Christopher WilsonBecause clearly I’m shit at this retirement or even just taking a day off thing… Some recent concert announcements with on-sales earlier than I’d have likely gotten to them otherwise. This is me. Thinking of you.

Band OF Horses were just here in August, yes, but that was in a sort of support role for My Morning Jacket and it was a good month before their new record Mirage Rock came out – today, I believe. And so to go with the new record are a batch of North American tour dates, including a stop back in Toronto at Massey Hall on December 5. Tickets for that are $42.50 to $49.50 and go on sale this Friday at 10AM. Presales are also likely, I leave those to you to sniff out.

There’s band features at Toro, Spotify, aux.tv, and Under The Radar. NPR also has a World Cafe session with the band.

Video: Band Of Horses – “Knock Knock”

Also back for seconds are The xx. They previewed Coexist here at the end of July, but are back as part of their full North American tour – as I predicted – with a show at Massey Hall on October 23. Tickets for that will range from $39.50 to $59.50 and go on sale this Thursday at 10AM. JAM has an interview with the band. Update: Beggars Canada has some presale info for Wednesday at 10AM.

MP3: The xx – “Angels”
MP3: The xx – “Sunset”

A little bit of an odd pairing, but a good one if you like guitars big and loud – The Gaslight Anthem and The Joy Formidable team up for a trans-Atlantic rock summit at The Sound Academy on November 25, tickets $26.50 general admission and $39.50 VIP, on sale Friday at 10. The Gaslight Anthem released Handwritten back in the Summer and The Joy Formidable are readying their second full-length Wolf’s Law for release next January.

MP3: The Joy Formidable – “Wolf’s Law”
Video: The Gaslight Anthem – “Handwritten”

Also offering a healthy amount of guitar pyrotechnics are Six Organs Of Admittance. They’re at The Drake on November 28 in support of their new record Ascent. Tickets are $13.50 in advance.

MP3: Six Organs Of Admittance – “Waswasa”

And while I’ve got you here, I may as well direct you to Rolling Stone where The Mountain Goats are streaming their new record Transcendental Youth ahead of its official release next week; Time also has a feature. They’re at The Phoenix on October 20.

MP3: The Mountain Goats – “Cry For Judas”
Stream: The Mountain Goats / Transcendental Youth

Wilco also have a new video, taken from The Whole Love. So watch that.

Video: Wilco – “Sunloathe”

Dum Dum Girls also have a new video, taken from their new EP End Of Daze, out today.

Video: Dum Dum Girls – “Lord Knows”

Ume have turned to Kickstarter to help record their next record.

Exclaim, Spinner, and The AV Club have features on The Afghan Whigs. They’re at The Phoenix on October 3.

Exclaim chats with Annie Clark of St. Vincent.

CBC Music talks to Josh Tillman of Father John Misty, in town at Lee’s Palace on October 27.

JAM and NOW talk to Dinosaur Jr, whose second of three nights at Lee’s Palace is tonight.

Exclaim, Austinist, NPR, and NOW profile Grizzly Bear, in town at Massey Hall tomorrow night.

Damnation.

PenguinThe 2012 Polaris Music Prize gets awarded tonight, so in honour of the occasion, here’s a bunch of maple-flavoured content led off by a Canadian icon who hasn’t lived in Canada in some 40-plus years. Yeah!

If you have some time to kill and an interest in who Neil Young is circa 2012, you could do worse than to spend it with this feature piece at The New York Times. It covers his current relationship with alcohol and drugs – there is none – as well as his new record with Crazy Horse, Psychedelic Pill, his new digital audio format Pono, and why he decided to write an autobiography after insisting that he never would. Those memoirs, Waging Heavy Peace, comes out tomorrow – September 25 – and Psychedelic Pill is due out a month later on October 30. Neil leads the band into the Air Canada Centre on November 19.

Following up with news blips from some shortlisters, both this year and past… Feist may be ramping down the touring in support of last year’s Metals, but she’s ramping up the session videos – there’s a Les soiree de poches set at Le Blogotheque and From The Basement

CBC Music talks to Yamantaka//Sonic Titan, who also have some new music to hear in the form of their soundtrack contributions to the Mark Of The Ninja video game. They play The Great Hall this Friday night for PBR10.

