Monday Musings: News from Postal Service, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and more.

Today's edition of Monday Musings give us a brand spanking track from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.  The band is set to release their new album sometime in March, the first single Let The Day Begin is available to stream and download at www.blackrebelmotorcycleclub.com

Also creating a buzz today is a cryptic, yet obvious image on www.postalservicemusic.net. The image below gives us a glimpse of a possible reunion from the duo of Ben Gibbard (Death Cab For Cutie) and Jimmy Tamborello (Dntel). We will keep an eye on further developments.

Finally for those of you heading out to catch Bloc Party tomorrow at The Gothic, I suggest you arrive early for openers IO Echo, their music is catchy, fun and contagious.

Delicately blurring East and West, the warmth of the past and dystopia of the future, LA twosome IO ECHO, have set their stage amidst a sonic depth that transcends genre. The duo, comprised of Ioanna Gika and Leopold Ross, are set to release their first full length LP, Ministry of Love, via IAMSOUND on April 2nd. The collection of tracks highlight IO ECHO's visionary approach to music making that layers pop and 90's industrial with Eastern timbres of the Japanese koto and Chinese violin. Enamored by their sound and impeccable style, Harmony Korine commissioned Ioanna and Leopold to score his film "Rebel" featuring James Franco. IO ECHO was also hand picked by Trent Reznor to open for Nine Inch Nails at the band's last ever tour show and recently opened for No Doubt in Los Angeles. Iconic film director John Hillcoat (The Road, Lawless) & photographer Polly Borland collaborated with the band and MoCA, where IO ECHO curated a festival this year, to make their avant-garde video for "Berlin, It's All A Mess" and pop culture fashion icon Jeremy Scott made a one of a kind hologram kimono for Ioanna in their Fader-debuted video for their track "Outsiders (slow mix)". Most recently, Ioanna's song "Gone" from the film Snow White and the Huntsman was officially shortlisted by the Academy Awards for Best Original Song! IO ECHO's list of incredible collaborations and co-signs aligns perfectly with their music, that has already garnered early praise from NPR, Interview, Bullett, Nylon, Stereogum, Dazed & Confused, Paper, I-D, Dummy and more. 

Keeping in the theme of epic pairings, IO ECHO is gearing to embark on a North American tour supporting indie icons Bloc Party this winter - see full dates below. Setting off from Montclair, NJ on 1/11, the string of dates has Ioanna and Leopold traversing across the country throughout the month of January, undoubtedly amassing legions of adherents at each stop. [Press Release]

IO ECHO TOUR DATES w/ BLOC PARTY

January 11                Montclair, NJ                       The Wellmont*

January 12                Baltimore, MD                      Rams Head Live*

January 14                Asheville, NC                       Orange Peel*

January 15                Charlotte, NC                       The Fillmore*

January 16                Atlanta, GA                          The Tabernacle*        

January 18                Nashville, TN                       Cannery Ballroom*    

January 19                St. Louis, MO                      The Pageant*

January 20                Lawrence, KS                       Liberty Hall*

January 22                Denver, CO                          Ogden Theatre*

January 23                Salt Lake City, UT                Kilby Court

January 24                Reno, NV                             The Alley       

January 25                San Francisco, CA                Hotel Utah#

* w/ Bloc Party

# w/ Happy Hollows

Monday Musings: News from Santigold, Toro Y Moi and The Black Lips

It always seems like our inbox receives quite a bit of love on Monday mornings. Here are some things to sink your teeth into for this week.

Santigold "Girls" via 'GIRLS - Volume 1' soundtrack on Brooklyn Vegan!

Check out a sequence of lip-singing, dancing, femmes, in the new music video for Santigold’s “Girls,” an exclusive single release on the soundtrack for the freshly Golden Globe award winning HBO series Girls, which premiered on Brooklyn Vegan this morning!

The video depicts the essence of New York women, showcasing a variety of shapes, sizes, ages, and personal styles, all accompanied by Santigold’s hard-hitting, light-hearted “Girls” lyrics.  The track is embraced on the ‘GIRLS – Volume 1’ soundtrack among an array of luminaries, including fresh tracks and fan-favorites from Robyn, Icona Pop, fun., Sleigh Bells, Grouplove & Fleet Foxes.

