Seamus MurphyThroughout her career, Polly Jean Harvey has managed the difficult feat of being artistically chameleon-like from one to the next, each often stylistically miles removed from that which came before it, while remaining consistently interesting and by and large excellent throughout. Her last effort, 2007’s fragile piano-led White Chalk, certainly didn’t hint at what Let England Shake – out next week – has to offer.

Just posted to stream in its entirety at NPR, it’s a strange yet immediately compelling collection built around themes of nationalism and war. While has echoes of her past works – the urgency of her early records, the melody of her middle-period works and the stark beauty of recent recordings – it sounds completely fresh, with Harvey favouring the higher registers of her voice in a way that I, at least, haven’t heard before. I’m only a few listens in and already I’m finding myself connecting with it in way that I haven’t with her stuff before. This is an exciting development.

She’s only got three North American tour dates scheduled right now (Los Angeles, Coachella and New York) but considering she’s not toured over here properly in forever – her last Toronto date was in 2004 – I have to think or at least hope that more will be coming.

MP3: PJ Harvey – “Written On The Forehead”
Stream: PJ Harvey / Let England Shake

The Guardian and State interview Anna Calvi, whose self-titled debut is due out on March 1 and who will be at Wrongbar on March 11 as part of Canadian Musicfest.

The Quietus goes over their debut Violet Cries track by track with Esben & The Witch while Drowned In Sound gave them the keys to their whole website last week. Paste just interviews them. They’re also at Wrongbar on March 11 for Canadian Musicfest.

Billboard has a cover story on Adele in advance of the February 22 release of 21. NPR is streaming the album in its entirety as well as a half-hour live performance from the singer, who’s just announced a North American tour in suport of album number two, including a May 18 date at The Kool Haus in Toronto.

Stream: Adele / 21

NPR has a World Cafe session with Duffy.

PopMatters interviews Kate Nash.

Spinner talks to Mira Aroyo of Ladytron about their forthcoming Best of Ladytron: 00-10 compilation, due out March 29.

Micachu & The Shapes are still working on the follow-up to 2009’s left-field gem Jewellery, but in the interim will be releasing Chopped & Screwed, a collaboration with The London Sinfonetta that will be coming out on March 22. What’s it sound like? Click below and read this piece on the collaboration at Clash.

MP3: Micachu – “Everything”

Pitchfork talks to Jamie Smith of The xx about stuff both xx and not xx.

The Fly checks in with Friendly Fires, who are finishing up their second record Pala, due out in the Spring – certainly before their May 30 date at The Phoenix.

The Fly and The Scotsman profile The Joy Formidable, who follow up the North American release of The Big Roar with a date at The Horseshoe on April 2.

Magnet handed over the editorial chair of their website to White Lies last week. The Mirror has an interview.

The Boxer Rebellion have made a date at The Horseshoe for April 18 in support of their new record The Cold Still; tickets $13.50.

Video: The Boxer Rebellion – “Step Out Of The Car”

State, Exclaim and Clash interview The Go! Team, who bring their new record Rolling Blackouts to The Opera House on April 10. They’ve released a couple new videos and an MP3 from said record.

MP3: The Go! Team – “T.O.R.N.A.D.O.”
Video: The Go! Team – “Super Triangle”
Video: The Go! Team – “Secretary Song”

Guy Garvey discusses Elbow’s forthcoming new record build a rocket boys!, out March 8, with The Quietus.

Toronto fans disappointed there’s no official stop here for the upcoming Trash Can Sinatras tour would do well to look at their itinerary, email the address noted on the right and ask themselves just how much seeing them play an intimate house show is worth to them.

Liam Gallagher of Beady Eye discusses his new band’s debut Different Gear, Still Speeding with Spin. The record is out March 1.

Spinner reports that Manic Street Preachers bassist Nicky Wire is disappointed that their last single didn’t chart in the UK; perhaps they overestimated the appeal of an Ian McCulloch duet? Time to dig up Nina Persson’s phone number again, methinks.

The Quietus contemplates the legacy of Teenage Fanclub while The Line Of Best Fit has an acoustic session with Fanny side-project Jonny. Their self-titled debut is out April 12.

Billboard profiles Mumford & Sons.

NPR puts folk-rock legend Richard Thompson behind a Tiny Desk and makes him play a concert. The indignity.

