Joe FudaAnd now, a bunch of stuff that has nothing to do with a certain record label that is now old enough to drink in the US.

Starting locally, with The Rural Alberta Advantage. After one of the best and busiest 2009s on record, the trio has been relatively quiet through most of this year working on the follow-up to their debut Hometowns, as these photos (sort of) attest. But you can only keep road warriors in one place for so long and they’ll be on the road again starting at the end of this month with a pretty extensive Fall tour that takes them out across the prairies to the west coast of Canada, across the Atlantic for a slew of European and UK dates and then, finally, back home to Toronto for a show at Lee’s Palace on December 16 – their first proper local show in over a year. It’ll be good to hear some of the new material that will appear on album number two when it hits sometime next year, but mostly it’ll just be nice to see them again. Tickets for the show are $15 in advance.

MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Frank, AB”
MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Don’t Haunt This Place”

And more to the show announcements from the past week or so – Avi Buffalo will precede their October 18 show at the Horseshoe with an in-store at Soundscapes on October 17 at 7PM. It’ll be interesting to see if Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg can tear it up as fiercely on acoustic as he does electric. I am guessing yes.

MP3: Avi Buffalo – “Remember Last Time”
MP3: Avi Buffalo – “What’s In It For?”

Also doing it free for the kids is PS I Love You, whose just-released debut Meet Me At The Muster Station has been getting some impressive Pitchfork-love. They’ll be at Soundscapes on October 26 at 7PM before heading down to The Garrison to open up for Diamond Rings. The duo are profiled in The Province, National Post, Chart and Exclaim.

MP3: PS I Love You – “2012”
MP3: PS I Love You – “Butterflies & Boners”
MP3: PS I Love You – “Facelove”

Forest City Lovers have set a date at The Horseshoe for November 5, amidst a smattering of Fall dates. They’ve also just put out a new pensive-to-party video from Carriage.

MP3: Forest City Lovers – “Light You Up”
Video: Forest City Lovers – “Tell Me Cancer”

Horse Feathers and Anaïs Mitchell will team up for a show at the Drake Underground on November 8.

MP3: Horse Feathers – “Curs In The Weeds”
MP3: Anaïs Mitchell – “Flowers (Eurydice’s Song)”

The Balconies, who like The RAA were omni-present in 2009 but relatively quiet in 2010, are back for a show at The Horseshoe on November 9 – hopefully as a precursor to a second album.

MP3: The Balconies – “Serious Bedtime”

The Meligrove Band have put together both a North American tour for and a video from their just-released new record Shimmering Lights. They’re at The Great Hall on November 12 and there’s interviews at The National Post and dose.

MP3: The Meligrove Band – “Bones Attack!!!”
MP3: The Meligrove Band – “Halflight”
Video: The Meligrove Band – “Racing To Shimmering Lights”

Rufus Wainwright has a date at Massey Hall on December 4.

Video: Rufus Wainwright – “Zebulon”

Damon Gough, aka Badly Drawn Boy, has slated a North American tour in support of his new record It’s What I’m Thinking Pt.1 — Photographing Snowflakes. The record is out next Tuesday and will be available in a variety of deluxe and standard packages, as detailed at Exclaim. The Toronto date of the aforementioned tour is December 8 at The Great Hall, tickets $27.50 in advance.

Video: Badly Drawn Boy – “Too Many Miracles”

Interpol will be making good on the support slot for U2 this past Summer which was canceled along with the entire tour when Bono realized he was an old man. They’ll be at the Air Canada Centre on July 11 of next year.

MP3: Interpol – “Lights”

BeatRoute discusses The Age Of Adz with Sufjan Stevens. The record is out October 12 and he plays Massey Hall on October 13.

Murray Lightburn of The Dears talks to eye in advance of the band’s three-night residency at The Garrison next week, October 13 through 15, where they’ll play all of their new, as-yet untitled and release date-less album, start to finish.

