MINUS THE BEAR went ahead and secretly recorded an acoustic album. About a month ago the group entered the Redroom studios in Seatte to rework some of their songs in an acoustic manner. They incorporated tambourines, organ pipes, swizzle stix and other assorted random instruments to create an Acoustic EP of “rousing, acoustic campfire gems”. The release will come out on Tigre Blanco Records.

The band didn’t just want to re-sell their fans songs they’ve already purchases so MTB put a new track “Guns & Ammo” on the EP as well. The band is planning on debuting the new material on a fall US tour where they’ve also promised old songs they haven’t played live in a while as well as a second new song that is “definitely not acoustic.” The EP will be available on the tour dates as well as through digital outlets.

Check out the Acoustics EP tracklisting and fall tour dates after the jump. (more…)

MP3: Stereophonics :: “My Friends” from Pull The Pin
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It’s going to be a pretty hectic fall for STEREOPHONICS. Over the next few months we will see The UK trio unleash a slew of new music upon us here in the states as well as their first US tour in nearly 3 years. So say there might be some saturation from Kelly Jones, Richard Jones, and Javier Weyler is an understatement.

First up will be their album, Pull The Pin which comes out on September 9th. Though the album has already be out overseas for the last year, it never got a proper release stateside (mostly in part because the band’s previous label, V2 closed its doors) and will be the band’s first album released here since 2005. (more…)

We always had a soft spot for NIKKA COSTA. Perhaps it started with her completely hypercolor “Like A Feather” video from Everybody Got Their Something. Or it could have been the ridiculous outfits she’d don and take the stage like a firery redheaded banshee. But in reality it was definitely her ability to belt out soul, funk, and rock jams like no other contemporary artist. Forcing critics and fans to dig deep into the classic R&B rolodex to find a comparison. Yeah, that’s what it was.

Costa’s had her fair share of ups and downs: label wars, lack of marketing, and other countless stories heard by too many bands. But Nikka is back, and this time has only herself to answer to when it comes to calling the musical shots. Nikka has teamed up with the folks at the legendary Stax Records to start her own label, aptly called GoFunkYourself Records.

She will release her album, Pebble To A Pearl on October 14th. She will tour most of the fall. She will kick your ass!

MP3: Nikka Costa :: “Stuck To You”
PRE-ORDER: Nikka Costa :: Pebble To A Pearl

Tracklisting, a teaser clip, tour dates, and album art are after the jump. (more…)

BEN FOLDS really wants his fans to go out an pre-order his 3rd studio album, Way To Normal. The album doesn’t come out until September 30th but he’s already announced a pre-sale for the record.

Starting today (August 4th) and ending Thursday (August 7th) at 10pm, iTunes and Ticketmaster will be running an exclusive album/ticket combo promotion. Pre-ordering his album will instantly access presale tickets for his fall tour. You will be purchasing both tickets and album at the same time.

Then when the album is released, you will complete the rest of the download and get two more exclusive bonus tracks from iTunes.

PRE-ORDER: Ben Folds :: Way To Normal Tour Combo
PRE-ORDER: Ben Folds :: Way To Normal Deluxe Editions

Tour dates, album art and tracklisting can be seen after the jump. (more…)

We’ve been getting updates on the new CLUTCH album so often as of late, for some reason we forgot to mention them all to you. Here’s an attempt to get everything in at once.

The band will release a DVD and CD on August 12th. They are the audio and video recordings of 4 live shows around the end of 2007/early 2008. The releases called Full Fathom Five, have slightly different tracklistings and will only be available on tour dates and from Merch.com

PRE-ORDER: Clutch :: Full Fathom Five
ECARD: Clutch :: Full Fathom Five

Last week we posted an Mp3 of a live version of “Texan Book Of The Dead”. (more…)

On July 15th, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN will release a digital-only EP called Magic Tour Highlights which (surprise!) features highlights from the tour for his most recent studio album, Magic. The 4 song release will consists of guest performances as well as E Street Band keyboardist, Danny Federici’s last performance.

Tracklisting.

1. “Always A Friend” (w/ Alejandro Escovedo) Recorded 4/14/2008 (Houston, TX)
2. “The Ghost of Tom Joad” (w/ Tom Morello) Recorded 4/07/2008 (Anaheim, CA)
3. “Turn Turn Turn” (w/ Roger McGuinn) Recorded 4/23/2008 (Orlando, FL)
4. “4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” (Danny Federici’s final performance) Recorded 3/20/2008 (Indianapolis, IN)

There is some live footage of Alejandro and Tom with Bruce after the jump. (more…)

The latest trend in music as of late seems to be bypassing a label and releasing music music on your own. SECRET MACHINES are the latest band to have taken up that option. Choosing to self-release their upcoming third studio album after two releases with Reprise.

In a press release, the band state they had “recently freed themselves from major label obligations” and are striking out on their own working in collaboration with the World’s Fair Label Group to put out their next release. With the label being owned by the band with the folks at World’s Fair handling the day-to-day operation of the label.

As of right now, there’s no public street date on the album nor is there a title. But with the band on the road for the next month or so, we’re thinking the album will hit in the fall sometime. At least lets hope so, we’re starting to grow tired of the repeat plays of “Lightning Blue Eyes” on the iTunes.

Summer tour dates after the jump. (more…)

CONOR OBERST is set to release his first solo album via Merge on August 5, 2008. You can now stream two new songs, “Souled Out!!!” and “Danny Callahan,” at his website. He and his band, The Mystic Valley Band also recently announced a slew of new tour dates. Most go on sale this week and are expected to sell out FAST. Dates after the jump, get ready to click. (more…)

In their heyday, it wouldn’t be weird to see these two frontmen’s bands hit the road together. So it seems fitting that years later, MATT PRYOR (The Get Up Kids, The New Amsterdams) and Chris Conley (Saves The Day) would be taking their acoustic shows and hitting the road together for a co-headlining tour.

Pryor will be releasing his first solo album, Confidence Man this summer on Vagrant (stream a few tracks on his Myspace page). Pryor has also had a limited number of tickets held for sale through his fan pre-sale. Beginning today you can get yourself some tickets to the show. Y

TICKETS: Matt Pryor :: Confidence Man Tour Tickets

Tour dates and Confidence Man tracklisting can be found after the jump. (more…)

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE seem to be everywhere leading up to the release of their new album Narrow Stairs which drops this Tuesday, May 13th.

Current TV is currently running a documentary on the band called Open Windows. It follows the band during the recording process of the album, there are live performances and interviews with the group as well.

Tour dates after the jump. (more…)