MP3: Wolf People – “October Fires”

Intriguing stuff, from the forthcoming Tidings, a collection of early recordings by London’s Wolf People, Jagjaguwar’s new (and first) UK signing. The tunes seem to be a sort of awesome pastiche of old-school heavy ’70s vibes (think Faust et. al.), and I’m stoked to hear more from Tidings (it’s out 2/23)– although I’d wager that their proper debut LP, slated for release later in 2010, is gonna be the real slayer.

FYI: we’re going to stop taking orders for the new Catbird Records T-shirt at 5PM EST today, so get in there while the gettin’s good!

Yes! Tampa’s beloved cult favorites Home are back! On January 26th, Jagjaguwar (or, more specifically, their Brah imprint) will be releasing the band’s new LP, Seventeen. This is their first new material since 2006’s magnficient Sexteen, so 2010 is looking up for me already. Here’s a track from the new record:

MP3: Home – “Photographed With Ease”

But the news doesn’t end there!

The Home Box Set: I – VIII, which collects ALL of the super-rare original Home cassette releases (their CD discography starts with IX, after all) is out TODAY. Now, I know it’s called a “box set,” and the art shows a picture of a cassette, but this is a digital-only release. Hell, I’m not complaining– I’ve wanted to get my hands on this material for a long time now, I’ll take what I can get. You can check out samples and dig up more on these old cassettes on the Home Boxset Website.

I was introduced to Nevada City, CA’s Golden Shoulders years ago by the now-legendary States Rights Bro Zone comp, and their track on there, “Let My Burden Be,” has remained a favorite of mine. I posted about the band last year, but I’d kinda lost track of them. Which is why is was a nice surprise to find an email in the inbox this morning from Matt W., with another great Golden Shoulders track attached. Apparently they had a new album come out just a few months ago! It’s called Get Reasonable, and if the awesome pseudo-Seventies vibe of “Mountain” is any indication, it’s well worth checking out. Buy it here.

MP3: Golden Shoulders – “Mountain”

MP3: Bottle Up & Go – “Until The Day I Die”

Bottle Up & Go, who you’ll surely recall from here, have a slew of fall NYC shows coming up, and a brand new single, to boot. The track is a teaser from their upcoming full-length (due in 2010), and it’s a good one, so check it out.

This is going to come as disappointing news to some readers, but I feel the need to post it for posterity’s sake… Catbird Records has done a highly-limited pressing of The Apollo Ghosts‘ wonderful Forgotten Triangle EP as a lathe-cut 7-inch. It’s an edition of 25. We sold out in just under an hour earlier this afternoon.

I know there are tons of die-hard Apollo Ghosts fans out there these days, and I’m honestly sorry if you missed out… this is exactly why I always urge people to sign up for the Catbird Records Mailing List. All is not lost, though– if you’re in Vancouver, you can try to nab a copy at Zulu Records next week, and also: the band should have a few copies for sale at their upcoming show with Shonen Knife at Vancouver’s Biltmore Cabaret on the 25th as well.

(BTW, of course, you can still pick up the CD or Digital version of Forgotten Triangle if you’re late to the game on AG.)

MP3: Apollo Ghosts – “Palm of My Hand”
STREAM: Apollo Ghosts – Forgotten Triangle via Listen@MBV

Today’s “appeared magically out of the blue and is now on constant repeat” song is this opening track from Tomorrow Is Alright, the upcoming LP from San Francisco’s Sonny & the Sunsets.

MP3: Sonny & the Sunsets – “Too Young To Burn”

Sonny Smith released a handful of albums as a solo artist in the early aughts, but his new band, The Sunsets, finds him working with the likes of Kelley Stoltz, John Dwyer (Thee Oh Sees), and Tim Cohen (Fresh & Onlys) to name just a few. As I spin the album, I’m thinking it sounds like the perfect end-of-summer West Coast twilight campfire kickback record.

It’s a limited pressing of 500 copies. Grab your copy from Soft Abuse now or regret it later.

• Girls – “Lust For Life”
• Woods – “The Dark”
• The Babies – “Meet Me In The City”
• The Mantles – “Don’t Lie”
• Fergus & Geronimo – “Harder Than It’s Ever Been”
• Teen Sheikhs – “Cracked”
• Grass Widow – “Black Hole”
• Best Coast – “In My Room”
• Islands – “Vapours”
• Lake – “Don’t Give Up”
• Real Estate – “Fake Blues”

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The band that put out one of my favorite records of the year — the band that was almost lost to history after 30-odd years of obscurity — Death, did a live appearance on Chicago’s WGN. Check it out.

MP3: Death – “Politicians In My Eyes”
MP3: Death – “Keep On Knocking”

The band plays a rare show at The Empty Bottle in Chicago tomorrow night.

MP3: Cains & Abels – “My Life Is Easy”

I fell in love with this song when I first heard the demo a few months back (before it got a name change), so I’m honored that Cains & Abels have given me the final mastered version to share with you. You may already know the band from their material on the supreme States Rights label (including their great debut full-length Call Me Up)– and if not, this song is a perfect introduction. It’s from their new album, which is as-yet-unreleased, but I don’t mind telling you that the t-shirt that goes along with this song is damn near the most comfortable shirt I’ve ever worn, so there’s that (well,in addition to Call Me Up, I mean) if you’d like to throw some $upport their way.