Photo by Frank Yang

Blame Belle & Sebastian, or perhaps Teenage Fanclub, but in my mind Scots are generally synonymous with often quiet, unfailingly melodic and frequently bookish music. Even Mogwai, noisemongers they may be, rarely raise their voices past a mumble when it comes time to sing.

So I have Sons & Daughters to thank for blowing that stereotype to little bitty pieces. I’d never paid them much heed before, but some positive reviews and the fact that Bernard Butler was in the producer’s seat for their third record This Gift was enough to get me to pay attention and boy howdy, am I glad I did. From start to finish, it’s a breakneck galloping hybrid of glam and rockabilly led by Adele Bethel’s devilish and delicious snarl and Scott Paterson’s jackhammer guitar riffs and hollered backing vox. There’s none of my imagined Scottish politeness, their brogues are not cozy anoraks. They are fierce and fiery and will not settle for whispering when shouting will do. And on top of all of this, they are pop. So very pop, with barbs and hooks and no compunctions about using them.

If it’s not clear, I really like the record and so relative to my enthusiasm for the record, I expected Lee’s Palace to be packed on Wednesday night. And while it was a healthy enough audience, everyone had plenty of personal space and they all seemed to be of the established fanbase and not necessarily new converts like myself or simply the curious, enticed by any sort of hype or buzz.

Opening things up was California quartet Bodies Of Water, who evade easy description. The most obviously remarkable thing about them are their harmonies – flawless choral four-parters that would be impressive if they simply performed a capella. But they don’t – they take a musical mystery tour through the sounds of the ’70s, paying special attention to the lessons of prog rock as well as influences you’d file under psychedelia or country. The net result is technically stunning but the overworked songcraft and arrangements ended up feeling a bit sterile.

Sterility wasn’t a concern for the headliners, though exhaustion quite obviously was. Toronto was the last date on this leg of their North American tour (they return for a west coast swing in a month starting at Coachella) and the wear and tear was evident. Bethel’s voice was noticeably frayed around the edges and bassist Ailidh Lennon was fighting a nasty case of the flu, though you couldn’t tell if it hadn’t been mentioned – her playing was fine and though her pallor was deathly pale, I’m fairly certain she always looks like that. But the nice thing about the finals shows of tours is that the band has no reason not to leave it all on stage and whatever the band had left in the tank, they did their best to use it up at Lee’s, Bethel prowling the stage like a wild cat on the hunt.

I had caught a couple of their day shows at SxSW and while those were great, they’re really not a daytime band. At night, in a dank club (not that Lee’s is especially dank) is where their goth-country punk noir really belongs. I was only really familiar with the This Gift material, which made up half the hour-long set, and while that sounded great it was the older material – aka the stuff I didn’t really recognize – that really stood out. No, they’re not as finely crafted pop songs as the new stuff but that allowed them the be delivered with a lot more brute force intensity. And Sons & Daughters do brute force well, with a snarl and a smile.

FabChannel has a terrific quality video of a Sons & Daughters concert in Amsterdam from last month.

Photos: Sons & Daughters, Bodies Of Water @ Lee’s Palace – March 26, 2008
MP3: Sons & Daughters – “Dance Me In”
MP3: Sons & Daughters – “Johnny Cash”
MP3: Sons & Daughters – “Gilt Complex” (acoustic, live on Vic Galloway)
MP3: Sons & Daughters – “Chains” (acoustic, live on Vic Galloway)
MP3: Bodies Of Water – “I Guess I’ll Forget The Sound, I Guess I Guess”
MP3: Bodies Of Water – “These Are The Eyes”
MP3: Bodies Of Water – “Doves Circle The Sky”
MP3: Bodies Of Water – “We Are Co-Existors”
Video: Sons & Daughters – “Gilt Complex”
Video: Sons & Daughters – “Darling”
Video: Bodies Of Water – “I Heard A Sound”
MySpace: Sons & Daughters
MySpace: Bodies Of Water

Pitchfork has an interview with Colin Greenwood of Radiohead.

Chart talks to The Gutter Twins, who’ve just released the first appropriately seedy video from Saturnalia.

Video: The Gutter Twins – “All Misery/Flowers”

Ray Davies, in town at the Danforth Music Hall on April 3, chats with Spinner.

Duffy tells Digital Spy she’s not all that familiar with frequent reference point Dusty Springfield. And apparently the UK version of her video for “Mercy” wasn’t good enough for North America because they made a new one.

