Catherine LosingFor The Records pointed out a curious concert listing for UK indie-dance act Friendly Fires at the website for Beggars Canada – it puts the St Alban’s trio in town on March 31, but only narrows the venue down to two possibilities – Mod Club or Lee’s Palace. So all I can accurately say is that they’ll be in Toronto at an approximately 500-capacity venue on that date. And wherever they are, odds of a dance party breaking out are pretty much one to one. Personally, I think that Mod would be a much more suitable venue – the ass-shaking, slick and scratchy new wave/disco goodness of their self-titled debut demands spectacle, which Mod’s famously over-the-top lighting system is equipped to provide. Lee’s doesn’t even have a disco ball.

MP3: Friendly Fires – “Jump In The Pool”
MP3: Friendly Fires – “Paris” (Aeroplane Remix)
Video: Friendly Fires – “Skeleton Boy”
Video: Friendly Fires – “Paris”
Video: Friendly Fires – “Jump In The Pool”
Video: Friendly Fires – “On Board”
MySpace: Friendly Fires

Toronto vibraphone mavens The Hylozoists will release their new album L’ile de Sept Villes on February 3 and showcase it at the Mod Club on February 21. Update: They’re also playing a Soundscapes instore on February 10 at 7PM. Here’s some older stuff.

MP3: The Hylozoists – “Smiley Smiley”
MP3: The Hylozoists – “Strait Is the Gate”

Marissa Nadler, whom I believe ended up cancelling her last scheduled date here last Summer, will try and pay us a visit again on April 21 at the El Mocambo. She has a new album due out early this year. Here’s some older stuff.

MP3: Marissa Nadler – “Diamond Heart”
MP3: Marissa Nadler – “Thinking Of You”

Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains are doing an in-store at Sonic Boom on January 29 at 7PM.

MP3: Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains – “American Names”
MP3: Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains – “By Cover Of Night (Fire Fight)”

Putting lie to the notion that bands can only play larger venues as they get bigger, Born Ruffians and Akron/Family have a date at Sneaky Dee’s on March 24. Tickets are $13 and on sale now.

Earlier yesterday Uncut speculated that the release of that Neil Young video for “Fork In The Road” implied not only the impending release of a new album with the same name, which may well be true, but to also mean that the Archives set has been pushed back indefinitely to accommodate. They’ve since been corrected with the same information that one of the official Archive-ists left on a post at Thrasher’s Wheat – “NYA Vol 1 has been completed in BD, DVD, CD and Digital Download editions. The only thing remaining is announcement of a street date”. Which is good news, though it does put lie to the February 24 release date that most had been clinging to. In short, there’s lots of material coming from Neil this year. Only no one knows what and when.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer interviews Kathleen Edwards, who is at Trinity-St Paul’s on February 13.

MP3: Kathleen Edwards – “Asking For Flowers”

The Quietus talks politics with Death Cab’s Nick Harmer.

Beirut have released a video from their forthcoming EP March Of The Zapotec, out February 17.

Video: Beirut – “La Llorona”

The Village Voice profiles Antony & The Johnsons. The Crying Light is out Tuesday and they play the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on February 17.

Muzzle Of Bees asks five questions of Los Campesinos!

The Decemberists are giving away a track from their forthcoming album The Hazards Of Love, out March 24. All you have to do is sign up to their mailing list. Colin Meloy was also on NPR’s World Cafe yesterday for an interview.

Clash talks to Kathy Foster of The Thermals, who will release Now We Can See on April 7.

The previously-mentioned untitled Bob Mould album also set for an April 7 release now has a title – Life And Times.

Filter talks to Ra Ra Riot, Daytrotter videotapes them playing in a park.

Pitchfork has an MP3 from M Ward’s Hold Time, out February 17. This track features the She to his Him, Zoey Deschanel, on vocals.

MP3: M Ward – “Never Had Nobody Like You”

Drowned In Sound solicits a mixtape from The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, the buzz around whom is growing at a pace that’s considerably larger than Neutral, the room they’re slated to play here in town on February 12. If you’re curious, an advance ticket may be a good idea. Their self-titled full-length is out February 3.

NPR has an acoustic session with The Hold Steady while Wireless Bollinger has an interview.

Former Grandaddy frontman Jason Lytle will return to active musical duty on May 19 with the release of his first solo record, Yours Truly, the Commuter.

Stefano GiovanniniDepending on how familiar you are with early-’90s American college rock, Gramercy Arms’ resume will either read impressively or anonymously. Led by former Dambuilders honcho Dave Derby, the New York-based outfit also boasts drummer Kevin March (also Dambuilders and the final lineup of Guided By Voices), guitarist Sean Eden (of the late, loved Luna), guitarist Hilken Mancini (Boston power-poppers Fuzzy) and bassist Rainy Orteca (also of Joan As Policewoman, who aren’t circa ’90s but whose Joan Wasser was also in the Dambuilders). So to say there’s many lifetimes of playing dingy clubs wound into their collective DNA would be an understatement, and that doesn’t even begin to include the number of guest stars who appear on their recordings.

But save for Derby and Manicini, none were ever frontpersons or even main songwriters for their respective bands so to expect Gramercy Arms to sound like any sort of amalgam of their histories would be unfair. And it’s just as well, because they really don’t. Their self-titled debut – released this past Summer in the UK and set for a March 3, 2009 domestic release – is like an east coast interpretation of west coast pop. The mood is light and breezy, but whether by design or circumstance doesn’t sound as sun-kissed as one might expect, nor as eccentric.

Those who come to the band from an affection for the participants’ past works may be somewhat disappointed at how conventional the power pop on offer is. For myself, if I wasn’t told that Sean Eden was on this record I probably wouldn’t have known from casual listening. His idiosyncratic guitar genius is mostly kept restrained, and was put to far better use with Elk City. But as stated above, it’s unfair to come to Gramercy Arms with such weight of expectation and taken for what they do, there’s still much to like for aficionados of guitar pop. But really, would one more ripping Eden solo have been too much to ask?

The Guardian made Gramercy Arms their band of the day back in June. And the band made a Christmas tune featuring Mascott’s Kendall Jane Meade on vocals. Grab it before it’s just so out of season that it’s awkward to listen to.

MP3: Gramercy Arms – “Automatic”
MP3: Gramercy Arms – “Looking At The Sun”
MP3: Gramercy Arms with Kendall Jane Meade – “This Christmastime”
MySpace: Gramercy Arms

The Acorn have put together a little holiday gift for their fans in the form of Ear Worms, a collection of 12 songs 30 seconds in length each, and Little Elms, a short 4-song EP. Both are available for free download at their website right now.

ZIP: The Acorn / Ear Worms
ZIP: The Acorn / Little Elms

Arcade Fire are offering a free download of an unreleased track in exchange for your email address.

Magnet reports that Bob Mould will be releasing a new solo album, still untitled, on April 7, and are going so far as to call it his best record since Sugar’s File Under: Easy Listening. That there’s some high praise – be interesting to see if its warranted.

New Jersey Springsteen/punk acolytes who’ve been popping up on no shortage of year-end lists, The Gaslight Anthem will be a the Opera House on March 20, tickets $15.50.

AOL Sessions is currently featuring an in-studio performance from Ryan Adams.

Spin asks tough questions of The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne. He also gives Exclaim! a list of reasons why Christmas is great, be it on Mars or wherever. And head over here to see some fun behind the scenes footage of the Lips’ recording of the NBC promo theme/jingle-thing. You know, the three notes thing. Whatever that’s called.