Stream: Yamantaka//Sonic Titan / Mark & Blade

Spinner talks to Kathleen Edwards about her Polaris odds.

NPR has a w World Cafe session and BlogTO an interview with Cold Specks.

Fucked Up tells Spinner they’d like to have Drake up there with them for tonight’s Polaris performance. They won’t, but they’d like it.

Metro talks to Tony Dekker of Great Lake Swimmers.

The Boston Globe profiles Metric.

Julie Doiron has announced a new studio album in So Many Days, due out October 23. She’s released a first MP3 from the record and will be playing live on October 14, opening for Ben Gibbard at the Danforth Music Hall, and then October 30 at The Mod club supporting Grapes Of Wrath.

MP3: Julie Doiron – “By The Lake”

Spinner talks to The Sadies about backing Neil Young on their contribution to 2010’s Garth Hudson Presents: A Canadian Celebration of The Band. Yeah, two years ago. Whatevs.

You Say Party! talk to Exclaim and The Vancouver Sun about their return to active duty, starting this Saturday night at The Great Hall for PBR10.

Olenka & The Autumn Lovers have readied a new mini-album entitled Hard Times, and given it an October 2 release date. You can stream one of the new songs now.

Stream: Olenka & The Autumn Lovers – “Don’t Make Sense”

The Bomber Jacket talks to Kat Burns of Kashka, playing a record release show for her debut Vichada at The Drake on October 5.

BrooklynVegan has an interview with METZ, who’ve released a second MP3 from their self-titled debut. It’s out October 9 and they’re at The Horseshoe to mark its release on October 12.

MP3: METZ – “Wet Blanket”

A second MP3 from A.C. Newman’s forthcoming Shut Down The Streets is available to download. It’s out October 9 and he kicks off the tour in support of it October 21 at Lee’s Palace.

MP3: A.C. Newman – “Encyclopedia Of Classic Takedowns”

Toronto’s July Talk – whom you may recall impressing me at at CMF earlier this year – have put out a video from their self-titled debut album, due October 16.

Video: July Talk – “Paper Girl”

Both Spinner and A Heart Is A Spade have feature interviews with Diamond Rings, who’s just announced a cross-Canada tour in support of Free Dimensional, out October 22. The Toronto date comes November 29 at The Mod Club, tickets $18.50.

MP3: Diamond Rings – “I’m Just Me”

The Wooden Sky offers a feature piece on The Wooden Sky, who will be at The Phoenix on December 1.

Rich Aucoin has a fancy new Beach Boys-saluting video from his album We’re All Dying To Live. Toro and The Halifax Chronicle-Herald also have interviews.

Video: Rich Aucoin – “Brian Wilson is A.L.i.V.E.”

Loud & Quiet, The Calgary Herald, and aux.tv have interviews with Purity Ring.

aux.tv investigates the new “weird Canada” music scene bubbling up around the country.

The Globe & Mail examines how far the Polaris Prize has come in the past seven years, and what it now means for Canadian music

And a moment of silence for Sam “The Record Man” Sniderman, who passed away yesterday at 92. I spent much of my youth and my youthful allowance in his stores. Wait, did I say silence? I mean LOUDNESS.

Cynthia WoodA lot’s happened with Mark Eitzel since he last set foot on a Toronto stage. That would have been back in April 2008, when he was leading the reunited American Music Club on tour in support of their second album of the 21st century, The Golden Age. The American Music Club machine slowly wound down again and was officially declared on indefinite hiatus again by Eitzel last Fall, and he also released a couple more solo records in that time: Klamath in 2009 and Brannan Street the following year, both low-key in both presentation and distribution. Oh, and last Spring he had a heart attack (but is okay now).

