Dean ChalkeyMost bands with longevity – if they’re lucky – have a career arc that starts with a good to great debut and trends upwards towards a critical and hopefully commercial peak – simultaneously, if fortune wills it – before entering a decline that’s hopefully gradual enough so as to not really be noticed at the time. Cap it off with a late-career bounce and/or best-of comp and maybe quit while you’re still ahead, overall. Until the reunion, anyways.

Manic Street Preachers threw that out the window before even their first album, declaring their intention to sell 20 million copies of their debut and then break up at the height of their powers. And while this didn’t happen, their narrative did end up considerably twistier than most – release successful debut, endure mandatory difficult second record, rebound with critically acclaimed effort, lose chief songwriter to mysterious circumstances, regroup for their biggest commercial and critical success, release follow-ups of diminishing quality before respectively levelling out and then surprise everyone by deliberately trying to recreate the spirit of album three using lyrics left behind by the departed songwriter and have the results, rather than exploitative, be phenomenal.

This is where the Manics found themselves with last year’s Journal For Plague Lovers, a deliberate revisit to The Holy Bible built around the words of their lost member Richey Edwards. And just as that record deliberately paralleled their third record, its follow-up Postcards From A Young Man looks to album four, the massive in every sense Everything Must Go as a reference. The dry, Albini production values of Journal are traded in for grandiose anthems laden with strings and choirs that offer no apologies for reaching for the stars. It’s a reminder that as good as the Manics were at being emphatically, viciously angry, they were arguably better at being starry-eyed romantics, and it’s that side of them that is on display with this effort. But unlike Everything, which for its widescreen staging was still downcast in tone, what with dealing with Edwards’ disappearance, Postcards casts far fewer shadows. Granted, this also gives it less emotional heft, but it’s far from empty calories. There’s still plenty of dense lyricism, huge choruses, fiery guitar solos, a guest spot/croak from Ian McCulloch and an affirmation that while the Manics took a mid-career breather, they’re once again at the top of their game.

Even though the release of Journal and accompanying tour were supposed to mark the Manics’ return to the North American marketplace, Postcards has yet to receive a domestic release. Until that happens, any hope that the further Stateside shows the band promised last year will materialize remain just wishful thinking. Or maybe they’ll wait for the next record – for all the hubbub surrounding the “last attempt at mass communication” rhetoric that accompanied Postcards and whether it meant it would be the Manics’ final record, according to this interview with Nicky Wire at NME, the band are already writing their next record, have given it a working title of 70 Songs Of Hatred And Failure and are calling it an exercise in “pure indulgence”. So it’s a revisit to Know Your Enemy, then? Bring it on.

Note that the below MP3 does not appear on Postcards, but is a period-correct and was given away in conjunction with the promotion of Postcards.

MP3: Manic Street Preachers – “I’m Leaving You For Solitude”
Video: Manic Street Preachers – “Some Kind Of Nothingness”
Video: Manic Street Preachers – “(It’s Not War) It’s Just The End Of Love”

Digging A Hole, The Bangkok Post and CNNgo check in with Tim Burgess of The Charlatans.

The long wait for a new record from PJ Harvey is almost over – NME reports that Polly Jean’s next record Let England Shake will be out on February 14.

Trip-hop survivors Morcheeba, with original vocalist Sky Edwards back in the fold, will be touring North America next year in support of their latest Blood Like Lemonade and will be at The Phoenix on February 20. Tickets $32.50 in advance.

Video: Morcheeba – “Blood Like Lemonade”

VBS has a video interview with Emmy The Great and producer Gareth Jones, who is working with her on album number two. It’s targeted for a February 2011 release.

Laura Marling has released a video for her Neil Young cover, taken from her recent 7″ release.

Video: Laura Marling – “The Needle & The Damage Done”

NME reports that Noah & The Whale have given their third album a name – Last Night On Earth – and that it’ll be out in March of next year. Presumably before they roll into town for a show at the Mod Club on March 24, tickets $17.50 in advance.

Richard Thompson lists off his favourite covers of his own songs for Spinner and otherwise chats with The Los Angeles Times and The Kansas City Star

Mogwai are offering a free download of “Pano Rano”, the first single from their forthcoming Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will. The album is out February 15 and they play The Phoenix on April 26.

Exclaim reports on the super-fancy and then some 20th anniversary edition of Primal Scream’s Screamadelica, due out on March 7 of next year. For those who want to be free to do what they want to do, who want to be free to ride, and want to be free to ride their machines without being hassled by The Man, and who want to get loaded, and who want to have a good time. And that’s what they’re gonna do. They’re gonna have a good time. They’re gonna have a party!

The Arts Desk and The Quietus converse with Jim Reid of The Jesus And Mary Chain.

