Shervin LainezYou know how the internet basically shuts down when the US goes on holiday? Well it does, and that’s why today’s post is a bit slight to say the least.

And we’ll kick it off with a couple of sessions to listen to, watch and download from The Antlers to mark the release this week of their (together) EP. It’s a companion to this year’s Burst Apart long-player, which contains the remixes and covers that are standard for these sorts of releases but also re-recordings of selections from the record with the assistance of artists such as Nicole Atkins and Neon Indian. It vacillates between interesting and meandering and if you’re trying to decide between hearing it or Burst Apart, by all means go with the full-length – it’s gorgeous – but if you’re needing an Antlers fix, this may do ya.

It also provides an occasion for Daytrotter and Paste to post up sessions with the band, the former downloadable and purchaseable and the latter watchable. And just because, here’s that xx cover that also appears on (together).

MP3: The Antlers – “VCR”

Pitchfork has premiered the first sample of Sharon Van Etten’s forthcoming Tramp, out February 7. She plays Lee’s Palace on February 21.

MP3: Sharon Van Etten – “Serpents”

Pennsylvanian punks Pissed Jeans have made a date at Sneaky Dee’s for January 20 of the new year, tickets $15 in advance.

MP3: Pissed Jeans – “Dream Smotherer”
MP3: Pissed Jeans – “False Jesii Part 2”

NPR has a World CafetUnE-yArDs.

Ivy have released a new video from this year’s All Hours.

Video: Ivy – “Fascinated”

Matthew Sweet talks about and performes his Girlfriend-era gem “I’ve Been Waiting” for The AV Club.

Paste has an extensive career-spanning retrospective piece on R.E.M..

The Jayhawks play a set for NPR’s World Cafe and give an interview to Country Standard Time.

For Folk’s Sake points to session at Abbey Road for Channel 4 (watchable only from the UK, unfortunately) wherein Laura Marling plays Emmylou to Ryan Adams on a performance of “Oh My Sweet Carolina”… and it’s very good. Marling is in town for two sold-out shows at Camera Bar on December 7 and Adams is at the Winter Garden Theatre on December 10.

NOW and The Victoria Times-Colonist talk to Kathryn Calder, in town for a free show at The Horseshoe on Tuesday night.

Uptown and The Winnipeg Free Press profile Austra, who is at The Phoenix on December 1.

Dreamland Apparel and The AV Club hang out with The Rural Alberta Advantage.

Clash enumerates ten things they think you didn’t know about Jarvis Cocker.

You know that fancy Elvis Costello The Return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook!!! collector live set that was announced a little while back? Well Elvis doesn’t want you to buy it. Seriously.

Frank YangSomeday, I don’t know when, but someday, Laura Marling will come to Toronto and play an appropriately-sized venue at a decent point in an album’s promotional cycle. She was already a Mercury Prize shortlister for her debut album Alas I Cannot Swim when she made her local debut at the barely 200-capacity Rivoli in October 2008, and her return engagement in February 2009 was originally booked into the barely-bigger Drake Underground before being sensibly moved to the 500-person Lee’s Palace where it still sold right out. Coming as it did more than a month before her second album I Speak Because I Can – which would again shortlist for the Mercury Prize – was released, it was reasonable to assume that she’d make a return engagement but the closest she came was an appearance at Hillside in Guelph that Summer.

Which leads up to last Friday night, where she made her third local appearance with a show at The Great Hall just a fortnight after the release of album number three, A Creature I Don’t Know. The show was completely sold out, unsurprising considering how high her star has risen and how small the room is; official capacity is no more than 500, and considering the seated balcony was closed off, it was probably even less. Of course, cramming extra people in probably would have been dangerous – not because of any kind if fire hazard but because for its architectural and acoustic qualities, The Great Hall has nothing resembling a working ventilation system and the room was a veritable sauna and more than a few of the less-hardy punters were passing out and needing assistance before the show even began.

Any opener trying to get the attention of the distracted, sweaty masses would have their work cut out for them but Alessi’s Ark was in extra tough. Her latest album Time Travel is a pleasant bit of folk-pop that might have gone over better in quieter environs but in this setting, even backed with an electric guitarist adding a bit of texture, her strummy, languid stylings weren’t nearly forceful enough to grab most peoples’ attention. A couple of numbers where she went to more soulful places cut through a little better, and people definitely paid attention for the one song where she was joined by a cellist and Marling on backing vocals, but largely she was too easily drowned out. It’s odd that someone who’s no stranger to live performance would come across so timidly and frustrating that while she clearly has the talent to do more than she does, doesn’t.

