ClashWhen you’re a couple years on from your last album and still a calendar year off from your next, yet you want a pretence to stage a North American tour, what do you do? If you’re Frightened Rabbit, whose Winter Of Mixed Drinks was back in 2010 and major label debut isn’t due out until early 2013, you put together five-song EP of new songs, call it State Hospital, release it on vinyl and digital only – because the kids love their vinyl and MP3s – and you hit the road.

Not that they needed the excuse to tour – their October 10 show at the Mod Club was well sold out a while ago – but if they wanted to remind folks of why their decidedly Scottish, anthemically miserable folk-rock has made the band beloved, they’ve begun streaming the EP at Pitchfork ahead of its release on September 25, setting the stage for them to finish up some European dates before crossing the pond. For whatever reason, Winter didn’t have quite the charm of its predecessor, the breakout Midnight Organ Fight, but the new EP is whetting my appetite for the band again, which is to say it’s doing its job.

The Daily Record, The 405, and The Banter have interviews with frontman Scott Hutchison about the new EP and the next album.

Stream: Frightened Rabbit / State Hospital

Lots of angles from which to get your daily Neil Halstead fix: a new MP3 from Palindrome Hunches is available to download courtesy of IFC, a new video has premiered at Nowness, and an EP to go with the Fall tour that brings him to the Dakota Tavern on October 8 is available for free – or you can leave a tip if you like – at Noisetrade, and includes songs from all points of his career. Including Mojave 3. And Slowdive. Yeah.

MP3: Neil Halstead – “Tied To You”
Video: Neil Halstead – “Hey Daydreamer”

Billboard has a conversation and The Alternate Side a session with Alt-J, making their Toronto debut at Wrongbar tomorrow night.

Bat For Lashes has made another track from The Haunted Man available to download; it’s out October 23.

MP3: Bat For Lashes – “Marilyn”

Beatroute and The Boston Phoenix talk to Bloc Party.

The Toronto Star has a feature on The xx, who’ve made another track from Coexist and a new track not on the album available to download.

MP3: The xx – “Sunset”
MP3: The xx – “Reconsider”

Billboard profiles The Vaccines.

Under The Radar reports that Ladytron frontwoman Helen Marnie has begun work on a solo record and is hoping to crowdfund it via Pledge Music. And by selling her car.

The AV Club reports that Manic Street Preachers will celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut album Generation Terrorists with a slew of special edition reissues coming on November 5. This is the album, if you’re recall, that was supposed to outsell Appetite For Destruction, propel the band to global superstar status, culminate in a three-night stand at Wembley Stadium, and then allow the band to burn out and disappear. Fancy-pants twentieth anniversary editions weren’t in the manifesto, but what really turns out the way we expect?

The Guardian profiles the career of Amelia Fletcher, now fronting Tender Trap.

For Folks Sake chats with Stevie Jackson

The AV Club offers a starter’s guide to the musical genre referred to as “shoegazing”. Perhaps you’ve heard of it.

Elaine ConstantineThe show was only announced last night, but I’m just going to go ahead and say that I don’t think people are nearly as excited about Saint Etienne’s first show back in Toronto in, if my calculations are correct, in almost a decade. I know this a) because I made note of this in the very salad days of this blog, and b) because I’ve regretted my indifference to that show since I finally wised up to the dance-popping glory of the London trio.

Granted, they met me a little of the way in, what with them moving away from being just a dancefloor concern to a properly brilliant pop band. Of course that’s not really an excuse since that transition started as early as their second album, So Tough, but in my defence for the longest time I only really knew their discotheque-friendly debut Foxbase Alpha and guys, this was in the ’90s when buying imported UK albums was effin’ expensive. Also, my musical tastes were less refined in my twenties; Saint Etienne were far too happy for my tastes. Yeah, I know. I inevitably saw the error of my ways when I picked up a copy of their 1996 Too Young To Die compilation, but that was too late to catch that November 2002 show at The Opera House in support of Finisterre.

So hooray for second chances, even if they’re a while in coming. The band are returning to North America for some dates in support of this year’s Words & Music By Saint Etienne, and it includes an October 24 date at The Mod Club, tickets $28.50. The tour – I don’t have the other dates yet, sorry, but understand it’ll run from October into November so it’s not that short – also coincides with the DVD release of the What Have You Done Today, Mervyn Day? documentary. The 2005 film was written by and featured a soundtrack by the band and examined the Lower Lea Valley area of London, much of which became the site of the 2012 Olympics. A precise date for the release is still forthcoming, but details on it can be had at Pitchfork.

MP3: Saint Etienne – “Downey, CA”
Video: Saint Etienne – “Tonight”
Video: Saint Etienne – “I’ve Got Your Music”
Trailer: What Have You Done Today, Mervyn Day?

Also a pleasant surprise – less so because he never visits, because he does, but because when the dates for Neil Halstead’s Fall tour were announced, we weren’t on there. Happily that’s been rectified and Neil will be here with songs from his new solo album Palindrome Hunches – out September 11 – and snappy rejoinders to anyone who yells out a Slowdive request. And lest that discourage you from attending, know that he’s generous with forays into the Mojave 3 songbook – so at least there’s that. He’s at The Dakota Tavern on October 8, so if you don’t have plans for Thanksgiving Monday and $22.50 burning a hole in your pocket, you’re all set.

MP3: Neil Halstead – “Full Moon Rising”

Spinner talks to Bloc Party about some of the influences that went into their latest effort Four, out today. They play two nights at The Danforth Music Hall on September 10 and 11.

Paste has a quick chat with The Heavy and debuts the new video from The Glorious Dead, out today. They’re at Lee’s Palace on September 23.

Video: The Heavy – “What Makes A Good Man”

It could have been a hat trick of excellent concert announcements from across the pond yesterday if, say, Richard Hawley announced a jaunt to support the North American release of his latest Standing At The Sky’s Edge – out next week – but no luck. We’ll have to make do with the fact that it no longer costs an arm and a leg for a physical copy and a free MP3 from the record courtesy of Rolling Stone. And also this interview with the man at The Yorkshire Evening Post.

MP3: Richard Hawley – “Down In The Woods”

Tender Trap have a new video from their new album Songs About Girls, out September 10.

Video: Tender Trap – “Step One”

Frightened Rabbit have released a video for the title track of their new EP, behind which they’re touring North America this Fall. State Hospital is out September 25 and they play The Mod Club on October 10. Forres Gazette chats with frontman Scott Hutchison about the Rabbit’s return.

Video: Frightened Rabbit – “State Hospital”

The Guardian sees what Little Boots is up to; announcing details about her second album, due out this Fall, is not one of those things.

Spinner interviews Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine.

Stacey HatfieldAs performing names go, Daughter certainly exists pretty far on the “not very” end of the Google-ability scale, but they’re worth the effort. Originally a pseudonym for London’s Elena Tonra, its scope eventually expanded to include guitarist Igor Haefeli and now, with drummer Remi Aguilella in the fold, represents the trio and is a proper band – one whose dark, quietly dramatic, atmospheric folk turned out to be one of the highlights of this year’s SXSW.

Considering that hot on the heels of their festival appearances came the word that they’d signed on with 4AD worldwide – but on the less legendary but still impressive Glassnote in North America – I expected there’d be much more news and music from them before long. And indeed, their earliest but still fully-realized recordings were released via a couple of EPs – The Wild Youth and His Young Heart – were released in late March, but since then it’s been radio silence.

A silence that is now happily breaking. Though it’s not a debut album – that’ll have to wait until next year as it’s currently in the process of being created – they will release a 7″ single on October 1, the A-side of which has been made available to stream and does an excellent job of taking me right back to that evening in March when I got so very excited by this outfit. And more importantly, it’s enough pretence for the band to embark on a short North American tour which includes an October 22 date at The Drake Underground, tickets $13.50. This will be very good.

Their His Young Heart EP is available to stream in whole below, and three-quarters of The Wild Youth can be heard at the band’s Soundcloud. Oh, for me the correct Daughter comes up in spots two through five in Google, so maybe it’s not such an unworkable name after all.

MP3: Daughter – “Love”
Stream: Daughter – “Smother”
Stream: Daughter / His Young Heart

Bloc Party have made their new record Four ahead of its formal release next Tuesday, August 21. Life And Times and Montreal Gazette have feature interviews with the band and The Guardian solicits six songs of specific purpose from Kele Okereke. Bloc Party play The Danforth Music Hall on September 10 and 11.

Stream: Bloc Party / Four

Billboard has an interview with The Heavy and a stream of their new record The Glorious Dead, due out next week. They play Lee’s Palace on September 23.

Stream: The Heavy / The Glorious Dead

NME and BBC chat with Two Door Cinema Club frontman Alex Trimble. Their new record Beacon – from which they’ve just released a video – is out September 4 and they play The Sound Academy on October 5.

Video: Two Door Cinema Club – “Sleep Alone”

The Fader, Tone Deaf, FasterLouder, Exclaim, and Spin all have features on The xx as the September 11 release of Coexist draws nearer. A second track from the album has been made available to hear via stream.

Stream: The xx – “Chained”

Rolling Stone talks to Mumford & Sons bassist Ted Dwane about their new record Babel, out September 25 and from which they’ve made the first track available to stream.

Stream: Mumford & Sons – “I Will Wait”

Beth Orton has made a new track from her next record Sugaring Season available to stream at Rolling Stone; NPR also has a Tiny Desk Concert from the singer-songwriter. She plays The Mod Club on September 30 and the album is out on October 2.

Stream: Beth Orton – “Magpie”

The Vaccines are hoping to make the wait for the October 2 North American release of Come Of Age a little more bearable by giving away a free EP of covers and whatnot entitled Please Do Not Disturb in exchange for your email address. The Daily Record has a conversation with singer Justin Young.

The Fly has a feature on Ellie Goulding, who has made the first single from Halcyon available to stream at Billboard. The album is out October 9, and though the released clip is technically just a “lyric video”, its audience-sourced Instagram visuals are more entertaining than many peoples’ official videos.

Lyric Video: Ellie Goulding – “Anything Could Happen”

Scotland folk-pop outfit Admiral Fallow will be at The Drake on October 13 in support of their second album Tree Bursts In Snow. Tickets are $13.50 and Filter has their full North American tour itinerary.

Video: Admiral Fallow – “Guest Of The Government”

In indie-pop news, Allo Darlin’ are streaming the b-side of “Northern Lights”, their next single from Europe, while Tender Trap are doing the same for the first single from their next album Ten Songs About Girls, out September 10. And Darren Hayman continues to be prolific in his post-Hefner years, releasing an instrumental album in Lido as a tribute to Britain’s open-air swimming pools and on November 5, will release The Violence, an album about the witch trials of during the 17th century English civil war. Yeah, another one. Exclaim has some details.

Stream: Allo Darlin’ – “Golden Age”
Stream: Tender Trap – “Step One”
Stream: Darren Hayman & The Long Parliament – “We Are Not Evil”

Their possibly last-ever show in the books, Blur have announced plans to release the live set from Hyde Park as a double-live album entitled Parklive in November; Consequence Of Sound has specifics and there’s pre-final show interviews with Graham Coxon at Shortlist and Damon Albarn at The Sun.

Exclaim collects some information on the next M.I.A. album, which will be called Matangi and should be out in December.

This Music Is Love talks to Alisdair Mclean of The Clientele and Amor de Días, whose second album is due out in or around January of 2013.

The Line Of Best Fit has an interview with London’s Spector, whose debut Enjoy It While It Lasts was released in the UK this week and is pretty great in that tailored-trousered, arched-eyebrow, steal-your-girlfriend, throwback Britpop sort of way. I’ve heard nothing about a North American release, but at one point they were supposed to open up some of Florence & The Machine’s Summer dates over here – including Toronto – and while that didn’t end up happening, at least it shows they’ve an eye on us.

Video: Spector – “Chevy Thunder”
Video: Spector – “Never Fade Away”
Video: Spector – “Grey Shirt & Tie”
Video: Spector – “What You Wanted”

Daytrotter has posted a session with Wild Beasts.

2:54 have released a new video from their self-titled debut.

