Olivia MaloneSome weeks, the inbox is a veritable cornucopia of interesting concert announcements for acts big and small. Compiling the blog posts that collect those up is a genuine delight. And easy. Generally so easy. This was not one of those weeks. Indeed, most of the news was of the “support announced” variety, which isn’t necessarily uninteresting – sometimes it’s more interesting than the headliner – but it is less easy.

Anyways, we’ll kick off with New York’s Guards, who will be supporting Palma Violets at Lee’s Palace on May 3. They’re fronted by one Richie Follin, whose did time in Cults with sister Madelin and also worked with Caroline Polachek of Chairlift, and while either of those reference points are probably enough to garner attention, the sun-kissed, retro-styled power pop of their debut album In Guards We Trust, released in February, are far more in line with the former than the latter. It’s not revolutionary by any measure, but it is well-executed and likeable.

The Bay Bridged has an interview with Richie Follin.

MP3: Guards – “Silver Lining”
MP3: Guards – “Crystal Truth”
Video: Guards – “Ready To Go”
Video: Guards – “Silver Lining”

It’s a bit of an odd pairing, but throwback jangle-poppers DIIV will be supporting Trent Reznor’s How To Destroy Angels at The Sound Academy on April 25. They were also here in December supporting Japandroids, but I’m sure there’s enough fans of Oshin that a headlining show – which they last did in September – would also be welcome.

MP3: DIIV – “Sometime”

Not that Titus Andronicus need any help drawing a crowd, but their May 2 date at Lee’s Palace announced last week just got a boost regardless with the announcement that they’re being joined by Brooklyn’s So So Glos for what they’re calling the “Bring Back The Dudes” tour – which will be a pretty apt description of the demographic at the show. Their new record Blowout is out April 23 and there’s an interview at The L.

Video: So So Glos – “My Block”

Some bands worry about announcing multiple upcoming dates in a given market out of fear that one show may cannibalize ticket sales from the other; Ra Ra Riot clearly do not. They spent most of the lead up to their early March headlining show for Beta Love with their name also on posters for the Arts & Crafts Field Trip festival at Garrison Common on June 8, and now they’ve also announced that they’ll also be in town a couple weeks prior to that supporting The Shins at The Sound Academy on May 22. I don’t know if there are Ra Ra Riot fans so dedicated to hit up every one of their local shows, but if so, they’re probably pretty happy.

MP3: Ra Ra Riot – “Beta Love”
MP3: Ra Ra Riot – “Dance With Me”

Ra Ra Riot will also be opening up some of the dates on the upcoming Postal Service tour, but not Toronto – according to the itinerary released yesterday, we’ll have Mates Of State opening up at the Air Canada Centre on June 11 and that’s a-ok with me, though I can’t say I wouldn’t love to see peoples’ faces when Big Freedia shakes what she’s got on those west coast dates.

MP3: Mates Of State – “Maracas”
MP3: Mates Of State – “My Only Offer”

And in headlining announcements – Spencer Krug will appear as Moonface in a solo piano context on May 12 at The Great Hall in something called The Conversation Room. I don’t know what/where that is, but I kind of hope it’s like The Champagne Room. Tickets are $16.50 and there is probably no sex.

MP3: Moonface – “Teary Eyes and Bloody Lips”
MP3: Moonface – “Headed For The Door”

One of the buzzier bads at CMF this year were German electro-pop duo BOY, and those who missed out on their shows will be pleased to know they’re back in town at The Great Hall on May 16 in support of their debut Mutual Friend. Tickets for that are $17.50.

Video: BOY – “Little Numbers”

I could be wrong but I don’t think Richard Buckner has been to Toronto since the “two really big dudes with gravelly voices” tour with Eric Bachmann in September 2006. In any case, the upcoming release of Surrounded – about which there’s no other information besides that it exists and will be called Surrounded – will bring him back to The Horseshoe on May 23, tickets $13.50.

MP3: Richard Buckner – “Escape”

One of the unfortunate casualties of the canceled Efterklang show during CMF last month was the local debut of Philadelphia’s Nightlands, who were supposed to open up. They’ll make that show up at The Drake Underground on June 3, playing songs from their debut Oak Island, from which they’ve just released a new video. The Concordian also has an interview with band principal Dave Hartley.

