Cloud Recordings

And now, we’ve got scene founders Olivia Tremor Control back in action. Okay, they’ve technically been back in action since around 2005 or so, but only intermittently and in one-off fashion; certainly there hasn’t been anything in the way of a proper tour – until now. With a few festival dates on the calendar, Will Cullen Hart, Bill Doss and company have decided to make the most of rehearsals and slate a proper tour this Fall, wherein they’ll play old favourites and preview material from a new album that is allegedly in the works. Toronto will get its first OTC show since, like, 1999 on September 16 at Lee’s Palace, so if you were trying to decide which Wilco show to go to and are an Elephant 6 fan, well your decision just got a bit easier.

MP3: Olivia Tremor Control – “Hideaway” (live in Athens, GA – April 15, 2005)

And speaking of those Wilco shows, presales for both the September 16 and 17 shows at Massey Hall are set for next Wednesday, July 13, at 10AM. The appropriate links will go up on their website in due course, I would imagine.

If for whatever reason you weren’t able to catch Eleanor Friedberger’s free show at the Horseshoe on the evening of July 19 – early morning meeting, who knows – you may be pleased to know that she’ll be doing an in-store at Soundscapes that afternoon at 5:30PM. Her solo album Last Summer is also up to stream in its entirety at NPR in advance of its release next week.

MP3: Eleanor Friedberger – “My Mistakes”
Stream: Eleanor Friedberger / Last Summer

If you missed their two Mod Club shows last month – like I did on account of the sick – then happy days, Sloan will be playing a free show at Ontario Place’s Echo Beach on August 5. That’s right – free. Sun, sand, Sloan. And if the weather doesn’t cooperate, rain, mud and Sloan. But still free. And if you missed it yesterday, they’ve released a new video from the excellent Double Cross.

Video: Sloan – “Unkind”

Pop scion and generally bearded and sweaty mess – though a wholly entertaining one – Liam Finn will be at Lee’s Palace on September 22 in support of his new album Fomo. Stuff and The Australian have interviews.

Video: Liam Finn – “Cold Feet”

Cults have been added as support for Foster The People’s show at The Sound Academy on October 1. It’s like the sound of 2011 – like it or not – on the waterfront. The headliners, meanwhile, are featured in an NPR World Cafe session.

MP3: Cults – “Most Wanted”

Ladytron are returning with their new record Gravity The Seducer on September 13 and are returning to North America shortly thereafter; look for them at The Phoenix on October 5.

MP3: Ladytron – “Playgirl”

Though it’s taken him a while to do so, Sam Beam brings Iron & Wine back to Toronto in support of Kiss Each Other Clean on October 15 at The Sound Academy.

MP3: Iron & Wine – “Belated Promise Ring”

Cold War Kids return for a date at The Phoenix on November 4, ticket $20.50 in advance.

Video: Cold War Kids – “Audience”

There’s no firm details on their new record – only that it’s coming – but French electronicists M83 have already put together a North American tour in support of it; look for them at Lee’s Palace on November 18.

Video: M83 – “Graveyard Girl”

Spin talks to Girls about their new record Father, Son, Holy Ghost, which has been announced with a September 13 release date.

NOW has word with My Morning Jacket, in town at The Kool Haus on Monday night, July 11.

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart have released a new video from Belong; they have an in-store at Sonic Boom on August 1 at 9PM and play the Opera House the following evening.

Video: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “The Body”

The clip for the new Strokes single is some cutting-edge ’90s video editing technology, yo.

Video: The Strokes – “Taken For A Fool”

Sufjan Stevens is giving away the MP3 and premiering the video for the new and probably last single from The Age Of Adz.

MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “Get Real Get Right”
Video: Sufjan Stevens – “Get Real Get Right”

Warpaint have premiered a new video from The Fool; NPR talks to the director of the super-underwater clip. The Birmingham Post talks to frontwoman Emily Kokal.

Video: Warpaint – “Warpaint”

Alexandra Valenti

It’s an approach that has worked, clearly; each of Okkervil’s releases has brought the band more and more acclaim and all have been favourites around these parts. But based on their new record I Am Very Far, it’s one that required a little shaking up. Or a lot. While time will tell if there’ll be a companion record released in the near future, those looking for an easy angle on what Very Far is about, thematically, will be disappointed – having essentially put novels and memoirs to song, Sheff has now assembled his short story collection with each of the record’s eleven songs standing self-contained, both lyrically and musically. And it’s on the latter point that I Am Very Far really stands apart from its predecessors.

With a markedly different lineup from their last recordings, it’s inevitable that Okkervil would sound at least a little different. But rather than simply accept those variances, Sheff has opted to exploit them and give the band a new sonic identity. His own perfectly imperfect vocals remain the most identifying trait, but everything around it is bigger and broader-sounding than ever before. This is easily Okkervil’s most produced record ever, but rather than the extra gloss that that usually implies, here it means density. Overdubs and extra players, musical styles heretofore unexplored – dig the almost disco-ish groove of “Piratess” – and crazy echos and reverbs pervade the record as does an almost manic (or maniacal) sense of relentless restlessness; its bloodshot energy is almost as uncomfortable to listen to as it is invigorating. Some might suggest that I Am Very Far is the band’s bid to break into the mainstream but I think that if that was their intention, they’d sound like they’d have gotten a little more sleep before pressing “record”.

