Polyvinyl

His latest album, Port Entropy is the second of his records I’ve had the pleasure of immersing myself in after 2008′s Exit and like its predecessor, it’s a whimsical whirlwind of instruments and orchestration, almost all played by Tokumaru, that lifts aloft his winsome and dreamlike melodies. For all the musical sophistication and cinematic scope of his recordings, the songs at their core have a childlike simplicity and pop appeal that transcends things like language or culture, and anyways “la la la” pretty much means the same thing universally.

Port Entropy was released in the Spring of 2010 in Japan and will be out in North America on February 15. Tokumaru toured over here behind Exit, assisted in the live setting by members of such acts as Beirut and The National, and word is that he’ll be crossing the Pacific again to support the new record.

MP3: Shugo Tokmaru – “Lahaha”
Video: Shugo Tokmaru – “Lahaha”
Video: Shogu Tokumaru – “Tracking Elevator”
Video: Shugo Tokumaru – “Rum Hee”

Spin talks to Bob Nastanovich about the future of the Pavement reunion, which apparently isn’t as over as though who saw them melt down at Matador 21 might have guessed – but even if they play more shows, don’t expect any new material.

PopMatters, Exclaim and The Star-Tribune talk to Mark Olson of The Jayhawks.

Spinner talks to Nicole Atkins about her Canadian connections while Vol. 1 Brooklyn asks her about her reading habits. Atkin’s second record Mondo Amore is out February 8 and she plays The Horseshoe on February 26.

State and Baltimore Magazine talk to Dean Wareham.

Black Book returns to Chicago’s Wicker Park with Liz Phair. Nashville Scene also has an interview.

The National Post, The Independent and Time talk to Colin Meloy of The Decemberists, who are at The Sound Academy tomorrow night. NYC Taper is sharing a recording of their show in New York from last week.

Paste catches up with Sam Beam of Iron & Wine.

Le Blogotheque serves up an order of Take-Away Show with Spoon, up-sized to include downloadable MP3s of the performance.

The Georgia Straight talks to Daniel Kessler of Interpol, who have a date at The Sound Academy on February 15.

The Strokes make the press rounds in advance of the March 22 release of Angles, offering interviews to Spinner, Myspace and Spin.

Beggars USA reports that Alela Diane will release a new record entitled Alela Diane & Wild Divine on April 5th.

The New Zealand Herald and Pitchfork talk to Sufjan Stevens.

In support of the release of their new record Long Live on February 15, Snowblink will play an in-store at Soundscapes on March 3 followed by a record release show at The Music Gallery on March 5.

MP3: Snowblink – “Ambergris”

Plants & Animals will warm up for their March 5 show at Lee’s Palace with an in-store across the street at Sonic Boom that same afternoon at 4PM.

MP3: Plants & Animals – “Tom Cruz”

The National has words with Dan Bejar of Destroyer. They are at Lee’s Palace on March 31.

NOW checks in with Joel Gibb of The Hidden Cameras.

Myspace

But like many of their peers, Buffalo Tom found a second act years later when they discovered their fans from back in the day were still there and so was their appetite for their music. I for one was thrilled to finally see them live not once but twice in 2007, both terrifically high energy performances with just the right amount of slop, and their comeback album Three Easy Pieces also stood tall alongside their past works. There were no disappointments here.

And I don’t expect any on their second post-reunion album, Skins. The Buffalo Tom formula isn’t necessarily a broad one, but it is deep enough to expect the veteran songwriters to be able to pull a dozen or so good tunes out of it every few years. Stereogum has the first MP3 from the album available to download, and though it starts out favouring the band’s more pensive side it builds quickly to a big rock breakdown, and Janovitz’s voice is unmistakeable. Consider the appetite whetted. Skins is out on February 15 of next year and The Alternate Side has an interview with Janovitz.

Grab the title track from their last record for a taste of their more pop-oriented side. Update: The new track is now available for anyone to disseminate. Yay!

MP3: Buffalo Tom – “Arise, Watch”
MP3: Buffalo Tom – “Three Easy Pieces”

Chunklet interviews Andy Earles, biographer of Husker Du and author of Husker Du: The Story of the Noise-Pop Pioneers Who Launched Modern Rock.

Creative Loafing talks to Jon Wurster and City Pages to Mac McCaughan of Superchunk. They’re playing an in-store at Sonic Boom on December 9 at 3PM before hitting up the Sound Academy that evening opening up for Broken Social Scene.

The Vine interviews Doug Martsch of Built To Spill.

Rolling Stone reports that in addition to the reissues of Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow The Green Grass on January 18, the same day that a short tour kicks off at The Phoenix in Toronto, The Jayhawks will be releasing a new album under their proper name – previously a stumbling point – in the Spring of next year.

Magnet has gone archive-digging and come up with their 2002 feature piece on Wilco circa Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, arguably the most interesting period of their career.

Old 97′s frontman Rhett Miller talks to Spinner about his love of hockey while bassist Murry Hammond chats with Metromix.

Conor Oberst will return to Bright Eyes for the first time since 2007 for The People’s Key, due February 15. Details at American Songwriter.

Interpol heads to Europe and does the press circuit with Metro, The Guardian and Drowned In Sound.

Spoon has collected the demos and alternate takes of songs that were posted to their website over the past couple years and are offering it for sale as the digital compilation Bonus Songs 2008-2009.

Yours Truly has a video session with S. Carey, in town at The Horseshoe on December 19.

The Fly has an acoustic session with Local Natives.

Spinner talks to Warpaint bassist Jenny Lee Lindberg while the band talks about and performs the song “Warpaint” in session for The Guardian.

The Besnard Lakes have set a date at Lee’s Palace for January 29, tickets $15 in advance.

