Frank YangAs is becoming something of a tradition for me, I once again spent Thanksgiving this year at a show rather than with family (we got together earlier in the weekend so stop judging me), though it was with a sort of extended family – labelmates in Loney Dear and Asobi Seksu (both on Polyvinyl) and country(wo)men in Loney Dear and Anna Ternheim (all Swedes). Yeah, that’s sort of a stretch but whatever.

There’d been some vagueness about the precise order of the sets – the infamous co-headline situation again – but it was certain that Ternheim would be first up. I’d listened to a few of her records including her latest, Leaving On A Mayday, and her songs, filled with that distinctly Swedish sort of melancholy, were of the sort that could easily go from small and folkish to big and orchestral and still sound right. So I was curious to see which direction she’d take them in a live setting and the answer, of course, was both. She started her set in solo acoustic fashion, showcasing her stark yet evocative voice to the dead silent room (it wasn’t especially full, no, but still) and then brought out a keyboardist for the second song to accompany her while she set the guitar down. She was then joined by Loney Dear’s band for the remainder of her performance and as striking as she was on her own, the bigger sound definitely won the day. The extra players gave her a rhythmic backbone and more importantly, a sweeping, dramatic dynamicism that honestly didn’t come across on record. Her set was woefully short due to being held-up at the border and generally getting lost, but if you consider the purpose of opening sets as to surprise and tantalize for more, then it was mission accomplished.

The question of whether Asobi Seksu would close the show or not was an ongoing one since it was announced, at least between me and myself. On one hand, they probably had the larger fanbase than Loney Dear and in terms of pacing, their deafening strobe-powered attack would be more logically suited to sending people home in a daze. On the other, this was their third show in Toronto in just over seven months so that fanbase’s attendance might not be such a given, particularly on a holiday, and considering their next record Rewolf was an acoustic affair and one that they’d already performed live, perhaps they would be keeping things more low-key? As it turned out they were indeed on second and no, they weren’t intending to turn down. As such, their set was much like the one at the El Mocambo back in March, mixing up the older, poppier songs with the Hush material, which still hasn’t really won me over. So familiar, yes, but still entertaining and actually a welcome jolt of energy for the night.

I think I was too harsh on Dear John when I wrote it up way back in January. Yes, it doesn’t stray far, either sonically or songwriterly (that’s a word now), from Emil Svanangen’s previous works under the Loney Dear marque, but I’m seeing now that’s because he’s fixated on capturing one specific mood or theme in music and much of what he creates are attempts to perfect it. Thankfully, his elusive goal is the moment where angst turns into elation and the sense of uplift that results and he expresses it with orchestral pop music. Of course. This was Loney Dear’s first stop in Toronto in a couple of years and a make-up for a failed attempt to visit back in May when their van broke down en route. And while that show at Lee’s in June 2007 was hardly a sell-out, those who were in attendance remember it fondly.

And those who were at the Horseshoe on this holiday Monday would likewise take away some warm memories of another wonderful show. Re-reading my review of the Lee’s show, I find myself at risk of repeating myself, but it bears repeating – Svanangen’s live band really took his songs to another level, deftly adding more bits of musical flourish and detail than four people with just two hands each really had any business doing in real time. And as such, they managed to recreate the richness of his compositions while still recasting and reconfiguring them enough to feel quite new. Particularly essential was backing vocalist Malin Stahlberg, who in addition to handling keys, guitar and percussion, sang most of Svanangen’s falsetto parts with more strength and bearing, and amazingly handled all of the tongue-twisting bridge of “I Am John” while Svanangen took the easy, “nah nah nahs”.

But as great as the band is, it’s still all about Svanangen. His permanently forlorn countenance is simultaneously at odds with yet perfectly suited for the sounds and songs he sings. Drawing material from across all his albums, the live setting proved a great equalizer for the production aesthetic of the recorded versions – the sparer arrangements of Sologne felt more fleshed out and Dear John‘s mechanical aftertaste was made more organic, settling in that sweet spot that was Loney, Noir. The performance was splendid from the get-go but the undoubted highlight was when Svanangen stepped out to the front of the stage, unamplified, and sang (I think) “In With The Arms” to the house. Now he doesn’t have the most powerful voice, so it’s perhaps a good thing that the crowd was modestly sized and thus easier to silence, but doing that, and backed with Stahlberg’s harmonies, was simply perfection. In all, they played nearly 90 minutes including two encores though at no point in between did Svanangen leave the stage – no point going through the formality, we were going to keep them playing for as long as possible. And thought it finally did end, obviously, all three of Loney Dear’s last records have been a steady soundtrack for the days since the show. It makes my angst into elation and that’s just what I need right now.

