Jo McCaugheyTwo, actually.

Typically big albums come with big tours, but while Jack White’s solo debut Blunderbuss has been inarguably one of the biggest releases of the year for the adjectiveless rock set, his touring itinerary – at least in North America – has been relatively scattershot, favouring short stretches anchored by festival dates. And while no one would call the dates announced yesterday any kind of cross-country marathon, it does include the first three eastern Canadian dates since the end of The White Stripes, two of which are in Toronto.

White and his two backing bands will be at The Sony Centre for a two-night stand on October 3 and 4 – maybe one night for the all-she Birds backing band and one for the all-he Buzzards? The venue is a bit surprising of a choice since the room holds only 3200 or so; that’s hardly nothing, but remember that that this is a guy who headlines major festivals and who has a fanbase that will think nothing of shelling out to hit both nights. So even though the usually seated venue will have a standing, general admission area set up to increase capacity and rocking out real estate, that’s still not a lot of tickets up for grabs. So when the $45, $59.50, and $75 – plus service charges, natch – tickets go on sale Friday at 11AM… well good luck.

MP3: Jack White – “Blunderbuss”
Video: Jack White – “Sixteen Saltines”
Video: Jack White – “Freedom At 21”
Video: Jack White – “Love Interruption”

Chicagoan outsider folk artist/poet Willis Earl Beal is back in town at The Drake on October 1 for a show in support of his debut, Acousmatic Sorcery; tickets $15.50 in advance. Pitchfork has full Autumn tour dates and details on his plans for an animated short film.

MP3: Willis Earl Beal – “White Noise”

Ben Folds Five, reunited and ready to release their first album in 13 years in The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind on September 18, have put together a tour that brings them to the Kool Haus on October 15, tickets $37.50. On one hand, I loved their first two records. On the other, I don’t know how much of my college years I necessarily need to revisit. Hmm. Folds talks to Spin about why he decided to re-form his old band now, and the answer is a bit longer than, “cha-ching”.

Video: Ben Folds Five – “Song For The Dumped”

The impeccably punk-pedigreed OFF! are back in town for a show at Wrongbar on October 23. I guess this is why we won’t be seeing a proper Red Kross tour this Fall… The Village Voice has an interview with frontman Keith Morris.

Video: OFF! – “Wiped Out”

Matthew Dear and Light Asylum will team up for a show at The Hoxton on November 9. The Skinny talks to Dear about his new album Beams, out August 27.

MP3: Matthew Dear – “Earthforms”
MP3: Light Asylum – “A Certain Person”

Portland electro-rock duo The Helio Sequence will release their new record Negotiations on September 11, and have slated a full North American tour to support – look for them at The Horseshoe on November 12. One preview MP3 was released a little while ago and Rolling Stone has just debuted a second.

MP3: The Helio Sequence – “October”
MP3: The Helio Sequence – “Hall Of Mirrors”

Pitchfork has details on the long-awaited third album from Titus Andronicus: Local Business will be out September 23. And okay two years isn’t really such a long time since The Monitor but still. Woo?

Fang Island have released a first video from their latest effort Major. College Times has a quick interview.

Video: Fang Island – “Sisterly”

Rolling Stone talks to Band Of Horses’ Ben Bridwell about working with legendary producer Glynn Johns on their new record Mirage Rock. They play Echo Beach tomorrow night, August 15, and release said record on September 18.

Grizzly Bear have released another track from their forthcoming album Shields, out September 18. They play Massey Hall on September 26.

MP3: Grizzly Bear – “Yet Again”

Rolling Stone and Prague Post check in with Greg Dulli on the The Afghan Whigs reunion, rolling into The Phoenix on October 3.

Rolling Stone talks to Victoria Legrand of Beach House. They play The Kool Haus on October 13.

OVRLD checks in with Jonathan Meiburg of Shearwater.

Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips submits to an interview with QRO because goodness knows he hates being interviewed.

Frank YangMy writeup of day one of Osheaga mentioned a few times how hot it was, but it bears repeating: it was hot. 40 Celsius with the humidity – that’s 104 Fahrenheit, my American friends – and not even much relief in the shade. Why is Friday’s heat relevant to Saturday’s recap? Because Saturday felt even hotter. And why is the heat relevant? I guess it’s not, really, but even days on I still feel like complaining about it. It was damn hot. But even though any rational person would have opted to stay indoors and air conditioned, tens of thousands still headed back onto Parc Jean-Drapeau in the middle of the St. Lawrence River for another day of music. In the heat.

