FacebookSummerworks has long been an established name in Toronto’s theatrical community, staging successful festivals every Summer (hence the name) for as long as I’ve lived here, but in the last couple of years, they’ve been expanding their mandate with a musical series that has aimed to get theatre fans to to discover some of the city’s best up-and-coming independent music and vice versa. Each year has gotten better and better, and the just-announced 2010 music series is handily continuing that trend.

As previously mentioned, the main attraction this year is a two-night stand from The Hidden Cameras wherein they’ll reimagine their last record Origin:Orphan in a theatrical context, but also appearing at the Lower Ossington Theatre from August 5th through the 14th will be Ghost Bees, Diamond Rings, Laura Barrett, Snowblink, Evening Hymns and The Wilderness Of Manitoba, amongst many others.

The performance space is divided into a mainstage and a performance bar; tickets for the former are available in advance at Rotate This, Soundscapes and the venue box office while admission for the latter is pay-what-you-can on the evening of the show, with mainstage ticket holders getting in for free. Check out the schedule to see who’s playing where and when.

MP3: The Hidden Cameras – “Walk On”
MP3: Laura Barrett – “Decepticon Island Optimists Club”
MP3: Diamond Rings – “Wait And See”
MP3: Evening Hymns – “Broken Rifle”
MP3: Ghost Bees – “Vampires Of The West Coast”
MP3: The Wilderness Of Manitoba – “Hermit”

Domino Records is offering a download of Owen Pallett’s new Lewis Takes His Shirt Off EP for one week only. And that week started a couple days ago, so get moving. And speaking of getting moving, it was just announced that Pallett will be appearing at the Dakota Tavern tonight as part of White Whale Wendesdays this month, playing with Snailhouse, Octoberman and Tusks.

Hannah Georgas has released a new video from This is Good. She plays the Molson Amphitheatre on July 30 as part of the dog’s breakfast Disco Lemonade show.

Video: Hannah Georgas – “Bang Bang You’re Dead”

Spinner talks to Rolf Klausener of The Acorn about their new record No Ghost.

The Coast have announced their second album Queen Cities will be out on September 14, and they’ll play a hometown record release show at the El Mocambo on September 23.

Metric turned in a compact, two-song set for Daytrotter. Maybe they were in a hurry to make this interview with The Riverfront Times?

Paste catches up with Stars; they’re at Massey Hall on October 23.

Billboard has posted their cover story on Arcade Fire. They play the Toronto Islands on August 14.

The Boston Herald and Beatroute have features on Wolf Parade

Gord Downie & The Country Of Miracles will bring The Grand Bounce to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on November 5.

Video: Gord Downie & The Country Of Miracles – “The East Wind”

BeatRoute, The Montreal Gazette and The National Post talk to Sarah Harmer.

Indie rock endorsements: Liz Powell of Land Of Talk tells The Sound It Resounds why Fugazi’s In On The Kill Taker was so important to her while over at Rock Torch, Dan Mangan recommends some time spent with Bon Iver.

Both Acts Of Minor Treason and Comics Alliance take photo tours of Scott Pilgrim’s Toronto. The Beguiling is hosting a release party for Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour next Monday night, with the books going on sale at midnight, while Scott Pilgrim Vs The World opens in theatres on August 13.

MySpaceIt’s bad form, but I’m generally too lazy to type out the HTML special characters that properly render things like accents or other non-English written language goodies, but in the case of The Dø, I’ll make an exception – one usually only reserved for the mighty umlaut. Partly because failing to do so reduces French-Finnish duo’s brief yet memorable name to something utterly forgettable (though either way they’re going to have to accept that it’s going to be mispronounced), but also because the slashed o – “ø” – just looks so cool.

