Frank YangWhen we left off yesterday, I was biking furiously across town to get from The Rivoli to The Phoenix for Archers Of Loaf. So why not roll this show into the festival coverage? Well, although some wristbands were granted admission and the premiere of the What Did You Expect? live Archers doc was one of the big gets of the NXNE film festival, this show wasn’t technically part of the festival and I am, if nothing else, a stickler for these sorts of things. And having waited this long for the show, delaying it just that much longer seemed appropriate.

Since the Archers reunited in early 2011 and were willing to make it a long-term thing, I’ve been waiting for a local date – a wait exacerbated by the fact that real life commitments for most of the band kept touring restricted to weekends. Hell, Eric Bachmann brought Crooked Fingers through town twice in 2012 without an Archers sighting; certainly not a complaint as I love me some Crooked Fingers, but one couldn’t help wondering if we were being slighted. And of course we weren’t, it just took this long to get the proverbial ducks in a row, and on this night – the busiest night of music in the city in recent memory – it was happening.

And happening early, as it turned out. If they’d stuck to the posted set times there’d have been no problem but as I got into the venue, I could already hear the rumble of “Audiowhore” through the doors. Early? Who goes on early on a Saturday night? Well Archers did, clearly, though only just. The Vs The Greatest Of All Time selection was an unlikely opener, but it segued straight into arguably one of the best songs of the ’90s – “Harnessed In Slums” and we were off. A benefit of still being a sort of cult band was that most everyone in attendance was surely some degree of die hard fan and singles and deep cuts alike would be greeted with roaring enthusiasm, though obviously the likes of college rock classics as “Slums” and “Web In Front” got the mostly middle-aged crowd most rowdy.

After years of seeing Eric Bachmann fronting Crooked Fingers and only offering Archers material via stripped down, Finger-y arrangements, it was astonishing to see him cut loose in full rock fury; he’s a big guy who plays at a sort of gentle giant figure with Crooked Fingers but here, he came out swinging. Despite wanting to distance himself from his old band in the years that it was in mothballs and concentrate on what he was actively working on, it was obvious he was having a blast playing these songs the way they were meant to be played and with the guys he’d written them with. It was great to see, and his bandmates were still having a great time of it as well, even almost a year and a half into their second act. Matt Gentling in particular – who’d incidentally come through town in the Dignity & Shame incarnation of Crooked Fingers in 2005 – was a maniac onstage, striking poses while attacking his bass, contributing vocals, or just bantering with the crowd. Though I’m not sure what his “Sixteen Sixty Four” Maple Leafs-esque shirt was about…

The Archers were loud, tight, and relentless, inciting the audience to behaviour most probably hadn’t engaged in in oh, fifteen years or so, like moshing, stage diving, and crowd surfing though I have to question if it’s really crowd surfing if it’s just the same group of people carrying the guy around? Bachmann applauded the effort, anyways. And after the band closed out their encore with “Plumbline”, the audience did their best to coax them back out for a second encore – I’ve not seen a crowd so insistent that a show not end in forever – but alas, that would be it this time and possibly for all time.

The band have not made any commitment to carrying on after the final two albums in their reissue series – All The Nation’s Airports and White Trash Heroes – come out on August 7. It’s interesting that though their stature in the annals of ’90s indie rock is enormous, their influence is not so easily traced. Not many bands have managed to or even tried to replicate their particular balance of heavy and abstract yet visceral rock, so if they were to put out something new, it’d probably still sound singular and distinct. But that’s getting ahead of things – for now, I was just thankful that Archers were here, that they were great, and that Bachmann had deigned to play “Chumming The Ocean” in the encore of the last Crooked Fingers show since it wasn’t being heard on this night.

BlogTO, Radio Free Canuckistan, and NOW also have reviews of the show, while CBC Music, Beatroute, and Torontoist welcome the band back to Canada for the first time this century.

