In the four years since his career-redefining, mostly acoustic record Emoh, Lou Barlow has reunited with Dinosaur Jr. and reissued three of Sebadoh’s classic albums. But as the brilliant new Goodnight Unknown illustrates, he’s hardly living in the past. Borrowing the live-band energy of Dinosaur Jr. and the stylistic reach of Sebadoh, Barlow has built on Emoh’s full production and written a set of immediate, melodic pop songs that Lou describes as, “a cross between my later work with Folk Implosion and my earlier work with Sebadoh…to my ears, anyway.”

From the surging opening track “Sharing” to the surprisingly soulful performances on “The Right,” Goodnight Unknown benefits from Barlow’s tunefulness and his decision to record the record relatively quickly, with old friends and new. The Melvins’ Dale Crover adds inspired drum work throughout, and Goodnight Unknown’s urgent sound owes just as much to frequent Barlow collaborator Imaad Wasif (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, alaska!). The record’s considerable power also stems from the new talents on board, including producer Andrew Murdock and Lisa Germano.

Lou Barlow + The Missingmen will be on tour throughout the fall opening for Dinosaur Jr. The Missingmen are guitarist Tom Watson and drummer Raul Morales. Lou “stole” them from Mike Watt for this tour, and is excited to be bringing you the full band experience of Goodnight Unknown.

Join us in following @loubarlow on Twitter!

Lou Barlow + the Missingmen:
09-30 Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theatre
10-01 Montreal, QUE - Pop Montreal Festival
10-02 Cambridge, MA - Middle East
10-03 Cambridge, MA - Middle East
10-04 Clifton Park, NY - Northern Lights
10-07 New Haven, CT - Toad’s Place
10-08-09 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
10-09 Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of the Living Arts
10-10 Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall
10-11 Pontiac, MI - The Crofoot
10-13 Madison, WI - The Majestic Theatre
10-14 St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
10-15 Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre
10-16 Louisville, KY - Headliner’s Music Hall
10-17 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
10-26 Kansas City, MO - The Beaumont Club
10-27 Omaha, NE - Slowdown
10-29 Boulder, CO - Boulder Theater
10-30 Fort Collins, CO - Aggie Theatre
11-03 Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theatre
11-04 Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern
11-06 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
11-07 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom

The Late Show with David Letterman airs weeknights on CBS at 11:30 PM EST, but check your local listings and set your DVR just in case!

Conor & the MVB are on tour in support of Outer South and will appear at XX Merge.

Pure were a band from Asheville, NC, featuring Steve Dunnington (bass & vocals), Danni Iosello (drums), and Martin Beeler (guitars & vocals). We released a Pure 7” in the spring of 1991 and they haven’t played together since the early ’90s, but they’ve agreed to reunite for XX Merge and we’re excited! A bit Dinosaur Jr.-y but more spacey, everyone who saw them was pretty blown away and people loved the single. Then they just kinda disappeared back into the mountains.

Stream a Pure song from our 5 year anniversary compilation, Rows of Teeth.

In the same vein, New Zealand’s legendary, guitar-mangling 3Ds haven’t played a stateside show since their 1994 tour with Superchunk, but Davids Mitchell and Saunders, Denise Roughan, and original drummer Dominic Stones are making the trip for XX Merge!

Stream songs from our 3Ds releases as well as the Quasi cover of the 3Ds song “Beautiful Things” from the SCORE! The Covers! CD now on sale at a new low price in the Merge store.

5-day passes for XX Merge are sold out. There may be a limited number of tickets for sale at the door for the Cat’s Cradle shows, and tickets are still available via eTix for the July 26 show at Memorial Hall featuring She & Him, American Music Club & Wye Oak.

“Got Nuffin” was recorded by Nicolas Vernhes at Rare Book Room. B-sides “Tweakers” and “Stroke Their Brains” were recorded by Spoon.

As previously announced, Spoon will return to its birthplace to commandeer Austin’s Stubbs Amphitheater July 9, 10 and 11 for SPOONX3, which will feature the live debut of new material from the band’s forthcoming album as well as different special guests nightly, all handpicked by the band. Spoon will also perform as part of our 20th anniversary celebration, XX Merge July 22-26th.

The lineup for the shows at Stubbs is as follows:

July 9 - SPOON, Quasi, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears
July 10 - SPOON, Low, Dale Watson
July 11 - SPOON, Atlas Sound, the Strange Boys

For further information, check www.spoontheband.com.

Telekinesis are on tour in support of their debut album, Telekinesis!, available on CD and digital download in the Merge store.

SCORE! Merge Records: The First 20 Years is a deluxe subscription-only box set that is currently sold out. However, you can purchase SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records: The Covers! now on sale in the Merge store with all proceeds benefiting the charities chosen by the curators. Mindy has chosen to direct the proceeds from her SCORE! contribution to Doctors Without Borders.

The Clientele formed a long time ago in the backwoods of suburban Hampshire, playing together as kids at school, rehearsing in a thatched cottage remote from any kind of music scene, but hypnotized by the magical strangeness of Galaxie 500 and Felt and the psych pop of Love and the Zombies.

Bonfires on the Heath is in a sense a return to the Clientele’s roots; the dreamlike suburban landscapes first encountered in the early singles, their trippy sense of menace stronger now. Now in London, they’ve drawn on older traditions of English folk, which exist here side by side with the band’s more familiar bossa and pop elements. Mel Draisey’s contributions on piano and violin add beautifully to MacLean’s timeless, eerie songs.

The Clientele will play in Brooklyn, NY at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on July 19th with Richard Buckner, and as part of XX Merge. Visit their blog for more news, photos and stories.