And that coolness factor does raise some expectations for the act that would trade under said character, expectations that they largely deliver on if you rate oddness highly. It’s hard to describe what The Dø do – their debut album A Mouthful encompasses a wide range of styles, dwelling where folk, jazz and hip-hop intersect at pop. The ensuing melange is catchy yet discomfiting, with Olivia Merilahti’s plaintive vocals – capable of coo or caterwaul – providing an uneasy anchor and with multi-instrumentalist Dan Levy’s cinematic background making for a widescreen yet intimate effect that can be just as unsettling. A Mouthful is a accessible in that it lets you in easily, but once inside you may not ever be able to figure out exactly where you are.

A Mouthful was released in Europe in 2008 and became the first English-language album to top the French charts. It only received a North American release last month, though bolstered with a handful of bonus tracks by way of apology, and come this Fall they’ll follow it up with a North American tour that includes a September 11 date at The Mod Club.

MP3: The Dø – “At Last”
MP3: The Dø – “Tammie”
Video: The Dø – “At Last”
Video: The Dø -“On My Shoulders”
MySpace: The Dø

Phoenix frontman Thomas Mars tells Spinner they have no time for side projects – they’re too busy playing Tiny Desk Concerts for NPR.

And moving from the French portion of the post – yes it was brief – to the “just announced”: LEAF – which stands for “Local Enhancement & Appreciation of Forests” – will hold their fourth annual celebration of preserving the urban forest with a show at the Wychwood Barns featuring two local acts who, at least by their names, share the same appreciation of flora and possibly fauna. That’d be Forest City Lovers and The Wilderness Of Manitoba, both of whom have new records out soon – Carriage on June 29 and When You Left The Fire on June 22, respectively. Tickets for the show are $25 in advance, full details on the event over here.

MP3: Forest City Lovers – “Light You Up”
MP3: The Wilderness Of Manitoba – “Hermit”

Minus The Bear will be in town at the Mod Club on July 4 in support of their new record OMNI; Black Book has an interview with singer Jake Snider.

MP3: Minus The Bear – “My Time”
Video: Minus The Bear – “My Time”

One of the acts I kept hearing people talk about at SxSW this year was Los Angeles’ Pepper Rabbit, though I never managed to see them play. And now that they’re coming to town on July 6 for a show at the Drake Underground… I still not make it seeing as how I’ll have just gotten back in town the day before.

MP3: Pepper Rabbit – “Red Wine”

I don’t think they’ve been through town any time in recent memory – certainly not since I acquired one of their band wristbands for admission to SxSW 2006 (it’s okay, they got paid) – but Phosphorescent will finally be in Toronto on July 10 for a show at the Horseshoe. Their new record is Here’s To Taking It Easy and pretty well captures the spirit of Matthew Houck’s laid-back, feel-good country-rock.

MP3: Phosphorescent – “It’s Hard To Be Humble (When You’re From Alabama)”
MP3: Phosphorescent – “The Mermaid Parade”
MP3: Phosphorescent – “A Picture Of Our Torn-Up Praise”

Calexico will be in town on July 22 for a show at the Phoenix with Elliott Brood as support. Calexico haven’t put out an album since 2008’s Carried To Dust; it’s not unreasonable to assume that touring implies a new record is on its way. Or it’s just folk festival season. Tickets for the show are $21.50 in advance.

MP3: Calexico – “Two Silver Trees”

The Stills – who recently welcomed original singer-guitarist Gregory Paquet back into the fold – have a date at the Horseshoe on July 29, tickets $20 in advance.

MP3: The Stils – “Being Here”

Heaviness will ensue when Boris and Russian Circles roll into Lee’s Palace on August 9.

MP3: Boris – “Farwell”
MP3: Russian Circles – “Malko”

So people have been waiting for ages for Justin Vernon to come back to town… and they’re going to get their wish – but not in the way they might have thought. He’s hitting the road this Fall but not as Bon Iver – that’s still on the shelf – but as part of Gayngs, a supergroup of sorts featuring members of Bon Iver, Megafaun and The Rosebuds, amongst others. Their mandate is funky, sexy slow jams and if that sounds completely at odds with what you’d expect from those involved… well it is. The album is called Relayted and the Autumn tour stops in at The Phoenix on October 1, tickets $20.

