Olle KirchmeierFor a band whose name implies durability and solidity, Sweden’s Concretes have had a remarkably fluid existence. Their 2005 self-titled debut introduced them as adorably introverted Motown revivalists while the follow-up In Colour took its title to heart, broadening their palette to include bigger pop arrangements.

It all went off the rails shortly thereafter, however, as the band had their gear stolen somewhere in the American midwest and then had to cancel the remainder of their tour after lead singer Victoria Bergsman fell ill with exhaustion. Her convalescence would become a permanent departure and though she would eventually returning to music as the critically-acclaimed, folk-oriented Taken By Trees, her former bandmates were left to figure out what would become of The Concretes.

The decision was made to carry on with drummer Lisa Milberg, who had taken a couple of lead vocal turns on In Colour, stepping out from behind the kit to assume the frontwoman role full time. I didn’t hear all of their next record Hey Trouble as it wasn’t released in North America, but the couple samples I did hear were underwhelming and I got the impression that, once again, the title was quite fitting with the band documenting the growing pains of their search for a new identity to tape. But now having heard their latest effort WYWH, I’d like to give Trouble a listen if just to fill in some of the blanks of how they got to where they are now – and from the sounds of it, it’s a smoky after-hours dance club.

WYWH – as in “wish you were here” – cultivates a dark, groove-based sullen disco vibe that suits Milberg’s wounded and worn vocals perfectly. It’s not a persona I’d have expected from her given her ebullient turn on In Colour‘s “Song For The Songs”, but it’s the perfect protagonist for haunting these songs. While the singles “All Day” and “Good Evening” emphasize the pulsing, dancier side of the record, it’s in the gentler moments like “Sing For Me” that the record’s heart really beats. I’m sure that many wrote off The Concretes when Bergsman left and yes, it may have taken them a record to find their footing, but they’ve more than successfully reinvented themselves with melodicism intact and plenty of new tricks to offer.

The Concretes kick off their first North American tour since their ill-fated one almost five years ago in a couple of weeks, and will be stopping in at the Horseshoe in Toronto on January 17. Tickets for the show are $15 in advance but courtesy of Collective Concerts, I’ve got two pairs of passes to give away for the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see The Concretes” in the subject line and your full name in the body, and have that in to me before midnight, January 12.

MP3: The Concretes – “All Day”
MP3: The Concretes – “Good Evening”
Video: The Concretes – “All Day”

Remember when music videos for songs from soundtracks were montages of clips from the film? Sometimes with footage of the artist acting as though they were also in the film interspliced? Well it’s only the former and none of the latter in this clip for Jonsi’s contribution to the soundtrack for last year’s How To Train Your Dragon feature, which is too bad because the world could use a CGI-ed Jonsi.

Video: Jonsi – “Sticks & Stones”

This Is Ellie, aka blog of RTHK Radio 3 in Hong Kong DJ Ellie Davis, has an audio interview with Emmy The Great, wherein she reveals that her second album might not be ready in time for February as originally intended, that the record will almost certainly be called Virtue and also offers an in-studio performance of a new song. And that was one mighty run-on sentence.

2010 buzz band become 2011 buzz band Cults have made a date at The Horseshoe for April 4, where they will preview material from their debut album due out in May. Which hopefully means they’ll have more decent material to offer than when they were here last August. Full dates at Death & Taxes.

MP3: Cults – “Go Outside”
MP3: Cults – “Most Wanted”

Toro Y Moi has skedded dates in support of his second album Underneath The Pine, due out February 22. Exclaim has the full North American itinerary, which includes a stop at Wrongbar on April 7.

MP3: Toro Y Moi – “Still Sound”
MP3: Toro Y Moi – “Blessa”

Frank YangWith a wealth of options on the Toronto social calendar last Friday night, I rather feared that posting up Lee’s Palace might draw the short end of the stick. I didn’t know how much draw Junip would have, but I needn’t have worried. With their main attraction – frontman José Gonzalez – having not released a new record under his own name in some three years, there was apparently a good amount of pent-up appetite to see and hear him in any configuration.

