Patrick JeffordsIt’s still October, but for all intents and purposes, 2012 is over. How so? Not only is every new album being announced slated to come out in the new year, but pretty much every tour announcement as well. Still hoping that December dance card was going to fill up? Maybe get a jump on your Christmas shopping instead.

But at least you have something to look forward to, including the third album from South Carolinan electronic pop – let’s not call it electro-pop – artist Chaz Bundick, aka Toro Y Moi. Entitled Anything In Return, the follow-up to 2011’s Underneath The Pine will be out on January 22 and will be accompanied a week later by a month-long North American tour that takes him right around the continent, including a February 17 date at Lee’s Palace in Toronto, tickets for which will run you $20. Pitchfork has the full itinerary and the first track from the new record is available to download.

MP3: Toro Y Moi – “So Many Details”

Also coming out on January 22 is the third album from Syracuse, New York’s finest (and only?) indie rock ensemble Ra Ra Riot. It’s called Beta Love and is their first since the departure of cellist Alexandra Lawn, so it will be interesting to hear how that lineup change effects their sound. They’ve also got an extensive North American tour scheduled – with a slight detour to Japan – and will be at Lee’s Palace on March 6, tickets $18.50 in advance.

MP3: Ra Ra Riot – “Boy”

And while the official word on Local Natives’ second album and attendant tour came last week, the conspicuous lack of a Toronto date was addressed – as I predicted – this week, with the addition of a date at The Opera House on March 28. Tickets for that are $21.50.

MP3: Local Natives – “Sun Hands”

Sufjan Stevens has released a video from his Silver & Gold Christmas box set coming November 13, and while it is animated, it’s probably not for kids.

Video: Sufjan Stevens – “Mr. Frosty Man”

Wild Nothing have released a new video from their latest Nocturne that comes with a little celebrity flavour in the form of Michelle Williams. You know, that girl from Dawson’s Creek. No, the other one. Tangentially, you should all be watching Don’t Trust The B– In Apartment 23. Very tangentially.

Video: Wild Nothing – “Paradise”

A Place To Bury Strangers also have a new video taken from Worship.

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

And between giving interviews to The 405 and Drowned In Sound, Paul Banks has rolled out a new clip from his solo record Banks.

Video: Paul Banks – “Young Again”

Interview and Creative Loafing interview Josh Tillman of Father John Misty, hutting up Lee’s Palace this Saturday night, October 27.

Tobin Sprout talks to Rolling Stone about a new song available to stream from the third Guided By Voices album of 2012, The Bears For Lunch. It’s out November 13.

Stream: Guided By Voices – “She Lives In An Airport”

While no fan of this “deluxe edition” trend going on for current albums, at least Sharon Van Etten is offering some good value. Consequence Of Sound reports that the double-disc edition of Tramp, out November 13, will come with a bonus disc of demos of every song on the album. And, if you’ve already bought it – which you should have – the demos will be available on their own CD. And that, folks, is how you do deluxe. One of the extras – a song not on the finished album – has been made available to stream. We Love DC also has an interview.

Stream: Sharon Van Etten – “Tell Me” (demo)

The Awl and Exclaim hang out with Patrick Stickles of Titus Andronicus. They’re at Lee’s Palace on November 27.

Stereogum and Rolling Stone talk to Jason Lytle, rolling into Massey Hall on December 5 opening for Band Of Horses.

The Cincinatti Enquirer, Chicago Tribune, Time Out Chicago, and City Pages interview members of The Afghan Whigs.

Blurt, Chicago Tribune, and The Wall Street Journal interview Divine Fits.

In conversation with Spinner, Ben Gibbard says that a second Postal Service record isn’t going to happen anytime soon and probably not ever.

Bryan SheffieldIf you thought you heard the sound of dense, nimble percussion, shimmering guitars, and intricate harmonies coming from the vicinity of New York on Wednesday night, you weren’t hearing things. That was the sound of Los Angeles’ Local Natives making their live return at The Bowery Ballroom as part of CMJ, a performance announced only a couple days prior. The show was their first this calendar year, and they used the opportunity to preview material from the follow-up to their 2009 breakout debut Gorilla Manor, video footage of which has been collected by Consequence Of Sound.

