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Are we not men? We are the NXNE 2011 lineup

Frank Yang — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 12:30:11 +0000

Warner Bros.Or at least we are the first batch of acts officially announced on Tuesday for this year’s NXNE festival, running June 16 through 19 around Toronto. It’s certainly not all of them, but there’s some moderate to big names in there and perhaps most key, the headliners for the free shows at Yonge-Dundas Square that have become the centrepiece of the fest have been revealed.

While there’s no one quite of the stature of last year’s Saturday night marquee of Iggy & The Stooges, New Wave legends Devo have certainly got the pedigree to act as a worthy centrepiece for this year’s event. They and their energy domes and jumpsuits will be headlining the YDS Stage on the Saturday night, closing off what will likely be a full day’s slate of acts. They were here in Fall 2009 offering full-album performances of Q: Are We Not Men and Freedom Of Choice, but have since released their first new album in forever with last year’s Something For Everybody. Which, I’m sure, the masses will want to hear lots of material from at this show. Mm hmm.

And while there’s enough tapped for the free stage that you could have a fine weekend just camped out in front of the Eaton Centre, NXNE is still a club-level fest and there’ll be hundreds more artists from near and far vying for your attention. The schedule won’t be out for a while yet but I’ve managed to cobble together a very early list of who will be playing where and when – obviously all subject to change – and while some of this was previously announced, a lot of it is new:

Thursday, June 16, 2011
The Descendents, OFF!, Rusty, Metz @ Yonge-Dundas Square
Evan Dando & Juliana Hatfield, The Luyas @ Lee’s Palace
Snowblink, Forest City Lovers, Evening Hymns @ The Music Gallery
The Dodos, Deerhoof, Gauntlet Hair @ The Phoenix
Ty Segall, The Dig @ The Garrison
Woodsman @ The El Mocambo

Friday, June 17, 2011
Stars, Land Of Talk, Diamond Rings @ Yonge-Dundas Square
Suuns, No Joy, PS I Love You @ The Horseshoe
Bouncing Souls, Anti-Flag, The Flatliners @ The Phoenix
Art Brut @ The Mod Club
Braids @ The Garrison
Dum Dum Girls, Cults, Superhumanoids, Writer @ Lee’s Palace
Ty Segall, Julianna Barwick, Daniel Pujol, Secret Cities @ Wrongbar

Saturday, June 18, 2011
Devo, Men Without Hats, Cults, Writer @ Yonge-Dundas Square
Twin Shadow, Wild Nothing @ Lee’s Palace
Foster The People @ The Mod Club
Hot Water Music, A Wilhelm Scream, Mockingbird Wish Me Luck, Sharks @ The Opera House
Talk Normal, Prince Rama, AIDS Wolf, Grimes, Doldrums @ 918 Bathurst
Chad Van Gaalen, Braids, Jennifer Castle, Duzheknew, Grimes @ The Great Hall
The Balconies @ Sneaky Dee’s

Sunday, June 19, 2011
Wild Nothing @ The Garrison
The Pharcyde, Digable Planets @ Yonge-Dundas Square

And some of the acts who don’t have any more specific information available besides “they’ll be there” are Crocodiles and Lower Dens. Yeah, I think I can find enough to occupy myself for four evenings or so.

MP3: Art Brut – “Lost Weekend”
MP3: Julianna Barwick – “The Magic Place”
MP3: Braids – “Lemonade”
MP3: Jennifer Castle – “Neverride”
MP3: Cults – “Go Outside”
MP3: Deerhoof – “The Merry Barracks”
MP3: Diamond Rings – “Something Else”
MP3: The Dodos – “Don’t Stop”
MP3: Evening Hymns – “Broken Rifle”
MP3: Forest City Lovers – “Light You Up”
MP3: Foster The People – “Pumped Up Kicks”
MP3: Grimes – “Vanessa”
MP3: Land Of Talk – “Quarry Hymns”
MP3: The Luyas – “Tiny Head”
MP3: No Joy – “Hawaii”
MP3: OFF! – “I Don’t Belong”
MP3: Prince Rama – “Lightening Fossil”
MP3: PS I Love You (featuring Diamond Rings) – “Leftovers”
MP3: Ty Segall – “Girlfriend”
MP3: Snowblink – “Ambergris”
MP3: Stars – “We Don’t Want Your Body”
MP3: Suuns – “Up Past The Nursery”
MP3: Talk Normal – “In A Strangeland”
MP3: Chad Van Gaalen – “Sara”
MP3: Twin Shadow – “Castles In The Snow”
MP3: Woodsman – “Insects”
Video: Devo – “What We Do”
Video: The Descendents – “I’m The One”
Video: Digable Planets – “Rebirth Of Slick”
Video: Men Without Hats – “Safety Dance”
Video: The Pharcyde – “Drop”

If you prefer your festivals a little more rustically-set, Exclaim has the lineup announcement for this year’s Hillside Festival, happening in Guelph from July 22 to 24. The roster reads like a who’s who of up-and-coming Canadian talent, including The Rural Alberta Advantage, Dan Mangan, Karkwa, Little Scream and really too many more to list. Tickets go on sale May 7 at 10AM at $110 for a weekend pass and these sell out quickly every year so don’t dither too long if at all.

And while talking Canadian fests, it’s worth noting that Montreal’s Osheaga added a bunch more acts including Janelle Monae and Broken Social Scene among them, and broken things down day by day.

In other live music news, Steve Earle will be at the HMV at 333 Yonge for a signing and in-store on April 28 at 6PM – you’ll just have to buy a copy of I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive when it comes out next Tuesday for tickets. Or wait for his show opening up for Blue Rodeo at the Amphitheatre on August 20.

San Diego’s The Donkeys are in town at ~~a venue to be determined~~ Sneaky Dee’s on May 21 in support of their new record Born With Stripes, out on Tuesday.

MP3: The Donkeys – “Don’t Know Who We Are”

The Baseball Project – aka Scott McCaughey, Steve Wynn, Peter Buck and Linda Pitmon celebrating America’s pastime in song – will bring their second album Volume 2: High & Inside to Lee’s Palace on June 1. And yeah, the Jays are at home that evening against Cleveland. Oregon Live has a feature on the band.

MP3: The Baseball Project – “1976″

Louisiana’s Givers, just here supporting Wye Oak a couple weeks ago, will return for their own show at The Garrison on June 21. Their album In Light is out June 7.

MP3: Givers – “Up Up Up”

With their new record D due out May 24, White Denim have announced a date at The El Mocambo for June 28.

MP3: White Denim – “Anvil Everything”

Antony & The Johnsons have released a new video from last year’s Swanlights

Video: Antony & The Johnsons – “Swanlights”

Spinner reports that one of The National’s next projects will be curating a Grateful Dead tribute album for charity. I can only hope that everyone involved covers “Touch Of Grey” because that’s about the only Dead song I know.

Exclaim talks to Explosions In The Sky guitarist Munaf Rayani about their new record Take Care, Take Care, Take Care, out on Tuesday.