Happily, this resulted in a good-sized crowd already in place for opener Sharon Van Etten, whom I will freely admit was the main draw for me just as she was when I saw her open for Megafaun at The Horseshoe back in April. Unlike that show, however, this time Van Etten was operating in a three-piece band format rather than solo, a change necessary to recreate the broader sonic palette of her gorgeous second album Epic. And though the full band format sounded glorious when Megafaun backed her for one song at the Horseshoe show, that she was only a few shows into the tour with these players was evident at times – mainly in the bassist and drummer playing too loudly and at the expense of the delicacy and nuance that’s essential to Van Etten’s songs. It’s a sensitivity that will no doubt come with time, but on this night at least the comfort level wasn’t where one would have liked. That said, the beauty of the songs still came through, particularly on the harmonium-led “Love More”, and by choosing to close her set solo and with a couple of audience requests from Because I Was In Love, her set ended on a beautiful note.

I don’t think it’s untoward to use Jose Gonzalez’s solo output as a reference point for Junip; the differences lie not in him or his songwriting but in what he surrounds himself with. Solo, it’s just that – Gonzalez, classical guitar, space and silence. With Junip and their debut Fields, those elements remain the centre but the addition of drums and keys, courtesy of Elias Araya and Tobias Winterkorn respectively, do allow the band to be its own distinctive thing. Live, the sound was expanded even further with the addition of a percussionist and bassist and if you were to compare Junip to an acoustic Zero 7, the English electronic outfit that introduced Gonzalez to much of his fanbase, you wouldn’t be wrong. Their set lasted only an hour but it felt much longer – in a good way – as they held the audience with their rhythmic, droning take on folk music. Understated but hypnotic, it sounded like Gonzalez being remixed live, his distinctive meditative vocals being utilized like another instrument in the mix. While I expect that many/most came to the show as José Gonzalez fans, they left as Junip fans. And hopefully Sharon Van Etten fans.

City Pages talks to Junip drummer Elias Araya while The Georgia Straight has an interview with Sharon Van Etten.

Photos: Junip, Sharon Van Etten @ Lee’s Palace – November 5, 2010
MP3: Junip – “Rope & Summit
MP3: Sharon Van Etten – “Love More”
MP3: Sharon Van Etten – “Don’t Do It”
MP3: Sharon Van Etten – “I Couldn’t Save You”
MP3: Sharon Van Etten – “For You”
MP3: Sharon Van Etten – “Consolation Prize”
Video: Junip – “Always”
Video: Junip – “Black Refuge”
Video: Sharon Van Etten – “For You”
MySpace: Junip
MySpace: Sharon Van Etten

Sorry to everyone excited about that Rhett Miller & Murry Hammond acoustic show at the El Mocambo announced a few weeks ago – its been cancelled.

Husband-and-wife retro pop duo Tennis have made a date at the Drake Underground for December 8 to build up anticipation for their debut Cape Dory, due out on January 18. Check out their Daytrotter session from earlier this Fall.

Phantogram return to town for their fourth and probably final Toronto show of the year, stopping in at Wrongbar on December 11 – tickets $15.50 in advance.

MP3: Phantogram – “When I’m Small”

The Music Tapes are putting together a North American “Lullabies and Bedsides” tour that is eschewing conventional venues in favour of house shows and sleepover parties – check out Merge for details on how it’ll work, but the itinerary calls for a Toronto date on January 2 of the new year.

MP3: The Music Tapes – “Majesty”

Call it some coincidence, call it prescience, but barely a day after posting about goings-on in The Radio Dept. camp, the full dates for their 2011 North American tour were revealed. There will be much rejoicing when the reclusive Swedes make their Toronto debut at Lee’s Palace on February 7, 2011. Update: Pitchfork has the tracklisting of the Passive Aggressive: Singles 2002-2010 compilation coming out early next year.