MP3: Nightlands – “300 Clouds”
MP3: Nightlands – “Suzerain (A Letter To The Judge)”
Video: Nightlands – “Born To Love”

Brooklyn’s Yeasayer will circle back behind their third album Fragrant World with a show at The Phoenix on July 2.

MP3: Yeasayer – “Henrietta”
MP3: Yeasayer – “Longevity”

Two-tone legends The Specials are coming back to town, slating a July 9 date at The Kool Haus, tickets $39.50.

Video: The Specials – “Message To You Rudy”

“Edge” certainly doesn’t mean what it used to. Traditionally the region’s premier bro-fest, the CFNY-sponsored Edgefest has gone acoustic and plaid for 2013, taking advantage of Lollapalooza weekend to present a lineup headlined by The Lumineers and Band Of Horses at Downsview Park on July 31. Quite an about face from past editions of the festival, which has in the past been closed out by the likes of Billy Talent, A Perfect Circle, Stone Temple Pilots, and Our Lady Peace. Tickets for the day are $49.50 plus fees.

MP3: Band Of Horses – “No One’s Gonna Love You”
Video: The Lumineers – “Hey Ho”

Okay, so as it turns out there was more announced this week than I thought. Elsewhere…

Philly.com talks to Redd Kross’ Steve McDonald, who will tear things up at The Horseshoe tomorrow night, April 11.

The Thermals are streaming their new super-short but super-intense new album Desperate Ground at Pitchfork before its out on Apri l6. They play The Horseshoe on May 21.

Stream: The Thermals / Desperate Ground

Another new track from Steve Earle’s Low Highway – out April 16 – has been made available to stream.

Stream: Steve Earle & The Dukes (and Duchesses) – “Calico County”

DIY talks to Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne ahead of next week’s release of The Terror.

Under The Radar interviews Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, in town at The Kool Haus on May 9.

NPR has a Mountain Stage session with Calexico, coming to Toronto for a NXNE show at the Mod Club on June 12.

Exclaim, The Village Voice, Pitchfork, and Consequence Of Sound all want to talk to Kurt Vile about his latest album Wakin’ On A Pretty Daze, out now. He plays the Toronto Urban Roots Fest at Garrison Common on July 7.

Lissie has rolled out a lyric video fro the first sample of her second album, due out this September.

Lyric Video: Lissie – “Shameless”

NPR has a World Cafe session with Caitlin Rose.

Frank YangIf you want to be technical about it, territories and their associated release dates being what they are, Jessie Ware doesn’t actually have any music released in North America besides the If You’re Never Gonna Move EP, but if you think she sold out The Opera House on Saturday night on the back of that… Well it’d have been plausible, since it cherry picks three superb cuts from her debut Devotion, plus a cover and a remix, but in reality the massive success of the album in her native UK last year has already made her a genuine rising star on this side of the pond, even if the domestic edition of Devotion doesn’t come out until April 16 – essentially a meaningless date unless you’re looking to not pay import prices for an LP or something.

In any case, it was a packed house and if Ware alone wasn’t enough draw, New York-based duo MS MR took the opening slot on the tour with their own respectable head of buzz. Pronounced “Miss Mister” – Lizzy Plapinger, the “miss” in question to keyboardist/vocalist Max Hershenow’s “mister” – cleared that up early on, they brought energy levels to match their day-glo streetwear aesthetic (and Plapinger’s impressively rainbow-hued hair). Under normal circumstances, MS MR would be easily filed under synth-pop, but given the way the live drums dominated the sound, that epithet felt inadequate to their heavy, earthy sound. Further, Plapinger’s vocals wasn’t the sort of light, rangy instrument you’d usually find in the genre, instead having a texture ore suited to blues or classic rock tropes – and yet here she was. The soulful set-closer “Hurricane” was probably the best synthesis of what they could and should do with the tools at hand, and while it provided a clear-cut high point, it also showed their other material wasn’t up that level yet. Maybe someday, but not yet. Their debut album Secondhand Rapture is out May 14 and they’re back for a show at Wrongbar on May 22.

