JJ LevineRae Spoon’s last album, 2008’s Superioryouareinferior, may have served as the point of entry for me into the Calgary native’s works, but his fifth album was more of an exit for him in that it represented a push out of the country-folk scene with which he’d been associated and into the (relatively) broader realm of Canadian indie-pop. Maybe not the promised land, but without that bit of crossover, the record probably wouldn’t have otherwise caught my ear certainly wouldn’t have last year’s Polaris ballot.

For the follow-up record Love Is A Hunter, Spoon’s muse took him a little farther afield – Berlin, to be precise. The influence of the time spent abroad was more overt on last year’s free-to-download Alexandre Decoupigny collaboration What Are You Waiting For? (Worauf Wartest Du?), but the time spent in and around the European dance scene is still echoes quite clearly on Hunter.

But rather than try to craft a record of club bangers or electro-clash anthems, Spoon makes those influences lyrical concerns than sonic ones, opting to contemplate the experiences and interactions, diary-style, and thus sticks to his strengths. This isn’t to say that it’s all more of the same, though. Spoon’s sound is still more folk than anything else – you can take the boy out of the country and all that – but Hunter comes fairly suffused with electronic beats and textures that dance in and around the compositions, offering an interesting counterpoint to Spoon’s crystalline voice and otherwise spare arrangements. They don’t necessarily elevate them, but they do add some extra aural interest. And while the meeting of influences on Hunter doesn’t create the same stop-in-your tracks, emotional impact of Superioryouareinferior, it does further the case as Rae Spoon as one of the country’s up-and-coming songsmiths and certainly a talent to continue watching.

Exclaim has a short piece on Spoon, who kicks off a cross-Canada tour next week and plays the Gladstone in Toronto on October 22.

MP3: Rae Spoon – “Death By Elektro”
MP3: Rae Spoon – “You Can Dance”
Video: Rae Spoon – “Love Is A Hunter”

Details have emerged about the forthcoming Neil Young album produced by Daniel Lanois. It will be entitled Le Noise and be available on September 28 in pretty much every format imaginable (LP, CD, MP3, Blu-Ray, iPhone…). I’m not the biggest fan of Lanois’ own work, but as a producer he’s helmed some amazing records and triggered creative renaissances from some legendary artists. Really anxious to hear what he’s done with Neil.

Exclaim has put Land Of Talk’s Liz Powell on the cover of their September issue with accompanying feature piece. They’re at Lee’s Palace on September 16.

MP3: Land Of Talk – “Quarry Hymns”

MOG talks to Matt Camirand of Black Mountain. Their new record Wilderness Heart is out September 14 and they play the Phoenix on October 31.

Arcade Fire’s first video from The Suburbs is a live clip of “Ready To Start” recorded in July in London.

Video: Arcade Fire – “Ready To Start”

Two Hours Traffic have a new clip from this year’s Territory.

Video: Two Hours Traffic – “Happiness Burns”

There’s also a new video from Tokyo Police Club’s new record Champ. They’ll be showcasing it when they open up for Phoenix at the Ricoh Coliseum on October 22. Still find it weird that they haven’t done or scheduled a headlining hometown show for the new record yet.

Video: Tokyo Police Club – “Bambi”

Hot Hot Heat and Hey Rosetta will pair up for a show at the Mod Club on October 8, tickets $29.25.

MP3: Hot Hot Heat – “21 @ 12” (alternate version)
Video: Hey Rosetta – “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

The lineup for this year’s Supercrawl, the annual arts and music free street thing in Hamilton, has been announced and offers a compelling argument for making the trek to Steeltown – on September 25, they’ll be presenting performances from Elliott Brood, Cadence Weapon and Bruce Peninsula, amongst many others. And did I mention it’s free?

And finally, if you’re all nostalgic for this past June when NXNE descended on the city like so much a plague of locusts, then check out this feature at Le Blogotheque where the duly commissioned Take-Away Show videographers captured performances from a number of artists in the streets of Toronto. Part one features The Soft Pack, Avi Buffalo, Library Voices and DM Stith and there’s more to come.

