One of the albums I’m most excited about this year is tUnE-yArDs w h o k i l l, which arrives April 19th on 4AD. If the track “Bizness” is any indication of what the rest of the record holds, we’re in for a beauty.
MP3: tUnE-yArDs – “Bizness”

Deerhunter have released an 8 track iTunes Live Session, entitled Live From Soho yesterday. It was an easy buy at $3.99. “The session was recorded late last September at the Apple Store in Soho, NYC and features back catalogue tracks as well as versions of several songs taken from latest album, Halcyon Digest.” Listen to ‘Desire Lines’ at Pitchfork.

Strand of Oaks has released demos/outtakes from Pope Killdragon. You can stream and download the entire collection here.

Timber Timbre’s back with a new album, Creep On Creepin’ On from which they’re sharing a stream of the the debut single, “Black Water.”

The Felice Brothers have signed to Fat Possum Records, who will release the band’s new album this spring. The Felice Brothers are touring significantly in the coming months.

Bonnaroo announced its line-up yesterday.

NPR has the first listen of Julianna Barwick’s album, The Magic Place.

I’m heading to the High Noon Saloon in Madison tonight for the Deerhoof show. It’s been a good number of years since I’ve seen the band live. AV Club Madison chats with drummer Greg Saunier. We interviewed guitarist Ed Rodriguez last week.

We’re presenting a top-notch showcase at Linneman’s in Milwaukee on Saturday, February 19th with performances by Icarus Himself, Sat. Nite Duets and Surgeons In Heat. Music starts at 9PM and $6 gets you in the door.

Update: Volcano Choir is playing Turner Hall Ballroom in Milwaukee on Saturday, March 26th.

Bright Eyes announced tour dates yesterday supporting The People’s Key, out February 15th on Saddle Creek. The band returns to Milwaukee for a gig at the Riverside Theater on Sunday, April 3rd.

Pitchfork premieres the Strand of Oaks video for “Last To Swim” from Pope Killdragon. The band’s Kickstarter campaign ends tomorrow, so make your pledge towards a vinyl or unreleased demos today.

Delta Spirit visit Mountain Stage, listen to their entire set here.

Mogwai’s seventh album (and first on Sub Pop), Hardcore Will Never Die But You Will, arrives on February 15th, from which the song below appears.
MP3: Mogwai – “San Pedro”

Tennis, whose debut album Cape Dory comes out next week on Fat Possum, have made available a video for the song “Pigeon.”

Middle Brother (Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes, John McCauley of Deer Tick, and Matthew Vasquez) are touring with stops scheduled in Chicago and Madison:

3/12 – Middle Brother + Deer Tick + Dawes + Jonny Corndawg – Metro (CHICAGO)
3/13 – Middle Brother + Deer Tick + Dawes + Jonny Corndawg – Majestic Theatre (MADISON)

AV Club Milwaukee interviews S. Carey. We’ve pushed back the start time of our 6th Anniversary Showcase on Saturday night at Club Garibaldi with S. Carey and Conrad Plymouth due to the Packers playoff game. Things now kick off at 10pm. Tickets are going quick, get yours today. Also, don’t forget about Friday’s local showcase spectacular!

Happy holidays! Sporadic postings will continue until next year. Here’s some stuff we thought you’d want to read, watch, and listen to. Stay warm!

We highly recommend the KEXP video session with Sharon Van Etten. We’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating that her album, Epic was one of our favorite releases of the year.

NPR premiered a new video from David Wax Museum

Over the holidays I thoroughly enjoyed reading Jay-Z’s new book, Decoded

Our podcast partners at 91.7 WMSE share their DJ’s favorite albums from 2010.

The Dallas Observer lists “Four Folk Acts To Follow in 2011,” including Strand of Oaks.

It could be argue that no band had a bigger year than the Black Keys, whose album Brothers absolutely exploded the group’s popularity. You can pick up the whole album digitally for only $3.99 at Amazon.

Some great concerts in Milwaukee have been announced recently including a two-night stint of Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson at the Northern Lights Casino Theater on March 2nd & 3rd.

