Autumn de WildeHaving followed John Vanderslice’s career from a respectful distance for many years now – spending a lot of time with some records, completely overlooking others – I would have said that while I’d always expect his records to be enjoyable, coupling solid songwriting with subtly idiosyncratic production, I would never expect to be floored by anything he put out. He’s just been so content batting for average that there’s no reason to think he’d suddenly open up the stance and swing for the fences.

And you wouldn’t call his latest album Romanian Names a home run, but it does stand apart from the rest of his discography to count as a solid double, maybe even a ground-rule. And it’s hard to tell, at first, what sets this one apart because the ingredients are much the same as the previous records. The melodies are still just too twisty to count as immediate, but remain deeply memorable, the production full of aural treats that might just as easily go unnoticed but reward attentive listeners and Vanderslice’s voice and words as plaintive and moving as ever. So what’s different? Well there’s a certain sonic and emotional richness to the proceedings that’s not necessarily new, but is simpler, clearer and more striking. But best I can tell is all of the above have combined for some magical ratio or emotionally resonant frequency that the ‘Slice hadn’t quite managed before and has resulted in a record that’s as good an example as any as to why he’s so highly regarded and puzzlingly underappreciated.

Vanderslice just wrapped an extensive round of touring, but will gear up for a small handful of Canadian dates and courtesy of Against The Grain, I’ve got three pairs of passes to give away to his Friday night (July 10) show at the Horseshoe with Cotton Jones. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want the ‘Slice” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest closes at midnight, July 8 – that’s tomorrow night.

American Songwriter has a feature piece and Decider an interview with John Vanderslice, while Blurt reviews and compares two of his shows. NPR declared “Too Much Time” their song of the day for yesterday.

MP3: John Vanderslice – “Too Much Time”
MP3: John Vanderslice – “Fetal Horses”
Video: John Vanderslice – “Forest Knolls”
Video: John Vanderslice – “Too Much Time”
MySpace: John Vanderslice

I don’t know if the above baseball metaphor was appropriate for John Vanderslice – does the ‘Slice like the baseball? – but it would have been perfect for the September 13 bill at the Horseshoe. That night you’ll have The Minus 5, The Baseball Project and The Steve Wynn IV – which as I understand will essentially be Scott McCaughey, Peter Buck, Steve Wynn and Linda Pitmon playing material from all three above catalogs and basically just having more fun than Junior Felix’s inside-the-park grand slam against the Red Sox back in ’89 – and that, my friends, was fun. If you were a Jays fan. Tickets for that one are $13.50 in advance.

The Seattle Times talks to Death Cab For Cutie’s Nick Harmer.

Under The Radar interviews Justin Rice of Bishop Allen.

San Francisco’s Sleepy Sun are at the Drake Underground on September 21, tickets $10. Their debut album is Embrace and they released a Daytrotter session back in May.

The Washington Post talks to Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy.

The Toronto date for Joe Pernice’s concert/bookreading tour has been set for September 15 at the Dakota Tavern. Not to say that it’s an inappropriate venue by any means, but I like how they selected the room closest to Joe’s west end digs. The new record It Feels So Good When I Stop is out August 4 but available to pre-order now with attendant bonus goodies.

The Dirty Projectors show cancelled last month on account of that unfortunate car accident has been rescheduled for July 22, presumable again at Lee’s Palace – tickets will only be available at Rotate This and Soundscapes starting Thursday. Pitchfork has an interview with Dave Longstreth, the dirtiest projector of them all.

The Skinny and The Quietus talk to Kevin Barnes of Of Montreal, though the latter only about Woody Allen.

You can download Ume’s recent session at WOXY, including a couple of new songs.

You Ain’t No Picasso asks Andy Stack of Wye Oak about his first time. At stuff. Their new album The Knot is out July 21.

Oklahoman psych-poppers – no, not those ones – Starlight Mints will release a new album in Change Remains on July 21 and hit the road to support, including an August 9 date at the Horseshoe – tickets $9.

