Fall 2007 sees the members of San Diego-based indie-rock outfit Pinback prepping a new album for Touch and Go. The appropriately named Autumn of the Seraphs is another collection of tightly arranged, straightforward tracks dominated by guitar chords and Zach Smith’s pleasant vocal range, but what makes this album noteworthy is the bonus EP that comes packaged with all pre-ordered copies. Supposedly a means of combating internet leaks likely to occur before the album’s release date, the EP features three additional tracks, two of which are from the Autumn sessions. Yes, vinyl snobs who pre-order will have the opportunity to get these tracks, via a coupon to download the EP.

Meanwhile, check out the guys on a jam-packed US tour this fall, starting just days after the new album drops.

Autumn of the Seraphs is out September 11, 2007 on Touch and Go. 

Album Tracklisting
1. From Nothing to Nowhere
2. Barnes
3. Good To Sea
4. How We Breathe
5. Walters
6. Subbing for Eden
7. Devil You Know
8. Blue Harvest
9. Torch
10. Boquet
11. Off By 50

EP Tracklisting
1. I’m a Pretty Lady
2. Kylie
3. Autumn of the Seraphs

Tour Dates
09/19 Tempe, AZ: Marquee Theatre
09/20 Albuquerque, NM: Sunshine Theatre
09/21 Oklahoma City, OK: Bricktown Events Center
09/22 Fort Worth, TX: LaGrave Field
09/23 Austin, TX: Emo’s
09/25 Houston, TX: Numbers
09/26 New Orleans, LA: House of Blues
09/27 Tallahassee, FL: Club Downunder
09/28 Orlando, FL: The Social
09/29 Gainesville, FL: Common Grounds
10/01 Atlanta, GA: Roxy Theatre
10/02 Asheville, NC: The Orange Peel
10/03 Carrboro, NC: Cat’s Cradle
10/04 Charlottesville, VA: Satellite Ballroom
10/05 Philadelphia, PA: Theatre of the Living Art
10/06 Ashbury Park, NJ: Stone Pony
10/07 Washington, DC: 9:30 Club
10/09 New York, NY: Nokia Theatre, Times Sq
10/10 Boston, MA: The Roxy
10/11 Buffalo, NY: The Traif
10/12 Toronto, ON: Opera House
10/13 Pontiac, MI: The Crofoot
10/14 Chicago, IL: Metro
10/16 Milwaukee, WI: Pabst Theater
10/17 MInneapolis, MN: Fine Line Music Cafe
10/18 Omaha, NE: Slowdown
10/19 Englewood, CO: Gothic Theater
10/20 Salt Lake City, UT: The Depot
10/22 Seattle, WA: Showbox
10/23 Bellingham, WA: Viking Union
10/24 Portland, OR: Roseland Theatre
10/25 San Francisco, CA: Bimbo’s
10/26 San Francisco, CA: Bimbo’s
10/28 Los Angeles, CA: Wiltern Theatre

Photo by Brad Miller

Fresh off a recent jaunt through the US, the sample-happy, minimal pop producer Axel Willner (a.k.a. The Field) joins electro-pop craftsmen !!! for another bunch of dates in the States. Willner’s debut longplayer for Kompakt, From Here We Go Sublime, is a trippy dancefloor filler with plenty of samples and a sense of humor. Meanwhile, the Brooklyn-based seven-piece is notorious for melodramatics and mayhem while creating racket onstage. Sounds like a match made in heaven.

Read More About The Field in Issue 108 of XLR8R

Tour Dates
09/26 Los Angeles, CA: Avalon L.A.
09/27 San Diego, CA: Cane’s
09/28 Phoenix, AZ: Brick House
09/29 Tucson, AZ: Rialto Theatre
10/01 Dallas, TX: The Loft
10/02 Austin, TX: La Zona Rosa
10/03 Little Rock, AR: Revolution Music Room
10/04 Birmingham, AL: Bottle Tree
10/06 Athens, GA: 40 Watt
10/07 Mt. Pleasant, SC: Village Tavern
10/08 Baltimore, MD: Ottobar
10/10 Philadelphia, PA: The Fillmore at the TLA
10/11 New York, NY: Webster Hall
10/12 Boston, MA: Paradise Rock Club
10/13 Montreal, QC: Le Studio
10/15 Toronto, ON: Opera House

There have been masses of shoegaze revivalists, but few have gained as much attention as Germany-born Ulrich Schnauss, whose musical resume includes the gorgeously crafted A Strangley Isolated Place and Far Away Trains Passing By, and remixes of everyone from Depeche Mode to Mojave 3. Shoegazers, to your knees!

Download this song as an MP3, or preview a week’s worth of tracks at the XLR8R Podcast. Subscribe using iTunes, or with an RSS reader of your choice.

Mock & Toof

Death From Above Releases Good Records Again
Now that LCD Soundsystem has hit mega-status and DFA is releasing records more suited for White Stripes fans than club kids, the label is announcing a series of new experimental dance records under a sub-imprint, Death From Abroad. This month sees singles from Mock & Toof, Gucci Soundystem, and Altz. Judging from the label’s MySpace page, it looks like there may be a DFA-led freak-funk movement in the works.

Scarlett Johansson Preps “Avant Garde” Album
As if recording a Tom Waits cover album and singing alongside The Jesus and Mary Chain at Coachella weren’t enough to satiate Scarlett Johansson’s desire to be an indie singer, she further infiltrated the scene by commissioning TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek to produce her forthcoming “avant-garde” album. The actress has also been hard at work in a Louisiana recording studio, recording material that features Celebration and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Uh, yeah. 

Our Lady of Soul: Georgia Ann Muldrow

Upcoming Shows
Those dublab kids and their Los Angeles massive are getting crazy again, with a wild night of ambient music, hot tea, and sleeping bags at Farmlab. Tonalism sees the usual cast of characters–Adventure Time, Dntel, Mia Doi Todd, Carlos Nino, and many more–playing live and DJ sets, chilling out, and picnicking. The event is free.

Meanwhile, Stones Throw queen of soul, Georgia Ann Muldrow, will take the stage next week to headline DC’s Can A Sista Roc A Mic? festival. She’ll be joined by a host of other female MCs and vocalists–as well as Dudley Perkins, who’s reportedly the only male scheduled to perform at the fest. Lucky dude.

Brooklyn-based Black Dice set the standard for dance-friendly noise-rock long ago, dropping albums on labels like Gravity, Troubleman Unlimited, and DFA. Now, the trio preps its debut for the Animal Collective-owned Paw Tracks imprint. Load Blown is, of course, filled with more of the spastic, cathartic, and abrasive synth-noise that is the band’s trademark, but it also showcases Black Dice’s ability to incorporate pop into the equation.

The intricate production on Load Blown is a testament to the 18 long months spent composing the album. “Kokomo,” for instance, is driven by a repetitive synth line that gets bombarded with an onslaught of tin can hits, deep, dubby bass, and vocals. Throw some meticulous bumps and clicks in there, and it looks like Load Blown is another step forward for the ever-expanding Paw Tracks catalog.

Load Blown is out October 23, 2007 on Paw Tracks.

Tracklisting
1. Kokomo
2. Roll Up
3. Gore
4. Bottom Feeder
5. Scavenger
6. Drool
7. Toka Toka
8. Cowboy Soundcheck
9. Bananas
10. Manoman