Jem GouldingSince their first single was released in June 2012, London post-punk foursome Savages have steadily become one of the most-talked about new bands in the UK on the backs of their ferocious live performances, the experience of which they sought to capture on the live I Am Here EP released last Fall. Now, as they come off a series of much-talked about shows at SXSW and prepare to make a similar impression with a couple of shows at Canadian Musicfest, they’ve announced details of their debut album.

Entitled Silence Yourself, it will be released worldwide on the band’s own Pop Noire label and indie giant Matador Records, coming out on May 6 in territories where new records come out on Mondays and May 7 for those who do the Tuesday release thing. Full details on the release are available at Exclaim and a first track from the album is available to stream below. NOW has an interview with the band, who play The Horseshoe on March 22 and Lee’s Palace on March 23.

Stream: Savages – “She Will”

Spin talks to Brett Anderson while The Quietus ponders the difficulty of being a Suede fan in the United States on this, the occasion of this week’s release of Bloodsports. I suppose we’re a little better off in Canada, where we don’t have to call them The London Suede, not that that’s provided enough incentive to tour over here or anything. But anyways, as a little release-week gift, the band have made a live recording from their intimate show at Camden Barfly earlier this month available to download.

MP3: Suede – “Filmstar” (live)

British buzz band Peace is streaming their debut album In Love at NME ahead of its UK release next week. They’re in town for NXNE on June 15.

MP3: Peace – “California Daze”
Stream: Peace / In Love

Depeche Mode have gone with iTunes to advance stream their new album Delta Machine, out next week. They’re at the Molson Amphitheatre on September 1.

Stream: Depeche Mode / Delta Machine

The 405 are streaming one of the tracks from Frightened Rabbit’s forthcoming Backyard Skulls EP, an alternate version of Pedestrian Verse track “Holy”, while City Pages serves up an interview. The EP is out March 31, which is the same day they’re in town at The Phoenix.

Stream: Frightened Rabbit – “Holy” (alternate version)

Pitchfork has official details on the North American release of Jessie Ware’s Devotion, which in addition to different artwork from the UK edition, will have two bonus tracks and be out April 16. Which is 11 days after her April 6 show at The Opera House. So buy a t-shirt, I guess.

The Joy Formidable have a new video from Wolf’s Law, shot from the point-of-view of Ritzy’s guitar headstock. They play The Phoenix on April 12.

Video: The Joy Formidable – “Little Blimp”

It Hugs Back return with their third album Recommended Record on April 29; they talk to The Quietus about it and have a track from it available to stream.

Stream: It Hugs Back – “Sometimes”

DIY has a feature piece on Daughter; their debut If You Leave is out in the UK this week but not in North America until April 30. They’re at The Great Hall on May 7.

Noah & The Whale have released the first video from their new record Heart Of Nowhere, due out May 3.

Video: Noah & The Whale – “There Will Come A Time”

Billy Bragg lists off some of his favourite albums for The Quietus, offers interviews to The Line Of Best Fit, Exclaim, Consequence ORolling Stone, and Canadian Press, and plays a World Cafe session for NPR. He’s in town at the Danforth Music Hall on May 3.

Palma Violets tell DIY that playing a show in Toronto is their definition of having it made. OK, then. They’re back at the high point of their career on May 3 when they play Lee’s Palace.

The Guardian talks to Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream about their forthcoming album More Light, due May 6.

Little Boots is streaming a new song from her forthcoming album Nocturnes, out May 7. Rolling Stone gets a video tour of Victoria Hesketh’s studio.

Stream: Little Boots – “Broken Record”

Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis talks to The Daily Star about their ascension to the status of festival headliners, at least in the UK. Here in North America, they’re still playing rooms like The Kool Haus, where they’ll be on May 11.

Billboard talks to Polly Scattergood about her second album Arrows, which is set for a June 14 release.

Glasvegas have released a first video from their new record Later…When The TV Turns To Static, due out this Summer.

Video: Glasvegas – “I’d Rather Be Dead (Than Be With You)”

Interview, The Village Voice, and The Toronto Star talk to CHVRCHES, whose debut album drops in September.

Tom Cowan of The Horrors tells NME to expect a new album this September.

