Frank YangThough concert season is always light during the end and start of the year, this year’s layoff of 19 days seemed exceptionally long. And so when I finally got back out on the club circuit last Friday night, I was mentally unprepared for the sheer crush of humanity that awaited me. Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration but Rancho Relaxo – not exactly a large room under any circumstances – seemed extra packed with punters.

Now I’m sure that some of them were just folks out looking for something or anything to do on the last weekend of the holidays, or just Two-Way Monologues regulars, but it’s also not unreasonable to assume that the draw of Amos The Transparent had grown to the point that the usual haunts wouldn’t be able to house them much longer. Since first discovering the band at Pop Montreal in 2007 (also the same evening I first saw Woodpigeon – that’s called a good night), they and their debut album Everything I’ve Forgotten To Forget have not only become fast favourites, but easy candidates for the title of best unknown band in Canada. And maybe it’s just as well that they’re shedding the “unknown” part of that accolade because their before too long, either of their bill-mates on this night might be ready to lay claim to it.

Leading off were Bellewoods, a Toronto five-piece who built widescreen, slow-motion soundscapes on a strong foundation of countrified hurt that reminded me of Whiskeytown at their more bottle-bottomed moments. Though their material is a touch monochromatic, they evidenced enough sonic ingenuity in their songcraft and arrangements – and some nice guitar excursions – that I expect there’s promising things to come. A full-length album was completed last Fall and details on a release should come soon.

Taking Bellewoods’ stately pace and ratcheting up about a zillion percent were middle act, Toronto’s Whale Tooth and their highly danceable, feel-good pop led by Elise LeGrow and Norm Maschke’s terrific vocal chemistry. LeGrow’s jazz training was evident as soon as she opened her mouth but she rather than overpower things, she demonstrated exactly the right amount of style, verve and charisma to be a magnetic frontperson – bouncing around the stage like a superball also helped. Their songwriting is definitely on the breezy side, maybe a little too much so for some, but there is no denying that live, they’re a good time and a half.

Perhaps I was spoiled in having my first Amos The Transparent show feature a cast of thousands (or at least seven or eight), but in the times I’d seen them since their four-piece configuration never quite seemed to do the richness of Forgotten‘s material justice. They were all great shows, don’t get me wrong, but I always noticed the absence of manpower – or should I say, the woman power. Some of the finest moments on the album were the duets between frontman Jonathan Chandler and vocalist Ana Miura (and on one track Amy Millan), and that was something that the all-boys lineup just couldn’t recreate. So I was very pleased to see that the Amos live experience is now a six-piece, with recent additions Dan Hay on guitar and Kate Cooke on vocals. Cooke’s voice is decidedly bolder and brassier than Miura’s sweeter, more forlorn presence on the record, but after a mental adjustment of expectations she filled the vacancy admirably.

As for the show itself, it was typically excellent with great enthusiasm and intensity, though the Rancho’s little stage forced the band to be rather stationary. The set was made up mainly of Forgotten material but with a smattering of new songs to whet the appetite for the next album. And it seemed that people were ready for some new material because a surprising amount of the audience was singing along with the old songs, loudly and lustily. All these people who were filling Rancho – they were fans. I don’t say that with incredulity, just to be clear, but satisfaction.

It actually struck me while watching them that they reminded me not a little of Wilco, able to take their strong pop sensibilities and folkish roots and from there, grow their sound upwards and outwards, respectful of the traditions that informed them without being beholden to them. Or maybe I just noticed Jonathan Chandler’s Wilco t-shirt. But watching the band and their musical abilities and combining that with the restless creativity of the songcraft… I don’t think it’s a left-field comparison. A lofty one, yes, but not overly so.

Metro has an interview with Amos’ Chandler, who according to their MySpace, will be back in town for a show at Sneaky Dee’s on January 23.

Photos: Amos The Transparent, Whale Tooth, Bellewoods @ Rancho Relaxo – January 2, 2009
MP3: Amos The Transparent – “Title Track”
MP3: Whale Tooth – “Hibernation Song”
MP3: Whale Tooth – “Sleepwalking”
MP3: Whale Tooth – “6 Billion”
MySpace: Amos The Transparent

The Guardian profiles Antony Hegarty of Antony & The Johnsons. Their new album The Crying Light is out January 20 and they play the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on February 17.

Also out January 20 is Noble Beast, the new one from Andrew Bird. NPR is currently streaming the whole thing and Bird was the subject of a feature at The New York Times this weekend. He has an April 3 date at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Update: You can also stream the instrumental bonus disc – via Pitchfork.

Stream: Andrew Bird / Noble Beast
Stream: Andrew Bird / Useless Creatures

WikipediaFirstly – some of you who make this a weekly Sunday stop may have been a mite confused as to why the area to the right formerly reserved for the cover of the week is now vacant… well, henceforth that feature is now going to be rolled into the regular blog.

The benefit of this to you is that it’ll now show up in the RSS feed, like a number have asked for, and you can comment, which is always amusing. The benefit to me is that I now no longer have to have these things locked and loaded before midnight Saturday night for fear of the site breaking. Same thing about missing a week – no breakie. I mean, I’ve been churning out these things one a week for six years now, the well is starting to run a little dry, so by segue – if anyone’s got a stash of cool or interesting covers that they’d care to donate, drop me a line. It’d be appreciated. And links will still be going down after a week.

Anyways, that’s the PSA portion of things.

Glasgow’s Glasvegas rather ably conquered the UK in 2008, and are turning their eyes to America for 2009. Their self-titled debut, released back home in September, will come out in North America this Tuesday and be accompanied by a couple of bonus tracks to annoy those of us who sprung for the import.

Not amongst them, however, is this cover of Phil Spector via The Ronettes, which proves they’re not shy to own up to one of their most obvious influences. It was a b-side to their “”It’s My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry” single.

They also kick off a North American tour tonight in Boston. No Toronto date yet, but Google certainly seems to think they’ll be at the Mod Club on April 3. I’ll confirm that when I can. Update: Date confirmed, tickets $21 on sale Saturday.

Features on the band have recently popped up at The Boston Herald, The Boston Globe and The Daily Record.

MP3: Glasvegas – “Be My Baby”

David MagnussonIt seems rather fitting that the first post of this new year should be devoted to an artist who seems to have great difficulty in choosing a favourite year, musically speaking, so he’s opted to go with them all. Montt Mardié is the stage name of David Olof Peter Pagmar, a Swedish pop savant whose two albums – the 2005 debut Drama and the 2007 double-set Pretender/Clocks – were cherry-picked last year for the UK release Introducing… The Best Of.

While it may seem odd to have a “best of” for someone barely 25 years old and with just two albums under his belt, Introducing really does feel like a compilation of top singles from an artist who’s been at it far longer than he has. His compositions tend to be rooted in throwback ’60s pop style, grand and orchestrally-minded and full of wit and humour, but Pagmar doesn’t discriminate when it comes to digging through his record or movie collections for inspiration. Musical cribs from The Cure nestle alongside classic Brill Building song structures and quotes from Meatloaf. Lyrics reference Breakfast At Tiffany’s and Star Wars – Introducing is a glorious open house pop culture party, where everything is fair game and welcomed with love.

Though I’ve no hesitation to recommend Mardié to fans of fellow Swedish troubadour Jens Lekman, who makes an appearance on duet “Castle In The Sky”, there’s more that distinguishes the two than make them similar once you get into the “male singer-songwriter pop auteur” category. If Lekman is the droll, detached sophisticate, then Pagmar is his earnest and wide-eyed younger brother, too enthused about everything to worry about looking cool. Whether backed by a full band and/or orchestra or just his own home recordings, Pagmar delivers everything with breathless enthusiasm and frequently slips into a soulful falsetto that’s just imperfect enough to be endearing. And on the tracks where he’s accompanied by female backing vocals, it’s simply sublime. There’s no trace of irony here, just giddy devotion to the joys of pop music and it’s difficult to resist. In fact, why would you want to? If Peter Bjorn & John were the new face of Swedish pop for 2007 and Lykke Li was last year’s model, then I nominate Montt Mardié – who is currently at work on album number three – for 2009.

Peculiarly, the Swedish albums appear easier to find than the comp. In addition to Amazon.com appearing to have stock (see links above), both are available at eMusic. But if you’re keen to try the single-disc version, inquire with the good folks at Ruffa Lane, who put it out.

The Guardian declared Mardié their band of the day last June and basically described him as the second coming of Prefab Sprout – a title I can’t comment on because I know nothing of the first coming of Prefab Sprout.

MP3: Montt Mardié – “1969”
MP3: Montt Mardié – “Metropolis”
MP3: Montt Mardié – “New York”
MP3: Montt Mardié – “High School Drama”
MP3: Montt Mardié – “Come On Eileen”
Video: Montt Mardié – “High School Drama”
Video: Montt Mardié – “Metropolis”
Myspace: Montt Mardié

Daytrotter closed out last year with a studio session from Bon Iver. Their new EP Blood Bank is out on January 20.

Bradley’s Almanac bids farewell to Dirty On Purpose, who played their final gig on New Year’s Eve, with a recording of their last show in Boston last October.

Filter talks to Mercury Rev’s Jeff Mercel.

20 Album Covers recreated in Lego – all I can say is that Lego men come with much more interesting accessory pieces than when I was a kid.