Monday, September 19th, 2011
The Olivia Tremor Control and The Music Tapes at Lee’s Palace in Toronto
Frank YangIt’s not especially unusual for bands active in the ’90s to be doing the reunion thing these days – it’s more unusual when a band who had any kind of following 15 to 20 years ago to NOT at least feel out the market for a comeback – but an extra degree of excitement is warranted when you’re talking about the Elephant 6 collective. Now granted, when you’re talking about a scene as broad and loose as E6 was/is, it can be argued that it never went away and sure, Of Montreal and Elf Power and myriad side-projects and less high-profile acts with ties to the scene continue on – albeit without the curly “E6” logo on their releases – but most of the first wave of bands who emerged from that generation of Athens, Georgia bands faded into myth before the end of the last century with really, only Robert Schneider’s Apples In Stereo continuing to plug along.
And while most of the attention in 2011 has surrounded the return of Neutral Milk Hotel’s Jeff Mangum from the wilderness to the stage, by rights there should be a comparable amount of buzz around The Olivia Tremor Control’s return to touring. The melding of experimental found soundscapes and indelible pop classicism of their two albums Dusk At Cubist Castle and Black Foliage are basically a clinic on creating a unique and vivid world out of just sound and how to bend one’s mind with melodic hooks. It’s unequivocally great stuff and on Friday night, it came to Toronto for the first time in who knows how long (six months if you count the OTC-heavy Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise tour that came through in March, but for argument’s sake let’s not).
Opening up was Elephant 6 stalwart Julian Koster, who since the disbandment of Neutral Milk Hotel has been operating as The Music Tapes. I’d never seen him before, but reports of his highly-developed sense of whimsy were widespread and happily accurate. His stage setup involved as much thrift store trinkets and gewgaws as musical instruments, and between he and his two bandmates, there were a lot of instruments with Koster focusing on the singing saw and bowed banjo. Songs were offered in about equal quantity as stories and skits and sometimes the two were one and the same, as with their marching band expedition into the audience. It was all wholly entertaining – you didn’t notice the hour go by – and it was nice to realize that for all the stuff going on around the songs, the band were talented musicians and arrangers. And as for the stories about the carnival performers pulling cities out of their mouths or the great uncle who turned his shadow into an elephant – I don’t expect that there was any truth to them but oh I wish there was.
Much of The Music Tapes stage clutter was cleared out before The Olivia Tremor Control took over, but it seemed that every piece of set dressing that was removed was replaced by a musician. Though it’s Bill Doss and Will Cullen Hart who are the key figures in that band, they numbered eight and sometimes nine, including two-thirds of The Music Tapes and Scott Spillane of The Gerbils (which also made for half of Neutral Milk Hotel, but the E6 family tree is really more of a wreath and not worth dwelling on).
As implied earlier, listening to Olivia Tremor Control records is an immersive and occasionally disorienting experience, though generally in a good way. I can now say with first-hand knowledge that the live show does a pretty good job of reproducing this. It probably would have been relatively easy to extract the proper songs from their recordings and perform them as such without complaint from their fans, but it wouldn’t really be Olivia Tremor Control without that anarchy, would it? Accordingly, their 100-minute set was like a primordial soup of sound created by a pawnshop orchestra – guitars, keys, samples, clarinets, saw, percussion – from which they would pull out both beauty and chaos – sometimes at the same time – with only occasional breaks for tuning, drinks or chatter. It wasn’t always tight or pretty but if they wobbled a bit on the straightaways, they took the corners like a pro and nailed every key hook and those Doss-Hart harmonies – when not occasionally lost in the mix – sounded glorious.
It’s funny, as happy as I was to see and hear OTC live, they weren’t one of the bands that I’d always held out hope would get back together and take it on the road. I attribute that to the fact that their records were such fully-formed worlds unto themselves that the idea that these songs might exist in the real world, outside of the context of those albums, was like trying to imagine cartoon characters as flesh and blood. Yet here they were, sounding great and playing with a sort of chemistry that made the fact that they hadn’t performed regularly as a unit in so many years hard to believe. That the band is working on new material – NPR premiered the first new OTC song in over a decade a little while back – is good news for all, and maybe we’ll start seeing that E6 logo on some records again.
Exclaim also has a review of the show.