Of more interest to their fans who weren’t amongst the 500 or so in attendance, though, was the announcement yesterday of the release of their second album, which they discussed with Pitchfork early last month. Entitled Hummingbird, it will be out on January 29 of the new year and acknowledging that that’s still a little ways off, they also offered up a stream of one of the new songs from the record as well as a first batch of North American tour dates. There’s no Toronto date on the itinerary yet, but I use the word “yet” because as you can see, there’s three days off between Columbus and Boston at the end of March and what’s between point C and point B? Not a whole lot, unless you hang a left at Buffalo and cross the border. So, without actually knowing anything and assuming they’d rather play a show than go factory outlet shopping, I’d suggest keeping an eye on their calendar.

Stream: Local Natives – “Breakers”

Rolling Stone, MTV Hive, Spin, and Pitchfork all want to get down to Local Business with Patrick Stickles of Titus Andronicus. They play Lee’s Palace on November 27.

The Ithaca Times talk to John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats, whose live performance has been captured in concert and session, respectively, by NYC Taper and Daytrotter. They play The Phoenix tomorrow night.

Also animal-themed and in town tomorrow is Cat Power; she’s at The Kool Haus and Chan Marshall gives an interview to Ocean Drive.

Everyone who thought that 2011 being the year of Bon Iver meant that we wouldn’t have to hear much from him in 2012… sorry. Austin City Limits is streaming the entirety of his episode of the show and they’ve squeezed another video out of last year’s self-title.

Video: Bon Iver – “Beth/Rest”

The Line Of Best Fit and Spin talk to Paul Banks about his new solo record Banks, out next Tuesday, and the tenth anniversary reissue of Interpol’s Turn On The Bright Lights, out November 19.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune, Cincinnati CityBeat, and Detroit News check in with Greg Dulli and John Curley as the Afghan Whigs reunion continues.

The Line Of Best Fit interviews Jason Lytle, in town opening for Band Of Horses at Massey Hall on December 5.

Clash gets a look inside the Beachwood Sparks library.

School Of Seven Bells have announced the release of a new EP entitled Put Your Sad Down, due out November 13.

Frank YangI’m old enough to have lived through The Afghan Whigs in their heyday, but I still missed them completely. Okay, not completely – I had a copy of Gentlemen on cassette because, well, Spin and such told me that I should – but it never really spoke to high school me. In 1993, I was all R.E.M. and Smashing Pumpkins and Radiohead, at the artier end of the guitar rock spectrum, and the Whigs’ inherent seediness, the blackness of their soul, didn’t resonate; it probably scared me.

Fast-forward to late last year when it was announced that the 2012 edition of the ’90s rock reunion renaissance would feature the Afghan Whigs and on a whim, I decided to revisit their back catalog. And apparently my life has gotten much seedier or my soul much blacker in the past 20 years because damned if they haven’t become my most listened-to artist this year; not a fact that will be reflected in the old year-end list, but certainly merits mention. And it also offers some context as to why last Wednesday night’s show at The Phoenix – their only Canadian stop on the reunion tour – was probably my most-anticipated show of the year. The list of bands that I’m super-into and whom I haven’t been able to see live by this point is a pretty short one and for the last while, The Afghan Whigs have been at the very top of it. And while I thought I’d have been far from the only one – the band’s return to active duty had been met with great enthusiasm at almost all their European and American dates so far – but The Phoenix was far from full to welcome the Whigs back to town for the first time this century. Surprising and disappointing, but mostly unfortunate for those who missed it.

