Frank Yang

There were still surprises to be had, however, including the support act – a trio from Connecticut, of all places, called The Stepkids. Taking the stage dressed completely in white – to match the sheets draped over their gear and the backdrop behind them – they laid into a set of super-’70s psychedelic disco slow jams while trippy projections that seemed culled from episodes of The Electric Company danced overtop. All three were virtuosic players and singers, alternating lead vocals and combining on impeccable three-part falsetto harmonies, and on top of it all the material from their self-titled debut – which was officially released that same day – was more than solid. Initially the old-school Horrors fans in attendance didn’t look impressed, having come to the show to freak out rather than get their freak on, but by the set’s end there were more than a few brightly-dyed heads bobbing up and down with the groove. Which just goes to show – you can’t fight the funk.

It’d be dishonest to say that the opening of The Horrors’ set didn’t seem a little devoid of occasion, with the band strolling out one by one and kicking into Skying opener “Changing The Rain” without so much as dimming the lights. I can appreciate that they’ve reached a point where their music is strong enough that dressing it up is unnecessary, but a little attention to presentation is always nice, no? As it turned out, they were just doing me a favour in leaving the lights up long enough to get some decent photos. Within a few songs they began to dim and perhaps not coincidentally, the band’s energy levels began to rise and it became clear that this wasn’t just a recital, but a trip – a descent, and one of which the band was in complete control. It was loud and intense but there was no sense of chaos. Instead, their display of power was graceful and elegant and a thing to behold.

The set was divided evenly between Primary Colours and Skying, with lanky frontman Faris Badwan’s limited repertoire of stage moves – either gripping and grimacing into the microphone stand or foot on the monitor, doing the same – more than enough to command the packed house’s attention. It’d have been undivided attention if not for Joshua Hayward proving more and more that he’s as crucial an element in their sound. It’s astonishing that he’s the band’s only guitarist and is able to recreate so many of the records’ textures live and move from atmospheric soundscape to crushing riff at the drop of a hat. And as if to give him his proper due, the set built up to an epic, trance-like finale of Skying centrepiece “Moving Further Away”, which served as a showcase for his talents and brought what had been a rather short set – the main set ran just 45-minutes – to a respectable running length. Not that anyone should have been looking at their watches; that would have meant having to tear your eyes away from the show.

The National Post was also on hand and has a writeup. The Los Angeles Times has an interview with The Stepkids.

Photos: The Horrors, The Stepkids @ Lee’s Palace – September 28, 2011
MP3: The Horrors – “Moving Further Away”
MP3: The Horrors – “Sea Within A Sea”
MP3: The Stepkids – “Legend”
MP3: The Stepkids – “Shadows On Behalf”
Video: The Horrors – “Still Life”
Video: The Horrors – “Whole New Way”
Video: The Horrors – “Mirror’s Image”
Video: The Horrors – “Who Can Say”
Video: The Horrors – “Sea Within A Sea”
Video: The Horrors – “She Is The New Thing”
Video: The Horrors – “Gloves”
Video: The Horrors – “Count In Fives”
Video: The Horrors – “Sheena Is A Parasite”
Video: The Stepkids – “Wonderfox

The Phoenix has an interview with James Blake, who’s at The Phoenix (the venue not the Boston paper) on Friday night. There’s also a piece at Clash.

The Stool Pigeon interviews Veronica Falls, in town at The Mod Club opening for The Drums on October 1 and headlining their own show at Parts & Labour the following night.

Loney Dear has released a new video from Hall Music, out October 4 and followed up with a show at The Drake Underground on November 4.

Video: Loney Dear – “My Heart”

The Skinny talks to We Were Promised Jetpacks about their new record In The Pit Of The Stomach, which is out October 4 and streaming in whole over at Clash.

Stream: We Were Promised Jetpacks / In The Pit Of The Stomach

Drowned In Sound talks to Jim Reid of The Jesus & Mary Chain about their ongoing reissue series, which wraps up next week, and the odds of a new album: not nil, but not great.

BBC talks to Portishead’s Geoff Barrow about their plans for a new record once their North American tour – which includes two nights at the Sound Academy on October 9 and 10 – is done. And The Village Voice talks to him about this long-running relationship with hip-hop.

