Chona KasingerNext week is a pretty big week for new album releases, particularly if you’re favourably inclined towards records coming out of the UK, which means that this week is a pretty big week for advance album streams.

And while it’s not the one that everyone will tell you you should be paying attention to, Still Corners’ second record Strange Pleasures is one you shouldn’t overlook – particularly if you assumed you knew what they were all about from their 2011 debut Creatures Of An Hour. Clearly they felt they’d mined the Broadcast-y throwback atmospheric pop thing as far as they could, because they’ve stripped the band down to just principals Tessa Murray and Greg Hughes and gone in for a more ’80s-flavoured, synth-heavy sound. But despite the pretty thorough stylistic reboot, they’ve kept and built on their core strengths – the songwriting and Murray’s elegant coo of a voice – to create a record that’s wholly different yet just as winning. No mean feat.

Exclaim has the advance stream of the record. They’re in town on June 12 supporting CHVRCHES at The Hoxton and hopefully will also make a NXNE appearance or two.

MP3: Still Corners – “Fireflies”
MP3: Still Corners – “Berlin Lovers”
Stream: Still Corners / Strange Pleasures

The British album coming out next week that everyone will be expecting you to pay attention to is Silence Yourself, the debut album from Savages. And contrary to most peoples’ experiences, I’ve found myself more impressed with the record than I was by their live show because it still captures much of that tense and abrasive live energy, but also affirms that they’ve got songs – not something I definitively took away from the performance. The band are streaming their album on their own site – kudos on maintaining their independent, DIY attitude – and are the subject of feature pieces at Pitchfork and The Skinny.

Stream: Savages / Silence Yourself

Little Boots’ second album Nocturnes finally comes out on May 7, and Pitchfork has got the stream, while Teezfm and The San Francisco Examiner have interviews and Noisey gets Victoria Hesketh to revisit some of her many looks over the years.

MP3: Little Boots – “Motorway”
MP3: Little Boots – “Every Night I Say A Prayer”
Stream: Little Boots / Nocturnes

London guitar-pop It Hugs Back have turned to The Big Takeover for the advance stream of their third album Recommended Record, out next week.

Stream: It Hugs Back / Recommended Record

The Line Of Best Fit and The Quietus talk to Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream, whose new album More Light is out May 6 in the UK but not until June 18 in North America.

Charlie Fink of Noah & The Whale chats with DIY about their new record Heart Of Nowhere, coming out next week.

Interview talks to Elena Tonra of Daughter, coming to town for a show at The Great Hall on May 7.

Stornoway have released a new video from Tales From Terra Firma, just in time for their show at The Horseshoe on May 9.

Video: Stornoway – “The Bigger Picture”

Not only are Marina & The Diamonds and Charli XCX tourmates, they’re also now recording buddies. Marina Diamandis and Charlotte Aitchison have collaborated on a new song which they’re giving away to the masses; odds of them performing it together when they hit Echo Beach on May 23? Probably pretty good. Elsewhere, The Province has an interview with Diamandis.

MP3: Charli XCX and Marina & The Diamonds – “Just Desserts”

Beady Eye are streaming another new, wholly un-Oasis-like song from their second album BE, due out June 10. Liam Gallagher talks a bit to NME about the new record.

Stream: Beady Eye – “Second Bite Of The Apple”

Billboard reports that following an impressive scavenger hunt of sorts, Scottish electronic act Boards Of Canada have confirmed a June 11 release of their new record Tomorrow’s Harvest.

Empire Of The Sun have released the first, typically over the top video from their new record Ice On The Dune, coming out June 17.

Video: Empire Of The Sun – “Alive”

Sigur Rós have released a lyric video for the second preview of their new album Kveikur, out June 18. Sing along with Jonsi!

Lyric Video: Sigur Ros – “Ísjaki”

The Toronto Sun interview the Frenchmen of Phoenix, while The Talkhouse gets Bob Mould to review their new record Bankrupt!. He likes it, though apparently not enough to have stayed part of The Grove Fest lineup, which Phoenix headlines on August 3 at Garrison Commons.

Norwegian electro-pop princess Annie has a new video for a new song which probably comes from a new album, which we’ll eventually find out more about.

Video: Annie – “Tube Stops And Lonely Hearts”

BrooklynVegan is hosting a The Tallest Man On Earth video session for Moog Sound Labs.