Frank YangThe easy thing to do would be to go back to early May and just copy and paste my review of The Joy Formidable’s Toronto debut. After all, that show was just six months ago (almost to the day) at the same venue and even with the same supporting band in New York’s The Dig, and they haven’t released any new material in the interim, their full-length debut The Big Roar not due out until the new year. But considering that at the start of the year, I didn’t expect I’d get the chance to see The Joy Formidable live without hopping on a plane (which I almost did), already taking their visits for granted would simply be untoward.

I had mixed feelings about The Dig the first time around, finding half of their material sonically interesting and moderately adventuresome pop and the other half kind of rote, leaden garage rock. This outing made a more favourable impression, their set for whatever reason coming across catchier and punchier and with some standout material introduced as new numbers that were some of the best stuff they had to offer. They still felt the need to close with the more leaden, rawk material but even those were delivered with more verve than last time. The Dig might not be doing anything particularly fresh, but at least they’re getting better at it.

The Joy Formidable were already an impressively seasoned live act when the were here in the Spring, but still seemed to find room to improve over the past half year. For starters, drummer Matt Thomas was set up at the side of the stage rather than the back, opening up a lot more stage space for guitarist Ritzy Bryan and bassist Rhydian Dafydd to roam, lurch and dance, which they did with gusto (and the mid-song kiss whilst tearing it up was particularly sweet – they’re a couple, it’s cool). Their delivery seemed to be a bit less manic, but heavier-sounding and more dramatic in delivery – Bryan was still all wide-eyed smiles on stage between guitar freak-outs, but there was a crazed edge to her stage presence that wasn’t evident before and reflected the extra snarl in their attack.

I was surprised that with a new album in the can, though apparently without a firm track list, there was hardly any new material in the mix. Lead single “I Don’t Want To See You Like This” and the pulverizing “Magnifying Glass”, which had been present in set lists all year, represented The Big Roar but the bulk of the set came from the A Balloon Called Moaning mini-album. Not that this is in any way a complaint; that debut remains as dizzyingly great as it did when I first heard it in February, I just thought that they’d be eager to road test more new material by this point.

Consequently, the set was shorter than I’d have liked – barely an hour including encore – but executed with more energy and intensity than a lot of bands could muster if they played all night. Plus they ended it with the sort of extended gear-abusing, feedback-inducing cathartic antics you might expect at the end of an extensive stint on the road and not the very start of a two-week North American jaunt. Assuming their equipment survives the experience, it’s going to be a hell of a trip. This is how you start a tour.

The Smith College Sophian has an interview with Ritzy Bryan.

Photos: The Joy Formidable, The Dig @ The Horseshoe – November 3, 2010
MP3: The Joy Formidable – “Whirring”
MP3: The Joy Formidable – “Austere”
MP3: The Joy Formidable – “Greyhounds In The Slips”
MP3: The Dig – “You’re Already Gone”
Video: The Joy Formidable – “I Don’t Want To See You Like This”
Video: The Joy Formidable – “Popinjay”
Video: The Joy Formidable – “Whirring”
Video: The Joy Formidable – “Austere”
Video: The Joy Formidable – “Cradle”
MySpace: The Joy Formidable

Manic Street Preachers have released a video for the second single from Postcards From A Young Man, and both song and clip feature Ian McCulloch from Echo & The Bunnymen, in case you couldn’t quite place the croak or the shades. The Sydney Morning Herald has a conversation with James Dean Bradfield.

Video: Manic Street Preachers – “Some Kind Of Nothingness”

Drowned In Sound meets Let’s Wrestle. Wrestling ensues.

I don’t know what a “lyric video” is, but Patrick Wolf has cobbled one together for the first single from his next album and it sounds great. The record was once called The Conqueror but is no longer and will be out in May.

Video: Patrick Wolf – “Time Of My Life”

The Fly has a feature on Foals.

Pitchfork is streaming a new song from Ladytron, who’ve not announced specifics on a follow-up to 2008’s Velocifero but are certainly due for one. A decade-spanning best-of is due in the Spring.

Under The Radar reports that the 7″ single Laura Marling recorded for/at Jack White’s Third Man Records will be out on November 9 – it features two covers, Jackson C. Frank’s “Blues Run the Game” and Neil Young’s “The Needle and the Damage Done”.

Oh, and if you’re the sort who likes free concert tickets and the like, I’d humbly suggest following me on Twitter at @fyang because while I’ll still be keeping Saturday the day of free stuff, short turnaround giveaways will now be happening via the Twitter. Starting today.

