GlassnoteSo ever since my indie-pop clubbing days – and we’re talking almost a decade ago now – there was a song that I thought was “Too Young” by Phoenix, and it informed my entire opinion of the band – namely that they were far too slick and catchy and melodic to be trusted. And that’s largely been the impression I’ve had through most of this century until just recently, so when I actually found the video for “Too Young” and realized that I had never heard this song before, well my reality changed just a bit on two counts. One, that to the best of my knowledge, I’d never actually heard Phoenix before their latest record and two, that I have no idea whatsoever what that song that’s been embedded in my head all these years actually is.

And that’s really funny because even though I went into Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix with fresh ears, though not realizing it, my impression of the just-released record from the French quartet was that it was far too slick and catchy and melodic to be trusted. I am, however, much less suspicious these days and so rather than back away cautiously from the perfectly-assembled pop package, I have happily embraced it. Wolfgang is the sort of record that makes you glad you’ve invested in a decent sound system – the production is absolutely meticulous without crossing the line into antiseptic. There’s not a stray sound or squeak, each palm-muted guitar strum and cymbal crash has the perfect decay so as to not disturb the frequencies of the one that follows and Thomas Mars’ vocals are pitch-perfect without any tell-tale autotune artifacts. It sounds perfect.

And usually this sort of sonic perfection would, as mentioned, get my spider-sense tingling – don’t ask me for what, I’m not that rational – but when coupled with tunes as intensely melodic as these, it’s like chocolate and peanut butter, assuming you like chocolate and don’t have a fatal nut allergy. Similarly, the lyrics may be nonsensical but the syllables fit the melodies so flawlessly that criticizing them for not having any deeper meaning seems declasse. After all, this band has just delivered a pure pop record the likes of which may not be topped this calendar year – solid, infectious and utterly danceable from start to finish (well, maybe not the “Love Like A Sunset” interludes, but everyone needs a breather). With that much going for it, who needs profundity?

Phoenix are set to launch a North American tour in a couple weeks and have a date set for June 15 in Toronto at the Phoenix, which is I believe their first local performance since the inaugural Virgin Festival in 2006. Courtesy of REMG and Universal Music Canada, I’ve got a pretty sweet prize pack to give away consisting of a pair of passes to said show and a copy of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix on vinyl. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want Phoenix and Phoenix at the Phoenix” in the subject line and your full name and mailing address in the body, and have that in to me by midnight, June 9.

There’s interviews with band members at Paper and CCTV. Also, via Gorilla Vs Bear, there’s a band minisite wherein you can listen to streams of demo versions of Wolfgang tracks – the password is “concorde”, mais certainment.

Video: Phoenix – “1901”
Video: Phoenix – “Lisztomania”
Stream: Phoenix / Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
MySpace: Phoenix

Prefix reports that in conjunction with their now-underway North American tour, A Camp are releasing a digital EP of covers entitled Covers EP on June 9 via iTunes and June 16 via other digital outlets. If you’d ever wanted to hear Nina Persson sing Pink Floyd, your ship has come in. They’re at the Mod Club on June 1 and there’s interviews with the band at Windy City and amNY.

The lead track from The Radio Dept’s forthcoming “David” EP – out June 24 – is now available to download. It’s mellower than last year’s sample from Clinging To A Scheme, “Freddie & The Trojan Horse”, but offers a good counterpoint and perhaps stakes out the two ends of what album number might have to offer if and when it finally comes out, hopefully late Summer or early Fall.

MP3: The Radio Dept – “David”

Los Campesinos! drop hints about album number three, currently in progress, to Pitchfork.

Manic Street Preachers provide a track-by-track video annotation of their new record Journal For Plague Lovers to NMETV.

NOW and The Detroit Free Press speak to Doves, in town at the Kool Haus on June 1.

The first video from The Rumble Strips’ forthcoming Welcome To The Walk Alone, out July 13, is now out. Clash reports that the song was inspired by a mugging attempt on singer Charlie Waller.

Video: The Rumble Strips – “Not The Only Person”

Another “live session in an unusual setting” series has cropped up online, and Off The Beaten Tracks makes itself notable with an episode featuring Frightened Rabbit, complete with new song. Frightened Rabbit will be at the Horseshoe on July 22.

Tripwire asks five questions of Ladytron and take a set of the least flattering photos ever while they’re at it.