And the earliest or most masochistic of those – your call – were there in time to see The Dø, arguably the best French/Finnish band going, do their thing to kick off the day. Having seen them on their previous to last visit to Toronto in Fall 2010 – their most recent visit being the night before – I remembered that their live experience was a much less eclectic one than you got from their records, focused more on their pop side. But there’s only so much smoothing out you can do for an outfit as artistically restless as they and throughout their set, their odder/proggier tendencies would manifest themselves in outros, jams, what have you. Singer Olivia Merilahti’s charisma works better as slinky than sweaty, but you take what you can get.

Photos: The Dø @ Scène de la rivière – August 4, 2012
MP3: The Dø – “Slippery Slope”
MP3: The Dø – “At Last”
MP3: The Dø – “Tammie”
Video: The Dø – “The Wicked & The Blind”
Video: The Dø – “Gonna Be Sick”
Video: The Dø – “Too Insistent”
Video: The Dø – “Slippery Slope”
Video: The Dø – “At Last”
Video: The Dø – “On My Shoulders”
Video: The Dø – “Playground Hustle”
Video: The Dø – “The Bridge Is Broken”

Immediately following on the Mountain stage and way at the opposite end of eccentric was Canada’s sweetheart 2012, Kathleen Edwards, with the first set of the weekend that came with a simple, “yeah it’s hot so why not lay back and soak it in” vibe. Indeed, looked at it from a different perspective, it was rather the perfect place for Edwards’ earnest and genial sort of roots-rock, bolstered by the fact that she’s pretty hellaciously funny – case in point, her comment to the stage hand turning the fire hose onto the audience: “hey, hose guy you and me have a date in 20 minutes”. I don’t see her live enough to not need to be reminded of this, but I did have enough of a reference point to notice that Edwards seemed happier and more content up there than I’d ever seen her, particularly in her older material which was represented by the singles though she did turn to her breakout Voyageur for some deep cuts. I don’t usually expect happiness to translate into great art, but Edwards wears and uses it well.

Huffington Post Music has a feature piece on Edwards.

Photos: Kathleen Edwards @ Scène de la montagne – August 4, 2012
MP3: Kathleen Edwards – “Change The Sheets”
MP3: Kathleen Edwards – “Asking For Flowers”
MP3: Kathleen Edwards – “In State”
MP3: Kathleen Edwards – “Back To Me”
MP3: Kathleen Edwards – “Copied Keys”
MP3: Kathleen Edwards – “One More Song The Radio Won’t Like”
MP3: Kathleen Edwards – “National Steel”
MP3: Kathleen Edwards – “Six O’Clock News”
Video: Kathleen Edwards – “Change The Sheets”
Video: Kathleen Edwards – “I Make The Dough, You Get The Glory”
Video: Kathleen Edwards – “The Cheapest Key”
Video: Kathleen Edwards – “In State”
Video: Kathleen Edwards – “Back To Me”
Video: Kathleen Edwards – “Hockey Skates”
Video: Kathleen Edwards – “One More Song The Radio Won’t Like”
Video: Kathleen Edwards – “Six O’Clock News”

Following Edwards – though with enough of a break between to allow a water run – was Calexico, who thanks to their Arizona roots probably didn’t even notice the heat, and if they had something to say about the humidity, they politely refrained from doing so. And indeed, if any artist on the lineup made music that sounded beaten down and bleached by the sun, it was Calexico. The usually workaholic band had been relatively quiet since 2008’s Carried To Dust, focusing on some archival reissues before getting around to making a new record in Algiers, due out September 11. But their set didn’t worry too much about proving they’d been making new music – opening with “Crystal Frontier” circa 2001’s Even My Sure Things Fall Through, they were much more about creating a deliciously parched, mariachi-tinged atmosphere and maybe getting people thinking, “hey, this heat thing isn’t so bad”. Methinks they succeeded.

