Stay Positive release date and tracks

The follow-up to the sublime Boys and Girls in America has a stateside release date - July 15 via Vagrant - and a tracklist:

1. Constructive Summer
2. Sequestered in Memphis
3. One for the Cutters
4. Navy Sheets
5. Lord, I'm Discouraged
6. Yeah Sapphire
7. Both Crosses
8. Stay Positive
9. Magazines
10. Joke About Jamaica
11. Slapped Actress

If that doesn't get your proverbial engine revving, then God help you.

Bloc Party Tour With Does It Offend You, Yeah?

London's favourite sons and NLtS AOTY 2007 finalist are hitting the road to trot out some material from their third LP. Their inter-album material includes "Flux" and a cover of Nelly Furtado's "Say It Right", both of which were received fairly well. Frontman Kele Okereke has hinted at the introduction of keyboards to the Bloc Party lineup, in addition to drum machines dotting A Weekend in the City and the straightforward post-punk Silent Alarm. Having established themselves solidly on albums one and two, one wonders where Bloc Party are headed. In the short term, here's our best answer:

7/29 - Los Angeles (Mayan Theatre)
7/30 - San Francisco (Fillmore)

Both dates are accompanied by the latest intarwebs over-punctuated act, Does It Offend You, Yeah? One of your favourite bands at arguably the best venue in the Bay Area? Sounds like a must.

Track Review: Coldplay - "Violet Hill"

Rating: 3.3 / 5.0

In a lot of ways, this track is a step forward for Coldplay, to be sure and fair. The production has jettisoned the alienating sterility of prior releases, and Brian Eno has replaced it with a noisy, almost proggy style that smacks of something like Explosions in the Sky, enveloping Martin's gentle whine in a sea of more-distorted-than-ever guitars and huge cymbals. Production carries this song rather than the songwriting itself (which I think was a wise choice); the drama of the song is in whatever dynamism it can muster (briefly, going from loud to louder and then from louder to reallyreallyreally soft at the end) rather than in any inherent structural quality. But that's just my indie snobbery coming in. Props to the band; joking apart, there's been progress since the debacle that was X&Y.

But it's important to keep in mind that this is a step forward...for Coldplay. It's a predictable and uncertain step, a step into the uncharted territory that Coldplay always seemed to want to pioneer but was never quite up to. It sounds as though the band is fighting for vitality outside of the arena-rock...arena; they seem to want to have their name spoken in the same breath not as U2, but as Radiohead. Problem is, there are still the typical Coldplay-isms here: most obviously the heart-on-sleeve lyrics and the stripped-bare piano based final chorus where Chris Martin takes it down an octave to make things intimate/show his range. So while they may be after vitality and an honour I'm not sure they will ever have (or that they even deserve), but they've made an honest effort here. Unlike their last single ("Speed of Sound"), this track implies that the album to come will maybe take some risks. Whether they will be up to delivering remains to be seen. We'll be watching, of course.

-PTC

Wolf Parade record gets a new name

What was once called Kissing the Beehive is now called At Mount Zoomer, a reference to the recording studio where the album was recorded. They had been catching a lot of flak for the former title, given that it shared its name with some novel, and that it was bad. Well, it's changed now, so rest easy.

Prince covers Radiohead

(Sort of) Fresh off a breathtaking rendition of Foo Fighers' "Best of You" (seriously, it was amazing), Prince tackled the single that skyrocketed Radiohead to worldwide fame. I saw this on the A.V. Club, and thought it was worth checking out:

This festival, too.

I hope all those that attended Coachella this year had a time as good as could be had. Personally, the only thing that really caught my eye was the back to back to back Architecture in Helsinki/Vampire Weekend/The National afternoon sets on Friday, plus Hot Chip yesterday. Luckily, I caught Hot Chip last year at the festival and this week at the Fillmore, so all is not lost. Assuming I get George Bush's relief check this week, I may end up going the REM/Modest Marr/The National show in Berkeley and all will be right with the universe.

But on to today's real poop!

SF's inaugural festival, Outside Lands, which throws down this August 22-24, has firmed up its final lineup. A number of exciting acts are dropping in, and I've marked newly released names with an asterisk:



Friday:
Radiohead
Beck
Black Keys*
Cold War Kids*
Black Mountain

Clearly, this day will be mostly a tribute to rock made by sweaty men from the South in the Seventies, plus the only two Nineties artists that remain creatively viable (Does that burn, Damon Albarn?.

Saturday:
Lupe Fiasco*
M. Ward
Two Gallants

I see myself turning in early this day, unless an absolutely overwhelming South Park fanboy attack overwhelms me and I have to stick around for Primus.

Sunday:
Wilco
Broken Social Scene
Andrew Bird
Stars*
The Cool Kids

Yes. Stars and BSS on the SAME DAY. Take a moment with me to let that sink in.

In addition, single day tickets go on sale this Thursday, which should please anyone as displeased with the Saturday lineup as I am. I suppose I haven't seen Two Gallants in as many years, though. Never Learned to Swim hopes you can join us in San Francisco's first real stab at a decent festival in some time. I'll have you know that Live 105's BFD on June 7th this year has Pennywise and Everlast billed prominently.