MySpaceIf it were possible to monetize pure musical oddity, then not only would Iceland’s economic problems be a thing of the past, they might well be the world’s top fiscal superpower. Yes, the likes of Bjork and Sigur Ros would guarantee a GDP many times greater than the rest of the planet, but the tiny country’s smaller exports would also help push things forward – case in point, Sprengjuhollin (it’s pronounced the way it’s spelled. Go on, try).

The Reykjavík quintet don’t wave their freak flag nearly as high as their more famous countrymen, preferring to draw inspiration from their no-doubt substantial collection of Mod-era LPs rather than by communing with snow fairies out on the fjords, but assuming them to be straight pop purveyors, as their English-language singles might imply, would be unwise. Because while tracks like the orchestral folk-pop of “Worry Till Spring” might act as an easily accessible point of entry for their second self-titled album, once inside it’s a much stranger place. The majority of songs are in Icelandic and are given to more warped trajectories, at times recalling Dungen in their psychedelic inclinations, but always remaining concise and more importantly, hooky. You don’t need to speak the language to hum along.

Sprengjuhollin were around back in the Winter for Canadian Musicfest and both won folks over and were won over themselves – they’re returning for an eastern Canadian tour that will start and end in the Maritimes but swing through Ontario next week for a couple of Toronto dates – one on October 24 at the Rivoli and another on October 25 at Rancho Relaxo. The band were also an eMusic Selects pick last Summer – check out the feature piece for an interview with the band and a guided tour of the last record.

MP3: Sprengjuhollin – “Worry ‘Til Spring”
MP3: Sprengjuhollin – “Tonight”

Peter Bjorn & John have released a video for the title track of their latest Living Thing, which they’ll (again) bring to the Phoenix on November 11.

Video: Peter Bjorn & John – “Living Thing”

The National Post has an interview with Sune Rose Wagner of The Raveonettes, whose new album In And Out Of Control is shockingly good. By shockingly, I mean they no longer sound like a band that I always feel like I should like more than I do, and like a band that I could actually really like. They’re at the Phoenix on October 22.

MP3: The Raveonettes – “Last Dance”
Video: The Raveonettes – “Last Dance”

Spinner is featuring an Interface session with Mew. Babelgum is also presenting a 30-minute feature on the band recorded at a special gig at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts.

Donewaiting has an interview with Wye Oak.

The deluxe edition of School Of Seven Bells’ 2008 debut Alpinisms is out today and available to stream – second disc of remixes and bonus tracks included – at Spinner. They also recently announced they’ve given their second album, due out next year, a title – Disconnect From Desire – expect to hear some of those new songs on Thursday night when they play Lee’s Palace.

Stream: School Of Seven Bells / Alpinisms

Anika In London discusses matters of cosmic import, such as take-out food, with The Antlers.

Clash talks to Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips. Embryonic is out today

The Decemberists have released a first video from this year’s The Hazards Of Love.

Video: The Decemberists – “The Rake’s Song”

John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats gives eMusic a list of his favourite religiously-themed records and offers a more conventional interview to Tiny Mix Tapes.

Over at Asthmatic Kitty, Sufjan Stevens interviews current tourmate and bandmate Nedelle Torisi of Cryptacize. They’re at the El Mocambo on November 7.

Ume – the toast of both SxSW and NXNE if I’m to be believed – are embarking on another northeast/Canadian tour and will be at the Horseshoe on November 3 for a free show. The occasion is the Canadian release of their Sunshower EP on October 27.

MP3: Ume – “Pendulum”
MP3: Ume – “The Conductor”

The Dodos talk to Spinner, Chartattack, New York Press, The Brooklyn Paper, The AV Club and The Diamondback. They’re at Lee’s Palace on Friday Saturday night.

I Heart Music has ripped a CBC session from Woodpigeon for you to keep for your very own. Their new album Die Stadt Muzikanten is out January 12.

