I totally used this to scare the crap out an intern at 7 a.m. last week…

@gregswan should not be dancing in the office this early in the morning, or scaring innocent interns. #happyfriday

— Katrina Wollet (@katrinawollet) May 11, 2012

Here’s the little bugger in action.

The album may be 10 years old, but the songs are timeless.

[via]

Favorite episodes of mine would include Black Heart Process and Cursive…

The Kickstarter campaign will help the DL folks keep things going, plus expand a bit with live festival coverage and other goodies. For only $15 bucks you get a DL t-shirt, which is worth $20 by itself.

More:

Fans of Dan’s lauded 2007 EP, I was Searching and I Found will appreciate a continuation of the ambient textures and opulent vocal layering on this new effort.

City Pages posted a great 1:1 interview with Dan yesterday that gives insight into his writing process and his nonchalance to tackling the sophomore slump. Check it out here.

Check out the first track from Before Then here:

MP3: Weaver at the Loom – “We’re Wild Animals (We Always Were)”

I was fortunate to pick up a split vinyl of both albums, and it’s been the subject of sincere jealousy on Instagram. Now you can be jealous, too…

Weaver at the Loom’s album release show is tonight at Triple Rock Social Club with Avian Sunrise and Dan Mariska.

As I’ve shared previously, I was late to the show, and you know how that theater has ushers with flashlights to show you to your seat? I had no idea my tickets were front row, center.

So I’m ushered down the aisle, sit right in the front and watch these two gals weave an aural tapestry using their voices and minimal instrumentation, including children’s toys. The sold-out theater was mesmerized, and I feel completely head over heels for the French sisters.

I’ve been a huge fan since, and it’s an honor to share this new single.

It comes on a 7″ with “We Are On Fire” on the A-side and “Tearz For Animals” on the B-side. The single was recorded with David Sitek in Los Angeles this past Winter. Antony Hegarty sings on “Tearz For Animals.”

Here ya go…

Read previous Perfect Porridge coverage here.

This is serious, grown-up band material, my friends.

The band is tight. The synths are infectious. The vocals are energetic. And there are some lyrical moments here that merit attention (e.g., “The prodigal comes back stunning” and “Save me, save men – no worries… not when a perfect equal matches sin for sin”).

If the new wave revival continues nationally, and surely it will, these guys are poised to take it to the next level in 2012.

That will be good news for Friends by Fire and great news for the burgeoning electro scene here in Minneapolis. I can’t wait.

Here’s the single:

MP3: Friends By Fire – “I’m On Your Side”

If you dig this, check out these two tracks off their prior LP release, Borneo

MP3: Friends By Fire – “What Beast Shall I Become? (Hugs Onstage)”

MP3: Friends By Fire – “Magic Johnson”

And if you dig these, you must stream/buy the new EP here for $3.99 (dudes, buy it)….

Friends by Fire new EP, Sinister Waves, is out now. Read previous Perfect Porridge here.

I played Sigur Ros in the quiet darkness. First Saeglopur and then Takk.

I get to work earlier than most of the floor, and each morning the pregnant sense of isolation gives birth to the busy sounds of billability to match my morning soundtrack.

Solemn Sigur Ros fades into the background and a prescient energy filled the hallways. It was going to be a gorgeous day. We needed upbeat music, and we needed it now.

At the top of my starred emails was a note about a new band from Astralwerks, an Australian band called Gold Fields.

Their blend of glossy pop matched with tribal drums packaged in an accessible little four-track EP burst through the Icelandic gloom like sun rays at dawn.

And as if I’d planned it, the rain ceased, clouds dispersed, and for the second time today, the sun rose in the sky. It was a new day and ripe for Gold Fields.

Here’s “Treehouse”

MP3: Gold Fields – “Treehouse”

Gold Fields self-titled EP is out now. A full-length debut is slated for late summer.

[via 22 words]

MP3: Sleepy Sun – “Stivey Pond”

Sleep Sun play Minneapolis’ 7th Street Entry on Thursday, May 3 with White Hills.

I’ve been following metric since 2005, seeing them play both the Ascot Room and First Ave. Exciting stuff.

Synthetica will be released in North America on June 12.