Kate MorossIn all honesty, I intended to write up Jessie Ware’s debut Devotion today whether or not it took the Mercury Prize last night or not – it went, as expected, to the heavily-favoured and bewilderingly dull Alt-J – I don’t need the validation of a shadowy cabal of British music industry types to tell me what the best British (or Irish) album of the past year is. Not to say that I’m bestowing that title on Devotion myself, but with each successive listen, it certainly makes a stronger case for itself.

Initially, the temptation is to classify her as a soul singer and indeed, her voice is a rich, emotive instrument with the perfect balance of breathy, brassy, and husky and if Ware had opted to follow a more traditional or throwback path, accolades would still surely be coming her way. But instead, the production on Devotion – courtesy of Dave Okumu of The Invisible – bounces from electronic, sample-happy beats (fitting, since she first attracted attention via her guest vocals on a SBTRKT song) to slick conventional band arrangements to inventive intersections of the two, generally refusing to hew to any specific musical dogma and emerging all the better for it.

And yet for all the musical ear candy permeating Devotion, it’s Ware’s songs and vocals that make it a remarkable record. It yearns and aches where it should without ever getting overwrought. Where lesser songwriters would turn to vocal tricks to grab the listener’s attention, Ware offers up gorgeous melodies, emotive lyrics, and rock-solid hooks. It’s a record that immediately announces itself as noteworthy, yet thanks to its smouldering pace, takes its time to reveal itself and grows stronger and more impressive each time out. It may not have won the Mercury, but Devotion is a stunning, can’t-lose debut.

Devotion has yet to receive a North American release, but that’s coming in 2013. She’s signed a deal with Cherrytree that will first yield a sampler EP in 110% by December to be followed by a brief US tour in the new year. Presumably more extensive touring will follow the proper release of the record, or at least it better.

The Telegraph and Grazia have interviews with Ware.

Video: Jessie Ware – “Night Light”
Video: Jessie Ware – “Wildest Moments”
Video: Jessie Ware – “110%”
Video: Jessie Ware – “Running”

Kate Nash loves her some Hallowe’en. Not only did she release a spooky-themed video for a song that will appear on an upcoming EP – you can also download it from her website in exchange for an e-mail – she also teamed up with Emmy The Great for a Buffy-themed Hallowe’en party wherein they recreated the musical episode, “Once More With Feeling”, on stage, though trainspotters may point out that Emmy is dressed as Willow and Willow didn’t really participate in the musical episode because Alyson Hannigan can’t sing worth a lick… But I digress. You can watch videos from the show at Bleeding Cool. And I won’t lie – I would buy a recording of this show.

Video: Kate Nash – “Fri-End?”

Polly Scattergood is putting the finishing touches on her promising and intermittently inspired 2009 self-titled debut and has made a track from it available to stream. The album, still untitled, is due out next Spring.

Stream: Polly Scattergood – “Disco Damaged Kid”

Charli XCX is streaming a new song taken from her new Super Ultra mixtape that’s scheduled to become available next Wednesday.

Stream: Charli XCX featuring Brooke Candy – “Cloud Aura”

NPR and Stereogum have interviews with Beth Orton.

Exclaim interviews Natasha Khan of Bat For Lashes.

Billboard talks to Pete Wiggs and Bob Stanley of Saint Etienne about undertaking their first North American tour in a decade without a label behind them. The San Francisco Examiner, meanwhile, talks to Sarah Cracknell.

The Line Of Best Fit report that Brighton’s Esben & The Witch will release their second album – Wash The Sins Not Only The Face – on January 21. A first taste is available to stream now.

Stream: Esben & The Witch – “Deathwaltz”

Allo Darlin’ have compiled a bunch of covers – all wonderful, like the Darren Hayman/The French track below – on a limited edition 10″ they’ve called Covers. It’s out November 28.

Stream: Allo Darlin’ – “Wu Tang Clan”

Japan Times talks to Guy Connelly of Clock Opera.

Jason Pierce of Spiritualized chats with Drowned In Sound and The Yorkshire Evening Post.

The Quietus and The Independent talk to Nicky Wire about the 20th anniversary of Manic Street Preachers’ debut Generation Terrorists, the mandatory deluxe edition of which is out on Monday.

Exclaim has collected some information on Johnny Marr’s first proper solo record – apparently we’re not counting when he fronted the disappointingly bland Healers – which will be called The Messenger and be due out in or around February.