It’s funny that so much discussion around Laura Marling centers around her tender age – still just 21 years old and already on her third critically-acclaimed album – when so much of her appeal comes from the agelessness of her songs. Okay, they’re not completely removed from temporal reference – ’60s and ’70s folk from both sides of the Atlantic figures heavily in her sound and you can tell that prior to writing the new album she’d been spending time with old-school American country records – but combined with her old soul vocals, that’s as close to timeless as you’re going to get. As for the Black Sabbath t-shirt she was sporting when she took the stage… well who doesn’t like a little “Iron Man” now and again?

Playing frontwoman for a six-piece band, she opened with a quartet of older numbers, perhaps cognizant of the fact that Creature was still very new and judging from the number of people clutching vinyl copies (and fanning themselves furiously with them) still unfamiliar to many. It wouldn’t be unfamiliar for much longer, though, as the rest of the set drew heavily from the new record and even included an even newer song – being called “Pray For Me” around the interwebs – when she played solo mid-set. As always, her performance was mesmerizing with this backing band arguably the best she’s had yet – yes, even better than Mumford & Sons – and the richness of the presentation superb; lead Creature single “Sophia” was glorious in its build from winsome to widescreen and the choral vocals on “I Speak Because I Can” were spine-chilling.

Especially pleasing was Marling’s stage presence; back in the day she was shy to the point of catatonia but has gotten progressively more confident as she gains years and experience and while she still apologized for having poor stage banter, she actually evidenced a sharp, dry wit and even effectively targeted and shamed some of the loud talkers by dropping her voice to a whisper mid-song and making their presence very acutely – and embarrassingly – known. But those few aside, most were held rapt by her 70-minute performance which was no mean feat given the stifling atmosphere in the hall. As always, things ended with the “we don’t know if you’ll give us an encore so we’re just going to stay and play our last song” routine which for this evening was a foot-stomping “All My Rage”; of course it was all part of the script, but it was also part of the fun. There wasn’t any way they weren’t getting their encore and there’s definitely the demand to bring Marling and co. back again for another show – but this time if it can’t be in a room that will hold all her fans, can it at least be one with climate control?

BlogTO and Exclaim also have writeups of the show while The Globe & Mail and Edmonton Journal have profile pieces.

Photos: Laura Marling, Alessi’s Ark @ The Great Hall – September 23, 2011
MP3: Laura Marling – “Ghosts”
MP3: Alessi’s Ark – “The Robot”
Video: Laura Marling – “Sophia”
Video: Laura Marling – “The Needle & The Damage Done”
Video: Laura Marling – “Rambling Man”
Video: Laura Marling – “Devil’s Spoke”
Video: Laura Marling – “Night Terror”
Video: Laura Marling – “New Romantic”
Video: Laura Marling – “Ghosts”
Video: Laura Marling – “My Manic & I”
Video: Laura Marling – “Cross Your Fingers”
Video: Alessi’s Ark – “On The Plains”
Video: Alessi’s Ark – “Maybe I Know”
Video: Alessi’s Ark – “The Wire”
Video: Alessi’s Ark – “The Horse”
Video: Alessi’s Ark – “Birdsong”
Video: Alessi’s Ark – “The Asteroids Collide”

Blurt talks to PJ Harvey.

American Songwriter puts aside the first half of their mandate in declaring Emmy The Great their songwriter of the week.

Summer Camp has gone off and made a zine to go with the upcoming release of their debut Welcome To Condale, out November 8.

Bjork has released another video from the forthcoming Biophilia, due out October 11.

Video: Bjork – “Moon”

The Jezabels show up at The Fly and play an acoustic session; The Australian also has a feature on the band. They’re at The Phoenix on November 23 opening up for Hey Rosetta!.

NPR talks to Dominique Durand of Ivy while Magnet has a Q&A with her and Andy Chase in advance of making the band guest editors of their website this week; they’ve also got a new MP3 from their album All Hours to share.

MP3: Ivy – “Make It So Hard”

NOW previewed last night’s tUnE-yArDs with an interview and Metro also has a short piece. There’s also a new video from WHOKILL to gawk at.

Video: tUnE-yArDs – “Gangsta”

DIY, Billboard and Pitchfork all have features on Dum Dum Girls on the occasion of the release of Only In Dreams. There’s also a new video from said record. Dum Dum Girls are at Lee’s Palace on October 16.

