One of the promo companies I get stuff from has the pleasant habit of putting little Reader’s Digest press release stickers on the jewel cases of stuff they send me. This is nice, because it means I don’t have to dig up the full-sheet press release to see if something completely unknown is going to (potentially) turn my crank. So there’s no surprise that when the case for Sorry About The Flowers, the debut from Athens, Georgia’s Venice Is Sinking, declared acts such as Low, Mojave 3 and Galaxie 500 as reference points, the disc went in my short list pile. Even if that’s all PR hyperbole, it’s still a good start.

And while I find those specific comparisons a little tenuous (they’re much less quiet than Low and more orchestrated than G500), they’re not without merit. The best comparison I can come up with are Scotland’s Zephyrs. String-laden and lush, Venice Is Sinking offer a beautifully hazy sort of space-country/folk with an appropriately southern gothic slant to it. Daniel Lawson and Karolyn Troupe’s voices are pure and simple and lovely through nine songs of wistfulness and yearning, while track 10 is a 19-minute “Less Than You Think”-ish sound collage comprised of bits and bobs from the rest of the album. Curiously hypnotic if you’re inclined to pay attention. But if you couldn’t tell, I’m quite taken with this record. I get a lot of unknown stuff sent my way, and a lot of it I find I’m indifferent to – but every once in a while you find something unexpected that makes the whole exercise worthwhile.

I had intended to save this writeup till closer till the album’s wide-release date of June 20, but really wanted to get the word out now. And technically, the record is already out though exclusively from athensmusic.net until the official release date. Since they just recently played a hometown CD release party for the album, the local Athens press has been offering a wealth of features. Check out interviews from Flagpole, Athens Exchange, Creative Loafing and Red & Black. And whaddayaknow – great minds blog alike.

Check out the MP3 below and there’s more MySpace and PureVolume. You can also watch the video for “Pulaski Heights” on their website.

MP3: Venice Is Sinking – “Pulaski Heights”

And speaking of Venice Is Sinking reference points, Mojave 3 have made what appears to be the final mix version of “Big Star Baby” available on their MySpace page. Even though the page is titled “official”, the patchy edit and lack of anything about an official MP3 from 4AD makes me think it’s just someone being extra-enthusiastic with the album leak… but whatever. You’ll recall I linked the demo version last week. Check it out. Puzzles Of You is out June 20.

MP3: Mojave 3 – “Big Star Baby”

Meanwhile The Zephyrs have made the video for “So Called Beau”, taken from their 2005 record Bright Yellow Flowers On A Dark Double Bed, and are sharing it on their website. And if you’re not familiar with the Zephyrs, check out my post from last December.

And finally, whilst on the topic of dreamy sorts of bands, Trespassers William recorded a Morning Becomes Eclectic session for former hometown radio station KCRW last week. In between playing some songs from Having, Anna-Lynne Williams mentioned that they’d be releasing an internet-only EP in the next month or so with some new songs, covers and whatnot. The Los Angeles Times asked the band why they chose to flee the City of Angels for the rainier climes of Seattle.

Pitchfork gets some exclusive interview action from Emily Haines about her piano-driven solo album Knives Don’t Have Your Back, out on September 26.

24: Man, that “Previously on 24” took FOREVER. That cost Jack valuable minutes! You know, Robocop never would have yelled “Damn!” if he ran out of ammo… Everyone who expected Secretary Heller to drive off a cliff, hands up? Liars. Wow, the First Lady is some kinda dumb. It’s like they said, “We have candy for you. In this dark room”. Okay, do all these bad guys have Bluetooth headsets? Are those supposed to be sinister? “We have no wires. Fear us.” Okay, so wait a minute – there was a big-ass explosion at Van Nuys airport less than an hour ago when Jack blew up the fuel truck, and yet they’re still letting this flight, presumably loaded with important British and French diplomatic type people, take off from there, business as usual? Either way, looks like Jack’s going for a ride.

np – The Concretes / In Colour

Saturday night’s double bill of Vancouverites Young & Sexy and local boy Gentleman Reg was a near-repeat of the bill when last I saw Y&S in December ’03, though the middle band from that show, Hotel, was missing though not missed. That show was decidedly middling, which I attributed to the band having just flown in from the west coast that day and thus being discombobulated. This time, however, they were nearing the end of a Canadian tour in support of their third record Panic When You Find It that had them in southern Ontario for several days before hitting the Drake Underground in Toronto. So that excuse was right out.

