trespasserswilliam.comThe new year is traditionally held as a time for fresh starts and new beginnings, but it can also be a symbolic time for drawing things to an end or perhaps more appropriately, wrapping up something to begin something else. Not that that was the only reason it wasn’t a complete surprise when Seattle duo Trespassers William took to Facebook this week to announce that the band would be shelved for the foreseeable future.

Despite completely winning me over with their second album Different Stars – one of my favourites of the decade – their gorgeously sad and languid dreampop led by Anna-Lynne Williams voice and slide guitar never really seemed to catch on beyond a devoted audience to whom the sound of melancholy captured at 100 frames per second and replayed in exquisitely detailed slow-motion was the best thing ever. Even so and despite seemingly endless lineup changes – Williams and guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Matt Brown were the only constants – they carried on for a decade and a half and are now moving onto other things. Williams records solo as Lotte Kestner and is half of Ormonde, while Brown performs as Disinterested; Trespassers William may now be silent, but the voices that comprised it are not.

Similarly, while we’ll not be getting the follow-up to 2006′s Having that was promised for this year, that won’t be the final word from the band. In 2009, the released the European EP The Natural Order Of Things and at the start of last year, digitally released a compilation b-sides and to coincide with the announcement of the hiatus, have cleared the vaults with another digital release in New Songs & Outtakes, consisting of a couple of new songs that had been targeted for the fourth record and other goodies.

I’m sad that they never managed to put together a North American tour that brought them to Toronto, but am glad I was able to catch them at SXSW in 2008 and again in 2010, and to have had the fortune of living with their music for so long.

Update: Again, via Facebook, the band have announced that their b-sides/unreleased material currently available via Bandcamp will be getting a proper physical release. Details to come, but the digital sales will be ending this weekend.

MP3: Trespassers William – “Lie In The Sound”
MP3: Trespassers William – “Vapour Trail”
MP3: Lotte Kestner – “Crush The Bird”

Iron & Wine have released a new video from last year’s Kiss Each Other Clean.

Video: Iron & Wine – “Godless Brother In Love”

At The Paris Review, Dean Wareham keeps a tour diary about taking the “Plays Galaxie 500″ shows to Japan.

Independent Weekly talks to Eric Bachmann of Crooked Fingers.

Nicole Atkins plays a video session for The Huffington Post.

Cursive, accompanied by Cymbals Eat Guitars, will be in at The Horseshoe on March 31. Tickets are $16.50 in advance. Cursive’s new album I Am Gemini comes out on February 7; Cymbals Eat Guitars released Lenses Alien last year.

MP3: Cursive – “The Sun & Moon”
MP3: Cymbals Eat Guitars – “Rifle Eyesight (Proper Name)”
MP3: Cymbals Eat Guitars – “Definite Darkness”

The Huffington Post profiles and interviews Warpaint.

And another Yo La Tengo Hannukah show is up over at NYC Taper; that’s five of them now.

Pitchfork bears bad news for those who thought the new Sleigh Bells album Reign Of Terror would be the perfect Valentine’s Day soundtrack; it has been pushed back a week from February 14 to the 21st.

Sean PecknoldWe’re a week out from the release of one of the most-anticipated records of the year – Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes – and as has become commonplace, the album is available to stream a week before it goes on sale at NPR. A couple of listens in and all the key ingredients that made the debut a smash are still in place: Robin Pecknold’s otherworldly voice, the ridiculously lush and immaculate harmonies, the blankets of reverb imported from some Pacific northwest mountaintop, but Blues also sounds more confident and dynamic than its predecessor, perhaps a sign that the songwriting is now more up to par up with the immense musical talents of the band. I liked but didn’t love Fleet Foxes and am cautiously confident that I’ll like the new record more. I am certain, however, that they won’t alienate any of their fanbase with it.

Exclaim and Spinner have conversations with Pecknold, the former about the process of writing the new record and the latter about the general awfulness of Myspace. Meanwhile, over at We All Want Someone To Shout For has a session the band played for BBC Radio 1 last week available to download and if you like Fleet Foxes but hate their songs, You Ain’t No Picasso has collected a decent-sized archive of covers they’ve performed.

Fleet Foxes are at Massey Hall on July 14.

Stream: Fleet Foxes / Helplessness Blues

Yours Truly has got a video session with The Head & The Heart which I’m sure is great, but can’t watch to confirm since it’s restricted to the US only… but they’re working on it, I’m told. In the meantime, read this interview at LAist.

