Dag för Dag is a brother/sister team of Americans-turned-Swedes releasing a new album in April entitled, Boo .  Their single, "I Am The Assassin," fashions this restless and dreamy bass tone, snare couplets and plucked strings.  The effect is intriguing enough that I've listened to the song now about three times, drawn to its minimalism and ghostliness.  Listen to the song or watch the video. Information on the band is below via Terrorbird Media. Dag för Dag- I am the Assassin from Ted Malmros on Vimeo . Via Terrorbird Media: BROTHER-SISTER, AMERICAN-SWEDISH DUO DAG FÖR DAG ANNOUNCE NORTH AMERICAN DEBUT ALBUM RELEASE APRIL 26TH; SPOOKY, TEXTURED "I AM THE ASSASSIN" AVAILABLE AS FREE DOWNLOAD, ACCOMPANYING VIDEO DIRECTED BY TED MALMROS OF SHOUT OUT LOUDS DOWNLOAD: "I Am the Assassin" (mp3) (from the Boo full length) American-Swedish. Brother and sister. Nomadic wanderers. From Missoula, to Wisconsin, to Honolulu, to, finally, Stockh...

I received an anonymous message about the February 19th show: The Saturday Feb 19 show in Brooklyn, NY is at Secret Project Robot in Williamsburg. Corner of Kent and Metropolitan. With Ian Svenonius ' Chain and The Gang ! Via Force Field PR: Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds announce East Coast tour! The legendary Kid Congo Powers, co-founder of the Gun Club, guitarist for The Cramps and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, will be releasing his new album with his group Kid Congo & the Pink Monkey Birds this spring. Titled Gorilla Rose , the album follows in the footsteps of the band's 2009 Dracula Boots with more ram-charged boogaloo, sleazy psychedelia and Chicano garage rock. In The Red records is gearing up for the new album by releasing a series of oddball limited edition vinyl-only records by the band. The first of these releases dropped this week in the form of the "Five Greasy Pieces" subscription series. This is a very limited edition (2...

A cold Saturday and some free time prompted a 45 minute ride over to West Chester's Chester County Book & Music Company so I could spend a few gift certificates and lighten the back burner.  Most of my purchases were stragglers from 2010, a few things I've always meant to acquire and acquisitions based on some reconsideration. Chester County Book & Music Company , West Chester, PA: Menomena Double Seven Inch Barsuk Released: 7.27.10 I thought this was interesting find: Two edited singles from Menomena 's 2010 release, Mines , along with two unreleased tracks.  I haven't had the chance to give either single a spin just yet, though. Dinosaur Jr. You're Living All Over Me Merge Records Reissued: 3.22.05 Maybe I've become the 90s version of baby boomer arrogance and self-indulgent nostalgia, two things I've tried mightily to avoid.  All I know is I really wasn't ever a fan of Dinosaur Jr.   Ever.  It was never an outright hatred, mi...

The Thermals are releasing a new single in February and, for some reason, playing a live set on that show where George Lopez pretends to be A). a host B). funny C). a funny host. Some info regarding the single has been provided by the ever-informative Terrorbird Media and check out their video for "I Don't Believe You," off their 2010 release, Personal Life .  Carrie Brownstein from Sleater Kinney interacts with an alarm clock. Also, Pitchfork is hosting a video of another of their singles, "Never Listen To Me." Via Terrorbird: The Thermals are unstoppable! After an incredibly busy 2010 (6 tours, 4 singles and 1 LP), The Thermals are showing no signs of stopping or even slowing down! On February 1st, The Thermals will perform “I Don’t Believe You” from their awesome 5th LP Personal Life on Lopez Tonight! Check out the video for “I Don’t Believe You” staring Carrie Brownstein here: http://www.youtube.com/user/KillRockStars?blend=2&ob=1#p...

Via Tee Pee Records press release: Tee Pee Records Announces 2011 SXSW Showcase and European Tour!    NYC rock label TEE PEE RECORDS is proud to announce the details for its 2011 South by Southwest (SXSW) label showcase. The independent record company will spotlight its diverse family of artists on Friday, March 18 at Headhunter's (720 Red River Street, Austin, TX). This year's lineup will feature IRON AGE (Austin, TX), SWEET APPLE (feat. Dinosaur Jr. 's J Mascis ), NIGHT HORSE (Los Angeles, CA), LECHEROUS GAZE (ex- ANNIHILATION TIME ; Oakland, CA), WEIRD OWL (Brooklyn, NY) and THE MAIN STREET GOSPEL (Columbus, OH) and marks the ten year anniversary of TEE PEE's annual SXSW "rock party". This April, TEE PEE will highlight its roster with its first ever European label tour. Co-sponsored by the UK's Classic Rock magazine, the tour will kick off on April 5 in Wiesbaden, Germany and will be headlined by stoner rock legends THE ATOMIC BITCHW...

