Pre-order Spoon's "Transference" & hear the first single now!

The wait for Spoon's new self-produced album will be a little shorter! Transference will be released on January 19, 2010, and you can pre-order it now on CD and 180-gram vinyl LP (with download coupon) in the Merge store.

The album's release will be preceded by the first single, "Written in Reverse," available digitally now. A 7-inch release of the single will follow on January 5 and features the exclusive vinyl-only B-side "Mean Red Spider."

Stream and download "Written in Reverse" and pre-order the limited-edition 7-inch on pink (!) vinyl now in the Merge store.

Shout Out Louds' new album "Work" in stores on February 23!

Shout Out Louds are back with a new full-length record! Pre-order Work on CD and limited-edition LP (with download coupon) now in the Merge store. Click to download an MP3 of "Walls" and to watch a new video of the band recording the song.

After a year of touring behind their acclaimed second record, Our Ill Wills, the band went their separate ways-singer/main songwriter Adam Olenius to Melbourne, Australia; keyboard/vocalist Bebban Stenborg to Los Angeles; and drummer Eric Edman, bassist Ted Malmros, and guitarist Carl von Arbin back to Stockholm-and took a much needed break. Olenius wrote many of the new songs in Australia in a tiny room, with a little synthesizer, an acoustic guitar, and GarageBand on his laptop. He passed them on to the others who listened closely from their corners of the world, questioning and challenging him until the songs that make up Work had all passed the test.

"Walls" came first and then the rest. It's interesting that Our Ill Wills was written at home but is all about travel, while Work, written on the road and recorded in Seattle with a non-Swede in the producer seat for the first time (Phil Ek ,The Shins, Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses), is all about home. For the songs on Work, the band stripped their sound down, lost the percussionist and string section, and kept things organic, unadorned, and to the point.

Shout Out Louds will be playing a special album-release show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn on March 1. Tickets are on sale now.

"Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox" available for pre-order and digital download now!

On June 11, 2009, musician Chris Knox suffered a life-altering stroke at his home in Grey Lynn, New Zealand. Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox is a celebration of Chris and his music. He was instrumental in bringing New Zealand punk and alternative music to international audiences with Tall Dwarfs, Toy Love, and his solo work. Artists from the U.S. (Jeff Mangum, Yo La Tengo, The Mountain Goats, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Lambchop, Stephin Merritt, Portastatic, Bill Callahan, Lou Barlow, Jay Reatard), New Zealand (The Bats, The Verlaines, The Chills), and the world over have donated their time and talent covering songs from Kox's extensive catalog so that all proceeds can go towards assisting Chris with his recovery.

Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox is available for download now from the Merge store and our usual digital outlets. The 2-CD limited-edition release will be available in stores on February 23, but you can pre-order it today and receive the digital download via email after your order is complete!

Visit the fantastic Stroke website for updates on Chris Knox, information on all of the artists who contributed their versions of Knox's songs, and for previews of many of the tracks-originals and covers.

Merge Holiday Shop now open!

Treat yourself and the other music lovers on your list to specially priced Merge goodies this holiday season in the Merge Holiday Shop! Check out our sale pricing on vinyl bundles, t-shirts, XX Merge merch, books, CDs, and more!

And to keep your hearts feeling warm and Merge-y as our 20th anniversary year draws to a close, please give the gift of a limited-edition SCORE! compilation or The Merge Records Companion to your loved one (or yourself) to benefit a group of worthy charities chosen by the SCORE! curators. The Covers!, The Remixes!, and The Merge Records Companion are available in extremely limited quantities, so visit the Merge store now and order them at special holiday sale prices!

PSSST... Click here for a special "Friends & Family" holiday coupon!

Music Tapes Caroling '09 announces tour route!

To promote the spirit of the holidays and The Singing Saw at Christmastime, Julian Koster, his dog Rudolph, and his Singing Saw friend Badger set out on a caroling tour last fall. Julian says: "Caroling last year was one of the most special experiences I've ever known...following a path that wound through so many houses (over 100!) in so many neighborhoods in each town (and so many towns!), and being welcomed so kindly and so warmly into all of those homes. I'm so glad that we're all still here, and that the Universe has arranged for this all to happen again. I can hardly wait."

Rest assured, hosts and visitors to Music Tapes Caroling '09: even if you were lucky enough to experience the magic last year, new and exciting surprises await this time around, so don't miss out! Julian and his friends will accept no money for their performances, but donations to help out with expenses are appreciated. For information on how you can make a donation, please visit orbitinghumancircus.com. To find out where in your area the carolers will be performing, please email musictapescaroling@gmail.com for the address and general time of the performance.

