Last.fmSo apparently there’s this guy – based in Ohio but sings with an affected British accent, played in a band with his brother for a while, has a habit of writing amazing pop songs and recording them onto 4-track cassette and is worshipped by those in the know. I’m talking, of course, about Bill Fox. Why, who were you thinking of?

I actually can’t pretend to be one of those aforementioned “in the know”, however. Prior to a few weeks ago, the first I’d heard of Bill Fox was via the first sample of Nada Surf’s forthcoming covers record, if i had a hi-fi, and “Electrocution” offered a terrific first impression – both of the Nada Surf record and the songwriting talent behind that song. And then a copy of his 1998 record Transit Byzantium was forwarded on to me by the folks at Ottawa-based Kelp Records, both for my own musical edification and by way of invitation to help them celebrate their 16th anniversary.

Apparently the traditional 16th anniversary gift is silver holloware, but who doesn’t have enough of that cluttering up their homes? Instead, Kelp – who has been and still is home to such acts as The Acorn, Hilotrons and Jim Bryson, is marking their 16th by throwing a series of parties in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa, featuring Mr Bill Fox and a variety of Kelp friends and family. For my part, I’m pleased to be co-presenting the Toronto show which will take place on Wednesday, May 12, and feature sets by Andrew Vincent, Chris Page, Leif Vollebekk and of course, Bill Fox.

Obviously I cannot pretend that I’m anything resembling an old-school fan of Bill Fox or his old band The Mice, but my crash course in his story and works has been a wholly enjoyable one: The Mice are terrific scrappy power pop and Fox’s solo works more folkish and thoughtful but just as melodic. And so I’m happy to be able to associate my name with a Canadian label that’s been fighting the good fight for so long and a show that is no doubt bringing much happiness to those out there who ARE old-school Bill Fox fans. For a while Fox had dropped almost completely out of sight – his Wikipedia page more or less tells the tale – and while he’s now playing live more and his catalog is slowly being reissued courtesy of Scat Records, the man doesn’t really tour so this is, as they say, an opportunity.

Tickets for the Toronto show are $10 in advance. Grab a free sampler of Kelp artists at Bandcamp.

MP3: The Mice – “Not Proud Of The USA”
MP3: The Mice – “More Than I Can Talk About”
MP3: Nada Surf – “Electrocution”

Stereogum has premiered the new video from Born Ruffians’ forthcoming Say It, due out June 1. They play The Horseshoe on May 28.

Video: Born Ruffians – “What To Say”

The New Pornographers are streaming Together in its entirety at Exclaim, a week ahead of its May 4 release. They will be at the Sound Academy on June 15.

Stream: The New Pornographers / Together

School Of Seven Bells have finally put a release date on their second album, Disconnect From Desire. Pitchfork has the vitals on the new record, which will out on July 13.

Alison Mosshart of The Kills tells BBC 6 that their new record is more than halfway complete.

The Fly interviews James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, whose This Is Happening is out May 18 and who are at the Kool Haus on May 25. Slowly, but surely, I am starting to get LCD. It’s fun like parties, right? I get that.

Shout Out Louds are taking over the editors desk at Magnet this week as they gear up for their North American tour which brings them to the Mod Club on May 8.

Mew have released a typically weird new video from No More Stories.

Video: Mew – “Beach”

In concert news, the June 9 She & Him show has been moved from the Phoenix to the Sound Academy. I’m somewhat surprised at this, as the show has been sold out for well over a month and I figured if a move was in the offing, it’d have happened sooner. But so it is that Matt and Zooey will now be visiting in the most despised room in the city, but look on the bright side – it’s now all-ages so at least some of the 2000 more people who can attend won’t be very tall. And no, there’s no info on getting refunds because you have the new room. Sorry.

MP3: She & Him – “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?”

Their free record release show last week having been a huge (crushing) success, Plants & Animals will be returning for a June 24 show at the Opera House; unfortunately this one you have to pay for. They’re featured in The Montreal Mirror, The Montreal Gazette, Chart and The Toronto Sun.

