With Amy Winehouse proving that there’s a British soul-revival diva market is a lucrative one (and also that utterly sabotaging one’s own career is no longer as simple as you might have thought), there’s no shortage of candidates for the “next big thing” in that particular style and at the moment, the two biggest names are the mono-monikered Duffy and Adele. Both come with the same set of adjectives – raspy, soulful, retro, Dusty – and their emergences onto the music scene are so synchronized that comparisons are unavoidable. Adele’s already won a Brit Award and her debut 19 hit #1 on the UK charts when it was released in January and it’s not much of a reach to expect Duffy’s Rockferry to do the same when it arrives on March 3.

The Guardian posited the question of “who’s better?” head-on last week and garnered no small amount of responses from their readership, and in typically British fashion, many of them electing to choose option c) – neither. For my part, I like them both better than Winehouse (whose music does nothing for me) but will have to give the edge to Duffy, if for no other reason than her record is produced by and features Bernard Butler. All things being equal, Bernard will always win.

And Torontonians get the chance to compare for themselves next month as both are coming to town. Duffy strikes first, with what’s likely to be a glitzy sort of show at the Mod Club on March 18 (hey, is Bernard in the touring band? Hmm…) while Adele rolls in a week later on March 26 with a gig at the Rivoli which easily has the edge on intimacy and “I saw her in a tiny room” bragging rights down the line. Incidentally, that’s the night that another UK act with a hot Butler-produced record, Sons & Daughters and This Gift, are in town and playing Lee’s Palace. The Butler is onmipresent.

Video: Duffy – “Rockferry”
Video: Duffy – “Mercy”
Video: Adele – “Chasing Pavements”
MySpace: Duffy
MySpace: Adele

Feist talks to the BBC about the unexpected attention that iPod commercial garnered her.

CMJ reports on former Rainer Maria vocalist Caithlin De Marrais’ forthcoming solo record My Magic City.

Rock Sellout interviews GlasVegas, an act it occurs to me I’m a bit disappointed will not be at SxSW. But on the plus side, the SxSW artists listing? Now with MP3 links. Can the torrent be far behind?

Black Kids undertake their first North American tour later this Spring and stop in at Lee’s Palace on May 9. Full dates at NME.

Chart talks to Kathleen Edwards about her new record Asking For Flowers, due out March 4. She plays The Phoenix on April 23.

Nicole Atkins tells The Boston Globe that success means being able to pay one’s dentist bills. Lee’s Palace this Sunday night. Yes.

Billboard and Reuters have features on the Drive-By Truckers

PopMatters ponders the meaning of Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. As if “I am an American aquarium drinker” couldn’t be more self-explanatory.

Lucero, who have been recommended to me many times but whom I’ve never seen, have a date at the Horseshoe on April 19. The only catch? That’s the night of the Destroyer show at Lee’s. Decisions, decisions.

MP3: Lucero – “The Mountain”

And finally, check out the new Indiana Jones trailer if you haven’t already. So nice to see Harrison Ford in a non-catatonic role for a change.

Trailer: Indiana Jones & The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull