Gonna burn your house down and collect the insurance money in the process.

By Blurt Staff

Former Thee Hypnotics frontman Jim Jones - profiled at Blurt-online last year - is taking his Revue out on the North American highways starting September 1. It's to promote his new album Burning Your House Down, which drops next week.

As one of our writers puts it, in a review arriving next week too, "Burning Your House Down, the third disk from the Jim Jones Revue, is not only the best record by the band, but the best record the titular hero has released in his long career. Mind you, this record isn't the equal of a JJR show - this is possibly the greatest live rock & roll band invading stages. But Burning Your House Down is still a corker of a rock record and more than worth your time and attention."

Amen brutha. Produced by Jim Sclavunos (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds/Grinderman), Burning Your House Down captures the roar of an untamed band at the top of their game. With the microphone shredding wail of the incomparable Jones at the helm, fearlessly spurred by Rupert Orton's six-string maelstrom, Elliot Mortimer's savaged ivories and the jackhammer rhythm section of drummer Nick Jones and bassist Gavin Jay, the band "swings like a giant ball and chain." In the last few years, they have swiftly progressed from their earliest shows in the dive bars of East London to staking their claim as an unstoppable force in today's rock 'n' roll scene. Nominated for two MOJO Honours List Awards in 2010 (Best Newcomer) and 2011 (Best Live Act), this band is, quite simply, one of the best out there.

Tour Dates:

September 1st - Vancouver, BC  - The Biltmore Cabaret
September 3rd - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
September 4th - Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot Festival
September 7th - San Francisco, CA - Independent
September 8th - Los Angeles, CA - Echo
September 10th - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
September 11th - Allston, MA - Brighton Music Hall
September 12th - Montreal, QC - Casa del Popolo
September 13th - Toronto, ON - Horseshoe Tavern
September 14th - Chicago, IL - Schuba's Tavern
September 16th - Philadelphia, PA - The Blockley Pourhouse
September 17th - Washington, DC - Black Cat
September 18th - Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's

Taped July 16 at Lake Susan in Montreat, NC.

By Blurt Staff

Singer-songwriter, guitar maestro, peace activist  and traveler (both literally and spiritually) David LaMotte sat down with Barbie Angell of the Lingua Musica crew for a chat about everything from his music and his upcoming performance in NYC on the anniversary of 9/11 to the nature of music and how it both affects the soul and connects us as humans. Don't miss the brief performance clip, either! Jack Ramshaw filmed and edited the video.

You can visit LaMotte and check out song samples at his official website.

The videotaped conversation marks the latest in the ongoing Lingua Musica Interviews series and we're looking forward to many more in the very near future. (Previous installments have included Railroad Earth, Clouds of Greer, Paper Tiger, Secret B-sides, Dex Romweber, Dubtribe, Dehlia Low, Ryan Montbleau, Brian McGee, Jon Dee Graham, and more.) BLURT is a proud co-sponsor of Lingua Musica. Please visit the LinguaMusicaAlive.com website, and meanwhile, check out the video.

Looks like a sky blue sky colored set o' wheels, eh?

By Blurt Staff

Looks like the Flaming Lips (gummy skulls, etc.) and Wilco (beer, sandwiches, etc.) are in a dead heat where it comes to branding these days. The latest in the skirmish: The Wilco Bike.

As you can see above (and at this series of closeup photos at The Chicagoist), this Wilco two-wheeler can be yours.. maybe. First you have to make a preorder for the upcoming album The Whole Love, and that will qualify you to be entered into the band's weekly drawing of goodies such as signed albums and tickets to shows.

In this case, we're talking "a completely restored 1955 single speed bicycle" that Todd Simeone of the cycling journal website Tenspeed Hero worked on. Suitable for biking to work - especially if you live in one of the more gridlocked sections of Chicago...

Glyn Johns produced. Any questions?

