We are awash in a sea of hyphen-rock. Alt-rock, indie-rock, math-rock, punk-rock, classic-rock, you name it. Which is all well and good – as loathe as some are to buy into labels and pigeonholes, it helps making navigating the musical oceans just a little bit easier. So when I call Vancouver’s Ladyhawk simply a “rock” band, no adjectives or descriptors, what does that mean? Good question.

Based on Friday night’s show at the Rivoli, it means irony-free, soulful, tear-it-up and burn-it-down know-it-when-you-see-it rock. Plain and simple. It’s hard not to like Ladyhawk for all the reasons stated above – their set was raw, tight and blue-collar perfect with a wilder delivery than their self-titled debut captured. And the record is a pretty rocking document in and of itself, so when I say their live show brings a little something extra… well dang. They continue to tour through July and August, so check them out if you are seeking some rock. Check the genre at the door.

Openers on Friday night were twofold. First was The D’Urbervilles from Guelph, and even if I didn’t know they were local I’d have guessed it within a second of their opening song, which began with the two guitarists in the middle of the club yelling at the top of their lungs before running onstage to continue the song. See, that’s what bands in this town do. Act out. Their sound was also pretty in-line with what I’d expect – high-energy, kinda shouty and more than a little post-punky. Zen question – if a bunch of bands are eccentric and quirky in the same way, are they still eccentric and quirky?

The middle slot went to Now Yr Taken, a sometimes one-man band (one Mikey Crichton) based largely around the effective and inspired use of guitar looping. These sorts of acts are becoming more and more common as the equipment to do so becomes more accessible, but when it’s done right and well – as Now Yr Taken did – the results can be spectacular. Pity about the singing, though. Crichton’s rasp isn’t anything to write home about for good or ill, but his talents definitely lie with the guitar orchestration and not in lyrics-writing. Thankfully, there was a lot more guitarplay than singing in the set but Crichton may want to consider handing off the mic to someone else in the future.

Photos were taken and The Montreal Mirror has an interview with the headliners of the evening.

MP3: Ladyhawk – “The Dugout”
MySpace: Ladyhawk
MySpace: The D’Urbervilles

That remix album of Stars’ Set Yourself On Fire that no one’s said boo about for months? It’s still happening – BrooklynVegan has some info, including the title – Do You Trust Your Friends. It’s out this Fall sometime. They’ve also got a new video up:

Video: Stars – “Sleep Tonight” (MOV)

Rolling Stone delves into Yo La Tengo’s I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass, out September 12, and it sounds like as eclectic a set as their magnificent I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One, which is surely good news for everyone who’s been waiting for the Hobokenites to break out of the mostly narcoleptic groove they’ve been in for the last couple records. And based on the ten-minute guitar freak of “Pass the Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind”, which Stereogum has as an exclusive right now, Ira’s found his distortion pedals. Hallelujah.

Craig Finn of The Hold Steady discusses their new album Boys And Girls In America with Billboard. The album is out October 3 and they’re at Lee’s next Monday. I’m a latecomer to the Hold Steady party but I am really looking forward to this show. I hear they bring it live. Whatever it may be.

M Ward talks a bit about his new one Post-War to AOL’s Music Blog. It’s out August 22 and he’s at the Mod Club on September 11.

Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips tells The LA Daily News he’s not sure they’ll be able to land a flying saucer in the Hollywood Bowl.

And oh yeah, I’m looking for a new band/musical project in the Toronto area. I play guitar. I like Coverdale/Page, Enuff Z’Nuff, Ugly Kid Joe and Toto. I’ve got a bitching doubleneck SG and leather pants. I want to rock (dramatic pause) with you.