Photos: Archers Of Loaf @ The Phoenix – June 16, 2012
MP3: Archers Of Loaf – “Dead Red Eyes”
MP3: Archers Of Loaf – “What Did You Expect”
MP3: Archers Of Loaf – “Wrong”
MP3: Archers Of Loaf – “Harnessed In Slums”
Video: Archers Of Loaf – “Harnessed In Slums”
Video: Archers Of Loaf – “Underachievers March & Fight Song”
Video: Archers Of Loaf – “Wrong”
Video: Archers Of Loaf – “What Did You Expect”
Video: Archers Of Loaf – “Lowest Part Is Free!”
Video: Archers Of Loaf – “Might”
Video: Archers Of Loaf – “Web In Front”

Paste has video of a Crooked Fingers set from SXSW back in March.

Mission Of Burma have made a second MP3 from their forthcoming album Unsound, out July 10.

MP3: Mission Of Burma – “Second Television”

Spin talks to Greg Dulli about the Afghan Whigs which makes its only Canadian stop on October 3 at The Phoenix. Stereogum has also taken it on themselves to enumerate the bands 13 “most vicious” songs.

DIY talks to Tobin Sprout about the already so-prolific Guided By Voices reunion, which yields its third album Bears For Lunch around November.

Consequence Of Sound, Philly Burbs, and Metro talk to Doug Martsch of Built To Spill.

Sun Kil Moon has released a new video from Among The Leaves; Mark Kozelek plays these songs and more at The Great Hall on October 3. Boxing Scene also has an interview with the man about the pugilist themes of his songwriting.

Video: Sun Kil Moon – “Black Kite”

Wayne Coyne talks about the new Flaming Lips record to Paste and Rolling Stone. It’s due out later this year.

Paste checks in with Ira Elliot of Nada Surf.

Pitchfork talks to author Jesse Jarnow about his book Big Day Coming: Yo La Tengo and The Rise of Indie Rock, the new book about Yo La TengoYo La Tengo and the rise of indie rock.

Stereogum gets into a turntable.fm session with Ted Leo and talks tunes.

JAM and Beatroute get a moment of Craig Finn of The Hold Steady’s time for some questions.

Stereogum and The Los Angeles Times check in to see what Liz Phair is up to.

Paste has premiered a new video from Mates Of State; it’s a Guided By Voices cover taken from the Science Fair charity compilation coming out July 3.

Video: Mates Of State – “I Am A Scientist”

Interview has premiered the new video from Savoir Adore, whose new album Our Nature will be out this Fall.

Video: Savoir Adore – “Dreamers”

Bowerbirds have released another new video from The Clearing.

Video: Bowerbirds – “Sweet Moment”

Spin have premiered a new video from and Interview has a chat with Best Coast. They’re at The Phoenix on July 21.

Video: Best Coast – “The Only Place”

Consequence Of Sound talks to Munaf Rayani and Nashville Scene and Red And Black to Michael James of Explosions In The Sky.

Liz FlyntzIf we can regard Beach House literally as their namesake, which is to say as a holiday getaway, a reliably stolid place to escape from the real world, then the amount of adoration they’ve gotten for largely sticking to their skeletal formula through four albums now is understandable. Their fans don’t want them to reinvent themselves with each outing; they want that comforting blanket of Victoria Legrand’s narcoleptic vocals and whirring keyboard interwoven with Alex Scally’s languid slide guitar, and across their first two records – their 2006 self-titled debut and 2007’s Devotion – that’s almost exactly what they got, seasoned with some rudimentary percussion both electronic and organic.

The closest thing they’re ever likely to come to a revolution was with 2010’s Teen Dream, which managed to take a relatively huge leap forward with the production and songwriting, making interesting rhythms and pop hooks a front burner concern without compromising their core sound. A risk, perhaps, but one that paid off immensely in the form of their strongest and most critically and commercially successful work. So with that in mind, it’s not surprising that Bloom – out next Tuesday – opts to stay the course laid out by its predecessor. Surprises simply aren’t Beach House’s style.

