Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.
Flight Of The Conchords' eponymous HBO show returns to the airwaves
on Jan. 18, and this time around, fans will be able to purchase
music from each episode the day after it airs, Billboard can
reveal.
Shortly after the conclusion of the 10-episode season, an
as-yet-untitled album featuring 10 tracks from the show plus five
additional songs not part of the download promotion will be
available on April 14. The first song, "Angels," goes live Jan. 19
on iTunes. Fans can also pre-order the album through SubPop.com and
receive one track per week.
The New Zealand duo, whose bumbling adventures in life and the
music business are at the heart of the show, has emerged as one of
the biggest success stories in comedy over the past two
years.
Its 2007 Sub Pop debut, the EP "The Distant Future," won a Grammy
for best comedy album. And its self-titled full-length, released in
April 2008, has sold 237,000 copies in the United States, according
to Nielsen SoundScan, and is up for a Grammy in the same
category.
Because the songs used in the show are often only a minute long,
the versions on the upcoming album will be quite different. "More
than one of them leans on a '70s soul sound," Sub Pop head of
A&R Tony Kiewel tells Billboard.com. "I've also heard this
choir-y sort of thing, a Meat Loaf-y sort of thing and a crazy top
40-type jam."
Mickey Petralia, who produced the debut, is back on board, while
Kiewel says Sia provides backing vocals on at least one song. A
Flight Of The Conchords North American tour is being targeted for
April or May.