MP3: The Besnard Lakes – “Albatross”

Scots Biffy Clyro will bring their Mercury-shortlisted Only Revolutions to The Garrison on February 16, tickets $15 in advance.

Video: Biffy Clyro – “God and Satan”

Asobi Seksu will hit the road following the the February 11 release of their new record Fluorescence and stop in at The Horseshoe on February 27.

MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Trails”

Cold War Kids will be at Lee’s Palace on March 18 in support of their new record Mine Is Yours, out January 25. Tickets $20 in advance. The Richmond Times-Dispatch, Spinner and The Hook have features on the band.

The Whig and Edmonton Journal interview Dan Mangan, who just recorded a World Cafe session for NPR.

San Francisco Weekly and Exclaim chat with The Sadies, who will be holding their annual New Year’s Eve throwdown at The Horseshoe on December 31.

Wolf Parade discuss their decision to take an indefinite hiatus with aux.tv.

Exclaim declares Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs as their pop/rock album of the year and talk to Win Butler about it.

The Dears are giving away a track from their forthcoming Degeneration Street over at Dangerbird. The record is out February 15.

Dan Dennison

It’s interesting to note that this album finds the lineup officially expanded to a six-piece, bringing their touring viola and keyboard players into the fold (and press photos). One might suppose that the extra personnel would make for a bigger, broader-sounding album, but BSP have never gone small or been blessed with an inordinate amount of focus, even when they numbered just four, so it’s hard to imagine them being even more out there with album number four than they’ve been in the past. Zeus, the taster EP for the new record, is certainly as eclectic over its seven tracks as anything they’ve done before.

Skiddle.com has an interview with the band and in addition to assembling a little teaser video for the new record, they’ve released a new MP3 from the album to get y’all excited.

MP3: British Sea Power – “Living Is So Easy”
MP3: British Sea Power – “Zeus”

Robyn has rescheduled her show from last Friday, which was cancelled at the 11th hour (or more like 3PM) the day of due to illness. It’ll now take place on January 26, still at the Sound Academy.

Video: Robyn – “Dancing On My Own”

Dum Dum Girls will be making up for their cancelled Fall tour with a Winter jaunt that includes a stop at the El Mocambo on February 26.

MP3: Dum Dum Girls – “D.A.L.”
MP3: Dum Dum Girls – “Jail La La”

Eric Elbogen, aka Say Hi – he stopped directing that at your mom a little while ago – has a new record coming out on January 25 entitled Um, Uh Oh and will be staging a huge tour to promote. Check out the first track courtesy of Spin and see him when he plays the El Mocambo on March 4.

MP3: Say Hi – “Devils”

NPR has got a World Cafe session with Ra Ra Riot, while Pique, The Calgary Sun and The Gauntlet have interviews. The band are at the Mod Club on December 1.

Drowned In Sound talks to Scott Devendorf of The National. The deluxe edition of High Violet comes out November 23.

Spin declares Warpaint to be “breaking out” while The Riverfront Times talks to drummer Stella Mozgawa.

Spoon have put out a new video from Transference.

Video: Spoon – “Nobody Gets Me But You”

Band Of Horses have opted to premiere their latest cinematically-styled video from Infinite Arms at IMBD.

Video: Band Of Horses – “Dilly”

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart talk to Spinner about “Heart In Your Heartbreak”, the lead single from their new record Belong, due out in March.

Frank Yang

So long that I had to skip out on the first mainstage act of the day – Girls – to take care of some business, and was okay with that. I’d seen them at Pitchfork and that was enough for a while. I did make sure to catch Come, however, seeing as how it was just the Boston quartet’s third show in 15 years. And yeah, it was a good thing I did as they played the role that Chavez had the night before of groundbreaking ’90s act whom if not for the relative misfortune of being ahead of their time, might have found a much greater audience. Led by Thalia Zedek and her worn, emotive voice, their set was heavy and atmospheric with her and Chris Brokaw’s guitars weaving through and around each other overtop the steady and grinding rhythm section. Like Chavez, Come were a band I tried out some time ago and couldn’t quite get into – their performance made me think it might be time to try again.

Photos: Come @ Pearl at The Palms – October 2, 2010
Video: Come – “Cimarron”
Video: Come – “Submerge”

I figured I’d gotten enough The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion back at Pitchfork, but found I actually enjoyed this performance considerably more. Surely the setting was part of it – the JSBX are far more suited to playing dark, grungy clubs – or fancy theatres masquerading as dark, grungy clubs – than bright, sunlit afternoons at festivals, and being in their element definitely helped their vibe. They sounded jammier and greasier and angrier than they did there, that last one partly thanks to Spencer’s dissatisfaction with the sound onstage – at one point, he smashed his mic and tried (unsuccessfully) to sing through the kick drum mic. They eventually got things fixed in time for their big finish, but the stage crew was clearly unimpressed with Spencer exploding his blues all over their equipment and cut their set off at the earliest opportunity though they probably could have squeezed one more in. This wasn’t well-received by the audience, resulting in one drink thrown and one demonstration of the Pearl security’s lack of tolerance for thrown drinks.

Photos: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion @ Pearl at The Palms – October 2, 2010
Video: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – “Dang”
Video: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – “Flavor”
Video: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – “Talk About The Blues”

While most of the performers at Matador at 21 were veterans that represented the pinnacle of the label’s roster, there were still a few new acts injected into the lineup, including one of their most recent signees – Perfume Genius. Though the piano duo, playing some songs on separate keyboards and some on the same, took the energy levels down several hundred notches following Jon Spencer’s over-the-top set, the stark beauty of their short set largely and impressively silenced a room that had been absolutely adrenalized minutes earlier. I tend to approach the sensitive, piano-based singer-songwriter thing with some trepidation, but I think Mike Hadreas is the real deal. They’re currently on tour in support of debut album LearningLearning and at the Drake Underground in Toronto tomorrow night. If you’re on the fence, let me nudge you towards yes.

