I’m pleased as punch to have London’s Early Years on the bill for The Hot Freaks (they’re on Saturday at 12:00PM at The Mohawk, FYI) not only because they offer some of the only British representation on the bill (The Young Knives being the only other UK passport holders) but because they largely encapsulate everything I like about British music.

Effortlessly shifting gears from the driving and anthemic to the atmospheric and introspective, their self-titled debut is never less than epic-sounding, yet intimately so. Reference points would include the scope of Ladies & Gentlemen-era Spiritualized, a less-angry Six By Seven or a more song-focused early Verve– they know when to layer on the reverbs and jam it out and they know when to hit the fuzz pedals and strike fast.

But as invigorating as the rockers are, it’s their proficiency with the slow numbers that really do me in – “Brown Hearts” sounds like standing in a grandiose, ceiling-less cathedral, looking up and having a thunderstorm break out around you. A storm in heaven, if you will (though that’s definitely one of the less Verve-like moments on the record. I almost want to say Coldplay, if Coldplay weren’t awful). That’s actually a description that could go for the record as a whole, but it seems particularly apt on that song, unabashedly romantic without being melodramatic.

The album was originally released in the UK last Fall, but only saw a North American release last month. The US edition features a second CD with four bonus tracks, two atmospheric jams and two album track demos, that really aren’t strictly necessary. Those with the import (and even those without) would do much better to pick up their new EP The Great Awakening, which is out February 19 in the UK and offers four new tracks. You can hear the single at their MySpace and watch the video below as well as those for two of the singles from the album. The band’s rockier side is well represented in the singles but you’ll have to pop over to the MySpace to hear “Brown Hearts”. Do it.

Besides a few well-received shows in New York City at the end of January and SxSW in March, there’s nothing in the way of North American touring on the calendar as of yet but I can only hope that pushing this act on this side of the pond is a priority and they come through town at some point this year.

MP3: The Early Years – “All Ones And Zeros”
Video: The Early Years – “Say What I Want To” (YouTube)
Video: The Early Years – “All Ones And Zeros” (YouTube)
Video: The Early Years – “So Far Gone” (YouTube)
MySpace: The Early Years

And speaking of the Hot Freaks lineup, note that Viva Voce had to withdraw not only from our show but SxSW as a whole in order to open up for some band called The Shins (including the March 17 Toronto show, confirmed by Pitchfork, but we’ve scored some able and equally loud replacements in the form of Asobi Seksu. Talk about a pinch-hitter.

Andy Partridge (formerly) of XTC tells both The AV Club and Pitchfork that the band, for the foreseeable future, is in mothballs. Alas.

But if J Mascis and Lou Barlow can get it back together, there’s always hope for Partridge and Moulding. The new Dinosaur Jr album Beyond, out May 1, has been unveiled in channels both legitimate and not, and the response has been very positive. Hear for yourself (an authorized track, of course) and check out the tracklist and artwork at Aversion. That’s the vintage Dino Jr font, but not using J’s paintings for the art? That’s new.

MP3: Dinosaur Jr – “Been There All The Time”

And continuing on the theme of unlikely reunions, The Police are at the Air Canada Centre July 22. Amazing what can happen when you bury the hatchet… IN A BIG PILE OF MONEY.

The Toronto Star and London Free Press talk to Arcade Fire about the inevitability of playing much larger venues than before when touring in support of Neon Bible, out March 6. And no, there’s still no official Toronto tour dates announced but the Massey Hall-ness noted in the article seems like a pretty safe bet. Or I would hope, because anything larger and you’re into serious suck territory.

The Sydney Morning Herald and Daily Telegraph talk to Howling Bells about having their self-titled debut album nominated for an Australian Music Prize. The band have released a video for their new single, “Low Happening”.

Video: Howling Bells – “Low Happening” (YouTube)

And for all you aspiring concert photographers out there, definitely stop by Boudist where he’s reprinted in two-parts a piece he contributed to Digital Photographer on the subject.

I totally was going to take the day off but there’s a few noteworthy concert announcements that folks would probably like to know about. Because if the world ended before Monday morning, you might have died not knowing what shows you were missing in a month or two, and that I could not abide.

