With the amount of new music I’m inundated with daily, it’s rare that something jumps out and grabs me by the ears at first listen – even rarer is when it turns out to be more than a brief infatuation and instead turns my musical world around. The Great Unwanted, the debut record from London’s Lucky Soul, has done just that.

You may recall my mentioning it a couple weeks ago and having been smitten by a couple of their singles via YouTube video. Well immediately thereafter I grabbed their four singles from eMusic and when those proved only to whet my appetite rather than satiate, I snagged the album at a rather dear price via eBay (CDWow didn’t have it yet) and you know what? Worth every penny, even though six of the album’s thirteen (fourteen if you count the hidden track) songs were on the aforementioned singles (making for three proper b-sides).

The six-piece outfit create, or more rather re-create, a retro yet timeless style of pop that draws on doo-wop, Motown, classic soul, Spector, Bacharach… basically everything good in the world. The band ably weaves the necessary musical tapestry, lush with horns and strings atop the requisite guitar, bass, drums and keys but it falls on singer Ali Howard to sell it and that she does. Oh does she ever. Besides the fact that she looks like you’d expect/hope she would, her voice is sweet, girlish and ebullient, yet capable of conveying sadness, regret and experience with heartbreak in the manner of the best soul singers. It looks, sounds and tastes like pure musical sugar but there’s a tinge of bitter to the sweet that makes it that much more addictive – believe me when I say that there’s far more than empty calories here. I’ve been living off it for days. And it doesn’t matter how many times you hear it, when Ali commands you to “shake, shake, shimmy”, by god you shake and shimmy.

But look at me, trying to convince you that there’s more to this record than just pop perfection. Fact is, even if it wasn’t a great album, even if their best stuff all went into the singles, Lucky Soul would still be getting my highest endorsement because the singles are just that good. So so so so good. And that they’re able to fill out a full-length album with material that’s just doesn’t let those stratospheric peaks down – on their debut no less – is unbelievable. This record is my happy place. It’s self-released on the band’s own Ruffa Lane label so who knows if it or the band will ever make it over to this continent? In the case of the record, CDWow is probably by far the best price you’re going to find so just go and buy it. In the case of the band… someone fly them over here. I’ll pay for some of it. I’m serious. Unless it’s really expensive, in which case you have my unwavering moral support.

Skatterbrain has a short interview with Ali while The Guardian also talked to guitarist Andrew Laidlaw in a piece about how the sound of new UK music sounds so much like old UK music. How Does It Feel? met with both Howard and Laidlaw for a drink at the pub and transcribed the whole thing. The band kept a blog during the three months of recording the album late last year and there’s also a couple of acoustic tracks available to download off their website.

Go buy this record.

MP3: Lucky Soul – “The Great Unwanted”
Video: Lucky Soul – “Lips Are Unhappy” (YouTube)
Video: Lucky Soul – “My Brittle Heart” (YouTube)
Video: Lucky Soul – “Add Your Light To Mine, Baby” (YouTube)
MySpace: Lucky Soul

The Pipettes, who may share some influences and style with Lucky Soul but from what little of their stuff I’ve heard can’t hold a finger to them, are returning to Toronto on June 1 for a show at Lee’s Palace. A considerably larger venue than the one that couldn’t hold their debacle of a CMW showcase back in March, but probably still won’t be big enough. Pitchfork has full North American tour dates and a couple of domestic record release dates – the Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me EP is out June 5 and the We Are Pipettes full-length is available August 28. This Is Nottingham talks to Rose of the Pipettes. I’m not sure which one she is – the one in the short dress?

And from polka dots to stripes, NME has Summer tour dates for The White Stripes. Following a jaunt across the Canadian tundra (check out dates in the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut) they’ll be in Toronto on July 5 at the Molson Amphitheatre.

Feist talks to Exclaim! about the long, slow death of Let It Die and The Reminder, in stores Tuesday.

Filter, Stylus and Drowned In Sound score interview time with Bjork. Volta hits May 8 and she’s at V Fest in Toronto September 8.

Also on that first day of V Fest are Interpol, who have finally confirmed details of their third album. Pitchfork reports that Our Love To Admire will be in stores on July 10.

The Weakerthans discuss their next album, at one time titled Civil Twilight (though that’s not being mentioned anymore) and due out in October, with The Winnipeg Sun. Can’t wait, been far too long.

If there’s one word to describe Brooklyn’s Palomar, it’s “dry”. Dry, as in the sound – the brand of power pop has a very direct, off the floor quality to it that’s a bit unusual in this day and age but well-suited to the band. And dry, as in the wit. Singer/songwriter Rachel Warren has a wonderfully sardonic wit which is evident in their lyrics and, as I found at SxSW in March, their live show. The three girls and one guy who make up the band are pretty wickedly funny.

