Keith KlenowskiWhile 2010 was unquestionably the year of The National with the release of their breakout record High Violet, the band haven’t been entirely quiet this year, continuing to tour and also releasing a couple of new tracks for soundtracks to various things. One of them was for Portal 2, which I’m led to understand is a video game; I’m still working on finishing Super Mario Bros so I’ll have to take your word for it.

But rather than just put the song out there, the band and game producers made a proper single of it and enlisted fans to create and submit videos for the slow-burning, piano-led song and out of the 320 entries, chose two they found to be standouts – one featuring a sad lip-synching sock puppet and another animated in theme with the game – and awarded them first and 1.00000000001th place, with prizes awarded to both. The second place entry and other notable clips are available to view at the Portal 2 website.

MP3: The National – “Exile Vilify”
Video: The National – “Exile Vilify” (1st Place)
Video: The National – “Exile Vilify” (1.00000000001th Place)

Girls have released a video for the first single from their forthcoming album Father, Son, Holy Ghost. It’s out September 13 and they play The Mod Club on the 27th of the month.

Video: Girls – “Vomit”

Warpaint are re-releasing their 2010 debut The Fool in an inevitable deluxe edition come September 19, in the UK at least. The bonus incentives include the entirety of their 2009 EP Exquisite Corpse – which is absolutely worth hearing, even if it features actress Shannyn Sossamon on drums rather than current powerhouse Stella Mozgawa and also a re-recorded version of Billie Holiday, which is available to stream at Wears The Trousers. The Galway Advertiser has a feature piece on the band.

Paste has put tUnE-yArDs on the cover of their latest electronic edition of their magazine. She plays Lee’s Palace on September 24.

The London Evening Standard profiles Annie Clark of St. Vincent. Her latest Strange Mercy is out September 13.

Cowbell has an interview with Stephen Malkmus, whose new album with The Jicks Mirror Traffic is out August 23. They play The Phoenix on September 21.

One-time Guided By Voices member and rock journalist James Greer has posted recollections of the time GBV were being courted by Warner Bros to his blog.

MTV talks to Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn about the decision to make a solo record, as he is for release in early 2012.

Into The Woods has a video session with Okkervil River wherein they perform the B-side to their “Rider” single; the A-side of their new single is now available to download – the 7″ of which comes with another new song as the B-side – stream that one at Pitchfork.

MP3: Okkervil River – “Your Past Life As A Blast”

NPR has a World Cafe session with Jason Isbell while The Corner News and The Emory Wheel.

A new MP3 from Blitzen Trapper’s forthcoming American Goldwing is now available to download. The album is out September 13 and they play The Opera House on October 30.

MP3: Blitzen Trapper – “Love The Way You Walk Away”

Ryan Adams has confirmed an October 11 release date for his new solo record Ashes & Fire; Spin has details on the album and some of the guests who’ll make appearances.

Blurt reports that Calexico are assembling a vinyl box set of their many, many (eight in total) tour-only releases. Entitled Road Atlas, the collection is being targeted for a Fall release.

NOW talks to Dayve Hawk of Memory Tapes, taking the stage at Wrongbar tomorrow night around midnight.

Singer-songwriter Sean Rowe returns to town for a show at The Rivoli on September 9, tickets $11.50 in advance.

MP3: Sean Rowe – “Jonathan”

Spinner talks to Marissa Nadler, who has announced a Fall tour that brings her back to town for a show at the El Mocambo on September 13 with Irish singer-songwriter Vincent James McMorrow. She’s promoting her self-titled album, released earlier this Summer and has just put out a new video.

MP3: Marissa Nadler – “Baby I Will Leave You In The Morning”
Video: Marissa Nadler – “Alabaster Queen”

With their second album Dracula set for a September 20 release, Portland’s Nurses have made a date at The Drake Undergroudn for October 19.

MP3: Nurses – “Fever Dreams”

iTunesThere aren’t many better out there than Calexico at crafting covers that do the originals justice while becoming wholly their own – after all, not many others out there have their secret recipe of southwestern (musical) herbs and spices to work with. They don’t just save them for the live setting, either – more than a few of their reinterpretations have been recorded and officially released.