The Oklahoma Daily and Austinist talk to members of Local Natives, who’ve put out a new video and have a sold-out show at the Mod Club on October 19.

Video: Local Natives – “Wide Eyes”

Spinner has an interview with Lissie, who brings her full-length debut Catching A Tiger to the El Mocambo on October 19. There’s also a new video from said record.

Video: Lissie – “Everywhere I Go”

Uptown and The Ottawa Citizen profile Rae Spoon, in town for a show at the Gladstone on October 21.

Stars, who are playing Massey Hall on October 26, are interviewed by BeatRoute and The Huffington Post.

Spinner talks to Black Mountain. They’ll be dressing up as a band playing The Phoenix on Hallowe’en.

Thanks Captain Obvious, The Village Voice and Spinner talk to Sharon Van Etten about her new record Epic. She is at Lee’s Palace on November 5 supporting Junip.

The Wooden Sky, who’ve got a date at Lee’s Palace on November 6, have just been featured in a Daytrotter session and a Gateway interview.

Wolf Parade have rolled out a new video from Expo 86. They’ll be at the Sound Academy on November 26.

Video: Wolf Parade – “Yulia”

NPR has a World Cafe session with Ra Ra Riot, in town for a show at the Mod Club on December 1. There’s also interviews at The Omaha World-Herald and Wall Street Journal.

Kevin Drew tells Spin why Broken Social Scene are called Broken Social Scene while Brendan Canning talks to The Georgia Straight and Andrew Whiteman to The Gateway. They are at the Sound Academy on December 9.

BeatRoute chats with Owen Pallett.

Pitchfork interviews Arcade Fire.

Spinner, The Gateway, See and BeatRoute talk to Holy Fuck.

Over at YouTube, Daniel Lanois offers a track-by-track analysis of Neil Young’s Le Noise from the view of the producer’s chair.

Didn’t The Flaming Lips just release a video from Embryonic last week? Yes they did. But here’s another one anyways.

Video: The Flaming Lips – “The Sparrow Looks Up At The Machine”

How do you know Of Montreal were just in the UK? Interviews with Kevin Barnes at Drowned In Sound, The Quietus and The Line Of Best Fit.

The Fly talks to the ladies of Warpaint about their forthcoming debut The Fool, hitting the streets on October 26.

MOVE talks to Mountain Goat Peter Hughes.

Craig Finn of The Hold Steady discusses the benefits of getting older with The Boston Globe.

And seriously, this isn’t even nearly everything I’ve had backlogged to post over the past week.

youarestars.comUsually, the process goes that a band releases a record, then tours it, and then if it’s done well and seems like it can be squeezed a little longer, puts out a companion album of remixes and b-sides. Stars appear to be set on doing things, if not in reverse, then in an order of their own choosing, convention be damned.

Shortly after making public the June 22 release date for their fifth album The Five Ghosts, the band announced that they would tour said record extensively before it was out – first with a series of Canadian club dates wherein they performed the new album in its entirety as the main set before dipping into the back catalog for the encore, and then with a moderately-sized American tour running through June, where they would again be showcasing a record that no one had yet heard.

And this week, they announced that the remix portion of the album cycle would also be starting before the album was released. They’ve set up a website wherein fans can play with a real-time remixing widget for the new song “We Don’t Want Your Body” and also download the base tracks from which they could make their own remixes and submit them for harsh judgement by the band. The one found most worthy will be showcased on the band’s website along with whatever “it seemed clever at the time” internet handle it was submitted under.

But all this preamble aside, the record will actually be coming out in a few weeks and as such, a number of fancy pre-sale options are available, the fancy-pantsiest of which is a $100 boxed set that presents the album on six coloured 7″s in a handcrafted wooden box and with a bunch of digital goodies including a remix EP entitled The Séance with the new songs given a do-over by REAL remixers, like The Album Leaf and Of Montreal.

