Tom BeardI didn’t pay much attention to London’s The Horrors when the released their debut album Strange House in 2007 because, well, they had a bad name, worse stage names and looked ridiculous and I’m shallow like that. No apologies. A few years on and the name is still bad but the pseudonyms are gone and they look somewhat less ridiculous and have a new album out in Primary Colours in a couple weeks. And you know what? It’s interesting.

Produced by Geoff Barrow, the Kraut-gaze sound that dominates things isn’t the most natural amalgam of sounds, but the resultant gritty, metallic dronescape works pretty well. It can get somewhat texturally monochromatic over 45 minutes, but they sensibly inject poppy pit stops like the title track at key points through the proceedings. Faris Badwan’s vocals are from the Peter Murphy/Richard Butler school of emoting but with a pleasantly raw quality that I wasn’t expecting – I thought he’d sound more theatrical or overwrought. The record hasn’t worked its way into heavy rotation by any means, but it also doesn’t make me not want to listen to it. That may sound like faint praise, but considering the amount of stuff that I hear that DOES make me not want to listen to it, it’s actually something of a compliment. I’ll be spending more time with it in advance of their show at the Phoenix on May 7 when they open up for The Kills.

You can spend some time with it now as Spinner is streaming the thing in its entirety. There’s also a rather grandiose video for the first single, which you can also download at their website in exchange for your email. Gigwise and NME both assembled track-by-track reviews of the record and NME also has a portion of a feature interview with the band.

Video: The Horrors – “Sea Within A Sea”
Stream: The Horrors / Primary Colours
MySpace: The Horrors

The third band on that Kills/Horrors bill, Magic Wands, have made a track from their debut EP Magic Love And Dreams available to download. It’s out May 25.

MP3: Magic Wands – “Black Magic”

Drowned In Sound has declared this week “Shoegaze Week”, and obviously I’m not going to argue. They kick things off by interviewing he whose song gave this site its name, Mark Gardener, formerly of Ride, and cover all the bases including THAT one, and the answer remains the same – “There is no plan to reform Ride at present and we’re all busy and very much involved in projects that we’re all doing now”.

Artrocker talks to Maximo Park about the making of their new album Quicken The Heart, which is due out May 12.

Jarvis Cocker has a new website, and I find the video there far more engrossing than any right-minded person really should. Look out for the “V”, Jarv! He also gives The Guardian the soundtrack of his life. His new record Further Complications is out May 19 and the first released MP3 sounds like this.

MP3: Jarvis Cocker – “Angela”

Wireless Bollinger interviews Andrew Innes of Primal Scream.

Black Book interviews Polly Jean Harvey.

The Daily Mail interviews Polly Scattergood, whose self-titled debut is out in North America on May 19. There’s various remixes of her new single “Please Don’t Touch” by The Golden Filter up for grabs at Pitchfork, Stereogum and Gorilla Vs Bear.

There’s a two–part interview with Super Furry Animals. The 48-minute doc to accompany their new album Dark Days/Light Years is currently streaming at Pitchfork.

Video: Super Furry Animals: Dark Days Light Years

The Citizen-Times converses with Barry Burns of Mogwai. They’re at the Phoenix on May 4.

New Pixies record this Summer? Maybe. Update: Not.

Au Revoir Simone have a new record forthcoming in Still Night, Still Light, out May 19, and have scheduled a tour to support, including a May 21 date at Lee’s Palace.

MP3: Au Revoir Simone – “A Violent Yet Flammable World”

Portland acoustic pop duo Blind Pilot will be in town at the El Mocambo on June 12, tickets $10.50.

MP3: Blind Pilot – “Go On, Say It”

That Passion Pit/Harlem Shakes show on June 16 is now confirmed – it’s happening at Lee’s Palace. Passion Pit have released a new video from Manners, out May 19, to celebrate their third attempt to play Toronto this year.

Video: Passion Pit – “The Reeling”

Apparently The Enemy are quite the deal back in Britain – their debut was #1 in the UK and has gone platinum there, their follow up Music For The People is out next week – but I don’t think I’d ever heard of them until the press release announcing their show at the Mod Club in Toronto on June 19 showed up in my inbox. Is this something I should be ashamed or or thankful for? I’m kinda leaning towards the latter. Tickets for the show are $18.50.

Video: The Enemy – “No Time For Tears”

Dave Lowery and Cracker are back, with a new album in Sunrise In The Land Of Milk And Honey and a tour that now includes a June 23 date at Lee’s Palace in Toronto, tickets $20.50.

