Frank YangNormally I try to cover stuff chronologically, but in summing up my time in New York City this past weekend, I’m going to jump around a little bit for the sake of grouping things together. And so I’ll start off at the end of Thursday night in the basement of a little club called Lit in the East Village.

Providence’s The Brother Kite would be well within their rights to ask me to stop coming to their gigs. In each of the three times I’ve now seen them play, their set was… marred by circumstances beyond anyone’s control. The first, last year at my Pop Montreal showcase, was a bit of a mess on too many levels to get into. The second at this year’s SxSW was significantly better but with singer Patrick Boutwell dealing with a cold, they still weren’t in top form. And this past Thursday night, at their CMJ showcase, their supposed headlining slot at the showcase for their label Clairecords appeared at real risk of being cut down to nothing because of every preceding act running long. It’s not my fault, I swear.

They were eventually given a truncated but still decent-length set with which they showcased both new material from the can’t-come-soon-enough follow-up to Waiting For The Time To Be Right alongside highlights from that utter gem of a record (one-liner for those who haven’t heard it – Ride crossed with The Beach Boys, but better). The new stuff sounded good – similar enough to the old in the ways that matter but also exploring enough new ground to not be a retread – but I still loved hearing the Time songs the most. And considering they were playing once again in less than optimal conditions – they hardly got any soundcheck despite having a decidedly complex equipment setup – they once again delivered a superb performance. I can’t imagine how good they’d sound if they were playing under optimal conditions. Though this is a band that gives new meaning to the phrase “flying under the radar”, it’s certainly not for lack of ability – their songwriting and performance both live and on record are sublime.

The band have been documenting the recording of the new record over at their MySpace blog.

Photos: The Brother Kite @ Lit, New York City – October 23, 2008
MP3: The Brother Kite – “Get On, Me”
MP3: The Brother Kite – “I’m Not The Only One”
Video: The Brother Kite – “I’m Not The Only One”
MySpace: The Brother Kite

Yuki Chikudate of Asobi Seksu tells The Georgia Straight she doesn’t buy into the idea of an ongoing shoegaze revival. Their new album Hush will surely do nothing to propagate that idea when it’s released in February.

The Montreal Gazette, JAM and BlogTO converse with Murray Lightburn of The Dears. While over at This Is Fake DIY, the band’s other/better half Natalia Yanchak ponders the meaning(lessness) of labels.

R.E.M. have a new video.

Video: R.E.M. – “Until The Day Is Done”

Sweden’s Love Is All, on the cusp of releasing A Hundred Things Keep Me Up at Night on November 11, have padded out their tour dates and will now be hitting the Horseshoe on December 11, tickets $11.50.

MP3: Love Is All – “Wishing Well”
Video: Love Is All – “Wishing Well”

Frank YangSo hands up whoever had “50%” in the “How many people are going to take off after Frightened Rabbit’s set?” pool. Congratulation, you win some taffy (note: you do not actually win taffy). I had guessed that about that percentage of the couple hundred who showed up at Lee’s Palace on Tuesday night were there to see the highly-regarded Scottish outfit make their Toronto debut, and I was about right. This is not to take away from the other two acts on the bill – both headliners The Spinto Band and locals Spiral Beach put on good shows and were certainly well-matched stylistically, but if someone was there for the angsty anthems of the middle act, then the other two might not have been up their alley.

Now most local bands added to a touring bill would likely just show up, do their thing and leave, but full points to Spiral Beach for making the most of the opportunity, dressing up the stage in an elaborate setup of lights, signs and pylons to accompany their half hour set. They also brought their own fans, who turned the dance floor of Lee’s Palace into, well, a dance floor. I hadn’t seen Spiral Beach for at least a couple years, since they were a very green outfit, and it was immediately obvious that what unrealized potential I’d seen in them back then as they tried to meld New Wave and surf rock was now very much being realized. Like an un-kitschy but still tremendously fun B-52s, they were unceasingly energetic onstage in the way that young people are. I’m now exponentially more interested in this band than I was before.