MP3: Gayngs – “The Gaudy Side Of Town”
MP3: Gayngs – “Faded High”
Video: Gayngs – “Cry”

Frank YangA local scribe much wiser than I recently pointed out that everyone – in Canada and Toronto specifically – has some baggage when it comes to Broken Social Scene, and you can take it from the fact that I’m quoting him that I wholly agree. This is the band that, for good and bad, came to be the musical ambassadors for Toronto to the world, would become pretty much inescapable both in the music world and the real world (swing a stick in Toronto, hit a BSS-er) and launched a thousand bands with far more members than they needed.

For my part, I was almost as taken with You Forgot It In People as everyone else in 2002 and 2003 – I say “almost” because some people love(d) this record A LOT – and was as excited as anyone to see the attention that it brought on a city that, to that point, didn’t seem to have a real face in the burgeoning indie rock world and for a while, they and their offshoots – anyone remember the show at Lee’s in June 2003 featuring BSS, Stars, Feist, Apostle Of Hustle, Jason Collett and Amy Millan? Seriously – theres photographic evidence – could do no wrong.

But that perfect, You Forgot It moment could only sustain for so long, and when the self-titled follow-up came out in 2005, the bloom was coming off the rose, at least from my point of view. Though it had some epic high points, Broken Social Scene felt overly long and meandering; there may have been a great record buried in there but it was in desperate need of an editor. These are points that only became clear to me later – the record still made my 2005 year-end list and 2006 Polaris Prize ballot – but that was more me wanting to like it more than I did at the time. By this point, the band seemed to have become even more ubiquitous than before – something I’d have not thought possible – and when they closed out the inaugural Virgin Festival Canada in 2006, I was grateful for both their amazing full-band performance and promise to take a break and go away for a little while.

They didn’t, of course. Rather than hibernate, they multiplied and both Broken bandleaders – Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning – released sorta-solo records that were essentially Broken albums, but without the weight of expectation that would accompany a proper BSS release. Neither really grabbed my attention, but to be fair my Broken Social burnout was still very much in effect and the records would have had to be pretty spectacular to get me past that… which they weren’t. And, of course, they continued toured as Broken Social Scene albeit with relatively pared-down lineups. Hiatus? Not so much.

And so seemingly without ever actually going away, they’ve returned with Forgiveness Rock Record and I, well I can’t say as that I’ve been hankering for a new Broken Social Scene record, but would like to think that I’m in a place where I can again regard them objectively. The decision to record with Tortoise’s John McEntire behind the boards rather than longtime sonic architect Dave Newfeld has an interesting effect on their sound, as McEntire’s more tidy and precise aesthetic is rather diametrically opposed to the “capture the chaos on tape” approach that’s defined their recordings thus far. Quantitatively speaking, Forgiveness is definitely cleaner than past efforts, with the sonic spaces more clearly defined and songs marginally more structured and compact, but just as you can’t catch water with a net, even a shiny new net, you can’t contain Broken Social Scene.

With the new record, there’s still a sense that the band are throwing things into the pot, creatively speaking, and seeing what kind of alchemy (if any) results. As such, it has the sort of maddening unevenness that’s practically a BSS signature, where really the most you can hope is that the highs are enough to offset the lows. Amongst the peaks on Forgiveness are the sprawling leadoff jam “World Sick”, punchy jangle anthem “Texico Bitches” and “All Is All”, a shimmering, almost completely un-BSS-like electro-pop jewel starring Reverie Sound Revue’s Lisa Lobsinger. And as for the valleys… well the record isn’t filler-free but it never gets as lost as Broken Social Scene did and all things considered, that’ll do. It doesn’t recreate the glorious sense of possibility and excitement that existed around the band circa 2002 and 2003 – which are completely unrealistic expectations, I will be the first to admit – but it does provide a solid argument that any reservations I have over all things Broken and Social may be my issues and not theirs.

