Michelle FordAnother year, another NXNE, another NXNE preview post. I’ll apologize in advance if this one’s a little less thorough or exploratory than previews past, as travels and general business has taken up time that would usually be spent cruising band websites and Myspaces Facebooks, Bandcamps and Soundclouds.

But I can offer one unconditional endorsement for the coming week, and I’d like to think it’s not a wholly obvious one: Vancouver’s Louise Burns. Her debut Mellow Drama came out a couple months ago and sat in my CD stacks until some recommendations both personal and professional prompted me to dig it out and give it a spin and wow. Gifted with a crystalline voice possessing just the right amount of twang at the corners, Burns puts it to work on a remarkably strong set of songs born of a love of classic ’50s and ’60s rock’n’roll but grown to feel timeless rather than throwback. While not the most universal reference point, readers of this here site will appreciate how high praise it is when I compare her to Nicole Atkins in influence and aesthetic, though with less torchiness and more jangle in the mix. Dig those Pretenders guitar tones.

I’m quite taken with this record and so was pretty happy when Burns was a late addition to the NXNE lineup; her showcase goes 9PM on Saturday night, June 18, at Supermarket. Southern Souls has a video session with downloadable MP3s to check out.

MP3: Louise Burns – “Drop Names Not Bombs”
Video: Louise Burns – “What Do You Wanna Do?”

And here’s the day-by-day of stuff that, should you find yourself looking for something to check out, I think may be worth your while. I’ve left out some perennial recommendations because, well, that’d be kind of redundant, but they still have my implicit endorsement.

Wednesday, June 15
Young Contrarians @ Rancho Relaxo, 8PM – advertised to me as a fun sort-of side-project of local musicians who rarely play, the samples of their lightly synth-y, New Wave pop is better than lots of what I’ve heard from deadly serious, full-time bands. Check out the tune on their NXNE profile and tell me I’m wrong.

Lower Dens @ The Garrison, 10PM – hypnotically atmospheric Baltimore outfit finally returning to Toronto for a couple of NXNE shows, this one and another at 1AM on Thursday, June 16, at Lee’s Palace. One of the bands I really hope to catch but won’t be surprised if I miss completely.
MP3: Lower Dens – “Hospice Gates”

Ume @ The Drake Underground, 11PM – the Austin-based power trio who’re personal favourites will be previewing their new album Phantoms, due out on August 30. They always put on an absolutely scorching live show courtesy the guitar heroics of frontwoman Lauren Larson.
MP3: Ume – “The Conductor”

The Postelles @ The Garrison, 11PM – New York guitar-pop band that sounds like a New York guitar-pop band, which is to say kind of throwback garage-y and a lot catchy. Billboard and The Washington Examiner have features.
MP3: The Postelles – “Hold On”

Library Voices @ The Rivoli, 12AM – unflappable Saskatchewan collective who’ve endured theft, floods and living in Saskatchewan to keep putting out upbeat, catchy pop will release their second album Summer Of Lust on August 23. NOW, The National Post and The Leader-Post have interviews.
Video: Library Voices – “Drinking Games”

Thursday, June 16
Evening Hymns @ The Music Gallery, 8PM – Toronto duo built around the duo of Jonas Bonetta and Sylvie Smith will be previewing their second album, as yet untitled but due out in the Fall, in pretty much the most perfect setting short of a mist-covered mountaintop. Spill has an interview with Bonetta.
MP3: Evening Hymns – “Broken Rifle”

Fucked Up @ Yonge-Dundas Square, 8PM – the chance to see the 2009 Polaris Prize winners do their crowd-invading, half-naked thing in a public square is not to be missed, nor is the opportunity to hear their latest opus David Comes To Life live. They’ll also play Wrongbar at 1AM the same evening. The National Post has a feature.
MP3: Fucked Up – “Queen Of Hearts”

Modern Superstitions @ The Garrison, 9PM – constantly on my festival “you ought to see” lists because, well, you ought to see them. Their catchy garage-pop get better every time out.
MP3: Modern Superstitions – “Visions Of You”

