Photo by Frank Yang

It’s been interesting watching the revisionist history that surrounds R.E.M.’s latest album Accelerate develop, in particular the notion that it’s a return to their “rock band” roots. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t hear anything overly rocking in any of their records up until their fourth full length, 1986’s Life’s Rich Pageant. After all, they spent their formative days in the back room of a church, not a garage.

But for the sake of argument, we’ll go along with the idea that R.E.M. is a rock band and that their two game-breaking records were mostly acoustic, introspective works. Sure. And Accelerate does remind me in many ways of Pageant (and not their previous “return to rock” effort in 1994’s mostly awful Monster) albeit dressed in 21st century production values (read: LOUD), which is no bad thing. It doesn’t necessarily stand up with their finest works but it does prove the boys still have some gas in the tank and as far as reestablishing the band as a living, viable artistic (and commercial) entity, can be considered a success.

It was on the back of this revitalization that R.E.M. rode into the Molson Amphitheatre on Sunday night, Athens-calibre humidity and tornado warnings in tow. It had been a long time since I’d been to this venue – six years – and only my third time ever. The first, incidentally, was in 1999 to see R.E.M. I’m not a fan of the place – it’s so huge and concrete and weird – but the assembled bill was enough to get me over my distaste and seek out a spot on the lawns even though my attendance was a game time decision. An AM forecast of 30mm of rain over the course of the day made the notion of sitting on the grass unattractive to say the least, but by 5PM it was still sunny and the forecast was improved so off I went.

And a touch too late, it seems. I heard The National onstage as I circled outside the venue to the lawns entrance, and by the time I took a seat had missed about a third of their set. But even if I’d seen the whole thing, I don’t know how much I’d have really enjoyed it. I love the band, that’s well documented, but after seeing them in small to mid-sized venues so many times, seeing them so tiny on the stage playing to a half-empty venue just felt weird. And it’s not that they can’t work the big stage, their set at ACL last year proved that, but their sound mix was harsh and I just found it unfortunate and unengaging. But on the plus side, I got to hear “Fake Empire” with horns in the outro and when they finished off their set with “Mr November”, they got a standing ovation. To those newly converted fans – you think that was good, you should see them in a proper venue. They will own your asses.

I’ve never been a Modest Mouse fan and probably will never be a Modest Mouse fan, but with that said I enjoyed their set more than I expected. Part of that was surely getting to see Johnny Marr in person (though he was maybe 3mm high and I had to wait till they showed him on the monitor screens before I was sure it was him) but also because the band simply sounded pretty good. By the end of their set, however, that goodwill was starting to evaporate and I began to remember why I didn’t like them. This was mitigated by them playing a couple songs I actually knew (yes, including that one), but I wasn’t overly upset when they finished. Of course it then started to rain.

Thankfully said rain never turned into the torrents initially promised and only lasted as long as it took them to set up R.E.M.’s gear – the weather broke about 5 minutes before their scheduled set time and even threw in a couple of rainbows for good measure. File under: good omens. Also boding well – their opening the set with “These Days” from Pageant, still my favourite record of theirs for sheer visceral kick. While I question the band’s past reputation as a monster of rock, it’s evident from the live show that it’s very much a fact now. Even though I thought their SxSW set was pretty energetic, they’ve taken it up a few notches further for the larger venues on the current tour.

Appropriately, the set list was tailored for maximum tempo leaning heavily on the new record and cherry picking the back catalog for the loud numbers. It was a treat hearing numbers like “Seven Chinese Brothers” and “Orange Crush”, but felt the omission of almost anything that might slow things down was unfortunate. Out Of Time was represented only by “Losing My Religion” (natch) in the encore and Murmur was ignored completely. And the gentler songs that were included – “Electrolite” and “Drive” – were delivered with a degree of weight that wasn’t really necessary or appropriate. A little delicacy and nuance would have gone a long way, as their reading of “Let Me In” proved – the band performed it on acoustic guitar and organ and by stripping away all the fuzz of the recorded version, elevated what was one of the best songs on one of their worst records (Monster, if you weren’t following along) and for that moment, making it one of the best of their entire repertoire. It was chilling. And then it was back to the rock.

