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- News in Brief: Dark Was the Night, 50 Cent/Rick Ross, Quasimoto, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart
- News in Brief: Wichita Recordings, Hot Leg, Murder City Devils, Thank You/Mi Ami
- News in Brief: Animal Collective, DFA, Robyn Hitchcock, It Hugs Back
- News in Brief: Run-DMC, DMX, Opeth, Enslaved, Crippled Black Phoenix, Tim Exile
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
Strokes bassist Nikolai Fraiture is the latest member of the band to start a side project. Regina Spektor and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Nick Zinner guest.
[Joshua Klein]Fusing hip-hop and punk, the third solo record from this Minneapolis-based rapper and member of the Doomtree collective is his tightest album yet.
[Nate Patrin]Ben Chasny illuminates the more neglected corners of his dense discography on the 2xCD/triple-vinyl set RTZ, which takes from split 12" releases, subscription-only CDs, and Chasny's personal tape stash, plus a reissue of 1999's Nightly Trembling album, whose original release (as legend has it) was limited to 33 copies.
[Stuart Berman]Minneapolis pop-punk band returns with its first studio album since 2002, a politically-focused record that shades typically rowdy moments with a newfound maturity.
[Jason Crock]Chicago-based bar band on Secretly Canadian adds some additional instrumentation on their second full length, but still lives and dies on the strength of lead singer George Hunter's voice.
[Evan McGarvey]Tue: 02-03-09
Mon: 02-02-09
Fri: 01-30-09
Thu: 01-29-09
Forkcast
- Pitchfork.tv: El Guincho: Various Songs on "Pitchfork Live" - Part 1
- New Music: Gospel Gossip: "Nashville" [MP3/Stream]
- New Music: The Lonely Island [ft. T-Pain]: "I'm On a Boat" [Stream]
- New Audio: Rivers Cuomo: “By The Side of the Road" (poem for Daytrotter's Bookery) [Stream]
- Pitchfork.tv: Cut Off Your Hands: "Turn Cold" [Video Premiere]
- New Music: Speech Debelle: "The Key" [MP3/Stream]
- Premiere: Booker T. With Drive-By Truckers and Neil Young: "Warped Sister" [Stream]
Features
Interview: Franz Ferdinand
After bringing intelligent, glamorous pop music to the masses, Franz Ferdinand have returned as a commerical force-- debuting songs in video games, collaborating with rap superstars-- but still are looking to expand their sonic palatte on their more exploratory new album, Tonight.
[Stuart Berman]While We Were Out...
Catching up with last week's reviews, including our takes on the new records from Bruce Springsteen and Franz Ferdinand, EP collaborations between Hot Chip and Robert Wyatt and Jon Brion and Of Montreal, and yet another pair of wonderful Optimo-related mixes.
[Pitchfork Staff]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]