Video: Dum Dum Girls – “Bedroom Eyes”

The AV Club and NPR have feature interviews with Wild Flag. They’re at Lee’s Palace on October 12.

Interview talks to Theresa Wayman of Warpaint.

Filter collects a number of random thoughts and observations from Annie Clark of St. Vincent.

Daytrotter has posted a session with Ume.

Frank YangBands are always compared to other bands. For new acts, it can be helpful for targeting a sympathetic audience but can also be a hinderance, providing an excuse to be ignored should someone not care for some arbitrary reference point. And should they be so fortunate to endure long enough to define their own identity, a new risk arises – being compared to yourself. That comes in a few flavours – there’s “it sounds like all their other stuff” or “it doesn’t sound as good as their older stuff”, and I’d go so far as to say the former is the more damning as it comes with the distinct whiff of indifference.

This, arguably, is the territory that Wilco have been treading towards over their last couple records. Both Sky Blue Sky and Wilco (The Album) were perfectly fine albums but were more pretty and pleasant than exciting – I argued their merits with those who dismissed the band as “dad-rock” but didn’t explicitly disagree with them. And to be fair, Jeff Tweedy’s had a long career that’s covered a lot of bases and volume levels, and if his muse just wants to sit back and strum the guitar then that’s his prerogative. But one of the downsides of being a successful band, I suppose, is the fact that instead of being able to just bang out a record to document where your head’s at and move on, you have to spend a couple of years touring it around the world before you can try something else.

Trying something new isn’t quite accurate with respect to their new record The Whole Love, out next Tuesday but streaming now at NPR, but that its closest reference point in their catalog is Summerteeth should be enough to get the attention of anyone who’d assumed they were set on cruise control down the middle of the road. It’s certainly their most sonically interesting record in some time, and not in the found-sound Jim O’Rourke sense, as well as containing some of their most pop and experimental efforts in a while. With only a handful of listens from advance streams it’s clearly too early to say where it will eventually settle in the hierarchy of Wilco discography greatness, but it certainly has a good start right out of the blocks.

The band also got a head start on their touring cycle, hitting the road over a week before the new album was released and settling into their now-customary two-night stand at Massey Hall in Toronto last weekend for the second stop of the tour. It’d been almost two years since the last visit but Jeff Tweedy stopped by for a couple solo nights back in March so fans had at least had a fix of hearing their favourite songs live recently, not that that stopped them from packing the theatre again, and twice.

And early. Wilco has toured with a number of acts over the years, both established and not, but I’d never seen so many people in their seats for the opener before… but they’ve never had an opener as legendary as Nick Lowe. Performing solo and acoustic in support of his just-released new album The Old Magic, the former power-pop architect turned professor of sophisticated pop had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand as he charmed with both his banter and songs. His newer material showed his talent for turning a memorable phrase and melody hasn’t dimmed a bit with age, in fact his wit may be even more incisive now with the benefit of wisdom of his years to back it up. But even so, it was his classic material that everyone wanted to hear and he graciously obliged, offering up a run of hits from “All Men Are Liars” and its still somehow timely Rick Astley dig through the irresistible “Cruel To Be Kind” and then an unexpected and gorgeous cover of Elvis Costello’s “Alison”, sounding more poignant with Lowe’s middle-aged vocals than Costello has maybe ever managed. From that highlight he ended even stronger with “When I Write The Book” and finally a plaintive “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding” that had the audience on their feet, allowing him to depart with a standing ovation, each and every clap deserved.

Being on hand for the first three songs of Friday night (photos are from the first show but writeup from the second), I got to witness the mind-bending greatness of their opening with The Whole Love‘s lead track “Art Of Almost”. It’s a song that, had it set the template for the entire album, might well have forced a complete redefinition of what Wilco are about. Whereas in recent records they seemed content to let Nels Cline’s guitar leads contribute any and all weirdness to their songs, “Almost” finds all six members pushing boundaries in different directions, simultaneously and reminding me of early ’00s Radiohead – remember when Wilco were “America’s Radiohead”? – in the best way. Even from the very first listen, it’s a stunning declaration of what Wilco can do, and live it’s exponentially heavier than on album. It’s a hell of a thing. And for Saturday night, we had to wait until song two.

