Broken Bells is the new alt-rock project of Brian Burton (aka Danger Mouse) and James Mercer of the Shins. By now you’ve probably heard their single ‘The High Road’, taken from their self-titled debut album released in the UK last week (on 08 March).

I am totally digging their sound that recalls the expansiveness of the Eagles, psychedelia of the late ’60s, the great falsettos from ’70s disco, and even ’80s video game blips. The two met at Roskilde Festival in 2004 and discovered they were fans of each other’s work. They worked in secret on new music until September 2009, when they finally revealed their new project.

Here’s a live performance of their groovy ‘The Ghost Inside’ on American telly’s ‘Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’ earlier this month. It even features trippy lighting!

Broken Bells’s self-titled debut album is available now from Columbia Records.

If you’re a fan of electropop and NOT a fan of JLS, then you’ll love Hot Chip’s hilarious new video for ‘I Feel Better.’ The video takes place at a gig for a boy band that looks an awful lot like JLS, and is pretty straightforward until a man in a white robe floats in and starts shooting lasers from his mouth…don’t ask me to explain, I don’t get it either. I’m not usually a fan of music videos that put sound effects over the song, but it works in this case. Directed by actor/comedian Peter Serafinowicz, it’s as entertaining as it is random. Check it out below:

‘I Feel Better’ is the second single from Hot Chip’s latest album, ‘One Life Stand.’ Check out Mary’s review of the album here.

French band Phoenix are on a roll. Earlier this year, their latest album ‘Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix’ won the Grammy for Best Alternative Album, handily beating out albums by David Byrne and Brian Eno, Death Cab for Cutie, Depeche Mode and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. They quickly sold out an April date at D.C.’s Constitution Hall – not bad for a band that played a small club the last time they visited our fair city. And they’ve already announced a handful of summer festival appearances, with more on the way I’m sure.

Check out the band’s recent live performance ‘Lisztomania’ at Los Angeles’s Wiltern from American late night programme ‘Last Call with Carson Daly’.

I’ve slowly fallen in love with Oxford’s Stornoway over the past year. Jess first introduced them, and then I caught them live and interviewed them at Swindon’s Big Weekend last May. Now they’re gearing up to release their debut album ‘Beachcomber’s Windowsill’ on 24th May, and this is the (rather ace) video to accompny the first single.

Watch, enjoy, and have an amazing weekend. We’ll be back on Monday.

(PS: Looking for something to spend some money on this weekend?! Buy yourself a Blog Off! Ticket – they’re rapidly selling out, and it’d be ace to see you there – they’re only £5 in advance, and you get to see the aceness of Starlings, Jazica and Victoria and Jacob. What are you waiting for? Go book yourself a ticket or get more info here)

Touring in support of their new album ‘Beast Rest Forth Mouth,’ Brooklyn band Bear In Heaven will hit SXSW before spending a week playing for audiences across the UK.

Tuesday 20th April 2010 – London, The Lexington
Wednesday 21st April 2010 – Brighton, Freebutt
Thursday 22nd April 2010 – Manchester, The Deaf Institute
Friday 23rd April 2010 – Glasgow, Captain’s Rest
Saturday 24th April 2010 – Edinburgh, Sneaky Pete’s
Sunday 25th April 2010 – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
Monday 26th April 2010 – London, Windmill Brixton

Tickets are available now through Seetickets.

And while you’re at it, check out their video for ‘Fraternal Noon’:

London electronic rock band Three Trapped Tigers are hitting the road this April in support of their newest effort ‘EP3′. Check out the video for ‘6′ below and go see them in a town near you!

Friday 23rd April 2010 – Cardiff, Arts Institute
Saturday 24th April 2010 – Bristol, Start The Bus (Tickets)
Sunday 25th April 2010 – Manchester, DEAF Institute (Tickets)
Monday 26th April 2010 – Edinburgh, Electric Circus (Tickets)
Tuesday 27th April 2010 – Birmingham, Hare & Hounds (Tickets)
Wednesday 28th Apr 2010 – Brighton, Freebutt (Tickets)
Thursday 29th Apr 2010 – London, Institute of Contemporary Arts (Tickets)

Talons is the support act for this tour.

If you’re anything like me, the breathtaking song ‘Blood’ from Australian folk-pop band The Middle East will stop you in your tracks. After hearing it on NME Radio as Chris Martin’s Track of the Week, I haven’t been able to take it off repeat. Tailor-made for fans of Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes, it is both delicate and powerful, subdued and joyous. With its gorgeous harmonies, tinkling bells and whistling, it’s impossible to come out of listening to it without a smile on your face. As their official bio says, ”after 5 minutes and 27 seconds of Blood you’ll be jumping with joy and brimming with excited energy, dreaming that life is all about smiles and sunshine (and great entertainment).”

