The Decemberists

The year was 1993. The Pixies were fizzling out. It was time for a new quirky pop band to fill the void. (Who would provide that first track on some angsty 16-year-old's mix-tape?) The Breeders, featuring Pixies bassist Kim Deal (imagine that!), were that band. But alas, after a few semi-hits—“Cannonball” is the only song anyone with cable television remembers—they seemed a bit passé by, oh, 1996. By then, Ms. Deal was already busy with a little-remembered side project called the Amps. But here we are, some 15 years (and one milked-for-every-penny-it-was-worth Pixies reunion later), and who should have a new album out but … The Breeders! It’s called Mountain Battles, and it’s their fourth studio album, and first since 2002's Title TK. It's comforting in that, “I wish MTV still had shows like 120 Minutes” sort of way. As for the quality of the album itself, Radar writes that Battles “sounds like it came from the clouded minds of exalted 40-something indie-frumps who were hotboxing a 1982 Datsun in a Dayton, Ohio, parking lot.” Sounds good to us!  read more »

Fall Out Boy, Maroon 5, the Academy Is ..., Cartel, Coheed and Cambria, Colbie Caillat, Hot Hot Heat and the Decemberists will all be participating in MySpace's Rock for Darfur concert on November 10, MTVNews.com reports. A total of 32 concerts will take place on four continents to raise awareness about the Darfur conflict (kinda like Live Earth?).

A portion of the proceeds from the bands' previously scheduled shows will be donated to Oxfam International and the Save Darfur Coalition.

In New York, Gabby Glaser of Luscious Jackson will perform at The Annex and Victory Records' Streetlight Manifesto will play ska at The Grand Ballroom at Manhattan Center.

Central Park is at its most perfect--its greenest, sunniest, its coolest--when the Summerstage concert series rolls around. This July, the Decemberists (a band made famous by a song named "July, July!") will be headlining a big show with the big Brooklyn act Grizzly Bear.

The Fifth Avenue doyennes will love it. Indie rock ahoy!

Brief email from Capitol Records after the jump...  read more »