British Accents Newsletter
by Dave Virr | 00.00.0000

*This Sunday on British Accents radio - be the first to hear new music from FUTUREHEADS, CAMERA OBSCURA, SNOW PATROL, KEANE, EUROS CHILDS, MORRISSEY and lots more. Sundays 1-3pm on 91.5 FM in the Boston area, iTunes radio (WMFO under public) and www.wmfo.org webstream everywhere else.

*THE ARCTIC MONKEYS are returning to the US in June for another tour - including June 15 at Boston's Avalon. Tickets are already on sale for this show. They hit the Warfield in SF on May 31 and NYC's Roseland on June 14.

*THE CHARLATANS are returning to Boston for the first time in over 4 years, playing the WFNX Best Music Poll concert on May 18th on Lansdowne Street. Avalon, Axis, Bill's and an outdoor stage will play host to the Charlies plus THE SUBWAYS, NADA SURF, OK GO, TAXPAYER, ABERDEEN CITY, ELEFANT, BLACKALICIOUS, ROCK KILLS KID and more tba. Head to www.fnxradio.com for ticket information and the full lineup.

*THE STREETS return to the US in June with a show at Avalon on the 21st. The highly overrated LADY SOVERIGN opens up.

*THE FALL have scheduled 2 NYC dates for June 1 (Knitting Factory) and June 2 (Southpaw), their first US dates since CMJ 2004.

*PRIMAL SCREAM are putting the finishing touches on a new album called "Riot City Blues" that's due out in the UK on June 5th, with no US release date slated so far. Reportedly the album is a return to the band's more rock-influenced late 80s and early 90s works, namely 1993's "Give Out But Don't Give Up".

*CHRIS MARTIN and actress wife GWYNETH PALTROW are now the parents of a newborn son, named Moses, presumably after a COLDPLAY song. Hey, at least they've abandoned the fruit/computer company motif with the names.

*THE FUTUREHEADS new album "News and Tributes" will be released on June 13 in the US, with the initial US pressing including the 3 songs from the "Area" EP, released at the end of last year in the UK.

*BEZ, the dancing maraca-playing member of HAPPY MONDAYS turned UK reality tv show star, will record and release his own World Cup anthem called "One Dream", following in the footsteps of FAT LES, an ALEX JAMES-led project that had a hit in 1998 with an unofficial football anthem. EMBRACE have signed on to do the officially sanctioned England World Cup anthem.

*RADIOHEAD are said to be planning multiple-night stays in several North American cities this summer and/or fall, as the release for their still-untitled follow up to "Hail to the Thief" drawns closer. Possible host cities include Chicago, Montreal, Philly, and Toronto, according to NME. There's also a rumour that the band will spend 2 nights at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, CA.

*MORRISSEY has a US #1 single! While that sounds very impressive, the fact is that Moz's "You Have Killed Me" topped the US CD singles sales chart with only 3,000+ units sold. Basically Moz topped this chart because nobody else was there to do it - sales of singles in the US have dropped off dramatically over the past 10 years, replaced with digital downloads and cheaper albums.

*Another great British Accents-affiliated show coming up is on April 26 at Boston Center for the Arts (South End) featuring THE WALKMEN and UNBUSTED. Better yet - it's FREE as part of Filter Magazine's Music Appreciation Series. Your humble narrator will be DJing between the bands as well. To get yourself on the list for this free, invite-only show, click here.

*Look at him - he formed a band! CHRIS CHINCHILLA, formerly of ART BRUT, has formed a new band called MACACA MULATTA. They're going to in fact write the song that makes Israel and Palestine get along. But before they can do that, they're playing a handful of NYC gigs, including April 25 at Cake Shop, April 28 at Sin-e, and April 30 @ Piano's.

*On April 25, WIRE's seminal first 3 albums are re-released in the US, remastered and featuring extended liner notes, but Pitchfork makes a point of saying that there are no bonus tracks, remixes, demos, out-takes or any other musical bonus, other than the re-mastering done on the original records. Slated for the reissue are "Pink Flag", "Chairs Missing", and "154".

