Morning Shorts

Papercuts - who doesn't love 'em? Signees to Gnomonsong, the Banhart/Vetiver label that counts wunderkind Jana Hunter among their acts, they've made available a fine preview track to tease you til their album arrives March 6. "John Brown" is a nice slice of upbeat psych-pop, with hypnotic vocals and subtle tempo changes. They're on tour with Grizzly Bear in the coming weeks:

Fri 02/16 Seattle, WA Neumo’s
Sat 02/17 Vancouver, BC Plaza Club
Sun 02/18 Portland, OR Mission Theatre (2 shows)
Tue 02/20 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
Wed 02/21 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour
Fri 02/23 Tucson, AZ Plush
Sat 02/24 Marfa, TX Ballroom Marfa
Mon 02/26 Norman, OK Opolis
Tue 02/27 Dallas, TX Club Dada
Wed 02/28 Austin, TX Emo’s
Thu 03/01 Baton Rouge, LA Chelsea’s
Fri 03/02 Atlanta, GA Drunken Unicorn
Sat 03/03 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506
Sun 03/04 Washington DC Black Cat
Tue 03/06 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
Wed 03/07 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom

MP3: Papercuts - John Brown

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Gorilla Vs. Bear has a track from the first Numero Group reissue of the year, Catherine Howe's 1971 album What a Beautiful Place.

Hand Made Luck revists Rush's epically cheeseball record Caress of Steel and somehow invokes a Moldy Peach: "But there's something about that second side. One track on the CD. It's so dark, it feels like it was written while under the influence of a high fever. Much like how Kimya Dawson's music seems like it was written watching a Real World marathon while drinking a couple bottles of cheap wine."

Bonus tracks have been announced for the first round of Leonard Cohen reissues, and they're mighty skimpy: "1968's Songs of Leonard Cohen will come with incomplete tracks "Store Room" and "Blessed Is the Memory". 1969's Songs From a Room will include early takes of "Bird on a Wire" and "You Know Who I Am", titled "Like a Bird" and "Nothing to One", respectively, with the latter featuring harmonies by David Crosby. And finally, 1971's Songs of Love and Hate will come with a full-band version of "Dress Rehearsal Rag"."

Fionn Regan has announced what I think are his first US dates, ever: January 17th at the Mercury Lounge, and January 18th at Union Hall. A&R men will be there. He'll be back in the states for SXSW, and has plenty of UK dates in February and March.