Nic Shonfeld

The specifics of why aren’t entirely clear, but I suspect that it was just a little too shouty, too unrelenting. Granted, those are the band’s key strengths – guitarist/vocalist Adam Thompson’s bellows overtop the breakneck musical churn – but I found Walls a bit exhausting to get through. That hardly warranted writing the band off, however, so I was more than happy to give their sophomore effort In The Pit Of The Stomach, released last month, a few spins and it’s almost as though the band heard about my complaints and decided to meet me partway. Which is awful gracious of them.

To either casual followers or die-hard fans of the band, Stomach probably sounds perfectly familiar and satisfying. It’s still loud and punishing – album closer “Pear Tree” is a six-and-a-half minute flurry of face punches – but those crescendos are now better tempered with quieter passages and a greater emphasis on melody, both vocally and instrumentally. By reining things in a bit and singing rather than shouting while the drums and guitars steadily build, “Act On Impulse” comes across far more dynamically and interesting than anything I can recall on Walls. Similarly, the instrumental front half of “Sore Thumb” is evocative of Mogwai in their gentler moods before bringing the hammer down like Mogwai in their angrier moods; which is to say it’s kind of Mogwai-ish, in a good way.

In The Pit Of The Stomach evidences the sort of artistic growth and sophistication you’d hope a young band who’re probably not given to turning their sound upside down would develop. It certainly won’t lose them any fans but it may well sway some who had been on the fence onto their side. Trust me on this.

The Dallas Observer talks to the band about guitarist Michael Palmer’s cancer scare between albums one and two.

MP3: We Were Promised Jetpacks – “Act On Impulse”
Video: We Were Promised Jetpacks – “Human Error”

I now have a Valentine and her/their name is Veronica Falls. The London quartet will be back in town for a show at The Garrison on February 14, tickets $10.50 in advance. DIY has an A-to-Z with/of the band.

MP3: Veronica Falls – “Come On Over”
MP3: Veronica Falls – “Found Love In A Graveyard”

Arena-sized in the UK, club-sized in North America, Kasabian will bring their latest album Velociraptor to The Phoenix on March 29, tickets $24.50 in advance. Perhaps they’ll be able to commiserate with Toronto about the (lack of) wisdom in naming things after dinosaurs that were briefly in fashion 20 years ago.

Video: Kasabian – “Switchblade Smiles”

Drowned In Sound gets their turn in the Los Campesinos! media-go-round.

Clash checks in with Milo Cordell of The Big Pink as they put the finishing touches on their new record Future This, out January 17.

Slow Club have a new video from Paradise.

Video: Slow Club – “If We’re Still Alive”

Similarly, Noah & The Whale have released a new clip from Last Night On Earth

Video: Noah & The Whale – “Give It All Back”

Two videos – or animations, as they’re being called – from the new Kate Bush album 50 Words For Snow have been released. It’s reasonable to expect more.

Video: Kate Bush – “Misty”
Video: Kate Bush – “Wild Man”

The New York Times Q&A’s Noel Gallagher, who has just released a short film that uses three of the songs from his solo debut as accompaniment.

Video: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – “Ride The Tiger”

NME reports that Liam Gallagher has declared Oasis material may be on the table for future Beady Eye live performances.

The Guardian proxies questions from readers to Jarvis Cocker. The Jarv answers.

The Alternate Side has posted an Elbow studio session to watch and interview to read while Under The Radar reports that the band has been tapped to record the soundtrack to the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London.

Adele is capping off what’s been a pretty good year for her (except for all those canceled shows and throat surgery) with the release of the Live At The Royal Albert Hall DVD/BR today – Spin is streaming the audio from the document while you can watch 25 minutes of the thing at Vevo.

Stream: Adele / Live At The Royal Albert Hall
Video: Adele / Live At The Royal Albert Hall (excerpt)

Kate Jackson talks to NME about her post-Long Blondes solo ambitions.

State chats with Clock Opera, whose debut album should be out in the new year.

NME follows Wild Beasts around on tour for a while.

The Stool Pigeon chats with Robyn Hitchcock.

Frank Yang

The best and the worst thing you can say about High Flying Birds is that it’s pretty much what you’d expect from a Noel Gallagher solo record, with his respective weaknesses and strengths on full display. Amongst the former are his penchant for cribbing lyrics and melodies from others wholesale, and may of the words that are his are vague and nonsensical, though at least they rhyme. However just as he did in Oasis, he’s able to marry them with an unimpeachable gift for melody, a delivery that makes them sound profound and a flair for dressing them up in big arrangements that aren’t too overcooked (obviously this took some time to learn). It can be frustrating to sing along with words that make no sense, but sing along you will.

That said, for all the familiar motions, Birds feels distinct from an Oasis record for reasons beyond the absence of Liam’s rock’n'roll sneer. Perhaps in being freed from the inherent compromises of a band and being able to take full creative control, Gallagher has been able to fully assume the role of composer rather than just songwriter and consequently, Birds feels more meticulous in its execution than any Oasis record I can recall. Some might bemoan its mid-temponess or dearth of guitar heroics, but let’s be fair – he’s made those records already. High Flying Birds doesn’t necessarily revitalize or recontextualize what Noel Gallagher is about – not even remotely, if we’re being honest – but it is well-crafted, tuneful and likeable. Well I like it, anyways, and that’s why despite not getting accredited to cover the show in an official capacity, I headed down to Massey Hall about 20 minutes before showtime and patronized my first ever scalper. Less than half face value? Sure.

Though not sold out – two nights at Massey is a tall order for many acts, even one who sold out arenas with his old band – the hall was nearly full and crackling with the energy of fans who’d not seen the elder Gallagher since that fateful Virgin Festival 2008 appearance where he was assaulted onstage, if not earlier. The vibe was not unlike that at The Sound Academy in June when Liam led Beady Eye into town for their first visit, though feeling a bit older and with fewer (no) Union Jack flags hanging from the balconies.

Unlike Beady Eye, however, Noel had already said that the Oasis songbook was very much fair game for his solo shows and to prove it, the show opened with “(It’s Good) To Be Free”, a 17-year old b-side from a non-album single. Not just the hits, then. Oasis material would actually comprise almost half the 90-minute set, spanning the breadth of their catalog but with no small amount of revisionist history applied – “Wonderwall” got the Ryan Adams treatment, “Supersonic” was stripped down to acoustic guitar and piano (and would be a post-show point of contention for being a Liam song) and “Talk Tonight” given the full band treatment. It was as though Gallagher was more than willing to indulge his fans’ desire to hear the old material, but wasn’t going to make head-to-head comparisons of Oasis and his High Flying Birds easy.

As for the new material, not only was the album played in its entirety, but a b-side and new song thrown in for good measure. All of it was played pretty much verbatim from the album arrangements and in workmanlike fashion from Gallagher and his five-piece band – the crowd was enthused but Gallagher didn’t seem particularly interested in stoking the fires, just in doing his thing. It would have been unreasonable to expect him to discover some heretofore unknown wellspring on on-stage charisma upon assuming the role of frontman, but at least Gallagher seemed chipper in bantering with the crowd.

Early on, he told an audience member who’d not heard the new record that, “it’s going to be a long fucking night for you then” and later, when the inevitable topic of his younger brother came up (he has a home in Toronto), he responded to someone calling out that they’d seen Liam around town buying shoes, “were they high heels?”. Noel has a well-earned reputation for shooting his mouth off about anything and everything, but he’s got a sense of humour. The encore was a triple-bill of Oasis numbers – “Little By Little” from Heathen Chemistry, “The Importance Of Being Idle” from Don’t Believe The Truth and, finally, predictably and thrillingly, “Don’t Look Back In Anger”. That finale was spared any rejigging and performed as it always has – how else do you lead the singalong? And sing along everyone did.

So with all the evidence gathered – live and on record – how do the two post-Oasis projects measure up? Both have turned in decent efforts without offering anything new, but neither is a patch on Oasis in their prime – but to be fair, most of Oasis’ career isn’t a patch on Oasis in their prime either. With Beady Eye, Liam seems to want to recreate the rock’n'roll heyday of Oasis without invoking Oasis, whereas Noel is content to acknowledge his legacy without resting on it. I’d go so far as to say if you took both their records and combined the best moments into one, you’d have the best Oasis record in some years. To be at their best, as both brothers once sang, they need each other. Maybe someday they’ll once again believe in one another.

The Toronto Sun, Exclaim, The Globe & Mail, Toronto Star, NOW, Spinner and National Post also have reviews of the show and Los Angeles Times and National Post also have feature interviews.

Photos: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds @ Massey Hall – November 7, 2011
Video: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – “AKA… What A Life”
Video: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – “If I Had A Gun”
Video: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – “The Death Of You & Me”

In talking to NME, Damon Albarn reveals that Blur have been recording and discussions about more touring in 2012 have taken place. None of which is a commitment to anything, but it is something.

BBC chats with Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner.

Band Of Skulls have set a date at The Phoenix for March 30 of next year in support of their new album Sweet Sour, out February 21. Tickets are $17.50 in advance. Exclaim has details and dates and there’s a video for the first single from the album.

Video: Band Of Skulls – “The Devil Takes Care Of His Own”

DIY talks to Kele about his new EP The Hunter.

Clash interviews Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine.

Artrocker profiles Los Campesinos!, whose new record Hello Sadness is streaming at NPR ahead of its November 15 release date.

MP3: Los Campesinos! – “By Your Hand”
Stream: Los Campesinos! / Hello Sadness

Interview, The Independent and Londonist talk to Summer Camp on the occasion of the release of their debut Welcome To Condale this week.

Pitchfork reports that The xx have begun work on their second album, and will be documenting the process via cryptic animated gif.

The ink barely dry on the their Toronto debut last month, London’s Still Corners will be back on December 9 at The Horseshoe in support of The War on Drugs. The Georgia Straight and Houston Press have interviews and Radio K is streaming a session with the band.

MP3: Still Corners – “Into The Trees”

The AV Club talks to Charlie Fink of Noah & The Whale.

Spinner interviews Laura Marling.

The Guardian gets two generations of folk music – Billy Bragg and Johnny Flynn – to discuss the relevance of protest music today.

Patrick Wolf has released a new video from Lupercalia, which continues to await a North American release. In 2012, perhaps. The Gay Times talks to Wolf about his impending nuptials.

Video: Patrick Wolf – “The Falcons”

Rocksucker talks to The Twilight Sad about their third album No One Can Ever Know, due out in February.

Clash marks the 20th anniversary of My Bloody Valentine’s landmark Loveless album, while The Quietus reflects on the significance of The Jesus & Mary Chain’s debut Psychocandy.

And while not nearly on the level of either of those records, I greatly appreciate Drowned In Sound saluting The Closer I Get, the second album from Nottingham’s Six By Seven. Terribly underappreciated over their tenure, at their best – which would be that record – there was no more beautifully aggressive and misanthropic rock band out there. After a few ill-fated reunions, the band is done but if you go to their website, their last great record – 2004′s relatively sunnier :04 – is available for free download in exchange for an email. You should do this thing.

MP3: Six By Seven – “Bochum (Light Up My Life)”
Video: Six By Seven – “Eat Junk Become Junk”

Fat Cat

Or maybe it’s just a reference to the dark and gloomy secrets that vocalist James Graham has dredged up as lyrical fodder… which is funny because if you were to follow him on Twitter you’d know that he’s actually pretty funny, mostly occupying his thoughts with comic books, movies and retweeting people who hate his band. Either way, the album will be out in February – precise date still to be determined – and the first single, “Sick”, will be made available in mid-November. In the meantime, they’ve released a different song from the record as a preview and those expecting a wall of guitars as per their earlier works might be surprised in the shift in direction as it starts out sounding like Portishead and ends off going all New Wave. I approve.

MP3: The Twilight Sad – “Kill It In The Morning”
Trailer: The Twilight Sad / No One Can Ever Know

The National Post, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Examiner, Montreal Gazette and Magnet have interviews with Laura Marling, who plays The Great Hall tonight.

The Grid, Montreal Gazette, Chicago Sun-Times and Interview check in with Peter hook, in town with The Light at The Phoenix on September 24.

Room 205 has the second instalment in their video session series with Yuck. They’re at The Horseshoe on Sunday night, September 25.

Folks outside the UK won’t be able to hear but 30-second clips of NME‘s stream of Brett Anderson’s new solo record Black Rainbows, but they can read the whole of his song-by-song annotations on the record, which is out September 26. He also offers The Guardian a “How I wrote” lesson for his song “Brittle Heart”.

NOW interviews Horrors guitarist Joshua Hayward. He and his band are at Lee’s Palace on September 27.

Wild Beasts are giving away a new non-album track just because. They’re at The Mod Club on September 29 and submit to a Q&A by The Daily Texan.

MP3: Wild Beasts – “Thankless Thing”

BBC6 talks to James Blake about his plans for album number two. He’s at The Phoenix on September 30.

A double-shot of good news from Veronica Falls; not only is their excellent just-released self-titled debut available to stream in whole at Stereogum, they’ve added a headlining show at Parts & Labour on October 2, the night after they open up for The Drums at The Mod Club; tickets $7 in advance.

MP3: Veronica Falls – “Come On Over”
Stream: Veronica Falls / Veronica Falls

Geoff Barrow tells Rolling Stone that work will begin on Portishead’s fourth album in January of the new year. They’ve got two nights at The Sound Academy on October 9 and 10.

Spinner has an extended sit-down with the always chatty Noel Gallagher. His solo debut Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds is out November 7 and he plays Massey Hall that evening and the one after.

The Oracle With Jessica And Elizabeth – which is a blog run by Emma-Lee Moss of Emmy The Great and Elizabeth Sankey of Summer Camp – have an interview with Charlie Fink of Noah & The Whale. They’re at The Phoenix on November 8.

Speaking of Jessica and Elizabeth’s alter-egos, Pitchfork has a track from Summer Camp’s debut Welcome To Condale which was previously only available to stream; the album is out November 8.

MP3: Summer Camp – “Better Off Without You”

And Artrocker and Clash talk to Emmy The Great about her sartorial sense and taste in books, respectively, while For Folk’s Sake settles for talking about her music.

Lanterns On The Lake have their tour guide hats on, taking Clash on a track-by-track tour of their just-released debut album Gracious Tide, Take Me Home and Drowned In Sound on a guided tour of their hometown, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.

James Dean Bradfield reflects on the years covered by the forthcoming Manic Street Preachers compilation National Treasures with XFM. The collection is out October 31.

Kele Okereke tells NME that the Bloc Party hiatus is indeed over – but the rest of the band appears to have forgotten to invite him to rehearsals. And perhaps with a notion that his solo project could be become his sole project, he’s released a new video from his forthcoming EP The Hunter, out November 7. Though with Lucy Taylor taking lead vocals on the track, it’s possible he’s also been fired as singer for himself. But seriously, Bloc Party fans, don’t worry – this blog post implies that he was, as they say, taking the piss in that interview.

Video: Kele – “What Did I Do”

Blurt chats with Ritzy Bryan of The Joy Formidable.

Peter Brewis of Field Music tells BBC6 that their new record should be out in January of next year.

Male Bonding have released a new video from Endless Now.

Video: Male Bonding – “Tame The Sun”

For a limited time, 4AD is giving away a download of their limited-edition 4AD Sessions 2008-2011 compilation, which will only be available physically on a limited edition of 1000 vinyl pieces. It features performances from the likes of Iron & Wine, Stornoway and Blonde Redhead. Needless to say, it’s worth the price of your email address.

Michele Civetta

So it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect more of the same from their fifth album, the just-released Gravity The Seducer, and indeed the elements at play are familiar, but something feels fundamentally different this time out. It took a few listens to put a finger on what, but what it sounds like is that Ladytron are sad. Gravity dials back the dancefloor bangers that punctuated previous efforts in favour of crafting a unified atmosphere whose prevailing mood is beautifully melancholic, the synths and beats working more towards a dreampop vibe than a krautrock one. To this end, Marnie gets more lead vocal turns than usual and Aroyo’s contributions are more emotive than usual, and a greater emphasis placed on crafting emotionally resonant melodies. Further, there are no less than three instrumentals out of the album’s twelve, the closing number “Aces High” a reprise of sorts to single and perhaps theme song “Ace Of Hz”, that bridge and tie together the album and contribute to its cinematic feel.

I’m not sure other writeups on the record have picked up on this, or if I’m imagining it, but to these ears Gravity sounds like a band taking advantage of a fresh chapter to reorient themselves creatively – not dramatically, but still enough to be noteworthy and to force the listener to approach it with fresh ears. Or it could just be another Ladytron record, equal parts steely, sexy and stoic, but even if so that’s hardly any bad thing.

The whole of the album is available to stream right now at Pitchfork and Ology has an interview with Daniel Hunt. Ladytron are at The Phoenix on October 5, tickets $20 in advance, but courtesy of Embrace I have two pairs of passes to give away to the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to be Seduced by Gravity” in the subject line and your full name in the body; contest closes at midnight, September 27.

MP3: Ladytron – “White Elephant”
MP3: Ladytron – “Ace Of Hz”
Video: Ladytron – “White Elephant”
Video: Ladytron – “Ace Of Hz”
Stream: Ladytron / Gravity The Seducer

DIY chats with The Subways on the eve of the release of their new album Money And Celebrity, out September 19.

USA Today has a profile and NPR and The Alternate Side sessions with Laura Marling, who is at The Great Hall on September 23 in support of her new album A Creature I Don’t Know; a short film for the album has also just been released.

Video: A Creature I Don’t Know: A Short Film

Room 205 kicks off a session series with Yuck. They’re at The Horseshoe on September 25 and have a deluxe edition of their self-titled debut out October 11.

We Were Promised Jetpacks have unveiled a new video from their forthcoming second album In The Pit Of The Stomach, out October 4.

Video: We Were Promised Jetpacks – “Medicine”

The Quietus has the video for the title track of The Ship’s Piano, out October 17. There’s also a link to sign up for their newsletter and receive an MP3 of the tune. Artrocker has an interview with the former Hefner frontman.

Video: Darren Hayman – “The Ship’s Piano”

That a new Florence & The Machine record was coming this Fall was already a matter of fact; now Exclaim has the final missing details, specifically that it will be called Ceremonials and be out on October 31 in the UK, presumably but not guaranteed to be out in North America the following day. Update: And a new song from the album is up to stream.

Stream: Florence & The Machine – “Shake It Out”

Spin chats with Noel Gallagher about going solo. His Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds is out November 7 and he plays Massey Hall on November 7 and 8.

Noah & The Whale have released a new video from Last Night On Earth. They’re at The Phoenix on November 8.

Video: Noah & The Whale – “Waiting For My Chance To Come”

The Guardian has premiered the new video from Summer Camp, a clip which was available to pledge supporters of their debut Welcome To Condale a few months ago but is now up for all to see. It’s out in North America on November 8.

Video: Summer Camp – “Better Off Without You”

Interview does their thing with The Kooks; their new album Junk Of The Heart is out now and they’re at The Sound Academy on November 23. The Sun also has an interview and they’ve also released a video for the album’s title track.

Video: The Kooks – “Junk Of The Heart”

New Anna Calvi video, y’all. She’s at Lee’s Palace on December 8.

Video: Anna Calvi – “Suzanne & I”

Pitchfork reports that The Big Pink are back with a new single and video in advance of the release of album number two Future This in January of next year.

Video: The Big Pink – “Stay Gold”

DIY has words – pleasant words, mind – with Peggy Sue.

Rolling Stone and The San Francisco Examiner talk to Patrick Wolf about his brief, acoustic solo US tour. He’s planning a full band excursion over here in 2012 when Lupercalia is released domestically.

DIY has an interview with Slow Club.

The Joy Formidable takes some time out to chat with DIY.

Artrocker interviews The Vaccines.

BBC6 checks in with Jimi Goodwin to see what he’s doing with Doves on hiatus – some soundtrack work and a solo record.

Brett Anderson discusses Suede regrets with The Guardian.

NME reports that Primal Scream are aiming to have a new album out sometime in 2012.

Kate Bush has turned rumour into fact and announced a November 21 release for her new studio album 50 Words For Snow, her first in six years and second in the last 17.

Facebook

And while you’re getting down to that, they’ve also announced a handful of – well, four – American tour dates to preview the record. Note that doesn’t the crew won’t be crossing the border north of the US this time, but seeing as how they’ve never been averse to visiting Toronto and Canada repeatedly, expect a date when broader touring plans are announced.

MP3: Los Campesinos! – “By Your Hand”
Video: Los Campesinos! – “By Your Hand”

Noah & The Whale – who proved their ability to get super-sad with second album First Days Of Spring – return to town to party like it’s the Last Night On Earth at The Phoenix on November 8, part of a full North American tour; admission is $20 in advance. Interview has a chat with violinist Tom Hobden.

MP3: Noah & The Whale – “The First Days Of Spring”
Video: Noah & The Whale – “Tonight’s The Kind Of Night”

Baeble Music has a Guest Apartment interview and session with Laura Marling. A Creature I Don’t Know is out Tuesday and she plays The Great Hall on September 23.

Beatroute, The Edmonton Journal, OC Weekly and The Calgary Herald have feature pieces on The Joy Formidable.

Even though there’s really no need to reissue an album that was just released in February, Yuck will get a deluxe edition of their self-titled debut on October 11 that includes a 6-track bonus CD – you can stream one of the new offerings at Pitchfork. They play The Horseshoe on September 27.

Stream: Yuck – “Cousin Corona”

The Guardian is streaming Mogwai’s new EP Earth Division, out next Tuesday, as well as notes from Stuart Braithwaite. So go and stream it and read. Go.

Stream: Mogwai / Earth Division

Also streaming and out next week is Acrobat, the second album from Peggy Sue.

MP3: Peggy Sue – “Cut My Teeth”
Stream: Peggy Sue / Acrobats

Music Broke My Bones and The Whiteboard Project have interviews with Slow Club, the latter of which is hilariously conducted via whiteboard. Paradise is out next week.

Grantland sends Chuck Klosterman to interview Noel Gallagher. A pretty great read regardless of your opinions of either character ensues. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds release their debut album on November 7 and play Massey Hall on November 7 and 8.

Wears The Trousers chat with Esben & The Witch.

DIY has a feature interview with Patrick Wolf and the singer-songwriter fesses up to Clash about his love of waterslides.

Though he’s supposed to be gearing up for the Horrors tour which brings him to Lee’s Palace on September 27, Faris Badwan tells Exclaim that his side-project Cat’s Eyes plans to release two more records in 2012. Which is good news because Cat’s Eyes was great. And Badwan talks Horrors with The Illinois Entertainer.

Beatroute has an interview with Arctic Monkeys.

Artrocker has the new video from Sons & Daughters, taken from their latest Mirror Mirror.

Video: Sons & Daughters – “Rose Red”

Goth godfather Peter Murphy brings his new solo record Ninth to town for a show at Lee’s Palace on November 23, tickets $29.50.

MP3: Peter Murphy – “I Spit Roses”

Though the media cycle on New Order of late has mainly been about irrevocably rent asunder they are with the acrimonious departure of bassist Peter Hook, Spinner reports that it’s a bit of a zero-sum game as original keyboardist Gillian Gilbert is back in the fold for a couple of charity gigs in October. Unsurprisingly, Hooky is unimpressed. Which makes me wish that Ian Curtis was capable of issuing press releases so we could find out what he thinks about what Peter Hook is up to.

Fanfarlo have completed their second album and while it’s still untitled and has no release date, it does have a video for the leadoff track.

Video: Fanfarlo – “Replicate”

The Line Of Best Fit goes on an in-depth expedition into The Radio Dept.’s discography with founders Johan Duncanson and Martin Larson as sherpas. The Radio Dept are at The Mod Club on November 17.

Exclaim has some details of Swedish sister act First Aid Kit’s second album; The Lion’s Roar will be out on January 24 of the new year and you can see them supporting Lykke Li at The Sound Academy on November 15.

Little Dragon have released a new video from Ritual Union; they’re at The Hoxton on October 12.

Video: Little Dragon – “Brush The Heat”

Pitchfork has a new video from Sigur Ros taken from their Inni live film and album, due out November.

Video: Sigur Ros – “Klippa”

If you like Howling Bells and are willing to admit as much via Facebook, you’ll be able to stream their new record The Loudest Engine. It’s out Monday.

Stream: Howling Bells / The Loudest Engine

NME talks to Empire Of The Sun’s Luke Steele about their plans for album number two. But before that, they will play The Sound Academy on Tuesday evening, September 13.

Leon Diaper

Well I’ve been wrong before and I’ll be wrong again. Rather than lose my interest with each listen, time spent with What Did You Expect‘s brief running time only made me want to hit repeat. They don’t pretend to be anything more than what they are, which is to say a quartet of kids playing rock music, but it’s uncanny the way they manage to evoke the best of British rock from over the last decade – the meat-and-potatoes simplicity of Arctic Monkeys, the scrappy snottiness of The Libertines, the open-hearted romanticism of Bloc Party – without actually sounding like any of them. Most key, however, is the fact that they’re able to write songs that are anthemic in scope yet punkish in packaging and catchy enough to warrant praise entirely on their own creative merits – “All In White” is downright stirring. It may well be that they’re just the next British guitar band of the moment, but it’s The Vaccines’ moment and they’re making the most of it.

And while this would normally be the point in the post where I tell you that The Vaccines are coming to town soon, an announcement yesterday actually instead pulled their entire Fall tour, including the September 27 date at The Phoenix – Justin Hayward-Young will need surgery on his throat for the third time this year, and doctor’s orders do not include gallivanting around the globe singing rock music. While I wasn’t going to be hitting that particular show, I was looking forward to seeing that at Iceland Airwaves in October and that show is also scotched. Here’s hoping Hayward-Young’s recovery is quick and the make-up date is a convenient one.

NME talked the band at Reading/Leeds this past weekend about their plans for album number two and Sabotage Times has an interview with guitarist Freddie Cowan.

MP3: The Vaccines – “Norgaard”
MP3: The Vaccines – “Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra)”
Video: The Vaccines – “Norgaard”
Video: The Vaccines – “All In White”

The Telegraph has an interview with Elbow frontman Guy Garvey. They’re at The Sound Academy on September 28 and the video of a session from this past Spring in the crypt at London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral is available to stream for the next week at Absolute Radio.

The Gallagher brothers’ ongoing duel of one-upmanship has spilled over into their North American touring itinerary. Noel Gallagher has announced the first Stateside live dates in support of his solo debut Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, out November 8, and though it’s limited to major markets as the first Beady Eye jaunt was, it’s much more ambitious in scope. For example, while Beady Eye were able to fill if not quite sell out the Sound Academy back in June, Noel has booked not one but two nights at Massey Hall to open up the tour on November 7 and 8 – tickets $39.50 and $99.50 plus fees, on sale on September 9 at 10AM. Now I know that Oasis fans are devoted and Noel has said he’d play material from said band live, but still – that’s kind of… well that’s a lot of tickets to expect to sell. That’s all. Anyways, NME has another new song from the debut album available to stream.

Stream: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – “If I Had A Gun”
Video: Noel Gallagher & The High Flying Birds – “The Death Of You And Me”

Meanwhile, over at BBC6, Liam Gallagher discusses the slander lawsuit that remains against his brother about comments surrounding the end of Oasis and the next Beady Eye record.

Paste has a feature piece on Laura Marling, whose new record A Creature I Don’t Know is out on September 13 and who plays The Great Hall on September 23.

BBC has a conversation with Charlie Fink of Noah & The Whale about their plans for album number four and the influences being applied to it.

Ladytron’s Reuben Wu talks Gravity The Seducer with DIY; the album is out September 13 and they play The Phoenix on October 5.

The Quietus gets Portishead to select thirteen of their favourite albums. They’re at The Sound Academy on October 9 and 10.

Sweden’s The Sounds have set a North American tour in support of their new album Something To Die For; look for them at The Opera House on October 26.

Video: The Sounds – “Something To Die For”

If anyone was wondering – as I was – if there was going to be a way to get hands on a vinyl copy of I Break Horses’ gorgeous debut Hearts on vinyl in Canada without paying crazy import prices, take, um, heart – apparently there is an October 18 street date for physical editions of the record.

DIY reports that Sweden’s Those Dancing Days have decided to go on hiatus to tend to things IRL for a while. This is disappointing as they were one of the bands who had to pull out of SXSW this year due to visa snafus and I was hoping they’d make it up next year. Guess not.

Video: Those Dancing Days – “Reaching Forward”

Danish punks Iceage have released a new video from their debut New Brigade.

Video: Iceage – “You’re Blessed”

The lead track from the forthcoming M83 double-album ridicu-epic Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming is now available to stream. They’re at Lee’s Palace on November 18.

Stream: M83 – “Intro”

The Jezabels have released a video to go with the first MP3 from Prisoner, out September 16 in their native Australia but not until next Spring over here. They’re at The Phoenix opening up for Hey Rosetta! on November 24 and possibly the just-announced second show on November 23; still waiting on confirmation of that.

MP3: The Jezabels – “Endless Summer”
Video: The Jezabels – “Endless Summer”

Sebastian Dehesdin

An equal facility with keyboards and laptops as well as guitars has certainly helped Frenchman Anthony Gonzalez make M83 one of the leading contemporary lights of the genre, though he’d best be prepared to soon share the spotlight with Swede Maria Lindén, who plies her craft under the guise I Break Horses. Together with collaborator Fredrik Balck, their debut album Hearts is a beautiful and bewitching collection of songs born of keyboards, bred of guitars and bathed in reverb.

Hearts is possessed of a distinctly Scandinavian combination of mechanical precision and organic warmth, but rather than play against each other, those two sides blend together effortlessly and almost magically, It’s not magic, however – it’s Lindén’s vocals; airy enough to permeate everything yet carrying plenty of emotional heft and yearning, it’s the the sonic mortar that binds it all together. Sometimes the exact words are hard to discern but their meaning is never less than clear: Their name is I Break Horses but their mandate is breaking Hearts.

The album is out August 23 in the UK; two singles have been released with accompanying videos. The Iceberg inquires as to how they got their name and tangentially but interesting, Imprint has a conversation with Vaughan Oliver, who designed the Hearts album art as well as most of the 4AD catalog in its heyday. You’ve seen his work. You have.

MP3: I Break Horses – “Winter Beats”
MP3: I Break Horses – “Hearts”
Video: I Break Horses – “Winter Beats”
Video: I Break Horses – “Hearts”

Niki & The Dove are another Swedish two-piece, albeit one that treads more dancey/electronic terrain than their countrymen. So far their only output is The Fox EP, released earlier this Summer, but a full-length is due out on Sub Pop later this year and a new song was made available to stream the other day. I find them intriguing and look forward to seeing them at Iceland Airwaves.

MP3: Niki & The Dove – “The Fox”
Stream: Niki & The Dove – “Last Night”

Speaking of M83, Exclaim has the artwork for their new album Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, due out October 18. They play Lee’s Palace on November 18.

Irish singer-songwriter Lisa Hannigan has set a September 20 release date for her new record Passenger and will follow that up with an October 15 show at The Mod Club. Paste has full North American dates and a stream of a new song; grab a track from her Mercury-nominated 2009 effort Sea Sew below.

MP3: Lisa Hannigan – “Lille”

The Horseshoe isn’t where you’ll normally find DJ/electronic-oriented acts but that’s what UK act Star Slinger will be serving up on November 2; it’s part of a North American tour in support of his debut album Volume 1.

MP3: Star Slinger – “Mornin’”
MP3: Star Slinger – “Minted”

I’m not sure what’s more surprising – that The Kooks are still around or that they’re apparently still big enough to play The Sound Academy. Both of these things are clearly true, as they are doing just that on November 23 with tickets being $25 for general admission and $35 for a VIP balcony view. It’s part of a North American tour in support of their new record Junk Of The Heart, out September 13.

Video: The Kooks – “You Don’t Love Me”

Though not out until August 16, Blood Orange’s pretty frickin’ excellent debut album Coastal Grooves is now streaming in whole over at Hype Machine. And making sure that the Dev Hynes love is spread evenly across the internet, there’s a Devonte-assembled mixtape up for grabs at Yours Truly, over at Fader, a New Villager cover and at Dazed, an interview.

MP3: Blood Orange – “Lighthouse”
Stream: Blood Orange / Coastal Grooves

And speaking of New Villager, the New York art collective have made a September 26 date at The Drake Underground in support of their self-titled debut, out August 16.

Video: NewVillager – “ShotBigHorixon”
Video: NewVillager – “Lighthouse”

The Line Of Best Fit reports that all those Radiohead King Of Limbs remixes that have been kicking around over the Summer will be collected into an official double-disc set under the title of TKOL RMX and out on September 19. They’ve got a few of said remixes available to preview over here. Update: Billboard has the release date as October 11.

Rolling Stone confirms that Noel Gallagher is no less quotable now that he’s out of Oasis; his solo debut Noel Gallagher and the High Flying Birds is out November 8.

The Joy Formidable tell NME they’ve got plenty of material ready to go for album number two, they just need to find the time to stop promoting album number one to go and record it. Look for the follow-up to The Big Roar next year. And speaking of The Big Roar, it appears that it will be getting a domestic vinyl pressing for August 30; previously, the only way to get it on LP was by the limited edition pre-order back in the Winter. So there’s that.

NPR interviews Noah & The Whale and also solicits a Tiny Desk Concert from the band.

And finally, Pitchfork has a good roundup of just how badly affected a lot of independent record labels will be by the destruction of the Sony/PIAS distribution warehouse in London during Monday night’s rioting. Short version – buy their records, buy their MP3s, help them get back on their feet and keep releasing great music.

Frank Yang

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.com

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 Yang

That the Toronto stop of her North American tour on Wednesday night was originally booked into the Kool Haus – considerably smaller than the posh environs of Massey Hall where she last performed in 2009 – certainly seemed to imply that people were underestimating her draw, and that the show was moved to the many times larger Air Canada Centre after selling out instantly was representative of just how much bigger – and faster – her fanbase was growing. Granted, it was in theatre configuration, accommodating approximately 5200 patrons instead of the 16000 of the full arena, but if you don’t think she could have easily sold a few thousand more tickets then you’re just not paying attention.

I had the privilege of seeing Adele at an MTV Live taping back in March and so had a sense of how she was live – which is to say wonderfully warm and engaging, with no sense of the stage fright she’s supposedly afflicted with – but that was a short set in front of a maybe a couple hundred people. This would be considerably more on every level, and yet Adele Adkins somehow managed to make an arena show in front of thousands feel just as intimate as that studio performance.

Things opened with a touch of theatricality – with Adele starting “Hometown Glory” from behind a curtain before stepping onstage to rafter-shaking shrieks – but for most of the show, it was all about simple, direct and genuine connection between Adele and her fans, which for all of her prodigious artistic gifts may be her greatest strength. Chatty, conversational and more than a little crude between songs, punctuated by a huge and endearing cackle, Adele was able to make a massive room feel as intimate as a small club or even more like a private performance for some friends in the front room. It’s impossible to overstate the intensity of the personal rapport that seemed to exist between she and almost every one of the thousands in the audience – it’s hard to imagine any other artist of her stature taking stage time to talk about the experiences that informed her songs, her affection for her pet dachshund or gush about bands she’s currently listening to (incidentally, she gave big props to Toronto R&B outfit The Weeknd).

As entertaining as it would likely be to just sit and chat for an hour and a half with Adele, there was no forgetting that music was the order of the evening. Improvisation wasn’t on the menu, save for a few subtle shifts in arrangements, with the emphasis on her huge, expressive voice and playing the songs everyone wanted to hear the way they knew them, but with plenty of verve and as singalong-able as possible – something the house happily obliged, at times creating an almost choral effect. Backed by a seven-piece band, Adele delivered exactly the sort of set you’d expect, comprising most of 21 – often introduced as “new songs” as though they were something to be politely endured before she got to the old favourites instead of the material that brought both her and her fans here on this evening – and a decent amount of 19. The show built to a finale that was completely predictable – “Chasing Pavements” and “Make You Feel My Love” to close the main set and “Someone Like You” and “Rolling In The Deep” making up the encore – but also completely rousing. You don’t need to surprise when you’re this good. Adele is like the friend who goes onto great things, but never forgets where she came from – not “is like”, but “is” – and though musically she trades in broken hearts, there was nothing but love at the ACC on this night.

The Globe & Mail has a feature piece on Adele and also a review of the show. The Toronto Sun, National Post, Toronto Star and Exclaim also have writeups of the evening.

Photos: Adele @ The Air Canada Centre – May 18, 2011
Video: Adele – “Rolling In The Deep”
Video: Adele – “Make You Feel My Love”
Video: Adele – “Chasing Pavements”
Video: Adele – “Cold Shoulder”

Interview has a brief talk with Anna Calvi, who has a date at The El Mocambo on May 27.

PJ Harvey discusses the visual side of her art with Spinner.

Pitchfork has an extensive interview with Kate Bush, who released her first album in over five years this week with Director’s Cut. The record is streaming in whole over at NPR.

Stream: Kate Bush / Director’s Cut

New York Magazine and The Chicago Tribune talk to Will Sergeant of Echo & The Bunnymen while The Aquarian chats with Ian McCulloch.

Johnny Marr talks up his upcoming projects with Billboard.

The Guardian talks to Brett Anderson and Mat Osman about why the reunited Suede are so fashionable again – just in time for Brett Anderson (the solo artist) to announce the September 26 release of his next record, Black Rainbows. Details on the album at NME.

The second single from Patrick Wolf’s forthcoming Lupercalia now has a video and it indeed confirms that, on this record, Wolf is in his happy place. It’s out June 20.

Video: Patrick Wolf – “House”

Foals discuss possible directions of their next record with aux.tv.

The Guardian, Gigwise and Clash have feature pieces on Friendly Fires, whose new record Pala is out next week and are in town at The Phoenix on May 30.

NME gets some information on the next Muse record from rhythm section Dominic Howard and Chris Wolstenholme.

The Aquarian talks to Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner. They’re at The Kool Haus on Saturday and their new album Suck It And See is out June 7.

Also on the bill are The Vaccines, who have a new video from their debut What Did You Expect From The Vaccines, due out May 31.

Video: The Vaccines – “All In White”

NPR have posted a WFUV radio session with Noah & The Whale, with whom North Country Times, Oregon Music News, The Telegraph and The Edinburgh Evening News have interviews.

James Blake has a new video from James Blake.

Video: James Blake – “Lindesfarne”

Artrocker has a piece from Clock Opera frontman Guy Connelly about writing their latest single “Belongings”, for which they’ve just released a video and are streaming both sides at Soundcloud. DIY also solicits an alphabetized list of… stuff from the band. These guys were one of the more exciting discoveries at SXSW and the lead-up to their debut album verifies that the excitement is justified.

Video: Clock Opera – “Belongings”

Ladytron are streaming the first single from new album Gravity The Seducer at Soundcloud, well in advance of its September 13 release date.

Art Brut are streaming their new record Brilliant! Tragic! over at Paste. They play The Mod Club on June 17 for NXNE.

Stream: Art Brut / Brilliant! Tragic!

And according to Under The Radar, the Friday night of NXNE – June 17 – will also bring Oxford’s Swervedriver back to town for the first time since, well, NXNE 2008. Venue still to be announced but this should be one of the highlights of the festival.

MP3: Swervedriver – “Duel” (live)

IFC has both an interview with Euros and Norman of Jonny and premiered a new video from the duo. They are at The Drake Underground on June 3 and 4.

Video: Jonny – “You Was Me”

They Shoot Music has a video session with Gruff Ryhs, and he’s also the subject of features at Nashville Scene, The Village Voice and Today Online. He has a date at The Horseshoe for June 11.

NPR has posted a World Cafe session with The Joy Formidable.

And with that, folks, things go into vacation mode over the next couple weeks. There’ll still be updates and whatnot, just maybe fewer, probably leaner and almost certainly at odd hours. And any last-minute suggestions of things to see and do in Barcelona are welcome.