Due out May 29 on the XL Recordings label, the latest from the Icelandic band is bursting with slippery, shimmery, beautiful songs. How many of you got to hear the webstream of Valtari last night, or attended one of the many indie record store listening parties?

By Jennifer Kelly

Sigur Rós has, in the past, caught flack for valuing static beauty over development, building icy, gorgeous landscapes that remain nearly motionless over the course of a song. Here, however, momentum lurks in even the prettiest tableaux. Wispy delicacy-the birdlike tones of Jonsi, the ghostly echoes of piano-builds into massive, swirling climaxes. Songs like "Varúð" start in whispers and crescendo into thundering, overdriven frenzy.

Ekki múkk by sigur rós

Valtari also benefits from the experiences band members have accumulated during a four-year hiatus. The playful, electronic dance aesthetic that Jonsi pursued in Go enlivens pop-tinged "Rembihnútur." Keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson returns from classical experiments with a bit of Arvo Pärt's pure melancholy, as in the lovely, piano-led "Varðeldur." The concert film Inni may even have awakened Sigur Rós to the appeal of live immediacy: amongst the Ligeti-esque choirs of angels, the tremulous strings, the twinkling glockenspiel, the gleaming sheens of synthesizer, you can hear the hiss of distortion and the rasp of metal on metal.

It's a bit of necessary friction, the rasp that lets you grasp these slippery, shimmery, beautiful songs.

Don't forget what they did when Dylan made a similar move, Ben...

By Blurt Staff

Six Organs of Admittance as an electric entity is not without precedent. Ben Chasny regularly performs with a full, electric band, often cascades an electric guitar solo in the middle of an acoustic jam, and has recorded entire sides of electric drone. This element goes all the way back to 2002, when a short-lived rock version of Six Organs (with the members of Comets on Fire) toured the West Coast and etched a few demos to tape before moving on. Ten years later, with the idea to record new songs as a full rock band firmly entrenched in his mind, Chasny warped over to Tim Green's Louder Studios with members of Comets as his backing band. He emerged with Ascent, the rollicking realization of the Six Organs full band experience.

No, these aren't those dusty old 2002 moments with the dust blown off. We live today, and so does Six Organs of Admittance! To manipulate the past would change the world forever. Instead, the time line for Ascent occurs on our identical Earth, on the other side of the sun, telescoping the strength and power of that moment in 2002 and it's electri-Six-O after-affects by viewing it through the mind's opera-glass, in the present. From the opening red storm of "Waswasa" to the sentinel strength of "Even If You Knew" and the sensual lilt of "Visions (From Io)," the sound of this Six Organs is that of full-tilt rock band. The fun and fury of electric Six Organs of Admittance is evidenced in every molten groove.

Ascent will reach this Earth via Drag City Records come August 21st.

Performing "The Only Place" from new album of the same name.


By Blurt Staff


Head over to The Audio Perv to watch the live clip of Best Coast last night on the Letterman show, and meanwhile, check out our recent interview with frontwoman Bethany Cosentino...

Rewrote the rule book in her time.

By Fred Mills

Soul legend and disco queen Donna Summer has passed away at the age of 63, TMZ reports. The 5-time Grammy winner had been battling breast cancer and died this morning in Florida. No additional details have been disclosed as of yet.

Summer was the original diva - in the good sense of the word - with hit after hit during the ‘70s, laying the groundwork for the likes of Madonna and Whitney Houston. She also rewrote the book on what female artists were "supposed" to do when she released the Giorgio Moroder-produced disco classic "Love To Love You Baby," described by some as "a 17-minute extended orgasm" on vinyl - and, not so coincidentally, banned by more than a few radio stations.

Summer will be greatly missed. Listen to the full "LTLYB" below, or check out a live video clip of Summer performing the hit.

...Here's the Blox!

by Blurt Staff

The Sex Pistols probably never wanted to be "cute," but their Funko vinyl figures are adorable. The 3.75" collectibles are part of the company's Pop! Rocks line (we're guessing the Pop! alludes to pop culture) and are available June 28. Alas, only Sid Vicious, Johnny Rotten and Steve Jones got the treatment; the press release doesn't mention plans for a Paul Cook doll. C'mon, Funko - give the drummer some! 

Pre-book your order now at: http://aggronautix.com/products.cfm

Both indie bands performed May 14 at the Hi-Dive.

By Tim Hinely

Prior to this show I had not heard of San Diego's Plateaus; I was expecting something a bit more, shall we say, dreamy (opening for Blouse and all), but these guys brought a muscular, punk sound to the Hi-Dive and got several rounds of applause. I heard some Buzzcocks in there for sure (lots of bah-bah-bahs) but this sounds was thicker and a bit more menacing. Both guitarists took turns singing (and the one stage left had a beautiful bright green RKL t-shirt on) and the bassist looked like he could have been Jerry A's (Poison Idea) kid brother. If these guys come to your town make some time to see them.

