Frank YangWhenever I see reviews of Kate Nash’s just-released sophomore effort My Best Friend Is You that put forward the tracks that represent her well-documented discovery of Riot Grrl as the standouts and bemoan the number of pure pop numbers on the record, I have to wonder if the writers of said pieces actually like Kate Nash. Because as commendable as it is that she’s seeking to branch out beyond her precocious piano girl image and explore her interest in louder, rawer sounds, the inescapable fact is is that she’s not very good at it.

In its finest moments, Best Friend finds Nash taking what made Made Of Bricks such a delight – the fast-talking sass and hooky piano-led melodies – and honing them further, exhibiting the growth you’d expect over three years without sounding too grown-up. Tracks like “Paris”, “Don’t You Want To Share The Guilt” and lead single “Do Wah Do” are immediate and indelibly catchy sugar bombs that hold up over repeat listens, and the like thankfully outnumber those where Nash attempts to get her punk on. While “Mansion Song” actually works better than you’d expect, segueing from profanity-laced spoken word intro into a clattering, stomping sing-along, other stylistic forays like “I Just Love You More” find Nash tries to sound angry and guttural but instead comes across as on the verge of laughing hysterically – probably not the desired effect – and the lo-fi “I’ve Got A Secret” just wobbles aimlessly. But missteps aside – Bricks had its share as well – Best Friend is a largely enjoyable listen that gives Nash fans what they want… and sometimes you have to take the crunchy with the smooth.

That said, the balance of the two wasn’t what many would have liked on Monday night at the Mod Club in Toronto. It marked the kickoff of her North American tour and in rounding up support acts, she didn’t have to look too far. Rachel Trachtenburg opened for Nash before – The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players opened up for her on a number of her 2008 dates – but this time, she was fronting her new band Supercute!, which teamed the 16-year old with 13- and 14-year old accomplices in shiny outfits and giant hair bows, playing Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd covers alongside self-penned songs about candy, hula-hooping and boys. It was short, sweet and strange. Considering that there would have been an hour wait between the end of Supercute!’s set and the start of Nash’s, the unbilled set by Nash guitarist Brett Alaimo was a welcome one. Playing mostly solo, except for one song where he was accompanied by the rest of Nash’s band, he was part Libertines, part Billy Bragg and part spoken-word poet/stand-up comic. Certainly a more enjoyable way to pass the time than constantly checking my mail (especially since I wasn’t getting much mail).

At this point it’s worth noting that this show was a) all-ages and b) sold-out, which is generally a recipe for a) feeling old and b) losing a few degrees of hearing from the squealing that inevitably occurs when the headlining act comes on stage. And so it was that the crowd went mad when Kate Nash finally followed her band onstage and seated herself at the keyboard with the empowering message, “A c*nt is a useful thing” emblazoned across a sheet draped off it (the message itself wasn’t censored, just my transcription). Grinning ear to ear at the enthusiasm of the crowd, she kicked off with Best Friend‘s “Paris”, which proved as excellent a set opener as it is an album opener, and straight into “Do Wah Do” and then Bricks’ “Mouthwash”, all sounding great and setting the tone for what was looking like a terrific show. She then surprised by moving over to guitar for the next song and remaining there for the next few numbers, all scrappy pop selections from the new record and all also sounding quite good.

The second half of the show was decidedly less triumphant, with the more questionable bits of her repertoire making appearances and Nash seemingly determined to redefine herself as guitar-wielding rocker chick right then and there. While some fans indulged her, even attempting to pogo or mosh a bit, most waited patiently for her to get back to doing what she did best. They were repaid with the likes of “Foundations” and “Very Merry”, but the show failed to end on a high note. Both main set closers “Mansion Song” and “I Just Love You More” came across more awkward live than on record – and as stated, the latter was pretty awkward to begin with – and the encore selection was b-side “Model Behaviour”, which gave Nash leave to do more shrieking and sent many heading for an early exit.

Poor finish aside, the night still went in the win column though only barely. This was my first time seeing Nash live and it was great to finally hear some of those songs done live – though more than three selections from Bricks would have been nice – and Nash’s rapport with her very devout fanbase was charming and fun to watch. But if she’s going to continue to try and be the second coming of Bikini Kill, she’s really going to have to work on her screaming.

