Back in early February, news broke that The Flaming Lips would be serving as sub-headliners for this year’s Bonnaroo festival, which probably made Flaming Lips fans wonder if the band would limit themselves to the Bonnaroo appearance or if they would be planning a more extensive tour. Not sure about that “extensive” part, but at least they have finally announced some U.S. dates! Check out the cities the Lips plan to visit (so far):

The Flaming Lips:

03-12 Austin, TX – Austin Music Hall *
03-13 Denton, TX – Hickory Street Stage/NX35 *
04-15 Charlottesville, VA – Charlottesville Pavillon *
04-17 Poughkeepsie, NY – Mid Hudson Civic Center *
04-18 Ithaca, NY – Barton Hall/Cornell University *
04-19 Montclair, NJ – Wellmont Theatre *
04-21 Milwaukee, WI – The Riverside Theater *
04-22 Bloomington, IN – Indiana University Auditorium *
04-23 Kansas City, KS – Sandstone Amphitheatre *
05-15 Gulf Shores, AL – The Hangout Music Festival *
06-06 Houston, TX – Tinsley Park/Free Press Fest *
06-11 Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo Music Festival *
07-03 Oxford, ME – Nateva Music & Arts Festival *
07-22 Lewiston, NY – Artpark *
07-26 New York, NY – Central Park Summerstage *

Stardeath and White Dwarfs will perform with The Flaming Lips on all dates marked with an asterisk.

Of course, don’t forget their plans for U.K. festivals later this year:

08-20-22 Brecon Beacons, Wales – Green Man Festival
09-10-12 Isle of Wight, England – Bestival

(P4K)

British duo Massive Attack have not toured North America in a while–not since 2006, in fact. Four years later, they’ve announced a brief visit to North America during the month of May to support their fifth album, Heligoland. They will supposedly wrap up at the Sasquatch Festival–unless they plan to extend their tour ten days or so, add a few more cities, and make a stop at Bonnaroo. Wishful thinking!

Martina Topley-Bird will serve as the opening act. Considering she provides vocals on the track “Babel” for the new album, perhaps she will join the group onstage.

05.07 Toronto, ON: Sound Academy
05.09 Toronto, ON: Sound Academy
05.11 New York, NY: Terminal 5
05.12 New York, NY: Terminal 5
05.18 Los Angeles, CA: Wiltern Theater
05.19 Los Angeles, CA: Wiltern Theater
05.25 San Francisco, CA: Warfield Theater
05.27 San Francisco, CA: Warfiled Theater
05.30 George, WA: Sasquatch Festival

(Prefix Mag)

Brooklyn rockers The Hold Steady have today announced the release of their fifth album Heaven Is Whenever, the follow up to 2008’s Stay Positive.

The news comes shortly after former keyboardist Franz Nicolay announced he would be leaving the band.

The press release on the band’s official website reads:

“The album was produced by Dean Baltulonis, who engineered the band’s ‘Almost Killed Me’ and produced ‘Separation Sunday,’ and was recorded at Dreamland Recording Studios in Upstate NY and Wild Arctic Studios in Queens, NY, with mixing also happening at Wild Arctic.

Singer Craig Finn says ‘Heaven Is Whenever’ is about “embracing suffering and finding reward in our everyday lives.” Piano and keys take a backseat to guitar on the new record, which also gets production help from guitarist Tad Kubler.

Recorded in several smaller sessions spread out over a long period of time, the songs on ‘Heaven Is Whenever’ received the benefit of being tested on the band’s recent tours. As Finn says this allowed them to “see what was working and what wasn’t. I believe this record benefits from us working at a more deliberate pace.”

The album is due out on May 4th in the USA via Vagrant Records and a day earlier in Europe on Rough Trade.

The track list of Heaven Is Whenever is:

01. The Sweet Part of the City
02. Soft in the Center
03. The Weekenders
04. The Smidge
05. Rock Problems
06. We Can Get Together
07. Hurricane J
08. Barely Breathing
09. Our Whole Lives
10. A Slight Discomfort

The Hold Steady are also embarking on a tour encompassing much of North America in April and May, before heading to Europe in June. Dates are below.