Photos: Perfume Genius @ Pearl at The Palms – October 2, 2010
MP3: Perfume Genius – “Learning”

The evening’s timetable had been overly optimistic in thinking that the simplicity of Perfume Genius’ setup would allow them to segue directly into Cat Power’s set, and the changeover and soundcheck ended up taking considerably longer than zero minutes and set things back by at least half an hour. Anyone hopes that the occasion would find Chan Marshall revisiting the days of Moon Pix and You Are Free evaporated when the band setup was clearly that of the Dirty Delta Blues Band that had supported her on the Jukebox tours but when her set finally got underway, there was a nod to those simpler, starker days as Chan offered her version of The Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction” accompanying herself only on electric guitar. But then the guitar went away and the band came out and the rest of the set featured the southern soul diva Cat Power who dazzled on 2006′s The Greatest with a brace of largely unfamiliar songs and covers. I admit to having some reservations of her continuing on in this style as it puts too much focus on Cat Power the voice and that’s not nearly as compelling as Cat Power the songwriter but regardless, she sounded great, looked radiant and seemed pretty together save for some random repositioning of her mic stand.

Photos: Cat Power @ Pearl at The Palms – October 2, 2010
MP3: Cat Power – “The Greatest”
MP3: Cat Power – “He War”

When 2010 began, high up on my list of bands that I had yet to see (but really wanted to) was North Carolina’s Superchunk. I finally got to check that off thanks to their short but sweet set at SxSW in March, and as energized as they were there I clearly hadn’t seen anything yet. Playing half a year later with a terrific new record in Majesty Shredding and some touring under their belts, Superchunk were a rock revelation. Easily the most energetic performer of the weekend – and that’s saying something – the former Matador signees and current Merge masterminds incited a pogo party in the crowd, pounding out power punk gems from all points in their career, wrapping with an explosive “Precision Auto” and just generally being awesome. Superchunk. Super. Chunk. Can’t wait to make it a three-peat when they play the Sound Academy on December 9 opening up for and inevitably upstaging Broken Social Scene.

Photos: Superchunk @ Pearl at The Palms – October 2, 2010
MP3: Superchunk – “Digging For Something”
MP3: Superchunk – “Misfits & Mistakes”
MP3: Superchunk – “Never Too Young To Smoke”
MP3: Superchunk – “Rainy Streets”
MP3: Superchunk – “Becoming A Speck”
MP3: Superchunk – “Pink Clouds”
MP3: Superchunk – “Detroit Has A Skyline” (acoustic)
MP3: Superchunk – “Nu Bruises”
MP3: Superchunk – “Skip Steps 1 & 3″

Continuing the Matador-Merge cross-label summit were Spoon, who started their career on the former but found their fame on the latter. And like their label bosses and lead-in act, it’s kind of funny that I’d gone some five years without seeing Spoon live and here this was my third Spoon show in the past six months. This one wasn’t too different from those, with the band tight and taut and embellishing their sound with a locally-recruited horn section and guest percussionist. Their special treats for the occasion were a cover of the late Matador artist Jay Reatard’s “No Time” and a few seriously old-school back catalog selections including fan favourite “Car Radio”. Their set may not have offered a lot of surprises, but it certainly didn’t disappoint.

Photos: Spoon @ Pearl at The Palms – October 2, 2010
MP3: Spoon – “The Underdog”
MP3: Spoon – “I Turn My Camera On”
MP3: Spoon – “The Way We Get By”
MP3: Spoon – “This Book Is A Movie”
MP3: Spoon – “Mountain To Sound”
MP3: Spoon – “Chips & Dip”
MP3: Spoon – “Idiot Driver”

Oh, Belle & Sebastian. The only British act on the mainstage this weekend and really, not having a lot in common stylistically with most of the other performers but still big enough and beloved enough to rate closing out the second night’s programming. Their presence at this event was something of a surprise since they had been on an indefinite hiatus since 2006′s The Life Pursuit and Stuart Murdoch was devoting all his energies to last year’s God Help The Girl project. But it apparently doesn’t take long to get the band back together and though most would be happy just to have the band back, they’ve returned with one of their best records in some time with Write About Love, out next Tuesday and currently streaming at NPR. I’ll comment more on the record next week after their Toronto show at Massey Hall also on the 12th – for now, just their Vegas appearance.

And it’s a show that opened with a new song – “I Didn’t See It Coming”, the first track on the new record – and even if it was unfamiliar to most of the audience, the duet between Stuart Murdoch and Sarah Martin was immediate enough to announce that Belle & Sebastian were back and hadn’t lost a step in the time away. And if anyone had forgotten how good they were as a live band, they were well reminded by the Scots’ wonderful hour-fifteen set. In between songs that touched on every one of their albums, going back as far as their debut Tigermilk for “The State I Am In”, Murdoch and guitarist Stevie Jackson tossed off wonderful bits of banter to the audience and each other and Murdoch demonstrated his throwing arm by tossing autographed toy footballs into the crowd and later, audience members were enlisted to clap and dance through “There’s Too Much Love” and “The Boy With The Arab Strap” and rewarded with gold medals. Those of us not so fortunate as to cut a rug with the band had to settle – so to speak – for bobbing up and down to energetic readings of favourites like “Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying” and “I’m A Cuckoo”. By the time they wrapped up the set with “Sleep The Clock Around”, things had already run almost an hour later than scheduled and it was unclear if we’d be allowed an encore, but clapped and cheered for one anyways. The band returned in short order, saying they’d been given permission for one more song if they made it “fucking quick” and though “Me And The Major” was quick, it was still glorious. And yes, I do feel incredibly fortunate to be seeing them again so soon, particularly since I’ve been so handily reminded of how much I love this band.

