Movie Review: Breaking Upwards

Album Review: Mighty Tiger's Western Theater

What's in the Inbox: Stat Quo "Success (Back to U)"

Director Michel Gondry has teamed with real-life pixie Bjork to create a 3D “scientific musical,” possibly for showing in IMAX screens in museums across the globe.

“We have a very ambitious project, a sort of scientific musical,” Gondry tells ThePlaylist.Blogspot.Com. “[It's a movie], but maybe more for museums. Like a 40 minute IMAX project in 3D.”

We’re looking forward to this, With two crazies like Gondry and Bjork involved, the film produced will undoubtedly be unique, interesting, and whimsical.

(source)

A Plea for Purging, fresh of their European tour, have announced their hitting the studio to record a new LP, The Marriage of Heaven & Hell. They’ll once again utilizes the services of Joey Sturgis at Indiana’s Foundation Studios, so this record should just be just as brutal as their previous effort.

According to their label, Facedown, the record should be released to stores this July. Given the band’s workhorse status, that release date should be easily achievable.

Good news, good news. Foxhole, the KY-birthed instrumental indie masters, will soon return from a four year hiatus. Insulinfunk received a press release today announcing they’ve reformed and are planning a new record.

“…we’ll be saying a great many things,” reads the press release, “through words and pictures and sounds, and eventually fully-formed musical thoughts… There’s an album inside of us (there are albums inside of you, too, we believe), and you’ll get to hear it soon. From Austin, from Denver, from Louisville, Nashville and Bowling Green — we’ll converge at high altitude and put to proper form these things we’ve been meaning to tell you for so long. “

Despite the fact that members live across a multitude of states, they still plan on making it work. Stay tuned.

Those adorable Swedes Shout Out Louds will soon embark on a tour of the United States to promote their latest LP, Work. The album is now available in North America via Merge Records; the tour begins on May 2 in Washington.

The group documented their Work recording sessions and put together a documentary, which is embedded below. Read on after the jump for their tour itinerary.

Shout Out Louds “At Work” from Ted Malmros on Vimeo.

…Shout Out Louds Announce US Tour Dates, Release Documentary

Seattle-based Mighty Tiger create faux-vintage studio rock (like Field Music, Real Estate, and Fleet Foxes) on their debut for Paper Garden Records, Western Theater. Throughout the LP, a noticeable analog warmth is audible, but the motif occasionally feels contrived, like a thrift-store blazer over an Ed Hardy tee.

The opening two tracks exemplify this shortcoming as the band attempts a caffeine-fueled Apples in Stereo pace, even though they appear at home with a more reserved tempo. The other noticeable mistep occurs when ”Hands in Holy Water” forsakes lyricism to make a point. The anti-suburban-hippie rant is witty but barely musical, at least until the bridge.

When the band does succeed, the results are impressive. “33 1/3″ is a catchy pop masterpiece and by far the album’s strongest moment, complete with a string-backed hook, percussive piano, and a bouncy bassline.  The synth foundation, persistent picking, and vocal harmonies… … Album Review: Mighty Tiger’s Western Theater

Big Red & Barbacoa, the new, Dan Auerbach-produced LP from South Texas’ Hacienda, will release on April 6. The music contained on this disc is described as “Tex-Mex roots rock, retro-pop and R&B” and “South Texas Soul” by the press release we received. Comparisons to the Beach Boys, The Band, Graham Parsons, and Paul McCartney were also made, which we’re sure will pique some of our reader’s interests. If that sounds like your thing, click here for a taste of the record. Be sure to drop us a comment and let us know what you think.

(We occasionally get things tossed our way that don’t exactly fit within our demographic (nerds). So, for the few that might be interested in things like Lionel Richie’s Greatest Hits, we thought we’d share them with the group.)

Stat Quo – Success (Back To U) from Stat Quo on Vimeo.

Saint Bartlett, Damien Jurdao’s collaboration with Richard Swift, will be released by Secretly Canadian on May 25 (May 24 in the UK). According to the press release, the album carries a Phil Spector-ish vibe which is quite a departure from the tunes we’ve come to expect from Jurado. Here’s a free download of “Arkansas,” the first single from the album. Take a listen and let us know what you think.

If making one amazing video for their latest single ‘This Too Shall Pass’ weren’t enough, the band OK Go decided to make another one.

Two posts on one band in a single day may be heresy for most, but the Gorillaz deserves such attention. The first video for the single Stylo has been released and well… it certainly sets the mood for the upcoming album.

Here’s Stylo by the Gorillaz, featuring Mos Def and Bobby Womack (along with a cameo of a certain actor…).