Another Magazine talks to Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys, while NME gets some details on their forthcoming album from drummer Matt Helder; it’s due out this year sometime.

A Music Blog, Yea, The Telegraph, and The Guardian talk to Kate Nash about music, favourite things, and fashion, respectively.

Django Django have released a new video from last year’s self-titled debut.

Video: Django Django – “WOR”

Clash chats with Dev Hynes about how he came to work with Solange.

DIY has a video session with Veronica Falls.

Frank YangIf any artist has earned the right to do whatever the hell he wants, it’s Elvis Costello. And indeed, he’s taken full advantage of this creative liberty over his three-and-a-half decade career; starting as the “angry young man” coming out of the British punk scene and becoming, at various points in his career, a country crooner, jazz singer and pop classicist and all points in between, to say nothing of his forays into acting and television talk show host. And unlike some who’ve transformed their personas to match each artistic endeavour, Costello has always remained Costello – same glasses, maybe a different hat (okay, there was the Mighty Like A Rose beard). As said, the man does what he wants and offers no apologies for it.

And if he wants to resurrect a tour concept from a quarter-century ago, “The Spectacular Spinning Songbook” wherein audience members choose the set list by randomly spinning a giant carnival wheel, then he’s going to do it – never mind that the original go-around with the wheel apparently didn’t go so well. Having been all of 11 at the time that went down, I obviously can’t comment on whether or not the criticisms of the tour were valid but considering that Costello’s two 1986 releases – King Of America and Blood & Chocolate – are basically my favourite of his records, so from my point of view circa ’86 he was on top of his game. And anyways, the idea of seeing Elvis for the first time in a decade or so playing songs pulled from throughout his career rather than to promote his last record National Ransom – which is fine and all, don’t get me wrong – sounded like a pretty good one. Which brings us to Thursday night at the rather posh Sony Centre For The Performing Arts.

Eschewing any support act for the evening, Costello and The Imposters – his backing band of the past decade or so which is basically The Attractions, his backing band of the past three decades with the exception of Davy Faragher replacing bassist Bruce Thomas – took the colourfully-decorated, playground-like stage shortly after eight, supported by a go-go dancer and hostess charged with selecting and escorting audience members to spin the wheel, typically attractive and well-dressed young women. Not that they were called on until a ways into the set; Costello and company set the tone themselves opening with a blistering “I Hope You’re Happy Now” (from Blood & Chocolate) and tearing through a set of classics that established that they were here to play. At that point, Costello introduced himself as Napoleon Dynamite – his alias that predates the movie by a good twenty years – and entered sideshow barker mode and the first audience member invited to take the Spinning Songbook for a whirl landed on Punch The Clock‘s “Everyday I Write The Book”, the first Costello song I ever recall hearing. Yeah, I’d say this was a good start to the night.

Offering a blow-by-blow of the more than two-and-a-half hour show would be futile, so I won’t bother; just look at the set list. In a word, the show was amazing. In a few more words, it was a joyous romp through Costello’s extensive songbook and a few others’, with covers and cribs of artists as diverse as The Beatles, Prince and Smokey Robinson peppered through the set. What it wasn’t, however, was a greatest hits set – there were hits a-plenty, yes, but still plenty of selections from Costello’s more recent, less chart-topping records, all of which served a purpose. “I Still Have That Other Girl”, from his Painted From Memory Bacharach collaboration gave him opportunity to roam the audience crooning, “Spooky Girlfriend” – leading off a block of four “girl”-themed songs thanks to a jackpot spin on the wheel – reminded that his 2001 return to form album When I Was Cruel really was a return to form and “Turpentine” off of 2008′s Momofuku allowed Costello to showcase his “little hands of concrete” on some absolutely ripping guitar solos.

Truly, every selection was some degree of highlight but as good as it all was from note one, but as you’d expect from a veteran showman, he still saved the best for last. Closing the main set with an affecting “Shipbuilding” – I guess we were lucky no one spun that one earlier on – Costello took advantage of the break to change out of his suit coat, which was by this point completely soaked through with sweat, to change into something a little more checked and kitschy and play a couple of National Ransom tunes solo and acoustic and then into some gold lame jacket to lead the Imposters back onstage for the second encore. Not done yet, no sir. The wheel was brought back into play and though the results rigged just a bit, no one was going to complain about the Armed Forces/My Aim Is True/This Year’s Model suite of songs that ensued, including the most polite, middle-aged stage invasion you ever did see. “Pump It Up” segued into an unexpected partial cover of “Purple Rain” and following a stirring “Man Out Of Time”, they closed with “I Hope” from National Ransom.

