it is good

If you are in the Toronto area today, be sure to stop by at Criminal Records (493 Queen St West) around 6pm for a free in-store performance by Hannah Georgas!

i've got your name tatooed inside of my arm

Pre-order for The Gaslight Anthem’s highly-anticipated third album, American Slang starts TODAY! Get multiple formats/variants of the album over at the band’s site, SideOneDummy Records, No Idea Records, or Vinyl Collective.

For all you vinyl fans, here is the breakdown of American Slang vinyl pressing:

Vinyl Collective Exclusive Color: 500 on Dip Half Black/Half Cover Green (White Splatter on Cover Green side)
No Idea Exclusive Color: 500 on Dip Half Black/Half White (Cover Green Splatter on White side)
Side One Dummy Exclusive Color: 500 on 180 Gram, closest shade of Gray match the cover art
European Pressing: 1000 on 180 Gram Green Vinyl
180 Gram Black Vinyl Pressing—This becomes the standard pressing once the colored variants sell out.

The Gaslight Anthem has also announced their first run of North American dates:

JUNE
15 New York, NY @ Irving Plaza *

JULY
14 Toronto, ON @ Sound Academy *
15 Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore (special lineup also featuring The Hold Steady and The Whigs)
16 St. Louis, MO @ Pop's *
17 Kansas City, MO @ Midland Theatre *
20 Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre *
21 Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern *
22 San Jose, CA @ "Music in the Park Series"
24 Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre *
26 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue *
27 Chicago, IL @ House of Blues *
28 Columbus, OH @ LC Pavillion *
29 Philadelphia, PA @ Great Plaza at Penn's Landing *
31 Providence, RI @ Lupo's *

AUGUST
01 Montreal, QC @ Osheaga Music and Arts Festival
02 Boston, MA @ House of Blues *

* = w/ Tim Barry and special guests

spaghetti anywhere: spaghetti anywhere ep

photo by Kit Chiu

Spaghetti Anywhere’s S/T EP is a perfect spring record. The EP consists of four incredibly joyous indie pop songs: each one has delightfully catchy and upbeat melodies, along with Francis Cullen’s tenderly soft and very Scottish-sounding vocal. Seriously, there is nothing more appropriate to listen to during these gorgeous sunny spring days! The only complaint I have with the EP is that it is wayyyyy too short—only 13 minutes long. Oh well, I just have to put it on repeat for those longer walks! If you like Belle & Sebastian, make sure you check out Spaghetti Anywhere and the band’s debut EP!

Love Again (acoustic)



visit Spaghetti Anywhere's MySpace here
buy the Spaghetti Anywhere EP here

song of the moment

photo by Lisa Roze

Icelandic neo-classical artist Ólafur Arnalds has recently made his ultra soothing new single, "Þú ert sólin", available as a free download! The song, which translates to "You Are The Sun" is the first track off his forthcoming sophomore album entitled ...And They Have Escaped The Weight Of Darkness, due out on Erased Tapes in June.

Ólafur Arnalds: Þú ert sólin

if i get to thirty and i don't have a wife, i'll ask you nicely but i won't ask twice

Slow Club is giving away their EP, Let's Fall Back In Love for free on their website, get it here!

ben sollee and daniel martin moore: dear companion/happy earth day!

Dear Companion is a beautiful collaborative effect between three Kentucky-natives: Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore, who wrote and preformed the songs; and Jim James of My Morning Jacket, who produced the album. The central idea behind Dear Companion is to express the members' love for nature—in particular the Appalachian Mountains—and to protest/raise awareness of the issue of mountaintop removal coal mining (please go to iLoveMountains.org for more info.) I thought pretty highly of the album from the beginning, but reading that the basis of it is about saving mountains, my love for the album skyrocketed! Like I said at the start, the collaboration between Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore is remarkably gorgeous and moving. The out of this world harmonies and memorizing acoustic guitar, cello, and banjo in songs like "Something, Somewhere, Sometime", "My Wealth Comes To Me", "Flyrock Blues", "Try", and "Sweet Marie" completely melt my heart. The mostly serious tone of Dear Companion is cleverly broken up by the lighthearted and one of my favourite tracks, "Only A Song". Lyrics like: "I want to believe that this mountain can’t be moved; But this is only a song, it can’t change the world" and later, "I pictured the Harlem Globetrotters dancing like mosquitoes with a basketball" make me smile.

Hey, it is Earth Day today! So why not celebrate this day by supporting an environmentally conscious album—go buy Dear Companion over at Sub Pop or iLoveMountains.org, all the proceeds from the album goes to iLoveMountains.org!

Something, Somewhere, Sometime [wicked-cool song]
stream Dear Companion here

visit Ben Sollee's MySpace here and Daniel Martin Moore's MySpace here
buy Dear Companion over at Sub Pop Records or iLoveMountains.org

sylvia, get your head out of the oven

The Antlers recently premiered their brand new video for "Sylvia" on IFC.com. Watch the video here or download the video and the New York Hospitals EP for free below.

song of the moment

Mystery Jets posted a brand new track, “Flash a Hungry Smile” off the band’s upcoming album to be released this summer. You can stream or download the song on their site here.

a couple of beautiful videos for your monday morning

Christopher Smith: Gently Gently


Foals: Spanish Sahara

song of the moment

The Record Store Day exclusive new song, "Fool's Day", by Blur has been made available as a free download! Get the song over at the band's website!