By Blurt Staff

Ryan Adams will release his new album Ashes & Fire October 11 on PAX-AM/Capitol. (PAX-AM is Adams' own imprint). The album was recorded at Sunset Sound Factory in Hollywood and produced by Glyn Johns, renowned for his work with the likes of The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Clash, The Who and The Rolling Stones - -and whose son Ethan produced previous Ryan Adams albums Heartbreaker, Gold and 29.

Ashes & Fire features guest turns from Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench as well as Norah Jones who contributes piano and backing vocals on several tracks, including the lilting, acoustic overtures of "Come Home," the sumptuous ballad "Save Me" and the heartfelt "Kindness."

Adams will soon be announcing a dates and venues of a solo acoustic tour of California and the Pacific Northwest this fall.

Tracklisting:

Dirty Rain

Ashes & Fire

Come Home

Rocks

Do I Wait

Chains Of Love

Invisible Riverside

Save Me

Kindness

Lucky Now

I Love You But I Don't Know What To Say

Who's that chick? (Hint: someone's grandma...) Also watch their latest video, below.

By Blurt Staff

Emerging from the creative cocoon that has enveloped them since wrapping up promotional efforts for their Grammy-nominated debut, 2007's †, Xavier de Rosnay & Gaspard Augé, the Parisian duo known as Justice, have announced the impending release of their second album Audio, Video, Disco. Straying even further from their dance music roots, the new effort is at once looser and heavier than previous releases, using the combined musical vocabulary of rock and electronic to conjure a laidback, agricultural effort existing on the outer fringes of pop.

Audio, Video, Disco was created in the duo's home studio, with all instrumentation performed by the group themselves. Seeking to create an album that would evoke the feel of progressive rock, the duo labored meticulously to learn instruments they had not previously conquered to craft an epicthat exchanges the "night in the city" setting of their debut with an "afternoon in the country" atmosphere.

Also notable is the presence of a range of guest vocalists, including a spot by Morgan Phalen of NY rockers Diamond Nights on "On'n'On" and "Newlands", Vincenzi Vendetta of Australian band Midnight Juggernauts on "Ohio", and UK pop singer Ali Love on the album's first single "Civilization", the graphically captivating video for which was iTunes "Video of the Week" in June. Watch it, below.

The new album arrives on Oct. 25 via Ed Banger Records.

Tracklisting:

 1 Horsepower  

2 Civilization  

3 Ohio  

4 Canon (Primo)  

5 Canon  

6 On'n'on  

7 Brianvision  

8 Parade  

9 Newlands  

10 Helix  

11 Audio, Video, Disco

Taped July 30 in Asheville.

By Blurt Staff

The members of Railroad Earth sat down with Lingua Musica host Joe Kendrick for a chat in advance of their appearance at the annual Bele Chere Festival on Saturday 7-30-11. The acclaimed roots/Americana/bluegrass combo talked about their current tour and the touring life in general, among other topics. Jackson Stahl of Jaxhouse Productions filmed and edited this video with assistance from Scotty Robertson which is copyright Luminescence LLC 2011.

You can visit Railroad Earth and get tour dates, check out song samples and more at their official website.

The videotaped conversation marks the latest in the new Lingua Musica Interviews series and we're looking forward to many more in the very near future. (Previous installments have included Paper Tiger, Secret B-sides, Dex Romweber, Dubtribe, Dehlia Low, Ryan Montbleau, Brian McGee, Jon Dee Graham, and more.) BLURT is a proud co-sponsor of Lingua Musica. Please visit the LinguaMusicaAlive.com website, and meanwhile, check out the video.

To be released August 30 on Zach Condon's own Pompeii label, The Rip Tide is the sound of an artist marching to a different drummer's thump. Check the link to a stream of the album, below.

By Fred Mills

The musical polyglot known as Beirut - Zach Condon to his friends and parents - early on incorporated Gypsy and Balkan music into a folk-rock context (2006's Gulag Orkestar), while 2007's The Flying Club Cup and 2009's March of the Zapotec/Holland saw everything from Prog, Francophile pop, electronica and traditional Mexican music finding their way into the mix. (Beirut was BLURT's Artist of the Year in 2009, incidentally.) The Rip Tide skillfully strikes an eclectic balance, showcasing south-of-the-border sounds alongside orchestral rock, European-flavored folk and classic torch songs.