But for all the tumult that has obviously gone into making I Am Very Far, after a few acclimatizing listens, something quite beautiful emerges. The freedom gained from putting everything that defined Okkervil on the table with this record combined with Sheff’s already formidable skills as a songwriter, lyricist and arranger have produced the sort of album that I imagine most bands of a certain tenure long for; one that the more you thought you knew what the band were about, the more you’d be surprised by and which is like discovering one of your favourite bands again for the first time.

Spinner talks to Will Sheff and Pat Pestorius about making the new album. They play The Phoenix on June 10.

MP3: Okkervil River – “Wake And Be Fine”
Video: Okkervil River – “Wake And Be Fine”
Stream: Okkervil River / I Am Very Far

San Diego’s Crocodiles, whom I’d begun to think had some personal issue with Toronto for their never touring up this way, will make up for their absence in a big way for NXNE as they will play a three-night residency at The Silver Dollar over the course of the festival, June 17, 18 and 19, with a different undercard each night.

MP3: Crocodiles – “Sleep Forever”

Chicago emo/math-rock veterans Joan Of Arc have a date at The Garrison for August 5, ticket $12.50. Their new record Life Like is out today.

MP3: Joan Of Arc – “Love Life”

The best of news, the worst of news. With their self-titled album due out on June 21, Bon Iver have announced a Summer tour that brings Justin Vernon and company back to Toronto on August 8… to The Sound Academy. Well at least it’ll be warm. Tickets are $35 general admission, $45 VIP and go on sale Friday. Support will come from Vernon’s old bandmates The Rosebuds, who themselves have a new record out in Loud Planes Fly Low, out June 7.

MP3: Bon Iver – “Blood Bank”
MP3: The Rosebuds – “Second Bird Of Paradise”

New York singer-songwriter Lia Ices has announced a date at The Rivoli for August 9, tickets $12, and has also released a video for the title track of her debut album Grown Unknown. The Georgia Straight has a profile.

MP3: Lia Ices – “Daphne”
Video: Lia Ices – “Grown Unknown”

The National have taken their two recent non-album releases – songs from the Win/Win film and Portal 2 video game soundtracks – and put them on a 7″ single for those who like physical things made of vinyl.

Sufjan Stevens talks to The Guardian about the nervous breakdown that informed The Age Of Adz.

NYC Taper is sharing a recording of an Antlers show in New York from earlier this week. Their new record Burst Apart is out today and Pitchfork has an in-studio video performance of one the new songs with an assist from Neon indian. There’s interviews with the band at The Huffington Post, eMusic and Village Voice. They play The Mod Club on June 14.

The AV Club chats with Bon Iver drummer S Carey about his solo work.

Pitchfork talks to Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes. They’re at Massey Hall on July 14 and tonight’s show in Austin is going to be webcast live on NPR.

Richard Buckner fields questions from Aquarium Drunkard about his new record Our Blood, due out August 2.

PopMatters interviews Lissie, in town for a show at The Phoenix on May 28.

Death Cab For Cutie have released a second video from Codes & Keys, out May 31. They’ve got two local dates coming up – May 18 at The Phoenix and July 29 at The Molson Amphitheatre. Tickets for the latter will range from $29.50 to $49.50 and go on sale Friday at 1PM. Black Book talks food with Ben Gibbard.

Video: Death Cab For Cutie – “Home Is A Fire”

NYC Taper has posted a recording of The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart’s show at New York’s Webster Hall last week. The band are at The Opera House on August 2.

Beatroute interviews Explosions In The Sky.

Low steps into The AV Club’s Undercover studio and records a cover of Toto’s “Africa”, and damn if they don’t sound amazing.

Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips discusses the viability of gummy skulls as the next medium of music delivery with Billboard.

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.

Merge

So I’ll let Dan Bejar take it away. Now a couple years removed from Trouble In Dreams and with Pornographer duties largely done with for a while, Dan is getting Destroyer back into gear. Following up last year’s epic-length “Bay Of Pigs” 12″, Bejar released a second limited edition 12″ for the song “Archer On The Beach” earlier this month, but if you haven’t already got your copy secured, then you’re out of luck – all 1000 copies are spoken for. But you can stream the song, and its spoken-word b-side “Grief Point”, courtesy of Merge.

There’s still plenty of time to reserve a copy of the new Destroyer LP Kaputt, though – it’s not out for another two months, on January 25. The first MP3 is now up and while it’s not a cover of the Luna song (how great would that be?), it’s a pretty sweet if chilled out tune that incorporates some of the electronic and atmospheric touches of the aforementioned 12″ releases and some wonderfully questionable saxophone. I’ve been in the mood for a new Destroyer record for a while now – looking forward to hearing the rest of this.

MP3: Destroyer – “Chinatown”
Stream: Destroyer – “Archer On The Beach”/”Grief Point”

Montreal represents on March 5 when Lee’s Palace welcomes 2008 Polaris Prize shortlisters Plants & Animals and 2010 Polaris Prize winners Karkwa. Tickets for the show are $15 in advance.

MP3: Plants & Animals – “Tom Cruz”
MP3: Karkwa – “Dors Dans Mon Sang”

Exclaim has details on a Nick Drake tribute/benefit concert taking place at Trinity-St. Paul’s in Toronto on November 28.

BBC talks to Mark Hamilton of Woodpigeon on the topic of concert taping. Mark has been posting various sundry MP3s to the Woodpigeon site all Fall, including this live solo one from Montreal’s CJLO.

MP3: Woodpigeon – “…And as the Ship Went Down, You’d Never Looked Finer (Live on CJLO)”

S. Carey, in town at the Horseshoe on December 19, is featured in a Daytrotter session.

School Of Seven Bells have released a new video from Disconnect From Desire and have been tapped to open up for Interpol on their North American tour next year – including the February 15 stop at the Sound Academy in Toronto.

