Gary Isaacs2010 has been kind of a watershed year for great records. I did some math back in April about how many acts who’ve appeared on past year-end lists were in contention for this coming one, and the result was pretty impressive, and that doesn’t account for new discoveries in the past 10 months. To wit, 2011 will have a hell of an act to follow. But, as a flurry of announcements and press releases yesterday will testify, it’s not without a few releases worth getting excited about.

Starting with Portland folk-rock faves The Decemberists, who invite no shortage of “January-ist” jokes by slating the release of their follow-up to 2009’s rock opera The Hazards Of Love for January 11 18. Presumably less conceptual than its predecessor (it couldn’t possibly get more), it will wear Colin Meloy’s Morrissey adoration on its sleeve/spine, being entitled The King Is Dead. Direct Currents has details and the track listing. Update: The first MP3 is available to download, via email widget, on their website now. Update 2: Release date confirmed as January 18 by Pitchfork.

Ritual, the second album from UK’s White Lies has gotten a confirmed North American release date of January 18.

MP3: White Lies – “Death” (Crystal Castles remix)

Denver’s DeVotchKa have announced details of their first album since 2008’s A Mad & Faithful Telling. The record will be entitled 100 Lovers and be out February 15. Telling didn’t elicit as much swooning as its 2004 predecessor How It Ends, but when no one else out there operates in the same terrain where gypsy, mariachi, folk and rock stylings overlap, any new release is cause to celebrate. Hopefully they’ll include Toronto in any tour routing, as they haven’t played a headlining show here since June 2006 – they were here this past Spring, but only as support for the more popular but less interesting Gogol Bordello.

MP3: DeVotchKa – “Along The Way”

Adele has revealed her second album will be entitled 21, ensuring that it’s at least two better than her debut 19, and be released on February 22 of next year. She talks to Spin about the new record.

Drive-By Truckers had originally intended to release two albums this year – the first being The Big To-Do back in March – but sanity has prevailed and they’ll settle for releasing two albums in the span of less than a year. Go Go Boots will come out on February 15 and, leading up to its release, the band will be previewing the new songs via live performance video clips.

Video: Drive-By Truckers – “Used To Be A Cop”

Death Cab For Cutie haven’t gotten so far along with album number seven to be able to give it a title or release date, but as Ben Gibbard tells Spin that it’ll be out in the Spring and that he really likes it.

Fact reports that Patrick Wolf will be giving vinyl-philes an early taste of his next record, making the 7″ of his new single available on December 6 but hanging onto the CD and download editions until March, a much more sensible timeframe considering the album is out in May. Personally, I’m more interested in hearing the b-side to that 7″ – a cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Anthem”. I have no idea what that might sound like but I really want to find out.

The Toronto date of the just-announced Winter tour teaming up Tokyo Police Club with Two Door Cinema Club clearly should have been booked into the Mod Club, but instead it will be happening on January 15 at the Kool Haus, tickets $20. They should at least borrow/duplicate Guided By Voices’ “The Club Is Open” sign.

MP3: Two Door Cinema Club – “Something Good Can Work”
Video: Tokyo Police Club – “Bambi”

If you’ve no interest in catching them open up for U2 at the ACC next Summer (July 12) and either missed or didn’t get enough at their Kool Haus show in August, Interpol are going to be at the Sound Academy on February 15, tickets $30 in advance. Creative Loafing interviews drummer Sam Fogarino.

MP3: Interpol – “Lights”

The Los Angeles Times talks to Kevin Barnes of Of Montreal.

Local Natives have put out another video from Gorilla Manor.

Video: Local Natives – “Who Knows Who Cares”

The Vine talks to Laura Ballance of Superchunk, who celebrated Hallowe’en this weekend by giving away a Misfits cover. They play the Sound Academy on December 9 opening up for Broken Social Scene.

MP3: Superchunk – “Horror Business”

Pitchfork gets all POV in session with Titus Andronicus.

JAM talks to Elvis Costello, whose new record National Ransom is out today.

Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai tells NME where they came up with the title of their new record. Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will is out on February 15 of next year.

Mother Jones chats with Basia Bulat.

Spinner talks to Daniel Lanois about he and Neil Young’s pet names for one another whilst making Le Noise, and I’m embarrassed to say I did not make the connection between the album title and Lanois’ surname until, well, right now.