One thing the band are doing that’s typical is offering a pre-release MP3 and making videos, both of which you can hear and see below. And they’re giving interviews, as proven by this conversation with Amy Millan at Cleveland Scene. And they’ll be touring more through the Summer festival season and into the Fall, probably looking forward to seeing fans singing along with the songs instead of staring blankly.

MP3: Stars – “Fixed”
Video: Stars – “Fixed”

Tokyo Police Club are also putting out a new record soon – next week, to be exact – and they’re building anticipation the old fashioned way (old fashioned by 2010 standards, anyways) with an advance stream of Champ over at Exclaim until its release on June 8, though they’re also doing competitions (challenge to band at stuff) and fancy presale packages (get a hoodie!) – details on their website. They also talk to Exclaim about the new album which, I’m not too proud to admit, is much better than I had expected it to be – more mature-sounding, yet just as energetic and hooky. Not an easy balance to strike. Looking forward to hearing it live when they play the Molson Amphitheatre on July 8 supporting The Flaming Lips and Spoon.

Stream: Tokyo Police Club / Champ

Both aux and Grand Crew have acoustic video sessions with Born Ruffians – okay really just guitarist Luke Lalonde – in Toronto and Paris, respectively. Lalonde also gives an interview to Beatroute, teams up with bassist Mitch Derosier for their feature at I Like Music and prodigal drummer Steve Hamelin chats with Spinner.

Chart talks to Dallas Good of The Sadies. They play a free show at Harbourfront Centre on July 1.

Carl Newman of The New Pornographers talks to Beatroute about Together while Kathryn Calder discusses the album art with Spinner. They play the Sound Academy on June 15 and have just released a fun new video.

Video: The New Pornographers – “Crash Years”

The New Current caught up with The Rural Alberta Advantage while they were in the UK to play The Great Escape.

Soundproof talks to Joel Plaskett about the now-over Thrush Hermit reunion.

Frank YangThere was a stretch a few years ago when it seemed like there was a domino effect with record stores in Toronto closing up shop – a moment of silence for Flash & Crash, Driftwood, CD Exchange, Urban Sound Exchange, Edward’s Record World, CD Replay, Second Spin, Sam The Record Man, Music World and a special tear for Stinky’s (aka Cactus) back in Oakville. This was alarming on so many levels; personally, because I spent more than a few weekends digging through their bins for stuff and if they went away, I’d have to find something new to do with my time, and within the bigger picture because this was a crucial part of the musical ecosystem being clear-cut and no how the digital zealots wanted to spin it, mass extinction of music brick-and-mortar retail is NOT a good thing.

Some cynical types look at events like Record Store Day as last-ditch stunts with no lasting impact on halting the decline of music sales; over the long term, maybe they’re right. But on Saturday, roaming around Toronto, I saw no shortage of people up way early to line up for the exclusive RSD goodies without even worrying about what they’d cost and, throughout the day, wandering the streets with bags that could only contain 12″ discs of vinyl (or linoleum tile samples, I suppose). No doubt some were caught up in the trending topic frenzy and others were unscrupulous speculators, but overall, I can’t imagine people who would bother buying vinyl one day of the year and not at least some of the other 364, and so liked what it said about the health of music retail in the 416 (and the vinyl resurgence) – at least right now.

Besides sales and low-run goodies, there was also the attraction of in-store performances to get folks into their local record shops; up in the Annex, Sonic Boom was running the equivalent of a multi-stage, multi-floor festival and down on Queen West, Criminal Records booked an 11th hour performance from Kristian Matsson, whose show at the El Mocambo that night as The Tallest Man On Earth was sold right out. With word getting out just three hours or so before he took the small stage, but those who did get word were treated to a short but impressive three-song set, demonstrating why so many were so excited about him and his latest record The Wild Hunt. Though clearly worn out from the drive from Montreal, Matsson delivered a surprisingly physical performance, roaming the store’s compact stage, and singing in a voice that was richer-sounding (to these ears, anyways) than on record. It barely ran fifteen minutes but certainly had me listening to his stuff with new ears.

