Christopher DadeyConsidering that touring North American is an expensive proposition for a British artist, it’s pretty commendable that for her first two albums – her 2007 debut Made Of Bricks and 2010’s My Best Friend Is You – Kate Nash managed to not only come through town twice, but first play a relatively intimate club show for her devoted fanbase before stepping up to a bigger room the second time around (Mod Club then Phoenix, both times).

Considering that she no longer has major label dollars backing her – she bought herself out of her record contract after finishing up with Friend in favour of crowdfunding and self-releasing future efforts – it might not be reasonable to expect the pattern to continue, but apparently it might. Hot on the heels of announcing the March 5 release of her third album Girl Talk, Nash has scheduled a North American tour that brings her to town on March 15 to play her smallest stage yet, The Horseshoe Tavern. Tickets for that show are $18.50, on sale this Friday, and interpreting the cozier room as an indication her fanbase is shrinking is probably a mistake – that Best Friend Mod Club show in April 2010 was jammed, and not by folks who seemed like an uneven sophomore effort would diminish their devotion.

It will be interesting to see where Girl Talk takes Nash. Best Friend found her torn between the sassy-catchy piano-pop that she excels at, and the riot grrrl-inspired punk that she’s rather less good at but also clearly determined to stick to. Last Fall’s Death Proof EP had far more guitars than piano, but checked the abrasiveness for melody so the optimist might see this as evidence that a happy balance could still be found. A speculative track listing for Girl Talk doesn’t make it seem like her pen has gotten any less pointed, but hopefully there’ll be more singing that shrieking. The first single from the new record, made available to stream last week, is certainly promising.

Stream: Kate Nash – “3AM”
Video: Kate Nash – “Death Proof”
Video: Kate Nash – “Fri-End?”

Canadian Musicfest is usually all filled up with – wait for it – Canadian music, but the ever-expanding list of showcasing artists has got a pretty strong international flavour this year; certainly more than recent years… assuming that there isn’t a spate of last-minute cancellations like last year. There’s a solid Scandinavian bloc of acts that I’ll talk about at a later date, but also a couple of BBC Sound of 2013 finalists coming to town. Scottish electro-pop trio CHVRCHES – who came in fifth in the BBC polling – will headline The Mod Club on March 20, and post-punk stabby-guitar quintet Savages are at Lee’s Palace on March 23. Advance tickets will be available for both, and festival wristbands will also get you in. If they don’t sell out via tickets first. Clash and DIY have introductory features on CHVRCHES.

Video: CHVRCHES – “Lies”
Video: Savages – “I Am Here” (live)

If you were thinking that with The Joy Formidable’s new album Wolf’s Law due out next week that an advance stream should be showing up soon, then you would be correct, and Rolling Stone has it. Mancunian Matters has an interview with frontwoman Ritzy Bryan.

Stream: The Joy Formidable / Wolf’s Law

Pitchfork has got the whole of Esben & The Witch’s second album Wash The Sins Not Only The Face available to stream. It’s out January 22.

MP3: Esben & The Witch – “Deathwaltz”
Stream: Esben & The Witch / Wash The Sins Not Only The Face

Bloc Party have released a new video from last year’s Four. They’re at Fort York on June 8 as part of the Arts & Crafts Field Trip festival.

Video: Bloc Party – “Truth”

Under The Radar points to a stream of a new song from Still Corners, the b-side of their “Fireflies” 7″.

Stream: Still Corners – “Hearts Of Fools”

The Stool Pigeon has an interview with Veronica Falls, whose new album Waiting For Something To Happen is out February 12. They’re also releasing a limited-edition covers EP on or around the same day, and I warn you – of the 300 copies being made, at most only 299 remain. They’re at The Garrison on March 12.

Flavorpill has a video session with Bat For Lashes.

The Line Of Best Fit has all the specifics about the new Suede album Bloodsports, including artwork, tracklisting, and release date – March 18.

Drowned In Sound, news.com.au, and The Liverpool Echo interview Mr. Richard Hawley.

PopMatters has an interview with Tindersticks.

Amor de Días have released the first video from their new album The House at Sea, out January 29.

Video: Amor de Días – “Jean’s Waving”

Johnny Marr has released a new video from his forthcoming solo debut The Messenger, out February 26.

Video: Johnny Marr – “Upstarts”

Rolling Stone has got a stream of the new old New Order record Lost Sirens, comprised of unreleased material from their last studio album Waiting For The Sirens’ Call.