But as has been the pattern over a career that has swung from the cultiest of cult artists to getting a modicum of the respect that his songwriting talent deserves, Eitzel again appears ready to step a little more into the spotlight. His new solo record Don’t Be A Stranger is coming out on Merge, who rightly believed those two AMC reunion albums deserved to be shepherded into the world, and Eitzel is undertaking what he’s dubbed “The Warm Gentle Rain Tour”, which will traverse North America and bring him to the Rivoli in Toronto on November 28, tickets for that $15.50 in advance. It’s hard to say what form the show will take, be it solo or with a band, but when I last saw Eitzel at SXSW 2011, it was just him and a keyboardist and he was singing AMC songs lounge/cabaret-style, so it could really be anything. What is certain is that it will be hilarious, depressing, and excellent.

After all – the promotional campaign for the record involves Eitzel getting career and performance advice from the experts on video; there’s clips of him consulting with Lady Gaga’s make-up artist Billy B. and at Gawker, you can watch him discuss his lyrics with comedienne Nadya Ginsburg. Yes, hilarity ensues.

Stream: Mark Eitzel – “I Love You But You’re Dead”

GQ, The Chicago Tribune, and Spinner talk to Bob Mould about what has turned out to be the year of the resurgence of Bob Mould.

Gothamist and Newsday talk to Greg Dulli of The Afghan Whigs, finally bringing their reunion tour to The Phoenix on October 3.

Consequence Of Sound, DIY, NOW, and Clash all talk to members of Dinosaur Jr about their new record I Bet On Sky. They’re at Lee’s Palace on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of next week.

Exclaim has specifics on the third Guided By Voices album of 2012, The Bears For Lunch, out November 13.

Salon, NPR, and Stereogum talk to Aimee Mann about hew new record Charmer, from which she’s just released a new video that has a few guest stars you might recognize and is a shot-for-shot remake of a video you might recognize if you’ve been following Aimee’s career from the outset… Don’t worry, I’ll help you out. You’re welcome. Aimee Mann is at The Danforth Music Hall on November 6.

Video: Aimee Mann – “Labrador”
Video: ‘Til Tuesday – “Voices Carry”

DIY, NOW, The Quietus, and Billboard all want to talk Shields with Grizzly Bear. They’re at Massey Hall on September 26.

Cat Power goes blonde zombie-fighting road warrior in the first video from Sun. Of course. She’s at The Kool Haus on October 20.

Video: Cat Power – “Cherokee”

The 405, DIY has a feature and The Line Of Best Fit a video session wtih Band Of Horses.

The Lab sends Saturday Night Live and Portlandia‘s Fred Armisen to interview St. Vincent, while The Montreal Gazette talks to both her and David Byrne. They’re at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre tomorrow night.

The AV Club talks to Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, and his right-hand guitarist Nels Cline will be at The Great Hall on November 2 as part of this year’s Sleepwalk Guitar Festival.

MP3: Nels Cline – “Don’t Threaten Me With Your Threats”

Dum Dum Girls are streaming their new EP End Of Daze over at Stereogum. It’s out next week, and Houston Press talks to Dee Dee about it.

MP3: Dum Dum Girls – “Lord Knows”
Stream: Dum Dum Girls / End Of Daze

Titus Andronicus have unveiled the album art and first lyric video from their new record Local Business, coming October 22. See the art at Pitchfork and hear the first song from the new record below.

Lyric Video: Titus Andronicus – “In A Big City”

Trespassers William have released a video from their farewell compilation Cast.

Video: Trespassers William – “Believe Me”

Hospitality has released a new video from their self-titled debut.

Video: Hospitality – “Eighth Avenue”

NPR and Spoonfed chat with Calexico.

Check out the latest video from The Kills’ Blood Pressures.

Video: The Kills – “Wild Charms”

I speculated that The Killers’ show at the Sound Academy this weekend was a precursor to something bigger, and I was right. Las Vegas’ favourite sons return for a show at the Air Canada Centre on December 15, tickets ranging from $39.50 to $65.00.

Video: The Killers – “Runaways”

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

Video: A Place To Bury Strangers – “Leaving Tomorrow”

Benjamin Gibbard – he’s only Ben when he’s in a band, apparently – discusses his solo album Other Lives with Stereogum. It’s out October 16 and he’s at The Danforth Music Hall a couple days earlier, on October 14.