And it was fortunate that it was short because it gave me time to bike up to Sonic Boom for Sloan’s RSD10-closing set. While the former BiWay has the city’s finest in-store space in their vinyl basement, complete with wood paneling, they’d gone to the trouble of erecting a larger and higher stage towards the back of the main floor for the day’s events, allowing everyone a far better view of the performance. This was the first time I’d seen Sloan play since their V Fest showing in August and while that was entertaining in its utter farcicality, this one was a much more solid showing even if I barely recognized any of the material.

That’s a bit odd, considering I’ve been a fan since the Peppermint days – albeit less so in recent years – but the band were really getting into the record collecting spirit of the event by playing only b-sides and rarities. Ironically, the releases that they drew from – the B-Sides Win compilation and Hit & Run EP – are digital-only releases, but they’ve also recently pressed all of their studio albums on vinyl so we’ll call that a draw. Set list obscurity aside, it was still a wholly entertaining 45-minute set thanks to the informal setting and the fun of watching the band try to pull off songs they probably hadn’t played in years and some which they admitted had never been performed live before. It was also good to see Chris Murphy recovered from the broken collarbones which hobbled him at V Fest and able to shoulder his bass guitar again. I expect they’ll break out the fan favourites when they play Yonge-Dundas Square for another free show on the Friday night of NXNE, so it was cool to see such a unique set though I’d point out that B-Sides Win opens with an alternate version of “Underwhelmed”… could they not have slipped that in there and still stayed true to their edict for the evening? Ah well.

Oh, my Record Store Day haul? Not much, really – just The Bird & The Bee’s Interpreting The Masters Hall & Oates cover record and the Fanfarlo 7″. Don’t worry, I have no shortage of music to get through.

NPR has a small feature piece on the start of and importance of record stores and Record Store Day.

Photos: Sloan @ Sonic Boom – April 17, 2010
Photos: The Tallest Man On Earth @ Criminal Records – April 17, 2010
MP3: Sloan – “I’m Not A Kid Anymore”
MP3: The Tallest Man On Earth – “King Of Spain”
MP3: The Tallest Man On Earth – “Burden Of Tomorrow”
Video: Sloan – “Witch’s Wand”
Video: Sloan – “The Rest Of My Life”
Video: Sloan – “The Other Man”
Video: Sloan – “Money City Maniacs”
Video: Sloan – “The Lines You Amend”
Video: Sloan – “The Good In Everyone”
Video: Sloan – “Coax Me”
MySpace: Sloan

Blur’s Record Store Day reunion single “Fool’s Day” is now available to download off of their website in MP3 and WAV formats for free.

A note to anyone headed to tonight’s Specials show at the Sound Academy – you’ve probably been informed via official channels, but if not, tonight’s performance has been postponed due to medical emergency. Tomorrow and Wednesday’s shows in New York are still on, but the Toronto performance will take place the week of August 4 – same venue – at a precise date to be announced this week. Tickets for this show will still be valid for that show, refunds available at point of purchase until June 28. The Toronto Sun has an interview with guitarist Lynval Golding about the reunion.

Billboard talks to Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew about the long road to Forgiveness Rock Record, coming May 4 but streaming right now at NPR. They play the Toronto Islands on June 19.

Stream: Broken Social Scene / Forgiveness Rock Record

Also out May 4 – and sure to help create an unofficial Record Store Day customer surge that day – is Together from The New Pornographers. Carl Newman talks to Pitchfork about the records that have soundtracked his life thus far. They play the Sound Academy on June 15.

Spinner talks to Metric about going the independent route for the release of Fantasies last year.

The National Post talks to Tony Dekker of Juno award nominees Great Lake Swimmers. It’s about the Junos, which is why I mentioned it. Not because they’re important or anything.