Gorgeousness is, however. It took the aforementioned embrace of bigger sounds on Teen Dream to really make me appreciate Beach House – prior to that, I had to be in a very particular mood to listen to them for any period of time – and now they’re a band for all occasions. Having touring drummer Daniel Franz play on the whole of the record, a third member of the band even if he’s not formerly acknowledged as such, helps both ground and propel Bloom while Legrand and Scally do their thing in crafting the haunting textures and melodies that are the foundation of Beach House. And while we’re being literal about things, Bloom is an exceptionally appropriate name for this collection as there’s moments that simply burst outwards. To even suggest that the band be capable of this sort of dynamicism circa their debut would have seemed absurd, and yet just six years later, here we are – and without compromising their identity, no less.

It’s too early to say if Bloom is better than Teen Dream, but by the quantitative measure of how many times I’ve felt compelled to listen to it, it’s already well ahead. At worst, it’s as good as its predecessor and at best, its even better. In either case, it’s hard to imagine liking one and not the other and regardless of where you rank it relative to Beach House’s earlier output, despite really just being more of the same – or perhaps because of it – it’s excellent.

NPR has an advance stream of the new record and DIY, The Line Of Best Fit, The Orlando Sentinel, and Pitchfork have interviews with the band.

MP3: Beach House – “Myth”
Stream: Beach House / Bloom

Also streaming at NPR but two weeks ahead of release are The Only Place, the second album from Best Coast, and Passage, the debut from Exitmusic. Best Coast are at The Phoenix on July 21 and Exitmusic have a NXNE showcase at Wrongbar on June 14.

Stream: Best Coast / The Only Place
Stream: Exitmusic / Passage

S. Carey’s new EP Hoyas came out this week – stream it at Stereogum and read interviews with Sean Carey about the record at The Leader Telegram and Volume One.

MP3: S. Carey – “Two Angles”
Stream: S. Carey / Hoyas

In concert announcements, Joe Pernice will stretch his legs and take a mosey to The Dakota Tavern on June 22, maybe play some songs.

MP3: Pernice Brothers – “Somerville”

Having sold out Lee’s Palace their last time through, Youth Lagoon will be at The Opera House on July 12 with Father John Misty, who still has to get through Monday night’s show at the Horseshoe before he can make a return engagement. Tickets are $15.50 in advance.

MP3: Youth Lagoon – “July”
MP3: Father John Misty – “Nancy From Now On”

If part of Liars’ to-do list in preparation for the June 5 release of WIXIW was slate a North American tour, they can cross it off – they’ll be at Lee’s Palace on July 21, tickets $15. They can also check off releasing the first video from the new album.

MP3: Liars – “Scissor”
Video: Liars – “No. 1 Against The Rush”

Twin Shadow is also hitting the road in support of a new record – with Confess due out July 9, George Lewis Jr will be at Lee’s Palace on July 30 and 31, tickets $20.

MP3: Twin Shadow – “Five Seconds”
MP3: Twin Shadow – “Slow”

Merge has released a companion album to Crooked Fingers’ 2011 album Breaks In The Armor comprised of acoustic demos of the album. It’s out now and you can stream one of the tracks at Donewaiting.

Stream: Crooked Fingers – “Bad Blood” (acoustic)

Exclaim reports that some of The Mountain Goats’ early cassette releases from the early ’90s – The Hound Chronicles and Hot Garden Stomp, specifically – will be released on a single CD on June 26.

Fang Island have announced that their second album Major will be out on July 12; details at Spin.

Pop Etc have released a video from their self-titled debut, out June 12.

Video: Pop Etc – “Live It Up”

Explosions In The Sky have released a second video from last year’s Take Care, Take Care, Take Care.

Video: Explosions In The Sky – “Postcard From 1952”

America Give Up has yielded another video from Minneapolis’ Howler.

Video: Howler – “This One’s Different”

Rolling Stone has premiered a new video from Mates Of State, off of last year’s Mountaintops.

Video: Mates Of State – “Unless I’m Led”

The Magnetic Fields have released a second video from Love At The Bottom Of The Sea.

Video: The Magnetic Fields – “Quick!”

Interview talks to Molly Hamilton of Widowspeak, in town at The Garrison on June 15 for NXNE.