Photos: Calxico @ Scène de la montagne – August 4, 2012
MP3: Calexico – “Para”
MP3: Calexico – “Two Silver Trees”
MP3: Calexico – “History Of Lovers”
MP3: Calexico – “Cruel”
MP3: Calexico – “Alone Again Or”
MP3: Calexico – “Black Heart”
MP3: Calexico – “Quattro (World Drifts In)”
MP3: Calexico – “Crystal Frontier”
MP3: Calexico – “Ballad Of Cable Hogue”
MP3: Calexico – “Service And Repair”
MP3: Calexico – “Frontera”
MP3: Calexico – “Spokes”
Video: Calexico – “Para”
Video: Calexico – “Two Silver Trees”
Video: Calexico – “Cruel”

Considering they were a local band whose last album Shapeshifter had been a real breakout record – it certainly got me onside after years of indifference – I was a little surprised that Young Galaxy had drawn a mid-day time slot on the festival’s smallest stage. But considering they’d spent much of 2012 writing and recording the follow-up to said record in Sweden – though their Rockethub campaign didn’t reach its target, they made it over anyways? – perhaps they wanted to ease back into the live thing. In any case, they weren’t helped out by the fact that the technical difficulties that plagued the acts I saw on the Forest stage on Friday persisted, the overall mix rather shoddy, or the fact that Young Galaxy have never been the best live act, but the vibrancy of the Shapeshifter material still came through. Interestingly, their live sound seemed more built on conventional instruments and less reliant on electronics than I remembered; it remains to be seen if this was just happenstance for this performance or if it marks another change in direction… the one new song they offered up didn’t stray far from the Shapeshifter formula but I wouldn’t assume what was heard onstage necessarily resembles that which came out of Dan Lissvik’s Gothenburg studio. I look forward to hearing it.

Daytrotter recently posted up a session with the band.

Photos: Young Galaxy @ Scène des arbes – August 4, 2012
MP3: Young Galaxy – “Youth Is Wasted On The Young”
MP3: Young Galaxy – “Peripheral Visionaries”
MP3: Young Galaxy – “We Have Everything”
MP3: Young Galaxy – “Cover Your Tracks”
MP3: Young Galaxy – “Outside The City”
MP3: Young Galaxy – “Come And See”
MP3: Young Galaxy – “Swing Your Heartache”
Video: Young Galaxy – “Phantoms”
Video: Young Galaxy – “Peripheral Visionaries”
Video: Young Galaxy – “Blown Minded”
Video: Young Galaxy – “We Have Everything”
Video: Young Galaxy – “The Alchemy Between Us”
Video: Young Galaxy – “Outside The City”
Video: Young Galaxy – “Come And See”

Back at the mainstage, it was soon time for Garbage. As much as I hate people who equate bands falling off their own radar with having ceased to exist at all, I have to admit that I had completely forgotten they’d released two albums this century; I thought this year’s Not Your Kind Of People had been their first record in much more than seven years. I wasn’t even really a fan back in the ’90s and had not paid any attention to the Toronto stop of their tour earlier this year, but festival math is different and in this setting, Garbage were a must-see for me if for no other reason than I never had before and I’d surely know a lot of the songs. After all, they weren’t a cult band by any measure, but genuinely successful across their first two albums and ubiquitous across radio and television. Not that any of that necessarily meant anything to much of the Osheaga demographic, who were probably in primary school when Garbage were at their apex, but I digress.

Boasting surely the most spartan stage setup of anyone at the festival – there was almost no gear onstage – they turned in a thoroughly polished performance befitting the 3/4 of the band who’re studio perfectionists and with frontwoman Shirley Manson responsible for providing any and all rawness, which she did with aplomb. Looking as fierce and confrontational as ever – and probably thankful they had an early evening timeslot for even SPF10000 sunblock couldn’t have prevented her paleness from spontaneously combusting at high noon – Manson prowled and strutted around the stage like she owned it; time hasn’t diminished her charisma, that’s for certain. Their tunes have also aged surprisingly well; though their electro-grunge pop sound is inseparable from its era, the hooks and melodies are forever. And I appreciated their seeing the Pretenders’ “Talk Of The Town” quote in the outro of “Special” – probably my all-time favourite Garbage moment alongside the hard-panned guitars on “Vow” – and raising it an extra few lines from “I Go To Sleep”. A nice moment in one of my unexpectedly favourite sets of the weekend.

The Montreal Gazette and Huffington Post have interviews with Shirley Manson and Rolling Stone analyzes her distinctive fashion sense over the years.