Reports from Friday night were that the band had to cut The Whole Love‘s closing song, the meditative “One Sunday Morning”, on account of curfew restrictions and so it seems they simply decided to roll it over to open the following night’s set. And it’s a beautiful song – one of the album’s highlights even though it dwells at the completely opposite end of the world of music from “Almost”, but certainly doesn’t pack the same visceral impact. But as said, that only had to wait until song two and then it was off to the races. Past Wilco setlists have been relatively predictable things; always entertainingly performed but I have to admit that recently, the notion of maybe not needing to see them every time through town had entered my mind. Perhaps anticipating this, they served up an unexpected set list that in addition to the new material, leaned more to the turn of the century material – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Summerteeth – than any in recent memory with Sky Blue Sky only contributed one song, albeit a jaw-dropping even by Nels’ standards “Impossible Germany”, and Wilco (The Album) was ignored completely.

But it was the first encore that really truly sealed this as one of the great Toronto Wilco shows; opening up with a epically crashing “Misunderstood” – anyone count the “NOTHINGS!”? – and followed with a “Jesus Etc” that Tweedy allowed the audience to sing most of and then a “California Stars” that everyone sang along to. And then. THEN. A one-two Being There punch of “Monday” and “Outtasite (Outta Mind)” which basically laid me out flat. This lineup, those songs, holy shit. It wasn’t quite the songbook romp that they pulled out the second night opening for Neil Young back in 2008, but that show was also without – and thanks to – Glenn Kotche (their rotation of substitute drummers got to pick the set list for that show). The one-song, second encore of “I’m A Wheel” was almost pointless – there was no topping what had just happened – but at least Pat Sansone got to do his windmills.

In the fifteen or sixteen times I’ve seen them, over all the different lineups, Wilco have never been anything less than consummate professionals on stage. But there was definitely an extra bit of something in this show, even beyond the song selection, that seemed special. The band were extra energized and invigorated – whether because it was early on in the tour or the excitement of playing new material, I don’t know – but if you thought that the band’s best days were behind them or they were getting too settled in, do yourself a favour and see them on this tour and stay at least as long as “Art Of Almost”. Then tell me they’re done.

The Toronto Sun and National Post were on hand for Friday night’s show while Buffalo News, Spin and NOW were also on hand for Saturday’s show. The Wall Street Journal has an interview with Jeff Tweedy, Drowned In Sound with Mikael Jorgensen and The Los Angeles Times with Pat Sansone while Spinner has a chat and NPR a World Cafe session with Nick Lowe. And Wilcoworld has a talk with Bob Ludwig, the mastering engineer who worked on The Whole Love.

Photos: Wilco @ Massey Hall – September 16, 2011
MP3: Wilco – “What Light”
Video: Wilco – “Born Alone”
Video: Wilco – “I Love My Label”
Video: Wilco – “What Light”
Video: Wilco – “Outtasite (Outta Mind)”
Video: Wilco – “Box Full Of Letters”
Video: Wilco – “I Must Be High”
Video: Nick Lowe – “All Men Are Liars”
Video: Nick Lowe – “I Knew The Bride When She Used To Rock And Roll)”
Video: Nick Lowe – “Half A Boy And Half A Man”
Video: Nick Lowe – “Cruel To Be Kind”
Video: Nick Lowe – “Crackin’ Up”
Stream: Wilco / The Whole Love

Mojo reports that the classic Guided By Voices lineup has found time to record a new album amidst the past year of touring and will release Let’s Go Eat The Factory on January 1 (which is a Sunday?). Good thing Bob had some songs lying around!

Paste puts The Jayhawks on their electronic edition cover in honour of their new album Mockingbird Time; they’ve also just released a video from it.

Video: The Jayhawks – “She Walks In So Many Ways”

NYC Taper has a set from The Hold Steady in New York last weekend available to download.

Just this weekend, some friends and I were wondering what the usually prolific Magnolia Electric Co were up to; Secretly Canadian has the answer, and it’s not a great one – if you’re a fan of Jason Molina and his work, do help him out with a donation.

Interview talks to Christopher Owens of Girls, who have a new video from Father Son Holy Ghost and will be at The Mod Club on September 27.

Video: Girls – “Honey Bunny”

Paste has a feature piece on Mates Of State while NPR has premiered the latest video from Mountaintops. They’re at The Phoenix on September 28.

Video: Mates Of State – “Palomino”

Daytrotter have posted a session with Low.

EMA has also had their Daytrotter session posted, and up the ante with a new video as well.