But for what it was, and what they wanted to deliver, the show was a triumph. Seeing Michael Stipe bounding around the stage it’s impossible to imagine he was ever as much a wallflower as he was reputed to be well into the end of the ’80s. The guitarwork has benefited greatly with Scott McCaughey backing up Peter Buck and Mike Mills was terrific as always on backing vocals. And he left the Nudie suits at home. Full credit also goes to Bill Rieflin, who is easily the second best Bill the band has ever had on drums. I didn’t stick around for the full encore – it had been a long, hot, sticky and wet weekend (and not in the best senses of those words) – but yes, I know I missed Johnny Marr joining the band on “Fall On Me” and I can live with that. I still got an entirely satisfying show and my only hope is that now that the band has proven to themselves and everyone else that they can still rock, that next time they concentrate on playing their best songs, and not just the loud ones.

The National Post and The Toronto Sun talk to The National. The Toronto Star and Malaysia Star talk to Peter Buck about the band’s near-demise before recording Accelerate, Minneapolis City Pages talk to Mike Mills and The Toronto Sun, Toronto Star, eye and Chart have reviews of the show.

For some reason that now eludes me, I didn’t put in for a photo pass for this show so all I’ve got are a few pics taken from the cheap seats with my point-and-shoot. If you want detailed, up-close pics of Stipe and the gang, hit up my SxSW shots. If you want far-off shots of their set and super-cool video screen, click below. If you want shots of the openers… sorry. Without a big-ass light show, there’s simply not much to see from far back.

And finally, because some promo companies are slow and only send out review copies of the album almost a month after the record’s been released and I’ve already bought a copy, I’ve got an extra copy of Accelerate on CD that I’m going to give away. To enter, leave a comment with your correct email (spamproofed if you like) and your favourite R.E.M. album and why, and do so before midnight next Tuesday, June 17. Contest open to whomever, wherever.

Photos: R.E.M. @ The Molson Amphitheatre – June 8, 2008
MP3: The National – “Fake Empire”
Video: R.E.M. – “Supernatural Superserious”
Video: R.E.M. – “Hollow Man”
Video: Modest Mouse – “We’ve Got Everything”
Video: Modest Mouse – “Steam Eugenius”
Video: Modest Mouse – “Little Motel”
Video: The National – “Mistaken For Strangers”
Video: The National – “Apartment Story”
MySpace: R.E.M.
MySpace: Modest Mouse
MySpace: The National

The Guardian talks to Isobel Campbell about Sunday At Devil Dirt, her second album with Mark Lanegan. And Lanegan’s other current project, The Gutter Twins, have just released a new video from Saturnalia.

Video: The Gutter Twins – “Idle Hands”

The Nation contemplates the works and persona of Nick Cave. He and the Bad Seeds are at the Kool Haus on October 1, which as much as I’m looking forward to enjoying the Summer, I’m just as much anxious for it to be over so that this show is that much closer.

Wired discovers a Florida State University music masters’ student’s thesis on My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless. They’re at the Ricoh Coliseum on September 25 and the double-disc remastered version of said album is out next week.

Tripwire offers up another track from Rob Dickinson’s acoustic EP of Catherine Wheel songs included with the newly reissued (as of today) version of his solo record Fresh Wine For The Horses. He’s at the Mod Club next Wednesday, June 18.

MP3: Rob Dickinson – “Black Metallic” (acoustic)

Pitchfork talks to Jason Pierce of Spiritualized. They’re at V Fest’s day one, September 6.

And speaking of V Fest, Robyn has quietly been removed from the lineup for day two.

Stream the new Sigur Ros album. It’s out June 24.

Stream: Sigur Ros / Meo suo i eyrum vio spilum endalaust

Also streamable and out a bit sooner (like now), new ones from Supergrass, Adele and My Morning Jacket. The AV Club also has an interview with My Morning Jacket’s Jim James – they’re at the Kool Haus next Monday.

Stream: Supergrass / Diamond Hoo Ha
Stream: Adele / 19
Stream: My Morning Jacket / Evil Urges

The-Mag interviews Trespassers William frontwoman Anna-Lynne Williams about her solo project Lotte Kestner and the debut album, China Mountain.

Chart talks to Black Mountain.

Muzzle Of Bees asks five questions of Frightened Rabbit.

Drowned In Sound profiles Fleet Foxes, who’ve just released their debut full-length coincidentally titled Fleet Foxes. NPR also has a World Cafe session with the band. They’re at the Phoenix on July 16 opening for Stephen Malkmus.

WOXY has posted their recent Lounge Act session with DeVotchKa. And speaking of WOXY and DeVotchKa (and many other things), I recorded one of their “Friends Of The Futurists” shows yesterday wherein I play DJ and pick and talk about a bunch of songs for an hour with one of their on-air personalities. One of the tracks I picked was by DeVotchKa – you want to know the rest (and I know you do) head over to WOXY tonight at 8PM EDT and have a listen. It’s riveting, I promise.

Photo by Frank Yang

Indisputable conclusion to be drawn from Saturday’s Olympic Island mini-festival out on the Toronto Islands – the kids still love the Death Cab For Cutie. Oh, how they love them. The Seattle foursome’s tour in support of their recent #1 record Narrow Stairs brought them to town with a perfectly-conceived lineup also featuring Stars, Rogue Wave and Young Galaxy, and by assembling a set of bands so RIYL-friendly, you were pretty much guaranteed a happy audience from the start of the afternoon through the evening’s close.

For me, it was interesting because while I’d followed almost all the bands from their early days, I’d sort of lost touch with them in recent years. For Death Cab, Stars and Rogue Wave, it’d been four and a half, two and two and a half years respectively since I’d seen them live so while I thought I’d know what to expect, that wouldn’t necessarily be the case. It would be like seeing them with fresh eyes, and that was also precisely what I needed for the first band of the day, Young Galaxy.

I’d seen them once before in January 2007 and was so underwhelmed that I basically filed them under “ignore” ever since. But everyone deserves a second chance and since I was already there and they were right in front of me, I gave them one and happily, it wasn’t wasted. I wasn’t blown away or rush out to the merch tent to grab a copy of their self-title, but considering their recipe of dreamy co-ed space-pop should be right up my alley, I was much more sold this time around. Maybe it was the bright daylight, but they played with exponentially more energy and interest than I remembered from that Horseshoe show with even a few songs – “Come And See” in particular – that jumped out as exceptional. Congratulations Young Galaxy, you’ve made it out of my kill file.

At no time did I make an overt decision to ignore Rogue Wave, but following their second release Descended Like Vultures and subsequent departure from SubPop, they simply fell off my radar. I didn’t even know that they’d released a new record last year with Asleep At Heaven’s Gate until some time after the fact, so the fact that they seemed to lean more heavily on this record than the ones I was familiar with made it difficult for me to be overly engaged by them. They put on a good, energetic show – as I recall, the previous times I saw them, they rated as high as “alright” but not really threatening with “great” and while they were definitely better now, certainly not out of place on the big stage, my impressions were about the same on a relative scale.

For some time, Stars have been of a stature that they could reasonably have headlined a show of this size on their own so the audience response to their penultimate set was certainly a loud one. And certainly, with their flower-festooned stage setup, the band were able to endear themselves even further to their fans by tossing roses and tulips into the crowd throughout the set. They delivered a set of all the hits from their repertoire, making a case for themselves as one of the best singles bands in the country over the past few years and also making me wonder why I didn’t spend more time with last year’s In Our Bedroom After The War. Torq Campbell remains the sort of frontman who will full up whatever size stage you put him on and his antics, including scissor-kicking a feedbacking mic stand that was interrupting his trumpet solo, added a welcome bit of showmanship to the day.

As previously mentioned, the kids love the Death Cab. It’s been a while since I’ve heard such shrieks of joy as erupted when the band strode out onto a remarkably empty stage (every other band had a sea of equipment with them) at dusk. I wondered before the show how their set would be allotted – whether it would lean heavily on the newer, major-label material with which much of their fanbase was probably won over, or would it pay proper respect to their older albums? Luckily for me, it would be the latter as material from as far back as We Have The Facts And Are Voting Yes would get their proper due, but I would hope that their more recent fans have taken the trouble of exploring their back catalog – it’s not as though they’ve radically changed their sound over the years so fans of Plans should find much to love in The Photo Album.

