ARCADE FIRED UP, SEMI-PRECIOUS UNVEIL WEAPONS

Arcade Fire and Semi-Precious Weapons carry the Alt-rock banner into the Vibe-Raters fray this week, debuting on HITS’ Sweet 16 of up-and-coming acts developing some momentum into the teeth of the summer.

The Canadian rock crit faves are ready to release their eagerly awaited third Merge album, The Suburbs, their first since 2007's Neon Bible, on Aug. 3 in the U.S. The first track, “Ready to Start,” is doing just that at PoMo radio, with adds at influential stations WRXP, WXRT, WRNR, WFNX, KROX, KRBZ, KBZT, Sirius Alt. Nation and WEQX, among others. The band’s ongoing North American tour includes a sold-out Madison Square Garden show (8/4) and Lollapalooza (8/8). Look for features in Rolling Stone next month and Vanity Fair in Sept. This week, Arcade Fire announced it will match fan donations up to $1 million for Haitian hurricane relief. Check the complete entry here.

Cherry Tree/Streamline/Perezcsious/Geffen act Semi-Precious Weapons, executive producer Lady Gaga’s N.Y. homies and currently the opening act for her Monster Ball Tour, released their debut You Love You on June 29. The Jack Joseph Puig-produced album’s first single, “Semi Precious Weapons, “ is being played on Sirius Alt Nation, with plenty of media coverage in Rolling Stone and Nylon, among other publications. The group’s managed by onetime Sanctuary exec Merck Merrcuriadis. Check their Vibe status here.