Cred-killing confession time – I’ve never really liked Joy Division. Respect, acknowledge the importance of, own the two albums by, yes. Really like? Not so much. I’ve always been more a New Order guy, if just because they wrote pop songs. Joy Division were, basically, too heavy for me. And it’s probably terribly cliche to say, but seeing Control has given me a whole new appreciation for the band.

The first thing that needs to be said about Control is that it’s visually stunning. If for aesthetic reasons alone, it deserves the glowing reviews that it’s been getting. Though his first time helming a feature, Anton Corbijn’s mastery of visuals has been well-proven in his music videos and photography so there’s no surprise that the film would look sumptuous but that doesn’t keep your jaw off the floor. Every shot, every scene, is so perfectly composed and lit that you could literally take any single frame of the film, blow it up and hang it on a wall. And what’s most impressive is that it seems so effortless – very few shots are obviously staged or deliberately “arty”, instead it seems like every element just fell into place because that’s where and how it was meant to be.

But appearances mean nothing if the film is hollow and thanks to superb lead performances from Sam Riley as Ian Curtis and Samantha Morton as Deborah Curtis, there’s real heart and humanity to the film. Corbijn opts to follow their story in a slightly detached manner, moving at a slowish but steady pace towards its final, inevitable and tragic conclusion but ensuring the film is about them and their story. While the Joy Division story is obviously integral to the tale, it’s not the central topic – just context. That’s not to say that the music isn’t given its due for the scenes of the band playing are electrifying. Riley, doing his own vocals just as the rest of the actors/band plays their instruments live, channels Curtis’ intensity and charisma and really conveys just how revolutionary they must have sounded thirty years ago and, as I listen to them for the first time in ages and with fresh ears, still do.

It’s not a perfect film – it wavers a bit at the end when dealing with Curtis’ suicide, trying to compress all explanation and rationale for it into the final act and Corbijn loses the distance that had served so well to that point – but it is an exceptional one and absolutely worth seeing whether you’re a Joy Division fan or not, but especially if you are.

And I couldn’t help but compare the portrayals of Joy Division in Control and 24 Hour Party People, thanks to YouTube. Riley’s portrayal of Curtis is light years superior, and I remember thinking that Sean Harris’ portrayal in the Winterbottom film was pretty good. I have to give the nod to 24 Hour‘s Bernard Sumner though, if only because John Simm looks uncannily like Barney. Both films were pretty in synch as to their Rob Grettons and I also found it comforting somehow that Peter Hook is universally portrayed as an asshole. And a bit of trivia from IMDB – Sam Riley played The Fall’s Mark E Smith in a cameo in 24 Hour Party People. How about that?

Harp and Paste talk to Anton Corbijn about making Control while The Globe & Mail and The Village Voice discuss inhabiting Ian Curtis with Sam Riley.

Trailer: Control

Editor Tom Smith talks to Harp.

Scott Wilkinson of British Sea Power discusses their new album Do You Like Rock Music?, out February 12 of next year, with Billboard. I’m anxiously awaiting this new album but hope it’s better than the Krackenhaus? EP, which has failed to excite me so far.

Express talks to Billy Bragg about his charity work and his relationship with America.

Adam Franklin talks about the impending Swervedriver reunion in their MySpace blog.

Harp gets to know Natasha Khan from Bat For Lashes.

It’s not too often that a show announcement sneaks up on me to the point that the first I hear of it is opening up the latest issue of NOW, but this one did and what a pleasant surprise it is. Spiritualized at the Phoenix, November 17. Now I’ve seen Spiritualized before and didn’t really care for the last couple records, but this show is part of the Spriritualized Acoustic Mainline tour and features J Spacemen unplugged with string sections and gospel singers. To get an idea of how good that’ll sound, check out the live clip from their performance at All Tomorrow’s Parties earlier this year. I’d call this a must-see. Simple Kid supports, tickets $26.50, on sale Saturday.

