Beats Per MinuteMost tours follow some sort of logical routing anchored around major markets, festivals, what have you. Reunion tours are usually even moreso, what with their main motivation – or at least one of them – being to maximize revenue rather than build audiences (unless of course you’re the Pixies, in which case your motivation is to play ever single market ever). So it’s been equally frustrating and exciting to try and figure out what The Jesus & Mary Chain would do next. After calling it a day following 1998’s Munki, they reconvened in 2007 to play Coachella and followed that up with a number of one-off and festival dates in the US, Europe, Australia, South America through 2008 – though never anything that could be construed as a proper tour – and then went silent again. Given the Reid brothers’ famously combative nature, it wasn’t unreasonable to think they’d broken up again but there was always just enough activity from the JAMC camp – word of new recordings, an interview with one of the Reids, a massive reissue series – to keep them in the “active” file.

Then as of this Spring, they were back at it. A date at SXSW was accompanied by a handful of Texas dates, but visa problems forced a couple to be canceled and a New Orleans show was rescheduled for September. And then they were playing a festival in Beijing in May. Then a run in California and Nevada in June, and another festival in North Carolina in September. It’s like their booking agent was throwing darts at a map of the world or the band was collecting frequent flier miles. And yesterday morning, another set of dates came up on their website that placed them riding the 401 this Summer, with an August 2 date in Buffalo, August 3 at The Phoenix in Toronto and an August 4 date at Osheaga in Montreal as well as more North American dates through September. Now the dates were pulled shortly thereafter (though saved on their message board) but seemed legit enough to believe that their official-ness is just a matter of timing; Osheaga confirmed their appearance this morning. I expect the Toronto PR – and ticket info – shortly.

In any case, reports from the SXSW show were that they sounded good and still appeared to hate each other; I can at least testify to the former from where I was listening out on the street. And things I did not know about the reunited JAMC – Ride’s Loz Colbert was their drummer in 2007 and 2008 (though he’s gone now) and Lush’s Phil King is their bassist. How about that?

Video: The Jesus & Mary Chain – “I Hate Rock & Roll”
Video: The Jesus & Mary Chain – “Come On”
Video: The Jesus & Mary Chain – “Head On”

Speaking of vague reunions, it figures that as soon as I build a post around the conceit that Blur are done, Damon Albarn goes off and gives an interview to Metro in which he basically says, “but maybe not”. THANKS DAMON.

Riot Of Perfume talks to Electrelane, who’ve been off hiatus since last year but not doing a lot with it until some gigs in Australia this Spring.

Spin gets a look in the M83 man-cave. They’re at The Sound Academy on May 6 and Fort York on August 4.

The Cribs discuss their new record In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull with NME; it’s out May 15.

The 405 has a video session with Amanda Mair, whose self-titled debut gets a North American release on June 5.

Spinner talks to Michael Kiwanuka, in town at The Great Hall on June 19.

Yeah they’ve been away a while – I think their last visit was like four years ago – but The Hives have a new record in Lex Hives, out June 5, and a new North American tour that brings them to The Sound Academy on June 26, tickets $28.50. And as Spin documents, they also have some new sombreros.

Video: The Hives – “Hate To Say I Told You So”

Having both sold out shows here in February in support of their new albums – Sharon Van Etten at Lee’s Palace for Tramp and Tennis at The Horseshoe for Young & Old – the two acts will see if they can’t do the same at The Phoenix on July 31, tickets $18.50.

MP3: Sharon Van Etten – “Serpents”
MP3: Tennis – “Civic Halo”

Dry The River are the subject of interviews with eMusic and Spin.

Daytrotter has posted a session with Big Deal.

Frank YangNotes from amidst the party-hopping and barbecue on the Thursday of SXSW are located over here.

Big Deal
– Ameri-English he-she duo armed with guitars, voices and sleepy, intimate songs who released their debut Lights Out came out in January.

