Stefano GiovanniniIt seems counter-intuitive to not look forward to hearing an artist’s first album of new material in half a decade – the follow-up to arguably her best work, no less – but then things are rarely straightforward when you’re talking about Cat Power. With all respect to those who’d bestow the honour on You Are Free or Moon Pix, but The Greatest was as good as its title as far as I was concerned. It may not have been as musically adventurous or emotionally bare as some of her other works, but I found the document of an artist trying something new with the Memphis soul style and sounding so in her element irresistible.

So why fear for the follow-up? Well, there was 2008’s Jukebox, which took the aesthetic of The Greatest and applied it to a selection of classic songs and somehow ended up feeling utterly bloodless, with Chan Marshall seemingly falling into the diva trap of now being an impressive voice overemoting the words of others; it was like the feeling of comfort that permeated The Greatest had turned into complacency. Further, while the two shows I saw in 2006 in support of The Greatest were, with a few hiccups, outstanding shows that seemed to put Marshall’s reputation as a shaky live bet to bed, her appearance at the 2007 Rogers Picnic was uneven and uncomfortable and while she was certainly more together at Matador at 21 in 2010, that set didn’t really point to her leaving her Dirty Delta comfort zone anytime soon. In other words, my greatest fear for Sun, promised as far back as 2007 but only arriving next Tuesday, would that it would be an overworked, underwhelming rock’n’soul pastiche that showcased Marshall’s voice but shortchanged her songwriting. And I didn’t want to hear that happen.

Well as it turns out, there was nothing to fear. Nothing. At. All. Marshall’s soulful rasp is as rich as it ever was, but there’s little trace of the gospel-blues singer that she wore a little too well. Sun is a wildly eclectic record, and even those who’ve kept up with Cat Power through her various creative phases may be taken aback by the introduction of electronic textures, programmed beats, and even some autotuning effects, but no one would dare dismiss this as genre tourism. It’s more as if Cat Power has been captured through a prism and refracted into a spectrum of musical colours – perhaps new and unfamiliar when taken in bits, but all still very much parts of the whole.

As tempting as it would be to make the new sonic direction the story of the record, or dwell on the remarkable fact that it was not only self-produced but that Marshall played virtually every instrument on the record, to do so would be to not focus on the most crucial aspect of Sun and that the songs are fantastic. The frailties of her early work have given way to a swaggering confidence that permeates everything; Marshall is focused, confident, and not only willing to take on anything, but determined to succeed. A closer examination of the lyrics reveals as much emotional honesty as she’s ever offered – after all, you can’t raise the sun without casting some shadows – but the darkness only adds depth, it never defines. Sun is an astonishing statement from Chan Marshall that shows that rather than banish the demons of her earlier work as The Greatest might have inferred, she’s utterly made them her bitches and put them to work.

The New York Times, News.com.au, and Spin have feature pieces on Cat Power and NPR is streaming Sun ahead of its release next week. She plays The Kool Haus on October 20.

MP3: Cat Power – “Cherokee”
MP3: Cat Power – “Ruin”
Stream: Cat Power / Sun

Another stellar effort from a veteran performer out next week is Silver Age from Bob Mould; it’s also now available to stream along with an interview at Rolling Stone. The first video from said record also surfaced last week.

Video: Bob Mould – “The Descent”
Stream: Bob Mould / Silver Age

To mark the release of the Divine Fits debut long-player A Thing Called Divine Fits this week, there’s feature interviews with Britt Daniel and/or Dan Boeckner at Consequence Of Sound, The 405, Interview, 680 News, Seattle Weekly, Pitchfork, The AV Club, and The National Post. Divine Fits play Lee’s Palace on September 5.

Also out this week was Nocturne, the second album from Wild Nothing. Accompanying that were features at eMusic, The Fader, Clash, DIY, Austinist, The Line Of Best Fit, and Paste. They’re at The Great Hall on September 18.

A goodly number of show announcements to get through. We’ll start with The Killers, because statistically speaking some of you must be fans, just as some of your must be human and others dancer. Their new record Battle Born is out September 18 and they’re at The Sound Academy on September 22, tickets $54.50. That seems undersized for them so I figure this counts as the “intimate club gig” before they return in a few months at the arena level.

Video: The Killers – “Runaways”

Presumably having sorted themselves out following the departure of bassist Jen Turner, Here We Go Magic will be at The Garrison on September 23 as part of a tour support of their latest record A Different Ship. Tickets for that are $12.50 in advance. Spin has a feature on the band.

