Sebastian MlynarskiLet it never be said I’m beholden to the traditional press cycle when it comes to reviews. At least not when it comes to Brooklyn’s Bishop Allen. I only got around to writing up their second album, The Broken String last December, almost a year and a half after it was released, and here I am now just getting to their latest Grr… though in this case, the delay is a mere seven months. Almost eight. At least I got the review of their show here in January up within days.

With regards to the lag times, for The Broken String the defense was that, well, I didn’t really know the band but had hung onto the CD for just that long because I had a hunch I’d like it. Why I didn’t just spin the thing sooner and find out is an excellent question. I have a team of experts researching that right now. But for Grr…, it was simply a matter of waiting for the record to win me over the way its predecessor did. And waiting. And waiting. See, what I appreciated about The Broken String was the collegiate cleverness, tempered with open-hearted earnestness and mated with terrific singalong melodies.

And while you can still sing along with Grr…, the band seems to have regressed to a simpler state as far as songwriting goes. This doesn’t seem to be an accident, but a deliberate stylistic shift – the lyrical density and detailed storytelling has given way to more impressionistic wordplay and sometimes nonsensical rhymes. The production is much drier and leaner, often emphasizing just Justin Rice’s voice and Christian Rudder’s guitar, and even the album title and art is primary school basic and playful. And maybe that’s the point of this record, to step back from The Broken String, strip things down to and get back to basics for a spell. If so, job well done. Grr… is a study in simplicity, doing more with less and seeing just how far you can go powered just by melody. It was personally a bit frustrating to have a band I’d just gotten into shelve from those characteristics that drew me to them in the first place, but Grr… is still a pop treat by more objective standards.

The band is currently on tour and will be at the El Mocambo in Toronto on Friday night, October 30. Tickets are $15 in advance but courtesy of REMG, I’ve got two pairs of passes to give away for the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to go Grrr” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest closes at midnight, October 28.

MP3: Bishop Allen – “Dimmer”
MP3: Bishop Allen – “The Ancient Commonsense Of Things”
Video: Bishop Allen – “Shanghaied”
Video: Bishop Allen – “Dimmer”
MySpace: Bishop Allen

Pitchfork and Offbeat have interviews with Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips.

PopMatters and The AV Club chat with Thao Nguyen, namesake of Thao with The Get Down Stay Down. They’re at the El Mocambo this Sunday, November 1, and passes and CDs are still up for grabs.

Daytrotter has got a massive session with The Magnolia Electric Co available to download.

Stereogum points out that a the CBC’s QTV has been compiling a series of video guitar lessons from musical guests passing through their studios, including The National and Vampire Weekend. Did I just stop writing to dust of the guitar and learn to play, “Fake Empire”? Maybe I did. Maybe I did. Also discovered I lost my capo. No “Slow Show” for me.

Neither of these are officially confirmed, but February 9 may see a new record from Shearwater entitled The Golden Archipelago appear in stores. Jonathan Meiburg provided some details on the record this Summer to Michael Hoinski and chimed in on the band’s message boards to discuss some of the possible forms the album would be appearing in – namely different tracklistings and running orders for the CD and LP editions, with the LP coming out as a longer entity than the CD.

PitchforkTV coaxes Yo La Tengo onto a rooftop to play some songs. Or else.

The California Literary Review has an extensive feature on Nicole Atkins, currently on the road with her band The Black Sea road-testing material for album number two, set to be recorded this Winter and released next year.

NPR has a World Cafe session with New York’s Freelance Whales, who will be touring with Fanfarlo this Fall including their December 9 date at the El Mocambo so if you’re planning on being at that show – which you obviously should – make their acquaintance now. Stereogum also declared them a band to watch back in September.

Check out the third new video appearing on the Land Of Talk EP Fun & Laughter, out today. It’s stunning.

Video: Land Of Talk – “It’s Okay”

Basia Bulat will lead up to the January 26 release of her new record Heart Of My Own with her biggest and fanciest Toronto show yet, playing Trinity-St. Paul’s on January 16. Tickets are $20 in advance, on sale Thursday.