Photos: Belle & Sebastian @ Pearl at The Palms – October 2, 2010
MP3: Belle & Sebastian – “Write About Love”
MP3: Belle & Sebastian – “Funny Little Frog”
MP3: Belle & Sebastian – “Another Sunny Day”
MP3: Belle & Sebastian – “Take Your Carriage Clock And Shove It”
MP3: Belle & Sebastian – “Storytelling”

If I had any sense this would have been the end of the night but I’d skipped out on the previous night’s after party festivities and damn it, this was Las Vegas – you don’t go to sleep at a reasonable hour. Instead you go to indie rock karaoke and rush the stage when Matador staff are called on to sing Pavement’s “Summer Babe” and crowd surf Ted Leo. If you’re wondering, it looks something like this. And then at 5AM – 8AM your own time – you go back to your room and pass out.

The Patriot-Ledger and Phoenix have features on the Come reunion. Rolling Stone talks to Cat Power about her plans for her next record, and they include playing all of the instruments herself. If that pans out, then it surely won’t be sounding like The Greatest or Jukebox – colour me intrigued. Interview and NPR have features on Superchunk. The Guardian interviews Belle & Sebastian, who are running a contest wherein a winner gets to spend a day with Stuart Murdoch and co-write a song for a forthcoming 7″.

The AV Club, Rolling Stone, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times and Las Vegas Weekly all have further Saturday night recaps.

Michael Lavine

And interestingly, many of the artists who are represented are also returning to active duty following long breaks. The Strokes, after an extended hiatus and countless solo projects, are back in the studio and Julian Casablancas has announced their fourth album will be released on March 11, 2011 though it’s doubtful anyone will actually try to hold them to that. Spoon have become one of the biggest and most reliable rock acts in indiedom, releasing Transference earlier this year and also appearing at Matador @ 21. For many years, Portastatic was Mac McCaughan’s primary creative outlet but now that Superchunk is back with Majesty Shredding. their first album in a decade – they too are celebrating their tenure on Matador in Vegas this weekend. Vancouver’s Salteens are putting out their first album in seven years in Grey Eyes, due October 12. Jimmy Eat World’s new record Invented is their first in three years; they’re at the Kool Haus in Toronto on October 17. And finally, Jon Auer’ Posies have just released Blood/Candy, their second post-reunion record but still first in five years.

Odds of any more Guided By Voices remain slim to none, but Robert Pollard will surely keep putting out at least a dozen records a year. Give or take.

MP3: The Strokes – “A Salty Salute”
MP3: Spoon – “Melted Pat”
MP3: Portastatic – “Echoes Myron”
MP3: The Salteens – “Motor Away”
MP3: Jimmy Eat World – “Game Of Pricks”
MP3: Jon Auer – “Gold Star For Robot Boy”
Video: Guided By Voices – “A Salty Salute” (live, 2007)
Video: Guided By Voices – “Auditorium/Motor Away”
Video: Guided By Voices – “Game Of Pricks” (live)
Video: Guided By Voices – “Gold Star For Robot Boy” (live)
Stream: Guided By Voices – “Echoes Myron”

Elizabeth Weiberg

And we’ll kick off with a new batch of fully realized, produced and presented songs from the inimitable John Vanderslice, collected under the title of Green Grow The Rushes. It’s being given away for exactly zero dollars in both high-quality MP3 and uncompressed WAV format over at his website. Why? Because he’s got these songs he wants you to hear and because he’s great. But if you want to thank the ‘Slice in some monetary way, perhaps pick up a copy of his last full-length Romanian Names? It’s not quite as free but still a great record.

MP3: John Vanderslice – “Thule Fog”
MP3: John Vanderslice – “I’ll Never Live Up To You”
ZIP: John Vanderslice / Green Grow The Rushes

Exclaim has some details on the new Iron & Wine album, entitled Kiss Each Other Clean and due out in early 2011.

Michael Benjamin Lerner of Telekinesis chats with The Washington Post.

The Thermals have released a new single from Personal Life which, in the parlance of our time, means that there’s a new MP3 to download.

MP3: The Thermals – “Never Listen To Me”

The Line Of Best Fit and Spinner talk to Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer of The Posies. Their new record Blood/Candy is out September 28.

The Boston Herald talks to drummer Bob Nastanovich of Pavement. NYC Taper has also got a recording of their Williamsburg show to share.

Clash interviews Local Natives, in town at the Mod Club on October 19.

Spin declares Lissie to be “breaking out”. She’s at the El Mocambo on October 19.

Spin gets to the root of Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s name, while Filter has a track from their new record Buzzard available to download.

MP3: Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s – “Lunatic, Lunatic, Lunatic”

Spinner serves up an Interface session with Drive-By Truckers.

R.E.M. has completed work on album number 15 and are targeting a Spring 2011 release for it.

Drowned In Sound talks to Will Sheff of Okkervil River about working with Roky Erikson on this year’s True Love Casts Out All Evil.

NYC Taper is sharing a recording of Spoon’s show in the teeny tiny Cake Shop last week.

The new Deerhunter record Halcyon Digest is streaming at NPR in advance of its release next week. They’re at Lee’s Palace the Opera House on October 19.

Stream: Deerhunter / Halcyon Digest

The AV Club, American Songwriter, The Boston Herald, Pinnastorm, The Awl and NPR have interviews with Superchunk. NPR is also streaming their show in Washington DC last week and NYC Taper offering downloads of the Brooklyn show, giving you a taste of what to expect when they return to Toronto to play the Sound Academy on December 9 opening up for Broken Social Scene; you’ll just have to imagine the pogoing.

The Sydney Morning Herald talks to Interpol.

PitchforkTV has posted a POV session with The Hold Steady.

