A-side from forthcoming 12" single.


By Blurt Staff


Kieran Hebden - that's Four Tet to his mom - is about to drop a new 12" single on his Text label, "Jupiters" b/w " Ocoras". You can listen to the A-side, below.

Jupiters by Four Tet

May 3 at the Hi-Dive it was bedroom pop-turned-band-projects night. Also on hand: Craft Spells.

By Tim Hinely

Denver's Hi-Dive is a bit dive-y (which I like) and reminds me a bit of the ol' Khyber Pass in Philly which was my stomping grounds for shows in the late ‘80s. Craft Spells were terrific. Leader Justin Vallesteros' band was simply a bedroom project until he began feelin' the love and then drafted some band members. I caught them last year opening for Beach Fossils and they brought down the house as they did on this warm evening in Denver. Their debut record from last year, Idle Labor, is chock full of the kind of jangly, catchy pop songs that and band would be proud to call their own and they have a forthcoming EP that is just as superb. For fans of New Order, O.M.D. and any and all Captured Tracks bands.

Speaking of bedroom projects turned full-time band. The Drums fit that bill as well. The band was just Johnathan Pierce and Jacob Graham until the blogosphere turned them into indie pop darlings. And they deserve it too, with two fine records full of pop goodness, meanwhile turning into quite the live band. The lineup consisted of two guitarists, a drummer, Graham on keys and assorted percussion; while up front was the most foppish of the fop, vocalist Pierce, who loves to do angular dances.

They played all of the hits off said two albums (though more off the more recent Portamento), such as "Best Friend," "Me and the Moon," "Book of Revelation," "Days," "Money" and plenty more. They ended the set with the slow, smooth 1950s croon of  "Down by the Water" and yes pop fans, though I was turned away and disappointed by no "Let's Go Surfin'" at The Drums' last Doug Fir show last year, this time they played it as the final song (2^nd or 3^rd encore) and I was smiling, everyone else in the crowd was smiling, Johnny and Jacob were smiling (but not that one guitarist on stage left) and we all left feeling quite happy. Well done, chaps.

Something about the screen shot, above, just seems right...


By Fred Mills


Blurt heroes Spiritualized are on the cover of our new issue, hitting newsstands very shortly, and they were also on the tube last night, performing "Hey Jane" off Sweet Heart Sweet Light on the David Letterman show. No, they didn't have time to do the full nine-minute version, but it was pretty cool just the same. Check it out:

For children of all ages, he was one of the original rock stars.

By Fred Mills

Perhaps the most acclaimed children's author and artist ever, Maurice Sendak, passed away today at the age of 83. He died in a hospital in Danbury, Conn., from "complications of a  recent stroke," according to the New York Times.

The Times, actually, puts things so perfectly when it writes, "Roundly praised, intermittently censored and occasionally eaten, Mr. Sendak's books were essential ingredients of childhood for the generation born after 1960 or thereabouts, and in turn for their children."

And there were so many greats: Where The Wild Things Are, In the Night Kitchen, The Nutshell Library, Alligators All Around...

The recent movie adaptation of the '63 classic WTWTA captured a special essence as well.

Sendak has sailed off through night and day, taking our hearts with him...

Go here to watch a clip of Sendak and Stephen Colbert chatting "amiably." Wait for when Sendak calls Colbert an "idiot." Wow. This is priceless. Sendak was a rock star. For my generation, he made it possible to be primed for Mad Magazine, then in turn National Lampoon, and then after that... punk rock.

Blurt is bonkers over slinky 70's soul-pop gem from Canadian singer-songwriter.

by Blurt Staff

Sometimes a song is so ridiculously catchy and fun that we hyperfocus on it, hitting repeat more times than we should. Foxy Canuck songsmith Emma-Lee dances around a big-box store in the clip for her sassy "pull-your-head-out" tune and here we sit, mouse in hand, slackjawed and forgetting what we were supposed to be doing instead of wasting time. We think you'll do likewise.

EMMA-LEE - "FIGURE IT OUT"

It's a mutual back-scratching session, but with CDs!

