Frank YangRight, so where was I? Oh yes, Iceland. Yes, still. With the (attempted) road trips portion of the trip over and done with, the Friday morning was spent doing a general wander around Reykjavik, taking advantage of some actual sunshine and only a little rain (documentation of which is over at the ever-expanding Flickr set). The weather again turned foul in the afternoon but by that point, we were on an Airwaves press bus tour that took us first to the studio headquarters of the Bedroom Community label, then to the Árbæjarsafn open air museum where we were introduced to the joys(?) of Brennivin vodka and dried fish. The final stop, which had been kept secret, was Nauthólsvik beach, where we were invited to go for a dip in the frigid sea before relaxing in an artificial geothermal spring. I graciously declined. Then, following a memorable three-hour fancy-pants dinner at Dill, located in the Norræna Húsið, it was back to the clubs.

Or the club, as was the case on this night. As far as I was concerned, NASA was the place to be and the huge queue out front proved that hundreds agreed with me. Happily, the VIP/media line was moving reasonably quickly and I got inside just as the mood of those gathered outside started to turn a bit rioty with shoving, yelling and more shoving. Not that it was any calmer inside the jam-packed club, but at least these people were freaking out for a better reason. Swedish electro-pop duo Niki & The Dove were just wrapping up as I got in, but from what little I saw they had star power in abundance. And hula-hoop dancers. Though they’ve been signed to SubPop in North America for a while now, they’ve only just started to release material – a 12″ single back in the Summer and a digital EP in The Drummer released just yesterday – but in occupying a space somewhere between Lykke Li and Florence & The Machine, albeit more synthetically-textured than either, but frontwoman Malin Dahlström has genuine star power and it’s hard not to imagine that by the time their debut full-length arrives next year, success will be theirs for the taking. The Guardian and Chronicle Live have interviews with the band and The Drummer is available to stream.

Photos: Niki & The Dove @ NASA – October 14, 2011
MP3: Niki & The Dove – “The Fox”
Video: Niki & The Dove – “The Drummer”
Stream: Niki & The Dove / The Drummer

I’m not sure if Merrell Garbus of tUnE-yArDs counts as a bonafide star yet, but considering she’d guested with Yoko Ono the night before and was one of the festival’s big names, as far as Airwaves and more importantly those piled into NASA were concerned, she was close enough. I’d missed her Toronto show a few weeks earlier, but did have her SXSW show as a reference point. Not that there was any comparing the Central Presbyterian Church in March with the atmosphere in NASA this night – the former was silent and respectful, the latter frenzied even by Airwaves standards – but what was common between the two was an incredible performance. Accompanying herself on drums or ukulele, Garbus led her four-piece band through a clattering, pounding, yodeling, and peculiarly soulful celebration of song while her fans danced and tried their best to sing along. I particularly appreciated the expressiveness of Garbus’ warpaint-decorated face because if there was a running theme with the international acts at this festival, it was how the uncertainty or even apprehension about playing to an audience for the first time transformed into elation at how joyously they were received by the locals. You never get tired of seeing the sideways glances between bandmates that communicate, “holy shit”. Not ever.

Photos: tUnE-yArDs @ NASA – October 14, 2011
MP3: tUnE-yArDs – “Powa”
MP3: tUnE-yArDs – “Bizness”
MP3: tUnE-yArDs – “Sunlight”
MP3: tUnE-yArDs – “Hatari”
Video: tUnE-yArDs – “Gangsta”
Video: tUnE-yArDs – “Bizness”
Video: tUnE-yArDs – “Real Live Flesh”

Compared to the two acts that preceded them, London’s Clock Opera – another highlight from SXSW – seemed positively conventional. But by any other standards, their balance of electronic and organic rock, of ’80s-ish romanticism, thoroughly modern synth textures and timeless tension-and-release songcraft, was distinctive and bracing. It’s like dance-rock without any of the disco signifiers that that descriptor usually implies, more anthemic and visceral than slick and sexy and there’s more than a hint of Guy Garvey in vocalist Guy Connelly’s delivery. Searching out their own music at the moment can be an exercise in frustration – they’ve a few singles of original material but have their names on many remixes – but when their debut album comes out in March of next year, I predict it will be huge.