The Two Koreas @ The Velvet Underground, 10PM – in brief: local rock scribes form rock band, make surprisingly good guitar-rock record, get other local rock scribes to recommend seeing them and regret no longer being in bands.
MP3: The Two Koreas – “Midnight Brown”

Cowboy And Indian @ The Comfort Zone, 10PM – CRUCIFICTORIOUS!
MP3: Cowboy And Indian – “Ledbellies”

Slow Down, Molasses @ The Dakota Tavern, 11PM – sprawling Prairie collective who’ve found an extra dose of cohesion and rock on their second album Walk Into The Sea
MP3: Slow Down, Molasses – “Late Night Radio”

Evan Dando & Juliana Hatfield @ Lee’s Palace, 12AM – one of Alternative Nation’s original power couples, now back together and doing… I’m not exactly sure. But expecting to slapped upside the head with ’90s nostalgia probably isn’t unreasonable.
Video: The Lemonheads – “It’s A Shame About Ray”
Video: The Juliana Hatfield Three – “Spin The Bottle”

Bruce Peninsula @ The Rivoli, 1AM – local gospel-blues-folk choir continues their gradual return to active duty with their first live show in what seems like forever. Their second album Open Flames is out this Fall
MP3: Bruce Peninsula – “Light Flight”

Friday, June 17
Art Brut @ The Mod Club, 9PM – hilarious and whip-smart Brits will showcase their new record Brilliant! Tragic. Paste has a profile.
MP3: Art Brut – “Lost Weekend”

Volcano Playground @ Rancho Relaxo, 11PM – Atmospheric synth-pop made right here in Toronto that pulls together all manner of influence into something impressively unique. A local act to keep an eye on, whether at NXNE or not.
MP3: Volcano Playground – “Waiting”

Julianna Barwick @ Wrongbar, 11PM – Haunting, ambient soundscapes built on layers of vocals and imagination.
MP3: Julianna Barwick – “The Magic Place”

Swervedriver @ The Great Hall, 12AM – British shoegaze legends making a rare appearance in these parts… even if their last appearance in 2008 was at this very same festival.
MP3: Swervedriver – “Last Train To Satansville” (live)

Dum Dum Girls @ Lee’s Palace, 12AM – sun-kissed Californian garage-pop from the guaranteed best-dressed band at the fest. Including Devo. Spinner and NOW have interviews.
MP3: Dum Dum Girls – “Jail La La”

Olenka & The Autumn Lovers @ The Gladstone Hotel, 12AM – London orchestral-folk faves finally return with a new, full lineup that should allow them to recreate more of if not all of their gorgeous And Now We Sing album
MP3: Olenka & The Autumn Lovers – “Odessa”

Rouge @ Sneaky Dee’s, 3AM – if for some reason you’re still awake and looking for something to do, their electro-pop will make a compelling argument for dancing, dancing, dancing.

Saturday, June 18
Cults @ Yonge-Dundas Square, 7PM – possibly the buzziest of all the buzz bands playing the festival, thanks to the love for the retro-pop that adorns their self-titled debut. They also playing at midnight at Lee’s Palace on June 17. Filter and Boston Globe have features.
MP3: Cults- “Go Outside”

Bellewoods @ The Dakota Tavern, 9PM – raggedly lovely and rockingly downcast alt.country outfit preparing for the upcoming release of their debut Don’t Rely On Me
MP3: Bellewoods – “Take Me Out”

Devo @ Yonge-Dundas Square, 9:30PM – They’re legends, they’re the headliners, they’re free. Are they not men? They are DEVO.
Video: Devo – “Girl U Want”

Smoke Fairies @ The Dakota Tavern, 10PM – English folk-blues duo specializing in tight harmonies and creepy atmosphere. Tour Dates has an interview.
MP3: Smoke Fairies – “Strange Moon Rising”