Photos: The Olivia Tremor Control, The Music Tapes @ Lee’s Palace – September 16, 2011
MP3: The Olivia Tremor Control – “Hideaway” (live in Athens, GA – April 15, 2005)
MP3: The Olivia Tremor Control – “NYC-25” (live in Athens, GA – April 15, 2005)
MP3: The Olivia Tremor Contro – “Jumping Fences” (live in Athens, GA – April 15, 2005)
MP3: The Music Tapes – “Majesty”
Video: The Music Tapes – “Majesty”
Video: The Music Tapes – “For The Planet Pluto”
Video: The Music Tapes – “The Minister Of Longitude”
A couple of unreleased Neutral Milk Hotel songs which will be appearing on that box set that is being released on November 22 is available to stream.
Stream: Neutral Milk Hotel – “Little Birds (Unfinished version 2)”
Magnet talks Obscurities with Stephin Merritt.
Sigur Ros have finalized details on the release of their live Inni film/album; it’ll be out on November 8 and be available in either double-CD or triple-LP formats, the former coming with the option of DVD or Blu-Ray and the latter only with DVD, or digitally-only if that’s your thing. There’s also a super-fancy limited edition box set which you can read about at Exclaim. One of the live tracks is available to download and Toronto screenings of the film begin October 28 at the TIFF Lightbox.
MP3: Sigur Ros – “Festival” (live)
The Line Of Best Fit chats with Barry Burns of Mogwai.
Emmy The Great has released a second video from her second album Virtue.
Video: Emmy The Great – “Paper Forest (In The Afterglow Of Rapture)”
Also with a new video are Arctic Monkeys, for the title track of Suck It And See.
Video: Arctic Monkeys – “Suck It And See”
And Manic Street Preachers have a clip for the single off their forthcoming best-of collection National Treasures, out October 31 – it’s a The The cover.
Video: Manic Street Preachers – “This Is The Day”
The Von Pip Musical Express reviews Ladytron’s latest Gravity The Seducer and talks to vocalist/keyboardist Helen Marnie about it while The San Francisco Chronicle talks to Reuben Wu. They’re at The Phoenix on November 5.
Arcade 44 talks to Greg Hughes of Still Corners. Creatures Of An Hour is out October 11 and they play The Drake Underground on October 25.
Clash lists off ten things you didn’t know about Damon Albarn.
Sunday, September 18th, 2011
The Shins cover The Jesus & Mary Chain
Frank YangBoth bands in this week’s selection have been away a while – though their absences are on different scales – and both are making returns to the public eye – though in different manners.
That The Shins went into hiding following the touring cycle for their third album Wincing The Night Away wasn’t especially odd – bands do that all the time – but a break turned into a hiatus as most of the band members who were not frontman and songwriter James Mercer were dismissed or otherwise left the band and the project was essentially rebooted. Shins 2.0 appear to be ready to go, however, as they’re embarking on a handful of live dates – including this Thursday night at The Phoenix in Toronto – in advance of releasing a new record in the new year.
The Jesus & Mary Chain split way back in 1999 and considering the acrimony that marked the band’s career, hardly seemed like candidates for a reunion but the Reid brothers made up in time to play Coachella 2007 and a number of additional European dates. And while technically the band remains an active concern with promises of a new album, they’ve been awful quiet for a band who made their name by being really loud. Fans do have something to look forward to, though, as super-deluxe double-CD-plus-DVD reissues of their entire six-album catalog are coming starting this week, with Psychocandy and Darklands out Tuesday, Automatic and Honey’s Dead next week and Stoned & Dethroned and Munki on October 4 – there’s video previews of each set over at YouTube. So those collections are some good news for fans… unless you re-bought their entire discography when they were reissued back in 2006. Then you’re probably more enraged than excited.
Oh and as for the song itself? That was Shins Mk1 taking the Psychocandy tune for a spin at The Troubadour in Los Angeles at some undetermined date. Fun times.
MP3: The Shins – “Taste Of Cindy” (live)
Video: The Jesus & Mary Chain – “Taste Of Cindy” (live in London, 2008)
Saturday, September 17th, 2011
Frank YangWho: PS I Love You
What: Kingston two-piece indebted to the fuzzed-out guitar heroes of the ’90s and named for the initials of frontman Paul Sauliner and not the movie of the same name, which isn’t to say they don’t appreciate the on-screen chemistry of Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler. How could you not.
