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Thursday, December 20th, 2001

Dismemberment Plan Announce New Tour
They missed a spot

Catherine Lewis reports:
Not more than a month after the end of their last tour, Washington, D.C.'s the Dismemberment Plan have just announced that they're ready to get back into it, revealing dates which kick off next Friday and carry them all the way through the middle of March. They're sticking close to home in December, then heading to Japan in January and February, after which they'll travel down the West Coast in with Death Cab for Cutie (the so-called, ahem, "Death and Dismemberment Tour"), and wind up back on the East Coast with two nights at New York's Bowery Ballroom. Get your work-related injuries ready for the following dates:

12-28 Washington, DC - Black Cat (w/Strike Anywhere, Need New Body)
12-29 Washington, DC - Black Cat (w/Enon, Cex)
12-31 Baltimore, MD (w/Lake Trout) - TBD
01-15 Princeton, NJ - Terrace Club (Princeton University)
02-18 Lawrence, KS - Bottleneck (w/Ghosty)
02-22 Seattle, WA - EMP Skychurch (w/Death Cab, Aveo)
02-23 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom (w/Death Cab, Aveo)
02-26 San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's 365 Club (w/Death Cab, Aveo)
02-27 Pomona, CA - Glass House (w/Death Cab, Aveo)
02-28 San Diego, CA - Epicenter (w/Death Cab, Aveo)
03-01 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre (w/Death Cab, Aveo)
03-14 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom (w/Death Cab)
03-15 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom (w/Death Cab)

.: Pitchfork Review: The Dismemberment Plan: Change
.: The Dismemberment Plan: http://www.dismembermentplan.com
.: DeSoto Records: http://www.desotorecords.com


Mouse on Mars Release New EP + 7"
Plus sign "totally Raygun." Stylish!

Jonah Flicker reports:
Germany's finest purveyors of abstract beat structures and post-krautrock riddims, Mouse on Mars, have a new 12" single available through the Thrill Jockey website. This latest offering, entitled Agit Itter It It, is available through the mailorder section in limited quantities, and at record shops across this great nation of ours. The record is actually released by Mouse on Mars' own label, Sonig, but the Thrill Jockey kids have thrown it out there so even you backwoods folk can get copies.

It features five new studio tracks along with a bonus seven-inch boasting two live songs, recorded during their last tour in support of Idiology. Don't freak out if you are a big nerd who needs to get every Mouse on Mars release as soon as it comes out but you wind up missing this limited edition vinyl version because you're too busy searching the import racks at Virgin Megastore for that rare Tibetan version of the Cache Cour Naif EP-- a slightly different CD version will be released January 22nd.

.: Pitchfork Review: Mouse on Mars: Idiology
.: Mouse on Mars: http://www.mouseonmars.com
.: Thrill Jockey: http://www.thrilljockey.com
.: Sonig: http://www.sonig.com


Luna Signs to Jetset, Readies New LP
"-ica" suffix not boding well for quality

Rob Thomson reports:
Plenty has been written about Luna's tendency to fly under the critical radar, just missing the kind of mainstream acclaim that acts like Björk and Radiöhead feast upon and pick from their teeth. One gets a sense when reading about Luna, both in their own words and those of the press, that they're secretly pissed about this slight. Sure, the band sprung from the ashes of Galaxie 500, one of the seminal shoegazer bands of the late 80s. Sure 1995's Penthouse was included in Rolling Stone's list of "Essential Recordings of the Nineties." But somehow, that just hasn't been enough. Maybe it's frontman and Harvard grad Dean Wareham's over-achieving Ivy League mentality. Maybe they aren't getting enough iron. Who knows?

But now that the band is moving into their 11th year of existence, sitting on its sixth studio album and teaming with a third label, perhaps ringleader Wareham and his gang can settle into their golden years with grace and comfort. After splitting with Elektra over 1999's The Days of Our Nights, citing "irreconcilable differences," the band had a brief liaison with Jericho Records (who ultimately released Days stateside) before hopping in the sack with Jetset. Luna Live appeared earlier this year on Arena Rock Records, and now, Jetset tells us, Luna's latest studio album, Romantica, will be released on March 19th. Early word from the label is that it is their "best album," but like, what else are they gonna say?

At Jetset, Luna will join the likes of similarly good yet underrated bands like Mogwai, the Stratford 4, Arab Strap and Death by Chocolate. Undoubtedly much to Wareham's dismay, no former members of the Velvet Underground or Television are currently signed to his new label. Tracklist:

01 Lovedust
02 Weird and Woozy
03 Black Postcards
04 Black Champagne
05 Swedish Fish
06 Renée Is Crying
07 Mermaid Eyes
08 1995
09 Rememories
10 Dizzy
11 Orange Peel
12 Romantica

.: Pitchfork Review: Luna: Live
.: Luna: http://www.fuzzywuzzy.com
.: Jetset: http://www.jetsetrecords.com


Buffalo Daughter Plans Triumphant Return
Q-tip inserted into urethra

Brandi Haker reports:
In 2002, the amorous month of February will bring us more than just the peak of syphilis season. The return of the mack of Buffalo Daughter's first full-length LP in three years will hit stores at the end of the month, followed by a tour in March.

Buffalo Daughter is a funky Japanese export comprised of SuGar Yoshinaga, Yumiko Ohno, and turntablist Moog Yamamoto. Daughter formed in 1993, but the first album to hit the States was 1998's Legend of the Yellow Buffalo on Grand Royal (where all kinds of CDs are currently very inexpensive due to the label's demise). Buffalo Daughter's latest, entitled I, will be released by Emperor Norton. Expect saucy samples and sweltering synth burning with the experimental explosiveness of prickly pop music. Careful, it's sexually transmitted. Tracklist:

01 Ivory
02 I Know
03 Earth Punk Rockers
04 28 Nuts
05 Volcanic Girl
06 Five Minutes
07 Robot Sings (As If He Were Frank Sinatra with a Half-Boiled Egg and the Saltshaker on the Breakfast Table)
08 I
09 Moog Stone
10 Mirror Ball
11 Long, Slow Distance
12 Discotheque Du Paradis
13 A Completely Identical Dream
14 Stereotype C (with Cibo Matto) [Japan-only bonus track]

.: Pitchfork Review: Buffalo Daughter: WXBD EP
.: Emperor Norton: http://www.emperornorton.com
.: Grand Royal: http://www.grandroyal.com

TODAY'S REVIEWS

DAILY NEWS

RATING KEY
10.0: Indispensable, classic
9.5-9.9: Spectacular
9.0-9.4: Amazing
8.5-8.9: Exceptional; will likely rank among writer's top ten albums of the year
8.0-8.4: Very good
7.5-7.9: Above average; enjoyable
7.0-7.4: Not brilliant, but nice enough
6.0-6.9: Has its moments, but isn't strong
5.0-5.9: Mediocre; not good, but not awful
4.0-4.9: Just below average; bad outweighs good by just a little bit
3.0-3.9: Definitely below average, but a few redeeming qualities
2.0-2.9: Heard worse, but still pretty bad
1.0-1.9: Awful; not a single pleasant track
0.0-0.9: Breaks new ground for terrible
OTHER RECENT REVIEWS

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2001, Pitchforkmedia.com.