Arcade Fire Sign the Dotted Line & Plan U.S. Tour with The Unicorns

In a post dated Monday, April 3rd, Slatch.com announced that The Arcade Fire have signed to Merge Records. Details of the deal were not specified but let us hope that Win & co. will be in for some smooth sailing. Labels have a tradition of treating artists like commodities or indentured servants (albeit sometimes well-paid ones), but Merge already handle several top-tier acts (And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, The Buzzcocks, Neutral Milk Hotel, Destroyer) so I'm sure that they'll be civil with the AF.

Above: The Arcade Fire attempting to flag down a helicopter.

According to the Arcade Fire's website, they'll be touring with the Unicorns again in early June. If you've successfully avoided hearing about the Unicorns up until now, think of Ritalin-deprived indie kids in pink matching outfits rocking a no-wave, Pavement-meets-Beck-while-stoned-on-paint-inhalants vibe. Pretentious, yet satisfying. [ed. note: A thousand apologies for that cumbersome phrasing.] Personally, I think that just seeing the Arcade Fire live would pay for the ticket by itself. Tour dates & locations? Presto!

SUN 6/6 WASHINGTON DC @ Black Cat w/ The Unicorns MON 6/7 CHAPEL HILL, NC @ The Cave w/ Fan Modine TUE 6/8 ATLANTA, GA @ Echo Lounge w/ The Unicorns THU 6/10 BIRMINGHAM, AL @ The Nick w/ The Unicorns FRI 6/11 NEW ORLEANS, LA @ tba SAT 6/12 HOUSTON, TX @ Walter’s on Washington w/ The Unicorns and Fiery Furnaces MON 6/14 AUSTIN, TX @ Emo's w/ The Unicorns TUE 6/15 DENTON, TX @ Hailey's w/ The Unicorns WED 6/16 OKLAHOMA CITY, OK @ The Conservatory w/ The Unicorns THU 6/17 ST. LOUIS, MO @ Rocket Bar w/ The Unicorns FRI 6/18 CHICAGO, IL @ Open End (all ages show) w/ The Unicorns SAT 6/19 MILWAUKEE, WI @ Mad Planet (2 shows) w/ The Unicorns SUN 6/21 PITTSBURG, PA @ tba w/ The Unicorns TUE 6/22 ROCHESTER, NY @ Bug Jar w/ The Unicorns WED 6/23 TORONTO, ON @ Lee's Palace SAT 8/7 on Toronto Island, w/ Sloan, the Constantines, Sam Roberts, Death From Above, Buck 65, et. al

Above: Two unicorns frolicking. The press shots were too pouty.

Any AF/Unicorns testimonials out there? Comment below.