MP3: Or, The Whale - “Call and Response”

Or, the Whale is a collective of members who prove power in numbers. With a strong DIY ethic, and a Carter Family chemistry, they’ve continued to warm hearts and move feet throughout the Country. They deliver honesty and energy every time, weaving driving indie-rock epics, sweet folk lullabies, boot-stompin’ country rockers, and gritty blues porch anthems into a seamless and powerful performance.

The band’s debut album Light Poles and Pines can be omnipotent and epic (”Life and Death at Sea”), painfully reflective (”Rope Don’t Break”), or both (”Fight Song”). On “Life and Death at Sea,” defeated, raspy lead vocals sink under a whining pedal steel until pulled up by rousing harmonies. In contrast, “Call and Response“, the CD’s lead single, is a whiskey-soaked energetic anthem with a raucous and contagious rhythm that belies a reflective commentary. And really, that’s the secret behind Or, the Whale’s draw: their songs are honest, intelligent, and offer a refreshing modern connection to traditional American music.

OR, THE WHALE

Jan. 16 San Francisco, CA The Independent

Or, The Whale
Light Poles and Pines
(Seany)
Street date: Jan. 20, 2009

01. Call and Response
02. Saint Bernard
03. Threads
04. Isn’t She Awful
05. Death of Me
06. Crack a Smile
07. Fixin’ to Leave
08. Rope Don’t Break
09. Life and Death at Sea
10. Gonna Have To
11. Bound to Go Home
12. Prayer for the Road
13. Fight Song

OR, THE WHALE LINKS:

MySpace - www.myspace.com/orthewhale

Band Page - www.orthewhale.com

Label Page - www.seanyrecords.com

Digital-only album features exclusive tracks from My Brightest Diamond, Au Revoir Simone, No Kids, Figurine, Papercuts, Au and more!

STREAM: Blitzen Trapper - “Christmas Is Coming Soon”

MP3: Le Loup -”Shenandoah”

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PLEASE NOTE THIS ALBUM WILL ONLY BE SERVICED DIGITALLY, WE’RE HAPPY TO SEND IT TO YOU, PLEASE HIT US UP TO REQUEST A DIGITAL PROMO
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Unless you happen to belong to one of those rare, perfect, Norman Rockwell families, spending the holidays with your loved ones can have its ups and downs, its highs and lows - this Christmas album which benefits Amnesty International serves as a soundtrack to such an experience, documenting and representing the entire spectrum of emotions and feelings you might face during the most wonderful time of the year.

Wanting to avoid an overly cheery tone, and instead provide a more realistic, somewhat somber feel, I’ll Stay ‘Til After Christmas compiler Daniel Gill chose artists for this album who would paint an audio portrait not of present day Christmas celebrations, but rather hazy memories of childhood Christmas experiences and the often bittersweet emotions that accompany them.

Appropriately enough, Au Revoir Simone opens the album with a perfect cover of the Vince Guaraldi classic “Christmastime is Here” and Le Loup follows with a dark and haunting take on the traditional “Shenandoah.” Jimmy Tamborello’s pre-Postal Service group Figurine offers up “The Holidays Behind Us,” a break-up song about a couple that calls it quits just as the holiday season is beginning. Other stand out tracks are My Brightest Diamond’s “Nature Boy,” No Kids take on “Another Winter in a Summer Town” which is taken from the musical Grey Gardens, Blitzen Trapper’s “Christmas is Coming Soon” and Au’s bizarre take on “I’ll Be Home For Christmas.” The album also includes tracks from Arthur & Yu, Parenthetical Girls, Radar Bros., Man of Arms (the new solo project of Kevin Robinson of Viva Voce and Blue Giant), The Papercuts, Bosque Brown and Turk Dietrich of Belong.

A FAMILY AFFAIR

I’ll Stay ‘Til After Christmas is a homespun affair if there ever was one - the idea for the album came from a recent tradition that Gill and his wife Reda Rountree have had for the past several years where they would make a compilation CD of Christmas music to give out as a gift to friends and family - and, since the two are friends with plenty of musicians, they decided to compile an original Christmas album to share with the masses. The album cover was also designed by Rountree and the photo on the cover was taken by Gill’s younger brother, Andrew.

