Frank YangComing via The Guardian, here’s an unexpected collaboration to wind out the week – Paul Weller has completed work on a new album entitled Wake Up The Nation and while a release date is still forthcoming, the first single from has been released and it features the fruits of a collaboration with none other than My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields. “7 & 3 Is The Striker’s Name” pairs the Modfather with the godfather of shoegaze (Shields doesn’t have a catchy nickname that appropriately describes his stature) and while the tune is a bit out of Weller’s typical wheelhouse, it’s still pretty recognizable as him – even with Shields layering jet plane noises overtop.

The tune is is available to download for 99p via 7Digital, or you can just watch the trippy albeit Shields-less video. NB – The one on Weller’s own website has better audio and video quality than the YouTube one linked.

Video: Paul Weller with Kevin Shields – “7 & 3 Is The Striker’s Name”

On the subject of My Bloody Valentine, both Amazon.co.uk and CDWow has the long-rumoured, oft-delayed reissues of Loveless and Isn’t Anything available for pre-order with a January 4 on-sale date noted. Could these finally be coming out?

Ian McCulloch of Echo & The Bunnymen submits to a Q&A with New York Magazine.

Spinner reports that Graham Coxon hopes Blur aren’t done for good, just for now.

Both eye and NOW welcome The xx to town for their first-ever Toronto gig at the Phoenix next Wednesday with Friendly Fires. Their second-ever Toronto gig is already scheduled for April 20 at the Kool Haus in support of Hot Chip. The Seattle Times also has an interview.

Also making their first visit to Toronto is The Big Pink, who are at the under renovation Lee’s Palace on Sunday night. NOW has an interview with the English duo.

Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine tells BBC that she’s preparing to start recording the follow-up to Lungs in January of the new year. In the meantime, the super-deluxe version of her debut is coming out next week and she’s released a second video for “You’ve Got The Love” which also functions as an advert for Stella Artois. But is a cool video first.

Video: Florence & The Machine – “You’ve Got The Love”

The Sydney Morning Herald chats with Patrick Wolf.

For a limited time, The Futureheads are giving away a free download of a song from album number four. No dawdling. Emirates Business has an interview with the band.

BBC talks to White Lies about their plans for recording album number two.

RockFeedback has an acoustic video interview and session with Sky Larkin.

Tom Campesinos of Los Campesinos talks Romance Is Boring, out February 1, with Drowned In Sound.

Highland News talks to Frightened Rabbit about recent lineup changes and their forthcoming record The Winter Of Mixed Drinks, out on March 1. A Daytrotter session with the band has just gone up; only old songs, though – no sneak peaks at new.

Pavla KopecnaAll throughout Theoretical Girl’s set at SxSW back in March, I was wracking my brain trying to figure out who Amy Turnnidge, she who is the central abstract idea of the band, reminded me of. This didn’t keep me from enjoying her set, but it was a relief and head slap when I finally put it together a week or two later – the name I’d been trying to dig out of my memory banks was Sarah Blackwood. Not the icy electro-pop queen she now is with Client, but the wistful synth-n-jangle ingenue she was in Dubstar. Though not dead ringers – Blackwood’s voice is higher, to say nothing of the differences in production values – they’re close, and the archness of their accents and clarity of their diction, struck me as uncanny. Also helping the parallels are that they both sing songs infused with spirited defiance and resignation, usually simultaneously, and with melody to spare.

But this is not a post about Blackwood (that was largely covered a couple years ago), but Turnnidge and Theoretical Girl. And, by extension, her debut record Divided, which came out back in August. Topically, it stays quite focused on topics of romance and regret, often interchangeably and rendered with unblinking candor, and as noted earlier, they’re themes Turnnidge is quite well-suited to articulating. Musically, Divided is rangier and deftly incorporates pop stylings of the chamber-, electro- and twee- varieties, favourably recalling the likes of Pet Shop Boys, Saint Etienne and Field Mice. The gentler, more nuanced pure pop numbers feel more effortless and natural than the rockers, but by no means can Turnnidge’s compositions not handle a little grit and volume.

