The M’s / Future Women (Polyvinyl) First impressions are that The M’s sound like The Kinks. Maybe a little more psychedelic-garage and a little less English gentleman-ness (they hail from Chicago) but there’s still plenty of Anglophilia and pop classicism at work here. But as Future Women progresses, they get progressively more rocking and ass-shaking and by the end are pratically glamming it up. Dave Davies subbing in for Mick Ronson behind David Bowie? Maybe. Ragged, melodic and hooky they don’t do anything especially new but what they do do, they’re excellent at. Check them out when they open up for Wilco’s Canadian tour next month, including the July 7 show at Massey Hall. MP3: The M’s – “Plan Of The Man” Video: The M’s – “Mansion In The Valley” (MOV) MySpace: The M’s

Languis / Other Desert Cities (Pehr) Los Angeles’ Languis understands the fine line of modern shoegazing, the one separating the ambient-electronic keyboard camp (hello Ulrich Schnauss) and the old-school, frantically strummed Jazzmaster at high volume (hello everyone else) and straddle that line quite effectively. While their earlier works were much more in the ambient electronic vein, their Other Desert Cities EP demonstrates an organicness and earthiness that no doubt comes from expanding from a duo to a quartet and investing in some guitars and amps. Think Spiritualized turned up to a disco-approved 120BPM or maybe Chapterhouse for the 21st century. Brief but tantalizing, I hope that a full-length in this vein is in the works. MP3: Languis – “In The Fields Of (Lonely Fences)” Video: Languis – “Times Are Changing” (MOV) MySpace: Languis

Dylan In The Movies / Feel The Pull (The Gentlemen’s Recording Company) I think this has been out for a while but I only got a copy recently. On first listen I thought it was decent if undistinctive singer-songwriter fare, but some gorgeous and somehow familiar backing vocals on the first track caught my ear. Turns out, it’s none other than Tanya Donelly, who also lends her gossamer pipes to another track on the 5-song debut EP. It’s funny how the mere presence of one of my favourite singers in the world, even on backings, can affect how one sees/hears a record. Bostonian Brian Sullivan, he who is Dylan In The Movies, has an emotive rasp not unlike the Catherine Wheel’s Rob Dickinson which naturally brings to mind “Judy Staring At The Sun” comparisons. Sullivan demonstrates decent songwriting range over the course of six songs from slow and moody to clench-teeth rockers but I can’t say any of them fit quite right. But if Sullivan can keep enlisting such top-notch talent to help out while he finds and refines his creative voice, he could well be on to something. Note – you can hear the Tanya-powered tracks on his MySpace. MP3: Dylan In The Movies – “Momentary Breakdown” MP3: Dylan In The Movies – “Better Days” MySpace: Dylan In The Movies

np – Shearwater / Winged Life

Good news from New York City’s Daylight’s For The Birds, whom you may remember from this post back in April – their first album is complete, off to the presses and should hopefully be available by mid-August. The record, Troubleeverywhere, will feature both original vocalist Claudia Deheza and current vocalists Amanda Garrett and Phillip Wann. You may remember Deheza and Wann from dream-pop outfit On!Air!Library! but that was many moons ago and despite the personnel overlap, Daylight’s For The Birds has crafted a distinctive enough sound to stand as its own entity (though they have much to offer O!A!L! fans…).

A good number of the tracks have rotated through the band’s MySpace player in the past half year, so I like to think I’ve heard enough of the album to offer an informed opinion, and that opinion is that it’s a goddamn pretty record. While their shoegaze roots definitely show, it’s definitely a gentler, daydreamier brand of pop that they’re trading in. Guitars and keys go about their soundscaping but never overwhelm the wistful, delicate and oh-so melodic vocals. And oh the vocals – losing Deheza halfway through recording could have been disastrous but Garrett’s voice is similar enough to make the transition smooth (and allow her to handle the older material live) yet different enough to add some more variety into the sound. Dodged a bullet there.

In addition to the three downloads they’ve currently got for download on the MySpace (and one more for streaming), the band’s given me one more track from the album to offer you folks. And though “Worlds Away” is no longer amongst the listenables, take my word for it that it will be one of the best things you hear all year. Yeah, you’ll have to pick up the record to get to it, but trust me on this.

