BeatLondon’s Summer Camp likes them some make-believe, that much is clear. Their first appearance on the musical radar was in the guise of a Swedish septet with a taste for vintage photographs who’d met at a Summer retreat – hence their name. It didn’t take too long for them to be outed as the English duo of Jeremy Warmsley and Elizabeth Sankey, which may have disappointed fans of elaborate back stories but should have done nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of those who like enthusiastic boy-girl indie-pop.

Not that they were going to be content to trade just on their musical merits. Their 2010 debut EP Young was peppered with ’80s references both within and without, from the song titles (“Veronica Sawyer”, “Jake Ryan”) to intro samples (a John Cusack quote from Say Anything opens up “Ghost Train”) and their retro-fixations – despite the fact that neither was old enough to appreciably remember the eighties – went from aesthetic to full-blown concept on their full-length debut Welcome To Condale.

In an attempt to live the American adolescence sold to them via a steady diet of John Hughes movies and the like, the duo created a fictional California town called Condale with which to set the album. In addition, album pre-release activities included crafting a zine which gave insights to the teen angst and drama that filled the halls of the local high school and acted as a vehicle for their songs’ meticulously-crafted backstory. All of which deserves and “A” for effort, but is ultimately unnecessary.

The songs on Condale are immediate, effervescent and come in a sugary package to mask the slightly bitter sentiments contained therein – they require no dressing up, no framing, no period-correct movie dialogue samples acting as prefaces but don’t really add much in the way of meaning or context. It’s worth noting that Summer Camp’s performance at SXSW was one of my favourites of the festival and showed the duo had no shortage of charisma or chemistry to compensate for, being far more engaging as a two-piece with backing tracks than many full bands. Similarly, Condale crackles with energy thanks to Sankey’s brassy vocals – ably supported by Warmsley, who occasionally tags in to take lead – and a punchy brand of gritty, lo-fi guitar-driven synth-pop that’s honestly way more ’90s than ’80s.

I appreciate and certainly do not begrudge Summer Camp’s desire to have as much fun with their band/album/concept as possible, to provide an angle or a hook with which to get people talking. I just feel it’s necessary to point out that they didn’t need to; great songs should always be enough.

Bands In Transit and DIY both have video sessions with Summer Camp.

MP3: Summer Camp – “I Want You”
MP3: Summer Camp – “Ghost Train”
Video: Summer Camp – “Down”
Video: Summer Camp – “Better Off Without You”
Video: Summer Camp – “Ghost Train”

Londonist talks to Emmy The Great about her This Is Christmas album with Tim Wheeler while The Whiteboard Project gets both of them to take part in a whiteboard-powered interview and iol has regular-style chat.

Los Campesinos! interviews are the order of the day at The Quietus and The Line Of Best Fit, the latter of which is split into two parts.

Insound has a video session with Veronica Falls.

Rolling Stone has premiered a new video from The Vaccines for the b-side from their new “Wetsuit” 7″ single, out in limited edition – as in 50 pieces – on December 12. The Daily Record talks to frontman Justin Young about the throat surgery that sidelined the band this Fall but which now in the past – the band are back to performing live this Winter, hopefully set to make up the cancelled North American dates before too long.

Video: The Vaccines – “Tiger Blood”

NME reports that Mystery Jets will release their fourth album – the cryptically titled LP4 – in April of next year.

Pitchfork has posted a Take-Away Show with Stornoway recorded at the Parisian edition of the Pitchfork Music Festival last month.

Stereogum gets a status update on Field Music’s new record Plumb, due out February 14, while The Chronicle chats briefly with Peter Brewis.

NPR has a World Cafe session with Nick Lowe.

Peter Hook tells NME he’s a bit sorry about how badly (and publicly) New Order broke up.

Press Play And Record is a new blog that’s essential for those who remember the compilation cassettes that used to come attached to the front of NME – because that’s what it’s all about. Digitized NME compilation cassettes. Yes.

Oh, and if you were looking for ticket information for the Fucked Up David Comes To Life benefit show at the Great Hall on December 20, look no further – $20 plus tax (so $22.60 total) on sale right here, right now. I assume the tickets for the Sloan show the following night will be the same price and be online shortly.

