Toronto’s indie rock collective Broken Social Scene are known for creating high art. Embracing sonic detail, seamlessly connecting vast dimensions of sound, and exploring untouched atmospheric landscapes is inherent. The frighteningly brilliant masterpiece that is Forgiveness Rock Record (May 2010) is a gorgeous example. Finally gravitating towards the pop tendencies that the group have toyed with for almost a decade, never have Broken Social Scene sounded so joyous, excited, and in love with the music they create.

Whereas earlier albums consist primarily of instrumentals, Forgiveness Rock Record finds the band playing with cryptic lyrics and elliptical word patterns, making this Broken Social Scene’s most accessible album yet. The tracks invite you to sing along, not just absorb. The album as a whole is more mature and direct, with a thematic bend that lends a sense of gravity to the music. Each song is a complete artistic piece, with all the integrity, allure, and complexity that fine art inspires. Rarely do songs sound so full. That is the nature of BSS. Each song is greater than the sum of its parts.

Broken Social Scene is known for bringing together a vast collective of musicians to fill out their sound. What began as an ambient post-rock collaboration between founding members Brendan Canning and Kevin Drew (the band’s 2001 debut Feel Good Lost) slowly evolved into the gorgeously fragmented super-collective sound nurtured in the mid-decade by the chaotic overdriven production style of David Newfield on 2002’s You Forgot It In People. The spiritual connection between the individuals, who at points have numbered 17, can be felt on each of the band’s 6 releases (4 full length albums, 1 B-Side album and 1 EP). The injection of inspiration from a mass of adventurous players creates huge washes of sound full of multi-colored textures that may overwhelm the casual listener. Forgiveness Rock Record sets itself apart by leaning on a slightly tighter group, while the “additional members” and “guests” number 31 strong. Longtime contributors Jason, Collett, Leslie Feist and Emily Haines make appearances along with special guests including Sea and Cake’s Sam Prekop, but the lion’s share draws from frontmen Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning with Sam Goldberg, Lisa Lobsinger, Justin Peroff, Charles Spearin, and Andrew Whiteman. The greater focus begets music that unabashedly hits harder. The songs may be more succinct, but the band still sounds like it contains multitudes.

Since the collective’s 3rd release in 2004, individual members of the collective have made names for themselves outside of the confines of BSS. Feist became a rock diva after releasing Let It Die in 2004, Whiteman hit the road with Apostle of Hustle, Drew and Collett released solo albums, and Amy Millan and Emily Haines elevated their side projects Stars and Metric to even greater notoriety. Forgiveness Rock Record is lush and romantic and as eclectic as the members who create it. Each track has a distinct sound, embracing their endless ability to craft clever, soaring pop songs. This is no doubt enhanced by Tortoise’s John McEntire who produced the album.

“World Sick” is one of the catchiest songs the band has ever written. Harmonics and power chords swell and boom as the band both embraces global and personal yearnings. Drew’s voice leads the collective as they cry “I get world sick / Every time I take a stand / I get world sick / My love is for my land.” “Chase Scene” strings together old west guitar rumblings and horn filled climaxes with certain tension, set upon cryptic lyrics that mirror the band’s musical complexity and the gripping chorus, “I think I’m ready to fight for the scene of my life”. “Texaco Bitches” devises a joyous melody as vocal ascensions ride marching beats and atmospheric tings. “All to All” climaxes with a wave of female vocals led by Lisa Lobsinger married with a pulsating staccato base. Her angelic voice soars above electronic atmospheres like a phoenix as she has fun with words “It’s like the all to all, the all to all the ultimatum”. “Highway Slipper Jam” brings to mind one of my favorite bands, The Slip, and recalls older BSS. It’s slow and easy as high harmonies roll along and an array of subtle sounds merge together to create the end’s lullaby. “Ungrateful Little Father” shows unabated love for alliteration. The pulsing beat of “Sentimental X’s” is filled with Haines’ sweet vocal meanderings and marks the first time in the group’s history that Amy Millan, Emily Haines, and Leslie Feist have collaborated on the same tune. “Sweetest Kill” is dark and seductive, with echoes of Drew’s voice giving up deflated melancholy upon gorgeous guitar lines which closely follow his vocal tones. The album closes with an ode to masturbation aptly titled “Me and My Hand.”