Stream: New Order / Lost Sirens

And if you like your Marr and Sumner together in one convenient package – perhaps with a side of Pet Shop Boys – then Slicing Up Eyeballs is pleased to report that the 1991 debut from Electronic will be getting a double-disc reissue on April 8, enhanced with bonus tracks.

Video: Electronic – “Getting Away With It”

Finally, because there’s no shortage of interesting David Bowie surfacing every day, there’s interviews with producer Tony Visconti and guitarist Earl Slick about the recording sessions for The Next Day at The Guardian and Rolling Stone. Bowie himself may not be interested in talking about the new album, out March 12, but his collaborators certainly are. And additionally, The Quietus challenges the myth that Bowie had turned into a recluse over the past 10 years while The Line Of Best Fit has helpfully compiled clips of Bowie’s best musical moments over the past 20 years – because despite conventional wisdom, there were more than a few.

James MinchinYesterday was one of those wonderful inbox-bursting days of press releases that, rather than having to try to figure out what to write about for a post, I had to choose what to save for later. Today we’ll cover all the concert announcements that will be bringing acts from near and far through town in the next few months.

We’ll start with California’s goth-garage rockers Black Rebel Motorcycle Club because, well, they haven’t been here since Spring 2010 and they give good – or at least smoky – photo. The details of their sixth album Specter At The Feast – coming March 18 – were revealed last week, but they’ve quickly followed that up with a full slate of tour dates that bring them back to Toronto for a show at The Kool Haus on May 9, tickets $25 in advance.

And as is the custom these days, they’re drumming up anticipation for the new record with a series of teaser videos.

MP3: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – “Whatever Happened to My Rock and Roll (Punk Song)” (live)
Trailer: Specter At The Feast Part 1

The fourth and final installment of the Fucked Up-curated Long Winter concert series has announced their lineup, and addition to Toronto’s hardcore heroes once again headlining the affair, they’ll be joined by Holy Fuck, The Sadies, and more music, art, food, and whatsit. That goes down February 8 at The Great Hall, admission pay-what-you-can.

MP3: Fucked Up – “I Hate Summer”
MP3: Holy Fuck – “Lovely Allen”
MP3: The Sadies – “Another Year Again”

American electronic duo Matmos have announced a North American tour in support of their new record The Marriage Of Two Minds, out February 18. They haven’t settled on a venue yet, but they’ll be in Toronto on February 14. Update: It’s The Garrison.

MP3: Matmos – “Sun On 5 at 152”

It’s been known for a while that punk-poet legend Patti Smith would be in town at some point as part of her Camera Solo exhibition running February 9 to May 13 at the Art Gallery Of Ontario, but NOW finally has details – and they’re pretty swell. She’ll be performing both music and poetry at the March edition of their 1st Thursday events, with two shows on the night of March 8, one early and one late. Tickets are $15, limited to two per person, and go on sale February 8 at 10AM.

MP3: Patti Smith – “Wing”

Having failed to make it over here to support Centipede Hz when it came out last year, Animal Collective will seek to remedy this with a March 9 show at the Danforth Music Hall, and perhaps by way of making up for the delay, will be bringing Dan Deacon along as support, even though he was here just in November in support of his latest America. Tickets for that are $27.50 for floors, $25 for balcony seats, all general admission.

MP3: Animal Collective – “Today’s Supernatural”
MP3: Dan Deacon – “Lots”

Pennsylvania punk-asses Pissed Jeans will be at Lee’s Palace on April 16 to play you songs from their new record Honey’s, coming for your ears February 12. Tickets for the show are $15 in advance.

MP3: Pissed Jeans – “Bathroom Laughter”

Having had to cancel their last scheduled appearance back in November, Vancouver punks White Lung have announced a make-up date as part of a Spring tour with Brooklyn’s Hunters, who made a favourable impression last Winter opening up for The Kills. That bill is at The Hard Luck on April 22, tickets $10.

MP3: Hunters – “Headache”
Video: White Lung – “Deadbeat”

We may have to wait an extra six weeks for North American release of Daughter’s debut If You Leave – it’s out in Europe March 18 but not here until April 30 – but at least we’re getting a North American tour immediately thereafter. They’ll be at The Great Hall on May 7, tickets $16.50. Somewhat bigger than The Drake down the street where they made their debut in October, but still pretty cozy.

