That somewhat unofficial Tool tour has been made a lot more official in the past week. The January/February schedule has been mostly filled out. As well, Intronaut and YOB will open respective legs of the trek. [lambgoat.com]
High on Fire has entered Salem, Massachusetts' GodCity Studios to begin tracking their sixth album. The group is working with producer/guitarist Kurt Ballou (Converge). The album will be released in mid-2012 through eOne Music. [www.facebook.com]
The Dillinger Escape Plan continue to work on song for a new full-length, expected in 2012. Ben Weinman recently commented, "Billy [Rymer] and I have been locked up in the Dillinger compound and things are starting to boil". [www.theprp.com]
Despite going on hiatus in 2008, Phantom Planet will reunite in 2012. The band will be "playing a few shows [and] possibly making a new EP". Check out the "Knowitall" teaser on YouTube, captured during the band's first rehearsal after the hiatus. Keep up with the band on Twitter. [twitter.com]
Rufus Wainwright hit the studio with producer Mark Ronson this past summer to record a new album. He recently told Stereogum that it's his most "commercially viable, radio-friendly work" yet. The record is titled Out Of The Game and due in spring 2012. In other news, Wainwright's opera, Prima Donna, opens at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in February. [stereogum.com]
The Avalanches are still teasing everyone with details of their impending, sophomore album. They recently tweeted a lyric sheet and the working titles On a Saturday and Friday Night Fever. As well, the record will feature performances from Jennifer Herrema of RTX, Ariel Pink and Connan Mockasin. The full-length is expected in early 2012. [twitter.com]
Buke and Gase have been busy playing shows in Europe, writing new material and changing their name (Gass is now Gase). They checked in twice this summer. In July, they hoped to "complete [the record] sometime in the fall." Then in August, they were reportedly "taking some time off to work on new material". Of course, fall is nearly gone, thus we wait patiently. [www.bukeandgase.com]
Die Antwoord will return on February 7th with their sophomore effort, Ten$ion. They will then tour the States around the release, kicking off February 9th at the Trocadero Theatre in Philadelphia, PA. [dieantwoord.com]
Paul McCartney will release a new album on February 7th that reveals "the songs which inspired the songs", a mostly American songbook collection that McCartney grew up listening to. The record features two new compositions ("My Valentine" and "Only Our Hearts") and performances from Eric Clapton, Stevie Wonder and Diana Krall. [www.paulmccartney.com]
Young Empires, a Toronto-based dance pop trio, will release the Wake All My Youth EP on February 21st. Check out "Enter Through The Sun" on SoundCloud. [youngempires.com]
Lansing, Michigan's Cheap Girls will release Giant Orange on February 21st through Rise Records. The album was recorded and produced by Tom Gabel (Against Me!) at Total Treble Studio in St. Augustine, FL. Check out "Ruby" on YouTube. [noise.typepad.com]
As expected, The Beach Boys will commemorate their 50th anniversary with a reunion, new album and tour. The founding members (Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, and David Marks) have agreed to record new music and a 50-date international tour, beginning in April 2012. Of course, Capitol/EMI is compiling various hits collections and box sets, too. [www.thebeachboys.com]
The Walkmen are currently in Seattle recording a new album with producer Phil Ek (Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses). Hamilton Leithouser told Spin that the band had already cruised through "maybe 16 songs" and that Ek "has made the new stuff rock really hard". The album is due in summer 2012 on Fat Possum/Bella Union. [www.spin.com]
The Magnetic Fields will release their tenth full-length, Love at the Bottom of the Sea, on March 6th through Merge Records. The album finds the band returning to their "signature mix of synth and acoustic sounds". The group will tour from March through May in 2012, including a stop at SXSW. [www.houseoftomorrow.com]
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have announced a 2012 touring schedule, kicking off on April 14th in Broomfield, CO. The group will headline the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on April 28th and head to Europe in June. [www.tompetty.com]
The Vaccines recently hit the studio with Albert Hammond Jr. and Gus Oberg to record two new tracks, "Tiger Blood" and "Tuck and Roll". You can stream the "digital 45" on SoundCloud. Watch the "Tiger Blood" video on Rolling Stone. [www.thevaccines.co.uk]
Greensboro, North Carolina's House of Fools will release their new album, Versus the Beast, on January 3rd. The effort is described as an "earnest and intrepid rock and roll record". Hear a new song, "Another Place", on Absolue Punk. [houseoffools.net]
The Shins will return with their long-awaited new full-length, Port of Morrow, in March through Aural Apothecary/Columbia Records. The album "was recorded in Los Angeles and Portland over the course of 2011 with James Mercer as usual handling all songwriting duties, lead vocals and the majority of instrumentation." Check out the album cover and track list on the band's website. Wincing the Night Away was released in 2007. [www.theshins.com]
The Men will return on March 6th with Open Your Heart through Sacred Bones. They've scheduled a North American tour in March, including a stop-off at SXSW. [www.pitchfork.com]
According to a post on Facebook, Hot Water Music will release a new album in May 2012 through Rise Records. They will hit the studio in January/February producer Bill Stevenson at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, CO. The band released a new 7-inch back in August with the songs "The Fire, The Steel, The Tread" and "Up to Nothing". [www.facebook.com]
