Frank YangI guess I should blame Letterman. When it was announced that English trio Daughter were doing a short North American tour around their CMJ appearance, I was quite excited as I figured with their full-length debut not due out until the new year, and only a couple of low profile EPs in The Wild Youth and His Young Heart to their name, their Monday night showcase at The Drake would be a intimate, even secret, occasion for those of us in the know. After all – what’s the point of going all the way to Texas to be wowed by them at SXSW if not to be able to be ahead of the curve if just by one show? But then Letterman goes off and has them on The Late Show a couple weeks ago and then, all of a sudden, the show is not only sold out but people are being told very explicitly that there are no more tickets, anywhere, so stop asking. Somehow my little low-key performance has become the hot ticket in town.

Not that it was necessarily all thanks to Daughter. The bill featured two other acts from abroad, both with their own momentum coming out of CMJ, and both also making their Toronto/Canadian debuts. Dublin’s Little Green Cars curiously don’t have much of an online footprint, despite having signed to Glassnote (their debut is out early next year) and having been on tour across America for the last few weeks; this show was their last in the New World – and the first where they were legally allowed to drink, all being of the tender ago of 20 – so it was reasonable to expect they’d make it a good one. And maybe a drunk one. Coming out a cute pre-show, side-stage huddle, they went not for their instruments but straight to their mics to open with an impressive a capella number showcasing their five-part harmonies. Now the more cynical might say that we’re all full up with boisterously earnest folk-rock bands from the British Isles, thanks very much – and they wouldn’t necessarily be wrong – but Little Green Cars won’t be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Their roots show, no doubt, but there’s also enough ’50s-vintage rock’n’roll, gospel soul, and jangle-pop in the mix to make it stand out without becoming pastiche. Their sound hasn’t fully cohered yet, but as mentioned they’re crazy young. It’ll get there.

Copenhagen’s Choir Of Young Believers were talked about hereabouts last week, and having spent a moderate amount of time with their latest Rhine Gold, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. A precise idea, as it turned out, as the five-piece lineup did a pretty remarkable job of recreating the tones and textures of the album almost note-perfectly – and only almost because the cello was way low in the mix and the keys up, leaving the sonic balance tilted in favour of their New Wave tendencies, and Jannis Noya Makrigiannis took some more extended and free-form guitar excursions. It sounded quite good – the sadness and yearning of the material was more keenly felt live – but I didn’t detect it quite connecting with the audience, who responded more politely than passionately. If they’d gotten the crowd fully behind them, I suspect it could have felt epic but as it was, it was just alright.

It was genuine excitement that rippled through the packed Drake Underground by the time Daughter came out to set up for their set. They may not have had the personnel numbers of the preceding acts, but they did have some impressively complex pedalboards to help balance that out. You wouldn’t think so much technology would be needed for their dark folk-pop, but as with all aspects of the band, still waters run deep. Daughter may have initially been a pseudonym for frontwoman Elena Tonra, but it’s impossible to imagine how they’d sound without Igor Haefeli’s intricately layers of guitar atmosphere or Remi Aguilella’s spare but creatively treated drums and percussion.

And yet, it still all comes down to Tonra. Demure and hiding under her fringe, a shy girl with a sly smile, she seemed flustered by the attention yet her songs – elegant and reserved on the surface, yet clearly roiling just underneath with regrets, confessions, and accusations – are not the work of someone who prefers to stay silent or play things close to the vest. I was wholly impressed with the first impressions back in March, but having had time to get to know the songs and then see them performed, it took things to another level. Tonra did an exceptional job of tempering the intensity with charm, modestly introducing a solo reading of “The Woods” by saying that if it didn’t go well, to pretend it didn’t happen and then of course absolutely destroying it, and at the set’s close, thanking everyone for letting them in the building. The correct response, of course, was to thank her for letting us into her songs.

Photos: Daughter, Choir Of Young Believers, Little Green Cars @ The Drake Underground – October 22, 2012
MP3: Daughter – “Love”
MP3: Choir Of Young Believers – “Sedated”
MP3: Choir Of Young Believers – “Patricia’s Thirst”
MP3: Choir Of Young Believers – “Nye Nummber Et”
MP3: Choir Of Young Believers – “Paint New Horrors”
MP3: Little Green Cars – “It’s A Long Way To Tipperary”
Stream: Daughter – “Run”
Stream: Daughter – “Smother”
Video: Little Green Cars – “The John Wayne”

Dazed, Pitchfork, Planet Notion, eMusic, Interview, and Consequence Of Sound all want to talk to Bat For Lashes’ Natasha Khan with the release of her third album The Haunted Man. She also goes through the album track-by-track in a video piece for Billboard.

Ábrete De Orejas interviews David Gedge of The Wedding Present, and if you thought that this year’s Seamonsters recitals mean that it was time for Watusi to take centre stage… nope. They’ve announced a handful of 2013 dates in the US and will be playing George Best and their Hit Parade A-sides. Those of us waiting for the return of Cinerama material will have to keep waiting.

NPR has a KCRW session with Hot Chip.

DIY reports that Foals have given their third album, due out next year, a name – Holy Fire.

A Music Blog, Yea? has some questions for The Twilight Sad, in town at The Horseshoe on November 18.

The Line Of Best Fit interviews Ritzy Bryan of The Joy Formidable, whose new album Wolf’s Law comes out January 23. They play The Sound Academy on November 25 supporting The Gaslight Anthem.

Hayden Thorpe of Wild Beasts talks to The New Statesman about starting work on their new album.

Fab talks to Patrick Wolf.

Loud & Quiet have got a full, marvelously-shot and sounding Horrors show from their hometown of Southend-on-Sea available to watch.

State gets to know Clock Opera, who perform a video session for They Shoot Music and have released a new video from their album Ways To Forget.

Video: Clock Opera – “The Lost Buoys”

Beth Orton lists off some of her favourite albums for The Quietus.

The Village Voice and NOW have features on The xx.

Interview and Billboard talk to Stephen Morris and Bernard Sumner of New Order, while The Quietus talks to Peter Hook – formerly of New Order. Do you think the subject of one another comes up? Noew Order plays the second of two nights at The Sony Centre tonight.

Clash asks Guy Garvey of Elbow what he’d do with the last day of his life.

The Daily Mail offers an update on David Bowie’s ongoing retirement. And that is he’s still retired.

That Marina & The Diamonds/Icona Pop show originally scheduled for December 3 at The Phoenix has been moved to The Kool Haus. Adjust your bus schedules accordingly.

The Capilano Courier talks to Søen Løkke Juul of Indians; their debut Somewhere Else is out January 29 and they’re at The Horseshoe on November 23 supporting Other Lives.

The Raveonettes have released a new video from Observator. Stereogum has some thoughts from directors about the clip.

Video: The Raveonettes – “Curse The Night”

The Alternate Side has a session with The Tallest Man On Earth.

The Fader has a video session with Jens Lekman recorded in a New York bakery.

Sambassadeur is teasing a new album due out in 2013 with a new limited edition 7″ out on November 20.

MP3: Sambassadeur – “Memories”

Sigur Rós have rolled out a couple more videos from their Valtari “Mystery Film Experiment”.

Video: Sigur Rós – “Fjögur píanó”
Video: Sigur Rós – “Varðeldur”

Christiaan FelberThe answer from many to the question posed by the title of The Vaccines’ debut album What Did You Expect From The Vaccines was, “great things”. That may have been overreaching – What Did You Expect was a solid bit of guitar rock that didn’t necessarily pin them down in any one stylistic cul de sac, ranging from punky throwaways to stadium-ambition anthems – but there’s no arguing they built up a pretty good head of steam on it before it all crashed to a halt at the end of the Summer when frontman Justin Young’s voice was shut down for vocal cord surgery.

One of the casualties of that bit of misfortune was the entirety of their Fall North American tour, including a date at The Phoenix last October, but on the bright side being put into dry dock meant they could get down to writing their second album when they would have normally kept at touring the first. As a result, they’ve put out Come Of Age – which is less rangy but maybe hookier, finding the Londoners happily settling into a simpler, garage-rock vein. And they’ve finally gone ahead and made up those North American dates – if a year and a quarter later – planning to again hit The Phoenix on February 4. Tickets for that are $18 in advance.

Video: The Vaccines – “Teenage Icon”
Video: The Vaccines – “No Hope”

Marina & The Diamonds, who’s enjoyed chart-topping success back home in the UK with her second album Electra Heart will be looking to see how much that – and her stint this Summer supporting Coldplay – has translated into in North American success. She’s coming across the pond this December and bringing Swedish duo Icona Pop – themselves riding a pretty good buzz – and will be at The Phoenix on December 3, tickets $25.

Video: Marina & The Diamonds – “How To Be A Heartbreaker”
Video: Icona Pop – “Nights Like This”

Maxïmo Park have released a new video from their latest, The National Health and The Sun talks football with frontman Paul Smith.

Video: Maxïmo Park – “The Undercurrents”

The Dumbing Of America talks to Claudette Thurlow of 2:54, in town at The Horseshoe on October 22.

Bat For Lashes has released a new video from The Haunted Man, due out October 22. The Line Of Best Fit and Loud & Quiet have interviews with Natasha Khan.

Video: Bat For Lashes – “All Your Gold”

Bat For Lashes bandmate – or at least she was the last time out – Charlotte Hatherley continues with her Sylver Tongue electro-pop project by scheduling the release of her debut EP in that guise – Something Big – for November 6. Altsounds has some details.

Black Cab Sessions has a session in a black cab with Hot Chip; eGigs also has an interview.

The Line Of Best Fit has a video session with Richard Hawley.

Pet Shop Boys have a new video from their latest, Elysium. There’s also a feature at BBC.

Video: Pet Shop Boys – “Leaving”

eMusic and The Telegraph have interviews with Beth Orton.

Mumford & Sons stop in at Daytrotter and NPR for studio sessions and also offer The National Post and New York Times interviews.

DIY has a feature on Tame Impala, who are streaming their new record Lonerism over at NPR. It’s out next Tuesday, October 9, and they are at The Phoenix on November 12.

Stream: Tame Impala / Lonerism

Frank YangI think there’s two ways to look at the frequency with which Patrick Wolf tours North America. One one hand, you could say he’s not here nearly enough considering how much time he spends on the road and how devoted his fanbase is – his last visit was over three years ago, in support of The Bachelor. On the other, we’re probably lucky that he comes through as much as he does, considering how… fluid his label (and tour support) situation tends to be from record to record – his last album, 2011’s rather excellent Lupercalia didn’t even get a physical release on this continent – it’s probably a testament to his determination to service that devoted fanbase that he not only keeps performing, but that he keeps making such a memorable show of it.

His visit this past Tuesday night at The Music Gallery wasn’t belatedly for Lupercalia – domestic release or no, you can be sure his fans had copies of it and its Brumalia companion EP – but was instead part of the celebrations marking Wolf’s tenth anniversary as a recording artist. The celebrations also included the release of a new album of old songs, reimagined in orchestral/acoustic fashion as Sundark & Riverlight – it wouldn’t be physically released until October 16, but was already out digitally by the time Wolf took the stage. And in a way, it was almost better if the fans hadn’t heard the new versions beforehand – hearing familiar songs in a completely new way could be a thrilling experience, particularly in such an intimate setting, but it’s easy for me to say that as I’d already heard the new record and knew that the new versions were brilliant.

The tour also came with some Can-con in the form of supporting act Woodpigeon. Band principal Mark Hamilton recently relocated from his former homebase of Calgary to Austria both for love and a change of scenery, and like they say – you have to leave to come back; Woodpigeon moved to Europe only to land the biggest North American tour of his career. I’ve seen Woodpigeon live in a wide range of configurations, from folk vocal group to plugged-in rock band, but this time it was just Hamilton solo and acoustic, save for some looping equipment for his choral vocal effects and layered guitar parts. I’ve always thought that Woodpigeon needed to be some variant of band to sound their best – some of the arrangements on record were too pretty to be stripped down – but while there were points that I thought some sort of accompaniest might have been nice, he was doing pretty well on his own.

Knowing the rate at which he writes and records, I expect there are at least a couple new Woodpigeon albums in the release queue but the set stuck mostly to already-released material and it having been a while since I last heard them live – February 2010, to be precise – I’d forgotten how great those songs were. The laid-back atmosphere perfectly suited Hamilton’s gentle deliver, allowing him to be casual and conversational with the audience and preface most songs with quick, charming anecdotes. It’s a shame that Woodpigeon has migrated across the Atlantic, but if that translates into better opportunities (like this one) and perhaps more appreciation from his home and native land, perhaps the expatriate life is the right one.

