MySpaceSay what you will about Taunton, Massachusetts’ Wheat, but you can’t deny that they refuse to stay down. Once upon a time one of my favourite bands (circa Medeiros and Hope & Adams), they became a cautionary tale against the major label machine with 2003’s ill-fated Per Second Per Second Per Second Every Second (which I chronicled back in 2004 and 2005) and essentially disbanded in the aftermath.

They unexpectedly returned in 2007 with Everyday I Said A Prayer For Kathy And Made A One Inch Square, again independent and down a member, but even then they were beset with label problems and delays. And the record itself was free of the excessive gloss of Per Second, it was decent at best – unfocused and only evidencing glimpses of the rough magic that defined their earliest releases. It pretty much came and went and I figured that that was the end of the band, again. They’d returned in order to finish on their own terms.

Or not. There were rumblings of a new record late last year and though there’s no release date as of yet, it has a title – White Ink, Black Ink – and a sample of it has surfaced on the band’s profile for SxSW, where I fully intend to see them play. Obviously not enough to form an opinion on, though it sounds like they’re sticking to the sonic cut-and-paste aesthetic of Kathy. I find I remain curious and still a little excited about the prospect of new music from Wheat – this news prompted me to revisit those magical first two records and they still give me tingles.

And those first two records – Medeiros and Wheat – are being reissued together along with a bonus disc of rarities and whatnots from the era entitled 30 Minute Theatrik (thanks to Mark for the tip). It’s set for a March 10 release but you can pre-order it now and get all three records digitally immediately. If you’ve never heard either one, well, you should. And here’s your chance.

More Wheat info and downloads available at thiswheat.com.

MP3: Wheat – “El Sincero”
MP3: Wheat – “Move = Move”
Mp3: Wheat – “What Everyone Keeps Telling Me”
MP3: Wheat – “World United Already”
Video: Wheat – “Don’t I Hold You”
Video: Wheat – “I Met A Girl”
MySpace: Wheat

Drowned In Sound declared this week just ending “slowcore week” and followed that up with extensive features on personal favourites like Low, Galaxie 500, The New Year and Early Day Miners. They’ll have a new album out sometime this year entitled The Treatment.

The Democrat & Chronicle interviews Blitzen Trapper, playing a sold-out show at the Horseshoe tomorrow night.

CBC Radio 3 talks to Casey Mecija of Ohbijou, who will release their second album Beacons on April 14 and follow that up with a CD release show at the Opera House on April 18.

The Thermals are hitting the road in support of their new album Now We Can See, out April 7. Pitchfork has the full North American itinerary, which includes a May 3 date at the Horseshoe.

MP3: The Thermals – “Now We Can See”

Mogwai have announced a North American tour for this Spring which will make up their cancelled The Hawk Is Howling dates from last Fall when drummer Martin Bulloch’s pacemaker threatened to escape from his chest. The Toronto date will be May 4 at the Phoenix – those who won passes to the cancelled show, I’ll be in touch about the make-up date.

MP3: Mogwai – “The Sun Smells Too Loud”

With their new album What Is?! coming out domestically on April 12, King Khan & The Shrines will be at the Phoenix on May 12 to promote.

Vetiver have a date at the Horseshoe on May 15 in support of last year’s Tight Knit.

MP3: Vetiver – “Everyday”

Leonard Cohen has announced a North American tour – closest local date is May 19 at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton. Second closest is May 24 at John Labbat Centre in London. Tickets on sale March 2.

Neil Young’s Fork In The Road has a confirmed release date of March 31. Archives? Don’t ask.

Annie Clark, aka St Vincent, will release her sophomore album in Actor on May 5. Full details on the release at Pitchfork.

Also out May 5 is Outer South, the second solo record from Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band.

Viva Voce will release Rose City on May 26.

The Broken West have turned out a new video from last year’s Now Or Heaven.

Video: The Broken West – “Perfect Games”

CHUD interviews Scott Pligrim creator Bryan Lee-O’Malley.

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.

