Frank YangSince the schedule for SxSW was announced way back in March, I had one particular showcase circled and immutable on my schedule – Echo & The Bunnymen at Rusty Spurs on the Saturday night. One of the perks of attending SxSW is the opportunity to see big bands in venues much smaller than they’d normally play, and though the Liverpool legends were playing some bigger shows during the festival, the opportunity to see them for the first time in a tiny Texan gay cowboy bar was too good to pass up. And while that show was fine, it was a mild disappointment relative to my tremendous expectations. I had somehow wanted an arena-scale show in a club-scale setting (even though Echo & The Bunnymen have never really achieved arena-scale success), and they delivered a good club-scale show. Classic songs for sure, but considering I heard that some of their larger shows during SxSW were epic, I had to think that maybe they were a band who played up – or down – to their environs.

From that point of view, it followed that this past Tuesday night’s show at the very proper Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto would be something special and the promise of an orchestrally-enhanced reading of the band’s highwater mark Ocean Rain all but clinched it. It had to be a fantastic show – it promised too much to not be, and considering the high ticket price, the 1000 or so folks in attendance would rightfully be expecting one. The show was divided into two sets, the first for “the hits” and the second for the Ocean Rain recital, and the former was largely as advertised, leaning heavily on their early material – their debut Crocodiles comprised a third of the set list – but also including highlights from the post-reunion records. Some might think that pulling two from their latest record The Fountain to be excessive, but the fact is that lead single “I Think I Need It Too” was one of the highlights, not least of all because it was written with lead Bunnyman Ian McCulloch’s reduced vocal range in mind.

Ah yes, the voice – let’s get that out of the way right now. PopMatters is correct when they suggest that Mac’s voice is a rough, gravelly shadow of the magnificent instrument it once was. He can’t hit those notes anymore, occasionally wheezes where once he bellowed and as such, some of those indelible melodies have been rejigged to accommodate the new reality – the chorus of “Bring On The Dancing Horses” now bows where once it soared. But the songs remain as potent as ever and Mac delivered them with a swagger and charisma that went a good way towards compensating for the years – and I mean that vocally, not physically. Echo & The Bunnymen live is a most stationary experience, with McCulloch’s repertoire of stage moves consisting of standing still at the mic, getting a drink of water and occasionally crouching down. But back to the voice – as I mentioned in the review of that show back in March, he still has reserves of that old power that he can tap into at key moments, as he did in the chorus of “The Cutter” and in doing so, by god, turned the clock back a quarter century for a few, brief shining moments.

The reading of Ocean Rain, however, was one sustained 40-minute shining moment. Supported by a 10-piece (I think) string section, Echo & The Bunnymen made a fine case for it as one of the best records of the ’80s and anyone hearing “Silver”, rendered as majestically as it was on this night, would have great difficulty coming up with an argument against it. It’s true that strings applied injudiciously can render songs cheesy or overly pompous, but here they were just perfect – if anything, they made me wish for more and wonder what these shows must have sounded like with full orchestras at the Royal Albert Hall or Radio City Music Hall. Performing in front of projected black and white images of the band in their youth, their crystal days, the proceedings had a lovely, elegiac tone and felt as much like a tribute from McCulloch and guitarist Will Sergeant to their former bandmates, the retired Les Pattinson and late Pete De Freitas. If there was any complaint, it was that the suite ran too short but the record clocks in at under 40 minutes – there’s not a lot that can be done about that, short of calling for an impromptu orchestra jam and no one wants that.

Though they could have justifiably called it a night after that – there’s no way to top the album’s title track as a finale – they still returned for a two-song encore, finally ending the almost two-hour show (including intermission) with “Lips Like Sugar”. Finally, this was the grand, epic Echo & The Bunnymen show I’d been hoping to see. If you get the chance to see them, choose the grandest venue possible and if they promise to bring the strings, don’t dare miss it.

The Toronto Sun, Chartattack, Exclaim and eye have reviews of the show while The National Post considers the trend of bands performing classic albums in their entirety, using Echo & The Bunnymen as a case study. You can also grab a track from the new record over at RCRDLBL, in addition to the one linked below.

