Jeaneen LundThe old inbox was overflowing with local concert announcements yesterday – certainly makes cobbling together a post easy. In chronological order…

Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains, who just played an instore at Sonic Boom last week, are heading out on a European tour through most of this month but will be having a little homecoming party at the Horseshoe on March 6. Tickets $10.50. Grainger has a little chat with Spoonfed.

MP3: Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains – “American Names”
MP3: Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains – “By Cover Of Night (Fire Fight)”

Julie Doiron is set to release a new album on March 24 in I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day and will follow that up a trio of dates up the 401 including a March 26 date at the Horseshoe. Tickets $10.

MP3: Julie Doiron – “Consolation Prize”

Their new album Beacons is complete, but there’s still no firm release date for the sophomore effort from Ohbijou… but considering they’ve just announced a CD release show for said record on April 18 at the Opera House, it’s probably safe to say that it’ll be out around then. Tickets for that fete will be $13.

I will admit to being mildly astonished not by the fact that Travis are coming back to North America this Spring in support of last year’s Ode To J Smith, but that they’re playing – at least here on April 21 – venues the size of the Sound Academy. 3000 people to see Travis in 2009? And at $34.50 a ticket? Really? Huh. The Daily Yomiuri has an interview with the band about the making of the album.

Video: Travis – “J Smith”
Video: Travis – “Song To Self”

The Appleseed Cast have a new album in Sagarmatha coming out February 17 and they’ve got a date at the Horseshoe for April 21, tickets $10. Songs from the record can be heard at Stereogum and RCRDLBL.

Despite being rather fond of most of the “sassy English female singer-songwriters” which followed in her wake, Lily Allen has never done much for me. Might her new record It’s Not Me, It’s You, out next week, change my mind? The album is currently streaming in its entirety over at her MySpace – let’s find out. She’s also playing a show at the Phoenix on April 22, tickets $27.50, and Spin has posted online an excerpt of this month’s cover story on the singer. Update: Full North American tour dates at The Music Slut.

Video: Lily Allen – “The Fear”
Stream: Lily Allen / It’s Not Me, It’s You

I need no such persuasion to get excited for the return of Bat For Lashes (pictured). Her second album Two Suns, which will feature unlikely guests Scott Walker and Yeasayer, is coming out on April 6 and following a set of European dates will come some North American ones. In addition to a previously announced New York and Philadelphia dates, she will be in Toronto on April 25 for a show at the Mod Club, tickets $15. Their last show here in September 2007 was amazing, no reason to believe this one will be anything less. Rolling Stone talks to Natasha Khan about the split personality conceit behind her new record while MTV has a video interview. And check out this live performance of a new song on BBC2:

Video: Bat For Lashes – “Moon And Moon” (live on BBC2)

And last but not least for the show announcements, Franz Ferdinand are coming back on May 4 and playing a venue considerably larger than their cozy little Lee’s Palace gig last December, but if you don’t think they’ll sell out the Kool Haus in a heartbeat, you’re dreaming. Tickets for that one are $30 and go on sale February 7 at 10AM. Pitchfork has an interview with the band conducted here during their last visit.

In a rather drastic change of venue, the Pains Of Being Pure At Heart/Depreciation Guild show originally slated to happen at Neutral next Thursday has been moved to Lee’s Palace. Which pleases me because the lights at Neutral are, to put it mildly, abhorrent. All tickets will be honoured and there will probably be a lot more available now.

And some bits related to already-announced shows that are upcoming… Exclaim has a feature on Antony Hegarty of Antony & The Johnsons and Radio Free Canuckistan has posted up the complete transcript of the interview that went into the piece. They play the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on February 17.

Soundproof features The Rural Alberta Advantage, who will play Wavelength at Sneaky Dee’s on February 22 and then do a CMW showcase at the Gladstone in the wee hours (1AM) of March 12. The band made their NYC debut last week and accounts are that it went really well. They play New York again this Friday and Saturday nights.

Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit is out February 17, and Muzzle Of Bees has five questions with Mr Isbell. They play the Horseshoe on March 4.

The Montreal Mirror profiles Basia Bulat, who will play Lee’s Palace on March 14 as part of CMW, and will be getting to work on album number two later this Spring. Hour.ca also has a little chat about her decision to record a Sam Cooke cover for a 7″ single.

Aquarium Drunkard gets Tony Dekker of Great Lake Swimmers to offer a brief guide to his favourite places in Toronto. There’s also a trio of intimate performance videos from Dekker over at Aux.tv. Their new album Lost Channels is out March 31 and they play the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on April 25.

Catherine LosingFor The Records pointed out a curious concert listing for UK indie-dance act Friendly Fires at the website for Beggars Canada – it puts the St Alban’s trio in town on March 31, but only narrows the venue down to two possibilities – Mod Club or Lee’s Palace. So all I can accurately say is that they’ll be in Toronto at an approximately 500-capacity venue on that date. And wherever they are, odds of a dance party breaking out are pretty much one to one. Personally, I think that Mod would be a much more suitable venue – the ass-shaking, slick and scratchy new wave/disco goodness of their self-titled debut demands spectacle, which Mod’s famously over-the-top lighting system is equipped to provide. Lee’s doesn’t even have a disco ball.

