Frank YangWhile most bands spend their entire careers trying to nail down that elusive “signature sound”, actually achieving that goal can be as much a curse as a blessing. In the case of New York’s Asobi Seksu being “that band that sounds like J-pop meets My Bloody Valentine” certainly set them apart, but there’s only so much you can do within those boundaries and considering they damn near perfected it with their last album Citrus, the very real question facing them heading into album number three would have been, “what next?”

Their answer was to first strip the roster down to just principals Yuki Chikudate and James Hanna and then head back into the studio with much more Spector on their minds than Shields. And as you might expect, the resultant album Hush requires that the listener’s expectations be adjusted. Though things aren’t nearly as subdued as the album title might imply, they have traded in much of their fuzz-pedal squall for fluffier clouds of reverb and while the leaner sonic approach actually suits them quite well, it also seems their pop instincts were dulled in the process and by making their songs more atmospheric, they’ve also lost some substance. The record sounds more like a band in the process of creating a new identity rather than presenting a completed one.

Their live show, however, remains quite familiar as Tuesday night’s engagement at the El Mocambo proved. Though they’d paid a visit just five months prior, they still managed to draw a very healthy crowd and regardless of the band’s new creative direction, if they came expecting to be assaulted and battered by sound they weren’t disappointed. Apparently all the distortion pedals that didn’t make it into the studio were in the band’s touring van, because they had all their noisemaking toys along with them and weren’t afraid to use them – their signature Christmas and strobe light stage setup was also along for the ride. I was pleased to see that they’ve also developed a distinctive stage presence, with Hanna pacing the stage looking for pedals to stomp on and Chikudate cooly cooing into the microphone and whipping her hair around. And mixed in with the Citrus material and given the more muscular delivery, the Hush songs sounded much more alive, providing a bit of respite – but only a bit – from the sonic tumult of the older songs. If Asobi are looking for some pointers on where to take their sound, perhaps listening to a recording of one of their shows would be a good start – for my money, they’ve got the perfect formula right there.

Tourmates Bell also hailed from New York and the duo – frontwoman and namesake Olga Bell on keyboards and Jason Nazary on drums and both on laptops – were excited to be on their very first tour, this being the second show. Their sound is an interesting take on electronica, melding Bell’s powerful and elastic vocals with unconventional melodies, pop structures and dynamic live drumming. It’s the sort of thing that draws you in, then pushes you away and then pulls you back, sometimes all at once. Kind of strange but definitely intriguing.

Decider has an interview with Asobi Seksu, Gothamist has one with Bell.

Photos: Asobi Seksu, Bell @ The El Mocambo – March 3, 2009
MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Me & Mary”
MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Familiar Light”
MP3: Asobi Seksu – “New Years”
MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Thursday”
MP3: Asobi Seksu – “I’m Happy But You Don’t Like Me”
MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Let Them Wait”
MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Sooner”
MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Walk On The Moon”
MP3: Bell – “Magic Tape”
Video: Asobi Seksu – “Me & Mary”
Video: Asobi Seksu – “Thursday”
Video: Asobi Seksu – “Goodbye”
Video: Asobi Seksu – “Walk On The Moon”
MySpace: Asobi Seksu
MySpace: Bell

Black Book interviews Anthony Gonzalez of M83.

Ben Curtis of School Of Seven Bells talks to Drowned In Sound and This Is Fake DIY.

Pitchfork solicits a list of this and that from Stuart Staples of Tindersticks while NOW, The Washington Post, Express and New York Press settle for interviews. They play the Opera House on Tuesday night.

NME has details on Jarvis Cocker’s forthcoming album – relevant points are that it’s out May 19, but is still untitled now entitled Further Complications (via PF) and was produced by Steve Albini… now that’ll be a 180 from the Richard Hawley-helmed romantic lushness of the first record. Can’t wait.

Clash has an extended and thoughtful interview with Ian Brown about the history of The Stone Roses on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of their debut album. Yes, the “r” word comes up. No, don’t hold your breath.

Magnet Q&As Frightened Rabbit and NPR welcomes them to for an interview and session.

