Zuzana HudackovaIt’s shaping up to be an Autumn of Can-rock double bills high on value. Folks thought that it was a pretty impressive pairing of talent when it was announced last month that Dan Mangan and The Rural Alberta Advantage were teaming up to cross the country in October, or the June announcement that Metric and Stars were hitting the country’s arenas together, but that were just the first of a number of impressive double-bills looking to share driving duties across Canada this Fall.

First, you’ve got Toronto’s Cuff The Duke teaming up with Halifax’s Jenn Grant teaming up for a tour that stretches from BC out to Montreal, and while the Toronto venue isn’t officially announced, the date is confirmed as November 24 and the rumoured venue is the fancy-pants Winter Garden Theatre. Both artists have new records coming out, hence the road trip. Cuff The Duke will release Union October 2 and from the first taste of the new material via a live Paper Bag Session, it sounds like it’ll be more tuneful country-rock of the sort that they’ve built their following on. Grant, on the other hand, looks to be shifting gears again with The Beautiful Wild, out September 25. Following the effervescent pop of Honeymoon Punch, Exclaim reports that Wild will pursue a more mature and musically adventurous direction. The first single from said record is streamable below. Update: Winter Garden Theatre is confirmed, tickets on sale August 20.

Cuff The Duke have a couple of local shows before the Grant tour – there’s a free show at Yonge-Dundas Square the evening of August 31 and they’re part of the Paper Bag Records 10th anniversary show at The Great Hall on September 27.

Stream: Jenn Grant – “In The Belly Of A Dragon”
Video: Cuff The Duke – “Side By Side” (Paper Bag Sessions)

Elliott Brood are also playing that PBR10 show on September 27, but will be back on a Toronto stage on October 21 at The Danforth Music Hall as part of their Marvel Team-Up almost cross-Canada tour – no BC dates at the moment – with Halifax’s Wintersleep; tickets for that one are $25.50. Both released new records earlier this year – Days Into Years for the Brood, Hello Hum for the ‘Sleep. Chronicle Herald and The Montreal Gazette have Wintersleep features.

MP3: Elliott Brood – “Norther Air”
MP3: Wintersleep – “Resuscitate”

METZ will celebrate the release of the debut self-titled album with a hometown show at The Horseshoe on October 12, ticket $12 in advance.

MP3: METZ – “Headache”

After a couple visits in a supporting role, Cadence Weapon has scheduled a headlining gig of his own in support of the Polaris shortlisted Hope In Dirt City at Wrongbar for October 12, tickets $12.

MP3: Cadence Weapon – “Conditioning”

CBC Music talked to The Magic ahead of their Summerworks record release show for Ragged Gold this past weekend. Counteract also has a short feature piece.

Evening Hymns have released the first official video from Spectral Dusk, which is out next Tuesday but gets its live public unveiling this Friday night at Summerworks. The album, however, is unveiled as of right now courtesy of the stream at The Line Of Best Fit, which also comes with song-by-song annotations from Jonas Bonnetta.

Video: Evening Hymns – “Family Tree”
Stream: Evening Hymns / Spectral Dusk

Bry Webb talks to NOW about his plans for his own Summerworks show on August 18.

Exclaim and Stereogum talk to Dan Boeckner about his new outfit Divine Fits, while Britt Daniel does the same for Mountain X-Press. A Thing Called Divine Fits is out August 28 – though it’s available to stream now – and they play Lee’s Palace on September 5.

Stream: Divine Fits / A Thing Called Divine Fits

And Boeckner’s former bandmate Spencer Krug talks to The Quietus about his current project, Moonface.

Two Hours Traffic have announced a new EP Siren Spell, due out September 11, which not only offers a sneak preview of what their new lineup sounds like, but also gives the band a chance to indulge in their favourite pastime – touring across the country. Dates are coming this week but in the meantime, check out a track from the new EP.

MP3: Two Hours Traffic – “Amour Than Amis”

After a couple of non-album teases, The Wilderness Of Manitoba have finally offered an official first taste of their second album Island Of Echoes. It’s out September 18.

MP3: The Wilderness Of Manitoba – “Morning Sun”

NPR is streaming a new song from the forthcoming Stars album The North. It’s out September 4 and they support Metric at The Air Canada Centre on November 24. But I think I already said that.

Stream: Stars – “Backlines”

Hot on the heels of her Feistodon interactive clip, Feist has released a more conventional, less metal video from Metals.