'Girls' OST tracklist:
1) ROBYN "Dancing On My Own" 
2) FUN "Sight Of The Sun" 
3) HARPER SIMON "Wishes And Stars" 
4) SANTIGOLD "Girls" 
5) WHITE SEA "Overdrawn" 
6) GROUPLOVE "Everyone's Gonna Get High" 
7) SLEIGH BELLS "Infinity Guitars" 
8) TEGAN & SARA "Fool To Cry" 
9) THE ECHO-FRIENDLY "Same Mistakes" 
10) ICONA POP "I Love It" 
11) BELLE & SEBASTIAN "I Don't Love Anyone" 
12) THE TROGGS "With A Girl Like You" 
13) FLEET FOXES "Montezuma" 
14) OH LAND "White Nights" 
15) GENERATIONALS "Yours Forever" 
16) THE VACCINES "Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra)" 
17) LIA ICES "Love Is Won" 
18) MICHAEL PENN "On Your Way"

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Stream Toro Y Moi's new album, Anything In Return, over at Pitchfork

Third LP, Anything In Return, due on  Carpark Jan. 22

STREAM: Toro Y Moi - Anything In Return - 

http://pitchfork.com/advance/6-anything-in-return/

TORO Y MOI

01/30 Phoenix, AZ - The Crescent Ballroom +
01/31 El Paso, TX - Tricky Falls *+
02/01 Dallas, TX - Trees *+
02/02 Austin, TX - Emo's East *+
02/04 Houston, TX - Fitzgerald's *+
02/05 New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jacks *+
02/06 Atlanta, GA - Masquerade (Heaven Stage) *+
02/08 Carrboro, NC - Cats Cradle *+
02/09 Richmond, VA - The National *+
02/10 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club *+
02/11 Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer *+
02/13 New York, NY - Webster Hall *+

02/14 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg *+
02/15 Boston, MA - Paradise *+
02/16 Montreal, QC - Club Soda *+
02/17 Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace *+
02/19 Chicago, IL - Metro ^+
02/20 Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line Music Cafe ^+
02/21 Lawrence, KS - The Granada Theatre ^+
02/23 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater ^+
02/24 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge ^+
02/26 Vancouver, BC - Biltmore Cabaret ^+
02/27 Seattle, WA - The Crocodile ^+
02/28 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom ^+
03/03 Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre ^+

* w/ Wild Belle
^ w/ Sinkane
+ w/ Dog Bite

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BLACK LIPS ANNOUNCE SXSW AND WEST COAST TOUR DATES

VIDEO FEATURE FROM RECENT MIDDLE EAST TOUR NOW UP ON NOISEY; ANOTHER DOCUMENTARY IN THE WORKS BY FILMMAKER BILL CODY.

Black Lips have just announced their intention to dominate the 2013 chapter of Austin's definitiveSXSW Music Festival, immediately followed by a run of dates throughout California, marking their first extensive tour in the area in well over a year (full dates below).

While the tour promises to be as frenzied and frenetic as the band's rabid US fanbase have come to expect, it will be a return to safer territory for the band, who recently wrapped up a trailblazing tour of the Middle East including shows in LebanonEgyptUnited Arab EmiratesCyprus, and more.VICE's music channel Noisey sent a camera crew with the band to document the unpredictable results of their international journey of rock diplomacy. The resulting 10 minute clip surfaced on their website today (spoiler: kids in the Mideast like fun rock music, too).

Additionally Bill Cody, documentary filmmaker and friend of the Black Lips, also travelled with the band overseas and is presently working on an independently produced feature length film. A brief trailer for that project, along with info on how Black Lips fans can help contribute, can be viewed below.

MORE INFO ON BILL CODY'S BLACK LIPS' MIDEAST TOUR DOCUMENTARY HERE:

http://www.indiegogo.com/blacklipsegypttourfilm

UPCOMING BLACK LIPS SHOWS:

Mar 13-17   Austin, TX    SXSW  

Mar 18    San Francisco, CA    Great American Music Hall  

Mar 19    Felton, CA    Don Quixote's International Music Hall 

Mar 20    Santa Barbara, CA    SoHo

Mar 21    Los Angeles, CA    El Rey Theatre  

Mar 22    Santa Ana, CA    The Observatory

Mar 23&24    San Diego, CA    Casbah

Apr 6    Phoenix AZ     Marquee Theatre