Video: Spiritualized Acoustic Mainline @ All Tomorrow’s Parties – April 2007

And just announced – Peter Bjorn & John will make up their cancelled V-Fest appearance with a show at the Phoenix on January 22 of next year. Which really isn’t that far off.

So you know that show this Monday night at the El Mocambo that I just gave away passes to? Well turns out I’ve got more. I’ve already talked a bit about
Eulogies and I’ve gone on about Land Of Talk so I’ll take this opportunity to talk a bit about the third band on the bill, Californians Film School, and their new album Hideout.

Though featuring a new and expanded lineup than the band that recorded 2006’s self-titled release, Hideout offers more of the sonically dense dream/dronepop that defined that record, though with some of the harder edges softened up just a touch. There’s also more focus on soundscaping than songwriting though things do coalesce into pop songs from time to time, making for a hazy sort of listen start to finish, like drifting in and out of focus. Which, in this style of music, is exactly the point.

It was essentially a different band that played the Horseshoe in May of last year but since the recorded aesthetic hasn’t changed that much, I expect their live show will be as loud and hopefully as good as last time. Want to find out? Courtesy of Against The Grain, I’ve got two pairs of passes to give away to the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to go to Film School” in the subject line and your full name in the body as well as the name of your favourite director. Just out of curiosity. And Scott and Bruce (aka, those who entered the Eulogies contest), I will automatically enter you in this one. Contest closes at midnight, October 27.

MP3: Film School – “Lectric”
MySpace: Film School

Even though I wrote up Our Ill Wills from Shout Out Louds a couple weeks ago, it’s managed to stay in fairly heavy listening rotation hereabouts. I think it just suits what I’ve been in the mood for lately – well-produced, unpretentious and slightly dour pop music that’s not trying to change my world. It’s perfectly happy to have a seat and just hang out and that’s about how their show at the Mod Club this past Monday night went down.

For expediency’s sake we’ll skip past the first band on the bill, a trio from LA that dealt in overdramatic alt.radio rock fronted by an American Apparel ad and just deal with the Swedish portions of the bill. Johnossi were a duo named for the members of the band (John and Ossi, natch) and while their self-titled debut didn’t convince me – I thought they sounded a bit like The Hives wearing cowboy hats – their live show proved they were deadly serious and able to coax more rock out of an acoustic guitar and drum kit than I’d have thought possible. Stylistically I’d still go with the above reference points – the do blend classic hard rock with a cowpunk/rockabilily sensibility – but expressed with nothing but respect. Still not feeling the urge to revisit the album (though I probably will), but I’d happily see them again live in a heartbeat.

While what I’d heard from the first Shout Out Louds record hadn’t captured my imagination the way the new one has, I’ll be first to admit that it came across much better live. The Ill Wills material, with its widescreen production, is harder to pull off than the drier, scrappier Howl Howl Gaff Gaff songs and the band mostly opted not to try and reproduce all the nuances, instead stripping the arrangements down for live performance. I expected as much and thus shouldn’t really have been disappointed that “Impossible” didn’t sound as sweeping as it does on record but still was, just a bit.

But that doesn’t mean that they didn’t try to make things sound interesting. Each member of the band seemed to come equipped with an arsenal of percussion – shakers, tambourines, wooden blocks, cowbells, whatever. If you could hit it and have it make a noise, they probably had it up there somewhere and while a few shakers does not a dance party make, it made for a much more rhythmic show than one might have thought they had in them. Though NOW was more than a little unimpressed with the show, I had a good time with it and Our Ill Wills continues to be spun on a more than regular basis.

The band had hoped to keep a tour diary of sorts on their North American tour but as the first dispatch at Spinner indicates, things got off to a rough start with bus troubles and while they’ve managed to get back on schedule, they might have other things on their minds. Maybe they’ll catch up eventually. They did make it to Minnesota Public Radio to record a session, though, which you can stream or download. Newsday and AM New York also have interviews. Update: A second tour diary update is now up at Spinner.