This includes their take on Arcade Fire’s “Ocean Of Noise”, a song they have some extra familiarity with having contributed the horns on the Neon Bible original. They later recorded a version of the whole song and it clearly met with the writers’ seal of approval – Arcade Fire released it as the b-side to their 2007 “Intervention” single.

Calexico are in town for a show at the Phoenix on July 22, and are about due for a new record though no formal announcement about a release has been made. Arcade Fire will release their long-awaited third full-length The Suburbs on August 3 and follow that up with a show on the Toronto Islands on August 14.

MP3: Calexico – “Ocean Of Noise”
Video: Arcade Fire – “Ocean Of Noise” (live)

Gerald von ForisWho: Calexico
What: Veteran Arizonan outfit evokes the sounds of the southwest by combining rock, country, folk and Tejano styles like no one else
Why: Despite not releasing a new record since 2008’s Carried To Dust, Calexico are so good of a live act they don’t need an excuse to go out and tour. But it’s probably safe to assume a new record is in the pipe.
When: July 22, 2010
Where: The Phoenix
Who else: Elliott Brood support
How: Tickets are $22.50 in advance but courtesy of Collective Concerts, I’ve got three pairs of passes to give away for the show. Email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “Yo quiero Calexico” in the subject line (yes I use that every time I run a Calexico contest but it still amuses me) and your full name in the body before midnight, July 20.
What else: Mass Live talks to Calexico’s Joey Burns and there’s a complete live album available download at CASH Music.

MP3: Calexico – “Two Silver Trees”
Video: Calexico – “Two Silver Trees”

MySpaceIt’s bad form, but I’m generally too lazy to type out the HTML special characters that properly render things like accents or other non-English written language goodies, but in the case of The Dø, I’ll make an exception – one usually only reserved for the mighty umlaut. Partly because failing to do so reduces French-Finnish duo’s brief yet memorable name to something utterly forgettable (though either way they’re going to have to accept that it’s going to be mispronounced), but also because the slashed o – “ø” – just looks so cool.

And that coolness factor does raise some expectations for the act that would trade under said character, expectations that they largely deliver on if you rate oddness highly. It’s hard to describe what The Dø do – their debut album A Mouthful encompasses a wide range of styles, dwelling where folk, jazz and hip-hop intersect at pop. The ensuing melange is catchy yet discomfiting, with Olivia Merilahti’s plaintive vocals – capable of coo or caterwaul – providing an uneasy anchor and with multi-instrumentalist Dan Levy’s cinematic background making for a widescreen yet intimate effect that can be just as unsettling. A Mouthful is a accessible in that it lets you in easily, but once inside you may not ever be able to figure out exactly where you are.

A Mouthful was released in Europe in 2008 and became the first English-language album to top the French charts. It only received a North American release last month, though bolstered with a handful of bonus tracks by way of apology, and come this Fall they’ll follow it up with a North American tour that includes a September 11 date at The Mod Club.

MP3: The Dø – “At Last”
MP3: The Dø – “Tammie”
Video: The Dø – “At Last”
Video: The Dø -“On My Shoulders”
MySpace: The Dø

Phoenix frontman Thomas Mars tells Spinner they have no time for side projects – they’re too busy playing Tiny Desk Concerts for NPR.

And moving from the French portion of the post – yes it was brief – to the “just announced”: LEAF – which stands for “Local Enhancement & Appreciation of Forests” – will hold their fourth annual celebration of preserving the urban forest with a show at the Wychwood Barns featuring two local acts who, at least by their names, share the same appreciation of flora and possibly fauna. That’d be Forest City Lovers and The Wilderness Of Manitoba, both of whom have new records out soon – Carriage on June 29 and When You Left The Fire on June 22, respectively. Tickets for the show are $25 in advance, full details on the event over here.

MP3: Forest City Lovers – “Light You Up”
MP3: The Wilderness Of Manitoba – “Hermit”

Minus The Bear will be in town at the Mod Club on July 4 in support of their new record OMNI; Black Book has an interview with singer Jake Snider.

