Frank YangFirstly, thanks to The Grid for their preview piece on the Death From Above 1979 reunion tour which finally made it home for two nights at the Sound Academy last Thursday and Friday night. They do a far better job of encapsulating the band’s backstory than I could, since though I was certainly around for their first heyday in the early aughts, I wasn’t much of a fan. Some of their disco-metal hybrid was appealing and I dug Jesse Keeler’s bass tones, but it was generally too aggressive for my tastes and Sebastien Grainger’s vocals were definitely not my thing. When they announced they were splitting up five years ago, I didn’t give it half a shrug.

So why be at the Sound Academy to see the reunion? Mostly curiosity about this reunion which, even in the era of reunions, felt different to all the others. For starters, the response to it seemed disproportionate to how big they were when they broke it off, but as The Grid points out they were on the cusp of blowing up when they split and rather than see interest in them fall off a cliff as a result, evidently it kept growing into the realm of myth. Hence the high billing on festivals worldwide. Hence the playing to more people at home over two nights than they probably did in total over their first run. So curiosity, and also the fact that I happened to be outside the Beauty Bar in Austin, Texas back in March when they were soundchecking their surprise SXSW appearance – their very first comeback show and eventual near-riot – and it sounded great.

I’ve been to my share of reunion shows and most have had the sort of demographic you’d expect; mainly older fans from said act’s first go-around indulging in a bit of nostalgia with the mean age brought down a notch by kids who discovered the act in their fallow years and finally getting a chance to see them live (I tend to straddle the two). For DFA1979, however, the audience was overwhelmingly young – so much so that you got the sense if they hadn’t booked an all-ages venue, they wouldn’t have needed two shows. My theory is that those who’d followed the band in the first half of the decade had largely outgrown them, no longer running on the necessary blend of hormones and adrenaline, and instead these shows were being attended by those who’d been in high school or college when DFA were at their peak – see above about hormones and adrenaline – but had never gotten the chance to see them live. Until now.

And with youth comes energy and the jammed room was rather crackling with it as they awaited their hometown heroes to emerge, getting into form with a little exploratory crowd surfing to Iron Maiden over the PA and chanting, “D! F! A!” the way you might hear “U! S! A!” at a monster truck rally. With that as the pre-show noise floor, then it was no surprise that security had orders to be extra-vigilant and rightly so – when the curtain covering their giant “DFA 1979 2001-2006” tombstone backdrop fell to the floor and Keeler and Grainger strode out onstage, shit was lost (and so was their stage garb, with the all-in-white, bleached-blonde Grainger looking rather Jacob and Keeler playing The Man In Black, but I digress).

I must confess to only knowing a few songs from the DFA1979 oeuvre (even though it consists of just a single full-length in You’re A Woman, I’m A Machine and a few EPs and singles) but I don’t think that was a real issue as their aesthetic is pretty limited. Imagine grinding, metallic bass and drum riffing seasoned with synths and wailing vocals and you’re pretty much there. But what they lack in range, they more than make up for in volume and vigor. They pounded out one song after another while the crowd surged like a wave pool, steadily cresting with crowd surfers as drinks, clothes and three-finger devil salutes flew about. Early on it seemed like it’d be all business for the duo, with a “Thank you, we’re from here” offered by Grainger as the only bit of banter, but later on they got chattier with a highlight of the banter being Keeler’s response to a request for a bass solo: “every song is a bass solo”.

As mentioned, things got fairly samey to me after a while with the band offering sleek aggression and relentless rhythm in lieu of hooks – not that my head ever stopped bobbing to the beat. “Romantic Rights” was appreciated not only because its killer opening riff remains a high point in the entire DFA1979 catalog, but because Grainger took the opportunity to get up from behind the kit and wander the stage while singing, proper frontman-style. But even when my attention wandered from the music, there was also the audience to watch as they continued to freak out, head bang, what have you throughout the show. I may have been there mainly out of curiosity, but for many/most this was something they’d been waiting for for years and probably never expected, considering how acrimonious the original split had seemed. And for them, I’m pretty sure it was everything they’d hoped for and more. I get it, but I still don’t like the vocals.

