Frank Yang

Opening up both sets was local fixture Doug Tielli, who came armed with just his voice and guitar; the former a slow, warm instrument with effortless falsetto, the latter a virtuosically-handled Stratocaster. Not much, but still plenty when wrapped around a half-dozen songs that ranged from country-western shuffles about cows to jazzy-yet-visceral croons to shimmering atmospheric pop and also a cover of Aretha’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”. Short but sweet.

I’d actually seen Webb solo before back in December 2009 when he was operating under the guise of Harbour Coats. I don’t know how much, if any, of that material made it onto Provider but that show did affirm that Webb was as compelling a performer on his own as with a band. For this occasion, he again had a band – dubbed The Providers – but they were hardly a conventional setup, with Webb mainly on acoustic guitar and backed by an upright bass, lap steel and pedal steel. The configuration was an inspired one, evoking a heartbeat and blood flow while Webb gave his songs breath and spirit. Even though no one doubted that Webb’s vocals, known across Canada for their rough bark, could be just as affecting as a sigh, hearing it fill the church sanctuary on gorgeous and moving moments like “Asa” and “Persistent Spirit” was still revelatory. The heaviest moment of the night came with set closer “Ex-Punks”, wherein they were joined by a drummer to add enough hammering percussion that if you looked and listened close enough, you could perceive the ghosts of the Constantines hovering overhead; not invoked, but acknowledged. For the one-song encore, they offered a cover of The Mills Brothers’ “Smoke Rings” and sent us on our way and the ready themselves to do it all over again.

Mechanical Forest Sound has a recording of “Ex-Punks” from the show he’d like to share, and BlogTO has a review. NOW, The Guelph Mercury, The Toronto Star, Spinner, Brock Press, and BlogTO have profile pieces on Webb.

Photos: Bry Webb, Doug Tielli @ The Music Gallery – February 4, 2012
MP3: Bry Webb – “Rivers Of Gold”
Stream: Bry Webb – “Undertaker”
Stream: Doug Tielli – “Deer”
Video: Doug Tielli – “Deer”

Paste has offered up a new download from the forthcoming Wooden Sky album Every Child a Daughter, Every Moon a Sun, due out February 28. They play The Opera House on April 20.

MP3: The Wooden Sky – “Malibu Rum”

Almost a couple years on from its release, a new video from The Acorn’s last album No Ghost. Odd timing, but there’s never a bad time to be reminded of a great band and album.

Video: The Acorn – “Misplaced”

The schedule for this year’s Canadian Musicfest is probably still a ways off, but some showcases lineups are trickling out, including this Quebec-centric one at The El Mocambo on March 22, which will feature a super-solid lineup of The Dears, Martha Wainwright, Galaxie, and Adam & The Amethysts. Advance tickets are $20 or you can try your luck with a festival wristband, of which a limited number will be admitted.

MP3: The Dears – “Blood”
MP3: Adam & The Amethysts – “Prophecy”
Video: Martha Wainwright – “You Cheated Me”
Video: Galaxie – “Piste 01″

PopMatters gets to know Dan Mangan, who will be in town to play the Indies at the Royal York on March 24.

Exclaim talks to The Darcys, who are at The Phoenix on March 1 opening for Bombay Bicycle Club and at Downsview Park for Edgefest on July 12.

A track from Rae Spoon’s new album I Can’t Keep All Of Our Secrets is now available to download. If you’re into that sort of thing. There’s also interviews at The Dalhousie Gazette and Beatroute.

MP3: Rae Spoon – “Crash Landing”

Great Lake Swimmers are streaming a second selection from their new album New Wild Everywhere, due out April 3. They play The Music Hall on June 2.

Stream: Great Lake Swimmers – “Les Champs des Prog´lniture”

Pitchfork is streaming all of Fucked Up’s Chinese zodiac singles to date; that’s five so far, including the “Year Of The Tiger” one due out on February 21.

Stream: Fucked Up / Chinese Zodiac singles

Consequence Of Sound reports that Neil Young’s getting back together with Crazy Horse may yield as many as two albums – the one called Americana is apparently already recorded and a second is in the works. Or, it being Neil, maybe nothing will actually come of this.

Whole lot of talking about Leonard Cohen in the wake of last week’s release of Old Ideas: The AV Club has a primer to his recorded works, Exclaim has assembled a timeline of his career, and Spinner and The National Post have both assembled panels of musicians to talk about the influence of the man and his music. Also, two more installments of the Old Ideas With New Friends covers series have surfaced, with The Guardian presenting Cults covering “Everybody Knows” and Pitchfork hosting Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox doing his take on, “Seems So Long Ago, Nancy”.

Jagjaguwar

Many were disappointed when Wolf Parade made good on their promise to call it a day – at least for the foreseeable future after a couple of final shows at the end of may, but if anything that means fans will have even more opportunity to hear their two principal songwriters’ distinctive voices. For starters, while Spencer Krug kept a ridiculous number of side project going concurrently with Wolf Parade over the years – Sunset Rubdown and Swan Lake chief amongst them – his “proper” solo project has him operating under the name of Moonface, and following an 12″ EP in Dreamland EP: Marimba and Shit Drums last year, he’s readying his debut album Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I’d Hoped for an August 2 release. One album track and one non-album track are available to preview, and for those looking for a more up close and personal experience with the songs, Krug kicks off a month-long tour leading up the album’s release next Wednesday night, July 13, at The Horseshoe in Toronto.