FacebookThe last time that Evening Hymns graced a Toronto stage, it was back in August as part of the Summerworks festival and came a few days before the official release of their gorgeously heavy second album Spectral Dusk. After that show, which featured a band and lightshow specially assembled for that performance, Jonas Bonnetta and Sylvie Smith – the Evening Hymns principals – jetted across the ocean to tour the record across Europe with friends and album collaborators The Wooden Sky, only returning a couple weeks ago only to set out on a coast-to-coast, cross-Canada tour last week which will keep them working the Trans-Canada Highway until the end of November.

And then they’ll come home.

The band have just announced a tour-ending, hometown performance for December 15 at the Church Of The Redeemer in Toronto, a room that doesn’t frequently host live music but sounds marvelous when it does. It’s hard to think of a more appropriate locale to bookend what has surely been a physically and emotionally draining Autumn for Bonnetta. And to coincide with the Canadian tour and show announcement, CBC Music has made a recording of that August show at The Great Hall available to stream. And yep, it’s as beautiful as I remember it.

MP3: Evening Hymns – “Arrows”
Video: Evening Hymns – “Family Tree”

Also just announced and perhaps of interest – Gentleman Reg will release his third Leisure Life EP of the Fall digitally on November 6, with the collected physical edition coming not long after on November 20 and a hometown release show taking place at The Gladstone on December 2. Details at Exclaim, and all three are available to stream

Stream: Gentleman Reg / Leisure Life Part One
Stream: Gentleman Reg / Leisure Life Part Two
Stream: Gentleman Reg / Leisure Life Part Three

Cold Specks has been added as support for Conor Oberst at Massey Hall on December 8. Remaining tickets range from $39.50 to $69.50.

Video: Cold Specks – “Winter Solstice”

Since they’ll be all rehearsed up for their European tour in November as part of Constellation Records’ 15th anniversary, Do Make Say Think have slated a hometown show for The Opera House on December 7, tickets $15 in advance.

MP3: Do Make Say Think – “The Landlord Is Dead”

Beatroute talks quickly to Plants & Animals, in town at The Great Hall on November 15.

Interview, The Ottawa Citizen, The Grid, and Durham Region talk to John O’Regan of Diamond Rings, bringing his Free Dimensional tour through Toronto to The Mod Club on November 29.

The Broken Speaker talks to The Wooden Sky, playing a tour-ending, homecoming show of their own at The Phoenix on December 1.

Drowned In Sound chats with Japandroids, hitting The Phoenix on December 12.

The Balconies have squeezed a new video out of their now-three-year-old-and-counting self-titled debut. Why yes, that is a passive-aggressive nudge for a new record, how good of you to notice. At least the video is seasonally-themed.

Video: The Balconies – “Do It In The Dark”

The Line Of Best Fit interviews Snowblink.

Spin and The Calgary Herald profile METZ.

The AV Club has a Blogotheque-produced video session with A.C. Newman, guest-starring one Neko Case. They sound great together – they should make a record or something.

NOW talked to The Wilderness Of Manitoba before last week’s record release show at Trinity-St. Paul’s.

Beatroute and Queen’s Journal chat with The Rural Alberta Advantage.

Arno FrugierUsually when a band says, “we’ll see you soon” as they walk off the stage, it’s a mostly-empty platitude that means “we’ll see you when we’ve got a new record to push”, or “we’ll see you when our next single becomes a huge hit and allows us to come back and play a much bigger room”. For New York rock stalwarts The Walkmen and Los Angeles psych-folk bard Father John Misty, though, at least lately, it’s been an ironclad promise.

The Walkmen were here twice already this year – once in March at The Phoenix as part of their 10th anniversary celebrations, and again in August at the Molson Amphitheatre supporting both Florence & The Machine and their latest album Heaven – and Father John Misty has one-upped them, making his local debut at The Horseshoe in May, opening up for Youth Lagoon at The Opera House in July, and then returning again to headline Lee’s Palace just this past weekend, all in support of his debut Fear Fun. Which is great news for their fans if a bit hard on their fans’ pocketbooks.

But if you reside in that section of their fanbase Venn diagrams that intersect, the fact that they’re teaming up for a Winter tour should be an exciting one. It will bring them to The Danforth Music Hall on January 16 with ticket prices ranging from $33.50 to $45.50, which isn’t the cheapest, but when you consider the two-for-one value proposition, it’s a pretty good deal.

Le Blogotheque has a couple videos from The Walkmen’s 10th anniversary show in New York this Summer. Bullett, The Chicago Tribune, and The Phoenix have interviews with Josh Tillman of Father John Misty, who is continuing on his current tour.