But seriously, I am.

np – Six By Seven / The Things We Make

Guster / Ganging Up On The Sun (Reprise) Massachusettsians (is that a word?) Guster have built up a tidy national fanbase over the course of over ten years and five albums, but before this record I’d never heard them. Heard of, yes, heard, no. But now that I have, the fact that they’ve managed to achieve the success that they have is somewhat perplexing to me – they play catchy, shimmering, harmony-laden and acoustically-rooted pop music that’s not vacuous or over-produced. And to top it off, they’re on a major label and yet seem to be plugging along without a “hit” (or has there been one that I don’t know about?). So how on earth has this found an audience in the greater public consciousness? I have no idea, but it challenges everything I thought I knew about music while getting my head nodding. Sunny, fun stuff. Video: Guster – “One Man Wrecking Machine” (MOV) ECard: Guster – Ganging Up On The Sun MySpace: Guster

Ill Lit / Tom Cruise (independent) Though their MySpace page namechecks quite a diverse list of influences – Mobb Deep, Rimbaud, Randy Newman and Liszt all helped shape their creative muse – Los Angeles’ Ill Lit aren’t nearly as eclectic or horrific as that particular cocktail might suggest. Instead, they’re almost laser-focused on their blend of countryish tunes and squelchy electronic textures. Singer-songwriter Daniel Ahearn’s voice is pure and plaintive and the musical backing tasteful and restrained though overall the effort might be a little too polite. And no, I’ve no idea what’s with the album title. More MP3s and an interview at Cloak & Dagger – click through to Features and then D. Ahearn. MP3: Ill Lit – “The Bridge In Tracy”

National Eye / Roomful Of Lions (Park The Van) But if you’re looking for a technicolour pastiche of styles and sounds, look no further than Philadelphia’s National Eye. It’s got a folk heart but a psychedelic soul and is almost certainly unshaven and barefoot. There’s no shortage of sonic experimentation as befits a band as obviously enamoured with the recording process as National Eye, but the songs are solid and stand up no matter how they’re dressed up. Recommended for those who like a little more hippie in their Olivia Tremor Control. MP3: National Eye – “Bird & Sword” MP3: National Eye – “Lights” Stream: National Eye – Roomful Of Lions MySpace: National Eye

np – DeVotchKa / How It Ends

Everyone who complains about the lack of plot coherence, character development or general heart in Summer blockbuster films, consider Superman Returns, which features all of the above and as a result, runs a solid two and a half hours. And unlike most films of this length that can suffer for having so much crammed into the running time (Lord Of The Rings, Harry Potter), Superman Returns feels a little too uncompressed. Director Bryan Singer is so determined to make this film weighty and momentous that it moves at a bit of snail’s pace as a result. Or maybe it just felt like that because I saw it in a theatre with no working air conditioning or ventilation.

But when it steps up the action, it’s spectacular. Superman’s rescue of an out-of-control airliner in the Earth’s outer atmosphere is a truly stunning piece of FX-ery and action filmmaking and while the other action sequences scattered throughout the film are also impressive – hell, anytime Superman flies it looks amazing – they don’t really compare to that first salvo. But what was pointed out in another review that I concur with is that Superman doesn’t fight anyone. In Singer’s world, there are nogiant robots or alien invasions or super-villains, there’s just Superman. Even Lex Luthor, for all his genius, is just a man (at least without his stylish power suit). The only true challenges for Supes are disasters, either natural or man-made. I’m not suggesting that we need another Nuclear Man in future films or even a General Zod, but surely there’s someone in the rogues gallery that’s filmable and could offer Superman a decent throw-down? As much as I hate Bizarro… Bizarro? Nah, probably not.

The cast is pretty much uniformly excellent, to my surprise. Even though compared to their counterparts in the original film they look like kids playing dress-up, both Brandon Routh and Kate Bosworth are very good in their roles, even though Routh’s channelling of Christopher Reeve only proves how iconic Reeve was in the role. And even though she barely looks as old as her 23 years and far too young to have accomplished as much as Lois Lane has, Bosworth brings a real strength and sense of experience to the part. As Lex Luthor, Kevin Spacey is excellent. While Gene Hackman’s portrayal was more used car salesman than criminal mastermind, Spacey gives him a real sense of evil – he hates Superman on a level far deeper than a costumed dogoodnik who interferes with his plans. Interesting that over the whole film, the two arch-enemies only actually share a few minutes of screen time.

