Neil KrugThe Söderberg sisters of First Aid Kit make no attempt to represent themselves as anything other than what they are – two girls barely on either side of 20 harmonizing on heartfelt songs that conjure the spirit of bygone and world-weary Appalachian folk traditions a world and era away from the from the Stockholm suburbs where they grew up. It’s a contrast and harmony that made their first two releases – 2008’s debut EP Drunken Trees and the 2010 full-length The Big Black & The Blue so interesting; feeling simultaneously young and old, wise yet naive, clearly foreign yet still so authentic.

It’s a tension that’s less pronounced on their second album The Lion’s Roar, but that’s because rather than tip things one way or the other, they’ve managed to not just balance their elements but blend them. Credit must go to veteran producer Mike Mogis, an expert at helping bands bloom creatively while keeping their roots firmly intact – sonically, the album stays close to the sparer arrangements of the debut but when it needs to get big, it does – but you cannot discount the experience the duo have gained in the past couple years on the road; they’ve simply gotten much better, and were pretty good to begin with. The weightiness that’s always existed in their songwriting feels more comfortably borne, and yet Roar also contains some of their most buoyant songs to date – “Emmylou”, a gorgeous paean to two of the great partnerships of country music, is an early frontrunner for one of the songs of the year and “I Found A Way” soars close behind.

I don’t think there was ever a time when First Aid Kit were regarded as any sort of novelty – “oh look, young Swedish girls who think they’re country!” – but if anyone ever took them less seriously for any of that, they’ll be hard-pressed to hold onto those prejudices. The Lion’s Roar is a strong statement and demands to be heard.

MTV UK has an interview with First Aid Kit, who kick off a headlining North American tour at the end of this month and will be at the Great Hall in Toronto on April 4. Tickets for the show are $18 in advance but courtesy of Embrace, 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 a First Aid Kit” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest closes at Midnight, March 31.

Stream: First Aid Kit – “Emmylou”
Stream: First Aid Kit – “The Lion’s Roar”
Video: First Aid Kit – “Emmylou”
Video: First Aid Kit – “The Lion’s Roar”

In talking about another young female Swedish artist worth watching – Amanda Mair – I’ve been saying that her self-titled debut was supposed to come on back on February 15; that it did, but only in Sweden, apparently. about.com has a June 5 North American release date written down and DIY reports that it will be out officially in the UK on June 11. To tide us over, another single is now available to download to go with the previously released video. It’s good.

MP3: Amanda Mair – “Sense”
Video: Amanda Mair – “Sense”

Under The Radar brings word of a collaboration between the wonderful I Break Horses and the I-hadn’t-heard-of-them-before-now Philadelphia-based electronic outfit CSLSX, the first fruits of have both a downloadable and video. I Break Horses are at The Sound Academy on May 5 opening for M83.

MP3: CSLSX & I Break Horses – “Violent Sea”
Video: CSLSX & I Break Horses – “Violent Sea”

DIY chats with Norwegian pop collective Team Me, who are on my to-see list at SXSW next week (NEXT WEEK). If all goes well, you’ll be hearing more about them hereabouts. Their debut To The Treetops is out next week.

MP3: Team Me – “With My Hands Covering Both of My Eyes I Am Too Scared To Have a Look At You Now”

The Line Of Best Fit introduces Kiasmos, the new electronic project from Ólafur Arnalds.

Stream: Kiasmos – “Thrown”

New York Magazine has an in-depth profile piece on Bjork and NYC Taper has posted recordings of another of her NYC residency shows from last week.

DIY and The Sun get to know Dry The River, the next great folk-rock hope out of the UK. Their debut Shallow Bed is out April 17 in North America, and they’re streaming the excerpts of the whole thing with commentary over here. The intrigued can see them March 27 at The Garrison opening for Bowerbirds.

Video: Dry The River – “Chambers & The Valves”

Those scamps in Radiohead have announced another block of North American dates and Toronto is in the mix. They’ll be at Downsview Park on June 16 with Caribou, and I’ll save you from double-checking the calendar – that is indeed the Saturday of NXNE. The festival has managed to hold its own agains interloping major shows in the past, but if it takes a free Iggy & The Stooges show to counter Pavement/Broken Social Scene, they’re gonna need something pretty major to keep the kids in the city this time around. But whatever you end up doing that day, let’s not overlook the fact that this means the Caribou machine is back in action, and that’s good news for everyone. Tickets for Radiohead go on sale at noon on Friday.

