Elizabeth WeibergA note: I’m presently barely conscious after staying up way too late the other night doing the Polaris post-game, so I’m just going to start tossing up stuff that’s been collecting in the hopper over the last few days until I pass out.

And we’ll kick off with a new batch of fully realized, produced and presented songs from the inimitable John Vanderslice, collected under the title of Green Grow The Rushes. It’s being given away for exactly zero dollars in both high-quality MP3 and uncompressed WAV format over at his website. Why? Because he’s got these songs he wants you to hear and because he’s great. But if you want to thank the ‘Slice in some monetary way, perhaps pick up a copy of his last full-length Romanian Names? It’s not quite as free but still a great record.

MP3: John Vanderslice – “Thule Fog”
MP3: John Vanderslice – “I’ll Never Live Up To You”
ZIP: John Vanderslice / Green Grow The Rushes

Exclaim has some details on the new Iron & Wine album, entitled Kiss Each Other Clean and due out in early 2011.

Michael Benjamin Lerner of Telekinesis chats with The Washington Post.

The Thermals have released a new single from Personal Life which, in the parlance of our time, means that there’s a new MP3 to download.

MP3: The Thermals – “Never Listen To Me”

The Line Of Best Fit and Spinner talk to Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer of The Posies. Their new record Blood/Candy is out September 28.

The Boston Herald talks to drummer Bob Nastanovich of Pavement. NYC Taper has also got a recording of their Williamsburg show to share.

Clash interviews Local Natives, in town at the Mod Club on October 19.

Spin declares Lissie to be “breaking out”. She’s at the El Mocambo on October 19.

Spin gets to the root of Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s name, while Filter has a track from their new record Buzzard available to download.

MP3: Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s – “Lunatic, Lunatic, Lunatic”

Spinner serves up an Interface session with Drive-By Truckers.

R.E.M. has completed work on album number 15 and are targeting a Spring 2011 release for it.

Drowned In Sound talks to Will Sheff of Okkervil River about working with Roky Erikson on this year’s True Love Casts Out All Evil.

NYC Taper is sharing a recording of Spoon’s show in the teeny tiny Cake Shop last week.

The new Deerhunter record Halcyon Digest is streaming at NPR in advance of its release next week. They’re at Lee’s Palace the Opera House on October 19.

Stream: Deerhunter / Halcyon Digest

The AV Club, American Songwriter, The Boston Herald, Pinnastorm, The Awl and NPR have interviews with Superchunk. NPR is also streaming their show in Washington DC last week and NYC Taper offering downloads of the Brooklyn show, giving you a taste of what to expect when they return to Toronto to play the Sound Academy on December 9 opening up for Broken Social Scene; you’ll just have to imagine the pogoing.

The Sydney Morning Herald talks to Interpol.

PitchforkTV has posted a POV session with The Hold Steady.

Clash declares Holly Miranda “One To Watch”.

New York Magazine talks to Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner.

Spin gets a live preview of Nicole Atkins’ new record Mondo Amore, due out on January 25 of next year, and you can download a new track from the record over at Nicole’s website.

Daytrotter has posted a session with Ra Ra Riot, who have made good on their promise to come back to town in December – they’ll be at the Mod Club on the first of that month, tickets $16.

MP3: Ra Ra Riot – “Boy”

WarpaintI usually try not to post on the same act multiple times in such a short period of time, but all I’ve got right now is a bunch of bits and bobs and honestly, I just want to get through to the weekend. So here; a second Warpaint-led post in the span of a week. Deal with it.

But this one sort of ties into last week’s review of their show at Wrongbar, in that I’d originally mentioned that I got details on the name and release date of their debut album from one of the band members. Well I was asked to redact that shortly after posting as those details weren’t finalized and as it turns out, they weren’t completely correct. It was announced – complete with track list and album art – earlier this week that the Los Angeles band’s first full-length would indeed be called The Fool, but wouldn’t be out until October 26 and not October 12 as I’d originally been told. So yes, we’ll have to wait a little bit longer to hear it but I’m still certain it will be worth it.