MP3: Plants & Animals – “Tom Cruz”

Could one band who hasn’t been here in ages and another who just visited make up the bill of the Summer? When it’s The Flaming Lips and Spoon, maybe so. The pair will be at the Molson Amphitheatre on July 8 and considering the show starts at 6:45 and curfew is 11PM, it seems the Lips will finally be making up for their 15-minute V Fest set in 2006. Tickets go on sale Saturday at 10AM and range from $52.50 for GA floors (and the privilege of being in Wayne Coyne’s bubble walk route) to $29.50 for lawns (unlikely he’ll make it up there but you never know).

Video: The Flaming Lips – “Powerless”
Video: Spoon – “Written In Reverse”

The Swell Season will be coming back to town on July 12 for a show at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, tickets $39.50 to $42.50. It sounds as though Glen Hansard is getting The Frames out of mothballs for their 20th anniversary, so this could be your last chance to see him in a quieter headspace, not to mention Marketa Irglova.

MP3: The Swell Season – “In These Arms”

Ween are coming to town – look for them at the Kool Haus on July 20, tickets $35. Is it wrong that this is my favourite Ween composition?

MP3: Ween – “Where’d The Cheese Go?”

FacebookThere was welcome and unexpected news in the inbox yesterday morning with the announcement that Sarah Harmer was back. It didn’t seem like she’d been away that long, but now that I think about it, the last time I saw her in any context was at Wolfe Island in 2007 with the reunited Weeping Tile, and it’s been almost five years since the release of her last album I’m A Mountain. So June 22, when her latest effort Oh Little Fire arrives, can’t come soon enough.

Harmer has been a musical constant in my life for what seems like ever, right back to 1995’s Weeping Tile debut Eepee – her voice and songwriting are like the ultimate comfort food or like a warm blanket under a clear, starry Canadian night sky though, to my knowledge, I have never lain in a warm blanket under a clear, starry Canadian night. Advance word has it that this record is more aggressive and direct than the bluegrass-y I’m A Mountain, and the first single “Captive”, streaming on her homepage, certainly seems to bear this out – clearly she’s not forgotten how to plug in and (folk-)rock.

Live dates for the Summer are forthcoming, but she’s already been announced as one of the performers at this year’s Osheaga festival in Montreal, which I suppose should have tipped me off that she had something new in the works. There’s an audio interview with Harmer available over at Canadian Living.

MySpace: Sarah Harmer

Another former Polaris shortlister who’s been out of sight a little while but is planning a big 2010 is Kathleen Edwards. Though not away for as long as Harmer, it has been a while – Edwards’ last record Asking For Flowers came out over two years ago. A recent blog post proves she’s not been idle, though – amongst other things, she’s been working with John Roderick of The Long Winters on a project (detailed by Roderick last December in Paste) and is also gearing up to record album number four. To that end, she’s setting up residence at the Drake Underground in Toronto for three weeks to (sort of) road test the new material; she’ll be there for three nights over three weeks – April 20, April 27 and May 4 – and tickets for the intimate shows are $20 and available for sale at Maple Music.

MP3: Kathleen Edwards – “In State”
MP3: Kathleen Edwards – “Back To Me”

Pitchfork talks to Wolf Parade about their third album, now entitled Expo 86 and out June 29. Here and The Coast also talk to the band, who are at the Phoenix tonight, April 7.

Yours Truly has got a terrific video session with Land Of Talk, recorded last Fall on their US tour. They’re at Lee’s Palace on Thursday night.

Filter Q&As Plants & Animals. Their new record La La Land is out April 20 and they play a free show at the Horseshoe that evening.

Caribou’s new record Swim is now streaming in its entiretly at aux.tv, two weeks in advance of its April 20 release date. Caribou play the Phoenix on May 3.

Stream: Caribou / Swim

Head over to Stereogum to download the first MP3 from Stars’ forthcoming The Five Ghosts, due out June 22. They play The Mod Club on May 5, to which I still have passes to give away. And yes, your odds are pretty bad right now (relative to my usual contests), but someone’s gotta win!

Spinner and Chart chat with Weakerthans guitarist Stephen Carroll. They play the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on May 26.