The song serves as the centerpiece of their debut EP, ‘The Recordings of the Middle East,’ which is well worth a listen. Originally self-released by the band in 2008, they re-released it last year after a short hiatus, and are generating quite a buzz about themselves. They will be performing at SXSW before touring North America with Mumford & Sons. Check out the amazing hand-crafted video for ‘Blood’ below – it is the perfect accompaniment to an already fantastic song.

The Middle East will be performing at T in the Park 2010. If you were lucky enough to get tickets, make sure you check them out!

Chris Corner, lead singer of one of my favorite bands, IAMX, is famously a control freak when it comes to his art. He writes, plays and produces everything almost entirely on his own, and then brings in the band to play live. So I was somewhat surprised that he would release an album consisting entirely of remixes and re-workings of IAMX’s third album, ‘Kingdom of Welcome Addiction.’ Due out on 19th March, ‘DOGMATIC INFIDEL COMEDOWN OK,’ includes re-workings by Alec Empire, Combichrist, Terence Fixmer, Black Light Odyssey and more, and only one of the bonus tracks, ‘Church of England,’ is done entirely by Chris himself.

As someone who can find no fault with original album, I find some of the re-workings on this new album underwhelming, but the Alec Empire remix of ‘I Am Terrified’ is certainly not one of them. While the original track is sweeping and melodic, the remix has a more raw, dirty feel (aka a more old-school IAMX feel) to it that only adds to the song. Shot and edited by Chris Corner himself, the broken glass and dimly lit, voyeuristic shots fit the music perfectly. Check it out for yourself.

IAMX will be performing in London at ULU on Saturday, 20th March, 2010. Tickets available through SEE Tickets (16+ only)

‘DOGMATIC INFIDEL COMEDOWN OK’ will be released 19th March 2010, and can be pre-ordered now.

Now based in London, North Wales three-piece band The Joy Formidable have just released the video for their newest single ‘Popinjay’ off of their eagerly anticipated debut album. The track is equal parts rock and pop, with its thrashing guitars and drums and it’s catchy chorus. Directed by Adam Gregory, the stop-motion video features paper versions of each of the band members and lots of flying paper birds. It doesn’t make much sense to me, but it looks pretty cool. Check it out for yourself and let us know what you think!

‘Popinjay’ is available as a digital download now, with a limited run of 500 7″ vinyls out from April 5th.

The Joy Formidable will be touring across the UK in March and April. For more information, check out our ticket alert post.

The third album ‘Barbara’ from those loveable American pranksters We Are Scientists is on the horizon. However, we won’t be able to get our little hands on the album for a couple more months. In the meantime, we have a little teaser in the form of ‘Rules Don’t Stop’.

Per my interview with Chris Cain and Keith Murray in February about the new material, it was written for a three-piece line-up, unlike the last album, 2008’s ‘Brain Thrust Mastery’, which featured synths (a change from their original sound I wholeheartedly embraced). They took a back to basics approach with this third album-length offering, so I’m expecting ‘Barbara’ to sound more like their debut, ‘With Love and Squalor’ – you remember the cover, don’t you? The one with the cats?

I disagreed with the sentiment, but some critics complained that ‘Brain Thrust Mastery’ was overthought and unnecessarily complicated. I think these detractors will be pleased with this first single from ‘Barbara’. ‘Rules Don’t Stop’ is a punchy, barely 2-minute affair. And when I say ‘affair’, it’s an all too brief one, with a poppy melody and lyrics sung by Keith Murray with usual We Are Scientists conviction. Hearing it live for the first time in January, well before it debuted as one of Zane Lowe’s ‘Hottest Records in the World’, was a total joy, so I’m expect great things from this new album. The promo video for ‘Rules Don’t Stop’ premiered yesterday, and you can check it out below.

By the way, I’m not entirely sure what’s the deal with the band’s current citrus fixation. But I’m guessing it has to do with a creature they dreamt up that has a mirrored tile exterior and is filled with 100% juice. Don’t believe me? Watch this video of the guys hamming it up with celebs at the NME Shockwaves Awards on 24 February. (Editor’s note: there’s a slightly off colour joke question proffered by Bombay Bicycle Club, so if you’re easily offended, you may want to stop playing the vid at the 4-minute mark.)

The single ‘Rules Don’t Stop’ will be released on CD and vinyl on 5 April in the UK. We Are Scientists’s third album ‘Barbara’ is scheduled to be released on 14 June.