Saddle CreekWhen their debut mini-album Applause Cheer Boo Hiss arrived in 2006, Land Of Talk appeared as though Canada had a new hard rock heroine in Liz Powell, her white-hot guitar work matched only by her distinctive vocals, equal parts angst and yearning. It wasn’t a title – or pigeonhole – that Powell seemed interested in, however, and their 2008 proper debut album Some Are Lakes surprised not only by dialing down the white-knuckle rock in favour of a somewhat softer and more spacious sound, but by making it sound as good, if not in some ways better, than the big, brash document that many had been imagining it would be.

Last year’s Fun & Laughter EP reignited those expectations, though, as producer Jace Lasek coaxed back some of the rough edges that Lakes producer Justin Vernon had smoothed out and with Lasek also helming album number two, perhaps expectations that we now lived in a kinder, gentler Land Of Talk were premature. Instead, Cloak And Cipher – out next week – again confounds expectations by splitting the difference and proving, perhaps, that it doesn’t really matter who’s producing or what the balance of heavy and light songs across the record are – it’s the quality of the songs that matters and in that department, Cloak And Cipher delivers.

It’s been suggested that Land Of Talk are one big song away from breaking out in a major way and if that’s true, then Cloak And Cipher is probably not the record that will do it. It holds no anthem or ballad that stops you in your tracks or burrows deep into your skull on a single listen – what it does have is ten compositions that showcase the breadth of Powell’s talents, each sounding fully self-realized and yet for all the shifts in tones, textures and players, hang together marvelously. Album standout “Quarry Hymns” sounds deceptively simple but is just about perfect in how it’s assembled, showcasing Powell’s ability to mate her distinctive voice with just the right melody and phrasing and her unconventional, spidery guitar playing while the blistering “The Hate I Won’t Commit” aptly demonstrates her punk edge is still well intact but even then, is exceptionally layered and sophisticated. No breakout hit? No bangers? No jams? That’s fine, I’ll take a rich, solid from top to bottom album every day of the week.

The National Post is currently streaming the whole of the new record with accompanying song-by-song commentary from Liz Powell. In addition to the one download below, you can get “Quarry Hymns” over here in exchange for your email address. Land Of Talk play Lee’s Palace on September 16.

MP3: Land Of Talk – “Quarry Hymns”
MP3: Land Of Talk – “Swift Coin”
MySpace: Land Of Talk

Dan Mangan is staging a cross-country tour this Fall that includes a stop at Trinity-St. Paul’s in Toronto on October 28, tickets $22.50, with Bry Webb (formerly?) of Constantines supporting in his Harbourcoats guise. The Polaris-nominated Nice, Nice, Very Nice was just released in the US.

MP3: Dan Mangan – “Road Regrets”
MP3: Dan Mangan – “Robots”

Also coming from out west and graduating on to bigger rooms is Hannah Georgas, who is teaming up with Royal Wood for a cross-country tour that will be at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on November 26.

MP3: Hannah Georgas – “Chit Chat”

Prefix interviews The Acorn

NPR is streaming a full session with Laura Marling.

The Daily Mail has a feature piece on Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine. She’s at the Sound Academy on November 3.

Just Played chats with Rose Elinor Dougall; her solo debut Without Why is out August 30.

This week, Exclaim is streaming the whole of Mogwai’s live album Special Moves, due out next week.

Stream: Mogwai / Special Moves

Rolling Stone talks to Nick Cave and Exclaim to Jim Sclavunos of Grinderman, whose Grinderman 2 is due out September 14 and whom the Huffington Post is calling the “first great band of the Anthropocene epoch”. Well duh. Grinderman play the Phoenix on November 11.

