Immediately upon hearing the first track, “Rewind,” it was evident to me that their vocals are ear-catching and certainly unique to this band. The singer has a remarkable voice, almost haunting in a way. It reminds me a lot of bands who have been successful in years past. In my opinion, this is what is going to draw people into their fan-base. We all love those types of songs, the ones that get incessantly stuck in your head with no signs of letting up.

The second track on the EP I find to be the most notable, entitled “Believe.” The chorus is so catchy that I found it stuck in my head for days after just listening to it once. Obviously, I was back for more and you will be too. I believe that these guys are here to stay, they already have proven that with this EP and I cannot wait to see them progress.

Garden Window is the follow up to the band’s 2009 debut EP The Death of Day – also produced by Andy Hull from Manchester.  O’Brother spent the next year honing their skills as musicians and touring – in fact they spent the greater part of 2010 on the road with a variety of artists including The Features, Thrice, Biffy Clyro, Circa Survive and The Dear Hunter among others.  At the end of the year O’Brother – Anton Dang (bassist), Johnny Dang (guitarist), Aaron Wamack (guitarist), Tanner Merritt (vocalist, guitarist), and Michael Martens (drums) – began the writing process for Garden Window and spent the first half of 2011 making the album.

In May O’Brother headed out on the road with Manchester Orchestra and Cage the Elephant for a full US trek which was followed by another US tour with The Dear Hunter.  Now the band is not only gearing up for their first full-length studio album, but another US trek – this time with Thrice.  The nearly six week run will give the band a chance to play the new songs for fans and pre-sell Garden Window leading up to the November 2011 release on Triple Crown Records/Favorite Gentleman.

Confirmed US Tour dates w/Thrice, Moving Mountains and La Dispute:

Sept.    30th      Hard Rock Café                                              Las Vegas, NV

Oct.     1st        The Marquee                                                   Tempe, AZ

3rd        The Door                                                         Dallas, TX

4th         Emo’s East                                                      Austin, TX

5th        House of Blues                                               Houston, TX

7th        Revolution                                                      Ft. Lauderdale, FL

8th        Beacham Theater                                            Orlando, FL

9th        The Masquerade                                              Atlanta, GA

11th      Cat’s Cradle                                                    Carrboro, NC

12th      The National                                                   Richmond, VA

13th      Electric Factory                                               Philadelphia, PA

14th      Starland Ballroom                                           Sayreville, NJ

15th      The Recher Theater                                         Towson, MD

16th      Irving Plaza                                                     New York, NY

18th      Royale Night Club                                          Boston, MA

19th      Club Soda                                                       Montreal, QC

20th      Phoenix Concert Theater                                Toronto, ON

21st       Club Zoo                                                         Pittsburgh, PA

22nd      Madison Theater                                             Covington, KY

23rd      Newport Music Hall                                       Columbus, OH

25th      The Intersection                                              Grand Rapids, MI

26th      St. Andrew’s Hall                                           Detroit, MI

27th       Metro                                                              Chicago, IL

28th      Pop’s                                                               Sauget, IL

29th      Granada                                                          Lawrence, KS

30th       Summit Music Hall                                         Denver, CO

Nov.    1st        Saltair                                                              Magna, UT

3rd        The Showbox @ The Market                          Seattle, WA

4th        Wonderland Ballroom                                    Portland, OR

5th        Regency Ballroom                                          San Francisco, CA

6th        Ace Of Spades                                                Sacramento, CA

8th        Mayan Theater                                                Los Angeles, CA

9th        House of Blues                                               Anaheim, CA

10th      House of Blues                                               Anaheim, CA

11th      House of Blues                                               San Diego, CA

The signature hook-heavy arrangements and lush “ooh-wah” harmonies that earned Yukon Blonde critical nods for their self-titled 2009 debut have certainly soaked into their latest output, but this EP also marks a transition, foreshadowing an evolving sound for the band as they explore new territory in their songwriting and continue to grow as musicians. Written partially while on the road, and partially while off the road at a cottage in the Comox Valley (BC), the band recorded a total of 15 songs over the course of the summer, and  the remaining 11 tracks will be featured on their sophomore LP in early 2012.

Yukon Blonde’s career has so far been marked by their on-the-road ethic. Last fall they embarked on a 30+ date tour supporting Good Old War, as well as several headlining runs down each coast. This summer the young B.C. band played at Milwaukee Summerfest with Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros and the last year and a half has seen them rack up nonstop tour mileage both in North America, and Europe, including festivals such as SXSW, CMJ and Popkomm Festival in Berlin along the way. Be sure to check them out live this fall as they are sure to be in a city near you.

