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”

Annie MusselmanPrior to last year, M Ward’s career path was one of fairly slow and steady growth. His earlier works cultivated a mysterious, almost baroque tone and largely showcased his instrumental virtuosity and occasionally his world-worn rasp. Subsequent works found him acting as a sort of musical time capsule, an archivist for music of bygone eras of Americana country and folk whose increasingly confident singing and songwriting allowed him to not only pay tribute to, but contribute to that canon.

She & Him, his 2008 collaboration with singer-actress Zooey Deschanel, was probably intended as a diversion but perhaps predictably blew up into the highest-profile project Ward has been involved in, their debut album Volume One garnering no small amount of praise – much (but not all) of it deserved. The musicality was pure Ward, but Deschanel’s bright vocals and direct, simple songwriting gave it a sunnier disposition than you’d usually associate with him.

And judging from his latest record, it’s rubbed off on him. Hold Time finds a jauntier Matt Ward than on past works, still laid back and in no real rush to get anywhere besides the back porch but with a bit more spring in the step nonetheless. Though things still get evocatively sad and nostalgic where necessary – the duet with Lucinda Williams on “Oh Lonesome Me” and the title track, for example – there’s a sense of fun that runs through much of the album and makes it feel extra fresh – Ward has mastered and assimilated classic pop idioms into his fearsome musical repertoire, and the world is a better place for it. Those who long for his fearsome solo guitar pieces or transformative cover songs may find things a bit too straight for their liking, but for the rest of us who know you can throw Transfiguration Of Vincent on anytime, it’s another great effort from an artist who manages to constantly move forward by staying rooted in the past.

Ward is currently on the road and will be at the Phoenix in Toronto on Monday, April 27 and courtesy of Against The Grain, I’ve got a couple pairs of passes to give away for the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to hold time” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest closes at midnight, April 23.

The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette and CNN have interviews with Ward.

MP3: M Ward – “Never Had Nobody Like You”
MP3: M Ward – “Rave On”
Video: M Ward – “Hold Time”
Video: M Ward – “Rave On”
MySpace: M Ward

The Independent lists off 20 things you probably didn’t know about Bob Dylan. His new album Together Through Life is out next week and there’s now a video for one of the songs.

Video: Bob Dylan – “Beyond Here Lies Nothin'”

Filter profiles Andrew Bird.

Paste hangs out with The Decemberists. They’re at the Kool Haus on August 3.

Aquarium Drunkard talks to Jason Lytle about his new record Yours Truly, The Commuter. The record is out May 19 and Spinner has the title track to download.

MP3: Jason Lytle – “Yours Truly, The Commuter”

Originally supposed to be out yesterday, Ohbijou’s sophomore album Beacons appears to have a new release date set for June 2.

MP3: Ohbijou – “Black Ice”

Ohbijou’s Casey Mecija has also begun organizing a new music series in town entitled “Heavy Vessel”, which is intended to feature local bands playing in a sandbox in a schoolyard, but inclimate weather forced the inaugural edition to be held indoors instead. Chart has a review of the first show and some video footage has also surfaced – Sucking A Lemon with a clip featuring a scaled-down Bruce Peninsula and Colin Medley capturing a performance by The Acorn’s Rolf Klausener.

JAM talks to Gentleman Reg. He’s at the Mod Club June 1 opening for A Camp.

To mark the start of their upcoming tour, which begins April 30 at the Mod Club in Toronto, The Dears will be releasing a new b-side or unreleased track to download every week, the first of which can be grabbed below. Also check out an interview with Natalia Yanchak at Singing Lamb.

MP3: The Dears – “Halfmast”

Prefix interviews Metric.

Decider talks to Ida Maria.

The Washington Post, Duke Chronicle and Decider talk to Thao Ngyuen of Thao with The Get Down Stay Down. I’ve failed to see them every time they’ve come to Toronto and also missed every one of their shows at SxSW, but they’re playing The Bowery Ballroom in New York the evening I get there next month. I think I should make the effort to out and see them. They’ve made a puppet-powered video for a Lovin’ spoonful cover they recorded for a split 7″ for Record Store Day.