Aquarium Drunkard catches up with Born Ruffians at SxSW. Their new record Say It is out June 1; they play the Horseshoe on May 28.

Crystal Castles are headlining something called the HARD Summer Tour, and will be causing mayhem at the Kool Haus on August 14. Their second album should be out this Summer.

MP3: Crystal Castles – “Untrust Us”

NME gets on board the Diamond Rings bandwagon, offering up an MP3 of his second single for download.

MP3: Diamond Rings – “Wait And See”

FFWD and JAM get to know Think About Life.

Q-Town talks to Mark Hamilton of Woodpigeon.

The Wilderness Of Manitoba have announced some details of their debut full-length album – it’s entitled When You Left the Fire and should be out this Summer.

The New Yorker puts Neil Young and Jonathan Demme together in a room to discuss the Neil Young Trunk Show live film.

The Line Of Best Fit has posted up their ninth “Oh! Canada” downloadable mix.

Broken BellsSo I’m sitting here on Wednesday night with a headache and a pile of links and no particular idea what I’m going to do with them. Got some contests and the last of the SxSW stuff to dole out over the long weekend, but for today, it’s gonna be one of those housecleaning posts.

Starting with the announcement of Broken Bells’ first North American tour, which includes a June 2 date at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto. The collaboration between workaholic producer Danger Mouse and Shins frontman James Mercer yielded a self-titled debut last month and while the little bit I heard of it at SxSW – from the street while they played in a parking garage – didn’t especially wow me, it’s been reasonably well-received and I feel like I should, as a Shins fan, at least give it a fair shake. The band’s set at the NPR showcase from SxSW is available to stream for anyone wondering how it translates live. Support on this tour will come from The Morning Benders, who themselves are presently on tour and will be in town at The Drake on April 14.

Video: Broken Bells – “The High Road”

Moving on to stuff coming through town over the next few months – Serena-Maneesh’s appearance tomorrow night has been moved from The Great Hall to the Drake Underground; appropriate since the Norwegians’ new record S-M 2: Abyss In B Minor was recorded in a cave. Cave? Underground? Get it? Bah.

Rolling Stone declares Swedes Love Is All to be “breaking” and talks to frontwoman Josephine Olausson. They bring their new record Two Thousand and Ten Injuries to the Horseshoe on Saturday night, April 3.

MP3: Love Is All – “Bigger, Bolder”

NOW, hour.ca and The Chicago Tribune interview The xx, in town at the Phoenix on April 4 and again at the Kool Haus on April 20.

In addition to two shows at Lee’s Palace next week – April 6 and 7 – the Drive-By Truckers will be doing an in-store across the street at Sonic Boom on the 7th at 5PM in what’s being billed as “Patterson Hood & Members of Drive By Truckers”. In other words, expect to see Hood with an acoustic guitar and a passel of songs, and maybe some of his bandmates will show up if they feel so inclined. I warn you though, Cooley, that if you try to stand on the monitors while taking a solo you WILL hit your head on the ceiling – you can have that one for free. Spinner has a chat with Hood about his Southern roots.

State and Owen Pallett, who plays the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on April 8.

Donewaiting interviews Fanfarlo frontman Simon Balthazar. They play Lee’s Palace on April 9.

Plants & Animals are celebrating the April 20 release of their second album La La Land with a free show at the Horseshoe that night. Beatroute has an interview.

The Province and The Montreal Gazette profile Dan Mangan, in town at the Horseshoe on April 22.

The Fly and MOG talk to Jonsi about his new solo record Go, which is due out next Tuesday. The whole album is currently streaming at NPR and he has two dates at the Sound Academy on April 30 and May 1.

Stream: Jonsi / Go

The Fly talks to Caribou main man Dan Snaith about his new record Swim. It’s out April 20 and he plays the Phoenix on May 3.

The Joy Formidable frontwoman Ritzy Bryan gives The Fly a sneak preview of their upcoming full-length follow-up to last year’s A Balloon Called Moaning; a record which is getting a North American release on May 4, the same day they play a free, sure to be awesome show at the Horseshoe. Strange Glue has the remainder of their North American tour dates.

