Dan MartensenThe new Yeah Yeah Yeahs record Mosquito has proven to be somewhat divisive. Some are finding it a terrific fourth long-player in their discography, summing together all that’s come before for a record quintessentially them, others finding it a disappointing water-treading exercise that captures neither the fiery anarchy of their early work or the gleaming excellence of their last effort, 2009’s It’s Blitz!. Personally, I fall more towards the latter camp, finding it just alright but decidedly forgettable, which may well be worse than being especially bad.

In any case, one thing most everyone with an interest in the topic can agree on – besides that the album art is atrocious – is that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs remain an incredible live act and that the four years since they last visited – two nights at The Kool Haus in August 2009m if you’ll recall – is far too long. So I’m happy to announce that the band’s somewhat erratic touring schedule – a consequence of being almost-headliner status during festival season, I guess – now has a Toronto date, with them coming to celebrate Canada Day – July 1 – at Echo Beach. And I’m even happier to announce that courtesy of LiveNation, I’ve got a pair of passes to give away before the $39.50 tickets go on sale this Friday morning at 10AM. To enter, email me at contests@chromewaves.net with “I I I want want want Yeah Yeah Yeahs” in the subject line and your full name in the body and have that to me by midnight, May 30. The winner will be notified before the on-sale goes live.

MP3: Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Date With The Night”
Video: Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Sacrilege”

If you’d have otherwise been keen on seeing next week’s The xx and Grizzly Bear double-bill but didn’t much fancy the trek out to Downsview Park to do it, congratulations – your laziness has been rewarded. The June 6 show has been moved from the former airbase to the much more urban Echo Beach; all previously sold tickets are still valid and all remaining – of which there are now considerably fewer – are still $59.50 general admission and $99 VIP. The Vancouver Sun, Vue Weekly, and Georgia Straight have profiles of The xx.

MP3: The xx – “Reconsider”
MP3: Grizzly Bear – “Yet Again”

Scottish folkster Alasdair Roberts will be at The Drake Underground on July 17 as part of a tour in support of his latest album A Wonder Working Stone, released earlier this year. For Folk’s Sake has an interview with Mr. Roberts.

MP3: Alasdair Roberts – “The Merry Wake”

If you’re looking for something to do Labour Day long weekend, you could do far worse than heading out Hamilton way for the Greenbelt Harvest Picnic, taking place at Christie Lake in Dundas, Ontario on August 31. It was conceived by Daniel Lanois, who will be performing, and features a couple huge names drawn from his producing CV – specifically, Neil Young & Crazy Horse and Emmylou Harris. Not bad, eh? Tickets are $139.50 in advance and go on sale June 1.

Video: Neil Young – “Love And War”
Video: Emmylou Harris – “Wrecking Ball” (live)

Not quite ready to return to being Bon Iver, Justin Vernon and his Wisconsin brethren have announced the September 3 release of a second Volcano Choir album – Repave – and a supporting Fall tour that brings them to The Phoenix on September 8, tickets $22.50 in advance. A trailer for the new record has been released, but rather than annoyingly tease, it actually almost acts as a complete video for one of the new songs.

MP3: Volcano Choir – “Island, Is”
Trailer: Volcano Choir / Repave

Portland electro-pop outfit STRFKR – whose name stands for what you think it does – have made a September 14 date at The Opera House in support of their third album Miracle Mile, released back in February. Tickets for the show are $15.

MP3: STRFKR – “Bury Us Alive”

Scout Niblett, who’s just released a new record in It’s Up To Emma, will be at The Silver Dollar on September 17.

MP3: Scout Niblett – “Dance Of Sulphur”
Video: Scout Niblett – “Gun”

English-born, Germany-based electronic act Gold Panda has a new album in Half Of Where You Live coming out on June 11 and has just announced a Fall tour behind it that brings him to Lee’s Palace on October 8, tickets $15. A new song from the new record has also been made available to stream and Noisey has an interview.

Stream: Gold Panda – “We Work Nights”

There’s still no follow-up to 2010’s Passive Me, Aggressive You, but Australia’s The Naked & Famous are coming back to North America for a Fall tour anyways; look for them at the Sound Academy on October 14, tickets $28.50 general admission and $38.50 VIP.

Video: The Naked & Famous – “Girls Like You”

Two Door Cinema Club are keeping last year’s Beacon an active concern with another North American tour that brings them to the Danforth Music Hall on October 15.

Video: Two Door Cinema Club – “Next Year”

Stereogum talks to Matt Berninger of The National. They’re headlining Yonge-Dundas Square for NXNE on June 14.