In the meantime, there’s still last year’s debut EP Exquisite Corpse to hold me over, especially since I discovered that the digital version I’ve been living off of for the past however many months was actually short a track compared to the vinyl version, so technically that extra track – quickly acquired thanks to its appearance on a compilation at eMusic – is new to me. And additionally, their cover of David Bowie’s “Ashes To Ashes” is now available at iTunes and eMusic, proceeds from which go to benefit War Child. It will also appear on a Bowie tribute album entitled We Were So Turned On, due out later this year (precise date has been a moving target for a while).

Warpaint are opening up for The xx on September 29 at Massey Hall. There’s interviews with bassist Jenny Lee Lindberg at Nashville Scene and guitarist Theresa Wayman at The Daily Beacon. And Exquisite Corpse is streaming in its entirety – including the extra song I had no idea about until last week – at the band’s MySpace.

Stream: Warpaint / Exquisite Corpse

Singing Lamb talks to Chris Chu of The Morning Benders, who’ve made good on their promise to play their sixth show in Toronto this calendar year (including their free in/out-store a couple weeks ago with a headlining date at the Mod Club on November 5, part of an extensive North American tour.

MP3: The Morning Benders – “Promises”

Spin profiles Local Natives, who have a date at the Mod Club on October 19.

The Montreal Gazette talks to Greg Edwards of Autolux about the various factors that have sidelined the band for so long. They’re at Lee’s Palace on Tuesday night.

The previously venue-less Bad Religion show on October 14 now has a home – it will be at the Kool Haus, tickets $29.50.

Hutch Harris of The Thermals waxes nostalgic about collecting trading cards for Under The Radar. Their new record Personal Life arrives September 7 and they play Lee’s Palace on October 9. Check out their new Carrie Brownstein-powered video.

Video: The Thermals – “I Don’t Believe You”

Brownstein’s once (and perhaps someday future?) Sleater-Kinney compatriot Corin Tucker will release her solo debut 1,000 Years on October 5. Paste has an interview.

MP3: The Corin Tucker Band – “Doubt”

Filter profiles DeVotchKa.

NPR has a World Cafe session with the Retribution Gospel Choir.

The Advocate Weekly talks to Wilco bassist John Stirratt.

Broken Bells have released a new video that is apparently in 3D. I can’t say for sure because I refuse to patronize anything in 3D. I’m not kidding.

Video: Broken Bells – “October”

The Georgia Straight, Santa Cruz Sentinel and OC Weekly talk to Craig Finn of The Hold Steady.

Baeble Music is streaming video of a live show from Holly Miranda in New York from last month.

Spinner talks aspirations with Sam Fogarino of Interpol, whose new self-titled album is due out September 7.

Shoot The Player has an acoustic video session with School Of Seven Bells. They’re at the Mod Club on September 15.

Surviving The Golden Age talks to Laura Ballance of Superchunk about their first new record in forever, Majesty Shredding, due out September 13. There’s no Toronto tour date as yet but they’ve just announced an appearance in Montreal on September 23, so I’m hoping/expecting that the following night finds them in Hogtown (they’re in Philadelphia the night before). Come on, guys – we’re right here.

Of Montreal have rolled out a first video from False Priest, out September 14.

Video: Of Montreal – “Coquet Coquette”

Spinner talks songwriting with The Drums. They’re at the Mod Club on October 20.

Frank YangWith all sympathy to Brooklyn’s Beach Fossils, who thanks to some lost passports were unable to get across the border, and to the fans who had been waiting to see them, I can’t say I was too disappointed that they had to cancel the engagement at Wrongbar on Wednesday night because it meant that my night out would be that much shorter and that I would get to see Warpaint that much sooner. We’re talking a difference of maybe an hour, but still – I’d been waiting to see them again after they bent my mind on the opening night of NXNE in June. Yeah, that was barely two months ago, but what can I say. I’m not a patient man.