MP3: The Walkmen – “Love Is Luck”
MP3: The Walkmen – “Line By Line”
MP3: Father John Misty – “Nancy From Now On”
MP3: Father John Misty – “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings”

Grantland goes behind the scenes of the first video from Titus Andronicus’ Local Business. That record brings them to Lee’s Palace on November 27 and provides context for this interview at The Guardian

Video: Titus Andronicus – “In A Big City”

NPR has a World Cafe session with Band Of Horses, hitting Massey Hall on December 5.

Pitchfork has details on the solo debut from Christopher Owens, former frontman for Girls. Lysandre will be out on January 14 and a couple songs from it are available to stream.

Stream: Christopher Owens – “Lysandre’s Theme / Here We Go”

The first preview track from Local Natives’ new record Hummingbird, due out January 29, is now available to download. They’re at The Opera House on March 28.

MP3: Local Natives – “Breakers”

Though busy for the last while as being part of Thao & Mirah, Thao Nguyen has gotten back together with The Get Down Stay Down – though grammar geeks will find it interesting they’re now credited as “and” instead of “with” – and will release a new album in We The Common on February 5. Stream the first track below.

Stream: Thao & The Get Down Stay Down – “Holy Roller”

Under The Radar points out that Telekinesis has, for shits and giggles, made a new Hallowe’en-themed song available to download.

MP3: Telekinesis – “Clock Strikes Midnight”

Loud & Quiet and The Huffington Post talk to John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats.

Paul Banks talks to Exclaim and Northern Transmissions about and offers Drowned In Sound a track-by-track guide to Banks.

The Shins’ contribution to the now-available Starbucks holiday comp Holidays Rule – a Paul McCartney cover – is now available to stream in whole thanks to Stereogum, and if that’s not enough Shins for you, the whole of their Austin City Limits episode is available to watch. And if that’s still not enough, well I can’t help you.

Stream: The Shins – “Wonderful Christmas Time”

aux.tv talks to Lou Barlow about keeping the balance between Dinosaur Jr, Sebadoh, and all that other stuff he does.

Mojo interviews Bob Mould.

Patrick JeffordsIt’s still October, but for all intents and purposes, 2012 is over. How so? Not only is every new album being announced slated to come out in the new year, but pretty much every tour announcement as well. Still hoping that December dance card was going to fill up? Maybe get a jump on your Christmas shopping instead.

But at least you have something to look forward to, including the third album from South Carolinan electronic pop – let’s not call it electro-pop – artist Chaz Bundick, aka Toro Y Moi. Entitled Anything In Return, the follow-up to 2011’s Underneath The Pine will be out on January 22 and will be accompanied a week later by a month-long North American tour that takes him right around the continent, including a February 17 date at Lee’s Palace in Toronto, tickets for which will run you $20. Pitchfork has the full itinerary and the first track from the new record is available to download.

MP3: Toro Y Moi – “So Many Details”

Also coming out on January 22 is the third album from Syracuse, New York’s finest (and only?) indie rock ensemble Ra Ra Riot. It’s called Beta Love and is their first since the departure of cellist Alexandra Lawn, so it will be interesting to hear how that lineup change effects their sound. They’ve also got an extensive North American tour scheduled – with a slight detour to Japan – and will be at Lee’s Palace on March 6, tickets $18.50 in advance.

MP3: Ra Ra Riot – “Boy”

And while the official word on Local Natives’ second album and attendant tour came last week, the conspicuous lack of a Toronto date was addressed – as I predicted – this week, with the addition of a date at The Opera House on March 28. Tickets for that are $21.50.

MP3: Local Natives – “Sun Hands”

Sufjan Stevens has released a video from his Silver & Gold Christmas box set coming November 13, and while it is animated, it’s probably not for kids.

Video: Sufjan Stevens – “Mr. Frosty Man”

Wild Nothing have released a new video from their latest Nocturne that comes with a little celebrity flavour in the form of Michelle Williams. You know, that girl from Dawson’s Creek. No, the other one. Tangentially, you should all be watching Don’t Trust The B– In Apartment 23. Very tangentially.

Video: Wild Nothing – “Paradise”

A Place To Bury Strangers also have a new video taken from Worship.

Video: A Place To Bury Strangers – “And I’m Up”

And between giving interviews to The 405 and Drowned In Sound, Paul Banks has rolled out a new clip from his solo record Banks.

Video: Paul Banks – “Young Again”

Interview and Creative Loafing interview Josh Tillman of Father John Misty, hutting up Lee’s Palace this Saturday night, October 27.

Tobin Sprout talks to Rolling Stone about a new song available to stream from the third Guided By Voices album of 2012, The Bears For Lunch. It’s out November 13.