MP3: Basia Bulat – “Gold Rush”

The Line Of Best Fit has details on the next Los Campesinos record Romance Is Boring, due out January 26.

Interview has a short chat with The xx. They’re at the Phoenix on December 2.

Elbow’s Guy Garvey gives Drowned In Sound a track-by-track blow-by-blow of the deluxe edition reissue of their debut Asleep In The Back, due out on November 10.

As much as I want to put stock in this typically sensationalistic NME piece on a possible Pulp reunion for Glastonbury next year, I’m far more inclined to side with Idolator’s take on it. Jarvis is much too canny to let something as huge as that slip in that manner. And on second thought, I hope it’s false because I don’t want to have to really face the question of just how far (distance, expense, camping in mud) would I be willing to go to see Pulp live. I suspect the answer is not as far as would be necessary.

Brian TaborelloI’m thinking I should start declaring Fridays to be “Leftover Fridays”, or “Fragmented Fridays” on account of them more often than not being theme-less hodge-podges of whatever bits of linkage I have left over from the week that I’d rather not sit on through the weekend. Though today maybe it should be “Funny Friday” because rather than kick off with music, we’ve got some comedy to close out your week.

Season two of Flight Of The Conchords ended exponentially stronger than it started (which was pretty weak) and so the resulting second album I Told You I Was Freaky – out October 20 – should have a healthy quotient of parodic hilarity. Don’t know if there’s anything quite on the level of genius of “Inner City Pressure”, “Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros” or “Foux du Fafa”, but “Sugalumps”, available to download below, was pretty great and “Too Many Dicks On The Dance Floor” is pure Gondry gold.

And further, Eugene Mirman – who plays landlord Eugene on Flight Of The Conchords – also has a new album out in God Is A 12-Year Old Boy With Aspbergers. It’s a straight stand-up recording and is chock full of LOL and LULZ moments, though I don’t think a bear was actually heckling as heard in the sample MP3. It’s out on Tuesday.

And that photo is pretty funny, too. Look, Jemaine is trying to bribe some miniature toy policemen. And he and Bret are also miniature!

MP3: Flight Of The Conchords – “Sugalumps”
MP3: Eugene Mirman – “Vancouver, Detroit & Bears”
Video: Flight Of The Conchords – “Sugalumps”

And oh yeah, David Cross is in town for two shows at the Queen Elizabeth theatre tonight, early and late. He’s labelmates with FOTC and Eugene Mirman so I thought I’d throw that in there. There’s interviews with Cross at eye and The Pitch.

MP3: David Cross – “Certain Leaders in Government Look or Act Like Certian Pop Culture References”
MP3: David Cross – “My Wife’s Crazy!”

Sentimentalist talks to A Place To Bury Strangers about their new record Exploding Head, out next Tuesday. Look for them at the Mod Club on October 27.

Asobi Seksu are offering tastes of their two new releases – a video for the title track of their “Transparence” 10″ single and an MP3 of the Hope Sandoval cover from their acoustic Rewolf album, due out November 10. The latter should give a sense of what to expect when they play the Horseshoe on October 13. There’s also an interview with the band at The Georgia Straight.

MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Suzanne”
Video: Asobi Seksu – “Transparence”

Hope Sandoval will herself be in town next week, with a show at the Mod Club on October 7. Interview has an interview.

I’m not usually one for posting remixes but this xx re-imagining of Florence & The Machine’s “You’ve Got The Love” is more cover than remix, with the young London outfit basically replacing all of the original with their own recorded tracks and vocals, saving only a bit of Florence for the chorus. Of course, Florence’s version is itself a cover of Candi Staton, so… yeah. Florence is at the Mod Club on November 2 while The xx are at the Phoenix on December 2. The Times has an interview with the latter.

