Friday, July 20th, 2012

You Know

Micachu & The Shapes will Never stream their new album right now

Miss ManagementWith her debut album Jewellery, Surrey’s Mica Levi – professionally known as Micachu – was responsible for one of 2009’s most unique albums – a clattering, noisy, collection of songs that sounded like they were created by a rummage shop collapsing on itself but was still unquestionably pop – albeit on the fringes – and compelling. Three years later, Levi has returned with a follow-up in Never, due July 24, and the whole thing is currently available to stream courtesy of The Guardian.

Initial impressions are that nothing’s happened in the past three years to temper Levi’s sense of sonic adventure – Never is maybe a bit sleeker rhythmically, but it’s no less wonderfully odd than its predecessor. And the fact that it’s credited to Micachu & The Shapes is no cosmetic detail; whereas only half of Jewellery was recorded with the assistance of her band, Marc Withasee and Raisa Khan’s contributions are much more at the fore on Never, both in vocal contributions and the fact that you can’t make nearly this kind of racket with just one pair of hands.

It took me a while to figure out if I liked Jewellery, and my setting on “yea” was certainly helped out by their live show. With Never, I’m going to just sit back and enjoy. I’ll still scratch my head at it, but I’ll enjoy doing it.

MP3: Micachu & The Shapes – “OK”
Stream: Micachu & The Shapes / Never

Florence Welch talks to Rolling Stone about the vocal injury that sidelined Florence & The Machine for a few dates earlier this month; she should be back in action in time for her August 2 show at The Molson Amphitheatre.

Pitchfork reports that Ride’s back catalog, which has already seen Nowhere get remastered and reissued, will have the rest of their catalog including their best-of compilation reissued on August 20. To mark the occasion, they’ve made a remix of the lead track from Carnival Of Light remixed by Portishead available to download, and while I usually disdain the remix… it’s Ride and Portishead. The complete video of the 1992 Brixton Academy show that will come with the deluxe Going Blank Again is also available to watch.

MP3: Ride – “Moonlight Medicine” (Ride On The Wire Mix)
Video: Ride @ Brixton Academy, London – 27th March 1992

Cate Le Bon has made a track from her new record Cyrk II available to download. It’s out August 21 and she’s at The Rivoli on September 18.

MP3: Cate Le Bon – “What Is Worse”

Rolling Stone talks to Kele Okereke of Bloc Party about the process of recording the band’s new record Four, due out August 21. They play the Danforth Music Hall on September 10.

Elbow might not have any new music out this year besides whatever they’re composing for the Olympics, but they’ll still have a new album out – on August 27, they’ll release Dead In The Boot, a collection of b-sides and rarities collected from across the entirety of their career. Details on the release are available at Exclaim.

Having just announced that their new album Beacon will be out September 4, Two Door Cinema Club are making the first single available to download for free for 24 hours – grab it at their website, stream it below, and see them at The Sound Academy on October 5.

Stream: Two Door Cinema Club – “Sleep Alone”

Jens Lekman talks to Stereogum about his new record I Know What Love Isn’t and stops in at The Guardian where he explains how he wrote the song and plays it for a video session. Lekman is at The Phoenix on October 4.

Artrocker cahts with The Raveonettes. Their new one Observator is out September 11 and they play The Phoenix on October 2.

eMusic talks to Sweden’s Holograms, in town at The Shop Under Parts & Labour on September 11.

The Vaccines have released a new video from their second album, which I’ve been calling No Hope For The Vaccines and saying will be out September 3, but will actually be called Come Of Age and be out on October 2, at least in North America.

Video: The Vaccines – “Teenage Icon”

NPR is streaming the whole of Hot Chip’s show at Prospect Park in Brooklyn from earlier this week.

DIY catches a quick word with Mystery Jets.

Dev Hynes of Blood Orange stops in at KCRW for a session, available to stream at NPR.

