In The News: Pixies, The Slits, Jesse Malin, The Blood Brothers, The Watson Twins And Free MP3s

All the Pixies-reunion goodness floating around makes us at Magnet feel like monkeys gone to heaven – now the band are celebrating the 20th anniversary of Doolittle with a U.S. tour where Black Francis, Kim Deal, et al will be playing the album in its entirety…The Pixies aren’t the only long-awaited reunion in the news – yes, the Slits are back with their first new album in 25 years! The classic female punkers released Trapped Animal on October 20th…The Kinks were never known for their spirituality, but guitarist and co-founder Dave Davies will release a “feature-length memoir” on DVD called Kronikles: Mystical Journey. We could not have made that sentence up if we tried…Speaking of famous siblings, Dave & Ray Davies might have gotten into some punch-ups, but Allison Moorer and sister Shelby Lynn generally keep things a little friendlier.  Moorer will release her 8th full length album and first for Rykodisc, in February 2010….The hard-rock supergroup Them Crooked Vultures, composed of Josh Homme, Dave Grohl, and John Paul Jones, have finally released their debut single, “New Fang,” off of their eponymous album. Them Crooked Vultures is out November 17th on DGC/Interscope records, and you can listen to “New Fang” on the band’s myspace (http://www.myspace.com/crookedvultures)… The avant-garde configuration The Red Krayola (better known as Mayo Thomas’s day job) will, with Art & Language, release the enigmatically titled Five American Portraits January 19th, 2010… Thomas isn’t the only art-rocker releasing a new album. Brah Records will release Home’s newest, XVII, in January, following the release of their new 8-disc box set…New York punk singer/songwriter Jesse Malin has signed with Side One Dummy records, following a successful tour with The Gaslight Anthem. Malin’s new solo album (his fourth) should arrive in early 2010… The Blood Brothers may no longer be with us, but Epitaph records will re-issue four of their classic albums; look forward to expanded editions of Burn, Piano Island, Burn, Young Machetes, March on Electric Children, and Crimes on November 17th…The Watson Twins have set the release date for Talking To You, Talking to Me for February 9th, 2010. Here’s hoping their sophomore album, a “soulful” and “ethereal” one according to the band, will avoid the sophomore slump. Listen to “U-N-Me” here (http://www.vanguardrecords.com/winmedia/stream.asp?artist=WatsonTwins&title=UNMe&type=mp3)…Luckily, The Shout Out Louds have already made it past the treacherous second album, and return with number three, Work, on February 23rd.

All the Pixies-reunion goodness floating around makes us feel like monkeys gone to heaven. Now the band (pictured) is celebrating the 20th anniversary of Doolittle with a U.S. tour where Black Francis, Kim Deal, et al, will be playing the album in its entirety … The Pixies aren’t the only long-awaited reunion in the news. Yes, the Slits are back with their first new album in 25 years! The classic female punkers released Trapped Animal on October 20 … The Kinks were never known for their spirituality, but guitarist and co-founder Dave Davies will release a “feature-length memoir” on DVD called Kronikles: Mystical Journey. We could not have made that sentence up if we tried … Speaking of famous siblings, Dave and Ray Davies might have gotten into some punch-ups, but Allison Moorer and sister Shelby Lynn generally keep things a little friendlier. Moorer will release Crows, her eighth album and first for Rykodisc, on February 9 … Hard-rock supergroup Them Crooked Vultures, composed of Josh Homme, Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones, has finally released its debut single, “New Fang,” off of its eponymous album. Them Crooked Vultures is out November 17 on DGC/Interscope, and you can listen to “New Fang” on the band’s MySpace page … Avant-garde configuration the Red Krayola (better known as Mayo Thompson’s day job) will, with Art & Language, release the enigmatically titled Five American Portraits on January 19 … Thompson isn’t the only art-rocker with a new album. Brah Records will issue Home’s latest, XVII, in January, following the release of its new eight-disc boxed set, The Home Boxset: I-VIII. Download “Photographed With Ease” … New York punk singer/songwriter Jesse Malin has signed with Side One Dummy Records, following a successful tour with the Gaslight Anthem. Malin’s new solo album (his fourth) should arrive in early 2010 … The Blood Brothers may no longer be with us, but Epitaph will reissue four of their classic albums; look forward to expanded editions of Burn, Piano Island, Burn, Young Machetes, March On Electric Children and Crimes on November 17 … The Watson Twins have set the release date of Talking To You, Talking To Me for February 9. Here’s hoping the album, a “soulful” and “ethereal” one according to the band, will avoid the sophomore slump. Listen to “U-N-Me” … Instrumental rockers Los Straitjackets return with another album of Christmas melodies, Yuletide Beat. Their surf/classic-rock take on the Xmas season will be released November 24 via Yep Roc … If you’re looking to really get the Christmas spirit, Joan Jett’s Blackheart Records will be releasing a seasonal compilation with Christmas classics covered by the label’s best, including Girl In A Coma, the Vacancies and the Cute Lepers. Stream it … Speaking of excellent label compilations, Merge Records is celebrating two decades in the business with Score! 20 Years Of Merge Records: The Remixes, featuring remixes of tracks by Arcade Fire, Spoon, the Magnetic Fields and more. Download Xiu Xiu’s remix of the 6ths‘ “Volcana!” … If you’re not into albums anymore (thanks, file-sharing), maybe the limited-edition figurines of Descendents frontman Milo Aukerman and an “extra filthy edition” GG Allin could entice you. Available through Aggronautix, the seven-inch figurines should, of course, be kept in their original packaging.