Roger Deckker

And if the version of “Jerome” sounds familiar, it’s because a video of the performance of “Jerome” came out in the early part of the year – which implies that there might well be more videos lurking in her vaults, just as the Volume 1 implies there might be more songs to give away; perhaps to keep folks interested while she works on album number three.

MP3: Lykke Li – “I Follow Rivers” (The Lost Sessions, Vol. 1)
MP3: Lykke Li – “Jerome” (The Lost Sessions, Vol. 1)
MP3: Lykke Li – “Youth Knows No Pain” (The Lost Sessions, Vol. 1)
Video: Lykke Li – “Jerome” (The Lost Sessions, Vol. 1)
Stream: Lykke Li / The Lost Sessions, Vol. 1

Also offering gifts from Sweden were Stockholm pop outfit Acid House Kings, who offered a free download (and a remix) of one of the highlights of their delicious 2011 release The Music Sounds Better With You, a record I didn’t get around to reviewing but which is, indeed, delicious. And with this offering, that’s three of the album’s ten tracks available as free downloads via Labrador… those Swedes are generous folk.

MP3: Acid House Kings – “Are We Lovers Or Are We Friends?”
MP3: Acid House Kings – “Would You Say Stop?”
MP3: Acid House Kings – “(I’m In) A Chorus Line”
MP3: Acid House Kings – “(I’m In) A Chorus Line” (Dave DaG remix)

Filter chats with Adam Olenius and Markus Krunegård of Serenades.

jj have released a new video. Yes, it’s weird.

Video: jj – “VI”

“Lúppulagið” – the one new song included on Sigur Ros’ Inni live album – is now available to download.

MP3: Sigur Ros – “Lúppulagið”

And Jonsi has released a video for one of the songs on the We Bought A Zoo original soundtrack. Have you seen the film? I think they buy a zoo.

Video: Jonsi – “Gathering Stories”

The Irish Times, Daily Record, and The Skinny talk to Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream.

Bandstand Busking reaches back to the Summer for a session with Veronica Falls; they’re at The Garrison on February 14.

Lanterns On The Lake offer a list of their favourite records to DIY, chats with The Irish Independent and play a session for Beatcast.

The Quietus marks the twentieth anniversary of Teenage Fanclub’s classic Bandwagonesque.

Want to hear an early demo version of a new xx song? No? Then don’t click on the link below. And then the play button on the page that link leads to.

Stream: The xx – “Open Eyes”

Elbow have announced deluxe reissues of their second and third albums for next year; 2003′s Cast Of Thousands and 2005′s Leaders Of The Free World will be released on March 5 with a second disc of period-correct bonus material and a DVD of videos and live performances.

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But the record is finally done and according to the press release from Domino (their new European home to go with Fat Possum Stateside), it’s Pierce’s tribute to old school rock’n'roll in the spirit of The Beach Boys and Chuck Berry. I can only hope it turned out better than their last stab at raw rock as Amazing Grace is the go-to Spiritualized album for precisely no one.

The Guardian has an audio interview with Jason Pierce about the making of the new record and also a live video of the album’s leadoff track, recorded last weekend at the Other Voices festival.

Video: Spiritualized – “Hey Jane” (live at Other Voices)

Also at Other Voices and recorded by The Guardian were Wild Beasts, whose entire set is available to watch.

Exclaim reports that Tindersticks have confirmed details of their new record: The Something Rain will be out on February 21 and a stream and video for the first single from the album are available now.

Stream: Tindersticks – “Medicine”
Video: Tindersticks – “Medicine”

DIY talks to Veronica Falls frontwoman Roxanne Clifford about their plans for following up a pretty swell 2011; plans which include a February 14 date at The Garrison in Toronto.

SYFFAL – yes, it’s an acronym – has words with Charles and Rebecca of Slow Club.

In conversation with The Creator’s Project, Jamie xx says that the new xx album should be done and out in time for the Summer festival season, which is to say the front half of 2012.

The Leeds Guide speaks briefly with David Gedge of The Wedding Present, in town at The Horseshoe on March 25.

Alex James tells NME that Blur are planning a holiday get-together and in addition to exchanging gifts and drinking egg nog, they may well do some recording.

Emmy The Great ponders to The Daily Star why there are so many indie Christmas albums being released this year, including her own.

Kaiser Chiefs are still around and Under The Radar reports they’re following this Summer’s The Future Is Medieval with a new album less than a year later in Start the Revolution Without Me, out March 6. The first MP3 is available to download at RCRDLBL – also still around – and they’ll be at The Phoenix on April 17.

Video: Kaiser Chiefs – “Little Shocks”

Coldplay are at the Air Canada Centre on July 23. Last time they were here in 2009 it was the Rogers Centre; stadium band to arena band, oh the indignity.

Video: Coldplay – “Paradise”

The Line Of Best Fit and The Edinburgh Journal talk to James Graham of The Twilight Sad, whose new record No One Can Ever Know is out on February 7.

Exclaim gathers five bits of Stone Roses trivia for your enjoyment.

Cat’s Eyes, the debut album from Cat’s Eyes, continues to yield new videos. Like this one.

Video: Cat’s Eyes – “The Best Person I Know”

As is usually the case when a band with a breakout album does a tour of woefully undersized venues that are sold the hell out, M83 has announced a Spring tour that brings the French electro-gaze act back to town for a show at the Sound Academy on May 6, tickets $25 in advance. And while normally I wouldn’t bother hitting a second show for the same album having just seen them last month, I’ll definitely be there. Why? I Break Horses are opening the whole tour. I love I Break Horses, and their debut Hearts. How much? I’ll tell you next week.

MP3: I Break Horses – “Winter Beats”
Video: M83 – “Midnight City”

Cheers to Ja Ja Ja for finding and posting this live Loney Dear studio performance of “D Major”.

The Raveonettes are marking the holidays with a new video for the cryptically-titled “Christmas Song”.

Video: The Raveonettes – “The Christmas Song”

The Jonsi-scored soundtrack to Cameron Crowe’s latest film We Bought A Zoo is now up to stream at Rolling Stone.

Stream: We Bought A Zoo original soundtrack

NPR has posted a KEXP session from Icelandic merrymakers Of Monsters & Men. Their first North American release will be the digital Into The Woods EP on December 20, followed by a domestic issue of My Head Is An Animal in the Spring.

Australia’s Gotye has a date at The Phoenix on March 31.

Video: Gotye – “Bronte”

Interview talks to Hayley Mary, lead singer of The Jezabels.

NME reports that the long-awaited (by me, anyways) second Ladyhawke album will have a title of Anxiety and release date of March 19. And they’ve got some video of Pip Brown at work on said record.

Frank Yang

The best and the worst thing you can say about High Flying Birds is that it’s pretty much what you’d expect from a Noel Gallagher solo record, with his respective weaknesses and strengths on full display. Amongst the former are his penchant for cribbing lyrics and melodies from others wholesale, and may of the words that are his are vague and nonsensical, though at least they rhyme. However just as he did in Oasis, he’s able to marry them with an unimpeachable gift for melody, a delivery that makes them sound profound and a flair for dressing them up in big arrangements that aren’t too overcooked (obviously this took some time to learn). It can be frustrating to sing along with words that make no sense, but sing along you will.

That said, for all the familiar motions, Birds feels distinct from an Oasis record for reasons beyond the absence of Liam’s rock’n'roll sneer. Perhaps in being freed from the inherent compromises of a band and being able to take full creative control, Gallagher has been able to fully assume the role of composer rather than just songwriter and consequently, Birds feels more meticulous in its execution than any Oasis record I can recall. Some might bemoan its mid-temponess or dearth of guitar heroics, but let’s be fair – he’s made those records already. High Flying Birds doesn’t necessarily revitalize or recontextualize what Noel Gallagher is about – not even remotely, if we’re being honest – but it is well-crafted, tuneful and likeable. Well I like it, anyways, and that’s why despite not getting accredited to cover the show in an official capacity, I headed down to Massey Hall about 20 minutes before showtime and patronized my first ever scalper. Less than half face value? Sure.

Though not sold out – two nights at Massey is a tall order for many acts, even one who sold out arenas with his old band – the hall was nearly full and crackling with the energy of fans who’d not seen the elder Gallagher since that fateful Virgin Festival 2008 appearance where he was assaulted onstage, if not earlier. The vibe was not unlike that at The Sound Academy in June when Liam led Beady Eye into town for their first visit, though feeling a bit older and with fewer (no) Union Jack flags hanging from the balconies.

Unlike Beady Eye, however, Noel had already said that the Oasis songbook was very much fair game for his solo shows and to prove it, the show opened with “(It’s Good) To Be Free”, a 17-year old b-side from a non-album single. Not just the hits, then. Oasis material would actually comprise almost half the 90-minute set, spanning the breadth of their catalog but with no small amount of revisionist history applied – “Wonderwall” got the Ryan Adams treatment, “Supersonic” was stripped down to acoustic guitar and piano (and would be a post-show point of contention for being a Liam song) and “Talk Tonight” given the full band treatment. It was as though Gallagher was more than willing to indulge his fans’ desire to hear the old material, but wasn’t going to make head-to-head comparisons of Oasis and his High Flying Birds easy.

As for the new material, not only was the album played in its entirety, but a b-side and new song thrown in for good measure. All of it was played pretty much verbatim from the album arrangements and in workmanlike fashion from Gallagher and his five-piece band – the crowd was enthused but Gallagher didn’t seem particularly interested in stoking the fires, just in doing his thing. It would have been unreasonable to expect him to discover some heretofore unknown wellspring on on-stage charisma upon assuming the role of frontman, but at least Gallagher seemed chipper in bantering with the crowd.

Early on, he told an audience member who’d not heard the new record that, “it’s going to be a long fucking night for you then” and later, when the inevitable topic of his younger brother came up (he has a home in Toronto), he responded to someone calling out that they’d seen Liam around town buying shoes, “were they high heels?”. Noel has a well-earned reputation for shooting his mouth off about anything and everything, but he’s got a sense of humour. The encore was a triple-bill of Oasis numbers – “Little By Little” from Heathen Chemistry, “The Importance Of Being Idle” from Don’t Believe The Truth and, finally, predictably and thrillingly, “Don’t Look Back In Anger”. That finale was spared any rejigging and performed as it always has – how else do you lead the singalong? And sing along everyone did.

So with all the evidence gathered – live and on record – how do the two post-Oasis projects measure up? Both have turned in decent efforts without offering anything new, but neither is a patch on Oasis in their prime – but to be fair, most of Oasis’ career isn’t a patch on Oasis in their prime either. With Beady Eye, Liam seems to want to recreate the rock’n'roll heyday of Oasis without invoking Oasis, whereas Noel is content to acknowledge his legacy without resting on it. I’d go so far as to say if you took both their records and combined the best moments into one, you’d have the best Oasis record in some years. To be at their best, as both brothers once sang, they need each other. Maybe someday they’ll once again believe in one another.

The Toronto Sun, Exclaim, The Globe & Mail, Toronto Star, NOW, Spinner and National Post also have reviews of the show and Los Angeles Times and National Post also have feature interviews.

Photos: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds @ Massey Hall – November 7, 2011
Video: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – “AKA… What A Life”
Video: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – “If I Had A Gun”
Video: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – “The Death Of You & Me”

In talking to NME, Damon Albarn reveals that Blur have been recording and discussions about more touring in 2012 have taken place. None of which is a commitment to anything, but it is something.

BBC chats with Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner.

Band Of Skulls have set a date at The Phoenix for March 30 of next year in support of their new album Sweet Sour, out February 21. Tickets are $17.50 in advance. Exclaim has details and dates and there’s a video for the first single from the album.

Video: Band Of Skulls – “The Devil Takes Care Of His Own”

DIY talks to Kele about his new EP The Hunter.

Clash interviews Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine.

Artrocker profiles Los Campesinos!, whose new record Hello Sadness is streaming at NPR ahead of its November 15 release date.

MP3: Los Campesinos! – “By Your Hand”
Stream: Los Campesinos! / Hello Sadness

Interview, The Independent and Londonist talk to Summer Camp on the occasion of the release of their debut Welcome To Condale this week.

Pitchfork reports that The xx have begun work on their second album, and will be documenting the process via cryptic animated gif.

