No Sunday cleaning today – instead, consider this a warm-up to the proper year-end list, coming tomorrow (barring catastrophe). I’m revisiting my year-end list for 2004 and while I’m not going to revise it – I’m happy to report that every one of those records still holds up as a favourite a year later – I do want to make an addendum to account for the 2004 albums that I only discovered this past year. It’s inevitable that a lot of good stuff would be missed over the course of a year, and a goodly amount of ’05 time has been spent playing catch-up. So, in the interests of giving these excellent records their due respect, I’ve compiled an appendix of records released last year that have been keeping me company this year. And in proper clips episode fashion, I’ll just recap what I wrote about them earlier this year when I blogged about ’em. Be sure to come back tomorrow for my proper ’05 retrospective… assuming I get my shit together in time.

Explosions In The Sky
The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place
Temporary Residence

MP3: “The Only Moment We’re Alone” (Peel Session via With Tired Eyes)

“I was finally exposed to EITS a couple months ago when a friend lent me a copy of The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place and it’s still blowing my mind. I actually had to force myself to return the album as quickly as possible and buy my own so as to not wear it out. Yes, they’re an instrumental “post-rock” guitar band but while the aforementioned surly Scots prefer the more visceral, “kick you in the head and bludgeon you while you’re down” dynamic to get their musical point across, I find Explosions to be more compelling and involving, musically – it’s more orchestrated, refined and overall sophisticated. Different bands for different moods, see? They even got a thumbs up from Austin symphony composer Peter Bay for their modern classicist leanings. It boggles my mind that this music comes from just four individuals. It’s just beautiful.” (Original post)

January
Motion Sickness
Must Destroy Music

MP3: “Someone”

“It was last March I made a random query about whatever became of January… they recorded a follow-up in 2002, but the band imploded and the sophomore release, Motion Sickness, remained shelved until last year. Which is a damn shame because it’s as good as the first record, continuing to blend space rock-approved sonics with a healthy dollop of country twang. Both albums are even structured similarly, each featuring a massive-sounding centrepiece (“Falling In” on the debut, “Sandwood” on the second album) that more than quench my thirst for all things epic, surrounded by quieter, textured pieces of shoegazey-folk…They didn’t get loud very often, but when they did it was amazing.” (Original post)

The Oktober People
The Oktober People
independent

MP3: “Blue Collar Butterfly”

“Now let’s be honest – usually when someone hands you a free CD, the odds of it actually impressing are pretty slim. So when I finally popped it into my CD player at the airport on Sunday, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself very impressed with what I was hearing. Musically, their serpentine, echoed guitar lines and loping bass melodies recall Mogwai and Explosions In The Sky, and while the loud-quiet dynamic is present, it’s not the punchline. There’s also some Verve-like atmospherics enevloping everything and many of the songs have vocals that keep them fairly grounded in more conventional song structures rather than multi-movement compositions (though some do approach epic-length). The quality of those vocals – somewhat frail and spidery, like Deserters Songs-era Mercury Rev – work perfectly with the music. There’s nothing blazingly original in the ingredients that The Oktober People work with, but the end result is quite stunning nonetheless. If you couldn’t tell, I’m quite taken with their work.” (Original post)

The Radio Dept.
Lesser Matters
Labrador

MP3: “Why Won’t You Talk About It?”

“I owe Mystery & Misery a big heapum thanks for introducing me to The Radio Dept (XL Recordings artist page). I was hankering for something new and his post on these Swedes was just what the doctor ordered. To my ears, they’re the perfect mix of Belle & Sebastian folksy tweeness, eclectic Boo Radleys-ish pop, the gentle electronic flourishes of Trembling Blue Stars and a healthy dollop of Jesus & Mary Chain-approved fuzztones – a perfect mix of grit and delicacy. It’s like being wrapped in a warm, static-y blanket with soft boy-girl vocals… Despite being wonderfully poppy, it took a little time for it to properly sink into my consciousness but now it’s definitely in heavy rotation – highly recommended.” (Original post)

Shearwater
Winged Life
Misra

MP3: “The World In 1984”

