Frank YangFor most bands, an EP is a stopgap between albums meant to keep their name out there, their fans appeased, and to buy some more time while they work on the next proper full-length. For Scotland’s Frightened Rabbit, their new State Hospital short-player was an excuse to stop work on their third album, jet across the Atlantic and play a batch of North American dates. They kind of did the same thing last Summer, though A Frightened Rabbit EP was less an excuse to tour than to have something new at the merch table after they were invited out to support Death Cab For Cutie on the amphitheatre circuit. In either case, both the tour and releases were pretty good distractions from the fact that their last album – The Winter Of Mixed Drinks – is now over two and a half years old.

But if you thought that the sold-out house at The Mod Club last Wednesday night were on hand to tell the band off in person for being tardy with new music, well you’d have been wrong. Lots of young bands have fanbases of a certain size have to accept a percentage of “oh I like that one song” and “these guys are hip so I should be here”-types amongst them, but Frightened Rabbit seem to have managed to keep theirs disproportionately, “I love this band more than life itself”. Which is impressive, if not a bit unsettling, and a proven benefit of touring constantly, being accessible to your fans, and finding that songwriting sweet spot where introverted miserablism intersects big rock action.

The last time I saw the band was a few tours ago – two sets at SXSW 2010 – and so any notes I might have on how they’ve evolved as a live act have significant gaps in them. That said, I don’t think anyone will take great offence is I say that big “FR” stage backdrop aside, they haven’t changed much at all which is to say they’re still wonderfully down to earth and earnest, and no, no one besides frontman Scott Hutchison really does much besides steadily and stolidly going about their business. And while I’m the last person who’d complain about being faced with a phalanx of Telecasters, one does have to question why they’d necessarily need a four-guitar lineup for some songs – though to their credit, they never let the arrangements get messy or overdone. But when you have more guitarists than Iron Maiden, you gotta wonder.

The set strongly favouring 2008’s Midnight Organ Fight but touched on all points of their discography to date, including reaching back to their debut Sing The Greys for “Square 9”. It’s a song that’s hardly small on record, but live had been built up to arena-scale set-closer proportions. Impressive, and brought back down to Hutchison on solo acoustic for the front half of the encore, eventually bringing the band back out for a grand “Living In Colour” to close things out for good. And here was one of the benefits of the between-album tours: there’s nothing to sell, so give the fans what they want.

It was a bit surprising that aside from a couple State Hospital selections, there wasn’t any new material at all in the fold. But even so, it’s pretty easy to guess what formula next album – due out early next year – will utilize: make it sad, make it big, give it a Scottish accent. Some might bristle at the suggestion that Frightened Rabbit work by formula, but it’s not a slight – if Scott Hutchison’s songwriting stays at the same high level that it has since the band emerged, and there’s little reason to think it won’t, then it’ll make for another bracing album of anthemic angst that will give them another excuse to tour and their fans to celebrate. And what’s wrong with that?

Exclaim also has a review of the show.

Photos: Frightened Rabbit @ The Mod Club – October 10, 2012
MP3: Frightened Rabbit – “Scottish Winds”
MP3: Frightened Rabbit – “Swim Until You Can’t See Land”
MP3: Frightened Rabbit – “Old Old Fashioned” (live)
MP3: Frightened Rabbit – “The Modern Leper”
Video: Frightened Rabbit – “State Hospital”
Video: Frightened Rabbit – “Living In Colour”
Video: Frightened Rabbit – “The Loneliness & The Scream”
Video: Frightened Rabbit – “Nothing Like You”
Video: Frightened Rabbit – “Nothing Like You” (alternate version)
Video: Frightened Rabbit – “Swim Until You Can’t See Land”
Video: Frightened Rabbit – “Heads Roll Off”
Video: Frightened Rabbit – “The Greys”

DIY, Drowned In Sound, and Gigwise talk to Natasha Khan of Bat For Lashes about her new album The Haunted Man It’s out October 23 and streaming now at NPR.