And yes, the photos from the show are nigh pointless – Mac hates light, and the folly of it all was compounded by having to shoot from the back of the theatre. But that’s okay, I got him good back in Austin to check those out if you want to see how well he’s aged.

Photos: Echo & The Bunnymen @ The Queen Elizabeth Theatre – October 20, 2009
MP3: Echo & The Bunnymen – “I Think I Need It Too”
Video: Echo & The Bunnymen – “The Killing Moon”
Video: Echo & The Bunnymen – “Bedbugs & Ballyhoo”
Video: Echo & The Bunnymen – “The Cutter”
Video: Echo & The Bunnymen – “The Game”
Video: Echo & The Bunnymen – “Seven Seas”
Video: Echo & The Bunnymen – “Bring On The Dancing Horses”
Video: Echo & The Bunnymen – “In The Margins”
Video: Echo & The Bunnymen – “It’s Alright”
Video: Echo & The Bunnymen – “Back Of Love”
Video: Echo & The Bunnymen – “Lips Like Sugar”
MySpace: Echo & The Bunnymen

Out digitally this month in line with the UK release, Editors’ new one In This Light & On This Evening will get a proper physical North American release on January 19 and will yet-to-be-specified bonus material not available on the UK release. This news comes the day my import of the UK release arrives, of course.

altsounds talks to Charlotte Hatherley about her new record New Worlds. Stereogum also has a new song from the record available to newsletter subscribers and a brief chat with Charlotte about the tune.

The Quietus has an interview with Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine and walks away unimpressed. Massive commenting ensues. Florence plays the Mod Club on November 2.

Paste catches up with Alasdair Maclean of The Clientele.

The Daily Growl solicits a list of seven songs from Rose Elinor Dougall.

Spinner talks to The Horrors.

eMusic and Interview have features on El Perro Del Mar, who’s just released a new video from her latest album Love Is Not Pop. She opens for Peter Bjorn & John at the Phoenix on November 11.

Video: El Perro Del Mar – “Change Of Heart”

Chartattack, The Detroit News, Metro and NOW chat with The Raveonettes. They’re at the Phoenix tonight.

HeroHill gets five funky stories from Iceland’s Sprengjuhollin, who have two dates in Toronto this weekend – Saturday night at the Rivoli and Sunday at Rancho Relaxo.

Frank YangThe second half of last week was one of those stretches where it seemed like there were a half-dozen things going on at the same time, each of which would under normal circumstances be a no-brainer as far as attendance was concerned but instead, would require some painful sacrifices. And so it was that after shooting the first three songs of Wilco’s set at Massey Hall, I bolted for Lee’s Palace to catch The Horrors. Some/most would call this madness, but I had Wilco tickets for the following night (which itself called for passing on the School Of Seven Bells Show – ouch) and I had already missed seeing The Horrors back in May and grown fonder of their latest record Primary Colours in the interim.

Also filed under the incentive column was the rather poorly-disguised fact that one of the openers was going to be reigning Polaris Music Prize winners Fucked Up. They’d already announced they’d be playing a secret show that week and the listing of a band called “Polaris Pricks” that otherwise didn’t exist pretty much sealed the deal. Seeing them play the Polaris Prize gala was my first exposure to the Fucked Up live experience and while it was as entertaining and chaotic as their reputation promised, it was still only one song so I was looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, they seemed to be consciously on their best behaviour and shenanigans were kept to a minimum. Fortunately, they were still loud and fast and there were some even minimum shenanigans equals some shenanigans. Singer Damian Abraham clambored around on the Lee’s Palace railings and speaker cabs, shed his shirt (of course) and frolicked in the crowd in the way that rather large, shirtless men frolic. I’ve listened to The Chemistry Of Common Life a few more times since the Polaris win but still have trouble distinguishing one song from the next, but that’s alright – it was still entertaining to witness. I expect they’ll more than compensate for the lack of carnage on this night when they host their annual Fucked Up Fest at various venues around the city at the end of the month.

