LISTEN: Menomena - 'Moms'

Menomena may have become a duo since the release of 2010's excellent Mines with the departure of Brent Knopf, but Justin Harris and Danny Seim certainly haven't missed a step in their evolution. The Portland band continues to push the boundaries of their songwriting with today's release of Moms, their fifth studio album. These guys never disappoint. Spin all of Moms below.

REVIEW: Nada Surf - The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy

Nada Surf - The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy
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If there’s one thing ‘90s rock stalwarts Nada Surf have proved over the past 15 years since “Popular,” it’s that they are anything but a one-hit wonder band. A journey through their back catalog will provide one album after another of consistently strong power pop rock ‘n’ roll. When plenty of their ‘90s contemporaries have faded or lost their spark, Nada Surf only seem to get better as the years go by. On their seventh studio album, the case is no different as they tackle themes of youthful reminiscing, age, time, and the inevitably of what the future might bring.

Nada Surf Announce New Album, Share New Song for Download

Nada Surf will be releasing their new studio album, The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy, on January 24, 2012 through Barsuk (January 18th in Japan, January 23 in the UK/EU). This is the band's seventh full-length and comes on the heels of last year's covers album if i had a hi-fi. It's their first album of all new material since 2007's Lucky.

SEE & HEAR: Maps & Atlases - "Israeli Caves"

Maps & Atlases just released the music video for "Israeli Caves," the third single from last year's Perch Patchwork. What happens when a gang of "cowardly thieving redneck bears" steals the tricycle from a little boy? He trains hard, hunts down said bears, becomes a ninja, seeks revenge, and retrieves that bike. What else would he do? Watch the heartwarming, greatly entertaining piece below. It was filmed in the UK by Filmed by HandHeldCineClub.

The Globes Announce Debut Details, Download "Sister Songs" EP for Free

Early last year, a band called The Globes from Spokane, WA dropped a line and shared some of their music, before they inked a deal with Barsuk. The first two songs I heard from the band -- and shared on the site -- blew me away, once again proving that some of the most impressive bands out there aren't receiving the attention they truly deserve. So, it only seemed right, like the universe had done something just, when Barsuk signed the band.

The Globes are set to release their debut album, Future Self, on April 26 through Barsuk. To celebrate the release, the band is offering up their Sister Songs EP for FREE download right now on their Purevolume page (act quickly, as this offer is for a limited time only). The tracks ("Stay Awake" and "A Stitch Couldn't Save the World") on the aforementioned Globes post have been disabled by Mixtape Muse, but both songs can be found on the Sister Songs EP. You can also download "Stay Awake" below, which will appear on Future Self.

MP3: The Globes - "Stay Awake"

REVIEW: Menomena - Mines

Menomena - Mines
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Menomena is a unique band for multiple reasons, but what’s yielded a fair amount of press over their past few albums has been the band’s use of a particular piece of computer equipment. Instead of simply sitting down in a room with their instruments to work out songs, Menomena uses a computer program called the Digital Looping Recorder, or Deeler, programmed by band member Brent Knopf while he was in college. Deeler uses Max, a visual programming language for music and multimedia. For their new album, Mines, the band continued this creative trend, jamming and recording hundreds of ideas with Deeler that were later arranged to form songs.

Programming, or simply computer language in general, is rather analytical – the sort of thing that originates in the right side of the brain. The polar opposite, of course, is the creative, left side of the brain. And while Deeler seems rather analytical – mathematical even – it never hinders Menomena’s creative output. In fact, Deeler is more like the band’s color palette, providing them an opportunity to imagine possibilities they might otherwise miss, amplifying the creative power of that left side of the brain. It’s this mathematical approach that results in songs such as “TAOS” and “Tithe” that take advantage of open space, adding small but important details, such as that of a quick guitar string bend or an introductory symphony of thumb pianos.

Menomena's "TAOS": Hear It, Watch It Live

MP3: Menomena - "TAOS"

It's hard to categorize something that slithers through genres the way this song does. From '70s hard rock to alternative to progressive rock, Menomena display a technical acuity and grace in their ability to be eclectic without sacrificing direction or melody. The word "dynamic" seems highly applicable here not only for the changes in tone and range, but for the wild drumming, as well. There's a whole hell of a lot packed into these five minutes, but it never feels over embellished or too busy.

After the jump, watch a live performance of "TAOS" that Menomena did for Pitchfork TV.

SEE & HEAR: Ra Ra Riot - "Boy"

MP3: Ra Ra Riot - "Boy"

There's no denying the cheerful bounce of energy pulsing through "Boy." Whether it's the skipping synth line of the verse or the palm-muted bass and guitar riffs running together, the mood here is uplifting and rather optimistic. It's an enjoyably well-arranged track, with cello and violin adding a warm texture that lends itself to making the song feel more timeless than it is in reality -- and there's nothing wrong with that. Cozy up with "Boy" and fend off the winter months that will soon bear down upon us.

Watch the Adam Levite-directed video for "Boy" after the hop. If you dig lots of cats, lots of lights, this cat, and older gentlemen tapdancing while dressed in 18th century garb, it's totally the video for you.

LISTEN: NPR Gives a Sneak Peak into Ra Ra Riot's The Orchard

We've got some good news and we've got some better news.

After teasing us with videos all summer, Ra Ra Riot will finally release their second LP The Orchard (Barsuk) on August 24.  That's the good news.

The better news is, in their infinite wisdom the people over at NPR's First Listen are letting us into the album in its entirety all this week. You can check it out for yourself, here. Boom.  At first impression, the Syracuse band have a beautiful collection of songs put together. Look for a review closer to or soon after the release date. 