With their new record Nightingale Floors due out next week on June 4 and streaming now at Pitchfork, Rogue Wave frontman Zach Rogue chats about the new record with Billboard. They’ll be at The Mod Club on June 25.

Stream: Rogue Wave / Nightingale Floors

Partygoing, the new album from Future Bible Heroes and one-quarter of the Memories of Love, Eternal Youth, and Partygoing. box set – both out next Tuesday, June 4 – is now streaming courtesy of Pitchfork. Chickfactor talks to Stephin Merritt, Christopher Ewen, and Claudia Gonson of the band about the new record; they’ll be at Lee’s Palace – well, Ewen and Gonson, anyways – on July 22.

Stream: Future Bible Heroes / Partygoing

Guitar World sits down with Redd Kross guitarist Jeff McDonald to talk about guitars.

The Line Of Best Fit, TNT, and The Herald Scotland have interviews with Bob Mould.

The Guardian and USA Today profile punk rock legend Patti Smith.

Miyuki SamataA whole pile of concert announcements big and small came down the wire yesterday, but none more exciting – personally, at least – than this one. Self-proclaimed Japanese action comic punk band Peelander-Z – hands down highlights of our Hot Freaks! showcases at SxSW in 2008 and in 2009 – are finally bringing their absurd (and entertaining) beyond words show to Canada… well, southern Ontario and Montreal, at least. And that includes two nights in Toronto – September 1 at the Velvet Underground and September 2 at the Silver Dollar, tickets $8 in advance for each show.

Describing the Peelander experience isn’t so easy, particularly when their videos say so much, but punk rock power rangers is really about the size of it. Now neither of these venues offers either the open space or climbing apparatus to stage the kind of sheer insanity that they brought to the Mohawk in ’08 and ’09, but I have the utmost faith that Peelanders Red, Green and Yellow will find a way to make it memorable… and now that I think about it, the width of the Silver Dollar would make a great human bowling lane. They’ll ostensibly be touring behind their new record P-TV-Z, due out on September 28, but let’s be honst – the music is secondary to the antics. Which I’m not usually so fond of, but when the antics are as ridonk as theirs, it’s a-ok with me.

And photogs, you won’t want to miss this. It’s a good time. Mad Tiger!

MP3: Peelander-Z – “S.T.E.A.K.”
MP3: Peelander-Z – “Rocket Gold Star”
MP3: Peelander-Z – “Champion”
MP3: Peelander-Z – “Panda Punk”

Yesterday’s poorest-kept secret goes to the fact that Metric will be doing a free show outside of Union Station at 7PM tonight as part of the launch of a new cell phone. Odds that it will be a mad house and that Emily Haines will ramble nonsensically between songs are pretty much even.

Video: Metric – “Stadium Love”

Boston’s Caspian will be hitting the road this Fall and set up at the Soybomb space in Toronto (Bathurst south of Queen) on September 17.

MP3: Caspian – “Of Foam And Wave”

Obviously intending to be around town in time for the Polaris Prize gala the following Monday, Caribou have scheduled a show at the Phoenix for September 17. Tickets are $15 in advance.

MP3: Caribou – “Odessa”

The midwest rises as Indianapolic gothic country-rockers Murder By Death team up with Oklahoma’s Samantha Crain for a Fall tour that stops in at the Horseshoe on September 26.

MP3: Murder By Death – “Foxglove”
MP3: Samantha Crain – “Traipsing Through The Aisles”

Holy Fuck are at the Phoenix on September 29.

MP3: Holy Fuck – “Latin America”

Scout Niblett has slated a Fall tour in support of her latest, The Calcination Of Scout Niblett. She’s at The Garrison on October 2.

MP3: Scout Niblett – “Kiss”

Perfume Genius, the pseudonym of singer-songwriter Mike Hadreas, will undertake a short Learning that includes an October 7 date at the Drake Underground. Check out the video session he did for Matador Records, a short interview with him conducted by Huh

MP3: Perfume Genius – “Learning”

Basia Bulat will be joining Josh Ritter on his Autumn cross-Canada tour that includes an October 26 date at The Phoenix. Paste debuted Ritter’s latest video from And So The World Runs Away.

MP3: Basia Bulat – “Gold Rush”
Video: Josh Ritter – “Rattling Locks”

I guess calling it the “None More Black” tour would have been overly obvious, not to mention probably karmically putting their drummers at risk, but The Black Angels are teaming up with Black Mountain for a Fall tour that they’ve dubbed “Dropout Boogie” that will stop in at the Phoenix on October 31, tickets $20.50. Even odds that everyone in attendance will be dressed up as stoners for Hallowe’en and will be fully committed to the role. Both acts have new albums out on September 14 – Mountain with Wilderness Heart and Angels with Phosphene Dream. Spin has a chat with singer Alex Maas about the new record as well as a song to download, while Pitchfork has a tour-previewing download of Black Angels covering Black Mountain.

