Caleb BuyersLet’s be honest, there’s not a lot of reason for there to be a Carl Newman solo record. The man is the chief songwriter in The New Pornographers, an outfit that turns out material at a pretty decent rate all things considered, and it’s not as though he has a metal jones to itch that wouldn’t work in the context of the Pornographers – when he puts on the AC Newman hat, he’s still the consummate popsmith.

But the whys and wherefores are his business – for the rest of us, there’s no sense in looking a gift horse in the mouth. And in this case, that gift is entitled Get Guilty. Like 2004’s The Slow Wonder, any of the songs on Guilty could have easily appeared on a Pornographers record but unlike that record, which seemed to deliberately apply a more traditional rock band ethos to the proceedings, Guilty seems more willing to incorporate the more ornate flourishes that you’d associate with a proper Pornographers release.

That said, without having to balance out the large cast of players in the Pornographers, the AC Newman experience is leaner and punchier – more of a raiding party than the mothership of the New Pornographers. And for those wondering where all the fast songs that weren’t on Challengers went, well, at least some of them are here – “Like A Hitman, Like A Dancer” and “The Palace At 4AM” have a rhythmic drive and energy that hasn’t really been there on the last couple Pornographer records. Of course, whether they’d have fit is another discussion altogether – the important things is that they’re here now and they’re excellent, as is pretty much all of Guilty.

Get Guilty is out today, and courtesy of Last Gang Records, I’ve got copies on CD to give away to five lucky Canadians (sorry Americans, you’ll have to console yourselves today with a new president). To enter, leave me a comment below telling me something you’re guilty of and make sure your email is there, spam-proofed as need be, so I can contact you. Contest closes at midnight, January 26. Also remember that AC Newman are heading out on tour in February, including a March 11 date at Lee’s Palace in Toronto.

NPR has a short interview with Newman, Magnet a longer one, and Allmusic has traced out his musical history from the early days with Superconductor through to the present. Update: Stereogum has another live session video from Newman to follow up the one premiered at Pitchfork last week. Update 2: The whole album is streaming at Spinner.

MP3: AC Newman – “There Are Maybe Ten Or Twelve”
MP3: AC Newman – “Submarines Of Stockholm”
Stream: AC Newman / Get Guilty
MySpace: AC Newman

Co-Pornographer Neko Case will release Middle Cyclones on March 3 and blow into town for two dates at Trinity-St Paul’s on April 17 and 18. Tickets for each of those shows are $35.50.

MP3: Neko Case – “People Got A Lotta Nerve”

And Neko’s ex-Boyfriends The Sadies will be Jon Langford’s band when he plays the Horseshoe on February 27 – tickets are $12.50 and that gets you not one but TWO sets of country rocking goodness.

Not your speed but still seeking something to do that night? The Music Tapes, featuring ex-Neutral Milk Hotelier Julian Koster, will be at Lee’s Palace that same night in support of last year’s Get Guilty. Like 2004’s Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes. Tickets also $12.50.

MP3: The Music Tapes – “Majesty”
Video: The Music Tapes – “Majesty”
Video: The Music Tapes – “Ministry Of Longitude”

There’ll be a lovely little show taking place at The Central in Mirvish Village next Thursday night, January 29, featuring the songwriters from a few of Toronto’s finest bands in a solo and acoustic setting – Casey Mecija of Ohbijou, Kat Burns of Forest City Lovers, Jonas Bonnetta of Evening Hymns and Gavin Gardiner of The Wooden Sky. Admission is pay-what-you-can.

The Coast are heading over to the UK for some dates next month and Clash has not only conducted a feature interview with the the Toronto boys, but set up a fancy little microsite about the band. And they’re making available to download a Born Ruffians remix of “All The Boys” from Expatriate.

MP3: The Coast – “All The Boys” (Born Ruffians remix)

The schedule for Canadian Musicfest (why do I think I’m going to be the only one not calling it Canadian Music Week?) is partially up, and by partially I mean barely. But there’s still some good information on lineups now available, foremost those of the Chart-sponsored shows at the Horseshoe. And they’re kinda stacked. Just a little. Thursday, March 12 you’ve got Chad Van Gaalen, Gentleman Reg, Women, $100, The Lovely Feathers, The Delinquints and Quest For Fire. The Friday night bill will be led by Handsome Furs and also feature Human Highway, The Bicycles, Daniel Wesley, Dinosaur Bones, Hot Panda and The Schomberg Fair. And finally, Saturday will wrap things up with The Golden Dogs, Two Hours Traffic, Young Galaxy, Rebekah Higgs, The Hundreds And Thousands, Vancougar and Hexes & Ohs. Admission to these shows is via CMF wristbands and needless to say, get there early. Of course, once in you probably won’t be able to leave but really, why would you want to?

But if you do, there’s a few other dates and venues to note. Malajube, who will release Labyrinthes on February 10, are at the El Mocambo on March 12. That same night both Angela Desveaux and The Rural Alberta Advantage are at the Gladstone and 6 Day Riot are at Rancho Relaxo. On the Saturday, Basia Bulat and Herman Dune are at Lee’s Palace while The Ting Tings are at the Mod Club. Still more to come, obviously, but things look to be shaping up alright.

Joel Plaskett will play Massey Hall – yes, Massey Hall – on May 23. Tickets from $29.50 to $39.50.

BlogTO talks to the members of Bruce Peninsula, who have a string of local dates surrounding the February 3 release of A Mountain Is A Mouth. There’s a January 31 date at the Horseshoe, a February 4 in-store at Soundscapes and the February 22 album release party at the Polish Combatants Hall.