What else can be said? It was a two-hour, forty-minute tour de force performance from one of the greatest pop songwriters of the last thirty years. Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis Costello.

The Toronto Sun, The Globe & Mail, Lithium, The National Post and Torontoist also have reviews of the show.

Photos: Elvis Costello & The Imposters @ The Sony Centre For The Performing Arts – June 23, 2011
MP3: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “Radio Radio” (live at The El Mocambo)
Video: Elvis Costello & The Imposters – “Monkey To Man”
Video: Elvis Costello – “45″
Video: Elvis Costello – “13 Steps Lead Down”
Video: Elvis Costello – “Sulky Girl”
Video: Elvis Costello – “So Like Candy”
Video: Elvis Costello – “The Other Side Of Summer”
Video: Elvis Costello – “…This Town…”
Video: Elvis Costello – “Veronica”
Video: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”
Video: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “I Wanna Be Loved”
Video: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “The Only Flame In Town”
Video: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “Let Them All Talk”
Video: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “Everyday I Write The Book”
Video: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “You Little Fool”
Video: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “Sweet Dreams”
Video: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “Good Year For The Roses”
Video: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “New Lace Sleeves”
Video: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “Clubland”
Video: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “New Amsterdam”
Video: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “Possession”
Video: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “Love For Tender”
Video: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “High Fidelity”
Video: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down”
Video: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “Accidents Will Happen”
Video: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “Oliver’s Army”
Video: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?”
Video: Elvis Costello – “Radio, Radio”
Video: Elvis Costello – “Pump It Up”
Video: Elvis Costello – “(I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea”

So far this year, we’ve had visits from Duran Duran, Orchestral Maneuvers In The Dark and now… The Human League? They’re going to be in town as part of a North American tour on September 18 at The Guvernment, ostensibly in support of new album Credo but let’s be honest – you know what you want to hear.

Video: The Human League – “Don’t You Want Me”

The Fader chats with Dev Hynes of Blood Orange; his debut under that name, Coastal Grooves, is out August 8.

NPR has posted a World Cafe session with James Blake. He plays The Phoenix on September 30.

Under The Radar has details on the debut album from London’s Still Corners; Creatures Of An Hour will be out on October 11 and the first MP3 is available to grab now.

MP3: Still Corners – “Cuckoo”

Glasvegas have released a new video from Euphoric Heartbreak.

Video: Glasvegas – “Shine Like Stars”

DIY chatted with Yuck whilst at Glastonbury this weekend.

NPR checks in with Ida Maria, whose new album Katla came out very quietly at the start of the month, at least in digital form. The record is streaming on her website right now.

Stream: Ida Maria / Katla

NPR has a profile of Nick Cave, whose rendering of The Zombies’ classic “She’s Not There” with Neko Case, recorded for this season’s True Blood soundtrack, is available to stream over at KCRW.

Frank YangIf it were possible to discuss Beady Eye and their debut album Different Gear, Still Speeding based strictly on their musical merits and not their backstory, then it would be a fairly short conversation: alright-enough Brit-rock, hardly re-inventing the wheel. But taking into account that the band comprises 4/5 of the final lineup of Oasis, less chief songwriter Noel Gallagher, extra scrutiny is unavoidable. Which is unfortunate since despite the band’s – well, Liam Gallagher’s – insistence that they’re going to be the biggest band in the world, they don’t aspire to much more than solid, meat-and-potatoes rock’n'roll. And in that, especially considering the younger Gallagher’s rather unspectacular songwriting efforts in Oasis, Different Gear is surprisingly decent, with a good dose of swagger and energy and thankfully fewer than expected cringe-worthy lyrics. After all, Liam has never pretended there was a poet underneath the gruff exterior; Noel was the sensitive one.

