Anton CorbijnR.E.M.’s new album Collapse Into Now is finally out today, and the talking points around it say that it’s their best record since Bill Berry left the band, their best in a decade and a half, their best in five efforts (not counting live records), whatever. All of which, incidentally, was said about their last record Accelerate, and all of which was true in that case and is true in this case.

But while Accelerate probably tried a bit too hard to reestablish the band’s rock credentials, Collapse feels much more natural and relaxed and has a real vintage R.E.M. air about it. Sporting a good balance of rockers, ballads and more experimental compositions, it feels like they’re pushing out creatively because they’re curious and want to, and not because they feel like they should, and it just so happens that the results sound pretty familiar. While song for song, there probably aren’t any future classics in here, it’s as lively, melodic and interesting a record as they’ve made in ages and confirms that not only are they still creatively vital, but they’re legitimately into a new fertile period. And that, I will happily take.

Matthew Fluxblog ranked R.E.M.’s entire catalog from best to worst for Nerve. The Guardian and Dazed have interviews with Michael Stipe, while The Wall Street Journal talks to Mike Mills and Beatweek to Peter Buck. The New York Times also talks to Stipe about the Collapse Into Now Film Project, wherein a different director will create a video for each of the twelve tracks from the album. Three of them are already out:

Video: R.E.M. – “Mine Smell Like Honey”
Video: R.E.M. – “Überin”
Video: R.E.M. – “It Happened Today”

Pitchfork has the latest edition of “What Kind Of Whacked Out Shit Are The Flaming Lips Up To Now” – and in this month’s edition, edible life-sized gummy heads with three new songs embedded inside.

Magnet has a Q&A with Buffalo Tom, which can only mean that the Bostonians are taking over the editorial chair for the next week. The Boston Herald and Writers On Process also have interviews with the band, whose new record Skins is out today.

Crawdaddy offers a beginner’s guide to The Mountain Goats. Their new record All Eternals Deck is out March 29, they play The Opera House on April 3.

Dismemberment Plan frontman Travis Morrison discusses reissues and reunions with Glide while guitarist Eric Axelson chats with This Is Fake DIY.

Spinner interviews Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes. They play The Sound Academy this coming Sunday, March 13.

The Quietus talks to Doug Martsch of Built To Spill.

Spinner talks to John Vanderslice, who will be at the Drake Underground on May 10.

The National Post, Georgia Straight and American Songwriter have feature pieces on DeVotchKa, who play The Mod Club on March 30.

Pitchfork interviews The Strokes. Their new record Angles is out March 22.

NPR is streaming a World Cafe session with Iron & Wine.

Spinner has an interview with Asobi Seksu’s James Hanna.

The first MP3 from Alela Diane’s new record Alela Diane & Wild Divine is now available to download. The record comes out April 5.

MP3: Alela Diane – “To Begin”

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart’s Kip Berman talks to Spinner about their new record Belong, due out March 29.

The Head & The Heart have released a video from their self-titled debut, coming out in physical form on April 16.

Video: The Head & The Heart – “Lost In My Mind”

Los Angeles’ Foster The People have made a date at Lee’s Palace on April 3, accompanied by Grouplove. Spinner interviews the band, whose album Torches will be released May 24.

MP3: Foster The People – “Pumped Up Kicks”
Video: Grouplove – “Colors”

And if you missed the morning updates to yesterday’s Brit-centric post, there were a couple of major show announcements to start the day. First, Arctic Monkeys will be at the Kool Haus on May 21 and secondly, Beady Eye will make their Canadian debut at the Sound Academy on June 20. Exclaim and Billboard also just posted interviews with the latter’s Liam Gallagher and The AV Club one with Gallagher and Gem Archer.

MP3: Beady Eye – “The Roller”
Video: Arctic Monkeys – “Brick By Brick”

NPR is streaming the whole of The Joy Formidable’s debut The Big Roar in advance of next week’s release. They play The Horseshoe on April 2.

Stream: The Joy Formidable / The Big Roar

Spinner has an interview with Yuck. They are at The Phoenix on May 1.

Drowned In Sound talks to Reuben Wu of Ladytron. Their Best of Ladytron: 00-10 is out March 29.

Frank YangAdele has been a big deal for a while, her 2008 debut 19 having picked up all kinds of accolades and awards. And that’s kind of a shame because with that level of acclaim as a floor, it’s difficult to express just how much better the follow-up 21 is. I appreciated the debut as a showcase for Ms Adkin’s talents as a singer and songwriter, but the follow up bests it in pretty much every way.

