Ben RitterHospice, the much-praised new record from Brooklyn solo project turned trio The Antlers, is an exceedingly difficult listen for me. The album is built around a central narrative about a man losing a loved one to cancer and it’s so successful in evoking the emotions and atmosphere around that that when I listen to it, my teeth clench and chest tightens. It’s actually physically uncomfortable.

Hospice accomplishes this by means both obvious and not. To the former, the ghostly production with its hazy atmosphere and subtle whirs, clicks and swells in the background do a good job of evoking the sterile yet foreboding atmosphere of hospitals and cancer wards, where the whiff of hope is faint at best. And Peter Silberman’s voice, all wavering falsetto, is made for gut-wrenching whispers-to-screams though that dynamic is put into effect only sparingly and thus retains its effectiveness. In less capable hands, these tools could still get the desired emotional response, but only in a mechanical and manipulative sense – the way that even terrible suspense films can still make you jump as a reflex, not out of genuine fear. Hospice, though, possesses an intangible sense of genuineness that gives its strange, haunting beauty a real and painful weight and heft that’s tinged by all-too-brief moments of uplift. All the more remarkable considering that Silberman remains coy about how much of the story played out on the record is autobiographical and how much is fiction.

So while I don’t know if Silberman has gone through the experiences he details in such clarity, I can say that while the details and settings of his tale don’t fully line up with my own, the underlying emotions conveyed definitely resonate and often feel like touching – no, grabbing and squeezing – a raw nerve. Hospice captures the anxiety, anger, fear, denial and despair of being past hope and the bleak understanding that the only way out will come with a price that can’t be comprehended but must be paid. I did not enjoy listening to this record, nor did I enjoy writing this piece, but I think it helped.

There’s an Interface session with the band at Spinner, another video session at Laundromatinee and Exclaim has a very brief interview. The band are currently on tour and will be in Toronto next Thursday night, September 24, for a couple of performances – a free in-store at Criminal Records at 6PM and a headlining show at the Horseshoe later that night. Tickets are $10.50 in advance but courtesy of Against The Grain, I’ve got three pairs of passes to give away to the show. To enter email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see The Antlers” in the subject and your full name in the body. Contest closes at midnight, September 22.

MP3: The Antlers – “Two”
MP3: The Antlers – “Two” (remastered)
MP3: The Antlers – “Bear”
Video: The Antlers – “Two”
MySpace: The Antlers

There’s a preview track available from Sufjan Stevens’ forthcoming multimedia project The BQE – out October 20 – and it’s a real departure, all shredding guitars, vocodered vocals and fat synths. No of course not, it’s orchestral and twinkly and pretty and has an excessively long title. Pure Sufjan. He’s at Lee’s Palace on October 1.

MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “Movement VI—Isorhythmic Night Dance With Interchanges”

GQ UK talks to Grizzly Bear’s Ed Droste.

Early Day Miners give Aquarium Drunkard a tour of Bloomington, Indiana. Their new record The Treatment is out next Tuesday.

Filter talks to Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse and Brian Burton, aka Danger Mouse, about their Dark Night Of The Soul collaboration.

Music Snobbery interviews Anna Ternheim, in town on October 14 at the Horseshoe.

Out next week, September 22, is the self-titled debut from Monsters Of Folk – it’s currently available to stream at their MySpace. They play Massey Hall on November 2 and Reuters has an interview.

Stream: Monsters Of Folk / Monsters Of Folk

PopMatters interviews Emily Haines of Metric. They play Massey Hall on October 20 and 21.

Chad Van Gaalen, who has a show at the Church Of The Redeemer this Saturday night – September 19 – has made an EP’s worth of outtakes and whatnot from Soft Airplane available for free download at softairplane.com. His Black Mold alter-ego has also just released a new video.

Video: Black Mold – “Metal Spiderwebs”

Exclaim talks to head Hidden Camera Joel Gibb about plans to take their new record Origin:Orphan, out Tuesday, to the stage. The theatre stage, not the concert stage. Though they’ll do that too come December 5 at the Opera House. Which despite the name is not an opera stage.

Islands are streaming their new record Vapours, out next week, at Exclaim and have set a November 7 date at the Mod Club in support.

MP3: Islands – “Vapours”
Stream: Islands / Vapours

Also at Exclaim – details on the sophomore record from Basia Bulat. It’s entitled Heart Of My Own and will be out on January 26 of the new year. Here’s a taste.

MP3: Basia Bulat – “Gold Rush”

UK electro-pop outfit We Have Band will be at the Drake Underground on October 22. They’ll have a digital EP available Grab a new remix track at RCRDLBL.

MP3: We Have Band – “Hear It In The Cans”
Video: We Have Band – “You Came Out”
Video: We Have Band – “Oh!”

J Tillman may be the drummer for Fleet Foxes but he’s also an established solo artist and he will continue to establish his solo-ness with his new record Year In The Kingdom, which is out next week. He’ll be touring to support and has a date at the Horseshoe on November 11, tickets $13.50. And if you need more reason to attend, consider the fact that he is one funny dude. Seriously.

MP3: J Tillman – “Earthly Bodies”

Denver Westword talks to The Depreciation Guild, who’ve been named as support for School Of Seven Bells at Lee’s Palace on October 15 along with Los Angeles’ Warpaint. It pains me to miss this show for Wilco, but sacrifices must be made.

MP3: Warpaint – “Billie Holiday”
MP3: Warpaint – “Elephants”

And one more September 22 release to talk about – the Higher Than The Stars EP from The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. The title track and a non-EP remix of the title track are available to download.

MP3: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Higher Than The Stars”
MP3: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Higher Than The Stars” (Others In Conversation remix)

FacebookThere’s a good run of albums, there’s career consistency and then there’s Yo La Tengo. The New Jersey outfit has been turning out full-length gems for almost a quarter-century now, and while some are held in higher regard than others, their consistently high standard has been nothing short of astonishing. And this isn’t a case of a band finding a style they excel in and working on variations of that theme, at least not unless you consider “restless creativity and experimentation in the realms of pop music” to be a single theme. So in sitting down with their twelfth proper album Popular Songs, you would have an excuse to not be surprised by what they have to offer, but none to not be delighted.

2006′s I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass was a welcome dose of energy for those afraid that the two preceding records were finding the band settling into a comfortable, somnambulant zone, bringing back not only the band’s noisier side but also their genre-hopping aesthetic. It wasn’t as many individually sublime moments as their previous highwater mark I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One, but as a collection it was a more than worthy addition to their discography. If this was as good as Yo La Tengo could be 20 years in, then we should consider ourselves lucky. But if Ass was the luck equivalent of finding a $20 bill in the street Popular Songs is like winning the lottery.

Okay, that’s probably overstating it but Songs has a certain something that you didn’t even realize Ass lacked. It’s hard to articulate exactly what that is, but it’s the ineffable quality that distinguishes a classic Yo La record from just a great one. I’ll put it down as a sense of fun. Ass had the sense of the band exploring terrain that they hadn’t visited in a while (and tinged with the sense of looking for a way to stay interested) and that sense of curiosity yielded its own rewards, but now it sounds like they’re comfortable again and are having fun with it. Everything that makes Yo La Tengo wonderful is present in abundance – the quiet, extended meditations (“The Fireside”), the skronky garage pop (“Nothing To Hide”), the gentle folk of “When It’s Dark”, the jazzy grooves (“Periodically Double Or Triple”) – and all points in between. For most bands, it’s probably too much to expect them to turn in one of the best albums of their career after the 20-year mark. Once again Yo La Tengo have defied expectations.

Spinner talks to the band about the secret of their longevity as well as the secrets of their songwriting. Paste also has a feature peice and also gets Ira Kaplan to offer up a recommended listening list.

Yo La Tengo are at the Opera House in Toronto on October 3.

MP3: Yo La Tengo – “Here To Fall”
MP3: Yo La Tengo – “Periodically Double Or Triple”
Video: Yo La Tengo – “When It’s Dark”
Video: Yo La Tengo – “Nothing To Hide”
Video: Yo La Tengo – “Avalon Or Someone Very Similar”
Video: Yo La Tengo – “Periodically Double Or Triple”
Video: Yo La Tengo – “Here To Fall”
MySpace: Yo La Tengo

DCist salutes Velocity Girl’s wonderful Simpatico! record, talking to most of the band about the making of the album. I loved that record. Must put it back into rotation this weekend.

Video: Velocity Girl – “Sorry Again”
Video: Velocity Girl – “I Can’t Stop Smiling”

Decider talks to The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart.

Wye Oak have released a new video from their excellent second album The Knot.

Video: Wye Oak – “Sight, Flight”

Billboard talks to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s Robert Been about the live CD/DVD set – creatively titled Live – due out November 10. Their new studio album is targeted for a Spring 2010 release.

The upcoming tour that pairs like-it-loud Asobi Seksu with like-it-low Loney Dear and Anna Ternheim was a bit of a head-scratcher until it was announced that Asobi would be releasing an acoustic album entitled Rewolf November 10, recasting old songs originally done loud in a quieter setting. The Village Voice confirms that the band is taking this setup live, so expect to see them as you’ve never seen them before when they play the Horseshoe on October 14 – no bad thing if you’ve already seen them many times before.

The Flaming Lips’ continues to talk smack about Arcade Fire to The Independent. Embryonic is due out October 13.

The Times Daily checks in with Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers. They just released a rarities and b-sides comp entitled The Fine Print last week and will have a new studio album out in February.

Under The Radar mind-melds with Telekinesis.

New Grizzly Bear video.

Video: Grizzly Bear – “While You Wait For The Others”

The endlessly prolific The Fiery Furnaces, whose latest album at the time of this writing is I’m Going Away but may well be something new by the time you read this, will be at the El Mocambo on November 7, tickets $20.

MP3: The Fiery Furnaces – “The End Is Near”

Obviously not ones for verbosity, San Francisco’s buzzy, fuzzy poppy Girls have set a September 22 release date for their debut album Album and Fall touring bring them to the El Mocambo on November 10.

MP3: Girls – “Lust For Life”
Video: Girls – “Lust For Life”

The Quietus talks to Warren Ellis about the second Grinderman album, which should be out sometime next year.

Doves have rolled out a new video from Kingdom Of Rust

Video: Doves – “Winter Hill”

Little Boots recorded a Black Cab Session in Austin during SxSW in March. So THAT’S what the Tenori-On does! And technically, Austin cabs are not uniformly black but that’s neither here nor there. Little Boots plays Wrongbar on Monday night.

Video: Little Boots – “Stuck On Repeat” (live on Black Cab Sessions)

BeatRoute talks to Arctic Monkeys. They’re at the Kool Haus on September 29.

Shanghaiist chats with Handsome Furs.

Blare grabbed an interview with Jay Ferguson of Sloan a couple weeks back at V Fest, where he revealed there were plans to release a new digital EP this Fall and that he’s done with making CDs. Not albums, just CDs. The band also just announced they’ll be playing a free show outside the Air Canada Centre next Wednesday night, September 16, before the Leafs-Bruins pre-season game. This may well be the highlight of the season for Leafs fans.

And speaking of free public shows, that Neil Young performance that was supposed to happen at Yonge-Dundas Square on Monday is off. You can stop lining up now. Why? The Toronto Star, who reported the event in the first place, got a hold of Young and he says he had no idea he was supposed to perform in the first place and was never going to be in town. Hmm. The Jonathan Demme concert film Neil Young Trunk Show is still coming to the Film Festival though, so you can try an line up for that.

Trailer: Neil Young Trunk Show

Pitchfork invites an array of indie-rock luminaries to make “best of” lists for the century so far.

Frank YangFor a while early last week, it looked like fate wasn’t going to be satisfied with just making the Summer leading up to this weekend’s Virgin Festival Ontario at the Molson Amphitheatre miserable, but it was going to apply the proverbial final kick to the groin by dumping upwards of 40mm of rain on the fest on its first day. Mercifully, the forecast improved incrementally each day and by Friday, it was looking like the rains would fall overnight and miss the festival entirely. By no means did this preclude the possibility of locusts descending during Franz Ferdinand’s set, but at least it would be dry if they did.

Thankfully, sun was the order of the day for the most part, and even if the could cover hadn’t broken then the festival’s first act – Mates Of State – would have done their best to warm up the sparse early birds with their general adorable-ness. The husband-and-wife keys-and-drum duo filled their half-hour set with oughta-be hit after oughta-be hit, wrapping with what was either a Daniel Johnston or Tom Waits cover – they put it to a crowd vote and I wasn’t sure which won out, nor did I recognize the tune. But pretty much everything else in the set came from their terrific last two records – Bring It Back and Re-Arrange Us – and really, made for the best way to start the day I could think of.

Photos: Mates Of State @ The Virgin Mobile Stage – August 29, 2009
MP3: Mates Of State – “My Only Offer”
MP3: Mates Of State – “Fraud In The ’80s”
MP3: Mates Of State – “Think Long”
Video: Mates Of State – “My Only Offer”
Video: Mates Of State – “Get Better”
Video: Mates Of State – “Like You Crazy”
Video: Mates Of State – “Fraud In The ’80s”
MySpace: Mates Of State

One of the perks of having had most/all the acts consolidated on the mainstage, save those on the top 40-friendly Virgin Radio stage, was that generally speaking, I didn’t have to run around between stages – I could just camp out at the main Amphitheatre stage and let them come to me and also watch entire sets for a change. And so while under other circumstances I probably wouldn’t have bothered seeing Lights, that there wasn’t really anything going on anywhere else was enough to keep me around. I’d seen her at last year’s V and while it was clear that I wasn’t the target audience for her wide-eyed, synth-pop, there was no denying her charm. And that was pretty much the take-away from her set on this day as well, all sugary pop confections delivered via keytar. But on a couple of tunes that she introduced as coming from her new record The Listening, out September 22, she broke out some decidedly big beats designed for the dance floor and I realized that if she wanted to, she could be Little Boots. The similarities between their two personas are striking, all Lights would need to do would be to ease up on the sugary, PG-rated balladry made for malls. Of course, that tact has served her quite well so far so the reinvention probably isn’t necessary – I’m just saying that it wouldn’t take much.

Photos: Lights @ The Virgin Mobile Stage – August 29, 2009
Video: Lights – “Drive My Soul”
Video: Lights – “Saviour”
Video: Lights – “February Air”
MySpace: Lights

The last time I saw Grizzly Bear was in August 2008 opening for Radiohead, also at the Molson Amphitheatre. And this time, like that time, they played to a small crowd scattered throughout the venue. But while it’d have been nice to have seen more people on hand to take them in, the open expanse did compliment their airy sounds and ghostly harmonies, allowing them to drift out over the field and lake (and highway). I’ve accepted that I like Grizzly Bear as much as I’m ever going to – which is not nearly as much as most, not even their much-fawned over new record Veckatimest – but I’ve always enjoyed seeing them live and just seeing four talented individuals work, today being no exception.

Photos: Grizzly Bear @ The Virgin Mobile Stage – August 29, 2009
MP3: Grizzly Bear – “Cheerleader”
MP3: Grizzly Bear – “Two Weeks” (live on Letterman)
MP3: Grizzly Bear – “Deep Sea Diver”
MP3: Grizzly Bear – “While You Wait For The Others” (live at KCRW)
MP3: Grizzly Bear – “He Hit Me”
MP3: Grizzly Bear – “On A Neck, On A Spit”
Video: Grizzly Bear – “Two Weeks”
Video: Grizzly Bear – “Knife”
MySpace: Grizzly Bear

I had to double-check past lineups to verify that this was indeed Sloan’s first appearance at a V Fest, which surprised me considering their “elder statesmen” stature in the firmament of Canadian music. But here they were to bring the first proper dose of rock for the day, and with an expanded lineup to boot. It wasn’t deliberate that they were performing as a seven-piece, but necessity – singer/bassist Chris Murphy had broken a collarbone less than a month ago after being hit by a car and was recovering from surgery (surgery? I’ve broken both collarbones and didn’t need no surgery. Of course, I also now have deformed collarbones) so while he was able to sing, his bass and drum duties were handed out to friends of the band. And while the extra players probably added a sense of fun for the band, it also increased the amount of slop in the performance significantly. They managed to keep it mostly together through a set made up of hits from throughout their career, a solid reminder that they’ve written some of the best pure pop songs this country has had to offer in the past 15 years or so, but by the time they made it to set closer “Money City Maniacs” – featuring a genuine manually-operated air raid siren – they were basically falling apart, missing cues, playing to different tempos and generally making a hash of it. Naturally the crowd ate it up, though not quite to the point of offering a, “SLOOOOOAAAAAAAN” chant. Still not enough of them out there to build up the necessary critical mass.

Photos: Sloan @ The Virgin Mobile Stage – August 29, 2009
MP3: Sloan – “I’m Not A Kid Anymore”
Video: Sloan – “Witch’s Wand”
Video: Sloan – “The Other Man”
Video: Sloan – “Money City Maniacs”
Video: Sloan – “The Lines You Amend”
Video: Sloan – “The Good In Everyone”
Video: Sloan – “Coax Me”
MySpace: Sloan

After Sloan’s set, the order of the day became finding something to eat and getting as far out of earshot from Paolo Nutini as possible. To that end, I headed over to the Boardwalk Stage, a euphemism for the third stage set up in the vendor’s concourse for some of the smaller bands on the lineup to perform. It amounted to little more than a vinyl tent, smaller than the space allotted to the on-site hairdresser, but did have location going for it being located right in the middle of a lot of foot traffic. I got there in time to see The Superstitions, a fresh-faced new band whom I’d almost caught at NXNE (but didn’t, obviously). Musically, they were pretty good, trading in garage-ish pop tunes with a good balance of hook and grit, but performance-wise they didn’t have the charisma or confidence to really deliver them effectively. If they manage to develop the proper attitude (preferably a bad one), they could be an act to watch.

Photos: The Superstitions @ The Boardwalk Stage – August 29, 2009
MP3: The Superstitions – “Mercy Line”
MP3: The Superstitions – “Of Sound Mind”
MP3: The Superstitions – “Deceiver”

I think I’ve mentioned the sparse crowds in every band writeup so far, and it’s too bad that that’s necessary but it was hard to miss the expanses of empty seats with any glance back at the audience. Normally, you’d focus on the people actually in attendance but in this case, the vacancies were a constant reminder of how many people were not The problem wasn’t necessarily in the numbers but where those numbers were gathered. You had the general admission pit and 200s pretty well filled and the same for the lawns, but the 300s and 400s in between were like a dead zone – hardly anyone there and really dampening the communal vibe that you’d normally expect at a festival. . This wasn’t a surprise – that’s how the seated venues go – but one couldn’t help thinking that if you’d taken everyone in attendance and dropped them, oh, in a big field, it’d have looked and felt a lot better.

And by the same token, I couldn’t help thinking that if Franz Ferdinand were bigger than they are and the size of the enthusiastic crowd up front was multiplied two or three times over, it’d have been an epic-sized party. The Scottish foursome, back for their third Toronto show in less than nine months, clearly knew how to play a festival set, packing their set with hits and a rarity or two for the hardcores and delivering it all with massive amounts of attitude and energy. I had largely lost track of their recordings since their self-titled debut and hadn’t seen them live since their Toronto debut at the Horseshoe back in February 2004 but watching them up there, absolutely destroying their set (literally, in the case of the drum kit demolition at set’s end), I had to ask myself why these guys weren’t my favourite band in the world? Super-tight, confident and utterly in their element, Franz were the first to make the day feel like a proper festival. Brilliant.

Photos: Franz Ferdinand @ The Virgin Mobile Stage – August 29, 2009
Video: Franz Ferdinand – “Can’t Stop Feeling”
Video: Franz Ferdinand – “Ulysses”
Video: Franz Ferdinand – “Jeremy Fraser”
Video: Franz Ferdinand – “Wine In The Afternoon”
Video: Franz Ferdinand – “Eleanor Put Your Boots On”
Video: Franz Ferdinand – “This Fire”
Video: Franz Ferdinand – “Take Me Out”
Video: Franz Ferdinand – “The Dark Of The Matinee”
MySpace: Franz Ferdinand

Though Pixies were only the penultimate act of the main stage, to many/most they were the real headliners (all due respect to Ben Harper). And while I was bummed to not have been granted photo accreditation for their set, I was still happy to sit back and take in the whole of their 90-minute set. Some seemed disappointed that this wasn’t going to be one of the much-ballyhooed Doolittle sets, with that album played in sequence, but there was no way they weren’t going to play all the highlights from it along with the rest of their repertoire so whatever. It’s not like they’ve got any new material to air out.

This was the first appearance for the Boston legends since 2005 at this same venue, and while I missed that show I did see one of their dates at Arrow Hall on their first reunion tour back in November 2004 and this set had very much the same feel as that one – it sounded great and felt almost completely heartless. This isn’t necessarily a slag – it’s no secret that they got back together for the money and they’re by no means phoning it in, they’re playing everything the customer wants to hear and playing it really well. But if you were looking to feel some love or get a sense of occasion from their show, you probably wouldn’t have found it. They were up there to do a job – play some classic-ass songs to crowds who may not have had the chance to hear them before – and do it well. In a sense, it’s preferable to those reunions where they purport to be taking care of unfinished business or have buried all hatchets, and yet you can see them looking daggers at each other on stage. And so another 10,000 people or so can say they heard “Head On”, “Wave Of Mutilation” and “Gouge Away” live and Pixies can make another payment on their houses. Everybody wins.

Video: Pixies – “Here Comes Your Man”
Video: Pixies – “Velouria”
Video: Pixies – “Dig For Fire/Allison”
Video: Pixies – “Alec Eiffel”
Video: Pixies – “Debaser”
MySpace: Pixies

Post-Pixies, it was time to head out but not before a nightcap back at the Boardwalk Stage for The Rural Alberta Advantage. I had been afraid that the crowds would have settled in at the main stage for the big names of the night and wouldn’t be roaming the other stages, but there was a large crowd around the tent even before the band had started to play. This was my first time seeing the Hometowns heroes since they broke big back at SxSW in March and while I had been following their whirlwind rise to buzz-dom since them, it was great to be able to actually see them play again. And while they turned in basically the same set I’ve seen them play many times before, they still seem to take real joy in playing and in turn, never fail to make me happy. But even better was seeing how excited the audience watching them were – there was a real sense of discovery on many of the faces, doubly-pleasing because big festivals like this are generally assumed to be about the hoary old veteran acts rolling out the hits. To get people stoked about something new, to see them lining up to thank the band after the set, invite them to play their cities and ask about buying a CD, was immensely satisfying.

Photos: The Rural Alberta Advantage @ The Boardwalk Stage – August 29, 2009
MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Frank, AB”
MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Don’t Haunt This Place”
MySpace: The Rural Alberta Advantage

And then I went home and wrote all this up before day two. God I need some sleep.

Ben WellandI’m not sure why it’s taking me so long to try and come up with words to describe The Balconies and their debut album – also called The Balconies and out September 15. It could be this epic nap that I woke up from a few hours ago but still haven’t shaken loose, or maybe it’s because whenever I start playing the record, that’s 37 minutes that I’d rather just sit and listen instead of write.

The Balconies stick to the tried-and-true power-trio format and on top of that, favour of a dry, in-your-face approach that eschews any sort of studio hijinks. They’re a confident crew, these Balconies, and why not? All three are superb musicians and guitarist Jacqui Neville has got a most impressive set of pipes, with power and expressiveness to spare but thankfully uninterested in showy over-singing. Sibling and bassist Steve Neville is an effective vocal foil, though I find myself wishing I wasn’t reminded so much of the B-52s’ Fred Schneider at points. Their songwriting is also at its sharpest when they plough straight ahead with the power-pop, all punch and vigor and demonstrating a knack for the not-so-obvious-but-indelibly-catchy hook. But even the lesser tracks have at least one riff, melody or moment to justify its place amongst the stronger numbers and oft times, they’re the ones that stick in the head the most. In fact, on the first few listens, I thought I was able to easily distinguish the standouts from the filler, but subsequent listens have blurred those distinctions significantly. What hasn’t changed, however, is the first impression – that The Balconies have turned out a cracking debut record and more than merit my – and your – attention.

Seeing as how they hail from Ottawa, it’s only natural that I Heart Music was first up with effusive praise for the outfit, which has been echoed by both Herohill and Dave Allen of Gang Of Four at Pampelmoose. There’s also an interview from earlier this Summer at BlogTO and a more recent one at Soundproof, both addressing the band’s upcoming move from Ottawa to Toronto.

I’m not sure if that’s already happened, but their live itinerary has them in town quite a bit in the next while regardless. They’re at the Horseshoe this Wednesday night with Everything All The Time and The Magic, then are doing a free show as part of the TARA Secret Sessions the evening of August 29 with The Books Elusive and Modernboys Moderngirls. Then they’re back on September 25 at Lee’s Palace for a release party throwdown with Oh No Forest Fires, Fox Jaws and Whale Tooth. Good times guaranteed.

MP3: The Balconies – “300 Pages”
MP3: The Balconies – “Smells Like Secrets”

Final Fantasy is going to be touring across Canada next month but the eagle-eyed – or simply sighted – will notice the absence of any Toronto dates on his itinerary. But he will in fact be playing a hometown show on September 5 at– well, they’re not telling. As part of what they’re calling Bite Your Tongue, Final Fantasy and a handful of others are playing at an undisclosed location that evening and ticket buyers will only be informed of the location the day before the show by returning to wherever they bought their tickets ($10 at Soundscapes or Rotate This) for the 411. They do promise that it’s accessible by TTC (about a 70-minute commute each way) and presumably have made sure that the buses and whatnot are still running when the show is over and people aren’t stranded at this allegedly majestic locale. Adventure! Final Fantasy’s Heartland is due out the first week of 2010 or so.

Spiral Beach will release their new album The Only Really Thing on September 22 and follow that up with a whackload of touring, including a cross-country jaunt with Two Hours Traffic and they’ll preface their October 16 date at Lee’s Palace with an in-store at Sonic Boom that evening.

MP3: Spiral Beach – “Domino”
Video: Spiral Beach – “Domino”

There’s a new track available from Grand Archives’ forthcoming second album Keep In Mind Frankenstein, out September 8. They play the Mod Cub on October 15.

MP3: Grand Archives – “Oslo Novelist”

Also sharing a new tune are Headlights, who’re releasing their third album Wildlife, out October 6.

MP3: Headlights – “Get Going”

Isthmus and Express have words with Justin Townes Earle, who has a date at the Phoenix on November 7.

Spinner talks to Grizzly Bear, in town for day one of V Fest this Saturday at the Molson Amphitheatre.

Stereogum has premiered the MP3 for the a-side from a new Asobi Seksu 10″ coming out this week, a different version of “Transparence” from their latest album Hush. Asobi Seksu are at the Horseshoe on October 13.

Also at the ‘Shoe that night is Anna Ternheim, with whom Baeble Music has a Guest Apartment video session.

The Antlers have released a new video from Hospice. There’s also interviews at Exclaim and The Village Voice. They’re at the Horseshoe on September 24.

Video: The Antlers – “Two”

Stereogum gets a status update from Thao Nguyen of Thao with The Get Down Stay Down on their new album Know Better Learn Faster , due out October 13. They play the El Mocambo on November 1.

CMJ reports that Venice Is Sinking are soliciting pre-orders for their third album The Georgia Theatre Sessions, proceeds from which will go towards rebuilding the titular theatre where the album was recorded and which burned down earlier this Summer. Chip in via Kickstarter.com. This record would be the follow-up to AZAR, released earlier this year and just lovely.

MP3: Venice Is Sinking – “Ryan’s Song”
MP3: Venice Is Sinking – “Okay”
Video: Venice Is Sinking – “Ryan’s Song”

While I like the piece by Adrian Tomine they ultimately used for the cover art to Luna’s Best Of (and which you can buy for just $1500), I like this rejected cover better.

Newsweek Q&As The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne about their new album Embryonic, out October 13.

Spinner talks sexism in music with St Vincent’s Annie Clark, who also recorded an acoustic session for Grand Crew.

Frank YangIt was a bit embarrassing running not one but two contests around The Decemberists’ latest opus The Hazards Of Love without actually having heard the record, so a couple of weeks ago I went out and actually got myself a copy of the dang thing. I count myself a long-time fan of the band but haven’t been that taken with Colin Meloy’s more proggish, long-form compositions and Hazards seemed to be the grand culmination of those inclinations and honestly, I was afraid to hear it because I was afraid I’d hate it.

Happily, I don’t. I don’t love it, but definitely enjoyed it more than I’d expected. It moves briskly, the more overindulgent sections don’t overstay their welcome and nestled within the whole thing are a handful of standout songs that would have fit nicely on a conventional album. And the vocal performances from Shara Worden and Rebecca Stark, both in backing and as soloists, remind how good Meloy sounds when there’s a female foil for his vocals. And perhaps most importantly, now that he’s gotten the rock opera thing out of his system, perhaps he’ll get back to his real strengths as a storyteller within a single song rather than the multi-part epics.

But the one place where a rock opera belongs is on the stage, and the touring production of The Hazards Of Love finally arrived for a one-night stand in Toronto on Monday night at the Kool Haus. I had assumed that after their last visit in November 2006 that they’d continue their upwards trajectory through the city’s venues and visit us next at Massey Hall, which would have been ideal for a show such as this. But it was the haus of kool yet again.

Touring support came from Cincinnati’s Heartless Bastards, who’d been having a pretty good year with the response to their latest album The Mountain. I had some trouble listening to the album not because of the music, but because of the mastering – the way it distorted on playback, I was sure I’d gotten a bad copy of the CD or something. Then I (accidentally?) got sent another and again, distortion. I understand that fuzz is part of their sound, but this was something else entirely. Finally getting past that, I was able to appreciate what everyone was and that’s a thick slab of country-blues rock anchored by Erika Wennerstrom’s raw, raspy vocals and greasy guitarwork. That’s also what we got in the live setting, their impressively visceral set going over well with the Decemberists’ (presumably) more cerebrally-oriented audience.

Though judging from the nervous anticipation in the audience, it’s probably a mistake to assume that the Decemberists fanbase doesn’t love the band with body parts besides the brain. After all, as soon as keyboardist Jenny Conlee took the stage to get things started, she was presented with a rather massive bouquet of flowers – welcome back to Toronto! Starting with “Prelude”, she was followed shortly by the rest of the band – much shrieking for Meloy, naturally – and for the next hour it was The Hazards Of Love, non-stop and I think that even if I didn’t appreciate the album, I’d have enjoyed the live performance. They didn’t go so far as to actually act out the narrative, it’s a bit too vague for that, but you couldn’t help but be impressed with how tightly they moved through the piece, with all the attendant instrument and stage changes, without missing a beat. Things did lag somewhat around the 3/4 mark, just as the record does, but the big finish more than compensated. For my money, the best part of the show was the fact that Worden and Stark were along for the tour and able to not only recreate their vocal parts, but add some impressive visual pizazz to the proceedings – Stark embodying the sweet and innocent Margaret and Worden the vampish, glammy forest queen. I’d always known that Worden had the voice for more theatrical endeavours but she also had the moves.

With Hazards wrapped, you’d have to think the band exhausted and so the 15-minute break was well-earned. But let it never be said the Decemberists don’t offer value for dollar, and so when they returned, it wasn’t just for an encore but an almost-full second set, made up of songs new – both songs just-unveiled over the weekend were aired out – and old, ranging from “The Crane Wife” from their last record to “Shiny” off their debut 5 Songs EP, all punctuated by entertainingly rambling banter from Meloy. It seems that having to remain mum throughout all of The Hazards Of Love was a real trial for him, as he was positively loquacious in the second set, chatting and working the crowd as much as singing. The highlight, however, was once again thanks to the Diamond ladies Worden and Stark as they came out to trade verses on a positively ripping cover of Heart’s “Crazy On You”. So so good – check out the video from their Minnesota show if you don’t believe me.

At this point they’d been going for two hours, including the intermission, so I assumed things were done and headed out. Silly me. From the street behind the Kool Haus, I heard them once again come out for an encore and thankfully one of the venue security guys needed some air because he propped open one of the doors and I was able to hear “Eli, The Barrow Boy” and a massive sing-along “Sons & Daughters” finally wrap the evening. Holy cats those guys and gals can put on a show.

Chart also has a review of the show. NOW, hour.ca, Isthmus and The Chicago Tribune have interviews with The Decemberists and NPR is streaming some highlights of their set from the Newport Folk Festival over the weekend as well as their rendition of The Hazards Of Love in its entirety from SxSW in March.

Photos: The Decemberists, The Heartless Bastards @ The Kool Haus – August 3, 2009
MP3: The Decemberists – “The Engine Driver”
MP3: The Decemberists – “The Soldiering Life”
MP3: The Decemberists – “Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect”
MP3: Heartless Bastards – “The Mountain”
MP3: Heartless Bastards – “Early In The Morning” (acoustic)
MP3: Heartless Bastards – “Searching For The Ghost” (acoustic)
MP3: Heartless Bastards – “If I Were A Carpenter”
Video: The Decemberists – “Crazy On You” (live in Minnesota)
Video: The Decemberists – “O Valencia”
Video: The Decemberists – “16 Military Wives”
Video: The Decemberists – “The Tain”
Video: The Decemberists – “The Soldiering Life”
Video: The Decemberists – “Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect”
Video: The Decemberists – “The Bachelor & The Bride”
Video: Heartless Bastards – “All This Time”
MySpace: The Decemberists
MySpace: Heartless Bastards

Lucinda Williams is in town for two nights at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on October 10 and 11. Seeing as how it’s her 30th anniversary tour, the first night she will be performing selections from her 20th century albums, from Ramblin’ through Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, while the second night will focus on the last 10 years, from Essence through last year’s Little Honey. Wow.

A Camp has released a new video from Colonia.

Video: A Camp – “Love Has Left The Room”

The Singing Lamb interviews Amy Millan. Her second solo album Masters Of The Burial is out September 8 and she plays the Mod Club on October 14.

The Black Heart Procession will release a new album in Six on October 6 and are touring to support including a November 5 date at Lee’s Palace. PitchforkTV is also streaming a film that accompanied the band’s 2002 album Amore del Tropico.

MP3: The Black Heart Procession – “Rats”
Video: The Black Heart Procession – “The Witching Stone”
Video: The Black Heart Procession: The Tropics Of Love

State talks to Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear, who will be at day one of Virgin Festival Ontario, August 29 at Burl’s Creek.

Earfarm interviews Andrew Kenny of The Wooden Birds. They also played a studio session for Paste.

Clash has a feature on Explosions In The Sky.

New Radiohead song will cost you one quid. What, you wanted to pay what you can again? Pfft. Details on the track at NME.

So the Blur reunion… over and done? Alex says so, Damon says so, Graham says not so fast?