Bradford Cox unveiled “Virtual 7-Inch No.6” on the Deerhunter/Atlas Soung/Lotus Plaza blog– it’s a totally free download (grab the whole thing here (songs + lyrics)), or check out the tracks below:

MP3: Atlas Sound – “Solo, Or ‘The Square’”
MP3: Atlas Sound – “Memorial Corridor”

Since falling for Woods‘ At Rear House back in March of ‘07 (and placing it in my ‘Top 5′ 9 months later), I’ve been an unwavering fan. While I did enjoy Woods Family Creeps alright, At Rear House remains my favorite– but I have to say, based on what I’ve heard of them, I’m especially stoked for Woods’ upcoming releases.

The first (probably) will be the “Sunlit” b/w “The Dark” 7-inch, coming out on the (soon to be much more well-known) Brooklyn label Captured Tracks, which I think is run by the guy from Blank Dogs. Captured Tracks has something like 7 new releases due any time now, including stuff from The Mayfair Set, Graffiti Island, both Dum Dum Girls AND Little Girls, plus many, many more.

But I digress. So, the Woods 7-inch: it’s available for order now at the Captured Tracks Myspace, so get on it. Here’s the b-side:

Now, come April 14th*, you can also expect a brand-new Woods full-length, titled Songs of Shame, courtesy of Woodsist. The press material promises that “the fourth full-length by Woods veers away from the lo-fi ‘guerillas in the mist’ sound of At Rear House and presents both 90-second and ten-minute forays into skeletal psychedelia.” Yeah, I want to check that out. Here’s one track from the new record, it’s a cover of Graham Nash’s “Military Madness:”

*I asterisked the statement about the release date being April 14th because apparently it’s already been spotted at shops here around the city. So if you live in NYC: don’t bother waiting until 4/14, get out there and pick this one up now.)

The Raveonettes
Grey Haas, 2009

Lotus Plaza - “A Threaded Needle” The Lotus Plaza album comes out in stores next week, but I’ve had a copy for months now. I’m not saying this to brag — in this era of leaked records, who could possibly care? — but to explain that I’ve been living with this music for a while now, to the point that I’ve already got nostalgic memories attached to the songs. The cd arrived in the mail on a snow day, and not long after, I remember walking around in Brooklyn at night in late December. It wasn’t quite a blizzard, but it snowing, windy, and bitter cold. My vision was blurred, everything seemed slow, and I felt perfectly in synch with the general vibe of Lockett Pundt’s solo tunes. Maybe he wasn’t going for snow per se, but I’m sure he had some form of disorientation in mind when he wrote this material.

Lotus Plaza isn’t a far cry from what Lockett does in Deerhunter, but the balance of hookiness and haziness is adjusted much more in favor of the latter. His best compositions foreground a particular bit of instrumental melody and texture while the rest of the track blurs out, sorta like a musical version of rack focus. The effect is a bit like trying to remember something, but only being able to fully recall seemingly minor details and sensations with any sort of vividness. It seems right that this music would end up associated with exactly this sort of memory in my mind — I can perfectly visualize glimpses of particular street corners as seen through wet glasses, but I kinda struggle to recall much more of the context.

Buy it from Amazon.

Dan Boeckner of the Handsome Furs talks to the Montreal Gazette about the band's new album, Face Control.

“This album has had a better critical response,” Boeckner admitted, on the phone Tuesday from a tour stop in St. Louis, Mo. “It feels like we had to climb out from under the shadow of Wolf Parade. ... I think we had to prove ourselves on the road. This isn’t just (something we do in our) spare time, a throwaway record.”

NPR kicked off its live streams from SXSW last night with shows by the Avett Brothers, Heartless Bastards, and Decemberists.

Wired's Epicenter blog lists the top iPhones apps for navigating SXSW Music.

John Vanderslice talks songwriting with Express Night Out.

“I like tension in my songs,” says Vanderslice, who also seems to relish delving both into the political and personal, often on the same track. One of his best tunes — “Angela” on “Pixel Revolt” — even finds him bemoaning a lost pet rabbit whose tragic end perhaps parallels that of the American city. Says Vanderslice, “I always think the narrator — who often isn't me — had better have some problems, or why is he striking a chord on his guitar?”

The Morning News offers six-word reviews of the 1,302 mp3s SXSW made available from bands participating in the event this year.

Modest Mouse – “Satellite Skin”

Modest Mouse is releasing a new 8-song EP, No One’s First And You’re Up Next in August, preceded by 4 7-inches (exclusive to independent stores). The first of these 7-inches will be the “Satellite Skin” b/w “Guilty Cocker Spaniels” 7-inch that’s coming out on Record Store Day. And is it safe to assume that since 4 x 2-song 7-inches = 8 songs, that the upcoming EP will = the same 8 songs from the 7-inches?

There’s also a totally unsubstantiated rumor that both Interstate 8 and The Fruit That Ate Itself are to get new vinyl editions. Seems very unlikely that this is true, but let’s note it for historical record.

Mika Miko – “I Got A Lot (New New New)” From the upcoming We Be Xuxa, out 5/4 on Post Present Medium.