But just as I left her SxSW showcase satisfied but not overwhelmed, Divided is an eminently listenable record that lacks that ineffable “something” that would firmly embed it in one’s psyche. It might be just a little too polite, too measured. Where it should be utterly heartbreaking, it only manages to elicit a mild heartache, easily remedied with a few fingers of scotch and a good night’s sleep. Next time out, and be assured I believe the next effort will be closer to the mark, I demand total emotional devastation.

This Is Fake DIY got a track-by-track breakdown of the record from Turnnidge around the time of the album’s release and The Daily Growl solicited a list of seven songs. Artrocker offers up the chord changes to “Biggest Mistake” for those inclined to sing and play along.

MP3: Theoretical Girl – “Rivals”
Video: Theoretical Girl – “Red Mist”
Video: Theoretical Girl – “Rivals”
Video: Theoretical Girl – “The Hypocrite”
MySpace: Theoretical Girl

NME reports that Florence & The Machine will be taking the deluxe edition double-dipping trend to an absurd degree with the release of a 3-CD/1-DVD edition of Lungs on November 30. In addition to the album, it’ll have a disc of live material, one of remixes, rarities and outtakes and the DVD will contain a live show and all her videos. More Florence than any rational person could reasonably want or need? Almost certainly. The Globe & Mail has a fashion spread and interview with Florence Welch about developing and maintaining her style.

Hot Chip are set to return with their fourth album One Life Stand on February 9 and have already scheduled a short North American tour to promote – they’re going to be at the Kool Haus on April 20 with The xx, who still have a prior appearance scheduled for December 2 at the Phoenix. Tickets are $23.50 in advance and go on sale November 23. What do you mean you don’t like committing to plans five months in advance? Why on earth not?

Much-feted UK outfit Wild Beasts have scheduled a Winter North American jaunt with Still Life Still in support of their new record Two Dancers and will be at the Horseshoe on February 22, tickets $15 in advance. There’s a full show from this Summer available to watch up at Domino Records and Clash has a short feature.

MP3: Wild Beasts – “All The King’s Men”
Video: Wild Beasts – “All The King’s Men”

The full dates for The Cribs’ North American tour hinted at last week have been revealed and the January 15 Toronto date at The Phoenix now sits a few dates in to a fairly extensive schedule and yes, all indications are that Johnny Marr is going to be on the tour. Billboard talks to Marr and the band have also just released a new video.

Video: The Cribs – “We Share The Same Skies”

Frightened Rabbit’s sublimely-titled new record The Winter Of Mixed Drinks has been given a release date of March 1.

MPR welcomes Fanfarlo to their studios for a session. They make their Toronto debut at the El Mocambo on December 15.

Spinner talks to Camera Obscura’s Carey Lander about their selection for a Christmas single, available digitally this week. They play The Phoenix on November 26.

British Sea Power have blogged an update as to the status of album number five.

The Chronicle Herald and The Telegram talk to Billy Bragg, in tonight for a show at The Phoenix.

Pat GrahamYeah, I know that I probably keep closer track of British bands than some (but certainly not as much as others), but I still get confused as to who’s who sometimes. Particularly when it comes to outfits comprised of skinny, shaggy-looking lads wielding guitars and perhaps scowls, and whose names are some combination of the definite article and a random noun, sometimes pluralized. The Rifles? They’re the ones who’re trying to channel The Jam (and doing a pretty good job of it). The Rakes? They’re the ones who just one-upped their habit of cancelling North American tours by breaking up completely (on the eve of a North American tour, of course). The Cribs? Right, they’re the ones made up of three brothers – two of them twins – and Johnny Marr.

That fact alone renders the band worthy of a closer look, though it’s not enough – I still think Modest Mouse are terrible, Marr or no Marr. Though it’s their fourth album, the just-released Ignore The Ignorant is the first I’ve heard and it’s sort of what I’d expected, even without any prior knowledge – scrappy post-Libertines guitar rock – but with a goodly amount of melody to go with the attitude and, of course, some searing guitar work courtesy of the non-Jarman in the band. Nothing revelatory or game-changing, but certainly successful at scratching the ol’ Brit-rock itch.