My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James goes over some of his influences for Spin. Their new record Circuital comes out May 31 and they play The Kool Haus on July 11.

Titus Andronicus discusses his love of Fucked Up and plans for following up The Monitor with Spinner.

NPR has a World Cafe session with Iron & Wine while The Washington Post and Boston Herald have interviews with Sam Beam.

Spectrum Culture and Spin interview Michael Benjamin Lerner of Telekinesis. They’re at Lee’s Palace on May 27.

Bon Iver has declared their intention to make the Summer solstice a little more wintry by releasing their new self-titled album on June 21. Details at Pitchfork.

And finally, sympathies to family, friends and fans of TV On The Radio bassist Gerard Smith, who lost his battle with lung cancer yesterday morning. Fuck you, cancer. Just fuck you.

The Mountain Goats and Megafaun at The Opera House in Toronto

Frank Yang — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 12:27:23 +0000

Frank YangI’ve wondered a number of times in the past few years if John Darnielle even knew he was neglecting Toronto again. It took him more than a decade of operating as principal of The Mountain Goats to come to Toronto – his appearance at Lee’s Palace in May 2005 was his first visit ever – and after a few years of regular shows, neither his itinerary for 2008′s Heretic Pride nor 2009′s The Life Of The World To Come or last year’s Extra Lens side project saw fit to make their way up here. They did make it through twice in support of Get Lonely, but that was still three and a half years ago – four if, like me, you only went to the the first one.

A little ways into Sunday’s night’s show at The Opera House, he did indeed admit that he didn’t realize that it had been so long and while I don’t recall if he apologized outright, if his intention was to make it up to us in song… well, mission accomplished. The goodness started with the opening act, fellow North Carolinians Megafaun whom I’d been fortunate enough to see last year. The trio took their “warm up” duties seriously, doing their very best to get the audience roused and excited for the show to come with their spirited country-gospel-blues brew and genial down-home charm. Not many bands would offer their spare room to fans who come visit them in Raleigh and even fewer would actually mean it – but I’m pretty sure Brad Cook did. Want to see an immensely talented trio of musicians who just love what they do? Go see Megafaun.

The cult of Mountain Goats fans – who were out in force on this evening – have let me down as I’ve as yet been unable to track down a set list for the show. I’ve been a Goats fan since Tallahassee but don’t have nearly the encyclopaedic knowledge of John Darnielle’s body of work to try and compile a list of everything that was aired on Sunday night. But sufficed to say that their epic-length – we’re talking ninety minutes plus over a full set, six-song second set and single-song encore – set drew from all points of The Mountain Goats repertoire, from the just-released All Eternals Deck and back as far as 1995′s Sweden. Hell, maybe they went back as far as Darnielle’s 1994 debut Zopilote Machine; I don’t know, there was a good number of songs I didn’t recognize.

Even some of the songs I did know, I didn’t instantly recognize. For while The Mountain Goats have essentially been a full band since Jon Wurster joined Darnielle and bassist Peter Hughes for Heretic Pride in 2008, I had never seen them live as anything but an acoustic guitar-and-bass duo. And here they were as a quartet – keyboardist/guitarist Yuval Semo rounded out the live lineup – with a wealth of sounds and tempos and textures at their disposal; so very unlike the Mountain Goats I remember and so very very wonderful. Only the most steadfast purist would argue they sounded better as a duo or solo, and probably also wish that Darnielle would ditch the studio and go back to recording on a boom box. So when I say “steadfast purist”, I really mean “batshit looney”.

High fidelity Mountain Goats sound amazing and while Darnielle has always been an entertaining performer, seeing him really cut loose as a – dare I say – rock frontman is a revelation. And though (bare) feet did go up on the stage monitors at the show’s end, he’s hardly become a collection of cliched stage moves. As much a crucial part of the magic of the evening as the music was his between-song banter, delivered in his distinctive clipped cadence and covering topics such as why he wore no shoes on stage (inspired by Amy Grant), why he almost put rocks in his ears and his inability at age 15 to break up with his girlfriend honourably, amongst many others. Really, trying to summarize everything that made this show memorable would require pretty much a minute-by-minute accounting of the evening, and that’d be ridiculous. All I can say is that if you want to know what a live Mountain Goats show is like, see them the next time they come to town. And hope it’s not another three and a half years before that happens.

The Baltimore Sun has an interview with John Darnielle, NYC Taper is sharing recordings of two of the Mountain Goats shows in New York last week and Spin welcomed the band for an acoustic video session.

Prefix, Square, The Lincoln Journal-Star and On Milwaukee have interviews with Sharon Van Etten, in town at the Drake Underground on April 12.

Prefix, The San Francisco Chronicle and The Gateway meet The Dodos, in town at The Phoenix on June 16.

Fleet Foxes have released a video from their forthcoming Helplessness Blues, due out May 3.

Video: Fleet Foxes – “Grown Ocean”

The Dumbing Of America has an interview with The Head & The Heart, whose self-titled debut should be in everyone’s shopping baskets when it comes out on Record Store Day next Saturday, April 16.

DIY and aux.tv have conversations with Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes.

All five Terminal 5 recordings that My Morning Jacket are releasing leading up to the premiere of a new song from Circuital are up for grabs. A new song from Circuital will be revealed on April 12 and the album will be released on May 31. The band will be at The Kool Haus to play these songs for you and more on July 11.

MP3: My Morning Jacket – “Butch Cassidy” (live at Terminal 5)
MP3: My Morning Jacket – “The Way That He Sings” (live at Terminal 5)
MP3: My Morning Jacket – “One Big Holiday” (live at Terminal 5)
MP3: My Morning Jacket – “It Beats 4 U” (live at Terminal 5)
MP3: My Morning Jacket – “Smokin’ From Shootin’” (live at Terminal 5)

Will Johnson, following a stint as drummer for Monsters Of Folk, returns to his own works with the release of a new Centro-Matic record – Candidate Waltz will be out on June 21 and if you’re not familiar with Centro-Matic, Will Johnson has taken measures to address that via Twitter – namely a sampler compilation of tracks from every Centro-Matic album.

Paste catches up with Eisley, whose new album The Valley is out now. Check out two new songs – one live, one studio – below.

MP3: Eisley – “Ambulance” (live)
MP3: Eisley – “Smarter”

The Rosebuds have wrapped a new album and will release Loud Planes Fly Low on June 7 – check out the first MP3 from the record.

MP3: The Rosebuds – “Second Bird Of Paradise”

The Green Bay Press Gazette meets Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak while Magnet gives the kids the keys to the website for a week, starting with a Q&A. They play The El Mocambo on April 9.

The Von Pip Musical Express chats with Nicole Atkins.

Jeff Tweedy and Snowblink at The Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto

Frank Yang — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 12:19:54 +0000

Frank YangThis show was a week ago; I think this may actually be my longest delay between witness and writeup ever and, in fact, Jeff Tweedy’s solo tour is just about over. So if you were waiting on some kind of report from opening night at Toronto’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre to decide if it was worth picking up one of the few remaining tickets for a later date… I’m sorry. Sorry that you would allow anything I say or do to influence your decision-making – you know I’m drunk most of the time, right?

