Amber AlbrechtIt seems almost appropriate that there don’t exist any current photographs of Reverie Sound Revue – like a unicorn or your mythical creature of choice, many have never heard of them, those who have probably don’t believe they exist (anymore) and even those who believe will probably never get to bear witness with their own eyes, the odds of seeing them together and out in the wild ranging from slim to none.

Originally formed way back in 2002 in Calgary, the quintet released a self-titled EP in 2003 that largely flew under the radar but ensorcelled those fortunate enough to have heard its shimmery charms. Built on a bed of dreamy, delay-laden guitars and led by the vocals of Lisa Lobsinger – inflected by jazz but dedicated to pop – the outfit captured the sound of morning in the city, filled with the promise of the day. And, of course, they then split.

The members then drifted apart to various locales around Canada, seeking their various fortunes. Lobsinger, most notably, took the daunting role of being the first to step into the lady vocalist role in Broken Social Scene not named Amy, Emily or Leslie. And while immense geographic distances usually do a good job of keeping things that are broken apart, the band decided that it would be the perfect time to get things going again and officially re-formed in 2005, utilizing the wonders of modern technology to craft an album together, each from their own respective home bases.

But even with technology, things can only move so quickly under such circumstances so its taken four years to reach today, or more accurately six weeks and a bit from today – June 23 – when Reverie Sound Revue will finally release their self-titled debut. A bit of a wait for those who’d discovered, forgotten and re-discovered the band in the past six years or so but somehow still worth it. Their sound was distinctive and fresh, while still classic and timeless, the first time around and listening to the new record it’s remarkable that there’s still not really anyone that’s done what they do. There are shades of Ivy, Phoenix and Saint Etienne but without the overt Euro-ness that those reference points probably imply. Instead, the Reverie sounds slightly removed from time and place – the perfect soundtrack for anywhere you might find weekends, sidewalks and early morning dew.

In advance of the album’s release, the band’s 2003 EP will be getting released digitally on May 26. And there’s no plans for the band to re-commence playing live so if you’re smitten with them – and you will be – you’d do well to gather up as much of their recorded output as possible and just put it on repeat.

MP3: Reverie Sound Revue – “Rip The Universe”
MP3: Reverie Sound Revue – “An Anniversary Away”
MP3: Reverie Sound Revue – “Arrows”
Video: Reverie Sound Revue – “An Anniversary Away”
MySpace: Reverie Sound Revue

Laundromatinee has a session with Great Lake Swimmers, available in video and downloadable audio form. Chart talks to Tony Dekker about the band’s upcoming Summer tour itinerary.

NXEW interviews Two Hours Traffic.

I’m not sure when this got released but Land Of Talk have made a video for the title track of their album Some Are Lakes. A smattering of live dates have shown up on their MySpace, which gives hope that Liz Powell has recovered from the throat surgery that sidelined the band through most of the year so far. I also wonder if that means she’ll be with Broken Social Scene at their Olympic Island gig on July 11.

Video: Land Of Talk – “Some Are Lakes”

When I was able to premiere the new Lucky Soul single back in March, hopes were that the new album (tentatively titled Dark Times Ahead) would be out by June. As it’s now May and apparently October is looking more likely. Ack. I guess I’ll just have to keep playing “Whoa Billy” over and over and over again until then. Okay. Soundproof and Sweeping The Nation have interviews with the band.

MP3: Lucky Soul – “Whoa, Billy”

Also highly anticipated and targeted for an October release is Bonfires On The Heath, the new album from The Clientele. Alasdair Maclean talks to Pitchfork about how the next one might be their last. Noooooo.

You Ain’t No Picasso interviews Noah & The Whale.

Fever Ray, aka Karin Dreijer Andersson and the she-half of Swedish electro duo The Knife, was originally slated to play The Phoenix on May 25 but the Spring tour is now a Fall tour and instead, look for her at the Kool Haus on October 2.

Video: Fever Ray – “When I Grow Up”
Video: Fever Ray – “If I Had A Heart”

Jason Lytle has released a new video from his debut Yours Truly, The Commuter, out May 19.

Video: Jason Lytle – “I Am Lost (and the Moment Cannot Last)”

Adelaide Now and Interview interview Chairlift.

Sigur Ros’ live film We Play Endlessly is streaming this week over at PitchforkTV. Sigur Ros frontman Jonsi Birgisson will release the self-titled debut from this side-project Riceboy Sleeps on July 20.

Video: Sigur Ros / We Play Endlessly
Video: Riceboy Sleeps – “All The Big Trees”
Video: Riceboy Sleeps – “Daniell In The Sea”

Spinner has an Interface session and The Boston Globe an interview with Cut Off Your Hands.

thekills.tvWhile I’m very much on record as believing The Kills’ 2008 release Midnight Boom to be a superb album, I’m sure part of that was due to the fact that it was the first Kills record I’d heard. Their reputation to that point was as a garage-blues-scuzz-punk rock duo and that’s not generally my thing, so discovering them to be – at least on that record – all those things but also exceedingly pop was a most pleasant surprise. But this shift in direction, while garnering new fans like myself, probably cost them some as well. Such is the karmic balance of the universe. And with the reissue tomorrow of their debut album Keep On Your Mean Side, The Kills that those long-time fans fell in sleazy lust with is fully on display.

Whereas Boom had me wondering how the duo would recreate all the sounds and textures in a live setting (answer: quite well), there’d have been almost no such question circa Mean Side. Besides some basic drums, Mean Side is all about VV, Hotel, two guitars and a healthy dose of sneering attitude. The prevailing aesthetic is loose and raw, like delta blues by way of The Velvet Underground, and made noteworthy by Jamie Hince and Alison Mosshart’s remarkable presence. The songs aren’t all that memorable individually, but collectively they create a definite atmosphere – gritty, grimy and driving – and while what they’re doing isn’t exactly fresh, their execution and charisma commands attention.

Or it did, circa 2003. Since then, The Kills have taken their sound and gone downtown, less juke joint and more nightclub but most importantly, still seedy. I’m not sure what the impetus for this reissue is, and according to this interview with hour.ca neither does Hince, but the most obvious answer is to capitalize on the success of Boom and perhaps get new fans to pick up the old stuff and use the five bonus tracks to reel in some of the older ones. To the former, it’s far enough removed from where they are now to offer another fix while waiting for album four and to the latter, five extra tracks – one new song, one dictaphone piece and three covers – probably isn’t enough to justify the expenditure but either way, there it is.

The Kills are at The Phoenix on Thursday night, May 7, and courtesy of Against The Grain and Outside Music, I’ve got one prize pack to give away consisting of a pair of passes to the show and copies of both Midnight Boom and the Keep On Your Mean Side reissue on CD to give away. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want The Kills” in the subject line and your full name and mailing address in the body. Contest closes at midnight tomorrow night, May 5.

And for this week only, PitchforkTV is streaming the 2005 Kills tour documentary I Hate The Way You Love.

MP3: The Kills – “Black Rooster”
MP3: The Kills – “Cat Claw”
Video: The Kills – “Fried My Little Brains”
Video: The Kills: I Hate The Way You Love
MySpace: The Kills

Ear Farm and Billboard interview Thomas Mars of Phoenix, who will release Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix on May 29 and follow that up with a show at The Phoenix on June 15.

Each Note Secure talks to Aaron Pfenning of Chairlift.

Blurt, Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly talk to Flaming Lip Wayne Coyne about the absurd controversy over their “Do You Realize?” being named the Oklahoma state song.

Beirut’s Zach Condon gives Filter a guide of Santa Fe, New Mexico. They have a date at the Phoenix on July 9.

If you didn’t know, the June 12 Malajube show at Lee’s Palace is free, tickets at Rotate This and Soundscapes and also at the door. Don’t ask why, just go.

The Brother Kite continue to work on the much-anticipated follow-up to Waiting For The Time To Be Right, and a sneak preview of some of the new material in progress can be heard at Bandcamp. And unsurprisingly, it sounds marvelous.

New York Magazine and Decider interview Natasha Khan of Bat For Lashes.

Deer Tick have a date at the Horseshoe for July 17. Their new album Born On Flag Day is due out June 23.