Video: Cracker – “Yalla Yalla”

Dallas’ The Paper Chase are releasing a double album this year in two parts – the first half, Someday This Could All Be Yours (Volume One) – is set for release May 12 and they’ll play the Drake Underground on June 29, tickets $11.

MP3: The Paper Chase – “What Should We Do With Your Body? (The Lightning)”

Gibson Guitars deconstructs the ingredients of Wilco’s live guitar sound without any particular brand bias. Which is good for them, because I won’t be having anyone talking smack about Nels or his Jazzmaster.

NPR is streaming the whole of St Vincent’s new album Actor in advance of its official release on May 5. Annie Clark talks to Womens Wear Daily about her music and wardrobe.

Stream: St Vincent / Actor

Magnet welcomes Superchunk/Portastatic/Merge-man Mac McCaughan into their guest editor’s seat this week with a Q&A about the return of the ‘Chunk and Merge’s 20th anniversary festivities.

The Guardian considers the current wave of female pop artists garnering success in the UK, including Ladyhawke, Little Boots and La Roux.

Leonie PurchasWith her 2006 debut album Fur & Gold, Natasha Khan – she who is essentially Bat For Lashes – crafted a mysterious and fantastical world with a foundation made up of a lot of Kate Bush and a little Bjork but still felt distinct and fresh and most importantly, was wholly beguiling thanks to the richness of both her creative vision and her remarkable voice.

Three years hence, she’s returned with Two Suns. It’s a record with much to live up to considering its Mercury Prize-nominated predecessor, and whether she’s succeeded depends on which direction you were hoping Khan would tilt her creative balancing act of accessibility and eccentricity. Of course, even that answer isn’t entirely straightforward. Fur & Gold was eclectic in mood and texture, like a wander through Khan’s imagination, but also featured immediate pop gems in “What’s A Girl To Do” and “Prescilla”.

Two Suns is more focused and consistent in feel, but with the exception of Karate Kid-invoking lead single “Daniel”, is less overtly hooky. It is, however, more dramatically executed – the power behind her vocals on “Glass” is chilling – and feels much more personal. Whereas Fur carried with it a fictional darkness, this time out it comes across as hauntingly autobiographical. The imagery used still draws on mythical influences, but the emotions behind them feel much more intense and direct than before. The production is also richer and deeper, more beat-driven and with a faint but distinct synthetic sheen – it’s subtle, but effective, and gleams when necessary. It may take a bit more time and effort for it to permeate the consciousness, but Two Suns manages to be a marked improvement on a debut that didn’t really have anything wrong with it in the first place. Remarkable.

Drowned In Sound has a print interview with Khan, Nylon a video one and XFM an aural one. Bat For Lashes kick of their North American tour on April 25 at the Mod Club in Toronto.

MP3: Bat For Lashes – “Glass” (live)
Video: Bat For Lashes – “Daniel”
MySpace: Bat For Lashes

The Tripwire asks five questions of La Roux’s Elly Jackson. Their self-titled debut is out June 29.

White Lies talk to Spinner about their upcoming gig in a London cemetery.

Black Cab Sessions coaxes Doves into their backseat for a song, while The Yorkshire Post and The Daily Star have interviews. Doves are at the Kool Haus on June 1.

Kevin Shields messes with Texas, giving interviews to The Austin Chronicle and Dallas Observer about My Bloody Valentine’s hiatus, reunion and the state of their old old (reissues) and new old (unreleased) albums.

A winner has been selected for the contest to create a video for M83. Check out the winning visuals for “We Own The Sky”.

Video: M83 – “We Own The Sky”

School Of Seven Bells heads down under, with Claudia Dehaza talking to The Age and sister Alejandra to The Sydney Morning Herald.

Newsweek interviews The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart and coaxes them to play a new song for them on video. The Pains are at Lee’s Palace on April 28.

Baltimore dream-pop duo Wye Oak will release their second album The Knot on July 21. The first song sounds a little – well, exactly – like this. Beautiful.

MP3: Wye Oak – “Take It In”

Time Out New York talks to Holly Miranda. Her solo record is still presumably forthcoming.

ABC News has a video interview with Bob Mould, Express Night Out sticks with text.

Superchunk’s Jim Wilbur talks to Spinner about the band’s slow return from hiatus-land.

Filter has a three–part interview with John Vanderslice, whose new album Romanian Names is out May 19.