Above all though, Superman Returns is a character piece. Singer seems like he’d be perfectly content to have spent the whole time examining the relationships between Superman, Clark Kent and Lois Lane or just hanging out in the Daily Planet newsroom. Which I can understand – it’s no secret that this is the film that Singer has wanted to make pretty much all his life, of course he’s going to milk it. And as slow as it is at (many) points, I never found it to really really drag and enjoyed being along for the trip as much as anyone. As disposable as many critics regard them as, I’m always pleased to see comic book adaptations given serious film treatment but not at the cost of the wonder and whimsy of the source material. Superman Returns strikes a good balance there, even if it’d be nice if he’d have been able to punch something/someone…

Harp talks to (almost) everyone’s Superman impersonator Sufjan Stevens about Illinois and The Avalanche.

And I somehow missed this Harp feature on Golden Smog in my writeup on them earlier this week, which is weird since the piece is pretty damn big. Minnesota Public Radio also has a radio session with Kraig Johnson and Gary Louris.

Broken Social Scene’s Brendan Canning tells The Japan Times that he’d have no problem with winning the inaugural Polaris Music Prize.

Pitchfork has some info on the new Decemberists record The Crane Wife, out October 3, including tracklisting and tour dates. They’re in Toronto on November 4 6 at the Kool Haus. Yeah, the Kool Haus. Come on, you knew that was coming.

Mates Of State’s September 16 show at Lee’s Palace will also have Starlight Mints on the bill, tickets are $13.50. And Art Brut, We Are Scientists and The Spinto Band are scheduled to play the Opera House October 14.

Stylus spent the week counting down their 100 greatest music videos of all time. Like Pitchfork’s recent “100 Awesome Music Videos” feature, it’s YouTube-d to death.

PopWatch has some spoilers about the upcoming season of 24, namely who the new President is. Hint – he’s got a familiar surname. My question is what does this news reveal about the timeline for season six? If they’ve had time to elect a new President, does that mean that Jack will have been in Chinese custody for at least that long? I can’t imagine that he’ll have found his way to freedom in the off-season, that would be a waste of a truly interesting plot line and a chance for James Hong to cement his place as the only Asian actor in Hollywood.

np – Greg Laswell / Through Toledo

The Sci-Fi Channel has posted the whole of their pilot for The Amazing Screw-On Head animated series online for your inspection. It’s based on the comic book by Mike Mignola, most notable for being a) one of the best and most distinctive comic artists of the last 20 years and b) creating Hellboy. Set in 19th century America, the comic – and show – chronicle the adventures of Screw-On Head, a secret agent of the United States government battling the strange and occult. And his head is a screw. Just so you know.

The show does a fine job of capturing both the look and spirit of the comic – It’s eccentric and dark and irreverent and really funny, thanks to the obvious glee displayed by Paul Giamatti and David Hyde Pierce, who contribute the voices of Screw and his nemesis Emperor Zombie, respectively. The series is slated to begin airing July 27 but I guess they want to build some buzz or whatever for it beforehand so watch it, savor it and fill out the survey at the end. I don’t get Sci-Fi so I’ll have to torrent the show, but it’s a good ‘un. Giamatti talked to ComingSoon.net about the show and also his new film The Lady In The Water, which is – not surprisingly – getting savaged critically. I will defend Shyamalan’s Unbreakable as one of the best super-hero movies ever, but don’t have much to say about his other films…

The Decemberists have made a demo from their sessions for The Tain available to download off their MySpace site. It’s interesting to hear it so stripped down and shorter than 20 minutes. Their new one The Crane Wife is due out October 3. Via Donewaiting.

