FacebookOr perhaps that should read, “Vikings coming, Vikings coming”, seeing as how the last few days have seen a flurry of excellent concert announcements from Scandinavian bands.

Not the biggest but certainly of interest is the return of barely out of their teens if even that Danish post-punks Iceage. Their debut New Brigade was as intense as it was brief – not even 25 minutes to get through a dozen tracks – but with enough melodic sensibility to appeal to those who need a little melodicism to make this much angular aggression palatable. Like myself. In any case, their live shows are infamously raucous affairs so it’ll be interesting to see what they do to The Horseshoe when they roll in on July 18, part of a North American tour to get them to Pitchfork Fest; tickets for the show are $12.50 in advance.

MP3: Iceage – “White Rune”
MP3: Iceage – “Broken Bone”
MP3: Iceage – “New Brigade”

With the announcement of his second album There’s No Leaving Now, out June 12, Kristian Matsson – aka The Tallest Man On Earth – is back for a show at The Queen Elizabeth Theatre on June 15. Tickets for that one are $27.50 in advance, on sale today at 10AM and there’s a two-per-customer limit on those so if you’re travelling in a group, you probably won’t be sitting together. Sorry.

MP3: The Tallest Man On Earth – “King Of Spain”
MP3: The Tallest Man On Earth – “Burden Of Tomorrow”
MP3: The Tallest Man On Earth – “Like The Wheel”

And perhaps most excitingly, Sigur Rós make their first return to Toronto since September 2008, though surprisingly it will be their first show in a decade to not happen at Massey Hall; this time, they’ll take advantage of the fact that their show is being geared towards festival season and take things to the outdoors, playing at Echo Beach down at Ontario Place on August 1 before heading to Osheaga and Lollapalooza. Tickets are general admission and go on sale April 19 for $49.50 plus fees. Their new album Valtari is out on May 28.

MP3: Sigur Rós – “Starálfur”
MP3: Sigur Rós – “Svefn-G-Englar”
MP3: Sigur Rós – “Gobbledigook”
MP3: Sigur Rós – “Hoppípolla”

If only a Norwegian band could have announced some dates this week, I’d have had the full set. They’ll have to settle for representation from Ane Brun, who’s now based in Sweden, and has made a track from her new album It All Starts With One available to download; it’s out May 1 and she’s at The Great Hall on May 10. Contact Music also has an interview.

MP3: Ane Brun – “Do You Remember”

The Los Angeles Times, Orange County Register, and Georgia Straight welcome First Aid Kit to the west coast with questions. So many questions.

Londonist interviews Amanda Mair, whose self-titled debut is out in North America on June 5.

Niki & The Dove’s debut album Instinct now has a North American release date and it’s three months after the European one – it will be out via Sub Pop on August 7 over here. Until then, you can hear five tracks from it via a YouTube stream.

Stream: Niki & The Dove / Instinct sampler

NPR welcomes Fanfarlo for a World Cafe session.

The Amelia Fletcher-fronted Tender Trap returns with Ten Songs About Girls, aka ten songs of indie-pop goodness, this July and the first single is now available to stream. Clash has more details on the release.

Stream: Tender Trap – “Love Is Hard Enough”

Also making a return – Neil Halstead with his third solo record Palindrome Hunches, due out in August.

The Joy Formidable may have wrapped up their North American tour and gone back to the UK, but they’ve left parting gifts in the form of a live mini-concert recorded for YouTube Presents.

Video: The Joy Formidable @ YouTube Presents

New Twilight Sad video.

Video: The Twilight Sad – “Dead City”

Summer Camp are put in front of the camera for video sessions with Gold Flake Paint and All Saints.

Charlotte Hatherley’s Sylver Tongue electro-pop persona has premiered a new video via The Guardian.

Video: Sylver Tongue – “Creatures”

Yuck has a new song; let them stream it for you.

Stream: Yuck – “Chew”

Justin Young of The Vaccines updates BBC on the recording of album number two.