Frank YangIn discussing Ladytron’s latest effort Gravity The Seducer, I mentioned how the Liverpool band had managed to pull off the difficult move of shifting creative course sufficiently to earn a fresh listen from those who figured they knew what to expect without abandoning their signature sound and alienating those who were perfectly happy to get what they were expecting from a new Ladytron record. Whether they’d manage to do the same with regards to their live show would be seen this past Wednesday night, when they came back to Toronto for the first time since either the release of Gravity or their decade-marking Best Of.

This isn’t to suggest their live reputation required any reputation. Granted, the idea that live, they just stand stock still and play keyboards has followed them around since their inception – I’m as guilty of perpetuating the perception as anyone despite knowing better from having seen them on their last two visits in 2008 and 2009 – but the truth is they actually put on very good live shows, offering impressive lightshows and great sound in lieu of on-stage antics. And of course they stand there. They play keyboards. Do you really want to see them strap on keytars? No you do not.

Warming up for them on this leg of the tour was New York dance veterans VHS OR Beta, who themselves have been at it long enough that once upon a time their name had some retro cleverness rather than just being meaningless to today’s youth (maybe they should consider switching to BluRay or HDDVD. Or not). In any case, their bass-heavy, straightforward synth-rock didn’t make a lot of arguments that you’d want to be remembering their name for long after the show. It wasn’t that they were bad by any means, just unremarkable. But perhaps it’s unfair to criticize them for being lyrically vague or bland when their mandate isn’t to offer deep insights into the human condition but simply to get people moving. And that they did.

Another point in my review of Gravity The Seducer was how it seemed that Helen Marnie was assuming more the de facto frontwoman role, with fewer lead contributions than Mira Aroyo; I don’t necessarily have quantitative proof that that was the case but it also certainly seemed that the live dynamic had shifted that way, if not moreso. While her bandmates were dressed in trademark black (and Reuben Wu in a Ladytron t-shirt though I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt that it was laundry day), Marnie stood out in a shiny white top and giant bow in her hair – it would be hard not to be the centre of attention looking like that, never mind her dancing and swaying throughout the show. And while Aroyo’s lead contributions were fewer – she only took lead on two songs, the first almost halfway into the set – they seemed extra effective in accenting the darker side of their sound, compared to Marnie’s more wide-eyed vocal stylings.

Though the pyramid-referencing stage dressing implied this was the Gravity The Seducer tour, the setlist felt more appropriate to the singles collection with the new material not receiving any greater focus than the old with Witching Hour being drawn from the most. And while I quite like Gravity, I readily admit that its gentler textures wouldn’t have made for nearly as impactful a live set as their back catalog. Thankfully free of the sound issues that marred their last show, Ladytron sounded heavier and more determined than I’ve seen them. I don’t know that you could say their fanbase has necessarily grown over their long run – they’ve been playing The Phoenix as long as I can recall – they’ve remained steady and devoted and based on the sample group in my immediate vicinity, are still energized enough by the band to be able to jump up and down for over an hour straight. Any band at it for over a decade should be so lucky.

The Toronto Star and BlogTO also have reviews of the show while Spinner and The Boston Herald have interviews with the band.

Photos: Ladytron, VHS Or Beta @ The Phoenix – October 5, 2011
MP3: Ladytron – “White Elephant”
MP3: Ladytron – “Ace Of Hz”
MP3: Ladytron – “Black Cat”
MP3: Ladytron – “Open Your Heart”
MP3: Ladytron – “Play Girl”
MP3: Ladytron – “Seventeen”
MP3: VHS Or Beta – “I Found A Reason”
MP3: VHS Or Beta – “I Found A Reason”
Video: Ladytron – “White Elephant”
Video: Ladytron – “Ace Of Hz”
Video: Ladytron – “Runaway”
Video: Ladytron – “Ghosts”
Video: Ladytron – “Destroy Everything You Touch”
Video: Ladytron – “Sugar”
Video: Ladytron – “Evil”
Video: Ladytron – “Blue Jeans”
Video: Ladytron – “Seventeen”
Video: Ladytron – “Play Girl”
Video: VHS Or Beta – “Breaking Bones”
Video: VHS Or Beta – “You Got Me”
Video: VHS Or Beta – “Night On Fire”
Video: VHS Or Beta – “Can’t Believe A Single Word”

JAM talks to Portishead in advance of their two-night stand at The Sound Academy this coming Sunday and Monday while Stereogum finds out how advance work on album number four is coming. They also just announced they’ll be releasing 2009’s “Chase The Tear” as a 12″ single with proceeds going to Amnesty International on November 14.