MP3: Starlight Mints – “Zoomba”

NPR talks to Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance of Merge Records on the occasion of the label’s 20th anniversary.

The Skinny profiles The Horrors, who have a date at Lee’s Palace on October 14.

The Singing Lamb talks to Mica Levy of Micachu & The Shapes in advance of their July 14 show at the El Mocambo.

Daytrotter is sharing the goods from a session with Los Campesinos.

The Advocate interviews Patrick Wolf, whose recent Daytrotter session is now up and available for grabby hands.

The New York Times hangs out in New York City with Bat For Lashes’ Natasha Khan. Shopping ensues.

Elvis Costello plays a World Cafe session for NPR. He’s at Massey Hall on August 28.

Art Brut are finally touring their latest album Art Brut Vs Satan through Toronto, having scheduled a date at Lee’s Palace for August 12, tickets $17.50. Yes, they’re kind of ridiculous as a band but they’re undeniably fun. You can download a track from the new record over at RCRDLBL and this is the first video from the album.

Video: Art Brut – “Alcoholics Unanimous”

Three more new videos out of the the UK – the first single from The Twilight Sad’s sophomore album Forget The Night Ahead, due out September 22, Bloc Party’s new non-album single “One More Chance”, out August 10, and the latest from Franz Ferdinand’s Tonight.

Video: The Twilight Sad – “I Became A Prostitute”
Video: Bloc Party – “One More Chance”
Video: Franz Ferdinand – “Can’t Stop Feeling”

While one might feel compelled to salute The Stone Roses from jumping on the reunion bandwagon – John Squire tells BBC he’s had calls from relatives for reunion gig tickets – it seems it’s only because they intend to cash in on nostalgia fever via their 20th anniversary reissues. NME has details on the three tiers of reissues that will be coming on August 11. The remastering job from John Leckie is a real draw, but the rest of the bonus goods are probably not worth your while.

Ingrid ZAs much as I’m looking forward to being in New York next week, I can’t help feeling I’m getting there a week too late. For it was this Wednesday night just past that Patrick Wolf played a one-off show at Le Poisson Rouge in Manhattan, previewing material from this forthcoming album The Bachelor – out in the UK on June 1 and in North America on June 2 and August 11, digitally and physically, respectively. And even though said performance was intended to be a mostly solo and mostly acoustic intimate affair, the live reports and photos from Stereogum, Prefix, The Music Slut, The New York Press and Spin make it sound like it was just as enthralling and magical a show as his more extroverted performances.

I mentioned just a couple days ago that a proper Wolf tour – also featuring The Living Things, The Plastiscines and Jaguar Love – was being assembled in conjunction with his new label NYLON and while a full itinerary is yet to be announced, I’m pleased to be able to announce that in addition to the handful of dates already sussed out, there will be a Toronto show on June 17 at the Mod Club, tickets on sale May 16. It’s fitting that this news come just a couple days before my birthday because Wolf’s May 2007 show at the El Mocambo on my actual date of birth was one of the most fun evenings I’d had in ages, and I have similarly high expectations of this show. With that gig, Phoenix and NxNE all falling in the same week, it’s shaping up to be a pretty crazy June. Crazy awesome.

The Music Slut caught Wolf for a quick interview on his visit to New York wherein he revealed that the sequel to The Bachelor, entitled The Conqueror, will now not see release until next year and the two may still be combined into their originally-intended double-album under the name Battle in the near future. Burton Mail also has an interview.

Video: Patrick Wolf – “Vulture”
MySpace: Patrick Wolf

There’s a video from the forthcoming God Help The Girl album of the same name. The album is out June 23.

MP3: God Help The Girl – “Come Monday Night”
Video: God Help The Girl – “Come Monday Night”

Mail On Sunday talks to Blur’s Graham Coxon about not having such a great time of it in the ’90s.

Doves are giving away a free MP3 of an alternate take of “Birds Flew Backwards” from Kingdom Of Rust. They’re at the Kool Haus on June 1.