Photos: Garbage @ Scène de la rivière – August 4, 2012
Video: Garbage – “Blood For Poppies”
Video: Garbage – “Tell Me Where It Hurts”
Video: Garbage – “Run Baby Run”
Video: Garbage – “Sex Is Not The Enemy”
Video: Garbage – “Bleed Like Me”
Video: Garbage – “Why Do You Love Me”
Video: Garbage – “Shut Your Mouth”
Video: Garbage – “Breaking Up The Girl”
Video: Garbage – “Cherry Lips”
Video: Garbage – “Androgyny”
Video: Garbage – “You Look So Fine”
Video: Garbage – “The Trick Is To Keep Breathing”
Video: Garbage – “When I Grow Up”
Video: Garbage – “Special”
Video: Garbage – “I Think I’m Paranoid”
Video: Garbage – “Push It”
Video: Garbage – “Milk”
Video: Garbage – “Stupid Girl”
Video: Garbage – “Only Happy When It Rains”
Video: Garbage – “Queer”
Video: Garbage – “Vow”

En route from the mainstages to the far end of the festival grounds, I made my first and only stop at Osheaga’s electronic stage in order to see Sweden’s Little Dragon. I was there well in time but the band were extra-late in getting set up and underway, thus limiting my time to get acquainted with them. I hadn’t really heard much from them before, but an elevator pitch of three Swedes fronted by a little Japanese girl while cranking out beat-heavy electro-soul was enough to get me interested. For the few songs I was able to stick around and with frontwoman Yukimi Nagano was all over the stage, dancing and going to town on her tambourine, they certainly delivered what I’d hoped for and did with a good deal more energy and ferocity than I expected. As I said, I’d have liked to stay and watch more, but I had a long-standing appointment to keep.

Fuse and Rolling Stone have feature pieces on Little Dragon.

Photos: Little Dragon @ Scène Piknick Électronik – August 4, 2012
Video: Little Dragon – “Crystalfilm”
Video: Little Dragon – “Brush The Heat”
Video: Little Dragon – “When I Go Out”
Video: Little Dragon – “Fortune”
Video: Little Dragon – “My Step”
Video: Little Dragon – “Never Never”
Video: Little Dragon – “After The Rain”
Video: Little Dragon – “Twice”
Video: Little Dragon – “Constant Surprises”

An appointment that dated back to March, when I got to within ten people or so of seeing The Jesus & Mary Chain in Austin at SXSW, but no closer. This was before they made it clear that they’d be on the road for much of 2012, mind, so being shut out and listening to them from the street felt extra painful at the time; needless to say, missing them again was simply not in the cards. Though if I had any fears about the Green stage being jammed before I got there, they were unfounded – the band may have been legends to many, but there weren’t more than a few hundred people gathered to see them close out the night, most of a certain generation and more than a few with kids in tow. No doubt a club show, as they’d sold out in Toronto the night before, would have better suited but this was what it was, and what it was was pretty great.

If you were to drop someone from the ’80s in front of the stage, they probably wouldn’t have had any idea who they were looking at – William Reid may have looked similar to how he did back then, albeit heavier-set, but Jim Reid’s wild shock of hair has long been traded for a rather office-looking cut and it’s hard to imagine the younger him wearing a red Flying Burrito Brothers t-shirt onstage as he did. The time-traveler might also ask why Phil King of Lush was there on bass. And just as they didn’t look like they once did, they didn’t entirely sound like they did either – but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. While still exceptionally loud, the white noise screech that was their signature circa Psychocandy was localized mainly to Reid’s guitar as opposed to across the entire sonic spectrum and the melodic pop polish that they’d achieved by the end of their recording career (1999’s Munki) was applied to all of their career-spanning set. And while the younger Reid may have looked rather more proper than he once did, his voice still had that Glaswegian sneer and the misanthropic spirit of his lyrics remained – it’s hard to sugarcoat a song like “Reverence”, after all.

We didn’t get to hear Jim Reid berate his brother for messing up at all as I’ve heard he’s done at other shows – some things never change – but he did apologize to the audience for forgetting the words to “Happy When It Rains” and forcing a start-over (the second time that day I’d heard a Scottish person sing about how they enjoy the rain, coincidentally). And while I’m sure they intended having Mad Men actress and Montréal native Jessica Paré come out to sing backups on “Just Like Honey” and cover Hope Sandoval’s parts on “Sometimes Always” as a surprise, the fact that she’d done the same at the previous Buffalo and Toronto shows kind of took some of the wow factor out of it. Unsurprisingly, that’s what most of the reviews of the show focused on but the real important take-away was that even if they never make a new record – and maybe we don’t even want one – The Jesus & Mary Chain still sound amazing and still don’t give a fuck. All hail.