Video: EMA – “Marked”

The AV Club has got a stream of the new Dum Dum Girls record Only In Dreams ahead of its September 27 release. They are at Lee’s Palace on October 16.

MP3: Dum Dum Girls – “Bedroom Eyes”
MP3: Dum Dum Girls – “Coming Down”
Stream: Dum Dum Girls – “Only In Dreams”

The Financial Times have a feature piece on Warpaint, whose beautifully-shot and performed Rough Trade Sessions is available to watch over at The Fader.

Wears The Trousers interviews Annie Clark of St. Vincent.

The whole of Ivy’s new record All Hours is available to stream.

MP3: Ivy – “Distant Lights”
Stream: Ivy / All Hours

Asobi Seksu have a new video from Fluorescence; they’re at Lee’s Palace opening up for Boris on October 23.

Video: Asobi Seksu – “Perfectly Crystal”

John ClarkEven before anyone heard a note, there was little doubt that Wild Flag would be fantastic. With two-thirds of Sleater-Kinney in Janet Weiss and Carrie Brownstein, Mary Timony of Helium and Rebecca Cole of The Minders, they had about as unimpeachable a pedigree as any band really could. And yet, as history has shown many times, a lot of things look good on paper but don’t live up to expectations in reality. Wild Flag is not one of those things.

I was able to confirm their collective awesomeness at SXSW where their mid-afternoon set was a glorious flurry of duelling guitar solos, scissor kicks and general rock’n’roll fun, and even though pretty much every song was being heard for the first time, they were memorable and considerably more immediate and accessible than either much of Sleater-Kinney’s output and most of Helium’s ever was.

But hell, don’t take my word for it. A couple weeks ahead of the September 13 release of their self-titled debut, the entire album is now available to stream in its entirety at NPR. That, incidentally, is where Brownstein worked as a blogger for years following SK’s hiatus. Considering her focus on writing as well as comedy and acting in the last five years in lieu of music and the fact that Timony hasn’t put anything out since 2007’s The Shapes We Make, it’s no wonder that they collectively had so much rock pent up inside. Rock that they’ve now gifted to us. Fire it up, yo.

They toured through the Spring, but the Fall leg will finally bring them to Toronto for a show at Lee’s Palace on October 12… and alas I won’t be there. But don’t feel bad for me (not that you necessarily would) – I saw them at SXSW and I’ll be in Iceland at the time so… yeah, I’ll be okay. But if you’re here or in one of the other cities on the itinerary, don’t miss them.

MP3: Wild Flag – “Romance”
MP3: Wild Flag – “Glass Tambourine”
Stream: Wild Flag / Wild Flag

Phantoms, the long-awaited new album from Austin’s Ume, is out today and available to stream in whole over at Spinner. There’s also a streamable radio session with the band over at KDHX and an interview with frontwoman Lauren Larson at The Horn.

MP3: Ume – “Captive”
Stream: Ume / Phantoms

Billboard talks to Zach Condon of Beirut; The Rip Tide.

Stereogum checks in with Mates Of State about their new record Mountaintops, out September 13. They’re at The Phoenix on September 28.

The Drums’ new record Portamento is now up and streaming; the record is out September 13 and they play The Mod Club on October 1.

Stream: The Drums / Portamento

Paste has a stream of Blitzen Trapper’s new long-player American Goldwing, also due out September 13, as well as a new video. They play The Opera House on October 30.

MP3: Blitzen Trapper – “Love The Way You Walk Away”
MP3: Blitzen Trapper – “American Goldwing”
Video: Blitzen Trapper – “Love The Way You Walk Away”
Stream: Blitzen Trapper / American Goldwing

NPR has premiered the first new Olivia Tremor Control song in nigh on a decade and has an interview with Will Cullen Hart. The OTC reunion hits Lee’s Palace on September 16.

Stereogum is sharing an MP3 from the new Ivy album All Hours, out September 20.

The Guardian has a feature piece on Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs, in town at Lee’s Palace on September 24.

Check out another track from the new Dum Dum Girls record Only In Dreams, due out September 27. They play Lee’s on October 16.

MP3: Dum Dum Girls – “Bedroom Eyes”

Babelgum is hosting a US edition of Black Cab Sessions with Strand Of Oaks, who will be at The Drake Underground on November 8 opening up for Crooked Fingers.

Though best known as a country-noir crooner outfit, thanks to her recent dalliances with Sunn O))) Jesse Sykes of Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter has got some prog-metal cred. We’ll see if any of that has rubbed off on their latest Marble Son when they’re here on November 10 for a show at The Drake before hitting the road with The Sadies. There’s features on Sykes at Seattle Weekly and Willamette Week and you can stream a recent radio session at KEXP.

