Have a thing for 70’s rock songsmithery and laid back 90’s Britpop? Yeah, so do we.

So imagine how excited we were when Hoodoo Scoundrels‘ new EP (”The Witch Song EP”) dropped into our postbox yesterday and delivered a glorious 12 minutes of pure power pop goodness. Each of the four tracks is only 3 minutes long, but hasn’t gone down the Scouting For Girls / Hoosiers route of paint by numbers. Oh, no. They’ve still got their balls intact.

Originally, Hoodoo Scoundrels were called simply “The Scoundrels”, but were persuaded by the legendary Brian Eno to change their name after he caught them live and their footloose fans caused him to rename them.

Opener “The Witch Song” is a funk-laced colossus that could draw comparisons both with elements of the Kooks today and Thin Lizzy back in the day when they had Phil Lynott at the front. “A Touch Far” sees the Scoundrels blast out some proper “Saturday night down the pub” vibes, and sees them at their strongest - catchy, anthemic sing alongs with funky guitars.

Closer “Shame on You” is an ace closer - short and sweet at just 3 minutes but reminiscent of Arctic Monkeys’ “Fake Tales of San Francisco” (well, to me anyhow!).

Hoodoo Scoundrels are on tour at the moment. Catch them at the below tour dates for a great night out:

Tuesday 14th October - London Macbeth
Friday 17th October - Chatham Tap N Tin
Saturday 25th October - Southampton Joiners
Friday 31st October - London The Troubadour (Hoodoo Hop)

Hoodoo Scoundrels’ “EP 2″ is released on Monday 20th October on Hot Sauce Records.

Keane have announced that they’ll play three free UK Shows next week ahead of the release of their third album.

“We decided last night that we want to get out there next week and play our new songs to our fans in an intimate environment,” said lead singer Tom Chaplin. “We love playing live, we love the intensity of the atmosphere in those clubs, you just can’t capture that in an arena or festival. We want to do it like we used to! It is going to be amazing fun.”

Tickets for the three shows are free, but you’ll need to sign up here by 4pm tomorrow (Friday 10th October).

Keane will play:

Monday 13th October - Edinburgh Voodoo Rooms
Tuesday 14th October – Leeds Cockpit 2
Wednesday 15th October – London 100 Club

Like your pop perfect and a tiny bit plastic? Well rejoice, as Pussycat Dolls have announced a UK arena jaunt for January next year.

Tickets for the below dates go on sale on Friday (10th October) morning at 9am.

Sunday 18th January 2009 - Aberdeen AECC
Monday 19th January 2009 - Glasgow SECC (with special guest Ne-Yo)
Wednesday 21st January 2009 - Newcastle Arena (with special guest Ne-Yo)
Thursday 22nd January 2009 - Birmingham NIA (with special guest Ne-Yo)
Saturday 24th January 2009 - Nottingham Arena (with special guest Ne-Yo)
Sunday 25th January 2009 - Bournemouth BIC
Tuesday 27th January 2009 - London O2 Arena (with special guest Ne-Yo)
Thursday 29th January 2009 - Manchester MEN Arena (with special guest Ne-Yo)
Friday 30th January 2009 - Cardiff Arena (with special guest Ne-Yo)
Thursday 5th February 2009 - Sheffield Arena
Friday 6th February 2009 - Liverpool Arena

The gorgeous (and very talented) Lykke Li has announced a string of three dates around the UK for late November to cap off her sensational year.

Current single, Breaking It Up, is below, if you haven’t already caught a listen of the Swedish Sensation.

Tickets are on sale now around the £11 / £12 mark.

Catch Lykke Li at the below dates:

Tuesday 25th November - Glasgow Arches
Thursday 27th November - Manchester Academy 3
Friday 28th November - London Koko

The Research have bounced back with a new album, tour and a glorious new single. I’d heard of them before this single, but never really taken the time to have a proper listen, however after being sent a link to their myspace page I must proclaim - I quite like the first single off their second album.

“I Think She’s The One” features jangly guitars, dreamy vocals, “woah-woahs” and 60’s style girly backing vocals - what more could you ask for from a first single?

So, if you like what you’re reading and hearing on their myspace, why not go and catch them at the below venues as they hit the road?

Tickets are on sale now for all dates.

Monday 20th October - Glasgow Stereo
Tuesday 21st October - Newcastle Cumberland Arms
Wednesday 22nd October - London Luminaire
Friday 24th October - Southampton Hamptons
Saturday 25th October - Bath Moles
Sunday 26th October - Oxford Bullingdon Arms
Monday 27th october - Bristol Louisiana
Tuesday 28th October - Birmingham Bar Academy
Wednesday 29th October - Stoke Sugarmill
Friday 31st October - Wakefield Esco Bar
Saturday 1st November - Manchester Roadhouse
Sunday 2nd November - Runcorn Underground
Monday 3rd November - Norwich Arts Centre
Tuesday 4th November - Nottingham Bodega
Wednesday 5th November - Cambridge Portland Arms
Thursday 6th November - Brighton Freebutt

The Research’s new single, “I Think She’s The One I Love” is out on October 20th on This Is Fake DIY Records.

