Maps of Norway Break Up

Download: Maps of Norway - "Manners"
Download: Maps of Norway - "The Runout"
Download: Maps of Norway - "Strict Ritual"

City Pages got the news that MPLS-based neo-new-wave quartet Maps of Norway, who only last year put out their second record, Die Off Songbird, have decided to call it quits, citing personal satisfaction with their recorded output and general fatigue.

Directly from the City Pages piece:

Why the decision to call it quits now, so hot on the heals of your well received Die Off Songbird?

I think everyone has their own reasons and feelings to an extent. For me, I think the real reasons bands break-up is when you're satisfied with something...But, also, there's just a lot of life factors that go into it. People start wanting to do different things in life, maybe get a little sick of not getting home until 4AM after a show....at the same time, I'm very proud to have been in this band and I feel like we accomplished way more than we could have hoped for when we began.

Well, ain't that a shame? Seems like the band had a lot going for it. Still, as one K. Rogers said, you gotta know when to hold them, fold them, etc. We wish the band well in all of its future endeavors. In the meantime, listen to their great single from 2008's Songbird, called "The Runout," along with two other tracks, courtesy of their label, Guilt Ridden Pop.

Maps of Norway's last show will be in April @ the Turf Club

Maps of Norway MySpace Page

The Narrator Break Up - But Not Before Recording One of Their Best Songs Ever

Download: The Narrator - "Surfjew"
Download: The Narrator - "Pregnant Boys"
Download: The Narrator - "The Party's Over"
Download: The Narrator - "We Call Police"
Download: The Narrator - "The Cavaliers"
Download: The Narrator - "Try Not To Breathe"


Despite all of the dreams one may have about living the good rock n' roll life, the reality for most bands is one of constant struggle. Few bands know this better than Chicago-based The Narrator, a group with musical similarities to Pavement and Archers of Loaf. Their third full-length, All That To The Wall, was filled with sly, slacker-filled self-deprecation and treble-heavy, guitar-driven hooks, but there were many lyrics that addressed the pains and bores of working at a lackluster job, finding out your ex-girlfriend is getting married, and enough ennui to fuel an entire city's worth of quarter-life crises. Furthermore, the time before recording of that record was a period rife with conflict--the band lost its drummer and almost broke up.

So it comes as no surprise--though it still is unfortunate news all the same--that a Time Out Chicago post has revealed that the band is breaking up. Nothing has been issued by way of a band statement, but the quartet did announce via their MySpace page that they've got two final shows coming: one on May 3rd at the Empty Bottle and the other on May 10th at the Red Door in New York.

It would seem that their lyrics about "quitting while we're behind" are all too prophetic. That said, the band posted one last track called "So The End", an outtake from Wall, and its a song that shows the band going out on top musical form. The song is about Sam Axelrod recalling a dream where he's friend with Bob Dylan (apropos of the fact that The Narrator covered a Dylan song on their last record) and how the former Robert Zimmerman asks Axelrod about his group. And boy, does Axelrod tell him. "We're broke/and we're spent/and it's starting to take its toll" goes one lyric. "I've figured it out/and I can't live like this" goes another. Finally, after starting off as a plaintive, acoustic-folk number, "So The End" triumphantly crescendos into a waltz, with all the band singing along to the refrain of "I can't live on this witch's salary". It's a bittersweet moment because of the fact that the track is such a great sing-along, and the band's profile seemed to be rising--but it seems like acclaim from the likes of Stereogum and Rolling Stone will only take you so far. Still, it's a track that the band should be proud of.

Stream "So The End" at the band's MySpace Page

Listen to tracks from all of the Narrator's catalog--all MP3s via Flameshovel--along with the group's cover of R.E.M's "Try Not To Breathe", at the top of the post.

Buy Narrator records here.

The Narrator on MySpace

(Jonathan Graef)

Godspeed You! Black Emperor Call It Quits...But Not

Download: Godspeed You! Black Emperor - "Hung Over As The Queen In Maida Vale" (John Peel Session)
Download: Godspeed You! Black Emperor - "The Dead Flag Blues (intro)"

Over the weekend, it was reported that one of post-rock's most beloved and influential collectives had, after being on hiatus for five years, finally decided to separate permanently.

The reasons for thinking that the Montreal-based band has gone their separate ways Godspeed You! Black Emperor were an interview via an interview with Drowned By Sound, as well as a cryptic MySpace blog entry. Core GSYBE member Efrim Menuck revealed toDrowned By Sound the social (inter-band tension) and political (an "existential freak-out" caused by the second Iraq war) reasons the group resolved to no longer exist.

Merick says:

The last American tour that Godspeed did was in the run up to the current war in Iraq. For what Godspeed did, it was very difficult for us to work out a way for us to communicate directly with the audience about what was going on. We would talk to people after the shows, or we could make announcements from the stage but so much what Godspeed was, was one-way communication.

“And I had an existential freak-out about that. That those tactics aren’t valid anymore...On a personal level I now find [Godspeed You! Black Emperor] to be inappropriate [to do]. There’s a complicated back story. I reached a point whereby I was no longer willing to contribute to the steering of the ship... I think that bands do have a short shelf life… they should be able to ply their trade ‘til they no longer want to

.

Those quotes would make the closing of the GS!YBE seem pretty apparent, no? Well, apparently, not so much. P4K reported this morning that the Drowned By Sound interview was a misquotation. Menuck said, via a publicist, that "It's true, Godspeed hasn't existed for years, we've been on permanent hiatus since 2002. If and when we do call it quits permanently, it won't be because of the Iraq war."

Alrighty, Then. So Godspeed You! Black Emperor are still on hiatus despite a quote that pretty much says "hey kids, we broke-up". To be fair, Menuck's quotes could be also interpreted as being the explanation of why the band went into hiatus, and Drowned By Sound misinterpreted them. Either way, if DBS misquoted Menuck, then we're sure that a clarification or a correction statement will be issued soon.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Blood Brothers Break Up

Download: Blood Brothers - "Laser Life"

Jon and I played a little bit of hot potato with this post yesterday. Actually, it could better be described as me throwing the hot potato at him in the vain hope that he'd catch it. But he didn't (ed - I suck at catch), so here goes: The Blood Brothers broke up. They'd been dogged by rumors on the topic for quite a while, even going so far as to issue a statement about two weeks back saying that while the future was uncertain, they were together for the time being.

And then this turned up on MySpace:

Dear Friends,

After 10 years of making music as The Blood Brothers, we have made the collective decision that our time together has come to an end. We feel extremely fortunate to have spent such a deeply memorable and amazing part of our lives with each other. At this point, however, we feel it's best that our futures move forward on separate paths. We'd like to express our sincerest thanks and gratitude to all the bands we've played with, individuals who have helped us make our records, and fans who have come to our shows and picked up our music throughout the years. Your friendship, support and love hold such a profoundly special place in each of our hearts. We hope that the memories you attach to our music are as fond as those you have given us. Thank you and take care, we'll miss all of you.

Love,
The Blood Brothers

I was never much of a fan of the Blood Brothers, but I can recognize their influence and see how much they meant to their loyal fanbase, and I appreciate the fact that they certainly were somethin' else. The band's MySpace, complete with break up letter, is here.

Below is the incredibly cute video for "Set Fire to the Face On Fire."



(April Wright)