Ryan MarrToronto’s Forest City Lovers began essentially as a pseudonym for singer-songwriter Kat Burns, and while ably assisted by members of Toronto’s burgeoning music community her debut The Sun & The Wind was accordingly spare, but still gave hints to her broader pop ambitions. 2008’s Haunting Moon Sinking found Forest City Lovers no longer a pseudonym but a proper band and accordingly, it was a much fuller and rangier affair with a few moments of pure pop bounce amidst the more contemplative numbers. It made clear that talent-wise, Forest City Lovers had the potential to be one of the city, if not the country’s, finer pop bands though to make the grab for that brass ring seemed at odds with the understated charm that seemed to be such a fundamental part of their appeal. How would they reconcile that, if at all?

The answer comes in the form of Carriage. Their third album, released this week, is the sort of record that you always hope that a band you believe in will make, but don’t really expect for fear of being disappointed. Somehow Forest City Lovers have managed to make a game-changer of an album without actually changing their game – the core of their sound, Burns’ insightful and evocative lyrics delivered with her gentle, hint-of-smoke vocals, are intact and front and centre but this time out they’re cast against type in some big pop arrangements and damn if they don’t more than rise to the challenge.

Bookended by different versions of both sides of last year’s Phodilus and Tyto 7″, Carriage comes with a wealth of fresh ideas and it seems the more unexpected the turn, the more rewarding the outcome. Perhaps the best example of this is the confidently off-kilter “Minneapolis”, whose two minutes and forty seconds boasts one of the most infectious choruses you’re likely to hear anywhere this year. It’s pretty much the sort of song that you’d have thought Forest City Lovers would be great at but never would have expected them to write, and that feeling of both surprise and satisfaction permeates the record. The presence of new drummer Christian Ingelevics is surely a big part of the album’s heightened energy – he’s certainly brought such to their live show – and perhaps the decision to work with an outside producer for the first time is also part of it, though the record still maintains much of the of intimate, unvarnished vibe of the earlier recordings. But I think that most of the growth on Carriage can be attributed to a band that was simply ready to take that next step and decided to make it a huge leap forward. So very, very rewarding.

I Heart Music also has a review of the album and is offering a download of “Minneapolis”, also his pick as the key song on the record. Exclaim couples their review with a quick interview and Soundproof, The National Post and Chart have features on the band. Forest City Lovers start a three-week North American tour this weekend and will play a hometown record release show at the Great Hall on August 12, preceded by an in-store at Soundscapes on August 10, before heading back out on the road in September.

MP3: Forest City Lovers – “Light You Up”
MP3: Forest City Lovers – “If I Were A Tree”
Video: Forest City Lovers – “If I Were A Tree”
MySpace: Forest City Lovers

Left-field Vancouver art-poppers Apollo Ghosts are touring their Polaris Prize-nominated album Mount Benson right across Canada and are making two stops in Toronto – on July 27 for an in-store performance at Criminal Records at 7PM and then after hitting the east coast, will double back and wrap things up on August 6 at Sneaky Dee’s with Dog Day.

MP3: Apollo Ghosts – “Coka Cola Admen”
MP3: Apollo Ghosts – “Things You Go Through”

The Take interviews The Balconies.

Chart talks to The Sadies, who will ring in Canada Day with a free show at Harbourfront Centre tonight.

Great Lake Swimmers have released a new video from last year’s Lost Channels.

Video: Great Lake Swimmers – “River’s Edge”

Also with a new video are Black Mountain, whose Wilderness Heart is out September 14. They’re at the Horseshoe on July 23.

Video: Black Mountain – “Old Fangs”

The Line Of Best Fit talks to Mark Hamilton of Woodpigeon. They’ll be back in town on October 6 to play a free noon-hour show at Yonge-Dundas Square.

Washington City Paper and Philadelphia Weekly talk to Carl Newman of The New Pornographers, whose performance in Washington DC last week is available to stream over at NPR.