MP3: Daylight’s For The Birds – “Early Summer”
MP3: Daylight’s For The Birds – “To No One”
MP3: Daylight’s For The Birds – “Please”
MP3: Daylight’s For The Birds – “For Now”

And get this – the band is playing a show at Sin-E on June 29, the very same day I arrive in New York, as part of an Earfarm-sponsored evening, and the band I profiled yesterday, Dirty On Purpose, are also playing hardly four blocks away at the Mercury Lounge. AND, also that night, Brooklynvegan is putting on a show in Brooklyn featuring Canucks Land Of Talk, Tokyo Police Club. So which will I be attending? None of the above, probably. Hey – I’m on vacation.

Swedish crooner Nicolai Dunger and American bluegrassers Jim and Jennie & The Pinetops join forces at Lee’s Palace on August 1 and Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s tour of record stores will actually feature a Toronto stop on August 19, as he goes vinyl shopping at Rotate This. This is interesting because I can’t recall Rotate ever hosting an in-store – that’s usually Soundscapes’ bag. But this is what Pitchfork says and I don’t want to live in a world where you can’t believe everything Pitchfork tells you.

The New Yorker makes a compelling case for late-period Radiohead and almost makes me want to put on Hail To The Thief to re-evaluate. Almost.

Synthesis discusses touring and writing and the intersection of both with Guy Garvey of Elbow.

Stylus hates CD packaging and here’s why.

PennLive.com interviews Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee-O’Malley, who is also annotating the series on his LiveJournal. Soon we’ll be able to assemble our own “Scott Pilgrim Walking Tours of Toronto”.

np – Languis / Other Desert Cities

I, like many others, fell for Brooklyn’s Dirty On Purpose’s debut EP Sleep Late For A Better Tomorrow after seeing them at SxSW 2005 and their first full-length, Hallelujah Sirens due out on Tuesday, was near the top of my list of anticipated albums for 2006. But between then and now, the band lost a member – keyboardist and vocalist Erika Forster – yet somehow became even stronger by the subtraction and carried on by changing everything and nothing.

Surprisingly and gratifyingly, Hallelujah Sirens sounds as good as anyone could have hoped, the boy-girl harmonies that were such a treat on Sleep Late aren’t missed nearly as much I’d expected. For the most part the remaining three singers, each with distinctive voices, pick up the slack either in harmony or lead. And in the few points where a female voice is really called for, guest Jaymay ably steps in to help. Anne Brewster, whose former band Sea Ray were similarly much-beloved shoegazing Brooklynites, also guests on cello.

The songwriting is also a lot sharper and focused, the band taking advantage of the long-playing format to stretch out and better explore their sound. While Sleep Late came off like a mix tape of all your (my) favourite indie rock bands, that eclecticism also worked against the band to a degree with them bouncing all over the musical map over the course of five songs. Hallelujah Sirens still draws on those influences but blend them together much more effectively and seamlessly, able to range from pure pop (“No Radio”) to gentle balladry (“Lake Effect”) to raging rockers (“Marfa Lights”). And resuscitated from their 2003 demo, instrumental “Monument” is pure guitar bliss.

The band is on the road through July to support the record, though no dates up here. They did stop by in March and if you were one of the dozen or so people in attendance, consider yourself lucky. As more positive reviews like this Pitchfork one stack up and the buzz continues to grow, elbow room at their shows will surely decrease.

Filter offers up some press-release-y comments and Clicky Click gets a tour of Dirty On Purpose HQ from guitarist/vocalist George Wilson. And if you like DoP, take a moment to vote for them on this Deli Magazine poll – I don’t really know what it’s about, but it seems to be a pretty big deal to them so help ’em out.

MP3: Dirty On Purpose – “Light Pollution”
MP3: Dirty On Purpose – “Monument”
Video: Dirty On Purpose – “Light Pollution” (MOV)
MySpace: Dirty On Purpose

As for the departed Forster, she carries on in keyobard trio Au Revoir Simone. Their album Verses Of Comfort, Assurance And Salvation has been trickling out in various territories since last year and a new full-length is forthcoming. Think gently layered girl vocals, tinkling pianos and humming synths, simple drum machines and electronic whir-clicks in the background.

MP3: Au Revoir Simone – “Hurricane”
MP3: Au Revoir Simone – “Through The Backyards”
MySpace: Au Revoir Simone

eye gets to know DeVotchKa, in town at the El Mocambo on Tuesday night with Norfolk & Western.

