RankinI don’t know if the Sheffield home where Jarvis Cocker grew up actually had a garage, but even if it did I have trouble picturing young Jarv out there, bashing away with friends making loud rock music, what with Pulp being nearly the definition of the cerebral art school band and really, the polar opposite of that aesthetic. And yet Cocker’s second solo album Further Complications, out on Tuesday, finds Cocker trying out the whole rock band thing at the age of 45.

To that end, he teamed up with American producer – sorry, engineer – Steve Albini to record the record, again an aesthetic shift that’s pretty drastic compared to Richard Hawley’s rich and classic-sounding work on Jarvis. And while Complications is drier, rougher and more guitar-driven than most anything that Cocker has done before, Albini’s sonic approach is more in line with his work with The Wedding Present than, say, PJ Harvey.

And while the shock of it may take some getting used to for the longtime listener, Cocker sounds like he’s having a blast with it, shouting, whooping and generally living out some long-suppressed rock’n’roll dreams. But even so, he’s still Jarvis – he makes no attempts to try and BE a garage rocker. He’s not playing a part, decked out in torn jeans and flannel shirt. No, he’s still up there with the big specs and the skinny suit – okay, the beard is new – and most importantly, his wit. In keeping with the loose and direct vibe of the music, Complications boasts some of Cocker’s goofiest lyrics, eschewing the wry social observer perspective that usually informs his work for just straight-up fun and funny.

For those hoping for another grand, classically Cocker album in the style of Jarvis, Complications might seem like a bit of a disappointment, a curious stylistic detour, but the thing about Jarvis is that now that he’s back, he’s back. All accounts are that the extended post-Pulp hiatus was a necessity, but that he’s quite enjoying the writing and recording and performing again so even if this isn’t entirely your cup of tea, enjoy it regardless – maybe while reading the lyrics in the liner notes – and wait for the next one.

And speaking of waiting, I’ve been told that there’s plans for North American touring in the Fall, so fingers crossed that Jarvis will grace a Toronto stage again soon, for the first time in over a decade since Pulp’s final gig at Massey Hall.

Cocker took over as pop single reviewer for a day at The Guardian – bon mots abound. There’s also interviews with Cocker at The Mail On Sunday, Scotland On Sunday and The Independent. And XFM reports that those holding their breath waiting for a Pulp reunion will likely die of asphyxiation. Well, I’m paraphrasing.

Oh yeah, you can stream the whole of Further Complications at Spinner and over at ustream.tv, they’ve got footage of his five-day performance art installation in Paris last week.

MP3: Jarvis Cocker – “Angela”
Video: Jarvis Cocker – “Angela”
Stream: Jarvis Cocker – “Further Complications”
MySpace: Jarvis Cocker

Maximo Park takes Quicken The Heart out for a Black Cab Session. There’s also an excerpt of their cover feature over at Artrocker and another interview at The Independent. They’re at Lee’s Palace on September 18.

MP3: Maximo Park – “Wraithlike”

The Guardian has an interview with Manic Street Preachers, part of a rather extensive feature minisite on the band on the occasion of the release of new album Journal For Plague Lovers, out Monday.

The San Francisco Bay Guardian and Clash interview The Horrors.

It’s Pitchfork with the win, revealing not only the title and release date of the new Twilight Sad record – Forget The Night Ahead is out September 22 – but the first MP3 as well.

MP3: The Twilight Sad – “Reflection Of The Television”

The East Bay Express and San Diego City Beat talk to John Cummings and Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai, respectively.

NOW talks to Eugene Kelly of The Vaselines, whose reunion tour brings them to Lee’s Palace tomorrow night.

Clash catches up with Sons & Daughters’ Adele Bethel at the Hinterland Festival.

Bat For Lashes’ Natasha Khan tells Spinner how touring affected the creation of album number two, Two Suns. CBC also has a feature.

Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine talks to Digital Spy about her new record Lungs, out July 6.

Clash talks to Patrick Wolf about the joys of being independent. His new album The Bachelor is out June 1 in the UK and August 11 in North America. He plays the Mod Club on June 17.