School of Seven Bells will perform a free show at Turner Hall Ballroom on Sunday, January 23rd.

The Greenhornes and Hacienda hit the Cactus Club in Milwaukee on Tuesday, March 29th.

Please Join us for both of our 6th Anniversary showcases next month. On Friday, January 14th we’re excited to welcome Sat. Nite Duets, Golden Coins and more to the Cactus Club in Milwaukee. The following night, Saturday, January 15th we’re excited to welcome S. Carey (of Bon Iver) and Conrad Plymouth to Club Garibladi. You can get tickets to the latter here.

Other than that, I’ve been listening to Dylan’s Time Out of Mind almost every day. Most days it’s multiple times through.

I spent last night in Chicago taking in Andrew Bird’s first show of a three night residency at the gorgeous Fourth Presbyterian Church . These Gezelligheid performances afforded a relaxed environment to test out new material (which was fantastic) as well as some old favorites. Jeff Parker of Tortoise opened the show and played guitar during the latter half of Bird’s set. It was an absolute perfect evening. I took home the Jay Ryan poster, but failed to notice that Fingerlings 4 was on sale. It’s thankfully now available online here.

News:

We’re excited to announce the addition of Strand of Oaks to our Ten Atoms label. We’ll be releasing Pope Killdragon as a limited edition (300 copies) vinyl. There’s a Kickstarter campaign in progress to help us raise funds for the production of the album. We appreciate your interest and support.

Download “Tree By the River” from Iron & Wine’s forthcoming album Kiss Each Other Clean!

Listen to Volcano Choir covering the Collections of Colonies of Bees jam “Flocks III” live from Japan.

Stereogum has a video of Jeff Tweedy covering John Lennon’s “God.”

R.E.M. will release their new album, Collapse Into Now on March 8th. They’re giving away the track “Discoverer” for the price of your e-mail address. Or you can just have a listen to the track here.

I’ve been supremely late on getting around to Johnny Flynn‘s recent release, Been Listening. His session with World Cafe was just the reminder I needed.

I’ve never been the biggest fan of the the Decemberists, but their forthcoming release, The King Is Dead sounds like my speed. Plus, I can’t argue with any record that has Gillian Welch on seven of its tracks. They also do justice to the Grateful Dead’s “Row Jimmy” on a recent 7″ release.

Amazon has great albums from She & Him, Smashing Pumpkins, Justin Townes Earle, The Meters and many more on sale for only $5.

If you missed the amazing Strand of Oaks session on KEXP yesterday, it’s now available to stream online, including perhaps the best version of “Sterling” I’ve ever heard. If you haven’t picked up your copy of Pope Killdragon you can do so here. [Photo by Heidi Greenwood]

Elsewhere:

The Rural Alberta Advantage will release their new record, Departing on March 1st. Details and album art can be found here.

Jim White returns with a Kickstarter campaign to fund his next record. Be sure to watch the video.

Check out the Lonnie Walker Daytrotter session.

Twin Shadow hits World Cafe

Check out the year-end album favorites from Aquarium Drunkard, Chromewaves, and You Ain’t No Picasso

The New York Times profiles the rise in popularity of house shows and features Milwaukee’s own Lil’ Rev.

On the bookshelf: I finished reading Freedom: A Novel by Jonathan Franzen. I really enjoyed it and definitely recommend it. I’m now reading Keith Richards Life and Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work by Matthew B. Crawford.

Head over to Pitchfork and read the glowing review they gave Strand of Oaks‘ Pope Killdragon, calling it “an astoundingly original twist on the loner-folk template” and giving it an 8.1. The album is only available via the eMusic Selects program, go here to pick it up.

MP3: Strand of Oaks – “Bonfire”
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Video: Strand of Oaks – “Sterling” (Milwaukee House Show)
Interview: Muzzle of Bees Interview :: Strand of Oaks
Previously: Strand of Oaks :: Leave Ruin
Daytrotter: Strand of Oaks Session