New Akron/Family - Until The Morning

Akron/Family member Mike Seaton, upon revealing details of the band's newest LP, spoke candidly about the direction of the songs with SPIN.

"A lot of this contemporary pop stuff, this 1930s, panning for gold, bow tie stuff like the Lumineers, it's very heart on the sleeve," he says. "But they're telling someone else's story."

It's a direct jab at the current wave of Grammy-winning folk revivalists, whose biggest critique is their overwhelming profound vagueness. And with Akron/Family's new album Sub Verses, out April 30 via Dead Oceans, the veteran psych-folks have branded their mature sounds with realistic personal touches.

The first single from the upcoming album, "Until The Morning," distorts a trio of harmonies with sparse fuzzy guitar texture, but insists on the story rather than the conveyance. Check it out below.

The Rapture - Children (Darkstarr Remix)

In terms of remixes, DFA Records usually surpasses the competition to laughable degrees. The New York label, founded by oft-mentioned James Murphy, recently premiered this Darkstarr remix of fellow labelmates The Rapture. The "Children" remix comes from the group's 2011 output In The Grace Of Your Love and is available in an exclusive 12" version here.

Check out the track over at SPIN.

Tuesday Bears: St. Vincent is everywhere

As September 13, the official release date of St. Vincent's third studio album Strange Mercy inches continually closer, the Dallas-native has been pretty much everywhere; from the cover of this month's SPIN Magazine, performances on Letterman, and numerous spotlights, she's getting her fair share of hype.

Alongside the cover, Annie Clark also gave SPIN a small show which includes "Surgeon" and a cover of Tom Wait's "Tango Till They're Sore," both of which you can watch here. Also, check out her performance of "Cruel" on Letterman below.

St. Vincent - Cruel (Live on Letterman)

Tuesday Bears: End of the year lists

It's almost the end of 2010, which means two things: Jesus stuff, and lots of lists. Right on time, Rolling Stone and SPIN Magazine released their annual best songs and best albums lists. I always like to bring these up before Bears and Bullets does its annual end of the year jawn. Ay ya go.

SPIN Magazine's Top Albums of 2010 (Top Ten):

10.) Robyn - Body Talk Pt. 1
9.) Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager
8.) M.I.A. - Maya
7.) Grinderman - Grinderman 2
6.) Janaelle Monae - The Archandroid
5.) Jamey Johnson - The Guitar Song
4.) LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening
3.) Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
2.) Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
1.) Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy


Check the full SPIN list here.

Rolling Stone Top Albums of 2010 (Top Ten):

10.) LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening
9.) Eminem - Recovery
8.) Robert Plant - Band of Joy
7.) Drake - Thank Me Later
6.) Vampire Weekend - Contra
5.) Jamey Johnson - The Guitar Song
4.) Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
3.) Elton John and Leon Russell - The Union
2.) The Black Keys - Brothers
1.) Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy


Check the full list and Rolling Stone's 50 best songs of 2010 here, via Stereogum.

Tuesday Bears: MGMT Set to Release Second Studio Album, Congratulations

Nearly two and half years after the initial release of 2007's Oracular Spectacular, MGMT (courtesy of Columbia Records and Sony Music) are set to release their second studio Congratulations.

Fresh of the duo's first Grammy nomination (losing Best New Artist to the Zac Brown Band), the band is likely to take part in (yet again) another string of summer festivals, after already confirming dates for the Coachella and Bamboozle music festivals.

Full Track List:

1. "It's Working"
2. "Song for Dan Treacy"
3. "Someone's Missing"
4. "Flash Delirium"
5. "I Found a Whistle"
6. "Siberian Brakes"
7. "Brian Eno"
8. "Lady Dada's Nightmare"
9. "Congradutions"

Congratulations is scheduled for release April 13 in the U.S, but you can preorder the album next week. Head on over to Spin for more details.

Tuesday Bears: SPIN'S Best Albums of 2009

2009 is drawing towards its inevitable close and with that many have us have seen the ridiculous amounts of "Best of the Year" and "Best of the Decade" lists that not only clog the blogosphere, but that I very often allude to.

Entertainment Weekly, Amazon, and many many other publications and Web sites have offered there take of the year and decade that was, and it's only a matter of days before I go off on my long-winded tangent of what I believe were the best Songs, Albums and Movies of the decade, along side my annual Top 25 Songs of the Year countdown.

But before that day comes we have plenty of other lists to look at, examine and scrutinize. Today's came from SPIN Magazine, a publication I often talked about early in the history of Bears and Bullets but has since been mired in a little bit of obscurity like most magazines.

The list, while probably a bit out of order for most, has the majority if not all of the year's best albums in good spots, complete with indie faves, some popular acts and a couple of confusing picks that we'll just say belong on some list somewhere.

SPIN'S Best Albums of 2009 list available here.