Ryan PflugerAfter much teasing and delay, details have finally come forth about Final Fantasy’s long-awaited third album and follow-up to 2006’s He Poos Clouds. Though the title – Heartland – has been known since at least late 2006 (that’s the first time I mentioned it at least), the actual record has been much longer in coming. And the delays are understandable – in the interim, Owen Pallett has become the go-to string arranger in certain circles, working on records from Beirut, Pet Shop Boys and Mountain Goats to name a very few as well as putting out two EPs of his own last year.

But the new album is finally done and will arrive on January 12 complete with a typically high-minded and utterly bizarre concept behind it. Pallett’s full explanation can be found in the press release, but key phrases that should give you some idea of what to expect are “a farmer named Lewis and the fictional world of Spectrum”, “compositionally modeled upon the principles of electronic music” and, “inversion of a Tomita record”. What any of that means is unclear to me, but at least one can be reasonably assured that whatever it is, it will come wrapped in strange and delicious orch-pop wrappers. Unless, of course, it doesn’t.

Pitchfork has a look at the album art for Heartland and as we await a first sample of Heartland‘s aural delights, enjoy a couple of tracks from last year’s EPs.

MP3: Final Fantasy – “The Butcher”
MP3: Final Fantasy – “Ultimatum”

And if you want to talk strange synchronicity, consider Final Fantasy and Woodpigeon. Woodpigeon will also release their next album Die Stadt Muzikanten on January 12, both records will be orchestra-enhanced (Die Stadt also featuring a 30-piece choir), both just performed at the Rifflandia festival in Victoria, BC and while Pallett fell ill with what was originally feared to be swine flu (but wasn’t), Woodpigeon’s Mark Hamilton actually has come down with what appears to be the dreaded H1N1 virus. He’s been treated and is hopefully on the road to recovery, though it’s unclear if he’ll be well enough to make it to Pop Montreal this weekend. Fingers crossed. Either way he should be recovered enough by mid-month when Woodpigeon is set to participate in this Fall’s Banff Centre residency, where they’ll work on honing their craft with the likes of Steve Albini. Woodpigeon and Steve Albini – there’s a combination I’d like to hear. Update: And to be clear, the exact phrasing above was “appears to be” – tests are still not conclusive as to what grounded the ‘Pigeon and called for Jane Vain to cover for their Pop Montreal showcase, but the important thing is that Hamilton is on the mend and will be back in the (broad) general vicinity for a show at Cafe Deckuf in Ottawa on October 16 presented by I Heart Music. And he will not be contagious.

Also moving into the Banff Centre for that fortnight is Basia Bulat, also with a much-anticipated new record out in January. Heart Of My Own is out on the 26th of the month, and JAM has a chat with Bulat about the new record. Also check out a video of Basia performing “Gold Rush” in a DUMBO session.

MP3: Basia Bulat – “Gold Rush”
Video: Basia Bulat – “Gold Rush” (live at DUMBO Sessions)

As I’m following little threads and segues, It occurs to me that in addition to seeing the release of a follow-up to the inaugural Polaris Prize-winning record (He Poos Clouds, if you weren’t paying attention), both Woodpigeon and Basia’s last records were the top picks on my Polaris ballots this year as well Ohbijou’s new one Beacons, and its predecessor Swift Feet For Troubling Times topped my 2007 Polaris ballot… AND the new record was much-informed by their session at the Banff Centre last year. I daresay this post is at risk from collapsing in on itself in a quantum singularity of circular references, so I’ll finish this thread by saying that as much as I’d like to say that next year’s ballot will be full of fresh faces and new discoveries, all of the new Ohbijou, Woodpigeon and Basia records make strong arguments for repeat appearances. Wait, does that mean I’ve heard those last two records? Oh, uh, hey – look over there!

The National Post talks to Cuff The Duke’s Wayne Petti about the heaviness that informs their new record Way Down Here. There’s also features at The Georgia Straight, FFWD and Edmonton Journal. They play two nights at the Horseshoe on October 16 and 17.

MinnPost.com has an interview with Glenn Kotche of Wilco, who will be at Massey Hall for two nights on October 14 and 15.

