Mei LewisIn case it wasn’t obvious from the name, Jonny is the musical marriage of Teenage Fanclub’s Norman Blake and former Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci Euros Childs. It’s perhaps not a pairing that people have been clamouring for – it never even occurred to me that the two might work together before it was announced that they were – but it’s not out of left field either. In fact, the more I think about it, the more logical it gets – Blake led the Fannies through two decades of power pop perfection while Childs’ now-defunct Mynci made their name with a unique blend of psychedelia and folk that proudly wore their Welsh heritage on their sleeves; there’s really no reason that the meeting of these minds shouldn’t produce something worthy.

And their self-titled debut, released earlier this Spring, is very much worthy. It’s not a record that necessarily aspires to greatness – the vibe is much more casual and off-the-cuff with a healthy dose of goofiness added in for good measure – but the combination of Childs’ distinctively fantastical songwriting and Blake’s immaculate songcraft can’t help but be a winning combination. Jonny offers both the spot-on harmonies and indelible melodies you’d expect from a Fanclub record but also some of the musical unpredictability that Gorky’s were known for. Not everything hits – opener “Wich is Wich” is pretty much a throwaway and there’s no reason “Cave Dance” needed to run over ten minutes, but songs like “Circling The Sun” and “Candyfloss” are the sort of gems that might represent the career highwater marks of lesser artists. Their name might be nigh-on meaningless but their music makes an impression.

The record is currently available to stream in whole at Merge, and their introductory EP – consisting of non-album material – is still available to download for free. They will be kicking off a North American tour with two nights at the Drake Underground in Toronto – fun fact, Blake now resides in Kitchener, Ontario – on June 3 and 4. Tickets for each show are $21.50 in advance but courtesy of Collective Concerts and Merge, I’ve got a couple of prize packs to give away. There’s one for each night and they consist of a pair of passes to the show, a copy of Jonny on CD and a pink balloon that was given away to those who pre-ordered the album. Why? Why not? To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to meet Jonny” in the subject line and your full name in the body along with your mailing address and a note as to which night you’d prefer or if you’ve no preference, say you have no preference. Contest closes at midnight, May 19.

MP3: Jonny – “Candyfloss”
Video: Jonny – “You Was Me”
Video: Jonny – “Candyfloss”
Stream: Jonny / Jonny
ZIP: Jonny / Free

Keeping with both the “streaming new records from Merge” and “bands made up of people from other bands” memes, we have Amor de Días – aka Alisdair from The Clientele and Lupe of Pipas – and their debut full-length Street Of The Love Of Days, which is out next week. The record is streaming at Merge, a new video from said record has just been released, the band is on the road and at The Horseshoe on May 25 and Design Sponge has an interview with Lupe Núñez-Fernández.

Video: Amor de Dias – “Late Morning”
Stream: Amor de Dias / Amor de Dias

Also out next week is Nursing Home, the second album from London’s Let’s Wrestle. Paste has the whole thing available to listen in advance of its release next Tuesday, May 17.

Stream: Let’s Wrestle / Nursing Home

Not out on Merge but definitely out soon – May 24 to be precise – and up and streaming at Hype Machine is Pala, the second effort from Friendly Fires. You can also download an MP3 over there and see them at The Phoenix on May 30.

Stream: Friendly Fires / Pala

The Fly and The Phoenix checks in with Arctic Monkeys about their forthcoming album Suck It And See, out June 7. Spin has also got a new track from the record available to stream. They play The Kool Haus on May 21.

Opening up that show are The Vaccines, who have got a Daytrotter session up, are interviewed by Buzznet and whose debut What Did You Expect From The Vaccines is out May 31. And oh yeah, they’re giving away a live track.

MP3: The Vaccines – “Norgaard” (live)

Black Book gets Paul Banks of Interpol to interview Anna Calvi while Mojo just sends some guy to do the same. She is at The El Mocambo on May 27.

Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit talks about the importance of music blogs at The Pop Cop. They’re at The Molson Amphitheatre on July 29, opening for Death Cab For Cutie.

DIY, The Guardian, The Skinny, The Australian, Clash, Paste and The Quietus all get some time with Wild Beasts about their new record Smother.

The AV Club talks to Stuart Staples of Tindersticks about the art of scoring. Movies. Scoring movies.

Clash welcomes the British festival season with a conversation with Elbow.

Drowned In Sound meets Graham Coxon.