MP3: Moonface – “Fast Peter”
MP3: Moonface – “The Way You Wish You Could Live in the Storm”

Meanwhile, Dan Boeckner’s Handsome Furs talk to The Vine and are profiled by Billboard in the capacity of taking the dubious honour of having the fastest album announcement to leak in recent history with their latest release, Sound Kapital. They’re at The Horseshoe on August 1 and 2 – if you were one of those who downloaded the leak, make good by buying a Handsome Furs t-shirt or tea cozy.

Herohill marked Canada Day in style by posting the Gordon Lightfoot tribute album Turning Back The Pages Of My Sweet Shattered Dreams, featuring reinterpretations of Lightfoot’s songs but the likes of Olenka Krakus, Slow Down Molasses and Shotgun Jimmie, amongst many others.

The latest instalment in Bruce Peninsula’s “Fire Sale” series is out, and it’s a video for new song “Leaves”. They play Summerworks at the Lower Ossington Theatre on August 11.

Video: Bruce Peninsula – “Leaves”

Miracle Fortress has released a couple of tunes from the mostly-abandoned Hoop Dreams sessions as a free digital single. Some of the songs made it onto Was I The Wave?, others are just laying around and Graham Van Pelt still wants them to be heard. They’re playing Summerworks at the Lower Ossington Theatre on August 12.

MP3: Miracle Fortress – “Gestures”
MP3: Miracle Fortress – “Possession”

Origin: Orphan might be a couple years old at this point but that doesn’t mean The Hidden Cameras can’t continue to mine it for singles or videos. Which they’ve done.

Video: The Hidden Cameras – “Do I Belong”

The Galway Advertiser chats with Katie Stelmanis of Austra.

JAM profiles The Dears.

And some show announcements – this one slipped a bit under the radar, but could be of interest – UK electro-producer SBTRKT brings his self-titled debut to Wrongbar this Friday, July 8 – tickets $12.50 in advance. He’s interviewed by Clash and was recently The Guardian‘s new artist of the day.

MP3: SBTRKT – “Wildfire”
Video: SBTRKT – “Wildfire”

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart will be in town a day before their August 2 show at The Opera House and they’ll spend it playing an in-store at Sonic Boom on August 1 at 9PM; not sure if Sonic Boom will have moved to its new digs around the corner by this date or if this will be one of the final hurrahs for the best in-store space in the city, but either way it will be a good time. Admission free, canned good donations highly appreciated.

Video: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Heart In Your Heartache”

If you missed the update to Thursday’s post, Wilco has announced all kinds of things – like a September 27 release date for their new album The Whole Love, album art for said record and a first leg of North American touring that includes September 16 and 17 dates at Massey Hall in Toronto and will feature pop legend Nick Lowe as support. On-sale dates will be announced this week, so expect pre-sales to go next week. Details at Exclaim, and if you need a fix now, there’s three live shows available to stream at Wilco’s Roadcase.

Though they were both just here a couple weeks ago for NXNE, the first couple of Cali-garage rock – Dum Dum Girls and Crocodiles – are teaming up for a Fall tour that brings the double-bill to Lee’s Palace on October 16; the occasion being the September 27 release of the Dum Dum Girls’ second record Only In Dreams.

MP3: Dum Dum Girls – “He Gets Me High”
MP3: Crocodiles – “Sleep Forever”

Okay, that wasn’t as brief as I thought it’d be.

Jessica Eaton

As for the aforementioned tour, it will kick off in late September on the west coast and wind its way across the continent – largely in Canada but with some forays south of the border – before wrapping mid-October in Ottawa, though you have to think that there’ll be a hometown show to cap it off. Toronto gets our fix on October 13 at Lee’s Palace, tickets $20 in advance. And sweetening the deal, as though it needed sweetening, is the fact that Malajube will be opening up all dates – that’s two bands with four Polaris shortlist appearances between them – five if Malajube’s La caverne gets the nod in a couple weeks. Not bad.

MP3: The Besnard Lakes – “Albatross”
MP3: Malajube – “Synesthésie”
Trailer: Welcome To Pine Point

Scenes From The Subrubs, the Spike Jonze-directed short film assembled to give Arcade Fire a music video and an excuse to re-release The Suburbs, is currently available to stream in its entirety over at mubi.com. The deluxe edition of The Suburbs is out August 2.

Video: Scenes From The Suburbs

Filter talks to Graham Van Pelt of Miracle Fortress. They play The Lower Ossington Theatre on August 12 as part of Summerworks. And speaking of Summerworks, the festival has run a bit afoul of the current federal government and had their funding cut; donations to help make up the shortfall are welcome (and tax deductible).

The Alternate Side has a session and interview with The Dears.

