Britpop survivors Ash will release a compilation that gathers the first 13 singles of their 26 single A-Z series. A-Z Volume 1 will be released in a limited CD/DVD package featuring a film of their UK tour last autumn.

Beck’s Record Club has announced a few new members. Liars, St. Vincent and Os Mutantes will join the “loser” in his bid to record cover versions of his favourite albums in one day.

Flying Lotus has revealed that he will support Thom Yorke’s non-Radiohead band on their U.S. tour. FlyLo told BBC 6Music he will be opening up seven dates for Atoms For Peace, which also features Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, REM drummer Joey Waronker and instrumentalist Mauro Refosco. He also added that he “might make a contribution or two to the next Thom Yorke album.” This would be a return favour, as Yorke appears on the upcoming Flying Lotus album, Cosmogramma.

Influential Krautrock band Neu! have announced details of a career-spanning vinyl box set. Neu!, Neu! 2, Neu! 75, Neu! 4 and ’72 Live! In Dusseldorf will be released on May 10th.

Sub Pop Records has announced it has a list of limited edition exclusives lined up for Record Store Day on April 17th. Beach House 12″! Dum Dum Girls/Male Bonding 7″! Happy Birthday 7″!

So I present to you my list of bands - both Canadian and otherwise - you’ve gotta check out if you’re hitting the bars this week. Ta-da!

PARALLELS

From: Toronto, ON

Recommended if you like: Glass Candy, Donna Summer & Giorgio Moroder, Little Boots

Why you need to see them: Well, singer Holly Dodson is a sight to see herself, but some people still like dancing these days and Parallels make dreamy, bubbling disco that you can indeed lose yourself to.

Fun fact: Drummer Cameron Findlay used to be the live drummer for Crystal Castles (good choice!).

Tester song: “Find the Fire”

MySpace: myspace.com/parallelsfm

Wednesday March 10, 2010 @ 11:00PM, The Roosevelt Room, 2 Drummond Place

DIAMOND RINGS

From: Toronto, ON

Recommended if you like: Patrick Wolf, Handsome Furs, Owen Pallett

Why you need to see them: Well, John O is quite the performer and looker, just check out his video for “Wait and See”.

Fun fact: When he isn’t caked in makeup John O’Regan is the lead vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist for post-punk band The D’Urbervilles.

Tester song: “Wait and See”

MySpace: myspace.com/diamondringsmusic

Friday March 12, 2010 @ 12:00AM, Silver Dollar, 486 Spadina Ave.

NEON INDIAN

From: Austin, Texas

Recommended if you like: Todd Rundgren, Animal Collective, Cut Copy

Why you need to see them: Alan Palomo recently showed off his stuff on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and proved his bedroom, pop synthphonies are actually now ready for an audience.

Fun fact: Neon Indian formed as a sort-of apology by Palomo when he was a no-show for a scheduled acid trip with a friend.

Tester song: “Should Have Taken Acid With You”

MySpace: myspace.com/neonindian

Thursday March 11, 2010 @ 10:30PM, Lee’s Palace, 529 Bloor St. West

BRASSTRONAUT

From: Vancouver, BC

Recommended if you like: Grizzly Bear, The Sea & Cake, Radiohead

Why you need to see them: As their name suggests, there is plenty of brass horn action, plus they make the notion of jazz cool… no really!

Fun fact: Frontman Edo Van Breeman owns his label, Unfamiliar Records.

Tester song: “Slow Knots”

MySpace: myspace.com/brasstronaut

Friday March 12, 2010 @ 11:00PM, Drake Underground, 1150 Queen St. West

MEMORYHOUSE

From: Guelph, ON

Recommended if you like: Washed Out, Small Black, Memory Tapes

Why you need to see them: Because Evan Abeele and Denise Nouvion have just put together a live band and you’ll have bragging rights to say you saw them first when they blow up.

Fun fact: The duo are giving away their debut EP free! You can grab it here.

Tester song: “To the Lighthouse”

MySpace: myspace.com/wearememoryhouse

Sunday March 14, 2010, Wrongbar, 1279 Queen Street West

HARVEY MILK

From: Athens, Georgia

Recommended if you like: Melvins, Torche, Floor

Why you need to see them: They’re long-time veterans on the metal scene and they might just perform an entire set of Hank Williams covers.

