It’s a special Canadian Music Week edition this week! Woot!

The Besnard Lakes / The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse (Jagjaguwar/Outside) If you put this record on without me knowing what it was and told me it was the new Low, I may very well have believed you. Of course, you also would have had to convince me that they were taking all sorts of psychedelics, being produced by Brian Wilson, inviting J Mascis to guest on lead guitar and going through a serious 70s rock phase but otherwise yeah – totally believable. But no, while the Besnard Lakes are also fronted by a married couple, they hail from Montreal, not Minnesota, and boast a lineup at least twice as large. The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse is a sonically dense work, often seeming to fold in on itself as it walks the line between nimble and lumbering, joyous and terrifying, but always engrossing and while maybe a little exhausting, still worth the trip. The Besnard Lakes are at Lee’s Palace on March 9 and then all over SxSW, including the Filter party at the Cedar St Courtyard on March 15 at 3:15 and then their official showcase at the Mohawk at 8:30PM. There’s also more but I don’t remember right now. MP3: The Besnard Lakes – “And You Lied To Me” MySpace: The Besnard Lakes

Santa Dog / Kittyhawk (Quince) Bristol, UK’s Santa Dog take me back – not because we have any history, but because they remind me so much of the classic days of Britpop. Not the raging Oasis-vs-Blur laddism that most people remember, but the female-fronted guitar acts that had their moment in the spotlight in the mid-90s. Think Sleeper and Echobelly and the latter in particular. Santa Dog singer/guitarist Rowena Dugdale’s exuberant vocals are reminiscent of a chirpier Sonya Aurora Madan, especially in the way her accent wraps itself around every sound and syllable though this may be delightful only for non-Brits, I don’t know. The band definitely know their way around a pop hook and while there’s no knockout single that could be their “In-Betweener” or “King Of The Kerb”, I would say it’s just a matter of time before they get theirs and do great things. Kittyhawk is out in late April on Japanese label Quince and via import here, there and everywhere. Santa Dog play the Boat on March 8 as part of the Pitter Patter Festival, at Clinton’s on March 10 as part of CMW and then head down the QEW for another Pitter Patter event at Absinthe in Hamilton on March 11. MP3: Santa Dog – “Rosa” MP3: Santa Dog – “Chemical” MySpace: Santa Dog

Funky Nashville / Hitch A Ride (215) Though I try not to judge a book by it’s cover, it’s hard not to assume the worst when presented with a name like “Funky Nashville”. But for this Danish trio, it’s a wholly unironic if somewhat inaccurate descriptor. They’re far more southwestern in flavour than country and while (thankfully) not very funky in the James Brown sense, they do dwell in a deep, twangy groove that only feels a little bit stiff at times. Lyrically, they sound like, well, three Danes trying to write country music but their musical acumen and slick production compensate for any cliches or shortcomings in that department. Someone put these guys on a soundtrack. They appear to have the whole of their album available to download off their website so if you like what you hear, go get more. They’ll also be carpet bombing CMW with shows at the Rivoli on March 8, an instore at Sam The Record Man on March 9 at 4:30PM, an afternoon appearance at The Hideout on March 10 (I’ve no idea where that is) and another showcase that night at the Silver Dollar. Then the following week in Austin they play SxSW with a showcase at Uncle Flirty’s Loft at 9PM. MP3: Funky Nashville – “Hitch A Ride” MP3: Funky Nashville – “Mexican Stars” Video: Funky Nashville – “Hitch A Ride” (YouTube) MySpace: Funky Nashville

The long rumoured Stars remix record is finally coming out. Entitled Do You Trust Your Friends?, it will feature what they’re calling “re-mixes, re-interpretations and re-imaginings” of songs from their last album Set Yourself On Fire by a variety of Canadian indie rock luminaries, including Final Fantasy, The Dears and Metric, amongst many others. Billboard has the complete tracklisting of the record, in stores May 22, and you can hear one of the tracks – the Junior Boys redo of “Sleep Tonight” – at their MySpace.

The band is currently at work on their new album with an eye towards a Fall 2007 release and Amy Millan continues to ply her solo career. She’s doing a slew of dates at SxSW – her main showcase is March 16 at 11PM at the Habana Calle 6 Annex but she’s also doing day shows March 15 at Emo’s Jr and 16 at Red Eyed Fly, if not more. And she’ll also be opening for Ron Sexsmith May 4 at Massey Hall. Torq Campbell’s Memphis, in the meantime, will release their second album A Little Place In The Wilderness in the US on March 27. Check out a video from the release.

Video: Memphis – “I’ll Do Whatever You Want” (YouTube)

Exclaim talks to Malajube about being Francophones in an Anglo music world. They’re at the Phoenix on April 4 as part of Exclaim‘s Spring Fling tour.

I’ve called the sound of The Acorn “quintessentially Canadian” before, but according to this conversation between head Acorn Rolf Klausener and Chart, their debut full-length is aspiring to capture the spirit of another country – Honduras. Their Tin Fist EP will be rereleased on March 20 and they’re in town at the Whippersnapper Gallery March 10 and the Drake Underground April 12.