Frank YangThe “see something new” mandate largely fell apart on the third night of Halifax Pop Explosion, but with good reason; when you get the opportunity to see Basia Bulat perform with a symphony, you take it. Bulat was the third artist to be brought together with Symphony Nova Scotia as part of the Pop Explosion, Ron Sexsmith and Owen Pallett had done so in past years, and it was Pallett who crafted the orchestral arrangements of Bulat’s songs for this performance which took place in the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium on the Dalhousie campus.

The evening was structured more like a symphony concert than a pop one, split into two halves and opening with the symphony performing a piece by Toronto composer Jordan Pal before being joined by Bulat and bandmates Holly Coish on vocals and taropatch and Bobby Bulat on drums. Bulat’s songs have often been called orchestral-pop and often come out of the box lovingly adorned with strings, brass and woodwinds, but the strength of her work comes from the emotional directness of their simple folk hearts. So to hear them with their sonic dressings increased tenfold (or so) was fascinating to witness. Pallett’s treatments took those supporting elements and gave them a new level of animation, sometimes taking hues that were muted and enhancing them to technocolour levels or simply adding all-new shapes and colours and in doing so, inverting the tone of the song completely. The symphony emphasized the shadows lurking on “Heart Of My Own” and practically inverted the usually-joyous “I Was A Daughter” into an elegiac sort of farewell.

For me, the real test would be “The Shore”, which was pretty much perfect in its austere presentation on Heart Of My Own and was even more stunning in its live solo arrangement. The rearranged version pretty much came out of it a draw, with the timpani and percussion giving it a stirring, tidal rumble but the trilling woodwinds distracting from the song’s emotional heft. And that would largely sum up how the collaborative pieces went – a lot of embellishment and some distraction. When they played together, it could feel trepidatious, particularly rhythmically, as though songs that were used to flitting freely in light Summer dresses were now having to move with heavy, fancy formal wear on. But even so, in the end the pieces were always made winners not by the massive orchestra or Pallett’s contributions, but by Bulat and her songs.

In addition to the eight orchestral pieces, Bulat played a number of selections either with Coish and her brother or solo, and those performances – aided by the theatre’s stunning acoustics – were just as much highlights of the night as those with the symphony. In particular, one of two new songs – “It Can’t Be You” – featured a vocal performance from Bulat that was just jaw-dropping, and the encore-closing unamplified stomp-and-clap of “Death Come Creeping” on the fancy auditorium stage in front of the orchestra, was as wonderful as it was incongruous. More, actually.

I won’t say that the symphonic treatments improved Bulat’s songs – I think they’re “right” the way they were originally conceived and presented – but that wasn’t the intention in the first place. Rather, it was an artistic and musical experiment for everyone involved that yielded interesting and frequently beautiful results, and one that I still feel privileged to have gotten to see. Here’s hoping that more orchestral collaborations are in the cards for the future so that others can share that privilege and the works can evolve further as their own entities.

This ended up being the only thing I attended on the third night of HPX – partly because Rebecca Cohn was far enough from any other venue that it would have required a whole lot of effort to get anywhere else, partly because the idea of going to a little club after this show and getting blasted in the face with some punk rock wasn’t very palatable and partly because it was going to be more fun to just kick back and hang out with friends afterwards. I’d make up for it the next night.

The Halifax Chronicle-Herald also has a review of the show. She now opens up a series of cross-Canada shows for Josh Ritter, including tomorrow night at The Phoenix.

Photos: Basia Bulat with Symphony Nova Scotia @ Rebecca Cohn Auditorium – October 22, 2010
MP3: Basia Bulat – “Go On”
MP3: Basia Bulat – “Gold Rush”
MP3: Basia Bulat – “In The Night”
MP3: Basia Bulat – “Snakes & Ladders”
Video: Basia Bulat – “The Pilgriming Vine”
Video: Basia Bulat – “In The Night”
MySpace: Basia Bulat

Rae Spoon rolled out a couple more videos from Love Is A Hunter over the last while.

Video: Rae Spoon – “There is a Light (but it’s not for everyone)”
Video: Rae Spoon – “Joan”

Sufjan Stevens talks about some of the personal issues that informed and delayed The Age Of Adz with Exclaim.

The Vancouver Sun talks to Matt Ward of She & Him.

The Asheville Citizen-Times chats with Band Of Horses’ Bill Reynolds and Tyler Ramsey.

NPR interviews School Of Seven Bells.

The video for Johnny Flynn’s new single is out, featuring a live performance in a garden with Laura Marling covering her parts as she does on the studio version on Been Listening. Flynn will be at Lee’s Palace on November 14.

