On Simian Mobile Disco’s website, the dance duo is promising the imminent release of something called Unpatterns, which we can probably assume is a new album. And on their Soundcloud page, SMD have posted a quick two-minute instrumental called “Fourteenth Principles,” which sounds like an intro track and seems like it should be followed by some monster beat dropping. Listen to it here.

Unpatterns, whatever it might be, is out 5/14.

“Gizzard” is a track taken from Simian Mobile Disco’s forthcoming split with the techno outfit Psychotron. This audio comes from SMD’s recent stop in Annie Mac’s BBC1 radio show, where James Ford and Jas Shaw talk about their next record (“weirder … fuzzy, and psychedelic, and warmer”); “Gizzard” is not in it. You’ll find its electro house beat drop in after five minutes of jocular Q&A here:

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This week’s clips from Arcade Fire, Rokysopp, Simian Mobile Disco, No Joy, and White Lies show off what’s possible when your videos don’t have to fit particular television formats and time limits. The suburban dystopias in Rokysopp’s and Arcade Fire’s extended videos are a little long and a little much for TV, especially with the shot of a horse’s head — skin stripped off, with chunks of flesh visible — in the Rokysopp video. Same goes for Simian Mobile Disco’s slow-motion clip of a pig being butchered (no one likes to know how their sausage — or dog food – is made). But other artists and directors don’t seem to care if their video is even accessible online, let alone on television. The Klaxons video has so much nudity and viscous fluid that YouTube won’t even put it behind a age verification wall.

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“Cruel Intentions” is Simian Mobile Disco’s Temporary Pleasure dance track with the Gossip’s Beth Ditto. Just a few days ago we heard the duo go “Off The Map” with Jamie Lidell. Before that Yeasayer’s Chris Keating helped James Ford and Jas Shaw represent their “Audacity Of Huge.” We’ve yet to hear the vocal turns of Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor, Gruff Rhys, Telepathe, etc., true, but it’s hard imagining any of these other voices sounding so comfortably natural piloting the SMD ship as Ditto does on this one.

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Sonic soul sorcerer Jamie Lidell says this collab cut, from Simian Mobile Disco’s forthcoming Temporary Pleasure LP, has been sitting in his vault with the title “Disco Fascist.” And with a hook that spells out the “D.I.S.C.O.,” why not turn it over to the UK beat mavens. The result of their joint tinkering is a gritty, clinking synthed-up clubber going under the name “Off The Map,” joining “The Audacity Of Huge (Feat. Yeasayer’s Chris Keating)” as the second advance listen from SMD’s vocal-cameo heavy new album. Have a listen at MySpace. (H/T P4K)

Other singers joining SMD on Temporary Pleasure include Beth Ditto, Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor, Gruff Rhys, Telepathe, and others. Album’s out 8/17 in the UK and 8/18 in the States via Wichita. You can catch SMD before that doing a DJ set next weekend at Lollapalooza.

Simian Mobile Disco’s second album Temporary Pleasure includes guest spots from Beth Ditto, Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor, Gruff Rhys, Telepathe, and others. One of these others, Yeasayer’s Chris Keating, adds his pipes to the collection’s first single “Audacity Of Huge.” The words? A million and one references to pop culture, art, literature, etc: The title’s clearly supposed to echo The Audacity Of Hope and James Ford and Jas Shaw’s lyrics/director Kate Moross’ images conjure James Joyce, Damien Hirst, Mamma Cass, Peter Tosch, Joey Ramone, Bill Murray, P.M. Dawn, etc. As in the past, analog synthesizers and drum machines were used in favor of computerized gizmos. For the video shiny eye candy was used in favor of anything not dipped in honey, sugar, or candy apple gloss.

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When you go to see Simian Mobile Disco live, make sure you are seeing the “proper set” as opposed to the DJ set. You’ll likely get SMD tunes either way, but only one comes with a massive light rig and a billion knobs spread across towering audio equipment to provide you with visual comfort that there is actually something more involved than clicking mouses. (There is.) The video for new single “Synthesise” that’s floating around today gets a title card calling it a “live performance,” but here that means the clip’s directors (Kate Moross & Alex Sushon) have constructed a live visual performance to synchronize with “Synthesise”‘s synthetic keyboard house. In other words if you see this one live it won’t necessarily look like this, which is for the best because SMD crowds are already doing perfectly great in the so-close-to-having-a-seizure department.

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Before we kick off the bulk of this week’s CMJ coverage, we’re gonna look all the way back to last week’s Iceland Airwaves Festival. Stereogum sent photog Abbey Braden overseas to take it all in. When not commiserating with locals about our countries’ financial crises, Abbey caught dozens of sets from familiar standbys (Fuck Buttons, Mae Shi, Simian Mobile Disco) and Icelandic buzz bands (Shogun, Weapons, Ultra Mega Technobandið Stefán) alike. Vampire Weekend was there, too! There are a ton of wonderful photos (and videos) for you after the jump, along with a brief but educational report from our correspondent to set the scene.

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The people of Austin are nice enough to welcome thousands (and thousands) of vagabond music fans into their city for a few days each year, so we decided to pay their stomping ground homage with a friendly game of Texas Music Triva. Keeping the music theme airtight, we had our friend Shea Hess ask a number of indie luminaries including Simian Mobile Disco, Wye Oak, YACHT, My Brightest Diamond, and the Ringers questions about the Lone Star state’s music history. Grab a Shiner and play along at home.

Best response: “True in the sense that it’s false.” Thank you, the Ringers.

Welcome to our night one photo spread. Every year we forget that we can’t be in every place at once … until we wind up waiting in line for two hours. But at least for last night, the lines were so worth the wait. Our first proper showcase of this year’s fest came compliments of Domino Records, who hosted the night’s best stacked lineup at Austin blues institution Antone’s. And really that show was all about These New Puritans, with scorching Fall-indebted tunes and the greatest in gold faux-feathered blouse fashion. After TNP we were on to the Free Yr Radio show at La Zona Rosa for a great Guided By No Age set via Times New Viking, crowd-rousing new age theatrics from Yeasayer, and a proper Simian Mobile Disco live set (that means huge lights, big equipment, and very sloppy crowd dancing). We have pics to relive all that magic, while Stereogum photog Abbey Braden held her ground at Antone’s for Lightspeed Champion (w/ Emmy the Great), Sons & Daughters, White Williams, and the Kills. Enjoy the scroll.

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