Music Under Fire

Death Cab For Cutie's latest video for one of their most beloved tranquil tracks "Grapevine Fires" has made yet another one of our favorite videos thus far this year.

What captured our attention is the lost art of using 2-D used by director Walter Robot (also directed Gnarls Barkley). With game systems of the past long gone and 3-D technology in movie theatres on the rise, the use of 2-D is scarcely used anymore, but brilliant when combined with the hand-drawn words and characters shown here.

The storyline itself tells of burning pastures, which are undoubtedly referring to the ones in the Western US in the summertime. With the ranch-style houses (pictured in the video) and warm climates that make these brushfires so easy to spark up, their song hits an important issue that many have struggled with; particularly those who have suffered from the fires in Australia.

MP3: Death Cab For Cutie - Grapevine Fires (live) (buy)

Video: Death Cab For Cutie - Grapevine Fires

Band of Horses announced earlier this week a slew of shows to prelude the first days of summer and their newest work. Just hours ago they announced how to get those tickets.

Having recently taken time to revisit Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville, NC, where they most recently recorded Cease To Begin off of Sub Pop Records, the group will be now teaming up with Baltimore grunge-rockers Arbouretum for six of the seven shows on the tour (Bonnaroo). Among these shows on the tour includes an acoustic set at New York's Carnegie Hall.

Check out the dates as well as a video from over a year ago when we saw the group rock out Philly's TLA at the Fillmore.

MP3: Band of Horses - No One's Gonna Love You (buy)

Those on the BoH mailing list should receive pre-sale info. Head to their MySpace to sign up.

6/10 The Norva Norfolk, VA
Tickets go on sale to the public Saturday, February 28th at 10am here
6/11 Carnegie Hall New York, NY
Tickets go on sale this Friday, February 27th at 11am EST at www.carnegiehall.org
*IMPORTANT – you should register yourself with the Carnegie Hall website in advance of the onsale.
6/12 Ram’s Head Live Baltimore, MD
Tickets go on sale to the public Saturday, February 28th at 10am here
6/14 Bonnaroo Festival Manchester, TN
Tickets on sale now at www.bonnaroo.com
6/16 Orange Peel Asheville, NC
Tickets go on sale to the public Saturday, February 28th at Noon here
6/17 Neighborhood Theatre Charlotte, NC
Tickets go on sale to the public Thursday, February 26th at 10am here
6/18 House of Blues Myrtle Beach, SC
Tickets go on sale to the public Saturday, February 28th at 11am here

The self-titled release by Baltimore's Eureka Birds late last year took out my feet from under me. From there the sound of the unsigned group has found its way to our friends and readers. At Philadelphia's North Star Bar, the six-man band's entrancing eloquence quivered beyond the surround brick walls, perhaps ushering in a new wave of fans.

Eureka Birds

About a year ago at the North Star Bar, we were smart/fortunate enough to catch Sea Wolf. Behind the vocals of Alex Brown Church and all of the well-timed and cleanly projected instruments, the show (not concert) of the year took place. Harnessing many similar aspects of their show as Sea Wolf, Eureka Birds glimmered behind Justin Levy for another memorable showcase at the hallway bar.

While Church and co. formed around a folk rock mystique, Eureka Birds integrated the same spacey feel of an acoustic show with a hollowed-out and edgy creation, courtesy of Levy's down-tempo and controlled keyboard work along with Dami Soh's winding cello play. When their synthesizer added to the keyboard and soft sticks hit the drums, the group most effectively projected their portentous presence. Add an electric guitar capable of a solo at any whim and a bass emptying the dead space and the music emitted a feverish tremor.


The songs "Oh My Dear" and "Goodbye Space and Time" commanded the most attention from the hour long set. Chants of "more cello" resounded from the back of the bar after Soh's cello whittled together the eerily uptight "Oh My Dear". In "Goodbye Space and Time" several guitar solos, lyrics that slowly faded in and out, and a jazz hall composition closed the set as our video below shows.

After talking with the group after the show, we found out this was their first trip up to Philly. They also mentioned plans to begin working on a new album and possibly take their act on the road full time. Eureka Birds currently have three shows slated for next month, including one with The Reign of Kindo, another group we have monitored since their formation in the wake of This Day & Age's end.