Her voice is still as formidable a presence as ever, with so much inherent strength and character that the acrobatics and oversinging that those who would aspire to be her peers inevitably resort to are wholly unnecessary. But 21‘s songs themselves are more sophisticated, melodic and dynamic and so effortlessly cross genres like soul, gospel, folk, pop and even a couple commendable forays into rock that they make the idea of genres kind of pointless. Whereas on 19 some of the songs were there to serve the voice, on 21 everything is in service to the songs. In other words, it’s a hell of a record.

And in support of it, Adele was in town last night for a taping of MTV Live which included an intimate mini-concert at the Masonic Temple. Having not seen her perform before – I think her Toronto appearances took her directly from The Rivoli to Massey Hall – I felt fortunate that I was invited to attend this show. Following a sort-of late-night talk show format segment that wasn’t as terrible as a feared and certainly featured more on-camera raunch and swearing than I’d expected, Adele came out delivered a set that was brief but also would have convinced anyone that she was the real deal.

Backed by a full six-piece band, she opened with “Rolling In The Deep” and then stripped (and sat) down with just a pianist and cup of tea for the ballady portion of the show, delivering “Someone Like You”, “Turning Tables” and 19 Dylan cover “Feel My Love” with astonishing presence despite not having much in the way of stage moves. Between songs, she took the time to banter and joke with the adoring audience – there was certainly no sign of the stage fright that she’s said to suffer from – and after inviting her band back, closed with “Chasing Pavements”. A short but completely stirring set that proved that having the lungs and the voice is only meaningful if they’re connected directly to the heart.

Adele plays a sold-out show at The Kool Haus on May 18. The Daily Record has an interview.

Video: Adele – “Rolling In The Deep”
Video: Adele – “Make You Feel My Love”
Video: Adele – “Chasing Pavements”
Video: Adele – “Cold Shoulder”

Spinner, BBC and The Guardian talk to Noah & The Whale, whose new record Last Night On Earth is available to stream at NME in advance of its March 15 release date. If their goal with this record was to no longer be lumped in with the English anti-folk movement… well I think they’ve done it. Noah & The Whale and their synths will be at The Mod Club on March 24.

Stream: Noah & The Whale / Last Night On Earth

The “director’s cut” for one of Mumford & Sons’ videos from Sigh No More is now online, though curiously it’s about 9 seconds shorter than the official version.

Video: Mumford & Sons – “Winter Winds” (director’s cut)
Video: Mumford & Sons – “Winter Winds”

Spinner talks to Esben & The Witch, in town at Wrongbar next Friday night for Canadian Musicfest.

Vanity Fair and University Observer Q&A Anna Calvi, who was also supposed to be on that Wrongbar CMF bill but who has cancelled all dates prior to that one and the one after due to an arm/hand injury. So while I await the official word, it’s safe to say that the Toronto show is off as well.

The Quietus interviews Liam Gallagher of Beady Eye.

Drowned In Sound meets Gruff Rhys, who follows up the May 3 release of Hotel Shampoo with a date at The Horseshoe on June 11.

Ladytron have released a video for one of the new tracks that will appear on the Best of Ladytron: 00-10 compilation, due out March 29.

Video: Ladytron – “Age Of Hz”

Digital Spy talks to Patrick Wolf about his forthcoming new record Lupercalia, out May 31, while Spinner grabs an interview video-style.

A new Loney Dear video has surfaced. Let’s hope this means the new full-length Hall Music isn’t far behind.

Video: Loney Dear – “Young Hearts”

The Line Of Best Fit, Pitchfork, Blurt and Exclaim all have interviews with Lykke Li about her spanking new record Wounded Rhymes. She is at The Phoenix on May 22.

The Line Of Best Fit points out a new video from The Concretes and a complete live show from Paris available to stream at Grand Crew.

Video: The Concretes – “Crack In The Paint”

Blurt reports that the third salvo of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds reissues will arrive on May 17 and cover his ’90s output with bonus-loaded editions of Let Love In, Murder Ballads, The Boatman’s Call and No More Shall We Part.

R.E.M.’s new record Collapse Into Now is available to stream all over the place leading up to its release next week. Check it out at Exclaim

Stream: R.E.M. / Collapse Into Now

And here are some of the new(ish) concert announcements for this week; Joe Pug and Strand Of Oaks have a date at The Horseshoe on April 20, tickets $10.

