WikipediaOh reunions are funny things, aren’t they? Intellectually, it’s hard not to be cynical about them – they’re usually more fiscally motivated than anyone would care to admit, rarely capture the magic of their heyday and usually feature principals balder and paunchier than their fans really want to remember. And if the outfit tries to tread down the “still artistically relevant” path of new material, the results usually pale in comparison to what came before. But emotionally, the idea of seeing a favourite band thought lost to the ages in the flesh again can overwhelm reason.

One on side, you have Echo & The Bunnymen – after dissolving in 1988, original members Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant and Les Pattinson reunited in 1997, well before reunions were all the rage, and though Pattinson would leave again in 1999, with the release last week of The Fountain, they have released as many albums in their second go-around as they did in the first (ignoring the McCulloch-less Reverberation) – no mean feat, especially considering that the new records have been uniformly pretty decent. And on the other side, Pavement. After much whispering and rumouring, the indie heroes recently announced they were ending a decade-long hiatus with a world tour next year that would not feature any new material or continue on past the dates tied to the 2010 jaunt, which at present starts in March in New Zealand and ends in September in New York City, but promises to hit most every major market with fans willing to pony up for the opportunity to sing along with, “Cut Your Hair”.

And the two did intersect both when Pavement covered the Bunnymen classic, “The Killing Moon” as a b-side on Major Leagues, their final EP and in live sets, replacing the overt drama of the original with their own distinctive brand of disaffected emotion. Those who prefer the grandeur of the original or would like to hear it with even more grandeur won’t want to miss one of the orchestral Ocean Rain shows the band is putting on during their current tour, including this Tuesday night at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto.

MP3: Pavement – “The Killing Moon”
MP3: Pavement – “The Killing Moon” (live)
Video: Echo & The Bunnymen – “The Killing Moon”

PitchforkBroadcast are a band whom I’ve not really kept up with since their 2000 debut The Noise Made By People, though I’m aware that they’ve downsized considerably since that album and now exist mainly as the duo of Trish Keenan and James Cargill. Similarly, Deerhunter are a band whom, on paper, I should adore but the little I’ve heard from them appeals superficially but has yet to actually grab my attention and not let go. So I have less to say about Atlas Sound, the solo incarnation of Deerhunter leader Bradford Cox than I do about the main band, which is not a lot.

But I can tell you that Broadcast are releasing a split EP with The Focus Group entitled Broadcast and the Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age, out on October 27, and Atlas Sound have a new record entitled Logos out next week. They are also co-headlining a tour which hits Lee’s Palace next Saturday night, October 24. Tickets are $13 in advance but courtesy of Rootmeansquare, 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 broadcast sound around the atlas” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest closes at midnight, October 21.

MySpace: Broadcast
MySpace: Atlas Sound

Frank YangThat La Roux appears to be the leader in the “2009 British female indie-pop derby” is surprising to me. Not necessarily because their self-titled debut is sub-par, though I do find it a rather samey and thin-sounding overall though more ’80s-correct, but because I felt that Little Boots and Florence & The Machine, to name a couple of other contenders for the title, were not only more accessible and/or marketable, but simply put out stronger records.

If you want to rate them based on the size of the gigs they’re playing in North America, however, the duo of Elly Jackson and Ben Langmaid win. In Toronto, Little Boots drew decently to Wrongbar for her debut appearance and Florence should have no problem filling the Mod Club, but La Roux are already back for their third show in less than seven months with an appearance at The Guvernment next Friday night, October 23. I caught them at their first appearance at the Drake Underground back in April and they weren’t the most riveting live act, Jackson’s hair aside, but with so much steady touring in the interim I can only imagine they’ve gotten better. Or hope so, at least.

Toronto’s own electro-pop sensation Diamond Rings will open things up at the Guvernment. Tickets are $20 in advance but courtesy of Rootmeansquare, 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 see La Roux” in the subject line and your full name in the body, and get that in to me before midnight, October 21.

There’s interviews with Elly Jackson at MTV.com

MP3: La Roux – “Quicksand” (Joe & Will Ask remix)
Video: La Roux – “I’m Not Your Toy”
Video: La Roux – “Bulletproof”
Video: La Roux – “Quicksand”
Video: La Roux – “In For The Kill”

Kelly DavidsonWhile another hugely influential ’80s Boston-bred band that many thought would never return to active duty may get more attention, Mission Of Burma have been much more productive in their second tour of duty, managing to tend to their legacy with proper reissues of Vs and Signals, Calls & Marches while adding to it with three impeccable albums in the past five years, the latest being The Sound, The Speed, The Light, released last week.

Like their other 21st-century releases ONoffON and The Obliterati, Sound is a collection of bludgeoning post-punk, all strangled vocals and razor-sharp guitar riffs on top of tunes that are just melodic enough to keep the pop-attuned such as myself interested, but angular enough to keep the listener off-balance and a bit uncomfortable. It’s really remarkable that after all this time, Mission Of Burma are still crafting records that can not only stand tall alongside those 25-year old classics but still sound utterly fresh and unlike anything else out there.