Video: School Of Seven Bells – “I L U”

Also with a new video is Sufjan Stevens, who’s taken the song title to heart with regards to the clip’s art direction. Tribute will be paid to a simpler Sufjan by means of a tribute album to his Seven Swans record featuring Bonnie Prince Billy and a number of Asthmatic Kitty artists. Seven Swans Reimagined will be out on March 22.

Video: Sufjan Stevens – “Too Much”

The Radio Dept.’s Martin Carlberg discusses the band’s modest career ambitions with Spinner. Their singles and b-sides compilation Passive Aggressive is out on January 25 and they make their Toronto debut at Lee’s Palace on February 7.

M83 mastermind Anthony Gonzalez talks to Pitchfork about his plans for his next record.

Nick Cave tells Spinner that a new Nick Cave record should be out next year – just as soon as he writes it. In the meantime, Grinderman remains on the front burner – The AV Club talks to Warren Ellis about making Grinderman 2.

Frank Yang

The evening was structured more like a symphony concert than a pop one, split into two halves and opening with the symphony performing a piece by Toronto composer Jordan Pal before being joined by Bulat and bandmates Holly Coish on vocals and taropatch and Bobby Bulat on drums. Bulat’s songs have often been called orchestral-pop and often come out of the box lovingly adorned with strings, brass and woodwinds, but the strength of her work comes from the emotional directness of their simple folk hearts. So to hear them with their sonic dressings increased tenfold (or so) was fascinating to witness. Pallett’s treatments took those supporting elements and gave them a new level of animation, sometimes taking hues that were muted and enhancing them to technocolour levels or simply adding all-new shapes and colours and in doing so, inverting the tone of the song completely. The symphony emphasized the shadows lurking on “Heart Of My Own” and practically inverted the usually-joyous “I Was A Daughter” into an elegiac sort of farewell.

For me, the real test would be “The Shore”, which was pretty much perfect in its austere presentation on Heart Of My Own and was even more stunning in its live solo arrangement. The rearranged version pretty much came out of it a draw, with the timpani and percussion giving it a stirring, tidal rumble but the trilling woodwinds distracting from the song’s emotional heft. And that would largely sum up how the collaborative pieces went – a lot of embellishment and some distraction. When they played together, it could feel trepidatious, particularly rhythmically, as though songs that were used to flitting freely in light Summer dresses were now having to move with heavy, fancy formal wear on. But even so, in the end the pieces were always made winners not by the massive orchestra or Pallett’s contributions, but by Bulat and her songs.

In addition to the eight orchestral pieces, Bulat played a number of selections either with Coish and her brother or solo, and those performances – aided by the theatre’s stunning acoustics – were just as much highlights of the night as those with the symphony. In particular, one of two new songs – “It Can’t Be You” – featured a vocal performance from Bulat that was just jaw-dropping, and the encore-closing unamplified stomp-and-clap of “Death Come Creeping” on the fancy auditorium stage in front of the orchestra, was as wonderful as it was incongruous. More, actually.

I won’t say that the symphonic treatments improved Bulat’s songs – I think they’re “right” the way they were originally conceived and presented – but that wasn’t the intention in the first place. Rather, it was an artistic and musical experiment for everyone involved that yielded interesting and frequently beautiful results, and one that I still feel privileged to have gotten to see. Here’s hoping that more orchestral collaborations are in the cards for the future so that others can share that privilege and the works can evolve further as their own entities.

This ended up being the only thing I attended on the third night of HPX – partly because Rebecca Cohn was far enough from any other venue that it would have required a whole lot of effort to get anywhere else, partly because the idea of going to a little club after this show and getting blasted in the face with some punk rock wasn’t very palatable and partly because it was going to be more fun to just kick back and hang out with friends afterwards. I’d make up for it the next night.

The Halifax Chronicle-Herald also has a review of the show. She now opens up a series of cross-Canada shows for Josh Ritter, including tomorrow night at The Phoenix.

Photos: Basia Bulat with Symphony Nova Scotia @ Rebecca Cohn Auditorium – October 22, 2010
MP3: Basia Bulat – “Go On”
MP3: Basia Bulat – “Gold Rush”
MP3: Basia Bulat – “In The Night”
MP3: Basia Bulat – “Snakes & Ladders”
Video: Basia Bulat – “The Pilgriming Vine”
Video: Basia Bulat – “In The Night”
MySpace: Basia Bulat

Rae Spoon rolled out a couple more videos from Love Is A Hunter over the last while.

Video: Rae Spoon – “There is a Light (but it’s not for everyone)”
Video: Rae Spoon – “Joan”

Sufjan Stevens talks about some of the personal issues that informed and delayed The Age Of Adz with Exclaim.

The Vancouver Sun talks to Matt Ward of She & Him.

The Asheville Citizen-Times chats with Band Of Horses’ Bill Reynolds and Tyler Ramsey.

NPR interviews School Of Seven Bells.

The video for Johnny Flynn’s new single is out, featuring a live performance in a garden with Laura Marling covering her parts as she does on the studio version on Been Listening. Flynn will be at Lee’s Palace on November 14.

Video: Johnny Flynn with Laura Marling – “The Water”

A couple of interesting international bands are on the Nu Music Nite bill at The Horseshoe tomorrow night (October 26). From the UK there’s folk singer Alessi’s Ark and all the way from Australia, The Jezebels. Easier for you to give the samples a listen, than for me to try and describe a couple of acts I’m only a little familiar with, but the combination of both on one bill and it being free makes it hard for me to stay cooped up at home, as much as I’d like to.