mp3: Broken Social Scene – World Sick
mp3: Broken Social Scene – Ungrateful Little Father
mp3: Broken Social Scene – Sentimental X’s

Forgiveness Rock Record rounds up the BSS diaspora and serves as a robust reminder of the band’s commitment to their identity as an art collective. One of the many things that strikes me about BSS is how their free-form, chaotic approach to creating music transforms into beautiful song structures which unmask a deep understanding of when to embrace and when to subvert standards of pop songwriting. Forgiveness Rock Record follows in this vein, often to spectacular and inspiring effect. It is easy to fall for Broken Social Scene. They make accessible and challenging pop-art, they are unequivocally prolific as a collective, they spring from Canada, and over the years have become one of the most iconic and forever-evolving indie super-groups around.

On August 9, 2010 Broken Social Scene unveiled plans for their “All to All” remix series, which includes 5 different versions of the Forgiveness Rock Record track. Every Monday, a new remix was made available exclusively for 24 hours via a different online collaborator. And on Monday, the band released the provocative video for “Texaco Bitches” featuring a bizarrely sexual, oil fed wrestling match. The video’s eccentric take on today’s oil companies is coupled with a hilarious, unforeseen ending.

mp3: Broken Social Scene – All To All (Skeet Skeet Remix)

Don’t miss the opportunity to contemplate this collective in motion on their winter tour.

Broken Social Scene Winter 2011 Tour
1/16/11 London, ON @ The Music Hall
1/18/11 New York, NY @ Terminal 5
1/29/11 Edmonton, AB @ Freezing Man Festival
2/10/11 Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
2/11/11 Tampa, FL @ Ritz
2/12/11 Ft. Lauderdale @ Revolution Hall
2/13/11 Orlando, FL @ Firestone Live
2/15/11 New Orleans, LA @ Tipitina’s
2/17/11 Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
2/18/11 Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa
2/19/11 Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
2/20/11 Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom

Stream Forgiveness Rock Record

Website | MySpace

Download Forgiveness Rock Record through iTunes

Freelance Whales released their sweet and honest debut album in September of 2009, but audiences are still getting acquainted with this tenderhearted quintet from Brooklyn.

Frontman Judah Dadone (lead vocals, banjo, acoustic and electric guitar, synthesizer, bass) drew on inspiration for the band’s name from a near drowning incident in the Sea of Galilee when growing up in Jerusalem. He was seeking to grasp a rock to prove that he reached the bottom, but found it difficult to regain the surface. The Israeli fisherman who pulled him out called him in Hebrew a “freedom whale”, which then metamorphosed into the increasingly familiar name. The reference to the musical mammal and the gesture to a do-it-yourself attitude ties Dadone together with bandmates Doris Cellar (bass, harmonium, glockenspiel, synthesizer, vocals) (lead vocals, banjo, acoustic and electric guitar, synthesizer, bass), Chuck Criss (banjo, bass, synthesizer, glockenspiel, harmonium, acoustic and electric guitar, vocals), Jacob Hymn (drums, percussion, vocals), and Kevin Read (acoustic and electric guitar, glockenspiel, mandolin, synthesizer, vocals).

The members of Freelance Whales found each other through friends of friends and through Craigslist in 2008 as a result of Judah Dadone’s posts aimed at musicians who might fill his imagined sounds on unusual instruments. The band further bonded at a remote, eerie, abandoned farm colony on Staten Island where a friend suggested they videotape a performance. This late 2008 evening marked the first time the 5 brought their acoustic instruments together and performances throughout the mazes of NYC subway system evolved from the experience.

The collective honed their sound almost exclusively on the stages and subway platforms of New York City. At 2009′s end, the band journeyed on their first tour supporting the highly-orchestrated, swelling indie pop of London’s Fanfarlo. Several crowded performances at SXSW brought the band’s buzz to new heights after Spin named them one of 50 “Must Hear Bands at SXSW” and NPR simultaneously referred to them as “a band to watch this year” after a live appearance on All Songs Considered. 2010 saw an April re-release of Weathervanes on both Frenchkiss and Mom + Pop, the later which houses hot indie sensations Sleigh Bells, Metric, Tokyo Police Club, and Ingrid Michaelson. “Generator ^ First Floor” and “Broken Horse” were heard on NBC’s Chuck and the CW’s One Tree Hill. Soon audiences found Freelance Whales on tour with Bear in Heaven, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Shout Out Louds, and Tokyo Police Club.

