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.

Kevin WestenbergThis has already been covered ad nauseum everywhere – I saw it mentioned in some washroom graffiti yesterday – but I think my music blogging license gets revoked or something if I don’t report on it and anyways, it’s quick and easy and allows me to spend the evening watching television.

Everyone was abuzz last week when a song that sounded too much like Radiohead to not be Radiohead began circulating online without any official comment from the band’s camp. Naturally, everyone went batshit – they’d already released a new tune last week and recent interviews implied that they were tired of the conventional album release model and had some fresh ideas on how they’d release future recordings, so the idea that this was just the tip of a Radiohead-sized iceberg wasn’t an unreasonable assumption. Adding fuel to the fire was the discovery of an URL in some ASCII artwork that accompanied the leaked track that pointed to www.wallofice.com, which in turn pointed to w.a.s.t.e., Radiohead’s official webstore. By end of day Friday, the consensus was that the band would be releasing a new EP or album entitled Wall Of Ice on Monday, all sneaky-like, and all the ills of the world would be cured. Pitchfork has a summary of all this if you seek more detail.

Anyways, Monday rolled around yesterday as it often does following Sundays and lo and behold, there was indeed a new Radiohead release available for free on their website. One song – “These Are My Twisted Words” – which was the exact one that had been circulating since Friday and which started all the brouhaha. It’s a good one, for sure, and alongside Harry Patch gives a tantalizing taste of where Radiohead are, creatively, but hardly the grand event many had been hoping for. And what about www.wallofice.com? Well assuming that that is, in fact, a Radiohead-sanctioned site, it now scolds everyone for rumour-mongering and generally being the internet. So, it seems by completely ignoring all this hubub until now, I may the one and only online outlet to remain in Thom Yorke’s good graces. Nyah!

Anyways, assuming that the ‘Head are done messing with peoples’ heads is probably unwise. When they take their time off, they’re almost deathly silent, but when they get up to stuff, they get up to a lot.

ZIP: Radiohead – “These Are My Twisted Words”

Moving on.

Maximo Park frontman checks in from Germany with another tour diary dispatch for Spinner. Think their September 18 date at Lee’s Palace will merit an entry of its own? No, probably not.

Channel News Asia has an interview with Emmy The Great, who has been keeping Summer festival diaries for The Guardian and Clash.

The Horrors have released a new video from Primary Colours. They’re at Lee’s Palace on October 14 and am hoping to score some decent tickets for the just-announced second Wilco show at Massey Hall on the 15th so I can see these guys the first night. Won’t be around for the presale tomorrow though – anyone want to grab me a ticket? I’m good for it, honest.

Video: The Horrors – “Mirror’s Image”

Also with a new video is Fanfarlo, who bring their delightful Reservoir album to North America on October 6. Paste declared them one of their “Best of what’s next for 2009” and they’re not wrong.

Video: Fanfarlo – “The Walls Are Coming Down”

Arctic Monkeys insist to BBC that their new album Humbug, out August 25, is not more “mature”. They are at the Kool Haus on September 29.

The Dumbing Of America has an interview with Charlotte Hatherley, whose New Worlds will be out in the UK on October 19.

The Times has a profile on Patrick Wolf.

NME reports that Placebo have canceled their entire upcoming North American tour in support of Battle For The Sun, including the October 6 date at the Sound Academy in Toronto, while frontman Brian Molko recovers from a virus contracted in Asia. Sidestepping joke about hoping Molko gets real drugs and not fake ones…. now.

The Boston Globe talks to Richard Thompson about his new box set Walking On A Wire: 1968-2009, which is out today. You can stream a sample of songs from the collection at Spinner.

Stream: Richard Thompson / Walking On A Wire (selections)

If you ever wondered exactly what you were getting when you paid for “remastered” reissues, check out this absurdly detailed report on what was done for the upcoming Beatles remasters, coming out September 9. I’m no big advocate of buying the same records over and over again, but if you’re a Beatles fan, these may well be worth the dosh.

Georgia JaggerThis week’s selection is a little more anti-climactic than I’d have liked, but what can you do. Patrick Wolf’s latest album The Bachelor came out in the UK back at the start of June and while the North American release date of this coming Tuesday was also announced at that point, I certainly wasn’t going to wait to grab a copy of what’s almost certain to be one of my favourite releases of the year. Add in to that the fact that Wolf already toured North America at that time, and there’s not a lot of fanfare to surround the domestic physical release of the record.

I had also hoped that by this time I’d be able to report on the details of the new Lightspeed Champion record, Dev Hynes’ 2008 release Falling Off the Lavender Bridge being one of my favourites of last year and the follow-up being previously mentioned as coming out sometime in October 2009 but now set to see the light of day sometime in 2010.