MP3: Bat For Lashes – “Laura”
Stream: Bat For Lashes / The Haunted Man

The Line Of Best Fit chats with Beth Orton.

Field Music muse to Gigwise about their odds of taking home the Mercury Prize in a few weeks.

Rolling Stone have made one of the tracks from Ash’s A-Z singles series – being released on triple-vinyl in North America in time for their North American tour, which brings them to Lee’s Palace on November 17.

MP3: Ash – “Return Of White Rabbit”

DIY has got a stream of the new Patrick Wolf set Sundark & Riverlight, finally out physically tomorrow. Clash talks to Wolf about the decade-marking double-set.

Stream: Patrick Wolf / Sunlight & Riverdark

Clash profiles The xx, back in town at Massey Hall on October 23.

Two Door Cinema Club have released a new video from Beacon and also have a chat with The Belfast Telegraph.

Video: Two Door Cinema Club – “Sun”

Interview and The Line Of Best Fit have interviews with Tame Impala, in town at the Phoenix on November 12.

Frank YangIt’s really a travesty that Neil Halstead’s isn’t venerated as a musical trailblazer. This is, after all, a man whose work in Slowdive was groundbreaking for both the shoegazing and ambient electronic genres and who created some of the finest alt.country moments from the UK via Mojave 3, the say nothing of the increasingly deep catalog of works under his own name, most recently with Palindrome Hunches. And yet for the recognition that he should but mostly does not get, he seemed perfectly content to just roll into the Dakota Tavern on Monday evening, guitar in hand, to play some songs and just play some songs. Must be that surfer lifestyle.

Supporting Halstead on these dates was Californian Jim Hanft, who in turn brought with him collaborator Samantha Yonack. Hanft offered up some decent singer-songwriter fare, and any points deducted for having an overly affected rasp and twang in his delivery was made up for by his genial demeanour and willingness to move around and make use of the stage. For her part, Yonack earned her almost-equal billing both with her harmonies and impromptu roadie skills, on display when Hanft accidentally unplugged his guitar during one of the aforementioned wanders. Not the most memorable stuff, but pleasant enough.

Halstead was last here in November 2008 for Oh! Mighty Engine, and just like his solo record have gotten progressively more stripped-down, so to has his live show become simpler in execution. Whereas that show featured a couple backing players, this time Halstead was joined by an accompanist on only a handful of songs – crucially so, with the simple bass, guitar, and piano embellishments adding a lot – but mostly just himself. And as always, that’s all he really needed.

As is typical with his solo shows, the set was divided up fairly evenly between solo and Mojave 3 material, though I think that the balance this time out leaned more to the band material. Playing without a written-out set list, Halstead was agreeable to shouted requests and surprisingly to me, whose fandom stretches back to the Slowdive days, a lot of the requests were for his solo material (and one request for “Souvlaki Space Stating” was indulged to the point of playing the opening chords and demonstrating that he had a delay pedal handy). I suppose that made sense with the crowd being younger than I would have expected – these people weren’t Slowdive or Mojave 3 fans first, but Neil Halstead fans. What a thing it must be to have three distinct and beloved catalogs to work from. The audience also gave Halstead a song back, singing him, “Happy Birthday” in honour of his turning 42 the day before.

Though Mojave 3 had technically been in action this year – some lineup had played a few gigs in China, of all places, this Summer – it had been a good six years since they last toured through and it was so great to hear those songs again: “Prayer For The Paranoid”, “Who Do You Love”, “In Love With A View”, “Some Kinda Angel”, “Life In Art”… all moments of gorgeousness that I’d somehow let slip from my memory. In addition to refreshing my Mojave affections, my appreciation for Halstead’s solo works also increased as the performance went on – it’s easy to begrudge those solo records for not being Mojave 3 or Slowdive records, for not showcasing Halstead’s talents at crafting widescreen sonic landscapes, but that would ignore just how good a pure songwriter Halstead now is, and how he doesn’t necessarily need all that presentation to make beautiful and affecting music.