MP3: Florence & The Machine – “You’ve Got The Love” (xx remix)

The Joy Formidable are giving away a new song via last.fm which is just about as good as anything on their superb A Balloon Called Moaning mini-album. They’re also putting out a limited-edition live CD entitled First You have To Get Mad, recorded this past Wednesday night (!) in London – it’s officially released on November 16.

MP3: The Joy Formidable – “Greyhounds In The Slips”

eMusic, The List, The Skinny and MusicOmh interview The Big Pink. They’ve a date at Lee’s Palace on November 29.

Clash interviews Editors. In This Light and On This Evening is out next week.

NME reports that Elbow are re-issuing their 2001 debut Asleep In The Back on October 26 enhanced with a second disc of bonus and live tracks and a DVD. I’ve fallen in love with all of their subsequent records but their debut still leaves me unmoved. I doubt this edition will change that, and I’m okay with that.

Mum have premiered a new video for the sort-of title track from Sing Along To Songs You Don’t Know over at Stereogum. They play the Phoenix on October 27.

Video: Mum – “Sing Along”

Ladyhawke has released a new video. The San Francisco Examiner has an interview.

Video: Ladyhawke – “Magic”

Built To Spill are streaming their new record There Is No Enemy at their MySpace in advance of next Tuesday’s release date. They’ve got two dates at Lee’s Palace on October 6 and 7.

Stream: Built To Spill / There Is No Enemy

St. Vicent’s Annie Clark talks to Pitchfork about her contributions to the new Twilight soundtrack.

An MP3 from the Alela Diane EP Alela & Alina – out Tuesday – is now up for grabs. She plays the Horseshoe on October 16.

MP3: Alela Diane with Alina Hardin – “Bowling Green”

Canadian Interviews talks to Tony Dekker of Great Lake Swimmers.

Though he’s in town on Monday at the Mod Club opening up for Bob Mould, Miles Anthony Benjamin Robinson has already scheduled a return engagement for after his new album Summer Of Fear is released on October 20. He’ll be at the Drake Underground on November 17 with These United States, who themselves have a new record out in Everything Touches Everything.

MP3: Miles Anthony Benjamin Robinson – “The Sound”
MP3: These United States – “I Want You To Keep Everything”

Luxury Wafers interviews Matthew Clark of White Rabbits. They’re at the Horseshoe on October 24.

And the Malajube show originally scheduled for that date at the ‘Shoe has been postponed to November 26.

Decider chats with The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart.

Wye Oak are the subject of feature pieces at Slap Magazine, LAist and Honest Tune.

Exclaim talks to Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance of Merge Records.

Owen RichardsI don’t always trust myself, particularly when it comes to things like first impressions to music. Some things I think I hate grow to become dear favourites, while other things that may impress at first blush turn out to have the shortest shelf lives. But sometimes the things that instantly sound amazing actually are, and while it may still be too soon to call it, I’m prepared to put The xx in that rarefied group.

I only got a copy of their debut album xx earlier this week, but it has already received more plays than some records I’ve had for months – it simply demands to be heard and re-heard. Trying to find a place from which to begin describing it is difficult – imagine smooth trip-hop crossed with goth-tinged dreampop, seamlessly fused at the genetic level. Imagine Massive Attack busking in an abandoned tube station, armed with just guitars, bass and drum machine and drenched in reverb. It’s cold and sensual. Joyous and sullen. Dark and luminous. Detached and seductive. Confident and trepidatious. It’s dead simple and richly complex, and it’s crafted by four nineteen-year olds from the south of London. I want to use all manner of superlatives and hyperbole, but that sort of enthusiasm is sort of at odds with xx‘s utterly laid back beauty. So I’ll just say that while there’s plenty of time for its spell to be broken, for the moment it certainly looks like this is one of the best new bands/debuts/albums I’m likely to hear this year. Oh dear, that was a bit hyperbolic, wasn’t it? Ah well.

xx is out now in the UK now but North Americans who still like the physical product must wait until October 20. Those who do the digital over here can get it now, however, as it became available on iTunes, eMusic and the like this week. They’re also touring North America later this year as support for Friendly Fires – the pairing of their austere understatedness and the headliners’ unabashed dance party should be an interesting mix. Very much looking forward to the December 2 date at the Mod Club Phoenix.