I’ve talked before about the wonderful in-store culture that’s developed in Toronto, and on Sunday, Broken Social Scene helped push that along with an ambitious four-shows-in-one-day itinerary that saw them play sets in each of the city’s four major independent record stores, starting at Criminal Records and winding down Queen West to Rotate This, up to Little Italy’s Soundscapes and wrapping up in the Annex basement of Sonic Boom. With tickets given out to those who purchased copies of Forgiveness Rock Record, I’m not sure how anyone would manage to hit all four performances – short of buying four copies of the record – but I’m sure some found a way. I do find it remarkable that even though my relationship with BSS has waxed and waned over the years, so many remain utterly devoted to the band. And so it was that Criminal Records was packed front to back on Sunday afternoon as the band – numbering seven or eight, I think there was a horn player hidden behind one of the monitors – shook off the previous night’s drive back from New York to kick off their mini-tour.

They started off easy like Sunday morning (or early afternoon) with You Forgot It‘s “Lover’s Spit”, giving themselves the space to get tuned in for the marathon day to come before moving into the new material. Interestingly, Kevin Drew went guitar-less, instead working a bank of keyboards or just handling vocals. I hadn’t seen BSS live in almost four years so I didn’t know if this was a new development or something that had been in the works for a while. Either way, it wasn’t as though there was any sort of stringed instrument deficit up there – all of Brendan Canning, Andrew Whiteman, Charles Spearin and Sam Goldberg were armed with guitars or basses, but unlike past performances where it seemed that many guitars were just piled on top of one another, they seemed to be working with very precise arrangements. It wasn’t math-rock, but definitely not just jamming it out. All of the Forgiveness material – “Texico Bitches”, “Ungrateful Little Father” and “Forced To Love” sounded pretty solid if delivered a bit low-energy though Whiteman did more than his part to liven things up with some running man moves and jumping jacks. He also took the mic for the final song of the set, another return to Forgot It with “Looks Just Like The Sun” though it was preceded with some debate amongst the band as to exactly how the song went and what the lyrics were. Not that tidy, then, and I’m sure that they picked up some steam with each subsequent show as well as members as they woke up, but this was a pretty cool start to a very cool idea and a great hello and thanks from the band to their fans, their record stores and their city.

Broken Social Scene play a full and proper hometown show on June 19 at the Toronto Islands, and just announced a massive North American tour for the Fall. Dose, Beatroute, Torontoist, Pitchfork, Macleans, Blurt, The Aquarian, Interview and Chart have feature pieces on the band and their return.

Photos: Broken Social Scene @ Criminal Records – May 9, 2010
MP3: Broken Social Scene – “World Sick”
MP3: Broken Social Scene – “Fire Eye’d Boy”
MP3: Broken Social Scene – “Hotel”
Video: Broken Social Scene – “7/4 (Shoreline)”
Video: Broken Social Scene -“Fire Eye’d Boy”
Video: Broken Social Scene – “Ibi Dreams Of Pavement (A Better Day)”
Video: Broken Social Scene – “Her Disappearing Scene”
Video: Broken Social Scene – “Major Label Debut”
Video: Broken Social Scene – “Cause = Time”
Video: Broken Social Scene – “Almost Crimes”
Video: Broken Social Scene – “Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old Girl”
Video: Broken Social Scene – “Lover’s Spit”
Video: Broken Social Scene – “I’m Still Your Fag”
MySpace: Broken Social Scene

Torq Campbell of Stars talks to Spinner about the power of Twitter. Their new record The Five Ghosts is out on June 22.

Damian Abraham of Fucked Up, who helped Mr Campbell understand said power of Twitter, tells Pffffft his favourite things about Toronto. Not listed is the Toronto Reference Library, but you can be sure that Abraham likes it enough to undress – respectfully – when Fucked Up play a free show there on May 28. Beatroute also has a chat with the FU frontman.

