Aylin Güngör DedeogluReally, I’ve only myself to blame. Upon hearing The Radio Dept. and the deliciously forlorn and fuzz pop of their 2003 debut Lesser Matters, I did what any good music obsessive would do after hearing what would become one of their favourite bands of the century (so far) and scoured the eBay for any and all of their releases. In their case this amounted to a number of singles and EPs which offered a good amount of non-album tracks – most as wonderful as the songs that did make the long-players – to pad out the collection.

So when it was announced that the band would follow their breakout third album, 2010’s Clinging To A Scheme with a double-compilation of rarities, one couldn’t help but hope that meant that a heretofore untapped vault of musical goodness would be let loose onto the world, a sort of reward for the faithful who’d evangelized the band for years until the rest of the world caught on. This, of course, was bunk. Passive Aggressive: Singles 2002-2010 is exactly what the title implies – a collection of the band’s singles over the course of their existence arranged chronologically with a the second disc collecting b-sides and compilation tracks from over that same time period. In other words, mostly everything I’d already bought.

But as I said, that’s my own fault; for everyone else, Passive Aggressive is pretty much essential. There are no deep cuts from their three records, only the singles – and just one song from the sublime second record Pet Grief – so for newcomers to the band using the collection as an introduction, the incentive to buy those studio records remains and for those who’ve already made their acquaintance but not gone all trainspotting on their back catalog, there’s over 20 tracks that are likely to be new to their ears. Pretty much the definition of win-win. And any way you come at it, the set is a testament to just how superb, consistent and unique the band has been over the course of their career, filtering the confluence of synth-pop, shoegaze, and C86 tweeness through a distinctly Swedish melancholy for irresistible results.

So while Passive Aggressive doesn’t provide me hours of new Radio Dept. listening, it does save me the trouble of swapping out all those CDEPs and most importantly, remind me in the most enjoyable way possible what an amazing band they are. And there’s nothing disappointing about that.

Spinner talks to Martin Carlberg about the band’s vault of unreleased songs – which clearly DOES exist – although there’s no plans to mine it for release anytime soon. The band’s North American tour kicks off tonight in Washington DC and hits Toronto on February 7. Tickets for the show are $12.50 in advance but courtesy of The Musebox, I’ve got a grand prize to consisting of a pair of passes to the show and a copy of Passive Aggressive on CD to give away and a second prize of just the CD. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to join The Radio Dept” in the subject line and your full name and mailing address in the body. If you’re in the Toronto area and want to be eligible for the passes and CD, say so and if you’re just a resident of Canada looking for the CD, say that as well. Contest closes at midnight, February 3.

MP3: The Radio Dept. – “The One”
MP3: The Radio Dept. – “The New Improved Hypocrisy”
MP3: The Radio Dept. – “Freddie & The Trojan Horse”

The artist anointed by the BBC as “The Sound of 2010” – Ellie Goulding – will be releasing her debut album Lights Stateside on March 8 and follow it up with dates that include a March 27 stop at The Great Hall in Toronto. Tickets for that are $17.50 in advance.

Video: Ellie Goulding – “Starry Eyed”

The Raveonettes have slated a Spring tour in support of their fifth album Raven In The Grave, which according to this interview with Sune Rose Wagner at The San Francisco Examiner is due out on March 22. The itinerary includes an April 2 date at The Phoenix, tickets for which are $20, and there are still plans to release a compilation of b-sides and rarities at some point this year.

MP3: The Raveonettes – “Last Dance”

The Black Angels return for an April 14 date at Lee’s Palace, tickets $18.50, as part of a tour in support of last year’s Phosphene Dream. Montreal’s Suuns will support.

MP3: The Black Angels – “Telephone Blues”
MP3: Suuns – “Up Past The Nursery”

Pixies have added a second Doolittle show at Massey Hall for April 19. Tickets $44.50 and $64.50 in advance.

Video: Pixies – “Monkey Gone To Heaven”

Fleet Foxes have announced their second album Helplessness Blues will be out on May 3 and the title track is available to download.

MP3: Fleet Foxes – “Helplessness Blues”

Vivian Girls’ new record Share The Joy has been given an April 12 release date, just days before they hit The Phoenix with The Black Lips on April 16. Pitchfork has details and the first MP3 is up for grabs.

MP3: Vivian Girls – “I Heard You Say”

NPR is streaming Bright Eyes’ new album The People’s Key in advance of its February 15 release and Spinner has got an MP3 available to download in exchange for your email. Bright Eyes plays The Sound Academy on March 13.

Stream: Bright Eyes / The People’s Key

Also streaming at NPR and out February 15 is 12 Desperate Straight Lines, the new album from Telekinesis. They play The Horseshoe on March 6 and Pepper Rabbit appear to have replaced The Love Language as support.