MP3: Caribou – “Odessa”
Video: Radiohead – “Lotus Flower”

Daytrotter welcomes The Naked & Famous to their studios for a session. They play The Sound Academy on April 5

Digital Spy and DIY talk to Pip Brown of Ladyhawke, whose second album Anxiety has been pushed back from its March 27 release date all the way to May 25.

Harley WeirNo question, the first thing that needs to be addressed is their name. Even in an era with no shortage of terrible band names, Trailer Trash Tracys is an exceptionally terrible band name; the London quartet would probably be the first to admit it. But if there’s an upside to it, it’s that it offers no clues to what their debut album Ester might hold, so you’ve no choice to experience it with an open mind, if perhaps also lowered expectations.

Not that pressing “play” is quite enough – instrumental opener “Rolling – Kiss The Universe” is an abstracted mash-up of textures and tones that may intrigue or annoy, depending on your mood. But stick it out to the deep, twanging guitar line that announces “You Wish You Were Red” and Ester pays off in spades. The band owes obvious debts to Morricone and Badalamenti soundtracks, both in sound and mood, but attempting to pigeonhole them as Brits acting as cinematic tourists doesn’t account for the angelic croon of Susanne Aztoria, the unabashedly synthetic rhythms that bubble up throughout, the general lo-fi gauziness that permeates the proceedings or the unexpected bursts of guitar tapping that remind you that guitar tapping exists.

The sheer number of ideas and influences that go into Ester makes it seem like it should be a random mess, succeeding only occasionally and despite itself, but somehow it all manages to cohere in a way that’s unsettling yet alluring. It’s dream-pop that doesn’t sound much like that which typically gets called dream-pop, perhaps because rather than attempting to evoke what people think the subconscious sounds like, all soft-focus and slow-motion, Trailer Trash Tracys make music that sounds like it actually does – abstract and unpredictable while coming across as completely logical and natural within its own frame of reference. Well, that’s how my subconscious sounds, at least.

Addict Music has an interview with the band, while Spin has an interview as well as a stream of the album, which was released last month in the UK but is out in North America as of February 7.

MP3: Trailer Trash Tracys – “Candy Girl”
MP3: Trailer Trash Tracys – “Candy Girl” (demo)
MP3: Trailer Trash Tracys – “Dies In 55”
Video: Trailer Trash Tracys – “Englehart’s Arizona”
Video: Trailer Trash Tracys – “You Wish You Were Red”
Stream: Trailer Trash Tracys / Ester

The Twilight Sad’s James Graham talks haggis with Food Republic. No One Can Ever Know is out February 7 and they play Lee’s Palace on February 29.

Amanda Mair has released a first video from her self-titled debut, due out February 15.

Video: Amanda Mair – “Sense”

The Daily Record gets to know Niki & The Dove.

Of Monsters & Men have put their international, major-label record deal monies to good use, releasing a first video from My Head Is An Animal. The album is out April 3 and they’re at The Mod Club on April 12.

Video: Of Monsters & Men – “Little Talks”

NOW welcomes The Asteroids Galaxy Tour to Toronto, where they’re playing The Hoxton on Monday night.

The Dø have decided to cover Janelle Monáe. It sounds like this. They also did a session for The Line Of Best Fit, as well as an interview back in November when Both Ways Open Jaws came out.

Stream: The Dø – “Tightrope”

Big HassleBoth Wales’ The Joy Formidable and New York’s A Place To Bury Strangers know a thing or two about the merits of turning one’s amplifiers up as far as they’ll go, destroying their instruments, and making their audience wish that it were possible to wear more than one pair of earplugs at a time. So with the announcement yesterday that the two acts were teaming up for a trans-Atlantic summit on (inflicting) hearing loss, those who like it loud responded with excitement. And fear.

A Place To Bury Strangers have a legitimate reason to be hitting the road – they’re releasing the Onwards To The Wall EP on February 7, and have just put out an MP3 and video from said release to build anticipation. The Joy Formidable are still working last year’s debut The Big Roar, and though they’ve said they’re working on the follow-up and want to have it out this year, it’s hard to imagine how they’ll find the time as it seems they’ve been touring non-stop for years now – they were here thrice in the span of a year and the April 2 stop at Lee’s Palace will make it four times in under two years. Tickets for that are $16.50.