Pornographer going solo Kathryn Calder has released another MP3 from her forthcoming debut Are You My Mother?, out August 10.

MP3: Kathryn Calder – “Arrow”

CBC, Chart and Exclaim interview members of Stars. They are at Massey Hall on October 23.

John O’Regan of Diamond Rings offers The Line Of Best Fit a guide to his Toronto.

The Vancouver Sun talks to Shad, who’s at the Kool Haus on October 1.

Clash interviews Emily Haines of Metric. The video for their Twilight theme song is now available to swoon at. They’re at the Molson Amphitheatre on Friday, July 9

Video: Metric – “Twilight (All Yours)”

Supporting Metric on that show are Holy Fuck; hour.ca has an interview.

Rae Spoon will release Love Is A Hunter, the follow up to 2008’s excellent Superioryouareinferior, on August 17 and the first MP3 is available to download.

MP3: Rae Spoon – “You Can Dance”

The Hidden Cameras will play two intimate shows at the Lower Ossington Theatre on August 5 and 6 as part of the Summerworks theatre and film festival. According to Chart, they will be taking the opportunity to reimagine their last album Origin: Orphan as a theatrical work. Tickets for the shows are just $10.

MP3: The Hidden Cameras – “Walk On”

Half of this Take-Away Show with Land Of Talk was posted a couple weeks ago but the second video posted at Le Blogotheque, presumably a track from Cloak & Cipher, is the real jaw-dropper. So very excited for this record, which will be out August 24.

Exclaim talks to members of Wolf Parade.

PunkNews interviews Mike Haliechuk of Fucked Up.

Harbourfront Centre’s Love Saskatchewan festival will feature free performances from Rah Rah and Library Voices on July 23 and July 25, respectively. And with lots of Saskatchewan-related goodness in between.

Tourisme Montreal talks to Basia Bulat, who was there last week for the Montreal Jazz Festival.

Wired interviews Scott Pilgrim director Edgar Wright and star Michael Cera. Hilarity ensues. Pitchfork also talks to Broken Social Scene’s Brendan Canning about their contributions to the film soundtrack.

The National Post examines the state of the Summer concert season.

Happy Canada Day, everyone. I am marking this auspicious occasion by leaving the country. I’m off to New York City for an extended long weekend – I think these are called vacations. We’ll see how it goes.

Christine LimThough not technically related, yesterday afternoon’s announcement of this year’s Polaris Music Prize long list in the midst of all the NXNE hubbub was no coincidence. What better time to reveal the consensus cream of the Can-con crop than in the smack dab in the middle of one of the biggest festivals and conferences in the country? A perusal of the 40 albums that made the cut reveals a lot of the names I’d have expected, based on factors such as public profile, track record and oh yeah, artistic merit, though some others that I thought might have eked onto the list are absent and others that I thought would have been too under the radar to gather sufficient support have moved onto the next round.

Net result? An interesting and diverse list of albums that should provide sufficient grist for acclaim, angst and analysis, at least until the short list when it’s announced on July 6, and then the fun part – endless back and forth about which of the ten finalists should take home the $20,000 cheque – begins and continues until the winner is announced on September 20. For my part, since I was on the Grand Jury in 2008, my duties end this year with submission of my second ballot in a week’s time. And considering that I’ve only got one record from the first ballot that’s not still in the running and a pool of 36 records to choose from, that should be relatively easy. What’s that? What was on my first ballot? Well I’m glad you asked. In order, they were:

1. Shad / TSOL
In a perfect world, my Polaris ballot would write itself. Albums up for the title of “best in Canada” should announce themselves as such and not give you the option to not include it. Not a lot of records do this, but Shad’s third album did. Its blend of heart, humour and hooks are irresistible. TSOL demands its place on the long list, will almost certainly find its way on the short list and I give it good odds of going all the way.