Paste s streaming Still Corners’ debut Creatures Of An Hour ahead of its release next Tuesday. They play The Drake Underground on October 25 and The Stool Pigeon has an interview.

MP3: Still Corners – “Into The Trees”
MP3: Still Corners – “Cuckoo”
Stream: Still Corners / Creatures Of An Hour

Billboard talks fashion with Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine. Ceremonials is out November 1.

The 405 are streaming The Joy Formidable’s new EP The Big More, out October 17 in limited quantities.

Stream: The Joy Formidable / The Big More

The Vaccines have released a new video from What Did You Expect From The Vaccines, powered by the Instagram iPhone app.

Video: The Vaccines – “Wetsuit”

NPR is streaming Laura Marling’s recent show in Washington, DC.

The Line Of Best Fit has an acoustic video session – well, one song – Veronica Falls.

Also in session at The Line Of Best Fit – Lanterns On The Lake, captured out in the wilderness at End Of The Road in September.

Noel Gallagher takes Spin for a guided tour of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, out November 8, and talks to The Quietus about going solo. He has two nights slated at Massey Hall, November 7 and 8. And oh new video.

Video: Noel Gallagher – “AKA… What A Life”

Both Rolling Stone and Paste have premiered tracks from The Hours, who will be opening up those shows for Noel Gallagher.

MP3: The Hours – “I Want More”
Stream: The Hours – “I Just Wanna Be Happy”

The Twilight Sad are offering the first official single from album number three, No One Can Ever Know, well before it’s released in February.

Stream: The Twilight Sad – “Sick”

PopMatters talks to Joshua Third and Philly Burbs to Tom Cowan of The Horrors while NPR is streaming their set from last week’s All Tomorrow’s Parties.

Brett Anderson lists off his favourite albums for The Quietus and tells BBC that while they’re working on a new Suede record, that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s going to be a new Suede record.

Peter Hook bitches to Spinner about New Order getting back together without him.

Pitchfork interviews Anthony Gonzalez of M83. Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming is out October 18 and they’ve already sold out Lee’s Palace for their November 18 visit.

Though originally targeted for a domestic release in 2012, The Jezabels have announced a November 8 Canadian release for their debut Prisoner, which only makes sense – they’re opening up for Hey Rosetta! across the country this Fall including November 23 and 24 at The Phoenix. Really ought to have something to sell.

MP3: The Jezabels – “Endless Summer”

NOW has put Bjork on this week’s cover on the occasion of Biophilia‘s release next week, but Drowned in Sound has topped them with a week-long, five-part feature on the Icelandic icon. And NPR wins because they’re streaming the whole album.

MP3: Bjork – “Cosmogony”
Stream: Bjork / Biophilia

Michele CivettaYou would be forgiven for assuming that you had Ladytron figured out. It’s all right there in last year’s career-spanning compilation The Best Of Ladytron: 00-10; the Ladytron formula. Thick synths, robotic yet danceable beats and above all, the duelling icy vocals of Helen Marnie and Mira Aroyo (though the edge in detachedness usually went to Aroyo on account of her stern Bulgarian accent). It’s a sound that was perfectly in style when that which they called “electroclash” crested in the early part of the century but managed to outstay the band’s peers thanks to their ability to marry fashion with pop songs that had genuine staying power; four albums of sleek, space-age synth-pop is nothing to shake a stick at.

So it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect more of the same from their fifth album, the just-released Gravity The Seducer, and indeed the elements at play are familiar, but something feels fundamentally different this time out. It took a few listens to put a finger on what, but what it sounds like is that Ladytron are sad. Gravity dials back the dancefloor bangers that punctuated previous efforts in favour of crafting a unified atmosphere whose prevailing mood is beautifully melancholic, the synths and beats working more towards a dreampop vibe than a krautrock one. To this end, Marnie gets more lead vocal turns than usual and Aroyo’s contributions are more emotive than usual, and a greater emphasis placed on crafting emotionally resonant melodies. Further, there are no less than three instrumentals out of the album’s twelve, the closing number “Aces High” a reprise of sorts to single and perhaps theme song “Ace Of Hz”, that bridge and tie together the album and contribute to its cinematic feel.