Third time’s the charm? After two cancelled shows, it looks like Passion Pit are trying to play Toronto one more time. According to the Harlem Shakes, with whom they’re touring this Summer, they’re going to be in town on June 16 at a venue to be determined. Good luck to ya. Passion Pit’s debut Manners is out May 19 while Harlem Shakes’ debut Technicolor Health is out now.

MP3: Harlem Shakes – “Strictly Game”

Sunset Rubdown have a new album coming out on June 24 called Dragonslayer and they’ve already booked a tour (dates down the left side of their website) to promote. Toronto show goes down July 11 at Lee’s Palace. Pitchfork has the first taste of the album.

MP3: Sunset Rubdown – “Idiot Heart”

The Rural Alberta Advantage’s session with WOXY has been broken up into downloadable MP3s, which means that I no longer have to procrastinate doing it myself.

eye‘s cover feature this week is on Neko Case, and her two sold-out shows at Trinity-St Paul’s tonight and tomorrow.

M Ward has rolled out a new video from Hold Time, this one for his cover of Buddy Holly’s “Rave On”. The Press-Enterprise has an interview. Ward plays the Phoenix on April 27.

Video: M Ward – “Rave On”

NPR has an interview with Elvis Perkins In Dearland, who have a show at the Horseshoe on April 29.

There’s a track available from the forthcoming Steve Earle album Townes, due out May 12.

MP3: Steve Earle – “To Live Is To Fly”

Pitchfork reports that Patterson Hood’s second solo record Murdering Oscar (And Other Love Songs) will be released on June 23. There’s a couple tracks streaming at his MySpace.

City Pages has an interview and NPR a session with Jason Isbell.

And finally, QTV has an extensive – 42 minutes extensive – interview with Leonard Cohen. It’ll take kinda forever to load, but worth it. Cohen plays Copps Coliseum in Hamilton on May 19. Also read a feature at Salon.

MySpaceSo, yes – my head is a wee bit fried right now from endless photo processing. And on top of that, I actually had no planned posts, per se, for after SxSW – just a mess of links that have accumulated over the past week. So I’ll just vomit some of those out for you to get through the day. ‘Kay?

To begin – this post at BrooklynVegan made me first do a double-take, and then fire up Expedia to check prices for flights to New York City over the May long weekend. Why? The Radio Dept are coming to North America. It’s just a single show so far on May 16 at the Bell House in Brooklyn as part of NYC Popfest, but this interview with the band at Ca Va Cool reveals there’s one more NYC date to come and maybe – maybe – some more North American touring come Fall. But I will say this – if I’m not Barcelona-bound at the end of May, I could very well be en route to Brooklyn for the May 2-4. Hell, maybe even either way. Who wants to come?

To say that the ways of the Radio Dept are mysterious doesn’t even begin to cover it, as there’s been no word in many months as to the status of their third album Clinging To A Scheme, originally scheduled for a September 2008 release and then pulled. And so we wait. And we wait. The aforementioned bit about Autumn touring implies that it should be finished and out by then, but who knows. It’s not all bleakness for fans of their gorgeous Scandanavian synth-pop, though – they’ve made a complete live recording from last May available to download on their site. It’s not the finest audio quality – it sounds like a fan recording rather than soundboard – but it’s mostly listenable and the set contains a few new songs. There’s also a variety of live material available for download on their website but for whatever reason, some of the best stuff is inaccessible. How Radio Dept typical.

MP3: The Radio Dept – “Freddie and the Trojan Horse”
MP3: The Radio Dept – “The Worst Taste in Music”
MP3: The Radio Dept – “A Window”
MP3: The Radio Dept – “Pulling Our Weight”
MP3: The Radio Dept – “Why Won’t You Talk About It?”
ZIP: The Radio Dept / Live In Lund – May 18, 2008

Clash, Irish Times and Black Book talk to Nina Persson of A Camp. Colonia is out domestically on April 28 and they play the Mod Club on June 1.

Clash and New York Magazine talk to Peter Bjorn & John, whose Living Thing is out next week but streaming at their MySpace. They’re at the Phoenix on April 25.

Stream: Peter Bjorn & John / Living Thing

Pitchfork reports that Norway’s Ida Maria will give her 2008 debut Fortress Around My Heart a North America release on April 14. She was originally supposed to play two SxSW showcases last week but missed them both due to visa issues. She was also supposed to open up the whole of Glasvegas’ North American tour, including the April 3 date at the Mod Club in Toronto. Now she’s only with them as far as the March 31 show in Boston. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she was doing her best to avoid me.