Thursday, July 19th, 2012

Long And Wasted Years

Bob Dylan plans new album and tour to make material from new album incomprehensible

GothamistYesterday’s news cycle brought not one but two treats for the baby boomers or those with boomer-like musical tastes. First, hot on the heels of the news that Bob Dylan would be releasing his 35th studio album, entitled Tempest, on September 11, came an extensive touring itinerary in support of the record that would bring the legendary artist – along with Mark Knopfler, himself not a no one – to the Air Canada Centre on November 14.

Or course, as anyone who’s seen Dylan live in recent years will tell you, his shows come with a caveat. Though his artistic bona fides are beyond reproach and he is to be commended for maintaining as intense a touring schedule as he does at age 71, those expecting anything resembling an oldies show or revue had best think again. His reputation for being a difficult live performer – often rearranging classic songs and melodies beyond recognizability and speak-singing in a way that even if he were playing them as you remember, you still probably wouldn’t know what they were – is well-earned. And it’s not that he can’t do things straight – he’s mostly choosing not to.

Still, he’s Bob Dylan and if anyone’s earned the right to do what he wants, it’s probably him. Ticket info for the Toronto show is still forthcoming but it probably won’t be cheap. He’s earned that right too.

Video: Bob Dylan – “Things Have Changed”

You can expect The Who – or The Two, if you don’t think it’s the same band without mssrs Moon and Entswistle – to stick to canon when they tour the arenas of North America this Fall and Winter, hitting the Air Canada Centre not long after Dylan clears out on November 23. That’s because they’re going to be performing their 1973 rock opera Quadrophenia in its entirety for these shows, in addition to their other songs you know and love. Tickets for that range from $37 to $127 and fan presales begin on Friday.

Video: The Who – “Love Reign O’er Me” (live 2006)

Getting just a touch more contemporary with the concert announcements, San Francisco duo Two Gallants will be at Lee’s Palace on September 29 in support of their fourth album, The Bloom And The Blight, out September 4. Tickets for that are $17.50 in advance.

MP3: Two Gallants – “Las Cruces Jail”

I genuinely thought that Two Door Cinema Club would soundtrack the Summer of 2010 and then quietly disappear, but clearly not – their fanbase has continued to grow and Rolling Stone reports that their second album Beacon will arrive on September 4 accompanied by an extensive North American tour that brings them to the Sound Academy on October 5 with Brooklyn party crew Friends supporting. Tickets range from $29.50 to $36.50.

Video: Two Door Cinema Club – “Something Good Can Work”
Video: Friends – “Mind Control”

With his show opening up for Sigur Rós at Echo Beach on August 1 well and truly sold out, Perfume Genius can safely announce a return date on October 5 at 918 Bathurst. This show will be dry, all ages, and cost $22.50 in admission.

MP3: Perfume Genius – “All Waters”

Los Angeles producer Flying Lotus, who has folks such as Radiohead and Erykah Badu on speed dial, will release his new record Until The Quiet Comes on October 2 and follow it up with a Fall tour that brings him to The Hoxton on October 15. Tickets for that are $23.50 in advance.

MP3: Flying Lotus – “Tea Leaf Dancers”

Oklahoma’s Other Lives, who have their own Radiohead connection in that they were tapped to open up their Spring tour dates earlier this year, will be at The Horseshoe on November 23, tickets $15.

MP3: Other Lives – “For 12”

The lead single from Dinosaur Jr’s new one I Bet On Sky is now available to download. It’s out September 18 and they settle in for a three-night stand at Lee’s Palace starting September 24.

MP3: Dinosaur Jr – “Watch The Corners”

The Afghan Whigs have released their second piece of post-reunion music, and it’s another cover – this time of R&B man of the moment Frank Ocean. They’re at The Phoenix on October 3 and seeing as how this tune has been a fixture of their live shows in 2012, expect to hear it.

MP3: The Afghan Whigs – “Lovecrimes”

Guided By Voices have released a video from their second reunion album of 2012, Class Clown Spots A UFO.

Video: Guided By Voices – “Keep It In Motion”

Paste talks to Mission Of Burma drummer Peter Prescott about the quality of the band’s post-reunion albums.

