It’s still about two months away from the release of the album, but today Nana Grizol bring us the second single from their second album Ruth. In true Nana Grizol fashion “Galaxies” highlights Theo Hilton’s voice and wonderful lyrics.  ”Galaxies” is almost minimalist in the sense that it starts with just guitar, minimal beats, and vocals but as the song continues the slow but incremental addition of different instruments brings the song around to show the collectivist elements that I associate with E6.  ”Galaxies” just hints at the subtleties that are to come from Ruth, and give us all a reason to be excited.  Nana Grizol  keeps with the same tradition that made me love them on Love It Love It!, but they are slowing down a bit and refining what they due, at least on some of the songs.  Don’t worry though the rocking punk aesthetic that was present though out Love it Love it is still there on Ruth.  Ruth will be out on January 12th on Orange Twin.

[mp3] Nana Grizol- “Galaxies”

Nana Grizol is still on tour too…catch them live:

Links:

• previous posted
  • [mp3] Nana Grizol-  ”For Things that Haven’t Come Yet”
• more on Nana Grizol here.
• more on Elephant Six here.
• buy Nana Grizol albums CD or digital here or on LP here..

As always The Creative Intersection is keeping me up to date with the Elephant Six news, and when this track popped up on my reader I just had to re-post it.

Nana Grizol are working on  a new album, and if Love It Love It is any indication this should be an indie pop gem.  I’ve said it before…this band reminds me a lot of music that I used to like college…up beat indie rock… but with really honest lyrics (which looking back on it probably wasn’t the case with a lot of the bands I liked in college), and a killer horn section (the remnants of Neutral Milk Hotel’s horn section actually).  Theo Hilton is an excellent song writer, and his music can really put you in a great mood.  I went through a phase toward the end of the summer where this band was all I wanted to listen too, and I’m glad to be hearing something new.

The first single from their to be released second album titled Ruth was just released through impose:

[mp3] Nana Grizol- “For things That Haven’t Come Yet”

Ruth will be out in January 2010 on Orange Twin Records.  But before that Nana Grizol is going on tour!  I’m very excited to see that they will be hitting up Cake Shop for a Sunday show early next month.

• 10/23/09 – Go Bar – Athens, GA
• 11/04/09 – NightLight – Chapel Hill, NC
• 11/05/09 – Saint Mary’s College – Saint Mary’s City, MD
• 11/06/09 – TBA – Washington, DC
• 11/07/09 – SUNY Purchase – Purchase, NY
• 11/08/09 – Cakeshop – New York, NY
• 11/09/09 – The Space – Hamden, CT
• 11/10/09 – Apohedion – Portland, ME
• 11/11/09 – TBA – Brattleboro, VT
• 11/13/09 – The Dakota – Toronto, ONTARIO
• 11/14/09 – Barn Show – Geneseo, NY – More Details Soon!
• 11/15/09 – Garfield Art Works – Pittsburgh, PA
• 11/17/09 – Empty Bottle – Chicago, IL
• 12/03/09 – Caledonia Lounge – Athens, GA w/Madeline, HAM1

Links:

• more on Nana Grizol here.
• more on Elephant Six here.
• buy Nana Grizol’s Love It Love It on CD or digital here or on LP here.

Not too long ago I posted talked about Circulatory System, and Elephant Six in general in a post I did about the Music Tapes, and while I would have mentioned this back then it wasn’t available at the time.

It’s been eight years since Circulatory System birthed an album, and coming in October their second full length titled Signal Morning will be unveiled to the world (unless you already downloaded it, which is actually very quite possible).  If you are like me you probably want to own this  on vinyl, and Circulatory System is giving us that opportunity via Cloud Recordings…and the record itself sounds pretty wonderful:

Circulatory System’s 2nd album, Signal Morning, will be available on LP this October.  The record will be 150 gram white vinyl packaged in beautiful, gatefold jackets printed by Stoughton Printing with a lyrics sheet & liner notes insert. It also will include a code redeemable for a free digital download of the album.

We are also offering a “deluxe” LP edition limited to 300 copies. This includes the Signal Morning LP plus abonus LP entitled “Side 3″ containing demos and alternate versions of songs from Signal Morning. This bonus LP will be packaged in handmade jackets designed by W. Cullen Hart.

As mentioned in the second paragraph there is a “deluxe”edition that will come with a hand made package designed by Hart himself.  While 300 copies seems like a lot I am here to inform you that there are less than 50 of the “deluxe” edition remaining, and the record only went on sale for pre-order on August 1st.

From what I have read the line up this time around is Will Cullen Hart (vocals, guitar), Charlie Johnston (guitar), John Fernandes (bass, violin, clarinet, bass clarinet), Peter Erchick (organ, bass), Heather Mcintosh (cello, bass), Derek Almstead (drumset, bass), and if memory serves correct Jeff Mangum and Julian Koster both make musical contributions.

