Sub Pop will be releasing the third album from No Age on September 28. "Everything In Between" was recorded in Los Angeles in late 2009 and early 2010 and contains 13 tracks in total. This is the duo's first record since 2008's "Nouns".

Everything In Between Track Listing
1 Life Prowler
2 Glitter
3 Fever Dreaming
4 Depletion
5 Common Heat
6 Skinned
7 Katerpillar
8 Valley Hump Crash
9 Sorts
10 Dusted
11 Positive Amputation
12 Shred and Transcend
13 Chem Trails

It's been a couple of years since their debut album, but New York band Ra Ra Riot are ready to give us their second. Barsuk Records will be releasing "The Orchard" on August 24. Containing 10 tracks, the album was co-produced by the band alongside Andrew Maury. Nine of the tracks were mixed by Chris Walla.

The Orchard Track Listing

1 The Orchard

2 Boy

3 Too Dramatic

4 Foolish

5 Massachusetts

6 You and I Know

7 Shadowcasting

8 Do You Remember

9 Kansai

10 Keep It Quiet

Great video for a great song, from a great album.

I really love this song. And the album's pretty cool too!

June 19 saw Broken Social Scene play Toronto's Olympic Island as part of a bill that also included Pavement and Band Of Horses. Here is video of "Sentimental X's", with help from the Haines and Feist.

A dry and arid landscape envisioned on the cover belies the true nature of this music. For "La La Land", the second full length from Plants And Animals is a sensual, moving, organic document. A glorious and uplifting slab of music. A diverse and giving celebration. It also seems to be criminally under rated. Which is a shame, because few albums will give me as much joy this year as this one created by the Montreal trio. I strongly encourage you to track this album down and celebrate its myriad moods and colours. You will not regret it.

Recorded in Montreal and Paris, this glorious 11 track collection grabs your attention right from the very start. An opening enticing guitar part is soon joined by syncopated drumming and when the vocals kick in, "We're dying to be friends", I will guarantee "Tom Cruz" will be buried deep inside your cranium. Another joy of this album is the diversity. Each and every track feels different, there is no homogeneity here, as joy unfolds track by track. Such as the gentle melody of "Swinging Bells" or the almost funky "American Idol". But the two killer tracks are undoubtedly "Undone Melody" and "Game Shows". The former is a sensuous, tactile journey of sound. A slow start leads to an eruption of pure joy. One of the great moments of music in 2010. "Game Shows" is an evocative and enchanting ride. A melancholic and subtly played beauty. Then you have the rhythmical charms of "Fake It" or the push and pull of "Celebration", which builds to an ecstatic conclusion amid a cacophony of horns. The album then closes with the uproarious "Jeans Jeans Jeans", a great way to bring down the curtain on a passionate, thrilling roller coaster ride of music. Believe me, Plants And Animals are a band to be reckoned with. Ignore them at your peril.

Those purveyors of great New York music, The Walkmen have a new album coming to us in September. Fat Possum will be releasing "Lisbon" on September 14. The album, the band's fifth, was recorded over a two year period in Philadelphia and Brooklyn. The album will showcase "a bunch of fast rockers and big bashers, and a couple great oddballs" says front man Hamilton Leithauser. It will contain 11 tracks. More details to follow.

Animal Kingdom is a triumph in so many ways. A triumph in story telling, in direction, in acting and cinematography. It is a lucid and intense portrayal of a family living on the edge of impending disaster. In a golden age for Australian cinema this just might be the finest film of this period. It is thrilling, moving and totally compelling.

Animal Kingdom is set in modern day Melbourne and is concerned with the Cody family, a family entrenched in the underground world. At the head is Janine (Jacki Weaver), better known as 'Smurf'. She has three sons in 'Pope' (Ben Mendelsohn), the eldest and most powerful, the drug dealer Craig (Sullivan Stapleton) and Darren (Luke Ford). Also in the family fold is trusted lieutenant Barry Brown (Joel Edgerton). In the beginning of the film they are under siege from the police. 'Pope' is in hiding and Brown is even considering leaving the lifestyle behind. Then enters 'J' (James Frecheville), whose mother has just died. He is a grand son of 'Smurf' and has not been brought up in the criminal world. But soon he is heavily embroiled in this dangerous lifestyle and he has many choices to make that become critical to his ultimate survival. The other major character is Detective Leckie (Guy Pearce), a good and honest man in a world of questionable characters. The narrative of this film is extremely strong, with many surprises and shocks. A major one occurs barely a quarter into the film. The script is tight and devoid of cliche. This is more a psychological drama then a gangster film. It is subtle and nuanced, with the characters' layers peeling away scene by scene. All performances are outstanding, but special mention must go to Weaver and Mendelsohn. Both are outstanding in their roles that sometimes border on psychotic. Animal Kingdom is an important and vital film. It is mature, impressive cinema. Strongly recommended.

Pretty Amazing. The National at Bonnaroo 2010.