The ink barely dry on the their Toronto debut last month, London’s Still Corners will be back on December 9 at The Horseshoe in support of The War on Drugs. The Georgia Straight and Houston Press have interviews and Radio K is streaming a session with the band.

MP3: Still Corners – “Into The Trees”

The AV Club talks to Charlie Fink of Noah & The Whale.

Spinner interviews Laura Marling.

The Guardian gets two generations of folk music – Billy Bragg and Johnny Flynn – to discuss the relevance of protest music today.

Patrick Wolf has released a new video from Lupercalia, which continues to await a North American release. In 2012, perhaps. The Gay Times talks to Wolf about his impending nuptials.

Video: Patrick Wolf – “The Falcons”

Rocksucker talks to The Twilight Sad about their third album No One Can Ever Know, due out in February.

Clash marks the 20th anniversary of My Bloody Valentine’s landmark Loveless album, while The Quietus reflects on the significance of The Jesus & Mary Chain’s debut Psychocandy.

And while not nearly on the level of either of those records, I greatly appreciate Drowned In Sound saluting The Closer I Get, the second album from Nottingham’s Six By Seven. Terribly underappreciated over their tenure, at their best – which would be that record – there was no more beautifully aggressive and misanthropic rock band out there. After a few ill-fated reunions, the band is done but if you go to their website, their last great record – 2004′s relatively sunnier :04 – is available for free download in exchange for an email. You should do this thing.

MP3: Six By Seven – “Bochum (Light Up My Life)”
Video: Six By Seven – “Eat Junk Become Junk”

Seamus Murphy

Just posted to stream in its entirety at NPR, it’s a strange yet immediately compelling collection built around themes of nationalism and war. While has echoes of her past works – the urgency of her early records, the melody of her middle-period works and the stark beauty of recent recordings – it sounds completely fresh, with Harvey favouring the higher registers of her voice in a way that I, at least, haven’t heard before. I’m only a few listens in and already I’m finding myself connecting with it in way that I haven’t with her stuff before. This is an exciting development.

She’s only got three North American tour dates scheduled right now (Los Angeles, Coachella and New York) but considering she’s not toured over here properly in forever – her last Toronto date was in 2004 – I have to think or at least hope that more will be coming.

MP3: PJ Harvey – “Written On The Forehead”
Stream: PJ Harvey / Let England Shake

The Guardian and State interview Anna Calvi, whose self-titled debut is due out on March 1 and who will be at Wrongbar on March 11 as part of Canadian Musicfest.

The Quietus goes over their debut Violet Cries track by track with Esben & The Witch while Drowned In Sound gave them the keys to their whole website last week. Paste just interviews them. They’re also at Wrongbar on March 11 for Canadian Musicfest.

Billboard has a cover story on Adele in advance of the February 22 release of 21. NPR is streaming the album in its entirety as well as a half-hour live performance from the singer, who’s just announced a North American tour in suport of album number two, including a May 18 date at The Kool Haus in Toronto.

Stream: Adele / 21

NPR has a World Cafe session with Duffy.

PopMatters interviews Kate Nash.

Spinner talks to Mira Aroyo of Ladytron about their forthcoming Best of Ladytron: 00-10 compilation, due out March 29.

Micachu & The Shapes are still working on the follow-up to 2009′s left-field gem Jewellery, but in the interim will be releasing Chopped & Screwed, a collaboration with The London Sinfonetta that will be coming out on March 22. What’s it sound like? Click below and read this piece on the collaboration at Clash.

MP3: Micachu – “Everything”

Pitchfork talks to Jamie Smith of The xx about stuff both xx and not xx.

The Fly checks in with Friendly Fires, who are finishing up their second record Pala, due out in the Spring – certainly before their May 30 date at The Phoenix.

The Fly and The Scotsman profile The Joy Formidable, who follow up the North American release of The Big Roar with a date at The Horseshoe on April 2.

Magnet handed over the editorial chair of their website to White Lies last week. The Mirror has an interview.

The Boxer Rebellion have made a date at The Horseshoe for April 18 in support of their new record The Cold Still; tickets $13.50.

Video: The Boxer Rebellion – “Step Out Of The Car”

State, Exclaim and Clash interview The Go! Team, who bring their new record Rolling Blackouts to The Opera House on April 10. They’ve released a couple new videos and an MP3 from said record.

MP3: The Go! Team – “T.O.R.N.A.D.O.”
Video: The Go! Team – “Super Triangle”
Video: The Go! Team – “Secretary Song”

Guy Garvey discusses Elbow’s forthcoming new record build a rocket boys!, out March 8, with The Quietus.

Toronto fans disappointed there’s no official stop here for the upcoming Trash Can Sinatras tour would do well to look at their itinerary, email the address noted on the right and ask themselves just how much seeing them play an intimate house show is worth to them.

Liam Gallagher of Beady Eye discusses his new band’s debut Different Gear, Still Speeding with Spin. The record is out March 1.

Spinner reports that Manic Street Preachers bassist Nicky Wire is disappointed that their last single didn’t chart in the UK; perhaps they overestimated the appeal of an Ian McCulloch duet? Time to dig up Nina Persson’s phone number again, methinks.

The Quietus contemplates the legacy of Teenage Fanclub while The Line Of Best Fit has an acoustic session with Fanny side-project Jonny. Their self-titled debut is out April 12.

Billboard profiles Mumford & Sons.

NPR puts folk-rock legend Richard Thompson behind a Tiny Desk and makes him play a concert. The indignity.

Frank Yang

And while it would be presumptuous to suggest that Los Angeles’ Warpaint would find the same level of success as The xx in as short amount of time, they similarly didn’t seem to have any concerns about hitting their market saturation point – this was their third local show in less than four months and fourth in a year, and it’s still not enough as far as I’m concerned. Their debut The Fool, due out October 25, actually remains the last 2010 release that I’m looking forward to and haven’t heard yet and the fact that I won’t even contemplate my year-end lists until I’ve heard it should give you some idea of how much I’m anticipating it.