Sic Alps Napa Asylum Drag City Released: 1.25.11 No Ripcord review Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Any Kid Congo fans in the house?  "Legend" is an accurate assessment of the man, Congo having taken part in The Cramps , co-founded The Gun Club and been a part of Nick Cave 's band of Bad Seeds .  He and his current band, The Pink Monkey Birds , will be touring (no Philadelphia dates, unfortunately) and releasing a new album, Gorilla Rose .  Information can be found below. Via Force Field PR: Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds announce East Coast tour! The legendary Kid Congo Powers, co-founder of the Gun Club, guitarist for The Cramps and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, will be releasing his new album with his group Kid Congo & the Pink Monkey Birds this spring. Titled Gorilla Rose , the album follows in the footsteps of the band's 2009 Dracula Boots with more ram-charged boogaloo, sleazy psychedelia and Chicano garage rock. In The Red records is gearing up for the new album by releasing a series of oddball limited edition vinyl-only records by the b...

Struck the funny bone. Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Kicking Against The Pricks is now accessible via Twitter and Facebook , so become a follower or fan and check out my article on the soundtrack for Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World . Lately, I've been having some trouble linking my KATP reviews, but you can still view the issue.  If troubles present themselves, I'll just post the article. Issue #5 is up for perusal: http://kickingagainstthepricks.org/#home Various Artists Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Universal/ABKCO Released: 8.10.10   Kicking Against The Pricks review Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Animated medical illustrations and dental hygiene: Beep ’s Cities of the Future released this Tuesday, the 18th. The awesomely bizarre trio that is Beep released a video for the track, “Today Is Your Birthday.” Give it a look/listen and check out some of the information below. Via Terrorbird: Francisco's avant-indie trio BEEP release City of The Future this week Members of Tune-Yards channel electric Miles , Sun Ra , and outer space transmissions. out on Third Culture Records Listen: Robopup (via ALARM) Video: Today Is Your Birthday   BEEP bounds in fields of abstract flowers. Mischievous, mysterious, intricate and teasing: Children's songs on painted pages. Fairy tales intone in an unsettling, hopeful voice. Planes of sound overlaid and overlapping. Landscapes unfold under storms of pastel-shaped jazz. Melodies emerge and recede, twist and flow. Rhythms like water spiders, skating over possibilities. Points of convergence slide and dissolve, recon...

Dan Goldin of Exploding In Sound has amassed an impressive roster of talent for his latest compilation, Wax Unwound . Who? Black Mountain, Zach Hill, Alain Johannes, The Twilight Singers . The other bands that you may or may not have heard of present no weak link or subpar distraction, no tedious three or four minutes of mediocrity to sit through before you get to something that may or not be good. In all honesty, though I’ve said this before whenever Mr. Goldin has sent along notice of his compilations, this is his most consistently good and interesting selection of bands/songs he's done. Bands like Grandfather , Monotonix , Shapes , &U&I and Shark? offer the more veteran-esque inclusions of the compilation some peer worthy company. So, how about downloading Mr. Goldin’s twenty-two tracks? It will cost you nothing and you just might learn a thing or two. Below is all the information from Mr. Goldin himself and be sure to give a look see to his labor of love...

A track from Earth ’s upcoming new album, Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light I , is streaming over at NPR. Expect a review of the album to submitted to No Ripcord in the coming weeks. In the meantime, check out the song and survey the information below. Via Earsplit PR: We're proud to announce that National Public Radio will host an exclusive stream of a track from EARTH's upcoming full-length release Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light 1 . Go to NPR's All Songs Considered blog to hear the album's rich and transcendent second track, "Father Midnight," at this location now! EARTH have also announced an official release show for Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light 1 , scheduled for March 3rd at The Tractor Tavern in Seattle, with support from Mount Eerie and Low Hums . During this special evening, EARTH will be celebrating their newest live lineup and showcasing the hymns on Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light 1 , which will be released on February 22n...

Zu “Axion (Phantomsmasher remix)” b/w “Chthonian (James Plotkin remix)” 7” single Public Guilt Released: 3.21.11 This morning, I received a promo invitation for a new 7” from Zu : two remixed tracks from their 2009 album, Carboniferous . The remixes, created by one guy, ( James Plotkin ), two egos, (Plotkin, Phantomsmasher ), thankfully maintain the band’s heavy rhythm and experimental spirit. They’re enjoyable to listen to and interesting enough to consider. The “remix” tag almost always signifies lesser-than variations of original music featuring electro-pulse beats, or flimsy keyboard translations of the song’s familiar melody; overlay upon overlay of vocal snippets or dance music additives. It’s rare that remixologists, for lack of a better made-up term, come up with something other than an effects-laden reworking of a song. Instead you get knob-twisting self-indulgence that never sounds necessary or outdoes the original track. Plotkin doesn’t outdo Zu’s already idios...

The inbox was swelling this week with new release information, new singles/videos from past releases and news in general. Below are some of the standouts. Via Force Field PR: Crystal Stilts announce sophomore album, In Love With Oblivion , due in April on Slumberland Crystal Stilts "Magnetic Moon" by Slumberland Records Crystal Stilts "Shake the Shackles" by Slumberland Records C rystal Stilts ' new album In Love with Oblivion will be released in the US on April 12 on Slumberland (and a day earlier in the UK on Fortuna Pop!). This follow-up to their much loved and critically acclaimed debut Alight Of Night continues their foray into spooky 60s psych and 80s dream pop but this time with more flourishes of melody and a bigger, more expansive sound. Based in Brooklyn (via Florida), Crystal Stilts emerged alongside the very active local post-punk indie scene in 2008 whilst forging their own unique path. They built up a heady following sta...

