elviscostello.infoIf you were to play me this week’s cover selection by Okkervil River alongside their latest album I Am Very Far and tell me that it came from the same sessions – and assuming I didn’t know any better – I wouldn’t necessarily protest. Like much of the Austin-based band’s sixth record, their take on the closing track on Elvis Costello & The Attractions’ third album Get Happy!! is dense, bracing and a little unhinged.

But in fact the track dates back to 2002 or 2003, circa the band’s first record Don’t Fall In Love With Everyone You See. With the exception of Will Sheff, the song features a completely different Okkervil lineup from that which operates under the name today and while these days when Sheff’s voice gets as haggard as it does here it’s for effect, back then it was just how he sang. The tune was recorded for the Almost You Elvis Costello tribute album released in 2003.

Okkervil River are at The Phoenix this Friday night and Philly.com and Washington City Paper have features on the band. Elvis Costello brings his Revolver tour, complete with Spectacular Spinning Songbook, to the Sony Centre For The Performing Arts, on June 23.

MP3: Okkervil River – “Riot Act”
Video: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “Riot Act” (live)

Shoko IshikawaIf you’ve been reading this site for a little while, you may have noted that as of this Saturday – rapture notwithstanding – I’ll be en route to (hopefully) sunny Barcelona for a week and then on to London for a few days as a chaser. And if you’ve been reading this site for a while longer, you may recall that no other band more vividly conjures memories of my last visit to the England than The Clientele. Which is why the existence of Amor de Días, which is the musical pairing of Clientele frontman Alasdair MacLean and Lupe Núñez-Fernández, the Spanish half of Pipas, seems like it should be the perfect soundtrack for this trip.

As you might expect from the pairing of two artists known for delicately-rendered, beautiful pop, their debut Street Of The Love Of Days is an idyllic, gossamer-sounding collection of songs that somehow manages to sound equally English and Spanish without overtly trying (okay, the lyrics sung in Spanish was probably deliberate, but you know what I mean). And though the album is about four years in the making, recorded in the downtime between other projects, it feels breezy enough that if told it was tracked over the course of a week in some countryside villa, you’d have no reason to doubt it. No reason except for the understated but meticulous craftsmanship thats gone into it, that is – though the instrumentation is primarily acoustic, lightly orchestrated and relatively sparse, the dreamlike atmosphere that it’s used to create is sumptuous. This is the sound of long days, open skies and grassy fields; not necessarily what my actual trip will entail, but if it’s as peaceful and lovely as this record, I will happily take it.

All that said, this silver lining is not without its cloud – while I am heading over to their home and native lands, Amor de Días will be coming to mine and I will be missing their show at The Horseshoe on May 25, where they’ll be opening up for fellow musical couple Damon & Naomi. Everyone who’s said how envious they are of my trip ought to go to this show if just to spite me.

Allmusic gets the pair to list off some of the influences on their sound, complete with video samples, while TBD talks to Núñez-Fernández.

MP3: Amor de Días – “Bunhill Fields”
MP3: Amor de Días – “New Wine”
Video: Amor de Días – “Late Mornings”
Stream: Amor de Días / Street Of The Love Of Days

WBUR talks to Damon & Naomi about the Galaxie 500 days. And back in the duo’s present, News & Observer talks to them about their new record False Beats & True Hearts is out now and available to stream. As noted above, they’re at The Horseshoe on May 25.

MP3: Damon & Naomi – “Walking Backwards”
Video: Damon & Naomi – “Nettles & Ivy”
Stream: Damon & Naomi / False Beats and True Hearts

Spin sits Will Sheff of Okkervil River and Steve Earle down together for a chat while The Chronicle Herald and Riverfront Times talk to Sheff and Earle on their own, respectively. Okkervil are at The Phoenix on June 10, Earle at the Molson Amphitheatre August 20.

Pitchfork talks to Whitey McConnaughy, director of the cats-gone-wild video for Superchunk’s “Crossed Wires”.

Video: Superchunk – “Crossed Wires”

Check out the first MP3 from the new David Bazan record Strange Negotiations, due out May 24. He plays Lee’s Palace on June 14.

MP3: David Bazan – “Wolves At The Door”

Also in town on June 14, though at The Mod Club, are The Antlers. PopMatters has an interview with frontman Peter Silberman.

