It's a big week of announcements for Merge Records releases in early 2010. We let you know about Shout Out Louds new album on Monday, and now Spoon have announced that their new album will be released in January. It is titled Transference and will hit stores on 
Chapel Hill's local rockers from another planet, Valient Thorr, have released a new music video from their 2008 album Immortalizer. The bizarre, yet enjoyable video is for the song "Tomorrow Police." There are odd looking creatures with swords that are chasing Valient and at one point he's in a car. It's all done on a green screen which also adds to the funny. Check it out below.
The Hasidic MC Matisyahu will be making a pit stop in Raleigh before his show at the Lincoln Theatre on Tuesday, November 10. He will stop by Schoolkids Records for an in-store performance promoting his latest album Light as well as his show later that night. He is scheduled hit the Schoolkids stage at 6 p.m.
(Ed. note: Please welcome our friend and guest blogger Carrie who brings us this review from Charlotte.)
With the release of SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records: THE REMIXES! about three weeks away, Merge has offered up a taste of the album. Download the Xiu Xiu's remix of The 6ths song "Volcana!" below. The remix is doesn't really stray that far from the original structure, but the more mellow sounds from The 6ths versions are replaced by electronic noise and the sound of destruction. It's an interesting listen.
The fantastic Swedes of the Shout Out Louds have are wrapping up production of their their third full-length album titled Work. The album was mostly recorded in Seattle, WA with Phil Ek who has worked with Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses, The Shins, Built To Spill and Modest Mouse. Details of the album are sparse right now, but it will be released via Merge Records on February 23.
More than two years after hinting at it online, Lincoln Theatre has pulled the trigger and will indeed become a membership-style club offering a full bar.
During the band's inexplicable tour Papa Roach, Australian rockers Jet will be making a stop in Raleigh for a free show sponsored by 96 Rock. The show will go down at the Lincoln Theatre on Monday, November 16. Tickets will be given away via many sources including at bars around Raleigh, via on-air contests and other such things. The show is 21 and over, which likely means they'll be pimping out alcohol and/or tobacco products at the show. Check out all the details here.
The Swell Season, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, are back with Strict Joy, their first proper album after the Once soundtrack with their Oscar-winning song "Falling Slowly."
The Avett Brothers announced late last week that they will return to Wilkesboro next year to play the fantastic four-day Merlefest. The event will take place on from April 29 through May 2. The Avetts will play the main stage on the final day, Sunday, May 2. Other main stagers during the event include Elvis Costello, Works Progress Administration, Sam Bush, The John Cowan Band, The Duhks and many more.
Bad news for anyone planning to catch The Mars Volta show tonight at the Disco Rodeo in Raleigh. The show has been canceled at the last minute. No reason was given by LiveNation who was putting on the show and the band's websites have not even acknowledged the cancellation. So it's a bummer. Tickets will be given starting Monday, October 26 at the point of purchase.
The south's favorite college rock icons, R.E.M., have a new double live album due out on Tuesday, October 27 titled Live at the Olympia. The album features 39 songs recorded at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin, Ireland during the band's live rehearsals in 2007. You can stream all 39 songs now on NPR's website.
The fine folks over at Pitchfork TV have posted two fantastic performances from the Triangle's own Bowerbirds, performed live in a chapel. They performed "Northern Lights" and "Chimes" from their latest album Upper Air. The big open sound of the cathedral really lends it self to the band's sparse, somber songs. Check out videos of the performances below.
White Water, White Bloom, the sophomore album from Sea Wolf, starts out in much the same way that his last album did: with a slow, atmospheric build up. If I hadn't already internalized most of Leaves in the River, it would be tough to tell these albums apart.
After pushing back the time of their Schoolkids in-store today from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., Deer Tick frontman John McCauley finally hit the stage around 4:30 p.m. All was forgiven when it became apparent that he was fairly sick. That didn't stop him from playing a short set and his condition seem to accentuate his already raspy voice.
Seattle band The Blakes are gearing up for a short tour in late October and early November in support of their new self-released album Souvenir. The schedule will bring them to Chapel Hill's Local 506 on Monday, November 9. Tickets are $8 and are available via etix.com now. Additional act(s) have not been announced yet.
Raleigh indie superstars Annuals have big plans for New Year's Eve. The Independent has confirmed something we've been hearing for a little while. The band will ring in the new year as headliners at Raleigh's big downtown celebration First Night. Other performers at the event will include Crucial Fiya, Justin David, Barbara Bailey Hutchinson, Bob Margolin, Lenny Marcus Trio, Wayne Henderson and Jeff Little and El Gleno Grande.
New York rockers stellastarr* are hitting the road in November in support of the their latest album Civilized, released in July. The first leg of the tour only includes four dates and Chapel Hill made the cut. The band will play Local 506 on Wednesday, November 18. Tickets to the show are on sale now via etix.com for $12. You also have the option of buying a VIP ticket for $22 which includes an autographed copy of Civilized. Drink Up Buttercup who recently signed to Yep Roc Records, will open the show.
For those of us who have been waiting for a new Gillian Welch album for six years, the next best thing will be coming out next month. David Rawlings, Welch's long-time partner in musical crime, will release the debut album from the Dave Rawlings Machine titled A Friend of a Friend on November 7 via Acony Records.
