Tuesday, May 24th, 2011
Ruvan WijesooriaWho: Sondre Lerche
What: Norwegian singer-songwriter who’s frequently jumped genres, but always remained smooth, charming and oh-so Scandinavian.
Why: Album number seven, a self-titled affair, is due out on June 7. Those songs aren’t going to road-test themselves.
When: Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Where: The Mod Club in Toronto
Who else: Nightlands and Kishi Bashi open up. Nope, don’t know anything about them either.
How: Tickets for the show are $18.50 in advance but courtesy of LiveNation, I’ve got three pairs of passes to give away. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see Sondre Lerche” in the subject line and your full name in the body, and have that to me before midnight in whatever time zone I’m in at the time on May 27.
What else: Daytrotter recently posted a session with Lerche and Metromix has an interview.
Video: Sondre Lerche – “Domino”
Monday, May 23rd, 2011
Stornoway and other bands you should see because I can’t
Frank YangSo yes, I am currently abroad – huzzah – but this little dispatch isn’t meant to rub it in to those who are still back in Toronto (or wherever you might be that is not Barcelona). Instead, it’s to gently remind you that there’s still plenty of stuff of the live music variety to see right there in Hogtown this week; more than is typical, I’d go so far as to say.
So here’s a quick run-down of stuff that, were I not elsewhere, I’d either be at or consider being at, starting off – both chronologically and interest-wise – with Oxford, England’s Stornoway, who are at The El Mocambo tomorrow night, May 24, with See Of Bees. The quartet were here back in December for a fairly jaw-dropping set that cemented their debut Beachcomber’s Windowsill on my year-end list, not that it necessarily needed the nudge.
I didn’t expect they’d be making another trip back before putting out a new record, but they are and if you missed that last show, want to taste some of that magic again or just have nothing else to do on a Tuesday night, then you could do far far worse than hitting up the ol’ ElMo.
MP3: Stornoway – “Fuel Up”
MP3: Stornoway – “On The Rocks”
MP3: Stornoway – “Zorbing”
MP3: Sea Of Bees – “Marmalade”
MP3: Sea Of Bees – “Wizbot”
Video: Stornoway – “Zorbing”
Video: Stornoway – “I Saw You Blink”
And other shows while I’m away that are worth your attention:
Wednesday, May 25
Damon & Naomi, Amor de Días @ The Horseshoe
MP3: Damon & Naomi – “Walking Backwards”
MP3: Amor de Dias – “Bunhill Fields”
Thursday, May 26
Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit, Caitlin Rose @ The Horseshoe
MP3: Johnny Flynn – “Kentucky Pill”
MP3: Caitlin Rose – “Shanghai Cigarettes”
Man Man, Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers @ Lee’s Palace
MP3: Man Man – “Life Fantastic”
MP3: Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers – “Heaven In Stereo”
Friday, May 27
Anna Calvi, Cuckoo Chaos @ The El Mocambo
MP3: Anna Calvi – “Blackout”
MP3: Cuckoo Chaos – “Jesus Flag American Fish”
Portugal. The Man, Telekinesis, Unknown Mortal Orchestra @ Lee’s Palace
MP3: Portugal. The Man – “People Say”
MP3: Telekinesis – “Car Crash”
Saturday, May 28
Lissie, Ash Koley @ The Phoenix
MP3: Lissie – “Everywhere I Go”
Video: Ash Koley – “Brighter At Night”
Sunday, May 29
Glasvegas, Magneta Lane @ Lee’s Palace
Video: Glasvegas – “Euphoria, Take My Hand”
Video: Magneta Lane – “Lady Bones”
The Radio Dept, Nightbox @ The Horseshoe
MP3: The Radio Dept. – “Never Follow Suit”
Monday, May 30
Friendly Fires, Wise Blood @ The Phoenix
MP3: Friendly Fires – “Jump In The Pool”
MP3: Wise Blood – “Loud Mouths”
Wildbirds & Peacedrums , Yellow Ostrich @ The Drake Underground
MP3: Wildbirds & Peacedrums – “Fight For Me”
MP3: Yellow Ostrich – “Whale”
Wednesday, June 1
The Baseball Project, The Order Of Good Cheer @ Lee’s Palace
MP3: The Baseball Project – “1976”
Sunday, May 22nd, 2011
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds cover Pulp
WikipediaEgads, another week, another repeat. It’s turning into a regular clips episode around here. But again, I have good reason – because this week, Pulp and I will be meeting up in the year 2011 at Primavera Sound in Barcelona, Spain and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds will be along for the ride. Okay, it’ll actually be Cave and company in their guise as Grinderman, but that kind of fits with this week’s selections.
