A comment was left to yesterday’s post regarding the breakup of Pretty Girls Make Graves that caught my attention for a couple of reasons. First, someone actually left a comment and second, it made mention of some information regarding Alina Simone. I eagerly responded with hopes that this may be regarding Alina’s yet to be released Placelessness (see end of the Alina Simone Interview for some additional information regarding the release), but it turns out that she has actually recorded a couple of songs for a digital split EP with Gabriel Miller-Phillips titled Get Going. The release is being put out by The Mayan Empire Recording Empire in February via a variety of online distribution channels (iTunes, eMusic, etc.).

The first two tracks, “Memorial Drive” (GMP) and “Winter In Massachusetts” (AS), are available for streaming on The Mayan Empire Recording Empire MySpace page and if those don’t convince you that this is a release worth getting, accept my assurance that the two tracks not available for streaming, “24 Karat Man” (GMP) and “On Being Complicated” (AS), are even better.

The quick picking of Gabriel Miller-Phillips on “24 Karat Man” provides a good contrast to the softer, laid-back nature of his vocals. “On Being Complicated” pairs sparse, somewhat muted instrumentation with the slightly breathy vocals of Simone. The occasional use of multiple vocal tracks also adds great depth to portions of the vocal performance that is quite effective.

The pair of performers will be embarking on a brief, week-long tour in February to promote the release.

Tour Dates

02/18: Boston, MA (private show)
02/19: Worcester, MA @ Java Hut Cafe
02/21: Burlington, VT @ Radio Bean
02/23: Portland, ME @ Strange Maine w/ Sydnes Bourke, FLYER
02/24: Cambridge, MA @ Nadav’s House Show w/ Tiger Saw, Ponies in the Surf, Finches
02/25: New York, NY @ Pianos

In other Alina Simone-related news, and actually rather old news at that, when I interviewed Alina last year she mentioned that she “didn’t blog”, but late last year, I discovered that this was actually a lie! She has been maintaining “My So-Called Indie Rock Blog” over at her Mog profile since last June and has completed more than 20 posts so check it out.