Rural Alberta Advantage premiere new video and announce tour dates

Canadian Indie Rock Trio The Rural Alberta Advantage are just about to release their sophomore album Departing (out March 1st). To ease the wait, The trio premiered their new video for first single "Stamp" on The Wedge. Their video is surprisingly very meta featuring a "fan" commenting on the newness of the song and the "show" itself while a girl pines for the two male band members. Hilariously the fan only becomes interested in the girl when he realizes she knows the lyrics to the new song that he doesn't while the girl is solely interested in which band member she likes more. Splice in scenes of the band playing and you've got the video for "Stamp". Enjoy!:

The Rural Alberta Advantage - Stamp from Saddle Creek on Vimeo.

3/9 Middle East Cafe - Cambridge, Massachusetts
3/10 The Bowery Ballroom - New York, New York
3/11 First Unitarian Church - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
3/12 The Knitting Factory - Brooklyn, New York
3/13 Rock 'N Roll Hotel - Washington, D.C.
3/14 Local 506 - Chapel Hill, North Carolina
3/15 The Earl - Atlanta, Georgia
3/17-3/20 Austin, Texas SXSW
3/20 The Loft - Dallas, Texas
3/22 The Maintenance Shop @ Iowa State University - Ames, Iowa
3/23 Mad Planet - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
3/24 High Noon Saloon - Madison, Wisconsin
3/25 First Avenue - Minneapolis, Minnesota
3/26 Lincoln Hall - Chicago, Illinois
3/27 Phog Lounge - Windsor, Ontario, Canada
3/31 Pyramid Cabaret - Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
4/1 Amigos Cantina - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
4/2 The Starlite Room - Edmonton, Alberta,Canada
4/5 Republik - Calgary, Alberta, Canada
4/6 The Royal on Baker - Nelson, British Columbia, Canada
4/7 Habitat - Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
4/8 Venue Nightclub - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
4/9 Doug Fir Lounge - Portland, Oregon
4/10 The Tractor Tavern - Seattle, Washington
4/12 The Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, California
4/13 The Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, California
4/15 Indio, California Coachella
4/19 The State Room - Salt Lake City, Utah
4/20 Hi-Dive - Denver, Colorado
4/21 Slowdown - Omaha, Nebraska
4/22 Firebird - St. Louis, Missouri
4/23 Radio Radio - Indianapolis, Indiana
4/24 Beachland Ballroom - Cleveland Ohio


You can also pre-order the new album at their label website here.

53rd Grammy Awards Go Indie...kinda

As the Grammys approach, I realize that this is the only year I've actually been interested in them. Normally the Grammy Awards tend to be a pretty predictable affair filled with nominations for the most popular and mostly similar sounding music. But this year with the nomination of The Arcade Fire's The Suburbs for Album of the Year, I sensed change in the air. And when I checked out other Grammy Nominees I was pretty surprised to see Ray LaMontagne nominated for multiple categories (like Song of the Year for "Beg Steal or Borrow"), Mumford & Sons up for Best New Artist, Sarah Bareilles up for Best Female Vocal Performance (though the fact that she's up against Norah Jones, Beyonce, and Lady Gaga makes her chances of winning plummet immensely), in addition to all sorts of surprising Grammy nods.

Taking a look at the nominees you'll notice this: All of a sudden, The Grammy's are becoming more Indie friendly. What does this mean? Well I'm not sure exactly. The fact that several big name Indie artists are put up against some multiple Grammy award-winning and award-nominated group is both hopefully and not at the same time. While you hope the "underdogs" wins, there's always going to be some doubt as to whether they're actually going to or if they do, why they actually won. Cynicism aside though, you definitely have to admit that the 53rd Grammy Awards are definitely going to be interesting to watch.

