Low’s 2005 effort The Great Destroyer was a polarizing record for their fanbase. While they’d steadily moved away from the ultra-slow, ultra-quiet sound that defined them early on, that record abandoned the incremental steps they’d taken previously and dived headlong into the realm of loud guitar rock. For some, it was the last straw for a band that had obviously lost its way, for others, it was a bold sign that they still had a sense of adventure and were not going to be constrained by others’ expectations. I was firmly of the latter mindset and The Great Destroyer was one of my favourite records of that year.

But for anyone who thought that record would be a sign of things to come, Low have confounded expectations again. Their latest record Drums And Guns, released yesterday, is in some ways the polar opposite of The Great Destroyer and in others, its perfect companion piece. It’s an utterly stark and skeletal record, even for Low, that favours spare electronic textures, abrasive percussion and guitar tones and an unrelenting lyrical bleakness and vitriol that’s unmistakably political. Dave Fridmann once again produced this record and whereas the the last effort called for the bombast he’s known for, this time he’s crafted an atmosphere of desolation. There are still moments of beauty – Mimi Parker and Alan Sparhawk’s vocals are still angelic throughout and the strings that rise in “Belarus” are like flowers growing out of the rubble, but such punctuations are rare. In the wake of The Great Destroyer, Drums And Guns are what crawl from the wreckage.

Alan Sparhawk talks to Harp about the undertones of violence in the new record while JAM! offers a capsule history of the band from then to now. Metacritic is tracking a typically positive response to the new record and the band is touring to support, but are not making any stops in the Toronto area this time around.

MP3: Low – “Breaker”
Video: Low – “Breaker” (YouTube)
MySpace: Low

The AV Club asks Win Butler of Arcade Fire why he smashed his guitar on SNL, Student Life talks to brother Will, while Billboard asks Merge how they prepared for what would turn out to be the #2 album in America (Neon Bible, that is).

Chart and Philadelphia City Paper talk to the band that held that same chart position a couple months ago, The Shins.

The incomporable Richard Thompson will be releasing a new album on May 29 entitled Sweet Warrior and he talks to The Associated Press about the politicism of the album and his work in general. He’s also made a track from the record available to download.

MP3: Richard Thompson – “Dad’s Gonna Kill Me”

eye talks to Basia Bulat, opening up tonight for Maria Taylor at the Horseshoe. Her debut Oh, My Darling is out sometime in mid-May in Europe but information on a domestic release remains elusive. She’s also got a few gigs opening for Great Lake Swimmers though not their April 14 shows at the Church Of The Redeemer in Toronto. Their new one Ongiara is out next Tuesday and I Heart Music has a CBC Radio 3 session the band recorded a few years ago available to share. Express talked to Taylor about life on the road.

Audio previews of The National’s new album Boxer, out May 22, haven’t seeped onto the internet yet, so these two live videos at Take Away Shows are pretty much the first taste we’ve got of the new material. WANT. MORE. They’re at the Opera House on June 8.

Entertainment Weekly caught up with Spoon’s Britt Daniel at SxSW and discussed his pants. He also mentioned that their new album is slated for a July release.

And a few big shows announced in the last while – Modest Mouse are at the Hummingbird Centre on April 24, tickets $36.50 and $42, while Dinosaur Jr are at The Phoenix on June 8. I’m wondering if it’ll be a NxNE show of the sort where they let a half-dozen badge holders and wristbands in and sell tickets for the other 950 spots? Either way, that conflicts with the Voxtrot show at Sneaky Dee’s so unless it’s an early show, I’m guessing I’ll miss out on having my eardrums assaulted by J and Lou again. And finally, BrooklynVegan reports that the White Stripes date announced at the Molson Amphitheatre for September 16 isn’t legit, but probably isn’t too far off from the truth.

Okay, final SxSW post for a while. Well, almost final – my photos should be up in the next week or so. I know you’re probably all Sx-ed out – the online coverage has been relentless – but I want/need to do one last wrap of my own before moving on with other things.