The Toronto Sun, Spin, Exclaim, Chart and Panic Manual also have reviews of the show while The Daily Mail and Nylon have interviews with Nash.

Photos: Kate Nash, Brett Alaimo, Supercute! @ The Mod Club – April 26, 2010
MP3: Kate Nash – “I Just Love You More”
MP3: Kate Nash – “We Get On” (live at the BBC)
MP3: Supercute! – “Not To Write About Boys”
Video: Kate Nash – “Do Wah Doo”
Video: Kate Nash – “Foundations”
Video: Kate Nash – “Mouthwash”
Video: Kate Nash – “Pumpkin Soup”
Video: Supercute! – “Not To Write About Boys”
MySpace: Kate Nash

The San Francisco Examiner and The Portland Mercury interview The Wedding Present’s David Lewis Gedge.

Under The Radar talks to Ian McCulloch and The Centre Daily Times to Will Sargent, both of Echo & The Bunnymen.

The Music Slut asks eight questions of Los Campesinos!, who’ve finally beat the volcano and made it over to North America.

Camera Obscura, who were already on this side of the Atlantic when Iceland blew up, talked to Under The Radar at Coachella.

The Boston Herald interviews Frightened Rabbit’s Scott Hutchison. They’re at the Opera House on May 4.

Many – myself included – thought that two nights at the Sound Academy was overambitious for Jonsi, so it’s not surprising that the May 1 show has been canceled, leaving just this Friday’s April 30 performance. However the official reasons given aren’t ticket sales, but the logistics involved with tearing down the elaborate stage sets in time for a later event at the venue. Both nights were originally supposed to be with the venue in a theatre configuration, holding around 1200 if memory serves, but now the Friday show will be with the Sound Academy at full size. All Saturday tickets will be valid for Friday and refunds are also available. Unfortunate venue aside, all reports from the tour have been that the show is astonishing so if you can swallow the Sound Academy, it could be worth your while. Or even more disappointing.

The Summer concert season continues to shape up with a bunch more announcements to go with the slew that came yesterday. The Gaslight Anthem will be at the Sound Academy on July 14, presale already open. Their new album American Slang is due out June 14 and New Zealand City, Spinner and Gibson Guitars have features on the band.

Bear In Heaven and Twin Sister are teaming up for a Summer tour that stops in at the El Mocambo on July 15. Spoonfed interviews Bear In Heaven.

MP3: Bear In Heaven – “Bag Of Bags”
MP3: Twin Sister – “Dry Hump”

Their show at the Mod Club tomorrow having sold out in a hiccup, MGMT are playing a more appropriately-sized room in the Kool Haus when they return on August 5. Tickets are $35 in advance, on sale Friday.

I’m a little surprised that Australia’s Empire Of The Sun is fixing to do a few North American dates around their Lollapalooza appearance – 2008’s Walking On A Dream didn’t exactly do mad business over here. I still prefer The Sleepy Jackson to EOTS’ electro-disco-glam, but am intrigued by the Toronto date at the Sound Academy on August 8 as apparently the live show is a spectacle and a half.

Video: Empire Of The Sun – “Walking On A Dream”
Video: Empire Of The Sun – “We Are The People”

And CBC Radio 3 has revealed the first wave of acts playing this year’s Hillside Festival in Guelph on July 23, 24 and 25. Lots of familiar names, but still immensely quality – you’ve got Los Lobos, The Hidden Cameras, Basia Bulat, Calexico and Sarah Harmer, to name but a few. Tickets go on sale this Saturday.

Lilja & Inga BirgisdottirThe first of these covers made the blog rounds not too long ago, but the timing is such that I can’t resist making it this week’s selection and the second, well, that would have been just as perfect if only…

Anyways. First, you’ve got the inexplicably (to me, anyways) popular MGMT, who released their second album Congratulations a couple of weeks ago. Despite a high chart showing, it’s gotten a pretty polarizing response for apparently not sounding much like their debut Oracular Spectacular, which by extension means that none of the songs is as immediate as “Time To Pretend” and might not inspire covers such as these ones by Jonsi or Little Boots. The Jonsi cover, recorded for BBC Radio 1, is the more transformative of the two what with being performed on sombre piano, shed of the fun-time synths of the original. Little Boots recorded hers cover for her YouTube channel and despite being armed with just her Tenori-On, does a pretty faithful rendering (the audio isn’t great as it’s ripped from said YouTube vid).

