This weekend brought a big night for indie-folk fans, as pro-shot performances recorded last year by two of the genre’s biggest stars finally saw the light of day: Performing for long-running PBS program Austin City Limits, Joanna Newsom and Fleet Foxes wooed the Texas crowd and beyond by revisiting cuts spanning their debuts up to the most recent records from both acts. Standouts include Newsom’s version of — one of the best songs of 2010 — “Good Intentions Paving Company” and earlier tune “Bridges and Balloons,” which put the impressive maturing of her voice over the years on display. Meanwhile, Robin Pecknold and friends’ stunning harmonies remain beautifully intact for their set. (Keep an eye out for drummer/multi-instrumentalist J. Tillman, who recently announced his departure from the group, as this just might be your last chance to catch him backing up Pecknold and the boys for a while.) Enjoy Fleet Foxes’ 20-minute portion below while Newsom’s televised set is here.
Video: Los Campesinos! on Letterman
Welsh indie pop troupe Los Campesinos! brought brought their inspired live presence to an American television audience tonight, performing the lead single off their 4th LP, Hello Sadness, for the Late Show with David Letterman. Declaring the experience the “best moment of our lives,” Gareth Campesinos and Co. took on “By Your Hand” with vigor and precision for an impressively unified rendition given the 8-piece setup filling up the Ed Sullivan Theater stage. This clip is a can’t-miss for LC fans and newcomers alike, so let’s cut to the chase by giving it a spin below:
In other Los Camp news, tonight is only the beginning of a massive jaunt that finds the group touring Ontario, Canada, the U.S., and back home to the U.K. clear through March. You can find a date on their itinerary and pick up tickets here.
Jonny Greenwood, Krzysztof Penderecki Announce Album
Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood announced details for his latest side project today: a self-titled collaborative LP with Grammy Award-winning Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki. Included in the 15-track set are previously performed orchestral compositions Popcorn Superhet Receiver and 48 Responses to Polymorphia by Greenwood and Penderecki’s 1960 piece Threnody for the victims of Hiroshima in addition to Polymorphia.
Notably, both Greenwood’s Popcorn Superhet Receiver and Penderecki’s Polymorphia made memorable appearances in the film world, with the former inspiring parts of the score to director Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood and the latter used in 1973 horror classic The Exorcist.
Arriving on March 13 via Nonesuch Records, the release of Jonny Greenwood / Krzysztof Penderecki will be celebrated with a live rendition at London’s Barbican Hall on the 22nd of that month. Today, you can preview the forthcoming collection by checking out the tracklist below:
