Frank YangThat La Roux appears to be the leader in the “2009 British female indie-pop derby” is surprising to me. Not necessarily because their self-titled debut is sub-par, though I do find it a rather samey and thin-sounding overall though more ’80s-correct, but because I felt that Little Boots and Florence & The Machine, to name a couple of other contenders for the title, were not only more accessible and/or marketable, but simply put out stronger records.

If you want to rate them based on the size of the gigs they’re playing in North America, however, the duo of Elly Jackson and Ben Langmaid win. In Toronto, Little Boots drew decently to Wrongbar for her debut appearance and Florence should have no problem filling the Mod Club, but La Roux are already back for their third show in less than seven months with an appearance at The Guvernment next Friday night, October 23. I caught them at their first appearance at the Drake Underground back in April and they weren’t the most riveting live act, Jackson’s hair aside, but with so much steady touring in the interim I can only imagine they’ve gotten better. Or hope so, at least.

Toronto’s own electro-pop sensation Diamond Rings will open things up at the Guvernment. Tickets are $20 in advance but courtesy of Rootmeansquare, 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 La Roux” in the subject line and your full name in the body, and get that in to me before midnight, October 21.

There’s interviews with Elly Jackson at MTV.com

MP3: La Roux – “Quicksand” (Joe & Will Ask remix)
Video: La Roux – “I’m Not Your Toy”
Video: La Roux – “Bulletproof”
Video: La Roux – “Quicksand”
Video: La Roux – “In For The Kill”

Kelly DavidsonWhile another hugely influential ’80s Boston-bred band that many thought would never return to active duty may get more attention, Mission Of Burma have been much more productive in their second tour of duty, managing to tend to their legacy with proper reissues of Vs and Signals, Calls & Marches while adding to it with three impeccable albums in the past five years, the latest being The Sound, The Speed, The Light, released last week.

Like their other 21st-century releases ONoffON and The Obliterati, Sound is a collection of bludgeoning post-punk, all strangled vocals and razor-sharp guitar riffs on top of tunes that are just melodic enough to keep the pop-attuned such as myself interested, but angular enough to keep the listener off-balance and a bit uncomfortable. It’s really remarkable that after all this time, Mission Of Burma are still crafting records that can not only stand tall alongside those 25-year old classics but still sound utterly fresh and unlike anything else out there.

Blurt has an interview with basssit Clint Conley and Matablog notes that the city of Boston officially declared last Sunday “Mission Of Burma Day”. There was a proclamation and everything.

And because sometimes people forget they send me stuff and send it again, courtesy of Matador, I have an extra copy of The Sound, The Speed, The Light on CD to give away. If you want it, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want Mission Of Burma” in the subject line and your full mailing address in the body. Contest is open to anyone, anywhere, and closes in a week at midnight, October 23.

MP3: Mission Of Burma – “1, 2, 3, Partyy!”
Video: Mission Of Burma – “1, 2, 3, Partyy!”

Le Blogotheque has a Take-Away Show with White Rabbits, who have a date at the Horseshoe next Saturday night, October 24.

Spinner and The Santa Barbara Independent chat with Thao about her new record Know Better Learn Faster, from which a new video has just been premiered at Stereogum. Thao is currently on tour in support of the record and will be at the El Mocambo in Toronto on November 1. If you’re at any of the tour dates, and you should be, you’ll likely see a table from Oxfam there – Thao explains why.

Video: Thao with the Get Down Stay Down – “When We Swam”

Paste gets to know Volcano Choir, whose principal Justin Vernon just put his last project Bon Iver on hiatus. But you can stream or download their last show for the foreseeable future at Radio Milwaukee.

NPR is streaming a session with Wye Oak.

The Georgia Straight and Examiner.com talk to A Place To Bury Strangers’ Oliver Ackerman. Their new album Exploding Head is out now and they’re at the Mod Club on October 27.

BlogTO, The AV Club, Vue and Uptown have interviews with Amy Millan.

NOW has a feature piece on Two Hours Traffic, who play an in-store at Soundscapes tonight at 5PM in advance of their proper show at Lee’s Palace.

aux.tv has debuted the new video from The Dears, but settle in – it’s a long one.

Video: The Dears – “Saviour (Then Disclaimer)”

They Shoot Music has posted a video session with Pink Mountaintops.

Holy Fuck have been added as support for Phoenix at the Sound Academy on December 5. Is that enough to persuade y’all to go down to the Sound Academy? Didn’t think so.

Paste‘s list of the 15 best TV shows canceled before their time basically reads like a litany of my favourite shows of the past decade or so. It’s official, I am the television kiss of death. Look out, Bored To Death – you’re on notice.

Eric MartinIt’s hard to imagine that an outfit as musically diverse as TV On The Radio wouldn’t allow one to fully express oneself musically, but Kyp Malone – also known as the mightiest ‘fro/beard/’fro-and-beard in Brooklyn has still opted to strike out on his own whilst TVOTR is on a break as Rain Machine.

Malone wrote and played most every note on the Rain Machine’s self-titled debut and while it will sound immediately familiar to fans of TVOTR – there’s no disguising Malone’s distinctive voice – the styles and textures invoked still bring something new to the table. And it gives him an excuse to tour – Malone will bring Rain Machine to Lee’s Palace in Toronto on October 19. Tickets are $15 in advance but courtesy of Rootmeansquare, 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 Rain Machine” in the subject line and your full name in the body and get that to me before midnight, October 15.

There’s interviews with Malone about going solo at The Skinny, The Fader and Red & Black.

MP3: Rain Machine – “Give Blood”
MP3: Rain Machine – “Smiling Black Faces”

KillbeatIt’s like a battle of east meets west, with central-southeast-ish (or simply the centre of the universe, if you will) as the battleground. Representing the west coast, wry roots-rocker and 2009 Verge XM artist of the year, Dan Mangan from Vancouver and his new album Nice, Nice, Very Nice. From the east, PEI power-poppers extraordinaire and 2008 Polaris Prize shortlisters, Two Hours Traffic and their latest record Territory. Their battleground? The record stores and clubs of Toronto, the night of October 16.