VCPNew Zealand’s Cut Off Your Hands made some noise a couple years ago with their debut You And I, an enjoyable if not especially original collection of hepped-up, post-punk pop tunes intended to incite pogoing. And they worked that record pretty hard in North America, eventually losing both founding guitarist Mikey Ramirez to the rigours of touring and drummer Brent Harris to damaged hearing.

A couple years on and both are back in the fold to some degree and the band is back with a new album in Hollow, out in North America August 16, and they really want you to hear some of it. There’s a download of the more-Bunnymen-than-Bunnymen “Hollowed Out” along with some commentary at Spin, a video has been released for the first single and over at Facebook, a Like will get you another download from the new record. And oh hell, the whole thing is available to stream at Soundcloud. It’s definitely a more jangly/shimmery/classically Kiwi-pop record than the debut, more romantic-sounding and less in-your-face – still not breaking any new ground but it’s kind of nice to know that they’ve got a broader record collection to steal from than the first album implied.

Under The Radar has an interview with frontman Nick Johnson.

MP3: Cut Off Your Hands – “Hollowed Out”
Video: Cut Off Your Hands – “Fooling No One”
Stream: Cut Off Your Hands / Hollow

DIY and The Irish Independent with New Zealand’s current top musical export, The Naked & Famous. They play Lee’s Palace on August 9.

Billy Bragg has done what all good protest singers do and written a song about the News International phone hacking scandal currently unfolding in the UK – download the song for free, watch the video, read an op-ed by Billy in The Guardian and do what the man says – same applies in Toronto, by the way.

MP3: Billy Bragg – “Never Buy The Sun”
Video: Billy Bragg – “Never Buy The Sun”

The Guardian has premiered another new video from Cat’s Eyes’s self-titled debut.

Video: Cat’s Eyes – “Over You”

The Alternate Side has a session and interview with James Blake while inthemix and Time Out have feature pieces. He plays The Phoenix on September 30.

A public service announcement: The Two Door Cinema Club show originally scheduled to take place at The Phoenix on September 17 has been moved to Kool Haus. Also, Metro discovers frontman Alex Trimble listens to Lady Gaga.

Blood Orange has released a video from his debut Coastal Grooves, which is now set for an August 30 release.

Video: Blood Orange – “Sutphin Boulevard”

One of the new tracks from Ladytron’s forthcoming Gravity The Seducer, out September 13, is now available to download. They’re at The Phoenix October 5.

MP3: Ladytron – “White Elephant”

NPR are streaming a KCRW session with Friendly Fires, in town at The Phoenix on October 23.

Veronica Falls have supplemented the recent audio preview of their debut album, out in October, with a video.

MP3: Veronica Falls – “Come On Over”
Video: Veronica Falls – “Come On Over”

Allo Darlin’ will release a new non-album single in “Darren”, named for and inspired by Darren Hayman, former frontman of Hefner and featuring as a b-side a cover of “Wu Tang Clan”, originally by his project The French. Stream the a-side at Bandcamp.

The Daily Star chats with Florence Welch about some of the studio shenanigans that have gone into recording the second Florence & The Machine album.

PopMatters uses the occasion of the recent reissues as an excuse to reexamine the legacy of Suede. BBC also has an audio interview with Brett Anderson about getting the band back together; his new solo record Black Rainbows is out September 26. And regarding those Suede reissues; just noticed that eMusic has both Suede and Dog Man Star listed under “London Suede”. If you have an account and wanted to cherry pick the bonus material without re-buying everything a third time (like I do/don’t).

And alas, Gomez have cancelled the remainder of their North American tour due to illness, including Sunday’s show at The Phoenix.

ICHCI’m not really a Christmas person. I’m certainly not against it or a conscientious abstainer, at least not from its secular aspects, I just do my best to ignore it for the first couple weeks of December until denial gives way to blind panic when I realize I still have too much to do to the degree in which I do participate. Things end up so hectic that actually enjoying the season, whatever that means, is mostly out of the question.

