Music Under Fire

Above: The Kooks' own Luke Pritchard, left, and Paul Garred.

This week The Kooks album KONK is finally here. You probably heard their single "Always Where I Need To Be" and we think its their best song yet. The Kooks really have great things in store for them this year. Check out their tour dates here.

Some other notables: Supergrass, the English rock band from Oxford are set to go with their album Diamond Hoo Ha. We recommend watching their zany video for "Alright" here. On the more popular side of things is Everclear with The Vegas Years. Everclear has now been around 14 years since their start in 1994.

If you're looking for some pop/punk, we recommend checking out Kill Your Ex. They're not morbid or depressing - it's pop/punk at its best. Hop on it. If you haven't checked out our M83 article, please do so. And lastly, the boys who have been around the block, yet keep getting better and better; I'm talking about Phantom Planet with their release of Raise The Dead.

Oh, and don't forget South (remember "Paint The Silence"?) and Frightened Rabbit, whom we just posted an mp3 for our Mix For The Weekend.

Mp3: M83 - We Own The Sky (buy)
Mp3: Tristan Prettyman - New Soul (Yael Naim cover) (buy)
Mp3: Phantom Planet - Leader (buy)
Mp3: Black Francis - I Sent Away (buy)

Better Luck Next Time - Start From Skratch (Official Site) (MySpace)
Black Francis - Svn Fngrs (Official) (MySpace)
Children of Bodom - Blooddrunk (Official Site) (MySpace)
Destroy the Runner - I, Lucifer (Official Site) (MySpace) (purevolume)
Everclear - The Vegas Years (Official Site) (MySpace)
Freddie Stevenson - All My Strange Companions (Official Site) (MySpace)
Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight (Official Site) (MySpace) (last.fm)
In Flight Radio - The Sound Inside (Official Site) (MySpace)
Joseph Arthur - Crazy Rain and Boredom EP (Official Site) (MySpace)
Kill Your Ex - From Words to Motion (Official Site) (MySpace)
Lady Antebellum - Lady Antebellum (Official Site) (MySpace)
M83 - Saturdays = Youth (Official Site) (MySpace)
Maldroid - Maldroid (Official Site) (MySpace)
Moral Crux - Moral Crux (Official Site) (MySpace)
O'luge - Movements (Official Site) (MySpace)
Phantom Planet - Raise the Dead (Official Site) (MySpace)
Plastic Constellations - We Appreciate You (Official Site) (MySpace)
Robert Hood - Fabric 39 (Last.fm) (Wiki)
Sally Shapiro - Remix Romance Vol. 1 (Official Site) (MySpace)
South - You Are Here (Official Site) (MySpace)
Supergrass - Diamond Hoo Ha (Official Site) (MySpace) (YouTube)
The Brian Jonestown Massacre - My Bloody Underground (Official Site) (MySpace)
The Child Ballads - Cheekbone Hollows (Official Site) (MySpace)
The Kooks - KONK (Official Site) (MySpace)
Tristan Prettyman - Hello (Official Site) (MySpace)

Above: Phantom Planet (Alex Greenwald vocals/guitar, Sam Farrar - bass, Darren Robinson - guitar and Jeff Conrad - drums)

I bet you think I'm going to mention "California". Well we've all had enough of that, so I'll spare you for now. Phantom Planet's latest album Raise The Dead will be in stores this next Tuesday (April 15th) and judging by the few dozen Phantom Planet videos from SXSW, its obvious their fans are looking forward to the band's fourth album. They will be looking for a new label after this record, so who knows what will happen from here.

From the video below, the band seems quite excited for the release date to roll around. It will be great to see these guys back on the map. Their song (below) "Leader" seems quite upbeat and unlike their other material.

Here's the tracklisting:

1. "Raise The Dead"
2. "Dropped"
3. "Leader"
4. "Do The Panic"
5. "Quarantine"
6. "Ship Lost At Sea"
7. "Demon Daughters"
8. "Geronimo"
9. "Too Much Too Often"
10. "Confess"
11. "Leave Yourself For Somebody Else"
12. "I Don't Mind"

MP3: Phantom Planet - Leader (buy)

Video: Phantom Planet - Interview @ SXSW 2008

Above: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin (Will, Phil , John)

Take a deep breath check out the spread this week. There's lots of great music to sift through, find out what you like and don't like.

We're sure you've heard of Foals, who have already released their single "Cassius" last week for their album Antidotes. The much talked-about Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin are all set to go with their much more to the point album name Perishing.

