Wilco Reveal General Release Date of Their New Album, Tour

In addition to releasing a new DVD exclusively to independent record stores, Chicago-based eclectics Wilco have been teasing listeners with the prospect of a new record for quite some time. Those who are looking forward to 2007's Sky Blue Sky follow-up can have their anticipation further heightened. By way of a newsletter (later picked up by New Musical Express), the band said that they were "major progress on the upcoming soon-to-be-titled LP," hunkering down in their famous loft with producer/engineer Jim Scott, and that they've got a "calendar for release in June" in mind. The band/NME advises listeners to pay close attention to the band's website in the coming weeks for new album news.

Of course, no new album would be complete without a tour to support it, and Wilco have announced a handful of new dates for the Spring.

Tour Dates (via):

Burlington, VT Higher Ground (March 26)
Northampton, MA Calvin Theatre (27)
Beacon, NY Beacon Hight Auditorium
Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theater (April 14, 15)
Bloomington, IN IU Auditorum (16)
Athens, OH (17)
Knoxville, TN Tennessee Theatre (18)
Athens, GA Classic Center (20)
Ahseville, NC Thomas Wolfe Auditorium (21)
Birmingam, AL Sloss Furnaces (22)
Oxford, MS Lyric Oxford (23)
New Orleans, LA Jazz & Heritage Festival (25)
Manchester, TN Bonnaroo (June 11-14)
Detroit Lakes, MN 10,000 Lakes Festival (July 22-25)

Wilco MySpace Page

Tonight: Coupleskate CD Release Party @ Empty Bottle

Download: Coupleskate - "Laws of Physics"

I just did a write-up of Don't Fear The Horses for Chicago Decider. Spoiler alert: it's really good. Imagine a countrypolitian version of The Breeders, and you get a good idea of what this band is capable of. You won't get a sense of that from watching/listening to "Laws of Physics," which is one of the more punk-flavored songs on the record, but those swelling, romantic strings that pop up are definitely a sonic foreshadow. The best song on Horses is "Foreign Exchange," which is delightfully poppy in a Stereolab kind of way--lounge-y, for sure, but without the outre French influences. Great stuff all the same.

Coupleskate MySpace Page

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone Apparently Has Some Memories of Libertville, my Alma Mater?

Download: Casiotone For The Painfully Alone - "Old Panda Days"

Chicago-based bedroom synth-pop artist Casiotone For The Painfully Alone has announced the details of his new new album, an effort that's the follow-up to his 2006 effort Etiquette. Vs. Children is due out on April 7th on Tomcat records. Peep the tracklisting here:

1. Casiotone for the Painfully Alone vs. Children
2. Tom Justice, The Choir Boy Robber, Apprehended at Ace Hardware in Libertyville, IL
3. Optimist vs. The Silent Alarm (When The Saints Go Marching In)
4. Natural Light
5. Traveling Salesman's Young Wife Home Alone on Christmas in Montpelier, VT
6. Man O' War
7. Northfield, MN
8. Killers
9. Harsh The Herald Angels Sing
10. You Were Alone
11. White Jetta

The reason that "new" is written twice is because, in addition to Vs. Children, which is entirely new material, he's got a singles and rarities collection titled Advance Base Battery Life. That record is coming out on March 10th. The tracklisting is below:

1. Old Panda Days (w/ Nick Krgovich)
2. Lesley Gore on the T.A.M.I. Show (version)
3. White Corolla
4. White on White
5. Holly Hobby
6. Lonesome New Mexican Nights
7. The Only Way To Cry
8. It's A Crime
9. Missoula
10. Hot Boyz (w/ Dear Nora)
11. Born in the U.S.A. (w/ Concern)
12. Streets of Philadelphia (w/ Concern)
13. Graceland
14. Sunday St
15. Voice of the Hospital

You can listen to "Old Panda Days" at the top of the post. While you're up there, notice that the track 7 from Vs. Children has a title that should raise an eyebrow or two from alums of a certain small, midwestern college town. Namely, it's titled "Northfield, MN," named after the town of Cows, Colleges (St. Olaf, my alma matter, and Carleton, home of Tapes N Tapes and Paul Wellstone...dammit), and Contentment.

So do you think? Did CFTPA get his heart broken for an Ole or a Carl? Or maybe he traveled 400 miles and change just to get some of Basil's incredible gyro pizza, then wrote a song about it? And what's this business about Choir Boys and Ace Hardware in Libertville? Perhaps he resisted temptation to have "Napervillian" in a song? At any rate, check it all out at the top of the post.

CFTPA MySpace Page

Maps and Atlases announce first full-length album

Taken directly from the newly established Maps and Atlases blog

We have been extremely busy the last few months working on what is going to be our first full length record. The songs are still pretty raw but we couldn't be more excited about them! The record is going to be pretty different from the EP's but we hope everyone will give it a chance.