Gemma Hayes has released a new video from last year’s The Hollow Of Morning. I think the “swoon” is implicit anytime I write about her, is it not?

Video: Gemma Hayes – “Home”

Wireless Bollinger, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent and Clash interview Howling Bells, whose new album Radio Wars is – I’m sad to say – being rather justly pilloried. It’s just not very good and considering how much I’d been looking forward to it, is quite a disappointment. Not giving up on the band but it’s a let-down.

MP3: Howling Bells – “Into The Chaos”

Pitchfork reveals that one of the tracks on the new Wilco album – still untitled and set for a June release – will feature a duet between Jeff Tweedy and Feist.

To mark their upcoming tour in support of Neko Case, Crooked Fingers have released a new digital EP for “Your Control”, the closing track from their last album Forfeit/Fortune which is a duet between Eric Bachmann and Case. The EP also features a couple covers of Crooked Fingers tunes by Spoon and Lambchop.

Neko Case gives Spinner some of the ground rules for being in her band and talks to JAM about the naturalist themes that run through her work. She also talks to The Los Angeles Times and The Globe & Mail. She’s at Trinity-St Paul’s on April 17 and 18.

The Ithaca Journal and NOW talk to AC Newman, who is playing Lee’s Palace next Wednesday night.

Peaches has a date at the Phoenix on May 20. Her new album I Feel Cream is out May 4.

Grizzly Bear have mapped out a massive tour in support of new album Veckatimest – the Toronto date is June 5 at the Phoenix. The album is out May 26.

The National Post recorded a video feature on Ohbijou circa their show at Lee’s Palace last November, including a street corner performance backed by The Acorn. And more clarity on the status of Beacons – the band has signed a deal in the UK with Bella Union, making them labelmates – at least over there – with Fleet Foxes and Andrew Bird. Pretty good company. Beacons is set for a June 8 release there and plans are afoot for the North American release and rescheduled tour dates to fall in line with that.

Paste talks to Craig Finn about The Hold Steady about their forthcoming live CD/DVD set A Positive Rage, due out April 7.

Blurt reports that Richard Thompson will be the subject of a four-disc box set entitled Walking On A Wire: Richard Thompson (1968-2009) and due out June 30.

NOW talks to creator Bryan Lee-O’Malley and director Edgar Wright about the upcoming Scott Pilgrim and its Toronto roots.

Update: Sad news – Dutch concert webcast site FabChannel is closing its (virtual) doors next week – you have seven days to go root through their massive and beautiful archives. Get to it.

MySpaceSay what you will about Taunton, Massachusetts’ Wheat, but you can’t deny that they refuse to stay down. Once upon a time one of my favourite bands (circa Medeiros and Hope & Adams), they became a cautionary tale against the major label machine with 2003’s ill-fated Per Second Per Second Per Second Every Second (which I chronicled back in 2004 and 2005) and essentially disbanded in the aftermath.

They unexpectedly returned in 2007 with Everyday I Said A Prayer For Kathy And Made A One Inch Square, again independent and down a member, but even then they were beset with label problems and delays. And the record itself was free of the excessive gloss of Per Second, it was decent at best – unfocused and only evidencing glimpses of the rough magic that defined their earliest releases. It pretty much came and went and I figured that that was the end of the band, again. They’d returned in order to finish on their own terms.

Or not. There were rumblings of a new record late last year and though there’s no release date as of yet, it has a title – White Ink, Black Ink – and a sample of it has surfaced on the band’s profile for SxSW, where I fully intend to see them play. Obviously not enough to form an opinion on, though it sounds like they’re sticking to the sonic cut-and-paste aesthetic of Kathy. I find I remain curious and still a little excited about the prospect of new music from Wheat – this news prompted me to revisit those magical first two records and they still give me tingles.

And those first two records – Medeiros and Wheat – are being reissued together along with a bonus disc of rarities and whatnots from the era entitled 30 Minute Theatrik (thanks to Mark for the tip). It’s set for a March 10 release but you can pre-order it now and get all three records digitally immediately. If you’ve never heard either one, well, you should. And here’s your chance.

