Wednesday, January 9th, 2008

Magic Trick

The Playlist brings word that the collaboration between M Ward and actress Zooey Deschanel has a name (She And Him), an album title (Volume One), and a release month (March of this year). For those of you who doubt she has the goods and this is another ill-advised actor’s foray into music, they’ve also got some tracks posted and yes indeed the girl can sing. There’s some more with she and him at tkincher.com.

The two first collaborated on the soundtrack to the 2007 film The Go-Getter, which Ward scored and Deschanel starred in, and which yielded this Richard & Linda Thomspon cover which should give you a taste of what their record should hold. And I can’t help but notice that according to her IMDB listing, Deschanel had a guest spot on Weeds a while back… Zooey Deschanel and Mary Louise Parker in the same show? Excuse me, I have to go watch television now.

MP3: M Ward featuring Zooey Deschanel – “When I Get To The Border”

BrooklynVegan has a couple of video clips from the making of Cat Power’s Jukebox, out on January 22. She’s at the Kool Haus on February 9.

The Sydney Morning Herald talks to Joanna Newsom about her not-so-new album Ys.

Nicole Atkins & The Sea welcomed the writer-less Conan O’Brien back to the air on Monday night. Damn, Conan is tall. Atkins and co are in town February 17 at Lee’s Palace. See you there.

Video: Nicole Atkins & The Sea – “Maybe Tonight” (live on Conan O’Brien)

And thus ends the “attractive women” portion of today’s post.

Thanks to Matt for pointing me to this UGO session featuring an in-studio performance from Eric Bachmann wherein he covers all eras of his musical career from Archers Of Loaf through Crooked Fingers up to 2006′s solo record, all done in the style of, well, Eric Bachmann. “White Trash Heroes” sounds fascinating stripped down like that. Bachmann is heading out on tour in support of Neko Case this month and is working on his next record, to be released again under the Crooked Fingers moniker.

Mother Jones, Drowned In Sound and The Phoenix all talk to Stephin Merritt about The Magnetic Fields’ new one Distortion, out next Tuesday.

Yesterday I covered a deluge of domestic shows of interest announced for Toronto – today, the imports.

The Hives return to town – sans Maroon 5 – for a show at the Kool Haus on March 3 as part of their North American tour for The Black And White Album.

Video: The Hives – “Tick Tick Boom”

Justice have a gig at The Docks on March 17. Wait, I thought it was called the Sonic Academy now? Either way, the French electronic duo are at the awful venue with the awful name down by the waterfront. No, not the Kool Haus. The other one. The worse one. Full dates at BrooklynVegan.

Bodies Of Water will be opening up for Sons & Daughters on their upcoming tour, including the March 26 show at Lee’s Palace. Their first album Ears Will Pop & Eyes Will Blink will be re-released by Secretly Canadian on January 22 with an album of new material to follow later this year.

MP3: Bodies Of Water – “I Guess I’ll Forget The Sound, I Guess I Guess”
MP3: Bodies Of Water – “These Are The Eyes”
MP3: Bodies Of Water – “Doves Circle The Sky”
MP3: Bodies Of Water – “We Are Co-Existors”
Video: Bodies Of Water – “I Heard A Sound”

Blitzen Trapper are hitting the El Mocambo on April 2, the same place they put on a pretty scorching show last October opening for John Vanderslice.

Autechre may not have updated their website in three years but they/he are still around, are/is releasing a new record Quaristice on March 3 and will be on tour with a stop at Lee’s Palace on April 12. Tickets will be $20.

April 16 brings Hot Chip back to Toronto for a show at the Phoenix ($20) with their new album Made In The Dark, out February 5, in tow.

Video: Hot Chip – “Ready For The Floor”

And while there’s no Toronto show announced yet, the fact that Taken By Trees – the new project from ex-Concrete Victoria Bergsman – has a date scheduled for February 25 in Montreal with five days off around said show probably means that a T.O. date is forthcoming. Or she just really likes her downtime.

And if you were wondering how many more times Jens Lekman could tour North America and NOT stop in Toronto… the answer is at least once more. Jerk.