After closing the main set with a gorgeous, “Full Moon Rising” off of Palindrome Hunches, Halstead returned and soliciting more requests, addressed the Slowdive reunion question which he himself set up in August – fitting, since this was the city that hosted the final two Slowdive shows in 1994. And while I’d like to think that it was all part of a carefully planned campaign to lead up to an official return in the near future, his explanation that he was being interviewed at 7AM in China and that a Slowdive return had never officially been off the table but wasn’t necessarily any closer to a reality than it ever was seemed more likely; he closed the discussion by suggesting those really keen on it happening should petition Rachel Goswell for it to happen, and then for the first time since I’ve been seeing either him or Mojave 3 live – some 13 years – he played a Slowdive song. And then another. His solo acoustic arrangement of “Alison” had already surfaced thanks to the free tour EP at Noisetrade, but the rendition of “40 Days” was new to my ears and beautiful. The magic the man can work with just the addition of a delay pedal is remarkable; someone needs to hand him a Telecaster, stat. “Hi-Lo and In Between” from Sleeping On Roads closed the show after a good hour forty-five and Halstead bid farewell, at least until the next time.

The Singing Lamb also has a review of the show. Metro and The Philadelphia Inquirer have interviews with Halstead.

Photos: Neil Halstead, Jim Hanft with Samantha Yonack @ The Dakota Tavern – October 8, 2012
MP3: Neil Halstead – “Tied To You”
MP3: Neil Halstead – “Digging Shelters”
MP3: Neil Halstead – “Full Moon Rising”
MP3: Neil Halstead – “Paint A Face”
MP3: Neil Halstead – “Two Stones In My Pocket”
MP3: Mojave 3 – “In Love With A View”
MP3: Mojave 3 – “Return To Sender”
Video: Neil Halstead – “Hey Daydreamer”
Video: Neil Halstead – “Digging Shelters”
Video: Neil Halstead – “Elevenses”
Video: Neil Halstead – “Witless Or Wise”
Video: Neil Halstead – “Paint A Face”
Video: Neil Halstead – “Queen Bee”
Video: Mojave 3 – “Breaking The Ice”
Video: Mojave 3 – “Some Kinda Angel”
Video: Mojave 3 – “Love Songs On The Radio”
Video: Jim Hanft – “Television”
Video: Jim Hanft – “Superhero”

Gold Flake Paint and DIY have interviews with Frightened Rabbit, in town for a sold-out Mod Club show tonight.

Ellie Goulding goes over her new album Halcyon for Billboard. She brings it to the Sound Academy on October 14.

CBC Music talks to The xx, coming to Massey Hall on October 23.

Spinner interviews Natasha Khan of Bat For Lashes. Her new album The Haunted Man comes out October 23 and a six-song preview is now streaming at The Guardian.

Stream: Bat For Lashes / The Haunted Man sampler

Ritzy Bryan of The Joy Formidable talks to DIY about their new album Wolf’s Law, out January 23 of next year. They’re at The Sound Academy on November 25 supporting The Gaslight Anthem.

The Vaccines have a new vid from Come Of Age. They’re at The Phoenix on February 4.

Video: The Vaccines – “I Always Knew”

Muse will bring whatever ridiculous over-the-top live spectacle they dream up – think “The Wall” – for their new album The 2nd Law to the Air Canada Centre on April 9. NPR has a brief interview with the band.

Video: Muse – “Survival”

The National Post and Under The Radar have features on Two Door Cinema Club.

NPR has a World Cafe session and JAM and State interviews with Beth Orton.

Bloc Party have released a new video from Four.

Video: Bloc Party – “Kettling”

Echo Lake have put out another video from their debut Echo Lake.

Video: Echo Lake – “Another Day”

Billboard and BBC have features on Mumford & Sons.

