The wait is over?

Thanks go out to Gorilla vs. Bear for spreading the exciting news that Radiohead’s new album is done and available to pre-order. It’s called In Rainbows and it will be available to download starting on October 10th. So far you can only order it from Radiohead’s website. You can choose to download it or to purchase the “discbox,” which is describe thusly by Radiohead:

THIS CONSISTS OF THE NEW ALBUM, IN RAINBOWS, ON CD
AND ON 2 X 12 INCH HEAVYWEIGHT VINYL RECORDS.
A SECOND, ENHANCED CD CONTAINS MORE NEW SONGS, ALONG WITH DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHS AND ARTWORK.
THE DISCBOX ALSO INCLUDES ARTWORK AND LYRIC BOOKLETS.
ALL ARE ENCASED IN A HARDBACK BOOK AND SLIPCASE.

THE ALBUM DOWNLOAD AUTOMATICALLY COMES WITH THIS PACK.
YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE FILE DIGITALLY FROM THE 10TH OCTOBER 2007.

DISCBOXES ARE BEING MADE TO ORDER AND ARE PRICED AT £40.00 INCLUDING POSTAGE.
SHIPPING WILL BEGIN ON OR BEFORE 3RD DECEMBER 2007.

It looks like this:

An exciting twist: while the discbox costs a whopping 40 pounds, it appears that you get to name your own price for the download. Observe:

After all the build-up, I think Radiohead has still managed to surprise everyone–I would expect no less from them. Who knows what the album will be like, but the way they’re going about releasing it already appears to be pretty innovative and ground-breaking. I’m looking forward to reading the mountains of hype and analysis that are sure to follow in the upcoming days. Not to mention listening to the album itself–my pre-order was confirmed by W.A.S.T.E. a few hours ago…I’m giddy.

Handsome Furs Hate Toronto…but not Seattle

Side projects, solo albums: these can be harbingers of an imminent breakup, a sign of discord and “creative differences,” as well as a source of simultaneous anxiety and giddiness among fans (Does this mean they’re breaking up? versus Sweet–a potentially amazing, definitely more obscure new album!) More than any other band I know, Wolf Parade has managed to avoid the possible pitfalls of the side project–despite practically all of them being involved with side projects: Spencer Krug with Sunset Rubdown, Dante DeCaro with Johnny and the Moon, and Dan Boeckner with Handsome Furs.  Oh, and Arlen Thompson has drummed for this band called the Arcade Fire.  Somehow, Wolf Parade not yet self-destructed under the combined weight of all these side projects. I’m impressed. They seem to have a really healthy balance going–instead of one guy seeing other musicians, making everyone else jealous, they all have their chance to slut around with other bands. Indie rock swingers. An open band relationship. Which is great, because now I get to enjoy me some Wolf Parade about four times as frequently as if they were musical monogamists.

The September 20th Handsome Furs show at the Crocodile, one such occasion of bonus Wolf Parade action, was everything I hoped it would be–and more. To start, there was a packed house, a rowdy, high-energy crowd, despite the fact that the Flaming Lips and Peter Bjorn and John were playing elsewhere in Seattle last night. Additionally, openers Johnny and the Moon–a four piece band fronted by Dante of Wolf Parade–surprised me with a foot-stomping set of harmonica-blaring, banjo-strumming folk rock. I had never listened to them before, so catching their set was an unexpected bonus. They’ll be playing the Croc again on October 24th opening for…you guessed it, another Wolf Parade side project, Sunset Rubdown.

And then there was Handsome Furs. I don’t know if they were just giddy from the welcoming crowd–which included more than a couple Canucks–after playing for an empty house in Portland the night before, or if they’re still riding some sort of newlywed afterglow, but Dan and Alexei’s energy and enthusiasm was contagious. Dan layered emotive, throaty vocals over jangly guitar licks while Alexei laid down some driving drum machine beats and swelling synth tones.

Oddly enough, Handsome Furs’ label Sub Pop doesn’t mention in their bio the fact that Dan and Alexei are a couple, only describing them as “Montreal residents Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry.”  It–their marital bliss, that is–was definitely part of the charm of their live show.  They both seemed so genuinely happy to be there performing together, exchanging love-charged high-fives, ribbing each other about hitting North Dakota on their honeymoon tour.  And it showed in their performance.  They both went at it full-throttle, Dan frantically strumming his guitar and Alexei throwing her whole body into twiddling the tiny knobs and switches on her drum machine, goofy smiles on their faces practically the whole time.

All in all, it was a thrilling performance.  Unfortunately, if you missed them it might be a while before you can see them play since they’re currently touring Europe.  With luck they’ll return just as lovestruck and charismatic as ever and play more shows with Dan’s bandmates.

Upcoming awesomeness

Here are some upcoming shows that I’m excited about…for a comprehensive compendium of Seattle area shows, I’m sure you already have Three Imaginary Girls’ calendar bookmarked.

Tonight (Thursday, 9/20): Handsome Furs at the Crocodile. One of the countless Wolf Parade offshoots (actually, my favorite of them), Handsome Furs is Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry. In case one Wolf Parade side project isn’t enough, Johnny & the Moon (featuring Dante of Wolf Parade) will be opening, along with Panda & Angel. Give Plague Park a listen if you haven’t already–I’m digging the sound (and the liner notes–nice Merle Haggard t-shirt, Alexei). You probably even have time to swing by the Fremont Sonic Boom to buy something from Swedish guest cashiers Peter, Bjorn, and John beforehand.