The first part of the Wooden Sky tour documentary A Documentary In Pieces is now online for your viewing pleasure. They have a date at Lee’s Palace on November 13

In addition to their November 7 show at the North York Central Library, Bruce Peninsula have set two dates at the Music Gallery for November 27 and 28.

Frank YangIn a recent interview posted to the Asthamtic Kitty website in which Sufjan Stevens interviewed former bandmate and now labelmate Shannon Stephens, Stevens (note spelling) said, “I’m at a point where I no longer have a deep desire to share my music with anyone, having spent many years imparting my songs to the public”. A curious sentiment that might have seemed truthful a couple months ago, when he was still largely a recluse, choosing not to follow up his 2005 opus Illinois with anything resembling a conventional record, instead favouring multimedia projects and reissues. But you couldn’t say he wasn’t much for sharing with him midway through a short, surprise tour that saw him playing venues many times smaller than his patient and devoted fanbase could easily fill and playing a wealth of new material that wasn’t really ready what you’d call “finished”. Not that anyone in the beyond-sold out Lee’s Palace on Thursday night cared.

Support came from Los Angeles’ Cryptacize, whose second record Mythomania has found its way in and out of rotation over the Summer. Some of it I find beguiling, some of it boring, but it’s generally an interesting listen, like a stack of girl group, surf, Bossa Nova and prog-rock 7″s were left out on a beach in the California sun and melted together. Fronted by the classic and crystalline voice of Nedelle Torrisi, who would also cover keys and backing vocals in Stevens’ band, their set was generally enjoyable – they certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves – but probably ran a bit long for the anxious crowd, many of whom had been standing in line since late afternoon to get a prime vantage point for Stevens.

Stevens’ last two Toronto appearances in November 2004 and September 2005 were full and proper productions for Michigan/Seven Swans and Illinois respectively, complete with costumes and synchronized stage moves, so it was evident that this night was going to be something different when the band came out in regular casual street clothes and roadied their own gear, Stevens included, to the sound of much shrieking. And “casual” would be the key word for the night, followed closely by “beautiful”, “intimate” and, well, “sloppy”. The “beautiful” is a given for anyone who’s familiar with Stevens’ orchestral folk-pop compositions and the “intimate” aspect of the show has already been covered. As for the “sloppy”, well that’s not necessarily a criticism because if anyone can make missed cues and barely-remembered lyrics endearing, it’s Stevens. But even as far into the tour as they were, it was clear they were still feeling out the new material – mostly via extended jamming with Stevens taking the opportunity to show off his electric guitar chops – and getting reacquainted with the old.

As expected, the the nearly two-hour set drew from Stevens’ last four records – including Illinois outtakes collection The Avalanche – and four new songs. I’d originally thought there were five, but the one I thought the best of the bunch, the Simon & Garfunkel-quoting “All Delighted People”, actually dates back to 2000 though the version performed was almost unrecognizable against the original. By and large, the new material, which was described by Stevens as “long-form”, demonstrated that he has lost none of his flair for grandiose musical statements and is enjoying working without the constraints of a theme (or state) to write around. By no means did any of it feel ready – if it were released on an album in their present form, they’d probably be met largely with head-scratching – but as a teaser of where he’s going and what’s possibly to come, it was tantalizing. And the old material was, as stated, beautiful. I’d forgotten how stunning Stevens’ voice was live, so fragile yet powerful, and moments like “To Be Alone With You”, “Casimir Pulaski Day” and the still-chilling encore of “John Wayne Gacy, Jr” were jaw-dropping if not quite audience-silencing. With no sign as to when a new record will be forthcoming, let alone when he’ll undertake another proper tour, this show would have to keep Stevens’ fans satisfied for possibly a long time. And as much as you can be satisfied while never wanting it to end, it delivered.

