Jeremy Balderson

It’s not as though any of these songs couldn’t have easily been made into Hold Steady numbers; Finn’s character-driven songwriting style is still immediately recognizable. But the mood is more thoughtful and the musical accompaniments chosen are simpler and slower – though not acoustic and strummy, it should be made clear – and allow Finn to occupy enough of a different timbre and cadence to clearly distinguish him from the manic character who fronts The Hold Steady. It’s the sort of record that fans will enjoy for its own merits but also make them appreciate the next Hold Steady record even more.

Clash gets into the literary inspiration that goes into his work while Pitchfork and Hitfix talk to him about going solo and what’s next for The Hold Steady.

MP3: Craig Finn – “Honolulu Blues”
Stream: Craig Finn / Clear Heart Full Eyes

School Of Seven Bells have revealed details of a Spring tour in support of Ghostory, out February 28. The Toronto date is May 2 at The Hoxton.

MP3: School Of Seven Bells – “Lafaye”
MP3: School Of Seven Bells – “The Night”

Hospitality were just here last week but they’ve already scheduled a return date for February 29 when they’ll be supporting Tennis at The Horseshoe. Their self-titled debut is out January 31.

MP3: Hospitality – “Friends Of Friends”

Beirut have announced a July 19 date at The Sound Academy, part of a Canadian tour in support of last year’s The Rip Tide. Tickets are $35 general admission, $50 VIP.

Video: Beirut – “Santa Fe”

NPR has a World Cafe session with Real Estate, who play a sold-out show at Lee’s Palace this Friday. The Boston Globe and Montreal Mirror have interviews.

Nada Surf has made their new record The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy available to stream ahead of its release next week over at NPR. They play the Opera House on April 4.

MP3: Nada Surf – “When I Was Young”
Stream: Nada Surf / The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy

Stuff like iTunes sessions don’t typically get my attention, but one coming out on January 24 does – because a) it’s by Wilco and b) it’s all of eight songs long, picked from all throughout their existence and featuring a cover of “Cruel To Be Kind” with Nick Lowe. So yeah, maybe I’ll buy that. Details on the release at Consequence Of Sound, and there’s interviews with Jeff Tweedy at The Denver Post and Glenn Kotche at The Los Angeles Times.

The Stool Pigeon talks to Chairlift about their new record Something, out January 24 and followed by a show at The Horseshoe on March 28.

Stereogum checks in with Sharon Van Etten about the state of her new album Tramp, out February 7. She plays Lee’s Palace on February 21.

Opening up that show are Shearwater, who’ve offered up another track from their new one Animal Joy. It’s out February 14.

MP3: Shearwater – “You As You Were”

The first official preview of Sleigh Bells’ forthcoming Reign Of Terror is now available to hear. It’s out February 21 and they play The Phoenix February 18.

Stream: Sleigh Bells – “Comeback Kid”

Another tune from the new Lambchop record Mr. M is available to download ahead of its February 21 release date.

MP3: Lambchop – “Gone Tomorrow”

The Boston Herald, Boston Phoenix, and Metro talk to Joe Pernice about the Scud Mountain Boys reunion tour, which kicked off this week in Boston and hits Lee’s Palace on February 25.

The Decemberists will be entering their hiatus in grand fashion, with the released of their first live album, the double-disc We All Raise Our Voices To The Air (Live Songs 04.11-08.11). It will be out on March 13; Rolling Stone has specifics.

Rolling Stone has an MP3 from Threads, the new record for Minneapolis’ Now, Now. It’s out March 16 and they may or may not be opening for The Naked & Famous at The Sound Academy on April 5 – I’ve seen both that they are and aren’t.

MP3: Now, Now – “School Friends”

Rolling Stone has got an MP3 from the new Justin Townes Earle album Nothing’s Gonna Change The Way You Feel About Me Now available to download. The record is out March 27.

MP3: Justin Townes Earle – “Nothing’s Gonna Change The Way You Feel About Me Now”

DIY profiles Howler, who are at The Drake Underground on April 5. They’ve also released a live session video recorded at the Rough Trade store in London.

Video: Howler – “Back Of Your Neck” (live at Rough Trade)

Wayne Coyne talks to Rolling Stone about a new The Flaming Lips record that will be made up of collaborations with other artists such as Bon Iver (who, let’s be honest, would probably agree to collaborate with anyone who asked) and which may be out as soon as April.

Lower Dens have announced a new record – look for Nootropics on May 1 – and also released the first MP3 from it, which is kind of great.

MP3: Lower Dens – “Brains”

DIY has a feature piece on Guided By Voices, who aim to release their second reunion album Class Clown Spots A UFO in or around May.

Ryan Adams has released a new video from Ashes & Fire.

Video: Ryan Adams – “Chains Of Love”

There’s also a new video from Death Cab For Cutie’s Codes & Keys.