For more on Eureka Birds, check out their website and MySpace. To check out our review of their album, head here. The album is also on iTunes.

(Picture taken by Veronica Hansen)

It’s true that we have a slight bias towards instrumental rock, but we won't let that get in the way of honestly recommending such a great upcoming band as The Calm Blue Sea. These five guys call home to Austin, Texas, which seems to be the birthplace of great instrumental, post-rock that we've been discovering over the years. You might also recall another band that we enjoy from this same town in Texas, but we'll leave that to the wayside for now.

What The Calm Blue Sea has up on everyone else is not only their stellar intermingling melodies, but they may be the first post-rock band that has arrived on the scene including a piano in the mix. Their self-titled album, which dropped towards the end of last year, has already made big impressions with each new listener, drawing attention from one of our favorite Indie radio stations WOXY out of Cincinnati.

The Calm Blue Sea features only six tracks, but they average out to about 7 minutes and 45 seconds per song. It’s what makes The Calm Blue Sea so wonderful to listen to: No limits on repetition or melodies. Each one of these tracks are beautifully constructed and movie like when experienced. The flow from one track to the next makes the 46 minute debut a gem to hear in its entirety. If there's one album you may have missed from 2008 that we haven't caught yet, we highly recommend The Calm Blue Sea's self-titled debut!

You can purchase their self-titled album through their website. If you enjoyed The Calm Blue Sea, we also recommend This Will Destroy You.

MP3: The Calm Blue Sea - The Rivers That Run Beneath This City (buy)


MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/thecalmbluesea
Official - http://www.thecalmbluesea.com/

2007's Girls and Boys from New York's Ingrid Michaelson is nothing you will hear in any coffeehouse or elevator from some aspiring musician. When Michaelson released this album, she was on her way to stardom, thanks to the digital media age where news such as a new video from the talented artist will reach the other side of the world faster than we can type - truly an infectious sound from the get-go.

Last October after the tremendous boom of instant fans for Michaelson, she released Be OK. Cut out of the every mushy mold for solo artists and the whetting appeal of her live show, she has continually devised music that speaks intimately at every chance. Most recently, she released her Live Session EP, which is available only on iTunes and features a cover of Radiohead's "Creep".

For more on Michaelson and her shows this year (many of which are overseas in the coming months), check out her site and/or MySpace. The just-released video for "Breakable" off of Boys and Girls is below.

We've waited quite some time to see one of our top groups from 2008 show up in Philly. At Johnny Brenda's this past Thursday we were treated to one big surprise by Gildon Works and a performance we had been anticipating for quite some time following French Kick's Swimming album dropping this past year.

Gildon Works


The big surprise was the first act, Gildon Works, the Philly band from "fishtown" comprised of Gerard Angelini, Dave Moylan, Chris Wilson, Cody Ferdinand, Josh Cicetti and Stacy Shevlin. The group, who describe themselves as Hawaiian / Jungle / Powerpop, were packed six-deep on stage and brought quite a bit of emotion with their jangly guitars and supersonic breakdowns.

The group's chemistry mixed well with their style. Three guitars made up the forefront, keyboards, percussions and drums made up the other three. The guitar melodies themselves brought the band onto a new plane; their riffs remniscent of electro-engineered bands such as Radiohead, and GW's professionalism was astounding with their instrumental experimentalism extending their song endings as much as a minute or two with such gusto. More notable was the strong impact the basslines had on each song, something underplayed by many groups, yet one of Gildon Works most powerful plays in their performance.

After a quite pleasing and unexpected stellar performance, Gildon Works seems ready for bigger things. Their MySpace page says "New record in the works", but we strongly suggest picking up Artful Rifle and check these guys out if you see them coming your way. The night was late already, but Gildon Works were an early favorite.

MP3: Gildon Works - Sight Unseen (buy)

Buy Artful Rifle on iTunes.

Ferraby Lionheart


Lead vocalist, Ferraby, led the self-labeled folk band Ferraby Lionheart into a more relaxing, soothing set. There were hints of certain groups we like, such as Air Traffic (without the rock) with their slower songs and singer-songwriting talents by Ferraby himself. Much of the set was more down-tempo than anything with many slow songs swinging from an acoustic-backed ballad to a keyboard driven song.



