Author: bella.king

Matt Berninger and Brent Knopf announce new album and tour as EL VY

Matt Berninger from the National and Menomena/Ramona Falls’ Brent Knopf have joined forces for a LP under EL VY. According to a press release, the name is “pronounced like a plural of Elvis; rhymes with ‘hell pie.'” The debut record, Return to the Moon, is set to come out on October 30th through 4AD. Watch the lyric video for the title track here. The album cover is above and the tracklisting is below. 

Berninger and Knopf will tour under EL VY later this year.  

The men discussed working together in a press release. “I never worried about sending Matt something unfinished,” Knopf said. “He’s able to imagine where it can go. He can grab the four bars that will become the core of the track and develop them into something amazing.”

“This record is more autobiographical than anything else I’ve written, but the details aren’t true,” said Berninger. “It’s written in the voices of a few invented characters, composites of different people—myself, my wife, and other people I was thinking about.”
Return to the Moon tracklist:

01 Return to the Moon (Political Song for Didi Bloome to Sing, With Crescendo)

02 I’m the Man to Be

03 Paul Is Alive

04 Need A Friend

05 Silent Ivy Hotel 

06 No Time to Crank the Sun

07 It’s a Game

08 Sleepin’ Light (ft. Ural Thomas)

09 Sad Case

10 Happiness, Missouri

11 Careless

EL VY tour dates:

11-02-03 Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge

11-04 Seattle, WA – Neumos

11-06 San Francisco, CA – The Independent

11-07 Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour

11-10 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer

11-11 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club

11-13 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom

11-14 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg

11-15 Boston, MA – The Sinclair

11-16 Montreal, Québec – Theatre Fairmount

11-17 Toronto, Ontario – Opera House

11-19 Chicago, IL – Metro

11-20 Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall Ballroom

11-21 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue

12-01 Copenhagen, Denmark – Pumpehuse

12-02 Hamburg, Germany – Knust

12-03 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Melkweg

12-04 Cologne, Germany – Kantine

12-06 Berlin, Germany – Astra

12-07 Brussels, Belgium – AB

12-08 Paris, France – Trabendo

12-10 London, England – Electric Ballroom

12-12 Manchester, England – Gorilla

12-13 Dublin, Ireland – Whelans

DIIV announce tour

Indie rock outfit, DIIV recently announced that their followup to Oshin from 2012, Is the Is Are will be out this fall through Captured Tracks. The band today announced a North American tour for this fall as well. Find the itinerary below.

DIIV fall tour:

08-15 Toronto, Ontario – Fort York
10-10 Boston, MA – The Sinclair
10-12 Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall
10-13 Madison, WI – Majestic
10-14 St Paul, MN – Turf Club
10-16 Denver, CO – Gothic Theatre
10-17 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
10-18 Boise, ID – Neurolux
10-19 Seattle, WA – Neumos
10-20 Vancouver, British Columbia – Fortune
10-22 San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
10-24 Los Angeles, CA – Roxy
10-25 Santa Ana, CA – Beach Goth Festival
10-27 San Diego, CA – Casbah
10-28 Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom
10-30 Dallas, TX – Trees
10-31 Austin, TX – Mohawk
11-01 Houston, TX – Numbers
11-03 Nashville, TN – Exit In
11-04 Atlanta, GA – The Earl
11-05 Chapel Hill, NC – Cat’s Cradle
11-06 Richmond, VA – The Broadberry
11-07 Washington, DC – Black Cat
11-08 New York, NY – Webster Hall

The Melodic Tree’s Weekly Playlist

1. It’s Real – Real Estate

2. Revival – Deerhunter

3. Black Rice – Women

4. Feel So Sad (Glides and Chimes) – Spiritualized

5. True Blue – Dirty Beaches

6. We Bros – WU LYF

7. Shadow – Wild Nothing

8. Surreal Exposure – Ducktails

9. Stars – The Suits

10. Open Tails – Bora York

11. Unfold – Wouie

12. Don’t Stop – Future Screens

13. Hero – Wildcat! Wildcat!

14. Symmetry – Tropic of Pisces

15. Hot Blur – How Sad

16. 17 – Youth Lagoon

17. All the Things – Clifflight

18. Demon Dance – Surfer Blood

19. Words I Don’t Remember – How to Dress Well

20. New Beat – Toro Y Moi

Paul McCartney Performs “Get Back” with Brittany Howard from Alabama Shakes and “FourFiveSeconds” at Lollapalooza

Paul McCartney headlined Lollapalooza last night. His set included songs from his solo works and Beatles classics. He also performed his collaborative single with Kanye West and Rihanna, “FourFiveSeconds.” Even though neither one of the collaborators appeared, he did bring out Brittany Howard from Alabama Shakes during “Get Back.” Watch both songs below through Billboard.

Willis Earl Beal premieres new single “Survive”

After issuing it in limited quantities in January, Willis Earl Beal is planned to release his Noctunes LP wide through Tender Loving Empire on August 28th. It has been weeks since he released the first two songs from the release, “Flying So Low” and “Midnight,”  now, Beal is back with his latest single, “Survive.”