So perhaps I should have saved this track for then, in case its release lined up with the second part of Wolf’s Battle opus The Conqueror, also originally set for a 2009 release and pushed back to next year. It’s a version of a Wolf b-side, circa The Wind In The Wires, which the notoriously cover-happy Hynes recorded at some point… I don’t know when or for what, but I like it. And apparently there’s more Wolf covers – ones of “Tristan” and “Bluebells” – so if you have them, please do share, and maybe I’ll be able to share those when each artist’s next albums do come out next year.

MP3: Lightspeed Champion – “Souvenirs”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “Souvenirs” (live)

Jennifer TzarSo I got an email last week from a fellow at the BBC asking me if I wanted to offer up some thoughts and/or predictions on the shortlist for the UK and Ireland’s Mercury Prize, which is set to be revealed next Tuesday. Having been largely off the mark in what I expected to make the shortlist for Canada’s Polaris Music Prize last week, and actually knowing how that process works, I figured I couldn’t possibly do any worse with the Mercurys – a prize whose process was almost completely unknown to me and which tends to draw from a much broader range of candidates than my little indie rockist world.

I’ve since learned that the 12 albums on the shortlist are selected by the same shadowy group of journalists, musicians and other industry illuminati types who choose the winner – a far cry from the Polaris’ jury, which endeavours to be as inclusive of journos and whatnot as possible and only saving the star chamber treatment for choosing the winner. And so to the BBC fellow’s original request, I’m not really sure if I should attempt to predict what albums will make the short list, what albums should make the short list or what albums I’d like to make the short list. I know I’d fail miserably at the first task and it’s impossible to accomplish the second without a much more comprehensive knowledge of all the possible nominees so that basically leaves the wholly subjective wish list, which is fine with me, but I’ll try to temper my picks with some degree of realism.

Bat For Lashes / Two Suns – This record would actually fit all three angles – I want to see it make the list, it deserves to make the list and it almost certainly will make the list, thus making Natasha Khan an impressive two for two in Mercury nominations for her albums. It’s one of those records that’s distinctive, accessible and artistically ambitious – and also just excellent. Even without seeing the actual list, this is my odds-on pick to win… of course, Fur & Gold was also heavily favoured and didn’t end up winning.

MP3: Bat For Lashes – “Glass” (live)

Manic Street Preachers / Journal For Plague Lovers – I get the feeling that the Mercury jurors are all about the new and so the Manics’ best album in many years may get overlooked on account of its creators already being some degree of legend. And that would be a real shame because it also happens to be their most heartfelt album, perhaps ever, has a genuinely affecting backstory and frankly rocks like a mother.

Video: Manic Street Preachers – “Jackie Collins Existential Question Time”

Patrick Wolf / The Bachelor – I’m personally of the opinion that many of the accolades given to Bat For Lashes could also apply to Patrick Wolf, particularly his latest which currently ranks as one of my favourite records of the year, but don’t know how he’s generally rated critically in his homeland. I get the sense that his extravagant personality might work against him with some unable or unwilling to look past his flamboyant exterior to see the brilliance underneath. Their loss.

MP3: Patrick Wolf – “Vulture”

Micachu / Jewellery – I will fully admit this one is here as a bit of a hedge. I remain unsure if it’s a brilliant record or bollocks, but with every listen it steps more firmly in the direction of the former. If someone told me it was an utter long shot to make the list, I would agree and if someone else told me it was a lock, I would also agree. It perplexes me. Either way, I look forward to offering an “I told you so” if it is indeed nominated.

MP3: Micachu – “Lips”

Emmy The Great / First Love – There is no realistic way I expect Emmy’s debut to get a Mercury nomination. Yes, Laura Marling got a nod last year and came out of the same scene, but Emmy’s more cynical, sardonic approach doesn’t strike that same chord of timelessness that Marling’s does. But that said, and acknowledging that while First Love is very good it’s not fully representative of her at her best, I’m still exceedingly fond of the record and would love to see it get the boost that a nomination would provide.

MP3: Emmy The Great – “We Almost Had A Baby” (Simon Raymonde mix)

Fanfarlo / Reservoir – I don’t know sort of precedent there is for self-released records getting Mercury nominations are, but if we’re talking about worthy records based strictly on musical merit, I would think that this meticulously crafted piece of orchestral pop would get some serious consideration. It’s not groundbreaking or all that original, but it is lovely and lilting and makes me, at least, quite happy.