Blurt has an interview with basssit Clint Conley and Matablog notes that the city of Boston officially declared last Sunday “Mission Of Burma Day”. There was a proclamation and everything.

And because sometimes people forget they send me stuff and send it again, courtesy of Matador, I have an extra copy of The Sound, The Speed, The Light on CD to give away. If you want it, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want Mission Of Burma” in the subject line and your full mailing address in the body. Contest is open to anyone, anywhere, and closes in a week at midnight, October 23.

MP3: Mission Of Burma – “1, 2, 3, Partyy!”
Video: Mission Of Burma – “1, 2, 3, Partyy!”

Le Blogotheque has a Take-Away Show with White Rabbits, who have a date at the Horseshoe next Saturday night, October 24.

Spinner and The Santa Barbara Independent chat with Thao about her new record Know Better Learn Faster, from which a new video has just been premiered at Stereogum. Thao is currently on tour in support of the record and will be at the El Mocambo in Toronto on November 1. If you’re at any of the tour dates, and you should be, you’ll likely see a table from Oxfam there – Thao explains why.

Video: Thao with the Get Down Stay Down – “When We Swam”

Paste gets to know Volcano Choir, whose principal Justin Vernon just put his last project Bon Iver on hiatus. But you can stream or download their last show for the foreseeable future at Radio Milwaukee.

NPR is streaming a session with Wye Oak.

The Georgia Straight and Examiner.com talk to A Place To Bury Strangers’ Oliver Ackerman. Their new album Exploding Head is out now and they’re at the Mod Club on October 27.

BlogTO, The AV Club, Vue and Uptown have interviews with Amy Millan.

NOW has a feature piece on Two Hours Traffic, who play an in-store at Soundscapes tonight at 5PM in advance of their proper show at Lee’s Palace.

aux.tv has debuted the new video from The Dears, but settle in – it’s a long one.

Video: The Dears – “Saviour (Then Disclaimer)”

They Shoot Music has posted a video session with Pink Mountaintops.

Holy Fuck have been added as support for Phoenix at the Sound Academy on December 5. Is that enough to persuade y’all to go down to the Sound Academy? Didn’t think so.

Paste‘s list of the 15 best TV shows canceled before their time basically reads like a litany of my favourite shows of the past decade or so. It’s official, I am the television kiss of death. Look out, Bored To Death – you’re on notice.

Frank YangAs is becoming something of a tradition for me, I once again spent Thanksgiving this year at a show rather than with family (we got together earlier in the weekend so stop judging me), though it was with a sort of extended family – labelmates in Loney Dear and Asobi Seksu (both on Polyvinyl) and country(wo)men in Loney Dear and Anna Ternheim (all Swedes). Yeah, that’s sort of a stretch but whatever.

There’d been some vagueness about the precise order of the sets – the infamous co-headline situation again – but it was certain that Ternheim would be first up. I’d listened to a few of her records including her latest, Leaving On A Mayday, and her songs, filled with that distinctly Swedish sort of melancholy, were of the sort that could easily go from small and folkish to big and orchestral and still sound right. So I was curious to see which direction she’d take them in a live setting and the answer, of course, was both. She started her set in solo acoustic fashion, showcasing her stark yet evocative voice to the dead silent room (it wasn’t especially full, no, but still) and then brought out a keyboardist for the second song to accompany her while she set the guitar down. She was then joined by Loney Dear’s band for the remainder of her performance and as striking as she was on her own, the bigger sound definitely won the day. The extra players gave her a rhythmic backbone and more importantly, a sweeping, dramatic dynamicism that honestly didn’t come across on record. Her set was woefully short due to being held-up at the border and generally getting lost, but if you consider the purpose of opening sets as to surprise and tantalize for more, then it was mission accomplished.

The question of whether Asobi Seksu would close the show or not was an ongoing one since it was announced, at least between me and myself. On one hand, they probably had the larger fanbase than Loney Dear and in terms of pacing, their deafening strobe-powered attack would be more logically suited to sending people home in a daze. On the other, this was their third show in Toronto in just over seven months so that fanbase’s attendance might not be such a given, particularly on a holiday, and considering their next record Rewolf was an acoustic affair and one that they’d already performed live, perhaps they would be keeping things more low-key? As it turned out they were indeed on second and no, they weren’t intending to turn down. As such, their set was much like the one at the El Mocambo back in March, mixing up the older, poppier songs with the Hush material, which still hasn’t really won me over. So familiar, yes, but still entertaining and actually a welcome jolt of energy for the night.

I think I was too harsh on Dear John when I wrote it up way back in January. Yes, it doesn’t stray far, either sonically or songwriterly (that’s a word now), from Emil Svanangen’s previous works under the Loney Dear marque, but I’m seeing now that’s because he’s fixated on capturing one specific mood or theme in music and much of what he creates are attempts to perfect it. Thankfully, his elusive goal is the moment where angst turns into elation and the sense of uplift that results and he expresses it with orchestral pop music. Of course. This was Loney Dear’s first stop in Toronto in a couple of years and a make-up for a failed attempt to visit back in May when their van broke down en route. And while that show at Lee’s in June 2007 was hardly a sell-out, those who were in attendance remember it fondly.