Some shows announcements of note – Serena Maneesh make good on their promise to make up their cancelled show in April with a stop at Lee’s Palace on September 13 and will do so with Film School and Evangelicals in tow (full tour dates here) and Mates Of State are in town September 16 at a venue to be determined (full tour dates here). Okay, look at that second week of September. Right now I’m REALLY hoping that there’s no one interesting on the bill for V Fest on the 9th and 10th, because otherwise that week becomes overloaded to an absurd degree. Oh, and of course, this is all happening smack dab in the middle of the Toronto International Film Festival. Sweet fancy Moses, is it possible to die from culture overload?

Filter talks to Teddy Thompson, Rufus Wainwright and director Lian Lunson about the new I’m Your Man tribute/documentary on Leonard Cohen. And Zoilus does some math on Lenny’s sex life and comes up with a startling number.

Pop (All Love) ponders the merit and futility of music awards like the Polaris Music Prize and wonders if Broken Social Scene might actually be Cornershop. Also check out his liveblogging the MuchMusic Video Awards. Inspired writing.

np – Dinosaur Jr / Green Mind

In what has been a long time in coming, both in the sense of waiting for the show to be officially confirmed and in the sense of waiting for the band to actually dare to come north of the border for some shows, Starflyer 59 will finally be playing a show in Toronto at Lee’s Palace on August 5. You may recall that they confirmed a show in Kitchener at the Nidus Christian music festival for August 6, but the news of a secular and local show is good news all around.

The band is about to release a new EP, I Win, on or around July 1 and will follow it up with a full-length My Island on September 12. If the sample on the band’s MySpace is indictive, it’s in keeping with the tone and timbre of the last few SF59 records. Jangly and textured and maybe a little more upbeat, but kept from straying too far from formula by Jason Martin’s vocals – still sleepy and a little hazy. It’s interesting to listen to the progression SF59 has made from the monolitihic grunge-gaze of their earliest works to the gently sparkling pop of their recent work. You’d think I’d like the fuzzier stuff but my favourite is easily 2001’s Leave Here A Stranger, which is probably the most laid back of all their records (of the ones I have, anyway). Starflyer 59 will rarely surprise you – except by, say, touring Canada – but if you like what they do they won’t disappoint either.

SF59 downloadables are hard to come by, but here’s a song from their last full-length Talking Voice Vs Singing Voice and a video that dates all the way back to 1995’s Gold. There’s also more at their PureVolume and an eCard for Talking Voice.

MP3: Starflyer 59 – “Good Sons”
Video: Starflyer 59 – “A Housewife Love Song” (YouTube)

Also performing at the Nidus festival is Danielson, though he has also booked a non-Christian friendly show at Lee’s for August 3, a curious bill they will share with Black Heart Procession. Danielson’s newest, Ships, was the first I’ve heard from him in any of his incarnations and, well, it’s interesting. It’s cacaphonic in sound but joyous in spirit though I think it’s safe to say he has a love-it-or-hate-it voice and I don’t think it’s necessarily my cup of orange crush. Black Heart Procession have also just released a new record called The Spell and the stuff linked below is actually the first I’ve ever heard from them. Sounds alright. CokeMachineGlow has a two-part feature interview with Danielson and Drowned In Sound gets to know Black Heart Procession.

MP3: Danielson – “Did I Step On Your Trumpet?”
MP3: Black Heart Procession – “Not Just Words”
Video: Black Heart Procession – “Not Just Words” (MOV)
MySpace: Danielson
MySpace: Black Heart Procession

PopMatters interviews The Futureheads. Their new one News & Tributes is out now, they play the Phoenix on July 26 and there’s a second MP3 from the album circulating.

MP3: The Futureheads – “Worry About It Later”

Today’s V-Fest scuttlebutt – The Flaming Lips have confirmed the September 9 date at Toronto Islands on their website. So to recap, officially: September 9 – The Flaming Lips, Gnarls Barkley. September 10 – Zero 7. And The Big Takeover has posted the first of a three-part interview with the Lips’ Michael Ivins.