Video: Death Cab For Cutie – “Underneath The Sycamore”

aux.tv talks to Annie Clark of St. Vincent.

Dean Wareham gives an interview to Music Times Two and offers some thoughts on a Luna reunion (not likely, but not impossible).

Filter has a two-part feature piece on Tom Waits.

trespasserswilliam.com

Despite completely winning me over with their second album Different Stars – one of my favourites of the decade – their gorgeously sad and languid dreampop led by Anna-Lynne Williams voice and slide guitar never really seemed to catch on beyond a devoted audience to whom the sound of melancholy captured at 100 frames per second and replayed in exquisitely detailed slow-motion was the best thing ever. Even so and despite seemingly endless lineup changes – Williams and guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Matt Brown were the only constants – they carried on for a decade and a half and are now moving onto other things. Williams records solo as Lotte Kestner and is half of Ormonde, while Brown performs as Disinterested; Trespassers William may now be silent, but the voices that comprised it are not.

Similarly, while we’ll not be getting the follow-up to 2006′s Having that was promised for this year, that won’t be the final word from the band. In 2009, the released the European EP The Natural Order Of Things and at the start of last year, digitally released a compilation b-sides and to coincide with the announcement of the hiatus, have cleared the vaults with another digital release in New Songs & Outtakes, consisting of a couple of new songs that had been targeted for the fourth record and other goodies.

I’m sad that they never managed to put together a North American tour that brought them to Toronto, but am glad I was able to catch them at SXSW in 2008 and again in 2010, and to have had the fortune of living with their music for so long.

Update: Again, via Facebook, the band have announced that their b-sides/unreleased material currently available via Bandcamp will be getting a proper physical release. Details to come, but the digital sales will be ending this weekend.

MP3: Trespassers William – “Lie In The Sound”
MP3: Trespassers William – “Vapour Trail”
MP3: Lotte Kestner – “Crush The Bird”

Iron & Wine have released a new video from last year’s Kiss Each Other Clean.

Video: Iron & Wine – “Godless Brother In Love”

At The Paris Review, Dean Wareham keeps a tour diary about taking the “Plays Galaxie 500″ shows to Japan.

Independent Weekly talks to Eric Bachmann of Crooked Fingers.

Nicole Atkins plays a video session for The Huffington Post.

Cursive, accompanied by Cymbals Eat Guitars, will be in at The Horseshoe on March 31. Tickets are $16.50 in advance. Cursive’s new album I Am Gemini comes out on February 7; Cymbals Eat Guitars released Lenses Alien last year.

MP3: Cursive – “The Sun & Moon”
MP3: Cymbals Eat Guitars – “Rifle Eyesight (Proper Name)”
MP3: Cymbals Eat Guitars – “Definite Darkness”

The Huffington Post profiles and interviews Warpaint.

And another Yo La Tengo Hannukah show is up over at NYC Taper; that’s five of them now.

Pitchfork bears bad news for those who thought the new Sleigh Bells album Reign Of Terror would be the perfect Valentine’s Day soundtrack; it has been pushed back a week from February 14 to the 21st.

Frank Yang

The call for backing players is a reasonable one as both her records – Neptune City and this year’s Mondo Amore – are pretty produced affairs, but it’s key to remember at her core Atkins is a folk/blues-rooted singer-songwriter and has had more than her share of experience performing with just her guitar, voice and songs. That’s all she brought with her on this evening and it was more than enough. Well, those and some hilarious anecdotes; for serious, the evening could have just been her sitting there – no guitar – and telling stories and it would have been worth the price of admission. But yes, she sang too.

Brassy set opener “Maybe Tonight” set the tone for the night, which is to say it wouldn’t be a quiet, navel-gazey affair. She promised that the set would mostly be country versions of her songs – and indeed, “Cry Cry Cry” was extra honky-tonky-ish – but most songs retained their basic stylistic personalities and there were a fair number of what she called the “sad bastard” songs, but even those were delivered with energy and conviction thanks to her room-filling voice. The set was all over the place as far as where it drew from, covering both albums, the rarely-heard title track of her debut Bleeding Diamonds EP, a new song entitled “Call Me The Witch”, and covers of Leadbelly, Benji Hughes and Cotton Mather (about whom she spilled the beans regarding an upcoming reunion at SXSW). After complimenting the audience on how quiet and attentive they were all night, she invited all to join in on “The Way It Is” and for the show closer and in what’s becoming a bit of a Drake tradition, came offstage to play “Neptune City” in the audience with everyone singing along.

Make no mistake, I loved both the widescreen, ornate presentation of Neptune City and the rawer, rockier Mondo Amore but if for her third record Nicole Atkins decides to peel things back to little more than what we saw on Saturday night, I’ve no doubt it’d be just as sublime.

Hater High was also in attendance and has the whole show recorded and available to download; it all sounds great but the banter prior to “Hotel Plaster” is especially worth hearing. The Free Lance-Star also has an interview.

