New Music: R.E.M., Sondra Lerche, Phonograph, Q-Tip

The July 4th holiday weekend is here, so we won’t delay in checking out this week’s roundup of new music coming our way.

With R.E.M. we’ve already mentioned Reckoning Songs From The Olympia, a live digital EP due on iTunes and all digital service providers on July 7th, 2009. But the EP is merely an appetizer to their upcoming Live at the Olympia double album.

The double live album chronicles the band’s five-night run at the Olympia in the summer of 2007.

According to Blurt, 11 of the songs debuted during the five shows ended up on Accelerate, R.E.M’s 14th studio album. The live sets also featured some of band’s earlier work, including rarely played songs off of Murmur, Reckoning, Fables of the Reconstruction, Life’s Rich Pageant and Document.

No full track list just yet.

Sondre Lerche is back with his fifth studio album, titled Heartbeat Radio, and due for release on September 8th via Rounder Records.

Heartbeat Radio will be supported by a yet-to-be-announced North America tour in September, then onto Europe in October.

Heartbeat Radio Track list:

• 01. Good Luck
• 02. Heartbeat Radio
• 03. I Cannot Let You Go
• 04. Like Lazenby
• 05. If Only
• 06. Pioneer
• 07. Easy to Persuade
• 08. Words and Music
• 09. I Guess it’s Gonna Rain Today
• 10. Almighty Moon
• 11. Don’t Look Now
• 12. Goodnight

Phonograph, the Brooklyn based alt-country band, return with their new full-length album, OKNO, on Sept. 29.

Recorded at The Bunker Studio in Brooklyn New York over the first few months of 2009, OKNO includes guest performances from Grace Potter, David Amram, Jeremy Turner of the New York MET, and Charlie Hunter Trio member, Erik Deutsch.

OKNO’s track listing is as follows:

• 1. You/Me
• 2. OKNO
• 3. Wellwisher
• 4. Are You Gonna?
• 5. Holy Rollers
• 6. Cedars
• 7. Mountaintops
• 8. Less Than Expected
• 9. American Music
• 10. Paper Bag
• 11. Lily Eyes
• 12. Uke

An August/September tour of the Midwest and East Coast will be announced shortly.

Q-Tip will release Kamaal The Abstract on Sept. 15 via Battery Records. The album has been on the shelf since 2001 due to conflicts with Q’s former label, Arista Records.

Tip produced the entire record, and plays most of the instruments himself.

“What comes from Kamaal is a daring mélange of soul, supa-cool jazz, head nodding hip-hop,and organic pop magic in the vein of Stevie Wonder or Prince,” says the press release.

Track list:

• 1. Feelin’
• 2. Do U Dig U?
• 3. A Million Times
• 4. Blue Girl
• 5. Barely in Love
• 6. Heels
• 7. Abstractionisms
• 8. Caring
• 9. Even If It Is So