Sigur Rós’ new album, Kveikur, will be released worldwide on June 17th (18th in North America). The self-produced album contains nine tracks and is band’s first release as a trio. You can now pre-order it here (please note that a pre-order of a kveikur deluxe edition is yet to come).
Today the band premiered the video for the new track “Brennisteinn”, directed by Andrew Huang.
One more thing, the band’s Northa American tour begins this Sunday (3/24) in NY. Tonight (3/22) you’ll be able to preview new song “Kveikur” as the band performs on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
Here you go, my top 10 albums of 2012. I went back and forth on this up until the last minute. But alas, there’s no going back now. My picks are official and floating around the world wide web for everyone to scrutinize. And speaking of scrutiny, I would love some feedback. Do you agree/disagree with my picks? What were your favorites this year? Heck, what were your least favorites? Leave a comment below and keep the conversation going.
Scratched them off my concert bucket list this year and totally lived up to my expectations. I have no idea what Jonsi and company are singing about and I really don’t care. Beautiful music is beautiful music. Period.
An amazing and emotionally charged record that I seem to enjoy more with every listen. If Beach House were to team up with Sigur Rós, I imagine it would sound like this.
If you haven’t already, you need to give Blackbird Blackbird a proper listen. This guy is amazing and he just keeps getting better. Boracay Planet is his best yet.
This record makes me happy. Smart lyrics, beautiful vocals, imaginative arrangements, and quite the impressive violin work. Kishi Bashi’s debut album 151a is all of these things and more. Kishi Bashi is my favorite new artist of 2012 and it’s no surprise he’s on so many year end lists.
My favorite Crystal Castles release to date. With every new track the Canadian experimental/electronic duo dropped, the more and more my excitement and anticipation grew.
4. Lost In The Trees//A Church That Fits Your Needs
One of the most personal, and beautiful, records i’ve fallen in love with (probably since The Antlers’ Hospice in 2009). Lead singer/guitarist based the record largely around his mother’s suicide, stating that — “I wanted to give my mother a space to become all the things I think she deserved to be and wanted to be, and all the beautiful things in her that didn’t quite shine while she was alive.”
Mauro Remiddi, as Porcelain Raft, has crafted a dreamy and visceral sound unlike no other. One of the most impressive debut albums since The xx’s xx in 2009.
Baltimore’s Beach House continue to set a high standard for dream pop with each and every release. This year’s Bloom might be their best yet. It’s definitely my personal favorite from the duo.
Easily my favorite album of the year. Totally exceeded my expectations. Like their debut, I can listen to this record, from start to finish, over and over again.
Along with one of the best live music experience of your life, every ticket purchased will include a digital copy of a three-track EP, containing new and unreleased music, made available to ticket holders on March 22nd, 2013
11-13 Perth, Australia – Belvoir Amphitheatre
11-15 Adelaide, Australia – Thebarton Theatre
11-17 Sydney, Australia – Harvest Festival
11-18 Brisbane, Australia – Harvest Festival
11-21 Taipei, Taiwan – Taiwan University Stadium
11-23 Singapore, Singapore – Fort Canning Park
11-25 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Urbanscapes Festival
02-13 Porto, Portugal – Coliseum
02-14 Lisbon, Portugal – Campo Pequeno
02-18 Jesolo, Italy – Palazzo Del Turismo
02-19 Milan, Italy – Mediolanum Forum
02-21 Amsterdam, Netherlands – HMH
02-22 Berlin, Germany – Tempodrom
02-23 Munich, Germany – Zenith
02-24 Basel, Switzerland – St. Jakobshalle
02-26 Brussels, Belgium – Forest National
02-27 Paris, France – Zenith
03-02 Glasgow, Scotland – Secc
03-03 Manchester, England – Apollo
03-04 Manchester, England – Apollo
03-05 Wolverhampton, England – Civic
03-07 London, England – Brixton Academy
03-08 London, England – Brixton Academy
03-09 London, England – Brixton Academy
03-24 Washington, DC – Patriot Center
03-25 New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
03-26 Boston, MA – Agganis Arena
03-27 Montreal, Quebec – Bell Centre
03-29 Ottawa, Ontario – Scotia Bank Place
03-30 Toronto, Ontario – Air Canada Theatre Bowl
04-01 Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre
04-02 Chicago, IL – UIC Pavilion
04-03 Minneapolis, MN – Roy Wilkins Auditorium
04-06 Denver, CO – 1st Bank
04-08 Dallas, TX – Verizon Theatre
04-09 Houston, TX – Bayou Music Center
04-10 Austin, TX – Cedar Park Center
04-12 Phoenix, AZ – Comerica
04-17 San Francisco, CA – Bill Graham Civic
05-14 Tokyo, Japan – Nippon Budokan
05-17 Osaka, Japan – Kobe World Memorial Hall
Sigur Rós’ latest, Valtari, is available now on Parlophone.
