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When we first heard Stereogum Presents... alum Oxford Collapse's first single from Bits, "The Birthday Wars," we deemed it the Brooklyn band's best single since "Please Remember Your National Parks," and a "quick, noisy pop clutter that might remind you of Sub Pop label mates No Age, if it weren't for the multi-person harmonies." The visual version is less No Age and more Ponytail, though (see: "Die Allman Bruder"), with its occasional band images vaguely seeping through a spate of kaleidoscopic psychedelics. Finding a good frame for a screengrab for this one was fun (not fun). That mauve blob is a person.

Young Rival are a young quartet from Hamilton, Ontario. We posted the dusky, Zombies-esque "4:15" a couple months ago. This time we have "Your Island" -- the pop's more sugary, but there's still a vintage feel to the guitar sound and vocalist Aron D'Alesio delivery. We still don't know too much about YR, and haven't really pinned their overall sound down yet. For instance, another new track, "Another Nobody," is straight-up garage rock. They play the Mercury Lounge tonight, so if you're in the NYC area, you could maybe catch them, possibly figure out their deal.

Sometimes we BTW a band and never hear anything worth mentioning again. And sometimes we BTW a band and that band is Fight Bite. The Denton, TX duo have finished work on a gorgeous set of ten tunes, collectively titled Emerald Eyes, to be self-released this October. Our first mention went deep with references -- from the best of Slumberland and Parasol, to the Mag Fields before Stephin started singing, even roping in Orange Cake Mix and the Ropers to the mix. Fight Bight (Leanne Macomber and Jeff Louis) only had a few demos on MySpace then, but even in that homespun form, maybe even because of it, the airy, melancholic sounds seemed effortlessly, hopelessly stirring. Honestly, though, I was a little scared for the project's future: What do you do when you pen what easily will be your signature song on your first swing (the swirling dream-pop mini-masterpiece "Swissex Lover")? Apparently, you lock yourself in your home studio in Denton with an 1/8" 8-track and unexpectedly turn out possibly the year's finest debut LP.

You know something's going well when you can get a room full of drunks to shut up and watch David Letterman at 12:20AM. At the viewing party last night at Hi Fi, it was pretty much silence and smiles. Doveman's in the back rolling on some arpeggios, Ed's upfront on the omnichord, Rossen's flashing a seated look at the keys, the Chrisses are locked in. It took a wait of three weeks, but last night we finally got the new Droste/Bear cut "Two Weeks." Signature harmonies? Check. So much sunshine? Check. Another silly good look at what's shaping up to be the Grizzly pop album everybody's hoping for? Check, please.

The Swedish group Melpo Mene's fronted by Erik Mattiasson, who has one of those soft Swedish voices. You know the kind. The song "I Adore You" comes from the band's forthcoming Bring The Lions Out. The song's cute, but it has a somewhat darker ambiance and sound (see "soft Swedish voices"). The video could go a few ways -- maybe upping the cute factor, doing a straight-up live performance, or finding a way to plumb those more melancholic corners. They went for the former via paper cutout animation documenting the love and loss story of a dude with a guitar and a girl with red hair.

Calexico's Carried To Dust, which follows 2006's Garden Ruin, is out in the fall. On it, Joey Burns and John Convertino are joined by Paul Niehaus (pedal steel), Volker Zander (bass) and multi-instrumentalists Martin Wenk and Jacob Valenzuela, along with guest spots by Sam Beam, Douglas McCombs, Pieta Brown, Spanish artists Amparo Sanchez and Jairo Zavala, and Willie Nelson band member Mickey Raphael, among others. I bring up the laundry list of characters because album track "Two Silver Trees" is a subtle, spare construction that feels as spacious as the landscape they often write about and not the work of a mini-orchestra. Speaking of landscapes, Burns's description of the idea behind the title Carried To Dust makes for intriguing listening while you listen.

I was in the slightly cooler climes of Pitchfork, Illinois this past weekend and didn't make it to Siren Festival, but NYC Taper ably recorded Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks' Real Emotional Trash-heavy set on Saturday, so I've been able to listen to that, minus extreme heat or the smell of funnel cake (though you do pickup the Cyclone). The field recording's details:We recorded from the ground in front and left of the soundboard. The placement was problematic because of the Cyclone, but our hyper-directional microphones really proved their worth as the recording is not marred by the rumbling ride and screaming patrons. During quiet moments and in between songs, the cyclone provided "local color", during the normal volume of the songs, the noise can not be heard...Digital Master Recording Recorded from Dead Center Front of Board -- Approximately 100 Feet from StageNeumann KM-150's (AK-50 Hypercardiod Capsules) > Monster XLR cables > Apogee Minime > digital coaxial > M-Audio Microtrack > 24bit 48kHz wav file > Soundforge 8.0 (set fades, slight level boost, resample 16/44) > CD Wave 1.95 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flacAlso interesting: Malkmus & Co. played a new, mellow, rangy song called "Astral Facial."