MP3: The Radio Dept. – “Heaven’s On Fire”

The Tallest Man On Earth has released a video from his new Sometimes The Blues Is Just A Passing Bird EP, out tomorrow.

Video: The Tallest Man On Earth “Love Is All”

Jonsi will release a live document of his 2010 solo tours on November 29; Go Live will include a CD and DVD and be available exclusively through his website. He talks to the Detroit News about creating his live show.

Trailer: Jonsi / Go Live

The Dumbing Of America and News Times chat with Bettie Serveert.

The Scotsman talks to Scotsman James Graham of The Twilight Sad.

Clash has an interview with White Lies, whose sophomore effort Ritual comes out January 18. They will be at the Mod Club on January 29 to promote – tickets $25.

Duffy discusses the dancier direction of her second album with Billboard. Endlessly arrives December 7.

Pulp are back. London or Barcelona. London or Barcelona. This must happen. Dates for both Wireless and Primavera are convenient as far as timing and holidays go, both are bloody expensive to get to, never mind accommodations, and either one might snooker my Japan plans for Autumn 2011… but, um, PULP. WWJCD?

Piper FergusonJust the briefest of posts today as I decamp for the east coast. If you want something more substantial, might I suggest a burrito.

It’s been a while since Dallas’ Old 97s have been in heavy rotation hereabouts – or any kind of rotation, if I’m being honest – but there was a spell back around 2004 or so when hardly a day went by that I didn’t listen to either Fight Songs or Satellite Rides multiple times. So while I haven’t heard their new record The Grand Theatre Volume One, just released last week (Volume Two will follow next Spring), I am intrigued by the fact that rather than include Toronto on their full Winter itinerary, they are sending Rhett Miller and Murry Hammond to town for an intimate-type show that could well be cooler than the full band setup. The show takes place on November 10 at the El Mocambo, tickets are $17.50 and go on sale Friday. There’s interviews with Rhett Miller at The Houston Press, Dallas Observer and Spinner and yeah, I busted out Fight Songs while writing this up.

MP3: Old 97’s – “The Grand Theatre”

Spinner talks to Ken Stringfellow of The Posies.

Pixies are giving away a free live EP at their website. Go. Free.

Spin and Limewire ask Liz Phair what she was thinking when making Funstyle, which was released with the Girlysound Tapes yesterday. You can hear the whole thing at Spinner and take home a track courtesy of Limewire. It’s… interesting.

MP3: Liz Phair – “My My”
Stream: Liz Phair / Funstyle

The Chicago Tribune and Philadelphia Weekly talk to Isobel Campbell, in town today for an in-store at Criminal Records at 6PM on her own and then a show at Lee’s Palace later tonight with Mark Lanegan.

NME reports that Lightspeed Champion will release an EP of new material on December 13 entitled Bye Bye and that it’ll include a cover of The Beach Boys’ “Til I Die”, recorded with the aid of Beach Boys collaborator Van Dyke Parks.

NPR is streaming the video of Jonsi’s show in Los Angeles this past weekend.

Exclaim is streaming the whole of Diamond Rings’ debut Special Affections in advance of its release next Tuesday while Pitchfork has the latest single to download as well as a Guest List from John O. He plays The Garrison that same night.

MP3: Diamond Rings – “Something Else”
Stream: Diamond Rings / Special Affections

Chart talks to Murray Lightburn of The Dears.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor have added a fourth – and presumably final – show to their Toronto residency next Spring. They’ll offer up one more show at Lee’s Palace the evening of April 24, following that afternoon’s dry all-ages performance. Tickets are $20 and on sale tomorrow, but you can expect that the freaks fans who bought up tickets for the other three shows in short order will be going after these as well, so hesitate at your peril.

Frank YangIt could have been an interesting study in contrasts if I’d bothered to go to both free shows happening in Toronto yesterday evening. Down at Union Station, you had local aspirant arena rockers Metric drawing throngs while shutting down a key chunk of downtown at rush hour as part of a cell phone launch for a major international corporation. And up in Little Italy, there was Christopher Chu – one quarter of California’s pop merchants The Morning Benders – leading fans and passers-by in singalongs from a makeshift wooden stage outside an ice cream parlour, presented by the independent record store around the corner. Guess which one I went to? Yeah, the one with free ice cream.

