Keane

What? "Everybody’s changing /And I don’t feel the same," sings Keane lead singer Tom Chaplin on the band’s 2003 single "Everybody’s Changing." Now Chaplin and his crew are changing again. After the pop-infused balladry of 2004’s Hopes and Fears and the bombastic rock of 2006’s Under the Iron Sea, Keane return this week with a more kaleidoscopic sonic vision on their third album, Perfect Symmetry. Featuring production work from musical mad scientist Jon Brion, the new release brims with flailing falsettos, skittering new-wave rhythms, and party-ready melodies juxtaposed against impeccable melodrama.

More on SPIN.com:
>> Keane Singer Talks Rehab
>> Keane, Perfect Symmetry (Interscope)
>> Keane, Hopes and Fears (Interscope)
>> Keane Album Inspired by ‘Darker Issues’

Who? While attending London’s University College in 1995, principal keyboardist Tim Rice-Oxley formed Keane — originally called the Lotus Eaters — along with drummer Richard Hughes and now former guitarist Dominic Scott. In 1997 Rice-Oxley’s childhood friend, Tom Chaplin, [...]

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Ane Brun

What? This Swede’s second U.S. release finally arrives stateside this week. The record, which sees the emotive singer strum her guitar gingerly as her intoxicating warble flutters in soft loops, opens with "The Treehouse Song," a masterful story about the pitfalls of unfulfilled promises. And the rest of the record follows in the same subtle and pensive fashion. To complement the record, Brun has also released Sketches, a revealing collection of demos from the Seasons sessions featuring sparse vocal, guitar, and piano tracks. Sketches is available online via Klicktrack.

More on SPIN.com:
>> Ane Brun, Changing of the Seasons (Cheap Lullaby)
>> Ane Brun’s Stunning Video

Who? Despite not picking up the guitar until the age of 21, Norway’s Brun, born Ane Brunvoll, has produced a steady stream of subtly heartfelt tunes since moving to Sweden in 2000. As the co-founder of artist collective/label DetErMine Records, Brun has released four full-lengths, including the 2005 [...]

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Neil Young Kicks Off North American Tour

Last night at St. Paul, MN’s Xcel Energy Center, Neil Young kicked off his North American tour with a solid opening lineup that demonstrated the contemporary influence of his storied catalogue — and breathed new vitality into songs more than three decades old.

First up was SoCal five-piece Everest, who held their own with a dynamic sound rich in countrified guitars that supplemented their effortless harmonies. The outfit’s relatively short performance set a tone that could have segued seamlessly into Young’s performance. But Seattle’s Death Cab for Cutie had other plans.

More on SPIN.com:
>> Wilco, Death Cab for Cutie Open Neil Young’s Upcoming Tour
>> Review: Neil Young, Chrome Dreams II (Reprise)
>> Review: Death Cab For Cutie, Narrow Stairs (Atlantic)
>> Meet Everest — Neil Young’s Hand-Picked Opening Band

The quartet — who open the first leg of Young’s tour before being replaced by Wilco — stuck to favorites from their last two albums, [...]

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Juana Molina

What? A successful acting career doesn’t necessarily translate into triumphant musical achievement — just ask Scarlett Johansson, Juliette Lewis, Bruce Willis, and… well, you get the picture. Argentinean actress-turned-singer-songwriter Juana Molina, however, has been creating lovely strands of electro-folk since her 1996 debut, Rara. And this week, Molina pushes things further with the release of her fifth and most artistically daring full-length, Un Dia. Using patterns of disorienting melody delivered in layers of looped vocal and instrumental cues, Un Dia is an intriguing work of art from a true Renaissance woman — don’t get any ideas, Bruce.

Who? Molina began her acting career in 1988 on the Argentinean television show La Noticia Rebelde. Later, she starred in the more popular skit-based Juana y sus hermanas. After entering the music world with 1996’s Rara, Molina continued to write, produce, and perform the majority of her following full-lengths on her own. 

Fun Fact: Proving [...]

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Beck Rocks New York City

Beck rarely puts on a conventional live show. In fact, the eclectic artist has incorporated puppets, pinstriped suits with lights, and a fully stocked dinner table into his previous tours.

Thursday, the SoCal slacker pulled out all the stops for his appearance at Harlem’s stylish United Palace Theater, bringing a film crew, a massive lights display, and a buzz-worthy opening band for night two of his three-gig New York engagement.

Longhaired Brooklynites MGMT kicked off the evening with renditions of "Electric Feel," "Time to Pretend," and "Weekend Wars" off their celebrated set Oracular Spectacular.

More on SPIN.com:
>> On the Cover: Beck
>> Review: Beck, Modern Guilt (DGC)
>> Review: Beck, The Information (Interscope)
>> Artist of the Day: Beck

Then Beck took the stage and slid into the unmistakable guitar licks of "Loser," which led to a raucous sing-along in the spacious theater.