Photos: Shout Out Louds, Johnossi @ The Mod Club – October 22, 2007
MP3: Shout Out Louds – “Tonight I Have To Leave It”
MP3: Johnossi – “Man Must Dance”
Video: Shout Out Louds – “Tonight I Have To Leave It” (MOV)
Video: Shout Out Louds – “Impossible” (YouTube)
Video: Johnossi – “Man Must Dance” (YouTube)
Video: Johnossi – “Execution Song” (YouTube)
Video: Johnossi – “Glory Days To Come” (YouTube)
MySpace: Shout Out Louds
MySpace: Johnossi

Slate declares Jens Lekman to be “Sweden’s greatest musical export”. And backs it up.

Filter and Magnet have interviews and MPR a session with Rogue Wave, in town for a show at the Mod Club on Friday.

Craig Finn of The Hold Steady talks to The Metro Times about his songwriting and NME about where they’re at with their next record.

Harp offers up an excerpt from All Over But The Shouting: An Oral History Of The Replacements.

Beat Route has posted their October cover story on Ted Leo.

The Diableros’ first album You Can’t Break The Strings In Our Olympic Hearts was a head trip of swirling Farfisa and fuzz-drenched 12-string guitar pop that I liked as is but had many tempering their enthusiasm with complaints about the mix. Yeah, Pete Carmichael’s voice was low in the mix and the guitar and organ way up, but to me that was part of the rough charm of the record. We agreed to disagree.

But the band apparently took this to heart as their follow-up, Aren’t Ready For The Country, has a much more sensible mix – vocals up and guitars and organs turned down to a dull roar – and stretches out a bit more stylistically but it comes at the cost of some of the immediacy and energy of the first record. I guess you’d call that maturing and it’s reasonable to think that in time, its sophistication will grow on me and I might prefer it to its predecessor, but it’s not there yet.

But speaking of being there, the Diableros are holding a CD release show for the album at the Horseshoe this Friday and I’ve got two prize packs for it to give away. They consist of two passes to the show, a copy of the new album on CD and a limited-edition 7″ of “Working Out Words” from the first record on some dapper blue vinyl. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I’m Ready For The Country” in the subject line and your full name and mailing address in the email body. The CD and 7″ will be sent to you via mail. Contest closes Thursday night at 9PM.

MP3: The Diableros – “No One Wants To Drive”
MySpace: The Diableros

Now I remember why I try to get show reviews done as soon as possible – my memory’s not what it used to be. I remember Sunday night, I was at the Phoenix. There were some bands. They played. People applauded. Some danced in place.

More specifically. First up was Baltimoran Benjy Ferree (not to be confused with Baltimora), whose Leaving The Nest I gave thoughts on a little while back – generally positive, but not much of an impression left. His live show did better, starting off in an orchestral-folk vibe but rapidly ramping up to a rollicking rock crescendo in the span of barely 25 minutes.

The Delgados always had a loyal following in Toronto so it’s a bit unfortunate that Emma Pollock would make her solo debut opening up for another act rather than in front of her own audience. But on the strength of the songs from Watch The Fireworks, I’d like to think she made more than a few new fans. As I mentioned after seeing her at SxSW, it was good to see that she hadn’t gone the folky, singer-songwriter route in going it alone. She’s still very much writing rock songs though they did lack much of the quirks and idiosyncrasies that made Delgados records so unique. With a few exceptions, set closer “The Optimist” in particular, her new stuff is considerably more straightforward and while it’s all quite enjoyable – she hasn’t lost her distinct melodic sensibilities – it does make me miss The Delgados even more.

Though they’d already played Toronto twice this year, this was The New Pornographers’ first visit since the release of their latest album Challengers and the first to feature the full band, including Neko Case and Dan Bejar. Now having seen the Pornos both with and without these two, it goes without saying that they bring a lot to the band. Though perfectly capable with the core six members, Dan’s songs only really sound right with Dan singing them and as good as Kathryn Calder has been, there’s only one Neko.

