The low-key dates take place this Autumn

White Chalk is coming in September

There's an interesting interview with Steve Albini in the forthcoming issue of Uncut, where he talks about various albums he's been involved with over the years. One of them is PJ Harvey's "Rid Of Me". "Around that point, Polly was a wicked guitar player," Albini says. "One of the things that I think she lost after she moved away from the band format, and into the solo artist format, is that she doesn't show off her guitar playing any more - she's not in a situation where her guitar playing matters as much."

Lemonheads' Evan Dando is to perform at Brixton Academy in September

New album 'Shine' will come out through Starbucks label

Ahead of their Old Trafford gig with the Arctic Monkeys

The band's debut LP 'Piper At The Gates Of Dawn' is 40 years old

Plus plans in place for Wedding Present's 20th anniversary tour

The shows will coincide with a box set of unreleased material

I guess there are a few recurring subjects on Wild Mercury Sound, little hives of activity that I seem to keep visiting again and again. Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace label is one, and I need to tell you about the mighty new Magik Markers LP sometime soon. But the extended, diverse and interwoven Thompson and Wainwright folk dynasties is definitely another.