Pitchfork is streaming another bonus track from the deluxe reissue of Yuck’s debut Yuck, out October 11, and Room 205 has posted the third and final instalment in their video session series with the band.

Stream: Yuck – “Soothe Me”

Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine has a chat with Interview about her forthcoming second album Ceremonials, out November 1.

Noel Gallagher has released a second video from his solo debut Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, out November 7. He’s at Massey Hall on November 7 and 8.

Video: Noel Gallagher – “If I Had A Gun”

Drowned In Sound, The Skinny and MusicOmh talk to Anthony Gonzalez of M83 about their new record Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, out October 18. They’re at Lee’s Palace on November 18.

Belle & Sebastian guitarist Stevie Jackson has released details of his solo debut (I Can’t Get No) Stevie Jackson, which is available now digitally and will be out physically whenever he gets physical copies back from the pressing plant.

MP3: Stevie Jackson – “Man Of God”

Much drama over the past day about Bloc Party and Kele Okereke’s status within it, but it appears to have shaken out that he’s still their singer, they’re still back in the studio and people are still far too easy to get worked up about rumours.

The Quietus, The Daily Star talk to Brett Anderson about matters solo and Suede.

Sleepover Shows has a video session with Frightened Rabbit.

The AV Club salues Nick Cave on the occasion of his birthday with a beginner’s guide to his works.

Lucy Hamblin

While downloadable/streamable/watchable online sessions are becoming much more commonplace, MySpace Transmissions is setting themselves apart by not only making theirs available to download, but by providing the audio in wonderfully high-resolution 320kbps, a bitrate that the audiophile community refers to as “suh-weeeet”. Similarly, the streaming video is also happily smooth and clean. MySpace isn’t good for a whole lot these days, at least from a personal social networking sense, but if they can keep cranking out content like these, they’re welcome to stick around.

The latest session to go up comes from New York’s White Rabbits, whose It’s Frightening continues to worm its way into heavier rotation around these parts – just in time for their upcoming Fall tour which stops in at the Horseshoe in a few weeks on October 24 for a bill that also includes Suckers and The Balconies. Pure rock, guaranteed. The Aquarian has an interview with the band.

MP3: White Rabbits – “Percussion Gun” (live on MySpace Transmissions)
MP3: White Rabbits – “Rudie Fails” (live on MySpace Transmissions)

Spinner and The Skinny talk to John Darnielle about The Mountain Goats’ new, Biblically-inspired record The Life Of The World To Come. The Mountain Goats were also on The Colbert Report the other night – Canadians can watch the ep at The Comedy Network, Americans at Colbert Nation. Everyone else, can’t help ya.

John Vanderslice performs a Tiny Desk Concert for NPR.

BlogCritics talks to Mikael Jorgenson of Wilco, who’re in town for two nights at Massey Hall next week, October 14 and 15. And to the rest of Canada, rejoice – the band have announced a cross-Canada tour for next February which will not include Toronto but will include Hamilton and London for those in Toronto not averse to a road trip.

Jason Molina and Will Johnson, masterminds behind Magnolia Electric Co. and Centro-Matic respectively, have teamed up for a roots-rock dream team creatively named Molina and Johnson and will release their equally imaginatively-named debut album Molina and Johnson on November 3.

MP3: Molina and Johnson – “Twenty Cycles To The Ground”

And speaking of imaginatively-titled side-project albums, The Retribution Gospel Choir, which features Alan Sparhawk from Low, will release their second album 2 on January 26 via SubPop. Details at Pitchfork.

Pitchfork says that former Beulah frontman Miles Kurosky’s long-awaited solo record will be out in March 2010. I’ve been waiting for this record for so long I’ve forgotten why I’ve been waiting for it. But I’m still keen to hear what he’s been up to in the past, what, 15 years?

Devendra Banhart will release his new album and major label debut What Will Be on October 27 and follow that up with a North American tour which brings him to Toronto’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre on November 27.

Spinner has premiered one of the new videos that appears on Land Of Talk’s forthcoming Fun And Laughter EP, out October 27.

Video: Land Of Talk – “Troubled”

Two Hours Traffic will be playing an in-store at Soundscapes on October 16 at 5PM in advance of their show at Lee’s Palace that night. That night’s opener, Spiral Beach, is also in-storing it at Sonic Boom that night – their set starts at 7PM. Add in the Dan Mangan in-store at Criminal Records that night at 6PM, and you’ve got, well, a lot of free music for someone who’s swift on their bike or lucky with the TTC. And note that Soundscapes is having a 10th anniversary 10% off most everything sale this Saturday, October 10 (10/10, get it?).

Sloan will be playing a special benefit show at the Dakota Tavern (read: tiny) on October 19 with all proceeds going to War Child Canada – it may already be sold out by the time you read this, but tickets are/were available at Maple Music.

Spinner talks to Nick Cave about writing his new novel The Death Of Bunny Munro.

Frank Yang

That was over four years ago.

Being fair, Joe has hardly been idle in that time. He released another Pernice Brothers record in Live A Little, became a father and wrote his first novel It Feels So Good When I Stop, which was the occasion for him to again get up, guitar in hand, in front of an audience of his neighbours – literally, as the Dakota Tavern was stumbling distance from his west-end digs.

Opening up was Kate Boothman, a local who had accompanied Joe on a couple of the US dates of this brief tour. Her short set didn’t do much for me, her folkish compositions failing to take off mostly on account of her rather flat vocal phrasing. The one tune she did with Julie Fader on harmonies fared better, so perhaps she works better when fronting her band Sunbear – people who’d stick around would find out as she’d be playing a full-band set after Joe went on.

Seeing as how the occasion for the show was both the release of the book and Joe’s latest record – a soundtrack of sorts to the book comprised of covers of songs mentioned in the book – the evening was being billed as a combination performance/reading, a format which actually worked really well. The evening started with Pernice, looking not a little like a fitter Elvis Costello, reading a passage from the novel and though he’d thank us at the end for being patient with him for doing so, it was our pleasure – his dry delivery really gave the book (which I have but still haven’t read sorry sorry sorry) life and I, for one, found it wholly engaging. This was followed by a set of covers from the soundtrack record and another reading, all interspersed with Pernice’s razor-sharp and self-effacing wit. Though his songwriting persona is famously bummed out (or “exquisitely sad”, he is truly one funny guy.

The real gold came next, though, as Pernice followed up with a lengthy set of his own material. The solo acoustic configuration precluded a lot of the regular Pernice Brothers material, as rich and full band-arranged as those tend to be, so instead the Dakota was treated to a trove of riches from the other eddies of Pernice’s career – the Big Tobacco solo record, the Chappaquiddick Skyline one-off project and to close it out, a suite of Scud Mountain Boys tunes that reinforced just how wonderful and consistent Pernice’s songwriting has been for so long. All told, Pernice played for nearly two hours – remarkable considering that Pernice Brothers live tended towards shorter sets – filled with songs, stories and banter. And before leaving the stage, he once again mentioned that now that he’s a Torontonian, maybe he’d play some more gigs around town. Alone or with band, book it and we’ll be there Joe. Just don’t wait another four years to do so.

The Globe & Mail has a feature piece on Joe and his book with outtakes from the interview available over at Zoilus. NOW and The Los Angeles Times also have pieces on Pernice. Now that the promotional rounds for the book are about done, Pernice is getting back to work on the already-started next Pernice Brothers record. Look for that sometime in the new year.

Photos: Joe Pernice, Kate Boothman @ The Dakota Tavern – September 24, 2009
MP3: Pernice Brothers – “Somerville”
Video: Pernice Brothers – “Somerville”
Video: Pernice Brothers – “Baby In Two”
Video: Pernice Brothers – “The Weakest Shade Of Blue”
Video: Pernice Brothers – “Working Girls”
MySpace: Pernice Brothers

Nick Cave is another musician whose recent foray into fiction – in his case his second novel The Death Of Bunny Munro – has been generating press. There’s conversations with Cave about the book at The Winnipeg Free Press, Time, CBC, The Toronto Star, The National Post and The Montreal Gazette, which also offers a full transcript of the interview. The Ampersand also got a musical endorsement for Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers.

The Times talks to Steve Earle, who is working on his first novel I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive.

NPR talks to Fanfarlo about their literary inspirations (their name comes from Baudelaire) while Tourdates also has an interview with frontman Simon Balthazar and if you’ve still not heard it (shame!), Clash is streaming the album right now.

Stream: Fanfarlo / Reservoir

This Is Nottingham has an interview with Charlotte Hatherley, who has released a video for the second single from her third album New Worlds. It will be out October 20.

Video: Charlotte Hatherley – “Alexander”

The Dodos have a new video from Time To Die. Look for them at Lee’s Palace on October 17.

Video: The Dodos – “Fables”

The Rural Alberta Advantage stopped in at Minnesota Public Radio for a streaming session and gave an interview to Decider. They’re also in the new issue of Spin but that piece isn’t online yet. They play Lee’s Palace on November 4.

The first MP3 from El Perro Del Mar’s new album Love Is Not Pop, out October 20, is now available to download. There’s also an interview at the Buenos Aires Herald. She opens for Peter Bjorn & John at the Phoenix on November 11.

MP3: El Perro Del Mar – “Change Of Heart”

Daily Finance chats with Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance of Merge Records about their 20th anniversary as an independent music label. Babelgum is also hosting a whole slew of video footage from the XX Merge festival in Carrboro back in July.

The National Post has a nice little feature on Canadian sportscasting legend and inveterate music fan – that IS him you see at all those gigs around town – Dave Hodge.

Frank Yang

Well it may have come a little later than expected but Monday night’s show at Wrongbar in Toronto – the first of her North American tour – could well have been mistaken for one. You’d have had trouble finding anyone in the packed, sweaty club who wasn’t ready to declare the pint-sized electro-pop artist the greatest thing to happen to music since the invention of the Victrola. Okay, perhaps that’s a bit of an overstatement but people were indeed excited and anxious. And as the wait dragged on, restless and bored.

Openers Yes Giantess from Boston had done a decent job of warming things up. Collegiate-looking and casually dressed in t-shirts and plaid shirts, the quartet looked like they should be strapping on guitars and playing disaffected garage rock but instead, they were three keyboards and a drummer and turned out punchy, catchy synth-pop that offered more enthusiasm than sophistication but was enjoyable nonetheless. Over the course of their short set – barely a half hour if even that – the club had begun to fill in nicely and as they loaded out, the room began to pack in.

Exactly why it took an hour to set up the stage for a three-piece band, two-thirds of which were synths, is unclear, but as the clock ticked past 11:30 – half an hour past the scheduled start time – the anxiousness was palpable. Surely it wasn’t some ploy to build more anticipation? Does that actually work? Apparently it does. When her band finally took their places and they opened up with “Meddle”, the place went nuts, and didn’t stop for pretty much the duration of her set. Unsurprisingly, she stayed away from the slower numbers from Hands and stuck to the big, anthemic dancefloor bangers and while that made for a shorter set than you may have wanted for the price of admission, there was no skimping on the energy of the show.

Hesketh was pretty much always in motion, dancing and working both sides of the room when not tending to her keyboard, theremin and tambourine. Her signature Tenori-On and Stylophone were also on hand but as with the two previous times I’d seen her play, exactly what they did remained a mystery. She complained that the Tenori-On wasn’t working before the start of main set closer “Remedy” but they went on to play it exactly as I’d have expected it to sound if it was all systems go. Following a short break, they returned for their cover of Freddie Mercury and Giorgio Moroder’s “Love Kills” before going into an extended “Stuck On Repeat” which was as close to a jam as a largely synthesized and sequenced band could get. The only disappointment on the night was “Symmetry”, in which the absence of duet partner Philip Oakey was keenly felt. Both Hesketh’s drummer and keyboardist were mic-ed and tried to cover the boy parts, but were too low in the mix and un-Oakey-ish to properly compensate. But that’s a minor complaint, and was to be expected.

As they proved at SxSW, Little Boots sets a fine example for electro-pop acts hoping to succeed in the live setting – bring a live drummer, a willingness to keep the energy levels dimed for the duration of the show and oh yeah, have some terrific tunes. Worth the wait, and if the reception at the other stops on the tour come close to the one she got in Toronto, critics may want to reconsider writing Little Boots off.

Chartrigger, Time Out Chicago and Time Out Dubai have interviews with Hesketh.

Photos: Little Boots, Yes Giantess @ Wrongbar – September 14, 2009
MP3: Little Boots – “Love Kills” (Buffetlibre vs Sidechains remix)
MP3: Little Boots – “Meddle” (remix)
MP3: Little Boots – “Earthquake” (Yes Giantess remix)
MP3: Yes Giantess – “You Were Young”
Video: Little Boots – “Remedy”
Video: Little Boots – “New In Town”
MySpace: Little Boots
MySpace: Yes Giantess

The Star Observer talks to Elly Jackson of La Roux.

Check out the new video from Glasvegas, who are not making a stop in Toronto on this current Fall tour even though they totally could. There’s an interview with drummer Caroline McKay at JAM.

Video: Glasvegas – “It’s My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry”

PitchforkTV visits DC Comics HQ with Eddie Argos of Art Brut.

The Globe & Mail talks to Nick Cave about his new novel The Death Of Bunny Munro. He’s at the Indigo in the Eaton Centre this evening for a Q&A and reading.

The Grates discus their new record Teeth Lost, Hearts Won – now out in North America – with Blurt.

Paste asks Karen O about her work on the soundtrack for Where The Wild Things Are, the new trailer for which was released this week. The movie is out October 16.

Trailer: Where The Wild Things Are

The Chicago Sun-Times chats with Ida Maria, who apparently had a breakdown of some kind in Boston the other night… here’s hoping she gets it together in time for tomorrow night’s show at the Opera House. Co-headlining that show is Ladyhawke, who is the subject of features at Flavorwire and The Independent. There’s also a remix contest going on over at Filter, where you can have your way with “My Delirium”

Check out the title track from Thao with The Get Down Stay Down’s forthcoming album Know Better Learn Faster, and note that pre-orders of the album – out October 13 – will come with a ticket to a show on their upcoming tour including the November 1 date at the El Mocambo in Toronto.

MP3: Thao With The Get Down Stay Down – “Know Better Learn Faster”

The Daredevil Christopher Wright, whom you may recall from this post, will return for a show at the Free Times Cafe on October 7.

MP3: The Daredevil Christopher Wright – “The East Coast”

Vampire Weekend – who just announced details of their second album Contra, due out January 12 of next year – will preview the new record with a pair of Canadian dates including an October 8 date at the Horseshoe. Word is tickets go on sale tomorrow morning via Ticketmaster only.

MP3: Vampire Weekend – “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”

Also pending further details is Fucked Up’s fourth annual Fucked Up Fest, happening over Hallowe’en weekend – information on participants and dates at Exclaim.

Florence & The Machine will make their Toronto debut on November 2 at the Mod Club, thus scuppering my plans of seeing Monsters Of Folk make their Toronto debut at Massey Hall that same night. Tough call, but I think I have to go with Flo. And M Ward wouldn’t let me take pictures anyways. Tickets $15.

MP3: Florence & The Machine – “Kiss With A Fist”

The Rural Alberta Advantage have set a date for Lee’s Palace on November 4, tickets $15. Lee’s! They grow up so fast!

Apostle Of Hustle will also be doing a hometown show at Lee’s – look for them on November 19.

MP3: Apostle Of Hustle – “Perfect Fit”

And here’s an interesting/exciting announcement – DEVO is coming to town for the first time in a quarter-century. They’ll be at the Phoenix on November 23 and 24, playing Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are DEVO! and Freedom Of Choice in their entirety, respectively. And there’s no reason to believe the energy domes will not be along for the ride. Tickets will be $48.25 with premium tickets including a meet and greet with the band available for $99.75. Either price tier will get you a bundle of demo MP3s to download. Those will go on sale on September 18.

Video: DEVO – “Whip It!”

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros will be at the El Mocambo on November 24, tickets $12.50. There’s a session with the band at Daytrotter and a Q&A at Denver Westword.

MP3: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – “40 Day Dream”

Their last gig at the Phoenix being such a triumph, Phoenix will return for a show at the Sound Academy on December 5 and to make sure things go just as well as they did that show, they’re even bringing Amazing Baby back to open. Tickets for that are $28.

MP3: Amazing Baby – “Bayonets”
Video: Phoenix – “Lisztomania”

Gavin Evans

And while I’ve never been an audiobook sort – I prefer to multitask and listen to music while reading, and listening to a book leaves my eyes with nothing to do – but the audio version of Bunny Munro offers a certain temptation. Besides having Cave himself read his work, it features musical accompaniment by Cave and Warren Ellis – the Bad Seed, not the comic scribe, though he himself is no stranger to things dark and seedy. The book’s website has audio clips of Cave reading the first four chapters of the book, video footage of him reading four chapters with more to come and Spinner has a text excerpt available. The audio book will come on 7 CDs with a DVD from whence the above video clips are taken, as an iPhone version – prose app or audio download – and in an old-fashioned dead-tree edition. Multi-platform much?

Cave talks to The Times and Scotland On Sunday about the novel and to The Guardian about going with the iPhone as a means of distribution. And if the recorded and printed Cave isn’t enough, he’ll be doing readings and signings in the UK, US and Canada – September 16 at 7PM at the Indigo in the Eaton Centre in Toronto and September 17 at 7PM in Ottawa at the Ottawa Writer’s Festival at St Brigid’s Centre.

MP3: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – “Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!”

Another musician gone author is Joe Pernice, with his debut novel It Feels So Good When I Stop. Though not being promoted as elaborately as Cave’s book, it’s also more than just a book – it has a soundtrack CD that includes a couple of spoken word passages of Pernice reading from his book and the handful of live dates will be combination shows and readings. I fully intend to have read the book before his September 24 date at the Dakota Tavern. Seriously, I will. There’s interviews with Pernice at The National and The AV Club, and there’s a bunch of video session performances available at KEXP’s YouTube channel.

That September 24 date is circled in ink on the ol’ calendar (figuratively speaking, of course), but it’s not without a bit of regret as it means missing seeing The Antlers at the Horseshoe that same night – especially now that Holly Miranda has been announced as opener for the tour.

Resonancity talked to drummer Paul Banwatt of The Rural Alberta Advantage at V Fest this past weekend. I also talked to Paul, but our conversation was along the lines of, “hey how’s it going,” “alright, how’re you?”. Not really worth transcribing. Much more noteworthy is the fact that the band recorded a session for Daytrotter on their last jaunt through the midwest US and that session, featuring two new songs, is now available to download.

Other conversations taking place at V Fest had Fazer and Spinner chatting with members of Mew. ArtistDirect also has an interview, though conducted elsewhere.

Coeur de Pirate performed a new song on CBC’s Q. Metro talks to Beatrice Martin.

Video: Coeur de Pirate – “Place de la Republique” (live on Q)

Brooklyn’s White Rabbits have finally made a local date in support of their latest album It’s Frightening – catch them at the Drake Underground on October 24, tickets $15.50. And also check out their WOXY session from earlier this Summer.

MP3: White Rabbits – “Percussion Gun”
Video: White Rabbits – “Percussion Gun”

Yo La Tengo’s new record Popular Songs isn’t out until next week but it’s currently streaming in its entirety over at NPR and they’ve also released yet another video from the record. And Pitchfork has a chat with Dario Robleto, who crafted the art that adorns the album cover. Yo La Tengo are at the Opera House on October 3.

Video: Yo La Tengo – “When It’s Dark”
Stream: Yo La Tengo / Popular Songs

And support for Yo La Tengo’s Canadian dates has been announced as Chicago outfit The Horse’s Ha. They sound something like this.

MP3: The Horse’s Ha – “Asleep In A Waterfall”
MP3: The Horse’s Ha – “The Piss Choir”

Maxim has an interview with Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy. No bikini photo shoot, though. Probably for the best. Wilco are at Massey Hall on October 14 and 15.

If you thought Neil Young was going to take a break from his Archives now that the first box set has been released, think again. Rolling Stone reports that November 2 will see the release of Dreamin’ Man, a live album collecting solo recordings of Harvest Moon circa 1992. Neil will be making an appearance at Yonge-Dundas Square on September 14. He may bring his guitar. He may play it.

eye talks to members of The Depreciation Guild, in town at the Horseshoe on September 7 opening up for The Pains Of Being Pure Of Heart, with whom NOW has a chat. The Chicago Tribune talks to the third band on the bill, Cymbals Eat Guitars.

amazon.com

Obviously in pure quantitative terms, Nick Cave would have only made the shortfall 178 bodies rather than 179, but in terms of pure cool, Cave would easily have counted for a couple hundred normal people. But then, Nick only sang on his contribution to the 1989 tribute album to Young, The Bridge – it was a couple of now-former Bad Seeds, Kid Congo Powers and Mick Harvey, who handled the instrumentation. Still, Nick knows his way around a guitar and probably could have strummed along with the others.

Neil’s Archives, Volume One finally – at long last – was released last week and implausibly yet inevitably, it appears to have been both worth the wait and the price. Cave is going through a reissue program of his own, the first three of his albums with the Bad Seeds having been remastered and rereleased with bonus goodies back in March and the rest of his catalog to follow in the near future.

MP3: Nick Cave – “Helpless”
Video: Neil Young & The Band – “Helpless”
Video: 1623 would-be world record holders – “Helpless”

Joe Fuda

In the former camp are post-punkers The D’Urbervilles, whose rather excellent full-length debut from last year, We Are The Hunters, is going to be getting a much-deserved US release, and Forest City Lovers (pictured), whose beautifully understated album Haunting Moon Sinking was one of the overlooked gems of 2008. It’s been a while – too long – since I’ve seen either act live, and I’m looking forward to rectifying that. In the “less known to me” department are Jenny Omnichord, whose special guest-laden Charlotte or Otis : Duets for Children, Their Parents and Other People Too is a sweetly odd and charming little childrens’ album and Timber Timbre, who are releasing their new self-titled album next week and whose amalgam of folk and blues is a bit unsettling, but also compelling. They’re also playing an in-store at Soundscapes next Thursday at 7PM.

Admission to the to-do is $10, $8 with a donation of canned food.

MP3: The D’Urbervilles – “Hot Tips”
Videos: Forest City Lovers – “Pirates”
Videos: Forest City Lovers – “Please, Don’t Go”

Pitchfork has more tour dates for Human Highway, including a date and venue for their previously announced appearance at Canadian Musicfest – look for them March 13 at the Horseshoe.

MP3: Human Highway – “The Sound”

And speaking of Canadian Musicfest, the lineup has fleshed out a little more with some of the bigger-name additions including The Ting Tings and… well, that’s all I noticed that was new since last time. Precise date and venue for that one still forthcoming.

Rollo & Grady interview Mark Hamilton of Woodpigeon and filch one of my photos in the process. This is me shaking my fist. Treasury Library Canada is out Februrary 3.

To the surprise of no one, a second date for the Constantines/Weakerthans “Rolling Tundra Revue” tour has been added – there’s now an April 1 date to go along with the previously-announced March 31 one at the Phoenix. No foolin’.

The Henry Clay People, whose For Cheap Or For Free was endorsed in November, will be joining The Airborne Toxic Event on their Spring tour which passes through the El Mocambo on March 4.

MP3: The Henry Clay People – “Something In The Water”
MP3: The Henry Clay People – “Working Part Time”

The Sydney Morning Herald gets an update on Nick Cave’s literary aspirations.

XLR8R talks to Ben Curtis of School Of Seven Bells.

Okkervil River were on Letterman last night. It looked (and sounded) a little like this:

Video: Okkervil River – “Pop Lie” (live on the Late Show with David Letterman)

The Georgia Straight interviews Glasvegas, in town at the Mod Club April 3.

Anathallo have a date at the El Mocambo on February 3, tickets $12. Their new album is Canopy Glow.

The New Year, who must feel tremendous pressure to be topical and interesting every January, oblige with a new video, a brief interview and free download at Stereogum and an interview at the Dallas Observer.

Video: The New Year – “Seven Days And Seven Nights”

Is this Frightened Rabbit video an official one? Not sure, but it is cool. And that’s good enough.

Video: Frightened Rabbit – “I Feel Better”

The Daily Yomiuri amuse Stuart Braithwaite and Barry Burns of Mogwai by calling them a “shoegaze” band.

Wireless Bollinger talks to Andrew Bird, who is releasing Noble Beast on January 20 and playing the Queen Elizabeth Theater on April 3.

www.thisisyesterday.com

For the Manic Street Preachers, it’s not that hard of a sell as their last album Send Away The Tigers was a very decent effort, certainly head and shoulders above the previous few records, and showed that the band wasn’t ready to be dismissed just yet. But with the posting of message on their website earlier this week, the Manics seem to be looking to simultaneously return to their roots without actually sounding anything like they ever did.

They announced they’re currently in the US recording with legendary producer Steve Albini, whose analog-only, ultra-dry aesthetic is light-years from the ’80s-era glam-gloss that defined their first few albums, not that any of their albums have ever been less than slick-sounding. And further, they’re using lyrics left behind by former Manic Richey Edwards who disappeared back in 1995. Though he’s turned in more than his share of clunkers, Nicky Wire has done a more than respectable job as lyricist for the Manics in the years since Edwards’ disappearance but there’s a reason that The Holy Bible is still held up as the band’s masterpiece after all these years. Edwards has been over-mythologized in the past decade plus, to be certain, but he was undoubtedly a compelling writer.

While I’m not thinking the above equals instant classic by any means, it is an interesting combination of factors that could make for one of the more compelling Manics records in recent years. I don’t, however, expect there’ll be anything as gloriously poppy as the Nina Persson duet from the last album (vid linked below) but you can’t have everything. The band are targeting an April or May 2009 release and are toying with typically sunny titles like Journal For Plague Lovers or I Know I Believe In Nothing But It Is My Nothing.

Video: Manic Street Preachers – “Your Love Alone Is Not Enough”

BBC reports that The Kinks reunion is finally a go and that the writing of new material, with an eye towards a new album, has commenced.

Also at the BBC, Damon Albarn refuses to close the door on the possibility of a Blur reunion.

Oasis have released a second video from Dig Out Your Soul.

Video: Oasis – “I’m Outta Time”

Laundromatinee welcomes Supergrass to their studios for a video session.

The Tripwire interviews James Allan of Glasvegas and offers up a non-album MP3 that really doesn’t capture the sonic grandeur of the record. Their self-title is coming out in North America on January 6.

MP3: Glasvegas – “I’m Gonna Get Stabbed”

NME reports that Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have released The Effect Of 333, an ambient/instrumental album, and are making it available online.

Paste catches up with Nick Cave on matters of novels, films and Grinderman.

Sigur Ros premiered their latest video from Med sud I eyrum vid spilum endalaust, the deluxe version of which is out November 24.

Video: Sigur Ros – “Vio spilum endalaust”

The Line Of Best Fit interviews Kevin Barnes of Of Montreal.

Amanda Merten

I got a full copy of the album not long after and though there’s nothing that matches those two tracks for pure pop glory, it’s because they don’t really attempt to. Though favouring the dream-pop and electronica musical niches, Alpinisms is a remarkably diverse collection that, for all its eclecticism, still manages to craft a distinct sonic identity. Much of that can be attributed to the dual vocals of sisters Alley and Claudia Deheza, whose tightly intertwined, angelic and otherworldly voices really sound unlike anything else out there. And its this uniqueness that allows the musical backdrop to liberally borrow from the last 20 years or so of sonic ideas – a little Peter Hook bass line here, a little Kevin Shields glide guitar there – and make it sound fresh.

Not everything works – some pieces meander a little more than you’d like, but given the soaring heights of the record’s high points and the obvious talent and creativity the band has on tap, it’s hard not to get excited about what else they might come up with in the future. I only hope that this project has a longer lifespan than their previous ones.

School Of Seven Bells are at the Opera House on November 20, opening for M83. Exclaim! has a review of the record and a short interview with guitarist and former Secret Machinist Benjamin Curtis.

MP3: School Of Seven Bells – “Connjur”
MP3: School Of Seven Bells – “Half Asleep”
MP3: School Of Seven Bells – “Chain”
Stream: School of Seven Bells / Alpinisms
MySpace: School Of Seven Bells

Bradley’s Almanac has got MP3s of My Bloody Valentine’s show at All Tomorrow’s Parties New York in September. Amazingly, they sound quite good and not just like “KKKKKHHKHKHKKKKK”. And if you want to full experience of the “holocaust” section of “You Made Me Realise”, I suggest standing in front of an oscillating fan so that your pants flap while simultaneously getting a full body massage. That’s a start.

Paste talks to Matt Tong of Bloc Party and Le Blogotheque ambushes the band in Paris into giving them a Takeaway Show.

NME reports that White Lies will release their debut album To Lose My Life on January 12.

Nick Cave brags to Spinner about the size of his unit.

Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips talks to The Los Angeles Times about the release – finally – of Christmas On Mars on November 11 (straight to DVD, natch) and the soundtrack of which will pretty much constitute the new Flaming Lips album.

Trailer: Christmas On Mars

Stars have added a third date to their residency at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in December. In addition to the 12th and 13th, they’re now also playing on the 11th.