Roger DeckkerWho: Lykke Li
What: Swedish indie-dance-soul diva Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson has come a ways since closing one of our Hot Freaks stages at SxSW 2008 because, well, we couldn’t get anyone else. But we’ll call it prescience nonetheless.
Why: She released her second album, the darker, slinkier and all together better Wounded Rhymes at the start of March and having come through town at least three times – possibly more – in support of Youth Novels, you know more touring was inevitable.
When: Sunday, May 22, 2011
Where: The Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto (all-ages)
Who else: Montreal’s Grimes will open things up.
How: Tickets for the show are sold out – she played the much larger Sound Academy last time through so no surprise there – 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 get some Lykke Li” in the subject line and your full name in the body and have that in to me before midnight, May 15.
What else: Having recovered from a bit of touring burnout, Lykke Li is back on the road with a new video to share.

MP3: Lykke Li – “Youth Knows No Pain”
MP3: Lykke Li – “Get Some”
Video: Lykke Li – “Sadness Is A Blessing”

Patrick HeagneyWho: Of Montreal
What: Veteran Athens, Georgia psychedelic electro-soul survivors with a bit of a flair for the theatrical and/or full-out batshit.
Why: Touring plans for last year’s False Priest didn’t include Canada, but now that their new EP thecontrollersphere is due – it’s out Tuesday – they’re finally on their way to visit both their namesake and Toronto.
When: Wednesday, May 3, 2011
Where: The Phoenix in Toronto (19+)
Who else: Joining the named-after-Canadians will be signed-to-Secretly Canadian duo Painted Palms and actual Canadians Braids.
How: Tickets for the show are $28 in advance, but courtesy of We Are Busy Bodies, I’ve got three prize packs to give away; an analog prize will consist of a pair of passes to the show, a copy of thecontrollersphere on 12″, False Priest on LP and 2008’s Skeletal Lamping on CD and two digital prizes will consist of a pair of passes and a copy of thecontrollersphere, False Priest and Skeletal Lamping, all on CD. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want Of Montreal in Toronto” in the subject line and your full name and mailing address and format preference (CD or LP) in the body and have that in to me before midnight, April 30.
What else: Rolling Stone is streaming the whole of thecontrollersphere, while The Democrat & Chronicle and The New Haven Advocate have feature pieces on the band.

MP3: Of Montreal – “Black Lion Massacre”
MP3: Of Montreal – “Sex Karma”
MP3: Of Montreal – “Coquet Coquette”
Stream: Of Montreal / thecontrollersphere

Sarah MeadowsWho: YACHT
What: Portland duo steered by Jona Bechtolt who, in fact, have nothing to do with yacht rock but instead craft and austere yet danceable sort of electro-pop.
Why: Their last release was 2009’s See Mystery Lights but this tour will be previewing the June 21 release of their new album Shangri-La.
When: Monday, May 2, 2011
Where: Lee’s Palace in Toronto (19+)
Who else: New Yorker’s Light Asylum will be first mate on this tour.
How: Tickets for the show are $16 in advance but courtesy of Embrace, I’ve got two pairs of passes to give away for the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see YACHT” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest closes at midnight, April 27.
What else: The Signal and examiner.com have interviews with Bechtolt.

MP3: YACHT – “Dystopia”
MP3: YACHT – “Voodoo City”
MP3: YACHT – “Summer Song”

Joseph YarmushIt’s almost certainly too much to read an excess of meaning into the title of Malajube’s last albums, but when you’ve only got a (very) rudimentary working knowledge of the French language, you do what you can do. That said, there’s something to the fact that 2009’s Labyrinthes was as dark and dense as the title implied – at least relative to the almost giddily carefree nature of 2006’s Trompe L’Oeil (“deceive the eye” in English, if you were wondering) – and a far less immediate listen. Still, it rated highly enough to score the band its second Polaris Prize shortlist placement in as many records and basically confirm the band as the ambassadors of Francophone rock to the rest of Canada, even if it would be Karkwa who would score the first win for French Canada last year.