“All I knew about Austin’s Shearwater was that they share some members with Okkervil River, an act about whom I know about as much as I do about Shearwater… I was, however, immediately taken in by their hauntingly fragile country-pop. Some random reference points would be Misra label-mates Centro-Matic and Sparklehorse with a dash of recent Wilco thrown in for good measure – not much surprise then, that I liked them a lot. The sonic cacaphony that closed out their set sounded very Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and while it sounded a little out of place with the delicacy of the rest of their set, I applaud the effort to bring a little more to the table. I picked up a copy of their latest full-length, Winged Life, and hope it measures up to the live show.” (Original post and follow-up)

np – Billy Bragg / Reaching To The Converted

I had been looking forward to last night’s Iron & Wine and Calexico show with equal parts anticipation and dread – the former because the musical talents involved almost guaranteed an amazing show, and the latter because that promise was pretty much overshadowed by the venue they were scheduled to play, the dreaded Docks. Any and all conversations with anyone in town about the show seemed to skip right over the artists and go straight into, “oh god I hate the Docks”. A lot of people were willing to boycott the show for that reason alone, and I was one of those at first. However promises that the hall would be halved in size to create a more intimate setting and my unwillingness to miss the show eventually persuaded me to buy a ticket. I was hopeful and/or confident that the music and performance would far outshine any problems with the venue itself. I like it when I’m right.

I was a little surprised to hear folks in the audience asking, “so who’s opening?”, since I was there as much to see Calexico as Iron & Wine, maybe more. I appreciate that this was I&W’s first time back in Toronto since the whole Garden State thing opened up his fanbase enormously, but I would have thought that even his fans would have an understanding of the context of the In The Reins tour. Oh well. Calexico, for my money, are one of the best live bands out there right now and they certainly backed that reputation up last night. Their set contained a fair bit of unknown material, presumably from next year’s Garden Ruin, but even if you’re not familiar with the songs there’s plenty to enjoy in the musicianship and performance. They were joined in the later part of their set by Salvador Duran, who contributed the operatic vocals in the title track of In The Reins, and after Calexcio finished he remained to do a short set of Flamenco (actually, Joey Burns informed the crowd that his music technically wasn’t Flamenco, but originated from another part of Mexico… I forget what he called it, though). It wouldn’t be untoward to say that Duran’s presence was maybe the highlight of the show – the man brought an intensity and dignity in his music that was probably unfamiliar to the indie-rocking audience. I didn’t understand a word of it, but it was riveting nonetheless.

After Duran finished, there was a short break before Sam Beam and his cohorts shuffled out onstage. It’s funny that a guy so associated with acoustic folk music would actually be sporting such a large band – at one point, he had three drummers and percussionists behind him and he himself was playing electric guitar. Blasphemy! The extra instrumentation was mainly concentrated in the rhythm section – melodically, it was still very much just his wonderfully soft voice and guitar (as well as sister Sarah’s harmonies and violin). The weightier sound helped bring the material from the Woman King EP to life, and when it came time to do the sparser, Endless Numbered Days material, they dropped back leaving just Sam and Sarah to beguile the audience. It was also marvelous to hear “The Trapeze Swinger” live, far and away my favourite Iron & Wine song ever. As his set wound down, Beam called out the members of Calexico (who had actually been playing with him through his set) to come out for the final, In The Reins portion of the show.

I liked In The Reins, but was a little disappointed that the recordings didn’t seem as transcendent as I thought the collaboration could have been. Happily, the live show more than compensated. The huge band arrangements, numbering up to eleven players at points, really made the songs sound massive and stately, and again, Duran’s vocals during “He Lays In The Reins” got the audience roaring with approval. For some reason, the set seemed to run a little bit shorter than others on the tour meaning that numbers like “History Of Lovers” and their cover of “Wild Horses” were omitted, but those are minor complaints in light of how amazing the whole of the show was. And as the icing on the cake, it was Joey Burns’ birthday, an occasion celebrated in the encore with a bottle of champagne.

So as hoped, the show was beautiful and amazing, and the venue? Seriously? Not that bad at all. The sound was fantastic, as were the lighting and projections, and the sightlines from where I was were just fine. Mind you, I was in the second row… the stage was low enough that I could imagine seeing would be a problem if you were at the back, but what can you do. And my pictures turned out quite well. The only real problem with the Docks, which I got to experience fully, was the logistics of getting there and back. The vehicularly enabled could pay $15 parking and walking types were stuck cabbing it, at least $20 there and back from anywhere in downtown. But even that wasn’t such a big deal if you could even GET a cab – after the show, I had walked about 2 km and 20 minutes to the Distillery District before I could find a vacant cab. Not such a big deal if it were Summer, but brutally cold and windy in December. Not fun. If I ever end up going back there for anything, you’re damn skippy that I’m calling a cab in ahead of time.

The Associated Press queries Jeff Tweedy about the writing process and file-sharing.