Video: Feist – “Anti-Pioneer”

The Luyas have released a preview track from their new record Animator, out October 18. They’re at The Great Hall on September 29 for the PBR10 show.

MP3: The Luyas – “Fifty Fifty”

The AV Club welcomes Destroyer to AV Undercover and they choose to cover Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci. Of course.

DIY interviews Purity Ring.

NOW and The Montreal Gazette talk to Al Spx of Cold Specks.

John O’Regan talks to Spin about the new Diamond Rings record Free Dimensional, due out October 23.

Sloan have announced their super-fancy Twice Removed 20th anniversary package will be out on September 4; Exclaim has rounded up exactly what your $90 plus shipping gets you besides a public declaration that you really like “Pen Pals”.

Yamantaka // Sonic Titan drummer Alaska B lists her favourite albums of the last 20 years for CBC Music.

Beatroute checks in with Black Mountain.

Ben and Jonah of Fucked Up give Exclaim a progress report on their next album. They play Fort York on September 9 as part of Riot Fest.

Liam MaloneyAnd then there were ten.

Yesterday, atop the roof of the Drake Hotel amidst record-breaking heat, the short 2012 Polaris Music Prize short list was announced, dashing the hopes of thirty artists and allowing ten others to begin imagining just what they might do with the $30,000 prize that awaits one of them (the correct answer being: gold plate all of the things). And it’s an interesting group, to be sure.

Some will complain about the lack of a francophone artist – which also surprises me considering the number of strong contenders on the long list – and the heavy 416-ness of the list – 4.5 from Hogtown – but as far as gender and genre splits go, it acquits itself pretty nicely. Usually I can look at the short list and immediately eliminate at least a few of them from serious consideration of winning, but this year it’s a lot tougher to do so – I can envision how many of these records could garner enough support from the grand jury, whomever that ends up being, to have sufficient numbers to come out on top. All of this is speculation, of course, and only those in that creepy-ass Freemason room in the Masonic Temple on September 24 will know exactly how it goes down. But until then, and even though most will save their handicapping until the week before the gala, here’s my thoughts on the short list with points for and against.

Cadence Weapon / Hope In Dirt City (Upper Class Recordings)
Edmonton’s former poet laureate second appearance on the short list comes for a stronger record than Breaking Kayfabe and a higher overall public and critical profile. However, the narratives around the other nominees are almost all stronger and more compelling, and whatever merit Dirt City has, I don’t think it’s going to be front of anyone’s mind including the grand jury.
MP3: Cadence Weapon – “Conditioning

Cold Specks / I Predict A Graceful Expulsion (Arts & Crafts)
That Al Spx is a compelling talent and Expulsion an impressive debut that doesn’t just rest on the power of her voice is unquestionable. But whether it goes far enough in establishing her as having a strong artistic vision of her own rather than just exploring styles of the past, at least at this point in her career, is still up for debate.
Video: Cold Specks – “Blank Maps”

Drake / Take Care (Universal Republic)
By far the “biggest” – at least in terms of mass appeal, record sales, fanbase – artist to make the short list since the Polaris was created, Drake is in rather a unique position, and one that I can’t really argue for or against. Sufficed to say that while I don’t care at all for what he does, millions of others do – and statistically that certainly increases the odds of a sympathetic grand jury. If he does win, I’m pretty sure we won’t be seeing any, “Who the hell is Drake” Tumblrs.
Video: Drake – “Marvin’s Room”

Kathleen Edwards / Voyageur (Maple Music)
There’s no question that Voyageur is the strongest album of Edwards’ career and she’s an eminently likeable artist, but I have trouble arguing it’s the grandest artistic statement our country was able to turn out this year. That said, with the most of the short list decidedly genre there’s a lot of room for something to come up through the middle (of the road) and take it all. If half the jury has gone through a break up recently, then it’s as good as hers.
MP3: Kathleen Edwards – “Change The Sheets”

Feist / Metals (Arts & Crafts)
Many/most assumed that Feist’s latest would at least make the short list even before the album was released – that’s how much people assume that Feist would do something great. So it’s interesting how polarized the response to it has been, with some thinking it’s the deepest record she’s made and others the dullest, but neither side of the argument seems to be that passionate about it.
Video: Feist – “The Bad In Each Other”