Wednesday, October 3rd, 2007

Emerald City

Hello from Montreal. Before shifting things entirely to matters Pop Montreal, a bit of business from Monday night to take care of, namely John Vanderslice’s show at the El Mocambo. It was supposed to be a sort of super-bill, with the ‘Slice’s tour intersecting with that of fellow San Fransicans Two Gallants but they were felled by a busted-down van, leaving Vanderslice and Two Gallants tourmates Blitzen Trapper to carry the night.

Blitzen Trapper were a complete unknown to me before Monday so it’s not overstating to say that they came out of nowhere and totally impressed. To describe the six-piece Portland outfit as “roots rockers” wouldn’t be inaccuarte, but it’d also be a huge disservice. Yeah, at the core of it they play raw and rambunctious old-school rock, but they sound like they’ve traveled the (musical) world and seen the sights before settling in on the farm. Their songs were deceptively complex and ambitiously structured – there may have been more synths on stage than guitars – but never at the cost of the killer pop hook. Though the audience wasn’t more than a few dozen people deep, they were loud and enthusiastic and called them back for an encore and deservedly so. Their new album is Wild Mountain Nation and is worth checking out. And definitely seeing live.

With such a high energy act to follow, Vanderslice – a terrific songsmith and producer and all-around nice chap but not one you’d call a rock monster – and his band had their work cut out for them. And as far as putting on a great show, they were up to the task though they did it through personality and astonishing musicianship. Vanderslice always assembles great backing bands and this outfit was no exception, reproducing the songs from Emerald City and further back into his catalog wonderfully. They maintained the sonic quirks and flourishes that are a hallmark of Vanderslice’s recorded work but also gave them the oomph and spontaneity necessary for translating live. And you don’t get more spontaneous than Vanderslice trading his per diem ($10!) to his bassist in exchange for having him cover Hendrix’s “Little Wing” as Michael McDonald. You had to be there, just as you had to be there to see them close their set not with an encore, but by playing out in the middle of the audience accompanied by a local fan on harp. Yeah. Not something you see everyday.

The Justice talked to Vanderslice about his recent blog tour (which I was honoured to be part of) as well as the new Mountain Goats record.

Photos: John Vanderslice, Blitzen Trapper @ The El Mocambo – October 1, 2007
MP3: John Vanderslice – “White Dove”
Video: John Vanderslice – “Time To Go” (MOV)
Video: Blitzen Trapper – “Devil’s A-Go-Go” (YouTube)
MySpace: John Vanderslice
MySpace: Blitzen Trapper

…And back to Montreal. The Columbia Spectator talks to Patrick Wolf, playing The Caberet in Montreal Friday night and Lee’s Palace in Toronto Saturday night (congrats to Kat and Damon who won passes, btw). JAM! meets Harmonica, who may well be your new favourite band. They’re at Le Divan Orange Thursday at 2PM then at Le Gymnase on Friday at 8:30PM as well as the Bovine Sex Club in Toronto on the 7th. And Ted Leo, playing Le Gymnase Friday night at midnight and then heading to Toronto for a show at Mod on Sunday night, talks to The Cleveland Free Times and The Cornell Sun.

And Pitchfork reports that Arcade Fire have got something planned for this Saturday, and it’s big. They bought a domain name for it and everything.

Stereogum has curated another indie-anniversary tribute album to follow up the one for 10th anniversary of Radiohead’s OK Computer – this one for the 15th birthday of R.E.M.’s Automatic For The People. Hey, interesting – John Vanderslice appeared on the first one, Blitzen Trapper appear on this one.

Country Standard Time has an extensive feature on Steve Earle.

Allmusic talks to Richard Hawley about his new one Lady’s Bridge.

Paste has a six-minute clip from Todd Haynes’ Dylan sorta-biopic I’m Not There and Exclaim! has a talk with the director about the film. It’s out November 28.

Friday, August 31st, 2007

Dancin' In The Wind

If there was such a thing as the sound of a bird made of honey, it would sound like Jenn Grant. The Haligonian songstress, who I first discovered way back last December, released her debut album Orchestra For The Moon in May and while most everyone I know who’s heard her has been beguiled, the numbers that seems to amount to are far less than she deserves.