If you happen to need a refresher of what the album sounds like, here are a couple mp3s that have been floating around (I know I posted these a while back):

[mp3] Circulatory System- “Overjoyed” (via Pitchfork)
[mp3] Circulatory System- “Rocks and Stones” (via No Conclusion)
[mp3] Circulatory System- “Signal Morning” (via No Conclusion)

If this album is anything like the Olivia Tremor Control records it will be very hard to find down the line, so be smart about this, and pick it up now.

Pre-order Signal Morning by the Circulatory System from Cloud Recordings here!

The Circulatory System will be touring with Pipes You See Pipes You Don’t and Nessy Gallons.  Go see them…I know I will:

• August 15 – Asheville, NC – The Grey Eagle
• Sept. 7 – Chapel Hill, NC – Nightlight
• Sept. 8 – Philadelphia, PA – Kung Fu Necktie
• Sept. 9 – New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge
• Sept. 10 – Worcester, MA – The Grind at Clark University
• Sept. 11 – Purchase, NY – The Student Center at SUNY Purchase
• Sept. 12 – Monticello, NY – All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival (no E6 supporting bands)
• Sept. 14 – Boston, MA – YMCA Theatre
• Sept. 15 – Geneseo, NY – Union Plaza at SUNY Geneseo
• Sept. 16 – Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop
• Sept. 17 – Pontiac, MI – Pike Room
• Sept. 18 – Chicago, IL – Chopin Theatre
• Sept. 19 – Lexington, KY – Al’s Bar
• Sept. 20 – Knoxville, TN – The Pilot Light

More on Elephant Six here.

Thanks to David at the Creative Intersection for the reminder that these things were going on sale.

This post was inspired by my listening of Singles and Beyond yesterday…so glad that Cloud found a couple copies of those LPs a few months ago.

UPDATE 3/8/2010:

Despite the record label not sending any updates I have followed up with them several times over the past 8 months.  Last I heard was that this special edition was supposed to ship around the begining of March, but I have not heard any follow up to this or confirmation that it will happen.  Those of you that have ordered the special edition version I’m in the same boat with you…that is still waiting.  I’ll let you know if I hear anything.

Julian Koster played a short set at the XX Merge afternoon show at The Orange County Social Club (one of the best bars ever!).  During this short, and hot, out door performance Julian played solo (only about 5 songs)…we’ll if you consider solo being acompanied by an organ playing robot, and the huge metronome he totes around.  The Music Tapes were one of the highlights of the festival for me, and I was a little sad the Julian didn’t have all of his E6 friends with him (Theo and Jeff, where were you?) and that he didn’t get to play at the Cat’s Cradle…but his preformace was still wonderful…I can’t wait for a new Music Tapes record.

Julian’s newest friend:

Julian:

saw and accordion time:

how the metronome works:

I also found a video of this demonstration (video by Adam)!

A couple more picture of the Music Tapes from XX Merge can be found here.

More on Julian Koster and his Muic Tapes (more photos, videos, ect) can be found here.

David over at The Creative Intersection posted an interview with Julian a couple months ago as well…read it here.

This is part of my Going To XX Merge series, you can read the rest of the series here.

This is Part II of my Going To XX Merge series, you can read the rest of the series here.

One of the most enchanting bands I have seen in recent years is The Music Tapes, and it is no surprise that they are coming out of the Elephant Six collective.

My first experience was at the Elephant Six Surprise Tour, which was a magical event that Julian Koster put together. It’s not that Elephant Six was dormant but it does appear The Music Tapes’ release of Music Tapes for  Clouds & Tornadoes brought a lively hood back to the Athens scene. Now we are getting an emergence of energy coming from them again, and this really excites me.

Jeff Mangum even played Neutral Milk Hotel songs at a handful of dates (very sad that this didn’t happen in NYC, but if it can happen anywhere else I assume it will be at XX Merge):

Neutral Milk Hotel- “The Fool” & “Engine” Live in Lexington, KT on October 23rd, 2008 at the Holiday Surprise Tour:

The Circulatory System is back, releasing an album in September titled Signal Morning. And the mp3s that have been floating around are wonderful:

[mp3] Circulatory System- “Overjoyed” (via Pitchfork)
[mp3] Circulatory System- “Rocks and Stones” (via No Conclusion)
[mp3] Circulatory System- “Signal Morning” (via No Conclusion)

All of these tracks are from Signal Morning. It will be available at Cloud Recordings on September 8th, 2009 ( many other E6 related releases are already available there). It’s rumored that Circulatory System has more than one album ready, and Will Cullen Hart has said that Olivia Tremor Control has been recording again! They are unsure what will come of this, but that’s ok…I’ll take what I can get.

