Toyota Antics

Badly Drawn Boy (aka Damon Gough) has announced his first "non-soundtrack" album since 2006 titled It's What I'm Thinking Part One: Photographing Snowflakes.

This first release is part of a trilogy (complete trilogy titled It's What I'm Thinking) that will be put out by The End Records.

Badly Drawn Boy will also be embarking on a UK tour in October so it is probably safe to assume that a US tour will soon follow.

The records first single, "Too Many Miracles," will be unveiled and available for download off iTunes on August 24th.

It's What I'm Thinking Part One: Photographing Snowflakes drops October 12th.

You can read our review of the album right here.

Track List:

In Safe Hands
The Order of Things
Too Many Miracles
What Tomorrow Brings
I Saw You Walk Away
It’s What I’m Thinking
You Lied
A Pure Accident
This Electric
This Beautiful Idea

Minimalist-rockers Shellac haven't been overly active the last couple years. But have no fear; Shellac will be playing a few shows in the North East.

Steve Albini, Bob Weston, and Todd Trainer will be kicking things off in Ohio with Helen Money and Mission of Burma performing on select dates.

Check out the dates below.

The trio’s latest release, Excellent Italian Greyhound, is out now.

Tour Dates:

September
01 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom &
02 Buffalo, NY - Ninth Ward &
06 Boston, MA - Middle East & ^
07 Brooklyn, NY - Bell House &
08 Pittsburgh, PA - Smiling Moose &
09 Pontiac, MI - Crofoot &

& with Helen Money
^ with Mission of Burma

Idaho's Built To Spill is preparing to take off for a pretty extensive US tour this September.

Kicking things off in Salt Lake City, the group will be circle pretty much the entire country, with multiple shows in a few states. Built To Spill fans will have more than enough opportunities to catch these indie-rockers.

Their latest album, There Is No Enemy, is out now.

Tour Dates:

September
17 The Depot - Salt Lake City, UT
18 Gothic Theatre - Englewood, CO
19 The Beaumont Club - Kansas City, MO
20 Blue Moose Tap House - Iowa City, IA
21 The High Noon Saloon - Madison, WI
22 High Dive - Champaign, IL
23 The Vogue - Indianapolis, IN
24 Vic Theatre - Chicago, IL
25 St. Andrews Hall - Detroit, MI
28 The Town Ballroom - Buffalo, NY
29 Pearl Street - Northampton, MA
30 Paradise Rock Club - Boston, MA

October
1 Paradise Rock Club - Boston, MA
2 The Met Cafe - Pawtucket, RI
3 Higher Ground - So. Burlington, VT
7 Trocadero - Philadelphia, PA
8 9:30 Club - Washington, DC
9 The National - Richmond, VA
10 Cat’s Cradle - Carrboro, NC
11 Neighborhood Theatre - Charlotte, NC
12 40 Watt Club - Athens, GA
13 Free Bird Cafe - Jacksonville, FL
14 The Social - Orlando, FL
15 Culture Room - Ft. Lauderdale, FL
16 State Theatre - St. Petersburg, FL
17 The Venue - Gainesville, FL
19 The Moon - Tallahassee, FL
20 Howlin Wolf - New Orleans, LA
21 House Of Blues - Houston, TX
22 Emo’s - Austin, TX
23 Emo’s - Austin, TX
24 Diamond Ballroom - Oklahoma City, OK
25 Launch Pad - Albuquerque, NM
26 Marquee Theatre - Tempe, AZ
27 Belly Up Tavern - Solana Beach, CA
28 El Rey Theatre - Los Angeles, CA

November
11 Ashland Armory - Ashland, OR
12 WOW Hall - Eugene, OR
13 Crystal Ballroom - Portland, OR
15 The Wild Buffalo - Bellingham, WA
17 Wilma Theater - Missoula, MT
18 Knitting Factory Concert House - Spokane, WA
19 The Showbox - Seattle, WA
20 The Showbox - Seattle, WA

Being a travel junkie, Smarter Wallpaper has created the perfect app for me.

Smarter Wallpaper (blackberry only) lets you choose from hundreds of webcams from all over the world to be your phone wallpaper. Currently in my random rotation is the Rialto Bridge in Italy, a mosque in Iraq, a minor league baseball team in Rochester NY, a cafe in Babgkok and tons more. At one point today i even witnessed Old Faithful erupting in Yellowstone as it happened. Pretty cool stuff.