Patrick Wolf had advertised this as an acoustic tour, but anyone expecting it to be an acoustic guitar strum through the songbook clearly doesn’t know Patrick Wolf very well. The area in front of the stage was filled with musical curiosities, from zithers, tenor guitars, and several violins and violas, musical saw, and oboe, through to a harp and grand piano. This wasn’t going to be no coffee house. Backed by one, and sometimes two, additional players, Wolf moved amongst all the instruments – and sometimes just sang – with the variety in tools and textures kept things sounding as rich and interesting as if he’d been touring with a full band; the amount of work that had gone into reinventing the song selections from all points of his eclectic career was very evident. The new arrangements also put the spotlight on what a stunning instrument Wolf’s voice was – its range and expressiveness has never been in question, but given the sonic density of some of his more recent albums, the fact that it’s such a massively powerful force on its own has been easy to overlook; no longer.

You couldn’t get further in vibe from this show to the 2009 appearance at the Mod Club. That performance showcased Wolf at most mercurial, for both good and bad, but this time he was happy and comfortable and just having a good time – at one point, he commented that he could see the CN Tower in all its LED-lit glory through the window, but much preferred the view inside the church. And why not? He’d filled the room with a couple hundred devout fans who, being more used to being able to act out and toss glitter around at his shows, had to try and restrain themselves in this setting and as a result just sat and trembled. It was pretty damn cute. And you knew they were die-hard because when Wolf stopped “House” midway through, saying that he wasn’t feeling it on account of being homeless while on tour – in its place, he took a request and swapped it for “Penzance”, a b-side from his very first single. Career-spanning, indeed.

After a closing run of “Pelicans”, “The Magic Position” – no prompting needed to get the audience clapping, and “Bermondsy Street”, it occurred to me that this would probably be the first Patrick Wolf show I’d see that didn’t end with Wolf nearly naked. And indeed, when he returned for the encore, he was still fully dressed but had traded his medieval-styled tunic outfit for a strange black cloak/headdress combination that made him look like some sort of executioner bishop. It was a fitting outfit for the genuinely creepy piano and hammered saw rendition of “Vulture”, but for “City” he swapped the crucifix around his neck for a pentagram headdress and when he couldn’t properly sing into the mic with it on, he wore it upside-down as a crown. And, not wanting things to end just yet, he attempted an a capella reading of “Jerusalem” but after forgetting the lyrics a verse in, ditched, bowed, and left. An abrupt but still charming end to an utterly lovely night.

Panic Manual was also on hand. The Quietus and Portland Monthly have interviews with Wolf.

Photos: Patrick Wolf, Woodpigeon @ The Music Gallery – September 25, 2012
MP3: Patrick Wolf – “Vulture”
MP3: Patrick Wolf – “A Boy Like Me”
MP3: Woodpigeon – “For Paolo”
MP3: Woodpigeon – “The Way To Happiness”
MP3: Woodpigeon – “Winter Song”
MP3: Woodpigeon – “I Am Your Balladeer”
MP3: Woodpigeon – “Empty Hall Sing-Along”
MP3: Woodpigeon – “Knock Knock”
MP3: Woodpigeon – “A Moment’s Peace For Mary Christa O’Keefe”
MP3: Woodpigeon – “Love In The Time Of Hopscotch”
MP3: Woodpigeon – “Oberkampf”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “Overture”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “The City”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “Together”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “The Falcons”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “Time Of My Life”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “House”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “Damaris”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “Hard Times”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “Vulture”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “Accident And Emergency”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “The Magic Position”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “Bluebells”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “The Libertine”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “Wind In The Wires”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “To The Lighthouse”
Video: Woodpigeon – “For Paolo”
Video: Woodpigeon – “Our Love Is As Tall As The Calgary Tower”
Video: Woodpigeon – “Spirehouse”
Video: Wooodpigeon – “Featherstone”
Video: Woodpigeon – “A Moment’s Peace for Mary Christa O’Keefe”
Video: Woodpigeon – “…A Given”
Video: Woodpigeon – “Home As A Romanticized Concept Where Everyone Loves You”

The Guardian, Clash, NOW, and The Atlanta Journal Constitution have features on Beth Orton, who is streaming her new album Sugaring Season at NPR ahead of its official release next Tuesday. She plays The Mod Club on Sunday, September 30.

