PolyvinylImagine a man, standing alone on a dark stage with just a guitar. This is Emil Svanangen, the principal artist behind the Swedish pop entity known as Loney Dear. Imagine the stage lights come up, revealing a carefully crafted backdrop of meadows, villages and blue skies but still Svanangen stands, stoic and po-faced, while the orchestra swells while somehow remaining oh-so twee. This was Loney, Dear’s North American debut, Loney, Noir. Now imagine the stage sets fall away and the lights dim, shifting the mood from Summer to Autumn. And still Svanangen remains, sad-faced and beautifully melancholic. This was Loney, Dear’s second 2007 release, Sologne. Very similar in theme and structure to its predecessor, yet somewhat starked in presentation.

And now with Dear John, the scene is set in darkness cut with neon lights and a metallic tang in the air. As you might expect, Svanangen is still mining the same rich vein of lost love and the songs still build to soaring crescendos, but the structures are more baroque and the materials utilized more synthetic and mechanical than in past efforts. It certainly creates a different atmosphere that takes some getting used to, particularly for those initially drawn to Loney Dear for their more sprightly orch-pop inclinations, but there’s still enough familiar moves and melodies to keep things anchored. Some of these moves and melodies can come off a little too familiar – Svanangen doesn’t seem to have as many tricks in his arsenal as one would hope, but what he does do he still does well. Dear John tries to walk the fine line between trying something new and not fixing what’s not broke, and while it does wobble as a result and occasionally strays farther than one might like, it still gets where its going eventually.

ABC News (!) has a video interview with Svanangen about his new record and Venus Zine has a feature interview. Dear John was released this week and is currently streaming on Spinner, and Loney Dear kick off a North American tour in support of Andrew Bird on Friday.

MP3: Loney Dear – “Airport Surroundings”
Video: Loney Dear – “Airport Surroundings”
Stream: Loney Dear / Dear John
MySpace: Loney Dear

Andrew Bird gives interviews to The AV Club, Boston Herald and New York Magazine and gives Drowned In Sound a track-by-track breakdown of Noble Beast. He plays the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on April 3.

Lykke Li, headlining at the Phoenix on February 6, has released a new video.

Video: Lykke Li – “Tonight”

Magnet Q&A’s Jason Lytle, whose Yours Truly, the Commuter is out May 19.

The Yorkshire Evening Post talks to Richard Thompson, who recently got in a black cab and found himself recording a session.

SF Weekly congratulates John Vanderslice on the occasion of Tiny Telephone Studios’ 10th anniversary.

Asobi Seksu talks to The Skinny. Hush is out February 17 and they play the El Mocambo on March 3.

Shout Out Out Out Out are at Lee’s Palace on April 25 in support of their new record Reintegration Time, out March 3. Tickets $15.

Woodpigeon are marking the release of Treasury Canada Library next Tuesday by giving away an EP for free over at eMusic. La Commission Scolaire contains tracks from the album, alternate versions and unreleased goodies to go along with the double-disc goodness of the record. Woodpigeon overload!

Celeste Danger, Elisabeth YoungHaving spent most of 2008 on the road and working their self-titled debut to death, Brookyln’s Jealous Girlfriends are quite understandably taking the first part of this year off to recover and recharge. And, in the case of singer/guitarist Holly Miranda, work on a solo record. Well, judging from her MySpace blog, work on the solo record has been ongoing for some time – since late 2007 at least – but presumably the time available now will allow it to wrapped up and hopefully see the light of day.

Details are scarce, but production duties appear to have been handled by TV On The Radio’s David Sitek and it will feature appearances from Celebration’s Katrina Ford and TVOTR’s Kyp Malone. The project may or may not be named Raven Mayhem and the album may or may not be called The Magician’s Private Library. Whatever it’s called, there’s a good number of tracks – demo or completed is unclear – at her MySpace and they sound quite compelling. Some distance away from the Jealous Girlfriends’ rock attack, they’re more atmospheric and sonically adventurous while remaining firmly rooted by her marvelous, sleepy yet soaring rasp of a voice. Who/what/whenever this stuff comes out, I’m definitely interested to hear more.

Thanks to Spicy Times for not only letting me know that this project existed but also pointing the way to this FabChannel solo show recorded in Amsterdam last May, wherein we see some of Miranda’s singer-songwritery side. And Get Glucky got her to assemble and comment on a playlist of favourite songs.

MySpace: Holly Miranda

Spinner premiered the new video from TV On The Radio yesterday.