Prefix talks to Charles Bissell of The Wrens about the state of their new record which will not actually be called Funeral and should be out someday. Maybe.

Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy talks to both Spin and Rolling Stone about their new record which may but probably won’t be called Get Well Soon Everybody and may be out come September. Know what would be awesome? If Tweedy gave completely contrary information to both publications. But he didn’t. More certain, as Exclaim reports, is the first release on the band’s new dBpm label – a 7″ single due out sometime in July A-sided by new song “I Might” and backsided by a cover of Nick Lowe’s “I Love My Label”.

NPR has a World Cafe session with Bright Eyes.

Spinner, Paste and Clash talk to Steve Earle about his just-released new record I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive, acting and the Gulf of Mexico (song and region), respectively. He also sets up behind a Tiny Desk for NPR. Earle is at the Molson Amphitheatre on August 20.

PopMatters catches up with The Thermals on tour in Germany.

PO Box 607 gets to know Anna-Lynne Williams of Trespassers William about a new solo record coming out as Lotte Kestner and her new label Saint-Loup Records.

Blurt profiles Buffalo Tom while Bill Janovitz contributes a piece on being both rocker and realtor to Boston Magazine.

PopMatters tries to extract an interview from J Mascis.

The Chicago Tribune talks to The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. They’re at The Opera House on August 2.

Comic artist and musician Jeffrey Lewis is in town for the Toronto Comic Arts Festival and will be whiling away the evening by playing a solo show at The Dakota on May 8, tickets $10 at the door.

MP3: Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard – “Slogans”

Back for like the third time in less than a year, Robyn is back on June 3 with this past Winter’s tourmate Diamond Rings in tow and they’re playing an actual new venue in Toronto. It’s called Echo Beach and it’s an approximately 4000-capacity general admission outdoor venue at Ontario Place, on the water, not far from the Molson Amphitheatre but far away in time. Tickets for the show are $39.50, on sale Friday.

MP3: Diamond Rings – “All Yr Songs”
Video: Robyn – “Dancing On My Own”

New York’s Gang Gang Dance will have a new record out in Eye Contact on May 10 and be at The Horseshoe on July 10 to support.

MP3: Gang Gang Dance – “MindKilla”
Video: Gang Gang Dance – “MindKilla”

D.L. AndersonA lot of bands these days lay claim to the adjective of “orchestral” – and indeed, the tasteful addition of some strings, brass and/or woodwinds to one’s aural palette can set one apart from the pack. Those following this path should know, however, that the bar for these sorts of stylings has been raised by North Carolina’s Lost In The Trees. By a lot.

Even if stripped down to just main composer Ari Picker, Lost In The Trees would be a worthy of note – his songwriting is lyrically evocative and his voice capable of ranging from an introspective grumble to a plaintive yelp – but his ambitions go far beyond folk or singer-songwriter. Their third album All Alone In An Empty House – originally released in 2008 but re-recorded and set to be re-released on August 10 – wraps him and his songs in gorgeous tapestries of strings and chorals that are clearly informed by Picker’s Berklee training in classical composition, with the vocal pieces giving way on multiple occasions to full-on insturmental suites. Mixing those in with the more austere numbers and occasional electrified rockers could – and probably should – make for a jarring listening experience but Picker and company – seven in total in the touring configuration but numbering more than a dozen in the studio – make it all blend beautifully. Those other bands can keep calling themselves orchestral – Lost In The Trees are symphonic.

Lost In The Trees are currently on tour and will be in Toronto this coming Tuesday, June 15, for a free show at the El Mocambo. That’s right – the price of admission is the effort it takes to show up. There’s interviews with Ari Picker at The Washington Examiner and hour.ca.

MP3: Lost In The Trees – “Fireplace”
MP3: Lost In The Trees – “All Alone In An Empty House”
MP3: Lost In The Trees – “Time Taunts Me”
MySpace: Lost In The Trees

QRD talks guitars with Anna-Lynne Wiliams of Trespassers William.

Author Michael Chabon offers an eloquent tribute to power pop in general and Big Star in particular.

Drive-By Truckers have a new video from The Big To-Do.

Video: Drive-By Truckers – “After The Scene Dies”

Spinner talks to Tift Merritt about her new record See You On The Moon.

eye‘s cover feature this week welcomes the Pavement reunion to town next Saturday on Toronto Island without actually talking to anyone in the band. It was just announced that the reunion is having a reunion of its own – the band’s June 24 show in their former hometown of Stockton, California will feature their original drummer Gary Young behind the kit. Stockton fans got excited, until they remembered that Young wasn’t a very good drummer.