The Horrors were largely an unknown quantity to me prior to their current record, but I was aware that most of the critical praise heaped at Primary Colours came with a healthy amount of incredulity that such an album could have come from a band that was previously not taken very seriously, to say the least. But the past is the past and all that was really relevant was that the new record is good and they no longer dress ridiculously. I’d also been told that they liked to play in total darkness and really didn’t move at all – both thankfully incorrect, though the latter far moreso than the former. No, their show was actually pretty animated and intense, feeding and feeding off an enthusiastic audience I didn’t know they had. Sonically, they did a fine job of reproducing the haze of metal shavings abrasiveness of Geoff Barrow’s production job, giving the brooding some extra juice for the stage, and while it could be argued that they overplayed the rock theatrics a bit, particularly frontman Faris Badwan’s lurching and grimacing (though being as tall and gangly as he is, the lurching may have been perfectly natural), it suited the dramatics of the material and the overall tone of the show. The encore pulled the energy levels up higher and felt looser and more naturally unhinged – seeing as how it was made up of (presumably) all older material, it whipped their already frothy fans into an even greater frenzy. Obviously they’ve accepted the band’s newer shoegaze-inspired sound but still love them some goth-punk. Yeah I know I missed a great Wilco show for this, but I think I came out alright in the end as well.

The Horrors are releasing a non-album single entitled “Whole New Way” on 7″ on November 3 and have just released a video for it and The National Post has an Q&A with Faris Badwan. Hearty has an interview with Fucked Up bassist Sandy Miranda.

Photos: The Horrors, Fucked Up @ Lee’s Palace – October 14, 2009
MP3: The Horrors – “Sea Within A Sea”
MP3: Fucked Up – “No Epiphany”
Video: The Horrors – “Whole New Way”
Video: The Horrors – “Mirror’s Image”
Video: The Horrors – “Who Can Say”
Video: The Horrors – “Sea Within A Sea”
Video: The Horrors – “She Is The New Thing”
Video: The Horrors – “Gloves”
Video: The Horrors – “Count In Fives”
Video: The Horrors – “Sheena Is A Parasite”
Video: Fucked Up – “Crooked Head”
Video: Fucked Up – “Black Albino Bones”
MySpace: The Horrors
MySpace: Fucked Up

State and The Independent have interviews and Uncensored a video chat with The xx. NPR is also streaming a World Cafe session with the band, who make their Toronto debut at the Phoenix on December 2 alongside Friendly Fires.

Under The Radar has an interview and Dirty Laundry a video session with The Twilight Sad.

Drowned In Sound meets The Big Pink. You can do likewise at Lee’s Palace on November 29.

PitchforkTV is streaming for this week only the Bat For Lashes documentary short film Two Plus Two, which documented the making of her new record Two Suns. The deluxe edition of the record, which includes said doc on DVD and a second disc containing eight bonus tracks, will be out on November 3.

Video: Bat For Lashes: Two Plus Two

Florence & The Machine have released a new video. She’s at the Mod Club on November 2.

Video: Florence & The Machine – “You’ve Got The Love”

Lily Allen also has a new vid.

Video: Lily Allen – “Who’d Have Known”

Spinner’s Interface has a session with Little Boots, who also has a new video out.

Video: Little Boots – “Earthquake”

My Old Kentucky Blog and Pitchfork talk to The Clientele.

Mumford & Sons have unveiled video number two from album number one Sigh No More.

Video: Mumford & Sons – “Gentlemen Of The Road”

The Yorker has an interview with Noah & The Whale, whose in-store at Criminal Records on October 31 has been moved up – way up – to a noon hour start. And that evening’s show at the Horseshoe has been dubbed “Night Of The Living Dead”, with attendees invited to come dressed as their favourite dead celebrity. I look forward to spending the evening surrounded by bad Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett lookalikes.

Drowned In Sound has a the third part of Fanfarlo’s tour diaries, which Black Cab Session features a session recorded way back at SxSW in March and Clash solicits a list of “Top Ten Tracks to stalk around a Norwegian Forest”. Fall North American dates are still trickling in, but the fact that they’ll be in Minneapolis in mid-November and Boston in mid-December implies a long stay, hopefully with a Toronto date in there somewhere.

Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit tells The Popcop that their breakout record The Midnight Organ Fight wasn’t the one he wanted to make and he likes the new one, due out in the new year, much better. Give the first single and video a listen and judge for yourself, if you can disregard the shabby audio quality.

Video: Frightened Rabbit – “Swim Until You Can’t See The Land”

Glasvegas talks to Spinner about their plans to track album number two in Los Angeles

Arctic Monkeys have released a new video from Humbug.

Video: Arctic Monkeys – “Cornerstone”

BBC reports the future of Bloc Party appears in doubt, with the band canceling dates on their current tour so drummer Matt Tong can get medical attention and a lack of interest in his part on returning when it’s all sorted. Sad news if it’s true, because Intimacy is not the note any band wants to go out on.

James Dean Bradfield of Manic Street Preachers talks to Under The Radar about their decision to use Richey Edwards’ lyrics for Journal For Plague Lovers.

Spinner talks to Bad Lieutenant principal Bernard Sumner. Their debut Never Cry Another Tear is out November 10.

Interview and The San Francisco Examiner have interviews with Echo & The Bunnymen’s Ian McCulloch. They’re at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre tomorrow night for an orchestrally-enhanced performance of Ocean Rain.

Pitchfork discusses bands that are not The Smiths with Johnny Marr.

richardhawley.co.ukRichard Hawley is one of those rare artists for whom when I’m in the mood to hear their stuff, I can reach for pretty much any one of their records and it will hit the spot. It helps that there’s not really anyone else out there doing what he does these days – lush, romantic pop drawn from a pre-Beatles era, deeply beholden to the early days of American rock and rockabilly and yet undeniably English, all delivered with his rich baritone and incomparable guitarwork. At his best, Hawley is heart-rendingly beautiful and luckily for his fans, he’s rarely not at his best.

Don’t take my earlier comment about not caring which Hawley record I hear as meaning they’re indistinct or interchangeable, though. For while he has remained largely consistent in style throughout his solo career (early jobs included stints with The Longpigs and Pulp), each album has its own definite character and his sixth record, Truelove’s Gutter, is no exception. While 2007’s Lady’s Bridge was a more extroverted affair – string-laden, infused with a sense of whimsy and containing a couple of romping singles – Gutter steps off the streets and into the parlour, an altogether more intimate record and at the same time, even bigger than its predecessor.

Though the record continues Hawley’s tradition of naming his records for landmarks in his hometown of Sheffield, the imagery it evokes is also appropriate to the emotional content within. Love is the album’s running theme, but not necessarily in the glossy romantic sense – instead it looks at the reality of it, fraught with rejection and regret, weariness and wariness, melancholic without giving way to cynicism and still given to moments of tenderness. Hawley (or his characters, at least) has been through the wringer and yet still believes enough to get back up. The record’s production and arrangement contributes to this darker, more introspective mood. Each of the eight songs flows effortlessly into the next and it largely eschews the big-band approach in favour of a more atmospheric one, suffused with esoteric instruments you may not necessarily hear but certainly feel. It’s a thing of beauty, but then it’s a Richard Hawley record. Of course it is.

The California Chronicle, The Sheffield Telegraph, The Guardian and The Scotland Herald all have features on Hawley while Magnet solicited a Q&A with the artist in exchange for making him guest editor for the week – already their website has been privy to Hawley’s musings on topics such as The Velvet Underground, The 13th Floor Elevators and John Steinbeck.

Video: Richard Hawley – “For Your Lover, Take Some Time”
Stream: Richard Hawley / Truelove’s Gutter
MySpace: Richard Hawley

One of the best bits of news I’ve heard in a while came yesterday in the form of a dispatch from Leeds’ Sky Larkin – namely that they were giving away a new digital single entitled “Smarts” and that they were embarking on a North American tour this Fall – that includes a Toronto date! They’ll be at the Cameron House on October 28 with Peggy Sue and while I missed their Toronto debut supporting Los Campesinos! in April, I did see them at SxSW so I know what I speak of when I say they will destroy the place. In the very best sense.

MP3: Sky Larkin – “Fossil, I”
MP3: Sky Larkin – “Molten”
MP3: Peggy Sue – “Lover Gone”

And speaking of Los Campesinos!, with Aleks Campsinos! returned to civilian life and college, they’ve enlisted the younger sister of frontman Gareth to take her place. They made a fun little video introducing Kim Campesinos! to the world.

Ear Farm talks to The Clientele, whose new album Bonfires On The Heath is out October 6 but is streaming in its entirety now at Merge. There’s also a new video of the band performing this Summer at Merge XX and bassist James Hornsey assembled a mixtape for NYLON.

Stream: The Clientele / Bonfires On The Heath

Hull Daily Mail chats with Mumford & Sons, whose debut Sigh No More is out October 5 in the UK.

Anyone who enjoyed the God Help The Girl album be aware – a 5-song EP of all new material was quietly released at the end of last month. You can find Stills as a 10″ single or as a download.

Fanfarlo are interviewed by Music Snobbery and declared “ones to watch” by Clash. They’ve just wrapped a short US tour but will be back – to New York at least – for CMJ. Hopefully they’ll do some more dates while they’re over here.

NOW profiles Arctic Monkeys. They’re at the Kool Haus on September 29.

Drowned In Sound has a two-part interview with Editors. In This Light & On This Evening is out October 12.

In talking to NME, Doves reveal that they don’t expect to have a new album out before 2012, but will be releasing a best-of compilation sometime between now and then.

Spin and Pitchfork talk to Bernard Sumner of Bad Lieutenant, who have released the first video from their debut Don’t Cry Another Tear, out October 12.

Video: Bad Lieutenant – “Sink Or Swim”

Clash and Express & Star have features on Ian Brown, who will release My Way on Monday. There’s a video for the lead single which he tells BBC was originally intended for Rihanna.

Video: Ian Brown – “Stellify”

Artrocker talks to Ian McCulloch and The Dumbing Of America to Will Sargent about Echo & The Bunnymen’s new album The Fountain, out October 12. They’ll be at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre performing Ocean Rain orchestrally on October 20. Update: Just got an MP3 of the first single from the new record!

MP3: Echo & The Bunnymen – “I Think I Need It Too”

MySpaceI should be packing for my trip to New York City instead of blogging, so I’m just a-gonna clear out a pile of stuff that had been gathering over the last little while. Y’understand.

And what better way to begin than with a second taste of what is one of my most-anticipated new records of the Autumn – Bonfires On The Heath from The Clientele. It was exciting enough that Stereogum premiered the new MP3 yesterday, but I was over the moon later in the day when a digital promo of the album – not out till October 6 – showed up in my inbox. I’m not gloating, honest.

“Harvest Time” is a slow, sepia swoon bidding farewell to the Summer with the band’s signature tremolo-ed arpeggios and is a fine counterpoint to the jauntier first-released MP3, “I Wonder Who We Are”. Together they’re a good representation of the loveliness that resides behind this also-lovely album cover. Expect further gushing as I immerse myself in the record with further listens, but know that if it’s true this record will be the band’s last, they go out on a true high note.

There will be touring to support, but don’t expect the band on these shores before mid-Winter. Or so I’ve been told.

MP3: The Clientele – “Harvest Time”
MP3: The Clientele – “I Wonder Who We Are”

The Daily Mail gets to know Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine. Her debut Lungs is out in North America on October 13.

Spinner and The Wrexham Chronicle talk to Noah & The Whale frontman about the heartache that inspired their second album First Days Of Spring, set for a North American release on October 6. For Folk’s Sake also reports that the band’s drummer and Fink’s brother Doug has left the band to attend medical school.

They Shoot Music filmed an acoustic session with Micachu in Berlin recently. They will be at the El Mocambo on September 29.

LiveDaily has a rather gorgeous black-and-white video session with Fanfarlo.

The Skinny talks to The Twilight Sad. Their second album Forget The Night Ahead is out September 22 and they play The El Mocambo on October 10.

PitchforkTV has been running a Cemetery Gates video session with Camera Obscura all week. See them in the slightly livelier environs of the Phoenix on November 26.

