Malachai Fades into 2010

Artwork by Marc Beasant

Bristol, England's Malachai stands in the middle of a cultural symbiosis, where punk, surf, hip-hop and psychedelia merge effortlessly in the hands of the mysterious duo of Gee and Scott.

With a name taken from the Hebrew word for "Angel," as well as the nefarious character from Stephen King's Children of the Corn, the band boasts not only an eclectic view of music, but a mentor in Portishead's Geoff Barrow, who released Malachai's Ugly Side of Love on his Invada label in the UK earlier this year.

Domino Records will release Ugly Side of Love in the U.S. on February 2, but in the meantime, the group is offering "Fading World" for public consumption.

Learn:
Malachai on Myspace

Listen:
1 - Fading World

Buy:
Domino Records

Owen Pallett: Beyond Final Fantasy

Starting anew is synonymous with the beginning of a new year, and Final Fantasy will welcome 2010 with a new album, Heartland, as well as a return to his God-given name.

Owen Pallett has been making music as Final Fantasy since 2004, when he began using the moniker for his solo violin shows. But according to Pallett, "the laws of trademark infringement exist for good reason, and so I am voluntarily retiring my band name;" the name change will allow the musician to separate his work from the bestselling Square Enix video game franchise of the same name.

With Heartland, Final Fantasy becomes Owen Pallett, but little else is changing for the enigmatic composer. The ambitious new album was recorded over nine months in four countries, and is intended as both an album and a 45 minute orchestral piece of looped violin and voice.

In preparation for Heartland, Pallett has released the first single, "Lewis Takes Action," and shortly after the January 12 release of the album, Pallett will hit the road for a string of release shows, followed by a Canadian Tour.

Heartland Release Shows
Jan 12 Toronto, Mod Club ++Sold Out++
Jan 14 San Francisco, Bottom of the Hill
Jan 16 Chicago, Schuba's (Tomorrow Never Knows Festival)
Jan 18 New York, Bowery Ballroom
Jan 22 Hamburg, Ubel & Gefaehrlich (Spex Live Festival)
Jan 24 Paris, La Maroquinerie
Jan 25 London, Union Chapel

Canada Tour
Feb 6 Guelph, Sleman Centre (Hillside Inside Festival)
Feb 10 Halifax, St. Matthew's United Church
Feb 12 St. John's, Cochrane Street United Church
Feb 17 Kingston, Sydenham United Church
Feb 18 - 19 Wakefield, Blacksheep Inn
Feb 20 Montreal, Theatre Outremont
Feb 21 Quebec City, Le Cercle
Feb 25 London, Aeolian Hall
Feb 26 Brantford, The Ford Plan
Feb 27 Hamilton, Lincoln Alexander Centre

Learn:
Owen Pallett Eternal

Listen:
1 - Lewis Takes Action

Buy:
Domino Records

RIP Vic Chesnutt

Photo by Jem Cohen

Music lost one of the great ones on Christmas day, when Athens, Georgia's Vic Chesnutt - who had been in a coma since earlier in the week from an overdose of muscle relaxers - passed away. Chesnutt was 45 years old.

Wheel chair-bound since a car accident when he was just 18, Chesnutt survived to make some of the most cynical, dark and humorous music of the last 20 years. He was a warm soul who will truly be missed.

Read Rolling Stone's report on Chesnutt's death here.

Donate to Vic's family here.

Califone, Funeral Singers, and Sundance

Photo By John Adams

All My Friends are Funeral Singers isn't only the sixth album for Califone; it is the name of frontman Tim Rutili's first full-length film which shares the same name.

This January, All My Friends are Funeral Singers will screen at the Sundance Film Festival, and Rutili and Califone will be on hand to accompany the film with live instrumentation.

Released in October to accompany the album - the screenplay and several of the songs were written at the same time and are populated by the same characters - All My Friends are Funeral Singers is a film about "fortune teller who lives and works in and old house crowded with ghosts. When a mysterious light appears in the woods, the ghosts realize they are trapped and begin to rebel."

And while this isn't the first showing during which the band has offered live instrumentation - the interlocking performance has been part of Califone's fall tour - Sundance will mark the film's international debut. The screenings will be a part of the New Frontiers section of the festival.

But this is only the beginning of a busy winter for the quartet, one that will see Califone open for Wilco throughout the month of February.