Magnet welcomes Beachwood Sparks to their website editor’s chair with a Q&A.

You Me & Charlie interviews Josh Tillman of Father John Misty. He plays Lee’s Palace on October 27.

The Quietus interviews James Murphy.

ClashWhen you’re a couple years on from your last album and still a calendar year off from your next, yet you want a pretence to stage a North American tour, what do you do? If you’re Frightened Rabbit, whose Winter Of Mixed Drinks was back in 2010 and major label debut isn’t due out until early 2013, you put together five-song EP of new songs, call it State Hospital, release it on vinyl and digital only – because the kids love their vinyl and MP3s – and you hit the road.

Not that they needed the excuse to tour – their October 10 show at the Mod Club was well sold out a while ago – but if they wanted to remind folks of why their decidedly Scottish, anthemically miserable folk-rock has made the band beloved, they’ve begun streaming the EP at Pitchfork ahead of its release on September 25, setting the stage for them to finish up some European dates before crossing the pond. For whatever reason, Winter didn’t have quite the charm of its predecessor, the breakout Midnight Organ Fight, but the new EP is whetting my appetite for the band again, which is to say it’s doing its job.

The Daily Record, The 405, and The Banter have interviews with frontman Scott Hutchison about the new EP and the next album.

Stream: Frightened Rabbit / State Hospital

Lots of angles from which to get your daily Neil Halstead fix: a new MP3 from Palindrome Hunches is available to download courtesy of IFC, a new video has premiered at Nowness, and an EP to go with the Fall tour that brings him to the Dakota Tavern on October 8 is available for free – or you can leave a tip if you like – at Noisetrade, and includes songs from all points of his career. Including Mojave 3. And Slowdive. Yeah.

MP3: Neil Halstead – “Tied To You”
Video: Neil Halstead – “Hey Daydreamer”

Billboard has a conversation and The Alternate Side a session with Alt-J, making their Toronto debut at Wrongbar tomorrow night.

Bat For Lashes has made another track from The Haunted Man available to download; it’s out October 23.

MP3: Bat For Lashes – “Marilyn”

Beatroute and The Boston Phoenix talk to Bloc Party.

The Toronto Star has a feature on The xx, who’ve made another track from Coexist and a new track not on the album available to download.

MP3: The xx – “Sunset”
MP3: The xx – “Reconsider”

Billboard profiles The Vaccines.

Under The Radar reports that Ladytron frontwoman Helen Marnie has begun work on a solo record and is hoping to crowdfund it via Pledge Music. And by selling her car.

The AV Club reports that Manic Street Preachers will celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut album Generation Terrorists with a slew of special edition reissues coming on November 5. This is the album, if you’re recall, that was supposed to outsell Appetite For Destruction, propel the band to global superstar status, culminate in a three-night stand at Wembley Stadium, and then allow the band to burn out and disappear. Fancy-pants twentieth anniversary editions weren’t in the manifesto, but what really turns out the way we expect?

The Guardian profiles the career of Amelia Fletcher, now fronting Tender Trap.

For Folks Sake chats with Stevie Jackson

The AV Club offers a starter’s guide to the musical genre referred to as “shoegazing”. Perhaps you’ve heard of it.

Michael HalsbandTwenty is a nice round number for an anniversary, and Sloan marked their two decades as a band in fine style last year, releasing the milestone-referencing Double Cross and touring a career-spanning set more extensively than they have in some time. Fifteen is also a pretty solid number, so when they busted out a One Chord To Another recital for last year’s Fucked Up-sponsored fundraiser, it could also be seen as marking an occasion.

Twice Removed, however, only turns 18 this year (“only”… everyone who remembers buying a copy new put up your hand – congratulations, you’re old) so unless they’re celebrating the record’s ability to vote or fight in a war, it’s curious timing for a deluxe reissue and commemorative tour, though it’s worth noting they already did this at least once back in 2010 for Halifax Pop Explosion – celebrating the album’s legality to drive a car? But one of the perks of having been around as long as they have is they don’t have to justify themselves to anyone, so if Sloan wants to put together a super-fancy deluxe box set and tour across the country playing the album in full – plus other hits, don’t worry – who’s anyone to question it? Certainly not me.