Pitchfork has details on the 20th anniversary deluxe reissue of The Stone Roses’ debut, due out August 11.

PJ Harvey and John Parish talk to Filter about their collaboration A Woman A Man Walked By.

La Roux has released a new video. The self-titled debut is due June 29.

Video: La Roux – “Bulletproof”

Extenuating circumstance kept me from the Kills/Horrors show last night but if you need some kind of fix, have an interview with the former’s Alison Mosshart at NOW where they discuss the re-release of Keep On Your Mean Side and an interview with the latter at The Quietus.

Did you miss Bowerbirds’ show at the Drake last weekend? Fear not – they’re back on July 14 for a show at Sneaky Dee’s with Megafaun.

Stereogum gets an update as to where The Flaming Lips are with their next album – the working title is Embryonic and it is targeted for a September release.

VBS’ Soft Focus sits down with Ted Leo for an extensive interview.

Clash, Black Book and Paste talk to Nick Zinner and Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

I think I would have paid much much money to see Nick Cave’s script for Gladiator 2 made real. Well, I’d have bought a ticket at least. Maybe two.

Pitchfork has details on Dark Night Of The Soul, the forthcoming multimedia collaboration between Sparklehorse’s Mark Linkous, Danger Mouse and David Lynch due out this Summer. Too strange to try and recap here, so just go read the article.

Trailer: Dark Night Of The Soul

The Aquarian talks to Hutch Harris of The Thermals while The AV Club gets Kathy Foster to shuffle her music collection.

The Quietus has an interview with Bob Mould.

The Artist’s Den welcomes The Hold Steady to their studios for a couple of video performances – via So Much Silence.

The New York Times profiles St Vincent.

Popmatters asks 20 questions of School Of Seven Bells’ Ben Curtis.

LadyhawkeHello from sunny – and goodness, is it sunny – Austin, Texas, where I will be spending the next five days or so inundating you with dispatches from SxSW Music that you probably care nothing about. I’m okay with that. The blow-by-blow will start tomorrow, but for today I’ll do the preview thing, listing off a half-dozen of the new or new-to-me acts that I’m most looking forward to seeing over the next four days and nights.

I admit to feeling a twinge of guilt when I listen to New Zealander Pip Brown, aka Ladyhawke, but any reservations I have about enjoying something so utterly and unabashedly ’80s retro evaporate right about the moment the chorus kicks in. My initial experience with “Paris Is Burning,” for example, went something like “oh my god I hope she’s paying Gary Numan royalt– OMG ENDORPHIN RUSH”, and that buzz recurs all throughout the record. You must understand, I grew up in the ’80s and as much as I might want to deny it for cred’s sake, that shit is absolutely baked into my DNA. Hell, I even loved the Matthew Broderick movie that’s Brown’s creative namesake. The synths, the guitars, the glossy sonics, the massive pop hooks, all of it triggers something very deep and primal and it will not be denied. On her 2008 self-titled debut, Brown manages to shed the really dubious aspects of the 1980s production aesthetic and just keep the good stuff. Or maybe she doesn’t and I’m in too deep to realize it. But you know what? I don’t care.

Ladyhawke’s official showcase goes tonight at Stubb’s at 10PM. Brown has been diagnosed with Aspberger’s Syndrome and apparently is still getting used to live performance but she doesn’t have to make eye contact – just play “Back Of The Van”. I’m really looking forward to this set. Like, totally.

The Telegraph has a feature on Ladyhawke.

MP3: Ladyhawke – “My Delirium”
Video: Ladyhawke – “Paris Is Burning”
Video: Ladyhawke – “My Delirium”
Video: Ladyhawke – “Dusk Till Dawn”
Video: Ladyhawke – “Back Of The Van”
MySpace: Ladyhawke

Though they’re decidedly overused as reference points, in the case of London’s Fanfarlo, the Arcade Fire really are an apt reference point. Just imagine if they were more folkish, less angsty and their frontman sounded like a more lilting David Byrne rather than the tightly-wound, live wire variety. I suspect that this isn’t the most compelling description of the band and for that I apologize, but their latest album Reservoir is really a grand and sweeping record with the aforementioned characteristics and is definitely worth your time. Their official showcase is on Friday at 9PM at the Central Presbyterian Church, but if you can’t make that they’re playing a number of unofficial shows throughout the week.

Channel M had the band in their studios for a five-song video session.

MP3: Fanfarlo – “Harold T Wilkins”
MP3: Fanfarlo – “I’m A Pilot”
Video: Fanfarlo – “Harold T Wilkins”
Video: Fanfarlo – “Fire Escape”
MySpace: Fanfarlo

Leeds’ Sky Larkin should be familiar to anyone who reads this site, so introductions should be unnecessary. Sufficed to say that I’m glad to finally have a chance to see them live at midnight Wednesday evening on Red 7’s patio, even if they are going to be in Toronto in a couple weeks at the Opera House opening for Los Campesinos! on April 1.

This Is Fake DIY reports that the band’s next single, “Antibodies”, will be released on cassette tape. Oh, Sky Larkin.

MP3: Sky Larkin – “Fossil, I”
Video: Sky Larkin – “Beeline”
Video: Sky Larkin – “Fossil, I”
Video: Sky Larkin – “Molten”
Video: Sky Larkin – “One Of Two”
MySpace: Sky Larkin

I don’t even know when/where/how I stumbled across Austin’s Ume but I’m so very glad I did. Loud and abrasive but with a gooey pop center, they sound to me like Belly covering Nirvana – remember, even though I grew up in the ’80s, I came of age in the ’90s and a combination like that is irresistible. If they can rip it up live the way they do in their video, this is going to as good as I’m hoping. They play at 7:30 tonight at Maggie Mae’s.

Houston Calling and Transmission have features on the band.

MP3: Ume – “The Conductor”
Video: Ume – “The Conductor”
MySpace: Ume

Crocodile are from Oklahoma and sound nothing like the Flaming Lips. Just to be clear. What they do sound like is chirpy, female-fronted guitar pop with just the right dollop of synth in the mix. No angle on this one – just catchy, straight-ahead good tunes. Not to be confused with Crocodiles, who will also be in Austin this week, albeit in an unofficial (no SxSW showcase) capacity. Crocodile (singular) are on at 8 tonight on the rooftop of Wave.

MP3: Crocodile – “August Is Over”
MySpace: Crocodile

I’d been hoping for a chance to see Athens, Georgia’s Venice Is Sinking since first hearing their debut Sorry About The Flowers back in 2006, but figured it was unlikely they’d ever find cause or opportunity to tour this far north. Happily, the release of the follow-up Azar, out March 31, has garnered the band a SxSW showcase – tonight at 10PM at Ace’s Lounge – where I’ll finally get to savour their lush orch-gaze in person. Yes, I said orch-gaze. Shut up.

MP3: Venice Is Sinking – “Ryan’s Song”
MP3: Venice Is Sinking – “Okay”
Video: Venice Is Sinking – “Ryan’s Song”
MySpace: Venice Is Sinking

And that’s just a tiny, tiny sample of the stuff I have on my radar this week. Obviously I won’t see nearly all of it but it’s good to have options. If you’re curious, check out my sched at sched.org and if there’s something I simply must see that’s not on there, lemme know. And I just realized that five of the six aforementioned picks are playing tonight. Go Wednesday!

And some related bits from acts showcasing at SxSW this week.

Austin’s Voxtrot are back, just a little. They’ve offered up a new track to download. Work continues on album number two.

MP3: Voxtrot – “Trepanation Party”

Filter talks to Elvis Perkins.

Soundproof interviews Gentleman Reg.

Decider talks to Asobi Seksu.

Decider also chats with The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart.