Photos: Big Deal @ Jackalope – March 15, 2012
MP3: Big Deal – “Chair”
Video: Big Deal – “Talk”
Video: Big Deal – “Distant Neighbourhood”
Video: Big Deal – “Chair”
Video: Big Deal – “Homework”

Alabama Shakes
– Alabama-based southern rock & soul outfit who came into the festival with a tonne of buzz that only got louder with each performance. It should be just about deafening by the time their debut Boys And Girls comes out on April 10. Their April 17 show at Lee’s Palace is already sold right out. with NPR is streaming their performance at Stubb’s from the Wednesday night of the fest and Rolling Stone recorded a video session with the band at a Guitar Center and AL.com has an interview with frontwoman Brittany Howard.

Photos: Alabama Shakes @ Stubb’s – March 15, 2012
MP3: Alabama Shakes – “Hold On”
MP3: Alabama Shakes – “I Found You”

Savoir Adore
– New York outfit led by Deidre Muro and Paul Hammer who, since the release of their delicious 2009 debut In The Wooded Forest, appear to have decided that power pop is as much if not more fun than synth-pop. A second album can’t come soon enough.

MP3: Savoir Adore – “Dreamers”
MP3: Savoir Adore – “Sparrow”
MP3: Savoir Adore – “Loveliest Creature”
MP3: Savoir Adore – “Bodies”
MP3: Savoir Adore – “We Talk Like Machines”
MP3: Savoir Adore – “The Garden”
Video: Savoir Adore – “The Scientific Findings of Dr. Rousseau”
Video: Savoir Adore – “Bodies”

Photos: Savoir Adore @ Red Eyed Fly – March 15, 2012

Charli XCX
– The London-based electro-pop artist who may have gotten to Austin before her wave of hype, but only just. If all goes according to plan, it will be cresting when her debut EP is released in May. Rolling Stone and The Austin Chronicle have interviews with the girl born Charlotte Aitchinson.

Photos: Charli XCX @ Red Eyed Fly – March 15, 2012
MP3: Charli XCX – “I’ll Never Know”
MP3: Charli XCX – “Valentine”
MP3: Charli XCX – “Nuclear Seasons”
Video: Charli XCX – “Nuclear Seasons”

Frank YangKnow what makes it a bit difficult to concentrate on covering stuff in the afternoon? Finding out in the morning that you’ve won a ticket to see Bruce Springsteen in an intimate theatre show that night. Not bragging – okay, a little – just adding some context. And bragging. Yeah.

Anyways, after doing my victory dance (don’t pretend you don’t have a victory dance) I did get out into the world to check out a day show at Jackalope run by fellow blogger Rawkblog that featured one of the bands I was set on catching this week, trans-Atlantic duo Big Deal, whose debut Lights Out I enjoyed back in January. And as much as their combo of loud and soft was a nice way to start the day, they were a bit of a case study in what works well on record doesn’t necessarily work live. As on record, Kacey Underwood and Alice Costelloe strummed their guitars and sang their songs but what came across as intimate in the headphones was just underwhelming on stage, not helped by the duo’s general lack of charisma. Underwood tried to engage the audience by making some drummer jokes – the meta-joke perhaps being that they didn’t have a drummer – but considering how much their cover of Big Star’s “Thirteen” sped up and slowed down, maybe they should have considered getting one.

You’ll have to fast-forward a couple hours for the day’s next act as I spent some time catching up with friends and just hanging out, but things pick up at Stubb’s for Alabama Shakes. They were one of the festival’s busiest and buzziest bands and based on the half of their set I caught, all the attention was deserved and they were seizing the moment with two hands. Brittany Howard was a dynamic frontwoman and with her cohorts, turned out big, brassy southern-fried rock richly informed by gospel, soul and attitude. Their debut Boys & Girls is out April 10 and they’re at Lee’s Palace on April 17.

Since missing their NXNE show in June of 2010, I’ve been patiently waiting for New York’s Savior Adore to come back to town; that hasn’t happened so seeing them in Texas was the next best thing. Showing up a little late to their set at Red Eyed Fly, the band – ostensibly the duo of Deirdre Muro and Paul Hammer but operating as a five-piece – were already in top gear and quite surprised me with how big and polished their performance was. I expected something a little more studio-y based on the sheen of their debut In The Wooded Forest, but they were like a full-on power pop band up there, complete with dance moves echoed by the audience. Good times all around, and I can’t wait for a second album, local show or ideally both.