Their August 1 show in support of new album Sound Kapital presumably long sold out, Handsome Furs have added a second date at The Horseshoe for August 2, tickets $15 in advance. Exclaim has an interview.

MP3: Handsome Furs – “Repatriated”

The Corkman chats with Owen Pallett, who has two dates at the Phoenix – August 2 and 4 – opening up for Beirut.

While there hasn’t been much to draw music fans to the Toronto Islands this Summer – no V Fest, no Olympic Island shows, just the Sarah Harmer, Serena Ryder and Skydiggers free show on July 16 – Wavelength has put together a good reason to hop on the ferry for the weekend of August 13 and 14. That’s when the annual ALL CAPS! all-ages festival goes down, this year featuring performances from Julie Doiron, The Wooden Sky, Monogrenade, Steamboat, Muskox, Rich Aucoin, Dog Bus, More or Les, Evening Hymns, Moon King, Jennifer Castle and DD/MM/YYYY. And this is in addition to art installations, BBQs, general fun and frivolity and – get this – overnight camping on the island. Tickets and specifics still to come.

MP3: Julie Doiron – “Consolation Prize”
MP3: The Wooden Sky – “Something Hiding For Us In The Night”
MP3: Monogrenade – “Ce Soir”
MP3: Evening Hymns – “Cedars”
MP3: Rich Aucoin – “10,342 Cuts For The US”
MP3: Jennifer Castle – “Neverride”
MP3: DD/MM/YYYY – “Infinity Skull Cube”

Hooded Fang are not resting on their Polaris long-list laurels for their debut album Album; they’ve got a new album entitled Tosta Mista coming out July 26 – check out a couple new songs below and see them when they play the Lower Ossington Theatre on August 6 for Summerworks.

MP3: Hooded Fang – “ESP”
MP3: Hooded Fang – “Den Of Love”

Sloan have taken their turn in the AV Club’s Undercover studio, covering Gary Numan’s “Cars”. There’s also an interview at BrooklynVegan.

Southern Souls has posted a video session with Chad VanGaalen. Post City also has an interview.

Woodpigeon have put out a video from last year’s Balladeer: To All The Guys I’ve Loved Before and, via their blog, made a new song built off a poem by Marie Cecilia Ryan available to download. And head over to YouTube to see a set of live videos recorded in a disused London schoolhouse.

MP3: Woodpigeon – “The Way To Happiness”
Video: Woodpigeon – “Featherstone”

The Guardian contemplates the appeal of soft rock with Dan Bejar of Destroyer.

There’s a little photography-tilted interview with me over at Live In Limbo.

Norman Wong

And putting aside past prejudices to give Feel It Break, her debut as Austra, a listen I could understand why. Stelmanis’ most distinctive characteristic has always been her voice but it needed the proper context. Obviously I didn’t think the classical/medieval/gothic atmosphere of her eponymous project worked, unless unsettling was what she was going for, but in giving Austra a sleek, synth-heavy, New Wave/80s-industrial personality, she’s found a winning formula that balances mystery and experimentalism with melody and accessibility.

It’s interesting how so much of what makes Austra was already there three years ago, including percussionist Maya Postepski, but now with the addition of ex-Spiral Beach bassist Dorian Wolf and a greater focus on making the songs danceable and memorable, it all sounds completely fresh and new. Okay, perhaps that’s not the most accurate way of putting it since what Stelmanis’ was doing in her self-titled days was technically far more original, but giving Austra its more familiar-sounding reference points has inarguably made her better. Enough so that you can consider me convinced, which is honestly not something I ever thought I’d be saying. Back in 2008, when people around town were talking about how great Katie Stelmanis was, all I could say was, “really?”. Now, when people everywhere are talking about how great Austra is, all I can say is, “really”.

Feel It Break is out next Tuesday, May 17, and Austra plays a hometown record release show a couple nights later on May 19 at Lee’s Palace.

MP3: Austra – “Lose It”
MP3: Austra – “The Beat And The Pulse”
Video: Austra – “Lose It”
Video: Austra – “The Beat And The Pulse”
Stream: Austra / Feel It Break

Bruce Peninsula have released installment three in their Fire Sale series; a Pentangle cover that you can both listen to and watch. Open Flames is out in the Fall.

MP3: Bruce Peninsula – “Light Flight”
Video: Bruce Peninsula – “Light Flight”

Southern Souls serves up a video session with Woodpigeon, who in turn have made MP3s of a recent show in Turin, Italy available to download.

MP3: Woodpigeon – “Knock Knock” (live in Turin)

Spinner has an interview with The Rural Alberta Advantage’s Nils Edenloff and has also premiered another Southern Souls-produced live video, this one for “Tornado 87″.

Beatroute and The Vancouver Sun talk to Taylor Kirk of Timber Timbre.

Wood & Wires has posted a couple of basement session videos from The Darcys.

Beatroute, The Winnipeg Free Press, Uptown and The Leader-Post talk to Graham Van Pelt of Miracle Fortress, while aux.tv gets him to unplug for a Camera Music performance. He may be similarly unamplified (or not) when he plays an in-store at Soundscapes this Friday, May 13, at 4PM. He’s at The Phoenix with Junior Boys on June 9.

MP3: Miracle Fortress – “Raw Spectacle”

Chart talks to Fucked Up frontman Damian Abraham about the inadvertent bloodletting that occurred at a recent show, which you can watch for yourself thanks to the magic of YouTube. Exclaim also reports that the band have put up a mixed tape – as in an actual cassette – of Fucked Up rarities, tracks from friends and side-projects and whatnot – for sale in their webstore. Their new album David Comes To Life is out June 7.

The Balconies are finally back with some new material; while a release date for their second album is still forthcoming, a new 7″ a-sided by “Kill Count” will be released on June 14, just ahead of their June 18 NXNE showcase at Sneaky Dee’s.

The Fly invites The Dears into their courtyard for an acoustic session. The notoriously self-serious band also paid Funny Or Die a visit.

With the release this week of The Double Cross, the twentieth anniversary of Sloan is well underway. Blurt has a feature interview with the band, Chart has unearthed a bunch of interviews with the band over their long career and the first of ten tribute videos wherein actors, musicians and general celebrities reminisce about what Sloan has meant to them has been released – so far, there’s “First Heard Sloan” and “Favourite Sloan Song”. They play an in-store this Saturday at Sonic Boom at 4PM and the Mod Club on June 22.

Chad Van Gaalen’s new record Diaper Island is streaming in whole at MuchMusic in advance of its official release next week. He plays The Great Hall on June 18 as part of NXNE.

Stream: Chad Van Gaalen / Diaper Island

Pitchfork has more details on the forthcoming Scenes From The Suburbs CD/DVD set from Arcade Fire. It will be out on August 2.

Exclaim talks to Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s Efrim Manuel Manuck about his various ongoing projects, including the Godspeed reunion and his forthcoming solo record High Gospel, out May 24.

Ticket info for the Weeping Tile/King Cobb Steelie/Have Not Been The Same book release I mentioned a couple weeks back has been revealed – advance tickets will be $18, on sale tomorrow, with proceeds going to the Centre for Addiction & Mental Health.

And some Can-con love across the pond; Drowned In Sound takes a look at what’s happening musically in Toronto right now and The Line Of Best Fit have released their sixteenth (16th) Oh! Canada compilation of downloadable goodness.

Canvas Media

And so I’m not at all surprised that people are rubbing their hands together in anticipation of Timber Timbre’s new record, the marvelously-titled Creep On Creepin’ On, which is out on April 5. It keeps much of the dark, out-of-time atmospherics of its predecessor, but with Kirk’s live band Simon Trottier and Mika Posen now full-fledged members, offers a more dynamic sound with some rather rich-sounding instrumental passages. I already like it more than Timber Timbre, so everyone else is probably going to love it.

Exclaim thinks enough of it to put the band on the cover of their new issue with accompanying feature story. The record is streaming in whole at Spinner and they’ve just released a video from it as well. Months of touring begin in earnest this weekend and include a sold-out hometown show at Trinity-St. Paul’s next Friday night, April 8.

MP3: Timber Timbre – “Black Water”
Video: Timber Timbre – “Woman”
Stream: Timber Timbre / Creep On Creeping On

PS I Love You have released a new video from Meet Me At The Muster Station and support for their April 7 show at The Garrison has been revealed as Matters. Whom you may have known better as The D’Urbervilles. Which you may know as John O’Reagan’s – aka Diamond Rings – rock band. Exclaim has some info on the change in identity, both sides of their new single – which is out next week and already has a video – is streaming at Bandcamp and NOW has a chat with the director of the last Diamond Rings video.

Video: PS I Love You – “Get Over”
Video: Matters – “Get In Or Get Out”
Video: Diamond Rings – “It’s Not My Party”

Creative Loafing and Ca Va Cool check in with The Rural Alberta Advantage, who will be at The Phoenix on April 29.

Spinner and Simcoe.com talk to Tokyo Police Club.

A new MP3 from Sloan’s forthcoming The Double Cross is up for grabs. The record is out May 10.

MP3: Sloan – “Unkind”

Matablog announced that the lead-up to the June 7 release of Fucked Up’s new record David Comes To Life would consist of four digital singles, the first of which is already up for grabs. Exclaim also reports that the band will put out a compilation of fake ’70s-era punk bands as part of Record Store Day on April 16, and are offering a track from that to wrap your head around.

MP3: Fucked Up – “The Other Shoe”

Apparently coming out of SxSW as one of the buzz bands, Austra have scheduled a hometown show at Lee’s Palace for May 19 to go with the May 17 release of Feel It Break. The Guardian declared them “New band of the day” last week.

MP3: Austra – “The Beat & The Pulse”

The Meligrove Band have released a new video from last year’s Shimmering Lights.

Video: The Meligrove Band – “Really Want It”

The National Post chats with Basia Bulat.

Stars have released a new video from last year’s The 5 Ghosts, and congratulations to Amy Millan and Evan Cranley on the birth of their daughter last week.

Video: Stars – “Changes”

PopMatters talks to Natalia Yanchak of The Dears while The Village Voice chats with Murray Lightburn.