Tragic news from You Say Party! We Say Die!, whose drummer Devon Clifford passed away on Saturday night after suffering a brain aneurysm onstage Friday evening. CBC Radio 3 has official statements from the band’s label and Clifford’s family while The Globe & Mail reports on some of his good works in the community. Deepest sympathies go out his friends and family. Update: There’s a beautiful tribute up at the Vancouver Sun.

Vancouver’s Salteens will release their first album in forever (seven years, actually) in Grey Eyes later this Summer – but first will come the Moths EP on May 11; stream the EP at their Bandcamp and download a track now.

MP3: The Salteens – “Hallowed Ways”

hour.ca chats with Dan Mangan, whose April 22 show at the Horseshoe is just about sold out. Hesitate further and lose completely.

June 9 will be the date of a very special benefit concert at the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Koerner Hall. Alli’s Journey is a charity dedicated to providing support and resources for young people battling cancer, and their annual Take My Hand benefit show will take place at the when and where noted above, and with the following who’s: Jully Black, Amanda Martinez, Ohbijou, Dan Mangan, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Aion Clarke and Evening Hymns, with more still to be announced. Floor tickets are on sale now for $99 (scroll down), and cheaper balcony seats will be available come May. It’s great music for a great cause.

And perhaps of interest to folks who like getting paid for stuff – there’s a pretty cool company looking for participants for some live music research. If you live in Toronto, New York, or LA, fill out this survey to apply; if you’re selected, they’ll pay you $25 for half an hour of your time. And if you’re wondering, I do know the people doing this and they’re legit. Their cheques will clear.

Frank YangConsidering that snow and slush are far more typical environmental hazards for Canadian Musicfest’s timing, complaining about rain that accompanied the unseasonable warmth the last couple days seems ungrateful. And yet, standing in line to get into Lee’s Palace in the freezing drizzle Friday night, I could only take solace in the fact that this would be my one and only stop for the evening. But I would certainly be having words with this “chromwaves” fellow whom festival literature said was presenting the show along with the Billions booking agency. I bet he’s a tool.

The short gap between doors and the first act meant that Montreal’s Winter Gloves were on stage before my shoes had dried, and if anyone had been hoping to be eased gently into the evening’s entertainment… not going to happen. Winter Gloves came out hard, fast and loud with synth-rock from their debut About A Girl and while the album had only rated an “alright” to my ears, the live experience was much more engaging and enjoyable and, consequently, has prompted me to revisit the record. And encourage SxSW-ers to swing by the Paper Bag Records showcase I’m co-presenting this week to check them out. March 17 at Speakeasy, they’re on at midnight. End plug.

Photos: Winter Gloves @ Lee’s Palace – March 12, 2010
MP3: Winter Gloves – “Let Me Drive”
MP3: Winter Gloves – “Someone Great”
MP3: Winter Gloves – “All Red”
Video: Winter Gloves – “Let Me Drive”
Video: Winter Gloves – “Piano 4 Hands”

If Winter Gloves took their synths to the rock end of the spectrum, sole Toronto act on the bill Russian Futurists steered theirs towards the pop. And while their stage presence paled in comparison to the act they followed – Matthew Adam Hart subscribes to the “stand there as still as possible” school of frontmanship – the band were clearly pleased to be able to bust out new material from their forthcoming album The Weight’s On The Wheels and their indelibly melodic tunes carried the set. A little more on-stage activity wouldn’t have been unappreciated, but what can you do.