The Santa Cruz Sentinel has an interview with Beachwood Sparks, who’ve released a new video from their new record The Tarnished Gold.

Video: Beachwood Sparks – “Forget The Song”

Beatroute, The Georgia Straight, and Tone Deaf chat with Josh Tillman of Father John Misty.

Ben Gibbard is stepping out of Death Cab For Cutie for a moment to release his solo debut in Former Lives, out October 16. Details at Stereogum.

Rolling Stone talks to Andrew Bird, in town tonight at Echo Beach.

The Toronto Star, Winnipeg Free Press, and Uptown talk to members of Beirut. They’re at The Sound Academy tonight.

NOW talks to Best Coast ahead of Saturday night’s show at The Phoenix; their show in DC earlier this week is available to stream over at NPR.

Another track from A Place To Bury Strangers’ latest Worship is available to download. Creative Loafing has an interview with the band, who’re back in town on August 12 closing out the second day of ALL CAPS! on Toronto Islands.

MP3: A Place To Bury Strangers – “And I’m Up”

The Phoenix New Times talk to Jonathan Meiburg of Shearwater, who have a new video from Animal Joy.

Video: Shearwater – “Immaculate”

Beatroute and Zimbio interview Phantogram.

DIY chats with School Of Seven Bells.

Wednesday, July 18th, 2012

Repatriated

The 2012 Polaris Music Prize shortlist looks a little like this. Or a lot.

Liam MaloneyAnd then there were ten.

Yesterday, atop the roof of the Drake Hotel amidst record-breaking heat, the short 2012 Polaris Music Prize short list was announced, dashing the hopes of thirty artists and allowing ten others to begin imagining just what they might do with the $30,000 prize that awaits one of them (the correct answer being: gold plate all of the things). And it’s an interesting group, to be sure.

Some will complain about the lack of a francophone artist – which also surprises me considering the number of strong contenders on the long list – and the heavy 416-ness of the list – 4.5 from Hogtown – but as far as gender and genre splits go, it acquits itself pretty nicely. Usually I can look at the short list and immediately eliminate at least a few of them from serious consideration of winning, but this year it’s a lot tougher to do so – I can envision how many of these records could garner enough support from the grand jury, whomever that ends up being, to have sufficient numbers to come out on top. All of this is speculation, of course, and only those in that creepy-ass Freemason room in the Masonic Temple on September 24 will know exactly how it goes down. But until then, and even though most will save their handicapping until the week before the gala, here’s my thoughts on the short list with points for and against.

Cadence Weapon / Hope In Dirt City (Upper Class Recordings)
Edmonton’s former poet laureate second appearance on the short list comes for a stronger record than Breaking Kayfabe and a higher overall public and critical profile. However, the narratives around the other nominees are almost all stronger and more compelling, and whatever merit Dirt City has, I don’t think it’s going to be front of anyone’s mind including the grand jury.
MP3: Cadence Weapon – “Conditioning

Cold Specks / I Predict A Graceful Expulsion (Arts & Crafts)
That Al Spx is a compelling talent and Expulsion an impressive debut that doesn’t just rest on the power of her voice is unquestionable. But whether it goes far enough in establishing her as having a strong artistic vision of her own rather than just exploring styles of the past, at least at this point in her career, is still up for debate.
Video: Cold Specks – “Blank Maps”

Drake / Take Care (Universal Republic)
By far the “biggest” – at least in terms of mass appeal, record sales, fanbase – artist to make the short list since the Polaris was created, Drake is in rather a unique position, and one that I can’t really argue for or against. Sufficed to say that while I don’t care at all for what he does, millions of others do – and statistically that certainly increases the odds of a sympathetic grand jury. If he does win, I’m pretty sure we won’t be seeing any, “Who the hell is Drake” Tumblrs.
Video: Drake – “Marvin’s Room”

Kathleen Edwards / Voyageur (Maple Music)
There’s no question that Voyageur is the strongest album of Edwards’ career and she’s an eminently likeable artist, but I have trouble arguing it’s the grandest artistic statement our country was able to turn out this year. That said, with the most of the short list decidedly genre there’s a lot of room for something to come up through the middle (of the road) and take it all. If half the jury has gone through a break up recently, then it’s as good as hers.
MP3: Kathleen Edwards – “Change The Sheets”