And this time around, they were indeed better though I think I’m prepared to state definitively that Young & Sexy are, sadly, not an espcially good live act. They’re not bad, but I just don’t think they’ve got the charisma or presence to dazzle in a live context. It’s kind of a nebulous statement, I know, but there you go. But on to the positive – for most of the show, they sounded quite good with a set list drawing from all three records. Paul Pittman and Lucy Brain’s harmonies, thanks to their precise and slightly arch deliveries, sounded quite good and Colin McClean’s lead guitar gave the band’s decidedly proper pop sound a ragged edge though sometimes it sounded a little too far out to be completely complimentary. The only real misstep was the encore cover of Neil Young’s “Cowgirl In The Sand” – while Brain’s vocals sounded excellent and gave their version a fresh new angle, the band sounded exceptionally sloppy and under-rehearsed on it, which they may very well have been. You could argue that some degree of slop is essential for Neil, but it just didn’t work quite right on this night.

Gentleman Reg had been playing opener for Young & Sexy on several of the southern Ontario dates, and though it’s been a couple years since I’ve seen him play a proper set of his own, he seems to get better and better every time. Maybe it’s the songcraft that’s gotten better, maybe it’s the live band, maybe it’s both, I dunno. But he seems to have found the right balance between delicate folkiness and uptempo, electrified pop with just the right amount of musclature – something perhaps Reg is aware of, given his choice in drum kit decorations. A shortish set, but good all around.

Photos here. I think there’s something weird about the lights at the Drake. They do strange things to skin tones. I also want to take the opportunity to talk about something Young & Sexy do very very well – make albums. Their first two records were sublime slices of chamber pop, with songs whose singalongability sometimes belied the complex writing and arrangements underneath. Their third album, Panic When You Find It, just came out a couple months ago and while it’s considerably less immediate than its predecessors, it’s beginning to reveal itself. Here’s a couple tracks from the new record and there’s samples from all three albums available on their website and MySpace.

MP3: Young And Sexy – “Conventional Lullabies”
MP3: Young And Sexy – “54”

The Luna documentary Tell Me Do You Miss Me will be released on DVD on June 20. Full Of Wishes has the next two parts in the band interview series, with axeman Sean Eden and chief songwriter Dean Wareham being next up to talk about the film. Nice to hear that Sean is getting a new band together and is planning to play out – his two singing/songwriting contributions to Rendezvous were definite highlights and I for one am eager to hear more of his compositions. FOW also has links to a couple reviews of the doc.

And speaking of tour films, The National are the subject of a three-part mini-documentary that Beggars has made available via iTunes. Only part one is up, but to get it – it’s free – go to the iTunes music store and search for “Beggars”. You’ll get a page for Beggarz but if you click past it (these aren’t the droids you’re looking for), you’ll see a link for the Beggars Videocast – that’s what you want.

Manchester Online conversates with Jenny Lewis, currently peddling Rabbit Fur Coat in the UK.

Dearly departed Delgados will release their complete BBC Peel Sessions, collected in the cleverly titled The Complete BBC Peel Sessions, on June 12. You can see the complete tracklist for the double-disc set here and listen to “Mauron Chanson” from the collection on the Chemikal Underground MySpace page.

Neil Young’s new record, Living With War, is looking like it’s going to have a early- to mid-May release, but according to Billboard, you’ll be able to hear it as a stream off of Neil’s website starting sometime this week. Blogcritics speculates at the shitstorm of criticism that will no doubt come flying from the right when the album comes out, even more than what’s already being flung and that’s not inconsiderable. Oh, and in keeping with the times, the album has a blog. Update: Pitchfork reports the stream will begin this Friday and be available for download sale on May 2.

I was far too excited to see Rob Lowe back on The West Wing last night. I’m surprised that he didn’t return last week for Leo’s funeral, but he’ll be around through the end of the series’ run on May 14.

np – Calexico / Garden Ruin

The Coast / The Coast (independent) Just to get it out of the way, yes Toronto’s Coast sound like New Order. Or at least, they do at first but if you started making a list, you’d find more dissimilar points than similar. They actually sound more like the guy who’d go to the Hacienda every night but rather than get his face off on the dance floor, sat in the corner intensely writing poetry. Shimmering and melancholy, there’s a depth and yearning in the music that it never would have occurred to Bernard Sumner to examine. I’m a little distressed to find that I used all my best review lingo when I saw them live way back in December… So have a look at that and let me say that their EP more than delivers on the promise I saw in the live performance. Sometimes I complain about how slavishly anglophile Toronto can be, but every once in a while it pays off in spades. Their next gig is at the Drake Underground on May 20. MP3: The Coast – “The Lines Are Cut” The Coast @ MySpace