I can’t exactly say why I decided to see London’s Charli XCX – probably a combination of her only other show being at the sure-to-be-jammed Pitchfork showcase, her having just signed to Los Angeles label IAMSOUND, who’d incubated the likes of Florence & The Machine and Little Boots, or simply the fact that I was already there. Probably mostly that last one but definitely some of the first two as well. Having not had much time to do my homework on her, I didn’t really know what to expect and after her short set was done, I wasn’t really sure what I just saw. Her gothy/glammy electro pop didn’t necessarily have enough charisma, voice, songs or creativity alone to propel her to stardom but a savvy combination of all of the above could well do it… and then I could say I saw her when. Until then, though, it was just something random to keep me busy until my date with Bruce later that night.

So hey that new Shins record Port Of Morrow is out today and it’s up to stream at Spinner. To mark the occasion, James Mercer has been chatting with a media outlet or two as evidenced by features at The New York Times, NPR (who also have a World Cafe session), Clash, The Sydney Morning Herald, The National Post, and Spinner. The Shins are at The Molson Amphitheatre on August 4.

Stream: The Shins / Port Of Morrow

The new Margot & The Nuclear So & So’s album Rot Gut, Domestic is out today and available to stream at Spinner, who’ve also premiered the new video from said record. They’re at The Garrison on April 5.

MP3: Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s – “Shannon”
Video: Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s – “Shannon”
Stream: Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s / Rot Gut, Domestic

The second part of the video feature at Dirty Laundry with Eric Bachmann of Crooked Fingers is now up. And over at Austinist, Crooked Fingers drummer Jeremy Wheatley gets a chance to speak his mind.

Interview, The Portland Press Herald, am New York, and The Detroit Free Press spend some time with The Head & The Heart.

NPR has a World Cafe session with Andrew Bird as well as a stream of his set at Stubb’s at SXSW last week.

Spinner welcomes Sharon Van Etten for an Interface session and NPR is also streaming her SXSW show at Stubb’s last week.

Tiny Mix Tapes chats with Doug Martsch of Built To Spill. I walked right past Doug Martsch on Red River St last week. True story.

Titus Andronicus have assembled a mixtape consisting of live material, covers, demos and a new song from a forthcoming 7″ in “Upon Viewing Oregon’s Landscape with the Flood of Detritus”. And you can download it for free, because they’re just that generous.

Louisville’s Young Widows will be at Sneaky Dee’s on April 19 in support of last year’s In And Out Of Youth And Lightness.

MP3: Young Widows – “Future Heart”
MP3: Young Widows – “Old Skin”

Gogol Bordello return for a date at The Sound Academy on May 27, part of a North American tour. Tickets are $28.50 in advance.

Video: Gogol Bordello – “Trans-Continental Shuffle”

Frank YangJust so we’re clear, I am not stalking Veronica Falls. It’s pure coincidence that I’ve seen the London-based band three times in the past year in three different countries – America, Canada, and Iceland – on two different continents. Really. Okay, it’s not as though I was running into them on the street while they were playing – their self-titled debut was one of my favourites of last year (and barely missed my year-end list) so when the opportunity to see them live has presented itself, I’ve taken it. And when a fourth chance came around as it did on Tuesday night at The Garrison, I also took that.

It also gave me the opportunity to see what local outfit Hands & Teeth were about, what with them garnering a fair bit of attention hereabouts for their just released their debut full-length Hunting Season. That the five-piece were talented and had no shortage of ideas was unquestionable but like many young bands with a surplus of talent and ideas, it felt like they hadn’t quite figured out how to manage it all. Their sound was a solid balance of pop and prog but came across as busy as it was catchy. Having four capable lead vocalists made for some exquisite harmonies but also made their overall personality hard to pin down. Similarly, the instrument swapping seemed showy and unnecessary; rather than trying so hard to demonstrate that they’re good, they’d be better off simply being good. Because despite all this, they clearly were.