San Diego’s Crocodiles were on their own headlining tour in support of their second album Endless Flowers but took the support slot for this show, making for a bill that was impressive on paper but maybe a bit mismatched in practice. Not stylistically, but demographically – the Whigs fans would be out for their band, and an act with their own following, as Crocodiles had, probably would have been better off in front of their own audience. Those out early were largely impassive to their performance, but to be fair it wasn’t their best foot forward. I had been much more impressed seeing them at NXNE 2011 in the close quarters of the Silver Dollar, but here they weren’t as snotty or explosive with their balance of melody and noise far from optimal; they were good and loud but came across more generic than they should have. As with that NXNE show, watching guitarist Charles Rowell work was still the highlight, particularly when he managed to berate an audience member up front mid-song for being on his phone rather than watching the show. Okay, maybe they were still a bit snotty.

The Afghan Whigs setlists for the reunion tour had commendably changed things up from show to show, incorporating requests and just keeping things interesting, but most times the shows had opened with cinematic Black Love leadoff track “Crime Scene, Part One” and why not? It was the perfect way to kick things off, from slow burning introduction to impassioned chorus and so as predictable as it might have been to start this show, it was no less thrilling. Any concerns that Greg Dulli’s voice wouldn’t be what it once was – in recordings of the earliest live performances from the Spring, he came across more ragged and raspy than he probably should have – proved to be unfounded as except for a little bit of ducking on the toughest parts, he sounded every bit of whiskey, cigarette, and sex-shredded fantastic.

Given the rotating drum throne of the ’90s-era Afghan Whigs, the 2012 reunion technically only meant Dulli, guitarist Rick McCollum, and bassist John Curley were there from the original records, but with the rest of the band made up of Dave Rosser (guitar), Rick Nelson (strings/keys), and Cully Symington (drums) – all of whom had played with Dulli in The Twilight Singers – this edition had plenty of legitimacy and more importantly, chemistry. The songs had been masterfully re-arranged for three guitars, sounding massive without any player ever stepping on the others’ parts, as well as tastefully incorporating violin and cello to make the Whigs an intricate and elegant sonic bludgeon.

After the Black Love opener, the set list moved through all points of their discography, giving due to early works Congregation and Up In It – “Turn On The Water” was used to accomodate a shouted request for a cover of, “Helter Skelter” complete with Dulli yelling, “I got blisters on my fingers!” at its close – but the bulk of the show was justly dedicated to the triumvirate of Gentlemen, Black Love, and 1965, kicking it into especially high-gear with a sublime mid-set run of “Gentlemen”, “Crazy”, “My Enemy”, and “Somethin’ Hot”, each sounding as fiercely swaggering as they did a decade and a half ago.

While his bandmates were mostly content to lay back and go about their business – McCollum and Rosser’s guitar kingdom was curiously set about halfway back on the stage – Dulli was engaging and chatty through the show, bantering with the audience and complimenting Toronto on our beautiful women, perhaps intending to add emphasis to this when he got into the crowd to go after them a couple songs later during, “See And Don’t See”, after which he got on the piano for the Frank Ocean cover of “Love Crimes”. This covered their officially-released new recordings since reuniting, but the eagle-eared would have noticed another new song – “Dead Body” – appended onto “We Two Parted”. Their main set ran for an hour twenty, capped by a searing “Fountain and Fairfax”, and while I can understand those calling out for “Miles Iz Dead” in the encore – it would have been great to hear, for sure – their decision to close things bookend-style out with the epic Black Love suite of “Bulletproof”, “Summer’s Kiss”, and “Faded” – complete with “Purple Rain” quote in the outro – was damned near perfect, as was the show.

Exclaim also has a review of the show.

Photos: The Afghan Whigs, Crocodiles @ The Phoenix – October 3, 2012
MP3: The Afghan Whigs – “Lovecrimes”
MP3: The Afghan Whigs – “See And Don’t See”
MP3: Crocodiles – “Sunday (Psychic Conversation #9)”
MP3: Crocodiles – “Sleep Forever”
Video: The Afghan Whigs – “Going To Town”
Video: The Afghan Whigs – “Somethin’ Hot”
Video: The Afghan Whigs – “Honky’s Ladder”
Video: The Afghan Whigs – “Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe”
Video: The Afghan Whigs – “Gentlemen”
Video: The Afghan Whigs – “Debonair”
Video: The Afghan Whigs – “Come See About Me”
Video: The Afghan Whigs – “Conjure Me”
Video: The Afghan Whigs – “Turn On The Water”
Video: The Afghan Whigs – “You My Flower”
Video: The Afghan Whigs – “Miles Iz Dead”
Video: The Afghan Whigs – “Sister, Brother”
Video: Crocodiles – “Endless Flowers”
Video: Crocodiles – “Hearts Of Love”
Video: Crocodiles – “Sleep Forever”