But if I had gotten this review up sooner, I could have exhorted everyone going to any of the shows to arrive early enough to catch Snowblink, as local duo had been tapped to open up every show on the tour – maybe those at Wilco HQ had seen my glowing review of their debut Long Live? Either way, even though it was a tremendous opportunity for them, as soon as the lights dimmed it was clear they weren’t just happy to be there. The pair of Daniela Gesundheit and Dan Goldman took the stage carrying lanterns and eventually set up in their own, white cloth-strewn side of the stage – they were going to put on their show. And what a show it was – Gesundheit’s voice was strong and clear and sounded divine in the theatre’s acoustics, and their simple two-guitar arrangements – including an oustanding cover of Springsteen’s “State Trooper” – were subtly embellished with loops, percussion and electronic flourishes. Gesundheit might be a California native, but Toronto now proudly claims her as our own.

Wilco might have last been here as recently as October 2009, but it’s been much, much longer since Jeff Tweedy has come to town with just his acoustic guitars and songbook – so long that Tweedy himself didn’t remember ever having done so. In fact, it had been almost a decade exactly since he played Trinity-St. Paul’s on March 1, 2001, and when reminded of that by the audience he wryly referred to those as “the bad old days”. And while that may have been true for him from both a personal and professional sense, it’s impossible to deny that those were also some of Wilco’s most creatively fertile years, but also an era not often revisited with the full band.

And for about 90 minutes, alone on stage save for a circle of five acoustics and occasional visits from his guitar tech Steve (who was celebrating a birthday), Tweedy would revisit all eras of his career as well as some of his side-projects to air out some songs which would likely never otherwise be heard in these parts. Such as the original, non-Krautrock arrangement of “Spiders (Kidsmoke)”, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot b-side “Magazine Called Sunset” or Loose Fur selections “The Ruling Class” and “Chinese Apple”. And of course there were the couple of rare forays into the Uncle Tupelo canon – I know “Gun” would have been too much to hope for, but “Wait Up” was a most certainly welcome and the encore-closing, unamplified “Acuff-Rose” was for the ages. And from Wilco proper, there was a “Poor Places” which I thought turned out better than he seemed to, a rousing “Shot In The Arm” and a new song which has been unofficially dubbed “Open Up Your Mind”.

Considering who the Wilco dynamic has changed with the addition of virtuoso players like Nels Cline and Glenn Kotche, it was good to be reminded that without Tweedy’s songs at the core, beautiful and resonant even stripped down to their essences, it’d all be for naught. Tweedy on his own was also a different sort of performer, more inclined to engage and banter with the audience (and not berate us for not standing up this time), debate grammar, vocabulary and requests and crack more than few jokes, his best being that which accompanied the photographic evidence of his visit to local Wilco-themed sandwich shop Sky Blue Sky, and to which he added they “seemed a little safe – why not try some mulch, tinsel or fibreglass?”.

With a new Wilco album likely due out in the Summer, it’s a pretty safe bet that Tweedy will be back with his cohorts in tow for another couple nights at Massey Hall. And it’ll be expansive and filled with amazing musicianship, no doubt, but that just makes simple shows like this one all the more special.

The Toronto Sun, The National Post, The Globe & Mail and Chart were all in attendance; three out of four dentists agreed it was a great show.

Photos: Jeff Tweedy, Snowblink @ The Queen Elizabeth Theatre – March 22, 2011
MP3: Wilco – “What Light”
MP3: Wilco – “Spiders” (live)
MP3: Snowblink – “Ambergris”
MP3: Snowblink – “The Tired Bees”
Video: Wilco – “What Light”
Video: Wilco – “Outtasite (Outta Mind)”
Video: Wilco – “Box Full Of Letters”
Video: Wilco – “I Must Be High”
Video: Snowblink – “Ambergris”
Video: Snowblink – “The Haunt”

From the ashes of The Broken West and to The Drake Underground comes Pasadena’s Apex Manor; Ross Flournoy’s new band will be opening up for Jonny on June 3 and 4. Their debut The Year Of Magical Drinking is out now.

MP3: Apex Manor – “Under The Gun”

With the May 10 release date of their new record Burst Apart not really all that far off, The Antlers have put together a North American tour that includes a June 14 stop at The Mod Club with Little Scream supporting. She had to bail on the last few dates of her tour with Sharon Van Etten, including the April 12 date at The Drake, to go to Europe with Junip so this will be her next local date. Not that you needed the extra incentive to go see The Antlers, of course. The band performed the whole of the new record live at SxSW and NPR has the stream.

MP3: The Antlers – “Two”

There were here no less than four times last year, and they’re totally coming back for more – that’s Phantogram, and they’ll be at 69 Bathurst on July 28 in the company of The Glitch Mob.

MP3: Phantogram – “When I’m Small”

The Village Voice talks to Amy Klein of Titus Andronicus, who are in town for a show at The Horseshoe on April 1 and again on June 10 at The Phoenix supporting Okkervil River.

Exclaim, Billboard, The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Post and Mother Jones all have features on The Mountain Goats. Their new record All Eternals Deck is out now and they’re at The Opera House on April 3.

MP3: The Mountain Goats – “The Age Of Kings”

Blu rt, The Huffington Post, Fogged Clarity, Los Angeles Times and The Von Pip Musical Express have profiles of Wye Oak, in town at The El Mocambo on April 9.

Sharon Van Etten is featured in The Phoenix New Times, Spin and Georgia Straight while NPR is streaming one of her SxSW performances. She’s at The Drake Underground on April 12, and yes that’s her doing backing vocals on The National’s contribution to the soundtrack for the film Win Win, which is now available to download.

MP3: The National – “Think You Can Wait”

Spinner, Pedestrian TV and Vanity Fair have interviews with The Kills, whose new record Blood Pressures is out next week. NPR is streaming one of their SxSW performances so you know what to expect when they hit The Sound Academy on May 1. The new album is also streaming in whole at their website.

Stream: The Kills / Blood Pressures

Low have made available a new MP3 from their forthcoming C’Mon, which is out April 12. They’re at The Mod Club on May 2 with Memoryhouse supporting.

MP3: Low – “Especially Me”

CNN has an interview with Shonna Tucker of Drive-By Truckers, who have a date at The Phoenix on June 15.

PopMatters and Blurt have interviews with The Dodos, who’ve put out a new video from No Color. They’re at The Phoenix on June 16 for NXNE.

Video: The Dodos – “Black Night”

Exclaim reports that My Morning Jacket have assigned a May 31 release date for their new record Circuital. They will be at The Kool Haus on July 11 to support.

Metro Pulse talks high fidelity with Asobi Seksu.

Paste and Blurt have interviews with J Masics, who has released a new Chad Van Gaalen-directied video from Several Shades Of Why

Video: J Mascis – “Not Enough”

MTV Hive has an interview with Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes while NPR is streaming their show from Auditorium Shores at SxSW.

