New Neko Case: "Man"

"Man" is an over-driven pulsing new ripper from Neko Case who thankfully seems to get louder, faster and more urgent with age. Given the song's pointed gender-upheaval, we have a strong feeling that's Neko in a cowboy hat and 'stache above. M.Ward guests on guitar. Which one, we're not sure. The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You is out 9/3 on Anti-.

Jakob Dylan: New Album, Song with Neko Case

Stream "Nothing but the Whole Wide World"

Have you listened to that old Wallflowers record Bringing Down the Horse recently? Probably not. But besides being a huge fixture of 90s FM radio, it was also, quite excellent. It was. Give it another shot. After some time away from the spotlight, Jakob Dylan returns with a new record Women and Country due April 6th on Columbia. As with the aforementioned Wallflowers' record, the guru of American music T-Bone Burnett is once again behind the board producing this record.

Today, Spinner debuted the new track "Nothing but the Whole Wide World" which features Neko Case on backing vocals. While Neko adds little more than her name to this track, Dylan's voice sounds weathered and mature, with a tinge of melancholy. The production is very Plant/Krauss, but it's clear that Dylan has worked on his songwriting, and the project will lock into a solid folk/country feel. Jakob also looks a helluva lot like his dad on that cover. Creepy.

See, we're not indie nerds, we're AAA nerds too, and we're definitely looking forward to this record.

Neko Case Debuts at #3 Selling 47K

While we usually let the larger publications, like ohh Spin, the New York Times, Blender, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork etc. bestow accolades on the larger acts, we would like to take a few lines and say how happy we are to see the new Neko Case so high on the Billboard charts. Neko Case has made outstanding records for a long time, and Middle Cyclone (Anti) is one of, if not her best. The Neko Case, Andrew Bird, Wilco, M.Ward model of press and marketing is setting the new standard for success in the indie realm. While all gaining different modicums of fame, they largely share the same demographic and have all had great record sales (for their genre) over the past few years. So, congrats to Neko, it certainly is nice to see great numbers for great music. If you haven't, buy the record and enjoy.

Women to Watch - 2009

Photo Credit: Annabel Mehran

We've been thinking about this post for a few weeks, and it seems that every day there is a new record released from another amazing female artist. So, before this list becomes unmanageably long, we're posting it this afternoon. Below you'll find some of the women that are making it happen in the first half of '09 -- a few are making their debuts, while others have been around for an amazing record or two. Noticeably absent from our list will be Neko Case, Nite Jewel, Lissy Trullie and Fever Ray but only because everyone knows about the new Neko already, and we've been giving mad love to Nite Jewel, Lissy, and Fever Ray over the past few weeks. That is, until the web sheriff pimp smacked us the other day (re-posting Fever Ray soon). See after the jump for Stark's list of women to watch in the first half of 2009.


St. Vincent:
Album: Actor (4AD)
Release Date: May 5th

To use a typical writing cliche -- St. Vincent exploded onto the scene in 2007 with her debut Marry Me. She became the indie darling the world was looking for; physically striking and capable of delivering charming yet, forward-looking- orchestral-indie-rock and roll. Marry Me had the heights and pitfalls of a typical debut. Forgettable tracks clouded sections of the record, yet the highs were unbelievably high, showing the promise of a rising star. St. Vincent (Annie Clark) will debut songs from Actor at this year's SXSW festival. Clark has invested in the help of co-producer John Congleton (Modest Mouse, Smog, Polyphonic Spree, etc) as well as a french horn, violin, sarongi, bass, and percussion. Here's hoping these 11 new songs will reflect the grandeur and potential of Marry Me.


Laura Barrett:
Album: Victory Garden (Paper Bag Records)
Release Date: February 24th
MP3: "Bluebird"

What's initially arresting about Laura Barrett's great new record is the effortless mix of layered orchestration and inspired folk-pop songwriting. It's a record symbolized by Barrett's signature instrument, the Kalimba. Tight and percussive, yet delicate and quite lovely, Victory Garden has the potential to pass a listener by on the first few listens; yet, with devoted ears, it's ultimately a very rewarding experience.

Polly Scattergood:
Album: Polly Scattergood (Mute)
Release Date: May 19
MP3: "Nitrogen Pink"

Mute is one of those labels where you make sure to open their emails. We had never heard of Polly Scattergood before, but one listen to "Nitrogen Pink" was enough to realize that there was yet another stellar (and badass) female artist breaking onto the '09 scene. A self-described "songwriter who sings," Scattergood's sometimes girlish vocals are buried beneath layers of guitars and electronics. Her delivery and strong melodic sense are such that they drive songs and make them, frankly, catchy as hell. Already hailed as a smash in the UK, Scattergood releases her single "I Hate the Way" and B-side "Poem Song" next week.