Peelander-Z @ The Comfort Zone, 12AM – A single look should be all you need to know if you want to see the planet’s premiere Japanese action comic punk band. They also play an all-ages show at Sneaky Dee’s at 5PM that afternoon. Spinner has an interview.
MP3: Peelander-Z – “Tacos Tacos Tacos”

Chad VanGaalen @ The Great Hall, 12AM – The release of Diaper Island brings Canada’s premier weirdo-pop auteur back to town. The Take and National Post have interviews.
MP3: Chad Vangaalen – “Sara”

Secret Cities @ The Dakota Tavern, 12AM – Classic, lightly psychedelic pop low on fidelity but high on songs, hailing from the music hotbed of Fargo, North Dakota. They’re also playing 9PM Friday at Wrongbar and 5PM Saturday at The Rivoli
MP3: Secret Cities – “The Park”

Obviously, this is just a tiny sample of what’s on offer this week at the clubs around town – to be honest, I haven’t even sorted out what I’m going to be seeing so I can’t very well say with any authority that these are the acts you should be seeing. But hopefully there’s something in the selections above that click with you and at least register as an option for your festival itinerary. And if you need more, check out festival previews at Spin (focusing on worthy Torontonian acts), OTM, BlogTO, Toro (two-parter) and The Line Of Best Fit

And note that these only covered the official evening showcases; while things are still far from Austin-scale, there’s more day shows and whatnot this than I ever recall, which is good news for everyone – particularly underagers and people without the time/money/energy for the club crawl. There’s a number of in-store shows, the Kelp Records/Line Of Best Fit BBQ on Friday, an Rdio-sponsored thing and BrooklynVegan-branded boat cruise on Saturday afternoon and the Live In Bellwoods performances in the park running afternoons from Thursday through Sunday to name the ones that are on my radar. And there’s also a launch party for the just-released Static Zine on the Sunday, which will feature live shows at both Sky Blue Sky Sandwiches and in Christie Pits.

Update: Just posted – Spinner’s as-comprehensive-as-you’ll-find guide to NXNE afterparties, day shows and secret shows.

So yeah, NXNE. Here we go.

youarestars.comThe promo and touring cycle for Stars’ last record The Five Ghosts – released just about a year ago – largely wrapped last Fall, just in time to take a break and allow Amy Millan to have her first child. The Montreal quintet are ready to get back into action, though, and are doing so not with a release of new material but of old. Specifically their previous-to-last album, 2007’s In Our Bedroom After The War, or more specifically the demos for said record. That’s what has just been released as The Bedroom Demos, available digitally in compressed or lossless forms. It’s also available to stream in its entirety right now.

No doubt some of these songs will be aired out in their finished forms when the band makes their appearance at Yonge-Dundas Square next Friday night, June 17, as part of NXNE’s centrepiece free shows. And they’ll almost certainly be on the set list when the band plays a secret show at a to-be-announced location in Toronto the following night, June 18. Uncovering the location of the show is a scavenger hunt of sorts with locations of QR codes with clues being teased out via Twitter. And if you don’t figure it out to make it onto the guest list, the show will also be livestreamed on aux.tv that evening, though access to the stream also requires some sleuthing for trivia answers. Hey, no one ever said life was going to be easy.

The Take interviews Torquil Campbell in advance of their NXNE appearance next week.

MP3: Stars – “The Night Starts Here”
Stream: Stars / The Bedroom Demos

Broken Social Scene have released a new, uber-violent video from last year’s Forgiveness Rock Record. They play Downsview Park on Canada Day, July 1.

Video: Broken Social Scene – “The Sweetest Kill”

NOW interviews No Joy, who’re at The Horseshoe on June 16 at 1AM as part of NXNE.

Paste has a series of video performances from The Wilderness Of Manitoba.

The Quietus talks to Fucked Up bassist Sandy Miranda. The band have two NXNE showcases – 8PM on June 16 at Yonge-Dundas Square and 1AM later that night at Wrongbar.