One thing the holidays are good for, though, are covers as everyone and their mother seems inspired to track a seasonal standard or two. The potential downside of this is that the same tunes crop up, year after year, but I think I’ve collected a bunch of more recent/less ubiquitous tunes that will hopefully come across as a little fresher to your ears. Happy statutory holidays, everyone!

Billy Bragg and Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine teamed up for the BBC last year in taking on the Pogues holiday classic. I’ve mixed feelings about Welch’s parts, and not just because Kirsty MacColl can’t be touched – while it’s nice to hear her not overpower things with her voice for a change, the restrained Flo sounds kind of bored. Billy, however, is wonderful as always.

MP3: Billy Bragg and Florence & The Machine – “Fairytale Of New York”
Video: Billy Bragg and Florence & The Machine – “Fairytale Of New York”
Video: The Pogues with Kirsty MacColl – “Fairytale Of New York”

British duo Slow Club gave their debut album Yeah, So? a North American release this year and followed it up with the holiday-themed Christmas, Thanks For Nothing EP last week, which included this terrific cover this Phil Spector tune (performed by Darlene Love) which allows Rebecca Taylor to show off her pipes in a way she doesn’t get to nearly enough.

MP3: Slow Club – “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”
Stream: Darlene Love – “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”

Another British duo making noise this year was Summer Camp, first thanks to the mysteriousness of their identities and then the retro-pop excellence of their debut EP Young. They got into the Christmas spirit with a cover of the beloved Waitresses tune.

MP3: Summer Camp – “Christmas Wrapping”
Stream: Summer Camp – “Christmas Wrapping”

London’s 6 Day Riot, who released their third record On This Island earlier in the year, wished their fans a merry Christmas with this cover of this Pretenders song which, for my money, is always overlooked/underappreciated when it comes to seasonal songs. It’s one of my very favourites.

MP3: 6 Day Riot – “2000 Miles”
Video: The Pretenders – “2000 Miles” (live)

Bostoninans Wheat are working on their next album, the follow-up to last year’s White Ink, Black Ink, but still found the time to record a couple of Christmas tunes to give away – the b-side is an original composition and the a-side is the song made famous by Judy Garland in Meet Me In St. Louis.

MP3: Wheat – “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”
MP3: Wheat – “It’s Snowing – I Love You”
Video: Judy Garland – “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”

Toronto’s Ohbijou covered Wham!‘s “Last Christmas” as a special treat last year about this time, and yet in the interim it hasn’t been added to the not-quite-definitive index of covers of that song over at www.last-christmas.com. Someone get on that! The band would, but they’re busy making album number three.

MP3: Ohbijou – “Last Christmas”
Video: Wham! – “Last Christmas”

The Rural Alberta Advantage only played this song – which I thought was traditional but actually only dates back to 1941 and was written by Katherine Davis (thanks Wikipedia – this past Thursday night at their hometown show at Lee’s Palace, but it was captured for posterity thanks to Joe at Mechanical Forest Sound. The RAA are set to release album number two in Departing come March 1 and have just been announced as playing the New Year’s Eve show at The Tranzac on, um, New Year’s Eve. Tickets were going fast and will now be going faster.

MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Little Drummer Boy” (live)

Frank YangPeelander-Z means many things to many people – Japanese Power Ranger-suited comic punks to some, incomprehensibly entertaining novelty act to others, and plain incomprehensible to the rest. To me, they mean the Hot Freaks! shows at The Mohawk in Austin, Texas, which were the highlights of SxSWs past. Those days are probably over and gone, however, so it was very obliging of them to come up to Toronto for two shows last week and help craft some new memories.