As to their show, it was interesting seeing how they translated into the much larger environs of a theatre having only experienced them in much more intimate club settings, and while the sound was murkier than ideal, their strengths – namely the thundering and undulating (thund-ulating?) rhythm section of Stella Mozgawa and Jenny Lee Lindberg and serpentine guitars and keening vocals of Emily Kokal and Theresa Wayman – still came across loud and clear. And while the tempos they operated at made them sound like speed metal relative to The xx, their shared affinity for dark and dreamlike atmospherics should have impressed anyone who showed up in time to catch their 35-minute set; happily, there were quite a few of them but even if Massey had been empty, one suspects the band wouldn’t have noticed – once they started, the quartet were in their own world and seemingly playing just for themselves. We were just fortunate to get to watch.

Any question as to whether The xx could draw enough for a room the size of Massey Hall was moot before the house lights even went down – though not sold out, it was close enough to confirm that The xx were, indeed, huge. Even so, the ongoing complaint from some that their live show was lacking in charisma or stage presence have some basis, although I stand by my standard response of, “well what would you have them do – scissor kicks?” and maintain that their low-key demeanour is fitting to the music they make; they’re a soundtrack to what you get up to in the dark – it’s not about seeing so much as feeling. That said, The xx have improved their live show each time I’ve seen them and this time was the best yet. Perhaps not in terms of actual performance – there were more than a few missed notes and falling out of time with one another, perhaps a consequence of trying to get too loose up there – but for vibe, it was pretty special. For starters, I wager that this was the first time many of the 2500 or so in attendance had seen them play and the excitement in the room was palpable – these folks, who also seemed to have the youngest mean age of any full house I’ve ever seen at Massey Hall – were excited. And though the band were as polite but low-key as ever, when those seated in the floors spontaneously rushed the stage to dance or just get closer to their heroes during “Islands”, they seemed genuinely taken aback by the enthusiasm.

With an intimate delivery that was also possibly even slower and more sensual than on record and playing under a grand yet still somehow dark, meticulously synchronized light show, their set encompassed all of XX plus their cover of Womack & Womack’s “Teardrops”. As they’ve maintained there’s no new material ready to be aired or even any guarantee of a second album, the only “fresh” material came via in the instrumental intros, outros and inter-song segues that they used to expand and differentiate the live renditions from the album versions. The set barely clocked in at an hour including encore, but I didn’t get the sense that anyone felt they didn’t get their money’s worth – they heard everything they could have wanted to.

In a way, you almost hope that they don’t ever make a second record, if just to preserve the purity of their narrative arc thus far. Over a year and a half, these teenagers making music in obscurity have skyrocked to global fame, a Mercury Prize and massive tour of some of North America’s most hallowed venues, and their debut could stand as the single definitive statement of The xx, a document of their youth preserved in amber. In reality, this almost certainly won’t be the last we hear from The xx, but if it were? That’d be okay.

The Toronto Sun also has a review of the show. The Seattle Times has an interview with DJ/producer Jamie Smith, whom Spin reports is releasing a solo single next month.

Photos: The xx, Warpaint @ Massey Hall – September 29, 2010
MP3: The xx – “Basic Space”
MP3: Warpaint – “Undertow”
MP3: Warpaint – “Elephants”
MP3: Warpaint – “Billie Holiday”
Video: The xx – “Islands”
Video: The xx – “Basic Space”
Video: The xx – “Crystalised”
Video: Warpaint – “Stars”
Video: Warpaint – “Elephants”
MySpace: The xx
MySpace: Warpaint

PopMatters talks to the reunited Chapterhous, in town at Lee’s Palace on October 6.

Film School and The Depreciation Guild, both of whom will be at the El Mocambo on October 4, have each released new videos from their latest albums Fission and Spirit Youth, respectively. Wired talks to Film School’s Greg Bertens.

Video: Film School – “Sunny Day”
Video: The Depreciation Guild – “My Chariot”

Spoonfed and The Georgia Straight talk to Benjamin Curtis of School Of Seven Bells.

Kazu Makino of Blonde Redhead tells Spinner they’re hoping to get a lot of mileage out of their latest album Penny Sparkle. They play The Phoenix on October 17.

Exclaim’s cover story this month is Deerhunter, whose latest Halcyon Digest came out this week. They are at the Opera House on October 19.

Spoonfed and Austinist have interviews with The Morning Benders, who premiered a new song in their Take-Away Show for Le Blogotheque. It may well be in rotation by the time they play The Mod Club on November 5.

Exclaim has details on the inevitable deluxe edition of The National’s High Violet which will be available on November 22. The good news is all the bonus tracks will be available a la carte via the usual digital retailers.

Muzzle Of Bees interviews Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips.

Exclaim chats with Stephen McBean of Black Mountain, in town at The Phoenix on October 31.

Land Of Talk’s Liz Powell weighs in on the subject of illegal music downloads at Spinner (precis: she doesn’t like it one bit).

Daytrotter has posted a session with Born Ruffians.

Peaches will be celebrating the holiday season this year with her production of Peaches Christ Superstar, the content of which should be self-explanatory (but Spinner explains anyways). The touring production wraps December 21 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto.

And all those Neil Young videos from Le Noise are indeed parts of a larger filmic whole, and it’s available to watch in its entirety over at YouTube starting today. Young discusses the album with The New York Times.

Video: Neil Young / Le Noise – The Film

This is going to be about it for this week; off to Las Vegas tomorrow morning for Matador 21 and I’d normally be reporting all about it but… what happens in Vegas and all that. But you can follow along thanks to the magic of the internet as most of the sets will be streaming at MySpace – details at Matablog. And also check out this oral history of Matador Records at MySpace, with two parts up and the final one tomorrow. ‘Tis good reading.

Frank Yang

The Toronto chapter of that fanbase was out in force on Wednesday night for the first of two shows at the Horseshoe kicking off the band’s first North American tour in five years, in support of their ninth album Shadows. Like its predecessors in their discography, it doesn’t mess with the Fanclub formula, instead further refining it such that while they sound dramatically different from the quartet that burst into the scene with Bandwagonesque, they’re still very much the same band; just older, wiser and more inclined to use a single, clean guitar line whereas once they’d have let rip with a solo. Some might complain that their songs have gotten slower and quieter with each subsequent release – and this is true – but when a band’s strengths were always a tunefulness and almost supernatural ability to craft a pop song rather than rock out and those strengths are still very much intact, well there’s really no grounds to complain at all.