No one should have had to be told that San Francisco’s Brilliant Colors were Veronica Falls’ labelmates on Slumberland; the quartet rather embodied the label’s aesthetic of scrappy, lo-fi American ’80s indie pop with a dash of New Zealand/Flying Nun thrown in for good measure. They had to fight through an inordinate number of sound issues for such a simple, straight-ahead band (two guitars, bass, drums, one vocal) but eventually got sorted enough to get through their set, which had decent energy if not a lot of charisma and included a cover of The Who’s “So Sad About Us” as well as material from their latest Again & Again. As familiar-sounding as their material was, it wasn’t the most memorable but if you had that vintage of indie pop in your veins, there was no way it wouldn’t resonate at least a little.

It was nice to considerably more people out to see Veronica Falls this time out than that gathered in the basement at Parts & Labour last October – even with it being Valentine’s Day – and the band were dressed for the occasion with guitarist/vocalists Roxanne Clifford and James Hoare and drummer Patrick Doyle all done up in matching red-and-white striped shirts; bassist Marion Herbain might have had the same on under her sweater, I couldn’t tell. Not that any of that really mattered, it was just a fun detail. What did matter was that they came to play, powering through their set of darkly-hued, C86-vintage pop with punk rock efficiency – the dozen-song set, which included a few new tunes, plus one-song encore of undetermined cover was over in just 35 minutes.

As with past performances, Doyle again reaffirmed his position as the band’s secret weapon keeping super-tight time with his stripped-down, mostly cymbal-less kit, all while contributing backing vocals but unlike past performances, Clifford and Hoare weren’t as tight as they typically were. It was actually a bit funny to hear their vocals completely out of sync for the opening verse of “Wedding Day”, though they got it together once Doyle came in with the beat – we’ll blame that on persistent stage sound issues. So while technically less than perfect, the band still seemed to have a good time – Clifford was dancier onstage than I’d seen her – and no one was complaining; we’ll still call it a pretty good Valentine’s Day.

Vice and The Montreal Mirror have interviews with Veronica Falls.

Photos: Veronica Falls, Brilliant Colors, Hands & Teeth @ The Garrison – February 14, 2012
MP3: Veronica Falls – “Come On Over”
MP3: Veronica Falls – “Found Love In A Graveyard”
MP3: Brilliant Colors – “How Much Younger”
MP3: Brilliant Colors – “Value Lines”
Video: Veronica Falls – “Bad Feeling”
Video: Veronica Falls – “Come On Over”
Video: Veronica Falls – “Beachy Head”
Video: Veronica Falls – “Found Love In A Graveyard”
Video: Brilliant Colors – “‘Round Your Way”
Video: Brilliant Colors – “How Much Younger”
Video: Brilliant Colors – “Hey Dan”
Video: Brilliant Colors – “Highly Evolved”
Video: Brilliant Colors – “English Cities”
Stream: Hands & Teeth / Hunting Season

Blood Orange has put out a new video from Coastal Grooves.

Video: Blood Orange – “Forget It”

Also with a new video is Laura Marling, this one the closing song from last year’s A Creature I Don’t Know.

Video: Laura Marling – “All My Rage”

I don’t know what Mulberry is, but they deserve props for getting Summer Camp and Big Deal to record videos of them covering Fleetwood Mac and The Jesus & Mary Chain, respectively, for some Valentine’s Day campaign.

Video: Summer Camp – “Everywhere”
Video: Big Deal – “Sometimes Always”

Artrocker reports that The Futureheads’ next album will be completely a capella, entitled Rant and out April 2. It will consist of instrument-less reworkings of some of their songs and covers of others; I’m particularly keen to hear their cover of Richard Thompson’s “Beeswing”. But for now, we will have to settle for this stream of their new version of “Robot”.

Stream: The Futureheads – “Robot” (a capella)

The Cribs – now Johnny Marr-less again – have completed their fifth album and will release In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull on May 8. A download of the first single is up for grabs courtesy of Spin and they’ll be at Lee’s Palace on April 11 as part of a North American tour, tickets $17.50 in advance.