Dev Hynes’ Blood Orange has released a new video for the A-side from his debut 7″ and put the b-side up on Soundcloud to stream.

Video: Blood Orange – “Dinner”

The Twilight Sad are giving away an acoustic EP to anyone who hands over their email address; the sign-up form is up on their website, as is a set of videos from the recording session.

Pitchfork reports that Upside Down, the documentary about Creation Records, has gotten a DVD release as of this week and comes packaged with a two-CD soundtrack/sampler of Creation artists. Which would be great if not for the the fact that it’s only PAL and region-2. Would someone please bring this film to North America in some watchable form?

Frank YangFor the first few years of their existence, the British Sea Power live experience had a reputation as something of a spectacle, thanks to their habit of decorating the stage with local foliage and then-keyboardist Eamon Hamilton’s on-stage shenanigans – both of which were in full effect the last time I saw them play a regular-type show in Toronto, way back in May 2005. Both times I’ve seen them since then – a SxSW day show and television taping – weren’t necessarily conducive to indulging in madness though since Hamilton’s departure in early 2006 the bedlam had been toned down somewhat anyways. So it’s a good thing that their records since then – 2008’s Do You Like Rock Music? and this year’s Valhalla Dancehall have easily been solid enough to warrant hearing live even if the band just stood stock still and played, though thankfully they did not.

Though I’d corresponded with A Classic Education frontman Jon Clancy for some years and despite Clancy being an Ontario ex-pat now based in Bologna, Italy, this was the first time they’d made it to Toronto. Probably on account of the fact that they’re based in Bologna, Italy. But I’d managed to see them a couple years ago at SxSW and was impressed with the scope of their musical vision, even if I didn’t think their grasp quite matched their reach yet. Interestingly, in the time since them they’ve seemingly adjusted course to point towards a simpler, more ’50s-influenced style of rock and while their scope still retains some of that grandness, mostly thanks to sophisticated little flourishes in the arrangements, but the delivery is more compact and streamlined and the net result actually suits them better. Interestingly, for as long as they’ve been around there’s still not been a full-length release – their last issue was the Hey There Stranger 12″ EP last year. Hopefully that gets rectified soon.

British Sea Power has certainly grown, both in size and maturity. To the former, multi-instrumentalist Phil Sumner and violinist Abi Fry are now apparently full-fledged band members and to the latter, well they simply don’t get up to the tricks they used to (see above). It’s as though their gawky acting act has transmuted into a sort of stateliness, and accordingly they’re not in any rush to get where they’re going – they know it’ll get there eventually. Which is why it’s sort of alright that the show, like the last couple I’d seen, seemed to start off a bit slowly despite opening with a couple of Valhalla‘s more hopped-up numbers, though the fact that Hamilton had lost his voice and couldn’t take lead on some of the songs as he normally did might have had something to do with it as well.

Still, by the time they hit the Valhalla-era non-album track “Zeus”, they were clearly warmed up. The epic-length track was played with extra vigor and from there on, the second half of the show came with loads more drive than the first – thanks, no doubt, to the inclusion of ragers such as “Spirit Of St. Louis”, “It Ended On An Oily Stage” and “Lights Out For Darker Skies”. The four-song encore brought some dynamics back into it, pairing the anthemic “Waving Flags” and “Carrion” with the more elegiac “The Great Skua” and “All In It”, but the real highlight came with the second encore which revived some of the old-school on-stage anarchy soundtracked by “Apologies To Insect Life”. Antics included but were not limited to Yan giving local “super-fan” Kayvon a ride on his shoulders before doing a reverse double stage dive into the crowd – I hope Kavon was warned of it beforehand – and Noble, who had apparently hit a critical point of inebriation, going for a crowd surf after the song had ended in order to get to the bar as quickly as possible. Okay, maybe British Sea Power haven’t matured that much. Thank goodness.

BBC America has an interview with Martin Noble and NYC Taper is sharing a recording of the New York stop on this tour.

