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 WMMF's Drew Patrizi, with his brother and two friends from Austin, recently took part in the 2008 Drambuie Pursuit, a 100-mile race across the Scottish Highlands comprised of archery, speedboat racing, white-water rafting, dirt buggy racing, hill climbing and other feats of endurance. Drew's team ("On The Rocks") finished in an impressive 3rd place against 9 other teams, which included actors/brothers Jerry and Charlie O'Connell, and the 2007 Penthouse Pet of the Year, Heather Vandeven. The competition retraces the voyage of Bonnie Prince Charlie, who fled British capture in 1745 and left to his aides his secret recipe for the scotch-whiskey liqueur, Drambuie. Congratulations Drew!
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 New video from Mates of State for the song get better (off their upcoming May 20th release, re-arrange us) is being featured at Paste Magazine as their video of the day.
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Barsuk loves vinyl, and to prove it we'll be releasing a bunch of records on vinyl later this spring and summer, including:
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 Danny Seim plays drums and sings in the band Menomena. He has also been making music under the name Lackthereof for a long time. Barsuk Records is honored to announce that we will be releasing the new Lackthereof record, entitled your anchor, this July.
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 A limited edition pressing of the new Nada Surf EP, myspace transmissions, featuring seven songs recorded live at the MySpace studios, is now available in the shop. Get yours while supplies last!
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The upcoming record from Mates of State, re-arrange us will be available May 20, but you can get a preview of the tracks now by watching the new video, for the song get better — you can read what Pitchfork has to say, or just watch the video on YouTube and leave your own comments. |
On Saturday, April 19, independent music stores across the country will be taking part in the first annual Record Store Day, celebrating those wonderful and unique places where music fans can find satisfaction. Several of Barsuk's artists will be taking part in this event — be sure to check out your local record store to find out what events they have planned.
Here's where you can find our bands:
- Aqueduct performance at Sonic Boom (Ballard) in Seattle, WA at 4pm
- Mates of State performance at Newbury Comics (on Newbury Street) in Boston, MA at noon
- Menomena foosball tournament at Jackpot Records (SW 9th) in Portland, OR from 1pm to 3pm — anyone who beats the band members at foosball will have their name put into a hat; at the end of the tournament, one lucky winner will win a special gift. The band will also be DJ'ing during the event.
- Nada Surf performance at Vintage Vinyl in Fords, NJ 2:30pm
- John Roderick (The Long Winters) DJ set at Sonic Boom (Capitol Hill) in Seattle, WA at 3pm
- Jesse Sykes performance at Easy Street (Queen Anne) in Seattle, WA at 5pm
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 If you've been jonesing for some Nada Surf (or just want to see an awesome concert), trek on over to the NPR website, where you can listen to Nada Surf's recent performance (nearly 90 minutes' worth) at the 9:30 Club in Washington DC, listen to a pre-show interview with Matthew Caws, or look at photos from the show. You'll be feeling lucky in no time...
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 WMMF's performance on WXPN's World Cafe will be broadcast tomorrow, April 10th! Find your local NPR station here, or learn more about World Cafe here.
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 Jim Noir's eponymous second album is released today, and it's an absolutely brilliant record. But don't take our word for it — here's what the critics are writing about this electronic pop masterpiece:
Stuffed with whimsical beauty and gorgeous layered harmonies that Brian Wilson would kill for. An extraordinary achievement. FIVE STARS - The Independent
Psychedelic electro-pop of the most inventively buoyant and sweetly retro-futurist kind. FOUR STARS - Uncut
Jim Noir’s self-titled album happily skips through the high points of Western pop with cheeky wit and striking skill. It’s a classic rock candy store. - Under The Radar
Check out this free mp3 from the new album, or have a look at Jim Noir's performance at this year's SXSW festival. |
 Jesse Sykes' critically acclaimed album from 2007, like, love, lust & the open halls of the soul, is available on beautiful double vinyl, packaged in a swank gatefold jacket. Get yours while supplies last — we have a very limited quantity, including a handful of the peach vinyl version.
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The new What Made Milwaukee Famous video (for the song sultan) is up now on the MTVU Freshmen site, competing against four other videos to win video of the week (and be shown on MTVU). Vote now! |
 Be sure to catch Chris Walla's interview on NPR's World Café this Friday, March 21st. Check your local NPR station for details.
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Nada Surf recently recorded a bunch of songs at the studios of MySpace, and the entire performance — including interviews of the band — was captured on video. You can watch the videos now on MySpace, or purchase the tracks on iTunes. Barsuk will have a limited number of CDs of these recordings sometime in the near future — check back for details.
Also, if you missed the band's performance on NPR's World Cafe, the episode will be re-broadcast next Monday, March 24th — check your local NPR station for broadcast times. |
Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel, the he and she music factory known as Mates of State, have confirmed the May 2008 release and tracklisting for their fifth full length album, re-arrange us. They've also confirmed their appearance at the Sasquatch Festival on Sunday, May 25, followed by a May 28 date at Los Angeles' Henry Fonda Theater, and a full headlining tour and numerous other festival dates to be announced shortly. The tour will mark Mates' first extensive road trip since NPR's This American Life tour last February, where they provided musical interludes between Ira Glass, Dave Eggers, Dan Savage, Sarah Vowell and David Rakoff's readings to 3000+ crowds across the U.S.