This was their first time back in town in a decade – a fact I found remarkable because it meant they’d been DOING what they do for 10 years plus – and while I’m a double-dose of Peelander would have been doubly entertaining, I opted to go to the second of the shows at The Silver Dollar simply because it was closer to home and seemed like a more climbable venue than The Velvet Underground and with better human bowling lanes. Besides making up for an extended absence from Canada, they were previewing their new record P-TV-Z, due out September 28, and really – do you need an excuse to dress up and engage in the sort of bedlam that Peelander do? No, I don’t think you do.

As far as the performance went, it was pretty much everything you could hope for. For the hour that they were on stage (and off the stage), there was the giant squid costume, nose picking, human bowling, replacing the band with audience members, singalongs, limbo, jump rope, conga lines, so many Mikes, and while the Silver Dollar isn’t nearly as conducive to scaling and surfing as The Mohawk, Peelander Red still managed to crowd surf upright onto the bar and back to the stage. Very impressive. And while there’s a temptation to assume the music comes secondary to the antics, just a little attention reveals that they’re capable and versatile musicians. I mean, YOU try playing bass while dressed as a giant squid guitar. Not that easy, is it. But most importantly, Peelander-Z are fun beyond words and utterly unique. And this show was better than the last one at the Mohawk in that Peelander Green didn’t feel compelled to chuck a drumstick at me this time.

Photos: Peelander-Z @ The Silver Dollar – September 2, 2010
MP3: Peelander-Z – “E-I-E-I-O”
MP3: Peelander-Z – “S.T.E.A.K.”
MP3: Peelander-Z – “Rocket Gold Star”
MP3: Peelander-Z – “Champion”
MP3: Peelander-Z – “Panda Punk”
Video: Peelander-Z – “E-I-E-I-O”
Video: Peelander-Z – “Ninja High Schooool”
Video: Peelander-Z – “S.T.E.A.K.”
Video: Peelander-Z – “Mad Tiger”
MySpace: Peelander-Z

Belle & Sebastian are previewing two songs from their new record Write About Love via a 30-minute talk show webisode; sounds like it’s going to be a winner, folks. The album is out October 12 and they play Massey Hall the same evening. The first MP3 from the album is supposed to be made available today as well. Update: The track is now available email-widget-swapsies-style.

The Telegraph and The Guardian talked to Laura Marling about being nominated a second time for the Mercury Prize, which is being awarded tonight.

Clash interviews Richard Thompson about his new album Dream Attic.

Billy Bragg talks to Billboard about teaming up with Roseanne Cash and Joe Henry for a new album due out in late 2011.

Unbelievably, The Charlatans’ North American tour in support of Who We Touch, out next Tuesday, is due to begin tonight in Atlanta and they still haven’t cancelled it. They might even already be on this side of the Atlantic! Perhaps flush with confidence that the apocalypse isn’t imminent, they’ve scheduled an in-store at Sunrise Records on Yonge St at 7PM next Friday, September 17, before their show at Lee’s Palace later that evening. And they’ve just released a new video from said record, which is apparently quite decent.

Video: The Charlatans – “My Foolish Pride”

Beatroute interviews The Dø, in town at the Mod Club this coming Sunday night, September 11.

The Guardian interviews Nick Cave of Grinderman. Grinderman 2 is out next Tuesday and they’re at The Phoenix on November 11.

I didn’t pay much attention to Pitchfork’s Top 200 Tracks of The ’90s series last week, save for skipping to the end on Friday and going, “huh”, but their just-posted ’90s In Lists piece was equal parts hilarious, nostalgic, depressing and terrifying – the last one mostly because that, right there, is my high school and university years and it was so so so so long away. The only thing that’s going to be more depressing today – god willing – is biking to work past the hordes of 17-year old frosh starting at the University Of Toronto who have no clue about 90% of the stuff in those lists. Hello, kids! I’m twice your age! Get off my lawn!

Frank YangFull writeup of the evening over here.