NOW interviewed those involved with the Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour that rolled through town a few weeks back, while NYC Taper has a recording of one of the New York shows.

eye and The Georgia Straight check in with Warpaint.

The Los Angeles Times, Spin ner, The Boot, The Telegraph and Publishers Weekly all talk to Steve Earle about I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive, which is both the name of his new record, out April 26, and first novel, out May 12.

Rolling Stone chats with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, who has set a June target for their second record.

Spinner, The Phoenix and The Fly have interviews with Buffalo Tom.

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart discuss their new record Belong with The Line Of Best Fit, The University Observer, Jambands and Exclaim. And oh hey new video.

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

Pitchfork pays tribute to the hanging-it-up LCD Soundsystem with an exhaustive analysis of the band’s catalog. Seriously, it’s exhausting.

Austinist and The Huffington Post interview Liz Phair.

NYC Taper has posted a recording of Yo La Tengo’s show at Maxwell’s in New Jersey last week.

NPR doubles up on The Head & The Heart, streaming both one of their SxSW sets and a World Cafe session. The Big Takeover has an interview with the band, whose self-titled debut gets a reissue on April 16.

Janelle Monáe, Shad, Bombay Bicycle Club and more at Canadian Musicfest

Frank Yang — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 13:59:38 +0000

Frank YangFor as many years as I’ve been attending and covering Canadian Music Week and/or Canadian Musicfest, which is now quite a few, I’ve never hit up what is ostensibly it’s big gala show, the Independent Music Awards or, more unfortunately, the INDIES. Usually this was because the lineup of performers wasn’t as interesting as hitting up the clubs and because the awards themselves, being fan-voted, seemed odd and arbitrary. But this year, the combination of a weaker-than-normal Saturday night schedule and a very appealing one-two finale of Janelle Monáe and Shad convinced me that the ballroom at the Royal York hotel was the place to finish the festival off.

Due to some logistics and the fact that their sets were maybe ten minutes long, I missed the first couple performers but arrived in time to see London’s Bombay Bicycle Club, who despite being only moderately successful back home were treated as nigh on royalty over here across their several festival appearances. And it’s not that they’re unlikeable – they ply a sort of scrappy but earnest Brit-rock that’s thankfully not of the snotty post-Libertines/Arctic Monkeys variety, but isn’t especially memorable, either. Though from the cheers that met them and the stories that I’ve heard from the rabid fans at their other shows, I’m in the minority with that opinion, and that’s fine. The Brit-kids need their fix and this week, Bombay Bicycle Club was it.

The National Post and Spinner have chats with the band.

Photos: Bombay Bicycle Club @ The Fairmont Royal York – March 12, 2011
Video: Bombay Bicycle Club – “My God”
Video: Bombay Bicycle Club – “Always Like This”
Video: Bombay Bicycle Club – “Evening/Morning”
Video: Bombay Bicycle Club – “Dust On The Ground”
Video: Bombay Bicycle Club – “Magnet”

Similar can be said for the next act, Ottawa-area natives Hollerado. There’s no doubt the band has earned all the success they’ve achieved so far, what with touring constantly, giving away their album Record In A Bag for free (grab it off their website), making creative videos and generally working their asses off – but while I find their collegiate riff-rock material decent enough from a melodic/catchiness perspective, it just doesn’t come off as all that interesting to me. But even so, they do put on an entertaining show and elicit a tremendous response from their fanbase who were out on this evening in force and by way of saying hello and thanks for their support, frontman Menno Versteeg lept into the crowd for their set’s finale.

The National Post has a Q&A with Versteeg.

Photos: Hollerado @ The Fairmont Royal York – March 12, 2011
MP3: Hollerado – “Juliette”
MP3: Hollerado – “Fake Drugs”
MP3: Hollerado – “Americanarama”
Video: Hollerado – “Juliette”
Video: Hollerado – “Americanarama”

At this point, I’ll talk a bit about the awards themselves which were kind of fascinating to behold. First, there was a disconnect between the performers and the nominees in that half of the former had nothing to do with the awards being given out, they were just there to play a show and accordingly, much of the audience seemed indifferent to the ceremonies being held on the side stage. And since the Indies don’t really rate as a major award, many/most of the winners didn’t show up or send a representative, resulting in a stretch where a bunch of ostensibly big winners were announced in rapid fire succession with the audience cheering a name and an image on the video screen for a second or two. Just odd.

But back to the show. Even though Shad was himself an Indie winner (for Favourite Urban Artist), his set seemed less a part of the awards show and more the start of a separate event altogether, where he was the warm up, Janelle Monáe the headliner and that was it. Now I have never seen Shad in the context of his own headlining show – festivals, in-stores and awards ceremonies yes, and now as support, but his own show? Not yet. But considering that none of the above are what you’d call ideal circumstances for a performer, that he’s been fantastic in every one makes me think that there’s no way Shad ever puts on a bad show. Goodness knows he didn’t on this evening, with a compact but totally entertaining set drawing from his two Polaris shortlisted records TSOL and The Old Prince while backed by a DJ and bassist/keyboardist while he delivered smart, snappy rhymes overtop. He might be a perpetual Polaris bridesmaid, at least so far, but there’s no denying he’s one of if not the top hip-hop artist in the country right now.

eye and The National Post have feature pieces on Shad.

Photos: Shad @ The Fairmont Royal York – March 12, 2011
MP3: Shad – “Rose Garden”
MP3: Shad – “Yaa I Get It”
Video: Shad – “Keep Shining”
Video: Shad – “We Myself & I”
Video: Shad – “Rose Garden”
Video: Shad – “Yaa I Get It”
Video: Shad – “The Old Prince Still Lives At Home”
Video: Shad – “I Don’t Really Like To”
Video: Shad – “Brother (Watching)”

Ultimately, though, the night was about Janelle Monáe. If you were able to exact spot where the best of R&B, soul, funk, rock, pop, singer, songwriter, dancer and out-and-out visionary artistry intersected, it would be in the shape of a tiny pompadoured woman in a tuxedo. Though only on the scene for a few years, her live shows are already legendary spectacles, and not in the all flash no substance way of many pop stars, but in the jaw-dropping musicianship and entertainer sense. Toronto got their first taste of Monáe last Summer when she opened up for Arcade Fire on the Islands, and while for many she nearly stole the show, it was still very much not her audience.

This evening, however, it was and though some might have wished that she’d played a normal show unattached to any awards or festivals, she still delivered a full-length set that bore out her reputation as one of the most electrifying performers going today. Using the futuristic concepts laid out in her ArchAndroid album as a framing device, she and her ridiculously tight band put on a dazzling hour-long show replete with costume changes, extraordinary dancing and just great songs that refuse to be pigeonholed into any specific genre. And unlike the Island show, which curiously put show-stoppers “Cold War” and “Tightrope” mid-set, this time they saved them for a perfect one-two punch finale, and yet still managed to top it with an extended “Come Alive (War of the Roses)” where the stage was first invaded by dancers cast as androids and then the audience was invaded by Monáe, who went for a venue-spanning crowd surf. Awards? What awards? All I know is that Janelle Monáe won. At everything.