Spin, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Wall Street Journal talk to Spiritualized’s Jason Pierce about their new record Sweet Heart Sweet Light, out next week. They’re at The Phoenix on May 5.

The Fly and Edinburgh Evening News chat with Graham Coxon.

Both Rolling Stone and Spin talk The Smiths with Johnny Marr.

The GuardianWith her tenure in Ash, as sidewoman to the likes of KT Tunstall and Bat For Lashes and a solo career that’s yielded three good albums, Charlotte Hatherley has pretty well established herself as a purveyor of sharp, smart power-pop and more than a bit of a guitar heroine. But apparently she’s been hiding another side of herself that worships at the altar of ’80s-vintage electro-pop and that side has now surfaced under the guise of Sylver Tongue.

So far there’s just the one single to represent her first work since 2009’s New Worlds, but it comes with an accompanying video that demonstrates in no uncertain terms what the aesthetic of the project is, which is to say happily neon and glammy. The track itself is far from a club floor banger, its dreamy pace probably better suited for slow dances at proms and if you traded some synths for guits, it wouldn’t have been out of place on her second album The Deep Blue. In any case, it’s good to know that Hatherley remains a solid songwriter, whatever the genre or identity.

Album information is still forthcoming, but the “New band of the day” feature at The Guardian implies they’ve heard more from her and they like it. Which bodes well.

MP3: Sylver Tongue – “Hook You Up”
Video: Sylver Tongue – “Hook You Up”

The Independent and The Fly have interviews with Beth Jeans Houghton.

Pitchfork has got the… interesting cover art from the new Spiritualized record Sweet Heart Sweet Light, due out April 17, and a stream of the first single. They’re at The Phoenix on May 5.

Stream: Spiritualized – “Hey Jane”

SXSW chats with We Were Promised Jetpacks, who will be at Lee’s Palace on April 15.

Mystery Jets have given their fourth album a title of Radlands and a release date of April 30; some details on the release and a trailer for the album can be found at Exclaim.

Charles Watson of Slow Club talks to The Vinyl District.

The Fly chats with the Brewis brothers of Field Music.

NPR has a World Cafe session with Los Campesinos!.

DIY interviews Fanfarlo, whose Rooms Filled With Light comes out on Tuesday, February 28. They play The Mod Club on March 25.

The April 17 Kaiser Chiefs show at The Phoenix has been moved to The Opera House due to “scheduling conflicts”, so don’t read the downgrade in venue as indicative of their popularity. No, seriously.

English DJ-type guy Star Slinger is back for a show at Lee’s Palace on May 14 as part of a Spring tour.

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

James Blake talks to Spinner about where he wants to head, musically-speaking, next.

Under The Radar has got videos of Blur’s comeback performance at The Brits earlier this week, and The Quietus examines the merits of some of their lesser-known, non-album tracks. Oh, and they’re now headlining the Way Out West festival in Gothenburg, Sweden in August – anyone want to go?

Holy Moly has a sit-down with Niki & The Dove. Their debut Instinct is out May 14.

The Line Of Best Fit has posted a video session with The Mary Onettes.

Denmark’s Alcoholic Faith Mission, whom I believe impressed a lot of people when they were here for NXNE last year, are coming back for a date at The Drake on May 2, tickets $13.50 in advance. They’re giving away their last album Daylight From Above until February 29 over here and their new one Ask Me This comes out March 27.

MP3: Alcoholic Faith Mission – “Running With Insanity”

Paste has an interview with Icelandic composer Ólufar Arnalds about his two new releases: Living Room Songs, which collects tracks that were recorded and released one a day last October and Another Happy Day, which is a soundtrack to the film of the same name and out next week. One of the Living Room Songs tracks also has a video, even though clips of the actual recording sessions for each song are also out there. Arnalds was one of the highlights at Iceland Airwaves last year, and has been soundtracking a lot of my time lately. Recommended if you like pretty things.

MP3: Ólufar Arnalds – “Near Light”
Video: Ólufar Arnalds – “Near Light”
Stream: Ólufar Arnalds / Another Happy Day original soundtrack and Living Room Songs