The Guardian and about.com have interviews with the band, who may end up being one of the rare bands who deliver far more than what the hype promises. Oops, more hyperbole.

MP3: The xx – “Basic Space”
MP3: The xx – “Crystalised”
Video: The xx – “Basic Space”
Video: The xx – “Crystalised”
MySpace: The xx

Elbow’s Guy Garvey tells BBC that the band are, uh, elbow-deep in new songs for their next album, which they’ll start working on in earnest after they finish touring in mid-September.

Pitchfork reports that pre-orders of the US release of Manic Street Preachers’ Journal For Plague Lovers on September 15 via the band’s website will get a copy of the previously announced remix album, featuring contributions from the likes of Patrick Wolf and The Horrors, for free. Those of us who already have the album will presumably be given some other way to get it. Probably involving a further outlay of cash. Manic Street Preachers are at the Phoenix on October 4.

MP3: Manic Street Preachers – “Doors Closing Slowly” (Horrors remix)

The Line Of Best Fit has details on the fan-funded new Idlewild album, Post-Electric Blues, which will be out on October 5.

Clash talks to Noah & The Whale, who are set to release their new album The First Days Of Spring in the UK on August 31 and October 6 in North America. They also recently recorded a Black Cab Session.

Rockfeedback welcomes Emmy The Great to their digs for a lovely video session and hilarious interview. Emmy crush unabated.

To anyone wondering, Lucky Soul’s new album – still untitled – has had its release date pushed back from this Fall to January of next year. Until then, we will have to subsist on the first single. I can do that.

MP3: Lucky Soul – “Whoa Billy”

Tracyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura talks David Lynch and inspiration with The Tripwire.

PopMatters celebrates the early years of The Wedding Present.

I Taught Myself How To Grow Old talks to Bobby Wratten, formerly of The Field Mice, about the experience of having Saint Etienne cover their “Let’s Kiss And Make Up” to much greater success than the original ever achieved.

Video: Saint Etienne – “Let’s Kiss And Make Up”

Magnet plays over/under not with a single band’s oeuvre, as they normally do, but with the bands of the Britpop era.

Tom BeardIf I had more time or inclination, I might try to dig up some biographical info on Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell, the duo who make up the London-based outfit that goes by The Big Pink. But seeing as how they pretty much came out of nowhere from where I stand, I won’t try to pretend I know any more about them than you could glean from reading this piece on them from The Guardian from last November. And instead of talking about who they are, I’ll focus on what they do – which is make a fuzzy, clattering racket that sounds like various shoegazey portions of my CD collection got to copulating when I wasn’t looking.

Their debut A Brief History Of Love is due out on 4AD on September 22 and is currently streaming on the band’s website through the start of next week. It’s louder, funkier and more anthemically inclined than your typical dreampop-inspired sounds, decidedly fond of the square wave, unafraid of digital textures and respectful of the drone. It doesn’t necessarily bring anything new to the table but it does take some familiar sounds and moves from the last 20 years or so of British space-rock, dusts them off and gives them a good shine before pushing them out onto the dance floor. I approve.

The duo, hopefully bolstered with a live band rather than a laptop, will be touring relentlessly through Europe, the UK and then North America this Fall and that will include a November 29 date at Lee’s Palace. Check them out, but leave the fruit baskets at home.

MP3: The Big Pink – “Dominos”
MP3: The Big Pink – “Velvet”
Video: The Big Pink – “Velvet”
Video: The Big Pink – “Too Young To Love”
MySpace: The Big Pink

Consequence Of Sound has details on the forthcoming reissue of Spiritualized’s seminal Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space, which will include new artwork (blasphemy!) to go with two bonus discs of outtakes and general bonus material.

