Finally, new Stars of the Lid in April 2007!

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I've been anticipating this one for years. It's going to be called Stars of the Lid and their Refinement of the Decline. It's out April 2, 2007, and it's the 100th release for Kranky.

2xCD/3xLP

Disc One:

01 Dungtitled (in A Major)
02 Articulate Silences Part 1
03 Articulate Silences Part 2
04 The Evil That Never Arrived
05 Apreludes (in C Sharp Major)
06 Don't Bother They're Here
07 Dopamine Clouds Over Craven Cottage
08 Even If You're Never Awake (Deuxième)
09 Even (Out) +
10 A Meaningful Moment Through a Meaning(less) Process

Disc Two:

01 Another Ballad for Heavy Lids
02 The Daughters of Quiet Minds
03 Hiberner Toujours
04 That Finger on Your Temple Is the Barrel of My Raygun
05 Humectez La Mouture
06 Tippy's Demise
07 The Mouthchew
08 December Hunting for Vegetarian Fuckface

― Zachary Scott (Zachary S), Saturday, 9 December 2006 02:28 (nineteen years ago)

Nice. And a double at that -- should be a treat.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 9 December 2006 02:33 (nineteen years ago)

Joy! Joy! Joy!

"December Hunting for Vegetarian Fuckface" sounds like the title of a Fall outtake.

― Ice Ice Cream Baby (The Dirty Vicar), Saturday, 9 December 2006 03:13 (nineteen years ago)

http://static.pitchforkmedia.com/images/image/24612.x-news-starsofthelidlp-sm.jpg?

The font and placement is very similar to the Tired Sounds Of Stars of the Lid, my very favorite SOTL album (and one of my faves in general), and this is also a 2CD/3LP deal, so I have very, very high hopes for it. I also feel like Brian McBride and Adam Wiltzie have done some outstanding work on their own during the nearly 6 year SOTL hiatus, so...yep. Although, the Pitchfork news bulletin on this mentioned that they live far apart from each other now, in Europe and the United States. I guess these days it's common and easy to collaborate by sending files back and forth, but before hearing anything from this, I wonder if they might have done a better job in the same room together instead.

― Zachary Scott (Zachary S), Saturday, 9 December 2006 04:13 (nineteen years ago)

wonderful. i was thinking about them only the other day. another release date for 2007 etched firmly in my diary.

― grimly fiendish (simon), Sunday, 10 December 2006 12:01 (nineteen years ago)

NEWS STARS OF THE LID ANNOUNCED

― this is cutty (mcutt), Sunday, 10 December 2006 19:06 (nineteen years ago)

This track from Disc 1:

08 Even If You're Never Awake (Deuxième)

was on the Kranky Kompilation thing and it a favorite of mine. Can't wait to get this.

― matt2 (matt2), Sunday, 10 December 2006 21:03 (nineteen years ago)

so, i never heard these guys before and just listened to some mp3 samples on kranky.net. what exactly differentiates these guys from other drone acts? judging from the samples, i'm missing what's to be excited about.

― hm (modestmickey), Monday, 11 December 2006 03:13 (nineteen years ago)

i'd rather hear a new Dead Texan album.

― colin0Hara (colin_o_hara), Monday, 11 December 2006 03:27 (nineteen years ago)

mickey you are clueless

― this is cutty (mcutt), Monday, 11 December 2006 03:46 (nineteen years ago)

did you see where mickey had to make sure he told us he just "listened" to some mp3 samples on "kranky.net"

― this is cutty (mcutt), Monday, 11 December 2006 03:48 (nineteen years ago)

oh no

― hm (modestmickey), Monday, 11 December 2006 03:49 (nineteen years ago)

offending cutty, oh no!

― hm (modestmickey), Monday, 11 December 2006 03:50 (nineteen years ago)

"what exactly differentiates these guys from other drone acts? judging from the samples, i'm missing what's to be excited "

you don't miss nothing.they are boring.

― john lang (emekars), Monday, 11 December 2006 04:08 (nineteen years ago)

they actually make some really wonderful and beautiful music

― this is cutty (mcutt), Monday, 11 December 2006 04:28 (nineteen years ago)

"wonderful" "beautiful"

look i can be an asshole and put random words in quotes as if it makes some kind of point too.

― hm (modestmickey), Monday, 11 December 2006 04:30 (nineteen years ago)

HEY I JUST STREAMED SOME SAMPLES OF AN ARTIST AND I'M HERE TO SAY I DON'T GET WHAT THE FUSS IS ALL ABOUT

― this is cutty (mcutt), Monday, 11 December 2006 04:35 (nineteen years ago)

yes my contribution to the discussion has been so much worse than this fancy dialogue from the noise board:

"alert.jpg"
":O"
"very good"
"aye this is grand news"
"street cred"

oh no, i can never handle discussing music with the big boys! quit being a faggot

― hm (modestmickey), Monday, 11 December 2006 04:37 (nineteen years ago)

HEY GUYS I DON'T GET STARS OF THE LID PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY I SHOULD LIKE THEM

― this is cutty (mcutt), Monday, 11 December 2006 04:39 (nineteen years ago)

HEY GUYS HAVE WE STARTED A ZINGER THREAD YET ON THE NOISE BOARD I AM ON A ROLL HERE I HOPE SOMEONE IS PAYING ATTENTION

― hm (modestmickey), Monday, 11 December 2006 04:41 (nineteen years ago)

faggot. i'm going now. have fun.