Don't be misled! The Kooks' highly anticipated album Konk does not come out this week despite what many blogs are saying (same goes for Phantom Planet). It will be available on April 14 in the UK and April 15th in the US. Tapes 'n Tapes, the Minneapolis, Minnesota indie rock band released their album Walk It Off, which has been precendented by their single "Hang Them All". They will begin their two-month tour across the US and end it in Germany come mid June. Colin Meloy (Decemberists) has also been on the road and released his solo performances with Colin Meloy Sings Live!.

Breakout solo artist Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) releases his Sensitive/Lethal album today, which follows up his previous album Trees Outside The Academy. I'll be completely honest - its horrible and nothing like his previous effort. However, if you like albums made up of concocted basement noises, this may be your ace. Listen to the samples via Windows Media Player Sensitive, Whisper and Lethal. Don't say I didn't warn you.

This should all make for an interesting week!

MP3: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Modern Mystery (buy)
MP3: Tapes n' Tapes - The Dirty Dirty (buy)
MP3: Foals - Balloons (buy)
MP3: Does It Offend You, Yeah? - Let's Make Out (buy)

{{{Sunset}}} - Bright Blue Dream (last.fm)
And Academy - Aids (Not to be confused with The Academy Is...)
Ashes Divide - Keep Telling Myself It's All Right (YouTube)
Better Luck Next Time - Start From Skratch (MySpace)
Black Kids - I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You (MySpace) (Last.fm)
Clinic - Do It! (Wiki)
Cloud Cult - Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes) (MySpace)
Colin Meloy - Colin Meloy Sings Live! (Decemberists Official Page)
Courteeners - St. Jude (MySpace)
Does It Offend You, Yeah? - You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into (MySpace) (YouTube)
Drift - Memory Drawings
Eric Avery - Help Wanted
Finest Dearest - Finest Dearest (MySpace)
Fixer - Before the Sun (MySpace)
Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant EP (Subpop!) (Last.fm)
Foals - Antidotes (MySpace)
For Against - Shade Side Sunny Side
Gran Ronde - Secret Rooms (last.fm)
Hayes Carll - Trouble in Mind
Ike Reilly - Poison The Hit Parade
Jason Anderson - The Hopeful and the Unafraid (MySpace)
Jim Noir - Jim Noir (MySpace)
Jonathan Richman - Because Her Beauty Is Raw & Wild
Karan Casey - Ships in the Forest (MySpace)
Kill Your Ex - From Words to Motion
Leona Lewis - Spirit (YouTube)
Maldroid - Maldroid (MySpace)
Man Man - Rabbit Habits (Last.fm)
Marcia Ball - Peace, Love & BBQ (MySpace)
Marie Digby - Unfold (MySpace)
Matinee Club - The Modern LP (MySpace)
Meat Beat Manifesto - Autoimmune (MySpace) (YouTube)
Mel C - This Time (YouTube)
Miss Murgatroid and Petra Haden - Hearts and Daggers (MySpace)
Neva Dinova - You May Already Be Dreaming
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig! (MySpace) (YouTube)
Old Haunts - Poisonous Times (MySpace)
P.O.D. - When Angels and Serpents Dance (Youtube)
Pacifika - Asunción (MySpace)
Peter Moren - The Last Tycoon
Richard Swift - Richard Swift as Onasis EP (MySpace)
Robert Kelly - Just the Tip
Robots in Dusguise - We're in the Music Biz (MySpace)
Rosey - Luckiest Girl
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Pershing (MySpace)
Spanish Prisoners - Songs To Forget (MySpace)
Spoon - Don't You Evah EP (MySpace)
T.S.O.L - Early Years Live [DVD]
Tapes 'n Tapes - Walk It Off (MySpace) (YouTube)
Teedo - You Are My Girl EP
The Breeders - Mountain Battles (MySpace) (YouTube)
The Duke Spirit - Neptune (MySpace) (Last.fm)
The Felice Brothers - The Felice Brothers (MySpace) (Bonnaroo)
The Long Blondes - Couples (MySpace) (Last.fm)
The New Bloods - The Secret Life
Thee Oh Sees - The Master's Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In (TomLabel)
Their Teeth Will Be of Lions - Everyone Made It Out Alive...Almost!
Thurston Moore - Sensitive/Lethal (Last.fm)
Tina Dico - Count to Ten (MySpace) (Last.fm) (YouTube)
Wye Oak - If Children (MySpace)