Haven’t seen the Arcade Fire yet? They’ll be rocking UW’s Hec Ed pavilion (a.k.a. “Band of America Arena”) next Monday, 9/24. Certainly not an ideal venue (cavernous stadium) or price ($39 before the requisite Ticketmaster gouging), but it’s certain to be an amazing show. LCD Soundsystem is opening. Tickets are indeed still available as I’m writing this.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah has two back to back nights at Neumo’s coming up Saturday 9/29 and Sunday 9/30. Not to worry–there won’t be one night of long songs and one of short songs. So you can probably just go one night.

Didn’t make it up to Anacortes for What the Heck? Just lost your driver’s license (or fake)? Have to work early on Wednesday, 10/3? Want to feel old even if you’re only 23? You’re in luck, because Mount Eerie will play the Vera Project on Tuesday, 10/2. This would be a good time to buy that new Mount Eerie book without paying for shipping.

And who could forget the annual three consecutive nights of Built to Spill at the Showbox? All-ages on Thursday, 10/4, 21+ on Friday 10/5 and Saturday 10/6. The tough part will be choosing which night(s) to go.

Animal Collective, live at Neumo’s

Watching Animal Collective’s show last Friday at Neumo’s, I was reminded of the disconnect that can exist between a band’s albums and their live shows.  I had been looking forward to the show for quite some time, as I had never before seen Animal Collective live, heard rave reviews of them from others who had, and thoroughly enjoyed not only Strawberry Jam, their latest, hot-off-the-press release, but also Panda Bear’s recent solo release Person Pitch.

The main difference between seeing Animal Collective live and listening to them at home?  At home, or on my iPod, I control the volume.  Not to be an old bastard, but I was a touch overwhelmed by the sheer loudness of the set.  Admittedly, this should not have been unexpected; I’ve been to plenty of other shows at Neumo’s that were louder than seemed necessary (and standing in any proximity to those huge hanging speakers–i.e. anywhere close to the stage–obviously contributes to the ear-blasting).  I even brought ear plugs, which, though they prevented that familiar day-after ringing, didn’t help to cut through the gut-rattling, filling-loosening bass thump that overwhelmed much of Animal Collective’s vast repertoire of subtler noises.  But maybe I just wasn’t on enough drugs.  Plenty of people were–like the guy next to me making shadow puppets on the back of another audience member and stroking another guy’s hair–and they all seemed to be really enjoying it.  Lesson learned?

All this is not to say that it was an unimpressive show; to the contrary, it was as mind-blowing as I had hoped.  I still don’t quite understand how three guys fiddling with knobs and switches perched above mountains of tangled cables can produce such a broad sonic palette and such coordinated, fluxing rhythms.  Even if I had the technical chops to understand exactly what they were doing, it would have been equally impressive.  Any complaints about electronics-driven live performances being less thrilling and dynamic than instrument-driven live shows don’t apply here, at least not in my opinion.  Although it was less apparent who was producing what sound, and how, there was no way not to be impressed by the technical skill and artistry required for three individuals to craft songs out of a mound of gear.

All in all, I’m glad I was there.  It wasn’t, for my personal tastes, an ideal show–I would have preferred a less rave-like environment–but it was still a memorable, thrilling performance.  I wouldn’t have missed it, but, on the other hand, I don’t think I would go again.

Basements versus Bumbershoot

On the eve of Bumbershoot, I found myself enjoying a most un-Bumbershoot-like experience: a show at the Healthy Times Fun Club–a spacious basement venue/dwelling. This was my first time there and I was quite taken with it. It was anything but commercial. Admission was free–though donations were encouraged–and there was a communal crock pot of chili in the kitchen. And forget overpriced drinks. We rolled in with a case of PBR that we left on the kitchen counter to share. The place was packed with a larger crowd than I had expected, but enough people seemed to know each other that everyone was overly polite and considerate. Even if the bands had been mediocre, I would have been impressed.

But they weren’t. In fact, they put on one hell of a show. Snowman Plan–a bass-drums-violin trio, backed by a laptop–kicked the night off with some wildly experimental music: jerky, start-and-stop rhythms accompanied by a broad spectrum of strange noises and instrumentation emanating from the laptop. Next up was Dark Meat, whose set, due to its overpowering volume and the cumulative effect of a series of PBR’s, is pretty fuzzy in my memory. They put on a solid performance, but in the context of the night it seemed somewhat generic. It didn’t help that they were preceded by the Snowman Plan’s inventive, unique set and followed by the visual and aural spectacle of the Beep Family Orchestra–not a misnomer, as there were somewhere in the ballpark of 13 people performing on stage (apparently my friends and I are bad at counting, because we couldn’t agree on one number). Featuring members of Snowman Plan, 2 drummers, and about 10 other musicians, the Beep Family Orchestra blazed through a remarkably coordinated, mostly instrumental set that culminated in a rousing version of the theme from Top Gun.

All in all, it was an amazing night. If you have the means, I highly recommend it. I’ll definitely be going back some time for some more chili, cheap beer, and great music.