It’s so easy to forget that for all the “sensitive band” credit that Death Cab gets, they can also bring the rock quite handily and while I don’t really remember how intense their early shows that I saw were, they definitely delivered in terms of energy. Ben Gibbard, trading in his “I’m listening” glasses for some righteous porkchop sideburns, never stopped moving (a joy for the photographer, lemme tell ya) with his facial expressions reading more like crazy person than someone you’d bring home to meet mom. It was good to see. But for all the rock, the biggest response came for solo acoustic sensitive number, “I Will Follow You Into The Dark”. The swooning was audible and a sea of digicams and cellphones were raised high above heads while the bodies they were attached to swayed and probably made out. LCDs are the new lighters.

This show felt like the unofficial start of Summer, not just for the sweltering heat wave which hit a couple days previous (thankfully mitigated by the lake so as to be just on the warm side of sublime) but for the lazy and laid back vibe of the day. Though set up like a proper fest, the compact lineup and not overwhelming crowds (except at the food concessions) kept everyone in a good, mellow mood. I’m a little alarmed at how much my feet were hurting after such a relatively easy day of show coverage, but I’ll chalk that up to getting the rust off and not that I’m too old for this stuff anymore. I’m hoping by V Fest I’m once again a lean, mean festival-going machine. Or I’ve got a sherpa to carry my gear, whichever.

The Toronto Star, The Toronto Sun, Canada.com, The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Post, Gothamist, Perth Now and She Knows have interviews with Death Cabbers while Falls Church News Press talks to Rogue Wave drummer Pat Spurgeon. The Toronto Sun, Chart and eye also have reviews of Saturday.

And I think my list of media links is longer than my review. Oh well.

Photos: Olympic Island 2008 – June 7, 2008
MP3: Death Cab For Cutie – “Soul Meets Body”
MP3: Death Cab For Cutie – “Title & Registration”
MP3: Death Cab For Cutie – “A Movie Script Ending”
MP3: Death Cab For Cutie – “The New Year”
MP3: Death Cab For Cutie – “Song For Kelly Huckaby”
MP3: Death Cab For Cutie – “Company Calls Epilogue (Alternate Version)”
MP3: Death Cab For Cutie – “405 (acoustic)”
MP3: Death Cab For Cutie – “For What Reason”
MP3: Death Cab For Cutie – “The Employment Pages”
MP3: Death Cab For Cutie – “Champagne From A Paper Cup”
MP3: Death Cab For Cutie – “Bend To Squares”
MP3: Stars – “The Night Starts Here”
MP3: Stars – “Ageless Beauty”
MP3: Rogue Wave – “Lake Michigan”
MP3: Rogue Wave – “Endless Shovel”
MP3: Rogue Wave – “Every Moment”
MP3: Rogue Wave – “10:01”
MP3: Rogue Wave – “Publish My Love”
MP3: Young Galaxy – “Outside The City”
MP3: Young Galaxy – “Come And See”
MP3: Young Galaxy – “Swing Your Heartache”
Video: Death Cab For Cutie – “I Will Possess Your Heart”
Video: Death Cab For Cutie – “I Will Follow You Into The Dark”
Video: Death Cab For Cutie – “Crooked Teeth”
Video: Death Cab For Cutie – “Soul Meets Body”
Video: Death Cab For Cutie – “Title & Registration”
Video: Death Cab For Cutie – “The New Year”
Video: Death Cab For Cutie – “A Movie Script Ending”
Video: Death Cab For Cutie – “The Sound Of Settling”
Video: Stars – “The Night Starts Here”
Video: Stars – “Take Me To The Riot”
Video: Stars – “Reunion”
Video: Stars – “Ageless Beauty”
Video: Stars – “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead”
Video: Stars – “Elevator Love Letter”
Video: Rogue Wave – “Lake Michigan”
Video: Rogue Wave – “Eyes”
Video: Rogue Wave – “Publish My Love”
Video: Young Galaxy – “Outside The City”
Video: Young Galaxy – “Come And See”
MySpace: Death Cab For Cutie
MySpace: Stars
MySpace: Rogue Wave
MySpace: Young Galaxy

Though it’s supposed to be Brendan Canning’s turn in the “Broken Social Scene Presents” marquee – his solo record Something For All Of Us… is out July 22 but available for sale digitally right now (Chart explains why), Kevin Drew isn’t quite ready to step aside, having just released another video from Spirit If….