Exclaim, NOW, BlogTO, The National Post and The Globe & Mail all have reviews of the show(s).

Photos: Death From Above 1979 @ The Sound Academy – October 27, 2011
MP3: Death From Above 1979 – “Romantic Rights”
Video: Death From Above 1979 – “Black History Month”
Video: Death From Above 1979 – “Romantic Rights”

Arctic Monkeys have released a new video from Suck It And See.

Video: The Arctic Monkeys – “Evil Twin”

PopMatters chats with Ben Lovett of Mumford & Sons.

The Quietus talks to Jim Reid of The Jesus & Mary Chain.

Exclaim reports that Elvis Costello will be releasing a live set culled from the Los Angeles dates of this year’s “The Spectacular Spinning Songbook” tour, which came through town in June. Elvis Costello & the Imposters: The Return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook!!! will be released as a limited-edition CD/DVD/10″ box set on December 6 – with price to match – and less fancy editions will be released in the new year.

GQ talks to PJ Harvey.

Spin is offering a stream of the opening track from Noel Gallagher’s solo debut Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, out next Tuesday and showcased over two nights at Massey Hall on November 7 and 8. The Globe & Mail has an interview.

Stream: Noel Gallagher – “Everybody’s On The Run”

Nicky Wire of Manic Street Preachers discusses his Polaroid fetish with The Guardian. The images compiled over the Manics’ career will be compiled in a book entitled Death of a Polaroid: A Manics Family Album, out next month, and the band’s new best-of comp National Treasures is out today in the UK.

The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Globe & Mail and The Guardian talk to Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine about her second album Ceremonials, out this week.

Exclaim points to a stream of both sides of a new 7″ from former Long Blondes singer Kate Jackson, limited to 300 pieces and due out December 7. You may recall a different song was premiered a few months back, but it wasn’t sold physically so this is her first “proper” release.

MP3: The Kate Jackson Group – “Date With Dawn”
Stream: The Kate Jackson Group – “Wonder Feeling”
Stream: The Kate Jackson Group – “The Atlantic”

And Prince has announced two dates at the Air Canada Centre on November 25 and 26 as part of his “Welcome 2 Canada” tour. Yes he’s crazy but he’s also an incredible performer and if the “Welcome 2 America” shows already done are any indication, he’s giving the fans what they want this time out. So… yeah. Tickets on sale this Friday, November 4 at 10AM, ranging from $67.75 to $268.25, fees included.

Video: Prince – “Let’s Go Crazy”

Frank YangOasis had more than a few hits back in the day, but if you were to have to pick a signature tune – for all the rock and bombast in their repertoire – you’d probably have to pick their acoustic 1995 single, “Wonderwall”. And yet its been a rather mutable song; never mind the million versions that’ve graced coffee houses and open mics around the world, even Oasis fans would be split between favouring the original (What’s The Story) Morning Glory version with Liam Gallagher on vocals or the Noel-sung version that was frequently performed live.

Ryan Adams has done a pretty good job of making it his own as well. He included it on his 2003 Love Is Hell, Part 1 EP and it became a staple of live sets, both solo and with The Cardinals, for years to come. His reading didn’t differ wildly from the original – mainly a looser, more boozy phrasing and tempo – but it was enough to make it feel his own and influence Noel Gallagher to adjust his own performance style to mirror it, at least for a while. Two live Adams recordings – one in-studio at BBC Radio 1 in 2004 and one at the Telluride Blues Festival in Colorado with The Cardinals circa 2008 – demonstrate his take on the tune and a stream of a Noel Gallagher & Gem Archer performance in a 2005 radio session show how it affected the original.

Ryan Adams released Ashes & Fire earlier this month and will be at the Winter Garden Theatre on December 10. Noel Gallagher has two dates at Massey Hall next week on November 7 and 8 and though his solo debut Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds is ostensibly the reason for the visit, there’s pretty much no way you won’t be hearing the elder Gallagher play this song at the shows. No way at all.