Adele’s theme song for the new James Bond film Skyfall is now available to “watch” via lyric video. Which is kind of like the movie’s opening credits but with lyrics instead of credits and no silhouettes of femme fatales. It opens in North American on November 9.

Lyric Video: Adele – “Skyfall”

Austin City Limits is streaming their season premiere episode, featuring a little band called Radiohead.

Frank YangI think there’s two ways to look at the frequency with which Patrick Wolf tours North America. One one hand, you could say he’s not here nearly enough considering how much time he spends on the road and how devoted his fanbase is – his last visit was over three years ago, in support of The Bachelor. On the other, we’re probably lucky that he comes through as much as he does, considering how… fluid his label (and tour support) situation tends to be from record to record – his last album, 2011’s rather excellent Lupercalia didn’t even get a physical release on this continent – it’s probably a testament to his determination to service that devoted fanbase that he not only keeps performing, but that he keeps making such a memorable show of it.

His visit this past Tuesday night at The Music Gallery wasn’t belatedly for Lupercalia – domestic release or no, you can be sure his fans had copies of it and its Brumalia companion EP – but was instead part of the celebrations marking Wolf’s tenth anniversary as a recording artist. The celebrations also included the release of a new album of old songs, reimagined in orchestral/acoustic fashion as Sundark & Riverlight – it wouldn’t be physically released until October 16, but was already out digitally by the time Wolf took the stage. And in a way, it was almost better if the fans hadn’t heard the new versions beforehand – hearing familiar songs in a completely new way could be a thrilling experience, particularly in such an intimate setting, but it’s easy for me to say that as I’d already heard the new record and knew that the new versions were brilliant.

The tour also came with some Can-con in the form of supporting act Woodpigeon. Band principal Mark Hamilton recently relocated from his former homebase of Calgary to Austria both for love and a change of scenery, and like they say – you have to leave to come back; Woodpigeon moved to Europe only to land the biggest North American tour of his career. I’ve seen Woodpigeon live in a wide range of configurations, from folk vocal group to plugged-in rock band, but this time it was just Hamilton solo and acoustic, save for some looping equipment for his choral vocal effects and layered guitar parts. I’ve always thought that Woodpigeon needed to be some variant of band to sound their best – some of the arrangements on record were too pretty to be stripped down – but while there were points that I thought some sort of accompaniest might have been nice, he was doing pretty well on his own.

Knowing the rate at which he writes and records, I expect there are at least a couple new Woodpigeon albums in the release queue but the set stuck mostly to already-released material and it having been a while since I last heard them live – February 2010, to be precise – I’d forgotten how great those songs were. The laid-back atmosphere perfectly suited Hamilton’s gentle deliver, allowing him to be casual and conversational with the audience and preface most songs with quick, charming anecdotes. It’s a shame that Woodpigeon has migrated across the Atlantic, but if that translates into better opportunities (like this one) and perhaps more appreciation from his home and native land, perhaps the expatriate life is the right one.

Patrick Wolf had advertised this as an acoustic tour, but anyone expecting it to be an acoustic guitar strum through the songbook clearly doesn’t know Patrick Wolf very well. The area in front of the stage was filled with musical curiosities, from zithers, tenor guitars, and several violins and violas, musical saw, and oboe, through to a harp and grand piano. This wasn’t going to be no coffee house. Backed by one, and sometimes two, additional players, Wolf moved amongst all the instruments – and sometimes just sang – with the variety in tools and textures kept things sounding as rich and interesting as if he’d been touring with a full band; the amount of work that had gone into reinventing the song selections from all points of his eclectic career was very evident. The new arrangements also put the spotlight on what a stunning instrument Wolf’s voice was – its range and expressiveness has never been in question, but given the sonic density of some of his more recent albums, the fact that it’s such a massively powerful force on its own has been easy to overlook; no longer.