I’d caught an approximately 15-minute set from Frightened Rabbit at SxSW back in March but even in such a short time, they – and their album The Midnight Organ Fight – made an immense impression. Similarly, though they were the ones most were there to see, they had only an opener’s set length in which to satiate the fans who’d been waiting a long time for them to visit. To this end, the barreled through their set – comprised mainly of Organ Fight but with a few nods back to Sing The Greys by request. Frontman Scott Hutchison’s cheerful demenaour was a decided contrast to the downcast nature of his lyrics, particularly as delivered in his thick Scottish burr, and though the band’s songs seem like fairly straightforward rocked-up folk, seeing the range of instruments and arrangements needed to recreate them faithfully – how many four-pieces do you see with three of them wielding Telecasters? – you come to appreciate how sophisticated they are underneath. To say nothing of simply being great songs. Next time back, Frightened Rabbit had best be headlining their own show. If not for the fans’ sake, then for the sake of the band who’d be unfortunate enough to have to play after them.

And this time out, said band was The Spinto Band, on tour in support of their new record Moonwink. But if the Delaware six-piece were at all perturbed at all the extra elbow room for those who stuck around, they didn’t let it show. Or they loved it. It’s hard to tell, they were simply so gleeful on stage. And that’s good because their technicolour pop songs demand glee and the Spinto Band played and danced like deliverymen of sonic candy floss overdosed on their own product. Their most impressive moment was when singer/guitarist Nick Krill broke a string on his guitar and proceeded to unwrap the mic from the stand, carry it over to the spare guitar, swap guitars and re-mount the mic all without missing a note. That was slick. And while I was definitely there to see Frightened Rabbit, I wasn’t sorry I stuck around.

Laundromatinee has a session with the Spinto Band.

Photos: Spinto Band, Frightened Rabbit, Spiral Beach @ Lee’s Palace – October 21, 2008
MP3: Spinto Band – “Summer Grof”
MP3: Frightened Rabbit – “Head Rolls Off”
MP3: Frightened Rabbit – “The Modern Leper”
MP3: Spiral Beach – “Made Of Stone”
Video: Frightened Rabbit – “Heads Roll Off”
Video: Spiral Beach – “Made Of Stone”
Video: Spiral Beach – “Kind Of Beast”
MySpace: The Spinto Band
MySpace: Spiral Beach

Crawdaddy and Cord Weekly talk to Sloan.

Wired and Buzzbands talk to the principals of Magnetic Morning. They’re at the Horseshoe tonight.

The Verve have a new video.

Video: The Verve – “Rather Be”

Blurt interviews Lucinda Williams.

Paste and NOW feature Of Montreal. They’re at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre next Tuesday night.

So thanks to some serious pathos on my part and some serious excellence on the Apple Store’s part, my laptop got fixed yesterday (dead logic board) in under four hours turnaround. That is absolutely amazing. Which means that my laptop is alive and coming with me to New York. Which means pretty much nothing to you, but certainly makes things more enjoyable for me.

Frank YangRocking out, of course, would have been wholly inappropriate. The New Year may have finally chosen to visit Toronto after years of passing us by, but to make any sort of production of it would have been completely out of character. Instead, the slow and steady languidness on which they’ve built their career (or careers, if you count Bedhead) demanded that the Texan quintet show up, do their quietly mesmerizing thing and depart. Which they did, while still blowing at least a few of the 50 or so minds gathered to welcome them.

I’d gotten a preview of what the live show might be like when the two principals – Matt and Bubba Kadane – played Sneaky Dee’s as a duo back in July but as anticipated, the addition of the third (and at one point fourth) guitar and rock-solid rhythm section featuring drummer extraordinaire Chris Brokaw put things into another dimension from that stripped-down performance. I covered some of what makes The New Year special in my review of their new eponymous album but to see the intricate guitar-chestrations executed live was fascinating – between the five of them, it was like watching musical engineers at work, systematically and methodically building something cool and crystalline and beautiful.

Neither Kadane seemingly interested in stepping up to the front of the stage unless they had to sing, so at more than a few points the entire band was pulled back to near the back of the stage, far more intent on the job at hand than working the crowd. Material was drawn from all three of their records though with the absence of a piano in the lineup, arrangements were rejigged to be even more guitar-intensive but such is the magic of their recipe that even with all that going on, nothing got overly busy or muddled – each part rung out clear as a bell and as delicately or intensely as necessary. With a set that lasted just an hour including encore, it seemed rather short considering how long I – and at least a few others I sure – had waited for the show, but that’s a small complaint. Satisfying in every other regard.

