With Superchunk on the back burner indefinitely, Mac McCaughan has turned former side project Portastatic into his primary creative outlet. It’s no coincidence that each successive Portastatic album released after the last Superchunk record (2001’s Here’s To Shutting Up) sounds more and more like a ringer for Superchunk. Whereas the older albums were a catch-all for McCaughan’s musical experiments outside the Superchunk mould, 2001’s excellent Summer Of The Shark and its companion mini-album Autumn Was A Lark were fully realized rock records that could stand shoulder to shoulder with anything his day job released in the past decade. It’s a trend that continues with his/their latest record, Bright Ideas, which came out this past Tuesday.

Notable for being the first Portastatic record recorded as a full band (with Superchunk guitarist Jim Wilbur on bass and Mac’s brother Matt on drums), the album opens with the quiet and textured title track, which sounds more like earlier-era Portastatic but from there on it’s solid power pop that could pass for the ‘Chunk if they’d turned the gain knobs on their distortion pedals down a touch – more jangle than fuzz. For reasons unbeknownst to me, it took a few listens to get into this record but now I’m enjoying it quite a bit. It’s a shame this record is coming out so late in August – it would have been a great soundtrack for the Summer.

Bright Ideas also comes with companion pieces – an EP previewing material from the album called Looking For A Power Supply was released earlier this Summer on a Spanish label, but copies are available domestically for you completists out there. Also, early pressings of Bright Ideas came with a disc of demos called Ideas For Bright Ideas – I found my copy of the album used over a month ago, so it had no bonus disc. It did have a big fancy hole punched through the UPC code, though. That’s just as good as demos!

Mac and co are embarking on a fairly extensive Fall tour that includes a stop at Lee’s Palace on September 12th with Tenement Halls. I’ve never seen Superchunk live (and may never get the chance to) but did see Portastatic open for Yo La Tengo a few years back. Good show, recommended. And RelishNow has an interview with Mac (via Largehearted Boy).

MP3: Portastatic – “I Wanna Know Girls”

Initially reported by Adam Radwanski and now confirmed by Billions – the October 9th New Pornographers/ Destroyer show has moved from the desolate Docks to the much friendlier Phoenix. I dashed out and bought the album and a ticket after work yesterday – after all, the capacity of the show just got cut by 2000 heads. I think a sell-out is a much safer bet now.

Also at the Phoenix – Spoon return to Toronto with Mary Timony in tow on November 1. American Music Club join the tour four days later. Alas, I guess it was not to be for us, though I notice New York get Mary Timony AND American Music Club. Because, you know, New York doesn’t get enough good shows. Not at all.

And a little more show news – Matt Pond PA will be opening for Athlete at the Opera House on September 19. Liz Phair at the Phoenix on October 23. Interesting pairing.

Okkervil River’s Will Sheff took guest-blogging duties yesterday at Said The Gramophone, taking the opportunity to offer a first-year course in Tim Hardin, who was the inspiration for Okkervil’s latest album Black Sheep Boy. Coincidentally, I picked up Down The River Of Golden Dreams yesterday – it’s lovely.

Colin Meloy of The Decemberists confides to Billboard that they won’t be playing a lot of new material on their upcoming Fall tour (including a show October 13 at the Phoenix in Toronto) because they, like, want the next album to be a surprise. The faithful shouldn’t expect the follow-up to Picaresque until late next Summer, but they can look forward to the band’s first DVD due out sometime… you know, later.

AmAnSet has another website courtesy of their new lable,Arts & Crafts. There’s also a listening party for their new album Set Free at The Drake tonight, if you can’t wait till it comes out September 20.

NOW puts pop culture pundit Chuck Klosterman on this weeks cover (and fawns all over him in the accompanying article) in advance of his Killing Yourself To Live book reading at the Horseshoe next Wednesday. It’s free!

The Torontoist week in shows.

np – The New Pornographers / Twin Cinema

Rolling Stone is first out of the blocks with information on the new Belle & Sebastian album. Coming out earlier than expected, The Goalkeeper’s Revenge has been given a target release date of January 2006. Handling production duties on this one was Tony Hoffer, who has a very impressive contemporary indie-pop resume. It will be interesting to see what the band keeps from Trevor Horn’s heavier-handed production on Dear Catastrophe Waitress. I’ve been a longtime B&S fan, but tend to go through feast-or-famine phases with the band. I haven’t spun any of their stuff in some time, come to think of it – betcha that ends soon.