Clash declares Holly Miranda “One To Watch”.

New York Magazine talks to Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner.

Spin gets a live preview of Nicole Atkins’ new record Mondo Amore, due out on January 25 of next year, and you can download a new track from the record over at Nicole’s website.

Daytrotter has posted a session with Ra Ra Riot, who have made good on their promise to come back to town in December – they’ll be at the Mod Club on the first of that month, tickets $16.

MP3: Ra Ra Riot – “Boy”

Frank Yang

Leading off were Brooklyn’s Laura Stevenson & The Cans, who at the core are sweet, jangly and slightly twangy pop-rock but get a bit orchestral and right noisy around the edges. Namesake Stevenson has an immediately likeable crystalline voice and her bandmates do a fine job of providing the proper accompaniment to keep things dynamic and interesting. Apparently not enough to keep the folks standing beside me from believing that loudly quoting 30 Rock jokes was more entertaining than what was going on onstage, but what can you do. Stevenson’s record A RecorD is available for free download with donations welcome. You should do both of these things.

New York duo Cults came into the night with the highest buzz-to-recording ratio, the enthusiasm that met their “Go Outside” 7″ earlier this Summer being responsible for their being able to tour the continent before they’d released anything else and do it as a full six-piece band instead of just the core two-piece with taped backing tracks. And while they had more than the four songs released so far to fill up a set, it may have been a blessing that being held up at the border and arriving at the club late forced them to truncate their show a bit. While the newer material fit the Motown-in-Summer mould that the single did, none of it was as instantly catchy and their relative green-ness as a live act was also evident – what made Madeline Follin’s vocals sound sweet and girly on record came across thin on stage and co-conspirator Brian Oblivion had the annoying habit of constantly brushing his hair back behind his ears while playing. That aside, they were clearly comfortable as live performers – no given – and they’ve got a good sound so one hopes they’ll improve with time. What I got most out of their set, though, was just how much I miss Saturday Looks Good To Me, who did what Cults do so much better and were summarily ignored for it. Oh SLGTM.

I’d given Maps & Atlases’ latest Perch Patchwork a number of listens in advance of the show to try and get a handle on exactly what the Chicago quartet were about and… well, I’m pretty sure I failed. Were they math-rock? Prog-rock? Jam-rock? Pop-rock? Folk-rock? Just rock? The answer, apparently, was yes. Maps & Atlases somehow straddle all of these genres and while you can’t say their union is seamless – some sounds weren’t meant to go gently together – they largely make it work thanks to the fact that they’re all astonishing musicians and they seem to think what they’re doing is perfectly normal. Constantly shifting tempos and time signatures rendered by heavy yet nimble percussion and mad guitar tapping figures underneath, high and lonesome vocals and plaintive melodies overtop. Certainly, no one sounds like them and like most distinctive bands, they drew a modestly-sized but wholly enthusiastic audience who cheered wildly for every feat of musicianship, of which there were many. I didn’t fall in love with them, but I was impressed. And that was enough.

Photos: Maps & Atlases, Cults, Laura Stevenson & The Cans @ The Horseshoe – August 7, 2010
MP3: Maps & Atlases – “Solid Ground”
MP3: Cults – “Go Outside”
MP3: Cults – “Most Wanted”
MP3: Laura Stevenson & The Cans – “Holy Ghost!”
Video: Cults – “Oh My God”
MySpace: Maps & Atlases
MySpace: Laura Stevenson & The Cans

Spinner has an Interface session with The National.

NYC Taper has a recording of Spoon set opening up for Arcade Fire at Madison Square Garden in New York last Wednesday.

In conversation with Spinner, Interpol’s Sam Fogarino discusses Interpol and the band’s journey from indie to major to indie again. The record is out September 7 and they’re at the Kool Haus tomorrow night.

NPR is streaming a World Cafe session with Laura Marling.

St. Louis Today chats with Phoenix guitarist Laurent Brancowitz. They play the Ricoh Coliseum on October 26.

NPR interviews Bjork.

J J Bullock

And said Scots aren’t a bad reference point for Stornoway in general, at least as far as articulating the aesthetic of their orchestrally-appointed folk-pop. But while they’re clearly capable of wide-eyed upbeatness, as “Zorbing” and the follow-up single “I Saw You Blink” clearly evidence, Stornoway’s hearts are inherently heavier and Brian Briggs’ vocals more inclined to drama – so maybe it’s to their benefit that Briggs doesn’t seem to have much luck in love; it makes for great lyrical fodder. His bandmates back him up with all the standard pop band accouterments, but close listening shows there’s a lot of detail hidden in the nooks and crannies of their seemingly austere sound – pianos, kazoos, strings, Morse code, church bells… and it’s these touches, like those aforementioned little details in “Zorbing”, that elevate Stornoway above the pack. If your Summer consists of getting your heart broken or wishing you were getting your heart broken whilst lounging on grassy hills (and maybe watching people roll down said hills in giant plastic balls) then Stornoway should be, if not your soundtrack, then at least in your playlist.

Drowned In Sound has a feature interview with the band. Beachcomber’s Windowsill is out in the UK right now and digitally in North America. It will be out in physical form on this continent on August 10. So far their American itinerary has consisted of an expeditionary gig in New York earlier this month, but promises are being made of a full incursion this Fall. Update: The album is now up to stream at Spinner.

MP3: Stornoway – “Zorbing”
Video: Stornoway – “Zorbing”
Video: Stornoway – “I Saw You Blink”
Stream: Stornoway / Beachcomber’s Windowsill

Shonen Knife have a date at the Horseshoe on October 1, tickets $15.50. Their new album Free Time will be out on August 31.

Video: Shonen Knife – “Perfect Freedom”

Justin Townes Earle will follow up the September 14 release of his new record Harlem River Blues with a Fall tour that includes an October 15 date at the Horseshoe. Jessica Lea Mayfield supports.

