Not long ago, we featured Silverlake, CA-based Local Natives on our Podcast. Now, they have a new album, Gorilla Manor, in the works, and it oughta be good. They have also recorded some live tracks over at Daytrotter–including the excellent “Airplanes”.
They’ll also be playing SxSW in late March. Be sure to check ’em out if you’re in town.
Dates after the jump.
Lots of Beatles, Kinks, Dylan…
The below tracks have been culled from years of research and dozens of live shows. Not every song has the greatest recording fidelity, but as much as possible, I chose the tapes with the best combination of performance and sound for this collection…It should be noted that Elliott Smith was a fan of the bands he covered—most of these were not one-offs, but songs he performed regularly. His Texas heritage is on display when he sings Willie Nelson, his pop influences as he strums the Kinks, the same for Big Star, and his beloved Beatles. He took his covers very seriously, too: at many a live show, he wouldn’t play a request because he didn’t feel he could do it justice that night.
[Rawkblog]
Sure, everybody who has heard Neko Case knows she’s talented, and everybody who has seen her knows she’s beautiful. But did you know she’s also a good person? Turns out Ms. Case is unveiling the first single off her forthcoming Middle Cyclone album in a very classy way: by making a $5 donation to charity every time a blog reposts the song.
The donations will benefit the Best Friends Animal Society, which is kind of like PETA, except not scary. Middle Cyclone, the follow-up to Case’s incredible Fox Confessor Brings The Flood, is due out March 3rd and the smart money says it’ll be more fun than a poke in the eye.
So help us help Neko help animals by clicking here and downloading her song.
In an email sent to fans, the greatly pleased Decemberists have offered up, and we quote,
The first crack at downloading a song culled from our upcoming Long Player, The Hazards of Love, due out on Capitol Records on March 24th.”
In exchange for the song, interested parties may provide information at the Decemberists’ official website.
Lazy folks may simply click here.
The songs of singer-guitarist M. Ward seem to drift in on the crackling radio waves of a distant time. Warm and intimate, his largely acoustic and usually spare arrangements are a tribute to what Ward sees as the greatest era for American music: the 1950s and early ’60s, when singers like Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison infused country-rooted pop with honesty and romance. Ward’s latest album, Hold Time, continues this tradition, with a gorgeously produced mix of finger-picked guitars, upright bass and shuffling rhythms, all tied together by his achy voice.