Support for the first evening was Rick Of The Skins, an act I’d never heard of, and I expected my research to reveal them as some group of young upstarts who scored a plum opening slot. And indeed, I did find some positive reviews of their debut album Here Comes The Weekend – they just happened to be a decade old. The band’s story is unclear to me, but I gathered that they started out on the east coast, a fact borne out by their direct and occasionally primitive psychedelic pop sounds, and don’t really play regularly, evidenced by one of them commenting that this was “their fourth reunion”. Over a short set where all of them changed instruments almost every song and any rustiness – and there was their share – was made up for with enthusiasm.

Though they’d been touring throughout the Summer over in the UK, this was still the Fannies’ first gig of the tour and their first show in over a month and as such, a few hiccups were inevitable. These were limited to the occasional missed note or instrumental flub and corresponding grimace on either Norman Blake, Raymond McGinley or Gerard Love’s faces but rather than detract from the show, they gave it that extra bit of warmth. Not that the performance needed it – with a remarkably efficient 20 songs over 90 minutes, the Fanclub and their immaculate harmonies – up to five parts at times – were like a wonderful blanket of tunefulness that made any angst over having to wait a half-decade since their last visit evaporate. And while McGinley and Love were characteristically stoic through most of the set – though both cracked smiles at various points in the night – Blake did fine handling frontman duties on his own, cracking the requisite corny jokes and fielding requests and repartee from the audience.

The set leaned heavier than one might have expected on Shadows – bands at this point in their careers tend to make more concessions to the “greatest hits” type of show – but the new material made up over a third of the set and sound about as good as any of the more classic material. It’s been said but bears repeating – though they’re not as prolific as they once were, when Teenage Fanclub releases a record, it’s going to be a good one. As for the rest of the set, it was packed with glorious, sing-along pop gems from throughout their career, focusing on the late ’90s glory days of Grand Prix and Songs From Northern Britain with a few later works added in for good measure. “The Concept” may have been the only representative from Bandwagonesque but was done perfectly with McGinley showing he could stomp the fuzz pedal and rip a solo when the occasion called for it and both he and Blake would get the chance to show off their chops on “Everything Flows”, which closed out the show pretty much perfectly. Certainly there were several sets worth of material that didn’t get aired – not a single tune from Thirteen made the cut – but I’m sure they were saving some favourites for the second night (which would surely have a lot of repeat patrons) and the selections they did choose to play were pretty much beyond reproach. They may not release records or tour as often as their fans would like, but when they do, they do it right.

Panic Manual and Chart also have reviews of the show. hour.ca talks to Norman Blake about his move from Scotland to Kitchener, Ontario.

Photos: Teenage Fanclub, Rick Of The Skins @ The Horseshoe – September 22, 2010
MP3: Teenage Fanclub – “Baby Lee”
MP3: Teenage Fanclub – “It’s All In My Mind”
MP3: Teenage Fanclub – “Dumb Dumb Dumb”
MP3: Teenage Fanclub – “What You Do To Me”
Video: Teenage Fanclub – “I Don’t Want Control Of You”
Video: Teenage Fanclub – “Ain’t That Enough”
Video: Teenage Fanclub – “Hang On”
Video: Teenage Fanclub – “What You Do To Me”
Video: Teenage Fanclub – “The Concept”
Video: Teenage Fanclub – “Star Sign”
MySpace: Teenage Fanclub

Spinner interviews The Vaselines about their first new record in forever, Sex With An X. They’re at the Horseshoe on October 30.

Drowned In Sound, The Liverpool Echo and State have feature pieces on Manic Street Preachers while NME finds out why Tim Roth graces the cover of their new record Postcards From A Young Man. It’s out next week.

British Sea Power’s Scott Wilkinson talks to Spinner about their new album, as yet untitled but due out in January 2011, and the Zeus EP which will precede it on October 4. The title track from said EP is available to download now.

MP3: British Sea Power – “Zeus”

Elbow’s Guy Garvey gives NME a status update on their new record, due out next year.

eye, NOW, Chart and The Montreal Mirror have interviews with Foals, who have released a new video from Total Life Forever and will be at Lee’s Palace on Monday night.

Video: Foals – “2 Trees”

The Los Angeles Times and NPR talks to The xx; they’re at Massey Hall on September 29.

There’s a second video out from Johnny Flynn’s second album Been Listening gets a domestic release on October 25. He plays Lee’s Palace solo on October 18, tickets are $12.50 in advance.

Video: Johnny Flynn – “Barnacled Warship”

Paste declares Stornoway amongst their “best of what’s next” – they play the El Mocambo on November 30.

Tricky has scheduled a date at the Mod Club for December 12. His new record Mixed Race is due out October 5.

Video: Tricky – “Murder Weapon”

M.I.A. has a new video from /\/\/\Y/\ and it comes with its on URL and everything.

Video: M.I.A. – “Story To Be Told”

The High Wire have a new video from their gorgeous record The Sleep Tape.

Video: The High Wire – “Pump Your Little Heart”

New York Magazine talks to Kele about his impending move to New York City.

And the cause of Charlatans drummer Jon Brookes’ on-stage collapse last week and subsequent cancellation of the band’s North American tour has been revealed as a brain tumour. Pete Salisbury, ex of The Verve, will sub in for their Fall tour commitments while Brookes heals. Best wishes for a full recovery and return to good health.

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Robyn was easily the highlight of day one of Pitchfork Fest this past Summer and one of the best performers of the festival, so anyone who gets past their issues with the venue and heads out – and thousands will though they’ll still grumble about it – the show in support of this year’s Body Talk albums – part one released back in June, part two just this week and part three before the year is out – will have a great time of it.

Video: Robyn – “Hang With Me”
Video: Robyn – “Dancing On My Own”

In other Toronto concert-goer news, Saturday night’s The Dø show has been moved from The Mod Club to Wrongbar; still an early show though – expect the opener on around 7:30 and for it all to be over by 10. NOW interviews the Franco-Finnish duo.

Jamie Lidell’s September 14 show at the Opera House has also been moved – it’s now happening at Lee’s Palace and Zeus have been added as support. NOW has a conversation with Lidell.

South Africa’s Die Antwoord are back on October 24 for a show at The Phoenix.

