In August of 2006 our pals in The Thermals released their most recent, most excellent and most critically-beloved album, The Body, The Blood, The Machine. It very deservedly wound up on year-end lists far and wide (Pitchfork’s Top 50 of 2006, _SPIN_’s top 40 of 2006, The Onion’s Best Music of 2006, and both NPR’s Best CDs of 2006 and their Overlooked 11 of 2006, amongst those). And now they’re hosting MTV2’s Subterranean, this Sunday night, January 7th (or, technically, very early on Monday, January 8th) at 1:00 am!

There are suddenly a great many things to tell you about The Thermals! And they are these:

• As mentioned in this month’s Pandering to the Locals (which, you maybe didn’t read, and who can really blame you what with that awful picture…), we have a brand new Thermals single for the song “A Pillar of Salt”! On this single, you will also find demo versions of “A Pillar of Salt” and “St. Rosa and the Swallows,” (final versions of…