Pearl Jam - "Mind Your Manners"

I know this has been out for quite a while, but I've been debating if I really wanted to write about Pearl Jam. Usually I try to focus on music that you might have missed and not arena rockers that have been around for 20+ years. If I'm going to bring up that kind of band, it'll usually be to mock them. But "Mind Your Manners" is Pearl Jam's best song in decades. It's one of the rare songs where you actually hear their punk influences. Plus, it has one of the best Mike McCready guitar solos in history. It's their best music since 1994's Vitalogy.

Lightning Bolt comes out on October 15th. Check out Pearl Jam's website for more information, and find some tour dates below the video.

10.11.2013      Pittsburgh         Consol Energy Center  

10.12.2013      Buffalo, NY      First Niagara Center

10.15.2013      Worcester, MA            DCU Center

10.16.2013      Worcester, MA            DCU Center    

10.18.2013      Brooklyn, NY  Barclays Center

10.19.2013      Brooklyn, NY  Barclays Center           

10.21.2013      Philadelphia, PA           Wells Fargo Center

10.22.2013      Philadelphia, PA           Wells Fargo Center     

10.25.2013      Hartford, CT    XL Center        XLCenter.com

10.27.2013      Baltimore, MD 1rst Mariner Arena      

10.29.2013      Charlottesville, VA       John Paul Jones Arena

10.30.2013      Charlotte, NC  Time Warner Cable Arena       

11.01.2013      New Orleans, LA         Voodoo Festival                      

11.15.2013      Dallas, TX        American Airlines Center          with Midlake   

11.16.2013      Oklahoma City, OK     Chesapeake Energy Arena        with Midlake   

11.19.2013      Phoenix, AZ     Jobing.com Arena        

11.21.2013      San Diego, CA Viejas Arena   

11.23.2013      Los Angeles, CA          Sports Arena   

11.24.2013      Los Angeles, CA          Sports Arena   

11.26.2013      Oakland, CA    Oracle Arena   

11.29.2013      Portland, OR    Moda Center    with Mudhoney

11.30.2013      Spokane, WA  Spokane Arena            with Mudhoney

12.02.2013      Calgary, ALB   Scotiabank Saddledome           w/ Mudhoney  

12.04.2013      Vancouver, BC            Rogers Arena   with Mudhoney

12.06.2013      Seattle, WA     Key Arena       with Mudhoney

The Two Man Gentlemen Band do the "Wander Over Yonder" Theme!

The Two Man Gentlemen Band, Official Top Ten Bands for Jeff, hasn't been seen much since their most recent album, Two at a Time. It turns out that they've been hard at work at the music and theme song for the new Disney cartoon Wander Over Yonder. You can listen over yonder above.

The Two Man Gentlemen Band is a folky throwback duo who love history and drinking, sometimes at the same time. Definitely worth a listen if you're unfamiliar:

Pixies - "Indie Cindy"

OK, this is more like it. Since the release of the horrible single "Bagboy," I had all but given up on the Pixies following the departure of Kim Deal. I may have been a wee bit premature. Yesterday the band released a new EP on their website called EP-1. Of the four tracks, none of which are "Bagboy," they have a video out for "Indie Cindy." The track isn't great, but it's really, really good. It follows Frank Black's patented spoken word rants by getting quieter (throwing off the loud/quiet/loud dynamic, but perfectly) and strangely beautiful. It's a surprising return to form that thankfully has us skeptics doubting ourselves.

You can buy EP-1 in the format of your choosing over at the Pixies' website, and check out the video for "Indie Cindy" below.

First Listen: New Releases for September 3

A few high-profile releases combined with some indie highlights form the foundation of this week's new release schedule:

Volcano Choir - Repave: I don't consider myself a fan of Bon Iver, even though I find Justin Vernon to be incredibly talented and interesting. I don't know what it is about Bon Iver that doesn't resonate with me, but I do know that Repave, the second Volcano Choir album, inhabits the space I wish Vernon was always in for me. It's stark and weird and different without being completely inaccessible, and while it has a lot of indie tropes that people love to hate on, it's an album that deserves to be heard at least once, and probably multiple times. Definitely tops my list as the most interesting new release of the day.

Over the Rhine - Meet Me at the Edge of the World: Over the Rhine is a folk band that exists in the same headspace as Hem, mostly because I saw them open for Hem a number of years ago. Their music is both more folky and more mainstream sounding, and while releasing a double album in this music climate could be considered questionable, Meet Me at the Edge of the World did a good job in not feeling like it overstayed its welcome. It's early to say as to whether I like this more or less than their other start, but it's definitely in the immediate rotation.

Nine Inch Nails - Hesitation Marks: If your favorite Nine Inch Nails music comes from the Downward Spiral era, prepare to be disappointed. If you think The Fragile was the bee's knees and How to Destroy Angels are interesting, this might be more down your alley. As someone who falls in the middle of that, I'm not really sure what to make of this album's existence, let alone what it sounds like. It's distinctly Nine Inch Nails, but it's also what you might have expected them to sound like 20 years after "Closer," so I don't know...wait, "Closer" is almost 20 years old? Oh man...

Okkervil River - The Silver Gymnasium: Okkervil River is a band that I always end up liking, but I've somehow convinced myself otherwise. We can all agree "Lost Coastlines" is one of the better songs of the last few years, and The Silver Gymnasium is less the typical Okkervil sound that you might associate with them and feels more like a late-1980s/early-1990s alt-rock sound to go with the more folk-rock stylings we're used to. I really liked my first listen to the album, I'm interested to see if the production values throw me off in the longer term, though.