April 2nd – Ardsley, NY, LIFE the place to be
April 3rd – New Haven, CT, Toad’s Place
April 5th – South Burlington, VT, Higher Ground
April 6th – Northampton, MA, Pearl Street
April 7th – Albany, NY, Linda Norris Auditorium
April 8th – Woodstock, NY, Bearsville Theater
April 9th – Jermyn, PA, Eleanor Rigby’s
April 10th – Syracuse, NY, The Westcott Theater
April 12th – Rochester, NY, The Club at Water Street Music Hall
April 13th – Cleveland, OH, Beachland Ballroom
April 14th – Pittsburgh, PA, Diesel Club Lounge
April 15th – Morgantown, WV, 123 Pleasant St.
April 16th – Harrisburg, PA, Appalachian Brewing Company
May 5th – Los Angeles, CA, El Rey Theatre
May 6th – San Francisco, CA, The Fillmore
May 29th – George, WA, Sasquatch Festival
June 12th – Newport, Isle of Wight, Isle of Wight Festival
June 14th – Paris, FR, Fleche D’Or
June 21st – Amsterdam, NL, Melkweg
June 22nd – London, UK, HMV Forum
Jun 26th – Manchester, UK, Academy 2

Scottish dance punk group Franz Ferdinand released their third LP, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, last year to reception considerably more tepid than that of their first two blockbusters, 2004’s self-titled debut, and 2005’s Alexander Rodchenko-inspired You Could Have It So Much Better. Despite the large gap between LPs two and three, it seems the band is already preparing new material. In an interview with the BBC, frontman Alex Kapranos discussed writing sessions that had taken place at the house of the band’s guitarist, Nick McCarthy. “We’ve been writing some things, and trying to do things in a different way again,” Kapranos said.

The band is also now wary of press and promotion as a means of building up false hype. “Before the last record, I talked far too much about it as we had the ideas and I made a vow that I wasn’t going to say anything about what we are actually doing until we’ve done it, and then wait about another three weeks,” Kapranos added. So don’t expect some kind of iamamiwhoami build-up, then.

Franz Ferdinand are headlining the Future Music Festival in Australia which begins in Brisbane on February 27.

A true Do-It-Yourself punk ethic is hard to find these days, but the guys in Titus Andronicus have got it down. With their new civil war-themed album due March 9 (XL Recordings), Titus Andronicus have announced a lot–A LOT–of North American dates for an upcoming tour, deemed the “Monitour” (cheekily inspired by the title of their next album). The tour will span from the beginning of March to the end of April, and there won’t be any glamorous Hilton hotel stays for these guys. The DIY approach comes in here: they are asking fans for night-to-night accommodations. Frontman Patrick Stickles writes, “Accommodations need not be anything special at all – a floor and a ceiling are our only two requirements, though beds/couches/beanbags/etc. are always nice.” Email the guys at titusandronicustheband@gmail.com if you’d like to let the band crash at your place.

They are also hoping to fill in the empty days in their schedule, as long as you can help them get booked. Check out the dates below (via P4K):

Titus Andronicus:

03-06 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom #
03-08 Fords, NJ – Vintage Vinyl (in-store)
03-09 Lakewood, OH – My Mind’s Eye (in-store)
03-10 Columbus, OH – Used Kids (in-store)
03-11 Athens, OH – Ohio University
03-12 Louisville, KY – Ear X-Tacy (in-store)
03-13 Chicago, IL – Reckless Records Wicker Park (in-store)
03-14 St. Louis, MO – Vintage Vinyl (in-store)
03-16 Dallas, TX – Good Records (in-store)
03-20 Austin, TX – Red 7 Patio (SXSW) $
03-21 El Paso, TX – Black Market
03-22 Phoenix, AZ – Chryo Arts
03-23 Los Angeles, CA – Bootleg Theater
03-24 Santa Barbara, CA – Club Mercy *
03-26 Visalia, CA – Cellar Door
03-27 Sacramento, CA – Luigi’s Fungarden
03-28 San Francisco, CA – Slim’s
03-30 Seattle, WA – Vera Project
03-31 Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios
04-01 Vancouver, British Columbia – TBD
04-02 Missoula, MT – The Palace
04-04 Fargo, ND – The Aquarium
04-05 Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry
04-07 Chicago, IL – The Bottom Lounge
04-08 Detroit, MI – Majestic Cafe
04-09 Toronto, Ontario – Sneaky Dee’s
04-10 Montreal, Quebec – Green Room
04-11 New Paltz, NY – St. Paul Lutheran Church Parish Hall
04-12 Allston, MA – Great Scott
04-13 Bronx, NY – Rodrigues Coffee House (Fordham University)
04-14 Purchase, NY – SUNY Purchase Student Center
04-15 Philadelphia, PA – The Barbary
04-16 Washington, DC – Positive Force DC (St. Stephen’s Church)
04-17 Charlottesville, VA – Random Row
04-18 Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506
04-19 Atlanta, GA – 529
04-20 Indianapolis, IN – Radio Radio
04-22 Columbus, OH – Summit
04-23 Harrisburg, PA – Abbey Bar
04-24 Hoboken, NJ – Maxwell’s

# with Parts and Labor, the Babies
$ with Fucked Up, J Mascis
* with Ted Leo

Prog-metal act Mastodon has been touring virtually non-stop since Crack the Skye’s release in 2009, and the Atlanta-based group shows no signs of slowing down. Pitchfork recently announced a slew of Mastodon tour dates. The guys are currently in Europe until late February, and afterward, they will fly over to Central America and play packed arenas, opening for Metallica. Pure insanity!

After their trek across the U.S. (with support from Between the Buried and Me, Baroness, Valient Thorr), they will return to Europe and play at the Sonisphere Festival.

Mastodon:

02-08 Hamburg, Germany – Gruenspan
02-09 Berlin, Germany – Columbia Club
02-10 Frankfurt, Germany – Batschcapp
02-12 Vienna, Austria – Arena
02-13 Munich, Germany – Backstage
02-14 Cologne, Germany – Essigfabrik15
02-16 Wolverhampton, England – Wulfrun
02-17 Bristol, England – Academy
02-19 Glasgow, Scotland – Barrowland
02-20 Manchester, England – Academy
02-21 Newcastle, England – Academy
02-23 Nottingham, England – Rock City
02-24 London, England – Roundhouse
03-01 Guadalajara, Mexico – Estadio Tres de Marzo
03-03 Monterrey, Mexico – Estadio Universitario
03-05 Guatemala City, Guatemala – Estadio Mateo Flores *
03-07 San Jose, Costa Rica – Saprissa Stadium *
03-08 Panama City, Panama – Plaza Figali *
03-12 Caracas, Venezuela – La Rinconada *
03-13 San Juan, Puerto Rico – Coliseo de Puerto Rico *
04-16 Charleston, SC – Music Farm ^
04-17 Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theater ^
04-18 Richmond, VA – The National ^
04-20 Baltimore, MD – Rams Head ^
04-21 Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom ^
04-22 Hartford, CT – Webster ^
04-23 Worcester, MA – Palladium (New England Metal and Hardcore Festival)
04-24 Burlington, VT – Higher Ground ^
04-26 Pittsburgh, PA – Palace Theater ^
04-27 Rochester, NY – Water Street ^
04-29 Grand Rapids, MI – Orbit Room ^
04-30 Indianapolis, IN – Vogue ^
05-01 Columbia, MO – Blue Note ^
05-03 Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theater ^
05-04 Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theater ^
05-05 San Diego, CA – House of Blues ^
05-07 Pomona, CA – Fox Theater ^
05-08 Oakland, CA – The Missing Link
05-09 Reno, NV – Knitting Factory ^
05-10 Eugene, OR – McDonald Theater ^
05-11 Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory ^
05-13 The Shrine – Billings, MT ^
05-14 Fargo, ND – The Venue ^
05-14 Omaha, NE – Sokol Hall ^
05-16 Lawrence, KS – Liberty Hall ^
05-18 Madison, WI – Orpheum ^
05-19 Urbana, IL – Canopy Club ^
05-20 Memphis, TN – Minglewood ^
05-21 Knoxville, TN – Valarium ^
05-22 Lexington, KY – Busters ^
06-16 Warsaw, Poland – Bemowo Airport ( Sonisphere Festival)
06-18 Zurich, Switzerland – Jonschwill Degenaupark (Sonisphere Festival)
06-19 Prague, Czech Republic – Mimon Airport (Sonisphere Festival)

* with Metallica
^ with Between the Buried and Me, Baroness, Valient Thorr

Last year, the Arctic Monkeys released Humbug (which ranked number four on our “Best of 2009″ list), and they are not quite finished touring in support of it. The band is currently making rounds in Europe, and in March, they have a stop in their native England before they skip across the pond to the U.S. Check and see if they’re hitting a city near you:

Arctic Monkeys:

02-08 Munich, Germany – Zenith
02-09 Offenbach, Germany – Stadthalle
02-10 Dusseldorf, Germany – Philipshalle
02-13 Valencia, Spain – Ciudad De Las Artes Y Las Ciencias
03-27 London, England – Royal Albert Hall
04-01 Miami, FL – Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theatre *
04-02 Tampa, FL – The Ritz *
04-03 Orlando, FL – Hard Rock Live *
04-05 Athens, GA – 40 Watt Club *
04-06 Raleigh, NC – Disco Rodeo *
04-07 Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live *
04-09 Covington, KY – Madison Theatre *
04-11 St. Louis, MO – The Pagent *
04-12 Lawrence, KS – Liberty Hall *
04-13 Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom *
04-15 Tempe, AZ – The Marquee *
* with Sleepy Sun

In other news, these Sheffield guys will release a single from Humbug digitally and physically (vinyl format, both 10″ and 7″) through Domino. The digital single will become available on March 23, but vinyl-loving types will have to wait until April 13 when the single hits stores.

“My Propeller” 10″–

A1 My Propeller
A2 Joining the Dots
B1 The Afternoon’s Hat
B2 Don’t Forget Whose Legs You’re On

“My Propeller” 7″–

A1 My Propeller
B1 Joining the Dots

(P4K)

Radiohead drummer Phil Selway has recently announced that he’s going on a solo tour of the Mediterranean regions of Europe. Apparently this shouldn’t exactly blindside in-the-know Radiohead fans, seeing as we got news last year of a Selway solo album in the works. The album is rumored to feature collaborations from Lisa Germano, Sebastian Steinberg of Soul Coughing, and Glenn Kotche and Pat Sansone of Wilco. It is possible that the album will be released under the moniker Boybrain. According to Radiohead’s publicist, Selway is not using the name Boybrain. Interesting. Collaborator Lisa Germano will open for Selway during the tour.

If we have any readers from the Mediterranean, perhaps these tour dates will be of some interest:

Phil Selway/Lisa Germano:

03-27 Turin, Italy – Spazio 211
03-28 Florence, Italy – Sala Vanni
03-29 Ferrara, Italy – Sala Estense
03-30 Bologna, Italy – Covo Club
03-31 Rome, Italy – Circolo Degli Artisti
04-01 Milan, Italy – Tunnel
04-03 Barcelona, Spain – La (2) de Apolo
04-04 Valladolid, Spain – Auditorium
04-05 Puerta de Santa Maria, Spain – Mucho Teatro
04-06 Lisbon, Portugal – Aula Magna
04-07 Porto, Portugal – Casa da Musica
04-08 Vigo, Spain – Museum of Contemporary Art

(via P4K)

The baroque pop artist formerly known as Final Fantasy (now simply known by his real name, Owen Pallett) will be heading out on an extensive tour. He’s going to tour Canada for the next few weeks, then it’s off to Europe. He’ll finish up the tour in the U.S. and Canada.

If you’ve heard Owen Pallett’s latest album Heartland (which was given a high score here at onethirtybpm), perhaps you’ll want to join the talented violinist if he comes to a city near you.