Fucked Up / David Comes To Life (Matador)
Despite a few opportunities, we’ve yet to see an artist repeat as Polaris winner and as much as I think Fucked Up are deserving – not for nothing did they top my first ballot and everyone loves the band if not their music – I don’t know if David will have won enough hearts and minds so convincingly to overcome the innate, “they’ve already won!” sentiment that everyone will feel if few will admit.
MP3: Fucked Up – “The Other Shoe”

Grimes / Visions (Artbus)
Perhaps the most heavily-favoured act, at least amongst people I know, there’s not an artist on the list who sounds more absolutely of the moment than Claire Boucher and her chirpy electro-pop. My concerns about this record are that the songwriting is kind of slight and that which is in fashion will, by definition, fall out of fashion and I don’t know that Visions has the sort of weight or timelessness that I’d like to think that the best album our country has to offer would have. However I don’t expect people will hear those concerns as they’ll be too busy dancing. Probably the odds-on favourite to take it all right now.
MP3: Grimes – “Oblivion”

Handsome Furs / Sound Kapital (Sub Pop)
This one’s an interesting entrant, what with the band having announced their dissolution just before the deadline for submission of the first ballots. Not to say that it didn’t have a lot of support before that happened – it almost certainly did – but dominating the news cycle for those few days and reminding every music critic in the country that the band had an eligible record and that it was kind of great certainly didn’t hurt. Now the question is whether or not Dan Boeckner and Alexis Perry can and will put their differences aside to show up at and perform at the gala. Drama!
MP3: Handsome Furs – “Repatriated”

Japandroids / Celebration Rock (Polyvinyl)
There’s a lot of affection for this duo, who went from the verge of splitting up to releasing one of the best pure rock records that this country has seen in a while, and I expect they’ll peel some loud guitar votes from Fucked Up and “if only Springsteen was Canadian” votes from Handsome Furs by being more accessible and immediate than either, but will they be able to sell party as art and get every fist in the grand jury room pumping in unison? I have my reservations.
MP3: Japandroids – “Younger Us”

Yamantaka//Sonic Titan / YT//ST (Psychic Handshake)
I mentioned that Fucked Up topped my first ballot but I should note that by the time second ballots were due, YT/ST had taken the top spot. As Radio Free Canuckistan pointed out in his Polaris preview, a year ago no one had ever heard of this band and now they’ve shortlisted without any appreciable PR effort – just word of mouth from those who’ve heard the record or seen the show – and no label is really unprecedented. They’re certainly not for everyone – if you don’t buy into their “Noh-wave” manifesto, then they probably come off as kind of ridiculous – but despite being the most outside and difficult act on the short list, they’re clearly for more people than anyone might have expected. Certainly, no one can argue they don’t have artistic ambitions or that they’re boring, and they have momentum. So. Much. Momentum.
Video: Yamantaka // Sonic Titan – “Hoshi Neko”

While we’re talking Polaris, aux.tv has an excellent oral history of the prize from organizers, jurists, and nominees, and The National Post got some reactions of shortlisters after discovering that they were. And if you’re interested in seeing some of the nominees live in Toronto, you’re in luck – Cadence Weapon is at Lee’s Palace on July 21 opening up for Liars, Cold Specks is at The Great Hall on August 8, Drake’s annual OVO Fest hits The Molson Amphitheatre on August 5, Fucked Up play Fort York as part of Riot Fest on September 9, Yamantaka//Sonic Titan headline the first day of ALL CAPS! on Toronto Islands on August 11, and Grimes has just announced a date at Lee’s Palace on September 21, tickets $20 in advance.

Some were surprised that Dan Mangan didn’t make the shortlist; he’ll have to drown his sorrows in a cross-Canada tour with The Rural Alberta Advantage that stops in at the Danforth Music Hall on October 25, tickets $32.50 to $39.50. And if you feel inclined to point out that that room isn’t much bigger than the ones that each act has just about filled on their own last year (the Queen Elizabeth Theatre and Phoenix, respectively), I would say that you were correct and point out, in return, that they currently have an off day the following night. You do the math.

MP3: Dan Mangan – “Oh Fortune”
MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “North Star”

Sarah Neufeld, aka violinist for current Polaris champs Arcade Fire, also does a solo thing and she’ll be bringing that thing to The Drake Underground on November 10, tickets $12. Read these pieces at The Georgia Straight and The Province from a west coast tour in May for an idea of what that thing is.

Video: Sarah Neufeld – “Scalpel/Stradivarius”

Pitchfork has details on the new album from Diamond Rings – Free Dimensional will be out October 23.