By Fred Mills

In a significant bit of music industry news, word arrives today that Alliance Entertainment, the Kentucky-based music wholesaler (the second largest one in the US as well as the largest US-based one-stop for CDs, DVDs and video games), has inked a deal with CD Baby to distribute the music cataloger's wares. Billboard.biz reports that CD Baby "has delivered more than 5000 of its top-selling titles to Alliance [and] over the coming months, Alliance will eventually offer CD Baby's entire eligible in-stock music catalog." This includes both CD Baby's physical and online retail accounts serviced from its Portland, Ore., warehouse; the company no doubt hopes for a more efficient and streamlined distribution scenario that will help it grow beyond its relatively limited current abilities.

"It's more important than ever that an artist's music be made available through every possible channel- social sharing, download, streaming, direct fulfillment, and physical retail; you just never know how a new fan will first encounter your music, or how they prefer to purchase music," CD Baby president Brian Felsen was quoted as saying in the article. "Distribution to the mega retailers was the last piece in the puzzle for CD Baby to ensure our artists' music is available everywhere." Alliance president Mike Davis added, "CD Baby's excellent services and customer support have helped them build a huge amount of trust with the artist community; Alliance strives to forge online and brick & mortar retail partnerships with companies that exhibit this level of service and trust."

Just a few short years ago, of course, Alliance was having its own distribution troubles that led to it going through Chapter 11 and being taken over by Citigroup, the major debt holder, with private equity firms Platinum Equity and the Gores Group eventually stepping in to purchase Alliance. Since then it has steadily increased its efficiency and market share, so no doubt it also plans to continue its growth via the CD Baby network.

Album Drop In June; New Single Available Digitally NOW.

By Blurt Staff

Putting the ASS back in Sexual Harassment, Norway's finest musical export return with their first new album in 5 years. Signed to Volcom Entertainment in the US, Sexual Harassment is the band's ninth LP and their first to be recorded here in the States (at the legendary Electric Lady Studios in New York).

The first single, "You Give Me Worms,"is pure vintage Turbonegro. Check it out:

Turbonegro - You Give Me Worms by VolcomEnt

But there's a twist - gone are the infamous vocal stylings of Hank Von Helvete, who quit the band almost two years to ago to "pursue acting"; he's been replaced by the band's first non-Scandinavian, the equally infamous (and arguably more stylish) Tony Sylvester, AKA The Duke Of Nothing, from the UK band Dukes Of Nothing. (He's pictured below. Also gone is longtime drummer Chris Summers, replaced by Tommy Manboy.)

The ten-song album will be available June 13th digitally and on LP and CD in August.

Heady Fwends LP gets a super-limited blood infusion.

By Fred Mills

"Blood vinyl goes on sale at the end of the week!$2,500 for double record set! Only 10 available"

So tweeted the Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne on Wednesday, and he posted the above and below images just to get you salivating.

The vinyl in question, of course, is the super-limited edition version of the limited edition Record Store Day 2LP set Heady Fwends; this one includes the actual blood from a number of the HF collaborators injected directly into the vinyl during the pressing procedure. We're advised that confirmed blood samples include Nick Cave, Erykah Badu, Ke$ha and Coldplay's Chris Martin, and probably more.

The Record Store day release sold out all of its 10,000 copies by the end of the day, with copies immediately popping up on eBay (the current asking price appears to be in the $55-$75 range, which actually isn't that inflated a price when you consider the original retail price was $39.99. As of this writing none of the bloody LPs are showing on eBay, but no doubt they will sell out quickly and resurface in time.

Watch video for "She's the Woman," below.

By Blurt Staff

Van Halen have just released a limited edition 7-inch vinyl single of their new song, "She's The Woman," available for free starting Friday May 4th with the purchase of the band's new album A Different Kind of Truth at participating record stores around the country. BLURT readers have a chance to score copies by clicking over to our Kontext Kiosk and entering the VH contest.

So whattaya waiting for? Meanwhile, check out the video for the song...

Teaser for 7" single due June 26 on Domino.


By Blurt Staff


Over the weekend Animal Collective sneaked out a pair of new tracks via their website. "Honeycomb" and "Gotham" comprise a forthcoming single and they are streaming online right now at their website or, if you prefer, at their label's Soundcloud page.