I’ll direct you back to the December 2009 post where I went over the specifics of when and where these tracks came from, but the short version is that when asked to contribute some b-sides to the single for Pulp’s “Bad Cover Version”, Nick Cave actually submitted two – a gently swaying and sentimental version that was used as the b-side and a more raucous “pub rock” version that showed up on the deluxe reissue of Different Class. The former kind of fit the ballad-y mood of the Bad Seeds releases of the time, but the latter was loud and sloppy to a degree that sort of foreshadowed their excursions into raunch with Grinderman.
Pulp play the first of their reunion gigs on Friday night at Barcelona’s Parc Del Fòrum. Grinderman are up the night before. The third salvo of Nick Cave & The Bad Sees reissues came out last week.
MP3: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – “Disco 2000”
MP3: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – “Disco 2000” (Pub rock version)
Video: Pulp – “Disco 2000”
Friday, May 20th, 2011
Adele at The Air Canada Centre
Frank YangIt happens far too infrequently, but sometimes the good guys win. Sometimes immense talent, great songs and hard work can triumph over image and marketing and when it does, you get improbably wonderful things like Adele becoming and more importantly remaining pretty much the biggest artist in music for 2011 for months on end, on the strength of her sophomore album 21. Granted, her story is hardly one of an out of nowhere dark horse – her debut 19 already made her a star and garnered her two Grammy awards – but the degree to which 21 has catapulted her into the stratosphere is still remarkable.
That the Toronto stop of her North American tour on Wednesday night was originally booked into the Kool Haus – considerably smaller than the posh environs of Massey Hall where she last performed in 2009 – certainly seemed to imply that people were underestimating her draw, and that the show was moved to the many times larger Air Canada Centre after selling out instantly was representative of just how much bigger – and faster – her fanbase was growing. Granted, it was in theatre configuration, accommodating approximately 5200 patrons instead of the 16000 of the full arena, but if you don’t think she could have easily sold a few thousand more tickets then you’re just not paying attention.
I had the privilege of seeing Adele at an MTV Live taping back in March and so had a sense of how she was live – which is to say wonderfully warm and engaging, with no sense of the stage fright she’s supposedly afflicted with – but that was a short set in front of a maybe a couple hundred people. This would be considerably more on every level, and yet Adele Adkins somehow managed to make an arena show in front of thousands feel just as intimate as that studio performance.
Things opened with a touch of theatricality – with Adele starting “Hometown Glory” from behind a curtain before stepping onstage to rafter-shaking shrieks – but for most of the show, it was all about simple, direct and genuine connection between Adele and her fans, which for all of her prodigious artistic gifts may be her greatest strength. Chatty, conversational and more than a little crude between songs, punctuated by a huge and endearing cackle, Adele was able to make a massive room feel as intimate as a small club or even more like a private performance for some friends in the front room. It’s impossible to overstate the intensity of the personal rapport that seemed to exist between she and almost every one of the thousands in the audience – it’s hard to imagine any other artist of her stature taking stage time to talk about the experiences that informed her songs, her affection for her pet dachshund or gush about bands she’s currently listening to (incidentally, she gave big props to Toronto R&B outfit The Weeknd).
As entertaining as it would likely be to just sit and chat for an hour and a half with Adele, there was no forgetting that music was the order of the evening. Improvisation wasn’t on the menu, save for a few subtle shifts in arrangements, with the emphasis on her huge, expressive voice and playing the songs everyone wanted to hear the way they knew them, but with plenty of verve and as singalong-able as possible – something the house happily obliged, at times creating an almost choral effect. Backed by a seven-piece band, Adele delivered exactly the sort of set you’d expect, comprising most of 21 – often introduced as “new songs” as though they were something to be politely endured before she got to the old favourites instead of the material that brought both her and her fans here on this evening – and a decent amount of 19. The show built to a finale that was completely predictable – “Chasing Pavements” and “Make You Feel My Love” to close the main set and “Someone Like You” and “Rolling In The Deep” making up the encore – but also completely rousing. You don’t need to surprise when you’re this good. Adele is like the friend who goes onto great things, but never forgets where she came from – not “is like”, but “is” – and though musically she trades in broken hearts, there was nothing but love at the ACC on this night.
The Globe & Mail has a feature piece on Adele and also a review of the show. The Toronto Sun, National Post, Toronto Star and Exclaim also have writeups of the evening.
Photos: Adele @ The Air Canada Centre – May 18, 2011
Video: Adele – “Rolling In The Deep”
Video: Adele – “Make You Feel My Love”
Video: Adele – “Chasing Pavements”
Video: Adele – “Cold Shoulder”
Interview has a brief talk with Anna Calvi, who has a date at The El Mocambo on May 27.
PJ Harvey discusses the visual side of her art with Spinner.
Pitchfork has an extensive interview with Kate Bush, who released her first album in over five years this week with Director’s Cut. The record is streaming in whole over at NPR.