Catherine LosingFor The Records pointed out a curious concert listing for UK indie-dance act Friendly Fires at the website for Beggars Canada – it puts the St Alban’s trio in town on March 31, but only narrows the venue down to two possibilities – Mod Club or Lee’s Palace. So all I can accurately say is that they’ll be in Toronto at an approximately 500-capacity venue on that date. And wherever they are, odds of a dance party breaking out are pretty much one to one. Personally, I think that Mod would be a much more suitable venue – the ass-shaking, slick and scratchy new wave/disco goodness of their self-titled debut demands spectacle, which Mod’s famously over-the-top lighting system is equipped to provide. Lee’s doesn’t even have a disco ball.

MP3: Friendly Fires – “Jump In The Pool”
MP3: Friendly Fires – “Paris” (Aeroplane Remix)
Video: Friendly Fires – “Skeleton Boy”
Video: Friendly Fires – “Paris”
Video: Friendly Fires – “Jump In The Pool”
Video: Friendly Fires – “On Board”
MySpace: Friendly Fires

Toronto vibraphone mavens The Hylozoists will release their new album L’ile de Sept Villes on February 3 and showcase it at the Mod Club on February 21. Update: They’re also playing a Soundscapes instore on February 10 at 7PM. Here’s some older stuff.

MP3: The Hylozoists – “Smiley Smiley”
MP3: The Hylozoists – “Strait Is the Gate”

Marissa Nadler, whom I believe ended up cancelling her last scheduled date here last Summer, will try and pay us a visit again on April 21 at the El Mocambo. She has a new album due out early this year. Here’s some older stuff.

MP3: Marissa Nadler – “Diamond Heart”
MP3: Marissa Nadler – “Thinking Of You”

Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains are doing an in-store at Sonic Boom on January 29 at 7PM.

MP3: Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains – “American Names”
MP3: Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains – “By Cover Of Night (Fire Fight)”

Putting lie to the notion that bands can only play larger venues as they get bigger, Born Ruffians and Akron/Family have a date at Sneaky Dee’s on March 24. Tickets are $13 and on sale now.

Earlier yesterday Uncut speculated that the release of that Neil Young video for “Fork In The Road” implied not only the impending release of a new album with the same name, which may well be true, but to also mean that the Archives set has been pushed back indefinitely to accommodate. They’ve since been corrected with the same information that one of the official Archive-ists left on a post at Thrasher’s Wheat – “NYA Vol 1 has been completed in BD, DVD, CD and Digital Download editions. The only thing remaining is announcement of a street date”. Which is good news, though it does put lie to the February 24 release date that most had been clinging to. In short, there’s lots of material coming from Neil this year. Only no one knows what and when.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer interviews Kathleen Edwards, who is at Trinity-St Paul’s on February 13.

MP3: Kathleen Edwards – “Asking For Flowers”

The Quietus talks politics with Death Cab’s Nick Harmer.

Beirut have released a video from their forthcoming EP March Of The Zapotec, out February 17.

Video: Beirut – “La Llorona”

The Village Voice profiles Antony & The Johnsons. The Crying Light is out Tuesday and they play the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on February 17.

Muzzle Of Bees asks five questions of Los Campesinos!

The Decemberists are giving away a track from their forthcoming album The Hazards Of Love, out March 24. All you have to do is sign up to their mailing list. Colin Meloy was also on NPR’s World Cafe yesterday for an interview.

Clash talks to Kathy Foster of The Thermals, who will release Now We Can See on April 7.

The previously-mentioned untitled Bob Mould album also set for an April 7 release now has a title – Life And Times.

Filter talks to Ra Ra Riot, Daytrotter videotapes them playing in a park.

Pitchfork has an MP3 from M Ward’s Hold Time, out February 17. This track features the She to his Him, Zoey Deschanel, on vocals.

MP3: M Ward – “Never Had Nobody Like You”

Drowned In Sound solicits a mixtape from The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, the buzz around whom is growing at a pace that’s considerably larger than Neutral, the room they’re slated to play here in town on February 12. If you’re curious, an advance ticket may be a good idea. Their self-titled full-length is out February 3.

NPR has an acoustic session with The Hold Steady while Wireless Bollinger has an interview.

Former Grandaddy frontman Jason Lytle will return to active musical duty on May 19 with the release of his first solo record, Yours Truly, the Commuter.