There’s further reviews of the show at Exclaim and Panic Manual. Cryptacize are heading back on tour next month with The Fiery Furnaces and will be at the El Mocambo on November 7. Sufjan Stevens’ film in tribute to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway – The BQE – will be screening for one night only at Innis Town Hall at the University of Toronto on October 25 at 7:30, tickets $10 in advance online or at Soundscapes. Stevens’ Run Rabbit Run is out tomorrow and the The BQE is out on October 20.

Photos: Sufjan Stevens, Cryptacize @ Lee’s Palace – October 1, 2009
MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “Movement VI—Isorhythmic Night Dance With Interchanges”
MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “The Henney Buggy Band”
MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “The Man Of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts”
MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “Casimir Pulaski Day”
MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “Sister”
MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “Holland”
MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “Year Of The Dog”
MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “Year Of The Tiger”
MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “Demetrius”
MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “A Winner Needs A Wand”
MP3: Cryptacize – “Blue Tears”
MP3: Cryptacize – “One Block Wonders”
MP3: Cryptacize – “Mini-Mythomania” (C Spencer Yeh remix)
MP3: Cryptacize – “Tail And Mane”
MP3: Cryptacize – “Cosmic Sing Along”
MP3: Cryptacize – “No Coins”
Video: Cryptacize – “Tail And Mane”
Video: Cryptacize – “Blue Tears”
Video: Cryptacize – “Cosmic Sing Along”
MySpace: Sufjan Stevens
MySpace: Cryptacize

The Riverfront Times talks to St Vincent’s Annie Clark, who released the first part of a tour video, compiled from footage taken over the Summer.

The Mountain Goats have released a first video from The Life Of The World To Come, out tomorrow. The record is also up to stream:

Video: The Mountain Goats – “Ezekiel 7 and the Permanent Efficacy of Grace”
Stream: The Mountain Goats / The Life Of The World To Come

NPR is streaming a World Cafe session with Death Cab For Cutie.

Dog Day are releasing a super-limited, vinyl-only EP entitled Elder Schoolhouse, out in late October. No digital versions of the songs are planned, save for the MP3 and live video below, so if you want, get yourself a turntable. Dog Day play the Horseshoe on November 5.

MP3: Dog Dag – “Synastry”
Video: Dog Day – “Neighbour” and “Sleeping Waiting” (live at Elder Schoolhouse)

Swedish electro-pop outfit Little Dragon have booked a North American tour in support of new record Machine Dreams, out domestically on October 20, and that includes a date at Wrongbar in Toronto on November 18.

MP3: Little Dragon – “Blinking Pigs”

Zero 7 have set a date at the Phoenix for December 3 in support of their new record Yeah Ghost.

Rob Sheridan & Tamar LevineThey do try their best, I believe that, but it might be time to declare any Virgin Festival in Canada to be well and truly cursed. Don’t get me wrong, despite everything, I’ve always had a great time at the three in Toronto thus far, but you can’t really say they’ve gone smoothly. In 2006, they lost one headliner in Massive Attack (Broken Social Scene wasn’t a bad pinch hitter at all, but that it was necessary was unfortunate) and then there was the infamous 15-minute set from The Flaming Lips. The 2007 edition fared a bit better but still lost Amy Winehouse and Peter Bjorn & John without equal calibre replacements. Last year saw the the headliner famously assaulted onstage.

And that’s just the Toronto editions. As the rumour goes, last year’s Vancouver edition was cancelled outright after Pemberton poached Coldplay as headliner. And this year, after keeping silent well into the Spring as to whether there’d even be a festival this year, they came out and announced five across the country, most of which befell some sort of calamity. Vancouver was struck by lightning and had to cancel the headline set by The Roots. Halifax lost headliners The Tragically Hip at the 11th hour and had to make up for it by making the whole event free. Montreal headliners New Kids On The Block failed to contract food poisoning before their set and were able to perform. I think Calgary managed to avoid any sort of disaster their two years running – good on them.