Out chats with Patrick Wolf.

Echo & The Bunnymen’s Ian McCulloch discusses the band’s new record The Fountain, out October 12, with Rolling Stone. They play the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on October 20 with an orchestral rendition of Ocean Rain and presumably a few more tunes – because that record isn’t all that long. And sad news – former Bunnyman keyboardist Jake Brockman was killed in a traffic accident.

Johnny Marr gives an extensive interview to The Daily Mail about his current projects, his love of guitars and the polite answer to the question of whether there’ll ever be a Smiths reunion. Marr is currently playing with The Cribs, whose new record Ignore The Ignorant, is only going to be available digitally in North America starting next Tuesday. If you want the CD, you’ll have to do the import thing.

Video: The Cribs – “Cheat On Me”

Filter solicits a list of her favourite things from Ladyhawke’s Pip Brown. They also point out that a deluxe edition of her self-titled debut has just been released, featuring five bonus tracks. She’s at the Opera House on September 17.

Entertainment Weekly has premiered a new track from The Raveonettes, whose new album In And Out Of Control is due out on October 6. They play The Phoenix on October 22.

MP3: The Raveonettes – “Last Dance”

Letter To Jane has an interview with Peter Moren of Peter Bjorn & John. They’re at the Phoenix on November 11.

Chartattack chats with the boys of Two Hours Traffic, whose new album Territory is out next Tuesday and who play Lee’s Palace on October 16.

Soundproof talks to Ohbijou’s James Bunton about the Friends In Bellwoods project and community.

Shout Out Out Out Out have scheduled two dates at Wrongbar on October 16 and 17.

MP3: Shout Out Out Out Out – “Bad Choices”

American Songwriter talks to the American songwriters who comprise the Monsters Of Folk while Black Book solicits some of their favourite traveling tunes. Their self-titled debut is out September 22 and they play Massey Hall on November 2.

Soundproof and American Songwriter profile St. Vincent’s Annie Clark.

The Daily Texan talks to Lauren Larson of Ume.

Venice Is Sinking are sharing an MP3 from their forthcoming Okay EP, out September 22 and accurately named as it features the track of that name from their AZAR album and two covers of San Francisco band Okay and rounded out by two more alternate versions of AZAR songs that are better than okay. They band have also raised sufficient funds via Kickstarter to finance their third album.

MP3: Venice Is Sinking – “Compass”
Stream: Venice Is Sinking / Okay

The Bird & The Bee have released a new DLR-saluting video from Ray Guns Are Not Just For The Future.

Video: The Bird & The Bee – “Diamond Dave”

Paste catches up with Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne. Their new album Embryonic is out October 13.

R.E.M.’s forthcoming live record Live At The Olympia In Dublin, out October 27, will come with a bonus live DVD entitled This Is Not A Show and comprised of footage from those same shows. There’s a trailer and performance clip from the film now available to watch.

Video: R.E.M. – “Drive” (live in Dublin)
Trailer: This Is Not A Show

Magnet plays over/under with the Husker Du catalog. And speaking of the Du, The Guardian reports that Grant Hart will release his first solo album in a decade in Hot Wax, out October 6. Bob Mould kicks off his tour in support of last year’s Life And Times next month, starting here in Toronto with a date at the Mod Club on October 5. Support for the first few dates of that tour comes from Miles Anthony Benjamin Robinson, whose new album Summer Of Fear is out October 20.

Rolling Stone talks to Black Francis of Pixies about gearing up for their Doolittle tour.

Nick HeldermanI’d honestly thought I’d have been able to build a post around the Torontontario V Fest announcement this week. All signs pointed to them finally coming clean about the when, where – already a poorly kept secret, sure – but more importantly the who. And yet here we are at Friday with no official word, just seven weeks out from when it’s all supposed to go down (August 29 and 30 at Burl’s Creek near Orillia, Ontario) and so instead of reporting facts, I will delve into the rumour mill for goodies. Though when it comes straight from the artist’s mouth, it probably counts as somewhat more than rumour. I refer, of course, to the fact that Nine Inch Nails has decided that Bonnaroo would not mark their final live North American appearance, as originally intended, and instead will do a few more dates including a headlining slot at the Ontario edition of V Fest. And in addition to NIN, a few other acts came to light this week though nothing major: Thunderheist, Trouble Andrew (does his presence imply Santigold? I can’t imagine anyone would want him on his own), and though not confirmed, I don’t think it’s any big secret what the August 30 “TBA” for Toronto on the Pet Shop Boys’ Fall itinerary means.