MP3: Fanfarlo – “I’m A Pilot”

So there’s my picks if I were allowed to decide half of the short list, and besides Bat For Lashes I don’t really expect any of them will make the cut – especially if you look at who the UK’s bookmakers are betting will win. I assume they’re basing their odds on things like sales, profile and critical buzz and have got it down to either Doves or Little Boots. The former I can understand, as they follow the slow and steady veteran model that got Elbow the big prize last year but whereas The Seldom Seen Kid was, in my opinion, a big leap forward for that band, Kingdom Of Rust doesn’t really set itself apart from its predecessors. As far as Little Boots goes, there’s no denying Hands is fun and catchy as all get out, but it seems a bit shallow to ordain as the best album in the kingdom. And looking at other frontrunners, I’ve already covered Bat For Lashes and am a bit perplexed to see La Roux rated so highly – her self-title has some high points but I find it pretty monotonous overall. Florence & The Machine’s Lungs I’ve not spent enough time with to render fair judgment.

All will come clear next Tuesday, with the winner to be announced September 8, but until then the speculation is the fun part. The Line Of Best Fit, To Die By Your Side and Music Snobbery were also asked by the Beeb to compile their picks for the shortlist, Clash has made their predictions and The Quietus is pulling for The Horrors. If you’ve got an opinion of what should make the list or even win outright, chime in in the comments.

XFM is streaming a studio session with Bat For Lashes.

Bumpershine has an interview with Fanfarlo and is also giving away some CDs.

The Mirror and BBC have interviews with Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine.

Ms Lily Allen has a new video from It’s Not Me, It’s You.

Video: Lily Allen – “22”

NME has details on an upcoming re-release of Friendly Fires’ self-titled debut on August 31 which will include a new song, a disc or remixes and a live DVD. They play Lee’s Palace on August 10 and have a DJ gig at The Social later that night. Clash also has an interview with the band.

MP3: Friendly Fires – “Jump In The Pool”

Been waiting for this date to be confirmed for a little while now – Britrock prevails as The Twilight Sad, BrakesBrakesBrakes and We Were Promised Jetpacks hit the El Mocambo on October 10, tickets a mere $12. The Twilight Sad’s new album Forget The Night Ahead is out out September 22, BrakesBrakesBrakes’ Touchdown came out earlier this Spring and the Jetpacks debut These Four Walls hit stores last week.

MP3: The Twilight Sad – “Reflection Of The Television”
MP3: BrakesBrakesBrakes – “Don’t Take Me To Space (Man)”
MP3: We Were Promised Jetpacks – “Quiet Little Voices”

I missed this interview with Charlotte Hatherley at the Big Takeover website when it was originally posted back in May, but considering her new solo record New Colours isn’t due out till September at the earliest – maybe even October – I don’t think there’s any particular rush. But there is a new video!

MP3: Charlotte Hatherley – “Colours”
MP3: Charlotte Hatherley – “White”
Video: Charlotte Hatherley – “White”

This isn’t an official video for the title track of Camera Obscura’s latest My Maudlin Career, but the clip compiled of home videos taken on their recently-completed North American tour is certainly charming. They’ve also chosen to celebrate Bastille Day yesterday by giving away an MP3 of their last single “French Navy”.

MP3: Camera Obscura – “French Navy”
Video: Camera Obscura – “My Maudlin Career On The Road”

Torontonians disappointed that Arctic Monkeys didn’t make plans to visit over the August long weekend despite being up the 401 at Osheaga can celebrate – they’ve set a date at the Kool Haus for September 29 in support of their new album Humbug, due out August 25 and the first single from which, “Crying Lightining”, is streaming at their MySpace. Full tour dates at Spin.

Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite bemoans the demise of music journalism at Drowned In Sound.

Maximo Park are keeping a tour diary for Spinner. They’re at Lee’s Palace on September 18.

Autumn de WildeHaving followed John Vanderslice’s career from a respectful distance for many years now – spending a lot of time with some records, completely overlooking others – I would have said that while I’d always expect his records to be enjoyable, coupling solid songwriting with subtly idiosyncratic production, I would never expect to be floored by anything he put out. He’s just been so content batting for average that there’s no reason to think he’d suddenly open up the stance and swing for the fences.

And you wouldn’t call his latest album Romanian Names a home run, but it does stand apart from the rest of his discography to count as a solid double, maybe even a ground-rule. And it’s hard to tell, at first, what sets this one apart because the ingredients are much the same as the previous records. The melodies are still just too twisty to count as immediate, but remain deeply memorable, the production full of aural treats that might just as easily go unnoticed but reward attentive listeners and Vanderslice’s voice and words as plaintive and moving as ever. So what’s different? Well there’s a certain sonic and emotional richness to the proceedings that’s not necessarily new, but is simpler, clearer and more striking. But best I can tell is all of the above have combined for some magical ratio or emotionally resonant frequency that the ‘Slice hadn’t quite managed before and has resulted in a record that’s as good an example as any as to why he’s so highly regarded and puzzlingly underappreciated.