I’m not sure other writeups on the record have picked up on this, or if I’m imagining it, but to these ears Gravity sounds like a band taking advantage of a fresh chapter to reorient themselves creatively – not dramatically, but still enough to be noteworthy and to force the listener to approach it with fresh ears. Or it could just be another Ladytron record, equal parts steely, sexy and stoic, but even if so that’s hardly any bad thing.

The whole of the album is available to stream right now at Pitchfork and Ology has an interview with Daniel Hunt. Ladytron are at The Phoenix on October 5, tickets $20 in advance, but courtesy of Embrace I have two pairs of passes to give away to the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to be Seduced by Gravity” in the subject line and your full name in the body; contest closes at midnight, September 27.

MP3: Ladytron – “White Elephant”
MP3: Ladytron – “Ace Of Hz”
Video: Ladytron – “White Elephant”
Video: Ladytron – “Ace Of Hz”
Stream: Ladytron / Gravity The Seducer

DIY chats with The Subways on the eve of the release of their new album Money And Celebrity, out September 19.

USA Today has a profile and NPR and The Alternate Side sessions with Laura Marling, who is at The Great Hall on September 23 in support of her new album A Creature I Don’t Know; a short film for the album has also just been released.

Video: A Creature I Don’t Know: A Short Film

Room 205 kicks off a session series with Yuck. They’re at The Horseshoe on September 25 and have a deluxe edition of their self-titled debut out October 11.

We Were Promised Jetpacks have unveiled a new video from their forthcoming second album In The Pit Of The Stomach, out October 4.

Video: We Were Promised Jetpacks – “Medicine”

The Quietus has the video for the title track of The Ship’s Piano, out October 17. There’s also a link to sign up for their newsletter and receive an MP3 of the tune. Artrocker has an interview with the former Hefner frontman.

Video: Darren Hayman – “The Ship’s Piano”

That a new Florence & The Machine record was coming this Fall was already a matter of fact; now Exclaim has the final missing details, specifically that it will be called Ceremonials and be out on October 31 in the UK, presumably but not guaranteed to be out in North America the following day. Update: And a new song from the album is up to stream.

Stream: Florence & The Machine – “Shake It Out”

Spin chats with Noel Gallagher about going solo. His Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds is out November 7 and he plays Massey Hall on November 7 and 8.

Noah & The Whale have released a new video from Last Night On Earth. They’re at The Phoenix on November 8.

Video: Noah & The Whale – “Waiting For My Chance To Come”

The Guardian has premiered the new video from Summer Camp, a clip which was available to pledge supporters of their debut Welcome To Condale a few months ago but is now up for all to see. It’s out in North America on November 8.

Video: Summer Camp – “Better Off Without You”

Interview does their thing with The Kooks; their new album Junk Of The Heart is out now and they’re at The Sound Academy on November 23. The Sun also has an interview and they’ve also released a video for the album’s title track.

Video: The Kooks – “Junk Of The Heart”

New Anna Calvi video, y’all. She’s at Lee’s Palace on December 8.

Video: Anna Calvi – “Suzanne & I”

Pitchfork reports that The Big Pink are back with a new single and video in advance of the release of album number two Future This in January of next year.

Video: The Big Pink – “Stay Gold”

DIY has words – pleasant words, mind – with Peggy Sue.

Rolling Stone and The San Francisco Examiner talk to Patrick Wolf about his brief, acoustic solo US tour. He’s planning a full band excursion over here in 2012 when Lupercalia is released domestically.

DIY has an interview with Slow Club.

The Joy Formidable takes some time out to chat with DIY.

Artrocker interviews The Vaccines.

BBC6 checks in with Jimi Goodwin to see what he’s doing with Doves on hiatus – some soundtrack work and a solo record.

Brett Anderson discusses Suede regrets with The Guardian.

NME reports that Primal Scream are aiming to have a new album out sometime in 2012.

Kate Bush has turned rumour into fact and announced a November 21 release for her new studio album 50 Words For Snow, her first in six years and second in the last 17.

Leon DiaperLondon’s Vaccines were really asking for it with the title of their debut album, What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?, what with it sounding like equal parts challenge and excuse. For my part, I didn’t expect a hell of a lot. You see, as Anglophile as I am, I’m also hella suspicious of acts that arrive on a tidal wave of hype as I’ve owned too many CDs from British guitar bands that proved to have very little shelf life. And given The Vaccines arrived with a well-orchestrated, a major label-funded buzz blitz, I assumed they’d be all hat, no cattle.

