Robin SharpThe Diamond Rings journey thus far – from viral video through legal scuffle, at festivals at home and abroad – has been documented hereabouts pretty well, I think, but there’s still one fairly important – or only important – facet of the tale to be considered – the debut album, Special Affections, which finally arrives next Tuesday, October 26.

For an artist who has been so successful with the single format – a new track, or more specifically a new video – every few months to keep interest alive, the full-length could be a daunting proposition; after all, what works well in 4-minute portions may prove to be less-so over 40, particularly when it’s of as specific a sound and style as John O’Regan has defined Diamond Rings to be. So it’s to John O’s credit that Special Affections is strong enough to stand apart from the extravagant visuals that define Diamond Rings live and on video, though it does take on a different character in just the audio realm; more minor in key and sombre in tone and with the leanness of the sound even more evident. Still, he finds enough variety in the keys/laptop/voice DIY electro-pop recipe that forms the backbone of the record to fully engage anyone who’s ear was tweaked by any of the lead-up singles.

That said, it’s telling that the best moments on the record come when O’Reagan loosens the man-and-machine aesthetic and allows elements like the female backing vocals on “On Our Own” or the raw electric guitar he so ably wields in The D’Urbervilles into the mix. Beyond just elevating the songs they appear on, they point to a more interesting future for Diamond Rings – one where it’s more than a pseudonym but a proper project or even band. The long-term prospects of the current aesthetic are unclear, but if the sounds start clearly serving the songs and not the other way around, then the sky is the limit. But that’s a suggestion for tomorrow; for today, Diamond Rings is John O’Reagan and Special Affections delivers on all promises made.

X-Tra has a feature piece on Diamond Rings, whom after an intense CMJ festival this week, will be playing a number of Canadian dates before packing up his glitter and laptop for a jaunt to the UK. Record release day, October 26, will be spent at home with a special launch party at The Garrison and courtesy of Embrace, I have three pairs of passes to give away for the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see Diamond Rings” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest closes at midnight, October 22.

MP3: Diamond Rings – “All Yr Songs”
MP3: Diamond Rings – “Wait And See”
Video: Diamond Rings – “Something Else”
Video: Diamond Rings – “Show Me Your Stuff”
Video: Diamond Rings – “All Yr Songs”
Video: Diamond Rings – “Wait & See”
MySpace: Diamond Rings

Westword interviews PS I Love You, who are opening up for Diamond Rings on the 26th and have released a new video from Meet Me At The Muster Station; they’re playing a free in-store at Soundscapes at 7PM that same evening.

Video: PS I Love You – “Butterflies & Boners”

Pitchfork reports that the long wait for a new Destroyer record ends when the terrifically-titled Kaputt drops on January 25.

Born Ruffians have released a new video from their sophomore effort Say It and will put out an EP of unreleased odds and ends on November 2 called Plinky Plonk – it’s digital-only with physical copies only available at their shows.

Video: Born Ruffians – “Nova-Leigh”

Holy Fuck have gone cat-crazy for their latest video from Latin, further proving that cats = internet gold.

Video: Holy Fuck – “Red Lights”

Know what would be great? If for their just-announced Hallowe’en show at The Garrison, Fucked Up and The Sadies dressed up as each other. Pink Eyes in a Nudie suit, The Sadies in their underwear… actually, never mind. Ticket info still forthcoming; Times Square has an interview with Dallas Good of The Sadies.

MP3: Fucked Up – “No Epiphany”
MP3: The Sadies – “Another Year Again”

Forest City Lovers have announced an in-store at Criminal Records on November 4 at 6PM, the day before their big show at The Horseshoe. That’d be November 5. If it was unclear.

MP3: Forest City Lovers – “Light You Up”

Suuns will hold a record release show for their debut Zeroes QC at The Silver Dollar on November 26, even though the album has been out since last week. Chart has an interview with the band.

MP3: Suuns – “Up Past The Nursery”

So I’m off to Halifax for the Halifax Pop Explosion on Wednesday, and having never been to Halifax or further east in Canada than Quebec City, am soliciting suggestions for things to do and see whilst out there. Most recommendations I’ve gotten so far are beers – which is great though dangerous – but beyond the eat/drink, what else should I make sure to fit in? I’ve got Citadel Hill, the ferry to Dartmouth, Point Pleasant Park… and?

