Last November Lanterns on The Lake toured the UK and Europe for a month of shows in support of their beautiful album Gracious Tide, Take Me Home . We asked the band to jot down some of their highlights from the tour, and this is what they came up with. Tour Diary Highlights 1st November. The Sage, Gateshead. Tonight is the first night of the tour. We are pretty excited about playing at The Sage. We’ve seen some of our favourite bands play here in the past and I guess it’s always been a kind of dream of ours ...

British dance-pop pioneers Saint Etienne have reissued a number of their records in recent years, but 2012 will see the group's first album of new material since 2005's Tales From Turnpike House . Their first new single, "Tonight," will be out March 5. Download it  here , and follow the band's  Facebook page for updates. It was produced by Tim Powell (Kylie Minogue, Sugababes, Pet Shop Boys), and mixed by Richard X (M.I.A., Kelis, Annie.) St. Etienne's Bob Stanley (who has contributed to Pitchfork) says the track is "about the anticipation of going to see your ...

British dance-pop pioneers Saint Etienne have reissued a number of their records in recent years, but 2012 will see the group's first album of new material since 2005's Tales From Turnpike House . Their first new single, "Tonight," will be out March 5. Download it  here , and follow the band's  Facebook page for updates. It was produced by Tim Powell (Kylie Minogue, Sugababes, Pet Shop Boys), and mixed by Richard X (M.I.A., Kelis, Annie.)

"an exuberant performance, the unsigned part will soon be a thing of the past" - *Annie Nightingale - Radio 1 *Formed in 2006, The Detours’ combination of energetic guitar riffs and soaring sing-a-long choruses has seen them amass a legion of loyal fans. The band have had the pleasure of sharing...

Happy New Year to everyone out there in the blogosphere, and I promise we will be exploring tons of interesting stuff in the next little while, unearthing lost audiological treasures from the 60s, 70s, and 80s, mining this thick vein of apparently inexhaustible ultra-precious musical metals... with no end in sight, it looks like there is still more to discover for sure. Our last installment in the Orexis file before we move on to completion of other bands, this one doesn't disappoint. In fact this entry is one of the best, without a doubt. Here's a band / artist ...

From her upcoming The Singles collection, Goldfrapp recently dropped "Melancholy Sky," one of two new cuts to be featured alongside the extensive selection of singles from the band's five studio albums. Like most 'Frapp, it's blissfully out of its time, ruminating somewhere in between the gentle folk of the 60s and Annie Lennox. Time warp below.

From Rihanna upsetting farmers to Tyler, the Creator eating a cockroach, we round up the pop promos that were worth watching this year Azealia Banks feat Lazy Jay – 212 Sometimes simplicity works better than a CGI-created box of tricks. Filmed in black and white and with a number of shots left as super-closeups of Azealia Banks's mouth spitting rhymes that need an 18 certificate, it's an almost perfect introduction to a future superstar. It works because there's more than enough space in each scene for Banks's almost suffocating star quality to ooze out. As she bounds ...

The Brit-Jazz scene was in constant flux this year with established bands such as Troyka, Neil Cowley Trio, Get the Blessing, and trioVD preparing for new studio albums, so the field lay wide open for more attention to be given to new bands often playing individual jazz clubs or festivals and making a buzz. Partikel and Kairos 4tet , which won the jazz act MOBO, were some of the bands to step into the breech, while other breakthrough bands like Acoustic Ladyland actually disbanded. Other instrumentalists like Gwilym Simcock ( below, right ), who was nominated for the Mercury prize, reached out to ...

The Brit-Jazz scene was in constant flux this year with established bands such as Troyka, Neil Cowley Trio, Get the Blessing, and trioVD preparing for new studio albums, so the field lay wide open for more attention to be given to new bands often playing individual jazz clubs or festivals and making a buzz. Partikel and Kairos 4tet , which won the jazz act MOBO, were some of the bands to step into the breech, while other breakthrough bands like Acoustic Ladyland actually disbanded. Other instrumentalists like Gwilym Simcock ( below, right ), who was nominated for the Mercury prize, reached out to ...

See previous:  100-76 75. SBTRKT feat. Sampha "Trials of the Past" Sampha's vocals and keyboarding skills combined with Aaron Jerome's mixing, sharp percussion, and jittery acoustics make this "reflection" song very much futuristic. The electrical, passion-infused rhythm of "Trials of the Past" has the ability to be appropriate for both a hazy club and a swanky bar. The confessional aspect of the song is captured lyrically while the musical motions occur during the breaks between verses, making it very innovative indeed. —Erica Matlin 74. Vincent">St. Vincent "Surgeon" Annie Clark, the creative force behind Vincent">St. Vincent, filled ...

L to R: Mario, Nigel, John, Billy, Michael This lineup recorded the single ‘Sometimes I Feel’ written by Michael and ‘Circles’ written by John in Sydney in 81. Thanks to Michael for putting together this history of what was a very good band and one of my favorites, over to Michael! Formed in late 1980 after the demise of local Gold Coast Bands Ratpack and The Strand. The lineup was Ex Ratpackers, John Smethurst (guitar and vocals), Nigel Baker (keyboards) and Mario Spina (bass) and Ex Strand guitarist Michael Palmer. Billy Pommer completed the lineup on drums. After a handful ...

Michael recently sent me this wonderful piece of Gold Coast/ Brisbane music history. Some great tracks on this I especially like the track Triple Z in my head as it goes through all the great shows that were on the station back then. Jeremy Oxley who went on to the Sunnyboys did his apprenticeship here as a 17 year old and other went on to the excellent Gold Coast band The Seven Ballerinas But I shall put you over to Michael who can tell you all about this band! Thanks Michael! The Strand was Tait Brady (vocals), Keith Mackay (bass ...

Well, folks. It’s that time of year. Time to take stock of my most played, most adored, and most positively associated music of 2011. I had a big year. I celebrated one full year in LA. I got married. I left the music business. I finished business school. Big changes, high highs. I’ve been assembling and sharing year end lists for more than a decade. When I go back through them, I’m always surprised and a little embarrassed by how closely the music tracks where I’ve been. That’s the magic. And the reason to keep ...

Around 250 feet from Penn Station, a real-live Soul Train rolled up to New York's Hammerstein Ballroom Sunday night for VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul , which aired last night on MTV's sister channel. The roster of talent was legit: Mary J. Blige, Sharon Jones, Chaka Khan, Erykah Badu, Marsha Ambrosius, Mavis Staples, Martha Reeves, Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson, Florence Welch, Estelle, Jessie J, Wanda Jackson, and Jill Scott all took the stage. (As did Travie McCoy, but the less said about that, the better. Boyz II Men were fun, though!). The Roots worked overtime as the event's backing ...

Yesterday, we revealed the first installment (picks 50-21) of our fifth annual Critics Poll. Today, it’s the top 20 Australian albums of 2011; a vintage year. 20. Belles Will Ring Crystal Theatre (Dot Dash/Remote Control) Key notes: Conceived in rural New South Wales and recorded in co-frontman Liam Judson’s parents’ living room, Crystal Theatre took BWR’s spooky psych revivalism and full-screened it, with pleasing results. What we said: “It’s an evocative and complicated album, put together by a band who work together as naturally as four limbs on the same beast.” More reading: Track By ...