It was unclear who support was for this show – all listings I’d seen said Angela Desveaux, but a few instead said a fellow named Ryan Driver. As it happens, it was both. Driver was up first and didn’t seem at all perturbed to be playing to less than a dozen people. Seated in a chair and deftly fingerpicking his acoustic guitar, he offering up a short set of fairly standard but still well-executed coffeehouse folk. Desveaux, on the other hand, brought a full-sized band featuring not just three guitars but a pedal steel as well, all tasked with recreating the rich country pop of her latest record The Mighty Ship. I’ve always found Desveaux to be a solid, if not over spectacular, live performer – her strength is very much her voice and songwriting – so the extra musical muscle went a long way to making things engaging throughout. Throw in a couple of covers from Paul Simon and Richard & Linda Thompson and you had a set that was comfy like a warm sweater.

New City Chicago talks to Matt Kadane, Here chats with Angela Desveaux.

Photos: The New Year, Angela Desveaux, Ryan Driver @ Lee’s Palace – October 15, 2008
MP3: The New Year – “The Company I Can Get”
MP3: The New Year – “X Off Days”
MP3: The New Year – “The End’s Not Near”
MP3: The New Year – “Sinking Ship”
MP3: Angela Desveaux – “Sure Enough”
MP3: Angela Desveaux – “Heartbeat”
Video: The New Year – “The End’s Not Near”
Video: Angela Desveaux – “Wandering Eyes”
Video: The New Year – “Disease”
MySpace: The New Year
MySpace: Angela Desveaux

Boston Music Spotlight spotlights Frightened Rabbit, playing Lee’s Palace on Tuesday.

The Ithaca Journal interviews Billy Bragg.

Travis – remember them? – are back with a new album in Ode To J Smith, out now. And it sounds a little like this.

MP3: Travis – “J. Smith”

Murray Lightburn details the fall and rise of The Dears to The Globe & Mail.

Time Out Chicago gets some time with TV On The Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe.

The Denver Post chats with John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats. Their new EP Satanic Messiah is available digitally, either via a pay what you can model or at a suggested price tag of the devil of $6.66.

Colin Meloy gives Paste some insight into the next Decemberists record Hazards Of Love, currently targeted for an April release.

Will Sheff of Okkervil River gives SPIN an explanation of the song that closes out The Stand Ins, “Bruce Wayne Campbell Interviewed on the Roof of the Chelsea Hotel, 1979”.

Two Hours Traffic are coming back for their four millionth Toronto show this year for an all-ages gig at the Whippersnapper Gallery on November 28 as part of their “Sure Can Start” tour. Hey, that’s the same name as one of their songs. What a coincidence!

MP3: Two Hours Traffic – “Sure Can Start”

The Falls Church News Press and Minneapolis Star-Tribune talk to Broken Social Scene’s Brendan Canning. They’ve got two dates at the Sound Academy on November 27 and 28.

Photo by Frank Yang

Some people spend Thanksgiving with their families. I spend mine with rock’n’roll bands. Two years ago at Pop Montreal, last year at The Phoneix with The National and this year again at the Phoneix with Okkervil River and Crooked Fingers. It’s okay – my parents have a habit of being out of the country on Thanksgiving so it’s not like I’m a total no-account son. Just mostly. Anyways.

It’s not like I was the only one – the Phoenix was pretty much full of people skipping out on turkey day to welcome what was pretty much one of the best touring bills you’d be likely to see. And while I was, as always, excited to see Okkervil River, this would be the fourth time in less than a year that I’d be seeing them – Crooked Fingers, on the other hand, had been ages. Eric Bachmann had come through as a solo artist (with band) two years ago and as a solo act under the Crooked Fingers name (opening for The Delgados back in 2004 but the last time Crooked Fingers came to Toronto as a proper band was March 2005 and while I went to that show I wasn’t a fan at the time and… you know what? Never mind. It’d been a while.

One consequence of Bachmann’s constantly shifting musical identities is that you’ll rarely get the same band from one tour to the next. This time out, Crooked Fingers was the four-piece who recorded their new record Forfeit/Fortune but in addition to the new material, they were tasked with covering songs from throughout Bachmann’s varied career and results were a bit mixed. For starters, they had to fight through a mix that just didn’t sound quite right – the balance between Bachmann’s powerful rasp and the softer vocals of bassist Miranda Brown and violinist Elin Palmer never managed to find the sweet spot – and while airing out Archers Of Loaf classic “Web In Front” brought many cheers, the arrangement didn’t have the necessary muscle to do it justice. On the plus side, the new songs sounded mostly excellent stripped of the album’s heavier production and the older Crooked Fingers repertoire sounded terrific, no qualifiers. Though they could have played more from Dignity & Shame.