King Khan and His Shrines - Idle No More: On the flip side of Okkervil River for me is King Khan and [His Shrines/The Shrines/BBQ Show], a band that, traditionally, I haven't liked although everything should indicate that I would enjoy them. There's a lot to love on Idle No More, which is great news. A lot of great horns, really catchy melodies, I'm almost convinced I might have missed something with them early on, maybe. Definitely worth a listen.

Glasvegas - Later...When the TV Turns to Static: Meh. This is the first album since the blog started that I really couldn't get through. A lot of sterile, radio-friendly rock that does nothing to set itself apart from other bands like them. Pass.

Neko Case - The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You: Neko Case has gone from alt-country mainstay to New Pornographer pop priestess to a more straightforward indie singer-songwriter straddling all of those lines. Middle Cyclone felt like a shift for her, and the new album, in a lot of ways, is the natural evolution from Cyclone. I was concerned with the rock of "Man," the lead single, but the album is really what we've come to expect from Neko Case at first blush. Definitely like the album, definitely unlike anything else around it. Worth a listen for sure, if not more.

Sleigh Bells - "Bitter Rivals"

The first time I heard "Crown on the Ground" and "Infinity Guitars" from Sleigh Bells so long ago, it was really unlike anything I had heard previously. The blown-speaker, demented-cheerleader attitude of the songs were really different, and both songs got stuck in my head all the time. They then got signed to an actual label, got some studio polish, and they were still as loud as ever but with some of the grit rubbed off. I really enjoyed Treats, but it concerned me about what I loved about them.

I'll put it this way: if "Bitter Rivals" is what we can expect next from Sleigh Bells, we won't have any problems. It's a really strange jolt to the senses, and the video doesn't help matters either. Essentially, it appears as if the now-trio have possibly figured out the balance between the wall of noise in their first album and the production values of their second. I don't always like to blast music from my speakers, but this is just asking for the volume to be turned up.

The album is also called Bitter Rivals, and it's due out October 8. Not soon enough, if you ask me.

Dizzee Rascal - "I Don't Need a Reason"

Dizzee Rascal might finally be set to break out here in America with his fifth album, The Fifth. It's hard to believe it's been 10 years since Boy in da Corner came out, but Dizzee is now a veteran rapper who should be much bigger in the States than he is now. The video for his first single off The Fifth might just do it. (We'll ignore the fact that he might also break out because of the Will.i.am collaboration.) If this was the 90s, "I Don't Need a Reason" would be in the Buzz Bin in heavy rotation. It might be the most creative video I've seen since "Lucas With the Lid Off." With it's mind screwing use of video loops and nutso eye animation, it's the increasingly rare video that makes you wonder how they pulled it off. Plus, the song is pretty killer, too.

The Fifth is due out in America on 10/1 on Dirtee Stank/Universal Records. Check out the slightly NSFW video below and check out Dizzee's website here.


Dizzee Rascal | I Don't Need A Reason from DIVISION on Vimeo.

Highlights in Amazon's September mp3 Sale

Every month, Amazon.com puts up 100 albums for $5 each. Ones that may be of interest to readers:

* Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions - Bavarian Fruit Bread
* The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
* The Love Language - Ruby Red
* Kanye West - Late Registration
* Jay-Z - The Hits Collection - Volume 1
* Jay-Z - The Black Album
* Dr. Dog - The Void
* Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
* Tame Impala - Lonerism
* Old Crow Medicine Show - O.C.M.S.
* O Brother, Where Art Thou official soundtrack.

Throwing Muses - "sleepwalking-1" and "Sunray Venus"

A new Throwing Muses song should be regarded with at least as much fanfare as a new Pixies song. I guess the difference is "sleepwalking-1" is actually good and holds up with the best of the Throwing Muses back catalog. Throwing Muses broke up in 1997 because touring wasn't financially viable, but came back in 2003. Since then they've been pretty silent, but on November 11 they will be releasing their new album, Purgatory/Paradise. Ok, it's not really just an album. In keeping with the tradition of Kristin Hersh's solo work, it's being packaged with an art book. And the album is 32 tracks long. I guarantee not a single one will be as disappointing as "Bagboy." You can listen to the first song, "sleepwalking-1" below. You can also stream a 2nd song, "Sunray Venus," over at their website.

You can FINALLY hear some remastered tracks from The Lemonheads upcoming reissues

Almost a full year ago, Fire Records announced they were reissuing the criminally long out of print first three Lemonheads albums, Hate Your Friends, Creator, and Lick. Since then, there has been virtually no information released. Are there gobs of previously unreleased tracks and/or alternate versions of songs? Or is it just a straight remaster with maybe an extra song on the end? In the day of bands announcing a new album on their website with a link to download that album immediately, a year is an excruciatingly long time to wait. This week, Fire Records posted some of the remastered tracks on Soundcloud, which shows that this is actually happening. Listen to the 5 tracks here.

Free EP: Sally Shapiro/Johan Agebjörn Remixes

Paper Bag Records announced the free download of an album of remixes from European dance pop queen Sally Shapiro and Johan Agebjörn. Titled Sweetened, I have no idea how long this will be available for free, but the album has thirteen tracks of remixes, such as Shapiro taking on Young Galaxy and Little Boots.

If you're into remixes and aren't familiar with Sally Shapiro yet, this is a great opportunity to dive in. If you're already a fan of either of these artists, chances are you're probably diving at anything they put out anyway, so go and grab it:

Johan Agebjörn/Sally Shapiro - Sweetened