Frank YangAs those of you who have nothing better to do than monitor my Facebook status or Twitter feed know, I was far from home this past weekend. Texas far, to be precise. Thanks to Philips and their UnDiscovered Austin program, I was whisked away to the Tejas capitol along with a handful of other blog folk for an evening at no cost to me, save the physical toll of being flying halfway across the continent and back in a 30-hour period. And that there is my corporate whore disclaimer. Moving on.

The purpose of the trip was essentially to attend a “secret” show at the Mohawk featuring Matt & Kim. This was fortuitous as I’d actually wanted to see them when they came through Toronto last month, but I opted to go see Neil Halstead that night instead. I had absolutely no regrets about that on my part, but was glad for the opportunity to make that up. Getting out of town for a weekend while picking up around 30 degrees centigrade in ambient temperature was just gravy.

Opening the show up were winners of a contest sponsored by the aforementioned UnDiscovered Austin initiative, ostensibly dedicated to discovering the best unsigned acts in Austin. For a city that’s turned out as many sublime acts as ATX has, however, I have to think they could have done better than The Canvas Waiting. Their earnest and rote pop-rock was almost offensively inoffensive and sounded not unlike the Goo Goo Dolls, which you can interpret as either praise or damnation depending on your affection for the Goo Goo Dolls. In the battle for my attention, they quickly lost to an open bar.

Faring decidedly better were middle act The Lemurs and their taut, Anglo-friendly new wave stylings. Though I’d be hard-pressed to pick out a standout song, they put on a good show – equally danceable and rocking – and definitely elevated the energy level for the night and got those in attendance engaged. Or at least me. Their latest release is the Million Little Bits EP.

I can’t say as that I’m that familiar with Matt & Kim’s recorded output, but the one time I saw them last year made me a definite fan of their live show. I can’t think of any other band that seem to be having quite as much pure, unadulterated fun when they play, and this show did nothing to change that impression of the band. At one point, singer/keyboardist Matt Johnson said that they hated being called “cute”, so I’ll go with “adorable”, and there’s naught they can do about it. He’s like a hyperactive kid overdosed on happy pills on stage and drummer Kim Schifino sports a perma-grin as if the last drum hit was the greatest thing in the world, at least until the next one. Their joy is so real and pure, it’s contagious. And the songs are pretty damn catchy too.

Their set was breakneck fast and fun, drawing on their debut self-title and presumably the forthcoming follow-up Grand, due out January 20 of next year. I can’t say for sure as I don’t know the old material well enough to distinguish it from the new, and let’s be fair – a two-piece like them is only capable of so much sonic variety. But what they lack in range, they more than make up for in pop savvy and glee.

And that was the trip. Probably not the most efficient way to see Matt & Kim – they’re setting out on tour this Spring with Cut Copy including a Toronto date at Circa on March 20 – but certainly a fun, if exhausting, one. And I got to have breakfast tacos. I love me some breakfast tacos.

You can download an MP3 of the first single from Grand at Green Label Sound.

Photos: Matt & Kim, The Lemurs, The Canvas Waiting @ The Mohawk, Austin TX – December 13, 2008
MP3: Matt & Kim – “No More Long Years”
MP3: Matt & Kim – “Yea Yeah”
MP3: The Lemurs – “Yours, Mine, Ours”
MP3: The Lemurs – “They Do What They Want”
Video: Matt & Kim – “Daylight”
Video: Matt & Kim – “Yea Yeah”
Video: Matt & Kim – “5K”
MySpace: Matt & Kim
MySpace: The Lemurs
MySpace: The Canvas Waiting

The Globe & Mail has just run an interview conducted with Oasis’ Noel Gallagher pre-assault, while Detroit News got a word with him more recently, prior to their current North American tour. And apparently the dude who used Noel as a tackling dummy at V Fest skipped out on a court appearance yesterday and there’s now an arrest warrant out for him. What a sparkling example of humanity. Oasis fans, I believe you’re now allowed to go all vigilante on his ass.

Stereogum kicks off their new Decomposed video sessions series with School Of Seven Bells.

ANTI-blog has a video interview with Neko Case about the making of her new album Middle Cyclone, out March 3.