Chu and his compatriots had been through town a number of times already this year – including the acoustic gig, yesterday evening’s second night opening up for The Black Keys at the Kool Haus would their fifth Toronto performance of the calendar year – but in this day and age, that’s to be expected when you’ve got a record that could well be your breakout album as The Morning Benders do with their 2010 sophomore album Big Echo. Their 2008 debut Talking Through Tin Cans established the Berkeley-based outfit as knowing their way around a pop hook, but it was on the follow-up that they, assisted on production by Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor, put together a distinctive sonic identity. One which did recall Grizzly Bear’s a bit, yes, with its epic scale, cavernous reverbs and edge-of-otherworldly ambience, but with more direct and less precious songwriting.

Not that you’d have gotten any of that from Chu’s solo performance on Wednesday afternoon. Seated on a stool with an acoustic guitar and clearly enjoying the laid-back vibe of the afternoon, he solicited requests from the audience and appeared pleased with some of the “deep cuts” being called out. Over the half hour set, he rattled off selections from both records, gamely attempted a cover of The Cardigans’ “Lovefool” (making it as far as the first chorus), tested out a new song inspired by Annie Hall and closed out with Big Echo‘s “Excuses”, backing vocals provided by all of those in attendance. It was a nice, low key way to distract oneself from the city’s sweltering humidity – thanks in no small part to the free ice cream. Did Metric have free ice cream? I think not.

Chu also promised that he and his band would be back yet again this Fall, presumably for a headlining tour. Is six shows in one calendar year for a touring band some sort of record? I think it may be.

Photos: The Morning Benders @ The Big Chill – August 4, 2010
MP3: The Morning Benders – “Promises”
MP3: The Morning Benders – “Grain Of Salt”
Video: The Morning Benders – “Promises”
Video: The Morning Benders – “Waiting For A War”
Video: The Morning Benders – “Damnit Anna”
Video: The Morning Benders – “Boarded Doors”
MySpace: The Morning Benders

Pitchfork talks to Win Butler about Arcade Fire’s Terry Gilliam-directed webcast from Madison Square Garden tonight and an upcoming project with director Spike Jonze The New York Times talks to Gilliam about the show and Rolling Stone gets some details on their dedication to analog on The Suburbs. They’re at the Toronto Islands on August 14.

Janelle Monáe has a new video from The ArchAndroid, which I just picked up this weekend and may well be as mind-bending as everyone is saying it is. She’s the warm-up for Arcade Fire on the 14th on the Islands.

Video: Janelle Monáe – “Cold War”

Queens Journal profiles The Sadies, who round out the Toronto Islands show on the 14th.

NOW tries to find out what The Hidden Cameras have in store for their Summerworks shows at the Lower Ossington Theatre tonight and tomorrow.

Baeble Music is streaming a full show from New York featuring Stars. They’re at Massey Hall on October 23.

eye has a feature piece on Forest City Lovers, who will be playing an in-store at Soundscapes on Tuesday at 7PM and a proper record release show for Carriage on Thursday night at the Great Hall.

In talking to NME, long-time R.E.M. compatriot Ken Stringfellow says the band’s new album is sounding “very old school”. It’s due out next year.

Filter profiles Autolux, who’re at Lee’s Palace on August 24.

Jose Gonzalez’s band Junip will be hitting the road this Fall with Sharon Van Etten; both have new records coming out – Junip with Fields on September 14 and Van Etten with Epic on October 5. They’re at Lee’s Palace on November 5. NYC Taper has a recording of Sharon Van Etten’s show in New York from last week.

MP3: Junip – “Rope And Summit”
MP3: Sharon Van Etten – “Love More”

Clash interviews The Drums. They’re at the Mod Club on October 20.

The Vaeslines have made the title track from their new record Sex With An x, out September 14, available to download. They’re at the Horseshoe on October 30.

MP3: The Vaselines – “Sex With An X”

NOW profiles Wild Beasts; they’re at the Mod Club on August 9.

Jonsi has released a new video from Go.

Video: Jonsi – “Animal Arithmetic”

Julia MårdYou can probably scientifically and quantitatively prove that there is nothing fresh or original about what Swede Kristian Matsson does under his stage name of The Tallest Man On Earth. He’s a folk-oriented singer-songwriter who’s armed with just an acoustic guitar and a raspy, Dylan-ish twang and in those terms, is indistinguishable from an infinite number of performers in coffee houses around the world at any given moment in time.

What sets Matsson above and apart is something more ineffable; a fine sense of melody, deft guitarwork and evocative turn of phrase, certainly, but what I like most is his enthusiastic romanticism – he’s occasionally wistful but never downbeat or morose. The cap always sits at a jaunty angle, the step always has just enough spring. It comes across well on his latest record The Wild Hunt but is so much more irresistible live – I only caught him play a short in-store at Criminal Records back on Record Store Day but it was enough to be won over by his charm and charisma as a performer, and I’m a pretty hard sell on “guy with a guitar”.

His show at the El Mocambo that evening was all kinds of sold out, but those shut out will be pleased to know that Matsson will be spending a goodly chunk of the next few months on the road – in Chicago for Pitchfork next week, but Europe the rest of the Summer before returning to North America for a continent-crossing September that includes a September 24 date at Lee’s Palace in Toronto. Support on all North American dates comes from S. Carey of Bon Iver; his solo debut All We Grow is out August 24.

MP3: The Tallest Man On Earth – “Burden Of Tomorrow”
MP3: The Tallest Man On Earth – “King Of Spain”
MP3: S. Carey – “In The Dirt”

In other concert announcement news – Scissor Sisters bring their new record Night Work out on tour and stop in at the Sound Academy on August 31; tickets $35 in advance.

Video: Scissor Sisters – “Fire With Fire”

New York’s Ratatat are also now apparently big enough to play the Sound Academy – their latest album LP4 brings them to the aforementioned venue on September 8; tickets $20 in advance.

MP3: Ratatat – “Party With Children”

Maryland’s Cotton Jones, whose new record Tall Hours In The Glowstream is out August 24, will be at the Drake on October 9 supported by Pepper Rabbit, who were just there the other night.

MP3: Cotton Jones – “Gotta Cheer Up”
MP3: Pepper Rabbit – “Red Wine”

And speaking of just here – with the Toronto Islands gig over and done, Band Of Horses are coming back to town on October 21 for a show at the Kool Haus as part of a full North American tour. Tickets are $27.50 in advance.

MP3: Band Of Horses – “Factory”

Veteran punks Social Distortion have set a date at the Kool Haus on October 23 as part of a Fall tour.

Video: Social Distortion – “I Was Wrong”

The Line Of Best Fit interviews Swedish duo jj. Awkwardness ensues.

Jonsi talks to The Quietus about his days as a Metallica fan.

Wye Oak chats with NPR; they’re at the Horseshoe on August 28.

Daytrotter has served up a session with Drive-By Truckers.

The Quietus talks to Greg Edwards of Autolux. Their Transit Transit is out August 3 and they play Lee’s Palace on August 24.

Cults, who’re at the Horseshoe on August 7 opening up for Maps & Atlases, have a new video that is awash in balloons.

Video: Cults – “Oh My God”

Ted Leo takes to the blog to address rumours circulating about his impending retirement from music.

Local Natives are featured in a Spinner Interface session and interview with Filter. They play the Mod Club on October 19.

NPR has a World Cafe session with Holly Miranda.

That Imagine Concert that was supposed to bring the spirit of the ’60s to Downsview Park this coming weekend but never announced boo about boo? It’s not dead yet. They’re now targeting Labour Day weekend to get all up in your face with peace and love – lineup and ticket details coming soon. I can’t wait.