Stream: Beth Orton / Sugaring Season

A Music Blog, Yea?, Newbury & Thatcham Chronicle, BBC, and Panic Manual have interviews with Dry The River.

NOW welcomes Django Django to town; they’re at Wrongbar on Saturday night. SF Weekly also has a feature piece.

Exclaim talks to The xx, coming to town for a show at Massey Hall on October 23.

The Independent and NPR have features on Mumford & Sons, whose new album Babel is apparently set to sell a shit-tonne of records in its first week and top the charts. How about that. NPR also has a video session with the band.

Daytrotter welcomes Summer Camp for a session.

Charli XCX has a new video.

Video: Charli XCX – “So Far Away”

Exclaim gets to know Toy.

In addition to a stream of what is supposedly the first official single from Wolf’s Law, Seattle radio station 107.7 The End also has a firm release date for The Joy Formidable’s second album – it’s out January 23 of next year, and they’re opening up for The Gaslight Anthem at The Sound Academy on November 25 of this year.

Stream: The Joy Formidable – “This Ladder Is Ours”

Al Doyle of Hot Chip talks to Exclaim.

Frank YangCambridge, England quartet Alt-J couldn’t have known how prescient they were when they named their debut album An Awesome Wave, as that’s pretty much what they’ve been riding through 2012. Released across the pond in May, it only came out over here officially this past Tuesday – timed to coincide with their inaugural North American tour – but in the interim that wave of buzz had quite definitively crossed the Atlantic, ensuring that arrived on these shores more like heroes than an act with something to prove.

For most, anyways. Despite being more than predisposed to bands possessing UK passports, the appeal of Alt-J largely escapes me. Or more accurately, I get why some people would like them; I don’t get why so many people like them. I’d have thought their oddly bloodless, art rock – which I’d liken to a celibate Wild Beasts or a very politely English Grizzly Bear – would find a niche audience at best, but somehow they’ve connected to such an extent that they’re the odds-on favourite to win the Mercury Prize at the start of November. And that’s basically why I was at Wrongbar on Wednesday night to catch their Toronto debut – how often do you get the chance to see the buzziest new act out of the UK play a small club? And perhaps they were amazing performers who would win me over live. You never knew.

It didn’t take much to figure out what openers JBM were about. Named for the initials of frontman Jesse Marchant, their game as slow, broody singer-songwriter material made interesting by tastefully sparse and atmospheric arrangements, mainly courtesy of their understatedly dextrous drummer. In the demerit column were the echoes of the sort of brooding that had been left behind in the ’90s but at least they’d had the good sense to trade their plaid flannels for some gothic country livery. A touch more dynamicism and variety would have gone a long way to offset their more plodding instincts and Marchant’s vocals aren’t really expressive enough to carry what its trying to, but alright for passing a half hour or so.

However the rest of Alt-J’s Toronto debut would go, it didn’t have the most auspicious start. Opening, as Wave does, with “Intro”, the audience heard less of their jangly, intertwined, out-of-phase fingerpicked guitar movements and more of booming feedback that it took them almost the length of the song to tame – lead singer Joe Newman might have commented on it but his mic was also basically inaudible. Everything was mostly under control by the time they reached the first ‘proper’ song of the set, “Tesselate”, and from that point forwards it was smooth sailing. Some might say too smooth.

One of the good things about Wave is how the band are able to take their combination of Newman’s strangely nasal voice, almost medieval-sounding group harmonies, and contrasting cloud-like guitar parts and whirring keyboards and envelop it all with a real sense of mysteriousness. Live, with the four young English lads going about their business and recreating the album with minimal fanfare or showmanship, that veil was lifted and it’s hard to argue the music was any better for it. Not that I could have convinced most of the people around me of that.

Just as I found the critical and popular response to Wave disproportionate to what I thought it offered, the enthusiasm of the audience more than made up for the band’s reserve. Not that they were literally freaking out – there’s no measure by which this was music for freaking out to – but they sang along loudly despite there not really being any obvious singalong parts in the songs, dancing without need for heavy or steady rhythms, and waving their arms in the air just because. “Matilda”, one of the few songs with a conventional chorus, was greeted like a stadium-scale anthem. Even though by this point they must be used to big crowds at home, Alt-J seemed taken aback by the response they were getting – though mostly unflappable, Newman lost his place in “Breezeblocks” after getting distracted by the fan reaction.