The Line Of Best Fit has a video session with Of Montreal, in town for NXNE on June 16 at Yonge-Dundas Square.

Artrocker and Drowned In Sound talk to A Place To Bury Strangers about their forthcoming album Worship, out June 26.

Red Eye and The Detroit Free Press talk to Andrew Bird, in town at Echo Beach on July 19.

Sharon Van Etten plays a video session for WBEZ; she’s at The Phoenix on July 31.

Pitchfork talks to Merrill Garbus and the director of the recent tUnE-yArDs video for “My Country”. She plays The Phoenix on August 1.

SF Weekly chats with John Vanderslice.

Reverb interviews Kurt Wagner of Lambchop.

NPR is streaming a KCRW radio session with M. Ward.

The Line Of Best Fit talks to Savoir Adore.

Ra Ra Riot talks to Spin about what they’ve got planned for album number three and to Grantland about their appreciation for hockey.

NPR has a WFUV session with Shearwater.

Spin gets a progress report on the next Dinosaur Jr album, due out later this Summer.

Greg Dulli takes The Skinny on a guided tour of The Afghan Whigs’ catalog.

Spin talks to Bob Mould about the 20th anniversary of Sugar’s Copper Blue and the single, “If I Can’t Change Your Mind” in particular. Slicing Up Eyeballs reports that two of Mould’s ’90s albums – Bob Mould and The Last Dog & Pony Show – will be getting released as a three-disc set in the UK on June 18 with the third disc consisting of a live 1998 show.

The Atlantic reflects on the significance of Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on the occasion of its tenth anniversary.

The AV Club has posted the fourth part of their look at the history of R.E.M..

Frank YangNotes from amidst the party-hopping and barbecue on the Thursday of SXSW are located over here.

Big Deal
– Ameri-English he-she duo armed with guitars, voices and sleepy, intimate songs who released their debut Lights Out came out in January.

Photos: Big Deal @ Jackalope – March 15, 2012
MP3: Big Deal – “Chair”
Video: Big Deal – “Talk”
Video: Big Deal – “Distant Neighbourhood”
Video: Big Deal – “Chair”
Video: Big Deal – “Homework”

Alabama Shakes
– Alabama-based southern rock & soul outfit who came into the festival with a tonne of buzz that only got louder with each performance. It should be just about deafening by the time their debut Boys And Girls comes out on April 10. Their April 17 show at Lee’s Palace is already sold right out. with NPR is streaming their performance at Stubb’s from the Wednesday night of the fest and Rolling Stone recorded a video session with the band at a Guitar Center and AL.com has an interview with frontwoman Brittany Howard.

Photos: Alabama Shakes @ Stubb’s – March 15, 2012
MP3: Alabama Shakes – “Hold On”
MP3: Alabama Shakes – “I Found You”

Savoir Adore
– New York outfit led by Deidre Muro and Paul Hammer who, since the release of their delicious 2009 debut In The Wooded Forest, appear to have decided that power pop is as much if not more fun than synth-pop. A second album can’t come soon enough.

MP3: Savoir Adore – “Dreamers”
MP3: Savoir Adore – “Sparrow”
MP3: Savoir Adore – “Loveliest Creature”
MP3: Savoir Adore – “Bodies”
MP3: Savoir Adore – “We Talk Like Machines”
MP3: Savoir Adore – “The Garden”
Video: Savoir Adore – “The Scientific Findings of Dr. Rousseau”
Video: Savoir Adore – “Bodies”

Photos: Savoir Adore @ Red Eyed Fly – March 15, 2012

Charli XCX
– The London-based electro-pop artist who may have gotten to Austin before her wave of hype, but only just. If all goes according to plan, it will be cresting when her debut EP is released in May. Rolling Stone and The Austin Chronicle have interviews with the girl born Charlotte Aitchinson.

