Apples in Stereo go out with 'New Magnetic Wonder'

Indie-rock band The Apples in Stereo has set out on a North American tour to support its fifth full-length album, "New Magnetic Wonder," which hit stores earlier this week.

The group is scheduled to travel across the US and Canada, ending with an April 1 gig in its hometown of Denver, CO. Along the way, the band will perform Feb. 14 on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." Tour dates are listed below.

The Apples in Stereo's first album in five years, "New Magnetic Wonder," is the band's debut on Simian Records, which is owned by actor Elijah Wood. The video for the song "Energy," which marks Wood's directorial debut, is streaming at The Apples' MySpace page alongside audio cuts from the record.

Apples in Stereo mastermind Robert Schneider integrates music and mathematics on "New Magnetic Wonder," according to The Apples' website, which says the album is the most elaborate production of the band's its 14-year career.. The number of tracks laid down on individual songs combined with overdubs caused engineer Bryce Goggin's computer processor to crash repeatedly, along with other technical challenges.

"Finishing this record took every joule of energy I had," Schneider quipped in a statement at the band's website. "There were so many different sounds and ideas bouncing around in my head, and such strong feelings to get across. With [the 2002 release] '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."

At the same time, there are other parts of the album recorded on a handheld cassette recorder or with a single microphone, Schneider said.

The enhanced portion of the CD includes Schneider's newly invented "Non-Pythagorean Music Scale," which, through mathematical equations based on the properties of natural logarithms, replaces the standard 12 tones in a musical octave with a new set of frequencies. The digital sound files allow fans to invent new chords and songs.

The first four episodes of a five-part video series chronicling Schneider's approach to the making of "New Magnetic Wonder" is available at MySpace, YouTube and as a video podcast on iTunes. The fifth episode of the series is available exclusively on the enhanced portion of the CD.