Spinner has a wrap up of the entire night, start to finish.

Photos: Janelle Monáe @ The Fairmont Royal York – March 12, 2011
Video: Janelle Monáe – “Cold War”
Video: Janelle Monáe – “Tightrope”
Video: Janelle Monáe – “Many Moons”

Spinner talks to TV On The Radio’s Kyp Malone about their new record Nine Types Of Light, due out April 12. They’ll be at the Sound Academy on April 18 but Pitchfork reports that bassist/keyboardist Gerard Smith won’t be joining them on the road as he’s being treated for lung cancer – best wishes to Smith for a speedy recovery.

Spin and Interview have feature pieces on The Kills, who’ve made a track from their new record Blood Pressures available to download. It’s out April 5 and they play The Sound Academy on May 1.

MP3: The Kills – “DNA”

A week before its release, The Strokes have posted their new record Angles on their website for all to stream, and you can follow along with the song-by-song commentary Julian Casablancas has give to NME.

Stream: The Strokes / Angles

Drive-By Truckers will bring their new record Go Go Boots to The Phoenix on June 15, tickets $29.50 in advance. The Georgia Straight chats with guitarist Mike Cooley.

MP3: Drive-By Truckers – “Used To Be A Cop”

A couple of ladies for whom one name is enough – Thao & Mirah – have teamed up for an album they’ve called Thao & Mirah and will be in town for a show at Lee’s Palace on June 5. That’s just short of a year after their last visit was cancelled on account of a little incident we locals like to call the G20 clusterfuck.

MP3: Thao & Mirah – “Eleven [featuring tUnE-yaRds]“

NXNE is still a ways off but some of the performers at this year’s fest are getting out – the Thursday night, June 16, will find Deerhoof and The Dodos at The Phoenix. Both acts have new records out, Deerhoof Vs Evil and No Color, respectively. Paste talks to The Dodos about their new record.

MP3: Deerhoof – “The Merry Barracks”
MP3: The Dodos – “Don’t Stop”

Review of Telekinesis’ 12 Desperate Straight Lines and giveaway

Frank Yang — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 13:31:30 +0000

Kyle JohnsonWith his 2009 self-titled debut album as Telekinesis, Seattle’s Michael Benjamin Lerner established several bona fides. First, playing every instrument on the record without ending up over- or under-produced was no mean feat, although having Death Cab’s Chris Walla on hand in the producer’s chair certainly helped. Secondly, he could write the hell out of a power-pop tune, what with the record being packed top to bottom with instantly likeable and memorable numbers. Third… well who needs a third point when you’ve got those first two down?

For the follow-up, Lerner sent the band he toured the first record with home and again holed up with just himself, Walla and another brace of songs. The result? 12 Desperate Straight Lines, which doesn’t offer any sort of dramatic reinvention of what Telekinesis is or does, but does take it to enough different terrain to set it apart. And by different, I mean darker, or at least as dark as a record laden with “ba ba ba” singalong choruses can get.

The hooks may remain, but the innocence of the debut is considerably muted; that there was a failed relationship between records one and two is no surprise to who takes an even cursory listen to the lyrics. And even if the words go in one ear and out the other, the more propulsive tempos and chunkier, riffier guitars and cribs from The Cure – albeit the poppiest aspects of The Cure – certainly speak to there being both some catharsis and moping going on behind the scenes of this record’s creation. You could still rightly describe it as sunshine-y, but you can’t ignore the shadows that are cast throughout and all in all, that makes for a more interesting picture.

Telekinesis are playing The Horseshoe this Sunday evening, March 6. Tickets are $11 in advance but courtesy of Collective Concerts, I’ve got five pairs of passes to give away for the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to witness Telekinesis” in the subject line and your full name in the body and have that in to me before 5PM, March 5 – that’s Saturday evening, as in tomorrow. And if you can’t make the show, there’s also an acoustic in-store performance at Sonic Boom earlier that evening at 7PM.

Rolling Stone has an interview with Benjamin Michael Lerner.

MP3: Telekinesis – “Car Crash”

The Guardian interviews The Strokes about the making of their new record Angles, which is out March 22 and from which they’ve released a first video and made available a second song to stream at NME.

Video: The Strokes – “Under Cover Of Darkness”

The Creator’s Project has a short documentary feature video on Interpol.

Crawdaddy talks to Travis Morrison of The Dismemberment Plan about his songwriting method. Back when he was writing songs. The Chicago Sun-Times also ran a feature piece last month.

New York’s Beach Fossils will be in town on April 20 for a show at Parts & Labour. They followed up last year’s self-titled debut with the What A Pleasure EP last month.

MP3: Beach Fossils – “Calyer”

Battles will be at The Horseshoe on April 29, previewing material from their new record Gloss Drop which is out June 7.

Beatroute talks to The Dodos about their new record No Color, which is out March 14 but available to stream at Hype Machine right now.

Stream: The Dodos / No Color

Speakers In Code has an interview with Nicole Atkins, who has been keeping a tour diary of her current jaunt over at Spinner. Explore Music has a video session and interview while MPR is streaming a radio session.

NPR has a World Cafe session with Lissie available to stream.

NYC Taper is sharing a recording of a Drive-By Truckers show at the Bowery Ballroom from last month. Deleware Online and the San Jose Mercury News have features on the band.

Rolling Stone talks to My Morning Jacket about their new record Circuital, which will be out sometime this Spring.

Spin has got a stream of Thurston Moore’s contribution to Sing For Your Meat, the forthcoming Guided By Voices tribute album, due out on Record Store Day (April 16).

Spinner solicits Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips’ thoughts on Charlie Sheen. Just because.

New Okkervil River is Very Far but almost here

Frank Yang — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 13:30:30 +0000

Alexandra ValentiLast year, for my 35th birthday, I got a special gift in the form of The National releasing what would be probably my favourite record of last year in High Violet. Now Okkervil River, who have a habit of running neck and neck with The National in competition for the title of “my favourite band” – it’s a real thing – look like they’re trying to win my affections the same way by announcing a May 10 release date for their new record I Am Very Far.

They’d already announced the release of lead single “Mermaid” on 12″ come February 8, but the band took to the stage on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on Monday night to perform a different new song, “Wake And Be Fine”. And if not for Will Sheff’s distinctive vocals and presence, you might be forgiven for not recognizing them – besides the fact that New Pornographer Carl Newman and The Roots’ Questlove joined them for the occasion on vocals and drums respectively, Okkervil 2011 is a considerably different band from that which made The Stage Names and The Stand-Ins – Sheff remains, of course, as does multi-instrumentalist Scott Brackett and bassist Patrick Pestorius, but mainstays Jonathan Meiburg (keys), Brian Cassidy (guitar) and Travis Nelsen (drums) have all left the band in the past couple of years, replaced by Justin Sherburn, Lauren Gurgiolo and Cully Symington respectively. By no means is Okkervil a lesser band for the changes, but it is a different one and it will take a little adjusting to see them thusly, especially without the always-entertaining Nelson behind the kit.