MP3: Strand Of Oaks – “Bonfire”

Joan As Police Woman, whom I don’t think has been to Toronto in the past four years if ever – a Summer 2007 show was cancelled – will be at The Drake on April 21 as part of a tour in support of her new record The Deep Field, which comes out on April 11, tickets $12. After Ellen has a feature.

MP3: Joan As Police Woman – “The Magic”
MP3: Joan As Police Woman – “To Be Loved”

Guitar Wolf have a date at Lee’s Palace for May 17, extending their previously-announced North American tour, tickets $18.50. They released Uchusenkan Love last Fall.

MP3: Guitar Wolf – “After School Thunder”

Anti reports that Man Man are almost done work on their new record and are setting out on tour, presumably to promote. They’re in Toronto on May 26 at Lee’s Palace, tickets $17.50.

MP3: Man Man – “Top Drawer”

Sondre Lerche gives New York Magazine the scoop on his new self-titled record, due out June 7. He’ll be playing songs from it – presumably – when he hits The Mod Club on May 31, tickets $18.50.

Here’s a tour filled with more win than Charlie Sheen – Okkervil River, Titus Andronicus and Future Islands stopping in at The Phoenix on June 10, tickets $18.50 in advance. Okkervil will release their new record I Am Very Far on May 10, Titus are still working last year’s glorious The Monitor (and will still be at The Horseshoe for their own headlining show April 1) and Future Islands released In Evening Air last year.

MP3: Okkervil River – “Wake And Be Fine” (live on Jimmy Fallon)
MP3: Titus Andronicus – “A More Perfect Union”
MP3: Future Islands – “Tin Man”

That same night but costing $18.50 less than the Okkervil show – that’s free, if you don’t feel like doing the math – is The Joel Plaskett Emergency performing at Metro Hall as part of this year’s Luminato arts festival. Their set time is 9:20PM.

MP3: The Joel Plaskett Emergency – “Deny Deny Deny”

And finally, some fellow with Britpop love in his heart and too much time on his hands has begun digitizing archives of Select Magazine. I bought so many mediocre records based on their boundless enthusiasm, but also some awesome ones. Ah, nostalgia.

Frank YangThe technology woes that made the end of last week so unexpectedly… interesting have largely been resolved – hello from my new laptop – but Thursday night was most definitely an evening that I was perfectly fine with not having anything to do with anything electronic. In other words, an ideal time for The Head & The Heart.

The acoustically-inclined Seattle six-piece’s self-titled debut was originally self-released last year but being rootsy, harmonious and from the Pacific northwest it was inevitable that Sub Pop would come a-calling. And so it was that between the digital re-release of the record back in January and its physical re-release on April 16, the band were on a transcontinental tour, both as support for the likes of Dr. Dog and The Walkmen and as headliners, as they were this evening. So even though the full promotional push for the record was probably yet to come, word had clearly already gotten out to some degree and a decently-sized crowd as in place to welcome them to Toronto for the first time.

It’d be easy and not entirely inaccurate to assume from the beards and toques that The Head & The Heart would be easily comparable to their geographic and label brethren in Fleet Foxes or Band Of Horses – certainly they’d be listed as RIYLs – but to my ears the best reference point comes a few thousand miles southeast and a decade in the past – specifically, Pneumonia-era Whiskeytown. Though they build their sound on Kenny Hensley’s piano rather than with guitars, there’s more than a bit of Ryan Adams twang in frontman Joseph Russel’s voice and Charity Rose Thielen’s contributions on vocals and violin are reminiscent of Caitlin Cary and her fiddle. And more than that, their songs share the sort of rich and finely-arranged melodicism that Whiskeytown achieved on their swan song once the punk-rock raggedness was fully contained.

But that’s just a reference point, and doesn’t account for the fact that rather than evoke the sort of weariness that Whiskeytown did – even when smoothed out – The Head & The Heart come from a much more wide-eyed and optimistic place, and the enthusiasm that goes along with that was fully on display in performance. You wouldn’t think that they were dancing in the studio while recording the record but after seeing them play, you can’t imagine that they weren’t – rarely were they stationary while playing, instead stepping and sliding around the stage, moved by the music. With Josiah Johnson and Russel alternating lead vocals – the former’s croon contrasting nicely with the latter’s rasp – or together with Thielen filling out the three-part harmony, often delivered with a gospel-ish fervor. Though the record only clocks in at around 35 minutes, they managed to fill out an impressive and energized hour-long set with a couple new songs and humble, charming and appreciative banter. A superb local debut from an act that we will be hearing much more of in the future.