MP3: The Jezebels – “Mace Spray”
MP3: Alessi’s Ark – “Hands In The Sink”

The Dumbing Of America and The Seattle Post-Intelligencer interview Sky Larkin, who are in town at the Horseshoe on Wednesday night.

Under The Radar talks to Rose Elinor Dougall.

Lykke Li has put out a new single – mainly digital but also as a 7″ for collectors – and you can download the a-side below and the b-side at her website. A new album should be out in the early part of next year.

MP3: Lykke Li – “Get Some”

Frank Yang

Either way, “aimless” was not going to be a word to describe their performance at The Phoenix on Sunday night. Even before they took the stage, it was clear they were here on business. Their elaborate set dressings included smoke machines, numerous spotlights, decorative overhead reflector umbrellas and numerous incandescent light bulbs with flickering filaments similar in shape to their album artwork – it all looked quite fabulous, though it was a nightmare to shoot in. When they finally did come out to play – 25 minutes later than scheduled – it was with plenty of direction, and that direction was clearly in your face with the bass. Over an hour-long set that went back and forth between 23 and Penny Sparkle like the two sides of the same coin they really are, the trio – occasionally a quartet with the help of a second keyboardist – followed a deep, continuous groove that alternately showcased Kazu Makino’s keening vocals and sinewy dance moves, Amedeo Pace’s otherworldy guitarwork, twin Simone Pace’s acoustic and electronic drum mastery or all at once.

As you’d expect, the Penny Sparkle material was much heavier live, thanks in no small part to the massive amounts of low end being pumped into the decently-filled Phoenix. It was actually excessive and to the sound’s detriment at a few points, but you had to be impressed at the amount of bass a band without a bassist produced. The band was very much in the zone and while that meant that chit-chat was off the agenda – besides some quick hellos and thanks, there was no audience interaction – the musical payoff was worth it. Long-time fans were rewarded with the encore, which I can only assume delved further back into their catalog because a) I didn’t recognize the selections and b) they were much more unhinged than the familiar, recent stuff and certainly sounded like I imagine Blonde Redhead did in their noisier days, before bringing things back to the present for a gentle denouement. And then a final wave and goodbye.

Chart also has a review of the show.

Photos: Blonde Redhead @ The Phoenix – October 17, 2010
MP3: Blonde Redhead – “Here Sometimes”
MP3: Blonde Redhead – “23″
MP3: Blonde Redhead – “Not Getting There”
MP3: Blonde Redhead – “Misery Is A Butterfly”
MP3: Blonde Redhead – “In Particular”
MP3: Blonde Redhead – “A Cure”
MP3: Blonde Redhead – “Missile”
MP3: Blonde Redhead – “Distilled”
Video: Blonde Redhead – “My Impure Hair”
Video: Blonde Redhead – “Top Ranking”
Video: Blonde Redhead – “The Dress”
Video: Blonde Redhead – “Silently”
Video: Blonde Redhead – “23″
Video: Blonde Redhead – “Melody”
Video: Blonde Redhead – “Equus”
MySpace: Blonde Redhead

Exclaim reports that The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart have set a March 2011 release date for their as-yet untitled second album.

Anyone who’s wanted to see Chicago punks Smith Westerns but not trek to (or pay for) the Sound Academy to see them support Florence & The Machine on November 3, take heart – following their opening set they’ll head across town to Parts & Labour the headline their own sweaty show – admission $6 at the door.

MP3: Smith Westerns – “Imagine, Pt 3″

The New York Times talks to Sufjan Stevens.

The title of R.E.M.’s next album has been revealed – Collapse Into Now will be out early next year.

Check out Titus Andronicus turning in a performance of “The Battle of Hampton Roads” in a video session for For No One.

The whole of Warpaint’s debut The Fool is available to stream at Hype Machine a week before its release next Tuesday. The Telegraph has an interview with the band.

Stream: Warpaint / The Fool

NYCTaper is sharing a recording of a live Built To Spill show.

The Los Angeles Times examines the concept of middle-aged rock bands using Superchunk and The Vaselines as case studies; both are coming to town soon(ish) – The Vaselines at The Horseshoe on October 30 and Superchunk at The Sound Academy on December 9, supporting Broken Social Scene. Clash also talks to the Scottish duo about the dangers of nostalgia.

Frightened Rabbit have a new video from The Winter Of Mixed Drinks.

Video: Frightened Rabbit – “The Loneliness And The Scream”

Spinner, Canada.com and USA Today profile Mumford & Sons, who are playing a sold-out show at The Sound Academy on November 13.

The Guardian interviews Elvis Costello. His new record National Ransom will be out November 2.

Under The Radar has a feature on the sisters of First Aid Kit.

Israel’s Monotonix are better known for their anarchic live shows than anything they’ve ever committed to tape, so even though their new album Not Yet isn’t coming out until January 25 of next year, they’re staging a two-legged North American tour this Fall that will test the structural integrity of Sneaky Dee’s on December 11. I doubt many will be complaining that they don’t know the words to the new material, but one sample of the new record can be had below.