All My Friends Are Funeral Singers at Sundance:

1/26/10 Park City, UT @ New Frontier on Main, 9pm (includes live performance by Califone)

1/27/10 Park City, UT @ Egyptian Theatre, 9pm

1/28/10 Park City, UT @ Holiday Village Cinema II, 2pm

1/29/10 Salt Lake City, UT @ Broadway Centre Cinemas IV, 7:30pm

1/30/10 Park City, UT @ Yarrow Hotel Theatre 1, 3pm

Tour Dates:

2/07/10 Missoula, MT @ Adams Center*

2/09/10 Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall*

2/10/10 Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre*

2/12/10 Victoria, BC @ Royal Theatre*

2/13/10 Vancouver, BC @ David Lam Park*

2/15/10 Edmonton, AB @ Northern Alberta Jubilee*

2/16/10 Calgary, AB @ Southern Alberta Jubilee*

2/17/10 Saskatoon, SK @ TCU Place*

2/19/10 Duluth, MN @ DECC Auditorium*

2/20/10 Madison, WI @ Overture Center for the Arts*

2/21/10 East Lansing, MI @ Wharton Center*

2/22/10 Hamilton, ON @ Hamilton Place Theatre*

2/24/10 London, ON @ Centennial Hall*

3/09/10 Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall

3/10/10 Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall

* with Wilco

Learn:
Califone Online

Listen:
1 - Ape-like
2 - Funeral Singers

Buy:
Dead Oceans

The Besnard Lakes Get Shifty

There is something off center about The Besnard Lakes. They are lush, yet shifty, riding the glorious echo of reverb. The Canadian quartet, led by husband-and-wife duo Olga Goreas and Jace Lasek, make music cloaked in mystery, one hand on a gun, the other on a guitar, slinking into dark spaces and textured hideaways.

In March, The Besnard Lakes will release The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night - an album recorded with a vintage 1968 Neve germanium mixing console used to record portions of Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti - which promises more intrigue from a collective that is sure to keep you guessing.

The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night

March 9, 2010

Jagjaguwar

1. Like The Ocean, Like The Innocent; Pt. 1: The Ocean

2. Like The Ocean, Like The Innocent; Pt. 2: The Innocent

3. Chicago Train

4. Albatross

5. Glass Printer

6. Land of Living Skies; Pt. 1: The Land

7. Land of Living Skies; Pt. 2: The Living Skies

8. And This is What We Call Progress

9. Light Up The Night

10. The Lonely Moan

Learn:
The Besnard Lakes on Myspace

Listen:
1 - And You Lied to Me

Buy:
Jagjaguwar

Grayson Capps: Live at the Paradiso

Grayson Capps is a throwback to the music of Townes Van Zandt and Steve Earle, but with a New Orleans twist and fiery sensee of soul that ruminates in the Southern scenes that fill his compositions.

Recorded in May 2008 in Amsterdam, Live at the Paradiso, the first DVD from Capps, pulls classic songs from his repertoire as well as a few numbers from Rott and Roll, his most recent studio effort which was released in September of 2008. Documenting over two hours of music, Live at the Paradiso features little more than the songwriter, an acoustic guitar, and a loyal crowd of onlookers. With material this rich, that is more than enough.

Live at the Paradiso is available on December 8. Capps is also currently on the road through early January.

Grayson Capps Tour Dates
December 10 | | USA Faulkner Campus | Fairhope, AL (w/ Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion)
December 11 | D.B.A. | New Orleans, LA
December 12 | Pirate's Cove | Josephine, AL
December 13 | Callaghan's | Mobile, AL
January 2 | The Grey Eagle | Asheville, NC
January 6 | The Double Door Inn | Charlotte, NC
January 7 | The Berkeley Cafe | Raleigh, NC
January 8 | The Garage | Winston Salem, NC
Jan. 14 | Thirsty Hippo | Hattiesburg, MS
Jan. 15 | Pirate's Cove | Josephine, AL
Jan. 16 | Soul Kitchen | Mobile, AL

Learn:
Grayson Capps Online

Listen:
1 - Washboard Lisa

Buy:
Grayson Capps on Amazon

The Seven Fields of Aphelion Step to the Periphery

Black Moth Super Rainbow released one of the more unique albums of 2008, Eating Us, which melded atmospherics and shoegaze into a swirling amalgam complete with digital flourishes and haunting imagery. The Seven Fields of Aphelion, a member of the Pennsylvania quintet, is stepping out on her own with a debut slated for release on February 16. Dubbed Periphery, the first hints from the release - the first single, Mountain Mary, in particular - nods to glowing, vibrant instrumental textures and moody, resonating meditations.

Learn:
The Seven Fields of Aphelion Online

Listen:
1 – The Seven Fields of Aphelion - Mountain Mary

Buy:
Graveface Records