Video: Kevin Drew – “Safety Bricks”

The Irish Independent talks to Feist.

The Times wonders why Canada is so good at turning out female singer-songwriters. Why, a eugenics program based around the genome of Joni Mitchell, of course.

NPR is streaming Neko Case’s recent performance at LA’s Walt Disney Concert Hall.

The Guardian talks to The Hold Steady about their new record Stay Positive, out July 15.

Bob Dylan and Billy Bragg – two fellows who’ve been known to have an opinion or two about politics – endorse Barack Obama to The Times and Reveille, respectively. Bragg, who plays Harbourfront Centre on June 17, also chats with The Georgia Straight and Canada.com.

Aversion interviews David Gedge of The Wedding Present.

Usually if a band is coming through town twice in a short amount of time, they hold off announcing the second show till the first one’s done for fear of siphoning off ticket sales. In the case of Mogwai, however, it might actually help. Matador has announced the band’s Fall North American tour in support of The Hawk Is Howling, out September 23, and its companion EP Batcat, out September 9, and it brings the Scottish outfit to the Kool Haus on September 24. Note that this is a venue twice the size as the Phoenix, where they’ll be on June 30. Obviously expectations are that the new record will double their fanbase. So if you’ve been dithering about deciding whether to go to the Phoenix show, there’s some incentive. And if support is a determiner, Toronto’s I Can Put My Arm Back On You Can’t open the Phoenix show, Fuck Buttons the Kool Haus.

A special NxNE preview edition!

Young & Sexy / The Arc (Mint) I’ve given up that Young & Sexy will ever be the band I hoped they’d become since their 2002 debut Stand Up To Your Mother, which is to say a bonafide Canadian answer to Belle & Sebastian. But rather than hone the great twee-pop promise that record showed, they headed off in another direction. Paul Pittman and Lucy Brain’s immaculate boy-girl harmonies would remain but by album four, they’ve been grafted onto song structures that are more prog than pop, often eschewing the easy hook in favour of an unexpected turn. Such ambition is laudable but too many sudden turns and you’re likely to get lost and much of The Arc feels more like a knot – meandering and lacking focus or purpose. It could well be that eventually they’ll hit on the right formula to thrill both the pop-seekers and experimentalists, but until then we’ll have to settle for a balance of beauty and frustration. Young & Sexy play Sneaky Dee’s at 11PM, June 13. MP3: Young & Sexy – “Young & Sexy vs The Arc” MP3: Young & Sexy – “Saucerful Of Fire” MySpace: Young & Sexy

The New Odds / Cheerleader (Pheremone) Even though they’ve got three of the four original members – singer/guitarist Steven Drake has opted to sit this out – The New Odds should be commended for taking on a (slightly) different name for their new incarnation. Back when they were just Odds (not even the definite article), they were a staple of my high school/college musical diet for their ability to mate clever (but not smart-ass) lyricism with sharp, guitar-driven power pop. The intervening years haven’t dulled those instincts but there’s something new between the riffs – not necessarily the maturity you’d expect from more advanced years, but more an uncertainty and ambivalence at being expected to be more mature. Conscious of the baby seat in the minivan but also the Marshall stack in the trunk. The New Odds are playing Yonge-Dundas Square at 7PM on June 12 and at midnight that same night at the El Mocambo. They talk to JAM and The North Shore News about the decision to reform. MySpace: The New Odds

Ketch Harbour Wolves / December (independent) This isn’t the most timely review – this Toronto band’s EP came out last year and they’ve already released a follow-up in Dead Calm Horizon – but in my defense the slim paper packaging was easy to lose amongst the stacks of CDs, and hey, better late than never, right? What I was missing was a darkly elegant collection of songs reminiscent of The National, though perhaps not quite so world-worn or on the wrong side of last call. Tastefully appointed with strings, horns and stately piano but with a unmistakably rock core, December reaches for understated theatricality while sidestepping melodrama and achieves something a little short of greatness but still pretty impressive. Ketch Harbour Wolves play the Matt Cohen Parkette (aka the giant dominos sculpture at Bloor and Spadina) at 4PM this Tuesday and at Rancho Relaxo on Thursday at midnight MP3: Ketch Harbour Wolves – “The New Quixotics” MP3: Ketch Harbour Wolves – “Maple Wine” MP3: Ketch Harbour Wolves – “Curse Of Odysseus” MySpace: Ketch Harbour Wolves