This was my third time doing SxSW and it was far and away the best time I’ve had. I attribute this both to the fact that I had a cell phone for the first time, thus enabling me to contact and meet up with people, and to the fact that I had people to meet up with. Be they other bloggers, label people, PR people, artists, whoever, in the four and a half years I’ve been running this site I’ve gotten to know a lot of people online and the opportunity to meet and talk with them in person was a real treat. Of course, I didn’t get to talk to ANY of them for as long as I’d have liked, but it was still great to put face to email address and shake a hand. It’s also interesting that while I rarely turn my cellphone on while at home, I was a total mobile junkie in Austin, particularly the joys of text messaging. Because trying to actually call someone from in front of the stage at the Mohawk is the very definition of futility (though my voice mail greeting was recorded there – you can hear me screaming “I’m not here! Leave a message!” over top the din).

Musically, I saw a total of 46 bands, eclipsing my previous mark by around a dozen or so. Granted, some were abbreviated – one or two songs – but if I have a photo set of them, I’m counting them. Despite this highwater mark, however, only 18 of them were in the evening at proper SxSW showcases. It seemed that this was the year that “I was able to get into everything I wanted to see with a wristband” was no longer a truism. Clubs with hot or even semi-hot acts were full or badge-only by 8 or 9PM, making finding something worth seeing later in the evening exceedingly difficult. Mind you, by that time of night I was usually already whipped and it didn’t take much to convince me to just head back to the hotel, but the fact remains that the crowds seemed that much denser this year than in the past. Wednesday was no longer the slow night and Saturday night on 6th St, with the hordes of St Patrick’s Day revelers, was simply hellish.

But for me, as for many, the salvation of SxSW was the day shows. I was able to see so many of the bands I wanted to see at the unofficial afternoon parties that getting shut out of the night showcases wasn’t such a big deal. Of course, the fact that I was presenting a couple of shows kept me from doing much hopping around in the days, but that was okay with me – the lineups were more than solid enough to hold my attention in one spot. In particular, the two-day Hot Freaks event – which I’ve gone on at length about – turned out to not only be a success, but one of the best things I’ve ever had the pleasure of being a part of. Working with David, Dodge, Chris, Matt and Jax as well as John and Loren in Austin to get it all together and then see it, quite frankly, exceed all my expectations was gratifying beyond words. Can’t wait to do it again next year.

And I’m already planning next year. Though I say it every year, in 2008 I am definitely staying downtown. The combined cost of the farther hotel and rental car turned out to be more than I’d anticipated, and certainly not much cheaper than staying right downtown if at all. I’m also thinking I’m going to splurge for a badge next year – see how the other half lives. But that’s next year – I’m not going to start seriously planning that out for, oh, another couple weeks at least. For now I’m happy to be back home, with my cat, and will be back to regular-style blogging tomorrow.

And there’s simply too many Sx reports to link to, so I’m not going to try. That’s why we have Elbows, Technorati and Google News. But I will point you to The Rich Girls Are Weeping, who have SxSW reports from Howard and Jonathan of Shearwater, who were the only band I saw twice last week and who absolutely killed both times.

So in brief – yesterday morning, after maybe three hours of sleep, I got to the Austin airport and found out my flight was delayed by exactly the length of my layover in Chicago, thus ensuring that I would be landing at pretty much the very moment I was supposed to be departing.

Got to Chicago, was told that all remaining flights to Toronto were full and while I could go on the standby list, it was more likely that I’d not be getting out of O’Hare till 11:30AM this morning, meaning that I would be spending the next 19 hours or so hanging out in the departure lounge. Of all the Tom Hanks movies I’d have liked to be living out, this was not the one. Better than Castaway, I guess, but not by much. I seem to get stuck in O’Hare a lot. I should really stop flying through there.

But as fortune would have it, another plane coming into Chicago looking to hook up with the next flight to T.O. was also delayed, meaning my problems were now some other schmuck’s and that I’d still be getting into Toronto last night, albeit several hours later and much more tired-er.

And when I got home, I found I had over a cubic foot of mail to go through. I josh you not. And don’t even talk to me about my email inbox.

Back tomorrow.

And that’s a wrap. I was actually back at the hotel a good two hours earlier than I’d originally planned, on account of a) being bloody tired and b) being pretty sure there was no way I was getting into any more shows. And that suited me fine. My day – my festival – peaked around 4:00 yesterday afternoon when the audience leapt onstage at Club DeVille with The Rosebuds and danced through the end of their set. Witnessing a moment like that of pure musical joy at a party that I’d helped put together… seriously, one of the best feelings ever and a moment that’ll stick with me a long time.