Bradley’s Almanac is sharing MP3s of a show in Allston, Massachusetts from the tour in May of this year. The Justice and The AV Club have interviews with Anna Ternheim.

Photos: Loney Dear, Asobi Seksu, Anna Ternheim @ The Horseshoe – October 12, 2009
MP3: Loney Dear – “Ignorant Boy Beautiful Girl”
MP3: Loney Dear – “Airport Surroundings”
MP3: Loney, Dear – “I Am John”
MP3: Loney, Dear – “A Few Good Men”
MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Suzanne”
MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Me & Mary”
MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Familiar Light”
MP3: Asobi Seksu – “New Years”
MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Thursday”
MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Sooner”
MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Walk On The Moon”
MP3: Anna Ternheim – “What Have I Done”
MP3: Anna Ternheim – “To Be Gone”
Video: Loney Dear – “I Was Only Going Out”
Video: Loney Dear – “Airport Surroundings”
Video: Loney, Dear – “I Am John”
Video: Loney, Dear – “Saturday Waits”
Video: Asobi Seksu – “Transparence”
Video: Asobi Seksu – “Me & Mary”
Video: Asobi Seksu – “Thursday”
Video: Asobi Seksu – “Goodbye”
Video: Asobi Seksu – “Walk On The Moon”
Video: Anna Ternheim – “Today Is A Good Day”
Video: Anna Ternheim – “Summer Rain”
Video: Anna Ternheim – “Girl Laying Down”
Video: Anna Ternheim – “Shoreline”
Video: Anna Ternheim – “To Be Gone”
Video: Anna Ternheim – “I’ll Follow You Tonight”
MySpace: Loney Dear
MySpace: Asobi Seksu
MySpace: Anna Ternheim

Headlights, who were left playing on their own at the Rivoli in May when Loney Dear’s van broke down, have released a new video from new album Wilderness.

Video: Headlights – “Get Going”

The Swell Season’s new record Strict Joy is streaming at NPR in advance of its October 27 release date. They play Massey Hall on November 3. The Khaleej Times has an interview.

Stream: The Swell Season / Strict Joy

Singing Lamb talks to An Horse, who’ve just released a Daytrotter session and are playing at the Sound Academy tonight in support of Silversun Pickups.

The National Post talks to Wilco’s John Sitrratt while The AV Club gets Jeff Tweedy to respond to some of the random stuff written about him on the internet. They play the second of their two nights at Massey Hall tonight.

Singing Lamb and Metromix interview Grand Archives, who have released a new video from Keep In Mind Frankenstein. They’re at the Mod Club tonight.

Video: Grand Archives – “Oslo Novelist”

The Quietus talks to Bob Nastanovich about the upcoming Pavement reunion and confirms it’s a one-off with no new material. It gets started in Aukland, New Zealand in March of next year.

Paste chats with John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats. And note that copies of The Life Of The World To Come via ThinkIndie will come with a digital 13-track album of demos for the record.

The Pitch has an interview with Flaming Lips drummer Kliph Scurlock. It’s weird that the drummer is officially not Steve Drozd, considering he’s an amazing drummer. But whatever.

Stereogum gets a progress report on the new Caribou record.

Mew have set a date for the Mod Club on December 6.

Alina HardinIf Alela Diane’s to-do list for 2009 had release a critically acclaimed album and tour relentlessly behind it, then it would be understood if she opted to take it easy through the tail end of the year. After all – her latest record To Be Still, with its timeless folk roots and clear-eyed songwriting, began collecting accolades as soon as it was released back in mid-February and she was on the road to promote it through much of this year. Yes, rest would be well-earned.