Photos: Clock Opera @ NASA – October 14, 2011
MP3: Clock Opera – “Once And For All”
MP3: Clock Opera – “Belongings” (live at Maida Vale)
Video: Clock Opera – “Belongings”
Video: Clock Opera – “Once And For All”
Video: Clock Opera – “White Noise”

So yes, after a decade and a half of rumours and denials, The Stone Roses are getting back together. There’ll be a pair of homecoming gigs in Manchester next June followed by a world tour and maybe even a new record. You’d think that as someone who ranks The Stone Roses as one of the greatest records ever made, I would find this exciting but the fact is that no one, not even the staunchest fans, could ever claim the Roses as a good live band even in their heyday. Over twenty years later, with John Squire and Reni having largely been out of music and Ian Brown’s solo career being uneven at best, it’s hard to imagine that this will be good, let alone great. But even so, if this tour comes anywhere near – and the words “world tour” certainly imply it will – I’ll be there. Anxious, and not entirely in a good way, but there. The Quietus reports on yesterday’s press conference wherein the four original members announced their intentions and The Sabotage Times better articulates why this reunion might not be a good thing.

Video: The Stone Roses – “I Wanna Be Adored”

Jarvis Cocker, someone who knows a thing or two about successful reunions, talks to The Guardian about the state of pop music.

Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien talks to BBC6 about the band’s touring plans for 2012, which may include playing not-so-fan-friendly set lists at indoor venues.

Billy Bragg has compiled all the one-off protest songs he’s released over the past decade as well as a few new songs and has released them as Fight Songs. Something to put on the boombox, perhaps, whilst occupying a place of your choosing. The Sabotage Times and Brooklyn Rail have interviews with the Bard of Barking.

Pop power couple Emmy The Great and Ash’s Tim Wheeler have teamed to release a Christmas album entitled This Is Christmas, the first MP3 from which you can download in exchange for a Facebook like. It will be released on November 21.

A new track from Summer Camp’s debut Welcome To Condale is up to stream at Paste, while Consequence Of Sound has an interview with the duo and Daytrotter a session. The album is out November 8.

Stream: Summer Camp – “Down”

Peggy Sue have released a new video from their new record Acrobats, due out next Tuesday. They play The Garrison on November 13.

Video: Peggy Sue – “All We’ll Keep”

Exclaim and Stereogum talk to M83 about the just-released Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. They’re at Lee’s Palace on November 18.

Frank YangSomeday, I don’t know when, but someday, Laura Marling will come to Toronto and play an appropriately-sized venue at a decent point in an album’s promotional cycle. She was already a Mercury Prize shortlister for her debut album Alas I Cannot Swim when she made her local debut at the barely 200-capacity Rivoli in October 2008, and her return engagement in February 2009 was originally booked into the barely-bigger Drake Underground before being sensibly moved to the 500-person Lee’s Palace where it still sold right out. Coming as it did more than a month before her second album I Speak Because I Can – which would again shortlist for the Mercury Prize – was released, it was reasonable to assume that she’d make a return engagement but the closest she came was an appearance at Hillside in Guelph that Summer.

Which leads up to last Friday night, where she made her third local appearance with a show at The Great Hall just a fortnight after the release of album number three, A Creature I Don’t Know. The show was completely sold out, unsurprising considering how high her star has risen and how small the room is; official capacity is no more than 500, and considering the seated balcony was closed off, it was probably even less. Of course, cramming extra people in probably would have been dangerous – not because of any kind if fire hazard but because for its architectural and acoustic qualities, The Great Hall has nothing resembling a working ventilation system and the room was a veritable sauna and more than a few of the less-hardy punters were passing out and needing assistance before the show even began.

Any opener trying to get the attention of the distracted, sweaty masses would have their work cut out for them but Alessi’s Ark was in extra tough. Her latest album Time Travel is a pleasant bit of folk-pop that might have gone over better in quieter environs but in this setting, even backed with an electric guitarist adding a bit of texture, her strummy, languid stylings weren’t nearly forceful enough to grab most peoples’ attention. A couple of numbers where she went to more soulful places cut through a little better, and people definitely paid attention for the one song where she was joined by a cellist and Marling on backing vocals, but largely she was too easily drowned out. It’s odd that someone who’s no stranger to live performance would come across so timidly and frustrating that while she clearly has the talent to do more than she does, doesn’t.