Jannica HoneyIt’s probably over-pedantic to point out that by the time Frightened Rabbit’s third album, the marvelously-titled The Winter Of Mixed Drinks, is released on March 9, there’ll be only 12 days left in Winter. Certainly enough time for a a righteous bender or four with it as a soundtrack, but before you know it we’ll be into a Springtime of body shots and that just doesn’t sound quite as epically melancholic, though possibly more fun.

Even so, the Scottish quintet will be doing their best to make it a season to remember for North American fans, first with a commando strike trip to SxSW in March and then a massive cross-continental tour that will start at Coachella and go from west to east then west again, including a May 4 stop at the Opera House in Toronto – tickets are $15 and go on sale this Thursday. I had to miss their July 2009 show at the Horseshoe because of an unfortunate incidence of real life, so this show – a week prior to my birthday – is ranking pretty highly on things I’m looking forward to in the next few months. And the album, too – Frightened Rabbit just released a second video from the album, this confirming that at least two songs from the record will be nigh-on brilliant.

Quarter-Life Crisis has an interview with drummer Grant Hutchinson while Spin questions frontman Scott Hutchinson about the origins of the band’s name.

Video: Frightened Rabbit – “Nothing Like You”
Video: Frightened Rabbit – “Swim Until You Can’t See Land”

Tom Campesinos! takes point on press duties for Los Campesinos!, talking to The AV Club and MusicOmh while giving The Line Of Best Fit a list of 12 albums that influenced their latest Romance Is Boring. Metro talks to frontman Gareth Campesinios! and Drowned In Sound chats with the other members of the band about a myriad other topics. Los Campesinos! have a date at the Phoenix on April 20.

MP3: Los Campesinos! – “There Are Listed Buildings”

Spin checks in with Kate Nash on the status of her second album, recorded with Bernard Butler. The record is due out sometime this Spring, and she’s one of the artists supposed to appear on this year’s Lilith Fair.

Muse bassist Chris Wolstenholme tells BBC6 the trio are hoping to put together a live documentary film covering life on the road in addition to performance footage in the near future. They’re at the Air Canada Centre on March 8.

MusicOmh interviews David Brewis of Field Music. Their new record (Measure) is out February 16 and they’re at the Horseshoe on March 19.

There’s a new video from Mumford & Sons’ debut Sigh No More, filmed during their recent tour of India. The album gets a North American release on February 16 – one day after their Toronto show at Lee’s Palace. The Sydney Morning Herald talks to Marcus Johnstone, aka Marcus Mumford.

Video: Mumford & Sons – “The Cave”

Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard talks to Spinner about the possibility of the band putting out a live album while Al Doyle chats with The Yorkshire Evening Post and The Times talks to Alexis Taylor and solicits a list of his favourite things. Their new studio album One Life Stand is out February 9 and is currently streaming at the band’s MySpace. They’re at the Kool Haus on April 20.

Stream: Hot Chip / One Life Stand

Tindersticks’ new album Falling Down A Mountain isn’t out until February 16 but is currently available to stream. There’s also a new video to go with the first available MP3.

MP3: Tindersticks – “Black Smoke”
Video: Tindersticks – “Black Smoke”
Stream: Tindersticks / Falling Down A Mountain

They Shoot Music has an acoustic video session with Editors frontman Tom Smith, wherein he reinterprets “Papillon” from the In This Light And On This Evening on acoustic guitar.

Ladytron’s Reuben Wu talks to Clash about his love of photography – ironic, considering his outfit seems to take extra care to make life hell for photographers…

Never Enough Notes talks to Tim Crompton of The High Wire. Their debut The Sleep Tape is out in March.

NME reports that Liam Gallagher and the other refugees from the wreck of Oasis hope to have a new record out by July.

And rather out of left field comes the news that first-generation shoegazers Chapterhouse will be reuniting for a North American tour this Spring. I can’t imagine anyone has been waiting for this to happen, but if the tour comes around this way I’ll certainly check it out – Whirlpool was a pretty good record. But really, of all the original shoegaze bands to get back together and cross the Atlantic… Chapterhouse?

Video: Chapterhouse – “Pearl”

Frank YangThe post title, taken from one of the song titles on Superioryouareinferior, kind of says it all. Since discovering Albertan Rae Spoon’s 2008 release earlier this year and slipping it onto my Polaris ballot, I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to see him play live. And while most of the Summer was spent overseas, the Fall brought some local dates including last night’s show at the Rivoli.