You couldn’t get further in vibe from this show to the 2009 appearance at the Mod Club. That performance showcased Wolf at most mercurial, for both good and bad, but this time he was happy and comfortable and just having a good time – at one point, he commented that he could see the CN Tower in all its LED-lit glory through the window, but much preferred the view inside the church. And why not? He’d filled the room with a couple hundred devout fans who, being more used to being able to act out and toss glitter around at his shows, had to try and restrain themselves in this setting and as a result just sat and trembled. It was pretty damn cute. And you knew they were die-hard because when Wolf stopped “House” midway through, saying that he wasn’t feeling it on account of being homeless while on tour – in its place, he took a request and swapped it for “Penzance”, a b-side from his very first single. Career-spanning, indeed.

After a closing run of “Pelicans”, “The Magic Position” – no prompting needed to get the audience clapping, and “Bermondsy Street”, it occurred to me that this would probably be the first Patrick Wolf show I’d see that didn’t end with Wolf nearly naked. And indeed, when he returned for the encore, he was still fully dressed but had traded his medieval-styled tunic outfit for a strange black cloak/headdress combination that made him look like some sort of executioner bishop. It was a fitting outfit for the genuinely creepy piano and hammered saw rendition of “Vulture”, but for “City” he swapped the crucifix around his neck for a pentagram headdress and when he couldn’t properly sing into the mic with it on, he wore it upside-down as a crown. And, not wanting things to end just yet, he attempted an a capella reading of “Jerusalem” but after forgetting the lyrics a verse in, ditched, bowed, and left. An abrupt but still charming end to an utterly lovely night.

Panic Manual was also on hand. The Quietus and Portland Monthly have interviews with Wolf.

Photos: Patrick Wolf, Woodpigeon @ The Music Gallery – September 25, 2012
MP3: Patrick Wolf – “Vulture”
MP3: Patrick Wolf – “A Boy Like Me”
MP3: Woodpigeon – “For Paolo”
MP3: Woodpigeon – “The Way To Happiness”
MP3: Woodpigeon – “Winter Song”
MP3: Woodpigeon – “I Am Your Balladeer”
MP3: Woodpigeon – “Empty Hall Sing-Along”
MP3: Woodpigeon – “Knock Knock”
MP3: Woodpigeon – “A Moment’s Peace For Mary Christa O’Keefe”
MP3: Woodpigeon – “Love In The Time Of Hopscotch”
MP3: Woodpigeon – “Oberkampf”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “Overture”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “The City”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “Together”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “The Falcons”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “Time Of My Life”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “House”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “Damaris”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “Hard Times”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “Vulture”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “Accident And Emergency”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “The Magic Position”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “Bluebells”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “The Libertine”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “Wind In The Wires”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “To The Lighthouse”
Video: Woodpigeon – “For Paolo”
Video: Woodpigeon – “Our Love Is As Tall As The Calgary Tower”
Video: Woodpigeon – “Spirehouse”
Video: Wooodpigeon – “Featherstone”
Video: Woodpigeon – “A Moment’s Peace for Mary Christa O’Keefe”
Video: Woodpigeon – “…A Given”
Video: Woodpigeon – “Home As A Romanticized Concept Where Everyone Loves You”

The Guardian, Clash, NOW, and The Atlanta Journal Constitution have features on Beth Orton, who is streaming her new album Sugaring Season at NPR ahead of its official release next Tuesday. She plays The Mod Club on Sunday, September 30.

Stream: Beth Orton / Sugaring Season

A Music Blog, Yea?, Newbury & Thatcham Chronicle, BBC, and Panic Manual have interviews with Dry The River.

NOW welcomes Django Django to town; they’re at Wrongbar on Saturday night. SF Weekly also has a feature piece.

Exclaim talks to The xx, coming to town for a show at Massey Hall on October 23.

The Independent and NPR have features on Mumford & Sons, whose new album Babel is apparently set to sell a shit-tonne of records in its first week and top the charts. How about that. NPR also has a video session with the band.