Photos: The Russian Futurists @ Lee’s Palace – March 12, 2010
MP3: The Russian Futurists – “Paul Simon”
Video: The Russian Futurists – “Paul Simon”
MySpace: The Russian Futurists

Any of the next three bands could easily have been tapped as headliner for the night, but The Acorn arguably took the stage with the most anticipation, at least from me. I hadn’t seen them play since late 2008 and in the interim, they’d gone into hiding to write and record their new record No Ghost, which should be out around June. So while the occasion of their return was a happy one, it also became bittersweet when midway through their set, frontman Rolf Klausner announced that guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Howie Tsui would be leaving the band after their show in Kingston the next night to concentrate on his visual arts career. Anyone who’s seen the Acorn live knows how essential Tsui’s contributions are to their sound, so whomever they get to take his place has some mighty big shoes to fill; a fact reinforced with this show as the band showed off some of their new material while busting out old favourites as well. The new songs sound as though they’ve taken the sounds and lessons learned from the Central American-inflected Glory Hope Mountain and brought them back to the northern hemisphere, including the second drummer added for touring said record – those who came to the band via their early EPs would be (pleasantly) surprised at how potent a rhythmic machine The Acorn are today. And Klausener’s between-song banter has also gotten a lot better. Thankfully.

Photos: The Acorn @ Lee’s Palace – March 12, 2010
MP3: The Acorn – “The Flood, Pt 1”
MP3: The Acorn – “Crooked Legs” (live on XM)
MP3: The Acorn – “Blankets”
MP3: The Acorn – “Plates & Saucers”
MP3: The Acorn – “Darcy”
Video: The Acorn – “The Flood, Pt 1”
Video: The Acorn – “Crooked Legs”

The thing about having your name attached to a show is that it tends to imply an endorsement of every act on the bill. I had tried to get into Montreal’s Plants & Animals with their debut Parc Avenue, which so many people I know and respect seemed to love, but just couldn’t do it. There was a hippie/jam band vibe about it that I just couldn’t get behind, so that their performance on this evening quite nearly tore my face off was just a bit of a surprise. Their musical prowess has never been in doubt, but funneled through an immensely loud and sweaty 40-minute set of classic rock-styled, arena-sized jams… well, you would have to hate rock to not be impressed. And I do not hate rock. I can’t say that I’ll like their second record La La Land more than the first when it comes out on April 20 – what wows me on stage doesn’t necessarily mean that it’ll be as interesting coming from my speakers – but I’ll certainly be giving it more of a chance than I would have prior to Friday night. Can’t ask for much more than that.

Photos: Plants & Animals @ Lee’s Palace – March 12, 2010
MP3: Plants & Animals – “Tom Cruz”
Video: Plants & Animals – “The Mama Papa”
Video: Plants & Animals – “Feedback In The Field”

Post-Plants & Animals, the room – which had been at capacity for the last few hours – began to clear out a bit. Reasonable, since many had probably been there since doors at 8:30 and subways were going to stop running before long. Reasonable, but unfortunate since leaving Lee’s then would have meant missing Think About Life, another band whom I’d done an almost 180 on since first hearing them. I had dismissed their self-titled debut as being too messy for my tastes, but after seeing them and the glorious dance-party explosion that is their live show in Summer 2008, I was more than happy to elevate them to “at least they’re buckets of fun live” status. Then last year’s Family proved that they were an outfit capable of capturing much of that live energy on record while further honing their songwriting into a more focused yet no less rocking disco-soul monster. In short, they appeared to have become the band that their fans had been insisting they were from the get-go.

After some technical delays, they took the stage looking a bit different from when I saw them last – guitarist/electronics-wrangler Graham Van Pelt and manic frontman Martin Cesar were still there, but drummer Matt Shane had been replaced and they had a new bassist in Caila Thompson-Hannant, whom I recognized from her stints in Miracle Fortress and Shapes & Sizes. Adopting a more conventional live band configuration would prove to be a wise move, though, as they sounded even better and more vital than they did the last time I saw them, Thompson-Hannat’s vocals in particular adding a welcome dimension to their sound. Energy-wise, they were as tremendous as before though the larger environs of Lee’s didn’t allow for quite the audience mosh action that Sneaky Dee’s did. Cesar did leap into the crowd towards the end of the set to spread some sweat around but at no point in the show did I fear for my life. Which should probably be considered a good thing, but I was still a bit disappointed – not in the show, the show was great, just in that I never felt compelled to run for cover.

