Spacelab Collective

Vivian Girls Share the Details for Share the Joy

Vivian Girls officially landed on Polyvinyl Records last Fall, a significant step forward for them and a good place for Vivian Girls to grow. Polyvinyl has just shared the details for the new album Share the Joy, due out on Apr. 12.

The album was recorded Jarvis Taveniere (Woods) at Rear house Studios in Brooklyn. check out an MP3 of the song "I Heard You Say."

The Vivian Girls are currently dealing with the loss of drummer Ali Koehler to the band Best Coast, but she's been replaced by Fiona Campbell from the Coolies.

Vivian Girls: Share the Joy Track List
01 The Other Girls   
02 I Heard You Say
03 Dance (If You Wanna)   
04 Lake House
05 Trying to Pretend
06 Sixteen Ways
07 Take It As It Comes   
08 Vanishing of Time    
09 Death   
10 Light in Your Eyes

Fleet Foxes Give Up Helplessness Blues Details

Fleet Foxes and Sub Pop have announced the details behind their upcoming album, Helplessness Blues. It's due for release on May 3, 2011 and will be the sophomore release from Fleet Foxes, after their debut release on Sub Pop Records in 2008.

Fleet Foxes fans have been waiting in anticipation ever since frontman Robin Pecknold said last year that the band was wrapping up their album.

You can check out a stream or MP3 download for the song "Helplessness Blues." Then check out U.S. and European tour dates.

Helplessness Blues was recorded in a variety of spots, including Avast Recording, Bear Creek Studios, Dreamland Studios, and Reciprocal Recording. Phil Ek recorded, mixed and co-produced the album.

Times New Viking Sign to Merge Records, New Album Dancer Equired Due

Times New Viking, where have you been? The band that once unashamedly blasted their brash, loud and lo-fi sounds across the globe had gone silent, seeming to be relegated into the oblivion of creative bands that faded into the ether. How wrong that turns out to be.

It turns out that Times New Viking have been working on a new album and mapping out their future. And that future involves a jump from their previous label Matador Records to their new home of Merge Records.

Which of cource means that there's a new album due ... it's titled Dancer Equired and will be released on Apr. 26. The sessions for the album were done at Musicol Recording studio and Columbus Discount Recordings, and are supposedly the first time that Times New Viking recorded in a proper studio.

"Though it abandons the pissy histrionics of the past, it remains loud and brash, with mammoth guitars still piled on, only magnifying the bright beautiful traits of the band has nurtured since the beginning," coos the Merge Records news release about Dancer Equired.

Check out the video for No Room to Give, it's from the Dancer Equired album.

Cold Cave to Release Cherish the Light Years

Cold Cave, purveyors of experimental and dark synthpop, are due to release a new album titled Cherish The Light Years on Apr. 5. The album was done up in New York with producer Chris Coady at the helm, and has a cast that includes Dominick Fernow, Jennifer Clavin, Tonie Joy, Nick Zinner, Sean Martin, Daryl Palumbo, Matt Sweeney and Gae Licata.

Look for more Cold Cave action this Spring as they tour with The Kills and play some dates of their own.

Sub Pop Signs The Head and the Heart, Inspiring Open Mic Nights Everywhere

In what might inspire a bumrush on open mic nights in bars and clubs everywhere, Sub Pop Records have signed The Head and the Heart, a Seattle band that started at open mic night at Conor Byrne in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood. They're new self-titled album has just become available digitally at all major digital outlets, the full-on physical release will be avaialble as part of Record Store Day on Apr. 16. In the meantime, check out the tracks “Down in the Valley” and  “No One to Let You Down” below. Then go start a band, you lazy sod.

Crystal Stilts Announce In Love In Oblivion for Spring Release

Crystal Stilts will bring their own brand of noisy, jangly and fuzzy indie pop to a new release this Spring with the release of a new full length album on Apr 12 titled In Love With Oblivion. It will be the follow up to their Alight of Night release in 2008. By all accounts so far, the band should continue their trademarked sound on In Love With Oblivion.

The press release has this to say about the album: "This follow-up to their much loved and critically acclaimed debut Alight Of Night continues their foray into spooky 60s psych and 80s dream pop but this time with more flourishes of melody and a bigger, more expansive sound. In Love With Oblivion sets the bar even higher as they reach dizzying, fuzzy heights as first class purveyors of haunting, atmospheric post-punk pop." Crystal Stilts are back!

Crystal Stilts: In Love In Oblivion Track List
01 Sycamore Tree
02 Through the Floor
03 Silver Sun
04 Alien Rivers
05 Half a Moon
06 Flying Into the Sun
07 Shake the Shackles
08 Precarious Stair
09 Invisible City
10 Blood Barons
11 Prometheus at Large

of Montreal Get New Vibe on The Controller Sphere EP

of Montreal are alive and kicking out new material in 2011. They're planning a new EP for this year titled The Controller Sphere, which is made of songs written during the same time as the music on False Priest. These songs, though, have taken a different tack, and will have a different vibe to them.

When talking about The Controller Sphere with SPIN, Kevin Barnes said ""It's not completely different — the songs were written in the same period as False Priest. Some of them are a bit noisier and a little bit less groove-based, and some are just a bit artier."

In the meantime, there's an of Montreal tour on for this year, then the band will look to start the next big album.

The Kills Announce New Blood Pressures Album

The Kills are back from the dead! Or back from the Dead Weather break that had been happening. They've come out of the foxhole swinging, and will release a new album titled Blood Pressures on April 4/5. A tour is forthcoming and hopefully advance tracks looong before April.

Blood Pressures was recorded in Michigan at Key Club with Bill Skibbe and Jessica Ruffins, and was produced by Jamie Hince. It will be the first full length release since Midnight Boom in 2008. The album should should sound less skinny than previous music from The Kills, according to their label Domino Records:

"... this time around they’re bolstered by the bands embrace of a fuller sound, which led to more adventurous studio sessions. Making a break from the sparse, skeletal sound that epitomized the jagged compositions that made up ‘Midnight Boom’, their new songs are more complex creatures created with heavier instrumentation and epic harmonies."

The Kills: Blood Pressures Track List
01 Future Starts Slow
02 Satellite
03 Heart Is a Beating Drum
04 Nail in My Coffin
05 Wild Charms
06 DNA
07 Baby Says
08 Last Goodbye
09 Damned If She Do
10 You Don't Own the Road
11 Pots and Pans

Jack White Unveils New Third Man Records Products

Jack White is up to old tricks at Third Man Records again ... this time he's innovating new ways of unleashing vinyl on the world and doing all he can to make it exciting. He's trotting out the Third Man Records "Greeting Card Gatefold," a double sleeve LP jacket that plays part of the record when you open up the sleeve. It will be part of the new Wanda Jackson album The Party Ain't Over due out later this month.

He also showcased the new animatronic old arcade-style monkey band machine, called "Third Man Monkey Band," located in the Third Man Records store in Nashville. Slip in a quarter and it will play you a preview of an upcoming song due to be released from the label. There's also a joke/fake record product at the end off the video, check it out for yucks.

Best Coast and Wavves to Release 7" Single on Tour Titled "Summer Is Forever "

Best Coast and Wavves are extending their collaborations this year. There will be a split 7" release from the two acts, available only at shows during January and February. The single is titled "Summer is Forever" (because it is, really, if you live in California like they do). Check out the tour dates.

Summer Is Forever Tour 7” Track List:
A Best Coast – When You Wake Up
B Wavves – Stained Glass (Won’t You Let Me Into Yr Heart)