Photos: Nicole Atkins @ The Drake Underground – December 3, 2011
MP3: Nicole Atkins – “Vultures”
MP3: Nicole Atkins – “Vitamin C”
Video: Nicole Atkins – “Vultures”
Video: Nicole Atkins – “Maybe Tonight”
Video: Nicole Atkins – “The Way It Is”
Video: Nicole Atkins – “Neptune City”

The Quietus talks to Janet Weiss of Wild Flag.

NPR has a Tiny Desk Concert with tUnE-yArDs.

The Quietus interviews both Erika Anderson of EMA and Nika Roza Danilova of Zola Jesus.

Kind of an odd bill, but together The Black Keys and Arctic Monkeys get to cross “go on an arena tour of North America” off their to-do lists. They’re at the Air Canada Centre on March 14 – presale goes December 6 at 10AM, public onsale on December 9. The Black Keys’ new album El Camino is out Tuesday.

Video: The Black Keys – “Tighten Up”
Video: Arctic Monkeys – “Suck It And See”

Austin 360 talks to Jeff Tweedy of Wilco.

The second Archers Of Loaf reissue – Vee Vee – has an official release date of February 21, and The AV Club has all the salient info. And they’ve also got Eric Bachmann doing a
One Track Mind performance and interview for “Web In Front”. Meanwhile, Bachmann puts his Crooked Fingers hat on to chat with Creative Loafing and The Phoenix New Times.

MP3: Archers Of Loaf – “Harnessed In Slums”

The first official single from Guided By Voices’ reunion record Let’s Go Eat The Factory is now available to download, all 1:44 of it. It will probably take you longer to read this interview with Bob Pollard at The AV Club than to listen to the song.

MP3: Guided By Voices – “Doughtnut For A Snowman”

Loud & Quiet interviews Ryan Adams, in town at the Winter Garden Theatre on December 10.

Blurt talks to Britta Phillips of Dean & Britta about being the voice of Jem (of Jem & The Holograms) back in the ’80s while Listgeeks chats with both her and Dean Wareham. And over at Captain’s Dead, they’ve got a downloadable recording of the “Plays Galaxie 500″ set they did at Primavera in Barcelona back in May.

The Daily Beast talks to Michael Stipe and Mike Mills about the end of R.E.M..

Charles Bradley has released a new MP3 from No Time For Dreaming. He and his Extraordinaires are at Lee’s Palace on February 11.

MP3: Charles Bradley – “Heartaches & Pain”

Wye Oak stops in by Berlin Sessions for a video session. They open up for The National at The Air Canada Centre on Thursday night.

NPR has a World Cafe session with Dum Dum Girls.

Spin points out that Sleigh Bells’ website has been highjacked by a trailer for what is presumed to be their new album. It’s called Reign of Terror and it’ll be out when it’s out.

Tina Tyrell

But underpinning all of that, and what I’d put forward as her most important quality, is her restlessness, as showcased in fine form on her third album Strange Mercy. That constant desire – or maybe compulsion – to fill her work with idiosyncratic touches that range from quirky accents – such as the adorable vocal hiccups in opener “Chloe In The Afternoon” – to dissonent, square-waved guitar breaks, also in the same song. One can’t help wonder about her process, and whether she writes the pretty first and then deliberately takes it off-road, or if that’s simply intuits both halves as necessary parts of the whole. Was the wonderfully random and unabashedly ’70s prog guitar/synth line that closes out “Surgeon” a result of Clark stepping back and thinking, “you know what would be interesting here?” or more, “of course that’s the outro. Duh”.

Compared to the ambitiously orchestrated Actor, Mercy is more of a guitar-heavy affair, with the contrast between Clark’s sumptuous voice and her favoured abrasive guitar tones played up throughout. Some find Clark’s penchant for abruptly shifting gears or marrying brutality with beauty if just to see what happens off-putting, but that unpredictability is rather key to the experience. Like its predecessors, it’s a touch more cerebral and considered than I might like, but the way Clark is able to sound confessional and emotionally bare without sometimes seeming to reveal anything at all and always maintaining a distance is, I suppose, perfectly in keeping with the duality of St. Vincent. And whether you genuinely love what she does or are just fascinated by it, you can’t help coming back.

The Guardian, Interview, Consequence Of Sound and The Village Voice have feature interviews with Clark, while 4AD Sessions and The AV Club have videos of some in-studio live performances and NPR is streaming her show in DC from earlier this week. She is at The Phoenix on December 15.

MP3: St. Vincent – “Surgeon”
Video: St. Vincent – “Cruel”

After bringing The Black Sea along with her in February to support Mondo Amore, Nicole Atkins returns for a solo show at The Drake Underground on December 3 – tickets $15 in advance.

MP3: Nicole Atkins – “Vultures”

The Kills are also planning a return engagement as part of a Winter tour in support of their latest Blood Pressures, setting a date at The Kool Haus for February 7 of next year. Tickets $26.50 in advance. They’ve also released a new video from said record.