Video: Duffy – “Mercy” (US version)

Jonathan Meiburg of Shearwater talks to Pitchfork about the forthcoming Rook (out June 3), ornithology and maintaining his Okkervil River commitments. Shearwater will be at Lee’s Palace on May 11 and Okkervil River at the Phoenix on April 9, but it doesn’t sound like we should expect to see Meiburg onstage at that one. Alas.

Black Mountain does the press thing with JAM!, The Gateway and The Chicago Tribune.

CMJ talks to Laura Cantrell about her forthcoming, digital-only covers EP Trains and Boats and Planes, from which this acoustic New Order cover is taken. The EP will be available on April 15.

MP3: Laura Cantell – “Love Vigilantes”

Concert news of note – due to popular demand, Jens Lekman’s two-night stand at the Music Gallery has been combined Voltron-style into a single night on April 8 at the Great Hall out on Queen West. All tickets for either night at the music gallery will be honoured and more tickets are now on sale.

Elsewhere, Creature, out of Brighton UK, Montreal, Quebec, is at the Rivoli on April 26. Spiral Beach are at the Opera House on May 17, Snowden and Colour Revolt are at Lee’s Palace on May 21. Sea Wolf is back for a gig at the El Mocambo on June 3 and Nine Inch Nails are at the Air Canada Centre on August 5.

MP3: Creature – “Brigette Bardot”
MP3: Snowden – “Anti-Anti”
MP3: Colour Revlot – “A Siren”
MP3: Colour Revolt – “Naked And Red”
MP3: Spiral Beach – “Made Of Stone”
MP3: Spiral Beach – “Kind Of Beast”
MP3: Sea Wolf – “You’re A Wolf”
MP3: Sea Wolf – “The Garden That You Planted”

Photo by Darren Ankenman

If Gary Louris had released Vagabonds under the Jayhawks mantle, no one would have batted an eye. But having essentially retired that outfit – ironically at a time when he was again working with fellow founder Mark Olson (their Ready For The Flood is out this Fall) – that wasn’t an option. And so we have Gary Louris’ first solo record which, hopefully without being too reductive, sounds like a Jayhawks record.

And that’s a good thing. Rather than going the acoustic-y, singer-songwriter route, which he surely would have excelled at as well, he’s turned out a richly-produced, full-band album of roots rock with touches of gospel and soul. It’s definitely powered by Louris’ distinctive electric guitar work but still rarely strays from its mid-tempo groove and treads on familiar ground, both musically and lyrically. That’s alright, though, as Louris has earned the right to move at whatever pace and through whatever terrain he so chooses. And so while it doesn’t offer much in the way of surprises, Vagabonds manages to be quietly and thoughtfully sweeping and with five years gone since the last Jayhawks record, it’s good to have him back.

Louris is doing the press circuit as well as hitting the road, giving interviews to My Old Kentucky Blog, JamBase, eye, TwinCities.com, The Phoenix and Exclaim!. And as for the touring, he rolls into Toronto this Sunday for a show at the Mod Club and courtesy of Against The Grain, I’ve got one pair of passes to give away to the show. If you want, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I promise not to shout out too many Jayhawks requests” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest closes tonight (March 27) at midnight.

You can stream the whole of Vagabonds on Gary’s MySpace.

MySpace: Gary Louris

A couple of veteran acts coming to town – Crowded House have booked a two-night stand at the Danforth Music Hall on May 6 and 7, while Emmylou Harris will be at Massey Hall on June 16.

And not veteran in the least, UK punk, rock and soul outfit The Heavy are going to be at Lee’s Palace on May 10. I’ve heard some good things about these guys. Anyone want to endorse or decry?

MP3: The Heavy – “Colleen”
Video: The Heavy – “That Kind Of Man”
MySpace: The Heavy

M.I.A. returns for a show at the Sound Academy on June 2.

Reveille chats with Headlights.

Amy Millan relates the story of Stars to Cleveland Scene while Torq Campbell gives The AV Club a look at his iPod.

Daytrotter ponies up a session with A Place To Bury Strangers.

Exclaim! talks to The Coast, who release their debut Expatriate in Canada on April 1 but not until August 19 in the US. They’re playing a record release show at the Horseshoe on April 18.

The D’Urbervilles tell JAM! they’re not a Toronto band. They will still play here, however, as they intend to on May 1 at the UKULA store as part of the Over The Top Fest.