Like his previous work, “Survive” is minimal but it is his voice that adds the unique texture to his music. Listen to it here:

Noctunes Tracklist:
01. Under You
02. Flying So Low
03. Like a Box
04. Lust
05. No Solution
06. Stay
07. Say the Words
08. Love Is All Around
09. Able to Wait
10. Survive
11. Start Over
12. Midnight

Twin Shadow performs “To The Top” on The Late Late Show With James Corden

Twin Shadow performed on The Late Late Show with James Corden last night, marking their second show after getting in a nasty tour bus accident in April. George Lewis Jr.’s hand is still healing after having reconstructive surgery so he is not playing the guitar but he is still clearly happy to be holding a mic. He gave an energetic performance of “To The Top” from their latest album, Eclipse which you can rewatch here.

This performance is part of preparing the band to be road-ready again as they begin making up postponed tour dates until the middle of August. They also released the free Night Rally demos mixtape which features tracks Lewis JR. rediscovered while recovering from the accident.

Foals release video for “Mountain at My Gates”

Foals will return with their fourth studio album, What Went Down, next month. The British band has premiered the music video for “Mountain at My Gates.”

The clip is a visual experience, for it is the first of its kind to be made with GoPro’s Spherical virtual reality technology. The video was directed by Nabil, who has also worked with Kanye West, FKA twigs, and Frank Ocean. The panoramic footage can be manipulated on Google Chrome or the YouTube app on phones by play with a mouse or the AWSD keys. Watch the video below.

What Went Down is due out on August 28th via Warner Music.

Deer Tick shares new acoustic track “Grandfather Song”

Amazon Music will be sharing playlists of new material called Amazon Acoustics on July 31st. Even though many of the 3o tracks will be covers such as The District’s taking on David Bowie’s “Ashes to Ashes” or Surfer Blood’s rendition of OutKast’s “Hey Ya,” the playlist will also include a handful of originals. Amazon shared one of the originals today, Deer Tick’s “Grandfather Song.”

John McCauley, the band’s frontman, told Entertainment Weekly that “Grandfather Song” was demoeed during the sessions for the band’s album Negativity from 2013. “It didn’t wind up on the record,” he said, “so I decided to revisit it recently and I finished the song in my spare time at home in Nashville.” Listen to it below.

Amazon is set to release one more track from Amazon Acoustics before it is officially released and they are allowing fans to vote. The choices are The Griswolds’ cover of Maroon 5’s “Sugar,” Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” covered by Joshua Radin, or Peter Matthew Bauer’s cover of St. Vincent’s “Prince Johnny.”  Voting will hapen on Amazon Music’s Facebook page and will only be on for 24 hours.

Youth Lagoon announces US tour dates

Youth Lagoon, dream pop songwriter, has a new fall tour set in support of his upcoming album, Savage Hills Ball Room, which is planned to be released on Septemeber 25th through Fat Possum. The tour, which goes from early September to late November, will have dates in both North America and Europe.

Check out the full itinerary below.

Youth Lagoon 2015 Tour Dates:
09/10 – Bozeman, MT @ Filling Station
09/11 – Missoula, MT @ Top Hat
09/12 – Boise, ID @ Egyptian Theatre
09/21 – Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade
09/24 – London, UK @ XOYO
09/26 – Paris, FR @ Cafe De La Danse
09/28 – Brussels, BE @ Rotonde Botanique
09/30 – Amsterdam, NL @ Bitterzoet
10/02 – Berlin, DE @ Magnet Club
10/04 – Copenhagen, DK @ Jazzhouse
10/15 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
10/16 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
10/17 – Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck
10/19 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
10/20 – Milwaukee, MN @ First Avenue
10/21 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
10/23 – Columbus, OH @ A&R Music Bar
10/25 – Toronto, ON @ The Opera House
10/29 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
10/30 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
10/31 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
11/01 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
11/03 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
11/04 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
11/05 – Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge
11/06 – Oxford, MS @ Proud Larry’s
11/07 – New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks
11/09 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live Studio
11/10 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
11/11 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk
11/13 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
11/14 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern
11/17 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre
11/18 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
11/20 – Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s
11/21 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge

Listen to “The Knower,” which is the first single from Savage Hills Ballroom:

The Melodic Tree’s Weekly Playlist

1. I Don’t Blame You – Cat Powers

2. I Miss Your Bones – Hospitality

3. Dreaming – Seapony

4. After the Moment – Craft Spells

5. Black Hills – Gardens & Villas

6. Fever Dreams – Nurses

7. How Do I Know – Here We Go Magic

8. You’re Not Good Enough – Blood Orange

9. Funny Heartbeat – Kisses

10. What A Pleasure – Beach Fossils

11. Coming Down – Dum Dum Girls

12. Margot – Minks

13. Here Tarot Lies – No Joy

14. Top Bunk – Gauntlet Hair

15. King of the Beach – Wavves

16. Like a Stranger – Bodies of Water

17. Silent Song – Daniel Rossen

18. Changes – Sandro Perri

19. Roosevelt Island – Eleanor Friedberger

20. Bad Kids – Black Lips