MP3: Ryan Adams – “Wonderwall” (live at BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge, January 15, 2004)
MP3: Ryan Adams – “Wonderwall” (live at Telluride Bluegrass Festival, June 19, 2008)
Video: Oasis – “Wonderwall”
Stream: Noel Gallagher & Gem Archer – “Wonderwall” (Ryan Adams arrangement)

Frank YangOne of the shifts in the music industry over the last few years has been the evolution of bands as brands (google it, it’s a phrase) with as much, or more, equity being place in an artist’s name and identity as with their work. So it was interesting to hit up The Garrison on Friday night for a triple bill of acts who were quite consciously not trading under their more successful brands – there was one side project, one solo project and one complete re-brand.

First up and most enticing to me was Blood Orange, the new project from one Devonté Hynes. Though only 26, he’s already established a track record for building up projects and then walking away, disbanding the NME-championed punk rock Test Icicles in 2006 then putting out two records of ambitious, Americana-influenced pop as Lightspeed Champion before deciding to make his funk-soul side-project his main gig. Coastal Grooves, his debut as Blood Orange, came out earlier this Fall and as much as I was sad to see Lightspeed Champion retired, it’s hard to argue that Blood Orange is as good a showcase for Hynes’ talents as there’s ever been. The irresistible melodies of Lavender Bridge and to a slightly lesser degree, Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You are largely intact but they’re now driven by deep, slow jam grooves and ripping guitar solos and more mature songwriting themes.

It’s the sort of record that could and perhaps should be done justice live with a full band, but instead Hynes stayed true to the home studio aesthetic of the project and took the stage with just himself, a sequencer and his guitar. It wasn’t much but it was more than enough as two songs into the set, Hynes moved the mic stand into the audience and played most of the rest of his set in the round, only interrupting the sequence of souful vocals and guitar shredding to hop back on stage to adjust his pedals and/or sequencer and right back to getting down. Maybe the best thing about it was how nonchalantly Hynes went about his business, as though a solo set that surely required considerable thought and preparation to sound to full was no big deal at all, and occasionally throwing in a bit of flash like a knee slide or tossing his guitar in the air and catching it without missing a beat. He capped it off with an extended, Prince-worthy guitar solo back onstage complete with behind-the-head riffing and once the backing track ended, he was up and out, at least for now. No big deal.

Luke Temple, best known for fronting Brookyln’s Here We Go Magic but recently returned to his solo roots for this year’s Don’t Act Like You Don’t Care wasn’t even going to try and top the Blood Orange show. Performing as a two-piece with Natalie Bergen on bass and keys, his set had a casual, almost ad-libbed vibe and the material more country-ish overtones and certainly not as refined as Here We Go Magic’s prog-pop. You got the sense that Temple wasn’t especially impressed with the lack of attention being paid by the chatty audience but to be fair, his low-key approach and material didn’t offer a lot of reason to.

Audience attention was no problem for CANT, the side-project from Grizzly Bear bassist Chris Taylor. Now I’m more of a Grizzly Bear respecter than admirer, but I was surprised how much I genuinely enjoyed Dreams Come True, the CANT debut which came out last month. It still has the meticulousness that marks his main band’s work, but its R&B angle feels looser, more dynamic and more immediately soulful. Live, Taylor led a four-piece band that included Dev Hynes on guitar and the two would spend the set swapping instruments and enduring electric shocks as they did so due to bad grounds. But no pain, no gain and for the better part of an hour, Taylor and co ran through an enjoyable set of Dreams material, offering Taylor a chance to show off his pipes and Hynes to further showboat on guitar a little more. Grizzly Bear has always gotten a great reception in Toronto and this show proved that Bear cub projects were also wholly welcome, with Taylor telling the wildly applauding fans at the show’s end that this had been the best show of the tour. I’m inclined to believe him.

The Pitch, Metro, The Daily Cardinal and The Dossier Journal have interviews with Chris Taylor while NOW talks to Dev Hynes.

