In this edition I feature: Born Ruffians' announcement of a new single and North American tour; a free download of Green Go's Remix Project Vol. 2, featuring Woodhands, Diamond Rings, Think About Life & more; Fucked Up's epic April Fools prank; the launch of Label Fantastic!; Optical Sounds' release of Magic Shoppe's debut EP; The Most Serene Republic's invite to join their army; Sha Prince's new track featuring D-Sisive and DJ Grouch; and the Forest City Lovers getting some love from an unexpected place.

Plus videos from Zeus, Jason Collett, DD/MM/YYYY and Young Rival (chatroulette reactions).

Born Ruffians & Young Rival team up for North American tour
Things are really heating up for Born Ruffians, who recently announced details of the second single from Say It and the forthcoming tour in support of their sophomore album. On May 4 the band will release 'What to Say' backed with the previously unreleased b-side 'Plinky Plonky.' You can preview the single right now over at spin.com.

After dates in the UK and Europe in mid-May, Born Ruffians' North American tour will kick off with a CD release show at the Horseshoe Tavern on May 28. The tour will see the Ruffians jumping back and forth between dates in the US and Canada throughout the month of June, concluding with a show at the Red Dog in Peterborough on June 25.

For the tour, Born Ruffians will be accompanied by Hamilton's Young Rival, who will release their new LP on April 13 in Canada through Sonic Unyon. Check out some chatroulette reactions to the video of their first single from the effort, entitled 'Authentic.'

Young Rival - 'Authentic' (Chatroulette Reactions)

The birth of Label Fantastic!
Jenny Omnichord and Wax Mannequin (aka Chris Adeney) have teamed with visual artist Gillian Manford to start their own boutique label and distribution company. Having already forged ties with independent record stores and digital distributors in Canada, the label has hopped off to a quick start with plans to release a new album from Jenny Omnichord (which will also be a board game), a split 7" from The Burning Hell and Wax Mannequin and full-length releases from J.J. Ipsen and Spring Breakup sometime this summer. The label notes that their "creative and hands-on approach to marketing means that every Label Fantastic! release will be unique, with everything from handmade packaging to pieces of art included in each CD or vinyl record."

Free Download: Green Go's Remix project Volume II
While Guelph indie rockers Green Go's sophomore album isn't expected until early next year, the quintet have kept their fans spirits up by releasing volume two of their Canadian indie-folk Remix Project. Round two features remixes of tracks by Diamond Rings ('All Yr Songs'), Woodhands ('Can't See Straight'), Think About Life ('Sweet Sixteen') and Gregory Pepper & His Problems ('Sevenths and Thirds') as well as a remix of their own song 'Watch Your Step.' Download it via musebox.

DD/MM/YYYY - 'Digital Haircut' (official music video)

Fucked Up pull off elaborate April Fools' prank
Fucked Up pulled quite the April Fools' prank in 2010. After their lengthy blog post/rant about SXSW and corporate sponsorship last week, the band took to their blog on April 1 to announce that they were being sued by the energy drink company that sponsored their showcase in Austin just a few weeks back. They even went as far as to make the claim available for public viewing online (hosted by their record label Matador).

At the end of their post, FU invite fans to join a facebook group in support of the band. By the time I joined the group, the population had grown to almost 400 people. Eventually, they sent out a message stating it was all a hoax, leaving me amazed at the amount of time and effort that went into the prank. Last weeks SXSW rant served as the perfect set-up that fooled everyone from NME to CBC (myself included). After their losing battle with Camel cigs last year, another lawsuit didn't really come as a shock and therefore wasn't second-guessed despite the date on the calendar.

Well played, Fucked Up, well played...

Jason Collett & Zeus - 'High Summer' (Live)

- Toronto-based record label Optical Sounds (home to the Disraelis, The Hoa Hoa's and more) are celebrating their fourth release this week - the debut four-song EP from Boston's Magic Shoppe. As described by the band, Magic Shoppe create "a hypnotic wall of sound that suggests a collision between classic psychedelia, repetitive minimalism and Velvet Underground style reverb rock." The Reverb EP has been on repeat in my CD player for a few weeks now, and my only complaint is that it leaves me craving more. Expect to hear much more from both Magic Shoppe and Optical Sounds in the future - become a fan on facebook to stay informed.

- The Most Serene Republic have updated their online fan club ("the Army of the Republic") with a new song in advance of their forthcoming US tour in May with Annuals. The new song is called 'Photocall' and features a sample of Jon Brion's original soundtrack composition for the 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Membership for the fan club is free through the band's website and offers exclusive songs, tour information and other perks for fans.

- Durham/Toronto rapper Sha Prince dropped a new track this week, featuring help from D-Sisive and DJ Grouch, as well as production from Anonymous Twist. Download 'Click Click Bang Bang' for free via usershare.

- Forest City Lovers enjoyed some extra twitter attention this weekend after Ashton Kutcher tweeted their video for 'If I Were a Tree' to his 4.7 million followers. It's amazing what two seconds of his time means for an indie group like FCL.

Zeus - 'I Know' (Live)

On blogTO last week
- Tom checked out the You Say Party! We Say Die! show at the Horseshoe on Friday night, as well as the Dead Letter Chorus & Two Hours Traffic concert that went down at Lee's on Saturday night.

Lead photo by PJMixer, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.