Insound has hooked us up with a copy of the very cool Lou Reed reissue 7-inch we posted about a few days ago. And you can win it! Just go here to enter, and note that entry closes on 2/1.

Past Lives - “Don’t Let The Ashes Fill You Eyes” It’s not a huge surprise that when the Blood Brothers broke up, their two lead singers started new bands in which they never had to scream. After all, one must assume that non-stop hysterical shrieking is a young man’s game. What is kinda surprising is that Johnny Whitney and Jordan Billie have gone in rather similar directions with their respective bands, Jaguar Love and Past Lives. Whereas the former nudged his punk roots in a more glammy direction, Billie and Past Lives’ version of pop owes more to new wave and post-punk. “Don’t Let The Ashes Fill Your Eyes,” a highlight from their full-length debut, comes rather close to the sound of Wire circa Chairs Missing and 154, presenting catchy hooks with a cold tonality and harsh austerity. They really pull it off. It’s all very hummable yet totally severe, with every chord change and word spat out by Billie sleek and sharp enough to draw blood. The real trick, though, is how when they allow a bit of warmth in the form of “sha la la la la” backing vocals, the subtle shift in temperature is just enough to make you realize how frigid the rest of it really is.

Buy it from Amazon.

Cameron WittigI only discovered Low circa 2001’s Things We Lost In The Fire, which I think is right around the time the slowcore heroes began expanding their sound and the long-time faithful began to peel off. And if the (relatively) faster tempos and broader sonic palettes were anathema to them, they were manna to me – which is why my favourite of their records, 2005’s unapologetically loud and dynamic The Great Destroyer was the final straw for some. If they’d stuck around, though, they’d have found the last Low record – 2007’s Drums & Guns – to be a return to their quieter ways, albeit aided by loops, samples and seething anger.

Frontman Alan Sparhawk hadn’t suppressed his more rock-out tendencies, however – simply sublimated them into his side project, Retribution Gospel Choir. Their 2008 self-titled debut was compact, loud and sludgy and quite possibly everything that 20th century Low fans were against. The appropriately-titled follow-up 2 offers more of the same, with the emphasis on “more”. 2 is more dynamic, more anthemic and more guitar-heroic than the debut – still chock-full of distorted riffage but also loaded up with some seriously fierce soloing.

MP3: Retribution Gospel Choir – “Hide It Away”
Video: Retribution Gospel Choir – “Hide It Away”
MySpace: Retribution Gospel Choir

Drowned In Sound talks to Shearwater frontman Jonathan Meiburg about their new album The Golden Archipelago, which will be released on February 23. Matablog has details on their upcoming Spring tour and the special dossier that will be released with the record. And they’ve also got a second MP3 from the album to tide you over the next month.

MP3: Shearwater – “Black Eyes”

Daytrotter has got a session with The Rosebuds.

Germany’s Aufgemischt interviews Beach House, who’ve been premiering new videos from Teen Dream each day this week – and for one day only – at Gorilla Vs Bear, leading up to next Tuesday’s record release. And don’t worry about the ones you’ve missed, as all of the videos – they made one for each track of the album – will be available on the DVD that accompanies the CDs and LPs of the album. The record is currently streaming in its entirety at NPR.

Stream: Beach House / Teen Dream

BRM interviews Nick and Tristan of Headlights.

The New York Post and NPR interview Spoon.

Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips talks to Drowned In Sound.

The Quietus interviews Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields. Realism is out on Tuesday.

Matablog has posted a new MP3 from the Girls debut Album, in case all those year-end lists weren’t quite enough to convince you. You can also grab the file from them in lossless FLAC format. If you swing that way. Blurt talks to the guy from Girls who kinda looks like a girl, Christopher Owens.

MP3: Girls – “Laura”

Rolling Stone interviews Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler.

Under The Radar chats with Neko Case.

Dinosaur Jr are one of the case studies in this PopMatters piece about the reunions of ’80s alt.rock legends and why they should be celebrated.

Golden Triangle – “Neon Noose” From the Brooklyn band’s debut full-length, Double Jointer, due out 3/2 from Hardly Art. Pre-order it here.