Frank YangOkkervil River are probably pretty comfortable at the Phoenix now, this past Friday marking the band’s third straight show at the Toronto venue. But each visit was in a slightly different context – Spring 2008 as support for The New Pornographers, that same October marking their first swing at headlining the 1000-capacity room – and this show would be the gauge as to whether they had outgrown that scale venue and would be moving onto bigger stages. And indeed, the did sell it out but not without the help of a pretty impressive undercard.

Leading off was Baltimore trio Future Islands, who’d been getting attention at a pretty steady rate since the release of their second album In Evening Air last Spring. I can’t comment on the “post-wave” scene of which they’re apparently a part of, but what I saw was three regular joe-looking dudes taking the stage in a synth/bass/vocals configuration and while the former two went about their business in an understated manner, vocalist Sam Herring turned into a fascinating model of a frontman. Stalking and/or prowling the stage like a jungle gorilla, hes was all chest-slapping, arm-flailing and face-grabbing antics and yet carried himself with an odd sort of stateliness. The musical side was just as odd/interesting, coupling a distinctly glammy take on early ’80s post-punk vibe with vocals that were at times gutteral and others almost theatrically dramatic. I can’t say how much I really liked it but it was definitely interesting, and these days interesting goes a long way.

I’ll go see Okkervil River each and every time they come to town, whatever the room, but I won’t lie – having Titus Andronicus on the bill made this show extra exciting, being one of the bands that could easily steal a show out from anyone. Their show at Sneaky Dee’s in April 2010 still goes down in my books as one of the most intense and chaotic live music experiences in recent memory, and while it was slightly more controlled when I saw them later that summer at Pitchfork, it was clear that of all the club-level bands getting their moment on a big festival stage that weekend, Titus Andronicus were one of the few ready to deserve it.

This would be the band’s fourth show in Toronto in just over a year, each one was a sell out and rowdy as hell, but this was their first in a room larger than The Horseshoe and I’m sure Patrick Stickles was happy to finally be on stage high enough that he wouldn’t have to worry about fans falling or getting flung onto his pedalboard. And I was happy that there’d probably be less of a concentration of their own fans and I might get to enjoy their set without worrying quite as much about getting kicked in the head. And indeed, their set had less of the bedlam of past performances but it’s important to note that as their show went on and converts to the unrelenting lessons in history, rock and rage as documented on The Monitor were made, the chaos steadily increased – thankfully mostly on the other side of the room from me. This allowed me to note that the sonic mix had shifted somewhat from when I saw them last, working a little more piano into the mix and coming across with less punk fury and more rock’n’roll fun. Goodness knows guitarist/violinist Amy Klein was having fun up there – whether pogoing around the stage or going foot-on-monitor for some riffing, she was a ridiculous amount of fun to watch, and it’s not hard to imagine that before too long it will be her and her bandmates headlining rooms this size.

But for this night, the stage still belonged to Okkervil River. I noted in my review of their latest effort I Am Very Far that the band had shed some of the refinement that marked The Stage Names/The Stand Ins in favour of a more sonically adventurous approach and indeed, that aesthetic shift carried over to the live show. I’d commented in my writeup of their last Phoenix show that the band were simply too good now to recapture the anarchic spirit that marked some of thier earlier shows and while that’s still technically true, they took a pretty good shot at it.

Whereas the last few shows had been about how in control of their formidable musical powers Okkervil River now were, this time out there was again the sense of overreaching just enough to feel unpredictable. Sure there was the fact that Will Sheff was knocking over mic stands while roaming around the stage, but he’s always done that; what was new were some noisier indulgences like a mic dedicated to heavy echo effects for him to randomly sing into, the introduction of synths for extra aural chaos, extra-ripping guitar solos from Lauren Gurgiolo, to say nothing of the synchronized hand clap/finger snap dance moves with her and Sheff in “Piratess”. Rather than simply play a show, there was a sense that they wanted to put on a show.

