Congratulations, Spoon!

Spoon celebrated the release of their acclaimed new album Transference with a flurry of activity including a performance on one of the last episodes of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and a show in the parking lot of Waterloo Records in their hometown of Austin attended by over 2000 people!

Thanks to all of the Spoon fans for making release week so fun and exciting for Merge and the band! Transference debuted at #4 on Billboard's Top 200!

You can order your copy of Transference on CD, 180-gram vinyl LP (with MP3 download coupon) and digital download in the Merge Store now! And don't forget to order the limited-edition "Written in Reverse" 7-inch on pink vinyl featuring the non-album B-side "Mean Red Spider," too!

Shout Out Louds release new digital EP today; Work available for pre-order on CD and LP!

Shout Out Louds' new digital EP Fall Hard is available now for purchase and preview in the Merge store and from your favorite digital music provider.

Fall Hard track listing:

1. Fall Hard (album version)
2. Fall Hard Pt. 2
3. Can't Explain

Shout Out Louds are offering album track "Walls" as a free download at www.shoutoutlouds.com, along with a worldwide contest to win a trip to their sold out March 1^st performance at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, NY. Pre-order their new full-length Work on CD and LP (with MP3 download coupon) in the Merge store.

Shout Out Louds on tour:

3/1 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg SOLD OUT
5/2 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
5/3 Philadelphia, PA First Unitarian Church
5/5 New York, NY Webster Hall
5/6 Boston, MA Paradise
5/7 Montreal, QC Cabaret Music Hall
5/8 Toronto, ON Mod Club
5/10 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall
5/11 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theater
5/14 Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom
5/15 Seattle, WA Neumos
5/16 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge
5/18 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
5/20 San Diego, CA House of Blues
5/21 Los Angeles, CA El Rey

Extremely limited numbers of complete SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records box sets available now!

Last year marked the 20th anniversary of Merge Records, and in addition to a 5-day music festival, we celebrated with SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records, a limited-edition subscription box set that was delivered to subscribers throughout 2009.

We now have a very limited number of complete SCORE! box sets available for purchase in the Merge store. All proceeds will benefit charities chosen by the 14 curators.

SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records includes:

• Fourteen CDs with original cover art and bonus content from curators such as Kara Walker, David Byrne, Mindy Kaling, Amy Poehler, and more. Bonus content includes exclusive new recordings from The Minus 5, Lou Barlow, Destroyer, and others. Andrea Zittel, Zach Galifianakis, David Chang, Miranda July, and Phil Morrison provide exclusive videos for their compilations.
• The Covers! CD featuring Merge songs covered by non-Merge artists including Ryan Adams, The Mountain Goats, The Shins, The New Pornographers, and more
• The Remixes! CD featuring Merge songs remixed by non-Merge artists including Four Tet, Jason Forrest, Mark Robinson, and more
• The Merge Records Companion, a full-color, 350+ page softbound book featuring every single Merge record cover from the past 20 years
• A Scharpling & Wurster full-length CD featuring new and exclusive comedy from The Best Show on WFMU's Tom Scharpling and Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster
• A special-edition Andrew Kuo poster
• And last, but not least, a specially designed box to display all of it in!

Only 200 SCORE! box sets remain, so order yours now in the Merge store. All proceeds benefit worthy charities chosen by the 14 SCORE! curators. Don't miss this chance, because when they are gone, they are gone forever!

Pre-order The Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs vinyl box set for your valentine!

As an early Valentine's Day treat, we are announcing the release of The Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs box set on limited-edition 10" vinyl (with MP3 download coupon) to be released in stores on April 20! Pre-order now in the Merge store at a special price and receive a printable e-valentine for your special friend or loved one in time for the holiday.

Orders will ship to arrive on or around the April 20 release date.

The story has it that Stephin Merritt came up with the idea for 69 Love Songs while sitting in an elegant midtown Manhattan gay piano bar. He originally planned for it to be a live musical revue, performed with a rotating cast of singers in the plush hotel bars and cabarets of New York City.

69 Love Songs was released in September of 1999. Fans and critics were ecstatic, and 69 Love Songs became one of the most talked-about records of 1999. It remains one of the most beloved albums in our catalog. As Spin magazine said, "Like the best cabaret, Stephin Merritt's triple-CD monsterpiece charms on contact, and like the best indie-pop, you'll want to unravel it endlessly."

The limited-edition box set includes all 69 love songs re-mastered for vinyl on six 10" records and housed in a super-sized 69 Love Songs box, along with a 10" version of the original booklet featuring liner notes written by Lemony Snicket author Daniel Handler.