Creative Loafing and Seattle’s City Arts have interviews with the band.

Photos: The Head & The Heart @ The Horseshoe – February 24, 2011
MP3: The Head & The Heart – “Down In The Valley”

Filter pits tourmates Josh Ritter and Frightened Rabbit’s Scott Hutchison in an interview throw-down.

Spinner talks to Lissie.

Paste catches up with Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes, who’re at the Sound Academy on March 13.

Incendiary interviews Wye Oak, whose new record Civilian is out on March 8 and available to stream at NPR right now. They play The El Mocambo on April 9.

Stream: Wye Oak / Civilian

Also streaming at NPR is The Mountain Goats’ latest All Eternals Deck, even though it’s not out for over a month – it has a street date of March 29. They’ll be at The Opera House on April 3.

Stream: The Mountain Goats / All Eternals Deck

Portugal. The Man, whose latest American Ghetto came out last year, have put together a Spring tour that stops in at Lee’s Palace on May 27.

MP3: Portugal. The Man – “People Say”

Spinner chats with J Mascis, whose new solo record Several Shades Of Why is out on March 15 and who has a couple of performances on tap in Toronto for March 11 – an in-store at Sonic Boom at 5PM and a full and proper show at The Great Hall later that evening.

Drive-By Truckers work the media as Patterson Hood of talks to Jambands, Mike Cooley chats with The Lincoln Journal-Star and Shona Tucker with The Las Vegas Review Journal, all for their latest album Go-Go Boots.

Tiny Mix Tapes talks to some of the performers taking part in the Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour that rolls into Lee’s Palace on March 18.

The Wall Street Journal profiles DeVotchKa, who release their new record 100 Lovers tomorrow. They play The Mod Club on March 30.

R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills talks to Billboard about why the band won’t be touring behind their new record Collapse Into Now after it’s released on March 8. A stream of the record will be posted at NPR tomorrow at 2PM EST.

Frank YangIt’s a testament to the devotion of Decemberists fans that even the threat/promise of the Winter storm of the season/year/decade/century couldn’t deter them from making the trek down to the waterfront to see the Portlanders bring their recently-anointed number-one record in America The King Is Dead to town. I do, however, assume that most checked forecasts and confirmed that the storm wasn’t supposed to reach the 416 until around midnight, which is about when the band were estimated to be done. Or at least I did. I like me some Decemberists but I like me not driving into a frozen Lake Ontario due to whiteout conditions more.

At any rate, a nearly full house made it out for the show and luckily, so did the bands as they were coming from the opposite direction of the storm, though they’d already pre-emptively cancelled the following night’s performance in Royal Oak, Michigan and had accepted being snowed in in Toronto for at least a day. These should have been familiar environs for Baltimoreans Wye Oak, seeing as how this was their third visit here in the past 10 months. This time was intended as a preview for their forthcoming third record Civilian, due out March 8, and judging from the applause that net the duo of Andy Stack and Jenn Wasner when they strode out onto the stage, it was evident that their regular visits had been successful at building a fanbase. And making good records has probably also helped. Another benefit of the steady touring is that they’ve become a much more confident live act. Certainly the amount of showmanship they can indulge in is limited by their configuration, but Wasner’s vocals were deeper and more dramatic than I recall – perhaps some lessons learned while touring with Shearwater – and when she stepped out for one of her many guitar solos, they were delivered more theatrically. And while Stack remained anchored behind the kit handling percussion and keyboard duties, the rhythms and tones he was pulling off simultaneously were nimbler and more complex. They managed to incorporate both new material and old into their set, which was cut extra short – about 20 minutes total – when Wasner’s new guitar amp gave up the ghost. Unfortunate, but still impressive and they promised they’d be back in April so they can make it up to us then.

The last time The Decemberists came to town, it was on the back of their folk-rock opera opus The Hazards Of Love and the live production was appropriately grandiose. But just as The King Is Dead represented a stylistic retreat to their folk-rock roots, their latest tour was a back-to-basics sort of affair. Not in a casual coffee house sense – Colin Meloy’s checkered shirt and Chris Funk’s jaunty cap were as much costume as anything they’d have worn on past tours – but without the need to adhere to a particular theme or narrative, they were freed up to, for the most part, showcase their best material from throughout their career.