Various Artists
I’ll Stay ‘Til After Christmas
(AWR)
Street date: Dec. 02, 2008

1. Au Revoir Simone - Christmastime is Here
2. Le Loup - Shenandoah
3. Figurine - The Holidays Behind Us
4. Sally Shapiro - Anorak Christmas (Piano Mix)
5. Arthur & Yu - My White Elephant
6. My Brightest Diamond - Nature Boy
7. Parenthetical Girls - Festive Friends (Forever)
8. No Kids - Another Winter In a Summer Town
9. Radar Bros. - Baby Jesus
10. Blitzen Trapper - Christmas Is Coming Soon
11. Man of Arms - It’s Christmastime and Everything’s Wrong
12. Au - I’ll Be Home For Christmas
13. The Papercuts - Go Tell It On The Mountain
14. Bosque Brown - Silent Night
15. Turk Dietrich of Belong - Blue Christmas

LINKS:

MySpace - www.myspace.com/illstaytilafterchristmas

On December 11th at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple, Dan Deacon will unveil his new live set, which features a 15 piece live ensemble performing material from his forthcoming album, Bromst, which will be released on Carpark on March 24, 2009. Deacon plans to tour with an ensemble in 2009 in support of the new record. In addition to the songs with the ensemble, Deacon will still perform a few songs solo and there will be a few other surprises at this show as well. The evening will also feature sets from the always incredible Dirty Projectors and So Percussion.

Dan Deacon
Dirty Projectors
So Percussion

Thursday December 11th
doors at 7:30pm
All Ages
BROOKLYN MASONIC TEMPLE
Fort Greene, Brooklyn 317 Clermont Ave at Lafayette Ave.

Dan Deacon’s live ensemble is made up of these musicians:

Percussion:
Eric Beach (So Percussion)
Denny Bowen (Double Dagger, Smarthgrowth)
Jeremy Hyman (Ponytail, Ultimate Reality)
Kevin O’Meara (Videohippos, Ultimate Reality)
Rich O’Meara (ko’mm)
Josh Quillen (So Percussion)
Adam Sliwinski (So Percussion)
Jason Treuting (So Percussion)

Synthesizers, Keyboards and Electronics:
Benny Boeldt (Adventure)
William Cashion (Future Islands)
Dan Deacon
Chester Gwazda (Nuclear Power Pants)
Gerrit Welmers (Future Islands)

Guitar:
Matt Papiach (Ecstatic Sunshine/White Williams)
Ken Seeno (Ponytail)

DAN DEACON

Dec 11 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Masonic Temple #
Dec 13 Denver, CO Rhinoceropolis
Dec 19 Baltimore, MD Sonar +
Dec 29 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues *

# = w/ Dirty Projectors, So Percussion
* = w/ Girl Talk
+ = Baltimore Round Robin Show

DAN DEACON LINKS:

MySpace - www.myspace.com/dandeacon

Press Materials - www.carparkrecords.com/dandeaconpresspage.html

VIDEO: Vivian Girls: The MTV Interview with John Norris

MP3: Vivian Girls - “Blind Spot” (Daisy Chain cover)

THE VIVIAN GIRLS FUN PACK IS AVAILABLE NOW AT:
WWW.VIVIANGIRLS.NET

Brooklyn’s Vivian Girls have already released several singles in addition to their self-titled debut full-length (originally released on LP only by Mauled by Tigers and recently re-released on CD and LP by In the Red). Their new single, Surf’s Up is the first release on their own label, Wild World, it includes two new original songs, “Surfin’ Away” and “Second Date” plus a cover of The Beach Boys’ “Girl Don’t Tell Me” on the B-side. Just in time for the Holidays, the single will be a limited edition and will also include a Fun Pack including a T-Shirt, two postcards (out of six different designs total) and a button! For U.S. customers you can get all that for a mere $20, with shipping included! The 7″ will not be available on its own, only as part of the Fun Pack.

“The Vivian Girls drop sweet girl-group melodies into proto-shoegaze squalls the way the Jesus & Mary Chain used to and the way groups like the Aislers Set, C86s-ers the Shop Assistants, and the Manhattan Love Suicides have done with female vocalists. They keep the Shangri-Las’ melodrama to boot”.
-Pitchfork

VIVIAN GIRLS

Fri-Nov-28 Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda’s +
Sun-Nov-30 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom +
Wed-Dec-31 Montclair, NJ Wellmont Theatre *

+ = w/ King Khan
* = w/ Yo La Tengo, The Feelies

Vivian Girls
Vivian Girls
(In The Red)

01. All The Time
02. Such a Joke
03. Wild Eyes
04. Going Insane
05. Tell The World
06. Where Do You Run To
07. Damaged
08. No
09. Never See Me Again

VIVIAN GIRLS LINKS:

Band Page: www.viviangirls.net

Myspace: www.myspace.com/viviangirlsnyc

Label Page: www.intheredrecords.com