NYC Taper is sharing a recording of Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s show in Brooklyn in mid-March. Their sold-out three-night, four-show stand at Lee’s Palace runs April 22 to 24.

Exclaim talks to Little Scream, whose debut The Golden Record arrives April 12. She opens for Antlers at The Mod Club on June 14.

Exclaim has details on Miracle Fortress’ long-awaited second album Was I The Wave?, due out April 26 and previewed impressively (though in the dark) back Canadian Musicfest. A track from the record is available in exchange for your email address.

Ottawa post-pop instrumentalists My Dad Vs. Yours have released a video from their gorgeous new record Little Symphonies. The Link has an interview with guitarist Jose Palacios.

Video: My Dad Vs Yours – “Happy Wanderer / Carry The Weight”

The Take talks with Juno award winner Shad, who by way of thanks is giving away a new track recorded with Skratch Bastid. There’s also a video interview with Shad from the Junos by the Province of Ontario. Our tax dollars at work!

MP3: Shad & Skratch Bastid – “Give You All I Can”
Video: Shad & Skratch Bastid – “Give You All I Can”

eye, The Chicago Tribune, The Riverfront Times and Austinist talk to Dan Bejar of Destroyer, who are playing a sold-out show at Lee’s Palace tonight.

Vanessa Heins

Real life, however, doesn’t get to just let the credits roll and short of disbanding, a sequel was guaranteed and a couple years on, has arrived in Departing. Now for some bands, saying that they’ve made the same record over again would be a slight but for The RAA, at least in this case, it’s meant as high praise. Their sonic signature was distinctive from day one, relying on just a handful of musical tools to bring their songs to life, and success hasn’t been converted into truckloads of new instruments to play with. They just took a break, took a breath, and got back to it.

On the similarities, Departing is still built on Nils Edenloff’s nasal rasp and battered acoustic guitar, Amy Cole’s humming keyboards and sweet harmonies and Paul Banwatt’s insane drumming; elements that might seem at odds with one another on paper yet are perfectly complimentary in practice. The songs are yearning and wistful, still informed by Edenloff’s past life as a young Albertan in love. Even so, Departing is far from redundant – it represents a further honing of the above elements, the sort that you only get from endlessly touring. The production is more consistent throughout the album – Hometowns sometimes bore the fingerprints of its drawn-out gestation – and the arc of the songs from start to finish feels more considered and fluid. And while it covers the same lyrical terrain as its predecessor, the emotional range is broader, featuring some of the band’s most gentle and raging moments. On an individual song basis, Hometowns might retain the edge in highlights but as a collection and an arc, Departing is every bit its equal if not better.

All that said, one has to wonder how much more mileage can be gotten from this formula which has served them so well thus far, both with regards to sound and songwriting. The tidiness of a trilogy aside, it’s hard to imagine a third record of this not entering diminishing returns territory and surely a band as talented as they would want to push their boundaries as well. That, however, is a deliberation for later. All that matters for now is that Departing, while not having the ineffable x-factor that comes with discovering one of your new favourite bands, is another superb record from a singular band and should be treasured.

The Rural Alberta Advantage play their biggest hometown show yet at The Phoenix on April 29. Paste, Spinner and The Wall Street Journal have interviews with the band, NPR a World Cafe session and Billboard coaxes an Abba cover out of them.

MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “North Star”
MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Stamp”
Video: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Stamp”

Pitchfork talks to Tom Scharpling about directing the latest New Pornographers video for “Moves”, outtakes from which have now surfaced on Vimeo.

Wireless Bollinger exchanges words with Dan Bejar of Destroyer. He plays Lee’s Palace on March 31.

BBC, The New Zealand Herald and Herald Sun talk to Dan Snaith of Caribou, who has released a new video from last year’s Swim.

Video: Caribou – “Jamelia”

Beatroute has an interview with Born Ruffians, who have a show at The Opera House on April 16.

The New Haven Advocate and Spinner catch up with Tokyo Police Club.

Exclaim rounds up various goings-on in the world of Fucked Up, including a live record and GG Allin tribute 7″. Their next studio record David Comes To Life is due in May.

Spinner talks to John O’Regan of Diamond Rings.

Muzzle Of Bees has premiered a new video from Great Lake Swimmers.

Video: Great Lake Swimmers – “Chorus In The Underground”

PopMatters interview Rolf Klausener of The Acorn. They’ve just announced an April 28 date at The Horseshoe with Evening Hymns.

MP3: The Acorn – “Restoration”

Beatroute discusses Degeneration Street with Murray Lightburn of The Dears.

Soundproof, Prefix and Filter have features on Young Galaxy, playing at Lee’s Palace on Thursday night as part of Canadian Musicfest.

NOW, eye and The Waterloo Record talk to Karkwa in advance of their local appearances next week – March 5 at Lee’s Palace opening for Plants & Animals, March 11 at Wrongbar for Canadian Musicfest and an in-store at Sonic Boom at 9PM on March 12.

Ottawa XPress, The Montreal Gazette, Ottawa Citizen and Brock Press have feature pieces on Jenn Grant.