We know that former tour partners Santi and Maya are both Clash fans and Diplo associates, but it looked like the latter's "retirement" was going to get in the way of the inevitable collab. Turns out they did a track together last year but only now do we get to hear it. The song "Get It Up" is a Radioclit production that also features Gorilla Zoe and elephant noises. It's on Diplo's Top Ranking Santogold mixtape from Mad Decent, and here's a stream.

Conor Oberst's self-titled LP is scheduled for release 8/5, but it was available on CD in Brazil last week. At least that's what the folky told his audience after spotting a copy at Studio SP in Sao Paulo on the opening night of his current tour. (It leaked to torrent sites over the weekend.) Backed by his Mystic Valley Band, Conor performed a handful of new songs including "Eagle On A Pole" and "Get-Well-Cards." We've got YouTube of those, along with an MP3 from the album, after the jump.

Lately we've heard Phil Elverum unearthing "Black Wooden" music with "In Moonlight," playing fragile solo pieces in Poland, and being covered beautifully by Damien Jurado. On "Flaming Home," Elverum's teamed up with Julie Doiron and guitarist/Doiron bandmate Fred Squire. It's from Lost Wisdom, a 10-track collaborative album between the three. This song at least is quiet, pretty, and deals with ashes, a burning house, obliteration, and a shadow. It's good to look at the album art because it illustrates the themes.

Chromeo's the Montreal/New York electro duo of childhood friends P-Thugg (Patrick Gemayel) and Dave I (David Macklovitch). Gemayel handles keyboards/synths and talk box. Maclovitch, the other vocals and guitar. The Deluxe Edition of their 2007 album Fancy Footwork, aka Fancier Footwork, came out a couple of weeks ago on Vice. It's a two-disc comp of the original album plus remixes of tracks from their oeuvre by MSTRKRFT, DFA, etc.The guys are here today because Macklovitch is working on his Ph.D. in French Literature at Columbia. Gemayel's an accountant. Note: the two call themselves "the only successful Arab/Jewish collaboration since the beginning of time," but hadn't seen Zohan (me neither) so couldn't answer my question: "Your press release claims you're 'the only successful Arab/Jew partnership since the dawn of human culture.' What happens with the release of that new Adam Sandler movie?" They answered the rest. Listen to "Fancy Footwork" while Patrick gives you tax tips.

Los Angeles indie-gospel act Bodies Of Water's sophomore album A Certain Feeling is out next week. We've already heard its "Under The Pines," and when the quartet stopped by Daytrotter they offered up more: "Even In A Cave" and Certain's title track (along with two familiar songs from last year's self-released debut Ears Will Pop & Eyes Will Blink). You can hear the aforementioned and read hardworking Bodies member David Metcalf's song notes at Daytrotter. Because the album release date's so close, we thought we'd also post another new one to celebrate the occasion.Bodies Of Water - "Gold, Tan, Peach, And Grey" (MP3)A Certain Feeling is out 7/22 via Secretly Canadian.

Not all of Stereogum's favorite sounds conform to what folks expect us to cover. In this space, resident Bananafish fetishist Brandon Stosuy focuses on bands, albums, singles, and villages in Sweden that may otherwise pass by unnoticed. This installment's virtual milk crate contains Crystal Stilts, Factums, and Babe, Terror. A couple weeks ago I was listening to and really enjoying the Crystal Stilts' self-titled Woodsist EP. It reminded me of some of the lo-fi, somewhat fuzzy, ultimately infectious music Chemical Imbalance would've championed, Slumberland would've put out, and I would've tracked down via Ajax back in the day. Lovely, melancholic under-the-weather Ian Curtis-on-Spector-and-American soil garage, or something. Ironic then that when I did a Google search to see what I could find out about the band I happened upon a rave review at Pitchfork via old Chemical Imbalance (and current YETI) editor, Mike McGonigal, someone who always, to me at least, seemed more interested in sound than his own critical ego. [Crystal Cake Shop photo by Jonny Leather]

You'd probably watch if it was two and a half minutes of Zooey sleeping, but with its animated beheadings, undead nuns, and Pac-Man ghosts, She & Him's first music video is much more fun/morbid. Director Ace Norton's blog hinted at the costume changes and green screen, but not that the singer ends up in a pool of (cartoon) blood. Tonight Zooey and Matt stopped by FNMTV to premiere the clip and kick it with LL Cool J. She should be in pictures.

