THE DEAD WEATHER ANNOUNCE SEA OF COWARDS

The Dead Weather will release their second album, Sea of Cowards, on May 11th.  Jack White has been busy lately, finishing this album as well as reportedly working on a track with Jay-Z. Dope.

Sea of Cowards Track List:
01 Blue Blood Blues
02 Hustle and Cuss
03 The Difference Between Us
04 I'm Mad
05 Die By the Drop
06 I Can't Hear You
07 Gasoline
08 No Horse
09 Looking at the Invisible Man
10 Jawbreaker
11 Old Mary

BECK & FRIENDS KICK INXS

Beck's newest "Record Club" installment is a fantastical take on INXS' 1987 classic Kick.  Along for the ride this time are Annie Clark from St. Vincent, Liars, and Os Mutantes.  Check out the video below of the supergroup rocking out to the album opener, "Guns in the Sky".
Record Club: INXS "Guns In The Sky" from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

ALBUM DU JOUR

WHITE RABBITS - It's Frightening

Last night I had a dream that I was being taught to speak French by learning the lyrics to the song Charles Barkley sings in the Taco Bell commercial, and singing it over and over in French. ("le box, le box rochers balancent la cinq boîte de dollar") It was genuinely awful.


So today I needed a great album to get the awful ditty out of my head for good, and It's Frightening did just that.  Thank you White Rabbits!  If you haven't heard these Brooklyn transplants (via Columbia, Missouri), I suggest starting here with their second album, released in May of last year.  The album was produced by Britt Daniel, so fans of Spoon will familiarize with the pounding pianos and drums in the forefront of several songs.  Their are also shades of solo Thom Yorke and quieter, spooky Radiohead on tracks like "Lionesse" and "Rudie Fails".  Check out the albums opening track "Percussion Gun" below, or quit messing about and go grab the whole album.  You'll thank me later.  Screw you, Barkley.

SUMMER KINGS OF LEON

After a nonstop year of sold out arenas all over the world, Kings of Leon will take their quest for world domination outdoors this summer.  The Nashville rockers will hit amphitheaters from coast to coast, with key stops at Hollywood Bowl, The Gorge, Deer Creek, and of course Bonnaroo.  Why the band's management chose to play the old Fiddler's Green in Denver instead of Red Rocks is beyond comprehension, but what do I know?  No word on an opening act yet, but I'm predicting either U2 or Jesus.

Full King of Leon Summer Dates after the jump...

DEV B's "BABY" VIDEO

Our favorite smelly poet, folk troubadour, and all-around weird fucker Devendra Banhart released a new video today for his song "Baby", one of the catchier zips from his recent What Will We Be album.  Keeping with the recent indie hipster trend, Devendra invited some famous friends along for the video, including Fabrizio Moretti from The Strokes, Andrew from MGMT, and GZA the Genius.  The video, as you may have expected, finds Banhart and his cohorts riding a tampon-looking spaceship into a pair of galactic breasts.  Then Where The Wild Things Are  breaks up, and everyone dances happily except GZA, who sits on a thrown and uses up his Anytime Minutes.  The overall effect is delicious.  Enjoy the video below, and scope Dev B's new Bulimic Frank Zappa look.

PEARL JAM DATES

Pearl Jam will mark their return from Europe with a string of dates on the east coast and in the midwest this May.  The eleven show tour kicks off May 3rd in Kansas City and wraps up with 2 shows at Madison Square Garden the 20th and 21rst.  Band of Horses will open the shows, except for night one of MSG, where the Black Keys will step in to get things started.  Tickets go on sale this Friday and Saturday (March 19/20). Full Pearl Jam dates below:

05.03 - Kansas City, MO - Sprint Center
05.04 - St. Louis, MO - Scottrade Center
05.06 - Columbus, OH - Nationwide Arena
05.07 - Noblesville, IN - Verizon Wireless Music Center
05.09 - Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena
05.10 - Buffalo, NY - HSBC Arena
05.13 - Bristow, VA - Jiffy Lube Live
05.15 - Hartford, CT - XL Center
05.17 - Boston, MA - TD Garden
05.18 - TBD - TBD
05.20 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
05.21 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden

May 18th: NEW BLACK KEYS, LCD, BAND of HORSES

Nonesuch will release Brothers on May 18th, the fifth album form the Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney's genius duo The Black Keys.  With the recent projects from both men, one can only expect their most recent collaboration to shine.

On the same day, Band of Horses will release Infinite Arms, though the label is unknown at the moment. Looks like SubPop missed out on this gem, but catch BoH on the road all this year, headlining and suporting from coast to coast in some fantastic venues.

LCD Soundsystem button-pusher James Murphy will throw the after party for the aforementioned album releases, as the follow up to his 2007 enlightener Sound of Silver will knight our waiting ears at the end of the day.  "Drunk Girls" and "Change" lead the candidates for the single but, at just over an hour of music, the album is sure to follow in Murphy's own giant footsteps.

Tracklist for new LCD
Dance Yrself Clean
Drunk Girls
One Touch
All I Want
Change
Hit
Pow Pow
Somebody's Calling Me
What You Need

Sounds like a doctor visit... I can't wait.

MGMT's "Flash Delirium"

Will the rabbit hole ever end?  I doubt it, as MGMT plunge further and further into weirdness while most of us sit at last year's giant party table waiting for another round of the same tea.  But maybe that's just me.  As sophomore album Congratulations nears its' release date on April 13th, the single "Flash Delirium" has been leaked.  There is a lot going on here, with some Bjork-worthy construct and tempo changes.  The jumps between styles and genre are aplenty that's for sure.  I'm just wondering if all the threads spin together into a dress worth wearing.  You be the judge.

Listen to "Flash Delirium" or download at the band's new website.

Handshake Ham and Cheese?

In foodie/indie news, veterans Wilco now have a sandwich shop named and modeled after their music.  Toronto's Sky Blue Sandwich Company is open for your business, with each of the sandwiches on there menu taking inspiration from Wilco's music and personalities.  I would personally like a Mermaid Avenue add cucumbers, and then a Say You Miss Me to go.. Check out the full menu.

If Pizza or Ryan Adams are more your taste, check out Greensboro, NC's Sticks and Stones Clay Oven, a similar joint with pies created in tribute to some of Ryan's tastier songs... From this establishment, the Boombox wants a small Easy Plateau and a large Sweet Carolina!  If you want to add your own clever spin to the food/music sandwich rebellion, check out the 17 Dots site for some dessert humor.