MP3: Here We Go Magic – “Casual”

Having been through for festivals and as support, Exitmusic finally have their own proper headlining show in support of their debut Passage. They’re at The Horseshoe on October 1, tickets $10.50.

MP3: Exitmusic – “The Sea”

Californian psych-poppers Woods will have a new record in Bend Beyond out on September 18, and they’d like to play some of it for you. Be at The Garrison on October 2 if you’ld like that too; tickets are $12.50 in advance.

MP3: Woods – “Wind Was The Wine”

There’s no measure by which this isn’t a strange tour, but it must make sense to someone. That’d be The Psychedelic Furs, The Lemonheads, and Juliana Hatfield, who will also be reprising her Ray-era bass duties in The Lemonheads. She’ll sort of have a new record to push in her self-titled cover album, a sort of companion piece to The Lemonheads’ last release, the all-cover Varshons. Wouldn’t it be weird if both their sets were all covers? Or maybe all Psychedelic Furs covers? Yeah I have no idea what this is, besides at The Danforth Music Hall on October 16. Ticket info still forthcoming.

Video: The Psychedelic Furs – “Love My Way”
Video: The Lemonheads – “It’s A Shame About Ray”
Video: Juliana Hatfield Three – “My Sister”

They are from Brooklyn, they are seventeen members strong, they are disco, they are Escort, their 2011 debut album was also Escort, I hear they were awesome at SXSW, and they’re at The Horseshoe on November 10. Tickets are $16.50 – that’s less than a dollar a band member!

MP3: Escort – “Starlight”

Yellow Ostrich are at The Garrison on November 12 in support of their second album Strange Land. $12 gets you in the door, full dates at Plug In Music.

MP3: Yellow Ostrich – “The Shakedown”

San Diego’s Pinback return with their first album in five years in Information Retrieved, and are touring in support. Said tour wraps up at Lee’s Palace on November 21, tickets $16.50.

MP3: Pinback – “From Nothing To Nowhere”

Rolling Stone has premiered the surprisingly dark new video from Bob Dylan’s forthcoming Tempest. It’s out September 11 and the man hits the Air Canada Centre on November 14.

Video: Bob Dylan – “Duquesne Whistle”

Exclaimtalks to Lou Barlow about the new Dinosaur Jr album I Bet On Sky, out September 18. They play three nights at Lee’s Palace from September 24 to 26.

The first video from Band Of Horses’ forthcoming Mirage Rock is now available to watch. It’s out September 18.

Video: Band Of Horses – “Knock Knock”

Stereogum chats with John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats. Their new record Transcendental Youth is out October 2, they play The Phoenix on October 20.

Benjamin Gibbard – you may know him as just Ben – has released the first sample of his forthcoming solo record Former Lives, out October 16. He plays The Danforth Music Hall on October 14.

MP3: Benjamin Gibbard – “Teardrop Windows”

Exclaim has details on a new release from Andrew Bird, a companion piece to this year’s Break It Yourself. Hands Of Glory is out October 30.

Sleigh Bells’ Reign Of Terror has yielded another new video.

Video: Sleigh Bells – “End Of The Line”

NPR welcomes Beachwood Sparks for a video session. LA Weekly also has a feature on the band.

The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, SF Weekly, The Pitch, Colorado Daily, and Boulder Weekly have interviews with Sharon Van Etten.

Jo McCaugheyTwo, actually.

Typically big albums come with big tours, but while Jack White’s solo debut Blunderbuss has been inarguably one of the biggest releases of the year for the adjectiveless rock set, his touring itinerary – at least in North America – has been relatively scattershot, favouring short stretches anchored by festival dates. And while no one would call the dates announced yesterday any kind of cross-country marathon, it does include the first three eastern Canadian dates since the end of The White Stripes, two of which are in Toronto.

White and his two backing bands will be at The Sony Centre for a two-night stand on October 3 and 4 – maybe one night for the all-she Birds backing band and one for the all-he Buzzards? The venue is a bit surprising of a choice since the room holds only 3200 or so; that’s hardly nothing, but remember that that this is a guy who headlines major festivals and who has a fanbase that will think nothing of shelling out to hit both nights. So even though the usually seated venue will have a standing, general admission area set up to increase capacity and rocking out real estate, that’s still not a lot of tickets up for grabs. So when the $45, $59.50, and $75 – plus service charges, natch – tickets go on sale Friday at 11AM… well good luck.

