white lies whack new video

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If you think Interpol knocked off Joy Division and Editors knocked off Interpol and White Lies knocked off Editors, then you probably won't care much for this post.

If you're still reading you'll be happy to know that Brit gloom rockers White Lies will release the follow up to their debut, To Lose My Life, early next year.

The first single from Ritual hits your favorite online record store today. "Bigger Than Us" is grandiose and romantic as expected — what's surprising is the accompanying video.

Apparently a prepubescent boy and his candy-bar-encased girlfriend have been home quarantined E.T. style. Fortunately, White Lies are there to bust them out and put on an impromptu concert while the young lovers smooch in the street:



That was.. interesting.

vampire black friday weekend

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If you were like me, you spent copious hours beached in front of the television watching football, more football and random bits of Ben Stiller romcoms over the holiday weekend.

 

And if you did so, you most certainly heard Vampire Weekend's "Holiday". Stereogum beat me to the punch, but the prep school poofs have sold their prepackaged commercial jam to two different ad campaigns.

This perfectly pretentious Tommy Hilfiger ad is the most appropriate fit:




More generic, yet more omnipresent, is the Honda Civic campaign — I even heard a radio version on the way to work today:




With all this Madison Avenue cash rolling in, they really can roll like 18th century aristocrats.



Wow, they truly are terrible.

daft punk tron soundtrack leaked

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The theatrical release of Tron Legacy is now just three weeks away, and Daft Punk's epic score is set to arrive in stores and online December 7.

So far, we've been treated to a video clip of "Derezzed" and some various hoaxes, but today the full album has appeared on the web — at least until it gets taken down.

Much of the soundtrack is a more traditional orchestral score. In an interview with Dazed and Confused magazine,Thomas Bangalter explained "this is what Daft Punk would have done in 1700. We knew from the start that there was no way we were going to do this with two synthesisers and a drum machine."

So have a listen to a few of the neo-classic Daft Punk compositions featuring a full 90-piece orchestra. Let's start with the dramatic "Recognizer":




Equally rousing is the pulsating "Rinzler":




If you were hoping for some more traditional Daft Punk jams, there are a few that fit that bill too. "End Of The Line" kicks some serious ass:




And of course, you can't go wrong with "Tron Legacy (End Titles)":




I'm so happy I could kiss Walt Disney's frozen head.

school of seven bells' sensual puppetry

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On the heels of the Klaxons' bizarre and tawdry video we bring you the latest clip from shoegazers School Of Seven Bells.

The second single off their terrific sophomore album Disconnect From Desire, "I L U", features a video directed by David Lowery and Toby Halbrooks.

In it, an attractive indie couple and their puppet incarnations make sweet love — but in the end someone always gets their heart ripped out:




You can see SVIIB live in support of Interpol on the remainder of their US tour dates. It's a bittersweet return to the road for Alejandra Deheza and Benjamin Curtis, who met while touring with Interpol back in 2004.

These are some of the first shows following the departure of identical twin sister Claudia Deheza. Meanwhile, Curtis' brother and former Secret Machines bandmate Brandon Curtis is a touring member of Interpol.

Did Liam and Noel teach us nothing? Don't start a band with your siblings.

cut copy cuts new single

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Australian synthpop maestros Cut Copy are set to release the follow up to In Ghost Colours early next year.

Zonoscope will be Cut Copy's third full length, and if early returns are correct it appears to find a happy medium between the grandeur of In Ghost Colours and the krautrock of Bright Like Neon Love.

Lead single "Take Me Over" gets a digital release today with a vinyl 12" to come in the near future. It has a nice break around 2:49, but doesn't reach for the heights of say "Lights And Music":



For another peek at Zonoscope, check out "Where I'm Going" which was released over the summer:



And if that's not enough Cut Copy for you today, let's go back to a b-side on the 2008 "Far Away" EP.

"Sands Of Time" was written after In Ghost Colours but would have fit in nicely. This fan-made video of sand art (get it?) is pretty danged amazing:

gorillaz do the xx

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Stop reading now if you believe Gorillaz really are an animated band of misfits.

If you are fully aware of Damon Albarn's involvement, then you'll enjoy this past Saturday's live BBC Radio 1 performance captured by our friends at Some Kind of Awesome. The highlight was Albarn and company's tender take on "Crystalised" by Mercury Prize winners The xx:




A stripped down version of "On Melancholy Hill" from Plastic Beach was another fine moment:




Listen to the full BBC Live Lounge Session here. And just for grins, here's the official video for "On Melancholy Hill" in all its animated glory:

kinky klaxons — nsfw twin flames video

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Forgive Old Waver for being a little slow on the news cycle. Yesterday saw the release of the video for the Klaxons' second single "Twin Flames" off their sophomore effort, Surfing the Void.

Directed by Saam Farahmand, the clip is extremely NSFW. It starts off innocently enough, escalates into a makeout session, then morphs into a full-blown freak show orgy.

