A screen capture from The Mynabirds' "Generals" video.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It’s another big day at Saddle Creek Records (Do you think maybe that’s how they answer their phones?). Two of the label’s expansion acts, The Mynabirds and PUJOL, drop full-length releases today.

Mynabirds’ Generals is getting a favorable launch, thanks to a big 7.5 rating at Pitchfork — one of the highest ratings a Saddle Creek act has received in recent memory (with the exception, of course, of the recent Bright Eyes Fever & Mirrors reissue). The review concludes with: “Burhenn bookends the record with the plea, ‘I’d give it all, for a legacy of love,’ signaling that she’s willing to sacrifice personal gain for the broader good, instead of setting the whole thing ablaze. Maybe it’s just her voice (and god, that voice), but I believe her.” Nice, very nice. This one has received a boatload of media attention, including stream hosting at Team Coco (Conan O’Brien’s website) and a video launch at IFC (which you can view here. The video features some of the Saddle Creek Records staff in Mad Men/Matrix-Agent Smith costuming, and Burhenn backed by yet another version of The Mynabirds — this time an all-female band). Is Laura Burhenn positioned to be the next Jenny Lewis? We’ll have to wait and see.

We’re still waiting for that PUJOL Pitchfork review. Called United States of Being, this release has been on heavy rotation at K-TIM (That’s what I call my iPhone)(Yeah, I know, that’s pretty sad). Consequence of Sound gave it a 4-star review, calling it “the appropriate soundtrack to both an existential meltdown and a rowdy, beer-heavy night out-or maybe both at the same time. It’s in this precarious balance that PUJOL has hit a stride that shows no intention of slowing down.” Hear-hear! In fact, you can “hear” it streamed right here at Rolling Stone.

Saddle Creek has one more big release slated for this summer — the full-length debut by Icky Blossoms — set for July 17.

In other Saddle Creek Records-related news, one of the label’s first “expansion acts” — Two Gallants — has apparently flown the coop. The band announced today that it has signed a deal with ATO Records, who will release their fourth LP, The Bloom and the Blight, Sept. 4.

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