This is going to be fast (I swear).  My reputation as rambling, verbose news poster dude will be shattered and from now on you will recognize me as “Chuck the Brief.”  Or at least “Chuck the Way Briefer Than Usual.”

First up, celebrate St. Patrick’s Day – and perhaps the best full-length of 2011 – at Restorations’ Record Release Show Tonight in Philly!

Thurs March 17th
@ Kung Fu Necktie
21+, 8pm, Free
Restorations
Gods & Queens
The Holy Mess

The band is getting its copies of the 12″ today, so head out to what is sure to be terrific show and grab a slice of vinyl goodness for yourself.

Tiny Engines’ copies should be shipping from the plant today and will arrive next week.  If you haven’t pre-ordered this amazing Self-Titled LP, do it now and revel in your good decision making and keen ear for sweet music.

And if you’re wondering about the status of your Tigers Jaw or Monument pre-orders, Will and I spent an entire Sunday assembling the majority of it and now I’m just trudging through the tediousness that is inputting names / addresses into the Tiny Engines database so I can print out mailing labels.  And let’s not forget that I still need to physically pack up everything and ship it out, which is no small task.  There are 200+ orders here and I spend a lot of time loving, caressing and kissing each one.  Psyche.  I will throw in an extra sticker or two though.

Hopefully I’ll be able to mail a big chunk of those orders out this weekend and then ship the remainder over the course of next week.  Thanks so much for your patience , everyone.  We really appreciate all your support!

One last quick note (which I’ll probably talk about more at length later) in regards to  the newest Switchboard Sessions with Restorations. The band performed versions of “Nonlocality” and “Canadian Club” via the telephone  (which you can download as free mp3s) while Dane cranked out yet another stellar feature / interview.  Seriously, everything about this site kicks ass. Some of you might recall that Everyone Everywhere participated in a Switchboard Session last year.  You can check that out here and read my thoughts about it here.  We love you, Dane … and no one else will understand this, but he and I are “Purple Cow Bros 4Eva.”  I don’t even think that Dane will understand that.

See how I capitalized Cattle Drums and slapped three fat exclamation points at the end? That’s how stoked we are to welcome this incredible Oneonta, NY five piece to the Tiny Engines family. Capital letters / multiple exclamation points stoked.  If I knew how to make a .gif of a unicorn jumping over a rainbow into a sea of cuddly puppies, I would have done that too.

p.s. – if anyone can actually finagle this .gif and somehow incorporate the Tiny Engines logo in there as well, I’ll give you a free test pressing.

In any case, I feel like we’ve been sitting on this announcement for a while, which is crazy because Cattle Drums’ debut EP, The Boy Kisser Sessions + 3, has been tearing up our stereos and iPods for the past few months.  It’s been tough keeping something this amazing a secret.

So cat = out of the proverbial bag: we’re officially releasing this eight-song EP today via iTunes and other digital retailers.  You can also grab it via our Bandcamp for a very special, limited-time price of only $4.

Of course, most people prefer the “try before you buy” method before committing to such a huge decision regarding the spending $4 (sarcasm), so either stream it at the bandcamp link above or click here to download an mp3 for the song “Sluts And Coconuts.” Follow your hearts and ears and do the right thing. Also, our friends at RCRD LBL will be giving away the song “Who Punched Pat Moore’s Face” later today, so swing by around noon-ish (EST) and grab that gem.

Additionally, you can watch this video of Cattle Drums performing an acoustic version of “Two Pigeons” on a roof in the band’s hometown.  Seriously – who plays on a roof?  Our bands, that’s who.  And these guys.

So what does Cattle Drums sound like?  One blogger wrote something to the effect of  ”a pop punk version of At The Drive-In.” Eh … maybe.  The quintet certainly shares similar qualities of an ATDI, not to mention peers such as La Dispute or mewithoutYou.  We even hear traces of emo, post-punk, math rock and yes, rustic Americana. One thing is for sure – it’s not often that you find a band that cranks out songs that are so undeniably infectious and catchy but that also keeps things simultaneously unpredictable and volatile.  Bear Versus Shark were a lot like that … in the way it felt like the outfit was constantly spinning wildly, aggressively out of control, yet it always had an expert command of its craft and the innate ability to embrace melody. That’s another touchpoint that isn’t too far removed from Cattle Drums’ wheelhouse. Still, however you slice it, The Boy Kisser Sessions + 3 is anything but ordinary and the band’s debut is an undeniably fun, unique listen; we’re so excited to see where the boys go from here.

On that note, Cattle Drums will be recording its debut LP in May for an early Fall vinyl release from Tiny Engines.  Someone cue the unicorn / rainbow / puppies.

First, I don’t think that I ever made an official announcement, but the Annabel 7-inches are in … and boy, do they look awesome.  The photo to your left might not be an entirely adequate representation, but the printed polybags were really a nice touch.  If you’re still unclear as to what I’m talking about, here’s a shot of the bags without the artwork.

Unfortunately, the band wasn’t able to screen any inserts, but as you can see, there’s lyrics and liners on the inside of the full-color jackets.

All pre-orders of Here We Are Tomorrow have  shipped.  If you haven’t checked out this amazing 7″, we highly recommend it.  These four songs are truly some of, if not the best in Annabel’s impressive catalog.