Video: Thao with The Get Down Stay Down – “Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind”

Having just released their self-titled debut, The Mt St Helen’s Vietnam Band have a date at the Horseshoe on June 2. Decider has an interview with the band.

MP3: The Mt St Helen’s Vietnam Band – “Cheer For Fate”
MP3: The Mt St Helen’s Vietnam Band – “Anchors Dropped”
Video: The Mt St Helen’s Vietnam Band – “Cheer For Fate”

City Pages and Black Book Q&A Chairlift, who just reissued their 2008 album Does You Inspire You in remastered form and with a couple of bonus tracks, one of which you can hear over at Stereogum. Chairlift are in town this Saturday, April 25, at the Phoenix opening up for Peter Bjorn & John, with whom JAM and Metromix have interviews and MPR a session.

Frank YangWhen Metric’s latest album Fantasies first became available to stream a month ago, the immediate reaction around the interwebs seemed to be largely along the lines of breathless, “their best album yet!”-type praise (tempered by the mandatory, “worst ever!” naysayers). I myself took to it far quicker than I did their last effort Live It Out, which I never really took to at all, and thought this would be the record to rekindle what had once been an intense interest in the band but which had waned significantly in recent years. Some more time spent with the album has tempered that opinion a bit – Fantasies boasts some of Metric’s very best choruses and some killer catchy tunes, but it’s not the game-changer they’d probably have to deliver to really turn me around completely. But that’s alright because it’s obvious that many, many people love them just the way they are and “just another Metric record” is probably synonymous with, “best thing in the world”.

And it was with these people that the Mod Club, a venue many times smaller than the band normally plays these days, was packed with on Tuesday night. The intimate hometown club show was one of the special events held to mark the new record’s release, following an even smaller secret show and in-store in the preceding weeks. For me, it’d been over five and a half years since I’d seen them play a full show (the exception being part of their V Fest 2007 set) – a fact I had to double-check to make sure was correct – so the experience was a bit odd, like running into someone you knew a long time ago and presumed to still know, but possibly/probably didn’t at all.

Opening things up were electro-instrumentalists Holy Fuck, a band who themselves are used to headlining much larger rooms. While I like their recorded output alright, I always enjoy seeing them live as they perform with more energy than a couple guys standing at makeshift tables decked out with keyboards and effects pedals have any right to, mutating their songs in real time. The privilege of seeing them do their thing in such close quarters seemed to be largely lost on the audience, however, who were there for one thing and one thing only.

And for that one thing – Metric, if you weren’t keeping up – they had to wait, as the band didn’t take the stage until over half an hour later than their scheduled set time (kind of like back in 2003 – nice to see some things don’t change). I don’t think anyone cared, though, based on the roars that greeted them when they finally strode onstage and into “Twilight Galaxy”, from Fantasies. Not the most high-energy opener, but an effective intro even with Emily Haines’ synth not firing on all cylinders. The roadies rectified it almost immediately after the song’s end, however, and the band played the song’s outro again to demonstrate how much better it’d have sounded if the synth had been working. Cute.

The last couple times I’d seen Haines live was in her solo/Soft Skeleton guise and banter or audience interaction was largely verboten, so I was a bit surprised at how chatty and engaging she was from the get-go. Of course, her banter was Billy Bob-esque in its randomness and incoherence, but it was nice to see her making the effort and the devout audience ate up every rambling word. There was no lack of focus in her performance, though – she and her Aladdin Sane makeup demonstrated the charisma that makes her arguably one of the most dynamic frontpersons in Canada, even if some of it felt more rehearsed than spontaneous.

The show focused heavily on Fantasies, with nine of the ten tracks getting aired, which suited me fine. Contrasted with the new material’s undeniable melodic and anthemic qualities, Live It Out‘s aggressive guitar-led tunes sounded even more abrasive (in a bad way) than I remembered. Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? was represented only by “Dead Disco”, and I’d thought that would be the end of the main set but had forgotten that they now had “Stadium Love”, a glorious anthem that will rightly close their shows from now until the end of time.

