Last night the El Mocambo played host to a ridiculous ten bands as some sort of all-ages showcase that felt more than a little like a high school coffee house. And though the combo was relatively value-priced, I went in a la carte interested only in seeing The Vulcan Dub Squad.

Not Vulcans nor playing dub or even having enough members to fully constitute a US army squad, the Vulcans were playing their first show in a year, having taken the time off to record a new album (The New Designers, out very soon) and shuffle the roster around a bit (newly expanded to a five-piece). They also shed their old stage uniforms in favour of some dapper suits which, while less original, sure look a hell of a lot better.

Describing the Vulcans isn’t the easiest task – stylistically they run the gamut from gently jangling pop to hyperkinetic riffery, often within the same song. The high level of musicianship is obvious but they thankfully don’t let that overwhelm their attention to songcraft. Instead they thread the needle, crafting energetic, danceable rock that’s still hooky and really interesting to listen to – there’s definitely no shortage of musical ideas in their collective heads. They could probably be a jam band if they wanted but instead choose to be a pop band and the world is a better place for it (for having one less jam band in it, that is).

Their stage show was also tight and impactful, especially considering the time off, with frontman Ranbir Gundu alternately leaping around or lounging on a old-style telephone bench sipping a glass of Scotch. If there was a complaint, it was that Gundu’s expletive-laced between-song banter was overlong, pointless and most egregiously, not funny. There was enough of an adolescent vibe in the room without him adding to it but on the other hand, when in Rome, right?

Photos: The Vulcan Dub Squad @ The El Mocambo, January 19 2007
MySpace: The Vulcan Dub Squad

Harp talks to The Hold Steady after declaring Boys And Girls In America their best album of 2006.

Murray Lightburn of The Dears talks to The GW Hatchet, The NY Daily News, PopMatters, Broward-Palm Beach New Times and The Miami New Times while on tour in the US for Gang Of Losers.

Drowned In Sound asks Colin Meloy of The Decemberists random questions. Meloy gives random answers.

Adam Schlesinger of Fountains Of Wayne gives Billboard a Traffic And Weather weather forecast for April 3.

Here’s the second part of yesterday’s Suede post, covering all things Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler that aren’t actually Suede.

You may recall that Butler walked out of the sessions for Dog Man Star before their completion but he wasn’t inactive for long, soon partnering with UK soul singer David McAlmont. Together, they produced two singles – “Yes” and “You Do” – that blended Butler’s penchant for heavily orchestrated guitar rock with McAlmont’s three-octave R&B range for astonishing results. Though the chemistry was undeniable, it was also highly volatile and the duo split after recording just enough material for an album – The Sound Of McAlmont & Butler which while decent, doesn’t come near to reaching the heights of the two singles.

Once again left to his own devices, Butler briefly joined The Verve while Nick McCabe was in a snit but later began teasing the UK press with hints as to the next singer he was going work with, saying only that it was someone “already famous, but with a reputation for being extremely difficult to work with”. As it turns out, that someone was himself – his solo debut People Move On was released in 1998 and was surprisingly solid. His voice, though a bit thin and reedy compared to Anderson or McAlmont, was more than passable and fit well with his more singer-songwritery material. He hadn’t gone totally folky, however, as there were still more than a few elaborate and ornate guitar workouts present. The follow-up however, Friends & Lovers, didn’t manage to keep the standard up and was a generally dull and forgettable record. But still, Butler had proven that he could stand on his own and didn’t need to work with a diva-ish singer to produce compelling music. And so he went right out and did just that.

I don’t have Bring It Back, the second album from the unexpectedly reunited McAlmont & Butler, but will happily agree with Thierry in yesterday’s comments that “Falling”, the first single from said album, is again an absolute gem. By the magic of eBay I should have a copy of the record winding its way to me in a day or so – I hope it maintains that level of quality. Work began on a third album in 2004 but they were shelved – only a single, “Speed”, was released – as Butler found himself working with another former collaborator who had recently found himself band-less: Brett Anderson.

It may have taken a decade, but the hatchet was buried and what had seemed like only a fantasy to Suede fans of old was actually happening – Bernard Butler and Brett Anderson were actually working together again. Forging a new identity as The Tears (as in to cry, not to rip), they released Here Come The Tears in Summer of 2005. While it disappointed some who rather unfairly hoped that stepping into a studio together might somehow de-age the pair by 10 years, I found it to be better than I probably had any right to expect. Lyrically, Anderson shelved the sleaziness and seductiveness of Suede for a more optimistic and, despite the negative connotations of the word, mature tact. Butler continued to do what it he does but is also more restrained than he’s been in the past. It was like they were consciously trying to avoid the sonic trappings of Suede even if that was what they were undeniably best at. To me, it sounds like not unlike Coming Up if Butler had played on it rather than Oakes.

