Friday Music News

03/01/2013

Jacob Webb

David Bowie's first album in a decade, The Next Day, is now streaming at iTunes two weeks ahead of its March 12th release date. The album, which was recorded and produced with longtime collaborator Tony Visconti across two years in 2013, was uploaded to the Apple music service last night without any fanfare, which seems to be in Bowie's style lately. Although rumors continue to swirl, a spokesperson for Bowie has stated there are no plans for any interviews or touring behind The Next Day.

Glasgow baroque pop quintet Camera Obscura return after four years away with their fifth full-length, Desire Lines, out on June 4th via 4AD. The album will feature guest appearances from fellow booming-voiced singers Jim James and Neko Case, and was produced in Portland with Tucker Martine (Spoon, Beth Orton, The Decemberists). Singer Tracyanne Campbell noted in a press release that the creative process for Desire Lines was "the most challenging to write" but that they're pleased with the end result. The band will embark on a short Texan tour next month, including a handful of shows during SXSW, and then will return to North America in June, with a stop at Showbox at the Market on June 22nd.

Preceding the release of their to-be-titled sixth album, The National will release a documentary entitled Mistaken For Strangers that follows the band on the extensive tour behind 2010's High Violet. The film, directed by roadie Tom Berninger (brother of singer Matt Berninger), will debut at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, with a performance from the band to follow. The band previously released a Vincent Moon-documentary about the making of their 2007 album Boxer, entitled A Skin, A Night.

Upon the announcement of their inception, Thurston Moore's Chelsea Light Moving claimed they would "detonate any birthday party, wedding or hullabaloo in any country, planet or stratosphere that doesn't support right wing extremist NRA sucking bozo-ology." Some commenters on BrooklynVegan requested that the band follow up on their promise by asking the quartet to play their own birthday parties, and Trevor of Haydenville, MA actually succeeded - the band played the fan's birthday party in his basement, and there's plenty of footage (see "Empires of Time" below) of the most indie birthday party of all time on the internet. In case Thurston can't fit your birthday into his schedule, you can tune in to KEXP's SXSW broadcast on March 14th at 11:30 a.m. PST to hear the former Sonic Youth man and his gang play.

Now that he's not touring the best (only?) Christmas-themed indie rock tour of all time, Sufjan Stevens is chilling at home, and while he was plotting his next move, he found an unreleased demo that he promptly uploaded to the internet. "Give A Litte Love" is an outtake from the All Delighted People sessions, and is 100% not Christmas-themed. Listen to it over at Consequence of Sound.

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