Frank YangA little into her show at The Drake Underground on Saturday evening, Nicole Atkins mentioned that this was her first-ever solo show in Canada, and that performances of this format were usually reserved for more casual one-off performances back home in New Jersey during the holidays. Indeed, though Ms Atkins has been no stranger to Toronto stages since releasing her debut Neptune City back in 2007, she’s always been accompanied by some iteration of her band The (Black) Sea. I’d have to go back to SXSW 2007 to recall the last time I saw her in a stripped-down acoustic format (also the very first time overall), and even then she was backed by a hastily-recruited drummer and second guitarist because The Sea had gotten lost en route.

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

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

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

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

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

The Quietus talks to Janet Weiss of Wild Flag.

NPR has a Tiny Desk Concert with tUnE-yArDs.

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

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

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

Austin 360 talks to Jeff Tweedy of Wilco.

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

MP3: Archers Of Loaf – “Harnessed In Slums”

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

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

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

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

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

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

MP3: Charles Bradley – “Heartaches & Pain”

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

NPR has a World Cafe session with Dum Dum Girls.

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

Kisha BariIf you were to ask anyone at SXSW this past March what was the best thing they’d seen, odds are you’d have heard “Charles Bradley” in response; I certainly did. Like his Daptone labelmate Sharon Jones, the Florida-born, Brooklyn-based classic soul singer had travelled a long, hard road filled with false starts and personal tragedies, but with the release of his first full-length album No Town For Dreaming earlier this year and accompanying praise for both his recordings and performances, it seemed he was finally getting his due.

Or so I heard. I didn’t catch any of his sets in Austin and waiting for him to tour through Toronto – as I was certain he would considering he made appearances at Osheaga in Montreal and Sappyfest in Mount Allison in late July – proved fruitless. I had no doubt that the wide-eyed, breathless testimonials about the power of his shows was deserved, but I had yet to witness it for myself. Well as it turns out, I only had to wait the better part of a year – Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires have just announced a date at Lee’s Palace on February 11 of next year, tickets $22.50 in advance and on sale this Friday. Which is not to complain – after all, Bradley had to wait decades for his shot. A year’s not so bad. If you’re a fan of old-school soul – and everyone should be – you ought to be there.

MP3: Charles Bradley – “The World (Is Going Up In Flames)”
MP3: Charles Bradley – “Now That I’m Gone”
Video: Charles Bradley – “Heartaches And Pain”
Video: Charles Bradley – “The World (Is Going Up In Flames)”

The Smith Westerns are rolling into The Horseshoe on January 27, tickets $15 in advance. It’s unlikely they’ve got a new album finished and ready for sneak release, so assume this is continuing to support this year’s Dye It Blonde.

MP3: The Smith Westerns – “Still New”

Oklahoma’s Other Lives got a bit of a profile boost when they were announced as the openers for the first leg of Radiohead’s US tour this Spring, but seeing as how there’s no local date for that bill as yet, fans and the curious will be pleased to know that they’ll be in town at The Drake Underground on February 14, tickets $12.50. That’s a bit less than Radiohead tickets would cost, I think.

MP3: Other Lives – “For 12″
MP3: Other Lives – “Tamer Animals”
MP3: Other Lives – “Song Song”

With the final – presumably – R.E.M. release in Part Lies Part Heart Part Truth Part Garbage 1982-2011 now out, it’s exit interview time. Michael Stipe explains the band’s decision to disband in conversation with Salon and CNN while Mike Mills chats with Billboard, Time, Spin, Consequence Of Sound, and Scotland On Sunday – he also talks to Spinner about Occupy Wall Street – and USA Today gets some quotes from all three members. Blurt, meanwhile, solicits testimonials from a range of artists and fans.

It’s not an official Neutral Milk Hotel video or anything, but this clip put together by Naomi Yang of Galaxie 500/Damon & Naomi is noteworthy if for no other reason than the song was, apparently, written about her.

Video: Neutral Milk Hotel – “Naomi”

The Stool Pigeon and Spinner talk to Dee Dee of Dum Dum Girls.

The Washington Post interviews Ted Leo.

Stereogum checks in with School Of Seven Bells to see how their first album as a duo is coming along. At least well enough to have a title – Ghostory – and ballpark release date of next Spring. Update: The record is out February 28.

Guitar Junkie, The Riverfront Times and Apes On Tape talk to Lauren Larsen of Ume.