From now until April 20, pre-order the limited-edition vinyl box set at the discounted price of $89.98 in the Merge store.

Pre-order She & Him limited-edition 7" and new full-length, Volume Two

In advance of their highly anticipated sophomore release Volume Two, She & Him will release a limited-edition 7-inch on February 23. "In the Sun" b/w "I Can Hear Music" is available for pre-order now, and you can stream "In the Sun" in the Merge store.

"In The Sun," featuring guest vocals by Tilly and the Wall, is the first single from Volume Two. The B-side of this 7-inch vinyl release features the Phil Spector classic "I Can Hear Music," originally performed by The Ronettes.

While you're there, why not go ahead and pre-order Volume Two on CD or LP (with MP3 download)?

Caribou release Swim details and first track!

Caribou will release their new album Swim on April 20.

Caribou mastermind Dan Snaith's latest recording sees him getting busy in the basement with some expertly constructed, rave-tinged sounds that sing with soul. But that's not all. As a songwriter of considerable standing, Snaith has not subsumed his uniquely recognizable touch in an orgy of technical bliss—although there is plenty of euphoria in the musical alchemy on offer. From Snaith's perspective, he says, "The most important thing for me with this record was finding my own sonic vocabulary. That's why I'm proud of this record."

Visit Caribou.fm to download "Odessa," the first MP3 from Swim!

Swim track listing:
1. Odessa
2. Sun
3. Kaili
4. Found Out
5. Bowls
6. Leave House
7. Hannibal
8. Lalibela
9. Jamelia

Pre-order 2-CD limited-edition version of Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox 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 US (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 Knox'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 immediately 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.

In its review of Stroke, Pitchfork marvels, "The sheer breadth and diversity of this recorded response almost begs disbelief, considering how quickly it came together, and really shows how far Knox's influence has reached, from several of his Kiwi peers to kindred spirits." Visit Stereogum.com or download a recent episode of NPR's All Songs Considered podcast to hear the Jeff Mangum track.

Pre-order new Radar Brothers album, The Illustrated Garden, now

On March 23, Radar Brothers will release The Illustrated Garden.

The Illustrated Garden is the punchiest, most lyrically direct set of songs the band has released to date. The songs are unmistakably Radar Brothers, but the Treichel/Hussey rhythm section often pushes them in unexpected directions.

Radar Brothers will perform in Austin at the Merge SXSW showcase at Cedar Street on March 18 and a CD release party at Spaceland in Los Angeles on March 26. A US tour is planned for early summer. Keyboard player Brian Cleary (The Movies) and guitarist Dan Iead (The Broken West) will join the Radar Brothers' touring band and play on future recordings.

Pre-order The Illustrated Garden in the Merge store now, and don't forget to download the song "Horses Warriors" for free!

"Horses Warriors" sounds like a cross between the score to a Spaghetti Western and beard folk. Like Ennio Morricone working with the Fleet Foxes. It's the kind of song that would sound perfectly natural in the local country bar, or the college rock station." ~Blogcritics

Let's Wrestle announce spring tour; debut album available for pre-order

Let's Wrestle will release their debut album, In the Court of the Wrestling Let's, on March 23. Wesley Patrick Gonzalez, Mike Lightning, and Darkus Bishop will come to our side of the pond for an appearance at our SXSW showcase in Austin at Cedar Street on March 18 and will join Quasi for several dates in April.

"...such exuberance is irresistible" ~Pitchfork

Preview and pre-order In the Court of the Wrestling Let's now in the Merge store.

Let's Wrestle on tour with Quasi:
4/15 St. Paul, MN Turf Club
4/16 Madison, WI Annex
4/17 Detroit, MI Magic Stick
4/18 Toronto, ON Horseshoe Tavern
4/19 Montreal, QC Il Motore
4/20 Cambridge, MA Middle East Downstairs
4/22 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
4/23 Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda's
4/24 Washington, DC Black Cat
4/26 Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle
4/27 Atlanta, GA 529
4/28 Birmingham, AL The Bottletree
4/29 Nashville, TN Mercy Lounge
4/30 Newport, KY The Southgate House
5/01 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall

Spring tours Galore!

Beginning February 21, The Clientele will be coming to North America for their Bonfires on the Heath tour! February also sees Mark Eitzel perform American Music Club opening for The Magnetic Fields on the west coast, and Wye Oak hit the road in March with Shearwater. Radar Brothers will celebrate the release of The Illustrated Garden with a hometown show at Spaceland in LA on March 26. Let's Wrestle hit North America for the first time as Merge artists! Spoon, She & Him, and Shout Out Louds also head out in support of their great new albums, so make sure to keep tabs on our tour page for the latest updates!