Fun fact: It’s pretty obvious, but they took their name from the real Harvey Milk, the gay politician Sean Penn portrayed (and won an Oscar for) in the film Milk.

Tester song: “War”

MySpace: myspace.com/harveymilk

Thursday March 11, 2010 @ 10:20PM, Annex Wreckroom, 794 Bathurst Street

LITTLE DRAGON

From: Gothenburg, Sweden

Recommended if you like: Sia, Portishead, The Knife

Why you need to see them: Frontwoman Yukimi Nagano, whose constant movements are a bona fide showstealer.

Fun fact: The band appear on two tracks from the new Gorillaz album, Plastic Beach: “Empire Ants” and “To Binge.”

Tester song: “Fortune”

MySpace: myspace.com/yourlittledragon

Thursday March 11, 2010 @ 11:30PM, Lee’s Palace, 529 Bloor St. West

MALE BONDING

From: London, England

Recommended if you like: Vivian Girls, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Sonic Youth

Why you need to see them: They’re the coolest band in England right now and sing “funny songs about werewolves, pirates and getting high in the cinema.”

Fun fact: The band’s slogan is “we put the harm into harmony.”

Tester song: “Carrying”

MySpace: myspace.com/malebonding

Wednesday March 10, 2010 @ 11:00PM, Wrongbar, 1279 Queen Street West

WOODS

From: Brooklyn, New York

Recommended if you like: Kurt Vile, Mount Eerie, Ariel Pink

Why you need to see them: Their ability to deliver harmonies as well as experiment on stage with knobs and tape-loops is both aurally and visually arresting.

Fun facts: Woods also perform/record under the name of Woods Family Creeps, another variation of the band. They also release their music on Woodsist, the indie label owned by member Jeremy Earl.

Tester song: “Sunlit”

MySpace: myspace.com/woodsfamilyband

Sunday March 14, 2010, Horseshoe Tavern, 370 Queen St. West

METZ

From: Toronto, ON

Recommended if you like: Pissed Jeans, The Jesus Lizard, Drive Like Jehu

Why you need to see them: They make the kind of scraping racket that will make you froth at the mouth and lose your shit entirely… plus make you go deaf, so where earplugs.

Fun fact: Umm… they’re name sounds like the Mets (as in New York) but spell their name with a “z”. Sorry, that’s not actually very fun.

Tester song: “Dry Up”

MySpace: myspace.com/metztheband

Friday March 12, 2010 @ 12:00AM, The Garrison, 1197 Dundas St. West

Mark Linkous, better known as indie/alt-country artist Sparklehorse, committed suicide on Saturday in Knoxville, Tenn. Linkous reportedly shot himself in the heart in an alley outside a friend’s home, according to his manager, Shelby Meade. Linkous leaves behind him a legacy that spans 14 years. He debuted as Sparklehorse with 1996’s critically lauded Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot, and followed up with three more albums. While touring his first album, Linkous collapsed after an overdose on Valium and was pronounced dead. He was eventually revived and spent the next six months in a wheelchair, but still managed to perform. Most recently, he worked with Danger Mouse and filmmaker David Lynch on an album called Dark Night of the Soul, which was shelved after legal problems last year (it was reported last week that the album is now set to see a proper release). Mark Linkous was 47.

Radiohead do not have a new album coming out. NME.com reports that an email detailing the band’s new album is completely false. “Most of it is made up and there is no album or album title,” a spokesperson told the site.

Aziz Ansari, Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Nick Zinner and TV On the Radio’s David Sitek have declared war on Justin Bieber in a new Funny Or Die video. In the spoof, Ansari plays his obnoxious comedian character Raaaaaaaandy, who claims the 16-year-old pop star shot him, stole the song “Baby” from him and threatened to “take a dump” on him. A dramatic re-enactment shows Bieber (played by Josh Simpson) shooting in the studio with Raaaaaaaandy, as he records his “Baby Baby.” Bieber whips out a gun, shoots Raaaaaaaandy and hilarity ensues! Watch the video here.

Band of Horses have revealed details about their new album. Infinite Arms will be released on May 18th by three, count ‘em, three labels: Brown Records, Fat Possum and Columbia! So, an indie, a major indie and a major, got it.

Sofia Coppola is reportedly working on a new film based on Phoenix’s “Love Like A Sunset.” Coppola’s baby daddy/Phoenix lead singer Thomas Mars told The New York Times that the filmmaker is working on something new, using the two-part song, taken from the band’s 2009 album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, as inspiration. Mars didn’t elaborate as to whether it was a feature film or music video, but the possibilities are endless!