Weathervanes is beautifully poetic and full of pastel imagery that somehow make stories of ghosts and nightmares enchanting. “Generator ^ First Floor” begins the bundle of storied tales which wrap the listener tightly for the album’s 46 minute duration. Dadone softly sings, “We’re finding every day several ways that we could be friends, And in our native language we are chanting ancient songs, And when we quiet down the house chants on without us.” This youthful optimism reveals the core of Weathervanes. “Hannah’s” chorus tempts the artful dreamer by calling “if you’re attracted to the night sky, if you’re vaguely attracted to rooftops”. “Location” follows Dadone searching for his ghostly sweetheart with mood filled lyrics contrasted with honeyed harmonies and hopeful banjo strums within the interludes. “Starring” is reminiscent of Ben Gibbard’s Postal Service with its infusion of electronics and synths mixed with Dadone’s soft vocals creating an electro pop gem with rolling choruses and a banjo solo to briefly interrupt the electric flow.

mp3: Freelance Whales – Location
mp3: Freelance Whales – Starring

The poetic story within “Broken Horse” follows the animal’s wintertime journey away from confinement with haunting, intertwining, and overlapping vocals. “Danse Flat” is strangely sparse and slightly spooky as it lures the listener into the depths of a deserted house with the sweet tune of a music box turning. “We Could Be Friends”‘s powerful ascending guitar lines, keyboard meanderings, and rock beats lift the song’s luscious lyrics, “I am convinced that we should be friends, We compare our hearts to things that fly, But cannot land.”

mp3: Freelance Whales – We Could Be Friends

Throughout Weathervanes, Freelance Whales make the most of each moment where vocals are absent to imbue the sound with numerous effects, xylophone tinklings, and atmospheric murmurings. The songs rest among similar tones, which create a sweet whole while deeper listens allow the distinctions to settle in. Most of these differences lie within lyrics crafted from Dadone’s childhood memories and dream journals.

Freelance Whales is currently on their 3rd U.S. tour following summer performances at Sasquatch! and Lollapalooza. Try not to miss them before they rise to another level and the intimacy now to be gained is gone.

Remaining Fall Tour dates…

Mon, Nov 27th – Hi-Dive / Denver, CO
Wed, Dec 1st – 7th Street Entry / Minneapolis, MN
Thu, Dec 2nd – Lincoln Hall / Chicago, IL
Fri, Dec 3rd – The Basement / Columbus, OH
Sat, Dec 4th – Brillobox / Pittsburgh, PA
Sun, Dec 5th – Mohawk Place / Buffalo, NY
Tue, Dec 7th – El Mocambo Club / Toronto, ONT
Wed, Dec 8th – La Sala Rossa / Montreal, QC
Thu, Dec 9th – Middle East / Boston, MA
Fri, Dec 10th – Iron Horse / Northampton, MA
Sat, Dec 11th – Lily’s Pad / New Haven, CT
Tue, Dec 14th – Johnny Brenda’s / Philadelphia, PA
Wed, Dec 15th – Webster Hall / New York, NY

Website | MySpace

Download Weathervanes through iTunes

Ego vs Id will release their stunning debut this month, a tour de force that will no doubt put them on the map. It is hard not to fall for the band’s passion and fury filled version of guitar driven rock. With bold songs about love and pain, Ego vs Id strikes the heart with a sustaining blow. The band is equally as talented as other acclaimed rock bands gaining notoriety this year including These United States, Ha Ha Tonka, and Free Energy. The door is swinging wide open.

The band formed in the foothills town of Boulder, Colorado in 2007. Robbie Stiefel (guitar, bass, vocals) and Jesse Parmet (bass, guitar, vocals) began playing together as kids while growing up in the same suburb on the outskirts of Washington DC. The two were always waiting to find just the right crew to form a band. Jesse moved to Boulder after finishing his degree at the Berklee School of Music in Boston to reunite the duo and the golden dream was finally realized. Robbie met Nate Cook (guitar, vocals) one night at 7-Eleven during Cook’s stint on the graveyard shift. The next day the two played for a few hours trading songs. The band’s first show was at Trilogy in Boulder just two weeks later. Nick Cobbet (drums), the final missing piece of this evolving puzzle, joined the band this summer. Brian Dillon is credited with drumming on the album.