According to The Quietus, the concept is loosely based on the work of English artists Jake and Dinos Chapman, who obviously had a bizarre fascination with Barbies as young boys.

If you can stick it out through the end, enjoy conjoined Klaxons fully lubed with gallons of KY:



All that nudity was quickly yanked from YouTube, but thanks to a fellow internet perv we can still gawk at the video.

Now go wash your eyes out.

barney's shadow

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A little more than a month ago, Converse UK released a fresh collaboration between New Order's Bernard Sumner, Hot Chip and Hot City entitled "Didn't Know What Love Was".

They promised a video to go along with the old school synth pop jam, and today our friends at Slicing Up Eyeballs dug it up on YouTube.

The clip features Bernard and his shadow, Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard of Hot Chip and their doppelgangers, plenty of stop motion effects, and a cameo from New Order drummer Stephen Morris:



To download the track free, hear alternate takes and watch short films about each of the artists, check out the Converse Music Blog.

Somewhere in an alternate universe, this song is a #1 hit. I want to go to there.

girl talk featuring old wavers

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By now you probably have your virtual hands on a digital copy of Girl Talk's fifth album, All Day. If not, catch up with the buzz and download it free right now directly from the label, Illegal Art.

Girl Talk, aka Greg Gillis, created an internet frenzy with the surprise release of the album on Monday.

A non-stop 71 minute mashup, All Day has been two years in the making and features at least 372 samples — most of which were used without permission and are catalogued wiki-style here. Two of the party jams feature prominent samples culled from old waver favorites New Order and Depeche Mode.

"On And On" mixes up "Bizarre Love Triangle" with Cream and White Zombie, among others:



And the album's next track, "Get It Get It", features "Just Can't Get Enough" as well as an unlikely pairing of Aphex Twin and Soulja Boy:



While the legality of Girl Talk's work is certainly debatable, All Day is a pretty amazing slice of pop culture. And no matter what you think of Gillis as an "artist", you have to admit the man knows how to get the party started.

living easy with british sea power

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Last month, British Sea Power released the surprisingly stout teaser EP, Zeus. Now the avant-garde history rockers have issued the first single off their upcoming 4th album, Valhalla Dancehall.

"Living Is So Easy" will be available for purchase November 29, but you can stream and/or download a free edited version below. It's a nice, breezy midtempo BSP number with Yan's distinctive vocals front and center:




The band's press release probably describes it best: "The song 'Living Is So Easy' features electronic keyboards, plus some Louis Vuitton and clay pigeons. It's a mixture of Serge Gainsbourg and Ralf and Florian-era Kraftwerk with a sprinkle of Stock, Aitken and Waterman. It's our most electronic song to date. This is the high life."

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.

now showing: two door cinema club

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In the digital age, we expect to know everything there is to know at the exact moment it's able to be known. But every once in a while a pleasant surprise flies in under the radar.

Such is the case with Northern Ireland's Two Door Cinema Club. Their debut album was released back in March, they've toured in support of Phoenix, Foals and Tokyo Police Club, and they've blown up on myspace — yet until last week I had no idea who the hell they were.

Turns out they're Phoenix acolytes who have turned out an album nearly as effusive and electric as Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.

Take the blistering "I Can Talk", which may be familiar to owners of FIFA 11:




Prefer your electropop with a little more jangle? "Something Good Can Work" has you covered:




And if you were wondering, yes they pull it off live:



Not a bad way to start the week...

echoes of the bunnymen

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Underrated.

Of all the great bands of the 80's, Echo and the Bunnymen are arguably one of the best yet they receive perhaps the least attention.

From Crocodiles to Porcupine and the fantastic self-titled classic, Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant and their Liverpudlian mates created some of the most timeless albums of the era.

While the reformed band's new material doesn't quite hold up, they still have the verve and presence live that they had back in the day. And if you've ever seen them live, you know that the albums — great as they are — don't do them justice.

Today, let's enjoy a few classic performances of some Bunnymen favorites; "Do It Clean", "Never Stop" and "Killing Moon":

liam's beady eye

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Oasis wanted to be the Beatles, but Liam Gallagher's new band Beady Eye is more of an homage to the Rolling Stones.

From the December's Children style band photo to the sloppy barroom sound, Beady Eye is a throwback to the flip side of the British Invasion.

Formed from the remnants of Oasis, sans Noel, the new band gives Liam, guitarists Gem Archer and Andy Bell (Ride), drummer Chris Sharrock (The La's, World Party) and new bassist Jeff Wootton (Gorillaz) the freedom to explore beyond Oasis' established Britpop template.

The debut album will arrive in early 2011, but the first single, "Bring The Light", was released today as a free download. A special vinyl pressing of just 4,000 copies will be available November 22 with b-side "Sons Of The Stage".

As you'll hear, Liam has ditched a bit of the sneer and has some nice interplay with his soulful backup singers:




If you dug that, download it here for a birthdate and an email address:

Mad fer it!