Autumn of the Seraphs is the second release from Pinback in a series of seasonal album titles, following 2004’s Summer in Abaddon. Whether or not the next record will include winter or spring in its title is up in the air, but multi-instrumentalist Zach Smith seemed to think it would be “kind of dumb to stop now.”

Whenever life falls apart, solace can be found in blasting The Mountain Goats’ The Sunset Tree on repeat. There’s a lyric in “Broom People” that goes: “I write down good reasons to freeze to death in my spiral-ring notebook.” It’s heartbreaking.

By the End of Tonight are from Alvin, Texas, and distill the progressive elements of their dark, instrumental metal into a churning, complex mass of sinister cacophony. For Complex Full of Phantoms, the group shares disc space with Roseville, California’s Tera Melos, who provide six songs of spastic absurdity.

Experimental singer/songwriter Jarboe (shown left) and Justin K. Broadrick, founding member of ambient/noise-rock act Jesu, have joined forces as J2. The duo has an album set for Spring 2008 on The End Records.

My Bloody Valentine frontman Kevin Shields has confirmed his influential band’s reunion and forthcoming album. The critically acclaimed group also announced 2008 UK tour dates — for which tickets went on sale today and already sold out in London, Manchester, and Glasgow — with All Tomorrow’s Parties.

The industrious collection of music makers known as Critters Buggin has recently released a live DVD, entitled The Clackervalve and the Old Clobberd Biscuits Out and Smack the Grand Ham Clappers Mother. The disc features an mix of live performances, short videos, and photo slideshows.

Schubas Tavern in Chicago is hosting its annual pop fest, Tomorrow Never Knows, for the fourth time. Running from January 16-20, the festival includes afro-beat eight-piece NOMO, acoustic songwriter John Vanderslice, prog-pop musician Bobby Conn, and indie rockers The Walkmen, Cloud Clout, Illinois, and White Rabbits.

Aerial can’t be blamed for trying. On the Swedish group’s new album, The Sentinel, it does an admirable job recycling tried and true post-rockisms, but it fails to present anything beyond evanescence, reductionisms, and nearly ubiquitous 3/4 time.

“Western Europe and the United States don’t differ much,” says Gogol Bordello founder and vocalist Eugene Hutz (shown left), discussing the various reactions to his band’s music before a performance in Paris.

Battles returned to Chicago last week to promote their new EP, Tonto. The collection of remixes is mostly of the track “Tonto,” from their full-length album Mirrored, which expanded the group’s electro-math-rock motif with synthesized vocals.

Indie duo Viva Voce has combined two older CDs, Lovers, Lead the Way! (2003) and The Heat Can Melt Your Brain (2004), into a healthy new offering augmented by eight bonus cuts.