If you missed out on Here We Go Magic’s “Tunnelvision” then you truly did miss out. But luckily, these Brooklyn kids managed to get themselves signed to Secretly Canadian for their sophomore effort, which is supposedly due out in spring of 2010. Also noteworthy is that thus far the second effort has apparently been an entirely collaborative project, as opposed to just the brainchild of Luke Temple. So be on the lookout for some new ditties once it gets nice out again.

It’s hasn’t even been two years since Phil Waldorf left Misra Records to form Dead Oceans alongside Secretly Canadian and Jagjaguwar, and in the past six months Dead Oceans has added four bands to its growing and increasingly impressive roster of artists. The latest to jump on board is Akron/Family, who previously recorded for Young God.

The band will release its still untitled fourth album, the follow-up to 2007’s Love is Simple, in April. The album will mark the band’s first studio recording as a three-piece following the 2007 departure of Ryan Vanderhoof to, apparently, join a Buddhist commune. Bassist and multi-instrumentalist Miles Seaton said the record is “not too heavy and not too clever.”

It started out being really inspired by American soul and West African music. We’re all still in love with American classic rock music, but [the new record] is inspired by many different directions. I’m really excited about the shifting voice of the narrative on this record. The lyrics, thematically, are shaped in this really organic and natural way around what is happening — something that is very real and true to us.

Seaton said it’s by no means a new Akron/Family, but that the album represents some extremes they haven’t before explored. The band will play some shows to celebrate New Year’s beginning December 28 in Boston, and closing out the year at The Knitting Factory in New York.

Akron/Family
Dead Oceans