The Cribs wrap up an exhaustive three-date American tour tonight in New York, but have already began making plans to return in the New Year with the one announced date so far being right here in Toronto at the Phoenix on January 15, accompanied by Adam Green and The Dead Trees. And presumably accompanied by Mr. Marr, considering how keen they all are to present him as a full-fledged member of the band, and not just the cool uncle figure helping out in the studio. Which if fine with me – can’t say I’m not anxious about the opportunity to see and photograph Marr in such close quarters.

MTV UK has got a live video session with The Cribs available to stream.

MP3: The Cribs – “We Were Aborted”
Video: The Cribs – “Cheat On Me”
MySpace: The Cribs

Another British “The” band – and also a current “it” band – is officially down a member. In an interview with The Stool Pigeon, The xx confirm that guitarist Baria Quereshi has left the band and that they will continue on as a trio – bad news for Marr if he was looking for another band of young’ns to hang out with. The xx are at The Phoenix on December 2.

The previously-mentioned Rifles play an acoustic session in a Berlin park for They Shoot Music.

The Quietus has an audio session and interview with Patrick Wolf.

Pitchfork reports that Tindersticks will follow up 2008’s The Hungry Saw with Falling Down A Mountain, set for a January 25 release everywhere except North America; here it comes out February 16.

MP3: Tindersticks – “Black Smoke”

Taken By Trees cover of Animal Collective’s “My Girls”, taken from her new album East Of Eden, is now available to grab as an MP3.

MP3: Taken By Trees – “My Boys”
Video: Taken By Trees – “My Boys”

The Line Of Best Fit interviews Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear.

The Village Voice talks to Bishop Allen’s Justin Rice about the making of their new video for “True Or False”.

Video: Bishop Allen – “True Or False”

Yahoo’s The New Now is streaming a video session with White Rabbits.

Wilco will be streaming their show in Amsterdam this coming Monday live via their Roadcase starting at 3PM Eastern time.

Great Lake Swimmers’ Mountain Stage session is currently available to stream at NPR, and there’s also an interview at Birmingham Mail. They have a date at Trinity-St Paul’s on February 6.

Zeus will play a free show at The Horseshoe on Tuesday night, alongside Still Life Still and The Most Serene Republic for a special Arts & Crafts-centric Nu Music Nite 16th anniversary party. They also just announced their debut full-length Say Us will be out on February 23.

Andy WillsherMy trip to London last May yielded no shortage of fond and lasting memories, but one of the most vivid is also one of the most unremarkable and inexplicable. My plan for my first visit to the city was pretty much to pick a particular district or two for each day I was there and just wander – one day, the West End, the next day, Soho, Covent Garden and Westminster, the day after, the East End and Greenwich. Greenwich wasn’t a place I had any particular prior affinity for, but I was told it was worth the extended tube ride to get out of the city for a bit and the Royal Observatory, marker of the Prime Meridian, was worth a gander. So I went and did the straddle-two-hemispheres thing, and before heading back down, I stopped and sat at the top of the observatory hill in Greenwich Park, gazing down at the expansive park and the enormity of London behind it, and that image just burned into my mind.

The point of this little meander down memory lane being that if there was a soundtrack for that moment, or even the trip as a whole, it would be The Clientele. Not literally – I don’t really listen to much music when I travel – but there’s not really another band out there right now that feels more like London to me. And that’s interesting because they don’t evoke the typical images of the city, not the history, the culture or the energy – instead, they sound like a respite from all of that. A pause, a stepping out from the non-stop hustle and commotion and taking a moment to oneself in a patch of greenery, filtered through the gauzy haze of memory.

