The Saratoga Springs, NY duo of Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel, known collectively as Phantogram, released their debut LP Eyelid Movies on Barsuk Records earlier this year. The band recently capped a spring touring season consisting of a national run with The Antlers, a West Coast tour with The xx, and Canadian dates with Metric and Passion Pit with a huge co-headlining show at Governor’s Island in New York with Caribou on July 16th. August will have them back home in their studio writing and getting surprises ready for the fall tour.

Since its release, Eyelid Movies has been lauded: NPR fell for the band’s “mysterious, danceable pop music.” Pitchfork called it “a sumptuous, seductive record,” while both Spin and Alternative Press gave the record four stars. (more…)

“Boy,” the first single from Ra Ra Riot’s sophomore album The Orchard, is available now at iTunes, where it can be purchased along with “Keep It Quiet (Bear)” (a stripped down version of The Orchard track that the band previewed last month) and a cover of Sparks’ “Saccharin and the War.” The track “Boy” is currently streaming at Stereogum and available as a free MP3 via rarariot.com.

Buy Ra Ra Riot’s “Boy” on iTunes:
http://bit.ly/itunesboy

Due out August 24^th on Barsuk Records (U.S.) and Arts & Crafts (Canada), The Orchard was hailed this week by NPR as “Incredible… An epic album with soaring strings and fat bass lines,” and is now available for pre-order. The Orchard will be issued in standard physical and digital versions, as well as a number of special editions including limited colored vinyl, and a bonus DVD featuring a beautiful 38 minute impressionist behind-the-scenes documentary on the writing and making of The Orchard directed by Taryn Gould and Emily Kowalczyk. To place pre-orders and/or view a full list of configurations, go to http://bit.ly/preorchard.

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Stereogum Premieres the Track “TAOS” for Free Download

“With Mines, this Portland trio continues what they started on their epic debut I Am The Fun Blame Monster! and builds upon their ingenious third album, Friend and Foe. Magical.” - Filter

Menomena, the acclaimed Portland, OR art-rock trio, will release their fourth full-length record, Mines, July 27th on Barsuk Records (and July 30th in Germany, and August 2nd in the UK and the rest of Europe, all on City Slang). The record is now streaming in its entirety as part of National Public Radio’s Exclusive First Listen series.

Listen to Menomena’s Mines [Barsuk Records] in full on NPR:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128568845

Additionally, our friends at Stereogum are offering the track “TAOS” for free download, right here:

Download and share Menomena’s “TAOS” from Mines [Barsuk Records]:
http://stereogum.com/442631/menomena-taos-stereogum-premiere/mp3s/

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Philly MC Vinnie Paz, of Jedi Mind Tricks and Army of Pharaohs fame, has just released a 3 part behind the scenes look into the creation of the heart-stirring video for “Keep Movin’ On.” Under the direction of Joe Frantz (Bam Margera, HIM, CKY, Clutch, Viking Skull, The 69 Eyes), Vinnie and collaborator Shara Worden teamed up with a celebrity cast including Philly’s multi-talented star Tony Luke Jr., adult actress Gina Lynn, and rocker Scott Vogel of the band Terror.

Weaving an emotional portrait of life in Philadelphia, the music video shows how Philly natives push on through hard times with pride.  This short documentary is like no other behind the scenes rap video ever made.  Leaving out flashy cars, “booty shakers, and homeboys”, Joe Frantz shows a raw insight into Vinnie, with some signature pranks and antics of course.

Watch Keep Movin’ On: A Portrait of Vinnie Paz:
Part 1 of 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SsoLbuWMlw
Part 2 of 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpL7XRwEYtA
Part 3 of 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHS0Hw2Ut8c

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Last month, Ra Ra Riot teased fans eagerly anticipating their forthcoming LP, The Orchard, with a two-minute preview of the album-closing “Keep It Quiet.” Yesterday, the band added yet another vignette to RaRaRiot.com, this time previewing the propulsive pop of “Too Dramatic.” The brief preview – directed by Taryn Gould and Emily Kowalczyk – couples live footage of the band performing the track with images of muddy boots, peach trees and picaresque scenery from the orchard where the album was recorded.

Watch Ra Ra Riot’s “Too Dramatic” preview:
http://rarariot.com/ (more…)

The praise being bestowed upon LA’s Local Natives is thanks, in large part, to the gloriously arranged harmonies and relentless energy that propels Gorilla Manor to places like the #11 spot on NPR’s recently-released Best of 2010 reader’s poll. The rest of the thanks is owed to the band’s stage show, an imposing wall of voices, sweat and roiling vigor. You can hear and see a bit of both on the band’s recent stop in AOL’s LA offices, where the Natives tore through characteristically emphatic renditions of Manor faves “Sun Hands,” “Airplanes,” “World News” and “Wide Eyes.” The performances are available to watch, embed or download over on AOL Spinner.