The process of writing and recording Taste was quite cathartic for the band. The four combined their energy and emotion in an attempt to create a piece of work that gets better with each listen, inspires one to take it in in its entirety, that takes the listener on a journey. They succeeded with full marks. The band began recording the album at the Sky Trail Productions studio on a large format SSL analogue board in January 2009 and it finally now reaches our ears. Of the album’s engineer and co-producer, Chris Wright, Stiefel notes, “He likes things thick but also enjoys open space. The recording console in conjunction with Chris’s recording techniques account for almost 95% of why the record sounds the way it does.”

The moving tracks that fill Taste simply sound good. Sunny “All American Love” is filled with shiny guitar riffs and sugary pop choruses. Witty lines like “we’ll inhale work and exhale rent” pervade and promptly draw attention to the band’s adeptness with words. “Lenny Bruce” is a stand out track offering stark images, gorgeous guitar intricacies, and reveals the band’s electric synergy as they roll and explode into the song’s closing notes. The depth of Stiefel’s vocals plead you to listen and it’s hard to resist that smooth tenderness and dexterity.

Taste‘s exquisite production, musical texture, and lyrical finesse continue to draw one in track after track. “Tennessee Honey” is filled with mysterious musings of a bad boy and the guitar riffs speak the same. “Landmine” and “Diamond” blast forward in true stadium rock form with wailing guitars awash with sex appeal. Cook and Stiefel howl like many rock gods before them have done. On “Jenny” EVI draw on the bounce of 50′s rock and at moments I feel as though I’m within a Rilo Kiley tune. The slow crooner “Game I’m In” is soft, sultry, and endlessly gorgeous. The chorus stays with you long after the track ends. “Cause maybe we can’t win, maybe we can’t win, oh that’s a hard way to live. ”

EVI’s debut will be released on their newly founded label, Abattoir Records, on November 16th. Says Stiefel, “We have a lot of things that we would like to do differently from others in the industry, things that most other folks in the industry seem to be getting wrong. I think the fans will notice this and appreciate it. We start by asking ourselves what we think the listener will want, what the music fan will want, and we build things from there. We’re going to be breaking some rules here and I think that it’s going to set a new standard for what a band along with their label can do.” Taste will be available digitally via iTunes and Amazon and at several independent records stores including Albums on the Hill (Boulder) and Twist and Shout (Denver). Ego vs Id’s CD Release event will be held at The Speakeasy in Boulder on Friday, November 19th. Tickets are available online through the band’s site.

Ego vs Id are kings of choruses, walls of sound, and polished production. They make rock new and relevant. Get ready to watch their career progress. Ego vs Id are fully teeming with potential.

Website | MySpace

Taste (2010) streaming in its entirety…
1. All American Love
2. Lenny Bruce
3. National Disaster
4. Tenneessee Honey
5. Hey Sarah
6. If You Really Want It
7. Landmine
8. Diamond
9. Jenny
10. Take What You Need
11. Hard Paradise
12. Game I’m In
13. Don’t Make Me Say

Download Taste through iTunes

Leave any attachment to cartoon characters behind. Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett’s animated oddballs served as an interesting concept at the onset and propelled the intrigue of their project into the mainstream, but on the third Gorillaz release, Plastic Beach (2010), it seems they’ve left behind the idea that Gorillaz is purely a vehicle for a cartoon fronted federation. The former Blur frontman has transcended the futuristic wiliness of the original image, creating one of the best records of 2010, one that is innovative, powerful, eclectic, and soulfully diverse. Truth be told. Gorillaz are real.

Damon Albarn and British cartoonist Jamie Hewlett started the fictional cartoon band in 1998. The band was instantly successful with their self-titled debut album (2001) which included songs “19-2000″ and “Clint Eastwood”. The concept band was composed of four animated members: 2D (lead vocalist, keyboard), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, keyboard, and occasional vocals) and Russel Hobbs (drums and percussion). The character’s fictional universe is explored throughout the band’s website and music videos. The due released Demon Days (2005) with smash hit “Feel Good Inc.” and “Dirty Harry” and five years later, Plastic Beach.