Frank YangI try not to be too “rah rah home team” when it comes to music – if it’s good, it’s good wherever it’s from – but sometimes I can’t help but feel so proud of the stuff that’s coming out of my own backyard. Case in point, Thursday night’s lineup at Lee’s Palace which, for my money, represented some of the very best new artists that Toronto/Ontario/Canada has to offer. The Acorn and Ohbijou alone made it a must-see, but the addition of The Rural Alberta Advantage as opener simply put it over the top. And I wasn’t the only one who thought so – the show was completely and utterly sold out.

I’d seen the RAA a number of times but never on a stage this large, and the environs seemed to be as foreign and novel to the band and it was to me. Any worries that they wouldn’t be able to adapt to the setting were immediately put to rest, however – the charm and appeal of their simple folk-rock songs came across loud and clear. It never fails to amaze me how the trio are able to do so, so much with so little. Behind the kit Paul Banwatt (celebrating his birthday) continued to demonstrate why he’s one of the very best drummers in the city, Amy Cole was indispensable on percussion, keys and backing vocals and of course Nils Edenloff, who pens the songs and delivers them in that plaintive, Mangum-esque bleat. It’s heartening to see that the band is finally finding the attention and success they deserve – I’ve long said that people simply need to hear them to love them, and I think it’s finally happening. The RAA play next on December 9 at Sneaky Dee’s.

Under normal circumstances, having the bar set so high by the openers might have me worried that the following acts would be a let down, but with Ohbijou I wasn’t worried. They’d proven time and time again that they would turn in a sublime performance and again, they did. Their sweetly lulling orchestral pop was a fine fit for the season, the ideal soundtrack for either hiding under the covers or pulling on the parka and boots for a gentle romp in the snow. Amidst songs from Swift Feet For Troubling Times were scattered a few new compositions which frontwoman Casey Mecija revealed would appear on their sophomore effort, entitled Beacon and targeted for a March release. They also brought out Rolf Klausener from The Acorn to help with “Darcy”, which Ohbijou covered on the split-12″ the two bands released to mark their joint tour. Though they weren’t closing things out, it was impossible not to feel the intensity of the hometown love for the band, every bit of it deserved.

So obviously, The Acorn had to bring their A-game to keep the night from ending on a lower note and for the first while, I wasn’t sure they were going to be able to do it. Not because they played poorly, far from it, but by opting to stick largely with the gentler textures of their breakthrough Glory Hope Mountain, the Ottawans kept the show’s dynamic on the slow burn when some jump was what was called for (as well as proving they remain the kings of the awkwardly endearing stage banter). As things progressed, however, it became clear that the band was working on the slow and steady build, and by the time tracks like “Blankets!” from the EP of the same name and Tin Fist‘s “Brokered Heart” made their appearances, it was obvious the show was reaching its apex. That peak came in the encore when Ohbijou joined the band onstage for an absolutely rollicking “Low Gravity” and finally as the show’s denouement, the Acorn’s half of the tour single, their cover of Ohbijou’s “Steep”… though with more members of Ohbijou onstage than The Acorn, I’m not sure that it could still be called a cover. But that’s semantics. It was stellar, and capped off a night that was every bit as good as it was expected to be and then some. Oh, Canada.

BlogTO talks to The Rural Alberta Advantage about their recent eMusic-powered profile boost. Ohbijou’s Casey Mecija discusses their new record with The Silhouette and Rolf Klausener discusses what’s next for The Acorn with NOW. And no less than Mercury-prize winners Elbow tell The Guardian that Glory Hope Mountain is one of their favourite albums of the year. Now that is props. Furthermore, IndieRockReview got both The Acorn and Ojbijou to record an acoustic session for them while they were on tour last month. Also note that The Acorn have a brand-new animated/live-action video for “The Flood, Pt 1”, linked below.

Photos: The Acorn, Ohbijou, The Rural Alberta Advantage @ Lee’s Palace – November 27, 2008
MP3: The Acorn – “Steep”
MP3: The Acorn – “The Flood, Pt 1”
MP3: The Acorn – “Crooked Legs”
MP3: The Acorn – “Blankets”
MP3: The Acorn – “Plates & Saucers”
MP3: The Acorn – “Darcy”
MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Don’t Haunt This Place”
MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Luciana”
MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Frank, AB”
MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Sleep All Day”
MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “In The Summertime”
Video: The Acorn – “Crooked Legs”
Video: The Acorn – “The Flood, Pt 1”
Video: Ohbijou – “The Woods”
Stream: Ohbijou / Acorn split 12″
MySpace: The Acorn
MySpace: Ohbijou
MySpace: The Rural Alberta Advantage

CityNews has an interview with Broken Social Scene’s Brendan Canning. I was quite interested to see how this Toronto Sun review of the BSS show at the Sound Academy on Thursday night regarded it as a coming out party of sorts for Land Of Talk’s Elizabeth Powell. I’d like to hear how she sounds on the BSS stuff – are there any recordings from this last tour circulating? Chart reports that bassist Chris McCarron has officially left the band to be in The Dears, which means that when Land Of Talk play the Horseshoe on January 15, it’ll be with 2/3 of a different lineup from when I saw them last. Crazy.

Haligonian singer-songwriter Jenn Grant will be at the Rivoli for a three-night stand from December 11 to 13 opening up for Danny Michel. CBC Radio 3 also reports that her new album Echoes will be available on January 27.

The Whig Standard profiles Angela Desveaux.

The Montreal Gazette contemplates the career of Neil Young. Shakey plays the Air Canada Centre this Thursday and Friday nights.