Video: Spiritualized – “Electricity”
Video: Spiritualized – “Come Together”

Interview talks to Guy Garvey of Elbow. Locals may have noticed that the Letterman appearance they canceled last week’s Toronto show for never actually aired – according to this Facebook note, the show ran long and the performance had to be cut from the broadcast. Figures. But they’ve been invited back for another go in September so hopefully they’ll take advantage of being back on this continent and also reschedule that Phoenix show. Fingers crossed.

What We See Is What You Get is a site that has taken the Takeaway Show aesthetic of impromptu live performances to the streets of Toronto, and are slowly building a nice collection of videos including this one with Frightened Rabbit.

Maximo Park checks in from Japan with a tour diary dispatch for Spinner. They’ll be at Lee’s Palace on September 18.

The Quietus trades emails with The Twilight Sad’s. Their new album Forget The Night Ahead is out out September 22 and they’ll be at the El Mocambo on October 10.

They’re accompanied on that tour with We Were Promised Jetpacks – The Wickerman Festival have an interview with the band.

Exclaim reveals that Echo & The Bunnymen have finally set a release date for their new album The Fountain – look for it October 12, but don’t look for them to play it when they’re at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on October 20 – that evening is dedicated to Ocean Rain.

Billboard reports that Jarvis Cocker is writing songs for the Russell Brand-powered “sequel” to Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him To The Greek.

Stereogum gets a progress report on album four from The Futureheads.

Kate Nash reveals to NME that Bernard Butler will be producing her second album. I like the sounds of that, yes I do.

NME also has an update from Glasvegas on their plans for recording album number two.

Bloc Party tells NME they have no definite plans for a new album or really anything at all once the current round of touring is over.

Already out in the UK, Noah & The Whale’s sophomore effort The First Days Of Spring will get a North American release on October 6 with touring on this side of the Atlantic to follow later that month.

NPR is streaming a session with Robyn Hitchcock.

Chart talks to Anthony Gonzalez of M83.

Both NOW, eye and The Montreal Mirror welcome St Vincent to Canada. St Vincent plays the Horseshoe on Saturday night.

Interview chats briefly with Lykke Li, in town at the Sound Academy on Sunday evening.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs review and photos coming Monday. There’s a lot to go through!

Andy WhittonSo the excitement was great when it appeared that Elbow were going to be playing their first show in Toronto in some time at the Phoenix on July 29. The listing popped up on the venue’s website and I dutifully reported it as pretty much a done deal – so when it disappeared a few days later, I assumed someone had jumped the gun and waited for the official announcement to come. And waited. And waited. And while waiting, I seemed to become the go-to for news on the show, with incoming emails and tweets and whatever looking for ticket on-sale information, information that I didn’t have. Until I made some inquiries and discovered that the show HAD been for real, but was no longer as the band had gotten a better offer for that evening. So to anyone and everyone who’d hoped to see Elbow that evening, you still can – you’ll just have to tune into The Late Show with David Letterman to do so. Good for Elbow, not so good for Hogtown.

Sure, you can still see them the evening of the 30th at the Rogers Centre, opening for Coldplay, but that’s hardly the setting or the context a fan would want to experience them in. Plus it’s sold out and would have been really expensive anyways. And so we sit and hope against hope that they’ll find their way back to North America for their own shows sometime soon. Perhaps in an orchestral setting as they’ve been wont to do of late. Hey, if we’re wishing for gigs that aren’t likely to happen anytime soon, why not go big?

Also unlikely but very real is the scenario of Elbow, Mancunian mope-rockers extraordinaire, covering American R&B queens Destiny’s Child but they did just for a 2002 BBC1 Live Lounge session with Jo Whiley, turning in a jaunty and tongue-mostly-in-cheek version of the trio’s smash hit from the Charlie’s Angels soundtrack. And while a Destiny’s Child reunion isn’t happening, two-thirds of the band are on the road and had Toronto on their itineraries – Kelly Rowland was here a couple weeks ago to perform during Pride and Beyonce will play the Molson Amphitheatre tomorrow night.

MP3: Elbow – “Independent Women”
Video: Destiny’s Child – “Independent Women”