MP3: Daughter – “Love”

And last but certainly not least, there’s a festival date to keep you warm until, well, it’s actually warm. To mark their tenth anniversary, local label Arts & Crafts have coerced flagship act Broken Social Scene to break their long-standing retirement – inactive since November 2011! – for a one-off show that will probably be one of those “all hands on deck” affairs that sets Toronto hearts a-fluttering. The two-stage, all-day event – dubbed Field Trip and happening on June 8 at Fort York’s Garrison Commons – will see them be joined by a goodly portion of the label’s active roster – both domestic and international – including Feist, Bloc Party, Hayden, Cold Specks, Timber Timbre, Ra Ra Riot, and more. Early bird tickets go for $55, regular tickets for $75, and kids get in free.

MP3: Broken Social Scene – “World Sick”
MP3: Hayden – “Old Dreams”
MP3: Timber Timbre – “Black Water”
MP3: Ra Ra Riot – “Dying Is Fine”
Video: Feist – “Graveyard”
Video: Bloc Party – “Kettling”
Video: Cold Specks – “Hector”

FacebookI don’t think that anyone out there would suggest that Kevin Shields is not a man of his word; it’s just his punctuality that people take issue with. After all – those remastered reissues of My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless, Isn’t Anything, and their collected EPs did eventually see the light of day this Spring – it just happened that they were about four years later than they’d originally been promised.

So when NME came out yesterday and quoted Shields as saying that the new My Bloody Valentine album – the proper follow-up to 1991’s Loveless, which they’ve ostensibly been working on off and on (but mostly off) for the past 20 years – will be out before the end of the calendar year, with a companion EP due out in 2013, it’s hard to figure out if that churning feeling in the stomach is due to excitement, skepticism, or burrito. But wait – he offers details, including the band’s intention to play Tokyo’s Ajinomoto Stadium next Spring, and the fact that it will be released independently via the MBV website. Which, if we dig a little, is what was told to Billboard… in 2007. Well he’s consistent, if nothing else.

More information as it becomes available – if he’s going to be good to his word, there’s not a lot of time left to get this sucker out – but in the meantime, perhaps reflect on the last time MBV were in town, or glance over at that new Godspeed You! Black Emperor record and remind yourself that anything is possible.

Video: My Bloody Valentine – “Soon”

Much more certain is the second album from Amor de Dìas, the project from The Clientele’s Alisdair Maclean and Pipas’ Lupe Núñez-Fernández. They’ll release The House at Sea, the follow up to 2011’s Street Of The Love Of Days, on January 29. Details on the release can be had at Exclaim. And as nice as this will be, it’s with sadness that I note the press materials are now referring to The Clientele in the past tense.

Also locked in for the new year is the new record from Frightened Rabbit. Their first full-length for Atlantic Records will be called Pedestrian Verse and be released on February 5. Details and some words on the record from frontman Scott Hutchison are over at DIY.

English electronic duo Bondax clearly don’t think that December is too late to slate a North American tour; they’ll be at The Drake Underground on December 8.

MP3: Bondax – “All Inside”

When English glam-metal revivalists The Darkness rolled through town back in February, they were still six months off from releasing their comeback record Hot Cakes. Now that it’s out, they’re coming back – look for them again at The Phoenix on January 21, tickets $35, though we all know you’re only going to hear “Street Spirit” and “I Believe In A Thing Called Love”. Who’s kidding who.

Video: The Darkness – “Nothing’s Going To Stop Us”

Charli XCX has made good on her promise to release a new mixtape – Super Ultra Mixtape is available to either stream or download.

Stream: Charli XCX / Super Ultra Mixtape

NPR welcomes Bloc Party for a World Cafe session.

The Quietus and This Is Essex talk to Darren Hayman about his new witch trial-themed album The Violence. The whole thing is available to stream, and a video was recently released.

Video: Darren Hayman & The Long Parliament – “Impossible Times”
Stream: Darren Hayman & The Long Parliament / The Violence

Frank YangIt’s really a travesty that Neil Halstead’s isn’t venerated as a musical trailblazer. This is, after all, a man whose work in Slowdive was groundbreaking for both the shoegazing and ambient electronic genres and who created some of the finest alt.country moments from the UK via Mojave 3, the say nothing of the increasingly deep catalog of works under his own name, most recently with Palindrome Hunches. And yet for the recognition that he should but mostly does not get, he seemed perfectly content to just roll into the Dakota Tavern on Monday evening, guitar in hand, to play some songs and just play some songs. Must be that surfer lifestyle.

