[News] The Morning Benders Change Name to POP ETC

In rather unfortunate news, The Morning Benders have recently taken to Twitter and Facebook to announce that “this will be the last post/tweet from The Morning Benders.” The news, while at first seemingly implying the demise of the band, was met with more welcome news. The band will not be breaking up, but instead changing their name to POP ETC.

On their former official website, band member Chris Chu explained that, "[w]hen we started this band in 2005 we had no expectations. From an early age I had a deep love for music and its power to bring people together, but the truth is, in 2005 I had just finished writing my first songs and all I wanted to do was start a band as soon as possible. That same year I had moved to Berkeley to attend college, and of the first 5 people I met, 1 of them happened to be a drummer, and 1 happened to be a guitarist. It was kismet; we started a band. It wasn't long before we got offered our first show on Lower Sproul (Berkeley's school quad). Now all we needed was a band name. We came up with two options: "The Beatles 2" and "The Morning Benders." We went with The Morning Benders."

He goes further to say: "Fast forward to 2010, many a dive bar, school quad, house party, county fair, pizza parlor later. We had just released Big Echo, and for the first time we were preparing for a world tour. We had toured a fair amount leading up to Big Echo, but never overseas, so when it came time to tour the UK and Europe we were quite excited. The touring went well, and we had an amazing time, but also something happened that we hadn't anticipated. As soon as we had landed in London people started asking us about our band name. "What does 'Bender' mean to you?" people would ask. "Are you seriously called 'The Morning Benders' ?" was a common question. For those of you reading from America, you may still be confused. Well, it turns out that the word 'bender' in the UK and many parts of Europe is a slang term for 'homosexual.' We were told our band name was the equivalent of 'The Morning Fags' in America. We had been called The Morning Benders for 5 years, and we were just finding this out now? It was shocking. And quite sad, to say the least. We had spent those years touring night and day, championing our name everywhere we could, only to find out that the name had an alternate meaning- one that made us look hateful, or at best, ignorant."

"At the time we didn't really have many options; we had already booked several tours as The Morning Benders and had just released our new album. We couldn't very well change the name right then and there. We had unwittingly gotten ourselves into a problem with no immediate solution, it was extremely disappointing. But that's all said and done. Now it's 2012. We are at the tail end of making our third album, and we have been given the opportunity to change our band name. We've decided to seize that opportunity, and here's why--

1. We simply cannot go on using a name that is demeaning to the gay community. The reason we are making music is to reach and unite as many different kinds of people as possible, and the idea that our name may be hateful towards anyone makes us sick.
2. In the UK and many parts of Europe the name has simply become too distracting. The MUSIC has always been our number one focus, and we want to present that to people in as pure a way as possible."

In commemoration of their new band name POP ETC, they've released a mixtape featuring 11 songs that can be streamed below via Soundcloud or downloaded for free at their new website.

[News] Air France Call It Quits

Swedish pop duo Air France have taken to their Tumblr to announce that the band is no more. Frowny face. The duo comprising of Joel Karlsson and Henrik Markstedt posted an expert titled "We’ll make this brief, because it hurts too much" in which they thank the people that made everything they achieved possible."During the first year of Air France, somewhere in the middle of the last decade, everything seemed to come so easily" it reads before going on to say they got to play all the "places on that big map we had dreamt about. We got to play records at the Rough Trade store in London, we went to the Red Square, we woke up on Iceland during a volcanic eruption, we drank beer at the cliffs of the Niagara" before turning to the fact that after releasing 2008′s No Way Down EP they found it hard to finish anything: "We’ve never been able to finish anything, nothing was ever good enough. We have tried so hard, and we truly gave it everything we had. And now we have decided to stop trying, even though it breaks our hearts. But for all the reasons mentioned above, and for a thousand more, we don’t regret a thing." 

It's not all doom and gloom though "We wish we could thank all the people who has helped and inspired us...Goodbye for now. Who knows, maybe we’ll see you again in another shape. After all, we’re people that never stop dreaming." So, let's hope they don't stop dreaming and that one day we get a reincarnation of what once was Air France.