What made more of an appealing set was their keyboardist / xylophonist (shown on the left in picture below). The keyboards had tweaks of ambience, which added an unusually welcomed appeal to FL's set. The xylophone fit right into their set as well, with many songs of the gleeful type ranging from songs about girls in "Dear Corinne" and "Small Planet".

Ferraby was more of the story-telling type of band. Looking to a band such as French Kicks, whose harmonics are their strong points made a tough switch to focus solely on songs mainly driven by a single lead singer sans the shimmering guitars we love so much. Albeit our differences in music tastes, Ferraby proved to have a well performed set and has a handful of songs that are surely a hit with the well-stacked crowd who came to see them.

MP3: Ferraby Lionheart - Small Planet (buy)



French Kicks


French Kicks, the band from Brooklyn, who are known for their modular melodies and gleaming guitar pedals took stage around 12 AM. The already late set had most who had came to see them heavily anticipating how they make their unorthodox sound into a live show. The brunt of the action was taken care of by the talented tall Nick Stumpf taking lead vocals and guitar. The group themselves set three wide on guitars and drums.

As expected in their live performance, the subtleties were their strong points - songs such as "Abandon", "New Man" or "Said So What", which had been criticized for being to subtle for their own good were clearly fan favorites as the night went on. Whether it was the bands intention or not, problems with their amp flared up at the end of the show, which made the members switch from bass to lead-guitar alternately between songs. The appeal of their set was not only the diversity between the guitars and their matching vocals, but the versatility of the guitar pedals they used.



Josh Wise (above) took the lead on a few songs. More songs that crept up and became so likable throughout the show were "All Our Weekends" and one of my recent favorites "Love In The Ruins". Wise truly had a big impact on the performance, showing the band had a strong duality in vocals and guitar.

The band's 2008 album, Swimming, was played for the most part, but a few tracks were played from their 2006 album Two Thousand, such as "So Far We Are". These guys were definitely worth taking the trip to "fishtown" in Philadelphia.

MP3: French Kicks - Love In The Ruins (buy)

Buy Swimming on iTunes

Earlier this week Brooklyn's The National announced a slew of North American tour dates slated for late May. The tour's material will consist of some old and new material, which means an album can be expected later on this year.

After successfully touring the world in 2008, following the release of Boxer in late '07, The National set forth The Virginia EP as well as A Skin, A Night, which is a film by Vincent Moon about the group and their recording and touring.

Most recently, Aaron and Bryce Dessner helped produce Dark Was The Night, a compilation featuring 32 tracks from various artists and where the proceeds will benefit the Red Hot Organization's efforts to promote awareness worldwide about HIV and AIDS. The National features the track "So Far Around The Bend" on this compilation that also includes: Arcade Fire, Ben Gibbard and Feist, Yeasayer, Andrew Bird, Beirut, The Decemberists and many more.

Immediately noticeable when listening to The National are the end of the tongue lyrics and the "heck if I care" attitude from Matt Berninger. Joining him since their inception back in 1999 are Aaron Dessner (guitars, bass, piano) and Bryce Dessner (guitar, piano) and brothers Scott Devendorf (guitar, bass) and Bryan Devendorf (drums).

Tour dates are below, but if you want to buy tickets, head here.

MP3: The National - Fake Empire (buy)

5/21/09 Kool Haus, Toronto (on-sale Feb 14th @ 10:00 AM)
5/22/09 Metropolis, Montreal (on-sale Feb 13th @ Noon)
5/23/09 House of Blues, Boston (on-sale Feb 20th @ 10AM)
5/24/09 9:30 Club, DC (on-sale Feb 14th @ 10AM)
5/25/09 9:30 Club, DC (on-sale Feb 14th @ 10AM)
5/27/09 Variety Playhouse, Atlanta (on-sale Feb 13th @ NOON)
5/28/09 Lincoln Theater, Raleigh (on-sale Feb 13th @ Noon)
5/29/09 Electric Factory, Philadelphia (on-sale Feb 20th @ 10AM)

For all of the single/bored people out there who look forward to hanging out with their friends on the weekend, don't bite your tongue because V-Day falls on a Saturday this year. To replace your lovestruck friends, we've compiled a list that should help spread some of our love of music to you.

If you're in the full spirit of the day and want to have some fun, Best Week Ever shows how to make Skittles vodka. You can check out some more v-day drinks here. If you're a sugar-lover, check out these desserts for the occasion. If you came just for the music, enjoy our list, then head on over to The Trip Wire for some more.

