Caput Femoris

From my inbox comes Head of Femur, a Chicago-based band of Nebraskans.

Mike Elsener, Ben Armstrong, and Matt Focht got together in 2001, looking for something to occupy themselves while they waited to see if their previous band, Pablo’s Triangle, intended to regroup. As time passed, the reformation seemed unlikely. They liked the quality of the music they were making together, so they dubbed themselves Head of Femur and set about recruiting a handful of additional musicians to round out the band.

In 2003, Head of Femur released their debut disk, Ringodom or Proctor. Following the release of Ringodom, Head of Femur toured for a year as an eight-piece band, playing with the likes of Bright Eyes and Rilo Kiley. In 2005, they dropped Hysterical Stars before heading back onto the road, making stops that year at CMJ and SXSW.

In just a couple of weeks (Oct. 2, to be exact), Head of Femur will release a limited edition EP titled Leader and the Falcon. Their third full-length album is tentatively slated for an early 2008 release.

Head of Femur’s MySpace space has a big white box in the “sounds like” column, but Pitchfork described them as “ambitiously weird, but still gloriously accessible...chamber-pop suites full of left turns and music box explosions full of melody.”

Here’s the title track from the upcoming EP, as well as “Elliott Gould is in California Split,” from Hysterical Stars.

Leader and the Falcon.mp3
Elliott Gould is in California Split.mp3

And here’re some October show dates:

7 Oct 2007: 8 p.m.,
Duffys; Lincoln, Neb.

8 Oct 2007: 8 p.m.,

Slowdown- ALL AGES; Omaha, NE

9 Oct 2007: 8 p.m.,

The Mill; Iowa City, Iowa

10 Oct 2007: 8 p.m.,

Triple Rock Social Club; Minneapolis, Minn.
11 Oct 2007: 8 p.m.,

Otto's Dekalb; Ill.
12 Oct 2007: 8 p.m.,

Cowboy Monkey; Champaign, Ill.
19 Oct 2007: 10:30 p.m.,
Arlene’s Grocery; (Official CMJ Showcase) New York, N.Y.
20 Oct 2007: 10 p.m.,
Baker Theatre at Ohio University- ALL AGES; Athens, Ohio

25 Oct 2007: 8 p.m.,

Bluebird; St. Louis, Mo.
26 Oct 2007: 10 p.m.,
The Hideout- Chicago EP release show; Chicago, Ill.
27 Oct 2007: 8 p.m.,

Madison House Party; Madsion, Wis.

Labels: indie, new stuff

posted by aikin @ 12:09 PM