The full itinerary for the second leg of their North American tour hasn’t surfaced yet, but I can tell you that The Shins will be in Toronto at the Kool Haus on March 17 for an all-ages show. Support is still to be determined but I would put money on Viva Voce, who are opening up some of the shows on the first leg of the tour. Tickets are $27.50 and will be on sale February 15 at 10AM. They sold that joint out fast a couple years ago and there’s no reason to think that they won’t do it again, so set those alarm clocks. The Providence Journal and The Belfast Telegraph take their turns talking to frontman James Mercer.

Looking ahead, April 11 will bring moody Austinites turned New York rockers Calla to the Horseshoe (tickets $10) in support of their new one Strength In Numbers, out February 20. Check out their full tour schedule at Pitchfork.

Then the next day, Austinites turned – well, they’re still Austinites – The Black Angels will be at The ‘Shoe with VietNam. The Black Angels continue to tour behind 2006’s Passover while VietNam just released their self-titled new record. Advance tickets for the show are $10.50, available Wednesday.

That same night (April 12) at the Opera House, local heroes Do Make Say Think play a hometown show to celebrate the release of their new one You, You’re a History in Rust, out February 27. Tickets for that one will be $15.

And on April 23, Atlanta’s Deerhunter bring their well-reviewed new record Cryptograms to the Horseshoe. Tickets for that are $10 in advance.

Very tired. Long week. Short post. Grammar optional.

Was a little surprised to see the sudden outpouring of Great Lake Swimmers love around the blogosphere this week – it seems the first promos of their new album Ongiara have started going out (and I can only hope I’ve got one en route). Gorilla Vs Bear and You Ain’t No Picasso have both got audio to go along with their first impressions and they’re immensely positive, though I’d expect no less – Great Lake Swimmers are a tremendous and tremendously underrated act, Tony Dekker being one of the finest songwriting voices to come out of Toronto in a long time. The album is out on March 27 via their new label Nettwerk though their old home of Weewerk will still be releasing the vinyl version.

And make no mistake, Great Lake Swimmers sound amazing on vinyl – analog perfectly suits the warmth and richness of the music. Case in point, the Hands In Dirty Ground EP that I picked up on 12″ earlier this week – it was originally only available for sale in CD form on tour, but they made it available in limited-edition analog form and as a digital download at the end of last year. Consisting of a mix of covers, new material, live recordings and alternate versions, it’s a great example of Dekker and co managing to expand on their sound without straying from what makes them special – far easier said than done. An Aquarium Drunkard has some thoughts on and a couple tracks from this EP (which you can supposedly buy from Magwheel.com though I can’t find it there or at Rotate This in Toronto, where I did find it).

And as a final GLS mention, it’s worth noting that their two shows at the Church Of The Redeemer on April 14 (one early show at 6PM, another at 9PM) are on sale and selling well so if you were thinking about going – and come on, Great Lake Swimmers + church acoustics = wonderful, they you’d best get in gear.

Pitchfork talks to Okkervil River’s Will Sheff about losing his voice and what to expect from the new album, which they’ll get right back on recording once he can speak again.

Unexpected Grammy nominee Nick Urata of DeVotchKa talks to The Tripwire about how they ended up scoring Little Miss Sunshine, for which they’re nominated in the “Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or other Visual Media” category. Just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?

Your daily dose of Shins press clippings – Pulse Of The Twin Cities, The AV Club, PopMatters, The Independent and New City Chicago. I have to say how disappointed I am in the collective music journalists of the world that they have, by and large, been unable to resist the temptation of riffing on the whole “Shins will change your life” angle when composing their pieces. Lazy lazy lazy.

Dark But Shining finds out what Mountain Goat John Darnielle likes most about horror.

I Heart Music has posted a show The Hidden Cameras recorded for KEXP last December and a CBCR3 session from ages ago by the dearly departed Royal City. And back to the Cameras, Prefix points us at their new video. Thanks!

Video: The Hidden Cameras – “Death Of A Tune” (YouTube)

The Straight chats lyrical content with Portastatic’s Mac McCaughan.