Photos: The Jesus & Mary Chain @ Scène verte – August 4, 2012
Video: The Jesus & Mary Chain – “I Love Rock’N’Roll”
Video: The Jesus & Mary Chain – “Cracking Up”
Video: The Jesus & Mary Chain – “I Hate Rock’N’Roll”
Video: The Jesus & Mary Chain – “Come On”
Video: The Jesus & Mary Chain – “Sometimes Always”
Video: The Jesus & Mary Chain – “Almost Gold”
Video: The Jesus & Mary Chain – “Something I Can Have”
Video: The Jesus & Mary Chain – “Far Gone And Out”
Video: The Jesus & Mary Chain – “Teenage Lust”
Video: The Jesus & Mary Chain – “Reverence”
Video: The Jesus & Mary Chain – “Head On”
Video: The Jesus & Mary Chain – “Blues From A Gun”
Video: The Jesus & Mary Chain – “Darklands”
Video: The Jesus & Mary Chain – “Happy When It Rains”
Video: The Jesus & Mary Chain – “Some Candy Talking”
Video: The Jesus & Mary Chain – “April Skies”
Video: The Jesus & Mary Chain – “Just Like Honey”
Video: The Jesus & Mary Chain – “You Trip Me Up”

Some other things that you may want to know about… Cat Power has announced the North American tour dates in support of Sun, out September 4. She’ll be at The Kool Haus on October 20, tickets $34.50 in advance, and a second track from the new record is now available to download.

MP3: Cat Power – “Cherokee”

Bob Mould is streaming the first single from his new one The Silver Age, out September 4. It sounds like going through those Sugar reissues reinspired him in the very best way, and if you’re unfamiliar with Mould’s extensive body of song but want to start investigating, The AV Club has a helpful beginner’s guide.

Stream: Bob Mould – “The Descent”

Rolling Stone has some details on the 25th anniversary reissue of R.E.M.’s Document, due out on September 25.

Paste, LA Weekly, and The Village Voice talk to Jeff McDonald of Redd Kross, who’ve just released a new video and download from their excellent new record Researching The Blues.

MP3: Redd Kross – “Stay Away From Downtown”
Video: Redd Kross – “Stay Away From Downtown”

Circuital may be over a year old, but that doesn’t mean that My Morning Jacket can’t release a new animated, Galifianakis-powered video from it to coincide with their tour which brings them to Echo Beach next Wednesday, August 15.

Video: My Morning Jacket – “Outta My System”

Lower Dens also have a new video from Nootropics. There’s also interviews at DCist and The Village Voice.

Video: Lower Dens – “Candy”

Tom Waits had everyone convinced last week that he’d be announcing his first tour in forever this week. He didn’t, he just released a new video from Bad Like Me. Never before has such a cool video been met with so much disappointment.

Video: Tom Waits – “Hell Broke Luce”

Rolling Stone talks to John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats about their new record Transcendental Youth. It’s out October 2 and brings them to The Phoenix on October 20.

Britt Daniel chats with Exclaim about his new band Divine Fits, his old band Spoon, and about his other new band, Spl:t S:ngle. A Thing Called Divine Fits is out August 28 and they’re at Lee’s Palace September 5.

Fang Island gives aux.tv a track-by-track walkthrough of their latest Major.

D.L. AndersonA veritable deluge of new album information came across the desk in the last day or so, though it could well have been delivered in a box of animal crackers.

First and least expectedly – at least I wasn’t expecting one – is a new Mountain Goats album entitled Transcendental Youth due out on October 2. There’s no sample track yet – not even one of those album trailers that are de rigeur these days – but instead and arguably better are a couple of essays about the album, one by John Darnielle, and another by way of the official bio by John Hodgman.

You can see the full album art over at Exclaim and, as something to listen to and keeping with the animal theme, a track from their 2000 album The Coroner’s Gambit.

MP3: The Mountain Goats – “Baboon”

Having teased that it was coming but not offering much in the way of specifics, Band Of Horses have spilled the beans on album number four, to be entitled Mirage Rock and due out on September 18; it certainly gives some context to their show at Echo Beach on August 15 opening up for My Morning Jacket. Pitchfork has some specifics and the first video from the album is available below.

Video: Band Of Horses – “Knock Knock”

And while Grizzly Bear had gone so far as to not only confirm a release date for their next record – also September 18 – and book a tour – Massey Hall on September 26 – they’d been coy about the actual title of the record until now. It’s going to be called Shields and you can see the album art and track listing over at Gigwise.

