Hooray for Tuesday indeed...Simian Records, the label founded by actor Elijah Wood, has announced that it has signed The Apples in Stereo and will be releasing the band's latest full-length, New Magnetic Wonder, on February 7. Wood says in the press release, "I've been a fan of the Apples for years. I'm truly honored and excited that New Magnetic Wonder will be Simian Records' first release."

The album, which is based around frontman Robert Schneider's new "Non-Pythagorean Scale" of music (the scale, which Schneider pioneered, will be included in the enhanced portion of the CD with "digital files for MIDI usage and an in-depth description by Schneider...in both document and video form," according to the release), is 53 minutes long with 24 tracks, and was recorded in Lexington, KY, Athens, GA, Denver, CO, and Brooklyn, NY. It's also something of an Elephant 6 family reunion:

Apart from Schneider, John Hill, Eric Allen, and Hilarie Sidney, additional players on the album include Jeff Mangum (Neutral Milk Hotel), Bill Doss, Will Cullen Hart, and John Fernandes (Olivia Tremor Control), and members of High Water Marks and Ideal Free Distribution. Engineer Bryce Goggin (Pavement, Sebadoh, Phish, Sean Lennon) teams with Schneider to pull it all together.

An excerpt from the extended press release:

New Magnetic Wonder is an ambitious LP clocking in at 53 minutes containing 14 songs and 12 additional musical segue-ways (or 'link tracks' as Schneider refers to them). In fact, at several points during the making of the album, Goggin had trouble keeping his Pro-tools recording system functioning. Schneider's use of 96 tracks of instrumentation on some songs, including the pop hit "Same Old Drag," was not only a record number of tracks for Goggin and his studio, but was also so densely layered with overdubs, that it caused his computer processor to crash repeatedly. And, this was only the tip of the iceberg in terms of technical challenges for the album. Another major challenge was New Magnetic Wonder's magnum opus "Beautiful Machine" which uniquely marries four distinct sounding songs. Schneider, in a lengthy and incredibly subtle process of production and mixing, was able to turn these tracks into an almost eight minute suite-- the indie rock equivalent of a grand classical concerto. "Beautiful Machine" was such a difficult song to complete, that it not only threatened Schneider's tenuous sanity but it also threatened the album's very completion.

"Finishing this record took every joule of energy I had," quips Schneider in his typical effervescent and rapid-fire manner. "There were so many different sounds and ideas bouncing around in my head, and such strong feelings to get across. With Velocity of Sound, I returned to the rawness of our live shows and the fuzzy vibe of our early four-track recordings. This time I wanted to make a record that really meant something, that felt life affirming and real, yet ultra hi-fi and unreal at the same time. Apparently that kind of record is not technically feasible."

Read the full piece here.

New Magnetic Wonder,
by The Apples in Stereo

Track Listing:

SIDE 1

1. Can You Feel It?
2. Skyway
3. Mellotron 1
4. Energy
5. Same Old Drag
6. Joanie Don't U Worry
7. Sunndal Song**
8. Droplet
9. Play Tough
10. Sun is Out
11. Non-Pythagorean Composition 1

SIDE 2

12. Hello Lola
13. 7 Stars
14. Mellotron 2
15. Sunday Sounds**
16. Open Eyes
17. Crimson
18. Pre-Crimson
19. Vocoder Ba Ba
20. Radiation
21. Beautiful Machine Parts 1-2
22. Beautiful Machine Parts 3-4
23. My Pretend
24. Non-Pythagorean Composition 3
**Featuring Hilarie Sidney