Video: Justin Townes Earle – “Midnight At The Movies”

Kentucky.com interviews Tift Merritt.

Sharon Van Etten records a Takeaway Show for Le Blogotheque. Her new record Epic is released on October 5.

Examiner.com profiles Oakland dream-pop band Minipop

Daytrotter has served up a session with Rogue Wave. They’re at the Opera House on September 24.

Billboard talks to Dean & Britta about the release tomorrow of their 13 Most Beautiful soundtrack album which is out tomorrow.

Spinner talks to Ra Ra Riot about the making of their new record The Orchard, out August 24. They’ll be at the Molson Amphitheatre on August 28 supporting Tegan & Sara and City & Colour.

The Omaha World-Herald talks to Spoon bassist Rob Pope.

Lazy-i interviews Jim Wilbur of Superchunk. Their new record Majesty Shredding is out on September 14.

Las Vegas Weekly tries to squeeze more information about Matador 21, going down October 1 to 3 at the Palms in Las Vegas, out of label head Gerard Cosloy.

Frank Yang

Providence by way of Brooklyn’s Fang Island represented the rookies, and their 6:30 start time got them a good idea of what it was like at the last major festival to go down at this same venue, which is to say V Fest 2009 and the swathes of empty seats which many of the bands played to that weekend. But if the fact that people hadn’t made it down from work was bumming the five-piece out, it didn’t show; at several points in their set, they commented on how excited they were to be playing such a large stage and touring with The Flaming Lips. Of course, that was in between their unloading the massive, triple-guitar tapping, four-part harmony epics from their self-titled debut. Like prog rock edited down to just the crescendos, Fang Island’s set was a torrent of melodies and harmonies unleashed heavenwards. Yes, there is hype. Believe it.

I went digging for this post and was surprised to find it’s from only four years ago. That’s how long I’ve been acquainted with Tokyo Police Club, and it’s remarkable to see how far they’ve come in that time. Certainly, from day one they evidenced a knack for writing a good pop song but the sort of antics I mentioned in that first review were part of why I’d always dismissed them as being you know, for kids! Which was fine, since they weren’t especially aged themselves. But with their second full-length, the recently-released Champ, I was surprised at how much more mature-sounding they had become, trading more on melody and sophistication than shouts and handclaps and without sacrificing much at all in the way of energy or hooks. It’s got some weariness around the edges, which suits them – they’re still young, but have now been at this a while; the lines are well-earned. On stage for their first hometown show in support of the new record, however, they still bounced around with fresh-faced enthusiasm and while it’s hard to say if this was necessarily their crowd – not sure how much the Flaming Lips and Tokyo Police Club fan base venn diagrams intersect – they were appreciated.

Spoon may have just come through town in March as the big-name/big-venue headliners on an impressive bill of their own, the culmination of years of hard work and building their fan base, here they were again playing a supporting role and seemed perfectly fine with it. In fact, they seemed to be enjoying the opportunity to step out of the spotlight that’s been on them for most of this year – minor details, but seeing Britt Daniel take the stage in an immaculate white ensemble (but with black shoes – shame!), a proper upright piano to go along with Eric Harvey’s usual fortress of keyboards and a full, locally-recruited horn section to add a shiny exclamation mark to some numbers. But for all the polish, this Spoon is inherently rough and spiky; more like a dirty spork. And even with a set loaded with “hits” – though no “Everything Hits At Once” – their lean, clipped rock still felt dark and clubby, even in a big amphitheatre. And despite the size of the venue, I actually enjoyed this set somewhat more than the Sound Academy show as I was a) able to see and b) got to hear some of the songs I missed in that show’s encore on account of having to catch a cab – like “The Underdog”. This time with horns. Yes.

My history with The Flaming Lips is kind of long and twisty, and best summarized as they’re being the weirdest boundary of my listening in the late ’90s to a near-obsession at the turn of the century (I paid a guy in Kalamazoo, MI far too much for CD-Rs of the then-deleted Zaireeka because, well, I had to have it) to being kind of a prodigal, peripheral interest over the last couple records. Neither the overcooked At War With The Mystics nor last year’s sprawlingly messy Embryonic hit the spot with me, and it was somewhat alarming to me as a fan that their artistic energies seemed to be going more into the live show than writing songs.

But at least there were those live shows. I’d gotten a concentrated dose of the live Lips madness in 2006, seeing them twice in a month at Lollapalooza in Chicago and then again just over a month later at Toronto’s inaugural Virgin Festival, though that wasn’t a proper dose as their headlining slot famously went over curfew and the show was cut at barely half an hour. And despite promises to make it up to us soon, it took them almost four years to find their way back. Far too long, certainly, but you know? It’s hard to hold a grudge against a man in a giant plastic bubble firing confetti cannons at you.

It’s funny, but for all the reservations and criticisms I have for The Flaming Lips circa 2010, they all fade to nothingness as soon as the show begins. You know what it’s going to be – the bubble walk, the costumed dancers, the plumes of confetti (okay, the band entrance via LED-generated female bits was new) – but it just doesn’t get old. Though the general admission area allowed for personal space for most of the night, it was pretty well packed in up front by the time Wayne Coyne strode out onto them in his well-worn space bubble as the band led off with the instrumental, “The Fear”. When that bit of ceremony was done, it was time to fill the amphitheatre with confetti and get to proving my theory about their being less a musical entity than a theatrical one mostly false. Most of the set drew from either Embryonic or Mystics and while many of the visual aspects of their show were familiar from 2006, they clearly weren’t just delivering the same show. It had morphed and evolved along with the material, and as such what had been technicolour and cartoony circa Mystics was now accordingly weirder and trippier, in keeping with the darker, experimental vibe of Embryonic (though thankfully no agitated monkeys or Coyne’s nakedness made an appearance).

