Being a big fan of Beirut, I was somewhat worried when last year's European Tour was cancelled. Zach Condon announced last April that the time had come for what Hunter S. Thompson would call 'an agonising reappraisal of the entire situation'. A letter was posted by Zach on the band's website which painted a bleak future:
"It's come time to change some things, reinvent some others, and come back at some point with a fresh perspective and batch of songs".
Well, contrary to the concerns of those more pessimistic amongst us, Beirut's return is now imminent. Less than a year on the band have scheduled some European dates in support of a forthcoming double EP. February 17th sees the release of 'March of the Zapotec' & 'Holland', both of which see Condon continue his geographically based musical journey. Where 'The Gulag Orkestar' showcased Balkan music & 'The Flying Club Cup' visited France, 'March of the Zapotec' takes in the world of Mexican funeral music (and is performed by a 19 piece Mexican band).
'Holland', on the other hand, is less straightforward. Though it's title might be the least ambiguous of Condon's records, the music is not, as one would expect, a collection of Dutch-inspired tunes. The songs are instead, according to Condon himself, along the "epic synth-pop" lines, while still containing Beirut's trademark heavy brass elements. This makes me excited.
One track from the latter EP has already surfaced online, and will give you an idea of what to expect (candid titles & minimal electro). My verdict is positive.
Beirut- My Night With The Prostitute From Marseille
The EPs will be released as one unit, appearing to be a split between Beirut & a band called Realpeople (though Realpeople is really just a pseudonym for Condon). What makes me (possibly) more excited than these EPs is the prospect of a European tour. Since TFCC Beirut have been firmly established as a band I must see live, and this tour may well be my oppertunity. No Irish dates on the cards (yet?), but a hop over to London for the Forum show doesn't seem too outlandish. Just let me speak to the good people at Visa...
Full Tour dates and bonus mp3 in the readmore.
Hamburg: Fabrik (May 3)
Amsterdam: Paradiso (May 5)
Brussels: Cirque Royal (May 6)
London: The Forum (May 8)
Minehead: All Tomorrow's Parties - The Fans Strike Back (May 9)
Paris: Bataclan (May 12)
Bonus Beirut related mp3 from one of 2009's up-and-comings:
Florence and the Machine- Postcards from Italy (Beirut cover)
Beirut Return!
PAS CHIC CHIC - FREE MUSIC DOWNLOAD AND EUROPEAN TOUR
Pas Chic Chic are leaving for European Tour next week and as a gift have made some demo material available for download on paschicchic.com.
demo versions of Haydée morcelée, En chaîne et en vogue, and Aude aux ondes.
download demos here
No Irish dates on the tour so far but things might change (fingers crossed)
Blizzards Return
Mullingar's The Blizzards have come a long way in the last few years- working their way up the stages at Oxegen and picking up a few awards while they were at it. The lads are about to release album number two (pictured above), and have now debuted it's lead single online.
As one can see from the video they've really tightened up their sound and are obviously still enjoying themselves (note the gratuitious 'Let's fucking SMASH this fucking piano!!').
Can they topple the mighty onslaught of the incoming Fight Like Apes album to be declared most favoriteist Irish Indie Sensation? We shall have to wait and see...
The boys are on tour during September & October. Dates and Blizzard-assisted time wasting in the readmore...
12 Sep 16:30 Zavvi-Dundrum Dublin
13 Sep 13:00 Tower Records Dublin
13 Sep 17:30 Heartbeat City Mullingar
14 Sep 14:00 Heartbeat City Tullamore
14 Sep 17:30 Zhivago Galway
15 Sep 16:30 Zavvi Cork
16 Sep 16:30 Heartbeat City Kilkenny
16 Sep Electric Ave Waterford
17 Sep 16:30 Zavvi Athlone
17 Sep Scribes Student Bar Athlone
18 Sep 13:00 CD World Drogheda
18 Sep 16:30 Golden Discs Maynooth
19 Sep Dinn Ri Carlow
20 Sep The Chasin Bull Bundoran
25 Sep Clarence Sligo
26 Sep TF Theatre Castlebar
27 Sep Sky Venue Portlaoise
2 Oct Savoy Cork
4 Oct Dolans Warehouse Limerick
9 Oct Mc Hughes Drogheda
11 Oct The Academy Dublin
16 Oct Spirit Store Dundalk
17 Oct Roisin Dubh Galway
Blizzards-assisted time wasting provided by: this operation-style flash game.