MP3: Jack White – “Blunderbuss”
Video: Jack White – “Sixteen Saltines”
Video: Jack White – “Freedom At 21”
Video: Jack White – “Love Interruption”

Chicagoan outsider folk artist/poet Willis Earl Beal is back in town at The Drake on October 1 for a show in support of his debut, Acousmatic Sorcery; tickets $15.50 in advance. Pitchfork has full Autumn tour dates and details on his plans for an animated short film.

MP3: Willis Earl Beal – “White Noise”

Ben Folds Five, reunited and ready to release their first album in 13 years in The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind on September 18, have put together a tour that brings them to the Kool Haus on October 15, tickets $37.50. On one hand, I loved their first two records. On the other, I don’t know how much of my college years I necessarily need to revisit. Hmm. Folds talks to Spin about why he decided to re-form his old band now, and the answer is a bit longer than, “cha-ching”.

Video: Ben Folds Five – “Song For The Dumped”

The impeccably punk-pedigreed OFF! are back in town for a show at Wrongbar on October 23. I guess this is why we won’t be seeing a proper Red Kross tour this Fall… The Village Voice has an interview with frontman Keith Morris.

Video: OFF! – “Wiped Out”

Matthew Dear and Light Asylum will team up for a show at The Hoxton on November 9. The Skinny talks to Dear about his new album Beams, out August 27.

MP3: Matthew Dear – “Earthforms”
MP3: Light Asylum – “A Certain Person”

Portland electro-rock duo The Helio Sequence will release their new record Negotiations on September 11, and have slated a full North American tour to support – look for them at The Horseshoe on November 12. One preview MP3 was released a little while ago and Rolling Stone has just debuted a second.

MP3: The Helio Sequence – “October”
MP3: The Helio Sequence – “Hall Of Mirrors”

Pitchfork has details on the long-awaited third album from Titus Andronicus: Local Business will be out September 23. And okay two years isn’t really such a long time since The Monitor but still. Woo?

Fang Island have released a first video from their latest effort Major. College Times has a quick interview.

Video: Fang Island – “Sisterly”

Rolling Stone talks to Band Of Horses’ Ben Bridwell about working with legendary producer Glynn Johns on their new record Mirage Rock. They play Echo Beach tomorrow night, August 15, and release said record on September 18.

Grizzly Bear have released another track from their forthcoming album Shields, out September 18. They play Massey Hall on September 26.

MP3: Grizzly Bear – “Yet Again”

Rolling Stone and Prague Post check in with Greg Dulli on the The Afghan Whigs reunion, rolling into The Phoenix on October 3.

Rolling Stone talks to Victoria Legrand of Beach House. They play The Kool Haus on October 13.

OVRLD checks in with Jonathan Meiburg of Shearwater.

Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips submits to an interview with QRO because goodness knows he hates being interviewed.

Frank YangWho: My Morning Jacket and Band Of Horses
What: Flagbearers of the technically-Southern-but-not-really-Southern-rock movement with a specialty in beards, yodels, guitar solos, and generally melting faces.
Why: Band Of Horses are gearing up to release their fourth album Mirage Rock on September 18 and My Morning Jacket are still riding last year’s Circuital. And they just like to tour.
When: Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Where: Echo Beach in Toronto (all ages)
Who else: What, you want more? Pssh.
How: Tickets for the show are $52 in advance but courtesy of LiveNation, 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 My Morning Horses” in the subject line and your full name in the body, and have that to me before midnight, August 11.
What else: Spin and NME talk to Band Of Horses leader Ben Bridwell about the new record while Jim James talks to Westword about turning to social media to pick MMJ set lists.

MP3: My Morning Jacket – “Heartbreakin’ Man”
MP3: My Morning Jacket – “You Wanna Freak Out”
MP3: Band Of Horses – “Factory”
MP3: Band Of Horses – “No One’s Gonna Love You”

D.L. AndersonA veritable deluge of new album information came across the desk in the last day or so, though it could well have been delivered in a box of animal crackers.

First and least expectedly – at least I wasn’t expecting one – is a new Mountain Goats album entitled Transcendental Youth due out on October 2. There’s no sample track yet – not even one of those album trailers that are de rigeur these days – but instead and arguably better are a couple of essays about the album, one by John Darnielle, and another by way of the official bio by John Hodgman.

You can see the full album art over at Exclaim and, as something to listen to and keeping with the animal theme, a track from their 2000 album The Coroner’s Gambit.