Whichever it was, the net result was a terrific show drawing from all their records from Black Sheep Boy forward in the expected proportions and with power substituted for some of the precision. The enthused – and tone-deaf, judging from the singalongs – audience may have helped contribute to the atmosphere, but proved to be a bit of a problem when Sheff went solo and acoustic for “A Stone”, proving you can’t rowdy up a crowd and then ask them to hush up when you need it. Old school fans got their fix with the encore as they went all the way back to Don’t Fall In Love With Everyone You See for “Westfall” before closing with the raucous, everyone-pleasing “Unless It Kicks”. Without a breakthrough hit or some other trajectory-altering event, it’s unlikely that Okkervil River’s next return to Toronto will see them graduating to the next tier of venue – that’d be the twice as large Kool Haus – but as long as they continue to play the Phoenix stage, they will continue to own it.

Will Sheff shares some thoughts on lyrics with Magnet in his capacity as producer for Bird Of Youth, who were playing guest editor of their website last week. The Wall Street Journal also has a talk with him about his current digs of Brooklyn, New York.

Photos: Okkervil River, Titus Andronicus, Future Islands @ The Phoenix – June 10, 2011
MP3: Okkervil River – “Wake And Be Fine”
MP3: Okkervil River – “Mermaid”
MP3: Okkervil River – “Lost Coastlines”
MP3: Okkervil River – “Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe”
MP3: Okkervil River – “The President’s Dead”
MP3: Okkervil River – “No Key, No Plan”
MP3: Okkervil River – “Black”
MP3: Okkervil River – “It Ends With A Fall”
MP3: Okkervil River – “Kansas City”
MP3: Okkervil River – “Listening To Otis Redding At Home During Christmas”
MP3: Okkervil River – “Red”
MP3: Okkervil River – “Westfall”
MP3: Titus Andronicus – “A More Perfect Union”
MP3: Titus Andronicus – “Four Score And Seven” (Part One)
MP3: Titus Andronicus – “Four Score And Seven” (Part Two)
MP3: Titus Andronicus – “Titus Andronicus”
MP3: Future Islands – “Tin Man”
MP3: Future Islands – “Walking Through That Door”
Video: Okkervil River – “Wake And Be Fine”
Video: Okkervil River – “Lost Coastlines”
Video: Okkervil River – “Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe”
Video: Okkervil River – “Girl In Port”
Video: Okkervil River – “For Real”
Video: Titus Andronicus – “No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future”
Video: Titus Andronicus – “A More Perfect Union”
Video: Titus Andronicus – “Titus Andronicus”
Video: Future Islands – “Tin Man”

After a couple years apart, Two Gallants are back together and will be at The Drake Underground on September 9, tickets $15 in advance.

MP3: Two Gallants – “Las Cruces Jail”

Active Child – aka Los Angeleno Pat Grossi – will release his debut album You Are All I See on August 23 and follow it up with touring which includes a September 14 date at The Garrison. Tickets for the show are $12 in advance.

MP3: Active Child – “Body Heat (So Far Away)”

The South Carolina Times talks to Gary Louris of The Jayhawks; their new record Mockingbird Time arrives September 20.

Pitchfork, The New Zealand Herald and The Australian have interviews with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, whose new album Bon Iver, Bon Iver – making it technically not self-titled, just redundant – is out June 20. They play The Sound Academy on August 9.

John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats chats with The Georgia Straight and Seattle Times.

Clash interviews Jim James of My Morning Jacket, in town at The Kool Haus on July 11.

Paste checks in with Darby Cicci of The Antlers, who are in town at The Mod Club tomorrow night.

Over at The Quietus, Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips names off his top 13 albums of all time.

Colin Meloy clarifies rumours on the end of The Decemberists to The New York Times.

Tina TyrellSummer’s only just arrived – climatologically speaking, at least, druidically speaking the solstice isn’t for another fortnight – but already the music industry has us looking towards Fall, at least as far as new albums are concerned. Which is fine, at least insofar as that’s typically the season for the year’s biggest releases and while “big” is a relative measure, details on a few records I’m looking forward to hearing have come to light over the last few days.