Up first, though, were Javelin – also from Brooklyn but with their papers in order. With the stage festooned with old gutted boomboxes as props, the duo staged a live mixtape/mash-up dance party built around R&B and world music sounds, even though initially not many people seemed to feel like dancing. Their energy was relentless as they multi-tasked between drums, keys, stompboxes, kazoos and cowbells overtop taped backing tracks and samples and while it got a little exhausting towards the end of their set – it went on maybe 10 minutes longer than I’d have liked – but still a fun set if oddly paired with Warpaint.

The Warpaint portion of the evening got off to a good start even before they took the stage, what with being able to pick up a copy of their debut EP Exquisite Corpse on vinyl; not an easy find in Canada. And things just got better when the Los Angeles-based quartet did come onstage and soundcheck turned into a rhythm section jam over the house DJ’s tunes and then transformed seamlessly into the start of their set, all signs were that they were going to be on this night.

The musical chemistry of this unit is remarkable to behold – more than a band, they’re like a single, wholly organic unit with drummer Stella Mozgawa the musculature, bassist Jenny Lee Lindberg the blood and the pulse and guitarist/vocalists Theresa Wayman and Emily Kokal the two hemispheres of the brain, though which is the right and left seems to change moment to moment. Together, they seem to operate almost subconsciously or on pure instinct, effortlessly pushing and pulling each other as they sculpt their dreamy, sensual rock that’s as beguiling as it is unsettling, simultaneously chaotic and utterly in control. Watching them exchange looks and smiles on stage as they did their thing, seemingly as fascinated with seeing what they created as the audience, was almost as much a highlight of the show as the music.

This performance wasn’t as beautifully brutal as the Horseshoe show, instead feeling more limber and textured, and was built mainly around the new material which seemed to allow Wayman to more equally share lead vocals with Kokal. Still, the couple of Exquisite Corpse selections they did perform, they jammed the hell out of and set closer “Elephants” was positively explosive. The only facet of the show that could be considered disappointing was that it was all over in 40 minutes, their headlining show running only slightly longer than their more rigidly-timed festival appearance. Though the promotional push around their full-length debut – due mid-October – hasn’t begun yet, the buzz has been building steadily since last Fall and using this show as a barometer, they’re ready to take that and blow it right up.

Warpaint return to town as support for The xx at Massey Hall on September 29; The Daily Times has an interview with drummer Stella Mozgawa. Daytrotter just posted a session with Javelin and another with Beach Fossils which will hopefully hold fans over until they can get new passports in hand.

Photos: Warpaint, Javelin @ Wrongbar – August 11, 2010
MP3: Warpaint – “Elephants”
MP3: Warpaint – “Billie Holiday”
MP3: Javelin – “Oh! Centra”
MP3: Javelin – “World MIDI Classics, Vol. 2”
Video: Warpaint – “Stars”
Video: Warpaint – “Elephants”
MySpace: Warpaint
MySpace: Javelin

After turning in an awesome free show at the Horseshoe back in May, great Welsh hopes The Joy Formidable will return to said venue for another show on November 3 as part of a Fall tour – this one you’ll have to pay for, but it will be worth every penny. Their full-length debut is now set for release in early 2011.

MP3: The Joy Formidable – “Whirring”

Drowned In Sound goes through Sky Larkin’s new record Kaleide track-by-track with the assistance of the band. They also interview and are interviewed by Michael Lerner of Telekinesis, who will be in town on September 4 for a show at the El Mocambo.

M.I.A. was busy on the YouTubes this week, releasing not one but two new videos from /\/\/\Y/\.

Video: M.I.A – “XXXO”
Video: M.I.A. – “Illy Girl”

Chart has the full transcript of an interview with Beach House which ran a little while back in much abbreviated form. They’re at the Molson Amphitheatre on September 7.

NYC Taper is sharing a recording of a Holly Miranda show at a wine bar last week.

The Line Of Best Fit and Chart interview The Morning Benders.

