Year: 2008

Saturday will mark the beginning of Monolith – the annual music festival held at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado. The festival will feature over 60 different artists performing on five different stages in one of the greatest outdoor venues in the country. Some of the featured acts include Band Of Horses, Silversun Pickups, Del The Funky Homosapien, CSS, Cut Copy, Atmosphere, Foals, TV On The Radio, and many more.

Bring your earplugs! Chicago’s own Pelican, avant-garde metalmakers Kayo Dot and ex-Cave In singer Stephen Brodsky (as Stove Brodsky) join forces for this fall’s Champions of Sound Tour, proudly presented by Hydra Head Records. Select dates in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia also feature Zozobra, who’s latest album Birds of Prey has been on chronic rotation at ALARM HQ since its release this August.

Santogold, aka Santi White, is finally ready to embark on her first headlining tour after the commercial and critical success of her debut self-titled album. Sponsored by MySpace Music, the “Goldrush Tour” comes on the heels of Santogold‘s recent opening slot for uber-popular Brit band Coldplay. To truly bring her album’s genre-bending sound incorporating new wave, dub, and hip-hop to stages across the country, the singer will be joined by a full backing band and DJ.

Currently in the studio recording their fifth album, indie “space rock” mainstays Hopewell have fought against the odds (music industry shifts, stylistic changes, and personal conflicts) to continue to make music for their legion of fans. Touted as their most ambitious project, Hopewell‘s fifth album draws influences from acts such as Can, Jane’s Addiction, and Roxy Music.

Thrill Jockey recording artists, trippy folk-rockers Arbouretum and psychedelic rock trio Pontiak have announced a fall tour in support of their recently released joint 12,” Kale, a collection of original tracks and a smattering of John Cale covers. The limited pressing has been selling quickly, due in part to Arbouretum take on “Buffalo Ballet,” and Pontiak’s reinvented “The Endless Pain of Fortune,” and “Mr. Wilson.” 

The eighth annual Musicfest NW kicks off today in Portland, OR!  Lasting through Sunday, September 7, and taking over twenty of the best venues in the downtown area, MFNW will be showcasing a variety of awesome acts, including Deerhunter, Del the Funky Homosapien, Bodies Of Water, No Age, Graveyard, The Night Marchers, These Arms Are Snakes, Monotonix, Britt Daniel (of Spoon), Les Savy Fav, Built To Spill performing their acclaimed album Perfect From Now On, and many many more.

Essex indie hip-hop duo dan le sac Vs Scroobius Pip might be “just a band,” but that won’t stop us from getting excited about their debut album Angles, which comes out today via Sage Francis’ Strange Famous Records. The British duo have been turning heads for awhile in the UK with their whimsical rhymes and eclectic musical style (and not just because they’ve sampled Radiohead).

After mastering the 8-bit rhythms of NES games with The Advantage and complimenting Zach Hill with quirky yet adept guitar riffs in Hella, Spencer Seim appears to exemplify a satisfied musician. On his latest solo project, sBACH (Suicide Squeeze), Seim once again delves into the far corners of sonic exploration. Despite no particular fondness for Star Trek, Seim describes sBACH as what, “Vulcan classical music, sounds like [to] me.” And although that description may conjure up unwanted images of a Shatner/Nimoy duet, the sound is something equally strange and out of this world. 

Portland’s newest art punk band, Jaguar Love, got much love from a sold out crowd at the Vic Theatre last Friday in Chicago. Undoubtedly, the majority of the audience was comprised of dedicated fanatics of The Faint ready to get their dance on, however, Jaguar Love delivered the goods with grooves that provided a good warm-up.

Over fifteen years ago, quiet indie band Bedhead began making gorgeously hushed music, with restrained instrumentation and hushed vocals that made them a staple in indie music circles. Sadly, though, the band called it quits in 1998, leaving its two band leaders – brothers Matt and Bubba Kadane – bored and longing for something to do with their time. They eventually formed a new creative outlet, The New Year, and released their first full-length three years after Bedhead’s last record.

On October 7th, German experimentalists The Notwist will release “Boneless” on 7″. The single – which includes the album version of “Boneless” from this year’s The Devil, You + Me and an exclusive remix version by Animal Collective’s Panda Bear – will be release in physical format only from Domino Records.