Drowned In Sound gets an update on The Arctic Monkeys. Their new album should be out before the end of August.

So in case you missed the Twitter/Facebook “WTF?!?” shitstorm yesterday afternoon, the Olympic Island festival scheduled for July 11 and featuring Broken Social Scene and Explosions In The Sky has been canceled – no official reason given. This is obviously a disappointment to many – I for one had really been looking forward to hearing EITS on the Island at sunset – but what can you do. Well if you’re Broken, then you can immediately announce a make-up show that same day, July 11, at Harbourfront Centre. And make it free. That’s a pretty good consolation prize, no? Of course, the crowd is going to be a circus dropped in the middle of a zoo, but that’s part of the fun. Also, eye talks to Stuart Berman, author of This Book Is Broken, the new book on Broken Social Scene.

Okay, Manhattan beckons. And to a lesser degree, Connecticut and Brooklyn.

thekills.tvWhile I’m very much on record as believing The Kills’ 2008 release Midnight Boom to be a superb album, I’m sure part of that was due to the fact that it was the first Kills record I’d heard. Their reputation to that point was as a garage-blues-scuzz-punk rock duo and that’s not generally my thing, so discovering them to be – at least on that record – all those things but also exceedingly pop was a most pleasant surprise. But this shift in direction, while garnering new fans like myself, probably cost them some as well. Such is the karmic balance of the universe. And with the reissue tomorrow of their debut album Keep On Your Mean Side, The Kills that those long-time fans fell in sleazy lust with is fully on display.

Whereas Boom had me wondering how the duo would recreate all the sounds and textures in a live setting (answer: quite well), there’d have been almost no such question circa Mean Side. Besides some basic drums, Mean Side is all about VV, Hotel, two guitars and a healthy dose of sneering attitude. The prevailing aesthetic is loose and raw, like delta blues by way of The Velvet Underground, and made noteworthy by Jamie Hince and Alison Mosshart’s remarkable presence. The songs aren’t all that memorable individually, but collectively they create a definite atmosphere – gritty, grimy and driving – and while what they’re doing isn’t exactly fresh, their execution and charisma commands attention.

Or it did, circa 2003. Since then, The Kills have taken their sound and gone downtown, less juke joint and more nightclub but most importantly, still seedy. I’m not sure what the impetus for this reissue is, and according to this interview with hour.ca neither does Hince, but the most obvious answer is to capitalize on the success of Boom and perhaps get new fans to pick up the old stuff and use the five bonus tracks to reel in some of the older ones. To the former, it’s far enough removed from where they are now to offer another fix while waiting for album four and to the latter, five extra tracks – one new song, one dictaphone piece and three covers – probably isn’t enough to justify the expenditure but either way, there it is.

The Kills are at The Phoenix on Thursday night, May 7, and courtesy of Against The Grain and Outside Music, I’ve got one prize pack to give away consisting of a pair of passes to the show and copies of both Midnight Boom and the Keep On Your Mean Side reissue on CD to give away. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want The Kills” in the subject line and your full name and mailing address in the body. Contest closes at midnight tomorrow night, May 5.

And for this week only, PitchforkTV is streaming the 2005 Kills tour documentary I Hate The Way You Love.

MP3: The Kills – “Black Rooster”
MP3: The Kills – “Cat Claw”
Video: The Kills – “Fried My Little Brains”
Video: The Kills: I Hate The Way You Love
MySpace: The Kills

Ear Farm and Billboard interview Thomas Mars of Phoenix, who will release Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix on May 29 and follow that up with a show at The Phoenix on June 15.

Each Note Secure talks to Aaron Pfenning of Chairlift.

Blurt, Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly talk to Flaming Lip Wayne Coyne about the absurd controversy over their “Do You Realize?” being named the Oklahoma state song.

Beirut’s Zach Condon gives Filter a guide of Santa Fe, New Mexico. They have a date at the Phoenix on July 9.

