The second album of Oxford five-piece Foals plays like a ‘Best Of’ sampler of the past twenty years of British alt-rock, one of those candy boxes with only the good flavors, none of that weird pistachio-black licorice shit. It’s got the silvery guitar shimmer of early U2, the airy and charmingly slurred vocals of The [...]

MP3:

The National – “Bloodbuzz Ohio”

Near the tail-end of the first track of The Dead Weather’s second album, Sea of Cowards, Jack White intones us with the urgent knowledge that he wants to “leave a trace”. With a work ethic like his — three major projects, playing drums, guitar and vox, and a seemingly endless well of songwriting inspiration — [...]

Mark Kozelek, the Bay Area singer/songwriter best known for his rise to fame as frontman for Red House Painters, has released the first taste of his upcoming Sun Kil Moon effort Admiral Fell Promises. If you like solo acoustic feel of “Australian Winter” be sure to pre-order the full LP which is due out July [...]

The New Pornographers have consistently held down their blissed-out style of folksy pop tunes for more than a decade now, with release after critically-adored release appealing to the inner kid running across sun-soaked beaches, whining to swim right after downing strawberry ice cream. A couple of similarly-lauded releases from individual members and a few years [...]

As part of the Rolling Stones re-release of Exile on Main St. on May 18th, the rock gods will also be including never-before-heard tracks from the 1972 sessions. But for those of us who can’t wait, “Plundered My Soul” was released on Record Store Day and now the official video is making the rounds. You’re [...]

What does it take to get Blur to record a new track? Record Store Day. Albarn and company released their first single in seven years to show their solidarity with independent record stores all across the globe. The result is “Fool’s Day,” a limited edition 7″ that was only pressed 1,000 times. Luckily a stream [...]

With all the MP3s and live videos, we’ve heard a good portion of The National’s upcoming LP High Violet (due out 5/11). And so far, so great.
Check out the latest track to make the rounds, “Afraid of Everyone,” which features Sufjan Stevens on backup vocals.
MP3:
The National – “Afraid of Everyone”

Baltimore’s Beach House is set to release an exclusive Zebra 12″ for Record Store Day this Saturday April, 17th. The EP features four tracks, including the new tune “The Arrangement” which you can stream below.
Update:The stream has expired. Go buy the 12″!

Deer Tick unveiled the details of their third album The Black Dirt Sessions (out on 6/8) last week along with a free download of “20 Miles.” Check out the full track listing after the jump.
MP3:
Deer Tick – “20 Miles”