I'm curious how I missed a band like Blouse when I lived in Portland (on Captured Tracks, nonetheless). Well, truth is I did, but here they were in all their flesh and glory. 4 folks, 2 females and 2 males, the female guitarist (Charlie Hilton) looking very pixie-ish sang and played guitar while the other female eked and oozed some great sounds out of her keyboard. The two men, bass and drums, were relegated to the back, but as a whole, the band delivered.

They leapt forth with a dreamy, reverb-soaked set, opening with "Firestarter," the first song off their debut 2011 s/t debut record. We also heard delicate, atmospheric cuts like "Time Travel" and "They Always Fly Away." They saved "Into Black" for last and after a scant, 25 (ok, maybe 30) minute set we all assumed they would scamper back out and play crowd favorite "Ghost Dream" but it was not to be. The house lights came up, some music came on over the P.A. and the club emptied out onto the street. I'm the guy who doesn't mind short sets one but, this one seemed too short to the point of unsatisfying/confusing. Was the band tired since it was the end of the tour? Did they hate Denver for some reason? I'm not sure, but I expect an encore next time.

[Blouse Photo Credit: Amanda Smith/via band's Facebook page]

1992 classic topped year-end critical polls. Check out the live video clip of the title track, below.

By Blurt Staff

The Los Angeles Times is reporting this morning that Kiko, the groundbreaking '92 album from Los Lobos, will be reissued on August 21 as part of an extensive 20^th anniversary celebration for the record - which was widely credited, following its release, with providing the group a new lease on artistic life. (It topped many critical polls that year and was in the Village Voice Pazz & Jop Poll's top 10.)

There's to be an expanded version of the original album featuring unreleased alternate takes of album tracks plus three live songs recorded at Capitol Records in Hollywood in 1992. Also slated to be released are CD/DVD/Blu-ray editions of a live-in-2006 performance of Kiko in its entirety. Included will be interviews with the band members about the making of the record.

Separated at birth? Er...

By Fred Mills

Billboard is reporting that British actor Alan Rickman - that's Professor Severus Snape to all you Harry Potter-philes, while others no doubt remember his hilarious turn as Alexander Dane in the sci-fi comedy Galaxy Quest - is set to play late CBGB owner Hilly Kristal in a biopic about the legendary NYC punk club. The relatively unknown Randall Miller will direct the as-yet-untitled film, from a script Miller and Jody Savin authored.

Shooting is slated to begin in June, and Billboard additionally reports that Lisa Kristal Burgman, Kristal's daughter, is a co-producer.

"So Easy" from the new EP of the same name.

By Blurt Staff

Back in December we premiered a video by songstress Haroula Rose ("Duluth," from her 2011 album These Open Roads), and now we've got another good ‘un to show you from the singer. Titled "So Easy," it's a key track from the new Rose EP So Easy and was directed by Michael R. Miller, who has worked extensively over the years with the Coen Brothers. Check it out:

And Kevn Kinney is gonna fill you in on just what's going down...

By Blurt Staff

June 12 is going to be a hectic new release day in the music biz, and expect Drivin' N' Cryin' to be part of the mix via a brand-new EP titled Songs From the Laundromat, on their own New! label. But wait, as the man on the television said, there's more.

According to frontman Kevn Kinney, it's to be the first in a series of four EPs that he wants to release roughly on a quarterly basis because, in his words, "I don't have the patience anymore for a two year recording project," and to that end, he and the band are aiming for the immediacy effect, get the songs down and roll ‘em out while they're still fresh, and without a ton of futzing around.

But don't take our word for it - here's the official statement from Kinney:

"A couple months ago I was writing in the morning and my wife was listening to a record. She said I should record that song and I said 'well, I did.' It was the last song on the last record! It dawned on me then that most people that listen to records don't usually listen past five or six songs, so I'm going to make a record with only five or six songs on it. In fact, I'm going to do four... Or five... Or maybe the rest of them this way!!!!

"This solves a lot of problems for drivin n cryin. I love the fact that we have never shied away from the fact we are influenced by so many different sounds. But sometimes combining them on one record can be somewhat disconcerting to a particular group of fans. I love that. I love the psychedelic element of challenging the listener. I mean it's all based on a library of music from our past...  THE KINKS and THE WHO meet the RAMONES and THE COUNT FIVE at a little bar owned by BOB DYLAN and JOHNNY CASH... But the opportunity to focus on a specific genre or subject is exciting to me.... Also an opportunity to record with all the people we have been looking forward to working with is almost limitless... We would love to work all over the country with our friends and the five song format means we only need a few days of their time...

"I think people will be excited when they own a few and can contrast the different sounds and producers... We've completed number one, SONGS FROM THE LAUNDROMAT. PAUL EBERSOLD is producing number two: SONG ABOUT CARS, SPACE AND THE RAMONES ...  I don't have the patience anymore for a two year recording project, a big build up as if you're JD SALINGER, a tour and then reality again... I don't like hype... I just want to offer up my art for the fans or soon-to-be-fans. A five or six song recording every three months like a magazine subscription...

"I want it now!!! And I want it NEW!"