The big moment of synchronicity amongst these three versions is that MGMT are playing a tiny (for them) club show at the Mod Club this Thursday night – presumably something bigger is coming later this Summer – while Sigur Ros frontman Jonsi is playing the Sound Academy for two nights this Friday and Saturday night in support of his solo debut Go and Little Boots was supposed to play the Phoenix on Friday night but that, along with most of her North American tour dates, was canceled a couple months ago for no given reason. But still, if that hadn’t happened you could have seen all three in three nights. Whoo.

The Chicago Tribune has a feature on Jonsi while Clash talks to MGMT.

MP3: Jonsi – “Time To Pretend”
MP3: Little Boots – “Time To Pretend”
Video: Little Boots – “Time To Pretend”
Video: MGMT – “Time To Pretend”

City SlangOkay, I get it – Andorra was a gateway drug, a bit of bait and switch. After failing to really connect with either his Manitoba output or The Milk Of Human Kindness, his first record as Caribou, Dan Snaith managed to draw me in with his 2008 foray into classic pop structures and songcraft and then, once I was hooked, he turned right around and dove back into parts unknown and pulled me right along with him.

The world of Swim, at least initially, feels wholly alien compared to the more familiar touchstones of the Polaris-winning Andorra or the more overtly electronic aesthetic of his other works. Though plenty of real instrumentation weaves in and out of the mix, there’s a decidedly synthetic texture across the record that combined with it’s dense, intimate sonic architecture makes it simultaneously disorienting and entrancing – you can’t help but want to touch it, and don’t really have a choice in the matter. Also insistent is the rhythmic backbone of the record – a throbbing, undulating, liquidous thing that you’re tempted to call disco or dance, but while you can, should and probably must move to it, Swim doesn’t sound like it was intended just for dancing or good times; It feels darker and more desperate than that, as though the publicly romantic sentiments of Andorra have led behind closed doors and now given way to something slinkier, sexier and seedier.

With further listens, Swim becomes more familiar as a Caribou record and for someone more familiar with the full breadth of Snaith’s career, perhaps it’s a much more logical next step than Andorra was a previous one, but what does seem clear to me now is that even when Caribou sounds little like what you think or thought Caribou sounded like, it still sounds like Caribou. And though blending electronic sensibilities with pop ones isn’t especially unusual or groundbreaking in this day and age, the way Snaith goes about it – and the results he gets – are wholly unique, thanks to the slightly warped lens that his musical vision is projected out of.

Caribou set out on a North American tour starting on April 3 at the Phoenix in Toronto, with a full-band Toro Y Moi opening up most dates. Clash, The Times, Spoonfed, The National Post, Exclaim and Spinner have features on Snaith and his newest work.

MP3: Caribou – “Odessa”
MP3: Caribou – “Odessa” (David Wrench’s Drumapella remix)
Video: Caribou – “Odessa”
MySpace: Caribou

Shad will follow-up to his own Polaris nominated album The Old Prince with TSOL, out May 25. The first video and MP3 are out now and do they make a good first impression? Yes they do. Shad plays the Opera House on June 12.

MP3: Shad – “Yaa I Get It”
Video: Shad – “Yaa I Get It”

Bostonist interviews Owen Pallett.

JAM, The Vancouver Sun and Ottawa Citizen profile Plants & Animals, whose La La Land was released yesterday.

So you love Metric’s? How much? Can you put a price on it? How about $60? Yeah? Great – because that’s how much floors for their just-announced July 9 show at the Molson Amphitheatre will run you. Too much? Luckily, 200-level seats are only $52, and lawns a bargain at $44 before fees. That Passion Pit and Holy Fuck are support for the show helps the overall value marginally, but those are still jaw-droppingly high prices. It makes the “we’re independent!” angle of this Chart piece on the band’s two Juno award wins kind of ironic, considering they’re now charging their fans many times over what many major label bands do for tickets – it’s almost Bieber/Buble-expensive. Yeah, congratulations. Oh yeah, Metric has a new video too.