Folks who want to see the new Kate Nash from Girl Talk can hit up DIY if they’re in the UK or MTVU if they’re in the US. Everyone else can thank this guy on YouTube for upping a non-geoblocked version.

Video: Kate Nash – “OMYGOD!”

Taken By Trees have put out a new video from last year’s Other Worlds.

Video: Taken By Trees – “Only You”

The National Post interviews Johnny Marr.

Spin has compiled an oral history of PJ Harvey’s landmark Rid Of Me, now all of 20 years old.

Frank YangEven though Sigur Rós’ show at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday night was announced back in November, I was on the fence about attending, rationalizing that I had seen them twice just last August, and as much as I enjoyed the atmospheric charms of last year’s Valtari, I didn’t know that I needed to see it live again. Then word came that not only would the staging of the show be different this time, thanks to the shift in venue from outdoor festival settings to indoor arenas, but rather than a second tour for Valtari it would be an advance tour for their next record Kveikur – out June 18 – well then, it was a no-brainer. And really, saying you’ve had too enough Sigur Rós is like saying you’ve had enough beauty or enough wonder. It’s nonsense.

As they did at Massey Hall way back in May 2006, the band began their show hidden behind a scrim, performing in front of the well-filled if not sold-out, theatre-configured arena as a set of silhouettes seemingly backlit by the aurora borealis. At the climax of “Ný Batterí”, the scrim fell away and the eleven-piece band, camped out in a forest of musical and lighting gear, was revealed. The elegantly simple incandescent light bulb stands were a holdover from the Valtari tour, but the screens which surrounded the band on four sides to create an artificial intimacy on the big outdoor stages was exchanged for a wide, parabolic screen stretching across the width of the stage, simulating a wide expanse in an enclosed room.

It was on that screen that the band’s always-inspired visuals played out, seemingly tuned to evoke the more visceral nature of the new material, balancing out the air-and-water atmospherics of Valtari with a more fire-and-earth elemental skew. That said, the only representative in the set from the last record – “Varúð” – was the most visually stunning, with the soft glow of the stage bulbs blending with the Will-o’-the-wisp images floating on screen to create a genuine sense of weightlessness – no mean feat in a hockey arena. And while the arena setting was not the best for intimacy – the days of the band playing Massey Hall will be fondly remembered but are clearly over – the sound was immaculate and the scale lent itself nicely towards enhancing the grandeur of Orri Páll Dýrason’s drums.

Other back catalog highlights were “Hoppípolla”, as always, with the crescendo including an invitation from the band to the audience to stand and clap along, and “Festival” which featured Jónsi holding a single high note for so long that, while it almost had to be electronically-assisted, you still wanted to believe was magic. The Kveikur material was well-highlighted, with new songs bookending the main set; “Yfirborð” opened and the appropriately-titled new single “Brennisteinn” (“brimstone” in Icelandic) closed things on an apocalyptic note, with “Hrafntinna” and “Kveikur” lurking amongst the old favourites like wolves in the fold, more than making good on their promise of a more “direct, aggressive” sound – if the sub-genre “orch-industrial” didn’t exist before, it may well now.

One wonders if this stylistic shift was related to the departure of keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson and the remaining three embracing their new existence as a power trio, or if it was just the logical reaction to making Valtari. Ironically, though the official band was now the smallest its ever been, the touring lineup was operating as more of a grand ensemble than ever before, the horns and strings buoying the proceedings. That said, it wasn’t flawless; there were a few missed cues and off-beats – nothing major and hardly a black mark on the show, but surprising for a band that was always so impeccably tight on stage.

Following the ninety-minute main set, the band returned for a two-song encore and affirmed that, for all the dramatically show-stopping and breathtaking moments in their catalog, “Popplagið” from () remains the best and only way to conclude a show. I think they’ve gone to it every one of the seven times now I’ve seen them perform, and yet this reading may have been the post powerful one yet. Maybe it was because of the staging, the lighting, the headspace, or the simple fact that they’re still letting this decade-old composition evolve and grow. In any case it was still the perfect way to end the night and a not-so-gentle reminder that there’s no such thing as enough beauty or wonder.

NOW and The Globe & Mail talked to bassist Georg Hólm ahead of the show about the band’s new record.