Spinner has a feature and also a Q&A with Greg Edwards of Autolux; The Georgia Straight also has a chat. They’re at Lee’s Palace on August 24.

NOW previews this Saturday’s Arcade Fire show on the Toronto Islands with a cover feature. The Los Angeles Times talks to Merge head honcho Laura Ballance about their road to the #1 record in the US, UK and Canada while Nylon also talks to Ballance, but in her capacity as bassist of Superchunk. Their new record Majesty Shredding is out September 14.

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World finally opens today, and the media blitz continues. eye has a cover feature interview with Edgar Wright and Michael Cera, Interview gets Jason Schwartzman to interview Cera, The AV Club talks to Schwartzman and Anna Kendrick and both Under The Radar and Spin get some face time with Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

Goldest EggIf there’s a rule that bands are supposed to mellow and get more introspective as they age, no one told Sunderland, England’s Futureheads. After briefly making Newcastle the next epicentre of Brit-rock with their 2004 self-titled debut – Maximo Park and Field Music would emerge from the same scene – the quartet would release two more records of their distinctive, harmony-laden jerky New Wave with less success than their debut, some complaining that the breakneck rhythms and energy that made The Futureheads so infectious were lacking on the follow-ups.

I can’t comment on the veracity of those comments, as I don’t think I heard either News & Tributes or This Is Not The World though I did see them on tour for the former in Summer of 2006, and they certainly had as much energy as I could have expected. And having made the acquaintance of their newest record The Chaos – out today – I think I can say that if the last couple records were indeed a bit soft, then this can be considered a return to form as sonically, it’s pretty much monolithic. The four-part harmonies, with their clipped phrasing and sharp accents, are still exceptionally tight and as far from a barber shop quartet as you can get and the guitars, if aptly described as “wiry” circa their debut are now akin to electrical transmission lines in girth. Coupled with songs that are maybe a notch or two less immediate than their earlier material but still eminently catchy and performed at a pace that only a bona fide speed freak would call anything but barrelling, The Chaos has all the manic energy promised by its title, encapsulated in compact 3-minute pop packages. Some more dynamics – or just an opportunity to catch one’s breath – over the course of the record would have been welcome, but there’ll be time enough for that when they’re older.

The Futureheads are kicking off a North American tour tonight in New York and will be rolling through Toronto on June 10 for date at the Mod Club. Advance tickets are $18.50 in advance but courtesy of Goldest Egg, i’ve got a pair of passes to give away for the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to have a Futurehead” in the subject line and your full name in the body, and get that in to me before midnight, June 7.

Futurehead guitarist Ross Millard talks to Spinner about some of the political themes that have worked their way into the new record.

MP3: The Futureheads – “Struck Dumb”
Video: The Futureheads – “Heartbeat Song”
Stream: The Futureheads / The Chaos
MySpace: The Futureheads

Drowned In Sound reports the new Manic Street Preachers record – the one Nicky Wire compared to Aerosmith’s Pump – will be entitled Postcards From A Young Man and be out in the UK on September 20. Was not expecting new MSP so soon; very happy.

Natasha Khan of Bat For Lashes talks to Billboard about some of the ideas she’s kicking around for album number three, including working with Beck.

aux.tv have premiered a new video from Vampire Weekend, who are at the Molson Amphitheatre on September 7.

Video: Vampire Weekend – “Holiday”

Flagpole and The Daily Record have interviews with The Hold Steady while NPR has the band in for a World Cafe session. There’s an MP3 now available to download from Heaven Is Whenever, which they’ll be performing at the Kool Haus on July 17.

MP3: The Hold Steady – “Hurricane J”

Chart talked to LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy before their show in Toronto last week. The Vancouver Sun and The New York Times also have interviews.

The National’s Aaron Dessner talks to The Boston Herald. They’re at Massey Hall next week on June 8 and 9.

The Guardian chats with Grizzly Bear’s Ed Droste.

