[News] The Shins Announce Fall Tour Dates

Continuing the success of their latest album Port of Morrow, The Shins have announced a new leg of tour dates for this fall. Starting in Seattle on September 22nd, the tour will take the band throughout the West Coast and Southwest of North America through till October 13th where they will perform at this year's Austin City Limits. Check out their full tour itinerary after the jump, with newly added dates in italics.

The Shins 2012 Tour Dates:
05/29 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Ampitheatre #^
05/31 – Council Bluffs, IA @ Harrahs Council Bluffs *^
06/01 – Minneapolis, MN @ Orpheum Theatre *
06/02 – Kansas City, MO @ Livestrong Sporting Park
06/04 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant *
06/05 – Columbus, OH @ LC Indoor Pavilion *
06/06 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore *
06/08 – Cleveland, OH @ Masonic Auditorium *
06/09 – Louisville, KY @ Iroquois Ampitheatre *
06/10 – Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music Festival
06/22 – Frankfurt, DE @ Luften Festival
06/23 – Neuhausen, DE @ Southside Festival
06/24 – Schessel, DE @ Hurricane Festival
06/25 – Hamburg, DE @ Grobe Freiheit 36
06/27 – Arendal, NO @ Hove Festival
06/29 – Helsinki, FI @ The Garden Party
06/30 – Borlange, SE @ Peace & Love Festival
07/02 – Gothenburg, SE @ Pusterviksbaren
07/03 – Malmo, SE @ KB Club
07/05 – Roskilde, DK @ Roskilde Festival
07/07 – Lisbon, PT @ Super Bock Super Rock
07/23 – Melbourne, AU @ Festival Hall
07/25 – Sydney, AU @ Hordern Pavilion
07/27 – Byron Bay, AU @ Splendour in the Grass Festival
07/29 – Niigata, JP @ Fuji Rock Festival
08/03 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
08/04 – Toronto, ON @ Molson Ampitheatre
08/05 – Montreal, QC @ Osheaga Festival
08/17 – Erfurt, DE @ Highfield Festival
08/18 – Hasselt, BE @ Pukkelpop
08/23 – Zurich, CH @ Open Air Festival
08/24 – Paris, FR @ Rock en Seine
08/25 – Reading, UK @ Reading Festival
08/26 – Leeds, UK @ Leeds Festival
09/22 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
09/25 – Vancouver, BC @ Orpheum Theatre
09/26 – Portland, OR @ Keller Auditorium
09/30 – San Diego, CA @ SDSU Open Air Theatre
10/02 – Universal City, CA @ Gibson Ampitheatre
10/03 – Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre
10/04 – Albuquerque, NM @ Kiva Auditorium
10/07 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
10/08 – Atlanta, GA @ Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre
10/10 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues
10/11 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
10/13 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits

# = w/ The Head and The Heart
^ = w/ Blind Pilot
* = w/ The Antlers

[Listen] Stream New Albums from Neil Young, Japandroids, and Liars

On June 5th, three fantastic albums will be released by three separate artists from across the spectrum. The first is Neil Young & Crazy Horse, who will be releasing Americana, their tribute to the old-timey American songbook of the same name. The entire album is available to stream on Soundcloud. As well, Jonathan Demme's third concert film of the prolific Canadian musician, titled Neil Young Journeys, is set for release on June 29th, exactly one month from today.

Next on the docket are Japandroids, the Vancouver punk rock duo whose sophomore LP Celebration Rock has been a long time coming. The long awaited follow-up to Post-Nothing is now available to stream in full on NPR.org.

Yet another June 5th release is the sixth studio album from Liars, titled WIXIW. Give the full album a listen over at Pitchfork.

[News] Mumford & Sons Announce Sophomore LP Release Date, U.S. Gentlemen of the Road Stopovers

It's been a while since Mumford & Sons released their groundbreaking debut LP Sigh No More (2009 to be exact), and the band has announced that the long awaited sophomore follow-up will be released in September (Note: A September 24th release date was confirmed by Dutch radio station 3FM). The news was announced by the band themselves during a performance at Pinkpop Music Festival in the Netherlands this past weekend, after which they recorded a live session with the previously mentioned 3FM radio station. During the session, the band discussed the forthcoming LP as well as performing a brand new track titled "Where Are You Now." The entire live session is available to watch after the jump.

In more Mumford & Sons related news, the band has announced that they will be conducting a series of mini festivals across the United States prior to the release of their sophomore LP. Titled Gentleman of the Road Stopovers, the mini festivals will take place in four cities, including Portland, ME, Bristol, VA, Dixon, IL, and Monterey, CA, and will see the band headlining with the help of St. Vincent, Gogol Bordello, Dawes, Grouplove, and more. Here is what the band had to say about their plan:

The Gentlemen of the Road Stopover is based loosely upon our favorite festivals like Colorado's Telluride Bluegrass and Scotland's Loopallu Festivals. We want to stop off in towns where bands don't usually tour, and celebrate the local people, food and music.