Frank YangThere’s been no secret about where, were I a betting man, my money would have gone in guessing who’d walk away with the 2010 Polaris Music Prize last night. From my first ballot through the announcement of the short list right up through yesterday, I’ve been pulling for Shad’s TSOL and amongst my informal polling, that seemed to be the consensus choice. Well if there’s one thing that I should have learned by now is that the Polaris will always surprise you. And surprised would be the best word to describe my reaction when Damian Abraham of Fucked Up – last year’s surprise winner – announced the $20,000 prize and accompanying year in the spotlight would go to Montreal’s Karkwa for their record Les Chemins De Verre.

It’s a record that I listened to a moderate amount in the course of my juror duties, but had only made it as far as my “I should listen to this more when I have the time” list. And since the members of this year’s grand jury obviously spent much more time with the record, it’s apparently an album that merits that further attention. It’s not as though it’s inaccessible, beyond the language thing (it’s all in French if that wasn’t clear) – it’s beautifully melodic, dynamic and expertly performed atmospheric rock that certainly doesn’t require a working knowledge of the language to enjoy. In fact, that aside, it’s probably one of the more conventional yet interesting records on the short list – but I had assumed that being virtually unknown outside of Francophone Canada before their Polaris nomination, they didn’t really stand a chance.

Well, I clearly underestimated both the record and the jury because after hours of deliberations, they came to a decision that should put to rest at least one of the complaints constantly leveled against the Polaris Prize – that it’s inherently biased towards English Canada and any Francophone artists included are there on a token basis. Well Karkwa just took twenty thousands tokens to the bank and the honour of having crafted the best album in Canada in the past year – congratulations to them. Yes, they’re still all white men who play guitars but one complaint at a time, alright?

As for the gala itself, it did a fine job of keeping the hundreds in attendance at the Masonic Temple in Toronto entertained whilst the 11 men and women of the grand jury went about their duties. For the second year, they had all ten nominees on hand to perform and though no one went as all-out with hijinks or antics as they did last year, all of them made splendid arguments for why they belonged on the short list and why after all the debate and discussion over who should and should not win the prize, it’s nice to just sit back and appreciate the depth of musical talent this country has to offer.

One of the big guns of the short list kicked things off, Broken Social Scene something like a dozen members strong opening the show with the rousing instrumental “Meet Me In The Basement”, which functioned as a sort of theme song to the evening. Their set was followed by The Sadies and a demonstration of why, powered by the Good brothers’ absurd guitar-slinging and spiritually bolstered by Dallas sporting Tommy Hunter’s suit borrowed from the CBC, they’re one of the country’s most fearsome live acts.

At this point, thing shifted both geographically (to Acadia), linguistically (regional dialect Chiac) and stylistically (hip-hop) with Radio Radio. I’ve made no secret that they were my least favourite of all of the shortlisters and I’d be dismayed if they actually won, but will freely admit that they delivered a good, fun and energetic performance with the three of them trading off MC duties whilst backed by a couple members of Karkwa. Entertaining? Sure. Best album in the country? No. The performance then swung out west for Dan Mangan, who couldn’t help but deliver one of the most understated performances of the night – his singer-songwriter fare is about intimacy, not grand gestures – not even when bolstered by strings, horns and handclappers. He did, however, stage the closest thing to an audience invasion the night would see when he pulled his mic stand into the audience and climbed onto a table to lead the singalong finale to “Robots”. At first I thought he had invaded another nominee’s table as a challenge, but it turned out to be his own. Which, I suppose, was the only nice thing to do.

It seemed as though Montreal’s The Besnard Lakes were the only act to play just one song but technically, “Like The Ocean, Like The Innocent” is a two-parter – it just happened to be an epic space-rock jam that gave Jace Lasek a chance to show off his guitar chops and guitar face. Karkwa – who would in less than an hour become the talk of the town, if not country – followed with a pair of songs that you didn’t need to understand to appreciate, showcasing their impressive musical chops and probably had more than a few people wondering, “who are these guys and why haven’t I heard of them before this?” – soon to be a moot question.

It was about this time that word began circulating a winner had been selected, just when Owen Pallett – winner of the inaugural Polaris Prize a half-decade ago – was up next. His horn-augmented performance that reaffirmed him as one of Canada’s premiere musicians in the pop music sphere, his two selections from Heartland veritably crackling with creativity and imagination. Shad’s performance also crackled and, featuring a guest spot from Broken Social Scene’s Lisa Lobsinger on “Rose Garden”, certainly looked like a champion up there, closing out with a freestyle that could have been cheesy but was instead wholly inspiring.