Photos: Think About Life @ Lee’s Palace – March 12, 2010
MP3: Think About Life – “Nueva Nueva”
MP3: Think About Life – “Sweet Sixteen”
Video: Think About Life – “Havin’ My Baby”
Video: Think About Life – “Sweet Sixteen”
Video: Think About Life – “Paul Cries”

Apologies to The Uglysuit for not sticking around for their show-closing set. By 2AM, I was out of fumes to run on and had to hightail it for home. I promise that every effort will be made to see you this week in Austin.

Spinner interviews The Coast.

The Wooden Sky talks to Torontoist.

CBC has an interview with The Rural Alberta Advantage, who won the Galaxie Rising Star award at the Indies on Saturday night. Yeah, I’m not sure what that means either. But congratulations.

Emily Haines of Metric eulogizes Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse at eye.

Frank YangWednesday night’s in-store at Criminal Records had something for everyone. For The Besnard Lakes, it was an opportunity to refine the translation of their just-released new record The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night into live performance before setting out on a world tour that would take them and their much-anticipated new album across Europe and North America. For those in attendance, it was a chance to be amongst the first anywhere to hear the new songs live and in an intimate – and free – setting, without having to endure the crowds that would surely be jamming the Horseshoe last night at their official Canadian Musicfest last night. Win-win.

That said, the brightly-lit retail outlet was an unusual setting for a band as much about atmosphere as the Besnards. Partway through the set, bassist Olga Goreas mentioned how much she was missing their signature smoke machine and a little bit of that probably would have better set the mood for the show, through which the audience sat almost too-respectfully silent on the floor of the store. Instead, all the mood would have to come from the music – epic in scope and massive in weight and probably requiring more hands to reproduce live, not less. Yet the departure of keyboardist Nicole Lizee after the touring cycle for The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse was done left the band as a four-piece and as such, frontman Jace Lasek had to augment his guitar-playing and pedal-stomping with laptop and keyboard duties. And while they probably could have gotten away with simply playing louder, the extra care taken to reproduce the fullness of the Roaring Night material was appreciated.

The set was made up mostly of new material which, with the record having been officially available for less than 48 hours, was probably unfamiliar to much of the audience but they did throw the fans a bone with a single number off of Dark Horse before going even further back – I assume from their debut Volume 1 – for a closing number that sounded almost completely unlike their present-day material. It wasn’t the most engaging Besnard Lakes show I’d ever seen – as befit a dress rehearsal of sorts, they were concentrating more on the playing than the performing – but I’m sure that by the time they return to town, with The Roaring Night fully road-tested, it’ll be something to behold. And there’ll be the smoke-machine.

Spinner, Chart, The Montreal Gazette, hour.ca, The List, The Montreal Mirror, CBC and NOW all have feature pieces on the Besnard Lakes.

Photos: The Besnard Lakes @ Criminal Records – March 10, 2010
MP3: The Besnard Lakes – “Albatross”
MP3: The Besnard Lakes – “And You Lied To Me”
MP3: The Besnard Lakes – “For Agent 13”
Video: The Besnard Lakes – “For Agent 13”
Video: The Besnard Lakes – “Devastation”
Stream: The Besnard Lakes / The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night
MySpace: The Besnard Lakes

Spinner talks to Think About Life, who play Lee’s Palace tonight at 1AM.

John O’Regan of Diamond Rings graces the cover of this week’s eye, who also talk to his bandmate in The D’Urbervilles, Tim Bruton. Diamond Rings the Silver Dollar tonight at midnight, while The D’Urbs are up at 10PM at the Garrison.

Torontoist questions Dan Mangan, who plays the Courthouse tonight at 11PM, Criminal Records tomorrow at 6PM and the Horseshoe on April 22.

eye takes a look inside the apartment of Rural Alberta Advantage frontman Nils Edenloff. It’s okay, they were invited. Spinner settles for a chat.