One day too late to make my themed-post, NOW profiles Jose Gonzalez, at Trinity-St Paul on Monday.

eye talks to J Mascis about his double-bill weekend in Toronto with the Broken Mascis Scene gig at the Mod Club tomorrow night and then the Olympic Island gig on Saturday. J… doesn’t really seem to know what’s going on. Or care.

np – Monsters Are Waiting / Fascination

Were I not already planning on seeing Jose Gonzalez in Central Park on the 2nd of July, I would probably have gotten tickets to see him at Trinity-St Paul’s next Tuesday Monday with Juana Molina and Psapp. I’ve no doubt that the beautiful church acoustics will be far more complimentary to Gonzalez’s delicate fingerpicked guitar and hushed voice than the Manhattan outdoors – I had to lean in to hear him at SxSW and I was maybe 3 feet away – but what can you do. Interesting thing about this show – all three acts owe no small measure of their fame and success to television.

Gonzalez, a Swede of Argentinian descent, had his profile increase exponentially in North America thanks to his soundtracking a Sony Bravia commercial (the one with the bouncing balls in San Francisco) but I’d like to think that he’d have gotten some of the deserved recognition based on the strength of his debut album Veneer. The lazy reference point is Nick Drake but with some Latin fire, and since I’m lazy I’ll leave it at that. All you really need to know is that his stuff is beautiful. The New Zealand Herald profiles Gonzalez, who in turn discusses the intricacies of chairs with Harp.

Tourmate Juana Molina achieved fame in Argentina as a comedian with her own television show before giving up acting to become a musician. Her latest album Son is a hypnotic slice of gentle folk suffused with electronic flourishes but still wholly organic. Fascinating listening. Domino Records has a page set up for streaming her works, old and new. Magnet talks to Molina about the influence of nature on Son while The Georgia Straight and Exclaim! both have features on the artist.

Final act on the bill Psapp and are best known as the duo behind the theme song for ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy. PopMatters has an interview with the duo. While they’re not Argentinian or Argentinian-descended (they’re from the UK), their eclectic electro-folk sounds like it’ll fit in with the other two acts perfectly. So long as no one brings up the Falklands…

Seattle’s Stranger has a teleconference with Gonzalez and Molina both and all three acts have recently visited LA’s KCRW recently. RBally has the Gonzalez set and The Smudge Of Ashen Fluff has Molina’s and Psapp’s sets ripped and downloadable.

MP3: Jose Gonzalez – “Stay In The Shade”
MP3: Juana Molina – “La Verdad”
MP3: Juana Molina – “Rio Seco”
MP3: Psapp – “Hi”
MP3: Psapp – “Tricycle”
MP3: Psapp – “Wet Box”
Video: Jose Gonzalez – “Hand On Your Heart” (MOV)
Video: Jose Gonzalez – “Stay In The Shade” (MOV)
Video: Psapp – “Hi” (MySpace)
MySpace: Jose Gonzalez
MySpace: Juana Molina
MySpace: Psapp

If you can’t catch Gonzalez next week or can’t get enough, note that he will be touring with Zero 7 this September. The same Zero 7 whose new album The Garden he appears on as a guest vocalist, and the same Zero 7 who are confirmed as an act at the V Fest happening on September 9 and 10 on Olympic Island. You do the math. Don’t forget to carry the zero. And 7. Update: Okay, I just got what seems like official confirmation that Gonzalez WILL be with Zero 7 at their V-Fest Toronto Islands show on September 10.

And while perpetuating more V-Fest rumours, note these just-announced Flaming Lips tour dates and the conspicuous gap over the second weekend in September. Also note the similar vacancy in The Raconteurs’ calendar, which might explain the otherwise inexplicable move of ending their Fall tour in Montreal without a Toronto date…

Pitchfork goes YouTube-crazy, rounding up “100 awesome music videos” and embedding every single one. Epic. Similarly, Tripwire has assembled a YouTube salute to some of the bands who have performed on Top Of The Pops, which has been given the axe by the BBC after 42 years.

The New York Times talks to Paul Westerberg about The Replacements’ Don’t You Know Who I Think I Was? retrospective, which came out last week.

Amy Millan will be performing at Harbourfront on August 26 as part of the “Indie Unlimited” festival. She gets the evening headlining slot on the mainstage while Great Lake Swimmers are on at 2:30 that afternoon. Aloha will be at the Tranzac on August 22 to promote Some Echoes, which I reviewed a few months ago. Other reviewers are far more enamored with the record than I, so it could well be worth checking out – the show and the album.

Seattlest interviews Portastatic’s Mac McCaughan, who is a very happy man.

np – Danielson / Ships