Spin, The Chicago Tribune and JAM talk to Death Cab For Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard. They play The Phoenix tonight and the Molson Amphitheatre on July 29. Codes & Keys is out May 31.

The Sentimentalist interviews The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, in town at The Opera House on August 2.

The Radio Dept. will be reissuing their entire catalog – all three albums – on vinyl come June 7, excellent news for those who like their fuzzy pop in the highest fidelity. Lesser Matters, Pet Grief and Clinging To A Scheme will all be available on wax come June 7 and this is particularly good news since Pet Grief has never been available on LP. Thank the band with a hug when they play The Horseshoe on May 29.

MP3: The Radio Dept. – “Why Won’t You Talk About It?”
MP3: The Radio Dept. – “The Worst Taste In Music”
MP3: The Radio Dept. – “Heaven’s On Fire”

It’s good of NME to want to introduce you to Sweden’s I Break Horses by way of a download of their track “Hearts”, but if you maybe don’t want a 39MB .WAV file, I’ve gone ahead and made an MP3 for you below. Think grand, M83-ish synth-gaze. It’s nice.

MP3: I Break Horses – “Hearts”
Video: I Break Horses – “Hearts”

Pitchfork has got a couple new MP3s from jj, who’re giving them away just because.

MP3: jj – “No One Can Touch Us Tonight”
MP3: jj – “Ice”

The Washington Examiner and Phoenix profile Lykke Li, in town at The Phoenix for a sold-out show on May 22.

Blurt reports that New York-based Japanese pop act Cibo Matto have reunited after more than a decade for a tour and a new album, due out sometime next year. In the meantime, catch them at The Mod Club Lee’s Palace on July 16, tickets $20 in advance.

Video: Cibo Matto – “Know Your Chicken”

Also Japanese-bred, New York-based and just a little odd are Peelander-Z; they’re coming back to town for NXNE and will be at The Silver Dollar on June 18 at midnight. Tampa Bay Online has an interview with Peelander Red and for the uninitiated, The AV Club has a Peelander primer.

MP3: Peelander-Z – “Tacos Tacos Tacos”

Grinderman have a new video. It’s animated. It’s not for kids.

Video: Grinderman – “Mickey Mouse And The Goodbye Man”

And continuing with the Nick Cave, just out and currently streaming are the four latest Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds reissues, though not the bonus material. And the fancy remastering may not have survived after the digital streaming compressions. But if you’re in the mood for some Bad Seeds and don’t have any handy, it’s your lucky day.

Stream: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds / Let Love In
Stream: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds / Murder Ballads
Stream: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds / The Boatman’s Call
Stream: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds / No More Shall We Part

Spinner talks to Howling Bells frontwoman Juanita Stein about making album number three, due out sometime this Summer.

Lauren DukoffOnly the most optimistic of souls think we’ll ever hear new material from Rilo Kiley; aside from rumours of a b-sides/rarities compilation, it would seem that 2007’s Under The Blacklight – on which they already sounded disinterested – will be the final word for the Los Angeles pop outfit. And while frontwoman Jenny Lewis has already established a pretty successful solo (and duo) career, former partner Blake Sennett is returning to active duty by turning his former side-project The Elected – last heard from on 2006’s aptly-titled Sun Sun Sun – into a full-time gig with Bury Me In My Rings, out next Tuesday.

The album is currently streaming in whole over at My Old Kentucky Blog and it sounds as though Sennett is still content to mine the rich tradition of classic and breezy Californian pop – with a foray into funk that’s as questionable as any attempts at funk that can be described as a “foray” – for his purposes. His tunes were never the highlights of Rilo Kiley’s records – Lewis’ ascent to stardom over their run was impossible to eclipse – but he was always a solid tunesmith with a good sense of melody. Perhaps now, without having to be constantly measured against his bandmate, he can establish his own merits properly.

He’s also taking his show on the road and that will bring him to Toronto’s Drake Underground on June 30. American Songwriter and Consequence Of Sound have conversations with Sennett about the new record and the latter gets a pretty colourful and definitive-sounding quote about the current (and final?) state of Rilo Kiley.

MP3: The Elected – “Babyface”
Stream: The Elected / Bury Me In My Rings

PopMatters and The News Chief have interviews with Jason Isbell, in town for a show at The Horseshoe on May 22.