And those who were at the Horseshoe on this holiday Monday would likewise take away some warm memories of another wonderful show. Re-reading my review of the Lee’s show, I find myself at risk of repeating myself, but it bears repeating – Svanangen’s live band really took his songs to another level, deftly adding more bits of musical flourish and detail than four people with just two hands each really had any business doing in real time. And as such, they managed to recreate the richness of his compositions while still recasting and reconfiguring them enough to feel quite new. Particularly essential was backing vocalist Malin Stahlberg, who in addition to handling keys, guitar and percussion, sang most of Svanangen’s falsetto parts with more strength and bearing, and amazingly handled all of the tongue-twisting bridge of “I Am John” while Svanangen took the easy, “nah nah nahs”.

But as great as the band is, it’s still all about Svanangen. His permanently forlorn countenance is simultaneously at odds with yet perfectly suited for the sounds and songs he sings. Drawing material from across all his albums, the live setting proved a great equalizer for the production aesthetic of the recorded versions – the sparer arrangements of Sologne felt more fleshed out and Dear John‘s mechanical aftertaste was made more organic, settling in that sweet spot that was Loney, Noir. The performance was splendid from the get-go but the undoubted highlight was when Svanangen stepped out to the front of the stage, unamplified, and sang (I think) “In With The Arms” to the house. Now he doesn’t have the most powerful voice, so it’s perhaps a good thing that the crowd was modestly sized and thus easier to silence, but doing that, and backed with Stahlberg’s harmonies, was simply perfection. In all, they played nearly 90 minutes including two encores though at no point in between did Svanangen leave the stage – no point going through the formality, we were going to keep them playing for as long as possible. And thought it finally did end, obviously, all three of Loney Dear’s last records have been a steady soundtrack for the days since the show. It makes my angst into elation and that’s just what I need right now.

Bradley’s Almanac is sharing MP3s of a show in Allston, Massachusetts from the tour in May of this year. The Justice and The AV Club have interviews with Anna Ternheim.

Photos: Loney Dear, Asobi Seksu, Anna Ternheim @ The Horseshoe – October 12, 2009
MP3: Loney Dear – “Ignorant Boy Beautiful Girl”
MP3: Loney Dear – “Airport Surroundings”
MP3: Loney, Dear – “I Am John”
MP3: Loney, Dear – “A Few Good Men”
MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Suzanne”
MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Me & Mary”
MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Familiar Light”
MP3: Asobi Seksu – “New Years”
MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Thursday”
MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Sooner”
MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Walk On The Moon”
MP3: Anna Ternheim – “What Have I Done”
MP3: Anna Ternheim – “To Be Gone”
Video: Loney Dear – “I Was Only Going Out”
Video: Loney Dear – “Airport Surroundings”
Video: Loney, Dear – “I Am John”
Video: Loney, Dear – “Saturday Waits”
Video: Asobi Seksu – “Transparence”
Video: Asobi Seksu – “Me & Mary”
Video: Asobi Seksu – “Thursday”
Video: Asobi Seksu – “Goodbye”
Video: Asobi Seksu – “Walk On The Moon”
Video: Anna Ternheim – “Today Is A Good Day”
Video: Anna Ternheim – “Summer Rain”
Video: Anna Ternheim – “Girl Laying Down”
Video: Anna Ternheim – “Shoreline”
Video: Anna Ternheim – “To Be Gone”
Video: Anna Ternheim – “I’ll Follow You Tonight”
MySpace: Loney Dear
MySpace: Asobi Seksu
MySpace: Anna Ternheim

Headlights, who were left playing on their own at the Rivoli in May when Loney Dear’s van broke down, have released a new video from new album Wilderness.

Video: Headlights – “Get Going”

The Swell Season’s new record Strict Joy is streaming at NPR in advance of its October 27 release date. They play Massey Hall on November 3. The Khaleej Times has an interview.

Stream: The Swell Season / Strict Joy

Singing Lamb talks to An Horse, who’ve just released a Daytrotter session and are playing at the Sound Academy tonight in support of Silversun Pickups.

The National Post talks to Wilco’s John Sitrratt while The AV Club gets Jeff Tweedy to respond to some of the random stuff written about him on the internet. They play the second of their two nights at Massey Hall tonight.

Singing Lamb and Metromix interview Grand Archives, who have released a new video from Keep In Mind Frankenstein. They’re at the Mod Club tonight.

Video: Grand Archives – “Oslo Novelist”

The Quietus talks to Bob Nastanovich about the upcoming Pavement reunion and confirms it’s a one-off with no new material. It gets started in Aukland, New Zealand in March of next year.

Paste chats with John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats. And note that copies of The Life Of The World To Come via ThinkIndie will come with a digital 13-track album of demos for the record.

The Pitch has an interview with Flaming Lips drummer Kliph Scurlock. It’s weird that the drummer is officially not Steve Drozd, considering he’s an amazing drummer. But whatever.

Stereogum gets a progress report on the new Caribou record.

Mew have set a date for the Mod Club on December 6.