Exclaim reports that Echo & The Bunnymen will be releasing a live, orchestrally-enhanced version of Ocean Rain recorded last November in Liverpool, on or around May 1. Needless to say, I’m excited to be seeing them – finally – this week, if in somewhat less auspicious settings than the Liverpool Echo Arena. Which isn’t to say a gay Texan cowboy bar won’t have its own unique charm.

Camera Obscura has released a video for the first single from My Maudlin Career, out April 21, and I daresay this is easily the band’s best album yet. They play Hot Freaks at the Mohawk on Saturday afternoon at 5PM.

Video: Camera Obscura – “French Navy”

Wireless Bollinger interviews The Decemberists, MPR has a session. The Hazards Of Love is out next week.

And a non-SxSW note – to everyone who actually bit on that Stone Roses reunion rumour… silly silly silly silly silly. Everyone knows they’re in Austin to play Stubb’s on Friday night with Metallica. And The Beatles.

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.

Ingrid ZThose who sought to ride out the global recession by investing their money in Patrick Wolf should be pleased – the project has already yielded dividends! What had originally been intended to be a double album entitled Battle will now instead be two single-length albums entitled The Bachelor and The Conqueror.

In an interview with Spinner, Wolf describes the differences between the two as follows – “The Bachelor [has themes of] loneliness, hedonism, depression and melancholy, the second album is all my depression being suddenly lifted by true love.” The Bachelor will be released in June, The Conqueror sometime before the year is out. He also talks to Black Book about approaching Tilda Swinton to appear on the new record and his rather unique sense of style and assembles his dream band for The Independent.

Wolf blogs that tthe first single from Bachelor, entitled “Vulture”, will be released in early March but until then, there’s a “megamix” sampler of songs from the new record streaming at his MySpace. There’s also regular updates at his YouTube channel.

Myspace: Patrick Wolf

Stereogum gets a progress report on Kingdom Of Rust from Doves, though with its April 6 release date less than two months off, I hope there’s not much progress left to be made. Which is to say it better be done. The video for the title track is done, at least.

Video: Doves – “Kingdom Of Rust”

Drowned In Sound and Contact Music make conversation with Sky Larkin. My copy of The Golden Spike arrived yesterday. That made me happy.

Nouse and The Irish Independent interview Emmy The Great, who continues her own interview duties for Drowned In Sound by talking to Beach House and Sleeping States.

The Ting Tings have a new video. They’re at the Mod Club on March 14 as part of CMW.

Video: The Ting Tings – “We Walk”

Art Brut will release their third record Art Brut vs Satan on May 12. Pitchfork has specifics.

Clash and Virgin Music interview Saint Etienne, who will release a new best-of comp in London Conversations: The Best of Saint Etienne next week.

NME reports that The Stone Roses‘ debut album will be reissued this June to mark its 20th anniversary in a fancy pants box set form and a less fancy “legacy” edition (yes, they already did this ten years ago for the 10th anniversary). But what might make this more than just a naked cash grab is the fact that the album has been remastered by original producer John Leckie – considering that the original record could do with some sonic polishing, I may be interested to hear if the new version actually gives the album some low end.

Billboard has details on the forthcoming Iron & Wine rarities double-CD set. It’s entitled Around The Well, will be out May 19 and most importantly, will include “The Trapeze Swinger”.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs give Spin the lowdown on their new album It’s Blitz!, set for release April 14.

Matablog has everything you need to know about The Eternal, the new album from Sonic Yough, out June 9.

Making up for their cancellation in support of Calexcio last fall, Bowerbirds will be at the Drake Underground on May 2.

MP3: Bowerbirds – “In Our Talons”

NPR is streaming a session with Shearwater.

The Wrens have put together a video to go along with the new song they unveiled a few weeks ago.

Video: The Wrens – “Marked Up”

MPR is featuring a session with School Of Seven Bells and The List has a short interview with Alley Dehaza.

There’s now a trailer available for Ashes Of American Flags, the Wilco live DVD due out on April 18

Trailer: Ashes Of American Flags

The Georgia Straight talks to The Airborne Toxic Event, whose March 4 show has been moved from the El Mocambo to The Mod Club.