And Maria Taylor, who opens up that show and the tour for Isbell, has announced an August 16 release date for her new record Overlook. Details and a streamable new song over at Under The Radar.

Rolling Stone talks to The Head & The Heart.

The Fruit Bats have a new record in the can entitled Tripper, and will be sharing it with the world come August 2. Exclaim has details and a widget from which to download a new, non-album, J Mascis-guesting MP3.

eMusic interviews Will Sheff of Okkervil River. They’re at The Phoenix on June 10.

NPR has a couple notable World Cafesessions up for your enjoyment – one with The Mountain Goats and another featuring The Kills.

Blurt profiles The Antlers, in town at The Mod Club on June 14.

Spin and NOW talk to Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard and Chris Walla, respectively. Death Cab are at The Phoenix on May 18 and the Molson Amphitheatre on July 29 and their new record Codes & Keys is out May 31.

Daytrotter has posted a session with John Vanderslice.

Metromix and CityBeat welcome The National back to Cincinnati.

Captain’s Dead has unearthed an old 1988-vintage Uncle Tupelo demo tape and posted the contents online.

Interview does its thing with James Blake, playing a sold-out show at Lee’s Palace on Saturday night.

NPR is streaming a Lykke Li session from KCRW while Express Night Out has an interview. She’s at The Phoenix on May 22.

The Alternate Side has a video session and interview with The Raveonettes, The Columbian just an interview.

MSN talks to The Naked & Famous, back for a show at Lee’s Palace on August 9.

Alexandra ValentiIf Will Sheff has ever felt too predictable in what people expect from Okkervil River, he’s really got no one to blame but himself. Since their breakout 2005 record Black Sheep Boy, the band in which he’s been the only real constant has made a habit (okay, twice) of releasing literarily-inclined multi-volume sets with a very specific narrative and musical themes; Black Sheep Boy being a mythically-tinged folk-rock study of the Tim Hardin song and the 2007-08 season’s production of The Stage Names/The Stand Ins was his ruminations on fame and the rock’n’roll life set to a soundtrack appropriately indebted to classic sounds of the ’60s and ’70s.

It’s an approach that has worked, clearly; each of Okkervil’s releases has brought the band more and more acclaim and all have been favourites around these parts. But based on their new record I Am Very Far, it’s one that required a little shaking up. Or a lot. While time will tell if there’ll be a companion record released in the near future, those looking for an easy angle on what Very Far is about, thematically, will be disappointed – having essentially put novels and memoirs to song, Sheff has now assembled his short story collection with each of the record’s eleven songs standing self-contained, both lyrically and musically. And it’s on the latter point that I Am Very Far really stands apart from its predecessors.

With a markedly different lineup from their last recordings, it’s inevitable that Okkervil would sound at least a little different. But rather than simply accept those variances, Sheff has opted to exploit them and give the band a new sonic identity. His own perfectly imperfect vocals remain the most identifying trait, but everything around it is bigger and broader-sounding than ever before. This is easily Okkervil’s most produced record ever, but rather than the extra gloss that that usually implies, here it means density. Overdubs and extra players, musical styles heretofore unexplored – dig the almost disco-ish groove of “Piratess” – and crazy echos and reverbs pervade the record as does an almost manic (or maniacal) sense of relentless restlessness; its bloodshot energy is almost as uncomfortable to listen to as it is invigorating. Some might suggest that I Am Very Far is the band’s bid to break into the mainstream but I think that if that was their intention, they’d sound like they’d have gotten a little more sleep before pressing “record”.

But for all the tumult that has obviously gone into making I Am Very Far, after a few acclimatizing listens, something quite beautiful emerges. The freedom gained from putting everything that defined Okkervil on the table with this record combined with Sheff’s already formidable skills as a songwriter, lyricist and arranger have produced the sort of album that I imagine most bands of a certain tenure long for; one that the more you thought you knew what the band were about, the more you’d be surprised by and which is like discovering one of your favourite bands again for the first time.

Spinner talks to Will Sheff and Pat Pestorius about making the new album. They play The Phoenix on June 10.

MP3: Okkervil River – “Wake And Be Fine”
Video: Okkervil River – “Wake And Be Fine”
Stream: Okkervil River / I Am Very Far

San Diego’s Crocodiles, whom I’d begun to think had some personal issue with Toronto for their never touring up this way, will make up for their absence in a big way for NXNE as they will play a three-night residency at The Silver Dollar over the course of the festival, June 17, 18 and 19, with a different undercard each night.

MP3: Crocodiles – “Sleep Forever”

Chicago emo/math-rock veterans Joan Of Arc have a date at The Garrison for August 5, ticket $12.50. Their new record Life Like is out today.

MP3: Joan Of Arc – “Love Life”

The best of news, the worst of news. With their self-titled album due out on June 21, Bon Iver have announced a Summer tour that brings Justin Vernon and company back to Toronto on August 8… to The Sound Academy. Well at least it’ll be warm. Tickets are $35 general admission, $45 VIP and go on sale Friday. Support will come from Vernon’s old bandmates The Rosebuds, who themselves have a new record out in Loud Planes Fly Low, out June 7.

MP3: Bon Iver – “Blood Bank”
MP3: The Rosebuds – “Second Bird Of Paradise”

New York singer-songwriter Lia Ices has announced a date at The Rivoli for August 9, tickets $12, and has also released a video for the title track of her debut album Grown Unknown. The Georgia Straight has a profile.

MP3: Lia Ices – “Daphne”
Video: Lia Ices – “Grown Unknown”

The National have taken their two recent non-album releases – songs from the Win/Win film and Portal 2 video game soundtracks – and put them on a 7″ single for those who like physical things made of vinyl.

Sufjan Stevens talks to The Guardian about the nervous breakdown that informed The Age Of Adz.

NYC Taper is sharing a recording of an Antlers show in New York from earlier this week. Their new record Burst Apart is out today and Pitchfork has an in-studio video performance of one the new songs with an assist from Neon indian. There’s interviews with the band at The Huffington Post, eMusic and Village Voice. They play The Mod Club on June 14.

The AV Club chats with Bon Iver drummer S Carey about his solo work.

Pitchfork talks to Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes. They’re at Massey Hall on July 14 and tonight’s show in Austin is going to be webcast live on NPR.

Richard Buckner fields questions from Aquarium Drunkard about his new record Our Blood, due out August 2.

PopMatters interviews Lissie, in town for a show at The Phoenix on May 28.

Death Cab For Cutie have released a second video from Codes & Keys, out May 31. They’ve got two local dates coming up – May 18 at The Phoenix and July 29 at The Molson Amphitheatre. Tickets for the latter will range from $29.50 to $49.50 and go on sale Friday at 1PM. Black Book talks food with Ben Gibbard.

Video: Death Cab For Cutie – “Home Is A Fire”

NYC Taper has posted a recording of The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart’s show at New York’s Webster Hall last week. The band are at The Opera House on August 2.

Beatroute interviews Explosions In The Sky.

Low steps into The AV Club’s Undercover studio and records a cover of Toto’s “Africa”, and damn if they don’t sound amazing.

Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips discusses the viability of gummy skulls as the next medium of music delivery with Billboard.

Frank YangI will be the first to admit I don’t do nearly as good a job of keeping track of worthy up and coming local and/or Canadian bands as I’d like, generally taking an “if they’re worth hearing I’ll hear them eventually” approach and deferring to great local and national sites with a homegrown focus like I Heart Music, The Take, Singing Lamb and Herohill to do the legwork and put worthy new Canuck talent on my radar. Showcasing said talent is the mandate of the Unsigned series which periodically puts on shows at the Steam Whistle brewery and checking out said talent was what I was doing there on Friday night along with a pretty packed roundhouse.

Leading things off were Freedom Or Death, who were marking the release of their debut mini-album Ego earlier in the week. The duo in the studio/quartet on stage craft what would best be described as a sort of synth-rock-soul amalgam, though not nearly as left field-sounding as that might imply. Most of their material is built around frontman Sway C in R&B croon mode overtop keyboard patches lifted from the ’80s and given a ’90s-ish production sheen, but its relative safeness is offset by the fact that a lot of their songs are instantly memorable and expertly crafted. It’s the sort of thing that if alt.rock radio or MuchMusic still held the cultural hegemony they once did, could become huge but as things stand today, would have to settle – for now at least – for impressing a roomful of punters in a brewhouse. Like their music, their performance was a bit slick and calculated but certainly effective; those watching might well have walked away thinking they’d seen one of the city’s next big things and who knows, they might be right.