Bad Veins have been added as support for Two Door Cinema Club’s show at Wrongbar on May 17. This will be their first time in Toronto, after their show with Now Now Every Children last Summer was snookered by a dead van. Spinner has an interview with the Cincinnati duo.

MP3: Bad Veins – “Gold & Warm”
MP3: Bad Veins – “Go Home”

The Sadies will celebrate the release of their new record Dark Circles with a show at Lee’s Palace on May 22; tickets $18 in advance. They’ll also be your Canada Day entertainment at Harbourfront Centre – July 1, yo.

Exclaim converses with John K Samson of The Weakerthans, who play the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on May 26.

Spin has a stream of a new song from the second Born Ruffians record Say It, due June 1, and they also note that there’ll be a show at the Horseshoe in Toronto on May 28.

German electronica duo Mouse On Mars have a date at the Drake Underground on June 1, though their next record isn’t due out until next year. Sometimes you just have to get out of the house, I guess.

Video: Mouse On Mars – “Actionist Respoke”

His two nights at the Drake Underground on June 11 and 12 will be super-cozy, but Robyn Hitchcock takes intimate a step further in this Black Cab Session.

Tiger Weekly talks to Ted Leo, who brings his Pharmacists to Lee’s Palace on June 26.

And now to the stuff not coming through town in the next while – Black Mountain frontman Stephen McBean gives Exclaim a sneak preview of their next album, tentatively entitled Wilderness Heart and due out later in the Summer.

Soundproof and Spinner talk to Mark Hamilton of Woodpigeon, who has offered a tribute to Alex Chilton in the form of a cover of “Thirteen”.

MP3: Woodpigeon – “Thirteen”

Bad Panda Records Q&A’s Great Lake Swimmer Tony Dekker and offers up a free live track to download.

MP3: Great Lake Swimmers – “Gonna Make It Through This Year” (live)

Woodhands have released a new video for the best tune – in my humble opinion – from Remorsecapade.

Video: Woodhands – “Dissembler”

The Line Of Best Fit and Drowned In Sound talk to Joel Gibb of The Hidden Cameras.

Tokyo Police Club have set a June 8 release date for their second album Champ and are giving away the first MP3 from it on their website; The Brock Press talks to keyboardist Graham Wright about the new record.

An acoustic version of one of the tracks from Bettie Serveert’s new record Pharmacy Of Love is up for grabs.

MP3: Bettie Serveert – “Semaphore” (acoustic)

Yours Truly has a video session with Taken By Trees.

4AD reports that Camera Obscura and Richard Hawley will be releasing a split-7″ on May 17 wherein the former covers the latter’s “The Nights Are Cold” while the latter remixes the former’s “The Sweetest Thing”. Clearly, I must have this.

NME reports that Glasvegas drummer Caroline McKay has left the band.

The Line Of Best Fit and The Fly have interviews with Laura Marling, whose I Speak Because I Can is out next week in North America, though for now it doesn’t appear there’s any vinyl edition of said album on the horizon. Bah.

Editors bassist Russell Leetch talks to The Line Of Best Fit.

djchampion.netCanadian Musicfest is almost upon us and, while I’d intended to hold off on preview-y things till next week, some of this just won’t keep. Actually, it probably would, but I needed something to post today and this needed to go out… so.

I’ll start, actually, with some giveaways. The typical way of doing CMF/CMW is via the wristband, which grants access to many of the clubs throughout the week, so long as it’s not at capacity, and in recent years the whole “limited wristbands” policy – which had been laughably token in the past – has gotten much better so that if you’re up for some late Winter club hopping, it’s a good value. Of course, for some the too-ing and fro-ing isn’t their idea of a fun time, so picking a spot and camping out is the way to go. For them, and courtesy of LiveNation and The Musebox, I offer the following giveaways for a pretty wide cross-section of acts coming to town next week for the festival.