MP3: Monotonix – “Give Me More”

Frank Yang

As it turned out, it wasn’t that much longer at all, relatively speaking. In early August, a massive theatre-scale tour was announced – certainly implying that there’d be some new material to tour behind – and a couple weeks later the 60-minute, EP in semantics only All Delighted People was released digitally and a week after that, it was announced that his next album, The Age Of Adz, would be out in October to coincide with the start of the tour. Between the two releases, Stevens answered the burning question of whether Stevens would be exploring his folk, pop, electronic, orchestral or theatrical fancies this time out with a resounding “yes”. Dense, epic and random, Adz finds Stevens trying to articulate that most fundamental theme of pop music – love – and finding it as incomprehensible and inexpressible a task as trying to illustrate the origins of the universe with silly string, but not for lack of trying. To that end, he pulls together pretty much every trick and tool in his formidable musical repertoire together and constructing a Frankenstein’s monster of song that shouldn’t work – at all – but still somehow moves with an unreal grace.

This, however, didn’t become clear until Wednesday night at Massey Hall in Toronto. The second date of the tour came just one day after the record’s release and even with the extra bit of lead time allowed to the music press, being asked to try and absorb and comprehend well over two hours of new and unprecedented Sufjan Stevens material in such a short amount of time was nigh-impossible. I can’t imagine how it would have been for everyone else in attendance, many of whom had bought their tickets before they even knew that Adz existed let alone the fact that it would be almost exclusively what they’d be hearing. A leap of faith, to be sure, but then if there’s something that Stevens and his followers know about, it’s faith.

DM Stith continued the Sufjan trend of having labelmates and bandmates open up his shows – certainly it makes touring logistics easier. Stith, however, didn’t give himself much of a chance to make a strong impression with just a four-song set. You were able to discern that he traded in looped, rickety folk that built off his rich, raspy voice – it may not have been novel in concept, but was still impressive when executed well.

The spareness of Stith’s set would be a thing of distant memory by the stroke of 9, as Stevens and his band took the stage. Though his songs are often simple things at their core, just as affecting in a solo setting, Stevens has always preferred to have the live experience err on the side of excess and this time out was no exception – he was surrounded by 10 additional musicians including a pair of backup singers/dancer/rhythmic gymnasts, two drummers, two keyboardists and a horn section in addition to guitar and bass. With that sort of setup, you don’t go small and setting the tone for the evening was the ten-minute opus “All Delighted People”, a highlight of even in rough form at the Lee’s Palace show a year earlier and now a fully-formed piece of musical theatre.

Under massive, cosmically-themed projections inspired by the artwork of American artist Royal Robertson, the next two hours would be a feast of overstimulation for the eyes and ears, elaborately and tightly choreographed yet still retaining a homespun charm, with the musicians swapping instruments while trying to navigate the on-stage clutter. Live, the songs from People and Adz felt much more in synch with each other, more obviously interrelated and with the common thematic thread tying them together making a much greater impression than the disparate sounds and styles that sometimes pushed them apart. If Stevens’ intention was to create a sense of journeying into mystery, with all the excitement, anxiety, disorientation and determination that might go along with that, and in the process make the mind-bendingness of his new record make sense, he succeeded in no uncertain terms.

Nowhere was that clearer than the centerpiece of the show – and of Age Of Adz – the beyond-grandiose song suite dubbed “Impossible Soul”. Shifting through various styles and documenting, in a sense, the various facets of love, it ran a full 26 minutes including, spastic atonal guitar solos, autotuned vocal passages and a hipster dance party crescendo (with Stevens busting some moves – one girl in the front row tried to join in but was told to sit back down by security) before closing with a heart-breaking acoustic denouement that left you breathless, bewildered and agape. It’s a lot to take on record but live, it was overwhelming in the very best sense and encapsulated the contrast of confidence and self-consciousness, the earnestness dusted with irony that Stevens does so well. And truly, it could have ended there – though the audience had just sat through over 100 minutes of mostly unfamiliar songs, many of which were officially only about 24 hours old, they had done so without a second of complaint, content simply to be taken wherever Stevens would lead them. But perhaps by way of thanks, Stevens was able to shift his headspace sufficiently to offer some selections from Illinois – “Chicago” to close the main set and then, for the solo encore, “Concerning The UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois” on piano and chillingly gorgeous “John Wayne Gacy, Jr” that had Stevens’ angelic voice echoing through every corner of Massey Hall and sent the sold out house out into the streets in a sweet, heady daze.

Do I need to mention how lucky I feel to have been able to see two amazing shows in the same amazing venue over the course of…. what, 27 hours? Amazing. Music, you are wonderful.

eye, Exclaim, The Toronto Star, Panic Manual and The Globe & Mail also have reviews of the show and eye, The Irish Times, Drowned In Sound, The Chicago Tribune and The Quietus all have interviews with Sufjan.

Photos: Sufjan Stevens, DM Stith @ Massey Hall – October 13, 2010
MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “Too Much”
MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “I Walked”
MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “Movement VI—Isorhythmic Night Dance With Interchanges”
MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “The Henney Buggy Band”
MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “The Man Of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts”
MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “Casimir Pulaski Day”
MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “Sister”
MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “Holland”
MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “Year Of The Dog”
MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “Year Of The Tiger”
MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “Demetrius”
MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “A Winner Needs A Wand”
MP3: DM Stith – “I Heart Wig”
MP3: DM Stith – “Pigs”
MP3: DM Stith – “BMB” (alternate version)
MP3: DM Stith – “Pity Dance”
MP3: DM Stith – “Just Once”
MP3: DM Stith – “Thanksgiving Moon” (demo)
MP3: DM Stith – “BMB” (demo)
Video: DM Stith – “Pity Dance”
Video: DM Stith – “BMB”
Video: DM Stith – “Isaac’s Song”
MySpace: Sufjan Stevens
MySpace: DM Stith

MusicOmh interviews Antony Hegarty of Antony & The Johnsons.