Hour and The Montreal Mirror converse with TV On The Radio, who will be in town at the Kool Haus tomorrow night.

The Tripwire has an expansive two–part interview with Brett Anderson, whose solo debut Brett Anderson is out March 26. Check out the first video for “Love Is Dead”.

Video: Brett Anderson – “Love Is Dead” (YouTube)

And while I’m posting vids, here’s the first single from Fields’ debut full-length Everything Last Winter. It’s out in North America May 8 and they’re at the Opera House in Toronto May 11 opening for Blonde Redhead. Blonde Redhead, incidentally, are currently featured in AOL’s 3×3.

Video: Fields – “Charming The Flames” (YouTube)

M Ward guest lists for Pitchfork.

Last week I directed you to a stream of Cortney Tidwell’s new album Don’t Let Stars Keep Us Tangled Up. While I can’t tell if the stream still works – it’s still reachable through the navigation but I couldn’t get it to play – I still want to talk about the record.

Though you can’t hear the whole thing anymore, the one MP3 that has been made available – the opener “Eyes Are At The Billions” – really tells you all you need to know. It opens with a delicately fingerpicked acoustic guitar figure and is joined the second time around by some gentle keyboards and Tidwell’s airy, voice – gentle, but obviously capable of huge things. Then, two minutes in the drums appear, as though miced in a cavern and it explodes into a sonic wash worthy of Slowdive – launched into space but somehow never leaving the countryside.

That essentially tells the tale for the record. Not that they all go from folk-to-shoegaze in under two minutes (though that wouldn’t be a bad thing) but that they take Tidwell’s traditional folk/country upbringing and wrap them up in sounds and ideas that come from much farther away than her native Nashville. In addition to the celestial rock vibe that crops up a few more times, there’s a pervasive Bjork-ish feel to the production, both in her vocal timbre and acrobatics (nothing excessive, don’t worry) and in the electronic production sheen that rests over much of the album. The finished product is hazy and dark, a little creepy and a lot beautiful.

Stars was released in the UK last year but has only come out in North America last week. Drowned In Sound and Indie London talked to Tidwell last Summer on the occasion of the record’s British release. She’s playing SxSW with an official showcase Wednesday night at midnight at the Ale House and an in-store at Cheapos at 5PM on Saturday afternoon. Obviously I advise you to catch one or the other but if you can’t (or won’t be in Austin), check out the live performances assembled in this AOL 3×3 feature. Sorry about the commericals.

MP3: Cortney Tidwell – “Eyes Are At The Billions”
MySpace: Cortney Tidwell

And also looking back to last Friday’s post, The Rich Girls Are Weeping celebrates (and takes a little credit for) Shearwater’s signing to Matador by posting the three available versions of “Red Sea, Black Sea” (nee “Turn Your Transmitters Off”).

eye and NOW talk to Sarah Assbring of El Perro Del Mar, in town for a show at Mod Club on Monday and also doing an instore at Soundscapes on Sunday at 6PM. New City Chicago and The Boston Herald also talk to the singer.

UK brothers in arms (and by birth) The Cribs are at the El Mocambo on April 30.

Lucinda Williams complains to The Globe & Mail about some of negative reviews her latest album West has been getting. Williams is at Massey Hall on April 17.

Drowned In Sound reports that Camera Obscura will squeeze another single out of Let’s Get Out Of This Country. “Tears For Affairs” will be out as a single in the UK on April 16 and be b-sided by a cover of ABBA’s “Super Trouper'”. Oh yes please. X-Press talks to keyboardist Carey Lander about missing John Peel.

Malajube are discovered by the American west – witness interviews by Tuscon Weekly, The Arizona Star, Seattle Weekly and The Portland Mercury as they try to make heads or tails of the Francophones. Oh – and in a bit of Hot Freaks news, due to scheduling issues Malajube are no longer able to play our party. However we’ve found a pretty decent pinch-hitter and even manage to maintain our Can-con quotas – the 1PM slot on Saturday, March 17 at the Mohawk will now be taken by Victoria, BC’s Frog Eyes.

Dirty On Purpose have released a new video and seriously, these guys make the best vids. Trebuchet! Awesome. They’re playing the other SxSW party I’m involved with, the LiveDaily/Spaceland jag now dubbed “The Bomb” (hopefully not a prediction). Like the poster says, the show is at Antone’s on Thursday March 15 and DoP are on around 1:20PM.

Video: Dirty On Purpose – “Car No Driver” (MOV)

Pitchfork talks to National frontman Matt Berninger about their new record Boxer, out May 22.

Dylan Hears A Who – this is one part brilliant, one part demented and all parts too well-executed.