Sub PopEverything about Dum Dum Girls is pretty danged American, from their California garage rock-meets-’60s girl-group sound to their vintage biker pin-up aesthetic, but hearing them take on arch-English mope-masters The Smiths as they did for the closing track on their He Gets Me High EP earlier this year, you can easily imagine an adolescent Kristen Gundred swooning over romanticized notions of rainy Manchester as much as SoCal’s sunny beaches. But maybe it shouldn’t be any kind of surprise – their band name does come half from The Vaselines’ debut album.

On the same note, it’s not surprising that Gundred would look to another American gone Anglo for inspiration for their new album Only In Dreams; the way she evokes Chrissie Hynde’s vibrato all over that record is uncanny. Look to hear it live when they play Lee’s Palace tonight. And while The Smiths won’t be playing anywhere live anytime soon, fanatics can shell out for the exorbitantly fancy Complete box set, which is out this week.

MP3: Dum Dum Girls – “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out”
Video: The Smiths – “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out”

Frank YangI’m sure they didn’t intend to be away for so long – it wasn’t their fault that the 2009 edition of the Toronto Islands show for which they were the undercard was cancelled – but as of Friday night’s long-awaited show at the Sound Academy., it had been over four years since Explosions In The Sky last played Toronto and you could round up closer to five if you’re talking headlining shows. A long time for any active, touring band but an eternity for an act whose fanbase grew markedly in the years between 2007′s All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone and this year’s Take Care, Take Care, Take Care through key soundtrack placements and old fashioned word of mouth about how astonishing their cinematic, instrumental post-rock was.

Baltimore duo Wye Oak have been no such strangers hereabouts, their supporting slot marking their third show in Town this calendar year with one still to come. This was less a case of market oversaturation than simply keeping up with demand, though; specifically the demand of larger acts who wanted them to open up for them. And when the likes of The Decemberists, Explosions and The National ask you to come along on tour with them, you say yes. Since playing this same stage in February opening up for The Decemberists, Wye Oak had released their second album Civilian and toured it heavily, so even just eight months later there were noticeable differences in the band’s live show. The moodier Civilian must call for a leaner approach to things, as Jenn Wasner took fewer guitar excursions and Andy Stack seemed to be called on less to handle keyboard duties simultaneously with drums. It was as though the two were feeling more confident in their ability render the songs with just the guitars, drums and vocals, and when the keys were brought in, such as for some gut-punch bass, their contributions were extra-effective. In any case, it was mope-rock on a grand scale.

One of the most magical things about Explosions In The Sky, either live or on record, is how from the moment they begin to play you’re instantly transported to a world writ on 70mm film but left wide open. There is a universality to their music that allows it to be the soundtrack to the movie of each listener’s life, for them to write their own script and direct their own scenes, using the emotions and dynamics created by the band as cues. So I suspect that the people sitting, eyes closed, out of line of sight of the band were getting just as much out of the performance as the people jammed up front watching them actually play – or at least I’d like to think so; it’s possible they were just asleep.

It’s this intangible that allows them to transcend their formula and continue to connect and be remarkable. Their sound hasn’t really changed much since 2000′s How Strange, Innocence – they’re more adept at the push and pull of evoking emotional responses but any stylistic shifts over their career have been relative to the EITS aesthetic – they’ve never redefined, only refined. So even though Friday’s show pulled from their entire decade-plus repertoire, with a little extra emphasis on Take Care, it felt like a single, unified feature-length piece with gentle lulls and soaring crescendos in all the right places. One major difference from their last time through was for touring, they’d expanded to a five-piece with a full-time bassist which allowed for an even bigger sound with either a three guitar-attack or double-guitar, double-bass, all the sounding even more massive without losing any of the intricacies of their arrangements. As the final notes of “The Moon Is Down” rang out and the band bid farewell, hopefully without as long a wait between visits, I wanted to tell those gathered at the front pleading for an encore that the band doesn’t do encores, and if they wanted more they’d have to wait for the sequel.

The Toronto Star alos has a review of the show while aux.tv and The Detroit News have interviews with Explosions.