Billy Bragg
– British agit-folk icon whose last album was 2007’s Mr. Love & Justice is presently busy with his Jail Guitar Doors program and tells Spinner that there may still be more Mermaid Avenue records to come.
Photos: Billy Bragg @ MWTX North Stage – March 19, 2010
MP3: Billy Bragg – “I Keep Faith”
MP3: Billy Bragg – “Take Down The Union Jack”
MP3: Billy Bragg – “Must I Paint You A Picture?”
MP3: Billy Bragg – “Valentine’s Day Is Over” (live)
Video: Billy Bragg – “NPWA”
Video: Billy Bragg – “The Boy Done Good”
Video: Billy Bragg – “Sexuality”
Video: Billy Bragg – “Waiting For The Great Leap Forward”
Video: Billy Bragg – “You Woke Up My Neighbourhood”
Video: Billy Bragg – “Levi Stubbs’ Tears”
MySpace: Billy Bragg

Frightened Rabbit
– See notes from day one.
Photos: Frightened Rabbit @ NWTX North Stage – March 19, 2010

Man Man
– Philadelphia bizarro-rock troupe bring last year’s Rabbit Habits to Lee’s Palace on May 9.
Photos: Man Man @ NWTX North Stage – March 19, 2010
MP3: Man Man – “Top Drawer”
MP3: Man Man – “Black Mission Goggles”
MP3: Man Man – “10 Lb Moustache”
Video: Man Man – “Rabbit Habits”

Turbo Fruits
– Former members of Be Your Own Pet released their debut full-length Echo Kid in late 2009. Spinner has an interview.
Photos: Turbo Fruits @ The Music Gym – March 19, 2010
MP3: Turbo Fruits – “Mama’s Mad Cos I Fried My Brain”
MP3: Turbo Fruits – “Pocket Full Of Thistles”
Video: Turbo Fruits – “Volcano”
MySpace: Turbo Fruits

Real Estate
– New Jersey quartet have just released their self-titled debut, full of shimmering guitar pop. Nashville Scene and Spinner talk to frontman Martin Courtney.
Photos: Real Estate @ Klub Krucial – March 19, 2010
MP3: Real Estate – “Black Lake”
MP3: Real Estate – “Beach Comber”

Memory Tapes
– Dayve Hawk, armed with guitar and laptop, released his debut Seek Magic, filled with electro-gaze you can dance to. Spinner has an interview.
Photos: Memory Tapes @ Klub Krucial – March 19, 2010
MP3: Memory Tapes – “Bicycle”
MP3: Memory Tapes – “Graphics Remodel Edit”
MySpace: Memory Tapes

The Drums
– New Yorkers easily mistaken for Brits sing songs about California while wishing it were still the ’80s. Featured in stories at The Daily Record, X-Media and The Times.
Photos: The Drums @ Latitude 30 – March 19, 2010
Video: The Drums – “Let’s Go Surfing”
Video: The Drums – “Best Friend”
Video: The Drums – “I Felt Stupid”
MySpace: The Drums

Frank YangSo where were we? Oh, yes, a somewhat artificial break between the afternoon and the evening. Immediately after leaving the Johnny Flynn hotel gig on Friday evening, I headed out towards the east side of downtown to the Mess With Texas grounds (which the day before had been the Eastbound & Found grounds) for what, of all the unofficial day parties running alongside/against SxSW, had become one of the largest and most must-see.

The three main stage closing acts for day one of the mini-fest included two very familiar faces and one that I hadn’t seen or heard before, but wouldn’t be forgetting. It was an interesting thing to be walking along 6th St and hear quietly at first, but increasingly loudly, the voice of one Billy Bragg exhorting the crowds to call their representatives and urge them to support the impending health care bill and resist giving in to cynicism. Not quite the usual, “hey Austin how ya doing!” you usually hear at these sorts of things, but it was exciting to hear the crowds responding positively to his message. I’d obviously heard him play (and preach) in Canada on numerous occasions, but to witness it in Texas – even in liberal Austin – was pretty cool. The portion of his set I caught was pretty standard Billy but tracks like “NPWA” and “I Keep Faith” tied in pretty well with his message of the evening and set closer “A New England” will always be welcome, anytime, anywhere.