The band’s last two records God Save The Clientele and Strange Geometry are my go-to records for when I want to recapture that feeling of aimless freedom and their latest, Bonfires On The Heath, slides in quite nicely alongside them. It moves at an easy cadence, occasionally with an extra spring in its step or a Spanish accent, but throughout, Alisdair Maclean’s gentle vocals are buoyed by Mel Draisey’s backing vox over a shimmering bed of tremoloed guitars, tinkling pianos and spiraling trumpet, every note capturing the very essence of Autumn’s dusk. The Clientele indeed have a specific recipe they adhere to from album to album, but it’s one that transports me almost instantly to my happy place which, apparently, is the top of a hill in Greenwich. I had been debating whether or not I wanted to go back to London next Spring or maybe visit somewhere I haven’t been before (namely Tokyo) but I think I’ve just made up my mind.

MP3: The Clientele – “Harvest Time”
MP3: The Clientele – “I Wonder Who We Are”
Stream: The Clientele / Bonfires On The Heath
MySpace: The Clientele

And from one of my favourite English bands to another, Lucky Soul have begun streaming the a new taste of their forthcoming second album, still untitled but due out in the early part of next year. “White Russian Doll” will be released as a single on January 11 and, alongside “Whoa Billy”, make a pretty good argument for this possibly/probably being one of the pop highlights of 2010. Mayhap I should time any visits to the UK to coincide with some gigs? Wouldn’t be the first time I went out of my way to see them.

Stream: Lucky Soul – “White Russian Doll”
MP3: Lucky Soul – “Whoa, Billy”

SX interviews Patrick Wolf.

Interview has a brief chat with Oliver Sim of The xx. The band is set to start a North American tour tonight that hooks up with Friendly Fires in Austin next week and swings up to Toronto on December 2 for a show at the Phoenix. Things have been pretty quiet since the drama a few weeks ago with guitarist Baria Quereshi’s exhaustion forcing the cancellation of a few shows – can one assume that everything and everyone is back on track?

Echo & The Bunnymen’s North American tour, on the other hand, was knocked completely off track last week when they cancelled the whole jaunt on account of red tape and tax demands from the IRS. Glad we got them in town when we did. Ian McCulloch has a conversation with Spinner.

A trailer for the forthcoming Mogwai live documentary Burning, which premieres in Copenhagen this week, has emerged. It looks quiet. Then loud. And intense all the way through.

Trailer: Burning

Minnesota Public Radio is streaming a studio session with The Mountain Goats.

The Magnetic Fields have announced details of their next album, which will be entitled Realism and is due out on January 26 of the new year. Details, cover art and track listing at Exclaim!

Magnet plays over/under with the repertoire of The Flaming Lips.

NPR is streaming a live Mountain Stage concert from Yo La Tengo.

Beatroute talks to head Hidden Camera Joel Gibb. They play the Opera House on December 5.

Yeah he was just here on Saturday, but he’s coming back. That’s Justin Townes Earle and the date is March 1, 2010, at the Horseshoe.

MP3: Justin Townes Earle – “Midnight At The Movies”

This batch of show announcements didn’t even really need formal announcements, but consider them official – the Skydiggers holiday residency at the Horseshoe on December 18 and 19, Elliott Brood ringing in New Year’s Eve at Lee’s Palace and The Sadies doing the same at the Horseshoe – tickets for all shows $20 in advance.

The Word has assembled a really cool Google maps mash-up, marking the locations of dozens? hundreds? of the images found on famous and not-as-famous album covers. Consider your morning/afternoon/evening well and truly wasted.

Frank YangThere are many things to like about Leeds trio Sky Larkin, not least among them their wonderfully sweet and spiky debut album The Golden Spike, but what I think I like most is how much of a good time they’re clearly having. On record, on stage, in their videos, everything Sky Larkin is permeated with a genuine, unaffected sense of fun – no brooding angst or overamped giddiness, just the natural reaction to three friends in their early 20s getting to travel around the world playing rock music without the massive weight of expectation that some of their peers are carrying (ahemxxahem). How could they not be having fun?

