Video: Noel Gallaher's High Flying Birds - "AKA...What A Life!"

Noel Gallagher's debut solo album Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds is set to be released on October 17 via his own Sour Mash Records and so far we've received three singles, a bunch of b-sides and, with the release of the video for "AKA...What A Life!", also videos for all three singles. The video was unveiled on Thursday and features British actor and comedian Russell Brand as some sort of evil magician and Noel himself as the hero.

The clip is directed by Mike Bruce, who also directed the video for Noel's debut single "The Death Of You And Me". Watch the video for "AKA...What A Life!" below.

Video: Jonathan Wilson - "Canyon In The Rain"

I was first familiarized with Jonathan Wilson earlier this year as the producer of California folk rock band Dawes, and he released his second solo lp Gentle Spirit on Bella Union a short while ago. Gentle Spirit is a rather impressive work, deserving of far more attention than it's been given. A couple of days ago Wilson unveiled the video for the quiet "Canyon In The Rain", or rather for a shorted version of the track - the album version is almost six and a half minutes while the video is only slightly longer than three.

The Gaslight Anthem sign to Mercury, new album next year

New Jersey rock band and Springsteen aficionados The Gaslight Anthem released their latest record American Slang last summer on SideOneDummy but their next one, and fourth overall, will instead be released on Mercury Records. The band announced the news yesterday and they're leaving SideOneDummy (who also released their second lp The '59 Sound) on seemingly good terms, and are now signed to Mercury Records (that is Mercury/Island-Def Jam Records for North America and Mercury Records UK for the rest of the world to be specific) instead.

Wilco announce European tour for 2012

Wilco released their new album The Whole Love a short while ago and they're currently on tour in the US with a stop in Europe in late October/early November scheduled since quite some time. Those dates ignores quite a bit of Europe though, including my native Sweden, but today Wilco announced another leg of the tour, this one scheduled for late February and early March focusing on the other countries.

Video: Portugal. The Man - "So American" (official music video)

Last week I posted Portugal. The Man's performance of "So American" on Conan, which also happened to be their debut appearance on American national television, and a couple of days ago they released the official music video for that track. The video is directed by Nik Zografos and you can watch it below.

Stream: Kurt Vile - "Life's A Beach"

As we reported a month ago Kurt Vile is set to release a new ep called So Outta Reach on November 7 via Matador Records and back then you could listen to the a first track from the album called "The Creature". Yesterday Matador decided to share another track from the ep; the excellent "Life's A Beach", which you can listen to below.

Video: Dawes - "Time Spent In Los Angeles" (official music video)

Dawes' Nothing Is Wrong remains one of my favourite records released this year and in early September they unveiled the video for the single "Time Spent In Los Angeles" but until now I haven't been able to watch it due to regional restrictions for the videos. I was finally able to watch it thanks to their European label Loose Music and you can as well, just check it out below.

Video: Veronica Falls - "Come On Over" (TLOBF session)

UK music website The Line Of Best Fit introduced me to London-based indie pop-rock band Veronica Falls a couple of months ago and they've now released their self-titled debut album in the US and digitally in the UK, with the physical release coming on October 17 via Bella Union. The very same The Line Of Best Fit unveiled a session video with Veronica Falls today, performing a stripped-down version of "Come On Over" in a vintage shop as part of their Bella Union-week. Watch the video below.

Video: Laura Marling perform "All My Rage" and "The Muse" on Jools Holland 10/4

Laura Marling released her third lp A Creature I Don't Know in September and in the coming weeks she'll be touring the UK in support of the album. Last night she guested Later...with Jools Holland to perform two tracks from A Creature I Don't Know; "All My Rage" and "The Muse". Check out the excellent performances below.

Stream: The Gaslight Anthem - "State Of Love And Trust" (Pearl Jam cover)

New Jersey rockers The Gaslight Anthem are set to release an iTunes Session ep on December 13 via SideOneDummy Records and they've released their cover of Pearl Jam's 1992 classic "State Of Love And Trust" as a teaser track for the release. The session was recorded in New York on July 25 and consists of six track, with a seventh as a pre-order bonus track.

The tracklist includes one brand new original song called "Our Fathers Son's", plus "Boxer" from their latest record American Slang and four covers. The covers are the aforementioned Pearl Jam track, The Who's "Baba O'Riley", Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' "Refugee" plus the folk ballad "House Of The Rising Sun" - on which I'd guess that they take their cue from The Animals classic rendition. The bonus track I mentioned earlier is "The Navesink Bank", originally released on their debut lp Sink Or Swim.

Stream: Bright Eyes (feat. First Aid Kit) - "We're Going To Be Friends" (The White Stripes cover)

First Aid Kit's upcoming second lp was produced by Bright Eyes' Mike Mogis and they've opened for Bright Eyes earlier this year, and now they're featured on Conor Oberst & co's cover of The White Stripes' "We're Going To Be Friends". The recording is taken from a charity lp called Cool For School: For The Benefit Of The Lunchbox Fund, and the Lunchbox Fund is a charity that provides food for schools in South Africa. The lp will be released digitally on October 11 and features among others, besides Bright Eyes and First Aid Kit, Albert Hammond Jr. of The Strokes and Alexander aka Alexander Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros. Stream Bright Eyes and First Aid Kit's take on "We're Going To Be Friends" below.

MP3: Yim Yames - "Wonderful (The Way I Feel)" (live)

In October last year T Bone Burnett organized a series of charity concerts for arts education dubbing it The Speaking Clock Revue, and Shout! Factory are set to release a compilation of choice tracks from the performances called T Bone Burnett Presents The Speaking Clock Revue Live From The Beacon Theatre.

Among the artists who participated in the event and appear on the cd there's a few that stand out like Yim Yames aka Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Elvis Costello and Neko Case, and you can listen to Jim James' track below (it's a pretty great performance of My Morning Jacket's "Wonderful (The Way I Feel)"). Listen to the track or download it, plus check out the full tracklist, below.

Stream: The Hives - "Thousand Answers"

I used to be a big The Hives fan a around 2006-2007 but I've lost interest in them in the past couple of years, although they still deliver live. Their latest album was released in 2007 but they're currently working the follow-up, and they've now released a track called "Thousand Answers" for the soundtrack of FIFA 12. The track wouldn't have been out of place on 2007's The Black and White Album and should please fans of that record, but it might leave fans looking for a return to their early sound unsatisfied. Listen to it below.

Stream: Noel Gallagher - "Alone On The Rope"

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds are set to release their self-titled debut album on October 17 via Noel's own Sour Mash Records and we've previously been treated with three singles from the album; "The Death Of You And Me", "If I Had A Gun..." and "AKA...What A Life!". Today Noel Gallagher released a new tune called "Alone On The Rope" as an independent download on Amazon's UK site, but it's not scheduled to appear on the album. It's weaker than all three singles though, so that might just be for the better, but it's still worth hearing - give it a listen below.