January 21, 2013 – For those familiar with Dan Friel's work on his own and in now-defunct Brooklyn noise-rock collective Parts & Labor, a pop melody should come as no surprise. But the lullaby-like keyboard line that floats through "Thumper," a standout from Friel's forthcoming Total Folklore LP, due February 19 courtesy of Thrill Jockey, falls in such expert relief against the song's harsher textures that it feels totally new every time. If you're in New York next month on release date, Friel will be celebrating Total Folklore's arrival with a show at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn featuring performances by Guardian Alien and Yvette, as well as a DJ set from Tyondai Braxton. In addition to performing on his own, Friel will also be taking the stage alongside an "all-star big band" that features members of Titus Andronicus,  Liturgy, Parts & Labor, Oneida, and more.

January 17, 2013 – In our recent profile of Dinosaur Jr., there's a scene in which frontman J Mascis listens to instrumental mixes of I Bet on Sky single "Pierce the Morning Rain" in his living room with longtime friend and producer John Agnello. At the time, the song had the working title "Downtown," but the scene itself — Mascis, very still, drinking in and considering the volume and textures of his own legendarily loud guitar work — was unforgettable. And when writer/director Scott Jacobson (The Daily Show, Bob's Burgers) set out to write the visual treatment for that song's video, he hoped to capture the physical and emotional magic to be found in Dinosaur's songs."Volume is definitely a part of what they do, but [Dinosaur Jr.'s] songs are also really emotionally accessible," Jacobson says. "And it's not just the usual emotions you associate with pummeling rock music.

January 17, 2013 – "I take a pretty long time to write a song," Andrew Cedermark says. "Historically, that's been because I've kept working on it and working on it, on my computer at home. I have a million little doodles and ditties, things I've written down on pieces of paper and things I've played on the guitar. But I started realizing that, if [making records] is something I want to do seriously, I can't do it on GarageBand for the rest of my life. If I don't want to be an amateur, it's an important psychological step to actually make the investment in myself, and in this music, and go into a studio."So he did.

January 16, 2013 – Last year, Oakland post-punk crew Wax Idols unsheathed No Future, a debut full-length on Chicago's HoZac label that was effervescent enough to obscure the mess of dark energy roiling below the surface. But on Discipline & Desire, the outfit's sophomore full-length due March 26 via Slumberland, primary songwriter, frontwoman, and working dominatrix Hether Fortune plunges headlong into those depths, as she does on "AD RE:IAN," a master class in seething, moody songwriting that's rife with both immense tension and — in its beautiful coda — great release.Discipline & Desire tracklist:1. Stare Back2. Sound Of A Void3. When It Happens4. Formulae5. Scent Of Love6. Dethrone7. AD RE:IAN8. Cartoonist9. Elegua10. Stay In

January 15, 2013 – Fullerton, California's Burger Records has long been home to up-and-coming hooksmiths (see: Ty Segall, Fletcher C. Johnson, Black Lips, King Tuff and Harlem). It's a label whose garage-rock pedigree is on a level with the likes of In The Red, Goner, HoZac and Douchemaster. Currently halfway through their month-long campaign to release a cassette every day in January, they've also got three full-lengths from three very gifted outfits on the way as well: Ottawa native Allie Hanlon's Peach Kelli Pop project unfurls its self-titled sophomore effort today; the Go, whose lineup once included Jack White, is uncaging FIESTA on January 22; and Matt Rendon's one-man noise-making unit, the Resonars, will unleash Crummy Desert Sound January 29. Hear highlights from all three:  

January 15, 2013 – Originally, former Lower Dens member Carter Tanton wanted to record an album of John Cale covers. But when it came down to it last year, Tanton, who has also released records on his own as Tulsa, felt inspired to set off in a new direction entirely. On April 2, the Baltimore singer-songwriter will release They're Flowers, his first full-length under the Luxury Liners moniker and an album that leaves the overcast strummers of 2011's Free Clouds behind for synth-built bliss like that of "Caribbean Sunset," the only remaining Cale cover in the bunch, from the Velvet Underground co-founder's Brian Eno-enriched 1984 LP of the same name.

January 15, 2013 – "We amassed a pile of riffs and ideas, and I went through them and tried to come up with words that suited them," Mudhoney frontman Mark Arm told us last month, describing, in great deadpan, his Seattle outfit's writing process for Vanishing Point, their recently completed ninth full-length studio album. "Pretty exciting." But Mudhoney, now entering their 25th year together, make it sound that easy, as evidenced by the sidewinding riff and acid-splashed narrative ("I'm like the guy in that Devo song") at the center of album highlight "Only Son of the Widow from Nain." Hear it for the first time:

January 10, 2013 – "I feel like I was a real cocky motherfucker when I first started doing this," Nathan Williams says of his Wavves project. "I really believed I was the shit. Now, not so much, but as a songwriter, I think I'm better. You know the tone of [2010's] King of the Beach and the first two records? Like, I 'got no car, got no money,' but, I still got my parents' house to live in so it's not that bad. It could have been much worse, and now, my parents have no money and I'm paying their rent while I'm paying my mortgage. In general, the realness of life starts to hit you later on. That's more prominent on this record."Still tentatively slated to arrive March 26 by way of new label home Mom + Pop, Williams' fourth full-length now has a (tentative) title as well: Afraid of Heights.

January 9, 2013 – Who: A Texas-bred, New York-based crew of post-punk geeks who crafted one of 2012's most intriguing guitar records, Light Up Gold, Parquet Courts are led by the tongue-tangling songwriting of singer-guitarists Austin Brown and Andrew Savage. "I was here in New York playing music and Andrew was playing in [Denton, Texas garage-psych duo] Fergus and Geronimo," Brown says of the moment they formed two years ago. "He told me that he had an idea for a new and different band, a New York band." And while they certainly draw inspiration from the city's rich musical and literary traditions, Parquet (which also features bassist Sean Yeaton and Andrew’s brother Max on drums) are just as much a skittering reflection of the city's energy. "I live near an above-ground train," Brown explains, "and it runs through the night.

January 8, 2013 – Since leaving North Carolina bluegrass outfit The Biscuit Burners seven years ago, banjo player-turned-frontwoman Shannon Whitworth has been touring like crazy in support of an increasingly rich songbook of her own. On March 5, Red Eye will release her latest, High Tide, a long-player set to include the winsome but clear-eyed pop of "You Are In Love," streaming for the first time below. Have a listen.