Supporting Halstead on these dates was Californian Jim Hanft, who in turn brought with him collaborator Samantha Yonack. Hanft offered up some decent singer-songwriter fare, and any points deducted for having an overly affected rasp and twang in his delivery was made up for by his genial demeanour and willingness to move around and make use of the stage. For her part, Yonack earned her almost-equal billing both with her harmonies and impromptu roadie skills, on display when Hanft accidentally unplugged his guitar during one of the aforementioned wanders. Not the most memorable stuff, but pleasant enough.

Halstead was last here in November 2008 for Oh! Mighty Engine, and just like his solo record have gotten progressively more stripped-down, so to has his live show become simpler in execution. Whereas that show featured a couple backing players, this time Halstead was joined by an accompanist on only a handful of songs – crucially so, with the simple bass, guitar, and piano embellishments adding a lot – but mostly just himself. And as always, that’s all he really needed.

As is typical with his solo shows, the set was divided up fairly evenly between solo and Mojave 3 material, though I think that the balance this time out leaned more to the band material. Playing without a written-out set list, Halstead was agreeable to shouted requests and surprisingly to me, whose fandom stretches back to the Slowdive days, a lot of the requests were for his solo material (and one request for “Souvlaki Space Stating” was indulged to the point of playing the opening chords and demonstrating that he had a delay pedal handy). I suppose that made sense with the crowd being younger than I would have expected – these people weren’t Slowdive or Mojave 3 fans first, but Neil Halstead fans. What a thing it must be to have three distinct and beloved catalogs to work from. The audience also gave Halstead a song back, singing him, “Happy Birthday” in honour of his turning 42 the day before.

Though Mojave 3 had technically been in action this year – some lineup had played a few gigs in China, of all places, this Summer – it had been a good six years since they last toured through and it was so great to hear those songs again: “Prayer For The Paranoid”, “Who Do You Love”, “In Love With A View”, “Some Kinda Angel”, “Life In Art”… all moments of gorgeousness that I’d somehow let slip from my memory. In addition to refreshing my Mojave affections, my appreciation for Halstead’s solo works also increased as the performance went on – it’s easy to begrudge those solo records for not being Mojave 3 or Slowdive records, for not showcasing Halstead’s talents at crafting widescreen sonic landscapes, but that would ignore just how good a pure songwriter Halstead now is, and how he doesn’t necessarily need all that presentation to make beautiful and affecting music.

After closing the main set with a gorgeous, “Full Moon Rising” off of Palindrome Hunches, Halstead returned and soliciting more requests, addressed the Slowdive reunion question which he himself set up in August – fitting, since this was the city that hosted the final two Slowdive shows in 1994. And while I’d like to think that it was all part of a carefully planned campaign to lead up to an official return in the near future, his explanation that he was being interviewed at 7AM in China and that a Slowdive return had never officially been off the table but wasn’t necessarily any closer to a reality than it ever was seemed more likely; he closed the discussion by suggesting those really keen on it happening should petition Rachel Goswell for it to happen, and then for the first time since I’ve been seeing either him or Mojave 3 live – some 13 years – he played a Slowdive song. And then another. His solo acoustic arrangement of “Alison” had already surfaced thanks to the free tour EP at Noisetrade, but the rendition of “40 Days” was new to my ears and beautiful. The magic the man can work with just the addition of a delay pedal is remarkable; someone needs to hand him a Telecaster, stat. “Hi-Lo and In Between” from Sleeping On Roads closed the show after a good hour forty-five and Halstead bid farewell, at least until the next time.

The Singing Lamb also has a review of the show. Metro and The Philadelphia Inquirer have interviews with Halstead.

Photos: Neil Halstead, Jim Hanft with Samantha Yonack @ The Dakota Tavern – October 8, 2012
MP3: Neil Halstead – “Tied To You”
MP3: Neil Halstead – “Digging Shelters”
MP3: Neil Halstead – “Full Moon Rising”
MP3: Neil Halstead – “Paint A Face”
MP3: Neil Halstead – “Two Stones In My Pocket”
MP3: Mojave 3 – “In Love With A View”
MP3: Mojave 3 – “Return To Sender”
Video: Neil Halstead – “Hey Daydreamer”
Video: Neil Halstead – “Digging Shelters”
Video: Neil Halstead – “Elevenses”
Video: Neil Halstead – “Witless Or Wise”
Video: Neil Halstead – “Paint A Face”
Video: Neil Halstead – “Queen Bee”
Video: Mojave 3 – “Breaking The Ice”
Video: Mojave 3 – “Some Kinda Angel”
Video: Mojave 3 – “Love Songs On The Radio”
Video: Jim Hanft – “Television”
Video: Jim Hanft – “Superhero”

Gold Flake Paint and DIY have interviews with Frightened Rabbit, in town for a sold-out Mod Club show tonight.