More Wheat info and downloads available at thiswheat.com.

MP3: Wheat – “El Sincero”
MP3: Wheat – “Move = Move”
Mp3: Wheat – “What Everyone Keeps Telling Me”
MP3: Wheat – “World United Already”
Video: Wheat – “Don’t I Hold You”
Video: Wheat – “I Met A Girl”
MySpace: Wheat

Drowned In Sound declared this week just ending “slowcore week” and followed that up with extensive features on personal favourites like Low, Galaxie 500, The New Year and Early Day Miners. They’ll have a new album out sometime this year entitled The Treatment.

The Democrat & Chronicle interviews Blitzen Trapper, playing a sold-out show at the Horseshoe tomorrow night.

CBC Radio 3 talks to Casey Mecija of Ohbijou, who will release their second album Beacons on April 14 and follow that up with a CD release show at the Opera House on April 18.

The Thermals are hitting the road in support of their new album Now We Can See, out April 7. Pitchfork has the full North American itinerary, which includes a May 3 date at the Horseshoe.

MP3: The Thermals – “Now We Can See”

Mogwai have announced a North American tour for this Spring which will make up their cancelled The Hawk Is Howling dates from last Fall when drummer Martin Bulloch’s pacemaker threatened to escape from his chest. The Toronto date will be May 4 at the Phoenix – those who won passes to the cancelled show, I’ll be in touch about the make-up date.

MP3: Mogwai – “The Sun Smells Too Loud”

With their new album What Is?! coming out domestically on April 12, King Khan & The Shrines will be at the Phoenix on May 12 to promote.

Vetiver have a date at the Horseshoe on May 15 in support of last year’s Tight Knit.

MP3: Vetiver – “Everyday”

Leonard Cohen has announced a North American tour – closest local date is May 19 at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton. Second closest is May 24 at John Labbat Centre in London. Tickets on sale March 2.

Neil Young’s Fork In The Road has a confirmed release date of March 31. Archives? Don’t ask.

Annie Clark, aka St Vincent, will release her sophomore album in Actor on May 5. Full details on the release at Pitchfork.

Also out May 5 is Outer South, the second solo record from Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band.

Viva Voce will release Rose City on May 26.

The Broken West have turned out a new video from last year’s Now Or Heaven.

Video: The Broken West – “Perfect Games”

CHUD interviews Scott Pligrim creator Bryan Lee-O’Malley.

Frank YangJust a week after seeing Bruce Peninsula jam Soundscapes to the gills for a rousing in-store, the store again played host to an act intent on cramming a lot of band into not a lot of space. This time, it was The Hylozoists and while the ensemble was hardly small with six members, it was their equipment – in particular the dual vibraphones – that took up the majority of the real estate.

The Hylozoists are generally known as “that vibraphone band”, and while that’s not an inaccurate description – the instrument is very central to their sound – it’s also fails to do justice to the scope and sweep of their sound. It’s far more enticing to go with something along the lines of, “that band that creates soundtracks to lost ’60s European art films, all elegance and majesty and bursting with texture, atmosphere and melody. And they have a vibraphone”. Listening to them play – and it’s really unreal how good a live sound they were able to get with just a portable PA – you’d be hard-pressed to not close your eyes and imagine yourself in some exotic and exciting locale, engaged in some manner of illicit adventure or grand romance.

The occasion for the show was the recent release of their new album L’Ile de Sept Villes, which somehow manages somehow to even out-lush their last effort, La Fin Du Monde – no mean feat. The band are playing a handful of dates around southern Ontario throughout this month, including a February 21 date at the Mod Club – if you can, hit up one of the shows and be taken away somewhere besides a dark and slushy southern Ontario in February.

The Guelph Mercury talks to head Hylo Paul Aucoin about finding inspiration for the new album.

Photos: The Hylozoists @ Soundscapes – February 10, 2009
MP3: The Hylozoists – “Smiley Smiley”
MySpace: The Hylozoists

eye pays tribute to Wavelength on the occasion of the music showcase’s ninth anniversary and start of its final year. The celebrations start tonight, run through the weekend and were covered here last month.