Continuing with the Annabel theme, the band is leaving for a short East Coast tour on Monday with good friends Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate).  You can read more about it here, including all the pertinent show details.

In Monument news, I know that some of you are clamoring for pre-orders, but we had a small issue (ie: the dumbest f_ck up ever) with the test pressings and we basically had to start over.  We’re on track now, but it’s still going to push things back another 2-3 weeks.

The good news is that you can still download Goes Canoeing from iTunes or for a very special $5 price from Bandcamp.  Also, the band has a self-released CD version as well.  Grab that here.

Up next, Tigers Jaw is about to head to the UK for a tour with the terrific End Of A Year in support of it’s new full-length on Run For Cover, Two Words.  It’s all pretty stellar stuff and if you live in England, you should definitely make your way out to one of these shows.

So where is the Spirit Desire 7″ repress, then?  I assure you, it’s in the works.  We’re actually getting a different manufacturing plant to do it, so the masters / mothers are in transit, but essentially the order has been placed.  Anyone excited about pink vinyl?

Finally, the biggest piece of news (I suppose) is that Castevet is changing its name to CSTVT.  The transition will be gradual, but the band’s upcoming 7″ and full-length on Run For Cover will reflect the new moniker. For now you can still find the outfit’s older releases and digital tunes under Castevet.

Like Annabel and Tigers Jaw, Castevet – ahem, I mean CSTVT – will be embarking on a short holiday tour beginning tomorrow (Dec 26th). The Chicago quartet will be playing with Stay Ahead Of The Weather, as well as a litany of other amazing bands such as My Heart To Joy, Balance and Composure, Everyone Everywhere, Snowing, Agent, Koji, The Felix Culpa, The World Is A Beautiful Place… and most notably, Street Smart Cyclist at its reunion show.  To read more about the name change, upcoming release news and tour info, go here.

Finally, as of 12:51am Central Time on December 26th, we have four copies remaining of The Echo & The Light.  We definitely plan on repressing soon, but if you’re into first edition stuff, grab one now!

Again, thanks for all your support and for keeping excited to release records.  Here’s to what’s shaping up to be an amazing 2011!

Just a quick note about the pre-orders for Annabel‘s awesome new 7″, Here We Are Tomorrow. We received / approved the test pressings last week, which means we should have vinyl fairly soon. I don’t want to get too crazy with predictions but I’d say maybe next week. Of course, there’s the Thanksgiving holiday to contend with, so who knows.

We’re also still waiting on the printed polybags from our pals at Night Owl Print Shop, as well as the hand-screened inserts from the band. The awesome dudes at Imprint Indie Printing managed to come through with jackets (rather quickly) and they look absolutely terrific.

Best case scenario, we’ll be mailing these suckers out the first week in December. Fingers crossed!

Of course, if you’re reading this post and thinking to yourself “Anna-who?  Here What … We Are Tomorrow?” save yourself the trouble and just go to our store and pre-order the damn thing. These five songs are seriously amazing – hands down the best stuff the band has written – and if you liked other Tiny Engines releases, particularly Tigers Jaw, then you’ll definitely love this.

We’re currently giving away two songs from Here We Are Tomorrow, so you can check em out for yourself. The first corker, “The Forgetting Of Names And Faces,” can be downloaded here, and the second, “We Came As Today,” can be obtained via Tweet For A Track. How does it work?  You tweet … you get a track. Duh.

More updates as they become available. Also, check back next week for a hint about our next release. We love you (but not in the biblical sense).

Bla bla bla, I think I just answered my own question.

Of course, it’s not that we don’t absolutely love Here We Are Tomorrow, the newest EP from Kent, Ohio’s Annabel. Quite the opposite, really. After working with the band at Beartrap for the past three years, Will, Jeff and I have always counted ourselves amongst its biggest fans.

Still, all it took was one spin for this latest batch of songs to pretty much knock it the hell out of the park and subsequently propel Annabel to a completely different stratosphere of indie / punk rock. There’s simply no need for persuasive rhetoric or heated debate; these five tracks speak for themselves … and they speak more convincingly than I ever could.

So let me give you the basics in regard’s to Tiny Engine’s 5th official release, because it’s now available for pre-order and you should definitely pick one up, post haste.

Annabel’s Here We Are Tomorrow (TE105) contains 4 incredible songs (plus a 5th bonus digital-only track) that will be pressed on cobalt blue (300) and maroon (200) vinyl. The packaging boasts a folder-style jacket with full-color printing on both sides, and the band is hand-screening / hand-numbering all the inserts. Furthermore, this sweet little jammy will feature printed polybags, very similar to the newest Self-Titled LP from Gifts To Enola on The Mylene Sheath. Check out this pic and you’ll get an idea of what I’m talking about. Definitely stoked to see how it all comes together.

While nothing is guaranteed, we’re expecting the records arrive within the next three weeks so all pre-orders should be sent out toward the end of November.  The record will also be available soon via iTunes and other digital retailers.  In the meantime, you can stream the first track from the 7-inch, “The Forgetting Of Names And Faces,” on the band’s myspace page.  The song is also available for download as part of Punknews.org’s recent The Fest 9: A Free Compilation (Volume 1).

Thanks as always for your patience and enthusiasm toward Tiny Engines. Just in case you forgot, we really appreciate all your love and support and we hope to continue paying you back with amazing new releases like this one from Annabel.