Photo by Mark Borthwick

You can’t say that what Tift Merritt was doing wasn’t working – her 2002 debut Bramble Rose was received with great critical acclaim and the follow-up, 2005’s Tambourine, was equally well-received and garnered her a Grammy nomination. And yet, following the exhaustive touring cycle for that record, she felt spent and decamped to Paris to recuperate and rediscover herself. The net outcome of which is Another Country.

While both of her first two efforts were fine examples of the genres into which they were inevitably filed – alt.country with the debut, southern rock & soul on the follow-up – there was something about each that didn’t ring entirely true to me. I don’t mean that they weren’t genuine efforts or that she wasn’t convincing in those roles, but more that neither of those particular styles – at least not delivered as straight as they were – seemed quite the right fit for Merritt. And while it’d be far too much of an overstatement to say that Another Country showcases the real Tift Merritt, there’s something very direct and guileless in the new record that wasn’t necessarily there in the first two records.

The country and soul of her earlier works still informs much of what she does, but you’d be hard pressed to pigeonhole Another Country as either of those with a clean conscience. With the exception of a couple more uptempo numbers, the overall tenor is quiet, contemplative and searching and in this context, Merritt’s voice – always a thing of beauty – sounds better than it ever has. When I originally mentioned anticipating this record back in January, I said I’d have been perfectly happy with another record in the vein of her first two. Happily, Merritt delivered something else entirely and in the process, taught me to not presume to know what to expect from an artist.

Tift Merritt is at the El Mocambo on April 1 while The Washington Times and The Independent Weekly have interviews.

MP3: Tift Merritt – “Broken”
MP3: Tift Merritt – “Keep You Happy”
Video: Tift Merritt – “Broken”
MySpace: Tift Merritt

The National Post talks to Sons & Daughters, in town tonight at Lee’s Palace, about the making of their scorching new record This Gift.

JAM! salutes Basia Bulat, champion of the autoharp. She’s at Lee’s Palace on Saturday night. And check out bandmate Holly’s Gas Station Gourmet blog, wherein she keeps a diary of the dubious diet of life on the road.

PopMatters talks to Colin Meloy about the impetus behind Colin Meloy Sings Live!, out April 8, and the accompanying tour which brings him to the Phoenix on April 19.

Exclaim! Q&As Zooey Deschanel of She & Him

Minnesota Public Radio offers up a studio session with British Sea Power. They’re at Lee’s Palace on May 16.

In advance of their show at the El Mocambo that night, The Dodos are doing an in-store at Soundscapes on April 9 at 5PM. These guys really impressed at SxSW – catch one or both of these shows if you can.

I missed their last show in town because I had a date with Neil Young, so I’m glad to see The Blakes are coming back to town for a show at the Horseshoe on April 25. You may recall that I dug their self-titled debut and I hear they put on a pretty scorching show at the Silver Dollar in November, so I’m glad to get a chance to see it for myself.

And you may have noticed that I closed my Beautiful Noise contest a couple days early… short version, it was an invite-only affair and Torontoist decided that meant “invite everybody” and posted the RSVP emails for all to see. These are not guaranteed admissions, but it did mean that the guest lists for the shows were filling up much faster than anticipated, and I had to get my names together ASAP. There is good news and bad news with this – the good news is that I was given more spots to give away than originally planned so many more of you got emails from me last night confirming your attendance and asking for stuff like your names. If you entered, check your emails and your junk mail and your bulk mail for something from me. And if you’ve looked and looked and looked, then sorry, I just couldn’t accommodate everyone. The bad news is that if you were procrastinating for whatever reason… you’re SOL. But on the bright side, you’re free to use the RSVP emails at Torontoist to take a shot at whatever lottery system they’re using to handle those requests. Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

Photo by Liz Flyntz

If you’re having trouble sleeping of late, you may want to consider heading to the El Mocambo this Friday night when Baltimore guitar-and-keys duo Beach House pays us a visit in support of their new album Devotion. This isn’t to say they’ll put you to sleep from boredom – they simply trade in and excel at the sort of slow-motion, foggy day at a gauze factory, pure aural narcolepsy that could take on the toughest case of insomnia. I totally mean that in a positive sense. I think I dozed off when I saw them a couple years ago but I was sitting in a comfy chair beside a roaring fire (it was an unconventional venue). You try staying awake in that scenario.