Photos: Charli XCX @ Red Eyed Fly – March 15, 2012
MP3: Charli XCX – “I’ll Never Know”
MP3: Charli XCX – “Valentine”
MP3: Charli XCX – “Nuclear Seasons”
Video: Charli XCX – “Nuclear Seasons”

Frank YangKnow what makes it a bit difficult to concentrate on covering stuff in the afternoon? Finding out in the morning that you’ve won a ticket to see Bruce Springsteen in an intimate theatre show that night. Not bragging – okay, a little – just adding some context. And bragging. Yeah.

Anyways, after doing my victory dance (don’t pretend you don’t have a victory dance) I did get out into the world to check out a day show at Jackalope run by fellow blogger Rawkblog that featured one of the bands I was set on catching this week, trans-Atlantic duo Big Deal, whose debut Lights Out I enjoyed back in January. And as much as their combo of loud and soft was a nice way to start the day, they were a bit of a case study in what works well on record doesn’t necessarily work live. As on record, Kacey Underwood and Alice Costelloe strummed their guitars and sang their songs but what came across as intimate in the headphones was just underwhelming on stage, not helped by the duo’s general lack of charisma. Underwood tried to engage the audience by making some drummer jokes – the meta-joke perhaps being that they didn’t have a drummer – but considering how much their cover of Big Star’s “Thirteen” sped up and slowed down, maybe they should have considered getting one.

You’ll have to fast-forward a couple hours for the day’s next act as I spent some time catching up with friends and just hanging out, but things pick up at Stubb’s for Alabama Shakes. They were one of the festival’s busiest and buzziest bands and based on the half of their set I caught, all the attention was deserved and they were seizing the moment with two hands. Brittany Howard was a dynamic frontwoman and with her cohorts, turned out big, brassy southern-fried rock richly informed by gospel, soul and attitude. Their debut Boys & Girls is out April 10 and they’re at Lee’s Palace on April 17.

Since missing their NXNE show in June of 2010, I’ve been patiently waiting for New York’s Savior Adore to come back to town; that hasn’t happened so seeing them in Texas was the next best thing. Showing up a little late to their set at Red Eyed Fly, the band – ostensibly the duo of Deirdre Muro and Paul Hammer but operating as a five-piece – were already in top gear and quite surprised me with how big and polished their performance was. I expected something a little more studio-y based on the sheen of their debut In The Wooded Forest, but they were like a full-on power pop band up there, complete with dance moves echoed by the audience. Good times all around, and I can’t wait for a second album, local show or ideally both.

I can’t exactly say why I decided to see London’s Charli XCX – probably a combination of her only other show being at the sure-to-be-jammed Pitchfork showcase, her having just signed to Los Angeles label IAMSOUND, who’d incubated the likes of Florence & The Machine and Little Boots, or simply the fact that I was already there. Probably mostly that last one but definitely some of the first two as well. Having not had much time to do my homework on her, I didn’t really know what to expect and after her short set was done, I wasn’t really sure what I just saw. Her gothy/glammy electro pop didn’t necessarily have enough charisma, voice, songs or creativity alone to propel her to stardom but a savvy combination of all of the above could well do it… and then I could say I saw her when. Until then, though, it was just something random to keep me busy until my date with Bruce later that night.

So hey that new Shins record Port Of Morrow is out today and it’s up to stream at Spinner. To mark the occasion, James Mercer has been chatting with a media outlet or two as evidenced by features at The New York Times, NPR (who also have a World Cafe session), Clash, The Sydney Morning Herald, The National Post, and Spinner. The Shins are at The Molson Amphitheatre on August 4.

Stream: The Shins / Port Of Morrow

The new Margot & The Nuclear So & So’s album Rot Gut, Domestic is out today and available to stream at Spinner, who’ve also premiered the new video from said record. They’re at The Garrison on April 5.

MP3: Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s – “Shannon”
Video: Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s – “Shannon”
Stream: Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s / Rot Gut, Domestic

The second part of the video feature at Dirty Laundry with Eric Bachmann of Crooked Fingers is now up. And over at Austinist, Crooked Fingers drummer Jeremy Wheatley gets a chance to speak his mind.

Interview, The Portland Press Herald, am New York, and The Detroit Free Press spend some time with The Head & The Heart.