While Beady Eye have hardly set the world ablaze with their debut, they found it worthwhile to bring it across the Atlantic for their first North American tour starting this past weekend in Chicago and landing in Toronto’s Sound Academy on Monday night. It would be the first time Liam would take a stage here since Oasis’ final assault-interrupted performance at V Fest 2008, and clearly the faithful had been waiting – the giant Union Jack flag waving from the balcony and random chants of “Liam!” a few of the signs that the band were on friendly turf. And really, it’s a rare sort of crowd who sings along en masse to The Jam’s “That’s Entertainment” over the PA, isn’t it? When the lights dimmed a few minutes later than the scheduled start time – it wouldn’t have done to not let the final bars of The Stone Roses’ “I Am The Resurrection” not ring out, after all – the cheers went up and out strode Liam Gallagher in appropriately ridiculous Union Jack topcoat and his more conservatively dressed compatriots and we were away.

Opening with “Four Letter Word”, Gallagher in his familiar nose-on-the-mic, arms-behind-his-back post and picking lyrics off a teleprompter, the first thing you noticed was that they were loud. More specifically, Gallagher was loud – heinously so. It was as if his monitor mix was being fed into the house by accident, so much louder were his vocals than the band that it was like hearing someone singing at the top of their lungs to music playing on their earphones. Thankfully within a few songs it was sorted somewhat – or fleeing to the back of the venue made the difference – and the remainder of the set was entertaining in a steady head-nodding sense. Each song from Different Gear as well as a couple of non-album tracks and one new composition was aired out, each with its own staging and adhering closely to their studio versions. And while it obviously wasn’t the context I’d ideally like to have seen, it was good to see Andy Bell back on guitar and taking a few solos in person.

Without that much material on hand and a sworn oath to not delve into the Oasis songbook, it wasn’t surprising that the main set was over in less than an hour, closing with “Champagne Supernova”-like psychedelic slow jam “The Morning Son” before returning for a two-song encore that brought the show to a respectable length. Throughout, Gallagher conducted himself with an interesting combination of confidence and humility, as though he still believed that he was fronting the best band in the world but understood that he had to prove it; this solid showing was a good start. Will Beady Eye, as their song declares, “stand the test of time like The Beatles and The Stones”? Not likely, to be honest, but at least they’ve bought themselves some of that time to get there.

Metro, The Grid and Shortlist have typically entertaining interviews with Gallagher and his bandmates. Chart, examiner.com and JAM also have reviews of the show.

Photos: Beady Eye @ The Sound Academy – June 20, 2011
MP3: Beady Eye – “The Roller”
Video: Beady Eye – “Millionaire”
Video: Beady Eye – “Four Letter Word”
Video: Beady Eye – “Bring The Light”

Loads of new videos making their way across the pond over the last few days. Let’s sum up.

Amor de Dias has a new clip from Street Of The Love Of Days. Alasdair MacLean and Lupe Núñez-Fernández are also playing guest editor this week at Magnet starting with a Q&A and submitted a guest list of inspirations to Critical Mob.

Video: Amor de Dias – “Wild Winter Trees”

The latest single from Anna Calvi also comes with a video.

Video: Anna Calvi – “Desire”

The previously mailing-list-sign-up-only video for the new Slow Club single is now available for all to see. It comes from their second album Paradise, which is out September 12 – NME has details.

Video: Slow Club – “Two Cousins”

Friendly Fires have confirmed their Fall North American tour which includes the make-up for the cancelled Toronto show, now taking place October 23 at The Phoenix. The Georgia Straight and Black Book have interviews with the band and oh yeah, there’s a new video from Pala.

Video: Friendly Fires – “Hawaiian Air”

Yuck have a new, kind of disturbing clip from their self-titled debut. RTE has an interview with the band.

Video: Yuck – “Shook Down”

The new clip from Noah & The Whale’s Last Night On Earth is appropriately slick and cinematic. And nice dance moves, Charlie. Creative Loafing has an interview.

Video: Noah & The Whale – “Life Is Life”

The Joy Formidable’s Big Roar has yielded a new video, which proves their affection for ’90s alt.rock extends to video aesthetic.

Video: The Joy Formidable – “A Heavy Abacus”

It’s not a proper promo clip, but people will still want to see this live video of Radiohead performing a new, non-album track. It’s taken from their upcoming From The Basement webcast, which I believe will be aired on July 1.

Video: Radiohead – “Staircase” (live)

Some news from components of Blur; Clash checks in with Graham Coxon on the state of his next record while The Guardian has a feature on the many projects of Damon Albarn, including an opera about John Dee and a tease about possible North American Blur dates next year – hello Coachella?

Summer Camp have turned to Pledge Music to garner financing for their debut album, and have put together some very neat and entertaining rewards for various pledge levels. The real reward, of course, will be a record of wonderful pop music like the track “Nobody Knows You”, which they’re trading for your email address, but if you want to walk away with Jeremy Warmsley’s bass guitar, well that can happen too. Clash talks to Elizabeth Sankey about the new album and fundraising efforts.

Clash quizzes Emmy The Great about this, that and the other thing.

Laura Marling has announced the September 13 release of her third album A Creature I Don’t Know. She talks to Spin a bit about what to expect and The Line Of Best Fit has more specifics. The record is already available to pre-order.

Bella Union has announced details on the debut album from Newcastle’s Lanterns On The Lake, who rather beguiled at SXSW. Gracious Tide, Take Me Home will be out on September 19 in the UK – the first MP3 from it is available to have and the hold now.

MP3: Lanterns On The Lake – “You’re Almost There”

The Quietus talks to The Horrors and gets a track-by-track breakdown of their new record Skying, due out July 12. They play Lee’s Palace on September 27.

Spinner, HitFix and The Mirror talk to Guy Garvey of Elbow, finally coming back to town for a show at the Sound Academy on September 28.

Pitchfork filmed a short James Blake film at Primavera last month; Blake is at The Phoenix on September 30.

The Daily Record asks Glasvegas frontman James Allan where he’s living nowadays while Rab Allan talks to Metro.

Spin is streaming a second preview track from the new Ladytron album Gravity The Seducer, due out September 13.

Billboard, BBC and The Quietus talk to Patrick Wolf about his new record Lupercalia while The Fly has an acoustic courtyard session with the artist.

Interview interviews Kate Bush.

allodarlin.comIt’s of no surprise whatsoever to learn that Elizabeth Morris, frontwoman of London’s Allo Darlin’ also pulls duty as part of Tender Trap. Even without a formal connection to the works of Amelia Fletcher, the influence of the former Heavenly frontwoman is all over the band’s self-titled debut.

You can draw a pretty straight line from Heavenly’s archetypal indie pop to what Allo Darlin’ are doing, making adjustments for Morris’ Australian accent and favouring of the ukulele as rhythm instrument. But rather than go retro and try to recapture the youthful innocence of the movement circa the ’80s, Allo Darlin’ picks up in present day with the song’s protagonists perhaps in their late twenties, coloured by the anxiety, disappointment and melancholy that comes with age and experience. It’s also peppered with pop cultural references – when was the last time you heard “Max Von Sydow” as a lyric – that are less about being clever and more about trying to express reel feelings with the only frames of reference available.

I realize this sounds kind of grim and maybe unappealing, but Allo Darlin’ wraps these sentiments up in some of the most buoyant and catchy melodies you’ll hear this side of, well, a Heavenly record. It’s indie pop of the most irresistible variety with a real emotional weight to it that adds just the right amount of heartache to go with the sugar buzz. Recommended on so many levels.

I wouldn’t have thought that the band had enough profile to stage a North American tour but after having to cancel a handful of dates due to visa issues aside, they got underway last night in New York City and will roll through Toronto this Saturday night at the El Mocambo. Tickets just $10 in advance; you should go.

MP3: Allo Darlin’ – “My Heart Is A Drummer”
MP3: Allo Darlin’ – “Dreaming”
Video: Allo Darlin’ – “My Heart Is A Drummer”
Video: Allo Darlin’ – “If Loneliness Was Art”
Video: Allo Darlin’ – “Dreaming”
Video: Allo Darlin’ – “The Polaroid Song”

The Guardian gets Emma-Lee Moss – aka Emmy The Great – to annotate her second album Virtue, which is due for release next week but available to stream in whole right now. The Guardian and I Like Music both have interviews with Moss.

Stream: Emmy The Great / Virtue

The Alternate Side has an interview and session and The Dumbing Of America, The Vine, Shortlist, City Weekly, The Georgia Straight and Soundspike have interviews with Noah & The Whale.

The Globe & Mail, National Post, Georgia Straight, Canada.com and San Francisco Examiner get to know Anna Calvi.

Florence & The Machine has released a video for their contribution to the Rave On Buddy Holly tribute album, due to be released on June 28. Gigwise reports that her second album will be done by the end of next month.

Video: Florence & The Machine – “Not Fade Away”

File this one under “can’t be anything but wonderful” – English folk-rock legend Richard Thompson is coming to town for a solo show at Koerner Hall in the Royal Conservatory Of Music on Thursday, September 8. Ticket information is still forthcoming but having seen him at Toronto’s Bluesfest back in 2003 – way back when we had a Bluesfest – I can attest that whatever they charge will be worth it. The man is unbelievable.

Video: Richard Thompson – “Shoot Out The Lights” (live)
Video: Richard Thompson – “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” (live)

The San Francisco Examiner and Los Angeles Times have interviews with James Allan of Glasvegas.

The Grid chats with Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders.

Baeble Music is streaming video of a complete show by The Go! Team in Brooklyn from earlier this Spring.

Guy Garvey of Elbow ruminates on the British music scene for Shortlist.

NPR is streaming a WFUV session with Ellie Goulding, who will be at The Kool Haus on August 1.

Spin gets a notion of what Anthony Gonzalez has in store for the next M83 album. No release date or title, but apparently it will be an epic-scale double-disc set. So glad that Gonzalez is finally letting loose; all those previous M83 records being so introverted.

Frank YangAsk me my dream festival lineup (within the realm of possibility) and I might well submit the four-block that was Primavera Friday night – you had The National as possibly my favourite act currently going and at the top of their game, Belle & Sebastian from the hall of all-time favorites, Explosions In The Sky to represent for my ambient/post-rock proclivities and as the hook – the mandatory reunion act – let’s say… Pulp. And this, in a nutshell, was why I was in Spain.

The previous night’s creep into this day’s morning meant a late start out of the blocks, and so arrival at Parc del Forum was timed just about right for duskfall and to see The National on the Llevant stage. This was the first time I’d seen them at a festival since they did a noon hour set at Austin City Limits in 2007 – clearly their stock had risen some in the interim. I’ve watched them at all levels since their days playing small bars circa Alligator and can confirm they already own in a theatre setting but dominating a major festival stage is something different. Or maybe it’s not, because The National had no problem at all with it. Even though their albums have gotten less overtly rock as you go, they have gotten more anthemic and that’s a trait that serves you well in these settings. As does having friends like Sufjan Stevens, who joined them to a roar of approval to contribute backing vocals on “Afraid Of Everyone”. Chalk it up as another glorious show from The National, even though those on the outskirts of the crowed seemed less enraptured, or at least more engaged in their own conversations. But in the heart of the crowd, there was nothing but devotion.

Like The National, I’d seen Belle & Sebastian many times but never in a festival setting. Unlike The National, big anthems weren’t exactly the Scottish pop outfit’s forte. But this didn’t prompt any sort of rejigging of their live show for the setting – they performed largely the same set as they did in theatres, clearly intending to draw the huge audience in rather than project out. They were stymied in this early on by a poor vocal mix, making them sound smaller than they should have, but eventually that got sorted out and their charms won the day. On the fan interaction end there was no autographed football tosses as there were in North America, but Stuart Murdoch did invite one audience member to apply some mascara to him during “Lord Anthony”, while inserting Pulp quotes into the lyrics to make things extra topical. On the downside, I learned that Belle & Sebastian fans can be seriously pushy jerks. Stop trying to get to the front – Stuart’s already has his makeover for the evening.

The last time I saw Explosions In the Sky was actually at a festival – albeit a midday, second-stage set at V Fest 2007 – but their stature has grown so much since then that comparisons are rather moot. Here, they were playing a midnight time slot at the grand Ray-Ban Stage, whose coliseum seating and massive floors area made it seem like a much more grandiose setting than the de facto San Miguel mainstage. It definitely suited the band, though, combining with their simple yet dramatic light show and massive, cinematic post-rock sound – now even bigger-sounding with the addition of a full-time bassist – and tens of thousands in the audience for a full sensory experience. Not easy for an instrumental band to do. I would have liked to stay longer than the 30 minutes or so that I did, but I’ll have a chance for the full show when they come to town in October and there was more pressing business to attend to. Business a long time in coming.