Video: TV On The Radio – “Stork And Owl”

Prefix reports that the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs album has a name – It’s Blitz. It’s due out sometime in the Spring.

Peter Bjorn & John are set to release their new record Living Thing on March 31 and will tour it across North America starting in April. Their Toronto date is April 25 at the Phoenix, and support for the whole tour will be Chairlift, who were featured in a Daytrotter session last week. PB&J have already released a video from the new album and Pitchfork premiered a remix MP3 of the first single earlier this week.

MP3: Peter Bjorn & John – “Lay It Down (Golden Filter remix)
Video: Peter Bjorn & John – “Lay It Down”

There’s a video from the new Loney Dear album Dear John, coming out next Tuesday.

Video: Loney Dear – “Airport Surroundings”

Stereogum has premiered the first MP3 from Marissa Nadler’s new album Little Hells, due out March 3. This ties in nicely with her previously-announced April 21 date at the El Mocambo with The Handsome Family. The Times talked to Nadler as part of a feature on what they call “goth-folk”.

David Berman has dissolved the Silver Jews. Maybe I should have gone to see them at Lee’s in September after all… Pronouncement from the man himself at the Drag City forums.

Clash interviews Of Montreal, who have released a track from their digital-only Jon Brion remix EP.

MP3: Of Montreal – “First Time High” (Of Chicago acoustic version)

NME talks to Final Fantasy’s Owen Pallet about his contributions to the new Rumble Strips record, currently in production.

It turns out the Born Ruffians/Akron/Family double-bill at Sneaky Dee’s reported on last week is also a double-header. In addition to the already-announced and nearly sold-out March 24 date, there’ll be a March 23 show, also at Sneaks, and the two will pair up again on the 25 and 26 at Il Motore in Montreal.

Franz Ferdinand’s Tonight is currently streaming at the band’s MySpace. It’s available this Tuesday. Conversations with the band are up at Clash, Metro and dose.ca.

Stream: Franz Ferdinand / Tonight: Franz Ferdinand

Neil Halstead drops by the Paste offices to play a song.

The Toronto Sun and The Ubyssey talk to M83 mastermind Anthony Gonzalez. They’re at the ACC tonight opening up for The Killers.

Send Me Dead Flowers talks to The Raveonettes’ Sune Rose Wagner.

Aquarium Drunkard gets a Robyn Hitchcock guide to New York City. Goodnight Oslo, his new album with the Venus 3, is out February 17.

JAM reports that the threatened new Neil Young concept album Fork In The Road (which concerns bailouts of banks and automotive manufacturers as well as electric cars) will indeed be released on March 31 and the promised Archives have indeed been pushed back. It’s probably safe to say this will be the least-welcome Neil Young album in the history of ever.

A farewell to Mr Mick Harvey, who has elected to leave Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Details at the ANTI Blog.

WrensFor most bands, a gap of five and half years and counting since your last record would be cause for concern amongst the fanbase, but for The Wrens it seems right on schedule. The Meadowlands came out way back in September 2003 and that was a full seven years since their previous effort Secaucus, though that was as much the fault of their evil label as anyone else. None of this, of course, makes it any easier for fans eager to hear something new from the band.

But things are finally afoot, perhaps spurred by the good-natured fun that Magnet was having at their expense. They’ve begun recording album number four and have marked the occasion by releasing a new song entitled “Pulled Fences”, recorded live at Abbey Road studios in England and available digitally. Of course, the fact that they’ve only just BEGUN recording means that we likely won’t see any new material this year (it’s sad to be writing off the year in January) but at least it’s finally happening.

And if you needed some reminding of why hearing from Wrens again is cause for celebration, dig into their audio/visual vault.

MP3: The Wrens – “Everyone Choose Sides”
MP3: The Wrens – “This Machine”
MP3: The Wrens – “Built In Girls”
MP3: The Wrens – “Grey Complexion”

Loney Dear previews the release of Dear John on January 27 with a Bandstand Busking performance.

MP3: Loney Dear – “Airport Surroundings”

And maybe while they were playing, this Black Cab carrying a warbling Ryan Adams drove by. Hey, could have happened.

CNN discusses Sweden, Cardigans and A Camp with Nina Persson. Colonia, the new A Camp record, is out February 2 in Europe and April 28 in North America.

Scotland On Sunday, The Independent and New York Magazine have features on Antony & The Johnsons, whose new album The Crying Light isn’t out until next week, but is available to stream now at Spinner. They play the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on February 17.

Stream: Antony & The Johnsons / The Crying Light

Franz Ferdinand recently released the new video from their new album Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, out January 27. They also released an EPK video about the record.