MP3: Shad – “Yaa I Get It”

2. Reverie Sound Revue / Reverie Sound Revue
I knew this album wouldn’t make the long list without some sort of divine intervention, but with each successive listen in the year or so since its release, it has won me over more and more. What it has is understatedly clever wordplay delivered by Lisa Lobsinger’s perfectly matched vocals overtop impeccably conceived and arranged jazzy pop sounds, and the fact that very little out there does what they do this well, from any country. What it doesn’t have is a band able to tour or otherwise promote it as it deserved, and that’s why I’m looking for a new fifth album for ballot #2. But this album should be heard.

MP3: Reverie Sound Revue – “Arrows”

3. Owen Pallett / Heartland
Just five years in, repeat short list nominees are hardly uncommon but we haven’t had a repeat winner yet. And with the name change before this record’s release, pedants could argue it wouldn’t be a repeat, but I digress. Truth is I don’t even know how much I like it – there’s so much going on that even months on I find myself overwhelmed and still haven’t fully absorbed it – but the artistic ambition and achievement of it transcends subjective opinion.

Video: Owen Pallett – “Lewis Takes His Shirt Off”

4. Dan Mangan / Nice, Nice, Very Nice
What I said about the Shad record applies here as well, though not quite as emphatically. Some naysayers have criticized Mangan’s album for being just another indie-folk singer-songwriter record and technically, they’re quite correct. Which is why the degree to which Nice, Nice was able to stick and resonate for so long marks it as noteworthy. There’s unquestionably something going on here above and beyond what you get on paper.

MP3: Dan Mangan – “Road Regrets”

5. Basia Bulat / Heart Of My Own
Any reservations I had about nominating Basia’s second album amounted to it being so similar to Oh, My Darling and not yet being the masterpiece statement that I’m sure she has in her. But then I listened to it – and “The Shore” – again and tossed those reservations out the window. I don’t know that I’d go to the wall for it as best album of the year, but thankfully I don’t have to.

MP3: Basia Bulat – “Gold Rush”

Chart talks basketball and TSOL with Shad, who’s at the Kool Haus with K’Naan on October 1.

The Toronto Star, JAM and Metro interview The Besnard Lakes.

Pitchfork talks to Black Mountain’s Stephen McBean. Their new record Wilderness Heart is out September 14 and they preview it at The Horseshoe on July 23.

Torq Campbell of Stars goes through The Five Ghosts, out next week, song-by-song for The National Post while Amy Milan talks about the new album with Dose.ca.

The Toronto Star and The Globe & Mail and Vancouver Sun talk Twilight with Metric, who recorded an acoustic video session for The Fly. They’re at the Molson Amphitheatre on July 9.

Ca Va Cool interviews The Meligrove Band. Their new record Shimmering Lights is out September 21.

Filter Q&A’s Tokyo Police Club, who’re at the Molson Amphitheatre on July 8.

Check out this Takeaway Show with Land Of Talk, whose new record Cloak & Cipher is out August 24. hour.ca has a conversation with Liz Powell.

Wolf Parade are streaming the whole of their new record Expo 86 at their MySpace in advance of its June 29 release.

Stream: Wolf Parade / Expo 86

Diamond Rings has released the video for his new single – the most elaborate one so far – just in time for the 12″ release at Wrongbar tonight. He’s on at 11 and a certain peacock costume may well be making an appearance. His debut full-length Special Affections will be out in the Fall.

Video: Diamond Rings – “Show Me Your Stuff”

The Balconies have released the first video from their self-titled debut; they play the Wine & Spirits Festival in the Distillery District on Saturday evening.

Video: The Balconies – “Serious Bedtime”

A few show announcements to cap off the week – after first cancelling the Toronto date and then the whole tour back in May, reunited shoegaze forebears Chapterhouse have re-booked their North American tour for this Fall and T.O. is back on the agenda – this time it’s set for October 6 at Lee’s Palace, again with Ulrich Schnauss supporting.

