What's New(s)?

Black Lips prepping new album

Garage-rockers the Black Lips have announced a follow-up to their scuzzy 2011 record Arabia Mountain. Entitled Underneath the Rainbow, the new LP is out March 18 through Vice Records, Rolling Stone is reporting. The band doubled down on black for this release, enlisting Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney to co-produce. Also featuring Mastodon (a fellow Atlanta band) guitarist Brent Hinds on pedal steel and guitar, bassist Jared Swilley is calling the new record "roots music."

Partially recorded in Nashville, Underneath the Rainbow includes a tribute to Southern-rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd called "Boys in the Woods," and a song by the name of "Smiling," which deals with going to jail. Check out the tracklist below, along with the video for Arabia Mountain-cut "Raw Meat," which Pitchfork named one of the top videos of 2011.

Tracklist:
1. "Drive By Buddy"
2. "Smiling"
3. "Make You Mine"
4. "Funny"
5. "Dorner Party"
6. "Justice After All"
7. "Boys in the Wood"
8. "Waiting"
9. "Do the Vibrate
10. "I Don't Wanna Go Home"
11. "Dandelion Dust"
12. "Dog Years"

Pay to have Jens Lekman write a song about you

   





Swedish chamber-pop auteur Jens Lekman remains one of the most endearing figures in all of indie-music. A bleeding heart in the best way possible, Lekman's tales of following Kirsten Dunst or indulging in a Friday-night game of bingo are as painfully awkward as they are affecting.   

Lekman's currently harnessing all of that good-will for Musikhjälpen, an annual Swedish telethon dedicated to raising money for a different cause every year. This year the telethon will be giving money to a charity that prevents maternal death by "better obstetric care in developing countries, more educated midwifes, contraceptive advice, and the right to safe abortions" and to help raise money, Lekman is offering to write a song about a particularly generous donor. And if that weren't enough, Lekman is also giving the highest bidder an opportunity to have dinner with him in his native Gothenburg where Lekman says "you tell me about yourself so I can get some inspiration." Or if you're not a native Swede, Lekman promises you can have dinner via Skype.

Head here for the auction (which ends Sunday), and enjoy a clip of the title-track from the severely underrated 2012 record I Know What Love Isn't, while you wait for the auction results.

Flaming Lips cover Sparklehorse

The Flaming Lips are no strangers to the Sparklehorse discography, having previously collaborated with the Mark Linkous one-man band for 2009's Dark Night of the Soul. Now the sonic-manipulators are contributing a cover to the forthcoming Last Box of Sparklers, a tribute album for Linkous (who committed suicide in 2010). Also featuring: Mark Lanegan, Mercury Rev, Califone, Joy Formidable, Phantogram, and more; the album is being organized by Box of Stars, a non-profit that focuses on raising money for mental awareness. 

If you want to donate to the cause, you can head to the project's Indiegogo page now, which is still hoping to raise roughly $15,000 by December 14. For a taste of the tribute record, listen to the aforementioned Flaming Lips cover "It's A Sad and Beautiful World" below.

 


Check back in tomorrow for more of the newest in new(s) and follow @AllFreshSounds on Twitter for updates throughout the day.