MP3: Minus The Bear – “My Time”
Video: Minus The Bear – “My Time”

One of the acts I kept hearing people talk about at SxSW this year was Los Angeles’ Pepper Rabbit, though I never managed to see them play. And now that they’re coming to town on July 6 for a show at the Drake Underground… I still not make it seeing as how I’ll have just gotten back in town the day before.

MP3: Pepper Rabbit – “Red Wine”

I don’t think they’ve been through town any time in recent memory – certainly not since I acquired one of their band wristbands for admission to SxSW 2006 (it’s okay, they got paid) – but Phosphorescent will finally be in Toronto on July 10 for a show at the Horseshoe. Their new record is Here’s To Taking It Easy and pretty well captures the spirit of Matthew Houck’s laid-back, feel-good country-rock.

MP3: Phosphorescent – “It’s Hard To Be Humble (When You’re From Alabama)”
MP3: Phosphorescent – “The Mermaid Parade”
MP3: Phosphorescent – “A Picture Of Our Torn-Up Praise”

Calexico will be in town on July 22 for a show at the Phoenix with Elliott Brood as support. Calexico haven’t put out an album since 2008’s Carried To Dust; it’s not unreasonable to assume that touring implies a new record is on its way. Or it’s just folk festival season. Tickets for the show are $21.50 in advance.

MP3: Calexico – “Two Silver Trees”

The Stills – who recently welcomed original singer-guitarist Gregory Paquet back into the fold – have a date at the Horseshoe on July 29, tickets $20 in advance.

MP3: The Stils – “Being Here”

Heaviness will ensue when Boris and Russian Circles roll into Lee’s Palace on August 9.

MP3: Boris – “Farwell”
MP3: Russian Circles – “Malko”

So people have been waiting for ages for Justin Vernon to come back to town… and they’re going to get their wish – but not in the way they might have thought. He’s hitting the road this Fall but not as Bon Iver – that’s still on the shelf – but as part of Gayngs, a supergroup of sorts featuring members of Bon Iver, Megafaun and The Rosebuds, amongst others. Their mandate is funky, sexy slow jams and if that sounds completely at odds with what you’d expect from those involved… well it is. The album is called Relayted and the Autumn tour stops in at The Phoenix on October 1, tickets $20.

MP3: Gayngs – “The Gaudy Side Of Town”
MP3: Gayngs – “Faded High”
Video: Gayngs – “Cry”

Frank YangI couldn’t offer any excuse for not discovering Bishop Allen sooner when I finally got around to reviewing their album The Broken String back in December, but maybe I could have just said “I hadn’t seen Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist yet”. Apparently the exposure gained from an appearance in said film has done wonders for the Brooklyn band’s profile and helped explain why the El Mocambo was so healthily full on Saturday night, despite yet another snowstorm. Ideally I’d like to chalk it up to the fact that they’re just a great pop band, but that’s probably expecting too much from the world.

Somewhat unusually, the local support was slotted between the two touring acts so up first was Electric Owls, the new project of Andy Herod, formerly of The Comas (though that outfit is technically just on hiatus right now). I’d seen that outfit some years back and had a copy of their Conductor record for a while, so I knew that Herod was a decent pop singer and songwriter, traits carried forward to his new incarnation. He played acoustically, both solo and occasionally accompanied by full arrangements on a laptop and it was the latter that made the best impression – Herod’s compositions are definitely at their best when buoyed by the proper accompaniment, even of the canned variety. Even so, his set was enjoyable and delivered with a goodly dose of humour and the polish of someone who’s been at it for a while.

In comparison, Toronto’s Hooded Fang came out with both the enthusiasm and slight awkwardness of an outfit that was still wet behind the ears. The co-ed six-piece outfit were unrelentingly peppy, swapping both instruments and lead vocalists from song to song. They also traded musical styles almost as much, initially to their detriment as it they sounded more like a mixtape than a band with an actual identity. But about midway through their set, things suddenly seemed to snap into place and what had been a liability now felt like a strength. A little more focus wouldn’t be a bad thing, but they’re onto something. We’ll see how much progress they make in a month when they play one of the Wavelength anniversary shows on February 14 at the Polish Combatants Hall.

