I’ve been listening to Happy New Year, the new album from Brooklyn’s Oneida a lot lately – not because it’s addictive or I’m in love with it, but because it’s so dense and perplexing, but somehow intriguingly and not annoyingly so. Thick with synths, droning rhythms, psychedelic textures and vocals that are equal part medeival chanting and hippie folk revival, I can hear shades of early Pink Floyd, Stereolab, Primal Scream, The Olivia Tremor Control – it’s all over the place and yet somehow consistent. It’s also a strangely solemn-sounding record, certainly moreso than you’d expect from a band that goes my pseudonyms like Kid Millions, Bobby Matador and Baby Hanoi Jane. I’m not ashamed to admit that Oneida dwell somewhere on the outskirts of my musical comfort zone, but it looks like it could be interesting territory.

Exclaim! reviewed the new album and talked a bit to Bobby Matador while Seattle Weekly talks to Kid Millions and gushes about the live Oneida experience. An experience that Torontonians can take in August 4 at the Tranzac as part of the Bummer In The Summer festival which kicks off tonight and tomorrow night with a pre-parties here and there and then carries on through the weekend (day and night) at Tranzac with a lineup (over)loaded with local talent.

MP3: Oneida – “Up With People”
MySpace: Oneida
MySpace: Bummer In The Summer

Okkervil River are bringing gifts for their Australian tour this Fall – Overboard And Down is a new EP that will be made exclusive to folks down under (Australia and New Zealand). It will feature tracks recorded in the now-legendary (to Okkervil freaks) recording sessions from January of this year as well as a live reading of “Westfall”. Surely there will be a way for people on the upright side of the world to acquire this disc – when I find out, I’ll let ya know.

Rolling Stone caught up with Neil Young while on tour and talked a bit about Living With War arranged for CSNY. Neil also predicts that the first volume of Archives will be out within a year. Then after the reporter turned off his tape recorder he began laughing his ass off.

Asobi Seksu have put out a new video from Citrus. Now that the Cardigans tour is kaput, Asobi’s show at the Horseshoe is now your #1 thing to do on September 20.

Video: Asobi Seksu – “Thursday” (MOV)

Which segues nicely into more concert news. Drive-By Truckers come to bless and curse us at the Phoenix on October 18 with The Drams. Rogue Wave have a date at Lee’s Palace on September 9, Two Gallants are at the Horseshoe on October 2, tickets $10.50, and Damien Jurado is at the El Mocambo October 3.

There’ve been a couple additions to the lineup for the Virgin Festival at Toronto Islands September 9 and 10 – Razorlight are now playing day one while MSTRKRFT, The Mooney Suzuki and Born Ruffians augment day two.

Also note that Midlake is now off the French Kicks bill at Lee’s Palace on September 11, a makeup date for their cancelled show originally scheduled for this Friday. Instead Sound Team, who cancelled their show originally scheduled for the Horseshoe this past Monday night (the same night Midlake were supposed to play with The Hold Steady), will now support. Did you get all that? Me neither. Instead, those who want to see Midlake will have to pony up to see them open for Keane at the Hummingbird Centre on September 20. Oh, and as a bit of trivia, The French Kicks opened for Keane here in Toronto last year. Head… exploding… All I have to further to say is that while they may get nicer dressing rooms in the Hummingbird Centre, Midlake sure as hell would have had more fun touring with the Hold Steady. Full review of that show tomorrow.

And finally, the role of The Joker has been cast for the new Batman film, to be titled The Dark Knight. The role previously inhabited by Cesar Romero and Jack Nicholson (and Mark Hamill, sort of) now belongs to… Heath Ledger. Yeah. I suggest a letter-writing campaign to the studio petitioning to have Jake Gyllenhall cast as Harvey Dent/Two-Face. The on-screen chemistry would be electric.

np – Sufjan Stevens / The Avalanche