News
Best New Music
On The Crying Light, Antony Hegarty remains fascinated with the transitions and overlaps between birth and life, life and death, this world and the next, but he expresses them in more universal, more direct, but no less rapturous terms than he did on his New York-tinted breakthrough I Am a Bird Now.
Anticipated to an almost ridiculous degree, no one looking forward to the latest Animal Collective record-- out tomorrow on vinyl and digitally, and on CD in two weeks-- will be disappointed. Everything that's defined the band to this point has here been refined and amplified into a record that captures the group's quirky and forwardly expressive style.
Reviews
Two outstanding new mixes from Glasgow's Optimo-- one from the partnership of JG Wilkes and JD Twitch and one from Twitch alone-- continue the pair's winning streak, following How to Kill the DJ (Part Two) (2004), Psyche Out (2005) and Walkabout (2007), and help cement the duo as one of the most essential DJ teams of the decade. [Recommended]
[Philip Sherburne]The fourth release in Superchunk's live, limited-edition Clambake series, Sur La Bouche: Live in Montreal 1993 finds the band endearingly devoid of bullshit and devoted to writing songs powered by things often, oddly missing from today's indie rock: energy and volume.
[Grayson Currin]On his new album, indie-twee songwriter Loney Dear taps a surprising a vein of melancholy...and it suits him.
[Jayson Greene]Los Angeles-based duo, whose conceptual work is often discussed in the context of Animal Collective, release a sketchbook of their diverse musical influences that throws a lot of stuff at the wall; it's remarkable how much of it sticks.
[Brian Howe]The first album by former members of Pacific Northwest art-punk ex-bands Pretty Girls Make Graves and Blood Brothers moves easily between club punk, pop metal, prog, and classic rock on the strength of Johnny Whitney's shape-shifting voice.
[Eric Harvey]Wed: 01-28-09
Tue: 01-27-09
Mon: 01-26-09
Fri: 01-23-09
Forkcast
- Pitchfork.tv: Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys: "Trouble Weighs a Ton" [Video Premiere]
- New Music: Sufjan Stevens: "You Are the Blood" (Castanets cover) [Stream]
- New Music: Name the Pet: "Get on the Bus" [Stream/Video]
- On Repeat: Real Estate: "Black Lake" [MP3/Stream]
- New Music: Scarlett Johansson: "Last Goodbye" (Jeff Buckey cover) [Stream]
- New Music: Grizzly Bear and Feist: "Service Bell" [Stream]
- Video: Ted Leo / Brian Fallon of the Gaslight Anthem: "Dancing in the Dark" / "Backstreets" (Bruce Springsteen covers)
Features
Interview: Buzzcocks
As they tour Europe performing their classic albums, the two original members of the influential punk band talk about reissues, riots, and throwing bricks through windows.
[Patrick Sisson]Interview: Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett
We spoke to the duo behind Gorillaz about their new project, Monkey, as well as such controversial subjects as the disintegration of the West, why Africa is the future of the world, cultural tourism, and Vampire Weekend.
[Scott Plagenhoef]Column: Puritan Blister #42
Kanye West's 808s and Heartbreak isn't just the album of the winter, it's a major pop achievement. And it's a potential salve for those whose personal experiences this month aren't dominated by hope and change.
[William Bowers]Guest List: Max Tundra
Max Tundra talks to us about overcoming his addiction to a web-based word game, the prank phone call that had BBC censors working overtime, and his preference for Polish audiences. [Interview: Tyler Grisham]
[Ben Jacobs]Live Review: Lincoln Memorial Concert and Big Shoulders Ball
This historic week in Washington, D.C. included a lot of music. Pitchfork's Stephen M. Deusner braved the cold at the Lincoln Memorial to catch sets by Bruce Springsteen, U2, and Stevie Wonder, and then attended the Big Shoulders Ball at the Black Cat a day later to see acts including Andrew Bird with members of Tortoise, Ted Leo, Eleventh Dream Day, and Freakwater.
[Stephen M. Deusner]Interview: Animal Collective
As they prepared to head out on tour in support of their tremendous new record Merriweather Post Pavilion, we spoke to Avey Tare, Panda Bear, and Geologist of Animal Collective about their long history, their relative lack of musical chops, early Pavement singles, and the critical importance of album sequencing.
[Mark Richardson]