MySpaceSay what you will about Taunton, Massachusetts’ Wheat, but you can’t deny that they refuse to stay down. Once upon a time one of my favourite bands (circa Medeiros and Hope & Adams), they became a cautionary tale against the major label machine with 2003’s ill-fated Per Second Per Second Per Second Every Second (which I chronicled back in 2004 and 2005) and essentially disbanded in the aftermath.

They unexpectedly returned in 2007 with Everyday I Said A Prayer For Kathy And Made A One Inch Square, again independent and down a member, but even then they were beset with label problems and delays. And the record itself was free of the excessive gloss of Per Second, it was decent at best – unfocused and only evidencing glimpses of the rough magic that defined their earliest releases. It pretty much came and went and I figured that that was the end of the band, again. They’d returned in order to finish on their own terms.

Or not. There were rumblings of a new record late last year and though there’s no release date as of yet, it has a title – White Ink, Black Ink – and a sample of it has surfaced on the band’s profile for SxSW, where I fully intend to see them play. Obviously not enough to form an opinion on, though it sounds like they’re sticking to the sonic cut-and-paste aesthetic of Kathy. I find I remain curious and still a little excited about the prospect of new music from Wheat – this news prompted me to revisit those magical first two records and they still give me tingles.

And those first two records – Medeiros and Wheat – are being reissued together along with a bonus disc of rarities and whatnots from the era entitled 30 Minute Theatrik (thanks to Mark for the tip). It’s set for a March 10 release but you can pre-order it now and get all three records digitally immediately. If you’ve never heard either one, well, you should. And here’s your chance.

More Wheat info and downloads available at thiswheat.com.

MP3: Wheat – “El Sincero”
MP3: Wheat – “Move = Move”
Mp3: Wheat – “What Everyone Keeps Telling Me”
MP3: Wheat – “World United Already”
Video: Wheat – “Don’t I Hold You”
Video: Wheat – “I Met A Girl”
MySpace: Wheat

Drowned In Sound declared this week just ending “slowcore week” and followed that up with extensive features on personal favourites like Low, Galaxie 500, The New Year and Early Day Miners. They’ll have a new album out sometime this year entitled The Treatment.

The Democrat & Chronicle interviews Blitzen Trapper, playing a sold-out show at the Horseshoe tomorrow night.

CBC Radio 3 talks to Casey Mecija of Ohbijou, who will release their second album Beacons on April 14 and follow that up with a CD release show at the Opera House on April 18.

The Thermals are hitting the road in support of their new album Now We Can See, out April 7. Pitchfork has the full North American itinerary, which includes a May 3 date at the Horseshoe.

MP3: The Thermals – “Now We Can See”

Mogwai have announced a North American tour for this Spring which will make up their cancelled The Hawk Is Howling dates from last Fall when drummer Martin Bulloch’s pacemaker threatened to escape from his chest. The Toronto date will be May 4 at the Phoenix – those who won passes to the cancelled show, I’ll be in touch about the make-up date.

MP3: Mogwai – “The Sun Smells Too Loud”

With their new album What Is?! coming out domestically on April 12, King Khan & The Shrines will be at the Phoenix on May 12 to promote.

Vetiver have a date at the Horseshoe on May 15 in support of last year’s Tight Knit.

MP3: Vetiver – “Everyday”

Leonard Cohen has announced a North American tour – closest local date is May 19 at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton. Second closest is May 24 at John Labbat Centre in London. Tickets on sale March 2.

Neil Young’s Fork In The Road has a confirmed release date of March 31. Archives? Don’t ask.

Annie Clark, aka St Vincent, will release her sophomore album in Actor on May 5. Full details on the release at Pitchfork.

Also out May 5 is Outer South, the second solo record from Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band.

Viva Voce will release Rose City on May 26.

The Broken West have turned out a new video from last year’s Now Or Heaven.

Video: The Broken West – “Perfect Games”

CHUD interviews Scott Pligrim creator Bryan Lee-O’Malley.

Jason RothernbergAlmost four years has passed since Antony & The Johnsons released their breakthrough album I Am A Bird Now, which would garner rave reviews from most quarters and ultimately go on to win the prestigious Mercury Prize. It’s a record that I’ve run hot and cold on over those years – sometimes Antony Hegarty’s quavering vibrato is the most heartbreaking thing I could imagine hearing, other times it just feels excessive and unnecessary. It probably depends on my own emotional state.

Though the Johnsons took an extended layoff, Hegarty himself was far from idle contributing to the Hercules & Love Affair record, appearing on Bjork’s last album and doing a fair bit of film and soundtrack work. His own project was brought back to the fore earlier this Fall, however, with the release of the Another World EP which offers an idea of what the next full-length, The Crying Light, will bring when it’s released on January 20. Though only a sampler, it sounds as if the broader, theatrical elements of Bird have been toned down somewhat for a leaner, more forceful effect. And for me, it works. The title track, featuring just Hegarty and a piano, is in my estimation the most poignant thing he’s ever put to tape.

Full tour dates in support of The Crying Light are still to be announced, but some are trickling out, one of which is a Toronto date at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre for February 17th. It’s an all-ages show, tickets are $35 and wil go on sale on Thursday at 10AM.

MP3: Antony & The Johnsons – “Another World”
Video: Antony & The Johnsons – “Another World”
MySpace: Antony & The Johnsons

Clash lists off the top ten post-Richey moments in Manic Street Preacher history.

Low have marked the festive season with the release of a Christmas 7″, and they’ve made a video for the A-side. Creepy? Yes.

Video: Low – “Santa’s Coming Over”

Pitchfork has details on the forthcoming benefit compilation for the Red Hot Organization in support of AIDS research. Curated by Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National, Dark Was The Night will feature contributions from… well, pretty much everyone. Click through for a the full list of who’s doing what with whom and on February 17, pick the album up in double-CD or triple-LP format.

And though everyone else involved has already announced it, I’m pleased to be part of the newly-unveiled MBV Music music blog network group, alongside such grizzled veterans of the form as Catbirdseat, Fluxblog, Largehearted Boy and Said The Gramophone. The exact nature of this endeavour is still a little hazy, even to me, but it’s going to be a little bit aggregator, a little bit original content, a little bit country, a little bit rock’n'roll. So yeah, it’s there, I’m still here, also sorta there, and if anything noteworthy happens with it, it’ll possibly happen here as well. Got that? No? Me neither.

And hell, it’s already paying dividends – via FluxTumblr… Scott Pilgrim Vs The Universe, aka the fifth volume in the Scott Pilgrim epic, will be out February 4! Le woot.