For starters, Annie Clark – aka St. Vincent – has wrapped up her third record, the follow-up to 2009’s Actor, and given it the title of Strange Mercy. At this point details are lean – Exclaim has recapped all the salient points from the press release – but it’s coming out on September 13. Mark it down.

Backing up a couple weeks to August 30 and giving some context to their two shows at The Phoenix on August 2 and 4 is the new album from Beirut. The Rip Tide will be the band’s first full-length release in four years, following The Flying Club Cup, and while you peruse the album details and track list at The Sentimentalist, you can hear the first single from the record at Soundcloud.

Jumping ahead again, we’ve got the first proper post-reunion album from The Jayhawks, which will be called Mockingbird Time and be out on September 20. Rolling Stone has the tracklisting and a video interview with the band wherein they talk about making the first new recordings with the present lineup in over 15 years.

Not quite of the same stature as the other announcements but still of interest to me, at least, is the fact that Bloomington, Indiana’s Early Day Miners have decided that acronyms are the way to go and have renamed themselves EDM. They will release their first album under that name come July 5 with Night People.

MP3: EDM – “StereoVideo”

And because new is not always better, it’s exciting to hear that the entire Archers Of Loaf catalog will be getting reissued courtesy of Merge, complete with bonus goodies, starting with Icky Mettle on August 2. Similar treatments for Vee Vee, All the Nation’s Airports and White Trash Heroes will follow in 2012, hopefully with more tour dates – none of the announced reunion shows so far come anywhere near the 416. But we do get a Crooked Fingers gig at the Horseshoe on July 3 and NPR is streaming their set at Sasquatch last weekend.

MP3: Archers Of Loaf – “What Did You Expect”

And some show news – Cults are clearly looking to maximize their NXNE experience, adding an in-store at Kops on Queen St for June 17 at 8PM to go with their midnight show at Lee’s Palace that same evening and their 6PM time slot at Yonge-Dundas Square the next day. Their self-titled debut is streaming in whole at Spinner and there’s interviews with the band at Exclaim, Spinner, Stereoboard and The Australian and oh, there’s a new video.

MP3: Cults – “Go Outside”
Video: Cults – “Abducted”
Stream: Cults / Cults

Ours are apparently still around and have a show at Wrongbar on June 20, tickets $10 in advance.

Video: Ours – “Realize”

New Jersey’s Real Estate have a date at The Garrison for July 19, tickets $18.50. A follow-up to 2009’s self-titled debut should be due soon. Ish. Though it’s just been announced that said record will be out on Domino in October. So there’s that.

MP3: Real Estate – “Beach Comber”
MP3: Real Estate – “Green River”

DNTEL – aka Jimmy Tamborello, aka the half of The Postal Service who is not married to Zooey Deschanel – will be taking his show on the road in support of last year’s After Parties 1 and After Parties 2 EPs with a show at The Horseshoe on August 14, tickets $11.50.

MP3: DNTEL – “The Distance”
MP3: DNTEL – “Dumb Luck”

Kyuss Lives! – whom I’ve learned are not actually Kyuss, what with the absence of Josh Homme, but are close enough for Kyuss fans to get excited about – have a date at the Sound Academy on September 16, tickets $29.50 for general admission, $50.00 for balcony.

Video: Kyuss – “Demon Cleaner”

I thought I’d be waiting ages for Baltimore’s Lower Dens to come to town, and lo and behold – three shows in just over a month. In addition to their two NXNE appearances (The Garrison on June 15 at 10PM and Lee’s Palace on June 16 at 1AM), they’ll be here on July 23 at The Rivoli as support for Cass McCombs.

MP3: Lower Dens – “Hospice Gates”

Battles return to town on October 4 for a show at The Phoenix, tickets $18.50 in advance. Their new album Gloss Drop is streaming now at Spinner, who have also posted an Interface session with the band as well as an interview. Clash also has a feature piece.

Video: Battles – “Ice Cream”
Stream: Battles / Gloss Drop

Spin gets Okkervil River frontman Will Sheff and Steve Earle to play a couple of their own songs on camera. New York Magazine, City Pages and amNY also have features on Okkervil River, who are at The Phoenix on Friday night. Earle plays The Molson Amphitheatre on August 20.