James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem talks to Spinner.

Phantogram check in at Daytrotter for studio session and with The Visalia Times Delta for an interview; they’ll be at Wrongbar on July 8.

Spin checks in with Of Montreal, presently in the studio recording a new record.

The Drums talk to Spinner and BBC about their self-titled debut, out digitally now, and on vinyl come August 10 and on CD in September.

Sky Larkin have nailed down the release date for their second album Kaleide – it will be available in the UK on August 9.

PopMatters chats with Gareth Campesinos! of Los Campesinos!.

Exclaim reports that The Vaselines will release their first new album in some 20 years on September 14 with Sex With An X, the first MP3 of which you can get from their website.

The Telegraph interviews Richard Thompson, whose new recorded-live-in-front-of-an-audience album Dream Attic is out August 31.

New fatherhood may have kept bassist Ted Malmros from participating in the Shout Out Louds’ recent North American tour, but he kept busy producing a new video from Work. Blast and The Days Of Yore also have interviews with Shout Out Loud-ers.

Video: Shout Out Louds – “Show Me Something New”

Drowned In Sound meets Love Is All.

Frank YangFull writeup of the evening over here.

Visqueen
- Seattle-based power-pop outfit fronted by the awesome Rachel Flotard released Message To Garcia last year. Spinner has an interview.
Photos: Visqueen @ Stubb’s – March 17, 2010
MP3: Visqueen – “Hand Me Down”
MP3: Visqueen – “Beautiful Amnesia”
Video: Visqueen – “Crush On Radio”
Video: Visqueen – “Mrs. Elder”
MySpace: Visqueen

Trespassers William
- Seattle duo released The Natural Order Of Things EP last year and are currently working on their third full-length album while their cover of “The Rainbow Connection” from Sing Me To Sleep: Indie Lullabies is streaming over here. Spinner has a chat with the band.
Photos: Trespassers William @ 18th Floor at Hilton Garden – March 17, 2010
MP3: Trespassers William – “Sparrow”
MP3: Trespassers William – “Lie In The Sound”
MySpace: Trespassers William

Fanfarlo
- Swede-fronted London-based pop orchestra still riding high on last year’s glorious Reservoir are currently on tour in North America and will make their Toronto debut on April 9 at Lee’s Palace. They’re also giving away a free live EP on their website in exchange for an email address.
Photos: Fanfarlo @ The Galaxy Room Backyard – March 17, 2010
MP3: Fanfarlo – “Harold T Wilkins”
MP3: Fanfarlo – “I’m A Pilot”
MP3: Fanfarlo – “Luna”
MP3: Fanfarlo – “Finish Line”
Video: Fanfarlo – “The Walls Are Coming Down”
Video: Fanfarlo – “Harold T Wilkins”
Video: Fanfarlo – “Fire Escape”
MySpace: Fanfarlo

The Megaphonic Thrift
- Norwegian sonic anarchists released their debut full-length Decay Decoy at the start of March. Spinner has an interview.
Photos: The Megaphonic Thrift @ Habana Calle 6 – March 17, 2010
Video: The Megaphonic Thrift – “Acid Blues”

Rose Elinor Dougall
- Former Pipette who will release her solo debut Without Why in the Fall talks to Under The Radar.
Photos: Rose Elinor Dougall @ The Galaxy Room – March 17, 2010
MP3: Rose Elinor Dougall – “Fallen Over”
Video: Rose Elinor Dougall – “Start/Stop/Synchro”
MySpace: Rose Elinor Dougall

The Invisible
- London-based three-piece whose 2009 self-titled debut was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize begin a North American tour this week that stops at The Opera House in Toronto on Friday, April 2.
Photos: The Invisible @ Latitude 30 – March 17, 2010
MP3: The Invisible – “London Girl”
Video: The Invisible – “Jacob & The Angel”
Video: The Invisible – “London Girl”
MySpace: The Invisible

Frank YangIt used to be that at 8PM, you could still wander into Stubb’s relatively easily as most were still getting their beer and BBQ on and couldn’t be expected to be in go-mode so early in the night. Apparently those days are past. Upon arriving at one of Sx’s largest venues, I was greeted with a line that went down and around the block, certainly the largest one I’d ever considered getting into. But seeing as how I had no other enticing options for that time slot, I opted to line up with everyone else and hope for the best. Things moved at just the right speed to not abandon ship and I managed to get into the venue and as politely as possible, plow my way up to the photo pit just in time to be let in for Seattle’s Visqueen.