Though arguably the most successful act on the short list, Tegan & Sara kept their set intimate with just the two sisters backed up by Pallett, who continued the trend of nominees guesting with other nominees Canada, eh? I’d not paid much attention to Tegan & Sara since their debut arrived with no small amount of hype and didn’t do anything for me, but they really did sound great up there and their banter was as entertaining as advertised. And finally, there was Caribou who, along with his sizable band all dressed in white, closed things out with a well and proper disco party although no one actually got up to dance (there wasn’t a lot of room). Like every act before them, they presented a strong case for why they should be dubbed owners of the best album in Canada, even though it had already been decided by a group who saw none of their performances.

But in the end, it was Karkwa, who were stunned and humbled and gracious as they were declared the winners by last year’s prom queens Fucked Up – an unexpected but worthy choice which should make for some interesting debate and discussion in the coming days and months. I personally had no dog in this race, my part in the process was done with the submission of the second ballot months ago. What I mainly got out of it – besides an evening of entertainment and a late night of photo processing and writing – is the certainty that with the Polaris, the best strategy appears to be as unknown as possible, somehow sneak onto the short list, be hardly rated to win by anyone and then walk away with the cash while the heavily favoured stand around and shrug. I think the only year that a dark horse didn’t take the prize was Caribou, which means that I had the honour of being part of the most predictable grand jury so far… yay us?

Check out photos from the gala below and watchables and listenables from the shortlisted albums after the jump.

Photos: Polaris Music Prize Gala 2010 @ The Masonic Temple – September 20, 2010

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CBCHere we are – another September 2, another blogiversary and another year in the books of doing… whatever this is. I have to tell you, there’s a great temptation on my end to use this occasion to get into some existential angst about where this site has been, where it might go and what on earth I’m going to do when it all inevitably ends (I’ve no idea and that’s terrifying), instead I’m just going to say fuck it, I’ll cross or fall off that bridge when I come to it.

For now, I’ll take some satisfaction in the fact that eight years is a long time in the real world – some of my blogging peers today weren’t even in high school when I started, for goodness sake – and a veritable eternity in internet time and extend my thanks to all of my readers who’ve been along for the ride at any point along this journey. This is nearly as much fun when no one reads it. Besides that… hell, I don’t know. Every year I tell myself I’m going to prepare something special post-wise or even event-wise for the anniversary but instead, it ends up being a case of, “oh shit, what day is it again?”. I actually did manage to put something proper together last year. All you get this year is a cover of this post’s namesake by this blog’s namesake.

MP3: Ride – “Eight Miles High”

And in other news. The Toronto International Film Festival opens up next week and coinciding with it is the grand opening of the festival’s new headquarters, the Bell Lightbox, down at King and John. Which in and of itself isn’t that significant hereabouts (though a functional building is always nicer than a construction site) but to mark the occasion, they’re throwing a block party on September 12 from 11AM to 4PM with all manner of goings-on, including performances from three of the ten Polaris shortlisters – Karkwa, The Sadies and Radio Radio. They’ll be playing from 12:20PM to 2PM and at 3PM, they’re promising another musical act who is one of “Canada’s hottest global superstars”… guesses, anyone?

Beatroute interviews Win Butler of Arcade Fire.

Shout Out Out Out Out have a date at Wrongbar on November 4. Their last album was 2009’s Reintegration Time.

Video: Shout Out Out Out Out – “Coming Home”

A bunch of new videos released today that up the Can-con quotient of the internet. First there’s a clip for “Quarry Hymns” from Land Of Talk’s new album Cloak & Cipher. Exclaim has posted some more of their interview with Liz Powell than appeared in this month’s cover story. Land Of Talk play Lee’s Palace on September 16.

Video: Land Of Talk – “Quarry Hymns”

The Acorn has a wonderful new stop-action clip from No Ghost. They’re releasing a remix album entitled Make The Least Of The Day on September 14 – details at Exclaim.

Video: The Acorn – “Restoration”

Black Mountain have released a second vid from Wilderness Heart, which will be out September 14. Beatroute has an interview with the band, who will be at the Phoenix on October 31.

