Today is a blessed Tunesday in our fair Pacific Northwest, for today

Today is a blessed Tunesday in our fair Pacific Northwest, for today there are approximately 1 million new albums ready for the traditional Autumnal Album Harvest.

Check out what’s in the cornucopia:

SEACATS

SELF TITLED LP

Fin Records

Seacats’ Fin Records debut LP has already been panned by “Rolling Stone” and “Pitchfork,” who call the album “ear-piercing” and “the death of rock ‘n’ roll.” I have to heartily disagree with all those jerks though, I think the record is pretty tasty. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, “Wrecked” is one of the best singles to come out of the PNW this year. Some grungy bass, Mexican wrestling masks, and poptacular lyrics about being a stalker is all it takes to please me. Also check out the feel-good outer space skateboarding epic for “Minus World,” which debuted on this fine blog right here.

THE BODY – CHRISTS, REDEEMERS

Thrill Jockey

Portland, Oregon’s The Body are one of the scariest bands in the world right now. They are also one of the most interesting, churning out a bleak, soul wrenching mix of sludge, noise, and choral music that riffs on Steve Reich as much as it does misanthropic doom metal. Watch the band’s absolutely crushing performance of “A Body” on NPR to get a sense of what I mean. Their new album out today is an incredible jounrey through a dark church full of apocalyptic preachers, screaming their possessed minds out. Watch the terrifying video for the single “An Altar or A Grave” here. Check out our interview with drummer Lee Buford tomorrow.

THE HEAD AND THE HEART –

LET’S BE STILL

Sub Pop

Seattle’s The Head and the Heart just finished up playing a very sold out Columbia City Theatre last night to celebrate the release of their sophomore record. And hey! They’ve got synths and electric guitar now! Sweet! The new record comes out on shiny special edition blue vinyl, but there are only 100 copies, and 50 are gone. Sub Pop sez: “As of this morning, [Sonic Boom] have just over 50 left! Get on over to Ballard to claim yours.” The band is hoping into your teletubes tomorrow night for a performance on David Letterman. Check out Editor-in-Chief Mark Baumgarten’s take on the new record here.

LA LUZ –

IT’S ALIVE

Hardly Art

Sha-la-la-la, oooooh-la-la-la, La Luz have a new record! Surfin’ straight out of Seattle on Sub Pop imprint Hardly Art, the new album will make you want to dance all Pulp Fiction style. La Luz is celebrating the release of the new album with a free in-store at Sonic Boom tonight at 6, so go shimmy-sway on over there.

PEARL JAM –

LIGHTNING BOLT

Universal

Unfortunately, this isn’t a Pearl Jam collaboration album with Lightning Bolt. But hey! It’s still new Pearl Jam I guess. I just wish Eddie Vedder sang over Lightning Bolt.

And now, a Comet Tavern update from the lovely Gwendolyn Elliott:

The Comet remains closed, as we reported last week. Currently local musician and music promoter Ian Hill is still in negotiations to purchase the business with his wife Allison and two other investors.

“It’s between us and two other groups, but we are in the running,” Hill says, noting the Comet’s owners are courting other offers. But Hill’s dealings with the owner’s daughter, who has been handling inquiries about the business, lead him to believe he has an edge over the competition. “[We think] they like us because, in their words, they said ‘One thing we don’t want is another Bellevue yuppie bar,’ which is good, because we don’t either.”

Bolstering Hill’s efforts to restore the Comet is a fundraising initiative to benefit Mamma Casserole, the club’s music booker of nine years. You can find more information about that here, and we’ll keep you updated as we find out more about the club.