Filled with guest cameos from the likes of Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed, De La Soul, and the enigmatic Little Dragon, Plastic Beach rides on the formidable musicality and flawless production Gorillaz lovers have come to rely on. The album’s scope and depth as it meshes hip-hop, electronica, and pop is more engaging as a whole. It’s a concept album with a clear message about the Earth’s deflowering by pollution and snowballing technology. The record marks the first time Albarn has produced a Gorillaz album in its entirety after yielding the boards to Automator and Danger Mouse on previous efforts.

Plastic Beach opens with a dramatic, orchestral intro yet quickly runs into the sexy “Welcome To The World Of The Plastic Beach” featuring none other than the saucy, one and only, Snoop Dogg, dogmatizing that the “revolution will be televised… push peace and keep it in motion”. Look through the doom to behold the beauty beyond is the manifesto held in Albarn’s world.

mp3: Gorillaz – Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach (feat. Snoop Dogg & Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)

“White Flag” reveals more of Albarn’s imaginings via hard hitting, hip-hop wrapped in samples and the lyrical prowess of Brit MC’s Bashy and Kano juxtaposed with sugar sweet melodies unraveling from The National Orchestra for Arabic Music. “No war, no guns, No corps, just life, Just love, no hate, Just fun, no ties, Just me and my mind, Just me and my wife.” No walls and jails on this paradise that rains condoms.

Albarn’s voice leads “Rhinestone Eyes” as he voices climatic concerns with syncopated fluidity atop electricity filled synth lines. And there’s “Stylo” with soulful vocals from Albarn and Bobby Womack plus raps from Mos Def expertly meshed with swirling electronics and unrelenting beats pushing you further into another dimension. Electric is the love.

mp3: Gorillaz – Stylo (feat. Mos Def & Bobby Womack)

“Superfast Jellyfish” is light and silly. Super Furry Animals’ Gruff Rhys & De La Soul collaborate on this microwave-meal-fast-food biting spoof adding another dimension to the album’s already apparent multiplicity. And then the dreamy “Empire Ants” begins, easily taking the title of most compelling and gorgeous track on the record. The slow, subtle intro by Albarn leads to a fully electrifying song body rich with the alluring vocals of Little Dragon’s Yukimi Nagano. The beats are to die for. “Empire Ants” the perfect soundtrack for a spontaneous dance party on the street with your car speakers blaring.

mp3: Gorillaz – Superfast Jellyfish (feat. Gruff Rhys & De La Soul)
mp3: Gorillaz – Empire Ants (feat. Little Dragon)

“Some King of Nature” stands out with deftly spoken lyrics from luminary Lou Reed who adds something entirely bizarre and psychedelic to Albarn’s cough syrup dripping choruses. “Melancholy Hill” causes the energy to drop off, but “Broken” picks it back up again with eerie melodies leading into nighttime driven musings about distant galaxies. The slow pace is irresistible. The album winds and turns through the rest of it’s 18 track sand then swiftly drifts into two movie score ready tracks, “Pirate’s Progress” and “Three Hearts, Seven Seas, Twelve Moons”.

Plastic Beach captures your imagination and triggers a full-color, 3D listening experience. The album is stunning in its entirety and is one of Albarn’s most fully developed musical conceptions yet. The pretense of the animated band has clearly been surpassed. And there might be more to come. Albarn recorded more than 70 songs for this release, and the designing pair is apparently considering sequels.

Gorillaz debuted Plastic Beach at Coachella 2010 and arguably played one of the most dynamic sets of the festival. Live, the band includes Mick Jones and Paul Simonon of The Clash along with Cass Browne (The Senseless Things) and a number of talented musicians and guests, which at Coachella included Mos Def, Bobby Womack, De La Soul, Little Dragon, and the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. The 35-date international tour in support of the album began this October with 5 U.S. dates still remain including Denver, Phoenix, L.A., Oakland, and Seattle. Catch them if you can. It just might be one of the most epic shows you see all year.