MP3: Deer Tick – “Easy”

This tweet from Labrador certainly seems to imply that we’ll see a new EP from The Radio Dept this Summer in advance of the release (fingers crossed) of Clinging To A Scheme this Fall. Alls I know is that in less than two weeks, I’m going to be in New York City to see the reclusive Swedes live for the first time and I am stoked. And also for Shake Shack. Stoked for Radio Dept and Shake Shack. And Coney Island. I think I’m going to go to Coney Island.

Still not sure if I’m going to make it out to see Thao With The Get Down Stay Down at the Bowery Ballroom the night I get in, though. Will play that one by ear. There’s an interview with her at the Idaho Statesman.

The National Post has an extensive feature piece on Scott Pilgrim, both the comic and the film, and gets creator Bryan Lee-O’Malley to identify and annotate various locales around Toronto that play roles in the comic and will, presumably, make appearances in the film. Filming is ongoing around the city right now and video blog entries on the film’s website now number four.

And a reminder that the Toronto Comic Arts Festival will take place this coming weekend at the Toronto Reference Library at Yonge and Bloor (another Pilgrim location!) and feature appearances from both Lee-O’Malley and Phonogram artist Jamie McKelvie. Issue two of The Singles Club finally came out last week, by the way, and was worth the wait though that shouldn’t be taken as permission for issue three to take another five months to put together, no sir.

Amanda SchenkThe Sadies have no shortage of experience in the role of backing band, having worked with the likes of Neko Case, Robyn Hitchcock and Jon Langford in addition to carving out their niche with their unique blend of country, rock, punk and psychedelic influences. John Doe has no shortage of experience fronting bands, most famously with Los Angeles punk legends X but also with country outfit The Knitters, to say nothing of his impressive solo career. So that the two parties would opt to work together on a record initiated, as Doe recalls, by “a drunken promise or threat” seems like a match made in country heaven.

Though Country Club, the resultant album, may have been conceived in a rather off the cuff manner, the execution is far from haphazard – quite the contrary, it’s a decidedly smooth and polished effort. The Sadies are as absurdly tight as ever – I think they’re genetically incapable of being sloppy – but stay largely in the background across the collection comprised mainly of old country covers, allowing Doe’s richly weathered voice to take centre stage. Doe and The Sadies favour a casual, back porch vibe on this record, focusing more on croony, country weepers featuring Doe and a variety of lady duet partners, including Kathleen Edwards. Foreknowledge of the tunes isn’t necessary – besides the Sadies original “Before I Wake”, I only recognized Johnny Cash’s “I Still Miss Someone” and the Hag’s “Are The Good Times Really Over For Good” – just an appreciation for the hurtin’ side of country. Anyone looking for raucous, boozed-up jams should keep on walking; everyone else, grab a peer, pull up a stool and sit a spell.

And if you feel so inclined to do just that, Doe and The Sadies will be entertaining guests at the Horseshoe this Thursday night, April 30, and courtesy of Against The Grain and Outside Music, I’ve got a couple prize packs consisting of a pair of passes to the show and a copy of Country Club to give away. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to join The Country Club” in the subject line and your full name and address in the body and get that in to me by 7AM, April 29 (morning deadline what?). And, if you either don’t win, can’t make it or just need more Doe and Sadies in your musical diet, they’ll be doing an in-store at Sonic Boom Thursday evening at 7PM. Anyone who was at their in-store there back in November 2007 knows that the wood-paneled setting is perfect for the Good brothers and that unplugging them makes them no less fearsome a band.

Stream: John Doe & The Sadies / Country Club
MySpace: John Doe & The Sadies

Reuters talks to Steve Earle about his forthcoming Townes Van Zandt tribute record Townes, due out May 12.

Clash interviews Jason Lytle, whose new solo record Yours Truly, The Commuter is out May 19.

Billboard verifies that Wilco will release their new album on June 30. Unconfirmed is that the record, the band’s seventh, will be self-titled. How meta would that be – Wilco the band releases Wilco the album which contains “Wilco The Song”. Update: Rolling Stone confirms: Wilco (The Album) out June 30. Huzzah!

Chairlift has an Interface session with Spinner.