JAM, Metro, The Ottawa Citizen, The Coast and Chart talk to Jenn Grant about her new record Echoes while The National Post gets some Valentine’s Day insight from her. She plays and early show at the Mod Club tonight and will be at the Reverb on March 14 for CMW.

Prefix interviews AC Newman and Pitchfork is streaming his cover of a-Ha’s “Take On Me”. He plays Lee’s Palace on March 11.

Neko Case talks to Reuters about Middle Cyclone, due out March 3. And if you were hesitating on either of her shows at Trinity-St Paul’s on April 17 and 18, consider yourself lost – both are sold out.

Malajube have rolled out a video from their new album Labyrinthes. They’re at the El Mocambo on March 12 as part of CMW and The National Post has an interview.

Video: Malajube – “Porté Disparu”

Mobius Band want to be your Valentine again. As they did last year, they’re making an EP of romance-themed cover songs available for free off their website tomorrow.

Chairlift talk to NME about the forthcoming major label re-release of their debut Does You Inspire You?, which will come with two extra tracks when it arrives in April. They play The Phoenix on April 25 with Peter Bjorn & John.

Billboard and American Songwriter talk to Jason Lytle about coming back to music with Yours Truly, The Commuter. It’s out on May 19.

Mark Olson and Gary Louris discuss their reunion with PopMatters and The Free-Lance Star.

SoundProof interviews Cut Off Your Hands, set to play the Horseshoe on March 30.

The Quietus has details on the first batch of 5.1 surround-sound Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds reissues, due out March 30 in the UK and presumably April 1 in North America.

You can currently stream the whole of the War Child: Heroes compilation, due out February 24, over at the project’s MySpace.

Stream: War Child: Heroes

The Quarter Bin recaps the Scott Pilgrim panel with Bryan Lee-O’Malley at last weekend’s New York Comic Con, including info on the film which is set to begin filming here in Toronto at the end of March. Mary Elizabeth Winstead, aka Ramona Flowers, is already in town and MTV has a photo of her – or her hair and eyes, at least – getting in character.

Frank YangPlease understand, as much as I like them, I have no desire to make write-ups on Bruce Peninsula a weekly feature. However, their in-store performance at Soundscapes on Wednesday night to mark the release of A Mountain Is A Mouth merited a little more than cursory, “hey Bruce Peninsula played an in-store it was great let’s see what else is going on”.

Typically, in-stores involve a minimal setup – say acoustic guitar and mic into a PA – and a handful of songs, hopefully just enough to entice folks to buy a CD or attend a concert. And Bruce Peninsula did indeed invite the packed store to buy their album – cannily, the band set up across the width of the entire store and thus prevented anyone from being able to buy a CD from any other local independent artist – or a ticket to their February 22 show at the Polish Combatants Hall, but as far as the performance went there were no half-measures. The full band was in attendance – 10 members strong, though some different faces from when I saw them last – and they came equipped with electric guitars and drums (though just individual drums rather than full kits), intent on delivering almost a complete and proper show and demonstrating for those who hadn’t seen them before, the full power of the Bruce Peninsula live experience.

Their set ran almost 40 minutes, culminating in a stunning double-take of “Weave Myself A Dress” – double because it was being filmed for the Camera Music series on aux.tv – and to thank the audience for sitting through the same song twice (though really, we should have been thanking them) the band moved the drums into the middle of the audience for a rousing, pounding finale of “Crabapples”. A headshakingly good performance – isn’t it great/scary when bands you already expect the world from still manage to raise the bar? And I promise this’ll be the last BP-led post until their February 22 show. Unless it’s not.

Hour.ca and Metro have brief interviews with members of the band.

Photos: Bruce Peninsula @ Soundscapes – February 4, 2009
MP3: Bruce Peninsula – “Crabapples”
MySpace: Bruce Peninsula

Also at aux.tv’s Camera Music – an episode with Ohbijou, who will release Beacons in April and play the Opera House on April 13.

And to finish off the live video component of the post, head over to Baeble Music to see footage from Constantines’ show in Brooklyn last December. They’re at the Phoenix on March 31 and April 1.