Photos: British Sea Power, A Classic Education @ Lee’s Palace – March 24, 2011
MP3: British Sea Power – “Who’s In Control?”
MP3: British Sea Power – “Living Is So Easy”
MP3: British Sea Power – “Zeus”
MP3: British Sea Power – “Come Wander With Me”
MP3: British Sea Power – “Atom”
MP3: British Sea Power – “Please Stand Up”
MP3: A Classic Education – “Gone To Sea”
MP3: A Classic Education – “I Lost Time”
MP3: A Classic Education – “Toi”
MP3: A Classic Education – “Stay, Son”
Video: British Sea Power – “Who’s In Control”
Video: British Sea Power – “Living Is So Easy”
Video: British Sea Power – “Waving Flags”
Video: British Sea Power – “No Lucifer”
Video: British Sea Power – “Water Tower”
Video: British Sea Power – “Please Stand Up”
Video: British Sea Power – “It Ended On An Oily Stage”
Video: British Sea Power – “Childhood Memories”
Video: British Sea Power – “The Spirit Of St. Louis”
Video: British Sea Power – “Carrion”
Video: British Sea Power – “Remember Me”
Video: A Classic Education – “Gone To Sea”
Video: A Classic Education – “Toi”

Clearly I’m being punished for going to Euro at the end of May. How else to explain the number of excellent tours coming through town while I’m away, which now include 2010 year-end listers Stornoway, who are bringing Beachcomber’s Windowsill back to North America and specifically the El Mocambo, where they dazzled last December, on May 24. Tickets $13.50 in advance.

MP3: Stornoway – “Zorbing”

But the one that really hurts is that Anna Calvi has made good on her promise to make up all the March dates cancelled because of her wrist injury, and the make-up date for Toronto will be May 27, also at the El Mocambo. Funny how I went from potentially seeing her a good number of times across CMW and SxSW to not at all… though it is some consolation that while she’s soundchecking a 10-minute walk from my apartment, I’ll be on the shores of the Mediterranean listening to Pulp. Under The Radar has full tour dates and tickets for the Toronto show are $12 in advance. Paste has an interview and Calvi has just released a new video.

MP3: Anna Calvi – “Blackout”
Video: Anna Calvi – “Blackout”

PJ Harvey has released a couple more videos from Let England Shake. Spinner has an interview with Polly Jean.

Video: PJ Harvey – “England”
Video: PJ Harvey – “The Colour Of The Earth”

It’s session time for Two Door Cinema Club as NPR has them visit The World Cafe and Daytrotter has a set available to download.

Daytrotter has also posted up a session with The Futureheads.

State talks to Rab Allan and Herald Scotland to James Allan of Glasvegas about their new record Euphoric Heartbreak, out next week.

Sons & Daughters have announced their new record Mirror, Mirror will be out on June 14, and based on the first MP3 made available, they’ve gotten as far as possible from the shiny glam of 2008’s This Gift. The Line Of Best Fit has details on the release.

MP3: Sons & Daughters – “Silver Spell”

The Guardian, Gigwise and Metro talk to Patrick Wolf about his new record Lupercalia, due out May 31.

Spin finds out the origins of The Joy Formidable’s name while The Asbury Park Press have an interview and NPR is streaming one of their SxSW sets. They are at The Horseshoe this coming Saturday night, April 2.

The Guardian has a feature piece on Adele, while NPR is streaming a World Cafe session. A couple people in the last few days have asked me how they might go about getting tickets to her May 18 show at the Kool Haus. It made me laugh. Update: And now who’s laughing? The show was just moved to the Air Canada Centre. It it’s a full arena setup, that’s like an eightfold increase in capacity. Even the theatre configuration is like two and a half times the Kool Haus.

Friendly Fires have confirmed a May 16 release date for their second album Pala; Ed Macfarlane speaks briefly to Purple Revolver about the writing process. They play The Phoenix on May 30.

Exclaim has an interview with Liam Gallagher of Beady Eye, who’ve managed to sell out their show at the Sound Academy on June 20. You know they’re not playing any Oasis material, right? No matter how much you plead? Okay, just checking.

DIY, Billboard and BBC talk to Elbow and learn that the band have plans for North American touring later this year (yes!) and collaborator Richard Hawley is currently in the studio working on a new record (yes!).

Brett Anderson of Suede tells NME that the reunited band is working on new material but that it won’t necessarily translate into new recordings.

Radiohead’s new record The King Of Limbs is now streaming in whole at Spinner. They will also be releasing a limited edition 12″ single for Record Store Day, April 16, featuring non-album tracks “Supercollider” and “The Butcher”.

Stream: Radiohead / The King Of Limbs

Clash checks in with Charles Watson of Slow Club about how work is progressing on the duo’s second album.

