Daniel BoudTo say that it has been an improbable year and a half since Fucked Up’s second album The Chemistry Of Common Life won the 2009 Polaris Music Prize would be a bit of an understatement. Beyond the long odds of a hardcore record by a band whose name is deemed unprintable by many media outlets earning the title of “best Canadian album” of the 2008-09 season, you have the band’s frontman – a big, bearded fellow with a penchant for stripping down to his shorts and smashing things on his head – becoming host of the resurrected Wedge on MuchMusic and de facto musical ambassador for Toronto across the country and abroad and the recent announcement that they’d be playing the Air Canada Centre as support for Foo Fighters. All pretty impressive accomplishments for a band whose genre of choice is by definition pretty underground and not really a common route to mainstream success.

Which makes it even more remarkable that rather than plateauing, Fucked Up may well be just getting started. Their new record David Comes To Life, out today, is one of the most-anticipated Canadian releases of the year and manages to not only meet those expectations, but exceed them. It’s billed as a concept album/rock opera and while I haven’t perused the lyrics enough confirm or deny its success in that department, I can report that whatever it’s about, David is an uplifting and invigorating pop record.

From the unrelentingly churning arena-sized riffs – maybe the ACC appearance isn’t so odd – to the backing vocals from Cults’ Madeline Follin and Jennifer Castle, David veritably bursts with melody and while Damian Abraham’s bellows still provide the most direct line to their hardcore roots, even he’s more intelligible and melodic than on past efforts. At eighteen tracks and 78 minutes, it’s still a lot to take in in a single sitting – I advise getting the vinyl for the respites that flipping sides/changing discs will allow – but any resulting exhaustion is matched by equal or greater exhilaration. I had to take peoples’ word for it that Chemistry was a great record – it didn’t quite connect with me – but with David Comes To Life, I will happily be the one spreading the word.

The Toronto Star, The AV Club, Consequence Of Sound, Spinner, Exclaim, The Globe & Mail, MTV and Pitchfork have feature pieces on Fucked Up while Toronto Standard puts Abraham in conversation with one of the other most recognizable faces in the Toronto music scene, Broken Social Scene frontman Kevin Drew.

Fucked Up play two shows at NXNE on June 16, a free 8PM show at Yonge-Dundas Square and a 1AM nightcap at Wrongbar. The aforementioned Foo Fighters/ACC show is set for August 9.

MP3: Fucked Up – “The Other Shoe”
MP3: Fucked Up – “Ship Of Fools”
MP3: Fucked Up – “A Little Death”
MP3: Fucked Up – “Queen Of Hearts”

Radio Free Canuckistan profiles Weeping Tile, who are headlining the release party for Have Not Been The Same at Lee’s Palace on Friday night. The National Post and Exclaim talk to Ian Jack and Michael Barclay, two of the authors on the tome about the ’90s Can-rock scene.

Best New Bands and The Montreal Gazette have interviews with Little Scream’ Laurel Sprengelmeyer, and if you missed it before, she backs up Sharon Van Etten at The AV Club Undercover on a cover of Fine Young Cannibals’ “She Drives Me Crazy”. Little Scream have augmented their June 14 date at The Mod Club opening for The Antlers by scheduling a free in-store at Soundscapes down the street the previous night, June 13, at 7PM.

MP3: Little Scream – “Cannons”

Spinner talks to Land Of Talk frontwoman Liz Powell. They’re playing for free at Yonge-Dundas Square for NXNE on June 17, their set starting at 8:30PM.

Spinner interviews Chad VanGaalen, who headlines the NXNE showcase at The Great Hall on June 18.

Beatroute, The National Post and The Georgia Straight chat with various members of Sloan about the band’s 20th anniversary. They’ve got two nights booked at The Mod Club for June 21 and 22.

Vancouver’s Japandroids are back, in person if not on record. There’s still no official word on a follow-up to 2009’s Post-Nothing beyond the fact that it’s out in 2012, but the fact that they’ve slated an extensive North American tour at least is evidence the duo are still, like, doing stuff. The Toronto stop is September 22 at Sneaky Dee’s and if you think that they’re probably too big for a venue that size… you’re probably right. Get a ticket for $12 when they go on sale Friday and make sure your insurance is paid up immediately afterwards.

MP3: Japandroids – “Younger Us”
MP3: Japandroids – “Heavenward Grand Prix”
MP3: Japandroids – “Heart Sweats”

Southern Souls has posted and acoustic session with Malajube.