MP3: Grizzly Bear – “Sleeping Ute”

And while I’m not a fan, it’d be kind of ridiculous to not note that Animal Collective have a new one entitled Centipede Hz; it’s out September 4 and the first single is available to stream.

Stream: Animal Collective – “Honeycomb”

Ty Segall isn’t named for any kind of animal but he works like a mule; Pitchfork has details on his third album of the year – Twins is out October 9, giving some context to his show with Thee Oh Sees at The Hoxton on September 26.

San Diego garage-poppers The Soft Pack have announced a couple dates at The Garrison on October 9 and 10 as part of a tour in support of their second full-length Strapped, due out September 25. The first single is available to stream.

Stream: The Soft Pack – “Saratoga”

And shifting gears to some more concert announcements: After selling the hell out of Lee’s Palace back in April before their debut Boys & Girls was even out – the show was a week after the release date but every ticket was gone weeks before then – Alabama Shakes are coming back for a gig at the much more spacious Kool Haus on October 2, tickets for that $26.50 in advance. Full Fall dates over at Pollstar.

MP3: Alabama Shakes – “I Found You”
MP3: Alabama Shakes – “You Ain’t Alone”
MP3: Alabama Shakes – “Hold On”

Of all the band hats that he has to choose from, Conor Oberst has decided to hit the road as Conor Oberst for a show at Massey Hall on December 8. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10AM and run from $39.50 to $60.50.

MP3: Conor Oberst – “Danny Callahan”
MP3: Bright Eyes – “Lover I Don’t Have To Love”
MP3: Desaparecidos – “The Happiest Place On Earth”

Major, the second album from Fang Island, is streaming over at NPR ahead of its official release on July 24.

MP3: Fang Island – “Sisterly”
MP3: Fang Island – “Asunder”
Stream: Fang Island / Major

The title track of Matt & Kim’s next album Let’s Go – release date still to be determined – is now available to download.

MP3: Matt & Kim – “Let’s Go”

NPR and The New York Times have interviews with James Murphy, who reveals that LCD Soundsystem may not be quite completely dead just yet. But close. And then, luggage. The LCD doc Shut Up And Play The Hits is back in Toronto for a couple screenings next week at The Bloor Cinema, on July 18 and 19.

As promised, Luna’s seminal 1992 album Bewitched is getting its first-ever pressing on vinyl this Summer. It’s out August 21 and is limited to an edition of 2000, so it’s a good thing you can pre-order it now.

MP3: Luna – “Tiger Lily”

A Heart Is A Spade asks a few quick questions of Peggy from The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart.

The Shins have a new video from Port Of Morrow. They open up for The Black Keys at The Molson Amphitheatre on August 4.

Video: The Shins – “It’s Only Life”

NPR is streaming a World Cafe session with Sharon Van Etten, who’s in town at the Phoenix on July 31.

PopMatters talks to Ira Elliot of Nada Surf.

Rolling Stone and The Boston Globe talk to Mission Of Burma about their new record Unsound, out now and streaming in full at Spinner.

MP3: Mission Of Burma – “Second Television”
Stream: Mission of Burma / Unsound

The Village Voice talks to Eric Bachmann of Archers Of Loaf.

PopMatters interviews Eisley.

Spin has posted their latest cover story on Cali power couple Best Coast and Wavves and thrown in a photo shoot gallery for good measure. Best Coast are at The Phoenix on July 21.

Jason Frank RothenbergIt’s a matter of public record – or at the very least Google index – that I was no fan of Dirty Projectors’ last record Bitte Orca, even though objectively speaking it was obviously one of the albums of 2009. However, one of the nice things about a band as obviously talented – no way am I arguing that point – and creatively restless as they is that each new album is akin to a blank slate.

So yeah, I’m giving their new one Swing Lo Magellan – which is out next Tuesday but now available to stream a week early – a fair shake, and happily it doesn’t sound nearly as fussy or overthought as Orca did. No, that’s not nearly an endorsement, but it’s a start. Give it a listen for yourself, and while you’re at it maybe read some of the feature interviews that bandleader Dave Longstreth has been giving out in advance of the record’s release. They’re on the cover of this month’s Exclaim with an additional feature, a Q&A to go with an album stream at The New York Times, back-and-forths at ArtInfo, NOW, The Irish Times, and MTV Hive, and a long piece at Pitchfork. He also talks to Interview about the Hi Custodian short film which will be released later this Summer and is meant to thematically accompany the new record. Odds of it being incomprehensible are good to great.