Sleigh Bells release video for "Rill Rill"

Brooklyn noise pop duo Sleigh Bells recently released their latest video for "Rill Rill" and similarly to the video for "Infinity Guitars" is full of awesomeness. Despite "Rill Rill" basically being a slow jam, the duo still find a way to stuff some testosterone-fueled epicness. In the video, Alexis Krauss asserts her badassery by throwing partner Derek Miller, who's suffering from some head trauma, and his guitar out of her awesome car. Cut to scenes of Krauss in a classroom, and a bleeding telephone, and you've got a surprisingly interesting video. Enjoy the video for Sleigh Bell's "Rill Rill":

The Heligoats - Goodness Gracious (2010)

Once again NPR introduces me to an awesome new artist. This time it's The Heligoats. Washington based The Heligoats is actually composed of singer/songwriter Chris Otepka whose innovative and playful lyrics lend some sense to the delightful moniker, as well as Steve Mitchell, Mike Mergenthaler, and Dave James. Their latest album Goodness Gracious was released almost a year ago and while I'm not surprised it managed to evade my notice, one listen had me regretting that it had. The Tiny Desk concert featuring Otepka provided a lot of insight into the inspiration behind his songs (He has some of the most interesting stories I've ever heard)but even without that insight, you can't deny the infectiousness that is Otepka's charmingly inventive lyrics. "Fish Sticks" is by far my favorite for its high energy balls-to-the-wall energy.

I might not have known about Heligoats a year ago but with releases with Goodness Gracious, I certainly wish I had. The album is as vivacious as it is enchanting, brimming with joy, positive vibes, and charm. It's sure to be an favorite.

Get a taste of The Heligoats with the aforementioned Tiny Desk Concert on NPR featuring Otepka solo:

Acid House Kings let you choose their next single!

Swedish twee group Acid House Kings' fifth studio album Music Sounds Better With You is out this March 22nd, and the group are giving its fans the chance to pick their next single off the album. Here you can listen to samples of the four options for consideration: "Would You Stay Stop?", "Under Water", "(I'm in) A Chorus Line", and "Waterfall" which you can then vote on.

Crystal Fighters present new video

Turns out my discovery of Crystal Fighters was excellent timing because no less than 24 hours after, they released their brand new video for "At Home". The video has a plot which finds several of the band members meeting up after what appears to be a lengthy time period. There's different reactions from each member from eagerness, to anger, to grim acceptance. The plot is reminiscent of your standard summer blockbuster where the young group is bonded by a secret in this case eventually all gathering together to unearth a box they buried awhile ago.

Watch the video for Crystal Fighter's "At Home":

tUnE-yArDs announces new album and tour dates

Last August at Summerstage, Merrill Garbus aka tUnE-yArDs played tons of new songs and at her secret show at The Rock Shop announced the next time she returned to New York, she would have a new record out. Garbus makes good on her promise with the announcement of her new album W H O K I L L out this April 19th on 4AD. Unlike her 2009 debut BiRd-BrAiNs, Garbus trades in her lo-fi DIY aesthetic for a cleaner studio sound funded from featuring "Fiya" in a Blackberry commercial.

You can read Garbus' short interview with Pitchfork here for more info about the album.

In addition to the wonderful news about the record, Garbus also revealed some tour dates starting this Spring:

4/26 Great American Music Hall - San Francisco, California
4/28 Doug Fir Lounge - Portland, Oregon
4/29 The Crocodile - Seattle, Washington
4/30 The Biltmore Cabaret - Vancover, British Columbia, Canada
5/2 Visual Arts Collective - Garden City, Idaho
5/3 Urban Lounge - Salt Lake City, Utah
5/4 Hi Dive - Denver, Colorado
5/6 Jackpot Saloon - Lawrence, Kansas
5/7 Slowdown - Omaha, Nebraska
5/8 Cedar Cultural Center - Minneapolis, Minnesota
5/10 Lincoln Hall - Chicago, Illinois
5/11 The Pike Room @ Crofoot Ballroom - Pontiac, Michigan
5/12 Horseshoe Tavern - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
5/13 La Sala Rossa - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
5/15 Flywheel Arts Collective - Easthampton, Massachusetts
5/16 Brighton Music Hall - Boston, Massachusetts
5/17 Daniel Street - Milton, Connecticut
5/19 The Red Palace - Washington, D.C.
5/20 Johnny Brenda's - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
5/21 Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, New York
6/25 The Troubadour - West Hollywood, California