I’ll get more into the whole Hot Freaks experience in my proper SxSW wrap-up in a couple days, but I will say that though it was a lot more work and stress than I’d anticipated when I signed up, it was totally worth it. But for now, the post-mortem from the fourth and final day at SxSW 2007.

The Broken West (Los Angeles, CA) @ The Mohawk Patio – It was as much a testament to the strength of our lineup as it was the fact that The Broken West had to be elsewhere in the afternoon that they opened up day two with their top-notch power pop, delivered with great energy. I can’t wait to see them at the ElMo next week (the 27th) when I’m able to pay a little more attention to their set.

MP3: The Broken West – “Down In The Valley”
MySpace: The Broken West

The Hylozoists (Toronto, ON) @ Club DeVille – Though there were more people onstage than in the audience, the Hylos still gave their all and sounded huge and magnificent. I’d seen a compact version of the band perform before but with a full lineup, their widescreen cinematic sound was just stunning. A welcome punctuation of orchestrated calm and beauty in a sea of guitar rock. Looking forward to seeing them again at the Tranzac on May 3.

MP3: The Hylozoists – “Smiley Smiley”
MySpace: The Hylozoists

The Early Years (London, England) @ The Mohawk Patio – And then it was from The Hylozoists’ vibraphone orchestra to The Early Years’ blisteringly loud guitar rock. While it was obvious that they were a bit unaccustomed to playing in the bright Texas noonday sun, they still turned in a monumental display of space rock the way only the English know how to do. The gentler and more atmospheric numbers from their album were left on the shelf in favour of the goes-to-11 eardrum attackers. Absolutely scorching and a very welcome dose of Britannia to the lineup.

MP3: The Early Years – “All Ones And Zeros”
MySpace: The Early Years

Prototypes (Paris, France) @ Club DeVille – I only popped over to see Prototypes and their Gallic synth rock for a few minutes. Just took some pictures, shook some ass and went on my way.

MySpace: Prototypes

Frog Eyes (Victoria, BC) @ The Mohawk Patio – Frog Eyes continued an epidemic of string-breakage amongst all the bands, likely thanks to the past three days of heavy gigging. Carey Mercer’s D-string gave up the ghost only a few songs in but he carried on and simply played the other five that much harder. I’ve never really been a fan of the band but I was impressed with their show, which was definitely equal parts rocking and weird, but all wonderful. I may have to revisit their stuff.

MP3: Frog Eyes – “The Oscillator’s Hum”
MySpace: Frog Eyes

Land Of Talk (Montreal, QC) @ Club DeVille – Having played five shows in the previous three days, Land Of Talk were about as honed to razor-sharpness as any band could be. Taut and awesome despite some technical speed bumps along the way (more broken strings!), their performance was as good as I’ve seen them. You can bet I was happy to see the size of the crowd grow steadily and more enthusiastic as their show went on.

MP3: Land Of Talk – “Speak To Me Bones”
MySpace: Land Of Talk

The Ponys (Chicago, IL) @ The Mohawk Patio – It was about now that the staggered times of the three stages were drifting further apart and closer together, so as a result I was only able to catch the last song of The Ponys’ set. But it was explosive and made me think that it’s a shame I’ll probably still be asleep, recovering from SxSW, when they play Lee’s Palace on March 29.

MP3: The Ponys – “Double Vision”
MySpace: The Ponys

Asobi Seksu (Brooklyn, NY) @ The Mohawk Patio – Almost every time I’ve seen Asobi Seksu, they ask that the stage lights keep getting turned lower and lower so I admit a sense of satisfaction in seeing them onstage in the bright afternoon sun, having to suck it up. They were typically loud and excellent and capped their set with a good old fashioned stage invasion by the audience, though as I mentioned above it wouldn’t be the last of the day.

MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Thursday”
MySpace: Asobi Seksu

The Rosebuds (Raleigh, NC) @ Club DeVille – I saw the Rosebuds open for Teenage Fanclub a couple years ago but don’t remember them being nearly as funky or dance-friendly as they were yesterday. Sure, they’re still a power pop band at heart but the angles from which they approach it are pretty fresh and, as evidenced by the aforementioned audience participation dance party on stage to close their set, effective. Overflowing buckets of fun.