Ellie Goulding goes over her new album Halcyon for Billboard. She brings it to the Sound Academy on October 14.

CBC Music talks to The xx, coming to Massey Hall on October 23.

Spinner interviews Natasha Khan of Bat For Lashes. Her new album The Haunted Man comes out October 23 and a six-song preview is now streaming at The Guardian.

Stream: Bat For Lashes / The Haunted Man sampler

Ritzy Bryan of The Joy Formidable talks to DIY about their new album Wolf’s Law, out January 23 of next year. They’re at The Sound Academy on November 25 supporting The Gaslight Anthem.

The Vaccines have a new vid from Come Of Age. They’re at The Phoenix on February 4.

Video: The Vaccines – “I Always Knew”

Muse will bring whatever ridiculous over-the-top live spectacle they dream up – think “The Wall” – for their new album The 2nd Law to the Air Canada Centre on April 9. NPR has a brief interview with the band.

Video: Muse – “Survival”

The National Post and Under The Radar have features on Two Door Cinema Club.

NPR has a World Cafe session and JAM and State interviews with Beth Orton.

Bloc Party have released a new video from Four.

Video: Bloc Party – “Kettling”

Echo Lake have put out another video from their debut Echo Lake.

Video: Echo Lake – “Another Day”

Billboard and BBC have features on Mumford & Sons.

Adele’s theme song for the new James Bond film Skyfall is now available to “watch” via lyric video. Which is kind of like the movie’s opening credits but with lyrics instead of credits and no silhouettes of femme fatales. It opens in North American on November 9.

Lyric Video: Adele – “Skyfall”

Austin City Limits is streaming their season premiere episode, featuring a little band called Radiohead.

Frank YangCambridge, England quartet Alt-J couldn’t have known how prescient they were when they named their debut album An Awesome Wave, as that’s pretty much what they’ve been riding through 2012. Released across the pond in May, it only came out over here officially this past Tuesday – timed to coincide with their inaugural North American tour – but in the interim that wave of buzz had quite definitively crossed the Atlantic, ensuring that arrived on these shores more like heroes than an act with something to prove.

For most, anyways. Despite being more than predisposed to bands possessing UK passports, the appeal of Alt-J largely escapes me. Or more accurately, I get why some people would like them; I don’t get why so many people like them. I’d have thought their oddly bloodless, art rock – which I’d liken to a celibate Wild Beasts or a very politely English Grizzly Bear – would find a niche audience at best, but somehow they’ve connected to such an extent that they’re the odds-on favourite to win the Mercury Prize at the start of November. And that’s basically why I was at Wrongbar on Wednesday night to catch their Toronto debut – how often do you get the chance to see the buzziest new act out of the UK play a small club? And perhaps they were amazing performers who would win me over live. You never knew.

It didn’t take much to figure out what openers JBM were about. Named for the initials of frontman Jesse Marchant, their game as slow, broody singer-songwriter material made interesting by tastefully sparse and atmospheric arrangements, mainly courtesy of their understatedly dextrous drummer. In the demerit column were the echoes of the sort of brooding that had been left behind in the ’90s but at least they’d had the good sense to trade their plaid flannels for some gothic country livery. A touch more dynamicism and variety would have gone a long way to offset their more plodding instincts and Marchant’s vocals aren’t really expressive enough to carry what its trying to, but alright for passing a half hour or so.

However the rest of Alt-J’s Toronto debut would go, it didn’t have the most auspicious start. Opening, as Wave does, with “Intro”, the audience heard less of their jangly, intertwined, out-of-phase fingerpicked guitar movements and more of booming feedback that it took them almost the length of the song to tame – lead singer Joe Newman might have commented on it but his mic was also basically inaudible. Everything was mostly under control by the time they reached the first ‘proper’ song of the set, “Tesselate”, and from that point forwards it was smooth sailing. Some might say too smooth.

One of the good things about Wave is how the band are able to take their combination of Newman’s strangely nasal voice, almost medieval-sounding group harmonies, and contrasting cloud-like guitar parts and whirring keyboards and envelop it all with a real sense of mysteriousness. Live, with the four young English lads going about their business and recreating the album with minimal fanfare or showmanship, that veil was lifted and it’s hard to argue the music was any better for it. Not that I could have convinced most of the people around me of that.