The Line Of Best Fit has made a new song from The Wilderness Of Manitoba available to download, but it comes not from their new album Island Of Echoes – we continue to have to wait to hear an official sample of that – but from the Delaware House EP they’re releasing overseas to coincide with a European tour. The album is out September 18.

MP3: The Wilderness Of Manitoba – “The Ark”

Exclaim talks to Evan Gordon of The Magic.

The Line Of Best Fit has released a new Oh Canada! downloadable maple-flavoured compilation.

Frank YangThere’s a point in the arc of the breakout band where long-time fans who’ve supported and encouraged the artist through those early days find themselves in the odd position of rubbing elbows not with the faithful but newbs and tourists, interested not in hearing the songs that soundtracked crucial points in their life but that one tune they heard on the radio. For fans of Vancouver duo Japandroids, that time has come and for those in Toronto, that specific moment was Saturday night where on the strength of their second album Celebration Rock, they not only proved they could play clubs the size of Lee’s Palace, but jam it to the gills. And I report on this not as one of those die-hards but one of the newbs.

It wasn’t quite the top-40 scenario sketched out above, but it is true that while I didn’t care for the duo’s 2009 debut Post-Nothing, I was wholly and unexpectedly taken with Celebration Rock and its righteous classic rockism. And I was hardly the only one as the band’s story has turned from having almost called it quits prior to making this record into being one of the most talked-about rock bands of the moment, to say nothing of a spot on the 2012 Polaris Prize longlist with more than reasonable chances of making the short. Yeah, they’re having a pretty good year.

And if they needed someone to discuss the spotlight with, then they could do worse than their tourmate Rollie Pemberton, aka Cadence Weapon, who had himself made the Polaris long list with his third album Hope In Dirt City and who had previously shortlisted with his 2005 debut Breaking Kayfabe. The bill had just completed tours together in the UK and US and as Japandroids guitarist explained as he took the mic before their set, he’d taken to introducing Cadence Weapon to their audience as a way of explaining why a crowd who’d come to see a white noise rock band was about to be warmed up by a hip-hop artist. He did, however, also acknowledge that this was their first show together in Canada and that Cadence Weapon probably didn’t need any hype man in his home country; indeed, to hear Pemberton tell it on Dirt City, he “don’t need a fuckin’ hype man” at all.

In any case, Pemberton performed as though he was thrilled to be playing to audiences where he didn’t necessarily have to justify his presence. His set was part performance, part conversation where he would offer some backstory, some anecdote or otherwise just chat between songs – good for engagement, not so great for pacing or keeping the momentum going. It did get going though, thanks to the crowd getting more and more into it as the show progressed, and while the spartan beats that work well on the Dirt City recordings sounded a bit thin in the live setting, that was more than offset by the amount of energy and expression that Pemberton threw into the performance.

Building momentum wasn’t any kind of problem for Japandroids’ set. Though some have cited Celebration Rock‘s unrelenting pace as a shortcoming – not unreasonably – it was nothing but a positive for their live show, as after another short introduction by King, he and drummer David Prowse – not David Prowse – burst out of the gates with “The Boys Are Leaving Town” and basically didn’t let up with the fist pumping adrenaline or hand clapping anthemicism for the next 80 minutes or so. This was my first Japandroids show ever – see above about newbiness – and even though I’d seen two-piece acts before, the massiveness of their sound was really impressive. The dual Fender Twins/Marshall full stack/Ampeg SVT backline that King plugs his Telecaster into sound massive and also looks it – perfect for doing guitar hero poses in front of, particularly when you’ve got a fan situated sidestage providing windswept hair effects (and cooling things off, of course) to go with the Springsteen-approved white button-down and blue jeans look.

You couldn’t escape the Springsteen-ness of the music, either. Though the older material still sounded a bit generic to my ears, the Celebration Rock stuff translated as well from record to stage as impressively as you could hope, particularly with hundreds of fans singing along. Sweaty and rank fans, certainly – I had to flee their churning mosh pit after four songs – but absolutely devout and unquestionably enthusiastic. And young. Their new record may be a celebration of rock but it’s also a celebration of youth, and I can appreciate how while it just sounds like a great rock record to me, it can connect on a much deeper level to their demographic. It was quite something see; I just didn’t need to be in the middle of it anymore.