But not to be. Come October 6, she’ll release Alela & Alina, a new EP available on 10″ vinyl and in digital form. As the title implies, it’s a collaborative effort pairing her with Californian singer-songwriter Alina Hardin and while it sounds very much in the vein of To Be Still, the tight high harmonies provided by Hardin on the six new compositions do add an extra layer of loveliness to the proceedings. You can hear one of the new tracks at Diane’s MySpace.

And with the new release comes another excuse to tour, which Diane is of course doing. She’ll be spending September in the UK and Europe, but after a short break she’ll be setting out on an extensive North American tour. It’s unclear if Hardin will be joining her on the trek, but even if not, Diane has lined up a more than worthy tourmate in Marissa Nadler, herself no stranger to delicately beautiful folk music and who released a new album in Little Hells earlier this year. I’ve only managed to catch Diane live once, at a Soundscapes in-store back in February, and have never seen Nadler live despite her being no stranger to Toronto, so I’ve definitely got November 16, when they’ll be at the Horseshoe, circled on the ol’ calendar.

There’s interviews with Alela Diane over at Wears The Trousers, For Folk’s Sake and The Guardian.

MP3: Alela Diane – “White As Diamonds”
MP3: Marissa Nadler – “River Of Dirt”
Video: Alela Diane – “White As Diamonds”
MySpace: Alela Diane

Jonathan Meiburg of Shearwater talks to Muso’s Guide about their just-completed new album which is currently targeted for a February 2010 release.

Woodpigeon’s recent European jaunt has yielded a five-part series of dispatches, each with an accompanying new recording. Enjoy.

MP3: Woodpigeon – “Say Say Say” (Michael Jackson cover)
MP3: Woodpigeon – “Lonely Kiss” (The Consonant C cover)
MP3: Woodpigeon – “I’m Not Saying” (Gordon Lightfoot cover)
MP3: Woodpigeon – “Rambler Gambler”
MP3: Woodpigeon – “Reynisdranger Lullaby”

Pitchfork gets some background from John Darnielle on the Biblical themes pervading The Life Of The World To Come, the new album from The Mountain Goats, out October 6.

This week sees the release of Grand Archives’ new album Keep In Mind Frankenstein, which is streaming at Spinner. They play the Mod Club on October 15.

Stream:Grand Archives / Keep In Mind Frankenstein

Spinner talks to Big Star drummer Jody Stephens about sifting through the archives whilst assembling the Keep An Eye On The Sky box set, due out next Tuesday.

BeatRoute talks to Tad Kubler of The Hold Steady, playing a two-night stand at Lee’s Palace on September 26 and 27.

Spinner and here get to know Two Hours Traffic. Territory is out now and they’re at Lee’s Palace on October 16.

Dan Snaith gives eye an idea of what to expect at tonight’s Caribou Vibration Ensemble show at the Opera House as well as the new Caribou record, due out next Spring.

Malajube have made a date for the Horseshoe on October 24, tickets $13. They talk to Exclaim about some upcoming soundtrack work.

MP3: Malajube – “Porte Disparu”

Danish orchestral-pop collective Choir Of Young Believers will stop in at the Horseshoe on October 25 as part of a North American tour in support of their debut album This Is For The White In Your Eyes. Tickets for that show are $10.

MP3: Choir Of Young Believers – “Action Reaction”
MP3: Choir Of Young Believers – “Next Summer”

Just here in July, Wales’ Future Of The Left are back for a date at the El Mocambo on November 3 in support of Travels With Myself And Another. Tickets for that show are $10.

MP3: Future Of The Left – “Arming Eritrea”
Video: Future Of The Left – “The Hope That House Built”

Wolfmother are at the Kool Haus on November 11. The new album Cosmic Egg is out October 13.

Ben WellandI’m not sure why it’s taking me so long to try and come up with words to describe The Balconies and their debut album – also called The Balconies and out September 15. It could be this epic nap that I woke up from a few hours ago but still haven’t shaken loose, or maybe it’s because whenever I start playing the record, that’s 37 minutes that I’d rather just sit and listen instead of write.