Neil Gaiman is taking a hint from Disney’s focus groups and will henceforth be blogging as Skippy, “a fictional six-year-old tomboy and computer genius, with a small number of endearing catchphrases”. Oh, bitchcakes.

eye eulogizes Arrested Development. So, is it OFFICIALLY cancelled, or is everyone just reading the 40-foot tall writing on the wall? Not even Save Our Bluths seems to be maintaining the death watch anymore.

BEST NEWS EVER. Via Prefix.

np – Bright Eyes / I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning

I’d been getting email bulletins from Toronto’s Diableros for a little while now, but foolishly had never paid too close attention (in my defense – I get a lot of emails about a lot of things, and don’t pay too close attention to most of them). Thankfully head Diablero Pete Carmichael sent me a copy of their just-released debut album, You Can’t Break The Strings In Our Olympic Hearts, to show me the error of my ways.

On first listen, it all sounds a bit familiar. From the distorted, yelpy vocals through the Honey’s Dead buzz and drone (fitting since the band initially formed for a JAMC tribute show) built on psychedelic 12-string guitars and Farfisa organs to the distinctly post-punk/new wave revivalist song stylings, you’ve heard most of the pieces before, but The Diableros special blend makes it all sound fresh and unique. The fact that they graft on some killer pop hooks doesn’t hurt, either – those and the frantic energy that they infuse the album with really do make you want to move (jump around, dance, break stuff, whatever), a fact that’s touched on their cover feature in this week’s NOW. I was a little surprised to read that they share a family tree with other local faves The Airfields, though it sort of makes sense, somehow. The notion that there’s two camps in this city – the Wavelength arties and the Silver Dollar greasy rockers… it’s like the Mods of College vs the Rockers of Spadina. I’d buy tickets to that rumble. Anyway, it’s a shame that I didn’t get to The Diableros them before that 33 Hottest Bands In Canada got compiled, because I surely would have included them on my list.

Check out some tracks from Olympic Hearts, presented with the kind permission of the band:

MP3: The Diableros – “Push It To Monday”
MP3: The Diableros – “No Weight”

And there’s some more stuff at their MySpace page. The Diableros have a few shows around the GTA over the next little while including a show at the Speakeasy (formerly Rockit) on Tuesday and an opening slot for We Are Scientists and Oxford Collapse at the Horseshoe on January 14.

In Joe Pernice’s latest email dispatch, he bitches about the Toronto cold (suck it up, Joe – it’s only going to get worse) and reveals that he will away to the sunny climes of Connecticuit in January to record the next Pernice Brothers record.

The Shins’ James Mercer talks album #3 with Pitchfork.

Aimee Mann will again be on the road early next year, presumably to support The Forgotten Arm, and as such will be in Toronto on February 6 at the smaller-than-her-usual-digs Mod Club. So while more intimate is nice, it’ll probably translate to damned expensive tickets. FYI.

Pulse Of The Twin Cities talks to Low’s Alan Sparhawk about The Great Destroyer and the departure of bassist Zak Sally. I like how they conveniently cropped Sally out of all the promo pics in the article… Low are at Lee’s Palace on January 31.

np – The Mountain Goats / The Coroner’s Gambit

I didn’t know who John Lennon was when he was murdered 25 years ago today. I was five years old, and only had a very vague idea of who the Beatles were. What I do remember is that after hearing Lennon was shot, and then Ronald Reagan barely three months later, and Pope John Paul II shortly after that, I got the impression that it must suck to be a public figure because people were constantly trying to kill them (and unfortunately, occasionally succeeding). It still sort of surprises me that there aren’t more attempts made on famous peoples’ lives. I’m not complaining, mind you, but I was conditioned at a young and impressionable age to think that these things happened every couple months.

What’s this got to do with anything? Very little. But like every other news service and blog in the cosmos, I do feel compelled to offer some tribute to the man on this day. So there it is. As far as genuinely interesting news goes, you can hear that Rolling Stone interview that everyone’s been going on about at the BBC and Billboard has a piece about the Amnesty International tribute project that’s coming together (right now). And Popmatters has a couple pieces.

Me, I’ve always been a George guy. But John was good too. And Ringo? Underrated.

March 7 is looking like it’s going to be an expensive day for me. On that day alone, you’ve got new releases from Neko Case, Mogwai and Mojave 3… and now you can add Centro-Matic’s Fort Recovery to the calendar. And these are all must-have-day-of-release records for me. CM will also be releasing a teaser EP on February 7 called Triggers and Trash Heaps. The early part of 2006 definitely brings a bumper crop of great new releases and that’s good, because the influx of new music will make up for my missing SxSW the following week – yeah, I did the math and I just can’t swing the dollars this year. We’ll see about ’07.