Photos: Sigur Rós @ The Air Canada Centre – March 30, 2013
MP3: Sigur Rós – “Gobbledigook”
MP3: Sigur Rós – “Hoppípolla”
MP3: Sigur Rós – “Popplagið”
MP3: Sigur Rós – “Staralfur”
MP3: Sigur Rós – “Svefn-G-Englar”
MP3: Sigur Rós – “Nýja lagið”
Video: Sigur Rós – “Brennisteinn”
Video: Sigur Rós / Leaning Towards Solace
Video: Sigur Rós – “Varúð” (version three)
Video: Sigur Rós – “Valtari”
Video: Sigur Rós – “Varðeldur” (version two)
Video: Sigur Rós – “Fjögur Píanó” (version two)
Video: Sigur Rós – “Dauðalogn” (version two)
Video: Sigur Rós – “Ekki Múkk” (version two)
Video: Sigur Rós / Seraph
Video: Sigur Rós – “Dauðalogn” (version one)
Video: Sigur Rós – “Varðeldur” (version one)
Video: Sigur Rós – “Varúð” (version two)
Video: Sigur Rós – “Ég anda” (version two)
Video: Sigur Rós – “Rembihnútur”
Video: Sigur Rós – “Fjögur Píanó” (version one)
Video: Sigur Rós – “Varúð” (version one)
Video: Sigur Rós – “Ég anda” (version one)
Video: Sigur Rós – “Ekki Múkk” (moving art)
Video: Sigur Rós – “Við Spilum Endalaust “
Video: Sigur Rós – “Inní mér syngur vitleysingur”
Video: Sigur Rós – “Gobbledigook”
Video: Sigur Rós – “Sæglópur”
Video: Sigur Rós – “Hoppípolla”
Video: Sigur Rós – “Glósóli”
Video: Sigur Rós – “(Vaka)”
Video: Sigur Rós – “Viðrar vel til loftárása”
Video: Sigur Rós – “Svefn-G-Englar”

Filter has an interview with Ólafur Arnalds, whose For Now I Am Winter is out in North America tomorrow.

NPR has premiered the latest video from Efterklang’s Piramida, and Oregon Music News has an interview with frontman Casper Clausen. And while I’m glad for Clausen that his health has recovered, that Toronto was the one and only canceled date on their now-concluded North American tour elicits a big sigh over here.

Video: Efterklang – “The Ghost”

Interview talks to Iceage, in town for a couple shows at NXNE on June 15 and 16. That tour will be alongside fellow Danish punks Lower, and Exclaim reports that the side-project of the two bands – Vår – will release their debut album No One Dances Quite Like My Brothers on May 14.

Video: Vår – “In Your Arms”

Pitchfork has an interview with the Dreijer siblings of The Knife. Their new album Shaking The Habitual is out April 9.

Magnet interviews The Mary Onettes in advance of handing them the keys to their website for the week as guest editors.

Finally, Drowned In Sound talks to Johan Angergård about Labrador Records on the occasion of the Swede-pop label’s fifteenth anniversary with additional comments from Philip Ekström of The Mary Onettes and Johan Duncanson of The Radio Dept., the latter of which aren’t especially celebratory.

Frank YangShow cancellations are pretty much part and parcel of the Canadian Musicfest experience, particularly when you’re most keen on the international acts who’ve been duped coerced into playing the fest, but it’s especially disappointing when it’s a) one of the bands you most wanted to see, b) they were one of the very first acts confirmed for the fest in November, and c) it happens just hours before showtime.

But things like lymph node infections do happen, and with Efterklang singer Casper Clausen out of commission, their showcase at The Mod Club with Nightlands was nixed. I should be pleased for the band and their fans that Clausen recovered in time to pick up the tour in Montreal the next night and that Toronto was the only lost date, but I’m not really. So suddenly left with no plans for the evening, I opted for the in-store at Moog Audio presented by Scandiphile sites Nordic By Nature and Swede + Sour – even if I was going to miss out on the Danes, I could still get my Swede/Norwegian/Icelandic musical fix.