Video: Chapterhouse – “Pearl”

If you look at my schedule for SxSW in March, you will see no less than seven Local Natives shows marked down, some of them flagged as “high priority”. Needless to say, I missed them all. I’ll finally get to make that up on October 19 when the Los Angeles outfit bring Gorilla Manor to town for a show at the Mod Club, tickets $17.50 in advance.

MP3: Local Natives – “Sun Hands”

Matt & Kim have slated a massive Fall tour that will include an October 29 show at The Phoenix. Yeah, they’re that big now.

MP3: Matt & Kim – “Yeah Yea”

Frank YangPeople seemed generally disappointed on Tuesday when I answered their queries of, “so what are you doing for your birthday?” with “having sushi, watching TV and editing photos”. Apparently the correct answer was some permutation of “getting loaded and causing shit” but fact was, I had been out a lot in the past few days and a quiet night at home getting caught up on whatever sounded like a great plan. It would have taken a lot to get me to abandon that plan.

Something like a last-minute, surprise show from Band Of Horses.

The band were in town, enjoying a day off from their tour supporting Pearl Jam in Buffalo the night before and doing press for their forthcoming album Infinite Arms when the opportunity arose to insert themselves into the weekly free Nu Music Nite series at the ‘Shoe. After the decision was made and thanks to the marvels of modern mobile and social technology, I got word of the show around 7:45PM, a decision that those two episodes of The Pacific would keep at least another night was made by 7:47PM and I was one of just a few people at the Horseshoe by 8:30PM when the doors opened. This guaranteed a front-row spot but also meant waiting through the other bands on the bill, an experience that’s not really worth recounting. Band Of Horses were due to start at or around 11:15PM and by 10:30 or so, coincidentally just about the time that people who’d opted to stay home and watch Lost would have been able to get in gear, the ‘Shoe was full to an extent befitting the specialness of the occasion.

I’d only seen Band Of Horses live twice before, circa their debut Everything All The Time at SxSW 2006 and again a few months later at Lee’s Palace. What I remembered most about the Lee’s show was that while the show sounded marvelous, it wasn’t the most energetic affair what with frontman Ben Bridwell spending most of the show seated at the pedal steel. Well with no steel guitar on hand this night – all of their equipment was begged and borrowed – Bridwell would have to stand on his own legs and this would have to be a more physically engaging show. To say the least. Bridwell and bandmates rolled out on stage around 11:30, greeted by a packed house – congratulations Toronto, you’re capable of hustling when you need to – and, after prefacing their set with the disclaimer of, “we never do this”, put on as tremendous a display of flying by the seat of your pants as you’ll ever see.

Understand that Band Of Horses, by indie rock standards, are getting pretty big – and with Infinite Arms as their major label debut, can probably expect to just get bigger – so performing in a small bar setting is probably a rare opportunity for them, and as far as cutting loose and having a good time goes, they didn’t squander it – it was hard to gauge who had the bigger grins on their faces, the audience or the band. Unequipped to properly recreate their more atmospheric side – as stated, Bridwell was steel-less and, after breaking a number of strings, more often than not guitar-less, and Ryan Monroe was on six-string duty rather than keyboards – they opted to indulge their more raucous side, which doesn’t get to rear its head on record all that often. And any concerns about Bridwell’s willingness to move around and play frontman were wholly unfounded – the man was all over the stage, singing to the audience, singing to the sky (or ceiling, whatever), and proving without a doubt that there was nothing wrong with his legs.

Unsurprisingly, a number of tunes from Infinite Arms were previewed and while some have fairly criticized the album as being overly soft around the edges, they certainly toughened them up this time out. A few more familiar songs from Cease To Begin and handful of well-chosen covers – Gram Parsons’ “Song For You” and head-spinning encore of The Replacements’ “Can’t Hardly Wait” among them – filled out the hour-long set. They even thoughfully snuck in a “Happy birthday” into the set – ostensibly for drummer Creighton Barrett, but I just imagined it was for me. Not that they needed to – simply showing up and playing a fantastic set for my impromptu 35th birthday party was plenty. Though handing out the beer from their rider to the audience at show’s end was a nice touch. There should always be loot bags.

