Wilco fever hits on Friday when tickets go on sale for their April show at the Enmore Theatre. Is everyone as excited as I am for this one? These guys are just seriously great. They have a new record due to drop in May. I recently found a link that compiles all the new stuff they have been playing live in the last year. Go here for a preview of what we can expect. This is my fav song-
MP3: What Light (live)

"Some Loud Thunder", the second release from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is due in the next week. I am very excited to hear this one. I love their blend of jangly guitars and left of centre vocals. The first 2 tracks released off the album were good I thought. Here is another track to try out. This is very, very good, a different sound, I can hear a little Sunset Rubdown actually.
MP3: Goodbye to the Mother and the Cover

A nice news site is We Eat Music. They have a new feature called The Shelfproject where they ask artists what books and records are living on their shelf. First up is Chris Eaton from excellent Canadian band Rock Plaza Central. Worth checking out.

Thanks to my good friend Heather I have been made aware recently of the greatness and unique sound of Minnesota band Cloud Cult. Led by Craig Minowa their beautiful sounds have floated under the radar for many years. Strictly adhering to a D-I-Y approach their new record "The Meaning of 8" is due in April. You can actually buy it direct from their site in February.
Here is a track from their upcoming album.
MP3: Pretty Voice

Finally two songs from 2 very exciting bands-
I raved about Frightened Rabbit the other day. Here is another song that appears only on their Myspace at the moment. It is, again, very catchy.
MP3: Modern Leper
Ra Ra Riot hail from Syracuse, New York. Only in existence for a year, they haven't recorded anything yet. But they have a joyous sound with great vocals and delicious use of strings, I can hear a little Broken Social Scene in there.
MP3: The New Flesh (demo)