― hm (modestmickey), Monday, 11 December 2006 04:41 (nineteen years ago)

mickey droppin f bombs

― this is cutty (mcutt), Monday, 11 December 2006 04:45 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.mattcutts.com/images/matt-cutts-playing-card.jpg

This seems like the most logical place to put this. But I don't know what it means.

― ian (orion), Monday, 11 December 2006 04:52 (nineteen years ago)

damnit that was supposed to be on the noise thread.

― ian (orion), Monday, 11 December 2006 04:52 (nineteen years ago)

heehee

― this is cutty (mcutt), Monday, 11 December 2006 04:57 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.hbo.com/thewire/img/orgchart/cutty.jpg

― amon (amon), Monday, 11 December 2006 04:58 (nineteen years ago)

the tired sounds of streaming mp3s

― amon (amon), Monday, 11 December 2006 04:59 (nineteen years ago)

Not getting Stars of the Lid = UH-OH, REPLICANT ALERT

― Fat Lady Wrestler (Modal Fugue), Monday, 11 December 2006 11:15 (nineteen years ago)

i think it's a valid question actually. stars of the lid are a great band but i'm not sure what will make this different to their last release or even your average growing or dead texan album?

that is because i'm not a total fuckhead.

― wogan lenin (doglatin), Monday, 11 December 2006 11:25 (nineteen years ago)

More of the same difference. Like all good bands.

― Fat Lady Wrestler (Modal Fugue), Monday, 11 December 2006 11:27 (nineteen years ago)

not sure i agree with you there... but whatevs.

in that case, do i need to get excited about something that i know is going to sound like pleasingly calm ambience that i generally like to put on during my sleep and therefore do not really consciously take in anyway?

/devils advocate

(i typoed that as "defils advocaste" - i like!)

― wogan lenin (doglatin), Monday, 11 December 2006 11:34 (nineteen years ago)

Stars of the Lid's best work is far more than "pleasingly calm ambience". The way the strings kick in in "Requiem for Dying Mothers, Pt. 2", or their Ulver remix on First Decade in the Machines are out and out choons. They may not be unique - I don't really care about that. What they have done is created some breathtaking, life-affirming, tear-inducing music and like I said, if people don't feel that then I fear they have a little jagged hole where their souls should be.

― Fat Lady Wrestler (Modal Fugue), Monday, 11 December 2006 11:41 (nineteen years ago)

the same could be argued for many of the KRanky bands though.

― wogan lenin (doglatin), Monday, 11 December 2006 11:43 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, but "why should I care about (Band X)'s new record? There are lots of other groups who make music" is not much of an argument.

― Fat Lady Wrestler (Modal Fugue), Monday, 11 December 2006 11:44 (nineteen years ago)

i'm just saying, much as i like them, why should i get so excited about this new record? i guess you've answered my question now though.

― wogan lenin (doglatin), Monday, 11 December 2006 11:49 (nineteen years ago)

you should get excited about this new record because the solo albums from the dead texan and brian mcbride were both amazing.

― this is cutty (mcutt), Monday, 11 December 2006 13:15 (nineteen years ago)

Listening to samples really doesn't do justice to many bands, but especially not Stars of the Lid. I would suggest listening to the first disc of The Tired Sounds of, especially the two Requiem for Dying Mothers songs. The first one has the loosest drumless ambient groove. It feels like water washing up into the rocks, receding, and repeating. This goes on for a long length of time, but it never gets old (at least to me). It's funny, if you listen closely, you realize the backing strings are mainly just playing one really really long chord together, just getting louder and softer together, but with the quiet little melody the other strings play over it, it doesn't feel like "drone" at all to me.

That's the difference between Growing and Stars of the Lid, to me. Growing music feels like droning (and I guess uses guitars and feedback), whereas SOTL, although definitely an ambient drone band, are more melodic.

Then pt. 2 rolls around with a different variation on the same theme, and about a minute and a half in, this simple bass line comes in, and it's impossibly cathartic.

I can definitely see someone listening to them and not really getting what all the fuss is. It took me a good month to fall in love with The Tired Sounds of because I kept falling asleep during the first half of the first disc. Then one day I listened to it while home sick with a cold, and it clicked. That was the first ambient album I came to love, actually.

― Zachary Scott (Zachary S), Monday, 11 December 2006 23:57 (nineteen years ago)

thanks. i think i'm going to buy The Tired Sounds of.

― hm (modestmickey), Tuesday, 12 December 2006 03:29 (nineteen years ago)

I bought an album of these folks once, quite enjoyed it and pull it out from time to time. It never occured to me to look to see if they had other releases, though. The one I've got is Gravitational Pull vs. The Desire For An Aquatic Life.

― Bimbler (Sourkraut), Tuesday, 12 December 2006 04:09 (nineteen years ago)

Gravitational Pull is good, but it remains one of my least favorite of their releases. Their earlier stuff is more lo-fi sounding, although it's not exactly full of tape hiss or anything. Normally I enjoy lo-fi recording techniques, but SOTL's sound is so expansive, it deserves the sound they've gotten on their recent releases.

― Zachary Scott (Zachary S), Tuesday, 12 December 2006 05:13 (nineteen years ago)

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