Frank YangWhen last week’s The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart show was announced way back in December, I figured it would be a nice little underground thing (literally and figuratively) with myself and the small but loyal posse of Toronto shoegaze devotees in the subterranean environs of Neutral. Sure, their unabashedly retro but still nearly perfect fuzz-pop in theory had mass appeal, but the same could be said for most stuff I like but never manages to catch on – it’s pop music. It’s not difficult.

But as the early February release date of their self-titled debut drew near, a buzz that couldn’t be credited just to the shoegaze loyalists was quickly growing around the band, culminating in a “Best New Music” review from the old Pitchfork and just like that, you knew it wasn’t just going to be a handful of people staring at each others’ sneakers. The fact that the show had already been moved from Neutral to the much larger Lee’s Palace was just a coincidence due to work permit issues rather than demand, but it proved to be a most necessary move – by the time the much-feted band took the stage, Lee’s was nearly packed.

Leading up to that point were a couple of support acts, one local and one tourmate. The former, an outfit called Don Mills, were hopelessly miscast for the audience with their decidedly anonymous-sounding rock. The only remarkable thing about them was their singer’s utter commitment to his performance, with stage moves that seemed laughably ironic until you realized they were totally genuine – and then they were oddly commendable.

The Depreciation Guild were a far more compelling warm-up. I commented favourably on their free-to-download debut In Her Gentle Jaws, with its M83-gone-8-bit charms, but wasn’t fully prepared for the transformation their sound would take in a live setting. Their secret weapon – an old Japanese Famicom game console – was very much on display beside frontman Kurt Feldman and set the table, musically speaking, for their songs but its bleeps and bloops were soon drowned out by the live band’s dual guitars and thundering drums, the synthetic wall of sound ever-present on the record replaced by a decidedly organic one. On one hand, it’s sort of unfortunate that their most distinctive element was lost in the din but the intensity of the attack – while somehow maintaining the dreampop delicacy of the songs – more than made up for it.

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, on the other hand, delivered exactly what was expected – twee-pop confections dressed up in big outfits of noise – but they fared less well in the live setting. The band’s inherent feyness wasn’t quite able to overcome their own sonic attack and as a result, some of the little touches that give the album enough variety to transcend its admittedly limited aesthetic, in particular the boy-girl harmonies of Kip Berman and Peggy Wang, were simply buried and the net result was a cheerful but rather monochromatic show. Though they’re not an overly charismatic bunch, it was fun watching them obviously have a blast and in particular Berman’s incredulousness at the sheer number of people in attendance – at one point he said that it was the biggest show they’d ever played. With a barely 45-minute set including encore, it’s impossible to say that they overstayed their welcome but what would have seemed like a too-short show from most bands felt just right for the Pains. I don’t want to use the word “disappointment” as that simply wasn’t the case, but they didn’t manage to make me feel any greater love for the band or the record. But I still love the record a fair bit so that’s okay.

eye also has a review of the show and Express Night Out, Tripwire and The New Gay have interviews with the band.

Photos: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, The Depreciation Guild, Don Mills @ Lee’s Palace – February 12, 2009
MP3: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Everything With You”
MP3: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Come Saturday”
MP3: The Depreciation Guild – “Darklooming”
MP3: The Depreciation Guild – “Butterfly Kisses”
Video: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Everything With You”
Video: The Depreciation Guild – “Nautilus”
MySpace: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
MySpace: The Depreciation Guild

Clash interviews Asobi Seksu. Hush is out today and they play the El Mocambo on March 3.

Clash talks to Ben Curtis of School Of Seven Bells.

eye, Metro and JAM talk to Antony Hegarty of Antony & The Johnsons, who are playing the Queen Elizabeth Theatre tonight.

Details have finally emerged about the new record from Grizzly Bear. It’s called Veckatimest and it’s out May 26 – for more, head over to Pitchfork.

Spinner is featuring Black Kids in an Interface session. They’re at the Phoenix on April 10.

The New York Times, Hartford Courant and The Los Angeles Times talk to M Ward about his new record Hold Time, out today.