Stream: Telekinesis / 12 Desperate Straight Lines

Christopher NelsonWho: The Moondoggies
What: More harmony-laden rootsiness from the Pacific northwest, but with more rock of the classic variety in their souls than their peers. And soul.
Why: Their second album Tidelands was released in the later part of 2010 and they’re now on the road to support it.
When: Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Where: The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto
Who else: Portland – or should that be Portlandia – outfit Quiet Life is accompanying them on this tour.
How: Tickets for the show are $10 in advance but courtesy of Collective Concerts, I’ve got six pairs of passes to give away for the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see The Moondoggies” in the subject line and your full name in the body and get that in to me before the end of January 2011.
What else: Express Night Out and SF Weekly have features on the band and their live shows are available to download at Archive.org.

MP3: The Moondoggies – “It’s A Shame, It’s a Pity”
MP3: The Moondoggies – “What Took So Long”
MP3: The Moondoggies – “Changing”
MP3: The Moondoggies – “Fly Mama Fly”
Video: The Moondoggies – “Empress Of The North”

jayhawksofficial.comWho: The Jayhawks
What: Legendary Minneapolis-based alt.country forebears
Why: Following a career with no shortage of identity issues – are they The Jayhawks without Mark Olson? Are Mark Olson & Gary Louris together The Jayhawks even if they won’t call themselves The Jayhawks? – the generally-acknowledged classic lineup responsible for Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow The Green Grass is finally back together and touring – just in time for the remastered reissues of those two records on January 18.
When: January 18, 2011
Where: The Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto (19+)
Who else: Toronto singer-songwriter Kirsten Jones supports.
How: Tickets for the show are $29.50 in advance but courtesy of Collective Concerts, 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 The Jayhawks” in the subject line with your full name in the body, and have that in to me before midnight, January 13.
What else: Gary Louris and Mark Olson talk to The Minneapolis Star-Tribune on the status of the new Jayhawks record (of course there’s a new Jayhawks record), currently being mixed and to be released later this year.

Video: The Jayhawks – “Blue”
Video: The Jayhawks – “Waiting For The Sun”
Video: The Jayhawks – “Settled Down Like Rain”

Olle KirchmeierFor a band whose name implies durability and solidity, Sweden’s Concretes have had a remarkably fluid existence. Their 2005 self-titled debut introduced them as adorably introverted Motown revivalists while the follow-up In Colour took its title to heart, broadening their palette to include bigger pop arrangements.

It all went off the rails shortly thereafter, however, as the band had their gear stolen somewhere in the American midwest and then had to cancel the remainder of their tour after lead singer Victoria Bergsman fell ill with exhaustion. Her convalescence would become a permanent departure and though she would eventually returning to music as the critically-acclaimed, folk-oriented Taken By Trees, her former bandmates were left to figure out what would become of The Concretes.

The decision was made to carry on with drummer Lisa Milberg, who had taken a couple of lead vocal turns on In Colour, stepping out from behind the kit to assume the frontwoman role full time. I didn’t hear all of their next record Hey Trouble as it wasn’t released in North America, but the couple samples I did hear were underwhelming and I got the impression that, once again, the title was quite fitting with the band documenting the growing pains of their search for a new identity to tape. But now having heard their latest effort WYWH, I’d like to give Trouble a listen if just to fill in some of the blanks of how they got to where they are now – and from the sounds of it, it’s a smoky after-hours dance club.

WYWH – as in “wish you were here” – cultivates a dark, groove-based sullen disco vibe that suits Milberg’s wounded and worn vocals perfectly. It’s not a persona I’d have expected from her given her ebullient turn on In Colour‘s “Song For The Songs”, but it’s the perfect protagonist for haunting these songs. While the singles “All Day” and “Good Evening” emphasize the pulsing, dancier side of the record, it’s in the gentler moments like “Sing For Me” that the record’s heart really beats. I’m sure that many wrote off The Concretes when Bergsman left and yes, it may have taken them a record to find their footing, but they’ve more than successfully reinvented themselves with melodicism intact and plenty of new tricks to offer.

The Concretes kick off their first North American tour since their ill-fated one almost five years ago in a couple of weeks, and will be stopping in at the Horseshoe in Toronto on January 17. Tickets for the show are $15 in advance but courtesy of Collective Concerts, 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 The Concretes” in the subject line and your full name in the body, and have that in to me before midnight, January 12.

MP3: The Concretes – “All Day”
MP3: The Concretes – “Good Evening”
Video: The Concretes – “All Day”

Remember when music videos for songs from soundtracks were montages of clips from the film? Sometimes with footage of the artist acting as though they were also in the film interspliced? Well it’s only the former and none of the latter in this clip for Jonsi’s contribution to the soundtrack for last year’s How To Train Your Dragon feature, which is too bad because the world could use a CGI-ed Jonsi.

