“Time To Be Clear” out on Drag City on Feb. 28

VIDEO: Black Cab Session

It was four months ago this day - well, actually, on a day very much like this day anyway, that the world heard its first of Bonnie Prince Billy new album, Wolfroy Goes to Town. Four months. Not that long a-tall. Since then, there’s been shows played, commercials run, station IDs recited, videos dropped…all in the service of the deceptively light (but actually quite heavy) words and music of Wolfroy. This is a record that takes some spins to sort through, and so to hep you down in the endless path, here’s a single to regrooving a Wolfroy favorite. But first -

What world do you live in? Are you online or on the street? Because real life on Earth has its limits. For instance, check out this math - one four-minute album track plus two four-minute non-album on two sides of a 7″ single. It can’t be done! And so, if you are digital, you hear “Time to be Clear” from the album Wolfroy Goes to Town, followed by the non-LP songs “Whipped” and “Out-of-Mind.” If you are live, you are down at the record shop, buying a two-song 7″ called “The B-Sides for “Time to be Clear”" and “Time to be Clear” is back on your album at home! But it doesn’t matter, because both these non-LP B’s are little monsters, rooted in the same dark earth as Wolfroy, but reaching for higher peaks, as sides of singles always should. Starting with a familiar weary tone and limping gait-lessness, “Whipped,” soon ascends to heights of emoting vocals not encountered throughout the entire album that preceded it. The comfy bob-and-strut of 21st century honky-tonk gives “Out-of-Mind” a sweet jukebox feeling, again creating a safe place for naked expression to occur in short order. Yes, the pleasures are fairly immense here, in the way that only two songs can provide.

These songs were recorded with the suddenly-ubiquitous Bonny crew of Ben Boye, Van Campbell, Emmett Kelly, Danny Kiely and Angel Olson. Both sides were recorded with David Ferguson, who brings his strong roots and subtle flair to the mix. Those of you with sharp eyes and ears may already know that Fergie brought his extensive experiences to the Bonny-Sweeney 10″ single of last summer “There Is No God.” Fergie and Bonny go all the way back to the session ten years gone when Bonny was summoned to the Johnny Cash session where his own “I See a Darkness” was being recorded by The Man himself. Fergie was Cash’s main engineer then and his presence there was a calming and centering one to Bonny. The sweet and natural feel of the recordings they have made over the last couple years are a testament to their bond.

The cover drawing was supplied by the great American artist, publisher and aesthete, Sammy Harkham. Those of you who wear Bonny’s doo-rag know this image, as it is emblazoned on top of your head.
Ever the trail-razer, Bonny hops into something funny here: a three-song 7″ single with its head chopped off! Rather than try something silly like put the songs on a larger format (because who in their right mind would…um, that is -), the b-sides are accorded the space they need to rock and groove while the A-side exists in our head (and online, where space and sound ain’t an option, is they? hur!), an echo of the epic, endless album that was (and still is, kids!) Wolfroy Goes to Town.

Tour Dates

04/26 Holmfirth Picturedrome Holmfirth United Kingdom #
04/28 The Frog and Fiddle Cheltenham United Kingdom #
05/02 Acorn Arts Centre Penzance United Kingdom #
05/04 The Bullington Arms Oxford United Kingdom #

# = w/ Trembling Bells

Bonnie “Prince” Billy
Time To Be Clear
(Drag City)
Street Date: Feb. 28, 2012
Formats: digital

Track List:

1. Time To Be Clear
2. Whipped
3. Out-Of-Mind

Bonnie “Prince” Billy
The b-sides for Time To Be Clear
(Drag City)
Street Date: Feb. 28, 2012
Formats: 7″ vinyl

Track List:

1. Whipped
2. Out-Of-Mind

Bonnie “Prince” Billy
Wolfroy Goes To Town
(Drag City)

Track List:
No Match
New Whaling
Time To Be Clear
New Tibet
Black Captain
Cows
There Will Be Spring
Quail and Dumplings
We Are Unhappy
Night Noises

Links: Facebook//Label

MP3: “You New Web”

Musical inspiration comes from odd places: A lost love, a tragic event, or perhaps a hurdle you have finally leaped over.

For Fred Warmsley, the man behind First Person Shootr, inspiration spawns from riding in his Mothers Camaro as a child in the early 90s hearing musicians like the Deele, The System, and Tony! Toni! Toné!

The First Person Shootr experiment, which began in the Spring of 2011, has blurred ambient instrumental, minimal, and 2 step, with traces of the R&B sound Fred used to hear in his mother’s Camaro. His first EP will be released via Lefse Records in February.

First Person Shootr
Mobility For Gods
(Lefse Records)
Street Date: February 28, 2012
cassette / digital

1. Punch Struck
2. See Inn
3. You New Web
4. U’re Better Off
5. Pain For Your Win

Links: Press Materials

VIDEO: “Easy” (Dir. by Tom Scharpling)

VIDEO: “It’s Real” (Dir. by Weird Days)

Real Estate just wrapped up a short East Coast tour which also found them playing their largest NYC show yet, at Terminal 5, and now have announced even more North American dates in April centered around the band’s first appearance at Coachella. In addition to a slew of year-end accolades (including #9 album of the year at Pitchfork, #32 album of the year at Pazz & Jop, and other year-end nods from The Onion, Paste, Q, Uncut, NME, Stereogum, Gorilla Vs. Bear, American Songwriter & tons more) the band recently talked to ABC News, co-hosted Much Music’s The Wedge w/ Damian of Fucked Up, stopped by 120 Minutes to chat with Matt Pinfield and taped a Tiny Desk Concert at NPR’s DC offices. Domino has also announced that the “Easy” single will see a US release on April 10 - you can pre-order it here