It was a little ways into the show that I realized that though I had seen the Lips live twice before, I had never actually seen them do a full performance (the truncated V has been covered and at Lolla, there were like a million other bands on at the same time so I’m sure I scurried after a bit) and as such, my impressions of the show were probably skewed by the sheer sensory overload of their grand entrance. But watching them once they’d gotten down to business – relatively speaking – it was pleasantly surprising just how much of a proper rock band they still were. When Coyne wasn’t working the crowd, which was a lot of the time sure, he never neglected his duties as lead singer and both Steve Drozd and Michael Ivins were all business with their myriad musical duties and Kliph Scurlock – whose “officialness” as a Flaming Lip is still unclear to me despite having manned the kit for over a decade – did a great job of making you forget that Drozd was an amazing drummer before moving to the guitarist/multi-instrumentalist role. It was a shame that with so much emphasis put on the recent material, that the truly classic Soft Bulletin – the record that will define the Flaming Lips in history – was ignored completely, but it was nice that they reached back to 1993 for Transmissions From The Satellite Heart for “She Don’t Use Jelly” and the acoustic “Yoshimi” was pure loveliness. And of course they encored with “Do You Realize?”. Of course.

The real magic of a Flaming Lips show, however, is how it manages to transcend its context as either rock concert or circus sideshow and become something truly unique and magical. Coyne comes across as just as much a prophet up there as he does a carnival barker or rock singer – though I’ve never heard any other prophet call his congregation “motherfuckers” quite so much – bringing a message of peace and love that never felt naive, but seemed to acknowledge through the madness of its presentation that asking to simply love one another is one of the most complex and incomprehensible requests anyone could ever make. The Lips get that, they do. But they’re asking anyways. And they’re doing it with laserhands.

The Flaming Lips. There’s nothing else like it.

There’s reviews of the show at The Toronto Sun, eye, Exclaim, Radio Free Canuckistan, Chart, Panic Manual and BlogTO. Spinner talks to Fang Island about hitting the road with The Lips, Blare has an interview with Tokyo Police Club and Spinner, eye and The Montreal Gazette have Lips features.

Photos: The Flaming Lips, Spoon, Tokyo Police Club, Fang Island @ The Molson Canadian Amphitheatre – July 8, 2010
MP3: Spoon – “The Underdog”
MP3: Spoon – “I Turn My Camera On”
MP3: Spoon – “The Way We Get By”
MP3: Spoon – “This Book Is A Movie”
MP3: Spoon – “Mountain To Sound”
MP3: Spoon – “Chips & Dip”
MP3: Spoon – “Idiot Driver”
MP3: Tokyo Police Club – “In A Cave”
MP3: Tokyo Police Club – “Juno”
MP3: Fang Island – “Daisy”
Video: The Flaming Lips – “The Sparrow Looks Up At The Machine”
Video: The Flaming Lips – “Powerless”
Video: The Flaming Lips – “I Can Be A Frog”
Video: The Flaming Lips – “Watching The Planets”
Video: The Flaming Lips – “The W.A.N.D.”
Video: The Flaming Lips – “Mr. Ambulance Driver”
Video: The Flaming Lips – “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song”
Video: The Flaming Lips – “Do You Realize?”
Video: The Flaming Lips – “Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (Part 1)”
Video: The Flaming Lips – “Fight Test”
Video: The Flaming Lips – “Are You A Hypnotist?”
Video: The Flaming Lips – “Race For The Prize”
Video: The Flaming Lips – “Waitin’ For A Superman”
Video: The Flaming Lips – “This Here Giraffe”
Video: The Flaming Lips – “Bad Days”
Video: The Flaming Lips – “Christmas At the Zoo”
Video: The Flaming Lips – “When You Smile”
Video: The Flaming Lips – “Be My Head”
Video: The Flaming Lips – “She Don’t Use Jelly”
Video: The Flaming Lips – “Turn It On”
Video: The Flaming Lips – “Talkin’ ‘Bout the Smiling Deathporn Immortality Blues (Everyone Wants to Live Forever)”
Video: The Flaming Lips – “Redneck School Of Technology”
Video: Spoon – “Written In Reverse”
Video: Spoon – “The Underdog”
Video: Spoon – “Don’t You Evah”
Video: Spoon – “The Two Sides Of Monsieur Valentine”
Video: Spoon – “I Turn My Camera On”
Video: Spoon – “Sister Jack”
Video: Spoon – “Jonathan Fisk”
Video: Spoon – “Small Stakes”
Video: Spoon – “Everything Hits At Once”
Video: Tokyo Police Club – “Wait Up (Boots Of Danger)”
Video: Tokyo Police Club – “Graves”
Video: Tokyo Police Club – “In A Cave”
Video: Tokyo Police Club – “Tessellate”
Video: Tokyo Police Club – “Your English Is Good”
Video: Tokyo Police Club – “Citizens Of Tomorrow”
Video: Tokyo Police Club – “Cheer It On”
Video: Tokyo Police Club – “Nature Of The Experiment”
Video: Fang Island – “Careful Crossers”
Video: Fang Island – “Life Coach”
Video: Fang Island – “Daisy”
MySpace: The Flaming Lips
MySpace: Spoon
MySpace: Tokyo Police Club
MySpace: Fang Island

In advance of releasing their first new record in forever with Majesty Shredding on September 14, Superchunk are reissuing their second and third records – No Pocky For Kitty and On The Mouth – in remastered digital and analog for on August 17.

MP3: Superchunk – “Skip Steps 1 & 3″

Pitchfork brings news of a new Deerhunter record to be named Halcyon Digest and released on September 28.