Joe Pernice discusses his new book and album with Exclaim.

In addition to their October 31 show at the Horseshoe, Noah & The Whale will be doing an in-store at Criminal Records earlier that night, precise time to be announced. Perfect for everyone with Hallowe’en plans as well as those who need a double-dose of weepy break-up tunes. And the band will probably have replaced if not recovered all the gear that was stolen the other night – tough break, that. Some seriously nice equipment in that trailer.

Never ones to be slaves to convention, Wheat have decided that rather than release another video from White Ink Black Ink, they’re releasing a video game. It’s Windows-only, unfortunately, so I can’t tell you if it’s any good or if up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right-B-A-start gets you any free lives, but if you’re on a PC and take it for a spin, let me know how it is. I’m curious.

Volcano Choir has released a first video from their debut album Unmap.

Video: Volcano Choir – “Island, IS”

Love Shack, Baby and The Diamondback have interviews with The Antlers.

Frank YangIt’s been almost a year since Caribou’s Dan Snaith walked off the stage, giant cheque in hand, having been crowned the 2008 Polaris Music Prize winner for his stunning record Andorra. But since then, things have been largely silent in camp Caribou since then, as Snaith was presumably hard at work on the follow-up record.

Then in May, word of a live show for the Fall. Not a tour, but the sort of special event that happens when Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips calls up and asks you to come out of hiding and play a show at an old country club in the Catskills, aka ATPNY. And as befits such an occasion, rather than just call up his usual co-conspirators and play a typical Caribou show, Snaith went through his rolodex, gathered together folks from Four Tet, Junior Boys and Enon, amongst many others, and essentially assembled a super-sized Caribou, an uber-Caribou – The Caribou Vibration Ensemble.

So while the ATP performance this past weekend in Monticello, New York was the big event, Thursday night’s show at the Opera House in Toronto was much more than just a dress rehearsal. The opening act for the evening however, Koushik, may have been. Though Koushik is billed as a downbeat electronic/pop/hip-hop artist, on this night he/they were essentially 3/4 of the Caribou Vibration Ensemble – of which Koushik Ghosh was part of – in jamming mode. Not jamming in the sense of everyone on stage trading solos, but more establishing a solid, unshowy groove and building simple melodies over top. They played pretty much straight through, trading instruments and letting things go where they would, then wrapping it after about 30 minutes – right about where hypnotic began to give way to tedious. Wise.

After about a half-hour intermission, Caribou took the stage, less a band than an orchestra with distinct sections (brass over here, massive percussion setup in the middle, strings in back, keys and electronics over here) and at a full fifteen members, dwarfed the nine-piece configuration of the openers. Now at this point, I have to offer context – or lack of. I’d only gotten into Caribou during the Polaris process last year, so I’d never seen them live and further had never really listened to any of the albums previous to Andorra, so frames of reference for the performance and reinvention of the songs is limited at best. But in this instance, I think that’s alright because doing things the way they were was entirely beside the point of the evening.

Across approximately 90 minutes and ranging through the two Caribou records and one Manitoba album, the Ensemble took Snaith’s already widescreen compositions and enhanced by an impressive light show, blew them up into IMAX-scale. Describable at various points thought the set – and sometimes within a song – as electronica, jazz, tribal, psychedelic or noise but never losing sight of the pop roots, the Caribou Vibration Ensemble was a sight to behold and a sound to be heard. The high points would have been the vocal numbers – a choral “Melody Day” and Jeremy Greenspan-sung “She’s The One” – had they been properly audible. Note to sound guy – when six people gather around the mics at the front of the stage, that might be a hint that you should turn them on in the PA. As it was, from up front they were still audible enough to impress but those should have been the show-stoppers.

Those complaints aside, it was still a wholly impressive and memorable evening and I can only imagine how terrific their set was at ATP – surely standouts of an absurdly stacked lineup. And now Snaith returns to crafting the third Caribou record and the rest of us return to waiting patiently, though he’s already on record as saying it will be a departure from the classic pop of Andorra. Holding up this experience as a benchmark for future Caribou live performances is also probably unreasonable, but that’s fine – it works quite well as one of those unique experiences that I feel lucky to have been able to witness. eye and Exclaim have reviews of the show while NOW was on hand to catch some video.

