Bizzarro Interpol is Dead, Long Live Interpol

Lofty ambitions aren't for everybody (I'm looking at you, ...Trail of Dead), and it appears Interpol have come to this realization before swerving too far off their own beaten path. They've defected from the evil empire (Capitol Records), ditched the artsy record covers, and put away the unnecessary instrumentation. Not sure if this return to the comforts of home (they're back with Matador) or the back to basics attitude will pay off, but at least there's hope.

"Lights" has been out there for awhile, but it's new around here, so enjoy if you haven't already. And if you're a diehard, a super ghetto leak of the whole album found its way into cyberspace last weekend. Just be warned: it's really bad. Not the "it's .03kbps lower quality, so don't cheapen the integrity of our band's artistic vision" kinda bad. I mean the "listening to a scratched up copy of the vinyl through a pillow" kinda bad. Personally, I shut it down 2 songs in. That's your call, but Interpol drops on Tuesday, anyway. Oops. Turns out that's the "Barricade" single that's being released Tuesday. The album isn't due until September 14.

"Lights":

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Fugazi Currently Google Trends' Daddy

Fugazi is currently #1 on Google Trends. Why? I don't really know, although their level of hotness right now is "spicy". I guess that's just as good a reason as any to watch/listen to this:

What better way to start off your Tuesday? After hearing that pick slide, I know I'm ready to take on the world. Come on and get up, Planet Earth.

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Les Savy Fav: "Let's Get Out of Here"

It can be a difficult task to take these guys seriously at times. Lead singer Tim Harrington is a flat-out squirrel, and he looks goofier than he acts. But there's no question that Les Savy Fav can turn out an old school, straight forward indie rock song with the best of them. If you need proof, look no further than the new single from Root For Ruin, "Let's Get Out of Here." Give a listen below, and enter your email even further below if you'd like to get a free copy for yourself to take home and show your parents. The new album rolls out September 14th on Frenchkiss.

Les Savy Fav: "Let's Get Out of Here"

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Com Truise's "Sundriped" & "lwywaw"

Someone else has thrown their hat into whatever ring that Neon Indian, Memory Tapes, and Washed Out belong to ("Chillwave" gets tossed around quite a bit, anymore). Whatever you call it, Seth Haley prefers to call himself "Com Truise". Don't worry, the music's better than the moniker. And not only is the music good, it's free. You can get the entire 7-song Cyanide Sisters ep at his website at no cost, and you don't even have to compromise your personal information to do so. Go for it!

Com Truise: "Sundriped"

Com Truise: "lwywaw"

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The Tracks are Back!

We've been through a bit of a dry spell when it comes to posting new tracks here, due in large part to our preferred flash mp3 player, blogcastone, passing through a cyberspace wormhole into oblivion. But, thanks to Yahoo! putting together it's own nifty little Media Player, we're back in the game. It even has a built in playlist window that includes all of the tracks that are posted on that particular page. Anyone who has use for such a thing should definitely check it out; it's extremely user friendly.

So thanks for coming back and reading/listening. Here's a nice little throwback for all your patience:

The Appleseed Cast: "Steps and Numbers"

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Ra Ra Riot: "Boy"

If you can get past all the Vampire Weekend associations - they're tight with each other, have lent band members to the same 80s synth/electro-pop/pseudo hip-hop collaboration, and flat out just sound similar at times - these guys are legitimately a really enjoyable band in their own right. In fact, if you've been drinking the hatorade when it comes to VW, there's a solid chance that you'll enjoy Ra Ra Riot, anyway. They're just that... pleasant. If, on the other hand, Ezra Koenig & Co. light your fire, then you need to accept my apology for wasting your time and just hit play already. The Orchard is due out August 24th, and for now you can download "Boy" if you're willing to go to the band's website and declassify your email address.

Ra Ra Riot: "Boy"

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The Return of Deerhunter

After Cryptograms, I probably would have thought it more likely that I'd get excited about a Ron Artest rap album than anything Deerhunter could ever produce. But time heals all wounds, and so do transcendently awesome albums, two of which have been released by Deerhunter/Bradford Cox over the past two years. So here I am, pumped for September 28, 2010, and all the coma-inducing, reverb-drenched awesomeness that's coming with it. To kick off the festivities, "Revival" has been released as the first single from Halcyon Digest. Enjoy.

Deerhunter: "Revival"

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Dr. Funke's 100% Natural Good-Time Family-Band Solution

Not really sure if anyone has ever actually taken this band seriously. They really are something to admire. The glue that holds these people together is something stronger than just the music. Stronger than love. Stronger than blood. Nobody can really quite put their finger on what it is but we all should feel lucky to have them around. They just keep it simple. Simple like one of those old blues artists where it was just one person-one guitar. Its just so easy to feel the joy, the pain, or the chemically induced sense of joy. See and hear for yourself.

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Retro Motion: Best Split 7-inch Single of All Time?

Hope everyone is having a great summer. I have been, and I trust my fellow contributors have been as well; hence the lack of posts around here the last couple months. That being said, summer always has been, and always will be, my favorite time of year to listen to, and argue about, music. More often than not, it's filled with some of the years best releases, and it's always a great time to sit around and revisit the albums and songs that you'll always hold close to your heart. But this summer has been pretty unique, ironically. The number of great artists who have released or will release albums this year is staggering, but things have slowed considerably during these summer months. This definitely isn't all bad; as front-loaded as 2010 was, it's nice to be able to soak in some of the records that probably didn't get a fair shake to begin with (the month of May made it impossible to really listen to anything properly). But even taking that in to consideration, this summer has been more nostalgic for me than most. I've spent more time listening to albums that are pre-2005 than not, and needless to say it's been a lot of fun. So not surprisingly, the focus of my first post of the summer is taking a look back.

I'll begin this by saying that I never have been a fan of split singles. I know there is a lot of appeal to collectors, and a collector I am, but never of vinyl (I'd like to, but the idea of starting that up is just overwhelming). On top of that, I don't really like singles or eps in general. I find them frustratingly short. But, listening to playlists this summer has got me intrigued. So, to encourage discussion, I'm just gonna throw this out there:

The "E. Texas Ave."/"Blue Boy" split by Texas is the Reason and The Promise Ring is the greatest split 7-inch of all time.

Try to top it. You can't.

The Promise Ring: "E. Texas Ave."

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