Everything about Jessie Ware – from her rich, emotive voice through the sleek, 21st-century electro-soul that makes Devotion so delicious to the black-and-white jacket and pants ensemble she wore onstage Saturday night – is elegant. She sounded divine, taking up at the front of the stage alone while her three-piece backing band all set up along the back, spending the next hour delivering heart-rending and hip-moving numbers from Devotion – all but “Something Inside” made the set list – as well as the Bobby Caldwell cover from If You’re Never Gonna Move and reprising her “Valentine” single with drummer Dornik Leigh cover Sampha’s original parts. Not that there should have been any doubt that she could sound as good live as on record, the relatively stripped-down live band arrangements gave the material a different dimension and feel, but it was still gratifying to see and experience. And yet for as good as she was musically, the trait that was most on display this evening was just how wonderfully goofy she was.

If there’s any kind of manual about how an ascendant soul diva should behave onstage, Jessie Ware didn’t get a copy. Or perhaps she threw it out and instead subscribed to the Adele school of thought, which is simply “be yourself”. Ware had no airs about her whatsoever, and when not singing – and even sometimes while – was clearly having a great time bantering and interacting with the audience, posing for photos, comparing outfits, and cracking jokes; goofing with the crowd did cause a couple of flubs in the performance, but she recovered perfectly and the moments only added to the show. An argument could be made that she was more delighted to be there, for her first Canadian show, than her fans were – and they were plenty delighted.

The arguable show-stopper of the night was a breathtaking “Wildest Moments”, but it wasn’t the final word as they wrapped with “Running”; there was no encore, but the job was well and truly done. At one point in the show, Ware mentioned that though this was her first Canadian performance, she had actually been in Toronto a couple years ago as a backup singer. This was probably in reference to the 2011 SBTRKT show at Wrongbar which presently gives attendees bragging rights because of a surprise Drake appearance, but in the not-too-distant future, it might be most notable as the first time superstar Jessie Ware set foot on a Toronto stage.

Exclaim and BlogTO also have reviews of the show. The Georgia Straight, Stereogum, and Exclaim have interviews with Ware, and NPR has a World Cafe session. Both Ware and MS MR have just released new videos.

Photos: Jessie Ware, MS MR @ The Opera House – April 6, 2013
Video: Jessie Ware – “Imagine It Was Us”
Video: Jessie Ware – “Sweet Talk”
Video: Jessie Ware – “Night Light”
Video: Jessie Ware – “Wildest Moments”
Video: Jessie Ware – “110%”
Video: Jessie Ware – “Running”
Video: Jessie Ware & Sampha – “Valentine”
Video: MS MR – “Hurricane” (version two)
Video: MS MR – “Hurricane” (version one)
Video: MS MR – “Fantasy”

The San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Examiner talk to Johnny Marr about going solo. He’s at The Phoenix on April 27.

The Guardian, Village Voice, Filter, and Clash talk to James Blake about his new album Overgrown, out now. He plays The Danforth Music Hall on May 4.

Clash profiles Daughter, whose debut If You Leave gets a North American release on April 30. They play The Great Hall on May 7.

Beady Eye appear ready to drop their Dave Sitek-produced second album on June 10. A first, horn-infused, sample from the album has been made available to stream.

Stream: Beady Eye – “Flick Of The Finger”

In conversation with DIY, Katie Harkin offers updates on what’s been happening with Sky Larkin – including lineup changes – and confirms that their third album will be coming out this Summer.

Spinner and Black Book interview head Frightened Rabbit Scott Hutchison.

British Sea Power discuss their latest Machineries Of Joy with DIY and New Statesman.

Frank YangThough I’m probably a bit late to the Caitlin Rose party, her 2010 full-length debut Own Side Now having completely flown under my radar, I’m thankful that I was able to get it into my ears earlier this year before her follow-up The Stand-In came out because it gave me a reference point to appreciate just how good The Stand-In is. Which is not to say that there’s anything wrong with Own Side Now at all – it’s a charming slice of old school country that frames Rose as something of a wide-eyed ingenue, a character well-suited to her sweet, clear vocals – it just felt a touch more demure than it necessarily needed to be.