NME gets Jarvis Cocker to provide a song-by-song guide to Further Complications, while Billboard solicits a Q&A. A handful of North American tour dates have trickled out – don’t get excited, Toronto, we’re not amongst them – but what is interesting is that Jarv is slated to play the Virgin Festival in Vancouver on July 26, which confirms that a) the dates of Vancouver’s V edition are July 25 and 26 and b) their lineup is NOT being geared to the suck. Hopefully this augurs well for Toronto and if not, maybe a trip out west is in order. Also uncovered are the dates and venue of V Calgary, which will be August 8 and 9 at their Olympic Park. It’s all slowly coming together, people.

Ear Farm interviews The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart.

eye and Chart talk to Dog Day, who are playing a CD release show for Concentration at Lee’s Palace tonight.

Under The Radar talks to Andrew Kenny of The Wooden Birds.

MySpaceThough of no relevance whatsoever to the contents of the actual post, some discussion emerged in the comments one of last week’s posts wherein the ongoing V Fest-spotting games turned to the possibility of Blur possibly making an appearance at the Ontario edition, unofficially set to happen August 29 and 30 in Burl’s Creek near Orillia. As much as I’d like that to happen – they’re on a very short list of acts who could get me to venture up that way and endure all the logistical joys that go along with it – I didn’t think it likely on account of the fact that though they’d surely be greeted like gods here, their profile in the US isn’t terrific, probably not known as anything but the “woo-hoo!” band outside of your major markets. The point being that I questioned whether it’d make financial sense to extend their reunion tour to this side of the Atlantic, and on top of that none of the press I’d read about their Summer appearances in the UK had hinted they’d intended to bring things across the pond.

Well it appears I spoke a bit too soon. Billboard reports that the band are indeed considering options in America with a Live Nation UK representative is quoted as saying, “There are no plans beyond T in the Park [July 12] and Oxegen [July 10]. They are talking about some American shows still in the same time frame. There are possibilities of some European ones as well.” It’s hardly an official declaration of intent, and sounds a bit non-committal to imagine they’ll be participating in a festival that should be set to announce their lineup (hopefully) soon – never mind the question of whether the people who’d see Blur are the same audience the now top-40 radio skewed fest is targeting. But it certainly offers some hope that those of us who missed ever seeing the band live their first time around might get a second chance, at some point.

Also Blur-related, to coincide with their reunion shows the band is releasing a double-disc best of to supplant the circa-2000 Best Of Blur which, I’m not ashamed to admit, gets more rotation with me than any of their individual studio albums. Midlife: A Beginners Guide To Blur will be released on June 15 and while its 25 tracks is obviously more than Best‘s 18, but I cannot endorse any collection that excludes “End Of A Century”. Sorry. Details on the comp at NME.

Returned prodigal guitarist Graham Coxon appears to have been designated band spokesperson leading up to the reunion shows, which is curious since he’s always been the most recalcitrant of the four. But I suppose it gives him a chance to also talk up his new solo record, The Spinning Top. He tells News Of The World that Alex James’ memoirs encouraged him to return to the fold, talks to This Is Nottingham about what it’s like to be back together, talks mainly solo works with The Sun and Drowned In Sound and covers both bases with BBC.

And because it’s one of Graham’s and also one of the best Blur tunes to say nothing of one of my favourite videos ever – “Coffee & TV”.

Video: Blur – “Coffee & TV”

The Pop Cop scores an interview with Stuart Murdoch about God Help The Girl, which I’ve elected to not write in italics because it’s in reference to the project and not the possible accompanying film/musical/whatever. But if I reference God Help The Girl the album, out June 23, such as in the context of Drowned In Sound doing an extensive review and analysis of the record, it will be noted in italics what with it being a proper title. I know you care about these little OCD things as much as I do.

With the UK release of The Bachelor just over a week away, Patrick Wolf is streaming the whole thing on his MySpace and I’m not afraid to say this will likely be one of my favourite albums of the year. He gives a three-part interview to Drowned in Sound, a video interview to NYLON – his North American label – and talks about his London to This Is London. The Bachelor gets a North American release on August 11 but if you’re able to resist getting an import version before then, you’re stronger than I. He plays The Mod Club on June 15.

Stream: Patrick Wolf / The Bachelor

NPR has a World Cafe session with Bat For Lashes.

The first video from Florence & The Machine’s debut Lungs is now available. The record is out July 6.

Video: Florence & The Machine – “Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)”

The Chester Chronicle talks to Little Boots’ Victoria Hesketh about Hands, out June 8.

Polly Scattergood discusses her debut self-titled album, out this week in North America, with The Yorkshire Evening Post.

Jimi Goodwin of Doves reviews his musical upbringing with Pitchfork. They play the Kool Haus on June 1.