The Balconies stick to the tried-and-true power-trio format and on top of that, favour of a dry, in-your-face approach that eschews any sort of studio hijinks. They’re a confident crew, these Balconies, and why not? All three are superb musicians and guitarist Jacqui Neville has got a most impressive set of pipes, with power and expressiveness to spare but thankfully uninterested in showy over-singing. Sibling and bassist Steve Neville is an effective vocal foil, though I find myself wishing I wasn’t reminded so much of the B-52s’ Fred Schneider at points. Their songwriting is also at its sharpest when they plough straight ahead with the power-pop, all punch and vigor and demonstrating a knack for the not-so-obvious-but-indelibly-catchy hook. But even the lesser tracks have at least one riff, melody or moment to justify its place amongst the stronger numbers and oft times, they’re the ones that stick in the head the most. In fact, on the first few listens, I thought I was able to easily distinguish the standouts from the filler, but subsequent listens have blurred those distinctions significantly. What hasn’t changed, however, is the first impression – that The Balconies have turned out a cracking debut record and more than merit my – and your – attention.

Seeing as how they hail from Ottawa, it’s only natural that I Heart Music was first up with effusive praise for the outfit, which has been echoed by both Herohill and Dave Allen of Gang Of Four at Pampelmoose. There’s also an interview from earlier this Summer at BlogTO and a more recent one at Soundproof, both addressing the band’s upcoming move from Ottawa to Toronto.

I’m not sure if that’s already happened, but their live itinerary has them in town quite a bit in the next while regardless. They’re at the Horseshoe this Wednesday night with Everything All The Time and The Magic, then are doing a free show as part of the TARA Secret Sessions the evening of August 29 with The Books Elusive and Modernboys Moderngirls. Then they’re back on September 25 at Lee’s Palace for a release party throwdown with Oh No Forest Fires, Fox Jaws and Whale Tooth. Good times guaranteed.

MP3: The Balconies – “300 Pages”
MP3: The Balconies – “Smells Like Secrets”

Final Fantasy is going to be touring across Canada next month but the eagle-eyed – or simply sighted – will notice the absence of any Toronto dates on his itinerary. But he will in fact be playing a hometown show on September 5 at– well, they’re not telling. As part of what they’re calling Bite Your Tongue, Final Fantasy and a handful of others are playing at an undisclosed location that evening and ticket buyers will only be informed of the location the day before the show by returning to wherever they bought their tickets ($10 at Soundscapes or Rotate This) for the 411. They do promise that it’s accessible by TTC (about a 70-minute commute each way) and presumably have made sure that the buses and whatnot are still running when the show is over and people aren’t stranded at this allegedly majestic locale. Adventure! Final Fantasy’s Heartland is due out the first week of 2010 or so.

Spiral Beach will release their new album The Only Really Thing on September 22 and follow that up with a whackload of touring, including a cross-country jaunt with Two Hours Traffic and they’ll preface their October 16 date at Lee’s Palace with an in-store at Sonic Boom that evening.

MP3: Spiral Beach – “Domino”
Video: Spiral Beach – “Domino”

There’s a new track available from Grand Archives’ forthcoming second album Keep In Mind Frankenstein, out September 8. They play the Mod Cub on October 15.

MP3: Grand Archives – “Oslo Novelist”

Also sharing a new tune are Headlights, who’re releasing their third album Wildlife, out October 6.

MP3: Headlights – “Get Going”

Isthmus and Express have words with Justin Townes Earle, who has a date at the Phoenix on November 7.

Spinner talks to Grizzly Bear, in town for day one of V Fest this Saturday at the Molson Amphitheatre.

Stereogum has premiered the MP3 for the a-side from a new Asobi Seksu 10″ coming out this week, a different version of “Transparence” from their latest album Hush. Asobi Seksu are at the Horseshoe on October 13.

Also at the ‘Shoe that night is Anna Ternheim, with whom Baeble Music has a Guest Apartment video session.

The Antlers have released a new video from Hospice. There’s also interviews at Exclaim and The Village Voice. They’re at the Horseshoe on September 24.

Video: The Antlers – “Two”

Stereogum gets a status update from Thao Nguyen of Thao with The Get Down Stay Down on their new album Know Better Learn Faster , due out October 13. They play the El Mocambo on November 1.