MP3: The Cribs – “Chi-Town”

Norwegian electro disco virtuoso Lindstrøm has made a date at Wrongbar for May 26, tickets $15 in advance.

MP3: Lindstrøm – “De Javu”

The Line Of Best Fit reports that Swedish songstress Frida Hyvönen has a new album entitled To The Soul coming out on April 18 and the first single is available to stream.

Stream: Frida Hyvönen – “Terribly Dark”

NYC Taper has one of the shows from Björk’s New York residency available to download. A-yup.

Frank YangIt hasn’t escaped my notice that my live show schedule so far in 2012 has been pretty lean, and what there has been has been more on the sedate side. Which is fine – I dig the low key stuff and getting home well before midnight – but sometimes you get a fever for something bigger, louder and more rawk… and on those occasions, such as Tuesday night, the perfect prescription is The Kills.

The Amer-English duo were on the road for a second North American jaunt in support of last year’s Blood Pressures, but also to mark their tenth anniversary as a live act; the pair first took to the stage a decade prior to this show less a week. I can’t comment on how they were as performers way back when – the only time I’d seen them live was in 2008 in support of Midnight Boom – but considering the difference between that show and this one, I can only imagine that they’ve come a long, long way since that first gig.

I’m sure it was a longevity that first openers on the night, Brookyln’s Hunters, were aspiring to – goodness knows they’d clearly been taking other notes from the headliners, particularly in making good use of co-ed on-stage chemistry to put on an entertaining show. Derek Watson and Isabel Almeida were either trading off vocals and physically playing off each other over tunes that were garage-punk with a hint of bubblegum, and more adolescently hormonal than sophisticatedly seedy. Their stage presence more than compensated for some musical formulaicness and it was evident that their short set was enough to win them some fans, as Watson went for a set-closing crowd surf – not many openers can be assured of not being dropped.

Nashville sibling act JEFF The Brotherhood had been at it almost as long as The Kills, churning out six albums of psych-inflected garage rock over the past ten years and touring a hell of a lot over that time; it’s therefore not surprising that they already had a fanbase welcoming them back and cheering them on. The Orrall brothers specialize in and excel at a heavy but nimble brand of rock that’s more tuneful than you might think, a balance of sludgy stoner and spirited – if greasy – bar stylings. And they brought Alison Mosshart out to sing on their last song, so they also had that going for them.

At The Kills’ 2008 show, I was impressed how well Jamie Hince and Mosshart were able to put on a riveting show without needing to recruit a live band to back them up, so I was rather surprised to see their stage setup included a row of floor toms along the back – I presumed they weren’t just decorative and someone was actually going to play them. Two someones, as it turned out – a pair of drummers whose duties would include rhythm, clapping and choreography. A surprising break in the Kills aesthetic, but a beneficial one – you wouldn’t say they NEEDED the extra impact of those drums, either sonically or visually, but it didn’t hurt.

You could recruit a children’s choir and a symphony orchestra to back The Kills, though, and ultimately it’d just be about Hince and Mosshart – he of the untouchable guitar swagger and she of the feral intensity to match the giant leopard-print backdrop that hung above the stage, and both lubricating the stuttering mechanical rhythms that underpinned their sleazy electro-blues with sweat, blood, and whatever other fluids you might presume. Understand that I’d never suggest that that last show had been restrained in any way, but it seemed that the duo seemed even more confident and assured this time out – as if whereas before they were satisfied to be propelled by their raw charisma and chemistry, now they were steering it.

Unsurprisingly, the set leaned heaviest on Midnight Boom and Blood Pressures but those who wanted a more career-spanning show got a few bones in set opener “No Wow” – the only representative of their second album – and the two encore closers being pulled from their debut Keep On Your Mean Side. There were also a pair of covers – Patsy Cline’s “Crazy” and The Velvet Underground’s “Pale Blue Eyes” – to rep their forthcoming “The Last Goodbye” 12″, due out at the end of the month.