If his emcee role earlier in the evening wasn’t a hint, Brian King made it clear pretty quickly he liked to talk to the audience when he wasn’t rocking their faces off, explaining the songs, recounting tour stories, and thanking the fans. You definitely got the sense that he wasn’t taking their recent successes for granted and was genuinely grateful for it all; I’ve little doubt that this is going to be a momentous couple years for the duo as the record propels them forward – it’s good to see that they’re going into this with the right attitude.

It was amusing to hear him call album closer, “Continuous Thunder” a “slow jam” but I suppose that relative to most everything else in their repertoire, it was the thoughtful, contemplative mid-tempo number. They closed with their cover of The Gun Club’s “For The Love Of Ivy”, warning in advance that there would be no encore as they intended to give it their all. The same could have been said about their entire show and no, they weren’t kidding. Intense.

The National Post was also on hand for a review. The double bill has rightfully been leaving quite a trail of press clippings in their wake. There’s Japandroids features at The Phoenix, Denver Westword, Post City, Vulture, The Montreal Mirror, Cleveland.com, and The New York Times while Pemberton talks to The AV Club, The Grid, The Winnipeg Free Press, The National Post (who also take him shopping in Toronto), The Montreal Gazette, and The Edmonton Journal.

Photos: Japandroids, Cadence Weapon @ Lee’s Palace – June 23, 2012
MP3: Japandroids – “The House That Heaven Built”
MP3: Japandroids – “Young Hearts Spark Fire”
MP3: Japandroids – “Wet Hair”
MP3: Japandroids – “Heavenward Grand Prix”
MP3: Cadence Weapon – “Conditioning”
MP3: Cadence Weapon – “Real Estate”
Video: Cadence Weapon – “Get On Down”
Video: Cadence Weapon – “Conditioning”
Video: Cadence Weapon – “Real Estate”
Video: Cadence Weapon – “Sharks”

Billboard talks to Neil Young and director Jonathan Demme about the Neil Young: Journeys documentary that’s coming out June 29. Young leads Crazy Horse into the ACC on November 24.

And just announced as openers for that Neil Young show and others on the tour – ladies and gentlemen, The Sadies.

MP3: The Sadies – “Another Year Again”

Over at The National Post, Nils Edenloff of The Rural Alberta Advantage explains why opening up for The Tragically Hip at Burl’s Creek on Canada Day next weekend is such a big deal for him. He also talks to The Barrie Advance about the show.

Ragged Gold, the debut album from Guelph disco-pop brother act The Magic is out this week and available to stream in its entirety, along with track-by-track band annotations at DIY. They’re opening up for Hot Chip at The Sound Academy on July 15 and will play their own show at The Theatre Centre on August 10 as part of Summerworks.

MP3: The Magic – “Door To Door”
Stream: The Magic / Ragged Gold

Edmonton’s Purity Ring have released another taste of their forthcoming debut Shrines. They’re at The Music Hall on July 6 supporting Dirty Projectors and are featured by The National Post and Spinner.

MP3: Purity Ring – “Fineshrine”

Macleans has posted the full Q&A of their interview with Don Pyle of Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet, whose reunion hits Lee’s Palace on July 14, and Exclaim has a video of one of their comeback gigs at St. Alban’s Boys and Girls Club.

MP3: Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet – “13”

DIY has a video session with and aux.tv some video commentary from Al Spx of Cold Specks. She leads her band into The Great Hall on August 8.

Opening up that show is Snowblink and they’ll be previewing material from their just-confirmed new album Inner Classics. It’s due out September 11 and details on the release can be found at Exclaim, and a first track can be downloaded below.

MP3: Snowblink – “Black & White Mountain”

Each Note Secure chats with Great Lake Swimmers, opening up for Blue Rodeo at The Molson Amphitheatre on August 20.

Stars have revealed details of their next album – it will be called The North, be out September 4, and at least one song will sound like this. As for details of their next tour…

MP3: Stars – “The Theory Of Relativity”

…They will be hooking up with Metric for a cross-Canada tour that brings them to the Air Canada Centre on November 24. Not quite stadium love, but arena ain’t bad. The Globe & Mail and eMusic have feature pieces on the band and DIY and The Line Of Best Fit chip in video sessions. And another track from Synthetica has been made available to download.

MP3: Metric – “Clone”
MP3: Metric – “Artificial Nocturne”

Spinner gets a preview on the visual and audio direction that Diamond Rings will be taking with his second album; a video for the first single from it was just released.