After the jump: A quick (handwritten) biography of the band.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Killers have gone and announced a sizeable UK Tour for next spring around the UK and Ireland.

Tickets for the below dates go on sale on Friday (10th October) at 9am, so get them whilst they’re hot!

Friday 20th February 2009 - Dublin O2
Saturday 21st February 2009 - Belfast Odyssey Arena
Monday 23rd February 2009 - London O2 Arena
Tuesday 24th February 2009 - London O2 Arena
Thursday 26th February 2009 - Birmingham LG Arena
Saturday 28th February 2009 - Cardiff Arena
Monday 2nd March 2009 - Sheffield Arena
Tuesday 3rd March 2009 - Nottingham Arena
Thursday 5th March 2009 - Aberdeen AECC Arena
Friday 6th March 2009 - Glasgow SECC
Saturday 7th March 2009 - Newcastle Arena
Monday 9th March 2009 - Manchester MEN Arena

Iglu & Hartly have announced a string of new UK Tour dates for early December.

The press release says that this is

“most likely the last time you’ll get to see the guys in rooms small enough to kiss the sweat from the ceiling”

Fun.

Catch a free MP3 of their biggest (and probably only) hit below, and then check out the tour dates and decide if they’re really worth going out and getting cold for in December.

MP3: - Iglu & Hartly - In This City

Tickets go on sale on Wednesday (8th October) at 9am for the below dates.

Catch Iglu & Hartly at:

Monday 1st december - Edinburgh Liquid Room
Sunday 7th December - Lincoln Engine Shed
Monday 8th December - Birmingham Academy 2
Tuesday 9th December - Manchester Academy 3
Wednesday 10th December - London ULU

Like your music angular and dance punky? Well rejoice, as The Faint have recently bounced back with a fifth album “Fasciination”, this time completely self-produced.

First single, “The Geeks Were Right” draws on the tenets of futurist literature and sliding, siren-call guitars… just what we know and love The Faint for, whilst being a bit different to their previous efforts…

Catch the video below, and tour dates below that.

Catch them on tour at the following live dates:

Tuesday 18th November - Glasgow Oran Mar
Wednesday 19th November - Manchester Academy 3
Thursday 20th November - London Scala
Friday 21st November - Brighton Digital

The Faint’s new single, “The Geeks Were Right” is out on Monday 13th October on Co-operative Music.

Sharleen Spiteri hasannounced a sizeable UK tour for early next year, which will see her stop off just about everywhere around the UK.

The former Texas frontwoman is trying to make it on her own, with her debut solo release “Melody” released in July this year.

Tickets are on sale now, priced at £27.50 each apart from London which is £30 a ticket.

Saturday 24th January 2009 - Aberdeen Music Hall
Sunday 25th January 2009 - Edinburgh Playhouse
Tuesday 27th January 2009 - Glasgow Academy
Thursday 29th January 2009 - Newcastle City Hall
Friday 30th January 2009 - Sheffield City Hall
Sunday 1st February 2009 - Manchester Apollo
Monday 2nd February 2009 - Harrogate International Centre
Tuesday 3rd February 2009 - Ipswich Regent
Thursday 5th February 2009 - Brighton Dome
Friday 6th February 2009 - Bournemout International Centre
Sunday 8th February 2009 - Birmingham Symphony Hall
Monday 9th February 2009 - Nottingham Royal Centre
Tuesday 10th February 2009 - Llandudno Venue Cymru Theatre
Thursday 12th February 2009 - Plymouth Pavillions
Friday 13th February 2009 - Bristol Colston Hall
Sunday 15th February 2009 - London Hammersmith Apollo

The only band to have a frontman who can give Johnny Borrell a run for his money in the irritating self-important front man league, Snow Patrol, have announced a unique 48 hour tour around the UK and Ireland around release day of their new album, A Hundred Million Suns which is out on Monday 27th October.

The ‘Take Back The Cities Tour’ will see the band play four capital cities across the UK and Ireland in a 48 hour period stopping off in Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh and London.

Tickets for these shows are priced £22.50, and due to the intimate nature of the events are available exclusively to members of their fan club via a lottery draw. Each lucky ticket holder will also get an exclusive free Live CD of the show they attend, picking up an artworked CD on the night, which will contain details of how to download highlights of the show the next day.

Sunday 26th October - Dublin Gate Theatre (Lunchtime show)
Sunday 26th October - Belfast Empire (Evening show)
Monday 27th October - Edinburgh Assembly Rooms (Midday show)
Monday 27th October - London Bloomsbury Theatre (Evening show)