The Georgia Straight interviews Esben & The Witch.

Spinner talks to Reuben Wu and Clash to Mira Aroyo of Ladytron.

The Quietus profiles Cat’s Eyes, the new project from Faris Badwan of The Horrors and opera singer Rachel Zeffira. Their self-titled debut is due out April 25.

NPR interviews Lykke Li, who is at The Phoenix on May 22. A new track from Wounded Rhymes is available to download.

MP3: Lykke Li – “Youth Knows No Pain”

Clash, Spin and DIY have features on Peter Bjorn & John, whose new record Gimme Some is out now and available to stream. They’re at Lee’s Palace on May 6.

Stream: Peter Bjorn & John / Gimme Some

Seamus MurphyThroughout her career, Polly Jean Harvey has managed the difficult feat of being artistically chameleon-like from one to the next, each often stylistically miles removed from that which came before it, while remaining consistently interesting and by and large excellent throughout. Her last effort, 2007’s fragile piano-led White Chalk, certainly didn’t hint at what Let England Shake – out next week – has to offer.

Just posted to stream in its entirety at NPR, it’s a strange yet immediately compelling collection built around themes of nationalism and war. While has echoes of her past works – the urgency of her early records, the melody of her middle-period works and the stark beauty of recent recordings – it sounds completely fresh, with Harvey favouring the higher registers of her voice in a way that I, at least, haven’t heard before. I’m only a few listens in and already I’m finding myself connecting with it in way that I haven’t with her stuff before. This is an exciting development.

She’s only got three North American tour dates scheduled right now (Los Angeles, Coachella and New York) but considering she’s not toured over here properly in forever – her last Toronto date was in 2004 – I have to think or at least hope that more will be coming.

MP3: PJ Harvey – “Written On The Forehead”
Stream: PJ Harvey / Let England Shake

The Guardian and State interview Anna Calvi, whose self-titled debut is due out on March 1 and who will be at Wrongbar on March 11 as part of Canadian Musicfest.

The Quietus goes over their debut Violet Cries track by track with Esben & The Witch while Drowned In Sound gave them the keys to their whole website last week. Paste just interviews them. They’re also at Wrongbar on March 11 for Canadian Musicfest.

Billboard has a cover story on Adele in advance of the February 22 release of 21. NPR is streaming the album in its entirety as well as a half-hour live performance from the singer, who’s just announced a North American tour in suport of album number two, including a May 18 date at The Kool Haus in Toronto.

Stream: Adele / 21

NPR has a World Cafe session with Duffy.

PopMatters interviews Kate Nash.

Spinner talks to Mira Aroyo of Ladytron about their forthcoming Best of Ladytron: 00-10 compilation, due out March 29.

Micachu & The Shapes are still working on the follow-up to 2009’s left-field gem Jewellery, but in the interim will be releasing Chopped & Screwed, a collaboration with The London Sinfonetta that will be coming out on March 22. What’s it sound like? Click below and read this piece on the collaboration at Clash.

MP3: Micachu – “Everything”

Pitchfork talks to Jamie Smith of The xx about stuff both xx and not xx.

The Fly checks in with Friendly Fires, who are finishing up their second record Pala, due out in the Spring – certainly before their May 30 date at The Phoenix.

The Fly and The Scotsman profile The Joy Formidable, who follow up the North American release of The Big Roar with a date at The Horseshoe on April 2.

Magnet handed over the editorial chair of their website to White Lies last week. The Mirror has an interview.

The Boxer Rebellion have made a date at The Horseshoe for April 18 in support of their new record The Cold Still; tickets $13.50.

Video: The Boxer Rebellion – “Step Out Of The Car”

State, Exclaim and Clash interview The Go! Team, who bring their new record Rolling Blackouts to The Opera House on April 10. They’ve released a couple new videos and an MP3 from said record.

MP3: The Go! Team – “T.O.R.N.A.D.O.”
Video: The Go! Team – “Super Triangle”
Video: The Go! Team – “Secretary Song”

Guy Garvey discusses Elbow’s forthcoming new record build a rocket boys!, out March 8, with The Quietus.

Toronto fans disappointed there’s no official stop here for the upcoming Trash Can Sinatras tour would do well to look at their itinerary, email the address noted on the right and ask themselves just how much seeing them play an intimate house show is worth to them.

