Zoophilia: Beloved sonic alchemists Animal Collective have just announced winter tour dates (New York is January 20, btw) to support their upcoming ninth album, Merriweather Post Pavilion. Andy Beta writes on his blog that the records sounds like the Brooklyn quartet has, "discovered ecstasy," and, "been hanging out in Berlin techno clubs on tour,"—something supported by the album's mind-warping cover art. While you have to wait until January for the full LP, you can listen to the album's closer, the afro-tropicalic "Brother Sport." Panda Bear's beach-boy melody opens the affair, which then slips without warning into an acid-techno torrent, then to a plateau of dense, swirling vocals and tribal beats. Heady, intoxicating stuff.
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Editors in Chief 2008 is officially The Year of The Edit. Canyon Dancing, the latest EP from Brooklyn duo Cousin Cole & Pocketknife, takes the edit knife to recent indie rock gems—Yeasayer, the Liars, "Atlas" by Battles—and jacks them up into a fist-pumping Jock Jams. Check out their podcast for Allez-Allez, the cutting-edge UK site renowned for its killer guest DJ mixes. Meanwhile in Paris, the ever-debonair Dirty crew has released their second volume of Dirty Edits. Rock to Pilooski's cut of Elvis Presley's "Crawfish" for a burst of swaggering Bayou-disco heat.
Pitchfork 500 Release Party: Next Wednesday Novemeber 26 sees the indie-music kingmakers celebrate the release of their Pitchfork 500 book, which champions their favorite songs and shreds others in chapters like "Career Killers: The Songs That Ended It All" and "Runaway Trainwrecks: The Post-Grunge Nadir." Join them 9pm to 2am at the Gutter Bar, Williamsburg's favorite bowling alley.
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