I’ll freely admit I expected the worst before I listened to Catfish Haven’s Please Come Back EP – for whatever reason, I steeled myself for some indie-friendly faux-blues act like (insert name of preferred two-piece, colour-themed band here) which has never been my cup of tea. So how pleased was I to find instead a slab of raw, deep Southern soul straight out of the land of Stax and Volt? Singer/guitarist George Hunter’s rasp is raw, anguished and utterly convincing, especially when propelled by the lean, insistent rhythm section. Opener “Please Come Back” is easily the high point of the six-song, 24-minute set, but the rest, composed of yearning ballads and gritty rockers, aren’t far behind. It’s a compact debut, but a gripping one.

Daytrotter has an extensive feature on the band (via Grant Manship), who play Sneaky Dee’s on May 6 with Asobi Seksu and PAS/CAL as part of The Over The Top Fest. Three disparate but wonderful bands on one bill. Awesome. Check out a some of their tunes below – there’s more music on their website and MySpace.

MP3: Catfish Haven – “Please Come Back”
MP3: Catfish Haven – “Madalin” (new demo)

CTV reports on Neil Young’s appearance on CNN Tuesday night while Reprise head honcho Howie Klein offers his thoughts on the record after having heard it, and it looks like any fears I had about them not having the guts to market or release it were unfounded. Look for Living With War in the early Summer.

John Vanderslice loves being interviewed, like by NOW. Yell rude and unexpected questions at him when he plays the El Mocambo on Friday night.

The Tufts Daily has an interview with Rhett Miller, who is currently pushing his solo record The Believer. His day job will be releasing a best-of on June 20 called Hit By A Train: The Best Of The Old 97’s. Full details here.

New Buffalo, who represents the Australian arm of Arts & Crafts’ global empire, will be opening for The Concretes on their two Canadian dates, including May 4 at the Horseshoe. I’ve had a chance to listen to the Concretes’ In Colour a few times now, and am enjoying it maybe more than most. It’s definitely a lot more immediate and pop than their first record, and while I can understand missing some of the orch-Motown vibe, the new country-ish vibe also sits well with me.

And in a similar musical vein – Glasgow’s Camera Obscura will release their third full-length Let’s Get Out Of This Century on June 6. Hear one of the new songs on their MySpace, a wonderful tribute to fellow Scot Lloyd Cole. I totally need to listen to Rattlesnakes again.

Also noteworthy in local concert news – Minneapolis’ Brooklyn’s Hold Steady will be at Lee’s Palace on July 31 (full tour dates here) while The Charlatans are at The Phoenix May 22, tickets are $27.50 and go on sale Saturday. The Jose Gonzalez/Juana Molina show on June 26 now has a home – it’ll be happening at Trinty-St Paul’s, absolutely the perfect place for it but that means it won’t be cheap. And finally, punk legends Stiff Little Fingers will be at the Horseshoe on June 13, tickets $23, while 80s Bossa Nova revivalists Nouvelle Vague are at the Mod Club on September 14.

np – Centro-Matic / Fort Recovery