The Times and Irish Times talk to Jarvis Cocker.

NME reports that Radiohead have begun work on their next album.

PitchforkTV is broadcasting a Tindersticks show recorded in New York – if you missed their last tour, this is worth your time. They’re magnificent.

Aversion interviews The Horrors.

Check out the new video from Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3.

Video: Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 – “I’m Falling”

The Scotsman and The Line Of Best Fit profile My Latest Novel. Their second album Death & Entrances was released this week.

Pitchfork talks to The Twilight Sad’s James Graham about their forthcoming album Forget The Night Ahead, out September 22.

Former Boo Radleys songwriter Martin Carr asks ten questions of Mogwai. Carr will release his first solo album under his own name – previous efforts came out as Brave Captain – on July 13. NME has details on Ye Gods (And Little Fishes).

Under The Radar interviews Los Campesinos.

Frank YangEven without the “NME Presents” endorsement attached to the tour, I suspect the White Lies/Friendly Fires/Soft Pack show at Lee’s Palace on Tuesday would have been a sell-out. All three acts came with their own built-in buzz, so in fact the venerable British publication may have been counting themselves lucky to be associated with the tour rather than the other way around.

Sole non-Brits on the bill, The Soft Pack – formerly known as The Muslims – were tasked with kicking things off. The San Diego quartet got to play to a not-especially full house, evidence that all the North American buzz that they’ve been generating since last Fall didn’t necessarily translate to the Anglophile demographic. And though I’d been hearing about them for months, this was my first time actually hearing them and I can’t say I was tremendously impressed. They certainly had a good sound – the ingredients of their surf-garage pop aesthetic sufficiently familiar but their particular recipe still reasonably fresh – but none of the songs particularly jumped out as being remarkable and their performance was pretty staid.

But most things would probably come across staid when held up against middle act, St Alban’s Friendly Fires. I wasn’t especially won over by their self-titled debut but I now realize that sitting and listening to it in the comfort of home is really the wrong environment for it. The proper setting is in a club, in front of the stage, as their dual drummer/percussionists make a glorious, rhythmic racket, the guitarist freaks and flails and singer/keyboardist Ed Macfarlane dances and shakes his hips non-stop despite the fact that, let’s be honest, he really doesn’t have any. It’s a good thing. I’ve heard them described as indie, pop, dance and various combinations thereof, and sure they all apply to some degree, but watching them go, I’d just put them down as disco and go. No, there were no glitter balls and the fashions were pretty tame, but the spirit of the unbridled, unending party? That was real. And while it did end after 40 minutes, it did so with an audience invasion and a speaker climb and mass percussive instrument abuse. The sort of thing you’d hate for any band to have to follow.

But this far into the tour, watching their countrymen bring the house down every night before they took the stage, White Lies must have been used to it. Now as I intimated in my review of their UK chart-topping debut To Lose My Life, White Lies require a certain amount of buy-in on the part of the listener. Kind of like how horror films require you to suspend disbelief, to accept that monsters exist and that their potential victims really are that stupid, White Lies need you to believe their angst is real, and that there’s genuine weight behind their vague pronouncements of profundity. Manage that, and for the most part I have, and they’re reasonably enjoyable. Behind the stark lighting, all-black outfits and Harry McVeigh’s dramatic baritone – decidedly scratchy-sounding by this point in the tour – are some truly catchy pop songs that will have you singing along, even if you feel kind of guilty about it. Get into it enough and you won’t even question the rather contrived posing and self-seriousness (it’s amusing seeing McVeigh’s baby face trying to look intense) – at least it’s entirely in character. Like Friendly Fires (and Cut Off Your Hands the night before, White Lies seemed to put stock in the notion of leaving the audience wanting more, keeping things at a very compact 40 minutes and eschewing the encore. Of course with only ten songs in their repertoire they couldn’t have gone on much longer even if they’d wanted, but closing out the night when they did and getting folks out on the streets before midnight with a solid night of tunes under their belt? Nothing wrong with that.

Chart also has a review of the show while Exclaim and The Herald Bulletin have interviews and Shockhound a video interview with White Lies.

