Columbia RecordsThroughout his career, since the earliest days fronting Screaming Trees, Mark Lanegan has cultivated a distinct image as a man apart, solitary and brooding, an impression reinforced by his perma-scowl visage and voice like a gravel pit in hell. So why, if indeed this is man who just wants to be alone with a bottle, does he seem to be willing to work with everyone?

Post-Trees, he embarked on a well-received solo career before joining up with Queens Of The Stone Age for a while, and at the same time began an unexpected but fruitful collaboration with Isobel Campbell. On top of all that, he found the time to team up with ex-Afghan Whigs frontman Greg Dulli to form the ’90s alt.rock dream team The Gutter Twins. To suggest the man’s dance card was full is an understatement.

And still, he finds the time for more. Right now, his prime role is as frontman for Soulsavers – ostensibly a UK electornica production team though you wouldn’t know it from their latest effort Broken, which has only been released digitally in North America. It’s like rather than having Lanegan guest on their tracks, they’ve opted to play backing band for him and in doing so, have built a near-perfect aural landscape for Lanegan to sing overtop, all charred gospel and blues, a bleak, sweeping and cinematic Americana. These guys do remixes? Really?

And they also tour. With Lanegan along for the ride – there’s no way they could do it if he wasn’t – Soulsavers are currently playing North America and will be in Toronto this Friday, September 25, for a date at the Mod Club. Tickets are $20 in advance but courtesy of LiveNation I’ve got three pairs of passes to give away for the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see Soulsavers” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest will close at midnight, September 23.

Video: Soulsavers – “Revival”
Video: Soulsavers – “Kingdoms Of Rain”
Stream: Soulsavers / Broken

Chris ShontingHaving now gotten to the point where I can listen to The Antlers’ Hospice without having a panic attack – mostly – I’ve set about checking out some of their earlier recordings via the interwebs. Beyond that latest record the trio are mostly a tabula rasa to me, so there’s no real reason for me to be surprised that they’ve done a My Bloody Valentine cover… but I was.

And yet the way they’ve reinterpreted it makes perfect sense. Replacing Kevin Shields’ trademark “glide” guitar with heavily effected slide maintains the original’s wobbly intent without resorting to mimicry and Peter Silberman’s hazy, quaaluded vocals come at the dream-pop standard from a different angle. Fresh, yet faithful. Best I can tell, this recording was never part of a formal release, just one of those things that trickles out online from the ether. And thank goodness for that.

The Antlers are on the road and will be in Toronto on Thursday evening for two performances – an in-store at Criminal Records at 6PM and a headlining show at the Horseshoe later that night. Either/or/both highly recommended. You can stream a session with the band at KDHX. The touring portion of the My Bloody Valentine reunion has mostly wound down, with just a single festival appearance in December remaining, so hopefully they’ll get to dealing with those long-promised reissues, unreleased and new material. Yeah, right.

MP3: The Antlers – “When You Sleep”
Video: My Bloody Valentine – “When You Sleep” (live in San Francisco 2008)

Frank YangToronto has a reputation for being standoffish, but I personally don’t get it – I think we’re downright neighbourly. Or at least our bands are. Or some of them. Consider excellent The Balconies, just moved to Hogtown from Ottawa in the last couple months, and they’ve already scheduled a record release show for their excellent debut album at Lee’s Palace and they’ve gotten some of the buzziest up-and-coming bands in the 416 (and probably the 647 and maybe the 705) to join them. That’s next Friday night, September 25, at Lee’s with Oh No Forest Fires, Fox Jaws and Whale Tooth, all of whom have been feted in these pages at one time or another – you could rightly say this show is chromewaves-endorsed, top to bottom. For what that’s worth.

And to prove said endorsement, I have two pairs of passes to give away for the show. So confident am I that you will enjoy this show that I am encouraging to devote your Friday night to it! I don’t do that for just anything. Wait, I sort of do. Anyways. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see The Balconies” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest closes at midnight, September 22. And if you don’t win, admission is $7 at the door – still a deal any way you look at it.

MP3: The Balconies – “300 Pages”
MP3: The Balconies – “Smells Like Secrets”
MP3: Oh No Forest Fires – “It’s Not Fun And Games Until Someone Loses An Eye”
MP3: Fox Jaws – “Quarantine Girl”
MP3: Whale Tooth – “Hibernation Song”
MP3: Whale Tooth – “6 Billion”

Chris BarneyEver since they announced Joe Pernice’s upcoming gig at the Dakota Tavern back in July, I’ve been telling myself that I’d have his new book It Feels So Good When I Stop, for which this is a promotional jaunt, read and absorbed. I mean, I had an advance copy of the novel in hand by late July and surely a little less than two months would be plenty of time to get through it – after all, it was hardly an omnibus edition of The Wheel Of Time or anything.

And yet, here we are just a week out from the September 24 show and I’ve yet to even crack the spine on it. Free time for reading just hasn’t materialized as I’d hoped and when there is a moment, there’s more time-sensitive stuff to be plowed through (library books, magazines, etc) so I guess I’ll just have to go into the show, which is part performance, part reading, and let Joe tell me his story himself. Or little bits of it. I did at least manage to listen to the CD of the same name, though, so at least I’ll know the songs he’ll be playing at the show but considering that they’re all covers, I hope he throws a few of his own songs in the mix as well.

Tickets for the show are $18.50 in advance and $20 at the door, but courtesy of Against The Grain I’ve got two pairs of passes to give away for the show – to enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to feel so good when I stop” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest closes at midnight, September 22.

