One of last year’s most underrated albums was The Duke & The King’s Nothing Gold Can Stay. The band’s second album, Long Live The Duke & The King, arrives later this month. You can watch/listen to the first single “Shaky” above. The band is giving away a download of the track here for the price of your e-mail address.

Brute is the collaborative output of Vic Chesnutt and Widespread Panic. Their shared Athens, GA roots allowed for a beautiful concoction. Vic’s lyrics absolutely burst to life out in front of Widespread Panic’s musical prowess.

Their first recording together, Nine High A Pallet (1995) has been almost all I’ve listened to since receiving from a friend while rounding out my Vic Chesnutt discography. It’s that good. It would be over seven years before Chesnutt would again team with Panic under the Brute moniker. The result being 2002’s Co-Balt, we haven’t made it to that release yet. In the meantime, do check out a few choice selections below from Nine High A Pallet.

MP3: Brute – “Westport Ferry”
MP3: Brute – “Let’s Get Down To Business”
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Buy: Brute – Nine High A Pallet

One of the best concerts I saw last year was School of Seven Bells at the High Noon Saloon. I walked in with no expectation and walked out blow away by the School of Seven Bells live show.

The group is on tour in September and October in support of their fantastic new record, Disconnect From Desire, including stops in Chicago (9/17, Lincoln Hall) and Madison (9/18, Majestic Theatre) next month.

Giveaway: We have a pair of tickets to see School of Seven Bells at the Majestic in Madison and a copy of their new record, Disconnect From Desire to giveaway to the Muzzle of Bees faithful. Drop a comment telling us your favorite song of the moment (past or present) and if you’d prefer the concert tickets or the CD. We’ll select two winners at random on Friday. Be sure to leave a valid e-mail address in your comment so we may contact you should you win.

MP3: School Of Seven Bells – “Windstorm”
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Buy: School Of Seven Bells – Disconnect From Desire

We had the supreme pleasure of hosting the Roadside Graves in Milwaukee just a little over a week ago. If you made it out to the Cactus Club, you know what a treat this band is. We had an amazing time with the band, launching water balloons at my neighbors houses, enjoyed a backyard bbq, and Colin even made a little cash.

I’m pleased to share the Aquarium Drunkard Session below with you. These were recorded at Infrasonic Studios in Los Angeles in August 2009, and thought to be lost and gone for good until recently resurfacing to the satisfaction of all. Since the Drunkard has some more Roadside Graves goodness coming your way the very near future, we got the green light to pass these tracks onto you. Enjoy!

Roadside Graves :: Aquarium Drunkard Lost Session (August, 2009)

MP3: Roadside Graves – “My Father Sat Me Down” (Aquarium Drunkard Session, 2009)
MP3: Roadside Graves – “Liv Tyler” (Aquarium Drunkard Session, 2009)
MP3: Roadside Graves – “Ruby” (Aquarium Drunkard Session, 2009)
MP3: Roadside Graves – “Wooden Walls” (Aquarium Drunkard Session, 2009)

Buy: Roadside Graves – You Won’t Be Happy With Me EP

[photo: Tim Griffin]

Welcome to the 49th podcast/download I’m co-hosting with Ryan Schleicher at 91.7 WMSE. We’re back after a little summer vacation ready to fill up your ears with some great music from past and present.

Vic Chesnutt – “(It’s No Secret) Satisfaction” / Lullaby For The Working Class- “Hypnotist (Song For Daniel H)” / Trampled By Turtles – “Victory” / Mel McDaniel – “Baby’s Got Her Blue Jeans On” / Little Wings – “Sing Wide” / Sharon Van Etten – “Love More” / Cotton Jones – “Soft Mountain Shake” / Ugly Casanova – “Here’s To Now” / Call Me Lightning – “The Saints” / Iron & Wine – “Belated Promise Ring” / Arthur Russell – “Goodbye Old Paint” / Twin Sister – “Lady Daydream” / Hurray For The Riff Raff – “Lately In Dm” / First Aid Kit – “Heavy Storm” / Frontier Ruckus – “The Upper Room” / Silver Jews – “San Francisco B.C.”

Download/Listen: Muzzle of Bees + 91.7 WMSE Podcast :: Volume 49
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Subscribe: Muzzle of Bees + 91.7 WMSE Podcast

There’s a handful of records that I’m looking forward to hearing in the coming months. At the top of my wish-list is Future Weather, the forthcoming record from The War On Drugs due October 28th on Secretly Canadian. The release comes over two years since their last (and fantastic) release Wagonwheel Blues.

Here’s hoping the band comes through Wisconsin in support of the record. Take a listen to “Comin’ Through” from Future Weather below:

MP3: The War On Drugs – “Comin’ Through”

Upcoming Shows:

8/31 – Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound – Chill On The Hill, Humboldt Park (MILWAUKEE)
9/1 – Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin + Telekinesis – Canopy Club (CHAMPAIGN/URBANA)
9/2 – Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin + Telekinesis – Lincoln Hall (CHICAGO)
9/3 – Disco Biscuits – Congress Theater (CHICAGO)
9/4 – Kings Go Forth – Cathedral Square (MILWAUKEE)
9/4 – Asobi Sesku – Cactus Club (MILWAUKEE)
9/4 – Cracker – Cubby Bear North (CHICAGO)
9/4 – North Coast Music Festival – Union Park (CHICAGO)
9/5 – North Coast Music Festival – Union Park (CHICAGO)
9/5 – Crowded House – House of Blues (CHICAGO)
9/5 – Slash – Pabst Theater (MILWAUKEE)
9/5 – Vampire Weekend + Beach House + Dum Dum Girls – Aragon Ballroom (CHICAGO)

