Mandy Lee and The Knocks Cover M83

It's amazing how one video/cover can put an unknown artist immediately on the tip of people's tongues. Enter, Queens' own Mandy Lee. There are a few givens here, the M83 song "Midnight City" is a proven smash, and The Knocks can pretty much make any song into an uplifting dance experience. Yet, it's Lee's dominating lead vocal that makes this track worth listening to over and over. There are reportedly new Mandy Lee tracks heading our way soon, and we'll share what we can when we can. Excited for the arrival of a new NY talent.

Blog Reel and CMJ Hiatus

Hey kiddies - we're going to be out and about all week sacrificing sleep and sobriety researching the coolest and hottest new BUZZ bands for your enjoyment in subsequent blog posts - all while diligently working our real jobs to the fullest. So, that being said, we won't be posting for the rest of the week. Enjoy the below videos for now. See you at the rock show.

M83 To Play Conan Tonight

"Kim and Jesse"

M83 is on tour with The Killers. Yeah, pretty crazy. Good for them. From Pitchfork's top tracks of '09, to touring with the Killers, to now, a performance on Conan. Tonight, M83 will perform their newest single "Kim and Jesse" (like we all didn't see that coming.) They have been on the Stark radar for sometime now, and even made Matt's year end list.

M83 Scores Opening Slot on Killer's Tour

In what amounts to great news for a great band, M83 has secured the opening slot on the upcoming monster Killer's tour. M83's record, Saturdays = Youth released in August on Mute, will certainly make an appearance on at least one of Stark's year end lists (mine) if not more. The Killer's tour follows another great slot in December when M83 opens for the Kings of Leon on their UK tour. All in all, this makes quite a year for the band. Dates after the jump.

Tour dates in support of The Killers are below:

January
17 Denver, CO Magness Arena - Ritchie Center
19 Minneapolis, MN Northrop Auditorium
20 Chicago, IL UIC Pavilion
22 Detroit, MI EMU Convocation Center
23 Toronto, ONT Air Canada Centre
25 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
26 Boston, MA Agganis Arena
28 Washington, DC George Mason University Patriot Center
29 Myrtle Beach, SC House of Blues
30 Atlanta, GA Atlanta Civic Center
31 Nashville, TN Grand Ole Opry House
February
2 Houston, TX Verizon Wireless Theater
3 Austin, TX Frank Erwin Center
4 Dallas, TX Nokia Theatre

School of Seven Bells - "Alpinisms" and Webster Hall w/ M83

School of Seven Bells - "Conjur" - mp3

Yesterday, we picked up the new record, Alpinisms from School of Seven Bells, and while we've only listened a few times since yesterday, we can say that it's pretty damn excellent. As per the usual, before we could write about it, Pitchfork slapped it with an 8.0 and a recommended status -- but we shall not be deterred!

The record get's a little long towards the end (it's almost an hours worth of music,) yet, Alpinisms is consistent and dutifully crafted. Formed by Ben Curtis of the Secret Machines, this is the group's first full-length effort. The band has described the record as "mountain climbing music" and it seems to be just that. Each song develops well and constantly progresses to its dark and chilling natural peak. It's melodic, organic, and electronic all at the same time. That works perfectly for us. STARK recommended.

School of Seven Bells plays this Friday, Nov. 14, with another Stark favorite M83 at Webster Hall in NY. Should be a great show.

Full tour dates with M83 after the jump...

Nov 12 2008 8:00P w/ M83 Charlotte, North Carolina
Nov 13 2008 9:00P w/ M83 WASHINGTON, Washington DC
Nov 14 2008 8:00P w/ M83 New York, New York
Nov 15 2008 8:00P w/ M83 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nov 16 2008 8:30P w/ M83 Northampton, Massachusetts
Nov 18 2008 10:00P w/ M83 Boston, Massachusetts
Nov 19 2008 8:00P w/ M83 Montreal, Quebec
Nov 20 2008 8:00P w/ M83 Toronto, Ontario
Nov 21 2008 8:00P w/ M83 Chicago, Illinois
Nov 22 2008 10:00P w/ M83 Minneapolis, Minnesota
Nov 25 2008 8:00P w/ M83 Seattle, Washington
Nov 26 2008 7:30P w/ M83 Vancouver, British Columbia
Nov 27 2008 9:00P w/ M83 Portland, Oregon
Nov 28 2008 8:00P w/ M83 San Francisco, California
Nov 29 2008 10:00P w/ M83 Los Angeles, California

Interesting CD Releases this Week from Largehearted Boy's Blog

StarkNY's editor's pick of the week is the new M83, Saturdays=Youth - out Tuesday on Mute/EMI
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"It seems only fitting that the week after Kim Deal's Breeders released Mountain Battles that her Pixies bandmate Black Francis (aka Frank Black) releases his latest solo effort, sv n f ng rs.

Other new releases I have already heard and can recommend include the Brian Jonestown Massacre's My Bloody Underground, James McMurtry's Just Us Kids, Joseph Arthur's Crazy Rain EP, the US release of Kate Rusby's Awkward Annie, Kris Delmhorst's Shotgun Singer, the Kooks' debut album, M83's Saturdays=Youth, and Tristan Prettyman's Hello.

Two live releases are worth mentioning this week. Former Drive by Trucker Jason Isbell releases a five-song live EP, Live at Twist & Shout that showcases both music from his solo album and his Drive-By Truckers songs. Gossip's Live in Liverpool features a cover of George Michael's "Careless Whisper."

The most intertesting reissues are Air's three-disc remastered edition of Moon Safari (10th Anniversary 3-disc Deluxe Edition) and a vinyl two-disc edition of Whiskeytown's Strangers Almanac."

*Post courtesey of Largehearted Boy (we know Brooklyn Vegan does this too... we know.)