“Noise”, however, isn’t the first word I’d use to describe Spoon’s music. Delicate? Certainly. Affecting? Absolutely. Noisy? Well, come to think of it, it’s not inappropriate. Spoon’s voice – high, tremulous and possessed of a light twang and operating at the resonant frequency of heart-rending – is made for the quiet, folk-country that makes up a large part of his repertoire, but his ambitions range well beyond that particular nook, as this show would prove.

The show began with just Spoon, his acoustic guitar and songs of exactly the sort of aforementioned stark beauty but this wouldn’t be a set of vulnerable, heart-on-sleeve weepers. Spoon’s between- and during-song anecdotes were too funny and entertaining for the mood to get maudlin, and it wasn’t long before the laptop at his side was brought in for rhythm and loop duties and then the distortion pedal at his feet. Noise? Yes. In addition to material from Superioryouareinferior, there were selections from Worauf wartest du? his concept album with Alexandre Decoupigny about the Berlin subway and a few new songs including one foray into electro-pop that sounded like the most natural (and catchy) thing in the world. Pigeonhole Rae Spoon as a sensitive singer-songwriter at your peril. Tourmates Mark Bragg & The Butchers joining him onstage for “Come On Forest Fire Burn The Disco Down” (fitting, since Rajiv from Oh No Forest Fires was handling bass), closing out a set that was short but almost everything I’d hoped it would be. I’d drop the “almost” if he’d deigned to play “Great Lakes”, but that’s a negligible complaint.

Rae Spoon’s eastern Canadian tour continues through November and swings back in December, where he has another Toronto date on December 5 at the Tranzac.

Photos: Rae Spoon @ The Rivoli – November 11, 2009
MP3: Rae Spoon – “Come On Forest Fire Burn The Disco Down”
Stream: Rae Spoon / Superioryouareinferior
MySpace: Rae Spoon

Chart talks to Joel Gibb of The Hidden Cameras while Spinner solicits a list of Gentleman Reg’s five favourite covers. Reg opens up for The Hidden Cameras at The Opera House on December 5 and releases his Heavy Head EP on December 2.

eye previews The Wooden Sky’s show at Lee’s Palace tomorrow night.

Digital Spy interviews Patrick Wolf.

Jarvis Cocker talks film in a couple interviews with The Quietus, discussing his voice acting role in Fantastic Mr. Fox animated feature, in theatres this Friday, and contributing songs to the Russell Brand vehicle Get Him To The Greek, out next year.

Ladytron’s Reuben Wu tells Spinner that the band’s 10th anniversary seemed as good a reason as any for assembling their first best-of collection, due out mid-2010.

Check out the new, ultra-nude, ultra-NSFW Flaming Lips video. Then go wash your eyes. Then read this interview with Wayne Coyne at The Quietus.

Video: The Flaming Lips – “Watching The Planets”

Pitchfork talks to Midlake’s Tim Smith about their new album The Courage of Others, out February 2.

You know things are slowing down in blog-land when I have to resort to getting a show review up the next morning to put a post together and it’s still this short.

Frank YangTo this point, whenever I’ve mentioned London’s Micachu, I’ve been sure to mention my ambivalence towards their debut album Jewellery and my inability to discern if it’s great or, well, not so great. But I think the fact that I keep going back to it rather than just discard it and move onto any of the countless other records within arm’s reach says a lot about what my gut says, as does the fact that this past Tuesday night, an evening with no shortage of entertainment options that were pretty much guaranteed to be great, I opted to head to the El Mocambo to see Micachu & The Shapes make their Toronto debut – a decidedly less safe bet, but one that could potentially pay off immensely.

For reasons unknown, opener Anni Rossi dropped off the bill at the last minute – I’d seen her just a few weeks prior so I wasn’t too disappointed – and a local act by name of Animal Monster was tagged to open. And if it were the sort of show where people might have been inclined to dance, then he and his setup of sequencers and samplers might have fit, but with people seated comfortably at tables, his repetitive dance beats with keyboard melodies overtop were just monotonous. At first, some heads were bobbing but before long, they were just hanging in resignation.