Listen to The Rip Tide streaming in its entirety at NPR Music.

Singing of, variously, friendship and community, wanderlust and loneliness (one tune, "Santa Fe," is an aural love letter to Condon's old hometown; currently, he calls Brooklyn home), and in a rich, slightly trembly voice that's part-Jeff Buckley and part-Rufus Wainwright, Condon conducts a musical travelogue across the nine songs of The Rip Tide. There's the elegant sway of "East Harlem" and the mournful, strings-laden majesty of the title track, not to mention the baroque waltz of "Payne's Bay," whose Mariachi players subtly morph into a Sousa-worthy band of oompah-wielders by song's end. And the aforementioned "Santa Fe," with its hypnotic keyboard pulse, overlapping/interweaving vocal lines and swelling horns, is surely one of the most unlikely yet luminous piano pop anthems of the year.

It's been deeply satisfying watching the gradual evolution of Beirut's Condon. Some of his wanderings to date have been fascinating, others merely interesting. But with the refinements offered on The Rip Tide he's become a sonic conceptualist par excellence.

Beirut performs at the Crystal Ballroom on Portland tonight, then this weekend (Aug. 14) at the Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco. After that, in early September, he heads off on a European tour, then returns to the US on Sept. 21 to start a full North American tour. Dates here.

It's the deluxe new reissue with bonus material, natch.


By Blurt Staff


Are you ready for some Loafing? Good - because as you probably know, the recently reunited NC combo the Archers of Loaf have just seen their classic '93 album Icky Mettle reissued by Merge as a remastered edition featuring a bunch of ace bonus tracks.


We're giving away a pair of albums, one CD and one LP, so click through to the Blurt contest page and fill in the necessary information to register in the drawing.


Re-mastered by Bob Weston and featuring new liner notes by Robert Christgau, Icky Mettle's bonus material includes the entire Archers of Loaf vs. The Greatest of All Time EP as well as singles and b-sides from the Icky Mettle era. It's available on CD, limited-edition blue vinyl and digital download. Reissues of the band's other albums, Vee Vee, All the Nation's Airports and White Trash Heroes will follow next year.

Latest pick of cool emerging artist in our ongoing collaboration with Sonicbids.

By Fred Mills

The BLURT staff put our heads (and ears) together and we have the latest pick for our Blurt/Sonicbids "Best Kept Secret": it's Dark Circles, from Nashville, Tenn., our 17^th BKS selection since commencing the program of spotlighting new and under-the-radar artists back in 2008.

It's always risky to quote directly from a band's own bio, but in this case the description they provided us was what caught our attention in the first place and prompted us to investigate more closely (musicians, there's a lesson in there somewhere): "A woozy melange of pop styles, from the sunshine harmonies of Brian Wilson, to Joni Mitchell's jazzy meditations, to the retro-pop groove of Sergio Mendes & Brazil '66; all shaded in deep blue undertones."

Dark Circles is essentially Celeste Millius (vocals, acoustic guitar) and Pat Millius (guitars, keyboards, percussion). Both have extensive musical backgrounds; Celeste grew up in New York and started performing early on, including a stint with the group Downgirl. Pat's from LA and has been in numerous outfits, among them the improvisational Sunz of Zorro and garage/punk outfit Dave. They later gravitated to Nashville of all places, and earlier this year they released their debut album as Dark Circles, One Golden Day, currently available via CD Baby. Deep blue indeed.

We'll have an interview with the band posted to the site shortly in which we let them fill you in on all this and more. Meanwhile, check out their official website or MySpace page for additional details as well as song samples. They're one of the good ‘uns, trust us.

***

Bands, go to www.sonicbids.com/blurtonline to submit and have us review your materials for feature consideration.