Resonancity, In Your Speakers and Spinner all talk to Holy Fuck on the occasion of today’s release of Latin. They’re at the Molson Amphitheatre on July 9 in support of Metric.

Chart and Beatroute have features on Caribou, whose show in Washington DC last night is now available to stream on NPR.

The Besnard Lakes have released a new video from The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night. Beatroute and SF Station have interviews with the band, who are at the Mod Club on June 17.

Video: The Besnard Lakes – “Albatross”

Also with a new video are The New Pornographers, for the sort-of title track from Together. Beatroute, eMusic, Metro and The Quietus have interviews with Carl Newman, whose band will be at the Sound Academy on June 15.

Video: The New Pornographers – “(Your Hands) Together”

Clash talks to Mark Hamilton of Woodpigeon.

Beatroute has a feature piece on Hannah Georgas.

Previews of The Acorn’s forthcoming No Ghost just keep coming; the record is out June 1 and they play Lee’s Palace on June 11.

MP3: The Acorn – “Restoration”

Shad’s excellent new record TSOL is streaming at Exclaim this week, leading up to its release in two Tuesdays – May 25. He plays the Opera House on June 12.

Stream: Shad / TSOL

The Wilderness Of Manitoba has scheduled a record release show for their full-length debut When You Left The Fire, due out June 22 – they’ll be at the Music Gallery on June 25 with Evening Hymns as support. Before that, they’ll support Matthew Barber at the Mod Club on May 12 and Basia Bulat at the Phoenix on June 4.

MP3: The Wilderness Of Manitoba – “Hermit”

The lineup for this year’s Wolfe Island Music Festival has been announced and as always, it’s a great sampling of some of the best in Canadian music set in about as laid-back and chilled-out environs as you’ll find anywhere. Taking place in the Thousand Islands just offshore from Kingston, Ontario on the weekend of August 6 and 7, the Friday night will feature performances in the town of Marysville from The Sadies and Cuff The Duke, amongst others, and the Saturday lineup will feature The Weakerthans, Shad, Think About Life, Bahamas, The Acorn, Diamond Rings, Memoryhouse and Jim Bryson. I attended the 2007 edition of this festival, and it was a marvelous time – highly recommended.

Stage FrightThere seems to be a fixation with the supernatural running through Canadian indie circles right now – or at least through their naming processes – if a few upcoming, high-profile releases are any indication. First off, you’ve got Ottawa’s Acorn, whose long-awaited follow-up to 2007’s Glory Hope Mountain will be out on June 1 and carry the title of No Ghost. Their interest in the spirit world isn’t new, however, as their 2004 debut – albeit by a decidedly different Acorn than exists today – was called The Pink Ghosts, so perhaps the new record is some response to that? Yeah, probably not. The MP3 for the title track of the new record is available now to share and enjoy and they play Lee’s Palace on June 11.

MP3: The Acorn – “No Ghost”

Montreal’s Stars are five-upping The Acorn – or maybe infinite-upping them, considering their album title implies null ghosts – by calling their new record The Five Ghosts. Even though the album isn’t out until June 22 and, as Amy Millan admits to Chart, touring a record so far ahead of its release is probably insane, they’re setting out on an extensive North American tour where they’ll play the whole thing in its entirety starting at the Mod Club in Toronto – congratulations go out to Tony, Jacob and Mike for winning my contest for passes.

The title of Wolf Parade’s new record Expo 86 doesn’t have anything to do with ghosts – except maybe those of Worlds Fairs past – but in addition to an interview, Spencer Krug gives Pitchfork a sneak preview of the new album with a pair of downloads, one of which is called – wait for it – “Ghost Pressure”. Would five ghosts exert more pressure than no ghosts, considering they’re inherently intangible and thus incapable of exerting any pressure at all? HMM. Expo 86 is out June 29 and is notable as the first Wolf Parade album to not have terrible album art. Spinner also talks to drummer Arlen Thompson.