Uprooted Music Revue and The Georgia Straight have features on Alela Diane, in town at The Rivoli on June 11.

Beatroute talks to Kristen Reynolds of Dum Dum Girls, who are at Lee’s Palace on June 17 for NXNE.

Esquire, The Vancouver Sun and The Wall Street Journal talk to My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James. My Morning Jacket are at The Kool Haus on July 11.

The Line Of Best Fit, Los Angeles Times, Contact Music and The Quietus get to know Erika Anderson, aka EMA. She’s at The Garrison on July 23.

Exclaim, The Daily Sundial, San Jose Mercury News and Filter have feature interviews with Death Cab For Cutie. They play The Molson Amphitheatre on July 29.

The New York Times profiles Bon Iver – the man, the band, the myth. The album of the same name is out on June 21 and they play The Sound Academy on August 8.

The Rosebuds, who open up that show and the whole tour for Bon Iver, are featured in pieces at Spin and Interview. Their new record Loud Planes Fly Low came out this week.

Matablog is offering the first listen to a song from Stephen Malkmus’ new album Mirror Traffic, set for an August 23 release.

MP3: Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks – “Senator”

Daytrotter serves up a session with J Mascis.

PopMatters talks to Sharon Van Etten.

Hitfix interviews Travis Morrison of The Dismemberment Plan.

John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats chats with Drop D and his band stopped in at The AV Club Undercover to turn in a Jawbreaker cover.

NPR has posted a World Cafe session with Warpaint.

The Star-Tribune talks to Sam Beam of Iron & Wine.

The Quietus gets some time with The Kills’ Jamie Hince.

Lauren DukoffOnly the most optimistic of souls think we’ll ever hear new material from Rilo Kiley; aside from rumours of a b-sides/rarities compilation, it would seem that 2007’s Under The Blacklight – on which they already sounded disinterested – will be the final word for the Los Angeles pop outfit. And while frontwoman Jenny Lewis has already established a pretty successful solo (and duo) career, former partner Blake Sennett is returning to active duty by turning his former side-project The Elected – last heard from on 2006’s aptly-titled Sun Sun Sun – into a full-time gig with Bury Me In My Rings, out next Tuesday.

The album is currently streaming in whole over at My Old Kentucky Blog and it sounds as though Sennett is still content to mine the rich tradition of classic and breezy Californian pop – with a foray into funk that’s as questionable as any attempts at funk that can be described as a “foray” – for his purposes. His tunes were never the highlights of Rilo Kiley’s records – Lewis’ ascent to stardom over their run was impossible to eclipse – but he was always a solid tunesmith with a good sense of melody. Perhaps now, without having to be constantly measured against his bandmate, he can establish his own merits properly.

He’s also taking his show on the road and that will bring him to Toronto’s Drake Underground on June 30. American Songwriter and Consequence Of Sound have conversations with Sennett about the new record and the latter gets a pretty colourful and definitive-sounding quote about the current (and final?) state of Rilo Kiley.

MP3: The Elected – “Babyface”
Stream: The Elected / Bury Me In My Rings

PopMatters and The News Chief have interviews with Jason Isbell, in town for a show at The Horseshoe on May 22.

And Maria Taylor, who opens up that show and the tour for Isbell, has announced an August 16 release date for her new record Overlook. Details and a streamable new song over at Under The Radar.

Rolling Stone talks to The Head & The Heart.

The Fruit Bats have a new record in the can entitled Tripper, and will be sharing it with the world come August 2. Exclaim has details and a widget from which to download a new, non-album, J Mascis-guesting MP3.

eMusic interviews Will Sheff of Okkervil River. They’re at The Phoenix on June 10.

NPR has a couple notable World Cafesessions up for your enjoyment – one with The Mountain Goats and another featuring The Kills.

Blurt profiles The Antlers, in town at The Mod Club on June 14.

Spin and NOW talk to Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard and Chris Walla, respectively. Death Cab are at The Phoenix on May 18 and the Molson Amphitheatre on July 29 and their new record Codes & Keys is out May 31.