NYC Taper has a recording of Holly Miranda’s homecoming show in New York City last week available to share while Aux.tv has a video session recorded on the University of Toronto campus which includes a cover of Sparklehorse’s “Hundreds Of Sparrows”. If one good thing comes out of the passing of Mark Linkous, let it be more and more beautiful Sparklehorse covers. The Sydney Morning Herald also has an interview with Ms Miranda.

Uncensored has an extensive video interview with Nicole Atkins.

The Times-Union profiles Phantogram.

NPR talks to Josh Ritter and premieres the new video from So The World Runs Away.

Video: Josh Ritter – “The Curse”

Chart, The Windsor Star, Chart, The Colorado Springs Independent and NOW profile Broken Bells, in town at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre tomorrow night.

The Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle gets sombre with The Georgia Straight.

NPR is streaming Blitzen Trapper’s new album Destroyer Of The Void in advance of its release next week. Learn all the words and sing along when they play the Opera House on August 3.

Stream: Blitzen Trapper / Destroyer Of The Void

The Brother Kite’s Isolation has finally been granted a release date – look for the CD on September 14 and a vinyl edition to follow in November. Preview a few tracks at their website and count the days.

Before playing the Horseshoe that evening, tUnE-yArDs will do an in-store at Soundscpaes on June 13 at 3PM in the afternoon, perfect for those – like myself – who are curious but not ready to commit an evening to see her.

MP3: tUnE-yArDs – “Sunlight”
Video: tUnE-yArDs – “Real Live Flesh”

Fresh off opening up for Sharon Jones at the Sound Academy last week, UK funk-soul brothers The Heavy will play a free show at Harbourfront Centre on July 9 at 8PM as part of this year’s edition of Beats, Breaks & Culture.

MP3: The Heavy – “Colleen”

Langhorne Slim, who was great supporting Drive-By Truckers back in April has his own date at the Horseshoe on July 21, tickets $12.50 in advance.

MP3: Langhorne Slim – “I Love You But Goodbye”

It’s being billed as “Disco Lemonade”, but other appropriate names might be “You Got Your Sensitive Singer-Songwriter In My Dance Party”, “When Disparate Tours Collide”, “I Want The Venue No *I* Want The Venue” or just plain “WTF”. I speak of the show taking place at the Molson Amphitheatre on July 30, which will feature Keane, Robyn, Ingrid Michaelson, Kelis, Fran Healy, Dan Black and Far East Movement. Tickets range from $29.50 to $49.50, the show begins at 3:30PM – yes, that’s on a Friday – and it’s reasonably safe to say that everyone who goes to this show will see something they probably would never have gone to see otherwise. I actually saw this bill on Pollstar a couple weeks ago and assumed it was a typo. Silly me.

Video: Keane – “Clear Skies”
Video: Robyn – “With Every Heartbeat”
Video: Ingrid Michaelson – “The Way I Am”
Video: Kelis – “Milkshake”
Video: Travis – “Why Does It Always Rain On Me?”
Video: Dan Black – “Symphonies”
Video: Far East Movement – “Fetish”

Goth godfather Peter Murphy has a date at Lee’s Palace on August 10, tickets $29.50 in advance.

Video: Peter Murphy – “Cuts You Up”

Mice Parade have a date at the El Mocambo on September 29.

Frank YangI was there. In 2010. On a Tuesday night in May at the Kool Haus in Toronto. I was there when LCD Soundsystem, here from New York City, played what might have been their last show in the city. I saw them support of their third album, This Is Happening. I was there when LCD Soundsystem took my recollection of the only other time I’ve seen them, at Austin City Limits in 2007 which I found, maybe because of the early afternoon set time, kind of passive and unengaging but still entertaining. I was there when they showed me how very wrong I was, except for the entertaining part. And even that was gross understatement. Because LCD Soundsystem, at least on this night, was nothing short of amazing.