Also exciting is the Rolling Stone piece mentions expectations of a Spring North American tour. I’ve seen the band twice, almost thrice (their 1998 show at the Opera House was cancelled at the last minute due to an Isobel Campbell fit of pique) and the last show at Massey Hall in November 2003 was one of the best I’ve ever seen. I would assume a T.O. date would again be at Massey Hall… here’s hoping I can work my front-row centre Massey Hall magic again! Finally – they will also be contributing a track to the upcoming War Child benefit compilation Help: A Day In The Life (available online on September 9 and in stores shortly thereafer) and the official bio has a website (though really, there’s nothing there). And they’ve updated the Q&A section of their own website (Stuart calls The Hidden Cameras “a pack of scavaging whore-mongers” – but in a good way).

Paste has a quickie with The New Pornographers. Twin Cinema is absolutely rocking Metacritic right now. I usually avoid the big stores but HMV has Twin Cinema for $14.99… tough price to beat.

I’m pleased to see Wheat’s lovely “Don’t I Hold You” will be included on the soundtrack to Cameron Crowe’s Elizabethtown. Wheat never got the success they were due before going on hiatus last year – hopefully this will put some dollars in their pockets. My only question is whether Crowe was wise enough to include the far superior Hope & Adams version in as opposed to the re-recorded, overproduced Per Second Per Second Per Second Every Second version? Probably not. Also appearing on the soundtrack are My Morning Jacket and Ryan Adams. The album is out September 13, the movie October 14.

For The Eardrums offers up an interview with Dirty On Purpose for the eyeballs.

John Cale, ex of The Velvet Underground, will be in town for a three-night stand at the Lula Lounge from November 13 to 15. Tickets are $25, though there’s sure to be some weird dinner/show packages available from the Lounge. Shows @ Lula Lounge = weird.

There’s really not much you can say about a news story like this.

np – Mat Pond PA / Emblems

Everyone knows I do love me a good cover song, so I was pleased to see Copy, Right? devote a complete post to covers of The Magnetic Fields. And I have to say I completely agree with Liza that the Arcade Fire cover of “Born On A Train” is uninspiring at best. The arrangement is pedestrian and Win’s voice is absolutely shot (this is in reference to the KCRW radio session version that was circulating – I’ve no idea if there are others). If you’ve not heard it, you can watch a video of their session and judge for yourself.

If I may be so bold, I much prefer the version that my old band did on one of our old EPs (you can listen to the whole thing here, courtesy of Five Seventeen. Though I haven’t heard the finished version of the album we recorded over a year ago (it should be out, uh, someday), I think this was the best-sounding recording we ever did. Take that as you will. Maybe we should have submitted the track to It’s Meaningless, the online Magnetic Fields tribute project. I actually haven’t gone through any of the submissions here – what’s worthwhile?

There’s not too much actual Magnetic Fields news to report on – the promotional cycle for last year’s I is done and Stephin Merritt appears to be devoting his time to stage projects. There’s full details on the MF website, but particularly interesting is the fact that he’s working on a musical adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s children’s book Coraline with an eye towards a Fall 2006 release. That could be quite interesting.

Some bits from the land of Broken Social – Broken Social Scene has leaked and Kevin Drew is philosophical about the fact that it’s out there over a month before its October 4 release date. That’s right, everyone. Scurry to your P2P networks. Scurry! Elsewhere, Stars are interviewed by Incendiary, Gothamist talks to BSS guitarist John Crossingham’s Raising The Fawn and in the “no big surprise” deptartment, Metric have added a second show at the Phoenix on September 28 to go along with the sold-out show there on the 29th. Their new one, Live It Out, is out the day before, on the 27th. Expect it to leak aaaany day now.

Though still untitled and not looking very likely for the originally planned Fall release, Rainer Maria have posted a Quicktime stream of one of their new songs, called “Burn”. Hmm, the album was produced by Malcolm Burn – wonder if the song’s named after him? Either way – it’s nice. Hard to believe this is the same band that made Look Now, Look Again. They’ve… mellowed. It suits them. Aside – I had no idea that in The Sound Of Music, Maria’s maiden name is “Rainer”. Maria Rainer. Weird.

Junkmedia and Pulse Of The Twin Cities have words with Joe Pernice, but no fisticuffs ensue.

I bought a set of these at Ikea last week. They’re brilliant. I’ve never been so excited to grate cheese in my life.

np – Yo La Tengo / Prisoners Of Love

New York (and outlying regions’) chamber pop combo Matt Pond PA will release their new album Several Arrows Later on October 11 with supporting tour dates to be announced shortly. The band also reports progress in finding a replacement for cellist/vocalist Eve Miller, who departed the band earlier this Summer. She presumably still appears on the new album, as does appear in the video for “Closest (Look Out)”, the link to which comes courtesy of Prefix.