Photos: Explosions In The Sky, Wye Oak @ The Sound Academy – October 7, 2011
MP3: Explosions In The Sky – “Trembling Hands”
MP3: Explosions In The Sky – “Welcome, Ghosts”
MP3: Explosions In The Sky – “Memorial”
MP3: Explosions In The Sky – “A Poor Man’s Memory”
MP3: Explosions In The Sky – “Greet Death”
MP3: Explosions In The Sky – “Look Into The Air”
MP3: Wye Oak – “Holy, Holy”
MP3: Wye Oak – “Civilian”
MP3: Wye Oak – “Take It In”
MP3: Wye Oak – “Warning”
Video: Explosions In The Sky – “Last Known Surroundings”
Video: Explosions In The Sky – “Be Comfortable, Creature”
Video: Wye Oak – “Holy, Holy”
Video: Wye Oak – “Fish”

Chicago post-rock instrumentalist Russian Circles will be at Lee’s Palace on November 12 in support of their new record Empros, due out October 25.

MP3: Russian Circles – “Mladek”

Nicole Atkins is giving away a free live EP entitled …Til Dawn over at her Bandcamp in exchange for an email address.

The Georgia Straight talks to Kristen Gundred – aka Dee Dee – of Dum Dum Girls. They’re at Lee’s Palace next Sunday night, October 16.

NPR is streaming the new My Brightest Diamond record All Things Will Unwind in advance of its release next week. There’s also a new video at Stereogum and some live video performances posted at Le Blogotheque.

MP3: My Brightest Diamond – “Reaching Through To The Other Side”
Video: My Brightest Diamond – “Be Brave”
Stream: My Brightest Diamond / All Things Will Unwind

Beatroute talks to Annie Clark of St. Vincent.

DIY interviews Wild Flag, in town to melt your faces at Lee’s Palace tonight.

NPR is streaming Days, the new album from Real Estate, out next week.

MP3: Real Estate – “It’s Real”
Stream: Real Estate / Days

Clash, The National Post, DIY, Drowned In Sound and The Los Angeles Times all have interviews with Ryan Adams about his new record Ashes & Fire and Exclaim has a list of RyRy trivia, but only LA Weekly manages to piss him off. Bravo. He plays The Winter Garden Theatre on December 10 and has released a live studio video and proper “if MTV still played videos” video from the new album.

Video: Ryan Adams – “Lucky Now”
Video: Ryan Adams – “Invisible Riverside”

The Vancouver Sun and The Republic interview Stephen Malkmus.

Blurt interviews Matthew Sweet.

DIY talks to Girls.

The New York Daily News chats with Mates Of State.

The Alternate Side has an interview and session with EMA.

NYC Taper is sharing a recording of The Antlers’ show in New York last week.

Frank YangSomeday, I don’t know when, but someday, Laura Marling will come to Toronto and play an appropriately-sized venue at a decent point in an album’s promotional cycle. She was already a Mercury Prize shortlister for her debut album Alas I Cannot Swim when she made her local debut at the barely 200-capacity Rivoli in October 2008, and her return engagement in February 2009 was originally booked into the barely-bigger Drake Underground before being sensibly moved to the 500-person Lee’s Palace where it still sold right out. Coming as it did more than a month before her second album I Speak Because I Can – which would again shortlist for the Mercury Prize – was released, it was reasonable to assume that she’d make a return engagement but the closest she came was an appearance at Hillside in Guelph that Summer.

Which leads up to last Friday night, where she made her third local appearance with a show at The Great Hall just a fortnight after the release of album number three, A Creature I Don’t Know. The show was completely sold out, unsurprising considering how high her star has risen and how small the room is; official capacity is no more than 500, and considering the seated balcony was closed off, it was probably even less. Of course, cramming extra people in probably would have been dangerous – not because of any kind if fire hazard but because for its architectural and acoustic qualities, The Great Hall has nothing resembling a working ventilation system and the room was a veritable sauna and more than a few of the less-hardy punters were passing out and needing assistance before the show even began.

Any opener trying to get the attention of the distracted, sweaty masses would have their work cut out for them but Alessi’s Ark was in extra tough. Her latest album Time Travel is a pleasant bit of folk-pop that might have gone over better in quieter environs but in this setting, even backed with an electric guitarist adding a bit of texture, her strummy, languid stylings weren’t nearly forceful enough to grab most peoples’ attention. A couple of numbers where she went to more soulful places cut through a little better, and people definitely paid attention for the one song where she was joined by a cellist and Marling on backing vocals, but largely she was too easily drowned out. It’s odd that someone who’s no stranger to live performance would come across so timidly and frustrating that while she clearly has the talent to do more than she does, doesn’t.