The rest of the set was a tour through his funkiest hits off 1996’s Odelay [...]

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Gomez

What? Originally released to rave reviews — including SPIN issuing 8 of 10 stars, calling it a “a damn beautiful album” — this adventurous Britpop quintet’s 1998 debut, Bring It On, has become a timeless entry in the ’90s Britpop oeuvre. Winning Britain’s esteemed Mercury Prize in ‘98, the album — from its psychedelic, bluegrass-tinged first single, “78 Stone Wobble,” to the somber acoustics and whispers-in-a-tin-can vocals of “Tijuana Lady” — drops yet again Oct. 14 as a reissue with extra live takes and B-sides to honor its 10th anniversary. As a stepping-stone, Bring it On helped launched the band’s career, which today encapsulates five full-length albums.
Who? Formed in ‘96 by frontman Ian Ball and drummer Olly Peacock — who had played together in heavy metal band Providence — before joining with Ben Ottewell (vocals, guitar), Paul Blackburn (bass), and Tom Gray (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Gomez signed with Virgin offshoot [...]

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Franz Ferdinand Debut 6 New Tunes!

"It’s heavy and it really hits you, but in a different way. It swings," Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos told SPIN.com of the quartet’s forthcoming album, Tonight, before their gig Wednesday night at Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg. When the boys finally took the stage, the frontman’s words rang true in the form of set-opener "Bite Hard," a catchy-as-hell number bolstered by Kapranos’ sly-guy winks and lounge-swagger, and Nick McCarthy’s stark synth melodies beckoning revelers to the dance floor. "Bye, bye!" the duo cried. "We ride together… we die together!"

More on SPIN.com:
>> Review: Franz Ferdinand, ‘You Could Have It So Much Better…With Franz Ferdinand’ (Domino/Epic)
>> Franz Ferdinand on New Record: "Friendlier for the Dance Floor"
>> The Innovators: Franz Ferdinand

Interspersed with fan-pleasing cuts like "Take Me Out" and "Matinee," both off 2004’s self-titled debut, and You Could Have It So Much Better’s "Outsiders," the new songs — six were unveiled [...]

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Devin the Dude

What? Known as much for inhaling herbs as he is for spitting verbs, underground hip-hop legend Devin the Dude has unjustly toiled in obscurity for a decade, retaining his mellow flow while others have been angry. But with Landing Gear, the Dude’s fifth album out this week, his commercial luck may just improve. Featuring a guest appearance from Snoop Dogg, Landing Gear showcases Devin the Dude’s sedated  rhymes, along with his deft talent for soul-flecked production — munchies not included.

Who? Born Devin Copeland, Houston, TX’s Dude (no relation to Jeffrey Lebowski) honed his rhyming chops as a part of the obscure Southern hip-hop collective Odd Squad before releasing his solo debut, The Dude, in 1998 via seminal Texan hip-hop label Rap-A-Lot. After dropping three more full-lengths for the label — including last year’s critical breakthrough, Waiting to Inhale — Devin the Dude signed with Razor & Tie earlier this [...]

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Death Cab for Cutie Triumph at Radio City

"What a dump this place is," quipped Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard, perched atop the magnificent stage at New York’s Radio City Music Hall last night. Then, unsure if people caught his sarcasm, he added, "No, really, this is an honor."

That anxious, awkward moment capped the first third of Death Cab’s show, as both band and audience took their time acclimating to the legendary room. After the first five songs — an admittedly slow build-up that included "The Employment Pages" and "We Laugh Indoors," two of the band’s older tunes — most of the 6,000 patrons at the sold-out gig remained seated, but not in a docile, complacent way: They were totally engaged, singing and bobbing atop Radio City’s plush cushions.

More on SPIN.com:
>> Video: New Death Cab Live Performances!
>> Review: Death Cab For Cutie, Narrow Stairs (Atlantic)
>> The Crowd Pleasers: Death Cab for Cutie

You can’t [...]

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Antony and the Johnsons

What? When we last saw Antony and the Johnsons, they’d released their second album, 2005’s I Am a Bird Now, to massive critical acclaim. Three years later they haven’t lost steam. In anticipation of new album The Crying Light (out in January via Secretly Canadian), the band releases the Another World EP today, and it’s full of what makes Bird so astonishing: Antony Hegarty’s almost operatic voice imbued with a weighty sadness, overlayed with strings echoing the same feeling. “I need another world / A place where I can go,” Hegarty sings on the EP’s title track. “Hope Mountain,” despite its title, doesn’t offer much cause for optimism, instead delving deeper into the beauty-made-of-pain aesthetic.
Who? Antony and the Johnsons (essentially a vehicle for Hegarty) saw their eponymous first record drop in 2000, but didn’t hit big until the release of Bird. The album, a haunting document largely concerning issues of [...]

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