Video: Johnny Flynn with Laura Marling – “The Water”

A couple of interesting international bands are on the Nu Music Nite bill at The Horseshoe tomorrow night (October 26). From the UK there’s folk singer Alessi’s Ark and all the way from Australia, The Jezebels. Easier for you to give the samples a listen, than for me to try and describe a couple of acts I’m only a little familiar with, but the combination of both on one bill and it being free makes it hard for me to stay cooped up at home, as much as I’d like to.

MP3: The Jezebels – “Mace Spray”
MP3: Alessi’s Ark – “Hands In The Sink”

The Dumbing Of America and The Seattle Post-Intelligencer interview Sky Larkin, who are in town at the Horseshoe on Wednesday night.

Under The Radar talks to Rose Elinor Dougall.

Lykke Li has put out a new single – mainly digital but also as a 7″ for collectors – and you can download the a-side below and the b-side at her website. A new album should be out in the early part of next year.

MP3: Lykke Li – “Get Some”

Eva VermandelAt first, no one even believed it was happening. Apocalyptic Montreal post-rock godheads Godspeed You! Black Emperor, basically inactive since touring behind 2002’s Yanqui u.x.o. ceased and presumed defunct, out of nowhere announced they were reconvening to curate an All Tomorrow’s Parties in the UK in December 2010. And in typically cryptic Godspeed fashion, the accompanying press release mentioned that there would be additional dates in the UK and Europe and “9 American towns” but offered no further details.

Of course, it was that last bit that threw everyone into simultaneous euphoria and panic. Euphoria that those who missed out on their legendary live experiences would possibly get a chance to have their minds expanded/exploded, and panic that their own town might not be one of the lucky nine. Why nine? Did Manhattan and Brooklyn count as one or two? And the whole “America” thing was also alarming – North? United States of? The idea that the band would leave their home and native land out of the loop was unthinkable, but where Godspeed is concerned, nothing could be taken for granted. So a collective sigh was heard when the first set of dates was finally revealed a couple weeks ago, and there were decidedly more than nine municipalities covered and on both sides of the 49th.

Toronto, however, was conspicuously absent from the itinerary despite their routing coming oh-so close, wrapping in Detroit at the end of March. That there wouldn’t be shows here was unthinkable, but the when and the where… showed up last night. Though their shows at the Palais Royale at the start of the decade are nigh mythical (at least to hear it from those who were there, which doesn’t include me), their return will come at the decidedly cozier environs of Lee’s Palace over three nights next Spring – April 22, 23 and 24, the last of those being a dry, all-ages matinee show – you know, for kids! You’d think that would mean that 1500 people would get the chance to see them, but you can expect more than a few three-peat attendees. It might be almost seven months away, but when the $20 advance tickets go on sale this Thursday, hesitate at your peril.

MySpace: Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Chart talks to The Coast about their new album Queen Cities. It’s streamable at their Facebook (each track is embedded on their wall) and the lead track is available to take home for your very own.

MP3: The Coast – “Heartbreak City”
Stream: The Coast / Queen Cities

Soundproof profiles The Acorn.

As expected, here’s another video from Neil Young’s new record Le Noise, due out today. There’s a video interview with both Young and producer Daniel Lanois over at QTV.

Video: Neil Young – “Walk With Me”

Suuns have rolled out a new video from their forthcoming debut Zeroes QC. It’s out October 12.

Video: Suuns – “Up Past The Nursery”

Olenka & The Autumn Lovers have completed their new album and given it the title of And Now We Sing; it will be available for sale on their upcoming Fall tour which includes an October 17 date at The Garrison. Their show there last year was so good, I’m sad I won’t be able to make this one. One of you out there make it for me.

MP3: Olenka & The Autumn Lovers – “Eggshells”

The Chicago Tribune has an interview with and Baeble Music solicits a mix tape from Basia Bulat. She’s at the Phoenix on October 26 opening up for Josh Ritter.

Pitchfork has got another new track from Diamond Rings’ forthcoming debut Special Affections in advance of its October 26 release. He plays a free show at the Parkdale Branch of the Toronto Public Library on October 8 at 8PM and a record release show at The Garrison on October 26.

MP3: Diamond Rings – “Something Else”

Impact 89 has a chat with and NPR a World Cafe session with Dan Mangan, in town at Trinity-St. Paul’s on October 28.

Woodhands are back for a show at Lee’s Palace on November 19, advance tickets $13.50.

MP3: Woodhands – “Dissembler”

The Line Of Best Fit has assembled a thirteenth Oh! Canada download mix of Canadian artists.