Well I’ve been wrong before and I’ll be wrong again. Rather than lose my interest with each listen, time spent with What Did You Expect‘s brief running time only made me want to hit repeat. They don’t pretend to be anything more than what they are, which is to say a quartet of kids playing rock music, but it’s uncanny the way they manage to evoke the best of British rock from over the last decade – the meat-and-potatoes simplicity of Arctic Monkeys, the scrappy snottiness of The Libertines, the open-hearted romanticism of Bloc Party – without actually sounding like any of them. Most key, however, is the fact that they’re able to write songs that are anthemic in scope yet punkish in packaging and catchy enough to warrant praise entirely on their own creative merits – “All In White” is downright stirring. It may well be that they’re just the next British guitar band of the moment, but it’s The Vaccines’ moment and they’re making the most of it.

And while this would normally be the point in the post where I tell you that The Vaccines are coming to town soon, an announcement yesterday actually instead pulled their entire Fall tour, including the September 27 date at The Phoenix – Justin Hayward-Young will need surgery on his throat for the third time this year, and doctor’s orders do not include gallivanting around the globe singing rock music. While I wasn’t going to be hitting that particular show, I was looking forward to seeing that at Iceland Airwaves in October and that show is also scotched. Here’s hoping Hayward-Young’s recovery is quick and the make-up date is a convenient one.

NME talked the band at Reading/Leeds this past weekend about their plans for album number two and Sabotage Times has an interview with guitarist Freddie Cowan.

MP3: The Vaccines – “Norgaard”
MP3: The Vaccines – “Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra)”
Video: The Vaccines – “Norgaard”
Video: The Vaccines – “All In White”

The Telegraph has an interview with Elbow frontman Guy Garvey. They’re at The Sound Academy on September 28 and the video of a session from this past Spring in the crypt at London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral is available to stream for the next week at Absolute Radio.

The Gallagher brothers’ ongoing duel of one-upmanship has spilled over into their North American touring itinerary. Noel Gallagher has announced the first Stateside live dates in support of his solo debut Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, out November 8, and though it’s limited to major markets as the first Beady Eye jaunt was, it’s much more ambitious in scope. For example, while Beady Eye were able to fill if not quite sell out the Sound Academy back in June, Noel has booked not one but two nights at Massey Hall to open up the tour on November 7 and 8 – tickets $39.50 and $99.50 plus fees, on sale on September 9 at 10AM. Now I know that Oasis fans are devoted and Noel has said he’d play material from said band live, but still – that’s kind of… well that’s a lot of tickets to expect to sell. That’s all. Anyways, NME has another new song from the debut album available to stream.

Stream: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – “If I Had A Gun”
Video: Noel Gallagher & The High Flying Birds – “The Death Of You And Me”

Meanwhile, over at BBC6, Liam Gallagher discusses the slander lawsuit that remains against his brother about comments surrounding the end of Oasis and the next Beady Eye record.

Paste has a feature piece on Laura Marling, whose new record A Creature I Don’t Know is out on September 13 and who plays The Great Hall on September 23.

BBC has a conversation with Charlie Fink of Noah & The Whale about their plans for album number four and the influences being applied to it.

Ladytron’s Reuben Wu talks Gravity The Seducer with DIY; the album is out September 13 and they play The Phoenix on October 5.

The Quietus gets Portishead to select thirteen of their favourite albums. They’re at The Sound Academy on October 9 and 10.

Sweden’s The Sounds have set a North American tour in support of their new album Something To Die For; look for them at The Opera House on October 26.

Video: The Sounds – “Something To Die For”

If anyone was wondering – as I was – if there was going to be a way to get hands on a vinyl copy of I Break Horses’ gorgeous debut Hearts on vinyl in Canada without paying crazy import prices, take, um, heart – apparently there is an October 18 street date for physical editions of the record.

DIY reports that Sweden’s Those Dancing Days have decided to go on hiatus to tend to things IRL for a while. This is disappointing as they were one of the bands who had to pull out of SXSW this year due to visa snafus and I was hoping they’d make it up next year. Guess not.

Video: Those Dancing Days – “Reaching Forward”

Danish punks Iceage have released a new video from their debut New Brigade.

Video: Iceage – “You’re Blessed”

The lead track from the forthcoming M83 double-album ridicu-epic Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming is now available to stream. They’re at Lee’s Palace on November 18.