And rounding out the bill will be New York’s Exitmusic, who aren’t all that loud – their 2011 EP was called From Silence, after all – but whose frontwoman Aleksa Palladino might be familiar if you watch Boardwalk Empire (and if you do, you know she’s got a lot of time to devote to her music now).

The Vinyl District has an interview with The Joy Formidable and, as a bonus, over the holidays the band shared a cover of their tune “I Don’t Want To See You Like This” as done by long-time Elvis Costello keyboardist Steve Nieve. Random, but nice. And not loud.

MP3: The Joy Formidable – “Whirring”
MP3: A Place To Bury Strangers – “So Far Away”
MP3: Exitmusic – “The Sea”
MP3: Steve Nieve – “I Don’t Want To See You Like This”
Video: The Joy Formidable – “Whirring”
Video: A Place To Bury Strangers – “So Far Away”
Video: Exitmusic – “The Hours”

The Twilight Sad – themselves no strangers to the joys of noise – have made a second MP3 from their forthcoming No One Can Ever Know – out February 7 – available via Spin. They’re at Lee’s Palace on February 29 and there’s interviews with the band at The Skinny and Delusions Of Adequacy.

MP3: The Twilight Sad – “Another Bed”

The Big Pink give Spin a track-by-track tour of their new record Future This, and you can follow along at NME as they’re streaming the whole thing ahead of its release next Tuesday, January 17. Drowned In Sound also has an interview with the band.

Stream: The Big Pink / Future This

The Stool Pigeon talks to David Lewis Gedge of The Wedding Present; they’re at The Horseshoe on March 25.

Laundromatinee has got a video session with Yuck for the sharing.

While I’m beyond disappointed that Allo Darlin’s Spring American tour isn’t a NORTH American tour – which is to say there’s no Canadian dates – that sting is lessened just a bit by the fact that the first proper single from Europe is now available to stream. The record is due out sometime in May.

Stream: Allo Darlin’ – “Capricornia”

Fanfarlo have premiered a new video from Rooms Filled With Light over at NPR. The record is out February 28 and they play The Mod Club as part of Canadian Musicfest on March 24.

Video: Fanfarlo – “Shiny Things”

Arctic Monkeys have put out another new video from Suck It And See; they’re at The Air Canada Centre on March 14 supporting The Black Keys.

Video: Arctic Monkeys – “Black Treacle”

BBC6 talks to Richard Hawley about his next record, which will be much more “guitar-centric”. Can. Not. Wait.

New Jersey Underground reports that British Sea Power’s New Year’s resolution appears to have been to release a shit-tonne of new music. Starting now – BSP EP1 is already available – the band will release an EP every month for the next six months, each featuring in-progress new material that may surface in different forms in future albums.

Loud & Quiet talks to Greg Hughes of Still Corners.

Australian dance-rock outfit The Temper Trap have made a March 25 date at The Phoenix. They’ve still yet to follow up 2009’s Conditions, but planning shows on the other side of the world could be a sign that that’s going to change. Or maybe they just want to do some shopping.

Video: The Temper Trap – “Sweet Disposition”

Snow Patrol will be at Massey Hall on April 17. Their latest album Fallen Empires came out in Europe last year but only just came out in North America yesterday – Billboard has a track-by-track tour of the record from frontman Gary Lightbody.

Video: Snow Patrol – “This Is Everything You Are”

Spin talks family bands with First Aid Kit. They’ve released a new video from their forthcoming The Lion’s Roar, out January 24, and will play The Great Hall on April 4.

Video: First Aid Kit – “Emmylou”

Swedish singer-songwriter Amanda Mair has set a February 15 release date for her self-titled debut.

MP3: Amanda Mair – “Doubt”

The AV Club interviews Anthony Gonzalez of M83. They play The Sound Academy on May 6.

Frank YangWhile I don’t expect anyone loses any sleep over anything I write, I feel compelled to offer a formal mea culpa for my thoughts on Loney Dear’s last record Dear John. Said review wasn’t a thumbs down by any means nor was it inaccurate, but “yeah it sounds like all his other stuff but that’s okay” now feels at best faint praise and at worst, dismissive. And considering how much I’ve grown to properly appreciate the work and vision of Emil Svanängen, I’d like to take the opportunity of Saturday night’s show at the Drake Underground in support of his latest album Hall Music to properly praise him.