It makes me want to track down the old board game...
The Faint Hit Europe
The Faint have announced dates for their forthcoming European tour, which see them hitting the usual spots: Paris, London, Laois... etc.
The shows are bound to be fantastic, as The Faint are easily one of the best live bands I've ever seen. In fact, I'll be trekking over to the UK myself to catch one (at least one).
For anyone who missed it, here's The Geeks Were Right, the first track to surface from their new album Fasciinatiion, which is released on August 5th.
The Faint- The Geeks Were Right
Click for mp3
Tour dates in the readmore...
27 Aug 2008 : Thekla, Bristol
28 Aug 2008: The Ruby Lounge, Manchester
29 Aug 2008 : Cargo , London
30 Aug 2008 : Electric Picnic , Laois
31 Aug 2008 : Hydro Connect Festival, Argyll
2 Sep 2008 : Rotonde , Brussels
3 Sep 2008 : Doornroosje, Nijmegen
4 Sep 2008 : Melkweg, Amsterdam
5 Sep 2008 : Maria, Berlin
6 Sep 2008 : Vega , Copenhagen
7 Sep 2008 : John Dee , Oslo
8 Sep 2008 : Debaser Slussen, Stockholm
10 Sep 2008: Den Atelier , Luxembourg
11 Sep 2008: La Maronquinerie, Paris
Check out egoeccentric's Interview with Jacob Thiele of The Faint here.
Arm's Way
Islands are gearing up to go on tour to promote their new album Arm's Way out May 20 through Anti Records (pictured isnt it pretty) they will be dragging crayonsmith along for 14 gigs across the USA this June.
Tracklisting for Arm's Way
Arm's Way:
01 The Arm
02 Pieces of You
03 J'aime Vous Voir Quitter
04 Abominable Snow
05 Creeper
06 Kids Don't Know Shit
07 Life In Jail
08 In the Rushes
09 We Swim
10 To a Bond
11 I Feel Evil Creeping In
12 Vertigo (If It's a Crime)
gig details in the read more
Islands with crayonsmith support
June 12th: Neumos, Seattle, WA
June 13th: Hawthorne, Portland, OR
June 14th: Indigo District, Eugene, OR
June 16th: Bimbo's, San Francisco, CA
June 17th: Henry Fonda Theater, LA, CA
June 18th: Epicentre , San Diego, CA
June 20th: Club Congress, Tucson, AZ
June 21st: Club House, Phoenix, AZ
June 23rd: Emo's, Austin, TX
June 24th: Granada, Dallas, TX
June 25th: Walter’s, Houston, TX
June 26th: Tipitinas, New Orleans, LA
June 27th: Masquerade, Atlanta, GA
June 28th: Venue TBA, Chapel Hill
Upcoming Crayonsmith gigs in Ireland
April 10th: Dolan’s Upstairs, Limerick (Guests: Bats)
April 11th: The Whiskey, Cork (Guests: Private Underground Residence)
April 12th: Roisín Dubh, Galway (Guests to Fight Like Apes)
April 16th: The Limelight, Belfast (w/ Two Door Cinema Club)
April 19th: The Academy, Dublin(Guests: Cap Pas Cap & Bats)
April 26th: Andrew’s Lane Theatre, Dublin (Guests to Why?)
"Creeper" by Islands (preview)
The Arm by Islands (preview)
Crayonsmith news
Crayonsmiths album 'White Wonder' is on sale tomorrow (4/april) and to celebrate this the lads are playin a gig in the Roisin Dubh in Galway with Kilcoole's finest instrumentalists ENEMIES tonight (3/april). The gig is free in and if your near you should totally go.
Tomorrow Crayonsmith play an instore in Tower Records, Wicklow St Dublin tomorrow at 6pm.This will be followed by a short set in the Sugar Club as part of an IMRO showcase.
Also they have just been asked to support ISLANDS on there US tour , great news for the lads , the tour will be a 2 - 6 weeks affair.