While rather quiet in the press since their cover of “Champagne Supernova” soundtracked a key scene in The O.C., there has been some press about how that’s affected the band’s fortunes, the recent covers-heavy Winter Songs EP and what to expect from the new record. Pond talked to Ink 19 and 30music (what’s with the numerically-inclined webzines?) while guitarist Brian Pearl took a few minutes with Wheel Kick.

In a bit of an odd pairing but pleasant surprise, the Fruit Bats will be opening for Son Volt on the leg of their Fall tour that includes the October 17 show at the Opera House in Toronto. I have my ticket and am looking forward to seeing Jay Farrar for the first time ever, but still feel a pang of regret that it means missing out on the Mountain Goats show at Lee’s the same night. And speaking of the Goats, thanks to Zoilus for this link to their first-ever music video, a clip for “This Year”, off The Sunset Tree.

JAM! and Billboard have reports from Neil Young’s two-night stand at the Ryman in Nashville last week, which was being recorded by Jonathan Demme for a forthcoming concert documentary and which featured songs from Neil’s new album Prairie Wind, which is due out on September 27. Young recently renewed his contract with Reprise Records, a move which should finally see the release of his Archives, which have been on a burner of some sort for decades now.

The latest issue of Filter Mini is now available to download and peruse. The cover artist this time around is Rilo Kiley.

Sixeyes solicits some recommended listening from John Vanderslice, guaranteed to give you fresher breath and a glossier, shinier coat. His new one, Pixel Revolt, which I’m sure he wouldn’t mind you listening to as well, is out Tuesday.

Incendiary interviews Decemberists. Via Largehearted Boy.

Some rather fruitful record-shopping this past weekend – scored a few House of Love and Billy Bragg 7″s, a neat Dinosaur Jr 10″ EP for “Feel The Pain”, a Luna 12″ single and a near-mint copy of The Chameleons’ What Does Anything Mean? Basically. Mmm, vinyl.

np – Mogwai / Government Commissions: BBC Sessions 1996-2003

Brakes / Give Blood (Rough Trade) Brakes could be described as a UK supergroup if you have a very loose frame of reference for “super”. Fronted by British Sea Power keyboardist Eamon Hamilton, Electric Soft Parade principles Tom and Alex White and The Tenderfoot’s Marc Beatty, they’re not exactly Traffic. The 16 tracks clock in at under half an hour and the entire album has an incredibly loose, off the cuff, occasionally country-ish feel with straightforward punky arrangements and goofy, snotty vocals. There’s little doubt the manifesto for this project is to drink, goof off and have a lark, so it’s a little surprising that the results are so listenable. It’s not going to change anyone’s life, but it’s a good, quick bit of fun. The kitchen sink aesthetic is a real departure for the ESP boys, who I’ve always thought failed to realize their potential by falling prey to serious overproduction on their own records. Maybe they’ll take something positive away from this to apply to their day job? Oh, and in case you’re wondering, “Sometimes Always” is a cover but “Fell In Love With A Girl” is not. The album, out in the UK last month, gets a North American release on September 13. Incendiary has an interview with Brakes.

The Perishers / Let There Be Morning (EMI) The Coldplay-led sensitive rock phenomenon that has been sweeping across the UK now has a standard-bearer in Sweden in the form of The Perishers. Perhaps the only band on the face of the Earth that Coldplay could beat up, The Perishers (whose name inaccurately conjures up images of death metal – for me, anyway) are all about piano and acoustic-y ballads with just enough electric instrumentation to lend some texture or edge. Ola Kluft’s voice is more than a little reminiscent of Travis singer Fran Healy’s, but the songs lack his wry sense of wit – instead, the lyrical content is more naval-gazing and generally simplistic and glum. Think about that for a minute – there now exists music that is Travis lite. Be afraid. Let There Be Morning is delicate, heart on sleeve emotional and utterly unnecessary.

Some By Sea (MySpace) I am well aware that it’s hypocritical of me to rag on one act for being artistically redundant but not do the same for another act that doesn’t really bring anything new to the table, but whatever. I’m capricious like that. Sea-Tac’s Some By Sea sound not unlike the lower-fi offspring of Matt Pond PA’s cello-seasoned chamber pop and Death Cab For Cutie’s earnestly melodic and verbose indie rock. Chris Du Bray’s voice is a little on the thin and nasal side, and the songs benefit when cellist/keyboardist Rachel Bowman adds her harmonies to the mix. The four songs on their MySpace page offer a mix of live and studio tracks and it all sounds quite good. They’ve got an album and EP in the discography and will expand that on September 27 with a new EP, The Saddest Christmas, and a second full-length is in the works for early next year.

np – various artists / Never Lose That Feeling Volume One