Elvis Perkins has a backstory, and while it may seem sensationalistic to discuss it, it’s rather essential to any discourse on his debut album Ash Wednesday. In brief – his father was Anthony Perkins, who played Norman Bates in Psycho and died of AIDS in 1992 and his mother was actress Berry Berenson, who was on board the plane that hit the north tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. So you could say he’s had some heaviness in his life.

So while Ash Wednesday, written in the years following his mother’s death, would have every right to be a dark and depressing work – and It is melancholic and sad to the very core – it’s presented in a way that’s also suffused with lightness and beauty. Based around Perkins’ warbly tenor, evocative lyricism and sparse, folky arrangements, the record alternately invokes the timeless elegance of Nick Drake, another artist adept at wrapping up sadness in gorgeous melody, and the anguished psychedelic folk of Neutral Milk Hotel, especially when the musical saw shows up. Ash Wednesday may be rooted in sadness but it still grows upwards, hopefully reaching for the sun or the sky or perhaps the aeroplane over the sea.

The record was originally released independently last year but was picked up by XL Recordings and re-released last week. Perkins was originally slated to play the Mod Club in April with his band Dearland but that show was canceled in order to tour in support of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah including April 14 at the Kool Haus. I’m going to try and catch him at SxSW though I’m not sure I’ll be able to make any of his shows – more than likely I’ll have to hope he comes back on his own later this year.

A couple months ago Filter ran what they claimed was the first interview Perkins ever granted and addressed the topic of his parents head-on, though it’s written in an elliptical (and rather awful) metaphor involving Indian mythology. The Boston Herald and Metro have much more concise conversations with Perkins and last week offered up a session with him, including four downloadable songs and an interview. Metacritic is also on the job, doing what it does.

MP3: Elvis Perkins – “While You Were Sleeping”
MP3: Elvis Perkins – “All the Night Without Love”
MP3: Elvis Perkins – “Ash Wednesday”
Video: Elvis Perkins – “All the Night Without Love” (YouTube)
MySpace: Elvis Perkins

So you thought the cast of Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There: Suppositions on a Film Concerning Dylan – Cate Blanchett, Colin Farrell, Christian Bale and Richard Gere, amongst others, all of whom portray Dylan – was odd? Pitchfork reports that director Todd Haynes is taking a simliar approach with the soundtrack, with the likes of Stephen Malkmus, the Hold Steady and Calexico (with a variety of guest vocalists) all covering Dylan at various points in his career. Uncut also recounts a portion of an interview with Cate Blanchett where she talks about her part in the film. The film is set to premiere this May in Cannes.

Billboard and The Toronto Star examine another version of Dylan on celluloid – the expanded DVD edition of D.A. Pennebaker’s 1965 tour doc Don’t Look Back.

The schedule for this year’s edition of the Over The Top Fest, taking place May 3 to 6 around Toronto, is now up and tickets go on sale today. Honestly, a whole lot of names I’m not very familiar with there so I’m going to have to do some research before deciding what to see but The Hylozoists with The Explorer’s Club at the Tranzac on the 3rd seems like a pretty rock-solid bet. Any recommendations on the other shows?

Chart talks to Robert Schneider of Apples In Stereo.

A pile of new release dates and news came out yesterday – let’s take it chronologically, starting with a couple of North American releases for UK bands. May 8 will see the domestic release of new ones from Maximo Park and Fields, via Pitchfork and Tripwire respectively. Both the former’s These Earthly Desires and the latter’s Everything Last Winter are out in the UK on April 2.

Fields will also be conducting a short North American tour following their Coachella appearance including a May 11 date at the Opera House in Toronto. If this tour is with them headlining, I find the choice of venue more than a little perplexing – they were here in October of 2006 and played to a couple dozen people. Have they seriously worked their way up to 800-capacity venues in the intervening seven months? I kinda don’t think so. And while I enjoyed that show and their EP 7 From The Village, I’ve only put that show in my calendar tentatively. My distaste for the venue is well documented and I don’t know if that’s where I really want to spend my 32nd birthday. Update: Thanks to Dimitri for pointing out that Fields will be opening for Blonde Redhead, which I probably could have learned if I could be bothered to do a modicum of digging. That makes it more enticing, 23 is a wicked record, though I will be seeing them at SxSW and don’t know if that’ll be a better use of my evening than getting drunk and throwing up like I used to when I was young. Which isn’t to say I couldn’t do both.

Anyway. Voxtrot have thought long and hard about it and finally came up with a name for their debut full-length, out May 22. It will be called… Voxtrot. Ask for it by name! Pitchfork has more info and a track list. Also note that they’re at Sneaky Dee’s on June 8 with Au Revoir Simone and Favourite Sons.

Aaron Dessner talks to Billboard about The National’s Boxer, also out May 22.

Ryan Adams will release Easy Tiger on June 5. It’s unclear if this’ll be credited just to him or with The Cardinals.

CMJ reports that Saturday Looks Good To Me’s next record, originally conceived as a double-CD opus, has now been pared down to an economical 11 tracks. Look for Fill Up The Room on September 11 via K Records.

CBC looks at the art of selecting a band name.