Stream: M83 – “Intro”

The Jezabels have released a video to go with the first MP3 from Prisoner, out September 16 in their native Australia but not until next Spring over here. They’re at The Phoenix opening up for Hey Rosetta! on November 24 and possibly the just-announced second show on November 23; still waiting on confirmation of that.

MP3: The Jezabels – “Endless Summer”
Video: The Jezabels – “Endless Summer”

Adam FaradayTo be clear, Portishead simply like to take their time. The eleven-year gap between their self-titled sophomore effort and 2008’s Third? They weren’t broken up, just writing. And considering how scary good/just plain scary said record was, transcending the trip-hop genre they pioneered almost a decade and a half earlier, you couldn’t say it wasn’t time well spent. Similarly, just because they’ve only played one North American show this century – 2008’s Coachella – after returning to the stage in 2005 following a seven-year absence didn’t mean they don’t like us over here; they were just figuring out what to pack.

Baggage issues seem to have been all sorted out, however, as the band have announced their first North American tour in who knows how long – 14 years at minimum – with Thought Forms supporting and it includes not one but two Toronto dates, October 9 and 10 at The Sound Academy. Ticket presales are already live with ducats running $61.50 plus 10% service fees, charged in US dollars. Remember when that was a bad thing? At current exchange rates, that’ll bring your price of admission to like $20 and change. Approximately.

Portishead, people. Yes they spawned a million soundalike bands but go back and listen to those records – they’re still as unique and creepy as they ever were.

Video: Portishead – “Chase The Tear”
Video: Portishead – “Magic Doors”
Video: Portishead – “The Rip”
Video: Portishead – “Machine Gun”
Video: Portishead – “Glory Box”
Video: Portishead – “All Mine”
Video: Portishead – “Humming”

The other great British “head” band – Radiohead – remain oddly shy about hitting the road in any extended capacity but they’re still perfectly keen to play. The long-promised King Of Limbs recital for television programme From The Basement went down this weekend and the whole thing is available to stream at YouTube, at least for the moment – the BBC seems to have some objection to people posting their programming on the internets and are taking action, so hop to it.

DIY reports that Mogwai will release a new EP entitled Earth Division on September 13.

Arctic Monkeys have rolled out a new video from Suck It And See, though you do not have to suck anything to watch it. Unless you want to. Your call.

Video: Arctic Monkeys – “The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala”

BBC and Clash interview The Horrors. Their latest Skying is out August 9 in North America and they play The Mod Club on September 27.

The Fly checks in with Mystery Jets, hard at work in the studio on their next album, targeted for an early 2012 release.

London’s Male Bonding will be at The Horseshoe on September 2 in support of album number two, Endless Now, due out August 30. Tickets $10.50 in advance.

MP3: Male Bonding – “Bones”
MP3: Male Bonding – “Franklin”

Scots We Were Promised Jetpacks have announced an October 3 release of their second album In The Pit Of The Stomach, and you can hear the first track from it on their website. There’s also a passel of US live dates but nothing north of the border.

Band of Skulls are taking some time off from working on album number two to play some North American dates, including September 28 at The Garrison.

MP3: Band Of Skulls – “Blood”

What did you expect from The Vaccines? Maybe a new video from What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?? Well there you go. They’re at The Phoenix on September 27.

Video: The Vaccines – “Norgaard”

The Quietus has an interview and NPR a World Cafe session with Anna Calvi.

Throwback London pop quartet Veronica Falls, who charmed at SXSW, are giving away a track from their debut album due out October 17.

MP3: Veronica Falls – “Come On Over”

NME chats with Elizabeth Sankey of Summer Camp, who continue to raise funds for their debut album via Pledge Music.

NPR has a World Cafe session with Lykke Li, who has also released a new “live on the moon” video wherein she makes like she is performing live on the moon.

Video: Lykke Li – “Sadness Is A Blessing” (live on The Moon)

Spin talks to Bjork about her Biophilia project, the album part of which will be out September 27.

Japanese heavy rockers Boris will bring Japanese-fronted dream poppers Asobi Seksu with them to Lee’s Palace on October 23, part of a North American tour in support of their two simultaneous releases earlier this year, Heavy Rocks and Attention Please.

MP3: Boris – “Farewell”
MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Trails”
Video: Boris – “Hope/Riot Sugar”