Torontonians haven’t seen Isobel Campbell since she sulked offstage from Belle & Sebastian’s May 2002 show at the Kool Haus… and then quit the band a couple of weeks later. And I’ve not forgotten her “food poisoning” which forced the band to cancel what would have been their Toronto debut back in the Fall of 1998. I, for one, still remember seeing the shabbily handwritten note tacked to the front door of the Opera House, declaring the show cancelled. I’m not saying I hold a grudge, I’m just saying.

But that’s all in the past. We’ll get a chance to see what she’s been up to when she plays a show at Revival on March 4. She just released the Ramblin’ Man EP this week as a preview of her album with Mark Lanegan, Ballad Of The Broken Seas, which is out January 30. She also has a second solo record due out later this year called Milk White Sheets. I reviewed the Ramblin’ Man EP last month, and despite feeling rather lukewarm about it, I’m still curious to hear the album – the combination of her and Lanegan is too weird to dismiss out of hand. In the meantime, you can stream the EP here.

I have no doubt that Campbell wants to establish herself as an artist in her own right, and not just be know as the girl who quit Belle & Sebastian, but I can’t help but think the timing of her album release and tour, with respect to that of her old band, is a little more than just coincidence. Her album is coming out a week before B&S’s The Life Pursuit and her tour brings her through Toronto just a week after her old bandmates, perhaps cannily trying to pick up some of the media coverage the B&S juggernaut will be churning up? And yeah, it’s finally official, so I can finally speak freely about the tour. Belle & Sebastian and The New Pornographers, February 25 at The Docks. This will be the first date of the North American tour, so expect excitement and jitters and maybe some flubs. And lots of cuteness. No ticket info yet, but I figure it’ll cost in the $40-$50 range. Steep, but what can you do. And finally, Stuart Murdoch and Chris Geddes talk to Scotland On Sunday about recording the new album in Los Angeles and trash talk Franz Ferdinand in the process. Nice.

Canadian Music Week will be taking place March 1 through 4 this year. The list of artists attending this year’s fest is now up, and it looks like the usual suspects. No slight to the performers intended, but almost all of those acts gig around town regularly anyways, so I don’t get particularly psyched about the idea of seeing them play shorter sets for probably higher admission prices. But I guess someone has to pay for those shiny banners they hang outside the clubs. Either way, I’ve put in an application for media accreditation for the festival. Just for kicks. My quest for same from SxSW has been fruitless so far, so maybe CMW will be a little less strict and help me feel less worthless.

Ladytron are at the Opera House on April 20. I… I can’t think of anything clever or snide to say about this. I briefly had something about people all dressed in black, but then it just slipped away. I’m tired. Via For The Records.

The New York Times contemplates the futility of year-end lists.

I get the spotlight in the latest Muzzle Of Bees’ “Get To Know Your Blogger” feature.

Salon pays tribute to Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev’s run on Daredevil, which will be wrapping up this month. The piece rightly declares them the best creative team to tackle the character since Miller/Mazzuchelli, though as good as their work has been, I’ll always hold a special place in my heart for “Born Again”, if for no other reason than it was my first trade paperback ever. Via The Great Curve.

Just four days in and I’ve already missed a day on my photoblog. There’s just not that much compelling stuff to shoot in the office or at home, and Lord knows I’m not outside when it’s daylight and there’s things to look at. I don’t think I’ve even seen the sun this calendar year. Very bleak. Update: Okay, it’s sunny today. And about 10 degrees colder than yesterday. Stupid Winter.

np – Steve Earle / El Corazon