MP3: Friendly Fires – “Jump In The Pool”
MP3: Friendly Fires – “Paris” (Aeroplane Remix)
Video: Friendly Fires – “Skeleton Boy”
Video: Friendly Fires – “Paris”
Video: Friendly Fires – “Jump In The Pool”
Video: Friendly Fires – “On Board”
MySpace: Friendly Fires

Toronto vibraphone mavens The Hylozoists will release their new album L’ile de Sept Villes on February 3 and showcase it at the Mod Club on February 21. Update: They’re also playing a Soundscapes instore on February 10 at 7PM. Here’s some older stuff.

MP3: The Hylozoists – “Smiley Smiley”
MP3: The Hylozoists – “Strait Is the Gate”

Marissa Nadler, whom I believe ended up cancelling her last scheduled date here last Summer, will try and pay us a visit again on April 21 at the El Mocambo. She has a new album due out early this year. Here’s some older stuff.

MP3: Marissa Nadler – “Diamond Heart”
MP3: Marissa Nadler – “Thinking Of You”

Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains are doing an in-store at Sonic Boom on January 29 at 7PM.

MP3: Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains – “American Names”
MP3: Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains – “By Cover Of Night (Fire Fight)”

Putting lie to the notion that bands can only play larger venues as they get bigger, Born Ruffians and Akron/Family have a date at Sneaky Dee’s on March 24. Tickets are $13 and on sale now.

Earlier yesterday Uncut speculated that the release of that Neil Young video for “Fork In The Road” implied not only the impending release of a new album with the same name, which may well be true, but to also mean that the Archives set has been pushed back indefinitely to accommodate. They’ve since been corrected with the same information that one of the official Archive-ists left on a post at Thrasher’s Wheat – “NYA Vol 1 has been completed in BD, DVD, CD and Digital Download editions. The only thing remaining is announcement of a street date”. Which is good news, though it does put lie to the February 24 release date that most had been clinging to. In short, there’s lots of material coming from Neil this year. Only no one knows what and when.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer interviews Kathleen Edwards, who is at Trinity-St Paul’s on February 13.

MP3: Kathleen Edwards – “Asking For Flowers”

The Quietus talks politics with Death Cab’s Nick Harmer.

Beirut have released a video from their forthcoming EP March Of The Zapotec, out February 17.

Video: Beirut – “La Llorona”

The Village Voice profiles Antony & The Johnsons. The Crying Light is out Tuesday and they play the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on February 17.

Muzzle Of Bees asks five questions of Los Campesinos!

The Decemberists are giving away a track from their forthcoming album The Hazards Of Love, out March 24. All you have to do is sign up to their mailing list. Colin Meloy was also on NPR’s World Cafe yesterday for an interview.

Clash talks to Kathy Foster of The Thermals, who will release Now We Can See on April 7.

The previously-mentioned untitled Bob Mould album also set for an April 7 release now has a title – Life And Times.

Filter talks to Ra Ra Riot, Daytrotter videotapes them playing in a park.

Pitchfork has an MP3 from M Ward’s Hold Time, out February 17. This track features the She to his Him, Zoey Deschanel, on vocals.

MP3: M Ward – “Never Had Nobody Like You”

Drowned In Sound solicits a mixtape from The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, the buzz around whom is growing at a pace that’s considerably larger than Neutral, the room they’re slated to play here in town on February 12. If you’re curious, an advance ticket may be a good idea. Their self-titled full-length is out February 3.

NPR has an acoustic session with The Hold Steady while Wireless Bollinger has an interview.

Former Grandaddy frontman Jason Lytle will return to active musical duty on May 19 with the release of his first solo record, Yours Truly, the Commuter.

jinglebellrock.caA little too much going on right now for proper posting, so you’ll forgive me if I just ride out the next couple days by partaking in the spirit of the season and giving some stuff away? But good stuff coming, I just need to work on it.

Jingle Bell Rock is the creatively-named tour featuring Can-indie luminaries Metric, Tokyo Police Club, The Dears and Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains on a ten-date mission to rock out, spread holiday cheer and raise funds for a range of worthwhile charities in the process. Things kick off with a two-night stand in Toronto at the Sound Academy on December 12 and 13, head west for single-night engagements in Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Edmonton before going two-fer in Calgary and wrapping up with a triple-shot in Vancouver from December 21 to 23.

And, courtesy of Filter, I’ve got passes to give away to not one, not two, not three, but four of the shows. That’s one pair for each Toronto show and two of the three Vancouver dates (it would have been a solid run of both cities but they went off and added the third Van-city show). So if you want to go to any of the above, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to Jingle Bell Rock in Toronto/Vancouver on December 12/13/21/22”, where you only include the city and date you’re looking for. For the Toronto dates, get entries in to me before midnight, December 9. Vancouverites, since you’re three hours behind anyways, you have until December 16 to get me your entries in. Lollygaggers.

And enter for multiple dates if you like.

Update: Hey, powers that be wanted the names sooner rather than later, so I closed the Toronto leg of things a bit early. And I’ve moved up the deadline for the Vancouver dates If you were waiting to enter… well damn, I have no idea why. Sorry.

MP3: Metric – “Monster Hospital”
MP3: Tokyo Police Club – “In A Cave”
MP3: Tokyo Police Club – “Juno”
MP3: The Dears – “Disclaimer”
MP3: Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains – “American Names”
MP3: Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains – “By Cover Of Night (Fire Fight)”
Video: Metric – “Monster Hospital”
Video: Metric – “Poster Of A Girl”
Video: Metric – “Empty”
Video: Tokyo Police Club – “Graves”
Video: Tokyo Police Club – “In A Cave”
Video: Tokyo Police Club – “Tessellate”
Video: The Dears – “Money Babies”