The short tour two months before the release of Bishop Allen’s new album Grr… (out March 10) was obviously intended to road-test the new material, but it didn’t seem like the band wanted to make too big a deal of it – they got the new material out of the way early and only really seemed to get their glee on when they started into the old. The new stuff sounded very much in the jaunty pop vein of the old, and will surely require time spent with the recorded versions to properly appreciate the lyrical richness at which the band excels – it’s so easy to overlook that facet of things when everything is so melodic and wonderfully hooky even without having to listen closely.

As for the old, some of my favoured slower numbers from String were omitted from the set list, but it’s hard to argue with the selections that were aired as they got the band bouncing around the stage (or in the case of singer Justin Rice, showing off his running man proficiency), enlisting Andy Herod back onstage to generally help make a racket and just generally putting on a power pop party. The final two songs, the raucous “Middle Management” wrapping the main set and the beauteous “Flight 180” as the encore were the perfect way to finish things off – the former being the one from the movie and the latter the most cinematic. While it’s true that I’ve only spent a couple of months now with The Broken String, but it’s quickly worked its way into heavy rotation for exactly the reasons noted above and I can add being a terrific live band into the list of reasons to enjoy Bishop Allen. It’s not so much that they do anything new or outrageous, it’s just that like their songwriting, they do it exceedingly well and with such joy.

Photos: Bishop Allen, Hooded Fang, Electric Owls @ The El Mocambo – January 17, 2009
MP3: Bishop Allen – “Click, Click, Click, Click”
MP3: Bishop Allen – “Middle Management”
MP3: Bishop Allen – “Like Castanets”
MP3: Bishop Allen – “Rain”
MP3: Bishop Allen – “Things Are What You Make Of Them”
MP3: Bishop Allen – “Eve of Destruction”
Video: Bishop Allen – “Click, Click, Click, Click”
Video: Bishop Allen – “Middle Management”
MySpace: Bishop Allen
MySpace: Electric Owls

Clash, Rolling Stone and Paste talk to Antony Hegarty of Antony & The Johnsons. They’ll play the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on February 17 and have just released a new video from The Crying Light, which was released yesterday.

Video: Antony & The Johnsons – “Epilepsy Is Dancing”

Muzzle Of Bees interviews Gary Louris & Mark Olson – you know, saying both their names is a bit of a mouthful. They need to come up with something a little more compact, more memorable. How about… The Jayhawks? No? Just thought I’d put that out there. Ready For The Flood is out next week and they play the Mod Club on February 4.

Filter thinks you ought to know Calexico… but you already do, right?

Animal Collective have announced their world tour in support of the much gushed-over Merriweather Post Pavilion and the Toronto date will bring them to the much-beloved Sound Academy on May 16. Did I say beloved? I meant reviled. The album is currently streaming at Spinner and I may tune in just to see what all the hubbub is about.

Stream: Animal Collective / Merriweather Post Pavilion

Also on the stream is Grand, the new album from Matt & Kim. Pitchfork and Metromix have interviews with Matt, Black Book talks to Kim.

Stream: Matt & Kim / Grand

And you can also listen to the whole of You And I from Cut Off Your Hands, out yesterday and reviewed last week.

Stream: Cut Off Your Hands / You And I

Magnet follows up last week’s announcement that The Wrens were getting back to work on album number four by ringing up Charles Bissell.

MTV has dollops of casting news about the Scott Pilgrim film, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World. Joining Michael Cera and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim, Ramona Flowers) are a whole pile of people who I won’t pretend to know (besides Brandon Routh from Superman Returns). But the news of progress on the film is very exciting, and according to the AV Club, shooting is set to begin in March here in Toronto. Which still doesn’t answer the question of whether Toronto will actually be portraying Toronto in the film. It would be fun if they actually shot the requisite scenes at Sneaky Dee’s and Lee’s Palace, though. Anyways, volume five of the Scott Pilgrim chronicles – Scott Pilgrim Vs. The Universe – is out February 4. Update: Thanks to Scott (Pilgrim?) for pointing out the photo gallery in the comments, and in particular this cast collage. I’d actually thought for a second about doing one myself, but realized that it’d be a lot of work and probably suck. So I didn’t. But based on this, the casting does indeed look terrific.

You see what I did there? Started with a Michael Cera reference, ended with a Michael Cera reference. Mad skills, I tell ya.