San Diego one-man act Wavves – who’s apparently all the buzz with blogs which are not this one – is coming to town for a show at Sneaky Dee’s on March 31.

MP3: Wavves – “So Bored”

TV On The Radio have a date at the Sound Academy on June 2.

Virgin Music interviews Aaron Dessner of The National about his role as curator for the Dark Was The Night AIDS benefit compilation, out today.

Annie PowersFor those inclined to do so, it’s not difficult to criticize the self-titled debut from The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. It’s true that the New York quartet are unabashed about wearing their influences – all things C86 and Sarah are obviously held in high regard – and in that sense, bring little new to the table. But rather than try to refute these arguments in any debate, I encourage those who’d want to defend the band to pose the following question to any detractors: Why do you hate fun?

Because more than anything, more than the layers of fuzz guitar that envelop the songs like cardigans, more than the sugary boy-girl harmonies, more than the undistilled pop wonder of the songs, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart are fun. Whimsical, heartfelt, unadulterated fun. This, of course, assumes that you have a warm place in your heart for all things twee and that the idea of The Field Mice borrowing The Jesus & Mary Chain’s gear sounds like your idea of heaven. Other common name-drops include Velocity Girl, My Bloody Valentine, Teenage Fanclub… the list could go on and on, and the thing is – these comparisons are being made by those who hold these acts in the highest regard, and are really the highest form of compliment.

Though I was alive for it, I didn’t live through the original wave of jangle-and-feedback indiepop that arose on both sides of the Atlantic in the late ’80s and early ’90s. I came to it somewhat later, but The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart gives me a sense of how fresh and exciting it must have been at the time. How can you be nostalgic for something you never actually experienced? I don’t know, but I kind of like the feeling. And I love this record.

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart are playing Lee’s Palace next Thursday, February 12, with The Depreciation Guild, who were praised earlier this week. To say I’m excited about this show is just a smidge of an understatement. Tickets are $10 in advance, and considering the show is now at a venue about 150% larger than its original home at Neutral, there’s plenty to be had. Do yourself a favour and get one.

There’s features on the band at Exclaim, The Village Voice and New York Press.

MP3: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Everything With You”
MP3: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Come Saturday”
Video: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Everything With You”
MySpace: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

The Skinny talks to Benjamin Curtis of School Of Seven Bells

Though he just paid us a visit in November, Neil Halstead is coming back to the Drake Hotel on March 21 as part of a North American tour. CBC Radio 3 points out that the show is part of the Drake Hotel’s month-long fifth anniversary celebrations, at least some of which are invite-only. I myself will still be at SxSW when this show goes down but any information or conditions about it that come to light beforehand, I will dutifully inform you all of.

Blurt has an in-depth conversation with M Ward, who releases his new album Hold Time on February 17.

Pitchfork reports that Okkervil River will release “Pop Lie” as a single from The Stand-Ins come April 21.

The Asheville Citizen-Times Q&A’s Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers.

The Hold Steady have a new release in the form of a live album/documentary DVD coming April 7. It’s called A Positive Rage and full details are to be had over at Paste.

Bob Mould discusses his forthcoming album The Life & Times, due April 7, with Spinner.

Metromix talks to Beirut’s Zach Condon. They release their new double EP March Of The Zapotec/Holland and having heard it, I understand why the latter half is presented under the “Realpeople” name… it’s out February 17.

John Vanderslice will release his new album Romanian Names on May 19.

Director Wes Anderson reminisces about making his first film, Bottle Rocket, with Filter.

Jeaneen LundThe old inbox was overflowing with local concert announcements yesterday – certainly makes cobbling together a post easy. In chronological order…

Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains, who just played an instore at Sonic Boom last week, are heading out on a European tour through most of this month but will be having a little homecoming party at the Horseshoe on March 6. Tickets $10.50. Grainger has a little chat with Spoonfed.

MP3: Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains – “American Names”
MP3: Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains – “By Cover Of Night (Fire Fight)”

Julie Doiron is set to release a new album on March 24 in I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day and will follow that up a trio of dates up the 401 including a March 26 date at the Horseshoe. Tickets $10.