MP3: Wolf Parade – “Ghost Pressure”
MP3: Wolf Parade – “What Did My Lover Say? (It Always Had To Go This Way)

Forest City Lovers have set a June 29 release for their third album Carriage – check out the first MP3 below.

MP3: Forest City Lovers – “Light You Up”

The Wilderness Of Manitoba have announced details and a first sample from their debut full-length When You Left The Fire, due out on June 22. Expect a proper record release show, but for now their hometown dates are of the support variety – May 12 at the Mod Club with Matthew Barber and June 4 at The Phoenix with Basia Bulat and Julie Doiron.

MP3: The Wilderness Of Manitoba – “Hermit”

TwentyFourBit reports that Daniel Lanois is producing the next Neil Young record – this could well be fantastic. Or not. But the potential for greatness is definitely there.

Le Blogotheque has a Take-Away Show from the streets of Montreal featuring Jason Collett and Zeus, the latter of whom’s Mike O’Brien is the subject of an interview at Bring Back The Boom Box.

Cornershop Studios talks to Dan Mangan.

The Vancouver Sun and The Globe & Mail talk to Carl Newman of The New Pornographers, whose Together is out today. They’re at the Sound Academy on June 15.

Resonancity, The Montreal Mirror and Montreal Gazette interview Dan Snaith of Caribou.

More show announcements – a bill made up of bands whose names I see a lot in my RSS reader are coming to town – Austin’s This Will Destroy You, Chicago’s Light Pollution and Brooklyn’s Slow Six sound like they’ll make up a pretty psych/post-rocking good time at the Rivoli on June 5.

MP3: This Will Destroy You – “The World Is”
MP3: Light Pollution – “Good Feelings”
MP3: Slow Six – “The Night You Left New York”

English folkers Peggy Sue – who visited last Fall – will be back for a show at Sneaky Dee’s on June 13. Their full-length debut Fossils & Other Phantoms is due out June 1 – check out their Daytrotter session from last year for a preview of the new material.

Video: Peggy Sue – “Watchman”

Angsty Scots We Were Promised Jetpacks will be setting down at the Horseshoe on July 3, tickets $13.50 in advance.

MP3: We Were Promised Jetpacks – “Quiet Little Voices”

With their new record Sea Of Cowards due out next Tuesday, The Dead Weather have slated a North American tour that stops in at the Sound Academy on July 15, tickets $35 for general admission and $45 for VIP balcony. Spinner talks to Alison Mosshart about the new record, which is streaming over at NPR and the band also streamed a live performance of the album performed in its entirety last night at their MySpace and it’s still available to watch.

Stream: The Dead Weather / Sea Of Cowards
Stream: The Dead Weather / Sea Of Cowards (live)

Those Black Mountain dates announced a little while ago that ended in London, Ontario before cutting over to Europe for a week have been extended and a second North American leg kicks off July 23 at the Horseshoe in Toronto before cutting west across the US. Expect to hear lots of material from their next record at these shows – it’s tentatively called Wilderness Heart and targeted for a late Summer release.

MP3: Black Mountain – “Tyrants”

(Former?) Bloc Party frontman Kele (Okereke) will bring his solo debut The Boxer, to The Mod Club on July 29, tickets $20 in advance. And if you were wondering – as I was – it’s not as terrible as some have said, but certainly not something I’d take over Bloc Party, given the choice.

Perhaps by way of apology for canceling their April show, The Specials have added a second show at the Sound Academy following the August 27 make-up date – they’ll also be there on August 28.

And if you needed a final reminder to head out to the Horseshoe tonight for the free Joy Formidable show, here’s a recording of the band’s set at the Truck America festival in upstate New York this past weekend, courtesy of NYC Taper – he’s also got a recording of their set in New York from January to share, and you can also stream their debut mini-album A Balloon Called Moaning, released in North America today, at Spinner. The Joy Formidable are on at 11 – be there.