MP3: Ra Ra Riot - Can You Tell (buy)
MP3: She and Him - Sentimental Heart (buy)
MP3: The Kooks - I Want You (buy)
MP3: Kings of Leon - Sex on Fire (buy)
MP3: Pictures and Sound - It's You (buy)
MP3: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Some Constellation (buy)
MP3: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - This Love Is F#cking Right (buy)
MP3: The Walkmen - Lost You (buy)
MP3: Motion City Soundtrack - Broken Heart (acoustic) (buy)
MP3: Daniel Martin Moore - It's You (buy)
MP3: TV on the Radio - I Was A Lover (buy)
MP3: Art Brut - People In Love (buy)
MP3: The Stills - I'm With You (buy)

Since the release of their self-titled debut album last year, The Virgins have continued to carry along their party in a bar to all who are willing to listen.

Mastering a sound that earned the group consideration as MTV UK's "Best New Artists of 2009", led them along the tour path with the Black Keys and Band of Horse and showcased them on Conan O'Brien, are just a few of the reasons they jumped out to us. Ironically, exactly a year ago today we showcased "Rich Girls" as one of our Songs of the Week - four months before the album released.

Donald Cumming (vocals), Nick Zarin-Ackerman (bass), Wade Oates (guitar) and Erik Ratensperger (drums) compose the New York brethren which have most recently played acoustic sets for Philadelphia's WRFF and Boston WERS. On Friday the band will be playing a free show at the Virgin Megastore in Union Square, New York City. The video for their session at the Shockhound Studio is below.

Kiss Kiss, The Faraway Places and Ben Lee highlight this week's releases, unless the pop buzz behind Lily Allen or the folk/country swagger of Miranda Lee Richards get you first. Maybe even the comedy from Andy Sandberg's Lonely Island steers your attention from a long list of solo artists deserving more of the credit than we gave them.

For us, Kiss Kiss' album The Meek Shall Inherit What's Left off of Eyeball Records heads a quality list of albums releasing. Their animated tracks play with the type of trembling rock like a Primus and midway carny lovechild.

Check out the unsigned New Yorkers The Assembly Line. After playing through their MySpace songs a number of times, their message reached out with an uptempo alternative tune that's sure to prelude a fine live act. Along this same line is the Aussie Ben Lee and his newest effort off of New West Records - The Rebirth of Venus.

From L.A., The Faraway Places release Out of the Rain, the Thunder & the Lightning off of Eenie Meenie Records. Their colors follow the folk rock train of Fleetwood Mac and the psychedelic swayings of Bowie. Enjoy this week in music.

MP3: Kiss Kiss - Machines (buy)
MP3: The Assembly Line - 1111
MP3: Boston Spaceships - Big O Gets An Earful (buy)
MP3: The Faraway Places - Marvelous Error (buy)
MP3: Ben Lee - Float On (Modest Mouse cover) (buy)

Adam Lipman - From Your Mouth To God's Ear (Official) (MySpace)
Barbara Trentalange - Awakening, Level One. (Official) (MySpace)
Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique 20th Anniversary (Official) (MySpace)
Ben Lee - The Rebirth of Venus (Official) (MySpace)
Boston Spaceships - Planets are Blasted (Official) (MySpace)
Cage & Aviary - Television Train 12" (MySpace)
Charles Spearin - The Happiness Project (Official) (MySpace)
Dan Auerbach - Keep It Hid (Official) (MySpace)
Darren Emerson - Bogota (Official) (MySpace)
Dex Romweber Duo - Ruins of Berlin (Official) (MySpace)
The Faraway Places - Out of the Rain, the Thunder & the Lightning (Official) (MySpace)
India Arie - Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics (Official) (MySpace)
Kiss Kiss - The Meek Shall Inherit What's Left (Official) (MySpace)
Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You (Official) (MySpace)
Lonely Island - Incredibad (Official) (MySpace)
Malajube - Labyrinthes (Official) (MySpace)
Miranda Lee Richards - Light of X (Official) (MySpace)
Mistress Stephanie & Her Melodic Cat - Take That! (Official) (MySpace)
Now, Now Every Children - Cars (Official) (MySpace)
Onna - Onna 7" (MySpace)
Red - Innocence & Instinct (Official) (MySpace)
Ryan Leslie - Ryan Leslie (Official) (MySpace)
Scatterbox - Enemies (Official) (MySpace)
The Assembly Line - Graves Like Oceans (MySpace)
The Damnwells- One Last Century (Official) (MySpace)
The Vox Jaguars - The Vox Jaguars [EP] (Official) (MySpace)
Trouble Andrew - Trouble Andrew (Official) (MySpace)
Van Morrison - Astral Weeks Live (Official) (MySpace)
Winston Audio - The Red Rhythm (Official) (MySpace)
Woolfy - (Whatever/ Whatever Mixes) Oh Missy (Official) (MySpace)
You Say Party! We Say Die - Remik's Cube (Official) (MySpace)