Frank YangWhat’s in a name? If you were at The Drake Underground on Friday or Saturday nights, possibly a lot. Over those two nights the marquee outside the front doors read Jonny and Apex Manor, as the two acts were kicking off their North American tour with a two-night stand in Toronto, but had the top billing read Teenage Fanclub and Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci – as Jonny is the collaboration of those two bands’ Norman Blake and Euros Childs – then maybe there’d have been a little less elbow room for those who were in the know enough to show up.

The identity issue might have also applied to the support, as Apex Manor is the new band of Ross Flournoy, who used to front Los Angeles power pop outfit The Broken West, who once upon a time were called The Brokedown. Got that? Good. Though advance listings had stated that this show would feature Apex Manor as an acoustic duo – presumably Flournoy and bassist Brian Whelan, also from The Broken West – but when things got underway it was just Flournoy, his Martin acoustic and a brace of songs drawn mostly from Apex Manor’s debut The Year Of Magical Drinking. And though the stripped-down nature of the set necessarily diminished the “power” half of the equation, the “pop” of things was still very much in effect thanks to the sophisticated hookiness of the material. It was good to be reminded of how good a band The Broken West were – particularly when Flournoy busted out their song “Down In The Valley” – and satisfying to see that carried over into their new incarnation.

No one would accuse Jonny of being an overly serious side-project, but assuming that Childs and Blake – the former with a couple of keyboards to go with his acoustic guitar and the latter handling guitar, drum machine and laptop duties – would treat it as a joke would have been a mistake. Okay, that’s not entirely accurate; there were plenty of jokes as the duo bantered back and forth in a manner worthy of a seasoned stand-up duo, their ultimately aborted attempt to cover the Saxons’ “It Ain’t Right” was more comedy sketch than musical performance and there were running gags of a sort with Childs’ collapsing homemade keyboard stands and Blake’s orchestration of the drum machine, but with the talents on hand, even the silliest songs were immaculately executed.

Considering the Jonny album barely clocks in at 40 minutes, their set was considerably longer than you might have expected. Of course some of that was for the aforementioned between-song back-and-forth, but they also included a number of non-album songs and made what could have been a brief-ish affair not only feel like a full and proper set, but one that reinforced Jonny as its own entity, separate and distinct from the resumes of the two artists who made the band up. Not so much, however, that one of the biggest highlights of the show was the encore wherein each of them busted out a couple of the former/other bands’ tunes. Jonny was charming and all, but hearing “I Don’t Want Control Of You” and “Spanish Dance Troupe” was the guaranteed way to close the night on the highest possible note.

Photos: Jonny, Apex Manor @ The Drake Underground – June 4, 2011
MP3: Jonny – “Candyfloss”
MP3: Jonny – “Gloria”
MP3: Apex Manor – “Under The Gun”
Video: Jonny – “You Was Me”
Video: Jonny – “Candyfloss”
Video: Apex Manor – “My My Mind”
ZIP: Jonny / Free

With reunions must come reissues, and so Pitchfork reports that Pulp’s first three albums – It, Freaks and Separations – will be reissued with bonus material come August 8.

The Independent finds out Elbow frontman Guy Garvey’s secrets to staying grounded while The Sydney Morning Herald chats with guitarist Mark Potter.

Emmy The Great offers a guide to staying virtuous to Clash. Her new album Virtue is out next week.

Exclaim and Metro interview James Blake, in town at The Phoenix on September 30.

Gruff Rhys has released a new video from Hotel Shampoo, just in time to wrap up the North American tour that hits The Horseshoe on June 11.

Video: Gruff Rhys – “Honey All Over”

TapeDek gets The Vaccines to indulge in some old-school Britpop trash talk. The National Post also has a chat.

Clash interviews Ladytron, whose new album Gravity The Seducer arrives September 13.

Beatroute interviews The Raveonettes.

Billboard has got a live video session from Peter Bjorn & John, while Metro, The Province and OC Weekly have interviews. They play Lee’s Palace on September 2 and 3.

aux.tv talks to The Naked & Famous, in town at Lee’s Palace on August 9.

Austin’s Ume have finally announced details of their new long-player; The AV Club has all the details but the key information is that it will be called Phantoms, be released on August 30 and the band will be in town on June 15 at the Drake Underground as part of NXNE. This is not a song from the new record but a good reminder of why they’re a band worth getting excited about.

MP3: Ume – “The Conductor”

The War On Drugs, last seen hereabouts opening up for Destroyer back in April will be back on August 24 at a venue to be named in support of their new record Slave Ambient, out August 16. Pitchfork has full dates and check out the Springsteen-ish first MP3 below.