Yukon Blonde Fire//Water Tour Dates

28 Sept – Nelson, BC @ Hume Hotel
29 Sept – Calgary, AB @  Gateway @ SAIT
30 Sept -  Lethbridge, AB @ The Slice
01 Oct – Saskatoon, SK @ Amigo’s
02 Oct – Winnipeg, MB @ WECC
03 Oct – Minneapolis, MN @ Nomad Pub
04 Oct – Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen
06 Oct – Sarnia, ON @ Paddy Flaherty’s
07 Oct – London, ON @ Fanshawe College
08 Oct -Windsor, ON @ Capital Theatre
10 Oct – Hamilton, ON @ Casbah
11 Oct – St Catharines, ON @ Mansion House
13 Oct – Guelph, ON @ eBar
14 Oct – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
15 Oct – Kingston, ON @ Grad Club
19 Oct – Corner Brook, NL @ Bar Room
21 Oct – St. John’s, NL @ The Ship
25 Oct – Sackville, NB @ George’s Roadhouse
26 Oct – Halifax, NS @ Seahorse Tavern
27 Oct -Charlottetown, PE @ Hunters Ale House
28-Oct – Fredericton, NB @ The Capitol
29 Oct – Quebec City, QC @ Le Scanner
31 Oct – Brooklyn, NY @ Rock Shop
01 Nov – Montreal, QC @ Casa Del Popolo
02 Nov – Ottawa, ON @ Ritual
03 Nov – Sudbury, ON @ Townehouse Tavern
04 Nov – Sault Ste. Marie, ON @ Lop Lops
05 Nov – Thunder Bay, ON @ Crocks
07 Nov – Edmonton, AB @ Starlite
10 Nov – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore
11 Nov – Victoria, BC @  Sugar
15 Nov -Atlanta, GA @ The Earl *
16 Nov – Nashvile, TN @ 3rd & Lindly *
17 Nov -St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway *
18 Nov – Louisville, KY @ Zanza Bar *
19 Nov – Columbus, OH @ Rumba Café *
21 Nov – Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Café *
22 Nov -Cleveland, OH @ Beachland  *
23 Nov – East Lansing, MI @ Mac’s Bar *
25 Nov – Chicago, IL @ Panchos  *
26 Nov -Milwaukee, WI  @ Cactus Club *
28 Nov -Minneapolis, MN @  7th Ave Entry *
30 Nov – Rockisland, IL @ Huckleberry Pizza *
01 Dec – Ames, IA @ The Maintenance Shop *
02 Dec – Omaha, NE @ Slowdown Jr *
03 Dec – Kansas City, MO @ Riot Room *
04 Dec – Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom – 2nd Stage *
06 Dec -  Little Rock, AR @ Juanita’s Cantina *
07 Dec – Dallas, TX @ Double Wide *
08 Dec – Houston, TX @ Fitz Downstairs *
09 Dec – Austin, TX @ Emo’s Inside *
11 Dec -  Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge *
13 Dec -  Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court *
14 Dec -Boise, ID @ Neurolox *
16 Dec – Spokane, WA @ A Club *
17 Dec – Seattle, WA @ Crocodile  *

18 Dec – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir  *

21 Dec – San Francisco, CA @ Brick & Mortar *
22 Dec – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar *zzzz

* All US shows after Nov 15 co-headline w/ The Flingzz

Download Yukon Blonde’s First Single “Fire” at SoundCloud

A special one-off London date has also been announced for Tuesday August 9th at Islington’s Electrowerkz venue. NPR exclusively revealed new track ‘Polish Girl’’ which you can hear by going to the Neon Indian Facebook page and clicking ‘Like’:

http://www.facebook.com/neonindian

During breaks from touring with the Zeroes over the past year, Alexander began building and recording the pieces that would become the songs for Alexander alone in his bedroom. Before beginning work on this album, all of the music he had worked on had been collaborative, especially with the 10-person Magnetic Zeroes.

There isn’t a single sound on the ten-song album that Alexander didn’t perform himself. Alone in his room, he had his guitar, a Lowery organ he picked up at a St. Vincent’s thrift store in Los Angeles for seventy bucks, a clarinet he used for the bridge on the record’s first single, “Truth,” and a violin he’d found somewhere in Tucson on tour. He had his own voice, his breath, his knees to slap, his fingers to snap and his toes to tap. When he knew that he wanted to use a violin on the bridge of “Glimpses,” he had an urge to call a friend to come play it for him, but then questioned why he wouldn’t try it himself. Says Alexander, “To me, it’s a very humble album with sky’s-the-limit sort of qualities, and so I didn’t really shy away from doing whatever I felt like doing.”

As for the music itself, Alexander explains that some of the inspirations for the “mouth sounds” that you can hear throughout the record were from all-time-favorites of his like the 1970 chart-topping ditty “In The Summertime” by British band Mungo Jerry. He also notes that children’s clapping games like Patty Cake and infectious and optimistic Disney tunes like “Zip A Dee Do Da” served as loose inspirations for him.

Alexander will perform at SXSW in Austin, TX next month, including KCRW’s showcase on Wednesday, March 16th at The Phoenix before returning to the studio to complete work on the upcoming second LP from Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, which will be released later this year.

Alexander track listing:

1. Let’s Win!

2. Awake My Body

3. Truth

4. In The Twilight

5. Bad Bad Love

6. Old Friend

7. A Million Years

8. Remember Our Heart

9. Glimpses

10. Let’s Make A Deal To Not Make A Deal

The single, which just debuted on the modern rock charts at #18, explores the devastation that fell upon New Orleans after Katrina and last year’s tragic BP oil disaster. Lead-singer Tim McIlrath was inspired to write the song after spending time in the city while the band was on break from touring.

McIlrath recently revealed his thoughts and inspiration to SPIN.com. “I was down in those wetlands…talking about how important they were and the damage that was being inflicted on them,” says McIlrath. “And this was right before the oil spill! I could almost visualize a tear coming out of that guy’s eye, like, ‘Are you kidding me? Kicking us while we’re down?’”

Two of the band’s previous albums, 2004’s Siren Song of the Counter Culture and 2006’s The Sufferer & The Witness, have both been RIAA-certified gold. The band released their fifth studio album, Appeal To Reason, on DGC/Interscope Records in the fall of 2008 and it debuted at #3 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart (their highest debut) as well as spending one week at #1 on the iTunes album chart. The album is nearly certified gold, and its first single, “Re-Education (Through Labor),” was a top 2 hit at modern rock radio. Its follow-up, “Audience Of One” reached the #4 spot on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. The album’s third single, “Savior,” was also its most successful, selling gold and breaking records for the longest running song at Alternative radio.