Stream: Kate Bush / Director’s Cut
New York Magazine and The Chicago Tribune talk to Will Sergeant of Echo & The Bunnymen while The Aquarian chats with Ian McCulloch.
Johnny Marr talks up his upcoming projects with Billboard.
The Guardian talks to Brett Anderson and Mat Osman about why the reunited Suede are so fashionable again – just in time for Brett Anderson (the solo artist) to announce the September 26 release of his next record, Black Rainbows. Details on the album at NME.
The second single from Patrick Wolf’s forthcoming Lupercalia now has a video and it indeed confirms that, on this record, Wolf is in his happy place. It’s out June 20.
Video: Patrick Wolf – “House”
Foals discuss possible directions of their next record with aux.tv.
The Guardian, Gigwise and Clash have feature pieces on Friendly Fires, whose new record Pala is out next week and are in town at The Phoenix on May 30.
NME gets some information on the next Muse record from rhythm section Dominic Howard and Chris Wolstenholme.
The Aquarian talks to Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner. They’re at The Kool Haus on Saturday and their new album Suck It And See is out June 7.
Also on the bill are The Vaccines, who have a new video from their debut What Did You Expect From The Vaccines, due out May 31.
Video: The Vaccines – “All In White”
NPR have posted a WFUV radio session with Noah & The Whale, with whom North Country Times, Oregon Music News, The Telegraph and The Edinburgh Evening News have interviews.
James Blake has a new video from James Blake.
Video: James Blake – “Lindesfarne”
Artrocker has a piece from Clock Opera frontman Guy Connelly about writing their latest single “Belongings”, for which they’ve just released a video and are streaming both sides at Soundcloud. DIY also solicits an alphabetized list of… stuff from the band. These guys were one of the more exciting discoveries at SXSW and the lead-up to their debut album verifies that the excitement is justified.
Video: Clock Opera – “Belongings”
Ladytron are streaming the first single from new album Gravity The Seducer at Soundcloud, well in advance of its September 13 release date.
Art Brut are streaming their new record Brilliant! Tragic! over at Paste. They play The Mod Club on June 17 for NXNE.
Stream: Art Brut / Brilliant! Tragic!
And according to Under The Radar, the Friday night of NXNE – June 17 – will also bring Oxford’s Swervedriver back to town for the first time since, well, NXNE 2008. Venue still to be announced but this should be one of the highlights of the festival.
MP3: Swervedriver – “Duel” (live)
IFC has both an interview with Euros and Norman of Jonny and premiered a new video from the duo. They are at The Drake Underground on June 3 and 4.
Video: Jonny – “You Was Me”
They Shoot Music has a video session with Gruff Ryhs, and he’s also the subject of features at Nashville Scene, The Village Voice and Today Online. He has a date at The Horseshoe for June 11.
NPR has posted a World Cafe session with The Joy Formidable.
And with that, folks, things go into vacation mode over the next couple weeks. There’ll still be updates and whatnot, just maybe fewer, probably leaner and almost certainly at odd hours. And any last-minute suggestions of things to see and do in Barcelona are welcome.
Thursday, May 19th, 2011
Review of Snailhouse’s Sentimental Gentleman
Anneke HymmenMontrealer Mike Feuerstack isn’t anything resembling a household name but if you’ve got records from Belle Orchestre, Angela Desveaux or The Wooden Stars in your collection – and you probably should – then you’ve got his name in your liner notes. But if not, then you probably don’t have anything from his solo project Snailhouse and that’s a shame – but one you can easily rectify with his new album Sentimental Gentleman when it’s released on May 24.
In his other bands, it’s his virtuoso musicianship that’s on display but with Snailhouse, his songwriting chops take centre stage. There’s still plenty of tasty guitarwork throughout, but it’s largely of the laid back variety as it’s in support of his gently rootsy tunes. Thoughtful and introspective, it’s not the sort of record that attracts your attention with frantic arm waving, but an easy demeanour and welcoming smile. And while there’s plenty other shinier and more immediate roadside attractions on the musical landscape, those who take the time to investigate Snailhouse’s low-key charms will be rewarded with a thoughtful and understatedly witty collection of songs that won’t necessarily change your life, but will certainly make it more pleasant for a half hour or so, and moreso with each visit.
Exclaim is currently streaming the whole of Sentimental Gentleman. Snailhouse is just wrapping a tour of Europe and will kick off a North American leg next week with a date at Toronto’s Dakota Tavern on May 26.
MP3: Snailhouse – “I Never Woke Up”
MP3: Snailhouse – “Sentimental Gentleman”
Stream: Snailhouse / Sentimental Gentleman
Joel Plaskett has announced the released of a rarities compilation entitled EMERGENCYs, false alarms, shipwrecks, castaways, fragile creatures, special features, demons and demonstrations, due to hit stores on June 14 – Chart has details and as a teaser, here’s one of the tracks from it. Plaskett will play a free show June 10 at Metro Square as part of the LuminaTO festival.
