Used to Wait.”

Check out Shout Out Louds in the Merge Store.

Directed by Simon Owens

Shadows is now in stores!

Alasdair MacLean recently visited BaebleMusic’s Guest Apartment in NYC to perform a few songs for you! The band is currently on tour state-side in support of Bonfires on the Heath. Don’t miss them!

02-26 Birmingham, AL Bottletree
02-27 Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon
02-28 Dallas, TX Granada Theater
03-01 Austin, TX The Mohawk
03-02 Marfa, TX Marfa Book Co.
03-04 San Diego, CA The Casbah
03-05 Los Angeles, CA Spaceland
03-06 Los Angeles, CA Spaceland
03-07 Visalia, CA The Cellar Door
03-09 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
03-11 Portland, OR Doug Fir
03-12 Seattle, WA Tractor Tavern
03-15 Minneapolis, MN Cedar Cultural Center
03-16 Madison, WI High Noon Saloon
03-17 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall
03-18 Ann Arbor, MI Blind Pig
03-19 Toronto, ON Canada The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern
03-20 Montreal, QC Canada Il Motore
03-21 Allston, MA Great Scott
03-23 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom