Dusdin CondrenI’m not playing “firsties” here, but I’ve always known that Sharon Van Etten would go on to big things since writing up her debut Because I Was In Love back in October 2009, and following 2010′s excellent epic it seemed pretty clear that her third album Tramp – released yesterday – would be the one that would see her break out in a big way.

That said, I’m still surprised at just how much press coverage Van Etten has been getting with this album, beyond just record reviews – those have been pretty uniformly glowing, by the way. My own thoughts will have to wait as I’m still processing; you can expect impressions sometime around the writeup for her show at Lee’s Palace on February 21 – but for now, wade through feature interviews with the New Jersey native at and and all of The Washington Post, Nylon, Billboard, New York Magazine, eMusic, Spinner, Beatroute, Blurt, The AV Club, NPR – who also have a conversation with her specifically about the track, “We Are Fine” – and Pitchfork solicits a guest list.

And if you’d rather listen than read, check out a sampler of live and studio tracks collected over at Largehearted Boy, a stream of the album and new to download as of yesterday is a demo version of Tramp highlight “Serpents”.

MP3: Sharon Van Etten – “Serpents” (demo)
MP3: Sharon Van Etten – “Serpents”
Stream: Sharon Van Etten / Tramp

Also on that February 21 bill at Lee’s is Shearwater and their new album Animal Joy is now streaming at NPR ahead of its release next Tuesday; there’s also a radio session with KDHX available to stream and an interview with Jonathan Meiburg at The Wesleyan Argus. And I’ll tell you this for free – you can file the show under, “gigs of the Winter” and the album under, “records of the year”.

MP3: Shearwater – “You As You Were”
MP3: Shearwater – “Breaking The Yearlings”
Stream: Shearwater / Animal Joy

Margot & The Nuclear So & So’s are prepping the March 20 release of their new record Rot Gut, Domestic and will be at The Garrison on April 5 to play some songs from it. Tickets are $11.50 in advance and you can preview the new material by way of the first video.

Video: Margot & The Nuclear So & So’s – “Prozac Rock”

Portland’s Horse Feathers – who were one of the unexpected highlights of NXNE 2011 – will be releasing a new album in Cynic’s New Year on April 17 and will be at The Horseshoe on April 29, tickets $10.50. If you like beautiful things, you should be there.

MP3: Horse Feathers – “Belly Of June”

Hospitality celebrated the release of their self-titled debut last week with a hometown show in Brooklyn and NYC Taper was there to record it. There’s also features on the band at The Village Voice and Capital, and a session and interview at The Alternate Side. They’re at The Horseshoe on February 29 opening up for Tennis.

And speaking of Tennis, their new record Young And Old is now available to stream at The Line Of Best Fit ahead of its official release next week.

Stream: Tennis / Young & Old

NYC Taper is sharing a recording of a recent show by Blouse, who’re at The Garrison on May 5 opening up for Bear In Heaven.

DIY chats with Chairlift, hitting the Horseshoe on March 28.

NPR has a World Cafe session with Girls.

IFC is showing off a clip of St. Vincent’s recent appearance on Portlandia and also a performance from her 4AD Session, while Prefix points out a video session she recorded for CBC’s Q, presumably when visiting last December. And oh, there’s a new video from Strange Mercy to grok at. And speaking of Portlandia, CBC Radio 3 has an interview with Carrie Brownstein about working both Wild Flag and the show.

Video: St. Vincent – “Cheerleader”

Drowned In Sound, The Kansas City Star and Chicago Reader meet Craig Finn.

The Line Of Best Fit, Clash, Consequence Of Sound, and eMusic profile Of Montreal and their new album Paralytic Stalks.

The Wilco episode of Austin City Limits is now available to stream in full.

A new installment of the Old Ideas With New Friends video series is now up, with Mountain Goats man John Darnielle covering Leonard Cohen’s “The Smokey Life” over at Consequence Of Sound.

Mick RockI will be the first to admit to not really being able to tell where Bradford Cox’s Deerhunter ends and his Atlas Sound begins. I know that the former is ostensibly a band and the latter a solo project, but to my ears the hazy, psychedelic rock that each project produces isn’t exactly a world apart. Okay, Atlas Sound is more keys, less guitars, but they’re both critically adored and don’t really do a lot for me, despite on paper being the sort of thing I should totally dig. I just find it all overly meandering. Go figure.

I do know, however, that it’s Atlas Sound that’s just announced a North American tour in support of last year’s Parallax that covers a lot of geography if not a lot of markets. It does, however, include a March 6 date at Lee’s Palace in Toronto, whereas the original announcement did not, so that’s something for local fans. Tickets are $16.50 in advance.

MP3: Atlas Sound – “Te Amo”
MP3: Atlas Sound – “Terra Incognita”

Also just announced is a date from Los Angeles indie-harpist Active Child, who will be at Lee’s Palace on May 15 as part of a tour in support of his debut full-length You Are All I See. Tickets for that are $15 in advance.

MP3: Active Child – “Diamond Heart”

If you weren’t able to catch Sleigh Bells at The Phoenix on February 14 or just wanted to see them in a much less enjoyable setting amidst a much less enjoyable crowd for a lot more money, they’re opening up both Red Hot Chili Peppers shows at the Air Canada Centre on April 27 and 28. Whoooo. Reign Of Terror is out February 21 and the first single is now available to download.

MP3: Sleigh Bells – “Comeback Kid”

A Place To Bury Strangers’ new EP Onwards To The Wall is available to stream over at Hype Machine ahead of its release next week. They’re at Lee’s Palace on April 2.

MP3: A Place To Bury Strangers – “So Far Away”
Stream: A Place To Bury Strangers / Onwards To The Wall

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune has an interview with Craig Finn and also solicits some annotations of three songs from Clear Heart Full Eyes; Minneapolis City Pages and The Macon Telegraph also have chats. And shifting gears to The Hold Steady, Paste digs up some footage of the band at SXSW 2009 and I’m kind of glad they shot the show from the back of Club DeVille because if they were up front, there’d probably be a lot of embarrassing footage of me rocking out. And no one needs to see that.

The Stool Pigeon talks to Kevin Barnes of Of Montreal about their new record Paralytic Stalks, out next week.

Also out next week is Sharon Van Etten’s new album Tramp, and you can hear the whole thing right now streaming over at NPR, perhaps while reading these interviews at The Line Of Best Fit and The L. She’s at Lee’s Palace on February 21.

MP3: Sharon Van Etten – “Serpents”
Stream: Sharon Van Etten / Tramp

February 14 is a big day for Shearwater as it marks the release of their excellent new record Animal Joy, but that day will also see the reissue of their 2004 album Winged Life on LP for the first time. That was the last album for the Shearwater that existed as a side-project for Jonathan Meiburg and Will Sheff compositions that didn’t fit in Okkervil River before becoming a more distinct creative entity driven wholly by Meiburg. But it’s also a gorgeous record, so that it’s going to find a home on some turntables is good news. Shearwater open up for Sharon Van Etten at Lee’s on February 21.

MP3: Shearwater – “Whipping Boy”

Pitchfork has premiered a second MP3 from the forthcoming Bowerbirds record The Clearing, ahead of its March 6 release date. They play The Garrison on March 27.

MP3: Bowerbirds – “In The Yard”

Mountain XPress talks to The Mountain Goats, but not about mountains.

Exclaim and Time interview Nada Surf, who’ve released a new video from The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy. They’re at The Opera House on April 4.

Video: Nada Surf – “When I Was Young”

If you enjoyed the Popeye-powered Wilco video that premiered last week, you may be pleased to know there’s an entire website at wilcospinach.com devoted to the production. And if you click around a bit, you may find a way to download a live version of “Dawned On Me” for keeps.

Drowned In Sound talks to Bryce Dessner about The National and his Long Count project.

PopMatters asks twenty questions of Phantogram.

Billy PavoneTraditionally, the gift for tenth anniversaries is tin. I don’t really know what you can buy these days that’s made of tin. I suppose the modern equivalent of aluminum offers more options, but New York’s Walkmen have got their own idea that I can get behind. They’ve been staging a handful of one-off (okay, two-off for San Francisco) shows where they showcase material drawn from across all of their ten years and five albums of original material – though maybe the Harry Nillson covers album Pussy Cats gets some time, who knows – as well as showcasing some new material from their forthcoming sixth studio album.

And while a hometown NYC show still hasn’t been formalized, they’e just added Toronto to the list of cities who’ll get to spend “An evening with The Walkmen”, as the shows are being billed. That’ll be happening at The Phoenix on March 2, with tickets $25 in advance and going on sale today. There’s a feature interview with the band at The San Francisco Chronicle and a live video of one of the aforementioned new tunes has already surfaced.

MP3: The Walkmen – “Stranded”
MP3: The Walkmen – “Four Provinces”
Video: The Walkmen – “Heartbreaker”

DIY serves up a video session with Nada Surf. They’re at The Opera House on April 4.

Spinner and The Washington Post get to know Chairlift. They’re at The Horseshoe on March 28.

Craig Finn basically wins the zeitgeist this week as the press cycle for his new solo record Clear Heart Full Eyes gets him features in The AV Club, Prefix, Billboard, Dallas Observer, New York Magazine, Spinner, and Paste – but Clash wins if for no other reason than they sent Bob Mould to do the talking for them.

NPR has premiered the first video from White Rabbits’ forthcoming album Milk Famous, due out March 6.

MP3: White Rabbits – “Heavy Metal”
Video: White Rabbits – “Heavy Metal”

Austin’s White Denim have scheduled a show at The Horseshoe for April 16. DIY and College Times have chats with the band, who followed up last year’s D full-length with the Takes Place In Your Work Space LP late last year.

MP3: White Denim – “Anvil Everything”

Wilco have released an animated, Popeye-powered video from The Whole Love.

Video: Wilco – “Dawned On Me”

PopMatters has a sit-down with Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips. A video from the band’s New Year’s Eve 2011 gig of them playing a 17-minute version of The Beatles’ “I Want You” with Wilco’s Nels Cline on guitar has surfaced. Dig it.

Video: The Flaming Lips w Nels Cline – “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”

The St. Augustine Record talks words with John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats while The Charlotte Observer asks him about moving to North Carolina.

Spin are offering a complete stream of the new Of Montreal album Paralytic Stalks as well as annotations for each song from Kevin Barnes. It’s out February 7.

MP3: Of Montreal – “Dour Percentage”
MP3: Of Montreal – “Wintered Debts”
Stream: Of Montreal / Paralytic Stalks

Sleigh Bells have released a first video from Reign Of Terror. They’re at The Phoenix on February 18 and the album is out February 21.

Video: Sleigh Bells – “Comeback Kid”

Also with a new video is The War On Drugs, taken from last year’s Slave Ambient.

Video: The War On Drugs – “Brothers”

David McCrindleA rumour that will undoubtedly surface over and over again over the next few months about Minneapolis young toughs Howler is this – drummer Brent Mayes is the scion of one Prince Rogers Nelson. Even if it were true, it would be irrelevant as future-funk is the furthest thing from Howler’s mandate as you can get. The fivesome face unabashedly backwards in time, staring straight at the ’50s rock and ’70s punk – in particular the garages and dive bars across America where rock’n'roll was being cultivated.

And if they do it all through the lens of the ’00s and in particular The Strokes, well that’s fair game as well. The band are absurdly young – frontman Jordan Gatesmith is all of 19 years old – and Julian Casablancas and his gang are probably as much a part of the classic rock canon to them as Elvis or The Ramones. This isn’t in any way to suggest that Howler will be taking their place amongst the aforementioned anytime soon, if ever. Though their debut album America Give Up has plenty of rough energy and enthusiasm and some immediately likeable tunes but loses some points for striving a bit too hard for some nebulous “authenticity”, particularly when Gatesmith tries to ape Casablancas’ more throat-shredding moments; they fare better when they sound more relaxed and like a bunch of kids having a good time. Still, they manage to stay on the right side of the ledger by keeping the tempos up, guitars loud, hooks sharp and running time short – under 32 minutes and they’re done.

Unsurpisingly, Howler are already critical darlings in the UK – The Guardian has a profile piece on the band. America Give Up is out next Tuesday and streaming in whole at NPR. They play The Drake Underground on April 5.

MP3: Howler – “Back Of Your Neck”
Video: Howler – “Back Of Your Neck”
Video: Howler – “Told You Once”
Stream: Howler / America Give Up

Not so long ago, Crocodiles were super-conspicuous for their absence from Toronto stages – now they’ve practically moved in as they’re back for their third show in eight months (sixth if you count all three NXNE gigs), playing Lee’s Palace on February 23. Tickets are $13.50.

MP3: Crocodiles – “Sleep Forever”

Chairlift’s new record Something will be out on January 24 and they’ll follow that up with a show at The Horseshoe on March 28 – tickets $12.

MP3: Chairlift – “Sidewalk Safari”

North Carolina’s Lost In The Trees continue to work 2010′s All Alone In An Empty House, returning to town again for another date at The Drake Underground on April 6, tickets $11.50. Update: Their new record A Church That Fits Our Needs is out March 20 and NPR is streaming the first song.

MP3: Lost In The Trees – “All Alone In An Empty House”
Stream: Lost In The Trees – “Red”

Amidst a lineup of some of the biggest – and loudest – names in indie rock of the past two decades, not many expected the delicate piano songs of Seattle’s Perfume Genius to stand out, but inexplicably, it did. Now with a second album in Put Your Back N 2 It ready for a February 21 release, Mike Hadreas will hit the road with it and stop in at the Drake Underground on April 8. Tickets for that are $13.50 in advance.

MP3: Perfume Genius – “All Waters”

Real Estate have rolled out a new Scharpling-directed video from Days. They’re at Lee’s Palace on January 20.

Video: Real Estate – “Easy”

Pitchfork has another MP3 from Of Montreal’s forthcoming Paralytic Stalks, out February 7.

MP3: Of Montreal – “Dour Percentage”

Clash talks to Eric Bachmann and Mark Price of Archers Of Loaf. The Vee Vee reissue is out February 21.

White Rabbits have announced a March 6 release date for their new record Milk Famous. You can grab the first MP3 at their website in exchange for an email address.

The Shins have released a stream of the first tune from their new record Port Of Morrow, out March 20.

Stream: The Shins – “Simple Song”

Memory Tapes have put out a new video from Player Piano.

Video: Memory Tapes – “Trance Sisters”

Village Voice interviews Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack of Wye Oak.

Billboard chats with Carrie Brownstein of Wild Flag and other stuff.

I don’t know if this video for Wilco’s “The Whole Love” is technically official, but seeing as how it was directed by Spencer Tweedy – son of Jeff – it’s at least officially acknowledged.

Video: Wilco – “The Whole Love”

PitchforkTV has a video documentary on The Flaming Lips’ masterpiece The Soft Bulletin.

Frank YangMost bands that name themselves for prehistoric entities – your Mastadons, your Dinosaur Jrs – seem to do so at least a little for the heavy and/or primal connotations that come with it. Not so much for Brooklyn’s Caveman, who seem to have chosen the name ironically as there’s nothing raw or neolithic about their smooth and polished debut album Coco Beware.

Rather than club you about the head with a bone, Caveman makes an impression with shimmering guitars, floaty synths and tight harmonies delivering genial, mid-tempo pop that’s reminiscent of a less annoying Vampire Weekend sans Afropop influences. Another reference point is Local Natives thanks to their vocal interplay and creative percussion though Caveman never gets nearly as frantic as that outfit when they’re in gear. Granted, atmosphere and mood are much more Caveman’s mandate than overt dynamicism but you can sense that they’ve got the goods to amp things up a bit if they wanted, they’ve simply opted not to. As a result, Coco Beware succeeds at being an interesting listen, but not a very exciting one. They can do better.

Caveman are in town at The Horseshoe on January 11 along with Oklahoma’s Hospitality, chattered about here. Tickets are $10 in advance but courtesy of Embrace I’ve got a pair of passes to give away to the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see Caveman” in the subject line and your full name in the body, contest closes at midnight, January 8.

MP3: Caveman – “Thankful”
MP3: Caveman – “Easy Water”
MP3: Caveman – “Old Friend”
MP3: Caveman – “Decide”
MP3: Caveman – “My Room”
Video: Caveman – “Easy Water”

Anyone hoping that the Cat Power Christmas Eve release would be a new song rather than a cover might be a little disappointed that it’s not – but to be fair, it’s a cover of herself. Her redo of “King Rides By” sounds very much like the confident Cat Power of today than rather than the one who originally recorded it for her third album What Would The Community Think in 1996 – great for those who have been waiting to hear her voice wrapped around anything new but not necessarily offering much insight into where her songwriting is as she prepares her first release of new material since 2006′s The Greatest. An MP3 of the track is available to download from Cat Power’s website in exchange for a charitable donation and the video, featuring boxer Manny Pacquiao and directed by actor/director Giovanni Ribisi, is available to watch below.

Video: Cat Power – “King Rides By”

Wilco are streaming the opening night of their “Incredible Shrinking Tour Of Chicago” from earlier this month at Roadcase.

One of this year’s Record Store Day releases was an EP consisting of Franz Ferdinand covers; a video for the selection by Peaches came out back in the Spring but now, three more for the contributions by LCD Soundsystem, Stephin Merritt and ESG have come out. Still nothing for the collaboration between Franz Ferdinand themselves and Deborah Harry yet, but these other vids came out of nowhere as well. So.

Video: LCD Soundsystem – “Live Alone”
Video: ESG – “What She Came For”
Video: Stephin Merritt – “Dream Again”
Video: Peaches – “Turn It On”

Spinner talks to Matthew Sweet about celebrating his 20th anniversary with his Girlfriend, Laundromatinee welcomes the popsmith to their studios for a session, and NPR has a Mountain Stage session.

The AV Club gets Craig Finn to go all One-Track Mind with one of the songs from his solo debut Clear Heart Full Eyes, due out January 24.

DIY checks in with Of Montreal as they put the finishing touches on Paralytic Stalks, out February 7.

The Alternate Side serves up a session with Mates Of State.

Spin has a Moog Sound Lab video session with The Antlers.

Loud & Quiet interviews Erika Anderson of EMA, who has a date at The Garrison on March 13.

Merrell Garbus talks to Blurt about what’s been a pretty good year for tUnE-yArDs. Relix also has a chat.

NYC Taper – who narrowly avoided being hacked into oblivion earlier this week – has posted recordings of a couple of this year’s Yo La Tengo Hannukah shows at Maxwell’s in Hoboken.

Paste looks into the enduring appeal of Neutral Milk Hotel’s not-nearly-as-reclusive-as-he-used-to-be leader Jeff Mangum.

NPR talks to Tom Waits.