Possessed of a marvelous voice that’s sweet, supple and dexterous, Grant has crafted a record that deftly combines pop, folk, jazz and country styles into something that could easily fit into any of those genres yet resists such pigeonholing. But what isn’t up for debate is that Orchestra is a terrific showcase for both Grant’s vocal and songwriting talents that goes down real nice and easy – and therein lies my only complaint, and it’s a minor one. Orchestra is so smooth that it can make one yearn for just a little bit of grit or earthiness. Grant sounds like she’s gliding through the whole record and it might be nice to have her touch the ground now and again, get her feet dirty a bit. The way the best angels do.

Grant has been through town innumerable times since that show at the Drake in December and I’ve, sadly, missed them all – and I’ll probably miss the next one when she plays the El Mocambo this Wednesday, September 5 opening for The Veils, here all the way from Australia. After that, her next date is at the Phoenix on November 8, opening for The Weakerthans. Tickets for that show are $25 and go on sale next Saturday, September 8.

MP3: Jenn Grant – “Dreamer”
Video: Jenn Grant – “Dreamer” (YouTube)
MySpace: Jenn Grant

And if you’re not familiar with The Veils, here’s a single and video from their current album Nux Vormica.

MP3: The Veils – “Advice For Young Mothers To Be”
Video: The Veils – “Advice For Young Mothers To Be” (YouTube)

And if that’s not your speed but you’re still looking for something to do next Wednesday, The Bruce Peninsula, who so impressed at Dog Day Afternoon a few weekends ago, have a show at the Tranzac along with Tusks and Snailhouse. eye has an interview with head Bruce Peninsulan Neil Haverty while NOW talks Tusks.

Nicole Atkins & The Sea’s debut full-length Neptune City finally has a release date of October 30 and she’ll be celebrating that night with David Letterman. She’s at Lee’s Palace two weeks prior on October 14 with The Raveonettes. Thanks to For The Records for the info.

NOW five questions Craig Minowa of Cloud Cult, opening up for Land Of Talk at the El Mocambo on Tuesday. The Boston Globe and The Portland Mercury also have interviews.

John Vanderslice’s October 1 show has undergone a change of venue and picked up some support acts. It will now go down at the El Mocambo and feature Two Gallants and Blitzen Trapper. Horseshoe tickets will be honoured at the ElMo.

Also October 1 – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at the Kool Haus. Tickets $24.50, on sale this morning.

Good news – Patrick Wolf returns to Toronto for a show at Lee’s Palace on October 6. Bad news – I’m in Montreal. Well, bad news for me. Everything else is good news. Tickets are $17.50 and go on sale Saturday.

Glenn Hansard and Marketa Irglova – aka “the guy” and “the girl” from Once – bring the musical component of that film, The Swell Season, to the Danforth Music Hall on November 23. Hopefully the DVD will be out sometime around then as well – I still have to see it. Tickets are $28.50, on sale September 6.

Longwave, who I’m rather pleasantly surprised to see are still active, will be supporting Robbers On High Street at the Horseshoe on September 24.

Chart has details on the gala ceremony for this year’s Polaris Music Prize. It’s happening September 24 at the Phoenix, is invite-only (sorry) and will feature performances from half the nominees, namely Miracle Fortress, Julie Doiron (in Eric’s Trip band configuration), Patrick Watson, Joel Plaskett and Chad Van Gaalen. And in regards to the Arcade Fire kerfuffle reported on earlier this week, apparently the band did eventually give permission for a song to be used on the Polaris compilation CD but the disc was already at the manufacturers by the time they did so.

Harp gets acquainted with Fionn Regan, in town on September 26 with a show at the Horseshoe.

Will Sheff of Okkervil River insists to The Arizona Daily Star that that’s his natural hair colour. Also check out Down The Oubliette, a new fansite for the band dedicated to cataloguing facts, figures and trivia about the band. Okkervil plays Lee’s Palace on September 21.

Matt Berninger tells The Washington Post the story of The National. They’re at the Phoenix on October 8.

Metro Pulse confers with Jason Isbell.

Spinner interviews Bjork. She headlines day one of V Fest next Saturday.