But either way, the news of the imminent arrival of more Okkervil River was enough to make my day yesterday. Happy early birthday!

MP3: Okkervil River – “Wake And Be Fine” (live on Jimmy Fallon)
Video: Okkervil River – “Wake And Be Fine” (live on Jimmy Fallon)

Okkervil labelmates The Cave Singers and Lia Ices both have new records coming out – No Witch on February 22 and Grown Unknown on January 25 respectively – and have plotted a Spring tour that stops in at the Drake Underground on April 5. Tickets $13.50 in advance.

MP3: Cave Singers – “Swim Club”
MP3: Lia Ices – “Grown Unknown”
MP3: Lia Ices – “Daphne”

Of Montreal may already be plotting the follow-up to last year’s False Priest – or so Kevin Barnes tells Spin – but they’re not done touring said record. They’ll be coming back to Toronto for the first time in two and a half years – yes it’s been that long – for a show at The Phoenix on May 3, tickets $28 on sale now.

MP3: Of Montreal – “Sex Karma”
MP3: Of Montreal – “Coquet Coquette”

Pitchfork reports that The Dodos have recruited one Neko Case to help them out on their new record No Color, due out March 14. Her vocals will grace about half of the album, which will be great, but I think it’d have been more great if they got her to play all kinds of instruments but not sing a note. Because that’s how my sense of humour works.

The rumour mill has it that The Strokes’ fourth album will be out on March 22. Which jives with what’s already known, but until there’s an official announcement, it’s just hearsay. Hearsay I’m willing to blog, clearly.

Much more official is the word on the new record from The Kills – it will be called Blood Pressures, it will be out on April 5 and Pitchfork has specifics.

Blurt and I Like Music talk to Lissie, in town at the Opera House on January 24.

Colin Meloy tells Exclaim that The King Is Dead, the new Decemberists record due next week, could be their last for a while as they attend to other projects. So see them at The Sound Academy on February 1 while you can. There’s also and interview at The Sydney Morning Herald.

Beatroute talks to Sam Fogarino of Interpol, who have two Toronto visits on the books this year – a headlining date at the Sound Academy for February 15 and a support slot for U2 at the ACC on July 12.

Sam Beam talks to Billboard about the new Iron & Wine record Kiss Each Other Clean, out January 25, and to Spin about the origins of his band’s name.

The AV Club has words with The Dismemberment Plan’s Travis Morrison.

Beatroute has an interview with The Thermals.

MTV UK has a complete video session with Warpaint and it’s not geoblocked like the US site is.

Bright Eyes bring The People’s Key to the people

Frank Yang — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 13:32:03 +0000

FacebookThat sound you hear is the sound of legions of Bright Eyes fans, whom having just recovered from the news that Conor Oberst was returning to that project for one more record in The People’s Key on February 15, are swooning and weeping (with joy) even more at the announcement of the first leg of tour dates to support said record.

Oberst last played Toronto as Bright Eyes back in May of 2007 with a show at Massey Hall, but didn’t return with his own Mystic Valley Band solo thing. He did make an appearance last Fall with his Monsters Of Folk compatriots, again at Massey, but TO Conor-ites will finally get a proper fix next March when he leads whomever is in Bright Eyes this time out for a show at the Sound Academy on March 13. Not the classy digs he’s gotten used to over the last couple visits, no, but venue complaints aside you can bet that the date is being circled on a lot of calendars right now, especially if the rumours that this is Oberst’s final kick at the Bright Eyes can are accurate.

Tickets for the Toronto show are $34.50 for general admission (aka those who need to be as close to Conor as possible) and $49.50 for VIP (aka those who need to be as far from those who need to be as close to Conor as possible) and go on sale this Friday, December 17.

MP3: Bright Eyes – “Four Winds”
MP3: Bright Eyes – “Lua”
MP3: Bright Eyes – “Lover I Don’t Have To Love”

Connoisseurs of French pop will be pleased to know that Parisians Revolver have made a date at the Drake Underground for March 3, tickets $10.50 in advance. Their debut Music For A While was released domestically back in August.

MP3: Revolver – “Get Around Town”
Video: Revolver – “Leave Me Alone”
Video: Revolver – “Balulalow”

Those who missed Chicagoan glam-punk moppets The Smith Westerns last month when they opened for Florence & The Machine and played a tiny after show the same evening will be pleased to know they’ve slated a proper tour and will be back in town at the Horseshoe on February 28. And they’ve put out a new video, too. Their second album Dye It Blonde is out January 18.

MP3: Smith Westerns – “Imagine, Pt 3″
Video: The Smith Westerns – “Weekend”

The first sample of The Rural Alberta Advantage’s new record Departing is now up for grabs. The record is out March 1 and they play a sold-out show at Lee’s Palace tomorrow night.

MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Stamp”

Dodos frontman Meric Long talks to Pitchfork about their plans for album number three.

The Mountain Goats are giving away a new MP3 for a song that won’t be appearing on their next album All Eternals Deck when it’s released on March 29. But hey – new Mountain Goats.

MP3: The Mountain Goats – “Tyler Lambert’s Grave”

NPR has a World Cafe session with Johnny Flynn.

The Quietus interviews Titus Andronicus. The band, not the fictional character.

The first video from Nicole Atkins’ forthcoming Mondo Amore is now available for all to see. The record is out January 25 and she plays the Horseshoe on February 26.

Video: Nicole Atkins – “Vultures”

Colin Meloy previews some of The Decemberists’ new record The King Is Dead in session for NPR. The album is out January 18 and they play The Sound Academy on February 1.

The AV Club’s AV Undercover series from this Summer is over and done, they’re busting out the covers series for the holiday season with Holiday Undercover, which includes Shearwater covering Randy Newman’s bummer seasonal tune “God’s Song (That’s Why I Love Mankind)” and Kate Nash taking on Slade’s “Merry X-Mas Everybody”.

And speaking of Randy Newman, he’s coming to town for a date at the University of Toronto’s Convocation Hall on March 26 of next year.

Video: Randy Newman – “I Love LA”

American Songwriter contemplates the career of Jay Farrar and chooses their 20 favourite songs.

Superchunk set date for return

Frank Yang — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 12:33:38 +0000

@superchunkbandThough they’d insisted since touring for 2001′s Here’s To Shutting Up wrapped up that Superchunk weren’t finished but just taking a break, for most of this century the evidence was rather to the contrary. There was the attic-clearing compilation, video retrospective and series of live documents – not typically signs of an active band. Mac McCaughan became exceedingly prolific with Portastatic, Jon Wurster became full-time sticksman for The Mountain Goats and comedian and the label that McCaughan and Laura Ballance started back in 1989 started putting out some records that proved to be rather successful in certain circles.