Look for more news about the upcoming release — including sample MP3s — in the coming weeks. |
 Death Cab for Cutie are putting the finishing touches on their next record, narrow stairs (due May 13 — Barsuk will be releasing the vinyl version sometime after the CD comes out), and have posted an 8-minute album track to their MySpace page (you can also purchase the track from Amazon). We'll post more news about the new album as we get it.
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The new album from Austin-based What Made Milwaukee Famous hits stores next Tuesday, March 4th, but you can preview selected tracks and watch their brilliant new video (with a special guest star) for the song sultan here. |
From a Manchester bedroom to your stereo via outer space, we're overjoyed to introduce the new album from Jim Noir. He's named it after himself, but don't be fooled into thinking he's run out of ideas — Jim's eponymous second album is one of the most expansive pop records you'll hear this year. Preview one of the tracks here. |
Even though it airs in the wee hours, MTV2's Subterranean is still a great place to watch new, alternative videos. Be sure to catch this weekend's show (Sunday at 1am), which will be hosted by none other than Chris Walla.
Also, be sure to check out the new MTVU Dean's List hosted by Chris Walla, in which he talks about the upcoming Death Cab record while playing some of his favorite videos. |
Don't miss the Nada Surf performance on National Public Radio's World Café, Friday February 15th. Find your local NPR station here, or listen online to the WXPN stream here. If you miss the broadcast, it'll be available online on the NPR site.
Also: Nada Surf recently did an in-studio session at KEXP, which is available as a podcast here. |
 Kurt Cobain About A Son is an intimate and moving meditation on the late musician and artist told entirely in his own voice. The film presents a rare personal portrait of a boy who becomes a musician, a husband, a rock star, a father and a songwriter whose words have touched millions.
Available now on DVD (with a bonus featurette and commentary) in the shop. |
 The concept: gather together a bunch of bands in a house that will be destroyed. All bands play one song each, and perform their song twice, and then the house is destroyed. Capture everything on film, and release it on DVD.
For the Seattle edition, Death Cab's Ben Gibbard gathered together a bunch of great local bands: The Long Winters, Jesse Sykes, David Bazan, Harvey Danger, Tiny Vipers, The Cave Singers, Minus The Bear, Eddie Vedder, Kinski, Spook The Horse, The Can't See, The Blue Scholars, Triumph of Lethargy Skinned To Death, and, of course, himself. Released by Trixie DVD, but available here while supplies last. |
Set your Tivos or have that extra cup of coffee so you can stay up late tonight: Nada Surf will be performing on the Conan O'Brien show. Check your local listings for channel and show time. |
The new album from Nada Surf is available now for ordering from the Barsuk shop. In the meanwhile, check out the band's ecard, which has the new whose authority video, as well as video clips and in-studio performances filmed during the recording of the album.
Also: be sure to listen to their in-studio performance February 5th on KCRW! |
Recommended by Stereogum, check out the new track from the upcoming WMMF record, what doesn't kill us. Here's what Stereogum says: "Listen to those dramatic vocal soars (wait for the effect used on the first slow, less accompanied vocal part), moody but strong guitars (and keyboards), and those complex, whirlwind exit horns." Free MP3 download: resistance st.. |
"Layered, clear, and alternately ethereal or driving, the record bears the trademark tapestry-of-sound quality found on many of Walla’s projects."
The new album is out now, as a regular cd or as a limited-edition clothbound piece of art. Buy it by February 5, and get 3 non-album bonus MP3s — and be sure to check out the great video for sing again available now in the new ecard. |
 If the beautiful film Kurt Cobain About A Son hasn't played at your local art-house cinema since it came out last year, you're about to get another chance to hear the film's score, which was composed and recorded by Death Cab's Ben Gibbard and Seattle musician/producer Steve Fisk. Not only will the movie finally be available on DVD (from Shout Factory) on February 19th (and you should definitely check it out if you haven't seen it yet), but Barsuk is releasing the original film score album digitally that same day — also, a limited-edition double-vinyl version will be out in April.
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NPR has chosen the Chris Walla song sing again as their Song of the Day. Here's how they describe it: "Sing Again is two and a half minutes of pop pleasure, a bass-propelled brand extension stacked with harmonies, gratuitous helicopter noises, and an unmercifully catchy chorus. The words hint at a darker purpose ('A life packed full of mindless joy / It is not easy to enjoy'), but pay them no mind. Sing Again wants only to please: It's like Ben Folds Five mixed with Sugar mixed with puppies." Read the full review here. |
 Enjoy an exclusive in-studio performance from Rocky Votolato (doing two songs from his most recent album, the brag and cuss), up now at Pure Volume.
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After a busy 2007 playing dozens of tour dates (including some shows with Smashing Pumpkins), What Made Milwaukee Famous have returned to the studio and created another great record. Titled what doesn't kill us, the album will be out March 4th — look for a free MP3 from the record soon. |
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