Hero Hill talks to Joel Plaskett about his EMERGENCYs, false alarms, shipwrecks, castaways, fragile creatures, special features, demons and demonstrations rarities comp, out Tuesday. Plaskett plays a free show at Metro Hall tonight at 8PM.

Rock Feedback interviews Dan Bejar of Destroyer.

Interview sends Win Butler of Arcade Fire to interview Alexander Skarsgard of HBO’s True Blood. Because why not, right?

CBC, NOW, Chart and The Montreal Gazette interview the authors of Have Not Been The Same, the Canadian indie rock document which celebrates its return to in-print status with a Weeping Tile show at Lee’s Palace tonight.

With her new record The Harrow & The Harvest set for a June 28 release, Paste reports that Gillian Welch has scheduled an extensive North American tour that includes a July 25 stop at The Phoenix in Toronto. The Press Democrat has an interview with Welch.

Quite pleased to see that Memory Tapes is taking the occasion of the July 5 release of Player Piano to finally tour up to Toronto, having scheduled an August 13 date at Wrongbar. The band which is essentially one Dayve Hawk is a far more engaging live act than you might expect, as I learned at SXSW 2010. There’s both an MP3 and video from the new record kicking around.

MP3: Memory Tapes – “Today Is Our Life”
Video: Memory Tapes – “Yes I Know”

The Sea & Cake will be in town at Lee’s Palace on November 5 in support of their latest effort The Moonlight Butterfly. The Chicago Tribune talks to Sam Prekop.

MP3: The Sea & Cake – “Up On The North Shore”

The Guardian interviews Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, whose new self-titled album is available to stream a couple weeks before its June 21 release. Bon Iver play The Sound Academy on August 9.

Stream: Bon Iver / Bon Iver

Under The Radar talks to Kelly Crisp of The Rosebuds about her comedy career. She and her band open up for Bon Iver at the aforementioned August 9 Sound Academy show.

Pitchfork talks to the director of TV On The Radio’s latest video from Nine Types Of Light.

Video: TV On The Radio – “You”

Mates Of State will release a new album of original material on September 13 and it will be entitled Mountaintops. Adorableness guaranteed.

Shortlist profiles Interpol.

Shortlist has a feature piece on The Strokes, who curiously still have not announced any significant tour dates for this year. I thought they’d be all over the Summer concert circuit.

Creative Loafing and The Tampa Tribune have interviews with Sleepy Vikings.

Daniel BoudTo say that it has been an improbable year and a half since Fucked Up’s second album The Chemistry Of Common Life won the 2009 Polaris Music Prize would be a bit of an understatement. Beyond the long odds of a hardcore record by a band whose name is deemed unprintable by many media outlets earning the title of “best Canadian album” of the 2008-09 season, you have the band’s frontman – a big, bearded fellow with a penchant for stripping down to his shorts and smashing things on his head – becoming host of the resurrected Wedge on MuchMusic and de facto musical ambassador for Toronto across the country and abroad and the recent announcement that they’d be playing the Air Canada Centre as support for Foo Fighters. All pretty impressive accomplishments for a band whose genre of choice is by definition pretty underground and not really a common route to mainstream success.

Which makes it even more remarkable that rather than plateauing, Fucked Up may well be just getting started. Their new record David Comes To Life, out today, is one of the most-anticipated Canadian releases of the year and manages to not only meet those expectations, but exceed them. It’s billed as a concept album/rock opera and while I haven’t perused the lyrics enough confirm or deny its success in that department, I can report that whatever it’s about, David is an uplifting and invigorating pop record.

From the unrelentingly churning arena-sized riffs – maybe the ACC appearance isn’t so odd – to the backing vocals from Cults’ Madeline Follin and Jennifer Castle, David veritably bursts with melody and while Damian Abraham’s bellows still provide the most direct line to their hardcore roots, even he’s more intelligible and melodic than on past efforts. At eighteen tracks and 78 minutes, it’s still a lot to take in in a single sitting – I advise getting the vinyl for the respites that flipping sides/changing discs will allow – but any resulting exhaustion is matched by equal or greater exhilaration. I had to take peoples’ word for it that Chemistry was a great record – it didn’t quite connect with me – but with David Comes To Life, I will happily be the one spreading the word.

The Toronto Star, The AV Club, Consequence Of Sound, Spinner, Exclaim, The Globe & Mail, MTV and Pitchfork have feature pieces on Fucked Up while Toronto Standard puts Abraham in conversation with one of the other most recognizable faces in the Toronto music scene, Broken Social Scene frontman Kevin Drew.

Fucked Up play two shows at NXNE on June 16, a free 8PM show at Yonge-Dundas Square and a 1AM nightcap at Wrongbar. The aforementioned Foo Fighters/ACC show is set for August 9.

MP3: Fucked Up – “The Other Shoe”
MP3: Fucked Up – “Ship Of Fools”
MP3: Fucked Up – “A Little Death”
MP3: Fucked Up – “Queen Of Hearts”

Radio Free Canuckistan profiles Weeping Tile, who are headlining the release party for Have Not Been The Same at Lee’s Palace on Friday night. The National Post and Exclaim talk to Ian Jack and Michael Barclay, two of the authors on the tome about the ’90s Can-rock scene.

Best New Bands and The Montreal Gazette have interviews with Little Scream’ Laurel Sprengelmeyer, and if you missed it before, she backs up Sharon Van Etten at The AV Club Undercover on a cover of Fine Young Cannibals’ “She Drives Me Crazy”. Little Scream have augmented their June 14 date at The Mod Club opening for The Antlers by scheduling a free in-store at Soundscapes down the street the previous night, June 13, at 7PM.

MP3: Little Scream – “Cannons”

Spinner talks to Land Of Talk frontwoman Liz Powell. They’re playing for free at Yonge-Dundas Square for NXNE on June 17, their set starting at 8:30PM.

Spinner interviews Chad VanGaalen, who headlines the NXNE showcase at The Great Hall on June 18.

Beatroute, The National Post and The Georgia Straight chat with various members of Sloan about the band’s 20th anniversary. They’ve got two nights booked at The Mod Club for June 21 and 22.

Vancouver’s Japandroids are back, in person if not on record. There’s still no official word on a follow-up to 2009’s Post-Nothing beyond the fact that it’s out in 2012, but the fact that they’ve slated an extensive North American tour at least is evidence the duo are still, like, doing stuff. The Toronto stop is September 22 at Sneaky Dee’s and if you think that they’re probably too big for a venue that size… you’re probably right. Get a ticket for $12 when they go on sale Friday and make sure your insurance is paid up immediately afterwards.

MP3: Japandroids – “Younger Us”
MP3: Japandroids – “Heavenward Grand Prix”
MP3: Japandroids – “Heart Sweats”

Southern Souls has posted and acoustic session with Malajube.

Frank YangI’m not sure what purpose Barcelona’s Parc del Forum, a fairly massive, considerably paved waterfront park on the edge of the city, is used for the rest of the year – it seems to built up and out of the way for just hanging out in – but for one weekend in May, at least, it’s a pretty terrific spot to hold a music festival. Some more grassy spaces would be welcome and being long and narrow, it can be a haul from one stage to the next, but when you realize you’re seeing a fantastically well-curated lineup of artists right on the shores of the Mediterranean, then a little bit of walking doesn’t seem like such a big deal.

As a North American festival-goer used to things kicking off at the crack of noon, it was odd to see Primavera Sound’s schedule not getting underway until late afternoon each day and going until almost the crack of dawn. But as it turned out, this was a pretty sweet arrangement – assuming you didn’t have to work in the morning – as it saved you from being in a wide open space during the hottest part of the day and let you do touristy things while still packing in a full slate of acts.