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart have released a new video, just in time for their show at Lee’s Palace tonight. There’s interviews with the band at The Ithaca Journal, The Cornell Daily Sun, New Haven Advocate and Hartford Courant.

Video: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Young Adult Friction”

Interview interviews Beach House, who will be part of the Olympic Island concert taking place at the Toronto Islands on July 11.

British Sea Power will release their new album, a soundtrack for the 1933 documentary film Man From Aran, on May 18 and there’s now an MP3 from the soundtrack and a trailer for the film. The band are already at work on their fourth proper studio album – Noble gives NME a progress report.

MP3: British Sea Power – “Come Wander With Me”
Trailer: Man From Aran

Another Dears b-side is up for grabs. They’re at the Mod Club on Thursday evening.

MP3: The Dears – “Crisis 1 and 2”

It’s Metric week at Drowned In Sound, and they lead off their coverage with a track-by-track annotation of Fantasies by Emily Haines and a five-part serialization of the The Rawside Of… docu-feature. One part a day, the first one is here.

Dog Day have rolled out new video to go along with the release of their new album Concentration. They’ve got a date at Lee’s Palace on May 28.

MP3: Dog Day – “Rome”
Video: Dog Day – “Happiness”

Malajube have announced some Canadian dates including a June 12 show at Lee’s Palace.

MP3: Malajube – “Porte Disparu”

Annabel MerhanMs Annie Clark – St Vincent – will release her second album Actor in a couple weeks on May 5, and while I’m a bit reluctant to invoke the “Disney-esque” adjective that so many other early reviews have, I must admit that it really is appropriate.

The way that Clark’s trilling voice delivers melodies that skip and soars overtop richly-appointed arrangements, you could imagine these songs soundtracking any animated Disney film (or all of them, since they’re pretty much identical). Of course, you’d have to work in a few scenes of fast-cut ultra-violence to accommodate the moments when her buzzsaw-toned, guitar-shredding interludes makes their appearances, but hey – that’s what the kids are into these days.

The combination of conventionally pretty and so-wonderfully-abrasive-they’re-pretty textures seem like they could get gimmicky, but Clark does it so naturally and guilelessly that you can’t imagine she’s doing it just to be contrary or to muck things up for the sake of muckery. This is actually how she hears things unfolding in her head, and we’re just fortunate to be able to share in the experience along with her. I quite liked St Vincent’s debut Marry Me, but with the way the follow-up is more focused without giving up the adventurousness or eccentricity that defined the debut, I think I’m already well on the way to liking record number two even more than the first.

Billboard talks to Clark about the creative process for Actor, while For Folk’s Sake had a phone interview with her earlier this week wherein they covered topics including the record’s striking cover photo, favourite current bands and her adventures on Twitter. St Vincent has live dates scattered throughout the Summer, but nothing that brings her up this way yet. Perhaps we’ll be able to welcome her to Toronto come Fall.

MP3: St Vincent – “The Strangers”
Video: St Vincent – “Actor Out Of Work”
Stream: St Vincent / Actor

Drowned In Sound and The Winnipeg Free Press have interviews with Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Fazer talks to Emily Haines and Jimmy Shaw of Metric.

Alison Mosshart talks to Billboard about balancing her main gig as frontwoman for The Kills with her new project with Jack White, The Dead Weather. Mosshart was taken to hospital during a gig in Denver earlier this week but she’s alright and The Kills will still be at the Phoenix on May 7.

And the band touring with them, The Horrors, have just released a new video from their new record Primary Colours. Couldn’t have let it out a couple days ago to line up with my review of the record, eh? Metro has an interview with the band’s frontman, Faris Badwan.

Video: The Horrors – “Who Can Say”

Tracyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura lists off her favourite things for Pitchfork. See? Just because she so rarely smiles doesn’t mean she doesn’t like stuff. Camera Obscura are at Lee’s Palace on June 27.

NOW and The Boston Globe talk to Chairlift, in town tomorrow night for a show at the Phoenix.

Billboard discusses Romanian Names, out May 19, with John Vanderslice.

Blurt talks to Mark Olson.