Free Energy Stuck On Nothing [DFA]

If you’ve at all followed the DFA Records catalogue, then you’ll find Free Energy to be a bit of an anomaly for the label. Known for revitalizing the electronic music scene at the turn of the millennium, DFA quickly built a reputation with an in-house production sound that united house, disco, funk and punk. Acts such as The Rapture, Hot Chip, The Juan Maclean, Hercules and Love Affair, YACHT and of course, DFA co-founder James Murphy’s own LCD Soundsystem have released some of the most influential and innovative music in the last decade. And now we have Free Energy.

Free Energy are not house, disco, funk and punk. Formerly known as Hockey Night, these Philadelphians sound born to blast out of the speakers of a Flyers game during a TV timeout. They’re as pure and unfiltered as good time rock’n’roll can get these days. But more specifically they take their sound from the glam, power pop and riff rock of the ’70s, when T-Rex, Todd Rundgren and Thin Lizzy, respectively, crunched their chords and pushed just how sugary and electric rock’n’roll could get.

There are so many reference points in Free Energy’s music though, it’s almost insulting to try and evaluate the long-delayed Stuck On Nothing. “Dream City” recalls the high schooled-soda pop of obscure ‘70s band Milk ‘N’ Cookies. “Bang Pop” maximizes the impact of the drums to ensure they’ll be ready to handle the arenas and stadiums a band like Free Energy are born to fill. “Bad Stuff” is made of that cool-handed swagger Thin Lizzy sweated, with Paul Sprangers adopting a perfect facsimile of Phil Lynott’s blithe expression over the tight, punchy rhythm. And “Light Love” is bright, effortless and possibly the most bona fide power pop imagined since Jellyfish, Matthew Sweet and The Posies took a stranglehold on the subgenre at the turn of the ‘90s.

DFA has always prided itself in modernizing a throwback sound, and it’s hard to defend Free Energy’s sound as contemporary. That is all irrelevant though when it comes to the sugar high that comes with Stuck On Nothing. If only more retro rock bands could replicate ‘70s rock the way Free Energy have managed, maybe, just maybe, a band like Jet wouldn’t have been so foul-tasting.

Rating: B+

- Cam Lindsay

Check out a stream of the album here.

The Besnard Lakes twisting chronicle, or fever dream, of spies, double agents, novelists and aspiring rock gods has turned violent. Loyalty, dishonor, love, hatred all seen through the eyes of two spies, fighting a war that may not be real. One follows the other as they receive coded messages and spread destruction. The city is burning, and it’s to the benefit of music obsessives everywhere. Once again, the husband-and-wife duo of Olga Goreas and Jace Lasek has crafted a majestic, sprawling vision of guitar bombast and captivating pop experiments.

That’s some heavy shit. But in a nutshell, that’s the new Besnard Lakes album. The Besnard Lakes Are Roaring the Night follows up 2007’s The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse, an album that not only earned the Montrealers a Polaris Prize nomination but also a record deal with Jagjaguwar (outside of Canada), international acclaim and a gig writing the score for Mark Ruffalo’s directorial debut, Sympathy for Delicious.

On their third album, The Besnard Lakes descend deeper and deeper into murky, shoegaze territory, stacking layers of feedback, reverb and drone to no end. But as they’ve proven before, this is not a band that can be simplified. Within their hazy production are traces of a musical pedigree that incorporates arena rock guitar explosions, orchestral blessings and harmonies that are usually reserved for pop’s widespread approval.

“Like The Ocean, Like The Innocent” opens the album in two parts: The Ocean and The Innocent. The first is a preliminary interlude of instrumental bliss, while the second is immersed in undulating pedal-driven noise, elevating Lasek’s high register until it bursts into an inferno of hypnotic guitar jams and blazing solos that acts as a prep for the album by hitting you like a jolting shot of adrenaline.

“Chicago Train” takes a breather and falls into a transcending spell of tender string arrangements that recall Spiritualized. It doesn’t last though - the string players are forced to give way to the band who come in riding a wave of crashing guitars.

