Lucinda Williams has announced details of her next album. Originally due out this Fall and called Knowing, it is now out on February 13 and called West. She tells Billboard that though the album was written in response to the passing of her mother and the end of a relationship, it’s not going to be all gloom even though her last album, World Without Tears, was pretty damned downbeat even without those outside factors. But it will be good to get some new material from her – she’s never been especially prolific but four years between albums is a bit much.

Not that her fans have been left out in the cold – her breakout album, 1998’s Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, was reissued in double-disc deluxe form in October with unreleased tracks and a complete live show appended. Which reminds me – does anyone else have the “alternate” version of Car Wheels that was circulating a few years ago? I expect this is where some of the bonus tracks on the deluxe edition come from. Not that the final version was excessively polished, but the ultra-stripped down, intimate, live in a room feel of the alternate album is really quite nice though it doesn’t sound like a record that’d have won as many Grammies as the official one did. But definitely worth hunting down if you’re a fan.

Jay Farrar talks to Billboard about Son Volt’s new album The Search, due out March 6.

Land Of Talk have been dubbed Paste‘s “band of the week” and get an interview for their efforts. Also note that Elizabeth Powell is apparently playing a solo set at the Drake Underground on December 26 – more info here. There actually looks like a lot of good stuff happening at the Drake that last week in December, truly a boon for those of us likely to be in town with little to do – you can only Boxing Day shop for so long before you either run out of things to buy or run out of money. Usually the latter.

Camera Obscura’s January 31 show at Lee’s Palace just moved from “must see” to “REALLY must see” status with the addition of The Essex Green to the tour.

Grizzly Bear return to Toronto on February 6 for a show at Lee’s Palace. Full Winter tour dates at Pitchfork.

Remember back in the 90s when a band called “Barenaked Ladies” was banned from playing Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto (that’s City Hall for non-Hogtowners) because their name was deemed offensive? How times have changed. On February 3, The New Pornographers will be putting on a free show at said public square as part of the Winter City Festival. An official schedule is yet to be released but also performing as part of the two-week long festival will be Sloan on January 27 and Elliott Brood on January 28, amongst many others. Is it too much to hope that we might be going through an unseasonable warm snap during that fortnight? Probably? Damn. Well I’m still planning to go unless it gets too subarctic. Oh, and Live!, the cryptically-named limited edition live album is now available for sale in the porn shop.

Pitchfork has the latest on the Decemberists-Stephen Colbert feud, which will all be settled on The Colbert Report December 20. The Decemberists’ first DVD, chronicling their Kill Rock Stars era, will be out on March 20.

Oh, and my promos contest is closed with 125 qualifying entrants. That makes your odds slightly worse than 1 in 6. Which isn’t bad at all. I will begin wading through all that this weekend and will hopefully contact the winners by Monday. Thanks to everyone who entered.

As part of my best-of list last year, I posted this song from New York’s Daylight’s For the Birds under the category of “best singles”, which was really incorrect as it wasn’t a single at all – just an early taste of their album Trouble Everywhere which was finally released at the end of October. This track features vocals from Claudia Deheza, who was in On!Air!Library! with Daylights co-leader Phillip Wann and was a founding member of Daylight’s before moving on to other projects.

Though Deheza was replaced in the band by Amanda Garrett, her presence pervades the record with her voice and words appearing on seven of the ten tracks – Garrett takes lead on just two and Wann handles the title track and duets with Deheza on another. But the fact that I thought Garrett sang on far more of the album than she does is something of a testament to her ability to step into Deheza’s shoes. Even with the rotation of singers, Trouble Everywhere is quite consistent in delivering the dream-pop goods, ranging from the anthemic to the introspective. Though their shoegazer influences are unmistakable, there’s no shameless aping of what’s gone before – instead Daylight’s For The Birds take the spirit of the past and lead it through the present and into tomorrow. Unfailingly pretty, tinged with sadness around the edges but still fundamentally hopeful, there’s a glow about the whole affair not unlike looking at the sun with your eyes closed.