Daytrotter welcomes Summer Camp for a session.

Charli XCX has a new video.

Video: Charli XCX – “So Far Away”

Exclaim gets to know Toy.

In addition to a stream of what is supposedly the first official single from Wolf’s Law, Seattle radio station 107.7 The End also has a firm release date for The Joy Formidable’s second album – it’s out January 23 of next year, and they’re opening up for The Gaslight Anthem at The Sound Academy on November 25 of this year.

Stream: The Joy Formidable – “This Ladder Is Ours”

Al Doyle of Hot Chip talks to Exclaim.

Christopher WilsonBecause clearly I’m shit at this retirement or even just taking a day off thing… Some recent concert announcements with on-sales earlier than I’d have likely gotten to them otherwise. This is me. Thinking of you.

Band OF Horses were just here in August, yes, but that was in a sort of support role for My Morning Jacket and it was a good month before their new record Mirage Rock came out – today, I believe. And so to go with the new record are a batch of North American tour dates, including a stop back in Toronto at Massey Hall on December 5. Tickets for that are $42.50 to $49.50 and go on sale this Friday at 10AM. Presales are also likely, I leave those to you to sniff out.

There’s band features at Toro, Spotify, aux.tv, and Under The Radar. NPR also has a World Cafe session with the band.

Video: Band Of Horses – “Knock Knock”

Also back for seconds are The xx. They previewed Coexist here at the end of July, but are back as part of their full North American tour – as I predicted – with a show at Massey Hall on October 23. Tickets for that will range from $39.50 to $59.50 and go on sale this Thursday at 10AM. JAM has an interview with the band. Update: Beggars Canada has some presale info for Wednesday at 10AM.

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

A little bit of an odd pairing, but a good one if you like guitars big and loud – The Gaslight Anthem and The Joy Formidable team up for a trans-Atlantic rock summit at The Sound Academy on November 25, tickets $26.50 general admission and $39.50 VIP, on sale Friday at 10. The Gaslight Anthem released Handwritten back in the Summer and The Joy Formidable are readying their second full-length Wolf’s Law for release next January.

MP3: The Joy Formidable – “Wolf’s Law”
Video: The Gaslight Anthem – “Handwritten”

Also offering a healthy amount of guitar pyrotechnics are Six Organs Of Admittance. They’re at The Drake on November 28 in support of their new record Ascent. Tickets are $13.50 in advance.

MP3: Six Organs Of Admittance – “Waswasa”

And while I’ve got you here, I may as well direct you to Rolling Stone where The Mountain Goats are streaming their new record Transcendental Youth ahead of its official release next week; Time also has a feature. They’re at The Phoenix on October 20.

MP3: The Mountain Goats – “Cry For Judas”
Stream: The Mountain Goats / Transcendental Youth

Wilco also have a new video, taken from The Whole Love. So watch that.

Video: Wilco – “Sunloathe”

Dum Dum Girls also have a new video, taken from their new EP End Of Daze, out today.

Video: Dum Dum Girls – “Lord Knows”

Ume have turned to Kickstarter to help record their next record.

Exclaim, Spinner, and The AV Club have features on The Afghan Whigs. They’re at The Phoenix on October 3.

Exclaim chats with Annie Clark of St. Vincent.

CBC Music talks to Josh Tillman of Father John Misty, in town at Lee’s Palace on October 27.

JAM and NOW talk to Dinosaur Jr, whose second of three nights at Lee’s Palace is tonight.

Exclaim, Austinist, NPR, and NOW profile Grizzly Bear, in town at Massey Hall tomorrow night.

Damnation.

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

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

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

Stream: Frightened Rabbit / State Hospital

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

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

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

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

MP3: Bat For Lashes – “Marilyn”

Beatroute and The Boston Phoenix talk to Bloc Party.

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

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

Billboard profiles The Vaccines.

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

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

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

For Folks Sake chats with Stevie Jackson

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