Video: Franz Ferdinand – “Ulysses”

The Boston Globe discusses the touring life with Frightened Rabbit.

The Quietus reports that Bat For Lashes’ sophomore effort Two Suns will be released on April 6.

Jason Lytle, ex of Grandaddy, recently recorded an acoustic session for Maps.

MP3: Jason Lytle – “Birds Encouraged Him” (live on Maps)

Blurt has the complete tracklisting for the star-laden, covers-heavy War Child: Heroes compilation due out on February 24.

The old inbox was simply overflowing with concert and tour announcements yesterday… in chronological order – A Brooklyn double-bill of High Places and Soft Circle will be at the Horseshoe on February 9, tickets $10.

Mekon and Waco Brother Jon Langford has a date at the Horseshoe on February 27. Ticket details forthcoming.

Lisa Hannigan, formerly a singer with Damien Rice but now gone solo with the release of Sea Sew on February 3, will be hitting the road this Winter and be at the Mod Club on March 1, tickets $15. The Times ran a feature on her last month.

Bloc Party have added a second show at the Kool Haus, this one on March 13, to go along with the previously-announced and presumably almost sold-out March 14 date. Tickets $35.

Also on the 13th and also a Canadian Musicfest show, Handsome Furs are at the Horseshoe. Exclaim reports that their new album Face Control has been pushed back from its originally-announced February 3 release date to March 10. The duo talked to Black Book about the new record back in December.

Clem Snide, presumed dead but apparently not, will release Hungry Bird on February 24 and follow that up with a tour that stops in at the El Mocambo on March 21. Tickets for that are $10.50.

Great Lake Swimmers will follow up the March 31 release of Lost Channels on March 31 with a show at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on April 25, tickets $20.

Facebook…Okay, not exactly tonight, but very soon. Scottish quartet Franz Ferdinand won’t be releasing their third album Tonight: Franz Ferdinand until January 27, but they’re looking to drum up interest beforehand and remind people of a time when the disco hi-hat beat was fresh and novel. To that end, they’re booking a string of club dates in venues the size of which they haven’t played in some years (I think they went from the 350-capacity Horseshoe in February 2004 to the 2000-capacity Kool Haus four months later and then the 3000-plus Docks by October).

Anyways, this time they’ll be at Lee’s Palace on December 4 for an intimate dance party with approximately 500 of their lucky fans. Tickets are $25 and go on sale next Thursday, November 13, at 10AM. There’s also been a December 9 show in Vancouver at the Commodore Ballroom, so it’s reasonable to think that there’ll be an announcement with proper tour dates across North America in the not-too-distant future. But for now, the Canadian dates are all you get.

I haven’t paid too much attention to the band since their ubiquitous debut, but I just spun it again last night and enjoyed it more than I expected. How was You Could Have It So Much Better? Would it make a casual fan a believer or is it more of the same? I’m curious. Not that it’d affect my inability to attend the show either way – prior engagements with a certain Mr. Young and Mr. Wilco that night.

Rolling Stone and Exclaim talk to frontman Alex Kapranos about the new album while Chart covers the same ground with guitarist Nick McCarthy.

MySpace: Franz Ferdinand

Maximo Park’s Paul Smith talks to Spinner about making their third album in Los Angeles while living in fear of wildfires and being swallowed up by the earth. The band have some videos of their stay in the city of angels at their YouTube channel.

Emmy The Great discusses the single “We Almost Had A Baby” with I Like Music. The single is out on Monday and First Love, the album from whence it comes, is out in January.

Video: Emmy The Great – “We Almost Had A Baby”

Robyn Hitchcock discusses the next Venus 3 album with Paste and his past solo works with The Chicago Sun-Times. The aforementioned Venus 3 record, Goodnight Oslo, will be released on February 17.

Pitchfork reports that Swedish pop-smith Loney Dear – now comma-free – will release a new album entitled Dear John on January 27. They’re also streaming a new track from the record.

Stream: Loney Dear – “Airport Surroundings”

Drowned In Sound has run the second part in their interview with The Dears’ Murray Lightburn, the first part of which ran in mid-October.

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone have a date at 6 Nassau (the cryptically-named new venue in Kensington Market located at 6 Nassau St) on November 15. The Post has an interview with Mr Casiontone, Owen Ashworth, whose Town Topic EP was re-released at the end of September

PitchforkTV is currently streaming the Dirty Old Town live doc featuring Ted Leo & The Pharmacists. I bought the DVD of this like three years ago… still haven’t watched it. Like most music DVDs I buy.