Sporadic one-off live shows kept the flame alive but it wasn’t until last Spring when the Leaves In The Gutter EP arrived that the notion of Superchunk as an ongoing proposition begane to feel very real. And while it wasn’t an immediate precursor to a new full-length, Superchunk have finally put a date to the release of their ninth album and first in nine years – Majesty Shredding will be released on September 14 and the world will be a better place for it. Pitchfork has the salient details such as track listing and album art and a handful of Fall tour dates which do not, at present include anything north of the border. This is slightly less of an imperative for me as I finally got to see Superchunk live back at SxSW – a short set but one that completely affirmed that the ‘Chunk could still rock and pogo with the best of them – but I would still love to see them in a proper setting with a full set.

To be fair though, the band have put in more than their share of time on the road over the years and it’s not their fault i missed them all – if a visit to Toronto isn’t in the works then I will happily make do with playing the new album to death. And until that comes out, there’s this teaser video previewing some of the songs and showing scenes from the making of the record. And since you can only loop a one-minute video so many times before going batty, there’s last year’s comeback EP to enjoy. And oh yeah, a decade plus’ worth of albums and singles before that. Ohhhh Superchunk, welcome back.

MP3: Superchunk – “Misfits & Mistakes”
Stream: Superchunk / Leaves In The Gutter

The Toronto Star, eye and NOW prepare to welcome The National to town for their two shows at Massey Hall next week, June 8 and 9.

The Antlers, opening up both of those National shows, turn in a Black Cab Session. CMU also has an interview.

Spinner talks to Joe Pernice about the new Goodbye, Killer, due out June 15.

Clash talks to Robert Been of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

The new Christina Hendricks-powered video from Broken Bells is now available to watch. There’s an interview with James Mercer at The Boston Globe.

Video: Broken Bells – “The Ghost Inside”

Both The Dodos and Pixies are giving away live (digital) records on their websites in exchange for your email. The Dodos are at the Sound Academy on June 15 opening up for The New Pornographers; Pixies are not.

The Wall Street Journal and Huffington Post talk to Ben Bridwell and Liverpool Echo to Tyler Ramsey of Band Of Horses, who’ve just released a new video from Infinite Arms. They’re playing the Toronto Island Concert on June 19.

Video: Band Of Horses – “For Annabelle”

Carissa’s Weird, the Seattle band from whose ashes rose Band Of Horses, Grand Archives, Sera Cahoone amongst others, is releasing a retrospective collection entitled They Only Miss You When You Leave: Songs 1996-2003 on July 13.

MP3: Carissa’s Weird – “Die”

Phantogram return to town for a show at Wrongbar on July 8, tickets $14.50 in advance. You may wonder how good a two-piece electro-rock band could be live, and the answer is very good. Donewaiting is hosting a video session with the band, if you need more convincing.

MP3: Phantogram – “When I’m Small”
Video: Phantogram – “Mouthful Of Diamonds”

NYC Taper is sharing a live recording of The Depreciation Guild.

Four Tet will hit the road this Fall in support of new record There Is Love In You and stop in at the Mod Club on October 20.

The Music Slut asks eight questions of Mogwai’s Barry Burns. Their Burning/Special Moves live DVD and CD will be out on August 24.

Bandstand Busking invites The Twilight Sad to play one of their bandstand sessions. The Twilight Sad agree. The Washington Examiner and Nashville Scene also have interviews.

The Scenestar talks to Frightened Rabbit’s Scott Hutchison.

To all who asked – presale tickets for Belle & Sebastian’s October 12 show at Massey Hall will go on sale at 10AM next Wednesday, June 9 – password/instructions will be posted at www.collectiveconcerts.com. Prices range from $57.50 for premium floors/balcony to $47.50 for rear floors and centre gallery to $39.50 for side gallery, plus fees.

For Folk’s Sake and Gigwise interview Johnny Flynn about his new record Been Listening, out June 7.

Interview gets to know Peggy Sue. Their debut full-length Fossils & Other Phantoms came out this week and they’re at Sneaky Dee’s on June 13 to support.

Kate Nash has released a new video from My Best Friend Is You.

Video: Kate Nash – “Kiss That Grrrl”

The Line Of Best Fit talks to Richard Hawley, whose False Lights From The Land EP is out next week.

Kele talks to BBC about going solo with The Boxer, out June 21. He’s at the Mod Club on July 29.

The Phoenix has an extensive feature on Robyn Hitchcock, who has two intimate shows at the Drake Underground next week on June 11 and 12.

Paul McCartney – yeah, THAT guy – will be at the Air Canada Centre on August 8. Tickets will cost far too much yet still be easily rationalized.

And while pretty much obvious what with the radio silence all the way into June, it’s been made official that Virgin Festival Canada is taking 2010 off to regroup and hopefully come back next year.

Shad at Sonic Boom in Toronto

Frank Yang — Tue, 25 May 2010 12:25:54 +0000

Frank YangI think I’m done qualifying any opinions I might voice on the subject of hip-hop. Which doesn’t happen often, no, but when it does, I’ve always felt the need to point out that I don’t have the experience with the genre to form what I’d consider a properly contextualized viewpoint and so end up with a quarter-assed collection of observations rather than my usual half-assed.

This insecurity manifested itself most acutely a couple years ago when I was on the grand jury for the 2008 Polaris Prize and was unsure about throwing my support behind Shad’s shortlisted sophomore album The Old Prince because, even though I knew I liked it, I wasn’t sure I could actually say it was a great – objectively-speaking – rap album because, well, I didn’t know what that meant, exactly. And I’d like to think that I wasn’t the swing vote in The Old Prince not winning that year.

I’m much more confident this time around about things Shad and Polaris, specifically his new record TSOL – out today – and where it stands relative to my ballot when it goes in in a couple weeks – because it’ll be on there. From the first listen, TSOL succeeded in capturing my attention thanks to Shadrach Kabango’s imaginative wordplay and ability to convey heart and humour without getting schmaltzy. It doesn’t hurt that it’s more direct and pop-rock influenced than The Old Prince, which had more jazzy inclinations, but that doesn’t make it less sophisticated than its predecessor – just louder and heavier at a few key points. And strong enough that I can get up and say that this is one of the best, or at least one of my favourite, Canadian records of the past twelve months. Of any genre.

Shad was marking the release of the new record last night with an in-store at Sonic Boom, and despite it being perfect long weekend weather for basking in the sun, a goodly number of folks headed for the Annex record store’s basement to see the London-bred, Vancouver-based rapper showcase some of his material. Though a non-functioning guitar kept him from demonstrating his instrumental skills, his mic was working just fine and backed by a DJ and bassist-keyboardist – and getting guest vocals on “We Are The Ones” from Relic – he powered through a selection of TSOL tracks, highlights including his soulful tribute to women in “Keep Shining” and the big rock declaration of “We, Myself & I” (can someone please tell me where that guitar riff is lifted from). Those, combined with a couple of must-haves from The Old Prince demonstrated why despite sometimes seeming easy-going and self-effacing to a fault, he’s a charismatic and energetic MC, more than capable of working a room and putting on a show equal to the material. As Polaris jurors, we’e not supposed to let the artist’s live show influence our decision-making process – it’s all about the records – but it never hurts to have decisions that have already been made be reinforced.