My Thursday began at the San Miguel mainstage for Of Montreal and though it had been a few years since I last saw them live, it was good to see that they hadn’t tamed things down at all in the interim. Quite the opposite, actually, as in addition to the psychedelic electro-funk that you find on their records, the show was crammed with such curiosities as costume changes, balloon acrobats, Mexican wrestlers and epic man versus she-pig battle re-enactment. For any other band, these technicolor shenanigans would probably constituted doing something special for the festival but for Of Montreal? Just another day at the office.

Post-Of Montreal, it was time to wander the grounds a bit and get the lay of the land and coming across the ATP Stage, I stopped to listen to London’s Seefeel for a bit, having read something about them on the Twitters. I caught about 10 minutes of their set but apparently this was just the outro of their final song, consisting of a pulsing, groovy bit of drone-dub that played quite nicely against the backdrop of the sea. Might have been nice to have actually heard a song, but what can you do.

By this time, night had fallen and ater verifying that none of the festival’s wifi points were working – no surprise but really, why even pretend they’ll work? – it was over to the Ray-Ban Stage where I was susprised to find Big Boi on stage and punctual. Maybe he was jet-lagged and thought he was two hours late. Either way, his crew had been hard at work pre-set to round up pretty girls from the audience – and this being Spain there were a lot of them – and had them on-stage as dancers. Fun to watch for a bit but after hearing the couple of Big Boi/Outkast songs I knew, it was time to move on.

The first can’t-miss act of the festival, for me at least, as Grinderman. Yes, I’d seen Nick Cave and company’s alter ego at their North American debut last Fall but whereas some acts excel in a club-sized environ, I posit that the potency of Grinderman actually comes across better in a big outdoor setting. With the extra stage and pit space to move around in, Cave seemed extra unhinged as though he amped up his intensity to make sure all the thousands in attendance got their fair share. In particular, the camera shots of Cave stalking the pit between audience invasions during “Kitchenette” reminded of ringside footage from a prize fight and in “Honey Bee”, he proved that he may be the only man on earth who can make bee noises and arm flapping come across sinisterly. Grinderman were loud, raw and exhilarating and it’s a good thing that at set’s close when Cave encouraged everyone to Suicide, he specified the band playing the next stage over and not the act. Because after their performance, this was not a man you wanted to say no to.

Circa their latest self-titled album, there’s been much talk about how Interpol’s time is past, how they’re on the decline – that’s not a position that would have gotten much traction with the thousands who showed up for their 1AM set on the Llevant Stage. And for as much as you can complain that Interpol does the same thing over and over again, there were a few new things to come out of their set. For instance, Daniel Kessler speaks Spanish – at least I think it was Kessler who addressed the audience fluently in their native tongue, I suppose it could have been Paul Banks. I couldn’t tell from way back in the field. And also different was the speed at which they plowed through their songs – tempos on most numbers were ratcheted up from the norm, perhaps for a more efficient set. It wasn’t necessarily better, but it was different. But otherwise, Interpol was Interpol. And I have no idea who’s playing bass for them now.

I left their set early so as to stake out prime bubble walk/confetti cannon position for The Flaming lips. There was some ambiguity about exactly which show they were going to be performing and I was mildly disappointed this didn’t turn out to be a Soft Bulletin show as I’m one of those who hold that album up as their masterpiece and material from it doesn’t get aired out in regular sets nearly as much as it should. But if it being otherwise meant that I’d get a repeat of last year’s stellar Molson Amphitheater show, then okay – I can deal. And a lot of it was the same, but that didn’t diminish the fun of it, particularly when you’re surrounded by people who’re witnessing the spectacle for probably the first time. Because it remains a hell of a thing. Twists on this particular show included bringing out a translator to greet and advise the audience of the opening space bubble walk, a Wizard Of Oz theme for the dancers with dozens of cute Dorothys whooping it up on either side of the stage, the giant exploding confetti balloons were new, the firing of laser hands at a giant disco ball was an inspired move and there was even a new song in the set with Steve Drozdt showing off some manner of iPhone app that he used to generate noises Kaos Pad-style. It’s nice to see their show continue to evolve with new material while maintaining the elements that are now basically trademarks of the Lips’ shows. Always a blast and you would hear people singing “Race For The Prize” into the night, long after the show was done.