Video: Black Mountain – “The Hair Song”

PitchforkTV has a Tunnelvision feature on Diamond Rings, whose debut Special Affections will be out on October 26.

Tokyo Police Club’s David Monks talks to Beatroute. They’re at the Ricoh Coliseum on October 22 in support of Phoenix.

Frank YangTwo months isn’t an exceptionally long time by most standards, but for Montreal’s Arcade Fire, it seems like a lifetime. It was only that long ago that the band played two theatre shows at the Danforth, closing out a week wherein the band emerged from their post-Neon Bible seclusion to play a series of intimate shows previewing their third record The Suburbs, the Toronto shows the largest of those but still grossly undersized.

I tried to capture the atmosphere at that time in my writeup of the first of those shows but in a nutshell, the question was one of would the band be able to recover from or top Neon Bible, depending on your opinion of their sophomore effort, on any of artistic, critical or retail terms, and remain arguably the biggest and/or most important rock band in Canada right now. The answer came in the form of tremendous critical response, massive sold out shows across the continent and most quantitatively, #1 records in Canada, the United States and United Kingdom – success by any standard.

So their show on Saturday on the Toronto Islands, a setting typically reserved for festival-type events but one of the only locales in the city capable of handling the size of crowds that they were sure to draw. And while the bill was only three bands deep, the breadth of genre, experience and buzz represented would have rivaled any larger festival – in the span of just over four hours, concert-goers would be transported from the countryside to the suburbs via Metropolis. And get to ride a boat.

The Sadies have been around for what seems like forever and are hardly reclusive when it comes to playing out, and yet one suspects that many to most of those thousands who showed up early enough to catch their set had never heard of them let alone witnessed the Nudie suit spectacle that is a live Sadies show. And while I’ve never gotten the sense that mass popularity was on The Sadies’ agenda, they’re probably not unhappy about the attention they’re now getting thanks to the Polaris shortlisting of their latest record Darker Circles. As such, their set was them putting their best county-punk-psych foot forward, treating the audience to a good balance of their more recent works of refined songwriting and old-school guitar pyrotechnics, bringing out their mother to sing on “There’s A Higher Power” and dropping jaws with the show-stopping “Ridge Runner Rell”. There was no way to not be impressed.

The same could be said for funk-soul-r&b-rock firecracker Janelle Monáe, making her Canadian debut in front of a crowd that probably wouldn’t fall under her primary target demographic. But when you’re riding and album as excellently all-over-the-place as The ArchAndroid, maybe there’s no such thing as a primary target demographic – except for everyone. Following an introduction by Win Butler, perhaps to butter the crowd up with an AF seal of approval, Monáe’s band took the stage to “Suite II Overture”, followed by three figures in large black hooded cloaks, backs to the audience, swaying to the opening of “Dance Or Die”. And midway through that opener, the cloak came off and it was game on. Monáe came with a reputation for stellar live performances and indeed, her show was everything you could hope for.

Her signature bouffant in fine form, she was a dynamo on stage, dancing and singing with such power and prowess that when she made clear nods to James Brown and Michael Jackson in her performance, it came across less like a salute than accepting a torch being passed across generations. And it wasn’t just the big production numbers like the rocking “Cold War” or unbelievably catchy “Tightrope” – one of the highlights came early on with a slow and soulful cover of Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile”. I couldn’t tell from the sidelines how the bulk of the crowd was responding to her set; they clapped along when she did, but the horizon of heads seemed disappointingly level throughout, certainly not dancing or losing their shit as they should have. But it certainly wasn’t for lack of effort on Monáe’s part and for a while, it looked as though this night might go down in the books as the show where Arcade Fire closed for Janelle Monáe.

Of course, those sentiments only lasted until Arcade Fire took the stage shortly after sunset and the throngs and throngs of assembled fans let out a roar you could surely back on the mainland. It clearly wouldn’t have mattered who opened up the show – this was Arcade Fire’s show, this was their crowd and this was their moment. Now I don’t know why i feel the need to stress that I’m not a zealot for the band any time I review something Arcade Fire-related, but I do. Perhaps to try and stress that I’m still being objective when I talk about them, particularly in the live context, even though the language might imply otherwise. Because like it or not, they’re a band that demands hyperbole. They offer blood and grandeur and to not respond in kind is to not fulfill your half of the artist-performer compact, and Saturday night was splendid example of that relationship at work.

