Be Here Now, 2008

Time's a wastin' and we have records to make, crystals to dig, and all sorts of other mysterious and interesting projects to tell you about. We don't mean to tease, it's just that these things take time and nurturing. Since you've inquired, we want to give you a taste. There are albums dangling before our very eyes like crystalline carrots...rays of light and waves of sound refracting and bending in prismatic wonder, a hall of mirrors in Timothy Leary's changing room. But we won't do that now.

We only have time for the hard facts, "bullet points" as they say in the biz. So let's get down to business:

Out now:
Soltero - You're No Dream (Read more here, and order direct from us! eMusic and iTunes too! And if you're lucky, catch Soltero live in France.)

Out soon:
Matt Bauer - The Island Moved In The Storm (Tune in on 6/9 to Irene Trudel's show on WFMU and see him live @ Joe's Pub NYC 6/18)

Out later:
Moon & Moon - VII Acts of an Iron King (preview in the crystal player!)

Strand of Oaks - Leave Ruin (yes, the crystal player!)

Check out:
The Media page for more mp3's, videos, podcasts, tour footage filmed by blind people on pogo sticks, and a Matt Bauer live session from Germany, and a Strand of Oaks "Secret Stereo" session!

Rumours:
What? Albums from iDeath? Dragon Turtle? New recordings in the works from The Black Swans and Lewis & Clarke?

Advice:
Look into the crystalline carrot and remember, the mirror won't lie to you. Set sail, shed scales, and let the music light the lamps...

March 2008

Tours and more tours.... This means Columbus, Ohio's darkest birds The Black Swans in the midst of a national tour, as well as Lewis & Clarke, Strand of Oaks, and Soltero coming soon to a town near you. And there's gentle giant Matt Bauer, currently in Europe backing Alela Diane and playing a string of solo dates. So click on the shows page, please. Then go see our artists live, while they still play their own instruments.

Records, too! We are delighted to announce May 20 for the release of You're No Dream, the latest from Soltero. Soltero's Tim Howard is as prolific as he is under-the-radar, until now...You be the judge, as there is indeed a new song in the player, Honey Say It, our favorite little gem of the album. Our friends Messie Murders will facilitate the release in France, hand-in-hand with select Soltero dates overseas. More soon....

Check out the new Lewis & Clarke video which reconstructs indie-folk-cum-performance-spandex-gesture-piece over at Stereogum. You'll like it. Also of note for the neo-baroque soul-benders, our friends at Manimal Vinyl have invited L & C to contribute to their latest benefit compilation, Perfect As Cats, A Tribute To The Cure.

At the moment, there are other treasures here at La-Soc HQ: finished masters of new records including a mythical epic from Moon & Moon, Strand of Oaks' hometown deathbed confession hymns and ghost-whisperer Matt Bauer. Are they amazing? Yes, and they will prove to accompany the floral and aural fauna of our early midsummer night's daydreams. Stay tuned, dreamers....

It's too damn cold in Pennsylvania to sit here and type about The Black Swans US Tours and Daytrotter Sessions, or year-end lists where The Onion makes statements about Lewis & Clarke like "Lou Rogai finally puts the lame-ass freak-folk label to rest by making an album that's as grounded in real life as it is sublimated in ether." There is no time for telling you, our rabid music freak, about videos that look like they have been filmed by a blind person on a pogo stick, or other such peripheral wankery. Sometimes reality is as plain as frostbite, the stove is out of coal, and it's time for Tom to chop some wood....So you may please click on some blue links or something, and check back soon, we'll tell you all about the upcoming Soltero, Moon & Moon, Strand of Oaks and Matt Bauer records! (pssst....there's a new song in the player) Stay warm....and thanks for a wonderful year.

Even our mom called last month "Rocktober," with Lewis & Clarke closing their North American tour with Bat For Lashes, The Black Swans beginning their pre-release wanderings, and all of La Société Expéditionnaire piling up in Brooklyn for CMJ at Union Pool on the 17th and at Sound Fix on the 18th, it looks like mother was right.

And since everyone loves nicknames, let's call this page of the calendar "Slow-vember" because the 6th is the day when The Black Swans present us with Change!, their new knotty dose of creaky truths that comes at you like a snail with a giant brain. It's already getting the big buzz with Pitchfork and Stereogum wetting appetites with news and music. Pre-Orders shipping now! Most importantly, please check out the "making of" video on The Black Swans' artist page. "Where's my buddy Jerry?"