Photos: CANT, Luke Temple, Blood Orange @ The Garrison – October 21, 2011
MP3: CANT – “Be Around (Rough Cutz)”
MP3: Luke Temple – “Ophelia”
MP3: Luke Temple – “More Than Muscle”
MP3: Blood Orange – “Dinner”
MP3: Blood Orange – “Sutphin Boulevard”
MP3: Blood Orange – “Champagne Coast”
Video: CANT – “Believe”
Video: Luke Temple – “More Than Muscle”
Video: Blood Orange – “Sutphin Boulevard”
Video: Blood Orange – “Dinner”
Video: Blood Orange – “S’Cooled”
Video: Blood Orange – “I’m Sorry We Lied”

The Sun and Newsweek talk to Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine, whose new record Ceremonials is streaming over at Pretty Much Amazing in advance of its release on November 1.

Stream: Florence & The Machine / Ceremonials

Drowned In Sound are streaming the cryptically-titled A Frightened Rabbit EP, which is in fact a free EP from Frightened Rabbit, available to download over at Grabtrax. Quad News also has a chat with Scott Hutchinson.

MP3: Frightened Rabbit – “Scottish Winds”
Stream: Frightened Rabbit / A Frightened Rabbit EP

The Fly sets up a Summer Camp in their courtyard and records a video session. The duo’s debut Welcome To Condale arrives November 8.

Billy Bragg tells The Sabotage Times it’s time for bands to get political again. He also weighs in on matters political with The Scotsman and The Irish Times.

James Dean Bradfield of Manic Street Preachers talks to NME about the band’s plans following the release of their National Treasures compilation next week; look for a break and then a reinvention.

Pitchfork, The Telegraph, Shortlist and Billboard talk to Noel Gallagher about his High Flying Birds, which come to roost at Massey Hall on November 7 and 8 and at record stores November 8.

Meanwhile, little brother Liam is sounding a bit conciliatory in talking to Rolling Stone, telling them that he’d be open to an Oasis reunion in 2015 or so. Uh huh.

The Sabotage Times talks to Bernard Sumner and Stephen Morris about the transition from being Joy Division to New Order.

The Irish Independent talks to Annie Clark of St. Vincent, in town at The Phoenix on December 15.

New Wild Flag video!

Video: Wild Flag – “Electric Band”

The New York Times profiles Tom Waits ahead of the release of Bad As Me on Tuesday.

The Pittsburgh Tribune, Red & Black and American Songwriter talk to Matthew Sweet on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Girlfriend and the release of his new record Modern Art.

And sadly, Titus Andronicus just got a little less awesome with the announcement that Amy Klein, aka Amy Andronicus, aka the most ass-kicking embodiment of rock’n’roll going, announced that the shows at Halifax Pop Explosion this weekend were her last with the band, as she’s going to be concentrating on other projects from here on. Update: Patrick Stickles has posted his own thanks and farewell to Amy.

Frank YangIn discussing Ladytron’s latest effort Gravity The Seducer, I mentioned how the Liverpool band had managed to pull off the difficult move of shifting creative course sufficiently to earn a fresh listen from those who figured they knew what to expect without abandoning their signature sound and alienating those who were perfectly happy to get what they were expecting from a new Ladytron record. Whether they’d manage to do the same with regards to their live show would be seen this past Wednesday night, when they came back to Toronto for the first time since either the release of Gravity or their decade-marking Best Of.

This isn’t to suggest their live reputation required any reputation. Granted, the idea that live, they just stand stock still and play keyboards has followed them around since their inception – I’m as guilty of perpetuating the perception as anyone despite knowing better from having seen them on their last two visits in 2008 and 2009 – but the truth is they actually put on very good live shows, offering impressive lightshows and great sound in lieu of on-stage antics. And of course they stand there. They play keyboards. Do you really want to see them strap on keytars? No you do not.

Warming up for them on this leg of the tour was New York dance veterans VHS OR Beta, who themselves have been at it long enough that once upon a time their name had some retro cleverness rather than just being meaningless to today’s youth (maybe they should consider switching to BluRay or HDDVD. Or not). In any case, their bass-heavy, straightforward synth-rock didn’t make a lot of arguments that you’d want to be remembering their name for long after the show. It wasn’t that they were bad by any means, just unremarkable. But perhaps it’s unfair to criticize them for being lyrically vague or bland when their mandate isn’t to offer deep insights into the human condition but simply to get people moving. And that they did.