Also with the video preview – there may not be a release date for Neil Young’s Archives, Volume 1 but there is now a video trailer… and if you had any doubts before as to whether or not this set would be worth the wait and/or money, put those to rest. This thing looks unbelievable.

Trailer: Neil Young / Archives, Volume 1

Further to yesterday’s announcement of the Blitzen Trapper show at the Horseshoe on February 21, it’s been announced that support for the tour will be folksinger Alela Diane, who was recommended to me a number of times from independent sources in the last couple weeks. I’ll call that a sign. She’s releasing a new album in To Be Still on February 17th, from which you can check an MP3 and there’s also a session she recorded earlier this year for Songs By Toad and going way back to last year, a Daytrotter session.

MP3: Alela Diane – “White As Diamonds”

The lineup for this year’s What’s In The Box? music series taking place at the Drake Hotel the final week of December (five nights, five acts, five bucks) has been announced… and I don’t know who any of these acts are. The first two years had at least one or two performers whom I was excited to see – Mahogany in 2006 and A Place To Bury Strangers last year – but the five acts with top billing this time around leave me scratching my head. Skratch Bastid? Willy Joy? Kap Bambino? Slim Twig? Nosaj Thing? Okay, Slim Twig I know, but anyone care to testify on behalf of any of the others?

Frank YangIt’s impossible to fully articulate how huge Neil Young is for me. Besides having been one of my very favourite artists from the very start of my “musical awakening” some 17 years ago, it’s also not an exaggeration to say that if I were to draw a single common thread through all the bands I love or the styles of music they play, it would be him. Some may owe larger debts than others, but whether they dwell in the folkier end of the spectrum or the noisy, one way or another, they’re in the shadow of Neil.

So when the man comes home for a show – yes, he began his career up in Winnipeg but the man’s birth certificate says “Toronto” – it’s going to be a special occasion. And when he does so with one of your very favourite bands in the world as support, as he did this time with Wilco, then the phrase “must-see” just seems woefully inadequate. I had initially gotten tickets just for the first night, but thanks to the folks at Warner Music Canada, was able to take in the second night’s show as well – the first time I’d ever been to more than one show in a multi-night engagement by anyone.

And that’s lucky because otherwise, I’d have missed Everest entirely as photography logistics dictated that I was out of earshot after two songs on night one. I’d spent a little time with the Los Angeles outfit’s debut Ghost Notes and found it a pleasant enough and well-executed bit of country-rock, if somewhat innocuous. They came across more impressively in a live setting, but their more subtle charms were unsurprisingly lost in the largely-empty arena. While touring with and opening for an act like Neil Young (also their label boss…) is no small honour, I suspect they’d make a far stronger impression in a club setting.

Even more than the headliner, I was thankful I was able to see Wilco on both nights, and not just because it kept my streak of seeing every local-area show the band has played since 2001 intact. On the first night, the band’s performance was boilerplate Wilco – they played splendidly, especially considering that Jeff Tweedy was trying to recover from the flu, but it was a slightly-condensed version of the same show I’ve seen them play almost every time they’ve been here in the last few years. It could only be considered disappointing in that very relative sense, though it did offer up one very memorable highlight in “Via Chicago”, whose quiet-loud dynamics seemed to fill every corner of the cavernous venue in a way that I’d never heard or felt the song delivered before.

Night two, however, was an entirely different experience on pretty much every level. For starters, they were a man down with drummer Glenn Kotche having had to fly to New York City to play a previously booked engagement with the Kronos Quartet. Tweedy, obviously feeling much better than the night before, made it into a running joke and blamed his absence on a horrific Zamboni accident, getting cosmetic surgery and having fallen down a well, amongst other excuses. They opened with a drummer-less set, leading off with “Hesitating Beauty”, before inviting a trio of guest drummers – “contest winners”, as Tweedy called them – to back them up. I was told that two of the three were Neil Young and Everest’s drummers, but reports from closer up called that into question and I still don’t know who they actually were – we’ll just call them Donnie, Steve and Ryan. Jeff did. He also said that each drummer was allowed to pick the songs they wanted to play, resulting in a set list radically different from what Wilco usually stuck to. I thought I was giddy hearing them break into “Passenger Side”, not heard in these parts in some seven years, but with a trio of songs from Being There – “Red Eyed and Blue”, “I Got You” and “Outtasite (Outta Mind)” – I pretty much lost my shit. They closed out with a cover of “I Shall Be Released”, the second Dylan cover of the night (Everest did one as well), and while I would never, ever suggest that they’re a better band without Glenn Kotche, this night proved that when pushed a little out of their comfort zone, they’re absolutely amazing.