I should note that I started to fade at 4am. I am allowed to fade at 4am. But it wasn’t done. The evening/morning closer was back at the Llevant Stage where Greg Gillis – aka Girl Talk – was flown in from Pittsburgh specifically for this show and when you only have to work for one hour, I imagine you give it your all. Of course as a mash-up artist/DJ, “giving it your all” is more just a figure of speech but for a guy with a laptop, Girl Talk live was a lot of fun. He also filled the stage with dancers and would periodically step out in front of or on top of his desk to dance it up himself, and then there were the thousands of partygoers getting down in sea of feathers, presumably left over from El Guincho’s set beforehand. Yes, it was a sight. Musically I only knew about half of the stuff he played – typically the Top 40/pop half, not the hip-hop half – but I can see why people enjoy his stuff so much. I stuck around for a while but eventually the rising sun and falling stamina forced an end to the day.

A new Flaming Lips EP done in collaboration with Prefuse 73 is available to stream at Paste.

And in other news.

Last night’s Friendly Fires show at The Phoenix has been rescheduled for October 23 at The Phoenix after drummer Jack Savidge was hospitalized “due to exhaustion”. Details at Exclaim. There’s a pre-exhaustion interview with the band at Interview.

White Lies are back for a show at The Phoneix on August 3, tickets $27.50 in advance.

Video: White Lies – “Bigger Than Us”

The Village Voice interviews Titus Andronicus frontman Patrick Stickles. They’re at The Phoenix on June 10.

Low play a Tiny Desk Concert for NPR and talks to The Skinny.

Exclaim reports that Stephin Merritt will be releasing a compilation of rarities spanning all of his various bands and projects in Obscurities, due out August 23 on Merge.

MP3: Stephin Merritt – “Forever And A Day”

NPR welcomes TV On The Radio for a World Cafe session.

Drowned In Sound and NPR interview Death Cab For Cutie. They play The Molson Amphitheatre on July 29.

Diamond Rings’ remix series continues with an interpretation of Austra’s “Lose It”. Diamond Rings plays Echo Beach on June 3 and Yonge-Dundas Square and Wrongbar on June 18 for NXNE.

MP3: Austra – “Lose It” (Diamond Rings remix)

Fucked Up’s new opus David Comes To Life is now streaming in whole at NPR, in advance of its release on June 7. They’re playing Yonge-Dundas Square and Wrongbar on June 16 for NXNE and the Air Canada Centre on August 9. Tourdates UK has an interview with Damian Abraham.

Stream: Fucked Up / David Comes To Life

Evening Hymns are featured in a Takeaway Show; they play the Music Gallery for NXNE on June 16.

Dan Mangan has cobbled together some tour footage into a new video, presumably the last from Nice, Nice, Very Nice before his third album Oh, Fortune arrives in September. You can also stream his set this weekend at Sasquatch over at NPR.

Video: Dan Mangan – “Sold”

JAM interviews Sloan. They have two dates at the Mod Club for June 21 and 22.

Frank YangI’ve been in Barcelona for a few days now – four, including today – and as of tomorrow things become very Primavera-centric so now’s as good a time as any to offer some thoughts on the trip so far and the city in general. And those thoughts can be summed up pretty succinctly as, “amazing”.