I’ve seen Arcade Fire a number of times over the years and it has never failed to amaze me how strongly their fans respond; it seems disproportionate to the actual music itself, which on paper or even on record shouldn’t be so startlingly powerful. It’s a phenomenon that others have noticed – I’ve read more than a couple of pieces pondering exactly why it is the people love this band so, and while most have been tongue in cheek along the lines of “they’re nice people!”, my explanation invokes the aforementioned excuse to speak in overly flowery terms.

They somehow manage to evoke that singular moment in everyone’s life where youth gives way to adulthood, where one becomes acutely aware of the fact that they are not in fact invincible, that they will someday die, but also the sense of still having their entire lives ahead of them and the sense of opportunity that offers – that mixture of anxiety and optimism, insecurity and confidence. It’s a powerful, primal resonance made even moreso when rendered in broad, bold musical strokes. With Funeral, it was conveyed through the lens of family and neighbourhoods, of being part of a special gang. Neon Bible turned it around to be them against the world with no sense that they’d actually triumph. And The Suburbs realizes that there’s no us and them, there’s just everyone. It’s a record that backs away from the grand gestures of the first two records in favour of a more evened-out experience with lulls to compliment the high points and dabbling in new sounds and styles – it’s worth noting that “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)” seems to be most everyone’s favourite song and yet it’s New Wave/synth-pop bounce is as far from archetypal Arcade Fire as you can get.

What does this have to do, exactly, with Saturday’s show? Nothing and everything. It’s what coalesced in my head as I watched the thousands of people assembled in a field commune with the eight on stage and tried to articulate what was happening and why. The set itself was fairly close in selection and structure to the Danforth show, particularly around the open and close, but scaled up to suit the larger setting. And if there’s anything Arcade Fire does well, it’s go big. What differentiated this show from ones past, however, was whereas they used to feel primarily about catharsis and intensity, the prevailing emotions being conveyed by Arcade Fire circa 2010 were exuberance and even joy. It can be a subtle distinction when you’re talking about singing at the top of your lungs whilst banging on guitars and drums, but it felt like an important one. Their main set closed, as ever, with the killer combo of “Neighbourhood #3” and “Rebellion (Lies)”, the latter of which left the audience singing the choral backing vocals by way of calling for the encore, and then “Keep The Car Running” and “Wake Up” as the finishing move and the cap to what was pretty much a perfect show, from start to finish.

Pretty much every outlet in the city was on hand to form an opinion on the show – check them out at The Toronto Sun, Toronto Star, National Post, eye, Exclaim, BlogTO and Chart while The Globe & Mail previewed the show with a list of why people love the band. CBC chimes in with an interview. The San Francisco Examiner interviews Janelle Monáe and The Best Drummer In The World profiles Mike Belitsky of The Sadies.

Photos: Arcade Fire, Janelle Monáe, The Sadies @ Olympic Island – August 14, 2010
MP3: Arcade Fire – “Keep The Car Running”
MP3: Arcade Fire – “Black Mirror”
MP3: Arcade Fire – “No Cars Go”
MP3: Arcade Fire – “Wake Up”
MP3: The Sadies – “Another Year Again”
MP3: The Sadies – “Anna Leigh”
Video: Arcade Fire – “Neon Bible”
Video: Arcade Fire – “Black Mirror”
Video: Arcade Fire – “Neighbourhood #2 (Laika)”
Video: Arcade Fire – “Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out)”
Video: Arcade Fire – “Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels)”
Video: Arcade Fire – “Rebellion (Lies)”
Video: Janelle Monáe – “Cold War”
Video: Janelle Monáe – “Tightrope”
Video: Janelle Monáe – “Many Moons”
Video: The Sadies – “Cut Corners”
Video: The Sadies – “Postcards”
Video: The Sadies – “The Horseshoe”
Video: The Sadies – “Flash”
MySpace: Arcade Fire
MySpace: Janelle Monáe
MySpace: The Sadies

Frank YangIt could have been an interesting study in contrasts if I’d bothered to go to both free shows happening in Toronto yesterday evening. Down at Union Station, you had local aspirant arena rockers Metric drawing throngs while shutting down a key chunk of downtown at rush hour as part of a cell phone launch for a major international corporation. And up in Little Italy, there was Christopher Chu – one quarter of California’s pop merchants The Morning Benders – leading fans and passers-by in singalongs from a makeshift wooden stage outside an ice cream parlour, presented by the independent record store around the corner. Guess which one I went to? Yeah, the one with free ice cream.