It’s funny that so much discussion around Laura Marling centers around her tender age – still just 21 years old and already on her third critically-acclaimed album – when so much of her appeal comes from the agelessness of her songs. Okay, they’re not completely removed from temporal reference – ’60s and ’70s folk from both sides of the Atlantic figures heavily in her sound and you can tell that prior to writing the new album she’d been spending time with old-school American country records – but combined with her old soul vocals, that’s as close to timeless as you’re going to get. As for the Black Sabbath t-shirt she was sporting when she took the stage… well who doesn’t like a little “Iron Man” now and again?

Playing frontwoman for a six-piece band, she opened with a quartet of older numbers, perhaps cognizant of the fact that Creature was still very new and judging from the number of people clutching vinyl copies (and fanning themselves furiously with them) still unfamiliar to many. It wouldn’t be unfamiliar for much longer, though, as the rest of the set drew heavily from the new record and even included an even newer song – being called “Pray For Me” around the interwebs – when she played solo mid-set. As always, her performance was mesmerizing with this backing band arguably the best she’s had yet – yes, even better than Mumford & Sons – and the richness of the presentation superb; lead Creature single “Sophia” was glorious in its build from winsome to widescreen and the choral vocals on “I Speak Because I Can” were spine-chilling.

Especially pleasing was Marling’s stage presence; back in the day she was shy to the point of catatonia but has gotten progressively more confident as she gains years and experience and while she still apologized for having poor stage banter, she actually evidenced a sharp, dry wit and even effectively targeted and shamed some of the loud talkers by dropping her voice to a whisper mid-song and making their presence very acutely – and embarrassingly – known. But those few aside, most were held rapt by her 70-minute performance which was no mean feat given the stifling atmosphere in the hall. As always, things ended with the “we don’t know if you’ll give us an encore so we’re just going to stay and play our last song” routine which for this evening was a foot-stomping “All My Rage”; of course it was all part of the script, but it was also part of the fun. There wasn’t any way they weren’t getting their encore and there’s definitely the demand to bring Marling and co. back again for another show – but this time if it can’t be in a room that will hold all her fans, can it at least be one with climate control?

BlogTO and Exclaim also have writeups of the show while The Globe & Mail and Edmonton Journal have profile pieces.

Photos: Laura Marling, Alessi’s Ark @ The Great Hall – September 23, 2011
MP3: Laura Marling – “Ghosts”
MP3: Alessi’s Ark – “The Robot”
Video: Laura Marling – “Sophia”
Video: Laura Marling – “The Needle & The Damage Done”
Video: Laura Marling – “Rambling Man”
Video: Laura Marling – “Devil’s Spoke”
Video: Laura Marling – “Night Terror”
Video: Laura Marling – “New Romantic”
Video: Laura Marling – “Ghosts”
Video: Laura Marling – “My Manic & I”
Video: Laura Marling – “Cross Your Fingers”
Video: Alessi’s Ark – “On The Plains”
Video: Alessi’s Ark – “Maybe I Know”
Video: Alessi’s Ark – “The Wire”
Video: Alessi’s Ark – “The Horse”
Video: Alessi’s Ark – “Birdsong”
Video: Alessi’s Ark – “The Asteroids Collide”

Blurt talks to PJ Harvey.

American Songwriter puts aside the first half of their mandate in declaring Emmy The Great their songwriter of the week.

Summer Camp has gone off and made a zine to go with the upcoming release of their debut Welcome To Condale, out November 8.

Bjork has released another video from the forthcoming Biophilia, due out October 11.

Video: Bjork – “Moon”

The Jezabels show up at The Fly and play an acoustic session; The Australian also has a feature on the band. They’re at The Phoenix on November 23 opening up for Hey Rosetta!.

NPR talks to Dominique Durand of Ivy while Magnet has a Q&A with her and Andy Chase in advance of making the band guest editors of their website this week; they’ve also got a new MP3 from their album All Hours to share.

MP3: Ivy – “Make It So Hard”

NOW previewed last night’s tUnE-yArDs with an interview and Metro also has a short piece. There’s also a new video from WHOKILL to gawk at.