NOW and The Minneapolis Star-Tribune profile M Ward, who has a show at the Phoenix on Monday night.

Robyn Hitchcock offers Paste his thoughts on The Decemberists. They’re at the Kool Haus on August 3.

Baeble Music has a video interview with Great Lake Swimmers, who have a show at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre tomorrow night.

Alejandro Escovedo returns to Toronto on June 16 for a show at Trinity-St Paul’s with Joseph Arthur.

Frank YangJust a week after seeing Bruce Peninsula jam Soundscapes to the gills for a rousing in-store, the store again played host to an act intent on cramming a lot of band into not a lot of space. This time, it was The Hylozoists and while the ensemble was hardly small with six members, it was their equipment – in particular the dual vibraphones – that took up the majority of the real estate.

The Hylozoists are generally known as “that vibraphone band”, and while that’s not an inaccurate description – the instrument is very central to their sound – it’s also fails to do justice to the scope and sweep of their sound. It’s far more enticing to go with something along the lines of, “that band that creates soundtracks to lost ’60s European art films, all elegance and majesty and bursting with texture, atmosphere and melody. And they have a vibraphone”. Listening to them play – and it’s really unreal how good a live sound they were able to get with just a portable PA – you’d be hard-pressed to not close your eyes and imagine yourself in some exotic and exciting locale, engaged in some manner of illicit adventure or grand romance.

The occasion for the show was the recent release of their new album L’Ile de Sept Villes, which somehow manages somehow to even out-lush their last effort, La Fin Du Monde – no mean feat. The band are playing a handful of dates around southern Ontario throughout this month, including a February 21 date at the Mod Club – if you can, hit up one of the shows and be taken away somewhere besides a dark and slushy southern Ontario in February.

The Guelph Mercury talks to head Hylo Paul Aucoin about finding inspiration for the new album.

Photos: The Hylozoists @ Soundscapes – February 10, 2009
MP3: The Hylozoists – “Smiley Smiley”
MySpace: The Hylozoists

eye pays tribute to Wavelength on the occasion of the music showcase’s ninth anniversary and start of its final year. The celebrations start tonight, run through the weekend and were covered here last month.

JAM, Metro, The Ottawa Citizen, The Coast and Chart talk to Jenn Grant about her new record Echoes while The National Post gets some Valentine’s Day insight from her. She plays and early show at the Mod Club tonight and will be at the Reverb on March 14 for CMW.

Prefix interviews AC Newman and Pitchfork is streaming his cover of a-Ha’s “Take On Me”. He plays Lee’s Palace on March 11.

Neko Case talks to Reuters about Middle Cyclone, due out March 3. And if you were hesitating on either of her shows at Trinity-St Paul’s on April 17 and 18, consider yourself lost – both are sold out.

Malajube have rolled out a video from their new album Labyrinthes. They’re at the El Mocambo on March 12 as part of CMW and The National Post has an interview.

Video: Malajube – “Porté Disparu”

Mobius Band want to be your Valentine again. As they did last year, they’re making an EP of romance-themed cover songs available for free off their website tomorrow.

Chairlift talk to NME about the forthcoming major label re-release of their debut Does You Inspire You?, which will come with two extra tracks when it arrives in April. They play The Phoenix on April 25 with Peter Bjorn & John.

Billboard and American Songwriter talk to Jason Lytle about coming back to music with Yours Truly, The Commuter. It’s out on May 19.

Mark Olson and Gary Louris discuss their reunion with PopMatters and The Free-Lance Star.

SoundProof interviews Cut Off Your Hands, set to play the Horseshoe on March 30.

The Quietus has details on the first batch of 5.1 surround-sound Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds reissues, due out March 30 in the UK and presumably April 1 in North America.

You can currently stream the whole of the War Child: Heroes compilation, due out February 24, over at the project’s MySpace.

Stream: War Child: Heroes

The Quarter Bin recaps the Scott Pilgrim panel with Bryan Lee-O’Malley at last weekend’s New York Comic Con, including info on the film which is set to begin filming here in Toronto at the end of March. Mary Elizabeth Winstead, aka Ramona Flowers, is already in town and MTV has a photo of her – or her hair and eyes, at least – getting in character.