The encore consisted of “Monster Hospital” and a greatly stripped-down “Live It Out”, but by then I’d inched almost out the door and barely heard Haines thanking everyone and declaring her love for everyone. And possibly selling anti-depressants, it wasn’t entirely clear. Putting aside some garbage that left me in a somewhat sour mood most of the night, including but not limited to a heinously drunk guy threatening to smash a bottle on my head for asking him to stop shoving before the show had even started, Metric put on an impressive show that’s well-suited for the large-scale stages that they’ve grown accustomed to playing and will no doubt continue to do, buoyed by the mass appeal of Fantasies. It also made it clear that I’ll likely never be as into the band as I once was – we’ll always have 2003 – but they’ll go far, these ones.

eye, Chart, The Globe & Mail, The Toronto Star and The National Post all have reviews of the show. RCRDLBL has a remix of “Help, I’m Alive” available to download and Ear Farm, Canada.com and The National Post have interviews with the band. Their spending the next few months touring the world and will return home for a June 20 show as part of Edgefest at Downsview Park. Holy Fuck are touring Europe and the US this Spring and do a hometown show at Harbourfront Centre on July 10.

Photos: Metric @ The Mod Club – April 14, 2009
MP3: Holy Fuck – “Lovely Allen”
MP3: Holy Fuck – “Jungles”
Video: Metric – “Gimme Sympathy”
Video: Metric – “Monster Hospital”
Video: Metric – “Poster Of A Girl”
Video: Metric – “Empty”
Video: Metric – “Dead Disco”
Video: Metric – “Combat Baby”
Video: Metric – “Succexy”
Video: Holy Fuck – “Lovely Allen”
Video: Holy Fuck – “Milkshake”
MySpace: Metric
MySpace: Holy Fuck

The Dears have released a new video from last year’s Missiles and are hitting the road soon, starting on April 30 with a show at the Mod Club.

Video: The Dears – “Disclaimer”

CBC Radio 3, CityNews and AOL Music Canada interview Tony Dekker of Great Lake Swimmers, who have a show at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on April 25.

The Montreal Gazette talks to Arcade Fire’s Win Butler about making the Miroir Noir film.

Jeremy Jay will be at the Poor Alex Theatre on May 6 in support of his new album Slow Dance. Tickets are $10.

MP3: Jeremy Jay – “Beautiful Rebel”

Phoenix, not seen in these parts since V Fest 2006, will return on June 15 for a show at, wait for it, The Phoenix. Did that just blow your mind a little? Yeah. Full tour dates at Stereogum. Their new album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is out May 29. Here’s a video. You can grab an MP3 from their website.

Video: Phoenix – “Lisztomania”

For The Records reports that Friendly Fires, who stole the show from White Lies back in March, will return for a headlining show of their own at Lee’s Palace on August 10.

NOW reports that some of the acts coming to town for NxNE will include Black Lips, No Age and Matt & Kim. This year’s fest takes place June 18 to 20.

This Saturday is Record Store Day. Go out and hug your local record store. eye has a round-up of what’s going on at stores around Toronto while Pitchfork has rounded up some of the limited edition goodies that’ll be available at some outlets courtesy of various record labels.

Frank YangSo yes I’m a bad Torontopian. I know it’d been a while since I’d been to Wavelength, but a little archive digging revealed that it’d been almost four years since I last darkened Sneaky Dee’s doorway on a Sunday night. That’s a long time. And so with the local institution not only celebrating its ninth anniversary but its upcoming final year this past weekend, I got off my butt and headed out.

Don’t get me wrong – I’ve always loved and supported the idea and mission of Wavelength, but I’m a pop guy and in recent years their programming has gotten more eclectic and less personally interesting to me. And late Sunday nights are hard. So anyways, of the four nights of anniversary shows I opted for the one the Saturday night soiree at the Polish Combatants Hall (a community centre now hosting shows), which featured a few bands I wanted to see and was (therefore) the most “conventional” lineup of all the Wavelength parties.