NPR has a World Cafe session with Andrew Bird as well as a stream of his set at Stubb’s at SXSW last week.

Spinner welcomes Sharon Van Etten for an Interface session and NPR is also streaming her SXSW show at Stubb’s last week.

Tiny Mix Tapes chats with Doug Martsch of Built To Spill. I walked right past Doug Martsch on Red River St last week. True story.

Titus Andronicus have assembled a mixtape consisting of live material, covers, demos and a new song from a forthcoming 7″ in “Upon Viewing Oregon’s Landscape with the Flood of Detritus”. And you can download it for free, because they’re just that generous.

Louisville’s Young Widows will be at Sneaky Dee’s on April 19 in support of last year’s In And Out Of Youth And Lightness.

MP3: Young Widows – “Future Heart”
MP3: Young Widows – “Old Skin”

Gogol Bordello return for a date at The Sound Academy on May 27, part of a North American tour. Tickets are $28.50 in advance.

Video: Gogol Bordello – “Trans-Continental Shuffle”

Sub PopWhile far from the most earth-shattering reunion announcement by any popular measure, it was most pleasant and unexpected when word came last month that Scud Mountain Boys were getting back together for some shows in 2012. The Scud Mountain Boys, for those not in the know, were Joe Pernice’s first band of note, an alt-country foursome that evolved from the rockier Scuds and preceded the more pop-oriented and only slightly less sad-sack Pernice Brothers. Their tenure ran from 1991 to 1997 and three albums, the first two of which – Pine Box and Dance The Night Away – were collected as The Early Year and rounded out by the more fleshed-out production of Massachusetts, which pointed at the direction Pernice would follow in future endeavors.

Those records are set to be reissued by Pernice’s own Ashmont Records sometime around December, along with a new disc of Scud-era rarities. And though the initial run of reunion dates were limited to the American northeast, a February 25 date at Lee’s Palace in Toronto was just added – presumably to allow Joe a quick cab ride home as the Boston native has been a Hogtown resident for over half a decade now. Tickets for the show will be $16.50, on sale this Friday. The Hollywood Reporter checks in with Joe Pernice to find out how the reunion, which started with a 3-out-of-4 member performance in Connecticut in August, came to be.

And for those who prefer their Pernice in Brothers form, a new album is also in the works and should be out in 2012.

MP3: Scud Mountain Boys – “Grudge Fuck”

The Decemberists are previewing a few tracks from their new Long Live The King EP, out November 1, by streaming a couple songs at New York Magazine and Paste. Colin Meloy has also reflected on his love of R.E.M. for Mojo and finally, congratulations to keyboardist Jenny Conlee whose breast cancer is in remission.

Stream: The Decemberists – “Foregone”
Stream: The Decemberists – “E Watson”

Titus Andronicus have released a video for the Nirvana cover they released for Spin‘s Nevermind tribute album.

Video: Titus Andronicus – “Breed”

Pitchfork is streaming the b-side to the Mazzy Star comeback single “Common Burn” while pointing out the a-side is listenable over at Amazon.

Stream: Mazzy Star – “Common Burn”
Stream: Mazzy Star – “Lay Myself Down”

If anyone wasn’t sure what Wilco’s position on the whole Occupy Wall Street movement was, this stream of a Woody Guthrie song they’ve posted on their website should clarify matters.

Stream: Wilco – “The Jolly Banker”

Meanwhile, NPR goes digging through their World Cafe vaults for recordings of the Uncle Tupelo family tree.

Californian psych-pop outfit Woods have made a date at The Horseshoe for December 8. Why on earth Californians would decide to visit Canada in December is beyond me, but they are. Tickets are $13.50 in advance.

MP3: Woods – “To Clean”
MP3: Woods – “Rain On”
Video: Woods – “To Clean”

A first sample of the reunited Guided By Voices is now available to download courtesy of Matablog – and it’s kinda great. Let’s Go Eat The Factory arrives January 1.

MP3: Guided By Voices – “The Unsinkable Fats Domino”

NYC Taper is streaming Savoir Adore’s show at Cake Shop as part of CMJ from last week.