MP3: Daylight’s For The Birds – “Worlds Away”
MP3: Daylight’s For The Birds – “To No One”
MP3: Daylight’s For The Birds – “Flicker”
MySpace: Daylight’s For The Birds

Flowering Toilet has a treat for “crazed Dean Wareham fans” who find their way to his site – a live Luna recording of “Bobby Peru”, released as a b-side to “Tracy, I Love You”. Full Of Wishes has another Luna rarity on offer, a recording of “Malibu Love Nest” recorded at Philadelphia’s WXPN during their 2004 farewell tour. And not to be outdone, Newplanet pays tribute to the other half of Dean & Britta with an expansive post about Jem (who was truly outrageous). For those not in the know, one of Britta Phillips’ former gigs was as the singing voice of the cartoon pop star. I had a friend in seventh grade who would watch Jem before coming to school in the morning, and then tell us about it at recess. No, we didn’t ask him for the recaps. He just wanted to share.

Dean & Britta have also re-posted their Christmas song from last year on their MySpace, an old Roger Miller cover. Their new album Back Numbers is now available to pre-order before its February 27 release date. Grok the album art here.

MP3: Dean & Britta – “Old Toy Trains”

Prefix talks to David Sitek of TV On The Radio, who reveals that he was going to name his studio “Stu-Stu-Studio” but was deterred by those less visionary than himself.

I Am Fuel, You Are Friends has rounded up a bunch of Hold Steady bonus tracks, circa Boys And Girls In America. No idea why the audio levels are so low, though.

Harp gets to know Catfish Haven.

Pitchfork puts the release of Wheat’s Everyday I Said A Prayer For Kathy And Made A One Inch Square at March 6 of next year. Their teaser EP, That’s Exactly What I Wanted… Exactly That, is out next Tuesday.

James Mercer of The Shins talks to The Stranger about gearing up for the release of their new record Wincing The Night Away on January 23. And there’s a new, non-album version of an album track circulating, courtesy of AmpCamp.

MP3: The Shins – “Split Needles” (alternate version)

Newsarama talks to Mark Steven Johnson, who will be in charge of shepherding Preacher from comic to HBO series. Though he says all the right things, it’s hard to forget he’s also the guy responsible for Daredevil and the almost certain to be awful Ghost Rider. Still, fingers crossed.

np – Nethers / In Fields We Will Lie

Thanks to Skatterbrain for bringing to my attention the fact that Toronto jangle mavens The Airfields have emerged from their hiatus, somewhat, to post some new demos on their MySpace page. Their Laneways EP, released this Spring, was a real treat and certainly whetted the appetite for more.

When last I spoke to head Airfield David Lush, he said the band (in whatever configuration it was at that time) had recorded an album’s worth of material and yet the future of the band was uncertain. I’ve sent him a quick note asking if the emergence of these tracks indicates some firmer direction for The Airfields – if I get any info back, I’ll update this. But in the meantime, give the new stuff a listen. It’s good.

MP3: The Airfields – “Prisoners Of Our Love” (demo)
MP3: The Airfields – “The Longway Home” (demo)
MP3: The Airfields – “You’re So Wonderful” (demo)

And staying local, Ohbijou, Henri Faberge & The Adorables and Carmen Elle will be providing the musical component to the ALL CAPS craft show happening at the Whipper Snapper Gallery (587A College St., near Clinton) this Sunday, December 10. The craft show starts at 4, music at 7 and it’s all over by 10 – admission is $7 and it’s all-ages. It will be nice to see Ohbijou in a small venue for a change and people have been trying to get me to a Henri Faberge show for what seems like forever now – no, it’s not one of their famously rambunctious residence shows at the Embassy, but should be good regardless.

And skipping ahead a couple days, For The Records fave and Heavy Blinker Jenn Grant will be in town for a number of shows next week, though the one that I’m planning on checking out is on Tuesday night at the Drake Underground where she’ll be joined on the bill by Toronto slowcore/country act Barzin and Haligonians Down With The Butterfly. I picked up Barzin’s latest My Life In Rooms a couple weeks ago and while it’s a little over-samey start to finish, at least the sustained mood is an exceptionally pretty one and there are a few superb tracks on it. As for Grant, her other Toronto shows are at Holy Joe’s on the 10th and Supermarket on the 14th.