Feist / Metals (Arts & Crafts)
Many/most assumed that Feist’s latest would at least make the short list even before the album was released – that’s how much people assume that Feist would do something great. So it’s interesting how polarized the response to it has been, with some thinking it’s the deepest record she’s made and others the dullest, but neither side of the argument seems to be that passionate about it.
Video: Feist – “The Bad In Each Other”

Fucked Up / David Comes To Life (Matador)
Despite a few opportunities, we’ve yet to see an artist repeat as Polaris winner and as much as I think Fucked Up are deserving – not for nothing did they top my first ballot and everyone loves the band if not their music – I don’t know if David will have won enough hearts and minds so convincingly to overcome the innate, “they’ve already won!” sentiment that everyone will feel if few will admit.
MP3: Fucked Up – “The Other Shoe”

Grimes / Visions (Artbus)
Perhaps the most heavily-favoured act, at least amongst people I know, there’s not an artist on the list who sounds more absolutely of the moment than Claire Boucher and her chirpy electro-pop. My concerns about this record are that the songwriting is kind of slight and that which is in fashion will, by definition, fall out of fashion and I don’t know that Visions has the sort of weight or timelessness that I’d like to think that the best album our country has to offer would have. However I don’t expect people will hear those concerns as they’ll be too busy dancing. Probably the odds-on favourite to take it all right now.
MP3: Grimes – “Oblivion”

Handsome Furs / Sound Kapital (Sub Pop)
This one’s an interesting entrant, what with the band having announced their dissolution just before the deadline for submission of the first ballots. Not to say that it didn’t have a lot of support before that happened – it almost certainly did – but dominating the news cycle for those few days and reminding every music critic in the country that the band had an eligible record and that it was kind of great certainly didn’t hurt. Now the question is whether or not Dan Boeckner and Alexis Perry can and will put their differences aside to show up at and perform at the gala. Drama!
MP3: Handsome Furs – “Repatriated”

Japandroids / Celebration Rock (Polyvinyl)
There’s a lot of affection for this duo, who went from the verge of splitting up to releasing one of the best pure rock records that this country has seen in a while, and I expect they’ll peel some loud guitar votes from Fucked Up and “if only Springsteen was Canadian” votes from Handsome Furs by being more accessible and immediate than either, but will they be able to sell party as art and get every fist in the grand jury room pumping in unison? I have my reservations.
MP3: Japandroids – “Younger Us”

Yamantaka//Sonic Titan / YT//ST (Psychic Handshake)
I mentioned that Fucked Up topped my first ballot but I should note that by the time second ballots were due, YT/ST had taken the top spot. As Radio Free Canuckistan pointed out in his Polaris preview, a year ago no one had ever heard of this band and now they’ve shortlisted without any appreciable PR effort – just word of mouth from those who’ve heard the record or seen the show – and no label is really unprecedented. They’re certainly not for everyone – if you don’t buy into their “Noh-wave” manifesto, then they probably come off as kind of ridiculous – but despite being the most outside and difficult act on the short list, they’re clearly for more people than anyone might have expected. Certainly, no one can argue they don’t have artistic ambitions or that they’re boring, and they have momentum. So. Much. Momentum.
Video: Yamantaka // Sonic Titan – “Hoshi Neko”

While we’re talking Polaris, aux.tv has an excellent oral history of the prize from organizers, jurists, and nominees, and The National Post got some reactions of shortlisters after discovering that they were. And if you’re interested in seeing some of the nominees live in Toronto, you’re in luck – Cadence Weapon is at Lee’s Palace on July 21 opening up for Liars, Cold Specks is at The Great Hall on August 8, Drake’s annual OVO Fest hits The Molson Amphitheatre on August 5, Fucked Up play Fort York as part of Riot Fest on September 9, Yamantaka//Sonic Titan headline the first day of ALL CAPS! on Toronto Islands on August 11, and Grimes has just announced a date at Lee’s Palace on September 21, tickets $20 in advance.