Bryan Lee-O’MalleyYesterday afternoon, the words “Scott Pilgrim” became the top trending topic worldwide on Twitter, a remarkable if probably fleeting accomplishment that kind of underscores how big a deal the release of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (the motion picture) this coming Friday is… at least to people on Twitter. And like indie rock. And comic books. And (old-school) video games. And Toronto. In other words, people like me. And possibly/probably you.

And so I present to you a selection of particularly interesting or entertaining links culled from the veritable ocean of Pilgrim-related articles, interviews, videos, games and online tchotchke related to the film. Or at least the ones I found. There’s this About.com interview with series creator Bryan Lee-O’Malley, these The Los Angeles Times and AV Club conversations with film director Edgar Wright, this The Toronto Star interview both Wright and star Michael Cera, this series overview for newbs from The Globe & Mail, this collection of fake Lucas Lee movie posters, this MTV cast interview video at their Lee’s Palace soundstage (with an explanation of why they didn’t use the real Lee’s as a set), this Newsarama interview with various cast members and this other Los Angeles Times piece interviewing music supervisor Nigel Godrich and contributor Beck about putting together the music for the film.

Advance reviews of the film are pretty good but I’m sure once you adjust for geekdom, it’s awesome. I will have to wait a while to see for myself, though, as other engagements will keep me from making it to a theatre probably until Monday or Tuesday. But to hold me over, I re-read the whole series last night and have this fascinating interactive trailer, this brilliant trailer assembled from frames of the comic, this video of Jason Schwartzman and Michael Cera doing the weather for an Atlanta news broadcast and as the domino that will finally get me to perhaps get a modern video game system (or at least borrow one for a while), the video game trailer. And both the soundtrack and original score of the film are available to stream in their entirety at Spinner.

Stream: Scott Pilgrim Vs The World Original Soundtrack
Stream: Scott Pilgrim Vs The World Original Score

Bradley’s Almanac is sharing a recording of Arcade Fire’s show in Boston a couple weeks ago while Zoilus has posted a transcript of an interview with Win Butler. They play the Toronto Islands this coming Saturday, and congratulations to the band on scoring #1 records in the Canada, the UK and USA.

Owen Pallett will release a new EP on 10″ come September 28 – details on A Swedish Love Story available at Domino Records.

Movie Entertainment profiles celebrity Basia Bulat while The Edmonton Journal finds out about her next project. She’s at the Phoenix on October 26.

Prefix interviews Stars, who will be setting up at Massey Hall on October 23.

PopMatters asks 20 questions of Tokyo Police Club, who will be opening up for Phoenix at the Ricoh Coliseum on October 26.

Paste talks to Liz Powell of Land Of Talk, whose new one Cloak And Cipher is out next week. They’re at Lee’s Palace on September 16.

American Songwriter profiles American songwriter Samantha Crain. She’s at the Horseshoe on September 26.

Spinner inquires about The Thermals’ Personal Life. It’s out September 7 and they follow it with a show at Lee’s Palace on October 9.

Daytrotter has posted a session with First Aid Kit and another with Ferraby Lionheart, who will be opening up for them at the El Mocambo on October 15.

The first video from Grinderman’s Grinderman 2 is out and yes, it’s 100% ridiculous. Grinderman 2 is out September 14 and they play the Phoenix on November 11.

Video: Grinderman – “Heathen Child”

Kate Nash, having played the deliberately undersized Mod Club back in April, brings her second album My Best Friend Is You back to town for a show at the Phoenix on November 13 as part of an extensive Fall tour. The Sydney Morning Herald has an interview.

Video: Kate Nash – “Do Wah Do”

The Cribs have just released a new video for a non-album single entitled “Housewife”.

Video: The Cribs – “Housewife”

This Is Fake DIY has got an acoustic session with Sky Larkin and The Yorkshire Evening Post an interview.

Blurt has a feature piece on The Wedding Present.

FacebookSummerworks has long been an established name in Toronto’s theatrical community, staging successful festivals every Summer (hence the name) for as long as I’ve lived here, but in the last couple of years, they’ve been expanding their mandate with a musical series that has aimed to get theatre fans to to discover some of the city’s best up-and-coming independent music and vice versa. Each year has gotten better and better, and the just-announced 2010 music series is handily continuing that trend.

As previously mentioned, the main attraction this year is a two-night stand from The Hidden Cameras wherein they’ll reimagine their last record Origin:Orphan in a theatrical context, but also appearing at the Lower Ossington Theatre from August 5th through the 14th will be Ghost Bees, Diamond Rings, Laura Barrett, Snowblink, Evening Hymns and The Wilderness Of Manitoba, amongst many others.

The performance space is divided into a mainstage and a performance bar; tickets for the former are available in advance at Rotate This, Soundscapes and the venue box office while admission for the latter is pay-what-you-can on the evening of the show, with mainstage ticket holders getting in for free. Check out the schedule to see who’s playing where and when.

MP3: The Hidden Cameras – “Walk On”
MP3: Laura Barrett – “Decepticon Island Optimists Club”
MP3: Diamond Rings – “Wait And See”
MP3: Evening Hymns – “Broken Rifle”
MP3: Ghost Bees – “Vampires Of The West Coast”
MP3: The Wilderness Of Manitoba – “Hermit”

Domino Records is offering a download of Owen Pallett’s new Lewis Takes His Shirt Off EP for one week only. And that week started a couple days ago, so get moving. And speaking of getting moving, it was just announced that Pallett will be appearing at the Dakota Tavern tonight as part of White Whale Wendesdays this month, playing with Snailhouse, Octoberman and Tusks.

Hannah Georgas has released a new video from This is Good. She plays the Molson Amphitheatre on July 30 as part of the dog’s breakfast Disco Lemonade show.

Video: Hannah Georgas – “Bang Bang You’re Dead”

Spinner talks to Rolf Klausener of The Acorn about their new record No Ghost.

The Coast have announced their second album Queen Cities will be out on September 14, and they’ll play a hometown record release show at the El Mocambo on September 23.

Metric turned in a compact, two-song set for Daytrotter. Maybe they were in a hurry to make this interview with The Riverfront Times?

Paste catches up with Stars; they’re at Massey Hall on October 23.

Billboard has posted their cover story on Arcade Fire. They play the Toronto Islands on August 14.

The Boston Herald and Beatroute have features on Wolf Parade

Gord Downie & The Country Of Miracles will bring The Grand Bounce to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on November 5.

Video: Gord Downie & The Country Of Miracles – “The East Wind”

BeatRoute, The Montreal Gazette and The National Post talk to Sarah Harmer.

Indie rock endorsements: Liz Powell of Land Of Talk tells The Sound It Resounds why Fugazi’s In On The Kill Taker was so important to her while over at Rock Torch, Dan Mangan recommends some time spent with Bon Iver.

Both Acts Of Minor Treason and Comics Alliance take photo tours of Scott Pilgrim’s Toronto. The Beguiling is hosting a release party for Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour next Monday night, with the books going on sale at midnight, while Scott Pilgrim Vs The World opens in theatres on August 13.

Amanda SchenkTwo and a half weeks after announcing what a panel of unadventurous, sexist, regionally biased and indie-rockist media types had collectively decided were the 40 best Canadian albums of the past year, the Polaris Music Prize yesterday whittled said list down to a short list of ten, thus helping narrow the pool of records that everyone will complain are unworthy of recognition for the next two and a half months until a final overrated and predictably mainstream record is selected by a jury of people who are obviously pursuing their own agendas and wouldn’t know the best album in the country from a hole in the ground.