MP3: The Kills – “DNA”
Video: The Kills – “Baby Says”

After trickling out streams of most of the songs from their Long Live The King EP – another went up at The Huffington Post earlier this week – The Decemberists are streaming the whole thing at Spinner.

Stream: The Decemberists – “Sonnet”
Stream: The Decemberists / Long Live The King

Hey, you know that 24-hour Flaming Lips song? No? Well they recorded one, it’s called “7 Skies H3″ and it’s streaming at flaminglipstwentyfourhoursong.com. And it’s also available for sale encased in one of 13 real human skulls for the reasonable price of $5000. Pitchfork has details and Flaming Lips completists have my sympathy.

The Columbia Free Times talks to Ted Leo.

Doug Martsch of Built To Spill updates Rolling Stone on the status of their next album. Which is not to say anyone should expect it soon, but it is – you know – coming.

Pitchfork reports that The Antlers will release a new EP entitled (together), comprised of some remixes, collaborative reinterpretations of songs and an XX cover. It’s out November 22.

It’s certainly not a reunion or a new album – I hold no hopes of either of those things ever happening – but there’s a bit of Luna news to report. Their last two albums and EP – which had the misfortune of coming out on fly-by-night labels – have been digitally reissued with a handful of bonus tracks added on. Details and an opportunity to grab a cover of Kraftwerk’s “Neon Lights”, taken from the Close Cover Before Striking EP, can be had at Full Of Wishes – yeah you have to give your email address for the download, but how much mail do you really expect to get from a band that’s been defunct for six years? There’s interviews with Dean Wareham at Polaroids For Androids and 130BPM.

The first official single from the new Guided By Voices album Let’s All Eat The Factory is now available to stream and will be available on 7″ come November 28. All 1:44 of it. The album is out January 1.

Stream: Guided By Voices – “Doughtnut For A Snowman”

Caithlin de Marrais – the former voice of Rainer Maria – will release her solo debut Red Coats on Tuesday and in advance, Magnet is streaming the whole thing.

MP3: Caithlin de Marrais – “Belong”
Video: Caithlin de Marrais – “Birds”
Stream: Caithlin de Marrais / Red Coats

Mates Of State have released a new video from their latest, Mountaintops, and Playback has an interview with the Jason Hammel half of the duo.

Video: Mates Of State – “Sway”

Exclaim reports that Brassland Records is celebrating their tenth anniversary with gifts – in the form of a free song a day, one of which is this early demo by The National. To get at the downloads, engage the label in some social media love via Facebook or Twitter – details over here.

Stream: The National – “High Beams” (demo)

Polyvinyl

His latest album, Port Entropy is the second of his records I’ve had the pleasure of immersing myself in after 2008′s Exit and like its predecessor, it’s a whimsical whirlwind of instruments and orchestration, almost all played by Tokumaru, that lifts aloft his winsome and dreamlike melodies. For all the musical sophistication and cinematic scope of his recordings, the songs at their core have a childlike simplicity and pop appeal that transcends things like language or culture, and anyways “la la la” pretty much means the same thing universally.

Port Entropy was released in the Spring of 2010 in Japan and will be out in North America on February 15. Tokumaru toured over here behind Exit, assisted in the live setting by members of such acts as Beirut and The National, and word is that he’ll be crossing the Pacific again to support the new record.

MP3: Shugo Tokmaru – “Lahaha”
Video: Shugo Tokmaru – “Lahaha”
Video: Shogu Tokumaru – “Tracking Elevator”
Video: Shugo Tokumaru – “Rum Hee”

Spin talks to Bob Nastanovich about the future of the Pavement reunion, which apparently isn’t as over as though who saw them melt down at Matador 21 might have guessed – but even if they play more shows, don’t expect any new material.

PopMatters, Exclaim and The Star-Tribune talk to Mark Olson of The Jayhawks.

Spinner talks to Nicole Atkins about her Canadian connections while Vol. 1 Brooklyn asks her about her reading habits. Atkin’s second record Mondo Amore is out February 8 and she plays The Horseshoe on February 26.

State and Baltimore Magazine talk to Dean Wareham.

Black Book returns to Chicago’s Wicker Park with Liz Phair. Nashville Scene also has an interview.

The National Post, The Independent and Time talk to Colin Meloy of The Decemberists, who are at The Sound Academy tomorrow night. NYC Taper is sharing a recording of their show in New York from last week.

Paste catches up with Sam Beam of Iron & Wine.

Le Blogotheque serves up an order of Take-Away Show with Spoon, up-sized to include downloadable MP3s of the performance.

The Georgia Straight talks to Daniel Kessler of Interpol, who have a date at The Sound Academy on February 15.

The Strokes make the press rounds in advance of the March 22 release of Angles, offering interviews to Spinner, Myspace and Spin.