Daytrotter has posted a session with John Vanderslice.

Metromix and CityBeat welcome The National back to Cincinnati.

Captain’s Dead has unearthed an old 1988-vintage Uncle Tupelo demo tape and posted the contents online.

Interview does its thing with James Blake, playing a sold-out show at Lee’s Palace on Saturday night.

NPR is streaming a Lykke Li session from KCRW while Express Night Out has an interview. She’s at The Phoenix on May 22.

The Alternate Side has a video session and interview with The Raveonettes, The Columbian just an interview.

MSN talks to The Naked & Famous, back for a show at Lee’s Palace on August 9.

Frank YangWhether fronting Death Cab For Cutie, moonlighting in The Postal Service or just spending some time as Ben Gibbard, Ben Gibbard has shown a willingness to bust out a cover or two and an sense of equal opportunity when it comes to doing so. Recordings abound of him playing hits and deep cuts, Top 40 pop tunes and underground obscurities; the man seems to operate on a pretty strict, “if I like it, I’ll play it” policy and that’s probably how it should be.

Circa his 2007 solo tours, between Death Cab’s 2005 major label debut Plans and their last record, 2008’s Narrow Stairs, one of the songs that made his “like” list was “Palmcorder Yajna”, from The Mountain Goats’ 2004 release We Shall All Be Healed, and so it was that the tune became a set list staple – and got John Darnielle’s approval – and surely introduced any number of Death Cab devotees to the wonder of The Mountain Goats. Though I would bet that many thought that he was playing a new Death Cab song, for such is the downside of the Ben Gibbard cover version; everything he sings sounds like Ben Gibbard.

Death Cab’s new record Codes & Keys is out in a few weeks – May 31 – and they have two local shows on their touring itinerary. An intimate and completely sold-out show next Thursday, May 18, at The Phoenix, and a big-ass date at the Molson Amphitheatre on July 29. The Mountain Goats were just here last month so I wouldn’t expect a return engagement anytime soon, though they will be at Osheaga in Montreal come late July, if you need a fix and don’t want to cross any borders.

MP3: Ben Gibbard – “Palmcorder Yajna” (live)
MP3: The Mountain Goats – “Palmcorder Yajna”
Video: The Mountain Goats – “Palmcorder Yajna” (live)

Leslie SissonIt was a sad day in late 2005 when Austin’s American Analog Set called it a day, or it would have been if they had bothered to officially do so. They announced prior to touring their last (as in most recent, not final) record Set Free that it would be their final tour before a hiatus, and that while they didn’t have any plans to do anything else together, be it recording or playing or whatever, they weren’t ruling out the possibility. And they invoked the “not dead, only sleeping” clause at SXSW 2009 when they reconvened to mark the 10th anniversary of The Golden Band by playing the whole album at a day show I had the privilege of helping present.

But that special occasion aside, the band’s signature blend of shimmering vibraphone, humming Farfisa and dreamy guitarwork has been silent with frontman Andrew Kenny trading his Jazzmaster in for an acoustic guitar and lending his gentle vocals to a new band, The Wooden Birds. AmAnSet had been extremely consistent in sound and vision throughout their existence, so it’s not surprising that despite the change-up in instrumentation and addition of female vocals from sometime AmAnSet member Leslie Sisson, The Wooden Birds’ 2009 debut Magnolia could easily have passed as a new Analog Set record. It’s more earthy than ethereal, thanks to its simpler presentation, and less drifitly droning but if you were an AmAnSet fan, it’s hard to imagine not finding much to like about The Wooden Birds. Unless, of course, you were all about the vibes, in which case you may want to keep walking.

The Wooden Birds have set a June 7 release date for their second album Two Matchsticks and having passed us by on all tour dates in support of the debut, it’s exciting to see that the first North American dates finally include a Toronto date at The Drake Underground on July 10 – the first time back as bandleader for Kenny since November 2005 (he may well have been here as a member of Kevin Drew’s “Presents…” band). And while you might not guess it from listening to the records, The American Analog Set were always a fantastic live show thanks to the mesmerizing and hypnotic nature of their sound. I expect similar head trips from The Wooden Birds. Tickets for the show are just $12.00 in advance.