CMJ reports that Venice Is Sinking are soliciting pre-orders for their third album The Georgia Theatre Sessions, proceeds from which will go towards rebuilding the titular theatre where the album was recorded and which burned down earlier this Summer. Chip in via Kickstarter.com. This record would be the follow-up to AZAR, released earlier this year and just lovely.

MP3: Venice Is Sinking – “Ryan’s Song”
MP3: Venice Is Sinking – “Okay”
Video: Venice Is Sinking – “Ryan’s Song”

While I like the piece by Adrian Tomine they ultimately used for the cover art to Luna’s Best Of (and which you can buy for just $1500), I like this rejected cover better.

Newsweek Q&As The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne about their new album Embryonic, out October 13.

Spinner talks sexism in music with St Vincent’s Annie Clark, who also recorded an acoustic session for Grand Crew.

Dan StackI quite literally swooned when I first heard Baltimore duo Wye Oak via “Warning”, the first promo MP3 from their debut album If Children in January 2008 – for a completely unknown band to hit all the right buttons for me at first listen was a pretty remarkable thing. And yet the album itself failed to build on that excitement for no one particular reason.

Best I can reason is that while the ingredients of their sound – plaintive country-folking hurt mixed with crashing, ‘gazey guitars and droning synth tones, topped with Jenn Wasser’s aching vocals – seem tailor-made to trigger my endorphin receptors, the record seemed too hesitant to really connect. It was like the band felt like a couple of kids suddenly invited to the grown-up’s table, and were a bit overwhelmed by it all. Which, for a pair of musicians barely into their twenties suddenly signed to one of America’s top independent labels, they essentially were.

And so when I heard “Take It In”, the achingly gorgeous promo MP3 from their second album and again swooned, I wasn’t sure whether that would carry over to The Knot, out this week, as a whole. Short answer – it does, and quite heartily. The Knot is a much bigger album than its predecessor. Sonically, the louds are much louder, the quiets much quieter and the textures richer and more varied – and emotionally, the highs more ecstatic and the lows more despairing. The reluctance that permeated If Children has largely been replaced with a greater confidence, and while it may be true that The Knot still drifts in points towards the monochromatic, there’s no question that it marks a big step forward for the band and begins to deliver on their immense promise. Wye Oak are at the grown-ups table because they belong there.

The Baltimore Sun has a feature piece on the band. There’s no local date at the moment but their tour itinerary takes them through the US, across to Europe and back again in the Fall. I saw them >at SxSW last year and while they don’t have immense onstage charisma, it’s amazing to watch Andy Stack work both the drums and keyboards simultaneously. I recommend catching them if they’re in your neck of the woods.

MP3: Wye Oak – “Take It In”
Stream: Wye Oak / The Knot
MySpace: Wye Oak

Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn, who probably quite sensibly records simply as Mirah, will be at the Mod Club on October 6 in support of her new record (a)spera with ex-Decemberists Norfolk & Western.

Here’s an odd pairing – the stately folk-rock of Grand Archives and the ADD-prog hijinks of The Most Serene Republic. But paired they are for a North American tour that will be at the Mod Club in Toronto on October 15. Grand Archives’ new album Keep In Mind Frankenstein is out September 8, The Most Serene Republic’s …And The Ever-Expanding Universe is out now. The National Post has an interview with Milton’s finest.

MP3: Grand Archives – “Silver Among The Gold”
Video: The Most Serene Republic – “The Old Forever New Things”

Metric have set a live date on October 20 at Massey Hall with The Stills as support. That is a looooong way from their September 2003 show at the Horseshoe where they didn’t even bother with advance tickets.

A Place To Bury Strangers are making their musical manifesto very clear with the title of their second album – Exploding Head is due out October 6 and will be their first for Mute Records. They’ve already lined up a Fall tour to promote, including an October 27 date at the Mod Club in Toronto. They’re changing up dance partners all the while they’re on the road, but that show will feature Dead Confederate and All The Saints as support.

The Phoenix has a feature piece on Wheat, who have released a new video from White Ink Black Ink. I’m still giving a copy of the album away – come and get it.