Photos: The Caribou Vibration Ensemble, Koushik @ The Opera House – September 10, 2009
MP3: Caribou – “Melody Day”
MP3: Caribou – “Barnowl”
Video: Caribou – “She’s The One”
Video: Caribou – “Melody Day”
Video: Caribou – “Irene”
Video: Caribou – “Hummingbird”
MySpace: Caribou
MySpace: Koushik

And to anyone who enjoyed – as I did – watching Caribou’s touring drummer Brad Weber beat the tar out of his kit for both the Caribou and Koushik sets, note that he has his own band in Pick A Piper and they will be at the Horseshoe this coming Friday, September 18, as part of the 100th show celebrations for local promoters No Shame. Also playing are Green Go, Ruby Coast and The Skeletones Four. This is something you should attend.

Land Of Talk have released a new MP3 from their forthcoming Fun & Laughter EP, out October 13. It dost scorch.

MP3: Land Of Talk – “May You Never”

The Hidden Cameras have finally added the hometown finale to their massive Fall tour in support of new album Origin:Orphan, out September 22, by scheduling what’s sure to be an over-the-top show at the Opera House on December 5.

Video: The Hidden Cameras – “In The NA”

And if you don’t want to wait till Winter for a little Hidden Cameras fix, consider heading out to James St in Hamilton come October 9 for Supercrawl, a combination street fair, art show and music festival that will be headlined by the aforementioned Hidden Cameras and also feature performances from Ohbijou and many more. And it’s an excuse to go to Hamilton. Who doesn’t want to go to Hamilton?

A whole mess of new videos meeting Can-con requirements hit the web last week. Great Lake Swimmers released a new one from Lost Channels. There’s features on the band at The Courier-Journal and Nashville Scene.

Video: Great Lake Swimmers – “Still”

ChartAttack talks to Amy Millan about her new solo record Masters Of The Burial, out next week, as well as what’s going on with her bands Stars and Broken Social Scene. She plays the Mod Club on October 14 and has a new video from her new album.

Video: Amy Millan – “Bury This”

Also with a new vid are Cuff The Duke, who’ve got a two-night stand at the Horseshoe on October 16 and 17. There’s interviews with the band at Metro and The Corrie Tandem.

Video: Cuff The Duke – “Promises”

Oh No Forest Fires went wandering in a Newfoundland forest and refrained from setting any fires, instead they shot a live video. They’re part of a stacked bill at Lee’s Palace next Friday night, September 25, with The Balconies, Fox Jaws and Whale Tooth.

Video: Oh No Forest Fires – “New Cove Road Back Home” (Live in a Forest)

ChartAttack spends some time with Two Hours Traffic. They’ve got a gig at Lee’s Palace on October 16.

Threadless has a video interview with t-shirt models The Rural Alberta Advantage, and they’re also asking for help to name a new song.

The Line Of Best Fit declared last week Bella Union week, in honour of the UK label who brings the likes of Ohbijou and The Acorn to adoring British masses, and in an apparent show of solidarity with the label’s website, which went AWOL, TLOBF too went offline. But they’re back now and I can point you at a few of the features they offered including a guide to west Scotland from My Latest Novel, an interview between label boss Simon Raymonde and Midlake (new album forthcoming entitled The Courage of Others) and Ohbijou have put together a “get to know Canada” crossword puzzle. Of course, Line Of Best Fit readers are already well-acquainted with the Great White North thanks to their series of Oh! Canada posts and mixes, the fourth volume of which is now available to download.

MySpaceI should be packing for my trip to New York City instead of blogging, so I’m just a-gonna clear out a pile of stuff that had been gathering over the last little while. Y’understand.

And what better way to begin than with a second taste of what is one of my most-anticipated new records of the Autumn – Bonfires On The Heath from The Clientele. It was exciting enough that Stereogum premiered the new MP3 yesterday, but I was over the moon later in the day when a digital promo of the album – not out till October 6 – showed up in my inbox. I’m not gloating, honest.