Just Announced:

9/23 – +/- (Plus/Minus) – The Frequency (MADISON)
9/29 – Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk – Majestic Theatre (MADISON)
10/10 – Dan Deacon + Lightning Bolt – TBA (CHICAGO)
11/6 – Jay Farrar – Majestic Theatre (MADISON)
11/12 – Frontier Ruckus – Cactus Club (MILWAUKEE)

+Bookmark our upcoming shows page for all your concert announcements+

A look at the 90-minute documentary, “The Promise: The Making of ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town,’” from the upcoming Bruce Springsteen release, The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story. The recording sessions of Darkness On The Edge Of Town yielded over 70 songs. On November 16th, 21 of those unreleased songs will be released for the first time amongst a collection of 3 CD’s & 3 DVD’s. If you’re a die hard fan of the Boss, you’re already counting down the days.

Pre-Order: The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story (3 CD/3 DVD)

Sufjan Stevens announced his first full-length record in five years this week. Above is the cover art. Love it. The album is called The Age Of Adz and arrives October 12th. Head over to You Ain’t No Picasso for a download of “I Walked” from the forthcoming record.

Listen to Phosphorescent on World Cafe.

LCD Soundsystem also has a World Cafe session up for listen.

My Old Kentucky Blog offers an MP3 of The Acorn’s “Kindling To Cremation” remixed by Megafaun.

Justin Vernon of Bon Iver joins Kathleen Edwards on “Mercury” in Massachusetts, which has been covered previously by Bon Iver.

Elf Power’s Andrew Rieger reflects on his relationship with the music of the late Vic Chesnutt at Aquarium Drunkard.

The Collect has a beautiful video of the Heartless Bastards‘ Erika Wennerstrom playing a selection of acoustic tracks.

Amazon has “over 1,000 Albums $5 Each Through August.”

Discuss: Drop a comment with anything noteworthy you came across this week.

The weekend is so close. I’ve been looking forward to Saturday night for a long time. Our good friends The Daredevil Christopher Wright are in town opening for Trampled By Turtles at Turner Hall Ballroom. I would highly recommend any fan of The Avett Brothers, Charlie Parr, Megafaun, or Mumford and Sons to find a way to catch these guys on tour. Their new album, Palomino is supremely solid from start to finish. Take a listen/watch to the video for “Wait So Long” above. I spoke to Dave Simonett of Trampled By Turtles about the new album, his favorite sad songs, touring Alaska, and what to do in Duluth, MN. Check it out below and don’t miss their show.

Congrats on Palomino, it’s a very fine record. Can you share a little insight on where/how it was recorded? Did you learn anything during this process that you’ll apply towards future recording sessions?

We recorded Palomino in several different locations, but the bulk of it was recorded at Realphonic Studio in Minneapolis. We also did some tracking at Devil’s Workshop in Minneapolis, Sparta Sound in Sparta, MN and one song was recorded in a hotel room.

I think we learned about the relationship between the song and the room in which it’s being recorded. We tried the same tunes in different places and for whatever reason, they just worked better for us in one place more than another. Environment is such an important part of the recording process.

We do this feature on our website called “Sad Songs & Waltzes” where artists share some of the saddest songs they know by other artists. Got any favorite sad songs?

Sure. A few I love are: “Buckskin Stallion” by Townes Van Zandt, “How to Disappear Completely” by Radiohead, “These Days I Barely Get By” by George Jones, and “When I Go Deaf” by Low.

I was pretty intrigued by your tour of Alaska. I’ve always felt that a lot of groups never made that trek, and I would imagine those people are pretty excited about having bands come through. How was your experience there, what kind of places were you playing and what was the reaction?

Alaska was absolutely fantastic. The people were great, the scenery was amazing, and we got a very warm reception at the shows. We played a couple clubs, a couple bigger halls, and the SE Alaska State Fair.

I follow you guys on twitter. I recently saw that you were working on some new material in studio. Are you already laying down ideas for the next record?

I’m always working on new material. Nothing as specific as a new album quite yet, just trying to get some songs down.

If we rode along on tour with you guys what kind of music would we find you listening too? Do you all share the same musical tastes?

You’d get a pretty wide variety of music in our van on tour. I think all of our musical tastes overlap in certain areas but each one of us definitely has a few records that no one else in the band owns. It’s not unheard of to have Wilco followed immediately by 50 Cent into some traditional Scandinavian instrumental music. We tend to listen to a lot of Minnesota music as well.

Are you guys still calling Duluth, MN home? Where would you recommend visitors check out if they’re making a pass through for the first time?

We’ve spread out a bit around MN in the last few years. I’m in Minneapolis, Ryan’s in St. Paul, Tim’s in Grand Rapids, Dave Carroll is in Duluth, and Erik is in the country outside of Duluth a little ways. Duluth will always be the bands metaphysical home though and it feels nothing short of that every time I go there. It’s one of those places (I found a similar thing in Alaska, actually) that people deeply love. Most of the people I know in Duluth don’t live there because it’s a convenient commute or cause they got a better job offer, or for the weather, but because there is a beautiful community of musicians and artists layered on top of beautiful natural surroundings. It’s also a bit dusty if you know what I mean. Duluth is a great place to write songs. For a first time visitor I’d recommend Pizza Luce, Fitger’s Brewhouse, The Electric Fetus, and to try swimming in the lake

Buy: Trampled By Turtles – Palomino