I am sorry this is not exactly timely, but I was out of town when I got the news, and I hardly turn on the computer right now.

The time has finally come. Six months ago Nate Ruess of The Format left a lengthy but still somewhat cryptic message on the band’s site, myspace, and street team page. We were left only knowing that the band had broken up and would not be recording their next anticipated album. No word on whether the band could/would ever be able to consider getting back together in the future. The one lingering bit of hope was a quick statement that Nate would be working on a solo project; but for the past 6 months I have been trying to figure out how Nate could POSSIBLY make an album without Sam. For those of you who haven’t read the liner notes of Interventions & Lullabies, the only thing Nate is credited with, other than vocals, is handclaps, and even I have made it into the liner notes of an album for handclaps (seriously.)

Last week my question was finally answered. (And no, Sam is unfortunately in no way involved, but he is busy with his new venture, Hello Merch.) Nate posted a new message in the same places he posted the one of departure, but this time it is all about new beginnings. Andrew Dost, formerly of the incredible band Anathallo and Jack Antonoff, still of the incredible band Steel Train, have joined Nate to form the band, of sorts, simply know as fun.

Here is the only track they have made available thus far, the demo for a song called Benson Hudges.

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At this point I can tell you no more about the band than you can find out for yourself on the single message found on the band’s myspace blog at http://www.myspace.com/fun. Head over. Listen to the demo (again.. you know, to give them playcounts and such.) Have fun.

If you have looked around the photoblog, chances are you’ve come across photos of Ben Rector. I spent time hanging out with him in studios Norman and Oklahoma City a year and a half ago as he recorded his first full length album. The album, titled Twenty Tomorrow, is absolutely fantastic, and although it has officially been out for over a year now, it has just now made its way to the iTunes store (as a result of unforeseen problems.) Regardless, chances are you haven’t heard it yet, so you should download it. It is $8.91 for the full album, DRM free; you can’t beat that. As an added bonus, it just happens to come with cover art i shot and designed (although that might be boasting a little too much, because it is a very very simple design) at absolutely no extra charge.

This cover actually has a great story behind it, which involves us sneaking into a library with a large lighting kit, shooting for about an hour, and finally getting found out/kicked out as we were packing up to leave. In the end I think the guerrilla tactics worked pretty well.

Anyway, Twenty Tomorrow is a great album from start to finish. To exhibit the start, here is the first track on the album, Bright Lights. Listen. Enjoy. Buy.

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In addition to his first album making it onto iTunes, Ben has just finished recording his new album/a split ep set… He’s not sure how it will be released yet, but her is what I have been told. There are twelve songs, six acoustic, six electric. I have heard several very rough mixes of the acoustic tracks. They are a bit folky, and I really enjoyed what I heard and can’t wait to hear them after being cleaned up. I have to say I am most impressed with the lyrical content of the songs I heard. Ben is really growing as a songwriter and hearing just a few tracks has made me gitty to digest the content of the others. Read his blog from the recording process at http://benrector.blogspot.com/.

YES! Rly!

A few days ago Bloc Party announced the would be releasing their third album. I was pretty excited when I read this, because I love Bloc Party, but Weekend in the City disappointed me. It is one of those albums I keep telling myself I will put on one day and finally love it, but after this long I really doubt it.

Their new album, Intimacy, was released today on the band’s web site. This news is awesome, but a bit bittersweet. The full album can be downloaded right now in mp3 format for $10 on the pre-order page; unfortunately it is only offered in one bitrate, 256kbps, unlike Niggy Tardust and The Slip. It is also a bit upsetting that they are asking a totally flat rate, unlike their (previously mentioned) experimental predecessors (as well as Radiohead, of course.) If you would like a physical copy, there is some more good and bad news. You can pre-order the CD, which won’t officially come out until October 28th, but there is a catch. It’ll cost you $20, but you do still get to download a digital copy right now. One more bit of sad news. There does not seem to be an option for a vinyl pre-order. Hopefully it will be released to wax in a timely manner, unlike Death Cab’s Narrow Stairs which is on a 4 month delay and set to be released by Barsuk in early September.

Here is a taste of the album. This is the 5th track, Trojan Horse.

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