Beggars USA reports that Alela Diane will release a new record entitled Alela Diane & Wild Divine on April 5th.

The New Zealand Herald and Pitchfork talk to Sufjan Stevens.

In support of the release of their new record Long Live on February 15, Snowblink will play an in-store at Soundscapes on March 3 followed by a record release show at The Music Gallery on March 5.

MP3: Snowblink – “Ambergris”

Plants & Animals will warm up for their March 5 show at Lee’s Palace with an in-store across the street at Sonic Boom that same afternoon at 4PM.

MP3: Plants & Animals – “Tom Cruz”

The National has words with Dan Bejar of Destroyer. They are at Lee’s Palace on March 31.

NOW checks in with Joel Gibb of The Hidden Cameras.

Steven Cohen

Post-Jayhawks, Olson worked with with wife Victoria Williams in The Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers and began releasing solo works in 2007 while Louris finally put out a record under his own name in 2008 with Vagabonds. They kept playing together, though, and in 2008 gathered the 1995-era Jayhawks lineup for a show in Spain, followed by a couple more last year and left the door wide open for more. At the same time, they began digging through the vaults and put out a career-spanning best-of in 2009 and this year, reissued their long out-of-print self-titled debut as The Bunkhouse Album. But when Olson and Louris inevitably went back into the studio together, the fruits of those sessions – Ready For The Flood – came out under the name Mark Olson & Gary Louris, because as it stands – or at least as it did in 2008 – the name “The Jayhawks” was still under contract to American Recordings.

So while lawyers will keep any new recordings from coming out under The Jayhawks moniker for the time being – and you know that the urge to bring the whole band back into the studio has to be there – they’re still able to perform as The Jayhawks. And surely as a precursor to more consistent touring in 2011, eye reports that it’s as The Jayhawks that Olson, Louris and company will be returning to Toronto for the first time with any lineup since January 2004. We got the Louris and Olson sit-down acoustic show at the Mod Club last year, but The Jayhawks are country-rockers and you really do need the rock in there to go along with those unmistakable harmonies. This will be happening on January 18 at The Phoenix and the occasion is the release of deluxe edition reissues of their most seminal records, Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow The Green Grass, that same day and I’ll tell you, I’ve spent the evening revisiting both of those albums on disc, and its been grand. I can’t imagine doing the same live could be anything less.

PopMatters has reviews of the reissues and tallies up some of the bonus material included therein.

Video: The Jayhawks – “Blue”

Almost a year to the day since they were there this year, Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven will roll into Lee’s Palace on January 15 of next year, tickets $24.50.

Video: Cracker – “Low”
Video: Camper Van Beethoven – “Pictures Of Matchstick Men”

Frankie Rose & The Outs, whose namesake served time behind the kit in Crystal Stilts, Vivian Girls and Dum Dum Girls before going solo, have set a date at Parts & Labour on January 21 behind their self-titled debut.

MP3: Frankie Rose & The Outs – “Candy”

Rolling Stone has a brief chat with Colin Meloy of The Decemberists about their new record The King Is Dead, out January 18 and according to the aforementioned eye piece, will be followed almost immediately by a tour which includes a February 1 date in Toronto at a venue to be announced. You’d think they’d be ready to graduate to Massey Hall with this record, but a little digging reveals that Wynton Marsalis is booked into the hallowed hall that night. Maybe back to the less-hallowed Kool Haus one more time?

MP3: The Decemberists – “Down By The Water”

Iron & Wine have assigned a release date to their new record Kiss Each Other Clean and further confirmed January 25 as the first big new album day of 2011.

January 25 has also been set as the release date for The Radio Dept.’s 2-CD Passive Aggressive compilation while the Never Follow Suit EP is out now. They’re at Lee’s Palace on February 7, tickets just $12.50, on sale tomorrow.

MP3: The Radio Dept. – “Never Follow Suit”

Exclaim has details on Asobi Seksu’s new record Fluorescence, which sees them over their acoustic phase and back into the glorious noise. A first MP3 from the album, due February 15, is available at Polyvinyl.

Pitchfork reports that J Mascis will be stepping away from Dinosaur Jr for a bit to release a solo acoustic record entitled Several Shades Of Why on March 15.

The 4AD Sessions with Blonde Redhead are now up.

While I commend MTV for helping create interesting videos as they did for LCD Soundsystem, geoblocking them so as to only be viewable in the US is a pure bullshit move – took me a while but I finally found a ripped version that those of us outside Fortress America can enjoy. MusicOMH has an interview with James Murphy and Pitchfork has details on their live-in-studio album The London Sessions which was made available on iTunes as of today and hopefully through other outlets eventually.

Video: LCD Soundsystem – “Pow Pow”

PitchforkTV has video of the acoustic performance Mac McCaughan and Jim Wilbur of Superchunk did at the Toronto screening of Passenger Side at The Royal back in April. Mac and Jim will be back with Laura and Jon on December 9 at Sound Academy with Broken Social Scene – rest assured, it will be plugged in, loud and awesome.

San Diego City Beat and The San Francisco Chronicle talk to Dean Wareham.

Interview interviews Local Natives.

Aquarium Drunkard sessions up with Lissie. She’s at The Opera House on January 24.

Spinner has an Interface session with Deerhunter.

Warpaint serves up a World Cafe session for NPR.

Filter has a two-part Q&A Liz Phair.

Pitchfork is posting up video footage – performance and otherwise – from Matador at 21 in Vegas last month. Ah, memories.

Mia Kirby

That sense of spontaneity is successfully captured on The Fool, wherein Warpaint allow the nine songs here to grow into themselves in real time. Sometimes it sounds like they’re jamming them out, other times that they’re following a meticulous blueprint, but they always come across as though they’re following their collective muse like it was magnetic north. Songs often start from a single musical element and bloom and/or sprawl through time signature shifts and clouds of reverb and delay into their sometimes amorphous but always fascinating and emotive final forms. They clearly bear the influence of ’80s 4AD dream-pop and that era’s post-punk/goth forebears, but those are evident as reflections, echoes and shadows of Warpaint’s own, distinctive creations.

The Fool is more opaque and requires more work to absorb than I’d have expected, and the relative pop conciseness of their debut EP Exquisite Corpse is missed a little. One suspects that every outtake ended up in a significantly different place than the version of the song that was selected for the album, and while it’s hard to not want to hear some of those to compare and contrast, that way lies madness. What matters is that The Fool succeeds as more than just a solid album; it also confirms Warpaint as a unique and exciting new act with an immensely deep well of ideas to draw on, hopefully for many albums to come. Maybe the debut of the year not for what it is, but what it augurs.

Check out a behind-the scenes video of their cover shoot for NME, this video interview at Dirty Laundry and a video session at Yours Truly.

MP3: Warpaint – “Undertow”
Video: Warpaint – “Undertow”
MySpace: Warpaint

The Chicago Tribune talks to Sharon Van Etten about her transition from solo artist to bandleader. See her as the latter on Friday night at Lee’s Palace opening up for Junip. hour.ca also has a short chat.

eye talks to Morning Bender Chris Chu in advance of their show at the Mod Club on November 5.

Stereogum checks in with The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart on the status of their second album Belong, currently being recorded and due for a March 2011 release.

The Line Of Best Fit interviews The Thermals.

Beatroute talks to Dean Wareham about his decision to revisit Galaxie 500 on his current tour.

Dan Snaith of Caribou talks with Soundproof.

Kathryn Calder has released a second video from her solo debut Are You My Mother?.

Video: Kathryn Calder – “Arrow”

Dan Mangan chats with Beatroute.

Also with a new video are The Wilderness Of Manitoba, taken from their debut When You Left The Fire. They’re at the Horseshoe on November 25.

Video: The Wilderness Of Manitoba – “November”

Murray Lightburn of The Dears talks to aux.tv about their new record Degeneration Street, out on February 15.

Beatroute’s latest issue has a feature piece on Diamond Rings.

Barry Klipp

As the September 28 release date for the new record draws near, the Atlanta-based band are gearing up for a more conventional but proven effective means of record promotion – touring their asses off. Pitchfork has the full itinerary, which includes a handful of northeast US dates this month before kicking off in earnest come October. Toronto welcomes them back – they were just here in March opening up for Spoon – on October 19 for a date at the Opera House, where they’ll be supported by Real Estate and Casino Vs Japan.

MP3: Deerhunter – “Revival”

A Place To Bury Strangers have released a new video from Exploding Head.

Video: A Place To Bury Strangers – “I Lived My Life To Stand In The Shadow Of Your Heart”

Antony & The Johnsons have released an MP3 for the title track from their forthcoming EP Thank You For Your Love, out August 24, as a teaser both for the short-player and the full-length it’s taken from, Swanlights, which will follow on October 12.

MP3: Antony & The Johnsons – “Thank You For Your Love”

The AV Club interviews Dean & Britta.

Nashville Scene talks to Josh Ritter. He’s at the Phoenix on October 26.

Jim James tells Rolling Stone that My Morning Jacket have been back in the studio and a new record is targeted for mid-2011.

Spin talks to Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of The Posies about their new record Blood/Candy, out September 28, and has a stream of the song “Licenses to Hide”, which features vocals from Lisa Lobsinger of Broken Social Scene and Reverie Sound Revue.

The Tripwire gets in the back of a van with The Acorn. For a video session. Get your mind out of the gutter.

The Toronto Star has a feature piece on Arcade Fire. They’re at the Toronto Islands next Saturday and last night’s MSG show is available to stream on YouTube.