Which left Ontario. Though still the subject of many complaints, I thought the 2009 lineup was pretty solid – but the decision to hold it an hour north of the city at Burl’s Creek in Oro was met with howls of protest from the 416. And it wasn’t just whinging from those who didn’t like going north of Bloor – there were genuine logistical concerns about transportation, traffic, accommodations and whatnot. But I guess the assumption was that the absence of those who didn’t want to leave the city would be made up for by others in southern Ontario who would find it easier to not drive downtown and a lovely time would be had by all.

Not so much.

An unexpected press release showed up yesterday around noon declaring that due to slow ticket sales and protests about the location, Virgin Festival Ontario had been moved from Burl’s Creek to the Molson Amphitheatre in downtown Toronto, barely two weeks before the event was scheduled to happen. Considering that many/most who had decided to go had already made travel and lodging arrangements, myself included, this wasn’t as much of the gift as it may have been intended to be. For example, I was able to get a full refund on my hotel room (I don’t camp) – I know others had booked non-refundable rooms. They’re now out a couple hundred dollars. Others who bought tickets early at full price will be justifiably upset that the new pricing structure offers much cheaper options, though refunds for tickets are available so you could trade those in and buy the cheaper Amphitheatre lawns if you just want to grab a piece of sod and chill out for a couple days. Mind you, those already holding tickets have been promised to be given first crack at the Amphitheatre’s floors and 200-level seats, though that may give you an idea of how many tickets were sold in the first place. I can’t say exactly how assignments will go, but it seems that those first in line will get wristbands granting GA floors and then everyone else will get assigned 200-level seating.

And while the festival organizers are assuring that all the announced acts will still perform, there’s other questions, like how the stages will be set up – the Amphitheatre itself can’t easily accommodate a second stage, particularly not one big enough to handle Pet Shop Boys or Pixies, who I would assume would be closing that one out on their respective nights. Which means that the second stage would have to go outside the Amphitheatre grounds and somewhere else in Ontario Place. Looking at the satellite imagery, the spot south of the Amphitheatre is the only logical place it could go but I have no idea what’s there and what might get mangled by a big stage and thousands of concert goers, never mind the fact that this is all going down when the CNE is on and Ontario Place will already be lousy with non-V Fest visitors.

So how will it all end up going down? Will the V Fest brand be able to recover from this year and convince people to return in the future? Will they even try? I have no idea, but am very curious to see. And while I really was warming to the idea of the Burl’s Creek experience (if not the insect bites that would ensue), I can’t say I’m not pleased that like past years, I’ll be able to get there by bike and be able to sleep in my own bed.

Anyways.

They were just here last month opening for Frightened Rabbit but The Antlers have since garnered their own immense buzz for their new album Hospiceand so are are coming back for their own show at the Horseshoe on September 24.

Speaking of shows, after Wilco’s October 14 show at Massey Hall sells out minutes after tickets go on sale this morning at 10AM, look for a second show to be announced for October 15. This comes from a press release for opener Liam Finn which lists both dates at Massey Hall and considering how Wilco have been playing the same venue since 2004 while their fanbase has arguably grown considerably, and the idea of a multi-night stand seems eminently logical though it makes my eight-year streak of seeing every Wilco appearance in Toronto considerably more difficult to maintain. LiveDaily has an interview with Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche.

And if that’s not enough Liam Finn for you, Bumpershine reports that he’ll play his own headlining show at Lee’s Palace on October 29 with Miracle Fortress as support. Finn’s new EP with Eliza Jane Champagne in Seashells is out September 1.

MP3: Liam Finn with Eliza Jane – “Plane Crash”
Stream: Liam Finn & Eliza Jane / Champagne In Seashells

Those waiting for Sufjan Stevens ticket information for the October 1 show, looks like Ticketmaster is your only option. Face value is $17.50 so you’ll be lucky to come away a ducat for under $30, all said and done. Also note: “Tickets cannot be picked up at the outlet. They must be picked by the cardholder, with credit card in hand and photo identification at the venue by the cardholder ONLY”. So there you go.

And Cryptacize, who are touring with Stevens, are the subject of a feature video/audio session over at Luxury Wafers.