MP3: The War On Drugs – “Baby Missiles”

Peter Hook brings his new band the Light and their rather questionable re-production of Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures to The Phoenix on September 24. “Atmosphere” isn’t from Unknown Pleasures but this video should give you an idea of how they’re doing it. The Spectator has an interview with Hook.

Video: Peter Hook & The Light featuring Rowetta – “Atmosphere”

Once again announcing a new show before their last one has actually happened yet, Foster The People will be at The Sound Academy on October 1, tickets $23.50. More immediately, they’re at The Mod Club on June 18 but that’s sold out.

MP3: Foster The People – “Pumped Up Kicks”

Officially back from Europe/vacation, and let me tell you I am thrilled about it. THRILLED.

elviscostello.infoIf you were to play me this week’s cover selection by Okkervil River alongside their latest album I Am Very Far and tell me that it came from the same sessions – and assuming I didn’t know any better – I wouldn’t necessarily protest. Like much of the Austin-based band’s sixth record, their take on the closing track on Elvis Costello & The Attractions’ third album Get Happy!! is dense, bracing and a little unhinged.

But in fact the track dates back to 2002 or 2003, circa the band’s first record Don’t Fall In Love With Everyone You See. With the exception of Will Sheff, the song features a completely different Okkervil lineup from that which operates under the name today and while these days when Sheff’s voice gets as haggard as it does here it’s for effect, back then it was just how he sang. The tune was recorded for the Almost You Elvis Costello tribute album released in 2003.

Okkervil River are at The Phoenix this Friday night and Philly.com and Washington City Paper have features on the band. Elvis Costello brings his Revolver tour, complete with Spectacular Spinning Songbook, to the Sony Centre For The Performing Arts, on June 23.

MP3: Okkervil River – “Riot Act”
Video: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “Riot Act” (live)

FacebookWho: Architecture In Helsinki
What: Geographically-confused Australians who’ve gone through stylistic and personnel changes since their twee-friendly 2003 debut Fingers Crossed
Why: Their just-released fourth album Moment Bends finds the quintet getting just a little bit funky. And seeing as how it’s turning into Winter in the southern hemisphere, seems as good a time as any to head north of the equator for some touring.
When: Saturday, June 11, 2011 (early show!)
Where: The Mod Club in Toronto (19+)
Who else: Hooray For Earth – who clearly have an appreciation for all hemispheres of the globe – support
How: Tickets for the show are $20 in advance but courtesy of Embrace, I’ve got two pairs of passes to give away to the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see Architecture In Helsinki” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest closes at midnight, June 8.
What else: Frontman Cameron Bird annotates the new record for Pedestrian TV.

MP3: Architecture In Helsinki – “Heart It Races”
Video: Architecture In Helsinki – “Contact High”

Frank YangAt the entrance to Parc del Forum is a typically strange-looking piece of Barcelonan architecture, wedge-shaped and indigo-coloured, and within it is a series of stark white hallways leading to a huge auditorium. This is the L’Auditori and on the Saturday afternoon of Primavera Sound, it hosted the performance that I had been looking forward to only a little bit less than Pulp the night before: John Cale leading the BCN216 orchestra in a performance of his Paris 1919 album – a recipe for greatness if ever there was one.

The ingredients for said recipe were the kilt-clad Cale handling vocals and keyboards whilst leading the 19-piece orchestra and a three-piece rock band through a sumptuous reading of his 1973 album, with Cale’s huge voice carrying its musical riches, both joyous and melancholic, to the furthest corners of the packed concert hall. Also, I’m used to hearing the album with the clicks and crackles of the LP and its seventies-era studio fidelity – to behold it in such bold, rich and three-dimensional tones was really a revelation. Truly, this is an album that deserves to be ranked as one of the all-time greats, and anyone who disagrees simply hasn’t heard it.

It’d be nice if the same could be said about the material that Cale used to pad out the set; after the orchestra decamped, Cale strapped on a guitar to kick off a set that was both traditional and experimental rock. I won’t claim to be anything resembling an expert on Cale’s solo repertoire, but while some of it was interesting and there were indisputable moments of beauty contained therein, the strongest impression was that it was musically overcooked thanks to some excessive solos. It got better when the orchestra returned to fill things out, but the remainder of the set certainly didn’t measure up to the album recital that preceded it – that was just magical.