“Harvest Time” is a slow, sepia swoon bidding farewell to the Summer with the band’s signature tremolo-ed arpeggios and is a fine counterpoint to the jauntier first-released MP3, “I Wonder Who We Are”. Together they’re a good representation of the loveliness that resides behind this also-lovely album cover. Expect further gushing as I immerse myself in the record with further listens, but know that if it’s true this record will be the band’s last, they go out on a true high note.

There will be touring to support, but don’t expect the band on these shores before mid-Winter. Or so I’ve been told.

MP3: The Clientele – “Harvest Time”
MP3: The Clientele – “I Wonder Who We Are”

The Daily Mail gets to know Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine. Her debut Lungs is out in North America on October 13.

Spinner and The Wrexham Chronicle talk to Noah & The Whale frontman about the heartache that inspired their second album First Days Of Spring, set for a North American release on October 6. For Folk’s Sake also reports that the band’s drummer and Fink’s brother Doug has left the band to attend medical school.

They Shoot Music filmed an acoustic session with Micachu in Berlin recently. They will be at the El Mocambo on September 29.

LiveDaily has a rather gorgeous black-and-white video session with Fanfarlo.

The Skinny talks to The Twilight Sad. Their second album Forget The Night Ahead is out September 22 and they play The El Mocambo on October 10.

PitchforkTV has been running a Cemetery Gates video session with Camera Obscura all week. See them in the slightly livelier environs of the Phoenix on November 26.

Out chats with Patrick Wolf.

Echo & The Bunnymen’s Ian McCulloch discusses the band’s new record The Fountain, out October 12, with Rolling Stone. They play the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on October 20 with an orchestral rendition of Ocean Rain and presumably a few more tunes – because that record isn’t all that long. And sad news – former Bunnyman keyboardist Jake Brockman was killed in a traffic accident.

Johnny Marr gives an extensive interview to The Daily Mail about his current projects, his love of guitars and the polite answer to the question of whether there’ll ever be a Smiths reunion. Marr is currently playing with The Cribs, whose new record Ignore The Ignorant, is only going to be available digitally in North America starting next Tuesday. If you want the CD, you’ll have to do the import thing.

Video: The Cribs – “Cheat On Me”

Filter solicits a list of her favourite things from Ladyhawke’s Pip Brown. They also point out that a deluxe edition of her self-titled debut has just been released, featuring five bonus tracks. She’s at the Opera House on September 17.

Entertainment Weekly has premiered a new track from The Raveonettes, whose new album In And Out Of Control is due out on October 6. They play The Phoenix on October 22.

MP3: The Raveonettes – “Last Dance”

Letter To Jane has an interview with Peter Moren of Peter Bjorn & John. They’re at the Phoenix on November 11.

Chartattack chats with the boys of Two Hours Traffic, whose new album Territory is out next Tuesday and who play Lee’s Palace on October 16.

Soundproof talks to Ohbijou’s James Bunton about the Friends In Bellwoods project and community.

Shout Out Out Out Out have scheduled two dates at Wrongbar on October 16 and 17.

MP3: Shout Out Out Out Out – “Bad Choices”

American Songwriter talks to the American songwriters who comprise the Monsters Of Folk while Black Book solicits some of their favourite traveling tunes. Their self-titled debut is out September 22 and they play Massey Hall on November 2.

Soundproof and American Songwriter profile St. Vincent’s Annie Clark.

The Daily Texan talks to Lauren Larson of Ume.

Venice Is Sinking are sharing an MP3 from their forthcoming Okay EP, out September 22 and accurately named as it features the track of that name from their AZAR album and two covers of San Francisco band Okay and rounded out by two more alternate versions of AZAR songs that are better than okay. They band have also raised sufficient funds via Kickstarter to finance their third album.

MP3: Venice Is Sinking – “Compass”
Stream: Venice Is Sinking / Okay

The Bird & The Bee have released a new DLR-saluting video from Ray Guns Are Not Just For The Future.

Video: The Bird & The Bee – “Diamond Dave”

Paste catches up with Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne. Their new album Embryonic is out October 13.

R.E.M.’s forthcoming live record Live At The Olympia In Dublin, out October 27, will come with a bonus live DVD entitled This Is Not A Show and comprised of footage from those same shows. There’s a trailer and performance clip from the film now available to watch.

