Welcome to August, the bastard month.  Hot, sticky and oppressive, but we have some stuff going on that will be sure to get your mind off the heat.  Starting with…

The Beatings and all things Beatings related.  You may have heard about this already, but on Sept. 15, 2009 Boston, MA’s The Beatings will release their sixth studio album titled Late Season Kids.  Late Season Kids is the follow up to their critically acclaimed album Holding on to Hand Grenades.  Late Seasons Kids displays the bands more pop leanings without losing the noise and weird structures that The Beatings have been known to employ in the past.  We will be letting you know more about the album in the weeks to come, but swing over to the newly overhauled and redesigned Beatings website for more info and to listen to a track from the new album.  Too lazy to click your mouse multiple times in the name of hearing new music?  Fair enough, here is the track “Bury You” off of Late Season Kids and you only have to click once. First one’s free… anymore is gonna cost ya.

FREE MP3
Bury You

The Beatings will be on a short tour of the Northeast and Southeast that starts this week.  They will be trying out the new material as well as playing songs from their other five albums.  Come out to a show and make a request and they will do their best to accommodate you (offer only valid for Beatings songs).  Tour dates are below.
* Aug 12:  Brooklyn, NY – Death By Audio
* Aug 13: Wilmington, DE – Mojo 13
* Aug 14: Morgantown, WV – 123 Pleasant Street
* Aug 16: Chapel Hill, NC – Nightlight Bar
* Aug 18: Raleigh, NC – Pour House
* Aug 19: Athens, GA – Calendonia Lounge
* Aug 20: Knoxville, TN – The Pilot Light
* Aug 21: Lexington, KY – Green Lantern Bar
* Sept. 12: Boston, MA – Great Scott; “Late Season Kids” Record Release Show w/ Hands and Knees

Can’t wait till September to have your very own hardcopy version of Late Season Kids?  Then you are in luck.  A limited amount of copies of the new album will be available at the above-mentioned shows.  So, come out to a show and get a copy a month before the street date.  If you needed more of a reason to come out to a Beatings show, well, there it is.  Just for the record, The Beatings are now a five piece.  Greg Lyon (Pending Disappointment, Spanish Armada) has joined the band bringing his classically trained piano playing and yet another layer of guitar to the outfit.  Welcome him when you see him touring with the band over these next few weeks.

On a final Beatings note, if you haven’t already, please swing by the Midriff Records website and download the new Midriff Records Digital Sampler.  It’s free and features several Beatings songs including their cover of the Beat Happening classic “Indian Summer”.