I had never thought I would ever see Pulp live, and I was by and large alright with that. Their hiatus in 2001 didn’t seem like it would be a temporary thing, as their career had already had an arc that many would envy, and I had adjusted my concert bucket list to just include Jarvis Cocker solo – which was already proving exceedingly difficult to check off. So when the reunion was announced in December, there wasn’t a lot of hesitation before committing to coming to Primavera. The final minutes of a decade of anticipation were heightened by a series of cheeky messages laser-projeted onto a scrim in front of the stage, behind which you could clearly see the letters “P”, “U”, “L” and “P” in giant neon signs hanging in back. Yes. And when they lit up and the band kicked into the totally appropriate His ‘N’ Hers classic “Do You Remember The First Time?”, it was showtime.

Pulp-era Jarvis Cocker was by all accounts a different creature entirely from post-Pulp Jarvis Cocker, but by god if he didn’t slip completely back into character more easily than anyone could imagine, particularly since one would assume that he was the main holdout in any Pulp reunion happening before now. With only the natty salt-and-pepper beard to distinguish him from his previous incarnation, he danced, leapt, strutted and vogued around the stage as if the halcyon days of Britpop were just yesterday and certainly didn’t look as though he were a decade and a half older.

His shedding the jacket and tie early on was the only warning that they were going to spring “Disco 2000” on us – with no asides about meeting up 11 years late – far sooner than anyone might have expected. But even when taken by surprise, the reflex of pretty much everyone at the sound of those opening chords was to dance, dance, dance. Another highlight was Cocker’s pulling out a prop video camera/flashlight for “I Spy”, with which he broadcast to all an in-audience wedding proposal between a couple from Athens, Georgia – major props to the guy for managing to orchestrate that.

That moment of romance led appropriately/inappropriately into “Underwear” which segued into the gloriously seedy “This Is Hardcore”, the only selection from their arguably best (if less festival-friendly) album. Part of this may have been because guitarist/violinist Russell Senior was back in the fold for this reunion and he had originally left the band after Different Class; he wasn’t even onstage for “Hardcore”, though he did step in to handle the guitar solo on “Sunrise”, from the unfairly malinged We Love Life. And I’d never particularly thought of Pulp as a guitar band, but when Cocker strapped one on as he did at a few points in the night, the seven member-strong band actually had four axes going at once.

The main set closed with an explosive “Common People” – dedicated to some of those very people who’d been assaulted by police in Barcelona’s Catalunya Square earler in the week – followed by a one-song encore of “Razzmatazz”, in honour of the club in Barcelona of the same name – and while it was a glorious performance, I couldn’t help but feel a touch of disappointment. Not in the show, but in knowing that I probably won’t see them again and won’t hear so many of those songs from the other records live. And while Cocker was clear that this “wasn’t about ancient history” but instead “making history”, for 90 minutes they did make it feel like it was 1996 again. And it was good.

An attempt to add Battles’ set as a nightcap proved futile – there would be no following Pulp.

The New York Post looks into The National’s real estate holdings.

BBC interviews Pulp about the lead-up to the reunion shows.

Let’s Wrestle have put out a new video from Nursing Home.

Video: Let’s Wrestle – “In Dreams, Pt II”

Florence Welch talks to NME about some of the lyrical themes informing the next Florence & The Machine album.

Artrocker has an interview with Dev Hynes of Blood Orange, whose debut album Coastal Grooves has just been given a release date of August 8; details at DIY.

MP3: Blood Orange – “Dinner”

State has a feature on Elbow.

Interview and Stereogum check in with Arctic Monkeys, whose new record Suck It And See arrives next Tuesday.

JAM, Our London, New York Press and Filter interview Glasvegas.

Sons & Daughters have released a video from their new album Mirror Mirror, out July 12. The Scotsman has an interview with the band.

Video: Sons & Daughters – “Breaking Fun”

Gemma Hayes has just released her fourth album Let It Break in Ireland and the UK, though I’m in the UK and can’t find it… it’s due for a North American release later this year. There’s interviews with the singer-songwriter at State and The Irish Times.