WINO Adrift Exile On Mainstream Released: 3.8.11   Stereokiller review Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Yesterday, Stereogum posted a demo version of Marnie Stern’s “Vibrational Match,” the opener of her first album, In Advance of the Broken Arm . Along with the track was news of a cassette release of pre- Advance demo recordings simply titled, DEMO .  Better title?  How about In Advance of In Advance of the Broken Arm ?  Too long? The release is being issued by Dog Daze Tapes as DD-002 along with a digital download.  Hopefully, SOME of you still have tape decks, because I’ve been seeing a lot of cassette-only releases having surfaced over the last year or so. Apparently, there’s still some love left for the format.  The tape is $7.50. Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

So, I'm not sure if the reported partnership between Rekords Rekords and Ipecac Recordings dissolved completely, but Domino Records is now the NEW entity dealing with Josh Homme 's label and the long-awaited Queens of the Stone Age reissue, which has now been pushed to March 7th.  The Mini Mansions and Alain Johannes albums that had been previously released by Ipecac will also be reissued by Domino. From Domino : The big news today is that Domino has joined forces with Queens of the Stone Age front-man, Joshua Homme’s Rekords Rekords label, marketing, promoting and distributing select titles from their impressive catalogue. The first title will be the seminal eponymous debut album from Queens of the Stone Age, which we will be reissuing on March 7th 2011. Excited is not really the word to describe how we feel about this newly forged working relationship. As well as releasing the debut Queens of the Stone Age record, Domino will also be releasing some very s...

In hipster/movie news, Dan Deacon will be working with the unhip Coppola , ( Francis Ford ), providing his upcoming movie, Twixt Now and Sunrise , with its score.  Information is below via Force Field PR. I'm sure Sofia pushed her dad in this direction. Dan Deacon - Wet Wings by forcefieldpr Dan Deacon set to score new Francis Ford Coppola film, Twixt Now and Sunrise Dan Deacon has been tapped by Francis Ford Coppola to score his next film, Twixt Now and Sunrise , due later this year. The gothic romance stars Val Kilmer , Bruce Dern , Ben Chaplin & Elle Fanning . In addition to scoring the film, Mr. Coppola and Mr. Deacon are collaborating on a larger level, details of which will be announced soon. The announcement comes on the cusp of Deacon's concert of new music for So Percussion on Jan. 20th at the Merkin Concert Hall in NYC and his first performance of new orchestral work Feb 3rd and 4th with the Kitchner-Waterloo Symphony in Kitchner, Ontario. ...

Via Earsplit PR: UFOMAMMUT To Play Eve 'Roadburn Album Of The Year' At 2011 Festival Roadburn is thrilled to announce that Italy's psychedelic drone lords UFOMAMMUT will perform their much acclaimed 2010 album, Eve , in its entirety at this year's Roadburn Festival, Saturday April 16th at the Midi Theatre in Tilburg, Holland.   Eve was recently voted as "Album Of The Year" in Roadburn's 2010 year-end readers poll , and also ranked Top 10 in many year-end lists worldwide, ranging from The Obelisk to The Quietus. The appearance at 2011's installment of the festival is not only a testament to the massive creative success of Eve , but it also honors Roadburn festival attendees for their dedication towards this much beloved Italian trio. The band comments: "Since our Eve album was voted best of 2010 by Roadburn readers, playing it at the upcoming festival will have a very special meaning for Ufomammut! It'll be our chance to properly say ...

Thank you, Tiny Mix Tapes ! "I Led Three Lives" from Grails ' upcoming release, Deep Politics , is being hosted there.  Give it a listen . I also found this video from Brooklyn Vegan : a trailer for the album that takes no opportunity to play snippets or samples of their music, but instead uses Chuck Mangione 's "Feels So Good" as a backdrop for the video. GRAILS - DEEP POLITICS from The Fact Facer on Vimeo . Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Back in November, I mentioned that a reissue of Neurosis ' Souls At Zero was in the works .  Well, more information on the reissue is available, along with some news about some live performances.  All news courtesy of Earsplit PR. NEUROSIS Prepare For Souls At Zero Reissue And Upcoming Live Performances For Oakland, California’s NEUROSIS, their entire catalog can be considered brilliant not only for its sonic merit but also for its need to wander from the beaten path. Rare is it that a band can make you feel the cold and hard texture of concrete while allowing you to smell the growing vine in the confines of one song. Perhaps this is the reason why so many have looked to and borrowed from their table. NEUROSIS is pure emotion, in every positive or negative form. Souls At Zero is NEUROSIS' first flash of true brilliance. Never before were they able to show their passions and exploratory needs so eloquently, while still keeping their musical hearth concussive and visce...