The Walkmen sell 'You & Me' for charity, play the Cradle

The new album from The Walkmen titled You & Me is not officially released until August 19, but you can download the album now for $5 from Amie Street. The pre-release sales will benefit the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. So go get 14 tracks for $5 and support a great cause.

In other Walkmen news, the band will be playing the Cat's Cradle on October 2. Tickets for the show will be $12 in advance and will be available via etix.com. The band last played the Triangle in April opening for Spoon. Check out a review of that show here.

You can pre-order You & Me on CD here.

The Walkmen - "In the New Year" (mp3)

Ray LaMontagne announces tour to support new album

Soulful softspoken troubadour Ray LaMontagne will release his third album titled Gossip In the Grain on October 14 via RCA Records. LaMontagne will support the album with a North American tour this fall.

Leona Naess will open for LaMontagne on the entire tour. She is also featured on two tracks on Gossip In the Grain.

The tour will include a stop at Meymandi Hall in Raleigh on October 16. Tickets for that show will go on sale to the general public on August 12 at 10AM, but an internet pre-sale begins tomorrow, August 1 at 10AM. Tickets prices will range from $27 to $31 and will be available via the ticket giant.

Listen to the track "Let It Be Me" from Gossip In the Grain here.

Pre-order Gossip In the Grain here.

Ray LaMontagne tour dates with Leona Naess:
Sept 30 - Murat Theatre - Indianapolis, IN
Oct 1 - Chicago Theatre - Chicago, IL
Oct 3 - Union Theatre - Madison, WI
Oct 4 - State Theatre - Minneapolis, MN
Oct 6 - Royal Oak Music Theatre - Royal Oak, MI
Oct 7 - Queen Elizabeth Theatre - Toronto, ON
Oct 9 - Opera House - Boston, MA
Oct 10 - Opera House - Boston, MA
Oct 11 - Radio City Music Hall - New York, NY
Oct 13 - Keswick Theatre - Philadelphia, PA
Oct 14 - The Strathmore Music Center - Washington, DC
Oct 16 - Meymandi Concert Hall - Raleigh, NC
Oct 17 - Bijou Theatre - Knoxville, TN
Oct 18 - The Tabernacle - Atlanta, GA
Oct 19 - Ryman Auditorium - Nashville, TN
Oct 21 - Uptown Theatre - Kansas City, MO
Oct 23 - Verizon Wireless Theatre - Houston, TX
Oct 24 - Majestic Theatre - Dallas, TX
Oct 25 - Paramount Theatre - Austin, TX
Oct 27 - Macky Auditorium - Boulder, CO
Oct 28 - Murray Theatre - Salt Lake City, UT
Oct 30 - Wiltern Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
Nov 1 - Spreckels Theatre - San Diego, CA
Nov 3 - Paramount Theatre - Oakland, CA
Nov 5 - Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall - Portland, OR
Nov 6 - McDonald Theatre - Eugene, OR
Nov 8 - Vogue Theatre - Vancouver, BC
Nov 9 - Marion Oliver McCaw Hall - Seattle, WA

The Physics of Meaning set to release new album

Local chamber rock collective The Physics of Meaning, led by Daniel Hart (of St. Vincent and John Vanderslice's band), are gearing up to release their second full-length album. It's titled Snake Charmer and Destiny at the Stroke of Midnight. The album will be released via Trekky Records on October 16.

Snake Charmer was engineered by Mark Paulson (who has worked with The Rosebuds and Bowerbirds) and Alex Lazara (of The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers). The album features orchestral instrumentation as well as a choir, but also features an all-star team of local musicians. Hart solicited the help Adam Baker (of Annuals) and Annie Clark (of St. Vincent) for the album as well as members of Megafaun and Des Ark.

The Physics of Meaning plan to hit the road in the fall to support the album. No dates have been confirmed yet.

Check out the song "Aeroplanes and Hurricanes" from the album below.

The Physics of Meaning - "Aeroplanes and Hurricanes" (mp3)

The Rosebuds get 'Life Like' in October

The big local albums just keep rolling out this year. The Rosebuds will release their fourth full-length record on October 7 titled Life Like.

The band have reportedly returned to the breezy, acoustic sound of some of their earlier records while still retaining some of the dance elements of Night of the Furies. Touring drummer and Portastatic member Matthew McCaughan plays on the record which will also feature Rosebuds friends Justin Vernon (of Bon Iver) and Jim Brantley (of Ashley Stove/Bull City).

Life Like track list:

1. Life Like
2. Cape Fear
3. Border Guards
4. Bow to the Middle
5. Nice Fox
6. Another Way In Concordia Military
7. Club
8. Hello Darling
9. Black Hole
10. In the Backyard

There are no tour dates on the books yet, but The Rosebuds will play a benefit show for Cy Rawls with Superchunk and Birds of Avalon on August 29 at the Cat's Cradle.

Check out this preview of the new album, which features photos by the talented Tim Lytvinenko.

Sunfold play short, tight set in Chapel Hill

Sunfold wrapped up their brief tour in support of Toy Tugboats Tuesday night in Chapel Hill.

The band played a short headlining set (about 45 minutes) for about 100 people which frontman Kenny Florence said was the biggest crowd they'd played for on the tour.

The set included songs from Toy Tugboats, the Wet Zoo EP as well as an Annuals song. The band played "Ease My Mind" from the Big Zeus EP (released in the UK; the track can also be found on the Frelen Mas b-sides compilation on iTunes). Kenny sings that song live in Annuals, so it was a logical inclusion in the set.

The band was tight and the set sounded flawless. Kenny was definitely the star of the evening though. His Buckley-esque voice sounded perfect all night and he showed off his virtuoso guitar skills as well.

The crowd seemed a little disappointed when there was no encore, but Kenny came out and said that they had nothing else to play.

Local band, Lonnie Walker opened to show with an eclectic set of tunes influenced by everything from Bob Dylan to 90s alt-rock. The band has a lot of potential though and a great presence on stage.

Sunfold will most likely be put on the back burner for a while in order to gear up for Annuals new album due out in October, but local shows will most likely pop up during Annuals' breaks. We'll keep you posted.

[all photos by Kevin Norris]

Sunfold


Lonnie Walker