If I could choose a second word as a descriptor, it’d be “understated”, though it rather ties in with the aforementioned dryness. It’s not just their choice to eschew whiz-bang production on their records, including their just-released fourth album All Things, Forests, it’s also inherent in the songs. Lyrically, Warren is equally wry and wistful – maybe a bit disappointed in how things (whatever those things may be) have turned out but still able to smile about it. The vocal melodies and harmonies and the guitar lines are all kept compact and simple but effective. Not a note is wasted and while it may make for a slightly less immediate listen, it’s that much more satisfying when the songs reveal themselves. But a curious side-effect of this aesthetic, whether intentional or not, is when they go for the big sonic moment it still ends up sounding a bit small. Stepping on a distortion pedal sounds just like stepping on a distortion pedal and in the finale of album closer “Alone”, what’s probably meant to sound like a wall of voices still just sounds like four people overdubbed several times over and with reverb applied. It’s not intended as a complaint – the last thing the world needs is more bands who want to sound like the Arcade Fire – just an interesting observation.

And if I can have one more adjective, it’d be Fuzzy. Not as in tonality – the guitars are kept pretty clean and when that distortion pedal I mentioned is stomped, it’s more Rat than Big Muff (guitar geeks will know of what I speak) – but as in the Boston-based indie pop band of the late 90s. The first time I heard Palomar I was immediately reminded of their stuff – maybe less bubbly and definitely not derivative but certainly drawing from the same well. Palomar have cultivated their own distinct, dry and understated style and All Things, Forest is a fine representation of it.

MP3: Palomar – “Our Haunt”
MP3: Palomar – “Bury Me Closer”
MySpace: Palomar

And below, the only real evidence of Fuzzy’s existence than I could find online. Great song.

Video: Fuzzy – “Flashlight” (YouTube)

Harp goes to town with their cover story on lead Grinderman Nick Cave. In addition to the feature interview, they’ve got a timeline of Cave’s career and a discussion with the man about his foray into screenwriting work with 2005’s The Proposition.

Pitchfork talks to Shearwater’s Jonathan Meiburg about their redo and reissue of Palo Santo and ornithological taxidermy. The new edition of the album is interesting – normally you’d expect that when a band gets the chance to redo a song, they gussy it up with extra production, bells and whistles. In the case of Palo Santo, however, it’s almost the opposite approach. The re-recorded songs sound much more live off the floor in production, arrangement and performance. They sound very much like how they did live, which makes sense since they went back into the studio after a heavy regimen of touring in 2006 that had the band running as a well-oiled machine. Unlike Good Hodgkins, I’m reluctant to declare the new version of the record in all ways superior to the original edition since I loved that record so much, flaws and all (though I certainly didn’t and still don’t consider it flawed) but will say that the new release, especially with the remastering, sounds amazing in its own right.

Chart offers up an interview with Explosions In The Sky drummer Chris Hrasky.

Show updates – Added to the BrakesBrakesBrakes show at Lee’s Palace June 12 are Electric Soft Parade and Pela while Shiny Toy Guns, Stars Of Track & Field and The Hourly Radio are in town at the Mod Club on June 21. And Snow Patrol have a date at the Molson Amphitheatre on August 7.

With Dean and Britta well-accounted for, it’s time to check in with former Luna guitarist Sean Eden. Though he’s had a solo project – or at least a name for one (Weeds Of Eden) – for a while, we’ve yet to hear anything from him besides his two sublime contributions to Luna’s swan song Rendezvous. There’s a few tracks on his MySpace but it looks as though that, for the moment at least, he’ll be busy killing time in NYC outfit Elk City.

But while it’s Eden’s presence on their new record New Believers that drew me in, it’s not his show – the centre of attention is squarely on singer Renee LoBue. While musically the record pogos from style to style, from New Wave to power pop to torch songs to country, LoBue applies her brassy and powerful pipes with equal aplomb. It works better in some cases than others, but the album is consistently decent and the high points are sky-high. Case in point, leadoff track “Cherries In The Snow” in which LoBue ranges from a soulful purr to a growl before bursting into a buoyant chorus of “Ooh la la la”s and if that wasn’t enough, before it’s over Eden takes a solo that quite literally brought me to tears. In a metaphorical sense.