Video: Metric – “Gold Gun Girls”

Pitchfork reports that Broken Social Scene’s new album Forgiveness Rock Record will be released with a 10-track bonus EP entitled Lo-Fi For The Dividing Nights, available with all pre-orders and at selected retail outlets (HMV and indies) in Canada and indies only in the US.

Crystal Castles had intended to release their second album on June 8, but online leakage have prompted them to move that timetable up a bit – or a lot. NME reports that the self-titled effort will now be made available digitally starting this Friday, April 23, with the physical release to follow on May 24. The play the Kool Haus on August 14.

Jonsi talks to Interview and tells Spinner that reports of Sigur Ros’ hiatus have been exagerrated; they’ll be working on new material in between his solo tours. He has two dates at the Sound Academy on April 30 and May 1.

PopMatters interview Shout Out Louds; they play the Mod Club on May 8.

Spinner talks to Mac McCaughan about the past and future of Merge Records, and no – he doesn’t know when the new Arcade Fire record will be done, or more accurately, he’s not telling. But with their addition to this year’s edition of Ottawa Bluesfest, they’ll now be back in live action by July 13 – surely they’ll have something out for the kids to shout along with by then? And what might the lineup of talent who’ll be up the 401 the weekend of July 10 and 11 imply about the perplexing Imagine Concert at Downsview – an event which, despite fake tweets to the contrary, is apparently still all systems go.

Max WeilandFor so long has Clinging To A Scheme, the third album from Sweden’s The Radio Dept, been promised and not delivered that it’s become something of a myth – if someone were to tell me that when it was finally to be released unto the world that it would be delivered by Axl Rose and Kevin Shields riding unicorns, I’d probably believe it.

But it finally arrives in stores next week, and fans who’ve been waiting for upwards of four years for another Radio Dept record will find that it… is another Radio Dept record. The trio haven’t used the time away to reinvent themselves or their sound, but with only two records to their names over twelve years of existence, you can hardly accuse them of having fallen into a holding pattern or phoning it in. They’ve simply adhering to the template laid out in their two masterpieces so far, Lesser Matters and Pet Grief, and written (and discarded and rewritten) songs until coming up with a collection they were happy with, and this is how long its taken. While it’s true that wrapping pop songs built on strings and electronics in fuzzy blankets of sound isn’t unique in and of itself, very few have managed to strike as perfect a balance between shimmer and static as The Radio Dept, and that’s even before you factor in their distinctly Scandinavian melancholy.

Within the boundaries of what makes a Radio Dept album, however, there are some adjustments from past works. Sonically, it largely retains the cleanliness of Pet Grief but some of the rough edges of Lesser Matters has crept back into the mix – welcomely, I might add – creating a blended texture that’s quantitatively different from but more quintessentially characteristic than anything they’ve done before. The mood of Clinging is also lighter, with a handful of genuinely bouncy numbers that would probably have felt out of place on the beautifully downbeat Pet Grief, but overall it moves at the pace of a thoughtful stroll and the vibe is that of someone trying their best to have a good time and be happy and not really succeeding. And it’s that contrast and combination of smiling whilst frowning that’s the source of much of The Radio Dept’s magic, a magic which is present in abundance on Clinging To A Scheme. Yes, it sounds just like The Radio Dept, but that’s all we ever asked for.

Penny Black talks to frontman Johan Duncanson about the long road to the record and what lies ahead for the band.

MP3: The Radio Dept – “Never Follow Suit”
MP3: The Radio Dept – “Heaven’s On Fire”
MP3: The Radio Dept – “David”

The Mary Onettes are releasing a new 7″ for Record Store Day and for those who won’t be able to get their hands on a copy, they’re giving away the a-side for free.

MP3: The Mary Onettes – “The Night Before The Funeral”

Interview interviews jj.

Jens Lekman recalls the state of Swedish indie in the ’90s to The Jakarta Post.

The Vancouver Sun, Bay Area Reporter and The AV Club have conversations with Jonsi, while Grapevine talks to him and collaborator Nico Muhly. Jonsi plays the Sound Academy on April 30 and May 1.

The Telegraph and Houston Chronicle talk to Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison. They’re at the Opera House on May 4.

LCD Soundsystem have put up a stream of their new record This Is Happening, weeks ahead of its May 18 release date. They will be at the Kool Haus on May 25.