Why: Last year’s debut Meet Me At The Muster Station and non-stop touring put the band on the map and the Polaris long-list; no time to record a follow-up but in their digital/vinyl singles compilation Figure It Out will keep fans satiated for now.
When: Saturday, October 1, 2011
Where: The Great Hall in Toronto (19+)
Who else: The Two Koreas are opening things up.
How: Tickets for the show are $10.50 in advance but courtesy of Embrace, I’ve got two pairs of passes to give away for the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see PS I Love You” in the subject line and your full name in the body and have that in to me before midnight, September 27.
What else: The Weal has an interview with Paul Saulnier (and run a completely unrelated photo) and Figure It Out is available to stream on Facebook for the price of a thumbs-up.
MP3: PS I Love You (featuring Diamond Rings) – “Leftovers”
MP3: PS I Love You – “Get Over”
MP3: PS I Love You – “2012”
MP3: PS I Love You – “Butterflies & Boners”
MP3: PS I Love You – “Facelove”
Video: PS I Love You (featuring Diamond Rings) – “Leftovers”
Video: PS I Love You – “Get Over”
Video: PS I Love You – “Butterflies & Boners”
Video: PS I Love You – “Facelove”
Stream: PS I Love You / Figure It Out
Friday, September 16th, 2011
Review of Deleted Scenes’ Young People’s Church Of The Air
Laura RotondoIt’s too bad that Washington, DC four-piece Deleted Scenes didn’t time their upcoming visit to Toronto better so as to coincide with the Toronto International Film Festival, which wraps up this weekend. And not just for the topicality of their band name, but for the inherently cinematic scope of their sound.
Usually when “cinematic” is dropped as a descriptor, it implies for good or bad that the band aspires to a “big” sound that’s akin to a glitzy Hollywood Summer blockbuster; in the case of Deleted Scenes’ just-released second album Young People’s Church Of The Air, their ambitions are more modest and can perhaps predictably be likened to a contemporary independent film, reliant on a DIY aesthetic, quirky characters and a script that simultaneous seeks to bare its soul and remain obscured.
In musical terms, Deleted Scenes operate underneath sonics that are deliberately fuzzy and occasionally opaque, with Dan Scheuerman’s vocals – an instrument which other bands might seek to showcase front and centre – often pushed back in the mix so as to seem like he’s hollering from the back of the room while all manner of instrumentation cavort in the foreground. It’s an interesting balance and one that can either force the listener to pay closer attention than they normally might or tune out entirely; initial listens tended towards the latter, but persistence paid off with a record that was playfully psychedelic, yet possessed of a clear-eyed deliberateness where it counted. Rewarding stuff.
Deleted Scenes are currently on tour across North America in support of the new record and will be at Rancho Relaxo on September 22.
MP3: Deleted Scenes – “Bedbedbedbedbed”
Stream: Deleted Scenes – “The Demon & The Hurricane”
Stream: Deleted Scenes – “The Days Of Adderall”
Video: Deleted Scenes – “Bedbedbedbedbed”
NOW and Aquarium Drunkard have pieces of Olivia Tremor Control as the band rolls into Lee’s Palace tonight.
The Toronto Star, Exclaim and Montreal Gazette chat with Jeff Tweedy of Wilco as the band’s tour in advance of the September 27 release of The Whole Love stops in at Massey Hall tonight and tomorrow.
The Jayhawks’ first new record in forever, Mockingbird Time, is up for stream at Rolling Stone and the best thing you can say about it is it sounds like the classic Jayhawks lineup that made it – and that’s a good thing.
Stream: The Jayhawks / Mockingbird Time
Magnet – who are returning as a print publication in October and will thus be re-earning their italicized title – NOW and The Fly talk to Stephen Malkmus, who leads The Jicks into The Phoenix on September 23. The Portland Tribune talks to Jicks bassist Joanna Bolme.
MusicOmh has words with Merrell Garbus of tUnE-yArDs. She/they are at Lee’s Palace on September 24.
The Von Pip Musical Express talks to Dee Dee of Dum Dum Girls in advance of Only In Dreams, out September 27. They play Lee’s Palace on October 16.
Pitchfork and Prefix have feature interviews with Christopher Owens of Girls, who’re at The Mod Club on September 27.
Aquarium Drunkard has an interview with Matthew Sweet while Rolling Stone is streaming his new album Modern Art in advance of its September 27 release date.