But while Elk City may as well be a new band to me, they’ve been around for some time albeit without Eden and new bassist Barbara Endes in the fold. Obscure Sound has a piece on the band from their origins as Melting Hopefuls in 1990 through the original lineup of Elk City with guitarist Peter Langland-Hassan up to today’s incarnation and considers whether the changes have been for the better or not.

MP3: Elk City – “Cherries In The Snow”
MP3: Elk City – “Los Cruzados”
Video: Elk City – “Cherries In The Snow” (YouTube)

This week’s Take-Away Show features Andrew Bird wandering the streets of Paris, guitar and violin in hand and whistling while he works. His new album is Armchair Apocrypha and I think I’ve neglected to post anything from it yet, so I’ll take care of that now. It’s quite a good record and makes me think that if there’s a finite amount of musical talent in the world, Andrew Bird is solely responsible for several thousand other people on the planet being tone deaf.

MP3: Andrew Bird – “Heretics”

PopMatters has a long interview with Ted Leo, The Kansas City Star has a short one. Ted and his Pharmacists are at the Mod Club next Wednesday night.

Pitchfork tries to get into the mind of Bjork. Remember when Bjork went batshit on a reporter in the airport in Thailand? That was awesome. Her new album Volta is out May 8 and she’s headlining day one of Virgin Fest here in Toronto on September 8.

Spoon’s Britt Daniel discusses indie rock and scoring with The Asbury Park Press. Their new one Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is out July 10.

WOXY recently had Yo La Tengo in the house to record a Lounge Act session and they’re currently streaming the whole thing. The Akron Beacon Journal and The Republican talk to bassist James McNew.

Some shows – Ottawa instrumental post-poppers My Dad Vs Yours are at the Drake on May 3, The Nightwatchman, aka Tom Morello of RATM, does the solo thing at the Horseshoe on May 16, Japanese noise-rock gods The Boredoms are at the Phoenix July 2 (tickets $22.50) and Battles, who I think were here just a few weeks ago, return for a show at Lee’s Palace on July 16.

Goldenfiddle has the first official shot of Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan from the new Todd Haynes film I’m Not There. Those can go along with these unofficial photos of same. The film looks to have a release date of September 21.

24: Way to screw things up, Doyle… JUST LIKE IN DENVER. Man, why do I still watch?

After a long day at the office Saturday (yes), it was nice to be able to kick back in the evening with some smooth, light pop sounds courtesy of The Postmarks before heading home to crash hard.

The Miami outfit was in town for a show at the Amp’d Mobile Studio, a new venue/space that I’d been curious about for a while and finally had the opportunity to check out. Without getting into a marketing spiel for them, they’re a mobile phone company whose angle is to provide original music content to subscribers and to that end, they’ve set up a little studio in their office/storefront to host free shows which they record. How effective a business model it is is their concern – to me, it’s free shows in a cozy yet well-appointed room.

They do, however, need to work a bit on their publicity engine as said room was very sparsely filled when the band took the stage. Granted, The Postmarks are hardly a buzz band and it was the first gorgeous Saturday night of the year, but the meager turnout was a little disappointing. In the studio the band is centered around the trio of singer Tim Yehezkely, guitarist Christopher Moll and drummer Jonathan Wilkins but live, their number expands to include a bassist and keyboardist. As a result, the unabashedly 60’s cinematic retro chic of their self-titled debut gets a good deal louder on stage.

It’s an approach that has both its upsides and down. On the plus side, the extra bounce helps propel Yehezkely’s wispy and whispery vocals forward and makes for a more engaging and energetic experience for the audience. On the down side, they can also be overwhelming – it’s a delicate balance that could have been helped out a lot if Wilkins had opted for brushes instead of sticks. But as it was, the drums were loud and the vocals were soft and while that wasn’t ideal, The Postmarks still came across quite well. The string, brass and woodwind flourishes on the record were missed – the synths can only compensate so much – but the band successfully recreated the sunny yet forlorn vibe of their record. As a frontwoman, Yehezkely is as demure and delicate as her vocals suggest, but her wallflower charm works perfectly for this band (and I won’t lie, the gogo dress helped).

The band’s North American tour continues on through May, check them out if you get the chance. Deadjournalist talks to the band about the success of the album and taking it on the road while Stereogum asks them about their day jobs.

Photos: The Postmarks @ The Amp’d Mobile Studio – April 21, 2007
MP3: The Postmarks – “Goodbye”
Video: The Postmarks – “Goodbye” (YouTube)
MySpace: The Postmarks

The Toronto Star talks to Feist about the impending wave of attention that will surround the release of The Reminder next Tuesday. She also discusses the recording of the new album with Reuters.

Filter talks to Dean Wareham about how he got out of his post-Luna funk to create the new Dean & Britta album, Back Numbers.