Sweden would get a bit of short shrift, unfortunately. Perhaps in keeping with their tight, Krautrock-influenced sound, Malmö’s This Is Head started precisely on time and I was running late, meaning I missed the first half of their set and was only able to take in a song and a half. Thankfully, their songs were pretty long and while their live sound was more of a conventional rock setup than I’d have expected from what I recalled of their 2010 debut 0001, it was still tight and grooving in the right places. I look forward to hearing their second album The Album ID when it gets released in North America later this Spring.

Photos: This Is Head @ Moog Audio – March 21, 2013
Video: This Is Head – “A-B Version”
Video: This Is Head – “De Trop”
Video: This Is Head – “0011”
Video: This Is Head – “0007”

Whatever it is in the water in the nordic countries that produces idiosyncratic female electro-pop artists, Sandra Kolstad has been drinking it. Fronting a three-piece band comprised of two keyboards and a percussionist, she turned in a set of energetic art-pop made of synths and tight, inventive percussion that may not have stood out from other artists doing similar things, but didn’t pale against them either. And while Kolstad was game for getting naked in her latest video, on this evening it was her drummer who stripped down for the appreciation of those who appreciate tall, half-naked, Scandinavian men.

Photos: Sandra Kolstad @ Moog Audio – March 21, 2013
Stream: Sandra Kolstad – “Right Now”
Video: Sandra Kolstad – “Run Away (Where Are We?)”
Video: Sandra Kolstad – “The Well (We Will Change It All”
Video: Sandra Kolstad – “Fire Burn, Blood Flow”
Video: Sandra Kolstad – “Circles (It’s Got Every Little Part Of Me Running In)”

As enjoyable as the other two acts were, it was mainly Sóley whom I was here to see. Though she had a few other sets over the course of the festival, all were in conflict with something else I wanted to see, so if there was a silver lining to Efterklang’s misfortunes, it was this. For me, at least. Her 2011 album We Sink has been doing regular duty in evoking reminiscences of Iceland for me, and listening to her recreate those songs live I found myself trying to decide if her delicate electro-folk sounded more like a fairy sporting a cybernetic exoskeleton or a space station overrun by moss and trees. With the sound of her layered vocals slowly permeating the room like ghostly echoes, Sóley was understatedly presented, yet sonically perfect. The National Post has an interview with Sóley Stefánsdóttir.

Photos: Sóley @ Moog Audio – March 21, 2013
MP3: Sóley – “Pretty Face”
MP3: Sóley – “Blue Leaves”
Video: Sóley – “I’ll Drown”
Video: Sóley – “Pretty Face”
Video: Sóley – “Smashed Birds”
Video: Sóley – “Blue Leaves”

The in-store complete, I engaged in the only club-hopping I’d do for the festival and hoofed it over to The Drake Underground to catch Irish-German outfit Kool Thing. As it turns out, I didn’t need to rush as their start time was delayed by some manner of broken gear – it’s never a good sign when everyone in the band are standing around, staring down at a single piece of equipment, talking. They eventually got underway, though, and I spent most of their abbreviated set trying to remember why I had wanted to see the duo of Jon Dark and Julie Chance (plus drummer) in the first place. This isn’t to say their faintly electro-goth sound wasn’t alright – their voices blended well and the guitar-keys recipe yielded some nice atmosphere – but it felt played out and obvious. A full set may have allowed them to better demonstrate what they could do, but that wasn’t in the cards this night. And with that, I was home just before – in a perfect world – Efterklang’s set would have begun. Sigh.

Photos: Kool Thing @ The Drake Underground – March 21, 2013
Stream: Kool Thing – “TV Tower”
Video: Kool Thing – “PLAN.LIFE.GO”
Video: Kool Thing – “Light Games”
Video: Kool Thing – “The Sign”

Sigur Rós have added some extra context to the North American tour which brings them to the Air Canada Centre on March 30; instead of a second tour in support of last year’s ambient Valtari, it’s now a pre-release tour in support of their next album, the much heavier Kveikur, due out June 18. Pitchfork has details on the release and the first video from the album can be watched below.

Video: Sigur Rós – “Brennisteinn”

The Guardian and Billboard talk to The Knife about their new record Shaking The Habitual, due out April 9.

April 9 will also be the release date for the soundtrack from the new Tom Cruise vehicle Oblivion, which is only noteworthy in that M83 is doing the score. Pitchfork is streaming the theme song from the film, featuring Norwegian singer Susanne Sundfør.

