Sled Island has announced the full lineup for the anticipated music and arts festival set to take place at over 30 venues in Calgary, Alberta on June 20 to June 23, 2012. The festival presents emerging and established local talent alongside national and international independent music, comedy, film and art. The film component of Sled Island 2012 will take place prior to the music and arts portion from June 18 to June 20, 2012.

Sled Island has recruited more than 200 diverse performers to take the stages over the four days, including over 140 newly added acts. Confirmed additions are: seminal San Diego post-hardcore band, Hot Snakes; prolific songwriter, Lou Barlow; ’80s new wave and garage/punk revivalists, The Spits; the soulful spinning of DJ Jonathan Toubin; now age psychedelic act, Prince Rama; slick electronic soundscaper, CFCF; Calgary synth-punk act, Teledrome; and many more.

Audiences at Sled Island 2012 will be treated to experiencing acclaimed and well-known artists in unique and intimate settings. The festivities will continue late into the night, as the after parties will commence as the shows end. Sled Island is also pleased to participate in Calgary 2012, the celebration of Calgary as the Cultural Capital of Canada. 2012 marks a pivotal year in Calgary’s cultural history including the centennial anniversaries of some of the city’s cultural cornerstones: Calgary Stampede, City of Calgary Recreation, Calgary Public Library and Theatre Junction Grand and Pumphouse Theatres.

Sled Island Announces Full Festival Lineup
Feist
The Hold Steady
Archers of Loaf
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
Hot Snakes **
Andrew W.K. (Guest Curator)
The Sadies
Thurston Moore
The Antlers
Lou Barlow **
Craig Finn
Reigning Sound
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet
The Strange Boys
Timber Timbre
Hayes Carll
Samantha Savage Smith
Willis Earl Beal
Tim Hecker
Trust
Bonjay
The Spits **
Nomeansno
Russian Circles
And So I Watch You From Afar
YAMANTAKA//SONIC TITAN
How To Dress Well
Duchess Says
Prince Rama **
CFCF **
Doldrums
BadBadNotGood
DJ Jonathan Toubin **
Terry Malts
Teledrome **
Many more!

Comedy Lineup
Todd Barry
Tim Heidecker
Neil Hamburger
Hannibal Buress
Gavin McInnis
Natasha Leggero
Nick Flanagan **
More!

** just announced

Chicago trio, Russian Circles, today announced extensive Spring 2012 tour dates throughout Europe and the UK in support of their critically praised new album Empros. Please see complete dates below.

Russian Circles return with not only their fourth and heaviest album to date—but also with Empros they’re poised to take the crown as innovators reinvigorating the staid trappings of genre. Empros picks up where the anthemic riffs and melodies of 2009′s (i>Geneva left off and injects evermore slithering rhythms amid skull-crushing heft with all the visceral intensity of Godflesh, Swans and Neurosis. Put simply, Empros is Russian Circles’ Master of Reality: a radical revision of both heavy and melody that is monolithic in its clarity and perfection. Or, like a lone surviving wooly beast emerging from a brutal winter’s frost, Empros is the sound of a band shaking the ages from its shoulders with all the brutal force of a behemoth awakened.

Russian Circles Tour Dates
Apr 05 – Prague, CZ @ Matrix
Apr 06 – Vienna, AT @ Arena
Apr 07 – Munich, DE @ Feierwerk
Apr 08 – Dresden, DE @ Beatpol
Apr 09 – Berlin, DE @ Festsaal Kreuzberg
Apr 10 – Warsaw, PL @ Hydrozagadka
Apr 11 – Vilnius, LT @ Propaganda
Apr 12 – Riga, LV @ Gertrudes 101
Apr 13 – Tallinn, ES @ Electric Storm Festival at Tapper
Apr 14 – Helsinki, FI @ Virgin Oil Company
Apr 15 – Moscow, RU @ Gogol
Apr 16 – Stockholm, SE @ Strand
Apr 17 – Oslo, NO @ Revolver
Apr 18 – Gothenberg, SE @ Truckstop Alaska
Apr 19 – Copenhagen, DK @ KB 18
Apr 20 – Hamburg, DE @ Hafenklang
Apr 21 – Utrecht, NI @ Tivoli
Apr 22 – Brussels, BE @ Magasin 4
Apr 23 – Esch-Sur-Alzette, LU @ Rockhal
Apr 25 – Glasgow, UK @ Stereo
Apr 26 – Belfast, IE @ Speakeasy
Apr 27 – Limerick, IE @ Dolan’s Warehouse
Apr 28 – Dublin, IE @ Button Factory
Apr 29 – Manchester, UK @ The Ruby Lounge
Apr 30 – London, UK @ Scala Theater
May 02 – Paris, FR @ Point Ephemere
May 03 – Kortrijk, BE @ De Kreun
May 04 – Koln, DE @ Gebaeude 9
May 05 – Karlsruhe, DE @ Jubez
May 06 – Zurich, CH @ Rote Fabrik
May 07 – Geneva, CH @ Le Kab
May 08 – Milan, IT @ Magnolia
May 09 – Lyon, FR @ Le Clacson
May 11 – Bilbao, ES @ Azkena
May 12 – Porto, PT @ Hard Club
May 13 – Lisbon, PT @ Musicbox
May 14 – Madrid, ES @ Ritmo & Compas
May 15 – Barcelona, ES @ Apolo 2