Those seeking to find similar meaning in the name of their new record, the just-released La caverne, may be disappointed to learn that it comes not from the dark, subterranean underworld of their collective psyches mined for inspiration but more likely the fact that the album was recorded in a house shaped like a geodesic dome. But listening to the new record you wouldn’t have to go very far to imagine that they decked the studio out with lasers and mirror balls, given it’s surprisingly sleek and dance-friendly vibe. Lead track and single “Synesthésie” gives immediate notice that things are different for the band this time out, applying a fresh shimmer to both guitars and synths and mating them with an irresistible rhythm.

While signature elements like Julien Mineau’s smooth/raspy vocals keep things familiar, La caverne is leaner and more focused than either Trompe-l’oeil or Labyrinthes and also possibly their most immediate. So what happens when a band that’s already twice been acclaimed as having made one of the ten best Canadian records in a year makes their big pop move? Three guesses.

Malajube are currently on tour in Quebec and southern Ontario, with a few US dates thrown in, and will be at The Horseshoe Tavern on May 30. JAM, The Montreal Gazette, aux.tv, Montreal Mirror and The National Post have interviews with the band.

And courtesy of the label, I’ve also got three copies of La caverne on vinyl to give away – to enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “Je veux la caverne” in the subject line and your full name and mailing address in the body. Contest is open to residents of Canada and closes at midnight, April 28.

MP3: Malajube – “Synesthésie”
Video: Malajube – “Synesthésie”

With the April 26 release – in Canada, anyways – of sophomore album Was I The Wave? nigh, check out one the new Miracle Fortress songs. Americans

MP3: Miracle Fortress – “Raw Spectacle”

Sometime Miracle Fortress-er Adam Waito’s own project Adam & The Amethysts have put out a video from their still-forthcoming second album Flickering Flashlight, due out sometime.

Video: Adam & The Amethysts – “Prophecy”

Pitchfork reports that Arcade Fire are going to let their Suburbs sprawl a little more this Summer, by way of a deluxe CD/DVD package due out on June 27. The DVD component will be the Spike Jonze-helmed mini-feature Scenes From The Suburbs and the CD will be their super-hit album with a couple of new songs added on for extra value.

Fucked Up have released the second of four MP3s leading up to the release of David Comes To Life on June 7 via Matablog, who also have details of a “Buy Early Get Now” presale promotion for the record in which you buy early…

MP3: Fucked Up – “A Little Death”

Caribou has elected to give away the complete recordings of the live Vibration Ensemble set from All Tomorrow’s Parties in upstate New York circa September 2009 – just hit their Soundcloud and make with the downloading. And while you wait, maybe refresh your memory as to what the Vibration Ensemble was with the writeup of their performance in Toronto the week prior.

MP3: Caribou Vibration Ensemble – “Every Time She Turns Round It’s Her Birthday”

Planet Notion interviews Stephen Ramsay of Young Galaxy.

Crawdaddy has got a nice live performance video of The Rural Alberta Advantage in a Toronto church. I don’t think it’s an official video, but it’s nice; it could be. They’re playing the Phoenix on April 29.

Spinner, The Vancouver Sun, dose.ca and The Leader-Post, See check in with Tokyo Police Club as they tour across Canada. Their next local gig is Edgefest at Downsview Park on July 9.

And though it’s their eighth birthday, Toronto label Paper Bag Records are the ones offering the gifts – in the form of True Blue, a free compilation of Madonna covers by their artists, including the aforementioned Young Galaxy and Rural Alberta Advantage, PS I Love You and more, but my favourite would be the title track by Montreal’s Winter Gloves and guest vocalist Hannah Georgas. And as a sidenote, I apparently don’t know nearly as much of Madonna’s oeuvre as I thought I did. And am okay with that.

MP3: Winter Gloves w Hannah Georgas – “True Blue”

Shawn BrackbillOn the surface, Blood Pressures – the new record from The Kills – resembles its predecessor, Midnight Boom, quite a bit; particularly in how it doesn’t really resemble their first two records Keep On Your Mean Side and No Wow very much. This is, of course, a very relative statement – everything that Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince have put out has been been very distinctly them, defined by their two-piece art/garage-rock aesthetic and their sexually-charged/ambiguous/tense dynamic.

