[News] Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. Announce U.K. Tour Dates

With a West Coast North American tour alongside Fitz & The Tantrums set to start on January 15th, Detroit duo Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. are starting 2012 off on a good note. Keeping the good times rolling, the pair have announced even more tour dates, with this tour taking them to the U.K. for an intimate, five-date stint. The tour will include three shows in London on February 12th, 14th and 15th, followed by a show in Manchester on the 16th and another in Nottingham on the 18th. You can take a look at the specific locations for each show, as well, you can click on the link attached to each show to purchase tickets.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. U.K. Tour Dates - February:

• 12^th – London, The Barfly (HMV Next Big Thing show, supported by WE//ARE//ANIMAL)
• 14^th – London, Madame JoJo’s (White Heat club night)
• 15^th – London, XOYO (NME club night headlined by Band Of Skulls)
• 16^th – Manchester, The Castle (BETA club night)
• 18^th – Nottingham, The Rescue Rooms (Stealth vs. Rescued club night)

[News] Crosses (†††) EP Set For January 24th Release

As we mentioned last week, Crosses, Chino Moreno and Shaun Lopez's joint project, we thought the duo were hinting at dropping a second EP rather soon. Well, it look like we'll only have to wait a just a couple of weeks as they just posted an ominous looking video on their Facebook and Twitter pages. Give it a look after the jump. As well as that, the above image was uploaded to their Instagram page. Mark your calendar for the 24th of January as EP †† is coming!

[News] The Ting Tings Announce 2012 Tour Dates

Manchester pop rock duo The Ting Tings are set to release their long awaited sophomore LP Sounds from Nowheresville on February 27th, and today, they've announced tour dates in support of the upcoming studio effort. Starting with a two night stint in Los Angeles on March 21st and 22nd, the pair will tour up the West Coast of the U.S. and Canada before heading out east. The tour will hit major cities such as New York, Toronto, Boston, Atlanta, Houston and Dallas, and will conclude with a final show in Detroit, MI on May 4th. You can take a look at all of the band's tour dates and locations after the jump.

As well, after the jump, you can watch the video for "Hang It Up," one of the songs to be included on the sophomore LP.

UPDATE: The duo have added more tour dates to their tour schedule, which you can check out after the jump.

The Ting Tings 2012 Tour Dates:

March 20             Tempe, AZ @ Clubhouse Music Venue

March 21             Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre

March 22             Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre

March 23             San Diego, CA @ House of Blues

March 25             San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore

March 26             Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom

March 27             Vancouver, B.C. @ Commodore ballroom

March 28             Seattle, WA @ The Showbox at the Market

March 30             Salt Lake City, UT @ Club Sound

March 31             Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre

April 2                  Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue

April 3                  Chicago, IL @ Park West

April 5                  Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall

April 6                  Toronto, ONT @ Phoenix Concert Theatre

April 7                  Montreal, QC @ Le National

April 9                  Boston, MA @ Paradise

April 11               New York, NY @ Webster Hall

April 12               Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club

April 13               Philadelphia, PA @ The Trocadero

April 14               Baltimore, MD @ Rams Head Live

April 16               Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse

April 17               Birmingham, AL @ Workplay Soundstage

April 18               New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues

April 20               Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s

April 21               Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater

[News] Mike Skinner To Release Memoirs: 'The End of the Streets'

The SKoA camp were more than a little upset when Mike Skinner announced that The Streets' album Computers and Blues was to be his last. Recently though, Mike has been back up to his old antics on Twitter and talking about all kinds of things. One of those things is his Memoirs which are soon to be released. Skinner's book will be titled The End of the Streets and was written with Ben Thompson, who's worked on autobiographical material with Russell Brand and comedian Vic Reeves in the past. It'll be available to add to your book collection come the 29th of March and comes complete with a tonne of unseen photographs from Mike's past including some old family pics. See above for a picture of Skinner on his first day of school! The pictures were given to him by his Mum and on his site, regarding the above pic, he stated: "my first day at school. and strong emotions for me because my little girl starts nursery this week. circle of life shit. lion king and that."

The 352 page book can be peeped over at Amazon.co.uk so mark your calendar for a day of geeking up on Mr. Mike Skinner.

