Facts in on New Arcade Fire

This is probably only news for those of you living under a rock. Merge and the band have announced a release date for Arcade Fire's third album, 'The Suburbs'. You can preorder the CD or double LP with download right now, but you'll still have to wait for Aug. 3 like the rest of us. Have you heard the first single and B-side yet? It sounds great but not much like what we're used to from these Canadians. Seems like they have scaled back from that full sound that occupies so much space on 'Funeral' and 'Neon Bible.' Now, obviously, you can rip the two new songs in the usual places. So, I'm not going to post mp3s this time around. Stream "The Suburbs" b/w "Month of May" at the band's Web site, right here.

When I started writing this post last night, Lollapalooza was the only U.S. stop for Arcade Fire, but a few more dates trickled in today. The big surprise is that in a few cities they will be playing with fellow Merge mates Spoon. Now that's a heck of a double bill. Here are the U.S. dates so far:

Aug. 1 - Boston - Bank of America Pavilion
Aug. 2 - Philadelphia - The Mann Center (with Spoon)
Aug. 4 - New York - Madison Square Garden (with Spoon)
Aug. 6 - Columbia, Md. - Merriweather Post Pavilion (with Spoon)
Aug. 8 - Chicago - Lollapalooza
Aug. 9 - Nashville - Ryman Auditorium
Aug. 11 - Atlanta - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre (with Spoon)

And this is from the CBC...