Dirty Projectors are in town this week for a show at the Danforth Music Hall on July 6.

MP3: Dirty Projectors – “Dance For You”
MP3: Dirty Projectors – “Gun Has No Trigger”
Video: Dirty Projectors – “Gun Has No Trigger”
Stream: Dirty Projectors / Swing Lo Magellan
Trailer: Hi Custodian

Eternal Summers were just here for NXNE, it’s true, but their new album Correct Behavior wasn’t nearly out then – July 24 is still a ways off – so it’s eminently logical that they’d schedule a return engagement after it was out, which is what they’ve done. They’re at The Garrison on August 7, tickets $11.

MP3: Eternal Summers – “Millions”

Phil Elverum isn’t a guy who seems to like to spend a lot of time on the road, at least not far from his Washington state home base. I could be mistaken but I don’t think he’s been through town since Fall 2008 in support of Lost Wisdom, his collaboration with Julie Doiron and Frederick Squire; his last time through as as Mount Eerie solo was May 2007 and he’s not been back since, despite having released a couple records since then. But if promoting one album isn’t quite enough incentive, apparently promoting two is – having put out Clear Moon back in May and with a companion album Ocean Roar set to come out September 4, he’s finally coming back to town – he’ll be at The Great Hall on September 10 with a full band in tow, tickets $15 in advance.

Stream: Mount Eerie – “Pale Lights” (excerpt)
Stream: Mount Eerie – “Lone Bell”
Stream: Mount Eerie – “House Shape”

You might think that with no less than four visits in 2011 – one headlining show in the Spring and three others supporting The Decemberists in February, Explosions In The Sky in October, and The National in December – that Wye Oak would have had their fill of Toronto for a while. Well apparently nine months is as long as they could wait because they’ve scheduled a show here at The Horseshoe for September 17, tickets $12.50. One assumes that with all that touring, they’ve not had time to write let alone record a follow up to last year’s Civilian, but if you’re hankering to hear something new there is a track they’ve recorded for an Adult Swim compilation that’s available to stream.

MP3: Wye Oak – “Holy, Holy”
Stream: Wye Oak – “Spiral”

Over at The AV Club, Father John Misty record a lovely cover of The Flaming Lips’ “Do You Realize?” for their Undercover series. Father John Misty are at The Opera House opening for Youth Lagoon on July 12.

Spin is streaming another tune from Fang Island’s new record Major, due out July 24.

Stream: Fang Island – “Seek It Out”

NPR has a World Cafe session from The Shins. They open up for The Black Keys at The Molson Amphitheatre on August 3.

Divine Fits – the new band from Spoon’s Britt Daniel, Wolf Parade/Handsome Furs’ Dan Boeckner and New Bomb Turks’ Sam Brown – have announced that their debut album A Thing Called Divine Fits will be out August 28; stream the first track from it below.

Stream: Divine Fits – “My Love Is Real”

Rolling Stone has an interview with J Mascis about the new Dinosaur Jr album I Bet On Sky, the first single from which is available to stream. The album is out September 18 and they kick off their Fall tour in support of it with a three-night stand at Lee’s Palace on September 24, 25, and 26.

Stream: Dinosaur Jr – “Watch The Corners”

Pitchfork has details on the new End Of Daze EP coming from Dum Dum Girls End Of Daze on September 25.

Clash talks to Beach House, in town at the Kool Haus on October 18.

Spinner talks to Beachwood Sparks about getting back together for their first album in over a decade in the just-released The Tarnished Gold.

NPR welcomes M. Ward to their World Cafe for a session.

Drowned In Bells catches up with Sleigh Bells.

Jason ArthursWe’re still over a week out from the official Summer solstice, but Superchunk don’t need no druidic approval to declare the season of sun and fun officially here. After following up 2010’s Majesty Shredding with a series of reissues, they’ve just released a new 7″ single for the song “This Summer” and if that wasn’t enough seasonal thematicness for one release, the b-side is a cover of Bananarama’s 1983 Summer anthem.

The single is limited to an edition of 1300 pieces worldwide, pressed on white vinyl, and comes with a download code for an acoustic version of the a-side. And as a little bonus, they’ve released a video of the band recording the handclaps that appear on the tune.

“This Summer” is available to stream now. Update: Stereogum has the Bananarama cover up to stream now, as well.