But Tears don’t last and in Spring of 2006, after a fair bit of worldwide touring in support of the record (though not in North America), Anderson announced that the band was going on hiatus while he worked on a solo record. This time the split was entirely drama-free, however, and there’s no reason to think that there won’t be another Tears record someday – just not right now. Butler has been busy doing production work and planning a third solo record (what about that third McAlmont & Butler album, hmm?) while Anderson’s imaginatively-titled Brett Anderson will see the inside of stores on March 26 and it’s safe to say that people are still interested – he sold out three London shows in under five minutes. He had been premiering demos of his new material on YouTube but only one of them is still available – guess we’ll just have to wait until March to hear how it all turns out. Update: The album version of “Scorpio Rising” is posted on his MySpace, link below.

And I would be remiss if I let these posts go by without mentioning that Bernard Butler is quite possibly/probably my favourite guitarist around. I spent more time than I care to admit back in the day trying to cop his riffs, his tone, everything. Wholly unsuccessfully, I should add, but it was something to aspire to. And even though I don’t really play much at all these days, I still occasionally dream of owning a Gibson ES-355 plugged into a Vox AC-30. Le sigh.

MP3: McAlmont & Butler – “Yes”
MP3: The Tears – “Autograph” (live on BBC2)
Video: McAlmont & Butler – “Yes” (YouTube)
Video: McAlmont & Butler – “You Do” (YouTube)
Video: McAlmont & Butler – “Falling” (YouTube)
Video: Bernard Butler – “Stay” (YouTube)
Video: Bernard Butler – “A Change Of Heart” (YouTube)
Video: Bernard Butler – “Not Alone” (YouTube)
Video: The Tears – “Refugees” (YouTube)
Video: The Tears – “Lovers” (YouTube)
Video: Brett Anderson – “Love Is Dead” (YouTube)
MySpace: McAlmont & Butler
MySpace: Bernard Butler
MySpace: The Tears
MySpace: Brett Anderson

Pitchfork reports that Echo & The Bunnymen’s old best-of comp, Songs To Learn & Sing, will be getting a makeover next week and be rereleased with nine additional tracks covering both eras (original and reunion) and a live DVD as More Songs To Learn And Sing : The Very Best Of. I had been on a mission to acquire the original Bunnymen releases on vinyl (I only need Crocodile) but if I’m being honest, it’s the Songs compilation that I listen to most when I need some Echo action – I’ll be happy to replace it with this expanded, younger and sportier model.

Maria Taylor will make up her canceled show at the El Mocambo from Summer 2005 with a Winter show at the El Mocambo. She’s there March 21. Her new record Lynn Teeter Flower is out March 6.

Dean & Britta tell Harp about the albums that changed their lives. The Feelies, Dean? Wow, I’m shocked. Shocked, I say.

So Much Silence is currently offering up a vinyl-only b-side from M Ward, a different version of “Magic Trick” featuring vocals from My Morning Jacket’s Jim James. M Ward is at the Mod Club next Saturday.

Daytrotter has posted a studio session with Headlights.

When I listed Suede’s Dog Man Star in the “now playing” section of a post recently, I got an IM from Duarte to the effect of, “Suede? Really?” Is it really a surprise that I like Suede and have, of late, been rediscovering just how bloody good their early stuff is? Sure, they were like the polar opposites of the naval-gazing shoegazey bands that generally define my favourite early-90s Brit bands, but that’s precisely why I’m such a fan.

While the singles off the first record are pretty much untouchable, as far as albums go I love the dark, romantic grandiosity of Dog Man Star so much more. It’s hard to believe that even though the sonic architect, guitarist Bernard Butler, walked out of the sessions halfway through due to friction with producer Ed Buller – it just sounds so complete and fully realized. The record is a doorway into a glamorously dystopian world that took “live fast, die you, leave a beautiful corpse” fully to heart. Just consider the singles – the anthemic defiance of “We Are The Pigs”, the desperately gorgeous “The Wild Ones”, the undistilled rapture of “New Generation”. The whole record drips with style, passion and fatalism the likes of which I haven’t heard in, oh, twelve years or so.

Though you’d think that all the strings, the horns, the layers upon layers upon layers of guitars and Brett Anderson’s voice, swooping and soaring overtop it all – would be a recipe for overblown excess but it’s not because that’s precisely the point. I love how unabashedly epic and melodramatic it all is – it’s simply tragic that by the time it was released, the UK had fallen for the decidedly more laddish and uninspiring sounds of Oasis and it was they that would define the Britpop era. Though the two albums that Anderson and Butler did produce together still stand as towering achievements even today, the next three records released by Suede don’t nearly measure up. It must be admitted that Butler’s replacement, Fat Richard (Oakes) was good for one record, the lighter and glammier Coming Up, but the follow-ups Head Music and A New Morning were sadly drab and uninspired. I was relieved when they called it quits at the end of 2003 if for no other reason than there would be no further dilution of the band’s legacy.

And, as it turns out, leaving Suede behind allowed Anderson to look to the future by reconciling with a friend from the past. I’ll get into both Butler and Anderson’s post-Suede projects in a later post (maybe even tomorrow). Unlike those of most legendary UK singer/guitarist duos that dissolve (Morrissey/Marr, Ashcroft/McCabe, Brown/Squire), they’ve actually done stuff that’s worthy of note after the fact. Well, Butler has. Anyway, their story’s not done.