MP3: Cryptacize – “Blue Tears” (live on Luxury Wafers)

Antony & The Johnsons have not only covered Beyonce, but they’ve made a video. No Jay-Z, though.

Video: Antony & The Johnsons – “Crazy In Love”

Previously venue-less, the August 30 Throw Me The Statue show will now be happening at The Boat with support from The Brunettes and Nurses. And if you dig on Nurses, they’re back in town on October 15 at the Drake Underground with Le Loup.

MP3: Throw Me The Statue – “Ancestors”
MP3: Nurses – “Caterpillar Playground”
MP3: The Brunettes – “Small Town Crew”
MP3: Le Loup – “Beach Town”

Deerhoof will be doing a free show at Yonge-Dundas Square on September 17, somehow related to TIFF. Is there a Deerhoof documentary premiering that I don’t know about?

MP3: Deerhoof – “+81”

The Flaming Lips have set an October 13 release date for their next album Embryonic. Rolling Stone has details and Pitchfork is streaming a song from the record, and early response to new material from those who’ve lost interest in the band nearly as much as I have is quite positive.

Spinner and Billboard talk to Death Cab’s Ben Gibbard and Son Volt’s Jay Farrar about their work on One Fast Move or I’m Gone, the soundtrack album for a documentary on Jack Kerouac by the same name. The album will be out October 20 and there are plans for a tour to follow.

Video: Jay Farrar – “San Francisco”
Trailer: One Fast Move or I’m Gone: Kerouac’s Big Sur

Laura Marling discusses her plans for album number two with BBC.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette talks to Decemberists guitarist Chris Funk and The Philadelphia Inquirer to Colin Meloy.

The Dan Deacon show at Sneaky Dee’s on November 3 isn’t his only local date – he’s also at the Great Hall on November 4.

Luxury Wafers talks to Oliver Ackermann of A Place To Bury Strangers. Their new one Exploding Head is out October 6 and they’re at the Mod Club on October 27.

Frank YangSome shows you want to see in a packed, sweaty club. Others you don’t. In the case of St. Vincent, more than two years removed from her last visit to Toronto, you’ll take her anywhere you can but as much as I love the Horseshoe Tavern, its sweltering environs on Saturday night weren’t what I’d call the ideal setting for Annie Clark’s elegant pop and its Jekyll-and-Hyde/frosted miniwheat balance of beauty and abrasion. The band did what they could to dress it up, hanging white drapes across the back wall and setting up some dramatic lighting, but something more akin to a church or theatre would have seemed more appropriate. Or perhaps just somewhere with more effective air conditioning.

Opener Gentleman Reg has been somewhat ubiquitous on Toronto stages since the Spring release of his latest record Jet Black, but considering the length of the layoff between it and 2004’s Darby & Joan, he can be forgiven for making the most of the opportunity. Reg Vermue has always had a gift for blending folk and pop, but I’ve felt he needed the proper backing players for his songs to properly shine – an opinion that was shared, apparently, because the band that he’s assembled for Jet Black really hits that sweet spot, though I’m not sure if the players on the record were the same ones on stage with him on Saturday – I don’t have the proper roster notes to comment. Either way, the balance of feyness and punch on display this evening seemed just right and it was good to see Reg settled so comfortably in the role of frontman. I’d missed numerous opportunities to see him play throughout the Summer – glad to have finally rectified that.

As distinctive as Annie Clark’s creative vision is, live she’s also much-defined by her band, or lack thereof. The first time I saw her in February 2007, she was supporting Midlake and operating solo, and as such made heavy use of looping pedals and a Stompin’ Tom-approved board for percussion. The next time in Austin that September she’d expanded to a power trio format and though that configuration sounded a little more conventional, it freed her up musically. This time, she was fronting a five-piece St. Vincent complete with utility players tasked with handling a myriad of instruments including guitar, bass, keys, violin, saxophone and clarinet – obviously ready to do the orchestrations and textures of Actor justice.