Just as I found the critical and popular response to Wave disproportionate to what I thought it offered, the enthusiasm of the audience more than made up for the band’s reserve. Not that they were literally freaking out – there’s no measure by which this was music for freaking out to – but they sang along loudly despite there not really being any obvious singalong parts in the songs, dancing without need for heavy or steady rhythms, and waving their arms in the air just because. “Matilda”, one of the few songs with a conventional chorus, was greeted like a stadium-scale anthem. Even though by this point they must be used to big crowds at home, Alt-J seemed taken aback by the response they were getting – though mostly unflappable, Newman lost his place in “Breezeblocks” after getting distracted by the fan reaction.

Playing for 45 minutes – no encore – and covering most of Wave, it was a solid enough show that gave fans what they wanted but wasn’t the sort of performance that would change minds or sway doubters – I left with basically the same opinion that I went in with, and I’d like to think that I was open to being convinced. That’s okay, though, because Alt-J have clearly convinced more than enough people already.

The Independent has a profile piece on Alt-J and their probably impending coronation as Mercury Prize champs.

Photos: Alt-J, JBM @ Wrongbar – September 19, 2012
MP3: Alt-J – “Breezeblocks”
MP3: Alt-J – “Hand-Made”
MP3: Alt-J – “Matilda”
MP3: Alt-J – “Tesselate”
Video: Alt-J – “Something Good”
Video: Alt-J – “Fitzpleasure”
Video: Alt-J – “Breezeblocks”
Video: Alt-J – “Matilda”
Video: Alt-J – “Tessellate”
Video: JBM – “On Fire On A Tightrope”
Video: JBM – “In A Different Time”

Filter, BBC, and Edinburgh Evening News talk to another arty British band whose debut is up for the Mercury, is about to get released in North America, and are playing Wrongbar soon – that’s Django Django, whose self-title is out next Tuesday, and who are at Wrongbar on September 29.

Spotify talks to Sam Halliday of Two Door Cinema club. They’re at Sound Academy on October 11.

NOW has an interview and Daytrotter a session with Patrick Wolf, who is at The Music Gallery next Tuesday – September 25. His new album Sunlight & Riverdark is already available digitally via iTunes and will get a physical release on October 16. The Guardian has a studio video performance of the new arrangement of “Teignmouth”, which originally appeared on his second album Wind In The Wires.

Stereogum talks to Natasha Khan of Bat For Lashes about her forthcoming record The Haunted Man. It’s out October 23 and a new song from it is available to stream.

Stream: Bat For Lashes – “All Your Gold”

Gaz Coombes has released a video from his solo debut Here Come The Bombs.

Video: Gaz Coombes – “White Noise”

NME has premiered the new video from Allo Darlin’, taken from this year’s lovely Europe.

Video: Allo Darlin’ – “Northern Lights”

Spotify interviews Hot Chip, who’ve just announced an expanded edition of their latest album In Our Heads. Exclaim has details on the double-disc set, due out on November 19.

Russell Lissack of Bloc Party talks to DIY about the band’s road from hiatus to Four.

The Fly profiles Toy.

It’s worth noting that I wasn’t even supposed to be at the Alt-J show – Wednesday night was supposed to be the night of I Break Horses’ triumphant return to Toronto… right up until they canceled the tour. The second of their three session videos for Room 205 is a little bit of comfort on that front.

Video: I Break Horses – “Hearts” (live at Room 205)

Huffington Post talks to Sarah Assbring of El Perro Del Mar, whose new album Pale Fire is out November 13.

The Line Of Best Fit talks to Efterklang. Their new album Piramida is out on Tuesday.

Daytrotter has a session with First Aid Kit, who’ve released a new video from The Lion’s Roar. They’re at The Danforth Music Hall on September 26.

Video: First Aid Kit – “Wolf”

A Music Blog, Yea finds out what Ida Maria has been up to.

From the El Mocambo to the Kool Haus in twelve months isn’t bad – Of Monsters & Men makes their third visit to Toronto in almost a year exactly when they hit the Kool Haus on November 15. Tickets $25 in advance. Update: And a second show has been added for November 16. Mental.

MP3: Of Monsters & Men – “Little Talks”

Tame Impala have released a video from their new album Lonerism. It’s out October 9 and they play The Phoenix November 12.

Video: Tame Impala – “Elephant”

The AV Club talks to Nick Cave about his screenwriting endeavours.