Backstreet’s back, all right! In news we’ve all been waiting for, the Backstreet Boys (minus one original Boy; Kevin Richardson, if you must know) treat us to This Is Us (Jive) on October 6. It’s the group’s seventh LP (unbelievable) and first since 2007’s Unbreakable … From the ridiculous to the sublime, Kiwi TV stars Flight Of The Conchords (pictured) will release I Told You I Was Freaky (Sub Pop) on October 20. The duo’s tunes are hilarious on the small screen, so stuff like “Too Many Dicks (On The Dance Floor)” and “You Don’t Have To Be A Prostitute” will surely at least bring a chuckle through the hi-fi. The guys won the 2008 best comedy album Grammy for debut The Distant Future. Download “Business Time” and “Ladies Of The World” … October 20 is a good day, as Sweden’s Sarah Assbring (best name in rock?), otherwise known as El Perro Del Mar, also offers her third full-length, Love Is Not Pop (The Control Group). Assbring will support Peter Bjorn And John on a November North American tour. Download “Glory To The World” … Hey, more October 20 goodness: Norwegian duo Kings Of Convenience will release Declaration Of Dependence. It’s their first outing since 2004’s Riot On An Empty Street … In other foreign music news, Welsh band Manic Street Preachers testify September 15 with Journal For Plague Lovers (Columbia), produced—sorry, recorded—by Steve Albini. The band will then embark on its first North American tour in 10 years … Americana (that’s what we call alt-country now, right?) mainstays the Bottle Rockets’ Lean Forward (Bloodshot) is out August 11. A fall tour follows. Download “Better Broken” … Continuing to flog Born On Flag Day (Partisan), released in June, Deer Tick hits the road this month. Dates into November include a September 6 show in Ithaca, N.Y., with the Hold Steady. Download “Smith Hill” … On September 1, punk pioneers Richard Hell And The Voidoids’ Destiny Street Repaired (Insound) hits the, uh, streets. The release is a re-recorded and improved (so they say) version of the band’s second and final record, and as usual, the package includes way too many formats and bonus crap to go into in this space … The Velvet Underground‘s Singles 1966–69 (Sundazed) collects the legendary band’s seven-inch vinyl output in their rare mono versions. Pre-orders of the boxed set are available here … From the sublime to the ridiculous, every gig from Parrothead cult leader Jimmy Buffett’s Summerzcool (a spelling more annoying than Spoon’s “Got Nuffin”) tour will be broadcast on Sirius XM Radio’s Radio Margaritaville (of course). Plan now to catch, or avoid, the August 6 Cincinnati concert that kicks off the next leg of this unending jaunt. Pass the coral reefer.
One reply on “In The News: Flight Of The Conchords, El Perro Del Mar, Kings Of Convenience, Deer Tick And Free MP3s”
Whoever came up with the godawful title of “Summerzcool” (sounds like some jackass’s idea for a *great* wine cooler flavor) for that tour ought to be stoned to death with stale cheeseburgers. If it was Buffett himself, so be it. We could say things were even.