If you didn’t know, the June 12 Malajube show at Lee’s Palace is free, tickets at Rotate This and Soundscapes and also at the door. Don’t ask why, just go.

The Brother Kite continue to work on the much-anticipated follow-up to Waiting For The Time To Be Right, and a sneak preview of some of the new material in progress can be heard at Bandcamp. And unsurprisingly, it sounds marvelous.

New York Magazine and Decider interview Natasha Khan of Bat For Lashes.

Deer Tick have a date at the Horseshoe for July 17. Their new album Born On Flag Day is due out June 23.

MP3: Deer Tick – “Easy”

This tweet from Labrador certainly seems to imply that we’ll see a new EP from The Radio Dept this Summer in advance of the release (fingers crossed) of Clinging To A Scheme this Fall. Alls I know is that in less than two weeks, I’m going to be in New York City to see the reclusive Swedes live for the first time and I am stoked. And also for Shake Shack. Stoked for Radio Dept and Shake Shack. And Coney Island. I think I’m going to go to Coney Island.

Still not sure if I’m going to make it out to see Thao With The Get Down Stay Down at the Bowery Ballroom the night I get in, though. Will play that one by ear. There’s an interview with her at the Idaho Statesman.

The National Post has an extensive feature piece on Scott Pilgrim, both the comic and the film, and gets creator Bryan Lee-O’Malley to identify and annotate various locales around Toronto that play roles in the comic and will, presumably, make appearances in the film. Filming is ongoing around the city right now and video blog entries on the film’s website now number four.

And a reminder that the Toronto Comic Arts Festival will take place this coming weekend at the Toronto Reference Library at Yonge and Bloor (another Pilgrim location!) and feature appearances from both Lee-O’Malley and Phonogram artist Jamie McKelvie. Issue two of The Singles Club finally came out last week, by the way, and was worth the wait though that shouldn’t be taken as permission for issue three to take another five months to put together, no sir.

Frank YangThe most beautiful day of the year so far turned into one of the foulest just in time for the early-evening start of Bat For Lashes’ Saturday night date at the Mod Club, the first for this leg of their North American tour in support of their much-heralded new album Two Suns. A more ambitious writer might try to draw some parallel between the dramatic weather shift and the themes of duality that run through the new record – I’ll just blame a high pressure system surrounded by low pressure systems and get on with it.

Rather surprisingly, support for this tour was Pennsylvanians Lewis & Clarke – surprising because they were also support the last time Bat For Lashes came to town in October 2007, and you don’t often see acts getting taken out as support twice. And their last time out couldn’t have been the most pleasant for the band either, since my recollections were the duo, as they were playing as at the time, had a poor time of trying to be heard over the chatty and inattentive audience (those of us up front notwithstanding). I also remarked at the time that maybe a full band would have had been more successful at getting peoples’ attention. Apparently bandleader Lou Rogal took my advice because the Lewis & Clarke that showed up this time was five members deep, including a drummer and string section. They delivered a set of four (maybe five) songs over 35 minutes, all of the slow and thoughtful chamber-folk variety, and while unquestionably pretty, it was all quite same-y. But at least this time, the audience was much more receptive – or at least polite. Lewis & Clarke will release a new EP Light Time on May 12.

Also rejigged significantly from last time was Bat For Lashes, the band. Whereas the troupe that visited in 2007 was a drummer-less all-female multi-instrumentalist quartet, this one had more defined musical roles and was slightly more co-ed, with Ben Christophers on keys, New Young Pony Club’s Sarah Jones on drums and the divine Charlotte Hatherley on pretty much everything. Oh, and also Natasha Khan – she whose voice, vision and songs ARE Bat For Lashes.