MP3: Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter – “Come To Mary”

Confirming that it is, indeed, time to get paid, Jeff Mangum has launched a new, official Neutral Milk Hotel website and will be releasing an elaborate vinyl-only box set including unreleased Neutral Milk material on November 22. Head over to Pitchfork for details and spend some time poking around walkingwallofwords.com as Mangum has loaded it down with content.

DIY has an interview with Dayve Hawk of Memory Tapes.

The Daily Star talks to Nikolai Fraiture of The Strokes.

Chloe AftelWhilst at the closing sale for the now dearly departed Criminal Records this past weekend, I found amongst the remaining stock a copy of Papercuts’ latest LP Fading Parade. Already having the CD, I suggested a friend pick it up and when asked, not unreasonably, what it sounded like, I was at a loss and don’t think I came up with anything more articulate than, “it’s good” – hey, I don’t always think fast on my feet. Unsurprisingly, the sales pitch failed but happily, the album found a good home not long afterwards with another acquaintance. Having had a little more time to think on it though, I’d like to take another shot at the “what’s it sound like?” inquiry.

Papercuts were an unknown to me before Fading Parade, which is their fourth album but their Sub Pop debut so score one for the benefits of bigger labels. But all you really need to know about them is that a) they’re from San Francisco and b) they is essentially a he – one Jason Robert Quever – and his lovely and gentle pillow of a voice. Actually that’s too reductive. As central as Quevers’ breathy vocals are to the Papercuts sound, also crucial are the wistfully longing melodies he delivers with it and the sonic aesthetic that he surrounds it all with – an aesthetic built on reverbs precisely set so as to cushion all of the intricate instrumental arrangements but not obscure the detail and delicacy of it all.

Clearly atmosphere matters, but I still don’t quite get all the shoegaze namedrops that pop up in their press – if you were looking for English DNA in their sound, it’d look more Sarah Records than anything else. But if forced to come up with a single reference point, I’d probably go with The Shins, albeit less folksy and more elegantly baroque. Which now that I think about it, isn’t very Shins-y at all. Okay, how about this – Papercuts’ Fading Parade? It’s good.

The Line Of Best Fit welcomed Quever to their studio for an acoustic video session.

MP3: Papercuts – “Do You Really Wanna Know”
MP3: Papercuts – “Do What You Will”
Video: Papercuts – “Do You Really Wanna Know”
Video: Papercuts – “Do What You Will”

Dazed has an interview with Antlers while Wears The Trousers points to a studio video of the band performing “Hounds” with Nicole Atkins guesting on vocals.

Epitonic and Spectrum Culture talk to Erika Anderson of EMA.

Check out a track from Wild Flag’s forthcoming self-titled debut, due out September 13. They play Lee’s Palace on October 11.

MP3: Wild Flag – “Romance”

A new track from tUnE-yArDs’ WHOKILL is up for grabs and there’s also a KCRW session over at NPR. They play Lee’s Palace on September 24.

MP3: tUnE-yArDs – “Powa”

Head over to Soundcloud to hear a three-track sampler of the new Ivy record All Hours, due out September 20.

The Mountain Goats have released a new video from All Eternals Deck.

Video: The Mountain Goats – “Real Estate Sign”

MPR has an interview with Fleet Foxes.

Exclaim talks to Eric Bachmann about the Archers Of Loaf reunion.

Bob Mould talks memoirs with eMusic.

Stereogum has marked the 10th anniversary of The Strokes’ debut album Is This It by compiling Stroked, a tribute album to said record with contributions from the likes of Peter Bjorn & John, Owen Pallett and The Morning Benders, amongst others.

Their fire sale over and done with, Bruce Peninsula have finally come clean with details on their second album – Open Flames will be out on October 4, and will follow it with a Fall tour that includes a hometown show at Lee’s Palace on October 27. And if you don’t want to wait that long to see them and hear the new stuff – and why would you – remember they’re playing the Lower Ossington Theatre on August 11 as part of Summerworks.

MP3: Bruce Peninsula – “Light Flight”

Playing that same stage and festival on August 6 are Hooded Fang, who’ve marked the release of their second album Tosta Mista this week by talking to aux.tv and Exclaim and streaming the whole album online.

Stream: Hooded Fang / Tosta Mista