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone / Ettiquite (Tomlab) Sometimes it’s helpful when the band’s name tells you all you really need to know. Though boasting a broader sonic palette than his previous works, Chicago’s Owen Ashworth, AKA he who is painfully alone, still rocks the cheap Casio-esque keyboards and drum machines and sound like they were recorded in a dark suburban bedroom, perhaps under the covers. The most obvious reference point would be The Magnetic Fields, at least the earlier works. But while still possessing a sense of humour, CFTPA is less droll and obviously spent far more time listening to old Sebadoh records than schooling himself in Tin Pan Alley, but are also more obviously heartfelt and less cloaked in irony. MP3: Casiotone For The Painfully Alone – “Young Shields” MP3: Casiotone For The Painfully Alone – “Cold White Christmas” Casiotone For The Painfully Alone @ MySpace

Walking Bicycles Chicago’s Walking Bicycles prove there might still be some life in the whole post-punk/new wave thing after all. They stuttering and jagged and raw, but with a deeply-ingrained melodicism that sets them apart from their similarly-influenced peers. It also helps that singer Jocelyn Summers doesn’t sing in a Factory-issue Ian Curtis monotone but instead has a nicely expressive rasp that’s capable of conveying an emotional range something beyond the usual tension and anxiety. Note to everyone who still wants to squeeze some blood from this stylistic stone – get a girl to sing. Opens up a whole new world of possibilities. Their debut album Disconnected was released earlier this month. MP3: Walking Bicycles – “Welcome To The Future” MP3: Walking Bicycles – “Killing Time” Walking Bicycles @ MySpace

np – Mates Of State / Bring It Back

It’s probably for the best that I haven’t read Jonathan Safran Foer’s source novel for Everything Is Illuminated, because from all accounts it does a rather poor job of capturing the intricacies and depths of the book. But on its own, as a peculiar sort of buddy/road trip flick, it definitely has its merits. The story of an American Jew (Elijah Wood) who travels to the Ukraine seeking his roots and the locals whose job it is to guide him, and the things they discover about their pasts along the way. While it’s Wood who gets top billing, the film actually belongs to Eugene Hutz (of Gogol Bordello) as the young, America-obsessed translator. Hutz is delight to watch, so clueless in his way, yet so utterly sincere and endearing. His character of Alex could have easily been a horribly offensive caricature, but Hutz makes him delightfully real.

For a rookie director, Liev Schrieber – maybe best known as the guy from Scream who didn’t marry Courtney Cox – does a pretty good job. He manages to get some stunning visuals of the Ukranian countryside and has some genuinely creative and interesting ideas, but on the whole underdirects, substituting silence for substance. Wood spends much of the film looking unnaturally stoic, coming alive when engaged in conversation and then snapping back into silent observer mode. There’s also an inconsistency in tone – there light comic moments, mostly at the front of the film, are genuinely funny and the emotionally weighty moments similarly affecting, but the two don’t quite sit as congruously as one would like.

I found the deleted scenes on the DVD particularly telling, as they were a lot more lively, surreal and humourous than much of what made the film, but would have been even more hugely at odds with the theme of the film, moreso than what did make the cut. But the fact that they were even shot in the first place indicates that Schrieber wasn’t entirely sure what direction he was taking it even while making it. Still, for all its shortcomings, I found Everything Is Illuminated to be a worthy film and almost certainly would be a worthier (if intimidating) book.

UK-based women-in-rock zine Wears The Trousers has an extended conversation with woman in rock Neko Case, herself of Ukranian descent. Via For The Records.

Sad news from Mojave 3 – bassist Rachel Goswell has revealed via MySpace blog that she has some rather serious medical conditions involving her ears that basically prevent her from being an active member in the band for the next while. That’s why you’ll note she didn’t appear in the video shoot photos from earlier this week (no, that’s not her on the skates) and even though they’re not planning to tour North America till the Fall, one might not want to put too many hopes on her being along for the trip. Needless to say, best wishes to Rachel for a full and speedy recovery. I do, however, believe that she still appears on Puzzles Of You, out June 20.

Bella Union has got clips of the whole of Howling Bells’ debut album, due out May 8. You can pre-order it from the label now for a pretty reasonable price – less than what you’d pay in stores as an import, anyway.

Tiny Mix Tapes interviews Jose Gonzalez, the Argentinian singer-songwriter with a Swedish mailing address who will be at Trinity-St Paul’s on June 26.

The Straight and View (not The View) talk to Paul Pittman of Vancouver chamber popsters Young & Sexy, who are in town tonight at the Drake Underground with Gentleman Reg. As many of you found out to your confusion, there were no advance tickets for this – it’s $8 at the door, which opens at 9 with Reg on at 10 and Young & Sexy up at 11. Everything should be wrapped up by midnight if you’ve got something better to do with your Saturday night.

np – Ambulance LTD / New English

Gonna do a little six degrees of something something today.

How often does a single listen to a band you’ve never heard before grip you immediately? For me, not that often but lately, surprisingly and delightfully, a fair bit. Case in point – Vancouver’s Ladyhawk. My listening of late has been veering towards the rootsier/rocking end of things and as such, Ladyhawk fits my moods to a tee, at least based on the one song I’ve heard. “The Dugout” is raucous, melodic and hooky in all the right places. It comes from the band’s self-titled debut which will be out on June 6 via Storyboard Label in Canada and Jagjaguwar everywhere else. The Badger Herald already has a review of the complete album and gives it the Badger thumbs up. The band will be touring with The Magnolia Electric Co later this Summer, but apparently not until after their July 21 show in Toronto at some venue to be named later.

MP3: Ladyhawk – “The Dugout”

Aside – I used to listen to the soundtrack of Ladyhawke a lot.

Ladyhawk’s labelmates in Okkervil River are also in the news a bit. In addition to rereleasing Black Sheep Boy and Black Sheep Boy Appendix as a double-disc set over in Europe this Spring, April 28 to be exact, they spent ten days in February writing and recording 22 new tracks – a double album’s worth that apparently, we will never hear. The band is insistent that the recordings were for their benefit only and that they not be released, insted to remain locked away forever somewhere deep in the heart of Texas. Yeah. The signups for the official Will Sheff Home Invasion Team start in the comments. Sorry Will, but you’ve brought this on yourself. Also, there’s a video for “It Ends With A Fall” from Down The River Of Golden Dreams. I’d no idea such a thing existed, and yet there it is.

Video: Okkervil River – “It Ends With A Fall” (.MOV)

Okkervillian Jonathan Meiburg’s other outfit, Shearwater are just a couple weeks away from releasing their new album Palo Santo – it’s out May 9 – but you can now order it from Misra for frankly less than you’d get it in stores for. Get it early and for cheap – how can you say no? To entice you further, they’ve made a second MP3 from the album available, and you can hear yet another from NPR, who made it their “Song Of The Day” a couple weeks ago.

MP3: Shearwater – “White Waves”

Will Johnson of Centro-Matic, another Misra band, has somehow found time to give a couple interviews in the midst of their non-stop touring for Fort Recovery. Actually, it looks like the touring has stopped, at least for now. At any rate, here’s some conversations with Captain’s Dead, Chart and Austin 360.

I guess that’s just four degrees, because I’ve got no segue into this Pitchfork news item that Sparklehorse are set to release their first album in five years – FIVE YEARS. While I can’t wait for this to eventually actually happen, I ain’t holding my breath. It took them forever and a day to get their freaking website up, and it SUCKS. But said website says the album is done and is looking at a September release… which raises the question of if the record is done, why wait five more months? Virginians move in mysterious ways.

Harmonium talks to Mountain Goat John Darnielle about 45s, major labels and file-sharing, among other sundry topics.

Thanks to For The Records for pointing out the Nidus festival taking place in Kitchener – it’s a three-day Christian arts and social justice festival which is remarkable if for no other reason than it’s actually gotten the notoriously Canada-shy Starflyer 59 to dig out their passports and come for a visit. I guess that’s what it takes. God. The fest takes place August 4 to 6 at Bingeman’s in Kitchener… I went to Oktoberfest there once. Saw someone vomit fluorescent orange. Not so divine. Danielson will also be performing at the fest on the 4th, but the unsaved can catch them in Toronto on the 3rd.

I doubled the RAM in my computer last night! Zoom! Okay, maybe not zoom, but definitely a higher rated of “putt putt putt”.

np – Band Of Horses / Everything All The TIme