Check out the dates below (via Pitchfork):

02-06 Guelph, Ontario – Sleeman Centre (Hillside Inside Festival)
02-09 Fredericton, New Brunswick – McCain Hall Theatre
02-10 Halifax, Nova Scotia – St. Matthews United Church
02-11 Halifax, Nova Scotia – St. Matthews United Church
02-12 St. John’s, Newfoundland – Cochrane Street United Church
02-17 Kingston, Ontario – Sydenham United Church
02-18 Wakefield, Quebec – Blacksheep Inn
02-19 Wakefield, Quebec – Blacksheep Inn
02-20 Montreal, Quebec – Theatre Outremont
02-21 Quebec City, Quebec – Le Cercle
02-25 London, Ontario – Aeolian Hall
02-26 Brantford, Ontario – Ford Plant
02-27 Hamilton, Ontario – Lincoln Hamilton Centre
03-10 Lisbon, Portugal – Teatro Maria Matos
03-11 Lisbon, Portugal – Teatro Maria Matos
03-12 Aveiro, Portugal – Centro Cultural e de Congressos
03-13 Munich, Germany – Dachau Friedenskirche
03-15 Frankfurt, Germany – Mousonturm
03-16 Prague, Czech Republic – Roxy
03-17 Leipzig, Germany – UT Connewitz
03-18 Dublin, Ireland – Whelan’s
03-20 Metz, France – Les Trinitaires
03-21 Lille, France – Aeronef
03-22 Amsterdam, Netherlands – De Duif
03-23 Brussels, Belgium – Botanique
03-25 Cardiff, Wales – Millenium Music Hall
03-26 London, England – Koko
03-27 Birmingham, England – Rainbow Warehouse
03-28 Manchester, England – The Deaf Institute
03-31 Oslo, Norway – Victoria (Inferno Festival)
04-01 Stockholm, Sweden – Debaser
04-02 Malmo, Sweden – Babel
04-03 Berlin, Germany – Hebbel Theatre
04-08 Toronto, Ontario – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
04-10 Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
04-11 Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater
04-12 Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall
04-13 Columbus, OH – Wexner Center
04-14 Pittsburgh, PA – Andy Warhol Museum
04-15 Washington DC – Black Cat
04-18 Indio, CA – Coachella Festival
04-20 Boston, MA – Institute of Contemporary Art
04-22 New York, NY – Webster Hall
04-25 Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church
04-27 Atlanta, GA – The Earl
04-29 Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
04-30 Austin, TX – The Mohawk
05-05 San Francisco, CA – The Independent
05-08 Seattle, WA – The Crocodile
05-09 Vancouver, British Columbia – The Vogue Theatre
05-10 Victoria, British Columbia – Alix Goolden Hall
05-11 Portland, OR – Aladdin Theater

It’s now official; Canadian indie darlings Broken Social Scene are back with new material. There is no tracklisting, title, or cover art as yet, but there is a date: May 4. In an extensive interview with Pitchfork yesterday, Kevin Drew revealed that the new album – the band’s first since 2005 – was recorded last year at both McEntire’s Soma Studios in Chicago, and Shaw and Grainger’s Giant Studios in Toronto. Many of BSS’ extended cast have returned for guest appearances on the album, including Feist, Emily Haines (now of Metric), and both Amy Millan and Evan Cranley, of Stars, amongst others.

The band’s website also lists some tour dates. Below, we list them for your convenience. The Canadian June bill looks particularly tantalising.

May 01 San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
May 03 Los Angeles, CA – Henry Fonda Theatre
May 07 New York, NY – Webster Hall
May 13 London, England – Brixton Academy with PAVEMENT
May 14 Minehead, England – All Tomorrow’s Parties
May 17 London, England – Heaven
May 18 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Melkweg
May 19 Cologne, Germany – Burgerhaus Stollwerck
May 21 Paris, France – La Maroquinerie
June 19 Toronto, Ontario – Toronto Island with PAVEMENT and BAND OF HORSES