Another Year In Pop: 2

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Now Leon is gone, and Basshunter rules the roost. But what else is going on in our beloved charts this week?

[Poll #1121009]

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British Sea Power are known for gigs in unusual settings

[koganbot]

In today's mail:

British Sea Power Bring Rock Music Back to the States
North American Tour & SXSW Dates Announced

"Ambitious, impressive and genuinely moving. chock full of epic music and seductive melodies...the unashamed Big Rock heroes their music demands" 4/5 Q MAGAZINE

"...the tunes on this appropriately titled record are so stirringly anthemic that they virtually challenge U2's domination of the form." Filter

Brighton's British Sea Power will invade North America this spring, bringing their electrifyingly mesmerizing live shows across the pond for a three-month tour in support of their third full-length, Do You Like Rock Music? (Rough Trade/World’s Fair). The quartet, accompanied by a cellist and a keyboardist on this tour, features stops at San Francisco's Noise Pop Festival and Austin's South By Southwest.

Recorded inside a converted water tower, a 200-year-old fort, and the forests of the Krivoklatsko Biosphere Reserve in Czech Republic among other places, Do You Like Rock Music? is a collection of anthemic tracks that still maintain the level of lyrical intelligence fans expect from British Sea Power. Songs tackle issues as diverse as economic migration ("Waving Flags") and light pollution ("Lights Out for Darker Skies") while still making you want to pump your fists in the air. The record was produced by Howard Bilerman (Arcade Fire), Efrim Menuck (God Speed You! Black Emperor), and Graham Sutton (Jarvis Cocker, Bark Psychosis).

British Sea Power formed in 2000 after brothers Scott (a.k.a. Yan) and Neil (a.k.a. Hamilton) Wilkinson met Martin Noble (a.k.a. Noble) and Matthew Wood (a.k.a. Woody) at school. Word of the band's riotous shows spread, bringing out Rough Trade founder Geoff Travis who signed them on the spot. In addition to the success they've had for themselves, the band has helped launch the careers of The Arcade Fire and The Killers, both past openers.

British Sea Power are known for gigs in unusual settings. They’ve played by the sea on the Scilly Isles and underground in a Cornish slate mine and at the Betjeman Centenary Gala - the latter alongside Hugh Grant, Nick Cave, and The Prince Of Wales. This tradition continues with BSP’s January 10th gig at the Embassy of the Czech Republic in London. The band recorded much of Do You Like Rock Music? in the Czech Republic, and chose to celebrate the release of the record at the nation's London headquarters. Other (more conventional) tour dates on the reverse of this sheet.