The Toronto Star, National Post and Exclaim talk to Jenn Grant, who just released her sophomore album Echoes this week and will play the Mod Club on next Thursday, February 12.

Glasswerk and Edinburgh News introduce The Coast to the UK, where the band are kicking off a tour this weekend. They’ll be back in town for a homecoming show at the Horseshoe on February 28 alongside The Diableros and Oh No Forest Fires.

PopMatters chats with AC Newman, booked in at Lee’s Palace for March 11.

Austin Town Hall talks to Brendan Canning and Charles Spearin of Broken Social Scene, while The Georgia Straight talks to Spearin about his solo work with The Happiness Project, who have two dates at the Music Gallery on March 11 and 12.

The Vancouver Sun profiles Angela Desveaux, whose CMW showcase will find her at the Gladstone on Thursday, March 12.

Wireless Bollinger interviews Tony Dekker of Great Lake Swimmers. Lost Channels is out March 31 and they play the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on April 25.

Mark Hamilton of Woodpigeon makes a playlist for taking the train around Europe for The Calgary Herald and are the subject of a feature at The Georgia Straight.

Paste has details on the John Doe/Sadies collaboration Country Club, due out April 14.

Collider has a video interview with Brandon Routh (aka evil ex-boyfriend #3 Todd Ingram) wherein he says that the film adaptation of Scott Pilgrim, set to begin filming here in Toronto next month, will be a combination of live-action and animation. The penultimate volume of the series – Scott Pilgrim Vs The Universe – came out yesterday and I expect the final book will be timed to come out at the same time as the film next year, whenever that’ll be. I think one of the (many) reasons I love the series is that it creates a mythological Toronto which for me, at least, has never existed in any medium. And the mythology around cities is one of the reasons I love places like New York and London so much. The fact that our developing mythology includes killer robots and subspace expressways is just so much the better. And anyone who wants to set up field trips to stalk the production crews around the city, get in touch. No, I’m not kidding.

Frank YangI couldn’t offer any excuse for not discovering Bishop Allen sooner when I finally got around to reviewing their album The Broken String back in December, but maybe I could have just said “I hadn’t seen Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist yet”. Apparently the exposure gained from an appearance in said film has done wonders for the Brooklyn band’s profile and helped explain why the El Mocambo was so healthily full on Saturday night, despite yet another snowstorm. Ideally I’d like to chalk it up to the fact that they’re just a great pop band, but that’s probably expecting too much from the world.

Somewhat unusually, the local support was slotted between the two touring acts so up first was Electric Owls, the new project of Andy Herod, formerly of The Comas (though that outfit is technically just on hiatus right now). I’d seen that outfit some years back and had a copy of their Conductor record for a while, so I knew that Herod was a decent pop singer and songwriter, traits carried forward to his new incarnation. He played acoustically, both solo and occasionally accompanied by full arrangements on a laptop and it was the latter that made the best impression – Herod’s compositions are definitely at their best when buoyed by the proper accompaniment, even of the canned variety. Even so, his set was enjoyable and delivered with a goodly dose of humour and the polish of someone who’s been at it for a while.

In comparison, Toronto’s Hooded Fang came out with both the enthusiasm and slight awkwardness of an outfit that was still wet behind the ears. The co-ed six-piece outfit were unrelentingly peppy, swapping both instruments and lead vocalists from song to song. They also traded musical styles almost as much, initially to their detriment as it they sounded more like a mixtape than a band with an actual identity. But about midway through their set, things suddenly seemed to snap into place and what had been a liability now felt like a strength. A little more focus wouldn’t be a bad thing, but they’re onto something. We’ll see how much progress they make in a month when they play one of the Wavelength anniversary shows on February 14 at the Polish Combatants Hall.

The short tour two months before the release of Bishop Allen’s new album Grr… (out March 10) was obviously intended to road-test the new material, but it didn’t seem like the band wanted to make too big a deal of it – they got the new material out of the way early and only really seemed to get their glee on when they started into the old. The new stuff sounded very much in the jaunty pop vein of the old, and will surely require time spent with the recorded versions to properly appreciate the lyrical richness at which the band excels – it’s so easy to overlook that facet of things when everything is so melodic and wonderfully hooky even without having to listen closely.