The Kills aren’t a band I necessarily turn to a lot in my regular listening patterns, but if you need a kick in the ass, a grab in the groin or just a reminder of why you love rock’n’roll, seeing them live is just the thing to do it.

The National Post, Music Vice, and PostCity have reviews of the show and amNY a short interview with Mosshart.

Photos: The Kills, JEFF The Brotherhood, Hunters @ The Kool Haus – February 7, 2012
MP3: The Kills – “DNA”
MP3: The Kills – “Future Starts Slow”
MP3: The Kills – “URA Fever”
MP3: The Kills – “Cheap & Cheerful”
MP3: The Kills – “Black Rooster”
MP3: The Kills – “Cat Claw”
Video: The Kills – “Last Goodbye”
Video: The Kills – “Baby Says”
Video: The Kills – “Future Starts Slow”
Video: The Kills – “Black Balloon”
Video: The Kills – “Tape Song”
Video: The Kills – “The Last Day Of Magic”
Video: The Kills – “Cheap & Cheerful”
Video: The Kills – “U.R.A. Fever”
Video: The Kills – “No Wow”
Video: The Kills – “Love Is A Deserter”
Video: The Kills – “The Good Ones”
Video: The Kills – “Wait”
Video: The Kills – “Fried My Little Brains”
Video: JEFF The Brotherhood – “Whatever I Want”
Video: JEFF The Brotherhood – “Hey Friend”
Video: JEFF The Brotherhood – “Mind Rides”
Video: JEFF The Brotherhood – “You Got The Look”
Video: JEFF The Brotherhood – “Bone Jam”
Video: JEFF The Brotherhood – “The Tropics”
Video: Hunters – “Acid Head”
Stream: Hunters / Hands On Fire

Those of you looking forward to the visit of another co-ed rock machine duo – I speak of Sleigh Bells – will have to wait a little longer. Pitchfork reports that rather than play The Phoenix on the evening of February 18, as they were supposed to, the pair will now be doing their pop-metal thing on Saturday Night Live instead. The Toronto show has been rescheduled for March 27, though their April 27 and 28 dates supporting Red Hot Chili Peppers at the Air Canada Centre are unchanged. Reign Of Terror – the new album – is out February 21 and there’s interviews with the band at The Palm Beach Post, The Orlando Sentinel, and Pensacola News Journal – yeah, I’d say the band are in Florida right now.

Peggy Sue, whose attempt to bring their second album Acrobats to town last November was stymied by some immigration issues with their tourmates, will try again as they’ve been added as support for First Aid Kit at The Great Hall on April 4.

MP3: Peggy Sue – “Cut My Teeth”

Though their debut My Head Is An Animal still won’t be out until April 3, Of Monsters & Men are clearly already one of Iceland’s biggest exports as demand for their April 16 show has moved it from The Mod Club to The Phoenix.

Sweden’s Niki & The Dove have a new video for a song which appeared on their 2011 12″ single and will presumably show up on their debut album whenever it arrives later this year.

Video: Niki & The Dove – “The Fox”

The Line Of Best Fit has posted a video session with Loney Dear.

Keeping today’s he-she/trans-Atlantic duo meme going, Big Deal have released a new video from their debut album Lights Out.

Video: Big Deal – “Talk”

Veronica Falls have made a new song available to stream – they were already playing new material on the road last year, you can bet we’ll hear some new tunes at The Garrison on February 14. NOW has an interview with the band in preview of that show.

Stream: Veronica Falls – “My Heart Beats”

Clash, Sloucher, and The Scotsman interview The Twilight Sad. They’re at Lee’s Palace on February 29.

Tindersticks have made a track from their new record The Something Rain, due out February 21.

MP3: Tindersticks – “Frozen”

DIY interviews Field Music, whose new album Plumb arrives next week.

Best news of the day? Richard Hawley has announced details of his new album. Standing At The Sky’s Edge will be out on May 7 and according to the press release at DIY, it will be more stripped-down affair than recent efforts, built on, “two guitars, bass, drums and rocket noises”.

Slate The Disco talks to Kate Jackson.