The band were nearing the end of a North American tour when they rolled into the Cameron House in Toronto on Wednesday night, accompanied by fellow Brits Peggy Sue, who had the co-ed trio thing in common with their tourmates but not a lot else. Fronted by the wonderfully pseudonymed (presumably) Katy Klaw and Rosa Rex with Olly Olly Olly on drums, the outfit formerly known as Peggy Sue & The Pirates (perhaps the Pirates were taken by Pete) deal in a strain of folk that’s probably too off-kilter in instrumentation and arrangement for traditionalists yet not nearly weird enough for the 21st century hippie scene. And that’s not even mentioning the fact that both Klaw and Rex have the sorts of voices that you’d normally find in soul music, rich and emotive with the right amount of rasp – they’re not equipped to create conventional folk music, even if they were inclined to do so. Their Lover Gone EP intrigued but was really too brief to get a proper handle on what they were about and while their set went a ways towards filling in the blanks, it also expanded the canvas of what they were doing enough that their net inscrutability remains unchanged. I guess I’ll just have to hear more to figure them out. I’m okay with that.

Sky Larkin don’t require nearly as much contemplation to understand – the nature of their scrappy guitar pop will be familiar to anyone who’s ever heard Sleeper or Sleater-Kinney and satisfies on an immediate and visceral level. I’d gotten to take in their live show at SxSW so I knew that the energy of the record more than translated in the live setting with the extra bonus of the fact that the band were genuinely hilarious on stage in their between-song banter. The between-banter stuff was pretty good too, with the trio turning in an energetic if a bit short set of highlights from The Golden Spike as well as their new (and free) “SMARTS” single. As befit a band that tours as much as they, they were superbly tight with frontwoman Katie Harkin effortlessly tossing off sophisticated guitar riffs and drummer Nestor Matthews literally beating his drum kit to death. A destroyed cymbal got some licks in of its own, though, inflicting a nasty bloody gash on Matthews’ hand which he insisted on playing through, finishing off the set’s last two songs with equal – if not extra – vigor. That is dedication. Sky Larkin will bleed for you.

Photos: Sky Larkin, Peggy Sue @ The Cameron House – October 28, 2009
MP3: Sky Larkin – “Fossil, I”
MP3: Sky Larkin – “Molten”
MP3: Peggy Sue – “Lover Gone”
Video: Sky Larkin – “Antibodies”
Video: Sky Larkin – “Beeline”
Video: Sky Larkin – “Fossil, I”
Video: Sky Larkin – “Molten”
Video: Sky Larkin – “One Of Two”
Video: Peggy Sue – “Lover Gone”
MySpace: Sky Larkin
MySpace: Peggy Sue

Clash has a short interview The xx, whose exhaustion-induced show cancellations haven’t affected this Fall’s North American dates opening up for Friendly Fires… yet.

Frightened Rabbit have given their third album a name – The Winter Of Mixed Drinks – and a target release date of March 2010.

Video: Frightened Rabbit – “Swim Until You Can’t See Land”

ChartAttack talks to Dog Day, who will be at the Horseshoe on November 5.

Great Lake Swimmers have released a new video from Lost Channels. They play a War Child benefit at the Dakota Tavern on November 5 and a show at Trinity-St. Paul’s on February 6 of next year.

Video: Great Lake Swimmers – “Palmistry”

Vue has a cover feature on Dan Mangan.

FFWD reports on exactly what goes on at the mysterious Banff Centre, where both Woodpigeon and Basia Bulat are currently sequestered away being turned into unstoppable cybernetic killing machines honing their musical craft with an impressive team of mentors. CBC Radio 3 has also been checking in from the the Banff Centre and Woodpigeon has posted another song.

MP3: Woodpigeon – “For Norman Luxton”

Molina & Johnson (that’s Jason and Will) have released a second MP3 from Molina & Johnson, out November 3.

MP3: Molina & Johnson – “Almost Let You In”

Gigwise chats with Glenn Kotche of Wilco.

The Loyola Phoenix has an interview with Mountain Goats bassist Peter Hughes.

eye, The National Post, NPR, The Montreal Gazette, CNN and Spinner have conversations with The Swell Season, who have a date at Massey Hall on November 3.

The Raveonettes talk to The Georgia Straight.

Johnny Marr weights in on the subject of reunions with Spinner.