I had said I felt lucky to have seen Frightened Rabbit play a somewhat stripped down set on Wednesday afternoon, and I do/did, but I was just as happy that they had sorted out their equipment issues in time for their next-to-closing set at Mess With Texas, because the rocking Rabbit is also pretty great. Fully plugged in and ready to give the crowd what for, Frightened Rabbit played a similar set to the one at the Paste party, split fairly evenly between the new The Winter Of Mixed Drinks and the older Midnight Organ Fight, all delivered with a fervor that it seemed Scott Hutchison was so pleased to have his electric guitar working again that he was going to strangle it in gratitude. Hearing Frightened Rabbit writ large, my reservations about the extroverted nature of Mixed Drinks is decidedly lessened, and I’m glad I was able to see them again in Austin so I don’t feel any regrets about missing their May 4 show in Toronto at the Opera House.

I am at a loss for how to describe Philadelphia’s Man Man. I’d never seen them before Friday night, and now that I think about it, those I know who are fans have never been able to describe them either beyond, “they’re fun to photograph”. Which they certainly are. The five-piece (or was it six?) are like a circus sideshow making their own soundtrack to wacky-ass antics AND shenanigans, all lurching rhythms, gutteral vocals and insane musicianship on keys and percussion and instruments that may or may not be proper instruments. It’s really something you have to see, and while I don’t know that I’d ever listen to their recorded works, the live spectacle is something to behold. I hadn’t really understood how they were large enough to headline something as large as MWTX (not major festival large but still reasonably large) but they did indeed pack the parking lot with people clearly in the know and stoked to be seeing them again. It was… something to behold.

By rights, that should have been the end of the night since chances of seeing anything top their show were slim to none, but it was still early. En route back to downtown, I got a text saying I needed to be at the Music Gym for Turbo Fruits and I was just across the street and with nothing better to do. So I went. I’d never had an interest in seeing said Nashville trio before, assuming they’d be all snotty and raggedy punk and while they certainly weren’t especially tight or polite, they were more melodic and enjoyable than expected. And points for moving their mics into the crowd with the second song to be closer to their people, though I did feel bad for the drummer stuck way back on the stage.

After a failed attempt to see Gemma Ray and instead catching part of a solo set from the guy from Cutting Crew – the part with “I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight” so not a total loss – I was surprised to see no lineup for Klub Krucial, where a couple acts I thought would be much hotter draws were playing. New Jersey’s Real Estate impressed with a set of jangly pop that was simultaneously peppy and laid back and certainly put them on my list of bands to check out further.

I didn’t need to put Memory Tapes on any such list since I’d been enjoying his Seek Magic mini-album for a few months now. Where the surprise came with them is how entertaining they were live. While much of the beats and arrangements were pre-recorded backing tracks, Dayve Hawk augmented them with a live drummer and his guitar playing had some serious big rock attitude to it. Whereas the recorded works have a hazy, daydreamy feel to them, live they were much more aggressive and dancey. And there was dancing. It may have even involved me. Maybe.

The final stop of the night was Latitude 30 for The Drums, whom besides hearing people talk about them, I hadn’t actually heard before. And if they weren’t playing en route to my hotel with room still available in the venue – at least when I got there, such was not the case around 10 minutes later – that’d have remained the case. In addition to the buzz, I was curious how and why an American band – they hail from New York – was closing out one of the nights at the SxSW British Music Embassy. Until they actually took the stage, at which point it became clear that Americans they may be, but their musical hearts lay squarely in the UK. The quartet, whose singer Jonathan Pierce has clearly spent many hours in front of the mirror practicing his arch and preening frontman poses, struck the right balance of dancey beats and jangly hooks to win the hearts of Anglophiles everywhere, or at least in the room. I wasn’t as swoony as some of those bearing witness, but I could definitely see the appeal – it held my attention for almost their entire set which, considering how wiped I was, was no mean feat.

And… scene.