Video: R.E.M. – “Drive” (live in Dublin)
Trailer: This Is Not A Show

Magnet plays over/under with the Husker Du catalog. And speaking of the Du, The Guardian reports that Grant Hart will release his first solo album in a decade in Hot Wax, out October 6. Bob Mould kicks off his tour in support of last year’s Life And Times next month, starting here in Toronto with a date at the Mod Club on October 5. Support for the first few dates of that tour comes from Miles Anthony Benjamin Robinson, whose new album Summer Of Fear is out October 20.

Rolling Stone talks to Black Francis of Pixies about gearing up for their Doolittle tour.

Frank YangYou need only look as far as Monday’s post to see what I was doing at the Horseshoe on Wednesday night. What I hadn’t mentioned in the writeup of The Balconies’ debut album – out officially September 15 – was that I had been trying to catch the band live for some months now, based on numerous rave reviews, but while they’d played no shortage of shows in the 416 I’d not been able to make any of them until now. The fact that I’d been able to familiarize myself with their album was just a happy coincidence.

And to everyone who’d offered those rave live reviews and perhaps set up unreasonable expectations… you were right. The trio, playing their first gig as a Toronto-based band, performed with an energy and tightness that belied their relatively short existence together. Songs that I wasn’t sure about on the album sounded great, as really their whole set did from start to finish. As impressive as the recorded document is – it really does manage to reproduce their on-stage sound – The Balconies live came off with a certain swagger that wasn’t quite captured in the studio. Blessed with an abundance of tunes, talent and charisma, The Balconies may be new in town but if you haven’t made their acquaintance yet, just wait – they’re too good to stay any kind of secret. They play a free show on Saturday night at The Recording Arts Academy and will be at Lee’s Palace for a CD release show on September 25.

I’d seen middle act The Magic back in June during NxNE and they turned out to be one of the best new things I saw during the festival. While that show put the spotlight on their disco-fied side, this time they played things a little cooler and damn if they didn’t sound even better for it – less with the camp and kitsch, more with the deep groove and the slow burn. These are relative statements, mind you – it was still all about the party, but this time the lights were turned down a little more. The band, who released an EP last year that doesn’t nearly do the fullness of their sound justice, continue to work on their full-length debut. Mirror balls twinkle in anticipation.

Last up was Everything All The Time, presumably named for neither the album by Band Of Horses or the song by Styx, but who were acting as hosts for the evening. The occasion was the release of their new EP, a follow-up to their 2008 self-titled debut but the first to properly capture their current incarnation as fronted by Alanna Stuart. With her impressive vocals up front, the keyboard-loaded sextet resided squarely at the intersection of synth-pop and soul-pop, circa the mid-1980s – utterly danceable and with lots of familiar sounds, but blended together in a decidedly fresh manner.

I saw the band play last August and while it was clear what they were going for, it didn’t sound like it had quite coalesced into what it was meant to be. A year on, that’s no longer a problem – their set was delivered with loads of confidence and as much energy as a band where 5/6 of the personnel are rooted to their instruments can possibly have, thanks largely to Stuart’s voice and presence, which was irresistible without being overbearing – a diva with only the positive connotations of the word. Their next gig is a CD release show on October 23 (I think that’s what they said) at the Drake Underground. Odds of it being a dance party are approximately one to one.

The Singing Lamb has an interview with Everything All The Time.

Photos: Everything All The Time, The Magic, The Balconies @ The Horseshoe – August 26, 2009
MP3: Everything All The Time – “Love Love”
MP3: The Balconies – “300 Pages”
MP3: The Balconies – “Smells Like Secrets”

Peaches has a date at the Phoenix on November 18.

MP3: Peaches – “Talk To Me”

Dirty Projectors are heading back on the road this Fall in support of Bitte Orca and will be at the Opera House in Toronto on November 14. Full dates at The Music Slut. The band will also be releasing a new EP in the UK on September 29 called Temecula Sunrise – details at Pitchfork.

