Strokes still promoting Angels album

Aug. 7, 2011

Strokes Still Promoting Angles Album
The Strokes are still riding the wave of the April release of their fourth set, Angles,and are simultaneously putting together a fall tour and working on a follow-up album to Angles. Currently cruising through some overseas live dates, they already have two shows scheduled for late summer, specifically Pearl Jam’s 20th Anniversary concerts, which will take place at the Alpine Valley Music Theater in East Troy, Wisconsin on September 3 and 4. Earlier reports pointed out that there’s been a little conflict in the band as the bandmates work separately on songs for the new Strokes set, but perhaps that friction will simply translate to more good, spiky modern rock music…
Canadian modern popsters Stars just released The Bedroom Demos, a set of - what else? - demo tracks that were recorded five years ago. The band says they “rediscovered” the tunes while going through some stored items after returning from touring; the tunes on the collection were recorded in Besnard Lakes’ Jace Lasek’s studio in Montreal, and the album can be snagged via the Arts and Crafts label. Stars are on tour this summer, too, with sporadic dates including stops in Kingston, Ontario (8/6), and Squamish, British Columbia for the Squamish Fest on August 21…
U2 guitarist The Edge has been taking on a side project - but it’s not a musical project. It’s real estate. He purchased a large plot of land several years ago and has been working on developing a series of environmentally-sustainable mansions that would include rainwater systems, on-site electric car chargers, and solar panels; but he’s fighting California environmentalists who have stated that his plan would cause a “visual blight” on the Cali landscape…
Speaking of U2, their U2 360 Tour has just wrapped up, and if you’re a fan, you’ll be able to snag a pretty significant souvenir - well, if you’ve got some pretty significant cash. The band and their co-designers Willie Williams and Mark Fisher will be selling the transportable pavilion structure, “the Claw,” that the band used during their tour to display their cylindrical video screen and showcase the band in a b-i-g way…

MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK:
French electronica faves M83 are returning with a new double album this October (dubbed Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming), and they’re previewing the set with their first single, “Midnight City,” which you can snag for free at M83’s official website, http://ilovem83.com…

MINI MODERN BUZZ:
Canadian singer-songwriter Sandro Perri will be releasing a new album, Impossible Spaces, on October 18…
Londoner Paul White’s new Rapping with Paul White set, which will include contributions from Danny Brown, Diplo, and Nancy Elizabeth, is set for release on August 23…
Electro-popsters Ladytron will be kicking off a month-long North American tour in Phoenix, Arizona on September 22, with stops in Chicago (10/4), Toronto (10/5), Philly (10/10), Washington DC (10/11), and Pensacola, Florida (10/14) for the DeLuna Festival…
Red Hot Chili Peppers are hitting the road, too, beginning in Western Europe in October with shows already booked in Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands…
The Kooks’ new Junk of the Heart album is due out on September 13, with a new single, “Is It Me,” already popping up on the internet…
Jack’s Mannequin will be back with a new album of their own, People and Things, and are currently on the road on a co-headlining tour with Guster…

And this week’s musicians are back with their newest releases… piano-playing wunderkind Greyson Chance’s Hold On ‘Til the Night… The Duke and the King’s The Duke and the King… Keb Mo’s The Reflection… Drive A’s The World in Shambles… and Afrobeta’s Under the Streets… and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.

Questions, comments, rants, raves, suggestions on this column? Send ‘em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com