Okkervil also came in with their own share of lineup shuffling – while keyboardist Justin Sherburn had been Jonathan Meiburg’s official replacement since March, guitarist Charles Bissell, who’d stepped in for new father Brian Cassidy at the same time had done his tour of duty and returned to the Wrens and his replacement was Austinite Lauren Gurgiolo, tasked with handling guitar, mandolin and steel duties. But such fluidity is in the nature of every river, even the Okkervil. Yes, I went there. Let’s move on.

Every time I’ve seen Okkveril River live – and I think this was time six or seven – they’ve put on an even better show and considering their last couple visits set the bar pretty high, that’s an accomplishment. This time out, they had the advantage of touring behind their most out and out rocking record in The Stand-Ins, sequel to last year’s The Stage Names. Kicking off with “Plus Ones”, Okkervil barreled through an over ninety-minute set that focused on their last two opuses, Stage Names/Stand Ins and Black Sheep Boy, only reaching back to their debut Don’t Fall In Love With Everyone You See for the rousing encore-closing double shot of “Okkervil River Song” and “Westfall”, the latter featuring a boisterous audience sing-along. And while I’d hoped to hear the lyrically-updated version of “The President’s Dead” that’s been making appearances this tour, it wasn’t to be this night. Did they not know we also have an election tomorrow?

The band’s steady evolution from a folk to rock band has done wonders for their live set – originally, they had to deliver the slower end of their repertoire with a solid dose of slop and anarchy to generate the energy necessary for a riveting live set. And while it was an exhilarating experience, it wasn’t always pretty. Now, with the relentless touring having tightened them up immeasurably, Okkervil are an amazing live act to behold and there was no need to make excuses for missing notes or being off-key, because it didn’t happen. Though if you were looking for a little of the old chaos, it was there when Will Sheff pulled the mic off the stand and knocked it down, directly on the head of a girl in the front row (she was fine). Accidental assaults notwithstanding, Sheff was a magnetic frontman, starting off besuited and bespectacled and steadily shedding his wardrobe as he became more and more sweat-soaked from bounding around stage and working the crowd, the patron saint of English majors who secretly wish they were rock stars.

The Toronto Star has an interview with Sheff covering topics such as the fertile Austin music scene and Canadian Thanksgiving traditions. Chart talks to Eric Bachmann about Forfeit/Fortune.

Photos: Okkervil River, Crooked Fingers @ The Phoenix – October 12, 2008
MP3: Okkervil River – “Lost Coastlines”
MP3: Okkervil River – “Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe”
MP3: Okkervil River – “The President’s Dead”
MP3: Okkervil River – “No Key, No Plan”
MP3: Okkervil River – “Black”
MP3: Crooked Fingers – “Phony Revolutions”
MP3: Crooked Fingers – “Call To Love”
MP3: Crooked Fingers – “Big Darkness”
MP3: Crooked Fingers – “Devil’s Train”
MP3: Crooked Fingers – “New Drink For The Old Drunk”
Video: Okkervil River – “Lost Coastlines”
Video: Okkervil River – “Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe”
Video: Okkervil River – “Girl In Port”
Video: Okkervil River – “For Real”
Video: Crooked Fingers – “Let’s Not Pretend (To Be New Men)”
MySpace: Okkervil River
MySpace: Crooked Fingers

Photo by Frank Yang

I am willing to bet that most everyone who was packed into the tiny back room of The Rivoli on Saturday night was there to see Ms Laura Marling, she of the fine Mercury Prize-nominated debut Alas, I Cannot Swim if not of the top billing on this night. But, assuming they arrived early and stayed late and took in the entire show, I am also willing to bet that they weren’t just talking about Marling’s set afterwards, but every single act that performed.

It was the final night of the traveling musical caravan dubbed the “Fe Fi Fo Fum Tour” which had been traversing the continent for the past past three weeks, and in addition to Marling featured Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit and Mumford & Sons for an excellent sampling of the current crop of young, folk-based artists coming out of the UK right now. Though it was evident from the tour anecdotes and in-jokes that popped up in stage banter through the night that all involved had a terrific time discovering and conquering America, it was also obvious that they were tired but prepared to give their all for this one, last show.