So yeah. Another week, another non-announcement. On the plus side, it’s evident that they’re trying to put together something really good and the last Canadian V of the Summer will have a bona fide, big-time headline act – I wouldn’t call myself a fan of Trent but there’s no arguing his stature – but on the downside, even a leak this size hasn’t been enough to prod them into announcing anything, which to my paranoid sensibilities doesn’t necessarily bode well for the rest of the bill. But it’ll come, and until then, I’m going to engage in more rampant and unfounded lineup speculation while clearing out a big old pile of links and stuff.

Paste talks to Bowerbirds about their second album Upper Air was released this week. Daytrotter and They Shoot Music have also released sessions with the band – audio and video respectively – who are on the road to support. They’re not doing anything August 29 or 30, but do have a date at Sneaky Dee’s next week on July 14 so it’s unlikely they’re playing V Fest.

Magnet’s “Wrens Watch” feature has coaxed another new song demo MP3 from Wrens, who continue to work on their follow-up to Meadowlands. It’s conceivable that they could make the trek up here for V – the calendar is clear – but probably haven’t been invited.

Pitchfork has the first taste of Bonfires On The Heath, the new album from The Clientele, out October 6. They played V Fest back in 2007 and while I’d love to see them again, they’re already making a short North American trek this month and probably won’t be back till the Fall.

MP3: The Clientele – “I Wonder Who We Are”

Editors’ Tom Smith keeps up the sci-fi soundtrack talking points in discussing their new record In This Light And On This Evening, out September 21, with NME. The band also played V in 2007 and would certainly be welcomed back, but are probably going to stick to Europe for the Fall before coming to North America to promote.

The Line Of Best Fit talks to Yo La Tengo – their new record Popular Songs is out September 8. They’ve got a November European tour scheduled – they could do North America before that, but probably no dates before the record is released.

Ca Va Cool has an interview with Telekinesis’ Michael Benjamin Lerner. Their calendar is clear for late August but they’re far too small to be added to a festival bill when they’re not already touring through the region.

Wheat are offering a new MP3 from their forthcoming album White Ink Black Ink, due out July 21. Odds of playing V? Less than Telekinesis.

MP3: Wheat – “Changes Is”

The Bird & The Bee have a new video from Ray Guns Are Not Just For The Future. They have nothing on the schedule, and I’d personally love to see them again in any setting. But they are probably not playing V.

Video: The Bird & The Bee – “My Love”

Jenny Lewis has released yet another new video from Acid Tongue. Why ask why? She’s finishing some US tour dates and is in Japan in early August. Maybe she can come to Toronto in late August.

Video: Jenny Lewis – “See Fernando”

NPR interviews Steve Earle. He’s at Massey Hall on Saturday, which really precludes his playing V in August. Not that he probably would anyways.

PitchforkTV is streaming the Townes Van Zandt documentary Be Here To Love Me for the next week. I saw this film at TIFF 2004 and it’s a lovely work. It’d be quite a coup if V got Townes to play, but I’m not holding my breath.

Video: Be Here To Love Me

The Denver Post interviews Son Volt’s Jay Farrar. They’re touring from July through early August, then picking up again second week of September. Don’t see them interrupting the downtime to trek up here to play in front of, well, people who probably aren’t fans. The NIN and Son Volt fanbase Venn diagrams don’t overlap much.

American Songwriter has excerpted a portion of their cover feature on Wilco, The Boston Globe has an interview with Jeff Tweedy and The Boston Herald talks to Nels Cline about his role in the band. They’re in Dublin on August 28. Probably not in Toronto on August 29 or 30.

