I had the pleasure of interviewing Band of Skulls in August of 2009 and they were a great interview and performed really well acoustically. “Sweet Sour” is the title track on the band’s forthcoming sophomore album, due February 20. The album is streaming now with track-by-track commentary on SPIN.com.

The song has a fantastic riff and bodes well for a more uptempo album than their previous collection (which is evident from the stream). The updated classic rock sound of the band is something that could be a welcome respite from all the dance influenced music on Alternative radio these days.

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How awesome is this lineup?!

Friday April 13 & 20
The Black Keys, Swedish House Mafia, Pulp, Refused, Arctic Monkeys, Mazzy Star, Afrojack, Explosions In the Sky, M83, Amon Tobin, Cat Power, Madness, Jimmy Cliff, Tim Armstrong, GIRLS, the Rapture, Madeon, M. Ward, the Horrors, Frank Ocean, James, Alesso, SebastiAn, Datsik, Yuck, Neon Indian, Dawes, the Black Angels, Death Grips, WU LYF, Breakbot, Atari Teenage Riot, Feed Me, GIVERS, Other Lives, Band of Skulls, R3hab, Wolf Gang, the Midnight Beast, EMA, Ximena Sariñana, Kendrick Lamar, the Dear Hunter, honeyhoney, Hello Seahorse!, the Sheepdogs, LA Riots

Saturday April 14 & 21
Radiohead, Bon Iver, the Shins, David Guetta, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Circus, Kaskade, Miike Snow, Jeff Magnum, Sebastian Ingrosse, Andrew Bird, Feist, fIREHOSE, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, St. Vincent, Martin Solveig, Sub Focus, SBTRKT, Flying Lotus, Manchester Orchestra, Kasabian, AWOLNATION, Azealia Banks, Squeeze, A$AP Rocky, Buzzcocks, Kaiser Chiefs, Destroyer, the Head and the Heart, Laura Marling, tUnE yArDs, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Black Lips, the Big Pink, Childish Gambino, the Vaccines, Zeds Dead, Grouplove, Jacques Lu Cont, We Were Promised Jet Packs, Gary Clark Jr., Borgore, Dragonette, We Are Augstines, Mt Eden, Destructo, Suedehead, Keep Shelley In Athens, Pure Filth Sound

Sunday April 15 & 22
Dr. Dre & Snoop Dog, At the Drive-In, Justice, Florence + the Machine, AVICII, La Roux, Beirut, the Weeknd, Girl Talk, the Hives, DJ Shadow, Calvin Harris, Nero, Wild Flag, Modeselektor, Dada Life, Porter Robinson, Santigold, Flux Pavilion, Dr. P, Gotye, Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, Beats Antique, Fitz and the Tantrums, araabMUZIK, Company Flow, Real Estate, Zedd, Le Bucherettes, Greg Ginn, the Growlers, NOISIA, Morgan Page, the Gaslamp Killer, First Aid Kit, Oberhofer, Lissie, Thunder Cat, Metronomy, Wild Beasts, Housse de Racket, Fanfarlo, Spector, Gardess & Villa, Airplane Boys, Sleeper Agent

This has been a great Tuesday so far. First the M’s sign pitching ace Felix Hernandez to a 5 year extension at bargain bin prices. Then news that the Seahawks will hire John Schneider as their GM (he was the Green Bay Packers Director of Football Operations). And to top it all off, the Coachella lineup comes out, and it is RIDICULOUS.

Friday, April 16:
Jay-Z, LCD Soundsystem, Them Crooked Vultures, Vampire Weekend, Deadmau5, Public Image Limited, the Specials, Grizzly Bear, Passion Pit, Echo and the Bunnymen, Benny Benassi, Fever Ray, Grace Jones, She & Him, Erol Alkan, the Avett Brothers, Calle 13, the Whitest Boy Alive, the Cribs, La Roux, Yeasayer, Lucero, DJ Lance Rock, Dillinger Escape Plan, Proxy, Ra Ra Riot, Deer Tick, Wolfgang Gartner, Aeroplane, Iglu & Hartley, Sleigh Bells, P.O.S., Baroness, Hockey, Little Dragon, White Rabbits, Wale, Kate Miller-Heidke, As Tall As Lions, Jets Overhead, Alana Grace, Pablo Hassan

Saturday, April 17:
Muse, Faith No More, Tiesto, MGMT, David Guetta, the Dead Weather, Hot Chip, Devo, Coheed & Cambria, Kaskade, 2ManyDJs, Major Lazer, Dirty Projectors, Gossip, Z-Trip, the xx, John Waters, Les Claypool, the Raveonettes, Mew, Sia, Camera Obscura, Tokyo Police Club, Porcupine Tree, Old Crow Medicine Show, Aterciopalados, Bassnector, Frigtened Rabbit, Dirty South, Flying Lotus, Corinne Bailey Rae, Pretty Lights, Shooter Jennings, Rx Bandits, the Almighty Defenders, Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros, Craze and Klever, Zoe, the Temper Trap, Portugal the Man, Band of Skulls, Girls, Beach House, Steel Train, Frank Turner

Sunday, April 18:
Gorillaz, Pavement, Thom Yorke ????, Phoenix, Orbital, Spoon, Sly and the Family Stone, De La Soul, Julian Casablancas, Plastikman, Gary Numan, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Sunny Day Real Estate, Yo La Tengo, MUTEMATH, Deerhunter, Infected Mushroom, Club 75, Matt & Kim, the Big Pink, Gil Scott-Heron, King Khan and the Shrines, Florence + the Machine, Yann Tierson, Little Boots, Miike Snow, Talvin Singh, Ceu, B.o.B., Babasonicos, Owen Pallett, the Glitch Mob, Mayer Hawthorne, Local Natives, Rusko, the Middle East, Hadouken!, the Soft Pack, Kevin Devine, Paparazzi, Delphic, One eskimO

For more details, visit coachella.com.

The last time I played Band of Skulls on the NMS, the reaction was really positive. Things haven’t really changed since that fateful May afternoon. This Southampton group that met each other in college has recently been on a barn-storming mission throughout the US. I’m currently working on bringing them to Salt Lake for an End Zone. Of course, I’ll keep you up-to-date with the info on that.

I got a great text response on these guys (and girl) including “I lurve it play it more”. (Lurve is a funny word, I likes it.) And callers, including Mike, thought it sounded like a new Jack White project. I can’t disagree with that sentiment.

If you missed today’s NMS, you can hear “I Know What I Am” on the band’s MySpace page. They can also be found on Facebook, Twitter and their official website. You can also watch the video, which I posted last month.

What do you think of the song?

Earlier today, I played Band Of Skulls on the New Music Spotlight on 101.9 The End. I’m really into this song, so much so that I searched out the band’s video so I could share it with you. It’s a simple, concert footage style piece from a sound check in Montreal (according to their YouTube channel).

Watch the clip after the jump.

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This Southampton trio met each other in college, and quickly realized they had a special connection. They’re meteoric rise has been highlighted by features on iTunes, and an earlier-than-anticipated digital release of their debut album, Baby Darling Doll Face Honey, in April. They were selected by iTunes to be featured as the Single of the Week before they had even completed their album, and have been nothing but go ever since. That single, “I Know What I Am,” is today’s New Music Spotlight.

If you missed it, give your ears a treat at their MySpace page. Band Of Skulls can also be found on Facebook, Twitter and their official website.

What do you think of the song?