And in addition to the three acts listed, there was a surprise opener in the form of Pete Roe, a member of Marling’s band who stepped up to play a quick and impressive two-song set of graceful, finger-picked folkistry that gave a taste of what was to come. And if that was the appetizer, Mumford & Sons was the first course. The four-piece, who would also comprise a large portion of Marling’s band, delivered a raucous yet mournful bluegrass-based sound that was steeped heavily in traditional forms but not at all restricted by them. There’s no overt genre envelope-pushing like introducing heavy electronic elements – banjos, mandolins and fiddles are very much the tools of the trade to say nothing of immaculate four-part harmonies – but there’s also no sense that they’re seeking to recreate the past, simply that they’ve chosen this particular style in which to write their songs. And in any style, their songs would have been strong and affecting.

My expectation for Laura Marling’s set was that it’d be a quiet, almost solemn affair in keeping with the downbeat tone of the album. And while it was far from a dance party, by playing with a full band and focusing on the more fully-arranged pieces from Alas, she far exceeded what you might expect from a conventional singer-songwriter performance. Initially, she evidenced some of the stage fright that she’s been contending with since being thrust into the spotlight, stony-faced and staring off into space whilst singing her songs, as though having an out of body experience. But the sheer love emanating from the audience – the constant singalongs were as endearing as they were annoying – and the joviality of her bandmates eventually pulled her out of her shell and by the end, she was smiling and joking along with them. For me, her performance was less a revelation as a reinforcement of the fact that Alas really is a strong record and Marling is a rare talent worthy of all the accolades she’s gathered in her short career. And though it’s usually the strength of her songwriting that’s praised, she also has a much stronger and versatile voice than you might expect – though she tends to favour the lower register that keeps with the confessional mood of her writing, there were a few points at the show when she went high or falsetto and sounded remarkable.

So with Marling having delivered what most in attendance were there to get, there was probably a bit of pressure on the final act – Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit – to prove they were worthy of the top billing and could close things out on just as high a note. And while they didn’t necessarily manage to exceed the bar set by the first acts, they were able to meet it handily and avoid any sort of let down. Drawing on their debut album A Larum, Flynn and company made the Rivoli feel like an olde English pub to which they were the house band. Like the other acts, they demonstrated really remarkable musicianship with Flynn trading off from guitar to trumpet to fiddle while singing his richly detailed folk songs overtop a musical backdrop that was simultaneously delicate and muscular.

Though I’ve used the term ad nauseum out of convenience, I’m not a fan of the “anti-folk” label that’s been attached to a lot of the young, roots-oriented bands coming out of the UK at the moment – all the artists on this night included. It sounds small and reactionary and doesn’t do the undeniable talent of those caught under the label justice. So instead, let’s try a different descriptor – how about “simply wonderful”? Okay, maybe not. But still.

Photos: Johnny Flynn, Laura Marling, Mumford & Sons, Pete Roe @ The Rivoli – October 4, 2008
MP3: Laura Marling – “Ghosts”
MP3: Pete Roe – “Let It Go”
MP3: Pete Roe – “I’ll Only Be Dreaming Of You”
Video: Johnny Flynn – “Tickle Me Pink”
Video: Johnny Flynn – “Leftovers”
Video: Johnny Flynn – “Brown Trout Blues”
Video: Laura Marling – “Night Terror”
Video: Laura Marling – “New Romantic”
Video: Laura Marling – “Ghosts”
Video: Laura Marling – “My Manic & I”
Video: Laura Marling – “Cross Your Fingers”
MySpace: Johnny Flynn
MySpace: Laura Marling
MySpace: Pete Roe

Stay Thirsty interviews Los Campesinos!, whose We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed is out November 11. Pitchfork has details on the bonus goodies that’ll come with the CD.

Thanks to Thierry for pointing out this odd but enjoyable video of Lightspeed Champion and SNL‘s Fred Armisen someone named Fred covering The Strokes. I have no context for this clip, and honestly, I don’t want any.

Video: Lightpeed Champion and Fred – “Someday”

NPR talks to Basia Bulat about the appeal of the autoharp.

PopMatters interviews Nellie McKay.

Daytrotter welcomes Aimee Mann to their studios for a session.

The Boston Herald features Fleet Foxes.

Broken Social Scene have added a second date at the Sound Academy for the end of November, playing on the 28th as well as the 27th. Support for the second date – and perhaps the first? – will be Land Of Talk, which does raise the question of whether or not their cancelled headlining date at Lee’s from the end of September will be made up anytime soon.