Who: Champion & His G-Strings
What: Montreal dance/rock multi-threat showcases his latest album, Resistance
When: March 11, 2010
Where: The Guvernmnet
How: Three pairs of passes to give away – email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want be a Champion” in the subject line and your full name in the body before midnight, March 8
Video: Champion & His G-Strings – “Alive Again”

Who: Postdata
What: Soul-baring, stripped-down solo project from Wintersleep frontman released self-titled debut in January
When: March 12, 2010
Where: The Music Gallery
How: Three pairs of passes to give away – email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want be see Postdata” in the subject line and your full name in the body before midnight, March 8
MP3: Postdata – “Tobias Grey”

Who: Boats
What: Winnipeg quirky-pop quartet will release Cannonballs, Cannonballs on May 1
When: March 12, 2010
Where: Rancho Relaxo
How: One pair of passes and a copy of the CD to give away – email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want be ride Boats” in the subject line and your full name and mailing address in the body before midnight, March 8
MP3: Boats – “Chrome Eyelids”

Who: Milow
What: Belgian singer-songwriter does the sexy-sensitive thing on acoustic guitar.
When: March 13, 2010
Where: The Drake Underground
How: Three pairs of passes to give away – email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want be see Milow” in the subject line and your full name in the body before midnight, March 8
MP3: Milow – “You Don’t Know”

Not giveaways but still CMF-relevant:

Spinner, Subba-Cultcha, The Line Of Best Fit, The Brooklyn Rail and The Quietus interview The Besnard Lakes, whose new record The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night is out on Tuesday and currently streaming at Spinner. They play an in-store at Criminal Records on March 10 at 6:30PM and the Horseshoe on March 11 at 12:10AM.

Stream: The Besnard Lakes / The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night

Chart tries to get The Wooden Sky excited about playing Canadian Musicfest by asking them stock questions. They play the Horseshoe at 11PM on Saturday, March 13.

Spinner talks to Fucked Up about their plans for SxSW and make a guest list for Pitchfork. They’re at the El Mocambo on March 10 to kick off CMF and have also made some very early demos from CIUT, the University Of Toronto radio station, available to download for free.

The Brock Press has an interview with The Acorn wherein frontman Rolf Klausener discusses their new record No Ghosts, set for release in June. They are at Lee’s Palace on March 12.

Plants & Animals have released a first video from La La Land, due out April 20. They play Lee’s Palace on March 12 and the Indie Awards on March 13.

Video: Plants & Animals – “The Mama Papa””

NOW puts Zeus on this week’s cover. They’re playing an instore at Soundscapes tomorrow at 6PM and will be at Lee’s Palace on March 10.

Ca Va Cool interviews The Balconies while Toro has a studio session. They’ve got an in-store at Criminal Records on March 12 at 6PM and play the Horseshoe at 9:20PM on March 13.

eye and The Brock Press have features on Born Ruffians, who will release Say It on June 1. They’re at the Opera House on March 14.

And not participating in Canadian Musicfest but still Canadian music:

Owen Pallett has released the first official video from Heartland and has made available for sale the complete orchestral score of the album – perfect for aspiring Owen Pallett cover orchestras. The Line Of Best Fit has an interview with Pallett, who plays the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on April 8.

Video: Owen Pallett – “Lewis Takes Off His Shirt”

Chart has details on the sophomore effort from Tokyo Police Club, entitled Champ and still awaiting a release date.

Chris GergleyOne of my very favourite developments in the Toronto music scene over the past few years has been the rise of the in-store performance – whereas not so long ago there were maybe just a handful a year, they’re now occurring all the time at most of the independent record stores in the city and featuring bigger and bigger acts. Not only is it giving fans the opportunity to see artists in an intimate setting, it’s also often the only chance for underagers to see them live. And while I’ve often bemoaned the lack of a day show culture during either of the two major music festivals during the year, in-stores have done a good job of adding that extra layer of excitement to the official proceedings, with most stores hosting at least a few events during the weeks of festivities.