As proof that their gig at the Phoenix in April actually did count as an intimate club show, Wolf Parade will be back for the finale of their Fall tour in support of Expo 86 at the Sound Academy on November 26.

MP3: Wolf Parade – “Ghost Pressure”
MP3: Wolf Parade – “What Did My Lover Say? (It Always Had To Go This Way)

The Line Of Best Fit has released a new Oh! Canada compilation of Canadian MP3s as assembled by Brits.

Dublin’s Villagers, whose Becoming A Jackal has been shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, has a date at the Drake Underground on September 27. Tickets $10 in advance.

MP3: Villagers – “Becoming A Jackal”

Spinner talks to Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite about the band’s new studio album which is targeted for a February 2011 release. Their Burning/Special Moves live set is due on August 24.

NME talks to Paul Smith of Maximo Park about releasing his first solo album Margins, due out October 11.

MP3: Paul Smith – “North Atlantic Drift”

Nicky Wire of Manic Street Preachers gives BBC6 some details on their forthcoming record Postcards From A Young Man, coming September 27.

Nick Cave discusses Grinderman with Rolling Stone. Grinderman 2 is out September 14 and the North American tour kicks of November 11 at the Phoenix in Toronto. I don’t think people are sufficiently excited about this show because it’s not possible to be sufficiently excited about this show.

Brooklyn Paper talks to Jack Rabid, publisher of The Big Takeover which has just celebrated 30 years of being one of the finest and most dedicated music magazines out there. Salut.

J J Bullock

And said Scots aren’t a bad reference point for Stornoway in general, at least as far as articulating the aesthetic of their orchestrally-appointed folk-pop. But while they’re clearly capable of wide-eyed upbeatness, as “Zorbing” and the follow-up single “I Saw You Blink” clearly evidence, Stornoway’s hearts are inherently heavier and Brian Briggs’ vocals more inclined to drama – so maybe it’s to their benefit that Briggs doesn’t seem to have much luck in love; it makes for great lyrical fodder. His bandmates back him up with all the standard pop band accouterments, but close listening shows there’s a lot of detail hidden in the nooks and crannies of their seemingly austere sound – pianos, kazoos, strings, Morse code, church bells… and it’s these touches, like those aforementioned little details in “Zorbing”, that elevate Stornoway above the pack. If your Summer consists of getting your heart broken or wishing you were getting your heart broken whilst lounging on grassy hills (and maybe watching people roll down said hills in giant plastic balls) then Stornoway should be, if not your soundtrack, then at least in your playlist.

Drowned In Sound has a feature interview with the band. Beachcomber’s Windowsill is out in the UK right now and digitally in North America. It will be out in physical form on this continent on August 10. So far their American itinerary has consisted of an expeditionary gig in New York earlier this month, but promises are being made of a full incursion this Fall. Update: The album is now up to stream at Spinner.

MP3: Stornoway – “Zorbing”
Video: Stornoway – “Zorbing”
Video: Stornoway – “I Saw You Blink”
Stream: Stornoway / Beachcomber’s Windowsill

Shonen Knife have a date at the Horseshoe on October 1, tickets $15.50. Their new album Free Time will be out on August 31.

Video: Shonen Knife – “Perfect Freedom”

Justin Townes Earle will follow up the September 14 release of his new record Harlem River Blues with a Fall tour that includes an October 15 date at the Horseshoe. Jessica Lea Mayfield supports.

Video: Justin Townes Earle – “Midnight At The Movies”

Kentucky.com interviews Tift Merritt.

Sharon Van Etten records a Takeaway Show for Le Blogotheque. Her new record Epic is released on October 5.

Examiner.com profiles Oakland dream-pop band Minipop

Daytrotter has served up a session with Rogue Wave. They’re at the Opera House on September 24.

Billboard talks to Dean & Britta about the release tomorrow of their 13 Most Beautiful soundtrack album which is out tomorrow.

Spinner talks to Ra Ra Riot about the making of their new record The Orchard, out August 24. They’ll be at the Molson Amphitheatre on August 28 supporting Tegan & Sara and City & Colour.

The Omaha World-Herald talks to Spoon bassist Rob Pope.

Lazy-i interviews Jim Wilbur of Superchunk. Their new record Majesty Shredding is out on September 14.

Las Vegas Weekly tries to squeeze more information about Matador 21, going down October 1 to 3 at the Palms in Las Vegas, out of label head Gerard Cosloy.

MySpace

Which is the first MP3 from the first new Versus album in a decade – hell, the last time there was a new Versus album, there wasn’t such a phrase as “the first MP3 from”. I only twigged onto the New York outfit after their last record, 2000′s Hurrah, had run its course and their decade-long hiatus was just underway. Collecting their back catalog kept me occupied for a good while – turning up their super-rare debut EP Let’s Electrify! in the bins of Sonic Boom is a particularly fond memory – as did their various side-projects, but I couldn’t help feeling like I’d missed the boat on a great band, mainly because I had.