Elephant Six will release their movie, Major Organ and the Adding Machine as a deluxe DVD/CD package as well. This film premiered at the Holiday Surprise Tour, and while Pitchfork doesn’t seem to be a fan…I am eagerly awaiting it’s release. It has been a long time coming, and I can’t wait to hear the expanded soundtrack (it’s hard to imagine that it can get better than it already is).

Here is the trailer:

Last but not least… I’m loving on some Nana Grizol the newest band to come out of E6. The play indie pop, and in the style that I liked in high school and college, but with lyrics that aren’t cheesy and trite.  It’s really nice to enjoy this style of music again with out cringing when you hear the words.  These are people that I would like to be friends with.  I think their Pink Couch session is a nice introduction.

The Music Tapes will be preforming two times at XX Merge…one at the Cat’s Cradle, and an outdoor show at the Orange County Social Club on the Saturday of the festival. Needless to say they will be one of the highlights of the festival for me (which is less than two weeks away).  With that, I will leave you with this:

The Music Tapes- “Majesty”

The Music Tapes-”Minister of Longitude”

Support the Artists:

• Buy Music Tapes releases here.
• Buy OTC releases here or here.
• Buy Circulatory System releases here or here.
• Buy Neutral Milk Hotel releases here.
• Buy Nana Grizol releases here.

I would like to apologize to my long time readers for re-posting some of these videos, but I truly love them.

Additional Info About this post:

• Photo Credit: Music Tapes tattoo via Daniella Maria Khomuz’s flickr
  • I do not know this person, but they have a rad tattoo.

• More one Elephant Six related musing (including Music Tapes and Dark Meat pictures) here.

• This post is basically a Thank you Julian, for re-lighting this fire in Athens!

Dark Meat played a rad set of almost all new material the other week at Bruar Falls (June 6th to be exact)…totally fun, but not as crazy as expected…and much shorter too (no three hour jam session).

More on Dark Meat (including more photos, mp3s, and album info) is available here.

In going to use this week to catch up on some picture posting…I hope you enjoy.

Dark Meat, another one of the great psychedelic bands from Georgia, is headed up to New York City this weekend, and it’s no surprise that they are part of my  beloved Elephant Six Collective.

Just like E6, Dark Meat functions as a collective with many rotating members coming in and out of the band bring new ideas.  Unlike  Olivia Tremor Control, Circulatory System, and the other E6 bands Dark Meat are darker.  Rather than being influenced by the Beatles their sound is more like a hippie jam session gone completely wrong when Frank Zappa, and a hoard of punk rockers show up…they all become friends and end up making music that is heavily influence by Albert Ayler.  This is Dark Meat.

Dark Meat is one of those bands that the first time you hear them you really don’t know what to think.  I know I needed to hear more to make up my mind.  Here is where I started:

[mp3] Dark Meat- “Freedom Ritual” (off on Universal Indians.  Buy it here)

Dark Meat at Cake Shop last year:

This weekend is the perfect time for New Yorkers to hear more of this Athens, GA collective.  I was really disappointed when I missed Dark Meat last year at Cake Shop, and was thrilled to see that they were playing there again on this tour.  But what is even better than Cake Shop?  Dark Meat at Bruar Falls!  Sadly there are no Mountain Jams on this tour like they did last year in Woodstock, NY.  Enough with my rambling…here are the tour dates:

Jun 4 2009- Boston, MA @ The Mideast w/ Mt St Helen’s Vietnam Band
Jun 5 2009 (tomorrow!)- New York, NY @ Cake Shop
Jun 6 2009- Brooklyn, NY @ Bruar Falls w/ D Charles Speer and the Helix
Jun 7 2009- Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Neck Tie
Jun 8 2009- Baltimore, MD @ The Talking Head w/ Vincent Black Shadow
Jun 10 2009- Washington DC @ The Red and Black
Jun 12 2009- Charlottesville, VA @ Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar
Jun 13 2009- Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506 w/ Birds of Avalon
Jun 27 2009- Offenbach, Germany @ Hafen 2/ Open Air Festival
Jun 28 2009- Lärz, Germany @ Fusion Festival

Dark Meat live photos by Alex Adan via flickr.

Last week when we saw the Music Tapes and Julian Koster was very ill, but he proceeded to play a wonderful show. Two days after the show my friend Brendan got sick.  Brendan coined his sickness Julian Koster Disease.

I’m not the type of person that typically gets sick, but this past Sunday the Julian Koster disease caught up with me.  I have pretty much been out of commission for the past 48 hours, and I have a whole new respect for Mr. Koster if he was in fact playing with an illness even half as bad as mine.  Beware of the changing weather…Julian Koster disease might get you.  I suggest Robotussin, Advil PM, kombucha, ginger ale, a kitten to keep you warm, and Arrested Development….this is what made me feel better.  I hope to be back up in full operation tomorrow…these past 48 hours might be my worst hours of 2009.