But I leave you with this – vids from all the Dog Man Star singles (some featuring a Bernard stand-in!) and an MP3 of one of my favourite Suede songs (and one of Anderson’s least favourite), “Stay Together”. Release between the first two albums, it was the first sign that the band was looking to expand beyond the compact pop single. The full version (which I’ve posted) is eight and a half minutes of sheer romantic and dramatic musical bliss. Because of the band’s inexplicable disdain for the song, it didn’t appear on the otherwise excellent Sci-Fi Lullabies b-sides comp and remained pretty much out of circulation until the release of the Singles compilation in 2003 and even there it’s the radio edit, not the full version. Truly a shame.

MP3: Suede – “Stay Together”
Video: Suede – “Stay Together” (YouTube)
Video: Suede – “We Are The Pigs” (YouTube)
Video: Suede – “The Wild Ones” (YouTube)
Video: Suede – “New Generation” (YouTube)

Harp asks Johnny Marr how the hell one of the most influential guitarists of the last 25 years ended up as the new axeman in Modest Mouse – apparently Isaac Brock called up and asked. Damn, I wish I’d thought of that. We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank, the new record and first featuring Marr, is out in March.

Austinist has compiled a list of over 80 bands confirmed to appear at SxSW this year. Have to say – going over the list, I don’t see anyone that I’m overly excited about. I mean, there’s a lot of great acts but no one that I haven’t seen or won’t have the opportunity to see without hoofing it to Austin. That said, I know there’s at least a few bands who’ll be in attendance that aren’t on their list so there’s still plenty of time for some must-sees to go public.

And speaking of Austin and festivals, one of that city’s favourite sons – Daniel Johnston will be in Toronto on May 6 for the Over The Top Festival (via BrooklynVegan). I’ve seen him live before and he’s interesting. Very interesting.

More shows – Iceland’s Amiina are at the Music Gallery on March 27, tickets $15 while Electrelane and The Blow are at Lee’s May 18, tickets $13. I likes The Blow but am not likely to be around to attend. Alas.

The Globe & Mail reveals that a little more of Neil Young’s archives are coming to light in the next couple months. Though still not the capital-A Archives, he will follow up the release of last year’s Live at the Fillmore East with an audio document of two shows in Toronto some 36 years ago. Touring solo in support of Journey Through The Past, Young played two sold-out shows at Massey Hall on the evening of January 19, 1971 in what would become a legendary and oft-bootlegged concert (under the name Going Back To Canada). It’s sort of a staple of bit torrent sites and live show blog and while I’ve never actually heard it, I don’t doubt it’s worth hearing. There’s no formal title yet (Live At Massey Hall might be a safe bet though) but the article says that the set, possibly with accompanying DVD, is slated for release in March. Update: Billboard to the rescue – Live At Massey Hall will be out March 13 and the 8-CD and 2-DVD Archives Volume 1 will be out this Fall.

Also just seeing the light of day are the two tracks recorded by Young’s old outfit The Mynah Birds, famous for bringing together Young and the once and future Superfreak Rick James. The band recorded an album’s worth of material for Motown but all but one 7″ single were shelved when James was arrested for deserting the US Navy and for the most part, that era in Young’s career has gone unheard. The two tracks have finally seen the light of day, however, as part of the limited edition Complete Motown Singles box sets – Volume 6, disc 29 to be precise (though I’ve also heard that Young has bought the tracks from Motown for inclusion in his Archives release). The two songs – “It’s My Time” and “Go On And Cry” are really both excellent, the former a classically upbeat Motown pop number and the latter a slow, soulful ballad. It really makes you wonder what might have happened if James had been able to stick around? The seven-year deal they’d signed with Motown certainly showed the label had faith in them.

I’ve actually got MP3s of both Mynah Bird tracks but am reluctant to post them because, well, I obviously don’t have permission and I suspect that they’re the sort of thing that might attract the attention of a much higher-paid class of lawyer than a typical uncleared MP3 normally would. Which is a shame, because currently the only way to hear the songs otherwise is via a $100 box set or by waiting for Neil Young to finally release his own oft-delayed expansive (and expensive) box set. Or if you’re American you can access it via Rhapsody, however that works.

Sparklehorse’s Mark Linkous tells The AV Club that “I hate live performances so much” because “I hate the sound of my own voice”. Which obviously bodes well for their show at the Mod Club on February 23.

AOL’s Spinner 3×3 features three live videos of Neko Case taken from her just-released Austin City Limits CD and DVD.

How’s this for an eclectic bill? Portland’s Menomena, Sunderland UK’s Field Music and Montreal’s Land Of Talk, all at the El Mocambo on March 23. Menomena release Friend And Foe on January 23, Field Music’s Tones Of Town is out February 20 in North America and Land Of Talk will give Applause Cheer Boo Hiss an official US release on March 20.

Say Hi To Your Mom are at Sneaky Dee’s on April 3.

Drowned In Sound has a two–part interview with James Mercer of The Shins. Wincing The Night Away is out next Tuesday.

The Star-Ledger salutes the poster boys of keeping the rock’n’roll dream alive, The Wrens.