Video: tUnE-yArDs – “Gangsta”

DIY, Billboard and Pitchfork all have features on Dum Dum Girls on the occasion of the release of Only In Dreams. There’s also a new video from said record. Dum Dum Girls are at Lee’s Palace on October 16.

Video: Dum Dum Girls – “Bedroom Eyes”

The AV Club and NPR have feature interviews with Wild Flag. They’re at Lee’s Palace on October 12.

Interview talks to Theresa Wayman of Warpaint.

Filter collects a number of random thoughts and observations from Annie Clark of St. Vincent.

Daytrotter has posted a session with Ume.

Laura RotondoIt’s too bad that Washington, DC four-piece Deleted Scenes didn’t time their upcoming visit to Toronto better so as to coincide with the Toronto International Film Festival, which wraps up this weekend. And not just for the topicality of their band name, but for the inherently cinematic scope of their sound.

Usually when “cinematic” is dropped as a descriptor, it implies for good or bad that the band aspires to a “big” sound that’s akin to a glitzy Hollywood Summer blockbuster; in the case of Deleted Scenes’ just-released second album Young People’s Church Of The Air, their ambitions are more modest and can perhaps predictably be likened to a contemporary independent film, reliant on a DIY aesthetic, quirky characters and a script that simultaneous seeks to bare its soul and remain obscured.

In musical terms, Deleted Scenes operate underneath sonics that are deliberately fuzzy and occasionally opaque, with Dan Scheuerman’s vocals – an instrument which other bands might seek to showcase front and centre – often pushed back in the mix so as to seem like he’s hollering from the back of the room while all manner of instrumentation cavort in the foreground. It’s an interesting balance and one that can either force the listener to pay closer attention than they normally might or tune out entirely; initial listens tended towards the latter, but persistence paid off with a record that was playfully psychedelic, yet possessed of a clear-eyed deliberateness where it counted. Rewarding stuff.

Deleted Scenes are currently on tour across North America in support of the new record and will be at Rancho Relaxo on September 22.

MP3: Deleted Scenes – “Bedbedbedbedbed”
Stream: Deleted Scenes – “The Demon & The Hurricane”
Stream: Deleted Scenes – “The Days Of Adderall”
Video: Deleted Scenes – “Bedbedbedbedbed”

NOW and Aquarium Drunkard have pieces of Olivia Tremor Control as the band rolls into Lee’s Palace tonight.

The Toronto Star, Exclaim and Montreal Gazette chat with Jeff Tweedy of Wilco as the band’s tour in advance of the September 27 release of The Whole Love stops in at Massey Hall tonight and tomorrow.

The Jayhawks’ first new record in forever, Mockingbird Time, is up for stream at Rolling Stone and the best thing you can say about it is it sounds like the classic Jayhawks lineup that made it – and that’s a good thing.

Stream: The Jayhawks / Mockingbird Time

Magnet – who are returning as a print publication in October and will thus be re-earning their italicized title – NOW and The Fly talk to Stephen Malkmus, who leads The Jicks into The Phoenix on September 23. The Portland Tribune talks to Jicks bassist Joanna Bolme.

MusicOmh has words with Merrell Garbus of tUnE-yArDs. She/they are at Lee’s Palace on September 24.

The Von Pip Musical Express talks to Dee Dee of Dum Dum Girls in advance of Only In Dreams, out September 27. They play Lee’s Palace on October 16.

Pitchfork and Prefix have feature interviews with Christopher Owens of Girls, who’re at The Mod Club on September 27.

Aquarium Drunkard has an interview with Matthew Sweet while Rolling Stone is streaming his new album Modern Art in advance of its September 27 release date.

MP3: Matthew Sweet – “She Walks The Night”
Stream: Matthew Sweet / Modern Art

Nerve talks mating with Mates Of State while The Hartford Courant opts to play it safe and talk about the music. Mates Of State are at The Phoenix on September 28.

Pitchfork interviews Kevin Barnes of Of Montreal, who reveals the band will release a cassette box set of all the band’s albums on October 25 and a new album entitled Paralytic Stalks early next year.