Video: Ida Maria – “Oh My God”
Video: Ida Maria – “I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked”
Video: Ida Maria – “Stella”

Le Blogotheque features a Take-Away Show with Sigur Ros in a French cafe. Loverly.

Patrick Wolf has released the first video from The Bachelor, out June 1, and if it were a film it’d have a big ‘ol NC-17 rating attached to it. Oh my. Stereogum gets an update from Wolf on how the album is coming along.

Video: Patrick Wolf – “Vulture”

Drowned In Sound meets Doves, whose Kingdom Of Rust is out April 7 and who are at the Kool Haus on June 1.

Filter and The Times have features on White Lies, in town next Tuesday at Lee’s Palace.

CMJ reports that Elvis Costello is suddenly prolific again, with a new country-Americana album in Secret, Profane And Sugarcane set for release on June 2. The last time he walked this stylistic path, we go the sublime King Of America. Can he do it again? If he even comes close, it’ll be a worthy record.

Manic Street Preachers will release the Albini-produced, Edwards-penned Journal For Plague Lovers on May 18. Details at The Quietus.

The new album from The Rumble Strips has a name and release date. Look for Welcome To The Walk Alone on June 8. Details at NME.

The rumour mill has a Metric show at the Mod Club on April 14 with Holy Fuck as support. They said they had something special planned for the April 7 release of Fantasies – I think a little club show would qualify. Will confirm that when I can but in the meantime, watch their new video. And read this interview at Clash.

Video: Metric – “Gimme Sympathy”

French Kicks are at the Horseshoe on April 27, tickets $10.50.

MP3: French Kicks – “Also Ran”

New York state folk duo Gregory & The Hawk have a date at the El Mocambo on May 2. They were recently featured on Bandstand Busking.

BrooklynVegan reports that Jonathan Richman and Vic Chesnutt are hitting the road together this Summer, and that tour includes a June 25 date at The Great Hall in Toronto.

Camera Obscura have announced a North American tour in support of My Maudlin Career, out April 21. The Toronto date finds them at Lee’s Palace on June 27, a considerably smaller venue than their last couple visits, which were to the Opera House and Phoenix. Expect this to sell out super-quick.

Jay Reatard will be at the Mod Club on June 29.

Crystal Castles have a July 25 date at the Sound Academy as part of the TIME Festival.

Due to “personal medical issues”, Passion Pit have cancelled their April 3 date at Lee’s Palace, which in turn was a make-up date for their January 24 date at the Horseshoe, which was cancelled due to visa issues. Their debut Manners is out May 26.

Frank YangAny sort of preamble for Saturday night’s Out Of This Spark second anniversary party at the Tranzac was covered in Friday’s post, so let’s just dive right into the post-mortem.

Leading off was Jenny Omnichord (neé Mitchell), accurately named for her weapon of choice. And while it may seem a bit novelty at first, the Omnichord is actually a very versatile instrument, ably providing accompaniment for Mitchell’s quirky songs. It’s no stretch that her latest album Charlotte or Otis : Duets for Children, Their Parents and Other People Too is a children’s record – the aesthetic isn’t too different from her work for grown-ups. A cute and compact set highlighted by entertaining road stories and a duet with her dad.

I’d expected The D’Urbervilles to be closing things out, both because of their profile relative to their labelmates, and their general rock action-ness, but they were instead on second. Every time I see them perform I’m reminded of how potent a live act they can be, all danceable, tightly-wound new wave/anthem-rock energy, but I also find my initial opinion of their full-length debut We Are The Hunters reinforced. They’re one thing, one intangible thing, away from being amazing. One song – hell, one moment in a song – that makes everything fall into place, and considering their excellent closing cover of Edwyn Collins’ “A Girl Like You”, maybe what they need is the right British producer. But whatever it is, I hope they find it soon. Because when they do, it will be epic.

I had to double-check to verify that the last time I’d seen Forest City Lovers live was fully a year and a half ago at Hillside – it certainly hadn’t seemed that long! But it was, and that meant that I’d not seen them since the release of their lovely album Haunting Moon Sinking last year, and that’s just not right. But it is, sadly, kind of appropriate for as much as they’re one of the finer bands Toronto has to offer, they’re also probably one of the most overlooked. A consequence, perhaps, of the characteristics that are also their greatest strengths – their subtlety and understatedness. Their folk-pop sound is definitely spare, almost skeletal at times, but every part that is there implies a richness that probably wouldn’t sound quite as wonderful if it were actually fleshed out – their sketches say more than some peoples’ oil paintings.