Video: Die Antwoord – “Enter The Ninja”

Mt. Desolation, the new countrified project from two guys in Keane, will release their self-titled debut on October 19 and play the Drake Underground on October 28; tickets $18.50 in advance.

With their date opening up for Vampire Weekend over and done, it has been made official that Dum Dum Girls will be opening up for The Vaselines at The Horseshoe on October 30.

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

Electro-pop artist Mikhaela Yvonne Maricich, AKA The Blow, has a date at The Horseshoe on November 17, tickets $13.50.

MP3: The Blow – “Pile Of Gold”
MP3: The Blow – “What Tom Said About The Girls”

German experimentalists and bearers of one of the funnest band names to say, Einstürzende Neubauten have made a date at The Phoenix on December 11 and another at Lee’s Palace for December 12. Tickets for the first show are $30, the second are $25 and if you buy tickets to both, it’s $45 total.

Video: Einstürzende Neubauten – “Stella Maris”

Belle & Sebastian have released details on some of the various formats that their new album Write About Love will be available in, and the first MP3 from said record is now available – get on that, kids. They’re at Massey Hall on October 12, the same day the album is released.

MP3: Belle & Sebastian – “Write About Love”

PopMatters talks to Norman Blake of Teenage Fanclub. They’ll be at the Horseshoe on September 22 and 23.

The Vaselines’ new record Sex With An X is now up to stream at The Guardian in advance of its release next week. They’re at the Horseshoe on October 30.

Stream: The Vaeslines / Sex With An X

eye has an interview with Mogwai guitarist Stuart Braithwaite about their Special Moves/Burning live document, which screens at the Drake Underground on September 14.

4AD is offering up a video session with Stornoway.

Aced chats with Katie Harkin of Sky Larkin. You know, I only now realized that those rhyme. Update: Sky Larkin are opening up for Blood Red Shoes on their North American tour, including October 27 at the Horseshoe! Awesome!

In what should have been a surprise to no one, The xx won the Mercury Prize earlier this week. While certainly not a guarantee of superstardom, it does make their being booked into theatres the size of Massey Hall, where they’ll be on September 29, more prescient than bewildering. Out of curiousity, I checked what the best seat available on Ticketmaster was – halfway back on the balcony. So they’re doing alright.

Manic Street Preachers express their discontent with the state of British politics to Wales Online. Politely, of course. Their new record Postcards From A Young Man is out September 28.

The Tallest Man On Earth will release a new EP entitled Sometimes the Blues Is Just A Passing Bird on November 9, though it’s available to download now via iTunes. He’ll be at Lee’s Palace on September 24.

MP3: The Tallest Man On Earth – “Like The Wheel”

Virgin

I was particularly pleased to see Laura Marling’s sophomore effort I Speak Because I Can get a nod, making her two for two in Mercury nominations in her short but impressive career so far. I was pleased, but not surprised, as the new record is arguably superior to her 2008 debut Alas, I Cannot Swim, and I thought that record was superb. Whereas the debut contrasted Marling’s wise yet youthful words and voice with a folk-pop accompaniment that often tilted toward the jaunty, the follow-up is somewhat starker and with a more traditional folk/Americana aesthetic that might be more conventional, but is perfectly executed and consequently more powerful. By way of example, the opening track “Devil’s Spoke” is darker and more driving than anything on Swim ever hinted at, but it’s offset by the exceptionally gentle and pensive, “Goodbye England (Covered In Snow)”.

Some of the change in tone between records can be attributed to the change in producers from the effective but relatively green Charlie Fink of Noah & The Whale to veteran Ethan Johns, but most of the credit goes to Marling’s growth as a singer and songwriter. On Speak, she taps into a place of even greater emotional depth and honesty, and articulates it with a sort of conversational poeticism that some artists couldn’t even conceive of, let alone practice. And though it’s been said many times, it really does bear repeating: she is just 20 years old, and the amount of talent she’s already been able to harness is staggering. I don’t think that Speak will win the Mercury – it’s probably too traditional for their tastes – but I do believe that every record she releases should and will be nominated. Because they’ll be that good.

Though it seems the Laura Marling tour itinerary checked Toronto off its list with the show at Lee’s back in February, she is in the area right now, appearing tonight at the Hillside Festival in Guelph. She also talks to NME about a 7″ single consisting of Neil Young and Jackson Frank covers that will be due out on Jack White’s Third Man Records on August 9. It’s unclear if plans to release a second album recorded with Ethan Johns this year are still on the front burner – I can’t imagine they’d want to dilute the attention that Speak continues to get.

Video: Laura Marling – “Rambling Man”
Video: Laura Marling – “Devil’s Spoke”

So if I don’t think Marling will take the Mercury, who will? Foals’ Total Life Forever grows on me more with each listen, but I get the sense that The xx are an inevitability. Their momentum has been growing steadily all year and shows no signs of abating. Their Fall North American tour, which sees them booked into some pretty massive halls, including Massey Hall on September 29, won’t seem quite so overambitious if they can bill them as “Mercury Prize winners The xx”. Not that most North Americans know what the Mercury Prize is. And if you don’t even know who The xx are, The Telegraph has an introductory profile.

For Folk’s Sake reports that Emmy The Great is nearly done writing her second album and will soon be headed into the studio to record. Those who sign up for her mailing list at Pledge Music can get an MP3 of “First Love” done live and mariachi style for free.

Spin offers a guide to understanding M.I.A..

Marina & Diamonds’ September 8 Toronto debut appearance has been moved from the El Mocambo to The Opera House. Tickets are $16.50 and all ducats for the El Mo show will be honoured in Leslieville.

With the start of his North American tour postponed by visa issues, Kele has rescheduled the date at the Mod Club which was supposed to happen next week for September 3, same venue. Tickets $20. And to make it up to fans, he’s released a new video.

Video: Kele – “Everything You Wanted”

The Charlatans have released a video for the first single from their new record Who We Touch, getting a North American release on September 14. Look for them at Lee’s Palace shortly thereafter on September 17.

Video: The Charlatans – “Love Is Ending”

Adam Franklin of Swervedriver and Toshack Highway has been driving the Magnet website all week.

Spinner and Spin talk to Spiritualized main man Jason Pierce about the upcoming and final recital of the complete Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space happening at New York’s Radio City Music Hall next week.