Out Of This Spark

But after who knows how long – I first saw them over two years ago, already impressive and fully-formed – the first Snowblink record arrived last week and if any of the above sounds like it’d be a recipe for a record that’s overcooked, overworked or overthought, fear not – Long Live is none of these things. In fact, it’s very much the opposite of over-anything, with the prevailing characteristic of the folk-pop contained within is effortless airiness; Gesundheit’s voice is clean, pure and feels the epitome of carefree as it loops and lilts through the laid-back melodies, clearly a formidable instrument but never showing off.

The musical accompaniment is similarly lush yet spacious, with a wide variety of sounds and textures – acoustic, electric, orchestral, percussive, what have you – coming into play over the course of the record. But clearly conscious of maintaining the necessary sonic negative space, the instrumentation only steps forward enough to make its presence felt, never overstaying or seeking to define the proceedings. Everything has and knows its place. While this doesn’t necessarily make for a wealth of dynamicism over the course of the record’s 15 tracks, within the margins of Long Live‘s cloudwatching from a grassy hillside aesthetic lies a whole world of musical detail, finally ready to be explored, pondered and appreciated.

It’s worth noting that there’s already not one, not two, but three sessions in the Daytrotter archives – the first two date from 2008 and feature songs that would eventually make their way onto Long Live, the third is all Michael Jackson covers.

The record’s release will be celebrated locally with an in-store at Soundscapes on March 3 at 7PM and a proper show at The Music Gallery on March 5, a happening that will feature: “Tasseomancy reading tea leaves, Thom Gill playing New Age style music, a lecture by Owen Pallett, Ryan Driver and Jennifer Castle, and set design/ projections by Sean Frey”. Following that unique performance, they’ll be opening up for Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy on his solo North American tour including two nights at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on March 22 and 23.

Tickets for the Music Gallery show are $10 in advance but courtesy of Out Of This Spark, I’ve got a pair of passes to give away along with a copy of Long Live on CD. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to Snowblink” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest closes at midnight, March 1.

MP3: Snowblink – “Ambergris”
MP3: Snowblink – “The Tired Bees”
Video: Snowblink – “Ambergris”
Video: Snowblink – “The Haunt”

Spin has got an interview with Amy Cole of The Rural Alberta Advantage and offers a new track from their forthcoming Departing to download, while Exclaim talks to Nils Edenloff and has the whole of album number two streaming this week leading up to its March 1 release. They will be at The Phoenix on April 29.

MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “North Star”
Stream: The Rural Alberta Advantage / Departing

Sloan have announced the May 10 release of their new record The Double Cross, named in honour of the band’s 20th anniversary. They’ve also made a track from the record available to download.

MP3: Sloan – “Follow The Leader”

Exclaim and The Globe & Mail questions Murray Lightburn and Natalia Yanchak of The Dears.

The Quietus and Skiddle talk to Suuns, who’re opening up for The Black Angels at Lee’s on April 14.

With their date supporting Plants & Animals at Lee’s on March 5 sold out, reigning Polaris winners Karkwa have confirmed their Canadian Musicfest showcase as being at Wrongbar on March 11 at 10PM, sandwiched between Brit buzz acts Anna Calvi and Esben & The Witch. Early iterations of the schedule had Memoryhouse in that slot but they’re now down the road at The Great Hall with Yukon Blonde the night before, on at 10:30.

MP3: Karkwa – “Dors Dans Mon Sang”

Rolling Stone talks to Diamond Rings, whom they declare to be an artist to watch.

And in reality-altering news, this past weekend Neko Case’s Twitter feed turned into a round table discussion about how female band members never get any groupies and aren’t happy about it. Salon rounds up the discussion and Metafilter hosts the resulting disbelief/incredulity.

Dangerbird

That should probably be accompanied by the caveat that I’ve never really been a fan of The Dears. Their early albums, for which they were the most feted, had the sort of grandeur that I liked but was lacking in the hooks that would have kept my attention over the course of their sprawling records. 2006′s Gang Of Losers, while hardly perfect, was the first of their releases that I really warmed to. And even though many found it too conventionally “rock” compared to their more expansive efforts, most would agree that 2008′s murkily rambling Missiles, which bore the fingerprints of its difficult birth (most of the band quit or left during its recording), was a low point for the band.

It may have been a necessary nadir, though, as Degeneration Street finds the band – reconstituted with a number of band members from earlier incarnations – striking a lean and focused balance of rock, soul and prog with plenty of pop and just about the right amount of self-indulgence. Tracks like “5 Chords” and “Thrones” are the sort of soaring, guitar-propelled anthems that far too few Canadian acts even attempt, let alone pull off, while opener “Omega Dog” proves that it’s possible for the band to showcase the scope of their ambitions without taking six-plus minutes to do it and the unexpectedly retro bounce of “Yesteryear” shows they’ve still got some surprises up their sleeves. I’m inclined to give veteran producer Tony Hoffer props for helping the band pull it together, though just as much credit must go to Dears leader Murray Lightburn – a man with a bit of a reputation for being artistically controlling – for allowing someone else to take the reins. It might have taken five albums over eleven years, but The Dears may have finally arrived.