Photos: White Lies, Friendly Fires, The Soft Pack @ Lee’s Palace – March 31, 2009
MP3: White Lies – “Death”
MP3: White Lies – “Death” (Crystal Castles remix)
MP3: Friendly Fires – “Jump In The Pool”
MP3: Friendly Fires – “Paris” (Aeroplane Remix)
MP3: The Soft Pack – “Nightlife”
Video: White Lies – “Farewell To The Fairground”
Video: White Lies – “Death”
Video: White Lies – “Unfinished Business”
Video: Friendly Fires – “Skeleton Boy”
Video: Friendly Fires – “Paris”
Video: Friendly Fires – “Jump In The Pool”
Video: Friendly Fires – “On Board”
Video: The Soft Pack – “Extinction”
MySpace: White Lies
MySpace: Friendly Fires

The Toronto Sun and Metro interview Glasvegas, in town for an early and sold-out show at the Mod Club tonight.

Clash talks Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite. They’re at the Phoenix on May 4.

Doves talk to The Quietus and The Irish Independent about their forthcoming album Kingdom Of Rust, out on Tuesday and streaming at the band’s MySpace right now. They play the Kool Haus on June 1.

Stream: Doves / Kingdom Of Rust

Clash and Perth Now interview Elbow. They accompany Coldplay to the Rogers Centre on July 30.

Denver Westword, The Detroit Free Press and Singing Lamb have conversations with Los Campesinos.

Matablog has details on the closest thing we’ll see to a new Belle & Sebastian record any time soon – the soundtrack to Stuart Murdoch’s God Help The Girl, which was originally supposed to be a film but there’s no mention of that aspect in the release. Take that as you will. The album is out June 23 but you can get the first MP3 for free by singing up to their mailing list on the project’s website.

Idolator reports that Charlotte Hatherley’s Cinnabar City now has a US label in Minty Fresh and have got a track from said record to hold you over until the vague Summer release date gets more specific.

Bat For Lashes, whom Hatherley is now a part of, gives an interview to The Irish Independent. They’re at the Mod Club on April 25.

In the mid-80s, XTC created ’60s psychedelic pop alter-ego in The Dukes Of Stratosphear wherein they got their Barrett on and released an EP and album that were henceforth spoken of in hushed, reverential tones by those lucky enough to have heard them. Which will now soon be everyone, potentially. Both releases, the 25 O’Clock EP, which has been padded out with goodies to album length, and Psionic Psunspot, which was already album length but is now super-size, will be out in deluxe reissue packaging come April 21.

MP3: The Dukes Of Stratosphear – “My Love Explode”
MP3: The Dukes Of Stratosphear – “Braniac’s Daughter”

Jon BermanAn eyebrow may have been raised last year when preternaturally perky Welsh pop conglomerate Los Campesinos! announced that they’d be following up their debut full-length Hold On Now, Youngster…, released in February, with another full-length in October. And the other eyebrow went up when it was revealed this second record would be darker in theme and tone than its predecessor.

But anyone expecting that We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed would be the band’s Closer was sadly mistaken – it’s almost as peppy and insulin coma-inducing as Youngster, but that “almost” is significant in that the glee, which made the debut almost unlistenable for me, is dialed down just enough that I can make it through this new record without wanting to go out and get in a fight. That’s progress.

The band are on tour across North America through mid-April when they play Coachella. That jaunt includes a stop here in Toronto at the Opera House on Wednesday, April 1, and while I don’t have passes to give away, I have something that’s arguably better – courtesy of Arts & Crafts, I’ve got three prize packs consisting of a copy of both full-length albums – We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed and Hold On Now, Youngster… – on 12″ vinyl and a limited-edition poster featuring artwork by Jeffrey Brown. If you want, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I am beautiful, I am doomed” in the subject line and your full name and mailing address in the body. Contest is open to residents of Canada and will close at midnight, April 1 – right about when Los Camp decamp from the Opera House stage.

The band has also been blogging work on album number three. Including pictures of poo.

MP3: Los Campesinos! – “We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed”
MP3: Los Campesinos! – “How I Taught Myself To Scream”
MP3: Los Campesinos! – “Miserabilia”
MP3: Los Campesinos! – “Don’t Tell Me To Do The Maths”
MP3: Los Campesinos! – “We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives”
Video: Los Campesinos! – “My Year In Lists”
Video: Los Campesinos! – “Death To Los Campesinos!”
Video: Los Campesinos! – “The International Tweexcore Underground”
Video: Los Campesinos! – “We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives”
Video: Los Campesinos! – “You! Me! Dancing!”
MySpace: Los Campesinos!

Jim HerringtonSteve Earle has announced details on his next album, and now that he’s done so the real question is why he hadn’t done this sooner? The new record is called Townes, and is a tribute album to his friend, mentor and the man he once declared the “best songwriter in the whole world,” Townes Van Zandt. Van Zandt passed in 1997 and was paid tribute by Earle in the song, “Fort Worth Blues”, but this record should be a much larger love letter to the late singer-songwriter.