MP3: The Mountain Goats – “Baboon”

Having teased that it was coming but not offering much in the way of specifics, Band Of Horses have spilled the beans on album number four, to be entitled Mirage Rock and due out on September 18; it certainly gives some context to their show at Echo Beach on August 15 opening up for My Morning Jacket. Pitchfork has some specifics and the first video from the album is available below.

Video: Band Of Horses – “Knock Knock”

And while Grizzly Bear had gone so far as to not only confirm a release date for their next record – also September 18 – and book a tour – Massey Hall on September 26 – they’d been coy about the actual title of the record until now. It’s going to be called Shields and you can see the album art and track listing over at Gigwise.

MP3: Grizzly Bear – “Sleeping Ute”

And while I’m not a fan, it’d be kind of ridiculous to not note that Animal Collective have a new one entitled Centipede Hz; it’s out September 4 and the first single is available to stream.

Stream: Animal Collective – “Honeycomb”

Ty Segall isn’t named for any kind of animal but he works like a mule; Pitchfork has details on his third album of the year – Twins is out October 9, giving some context to his show with Thee Oh Sees at The Hoxton on September 26.

San Diego garage-poppers The Soft Pack have announced a couple dates at The Garrison on October 9 and 10 as part of a tour in support of their second full-length Strapped, due out September 25. The first single is available to stream.

Stream: The Soft Pack – “Saratoga”

And shifting gears to some more concert announcements: After selling the hell out of Lee’s Palace back in April before their debut Boys & Girls was even out – the show was a week after the release date but every ticket was gone weeks before then – Alabama Shakes are coming back for a gig at the much more spacious Kool Haus on October 2, tickets for that $26.50 in advance. Full Fall dates over at Pollstar.

MP3: Alabama Shakes – “I Found You”
MP3: Alabama Shakes – “You Ain’t Alone”
MP3: Alabama Shakes – “Hold On”

Of all the band hats that he has to choose from, Conor Oberst has decided to hit the road as Conor Oberst for a show at Massey Hall on December 8. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10AM and run from $39.50 to $60.50.

MP3: Conor Oberst – “Danny Callahan”
MP3: Bright Eyes – “Lover I Don’t Have To Love”
MP3: Desaparecidos – “The Happiest Place On Earth”

Major, the second album from Fang Island, is streaming over at NPR ahead of its official release on July 24.

MP3: Fang Island – “Sisterly”
MP3: Fang Island – “Asunder”
Stream: Fang Island / Major

The title track of Matt & Kim’s next album Let’s Go – release date still to be determined – is now available to download.

MP3: Matt & Kim – “Let’s Go”

NPR and The New York Times have interviews with James Murphy, who reveals that LCD Soundsystem may not be quite completely dead just yet. But close. And then, luggage. The LCD doc Shut Up And Play The Hits is back in Toronto for a couple screenings next week at The Bloor Cinema, on July 18 and 19.

As promised, Luna’s seminal 1992 album Bewitched is getting its first-ever pressing on vinyl this Summer. It’s out August 21 and is limited to an edition of 2000, so it’s a good thing you can pre-order it now.

MP3: Luna – “Tiger Lily”

A Heart Is A Spade asks a few quick questions of Peggy from The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart.

The Shins have a new video from Port Of Morrow. They open up for The Black Keys at The Molson Amphitheatre on August 4.

Video: The Shins – “It’s Only Life”

NPR is streaming a World Cafe session with Sharon Van Etten, who’s in town at the Phoenix on July 31.

PopMatters talks to Ira Elliot of Nada Surf.

Rolling Stone and The Boston Globe talk to Mission Of Burma about their new record Unsound, out now and streaming in full at Spinner.

MP3: Mission Of Burma – “Second Television”
Stream: Mission of Burma / Unsound

The Village Voice talks to Eric Bachmann of Archers Of Loaf.

PopMatters interviews Eisley.

Spin has posted their latest cover story on Cali power couple Best Coast and Wavves and thrown in a photo shoot gallery for good measure. Best Coast are at The Phoenix on July 21.

Frank YangIt’s been a long time since you could accurately describe My Morning Jacket as a southern rock kind of band – yes they’re southern and they rock, but they’ve long since chased their country/psych/soul-inspired muses into uncharted corners of the musical cosmos and are really rather their own genre entirely now. Similarly, it’s been a long time since you could call Band Of Horses “My Morning Jacket, Jr” as they were often referred – equally affectionately and derisively, I think – on account of Ben Bridwell’s own southern accents, sky-reaching field holler of a voice, and impressive hirsuteness. They’ve not reinvented themselves to quite the same degree but three albums in, they’re very much their own band now and follow in no one’s footsteps.