Photo via thetingtings.com

Oh the iPod ad, that modern-day golden ticket to fame and fortune, at least for the length of the campaign. The latest act to ride the dancing silhouette to glory is Manchester duo The Ting Tings, though they were hardly pulled out of obscurity into the spotlight. They were one of the much buzzed-about acts at SxSW this year and while signing a deal with Columbia just before the fest may have diminished some of the feeding frenzy around the band, they still ended up playing something like a dozen shows over the four days.

But it’s one thing to have a song edited down to 30-seconds of maximum effectiveness, and quite another to remain as impactful over the course of an entire album. Or at least it should be. The Ting Tings’ full-length debut We Started Nothing actually manages to contradict this by essentially building each song around a single strong hook or melodic line (usually surrounded by remarkably simple and generic musical accompaniment) and repeating it ad nauseum until it’s approximately song-length. In fact, almost every track feels like a commercial soundtrack caught in an endless loop, though if they’re courting the indie-dance crowd then that’s surely by design.

One highlight is the sweet and strummy “Traffic Light”, which offers a respite from the breakneck pace as well as showcases Katie White’s vocals, which are stronger and more versatile than their shouty singles would imply. Otherwise, Nothing‘s jackhammer repetition is perfectly suited to the nano-second attention span of the MySpace generation but for those accustomed to more immersive and attentive listening, it gets a bit maddening before the record’s sub-40 minute running time is up. But obviously there’s more of the former than the latter out there, since the record went straight in at #1 on the UK charts. Nothing is an unabashedly slight but effectively catchy soundtrack for Summer. Put it on your iPod mix, turn up loud and don’t pay too close attention.

The Ting Tings are coming to town for a show at the Mod Club on June 16 and courtesy of Sony BMG Canada, I’ve got two pairs of passes to give away for the show. And, to sweeten the deal and add a healthy dose of irony, each winner will also receive a copy of We Started Nothing on un-iPod-rippable vinyl. And if you don’t have a turntable… well, you can get one. They’re fun. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “Shut up and let me go to the Ting Tings” in the subject line and your full mailing address in the body. Contest closes at midnight June 11.

There are features on the band at USA Today, The Georgia Straight, Rolling Stone and The Daily Star.

Video: The Ting Tings – “Great DJ”
Video: The Ting Tings – “That’s Not My Name”
MySpace: The Ting Tings

Drowned In Sound asks Kele from Bloc Party some questions. Kele answers them. Everybody wins. Bloc Party are playing day one of V Fest on September 6 at the Toronto Islands.

JAM (twice) and Beatroute talk to Islands.

John Roderick gives Spin a heads-up on The Long Winters’ return to the studio for the follow-up to 2006’s Putting The Days To Bed.

The Secret Machines will be at Lee’s Palace on July 12.

Crawdaddy and Beatroute talk to Drive-By Trucker Patterson Hood.

Mac McCaughan talks Portastatic with Beatroute.

Chart chats with Aimee Mann. She’s at the Kool Haus on August 28.

Topless Robot lists off the top 10 worst superheroes to ever appear on TV. Given the video evidence, it’s difficult to argue with any of the choices but I feel compelled to add Manimal (YouTube), Automan (YouTube) and the so-bad-it-makes-Ben-Affleck-look-less-bad Daredevil from Trial Of The Incredible Hulk (pic) to the list of atrocities. And yes, as a child I watched all of these religiously and without prejudice. What of it.

Photo by Frank Yang

It’d been almost exactly a month since I’d last attended a proper club show – astonishing, I know – so it’s not surprising that rolling into the El Mocambo on Tuesday night felt a bit unfamiliar. Thankfully, there were some familiar faces on the bill to ease the transition back into the world of live music just a bit.

Brooklyn’s Jealous Girlfriends have become favourites of mine over the last few months, from their Toronto debut last October through their SxSW Hot Freaks appearance and the recent release of their self-titled album, so though I missed their visit in March opening for Nada Surf, I was pleased for the opportunity to see them play again.