MP3: The Rosebuds – “Get Up Get Out”
MySpace: The Rosebuds

Margot & The Nuclear So & So’s (Indianapolis, IN) @ The Mohawk Patio – The intention had been to have all the other stages finish up before the main one so that everyone could partake in the headliners. Unfortunately, it didn’t shake out that way and a choice had to be made between the Polyphonic Spree’s sunshiney feel-good finale or Margot’s downbeat denoument. Naturally, I selected the latter. Margot and the Spree had to trade stages since the former’s 20+ members wouldn’t have fit on the Mohawk stage but the So & Sos, being no slouches in the band personnel department either, had to cram pretty hard to get everyone up there. With both Richard Edwards and Emily Watkins sporting goth-approved dyed black hair, the band previewed some new material and aired out some old, much to the delight of the nearly packed audience (and myself, this being my first opportunity to see them since Sx last year). It was hard to tell what kind of mood they were in, but the set was rather fiercer than I’d expected and the finale suitably cacophonous. I’m sorry I missed seeing The Spree but not sorry at all that I chose to watch Margot’s set as the grand finale.

MP3: Margot & The Nuclear So & So’s – “Skeleton Key”
MySpace: Margot & The Nuclear So & So’s

If it seems that I’m saying every band that played our show was excellent, it’s because it was true. Amazingly, every act seemed to bring their A-game, even for a day show. Maybe it was because it was the last day of SxSW and for most of the bands, their last shows so there was no reason not to leave everything out there. But whatever the reason, the net result was collectively one of the best days of music I’ve ever had the pleasure to experience. That was the high point of the day. The low point was when I accidentally sat in gum.

But after the headiness of the day, the official evening showcases seemed like a bit of a let down. I had stuff I wanted to see at 8PM and 12:45AM, but in-between was stuff I was only mildly enthusiastic about and unlikely to be able to get into anyway. As it happened, I bailed on trying to see The Tragically Hip at Antone’s, as novel as that’d have been, because the value of the extra two hours of sleep I got for not staying out that late far outweighed any nostalgia points I’d get for hearing “At The Hundredth Meridian” again, if I even got into the club. So instead I saw whatever I could, which wasn’t much, and called it a year.

My Latest Novel (Glasgow, Scotland) @ Buffalo Billiards – I skipped some three or four of their shows in Toronto last weekend during Canadian Music Week, so I felt a bit obliged to see them here. I found their set strangely solemn, starting out slowly and only building to any sort of a climax after three or four songs. Granted, Wolves isn’t exactly a dance party record but for a band that looks (and is) so young, it’s strange to see such seriousness on display. It didn’t detract at all from the loveliness of the songs but did make for a strange presentation.

MP3: My Latest Novel – “The Reputation of Ross Francis”
MySpace: My Latest Novel

The Electric Soft Parade (Brighton, England) @ Cedar Street Courtyard – I had meant to see ESP the previous night but didn’t, so thanks to their double booking I got a second chance. This show was part of an extremely odd lineup that started with The Watson Twins and ended with Redman. I used to have their debut album Holes In The Wall and while I enjoyed their songcraft, I was put off by the overly-slick and fiddly production. Happily, perhaps as a result of their off-the-cuff aesthetic in Brakes or maybe simply because that’s how they are live, they sounded a good deal looser and more energetic than listening to the record might have suggested. Playing loud, punchy guitar rock with a distinct British accent, they were obviously happy to be capping an intense week at SxSW. My interest in the band has been re-piqued so I’m looking forward to hearing their new one No Need To Be Downhearted when it comes out April 30. Here’s hoping they forgot how to (over)use ProTools.

MP3: The Electric Soft Parade – “If That’s The Case, Then I Don’t Know”
MySpace: The Electric Soft Parade

Palomar (New York, NY) @ Habana Calle 6 Patio – Ideally I’d have been able to wrap up my SxSW experience with something grand and finale-worthy, but instead I stood in line at Habana Called 6 for fifteen minutes at the Absolutely Kosher/Misra showcase to try and see New York’s Palomar. The three-girl, one-guy outfit offer up punchy guitar pop that jangles and riffs in all the right places and combined with their four-part vocals and sharp wit are a real indie-pop treat. Their new album All Things Forest is out on Tuesday.