Another point in my review of Gravity The Seducer was how it seemed that Helen Marnie was assuming more the de facto frontwoman role, with fewer lead contributions than Mira Aroyo; I don’t necessarily have quantitative proof that that was the case but it also certainly seemed that the live dynamic had shifted that way, if not moreso. While her bandmates were dressed in trademark black (and Reuben Wu in a Ladytron t-shirt though I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt that it was laundry day), Marnie stood out in a shiny white top and giant bow in her hair – it would be hard not to be the centre of attention looking like that, never mind her dancing and swaying throughout the show. And while Aroyo’s lead contributions were fewer – she only took lead on two songs, the first almost halfway into the set – they seemed extra effective in accenting the darker side of their sound, compared to Marnie’s more wide-eyed vocal stylings.

Though the pyramid-referencing stage dressing implied this was the Gravity The Seducer tour, the setlist felt more appropriate to the singles collection with the new material not receiving any greater focus than the old with Witching Hour being drawn from the most. And while I quite like Gravity, I readily admit that its gentler textures wouldn’t have made for nearly as impactful a live set as their back catalog. Thankfully free of the sound issues that marred their last show, Ladytron sounded heavier and more determined than I’ve seen them. I don’t know that you could say their fanbase has necessarily grown over their long run – they’ve been playing The Phoenix as long as I can recall – they’ve remained steady and devoted and based on the sample group in my immediate vicinity, are still energized enough by the band to be able to jump up and down for over an hour straight. Any band at it for over a decade should be so lucky.

The Toronto Star and BlogTO also have reviews of the show while Spinner and The Boston Herald have interviews with the band.

Photos: Ladytron, VHS Or Beta @ The Phoenix – October 5, 2011
MP3: Ladytron – “White Elephant”
MP3: Ladytron – “Ace Of Hz”
MP3: Ladytron – “Black Cat”
MP3: Ladytron – “Open Your Heart”
MP3: Ladytron – “Play Girl”
MP3: Ladytron – “Seventeen”
MP3: VHS Or Beta – “I Found A Reason”
MP3: VHS Or Beta – “I Found A Reason”
Video: Ladytron – “White Elephant”
Video: Ladytron – “Ace Of Hz”
Video: Ladytron – “Runaway”
Video: Ladytron – “Ghosts”
Video: Ladytron – “Destroy Everything You Touch”
Video: Ladytron – “Sugar”
Video: Ladytron – “Evil”
Video: Ladytron – “Blue Jeans”
Video: Ladytron – “Seventeen”
Video: Ladytron – “Play Girl”
Video: VHS Or Beta – “Breaking Bones”
Video: VHS Or Beta – “You Got Me”
Video: VHS Or Beta – “Night On Fire”
Video: VHS Or Beta – “Can’t Believe A Single Word”

JAM talks to Portishead in advance of their two-night stand at The Sound Academy this coming Sunday and Monday while Stereogum finds out how advance work on album number four is coming. They also just announced they’ll be releasing 2009’s “Chase The Tear” as a 12″ single with proceeds going to Amnesty International on November 14.

Paste s streaming Still Corners’ debut Creatures Of An Hour ahead of its release next Tuesday. They play The Drake Underground on October 25 and The Stool Pigeon has an interview.

MP3: Still Corners – “Into The Trees”
MP3: Still Corners – “Cuckoo”
Stream: Still Corners / Creatures Of An Hour

Billboard talks fashion with Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine. Ceremonials is out November 1.

The 405 are streaming The Joy Formidable’s new EP The Big More, out October 17 in limited quantities.

Stream: The Joy Formidable / The Big More

The Vaccines have released a new video from What Did You Expect From The Vaccines, powered by the Instagram iPhone app.

Video: The Vaccines – “Wetsuit”

NPR is streaming Laura Marling’s recent show in Washington, DC.