MP3: The Decemberists – “The Tain” (demo part 1)

Considering the last bit of news I heard from camp Spiritualized almost exactly one year ago was that Jason Pierce had almost died, this news that Pierce is embarking on an acoustic UK tour and that a new record will be out in early 2007 is good news indeed. Any news that doesn’t involve the artist being in intensive care is good news.

The Cardigans show at the Opera House may still not be confirmed according to the band, but everyone else seems to think it’s on. I bought my ticket from Rotate yesterday and the House Of Blues ad in NOW says that Mohair is opening. Yeah, whoever assembled that bill has a sense of humour.

And if if if for whatever reason that show doesn’t happen, you can always go see New York shoegazeniks Asobi Seksu at the Horseshoe that night. Tickets are $8.50.

And some concert merry-go-rounds – Midlake are no longer opening for The Hold Steady at Lee’s on August July 31. They have been replaced on that bill by Constantines alter ego Horsey Craze but will still be in town at Lee’s on September 11 to open for French Kicks, who themselves will make up their cancelled August 4 show. Got all that? No? Good, because the only really important thing you should take away from all that is that The Mountain Goats are at Lee’s on September 19, tickets $15. Get Lonely! could well be the album of the year. I haven’t heard it yet, but I feel it in me bones.

The new Pernice Brothers album Live A Little will be out October 17 3.

Harp asks Band Of Horses’ Ben Bridwell what he really really wants.

Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers tells Boston’s Weekly Dig he’s not so much a fan of the whole “Southern Rock” angle.

np – The Hold Steady / Separation Sunday

Rob Dickinson has a new solo acoustic record, Live And Alone, which he will be shilling whilst on tour opening for The Church over the next month. But for those of us not on the itinerary, fear not – he’ll be selling it online after the tour’s done. As a teaser, he’s made the track of Catherine Wheel’s “Heal” available to stream off his MySpace. There’s also an interview and some live studio performances available over at Rehearsals.com.

The Church are supporting the release of their umpteenth record Uninvited, Like The Clouds, which is an anthemic, stately and glistening thing. There’s not a lot of what you’d call fire or real urgency in the proceedings but the richness in Steve Kilbey’s voice, the textures of Marty Wilson-Piper’s and Peter Koppes’ guitars and general atmosphere of the record happily make up for it. They’re a band that seems oblivious to fashion, content to soldier on and turning what by rights should sound dated into something instead timeless. There’s something to be said for consistency.

You may (or may not) remember The Church from their one 1988 hit “Under The Milky Way”, which is probably as unfair as saying you may remember Rob Dickinson from Catherine Wheel’s one 1995 hit “Waydown”, but you know that’s how some of their shows are being billed… no justice I tells ya.

MP3: The Church – “Unified Field”
Video: The Church – “Under The Milky Way” (YouTube)
MySpace: The Church

Oklahoma’s Evangelicals tells Chart about the importance of always looking on the bright side of life. They are in town opening for Serena Maneesh and Film School on September 13 at Lee’s Palace.

Richard Edwards of Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s explains to Harp the appeal of Wes Anderson, from whose work the band drew inspiration for their horribly unwieldy name.

Oakley Hall’s Patrick Sullivan talks about the band’s influences to Harp. Oakley Hall are at the Mod Club September 11 with M Ward.

Tunde Adebimpe of TV On The Radio tells The Independent how David Bowie came to appear on their new album, Return To Cookie Mountain, out in North America September 12. Via Largehearted Boy.

Camera Obscura frontwoman Tracyanne Campbell talks to Rolling Stone about the success of their new album Let’s Get Out Of This Country.

Tapes’N’Tapes tells NOW and The Toronto Star that they thank blogs for the success of their album The Loon. They play the Phoenix with The Futureheads next Wednesday.

And also in town next Wednesday – Mission Of Burma at the Horseshoe. eye talks to Clint Conley.

Not feeling especially inspired to write today. If you couldn’t tell.

np – Billy Bragg / Talking To The Taxman About Poetry