This show, however, sadly wasn’t a masterpiece. Now no one’s ever going to mistake The Tranzac’s acoustics for those of Massey Hall, but the sound for the Forest City Lovers’ set was exceptionally poor, with vocals being buried and the guitar and violin far too loud. While I realize that standing right up front isn’t exactly standing in the sonic sweet spot, I’ve done it enough to know how things can and should sound from that vantage point, and this wasn’t it. And it seemed it wasn’t just the house sound that was amiss – it was evident the band was having trouble hearing themselves on stage as at points tempos drifted, glances were exchanged and things simply didn’t sound as tight as they should have. It’s really to the band’s credit that they were able to mitigate these problems and still deliver an enjoyable show, even if I couldn’t really hear the words to “Orphans” (though that’s okay because I know them anyways). Perhaps things will be better when they again play the Tranzac on February 6 opening for Geoff Berner. Perhaps.

I did not stick around for final act Timber Timbre. You’d have thought that an act with a brand new album would feel like playing something – anything- from it, but instead Timber Timbre chose to play with old hi-fit equipment and guitar pedals in conducting a sonic experiment in white noise in pitch blackness. Maybe the whole thing busted out in a technicolour rock opera the minute I left, but I suspect not. I would hope they don’t pull the same thing at their Soundscapes in-store tomorrow evening Thursday. It’s not going to sell many records.

Photos: Forest City Lovers, The D’Urbervilles, Jenny Omnichord @ The Tranzac – January 10, 2009
MP3: The D’Urbervilles – “Hot Tips”
Videos: Forest City Lovers – “Pirates”
Videos: Forest City Lovers – “Please, Don’t Go”
MySpace: Forest City Lovers

Speaking of Soundscapes in-stores, Bruce Peninsula will be following up the February 3 release of A Mountain Is A Mouth with just one of those on February 4 at 6PM. So add that to their January 31 at the Horseshoe and February 22 album release party at the Polish Combatants Hall. And if you don’t want to take my word that this outfit is worthy of your attention, how about the BBC? Yeah, people will listen to anything delivered in a posh English accent.

Bell Orchestre will release their second album As Seen Through Windows on March 10 via Arts & Crafts.

PitchforkTV has a session with AC Newman, whose Get Guilty is out next week and who plays Lee’s Palace on March 11.

Pitchfork is offering a download of the title track from Bon Iver’s new EP Blood Bank, out next Tuesday. And you can stream the whole thing at their MySpace.

MP3: Bon Iver – “Blood Bank”

Mates Of State and Black Kids. What are two of the most unlikely bands to hit the road together, and yet are? The indie-pop veterans with kids and the indie-pop upstarts who are kids will hit the road together this April and stop in at the Phoenix – a decidedly bigger room than either would play on their own – on April 10. The Mates are still promoting last year’s Re-Arrange Us and Black Kids are continuing to try and prove their debut Partie Traumatic is worth more than a pug.

MP3: Mates Of State – “My Only Offer”
Video: Mates Of State – “Get Better”
Video: Mates Of State – “My Only Offer”
Video: Black Kids – “Hurricane Jane”
Video: Black Kids – “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You”
Video: Black Kids – “Look At Me (When I Rock Wichoo)”

Those looking forward to standing in crossed-arm, stony-faced judgment of “2009 next big thing” candidates Passion Pit will have to wait just a little bit longer. For reasons unknown, their January 24 show at the Horseshoe has been postponed until April 3. Refunds available at point of purchase or if the new date works for you, just hang onto your ticket. And work on your scowl. They’re currently band of the week over at Paste. Update: Gig is now at Lee’s Palace.

MySpaceThe arc of Neil Halstead’s long and storied musical career taken him many places. He was both an architect of sonic cathedrals at the dawn of Slowdive’s career and a pioneer of electronic ambiance at its end, then with Mojave 3 he played the roles of country-rock and power-pop songsmith with equal facility. With his first solo album Sleeping On Roads in 2002, he took the soft-spoken folk balladeer that’s lain at the heart of his songwriting throughout it all and brought it to the fore, a place he revisits once again with the long-awaited and long-delayed follow-up, Oh! Mighty Engine.