[News] The Killers, Bloc Party Announce New Albums

Already kicking off a new year of album announcements are The Killers and Bloc Party, both of whom announced that they are working on new albums on Zane Lowe's BBC show. Both Brandon Flowers of The Killers and Kele Okereke of Bloc Party say that new albums from each of their bands are definite by the end of the year. Despite rumours that Bloc Party was breaking up, those doubts have been removed as Okereke states that the band is feeling "liberated" and that the band has "recorded two new songs and demoed 17 more." On The Killers end of things, Flowers has stated that they aren't looking to "throw a curveball" and "the consensus within the band is to take those things that we've done well and really hone in on that." He went further to say "[w]e don't want to make Hot Fuss 2 or Sam's Town 2, or Day & Age 2," but rather "take all that stuff, the best of all of it and do what we know how to do." The Killers are currently recording new material and "[i]t's just whether it's [released in] the summertime or the wintertime."

Expect more news regarding both bands and their respective albums to surface as the year progresses.

[News] Holiday Hunger Bundle: Bid on New Music from of Montreal, We Are Scientists,OK Go and Drive-By Truckers for Charity

Starting today, the Holiday Hunger Bundle, a charity project created in conjunction with the Feed Them With Music charity, is open for music fans to bid on four tracks from of Montreal ("Feminine Effects"), OK Go ("All Is Not Lost"), We Are Scientists (an acoustic version of "Central AC"), and Drive-By Truckers ("The Thanksgiving Filter"). Donations for the Holiday Hunger Bundle are up to those donating, but every dollar donated equals one meal provided to someone in need. Also, if they are able to meet their goal of delivering 10,000 (that means at least $10,000 in donations) meals delivered, they will release an original unreleased Christmas song from The Postelles. And, if that wasn't enough incentive, the top donator will receive a marching hat and outfit used in OK Go's video for "This Too Shall Pass." The Holiday Hunger Bundle charity project will be running for the next week, so head here to start donating now. As well, below, you can stream of Montreal's charity exclusive "Feminine Effects."

of Montreal - "Feminine Effects" by Some Kind of Awesome

[News] Miike Snow Detail Sophomore LP: 'Happy To You'

Just two weeks after releasing "Devil's Work," the first song from their upcoming sophomore album, Swedish trio Miike Snow have announced the name and date of that very sophomore album. The follow-up to their 2009 self-titled debut will be called Happy To You and is set to be released on March 27th via Downtown Records/Universal Republic. The album was self-produced and will see the band "draw from some of the most influential moments in pop, rock and electronic music to create a grandiose and haunting sound, an opus extending into the deep, dark and magical crevices of a wild imagination," as well as featuring "full orchestras, brass sections and marching bands." After the jump, you can listen to "Devil's Work," the first taste of the upcoming album, as well, head here to listen to Alex Metric's remix of that very song.

[News] Mr. Dream Announce New EP: 'Fatherland'

Brooklyn rock trio Mr. Dream have announced a brand new EP to keep fans busy in the wake of their debut studio album Trash Hit, which was released this March. The EP will be titled Fatherland, and will include five or six tracks, as the band isn't even sure how many it will feature. The band has stated that the EP will be released around the end of February, and a limited number of 12" vinyls of the mini-album will be sold at their March west coast dates alongside Cloud Nothings. Here's what the band had to say about the album:

the songs are weirder and darker, more in the vein of stuff like “trash hit”, “learn the language”, “moneybags”, and “scarred for life”. sexier and woozier than that sounds though. production-wise i’ve changed my entire setup since ‘trash hit’, from pres to mics to converters to outboard to monitors. adam has a new guitar rig, courtesy of our patron saint chris ott. we’re also just a lot better at this shit than we were a year ago."

After the jump, you can take a look at the track listing for the EP, as well as the dates and locations for the band's tour dates with Cloud Nothings.

Fatherland EP Tracklist:
01. What A Mess
02. Palace Complex
03. Fatherland
04. Slow Learner
05. Believing and Shitting
06. Whichever song is internally referred to as “Stiffarm vs. Heisman”

Mr. Dream 2012 Tour Dates:
03/01 – Costa Mesa, CA @ Detroit Bar *
03/02 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echo  *
03/03 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill *
03/05 – Portland, OR @ Holocene *
03/06 – Seattle, WA @ Crocodile *
03/07 – Vancouver, BC @ Media Club *
03/08 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux *
03/09 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court *
03/10 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge *
03/12 – Kansas City, MO @ Riot Room *
03/13-18 – Austin, TX @ South by Southwest 

* = w/ Cloud Nothings