Video: Jonsi – “Sticks & Stones”

This Is Ellie, aka blog of RTHK Radio 3 in Hong Kong DJ Ellie Davis, has an audio interview with Emmy The Great, wherein she reveals that her second album might not be ready in time for February as originally intended, that the record will almost certainly be called Virtue and also offers an in-studio performance of a new song. And that was one mighty run-on sentence.

2010 buzz band become 2011 buzz band Cults have made a date at The Horseshoe for April 4, where they will preview material from their debut album due out in May. Which hopefully means they’ll have more decent material to offer than when they were here last August. Full dates at Death & Taxes.

MP3: Cults – “Go Outside”
MP3: Cults – “Most Wanted”

Toro Y Moi has skedded dates in support of his second album Underneath The Pine, due out February 22. Exclaim has the full North American itinerary, which includes a stop at Wrongbar on April 7.

MP3: Toro Y Moi – “Still Sound”
MP3: Toro Y Moi – “Blessa”

Cameron WittingIt doesn’t seem like much of a selling point to be the drummer in the band that’s generally held to be a pseudonym for the songwriter and frontman. But for Sean Carey, who works under the name of S. Carey, the Bon Iver connection is much more than a marketing angle.

While Carey’s debut solo effort All We Grow wasn’t recorded in solitude, ensconced in a rural Wisconsin cabin – it was assembled piecemeal over time between tours – it taps into a similar emotional wellspring as For Emma, Forever Ago. Built on layers of Carey’s gentle vocals and wrapped in gently insistent piano motifs, stark yet complex percussion and raw guitar work, All We Grow is hypnotic, meditative and suffused with a serene sort of longing. It’s the sort of record that could simultaneously lull you to sleep while reminding you of an unshakeable ache in your heart.

Many found For Emma an unbearably beautiful record – I wasn’t one of them. I liked it and certainly understood what people found so emotionally resonant about it, but it didn’t strike that chord in me like it did others. All We Grow, on the other hand, hits much closer to the mark. If Justin Vernon makes the next Bon Iver record into more of a band-crafted affair and Carey can contribute some of the depth that he’s infused his own work with, the results could be devastating.

The Daily Iowan talks to Sean Carey, who is currently on tour and will be at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto this Sunday, December 19. Tickets for the show are $11.50 in advance but courtesy of Collective Concerts, 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 S Carey” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest closes at midnight, December 16.

MP3: S. Carey – “In The Dirt”
MP3: S. Carey – “In The Stream”
Myspace: S.Carey

Mark Kozelek finally returns to Toronto – he cancelled his last scheduled visit in June of 2008. This time, he’s scheduled to play Lee’s Palace on March 22 as part of a solo tour supporting Sun Kil Moon’s latest Admiral Fell Promises.

Le Tigre spinoff MEN have assembled a North American tour in support of their next record Talk About Body, due out February 1. Look for them at Wrongbar in Toronto on March 21.

The Los Angeles Times finds out just how close Warpaint came to calling it quits before breaking out with their debut The Fool.

The Daily Yomiuri chats with Owen Pallett and eye gets some insight into the scoring of the New York Times’ “14 Actors Acting” videos that made the rounds last week.

Prefix talks to drummer Arlen Thompson of Wolf Parade.

OMG Blog has an interview with Liz Phair.

Stereogum gets a status report on the next Death Cab For Cutie record, which will carry the name Codes And Keys and be due out in the Spring of next year.

Not content to be known for records, rock operas and possibly plays, Colin Meloy of The Decemberists talks to Spinner about his literary ambitions – his novel Wildwood is currently in the editing stage. The new Decemberists record The King Is Dead is out on January 18 and they’ll be at The Sound Academy on February 1.

Pitchfork talks to Belle & Sebastian leader Stuart Murdoch about his upcoming book/memoir The Celestial Cafe, due out in early 2011.

James Allan of Glasvegas talks to NME about their old drummer’s departure, their new drummer’s arrival and their second album, which is targeted for a late 2011 release.

There was some disappointment when it was revealed that The Radio Dept.’s forthcoming Passive Aggressive compilation wouldn’t be a total rarity treasure trove as originally hoped, but a mix of singles and b-sides that would be of limited value to people who’d collected the band’s one-offs over the years. That disappointment has been allayed some with the announcement that the collection will be released on double vinyl in an edition limited to 2000 pieces and available for pre-order exclusively from Insound. I will leave you all to claim the other 1999 yourselves. The set is out January 25 and they play Lee’s Palace on February 7. And they have a new video.

Video: The Radio Dept. – “Never Follow Suit”

The Dø have put out a video from their new EP Dust It Off.

Video: The Dø – “Slippery Slope”

Spin hangs out with Grinderman during their North American tour.