MP3: Julie Doiron – “Consolation Prize”

Their new album Beacons is complete, but there’s still no firm release date for the sophomore effort from Ohbijou… but considering they’ve just announced a CD release show for said record on April 18 at the Opera House, it’s probably safe to say that it’ll be out around then. Tickets for that fete will be $13.

I will admit to being mildly astonished not by the fact that Travis are coming back to North America this Spring in support of last year’s Ode To J Smith, but that they’re playing – at least here on April 21 – venues the size of the Sound Academy. 3000 people to see Travis in 2009? And at $34.50 a ticket? Really? Huh. The Daily Yomiuri has an interview with the band about the making of the album.

Video: Travis – “J Smith”
Video: Travis – “Song To Self”

The Appleseed Cast have a new album in Sagarmatha coming out February 17 and they’ve got a date at the Horseshoe for April 21, tickets $10. Songs from the record can be heard at Stereogum and RCRDLBL.

Despite being rather fond of most of the “sassy English female singer-songwriters” which followed in her wake, Lily Allen has never done much for me. Might her new record It’s Not Me, It’s You, out next week, change my mind? The album is currently streaming in its entirety over at her MySpace – let’s find out. She’s also playing a show at the Phoenix on April 22, tickets $27.50, and Spin has posted online an excerpt of this month’s cover story on the singer. Update: Full North American tour dates at The Music Slut.

Video: Lily Allen – “The Fear”
Stream: Lily Allen / It’s Not Me, It’s You

I need no such persuasion to get excited for the return of Bat For Lashes (pictured). Her second album Two Suns, which will feature unlikely guests Scott Walker and Yeasayer, is coming out on April 6 and following a set of European dates will come some North American ones. In addition to a previously announced New York and Philadelphia dates, she will be in Toronto on April 25 for a show at the Mod Club, tickets $15. Their last show here in September 2007 was amazing, no reason to believe this one will be anything less. Rolling Stone talks to Natasha Khan about the split personality conceit behind her new record while MTV has a video interview. And check out this live performance of a new song on BBC2:

Video: Bat For Lashes – “Moon And Moon” (live on BBC2)

And last but not least for the show announcements, Franz Ferdinand are coming back on May 4 and playing a venue considerably larger than their cozy little Lee’s Palace gig last December, but if you don’t think they’ll sell out the Kool Haus in a heartbeat, you’re dreaming. Tickets for that one are $30 and go on sale February 7 at 10AM. Pitchfork has an interview with the band conducted here during their last visit.

In a rather drastic change of venue, the Pains Of Being Pure At Heart/Depreciation Guild show originally slated to happen at Neutral next Thursday has been moved to Lee’s Palace. Which pleases me because the lights at Neutral are, to put it mildly, abhorrent. All tickets will be honoured and there will probably be a lot more available now.

And some bits related to already-announced shows that are upcoming… Exclaim has a feature on Antony Hegarty of Antony & The Johnsons and Radio Free Canuckistan has posted up the complete transcript of the interview that went into the piece. They play the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on February 17.

Soundproof features The Rural Alberta Advantage, who will play Wavelength at Sneaky Dee’s on February 22 and then do a CMW showcase at the Gladstone in the wee hours (1AM) of March 12. The band made their NYC debut last week and accounts are that it went really well. They play New York again this Friday and Saturday nights.

Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit is out February 17, and Muzzle Of Bees has five questions with Mr Isbell. They play the Horseshoe on March 4.

The Montreal Mirror profiles Basia Bulat, who will play Lee’s Palace on March 14 as part of CMW, and will be getting to work on album number two later this Spring. Hour.ca also has a little chat about her decision to record a Sam Cooke cover for a 7″ single.

Aquarium Drunkard gets Tony Dekker of Great Lake Swimmers to offer a brief guide to his favourite places in Toronto. There’s also a trio of intimate performance videos from Dekker over at Aux.tv. Their new album Lost Channels is out March 31 and they play the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on April 25.