Bio:

Days was recorded over the course of five patient months in a remote New Paltz, NY barn-cum-studio with the help of Kevin McMahon (Titus Andronicus, The Walkmen), is a coming of age moment for childhood friends Martin Courtney (Guitar and Vocals), Matt Mondanile (Guitar) and Alex Bleeker (Bass): a gorgeous suite of guitar-pop songs. Days is a testament to the fact that the sonic formula Real Estate developed and shared with their debut album (Real Estate, Woodsist 2009) heralded the arrival of a new, genuine and enduring group of voices in American independent music. Days sees the band tighten and refine their brand of timeless, melodic and genuine music- consolidating the breezy sketches of their earlier work into considered, graceful pop songs.

Tour Dates

04/03 Philadelphia, PA First Unitarian Church
04/04 Baltimore, MD Ottobar
04/05 Richmond, VA Strange Matter
04/06 Raleigh, NC Lincoln Theatre
04/07 Athens, GA 40 Watt Club
04/08 Oxford, MS Cats Purring Dude Ranch
04/09 Little Rock, AR Rev Room
04/10 Dallas, TX Club Dada
04/11 Austin, TX The Mohawk
04/15 Indio, CA Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
04/19 Mexico City, MX Caradura
04/20 Seattle, WA The Neptune
04/22 Indio, CA Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
04/23 Santa Cruz, CA Catalyst Atrium
04/24 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
04/25 Reno, NV Holland Project
04/26 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge
04/27 Englewood, CO Gothic Theatre
04/28 Lawrence, KS Bottleneck
04/29 St. Louis, MO Plush
04/30 Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall
05/01 Harrisburg, PA Appalachian Brewing Co.

Real Estate
Easy
(Domino)
US Street Date: April 10, 2012

A: Easy
B: Exactly Nothing

Real Estate
Days
(Domino)
Street Date: Oct. 18, 2011

Tracklisting:
Easy
Green Aisles
It’s Real
Kinder Blumen
Out Of Tune
Municipality
Wonder Years
Three Blocks
Younger Than Yesterday
All The Same

Links: Facebook//Twitter//Label

Download a previously unreleased song from 2009

MP3: “Dead Pontoon”

Toro Y Moi’s first commercial release, the “Blessa” single, introduced the world to Chaz Bundick’s brand of introspective, atmospheric pop music, and while the A-side wound up laying the framework for his debut, Causers Of This, backing track, “109″, hinted at a side of his music having more in common with the oddball pop of Ariel Pink than any of Causers’ reference points. as it turns out, around the same time he was experimenting with music software and sampling, Bundick was recording a slew of short and sweet lo-fi tracks chronicling his version of college grad indecision. Now, after two albums, an EP, loads of tour dates, and a move to Berkeley, CA, these songs still mean a lot to him, and they’re collected on the retrospective set titled June 2009.

Originally part of the tour-only CD-R of the same name, June 2009 feels like a peek inside the mind of an artist not knowing where to turn once stripped of the structure of school life. He struggles with good friends moving away (”Sad Sams”), the pressing feeling that a move to New York is a necessary career move (”Take The L To Leave”), and the fear that simple pleasures have become a thing of the past (”Ektelon”). But more than nostalgic yearnings for the recent past, the songs are like journal entries- as commemorative as they are therapeutic. Elsewhere, tracks like “Girl Problems” and “Dead Pontoon” show how his first album might have sounded if “109″ had been that first single’s A-side, with reverb-soaked, angular guitar riffs serving as focal points of the power-pop periphery. Also included is an early version of Causers standout “Talamak,” one of his first cuts to make the blog rounds and an interesting insight into the process of reformatting his work to fit with the album. Closer “New Loved Ones” sees Bundick in a rare, intimate environment, accompanied only by an acoustic guitar and in the throes of love lost. With songs varied in style but bound together by their personal subject matter, June 2009 is a portrait of a young man unknowingly on the cusp of a fruitful career.

Tour Dates

02/04 - Melbourne, AUS @ Laneway Festival
02/05 - Sydney, AUS @ Laneway Festival
02/08 - Sydney, AUS @ Manning Bar with Washed Out
02/09 - Melbourne, AUS @ Hi Fi Bar & Ballroom with Washed Out
02/10 - Adelaide, AUS @ Laneway Festival
02/11 - Perth, AUS @ Laneway Festival
02/12 - Singapore, SP @ Laneway Festival
02/14 - Taipei, TW @ The Wall Livehouse
02/15 - Manila, PH @ Hard Rock Cafe
02/17 - Seoul, KR @ V Hall
02/19 - Tokyo, JP @ Yebisu Garden Hall

Toro Y Moi
June 2009
(Carpark)
Street Date: April 24, 2012
7′’ vinyl box set / CD / digital

Disc 1
Side A
1. Best Around
Side B
2. Take The L To Leave

Disc 2
Side A
1. Girl Problems
Side B
2. Dead Pontoon

Disc 3
Side A
1. Ektelon
Side B
2. Drive South

Disc 4
Side A
1. Sad Sams
Side B
2. Talamak (First Version)

Disc 5
Side A
1. Warm Frames
Side B
2. New Loved Ones

Links: Band Page//Facebook//Tumblr//Twitter//Press Materials