That the evening would be a romp through their repertoire became clear from the very first song, when instead of spotlighting their latest effort, they opened with “Song For Myra Goldberg” from their second record Her Majesty. And while King would be well-represented over the course of the evening, making up nearly half the set, the liberal amount of back catalog favourites that comprised the other half naturally got the strongest response. One curious choice, however, was “Won’t Want For Love” from Hazards in which the lead vocals were handed over to touring Decemberist Sara Watkins (late of Nickel Creek). Not the strongest offering from the Hazards libretto to begin with, it was even odder out of the context of the record and Watkins’ voice, as clear and strong as it is, lacked the distinct character of Becky Stark on the original – all of which is to say it stood out from the rest of the set and not for the right reasons. Otherwise, selections like “The Crane Wife 3” and “The Sporting Life” were executed with aplomb, and the new songs sounded excellent alongside them.

One interesting facet of the evening was Colin Meloy’s punchy mood; usually his demeanour is akin to a charming carnival ringleader, so seeing him take some uncharacteristically acerbic jabs at some of the louder members of the audience at the start of the show was rather odd. His rough edges did smooth out as the set went on, though, and by the time they rolled into main set closer “16 Military Wives” with its audience participatory singalongs, he seemed to be his playful old self again. As such, the encore double-shot of “The Chimbley Sweep” and “The Mariner’s Revenge Song” played like a greatest hits of Decemberists live antics. On the former, Meloy commandeered an audience camera to take a series of impromptu band portraits and then swapping places with drummer Jon Moen to allow him to… sing? Freestyle? Rant? I’m not sure, but it was pretty funny. And on the latter, they revisited the Chris Funk-directed whale devouring simulation I remember from their visit to the Phoenix way back in 2005. But hey, the classics never go out of style, right? And though by this point many had already headed home, there were enough who hung around to invite one more encore, King‘s lovely “June Hymn”. And with that, it was time to say goodnight and head out into the just-arrived storm front.

BlogTO also has a review of the show and City Pages talks to bassist Nate Query. The Decemberists also premiered a new song during a visit to kids’ television show Yo Gabba Gabba – Rolling Stone has the clip.

Photos: The Decemberists, Wye Oak @ The Sound Academy – February 1, 2011
MP3: The Decemberists – “Down By The Water”
MP3: The Decemberists – “The Engine Driver”
MP3: The Decemberists – “The Soldiering Life”
MP3: The Decemberists – “Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect”
MP3: Wye Oak – “Civilian”
MP3: Wye Oak – “Take It In”
MP3: Wye Oak – “Warning”
Video: The Decemberists – “O Valencia”
Video: The Decemberists – “16 Military Wives”
Video: The Decemberists – “The Tain”
Video: The Decemberists – “The Soldiering Life”
Video: The Decemberists – “Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect”
Video: The Decemberists – “The Bachelor & The Bride”

R.E.M. has premiered a video from their new record Collapse Into Now over at Pitchfork. The record is out March 8.

Video: R.E.M. – “Mine Smells Like Honey”

NYC Taper is sharing a recording of Mission Of Burma’s show at Maxwell’s in New Jersey last weekend.

Under The Radar interviews Sufjan Stevens.

Fleet Foxes frontman Robin Pecknold discusses their just-announced new record Helplessness Blues, due out May 3, with Rolling Stone.

Jayhawks record from Gary Louris, though nothing more concrete in the way of release date than the first half of this year.

The Wall Street Journal talks to Annie Clark of St. Vincent.

Paste catches up with Nicole Atkins, whose new record Mondo Amore comes out next week and who will play The Horseshoe on February 26.

Death & Taxes gets some insight into the low end on Telekinesis’ new record 12 Desperate Straight Lines, out February 15. They’re at The Horseshoe on March 6.

DeVotchKa have released a video for the almost-title track from their forthcoming 100 Lovers. It’s out March 1 and they’re at The Mod Club on March 30.

Video: DeVotchKa – “100 Other Lovers”

Old 97’s play a World Cafe session for NPR; they’re at The Horseshoe on April 6.

Frank YangOne to file under silver linings: Lissie – or Elisabeth Maurus according to her Illinois driver’s license – was supposed to make her Toronto debut at the El Mocambo back in October in support of her debut album Catching A Tiger, but that show along with a string of others was cancelled just days before on doctor’s orders after she lost her voice. The make-up show, which went off on Monday night, had a new venue to go with the new date – the twice-as-large Opera House which still managed to completely sell out. Okay, maybe that’s not such a silver lining for those who would have preferred to see her in a more intimate setting, but if you were one of the 400 people who wouldn’t have been able to see her if not for the bigger room then you weren’t complaining.