Stream: LCD Soundsystem / This Is Happening

The Toronto Star and CNN chat with Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss of Quasi. They’ll be at The Horseshoe on Sunday night, April 18.

The jokers at MBV Music have posted the cover art to the new Pernice Brothers record, which is coming out on June 15 with the cheery title of Goodbye Killer.

Spin talks to Stephen Malkmus on how the Pavement reunion came to be while North County Times chats with rhythm section Bob Nastanovich and Mark Ibold. Said reunion rolls into the Toronto Islands on June 19.

Beach House are giving away one of the tracks on their Record Store Day 12″ EP. Get it – if you’re early and lucky – this Saturday. They’re also playing the Toronto Islands on June 19.

MP3: Beach House – “Zebra” (UK Edit)

Filler has an interview and fashion spread with Holly Miranda. She plays the El Mocambo on May 20.

Frank YangI’ve seen Shearwater’s latest album The Golden Archipelago referred to as the final part in both a trilogy and triptych in the band’s discography, completing the set started with 2006’s Palo Santo and 2008’s Rook. The “trilogy” appellation doesn’t really fit, however, as it implies that there’s some sort of overarching narrative across the records whereas the single unified tapestry implied by calling it triptych seems much more appropriate. Not that these are anything more than semantics – what is important is that The Golden Archipelago more than measures up to the immense heights set by Palo Santo and Rook.

Since putting aside their original mandate as the softer side of Okkervil River and becoming Jonathan Meiburg’s primary creative outlet, the Austin, Texas band have dedicated themselves to capturing the mystery and wonder of nature in the musical medium of prog/folk-rock and in the process, have carved a unique niche for themselves in the indie-rock landscape. The Golden Archipelago finds the band expanding their palette – though they’ve never restricted themselves to conventional instrumentation, the tones and textures at play here are more otherworldly than ever – while actually streamlining their songwriting into more pop-sized packages. No one would likely To be able to capture as much drama and majesty as they do without feeling rushed is an amazing achievement – “Castaways” lasts just three and a quarter minutes, but feels absolutely epic.

Epic is also a proper adjective to apply to Shearwater’s live shows, where they somehow manage to recreate the expansiveness of their recorded works. Since the first time I saw them in 2005 opening up for Mountain Goats, I’d been waiting for them to come back to Toronto in a headlining capacity but they’d been the perpetual undercard, at least until this past Thursday night when finally, it was “Shearwater” in big letters atop the Lee’s Palace marquee. Or at least the chalkboard outside the front door.

Anyone walking into Lee’s at around 9 and seeing Hospital Ships on stage would be forgiven for thinking they’d arrived two hours late and the headliner was already on. At various points in their set, the Lawrence, Kansas outfit included anywhere from three to five members of Shearwater, including frontman Jordan Geiger, also of Minus Story. Geiger apologized at one point for any sloppiness, saying they’d only been together a little while – maybe he was being ironic, considering how long the individuals on stage had been playing together in other projects – but it true that Hospital Ships weren’t exactly drum-tight up there, with some missed notes, cues and whatnot. But what they were was charming – Geiger was equipped with some pretty choice banter about visiting Toronto – and some solid, if not overwhelming tunes from their album Oh, Ramona.

Almost as long as I’d been waiting for Shearwater to come to town in a headlining capacity had I been waiting for Baltimore’s Wye Oak to come back to town, having missed their last appearance in May of 2008. I had seen them before though, back at SxSW 2008, a month before their debut If Children came out, and that show – like the album – spoke to me more about their potential than what they had actually accomplished at the time. A potential that was realized in a big way with last year’s follow-up The Knot, and happily that big leap forward has also carried over to their live show. Though it was still just Andy Stark behind the drum kit with keyboard and melodica at his side and Jenn Wasner on vocals and guitar, their confidence in what they were doing was clearly much greater and it made for a much more engaging performance. Stark’s ability to simultaneously manage the drums and keys was something to behold and Wasner put on a pretty impressive display of guitar heroics amidst leading the band’s aching, country-tinged dreampop. World take note – there’s not just one Baltimore-based duo out there right now that’s worthy of your notice.