And even though six years have elapsed between records, Halstead picks up largely where he left off. The spectre of a failed relationship that hung overhead during the making of Roads isn’t present here, which perhaps explains why the new record is brighter in tone than its predecessor. Even so, Engine is still spare and homespun, built in rich melody on a sturdy framework built of voice and acoustic guitar with gentle percussion, piano and electric or steel guitar accouterments where appropriate. It’s a format that suits Halstead well, as for all the soundscapes that he’s surrounded himself with over the years, he’s always been at his best when conveying a quiet, thoughtful intimacy. And for showcasing his strengths as a singer-songwriter, Engine is Halstead at his best.

As solid and enjoyable as Halstead’s solo output is, it’s not a substitute for the chemistry and magic that is Mojave 3. So it’s good to know that even with drummer Ian McCutcheon busy with his solo project The Loose Salute and Rachel Goswell continuing to recover from the ear-related illness that kept her from playing a larger role on Puzzles Like You, in this interview with AgitReader Halstead says that he hopes to begin work on a new Mojave 3 record before the year is out.

Halstead is currently on tour across North America – finally Jack Johnson-free – and will be at the Drake Underground on Saturday night, November 8, for an early show (9:30 start). Anyone who saw him play at the Rivoli back in 2002 in support of Roads surely remembers how utterly magical that performance was and if this show even comes close to measuring up to that one, it’s going to be a special one indeed. Courtesy of Against The Grain, I’ve got two pairs of passes to give away to the show – to enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see Neil Halstead” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest closes at midnight, November 6.

Apparently as part of this tour, Halstead has an agenda to visit NPR as many times as possible. Currently there’s two sessions available to stream – one at the World Cafe and one at KEXP.

MP3: Neil Halstead – “Paint A Face”
Video: Neil Halstead – “Paint A Face”
Video: Neil Halstead – “Queen Bee”

Drowned In Sound reconsiders the musical oeuvre of Swervedriver, still isn’t overly impressed. The three albums in question will be re-released in North America on January 6.

Pitchfork has details on the debut album from head Swervie Adam Franklin’s current project, Magnetic Morning. A.M. will be out January 27.

Simon Jones of The Verve talks to Chart about why guitarist Simon Tong wasn’t invited to the reunion party.

Another Tong – Matt, of Bloc Party, gives an interview to Virgin Music. Bandmate Kele Okereke talks to Metro and The Edmonton Journal.

I wouldn’t normally bother noting anything that Norman Cook of Fatboy Slim gets up to, but when the second single from his new project The Brighton Port Authority features Emmy The Great front and centre, you have my attention. You can stream it at their MySpace or better yet, watch the video. Via Stereogum.

Video: The Brighton Port Authority featuring Emmy The Great – “Seattle”
MySpace: The Brighton Port Authority

EDP24 interviews Matt Urby of Noah & The Whale and Erockstar has a video interview with the band. They’re at the El Mocambo on December 9.

Scottish quartet Glasvegas, first considered in these pages last December, will begin their attempt to conquer North America the way they have the UK with the release of their self-titled debut on January 6. I picked up a copy on import a little while back, thoughts forthcoming. They’ll also be doing some touring over here in the new year, but no Toronto date as yet. They’ve also recorded a Christmas EP, which they talk to The Daily Record about.

Anyone see Wilco on The Colbert Report last week? I didn’t. Thankfully it’s viewable online in Canada on CTV and in the US at Comedy Central. Or you can just watch the clip of the new song they played.

Video: Wilco – “Wilco, The Song” (live on The Colbert Report)

Fleet Foxes are the subject of features at Rolling Stone and Filter.

Gotham Acme talks to Grizzly Bear’s Ed Droste about the US election… which is today. How about that.

Speaking of election day, Patterson Hood of the Drive-By Truckers has made available for free a new song written just after Bush II was re-elected. Hood has never been one to shy away from political statements, wearing his opinions on his sleeve… or his guitar.

JAM finds out why The Hold Steady always seem so dang happy. The Hold Steady and the Drive-By Truckers are at the Phoenix next Tuesday night.

Couple shows announced for the new year… on the same day. First you’ve got Annuals at the El Mocambo on January 24, tickets $10.

MP3: Annuals – “Confessor”
Video: Annuals – “Confessor”

And down Spadina at the Horseshoe, you’ve got buzzy band du jour, Passion Pit – tickets for that one are also $10.

MP3: Passion Pit – “Sleeyphead”
Video: Passion Pit – “Sleeyphead”