Video: Wheat – “Changes Is”

Beatroute talks to Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo.

Frank Black tells Music Radar that “As far as any new Pixies records, I’m literally in the dark,” so anyone flocking to Virgin Festival at Burl’s Creek on August 29 had best be prepared to only hear the classics. Try to contain your disappointment.

Magnet does the over-under with The Velvet Underground’s catalog.

And oh yeah, this was news to me so it might be news to you; that free Dears show at Harbourfront this Sunday is a matinee show – they’re on the Sirius Stage at 3PM. And Laura Barrett is on the Redpath Stage at 4:30PM, since you’ll already be there.

Jeremy BaldersonBlog? Don’t blog? Blog? Don’t blog? Fuck it. Blog.

Brooklyn’s Jealous Girlfriends have been good to their word of taking 2009 off, but their individual components have hardly been idle. As reported back in January, singer Holly Miranda was working on a solo project and that’s now manifested itself as a five-song EP entitled Sleep On Fire. You can download an acoustic version of one of the tracks on her website, and she’s playing some US dates through June with AA Bondy. She was also recently featured in a Takeaway Show from director Vincent Moon.

Two of Miranda’s bandmates – singer/guitarist Josh Abbott and drummer Michael Fadem – have also been busy, assembling a new band they’ve dubbed New Numbers. They’ve also completed a new EP entitled Islands which they’re giving away digitally for free, and are also touring behind, starting with a June 22 show at the Horseshoe in Toronto. Like Miranda’s work, New Numbers aren’t far removed sonically from the Jealous Girlfriends’ sound, focusing on the more pop-rock side of things whereas Miranda is exploring the atmospheric. Both augur well for the Jealous Girlfriends’ future works, though.

MP3: New Numbers – “Hinterlands”
MP3: New Numbers – “Islands”
ZIP: New Numbers / Islands
MySpace: Holly Miranda
MySpace: New Numbers

Laundromatinee welcomes Chairlift to their studios for a session.

Japan Times and Newsweek have feature pieces on Sonic Youth, whom it was just announced this week will be receiving their own line of Fender signature guitars. Gotta say, those things are pretty sexy. Sonic Youth are at Massey Hall on June 30.

NPR is streaming their World Cafe session with Grizzly Bear.

Drowned In Sound talks to Yo La Tengo’s Ira Kaplan. Their new record Popular Songs will be out September 8.

The Scotsman talks to The Thermals’ Kathy Foster.

Wilco’s Glenn Kotche tells Cincinnati.com that he likes Cincinnati. Wilco (The Album) is out June 30.

The Guardian welcomes Blur back to active duty with feature interviewing all four members and including rehearsal footage.

Stuart Murdoch talks to The Guardian about assembling his “ultimate girl group” for God Help The Girl, the album for which is out June 23. The List also has a feature on the project.

For Folk’s Sake confabs Fanfarlo.

SubPop is previewing some of their upcoming late Summer collection, releasing MP3s from the new albums from Grand Archives and Fruit Bats. Their new records Mind Frankenstein and The Ruminant Band are out September 8 and August 4, respectively.

MP3: Grand Archives – “Silver Among the Gold”
MP3: Fruit Bats – “My Unusual Friend”

She didn’t particularly impress or disappoint in her Toronto debut back in April, but La Roux is coming back to town following the release of her self-titled debut on June 29 with a date at the El Mocambo on July 31, tickets $12.

Video: La Roux – “Bulletproof”

The Pains Of Being Pure Of Heart have apparently found a favourite restaurant or something here in the big smoke because they’re returning for their third show of the year on September 7 at the Horseshoe. Accompanying them will be The Depreciation Guild, who opened up in their T.O. debut back in February, and Cymbals Eat Guitars. Tickets for the show are $12. Drowned In Sound has an interview with the Pains crew.

MP3: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Everything With You”
MP3: The Depreciation Guild – “Darklooming”

Regina Spektor has a date at the Sound Academy on September 16, Little Joy support. Her new album Far is out June 23.

MP3: Little Joy – “No One’s Better Sake”
Video: Regina Spektor – “Laughing With”