Stream: M83 featuring Susanne Sundfør – “Oblivion”

The Fly has an interview with Junip, who’ve made a new track from their forthcoming self-titled album, out April 23, available to download. They’ll be at The Great Hall on June 10.

MP3: Junip – “Your Life Your Call”

Swedish pop veterans Club 8 have made the first track from their forthcoming album Above The City available to download. It’s out May 21.

Stream: Club 8 – “Stop Taking My Time”

The Line Of Best Fit has a video session with Of Monsters & Men. They co-headline the CBC Music Festival at Echo Beach on May 25.

Totally Stockholm interviews Elliphant, in town June 7 at The Phoenix opening up for Twin Shadow.

Exclaim and Filter talk to Iceage, coming to Toronto for NXNE on June 15 and 16.

And just because this week’s roundup of concert announcements got pushed down to second-billing to the CMW writeup, don’t think that means that nothing good was revealed. For instance – Memory Tapes will be bring last year’s Grace/Confusion to Wrongbar on April 11. Tickets for that will be $12 in advance.

MP3: Memory Tapes – “Sheila”

Austin’s Pure X – specialists in doing it slow and dreamy – will be at The Silver Dollar on May 7 as part of a North American tour in support of their new album Crawling up the Stairs, out May 14. Tickets for the show are $12.50 in advance.

MP3: Pure X – “Someone Else”
MP3: Pure X – “Things In My Head”

Los Angeles trio Sir Sly – whom I’m not going to pretend I know much about but who seemed to emerge from SXSW as one of the talked-about acts – will be in town at Wrongbar on May 14 as part of a Spring tour. Tickets for that are $10.

MP3: Sir Sly – “Ghost”

Portland’s Thermals have announced the dates for their Spring tour in support of Desperate Ground via Stereogum, and also debuted the first video from the album, out April 16. Look for them at The Horseshoe on May 21, tickets $15.

MP3: The Thermals – “Now We Can See”
Video: The Thermals – “Born To Kill”

British folk sister act The Staves will be at The Great Hall on May 23, presumably as part of a tour in support of the North American release of their debut Dead & Born & Grown, out this month. Tickets for the show are $14.50. Hit Fix, Blogcritics, and examiner.com have interviews with the Staveley-Taylor sisters.

Video: The Staves – “Facing West”

Jonathan Richman, who continues to not have anything resembling an official internet presence in 2013, will be doing things in meatspace at The Great Hall on June 5 and 6.

Stream: Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers – “Roadrunner”

If you were thinking CHVRCHES were just here, you were right. But they’re coming back as part of a Summer tour, and while the June 12 date at The Hoxton may make you think it’s a NXNE show, so far there are no indications that it is – so maybe pony up the $16 for a ticket instead of waving your wristband around. And while that show is still months ahead of their debut album’s release in September, their Recover EP is out now and streaming over at Pitchfork.

MP3: CHVRCHES – “The Mother We Share”
Stream: CHVRCHES / Recover

What IS part of NXNE – and still venue-less at the time of writing – is the June 14 return of Still Corners, whose new album Strange Pleasures will be out May 7.

MP3: Still Corners – “Fireflies”

Space-surf pioneers Man Or Astro-man? are hitting the road and have made a date at Lee’s Palace for June 17, tickets $17.50.

Video: Man Or Astro-Man? – “Spferic Waves”

Darkwavers Cold Cave haven’t said specifically when their new EP Oceans With No End will be coming out, but presumably it’ll be around the time they roll their Summer tour into the Shop Under Parts & Labour – June 26. But Cold Cave isn’t the only thing that Wes Eisold has on the go – his old hardcore band American Nightmare is getting back into action and according to this Exclaim piece, one of the two reunion shows confirmed so far will be on June 6 in Toronto at a venue to be announced The Phoenix.

MP3: Cold Cave – “The Great Pan Is Dead”

And this week’s Toronto Urban Roots Fest additions come from near and far – the (relatively) near being Toronto’s own The Wooden Sky and Nova Scotia’s Matt Mays & El Torpedo, and the absolutely far being Australians The Cat Empire and Xavier Rudd. Early-bird deals on multi-day tickets end tonight at 10PM, and single-day tickets go on sale this Thursday; the day-by-day breakdown is on their schedule.