As for the old, some of my favoured slower numbers from String were omitted from the set list, but it’s hard to argue with the selections that were aired as they got the band bouncing around the stage (or in the case of singer Justin Rice, showing off his running man proficiency), enlisting Andy Herod back onstage to generally help make a racket and just generally putting on a power pop party. The final two songs, the raucous “Middle Management” wrapping the main set and the beauteous “Flight 180” as the encore were the perfect way to finish things off – the former being the one from the movie and the latter the most cinematic. While it’s true that I’ve only spent a couple of months now with The Broken String, but it’s quickly worked its way into heavy rotation for exactly the reasons noted above and I can add being a terrific live band into the list of reasons to enjoy Bishop Allen. It’s not so much that they do anything new or outrageous, it’s just that like their songwriting, they do it exceedingly well and with such joy.

Photos: Bishop Allen, Hooded Fang, Electric Owls @ The El Mocambo – January 17, 2009
MP3: Bishop Allen – “Click, Click, Click, Click”
MP3: Bishop Allen – “Middle Management”
MP3: Bishop Allen – “Like Castanets”
MP3: Bishop Allen – “Rain”
MP3: Bishop Allen – “Things Are What You Make Of Them”
MP3: Bishop Allen – “Eve of Destruction”
Video: Bishop Allen – “Click, Click, Click, Click”
Video: Bishop Allen – “Middle Management”
MySpace: Bishop Allen
MySpace: Electric Owls

Clash, Rolling Stone and Paste talk to Antony Hegarty of Antony & The Johnsons. They’ll play the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on February 17 and have just released a new video from The Crying Light, which was released yesterday.

Video: Antony & The Johnsons – “Epilepsy Is Dancing”

Muzzle Of Bees interviews Gary Louris & Mark Olson – you know, saying both their names is a bit of a mouthful. They need to come up with something a little more compact, more memorable. How about… The Jayhawks? No? Just thought I’d put that out there. Ready For The Flood is out next week and they play the Mod Club on February 4.

Filter thinks you ought to know Calexico… but you already do, right?

Animal Collective have announced their world tour in support of the much gushed-over Merriweather Post Pavilion and the Toronto date will bring them to the much-beloved Sound Academy on May 16. Did I say beloved? I meant reviled. The album is currently streaming at Spinner and I may tune in just to see what all the hubbub is about.

Stream: Animal Collective / Merriweather Post Pavilion

Also on the stream is Grand, the new album from Matt & Kim. Pitchfork and Metromix have interviews with Matt, Black Book talks to Kim.

Stream: Matt & Kim / Grand

And you can also listen to the whole of You And I from Cut Off Your Hands, out yesterday and reviewed last week.

Stream: Cut Off Your Hands / You And I

Magnet follows up last week’s announcement that The Wrens were getting back to work on album number four by ringing up Charles Bissell.

MTV has dollops of casting news about the Scott Pilgrim film, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World. Joining Michael Cera and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim, Ramona Flowers) are a whole pile of people who I won’t pretend to know (besides Brandon Routh from Superman Returns). But the news of progress on the film is very exciting, and according to the AV Club, shooting is set to begin in March here in Toronto. Which still doesn’t answer the question of whether Toronto will actually be portraying Toronto in the film. It would be fun if they actually shot the requisite scenes at Sneaky Dee’s and Lee’s Palace, though. Anyways, volume five of the Scott Pilgrim chronicles – Scott Pilgrim Vs. The Universe – is out February 4. Update: Thanks to Scott (Pilgrim?) for pointing out the photo gallery in the comments, and in particular this cast collage. I’d actually thought for a second about doing one myself, but realized that it’d be a lot of work and probably suck. So I didn’t. But based on this, the casting does indeed look terrific.

You see what I did there? Started with a Michael Cera reference, ended with a Michael Cera reference. Mad skills, I tell ya.