Liam Gallagher of Beady Eye discusses his new band’s debut Different Gear, Still Speeding with Spin. The record is out March 1.

Spinner reports that Manic Street Preachers bassist Nicky Wire is disappointed that their last single didn’t chart in the UK; perhaps they overestimated the appeal of an Ian McCulloch duet? Time to dig up Nina Persson’s phone number again, methinks.

The Quietus contemplates the legacy of Teenage Fanclub while The Line Of Best Fit has an acoustic session with Fanny side-project Jonny. Their self-titled debut is out April 12.

Billboard profiles Mumford & Sons.

NPR puts folk-rock legend Richard Thompson behind a Tiny Desk and makes him play a concert. The indignity.

Steve GullickThe last time Oxford’s Foals were in town back in September, guitarist Jimmy Smith’s constantly malfunctioning amp and pedals provided frontman Yann Philippakis with enough rage-fuel to transform a technical disaster into a seething, edge-of-violent triumph, much to the delight of the completely jam-packed Lee’s Palace.

One expects they’ll have the state of their gear checked and double-checked before their return engagement on April 30 at the Phoenix (tickets $16.50), though. And that’s fine because as memorable as that last show was, it’ll be nice to hear them showcase their Mercury Prize-shortlisted record Total Life Forever with two fully functioning guitars.

The date is part of a Spring tour that is presumably built around a Coachella appearance and will feature a rather odd bill of Foals, Brooklyn twee-poppers Freelance Whales, still touring last year’s Weathervanes, and hotly-tipped New Zealanders The Naked & Famous, whose debut Passive Me, Aggressive You will be out on March 15.

MP3: Foals – “Spanish Sahara”
MP3: Freelance Whales – “Generator Second Floor”
Video: The Naked & Famous – “Young Blood”

Other Mercury Prize alumni coming back to town are Friendly Fires, who’ve made a May 30 date at The Phoenix, tickets $20. There’s been no official announcement about the release of their second album but one assumes that it will be out before they head over here. Update: Full North American dates are up, album has working title of Pala.

MP3: Friendly Fires – “Jump In The Pool”

Australia’s Cut Copy have slated a North American tour in support of their new record Zonoscope, due out February 8. Look for them at The Sound Academy on April 7 and download a track from the new record over here.

MP3: Cut Copy – “Lights & Music”

Last week they announced the April 4 release of their new record Blood Pressures and now, via NME are this Spring’s world tour dates for The Kills; Toronto gets them May 1 at the Sound Academy. That’s right, groan away. I’ll wait.

MP3: The Kills – “URA Fever”

Milo Cordell of The Big Pink tells NME they’re considering a hip-hop direction for their second album.

The Scotland Herald talks to Stuart Braithwaite ofMogwai in Japan. Their new record Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will arrives February 15 and there’s a new MP3 and video from said record available to download. Mogwai play The Phoenix on April 26.

MP3: Mogwai – “San Pedro”
Video: Mogwai – “Pano Rano”

The Guardian has a feature piece on British Sea Power. They play Lee’s Palace on March 30.

“The World Is Yours”, the lead track from Glasvegas’ Euphoric Heartbreak, is currently available to stream – the record is out April 4.

Music For Kids Who Can’t Read Good wins today’s Patrick Wolf news prize – they’ve got the name of Wolf’s new record – Lupercalia – and a download of the first single from the record, “Time Of My Life”. A quick look on the Twitter indicates that said album has been given a May 23 release date in the UK and a stream of the second single, “The City”, is available on Soundcloud. I daresay that if these songs are indicative of what the album will be like, Mr. Wolf has managed to outdo himself yet again.

Baeble Music has a Guest Apartment session and The Herald-Sun an interview with Kate Nash.

The Fly has an acoustic video session with The Joy Formidable, whose debut The Big Roar is out in the UK next week and in North America March 15.

Elly Jackson of La Roux discusses collaboration plans for album number two with NME.

Clash interviews Adele, whose second record 21 arrives February 22.

MusicOMH talks to Anna Calvi, whose self-titled debut arrives March 1 and who plays Wrongbar on March 11.

NPR has a second video from PJ Harvey’s forthcoming Let England Shake, due out February 15.

Video: PJ Harvey – “The Words That Maketh Murder”

In talking to Gigwise, Blur’s Dave Rowntree confirms the band will do “something” this year, but offers no more information than that. And yes, as I was typing that out I realized how pointless a news item this was but whatever.