Before coming here, I had very little history with Spain, at least from a pre-conceived or pop cultural sense. I’ve seen a number of Almodovar films and started (but have not yet finished) Don Quixote, but had nothing of the romantic notions about the place that I do for, say, Britain or New York City. A few days here have rectified that, however, and I am now in a general state of wonder about this place, on so many levels. In no particular order:

The civic planning and infrastructure. This is an old city, and yet it seems to have been laid out in a way that it perfectly accommodates modern needs. Their main boulevards are massive, allowing fast movement of cars, buses and taxis while also providing extensive bike lanes and pedestrian thoroughfares and there’s lots of scooter parking, too. And they do this while largely maintaining an almost perfect grid-pattern through much of the city and allowing for giant fountains and monuments at key intersections, though if that’s all too orderly for you there’s the old-school European narrow streets and alleys of Barri Gotic. Add in the fact that the subway is extensive, modern and reasonably priced? Getting around is a joy.

The architecture. Everyone knows about the works of Gaudi – and they are unique and breathtakingly strange, existing out of time and place – but most everything else in the city is just as beautiful in their own way, with a pleasingly sort of old world classicism unifying many of the structures but all with their own distinct character. All of which is to say, everywhere you look, there’s something beautiful.

The culture. This applies to most places in Europe I’ve been, but it’s reinforced a thousand-fold here, seeing the value they put into things like their galleries, their opera house, the music festivals they host, the sheer appreciation for art. It’s so completely opposite to how cultural institutions are regarded in North America, it’s astonishing. The creative things they invest in simply because they understand their value beyond monetary terms is inspiring and depressing (because such thinking seems to be anathema to so many at home).

The food. Holy cow. Never has pointing randomly to colourful presumably edible things on menus or in counters ever been so tasty. There has been much tapas consumed on this trip, and hopefully more before I leave – question to 416-ers; where is there good tapas in Toronto? I need to know where I can go to obnoxiously declare that the food is not as good as in Barcelona. I also ate at my first – and at those prices possibly my last – Michelin star restaurant this trip and while it cost more than I care to recount, it was a gastronomical experience I won’t soon forget. I wish Coke wasn’t quite as expensive as it is – I’ve had carbonated cola cravings since I’ve been here – and it’s been harder to find a to-go coffee shop than it should be, but by and large the food? Dang, son. Dang.

The women. Hola!

Photos from the trip thus far are up on Flickr and for those of you who care not one whit for my travelogues – which is fair, you heartless bastards – here’s some music-related links.

The Quietus has assembled a retrospective piece on the glory of Pulp, which may be instructive to those of you who didn’t live through the Britpop era and may not understand why it was necessary for me to get on a plane to see them perform.

Even though they were indeed just here at the start of the month, Peter Bjorn & John have put together a Fall tour that brings them back for two nights at Lee’s Palace, September 2 and 3.

Video: Peter Bjorn & John – “Second Chance”

NOW talked to Lykke Li in advance of Sunday night’s show at The Phoenix.

New Raveonettes video!

Video: The Raveonettes – “Appartitions”

Pitchfork has a stream of the first track from the new Horrors record Skying, set for a July 26 release.

His time with Pavement again winded down, Stephen Malkmus has reconvened The Jicks and with the assistance of Beck as producer, will put out a new album in Mirror Traffic on August 23. Details at Pitchfork.

Spinner talks to Superchunk about their legacy.

NPR has a World Cafe session with Steve Earle. He plays The Molson Amphitheatre on August 20.

Billboard has posted their upcoming cover story on Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, whose new record Bon Iver is out June 21. They play The Sound Academy on August 9.

MP3: Bon Iver – “Calgary”

Charleston City Paper chats with Neko Case.

Spin checks in with Broken Social Scene’ Kevin Drew about his favourite things. Surprisingly, the answers are broader than just “Kevin Drew”.

Handsome Furs have released another MP3 from Sound Kapital, due out June 28. They’re at The Garrison on June 18 and The Horseshoe on August 1.

MP3: Handsome Furs – “Repatriated”

Fucked Up frontman Damian Abraham lists off some of his influences for Spin. David Comes To Life is out June 7 and they play two NXNE shows – Yonge-Dundas Square and Wrongbar – on June 16 in addition to their August 9 engagement at the Air Canada Centre.

Spinner looks into the longevity of Sloan. They’re at The Mod Club on June 21 and 22.