NPR and The AV Club have posted interviews with St. Vincent, while Anika In London has posted the full transcript of her chat with Annie Clark which became the Line Of Best Fit feature interview from earlier this week.

Rolling Stone talks to Wayne Coyne to get the lowdown on the “six hour song” that Wayne Coyne says the band are recording.

John ClarkEven before anyone heard a note, there was little doubt that Wild Flag would be fantastic. With two-thirds of Sleater-Kinney in Janet Weiss and Carrie Brownstein, Mary Timony of Helium and Rebecca Cole of The Minders, they had about as unimpeachable a pedigree as any band really could. And yet, as history has shown many times, a lot of things look good on paper but don’t live up to expectations in reality. Wild Flag is not one of those things.

I was able to confirm their collective awesomeness at SXSW where their mid-afternoon set was a glorious flurry of duelling guitar solos, scissor kicks and general rock’n’roll fun, and even though pretty much every song was being heard for the first time, they were memorable and considerably more immediate and accessible than either much of Sleater-Kinney’s output and most of Helium’s ever was.

But hell, don’t take my word for it. A couple weeks ahead of the September 13 release of their self-titled debut, the entire album is now available to stream in its entirety at NPR. That, incidentally, is where Brownstein worked as a blogger for years following SK’s hiatus. Considering her focus on writing as well as comedy and acting in the last five years in lieu of music and the fact that Timony hasn’t put anything out since 2007’s The Shapes We Make, it’s no wonder that they collectively had so much rock pent up inside. Rock that they’ve now gifted to us. Fire it up, yo.

They toured through the Spring, but the Fall leg will finally bring them to Toronto for a show at Lee’s Palace on October 12… and alas I won’t be there. But don’t feel bad for me (not that you necessarily would) – I saw them at SXSW and I’ll be in Iceland at the time so… yeah, I’ll be okay. But if you’re here or in one of the other cities on the itinerary, don’t miss them.

MP3: Wild Flag – “Romance”
MP3: Wild Flag – “Glass Tambourine”
Stream: Wild Flag / Wild Flag

Phantoms, the long-awaited new album from Austin’s Ume, is out today and available to stream in whole over at Spinner. There’s also a streamable radio session with the band over at KDHX and an interview with frontwoman Lauren Larson at The Horn.

MP3: Ume – “Captive”
Stream: Ume / Phantoms

Billboard talks to Zach Condon of Beirut; The Rip Tide.

Stereogum checks in with Mates Of State about their new record Mountaintops, out September 13. They’re at The Phoenix on September 28.

The Drums’ new record Portamento is now up and streaming; the record is out September 13 and they play The Mod Club on October 1.

Stream: The Drums / Portamento

Paste has a stream of Blitzen Trapper’s new long-player American Goldwing, also due out September 13, as well as a new video. They play The Opera House on October 30.

MP3: Blitzen Trapper – “Love The Way You Walk Away”
MP3: Blitzen Trapper – “American Goldwing”
Video: Blitzen Trapper – “Love The Way You Walk Away”
Stream: Blitzen Trapper / American Goldwing

NPR has premiered the first new Olivia Tremor Control song in nigh on a decade and has an interview with Will Cullen Hart. The OTC reunion hits Lee’s Palace on September 16.

Stereogum is sharing an MP3 from the new Ivy album All Hours, out September 20.

The Guardian has a feature piece on Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs, in town at Lee’s Palace on September 24.

Check out another track from the new Dum Dum Girls record Only In Dreams, due out September 27. They play Lee’s on October 16.

MP3: Dum Dum Girls – “Bedroom Eyes”

Babelgum is hosting a US edition of Black Cab Sessions with Strand Of Oaks, who will be at The Drake Underground on November 8 opening up for Crooked Fingers.

Though best known as a country-noir crooner outfit, thanks to her recent dalliances with Sunn O))) Jesse Sykes of Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter has got some prog-metal cred. We’ll see if any of that has rubbed off on their latest Marble Son when they’re here on November 10 for a show at The Drake before hitting the road with The Sadies. There’s features on Sykes at Seattle Weekly and Willamette Week and you can stream a recent radio session at KEXP.