Playing for 45 minutes – no encore – and covering most of Wave, it was a solid enough show that gave fans what they wanted but wasn’t the sort of performance that would change minds or sway doubters – I left with basically the same opinion that I went in with, and I’d like to think that I was open to being convinced. That’s okay, though, because Alt-J have clearly convinced more than enough people already.

The Independent has a profile piece on Alt-J and their probably impending coronation as Mercury Prize champs.

Photos: Alt-J, JBM @ Wrongbar – September 19, 2012
MP3: Alt-J – “Breezeblocks”
MP3: Alt-J – “Hand-Made”
MP3: Alt-J – “Matilda”
MP3: Alt-J – “Tesselate”
Video: Alt-J – “Something Good”
Video: Alt-J – “Fitzpleasure”
Video: Alt-J – “Breezeblocks”
Video: Alt-J – “Matilda”
Video: Alt-J – “Tessellate”
Video: JBM – “On Fire On A Tightrope”
Video: JBM – “In A Different Time”

Filter, BBC, and Edinburgh Evening News talk to another arty British band whose debut is up for the Mercury, is about to get released in North America, and are playing Wrongbar soon – that’s Django Django, whose self-title is out next Tuesday, and who are at Wrongbar on September 29.

Spotify talks to Sam Halliday of Two Door Cinema club. They’re at Sound Academy on October 11.

NOW has an interview and Daytrotter a session with Patrick Wolf, who is at The Music Gallery next Tuesday – September 25. His new album Sunlight & Riverdark is already available digitally via iTunes and will get a physical release on October 16. The Guardian has a studio video performance of the new arrangement of “Teignmouth”, which originally appeared on his second album Wind In The Wires.

Stereogum talks to Natasha Khan of Bat For Lashes about her forthcoming record The Haunted Man. It’s out October 23 and a new song from it is available to stream.

Stream: Bat For Lashes – “All Your Gold”

Gaz Coombes has released a video from his solo debut Here Come The Bombs.

Video: Gaz Coombes – “White Noise”

NME has premiered the new video from Allo Darlin’, taken from this year’s lovely Europe.

Video: Allo Darlin’ – “Northern Lights”

Spotify interviews Hot Chip, who’ve just announced an expanded edition of their latest album In Our Heads. Exclaim has details on the double-disc set, due out on November 19.

Russell Lissack of Bloc Party talks to DIY about the band’s road from hiatus to Four.

The Fly profiles Toy.

It’s worth noting that I wasn’t even supposed to be at the Alt-J show – Wednesday night was supposed to be the night of I Break Horses’ triumphant return to Toronto… right up until they canceled the tour. The second of their three session videos for Room 205 is a little bit of comfort on that front.

Video: I Break Horses – “Hearts” (live at Room 205)

Huffington Post talks to Sarah Assbring of El Perro Del Mar, whose new album Pale Fire is out November 13.

The Line Of Best Fit talks to Efterklang. Their new album Piramida is out on Tuesday.

Daytrotter has a session with First Aid Kit, who’ve released a new video from The Lion’s Roar. They’re at The Danforth Music Hall on September 26.

Video: First Aid Kit – “Wolf”

A Music Blog, Yea finds out what Ida Maria has been up to.

From the El Mocambo to the Kool Haus in twelve months isn’t bad – Of Monsters & Men makes their third visit to Toronto in almost a year exactly when they hit the Kool Haus on November 15. Tickets $25 in advance. Update: And a second show has been added for November 16. Mental.

MP3: Of Monsters & Men – “Little Talks”

Tame Impala have released a video from their new album Lonerism. It’s out October 9 and they play The Phoenix November 12.

Video: Tame Impala – “Elephant”

The AV Club talks to Nick Cave about his screenwriting endeavours.

Eliot HazelIt feels a bit anticlimactic to try and sit down and formally review Instinct, the debut album from Sweden’s Niki & The Dove, and the reasons for this are many. Besides the fact that I’ve been talking about them since last August and already seen them twice at Iceland Airwaves and again at SXSW over the past year, there’s the fact that though it’s only formally out in North America this week, Instinct was released in Europe and the UK back in May and was easily heard online all Summer. And even if you didn’t happen across a full album stream, fully a quarter of the album already appeared on last Fall’s The Drummer EP and more tracks were released as singles. All of which is to say that I feel like I’m trying to find some fresh words for a record that already feels very lived-in and familiar to me.

