What's New(s)?

Reggie Watts tackles "Brownsville Girl"

When the Bob Dylan in the 80s compilation was first announced, one of the most intriguing covers listed was Comedy Bang Bang bandleader Reggie Watts diving headfirst into the unwieldy "Brownsville Girl". At 11 minutes, it's one of the longest track in Dylan's six-decade oeuvre and also one of the most poetic, with lyrics co-penned by renowned playwright Sam Shepard. In covering such an esteemed track, Watts eschews much of the spoken-word verse for tender soul singing laid over a warping dance groove. "I love this track, hadn't heard of it before I was asked to be a part of the project," Watts told Spin.com. While that unfamiliarity may spook certain Dylanphiles, there's no cause for concern. It may be nowhere near the original song length, but thanks to Watts' earnest performance it still possesses all of the heart.

Pre-orders of Bob Dylan in the 80s: Volume One are available through the project's website and the record is officially out on March 25th. You can hear the track here and view the tracklist below:

Bob Dylan In The 80s: Volume One:
1. Langhorne Slim & The Law – “Got My Mind Made Up”
2. Built to Spill – “Jokerman”
3. Reggie Watts – “Brownsville Girl (Reprise)”
4. Craig Finn – “Sweetheart Like You”
5. Ivan & Alyosha – “You Changed My Life”
6. Deer Tick – “Night After Night”
7. Dawn Landes & Bonnie “Prince” Billy – “Dark Eyes”
8. Tea Leaf Green – “Waiting To Get Beat”
9. Aaron Freeman & Slash – “Wiggle Wiggle”
10. Elvis Perkins – “Congratulations”
11. Hannah Cohen – “Covenant Woman”
12. Marco Benevento – “Every Grain Of Sand”
13. Yellowbirds – “Series Of Dreams”
14. Blitzen Trapper – “Unbelievable”
15. Lucius – “When The Night Comes Falling From The Sky”
16. Glen Hansard – “Pressing On”
17. Carl Broemel – “Death Is Not The End



Beach House go to space

 

A month and a half ago, I wrote about Youth Lagoon's swirling track "Worms" culled from the upcoming Space Project. Compiled by Lefse Records, the Space Project utilizes recordings from the Voyager spacecrafts of "fluctuations in electromagnetic radiation and particle and converts those occurrences into sound." In the case of "Worms" the otherwise indetectable exhalations of Uranus' rings could be heard.

Now dream-pop duo Beach House has unveiled their contribution to the lofty project. Entitled "Saturn Song", the track is perfectly in keeping with the vacant atmosphere that a title like Space Project would portend. Moog synths moodily burble on in the background, while timid keys step to the front. What sounds like a cold wind can be heard rustling in the intro. Victoria Legrand's voice is aching and fragile, as though it's been on one too many missions. "I don't wanna" she sighs over and over again. Rarely has non-committal sounded so engaging.

Space Project will drop April 18th through Lefse Records.

Sleigh Bells bound to wrack up noise complaints on new tour

There will be blood, as Brooklyn noise-pop duo Sleigh Bells hit the road in support of their vicious 2013 release Bitter Rivals. Though the junior LP reshuffled the band's sound, it didn't mess around with the volume, everything was still cranked all the way up to 11 when the noise came. And now that noise will be everywhere the next few months with the band's campaign. They kick off a little more than a week from now at SXSW in Austin, before pillaging through Coachella, the Governor's Ball, and countless other cities along the way. Check out the dates below along with the video for "Bitter Rivals".

Tour dates:

3/14 Austin, TX - Red Bull Sound Select Party at The Belmont
3/21 New Orleans, LA - BUKU Festival
4/5 Norman, OK - University of Oklahoma -East Lawn
4/6 Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
4/7 San Antonio, TX - White Rabbit
4/9 Phoenix, AZ - Crescent Ballroom
4/12 Indio, CA - Coachella
4/15 Mexico City, Mexico - El Plaza Condesa
4/19 Indio, CA - Coachella
4/21 Boulder, CO - Fox Theater
4/22 Omaha, NE - Slowdown
4/23 Des Moines, IA - Wooly's
4/25 Gambier, OH - Kenyon College - South Quad
4/26 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
4/27 Atlanta, GA - Counterpoint Music Festival
4/29 Charlotte, NC - Fillmore
4/30 Charleston, SC - The Music Farm
5/2 Tampa, FL - Big Guava Music Festival
6/6-9 New York, NY - Governors Ball Music Festival
6/13-22 Toronto, Ontario - NXNE Festival
6/19-22 Dover, DE - Firefly Music Festival

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

What's New(s)?