MP3: The Wooden Sky – “Angelina”
Video: The Cat Empire – “Brighter Than Gold”
Video: Xavier Rudd – “Bow Down”
Video: Matt Mays – “Take It On Faith”

Alexa VachonPresently trying to work out this year’s vacation schedule, which if all goes according to plan will feature a return engagement to Reykjavik and Stockholm in late Summer. Which has everything and nothing to do with why I’m clearing out a number of Scandinavian-sourced videos released to the internet over the last week or so.

Beginning with the nine-minute short film that doubles as the first taste of The Knife’s new album Shaking The Habitual. I missed out the sibling duo of Karin Dreijer Andersson and Olof Dreijer circa their 2006 debut breakout effort Silent Shout – not out of ignorance, but out of fear; their creepy electronica scared me, I admit it – but have gotten over that right about in time for the April 9 release o the follow-up. And it’s just as well, because it certainly doesn’t seem like they’ve gotten any less weird or unsettling in the interim. Pitchfork has details on the new record, which is a 98-minute epic that will probably be the best-selling triple-LP since Joanna Newsom’s Have One On Me. Which wasn’t scary at all, unless harps scare you.

Video: The Knife – “Full Of Fire”

Of Monsters & Men have released another video from last year’s – or 2011’s, if you’re being pedantic – breakout debut My Head Is An Animal.

Video: Of Monsters & Men – “King and Lionheart”

Clash has a feature interview with Søen Løkke Juul of Indians, who has released a first video from his debut album Somewhere Else, officially out this week. He and his band are at The Drake Underground on March 4.

Video: Indians – “I Am Haunted”

Also out of Copenhagen – but at the other end of the musical spectrum – are Iceage, who have put out a clip from their next album You’re Nothing, in stores February 19.

Video: Iceage – “Ecstasy”

The National Post, U-T San Diego, and Seattle Weekly have interviews with Swedish electro-pop duo Niki & The Dove.

PopMatters talks to Sarah Assbring of El Perro Del Mar.

Pitchfork sums up the salient points from Sigur Rós’ Reddit AMA last week: namely that keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson’s temporary hiatus from the band is now permanent, leaving them officially a trio, and a new “aggressive” album that’ll basically be the polar opposite of last year’s ethereal Valtari will be out later this year. They play The Air Canada Centre on March 30.

Over to the UK, Daughter have released the first video from their forthcoming debut If You Leave, out March 18 in Europe and April 30 in North America. They play The Great Hall on May 7.

Video: Daughter – “Still”

Stereogum has premiered a new video by London’s The History Of Apple Pie, taken from their just-released debut Out Of View.

Video: The History Of Apple Pie – “See You”

Pitchfork is streaming Veronica Falls’ new album Waiting For Something To Happen, out February 12. They play The Garrison on March 12.

MP3: Veronica Falls – “Teenage”
Stream: Veronica Falls / Waiting For Something To Happen

Spinner interviews Foals. Their new record Holy Fire is out February 12.

Peter Hook rebuts and escalates the war of words with his former bandmates in New Order via interviews in Billboard and MTV Hive.

Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit talks to The Skinny and Drowned In Sound about their new one Pedestrian Verse, out Tuesday, and also gives the former a track-by-track walkthrough of the new record. They play The Phoenix March 31.

If you thought it weird that Billy Bragg’s previously-announced North American tour dates in support of his new record Tooth & Nail, out March 18, skipped over Toronto then you were right. It was weird. And now it’s rectified. He’ll be at The Danforth Music Hall on May 4, tickets $32.50 to $37.50. And a song from the new record is available to stream or download via his website in exchange for an email.

Stream: Billy Bragg – “Handyman Blues”

Noah & The Whale have announced a May 6 release date for their new record Heart Of Nowhere.

Billboard interviews Charli XCX, who predicts an April or May release for her debut album – just in time for her May 23 appearance at The Sound Academy supporting Marina & The Diamonds.

And back to videos, though far from Scandinavia, Tame Impala have a new clip from Lonerism. Head to Urban Outfitters for notes from the video’s director and aux.tv for an interview with bandleader Kevin Parker.

Video: Tame Impala – “Mind Mischief”

Shugo Tokumaru has gone stop-motion animation for the new video from In Focus?.

