February 24, 2009

Contact: Anna Christopher, NPR

NPR MUSIC OFFERS “EXCLUSIVE FIRST LISTEN”
TO ALBUMS FROM NEKO CASE, DAN DEACON



February 24, 2009; Washington, D.C. – Singer-songwriter Neko Case and electro-pop musician Dan Deacon will give fans early listens to their new albums before they hit stores, when each record debuts in its entirety at NPR Music: www.NPR.org/music The pre-release album streams are part of NPR Music’s expanding “Exclusive First Listen” series, which offers free, live streaming of select albums ahead of their release dates. The entire series is available at: www.NPR.org/firstlisten

Neko Case’s Middle Cyclone will be available at NPR Music from now until March 3, when it’s released by Anti-Records. Case’s sixth studio album is filled with heartbreaking and at times funny songs of love. She also covers the touching Harry Nilsson song “Don’t Forget Me,” and early-‘70s gem by the band Sparks called “Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth.” The album ends with a 31-minute field recording of crickets chirping. NPR Music carried Case’s performance at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2007: www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16220628

On Bromst, Baltimore’s electronic performer Dan Deacon gives an intense follow up to 2007’s Spiderman of the Rings – complete with a large live ensemble including glockenspiel, vibes and bass. NPR Music has an “Exclusive First Listen” to Bromst from March 2 at 11:59PM (ET) until it’s out on March 24 from Carpark.

Complete track listings and album information are available at NPR Music, where there are also extensive archives of concerts, interviews and reviews of all “First Listen” artists. NPR Music introduced its “Exclusive First Listen” series in September when the site offered its first pre-release album stream: Bob Dylan’s 2-CD set Tell Tale Signs, followed by Neil Young’s Sugar Mountain and Paul McCartney’s project The Fireman. The impact was tremendous, with hundreds of thousands of webcasts of the albums and individual songs.

NPR Music features content from NPR and 12 NPR Member public radio stations, and original-to-NPR Music features such as live performances, studio sessions, music lists, interviews, reviews and blogs. “Exclusive First Listen” joins NPR Music’s continuously expanding sections dedicated to rock/pop/folk, classical, jazz/blues, world and urban music. Next month, NPR Music is live from South By Southwest in Austin, TX, to present concerts from The Decemberists, Blitzen Trapper, The Avett Brothers, K’NAAN and many others. Details are at: www.NPR.org/sxsw