"It would be nice to sell more records and have sold-out shows and be able to pay your bills decently, but the music is definitely there."
To be sure, to be sure - the scandalously obscure Steve Tagliere from sure-footed pop-rockers Gingersol interviewed...

And the same source posts an early impression of the latest noise produced by The Long Winters: 'Not since Beulah have I heard a release so extremely positive sounding'. Their debut album The worst you can do is harm was the proverbial curate's egg with only two or three tracks attracting heavy rotation hereabouts. Label Barsuk hosts sample track Blue diamonds which is rather excellent but given that the two tracks they offered (in fact, still offer) from the debut are the hands-down standouts, more evidence re When I pretend to fall will definitely be required. Oh look, here's some...

Pete Yorn returns to the UK for a one-off date at Dingwalls on June 25 ... and more summer, er, fun from Nina Nastasia who plays some pretty essential dates in June. Confirmed so far:
June 18 - London, Purcell Room [info]
June 20 - Glasgow, Barfly
June 23 - Brighton, Komedia

So farewell then Mother Hips. Well, for the forseeable future, anyway. Following the departure of co-lead songwriter Greg Loiacono, the Hips have entered "an indefinite hiatus"; Tim Bluhm's already got solo stuff readied. The band bowed out at Slim's in San Francisco and the whole show's available for download here. Strange that they should fold their tent after having hit what was by common consent a creative high with last album The green hills of earth, a veritable smorgasbord of retro-Cali-pop-rock - Take us back, Such a thing, Channel Island girl, DEL MAR STATION!, mmmmm...

Thank goodness for The Tyde, that's all this blog can say. Courtesy of Virgin Radio's CaptainAmerica show, reallyrather has now heard their forthcoming single Go ask yer Dad a couple of times and is happy and confident to declare it - tho' it's only April and still bloody freezing out there - THE FEEL GOOD HIT OF THE SUMMER! Better than anything on the band's debut, if they've any more like this up their tie-dyed sleeves Rough Trade will have come up trumps once again...

..which they haven't really done with the UK release of the The Hidden Cameras album. Put Jonathan Richman, Mull Historical Society and - er, sorry but it's got to be said - Bareknaked Ladies into a blender and this is sort of what you'd get. Slightly wacky and pleasant enough but nothing special. As this blog noted last time out, for the real deal in outsize Canadian bands it's has to be Broken Social Scene who beat out Hot Hot Heat and others to pick up the Best Alternative Album award at last weekend's Junos. Who knows, You forgot it in people might get a release outside of Canada now...

'Destined to be a legend a decade from now, listening to M. Ward, you can't help but feel you're listening to history in the making.'
Hey, sit on the fence why dontcha?!