Ladytron's Velocifero fell only to Cut Copy's In Ghost Colours in terms of our favorite electronica album of 2008 (#15 overall). While our attention lingered with remixes from Cut Copy, Ladytron's efforts have caught up with us once again - most notably through their video for "Tomorrow".

Flying women and jellyfish, scenes of nature and the obviously entrancing track made this a strangely soothing video that a pixelated computer screen doesn't justify.

Let us know what you think and we'll try to keep the Ladytron news coming.

The indie scene Down Under tends to miss many of our posts, so when Lions At Your Door approached us with their debut self-titled EP, we decided to let their punk-pop grunge do the talking.

What the six-member group brought to the table mimics no artists as it contains that ever-fluctuating punk intensity. With Marihuzk Larenas-Esquivel's filthy-rich vocals, Victoria Zamora's kean violin stringing and numerous guitar (Dirk Jonker), drum (Kirsten Riley) and bass (Nick Millner) patchings along the way, Lions At Your Door abides to fans of European jazz-pop to fans of Seattle's grunge scene.

MP3: Lions At Your Door - C-C-C-Crossfire (buy)

Look out! Its our 'Mix For The Weekend IV', something which we strayed from since the beginning of last year. Our weekend mixes are made for the sole purpose to mix some better known indie groups with some lesser known ones to give a diverse overall mix and help you hear some bands who may not be getting all of the attention they deserve. (We will note that there are one or two songs from previous years on here).

Most notable on the mix below is our most anticipated band of 2009, The Answering Machine, one of our Bands You Must Know whom we've been following since last February. If you dig Toyko Police Club and The Strokes, we feel these Londoners will be the perfect mix for you. Also on our list, Math and Physics Club has a gleeful tune, something more along the lines of Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin (one of our top albums of 08'. Albert Hammond, Jr's vocals practically sound like Wilco from the beginning but truly break off into his own style.

A song stuck in our heads for weeks was The Black Ghost's RAC remix of "Repetition Kills You". The original version is great too if you prefer to hear Damon Albarn (Gorillaz/Blur). Dappled Cities might be our favorite track on this mix with "Fire Fire Fire". There's also a remix out there of this song.

We dropped Kyte as one of our Songs of the Week two weeks back with "Bridges In The Sky". This version of "Solsbury Hill" is an interesting take from the version we all know and love. Sonic Flyer, another band from London, UK has been working on some great new tunes. And two new bands we've discovered, The Heartless Bastards and Beulah have some great tracks below.

MP3: Albert Hammond, Jr - GfC (buy)
MP3: Cedars - Just Off The Coast (buy)
MP3: Heartless Bastards - The Mountain (buy)
MP3: Lab Partners - Its How You Feel (buy)
MP3: Lily Allen - The Fear (buy)
MP3: Sonic Flyer - Novocaine (buy - UK store link)
MP3: The Answering Machine - Cliffer (buy)
MP3: Black Ghosts - Repetition Kills You (RAC Remix) (buy)
MP3: Electrelane - To The East (buy)
MP3: The Apples In Stereo - Energy (buy)
MP3: Dappled Cities - Fire Fire Fire (buy)
MP3: Prefuse 73 - The Class Of 73 Bells (School of Seven Bells Remix) (buy)
MP3: Friendly Fires - Skeleton Boy (buy)
MP3: Kyte - Solsbury Hill (Peter Gabriel cover) (buy)
MP3: Beulah - Man Like Me (buy)
MP3: Math and Physics Club - Darling, Please Come Home (buy)
MP3: Journey - Any Way You Want It (Telemitry Remix)

When we found out that the harmonious and melancholic songwriter Anna-Lynne Williams (Lotte Kestner) from Trespassers William covered a song from The Cure, it caught our attention.

