Two more bands added to XX Merge Fest

We're less than three weeks away from the big XX Merge Fest in Carrboro and Merge has just added two more bands to the line-up for the July 22-25 Cat's Cradle shows.

The first is Pure, from Asheville. The band hasn't played together since the early 90s but will be reuniting for the festival. Merge actually only released one 7" by the band in 1991.

The second is the New Zealand band 3Ds who haven't played a show in the United States since touring with Superchunk in 1994. They haven't released an album since 1996's Strange News From the Angels.

So that's two reunions added for the festival. Are there more to come? We'll have to wait and see.

Check out the rest of the line-up here.

Dex Romweber Duo bring rockabilly to Duke Gardens

The Dex Romweber Duo came, saw and conquered the stage at the Duke Gardens on Wednesday night. The brother and sister duo, Dexter and Sara, tore through an hour-long set of raucous rockabilly and 50's inspired rock.

The set included a number of songs from the group's latest album, Ruins of Berlin, including the title track, "Picture," "Lookout," "Love Letters" and "Cigarette Party." Dexter moved around the stage, wailing on his old Silvertone guitar, soaked in reverb. I haven't heard rockabilly sound that good in a long time.

Merge video retrospective: The Clientele - "House on Fire"

We've reached double digits now in our Merge Video Retrospective series. The 10th video comes from The Clientele's 2003 album The Violet Hour. It's for the song "House on Fire" and was shot in black and white on Super 8 film. It's a cool, art house sort of video which is a suitable aesthetic for the dreamy, Pink Floyd-esque tune.

Click here for the rest of the Merge Video Retrospective series.

The Rosebuds named best "new" artist in NC?

Here's a little something I found funny, yet cool. The Rosebuds were just named the "Best New Indie Band" in North Carolina by The Phoenix Boston, an arts and entertainment publication in New England. It seems that they're a little behind in what Triangle residents and much of the rest of the country have known for a long time. It also makes you wonder if they don't realize the band have released fourth full-length albums on Merge Records. Either way, it's a nice nod for the band.

The Phoenix Boston also named one of my favorite soulful songstresses, Cary Ann Hearst, as the "Best New Indie Band" in South Carolina. This one makes a little more sense considering she hasn't had a lot of national exposure, though she deserves it. You can download two of her songs from Phoenix here.

New music from The Films - "Holiday"

One of my favorite bands around, The Films, have just digitally released their sophomore album titled Oh, Scorpio. The album is ten tracks of smart, catchy indie-pop produced by producer and quite the songwriter himself, Butch Walker.

While the band's debut album Don't Dance Rattlesnake was full throttle, brick wall mastered collection, Oh, Scorpio is more subtle and features the folksier side of the band. Download the song "Holiday" from the album below.

Oh, Scorpio was digitally released on June 23 via iTunes and a physical release, including both CD and vinyl, is supposed to happen soon.

No tour dates are scheduled, but hopefully the band will hit the road in support of the album before the end of the year.

The Films - "Holiday" (mp3)