Show news – LCD Soundsystem will be playing the Phoenix on May 8 though James Murphy will be doing a DJ thing somewhere in town on May 5. Final Fantasy is playing a couple shows at and as a fundraiser for The Tranzac on February 23 and 24 – the former an evening show, the latter an all-ages matinee. Tickets are $8 in advance and on sale now.

And some notable support announcements – Ohbijou get to win over a packed house of Conor-ites opening for Bright Eyes at the Opera House on February 27, The Submarines will warm up for El Perro Del Mar at the Mod Club on March 5, Basia Bulat will be a tough act for Maria Taylor to follow at the Horseshoe March 21 (odds of my no longer being dead from Sx in time for that one? Not good) and Australia’s Love Of Diagrams open for Ted Leo at Mod on May 2.

Okay, maybe not so short. But I swear that I was careless.

I don’t know why, but the Swedish seem to have an innate gift for mixing unfallible pop sensibilities with wonderfully downbeat melancholy – I suspect it’s got to do with the amount of daylight they get. Further proof of this phenomenon comes in the rather po faced form of Emil Svanangen, aka Loney, Dear.

On Loney, Noir, his second full-length and first for SubPop, he offers an intimate and beguiling collection of songs that sound like someone who’s been lying on the floor for a long time, perhaps/probably heartbroken, slowly but surely getting back onto his feet. The lyrics are kind of weepy, especially when delivered in Svanangen’s falsetto (which reminds me very much of Mew’s Jonas Bjerre), but grafted to some of the prettiest melodies I’ve heard in ages they can’t help but soar. Add into the equation the lightly orchestral/chamber pop instrumentation (all played by Svanangen) and you’ve got a record that ruminates quietly before periodically bursting forth with song in a way that’s almost too pretty to handle.

Everyone is all about Peter Bjorn & John right now (they also released their new album Stateside this week) and while no quarrel with them, they feel like empty calories next to Loney, Dear’s emotional depth. Too much PB&J and I need an insulin level check, but I can ingest as much Loney, Dear as the day is long. I have no clever food analogy for the name so I’m not even going to try.

Svanangen has assembled a band for his upcoming North American tour which bypasses Toronto but does include SxSW, where he’s high on my list of acts to catch. Harp wish to introduce Loney, Dear to their readers while Lunapark has an interview with Svanangen (and Exclaim an ultra-brief one). NPR declares “I Am John”, which is available as an MP3 and video, their song of the day while Idolator offers up an extra track from the record. And you can stream the whole record from AOL.

MP3: Loney, Dear – “I Am John”
Video: Loney, Dear – “I Am John” (YouTube)
Stream: Loney, Dear / Loney, Noir
MySpace: Loney, Dear

And speaking of Mew and AOL, Spinner has a 3×3 feature on the band with three video performances from the band performing live in Copenhagen and New York City. Yes, you have to watch a commercial first. Sorry.

The Toronto Star, eye and NOW all pay tribute to Toronto institution Wavelength, celebrating its seventh anniversary with a series of shows all over the city this weekend.

Pitchfork gets a little dirt on the new Maximo Park record Our Earthly Pleasures, out April 3. The video for the first single is also now available for your viewing pleasure.

Video: Maximo Park – “Our Velocity” (YouTube)

Current UK hot young things Klaxons will be at Lee’s Palace on April 8, tickets $15.

And oh man, I was prepared to skip out on Son Volt’s show at the Mod Club on April 12 – saw them in ’05 and they’re not exactly a must-see live act – but guess who they’re touring with? Drive-By Trucker Jason Isbell. Hrmmm.

PopMatters wonders why Fountains Of Wayne are so dang mean. Their next collection of melodic meanness, Traffic And Weather, is out April 3.

Chart talks to Midlake about setting out on their first proper tour and how much they hate blogs. Said tour brings them to Lee’s Palace on Monday evening and my contest for passes to see them ends tonight so if you’re interested but not quite enough to shell out some money, hop on over.

And obviously shamed by our big announcement yesterday, SxSW has finally posted an initial list of acts appearing this year. Okay, someone parse that thing – it’s making my head explode to look at it. Update: The Tragically Hip? Seriously? Update 2: Kingsnake.com delivers a much more readable list. Yay.