As I mentioned, it’s true that all the Loney Dear albums share a similar vibe and dynamic – that of orchestrally ornate pop that ruminates on love and melancholy the ebbs and crests with Svanängen’s falsetto – but rather than imply a lack of new ideas, Svanängen continues to find new angles to observe from and depths and heights to explore within those parameters. That every one of his albums offer a fully-realized suite of songs and are as worthy a point of entry into his catalog as any other is remarkable, and also necessary – his works have been released in North America in as non-chronological a sequence as mathematically possible, with Hall Music being pretty much the first to count as the “new” Loney Dear album everywhere in the world at once.

Within the parameters of what is Loney Dear, Hall Music could be considered a bit of a revolution, particularly when compared to its predecessor, Dear John. Whereas John was sonically dense and had a distinctly sleek and synthetic sheen to it, Hall Music feels sparer but bigger, no doubt a result of the chamber orchestra tour undertaken prior to its recording. It makes full use of the reverberant space around things to create a more stately, almost spiritual, frame to present Svanängen’s compositions, the net result being what may be the most cohesive and beautifully rendered album in the Loney Dear canon.

So you might think that reproducing all of the grandeur live would require a full band if not a full orchestra. Instead, his brief North American tour was billed as a solo one, which might have raised concerns about the material being done full justice – my reviews of his past two visits in June 2007 and October 2009 hailed his band for being able to bring his complex arrangements to life – but when you consider that the Loney Dear recordings are largely done by Svanängen alone, this might have actually been the more faithful presentation. And considering the stage setup consisted not of a single acoustic guitar but of a fortress of gear arranged on four sides around a single seat, I was pretty confident this wouldn’t be a thin-sounding show.

And indeed, “thin” was about the last thing you could call the hour-long set. Deftly working an array of effects, bass pedals and loopers with his feet while singing and playing 12-string acoustic, Svanängen did a remarkable job of recreating and reinventing material from all of his albums, even adding live percussion by playing an array of drums and cymbals and looping them into the mix. One-man band? One-man orchestra, more like. It wasn’t completely strictly solo – he solicited a choral F# note from the audience and had a tour companion named Susanna (missed the surname but she hails from a town about 10km from where original Metallica bassist Cliff Burton was killed – this was the banter on offer) on backing vox and keys for a few songs. Nor was it flawless as a runaway note from a stuck bass pedal during “My Heart” forced him to dash back to his laptop to silence the offending tone, though full points for not missing a single lyric while doing so.

At one point, Svanängen apologized for the slowness of the material chosen for the set, a consequence of the church settings he’d been playing at home of late, but no apology was necessary as it suited the sit-and-listen mood of the audience quite well. If there was any regret, it was that long-time bandmate Malin Ståhlberg wasn’t on hand to not only add backing vocals but to take lead on my favourite song from Hall Music, “What Have I Become?”. But to have her there would have made it a completely different show, and this one was just about perfect in its way; as beautiful and heartswelling as I’ve learned to expect Loney Dear shows to be, but in a completely new way.

Gimme Indie is streaming a live recording from Sweden a couple weeks ago.

Photos: Loney Dear @ The Drake Underground – November 5, 2011
MP3: Loney Dear – “Calm Down”
MP3: Loney Dear – “My Heart”
MP3: Loney Dear – “Ignorant Boy, Beautiful Girl”
MP3: Loney Dear – “Airport Surroundings”
MP3: Loney Dear – “I Was Only Going Out”
MP3: Loney, Dear – “I Am John”
MP3: Loney, Dear – “A Few Good Men”
Video: Loney Dear – “Young Hearts”
Video: Loney Dear – “I Was Only Going Out”
Video: Loney Dear – “Airport Surroundings”
Video: Loney, Dear – “I Am John”
Video: Loney, Dear – “Saturday Waits”

Q solicits a soundtrack for a meal from Amanda Mair.

Björk talks to Clash about Biophilia, from which she has released another new video.

Video: Bjork – “Thunderbolt”

Aux.tv talks shop with Vincent Morriset, director of the film component of the new live Sigur Rós document Inni, out next week. And Jonsi’s solo projects continue with the announcement that he will score the new Cameron Crowe film We Bought A Zoo with new and old material. The soundtrack will be out on December 13 and the film will be released on December 23. Exclaim has specifics, and that title? Not a metaphor.

