Starting this Friday, headlining bands like Pavement, Modest Mouse and LCD Soundsystem will dominate Chicago’s Union Park for the annual Pitchfork Music Festival. The three-day fest also includes Big Boi, Surfer Blood, Panda Bear, Broken Social Scene, Here We Go Magic, El-P, Neon Indian, WHY?, Real Estate and dozens more.

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Check out new albums due in May from Broken Social Scene, The Black Keys, Leela James, LCD Soundsystem, Flying Lotus and The Hold Steady.

Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record
Yep, they have a lot of members, as Brendan Canning explains, and they also have a lot of guests on the new album, including Feist, Emily Haines, members of Do Make Say Think, The Sea and Cake’s Sam Prekop and Tortoise (John McEntire produced the whole thing). Their first since 2005’s eponymous album, Broken Social Scene release Forgiveness Rock Record on May 4 via Arts & Crafts.
Stream album via NPR Music

LCD Soundsystem – This is Happening
It is happening, and lots of it. The new album is out May 17 in the U.K. and stateside May 18 via DFA. Mr. Murphy kicks off a summer tour today, bouncing back between Europe and the U.S. with stops at major festivals like Sonar, Bonnaroo, Pitchfork and Sasquatch.
Stream album via LCD Soundsystem

Hold Steady – Heaven is Whenever
The Hold Steady has a new album, Heaven is Whenever, out May 4 via Vagrant. The Brooklyn-via-Minneapolis band hits the road on a long summer tour, starting in sunny California, weaving through Europe and landing back in the States in July.
Stream album via NPR Music

HEAR NEW MATERIAL FROM THE BLACK KEYS AND MORE

LCD Soundsytem (that’s Mr. James Murphy to you) will release a new album, This is Happening, on May 18 via DFA/Virgin Records. The first single “Drunk Girls” is out, and there’s also an unofficial video floating around (and by floating around we mean The Daily Swarm nabbed it for you).

Mr. Murphy recently told Pitchfork the song is “about drunk people and fun things and the fact that all of the boys of the L.A. mansion we recorded at were called ‘the girls’ by our chef. We were the ladies of the mansion.”

LCD Soundsystem is on tour through the summer, hitting major North American and European cities. Along the way there will be gigs at almost all the festivals, including Coachella, Pitchfork, Sasquatch, Bonnaroo and Bestival.

Spread the love.

If the CMJ Music Marathon is the place to discover up-and-coming bands, consider Pete and the Pirates the old friend we knew would make it to the big leagues. The Reading, England-based band recently performed at the fest, where quite a number of media-types found them as charming as we always have–along with, oh, several other thousand people across the pond. In short, there’s a Pete and the Pirates bandwagon, and you’re the next to jump on it.

Released in 2008, the band’s debut full-length, Little Death, garnered praise from the likes of the BBC, Pitchfork and the NME, who said of the band “…They’ll make you realise that, sometimes, all you need is a guitar, a head full of melody and a heart full of romance.” Indeed, the quintet writes poppy rock songs with simple themes and include plenty of handclaps–anyone can relate.

They’re often referred to as indie rock without the snobbery, and such approval could have been the result of combining pure talent and a talented helping hand–producer Gareth Parton (The Killers, The Go! Team, Foals). They earned fan favorites with songs like “Knots” and “Come on Feet,” plus toured alongside Maximo Park and Vampire Weekend.

Pete and the Pirates’ success may also come from good old fashioned elbow grease. There’s something to be said of a band that sets a goal, works on it for 10 years and actually makes it a reality.

The Antlers are set to kick off a national tour with Minus the Bear next month. The band is currently playing shows in the Midwest with Holly Miranda, and will join up with Minus the Bear in New Jersey October 3 before trekking across the U.S. to sunny California, then eventually making it back to the East coast mid-November.

Earlier this year the Brooklyn-based band released Hospice via Frenchkiss Records. NPR nominated it as the best album of the year at the time, Pitchfork gave it the thumbs up and a lot of others described it as “shimmering.” You can decide for yourself when you see them live. As for the band? Well, they like to play both sides of the fence.

This weekend Chicago gets its chance to shine with the Pitchfork Music Festival. The three-day extravaganza kicks off tonight with hometown heroes Tortoise, The Jesus Lizard, Yo La Tengo and Built To Spill. As UI previously reported, Write the Night: Set Lists on Demand has the aforementioned bands playing songs selected by fans.

Things get poppin’ both days this weekend beginning at 1 p.m. with sets from dozens of bands, most of which scored around eight points on the Pitchfork scale (seriously, go check the album reviews!). Musicians such as Beirut, Wavves, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Matt and Kim, The Black Lips and The Nationals take the stage Saturday, while M83, The Mae Shi, The Thermals, Pharoahe Monch, Vivian Girls, Frightened Rabbit and The Flaming Lips close it out on Sunday. That’s just a handful of bands, so make sure to wander around and catch artists at other stages.

And if you need tickets, Friday passes are still available, or you better have really nice friends. Check the schedule before you go and remember the El will be packed!

Welcome to Six Degrees, a new Uncensored Interview feature inspired by none other than Mr. Kevin Bacon. You know the game–it’s a small world and we’re all somehow related. This theory applies to the music scene as well, no matter what you listen to, where you hang or who you know. We’re just showing you the connections.

Summer is here and that means one thing: music festivals! This month we’re celebrating everything that makes catching the best bands outdoors a great experience. From excited fans and performance anxiety to making friends and dream lineups, here are a few of our favorite festival moments.

!!! kicked ass at last year’s Pitchfork festival, but Nic purposely avoided reading their review of his performance for fear they rip him apart. As long as the kids are going nuts in the audience, that’s the only thing that matters.

But there are friends to be made at festivals, too. Au Revoir Simone knows how great it is to wander around checking out other musicians, only to end up getting buddy-buddy with the likes of Wilco, Fiery Furnaces and the intimidating Midlake.

Sometimes it’s the fans that show the most love. And skin. Even if it’s not exactly what you envisioned seeing as a rock star.