I had been enjoying Message To Garcia, the latest slab of power pop from Rachel Flotard and company, so to hear them start with a vocal-and-cello crooner was a bit of a surprise – had there been a change of direction in the past year, perhaps inspired by Flotard’s stint as sidewoman to Neko Case a few years ago? Not in the least – with song two, the electric guitars came out and the big rock began. Their set was only four songs, but they were jam-packed with hooks, riffs and melodies, anchored by Flotard’s not inconsiderable charisma.

It was as I was leaving Stubb’s and heading to the Hilton Garden 18th Floor – a clever name for a conference room on the 18th floor of the Hilton Garden hotel – that word of Alex Chilton’s passing reached me, ensuring that the rest of the night would be at least moderately bummed out. So in that sense, the serenely downcast sounds of Trespassers William were an ideal choice. The Seattle outfit do not tour North America much, so SxSW has been my only opportunity to see them – their show in 2008 was a considerably different affair from this one, featuring a much larger band and a much louder approach. This time out, it was just principals Anna-Lynne Williams and Matt Brown with some help on drums from Robert Gomez and accordingly, it was much quieter and intimate. Their set included a couple of new songs, hopefully from a forthcoming album, and closed with a remarkable cover of Radiohead’s “Videotape”, for which Williams’ voice seemed tailor-made. A welcome pause from the general chaos of SxSW.

A chaos which I flung myself right into by trying to get into Fanfarlo at the Galaxy Room Backyard next. There wasn’t any real urgency to see them this week since they’ll be coming to Toronto in a few weeks (April 9 at Lee’s, assuming that no passports are stolen), but gave it a go and after a moderate wait in line, got in just in time for the start of the set. Or what would have been the start of the set had they started on time. Instead, they continued to soundcheck for nigh on 20 minutes longer and then, when things were set and the clock ticking, the showcase sponsor actually came out and read a prepared introduction. Dude, the house is packed and things are already running stupid late. Shut up and get off. Which he eventually did and the London five-piece came on, playing an abbreviated set that didn’t quite match the grandeur of their show last year, but a big tent is not the Central Presbyterian Church so that probably couldn’t be expected. They sounded leaner and scrappier than that show, but more boisterous and less polite – positive things both. I attribute that to frontman Simon Balthazar’s not wearing a bow tie this time out.

Post-Fanfarlo, I was almost at Latitude 30 for Johnny Flynn when I decided I’d be better off seeing someone I’d never seen before, and that meant Norway’s Megaphonic Thrift – which turned out to be a great idea except that I had forgotten I hated Habana Calle 6 as a venue. They too were running late with sound check, not getting started until 15 minutes into their set, but you don’t need a lot of time to get across what they’re about. Take one part Sonic Youth and one part Dinosaur Jr, throw them in a blender and set to “pop” and let it ride. Hellaciously loud and rife with guitar abuse, if the above recipe sounds like an awesome combination to you, then The Megaphonic Thrift may well be the most awesome thing to come down the pipe in the last 10 years.

Ex-Pipette Rose Elinor Dougall went completely against SxSW convention by booking only one single show at the festival, official or otherwise, which made her midnight show at the Galaxy Room a must-see. Previewing material from her forthcoming solo debut Without Why, due out sometime this year, Dougall seemed quite keen to break from her past by trading polka dot dresses for a black leather jacket and assembling a band more keen on ’80s dreampop guitar textures than ’50s girl group sounds. Always the strongest singer in the Pipettes, Dougall’s solo material puts that voice front and centre overtop some solid songwriting and sharp pop sensibilities. I do wish the Pipettes Mk 2 all the luck in continuing on through all their roster changes, but it’s very clear that Dougall made the right choice in setting out on her own. Definitely looking forward to that album.

As a nightcap, I stopped in at Latitude 30 en route back to the hotel to see London’s The Invisible. They did me the favour of playing “London Girl” as their second song of the set, so I didn’t feel too bad when I ducked out early. Their low-key, chilled-out groove was clearly doing it for some – there was some impressive dancing going on in the audience – but wasn’t what I needed just then. I was not going to need any help in falling asleep this night.