>Our November ‘08 Best Kept Secret: The Handcuffs, from Chicago.

>Our December Best Kept Secret: Black Swan Green, from Brooklyn

>Our January 2009 Best Kept Secret: stephaniesI­d, from Asheville

>Our March Best Kept Secret: Polly Mackey & the Pleasure Principle, from England

>Our June Best Kept Secret: Wiretree, from Austin

>Our August Best Kept Secret: Bulletproof Vests, from Memphis

>Our November Best Kept Secret: The Vivs, from Boston

>Our January 2010 Best Kept Secret: The Public Good, from D.C.

>Our February Best Kept Secret: Dirty Dancing, from Austin

>Our April Best Kept Secret: Jenny Dee & the Deelinquents, from Boston

>Our June Best Kept Secret: The Rebel Set, from Phoenix

 >Our August Best Kept Secret: Alice Austin, from Los Angeles

>Our October 2010 Best Kept Secret: Doug McCurry, from Charlotte

>Our January 2011 Best Kept Secret: Drunken Prayer, from Portland

>Our April 2011 Best Kept Secret: Preachers Son, from Dublin, Ireland

>Our June 2011 Best Kept Secret: Butter, from Durham, NC

Presenting one of his "Illustrated Talks" in addition to unveiling his "77 Million Paintings" art/video installations at the October event. See full list of performers below, too.

By Fred Mills

It almost goes without saying that last year's Moogfest music festival, held over Halloween weekend in Asheville, NC, was a roaring success, and that the second edition of the event, which will be taking place Oct. 28-30, should be even wilder, with everyone from the Flaming Lips, Moby, Suicide and Tangerine Dream to Crystal Castles, M83, Chromeo and Atlas Sound slated to appear. Today, things just got even more interesting.

Brian Eno's 77 Million Paintings "visual music" art installation will be opening in Asheville during Moogfest weekend (at the YMI Cultural Center in downtown Asheville), and it's only the third time it has been displayed in the US, following openings in San Francisco and Los Angeles. (Previous exhibitions have been in Sydney, Milan and Venice. What's more, Eno - no stranger to Moog and other analog synths, as the photo above might suggest - will also be on hand to present (separately) one of his "Illustrated Talks" at Moogfest. Full details will be announced shortly, and you can track them at www.Moogfest.com.

About 77 Million Paintings:  "Conceived by Eno as ‘visual music,' it is a constantly evolving sound and image-scape born from his exploration of light as an artistic medium and his interest in the aesthetic possibilities of generative software. Presented on a uniquely configured constellation of video monitors, 77 Million Paintings is a serene and beautiful work, slowly evolving and transforming in time such that no two instants are quite the same. It is art that encourages the viewer to slow down and enter a contemplative state, reflecting on the uniqueness of a passing moment that has almost certainly never existed before."

(The display opens Oct. 28 for Moogfest ticket holders and then for the general public on Nov. 2, running through the end of November.)

Moogfest 2011 Confirmed Artists:

Brian Eno (77 Million Paintings, Illustrated Talk)

The Flaming Lips

Moby (full band)

Passion Pit

STS9

Tangerine Dream

Crystal Castles

Umphrey's McGee

Chromeo

Amon Tobin: ISAM Live

Ghostland Observatory

Suicide Performing Their Legendary First Album "Suicide"

M83

Battles

Anika

Atlas Sound

Little Dragon

The Antlers

Holy F**k

The Naked & Famous

Dan Deacon

Mayer Hawthorne & The County

Tim Hecker

Twin Shadow

Adrian Belew Power Trio

Beak>

Matthew Dear (band)

Toro y Moi

Kode9

Glasser

Gold Panda

Brandt Brauer Frick

Lunzproject Feat. Hans-Joachim Roedelius & Tim Story

Stickmen (Tony Levin & Pat Mastelotto)

Austra

CANT

Wham City Comedy Tour

Causing A Tiger

Hans-Joachim Roedelius

Oneohtrix Point Never

Ford & Lopatin