MusicOmh has words with Richard Thompson.

And do swing by the recently-launched Aggregation Magazine, whose mandate is simple but too long for me to recap here but whose latest issue includes contributions from yours truly on topics that have nothing to do with music. And the latest issue of Under The Radar – the Sufjan cover – has an interview with myself and other music bloggers on the topic of blog hype; the issue has been out since December but I only just got a copy so I made sure I didn’t sound like a total ass before mentioning it. Only a partial ass, as per usual. End self-promo/flagellation.

Frank YangSome sad news out of Scotland this week when it was announced that Twilight Sad bassist Craig Orzel had decided to leave the band, effective immediately. He announced his departure in a blog post, though it’s not really clear what “waking up baw deep in a granny” means and if that had any effect on his decision.

Though losing a founding member is always tough on a band, the rest of the band are clearly ready to soldier on, with another single from last year’s Forget The Night Ahead – “The Room” – set for release on March 29 and a massive North American tour announced for the month of May. Unlike their Fall 2009 tour which saw them teaming up with their countrymen, this jaunt will pair them up with an outfit from considerably further away – Japan’s epic instrumentalists Mono. They have a new live album and film coming out on April 29 entitled Holy Ground: NYC Live with the Wordless Music Orchestra.

I’ve always wanted to see Mono – yes they’ve been through town a number of times, I just haven’t gone – and am always happy to be aurally assaulted by The Twilight Sad, so you can consider May 26, when the tour winds its way through Lee’s Palace in Toronto, circled on my calendar.

MP3: The Twilight Sad – “Reflection Of The Television”
MP3: Mono – “Follow The Map”
MP3: Mono – “Ashes In The Snow”

Other concert announcements this week include an in-store triple bill during Canadian Musicfest at Criminal Records. On March 13, they’ll play host to Aidan Knight, Dan Mangan and Hollerado, playing at 5PM, 6PM and 7PM respectively. As far as their festival showcases go, Knight is at the Global Backpackers Hostel on March 12, Mangan is at the Great Hall on the 11th and the Courthouse on the 12th and Hollerado at the Horseshoe on the 11th. CTV has an Olympics-themed interview with Mangan.

MP3: Hollerado – “Juliette”
MP3: Dan Mangan – “Road Regrets”
MP3: Aidan Knight – “Jasper”

Adam Green has a date at the Mod Club on April 17 in support of his new record Minor Love, tickets $13.50. Clash, The Line Of Best Fit and Spinner have interviews.

Video: Adam Green – “What Makes Him Act So Bad”

On April 18, the Drake Underground will welcome White Hinterland and Dosh, both of whom have new records en route. White Hinterland’s Kairos is out March 9 while Dosh’s Tommy will be available on April 13.

MP3: White Hinterland – “Icarus”
MP3: White Hinterland – “No Logic”
MP3: Dosh – “Subtractions”

Here We Go Magic and White Rabbits are teaming up for a Spring tour that will stop in at Lee’s Palace on April 27. Here We Go Magic’s new album is due out sometime in the Spring; White Rabbits are still working last year’s It’s Frightening.

MP3: White Rabbits – “Percussion Gun”
Video: Here We Go Magic – “Fangela”

Northern Ireland’s Two Door Cinema Club will wrap up a North American tour with a May 17 date at Wrongbar, tickets $10 in advance. Their debut album Tourist History is out on April 27, and if you like mondo-catchy, jangly-dancey guitar pop, it/they should probably be on your radar.

MP3: Two Door Cinema Club – “I Can Talk”
MP3: Two Door Cinema Club – “Something Good Can Work”

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings are back with a new record in I Learned the Hard Way, out April 6, and will be hitting the road, with a May 25 date at the Sound Academy in Toronto – tickets $25.

Behold the new clip from Caribou’s new album Swim, due out April 20.

Video: Caribou – “Odessa”

Phantogram’s Josh Carter tries to describe what they do to The Washington Examiner. Find out for yourself at the Drake Underground on Saturday night.

El Perro Del Mar’s Sarah Assbring talks to NOW about the Lou Reed influence on her latest record Love Is Not Pop. She is at the Mod Club on Sunday night.

The Daily Record talks to Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit about The Winter Of Mixed Drinks, due out March 9. They are at the Opera House on May 4.

BBC6 talks to Friendly Fires about working on their second album.