MP3: Dirty Projectors – “Rise Above”
Video: Dirty Projectors – “Stillness Is The Move”

Chairlift have released a new video from Does You Inspire You. Last time I was in New York, I saw the health club poster with the phrase that the album title is lifted from. I’m actually back in New York next weekend – anything going on? Actually Chairlift is playing. Maybe it’s a sign. Or a poster. Aaaaah.

Video: Chairlift – “Ceiling Wax”

Pitchfork talks to Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips about the edition of All Tomorrow’s Parties they’re curating in New York’s Catskills from September 11 to 13. There’s also interviews at The Fredericksburg Freelance-Star and The Washington Examiner. Their new album Embryonic is out October 13.

Richard Hawley talks to Spinner about getting into the necessary headspace to write his latest album Truelove’s Gutter, out September 22.

Pitchfork gets to know The xx, while The Quietus examines how the state of technology allowed the band to come to be. XX is out October 20 and they play The Phoenix on December 2.

Spin asks tough questions of Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner. They play the Kool Haus on September 29.

Both eye and NOW talk to Ohbijou’s Casey Mecija and James Bunton about the Friends In Bellwoods project, the launch parties for which go tonight at Lee’s Palace and all day tomorrow at The Tranzac.

Canadian Interviews interviews Canadian Kat Burns of Forest City Lovers, who will be playing the Friday night edition of the aforementioned release parties. Look for a new 7″ this Fall and work continues apace on album number three.

V Fest is finally here this weekend and The Toronto Star examines some of the problems that have beset this year’s edition of the festival and NOW looks at some of the acts that will be playing this weekend at the Molson Amphitheatre.

eye talks to Trent Reznor of day two headliner Nine Inch Nails about his decision to hang it up after this final round of touring.

JAM has an interview with Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys. I’ve never even thought of myself as a Pet Shop Boys fan, but they may be the act I’m most excited about seeing this weekend. I don’t think there’s any way they won’t put on a great show.

Montreal Mirror, JAM and Uptown interview Franz Ferdinand, playing the festival on day one.

With Sloan’s Chris Murphy still recovering from a broken collarbone, NOW reports that the band will have a few ringers covering bass duties on Saturday afternoon. No word on a designated scissor-kicker.

NOW and The Toronto Sun talk to Datarock. They’re up early Sunday afternoon. “Up” as in playing. Not as in awake.

Spinner has posted up the next (and last?) in its series on the state of independent music in Canada, this piece looking towards the future with the likes of Fucked Up, Crystal Castles and some fresh-faced kids who go by Metric.

friendsinbellwoods.comI suppose you can be forgiven if the names above are unfamiliar at first glance, but if you don’t recognize either of Bry Webb or Casey Mecija’s day jobs as frontpersons for Constantines and Ohbijou respectively, then you must be new and not from around here. Welcome, sit a spell. The Cons’ white-knuckle, blue-collar rock and Ohbijou’s sweeping orch-pop don’t have much in common, stylistically, but on this Velvet Underground cover, Webb’s hard-living rasp and Mecija’s honeyed voice come together like the most natural thing in the world, turning the last song on the last proper Velvet’s album into a delectable duet.

The track appeared on the first Friends In Bellwoods compilation, released in the early part of 2007 as a fundraising effort for Toronto’s Daily Bread Food Bank and not only did it succeed admirably in that – over $11,000 has been raised to date – it also served as a time capsule of a period when a new wave of up-and-coming acts based in and around Toronto were set to make their mark on the local, national and for some, international stage. And since that went over so well, they’ve done it again – Friends In Bellwoods 2 will be released this week with an even more stellar lineup of talent collaborating and contributing songs to the double-CD set. The release shows for the collection started last week but the parties go this coming weekend – Friday night at Lee’s Palace with Ohbijou, Bocce, Forest City Lovers and Evening Hymns and then all day Saturday at the Tranzac with many of the artists on the album playing short sets.

A few of the songs from the new comp were previewed last week and Exclaim is streaming Ohbijou’s contribution to the record. Ohbijou talks to Metro about the Friends In Bellwoods project.

MP3: Bry Webb & Casey Mecija – “Oh! Sweet Nuthin'”
Stream: The Velvet Underground – “Oh! Sweet Nuthin'”