October was a crazy month for Cuddle Magic, with a tour around the Northeast and four days of recording with Bryce Goggin at Trout Recording in Park Slope. To continue the trend, they’ll be at Pete’s Candy Store every Tuesday during the month of November joined by a different friend each week. For all the details check out the tour page.

As we bask in the two feet of snow we received this past weekend in Philadelphia, we here at FYO would like to share some very exciting news. This past Tuesday marked the release of Cuddle Magic’s sophomore album Picture, a project that has been three years in the making. It is available on CD or as a download directly from us, and we’ve decided to include a download code with each CD purchase for instant gratification. Woo-hoo!

“Those who enjoy music with a bit more focus might be distracted — Cuddle Magic do like to change horses midstream. But if you’re drawn to more precocious music, the rewards are many…”
- Boston Phoenix

“Picture picks up where Cuddle Magic’s eponymous debut left off — sad, symphonic, plucky, curvaceous…The first best album of 2010? You bet.”
- Philadelphia City Paper

“Picture (FYO) could be 2010’s most fascinating pop album of the year… I can see this band going very far with what they do.”
- This Is Book’s Music

“Cuddle Magic are following their noses into some of the best and most unconventional pop songs we will ever have the privilege of downloading.”
- The Ampeater Review

And this is Cuddle Magic’s website. They’ll be playing concerts in Philadelphia, Boston, and New York in support of this record on February 22nd through the 25th – see our tour page for more details.

It’s oddly balmy out here in Philadelphia, and we’re celebrating by sending Cuddle Magic’s new record off to the presses and making a racket in the basement. We’ve recently embarked on a recording of a provocative graphic score by Mark Warren, a former member of American Hornets who currently records electronic music under the Hofwyl Plantation Sound Assosciates moniker. Rest assured that there’s a ton of great new and old material that’s making its way into our next podcast, including excepts from this piece. It’ll be seeing the light of day in just a short while.

Lake Street Dive has recently completed a string of amazing shows in the northeast, culminating with a performance at Sculler’s with Dominique Eade. They’ll be performing again right after the new year. Click on the image to the left to see a particularly excellent and silly performance of Lake Street Dive’s “Miss Disregard” broadcast from bassist Bridget Kearney’s basement in lieu of a rained out gig. It’s everything you’ve come to expect from this quartet: catchy, exquisitely performed, and a whole lot of fun. Mike is rocking some sweet shades, too. They’ve got some other pretty amazing videos out there, including this one and this one. Oh, and this one.

Cuddle Magic’s tour is coming along nicely and will see the band go as far west as Iowa for the first time in their illustrious career. While working out transportation for their nine touring members and their extensive collection of instruments, lamps, and plastic animals is no small feat, rest assured that come what may, they’ll be bringing their lush, intimate ensemble sound to a city near you next month. Oh, and as we’ve mentioned before, there’s an otherwise unreleased Cuddle Magic track in that there podcast at the top of the screen, so take a moment and enjoy the wild and wooly assortment of sounds we love here at FYO.