Vanderslice just wrapped an extensive round of touring, but will gear up for a small handful of Canadian dates and courtesy of Against The Grain, I’ve got three pairs of passes to give away to his Friday night (July 10) show at the Horseshoe with Cotton Jones. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want the ‘Slice” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest closes at midnight, July 8 – that’s tomorrow night.

American Songwriter has a feature piece and Decider an interview with John Vanderslice, while Blurt reviews and compares two of his shows. NPR declared “Too Much Time” their song of the day for yesterday.

MP3: John Vanderslice – “Too Much Time”
MP3: John Vanderslice – “Fetal Horses”
Video: John Vanderslice – “Forest Knolls”
Video: John Vanderslice – “Too Much Time”
MySpace: John Vanderslice

I don’t know if the above baseball metaphor was appropriate for John Vanderslice – does the ‘Slice like the baseball? – but it would have been perfect for the September 13 bill at the Horseshoe. That night you’ll have The Minus 5, The Baseball Project and The Steve Wynn IV – which as I understand will essentially be Scott McCaughey, Peter Buck, Steve Wynn and Linda Pitmon playing material from all three above catalogs and basically just having more fun than Junior Felix’s inside-the-park grand slam against the Red Sox back in ’89 – and that, my friends, was fun. If you were a Jays fan. Tickets for that one are $13.50 in advance.

The Seattle Times talks to Death Cab For Cutie’s Nick Harmer.

Under The Radar interviews Justin Rice of Bishop Allen.

San Francisco’s Sleepy Sun are at the Drake Underground on September 21, tickets $10. Their debut album is Embrace and they released a Daytrotter session back in May.

The Washington Post talks to Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy.

The Toronto date for Joe Pernice’s concert/bookreading tour has been set for September 15 at the Dakota Tavern. Not to say that it’s an inappropriate venue by any means, but I like how they selected the room closest to Joe’s west end digs. The new record It Feels So Good When I Stop is out August 4 but available to pre-order now with attendant bonus goodies.

The Dirty Projectors show cancelled last month on account of that unfortunate car accident has been rescheduled for July 22, presumable again at Lee’s Palace – tickets will only be available at Rotate This and Soundscapes starting Thursday. Pitchfork has an interview with Dave Longstreth, the dirtiest projector of them all.

The Skinny and The Quietus talk to Kevin Barnes of Of Montreal, though the latter only about Woody Allen.

You can download Ume’s recent session at WOXY, including a couple of new songs.

You Ain’t No Picasso asks Andy Stack of Wye Oak about his first time. At stuff. Their new album The Knot is out July 21.

Oklahoman psych-poppers – no, not those ones – Starlight Mints will release a new album in Change Remains on July 21 and hit the road to support, including an August 9 date at the Horseshoe – tickets $9.

MP3: Starlight Mints – “Zoomba”

NPR talks to Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance of Merge Records on the occasion of the label’s 20th anniversary.

The Skinny profiles The Horrors, who have a date at Lee’s Palace on October 14.

The Singing Lamb talks to Mica Levy of Micachu & The Shapes in advance of their July 14 show at the El Mocambo.

Daytrotter is sharing the goods from a session with Los Campesinos.

The Advocate interviews Patrick Wolf, whose recent Daytrotter session is now up and available for grabby hands.

The New York Times hangs out in New York City with Bat For Lashes’ Natasha Khan. Shopping ensues.

Elvis Costello plays a World Cafe session for NPR. He’s at Massey Hall on August 28.

Art Brut are finally touring their latest album Art Brut Vs Satan through Toronto, having scheduled a date at Lee’s Palace for August 12, tickets $17.50. Yes, they’re kind of ridiculous as a band but they’re undeniably fun. You can download a track from the new record over at RCRDLBL and this is the first video from the album.

Video: Art Brut – “Alcoholics Unanimous”

Three more new videos out of the the UK – the first single from The Twilight Sad’s sophomore album Forget The Night Ahead, due out September 22, Bloc Party’s new non-album single “One More Chance”, out August 10, and the latest from Franz Ferdinand’s Tonight.

Video: The Twilight Sad – “I Became A Prostitute”
Video: Bloc Party – “One More Chance”
Video: Franz Ferdinand – “Can’t Stop Feeling”

While one might feel compelled to salute The Stone Roses from jumping on the reunion bandwagon – John Squire tells BBC he’s had calls from relatives for reunion gig tickets – it seems it’s only because they intend to cash in on nostalgia fever via their 20th anniversary reissues. NME has details on the three tiers of reissues that will be coming on August 11. The remastering job from John Leckie is a real draw, but the rest of the bonus goods are probably not worth your while.