State welcomes ex-pat Gemma Hayes back to Ireland; she’s due for a new album sometime in 2011.

Jon BergmanNot much stops Los Campesinos!. The Welsh troupe shook off the departure of two founding members – keyboardist Aleksandra last Summer and drummer Ollie almost exactly a year later – and have ploughed ahead, continuing to release new music at a ridiculous pace, including their third album Romance Is Boring earlier this year and just this week, following up with a new EP entitled All’s Well That Ends. And just last week, frontman Gareth took a header whilst stage-diving and despite suffering “a sprained wrist, ripped ear, mild concussion and a ‘lump on the head'”, finished the song and the gig.

One thing that they couldn’t plough through, however, was a volcano – namely Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull. Said geological entity’s disquiet this past Spring forced the band to scotch a number of North American dates as they sat in a Heathrow departure lounge instead of pogoing around east coast stages, but they’re aiming to make some of those up and more. They just announced a Fall tour which kicks off in one of the cities who lost a show – Toronto – but instead of the spacious Phoenix, where they were slated to play in April, they’ll instead be at the decidedly clubbier Wrongbar on October 8. Considering the new joint is less than half the size of the old joint, expect the $20 tickets to be gone fast when they go on sale at 10AM on Friday.

MP3: Los Campesinos! – “There Are Listed Buildings”
MP3: Los Campesinos! – “The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future”

Paste reports that Noah & The Whale have targeted a March 2011 release for their third album.

Mojo talks to Johnny Marr about his soundtrack work.

Spinner talks to Glen Hansard of The Swell Season about their upcoming projects, which include a Frames reunion and tour for him and a solo record from Marketa Irglova.

Spin talks to Klara S&omul;derberg of First Aid Kit, who will be in town at the El Mocambo on October 15.

Boston post-punk legends Mission Of Burma have booked a date at The Garrison on October 22. So far it looks like a one-off and not part of a tour, but considering they didn’t come up here for last year’s The Sound The Speed The Light and are making it up to us. Either way, if my records are correct, they haven’t been here since Fall of 2006 and while the reunion has been ongoing for some time, do not take them for granted and if you haven’t seen them, do so. End PSA.

MP3: Mission Of Burma – “1, 2, 3 Partyy”
MP3: Mission Of Burma – “Max Ernst”

Exclaim reports that Matt & Kim have given their next record a name and release date. Expect to hear a lot of Sidewalks when they play the Phoenix on October 29, as it will be in stores the following Tuesday, November 2.

Daytrotter has a session with The Depreciation Guild; they’re at the El Mocambo on October 4.

NPR is streaming a studio session with Stars. They will be at Massey Hall on October 23.

MySpaceWhen I was planning my trip to London back in the Spring of 2008, I was determined to NOT make it a concert-going vacation, Richard Hawley at the Royal Albert aside. But I did pencil in what looked like an interesting little gig at a Notting Hill matinee show presented by Drowned In Sound that I figured would be an opportunity to see some little British acts who’d probably never make it over to this side of the Atlantic. As it turns out, Sky Larkin made it to America sooner than expected, canceling their appearance at the show in order to record their debut The Golden Spike and they’ve returned to tour a times and the second-billed band on the bill, Let’s Wrestle, has just signed with Merge Records to release their debut album In the Court of the Wrestling Let’s over here come March 23.

I grabbed a digital copy of the record when it was released in the UK last Summer as well as its preceding EP In Loving Memory Of… and to say it’s a bit rough around the edges is an understatement, but it’s also deliberate. Musically and lyrically, the trio seek to cultivate an image of youthful insolence and indolence, favouring off-kilter and somewhat soused vocals with buzzsaw guitars to get their clever and sardonic pop culture-referencing points about matters of cosmic import like girls and wrestling across. The snotty punk delivery can’t hide their wicked pop sensibilities, though, nor their musical chops – they may not make a show of it, but they can play – the instrumental title track of the album is proof positive of that.

I’m glad to see that the band is making a stab at North America and that they’ve got good folks like Merge behind them – hopefully there’ll be some touring and I can feel better about ultimately skipping that Notting Hill show completely.

MP3: Let’s Wrestle – “We Are The Men You’ll Grow To Love Soon”
Video: Let’s Wrestle – “I Won’t Lie To You”
Video: Let’s Wrestle – “We Are The Men You’ll Grow To Love Soon”
Video: Let’s Wrestle – “I’m In Fighting Mode”

Paste checks in with Kate Nash, whose second album will be out in Spring of this year.

Little Boots’ Hands will finally get a domestic North American release on March 2.

NME interviews Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine.

BBC6 gets some details on the direction La Roux’s second album.