All that said, there’s plenty of natural synchronicity between the two acts so even though neither will have a new record to push – MMJ’s last release was 2011’s Circuital and BOH’s follow-up to 2010’s Infinite Arms isn’t due out until the Fall at earliest – it’s nice to see that they’re teaming up for a string of Summer dates that will see Band Of Horses set ’em up and My Morning Jacket knock ’em down, all while bringing smiles to the faces of those who dig on big guitar jams, soaring vocals, and luxurious facial hair. Toronto gets the double-bill on August 15 when they play Echo Beach at Ontario Place, tickets $49.50 in advance and going on sale Friday at 10AM – that’ll be just over a year since My Morning Jacket’s last visit in July 2011 and some time since Band Of Horses last headlined here in October 2010 (I wasn’t there but hit their free surprise show at The Horseshoe in May).

This isn’t the first time that My Morning Jacket and Band Of Horses teamed up; they were out on the road for a spell last Fall, and a recording from that tour – with Ben Bridwell guesting with My Morning Jacket at Madison Square Garden in New York – has been released to offer a taste of what this new tour will have to offer.

MP3: My Morning Jacket with Ben Bridwell – “Wondeful (The Way I Feel)” (live at MSG)
MP3: My Morning Jacket – “Holdin’ Onto Black Metal”
MP3: My Morning Jacket – “Circuital”
MP3: Band Of Horses – “Factory”
MP3: Band Of Horses – “No One’s Gonna Love You”

Plenty more concert news from yesterday to get through. Those hoping to see Japandroids destroy a sold-out Horseshoe on June 23 in honour of their new record Celebration Rock should know that it has been moved to Lee’s Palace with that many more tickets available for sale. And speaking of moving, the release date of Celebration Rock has been moved from June 5 to May 29. And the first single is available to download.

MP3: Japandroids – “The House That Heaven Built”

Matador-signed Austin-based young punks The Young have set a date at The Shop Under Parts & Labour for July 4; their new record Dub Egg is out June 12.

MP3: The Young – “Livin’ Free”

If you can’t fit New York-based, every corner of the world-bred Young Magic into your NXNE schedule – they’re at Wrongbar on June 14 – know that they’ll be back much sooner rather than later in support of Melt with a date at The Garrison on July 5 with Boston’s Quilt. Tickets for that will be $12.50 in advance.

MP3: Young Magic – “Night In The Ocean”
MP3: Quilt – “Penobska-Oakwalk”

When Loney Dear brought Hall Music to the Drake Underground last November, it was just Emil Svanängen performing solo and while I was a bit wary of whether he could do it justice on his own, he succeeded in putting on one of my favourite shows of last year to go with one of my favourite albums of last year. I’ve no idea if he’ll be bringing a band with him on July 8 when he plays The Horseshoe – tickets $15 in advance – but you’re damn right I’ll be there to find out. Already one of my most-anticipated shows of the Summer and folks – it’s not a lean Summer for shows.

MP3: Loney Dear – “My Heart”
MP3: Loney Dear – “What Have I Become?”

Lower Dens will be at Lee’s Palace on July 17 in support of their new record Nootropics, out today. To mark the occasion, they’ve released a new video and another new MP3 to download.

MP3: Lower Dens – “Lamb”
Video: Lower Dens – “Propagation”

It took longer than I expected but The Big Pink have finally made a local date in support of this year’s Future This; they and their smoke machines will be at The Hoxton on August 1, tickets $18 in advance.

MP3: The Big Pink – “Stay Gold”
MP3: The Big Pink – “Give It Up”

Last week’s Jesus & Mary Chain rumours are now fact. The Reid brothers will be at The Phoenix on August 3 and the $59.50 tickets go on sale Thursday at 10AM. Of course it’s not cheap – you think they’re doing this for love?

Video: The Jesus & Mary Chain – “Just Like Honey”

Technically, Steve Earle has been through town already in support of last year’s I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive, but that was at the Molson Amphitheatre opening for Blue Rodeo. August 14 sees him coming back with The Dukes for his own show at Massey Hall; tickets are $49.50 and go on sale Friday at 10AM.

Video: Steve Earle – “Waitin’ On The Sky”

The Swedish sisters of First Aid Kit will ride the success of their sophomore effort The Lion’s Roar through a Fall North American tour that brings them back to town for a September 26 show at The Danforth Music Hall. Which they prefer you now just call The Music Hall but I do what I want.

Video: First Aid Kit – “Emmylou”