Things perked up once Animal Monster shuffled off, with the respectably-sized crowd gathering at the front of the stage to examine Micachu’s unusual stage setup – after all, its not often you see upturned wine bottles mounted on cymbal stands or empty paint cans as part of a percussion kit, and that doesn’t even include the homemade instruments that they kept with them backstage. So given the kitchen sink clatter aesthetic of the record and the similarly random nature of the band’s gear, it would have been understandable to assume that Micachu’s show would be more about making a gleeful cacophony than anything else, and while their performance was indeed gleeful, it was far from chaotic.

Actually what was most impressive about their show – and pretty much all of it was enjoyable and impressive – was how precise and meticulous they were about crafting what, on the surface, seemed to be so random. They were like a musical junk shop transformed into an elaborate sonic Rube Goldberg contraption, the payoff being completely left-field compositions that were still undeniably pop. Mica Levy and her bandmates, in matching white t-shirts, had their hands full recreating much of the fuzzy textures, details and cul de sacs of the recorded versions – far more than I’d expected – and seemed to be having a great time, appreciative of the enthusiastic crowd, when they weren’t utterly intent on the work at hand. With only one record’s worth of material to draw from, the show was understandably short, clocking in at well under an hour, but they did deliver everything they had and that was plenty. No more hedging. Micachu is great.

eye was also at the show, was also impressed.

Photos: Micachu & The Shapes @ The El Mocambo – July 14, 2009
MP3: Micachu – “Lips”
Video: Micachu – “Golden Phone”
Video: Micachu – “Lips”
MySpace: Micachu

Micachu has also teamed up with Alessi’s Ark, Sinead O’Connor and Roisin Murphy and Chaka Khan’s to cover Khan’s “I Am Every Woman” in support of ActionAid UK’s 6 Degrees project for womens rights. There’s also a remix of the track by Ladytron, a free Bat For Lashes live MP3 if you invite some friends to the site and a video of Micachu performing “Waste” at the Six Degrees launch party at the ICA in London. Go, download, listen, read and spread the word.

MP3: 6 Degrees – “I’m Every Woman” (Ladytron remix)
Video: Micachu – “Waste” (live at the ICA)

Filter tracks the working relationship of PJ Harvey and John Parish through the years, up to this year’s A Woman A Man Walked By.

Art Brut’s Eddie Argos declares his love of the Scott Pilgrim comics at Playback:StL – imagine how excited he’ll be when he learns that the Lee’s Palace stage they’ll be playing on August 12 just recently hosted the filming of the Clash At Demonhead scene for the Scott Pilgrim movie!

Two Hours Traffic have released the title track from their next album Territory, out September 8, as a free download.

MP3: Two Hours Traffic – “Territory”

Part four of the Reverie Sound Revue blog tour is now up at The Tape Is Not Sticky, featuring “You Don’t Exist If I Don’t See You” from their self-titled debut.

Spinner has published the second part of their feature series on the past, present and future of Canadian independent music – this chapter focuses on the world of Broken Social Scene.

Thanks to Slowcoustic for pointing out this Camera Music video featuring The Rural Alberta Advantage performing in a bus shelter on Queen St and the Drake Hotel’s patio. New video blog Morning Noon Night also digs up some live footage of the band in a basement at a Canadian Musicfest after-party back in March, and also check out their primo placement in the trailer for the new Alicia Silverstone/Alanis Morissette comedy – man, that film is going to be so quirky! There’s also an interview with the band at the Omaha World-Herald – their next local gig is at the Horseshoe on July 30 and then they’ll be at V Fest on August 29.

And tangentially, eye talks to the folks at aux.tv, who are responsible for hosting the above video series and a wealth of other terrific Canadian music video (but not “music video”) content.

Two more acts playing V Fest – Scandinavians both – have just released new MP3s. Denmark’s Mew have a new one from No More Stories, out August 25, via NME and Norway’s Datarock are sharing a track from their new one Red through Spinner.

MP3: Mew – “Introducing Palace Players”
MP3: Datarock – “True Stories”

Flavorwire checks in with The Raveonettes, who are working on their new record In and Out of Control in hopes of an October release.

NPR has a studio session with Loney Dear – they’re at the Horseshoe on October 13.

And also on that bill is Anna Ternheim, who has released a first MP3 from her new album Leaving On A Mayday, out August 11. Also check out the video of an acoustic performance of the same song.

MP3: Anna Ternheim – “What Have I Done”
Video: Anna Ternheim – “What Have I Done” (acoustic)

Interview talks to Phoenix.