Cribs bassist and singer Ryan Jarman tells Spinner he’s of the opinion it’s too easy to make music these days. He longs for the old days when you had to go to the trouble of recruiting your siblings and a musical legend to get things done. The Cribs are at the Phoenix this Friday night, January 15.

Tom Smith of Editors talks to Spinner about the surplus of material that came out of the In This Light And On This Evening sessions, five of which will be added to the North American edition of the record when it’s released next Tuesday. They play the Phoenix on February 16.

Pitchfork solicits a list of current obsessions from The xx, who are at the Phoenix on April 4 and the Kool Haus on April 20.

NME reports that Noah And The Whale have recovered all the gear that was stolen from them way back in September.

Lightspeed Champion paid tribute to Elvis Presley’s 75th birthday last week with a cover video – check it out. His next album Life is Sweet! Nice To Meet You is out February 16.

Video: Lightspeed Champion – “Devil In Disguise”

Thanks to A Good Day For Airplay for pointing me to this online issue of Nightshift, music magazine from Oxford, England, which features an interview with all four members of Ride on the occasion of their debut, self-titled EP’s 20th anniversary. And yes, the reunion question is asked and no, it’s not happening. But it’s not dismissed either. So… there. Oh, and that link’s a PDF so forewarned.

The Guardian talks to Danny O’Connor, director of Upside Down – a documentary about the Creation Records story. No release date has been given but a vague Spring target has been mentioned.

Trailer: Upside Down

Pitchfork has premiered the first track from The Ruby Suns’ forthcoming album Fight Softly, due out March 10. They play the Drake Underground on March 30.

MP3: Ruby Suns – “Cranberry”

Ms Lara Meyerratken, aka El May, aka Australian ex-pat in America, aka touring keyboardist for Dean & Britta and Luna and vocal foil for Eric Bachmann on Crooked Fingers’ masterful Dignity & Shame, has completed her first solo record – also entitled El May – and will release it next Tuesday. Physical copies are limited to 500 so if you like the tangible media, pre-order one now.

MySpaceI don’t remember if I read somewhere that Charlotte Hatherley has synesthesia (the condition wherein your visual cognition is tied to your aural and, amongst other symptoms, you see colours or shapes when you hear sounds – experienced by the likes of Lightspeed Champion and Ida Maria, amongst others), but even if she doesn’t you could be forgiven if you assumed she did. Her first two solo records, Grey Will Fade and The Deep Blue, obviously referenced colours in their titles and her while her third record New Worlds has no chromatic reference in its name, the music within is fairly obsessed with all the shades of the rainbow.

Almost every song references a colour, either as literal, metaphor or adjective, and that theme acts as a common thread between the ten songs which run a stylistic gamut from spiky rockers (“Colours”) to dreamy ballads (the front half of “Alexander”l) with forays into circus music (the unexpected “Firebird”). Whereas her debut was a pretty straight-ahead, hooktacular bit of power pop, The Deep Blue dialed down much of the instant gratification quotient in favour of songs that favoured a more leisurely and eccentric New Wave-friendly approach. While it was unfailingly melodic, full of tasty guitarwork and with its share of high points, its eclecticism came at the expense of some cohesion. New Worlds hangs together much better, making it a much smoother and enjoyable ride as it twists and turns from hook to hook and successfully balances Grey‘s pop/rock-friendliness with Blue‘s more experimental inclinations. To do either well is difficult enough; to do them both as naturally and effortlessly as Hatherley has proven herself able with record number three is a feat.

New Worlds was supposed to be the first Charlotte Hatherley album to get North American distribution but that’s shaken out to be just digital (eMusic and iTunes in the US, iTune-only in Canada), so those of use still enamored with physical media had to go the import route anyways. Still, rumours persist of some North American (read: US) tour dates in the new year – a Charlotte show is on the list of things I would get on a plane for. Okay, it’s not an especially exclusive list, but still.

MP3: Charlotte Hatherley – “Colours”
MP3: Charlotte Hatherley – “White”
Video: Charlotte Hatherley – “Alexander”
Video: Charlotte Hatherley – “White”
MySpace: Charlotte Hatherley

Spin declares Fanfarlo to be a “hot new band”, and if that’s not enough to convince you to come out and see them at the El Mocambo on December 15, then I don’t know what is.

I asked (rhetorically) what reason Billy Bragg had to be touring Canada this month – well besides serenading the masses, he’s also found the time to address Parliament on the subject of copyright and perform for picketers outside the Canadian Museum of Civilization. He also chatted with The Vancouver Sun.

Same Some has an extensive interview with Patrick Wolf.

Pitchfork talks to the director of the video for Jarvis Cocker’s “Further Complications” about the making of the clip.

Video: Jarvis Cocker – “Further Complications”

The Line Of Best Fit has details on Massive Attack’s next album, entitled Heligoland and due out on February 8.