The Stand-In doesn’t trade in the back porch for a roadhouse, mind you, but it’s more electrified, dynamic, and bristling with bona fide pop hooks that don’t compromise Rose’s natural rootsiness, just gives it a swagger that looks and sounds great on her. Where Own Side politely asked to come in and sat genteelly, The Stand-In barges in and demanded attention – which I was happy to give it, as it currently stands as one of my favourite records of the year. So obviously I was going to be at The Garrison on Friday night to see her tour new record through town.

And an efficient tour it was, with Andrew Combs doing double-duty as both Rose’s rhythm guitarist and opening act. Also hailing from Nashville – if the cowboy hat, denim shirt, and boots didn’t make that clear – Combs started out solo and then slowly enlisted the rest of Rose’s band to back up his voice, possessing the right balance of twang and rasp without sounding affected, and fill out a set of satisfying country-rock drawing from his debut Worried Man. If Combs can make the sort of leap that Rose did between his this album and his next, he could be one to watch.

Warmed up from their opening set, all the band needed to kick off the main set was for Caitlin Rose step out from behind the merch table and take centre stage. A six-piece band might have seemed like a lot of musical overhead for a still-emerging artist playing small rooms, but there was no arguing with the results. Even though the songs on The Stand-In are strong enough to have been able to impress with a simpler presentation, it was wonderful to be able to hear all the lines and textures of the recordings rendered live and enhanced in parts – the four-part backing harmonies on “I Was Cruel” were unexpected and beautiful.

And with such a high performance bar set by her band, Rose actually had trouble keeping up for the first portion of the show. Not in voice – she sounded great – but despite some warm and friendly banter she seemed somewhat detached onstage, often staring up at the ceiling when she stepped back from the mic; less leading her band than fading back into it. It didn’t feel like disinterest as much as a sort of shyness, which was surprising considering how brassily she comes across on record.

Happily, this improved as the set progressed – helped out with a few drinks – and while she charming throughout the show, she was visibly more at ease by the end of the main set, comprised of a lot of The Stand-In, a healthy dollop of Own Side, and ceding the spotlight back to Andrew Combs for one of his own songs on which they duetted. “Everywhere I Go” would have been wonderful to hear, but probably didn’t fit the flow of the show. Following a solo reading of “Sinful Wishing Well”, she called the band back out for a raucous interpretation of Buck Owens’ “Tiger By The Tail” and Own Side highlight “Shanghai Cigarettes”. According to the set list, this should have been the end of the encore but Rose was called back by the audience and obliged with a real encore of an a capella ode to a Dave Edmunds t-shirt. A winning finale to a show that didn’t necessarily start slow, but certainly ended on all cylinders.

The Singing Lamb and Panic Manual also have reviews of the show, and The Washington Examiner and Red Eye have interviews with Rose.

Photos: Caitlin Rose, Andrew Combs @ The Garrison – April 5, 2013
MP3: Caitlin Rose – “I Was Cruel”
Video: Caitlin Rose – “Only A Clown”
Video: Caitlin Rose – “Piledriver Waltz”
Video: Caitlin Rose – “Own Side”
Video: Caitlin Rose – “Shanghai Cigarettes”

With the 10th anniversary edition of Give Up out this week, Jimmy Tamborello of The Postal Service gives CBC Music the inside story on some of their most beloved songs and confesses to Exclaim that the new songs on the anniversary edition of the album aren’t Give Up outtakes but remnants of an aborted second album; he also talks about the record with The Irish Independent. The Postal Service are at The Air Canada Centre on June 11.

Iron & Wine’s new album Ghost On Ghost is out next week and doing the advance stream thing at NPR. Sam Beam talks about the new album with The Hollywood Reporter.

Stream: Iron & Wine / Ghost On Ghost

Noisey has got last week’s listening party/Q&A of the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs record Mosquito archived on their site; it’s presently the only place to hear the whole of the new record before its out April 16.