Chicago trio, Russian Circles, premiered the first MP3 from their forthcoming new album on September 28th. The song, “Mladek” is culled from the band’s fourth full length, Empros, which will be available worldwide on October 25th.

The hard working band remains on the road this Fall with North American headlining shows in October & November—including a performance on the Black Stage at the Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, TX on November 4th. The tour concludes with a hometown Chicago show on December 3rd at Lincoln Hall. More tour dates are scheduled to be announced soon.

Russian Circles return with not only their fourth and heaviest album to date, but with Empros they’re poised to take the crown as innovators reinvigorating the staid trappings of genre. Empros picks up where the anthemic riffs and melodies of 2009′s Geneva left off and injects evermore slithering rhythms amid skull-crushing heft with all the visceral intensity of Godflesh, Swans and Neurosis. Put simply, Empros is Russian Circles’ Master of Reality: a radical revision of both heavy and melody that is monolithic in its clarity and perfection. Or, like a lone surviving wooly beast emerging from a brutal winter’s frost, Empros is the sound of a band shaking the ages from its shoulders with all the brutal force of a behemoth awakened.

Taking to Chicago’s Phantom Manor studio once again with producer Brandon Curtis of The Secret Machines & Interpol—who also helmed the band’s previous album Geneva—Russian Circles set out to experiment with their sound in new ways that would still reflect their live sound. In so doing, the band reached a new creative apex in which each of the musicians, guitarist Mike Sullivan, drummer Dave Turncrantz and bassist Brian Cook impart a streamlined and intensified attack to their songs that pummels even as it shifts throughout a range of moods and tempos.

The album opens with an imposing mechanical drone leading into funereal guitar notes that are abruptly interrupted by a propulsive drum beat as the proceedings of “309″ erupt into something akin to a neo-industrial revision of Celtic Frost. The song lunges through nearly 9 minutes of masterful rhythmic shifts and brutal guitar warfare with such assertive grace it sounds as though the band is throwing down a gauntlet defying all challengers. “Mladek” kicks off with the soaring notes of Sullivan’s signature hammer-on guitar arpeggios as Cook’s volume-swelling bass notes surge like bubbling molten lava. Turncrantz’s innovative rephrasing of the drum pattern elevates the song as it slinks from part to part, guided by the syncopated chatter traded between chiming guitar notes and churning bass. Elsewhere, there are beautiful moments of melodic respite, helping to underscore the album’s majestic strength. And, there may even be a few surprises awaiting within the album’s six tracks. There are riffs, yes&emdash;many of them. But, with Empros the entire band seems to be the embodiment of the riff itself.

Empros is Russian Circles’ first full-length to be released worldwide exclusively via Sargent House, the band’s longtime management company and record label that had previously released only the vinyl editions of its three prior albums. It will be available everywhere on LP, CD and digital download on October 25th, 2011.

Chicago trio, Russian Circles, reveals the title, cover art, track listing and release date for their forthcoming new album. The band’s fourth full length, titled Empros will be available worldwide via Sargent House on October 25th.

The hard-working band remains on the road this Fall with tour dates in Australia and New Zealand in September, followed by North American headlining shows in October and November, including a performance on the Black Stage at the Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, TX in early November.

Russian Circles return with not only their fourth and heaviest album to date, but also with Empros they’re poised to take the crown as innovators reinvigorating the staid trappings of genre. Empros picks up where the anthemic riffs and melodies of 2009′s Geneva left off and injects evermore slithering rhythms amid skull-crushing heft with all the visceral intensity of Godflesh, Swans and Neurosis. Put simply, Empros is Russian Circles’ Master of Reality: a radical revision of both heavy and melody that is monolithic in its clarity and perfection. Or, like a lone surviving wooly beast emerging from a brutal winter’s frost, Empros is the sound of a band shaking the ages from its shoulders with all the brutal force of a behemoth awakened.