Video: 2:54 – “Sugar”

Summer Camp have made a video for the lead track of their recent Always EP.

Video: Summer Camp – “Life”

The Fader interviews Mica Levi of Micachu & The Shapes.

Clash finds out how Primal Scream has been doing since Mani left the band to rejoin The Stone Roses.

The Space has a lovely video session with Lanterns On The Lake recorded in a disused shipyard.

FacebookLook guys, some nights you’d rather just toss something together quickly and get back to watching TV rather than hunker down and come up with some original content that hasn’t already been blogged/tumblred/tweeted/Facebooked into irrelevance over the past 12 hours. Last night was one of those nights.

And so I invite you to 150,000th or so person to check out the stream of the first complete and official sample of Coexist, the second album from London’s The xx, out September 11. For those who like the band’s minimalist electro-soul, it’s like manna from heaven; for those who don’t, there’s nothing to hear here. Certainly the band’s formula – which extends to their album art, viewable over at The 405 – will have the legs to get them through the ‘difficult’ second album, and after that? Well that’s their problem, not ours.

In any case, it’s a bit of a taste of what to expect when they hit The Phoenix on July 28 for a sold-out show and for those not lucky enough to get tickets, one can’t help notice that the just-announced Fall tour still has some conspicuous gaps in it… this is not to say that they’ll be announcing another show in a more appropriately-sized venue after The Phoenix show is past, but they totally could.

MP3: The xx – “Angels”

Also dominating one’s RSS feed yesterday was official details on the second album from Mumford & Sons. Rolling Stone has all the specifics as well as notes from bassist Ted Dwane, but the salient points are that it will be called Babel, be out September 25, and probably further annoy a whole lot of people.

The Sun talks to The Vaccines about their forthcoming second album No Hope For The Vaccines Come of Age, out September 3.

DIY tries to pry some info on album number two out of Little Boots, but all she’ll offer is that it will be out this Fall. Clash settles for asking her about her book collection.

NPR has a Tiny Desk Concert with Laura Marling.

Hot Chip have released a new video from In Our Heads.

Video: Hot Chip – “Look At Where We Are”

The B-side of the new Blur single is available to download. The 7″ single on which it appears is out August 6.

MP3: Blur – “The Puritan”

Blur also comes up in this interview with Graham Coxon at Loud & Quiet, but it’s mainly about his latest solo record A+E, whereas this piece with The Guardian, also featuring a conversation with producer Stephen Street, is entirely about Blur and the making of Parklife.

Norman Blake has announced via Twitter that Teenage Fanclub are making a new album this Fall and Joe Pernice has confirmed that the collaboration between he and Blake, premiered at The Dakota last month will indeed be a real thing with recording and touring happening under the name of The New Mendicants.

DIY talks pop with Amelia Fletcher of Tender Trap, whose new album 10 Songs About Girls is due out in September.

DIY also chats with Elizabeth Morris and Bill Botting of Allo Darlin’, the former of whom used to be in Tender Trap. Trivia!

Rolling Stone gets Of Monsters & Men’s thoughts on being remix targets, amongst other topics.

Sigur Rós have premiered another new video from Valtari, and good for you if you noticed it’s a song that they’ve already released a video for. No, they don’t care. They play Echo Beach on August 1.

Video: Sigur Rós – “Ég Anda”

She’s still being coy on details like, oh, a release date, but the lead single from El Perro Del Mar’s new record Pale Fire is available to download. The record is due out in the Fall because, well, it kind of has to be.

MP3: El Perro Del Mar – “Innocence Is Sense”

Niki & The Dove have released a new video – not from Instinct, but for a song that appeared on their mixtape back in April. Someone explain to me what a mixtape is? No actually, don’t. Instinct gets a North American release on August 7 and they’re at The Drake Underground on October 2.

Video: Niki & The Dove – “Dance Floor”

Daytrotter has posted a session with We Are Serenades.

So wait, this is what a post that I am throwing together to go watch TV looks like? Dammit people why has no one staged an intervention yet. Clearly I need help.

FacebookOr perhaps that should read, “Vikings coming, Vikings coming”, seeing as how the last few days have seen a flurry of excellent concert announcements from Scandinavian bands.