Stream: Guided By Voices – “She Lives In An Airport”

While no fan of this “deluxe edition” trend going on for current albums, at least Sharon Van Etten is offering some good value. Consequence Of Sound reports that the double-disc edition of Tramp, out November 13, will come with a bonus disc of demos of every song on the album. And, if you’ve already bought it – which you should have – the demos will be available on their own CD. And that, folks, is how you do deluxe. One of the extras – a song not on the finished album – has been made available to stream. We Love DC also has an interview.

Stream: Sharon Van Etten – “Tell Me” (demo)

The Awl and Exclaim hang out with Patrick Stickles of Titus Andronicus. They’re at Lee’s Palace on November 27.

Stereogum and Rolling Stone talk to Jason Lytle, rolling into Massey Hall on December 5 opening for Band Of Horses.

The Cincinatti Enquirer, Chicago Tribune, Time Out Chicago, and City Pages interview members of The Afghan Whigs.

Blurt, Chicago Tribune, and The Wall Street Journal interview Divine Fits.

In conversation with Spinner, Ben Gibbard says that a second Postal Service record isn’t going to happen anytime soon and probably not ever.

rheostatics.caIt was a pretty sweet get for Toronto’s Legendary Horseshoe Tavern to enlist Joel Plaskett for five nights of shows from December 12 to 16 to mark its 65th birthday, but they weren’t done. Canadian art-pop icons Rheostatics, who formally disbanded after eleven studio albums, four live albums, and a farewell show at Massey Hall in 2007, are getting back together for two nights at The ‘Shoe on December 5 and 6.

It’s not quite the record-setting twelve shows in twelve nights “Fall Nationals” concert series they held at the venue for four years straight starting in 2001, but it’s an absolutely fitting way to wish the fabled room a “happy birthday”. They’ve gotten together once before since splitting, to salute friend and author Paul Quarrington in 2009, but that was a one-off and the promise of new material from Martin Tielli, Dave Bidini, Tim Vesely, and Dave Clark at this show implies that despite each of them having no shortage of other projects to concentrate on, this reunion might have some legs. But for now, these two nights are a certainty. Tickets are $29.50 in advance and go on sale this Thursday at 10AM at the usual outlets.

And so we’re clear: The Horseshoe is not retiring, being retired, pining for the fjords, or anything of the sort. Just some alliterative fun on my part. It will outlive us all.

Video: Rheostatics – “The Tarleks”
Video: Rheostatics – “PIN”
Video: Rheostatics – “A Bad Time To Be Poor”
Video: Rheostatics – “Claire”
Video: Rheostatics – “Shaved Head”
Video: Rheostatics – “Record Body Count”
Video: Rheostatics – “Aliens (Christmas 1988)”
Video: Rheostatics – “The Ballad Of Wendel Clark, Parts I and II””

Diamond Rings celebrates the release day for Free Expression – that’s today – with a new video and profile pieces at CBC Music and The National Post. He plays The Mod Club on November 29.

Video: Diamond Rings – “Runaway Love”

Dorkshelf interviews Daniela Gesundheit of Snowblink, who are opening up for Saint Etienne at The Opera House tomorrow night.

Spinner talks to Dan Mangan about the What Happens Next mini-documentary about the artist, who plays The Danforth Music Hall on October 25. The doc aired on CBC this past weekend; and is now available to watch online.

Video: What Happens Next: The Dan Mangan Documentary

Also of appeal to those who grew up on the Can-rock of the ’90s; CBC Music gets Matt Murphy of The Super Friendz to list off his five favourite albums of the past 20 years while The Coast gets Charles Austin to reminisce about the good old days. The reunited Haligonians hit Lee’s Palace on November 16.

Rolling Stone has premiered a new video from Stars, taken from The North. They’re at The Air Canada Centre on November 24 supporting Metric.

Video: Stars – “Backlines”

Canada.com has an interview with and CBC Music has a new video from Jenn Grant. She brings her latest The Beautiful Wild to The Winter Garden Theatre on November 24.

Video: Jenn Grant – “The Fighter”

Interview and NJ.com talk to A.C. Newman.

Kathleen Edwards talks to Exclaim and CBC Music about winning this year’s ECHO songwriting prize for her song, “A Soft Place To Land”. She also tells Exclaim about a new, all-female, all-star, all-sexy, Can-indie band she’s forming called Modern Beaver. She’s probably not serious but she has had the Twitter handle since last year and if it’s on Twitter, it has to be true. I read that on Twitter.

The Stool Pigeon talks to Dan Snaith about his Daphni project.