Taking to Chicago’s Phantom Manor studio once again with producer Brandon Curtis of The Secret Machines & Interpol — who also helmed the band’s previous album Geneva — Russian Circles set out to experiment with their sound in new ways that would still reflect their live sound. In so doing, the band reached a new creative apex in which each of the musicians, guitarist Mike Sullivan, drummer Dave Turncrantz and bassist Brian Cook impart a streamlined and intensified attack to their songs that pummels even as it shifts throughout a range of moods and tempos.

The album opens with an imposing mechanical drone leading into funereal guitar notes that are abruptly interrupted by a propulsive drum beat as the proceedings of “309″ erupt into something akin to a neo-industrial revision of Celtic Frost. The song lunges through nearly nine minutes of masterful rhythmic shifts and brutal guitar warfare with such assertive grace it sounds as though the band is throwing down a gauntlet defying all challengers. “Mladek” kicks off with the soaring notes of Sullivan’s signature hammer-on guitar arpeggios as Cook’s volume-swelling bass notes surge like bubbling molten lava. Turncrantz’s innovative rephrasing of the drum pattern elevates the song as it slinks from part to part, guided by the syncopated chatter traded between chiming guitar notes and churning bass. Elsewhere, there are beautiful moments of melodic respite, helping to underscore the album’s majestic strength. And, there may even be a few surprises awaiting within the album’s six tracks. There are riffs, yes — many of them. With Empros, however, the entire band seems to be the embodiment of the riff itself.

Iconoclast Japanese trio Boris has just announced North American headlining tour dates beginning in October. Joining them on different legs is an eclectic mix of openers including: Asobi Seksu, Tera Melos, True Widow, Liturgy, Coliseum and Master Musicians of Bukkake. The band is currently co-headlining a European trek with new label mates Russian Circles.

Boris Tour Dates
BORIS & RUSSIAN CIRCLES / SAADE : EUROPEAN SUMMER TOUR 2011
July 11 – Hamburg, Germany @ HafenKlang
July 12 – Gothenberg, Sweden @ Truckstop Alaska
July 13 – Oslo, Norway @ John Dee
July 14 – Stockholm, Sweden @ The Strand
July 15 – Copenhagen, Denmark @Vega
July 16 – Dortmund, Germany @ FZW
July 17 – Dour, Belgium @ Dour Festival

BORIS
July 19 – Nuremberg, Germany @ Zentral Cafe K4
July 20 – Innsbruck, Austria @ PMK
July 21 – Zagreb, Croatia @ Mocvara
July 22 – Budapest, Hungary @ Durer Kert
July 24 – Wroclaw, Poland @ Events New Horizon Festival

BORIS NORTH AMERICAN TOUR 2011
Oct 07 – San Luis Obispo, CA @ SLO Brew *
Oct 08 – San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom *^
Oct 10 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater *^
Oct 11 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret *^
Oct 12 – Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s *^
Oct 15 – Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater * !
Oct 16 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room * !
Oct 17 – Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater * !
Oct 18 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theater * !
Oct 19 – Chicago, IL @ Metro * !
Oct 20 – Oberlin, OH @ Dionysus Disco /Oberlin College * !
Oct 22 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick + !
Oct 23 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace +
Oct 24 – Montreal, QU @ Cabaret du Mile End
Oct 25 – Boston, MA @ Royale Nightclub + #
Oct 27 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza + #
Oct 28 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer +
Oct 29 – Washington DC @ Black Cat + #
Oct 30 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle + =
Nov 01 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade + =
Nov 02 – Orlando, FL @ Firestone Live + =
Nov 03 – Tallahassee, FL @ The Engine Room =
Nov 04 – New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks + =
Nov 07 – Oklahoma City, OK @ ACM@UCO w/ Joe Lally
Nov 10 – Tempe, AZ @ The Clubhouse *
Nov 11 – San Diego, CA @ The Casbah *
Nov 12 – Los Angeles, CA @ EL Rey *

* w/ Tera Melos
^ w/ Master Musicians of Bukkake
! w/ Coliseum
+ w/ Asobi Seksu
# w/ Liturgy
= w/ True Widow