The Line Of Best Fit has an acoustic video session – well, one song – Veronica Falls.

Also in session at The Line Of Best Fit – Lanterns On The Lake, captured out in the wilderness at End Of The Road in September.

Noel Gallagher takes Spin for a guided tour of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, out November 8, and talks to The Quietus about going solo. He has two nights slated at Massey Hall, November 7 and 8. And oh new video.

Video: Noel Gallagher – “AKA… What A Life”

Both Rolling Stone and Paste have premiered tracks from The Hours, who will be opening up those shows for Noel Gallagher.

MP3: The Hours – “I Want More”
Stream: The Hours – “I Just Wanna Be Happy”

The Twilight Sad are offering the first official single from album number three, No One Can Ever Know, well before it’s released in February.

Stream: The Twilight Sad – “Sick”

PopMatters talks to Joshua Third and Philly Burbs to Tom Cowan of The Horrors while NPR is streaming their set from last week’s All Tomorrow’s Parties.

Brett Anderson lists off his favourite albums for The Quietus and tells BBC that while they’re working on a new Suede record, that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s going to be a new Suede record.

Peter Hook bitches to Spinner about New Order getting back together without him.

Pitchfork interviews Anthony Gonzalez of M83. Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming is out October 18 and they’ve already sold out Lee’s Palace for their November 18 visit.

Though originally targeted for a domestic release in 2012, The Jezabels have announced a November 8 Canadian release for their debut Prisoner, which only makes sense – they’re opening up for Hey Rosetta! across the country this Fall including November 23 and 24 at The Phoenix. Really ought to have something to sell.

MP3: The Jezabels – “Endless Summer”

NOW has put Bjork on this week’s cover on the occasion of Biophilia‘s release next week, but Drowned in Sound has topped them with a week-long, five-part feature on the Icelandic icon. And NPR wins because they’re streaming the whole album.

MP3: Bjork – “Cosmogony”
Stream: Bjork / Biophilia

Frank YangThe narrative around The Horrors’ second album Primary Colours was a simple one – the band who made Strange House, with the outlandish costumes and stage names, were no more and in their place was a lean, fearsome combo who weren’t part of a shoegaze revival but a shoegaze revitalization. Primary Colours learned from the sound-sculpting lessons of the past and applied them towards creating something familiar yet undeniably fresh. It was a remarkable thing. Their visit in October 2009 in support of Primary Colours confirmed that even if they’d ditched the accoutrements, they’d kept the punk energy and intensity that came with their earlier incarnation in a live setting. And so for their show on Tuesday night in support of their more textured and impressionistic third album Skying, the only real question was how great was it going to be?

There were still surprises to be had, however, including the support act – a trio from Connecticut, of all places, called The Stepkids. Taking the stage dressed completely in white – to match the sheets draped over their gear and the backdrop behind them – they laid into a set of super-’70s psychedelic disco slow jams while trippy projections that seemed culled from episodes of The Electric Company danced overtop. All three were virtuosic players and singers, alternating lead vocals and combining on impeccable three-part falsetto harmonies, and on top of it all the material from their self-titled debut – which was officially released that same day – was more than solid. Initially the old-school Horrors fans in attendance didn’t look impressed, having come to the show to freak out rather than get their freak on, but by the set’s end there were more than a few brightly-dyed heads bobbing up and down with the groove. Which just goes to show – you can’t fight the funk.

It’d be dishonest to say that the opening of The Horrors’ set didn’t seem a little devoid of occasion, with the band strolling out one by one and kicking into Skying opener “Changing The Rain” without so much as dimming the lights. I can appreciate that they’ve reached a point where their music is strong enough that dressing it up is unnecessary, but a little attention to presentation is always nice, no? As it turned out, they were just doing me a favour in leaving the lights up long enough to get some decent photos. Within a few songs they began to dim and perhaps not coincidentally, the band’s energy levels began to rise and it became clear that this wasn’t just a recital, but a trip – a descent, and one of which the band was in complete control. It was loud and intense but there was no sense of chaos. Instead, their display of power was graceful and elegant and a thing to behold.