Some were surprised that Dan Mangan didn’t make the shortlist; he’ll have to drown his sorrows in a cross-Canada tour with The Rural Alberta Advantage that stops in at the Danforth Music Hall on October 25, tickets $32.50 to $39.50. And if you feel inclined to point out that that room isn’t much bigger than the ones that each act has just about filled on their own last year (the Queen Elizabeth Theatre and Phoenix, respectively), I would say that you were correct and point out, in return, that they currently have an off day the following night. You do the math.

MP3: Dan Mangan – “Oh Fortune”
MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “North Star”

Sarah Neufeld, aka violinist for current Polaris champs Arcade Fire, also does a solo thing and she’ll be bringing that thing to The Drake Underground on November 10, tickets $12. Read these pieces at The Georgia Straight and The Province from a west coast tour in May for an idea of what that thing is.

Video: Sarah Neufeld – “Scalpel/Stradivarius”

Pitchfork has details on the new album from Diamond Rings – Free Dimensional will be out October 23.

The Line Of Best Fit has made a new song from The Wilderness Of Manitoba available to download, but it comes not from their new album Island Of Echoes – we continue to have to wait to hear an official sample of that – but from the Delaware House EP they’re releasing overseas to coincide with a European tour. The album is out September 18.

MP3: The Wilderness Of Manitoba – “The Ark”

Exclaim talks to Evan Gordon of The Magic.

The Line Of Best Fit has released a new Oh Canada! downloadable maple-flavoured compilation.

Tuesday, July 17th, 2012

Angels

Just in case you don’t frequent any other music site on the internet, here’s that new song from The xx

FacebookLook guys, some nights you’d rather just toss something together quickly and get back to watching TV rather than hunker down and come up with some original content that hasn’t already been blogged/tumblred/tweeted/Facebooked into irrelevance over the past 12 hours. Last night was one of those nights.

And so I invite you to 150,000th or so person to check out the stream of the first complete and official sample of Coexist, the second album from London’s The xx, out September 11. For those who like the band’s minimalist electro-soul, it’s like manna from heaven; for those who don’t, there’s nothing to hear here. Certainly the band’s formula – which extends to their album art, viewable over at The 405 – will have the legs to get them through the ‘difficult’ second album, and after that? Well that’s their problem, not ours.

In any case, it’s a bit of a taste of what to expect when they hit The Phoenix on July 28 for a sold-out show and for those not lucky enough to get tickets, one can’t help notice that the just-announced Fall tour still has some conspicuous gaps in it… this is not to say that they’ll be announcing another show in a more appropriately-sized venue after The Phoenix show is past, but they totally could.

MP3: The xx – “Angels”

Also dominating one’s RSS feed yesterday was official details on the second album from Mumford & Sons. Rolling Stone has all the specifics as well as notes from bassist Ted Dwane, but the salient points are that it will be called Babel, be out September 25, and probably further annoy a whole lot of people.

The Sun talks to The Vaccines about their forthcoming second album No Hope For The Vaccines Come of Age, out September 3.

DIY tries to pry some info on album number two out of Little Boots, but all she’ll offer is that it will be out this Fall. Clash settles for asking her about her book collection.

NPR has a Tiny Desk Concert with Laura Marling.

Hot Chip have released a new video from In Our Heads.

Video: Hot Chip – “Look At Where We Are”

The B-side of the new Blur single is available to download. The 7″ single on which it appears is out August 6.

MP3: Blur – “The Puritan”

Blur also comes up in this interview with Graham Coxon at Loud & Quiet, but it’s mainly about his latest solo record A+E, whereas this piece with The Guardian, also featuring a conversation with producer Stephen Street, is entirely about Blur and the making of Parklife.

Norman Blake has announced via Twitter that Teenage Fanclub are making a new album this Fall and Joe Pernice has confirmed that the collaboration between he and Blake, premiered at The Dakota last month will indeed be a real thing with recording and touring happening under the name of The New Mendicants.