Stream: Superchunk – “This Summer”

Some noteworthy concert announcements came down the pipe yesterday. Chicago’s heavy post-rock trio Russian Circles have made a date at Lee’s Palace on August 21 in support of last year’s Empros. Tickets are $14.50 in advance.

MP3: Russian Circles – “Mladek”

Chicago’s Riotfest has made a name for itself over the past few years as a festival catering to those with louder/punkier tastes, and they’ll be expanding beyond the Windy City this year, touching down at Toronto’s Garrison Commons at Fort York on September 9 with a lineup featuring The Descendents, NOFX, Fucked Up, and more. Tickets are $39.50 and go on sale Friday.

MP3: Fucked Up – “I Hate Summer”
Video: The Descendents – “I’m The One”
Video: NOFX – “Cokie The Clown”

Dinosaur Jr have announced a September 18 release for their next album I Bet On Sky; details and album art at Pitchfork. They’ll celebrate its release with a three-night stand at Lee’s Palace from September 24 to 26.

MP3: Dinosaur Jr – “Almost Ready”

Ty Segall never seems to wear out his welcome in these parts, but just to make sure you stay interested he’s teaming up with Thee Oh Sees for a Fall tour that hits The Hoxton on September 26, tickets $18.50. Segall’s follow-up to last year’s Goodbye Bread should be out by then; Thee Oh Sees’ new one Putrifiers II definitely will – it has a release date of September 11 already set.

MP3: Ty Segall – “You Make The Sun Fry”
Video: Thee Oh Sees – “I Need Seed”

Dr. Dog will be at The Opera House on October 13 in support of their latest, Be The Void. Tickets are $20 in advance.

Video: Dr. Dog – “That Old Black Hole”

Portland’s Menomena have made a date at The Horseshoe on October 17, which kind of implies they’ll have a new record out by then. Tickets to that are $15 in advance. Update: Said new record will be called Moms and be out September 18.

MP3: Menomena – “Taos”

Apparently not a man to hold a grudge, Dan Deacon has made plans to return to Toronto for a show at Lee’s Palace on November 9 – tickets $13.50 – but please, leave his skull alone. His new record America is out August 27.

MP3: Dan Deacon – “Lots”

If you were planning on seeing A Place To Bury Strangers at The El Mocambo tomorrow night for NXNE but were worried about not knowing any of the new songs from Worship, what with it not being out for another couple weeks (June 26), fear not – The Quietus has an advance stream of the album for you. But let’s be honest, it’s all going to sound like “KKKKKKCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” anyways.

MP3: A Place To Bury Strangers – “You Are The One”
Stream: A Place To Bury Strangers / Worship

Joe Pernice has offered a clue as to who will be opening up for him at The Dakota Tavern on June 22, and if you still don’t get it – and understand why you should be in line well before doors open at 6PM (there are no advance tickets) – then clearly you are on the wrong website. Good day to you.

Fang Island have made another track from their forthcoming Major available to download; the album is out July 12.

MP3: Fang Island – “Sisterly”

Cat Power talks to The Stool Pigeon about her new album The Sun, due out on September 11.

The lead single from Calexico’s new record Algiers – due out September 11 – is now available to download.

MP3: Calexico – “Para”

Pitchfork and The Fly have features on Grizzly Bear, currently trying to come up with a title for their new album before it’s released on September 18. They’re at Massey Hall on September 26.

In a Facebook post, Anna-Lynne Williams updates fans and friends about her various musical projects and notes that the Trespassers William forthcoming career-wrapping compilation has a name – Cast – and should be out in September.

The Music has two separate interviews with Mark Kozelek while Filter only has one. His October 3 date at The Great Hall still hasn’t been canceled.

Daytrotter has a session with Nada Surf, who’ve just released a new video from their latest The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy.

Video: Nada Surf – “Waiting For Something”

With the release yesterday of Class Clown Spots A UFO, Consequence Of Sound decides now is the perfect time to take an album-by-album look at the discography of Guided By Voices, though they’ll have to expand it in November when Bears For Lunch, the band’s third album of the year, is released.

School Of Seven Bells have selected a winner in their competition to make a video for their song “The Night” off of Ghostory.

Video: School Of Seven Bells – “The Night”

Bowerbirds have new video out from The Clearing.

Video: Bowerbirds – “Overcome By Light”

Rolling Stone has an excerpt from Big Day Coming: Yo La Tengo and The Rise of Indie Rock – the just-released book about Yo La Tengo and the rise of indie rock – and The Washington Post has an interview with author Jesse Jarnow about the volume.