Oct 24 – Wells Fargo Theatre, Denver, CO
Oct 26 – Dodge Theatre, Phoenix, AZ
Oct 27 – Gibson Amphitheatre, Los Angeles, CA
Oct 30 – Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
Nov 2 – Key Arena, Seattle, WA

CHECK OUT: The official video for Stylo featuring none other than Bruce Willis.

Gorillaz Live at Coachella

Website | MySpace

Rather in love with this track. Ironic in that at the core it feels quite heavy-hearted. As another writer aptly put it, “If you’ve ever stared broken-hearted from a train window as frowning forests fly by then you already know what it sounds like.” (Pinglewood)

Phoenix’s buoyant, soaring track turns into something rather bittersweet. The resounding melancholy mood is soft and subtle. The elegant remix lingers in the bridge, poignantly resting on few lyrics to bring out the essence of the song. And that is what Banhart has accomplished. He struck the emotional spirit of the song making this rendering arguably better that the first.

mp3: Phoenix – Rome (Neighbours and Devendra Banhart Remix)

Always and forevermore
I call to say I’m on the way
2000 years remain in a trash can
Let burn the cigarette somewhere
Ashes till it falls, falls, falls

I’ve never loved you
And if I loves you
I wouldn’t say that I’m sorry oh no

People should move to Colorado just for Red Rocks. That venue with its perfect sight lines and sound set within two majestic red rock slabs doesn’t get any better on a warm summer evening like last night. Vampire Weekend blew it off the charts. My favorite quote of the night from Ezra Koenig, “You guys look nice at an angle.”

The band came out at a 10 and the audience gave it all back. The energy swirling between the rocks was palpable and Koenig repeatedly commented on the communal feeling wafting from the audience. “We haven’t been to the Denver area since we started touring… You guys are amazing.” The band rewarded fans with the second ever played Contra and a set that both highlighted their keen musicianship and a knack for writing short gems blending danceable influences from around the globe. Every song they unleashed off their two albums differed from the studio cuts, increasing the feel that we were getting something truly special.

Best view walking to the parking lot ever. I relished in the sounds of people yelling in appreciation as I made my way to the car. Last night was the most beautiful show I’ve been to in ages. It made me cry.

Vampire Weekend is one of the best live acts touring now. Go see them.

mp3: Vampire Weekend – The Kids Don’t Stand a Chance (Live feat. Chromeo) – mtvU Woodies (2008)
mp3: Vampire Weekend – California English – Contra (2010)
mp3: Vampire Weekend – I Think Ur A Contra – Contra (2010)

MySpace | http://luxilluminates.com/2010/05/13/phish-tonight-on-late-night-with-jimmy-fallon/ http://luxilluminates.com/2010/05/13/phish-tonight-on-late-night-with-jimmy-fallon/#comments Fri, 14 May 2010 00:08:51 +0000 Lux http://luxilluminates.com/?p=2046

Phish will give its first television performance since 2004 tonight on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.” The appearance is part of a Rolling Stones’ tribute week to their 1972 album Exile On Main Street. Each night on Fallon a different band will cover a song from the classic album. The show starts tonight at 12:35 / 11:35 CST on NBC.

The tribute week concides with the May 18, 2010 deluxe release of a remastered version of the album featuring 10 previously unheard tracks including “Plundered My Soul”, “Dancing in the Light”, “Following the River” and “Pass the Wine” as well as alternate versions of “Soul Survivor” and “Loving Cup”.

Throughout the week artists will sit in with hip-hop artists The Roots, Fallon’s house band since March 2009. Other musical guests this week included Green Day, Keith Urban, Sheryl Crow, Taj Mahal, Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready, and Rolling Stones’ keyboardist Chuck Leavell. LL Cool J is appearing tonight along with Phish.

The million dollar question: What will Phish play? So far nothing has been announced. The rock legends played Exile in its entirety at Festival 8 over Halloween this past fall, so anything is possible.

Check out this clip of “Rocks Off” from Festival 8.

Looking forward to the unveiling of Phish this evening!

Pretty soon those of us in Indio will be submerged within some of the hottest sounds coming out now. Below are Lux’s picks for Coachella 2010. Sets of top priority include Thom Yorke, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Pretty Lights, Hot Chip, Fever Ray, Passion Pit, Ra Ra Riot, Beach House, Dirty Projectors, Delphic, Jonsi, Phoenix, MGMT and Rusko.