And not quite fitting in with the Can-con meme of the rest of the post but time-sensitive, North Carolina’s Lost In The Trees – introduced and endorsed back in June – have announced a last-minute in-store performance at Soundscapes today – as in today – at 5:30PM. I haven’t yet had the privilege of seeing them live but I’m pretty sure it’ll be great. You should totally go.

MP3: Lost In The Trees – “All Alone In An Empty House”

And less good, tonight’s Bettie Serveert show at the Drake has been cancelled due to passport issues. Le boo.

Bryan Lee-O’MalleyYesterday afternoon, the words “Scott Pilgrim” became the top trending topic worldwide on Twitter, a remarkable if probably fleeting accomplishment that kind of underscores how big a deal the release of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (the motion picture) this coming Friday is… at least to people on Twitter. And like indie rock. And comic books. And (old-school) video games. And Toronto. In other words, people like me. And possibly/probably you.

And so I present to you a selection of particularly interesting or entertaining links culled from the veritable ocean of Pilgrim-related articles, interviews, videos, games and online tchotchke related to the film. Or at least the ones I found. There’s this About.com interview with series creator Bryan Lee-O’Malley, these The Los Angeles Times and AV Club conversations with film director Edgar Wright, this The Toronto Star interview both Wright and star Michael Cera, this series overview for newbs from The Globe & Mail, this collection of fake Lucas Lee movie posters, this MTV cast interview video at their Lee’s Palace soundstage (with an explanation of why they didn’t use the real Lee’s as a set), this Newsarama interview with various cast members and this other Los Angeles Times piece interviewing music supervisor Nigel Godrich and contributor Beck about putting together the music for the film.

Advance reviews of the film are pretty good but I’m sure once you adjust for geekdom, it’s awesome. I will have to wait a while to see for myself, though, as other engagements will keep me from making it to a theatre probably until Monday or Tuesday. But to hold me over, I re-read the whole series last night and have this fascinating interactive trailer, this brilliant trailer assembled from frames of the comic, this video of Jason Schwartzman and Michael Cera doing the weather for an Atlanta news broadcast and as the domino that will finally get me to perhaps get a modern video game system (or at least borrow one for a while), the video game trailer. And both the soundtrack and original score of the film are available to stream in their entirety at Spinner.

Stream: Scott Pilgrim Vs The World Original Soundtrack
Stream: Scott Pilgrim Vs The World Original Score

Bradley’s Almanac is sharing a recording of Arcade Fire’s show in Boston a couple weeks ago while Zoilus has posted a transcript of an interview with Win Butler. They play the Toronto Islands this coming Saturday, and congratulations to the band on scoring #1 records in the Canada, the UK and USA.

Owen Pallett will release a new EP on 10″ come September 28 – details on A Swedish Love Story available at Domino Records.

Movie Entertainment profiles celebrity Basia Bulat while The Edmonton Journal finds out about her next project. She’s at the Phoenix on October 26.

Prefix interviews Stars, who will be setting up at Massey Hall on October 23.

PopMatters asks 20 questions of Tokyo Police Club, who will be opening up for Phoenix at the Ricoh Coliseum on October 26.

Paste talks to Liz Powell of Land Of Talk, whose new one Cloak And Cipher is out next week. They’re at Lee’s Palace on September 16.

American Songwriter profiles American songwriter Samantha Crain. She’s at the Horseshoe on September 26.

Spinner inquires about The Thermals’ Personal Life. It’s out September 7 and they follow it with a show at Lee’s Palace on October 9.

Daytrotter has posted a session with First Aid Kit and another with Ferraby Lionheart, who will be opening up for them at the El Mocambo on October 15.

The first video from Grinderman’s Grinderman 2 is out and yes, it’s 100% ridiculous. Grinderman 2 is out September 14 and they play the Phoenix on November 11.

Video: Grinderman – “Heathen Child”

Kate Nash, having played the deliberately undersized Mod Club back in April, brings her second album My Best Friend Is You back to town for a show at the Phoenix on November 13 as part of an extensive Fall tour. The Sydney Morning Herald has an interview.

Video: Kate Nash – “Do Wah Do”

The Cribs have just released a new video for a non-album single entitled “Housewife”.

Video: The Cribs – “Housewife”

This Is Fake DIY has got an acoustic session with Sky Larkin and The Yorkshire Evening Post an interview.

Blurt has a feature piece on The Wedding Present.