I remember walking out of the first of stunning three-night stint at Massey Hall last year and thinking that I was so glad I wasn’t going to either of the next two nights, because the compulsion to compare the experiences would mean that what had seemed like an absolutely perfect show might possibly turn out to be less than that. As it turns out, relentless A-B-ing of the shows isn’t as unavoidable as I’d thought – it’s also possible to just sit back and enjoy it all over again. The Thursday show did run two songs longer, however, with a new song that has been dubbed “Lighting A Candle” and “Old Man”, featuring roadie Larry Cragg on banjo, so quantitatively speaking, night one was superior. And I’d have to say that vocally, Neil seemed to be a bit stronger on Thursday – marginally, but noticeably. Otherwise, the two performances were near identical, set-wise, as they’d been for every show on the tour. Neil’s band – creatively dubbed “The Electric Band” – was largely the same as the one that accompanied him to Massey last year, though Crazy Horse drummer Ralph Molina was replaced by Chad Cromwell. And unlike those shows, where Neil took advantage of the intimate setting to open things off with a solo acoustic set, these shows started off with all guns firing.

“Love And Only Love” set the table and “Hey Hey, My My” demolished it… and that was just the first two songs. The first third of the show was devoted to classics of the loud, solo-friendly variety including “Cinnamon Girl”, “Cortez The Killer” and possibly my favourite Neil song ever, “Powderfinger”, before shifting to acoustic mode with cuts like “Heart Of Gold”, “Needle And The Damage Done” and “Unknown Legend”. Things plugged back in for a trio of new songs which weren’t bad, per se, but did dampen the momentum somewhat but they finished strong with a searing “Cowgirl In The Sand” and finally “Rockin’ In The Free World”, which is probably cliche for anyone else on the planet to perform but coming from Neil, it’s somehow still potent. The one-song encore was a cover of The Beatles’ “A Day In The Life”, the finale for which Neil managed to break almost every string on Old Black on both nights. Epic. I think I’m done worrying if Neil will ever be able to top his last performance. It’s pretty much a given that it will be amazing, and that’s more than enough.

More reviews of Thursday’s show can be found at The Globe & Mail, The Toronto Star, The Toronto Sun, The National Post, eye and Exclaim!. Rolling Stone has an interview with Neil where they discuss the state of Toast, the seven-year old Crazy Horse record which is finally being released sometime in the new year, as well as Archives which – surprise, surprise – will no longer be coming out on January 27. Amazon.com is now saying February 24, and are backing that up with not only a price ($323.99) but pictures! It’s real! Last week, Thrasher’s Wheat ran a Q&A with some of the team assembling the archives and Uncut also has some details on what Archives will comprise, whenever it finally does arrive. And if you picked up the just-released live record Sugar Mountain: Live At Canterbury House 1968, you may not know there’s a link to a bonus track hidden on it, only accessible if you view the CD as data on a computer. The track is called “#1 Hit Song”. It’s hilarious. If you want it, head over to Thrasher’s Wheat for directions.

Filter, Metro, dose.ca, Flint Journal and Chart all have feature pieces on Everest.

Note that for the photos from the shows, Thursday’s were taken from the photo pit, Friday’s from way up in the 200-level. Obviously the first set are much better – thanks again to Warners for helping me get access to shoot one of my all-time heroes. And oh, I’d mention that I got to go backstage after the Friday night show and got to meet Neil (albeit very briefly), but that’s probably just bragging.

Photos: Neil Young, Wilco, Everest @ The Air Canada Centre – December 4, 2008
Photos: Neil Young, Wilco, Everest @ The Air Canada Centre – December 5, 2008
MySpace: Neil Young
MySpace: Wilco
MySpace: Everest