Day 1

Fever Ray – When I Grow Up
Imogen Heap – Little Bird
La Roux – Bulletproof
Passion Pit – Sleepyhead
Public Image Limited – Rise.
The Avett Brothers – Murder in the City
Street Sweeper Social Club – 100 Little Curses
The Whitest Boy Alive – 1517
Vampire Weekend – I Think Ur A Contra
As Tall As Lions – Into The Flood
Gil Scott-Heron – New York Is Killing Me (Featuring Nas)
LCD Soundsystem – All My Friends
Little Dragon – Runabout
Ra Ra Riot – Can You Tell
She & Him – Why Do You Let Me Stay Here_
Sleigh Bells – Crown On The Ground
Pretty Lights – Hot Like Sauce

Day 2

Beach House – Norway
Camera Obscura – French Navy
Corrinne Bailey Rae – Put Your Records On
Dirty Projectors – Stillness Is the Move
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Janglin
MGMT – Flash Delirium
Flying Lotus – Parisian Goldfish
Major Lazer – Pon de Floor (feat. VYBZ Kartel)
The Dead Weather – I Cut Like A Buffalo
The Raveonettes – Last Dance
Frightened Rabbit – Poke
The Temper Trap – Sweet Disposition (Axwell & Dirty South Remix)
Bassnectar – Bomd the Blocks (Featuring Persia)

Day 3

Charlotte Gainsbourg – Me And Jane Doe
Miike Snow – Sans Soleil
Local Natives – Airplanes
Jonsi – Boy Lilikoi
Thom Yorke – Atoms For Peace
Phoenix – Lasso
Delphic – Counterpoint
Florence & The Machine – Kiss With A Fist
Julian Casablancas – 11th Dimension
Matt & Kim – Daylight
Rusko – Da Cali Anthem
The Middle East – The Darkest Side
Owen Pallett – This Modern Love (Bloc Party Cover)

Coachella’s Official Website

The enigmatic lead singer and guitarist for Iceland’s atmospheric post-rock band, Sigur Ros, is set to embark on his first tour through North America and Europe as a solo artist. With two record in less than a year, Riceboy Sleeps (2009), written and recorded with his partner, Alex Somers, and Go (April 5, 2010), his debut solo album, Jónsi has been busy during a period of Sigur Ros’ retreat. The group chose to take time off due to several members’ desires to spend time with their new children and Jónsi’s interest in exploring his imaginings solo.

To accompany his live performance, Jónsi has brought in 59 Productions to create a fantastical world that evokes the feelings and images within his music. Sigur Ros is known for pushing boundaries with the visual components of their live show, so it’s almost assumed that Jónsi would explore contemporary technology and imbue his live performance with art.

59 Productions has been praised as one of the most innovative suppliers of video and projections for theater worldwide. When invited to be a part of the tour, 59 decided to create something that strode the line of a music performance, a film, a theatrical show and an art installation. Within the current state of performance, I find it infinitely interesting to see what happens at these intersections.

The show is set in a dilapidated, burnt down building that is made to resemble a Victorian glasshouse, an old factory or museum, with large windows that span the back of the stage. Trees grow among the rubble and broken glass. In an interview with Clash Magazine, 59 shared their intention to create “a sense of life returning to this shell of a building as nature works its way through the cracks and fissures.” The scenes draw out varying themes and stories from Jonsi’s music on Go to transport audiences into a world of sheer fantasy.

mp3: Jonsi – Boy Lilikoi – Go (2010)

59 have released several videos documenting the show’s elaborate creation.

For the extraordinary chance to experience the unfolding of this vision live, find Jónsi while he journeys across the U.S. and Canada in April and May.