The Vine interviews Alan Sparhawk of Low, whose new record – tentatively called C’mon – is due out next year.

NOW talks to Lissie, who is now in no condition to talk to anyone. Under doctor’s orders, she has had to postone at least a week’s worth of dates – including next Tuesday’s show at the El Mocambo. Make-up dates for the new year will be announced shortly. This makes four shows that have been cancelled on me in the last month – not quite an epidemic but still some kind of record.

NYC Taper is sharing a recording of a recent Sharon Van Etten show in New York. She’ll be at Lee’s Palace on November 5 opening up for Junip.

Interview interviews Warpaint; their debut album The Fool is out October 26.

Le Blogotheque has a Soirées De Poche session with The Morning Benders, while The San Jose Mercury News and examiner.com have interviews.

Daytrotter has posted a session with Foals.

Drowned In Sound has a three-song acoustic video session with The Twilight Sad.

The Line Of Best Fit has an interview with Lisa Milberg of The Concretes. Their new record WYWH is out November 8.

Valerie Phillips

That’s my speculation about why Lissie’s debut album Catching A Tiger is what it is, and that’s a big, genre-hopping record that pops and rocks as much as it twangs. It might have caught some off-guard, but really shouldn’t have – after all, its release was preceded by a series of viral videos that featured Lissie covering decidedly non-country acts like Lady Gaga, Kid Cudi and Metallica. There was definitely an aspect of calculated marketing to these selections, but that took a back seat to the fact that Lissie did a great job of making them her own, and that sentiment largely covers Catching A Tiger as well.

The production is pretty slick – overly so in parts – and the attempts to make songs in certain styles sound authentic, like the ’50s AM radio-filtered “Stranger”, try too hard, but Lissie’s voice and songwriting are strong and versatile enough to transcend any excess studio tinkering. She has a gift for inserting a big chorus where you’re not expecting a big chorus and thus making tracks like “Loosen The Knot” and “Cuckoo” indelible from the very first listen. Her folkier side isn’t neglected either, though it’s largely represented with the three tracks carried over from Why You Runnin’. Their placement alongside the more stylistically rangy selections of the record makes them more impactful, however, and by the time the gospelly “Oh Mississippi” closes things out, it’s clear that the decision to bust out of the pigeonhole before even being put in it was the right one – she’d have busted out of it sooner rather than later anyways.

The Dallas Observer and Spinner have interviews with Lissie, who is currently on tour in support of Catching A Tiger – she’ll be at the El Mocambo in Toronto on October 19.

MP3: Lissie – “Little Lovin’”
MP3: Lissie – “Everywhere I Go”
MP3: Lissie – “In Sleep” (live)
Video: Lissie – “When I’m Alone”
Video: Lissie – “Cuckoo”
MySpace: Lissie

American Songwriter, Washington City Paper and The Cornell Sun talk to Sharon Van Etten, who’ll be at Lee’s Palace on November 5.

The lead single from Nicole Atkins’ sophomore effort Mondo Amore is now available to download, widget-free. The record is out January 25.

MP3: Nicole Atkins – “Vultures”

Anyone who missed seeing S. Carey open up for The Tallest Man On Earth last month, take heart – he will be returning on his own tour, supported by White Hinterland, for a show at the Horseshoe on December 19. And honestly, I can’t think of a better bill to welcome Winter and close out (probably) the 2010 touring calendar – Carey’s All We Grow is a beaut.

MP3: S. Carey – “In The Dirt”
MP3: S. Carey – “In The Stream”
MP3: White Hinterland – “No Logic”
MP3: White Hinterland – “Dreaming Of The Plum Trees”

Spinner talks to Chris Chu of The Morning Benders about their high-profile support slots this year. They headline their own show at the Mod Club on November 5 and some of footage of their/his ice cream-powered in-store/out-store show in August has been posted as a video session over at the newly-minted TapeDek.

Offbeat interviews Local Natives; they’ve got a sold out show at Mod Club on October 19.

Pitchfork gets a musical history from Patrick Stickles of Titus Andronicus.

My Morning Jacket bassist Tom Blankenship tells Spin that their next album, currently in production, will be a return to the reverb-drenched atmospheric rock of their early records.

The Chicago Tribune talks to Guided By Voices’ Tobin Sprout about how the current reunion came together and where it might go from here.

Pitchfork takes the recent GQ interview with Steve Albini as a launching pad for contemplating the long-term effects of Sonic Youth’s major label tenure on the indie world.

CMJ reports that when Iron & Wine’s new record Kiss Yourself Clean comes out next January, it will be on a major label – they’ve signed to Warner Bros in North America. Their indie cred remains intact in the rest of the world, where they’ll be handled by 4AD.

Spinner interviews Warpaint, who have a new video for the first single from The Fool, out October 26.

Video: Warpaint – “Undertow”

Black Book interviews both Bjork and Antony Hegarty of Antony & The Johnsons, the latter of whom has a new record out in Swanlights. A video from said record was just released.

Video: Antony & The Johnsons – “The Spirit Is Gone”

Claudia Dehaza has left School Of Seven Bells for “personal reasons”. Ben Curtis and Alley Dehaza intend to carry on with the band, though without those sisterly harmonies it can’t help but be a wholly different beast.