File this under awesome. This exciting image is to be the cover art for Black Mountain's new album. "Wilderness Heart" will be released on Jagjaguwar on September 14. The band recorded the album in Los Angeles, Seattle and Vancouver. It was produced by D. Sardy and Randall Dunn. The cover art is a creation by keyboardist Jeremy Schmidt.

Wilderness Heart Track Listing
1 The Hair Song
2 Old Fangs
3 Radiant Hearts
4 Rollercoaster
5 Let Spirits Ride
6 Buried by the Blues
7 The Way to Gone
8 Wilderness Heart
9 The Space of Your Mind
10 Sadie

MP3: Old Fangs-Black Mountain

Love this song!

There is not much doubt that one of the best albums of 2009 was released by Megafaun. This North Carolina trio gave us a shimmering diamond in the multi layered "Gather, Form & Fly". Well, the lads have been busy since. September 14 will see the release of a 6 track mini album. "Heretofore" extends to 34 minutes and was recorded in January and February of this year in Raleigh, North Carolina at Flying Tiger Sound. As usual Hometapes will be releasing this package and they report that the band are already working on new album.

Heretofore Track Listing
1 Heretofore
2 Carolina Days
3 Eagle
4 Volunteers
5 Comprovisation for Connor Pass
6 Bonnie's Song

MP3: Volunteers-Megafaun

2010 has seen my love for Titus Andronicus grow to unprecedented levels. No album this year has come close to the searing majesty of "The Monitor". So when I stumbled upon an artist named Andrew Cedermark I was intrigued. You see Andrew is from Glen Rock, New Jersey and was at one time a member of the New Jersey powerhouse before moving south and settling in Charlottesville, Virginia. Over the last couple of years he has self released EPs and cassettes, keeping a fairly low profile. Last year he released a split single on Underwater Peoples and now we are looking forward to his first full length release on the very same label. "Moon Deluxe" will be the name of the album and its release should come in August.

The title track is massively wonderful, a style very similar to the incredible talent of Phil Elverum. Which has to be a good thing.
Listen up and fall in love.

MP3: Moon Deluxe-Andrew Cedermark

Mountain Man - River from Vincent Galgano on Vimeo.

From their upcoming new album, here is Mountain Man performing "River".

It was brief, felt brief. But it was damn special. As part of Vivid Sydney, Emily Haines was invited by curators Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson to perform a special show at the Sydney Opera House. Her mission was to re imagine songs writen for her popular band Metric, which were performed by Emily (sometimes on a classical Steinway piano) and a string quartet. In the end it all worked, better then I even expected. For just on 50 minutes Emily charmed and serenaded us, her mystical voice being the perfect equation to the backing of strings.

I have always admired Emily Haines. From her work with Broken Social Scene, her wonderful voice and her dynamic and forthright personality I have found her to be an intriguing subject. Of course her band Metric has gained immense popularity and I like them too. But I would be the first to admit that I am a solid fan, rather then a gushing one. They write tight, concise pop/rock songs that are very easy to digest. So I was very interested to discover how those songs would play out last night. I am happy to say that it was a great success. Especially considering the logistics of adapting the songs to a new format. Hence the brevity of the night I would say. Thankfully Emily was able to call upon the skills of Todor Kobakov who not only designed all the string arrangements but also was on stage to provided muted beats and ambient tones for the night. The string quartet was comprised of two violins, a viola and a cello. Assembled at short notice they were totally wonderful, providing rich texture and delicate tones to the songs performed. But the star was Emily. Her voice is a distinct weapon, tender and forthright. Initially she seemed quite cold and distant, as through the first three songs she didn't utter a word. But in turn I would now say she was just focused and intense. Because she opened up later and proved herself to be charming and conversational. The girl called her serene. I think that would be an apt and fitting description. A highlight was actually her reading a portion from one of her late father's poems. It was a tender and moving moment when she read from the pages of Paul Haines. Musically I was in love with the glowing "Twilight Galaxy" and the sweetness and light of "Gimme Sympathy". Besides the 7 Metric songs she also performed a Buffalo Springfield song in honour of fellow Canadian Neil Young. Then she closed with the magnificent "Help I'm Alive". This great song became even more impressive when performed on a bare piano with ethereal strings. This was a surprising night. Something quite unique. My feelings going in were one of hope. Going out I felt nothing but joy.

Set List
Blindness
Satellite Mind
Gold Guns Girls
Twilight Galaxy
Expecting To Fly (Buffalo Springfield cover)
Collect Call
Gimme Sympathy
Help I'm Alive

Bearhug are the latest signing to the always reliable Spunk Records. This Sydney based five piece burst onto the scene last year with a free demo EP named "Cartoon Cannibal". Now comes the news that they are soon (June 25 to be precise) to release an EP by the name of "To Anything". If the first song to be released is any indication, then we are all in for a listening treat. "Grapefruit" is the song and it is addictive in all the right ways.

MP3: Grapefruit-Bearhug