Apr 6 – Vogue Theatre, Vancouver, BC
Apr 7 – Vogue Theatre, Vancouver, BC
Apr 9 – The Showbox Sodo, Seattle, WA
Apr 10 – The Showbox Sodo, Seattle, WA
Apr 13 – Roseland Theatre, Portland, OR
Apr 15 – Zellerbach Auditorium, Berkeley, CA
Apr 16 – Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA
Apr 18 – Coachella, Indio, CA
Apr 21 – Paramount Theatre, Denver, CO
Apr 22 – Liberty Hall, Lawrence, KS
Apr 24 – Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
Apr 25 – Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
Apr 26 – The Pabst Theatre, Milwaukee, WI
Apr 27 – Vic Theatre, Chicago, IL
Apr 28 – Vic Theatre, Chicago, IL
Apr 30 – Sound Academy, Toronto, ON
May 1 – Sound Academy, Toronto, ON
May 2 – Metropolis, Montreal, QB
May 3 – Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA
May 5 – House of Blues, Boston, MA
May 6 – House of Blues, Boston, MA
May 8 – Terminal 5, New York, NY
May 9 – Terminal 5, New York, NY

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Brooklyn duo MGMT will release their 3rd full-length album, Congratulations, on April 13, 2010. They’ve offered a taste by making the track “Flash Delirium” available as a free download through their website. The adventurous Bowie-tinged exploration veers in a variety of mind-bending directions within its 4 minutes. The confusion it unleashes become more manageable with subsequent listens. Psychedelic lyrics offer this gorgeous sentiment: “Dance until the heart explodes and we’ll make this place ignite.” “Some will love it, some will hate it,” Andrew VanWyngarden told Rolling Stone of Congratulations‘ stylistic shift. “We want to freak people out.”

MGMT have so far debuted three other songs off the release, “Congratulations”, “It’s Working”, and “Song for Dan Tracey”, at recent shows. The album was recorded in Malibu by ex-Spacemen 3 Brit Pete Kember (aka Sonic Boom) and mixed by Flaming Lips producer David Fridmann. The record is the follow-up to 2007′s Oracular Spectacular, which crushed with over 1 million copies sold worldwide. Upcoming U.S. tourdates include Coachella, Bamboozle, and Sasquatch in April and May.

mp3: MGMT – Flash Delirium – Congratulations (2010)

Flash Delirium
Mild apprehension
Blank dreams of the coming fun
Distort the odds of a turnaround
Gut screams out next to none

So turn it on, tune it in
And stay inert

You say “I’ve got the backbone”
The back way to escape the gun
Climbing a tree with a missing limb
And not saving anyone

And now it hurts to stay at home
And see flash the mirror ball’s throwing mold
You can’t get a grip if there’s nothing to hold
See the flash catch a white lily laugh and wilt
But if you must smash a glass first fill it to the hilt

Plants, as far as i know are still,
Still bending toward the light
And if we dance until the heart explodes
It’ll make this place ignite
And even if this hall collapses
I can stand by my pillar of hope
It’s just a case of Flash delirium

Here’s a growing culture
Deep inside a corpse
Ages stuck together
Takin it to the source
Timeless desperation
Pictures on a screen scream
“Hey people, what does it mean?”

Comfort keeps us nice
So quick to donate everything
Die wolken drifting blinding smiles circling (einkreisen)
And time’s tingling spines
Attaching hands to floor
The rosy-tinted flash

The hot dog’s getting cold
And you’ll never be as good as the Rolling Stones
Watch the birds in the airport gathering dirt
Crowd the clean magazine chick lifting up her skirt

(Why close one eye and try to
Pledge allegiance to the sun
When plastic ghosts start terrorizing everyone
Geometric troops aligning
Carried up to the burial mounds
My earthbound heart is heavy
Your heartbeat keeps things light
With the violence forever threatening the night
And even if this hall collapses
I can stand by my pillar of hope and trust)
Lines when I close my eyes and just
Aim blindly at the sun
And hear love
When the ghosts start singing terrorizing everyone
Geometric troops aligning
Carried up to the burial mounds with gold
It’s a heavy time but your
You rhythm makes it light and explode
Like a violent star keeps threatening the night
And even if this hall collapses
I can stand by my pillar of hope and trust
That our heads won’t bust

66 55 red battleships
40 earthlike planets
3 holes 2 tits
1 fork in its side
Zero tears in their eyes

Eue the spiders
Sink the Welsh
Stab your facebook
Sell sell sell
Undercooked
Overdone
Mass adulation not so funny
Poisoned honey
Pseudo science
Silly money
You’re my honey

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Download “Flash Delirium” through MGMT’s website.