Confirmed Caroling Path:

12/8 – Chicago, IL
12/9 – Kalamazoo, MI (early) / Detroit, MI (and area)
12/10 – Toledo, OH (early) / Cleveland, OH
12/11 – Buffalo, NY (early) / Geneseo, NY
12/12 – Ithaca, NY (early) / Monterey, MA / Easthampton & Northampton, MA (late-night)
12/13 – Boston, MA (and area)
12/14 – Providence, RI (and area)
12/15 – Riverside, CT / Purchase, NY / Marlboro, NY
12/16 – New York City, NY
12/17 – New York City, NY (and area)
12/18 – Manalapan, NJ (early) / Philadelphia, PA
12/19 – Baltimore, MD (early) / Washington, DC
12/20 – Eagle Rock, VA (early) / Lynchburg, VA
12/21 – Chapel Hill, NC / Raleigh, NC
12/22 – Athens, GA

There's no better time to pick up a copy of The Singing Saw at Christmastime, now available at a low holiday sale price in the Merge store! Visit the Merge blog to watch a video of Julian and the Singing Saw performing "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," and click to download a brand-new Singing Saw holiday classic rendition of "White Christmas." Feel free to share "White Christmas" on your blogs and social networking sites.

Lambchop "Live at XX Merge"

As you all know, Merge turned 20 this year, and we threw ourselves a massive birthday party in July. XX Merge featured 35 bands in five days. No one would have guessed that Lambchop would be the most talked about, most exciting, and most surprising performance of the whole event, but isn't the element of surprise what makes birthday parties so much fun?

In mid-November, we released Lambchop's XX Merge set on CD and digital download along with a concert film of the entire performance, and the responses have been just what we expected! Our website has been flooded with orders, and the CD version is nearly out of print.

Order Lambchop Live at XX Merge on limited-edition CD and digital download with the full concert film, available exclusively through the Merge store. Also, check out the specially priced Lambchop bundle of OH (ohio) and Live at XX Merge available now in the Holiday Shop.

Some responses from the press:

"If you're lucky, over the course of your concert-going life you'll attend a few shows whose legendary status begins before the final note is even struck. Yet when Lambchop played the five-day festival celebrating Merge Records' 20th anniversary in Chapel Hill last July, even diehard fans would've conceded that of the 35 acts playing, Kurt Wagner's Nashville outfit probably wouldn't have topped the list of those most likely to steal the show." ~Blurt! Magazine

"The results are in and it's unanimous-Lambchop stole the show at XX Merge." ~Washington Post

"...the Nashville weirdos have never gotten the popular attention they've long deserved. Friday night, they won the capacity crowd at the Cradle forever. [...] It was a revelatory moment, suggesting that we've got five years from right now to reconsider Lambchop." ~Pitchfork

"It truly was a performance for the ages." ~Aquarium Drunkard

Responses to the film trailer from our Facebook:

"Beatle-mania style screaming. Tears. Chills. Best of XX Merge, and best show of my life."

"Best set I've ever seen."

"This set was seriously a semi-religious experience"

"I feel so privileged to have witnessed this firsthand."

Lou Barlow visits KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic

Lou Barlow + the missingmen will visit KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic on Thursday, December 10, at 11:15 a.m. PST / 2:15 p.m. EST for a live set and interview. Don't miss the chance to hear live, full-band versions of some songs from Lou's most recent album, Goodnight Unknown. Listen live at KCRW.com.

Visit LooTube for a collection of music videos and a making-of video, and order your copy of Goodnight Unknown on CD, limited-edition LP (with download coupon), and digital download in the Merge store.

"Flipping from the new wave-ish pop stomp of the title track to the glorious melancholy of 'Too Much Freedom,' Goodnight Unknown is another understated treasure from the prince of the perpetually bruised heart." ~NME

"Make Your Own Companion" Contest Winner!

Congratulations, Kevin Norris (punchdrunk49), on winning our "Make Your Own Companion" contest! Thank you to all who entered.

This contest was inspired by our recent release, The Merge Records Companion, a CD-sized book containing photographs of every 7-inch, album, EP, and DVD (plus two cassettes!) Merge put out during our first 20 years. The Companion is available now in the Merge store, and all proceeds will benefit the charities chosen by the fourteen SCORE! curators.

Our 20th anniversary contests have only proven what we already knew: our fans are the most fun! Although they are officially over, please feel free to continue to post your entries for the Merge Companion and SCORE! contests in our forum. We love seeing what you come up with!

Have a safe and happy holiday season! We've got lots of exciting releases coming your way in 2010!