MP3: Palomar – “Our Haunt”
MySpace: Palomar

And then I went home. As I mentioned before, I’ve got random thoughts and observations about this year’s Sx as a whole, but will save that for later. But for now, I’m signing off from Austin. See you from back in the Big Smoke. Thanks for reading.

And so after some two months plus of planning, the (first) big day finally arrived – Hot Freaks was here. I was equally excited and nervous about it for obvious reasons, but now that it’s half in the bag, I can say quite honestly that I’m really pleased with how it went off. Let’s recap.

Small Sins (Toronto, ON) @ The Mohawk Patio – Small Sins had the rather unenviable task of kicking things off bright and early to an audience made up mainly of people working the show. But they didn’t phone it in and as the set wore on, their audience grew. Their sound has changed quite a bit since I first listened to their debut album from which they took their name (not technically self-titled since they were called The Ladies & Gentlemen at the time), as the low-key bedroom pop gems have dressed themselves up in rock’n’roll clothes. They wear them well.

MP3: Small Sins – “Stay”
MySpace: Small Sins

Catfish Haven (Chicago, IL) @ The Mohawk Patio – These guys have likewise undergone a transformation since I saw them last, mainly in the addition of more members to the cast. While I think the core remains a trio, their soul power was augmented by an electric lead guitarist and a pair of backing singers. Together, they quite plainly rocked the house large and blew out any remaining cobwebs of sleep that may have remained. Game on.

MP3: Catfish Haven – “Crazy For Leaving”
MySpace: Catfish Haven

Briertone (Atlanta, GA) @ Club DeVille – These guys were a total unknown quantity but sounded like a mash-up between SoCal emo-punk and old-school Bakersfield country. If that sounds like something you’d like, then check them out. If not, then don’t. I didn’t care for it and was more preoccupied with how much they looked exactly like they sounded.

MySpace: Briertone

Thunderbirds Are Now! (Detroit, MI) @ The Mohawk Patio – Every time someone talks to me about Thunderbirds Are Now!, they say how great their live show is. And their live show is great. Absurdly high energy though I have to say the songs themselves didn’t make much of an impression. But fun to watch.

MySpace: Thunderbirds Are Now!

Sea Wolf (Los Angeles, CA) @ The Mohawk – Before their set, Matt from You Ain’t No Picasso bet me a nickel that I’d like this band. I didn’t bet him that I wouldn’t, but afterwards I gave him the nickel. They played some great-sounding pop that evidenced an equal appreciation for plain-spun roots music and shimmery 80s UK pop. Definitely intending to hear more from this outfit, who I think are the first “wolf” band I actually like. About time.

MP3: Sea Wolf – “You’re A Wolf”
MySpace: Sea Wolf

Apostle Of Hustle (Toronto, ON) @ The Mohawk Patio – Everyone’s been talking about how good the new Apostle Of Hustle is and how amazing the live show is. I wasn’t a big fan beforehand and remain unconverted. The new stuff does sound more appealing – more song-y and less jammy – and Andrew Whiteman is a charismatic frontman, but still no road to Damascus moment for me with them.

MySpace: Apostle Of Hustle

De Novo Dahl (Nashville, TN) @ The Mohawk – De Novo Dahl were getting the most pre-show buzz around the Mohawk on account of the brightly-coloured nudie suits they had pulled from the band wardrobe for the day. But as it turns out, the outfits were misleading because they delivered a set of straightforward, scrappy pop – not a cosmic country twang to be found. Still alright but somehow a bit disappointing in that.

MySpace: De Novo Dahl

Imperial Teen (San Francisco, CA) @ The Mohawk Patio – When I saw Imperial Teen on the lineup, my first reaction was, “they’re still around?” Well yes they are and though they’re definitely not teens, they’re still a deft hand at breezy Cali-pop with great vocal arrangements. The old-timers in the audience were thrilled to see them and they looked thrilled to be back.

MySpace: Imperial Teen

Midnight Movies (Los Angeles, CA) @ The Mohawk – One of the sets I was most looking forward to in the day and I wasn’t disappointed. Gena Olivier and her band previewed songs from their forthcoming album Lion The Girl but the delivery was considerably more muscular and psychedelic than on record. The combined vocals of Olivier and drummer Sandra Vu sounded terrific and it was nice to see them swap places midway through the set and have Olivier take her former place behind the kit for a while. Gotta keep those singing drummer fans mollified.