Shad plays the Opera House on June 12. He talks to Winnipeg Free Press and Metro, is the cover boy of this month’s Exclaim and gives Spinner a track-by-track breakdown of the new record.

Photos: Shad @ Sonic Boom – May 24, 2010
MP3: Shad – “Yaa I Get It”
MP3: Shad – “I Don’t Really Like To”
Video: Shad – “Yaa I Get It”
Video: Shad – “The Old Prince Still Lives At Home”
Video: Shad – “I Don’t Really Like To”
Video: Shad – “Brother (Watching)”
MySpace: Shad

Filter gets to know The Besnard Lakes. They’re at the Mod Club on June 17 as part of NXNE.

Inside Toronto talks to Kat Burns of Forest City Lovers about their love of forests in cities. Their new record Carriage is out June 29 and they play the LEAF celebrations at Wychwood Barns on June 11.

Deer Tick were just here in April but will be putting out a new record in The Black Dirt Sessions on June 8 and as such, will be returning for a date at the Horseshoe on August 10. New York Magazine talks to frontman John McCauley.

MP3: Deer Tick – “Twenty Miles”

New York’s Liars will be at Lee’s Palace on September 29 in support of this year’s Sisterworld. The Georgia Straight has an interview with Angus Andrew.

Video: Liars – “The Overachievers”
Video: Liars – “Scissor”

The San Francisco Chronicle talks to Matt Berninger of The National. They’re in town on June 8 and 9 at Massey Hall.

Daytrotter has posted up a session with The Dodos; they’ve got a date at the Sound Academy on June 15 opening up for The New Pornographers.

Spin talks to Band Of Horses’ Ben Bridwell. They are at the Toronto Islands on June 19.

Josh Ritter talks to Spinner about his literary ambitions: his debut novel Bright’s Passage is due out next Summer.

Middle-aged cult heroes Teenage Fanclub return with new album

Frank Yang — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 12:06:21 +0000

MergeSo much to catch up on. Where to begin? How about Scotland? That Teenage Fanclub had completed a new record in the last while is no secret. Even the title has been kicking around since last year. But the lack of news on the actual release of the record has been tough to find, at least until now. Merge, who put out their last album Man-Made in 2005, will release Shadows on June 8 to the delight of power pop connoisseurs everywhere.

To stir up anticipation, they’ve released the first MP3 from the record. It’s a Norman Blake composition but like most everything they’ve done since 1997′s Songs From Northern Britain, regardless of who the specific songwriter is, it’s a master class in mid-tempo, ultra-melodic jangle-pop. One of the wonderful things about this band – besides the music, of course – is how each of the three principals has their own distinct songwriting personality, and yet they fit together seamlessly. I’ll admit that in the past half decade, I hadn’t really been chomping at the bit for a new Fannies record but knowing that one is coming and that it’s almost certain to be of the same high level of quality as they’ve maintained pretty much forever is a comforting thought. The Fannies will never really surprise, but they’ll never disappoint either.

Also worth looking forward to is the fact that there are plans for North American touring this Fall. Their last tour was also five years ago so another visit is long overdue. Tracklisting and cover art for Shadows can be had over at Pitchfork.

MP3: Teenage Fanclub – “Baby Lee”

After a goodly amount of teasing, the first official taste of High Violet, the new record from The National, is available to download and it is, in a word, amazing. I’d been joking that this was going to be my album of the year before I heard a note, but I don’t think I’m joking anymore. The National are at Massey Hall on June 8 and 9.

MP3: The National – “Blood Buzz Ohio”

The Acorn have set a June 1 release date for their new album No Ghost – details on the release at Exclaim.

Exclaim talks to Wolf Parade about their still-untitled new album, which has a release date of June 29. They’ll preview it at the Phoenix on April 7.

BBC6 talks to Thomas Mars of Phoenix, who are celebrating a pretty good year by giving away a free live album. Go and get it.

ZIP: Phoenix / Live In Sydney

And speaking of live, let’s talk show announcements. With their new album The Five Ghosts set to come out on June 22, Stars are looking to get back into game shape with a short Canadian tour that will find the band playing rooms much smaller than they normally would, including the Mod Club in Toronto on May 5. And you’ll be paying for the privilege of pretending its December 2004… tickets are a rather dear $34.75, on sale Friday morning. But you know that even at that price, they’ll be gone lickety split.

They entertained the hell out of me just a few days ago, and now Man Man are coming to do the same to you – they’ve got a date at Lee’s Palace on May 9 as part of a short tour, tickets $15.

MP3: Man Man – “Top Drawer”

UK electro outfit Fuck Buttons have made a date at the Horseshoe for May 19.

MP3: Fuck Buttons – “Bright Tomorrow”

Holly Miranda will finally be bringing her solo effort The Magician’s Private Library to town for a show at the El Mocambo on May 20.

MP3: Holly Miranda – “Waves”

The Avett Brothers will bring their latest album I And Love And You back to town for a show at The Phoenix on June 1. Tickets are $25.50 and on sale now.

MP3: The Avett Brothers – “I And Love And You”

Though they were just here in October, The Psychedelic Furs are back for a much cozier show at Lee’s Palace on June 8.

Video: The Psychedelic Furs – “Love My Way”

His date at the Mod Club last April was cancelled due to illness, but Robyn Hitchcock is finally making that up in intimate style with two shows at the Drake Underground on June 11 and 12. Of course that show was supposed to be with the Venus 3 – no word yet what the touring configuration for these appearances are going to be, but it’ll be entertaining regardless.

MP3: Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 – “Goodnight Oslo” (live)

The New Pornographers have announced their extensive North American touring plans in support of Together, out May 4. For their June 15 date at the Sound Academy, they’ll be joined by The Dodos and The Dutchess & The Duke – tickets $26.50 general admission and $40 VIP balcony, on sale Friday. And since it’s a question that always gets asked when tour dates are announced, yes – Dan and Neko are going to be there.

MP3: The New Pornographers – “Your Hands (Together)”
MP3: The Dodos – “Fables”
MP3: The Dutchess & The Duke – “Living This Life”

And if you like your west coast pop a little more bent, Frog Eyes will be at the Music Gallery that same evening, June 15, accompanied by Seattle’s Pearly Gate Music.

MP3: Frog Eyes – “Bushels”
MP3: Pearly Gate Music – “Big Escape”

And oh yeah, Montreal’s Osheaga festival announced their lineup this week and it’s a pretty big pile of holy shit. With a top-five bill of Arcade Fire, Weezer, Pavement, Metric and The National and a pretty solid undercard, it’s pretty much a must-attend for any indie-rocking type who isn’t averse to standing around in a field for two days. The fest goes July 31 and August 1 in Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal; weekend passes go for $110/$120 depending on how soon you’re willing to commit.