We're keen to promote the town's local businesses, and we'll be using the local bars and venues for after-show parties, whilst working closely with the local people to get everyone involved in making these shows spectacular. There will be a host of our friends playing too, and the vibe falls somewhere between 'travelling Victorian circus' and 'Victorian travelling circus'. It should be a whole lot of fun." 

Tickets for the Portland, ME, Bristol, VA and Monterey, CA events will go on sale starting this Friday, June 1st, at 10:00am local time, with the Dixon, IL stopover going on sale on June 9th at 10:00am CT. Early-bird tickets for the events will go for $59 and come in limited quantity on a first-come, first-serve basis, with general admission going for $69. For more information on the events head to the official website, and check out the full schedule and lineup for the Gentleman of the Road Stopovers after the jump.

Gentlemen of the Road Stopovers U.S. Tour Dates:
August 4 – Gentlemen of the Road Stopover In Portland, ME (The Eastern Promenade) – Mumford & Sons + St. Vincent, Dawes, The Maccabees, Apache Relay, Simone Felice, Haim

August 11 – Gentlemen of the Road Stopover In Bristol, VA/TN (Off State Street in Downtown Bristol) – Mumford & Sons + Dawes, JEFF The Brotherhood, The Very Best, Justin Townes Earle, Apache Relay, Simone Felice, Haim

August 18 – Gentlemen of the Road Stopover In Dixon, IL (Page Park) – Mumford & Sons + Gogol Bordello, Dawes, Abigail Washburn, The Very Best, Apache Relay, Haim

August 25 – Gentlemen of the Road Stopover In Monterey, CA (Monterey County Fairgrounds) – Mumford & Sons + Gogol Bordello, The Very Best, Grouplove, Two Gallants, Apache Relay, Haim

[Watch] Chromatics - "These Streets Will Never Look The Same" (Official Video)

Chromatics' fourth studio album Kill for Love has seen much love from not only us here at SKoA, but from fans and the blogosphere as a whole, and deservedly so. It makes sense then that the Oregon outfit has been releasing a steady flow of videos and singles from the album, with the latest being the sixth single "These Streets Will Never Look The Same." The single has also been given the video treatment, with frequent collaborator Alberto Rossini once again helming the director's chair. Blurry black and white footage of the band on location in Las Vegas, Montreal and Mexico City comprises the visuals for the song, and as always the evocative style simply works with the band's sound. Check it out above.

[Listen] The Vaccines - "No Hope"

Following the release of their debut LP What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? early last year, UK outfit The Vaccines went under the radar, only releasing a few music videos here and there and working with Albert Hammond, Jr. on the standalone single "Tiger Blood." But now, the band are back with the announcement of their sophomore album The Vaccines Come Of Age, which is set for release later this year, as well as a brand new song. "No Hope" premiered yesterday on BBC Radio 1 yesterday and made its way online shortly after. Give it a listen below (via Listen Before You Buy), and let us know what you think of the return of The Vaccines.

UPDATE: The Vaccines have announced that their sophomore LP, The Vaccines Come Of Age, will be released on September 4th via Columbia Records.

[Listen] Lemaitre - "Splitting Colors," "Time To Realize" & "Keep Close"

Leading up to the May 25th release of their brand new EP Relativity 2, Oslo electropop duo Lemaitre began building up the hype by dropping a new track every couple of days or so. Last week, they let loose both "Time To Realize" and "Keep Close," and yesterday they delivered once again with the stream of "Splitting Colors." Each song they create is a funk-infused electronic gem, with catchy beats and fantastic production delivering an always excellent sound. The Relativity 2 EP is a great example of why this duo deserves some attention.

Below, you can stream "Splitting Colors," "Time To Realize" and "Keep Close," which along with "Steady State" and "Appreciate" (Uppermost Remix) comprise the Relativity 2 EP. You can grab the EP now on iTunes.

[Listen] Teen Daze - 'All Of Us, Together' (Full Album Stream)

On June 5th, SKoA favorite and fellow Vancouver native Teen Daze will be releasing his debut LP All Of Us, Together, and this week on The Hype Machine the album will be available to stream in full. The album is the culmination of the styles and techniques that the solo musician has been perfecting over the past four years, and the result is definitely worth listening to. As well, if you'd like to learn more about Teen Daze, check out part one and two of my interview with him last month.

[Watch] Pusha T - "Exodus 23:1" (Official Video)

Forget the weak ass beef between Pusha T and Lil Wayne and just enjoy the official video for the G.O.O.D. Music track "Exodus 23:1" up at the top of the page. It's a pretty dark video featuring a lot of drug use and its effects on the people using.