Goodness knows that’s a title that’s been hanging around The Darcys for years now, and clearly no guarantee of anything. The circumstances around their delayed ascent to greatness were pretty well-documented back in March by The Toronto Star – but with the self-titled sophomore effort that’s really more of a debut hopefully finally ready to see the light of day after being stalled for more than a year, the band may finally be ready to move forwards. For the as yet unacquainted, my best description of The Darcys would a balance of prog and pop somewhere between the tension of mid-era Radiohead and the grand presentation of early Elbow, though I don’t think it’s any slight to add the caveat that they’re not as brilliant as either, at least not right now if ever, but it does give a sense of where they’re pointed creatively as well as their potential. And so while there’s still no definite timetable for when their recorded selves will finally be let loose, though it seems inconceivable that no label in the city will have the good sense to put it out before the year is out, The Darcys are making do venting their energies onstage.

As with the last couple times I’d seen them live, their show was an impressive exercise in musicianship and intensity though as I’ve mentioned in the past – and as also applies to their record – a couple of less-clenched songs would really help the dynamics of the experience. But considering they’ve been sitting on this record and these songs far longer than any band ever should, who knows where they’re actually at right now with respect to their songwriting. And that’s perhaps the biggest reason I hope they get the album out soon; not just so that the rest of the world can be let in on what Toronto’s known for so long, but so that the band can finally get on with it.

Though The Darcys were top billed on the show posters, they weren’t the closing act – that honour went to Wildlife, whose acquaintance I’d made only a day or two earlier via a copy of their debut album Strike Hard, Young Diamond which conveniently showed up in my mailbox. And the collection of uptempo rock, faintly Wolf Parade-ish without all the quirkiness and striking a good balance between heart-on-sleeve sensitivity and beer-in-hand boisterousness, made a good impression so though the option of heading home early was on the table, I opted to stick around. That the aforementioned balance wouldn’t be carried over to the stage was made clear pretty early on as frontman Dean Povinsky declared that the evening’s spirit animal would be Andrew WK and the theme would be partying. They did the party thing well, however, and while it didn’t really hold my attention for the duration, it did energize the crowd with the good time vibes. And props for the solid encore of The Who’s “Baba O’Reilly”.

NOW has a profile on Freedom Or Death and Toro a video session. Their next show is June 9 at The Drake while Wildlife’s next local performance will be May 26 at Sneaky Dee’s.

Photos: Wildlife, The Darcys, Freedom Or Death @ Steam Whistle Brewing – April 29, 2011
MP3: Wildlife – “Stand In The Water”
MP3: The Darcys – “The House Built Around Your Voice”
MP3: Freedom Or Death – “This Crowded Room”
Video: Freedom Or Death – “This Crowded Room”

Heartbeat Hotel, who are one of my personal picks for worthy unsigned bands in the city – as in worthy of being signed, not that they should remain without a label – have released a new video from last year’s free and excellent and free album Fetus Dreams.

Video: Heartbeat Hotel – “Windowsill #1”

Nashville’s Tristen will be in Toronto on July 16 for a show at the Drake in support of her debut album Charlatans At The Gate; a 7″ worth of MP3s is available at their website in exchange for an email.

Video: Tristen – “Baby Drugs”

Liz Phair defends the artistic merits of lat year’s Funstyle to Spinner.

Having just announced that they’ll be reissuing their 2004 EP Cherry Tree in limited edition on June 28, The National are giving away an MP3 of “About Today” from said release at their Bandcamp in exchange for an email. Also available to grab is the song they contributed to the soundtrack of Portal 2, which I’m led to understand is a video game of some kind.

MP3: The National – “Exile Vilify”

The Dallas Observer and Exclaim talk to Will Sheff of Okkervil River, whose new record I Am Very Far comes out next Tuesday, May 10 but is streaming in whole right now at Exclaim. They play The Phoenix on June 10.

Stream: Okkervil River / I Am Very Far

NYC Taper is sharing a recording of Low’s set at the Bowery Ballroom in New York last week. They’re at The Mod Club tonight.

DCist talks to Bill Janovitz of Buffalo Tom.

The New York Times profiles the people behind the up-and-coming live music resource Songkick.