And as beguiling as she is on record, she’s equally charismatic on stage. She set the bar high for the show by leading with Two Suns opener “Glass”, the finest showcase for her soaring vocals, but didn’t let things lag a bit through the 70-minute set. Splitting material fairly evenly between Suns and Fur & Gold, Khan crafted a spellbinding performance that despite the rich visual presentation, didn’t rely on theatrics to rivet – rich with atmosphere and mystery, the songs were more than enough. It’s hard to pick highlights from a show really had no let-downs, but Fur singles “Prescilla” and “What’s A Girl To Do” naturally got the biggest response and single “Daniel” even got aired twice – early on, reimagined in skeletal, autoharp-led form and as the encore closer as “(Big) Daniel” (so noted on the set list), complete with the huge synths of the album version and deliciously Cure-ish guitars. Grand finale, indeed.

It’s impossible to overstate how much the new band configuration has improved their live show, which was hardly wanting in the first place. In particular, the drums, thundering and tribal, gave things a vitality that really took things to another level and Hatherley’s versatility was also put to good use, as she switched off between guitar, bass, keys, accordion and percussion in addition to providing backing vocals. For lack of a better way of putting it, Bat For Lashes v2 are just much more powerful. Though I did miss seeing the rain stick/staff of power from last time.

As for Khan, it’s remarkable how effortlessly she manages to indulge her more out-there creative impulses – her musical world is inhabited by wizards, knights and creatures of fantasy – while seeming utterly grounded, friendly and without airs. With a penchant for costumes and with stage decorations consisting of all manner of dime-store kitsch like Virgin Mary statues and ladies legs table lamps, she obviously doesn’t take things all that seriously but there’s no whiff of irony to be found, either. She makes wolf howls in her songs, for goodness sake, but also cracks jokes and at one point, looked up to see who was calling to her when an audience member yelled, “Natasha!”. Utterly charming.

Though you might think the eccentric nature of Bat For Lashes would be sufficient to consign them to cult band status – not that there’s anything wrong with that – but the fact that this show was not only sold out but with people desperately looking for tickets seems to imply that they’re bound for bigger things. But even so, even if within a year you’re seeing Bat For Lashes in venues holding thousands, I have a feeling that if you holler “Natasha!” during a quiet moment between songs, she’ll still look up and go, “yes?”.

There are feature pieces on Bat For Lashes at CMJ and The Boston Phoenix.

Photos: Bat For Lashes, Lewis & Clarke @ The Mod Club – April 25, 2009
MP3: Bat For Lashes – “Glass” (live)
MP3: Bat For Lashes – “I’m On Fire”
MP3: Lewis & Clarke – “Petrified Forest”
MP3: Lewis & Clarke – “Before It Breaks You”
Stream: Lewis & Clarke / Light Time
Video: Bat For Lashes – “Daniel”
Video: Bat for Lashes – “Whats A Girl To Do”
Video: Bat for Lashes – “Prescilla”
MySpace: Bat For Lashes
MySpace: Lewis & Clarke

Interview talks to Lily Allen, who has a newish video. Kinda regret not seeing her last week, enjoying her new one It’s Not Me, It’s You more than I’d expected. Hope her vague promises to retire are false.

Video: Lily Allen – “Not Fair”

Daytrotter has posted a session they recorded with Glasvegas during SxSW.

The first track from Stuart Murdoch’s God Help The Girl – I’m not sure whether to call it a band, project, play, or what – is now up for grabs and shock, it sounds a LOT like Belle & Sebastian. Which is to say it sounds wonderful. The album is out June 23.

MP3: God Help The Girl – “Come Monday Night”

The Sunday Mail has a 60-second interview with Camera Obscura. They’re at Lee’s Palace on June 27.

Channel M has a video session with My Latest Novel, whose second album Death & Entrances is out May 18.

PJ Harvey and John Parish discuss A Woman A Man Walked By with Pitchfork.

Drowned In Sound gets Adam Franklin to comment on the whole phenomenon/idea of “shoegaze”. Short version, he doesn’t think much of it but it’s an entertaining read. Franklin is supporting The Church on their Summer North American tour, which has a stop at the Ottawa Bluesfest on July 11 but so far hasn’t extended to include a Toronto date.