With Jim Bryson acting as a touring member of The Weakerthans for some time now, it’s only fair that the Winnipeggers help out on the Ottawa-based artists’ next solo record, and so it is that the Weakerthans are functioning as Bryson’s backing band on his new record The Falcon Lake Incident. The record is due out next Tuesday, October 19, and they’re marking the occasion (sort-of/not really) halfway between their respective homes with some free shows – one on Tuesday night at the Horseshoe at 10PM and another by way of in-store at Sonic Boom on Wednesday at 6PM. And on top of that, John K Samson will play a solo set as part of the screening of their tour documentary We’re The Weakerthans, We’re From Winnipeg at the Royal on Monday night, October 18. If you need more Weakerthan action than that in a week, then I can’t help you. No one can.

MP3: Jim Bryson & The Weakerthans – “Wild Folk”
Trailer: We’re The Weakerthans, We’re From Winnipeg

And apparently their perfect sendoff at The Horseshoe in December 2007 wasn’t perfect enough – The Lowest Of The Low are getting back together for two gigs at Lee’s Palace on December 3 and 4. The occasion is the 20th anniversary of their beloved debut Shakespeare… My Butt which is getting a fancy-pants remastered reissue on November 23 and will include a DVD with a 45-minute documentary about the band entitled LowRoads 91-08. I waxed nostalgic about the record and what it meant to me in Summer 2007, but think I might let these shows pass me by. I’ve said thanks and goodbye already.

MP3: The Lowest Of The Low – “Bleed A Little While Tonight”
Trailer: LowRoads 91-08

Joe Fuda

Starting locally, with The Rural Alberta Advantage. After one of the best and busiest 2009s on record, the trio has been relatively quiet through most of this year working on the follow-up to their debut Hometowns, as these photos (sort of) attest. But you can only keep road warriors in one place for so long and they’ll be on the road again starting at the end of this month with a pretty extensive Fall tour that takes them out across the prairies to the west coast of Canada, across the Atlantic for a slew of European and UK dates and then, finally, back home to Toronto for a show at Lee’s Palace on December 16 – their first proper local show in over a year. It’ll be good to hear some of the new material that will appear on album number two when it hits sometime next year, but mostly it’ll just be nice to see them again. Tickets for the show are $15 in advance.

MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Frank, AB”
MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Don’t Haunt This Place”

And more to the show announcements from the past week or so – Avi Buffalo will precede their October 18 show at the Horseshoe with an in-store at Soundscapes on October 17 at 7PM. It’ll be interesting to see if Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg can tear it up as fiercely on acoustic as he does electric. I am guessing yes.

MP3: Avi Buffalo – “Remember Last Time”
MP3: Avi Buffalo – “What’s In It For?”

Also doing it free for the kids is PS I Love You, whose just-released debut Meet Me At The Muster Station has been getting some impressive Pitchfork-love. They’ll be at Soundscapes on October 26 at 7PM before heading down to The Garrison to open up for Diamond Rings. The duo are profiled in The Province, National Post, Chart and Exclaim.

MP3: PS I Love You – “2012″
MP3: PS I Love You – “Butterflies & Boners”
MP3: PS I Love You – “Facelove”

Forest City Lovers have set a date at The Horseshoe for November 5, amidst a smattering of Fall dates. They’ve also just put out a new pensive-to-party video from Carriage.

MP3: Forest City Lovers – “Light You Up”
Video: Forest City Lovers – “Tell Me Cancer”

Horse Feathers and Anaïs Mitchell will team up for a show at the Drake Underground on November 8.

MP3: Horse Feathers – “Curs In The Weeds”
MP3: Anaïs Mitchell – “Flowers (Eurydice’s Song)”

The Balconies, who like The RAA were omni-present in 2009 but relatively quiet in 2010, are back for a show at The Horseshoe on November 9 – hopefully as a precursor to a second album.

MP3: The Balconies – “Serious Bedtime”

The Meligrove Band have put together both a North American tour for and a video from their just-released new record Shimmering Lights. They’re at The Great Hall on November 12 and there’s interviews at The National Post and dose.

MP3: The Meligrove Band – “Bones Attack!!!”
MP3: The Meligrove Band – “Halflight”
Video: The Meligrove Band – “Racing To Shimmering Lights”

Rufus Wainwright has a date at Massey Hall on December 4.

Video: Rufus Wainwright – “Zebulon”

Damon Gough, aka Badly Drawn Boy, has slated a North American tour in support of his new record It’s What I’m Thinking Pt.1 — Photographing Snowflakes. The record is out next Tuesday and will be available in a variety of deluxe and standard packages, as detailed at Exclaim. The Toronto date of the aforementioned tour is December 8 at The Great Hall, tickets $27.50 in advance.

Video: Badly Drawn Boy – “Too Many Miracles”

Interpol will be making good on the support slot for U2 this past Summer which was canceled along with the entire tour when Bono realized he was an old man. They’ll be at the Air Canada Centre on July 11 of next year.

MP3: Interpol – “Lights”

BeatRoute discusses The Age Of Adz with Sufjan Stevens. The record is out October 12 and he plays Massey Hall on October 13.

Murray Lightburn of The Dears talks to eye in advance of the band’s three-night residency at The Garrison next week, October 13 through 15, where they’ll play all of their new, as-yet untitled and release date-less album, start to finish.

The Oklahoma Daily and Austinist talk to members of Local Natives, who’ve put out a new video and have a sold-out show at the Mod Club on October 19.

Video: Local Natives – “Wide Eyes”

Spinner has an interview with Lissie, who brings her full-length debut Catching A Tiger to the El Mocambo on October 19. There’s also a new video from said record.

Video: Lissie – “Everywhere I Go”

Uptown and The Ottawa Citizen profile Rae Spoon, in town for a show at the Gladstone on October 21.