Trailer: We Bought A Zoo

Franco-Finn duo The Dø will be releasing their second album Both Ways Open Jaws on November 15. An MP3 for a single which came out on their Dust It Off is available now to preview, along with a video.

MP3: The Dø – “Slippery Slope”
Video: The Dø – “Slippery Slope”

If you’re heading to Massey Hall tonight for the first of two shows by Noel Gallagher and are concerned you haven’t heard any of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds because it’s not released until tomorrow, fear not – Rolling Stone has the former Oasis songwriter’s solo debut available to stream so you can get acquainted with all the songs you’ll be patiently waiting through before you hear “Don’t Look Back In Anger”. And apparently a half-hour film documenting the recording sessions of said album is out there; Rolling Stone also has those details.

Stream: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds / Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds

Beatroute profiles The Jezabels, who’ve released a new video from Prisoner – out tomorrow – and will be at The Phoenix on November 24 and 25 supporting Hey Rosetta!.

Video: The Jezabels – “Trycolour”

Anthony BacigalupoOkay so I know I probably said I was done with all things Iceland when I wrapped up my Iceland Airwaves coverage a couple weeks ago, but this is actually relevant for those who won’t be hopping on a plane to the Blue Lagoon anytime soon. You see, while a large part of Airwaves’ mandate is to bring bands and fans from the rest of the world to Iceland, it also works hard to export its own talent beyond the Bjorks and Sigur Ros’, and one of its targets is none other than Toronto.

On November 13, the Toronto Best Party will present the Iceland Arts Festival at the El Mocambo, starting in the afternoon with a Kolaport market featuring all manner of Iceland goods for sale – hopefully including some Pylsur hot dogs – and a screening of the Iceland Airwaves documentary film Of Monsters & Men, who were incidentally the very first band I saw at Airwaves this year and instrumental post-rock practitioners For A Minor Reflection, who I gave up on seeing because of a scheduling conflict and knowing that I could see them here. Both acts very different but very good and very Icelandic.

Tickets for the film screening are $5 and the show $10, available at Eventbrite – but courtesy of Toronto Best Party, I have one pair of passes to give away for the concert. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want some Iceland in Toronto” in the subject line and your full name in the body; contest closes at midnight, November 8. And there’s also a second related event, more electronic music-oriented, taking place on November 18 at Nocture – details here.

Paste has a feature piece on Of Monsters & Men, who are being tipped to make some serious inroads in the North American market. Their debut My Head Is An Animal was released in Iceland in September and is set for a major label worldwide release next year.

MP3: For A Minor Reflection – “Dansi Dans”
MP3: Of Monsters & Men – “Little Talks”
Trailer: Where’s The Snow?!

While on the topic of things Icelandic, INNI – the Sigur Ros concert film just concluded its run at the TIFF Lightbox last night. If you’ve yet to see it, the DVD/live album will be out on November 15 – Spinner and North Shore News talk to director Vincent Morriset about making the film.

The Line Of Best Fit talks to Swedish singer-songwriter Amanda Mair. Her debut album is due out this Winter.

Spin has premiered the video for the title track from from First Aid Kit’s new record The Lion’s Roar; the album is not out until January 24 of the new year but they’re in town at The Sound Academy on November 15 opening for Lykke Li.

Video: First Aid Kit – “The Lion’s Roar”

Serenades are a new Swedish band, half of whom are Alec Olenius from Shout Out Louds. Their debut album Criminal Heaven is presently only available in Sweden, but they have international aspirations – check out a couple of tunes from the record and a video.

MP3: Serenades – “Birds”
MP3: Serenades – “Oceans”
Video: The Serenades – “Oceans”

DIY, The Dallas Observer and The Vinyl District have interviews with We Were Promised Jetpacks.

The Horrors share some gripes about the state of music journalism with Spinner and talk about touring Mexico to The Guardian.

DIY talks to Summer Camp about their debut Welcome To Condale, out November 8.

Field Music have announced a February 14 release date for their new record Plumb; Exclaim has details and you can swap an email for an MP3 at the band’s website.

Stream: Field Music – “(I Keep Thinking About) A New Thing”

Rolling Stone have premiered a new MP3 from The Jezabels’ forthcoming debut Prisoner, out November 8. They’re at The Phoenix on November 24 and 25 supporting Hey Rosetta!.

MP3: The Jezabels – “Try Colour”