People are rightfully enjoying Microcastle, Deerhunter's Heasley-eque followup to 2006's Cryptograms. Most of us have seen and heard most of it, but you might not have all the facts or artwork. For instance, access iTunes: the leak had a couple of track titles conflicts ("Intro" is "Cover Me (Slowly)," while "These Hands" is "Neither Of Us, Uncertainly"). it was recorded in one week at Rare Book Studios in Brooklyn with Nicolas Verhes. The band was the four-piece of Bradford Cox, Lockett Pundt, Joshua Fauver, and Moses Archuleta. Also, it's Lockett singing on "Agoraphobia." He also takes lead on "Neither Of Us, Uncertainly." Additionally, "Saved By Old Times" is a vocal collage by the Black Lips' Cole Alexander, childhood pal of Bradford. To nobody's surprise, the first single's "Nothing Ever Happened" (b/w a demo version of "Little Kids"). Speaking of demos, Bradford just posted a new Deerhunter demo at the band's multi-purpose blog. You can listen while you look at the Microcastle album art and tracklist.

We were just talking Calgary in the writeup for BTW the Neighbourhood Council. It's back to Alberta again with "Willow Tree," one of 12 new songs from ex-busker Chad VanGaalen's forthcoming Soft Airplane, the follow up to 2006's Skelliconnection. He captured the new one on "an old tape machine" and JVC boom box in his Calgary basement. The album's opener "Willow Tree" is a sad, joyfully resolved and pretty sing-song that involves water-born, Viking-style burial/cremation rites, fueled by kerosene and freedom. The willow tree plays an important roll, as do the melancholic horns.

"Late at night on an empty street, everyone I know walking beside me." Director Cat Solan doesn't have 'em walking, but by the time the highly watch-worthy Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson gets to that lyric in his point perfect, spirit-protest song "Buriedfed" there's just about everyone he knows at least standing beside him, nurses and hipsters and suits, ohmy. This Williamsburg-cast iteration of Life's Parade mouths a lyric or two while BTW MBAR smiles his way through the rest, the lights eventually dimming again on all but Miles, who won't be buried alive, and will also sound great while he's at it.

The pulsing, looping all-girl Japanese trio Nisennenmondai (translated "Year 2000 Problem") don't bother hiding or obscuring their influences: Their forthcoming Neiji/Tori includes song titles like "This Heat" and "Sonic Youth." You could also add Neu!, a heavy dose of No New York with (again) longer Kraut-style reps, a bit of Lighting Bolt (see "2534"), and some of Silver Apples' and ESG's swing. Don't get the wrong idea, though, it's not simply old sounds rehashed: The group puts their own twist on groove-based, gloriously repetitious noise-rock.

You've heard the song, you've streamed the album, and now you can simulate dropping acid while having the audio-visual realization that Hambone Jr. is making a case for Top Stroke. Quoth Goldenfiddle: "...now he's starting to make you look bad, Casablancas." Pretty much, yeah.

There's a reason the drummer from Menomena always sounds so awesome when he sings in the deconstructive pop crew's three-part harmony arrangements: It's because the drummer from Menomena's a singer. And a songwriter. And has been, under the name Lackthereof, since 1997. Danny Seim's bio for the Lackthereof makes specific mention that it was Menomena that was intended to be the side project, and it's fun to continue thinking of his artistic output in those terms, especially since this first song from his forthcoming Barsuk LP Your Anchor, is a good one.

After two weeks of reader-tipped BTWs from Lawrence, Kansas, we mentioned there seemed to be something going on in that city, despite William S. Burroughs up and dying a few years ago. After the proclamation went out, we received notes from people in other cities and towns and territories, letting us know that, no actually, it's such and such where things are happening. One such place: Calgary, Alberta (thanks to an email from Mark H. of Wood Pigeon). Actually Brandon lived in Cowtown for three years, did a bit of freelance, knows the place well and good, always appreciated its scene, but after some investigation, he notes there's definitely a new crop of younger bands who've risen up since he crossed back into the States. Our favorite so far is the Neighborhood Council, two guys and two gals all under 20. The quartet's been around for about a year now. When they started, they won in the "youth category" at the Calgary Folk Music Festival, but what they're doing now would make more sense as part of the International Pop Underground. Take a listen to "Liver And Tan," the opening track from their new self-released Set Pieces EP. It's a nine-minute piece of pop that would've made sense next to the Ropers on a split Slumberland 7", but with some of that early Pacific Northewest sound, like what you might expect from the Softies, only on a more shoe-gaze tip with gentler dueling Excuse 17-style harmonies, nice ride patterns, breezy "oh"s for color. Something like that.

