Yesterday I received the self-titled McCarthy Trenching album I’d been anticipating since seeing them open for Bright Eyes in Milwaukee. Their opening show was both an absolute pleasure and big surprise having never heard of them prior.

Hailing from Omaha, Nebraska the group is anchored and was founded by Dan McCarthy, whose storytelling tales resonate through each song on the album. The album was released on Conor Oberst’s Team Love label, who aptly describe the album as “a mixture of tear-in-beer waltzes, anthemic drinking songs, and restless tunes of longing that take you from the bar to the road to the track to the morning after and back to the bar again, just in time for happy hour.”

Dig into the track below and check back because we’ll be covering these guys again soon.

MP3: McCarthy Trenching – Headlines
Myspace: McCarthy Trenching

Lucero’s Ben Nichols contributed the track “Dog Day Night” to the Think Syrup Records Arkansas Compilation. With a straight up infectious guitar lick, reminiscent of early Black Keys work, the track has gotten its fair share of repeated spins throughout the day.

You can listen to the track on the Thick Syrup Myspace page and then go ahead and order the record. $10 gets you 24 tracks from Arkansas musicians and bands, most of whom were completely new finds for me since checking out this record.

It took Voxtrot being added to the upcoming Pitchfork Music Festival for me to take notice of their recently released self-titled album on Beggars. I’d enjoyed the three track Your Biggest Fan, but grew tired of it after several repeated listens.

This morning was my first complete listen to Voxtrot and I’m a little upset that I waited this long to check out the album. Those looking for some behind the scenes goodness can check out this site which provides audio and video snapshots of the album making process.

It’s always a blessing when the band/label offer one of the better tracks of the album up as legal MP3 for us to download, and that’s definitely the case with the song “Kid Gloves.”

Voxtrot plays the Pitchfork Music Festival on Saturday, July 14th in Chicago. We’ll see if we can’t bring them through Wisconsin before or after.

Buy: Insound
MP3: Voxtrot – Kid Gloves
MP3: Voxtrot – Trouble
Myspace: Voxtrot

The buildup to this show was unreasonably high. Everyone was talking about it all day. At every venue, you’d hear people chatting and the general sentiment was: “yeah, I am just really excited for Arcade Fire.” Endless (and encouraged) comparisons to religious services, the spread in NYTimes, blog after blog raving about their shows, the epic release of Neon Bible, expectations were over-the-top.

Before Arcade Fire was Manu Chao, who completely ripped the doors off his set. People were dancing, he was dancing, he was singing in four different languages. Incredible.

Then, the sun set, the band walked on the stage. The crowd roared and then hushed. They played the opening chords of “Black Mirror” and the crowd roared again, and then hushed. Enthralled. Then the song ended. Crowd roared. Opening chords of “No Cars Go.” Cue crowd. Hush. (Repeat about 10 times)

You get the idea.

They alternated, almost trading song for song, between new tracks and older material. The guys were dressed in blue, the women in black and red. Everyone was constantly moving. With Arcade Fire, I keep looking for a lead to emerge, someone who rises above the rest and takes the spotlight. I am not successful. The feel is cohesive, each person plays a defined role.

However, the set seemed less than careful, heavy handed. Every song starts small, and builds, and builds and then you lose track of the layers and your head is spinning and there are so many pieces and then. Crash. End of song. (Cue Crowd) (Repeat). Arcade Fire is popular enough, so universally enjoyed, that it’s natural there is this backlash.

Let’s just remember that there is a reason they became so popular, so universally enjoyed, in the first place. They make good, fun, accessible, music that you doesn’t sound like everything else you hear. Keep it up. If their style is occassionally repetitive, we can still enjoy the show.

Myspace: Arcade Fire

(travis)

Oh and here’s a pic of the mainstage (and the back of my friend’s head) taken about an hour before they went on, during Manu Chao’s killer show.

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals have confirmed a run of club dates next month. Show dates and venues are below and tickets go on sale this week. More shows should be announced soon….

June
18 Minneapolis, MN – Cedar Cultural Center
19 Chicago, IL – The Black Orchid
20 Detroit, MI – Gem Theater
22 Toronto, ON – Enwave Theater
24 Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
28 Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore
29 Boston, MA – Somerville Theater

Thanks to Pitchfork for alerting me to some recent Wilco and LCD Soundsystem footage on youtube from their recent performances on “Later With Jools Holland.” We’ll take any opportunity to pimp one of our favorite songs of the year, so here’s “All My Friends”:

Also: Don’t miss The Broken West on Daytrotter and Sufjan performing “The Lakes Of Canada” on La Blogotheque.