Watch Local Natives Perform On AOL’s Interface:
http://www.spinner.com/interface/local-natives

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After a string of promising EPs, the debut long player from Chicago’s Maps & Atlases has finally arrived. Perch Patchwork, released via Barsuk this Tuesday, is a fully-realized vision of earthy, organic pop, led by lead singer Dave Davison’s gloriously husky baritone and the band’s tempered interpretation of years of math rock and busy guitar lines. This week only, the LP is streaming in its entirety on AOL Spinner. But it doesn’t stop there. Recently, the Chicago quartet swung by the Rock Island studios of Daytrotter to put a session to tape. The result, as anyone who has seen the band live can predict, is an ecstatic, electric collection of energetic pop songs and expert performances. Head over to Daytrotter now to bask in its glory, and understand why Pitchfork raved earlier this week.

Listen to Perch Patchwork by Maps & Atlases [Barsuk] on AOL Spinner:
http://www.spinner.com/new-releases#/15

Listen to Maps & Atlases’ Daytrotter Session:
http://www.daytrotter.com/dt/maps-and-atlases-concert/20032219-37382274.html

Purchase Perch Patchwork by Maps & Atlases [Barsuk]:
iTunes (bonus version), emusic, Napster, Amazon

Download and share Maps & Atlases’ “Solid Ground” from Perch Patchwork [Barsuk Records]:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

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Unleash the stems! Local Natives, current darlings of the summer festival circuit and the proud parents of the critically-acclaimed Gorilla Manor,have launched a microsite where artists and fans can snag stems of songs from the band’s Frenchkiss Records debut. In exchange for a few personal details (name, email, postal – voilà!), prospective remixers can download stems for Manor standouts “Wide Eyes,” “World News,” “Camera Talk,” and “Who Knows Who Cares.” And that’s just the first batch – more will be uploaded later this summer. Artists and fans can submit their re-envisioned track and the best will show up on the player for the world to listen to. Labelmates and recent touring partners Suckers have donated their remix of “Wide Eyes” as the inaugural submission.

Download Stems and Remix Local Natives:
http://thelocalnatives.com/stems/

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Suckers premiered the bright new video for their bouncy single “Black Sheep” on Pitchfork today.  Best described as Brooklyn fab meets local access TV, the clip is a kitschtastic green screen dream.  “Black Sheep” was directed by Todd Yeager, and the song was recorded, produced and mixed in NYC by Chris Zane (Passion Pit/Walkmen).

Watch Suckers’ video for “Black Sheep” from Wild Smile [Frenchkiss Records] on Pitchfork:
http://pitchfork.com/tv/#/musicvideo/6868-suckers-black-sheep-frenchkiss

Suckers released their debut full-length album Wild Smile on June 8th via Frenchkiss Records, to great reviews thus far.  The new record is a quirky spaced-out trip through the melodramatic minds of guitar-wielding, vocal-duty sharing cousins Austin Fisher and Quinn Walker, multi-instrumentalist Pan and drummer Brian Aiken.  With effortless allusions to African rhythms and synth-saturated ballads of old, Suckers combine influences to offer their signature sound to Wild Smile.

Suckers will be touring North America this fall with Portland indie trio Menomena [Barsuk Records]. (more…)

Brooklyn art-pop quartet Suckers released their debut LP, Wild Smile, to the masses this week via hitmaker indie label, Frenchkiss Records.  The long-awaited album is a quirky spaced-out trip through the melodramatic minds of guitar-wielding, vocal-duty sharing cousins Austin and Quinn Walker, multi-instrumentalist Pan and drummer Brian Aiken.  With effortless allusions to African rhythms and synth-saturated ballads of old, Suckers combine influences to offer their signature sound to Wild Smile.

AOL Spinner and Absolute Punk are streaming Wild Smile all this week, and the band is also offering an embeddable album stream on their website, Suckersmusic.com (grab the code below).  Fans who buy Wild Smile from the band’s website will also receive two exclusive bonus tracks – acoustic versions of album standouts “Martha” and “Black Sheep.”  Amazon and iTunes also each have an exclusive bonus track in their digital offering.

Also announced today, Suckers will be touring North America this fall with Portland indie trio Menomena, who also have a new album coming out this summer via Barsuk Records.  Check out the full dates below.
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