MP3: Joel Plaskett – “When I Go”
The release this week of Diaper Island, the latest from Calgary’s Chad Vangaalen, has brought the media a-calling. Check out features at The Globe & Mail, NXEW, Paste, The Calgary Herald and Exclaim. Van Gaalen headlines The Great Hall on June 18 for NXNE and a new MP3 and video from the album have just been released.
MP3: Chad Van Gaalen – “Peace On The Rise”
Video: Chad Van Gaalen – “Peace On the Rise”
Austra is getting similar attention for her just-released debut Feel It Break. There’s interviews at NOW, hour.ca, Resonancity, Clash, aux.tv and Chart. Austra has a sold-out show at Lee’s Palace tonight.
Timber Timbre have released a new video from Creep On Creepin’ On.
Video: Timber Timbre – “Black Water”
Also with a new video – Montreal’s No Joy, from their debut Ghost Blonde. Their NXNE showcase is June 17 at The Horseshoe.
Video: No Joy – “Maggie Says I Love You”
Little Scream gets in on the “hey I have a new video” meme with one from The Golden Record. hour.ca has an interview with the artist, who plays The Mod Club on June 14 opening up for The Antlers.
Video: Little Scream – “Red Hunting Jacket”
And from The Wilderness Of Manitoba is a new clip from When You Left The Fire.
Video: The Wilderness Of Manitoba – “Orono Park”
Great Lake Swimmers’ Spinner about his contributions to The National Parks Project, the documentary film which pairs Canadian musicians with Canada’s national parks. A release show for the soundtrack, featuring many of the artists who contributed, happens tonight at The Royal – tickets are $15. Here’s one of the performances from the film, featuring Cadence Weapon, Woodpigeon’s Mark Hamilton and Laura Barrett in a teepee in Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta. Click through to video number four. Also check out interviews with the film’s directors at NOW and Torontoist.
Video: Laura Barrett, Cadence Weapon, Mark Hamilton – “The Humble Fawn”
And similar-sounding but not at all related is The Parks Canada Experience, which is notable because a) it’s funded by our tax dollars and b) it will be throwing a party at the foot of the CN Tower this Saturday, May 21, which will feature free performances from Malajube and Apostle Of Hustle, amongst others. It runs from 11AM to 7PM. For more specifics on the what and the when… I don’t know, contact your local MP.
MP3: Malajube – “Synesthesie”
MP3: Apostle Of Hustle – “Perfect Fit”
I’ve been waiting ages for a Kathryn Calder live date in support of her excellent solo debut Are You My Mother and when one is finally announced – it’s in conflict with not one but two other must-see shows. Which is to say that when she’s playing The Tranzac’s Southern Cross Lounge on June 10, I will be at Okkervil River at The Phoenix having already given up seeing Weeping Tile at Lee’s Palace. Life is so unfair.
MP3: Kathryn Calder – “Arrow”
MP3: Kathryn Calder – “Slip Away”
Fucked Up have been added to the NXNE lineup with two shows on June 16 – one free engagement at Yonge-Dundas Square early that evening and another late-nighter at Wrongbar. They’re also opening for Foo Fighters at The Air Canada Centre on August 9. David Comes To Life is out June 7.
MP3: Fucked Up – “Ship Of Fools”
Also added to the NXNE lineup, despite having just announced their own August 1 show at The Horseshoe, is Handsome Furs. They will preview new record Sound Kapital at The Garrison at 1AM on June 18.
MP3: Handsome Furs – “Radio Kaliningrad”
And in addition to his set at Yonge-Dundas Square on June 17, Diamond Rings will be at Wrongbar at midnight on June 18. This, of course, is all in addition to his set opening up (again) for Robyn on June 3 at Echo Beach.
MP3: Diamond Rings – “Something Else”
Diamond Rings has also started up a remix series wherein he’ll release a new remix each Tuesday leading up to the June 21 US major label reissue of his album Special Affections. The first entry is a track from Miracle Fortress, whose own Was I The Wave? just came out Stateside this week – there’s a new MP3 from it available to download to mark the occasion. Spinner talks turkey with Graham Van Pelt.
MP3: Miracle Fortress – “Miscalculations”
MP3: Miracle Fortress – “Raw Spectacle” (Diamond Rings remix)
Sloan’s 20th anniversary video back-pat series rolls on, now including installments for “Underwhelmed medley”, “Your Favourite Sloan Lyric”, a rendering of “People Of The Sky” by Owen Pallett and “Sloan’s influence”. Sloan play The Mod Club on June 22.
Rolling Stone is streaming an unreleased Neil Young song circa the mid-80s, due to appear on the Archives release A Treasure, out June 14.
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