Video: Diamond Rings – “I’m Just Me”

The Grid chatted with Dan Bejar of Destroyer ahead of last weekend’s show at The Opera House.

Chains Of Love have released a new video from Strange Grey Days and if you head over to Nylon, you can grab another track from the album to download. Note that it’s uncompressed so have some disk space open…

AIFF: Chains Of Love – “Mistake Lover”
Video: Chains Of Love – “He’s Leaving With Me”

Daytrotter has a session with Kathryn Calder.

CBC Music solicits PS I Love You frontman Paul Saulnier’s five favourite songs of the last 20 years.

The Take chats with The Elwins.

Frank YangDespite only seeing four bands, I like to think that I covered a fair bit of ground – stylistically, geographically, exploratorily (?), what have you – on the first night of Canadian Musicfest. The Friday night stuck slightly closer to home on all fronts but yielded much better and consistent results.

The evening kicked off at Rancho Relaxo with Neufovin in all the way from Finland (I mistakenly called them Norwegian in my festival preview and apologize profusely). Besides having an affinity for anything Scandinavian, the foursome impressed me with the samples posted online – they’ve yet to release a debut album but already sound like a tight and creative unit only somewhat all over the place with respect to what they want to sound like. But based on their set, they were leaning towards a low-level orbit brand of space-rock, propelled by their nimble drummer whose work reminded me of The National’s Bryan Devendorf and that’s basically the highest praise I can give a drummer; I could have just sat and listened to him play all night. The vocals could use a little more expressiveness but hearing their confident transitions from sonic grace to chaos and back again, I would definitely like to hear that debut whenever it’s done.

Photos: Neufvoin @ Rancho Relaxo – March 23, 2012
MP3: Neufvoin – “Drunken Captain”
MP3: Neufvoin – “Polar Song”
MP3: Neufvoin – “Villasukka”
MP3: Neufvoin – “Mouse On Mars”
Video: Neufvoin – “Polar Song”

I’m not sure who booked New York’s The Big Sleep into The Painted Lady, but it was a weird venue for them, being better suited to singer-songwriter acts than heavy, lumbering rock acts – to wit, they kept getting asked to turn down their amps through their set. But while the band had a track record, their third album Nature Experiments had just come out in January and was their first in four years; they probably had to work to get back onto peoples’ radars. I for one had lost track of them after seeing them at Pop Montreal 2006 circa their debut Son Of The Tiger, but remembered them well enough to know I wanted to see/hear them again, given the chance. Happily, time hadn’t messed with my memory and they were as good as I recalled, coming across equal parts intense and cool and heavy all around. Sonya Balchandani and Danny Barria have distinct vocal styles but maintain a similarly detached personality, offering a nice balance to their decidedly pummelling guitar-bass-keys instrumental groove. I imagine it’d make great car chase music.

Photos: The Big Sleep @ The Painted Lady – March 23, 2012
MP3: The Big Sleep – “Ace”
MP3: The Big Sleep – “Bad Blood”
MP3: The Big Sleep – “Pinkies”
MP3: The Big Sleep – “Murder”
MP3: The Big Sleep – “You Can’t Touch The Untouchable”
Video: The Big Sleep – “Ace”
Video: The Big Sleep – “Valentine”
Video: The Big Sleep – “Murder”

At this point, the best laid plans kind of fell apart as catching a streetcar across College from Ossington to Spadina turned into walking across College from Ossington to Spadina, an exercise that took quite a bit longer than intended (it wasn’t by choice). But being late for an 11PM showcase means you’re early for an 11:30 one, so I managed to slip into the El Mocambo between sets and get in position for one of the festival’s hotter acts, Vancouver’s retro-soul revivalists Chains of Love. They’d been a highlight of last year’s NXNE and their just-released debut Strange Grey Days was a solid one, so I was pretty content with this plan B. This show was somewhat less gleefully chaotic than that Silver Dollar show – the ElMo stage affording enough space that the band weren’t falling over each other up there – but while that was part of the fun last time, its loss was mitigated by the fact that the band were more polished and all-around better sounding than last time, and the extra space allowed for frontwoman Nathalia Pizarro’s dance moves and tambourine workout. They wisely stuck to their uptempo material for the set and while that meant that it was all over extra fast – I don’t think it even clocked in at half an hour – they definitely proved that NXNE show wasn’t any kind of fluke. Spinner has an interview with the band.