This is a record, remember, that was twice voted the best Canadian album of all-time by Chart readers (in 1996 and 2005) but as adored as it became, when it was first released it confounded pretty much everyone (and eventually got them dropped from their major label deal), so definitively did it ditch the shoegrunge of their debut Smeared for much cleaner, classic pop styles. I personally remember listening to the radio at a Summer job in 1994 (painting a warehouse – fun!) and hearing the DJ declare they were about to play the new Sloan single; that was “Coax Me” and I swear another two or three more songs played before I realized that that moody, chiming, Byrds-y/Beatles-y throwback number from about 15 minutes ago was the song I’d been waiting for. And, eighteen years later, I’ve finally gotten around to learning to play it on guitar. Not nearly as difficult as I thought it was.

The first batch of Twice Removed dates started out west but only took them as far as Chicago; the second leg has now been announced and in addition to covering a lot more of the northeastern United States in October, a string of November dates covers southern Ontario and wraps up November 22 at The Phoenix in Toronto. Tickets for that are $26.50 in advance and go on sale this Saturday.

The Nelson Star has an interview with Jay Ferguson about the process of digging through the Sloan archives for the Twice Removed reissue set. They’ve also been posting video footage from the era at their YouTube channel.

Video: Sloan – “People Of The Sky”
Video: Sloan – “Coax Me”

The Darcys are also revisiting a classic album live, but it’s not one of theirs. Having released their interpretation of Steely Dan’s Aja at the start of the year, they’re now going to take it on tour. Exclaim has their Autumn itinerary, which wraps on November 10 at Lee’s Palace, tickets $10.

MP3: The Darcys – “Josie”
MP3: The Darcys – “Josie (Vol 2)”
Video: The Darcys – “Josie”

The Luyas are part of the PBR10 celebrations at the Great Hall in a couple weeks – they’re playing the Saturday night, September 29 – but with a new album in Animator due out shortly after on October 16, a tour of their own is in order – Exclaim has the dates, including a November 7 date at 918 Bathurst.

MP3: The Luyas – “Fifty Fifty”
Video: The Luyas – “Fifty Fifty”

Another recent Paper Bag Records signing also playing the PBR10 shows – they’re up Friday night – are Yamantaka/Sonic Titan. They’re this week’s NOW cover story, and are also going to be at Wrongbar November 12 supporting Lydia Lunch; tickets $25. And oh, they also need your help in creating a Yamantaka/Sonic Titan video game – of course you should support this.

Tokyo Police Club have announced a holiday season show at The Sound Academy on December 15, tickets $22.50 general admission and $35 VIP.

MP3: Tokyo Police Club – “Party In The USA”

Beatroute interviews Fucked Up, who’ve got something cool planned in the way of shows come November. Mike Haliechuk gives Exclaim a tease about their Long Winter concert series which kicks off November 9.

CBC Music is streaming the whole of The Wilderness Of Manitoba’s new album Island Of Echoes before its release this coming Tuesday; they play a record release show for it at Trinity-St. Paul’s on October 26.

MP3: The Wilderness Of Manitoba – “Morning Sun”
Stream: The Wilderness Of Manitoba / Island Of Echoes

Neil Young & Crazy Horse have given Psychedelic Pill, their second album of 2012, a released date of October 30 – Rolling Stone has details. Neil and the boys are at the Air Canada Centre on November 19.

Snowblink have premiered a new video from Inner Classics over at The Guardian. And if you’ve ever wanted a Snowblink-powered musical therapy session… well you can. Yeah. They’re at the Bicycle Music Festival at Christie Pits tomorrow evening at 6:30PM and play their official record release show at The Music Gallery on September 27.

Video: Snowblink – “Black & White Mountains”

JAM talks to Torq Campbell of Stars while The Olathe News, The Herald Sun, and Toledo Free Press have features on Metric. They both play the Air Canada Centre on November 24.

CBC Music asks Japandroids to list his five favourite records of the past 20 years. They play The Phoenix on December 12.