Even with the whole gang along for the ride, the New Pornographers have never been what you’d call an outstanding live act – their strength is their amazing songs, not their showmanship and this performance was no exception. The band seemed curiously detached for the first half hour or so and certainly far less excited about being there than the audience. Even Case, normally so gregarious on her own, was unusually demure. At one point, while Bejar was trying to get a guitar strapped on, there was an extended silence that not one of the seven other members onstage saw fit to try and fill, opting instead to stand there and avoid making eye contact with 1000 people. Very odd. It was as if they hoped that the big flashing “New Pornographers” marquee backdropping the stage would compensate.

But to be fair, the band was there to play, not chat, and eventually they did warm things up both in terms of stage presence and song selection in back-loading the set with the older, peppier material. And as much fun as it is to hear “Electric Version” and “Sing Me Spanish Techno”, as well as see a progressively drunker Dan Bejar stagger up to the mic for his numbers, the highlight for me was one of the slower numbers from Challengers. The harmonies between Carl Newman, Case and Calder on “Adventures In Solitude” were stunning but even more impressive was Calder’s solo performance on the bridges. Since she joined the band she’s been regarded largely as a Neko pinch-hitter but seeing her step up the mic and, for my money, provide the most memorable moment of the show. What I said earlier about there only being one Neko? Still true, but Calder’s proven that she’s not standing in her shadow anymore.

The show finished relatively strongly with “Letter From An Occupant” closing out the second encore, though it wasn’t quite enough to overcome the lethargic start and it evened out to a decent though not great show. Points, however, to whomever decided to bring up the house lights to the sounds of Olivia Newton-John’s “Xanadu”. I never get tired of hearing that. Seriously. The Pornos already have the big flashing sign, maybe next time they should bring roller skates.

eye, JAM and Chart also have reviews of the show while JAM, The Ottawa Citizen and Tonawonda News have conversations with Carl Newman. The Montreal Gazette and On Milwaukee have features on Emma Pollock.

Photos: The New Pornographers, Emma Pollock, Benjy Ferree @ The Phoenix – October 21, 2007
MP3: The New Pornographers – “My Rights Versus Yours”
MP3: The New Pornographers – “Myriad Harbour”
MP3: Emma Pollock – “Adrenaline”
MP3: Emma Pollock – “Limbs”
MP3: Benjy Ferree – “In The Countryside”
Video: The New Pornographers – “Challengers” (YouTube)
Video: Emma Pollock – “Adrenaline” (YouTube)
Video: Emma Pollock – “Acid Test” (YouTube)
Video: Benjy Ferree – “In The Countryside”
MySpace: The New Pornographers
MySpace: Emma Pollock
MySpace: Benjy Ferree

Soundscapes, Canada.com and Beat Route have interviews with The Besnard Lakes, whose debut Volume 1 was re-released in the US recently (yesterday?). The MP3 is not from that album. The video is.

MP3: The Besnard Lakes – “For Agent 13”
Video: The Besnard Lakes – “The Spy Turned Musician” (MySpace)

Wireless Bollinger and UberDrivel interview Stars, whose three-night stand at the Phoenix from November 26 to 28 was just expanded to four with the addition of a show on the 29th, on sale tomorrow. Miracle Fortress is slated to open on the show on the 27th and I Heart Music has got their recent Halifax Pop Explosion performance MP3-ified for your enjoyment, via the CBC Radio 3 recording.

USA Today introduces its readers to Feist.

Rolf Klausener recounts the story of The Acorn to Beat Route. They’ll be at the Horseshoe on November 24.

The Good brothers talk to Harp about the process of making The Sadies’ latest album New Seasons. They also talk to Vue Weekly, The Tandem and The San Francisco Bay Guardian about the record. They’ve got a mini Toronto club crawl scheduled for the first weekend of November, playing Lee’s Palace on the 2nd and the Horseshoe on the 3rd.

Filter gets to know Tokyo Police Club.