Not the biggest but certainly of interest is the return of barely out of their teens if even that Danish post-punks Iceage. Their debut New Brigade was as intense as it was brief – not even 25 minutes to get through a dozen tracks – but with enough melodic sensibility to appeal to those who need a little melodicism to make this much angular aggression palatable. Like myself. In any case, their live shows are infamously raucous affairs so it’ll be interesting to see what they do to The Horseshoe when they roll in on July 18, part of a North American tour to get them to Pitchfork Fest; tickets for the show are $12.50 in advance.

MP3: Iceage – “White Rune”
MP3: Iceage – “Broken Bone”
MP3: Iceage – “New Brigade”

With the announcement of his second album There’s No Leaving Now, out June 12, Kristian Matsson – aka The Tallest Man On Earth – is back for a show at The Queen Elizabeth Theatre on June 15. Tickets for that one are $27.50 in advance, on sale today at 10AM and there’s a two-per-customer limit on those so if you’re travelling in a group, you probably won’t be sitting together. Sorry.

MP3: The Tallest Man On Earth – “King Of Spain”
MP3: The Tallest Man On Earth – “Burden Of Tomorrow”
MP3: The Tallest Man On Earth – “Like The Wheel”

And perhaps most excitingly, Sigur Rós make their first return to Toronto since September 2008, though surprisingly it will be their first show in a decade to not happen at Massey Hall; this time, they’ll take advantage of the fact that their show is being geared towards festival season and take things to the outdoors, playing at Echo Beach down at Ontario Place on August 1 before heading to Osheaga and Lollapalooza. Tickets are general admission and go on sale April 19 for $49.50 plus fees. Their new album Valtari is out on May 28.

MP3: Sigur Rós – “Starálfur”
MP3: Sigur Rós – “Svefn-G-Englar”
MP3: Sigur Rós – “Gobbledigook”
MP3: Sigur Rós – “Hoppípolla”

If only a Norwegian band could have announced some dates this week, I’d have had the full set. They’ll have to settle for representation from Ane Brun, who’s now based in Sweden, and has made a track from her new album It All Starts With One available to download; it’s out May 1 and she’s at The Great Hall on May 10. Contact Music also has an interview.

MP3: Ane Brun – “Do You Remember”

The Los Angeles Times, Orange County Register, and Georgia Straight welcome First Aid Kit to the west coast with questions. So many questions.

Londonist interviews Amanda Mair, whose self-titled debut is out in North America on June 5.

Niki & The Dove’s debut album Instinct now has a North American release date and it’s three months after the European one – it will be out via Sub Pop on August 7 over here. Until then, you can hear five tracks from it via a YouTube stream.

Stream: Niki & The Dove / Instinct sampler

NPR welcomes Fanfarlo for a World Cafe session.

The Amelia Fletcher-fronted Tender Trap returns with Ten Songs About Girls, aka ten songs of indie-pop goodness, this July and the first single is now available to stream. Clash has more details on the release.

Stream: Tender Trap – “Love Is Hard Enough”

Also making a return – Neil Halstead with his third solo record Palindrome Hunches, due out in August.

The Joy Formidable may have wrapped up their North American tour and gone back to the UK, but they’ve left parting gifts in the form of a live mini-concert recorded for YouTube Presents.

Video: The Joy Formidable @ YouTube Presents

New Twilight Sad video.

Video: The Twilight Sad – “Dead City”

Summer Camp are put in front of the camera for video sessions with Gold Flake Paint and All Saints.

Charlotte Hatherley’s Sylver Tongue electro-pop persona has premiered a new video via The Guardian.

Video: Sylver Tongue – “Creatures”

Yuck has a new song; let them stream it for you.

Stream: Yuck – “Chew”

Justin Young of The Vaccines updates BBC on the recording of album number two.

Spin, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Wall Street Journal talk to Spiritualized’s Jason Pierce about their new record Sweet Heart Sweet Light, out next week. They’re at The Phoenix on May 5.

The Fly and Edinburgh Evening News chat with Graham Coxon.

Both Rolling Stone and Spin talk The Smiths with Johnny Marr.