Stars, who are playing Massey Hall on October 26, are interviewed by BeatRoute and The Huffington Post.

Spinner talks to Black Mountain. They’ll be dressing up as a band playing The Phoenix on Hallowe’en.

Thanks Captain Obvious, The Village Voice and Spinner talk to Sharon Van Etten about her new record Epic. She is at Lee’s Palace on November 5 supporting Junip.

The Wooden Sky, who’ve got a date at Lee’s Palace on November 6, have just been featured in a Daytrotter session and a Gateway interview.

Wolf Parade have rolled out a new video from Expo 86. They’ll be at the Sound Academy on November 26.

Video: Wolf Parade – “Yulia”

NPR has a World Cafe session with Ra Ra Riot, in town for a show at the Mod Club on December 1. There’s also interviews at The Omaha World-Herald and Wall Street Journal.

Kevin Drew tells Spin why Broken Social Scene are called Broken Social Scene while Brendan Canning talks to The Georgia Straight and Andrew Whiteman to The Gateway. They are at the Sound Academy on December 9.

BeatRoute chats with Owen Pallett.

Pitchfork interviews Arcade Fire.

Spinner, The Gateway, See and BeatRoute talk to Holy Fuck.

Over at YouTube, Daniel Lanois offers a track-by-track analysis of Neil Young’s Le Noise from the view of the producer’s chair.

Didn’t The Flaming Lips just release a video from Embryonic last week? Yes they did. But here’s another one anyways.

Video: The Flaming Lips – “The Sparrow Looks Up At The Machine”

How do you know Of Montreal were just in the UK? Interviews with Kevin Barnes at Drowned In Sound, The Quietus and The Line Of Best Fit.

The Fly talks to the ladies of Warpaint about their forthcoming debut The Fool, hitting the streets on October 26.

MOVE talks to Mountain Goat Peter Hughes.

Craig Finn of The Hold Steady discusses the benefits of getting older with The Boston Globe.

And seriously, this isn’t even nearly everything I’ve had backlogged to post over the past week.

Allison Kaye

It was also a record that as great as it was, for the artist’s sake, you hoped she wouldn’t be able to create a similarly inspired follow-up; navigating the emotional terrain that informed the debut wasn’t the sort of thing you’d wish on anyone twice, and yet there was no denying the want or need to hear more from her, of her voice. Where do you go from there? To Epic. Though clocking in at just seven tracks and barely 32 minutes, it doesn’t quantitatively measure up to its name, the emotional breadth of the music contained therein actually makes the title something of an understatement. Whereas Love‘s voice and primarily acoustic guitar aesthetic suited the material perfectly, Epic takes the necessary step of filling out the arrangements with a full band. It’s a sound that we got a taste of when she last played Toronto in April and tourmates Megafaun backed her up for one song and the greatness of the configuration is borne out by the richer sounds of Epic, and allows her to more fully delve into particular styles, like the rock drive of “Peace Sign” and steel-enhanced country of “Save Yourself”.

But more important than the sonic growth on Epic is the lyrical and emotional growth; whereas Love focused on the titular subject and its aftermath, the follow-up gets up, dusts itself off and fights back. There is a distinct snarl about Epic that’s surprising but also quite welcome, fitting nicely with the more dynamic arrangements and reinforcing the sense of strength that permeates the album without losing any of Van Etten’s trademark vulnerability. Though they only number seven, each song on Epic has a distinct vibe that sets it apart from its peers and together, they make for a complete musical and emotional journey that ends, fittingly, on the gorgeous and hopeful “Love More”; a song which, like the rest of the album, makes any working heart simultaneously break and soar.

Rollo & Grady and Kevchino interview Sharon, who will be opening up for Junip on their Fall tour including the November 5 show at Lee’s Palace in Toronto.

MP3: Sharon Van Etten – “Love More”
MP3: Sharon Van Etten – “Don’t Do It”
MySpace: Sharon Van Etten

Two weeks before it’s due to be released on October 12, Sufjan Stevens’ new album The Age Of Adz is up to stream at NPR. Stevens and company play Massey Hall on October 13.

Stream: Sufjan Stevens / The Age Of Adz

DCist talks to Amy Klein and The Washington Post to Patrick Stickles, both of Titus Andronicus.

Drowned In Sound meets Josh Ritter, who’ll be at the Phoenix on October 26.

The Flaming Lips have released another nudity-replete, NSFW video from Embryonic. Know what would be really groundbreaking from these guys? A clip where everyone keeps their clothes on. Mind. Blown.

Video: The Flaming Lips – “See The Leaves”

Spin checks in with Chris Walla on how the new Death Cab For Cutie album is coming. Don’t expect anything before 2011, obviously.

Incendiary talks to Warpaint, who will be at Massey Hall opening up for The xx on Wednesday night and will release their debut album The Fool on October 26.

NYC Taper was on-hand for at least two of Pavement’s many New York City shows this week – check out recordings from two of the Central Park shows and NPR’s interview with Matthew of Fluxblog about attending all five of the band’s recent New York shows. Update: All five shows are up on NYC Taper’s site.

The Courier-Journal talks inspiration and influence with The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn, who has just written an anthem for the Minnesota Twins – details and a stream at Spin.

eMusic chats with Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai.

Southern Souls have posted a video session with The Dø, recorded on their recent visit to Toronto.

Drowned In Sound spends some time with the non-Nick Cave members of Grinderman. They are at the Phoenix on November 11. With Cave. Don’t Worry.