Samples from Two Matchsticks aren’t available yet, but there’s no reason to believe the new material strays too far from what surfaced on Magnolia. Update: One of the new songs is streaming at MTV Hive.

MP3: The Wooden Birds – “False Alarm”
Video: The Wooden Birds – “Hometown Fantasy”

There’s been no word of a follow-up to last year’s Goodbye Killer nor would I expect one, given the pace at which Joe Pernice works, but he’s taking the time out of whatever it he’s doing to play a show at The Dakota on May 6, tickets $20.

MP3: Pernice Brothers – “Jacqueline Susann”

That same evening, Peter Bjorn & John will warm up for their show at Lee’s Palace with an in-store at Sonic Boom at 7PM. Admission is free with the donation of canned goods.

Video: Peter Bjorn & John – “Second Chance”

With a new greatest hits compilation in Golden Greats, No. 1 just released, Sweden’s The Soundtrack Of Our Lives have made a date at Lee’s Palace for June 4. Tickets for the guaranteed rock spectacle are $18.50 in advance.

MP3: The Soundtrack Of Our Lives – “Karmageddon”

His show at Lee’s last month apparently a roaring (or dead silent) success, Mark Kozelek is coming back for a pair of even more intimate shows – he’s at The Drake Underground on July 8 and 9, tickets for each show $24.50 in advance.

Video: Red House Painters – “24”

The National Post Q&As Joey Santiago of Pixies; they close out their two-night stand at Massey Hall tonight.

The Antlers are giving away an MP3 from Burst Apart, out May 10. They’re at The Mod Club on June 14.

MP3: The Antlers – “Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out”

Daytrotter has posted a session from The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, in town at The Opera House on August 2.

I Am A Mermaid questions Stephin and Claudia of The Magnetic Fields about mermaids.

NYC Taper is sharing a recording of Sharon Van Etten’s homecoming show in Brooklyn this past weekend and Express Night Out has an interview.

Pitchfork has a feature interview with TV On The Radio.

The Baltimore Sun and Philly Burbs talk to Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak, who have a new video from their new record Civilian. NYC Taper is also sharing a recording of their show in New York last week.

Video: Wye Oak – “Fish”

NYC Taper is sharing a recording of a recent Mountain Goats show while The Sound Of Young America has an interview with John Darnielle.

Hear Ya, Madison Eagle, Jam Bands, Blurt and Paste talk to Jason Isbell, whose new record Here We Rest is out now and who leads The 400 Unit into The Horseshoe on May 22.

Want to hear some of the new My Morning Jacket record, Circuital? You can download the title track below, hear it played live on VH1 Storytellers via Pitchfork and stream another new tune over at Antiquiet. The record is out May 31 and they play The Kool Haus on July 11.

MP3: My Morning Jacket – “Circuital”

Pitchfork 3D – which is exactly what you think it is – has launched with a video session featuring Deerhunter.

BBC talks to Michael Stipe of R.E.M..

NPR is streaming the whole of Steve Earle’s new album I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive a week ahead of its April 26 release. Earle plays The Molson Amphitheatre opening up for Blue Rodeo on August 20.

Stream: Steve Earle / I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive

Spinner caught up with Rhett Miller of Old 97’s before their show in Toronto a couple weeks ago.

Spin, Clash and The Line Of Best Fit have features on Explosions In The Sky, whose new album Take Care, Take Care, Take Care comes out next week and is streaming in whole right now at Exclaim.

Stream: Explosions In The Sky / Take Care, Take Care, Take Care

The Line Of Best Fit reports that Memory Tapes will release a new album in Player Piano on July 4.

Crawdaddy interviews Liz Phair.

aux.tv has a video session with Warpaint while Relix offers an interview.

Spinner talks to Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes. Their new record Helplessness Blues arrives May 3 and they’re at Massey Hall on July 14.