Last April we got an unexpected and entirely welcome glimpse at the then-dormant Dan Rossen project Department Of Eagles, when Rossen's songwriting partner and fellow Eagle departmentalist Fred Nicolaus sent us a track as sweet, sweet reminder that D.O.E. were still a BTW. Since then Dan's day job, Grizzly Bear, and their Yellow House LP received third, fourth, and fifth winds, making the fact that Dan found time to finish the long awaited follow-up to the Eagles' Whitey On The Moon UK rather impressive. Although OK, when are we not impressed by the guy.

The closest we've come to a video from Fleet Foxes was a little over two weeks ago, when Robin Pecknold performed in the back of a black cab. Thanks to Robin's folk bro Sean Pecknold, who takes a production and clay animation credit here, we don't need to rely on Judee Sill covers to flesh out our Fleet Foxes video archive. In it rivers run, mushrooms grow, and bearded dudes clap along and nod heads in time with nature's cycles. Basically if psychedelic folk music could be made out of clay, it would look like this:

Toronto's Fucked Up are longtime favorites, even after guitarist Mike Haliechuk, aka 10,000 Marbles, punked me. Honestly, that shit's part of the charm. Beyond their playful "fuck you" attitude and old-school hardcore politics, they make great music: Hidden World was one of the best albums of 2006, and they've done a lot of good since then, including 2007's "Year of the Pig" 12", which Matador's reissuing as an expanded EP later this month (7/22). Matador's also putting out their second full-length The Chemistry Of Common in the fall. 10,000 Marbles told Matador it's "basically about rebirth and the Sun. And lightning," aka lightbulbs. "No Epiphany" is the first track made available from the record.

As we pass saturation point for press coverage of Montreal, Portland, Brooklyn and et cetera, it seems Lawrence, Kansas is poised for its coming turn in the music media trend piece carousel. At least from what we're hearing; this marks two straight BTWs from the burgeoning midwestern artistic oasis. We gave the treatment to Rooftop Vigilantes after they hit our inbox with some music, and that inspired another email, this time from one Jordan Geiger, offering a MySpace-linked primer to more of the city's rising talent. But it was Jordan's own project, Hospital Ships, that struck deepest. Jordan comes packing a sturdy CV -- singing and songwriting in Minus Story, playing trumpet and keyboard for Shearwater -- and the Hospital Ships material shows it.

The Bergen trio Ungdomskulen play proggy post punk, mixing chops and hooks with a sense of humor. But they don't sound like Primus. When I was in Norway a couple years ago, "Ungdomskulen" seemed to be on everybody's lips (or at least the metal-esque guys I ran into). I was told time again about their technical abilities, but not so much about the fact that they wrote satisfyingly catchy songs like "Modern Drummer" (from their album Cry-Baby) or "Ordinary Son," which you'll find after my discussion with Øyvind Solheim, Frode Kvinge Flatland, and Kristian Stockhaus about their day jobs: Solheim builds guitar pedals (he also looks after a boy with special needs, but for the kid's privacy, he understandably didn't want to talk about that), Flatland teaches variously, Stockhaus DJs and teaches entire bands. Because actions supposedly speak louder than words, Kristian concocted a special mix to accompany this Quit Your Day Job. You'll find that after our discussion, too.

After hearing "Gillian Was A Horse" from Damien Jurado's forthcoming Caught In The Trees, we contacted the Seattle singer-songwriter and asked if he'd want to premiere a track at Stereogum. Lucky for us (and you), it turned out he had two unreleased gems, both covers. This week's Drop included a hauntingly beautiful take on Low's "Murderer," which you can listen to here. Additionally, we now have an MP3 of Damien's excellent version of the Microphones' "Where Lies My Tarp?" and his thoughts on both covers:

Remember Birdmonster? If you read blogs in 2006 you do. It's been a little while since we've heard from the guys. They rode a wave of blogposts straight into some bloglash, and then they blogged until blog in a blog blog. Point is, they're one of those bands (like old showmates Tapes 'N Tapes and Clap Your Hands) whose bio's been carved by the double edged sword of early and often internet attention, and here they are two years later with a new record (From The Mountain To the Sea) and a new label (The FADER Label) and a not Bon Jovi cover.

Careful students of TiVO's scheduling guide have known for weeks that Dave scheduled Grizzly Bear to be his music guest tomorrow night, marking the band's first performance in the Ed Sullivan Theater (save the time they were indie rock choir boys). Unfortunately the Late Show staff pulled a late minute flake out, deciding to "go dark" for the week. So reset the DVR for July 23rd, when Grizz will load in and perform a new song, tentatively titled "Two Weeks," from the already silly good follow-up to the Friend EP. Because of the date shift, Nico Muhly will no longer join them; instead they'll get key assistance from Footloose reimagineer Doveman. But wait, there's more.