The band says that they'll be doing demos for another month or so, and that they'll also be playing this Spring's South by Southwest conference.

Maps and Atlases MySpace Page

Russian Circles Announce 12" Split With These Arms Are Snakes

Taken directly from the band's Myspace Bulletin

Sargent House is releasing 1000 of these beauties made special for their European Tour together. Half will be dispersed amongst the good people overseas and half will be available to the fine folks of these now great United States (thanks Obama).

How can you get one? Well they will be available at the Sargent House store as of November 15th and through Vinyl Collective With One long ass never released before Russian Circles track or as we refer to those their Hit Single and two sick ass new and never released tracks from These Arms Are Snakes.

THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES / RUSSIAN CIRCLES SPLIT TRACK LISTING
Russian Circles - Philios
TAAS - Camera Shy
TAAS - Trix

Russian Circles are currently recording their follow-up to this year's Station.

Lupe Fiasco Announces "LupEnd" as Triple Album

(Via)

Well, rapper Lupe Fiasco is nothing if not ambitious. After 2007's The Cool, which was a very loose concept record telling the story of three different characters: the Cool (introduced on a track from Fiasco's debut record, Food & Liquor), the Streets, and the Game. Let's not forget about Mike History either. Discerning the narrative from the album's tracks was a little bit of a challenge, but that didn't stop The Cool from being one of the best records of its year. So what does Lupe do for a follow-up? Tamper his ambition. Oh, no. No, no, no. Instead, his supposedly final album LupEnd, is going to consist of three discs. Individually, they will be titled Everywhere, Nowhere, and Down Here.

Watch the video at the top of the post.

Lupe Fiasco MySpace Page

Wilco recording new album, appearing on "The Colbert Report"

From Rolling Stone:

Wilco have already recorded demos for a new album and are heading into their Chicago studio, the Loft, this month to start rerecording and fleshing them out. “Sonically it’s going to be a much wilder, much more unexpected record,” says guitarist Nels Cline. “There’s going to be too much to choose from. Right now it’s an embarrassment of riches, for sure.”

and via Pitchfork:

Tip of the hat to Stephen Colbert for his choice of guests this Thursday. Chicago heroes Wilco will perform one song on the Comedy Central show "The Colbert Report" this Thursday, following in the footsteps of such previous Colbert musical guests as Feist, Nas, R.E.M., Apples in Stereo, the Roots, and, of course, those dastardly Decemberists

Read more here.

Walking Bicycles Debut Five New Songs on MySpace

The Chicago-based indie-new-wave trio Walking Bicycles have debuted five new songs from their upcoming record ¿Go? on their MySpace Page. Check them out here. The album cover is at the top of the post.

Walking Bicycles MySpace Page

Common announces Universal Mind Control release date, tracklist

01. Universal Mind Control
02. Punch Drunk Love (Feat. Kanye West)
03. Make My Day (Feat. Cee-Lo Green)
04. Sex 4 Sugar
05. Announcement (Feat. Pharrell Williams)
06. Gladiator
07. Changes
08. Inhale
09. What a World
10. Everywhere

(via)

Universal Mind Control sees release on Dec. 9th.

Common talks about new record The Believer

MTV Shows

New Star - "Turning It On"

Download: Star - "Turning It On"

Star are a dreampop trio based in Chicago. Last year, the released a debut album titled Devastator, and it contained several solid examples of reverb-heavy, fuzzed-out guitars with a lush, but conversational female vocal on top. While the guitar and the vocals suggest romanticism at its highest, the lyrics often came with a good dose of Liz Phair-style lacerating wit. Songs like "Pure Gold Reason" and "Jailor" railed scathingly against pretentious hipsters and arrogant exes, but it all went down smoothly due to the ethereal production. "Turning It On", from the band's upcoming sophomore effort, Violence Against Star, is as straightforward of a romantic pop ballad as they can deliver. The angst might be gone, but the fuzz remains. So who are we to complain? (Note: I am Don King.)

Listen to "Turning It On" at the top of the post. Hear another new song at the band's MySpace Page.

(Jonathan Graef)
chicagoismildlyinteresting@gmail.com

Star MySpace Page

Kanye West To Release New Album in December

Nah Right has reported that Kanye West, the Chicago rapper, will drop the follow-up to his third album, Graduation, as early as this December. Not only that, but the first single, "Love Lockdown", will be supposedly released to iTunes this Monday. This, of course, is if the report from MTV UK is to be believed. Between this announcement, the fact that Lupe Fiasco has been debuting new material (see below), and if El Che drops, the end of 2008 could be an unbelievably strong showing from Chicago hip-hop.

As soon as an MP3 of "Love Lockdown" becomes available, we'll post it.

(Jonathan Graef)