MP3: Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter – “Come To Mary”

Confirming that it is, indeed, time to get paid, Jeff Mangum has launched a new, official Neutral Milk Hotel website and will be releasing an elaborate vinyl-only box set including unreleased Neutral Milk material on November 22. Head over to Pitchfork for details and spend some time poking around walkingwallofwords.com as Mangum has loaded it down with content.

DIY has an interview with Dayve Hawk of Memory Tapes.

The Daily Star talks to Nikolai Fraiture of The Strokes.

Keith KlenowskiWhile 2010 was unquestionably the year of The National with the release of their breakout record High Violet, the band haven’t been entirely quiet this year, continuing to tour and also releasing a couple of new tracks for soundtracks to various things. One of them was for Portal 2, which I’m led to understand is a video game; I’m still working on finishing Super Mario Bros so I’ll have to take your word for it.

But rather than just put the song out there, the band and game producers made a proper single of it and enlisted fans to create and submit videos for the slow-burning, piano-led song and out of the 320 entries, chose two they found to be standouts – one featuring a sad lip-synching sock puppet and another animated in theme with the game – and awarded them first and 1.00000000001th place, with prizes awarded to both. The second place entry and other notable clips are available to view at the Portal 2 website.

MP3: The National – “Exile Vilify”
Video: The National – “Exile Vilify” (1st Place)
Video: The National – “Exile Vilify” (1.00000000001th Place)

Girls have released a video for the first single from their forthcoming album Father, Son, Holy Ghost. It’s out September 13 and they play The Mod Club on the 27th of the month.

Video: Girls – “Vomit”

Warpaint are re-releasing their 2010 debut The Fool in an inevitable deluxe edition come September 19, in the UK at least. The bonus incentives include the entirety of their 2009 EP Exquisite Corpse – which is absolutely worth hearing, even if it features actress Shannyn Sossamon on drums rather than current powerhouse Stella Mozgawa and also a re-recorded version of Billie Holiday, which is available to stream at Wears The Trousers. The Galway Advertiser has a feature piece on the band.

Paste has put tUnE-yArDs on the cover of their latest electronic edition of their magazine. She plays Lee’s Palace on September 24.

The London Evening Standard profiles Annie Clark of St. Vincent. Her latest Strange Mercy is out September 13.

Cowbell has an interview with Stephen Malkmus, whose new album with The Jicks Mirror Traffic is out August 23. They play The Phoenix on September 21.

One-time Guided By Voices member and rock journalist James Greer has posted recollections of the time GBV were being courted by Warner Bros to his blog.

MTV talks to Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn about the decision to make a solo record, as he is for release in early 2012.

Into The Woods has a video session with Okkervil River wherein they perform the B-side to their “Rider” single; the A-side of their new single is now available to download – the 7″ of which comes with another new song as the B-side – stream that one at Pitchfork.

MP3: Okkervil River – “Your Past Life As A Blast”

NPR has a World Cafe session with Jason Isbell while The Corner News and The Emory Wheel.

A new MP3 from Blitzen Trapper’s forthcoming American Goldwing is now available to download. The album is out September 13 and they play The Opera House on October 30.

MP3: Blitzen Trapper – “Love The Way You Walk Away”

Ryan Adams has confirmed an October 11 release date for his new solo record Ashes & Fire; Spin has details on the album and some of the guests who’ll make appearances.

Blurt reports that Calexico are assembling a vinyl box set of their many, many (eight in total) tour-only releases. Entitled Road Atlas, the collection is being targeted for a Fall release.

NOW talks to Dayve Hawk of Memory Tapes, taking the stage at Wrongbar tomorrow night around midnight.

Singer-songwriter Sean Rowe returns to town for a show at The Rivoli on September 9, tickets $11.50 in advance.

MP3: Sean Rowe – “Jonathan”

Spinner talks to Marissa Nadler, who has announced a Fall tour that brings her back to town for a show at the El Mocambo on September 13 with Irish singer-songwriter Vincent James McMorrow. She’s promoting her self-titled album, released earlier this Summer and has just put out a new video.

MP3: Marissa Nadler – “Baby I Will Leave You In The Morning”
Video: Marissa Nadler – “Alabaster Queen”

With their second album Dracula set for a September 20 release, Portland’s Nurses have made a date at The Drake Undergroudn for October 19.

MP3: Nurses – “Fever Dreams”