Degeneration Street is out tomorrow and currently streaming in its entirety at aux.tv. The Montreal Gazette has a feature piece on the band and the album will be spotlighted in the first Polaris Record Salon, wherein a Polaris juror argues for the record’s inclusion in this year’s longlist/shortlist/ – it takes place Tuesday night at The Drake Underground and will also feature a live interview with Murray Lightburn and Natalia Yanchak. Doors at 7, starts at 8 and will feature a listening party for the album. And if you’d rather hear them play than see them speak, they will play an in-store at Sonic Boom this coming Thursday evening, February 17, at 7PM – admission free with a donation of canned goods.

MP3: The Dears – “Blood”
Video: The Dears – “Omega Dog”
Stream: The Dears / Degeneration Street

The Guardian has a feature interview with Arcade Fire while Pitchfork has details on their upcoming Scenes From The Suburbs short film, helmed by Spike Jonze. And oh yeah congratulations to the band on last night’s “Album Of The Year” Grammy Award. Wait, who?

aux.tv features Young Galaxy in the latest installment of their Camera Music video session series, while Spinner and Chart talk to the band, who will be taking a pregnancy-induced hiatus at the end of April. Best catch them at Lee’s Palace on March 10 while you can.

The Besnard Lakes tell Spinner they’re going back into the studio to work on their next record as soon as this Summer.

Shad has released a new video from TSOL; he’s playing at The Indie Awards during Canadian Musicfest on March 12.

Video: Shad – “Keep Shining”

Self-Titled talks to Tom Scharpling about directing the latest New Pornographers video. You know which one.

Exclaim reports that Destroyer’s Dan Bejar has an impersonator…. and his name is Dan Bejar. For serious. The real(er) Dan Bejar and his Destroyer crew will be at Lee’s Palace on March 31.

With Drums & Colour interviews Mark Hamilton of Woodpigeon.

Forest City Lovers have announced an April 1 show at The Garrison, where they will be accompanied by Slow Down Molasses and Kite Hill. NOW has a feature on Forest City Lovers’ Kat Burns and her artwork-an-hour An Hour Of My Time art project and she’s got a solo show at Holy Oak on March 3.

MP3: Forest City Lovers – “Light You Up”

The Star Phoenix talks to Mike Belitsky and Planet S to Dallas Good of The Sadies. They’ve got a date at The Mod Club on March 11 with a yet-to-be-announced special headliner.

Ted Bois

Having made his perhaps most direct and “rock” work – a very relative statement – with 2006′s Destroyer’s Rubies and followed it up with a record that explored similar if denser terrain with Trouble In Dreams, he’s now made a hard – or maybe that should be soft – left on Kaputt. Guitars remain present but take a back seat to billowing synths, soulful backing vox and slinky sax as the listener is invited into an ’80s-vintage discotheque/lounge as such things exist in the Destroyer-verse. In finding the groove, the record is less inclined to wander and even though a few tracks still exceed the five-minute mark and one, the previously-released “Bay Of Pigs” exceeds eleven, it feels like a much more focused record than past efforts.

Lyrically… well let’s be honest – trying to decipher a Destroyer record has always been somewhat an exercise in futility and Kaputt is no less opaque than its predecessors. But while a micro analysis of the words in play only lead to head-scratching, a more macro view reveals a consistently downcast tone and themes of broken romances, accusations and regrets. One is tempted to wonder if casting such motifs against the musical soundtrack more associated with coupling is a deliberate bit of irony on Bejar’s part or perhaps it’s just coincidence. Whatever his intent, with Kaputt Bejar has pulled off the difficult task of making a record that’s completely different from his past works and yet still classic Destroyer. Which is to say unique, fascinating and worth the time and effort it takes to comprehend.

Kaputt is out tomorrow and Destroyer’s North American tour hits Lee’s Palace on March 31. Pitchfork talks to Dawn Garcia, director of the wonderfully bizarre video for the album’s title track.

MP3: Destroyer – “Chinatown”
Video: Destroyer – “Kaputt”

Metric have released a video for their cover of Buffalo Springfield’s “Expecting To Fly” – it had shown up in some of Emily Haines’ solo live sets but I guess they decided to do a version with the rest of the band. And make a video

Video: Metric – “Expecting To Fly”

As The Dears ramp up to the February 15 release of their new record Degeneration Street, they’ve come out with a new MP3, a video and a chat with Spin and scheduled an in-store at Sonic Boom for February 17 at 7PM – admission free with donation of a canned good.

MP3: The Dears – “Blood”
Video: The Dears – “Omega Dog”

Guttersnipe News and The Calgary Herald have interviews with Sarah Harmer and CBC Radio 2 is streaming her show at Massey Hall last Fall.

Bruce Peninsula frontman Neil Haverty discusses his leukemia treatment with Exclaim; the C For Cure benefit show goes January 29 at the Music Gallery.

eye has an interview with Tokyo Police Club while The AV Club is offering a mashup between them and their current tourmates Two Door Cinema Club… because that’s what tourmates do. Mash. Tokyo Police Club will also be playing the just-announced Edgefest ’11 at Downsview Park on July 9 along with Rise Against, A Perfect Circle, The Weakerthans and more.