NOW, eye and Panic Manual all made it to the ‘Shoe in time for the show but the weeklies didn’t seem to have a great time, for some reason. Band Of Horses return for the show at the Toronto Island Concert on June 19 – expect them to play the “majestic” angle at that show. Infinite Arms is out on Tuesday.

Photos: Band Of Horses @ The Horseshoe – May 11, 2010
MP3: Band Of Horses – “Factory”
MP3: Band Of Horses – “No One’s Gonna Love You”
MP3: Band Of Horses – “Is There A Ghost”
MP3: Band Of Horses – “The Great Salt Lake”
MP3: Band Of Horses – “The Funeral”
Video: Band Of Horses – “NW Apartment”
Video: Band Of Horses – “Compliments”
Video: Band Of Horses – “No One’s Gonna Love You”
Video: Band Of Horses – “Is There A Ghost”
Video: Band Of Horses – “The Great Salt Lake”
Video: Band Of Horses – “The Funeral”
Stream: Band Of Horses / Infinite Arms
MySpace: Band Of Horses

Also playing Toronto Islands that day are Beach House; the DVD they made to accompany Teen Dream, comprising a video for each song on the album, is streaming this week at PitchforkTV.

Video: Beach House / Teen Dream

Spin investigates how Blitzen Trapper got their name. Their new record Destroyer Of The Void is out June 8 and they bring it to the Opera House on August 3.

Crooked Fingers have managed to fan-fund Reservoir Songs 2 in its entirety via Kickstarter, and as a thank-you, are offering an MP3 of the John Hartford cover. The 12″ EP will be out on July 6; a new Crooked Fingers full-length will follow later this year.

MP3: Crooked Fingers – “Gentle On My Mind”

NPR has a World Cafe session and Drowned In Sound an interview with She & Him. They’re at the Sound Academy on June 9.

Josh Ritter talks to Spinner about his new record So The World Runs Away.

Joanna Newsom trash talks some Lady Gaga in an interview with The Guardian, while her chat with The Quietus stays much more focused on Have One On Me. She’s also the cover girl on the current issue of Under The Radar; the piece isn’t online but Stereogum has a bit of a precis.

BrooklynVegan interviews Laura Marling.

Music Snobbery talks to Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons.

Sky Larkin have announced their sophomore album will be entitled Kaleide and be available in August; you can download a mini-EP consisting of the title track and a couple of b-sides from their website right now.

The Georgia Straight and Twin Cities Daily Planet profile Shout Out Louds.

For Folk’s Sake has an interview with Basia Bulat, who will be at the Phoenix on June 3.

Chart talks to Hannah Georgas.

Broken Social Scene is featured in Clash, Spinner and The Independent. They play the Toronto Islands on June 19.

Frank YangFull writeup of the day over here.

Basia Bulat
– Toronto-based singer-songwriter released her sophomore album Heart Of My Own back in January. Prefix has an interview, she recorded a Camera Music video session for aux.tv and she plays the Phoenix on June 4.
Photos: Basia Bulat @ The Galaxy Room – March 17, 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 – “In The Night”
MySpace: Basia Bulat