Chatham County Line have released a pair free live tracks for those who are fans of the group on ReverbNation. The songs are "Route 23" and "Dark Clouds" recorded live in Charlotte, NC. They sound very nice and can be downloaded here (just click the down arrow to the right of the song title in the player).
I Was Totally Destroying It dropped by Schoolkids Records in Raleigh on Tuesday to celebrate the release of their new album Horror Vacui. Instead of the typical short in-store set, the band played a full hour of music from all three of their releases (check out the full set list below).
The Converse, XX Merge video series ends today with a the performance we've been waiting for from The Rosebuds. Not surprisingly, the guerrilla footage shot at Jackpot in Raleigh back in July didn't make it online. It was so dark in there, I can't imagine much of the footage was usable. But they did film this performance of "Leaves Do Fall" at Raleigh Denim on the same day. Check it out here.
The newest release by the Knoxville-based Royal Bangs, Let It Beep, is a like an entire pack of gummy bears melted together on a hot day: strange, but colorful and delicious. 
The final venue for the upcoming Troika Music Festival has been revealed and it's a doozey. The 2,800 capacity Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) will become a smaller venue on Thursday, November 5 when the stage becomes "Backstage at the DPAC."
The final video of The Avett Brothers series has made it's way to the web via an unusual source. The band held a photo contest to allow a fan to host the video on their personal page. Here is the winning photo and the final video is available on Rhonda's (the winner) MySpace page. It features the final track from I and Love and You titled "Incomplete and Insecure."
Another best of the decade list is out and once again the Triangle is represented. This list comes from the UK magazine Uncut who lists their top 150 albums of the 2000s.
Singer/songwriter Brendan Benson, best known as Jack White's songwriting partner in crime in The Raconteurs, is hitting the road in November to support his new album My Old, Familiar Friend released in August. The tour will stop in Carrboro at the Cat's Cradle on Thursday, December 10. Cory Chisel will open the show. 
The latest XX Merge take-away video has hit the web and it features the excellent Wye Oak performing "Take It In." It was filmed in a parking lot in Chapel Hill on Franklin Street. Jenn Wasner is playing her guitar through a little Pignose amp slung over her shoulder and Andy Stack is playing a floor tom and a tambourine. Check out the video here.
The Avett Brothers made another network television appearance last night on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. The band played a loose, rag-tag version of "Laundry Room" from their newly released album I and Love and You. Check out a video of the performance below thanks to the always swift AudioPerv.
Have you been wondering how you're going to ring in 2010? Yes I know it's still over two months away, but you might want to consider spending the evening with The Love Language in Chapel Hill and Local 506. 
On the heels of their new found success after the release of the documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil, the Canadian band are set to hit the road on a headline tour in early 2010. Unfortunately, the tour won't stop in the Triangle, but it will stop in Charlotte at the Fillmore on January 19. Tickets for the show will go on sale this Friday, October 9 at 10 a.m. here. A pre-sale begins today, October 6 at 10 a.m. here too.
Maybe in a broad musical context, I Was Totally Destroying It isn't breaking any new ground with their sophomore release, Horror Vacui, but when you consider where they were in 2007, the band has come a long way. 
Driving around running errands this afternoon, I caught an interesting interview with Ramseur Records founder Dolphus Ramseur on The State of Things.
U2 may have put on one hell of a show at Carter-Finley, but they're pretty crappy tippers. 
We didn't shell out the cash to go U2's show at Carter Finley Stadium tonight, but we've been following the happenings online and even parked across the way for a bit and heard "One," "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" and "With or Without You." They all sounded massive.
This post gets us very close to wrapping The Avett Brothers I and Love and You video series. This week three new videos were released including "Ill With Want" via No Depression, "Tin Man" via ShockHound and "Slight Figure of Speech" via AbsolutePunk. Check out each of the videos after the break.
Once again, Merge Records is well represented on one of Pitchfork's top music of the decade lists. This time, the label grabbed seven places of the site's list of the 200 best albums of the 2000s, including the number two spot with Arcade Fire's Funeral. You can't complain when the only album that beta you is Kid A. Spoon landed a whopping three spots on the list with their highest ranking being Kill the Moonlight at number 19.
Built To Spill's new album There Is No Enemy will be released this Tuesday, October 6, but it's available to stream now on the band's MySpace page. Check out the barnburning tune titled "Pat." It's full-on rock and roll.
Remember that Kanye West and Lady Gaga tour we told you about just a few weeks ago that included a show in Greensboro? Well, it's already canceled. No reason has been given for the cancellation, but at least tickets for the Greensboro show hadn't gone on sale yet.
Exciting news out of the Triangle this morning as Pitchfork announces that Chapel Hill's own The Love Lanuage have signed to Merge Records.
On a snowy afternoon in early 2009, Ohio-based Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney gathered his friends, who also happened to be drummers from Ohio, and – go figure – formed a band called Drummer. Carney plays bass and Jamie Stillman of Teeth of Hydra (guitar), Jon Finley of Beaten Awake (vocals, guitar), Stephen Clements of Houseguest and Six Parts Seven (keys, vocals) and Greg Boyd of Ghostman and Sandman (drums) complete the lineup.
The Triangle's own immigrants from Venus are gearing up for another big tour. Of course I'm talking about Valient Thorr. The bearded rockers will kick-off a U.S. tour on Wednesday, October 7, right here in Raleigh. They will play The Pour House with Early Man, White Tiger and The Bed of Roses. Tickets will be $10 at the door and the show will start at 10 p.m.