With the announcement of her much-anticipated sophomore LP, Annie Clark (a.k.a. St. Vincent) has proved she hasn’t been too busy playing sold-out shows and collaborating with the likes of Justin Vernon, Kid Cudi and David Byrne since the release of 2009 debut album Actor. Strange Mercy will be available September 13 via 4AD … Also out September 13 is the third album from the Kooks: Junk Of The Heart (Astralwerks). The band is playing three U.S. shows later this month … Oscar winner Tim Robbins has officially joined the actor-gone-musician club by signing with 429 Records, which will release his band’s Tim Robbins And The Rogues Gallery on July 19. The group is touring North America this summer, including stops at many festivals … Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone are celebrating the 50th birthday of the Zombies with a new album, Breathe Out, Breathe In, which was recorded in Argent’s Red House Studios. The two founding members, along with their touring group, will hit the road for a 50th anniversary tour this year … On June 14, the Beatles’ three remastered Anthology collections are making their digital debut via EMI. They will be available as individual LPs as well as an iTunes-exclusive boxed set with all 155 songs, plus a 23-track collection of standout songs … The Nightwatchman (a.k.a. Rage Against The Machine/Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello) is set to issue World Wide Rebel Songs, which features a guest appearance from Ben Harper, on August 30 via New West Records. The release will follow Morello’s benefit EP, Union Town (out July 19), whose proceeds are going to union struggles across the nation … Lapalco, the 2002 album from Brendan Benson, has been reissued and is now available for the first time on vinyl, featuring b-sides and liner notes by Jack White. Benson is currently working on his fifth full-length.
—Emily Costantino
One reply on “In The News: St. Vincent, Kooks, Tim Robbins, Zombies, Beatles, Nightwatchman And More”
Strange Mercy will be St. Vincent’s third album, not her second one. Actor was her second album. How could you forget 2007’s excellent debut album Marry Me? Yes, Actor sold more copies and was even better reviewed than Marry Me, but it was still an album that was written about quite a bit and is not some obscure debut.