Ohio State University newspaper The Lantern talks to The National about their decision to actively support the Obama campaign, and some of the grief they’re taking for it.

Sadie chats with John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats.

MTV Hive reports that even though they’re pretty busy with the Turn On The Bright Lights tenth anniversary edition and Paul Banks with his new solo record Banks on top of that, Interpol has started work on their fifth studio album. And over at DIY and Clash, Banks talks about Banks.

Filter and The Calgary Herald talk to Dean Wareham about the Galaxie 500 legacy and Andy Warhol, respectively.

Loud & Quiet talk to J. and Lou of Dinosaur Jr.

Stereogum talks to Mark Eitzel, in town at The Rivoli on November 28.

Jason Lytle has handed his new record Dept. Of Disappearance over to NPR to stream a week before its release on October 16 and offers an interview to The Irish Times. He opens up for Band OF Horses at Massey Hall on December 5.

Stream: Jason Lytle / Dept. Of Disappearance

Sub PopHistory likes to lump The Afghan Whigs in with the grunge end of the ’90s Alternative Nation scene – and yeah, they certainly benefitted from being on Sub Pop for the release of Up In It in 1990 and Gentlemen in 1993 – but they didn’t have much in common with their Pacific northwest brethren, stylistically. They came from much more of a place of R&B and soul than psych, metal, or other brand of classic rock… and while there may exist photographic evidence to prove otherwise, I don’t see Greg Dulli as much of a flannel guy.

So it actually makes a lot of sense that their only two official releases since reuniting early this year have been a couple of covers – one of 1970s soul singer Marie “Queenie” Lyons and another of 2012 R&B/hip-hop breakout star Frank Ocean. The Whigs have long made a habit of recording and releasing covers, specifically ones that point to their musical influences. Case in point, their 1992 EP Uptown Avondale which collected four Stax/Motown covers including this one (which again appeared on their 2006 best-of Unbreakable), a Holland/Dozier/Holland classic that was a #1 single in late 1964 and early 1965 for The Supremes. And it’s a pretty great example of what a few chord voicing changes can do to the character of a song, as the Whigs’ decision to take things into a minor key make it an infinitely more sinister tune; no, girl – don’t go see about him. Just don’t.

Diana Ross left The Supremes in 1970 and after a number of lineup changes, they disbanded in 1977. The Afghan Whigs are at The Phoenix on Wednesday night.

MP3: The Afghan Whigs – “Come See About Me”
Video: The Afghan Whigs – “Come See About Me”
Video: The Supremes – “Come See About Me”

Sam HoldenWho: The Afghan Whigs
What: Brilliant and deliciously soulful and sleazy ’90s Cincinnati noir-rock outfit, reunited and touring for the first time in over a decade to show the young’ns how it’s done.
Why: Why? What do you mean why? It’s the Afghan fuckin’ Whigs.
When: Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Where: The Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto (19+)
Who else: On any other night, Crocodiles would be able to headline their own show but on this one? They play at the pleasure of the Whigs.
How: Tickets for the show are $36 in advance but courtesy of Collective Concerts, I’ve got two pairs of passes to give away for the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see The Afghan Whigs” in the subject line and your full name in the body, and have that in to me before midnight, September 30.
What else: Greg Dulli holds court with Exclaim, The Phoenix, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Mercury, and Washington City Paper.

MP3: The Afghan Whigs – “Lovecrimes”
MP3: The Afghan Whigs – “See And Don’t See”