DIY talks pop with Amelia Fletcher of Tender Trap, whose new album 10 Songs About Girls is due out in September.

DIY also chats with Elizabeth Morris and Bill Botting of Allo Darlin’, the former of whom used to be in Tender Trap. Trivia!

Rolling Stone gets Of Monsters & Men’s thoughts on being remix targets, amongst other topics.

Sigur Rós have premiered another new video from Valtari, and good for you if you noticed it’s a song that they’ve already released a video for. No, they don’t care. They play Echo Beach on August 1.

Video: Sigur Rós – “Ég Anda”

She’s still being coy on details like, oh, a release date, but the lead single from El Perro Del Mar’s new record Pale Fire is available to download. The record is due out in the Fall because, well, it kind of has to be.

MP3: El Perro Del Mar – “Innocence Is Sense”

Niki & The Dove have released a new video – not from Instinct, but for a song that appeared on their mixtape back in April. Someone explain to me what a mixtape is? No actually, don’t. Instinct gets a North American release on August 7 and they’re at The Drake Underground on October 2.

Video: Niki & The Dove – “Dance Floor”

Daytrotter has posted a session with We Are Serenades.

So wait, this is what a post that I am throwing together to go watch TV looks like? Dammit people why has no one staged an intervention yet. Clearly I need help.

Monday, July 16th, 2012

Having An Average Weekend

Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet, catl., and Daniel Romano at Lee’s Palace in Toronto

Frank YangSaturday night was pretty flush with options for Toronto music fans – Edgefest for the kids up at Downsview, the Sarah Harmer-led free War Of 1812 celebrations at Fort York for the CBC Radio 3 crowd – but for those of a certain generation, there was nowhere else to be but Lee’s Palace. Because for one night only, Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet were back.

Thanks to being the house band for the Kids In The Hall comedy troupe in the late ’80s and early ’90s, Shadowy Men were arguably the most widely-heard independent Toronto band of that era; remember, this was a time when being an independent Canadian artist didn’t have the same cachet that it does today – it basically meant that you toiled away in obscurity or something close to it. The sort of reach that their distinctive surf-a-billy instrumentals got was rare and impressive, and their accomplishments over the course of three albums and many singles frequently overlooked (though a small panel I was on tried to mitigate that somewhat by electing them to the Zunior Independent Music Hall Of Fame in 2010).

The trio disbanded to pursue other projects in 1996 and when bassist Reid Diamond passed away in 2001, it looked as though that would be it for the Shadowy Men legacy; thankfully it wasn’t. Whether the start of a reissue series for their shamefully out of print catalog precipitated the decision to play some live shows with Dallas Good of The Sadies standing in for Diamond or vice-versa, what matters is that Shadowy Men were again an active concern in 2012, first with a show at Calgary’s Sled Island festival in late June and then this sold-out and sweaty hometown show on Saturday.

The last time I’d seen Daniel Romano was right here at Lee’s Palace, but that was five years ago and he was fronting Welland rock act Attack In Black and opening up for Built To Spill. I knew that he’d gone solo in a different direction since then, but it was still something to see him take the stage in full cowboy regalia – okay, no spurs or chaps – with the songs to match. Johnny Cash and Gram Parsons were obvious reference points and while formidable ones, Romano’s slow, hurting songs didn’t pale for the comparison. He wasn’t quite able to win the full attention of the audience at first, but as their performance went on, the floor steadily filled up and by the time a couple began slow dancing at the foot of the stage, their set could be marked in the ‘win’ column.

catl.’s Twitter bio doesn’t even need 140 characters to accurately describe them – “dirty. sweaty. fun.”. Though something of a Toronto fixture, I’d never actually gotten to see the trio live before and indeed their set was loud, dirty, sweaty, and fun. Their greasy blues-rock shuffles were a combination of John Lee Hooker and Tom Waits – thanks to the guitar and voice of Jamie Fleming – happy to grind along in their groove and then periodically detonating with gloriously grimy energy, often in the form of Sarah Kirkpatrick’s maraca shake (mostly not a metaphor). I generally don’t care for the blues or things directly derived from them, but this was more than alright; disinterest was not an option.