A Sunny Day In Glasgow
– Philadelphian dreampop sextet currently touring behind last year’s Ashes Grammar and this year’s companion Nighttime Rainbows EP will stop in at the Garrison on Friday, April 2.
Photos: A Sunny Day In Glasgow @ Emo’s Annex – March 17, 2010
MP3: A Sunny Day In Glasgow – “Sigh Inhibitionist”
MP3: A Sunny Day In Glasgow – “Ashes Grammar/Ashes Math”
MP3: A Sunny Day In Glasgow – “Best Summer Ever”
MP3: A Sunny Day In Glasgow – “Watery (Drowning is Just Another Word for Being Buried Alive Under Water)”
Video: A Sunny Day In Glasgow – “A Mundane Phone Call To Jack Parsons”
Video: A Sunny Day In Glasgow – “So Bloody Tight”
MySpace: A Sunny Day In Glasgow

Yukon Blonde
– Classic rockily-inclined Vancouver outfit released their self-titled debut in February. Spinner has a chat and Souther Souls a session. They’ll be at The Garrison on April 23.
Photos: Yukon Blonde @ The Mohawk Patio – March 17, 2010
MP3: Yukon Blonde – “Wind Blows”
MP3: Yukon Blonde – “Rather Be With You”
MP3: Yukon Blonde – “Blood Cops”
MP3: Yukon Blonde – “Streets”
MySpace: Yukon Blonde

Anni Rossi
– Spinner talks to the Chicago Viola prodigy, who released her full-length debut Rockwell last year
Photos: Anni Rossi @ The Mohawk – March 17, 2010
MP3: Anni Rossi – “Ecology”
MP3: Anni Rossi – “Wheelpusher”
Video: Anni Rossi – “The West Coast”
MySpace: Anni Rossi

The Depreciation Guild
– Brooklyn 8-bit dream-pop trio will release their new record Spirit Youth on May 18. Currently on tour with Serena-Maneesh, they will be at the Great Hall on April 2.
Photos: The Depreciation Guild @ Peckerheads – March 17, 2010
MP3: The Depreciation Guild – “Dream About Me”
Video: The Depreciation Guild – “Dream About Me”
Video: The Depreciation Guild – “Nautilus”
MySpace: The Depreciation Guild

Miles Kurosky
– Former Beulah leader just released his long-awatited solo debut The Desert Of Shallow Effects. New York Press, The New Haven Register and The AV Club have interviews.
Photos: Miles Kurosky @ Red-Eyed Fly – March 17, 2010
MP3: Miles Kurosky – “Apple For An Apple”
Video: Miles Kurosky – “Dog In The Burning Building”
MySpace: Miles Kurosky

Frightened Rabbit
– Scots released their third album The Winter Of Mixed Drinks earlier this month. STV and eMusic talk to Scott Hutchinson, who lists the reasons “Why I Wish I Could Be A Professional Rapper” for Clash. They play the Opera House on May 4.
Photos: Frightened Rabbit @ The Galaxy Room – March 17, 2010
MP3: Frightened Rabbit – “Swim Until You Can’t See Land”
MP3: Frightened Rabbit – “The Modern Leper”
MP3: Frightened Rabbit – “Head Rolls Off”
MP3: Frightened Rabbit – “Old Old Fashioned” (live)
Video: Frightened Rabbit – “Nothing Like You”
Video: Frightened Rabbit – “Nothing Like You” (alternate version)
Video: Frightened Rabbit – “Swim Until You Can’t See Land”
Video: Frightened Rabbit – “Heads Roll Off”
Video: Frightened Rabbit – “The Greys”

Frank YangWith every passing year as the middle of March approaches, I feel more and more like Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon. Clearly the sensible thing to do would be to buy a boat and sail around the world (or at least a ferry ticket to the islands) rather than throw myself yet again into the annual maelstrom of 6th St. And yet here I was, in Austin for the sixth straight year to do SxSW. Or have SxSW done to me, as the case may be.

Things began Wednesday at noon with a familiar face, Toronto’s own Basia Bulat kicking off two days of epic lineups for Paste‘s parties at the Galaxy Room. Typically, early shows are sparsely attended affairs as people struggle to haul their asses out of bed, never mind deal with registrations and whatnot, but for Bulat’s show at least they were out in force, ready to have their spirits lifted. Though playing with a much smaller band than she normally does – just herself, brother Bobby on percussion and Alison Stewart on viola and vocals – her songs sounded almost as full as ever and the perfect thing to start of the afternoon/day/festival.

