We have added two bands to the already overwhelmingly fabulous line-up of Merge bands past and present who will be performing at XX Merge: 3Ds and Pure. Both bands will be performing at the Cat’s Cradle. Doors open each night at 7 p.m. See you there!

Pure were a band from Asheville, NC, featuring Steve Dunnington (bass & vocals), Danni Iosello (drums), and Martin Beeler (guitars & vocals). We released a Pure 7” in the spring of 1991 and they haven’t played together since the early ’90s, but they’ve agreed to reunite for XX Merge and we’re excited! A bit Dinosaur Jr.-y but more spacey, everyone who saw them was pretty blown away and people loved the single. Then they just kinda disappeared back into the mountains.

Stream a Pure song from our 5 year anniversary compilation, Rows of Teeth.

In the same vein, New Zealand’s legendary, guitar-mangling 3Ds haven’t played a stateside show since their 1994 tour with Superchunk, but Davids Mitchell and Saunders, Denise Roughan, and original drummer Dominic Stones are making the trip for XX Merge!

Stream songs from our 3Ds releases as well as the Quasi cover of the 3Ds song “Beautiful Things” from the SCORE! The Covers! CD now on sale at a new low price in the Merge store.

5-day passes for XX Merge are sold out. There may be a limited number of tickets for sale at the door for the Cat’s Cradle shows, and tickets are still available via eTix for the July 26 show at Memorial Hall featuring She & Him, American Music Club & Wye Oak.

On Tuesday, June 30th, Spoon will debut its first newly recorded material since 2007’s universally acclaimed Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga! We will release the three-song “Got Nuffin” single on CD and digital download beginning June 30, with the 12″ vinyl version following in July (exact date TBD). Pre-order your CD single now in the Merge store.

“Got Nuffin” was recorded by Nicolas Vernhes at Rare Book Room. B-sides “Tweakers” and “Stroke Their Brains” were recorded by Spoon.

As previously announced, Spoon will return to its birthplace to commandeer Austin’s Stubbs Amphitheater July 9, 10 and 11 for SPOONX3, which will feature the live debut of new material from the band’s forthcoming album as well as different special guests nightly, all handpicked by the band. Spoon will also perform as part of our 20th anniversary celebration, XX Merge July 22-26th.

The lineup for the shows at Stubbs is as follows:

July 9 - SPOON, Quasi, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears
July 10 - SPOON, Low, Dale Watson
July 11 - SPOON, Atlas Sound, the Strange Boys

For further information, check www.spoontheband.com.

Telekinesis are in Los Angeles today and will visit the Santa Monica studios of KCRW to perform on Morning Becomes Eclectic. The band will play live and chat with host, Jason Bentley. Tune in to listen and watch live at 11:15 PST / 2:15 EST today, June 26.

Telekinesis are on tour in support of their debut album, Telekinesis!, available on CD and digital download in the Merge store.

We are excited to welcome Mindy Kaling to the illustrious list of SCORE! curators. Mindy is one of our favorite writers and actors on television’s The Office, for which she is also a co-executive producer. From her famous “Netflix instructions” to her subtle dance moves every time Michael Scott’s phone rings, Mindy’s Kelly Kapoor makes us laugh whenever she is on screen. Mindy is compiling her favorite songs from the Merge catalog plus a little something extra to create yet another unique installment in the SCORE! series. We can’t wait to see the results!

SCORE! Merge Records: The First 20 Years is a deluxe subscription-only box set that is currently sold out. However, you can purchase SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records: The Covers! now on sale in the Merge store with all proceeds benefiting the charities chosen by the curators. Mindy has chosen to direct the proceeds from her SCORE! contribution to Doctors Without Borders.

On October 6, The Clientele will release their 5th album, Bonfires on the Heath on CD, LP and digital download.

The Clientele formed a long time ago in the backwoods of suburban Hampshire, playing together as kids at school, rehearsing in a thatched cottage remote from any kind of music scene, but hypnotized by the magical strangeness of Galaxie 500 and Felt and the psych pop of Love and the Zombies.

Bonfires on the Heath is in a sense a return to the Clientele’s roots; the dreamlike suburban landscapes first encountered in the early singles, their trippy sense of menace stronger now. Now in London, they’ve drawn on older traditions of English folk, which exist here side by side with the band’s more familiar bossa and pop elements. Mel Draisey’s contributions on piano and violin add beautifully to MacLean’s timeless, eerie songs.

The Clientele will play in Brooklyn, NY at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on July 19th with Richard Buckner, and as part of XX Merge. Visit their blog for more news, photos and stories.

Michael, Jonie, David, and Chris will make a stop by the desk of NPR’s All Songs Considered host, Bob Boilen on Wednesday, June 17th around 3PM EST. Telekinesis will play a few songs and chat with Bob. Visit NPR.org/music to listen and watch the session live, and maybe even ask the band a question!

Telekinesis are currently on tour and will perform at XX Merge in July and Bumbershoot in September. Get Telekinesis!, the band’s debut album on CD and digital download in the Merge store.

In honor of their much-anticipated performance at XX Merge, we are offering digital reissues of four out-of-print 7” releases from Erectus Monotone exclusively in the Merge store. Vertigogo, Cathode Gumshoe, El Cid (split 7″ with Polvo), and Glider are all available digitally for the first time.

Erectus Monotone was a discordant pop band from Raleigh, NC. We put out several 7-inches from 1989 to 1993. In our band, Kevin Collins was on the right, Jennifer (Walker) Barwick was in the middle, and Andy Freeburn was on the left. We had four drummers: William “Casper” Lee, Mike Meadows, Brian Walsby, and Brian Quast. We played instruments and sang through a microphone.

Enjoy,
Erectus Monotone

MRG009: Vertigogo
1. Vertigogo
2. En Este Momente
3. Bakin’ Bread

MRG016: Cathode Gumshoe
1. Stumble
2. The Day the Sharks Flew
3. Old New
4. The Big Race
5. Scrape

MRG021: El Cid (split 7” w/Polvo)
1. Fragment (Pam)
2. Anything’s Fine (Erectus Polvotone)

MRG028: Glider
1. Glider
2. Soul Taker

All songs written by Erectus Monotone except “Anything’s Fine” written by Erectus Monotone and Polvo
“Vertigogo” lyrics by Fritz Holderbach
“The Day the Sharks Flew” lyrics by Chris Schneider
“Fragment (Pam)” lyrics by Tennyson and Sooyoung Park