But sporadic shows over the past decade kept the hopes that they’d be back eventually alive, and those hopes will become reality on August 3 with the release of On The Ones and Threes, available on CD and as a double-LP with a different running order and two extra tracks. For full details and pre-order information, head over to Merge Records, for the first taste of the new album, click below and for tour dates, stay tuned. Because they’re coming.

MP3: Versus – “Invincible Hero”

Dean & Britta’s contribution to the just-released Sing Me To Sleep compilation of “indie lullabies” is now available to download. Despite the questionable concept, the record has brought together a pretty impressive lineup of talent.

MP3: Dean & Britta – “Making Me Smile”

Filter thinks you should already know Ted Leo. He and his Pharmacists are at Lee’s Palace on June 26.

Matt Berninger of The National talks politics and High Violet with The Huffington Post.

NOW, Time Out New York and The Fly have features on LCD Soundsystem, who play The Kool Haus on May 25. They’ve also just released a video for a non-album track (and cover).

Video: LCD Soundsystem – “Bye Bye Bayou”

North County Times talks to Nada Surf frontman Matthew Caws, who offers Spinner some advice for up-and-coming bands: get a day job. They’ve got a new video for their Bill Fox cover from if i had a hi fi, out June 8.

Video: Nada Surf – “Electrocution”

Which seques nicely into the new video from Drive-By Truckers, which offers a less positive take on the idea of punching the clock.

Video: Drive-By Truckers – “Working This Job”

James Mercer tells Billboard that he’s about ready to get back to work on The Shins but that Broken Bells wasn’t necessarily a one-off effort. They (Broken Bells) will be at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on June 2.

Spinner talks to Josh Ritter.

The National Post, Vancouver Sun, Metro and Clash talk to Ben Bridwell of Band Of Horses, while Spinner spends some time with guitarist Tyler Ramsey. They are at the Toronto Islands on June 19.

Thao with The Get Down Stay Down have released a new video/Oxfam PSA. They’ll be at The Horseshoe on June 26.

Video: Thao with The Get Down Stay Down – “Body”

Eels will release their new record Tomorrow Morning on August 24 and tour it to through the Mod Club on September 29.

Exclaim has the details on the deluxe reissue edition of R.E.M.’s Fables Of The Reconstruction, due out July 13. In addition to the remastered 1985 album, there’ll be a second CD of unreleased period-correct demos and goodies.

The Drums reveal to Exclaim that their self-titled debut will be out on June 14 in digital and vinyl form, and then CD come September.

Video: The Drums – “Forever & Ever Amen”

The Colorado Springs Independent profiles Laura Marling, who will be back in the southern Ontario area on July 23, performing in Guelph on the first night of Hillside.

Prefix has an interview with Kate Nash.

Mogwai have announced that the DVD of their live concert film Burning will come accompanied with a live record entitled Special Moves, and both will be available on August 24. Head over to the Special Moves website for more information.

eye, NOW, Uptown and Vue talk to The Sadies about their new record Darker Circles, from which they’ve just released a new video and for which they’ll be playing a record release show at Lee’s Palace on Saturday. They’re also at Harbourfront Centre on Canada Day, July 1.

Video: The Sadies – “Postcards”

Also with a new video are Tokyo Police Club, whose Champ hits stores on June 8. They are opening up for Spoon and The Flaming Lips at the Molson Amphitheatre on July 8.

Video: Tokyo Police Club – “Breakneck Speed”

Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning talk to Exclaim about why Pavement was the perfect choice to join them at the Toronto Island Concert on June 19, and Canning gives Toronto Life a list of his favourite things. Spinner has also posted up an Interface session with the band.

Fucked Up frontman Damian Abraham talks influences with Spinner, and just generally talks to The Georgia Straight, Vue and See. They play a free show at the Toronto Reference Library next Friday, May 28. It’s unticketed and doors are at 7:30, so plan accordingly.

Dog Day have released a new vid from last year’s Concentration. And why not grab the MP3 while you’re at it.

MP3: Dog Day – “Rome”
Video: Dog Day – “Rome”

Pitchfork gets a guest list from The New Pornographers’ Carl Newman. They’re at the Sound Academy on June 15.

eye talks to The Weakerthans, who play the Horseshoe as a benefit for Library Voices on Tuesday and then the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Wednesday.

The Chicago Tribune talks to Jace Lasek of The Besnard Lakes; they’re at the Mod Club on June 17 for NXNE.

BaebleMusic has a Guest Apartment session and The Daily Growl a quick word with Woodpigeon.

Chart talks to Dan Mangan about his song “Robots”, which they declare the “best song ever” for the moment.

Comic Book Resources talks to Bryan Lee-O’Malley about Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour, the final book in the Scott Pilgrim saga coming July 20, and the Scott Pilgrim vs The World film, out August 13.

And that’s the link hopper cleared out for today. I am going back to sleep.