“Albatross” and “Glass Printer” all make for stronger arguments about a shoegazing fixation: the former falls into a reverie built around wonky, off-tuned guitars and the angelic vocals of Goreas, which undeniably signals My Bloody Valentine’s swooning influence; the latter cranks up the swirling feedback to flow with the lackadaisical drumming that falls more under the more rock stylings of Swervedriver.

But the use of Led Zeppelin’s mixing desk hasn’t been lost in the band’s dense layers. Another two-parter comes with “Land Of Living Skies,” the first of which is a laconic instrumental of radio hiss, the second more of a mid-tempo rock that descends into a convergence of the band’s massive, swelling sonics.

The Besnard Lakes Are Roaring the Night is an vast ocean of sound, where the melodies are streamed through fuzzed out psychedelia and loud bursts of random noise. Feel it for yourself and get swept away.

Click here to listen to a stream of The Besnard Lakes Are Roaring the Night.

Though he’s unjustly recognized more for his membership in Broken Social Scene, prolific Toronto-based troubadour Jason Collett has built himself a trusty catalogue that’s equal parts hook-heavy pop, good time rock’n’roll and soul-searching folk.

Recorded with Carlin Nicholson and Michael O’Brien of his backing band Zeus, Rat A Tat Tatmarks Collett’s fourth album of the decade and arguably his best effort yet. Wearing his Canadiana roots on his sleeve, Rat A Tat Tatmoves like a tour across our fair nation, province to province - something he’s had his fair share of both as part of BSS and on his own.

Collett’s oeuvre is one that moves like a strong breeze through a selection of influences. Beginning with a Dylan-esque twang for “Rave On, Sad Songs,” Collett opens on one of the album’s more dour notes, exploring heartbreak by announcing “happiness is for amateurs” over a mix of accordion and country-blues guitar. But “Lake Superior” changes the colour of his mood ring by doubling up Collett’s vocals and dropping sharp, bleeding guitar riffs to generate some glam rock swagger.

“Love Is A Dirty Word” keeps things moving by kicking up a dirty, little funk bass line to accentuate the playful tone of Collett’s words, which he delivers in an amusingly cocky croon. He then strikes AM Gold with the swinging, feel-good stomper “High Summer,” and shows his contributions to the BSS enterprise with “Love Is A Chain,” flashing his chops for penning a perfect, road-trip-bound pop song.

The last quarter of Rat A Tat Tatexpresses a fondness for the Beatles in “The Slowest Dance” with its snap rhythm, tight guitar chords and underlining piano twinkle; album standout “Winnipeg Winds” summons a ghostlike presence to become an eerie murder ballad; and “Vanderpool Vanderpool” signs off with a lackadaisical coolness to it, resorting back his freewheelin’ Dylan-ish persona to draw the album to a close.

Jason will start up the van and take Rat A Tat Taton the road as part of the Bonfire Ball, which also features Zeus and Bahamas. The tour begins in Toronto on March 10th.

Click here to listen to a stream of Rat A Tat Tat.

Author: Cam Lindsay

Swedish pop pixie Robyn has announced that she’ll release not one, not two, but three - count ‘em three - new albums in 2010. In an interview with Bon magazine, the singer said the first one will be out this spring, with the other two following in summer and winter. The albums will feature work with Röyksopp, Diplo and a “rap duel” with Snoop Dogg. Wowsa!

Pavement played their first reunion show in New Zealand umm… today. The band played Auckland’s Town Hall and played a “greatest hits” set that included classic cuts like “Perfume-V,” “Box Elder,” “The Hexx,” “Here” and b-side “Give It A Day.” The band have confirmed only one Canadian date so far in Toronto at Olympic Island on June 19th. A compilation of Pavement’s “best” songs, Quarantine the Past, is out March 9th.

Rising young British singer Ellie Goulding has admitted that all the hype she’s received actually sent her to the emergency room. Speaking with the Times Online, Ellie said that after opening up for Florence & The Machine, she ended up feeling “really upset and weird, it felt like having a heart attack. I actually went to A&E. I think that was a warning: that my body had to deal with the other person.” Her debut album Lights is out in stores tomorrow. For her health’s sake I hope it bombs… (Note: I think she’s actually fantastic and hope the best for Ellie Goulding’s career)

LCD Soundsystem will release their new album in May. No date or title is confirmed.

Much loved noise pop duo Best Coast will be bringing their girl-group-inspired lo-fi ditties to Canada for a short North American tour. The band will play Montreal at The Cove on April 12th and Toronto at The Garrison on April 13th.