Aesop Rock Announces LP #6 'Skelethon" To Release This July On Rhymesayers

Acerizzle aka Aesop Rock (not to be confused with A$AP Rocky) announced today that his 6th solo album Skelethon will be released on July 10th via indie hip hop giant, Rhymesayers. Skelethon marks the first solo LP in five years since Aesop's last album None Shall Pass was released in 07. The album features guest spots from Ace's Hail Mary Mallon Co-horts Rob Sonic & DJ Big Wiz, as well as wifey Allyson Baker of Dirty Ghosts, Hanni El Khatib, Grimace Federation, Nicky Fleming-Yaryan and his Uncluded partner in crime Kimya Dawson. The new album is 100% produced by Aesop Rock which is awesome as Aesop is coming into his own as a producer, but at the same time sad as we won't hear Aesop spit over any El-P or Blockhead beats this time around. Check out the album's full tracklist below.

1. Leisureforce
2. ZZZ Top
3. Cycles To Gehenna
4. Zero Dark Thirty
5. Fryerstarter
6. Ruby '81
7. Crows 1
8. Crows 2
9. Racing Stripes
10. 1,000 O'Clock
11. Homemade Mummy
12. Grace
13. Saturn Missiles
14. Tetra
15. Gopher Guts

It may be a minute before we get our first taste of Skelethon but this April we will get our first taste of Aesop's upcoming collaboration with singer/songwriter Kimya Dawson, The Uncluded, with Rhymesayers upcoming Record Store Day 2012 Picture Disc. The split 10"vinyl will feature brand new, exclusive and unreleased tracks from Atmosphere called "Someday Soon" and The Uncluded (Aesop Rock x Kimya Dawson) titled "Bats". This release RSD release is a limited run with only 2000 copies, so make sure you get your hands on one. Check out more music from Aesop Rock and Kimya Dawson from last year's Daytrotter Session.

[News] Sigur Rós to Release New Album 'Valtari' in May

UPDATE: The band has unveiled the official artwork for the album, which you can see above. As well, you can listen to the song "Ekki Múkk" from the album after the jump, and the album has been given an official U.S. release date of May 29th via EMI/XL.

Staying true to the promise they made late last year, Sigur Rós have announced that their sixth studio album is set to release in May and is titled Valtari. According to images of this month's Q Magazine, which were released on the band's official forum, the album will drop on May 28th. The album, which is being produced by lead singer Jónsi and frequent collaborator Alex Somers, will feature at least seven tracks, with the possibility of more.

When speaking with The Wall Street Journal last Fall, the album was described by the band as "introverted," "ambient," and "floaty and minimal." As well, during the interview with Q Magazine, bassist Georg Holm described it as "beautiful," going further to describe the name of the album and its meaning, saying that Valtari literally translates to "steamroller" in English. He explains that "the music kind of just rolls over you. In a good way."

To support the forthcoming release, Sigur Rós has announced a number of tour dates, including Osheaga Festival in Montreal. After the jump, you can take a look at the "partial" tracklisting for Valtari as well as the band's full tour schedule.

Sigur Rós - Ekki múkk from Sigur Rós on Vimeo.

Valtari Tracklist:
01. Ég Anda
02. Ekki Múkk
03. Varúð
04. Rembihnútur
05. Dauðalogn
06. Varðeldur
07. Valtari
08. Fjögur Pianó

Sigur Rós 2012 Tour Dates:
08/03 – Montreal, QC @ Osheaga Festival
08/18-19 – Osaka and Tokyo, JP @ Summer Sonic
08/24 – Paris, FR @ Rock en Seine
08/25 – Winterthur, CH @ Steinberggasse
08/28 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
08/29 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
08/31 – Stradbally, IE @ Electric Picnic 
09/04 – Vienna, AT @ Arena
09/05 – Ljublhana, SL @ Krizanke
09/07 – Berlin, DE @ Berlin Festival
09/09 – Isle of Wight, UK @ Bestival
09/16 – Krakow, PL @ Sacrum Profanum
09/17 – Krakow, PL @ Sacrum Profanum

[News] Record Store Day Unveils Full List Of 2012 Releases

With just a little under a month to go until Record Store Day, today the full list of 2012 releases has been announced. Highlights from the list include releases from The White Stripes, Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr, David Bowie, Brendan Benson, Arctic Monkeys, Arcade Fire, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Garbage, Sigur Ros, Grouplove, m83, Mariachi El Bronx/The Bronx, and more.

You can head over to Record Store Day's official website for the full list of releases.

[News] Bloc Party Signs with Frenchkiss Records

After rumours of a break up last Fall, indie outfit Bloc Party squashed the false claims and announced that they were in fact in the studio working on a fourth studio album. Now, the band has announced that they have left Wichita Records, who put out their first three albums, and opted instead for Frenchkiss Records. Frontman Kele Okereke announced via the band website that "[t]his signing has made Bloc Party very happy because not only do we know and love the people at this label but we know and love this label’s output. Frenchkiss has released some mighty fine music over the years, music that has gone on to influence this very band."