*KEANE's new album "Under The Iron Sea" is released on June 20 in the US, a week earlier in the UK.

*If you missed the limited screenings or simply want to see it again, the Coachella Festival DVD is in stores next Tuesday (April 18).

*Last Sunday's British Accents radio playlist can be viewed here (also look at archived playlists).

NEW & UPCOMING ALBUM RELEASE DATES (subject to change)
Apr 3 - HOPE OF THE STATES/Blood Meridian EP UK (10" only)
Apr 3 - THE ORGAN/Grab That Gun UK
Apr 4 - MORRISSEY/Ringerleader of the Tormentors USA
Apr 4 - SOUTH/Adventures in the Underground... USA
Apr 4 - PLACEBO/Meds USA
Apr 4 - VOXTROT/Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives USA
Apr 4 - FLAMING LIPS/At War With The Mystics USA
Apr 4 - CONCRETES/Concretes in Colour USA
Apr 4 - STEREOPHONICS/Dakota Live USA
Apr 4 - CHARLATANS/Up At The Lake USA
Apr 4 - IRVING/Death In The Garden USA
Apr 10 - THE STREETS/The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living UK
Apr 10 - DOVES/live EP UK
Apr 10 - CROSBI/All In UK
Apr 11 - BUILT TO SPILL/You In Reverse USA
Apr 11 - FIELD MUSIC/Field Music USA
Apr 11 - CALEXICO/Garden Ruin USA
Apr 11 - PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES/Elan Vital USA
Apr 17 - CHARLATANS/Simpatico UK
Apr 18 - THE RAKES/Capture/Release USA
Apr 18 - SECRET MACHINES/Ten Silver Drops USA
Apr 18 - ELEFANT/The Black Magic Show USA
Apr 18 - FIERY FURNACES/Bitter Tea USA
Apr 18 - ERASURE/Union Street USA
Apr 18 - MARITIME/We The Vehicles USA
Apr 24 - ARCTIC MONKEYS/Who The Fuck Are The Arctic Monkeys? UK
Apr 24 - TEST ICICLES/Dig Your Own Grave UK
Apr 25 - THE STREETS/The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living USA
Apr 25 - MOJAVE 3/Puzzles Like You USA
Apr 25 - SHOOTING AT UNARMED MEN/Yes Tinnitus USA
Apr 25 - WIRE/album reissues USA
April - WFNX Wicked Good Local Bands CD USA
April - SNOW PATROL/Eyes On UK
spring - THE SHINS USA
spring - EMBRACE/This New Day UK
May 2 - CHARLATANS/Simpatico USA
May 2 - HUMAN TELEVISION/Look At Who You're Talking To USA
May 9 - SNOW PATROL/Eyes Open USA
May 9 - THE STILLS/Without Feathers USA
May 9 - MISSION OF BURMA/The Obliterati USA
May 16 - THE RACONTEURS/Broken Boy Soldiers USA
May 23 - ART BRUT/Bang Bang Rock & Roll USA
May 23 - THE WALKMEN/A Hundred Miles Off USA
May 23 - PHOENIX/It's Never Been Like That USA
May 29 - FUTUREHEADS/News and Tributes UK
May - THE MODERN/Life in the Modern World UK
Jun 5 - PRIMAL SCREAM/Riot City Blues UK
Jun 6 - LA ROCCA/The Truth USA
Jun 13 - FUTUREHEADS/News and Tributes USA
Jun 13 - SONIC YOUTH/Rather Ripped USA
Jun 20 - KEANE/Under The Iron Sea USA
June - HOPE OF THE STATES/Left UK
Jul 18 - FRENCH KICKS/Two Thousand USA
summer - OASIS/The Boy With The Blues EP UK

Photo Credit: Roger Sargent