And that also means I can perhaps go and see The Wedding Present at Lee’s Palace again on March 10. There may not be the, “oh my god they’re back” tingle of their show back in April, but reunion giddiness aside they still put on a great show and Take Fountain a great record. Tickets for that one are $16, on sale now.

NOW talks to The Mendoza Line, who are in town next Wednesday at the Rivoli with Great Lake Swimmers and Picastro. It’s a great line, but Mendoza Line are on first so if you’re going, go early – don’t miss ’em.

Chart gets Sam Beam to reflect on the year in Iron & Wine. NOW talks to tourmate Joey Burns of Calexico.

I thought I wouldn’t really be interested, but the new Supergrass album is really pretty good. I guess I prefer their more “mature” sound, meaning I’m an old git. Spin has a Q&A with the band.

Pitchfork reveals the New Pantheon award nominees. Well. That’s one hell of a long list. Anyone who released an album in ’05 and ISN’T a nominee must be feeling pretty low right now.

Thanks to Graig for the tip-off that the complete first season of Justice League is is coming to DVD on March 21. Oh, happy day.

np – Belle & Sebatian / If You’re Feeling Sinister (Live)

Many thanks to Brad of Bradley’s Almanac for shanghai-ing Mark Gardener at his show in Boston on Sunday (of which Drive Blind also has a review) and getting him to pose with this “You’re Reading Chromewaves.net (And I Wrote Chrome Waves!)” sign – I swear I did not put him up to it. For those unfamiliar with my about page, the name of this blog was taken from the song “Chrome Waves” on Ride’s Going Blank Again album – which Mr Gardener wrote.

He recently released his first proper solo album These Beautiful Ghosts, which I only just got a copy of. Credited to Gardener and Goldrush, initial impressions are that it’s much better than I expected, though with all due respect to Mr Gardener, I didn’t really expect much. That’s not meant as a personal slight on Mark, but just past experience has shown that for some reason, the whole of British bands tend to be so much more than just the sum of their parts. I can’t count the number of lacklustre solo efforts that have come from members of great British bands, and I would count Mark’s Animalhouse project among those. These Beautiful Ghosts has a nice, laid back vibe that’s similar in parts to the jangly classicism of Carnival Of Light, with just enough production and full band backing from Goldrush to avoid sounding like a strummy singer-songwriter record, though at the core that’s what it is, albeit a pleasant one. I don’t know how heavy rotation it’ll really get, but it’ll still surely be more than Tarantula… Check out some of the songs at Mark’s MySpace page.

Gardener is in town at Lee’s Palace tonight backed by Goldrush and supported by Hopewell. I’m probably not going to be able to make it, but can at least enjoy the recording Brad made of his Boston show. And here’s a scan of a brief interview Gardener gave to Under The Radar for their Fall issue.

Goldrush’s country flavour have elicited a number of Mojave 3 comparisons for These Beautiful Ghosts – and coincidences, Pitchfork has a brief interview with Neil Halstead about the new M3 album, wherein he reveals the album title (Puzzles Like You) and release date (March 7). YAY.

JAM! talks to Calexico’s John Convertino about working with Iron & Wine on In The Reins, as well as their new album Garden Ruin which is out on April 11. The Boston Herald, meanwhile, talked to Sam Beam about the same. Calexico and Iron & Wine are at the Docks in Toronto this Friday.

Check out some live footage of Wilco playing “Kicking Television” (WMV), via Prefix. I’ve compared the audio with the track that appears on Kicking Television, and I believe they are the same. Yay, the aborted DVD is leaking to the internet! Update: One reader has reported that the video link is loaded down with spyware and other nastiness. Bizarre, but I am disabling the link just in case. If you want to risk it, cut and paste : http://mfile.akamai.com/9139/asf/stream.wmg.com/
wmi/uk/wilco/KickingTelevision_Hi.asx

Said The Gramophone wraps up their 22 favourite singles of 2005, all with downloads and wonderfully-written annotations.

Thanks to Lora for following up on the NME year-end list-fixing scandal I mentioned last week. While Londonist were persuaded by NME‘s lawyers to remove their post, a copy lives on here and The Guardian reported on the story with a little more info (including confirming Londonist’s story about the interim list looking quite different from the final one). Innnnteresting.

And no, still no sign of Belle & Sebastian’s If You’re Feeling Sinister – Live at iTunes… but Matador promises it’s coming.

np – Saturday Looks Good To Me / All Your Summer Songs