Chu and his compatriots had been through town a number of times already this year – including the acoustic gig, yesterday evening’s second night opening up for The Black Keys at the Kool Haus would their fifth Toronto performance of the calendar year – but in this day and age, that’s to be expected when you’ve got a record that could well be your breakout album as The Morning Benders do with their 2010 sophomore album Big Echo. Their 2008 debut Talking Through Tin Cans established the Berkeley-based outfit as knowing their way around a pop hook, but it was on the follow-up that they, assisted on production by Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor, put together a distinctive sonic identity. One which did recall Grizzly Bear’s a bit, yes, with its epic scale, cavernous reverbs and edge-of-otherworldly ambience, but with more direct and less precious songwriting.

Not that you’d have gotten any of that from Chu’s solo performance on Wednesday afternoon. Seated on a stool with an acoustic guitar and clearly enjoying the laid-back vibe of the afternoon, he solicited requests from the audience and appeared pleased with some of the “deep cuts” being called out. Over the half hour set, he rattled off selections from both records, gamely attempted a cover of The Cardigans’ “Lovefool” (making it as far as the first chorus), tested out a new song inspired by Annie Hall and closed out with Big Echo‘s “Excuses”, backing vocals provided by all of those in attendance. It was a nice, low key way to distract oneself from the city’s sweltering humidity – thanks in no small part to the free ice cream. Did Metric have free ice cream? I think not.

Chu also promised that he and his band would be back yet again this Fall, presumably for a headlining tour. Is six shows in one calendar year for a touring band some sort of record? I think it may be.

Photos: The Morning Benders @ The Big Chill – August 4, 2010
MP3: The Morning Benders – “Promises”
MP3: The Morning Benders – “Grain Of Salt”
Video: The Morning Benders – “Promises”
Video: The Morning Benders – “Waiting For A War”
Video: The Morning Benders – “Damnit Anna”
Video: The Morning Benders – “Boarded Doors”
MySpace: The Morning Benders

Pitchfork talks to Win Butler about Arcade Fire’s Terry Gilliam-directed webcast from Madison Square Garden tonight and an upcoming project with director Spike Jonze The New York Times talks to Gilliam about the show and Rolling Stone gets some details on their dedication to analog on The Suburbs. They’re at the Toronto Islands on August 14.

Janelle Monáe has a new video from The ArchAndroid, which I just picked up this weekend and may well be as mind-bending as everyone is saying it is. She’s the warm-up for Arcade Fire on the 14th on the Islands.

Video: Janelle Monáe – “Cold War”

Queens Journal profiles The Sadies, who round out the Toronto Islands show on the 14th.

NOW tries to find out what The Hidden Cameras have in store for their Summerworks shows at the Lower Ossington Theatre tonight and tomorrow.

Baeble Music is streaming a full show from New York featuring Stars. They’re at Massey Hall on October 23.

eye has a feature piece on Forest City Lovers, who will be playing an in-store at Soundscapes on Tuesday at 7PM and a proper record release show for Carriage on Thursday night at the Great Hall.

In talking to NME, long-time R.E.M. compatriot Ken Stringfellow says the band’s new album is sounding “very old school”. It’s due out next year.

Filter profiles Autolux, who’re at Lee’s Palace on August 24.

Jose Gonzalez’s band Junip will be hitting the road this Fall with Sharon Van Etten; both have new records coming out – Junip with Fields on September 14 and Van Etten with Epic on October 5. They’re at Lee’s Palace on November 5. NYC Taper has a recording of Sharon Van Etten’s show in New York from last week.

MP3: Junip – “Rope And Summit”
MP3: Sharon Van Etten – “Love More”

Clash interviews The Drums. They’re at the Mod Club on October 20.

The Vaeslines have made the title track from their new record Sex With An x, out September 14, available to download. They’re at the Horseshoe on October 30.

MP3: The Vaselines – “Sex With An X”

NOW profiles Wild Beasts; they’re at the Mod Club on August 9.

Jonsi has released a new video from Go.

Video: Jonsi – “Animal Arithmetic”