Courtesy of Against The Grain, I’ve got a pair of passes to give away to this show, which also features The Papercuts and Sing Leaf. To enter, shoot me an email at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to live in a Beach House” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Do this by midnight tonight – March 26. And if you don’t happen to win… try some warm milk. Or a shot of brandy. Or two.

My Old Kentucky Blog recently ran an interview with Alex and Victoria of Beach House.

MP3: Beach House – “Gila”
MP3: Beach House – “Heart Of Chamber”
Video: Beach House – “You Came To Me”
Video: Beach House – “Heart Of Chambers”

Photo via www.oasisinet.com

No pomp, no ceremony, no skydiving Richard Branson. Just a simple emailed press release with the first salvo of acts for this year’s Virgin Festival Toronto lineup (thankfully not the Virgin Mobile Festival, as they’ve renamed the US edition to).

The dates are September 6 and 7, the venue is once again the Toronto Islands and the theme, apparently, is the rock. Day one will be closed out by Foo Fighters and also feature Bloc Party, Spiritualized, Wintersleep and The Constantines. Day two brings Oasis, Paul Weller, Sterophonics, The Weakerthans and The Pigeon Detectives. Many many more to be announced, obviously, but there’s your big names. A lot of Englishness, a lot of veterans, a lot of dudes, a lot of guitars.

The Foos are no surprise, they’ve been mentioned in the context of the US V Fest plenty. Oasis did catch me off guard but, considering that I’ve been reevaluating my general disdain for them thanks to their eminently listenable best-of Stop The Clocks, I can definitely get behind them. Obviously still a big enough name and when I saw them over a decade ago opening for Neil Young, demonstrated an astonishing amount of live charisma considering they just stood there the whole time. And yay Andy Bell. Spiritualized is always welcome and I hope someone good is scheduled on the other stage opposite Stereophonics. I had sorta hoped there’d be some My Bloody Valentine action but am not really surprised there isn’t – their appeal is probably pointed in a slightly different direction from the festival’s target and, no matter what time they played, would probably be loud enough that the fest would never be welcome back on the islands again… Anyway – your thoughts on the lineup so far? I can’t say I’m displeased at all – a good start, at the very least.

And it’s interesting that we got our lineup announced before either Calgary or Vancouver, even though their festivals go off sooner than ours (June and TBA, respectively), but I’m not complaining. Between them, they’ve got that Pemberton Festival to parse/bitch about. Tickets for V Fest Toronto go on sale this Saturday, $159 for a two-day pass and $87 for a single. Yes, finally a price break for weekenders.

MP3: Bloc Party – “I Still Remember” (acoustic)
MP3: Wintersleep – “Jaws Of Life”
MP3: The Constantines – “Hard Feelings”
MP3: The Weakerthans – “Sun In An Empty Room”
MP3: The Pigeon Detectives – “I’m Not Sorry”
Video: Oasis – “Acquiesce”
Video: Foo Fighters – “Everlong”
Video: Spiritualized – “Stop Your Crying”
Video: Paul Weller – “Sunflower”
Video: Stereophonics – “Dakota”

Crawdaddy considers the influence of ABBA on the works of Jens Lekman, while The San Francisco Bay Guardian caught a quick Q&A with him at SxSW in which he extols the virtues of Wikipedia. Lekman has two shows in Toronto on April 7 and 8 at the Music Gallery. Advance tickets for the second show are already gone, so if you were dithering… quit it.

Those of you who like single-monikered Euro dance divas will be interested to know that Yelle, from France, will be at the Great Hall on April 30 (tickets $17.50 available here) and Robyn, from Sweden, is at the Phoenix on May 5.

Video: Yelle – “Je Veux Te Voir”
Video: Robyn – “Konichiwa Bitches”

The Long Blondes will release Couples on April 8. This is the first MP3 from the record. They are at Lee’s Palace on May 22. I am missing that show.

MP3: The Long Blondes – “Here Comes The Serious Bit”

And I’m also missing this show. The Submarines, fresh off releasing their new record Honeysuckle Weeks on May 13, will be at the Drake Underground on May 24. I liked their first record Declare A New State, and from the sounds of it I’ll like the new one too.

MP3: The Submarines – “You, Me and the Bourgeoisie”

And while I will be back in town by June 4, I won’t be heading to the Phoenix to see Be Your Own Pet, She Wants Revenge, Switches and The Virgins. But you totally can if you want. I won’t judge you. Much.

Mark Kozelek’s June 10 show at Lee’s has been canceled. The new Sun Kil Moon record April is still presumably coming out April 1.