Laura Gibson:
Album: Beasts of Seasons (Hush Records)
Release: February 24th
MP3: "Spirited"
Stream the full record at NPR
Laura Gibson is not necessarily an '09 new-comer. She released her lovely, If You Come to Greet Me in 2006 and Six White Horses EP in 2008. Beasts of Seasons finds Gibson coming into her own. On the back of stellar production from the amazing Tucker Martine, Gibson has gathered an array of stellar musicians from the M. Ward, Bright Eyes and Menomena camps. Also featuring Laura Veirs, the record has potential to weigh in more on the AAA side of the game, but does well to keep the arrangements more edgy and atmospheric than your usual middle-of-the-road, folk singer-songwriter record. Definitely another fantastic record from a talented songwriter.

Valentimes Day.

It's not that we dislike Valentines Day, it's more that we just don't care. Save for Andrew, we're all pretty much footloose and fancy free, so look for us at your local watering holes tonight where we will be meeting our usual weekend hook up, beer. But we write today, not out of bitterness, or alcohol problems, but to share with you Stereogum's Anti-Valentine's Day mix. It features some great new singles from upcoming or recently released '09 musicians like Neko Case, Florence and the Machine, and Lissy Trullie. Go HERE to check it out, and remember, tonight, don't be bitter or jaded - we still love you, kind of.

MP3 Round-up

Harlem

This week, there has been a TON of new music circulating around the interwebs. It's tough to keep up and keep your day job. But since we strive to please, you, our fans - we complied a bunch of new and great stuff in a little post for you. Click through for mp3s from Harlem, Neko Case, Elvis Perkins and Phosphorescent.



mp3s are below...

Yesterday we received a heavily taped, crudely addressed jiffy envelope from Austin, Texas. Inside was the Harlem LP Free Drugs. It immediately hit us in the most visceral way. Played loud, this record is instantly amazing. It's trashy, fuzzed-out and amazingly catchy in that garage rock, hand clapping, tambourine shaking way. Already noted in GVB's top 20 of '08, Harlem is poised for something bigger, but have yet to capture the attention of the more mainstream press in the blog world. Listen, just buy the record and join the party.

Could Neko Case be more lovable? Doubtful. Read below from the press release. We're just doing our part here...
"Anti- Records has released a free download of "People Got A Lotta Nerve," the first single from Neko Case's new album Middle Cyclone (March 3), and for every blog that posts the song and iLike user who adds it to his/her profile, Neko Case and Anti- will make a donation benefiting Best Friends Animal Society. Five dollars will be donated for every blog post and one dollar for every user of iLike that adds the song to his/her profile."

We posted awhile back on the new Phosphorescent LP To Willie, modeled after Willie's To Lefty record. Yet, on To Willie you won't find your run-of-the-mill Willie Nelson songs. The track list culled from Willie's catalog could only have come from a true fan. From what we've heard live, Matthew Houck authentically interprets these songs and makes them his own. Definitely looking forward to more.

Elvis Perkins recently posted 3 new songs from his upcoming record to his website. XL releases Perkins' follow up to his stunningly amazing debut Ash Wednesday on March 10th. These new tracks succeed in that they capture the organic joyous jamming that happens during Elvis' live shows but was (understandably) absent from Ash Wednesday. Here's to you Elvis.


Harlem - "South of France" - mp3
Neko Case - "People Got A Lot of Nerve" - mp3
Phosphorescent "Reasons to Quit" - mp3
Elvis Perkins in Dearland "Shampoo" - mp3

New Neko Case Album "Middle Cyclone", Due March 3 on Anti

Besides wanting to marry her, we also happen to really love Neko Case's records. It's been awhile -- three years to be exact, since her last outing, the magnificent Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. Although we gotta say that Furnace Room Lullaby is our favorite, Fox Confessor is still pretty excellent. We can't really blame her for the long delay; she's been out making records with the New Pornographers and going on subsequent tours with the Pornos and her own band.

BUT, today, we got news that she will be putting out a new record, Middle Cyclone, March 3 for Anti-. Good news indeed. We haven't heard any music yet, but will be sure to let you know when we do. See after the jump for the track listing and more info on the record.


Track listing for Middle Cyclone
1. This Tornado Loves You 2. The Next Time You Say Forever
3. People Got A Lotta Nerve
4. Polar Nettles
5. Vengeance Is Sleeping
6. Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth 7. Middle Cyclone
8. Fever
9. Magpie To The Morning
10. I'm An Animal
11. Prison Girls
12. Don't Forget Me 13. The Pharaohs
14. Red Tide
15. Marais La Nuit

From the press release from our friends at Shore Fire...

'Middle Cyclone' was produced by Case with Darryl Neudorf and recorded in Tucson, Brooklyn, Toronto, and Vermont. It features Case backed by her core band - guitarist Paul Rigby, bassist Tom V. Ray, backing vocalist Kelly Hogan, multi-instrumentalist Jon Rauhouse, and drummer Barry Mirochnick - along with numerous guests including M. Ward, Garth Hudson, Sarah Harmer, and members of The New Pornographers, Los Lobos, Calexico, The Sadies, Visqueen, The Lilys, and Giant Sand, among others. In addition to twelve new songs written by Case, 'Middle Cyclone' includes covers of "Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth" by Sparks, and "Don't Forget Me" by Harry Nilsson.