Emma Pollock discusses life after The Delgados with The Scotsman – she’s embarking on a headlining solo tour across the UK in May and will release her debut solo record Watch The Fireworks in September.

Jarvis Cocker also discusses the solo life with The New York Post.

I have to wonder what kind of bizarro universe IGN lives in where they can declare, presumably with a straight face, that Hurricane #1 can be said to have released one of the Top 25 Britpop Albums and not a complete and utter musical abomination. Which is what they really were. Much of the rest of the list is also bewildering – Lupine Howl? Really?

The New York Times considers what effect all these indie rock comebacks might be having on the reunited bands’ legacies. Via Good Hodgkins Wolf Notes Parsefork Good Hodgkins, aka Sybil of the music blogosphere.

The Globe & Mail gets am update on the status of the Over The Top Fest vs CFL kerfuffle reported on earlier this month. Over The Top – the music festival, not the tailgate party, goes down first weekend of May.

Thursday night at the Drake Underground, two bands with “City” in their name and yet neither sounding particularly urban. And there was a third band on the bill but they didn’t fit with the “City” meme so I didn’t stick around. It was also late.

Entire Cities’ name may refer to the band’s roster, which if not large enough to constitute an official city should at least qualify as a village or at the very least, a hamlet. Eight of the ten members credited on their MySpace were in attendance this evening, previewing songs from their upcoming debut album Centralia (out May 1). It was obvious that for their boisterous brand of country-rock to work, a degree of gleeful chaos was as essential as the singing saw, glockenspiel, flute and at one point dual accordians they utilized in addition to standard guitars, bass and drums. You can hear it on their recordings and you could see it in their live show – but the funny thing about chaos is that it’s chaotic and on this occasion, at least, it didn’t seem like the band was able to control it as well as they’d like and it was at the expense of staying in tune and in key. These kinds of nights are inevitable, though, and despite that they gave it their all and had a good time of it, as did the audience. I found them a little too Jon-Rae & The River-ish for me to really get into, but considering that I’m in the tiny minority in the city who’s not into that sound, I think they’ll do fine. Their next gig is on Thursday at Sneaky Dee’s with Rock Plaza Central.

Forest City Lovers was originally the pseudonym for Toronto singer-songwriter Kat Burns but since the release of her debut album The Sun And The Wind last year, it has expanded to include violinist/vocalist/co-conspirator Mika Posen as well as a full-time rhythm section. The effect this has had on the band, at least from comparing the album to their live show, is significant. In performance, it’s like they’ve taken the very best facets of the record – Burns’ cool, crystalline voice and spidery electric guitar playing to match, the slightly baroque and unpredictable song arrangements and most importantly the dark and mysterious mood that lingered around the edges of everything – and spun them out into the defining characteristics of the band. While their set was far too short, it was long enough to be something of a revelation – this is a band that can and almost certainly will create some great music. Can’t wait until they head back into the studio to capture some of this to tape.

If your interest is piqued, they’re playing the NOW Lounge this afternoon as part of Shameless magazine’s launch party for their latest issue. Things get underway at 1PM, admission $5.

Photos: Forest City Lovers, Entire Cities @ The Drake Underground – April 19, 2007
MP3: Forest City Lovers – “Oh Humility” (live at CJLO)
MP3: Forest City Lovers – “Doorsteps” (live at CJLO)
MP3: Entire Cities – “Waiting (2000 Years)”
MP3: Entire Cities – “Coffee”
MySpace: Forest City Lovers

Wilco are currently in the land down under, if the deluge of Australian press this week and this interview with The Australian wasn’t any indication, and they’re looking to share the experience with you. Their show in Sydney tonight was webcast at around 7AM EDT this morning, meaning that I was able to tune in about an hour and a bit into the performance – sounds great. I assume they’ll be streaming an archived version of it before long, and if not surely some resourceful person had the foresight to record the thing and will be all over the internets before long. No, you don’t get the warm, fuzzy feeling of knowing you’re listening to “Hummingbird” at the same time as thousands of people in Australia, but life’s just not fair sometimes. Update: The “Kingpin” monologue is great. Jeff is in fine form.

Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes tells Harp that he’s a very funny guy. Really. He is. To prove it, when Bright Eyes is in town on May 22, instead of playing songs from Cassadaga, he’ll be erecting a fake brick wall across the back of the Massey Hall stage and telling jokes.

And Oberst’s “Monsters Of Folk” compadre M Ward will be on that same stage opening for Norah Jones on May 11. Ward talks to Go Triad about growing up a 4AD fan.