The Pipettes have announced the North American release date of their debut album We Are the Pipettes. It was originally suppose to be stores this week but we can now expect the album on October 2, 2007 on the Cherrytree/Interscope label. On a side note, the cover for the US release is different than the UK. I'm not sure why, the other one was ten times better. Oh well. I'm pretty excited about this album and I will be writing a lot about it (and the band) in the weeks to come but if you're a Pipette fan living in North America, such as me, you've probably already found a way of getting your hands on a copy or downloaded the 2006 UK release. So you might not be extremely psyched. But what if I told you that there are two new tracks on their US debut? Well there are! The songs are entitled 'Catch and Boogie' and 'Baby, Just Be Yourself .' Both were being streamed on the band's MySpace page. However, the songs seem to have mysteriously disappeared. Not sure why but both are provided below.
The Pipettes will also be touring North America in October and the beginning of November. I've never seen them play but most show reviews that I've read have been positive and I've heard that they are a live band more than anything and should therefore not be missed. So, if their coming to your city make sure to check them out.
The Pipettes North American Tour
Here's a new song off of Kanye West's upcoming album entitled Graduation. Its called 'Homecoming' and it features Chris Martin from Coldplay. I have to say (and I am in no way ashamed to admit) that Coldplay is one of my favourite bands. I've loved them since Parachutes, have bought/own their entire catalogue and have seen them three times in concert. However, I wasn't fond of the idea of Chris collaborating with Kanye West or any other artist for that matter.
Back in 2005 a little band from Staines, UK released one of the catchiest albums of the year called Stars of CCTV. That band was Hard-Fi and they aren't so little anymore. Stars of CCTV sold over a million copies and went to #1 in the UK. In the next two years the band played two huge shows opening for Green Day at Milton Keynes Bowl, they played five sold out shows at the Brixton Academy (they are one of only a few bands to do so) and were nominated for two Brit Awards. But wait, there's more! Hard-Fi was also nominated for the coveted Mercury Music Prize. They lost to Antony and the Johnsons but hey, there can only be one winner.
So there was this band that I was obsessed with in March called The Cinematics. They are a Scottish band from Glasgow (a lot of great bands seem to be from Scotland lately, is there something in the water?). Anyways, I came across their music by chance, which seems to happen to me pretty often. I knew absolutely nothing about them but their name happened to appear on my computer screen, so I decided to give them a listen. I downloaded two songs, 'Chase' and 'Break' and I instantly loved what I heard. Then I bought their album entitled 'A Strange Education' and loved them even more. Honestly, I couldn't get enough this album and it will definitely be on my Best Of lists at the end of the year. Think of The Cinematics as a more toned down Editors. This is not a bad thing by any means. Their songs are catchy, have great hooks and are very melodic. They can even write anthemic rock songs such as the ridiculously good tracks 'A Strange Education' and 'Keep Forgetting.'
The Carling Weekend: Reading and Leeds festival is happening this weekend in, where else, but Reading and Leeds. The line-up for this festival is ridiculously good. I can only dream about having a festival of this stature in Canada. Sure we now have the Virgin Music Festival. And yes, the line-up this year is fantastic. But check out the bands playing Reading and Leeds and you will be instantly jealous. Other bands.artists worth checking out are:
Klaxons, Peter Bjorn and John, Kate Nash, Cold War Kids, The Pipettes (<- Love Them!!!), The Horrors, Maximo Park, Hot Hot Heat, The Dead 60s, , We Are Scientists and the Pigeon Detectives.
Anyways, the NME is going to be covering the festival all weekend as well as the BBC. Actually, you should head over to the BBC webpage because they are going to have tons of interviews, podcasts and video coverage over the next three days.
Cold War Kids are hitting the road beginning in September and will tour all the way through mid-December. They begin by opening shows for the White Stripes. Here are some dates:
'Under the Blacklight' is the new offering from LA indie band Rilo Kiley. The album is the first release since members, Jenny Lewis and Blake Sennet, released solo projects (Lewis with 'Rabbit Fur Coat' and Sennet with 'Sun. Sun, Sun' with The Elected). In fact, it has been a solid three years since the band released More Adventurous, gained critical acclaim and opened some dates on Coldplay's North American Twisted Logic tour back in 2005. Taking time off to pursue solo projects can be upsetting to fans, especially if it turns out to be a flop (not here mind you). But the time away from each other seems to have paid off.Rilo Kiley is back with a fresh new sound. Now. I know that hearing someone say that one of your favourite bands has a 'new sound', has the tendency to make some music fans nervous, while critics will proceed to sing the praises of the group. But I am happy to report that in Rilo Kiley's case, the critics have it right.
'Under the Blacklight' is a good album. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised at how greay it really is. The band released 'The Moneymaker' as their first single. The song is 
The band are currently playing some dates in Europe and then begin their North American tour in September. Here are some select dates (visit their MySpace page for a full list of dates):
The much anticipated second studio album from Mathangi 'Maya' Arulpragasam, also known as M.I.A., is released today. Kala (named after her mother) is the follow-up to 2005's hugely successful Arular (named after her father) for which she was nominated for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize in the UK. All 11 tracks off Thirteen Senses' latest CD 'Contact' are perfectly and beautifully crafted. There are no fillers here. The album's open, also called 'Contact' was released as the first single and should leave no doubt in your mind that Thirteen Senses have some great music in them. Also check out the singles 'All the Love in Your Hands' and 'Follow Me' if you need more proof. And they offer more than just upbeat piano-driven tunes. Case in point, the closing song off 'Contact' called 'Ones and Zeros.' Its dark and haunting and will leave you wanting more.
