Athens, Ga., scene mainstays Vic Chesnutt and Elf Power (both pictured) have hit the road in support of last year’s Dark Developments collaboration. The 37-date tour extends into spring and includes the March 11 R.E.M. tribute concert at New York City’s Carnegie Hall … On-hiatus Boston cabaret duo the Dresden Dolls played a one-off show at Washington, D.C.’s 9:30 Club on January 20 as part of the inauguration festivities for President Obama. (That’s fun to say.) For better or worse, the evening also featured a set by the Honey Brothers, Entourage star Adrian Grenier’s vanity project … Brooklyn/Great Britain band Gomez is releasing its sixth LP, A New Tide, on March 31. The record was created in studios in Chicago and Charlottesville, Va., with Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine) manning the board … The post-punk legends in Mission Of Burma have released a Rhapsody-only EP, creatively titled Rhapsody Originals. The five tracks, including “Academy Fight Song,” come from the band’s 2008 CMJ performance … Depeche Mode checks in with its first album in four years, Sounds Of The Universe, on April 21. As with 2005’s Playing The Angel, multi-instrumentalist Martin Gore shares songwriting duties with frontman/suicide-attempt denier Dave Gahan … British indie band Comet Gain releases Broken Record Prayers on March 24. The album, which compiles singles from 1998-2008, includes six unreleased tracks; two of them (“Love Without Lies” and “Books Of California,” both from last year) will be reissued as a limited-edition seven-inch, playable on functional turntables … NYC songwriter Jesse Harris’ new album, Watching The Sky, drops on March 3. Norah Jones sings harmony on “It Will Stay With Us,” a tune Harris performed solo on the soundtrack to the 2007 Ethan Hawke film The Hottest State … After 10 years and six albums, Canada’s Buttless Chaps have decided to split. We don’t have anything to add—we just wanted to type “Buttless Chaps” again.
Comet Gain’s “Love Without Lies” from Broken Record Prayers:
“There are maybe 10 or 12 things I could teach you,” sings Carl “A.C.” Newman on his new solo album, 
Newman: I was really into 