I was there when despite being surrounded by a legion of players and a forest of gear and despite looking more like a high school gym teacher than a rock star, James Murphy made bellowing into an old-school, CB-style microphone with either his talk-singing or Bowie-crooning vocals the most riveting thing you’ve ever seen. Never mind working the drums or the cowbell. I saw the rock kids and the dance kids and the punkers and the ravers and the jocks and the hipsters came together for almost two hours of insanely tight and irresistibly rhythmic common ground and make it feel like this discofied union is how things should always be. I heard James Murphy make the case for LCD as music for moving the ass while stimulating the brain. I heard James Murphy make the case for LCD as music for deep thought while shaking the ass. I was there when he made the case for being old as being awesome. I saw LCD Soundsystem turn a concert into a party.

I heard Murphy touchingly dedicate a stirring rendition of “All My Friends” to legendary and beloved Toronto artist and impresario Will Munro, who passed away from cancer this weekend. I was there when they busted out the laser show. I was there during the encore when things got a little rough up front and Murphy had to stop “Losing My Edge” to let security do their thing. I saw him ask the audience, while emphasizing that he was coming from the most positive place, to bring their enthusiasm down just a notch so as to not hurt anyone. I was there when they closed out with “New York I Love You” and its “Empire State of Mind” coda and despite this being Toronto, we felt that love and returned it.

I was there. And it was awesome.

Panic Manual was there. Chart was there. eye was there. Exclaim was there. The Georgia Straight and Montreal Gazette weren’t there but they have interviews.

Photos: LCD Soundsystem @ The Kool Haus – May 25, 2010
Video: LCD Soundsystem – “Drunk Girls”
Video: LCD Soundsystem – “All My Friends”
Video: LCD Soundsystem – “Someone Great”
Video: LCD Soundsystem – “North American Scum”
Video: LCD Soundsystem – “Tribulations”
Video: LCD Soundsystem – “Daft Punk Is Playing”
Video: LCD Soundsystem – “Movement”
Video: LCD Soundsystem – “Losing My Edge”
MySpace: LCD Soundsystem

Baltimore-based but Anglo-influenced synth-pop trio Future Islands will be at Double Double Land (209 Augusta in Kensington Market – it’s okay, I had to look it up too) on June 7. Their debut album In The Air came out earlier this month. Apparently they’re quite good live, and are Guardian-approved. The Santa Barbara Independent has an interview.

MP3: Future Islands – “Tin Man”
MP3: Future Islands – “In The Fall”
Video: Future Islands – “Tin Man”

Philadelphia Weekly, The Sydney Star Observer and The Village Voice chat with Holly Miranda.

Pitchfork has details on The Orchard, the sophomore record from Ra Ra Riot, due August 24. They are at the Molson Amphitheatre on August 28 supporting Tegan & Sara and City & Colour.

The Daily Emerald talks to John Roderick of The Long Winters.

The AV Club talks to Ben Bridwell of Band Of Horses, who are playing the Toronto Islands on June 19.

Paste talks to Broken Social Scene drummer Justin Peroff. BSS play the Toronto Islands on June 19. The trailer for the Bruce MacDonald-helmed Broken-themed/set/soundtracked-yet-fictional film This Movie Is Broken is now available to view; the movie opens on June 25, details over at Exclaim.

Trailer: This Movie Is Broken

Carl Newman of The New Pornographers may now reside in America, but he’s still Canadian enough to teach The New York Times a thing or two about maple syrup. The New Pornographers are at the Sound Academy on June 15.

NME reports that Arcade Fire’s third album will be entitled The Suburbs and be out on August 2 in the UK, presumably August 3 in North America. It looks like this. The single for the title track is out today. It is streaming at their website. They play the Toronto Islands on August 14.

Chromeo are at the Phoenix on August 3 with Holy Ghost! – who opened up for LCD on Tuesday – as support. Their new record Business Casual drops August 17.

Video: Chromeo – “Night By Night”

MusicOmh and Chart interview Holy Fuck. They are at the Molson Amphitheatre on July 9 opening up for Metric.

Tiny Mix Tapes, SEE and The Washington Post talk to Dan Snaith of Caribou.