MP3: Adam Franklin – “Autumn Leaf”

Fans of XTC psych-pop alter-egos The Dukes Of Stratosphear should check out these two podcasts wherein Andy Partridge reminisces with producer John Leckie about the recording of 25 O’Clock and Psionic Psunspot, both of which were reissued in deluxe form last week.

MP3: The Dukes Of Stratosphear – “My Love Explode”
MP3: The Dukes Of Stratosphear – “Braniac’s Daughter”

Channel M has a video interview with Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.

A double-shot of Leonard Cohen docs for you – courtesy of the National Film Board, the 1965 documentary Ladies And Gentlemen… Mr Leonard Cohen and over at Pitchfork, the 2009 live concert film Leonard Cohen: Live In London. And apropos of nothing, whilst digging around IMDB I found that Lenny guest-starred in an episode of Miami Vice in 1986 playing a villain named Francois Zolan. I didn’t think it possible, but I think Cohen just got that much more awesome in my eyes. He plays Copps Coliseum on May 19.

Video: Ladies And Gentlemen… Mr Leonard Cohen
Video: Leonard Cohen Live In London

Seattle-based power-popper Telekinesis will be at the Horseshoe on June 10 in support of his/their excellent self-titled debut.

MP3: Telekinesis – “Coast Of Carolina”
MP3: Telekinesis – “I Saw Lightning”
Video: Telekinesis – “Tokyo”

Brooklyn’s Obits will bring their debut long-player I Blame You to Lee’s Palace on July 23, tickets $12.

MP3: Obits – “Pine On”

Eagles Of Death Metal are at the Kool Haus on August 2, tickets $27.50.

doves.netConsistency is no great fault, particularly when the standard that one rarely fails to meet is as high as it is for Britain’s Doves. For nearly a decade, since their 2000 debut Lost Souls, the trio has turned out an album of classic-sounding, widescreen, melancholic space-rock every few years, each of which manages to expand and build on that which came before to some degree, but never coming up with the watershed record, the game-changer, the quantum leap forward. Some might argue that Lost Souls was that record, one so fully-realized right out of the gate that we should be thankful they’ve managed to maintain that level of quality and to an extent, that’s true. Not one of their albums have been a misstep, each rich with equal parts yearning emotion, musical textures and fist-pumping anthemicism, but even so there’s a risk in feeling too familiar.

Their latest, Kingdom Of Rust, perhaps even despite their best efforts, feels just that familiar. To their credit, they do go out of their way to incorporate new influences into their sound – the motorik rhythms of “Jetstream”, the country-western gallop of the title track, the scorching psych-rock of “House Of Mirrors” – but by the time they’re done with it, they’ve been so effectively absorbed by the band’s own personality that the finished pieces still feel Mancunian grey and simply Doves-ish. On the plus side, being Doves-ish means there’s at least a couple of spectacular moments – in this case, the soaring “Winter Hill” is the album standout – and not really any glaring weak spots. But I can’t help feeling I’ve heard this all before.

There’d been some speculation before the record’s release that given the breakout year their compatriots in Elbow had in 2008, that this might be the year that another band of never-too-fashionable northerners got their due. I still hold out hope that that’ll happen someday, but I don’t think Kingdom Of Rust is the record to do it. It’s a good record and a fine addition to the Doves discography, successful at adding further depth an detail to the musical world that Doves have already created, but doesn’t extend its boundaries. It’s pretty much exactly the record that long-time fans were probably expecting, and sometimes what you’re expecting isn’t what you actually want.

PopMatters has an interview with Doves and NME TV has a chat with the band on video. Q gets the band to offer thoughts on each of their albums – Lost Souls, The Last Broadcast, Some Cities and Kingdom Of Rust. Doves are at the Kool Haus in Toronto on June 1.

Video: Doves – “Kingdom Of Rust”
MySpace: Doves

Bat For Lashes’ Natasha Khan counts down her five favourite albums to Spinner. She’s at the Mod Club on Saturday night for a sold-out show.

Shoegaze week continues at Drowned In Sound as they interview Neil Halstead of Slowdive and Mojave 3. They also salute Slowdive’s oeuvre.