Niki & The Dove – their name is in reference to neither singer Malin Dahlström or keyboardist Gustaf Karlöf – draw inspiration from the bold, bright tones of the ’80s synth-pop without sounding anything like a throwback act. Like the similarly avian-inspired Ladyhawke, they instead look to the songwriting of the era and share in the belief that there’s no such thing as a chorus, hook, or sentiment that’s too big. Indeed, tracks “Tomorrow”, “Somebody”, and “Under The Bridges” – incidentally the album opener, midpoint, and closer – are irresistible pop confections that make the absolute most of Dahlström’s raspy range; people compare her voice to Stevie Nicks but not being any kind of Fleetwood Mac fan, I am in no position to comment. That same voice gives the dancier and slinkier numbers the emotional dimension that elevates them above dancefloor fodder. Karlöf also deserves credit for programming a musical world that is almost entirely artificial, yet sounds perfectly natural and organic in the context of what they’re doing. You might call it an innate talent. Or an instinct.

They’re embarking on their first full North American tour this Fall and while most are as support for Twin Shadow, their October 2 date at The Drake Underground in Toronto is their own headlining show. Tickets for that are $15 in advance, but courtesy of Embrace, I’ve got two pairs of passes to give away for the show. To enter, email me at contests@chromewaves.net with “I want to see Niki & The Dove” in the subject line and your full name in the body, and have that in to me before midnight, September 24.

And if there is an upside to waiting for the North American release of Instinct, it’s that the Sub Pop edition comes with two extra tracks over the European version. One of those – “The Beach” – is available to stream below.

MP3: Niki & The Dove – “Tomorrow”
MP3: Niki & The Dove – “Mother Protect”
MP3: Niki & The Dove – “DJ, Ease My Mind”
MP3: Niki & The Dove – “The Drummer”
Video: Niki & The Dove – “Tomorrow”
Video: Niki & The Dove – “The Fox”
Video: Niki & The Dove – “DJ Ease My Mind”
Video: Niki & The Dove – “Mother Protect”
Video: Niki & The Dove – “The Drummer”
Stream: Niki & The Dove – “The Beach”

The Line Of Best Fit, The Stool Pigeon, and Exclaim have interviews with Jens Lekman about his gorgeous new record I Know What Love Isn’t, which is out September 4 and from which a video for the title track has just been released. Lekman is at The Phoenix on October 4.

Video: Jens Lekman – “I Know What Love Isn’t”

Daytrotter is feeling all kinds of Swedish, posting a session with The Deer Tracks and another one with The Concretes.

The Line Of Best Fit talks to Sarah Assbring of El Perro Del Mar, whose new record Pale Fire will be out some time in November.

MTV has a video session with First Aid Kit, who play The Danforth Music Hall on September 26. NPR is also streaming their set at the Newport Folk Festival last month.

Drowned In Sound talks to Sune Rose Wagner of The Raveonettes. Their new record Observator is out September 11 and they’re at The Phoenix on October 2.

The Arts Desk talks to Rasmus Stolberg of Efterklang, who have released the first video from their new album Pirmada. The album is out September 24.

Video: Efterklang – “Hollow Mountain”

Sigur Rós have released another video from Valtari; Filter also has a feature piece on the band.

Video: Sigur Rós – “Varðeldur”

Ólafur Arnalds has revealed the name of his next album via Twitter; For Now I Am Winter is done and in post-production, with a release date hopefully coming soon. Some clips of the new material can be heard via his YouTube channel.

The final song from Blur’s Hyde Park show on Sunday – and maybe the final live Blur song ever – is available to download. It comes from their Parklive set which is available digitally now and on CD in November.

MP3: Blur – “The Universal” (live in Hyde Park – August 12, 2012)

Psychology Today talks to Dev Hynes of Blood Orange about living and working with synesthesia.

The Line Of Best Fit is streaming a new track from Neil Halstead’s forthcoming Palindrome Hunches, out September 11, while LA Music Blog has an interview.

Stream: Neil Halstead – “Digging Shelters”

The xx go through their new album Coexist track-by-track for Spin while CBC Music also caught a quick word when they came through town last month. The album is out September 11.

NPR has a video session with Hot Chip.

The Guardian interviews The Vaccines about their new record Come Of Age, out in North America on October 2.