The Sun and Spinner asked questions of Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne, who also hosted a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” last week. Their new album The Terror is out next week on April 16 and streaming in whole at NPR.

Stream: The Flaming Lips / The Terror

NPR has a World Cafe session and MTV Hive an interview with Jim James, who hits The Phoenix on April 24.

Buzzfeed elicits some serious Morrissey hate from Bradford Cox by way of a Deerhunter interview. Their new album Monomania is out May 7.

Drowned In Sound interviews Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, in town at The Kool Haus on May 9.

Finally, the first official taste of the new National album Trouble Will Fine Me, out May 21. They headline Yonge-Dundas Square for NXNE on June 14.

Video: The National – “Demons”

Spin has premiered another track from the new Saturday Looks Good To Me album One Kiss Ends It All, out May 21.

Stream: Saturday Looks Good To Me – “Break In”

Though the existence of Centro-Matic/New Year/Pedro The Lion supergroup Overseas was announced way back last Spring, the fruits of the Will Johnson-David Bazan-Kadane Brothers alchemy will finally be available to hear via their self-titled debut on June 13. Two songs are available to stream on their site, and it sounds exactly as you’d think a combination of those talents would – wonderful.

The Skinny talks to Kurt Vile, who brings Wakin’ On A Pretty Daze to the Toronto Urban Roots Fest at Garrison Commons on July 7.

Also playing TURF that day are Yo La Tengo, whose James McNew is interviewed at Loud & Quiet.

Cat Power has released a new video from Sun.

Video: Cat Power – “Manhattan”

The Current has got a video session with Low.

Frank YangWho: The Joy Formidable
What: Welsh power trio who put the emphasis on “power”, as well as big hooks, guitar heroics, and general rock.
Why: Despite playing three shows in Toronto last year, most recently in November, this their first official tour in support of their second album, Wolf’s Law. But if the pattern holds, it certainly won’t be the last.
When: Friday, April 12, 2013
Where: The Phoenix in Toronto (19+)
Who else: Brookylnites Team Spirit and RIBS will support.
How: Tickets for the show are $18.50 in advance but courtesy of , I’ve got one pair of passes to give away for the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want The Joy Formidable” in the subject line and your full name in the body and have that in to me before midnight, April 9.
What else: The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, The Lantern, and Minneapolis Star-Tribune have interviews with the band.

MP3: The Joy Formidable – “Wolf’s Law”
Video: The Joy Formidable – “Little Blimp”
Video: The Joy Formidable – “The Ladder Is Ours”
Video: The Joy Formidable – “Cholla”
Video: The Joy Formidable – “Wolf’s Law”

AmazonIt was a surprising thing to realize as I cued up my review copy of Delta Machine a few weeks ago, but it would actually be the first time I’d ever listen to a Depeche Mode in its entirety. I’ve heard many/all the big singles, of course, but never sat down with an album start to finish. It’s not been a deliberate shunning of their now thirteen album-deep discography, but their synth-first sounds didn’t click with me in my more impressionable high school days (circa Violator/Songs Of Faith & Devotion), and I’ve just never circled back around to re-investigate.

And while critical reception of Delta Machine has been decent, there’s been no Damascene moment that’s sent me on crash course to fill the Gahan-shaped hole in my musical education. But it’s alright, I guess. Sounds very much like what I would expect a Depeche Mode album to sound like. Maybe I’ll brush up with a best-of and see where that takes me. Maybe even to their Molson Amphitheatre show on September 2? Maybe.

None of which is especially salient to this giveaway, which is this. Courtesy of With A Bullet, I’ve got two prizes to give away – one for analog fans consisting of a copy of Delta Machine on LP and a copy of the “Heaven” 12″ single, and one for digital fans consisting of a copy of Delta Machine on CD – to give away. To enter, email me at contests@chromewaves.net with “I want Depeche Mode on CD” or “I want Depeche Mode on LP” in the subject line, as the case may be, and your full name and mailing address in the body and have that to me by midnight, April 13. Contest is open to Canadians only.

Video: Depeche Mode – “Soothe My Soul”
Video: Depeche Mode – “Heaven”