We're going to go out on a limb here: the Bumbershoot announcement was released yesterday, and seriously you guys, it might be one of the best festivals of the summer. Sasquatch! is always a party, and Pickathon will be a one-of-a-kind experience -- but the lineup for this year's Bumbershoot seriously knocked it out of the park. It's fresh, relevant, exciting, and we Can. Not. Wait. for Labor Day weekend to get here already!

The video above gives a great visual introduction to all of the artists this year, but in case you just can't wait for it to play through, pop on over here and check out the whole shebang. We are most excited about Death Cab for Cutie (!!) playing Transatlanticism in its entirety (SHUT UP), Heart (SERIOUSLY!), MGMT, Tegan and Sara, Allen Stone, Matt and Kim, The Breeders (!!!!!), !!! (!), Deerhunter, Charles Bradley (<3), Thao and the Get Down Stay Down, The Zombies, David Bazan, Mates of State, Superchunk (!!!), Diamond Rings, Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside, Ramona Falls, Matt Pond, The Grizzled Mighty, Kithkin, 15 Years of Barsuk Records (celebrating Barsuk's 15th anniversary) (<3 <3 <3!!), and more, more, more.

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"Let's get on 95 / and feel the fire."

Charles Bradley isn't just a performer, he's a force. He's an experience. He's a feeling in your guts that all will be right with the world if we just love each other and try hard enough, that we can simultaneously transcend our heartbreak and embrace those sharp corners of our hearts that shape us. And his latest single, "Strictly Reserved For You," manages to embody his one-of-a-kind essence in the most beautiful and complete of ways -- it's a fully legit track, whether for your next mixtape or your next party playlist, and leads me to believe that the new album (Victim of Love, out last month on Daptone) is going to do some serious damage on this year's best-of lists.

With that said, we've got to take a minute to talk about this gem of a video. It seriously creates a near-indescribable level of joy that translates the heartburst-y bliss of Charles as we know and love him, presented with a hip, beautiful, clean-but-not-sterile vision that almost feels like we're following him through a week of his life. We see the streets he walks every day, we see his coffeeshop moments, his dance moves and work days and park days: Charles In His Van, Charles On His Street, Charles In His Jacket, Charles On A Soundstage, Charles In The Grass. (And ugh, can someone please make a .gif out of Charles Being Birthed By A Hydrangea Bush?? SO GOOD.)

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Part 2 of things I missed listening to last year, but have caught my interest. You can find Part 1 here. 

Ninja Turtle Ninja Tiger – I’ll Find You In Colors
Conspiracy Theory Music

Yeah, I know it’s a super silly name, but this Portland band is bringing the shiny electro-synth-pop HARD. It’s bouncy and awesome and I really, really wanna see ‘em live, because I bet it’s just like the best dance party I ever went to in the 90s: one that’s sweaty and packed and screaming and leaves you exhausted.

I can’t quite make out who the lead singer is from their web site or the disc (it’s either Dustin Brown, Jon West, Steven Yautz, or James London—and if I had to guess just form the photo, it’s Yautz), but whoever it is has a great, deep voice that meshes well with the lighter tone of the music. When I need a break and wanna unwind, I crank this up to 11 and dance it out.

Standouts:
Mr. Keown, This City’s Falling
Ride
The Way Out

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What. More things from 2012? Haven’t you gotten around to the 2013 stacks? Why yes, yes I have—I just haven’t had proper time to listen to them, while this batch of things has been drifting around in my iTunes playlist for awhile and has gotten plenty of spin time.

Dear bands, please accept my apologies for not sharing the love sooner.

Rec Center – Tin Year
New Granada Records

The second I popped this CD in, I was entranced by songstress Susie Ulrey’s tinkling voice. Michael Waksman also picks up lead vocals on a few tunes, harmonizing beautifully with Susie. The album has an easy, retro-tinged indie pop sound, punctuated by great vocals and relatable heartbreak-y lyrics. I. like.

I’m not quite hip enough to know about the bands all the players were in before/are still in now (The Maccabees, Pohgoh, Zillionaire, Murder Suicide Pact, Candy Bars), but whatever brought them together here WORKS and I hope Rec Center stays around for a long time.