Catherine LosingFor The Records pointed out a curious concert listing for UK indie-dance act Friendly Fires at the website for Beggars Canada – it puts the St Alban’s trio in town on March 31, but only narrows the venue down to two possibilities – Mod Club or Lee’s Palace. So all I can accurately say is that they’ll be in Toronto at an approximately 500-capacity venue on that date. And wherever they are, odds of a dance party breaking out are pretty much one to one. Personally, I think that Mod would be a much more suitable venue – the ass-shaking, slick and scratchy new wave/disco goodness of their self-titled debut demands spectacle, which Mod’s famously over-the-top lighting system is equipped to provide. Lee’s doesn’t even have a disco ball.

MP3: Friendly Fires – “Jump In The Pool”
MP3: Friendly Fires – “Paris” (Aeroplane Remix)
Video: Friendly Fires – “Skeleton Boy”
Video: Friendly Fires – “Paris”
Video: Friendly Fires – “Jump In The Pool”
Video: Friendly Fires – “On Board”
MySpace: Friendly Fires

Toronto vibraphone mavens The Hylozoists will release their new album L’ile de Sept Villes on February 3 and showcase it at the Mod Club on February 21. Update: They’re also playing a Soundscapes instore on February 10 at 7PM. Here’s some older stuff.

MP3: The Hylozoists – “Smiley Smiley”
MP3: The Hylozoists – “Strait Is the Gate”

Marissa Nadler, whom I believe ended up cancelling her last scheduled date here last Summer, will try and pay us a visit again on April 21 at the El Mocambo. She has a new album due out early this year. Here’s some older stuff.

MP3: Marissa Nadler – “Diamond Heart”
MP3: Marissa Nadler – “Thinking Of You”

Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains are doing an in-store at Sonic Boom on January 29 at 7PM.

MP3: Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains – “American Names”
MP3: Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains – “By Cover Of Night (Fire Fight)”

Putting lie to the notion that bands can only play larger venues as they get bigger, Born Ruffians and Akron/Family have a date at Sneaky Dee’s on March 24. Tickets are $13 and on sale now.

Earlier yesterday Uncut speculated that the release of that Neil Young video for “Fork In The Road” implied not only the impending release of a new album with the same name, which may well be true, but to also mean that the Archives set has been pushed back indefinitely to accommodate. They’ve since been corrected with the same information that one of the official Archive-ists left on a post at Thrasher’s Wheat – “NYA Vol 1 has been completed in BD, DVD, CD and Digital Download editions. The only thing remaining is announcement of a street date”. Which is good news, though it does put lie to the February 24 release date that most had been clinging to. In short, there’s lots of material coming from Neil this year. Only no one knows what and when.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer interviews Kathleen Edwards, who is at Trinity-St Paul’s on February 13.

MP3: Kathleen Edwards – “Asking For Flowers”

The Quietus talks politics with Death Cab’s Nick Harmer.

Beirut have released a video from their forthcoming EP March Of The Zapotec, out February 17.

Video: Beirut – “La Llorona”

The Village Voice profiles Antony & The Johnsons. The Crying Light is out Tuesday and they play the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on February 17.

Muzzle Of Bees asks five questions of Los Campesinos!

The Decemberists are giving away a track from their forthcoming album The Hazards Of Love, out March 24. All you have to do is sign up to their mailing list. Colin Meloy was also on NPR’s World Cafe yesterday for an interview.

Clash talks to Kathy Foster of The Thermals, who will release Now We Can See on April 7.

The previously-mentioned untitled Bob Mould album also set for an April 7 release now has a title – Life And Times.

Filter talks to Ra Ra Riot, Daytrotter videotapes them playing in a park.

Pitchfork has an MP3 from M Ward’s Hold Time, out February 17. This track features the She to his Him, Zoey Deschanel, on vocals.

MP3: M Ward – “Never Had Nobody Like You”

Drowned In Sound solicits a mixtape from The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, the buzz around whom is growing at a pace that’s considerably larger than Neutral, the room they’re slated to play here in town on February 12. If you’re curious, an advance ticket may be a good idea. Their self-titled full-length is out February 3.

NPR has an acoustic session with The Hold Steady while Wireless Bollinger has an interview.