It’s funny that so much discussion around Laura Marling centers around her tender age – still just 21 years old and already on her third critically-acclaimed album – when so much of her appeal comes from the agelessness of her songs. Okay, they’re not completely removed from temporal reference – ’60s and ’70s folk from both sides of the Atlantic figures heavily in her sound and you can tell that prior to writing the new album she’d been spending time with old-school American country records – but combined with her old soul vocals, that’s as close to timeless as you’re going to get. As for the Black Sabbath t-shirt she was sporting when she took the stage… well who doesn’t like a little “Iron Man” now and again?

Playing frontwoman for a six-piece band, she opened with a quartet of older numbers, perhaps cognizant of the fact that Creature was still very new and judging from the number of people clutching vinyl copies (and fanning themselves furiously with them) still unfamiliar to many. It wouldn’t be unfamiliar for much longer, though, as the rest of the set drew heavily from the new record and even included an even newer song – being called “Pray For Me” around the interwebs – when she played solo mid-set. As always, her performance was mesmerizing with this backing band arguably the best she’s had yet – yes, even better than Mumford & Sons – and the richness of the presentation superb; lead Creature single “Sophia” was glorious in its build from winsome to widescreen and the choral vocals on “I Speak Because I Can” were spine-chilling.

Especially pleasing was Marling’s stage presence; back in the day she was shy to the point of catatonia but has gotten progressively more confident as she gains years and experience and while she still apologized for having poor stage banter, she actually evidenced a sharp, dry wit and even effectively targeted and shamed some of the loud talkers by dropping her voice to a whisper mid-song and making their presence very acutely – and embarrassingly – known. But those few aside, most were held rapt by her 70-minute performance which was no mean feat given the stifling atmosphere in the hall. As always, things ended with the “we don’t know if you’ll give us an encore so we’re just going to stay and play our last song” routine which for this evening was a foot-stomping “All My Rage”; of course it was all part of the script, but it was also part of the fun. There wasn’t any way they weren’t getting their encore and there’s definitely the demand to bring Marling and co. back again for another show – but this time if it can’t be in a room that will hold all her fans, can it at least be one with climate control?

BlogTO and Exclaim also have writeups of the show while The Globe & Mail and Edmonton Journal have profile pieces.

Photos: Laura Marling, Alessi’s Ark @ The Great Hall – September 23, 2011
MP3: Laura Marling – “Ghosts”
MP3: Alessi’s Ark – “The Robot”
Video: Laura Marling – “Sophia”
Video: Laura Marling – “The Needle & The Damage Done”
Video: Laura Marling – “Rambling Man”
Video: Laura Marling – “Devil’s Spoke”
Video: Laura Marling – “Night Terror”
Video: Laura Marling – “New Romantic”
Video: Laura Marling – “Ghosts”
Video: Laura Marling – “My Manic & I”
Video: Laura Marling – “Cross Your Fingers”
Video: Alessi’s Ark – “On The Plains”
Video: Alessi’s Ark – “Maybe I Know”
Video: Alessi’s Ark – “The Wire”
Video: Alessi’s Ark – “The Horse”
Video: Alessi’s Ark – “Birdsong”
Video: Alessi’s Ark – “The Asteroids Collide”

Blurt talks to PJ Harvey.

American Songwriter puts aside the first half of their mandate in declaring Emmy The Great their songwriter of the week.

Summer Camp has gone off and made a zine to go with the upcoming release of their debut Welcome To Condale, out November 8.

Bjork has released another video from the forthcoming Biophilia, due out October 11.

Video: Bjork – “Moon”

The Jezabels show up at The Fly and play an acoustic session; The Australian also has a feature on the band. They’re at The Phoenix on November 23 opening up for Hey Rosetta!.

NPR talks to Dominique Durand of Ivy while Magnet has a Q&A with her and Andy Chase in advance of making the band guest editors of their website this week; they’ve also got a new MP3 from their album All Hours to share.

MP3: Ivy – “Make It So Hard”

NOW previewed last night’s tUnE-yArDs with an interview and Metro also has a short piece. There’s also a new video from WHOKILL to gawk at.

Video: tUnE-yArDs – “Gangsta”

DIY, Billboard and Pitchfork all have features on Dum Dum Girls on the occasion of the release of Only In Dreams. There’s also a new video from said record. Dum Dum Girls are at Lee’s Palace on October 16.

Video: Dum Dum Girls – “Bedroom Eyes”

The AV Club and NPR have feature interviews with Wild Flag. They’re at Lee’s Palace on October 12.

Interview talks to Theresa Wayman of Warpaint.

Filter collects a number of random thoughts and observations from Annie Clark of St. Vincent.

Daytrotter has posted a session with Ume.