Monday, June 15

News in Brief: Soulsavers, Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs, the Howling Bells, Teenbeat Takeover

-- On August 17 in the UK, V2/Cooperative will release Broken, the third album from the depressive British production crew Soulsavers. The album features a ton of guest appearances from elegantly debauched underground rock royalty. Mark Lanegan, Mike Patton, Richard Hawley, Spiritualized frontman Jason Pierce, and lead Butthole Surfer Gibby Haynes all stop by. (It's due for a September release in the U.S. on Columbia.)

-- Matthew Sweet and the Bangles' Susanna Hoffs love the 70s. The power-pop mercenary and the Bangles frontwoman will soon release Under the Covers, Vol. 2, their second collection of covers. The album is due July 21 from Shout! Factory. Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham, Yes's Steve Howe, and George Harrison scion Dhani Harrison all make guest appearances.

-- On July 28, Australian narco-rockers the Howling Bells will release sophomore album Radio Wars on Nettwerk. They'll open for Coldplay on tour this summer.

-- A whole mob of Nuggets-era mainstays will converge on Montreal August 6-8 for the Teenbeat Takeover Wooly Weekend! festival. ? and the Mysterians, the Electric Prunes, Love (minus Arthur Lee, of course), and Seeds frontman Sky Saxon will all take part. Fun fact: Despite the festival's name, it's been a while since any of these dudes were teens.

Posted by Tom Breihan on June 15, 2009 at 9:40 a.m.

Tags: Album, Festival, Matthew Sweet, Soulsavers, Susanna Hoffs, Teenbeat Takeover, The Howling Bells

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Friday, June 12

New Release: BLK JKS: After Robots

New Release: BLK JKS: <i>After Robots</i>

Artist: BLK JKS
Album: After Robots
Release Date: September 8
Label: Secretly Canadian

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New Release: Felix Da Housecat: He Was King

New Release: Felix Da Housecat: <i>He Was King</i>

Artist: Felix Da Housecat
Album: He Was King
Release Date: August 25
Label: Nettwerk

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Thursday, June 11

Sally Shapiro Announces Second Album

The disco enigma returns with My Guilty Pleasure. Sally Shapiro Announces Second Album

After charming blog boys (and girls?) with her icy-hot brand of dance-pop on 2006's Disco Romance, nonplussed Swedish disco princess Sally Shapiro is readying her official follow-up, My Guilty Pleasure, for release August 25 via Paper Bag.

Produced by Shapiro's right hand man Johan Agebjörn, Guilty Pleasure also includes contributions from Cloetta Paris and Tensnake. The single "Miracle hits North American stores June 16, backed by a remix by Bogdan Irkük. The song is currently streaming on this very website.

In a press release, the notoriously shy chanteuse said the new album will "hopefully make you fall in love with the person sitting next to you on the bus." Creepy, Reader's Digest-reading old guy in the back, this is your lucky day.

Tracklist is below:

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New Release: Brendan Benson: My Old, Familiar Friend

New Release: Brendan Benson: <i>My Old, Familiar Friend</i>

Artist: Brendan Benson
Album: My Old, Familiar Friend
Release Date: August 18
Label: ATO

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Wednesday, June 10

New Release: Flying Lotus: L.A. EP 3 X 3

New Release: Flying Lotus: <i>L.A. EP 3 X 3</i>

Artist: Flying Lotus
EP: L.A. EP 3 X 3
Release Date: July 20
Label: Warp

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New Release: Blues Control: Local Flavor

New Release: Blues Control: <i>Local Flavor</i>

Artist: Blues Control
Album: Local Flavor
Release Date: July 14
Label: Siltbreeze

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Tuesday, June 9

Drive-By Truckers Rarities Comp, DVD Due

When the Drive-By Truckers put out a rarities album, they don't half-ass it. The forthcoming The Fine Print (A Collection Of Oddities and Rarities 2003-2008), due September 1 from New West, includes a whole mess of unfinished songs that the Southern rockers recently dug from their vaults. But rather than releasing the unfinished songs as is, the way most bands would've done, the Truckers actually went ahead and finished those tracks.

The band originally recorded more than half of the songs around the time they made 2004's The Dirty South, arguably their best album. The album features a few covers, including takes on Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" and Tom Petty's "Rebels". That's the cover art for The Fine Print above, and the tracklist is below.

Also forthcoming is a DVD of the band's set on the PBS series "Austin City Limits". New West will release the DVD, entitled Live From Austin, TX, on July 7. That tracklist is also below.