But with Midnight Boom, they opened up the range of sounds with which they’d work, amped up the pop elements of their sound and generally tidied things up enough to make for their most accessible work yet; certainly it was the record that got me on board. Blood Pressures continues on in the same direction, but the balance of songs versus sonics seems to have swung decidedly in favour of the former. The groove-first, lyrics-second process that accounted for some of Boom‘s sleazy playground rhyme-like numbers has taken a back seat to more conventionally composed and structured songs, perhaps something Mosshart has brought back from her time in The Dead Weather. And though many are still built on unabashedly mechanical and grimy-sounding backing tracks, even those are sounding more organic and tidier than before.

None of this meant in judgement, just as observation. That The Kills would be getting more polished and sophisticated, even if just in relative terms, should come as no surprise – even from their first release it was inevitable, less a question of “if” than “when” and “how”. But with regards to judgement, as solid as Blood Pressures is – tunes like “Nail In My Coffin” and “Baby Says” are as solid additions to The Kills canon as anything they’ve done – but as a whole it doesn’t have the sense of reckless, unhinged fun that made its predecessor such a treat. It’s wholly on target as a satisfying Kills record but confirms that Midnight Boom was the bullseye.

Spinner and Clash talk to The Kills about their new record while Yours Truly solicits an acoustic video session… geoblocked. What the hell, people. They’re at The Sound Academy on May 1 and courtesy of Domino Records, I’ve got a prize pack consisting of a pair of passes to the show and a copy of Blood Pressures on LP to give away. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to Kills” in the subject line and your full name and mailing address in the body. Contest closes at midnight, April 25.

MP3: The Kills – “DNA”
Video: The Kills – “Satellite

The Guardian talks to Faris Badwan about his Cat’s Eyes project and their self-titled debut which is due out next week.

Video: Cat’s Eyes – “Face In The Crowd”
Video: Cat’s Eyes – “Cat’s Eyes”

The Boston Globe and Under The Radar talk to The Raveonettes.

Arctic Monkeys have a new video from the forthcoming Suck It And See. The album is out June 6 and they’re at The Kool Haus on May 21.

Video: Arctic Monkeys – “Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair”

Glasvegas guitarist Rab Allan talks to Billboard and RTE about new album Euphoric Heartbreak, out now in Canada but not until May 17 in the US. They play Lee’s Palace on May 29.

The Vinyl District interviews Eddie Argos of Art Brut about their new record Brilliant! Tragic!, out May 23. They’ve also released a video from said album and play The Mod Club on June 17.

Video: Art Brut – “Lost Weekend”

Oh look, a new Beady Eye video. They’re at The Sound Academy on June 20.

Video: Beady Eye – “Millionaire”

Filter continues Suede week by talking to some of the band’s producers and getting some discography commentary from Brett Anderson and Mat Osman as well as a two–part interview with the founding members. BBC America also talks to Brett Anderson.

Yours Truly has a video session from and The Arty Semite, Georgia Straight, The OC Weekly and San Diego City Beat have interviews with Yuck. They’re at The Phoenix on May 1.

Esben & The Witch have a new video from Violet Cries.

Video: Esben & The Witch – “Chorea”

Been wondering what happened to guitarist Nick McCabe and bassist Simon Jones since The Verve broke up for the millionth time? The Quietus has your answer – The Black Ships.

Ed O’Brien disappoints a legion of Radiohead-spotters by telling BBC that there will not be another album coming from the King Of Limbs sessions. There will, however, be a North American release for the “Supercollider”/”The Butcher” 12″ that they put out for Record Store Day in the UK – Exclaim reports that it’ll be out on June 14 and you can stream both sides right now at some dude’s Soundcloud.

Spin talks to PJ Harvey, who has another video to show off.

Video: PJ Harvey – “On Battleship Hill”

Drowned In Sound talks to Kate Nash about her record label and music education for girls endeavours.

Emmy The Great introduces and performs a new song inspired by the Royal Wedding for The Guardian. The song doesn’t appear on Virtue, due out June 13, but you can download one that does at RCRDLBL while Drowned In Sound has the artwork and tracklisting up. Emmy’s website has also relaunched and yes, I did check the cost of flights to New York on seeing she’s playing Pianos on May 5 (too much).

MusicOmh chats with Jeremy Warmsley and Elizabeth Sankey of Summer Camp.

Artrocker talks to Alan McGee, founder of Creation Records.