MySpace: Pernice Brothers

Frank YangThis was the first year in many years that I did nothing at all involving TIFF. Not a screening, not a party, nothing. But I did get to do something tangentially cinematic on Wednesday evening, and that was attend a lovely little private show at the Dakota Tavern by The Swell Season, perhaps still better known as Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, the real-life incarnation of the protagonists from the film Once and for it, winners of the 2008 Academy Award for Best Original Song.

But while that film and award have obviously defined their career, it hasn’t been their career – prior to the soundtrack to the film, they released a self-titled album and come October 27, will release their second proper record in Strict Joy, and while that date is still some time off, the duo were in town to do some promotion and to play this show at a room a miniscule fraction of the size of Massey Hall, where they’ll be on November 3. Special? Yes it was.

Though accustomed to much larger settings, the duo were perfectly comfortable in the down-home environs of the Dakota. Rather than use her own portable keyboard, Irglova opted to use the house upright piano, giving proceedings a distinct roadhouse (and slightly out of tune) flavour. This left her set up back somewhat on the stage and put Hansard front and centre, which is how it would have seemed anyways – he was the stereotypical gregarious Irishman, quick with the wit and charm in between songs, at one point thanking those in attendance for coming to this show instead of going to see his countrymen U2 at the Rogers Centre (where they were headed after the performance, apparently).

And most Swell Season songs are led by his voice and guitar anyways, with Irglova adding understated but crucial harmonies and piano accompaniment – her presence may be understated, but it’s still omnipresent. It’s remarkable how full they’re able to make their arrangements with just those four instruments at their disposal. They did swap places for a song, with Irglova taking the guitar and lead vocals and Hansard hitting the ivories, but by and large it was Hansard in the spotlight. Though the show ran only around 40 minutes, they struck a decent balance between the new material and old. Being really only familiar with the soundtrack and not heard the new record, I’m not in a position to comment on where their sound is going relative to where it’s been, but it did seem like the new material lacked the sense of anguish that ran through most of the songs in Once, instead taking on a more peaceful or perhaps resigned tone. “When Your Mind’s Made Up” was the exception, delivered with the fire (and perhaps overdramatic delivery) that was Hansard’s signature in The Frames but by and large the show was a gentle one. Unsurprisingly, the highlight was “Falling Slowly”, which Irglova started on piano but abandoned quickly due to tuning conflicts with the guitar, instead joining Hansard on his chair up front for a proper duet and stayed for their final song, a cover of Tim Buckley’s “Buzzin’ Fly” – the perfect finale to the show.

Just as the romantic relationship between Hansard and Irglova was a key talking point circa Once, the end of said relationship prior to the release of the new record is sure to be of interest to spectators. But anyone looking for Richard and Linda Thompson-style tension would have been disappointed – there was still plenty of genuine warmth between the two, implying they’ve either found a place of balance or are much better actors than you’d expect. Given their long and complex backstory, it’s futile to try and fully comprehend the emotions that were palpable between the duo and though that’s obviously a compelling facet of their story, it’s really no one’s business but theirs. We get the music, and that’s plenty.

Photos: The Swell Season @ The Dakota Tavern – September 16, 2009
MP3: The Swell Season – “In These Arms”
MySpace: The Swell Season

Rolling Stone talks to director Jonathan Demme about making the Neil Young Trunk Show concert film.

Dean Wareham interviews Buffy Sainte-Marie for Magnet.

Prefix and Access Atlanta chat with Son Volt’s Jay Farrar while The Austin Chronicle reports that Farrar has teamed up with Will Johnson , Anders Parker and Jim James to put more of Woody Guthrie’s words to music, a la Mermaid Avenue. Obviously any discomfort Farrar has with being measured against Jeff Tweedy is long past – good for him.

There’s interviews with Yo La Tengo’s Ira Kaplan at Washington City Paper, The Daily Times, Spinner, The AV Club and Billboard. Last night’s show in DC is also streaming at NPR. Yo La Tengo are at the Opera House on October 3.

Unexpected, yes, but also real – Pavement are getting back together, more than a decade after calling it quits, for a world tour that will kick off next September in New York City and visit a number of as-yet undetermined “big towns” (as which I hope Toronto qualifies). There will also be a compilation album released at some point next year to let newcomers understand why indie rock fans of a certain age are getting whipped into a frenzy by the news, but they’ve stated quite clearly that this is not a prelude to a permanent reunion – it’s a one-off tour and that’s it. Stephen Malkmus will be working on the new Jicks album this Fall and Scott Kannberg’s first solo record (albeit as Spiral Stairs) The Real Feel will be out October 20. Kannberg discusses how the Pavement reunion came about with Rolling Stone.

MP3: Spiral Stairs – “Maltese Terrier”

Aquarium Drunkard interviews Big Star drummer Jody Stephens about the band’s new Keep An Eye On The Sky box set, while Interview talks to John Fry, owner of Ardent Studios in Memphis where the band tracked much of their early, classic material. Spinner also talks to Stephens and is streaming one of the rarities which has surfaced in the box set.

NPR is streaming Unmap, the debut album from Volcano Choir, aka the new project from Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon – the album is out Tuesday. Spinner talks to Vernon about the project.

Stream: Volcano Choir / Unmap

Bishop Allen are heading out for a Fall tour which will bring them to the El Mocambo on October 30.

MP3: Bishop Allen – “Dimmer”
MP3: Bishop Allen – “The Ancient Commonsense Of Things”

Thunderheist have set a date at the Mod Club for December 3.

Gawker has posted an excerpt from Our Noise, the new book chronicling the first twenty years of Merge Records, and have a nice Q&A with Mac and Laura of the label (and Superchunk) in the comments.