I Heart Music has a recent CBC Radio 3 session from Ottawa’s The Acorn. There’s selections from both of their excellent recent EPs Blankets! and Tin Fist, the latter of which they’ll be having a CD release party for next Friday night (December 15) when they open for Elliottt Brood at Lee’s Palace. Acorn singer Rolf Klausener talks a bit about the theme of the new record to Chart.

Joel Gibb complains to Washington Square News that NAFTA isn’t working for The Hidden Cameras. But having successfully navigated the border, he talks to The Portland Mercury, Minneapolis City Pages and Tuscon Weekly. And though the December 14 show in Toronto is still listed on their MySpace, there’s still no venue or ticket information. That’s next week, fellas.

Drowned In Sound talks to Final Fantasy’s Owen Pallett. Via Largehearted Boy.

The Register-Guard talks to Amy Millan, PopMatters talks to Emily Haines. Haines is at the Danforth Music Hall on January 6.

Murray Lightburn of The Dears tells Harp that the album that changed his life was by… The Dears. Okay, everyone who didn’t see that coming, hands up.

np – Forget Cassettes / Salt

Joanna Newsom discusses the making of Ys in brief with Exclaim and at length with Harp, who must be thrilled that they’ve finally found an artist whom they can cover without worrying about accusations of false advertising. And The Seattle Times has an AP piece that’s somewhere in between. Photo by/courtesy of Jim Newberry.

The year-end lists are just starting to creep out but I’m curious to see how prescient the Catbird-o-meter will be – if Metacritic is a barometer, then Ys will be topping more than its fair share of critics polls. But not mine, as you may have noticed. This is no comment on the record itself – I only just got it a couple weeks ago and it would have had to be like a thunderbolt to the head to have made the sort of impression to make my list. And it didn’t – it’s not a visceral record (though I only need to think back to seeing her live in October to remember that that’s by no means a blanket statement on her music). It’s a dense and almost overwhelming piece that really lacks any immediate frame of reference for comparison except, perhaps, for The Milk-Eyed Mender and even that one is a considerably different creature from its follow-up.

At the moment I actually rather prefer the first album, but that’s almost certainly because, by comparison, it’s an accessible pop record. Ys, not so much. Choice lyrical fragments and instrumental flourishes jump out unexpectedly but the whole of the record has still been too much to take in and absorb yet. I can appreciate and applaud it on an intellectual, artistic level but there’s not yet any real emotional connection with it. Also not sure how much I like the Van Dyke Parks string arrangements – sometimes they get a bit too Disney for my tastes. But, as I said, a couple of weeks is certainly not enough time to form a real, well-informed opinion on a work like this. Ask me again in a few months.

But in the meantime, check out this edition of NPR’s All Songs Considered for which Newsom recently played DJ. You can stream some of her selections as well as her own songs.

So the Toronto Camera Obscura show next month is happening on January 31 at Lee’s Palace, tickets $17. I had guessed it would be either that date or the 29th and it’s the former, though you may still want to head to Lee’s on the 29th as Kevin Devine and Jennifer O’Connor will be performing. Tickets for that one are $10.

More Cowbell brings tidings of a new record from Son Volt. The Search will be out on March 6 and promises it to be the band’s “most diverse record yet”. Choice adjectives from the announcement are, “Eastern-style electric guitar”, “upbeat Memphis-style horn section” and “Zeppelin-esque” – considering that the last time it was announced that Jay Farrar was expanding his sonic palette we got Sebastapol, which sounded exactly like Jay Farrar always sounds – except with Hawaiian guitar. I’m not saying that it’s impossible that Son Volt could surprise me yet, I just kind of doubt it.

Joe Pernice tells Commercial Appeal he’s not depressed. Meanwhile, Aimee Mann tells the San Francisco Chronicle she’s not depressed. Hmm, you think maybe some artists have a problem with the public not distinguishing between the work and the author?

Pitchfork has a really long and enjoyable interview with Craig Finn of The Hold Steady that touches on pretty much everything.

I’m not rounding up (m)any of the various year-end lists this year – just too damn many of them. But if you want to see how many people love Tapes N Tapes, Largehearted Boy and Fimolicious are happy to play aggregator for you.

np – Sparklehorse / Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of A Mountain