Blurt also gets in on the shoegaze action, reporting that Chapterhouse’s 1991 debut Whirlpool is getting reissued next week with a few bonus tracks.

NME is offering a track from The Early Years for download, the band’s contribution to a compilation by UK shoegaze label Sonic Cathedral.

MP3: The Early Years – “Like A Suicide”

JAM Q&As Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke.

You can currently stream The Cure’s recent secret MySpace show in Los Angeles in its entirety over at their MySpace.

Franz Ferdinand will release a dub version of their latest album Tonight entitled Blood on June 1 – details at Billboard. They’re at the Kool Haus on May 4.

State has an interview with Carey Lander and The Village Voice with Tracyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura, latest recipient of the Pitchfork “Best New Music” honour for My Maudlin Career. They’re at Lee’s Palace on June 27.

NOW profiles Adele, who is playing Massey Hall on April 29.

Paste gets to know Micachu & The Shapes.

Artrocker goes behind the scenes of Sky Larkin’s latest video for “Antibodies”. Their debut The Golden Spike was supposed to be out domestically in North America by now, but apparently “technical difficulties” are holding that up some. No idea what the problem is – the CDs they had in the UK turned out fine. They just need to ship a few boxes of those over here posthaste.

MPR welcomes Robyn Hitchcock to their studios for a session.

I remember when people were all excited about M83 FINALLY came to town for the first time… Now they’re back for their fourth show in a year. Kinda less special. Look for them at the Phoenix on July 17.

NxNE has revealed a few more of the names set to play the festival this June 18 through 20.

But I suppose the biggest reveal yesterday was the fact that Virgin Festival is indeed coming back to Ontario for a fourth year (and also to Calgary and BC, apparently)- but you’ll note I said Ontario and not Toronto. I already knew that this year’s edition wasn’t happening at the Toronto Islands, but I’d assumed that meant Downsview Park. Nope. Try Burl’s Creek between Barrie and Orillia, an hour north of the city. That’s right – August 29 and 30 way up in cottage country – first reported at Consequence Of Sound and confirmed by myself through folks who know. I suppose this is actually keeping in the V Fest tradition, after all the UK editions in Chelmsford and Staffordshire are hardly in the hearts of any burgeoning metropolises, but then the British have an established tradition of traveling to and camping out at outdoor festivals. Over here? Not so much. So whereas my attendance at the first three were gimmes – festival a 10 minute bike ride from home? sure! – this one is far from it. I’m not a camper by any definition so there’s a whole issue of lodging to be dealt with on top of the transportation – I have not-so-fond memories of sitting for hours in traffic on the 400 up to Molson Park way back in the day – and that’s not even mentioning the prospects of being devoured by insects and/or bears. I’m going to reserve final judgment until I see the actual lineup – which should be soon – but it’s going to have to be pretty damned impressive.

Leonie PurchasWith her 2006 debut album Fur & Gold, Natasha Khan – she who is essentially Bat For Lashes – crafted a mysterious and fantastical world with a foundation made up of a lot of Kate Bush and a little Bjork but still felt distinct and fresh and most importantly, was wholly beguiling thanks to the richness of both her creative vision and her remarkable voice.

Three years hence, she’s returned with Two Suns. It’s a record with much to live up to considering its Mercury Prize-nominated predecessor, and whether she’s succeeded depends on which direction you were hoping Khan would tilt her creative balancing act of accessibility and eccentricity. Of course, even that answer isn’t entirely straightforward. Fur & Gold was eclectic in mood and texture, like a wander through Khan’s imagination, but also featured immediate pop gems in “What’s A Girl To Do” and “Prescilla”.

Two Suns is more focused and consistent in feel, but with the exception of Karate Kid-invoking lead single “Daniel”, is less overtly hooky. It is, however, more dramatically executed – the power behind her vocals on “Glass” is chilling – and feels much more personal. Whereas Fur carried with it a fictional darkness, this time out it comes across as hauntingly autobiographical. The imagery used still draws on mythical influences, but the emotions behind them feel much more intense and direct than before. The production is also richer and deeper, more beat-driven and with a faint but distinct synthetic sheen – it’s subtle, but effective, and gleams when necessary. It may take a bit more time and effort for it to permeate the consciousness, but Two Suns manages to be a marked improvement on a debut that didn’t really have anything wrong with it in the first place. Remarkable.