It’s been three plus days since Outside Lands came to an end and i’ve needed every minute of it to fully recover. This was my first legitimate music festival and it was a lot to take in. With that said, I would do it all over again this weekend if I could. I had so much fun last weekend, not even the total lack of sleep, the nightly struggles of finding my way home, the $9 beers, or the bird that shat in my eye Friday night will keep me from attending next year. And THANK GOD for San Francisco’s signature fog and below normal temps, I don’t think I could’ve survived three days of this with the burning sun and scorching heat. So without further ado, a few of my fondest memories from Outside Lands 2012.
Sigur Rós was the sole reason I purchased tickets this year. Every other band on the bill was an added bonus. I’ve wanted to see Jonsi and company live since my first listen and they did not disappoint one bit. High points: “Hoppípolla”, segued into “Með blóðnasir” and the lovely gals to my left that gave my freezing wife their blanket. Low points: the hour set was not merely enough…but at least I have another reason to see them headline their own tour. Listen to Sigur Rós’ entire set on spotify here.
And though an hour wasn’t enough for Sigur Rós, it was plenty of time to convince me that Jack White is rock incarnate, not to say I wouldn’t have enjoyed a longer set. High points: Kickin’ the set off with Little Willie John’s “I’m Shakin”, wrapping things up with “Catch Hell Blues”, segued into some song called “Seven Nation Army”, and some spot on stage banter — “you’ve all been wonderful and i’ve been Jack White”. Low points: again, the hour set felt too short and I was really hoping for a mini Dead Weather reunion with Alison Mosshart…and I wish I would have been lucky enough to catch his pop-up set in the woodsy food-truck forest [good thing someone put it on youtube]. Listen to Jack’s entire set on spotify here.
Speaking of Alison Mosshart, how f-ing rad are The Kills? Alison, along with Jamie Hince, completely owned the main stage with their minimalist rock and swagger. High points: “Baby Says” and the huge leopard print backdrop. Low points: i had to skip out early to catch Passion Pit, which forced me to miss “The Last Goodbye”, which is probably my personal favorite. Listen to The Kills’ entire set on spotify here.
Passion Pit’s set was one of the most fun. By this time, my little caravan was 10 people deep and everyone was in fantastic mood…which may have been due to the fact that Wine Lands and Beer Camp were on the way to the Twin Peaks stage. High points: I’m pretty sure Gossamer was made to be played live, especially “Take a Walk”. I definitely got my dance on here. Low points: volume was way too low. Listen to Passion Pit’s entire set on spotify here.
While enjoying a delicious, and festival exclusive, “Outside Lands Saison” at Sierra Nevada’s Beer Camp, I was able to catch most of Father John Misty’s set. Though it was one of the smaller crowds, it was definitely the most chill and one I enjoyed immensely. High points: “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings” is even better live. Low points: my friends got lost in Wine Lands and missed out. Listen to Father John Misty’s entire set on spotify here.
I’ve been a fan of Alabama Shakes ever since I first heard “You Ain’t Alone” and their name was still the Shakes. I knew they were in for a big 2012 and would be a popular show, but I never expected the crazy huge crowd their set attracted. High point: this band deserved to be on the main stage and they proved it. Low point: this band deserved to be on the main stage and they weren’t. Listen to most of Alabama Shakes’ setlist on spotify here.
Regina Spektor was definitely an unexpected treat. Her voice is even more stunning live and was definitely the cutest thing in Golden Gate Park all weekend (other than my lovely wife of course). High points: “On The Radio”, “Fidelity”, the mouth noises for “All the Rowboats”, and taking full advantage of my blanket for the entire hour (thank you Ethel for the blanket recommendation). Low points: honestly, can’t really thing of any, other than missing out on Electric Guest and Amadou & Mariam, the latter of which I heard was one of the best sets throughout the entire festival.
I got to watch Stevie Wonder play music for 2 full hours. My parents haven’t even seen Stevie Wonder live. He was amazing. High points: every single minute of his set. Low points: n/a.
A few more tid bits…
I should’ve eaten way more food. I didn’t even try one of the many delicious offerings until late Sunday night.
This is the second time i’ve seen Zola Jesus live and her voice was just as amazing. Unfortunately, I only caught the second half of her set and completely missed out on Yellow Ostrich. My lucky wife was able to catch a special backstage performance of “Marathon Runner” in one of the VIP areas.
Would’ve loved to see more of Bloc Party’s set, but it was a small price to pay to catch all of Stevie’s 2-hour sing-a-long.
Bummed I skipped out on Washed Out to catch a few minutes of Neil Young. I know, I know, Mr. Young is a rock legend and I’m happy to say I’ve seen him live, but the 2 minutes of Washed Out I did hear were soooo good.
It never crossed my mind to leave Stevie Wonder early for Skrillex, but the mixture of fog and lights over at the Twin Peaks stage were quite enticing. It looked like aliens were invading Tron.
Foo Fighters played “Everlong” and Brendan allowed me to sing-a-long with him.
Turn the volume up at the Twin Peaks stage. Passion Pit and Justice were not nearly loud enough.
And speaking of Justice, their closing set Friday night saved me. I don’t think I would’ve made it home that night without the energy I got from their set.
And last, but certainly not least, BIG THANKS to everybody that had anything to do with making Outside Lands a reality. I’ll see you next year.