And the presence of those extra players made a world of difference in recreating the new material, of which the set list was mostly comprised (as well as the solo cover of “Dig A Pony” which again seems to be a set staple). It’s hard to imagine “Marrow” or “Black Rainbow” without the trill of the woodwinds and brass, but there they were, adding crucial accent to Clark’s crystalline voice (or chorused/delayed/voice when she sang through her second mic) and then getting gleefully obliterated when she went in for a fuzzed-out, shred-happy guitar break. And it was that wanton and wonderful collision of beauty and brutality, punctuated by Clark’s charmingly off-kilter banter, that defined the evening. That and the stifling heat.

Panic Manual and eye have reviews of the show. The Globe & Mail has a feature interview with Annie Clark while Renegade Bus has an interview with Evan Smith, one of the backing musicians who makes St. Vincent a band and not just a pseudonym.

Photos: St. Vincent, Gentleman Reg @ The Horseshoe – August 8, 2009
MP3: St. Vincent – “Actor Out Of Work”
MP3: St. Vincent – “The Strangers”
MP3: St. Vincent – “Now Now”
MP3: Gentleman Reg – “We’re In A Thunderstorm”
MP3: Gentleman Reg – “How We Exit”
MP3: Gentleman Reg – “Plan On Including Me”
Video: St. Vincent – “Actor Out Of Work”
Video: St. Vincent – “Jesus Saves I Spend”
Video: Gentleman Reg – “How We Exit”
Video: Gentleman Reg – “Rewind”
Video: Gentleman Reg – “We’re In A Thunderstorm”
Video: Gentleman Reg – “Boyfriend Song”
MySpace: St. Vincent
MySpace: Gentleman Reg

Here’s some news – St. Vincent’s one-time bandleader Sufjan Stevens has announced the details of his previously-implied Fall tour, and it’s a small one. As in venue. Though he could easily fill rooms two or three times the size for his first local show in four years, Stevens is opting for a club tour and will return to Lee’s Palace on October 1, where he played last in November 2004. Contrary to previous speculation, this show will not be in support of the BQE show/soundtrack coming out October 20, which raises the question not only of what material will be aired – a melange of Illinois, Michigan and Seven Swans seems most likely – but what the theme of the costumes will be. There had better be costumes, Sufjan. Don’t you be going sensible on us. Support for the tour will be Cryptacize, and tickets will be doled out very carefully. Ticket details are forthcoming later this week, but they will go on sale Satureday and be limited to two a person with them only being available to be picked up at the venue the night of the show. But you know that they could also insist that patrons have to eat a jar of flaming cockroaches before being admitted and Lee’s would be packed before 8PM.

MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “The Henney Buggy Band”
MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “The Man Of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts”
MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “Casimir Pulaski Day”
MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “Sister”
MP3: Sufjan Stevens – “Holland”
MP3: Cryptacize – “Blue Tears”

Flavorwire talks to Dean Wareham of Dean & Britta.

Pitchfork has a feature on Antony Hegarty of Antony & The Johnsons. Their new Aeon EP was released last week.

Mark Eitzel has revealed details of his next solo record, entitled Klamath and due out this Fall. Work is also beginning on a new American Music Club record.

Those holding their breath for the release of Final Fantasy’s Heartland can circle January 5, 2010 as a date to exhale. Owen Pallett revealed via Twitter that the record would be out the first week of the new year, and that’s the Tuesday of said week. Also noteworthy is that he has signed with Domino Records to release the album worldwide, though Blocks will presumably continue to handle things in Canada.

Victoria Bergsman will release her second album as Taken By Trees in East Of Eden, due out September 8. The first MP3 from it is available to sample and there’s a feature piece at National Geographic that follows Bergsman to Pakistan where she recorded the new record.

MP3: Taken By Trees – “Watch The Waves”

Paste reports that Built To Spill’s next album There Is No Enemy has finally been given a release date of October 6 – that’s the same day as night one of their two-night residency at Lee’s Palace in Toronto.