Former Grandaddy frontman Jason Lytle will return to active musical duty on May 19 with the release of his first solo record, Yours Truly, the Commuter.

2:30 PublicityI was reading a piece in the latest issue of Exclaim wherein Nicholaus Sparding of Love Is All commented on the band’s inability to get arrested in their native Sweden, perhaps on account of their refusal/inability to adhere to what’s typically thought of when you talk about Swedish indie – that is, elegant pop of the orchestrally twee persuasion.

And perhaps that’s why I ultimately ignored their debut, 2006’s Nine Times That Same Song – I really like that elegant, orchestrally twee pop, particularly delivered in a Swedish accent, and that’s most definitely not what Love Is All are about, except maybe the accent part. From Josephine Olausson’s gleeful caterwaul to James Ausfahrt’s skronking saxophone, Love Is All are resolutely scrappy, abrasive and frantic. The Cardigans, they are not.

But score one for personal growth, as I’ve given the follow-up A Hundred Things Keep Me Up at Night more of a chance and am pleased to find myself coming around to its charms. Within Hundred‘s ten tracks there reside a handful of lustrous pop jewels that no amount of sonic dirt can dull – manic lead single “Wishing Well” and the Spector-iiffic “When Giants Fall” chief amongst them – and the numbers that don’t reach the same level of inspiration do their best to compensate with loads of anarchic energy. I can’t say that Love Is All are an outfit that I necessarily see myself forming a long and lasting relationship with, but for a good night out, you could do far worse.

And on that note, Love Is All are about to kick off a North American tour which will bring them to the Horseshoe next Thursday night, December 11. Courtesy of Against The Grain, I’ve got two pairs of passes to give away. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “Love Is All I need” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest closes at midnight, December 8.

Exclaim has posted up the complete transcript of the interview that seeded the feature mentioned above, and The San Francisco Bay Guardian also has an interview with Josephine Olausson.

MP3: Love Is All – “Wishing Well”
Video: Love Is All – “Wishing Well”
MySpace: Love Is All

One of the nicest things to show up in my inbox lately is from New Yorkers The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, whose ’80s-vintage jangly/fuzzy brand of pop is as twee-friendly as their name. Pretty much what you might expect from a band on the venerable Slumberland marque, and totally scratching an itch I’d forgotten I had. Their self-titled debut will arrive on February 3 and a short Winter tour brings them to Toronto on February 12 for a show at Neutral.

MP3: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Everything With You”
MP3: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Come Saturday”
Video: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Everything With You”
MySpace: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

The Wedding Present, for whom POBPAH are currently opening a string of dates in the UK, have released a download-only, throwaway (my subjective opinion) Christmas single, complete with video. The Gedge is really into this Californian lifestyle thing, from the looks of it.

Video: The Wedding Present – “Holly Jolly Hollywood”

The title track from Los Campesinos’ new record We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed is now available to download.

MP3: Los Campesinos! – “We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed”

Contact Music interviews Asobi Seksu. Their new album Hush is out February 17.

BBC talks to Noah & The Whale, who are set to release a mini-album under the guise of their A-Sides punk band persona, just in time for Christmas though just barely – it’s out December 22. They also give some hints about the direction album number two – currently in production and the reason for their cancelled North American tour – is taking.

And also cancelled is CSS’s December 15 date at the Opera House. I guess the Brazilians finally discovered that December is COLD in the northern hemisphere (actually they say it’s due to visa issues).

And those of you who didn’t get tickets to Franz Ferdinand’s show at Lee’s tomorrow night – which is most of you – may be heartened to know that they’re doing another tiny show at the Masonic Temple (aka MTV Canada studios) on Friday but the only way to get tickets is to listen to CFNY (aka “The Edge”, to those of you under 30). Whether you’re willing to make that great a sacrifice to try and get tickets is up to you.

March will prove to be a good month for those whose tastes run towards the rootsier end of things. First, March 3 brings the Middle Cyclone (artwork!), the new album from Neko Case (she talks to Paste about making the album and buying a farm – A farm, not THE farm), and on March 31 Great Lake Swimmers will release their latest, Lost Channels.