The Fly talks to Warpaint, whom they’ve declared “a band to watch”. You can do just that when they play Wrongbar on August 11 and Massey Hall supporting The xx on September 29. Their debut album is due out around that time as well.

Filter chats with James Hanna of Asobi Seksu.

Pitchfork and Billboard interview Sleigh Bells, in town at the Phoenix on July 20.

Exclaim interviews James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem.

Pernice Brothers have turned the “Pernice To Me” book of tweets into a puppet show. Of course they have.

Eric Bachmann of Crooked Fingers talks to Destroy Before Reading and says there’s no real reason an Archers Of Loaf reunion couldn’t happen. Crooked Fingers just released the Reservoir Songs 2 covers EP and are working on a record of new material.

Beatroute talks to Annie Clark of St. Vincent.

The Louisville Courier-Journal solicits influences from M Ward, whose current ongoing concern She & Him have just released a new video.

Video: She & Him – “Thieves”

Blurt contemplates the story of Love.

Michael Lavine

Matador Records is looking to spend their coming of age in slightly glitzier environs. They offered some teasers earlier this year but yesterday made things official with an announcement that pretty much met any and all lofty expectations about what kind of party they might throw. Led by a reunited Guided By Voices – the most classic 1993 to 1996 Bee Thousand/Alien Lanes/Under The Bushes Under The Stars lineup no less – the three-day bender will take place in the Palms hotel and Casino in Las Vegas from October 1 to 3 and feature a who’s who of Matador artists, past and present. In addition to GBV (GBV!), you’ve got label stalwarts Pavement (who if they hadn’t already reunited might have had to for this party), Belle & Sebastian, Cat Power, The New Pornographers, Yo La Tengo and Liz Phair (whose contract probably has a strict “first three albums only” clause) as well as acts like Sonic Youth, Spoon and Superchunk who might be better associated with other labels but who have OLE catalog numbers in their discographies. In short, for anyone who came of musical age with the golden age of college rock in the 1990s, it’s a dream lineup and then some. AND there’s gambling.

Full details about pricing and additional acts are coming next week, but if you aren’t at least taking a look at how much flights and hotels in Vegas for that weekend will run you, you must have stumbled across this site by accident. That said, my attendance is far from certain but damn if I’m not thinking hard about it.

MP3: Guided By Voices – “I’ll Replace You With Machines”
MP3: Pavement – “Gold Soundz”
MP3: Belle & Sebastian – “Another Sunny Day”
MP3: Sonic Youth – “Sacred Trickster”
MP3: Spoon – “Mountain To Sound”
MP3: Yo La Tengo – “Here To Fall”
MP3: Cat Power – “The Greatest”
MP3: The New Pornographers – “My Rights Versus Yours”
MP3: Liz Phair – “Fuck And Run”

In talking to Aux.tv, Bob Nastanovich of Pavement throws cold water on the prospect of new material coming out of the current reunion.

The National stopped in for a performance at CBC’s Q when in town earlier this month.

Video: The National – “Terrible Love” (live on Q)

aux.tv and The Guardian interview Warpaint, who’ve got two local dates coming up – a headlining appearance on August 11 at Wrongbar and as support for The xx at Massey Hall on September 29.

Insound has posted a video session with The Hold Steady and are offering one track as a download in exchange for signing up for their newsletter. And in related news, the Hold Steady’s Toronto show on July 16 just got twice as intimate, having been moved from The Kool Haus to The Phoenix. All tickets still honoured.

David Bazan (formerly of Pedro The Lion) will be joined by The Mynabirds, aka Laura Burhenn (formerly of Georgie James) at Lee’s Palace on September 18. Tickets $12.50 in advance.

MP3: David Bazan – “Bless This Mess”
MP3: The Mynabirds – “Let The Record Go”
MP3: The Mynabirds – “Numbers Don’t Lie”

Lee’s Palace will host two of Kill Rock Stars’ finest on October 3 when Deerhoof and Xiu Xiu perform as part of a Fall tour.

MP3: Deerhoof – “+81″
MP3: Xiu Xiu – “Gray Death”

Australia’s Temper Trap will be in town at the Phoenix on October 5 – tickets $21.50 in advance.

MP3: The Temper Trap – “Down River”

There’s new music from Sharon Van Etten, via the soundtrack to the film The Builder. The DVD for the film will be released on July 27.

MP3: Sharon Van Etten – “I Couldn’t Save You”
Trailer: The Builder

Offering more proof to the theory that they’re incapable of doing anything that’s not adorable, Mates Of State have released a new video from their covers album Crushes. Actually it’s the second video from the record, the first was for this Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds tune, which isn’t so much adorable but isn’t trying to be. Anyways.

Video: Mates Of State – “True Love Will Find You In The End”
Video: Mates Of State – “Love Letter”

Each Note Secure talks to Free Energy, who’ve recorded an Interface session at Spinner.

Yours Truly has posted up a new video performance from The Morning Benders, in town to open for The Black Keys at The Kool Haus on August 3 and 4.

Pitchfork has got the first sample of The Thermals’ new record Personal Life, due out September 7.

MP3: The Thermals – “I Don’t Believe You”

Vampire Weekend talks to BBC. They’re at the Molson Amphitheatre on September 7.

Best Coast have released an MP3 from their much-buzzed forthcoming debut Crazy For You, coming July 27. They’re at Lee’s Palace on September 25.

MP3: Best Coast – “Boyfriend”

Miami New Times talk to Tampa’s Sleepy Vikings.

NOW welcomes We Were Promised Jetpacks to the Horseshoe on Saturday night. Daytrotter has also posted up a session.

So this past Saturday night’s Thao/Mirah show at the Horseshoe was cancelled on account of burning police cars. The guys from These United States, who were slated to support, have some video of their trip to Toronto. Y’all come back now, y’hear?