The Guardian and Clash profile The Vaselines, whose Sex With An X is out on September 14 and will play The Horseshoe on October 30.

Paste catches up with Fanfarlo.

Frank Yang

But Thursday night eventually came as Thursday nights are wont to do and it was off to the first stop of the weekend, ye olde Legendary Horseshoe Tavern, where locals Dinosaur Bones were kicking off the evening’s programming. I’d seen them in Summer 2008 and while they were pretty raw then, I heard a lot of potential in their moody and atmospheric alt-rock sound. Fast forward a couple years and a goodly amount of local hype, and rather disappointingly that potential doesn’t seem to have been fulfilled. Their musicianship and on-stage presence is still commendable, but the songs just didn’t have the hooks or melodies to stand out. None of which is to say they couldn’t still come out and impress – they’ve still yet to release an album – but I didn’t come away with the same sense of anticipation that I did last time. Dinosaur Bones open for Plants & Animals at the Opera House on June 24.

Photos: Dinosaur Bones @ The Horseshoe – June 17, 2010
MP3: Dinosaur Bones – “NYE”
MP3: Dinosaur Bones – “Life In Trees”
Video: Dinosaur Bones – “Ice Hotels”

Philadelphia’s Free Energy didn’t have any trouble bringing the hooks – their debut Stuck On Nothing is all about the vintage-hued power pop, and the energy of the record translates perfectly on stage. Led by lanky frontman Paul Spangers, the quintet wore their classic rock affections on their sleeves (which were attached to Neal Adams-art Batman and Styx tour t-shirts) with a set that was full of big riffs and solos and wholly dedicated to having a good time. They’re like the Hold Steady if they were more interested in actually partying instead of just documenting the party. All that said, I didn’t find it quite as exhilarating as when I saw them the last day of SxSW but they clearly won over the rapidly growing crowd.

Photos: Free Energy @ The Horseshoe – June 17, 2010
MP3: Free Energy – “Free Energy”
MP3: Free Energy – “Hope Child”
Video: Free Energy – “Bang Pop”
Video: Free Energy – “Free Energy”
MySpace: Free Energy

The ‘Shoe was pretty much jammed by the time Los Angeles’ Warpaint took the stage, proving that I wasn’t the only one fully excited to see them perform. While the one show of theirs I caught at SxSW was intriguing but inconclusive, I’ve no such ambiguity about their Exquisite Corpse EP. It’s a hypnotic blend of dreampop textures and grooves that comes with just the right amount of unsettling, and on this night – perhaps helpfully far from the bright Austin afternoon sun – Warpaint delivered a set that captured all of the magic of the record and then some. Vocalists Emily Kokal and Theresa Wayman led things with their mesmerizing vocals and intertwined, dreamwalking guitars lines, but it was really the thundering rhythm section – Jenny Lee Lindberg on bass and Stella Mozgawa on drums – who propelled things ahead. Interestingly, their original drummer was actress Shannyn Sossamon (who is also Lindberg’s sister – double trivia!) and while her work on Exquisite Corpse was terrific, the sheer power of Mozgawa’s style brings so much more to the table. It’s as though the record floats on the surface of their sound, and the live show dives in deep. The result is intoxicating. After their set, anticipation for their full-length debut, due out this Fall, increased exponentially. Update: Warpaint will be back in town on August 11 at Wrongbar. Update 2: They will also be opening up for The xx at Massey Hall on September 29.

Photos: Warpaint @ The Horseshoe – June 17, 2010
MP3: Warpaint – “Elephants”
Video: Warpaint – “Stars”
Video: Warpaint – “Elephants”
MySpace: Warpaint

That marked the end of my tenure at the ‘Shoe, and then it was up to The Boat in Kensington for Sleepy Vikings. The six-piece arrived with practically no hype (except here) and played to maybe a dozen people but still made quite an impression. And not for their live show – it was sleepy to say the least, but they get a bye on account of having driven 26 hours straight from Tampa for the show – but for the strength of their songcraft and musicianship which even brink-of-death exhaustion couldn’t hide. They’re a big band but with a focused sound and sharp pop instincts that warrant dream, jangle and power descriptors and elicit comparisons to a moodier Velocity Girl (which explains my affection right there). They also gave away copies of their Ghost EP demo, which only contains three songs but more than confirms that these kids are on to something real and great.

Photos: Sleepy Vikings @ The Boat – June 17, 2010
MP3: Sleepy Vikings – “Calm”
MP3: Sleepy Vikings – “Flashlight Tag”

It was obviously too much to hope that Anaïs Mitchell might bring along either Justin Vernon or Ani DiFranco along to support her live they way they did on her last studio record Hadestown, the post-apocalyptic folk opera retelling of the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice, but even solo Mitchell proved to be a more than captivating performer. Her set in the back room of Czehoski on Queen West only included a handful of songs from Hadestown but even without knowing the material, her delivery and charisma – not to mention the evocativeness of her songwriting – made it a wholly enjoyable performance. And a good way close out the night.

Photos: Anaïs Mitchell @ Czehoski – June 17, 2010
MP3: Anaïs Mitchell – “Flowers (Eurydice’s Song)”
MP3: Anaïs Mitchell – “Wait For Me”
MySpace: Anaïs Mitchell

Ed O’Brien tells BBC6 that the new Radiohead album is almost done. That there is the sound of the internet getting ready to break.

Shockhound and The Chronicle-Herald interview The xx. They’re at Massey Hall on September 29. Yeah, that’s still so weird to type.

Clash and Spinner interview Kele. The Boxer is out tomorrow and he’s at the Mod Club on July 29.

Spin profiles The Joy Formidable.

The itinerary for Teenage Fanclub’s Fall tour in support of Shadows has been made public and while the dream double-bill of them at Belle & Sebastian isn’t happening, Toronto still has plenty of reason to be excited – the tour kicks off here on September 22 and 23 with two dates at the Horseshoe! Spinner talks to Raymond McGinley about the band’s songwriting process.

MP3: Teenage Fanclub – “Baby Lee”

The Clientele have announced that they’ll be releasing a new mini-album entitled Minotaur on September 6. One of the new tracks is streaming on their MySpace.

Let’s Wrestle have a new video for a tune which doesn’t appear on their debut In The Court Of The Wrestling Let’s, but a Record Store Day split 7″ with The Love Language.

Video: Let’s Wrestle – “I’m So Lazy”

Le Blogotheque Take-Away Shows with Mumford & Sons.

NPR has a World Cafe session with Frightened Rabbit.

NME checks in with Glasvegas on the status of album number two.

Drowned In Sound sends Emmy The Great to meet David Cross, who has just released a new comedy album in Black & Blackerer.

MP3: David Cross – “I Can’t Get Beer In Me”

Frank Yang

I was there to see the headliners but the addition of Samantha Crain & The Midnight Shivers to the bill – which required them to drive for 14 hours straight following their set at Bonnaroo the night before – actually had me more excited. I’d been hearing great things about Crain for over a year – before last year’s SxSW, I think – but had managed to not get around to hearing any of her music beyond a few drive-by MySpace visits, so her set promised to combine the joy of a new discovery with the assurance that it’d be good. And it was. Classifying Crain as a folk-pop singer-songwriter type is technically accurate, but really doesn’t do the scope of her talents justice. As her set ably demonstrated, in addition to writing songs that are both melodic and affecting, she delivers them in a voice rich with soul and a touch of twang and on top of all that, she’s a fierce guitarist – acoustic and electric, thanks. And she’s funny. Needless to say, everyone who’s been telling me that she’s great over the last however long – you were right. And to everyone who hasn’t heard her yet… you should. Her latest album is the just-released You (Understood). Seek it out.

Crain might have set the bar high, and First Aid Kit were well-set to clear it, thanks in no small part to being frighteningly tall. Both Klara and Johanna Söderberg measure in at close to six feet tall (the former just shorter, the latter a good deal taller) and considering they’re just 20 and 17 years old respectively, they might have a spurt or two left in them. But even so, their statures aren’t the most remarkable things about them – that’d be their voices. I’ve talked about how their respective quirks complimented each other perfectly on record, but it’s live that you really can’t help but be impressed by how perfect their pitch was – hearing them sing was like a master class in harmony. Accompanying themselves simply but effectively on acoustic guitar and keyboard (and occasionally accordion and autoharp), the duo and touring drummer showcased material from their debut Drunken Trees EP and the full-length follow-up The Big Black & The Blue, punctuated by sharp and sassy between-song banter (“we’d like to do a cover by a band called Fleet…. wood Mac”). The set highlight came about midway through when they stepped away from the mics to sing the beautifully sad “Ghost Town” unamplified to the full house. A close second was their encore, for which they brought out Samantha Crain and performed her “Dam Song”, complete with absurdly great three-part harmonies. There may have been plenty of other higher-profile entertainment options in town on Saturday, but I don’t think any of the hundred or so people who chose to hit the Rivoli had any regrets.

First Aid Kit have added another installment to their Filter tour blog (though the Toronto show only gets a passing mention – apparently we have nice architecture). Samantha Crain is profiled by The San Francisco Examiner, Oklahoma Gazette and The Oklahoman and also recently recorded a session for Daytrotter.

Photos: First Aid Kit, Samantha Crain @ The Rivoli – June 12, 2010
MP3: First Aid Kit – “I Met Up With The King”
MP3: First Aid Kit – “You’re Not Coming Home Tonight”
MP3: Samantha Crain – “Traipsing Through The Aisles”
Video: First Aid Kit – “Hard Believer”
Video: First Aid Kit – “I Met Up With The King”
Video: Samantha Crain – “Santa Fe”
Video: Samantha Crain – “Traipsing Through The Aisles”
MySpace: Samantha Crain

The St. Louis Tribune, Uptown and AV Club talk to John Darnielle and Peter Hughes of The Mountain Goats.

Spinner talks to Joe Pernice about the new Pernice Brothers record, Goodbye, Killer. It’s out today and available to stream for the next week at Spinner.

Stream: Pernice Brothers / Goodbye, Killer

The Flaming Lips have a new video from Embryonic available to gawk at. You can gawk at the band in real life at the Molson Amphitheatre on July 8 and get a preview of what to expect via this NPR stream of this past weekend’s Bonnaroo set, though you really need to get all your senses in play when experiencing a Flaming Lips show.

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

The Books will be on tour this Fall in support of their new record The Way Out, out July 20, and will be at the Mod Club on October 25.

MP3: The Books – “Beautiful People”

PitchforkTV solicits a live performance of “The Sweet Part Of The City” from The Hold Steady. They have a July 17 date at the Kool Haus.

Spinner is hosting a series of web videos from Fanfarlo entitled Under The Reservoir.

Magnet talks to Teenage Fanclub’s Norman Blake as the Fannies prepare to take over the editor’s desk of their website this week. Blake also talks to The AV Club about their new record Shadows and to Metro about moving to Canada (he now resides in Kitchener-Waterloo).

Spinner talks to The Joy Formidable about making their debut EP A Balloon Called Moaning.

Kele gives an interview to The Quietus and eye about his solo debut The Boxer, due out next week. He’s at the Mod Club on July 29.

Chart sics Narduwar on Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine.

That The xx are coming back to town isn’t remarkable in and of itself – they’ve already been here thrice since last December. What is remarkable is that for their Fall tour, they’ve booked their September 29 date… for Massey Hall. Tickets will be $25 to $45 with presale starting tomorrow, regular onsale come Friday. Presumably there’ll be a new record released between now and then, and say what you will about their suitability for such a not-so-basic space, but there’s no question that their show will sound great. Their Bonnaroo set is also up to stream at NPR.

MP3: The xx – “Basic Space”

Islands have set a date at the Mod Club for July 14 – tickets $13.50 in advance.

MP3: Islands – “Vapours”

July 21 brings Jason Collett out for a show at the Mod Club supported by Daniel, Fred & Julie; tickets $16.50 in advance.

MP3: Jason Collett – “Love Is A Dirty Word”
MP3: Daniel, Fred & Julie – “The Gambler & His Bride”

With his own show at the Opera House last Saturday in the books, Shad has been announced as support for K’Naan’s October 1 show at the Kool Haus. Best of Canadian hip-hop, anyone?

Miike Snow have a date at the Kool Haus on October 9, tickets $25.

Video: Miike Snow – “Black & Blue”