It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from the indie quartet from the northwest. About a year and a half ago, it was nearly impossible to keep Ben Gibbards name out of any sentence that concerned new music. DCFC had been around for awhile at that point, but the buzz was finally catching up. With the release of Plans, and the prior Transatlanticism, Cutie seemed to be out for our ears.

Not only was Soul Meets Body flooding the airwaves, but radio stations actually clued into the fact that The Postal Services ‘Give Up,’ was actually a good record. And now, Death Cab will be releasing a new disc, ‘Narrow Stairs’ sometime in the near future. It was Daytrotter that broke the news to me, with even more good news on the subject. They have exclusive tracks that are going to be available for download sometime in the next two weeks.

I think they’re slyly planning to release these mid-week before Coachella, where the quartet will be one of the near end acts on Saturday night. When the tracks are released, I’ll let you know, so you can head over to the trotter and load them up on your ipod for your trip. Til then, keep rockin socks.

Sub Pop, the label behind Nirvana and numerous other Northwest acts will be festivaling it up this year on July 12th and 13th. I can’t find information out on where exactly, but the lineup is full of Sub Pop artists, past and present. The most notable for Sub Pop would be current folk parody band ‘Flight of the Conchords.’ Grammy winning duo of Jemaine Clement and Bret Mckenzie are soon to release a full length CD, and have quite the touring schedule ahead of them during the late spring and summer.

Though unable to find the venue, tickets are 30 bucks for one day, 50 bucks for both. Other current artists that are gonna rock your socks - Fleet Foxes, Foals, Iron & Wine. They also have some past acts coming in that you’re going to enjoy. Green River, Mudhoney, The Fluid, and Red Red Meat will also be appearing.

The Northwest is sure shaping up to be one hell of a place for festivals this year. With Bumbershoot, Sasquatch, and the Capitol Hill Block Party, any music fan is sure to find a festival that suits them.

posted by KEXP