The Toronto Star, Lucid Forge and Torontoist talk to Woodhands, who have just announced they’ll be playing tonight (!) at Wrongbar as a last-minute CMF addition – tickets are $12.50, on sale now.

Chart interviews The Balconies, whom they’re rightly declared a hot act. Witness the hotness at the Horseshoe Saturday night at 9:20PM

The Sadies will release their new album, entitled Darker Circles, on May 18. Live dates are sure to follow, but I’m going to go out on a limb right now and say they’ll be at the Horseshoe on December 31.

The National Post Q&A’s Great Lake Swimmers.

The Weakerthans will celebrate the release of their live CD/DVD set Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre on March 23 with an in-store performance at Sonic Boom on March 24 at 5PM. Maybe they can play in front of the Burton Cummings vinyl section. They’ve also got a date at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on May 26.

MP3: The Weakerthans – “Plea From A Cat Named Virtue”
Video: The Weakerthans – “Tournament Of Hearts” (live)

Popolio has a quick interview with Ume. They’re playing Eastbound & Down during SxSW at 2:05PM.

Filter and Michigan Live talk to Ted Leo. The Filter piece is a two-parter.

Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers talks to Spinner about their next-next record, which will follow next week’s release of The Big To-Do with Go-Go Boots before the year is out. The Truckers are doubling up their next visit to Toronto with two nights at Lee’s Palace, April 6 and 7.

Spinner talks to Centro-Matic.

My Morning Jacket drummer Patrick Hallahan tells Spinner he’s glad the band took a break.

The Scotsman interviews Spoon, who are at the Sound Academy on March 29.

Spin checks in with The Thermals, who are in the studio working on their next album Personal Life, due out September 7.

Rolling Stone has words with Midlake. They play The Mod Club on May 25.

Sharon Van Etten talks to Spinner. She is at the Horseshoe on April 5.

hour.ca interviews Joanna Newsom, who plays a sold-out show at The Phoenix on Saturday night.

She & Him are the subject of features at Spinner and Billboard. Volume 2 is out March 23 and they play The Phoenix on June 9.

Soiree de poche has a video session with Beach House, who have a sold-out show at The Opera House on March 30 and are also playing the Toronto Islands Concert on June 19.

Blurt and Spinner have features on Wye Oak, here opening up for Shearwater on April 1.

Spinner talks to Phantogram, who will be at Supermarket tonight at 1AM.

Spin has debuted the video for the title track of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s new album Beat The Devil’s Tattoo. They are at The Phoenix on April 1 and again on April 11.

Video: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – “Beat The Devil’s Tattoo”

Echo & The Bunnymen are sharing another track from their latest record The Fountain. They are at The Phoenix on April 23.

MP3: Echo & The Bunnymen – “Proxy”

Serena-Maneesh will release their new album S-M 2: Abyss In B Minor on March 23 and are not only streaming the whole thing, but they’ve debuted a new video over at Stereogum. They will be at the Great Hall on April 2.

Video: Serena-Maneesh – “I Just Want To See Your Face”
Stream: Serena-Maneesh / S-M 2: Abyss In B Minor

Swedish folk sister act First Aid Kit have set a North American tour for June and will be at the Rivoli in Toronto on June 12. Their debut Drunken Trees came out last year.

MP3: First Aid Kit – “I Met Up With The King”
MP3: First Aid Kit – “You’re Not Coming Home Tonight”

Shout Out Louds have released a new mini-documentary about the making of their latest record, the just-released Work. They play the Mod Club on May 8.

Video: Shout Out Louds “At Work”

Drowned In Sound has posted the first of a multi-part interview with Jonsi. Go is out March 23 and he plays the Sound Academy on April 30 and May 1.

Under The Radar interviews The Mary Onettes.