Built to Spill cover Bob Dylan

For all of the respect Bob Dylan receives and all the covers he inspires, little if any of those has anything to do with the 1980s. Where Lennon had his infamous "Lost Weekend", Dylan had the "Lost Decade", when Grateful Dead collaborations and new-wave influences ran wild. Perhaps not surprisingly it was his least successful stretch both commercially and critically, and it took 1997's inscrutable Time Out of Mind to end the "dry-spell."

Bob Dylan in the 80s, an upcoming release from ATO Records is revisiting that Dust-Bowl era of Dylan's career and cultivating incredible talent for the effort. Craig Finn of the Hold Steady is tackling Infidels cut "Sweetheart Like You", Gene Ween and Slash (yes Slash) are improbably teaming up for the reviled "Wiggle Wiggle", and comedian Reggie Watts stands in the unenviable position of recreating the 11-minute epic "Brownsville Girl". On paper though, one of the most intriguing covers is Built to Spill taking on "Jokerman" from the aforementioned Infidels. A finger-wagging, reggae-influenced tale the song regularly appears on best-of Dylan lists. Doug Martsch and company forgo the grounded island vibes for their tradition skyward guitar scrawl. It's simultaneously world-weary and gorgeous, proving the 80s were far from a lost-cause for rock's poet laureate.

Bob Dylan in the 80s is out March 25 via ATO Records. You can view the tracklist below and hear Built to Spill's cover here.


Tracklist:
1. "Got My Mind Made Up"- Langhorne Slim & the Law
2. "Jokerman"- Built to Spill
3. "Brownsville Girl (Reprise)"- Reggie Watts
4. "Sweetheart Like You"- Craig Finn
5. "You Changed My Life"- Ivan & Alyosha 
6. "Night After Night"- Deer Tick
7. "Dark Eyes"- Dawn Landes & Bonnie "Prince" Billy
8. "Waiting to Get Beat"- Tea Leaf Green
9. "Wiggle Wiggle"- Aaron Freeman (Gene Ween) & Slash
10. "Congratulations"- Elvis Perkins
11. "Covenant Woman"- Hannah Cohen
12. "Every Grain of Sand"- Marco Benevento
13. "Series of Dreams"- Yellowbirds
14. "Unbelievable"- Blitzen Trapper
15. "When the Night Comes Falling From the Sky"- Lucius
16. "Pressing On"- Glen Hansard
17. "Death is Not the End"- Carl Broemel




Patti Smith covers Rihanna

 
















No you're not reading that headline wrong and this isn't some sort of hoax. While playing at NYC's Webster Hall on December 30, punk luminary Patti Smith dove into her own cover of Rihanna's gargantuan piano-ballad "Stay". As Stereogum writer Tom Breihan astutely pointed out, "Stay" once and for all proved "that she can actually sing." 

Smith's own performance doesn't stray far from the starkly expressive vocals of the original, aside from the piano Smith's essentially alone on stage. Virtually none of the power her voice rang out with in the 70s has dissipated, every line rings with agony. And if you catch a glimpse of Smith in the grainy-clip, it's clear that even though the number isn't her own she can still relate.


   

The Black Lips debut completely NSFW video for "Boys in the Wood"

Anyone who has ever had the fortune of seeing Atlanta garage-rockers the Black Lips live knows they aren't exactly tame. Stage-diving, beer-swilling, and vomiting are all fixtures of the band's shows and those register as some of the tamer elements. With that in mind, it's still hard to stomach the skin-crawling video for "Boys in the Wood" from their upcoming 7th LP Underneath the Rainbow. The clip, directed by Atlanta-duo the ATL-Twins, slithers through a dark Georgia night where illicit drugs are done out in the open and individuals are beaten to within an inch of their life. Spring Breakers director Harmony Korine would smile with delighted approval if he saw the slow-burner, which is only missing animal cruelty to complete the "perfect recipe."

The Black Lips album Underneath the Rainbow is out March 18 through Vice.

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