There is a free version with limited options and a premium version for $4.99 in the Blackberry app store.

Los Angeles' dream-punk group No Age has revealed a new North American trek to add to their already intensive tour.

The massive amount of touring is to support their forthcoming record, Everything in Between, which hits the streets September 28th.

No Age has also released a teaser video for a new track titled "Life Prowler" which is the kick-off track from Everything in Between. The video SOUNDS pretty good, the visual, kind of creepy.  

You can pick up their new Glitter 7" and 12" right here. 

Check out the tour dates below.

Read More.

As My Morning Jacket embarks on a summer tour, guitarist Carl Broemel has a surprise in store for fans. Along with friends, MMJ keyboardist Bo Koster and Broemel's father (a classically trained musician in his own right), Broemel is releasing a solo album, All Birds Say, on August 31 via ATO Records. But have no fear MMJ fans, Broemel has no intention of leaving the band: this album is a collection of work done during his time living in Nashville while on various breaks. Recently, Broemel took time to chat with FILTER about how the album came together, how he writes his songs and about the possibility of MMJ incorporating his solo material into its sets. [And stay tuned for FILTER's interview with MMJ drummer Patrick Hallahan tomorrow.]


When did you decide to write material for you own album?

Carl Broemel: I’ve always written songs and I’ve always sort of been working on stuff, no matter what other kind of musical stuff I was doing, like laying it down on a laptop. When I moved to Nashville, I had a couple of people that helped me get some legitimate recordings and it’s come together over the past four years. I finally got most of 'em done and friends said, "You should put this out!" so I said, "Alright, I’d love that" and that’s how it came together.

It took about four years to collect all the material. Was the process more a "work in progress" way of working or did you think that certain songs would make the cut at some point while others wouldn’t?

I kinda would just do them as I wrote them. “Carried Away” was the first one that we recorded. Then six months later we went in and did another song. I have a few friends here in Nashville and we were jamming in my friend's studio, which is actually in his garage. We’d go there, jam and record a song. It wasn’t like we were officially making an album; we were just kind of recording songs. I had like five or six songs I thought were cool and then I found out my wife was pregnant and it was sort of like, "Well, I might as well finish the whole record now [May 2009] before he's born." So I booked time and finished the second half of the record. And now it’s done!

The lyrics seem very personal and introspective. What were some of the themes of the album?

I don’t know, to be honest. I don’t know what “Carried Away” is about necessarily; it’s a more general song [laughs]. But I think it’s pretty easy to understand. On “Retired,” I was sort of thinking about my parents and their lives and what that’s like. They’re divorced and have been for a long time and have lived separate lives. So it’s about being retired from the two perspectives. I write a lot of songs at night when everyone’s gone to bed.

Sometimes the best creative energy comes when there’s nobody else around. Is that what it's like for you?

That sounds about right. It just took so long and there were never any deadlines for any of the music so I never felt I had to put anything there that I didn’t want. I had so much time to think through because I’ll write five or six things and sometimes there won’t be a solid one. I think I had to spend this time filtering out what I considered to be my best material. Hopefully it won’t take me that long to do another one.

What were the other differences between making this album and a My Morning Jacket album?

We have a schedule for a MMJ record. I didn’t really think about the process so much on my record and I didn’t think of it as making a record until I got two-thirds of the way through it and I was like, "Fuck it, I’m gonna finish this." When the band is going in to record, the mentality is, "We are going to do this right now." The MMJ process is relaxed, since we take control of the schedule and know what to do.

Do you plan on having the band play any of your solo material at the upcoming shows?

We might do “Carried Away,” depending on how we feel. We’re all trying to support each other and encourage everyone to do what we do separately as well, and not feel like a collective in a way. We play Monsters of Folk songs and when Jim puts out a solo record, I’d love to play it live.  F
 

The world has spoken: We flipped our shit, and you all flipped with us. In fact, everyone seems to like our new horizontal layout so much that we think we’re gonna keep it. Life’s so much better when you’re horizontal, ain’t it? 