It’s a shame I didn’t sneak out of the theatre earlier because it would have meant catching more than a couple songs of Warpaint’s set over on the Llevant stage. I was surprised they were playing the second largest stage at the festival, but perhaps I underestimated the benefits of all their European touring. Our time together wasn’t long but a little bit of their intensely chilled-out space rock is better than none, and few bands look like they have as good a time on stage together as Warpaint does. Bonus points to Jenny Lee Lindberg for rocking the Rosie The Riveter livery up there.

It’s kind of a shame there’s so little grass at Parc del Forum, as lying on a patch of green watching the sun set behind the stage would have been the ideal setting for Fleet Foxes’ Spanish debut (according to them). After all of the big productions that the San Miguel stage had hosted thus far, their stripped down yet soaring folk-rock was a nice change of pace. Robin Pecknold’s voice not always able to soar past the dense instrumentation in the mix, but when needed, like on “White Winter Hymnal”, the extra lift from the band’s harmonies and audience singalong saved the day. It was also interesting to note that “Helplessness Blues”, the title track from their not-even a month-old new album, has already been elevated to set closer. Bold.

The original game plan had been to pop back to L’Auditori to see at least some of Mercury Rev’s live recreation of Deserters Songs, but an excessively long turnover between the audience for the last show and this one prompted me to bail and instead indulge my German industrial rock joneses with Einstürzende Neubauten back at the Ray-Ban stage. Except it turns out I don’t actually have and German industrial joneses and so after a couple times it was time to head back to the San Miguel stage and grab some pavement in anticipation of PJ Harvey.

As keen as I was to finally get to see Polly Jean Harvey live and as much as I liked her latest album Let England Shake, I was well aware that this latest release might not be the best album to see her perform live, particularly in a festival setting. And any hopes that she might revert to rocker form for just one evening were shelved when she took the stage, resplendent in white Victorian gown and armed with an autoharp, under intense spotlights at far stage right while her bandmates were set up at far stage left and opened up with the title track of the new record.

The stark, restrained performance was as theatrical in its own way as the Flaming Lips’ set a few nights earlier, with Harvey’s movements and positioning onstage extremely calculated and deliberate and interaction with the audience kept to an absolute minimum. The set comprised almost all of Let England Shake, with its meditations on war and history setting an odd tone against the Primavera backdrop – particularly for those in the crowd trying to dance to descriptions of the horrors of World War I battlefields, but also a fascinating one.

Even when Harvey delved into her varied back catalog, with the oppositely-themed To Bring You My Love the most visited, the songs were recast in Let England Shake dress, some even rearragned to be led on the autoharp. Trying to reconcile the chasteness of what I was seeing with the sensuality of Harvey’s persona circa 1995, from whence I remembered those songs, was an interesting exercise. Some of the old Harvey raucousness began to creep in later on with Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea‘s “Big Exit” and To Bring You My Love‘s “Meet Ze Monsta” proving that for all the white she could and would still get dirty, but rather than mark the mark the start of a fresher, rawer and more crowd-pleasing portion of the show, it was the end. There was no encore.

And there, at a little past midnight on Saturday evening, did my first Primavera Sound experience end – while there was still plenty to see, an early morning flight out dictated that getting out then to be the prudent thing to do. I won’t say it’ll be my last Primavera, though – besides the perks of getting to visit Barcelona, it was an impressively-run festival (I can say this because I didn’t partake in the cash-card fiasco that marred day one for beer-drinkers) with a ridiculous lineup.
Big but not too big, if they assemble another perfect storm of acts I want/need to see (Ride/Slowdive/Lush reunions in 2012 holla) then I can certainly see myself returning. And if you’re never been but have considered it, I heartily encourage you to do so. For the curious, all my set and atmosphere shots (from the crowd) are up on Flickr, as are all my pics from Barcelona and London over the last couple weeks. If you’re a holiday snaps kind of person.

And the wrap out the week…

The Quietus talks to Mercury Rev’s Jonathan Donahue about Deserter’s Songs and also their new album plans.

Exclaim reports that New York Euro-poppers Ivy have completed a new album, their first in seven years since In The Clear. No title or release date as of yet but the first single will arrive next week.

Aquarium Drunkard interviews The Radio Dept. guitarist Martin Larsson.

The Line Of Best Fit meets I Break Horses, whose debut Hearts is out August 15.

DIY interviews Emmy The Great, whose second album Virtue is released on June 13. Any postal service strike had better be over before my copy arrives or there may be some… unpleasantness.

Video: Emmy The Great – “Iris”

Drowned In Sound talks Lupercalia with Patrick Wolf. The new record is out June 20 in the UK.

NPR is streaming a KCRW session with Hot Chip.