Okay, that was a bit over the top cynical but probably isn’t too far off from how some regard the prize awarded to what is deemed the Canadian album “of the highest artistic integrity”, now entering its fifth year and having gone in that time from a curious Juno upstart to an internationally recognized honour. And yeah, if so inclined you can pick holes in the prize’s methodology, jury and validity but the fact is, it’s done a pretty great job of supporting and spotlighting great Canadian artists and records over the past half decade and with this year’s list of finalists, continues to do so. Some would point to the presence of five past nominees – including two winners – on the list as proof that things are too narrow or predictable, but that’s what happens when you’ve got artists who’re at the top of their game turning out great records, and should really be cause for celebration rather than disdain.

I’ve talked at some length about many of the nominees, but haven’t really said much about Darker Circles, the latest from Canadian music veterans and first-time nominees The Sadies, and that’s probably because I’ve been following the band for so long that I pretty much take them and their awesomeness for granted now. It’s a given that they’ll tour incessantly and turn in incendiary shows every night, back up countless legendary artists on stage and on record and do it all while dressed impeccably and making it look easy. And lost in all of that is the fact that each album they’ve put out in recent years has been much more than just an excuse to tour – the brothers Good have also become excellent songwriters, making their unique psych-country-punk-surf-rock hybrid not only a showcase for their astounding musicianship, but their storytelling abilities. That Darker Circles made the short list only surprised me in that it felt like a logical progression in their growth and not a quantum leap ahead that demanded your notice, but I won’t complain either way.

That said, I still believe that Shad absolutely should and very well could win. Though if we get a repeat winner for the first time this year… I’m okay with that too.

The Polaris Prize short list for this year is as follows; a winner will be selected the evening of September 20.

The Besnard Lakes / The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night
MP3: The Besnard Lakes – “Albatross”

Broken Social Scene / Forgiveness Rock Record
MP3: Broken Social Scene – “World Sick”

Caribou / Swim
MP3: Caribou – “Odessa”

Karkwa / Les Chemins De Verre
Video: Karkwa – “Moi-Lèger” (live)

Dan Mangan / Nice, Nice, Very Nice
MP3: Dan Mangan – “Robots”

Owen Pallett / Heartland
Video: Owen Pallett – “Lewis Takes His Shirt Off”

Radio Radio / Belmundo Regal
Video: Radio Radio – “Dekshoo”

The Sadies / Darker Circles
Video: The Sadies – “Postcards”

Shad / TSOL
MP3: Shad – “Yaa I Get It”

Tegan & Sara / Sainthood
Video: Tegan & Sara – “Alligator”

Chart gets inaugural prize winner Owen Pallett’s thoughts on being nominated a second time, as well as second-time nom Shad. They also talk to Dan Mangan and The Sadies about being first time short-listers.

Ca Va Cool and The Korea Times talk to Caribou’s Dan Snaith.

They Shoot Music has posted a video session with The Hidden Cameras, whose contribution to the Buffet Libre Peace compilation – a fundraiser for Amnesty International – is now available to download. They play two nights at the Lower Ossington Theatre on August 5 and 6 as part of Summerworks.

MP3: The Hidden Cameras – “The Mild Mannered Army”

Also doing the video session thing are The Acorn; they’ve got performances up at The Fly and Southern Souls.

Toronto’s Zeus have released a new ninja-powered video.

Video: Zeus – “How Does It Feel”

Blurt profiles Wolf Parade.

ABC News examines the musical and marketing stratagems of Arcade Fire, whose new record The Suburbs arrives August 3. They play the Toronto Islands on August 14.

Spinner has the album art for and tour dates in support of Land Of Talk’s new record Cloak & Cipher, out August 24. They’ll be at Lee’s Palace on September 16 and presale packages consisting of the new album on CD and concert tickets are available. There’s also a live session with the band from last Fall available to stream or download at CBC Radio 3 (talking stops and music starts at around 1:50).

Magnet has an interview with Evan Cranley of Stars as they take over their website for the week. They also play Massey Hall on October 23.

Spinner solicits opinions from various Canadian musicians on the G20 clusterfuck that went down in Toronto a couple weekends ago.