And who better to escort us into this new sideways habit of looking at the world than the masters of sideways comedy themselves, the cast of FX’s breakaway hit, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. We assembled The Gang from Paddy’s Pub on an iconic indie rock rooftop [from The Replacements’ Let It Be cover] to let us in on the secrets of their unique brand of sitcom brilliance. These DIY misfits have built their inane, insular world with unparalleled volatility and loyalty, fearlessly creating a rule-breaking show with absolute freedom and ferocity that has steadily grown to earn its reputation as one of the funniest things on television. And as a testament to The Gang’s punk rock work ethic, we recruited a handful of musicians (from Kings of Leon to Of Montreal to Mike Patton) to weigh in on why they love Sunny as well. All this, plus in-character playlists created by the actors (Rick Astley! Patrick Swayze! “Nightman”!), sordid April Fools tales and Danny Devito squaring off against an ostrich? You better lie down.

Read all about the new issue, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: DIY or Die," below and pick it up on stands September 3. Make sure you also head over to facebook.com/FILTERmagazine to see an exclusive backstage chat with Charlie Day & Glenn Howerton from our cover shoot.

Also in this issue, FILTER recruited punk rock legend Mike Watt to drop some dimes about the old days and spiel about his famous “econo” lifestyle with new torchbearers No Age; we lock down Kid Cudi in New York City to find out what sets him apart from the tribe of rap fakers and wannabe’s; we talk to visionary director Mark Romanek about his career in the music video world (including landmark clips for Michael Jackson, Fiona Apple, Nine Inch Nails, Beck, and Johnny Cash) and his new feature film, the haunting Never Let Me Go; and strap on our leather jackets and Chucks to reminisce with Bad Religion about the band’s 30 years in the punk pulpit (including Hallelujahs from Tom Waits, Circle Jerks’ Keith Morris, and some dude from Harvard—yes, that Harvard). 

In addition, we expand our international Sound Escapes coverage and take you on a tour of the sunny beaches and hummus bowls of Tel Aviv, Israel, to explore the Holy Land’s underground rock scene; we head north to Toronto’s NXNE festival to find out how our neighbors stay cool and get down; and collide cultures with a handful of international upstarts from around the world. Also, despite his warnings that “nothing is revealed” during a conversation with him, Deerhunter’s brilliant but conflicted frontman Bradford Cox lets us in on a few shining revelations about his band’s new opus. Plus, we get to know Cotton Jones, Wavves, El Guincho and Glasser, and re-visit with Les Savy Fav. And if that wasn’t enough, an EndNote essay of personal reflection about the facts of life from Bob Saget may shed light on what raising the Olsen twins must have really been like. Hot.

Read More.

Yes, Yes, YES! Remember when we reported the possible Pinkerton tour? Well...

In an interview with MTV, Weezer's frontmant Rivers Cuomo reports that the possibility of a Pinkerton tour is actually much more than a possibility, and more than JUST a Pinkerton album. Read his quote below and see what I mean.

"We have this really exciting idea to do a tour where we spend two nights in each city, and the first night, we play the entire Blue Album, and the second night, we play the entirety of Pinkerton. We’re just running it by promoters right now to see if there’s sufficient interest in the markets to do something like that, and if they’re on board, it’s gonna happen."

All I can say is if this happens, it will make my year.

Oh yea, Weezer's new LP Hurley drops September 14th.

Vocalist and guitarist of the influential band The Call, Michael Been, passed away yesterday. He was also the father of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's Levon Been.

The 60-year-old suffered a heart attack backstage at the Pukkelpop Festival in Belgium. Doctors tried to revive Been but was not successful and he was pronounced dead at Salvator Hasselt Hospital. 

There is no information about the upcoming BRMC tour or future shows but we will keep you updated.

Our thoughts go out to the Been family.
 

Swedish electro-pop trio Miike Snow is coming back to North America!

Still in support of the bands self-titled debut release, the guys will be playing a few dates in NYC, dropping down to perform at this year's Austin City Limits, go back north for a few shows, and close things out in San Francisco at this year's Treasure Island Festival.

Don't miss the great live show these guys put on! Need proof? Check out this video from FILTER's SXSW party this past year.

Tour Dates:

October
06 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
07 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
08 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits
09 – Toronto, ON @ Kool Haus
10 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
11 – Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre
13 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox At The Market
15 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
16 – San Francisco, CA @ Treasure Island Festival