Photos: Chains Of Love @ The El Mocambo – March 23, 2012
MP3: Chains Of Love – “In Between”
MP3: Chains Of Love – “Breaking My Heart”
MP3: Chains Of Love – “You Got It”

And if Chains Of Love were going to pass on their title of “best new discovery at The Silver Dollar during a music festival” – it’s a real thing, look it up – then across the street July Talk were ready to take it. I didn’t know a thing about them ahead of time, but The Silver Dollar is usually a pretty safe bet during either CMF or NXNE – at the very least, whatever you see will be loud and rocking and at the very most, it’ll be amazing. That might be overselling July Talk a bit, but they were definitely one of the most entertaining sets I’d see all week. Fronted by the duo of Peter Dreimanis and Leah Fay, they offered a sort of rowdy, sleazy blues punkabilly take on June & Johnny/Gram & Emmylou with not a little Sailor & Lula/Mickey & Mallory dynamic thrown into the mix. They two were electric onstage, whether playfully shoving, biting or rubbing up against each other or working the audience – Fay graciously put lipstick on more than a few members of the crowd – all the while leading their band through some foot-stomping, ass-shaking tunes that were almost as tuneful as they were theatrical. Tremendously fun, and I don’t know what is says about me that I assumed they were an out-of-town act from Los Angeles or the like… and not from right here in Toronto. Who knew we had it in us?

Photos: July Talk @ The Silver Dollar – March 23, 2012
M4A: July Talk – “Paper Girl”
M4A: July Talk – “The Garden”

PS I Love You are gearing up for the May 8 release of Death Dreams with a second MP3 and a set of tour dates that includes a May 15 date at The Garrison.

MP3: PS I Love You – “Princess Towers”

The AV Club gets to know Army Girls; they’re opening up some of those PS I Love You dates, no word if they’re going to be doing so in Toronto but one can hope. Update: Yup, they’re opening the Garrison show.

And not to give up the title of pre-eminent loud Canadian rock duo, Japandroids will release their new one Celebration Rock on June 5 and have plotted their own Summer tour which brings them to The Horseshoe on June 23. A stream from the new record is available now.

Stream: Japandroids – “The House That Heaven Built”

It almost goes without saying that the just-announced Fucked Up show at The Power Plant art gallery space at Harbourfront on May 1 will be something more than just a concert, but they haven’t said what yet. But if you’re looking to get some Fucked Up in you life, keep the date open.

MP3: Fucked Up – “Queen Of Hearts”

The Wooden Sky have released the third instalment of their “Grace On A Hill” video session series at Chart. They play The Opera House on April 20.

Exclaim and The Awl talk to Tony Dekker of Great Lake Swimmers, whose new album New Wild Everywhere is out next week and streaming in full over at aux.tv. They’re at The Music Hall on June 2 and have just announced an in-store at Sonic Boom for April 3 at 6PM.

Stream: Great Lake Swimmers / New Wild Everywhere

Opening up that Great Lake Swimmers show will be Cold Specks, who was profiled by NOW and The Globe & Mail. I Predict A Graceful Explosion will be out May 22.

The Globe & Mail, Willamette Weekly, Edmonton Journal, and NOW talk to John K Samson.

Exclaim and aux.tv talk to Joel Plaskett about his new record Scrappy Happiness. He’s at The Queen Elizabeth Theatre on May 18 and 19.

The National Post and Spinner chat with John O’Regan of Diamond Rings about his second album and how it feels to be a Juno nominee.

Also up for a Juno is Dan Mangan; The Vancouver Sun has an interview with the singer-songwriter.

Spin points to a stream if another of Arcade Fire’s contributions to the Hunger Games soundtrack.

Stream: Arcade Fire – “Horn Of Plenty”

Pitchfork reports that Caribou’s performance at the 2009 ATP festival as the Caribou Vibration Ensemble is available to watch in its entirety at Vimeo. Caribou opens up for Radiohead at Downsview Park on June 16.

A track from Moonface’s new album With Sinai: Heartbreaking Bravery is now available to download. It’s out April 17.

MP3: Moonface – “Headed For The Door”

DIY interviews Claire Boucher of Grimes.

AmazonYesterday was a pretty busy one as far as festival announcements went – the first acts for this year’s Pitchfork Festival, happening July 13 to 15 in Chicago’s Union Park, were revealed; Sled Island made a pretty compelling argument for visiting Calgary from June 20 to 23; and though an official announcement is still a little ways off, the fact that Florence & The Machine, The Walkmen, tUnE-yArDs, Black Keys and The Shins will all be passing through during the August long weekend gives you a good notion of who Osheaga will be bringing to Montreal.