Oh, and Lewis & Clarke just recorded a Daytrotter session in Rock Island, Illinois, and The Black Swans have one on the books before the month is out. Fine folks, over there in Rock Island...Rocktober? Hmmm....Once again, this makes La-Soc say, "Dig the crystals."

Coming in 2008: Moon & Moon delivers a seven-act performance/musical theater piece, an epic tale of angst, hunger, tragedy, failure, and ultimately, hope. Strand of Oaks prepares to Leave Ruin and we are invited along...in the meantime, check out an exclusive Oaks EP and interview at Secret Stereo! Full lengths from Dragon Turtle and iDeath all on the way.

Addendum: In case you exist only in an isolated bubble of contemporary popular sub-culture and music critique, unaware of our global political climate, please peek at the situation in Burma and spread the word! The word is powerful, and it starts with each of us.

Viva La Soc!

September 2007


Lewis & Clarke have announced North American fall dates, including a tour with Brighton UK's finest, Bat for Lashes. We could not be more pleased with the pairing of such enchanting and spellbinding beauty. Blasts of Holy Birth is now available digitally, as well as climbing the CMJ charts and warming the hearts and souls of music lovers everywhere. Also, Stereogum's Brandon Stosuy caught up with Lou to discuss the finer points of balance...read the interview here.

The La Société Expéditionnaire über-official CMJ Showcase:
Join us on October 17th at Union Pool in Williamsburg Brooklyn: Moon & Moon, The Black Swans, Lewis & Clarke, Strand of Oaks and Dragon Turtle...more here.

Change! is the new album by The Black Swans, coming November 6. This record has had us nailed to the floor with our jaws wide open, drooling, and is bound to tug your heartstrings, and then some...Click the crystal and have a listen for yourself, and catch them live all over the place this fall.

Spring/Summer 2007

Lewis & Clarke's Blasts of Holy Birth
Shipping now! Streaming here! The response has been overwhelming...alas, words alone can do no justice, it simply must be experienced in context. Get on it, celebrate spring with this wonder of aural yoga.
Info, mp3, tracklisting, and order info on the releases page.

Strand of Oaks on the radio
While working out details of the upcoming Leave Ruin, Tim and his special guests performed a live session from Simple Folk Radio out of Brighton, UK. Listen to it here, on our new iMeem player.

The Black Swans phone it in
Tune in to the sound of grown men clad in undergarments and other peculiar attire as they hijack an Ohio University dorm room, acquire a shirtless music student to accompany them on "lead guitar", and perform the finest and most surreal set in the history of the program. From the belly of the beast, amongst brazen co-eds, and under the radar of campus security, The Black Swans perform live on Phoning It In.
"He's on a scholarship."

Busters Magazine
"Looks good in a pocket, take it on the bus, cool your eyes on a Busters Magazine."



More soon, including upcoming releases (see below) , tourdates, and witticisms, now back to the gardening...

Winter 2006

Dig deep, friends. Our crystal cluster is growing, and the glowing oracle is forecasting the arrival of many treasures in the form of limited edition vinyl, digital releases, Busters Magazine, and some amazing albums on the way from Lewis & Clarke, Strand of Oaks, and Moon & Moon. Read on...

"I'll keep touching myself"
Strand of Oaks' Timothy Showalter reveals all in Sister Evangeline. Has he cracked and gone too far, or is he merely presenting a character narrative? Perhaps both. Leave Ruin is the wonderful new album in mixing stages at One Forest, It is a beauty of an album which will take them out of the basement and into the civic arena before anyone can cry "Judas!"... In the meantime, you can get your dose of Oaks nectar in the form of a sweet split 7" with Dragon Turtle.


"Two sons? I have two sons?"
The pleading voice of a distressed mother quivers in disbelief during Act II of the workings from Moon & Moon, referred to by one ill-advised music critic as "an acid burnout (not, as rumoured, Devendra Banhart) fronting three percussionists, three keyboardists and a bassist making shockingly listenable hippie jams." This is one of the more amusing descriptions we have heard, and there has been quite a lot of misinformation and rumour surrounding this outfit, so here's to keeping the fake-tasters guessing. Feel free to investigate the concept for yourself, click the crystal...

Coming soon: less language, more music, online store, photo album, free downloads, space. Check back with us.