There’s been a lot of buzz about these Sleigh Bells cats, and apparently the talented M.I.A. has noticed that, too–that’s probably why she signed them to her NEET imprint in partnership with Mom + Pop. So far, the band has not had any official releases, but they’re working on that. Their debut, Treats, will be available on May 11, according to P4K.

The album will be self-produced by the band’s guitarist, Derek Miller, who we’ll see on M.I.A.’s upcoming third album this summer. The band is about to embark on an extensive North American tour supporting Yeasayer and Major Lazer, and they plan to make a few festival stops along the way.

03/17-20 – Austin, TX (SXSW)
03/23 – London, UK @ White Heat at Madame Jo Jo’s
03/25 – London, UK @ Notting Hill Arts Club
03/26 – London, UK @ Koko
03/29 – Knoxville, TN @ The Valarium #
03/30 – Carborro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle #
03/31 – Baltimore, MD @ Bourbon Street #
04/02 – New Hyde Park, NY @ Starlite Ballroom #
04/04 – Boston, MA @ Middle East #
04/06 – Columbus, OH @ BoMa #
04/07 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Rangos Ballroom at Carnegie Mellon University
04/08 – Syracuse, NY @ Spark Art Space at Syracuse University
04/09 – Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place
04/10 – Toronto, ON @ Wrong Bar
04/11 – South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
04/16 – Indio, CA (Coachella)
04/17 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore Auditorium &
04/19 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom &
04/20 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos &
04/21 – Vancouver, British Columbia @ Commodore Ballroom &
04/23 – Salt Lake City, UT @ In the Venue &
04/24 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theatre &
04/25 – Omaha, NE @ Waiting Room &
04/26 – St. Louis, MO @ Gargoyle Club &
04/27 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue &
04/28 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre &
04/29 – Chicago, IL @ Metro &
04/30 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop &
05/01 – Toronto, Ontario @ Lee’s Palace &
05/02 – Montreal, Quebec @ La Sala Rossa &
05/03 – Boston, MA @ Paradise &
05/04 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall &
05/05 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Trocadero &
07/18 – Chicago, IL (Pitchfork Music Festival)

Speaking of Maya, she’s lined up to do a few shows of her own. Check out the handful of M.I.A. tour dates, and hopefully more will get released very soon (Consequence of Sound via 24Bit):

07/17 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Cornfields of Los Angeles State Historic Park
07/24 – New York, NY @ TBA
08/01 – London, UK @ Underage Festival
08/10-14 – Oslo, NO @ Oya Festival

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After taking over the pop music world in 2009 and drawing rave reviews for her Monster Ball tour through a limited run of theater dates in the US and shows in the UK, Lady Gaga has announced new arena dates for a US leg this summer that will reportedly feature a revamped stage and set design. Dates are below:

June 28 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
July 1 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden
July 4 – Atlantic City, NJ @ Boardwalk Hall
July 6 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
July 11 – Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
July 14 – Cleveland, OH @ Quicken Loans Arena
July 15 – Indianapolis, IN @ Conseco Fieldhouse
July 17 – St. Louis, MO @ Scottrade Center
July 20 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Ford Center
July 22 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
July 25 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
July 28 – Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
July 31 – Phoenix, AZ @ US Airways Center
August 3 – Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
August 11 – Los Angeles, CA @ Staples Center
August 13 – Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand
August 16 – San Jose, CA @ HP Pavilion
August 19 – Portland, OR @ Rose Garden
August 21 – Tacoma, WA @ Tacoma Dome
August 23 – Vancouver, BC @ General Motors Place
August 26 – Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place
August 30 – St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
Sept. 1 – Milwaukee, WI @ Bradley Center
Sept. 4 – Detroit, MI @ The Palace Of Auburn Hills
Sept. 5 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Consol Energy Center
Sept. 7 – Washington, DC @ Verizon Center
Sept. 8 – Charlottesville, VA @ John Paul Jones Arena
Sept. 14 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Center
Sept. 16 – Hartford, CT @ XL Center
Sept. 18 – Charlotte, NC @Time Warner Cable Arena
Sept. 19 – Raleigh, NC @ RBC Center

What looks like a screenshot from Jesus Camp, The Hold Steady went for a spiritual theme for their upcoming album Heaven is Whenever.

Heaven is Whenever comes out May 4th via Vagrant Records.

Just a few weeks ago, OK Go frontman Damian Kulash contributed a brave op-ed to The New York Times which criticized EMI for stopping video embedding on other websites. Now, it seems as though that column was OK Go’s parting shot: the band very recently announced their departure from the label via a YouTube video.

EMI released a sufficiently polite statement that read, “We’ve really enjoyed our relationship with OK Go. They’ve always pushed creative boundaries and have broken new ground, particularly with their videos. We wish them the greatest success for the future.” Likewise, Kulash said in the video, “We’d like to thank the people at EMI Music who have worked so hard on our behalf.” Way to stay amicable about it. Props.

We’re certain the band will reveal more plans in the coming months or year, but so far, their main priority seems to be re-releasing Of the Blue Colour of the Sky on their own new label this April, oddly named Paracadute Recordings.

Despite their latest LP selling only approximately 20,000 copies thus far, their latest video for “This Too Shall Pass” has enjoyed 7,590,101 views at the time of this story’s publication. Now that embedding restrictions don’t apply to them anymore, will their album sales also increase? It’s difficult to say, but perhaps OK Go know what they’re doing.

(Digital Spy)

Strokes excitement is in the air. Frontman Julian Casablancas recently told the Chicago Tribune that we can expect the fourth Strokes album by September. Neat.

He also goes on to say that The Strokes have been confirmed for this year’s Lollapalooza fest and the band is now getting the biggest offers of their career, after lasting almost a decade longer than people originally thought they would. I suppose that’s quite a victory for those gentlemen.

(Via Stereogum)

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Yup, that’s the cover to High Violet up there.

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Can’t wait to hear Congratulations? MGMT has announced a bizarre contest on their site that allows 6 lucky winners of each location to ride in a van outfitted for a listening party.

Contest Site

Details below:

You have won a chance to be part of an extraordinary MGMT event. The MGMTmobile
will be visiting 6 cities, and we are challenging YOU to come find it

We will reveal clues to the location 1 hour prior to arrival. The first 6 people to this
location will be part of a very special MGMT experience. Be sure to stay tuned as we
reveal each city below.

*We will give clues to the secret location and a password on this page.

*Once you figure out where the location is – GO THERE – you have 1 hour, first come first serve.

*You will see a person holding an MGMT flag – go up to them and tell them the password.

*If you are one of the first people to arrive – your journey starts then. You will need to be free for the next 2 hours.

What happens next?
You will have to wait and see……

YOU MUST:
BE 18 YEARS OR OLDER
HAVE VALID PHOTO ID WITH YOU
READ FULL RULES HERE