MP3: Black Mountain – “Hair Song”
MP3: The Black Angels – “Telephone Blues”
MP3: The Black Angels – “No Satisfaction” (Black Mountain cover)

With the magic eight ball apparently having come up, “keep milking Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix for all it’s worth”, Phoenix are doing North America again and this leg includes a Toronto date – October 22 at the Ricoh Coliseum with Tokyo Police Club and Wavves as support, tickets $40 to $45.

MP3: Wavves – “Cool Jumper”
Video: Phoenix – “Lisztomania”
Video: Tokyo Police Club – “Wait Up (Boots Of Danger)”

MySpaceIt’s not the firm, 100% release date that you’d want to see before getting excited, but this update from The Radio Dept. declaring that their third record Clinging To A Scheme – constantly rescheduled and delayed since September 2008 – will be available on CD and LP via Labrador in March is the most official thing we’ve seen yet.

Past target dates have come from their label and they’ve had to backpedal on each one, but this one comes from the band, and they’ve sealed it with a stream of a new song, album art and even a tracklisting! It seems the 2008 single “Freddie & The Trojan Horse” didn’t end up making the cut but their entire 2009 output – “David” – did. Either way, I’m allowing myself to hope this time the record will finally become reality and it somehow is worth the almost four-year wait since Pet Grief and year and a half delay from its originally-promised date. And I won’t hold my breath for live dates.

Update: Aaaaand they manage to push it back yet again. But the official new release date is April 20 in North America, April 21 in Europe. EXCITED.

MP3: The Radio Dept. – “David”

And keeping on the theme of reclusive Swedes finally getting into sharing, jj have let slip not only some images of themselves, but a couple new songs via a free digital single – one of which will also appear on their forthcoming album No. 3, out March 9. They’ll be at the Phoenix on April 4, on stage for all to see. Unless they turn off the lights. Which they probably will.

MP3: jj – “Let Go”
MP3: jj – “My Way”

The Line Of Best Fit interviews Philip Ekstrom of The Mary Onettes.

The Raveonettes have made a video for the cryptically-titled new single from In And Out Of Control, “Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed)”. I think there might be a message here; I’m not sure.

Video: The Raveonettes – “Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed)”

The Varsity chats with Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth.

NOW has words with J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. They’ve got an in-store at Sonic Boom tonight at 6:30 – be there early with an item of canned food for admission – and a sold-out show at the Phoenix afterward. eye also has an interview with Lou Barlow in the context of solo artist and opener for himself tonight.

Paste talks to Ted Leo, who is preparing his next record with The Pharmacists in The Brutalist Bricks, due out March 9.

Scout Niblett has set a March 17 date at the Horseshoe as part of a Spring tour in support of her new record The Calcination of Scout Niblett, out next week. Tickets for the show are $11.50 in advance.

MP3: Scout Niblett – “The Calcination Of Scout Niblett”

Last week I mentioned the release next week of El May, the debut album from Lara Meyerratken – well an MP3 from the album is now available to grab.

MP3: El May – “Don’t You”

Matablog has announced the next New Pornographers record will be entitled Together and be out May 4. And yes, both Dan and Neko are on board again.

Canadian Press gets some information from Amy Millan about the new Broken Social Scene record, including the fact that all of she, Emily Haines and Leslie Feist are appearing on the album and one track will feature all three singing together. It was reported that the album would be out in May, in time for their big Spinner Canada is streaming Basia Bulat’s new album Heart Of My Own – it’s in stores next Tuesday.

Stream: Basia Bulat / Heart Of My Own

The Hidden Cameras have rolled out a new video from Origin: Orphan.

Video: The Hidden Cameras – “Underage”

Via MySpace blog, Oh No Forest Fires have offered more explanation for their decision to disband, revealed that their doubling their recorded legacy with a second (mini) album that will be made available for free when it’s ready, offered a first track from said album to download (below), and announced that this Saturday’s final show at the Horseshoe will also be a benefit fundraiser for Haiti, with all proceeds from the $7 cover going to Partners In Health to assist the disaster-ridden country.

MP3: Oh No Forest Fires – “Spontaneous Changes In Isolated Systems (Song For Bobby)”

SubPop is giving away a big-ass MP3 mix of their Winter 2010 releases. Go get.