Metric have posted a letter and video on their website with details regarding a new single, "Help I'm Alive." According to the band, the record is "done and ready to be heard" and will be out early next year. They've also announced the Help I’m Alive Tour, which will hit select Canadian cities in December.
Eddie Vedder and Corin Tucker (formerly or Sleater-Kinney) popped up on The Golden State EP, released this week on Yep Roc. The title track was originally recorded by John Doe. [store.yeproc.com]
Tonight, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone will kickoff a 10-date tour supporting their Town Topic EP. [tinymixtapes.com]
Big Boi recently spoke with MTV.com regarding the status of his long-awaited, second solo effort, Sir Lucious Leftfoot: The Son of Chico Dusty. Reportedly, the record will be out in January or Februrary. Following that release, Andre 3000 will drop his second solo record and then the duo will finish out 2009 with a new Outkast record. We can only hope this is all true! [www.mtv.com]
Antony and the Johnsons will return on January 20th with The Crying Light, their third Secretly Canadian full-length. [www.nme.com]
Sweden's Loney Dear has inked a deal with Polyvinyl Records to release its new album, Dear John, on January 27th. Preview "Airport Surroundings" from said album on MySpace. [www.pitchforkmedia.com]
Brooklyn's Mountains have signed with Thrill Jockey. The label will release the duo's album, Choral, on February 17th. [www.thrilljockey.com]
Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear revealed to Drowned In Sound that the follow-up to Yellow House may be out by April or May 2009. Droste also revealed the new album will feature arrangements from Nico Muhly and vocals from Victoria Legrand of Beach House. Read the rest of the informative interview over at DiS. [drownedinsound.com]
John Frusciante will drop a new solo record, The Empyrean, on January 20th through Record Collection. The album features performances from Johnny Marr and Flea. [www.billboard.com]
Baltimore's Double Dagger have inked a deal with Thrill Jockey. A new record is expected in 2009 and the group will play a final show on the Baltimore Round Robin Tour in December. [www.thetripwire.com]
Norman Cook's (Fatboy Slim) new project Brighton Port Authority will release its debut album, I Think We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat, on February 3rd. The project features collaborations with David Byrne, Iggy Pop and Dizzee Rascal, among others. [www.nme.com]
Jimmy Eat World have announced a 10-stop tour in February/March to commemorate the 10th anniversary of 1999's Clarity. The group will play said album in its entirety. Reuben's Accomplice and No Knife will support on separate legs. [www.jimmyeatworld.com]
AFI will soon hit the studio to begin recording their eighth album, according to the band's MySpace blog. The group will be working with producer David Bottrill. [blog.myspace.com]
Nashville's How I Became The Bomb have released the Who Dares Wins EP for the low, low price of free. Pop over to their website, register and snag the release. You can preview each track and the video for "Salvage Mission" before you hand over your email address.
Hum will play a one-off reunion show on New Year's Eve at the Double Door in Chicago (it's already sold out). The Life and Times and Dianogah will fill out the lineup. [www.h-u-m.net]
Deftones have offered up more updates on the status of bassist Chi Cheng. According to his parents, Cheng has responded to stimulus and recovery is looking possible. You can find all the details on the Deftones blog. [deftonesinstudio.blogspot.com]
David Fricke of Rolling Stone has reviewed Chinese Democracy from Guns N' Roses. Fricke gives the album four of five stars and calls it a "great, audacious, unhinged and uncompromising hard-rock record." The long awaited album drops November 23rd exclusively at Best Buy. Now that's rock n' roll. [www.rollingstone.com]
Pitchfork has an interview with Matthew Herbert in which the artist discusses matters of space, time and There's Me and There's You from Matthew Herbert's Big Band. [www.pitchforkmedia.com]
NOFX has announced a string of West Coast dates for 2009. Fat Wreck Chords is hinting at "some exciting news" surrounding to the tour, which one could interpret as a new album. [www.livedaily.com]
Two more tracks from The (International) Noise Conspiracy have appeared on Spin.com. "Arm Yourself" and "Dustbins of History" appear on the The Cross of My Calling, the band's new album due out November 25th. [www.spin.com]