I only had to dash around the corner to Emo’s Annex for the next to-see on my schedule, but my apparent inability to tell time mean that when I got there, A Sunny Day In Glasgow were already halfway through their short set. Even so, I was still able to tell that their live experience was much more immediate and conventionally pop than their records – that might be a turn off for some, but for me, who finds their albums just a little too obtuse and twisty, it meant they were a most tasty bit of dream-pop. I’m still debating whether to see them or Serena-Maneesh in Toronto on April 2, but I now definitely want to see more of A Sunny Day In Glasgow. Your move, Serena.

Heading up Red River, it became clear that the Broken Bells “secret” show, which was just announced that morning, was no longer any kind of secret and any thoughts of getting in were quickly put aside. Continuing on past the massive line, I got to the Mohawk where Austinist’s annual party was going down. I had thought I had some time before Sweden’s First Aid Kit were supposed to start, so I watched Vancouver’s Yukon Blonde do their classic rocking thing for a bit before heading inside to see… Anni Rossi. I double-checked my schedule and indeed had First Aid Kit written down, but looking at the show posters they weren’t listed at all. They’re coming to Toronto in June so no big deal, but still perplexing. Not only can I not tell time, I am apparently making stuff up now.

Thankfully playing when and where I thought they were was The Depreciation Guild, who were just beginning to regale Peckerhead’s with their electronically enhanced dreampop when I got there. I had wholly enjoyed their set opening up for The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart in February 2009 but perhaps just wasn’t fully in the mood for that in mid-afternoon or maybe I missed the big 8-bit-esque projections that were so cool that time (big sunny windows onto 6th St don’t create the same vibe). Or maybe I just needed lunch. Either way, before long, it was back out onto 6th.

After recharging with some street meat, it was time to catch one of my must-see acts for the festival, former Beulah frontman Miles Kurosky, whose long-promised solo debut The Desert Of Shallow Effects finally arrived last week. And just as the record was worth the wait, so too was Kurosky’s return to live performance. Fronting a band almost as large as his last one – five core members with percussionist and trumpet added when necessary – they brought his post-Beulah works to life in front of a goodly-sized audience that clearly had been anticipating this day for a long time. After shaking some early jitters, Kurosky was in good spirits and obviously just as pleased to be back, cracking jokes about his former band Pavement and even introducing the first of two songs from his past life as “Summer Landslide Babe”. Hearing the opening track from Yoko again was no joke, though, and would easily be the high point of the day, maybe even the week. Running out of time, they reached way back to finish off with “Emma Blowgun’s Last Stand”, capping a short but fantastic set that not only served to remind that Beulah were one of the great pop bands of the last decade, but to notify that their chief songwriter was back and still had plenty more to offer. Win-win.

With the daytime portion of the, uh, day widing down, it was back to the Paste party for Rokkervil – the Roky Erikson/Okkervil River collaboration but seeing as how they were still soundchecking drums 20 minutes past their start time, I ducked to the other stage to see Frightened Rabbit… who also turned out to be running behind. But their problems would prove to be more than just getting their gear soundchecked – some of their equipment was not even working so when they finally got started, it was in a more stripped-down configuration than they’d intended, most notably with frontman Scott Hutchison sticking to acoustic guitar for the set. This actually proved to be a blessing, of sorts, as their new record The Winter Of Mixed Drinks takes their sound into heavier, more electric territory than their beloved Midnight Organ Fight and it was nice to hear the new material delivered with a little less bombast. I’ve not doubt that they can make the big presentation work, as they surely will when they play Toronto’s Opera House on May 4, but I liked seeing/hearing it done small(er).

Then it was time to forage up some dinner before things got official.