MP3: Matthew Sweet – “She Walks The Night”
Stream: Matthew Sweet / Modern Art
Nerve talks mating with Mates Of State while The Hartford Courant opts to play it safe and talk about the music. Mates Of State are at The Phoenix on September 28.
Pitchfork interviews Kevin Barnes of Of Montreal, who reveals the band will release a cassette box set of all the band’s albums on October 25 and a new album entitled Paralytic Stalks early next year.
NPR and The AV Club have posted interviews with St. Vincent, while Anika In London has posted the full transcript of her chat with Annie Clark which became the Line Of Best Fit feature interview from earlier this week.
Rolling Stone talks to Wayne Coyne to get the lowdown on the “six hour song” that Wayne Coyne says the band are recording.
Thursday, September 15th, 2011
Empire Of The Sun and Miami Horror at The Sound Academy in Toronto
Frank YangSome were disappointed when Empire Of The Sun’s long-awaited Toronto debut on Tuesday night was moved from the lakeside Echo Beach venue to the generally loathed Sound Academy for undisclosed “production issues”; it turned out to be a blessing as the weather finally got the memo that Autumn was here and, well, it would have been awfully cold down outside on the water at Ontario Place. Plus, there was the novelty of having the show take place right across the street from where Cirque du Soleil had pitched their Totem tent, and while one technically had nothing to do with the other, it was hard not to appreciate the convergence of solar-themed entertainment. Well I thought it was neat, anyways.
Another benefit of the new venue was the ability to close off portions of it to squeeze the people in, for although those who were there were rightfully excited that the Australian band had finally made it to town – they had to cancel a show last Summer due to scheduling – there weren’t really that many of them; maybe 1500 tops at the show’s peak in a room that could hold twice that, but still better than an outdoor venue where everyone could lie down and make sand angels without touching a neighbour. However it wouldn’t be fair to say that a fraction of that total were on hand when openers and fellow Aussies Miami Horror took the stage at the stroke of eight to kick things off – you could count the attendees on two hands and maybe a foot.
Regardless, it was the scheduled time for the party to start and so Miami Horror started the party. Apparently Miami Horror can refer to either producer/keyboardist Benjamin Plant doing DJ duties or the live band, which we saw this night, and which belonged instead to singer/guitarist Josh Moriarty. While his bandmates remained pretty static tending to their keys, bass and drum duties, Moriarty was living out every kid’s rock star dreams up there, channeling not a little bit of Prince in his guitarsexy moves (points for sporting a reverse-headstock thinline Stratocaster) and solos over a bed of New Romantic-approved synths – there were more than a few plectrums pointed heavenwards, it was just that kind of night – a bit gratuitous but entertaining. Over the course of their set the crowd swelled from a handful to hundreds, most happily dancing their way in from the doors to the party anthems coming offstage and as the vibe improved, so did the material. By set’s end, it was evident that their debut Illumination had a few genuinely solid songs to recommend the band, not just the ability to soundtrack a party.
I am pretty sure that the last time Luke Steele was in Toronto, it was some eight years ago when his old/other band The Sleepy Jackson (who are still technically a going concern even though Personality came out a half-decade ago) at Lee’s Palace opening up for My Morning Jacket – very different company and environs, indeed. That Luke Steele was a slightly pudgy guy with a big mess of curly hair, dubious moustache and questionable fashion sense; that was not this Luke Steele.
No, the Luke Steele who strode onto his elevated stage platform as the scrim obscuring the stage dropped was sleek, space-age and clad in an elaborate blue headdress and cosmic kimono – a cosmic messiah who came to save us all with insanely harmonized guitar solos… though still with a hint of a moustache. Understand that Empire Of The Sun is as much a visual experience as an aural one, with the set costumes and set dressings carefully matched to the elaborate artwork of and videos from their album Walking On A Dream. Going in, I’d wondered if there’d be some kind of narrative to the show to justify the costumes and over-the-top visuals – within a couple of songs, I put those thoughts out of my mind as it was clear that no justification was needed – they were being fantastical for the sake of being fantastic, and that was plenty.