The other times I’d seen them play, they’d come across as scorching but on this night, whether deliberately or not, they came across as more of a smoulder. Rather than fill the set with their more immediate, rocking material they kept it rather mid-tempo with a surprising amount of new material and establishing themselves as probably the only band on the planet to cover Think Tank-era Blur. As an established fan, it was nice to hear the new material and “Monkey Brains”, which is on their MySpace in demo form and which was a highlight last year at the Drake, continues to sound better each time out. But as far as winning new fans over – and I’ve seen people slackjawed after their shows – I don’t think this was necessarily them putting their best foot forward.

Conversely, I came to Sea Wolf with considerably lower expectations – I’m partial to their sound but their debut full-length Leaves In The River and past live shows have failed to fully engage me. But sometime between last June and now, they’ve figured out a key ingredient to rectifying that – an ass-kicking drummer. They’ve changed stickmen since last time and the extra volume and energy the new guy brought to the kit made a world of difference, giving Alex James Church’s compositions – finely crafted and orchestrated but rather stiff folk rock – some much-needed swing. The looser and louder Sea Wolf weren’t a revelation but a definite improvement and enough to move them up a good number of rungs in my estimation.

The Jealous Girlfriends are keeping a tour blog for Exclaim! while Vue and Pasta Primavera has an interview with the band.

Photos: Sea Wolf, The Jealous Girlfriends @ The El Mocambo – June 3, 2008
MP3: Sea Wolf – “You’re A Wolf”
MP3: Sea Wolf – “The Garden That You Planted”
MP3: The Jealous Girlfriends – “Roboxulla”
Video: Sea Wolf – “You’re A Wolf”
Video: The Jealous Girlfriends – “How Now”
MySpace: Sea Wolf

Calexico will release their new album Carried To Dust on September 9 – expect them to preview a lot of the new material when they play the Mod Club on July 6. Woodpigeon will support.

Popmatters and The Daily Yomiuri talk Third with Portishead.

VBS visits Lightspeed Champion and Handsome Furs in their rehearsal spaces, video camera in hand. Lightspeed Champion are at Lee’s Palace next Wednesday night – June 11 – and Handsome Furs are there on August 22.

Video: Practice Space – Lightspeed Champion
Video: Practice Space – Handsome Furs

The Line Of Best Fit interviews Bon Iver. He is at Lee’s Palace on July 22.

MSNBC and CNN discuss @#%&! Smilers with Aimee Mann. Thanks to Being There for pointing out yesterday that her August 28 show at the Kool Haus is not a headlining gig, but as support for Squeeze.

eye talks to Death Cab For Cutie and previews their show at Olympic Island this Saturday, while Minnesota Public Radio has the band in their studios for a session which is available to stream or download. The Ottawa Citizen, Hour.ca, The Monreal Gazette, Kansas City Star and Seattle Weekly also talk to various band members about various topics.

Also playing the island Saturday is Rogue Wave, and I Am Fuel You Are Friends directs us to this director’s cut of their new video by Bob Odenkirk.

Video: Rogue Wave – “Chicago x 12”

And also coming out of Minnesota with a radio session are Shearwater, who stopped in at the University of Minnesota’s Radio K to record some tracks from their just-released and Pitchfork 8.0-ed new album Rook. They’ll be at the Horseshoe on June 23.

Beatroute has a sit-down with Okkervil River’s Will Sheff. They release The Stand Ins on September 9 and play the Phoenix on October 12.

My Morning Jacket are streaming the whole of Evil Urges on their MySpace right now, in advance of the record’s release next Tuesday. They play the Kool Haus on June 16.

Stream: My Morning Jacket / Evil Urges

The Globe & Mail, The Province and The Los Angeles Times talk to a Billy Bragg, who’ll be performing at Harbourfront Centre on June 17.

Exclaim! talks to Matt Berninger of The National. They’re at the Molson Amphitheatre this Sunday opening for R.E.M..

Elbow respond to Drowned In Sound readers’ questions.

Reveille discover just how prickly an interviewee Mark Kozelek of Sun Kil Moon can be.

Erase Errata will be at Sneaky Dee’s on July 7.