So The Cure could be depicted in the same light of TW due to the ever-engaging hope/hopeless lyrics, but with the shoe gaze effect of Williams' vocals and the electronica enhancing from band mate Matt Brown's side project Disinterested, a sliver of light turns this depression into a spark not seen in much of either group's previous work.

MP3: Lotte Kestner - Let's Go To Bed (The Cure cover, Disinterested remix)

As much as we loved and repeatedly listened to Surrogate's 2007 debut Love Is For The Rich, we still think they are very underappreciated. Good news such as this deserves to be carried throughout the web - Surrogate is back.

The band announced today they not only will be recording soon, but already are:

We are recording again. Looks like it's going to be a late spring release. Stay
tuned, we'll have more info soon.

After selling out their album release tour of the UK and reaching the country's top spot in the charts, London's White Lies have announced tour dates in the US.

The post punk and dreary awning that is White Lies signed with Fiction Records over a year before the release of To Lose My Life (1/19). The album immediately debuted at No. 1 in the UK thanks to a successful tour with Glasvegas and the release of three top-notch singles.

The group of Harry McVeigh (vocals, guitar) Charles Cave (bass, backup vocals) and Jack Lawrence-Brown (drums) previously played under the name Fear of Flying before forming White Lies at the end of 2007.

Check out the mp3 below, as well as the video of their latest single. Tour dates are below the video. For more on the group, head to their website.

MP3: White Lies - Unfinished Business (buy)

In anticipation of their release of Blue Lights on the Runway, which hits U.S. stores on March 3rd, we were able to sneak in a few questions to Ireland's Bell X1 (Bell Ex One) during their enormously busy press week.


I've heard to prepare for your recording sessions, you have played many of your new songs live. How did this technique work out for you when you actually recorded? Did this make or break any songs?

Well, we had most of the recording done by the time we did the shows, but it gave us a clearer idea of how to mix I think – what the more important parts were, and how the song should flow. We also added or re-did a couple of things having rehearsed and played them in front of people. There is no substitute for this.

Your Irish background has been said to influence your songwriting, how did that play a part in your upcoming album?

I’ve never thought that our being Irish was particularly reflected in the writing, though I suppose it’s hard for us to be objective about it. I do think you grow up in Ireland in the choppy seas of a strong oral tradition, a playfulness with words and stories, so you do pick it up by osmosis.

You've also had about three years to prepare for your newest effort - What has changed for you guys since Flock released in your hometown?

A lot.. The band has become a hub from which all kinds of side projects have sprung - we’ve all become involved in making music with other people and in different ways. Brian, who’s been with us since the start, got studioitis and has become a full time producer and movie soundtrack guy. And we now have our own label, BellyUp Records.

Your music shifts from rock to soft rock with ease, where do you most commonly draw your influences from?

Toto.

I read that being friends with your band members first has made the band gel together so easily and making music that much easier. Does your friendship within the band still play as strong a role?

Yea, I think we’ve become more intuitive with each other with each record. We don’t need to stop and explain ourselves as often. Friendship is important when you’re spending so much time with people, in far off climbs.

Paul, you used to play drums years ago and transitioned into a full-fledged singer for Bell X1. Did you find yourself going back to the drums at all for your recent effort?

I still play drums with whomever will have me, I love it. Will play for food…

You were able to make two rounds in the US on tour last year, did that come as much of as surprise you had so many people wanting to come see your shows?

I remember when we were starting out being amazed and thrilled when people started coming to shows that we didn’t personally know…and it still gets me when we go somewhere we’ve never been and a crowd shows up. Orlando, Florida? Athens, Georgia? Madness…

When we first played shows in the States a couple of years ago, before any records came out, we enjoyed the very modern phenomenon of everyone knowing the songs having found or traded on the internet.


Guys, thanks for taking the time to interview with us and good luck with your album.

Bell X1 is composed of Dave Geraghty, Paul Noonan and Dominic Phillips. Blue Lights on the Runway will be their fourth album, following Flock, Music In Mouth and Neither Am I. For tour dates, check out their MySpace page.