The Orchard (VERY LIMITED EDITION CD + DVD) is available on Amazon for pre-order.

Tour dates after the leap.

Phantogram Announce Fall Headlining Tour

New York duo Phantogram have announced dates for a fall headlining tour of the U.S. The band is touring in support of the MM-approved Eyelid Movies out now on Barsuk.

Phantogram stopped at the IFC house to tape a session during this year's SXSW. Highlights from the performance are currently being broadcast on IFC between films. Check it out here.

Catch the headlining tour dates and grab an MP3 of Eyelid Movies cut "When I'm Small" after the hop.

David Bazan + Band Fall Tour

Oh, David Bazan. You are so talented and yet so underappreciated. So, hopefully the masses come out this fall as you head out on tour (w/ a band). I'm pretty sure it's not something you (reading this) will want to miss.

Mr. Bazan's most recent album, Curse Your Branches, was released back in September of last year through Barsuk. You can buy it right here.

If you're all, "David who?" you can download "Bless This Mess" from Curse Your Branches below.

MP3: David Bazan - "Bless This Mess"

Watch a tour teaser and scope the tour dates after you make the jump to higher speed.

LISTEN: Maps & Atlases - "Solid Ground"

MP3: Maps & Atlases - "Solid Ground"

Rhythm can sometimes be everything when it comes to a song. The way everything works together to form the overall rhythm is dependent on the individual rhythms of each instrument -- and that's what makes the music so interesting. Guitars cut in and out while woodblocks click and clack, back and forth. Layered percussion snares you in, pulling you inside until you're surrounded by panning vocals and rolling drums. If there was ever a song to epitomize layered arrangements, it's this one.

Check Out Ra Ra Riot's Orchard

Syracuse quintet Ra Ra Riot are set to release their sophomore album, The Orchard, on August 24th through Barsuk. The album is the follow-up to the band's critically-acclaimed debut LP, The Rhumb Line. The title of the new recod was inspired by where the band recorded. Learn more about The Orchard below.

(Directed by Taryn Gould and Emily Kowalczyk)

The Orchard was produced by the band and Andrew Maury and was mixed by Chris Walla (with the exception of “Do You Remember,” which was mixed by Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij).

Menomena Announces US Tour, Exclusive Pre-Order, & More

(Photo: Alicia Rose)

Portland's Menomena will release their fourth long-player, Mines, on July 27th through Barsuk. The album comes roughly three and a half years after the band's last album, the acclaimed Friend and Foe. For Mines, they jammed and recorded hundreds of loops on the spot, using a software program that was designed by the band's own Brent Knopf (also of Ramona Falls) when he was in college. They took the recordings and pieced them together, adding voices and more along the way.

Danny Seim says, "We made big strides building skeletal song structures, and did a decent job collaborating as the ideas began to take shape. But just when a song became familiar to one of us, the other two members broke it apart again, breaking each others' hearts along the way. We rerecorded, rebuilt, and ultimately resented each other. And believe it or not, we're all proud of the results."

VIDEO: Ramona Falls - "Russia"

Incredibly well done on all fronts. 

The song starts off like a mellow acoustic number, but ends up building into something much grander. And then all of a sudden, it runs with a clever snare drum pattern. It's a hauntingly beautiful tune filled with an air of sorrow from a man who is trying to win back the love of his life. 

The video fits perfectly with the music and actually makes the song all the more poignant. The man follows her through a park, a rollerskating rink, an amusement park, and many other locales, trying to win her back with origami, flowers, a choreographed dance with dragons, a puppy -- no dice. See more of their adventure below.

"Russia" is from Ramona Falls' debut album, Intuit, out now on Barsuk.

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Barsuk Records

REVIEW: Phantogram-Eyelid Movies

Phantogram - Eyelid Movies
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Phantogram is lost in translation.

Now wait, that's not necessarily negative. Working through the Saratoga Springs duo's debut release on Barsuk, I'd had flashbacks to Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson wandering through fluorescent wonderlands, occasionally broken up by images of the chemical and mystic light of the nondescript city of Tyler Durden.

Eyelid Movies isn't just a strong reminder of those curious moments in cinema, it's lost in translation between genres, something that a lot of up and coming bands struggle with. I want to make it perfectly clear that fitting into the preconceived genres we music critics come up with on the Internet isn't a prerequisite to a successful album. Rather, where Eyelid Movies conjures up that dreaming image as a title and it's a pretty literal description of the album's tone.

And that tone leads me to struggle with an album that doesn't quite settle for ambiance, even though moments of brilliant composition and chorus ("You are the Ocean"), or even dynamic hip-hop rhythms ("Futuristic Casket") scream to be fleshed out.

Phantogram use a pretty standard mix of machine-clinking drums, airy and echoing melodies and harmonies, and the occasional well-looped guitar riff to rope us into their sound. Truthfully, it's not a bad place to drift into when you're looking for an album to relax the mind, or stimulate that subconsciousness that is always asking for a beat. The band definitely has convention on its side. When it comes to a good hook and and ghostly harmonies, Eyelid Movies doesn't disappoint.

It would be interesting for me to see what comes out of Eyelid Movies. Phantogram has had no trouble demonstrating here that they have talent for soundtrack music, but I would like to see them take the base they've built here and strike forward into some uncharted territory.

Phantogram is the brainchild of Upstate (relative term, I know) natives Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel. See them at SXSW and on tour this spring with the Antlers.

Phantogram on Myspace