Though I counted myself a fan in their initial run – dubbed cassettes of all their albums and their songs were the perfect length for filling in the ends of sides on mix tapes – I never saw them live. I didn’t go to shows because, well, I was still underage and concert-going wasn’t part of my lifestyle – something I’ve spent the past 15 years making up for, I suppose. All of which is to say that it was pretty exciting to get a chance to see something that I’d never thought about having missed, and for it to be as great as I’d never imagined. Obviously Reid Diamond is irreplaceable, but if you had to get a stand-in, you couldn’t do much better than Dallas Good and equipping him with the man’s original Gibson Thunderbird bass – the perfect instrumental counterpoint to guitarist Brian Connelly’s Gretsch White Falcon if ever there was one.

I’m not even going to try and cite many specific songs performed over the course of their 90-minute, two-encore set, which they dove right into without much fanfare – no dimming of lights or chilling of ham. One of the perks of being an instrumental band is you get to come up with ridiculous names for your compositions – which Shadowy Men surely did – so being able to identify 1- to 2-minute songs after having not even heard any of their albums in many years was nigh on impossible. That said, I was surprised how many of their tunes were so immediately familiar – “You Spin Me Round”, “Theme From TV”, “Run Chicken Run”, “Shadowy Countdown”; in trying to describe their sound, any of surf, spaghetti western, spy themes, mariachi, and rockabilly would be appropriate but one musn’t forget pop – as complex as their stylistic melting pot got, memorable and immediate melodies were almost always the first ingredient, which is a large part of why they remain so beloved so many years on.

Though this should have been a record release show for the repressing of their first album Savvy Show Stoppers, drummer Don Pyle apologized for the lack of merch saying that the records were held up at the border… of Saskatchewan. Nonetheless, they’ll make it out eventually and when they do, hopefully a new generation of fans will be able to bask in the greatness that was Shadowy Men. Me, I’m just happy that I finally got to see Brian Connelly play, “Having An Average Weekend”, and be able to confirm after 20 years of wondering that I was indeed playing it right when my high school band covered it in high school – I just sucked at it.

BlogTO has an interview with Don Pyle about the makings of the Shadowy Men reunion and one fan in attendance managed to record their entire set on video in quite good quality and post it to YouTube, so if you weren’t there on Saturday and wished you were, make with the watching. And if you’re up for a road trip, they’ve announced another show on September 14 in Waterloo at the Starlight.

Photos: Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet, catl., Daniel Romano @ Lee’s Palace – July 14, 2012
MP3: Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet – “13”
Video: Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet – “They Don’t Call Them Chihuahuas Anymore”
Video: Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet – “Rover And Rusty”
Video: Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet – “Memories Of Gay Paree”
Video: Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet – “Musical Interlude”
Video: Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet – “Shadowy Countdown”
Video: catl. – “Gold Tooth Shine”
Video: catl. – “A Sun’s Grave”
Video: Daniel Romano – “Time Forgot (To Change My Heart)”

Toronto vibraphone ensemble The Hylozoists come out of hiding next week to play The Piston on July 18th.

Video: The Hylozoists – “Bras D’Or Lakes”

Purity Ring’s debut album Shrines is getting the NPR First Listen treatment, being available to stream a week before its July 24 official release.

MP3: Purity Ring – “Fineshrine”
MP3: Purity Ring – “Obedear”
Stream: Purity Ring / Shrines

I probably shouldn’t need a British newspaper to tip me off to new bands in my own backyard, but The Guardian deserves credit for alerting me to the existence of Diana, a new electro-pop band from the brain of Joseph Shabason – aka Destroyer’s go-to saxophonist – that features Carmen Elle of Army Girls on vocals. Seriously, is there any musician in Toronto without an electro-pop side-project/persona?

Stream: Diana – “Born Again”
Stream: Diana – “Perpetual Surrender”

Ion talks to Joel Plaskett.

Loud & Quiet has an interview with Japandroids.