Retribution Gospel Choir 2 [Sub Pop]

On paper, Retribution Gospel Choir basically = Low – Mimi Parker + Eric Pollard. It seems like a harmless substitution but when you compare the two bands, there is one essential difference: volume.

When Alan Sparhawk and Steve Garrington first teamed up with Pollard, few people knew what the trio had in store. When their self-titled album was released in 2008 on Mark Kozelek’s Caldo Verde label, it was certainly a “must sit down to hear this” occasion. Anyone familiar with Low knew Sparhawk had it in him to unleash some of that pent up emotion that only really trickled out through meagre, hushed arrangements – RGC proved to be this outlet.

Now signed to Sub Pop, the band’s first album for the label lives up to its predecessor, forging ahead with more of that riff-ravaging rock, while introducing more nuances to hone their sound.

2 wastes little time reaching its TCOB mantra. “Hide It Away” likes it loud, but sounds as if it was leftover from Low’s The Great Destroyer, with its sprawling scope and layered chorus that suggest Mimi was in the studio. But then the opening sound of plugging in and letting loose on “Your Bird” confirms this is definitely Sparhawk on the graveyard shift.

“’68 Comeback,” gets even louder in its brief 43 seconds, unloading like Thin Lizzy after too many of those whiskey jars. It works as the perfect precursor to “Workin’ Hard,” a paean to Neil Young & Crazy Horse’s proto-grunge period that takes a blue-collar perspective and equally channels the likes of the Boss and straight disciples The Constantines with its anthemic chorus and muscular strumming.

But RGC aren’t simply a classic rock rehash. They indulge in a fit of lo-fi noise rock nonsense for “Something’s Going To Break,” bring in some strings for “Electric Guitar,” an eight-minute monster of a song, and then tone it down all Low-like on “Bless Us All,” which calls on a banjo and redemptive vocal refrain of the title to sign off like an Amen.

Low fans might be taken aback by hearing Sparhawk’s sonic exclamation, but behind the walls of rock guitar are songs that bear the same signature as anything he’s done prior to RGC. Still, it’s a rush to hear him let loose, making 2 the perfect answer to 17 years of trudging through the depths of slowcore.

Rating: B

- Cam Lindsay

A medical examiner has cited that garage punk rocker Jay Reatard died from “cocaine toxicity, and that alcohol was a contributing factor in his death.” Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr. was found dead at his Memphis home on January 13th. He was 29.

Idiosyncratic indie rock crews Deerhoof and Xiu Xiu will team up to cover the classic Joy Division album Unknown Pleasures live at the Donaufestival in Krems, Austria on April 29th.

Talk about intimate! One lucky contest winner received a private performance in her own home by legendary synth pop duo Pet Shop Boys. Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe re-created part of their spectacular Pandemonium tour in the home of super fan Lorraine Sands.

There has been a lot of speculation about this fourth Strokes album, but according to the band’s website they have officially begun recording it at Avatar Studios in NYC with engineer Gus Oberg and producer Joe Chiccarelli.

Girls and Dum Dum Girls are teaming up for a North American tour this spring. The indie faves will play 11 dates together before they stop to play Coachella. There is one Canadian date: April 9th at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto.

Broken Social Scene have announced they’ll release their first album in five years on May 4th. Though it’s still untitled, Kevin Drew told Pitchfork that the album will be mostly a six-piece version of the band with guest appearances by Feist, Emily Haines, Amy Millan, Sebastien Grainger, Pavement’s Spiral Stairs and John McEntire from Tortoise, who also acted as producer. You can read the interview here.

Last week we told you that the beef between Fucked Up and Sonic Youth was not actually real, but that the Polaris Prize winners had a new song called “Cranking To Sonic Youth.” Well, you can now download that song for free on a new mixtape from guitarist and Young Governor frontman Ben Cook. Grab it from his No Guv No Luv blog.

Panda Bear (aka Noah Lennox) has revealed more details about his massively anticipated new album. Tomboy (yep, that’s what it’s called) will be out some time in September.

We love the new Beach House album, Teen Dream, so to hear that they performed four songs from it for the new Daytrotter Session is beautiful news to us.

And congratulations to Phoenix, who took home the only real Grammy Award that matters: Best Alternative Music Album. Okay, they’re all pretty meaningless, but the fact that they managed to win seems sweet on some level.