MP3: Two Door Tokyo Cinema Cub – “Breakneck Speed Can Work”

Exclaim and Spinner talk to Fucked Up frontman Damian Abraham about his new gig as host of The Wedge (premiering this Wednesday) and his band’s new album/musical David Comes To Life, which is targeted for a May release.

Spinner chats with Nils Edenloff and Amy Cole of The Rural Alberta Advantage, whose new record Departing will be out March 1 and which has already yielded this terrific new video.

Video: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Stamp”

Exclaim reports that Basia Bulat will be teaming up with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra for a performance at Hamilton Place Studio Theatre on February 3 – though similar in concept to her performance with Symphony Nova Scotia at the Halifax Pop Explosion, Owen Pallett has re-written the arrangements for this show to suit the philharmonic and the venue. Tickets for the show are $23 in advance and $25 at the door.

Clash declares Suuns to be a band to watch in 2011, and you can do just that when they play Sonic Boom on January 29 at 4PM and then open for The Besnard Lakes across the street at Lee’s Palace later that evening. The Concordian also has an interview.

The Toronto Star profiles Diamond Rings, kicking off his tour opening for Robyn at The Sound Academy on January 26.

Myspace

But like many of their peers, Buffalo Tom found a second act years later when they discovered their fans from back in the day were still there and so was their appetite for their music. I for one was thrilled to finally see them live not once but twice in 2007, both terrifically high energy performances with just the right amount of slop, and their comeback album Three Easy Pieces also stood tall alongside their past works. There were no disappointments here.

And I don’t expect any on their second post-reunion album, Skins. The Buffalo Tom formula isn’t necessarily a broad one, but it is deep enough to expect the veteran songwriters to be able to pull a dozen or so good tunes out of it every few years. Stereogum has the first MP3 from the album available to download, and though it starts out favouring the band’s more pensive side it builds quickly to a big rock breakdown, and Janovitz’s voice is unmistakeable. Consider the appetite whetted. Skins is out on February 15 of next year and The Alternate Side has an interview with Janovitz.

Grab the title track from their last record for a taste of their more pop-oriented side. Update: The new track is now available for anyone to disseminate. Yay!

MP3: Buffalo Tom – “Arise, Watch”
MP3: Buffalo Tom – “Three Easy Pieces”

Chunklet interviews Andy Earles, biographer of Husker Du and author of Husker Du: The Story of the Noise-Pop Pioneers Who Launched Modern Rock.

Creative Loafing talks to Jon Wurster and City Pages to Mac McCaughan of Superchunk. They’re playing an in-store at Sonic Boom on December 9 at 3PM before hitting up the Sound Academy that evening opening up for Broken Social Scene.

The Vine interviews Doug Martsch of Built To Spill.

Rolling Stone reports that in addition to the reissues of Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow The Green Grass on January 18, the same day that a short tour kicks off at The Phoenix in Toronto, The Jayhawks will be releasing a new album under their proper name – previously a stumbling point – in the Spring of next year.

Magnet has gone archive-digging and come up with their 2002 feature piece on Wilco circa Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, arguably the most interesting period of their career.

Old 97′s frontman Rhett Miller talks to Spinner about his love of hockey while bassist Murry Hammond chats with Metromix.

Conor Oberst will return to Bright Eyes for the first time since 2007 for The People’s Key, due February 15. Details at American Songwriter.

Interpol heads to Europe and does the press circuit with Metro, The Guardian and Drowned In Sound.

Spoon has collected the demos and alternate takes of songs that were posted to their website over the past couple years and are offering it for sale as the digital compilation Bonus Songs 2008-2009.

Yours Truly has a video session with S. Carey, in town at The Horseshoe on December 19.

The Fly has an acoustic session with Local Natives.

Spinner talks to Warpaint bassist Jenny Lee Lindberg while the band talks about and performs the song “Warpaint” in session for The Guardian.

The Besnard Lakes have set a date at Lee’s Palace for January 29, tickets $15 in advance.

MP3: The Besnard Lakes – “Albatross”

Scots Biffy Clyro will bring their Mercury-shortlisted Only Revolutions to The Garrison on February 16, tickets $15 in advance.

Video: Biffy Clyro – “God and Satan”

Asobi Seksu will hit the road following the the February 11 release of their new record Fluorescence and stop in at The Horseshoe on February 27.

MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Trails”

Cold War Kids will be at Lee’s Palace on March 18 in support of their new record Mine Is Yours, out January 25. Tickets $20 in advance. The Richmond Times-Dispatch, Spinner and The Hook have features on the band.

The Whig and Edmonton Journal interview Dan Mangan, who just recorded a World Cafe session for NPR.

San Francisco Weekly and Exclaim chat with The Sadies, who will be holding their annual New Year’s Eve throwdown at The Horseshoe on December 31.

Wolf Parade discuss their decision to take an indefinite hiatus with aux.tv.

Exclaim declares Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs as their pop/rock album of the year and talk to Win Butler about it.

The Dears are giving away a track from their forthcoming Degeneration Street over at Dangerbird. The record is out February 15.