Or so I’d thought – any notions that this was going to be an evening of just guitar rock were dispelled with the very first act, The Element Choir. An improvisational choir featuring a couple dozen members, they gathered in the centre of the hall’s floor and proceeded to create a downright mesmerizing sound sculpture constructed of just their voices. The troupe utilized yelps, hums, moans, animal noises and random chatter to create an ever-morphing soundscape that was hypnotic to listen to and also fascinating to watch, as they took direction from conductor Christine Duncan. Certainly not something I’d ever seen before.

Next up were The Luyas, who despite having been around for a while sounded like a work in progress – not incomplete but more in the process of deconstructing what they were and seeking to become something new. There were vestiges of the pop leanings from Jessie Stein’s last band, the SS Cardiacs and from what I’d heard from the Luyas before, but it seemed like they were trying to become something more oblique or inscrutable. Not the most enthralling performance, but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and check back in if/when they get where they’re going.

Faring much better were pop collective Hooded Fang. I had figured that since I saw them just a month ago that they’d deliver much the same set, but in fact they were much more assured and polished yet managed to not sacrifice any of the playful whimsy they’d demonstrated before. Considering how much better they’d gotten in just a month and factoring in the fact that they’ve only been in existence for a year, it seems like a mathematical certainty that they’ll be the best band on the planet in another two years. Okay, probably not, but if being the next Los Campesinos! is something that anyone would aspire to, it could well be in their grasp.

Though you could accurately describe Guelph’s Brides as atonal, skronky, and not at all pop – generally things I don’t look for in music – they more than surprised by turning out to be the highlight of the night. I’m at a bit of a loss to articulate exactly what it was about their performance that I found so engrossing. Perhaps it was the way that they managed to be all the things mentioned above without being deliberately difficult and sacrificing some structure or even melody for the sake of exploration, and deliver it all with intensity. I don’t really know what it was, but I liked it.

The last act of the night was $100, and after the stylistic smorgasborg of the night leading up to their finale, their decidedly traditional country songs seemed almost out of place. But straightforward isn’t a slight when you’re talking about hurtin’ songs and the directness of their approach, in particular the raw, honest rasp and twang of singer Simone Schmidt, conveyed that emotion quite effectively. I’ve gotten so used having country used in a hybrid sense with other styles that hearing it in such a pure, undiluted form was pretty eye- and ear-opening. There’s good reason that people are talking about $100.

Though the Polish Combatants Hall is certainly not Sneaky Dee’s – there’s no way I’d have sat on the floor at Sneaks – the evening was a terrific reminder of what makes Wavelength great. You may not like everything you see, but it’ll almost never be uninteresting. Happy birthday to a great Toronto institution and hopefully it won’t be a year before I see you again. But no promises.

BlogTO also has a review of $100’s set if not the rest of the evening.

Photos: $100, Brides, Hooded Fang, The Luyas, The Element Choir @ The Polish Combatants Hall – February 14, 2009
MP3: $100 – “No Great Leap”
MP3: $100 – “Forest Of Tears”
MP3: $100 – “Nothing’s Alright”
MP3: Hooded Fang – “Land Of Giants”
MP3: Hooded Fang – “The Pageant”
MP3: The Luyas – “Cats In A Bag”
MP3: The Luyas – “Tantamount”
MySpace: $100
MySpace: The Luyas

And speaking of the Polish Combatants Hall (a nice and large community centre-type building by the University, if you were wondering), if you didn’t have tickets for Bruce Peninsula’s record release show there next Sunday (still some left but not many) or just couldn’t make it, take heart because they’ve already announced another show for March 28 at Lee’s Palace, tickets $8. And I don’t recommend sitting on the floor there. The National Post has a video performance and interview with the band.

Making it a three-peat, the “Rolling Tundra Revue” featuring Constantines and Weakerthans has added a third and final show at the Phoenix for April 2. Tickets $25. If you manage to miss out on this one as well as the two previously announced ones for March 31 and April 1, then congratulations – you are the absolute worst procrastinator in the world.

Tricky, who was here for a show at the Phoenix last September, returns for a much more intimate performance at the Mod Club on April 2. Tickets $29.50.