The album remains without a release date or name, but given that the band has also announced a slew of festival performances, namely North American festivals HARD Summer Music Fest in Los Angeles and Osheaga Festival in Montreal, it is inevitable that details of their fourth LP will surface soon. Take a look at the band's full tour itinerary after the jump.

Bloc Party 2012 Tour Dates:
06/26-30 – Borlange, SE @ Peace and Love Festival
07/04 – Gdynia, PL @ Open’er Festival
07/08 – Turku, FI @ Ruisrock Festival
07/12 – Bilbao, ES @ Bilbao BBK Live
07/13-15 – Ferropolis, DE @ Melt! Festival
08/03 – Los Angeles, CA @ HARD Summer Music Fest
08/04-05 – Montreal, QC @ Osheaga Festival 
08/16-18 – St. Polten, AT @ Frequency Festival
09/04 – Mallorca, ES @ Mallorca Rocks
09/05 – Ibiza, ES @ Ibiza Rocks

[News] Miike Snow Launches Interactive Online Scavenger Hunt

Miike Snow have launched an interactive scavenger hunt where they want fans to search for the perfect human. The band believes there are ten important parts to make the perfect human, and they have hidden each of these parts all across the internet. All of the fans who participate in the challenge and complete it will receive an exclusive remix of a track from their brand new album Happy To You, and will also be entered to win a Miike Snow prize pack. The prize pack consists of a mug, poster, vinyl and a jackalope, so head here to begin searching.

Happy To You is out everywhere on March 26th, with the digital deluxe edition being available now through iTunes.

[News] M83 Announces 'Reunion' EP, Extends Tour

M83 has announced that the followup single to their stupidly successful first single "Midnight City" will be the ever gorgeous "Reunion", both of which come from the 2011 release Hurry Up We're Dreaming. The single will be released in the form of an EP on May 8th, 2012 via Mute and will feature remixes from The Naked And Famous, Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr., and Mylo, among others.

The fabulous Frenchman has also added a few tour dates to his nearly completely sold out tour, including a show at The Fox Theater in Pomona, CA on April 12th along with an appearance at Osheaga Festival in Montreal (date currently TBC on that). He is also getting ready to hit the stage at Ultra Music Festival this weekend on Saturday, March 24th at 8pm for those of you heading that way.

Have a look at the Reunion EP tracklisting below and see what dates you can get scalper tickets from (if you haven't scored tickets already) after the jump!

Reunion EP tracklisting:
1. Reunion (Album Version)
2. Reunion (The Naked And Famous Remix)
3. Reunion (Sei A Remix)
4. Reunion (Polly Scattergood Mix)
5. Reunion (Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr Remix)
6. Reunion (Mylo Remix)
7. Reunion (White Sea Remix)

SPRING 2012 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES:
Mar. 24 – Miami, FL – Ultra Fest (Sold Out)
Apr. 12 – Pomona, CA - The Fox Theatre
Apr. 13 – Indio, CA – Coachella
Apr. 20 – Indio, CA – Coachella
Apr. 22 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore Auditorium (Sold Out)
Apr. 23 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore Auditorium (Sold Out)
Apr. 25 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theatre (Sold Out)
Apr. 26 – Seattle, WA – The Neptune
Apr. 27 – Vancouver, BC – Vogue Theatre (Sold Out)
Apr. 29 – Salt Lake City, UT – In The Venue
Apr. 30 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre (Sold Out)
May 1 – Lawrence, KS – The Granada Theatre (Sold Out)
May 2 – Saint Louis, MO – The Pageant
May 4 – Chicago, IL – The Riviera (Sold Out)
May 5 – Detroit, MI – The Majestic Theatre (Sold Out)
May 6 – Toronto, ON – Sound Academy (Sold Out)
May 7 – Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom (Sold Out)
May 9 – Boston, MA – House of Blues (Sold Out)
May 10 – New York, NY – Terminal 5 (Sold Out)
May 11 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer (Sold Out)
May 12 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club (Sold Out)
May 12 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club (LATE SHOW) (Sold Out)
May 14 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade Music Park
May 15 – Nashville, TN – Marathon Music Works
May 17 – Houston, TX – House of Blues
May 18 – Austin, TX – Stubbs Waller Creek Amphitheater (Sold Out)
May 19 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater (Sold Out)
Aug. 8 – NYC – SummerStage (Sold Out)