The set was divided evenly between Primary Colours and Skying, with lanky frontman Faris Badwan’s limited repertoire of stage moves – either gripping and grimacing into the microphone stand or foot on the monitor, doing the same – more than enough to command the packed house’s attention. It’d have been undivided attention if not for Joshua Hayward proving more and more that he’s as crucial an element in their sound. It’s astonishing that he’s the band’s only guitarist and is able to recreate so many of the records’ textures live and move from atmospheric soundscape to crushing riff at the drop of a hat. And as if to give him his proper due, the set built up to an epic, trance-like finale of Skying centrepiece “Moving Further Away”, which served as a showcase for his talents and brought what had been a rather short set – the main set ran just 45-minutes – to a respectable running length. Not that anyone should have been looking at their watches; that would have meant having to tear your eyes away from the show.

The National Post was also on hand and has a writeup. The Los Angeles Times has an interview with The Stepkids.

Photos: The Horrors, The Stepkids @ Lee’s Palace – September 28, 2011
MP3: The Horrors – “Moving Further Away”
MP3: The Horrors – “Sea Within A Sea”
MP3: The Stepkids – “Legend”
MP3: The Stepkids – “Shadows On Behalf”
Video: The Horrors – “Still Life”
Video: The Horrors – “Whole New Way”
Video: The Horrors – “Mirror’s Image”
Video: The Horrors – “Who Can Say”
Video: The Horrors – “Sea Within A Sea”
Video: The Horrors – “She Is The New Thing”
Video: The Horrors – “Gloves”
Video: The Horrors – “Count In Fives”
Video: The Horrors – “Sheena Is A Parasite”
Video: The Stepkids – “Wonderfox

The Phoenix has an interview with James Blake, who’s at The Phoenix (the venue not the Boston paper) on Friday night. There’s also a piece at Clash.

The Stool Pigeon interviews Veronica Falls, in town at The Mod Club opening for The Drums on October 1 and headlining their own show at Parts & Labour the following night.

Loney Dear has released a new video from Hall Music, out October 4 and followed up with a show at The Drake Underground on November 4.

Video: Loney Dear – “My Heart”

The Skinny talks to We Were Promised Jetpacks about their new record In The Pit Of The Stomach, which is out October 4 and streaming in whole over at Clash.

Stream: We Were Promised Jetpacks / In The Pit Of The Stomach

Drowned In Sound talks to Jim Reid of The Jesus & Mary Chain about their ongoing reissue series, which wraps up next week, and the odds of a new album: not nil, but not great.

BBC talks to Portishead’s Geoff Barrow about their plans for a new record once their North American tour – which includes two nights at the Sound Academy on October 9 and 10 – is done. And The Village Voice talks to him about this long-running relationship with hip-hop.

Pitchfork is streaming another bonus track from the deluxe reissue of Yuck’s debut Yuck, out October 11, and Room 205 has posted the third and final instalment in their video session series with the band.

Stream: Yuck – “Soothe Me”

Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine has a chat with Interview about her forthcoming second album Ceremonials, out November 1.

Noel Gallagher has released a second video from his solo debut Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, out November 7. He’s at Massey Hall on November 7 and 8.

Video: Noel Gallagher – “If I Had A Gun”

Drowned In Sound, The Skinny and MusicOmh talk to Anthony Gonzalez of M83 about their new record Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, out October 18. They’re at Lee’s Palace on November 18.

Belle & Sebastian guitarist Stevie Jackson has released details of his solo debut (I Can’t Get No) Stevie Jackson, which is available now digitally and will be out physically whenever he gets physical copies back from the pressing plant.

MP3: Stevie Jackson – “Man Of God”

Much drama over the past day about Bloc Party and Kele Okereke’s status within it, but it appears to have shaken out that he’s still their singer, they’re still back in the studio and people are still far too easy to get worked up about rumours.

The Quietus, The Daily Star talk to Brett Anderson about matters solo and Suede.

Sleepover Shows has a video session with Frightened Rabbit.

The AV Club salues Nick Cave on the occasion of his birthday with a beginner’s guide to his works.