And Criminal Records is doing a good job of keeping that trend going through this year’s Canadian Musicfest. In addition to the triple-bill of Aidan Knight, Dan Mangan and Hollerado on Saturday March 13, announced last week, they’ve landed The Besnard Lakes to perform on March 10 at 6:30PM, their first show post-release of their new record The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night the day before. Their official festival showcase goes the following night, March 11, at the Horseshoe at midnight. Jace Lasek of the band talks to The Fly, Chart and Exclaim about the new record, which is epic. But with the Besnards, epic kind of goes without saying.

MP3: The Besnard Lakes – “Albatross”

Further, their Friday night lineup will kick off at 5PM and feature locals faves The Balconies and Calgary’s Ghostkeeper. The Balconies’ official Canadian Musicfest show is at 9:20PM the Horseshoe on Saturday night while Ghostkeeper can be found on the 11th at Bread & Circus at 11PM and the 12th at The Garrison at 8PM.

MP3: The Balconies – “Serious Bedtime”
MP3: Ghostkeeper – “By Morning”

And a reminder that Kurt Vile is playing at Criminal tonight at 6:30PM. eye, hour.ca and NOW have interviews.

Not presently hosting anything during CMF but also not being left out is Sonic Boom, who’ve got some different but exciting fare lineup next week. On March 3, time TBA, they’ll have Malian legends Tinariwen in the house and the next evening at 6:30PM, Tuvan throat singers Huun Huur Tu will perform. Admission is free with the donation of a canned good. Tinariwen will be at the Phoenix on March 4 and Huun Huur Tu will be at the Mod Club on March 5. The Province has a feature piece on Tinariwen.

Video: Tinariwen – “Lulla”

Soundscapes’ upcoming in-store schedule has only one entry, but it’s a good one – Zeus on March 6 at 6PM. They’re the co-cover boys of this month’s Exclaim, alongside sometime bandleader and tourmate Jason Collett, while Metro has a piece on Zeus alone. Both are at Lee’s Palace on March 10.

Filter has some initial impressions of Born Ruffians’ new album Say It, due June 1 on Paper Bag in Canada and Warp elsewhere – check out the first MP3 below. They’ve got a show at the Phoenix on March 14.

MP3: Born Ruffians – “Sole Brother”

CBC, Vue, FFWD and The Gateway profile Basia Bulat.

PopMatters has not one but two interviews with The Hidden Cameras.

Singing Lamb chats with Gentleman Reg.

The Music Slut asks 8 questions of Fucked Up’s Damian Abraham. They play the Opera House tonight.

California girl Best Coast, recently named by Paste as one of the “Best Of What’s Next”, is hitting the road and has a date at The Garrison on April 13. We All Want Someone To Shout For has an interview with Beth Cosentino.

Los Angeles post-rockers Red Sparrowes are at The Garrison on April 17 presenting their new album The Fear Is Excruciating, But Therein Lies The Answer, which is out April 6.

MP3: Red Sparrowes – “Giving Birth To Imagined Saviors”

Dead Meadow have a date at Lee’s Palace on April 22. Their new record/soundtrack/film Three Kings is out March 23.

MP3: Dead Meadow – “I’m Gone”
MP3: Dead Meadow – “What Needs Must Be”

With the Sex Pistols reunion perhaps providing diminishing returns, John Lydon has kicked Public Image LTD back into gear. A North American tour has been announced and brings them to the Kool Haus in Toronto on May 7.

Video: Public Image Ltd – “(This Is Not A) Love Song”

Massive Attack are bringing their latest Heligoland across the pond for a North American tour which will kick off with two nights in Toronto at the Sound Academy, May 7 and 9. On the 8th, they will be going to Dave & Busters to play skee-ball.

Video: Massive Attack – “Paradise Circus”
Video: Massive Attack – “Splitting The Atom”

Thee Silver Mount Zion will take their new record Kollaps Tradixionales out on tour with a stop at Lee’s Palace on May 29, tickets $15.

MP3: Thee Silver Mount Zion – “I Built Myself A Metal Bird” (Live VIdeo Version)

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers will play the Air Canada Centre on August 25 with Crosby Stills & Nash. I’ve never seen Tom Petty live. I should do something about that. Their new album Mojo is due out this Spring.