Music

Though it has been nearly a decade since the Verve released Urban Hymns and that ever memorable single, “Bitter Sweet Symphony,” the long awaited return of this Brit-pop sensation is looming on the horizon. On August 19th the group will release it’s fourth disc, appropriately titled Four, on EMI Records. But for those fans who are impatiently awaiting the August release, the band has offered some consolation in the form of Four‘s latest single, “Love is Noise.”

Joining the long list of bands stretching from the Doors and the Velvet Underground to Belle & Sebastian and Modest Mouse that have taken their name from a work of literature, the Swimmers go one step further. Not only is their name derived from John Cheever’s “The Swimmer” but their debut full-length release was initially designed as a concept album to explore the themes of disillusionment and meaninglessness in that surreal 1964 short story.

After three weeks of seclusion in a Nevada, desert motel room, Ray Roposa emerged with the songs that make up City of Refuge, the latest disc from his musical project, Castanets. The disc, which is set for an Oct. 7 release date, features overdubs by friends Jana Hunter, Sufjan Stevens, Dawn Smithson (Jessamine, Sunn O, solo), Scott Tuma (Souled American, Boxhead Ensemble, solo), and co-producer Ero Gray.

Recorded at Blackbird Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, King of Leon‘s latest album, entitled Only By the Night, will be released on September 23. Produced by Angelo Petraglia, Jacquire King and Kings of Leon, Only By the Night is the group’s fourth full-length LP. The group plans to embark on a tour of some of their biggest venues yet this summer after ending 2007 with performances at Radio City Music Hall and the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.

Following the 2007 release of their latest, GRAMMY award-winning album We Are the Night, The Chemical Brothers will release a “Best Of” double disc compilation entitled Brotherhood on September 2. With a career spanning 13 years and nine million records sold, the group has become one of the most popular electronic and dance acts of all time.

On September 29, Mercury Rev won’t release one new album, but two. The first one, titled Snowflake Midnight , is a full-length consisting of nine songs – cognizant of the band’s luminous and mesmerizing songwriting. The second album, Strange Attractor , will be released the very same day via the web.

Singer-songwriter Jolie Holland‘s fourth record, The Living and the Dead, will hit stores and online October 7th. The album features an array of guest producers and collaborators, producing a sound in par with her signature moodiness, but with the unique creativity born out of a studio environment.

In celebration of their 25th anniversary, Camper Van Beethoven will release a long-overdue greatest hits collection on CD and in digital format entitled Popular Songs. The album will feature 18 of the group’s most beloved songs, spanning from their 1985 debut Telephone Free Landslide Victory to their 1989 release Key Lime Pie, and including “Club Med Sucks,” “Border Ska,” and “Circles.”

Montreal’s Plants and Animals will kick off their West Coast tour, after recently completing their East Coast tour this past May, today with a live session on Seattle’s KEXP at 12:00PM PST/3:00PM EST. The group will continue to tour in support of their album, Parc Avenue, throughout the summer with dates in Europe in June and Canada in July. Another U.S. national tour is scheduled for this fall.