Earle has been in political firebrand mode for his past few records so it’s good to see him return to his more introspective works, though I don’t know if this counts as the “chick songs” record he’s promised for a while. I can’t decide if I’d prefer it he play this one straight and reverential and avoid the sonic tomfoolery that permeated Washington Square Serenade or try to push the envelope a little, knowing he’s got such solid songs to work with. From the details at Blurt, it sounds like he’s doing both, enlisting a bluegrass band for some numbers and getting Serenade producer John King to produce and Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello to play on another. A couple of new songs – including the aforementioned track with Morello – are streaming at Earle’s MySpace, and I must say – his reading of “Pancho & Lefty” does it for me. Yes it does.

Update: There’s a short interview with Steve at the SteveEarle.com forums about the record.

Townes will be available as a single or double-CD set and will be out May 12.

Video: Steve Earle – “Fort Worth Blues” (live)
MySpace: Steve Earle

Rolling Stone reports that Bob Dylan is almost done work on a new album, set for a late April release.

There’s a new video from Neil Young’s Fork In The Road, out April 7. Are you stoked? ARE YOU STOKED? No? Can’t imagine why not.

Video: Neil Young – “Johnny Magic”

JamBase talks to Mark Olson & Gary Louris.

MP3: Mark Olson & Gary Louris – “Turn Your Pretty Name Around”

JAM and The AV Club talk to Neko Case. She’s got two sold-out shows at Trinity-St Paul’s on April 17 and 18.

JamBase profiles Jason Isbell.

MPR has a session with The Submarines. They’ve released a couple of digital remix EPs creatively titled Honeysuckle Weeks Remixes EP 1 and Honeysuckle Weeks Remixes EP 2, the second of which is available this week.

MP3: The Submarines – “You, Me & The Bourgeoisie” (Tonetiger remix)
MP3: The Submarines – “Submarine Symphonika” (Ra Ra Riot remix)

This Is Fake DIY interviews Ra Ra Riot, who will play the Sound Academy in support of Death Cab on April 7.

One For The Good Days has an interview with Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear. Their new record Veckatimest is out May 26 and they play The Phoenix on June 5.

CMJ talks to Matt Johnson of Matt & Kim. They’re at Circa on March 20 in support of Cut Copy.

Bishop Allen have a new video from Grr…, now out. You Ain’t No Picasso has an interview with his site’s namesake.

Video: Bishop Allen – “Dimmer”

Time Out Chicago and Paste talk Warhol with Dean Wareham of Dean & Britta.

Woodpigeon’s Mark Hamilton gives Anika In London a guide to Calgary.

They may not feature Mark Ronson production or Owen Pallet arrangements, but this Daytrotter session offers the first taste I’ve seen/heard of the new material from The Rumble Strips.

NME reports that Maximo Park are offering a free download of a track from album number three, Quicken The Heart. It’s not an especially remarkable track, but it’s just a taste, not a single. The record is out in May 11 and the offer is only good for a fortnight.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are streaming their new album It’s Blitz! on their MySpace in advance of its March 31 release, and goodness this is a sleek and shiny record. Those who loved the band for their unhinged, spiky guitar freak-outs may be disappointed but for those who always thought that they should indulge their potent inner disco-pop band, your ship has come in. And by you, I mean me. They’ve also got a new video. And Karen O gives an interview to Pitchfork about the internets.

Stream: The Yeah Yeah Yeahs / It’s Blitz!
Video: The Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Zero”

Good news – Sky Larkin are coming to town! Bad news – it’s in support of Los Campesinos!. This isn’t an indictment of the Welsh kiddies – I’m not a big fan but they’ve got an energetic, entertaining show. It’s a complaint because that April 1 show at the Opera House would be my third gig in a row when I expect to still be recovering from SxSW, and I don’t realistically think I can swing that, and I’m planning on seeing them in Austin anyways. But to anyone who is going – get there early and see them! – and to anyone on the fence about attending – do so! BrooklynVegan has full Los Camp dates including which ones feature Sky Larkin support.

The National have made their contribution to the Dark Was The Night AIDS benefit album available to download, and it’s a gem. A sparkly, shiny gem. You can also watch them perform it at PitchforkTV. They – along with Feist, Sharon Jones and other contributors to the album will be playing a special show in New York City at Radio City Music Hall on May 3 that will surely be something to remember. We will have to settle for seeing them at the Kool Haus on May 21.

MP3: The National – “So Far Around The Bend”
Video: The National – “So Far Around The Bend” (live)