All of which serves to remind that we here in Toronto are again a festival-free town, at least as far as big outdoor to-dos are concerned. Sure, we may get an Olympic Island show but those aren’t ever a sure thing, Hillside is reasonably local but keeps things pretty grassroots, and club-level stuff like CMW and NXNE don’t quite stir the same amount of excitement, though the free shows at Yonge-Dundas Square during NXNE come pretty close. And yeah I know there’s stuff like Edgefest and Warped and HeavyTO, but those never interest me and are thus invalid. All of which is to say that for all the problems that it ran into over its four-year existence, I miss V Fest.

But hey, the field isn’t completely fallow – The Tragically Hip, as they often do, have announced a couple of multi-act shows in honour of the 200th anniversary of the War Of 1812 and Canada Day to take place at Butler’s Barracks in Niagara-On-The-Lake on June 30 and Burl’s Creek outside of Barrie on July 1, respectively. Not in the 416 like last year’s Weezer co-headline bro-fest at Downsview, but as good as it gets for now. Joining them for both dates will be Death Cab For Cutie, The New Pornographers, and The Rural Alberta Advantage. I’m assuming Death Cab will play the Americans in the historical re-enactment of the Battle Of Beaver Dams. It’s not as mammoth a linuep as they’ve sometimes assembled for the country’s birthday, but it’s a solid one.

Tickets are $69.50 for either show and there will be a limited number of two-days passes for $99.50 for the extra patriotic. Details at thehip.com.

MP3: Death Cab For Cutie – “Photobooth”
MP3: The New Pornographers – “(Your Hands) Together”
MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “North Star”
Video: The Tragically Hip – “My Music At Work”

The Wilderness Of Manitoba will warm up for their trip down to Austin for SXSW and preview songs from their forthcoming second album with a show at The Drake Underground on March 8.

MP3: The Wilderness Of Manitoba – “Hermit”

Acknowledging that barely a fraction of their fanbase will get to see them at The Horseshoe on March 23 during Canadian Musicfest, Zeus have made a properly-sized hometown date at The Phoenix on June 9, tickets $15. Their second album Busting Visions is out March 27.

MP3: Zeus – “Anything You Want Dear”

Exclaim welcomes Grimes to the cover of their March issue. She’s at The Horseshoe on March 19.

Pitchfork has premiered the first track from PS I Love You’s sophomore effort Death Dreams, out May 8. They’re also playing Lee’s Palace on March 23 for Canadian Musicfest and Toronto Standard has a conversation with them and Diamond Rings, whose own second album is the process of being wrapped up.

MP3: PS I Love You – “Sentimental Dishes”

The Alternate Side welcomes Dan Mangan for a video session and interview. He plays The Indies at The Royal York on March 24.

Interview has premiered the first of a series of performance videos by The Wooden Sky showcasing songs from their new record Every Child a Daughter, Every Moon a Sun, while Exclaim has an interview with the band in this month’s issue as well as an online piece about the other projects the band are pursuing, and The Link also has a chat. They’re at The Opera House on April 20.

Interview, CBC Radio 3, Montreal Gazette, and National Post talk to Plants & Animals about their new album The End Of That, from which they’ve just released a new video. They’re at Lee’s Palace on April 21.

Video: Plants & Animals – “Lightshow”

Metric have announced a June 12 release date for their new record, which will be entitled Synthetica. I suspect that some synths went into the making of this record.

The Line Of Best Fit, Exclaim, and Minnesota Daily talk to Memoryhouse about their debut full-length The Slideshow Effect, out now and sporting a brand-new video.

Video: Memoryhouse – “The Kids Were Wrong”

Islands have released a new video from A Sleep & A Forgetting while NPR has posted a World Cafe session and Exclaim, Blurt, JAM, and Seattle Weekly interviews with the band.

Video: Islands – “Hallways”

The Scotsman talks to Kathleen Edwards, who also gives Clash a peek at some of her literary influences. The Hamilton Spectator also has some questions for their former resident.

Uptown, The Calgary Herald, and Prairie Dog interview Calgary singer-songwriter Rae Spoon.

Happy Leap Day! It’s a great day to do things you normally wouldn’t… like lead a post with The Tragically Hip! Woo!