Spiritualized’s Jason Pierce talks to The Quietus about how working on the 10th anniversary reissue of Ladies & Gentleman We Are Floating In Space influenced the writing of the next Spiritualized record, currently in progress. The reissue is out December 9 in a variety of formats, including this ridiculously cool blister pack edition.

Adam Franklin discusses the feelings around Swervedriver’s first hometown show in over a decade with The Oxford Mail. Oxford being their hometown. If that wasn’t clear.

The Independent profiles Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine.

There’s a trio of Noah & The Whale remixes for “Love Of An Orchestra” available to grab for free – enjoy reinterpretations by Max Tundra, Night Waves and Gold Panda.

Both Drowned In Sound and The Skinny declare that 2010 will be the year of the (Frightened) Rabbit. Their new album The Winter Of Mixed Drinks is out March 1 and Stereogum has radio rips of a couple new songs to download.

JAM talks to Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos.

Camera Obscura’s forthcoming Christmas single is now available to stream over at 4AD. The Jim Reeves cover is out on 7″ and digitally on December 8 and they play the Phoenix this Thursday night – congratulations to Scott and Andrea, who won passes to the show.

Sebastian Mlynarski When I rounded up all the bits of information around Holly Miranda’s solo project back in January, I had no notion that interest in it would eclipse that given to her main band, The Jealous Girlfriends. But her more atmospheric approach is certainly more in line with what people expect/want to hear wafting out of Brooklyn these days and it has apparently tickled more ears than the Girlfriends’ heaver, more guitar-driven rock did.

So while the Girlfriends take a deserved break, Miranda has been busy – a debut limited edition EP in Sleep On Fire was released earlier this Summer and followed up with some high-profile touring supporting The Antlers, and with the release this week of the Forest Green Oh Forest Green 7″ single, she’s back on the road with Friendly Fires and The xx. All of which should generate no small amount of anticipation for her debut full-length, details of which were just announced.

The Magician’s Private Library will be out on February 23 of next year on XL Recordings, and while it was unclear at the start of the year if that was the album title or just the name of her blog, apparently it’s both. And if it lives up to expectations, it’ll be great. Hopefully not so great as to render the Jealous Girlfriends unnecessary and defunct, though – that’d be a shame.

Dummy has an interview with Miranda about her solo work while The Daily Growl solicits a list of seven songs.

MP3: Holly Miranda – “Forest Green Oh Forest Green”
MySpace: Holly Miranda

Laundromatinee has posted up the second part of their studio session with The Antlers, the first part having surfaced back in September. The Dallas Observer also has an interview with Peter Silberman.

Pitchfork and Spinner talk to The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn about the impending digital reissues of his first band Lifter Puller’s entire oeuvre.

Paste talks to Interpol drummer Sam Fogarino, who reveals that they’re aiming to have their fourth album out in the early part of 2010. After Paul Banks is done pretending he’s someone else who, in turn, is a skyscraper. Or something. Banks attempts to clarify in talking to Spinner.

Magnet picks out Sonic Youth’s five most overrated and underrated songs. Carrie Brownstein interviews Thurston Moore for NPR and The Boston Globe puts his iPod on shuffle.

The Bay Bridged and WOXY have downloadable sessions with Thao with The Get Down Stay Down. Thao has also contributed a piece to Bitch about the art of the break-up song.

Pitchfork reports that The Decemberists have commissioned a full-length animated version of their latest album Hazards Of Love. Here Come the Waves: The Hazards of Love Visualized will be available for download from iTunes as of December 1, and will look something like this.

Trailer: Here Come the Waves: The Hazards of Love Visualized

The Globe & Mail, Canada.com and Dose.ca have features on The Rural Alberta Advantage, who have a sold-out show at Lee’s Palace tonight.

Sloan will release a digital-only EP entitled Hit & Run next week, on November 23.

Nouvelle Vague, the French outfit whose gimmick of recasting ’80s punk and New Wave songs as loungey ’60s Bossa Nova numbers has proven surprisingly resiliant – NV3 is their third album – have set a date at the Opera House on January 27, tickets $24.50 in advance.

MP3: Nouvelle Vague – “Master & Servant” (featuring Martin Gore)
MP3: Nouvelle Vague – “Ca Plane Pour Moi”
MP3: Nouvelle Vague – “Guns Of Brixton”

Noah & The Whale have released a video for the title track from their latest, First Days Of Spring.

Video: Noah & The Whale – “First Days Of Spring”

NPR is streaming a World Cafe session with Fanfarlo while The San Francisco Examiner talks to frontman Simon Balthazar. They’re at the El Mocambo on December 15.

Pitchfork talks to Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip. Their new record One Life Stand is out February 9 and they play the Kool Haus on April 20.