Shearwater’s arrival onstage was heralded by a total dimming of the stage lights, an aesthetic choice that would sadly (for photographers, anyways) remain in effect through the whole show except for the one number where Meiburg asked, “how dark can we make it in here?”. But all the necessary luminosity for the night would be provided by their music, which would cover most of The Golden Archipelago and a handful of tracks from each of Rook and Palo Santo, all of which fit so well with each other that perhaps it should be mandated that all three are listened to in their entirety and in sequence. While Meiburg stayed in the (figurative) spotlight on either guitar or keys and of course his soaring voice, the band around him morphed with each song, adding and subtracting players and changing instruments as necessary. As always, Thor Harris proved himself the band’s secret weapon, not only handling the complex percussion that both anchors and buoys Shearwater’s sounds, but stepping out front on clarinet and teaming with bassist Kim Burke on the dueling glockenspiels of “Hidden Lakes”. Being the first time I’d seen them in a non-support, non-festival setting, it was the longest Shearwater set I’d seen – an hour-long main set plus two-song encore – and the extra time and lack of curfew really did allow the band the necessary space to properly stretch out and spread its wings. Simply grand.

Exclaim has a review of the show, while On Milwaukee and The National Post have conversations with Jonathan Meiburg.

Photos: Shearwater, Wye Oak, Hospital Ships @ Lee’s Palace – April 1, 2010
MP3: Shearwater – “Black Eyes”
MP3: Shearwater – “Castaways”
MP3: Shearwater – “Rooks”
MP3: Shearwater – “The Snow Leopard”
MP3: Shearwater – “Red Sea, Black Sea”
MP3: Shearwater – “Seventy-Four, Seventy-Five”
MP3: Shearwater – “I Can’t Wait”
MP3: Shearwater – “Room For Mistakes”
MP3: Shearwater – “An Accident”
MP3: Wye Oak – “Take It In”
MP3: Wye Oak – “Warning”
MP3: Hospital Ships – “Bitter Radio Single”
MySpace: Shearwater
MySpace: Wye Oak

Beatroute interviews Beach House, who will be at the Toronto Island Concert on June 19.

Also on the islands that day are Band Of Horses, who’ve shared the first look/listen of their new album Infinite Arms, out May 18.

Video: Band Of Horses – “Compliments”

Wilco will be streaming their live shows in Boston and Concord tomorrow and Wednesday night, respectively, at their Roadcase.

Superchunk’s Mac McCaughan talks to Metro about their first new record in almost a decade, due out later this year. Mac and Jim Wilbur will be in town on Wednesday to play a special acoustic set at The Royal following the screening of the film Passenger Side, which features their music (amongst others) and stars the guy with the unreasonably large jaw from Party Down. NOW talks to director Matt Bissonnette about the film.

PitchforkTV has a Tunnel Vision live video of Memory Tapes from the same show I was at. I only spent a little bit of the video trying to see if I could spot myself – the rest was remembering how marvelously well Memory Tapes works and sounds live. You might not expect it, but ’tis true.

The Irish Independent talks to Damon Krukowski about the legacy of Galaxie 500.

Spinner, The San Francisco Chronicle, Financial Times, Georgia Straight and Yorkshire Evening Post interview Jonsi, whose Go is out tomorrow and who plays the Sound Academy on April 30 and May 1.

Having now (presumably) recovered from the equipment theft that forced the cancellation of last week’s show at the Drake, Toro Y Moi has set a new date at Wrongbar for April 17.

MP3: Toro Y Moi – “Blessa”

UK punk forbears Buzzcocks have scheduled a North American tour to coincide with the re-release of their first three albums, Another Music In Another Kitchen, Love Bites and Different Kind Of Tension, wherein they’ll be playing the first two in their entirety in addition to other classic tracks. Spin has the full tour itinerary, which includes a May 19 date at the Opera House in Toronto.

Video: Buzzcocks – “What Do I Get”

London’s Turin Brakes will be at the Mod Club on May 20 in support of their new record Outbursts, out in North American on April 20.

Video: Turin Brakes – “Sea Change”

And while we’ve yet to see an official NXNE press release, some of the bigger names who’ll be at the festival have started leaking out – LA punk legends X and Seattle grunge forebears Mudhoney are doing a free show at Yonge-Dundas Square on June 17 and Man… Or Astroman and Mudhoney are playing the Horseshoe on June 18. Not a bad start.