The evening didn’t go off completely without a hitch, though, as tour support Dylan LeBlanc was held up at the border necessitating locals Bahamas to be parachuted in as openers. Not that I would have been there in time to see either of them anyways. Lissie, however, showed up precisely on schedule to the strains of the Twin Peaks theme and roaring applause – this may have been her first time here, but clearly she had an impressive local fanbase already. And though she’s technically still a new artist, she worked the room for the next hour and change like a seasoned veteran with years of performing under her belt.

I’d seen her perform at SxSW 2010 and was impressed with how good she was without having any sort of angle or gimmick – just a great voice and great country-rock songs. Tiger also impressed but introduced a little doubt with regards to the unexpectedly slick production values; the songs were still superb but the delivery seemed like it was trying a bit too hard, and unnecessarily. “Slick” was not an adjective that had any place in this show, however, as it was just Lissie, a lead guitarist and combination bassist/drummer on stage – it’s not physically possible to work any gloss into the proceedings with that configuration, so the evening was a welcome return to basics: Lissie, her songs and her hugely expressive and powerful voice – it was hard to believe just a few months ago she was at risk of losing it.

The hour-long main set didn’t fit as many songs in as you might have expected – there was lots of entertaining banter throughout – but the audience was adoringly rambunctious and demonstrated one of the perks of being an artist without a “hit” song; no one was here to hear the single and then head for the doors, they were here for the duration. Still, it can’t be ignored that for as good as her own stuff is, much of Lissie’s exposure came with her unexpected cover versions and after a moving “Oh Mississippi” to lead off the encore, she finished things out with her version of Kid Cudi’s “The Pursuit Of Happiness”… and not one of the songs I would have actually known (Metallica, Lady Gaga, Zeppelin). But still, a crowd-pleasing finish to a crowd-pleasing and excellent set.

Mountain XPress has an interview with Lissie.

Photos: Lissie @ The Opera House – January 24, 2011
MP3: Lissie – “Little Lovin'”
MP3: Lissie – “Everywhere I Go”
MP3: Lissie – “In Sleep” (live)
Video: Lissie – “When I’m Alone”
Video: Lissie – “Cuckoo”
MySpace: Lissie

Steve Earle will release a new record entitled I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive on April 26 and a novel by the same name on May 12. He talks to Billboard about the two and the themes of mortality that pervade them.

Explosions In The Sky have clearly decided that the sky is not exploding enough of its own accord and will thus release a new record in Take Care, Take Care, Take Care on April 26 to pick up the slack. Pitchfork has specifics.

The Chicago Sun-Times, Baltimore Sun and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette have words with Liz Phair.

NPR interviews the reunited The Dismemberment Plan.

The Chicago Sun-Times and Philadelphia Inquirer interview the reunited Jayhawks.

NPR is streaming a World Cafe with The Decemberists while Exclaim has made the band their cover feature this month. They play The Sound Academy on February 1 and just took The King Is Dead to number one on the Billboard albums chart.

The Antlers discuss the electronic direction of their next album with Pitchfork.

The Vinyl District goes record shopping with Nicole Atkins. Her new record Mondo Amore is out February 8 and she’s at The Horseshoe on February 26.

PopMatters, The Georgia Straight and Seattle Weekly chat with various members of Ra Ra Riot.

Nada Surf have put out a video from their Depeche Mode cover from their covers record if i had a hi-fi.

Video: Nada Surf – “Enjoy The Silence”

The release of Iron & Wine’s latest Kiss Each Other Clean has brought out the press, with Sam Beam interviews in Pitchfork, Drowned In Sound, Daily Utah Chronicle and The AV Club as well as a Take-Away Show at Le Blogotheque.

Spinner and Paste talk to John Vanderslice, who is marking the release of his new record White Wilderness by giving away a new MP3.

MP3: John Vanderslice – “Piano Lesson”

Pitchfork reports that R.E.M. do not plan to tour behind their new record Collapse Into Now when it comes out on March 8. You can stream yet another new track from the record via one of those lyric video things at Filter.

Trivia: The Thermals’ new video from Personal Life was shot on the now-unprocessable Kodachrome film. I did not know they made a Kodachrome movie film. Now I do. For all the good it does me.

Video: The Thermals – “Never Listen To Me”