I missed posting about Sunset Rubdown’s, Dragonslayer when it came out June 23rd on Jagjaguwar.

Dragonslayer marks the first album where Sunset Rubdown is more of a actual band than just a moniker/side project of Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade) which he used to make super lo-fi recordings and it shows. I think it jams, I listened to it 5 times in a row.

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MP3 >> Sunset Rubdown - “Idiot Heart“

Get Dragonslayer at Amazon.
Listen to more at Myspace.

No Culture Icons is a new photography collective that was started this June by photographer Liam Henry. The collective is showcasing new up and coming photographers, so you should submit your work to be apart of it.

View the work of Brooklyn based fashion photographer Lane Coder.

LA based band Fool’s Gold has made the instant summer jam with that guitar line in “Suprise Hotel” which will be released at the end of September. Made up of members from Foreign Born, We Are Scientists, Glasser and The Fall, and they play an interesting mix of African rhythms and 80’s pop.

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MP3 >> Fool’s Gold - Surprise Hotel

Visit their Myspace.
Learn more at IAMSOUND Records.

(If they have a STAR by them, it means I’ve heard it and I like it. Album title links go to Amazon. If I miss any good releases, please add them in the comments.)

Animal Collective: Summertime Clothes
Bowerbirds: Upper Air *
Cass McCombs: Catacombs *
Dr. Dog and Floating Action: Don’t Stop (Loving Me Now) (vinyl)
High Places / Soft Circle: High Places / Soft Circle Split 7″ (vinyl)
Jackie-O Motherfucker: Ballads of the Revolution
The Low Anthem: Oh My God Charlie Darwin
Mannequin Men: Lose Your Illusion, Too
Oneida: Rated O
Owen: The Seaside EP
Son Volt: American Central Dust
Stellastarr*: Civilized
Tiny Vipers: Life On Earth
UuVvWwZ: UuVvWwZ
Various Artists: Poet: A Tribute to Townes Van Zandt
We Were Promised Jetpacks: These Four Walls

A new project started to “highlight how different people can essentially take the same pictures” curated by some great photographers Alex Carman, Dave Geeting, and Sophie Curtis. I think it’s very interesting and I hope they keep it up for a long time.

Heather and I grew up in the same suburb of Kansas City, but didn’t really become friends until we both moved to Lawrence. Since then we’ve gone to Las Vegas and Barcelona together and now live around the corner from each other in Brooklyn. She’s got great taste in pretty much everything and is basically a very classy lady. If you’re going to go on vacation I definitely recommend inviting Heather. She now works as studio director at Acne in New York.

Lane: What are you currently working on or just finished that you’re excited about?

Neuburger: I just started my own blog, brownpapercake , it’s totally random shit that I am inspired by, but it’s main focus is my musings about fashion. Gosh, I am turning into such a geek.

Lane: Where have you traveled so far this month?

Neuburger: Paris this spring. Pure MAGIC!! I ate an insane amount of pastries, steak, and delicious stinky cheese. My favorite museum was the Centre Pompidou. What a terribly ugly building. But filled with some of my favorite art works. I could wax poetic about Duchamp, Matisse, and Beuys forever.

Lane: What’s your favorite music right now?

Neuburger: I’ve been going through a 90’s goth phase listening to the Cocteau Twins non-stop. My best friend gave me 2 incredible Serge Gainsbourg records last week for my birthday, they kill me. And a lot of “world music”: Ethiopiques, Selda, some crazy Cambodian music and this great Tropicalia comp.

Lane: Best food you’ve had in your neighborhood lately or while you were traveling?

Neuburger: There is this restaurant in St. Germain-des-Pres  that has no menu, it only serves steak frites. They ask you how you would like your steak, and then give you a salad with that perfect mustard dressing and then bring out this perfect little serving of steak and perfect crispy frites. Then they pour this incredible secret green sauce on, I’m not sure but there are some herbs and definitely a lot of butter in this sauce.

Lane: Anything else you want to mention?

Neuburger: I guess this is a pretty “mushy” weekly check in. But you asked for it, and that’s me. Oh and kurt, I really want to be the singer in a band with you and your badass wife.

The first Weekly Check In by Kurt Lane.

I met Sharan while in high school and we’ve kept in touch over the years. I called her up when I moved to New York last fall and she immediately gave me a job at a record store that was about to go out of business. It pays (in cash and just above minimum wage) to know people! In addition to her awesomely elaborate listening habits she’s a drummer and composer of note. She also knows more about delicious beers than I could ever hope to. Basically, the perfect person to hang out with.

Lane: What are you currently working on or just finished that you’re excited about?

Singh: I’m presently working for Waxpoetics on an archiving project of the label Fania (and its subsidiary labels) down in Miami, Florida. It’s been a fascinating excavation of the true gems of Latin music, mostly from the ’60s and ’70s. Uncovering relics like master tapes, test pressings, photos, film, and press kits from musicians I have long admired has been an unbelievable experience.

Lane: Where have you traveled so far this month?

Singh: Well, I’ve been in Miami all month! I miss public transportation…and recycling!!

Lane: What’s your favorite music right now?

Singh: Where to begin…Well in the spirit of the Fania Project I’m working on, I’ve been listening to a fair amount of Latin (particularly Boogaloo). Some current favorites are Joe Bataan, Ray Barretto, Eddie Palmieri, Willie Colon, and Joe Cuba. Also, Waxpoetics recently re-issued Lyman Woodard’s “Saturday Night Special” which is an office favorite back in Brooklyn.

Apart from that…I’ve been away from home for so long and realized that I didn’t equip myself with enough music to get me through the duration of this stay. However, I made several random mixes before I left of a few favorites namely Ronnie Lane, Throbbing Gristle, Moondog, Silverhead, Hollywood Brats, Mott the Hoople, Wreckless Eric, Kim Fowley, Dwight Twilley, Heptones, Horace Andy, Cecil Taylor, Sonny Sharrock, a mixed bag of releases on Numero and Sublime Frequencies, Roy Harper, Bill Fay, Nick Garrie, Billy Nicholls, Pierced Arrows, Big Boys, Hanoi Rocks, Scratch Acid, and the Jesus Lizard (in celebration of their reunion shows)!

Also…There is a great German Psych label called, World in Sound, who recently released Austin, Texas’ Cold Sun’s 1970 opus “Dark Shadows”. If you like the 13th Floor Elevators, but have never heard Cold Sun, get on it!

I really could go on forever about this subject, but I’ll spare you all!

Lane: Best food you’ve had in your neighborhood lately or while you were traveling?

Singh: Palacio De Los Jugos has so far been the spot in Miami for delicious Cuban food and fresh fruit juice. Jimbo’s is also a Miami treasure. From what I gather, it’s largely an outdoor biker hang with bocce, cheap cans of beer, smoked fish (too dubious for me to actually sample) and tons of mosquitoes. Bring repellant, or suffer the consequences!

Back home in New York, I love going out for sushi. Zenkichi and Bozu in Williamsburg are both excellent, as is J Pan in Park Slope. Also, every Saturday during the summer, there’s a great Flea Market in Fort Greene, Brooklyn with delicious Mexican food and brick-oven pizza. Aside from the food, the flea’s a great way to spend a nice day in Brooklyn.

Lane: Anything else you want to mention?

Singh: Kurt Lane is the coolest!!

I’ve posted about artist Mel Kadel on here before but she’s got a new site up with new work and news. So go check it out http://melkadel.com.

I really love the Bowerbirds. Here’s another track from their upcoming release Upper Air, out 7/7 on Dead Oceans and available for preorder now with an instant digital download.

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(MP3)