Stream: The Joy Formidable / A Balloon Called Moaning

FacebookThere was welcome and unexpected news in the inbox yesterday morning with the announcement that Sarah Harmer was back. It didn’t seem like she’d been away that long, but now that I think about it, the last time I saw her in any context was at Wolfe Island in 2007 with the reunited Weeping Tile, and it’s been almost five years since the release of her last album I’m A Mountain. So June 22, when her latest effort Oh Little Fire arrives, can’t come soon enough.

Harmer has been a musical constant in my life for what seems like ever, right back to 1995’s Weeping Tile debut Eepee – her voice and songwriting are like the ultimate comfort food or like a warm blanket under a clear, starry Canadian night sky though, to my knowledge, I have never lain in a warm blanket under a clear, starry Canadian night. Advance word has it that this record is more aggressive and direct than the bluegrass-y I’m A Mountain, and the first single “Captive”, streaming on her homepage, certainly seems to bear this out – clearly she’s not forgotten how to plug in and (folk-)rock.

Live dates for the Summer are forthcoming, but she’s already been announced as one of the performers at this year’s Osheaga festival in Montreal, which I suppose should have tipped me off that she had something new in the works. There’s an audio interview with Harmer available over at Canadian Living.

MySpace: Sarah Harmer

Another former Polaris shortlister who’s been out of sight a little while but is planning a big 2010 is Kathleen Edwards. Though not away for as long as Harmer, it has been a while – Edwards’ last record Asking For Flowers came out over two years ago. A recent blog post proves she’s not been idle, though – amongst other things, she’s been working with John Roderick of The Long Winters on a project (detailed by Roderick last December in Paste) and is also gearing up to record album number four. To that end, she’s setting up residence at the Drake Underground in Toronto for three weeks to (sort of) road test the new material; she’ll be there for three nights over three weeks – April 20, April 27 and May 4 – and tickets for the intimate shows are $20 and available for sale at Maple Music.

MP3: Kathleen Edwards – “In State”
MP3: Kathleen Edwards – “Back To Me”

Pitchfork talks to Wolf Parade about their third album, now entitled Expo 86 and out June 29. Here and The Coast also talk to the band, who are at the Phoenix tonight, April 7.

Yours Truly has got a terrific video session with Land Of Talk, recorded last Fall on their US tour. They’re at Lee’s Palace on Thursday night.

Filter Q&As Plants & Animals. Their new record La La Land is out April 20 and they play a free show at the Horseshoe that evening.

Caribou’s new record Swim is now streaming in its entiretly at aux.tv, two weeks in advance of its April 20 release date. Caribou play the Phoenix on May 3.

Stream: Caribou / Swim

Head over to Stereogum to download the first MP3 from Stars’ forthcoming The Five Ghosts, due out June 22. They play The Mod Club on May 5, to which I still have passes to give away. And yes, your odds are pretty bad right now (relative to my usual contests), but someone’s gotta win!

Spinner and Chart chat with Weakerthans guitarist Stephen Carroll. They play the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on May 26.

Aquarium Drunkard catches up with Born Ruffians at SxSW. Their new record Say It is out June 1; they play the Horseshoe on May 28.

Crystal Castles are headlining something called the HARD Summer Tour, and will be causing mayhem at the Kool Haus on August 14. Their second album should be out this Summer.

MP3: Crystal Castles – “Untrust Us”

NME gets on board the Diamond Rings bandwagon, offering up an MP3 of his second single for download.

MP3: Diamond Rings – “Wait And See”

FFWD and JAM get to know Think About Life.

Q-Town talks to Mark Hamilton of Woodpigeon.

The Wilderness Of Manitoba have announced some details of their debut full-length album – it’s entitled When You Left the Fire and should be out this Summer.

The New Yorker puts Neil Young and Jonathan Demme together in a room to discuss the Neil Young Trunk Show live film.

The Line Of Best Fit has posted up their ninth “Oh! Canada” downloadable mix.