Standouts:
Soft Pursuit
Take it Back
Monster in Your Heart

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Okay, it's not THAT far of a throwback, but it's hard to believe that this photo is already seven years old!

Maybe you remember that most excellent two-night stand The Wrens did for KEXP's Yule Benefit at Neumos back in 2005? We sure do! The Wrens played with Okkervil River (both nights!) (!!!!!) and a bevy of other bands including Harvey Danger -- and fresh off of CMJ was none other than our own Imaginary Victoria on one of her first visits to Seattle, years away from being an official imaginary. She grabbed this shot all those years ago, and today seemed like just a good a day as any to fondly remember all those early 00's indie rock shows.

What's your favorite 2005-ish music memory? Were you in Seattle? Or busy watching bands like The National and Pela at tiny east coast clubs? Let us know in the comments!

The Transmissionary Six, Songs 2002-2012 (Skok) 

One of my favorite bands ever, The Transmissionary Six, has roots in The Walkabouts (which both TM6 founders Terry Moeller and Paul Austin have played in by now), and recording and live connections to all the best kept secrets in Seattle: Graig Markel, Head Like A Kite, and others. But they easily stand alone as one of the most gorgeous songcrafting teams from the Pacific NW. Seattle-raised Terri was a drummer from The Walkabouts back in the day, Paul played with Willard Grant Conspiracy on the East Coast, collectively having played to thousands in Europe and to a loyal following here. They started something with Transmissionary Six neither had quite tried before, but they excelled at immediately: bringing to life heart-trembling Noir Rock, as steeped in mystery as it was in hooks. Like the movie House Of Games, or Denis Johnson's Jesus' Son, or an album like Marianne Faithful's Broken English, it was all about blissful times and twisted times, and their stories and melodies were immortal. This is an excellent collection of their work, featuring essentials like "Black Tin Rocket" (the superbly cinematic opener to early album Get Down), "Top Of Your Lungs" (a lady-like take on a "Positively 4th Street" character study / piss off), and the very groovy "Edison Stare." I wish "I Want To Deprogram You" was here, but that just means if you love this go out and buy Cosmonautical, the album it's on and still available. Hell, buy 'em all!

The Great UM, What The People Want

We're absolutely freaking lucky we live in a city that constantly brings people in who in some other world have cannily created and crafted some new trick out of the mined-gold and heart-jank of the pop song. Artists move to Seattle to be part of an almost parochial (closely regionalized) music scene with connections elsewhere, intimate enough to build a following, but still breathing second-hand smoke from a cosmo-world. Okay, I'm fronting. I have no idea who these guys are and I think they're from somewhere else, otherwise why hadn't I been involved before? How'd they slip by me into here? Were they always here, what is happening - ?! Oops, sorry. I want to know more! The Great UM make me bounce like it's Friday near midnight at my favorite sloppy pub and forgive the girl next to me for spiashing her drink on my best shoes, whilst I totally wonder what they're going to sing next the way mysterious rock real men have since Gene Vincent. They remind me a bit of The Jam, a little of Ted Leo, the recent UK folk-rock kids, and then there's all those 60s freak-beat followers. They're here to bring the clap-along to the secular, bringing out the singalong from those who don't meet much mercy. Their scrappy but solid songs make fun of their bosses "selling those good times," chatting unemployment and borrowed car blues in exactly the opposite tones (chin up mate!).  This is Caleb Thompson (singer/guitarist), Robb Benson (drummer), and Jake Uitti (bassist), and there isn't much out there about them now but they're going to change that by playing gigs and asking some very decent questions. Do you yearn for the day when groups like Dolour would jump out of the shadows from behind the bar down the street from the all ages club, building a bridge out of music niches and the nestles of the mundane? This is that kind of band. Choice track: "Stay," a song John Lennon should have and could have written. Then right away, "Daydream" reminds me of McCartney fronting Big Star. Whoa.

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{Los Campesinos by Steve Louie}

Like Allo Darlin, Los Campesinos are a diligent bunch.  They publish Heat Rash, a seasonal zine complete with a 7" which I am certain keeps their creative wheels moving and their song-writing pens scribbling.  There must be something in the Boddingtons that keeps these two favorite bands pressing new stuff to fill my shelves (for which I can't thank both bands enough). 

Gareth Campesinos ne Paisey recently told NME that the band would be returning to work on the follow-up to Hello Sadness in early 2013, adding: "We try to take as little time between albums as possible. If we're not recording or touring then we'll have to get proper jobs. There's no reason to take a couple of years between albums."

That's as good as saying "Hey, Imaginary Liz, please keep room on your Best of 2013 list for our new album!" to me. I can't wait for my ears to bleed from the Sonic Youth slash Bright Eyes slash Hefner slash Bis slash Yo La Tengo slash Beat Happening magic they create.  Maybe they are feeling nostolgic and will draw from their debut album, like Thermals are doing on their 2013 release?

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Oh Hutch, Kathy, and Westin, how do we love thee! In 2013, you are not only gracing us with so much:

- A brand new album of brand new Thermals songs on the beloved Saddle Creek label {of Bright Eyes / Conor Oberst fame} on April 16 {with a limited edition vinyl version on colored vinyl available for pre-order}

- Sub Pop is reissuing all of three Thermals' Sub Pop-released albums on limited edition, colored vinyl on March 5, 2013

All that HOT HOT Thermals vinyl action makes me SWOOOOOOON! 

The new Thermals album is titled Desperate Ground and has been described as having "all the raw power and unhinged adolescent energy that made their early LP’s so insanely enjoyable" and is "a dark and yet joyous affair." I'm sold!

They don't have any Seattle dates, but I know they can't stay away from us for long.  In the meantime we can listen to the first single from the album on repeat (and download it for free via the box below!).  I get light-headed everytime Hutch sings, "Keep me alliiiive" because it's so More Parts Per Million!!!! I also like the "when you command, I will" part.

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It's no secret I have an inside scoop on what goes on in the Tullycraft camp, so I've actually have heard this whole album. A hundred times. Because I just can't stop listening to it.

I was a fan long before I infiltrated their compound, so it's been extra hard to keep from quoting lines and exclaiming about how much I love it. But now that cover art is finalized and a release date has been set, I CAN!

The new album, Lost in Light Rotation, will strike a chord with newbies and longtime loves alike. This time around, Tullycraft has given us an album that is more concise and concentrated with relentless indie-pop guitar and vocal twists that will make you spin on the dancefloor until you drop. 

The result is a set of songs that have the hutzpah of "Our Days in Kansas," the demureness of "DIY Queen," a touch of the electro-craft of "We know You're Cute You Told Us," lo-fi rockeries of "Josie," and that doesn't even include a descriptor for the recently released single, "Lost in Light Rotation" {on 7" vinyl on Magic Marker (US) / Fortuna Pop (Europe)} which you can highly rotate on soundcloud.  There's a video for this single making the rounds (and posted below) and there's an added bonus: the 7" includes an exclusive b-side - a cover of Yazoo’s "Bad Connection."

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For the last few months the boys of MaPC have been teasing us with photos on their Facebook page of them recording at K Records' Dub Narcotic Studio in Olympia. Just last week, February 11, 2013 to be exact, they posted a photo with the caption "Finished mixing the new album today - woohoo!"  To me that sounds like new MaPC songs are just a couple moons away! 

But, these things sometimes take time so I'm not sure when the record will be done or exactly how many songs will be on it (is the above photo a complete tracklisting?) or what it's going to sound like, but with MaPC, you know it's going to be twee-licious! 

I was able to pull a couple details from the group about the new record.  It's going to be titled Our Hearts Beat Out Loud and the cover art will be designed by Tae Won Yu, the amazing designer most lovably known for your favorite Built To Spill cover art and super sweet illustrations that you can put in your Buy Olympia shopping cart.

Sidenote: I bet I'm going to love the songs "It Must Be Summer Somewhere" and "Our Own Ending."  Any gut feelings on which songs you'll love the most based on the song title?

In the meantime, we can all meet at the Tractor Tavern on February 24 when Math & Physics Club open up for Ocean Blue.  We can grill them for details then!

Until that time, we can just stare at the above tracklisting and listen to my favorite song from their second album on repeat, "We're So DIY":

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