Miyuki SamataA whole pile of concert announcements big and small came down the wire yesterday, but none more exciting – personally, at least – than this one. Self-proclaimed Japanese action comic punk band Peelander-Z – hands down highlights of our Hot Freaks! showcases at SxSW in 2008 and in 2009 – are finally bringing their absurd (and entertaining) beyond words show to Canada… well, southern Ontario and Montreal, at least. And that includes two nights in Toronto – September 1 at the Velvet Underground and September 2 at the Silver Dollar, tickets $8 in advance for each show.

Describing the Peelander experience isn’t so easy, particularly when their videos say so much, but punk rock power rangers is really about the size of it. Now neither of these venues offers either the open space or climbing apparatus to stage the kind of sheer insanity that they brought to the Mohawk in ’08 and ’09, but I have the utmost faith that Peelanders Red, Green and Yellow will find a way to make it memorable… and now that I think about it, the width of the Silver Dollar would make a great human bowling lane. They’ll ostensibly be touring behind their new record P-TV-Z, due out on September 28, but let’s be honst – the music is secondary to the antics. Which I’m not usually so fond of, but when the antics are as ridonk as theirs, it’s a-ok with me.

And photogs, you won’t want to miss this. It’s a good time. Mad Tiger!

MP3: Peelander-Z – “S.T.E.A.K.”
MP3: Peelander-Z – “Rocket Gold Star”
MP3: Peelander-Z – “Champion”
MP3: Peelander-Z – “Panda Punk”

Yesterday’s poorest-kept secret goes to the fact that Metric will be doing a free show outside of Union Station at 7PM tonight as part of the launch of a new cell phone. Odds that it will be a mad house and that Emily Haines will ramble nonsensically between songs are pretty much even.

Video: Metric – “Stadium Love”

Boston’s Caspian will be hitting the road this Fall and set up at the Soybomb space in Toronto (Bathurst south of Queen) on September 17.

MP3: Caspian – “Of Foam And Wave”

Obviously intending to be around town in time for the Polaris Prize gala the following Monday, Caribou have scheduled a show at the Phoenix for September 17. Tickets are $15 in advance.

MP3: Caribou – “Odessa”

The midwest rises as Indianapolic gothic country-rockers Murder By Death team up with Oklahoma’s Samantha Crain for a Fall tour that stops in at the Horseshoe on September 26.

MP3: Murder By Death – “Foxglove”
MP3: Samantha Crain – “Traipsing Through The Aisles”

Holy Fuck are at the Phoenix on September 29.

MP3: Holy Fuck – “Latin America”

Scout Niblett has slated a Fall tour in support of her latest, The Calcination Of Scout Niblett. She’s at The Garrison on October 2.

MP3: Scout Niblett – “Kiss”

Perfume Genius, the pseudonym of singer-songwriter Mike Hadreas, will undertake a short Learning that includes an October 7 date at the Drake Underground. Check out the video session he did for Matador Records, a short interview with him conducted by Huh

MP3: Perfume Genius – “Learning”

Basia Bulat will be joining Josh Ritter on his Autumn cross-Canada tour that includes an October 26 date at The Phoenix. Paste debuted Ritter’s latest video from And So The World Runs Away.

MP3: Basia Bulat – “Gold Rush”
Video: Josh Ritter – “Rattling Locks”

I guess calling it the “None More Black” tour would have been overly obvious, not to mention probably karmically putting their drummers at risk, but The Black Angels are teaming up with Black Mountain for a Fall tour that they’ve dubbed “Dropout Boogie” that will stop in at the Phoenix on October 31, tickets $20.50. Even odds that everyone in attendance will be dressed up as stoners for Hallowe’en and will be fully committed to the role. Both acts have new albums out on September 14 – Mountain with Wilderness Heart and Angels with Phosphene Dream. Spin has a chat with singer Alex Maas about the new record as well as a song to download, while Pitchfork has a tour-previewing download of Black Angels covering Black Mountain.

MP3: Black Mountain – “Hair Song”
MP3: The Black Angels – “Telephone Blues”
MP3: The Black Angels – “No Satisfaction” (Black Mountain cover)

With the magic eight ball apparently having come up, “keep milking Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix for all it’s worth”, Phoenix are doing North America again and this leg includes a Toronto date – October 22 at the Ricoh Coliseum with Tokyo Police Club and Wavves as support, tickets $40 to $45.

MP3: Wavves – “Cool Jumper”
Video: Phoenix – “Lisztomania”
Video: Tokyo Police Club – “Wait Up (Boots Of Danger)”