Stream their fantastic take on ‘Holiday’ here.

Yacht recently dropped by Noisevox.

See Mystery Lights is out now.

MP3: Yacht - Psychic City

Our Toronto based guest blogger, Jordon Chiarelli, shares his review. Did you know that in the Canadian Governmental hierarchy, the Prime Minister is actually third in line? In fact, it is actually the Queen of England who legitimately sits as top ranked head of state (or province) - she even has her mug on all of the Canadian coins & has an intimate acoustically sound theatre named after her based at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. This seven-dollar-a-beer venue housed an up close & entertaining night with The Magnetic Fields on Monday showcasing their most recent release (Realism). Magnetic Fields shows are an amalgamation of witty banter & depressing tunes spearheaded by the band’s chief singer/songwriter Stephin Merritt’s signature baritone, Calvin Johnston-esque voice and soft strum of the ukulele alongside his musical partner, pianist and second vocalist, Claudia Gonson. Both however, were a tad under the weather, suffering from a cold (laryngitis in Gonson’s case). Nonetheless, the show went on as The Magnetic Fields opened with ‘Lindy-Lou’, which is actually a 6ths song (one of Merritt’s other projects) and foreshadowing of the peculiarity of the night to come. The second tune, ‘You Must Be Out Of Your Mind’, was the first of many Realism selections. Others included ‘Hootenanny’ & ‘Walk A Lonely Road’.

In the midst of new material, TMF did find the time to play a wide range of their older, Merge-era material. Off of their most recognizable release, 69 Love Songs, TMF performed ‘Acoustic Guitar’ (which Gonson may have struggled with due to her illness) as well as about a half dozen other classics. There were also snippets of The Wayward Bus & another 6ths song, ‘Falling Out Of Love With You’ (one of the best tracks of the night). Luckily, for the drinkers in the crowd, there was a fifteen minute intermission. The second set ended with ‘Summer Lies’, before an encore consisting of ‘I’m Tongue-Tied’ & ‘100,000 Fireflies’ which Merritt humorously & ironically introduced earlier in the evening as the first song. ‘He’s joking’ Gonson informed us. In essence, it was a sincere performance by Merritt, Gonson and company. My personal highlights were the quiet seconds it took for the audience to get some of the more clever jokes made by Merritt and the cello solo on ‘Fall In Love With The Wolf Boy’ by Sam Davol. There are few artists that come across with as much honesty as Merritt. If you’ve seen him and The Magnetic Fields before, then you know how intimate & personal the shows can be. Regardless of how much Merritt hates performing, it is a blessing to witness him in action (even if he hides under that hideous ball cap and/or is sick). ‘We’ve had a bunch of cold medicine’ he proclaimed in between songs - a peculiar night indeed. TMS Rating: 7/10 (b/c they didn’t play ‘The Death Of Ferdinand De Saussure’).

MP3: The Magnetic Fields - Take Ecstasy With Me (Live)

All dates are as follows:

4/14/10 Buffalo, NY: The Ninth Ward
4/15/10 Winooski, VT: The Monkey House
4/16/10 Montreal, QC: Petit Campus
4/17/10 Toronto, ON: El Mocambo
4/20/10 New York, NY: Highline Ballroom
4/21/10 Cambridge, MA: Middle East Downstairs
4/22/10 Philadelphia, PA: World Cafe Live Upstairs
4/23/10 Washington, DC: Black Cat
4/26/10 Chapel Hill, NC: Gerrard Hall
4/27/10 Asheville, NC: Forsythia Hall
4/28/10 Atlanta, GA: The Earl
4/29/10 Birmingham, AL: The Bottletree
5/2/10 Austin, TX: Stubb’s BBQ
5/3/10 Phoenix, AZ: Rhythm Room
5/5/10 La Jolla, CA: UCSD - The Loft
5/8/10 Brookdale, CA: Historic Brookdale Lodge
5/9/10 San Francisco, CA: The Independent
5/11/10 Portland, OR: The Mission Theater
5/12/10 Vancouver, BC: St. James Hall
5/14/10 Edmonton, AB: Brixx
5/15/10 Calgary, AB: Local 522
5/17/10 Salt Lake City, UT: Kilby Court
5/18/10 Boulder, CO: Fox Theatre
5/19/10 Denver, CO: The Bluebird Theater
5/21/10 Iowa City, IA: The Mill
5/23/10 Minneapolis, MN: Varsity Theater
5/25/10 Milwaukee, WI: Pabst Theater
5/26/10 Bloomington, IN: The Dome House
5/27/10 Fort Wayne, IN: The Brass Rail
5/28/10 Chicago, IL: Lincoln Hall

The Wild Hunt will see daylight shortly!

MP3: The Tallest Man On Earth - King Of Spain

Truman Peyote - Cathedral With No Eyes (Xiu Xiu Mix)

Visit Truman Peyote on MySpace.

Catch Xiu Xiu on their NA trek.

MP3: Truman Peyote - Cathedral With No Eyes (Xiu Xiu Mix)

Enjoy the brand new Q&A here.

Be sure to enter our Valentine’s Day themed Hot Chip contest!

MP3: Hot Chip - Sexual Healing

Included on the playlist:

Massive Attack - Protection
Wilco - I’m The Man Who Loves You
The Magnetic Fields - The Book Of Love

Stream the full compilation here.

MP3: The Magnetic Fields - The Book Of Love

March 27 The Loft Atlanta, GA
March 30 The NorVa Norfolk, VA
March 31 First Unitarian Church Philadelphia, PA
April 1 The Summit Columbus, OH
April 2 The Bluebird Bloomington, IN
April 3 Zanzabar Louisville, KY
April 5 Record Bar Kansas City, MO
April 6 Cedar Cultural Center Minneapolis, MN
April 7 Lincoln Hall Chicago, IL
April 8 The Grog Shop Cleveland, OH
April 9 Lee’s Palace Toronto, ONT
April 10 Studio Juste Pour Rire Montreal, QC
April 11 Paradise Rock Club Boston, MA

Fanfarlo recently dropped by TMS TV.

MP3: Fanfarlo - Finish Line

Have One On Me (triple album) will include:

1 Easy (6:04)
2 Have One On Me (11:02)
3 ‘81 (3:52)
4 Good Intentions Paving Company (7:02)
5 No Provenance (6:25)
6 Baby Birch (9:30)
7 On A Good Day (1:49)
8 You & Me, Bess (7:13)
9 In California (8:42)
10 Jackrabbits (4:23)
11 Go Long (8:03)
12 Occident (5:31)
13 Soft As Chalk (6:29)
14 Esme (7:56)
15 Autumn (8:02)
16 Ribbon Bows (6:11)
17 Kingfisher (9:11)
18 Does Not Suffice (6:45)

Catch Joanna Newsom on her NA trek.

MP3: Joanna Newsom - The Book Of Right On

Enjoy the full feature below. Fruit Bats recently dropped by Yours Truly.

MP3: Fruit Bats - The Ruminant Band

Are you a lover in love with Hot Chip?

Are you itching to own a limited edition 7 inch of ‘One Life Stand’?

Are you craving a signed tour poster?

If you answered YES to the above questions, then follow these 2 simple steps:

1-Become a fan of TMS on Facebook (if you’re not already)
2-Leave a creative response on our discussion board

A winner (chosen by TMS) will be selected on 2/19 @ NOON.

Read our review of Hot Chip @ NYC’s Highline Ballroom here.

One Life Stand is out today!

STREAM: Hot Chip - One Life Stand