NPR is streaming Sonic Youth’s recent show in Washington DC. They’re playing the Vancouver V Fest but having just played Toronto last week, I don’t expect a return engagement so soon.

Spinner gets Metric to recount their run-in with Spinal Tap at Stonehenge after Glastonbury this year. Metric are seemingly playing every other V in the country, I give them very good odds for being at the Toronto edition. Spinal Tap just did the “unwigged” thing at Massey Hall, but doing V – in character, of course – would be kinda great. Their new record is Back From The Dead.

Malajube have a new video from their Polaris-nominated album Labyrinthes. Their schedule is clear, they could be at V.

Video: Malajube – “Luna”

The Scotsman talks to Dean & Britta. I don’t think their 13 Most Beautiful… Warhol soundtrack show would work too well on a big outdoor stage.

Mew are releasing their new album No More Stories… on August 25 and have already been tapped to play some of Nine Inch Nails’ other “final” shows – why not this one? Spinner has an MP3 from the new record.

MP3: Mew – “Repeaterbeater”

PitchforkTV is running video of Fleet Foxes’ performance from Pitchfork Festival last year. Obviously they do the festival thing, but with an August 4 date at Massey Hall, a V slot is unlikely.

But for everyone who had tickets for that Fleet Foxes show and were crushed that it meant missing the Yeah Yeah Yeahs show at the Kool Haus that same night, rejoice! A second Yeah Yeah Yeahs show has been added for August 5, same venue. Tickets $32.50, on sale today at 10AM. And yes, this pretty much guarantees that they won’t be at V – that is, if being at Reading/Leeds across the Atlantic wasn’t guarantee enough.

Off The Beaten Tracks gets an acoustic video session out of The Thermals. They’re in Europe through mid-August. Swinging by Toronto en route back to Portland seems improbable.

Decider and Austin360 have features on Spoon. Besides their own Spoon-fest in Austin this weekend and performance at the Wanderlust yoga/music festival in Lake Tahoe at the end of the month, they’re not doing much. They could be playing V.

Contact Music has an interview with Glasvegas – they’re one of many bands at Reading/Leeds the weekend of V, so are obviously not playing Toronto. What’s more curious is the routing of their mid-September tour supporting Kings Of Leon, which puts them in Long Island on the 14th, Montreal on the 16th, Ottawa on the 17th, Hamilton on the 19th, London on the 20th and Detroit on the 22nd. Obviously this leaves many opportunities to make a Toronto stop, and yet there currently is none. As I said, curious.

Daytrotter has a session with Ida Maria, who seems awfully reluctant to make her Toronto debut. She’s on tour in North America till early August and then will be back for Monolith in Denver in mid-September. Obviously a lot more dates would have to surface to keep her on the continent from late August till then, but I can see it happening.

NPR is streaming a radio session with Phoenix. They’re playing V in the UK the weekend before the Ontario edition, and are back in September for a string of dates including Monolith and ACL. Odds of them playing our V are slim to none.

The List talks to St Vincent’s Annie Clark, who is at the Horseshoe on August 8 and will consequently not be at V Fest.

And while I know it’ll never happen, I would love beyond words for Superchunk to come and play V Fest. Or play anywhere nearby. This acoustic version of “Detroit Has A Skyline Too” came from a recent radio session. Loverly.

MP3: Superchunk – “Detroit Has A Skyline” (acoustic)

The Boxer Rebellion, who made headlines by charting in the top 10 on iTunes’ charts with the wholly independent release of their second album Union, will be at the Mod Club on August 8 – tickets $11.50. Though they’d probably fit the V demographic, this show means they’re unlikely to be there.

Video: The Boxer Rebellion – “Evacuate”

Either of these bands – …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead and The Secret Machines – would be a decent addition to a festival bill, but they won’t be to V because they’ve got a date at Lee’s Palace on September 22 – tickets $18.50.

MP3: The Secret Machines – “Dreaming Of Dreaming”
MP3: The Secret Machines – “Atomic Heels”

You know, this little “who’s playing V” meme turned out a helluva lot more tiring than I expected. Whew.