It’ll be all about the UK dance-rock at the Kool Haus on April 10 when The Whip and Late Of The Pier roll into town. Both are touring behind their debut albums – X Marks The Spot (out March 3) and Fantasy Black Channel respectively. Please don’t ask me what the mash-up below is, I really don’t know. It’s just there.

MP3: The Whip – “Trash”
MP3: The Whip Vs. Britney Spears – “Trash Circus” (Ruben X Trashmash)

The polar opposite of the previous bill – Damien Jurado and Laura Gibson – will folk things up at the Drake Underground on April 14. Jurado released Caught In The Trees last year and Gibson’s Beasts Of Seasons is out next week, though you can stream it right now at NPR. The song below is an older one. The Daily Vanguard has an interview. Full dates at BrooklynVegan.

MP3: Damien Jurado – “Gillian Was A Horse”
MP3: Laura Gibson – “Hands In Pockets”
Stream: Laura Gibson / Beasts Of Season

The Dears have scheduled at date at the Mod Club for April 30, tickets $20. The Montreal Mirror talks to Murray Lightburn.

Students.ch and The News interviews White Lies, whose debut To Lose My Life is out Stateside March 17 and they play Lee’s Palace on March 31 with Friendly Fires and The Soft Pack.

MP3: White Lies – “Death”
Video: White Lies – “Farewell To The Fairground”

Paste declares Alela Diane their artists of the week. Her new record To Be Still came out yesterday and is streaming at Spinner. She plays an in-store at Soundscapes this Saturday at 6:30PM and at the Horseshoe that night with Blitzen Trapper. That’s sold out, if you were wondering. Billboard has an interview with Blitzen Trapper.

Stream: Alela Diane / To Be Still

Also new this week and streaming – M Ward’s Hold Time. He also gave a solo performance and interview you can stream at NPR.

Stream: M. Ward / Hold Time

And to wrap up this week’s other new release streams of interest – Asobi Seksu’s Hush – they’re at the ElMo on March 3 – and Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3’s Goodnight Oslo. They play the Mod Club on April 16.

Stream: Asobi Seksu / Hush
Stream: Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 / Goodnight Oslo

jinglebellrock.caA little too much going on right now for proper posting, so you’ll forgive me if I just ride out the next couple days by partaking in the spirit of the season and giving some stuff away? But good stuff coming, I just need to work on it.

Jingle Bell Rock is the creatively-named tour featuring Can-indie luminaries Metric, Tokyo Police Club, The Dears and Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains on a ten-date mission to rock out, spread holiday cheer and raise funds for a range of worthwhile charities in the process. Things kick off with a two-night stand in Toronto at the Sound Academy on December 12 and 13, head west for single-night engagements in Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Edmonton before going two-fer in Calgary and wrapping up with a triple-shot in Vancouver from December 21 to 23.

And, courtesy of Filter, I’ve got passes to give away to not one, not two, not three, but four of the shows. That’s one pair for each Toronto show and two of the three Vancouver dates (it would have been a solid run of both cities but they went off and added the third Van-city show). So if you want to go to any of the above, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to Jingle Bell Rock in Toronto/Vancouver on December 12/13/21/22”, where you only include the city and date you’re looking for. For the Toronto dates, get entries in to me before midnight, December 9. Vancouverites, since you’re three hours behind anyways, you have until December 16 to get me your entries in. Lollygaggers.

And enter for multiple dates if you like.

Update: Hey, powers that be wanted the names sooner rather than later, so I closed the Toronto leg of things a bit early. And I’ve moved up the deadline for the Vancouver dates If you were waiting to enter… well damn, I have no idea why. Sorry.

MP3: Metric – “Monster Hospital”
MP3: Tokyo Police Club – “In A Cave”
MP3: Tokyo Police Club – “Juno”
MP3: The Dears – “Disclaimer”
MP3: Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains – “American Names”
MP3: Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains – “By Cover Of Night (Fire Fight)”
Video: Metric – “Monster Hospital”
Video: Metric – “Poster Of A Girl”
Video: Metric – “Empty”
Video: Tokyo Police Club – “Graves”
Video: Tokyo Police Club – “In A Cave”
Video: Tokyo Police Club – “Tessellate”
Video: The Dears – “Money Babies”