As previously reported, Shins frontman James Mercer and producer Danger Mouse have teamed up to form a new duo called Broken Bells. Their self-titled album is due March 9 from Columbia. And right now, you can download its first single, “The High Road”

Broken Bells – The High Road

This art show will take place inside the S.L.A.T.E. @ Magic trade show next week at the Mandalay Bay convention center.

Warpaint’s hypnotic, layered, bass-driven music with ethereal vocals creates an atmosphere that seems to melt and float around the listener. This quartet is not to be missed. Hailing from Brooklyn, Yeasayer’s music is a genre-bending journey into pop, rock, Middle Eastern and African musics, folk, and dub.

I was way into Warpaint’s live sound.  I am very impressed with this band.  They sound and look great!

I also attend the lecture on energy by Dr. Nate Lewis a leading scientist in the energy field from CalTech.  His lecture was super scary because he states we have enough energy to fuel the worlds growth, but it will kill us all by using it.  He is hopeful that we can make the change to solar and nuke power by 2050.  He also kept saying we only have one chance to make the correct steps with our energy policy.  I just got freaked out and welcomed the music to make me forgot about the impossible cluster fuck we’re in.

WARPAINT

In the ghostly ” Billie Holiday,” the L.A. quartet Warpaint floats an elegiac version of the Mary Wells hit “My Guy” between narcotic, name-spelling mantras in honor of the grand jazz dame. It’s one of the hypnotic, unexpected strokes that got Emily Kokal, Theresa Wayman, Jenny Lee Lindberg and recently added drummer Stella Mozgawa signed to Rough Trade Records, which will release Warpaint’s debut full-length in summer 2010.

The band’s six-song EP “Exquisite Corpse,” which arrived this fall from local visionaries Manimal Vinyl, was mixed by former Red Hot Chili Pepper John Frusciante, who might seem an unlikely mentor at first. But as much as the Chili Peppers built tranced-out temples with their roiling funk, Warpaint aims to do the same but with a different set of arrows in their quiver.

Combining the dense, shadowy mood of some early Cure with the sonic drift of Mazzy Star and Cat Power’s more hazy vocal work, Warpaint occupies a challenging space where the mood can vary from deep woods come-down to fierce primal ritual. It hits an especially sweet spot live, where the ladies sometimes swap instruments or hone in on those spine-tingling harmonies. In February, they’ll tour with Akron/Family and they’ll also perform at SXSW in March.

The biggest challenge for the band as they grow beyond the loving arms of L.A. hipsterdom will be expanding their palette without losing the haunting aura of their sound.

– Margaret Wappler

Listen to: Warpaint – Stars

Listen to: Warpaint – Elephants

Listen to: Warpaint – Billie Holiday

TOUR DATES:
Feb 5 2010 NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM w/ Yeasayer Los Angeles, CA
Feb 17 2010 ARTISTIKA NIGHTCLUB w/ Akron/Family Greensboro, NC
Feb 18 2010 40 WATT CLUB w/ Akron/Family Athens, GA
Feb 19 2010 BACKBOOTH w/ Akron/Family Orlando, FL
Feb 20 2010 CLUB DOWNUNDER w/ Akron/Family Tallahassee, FL
Feb 21 2010 ONE EYED JACKS w/ Akron/Family New Orleans, LA
Feb 23 2010 WALTER’S ON WASHINGTON w/ Akron/Family Houston, TX
Feb 24 2010 THE PARISH w/ Akron/Family Austin, TX
Feb 25 2010 GRANADA THEATER w/ Akron/Family Dallas, TX
Feb 26 2010 HI-TONE CAFE w/ Akron/Family Memphis, TN
Feb 27 2010 EXIT/IN w/ Akron/Family Nashville, TN
Feb 28 2010 PILOT LIGHT w/ Akron/Family Knoxville, TN
Mar 3 2010 MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG w/ Akron/Family Brooklyn, NY

I have to thank the genius of Dave at Pampelmoose.com for this info.