Optical Atlas

You Ain’t No Picasso has posted a rather exhaustive archive of of Montreal covers – a pretty amazing post with tons of MP3s. 

Also, thanks to Andrea for directing me to this YouTube video, “Hipster Olympics.”  Check out the of Montreal reference at 5:48.  You know what’s really sad?  That’s the Gladiator Nightstick LP they’re chucking…I really want that….

When not playing with Elf Power, Jimmy Hughes fosters his rising band Folklore, who already have two albums under their belt, The Ghost of H.W. Beaverman and Carpenter’s Falls, as well as an appearance on Kindercore’s XMAS 3: The War on Christmas and numerous live appearances over the last couple of years, mainly around Athens, but also on a tour with Summer Hymns. Now he’s hitting the road again, travelling up through the Midwest and (hooray) hitting Madison for the second time. Here are the dates – be sure to come out if you’re in town.

Folklore – Carpenter’s Falls Tour

02.06.08 Athens, GA @ Farm 255 w/Summer Hymns (free show!)
02.28.08 Athens, GA @ 40 Watt
02.29.08 Charlotte, NC @ The Milestone w/Beat the Devil and LA Tool & Die
03.01.08 Toledo, OH @ Frankie’s w/The Championship and Homeville Circle
03.02.08 Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom w/Dreadful Yawns
03.04.08 Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon (early show – 5pm)
03.05.08 Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews
03.06.08 Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen w/David Singer and Crooks and Children
03.07.08 Bloomington, IN @ Art Hospital w/Arrah and the Ferns

Casper & the Cookies are about to launch their tour of Japan, and will celebrate their return to the States with a show in Atlanta. Here are the dates:

Casper & the Cookies – Japan & Back Tour

02.08.08 Tokyo-Shibuya @ Shibuya O Nest
02.09.08 Kyoto @ Takutaku
02.10.08 Nagoya-Tsurumai @ K.D.
02.11.08 Tokyo-Shimokitazawa @ Club Que
02.15.08 Atlanta, GA @ Vinyl – International Pop Overthrow

And in the immediate future:

• Great Lakes have another show planned for this Friday, February 1st, at Sound Fix Records in Brooklyn, NY. The band goes on at 10, and Ben Crum hints that Jamey Huggins–once a member of Great Lakes, and longtime member of of Montreal–might be joining them onstage. Also on the bill are Martin Moscrop (of A Certain Ratio) and Frankpollis.

• On Saturday, February 2nd, 63 Crayons will be playing the Caledonia Lounge in Athens with The Young Sinclairs and The Buddy System. The show starts at 9.

• If you’re in Vancouver, Canada, on February 2nd, you’ll have a chance to see Kirk Pleasant’s new lineup for Calvin, Don’t Jump!, playing a show at Pat’s Pub with International Falls, Collapsing Opposites, and Lost Lovers Brigade.

In a Cave, the ninth album from Elf Power, features yet another slightly reconfigured lineup of the band (have they ever kept the same personnel across more than one record?)–John Fernandes is gone, replaced by another ex-Olivia Tremor Controller, Eric Harris–but it sounds as much like an evolution as a summation of the band’s career, touching upon many styles. What strikes me upon the first couple of listens is that there’s more variety here than in the last couple of efforts (as strong as they were): “Paralyzed” and “Quiver and Quake” are instant rock singles to rank alongside the best offerings of Walking with the Beggar Boys and Back to the Web; “Heads of Dust, Hearts of Lust” and “The Demon’s Daughter” bring to the fore lead singer Andrew Rieger’s fruitful preoccupation with Marc Bolanesque melodic fantasias, while “A Tired Army” and “Window to Mars,” probably the oddest track in the band’s catalogue, speak to the band’s willingness to experiment with sound and flavor. What’s important is that all these songs, lit with the quality of Rieger’s songwriting, fuse together seamlessly to produce a wonderful album, probably the best to come from Elf Power in a while. Have a listen to “Quiver and Quake” at the newly-updated Optical Atlas streaming jukebox. In a Cave comes out March 25 on Rykodisc.

1. Owl Cut (White Flowers in the Sky)
2. Spiral Stairs
3. A Tired Army
4. Paralyzed
5. New Lord
6. Softly Through the Void
7. Window to Mars
8. The New Mythology
9. Fried Out
10. The Demon’s Daughter
11. Quiver and Quake
12. Heads of Dust, Hearts of Lust
13. Midnight Crawls Out

A special thanks to Arnaud Roelens for notifying me that The Ladybug Transistor revamped their website a few months back, with videos, rare MP3s, and blog posts from different members of the band. Included therein is an MP3 of Gary Olson’s duet with Marit Bergman, “Sun Goes Down,” plus “Always on the Saxophone” (an alternate version of “Always on the Telephone”), a live cover of David Bowie’s “Life on Mars,” Olson vocals for a Stuart Murdoch (Belle & Sebastian) demo, even an excerpt of a David Cross concert where he riffs on the band, who’d just opened for him. Among these mini treasures is this video, for “Always on the Telephone,” which I’d completely missed and should have posted here back in November–sorry! Here it is at last, from their last album Can’t Wait Another Day, and directed by Isobel Knowles. Be sure to watch it to the very last second.

HAM1 just released The Captain’s Table last November (my review is here), and they will be finishing up their third full-length in March, followed in the summer by a tour, both as HAM1 and as the backing band for Liz Durrett and Vic Chesnutt. They’ll also be recording with Jack Logan.

Pitchfork has made available a new MP3, of Montreal covering M.I.A.’s (and Parvati Khan’s) “Jimmy.” Stream it or download it right here.

Dwight at Royal Rhino Flying Records has announced the track listing for the upcoming compilation Build Your Army with Potatoes (RRFR-012), and once you see the lineup you’ll see why Optical Atlas would be interested. No release date has been set, but it should be available soon–keep checking their website (we’ll let you know too). It looks fantastic.

Volcano the Bear – Rain And Shine
The Instruments – Encore (Brigitte Fontaine Cover)
Calvin, Don’t Jump! – Baby Eden
The Diminisher – Ghost Mouse Seeker
The Mendoza Line – First Time, Long Time
Great Lakes – Ships
Folklore - The Unknown Adapted
Laminated Cat – Angel I am Coming Home
Jack Logan – I Got To Hear Him Play
The Visitations – New Jerusalem
The Sixth Great Lake – Tips For Teens
Mikal Cronin – Tethered
Geoff Reacher – Fuck An Autograph
The Lilys - Vegetable Reefer (Von Hemmling Cover)
American Watercolor Movement – 29 Dead Horses
The Unreliable Narrator - In A Wintry Instant
Seamonster - Robert Schneider’s Abacus
Electric Mystical Soul Vibration – Thank You For The Space Suit
El Goodo – For You (Alternate Mix)
Stay - The Calling
Fabulous Bird – Bless Me
Ideal Free Distribution – 200 Mph In Reverse
Von Hemmling – German Jerk (2004)
Vince Mole & His Calcium Orchestra – Everything (1993)

The Optical Atlas streaming jukebox has been updated with 10 more tracks, including a live version of an unreleased song from Circulatory System, and the usual mix of rarities and popular hits.  Also–over the weekend I added a Hawk and a Hacksaw gallery of album art.  I’ve been working on something special for the site, and hope to have it ready soon…