MP3: Midnight Movies – “Patient Eye”
MySpace: Midnight Movies

Shearwater (Austin, TX) @ The Mohawk Patio – “Sometimes we’re a quiet band, sometimes we’re a loud band” – so said Jonathan Meiburg in introducing Shearwater to the audience. Not even a day after their dazzling show at the Central Presbyterian Church, they did it again with a show completely different in vibe – the plastic tent above the stage at the Mohawk didn’t have quite the same acoustic properties as the church – but somehow just as impressive. I’d just like to say that I’m so proud to have been involved in putting this performance on.

MP3: Shearwater – “Red Sea Black Sea”
MySpace: Shearwater

I’m also really excited about day two, going down today. And if you hadn’t puzzled out the mystery headliner yet, let’s just say their name rhymes with Mollyphonic Flea. Now onto the evening portion of the day.

Nellie McKay (New York, NY) @ Exodus – I’d almost forgotten how much I hate this venue. I was here two years ago and it was awful, with a sizable capacity but also with sightlines that suck for about 90% of the audience. So as such, I didn’t stick around long for Ms McKay’s set which was quite late in starting anyways. But while I couldn’t see anything, she did sound great and as loopy as ever. Even a short visit to Nellie-land is a trip.

MP3: Nellie McKay – “Food”
MySpace: Nellie McKay

Buffalo Tom (Boston, MA) @ The Parish – This was a band I never thought I’d see live, what with their extended hiatus beginning before my concert-going days began. But they were huge for me in high school so I was pretty stoked that Bill Janovitz has elected to take a break from real estate to return to rock. They weren’t tight by any means – Bill seemed to be having some trouble navigating his pedals cleanly – but the sheer enthusiasm more than made up for it. The set list was composed mainly of old favourites but there were a smattering of new tracks taken from their new record, due out in July. They’re lucky the BT ongwriting formula isn’t terribly complex so the new stuff sounded pretty good or at least just like Buffalo Tom. But hearing “Velvet Roof”? And “Soda Jerk”? Ace. So ace.

MySpace: Buffalo Tom

It was at this point that I elected to bail on my original club-hopping game plan and stay at the New West showcase because I would have a golden opportunity to shoot Steve Earle from about four feet away. This is not the sort of thing you turn down to go see anonymous indie-pop elsewhere. I stayed put.

The Drams (Denton, TX) @ The Parish – I saw the Drams open up for Drive-By Truckers last Fall so I knew that the time wait for Steve would be ably filled by their brand of ripping roots rock. It’s the sort of thing that always goes down well at these things.

MySpace: The Drams

Steve Earle (Schertz, TX) @ The Parish – If you didn’t know, I’m a huge Steve Earle fan so getting this chance to see him live again, and in a solo acoustic format, was pretty exciting. His set was bookended by a couple of new songs from his forthcoming debut for New West, but consisted mainly of old favourites rejigged and rearranged to fit the format of the evening. the heart of the set was dedicated to his friend and mentor Townes Van Zandt and towards the end he also brought his wife, Alison Moorer, to play “Comin’ Around”. I have to admit, I had been hoping before the show that the extra mic set up was for Emmylou Harris, who was also in Austin for SxSW and who originally recorded that song with Steve. Alas, not to be but Alison Moorer is a pretty good substitute and did help make Earle’s performance an exceptional thing to behold. Yet another highlight in what’s turning out to be a pretty terrific SxSW for me.

MySpace: Steve Earle

Bon Savants (Boston, MA) @ Buffalo Billiards – I had intended to finish the night on that high note, but as it happens I was right across the street from where Bon Savants, who were on my original schedule, there was no lineup and they were slated to start at that very minute. So I went for it. I couldn’t stop humming “Between The Moon And The Ocean” for days after just one listen from the SxSW torrent so I was interested to see if the rest of their material measured up. While I found them to have some good to great ideas, but the overall quality of what I was hearing in their mod-pop was inconsistent though promising. Of course, expecting them to follow up a Steve Earle performance is pretty unfair – I will revisit their stuff at a later date when the bar in my head isn’t set quite so high.

MP3: Bon Savants – “Between The Moon And The Ocean”
MySpace: Bon Savants

One more day. Man oh man. I miss my cat.