Video: Shugo Tokumaru – “Katachi”

Pavla KopecnaIn mentioning yesterday that winning the Mercury Prize allowed Alt-J to graduate from playing Wrongbar in September to playing The Phoenix in March, we can also scientifically see what only getting nominated to the shortlist gets you. Django Django, who were shortlisted on the strength of their self-titled debut, also played Wrongbar in late September and have also just scheduled a Spring tour that brings them back to town in March – March 12, specifically, and at The Opera House. So based on the capacities of these two rooms, what can we discern? Winning the Mercury lets you play to about 200 more people. QED. Tickets are $17.50.

DIY has an interview with Django Django, who’ve just released a new video from the aforementioned Mercury-nominated album. There’s also a World Cafe session up at NPR.

MP3: Django Django – “Default”
Video: Django Django – “Life’s A Beach”

Also just announced – Ken Stringfellow of The Posies, R.E.M., and Big Star will be in town as just Ken Stringfellow – solo artist who released Danzig In The Moonlight in October – for a date at The Drake Underground on February 19. Tickets for that are $15, and God Is In The TV has an interview.

MP3: Ken Stringfellow – “Doesn’t It Remind You Of Something”

Chapel Hill’s rootsy Mount Moriah – recently signed to Merge and getting a lot of good press – will release their second album Miracle Temple on February 26 and be in town at The Drake on March 20 to celebrate; that’ll be part of Canadian Music Week, if you were wondering.

Stream: Mount Moriah – “Lament”

The Get Down Stay Down are at Lee’s Palace on March 27 in support of their new album We The Common, due out February 5. Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside support, tickets are $17.50 in advance. Full tour dates at Exclaim.

MP3: Thao & The Get Down Stay Down – “Know Better Learn Faster”

And if you hadn’t heard and were interested, the reunited but still Christine McVie-less Fleetwod Mac will be at the Air Canada Centre on April 16. Stevie Nicks talks to The Los Angeles Times about the upcoming tour, while Rolling Stone also loops in Lindsey Buckingham for a Q&A.

Video: Fleetwood Mac – “Go Your Own Way”

Pitchfork and Rolling Stone talk to ex-Girls frontman Christopher Owens about his solo debut Lysandre, out January 15. He plays The Mod Club on January 18.

DIY has an interview and The Alternate Side a session with The Antlers.

The AV Club have premiered a new video from Crooked Fingers’ 2011 effort Breaks In The Armor and The Line Of Best Fit also has a video session on offer.

Video: Crooked Fingers – “Bad Blood”

DIY talks to Mike Hadreas of Perfume Genius.

Stereogum has an interview with Dayve Hawk of Memory Tapes.

DIY talks to Wild Nothing’s Jack Tatum.

The Austin Chronicle, Phoenix New Times, and Dallas Observer interview John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats.

NPR has a World Cafe session with Stars.

Spin, ABC News, The New Zealand Herald, DIY, and The Daily Swarm talk to Claire Boucher of Grimes.

The Grid and NOW preview Joel Plaskett’s upcoming five-night stand at The Horseshoe next week. That’s December 12 to 16.

Spinner finds out why a Raveonettes-mixed new No Joy album won’t be winding its way to you anytime soon. Or ever.

Modern Superstitions talk to aux.tv about their self-titled debut.

DIY has a quick chat with Wild Beasts.

The Fly has a video session with 2:54.

TOY are interviewed as part of DIY‘s year-end wrap.

Pitchfork reports that Phoenix are planning to rise again with a new album in or around April. That there’s the sound of Two Door Cinema Club’s business model collapsing.

M83 have released the fourth video from Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming.

Video: M83 – “Wait”

DIY interviews Tame Impala, in town at The Kool Haus on March 9.

Sigur Rós have released the final installment of their Valtari Mystery Film Experiment – just in time for the screenings happening worldwide and at The Bloor Cinema on Saturday. This one’s another short film rather than conventional video, and is directed by Floria Sigismondi and stars Elle Fanning and John Hawkes. Save the best – or at least biggest-named – for last, yeah? Sigur Rós are at The Air Canada Centre on March 30.

Video: Sigur Rós – “Leaning Towards Solace”

And with that, everything I’ve had in my blog drafts hopper is gone. It’s empty! There’s nothing left! You know what that means? Me neither. I’m scared.