Musically, they were a three-piece – Steele on guitar and keys, Nick Littlemore on guitar (I think it was the prodigal co-conspirator back there – I missed the intro but it looked like him) and a live drummer – playing over many backing tracks. And while the live instrumentation certainly added a dynamicism and volume that the album sometimes lacks, you had to be careful not to listen too too closely; I was standing right in front of their guitar amps at a few points and the rhythm parts being played were… not exactly tight. But stepping back and taking in the spectacle of it all, any human imperfections became insignificant against the grandeur of it all.
As crucial a part of the performance as the band were the dancers, numbering four but with dramatic costume changes and choreography for every song, ranging from the shiny pink jumpsuit outfits for “Half Mast” and “We Are The People” to become furry blonde cavorting swordfish that for “Swordfish Hotkiss Night”, they were arguably the highlight of a show made up of nothing but highlights. Steele also changed outfits a few times, even getting his hair done between a songs at one point, all without missing a beat or a cue in the tightly-produced show, which makes sense considering they’ve been touring almost this exact show around the world for nigh on two years now (though some past festival sets seem to have been even more elaborate in costumes and staging). I suspect that if I went to more or any Top 40/pop shows where costumes and spectacle are de rigeur this might have been less impressive, but I don’t so it was all wow.
It wasn’t all rigidly scripted, though – Steele broke whatever character he was playing a few times to say hello to the enraptured fans and declare how happy he was that they’d finally made it to Toronto; he also brought his daughter Sunny Tiger out on stage to say hello towards the show’s end, and then immediately followed that tender moment by smashing his guitar to pieces and tossing the wreckage into the crowd. It was that kind of night. And it wasn’t over – while they were following standard concert convention in leaving the stage before playing their “hit”, they were putting the time to good use, returning for the encore of “Walking On A Dream” with the dancers dressed in intergalactic geishas and Steele in a dazzling white samurai outfit in front of a fountain of fire video projection; truly a show-stopper. I’m not sure what was up with the giant grim reaper puppet they wheeled out for the song, but if there’s one thing to be learned from an Empire Of The Sun show, it’s to not ask why – just be dazzled by it.
Exclaim and Panic Manual also have reviews of the show.
Photos: Empire Of The Sun, Miami Horror @ The Sound Academy – September 13, 2011
Video: Empire Of The Sun – “Half Mast”
Video: Empire Of The Sun – “Without You”
Video: Empire Of The Sun – “Standing On The Shore”
Video: Empire Of The Sun – “Walking On A Dream”
Video: Empire Of The Sun – “We Are The People”
Video: Miami Horror – “Holidays”
Video: Miami Horror – “Echoplex”
Video: Miami Horror – “I Look To You”
Video: Miami Horror – “Moon Theory”
Video: Miami Horror – “Sometimes”
Video: Miami Horror – “Don’t Be Down On Her”
Cut Copy have premiered a new video from Zonoscope.
Video: Cut Copy – “Blink And You’ll Miss A Revolution”
Howling Bells frontwoman Juanita Stein pens a column on fashion for Clash.
Junip have released a new video from 2010’s Fields.
Video: Junip – “Without You”
Jens Lekman’s new EP An Argument With Myself is available to stream ahead of its September 20 street date.
MP3: Jens Lekman – “An Argument With Myself”
Stream: Jens Lekman / An Argument With Myself
El Perro Del Mar is streaming a new song inspired by the London riots, probably not set to appear on her new record Pale Fire when it comes out next year. Thanks to The Line Of Best Fit for the tip.
Stream: El Perro Del Mar – “What Did You Expect”
Clash gets to know Maria Lindén of I Break Horses.
More screenings of the Sigur Ros live film Inni have been announced, including at Toronto’s TIFF Lightbox starting on October 28 – I am assuming there’ll be more than just one since they say director Vincent Morriset will be on hand at select screenings. The live CD/DVD set for the film is due out in November.
Video: Sigur Ros – “Klippa”
Trailer: Sigur Ros: Inni
British dreampop newcomers Still Corners have released a new MP3 from their forthcoming debut Creatures Of An Hour, out October 11. They’re at The Drake Underground on October 25.
MP3: Still Corners – “Into The Trees”
KCRW has a session with The Horrors; they’re at Lee’s Palace on September 27.
Wears The Trousers chats with Emmy The Great.
The New York Times, AV Club and Los Angeles Times check in with Nick Lowe, whose new album The Old Magic is out just in time for his two shows opening up for Wilco at Massey Hall this Friday and Saturday nights.
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