DCist, The New York Times and The Valley Advocate talk to Joe Pernice about his new book and album, It Feels So Good When I Stop. He’s at the Dakota Tavern on September 24.

There’s now some context for Thao with the Get Down Stay Down’s upcoming November 1 show at the El Mocambo – she’s releasing a new album in Know Better Learn Faster on October 13. Details at Blurt.

PitchforkDirected by Kevin Drew and filmed over two days in Toronto this past January, The Water had its genesis as a music video for Feist’s song of the same name but eventually grew into a mostly silent and very wintry 15-minute short film starring some bona fide Hollywood talent in Cillian Murphy.

The film will be available to watch online for one week starting today at PitchforkTV, and for some background on the piece, check out the video interview with Feist and Drew at PitchforkTV and another with Murphy at IFC. Paste also talked to Feist and Drew a bit back in February when word of the project first came to light. And if you’re really jonesing for more info, there’s a feature in this month’s Filter (that’s the physical magazine) that has Drew being interviewed by actor Zach Galifianakis about the project.

Video: The Water

Metric have released another video from Fantasies, Jimmy Shaw and Emily Haines gave an interview and acoustic performance to Rolling Stone and Haines and Shaw gave interviews to Dose and Fazer respectively. Metric play the Mod Club on Tuesday, April 14.

Video: Metric – “Help, I’m Alive”

It’s a double-shot of Neko Case at NPR, with a KUT radio session from earlier this week and last night’s show in Washington DC both available to stream. The DC show includes the opening set from Okkervil River’s Will Sheff and some absolutely classic stage banter – “Vas deferens!” – with Case and Kelly Hogan. And if that’s not enough Neko multimedia, there’s a video interview online between her and ABC News. Case is in town for two nights at Trinity-St Paul’s next Friday and Saturday.

Opening up both of those shows is Crooked Fingers, who are keeping a Tumblr tour blog whilst on the road.

MP3: Crooked Fingers – “Phony Revolutions”

NPR also has a World Cafe session with Alela Diane. Diane is also featured on The Silence Of Love, a covers album from Headless Heroes for which Diane was the voice. That record will be out May 19, some of it sounds like this.

MP3: Headless Heroes – “True Love Will Find You In The End”
Video: Headless Heroes – “The North Wind Blew South”

The star-studded SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records: THE COVERS! covers compilation is now available to stream.

Stream: various artists / SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records: THE COVERS!

Cryptacize and Casiotone For The Painfully Alone have a date at The Boat on July 8. Cryptacize’s new album Mythomania is out April 21 while Casiotone just released two records – the retrospective Advance Base Battery Life and all-new Vs Children.

MP3: Cryptacize – “Blue Tears”
MP3: Casiotone For The Painfully Alone – “Optimist vs. The Silent Alarm (When The Saints Go Marching In)”
MP3: Casiotone For The Painfully Alone – “Old Panda Days”
Video: Cryptacize – “Blue Tears”

Headlights are opening for Loney Dear on their Spring tour, including the May 8 date at the Rivoli. Nice! They’re almost done their third album and are aiming for an early Fall release.

MP3: Headlights – “Cherry Tulips” (TJ Lipple Remix)

Soundproof features Malajube.

Entertainment Weekly is hosting a video clip from Wilco’s forthcoming DVD Ashes Of American Flags, which will be out next Saturday as part of Record Store Day but which I will be seeing theatrically in May as part of Hot Docs. Because I’ve realized that the only way I’ll ever watch a music film is if I’m a captive audience in a theatre – DVDs will simply never get played.

Video: Wilco – “Side With The Seeds” (live)

Stay Thirsty talks to Jason Lytle. His new album Yours Truly, The Commuter is out May 19.

Sacramento News & Review and Honolulu Weekly talk to Jenny Lewis.

Fazer interviews Cut Off Your Hands.