Drowned In Sound has a print interview with Khan, Nylon a video one and XFM an aural one. Bat For Lashes kick of their North American tour on April 25 at the Mod Club in Toronto.

MP3: Bat For Lashes – “Glass” (live)
Video: Bat For Lashes – “Daniel”
MySpace: Bat For Lashes

The Tripwire asks five questions of La Roux’s Elly Jackson. Their self-titled debut is out June 29.

White Lies talk to Spinner about their upcoming gig in a London cemetery.

Black Cab Sessions coaxes Doves into their backseat for a song, while The Yorkshire Post and The Daily Star have interviews. Doves are at the Kool Haus on June 1.

Kevin Shields messes with Texas, giving interviews to The Austin Chronicle and Dallas Observer about My Bloody Valentine’s hiatus, reunion and the state of their old old (reissues) and new old (unreleased) albums.

A winner has been selected for the contest to create a video for M83. Check out the winning visuals for “We Own The Sky”.

Video: M83 – “We Own The Sky”

School Of Seven Bells heads down under, with Claudia Dehaza talking to The Age and sister Alejandra to The Sydney Morning Herald.

Newsweek interviews The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart and coaxes them to play a new song for them on video. The Pains are at Lee’s Palace on April 28.

Baltimore dream-pop duo Wye Oak will release their second album The Knot on July 21. The first song sounds a little – well, exactly – like this. Beautiful.

MP3: Wye Oak – “Take It In”

Time Out New York talks to Holly Miranda. Her solo record is still presumably forthcoming.

ABC News has a video interview with Bob Mould, Express Night Out sticks with text.

Superchunk’s Jim Wilbur talks to Spinner about the band’s slow return from hiatus-land.

Filter has a three–part interview with John Vanderslice, whose new album Romanian Names is out May 19.

Third time’s the charm? After two cancelled shows, it looks like Passion Pit are trying to play Toronto one more time. According to the Harlem Shakes, with whom they’re touring this Summer, they’re going to be in town on June 16 at a venue to be determined. Good luck to ya. Passion Pit’s debut Manners is out May 19 while Harlem Shakes’ debut Technicolor Health is out now.

MP3: Harlem Shakes – “Strictly Game”

Sunset Rubdown have a new album coming out on June 24 called Dragonslayer and they’ve already booked a tour (dates down the left side of their website) to promote. Toronto show goes down July 11 at Lee’s Palace. Pitchfork has the first taste of the album.

MP3: Sunset Rubdown – “Idiot Heart”

The Rural Alberta Advantage’s session with WOXY has been broken up into downloadable MP3s, which means that I no longer have to procrastinate doing it myself.

eye‘s cover feature this week is on Neko Case, and her two sold-out shows at Trinity-St Paul’s tonight and tomorrow.

M Ward has rolled out a new video from Hold Time, this one for his cover of Buddy Holly’s “Rave On”. The Press-Enterprise has an interview. Ward plays the Phoenix on April 27.

Video: M Ward – “Rave On”

NPR has an interview with Elvis Perkins In Dearland, who have a show at the Horseshoe on April 29.

There’s a track available from the forthcoming Steve Earle album Townes, due out May 12.

MP3: Steve Earle – “To Live Is To Fly”

Pitchfork reports that Patterson Hood’s second solo record Murdering Oscar (And Other Love Songs) will be released on June 23. There’s a couple tracks streaming at his MySpace.

City Pages has an interview and NPR a session with Jason Isbell.

And finally, QTV has an extensive – 42 minutes extensive – interview with Leonard Cohen. It’ll take kinda forever to load, but worth it. Cohen plays Copps Coliseum in Hamilton on May 19. Also read a feature at Salon.