Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011
The Snowtorious B.I.G. is coming. So are The Submarines.
Autumn De WildeWith a massive-ass snowstorm bearing down on most of the eastern half of the continent last night, the smart thing to do would probably have been to stay home and hunker down. I opted for option b), trying to beat the storm to the Sound Academy and back for The Decemberists, so today’s post is weather-shortened and consists of just show announcements.
Starting with adorable duo The Submarines from sunny California. They’re going to be releasing a new record in Love Notes/Letter Bombs come April 5 – their first since 2008’s Honeysuckle Weeks – and while the full tour itinerary to support it hasn’t been released yet, it starts in Austin, Texas in mid-March during SxSW and makes it up to Toronto for a show at The Horseshoe on April 22, tickets $12.50. Assume that any points in between there and here is fair game over the intervening month. Check out the first MP3 from the new record.
MP3: The Submarines – “Birds”
I’ve never fully understood what the deal was with the Verge Music Awards, sponsored by XM station The Verge, but the awards ceremonies usually feature a pretty solid lineup of acts. And so it is this year that on March 1, the Mod Club will host Gord Downie, Tokyo Police Club and The Acorn – tickets for the show are $20 in advance at Rotate This down on Queen St.
MP3: The Acorn – “Restoration”
Video: Gord Downie – “The East Wind”
MP3: Tokyo Police Club – “Wait Up (Boots Of Danger)”
Born Ruffians’s previously-announced cross-Canada tour now has a hometown finale – they’ll be at The Opera House on April 16, tickets $15 in advance.
MP3: Born Ruffians – “Sole Brother”
The Rural Alberta Advantage have also announced a homecoming date for their Spring tour in support of Departing, out on March 1. They’ll be at The Phoenix on April 29, tickets $18.50. Hey, remember when you could see these guys at a half-filled Boat? Yeah, those days are GONE.
MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Stamp”
Montreal’s Malajube have set an April 30 date for the Horsesehoe, tickets $15. Their new record La Caverne is out April 19 and there’s a video trailer thing for it.
MP3: Malajbue – “Porte Disparu”
Trailer: Malajube / La Caverne
Peter Bjorn & John have assembled a world tour to support their new record Gimme Some when it comes out March 29. Look for them on May 6 at Lee’s Palace, tickets $20.
Video: Peter Bjorn & John – “Breaker Breaker”
tUnE-yArDs has announced an April 18 release date for her new record w h o k i l l and talks to Pitchfork about it. They also have the tour dates, which includes May 12 at The Horseshoe.
MP3: tUnE-yArDs – “Sunlight”
And finally, that Sleigh Bells/CSS show which looked like it was going to be two jammed night at the Mod Club has congealed into a single evening at the Sound Academy, so stow that excitement. It goes down on May 17 and tickets are $20. And oh yeah, Sleigh Bells just put out a new vid.
MP3: Sleigh Bells – “Crown On The Ground”
MP3: CSS – “Alala”
Video: Sleigh Bells – “Rill Rill”
Tuesday, February 1st, 2011
Review of The Radio Dept.’s Passive Aggressive: Singles 2002-2010 and giveaway
Aylin Güngör DedeogluReally, I’ve only myself to blame. Upon hearing The Radio Dept. and the deliciously forlorn and fuzz pop of their 2003 debut Lesser Matters, I did what any good music obsessive would do after hearing what would become one of their favourite bands of the century (so far) and scoured the eBay for any and all of their releases. In their case this amounted to a number of singles and EPs which offered a good amount of non-album tracks – most as wonderful as the songs that did make the long-players – to pad out the collection.
So when it was announced that the band would follow their breakout third album, 2010’s Clinging To A Scheme with a double-compilation of rarities, one couldn’t help but hope that meant that a heretofore untapped vault of musical goodness would be let loose onto the world, a sort of reward for the faithful who’d evangelized the band for years until the rest of the world caught on. This, of course, was bunk. Passive Aggressive: Singles 2002-2010 is exactly what the title implies – a collection of the band’s singles over the course of their existence arranged chronologically with a the second disc collecting b-sides and compilation tracks from over that same time period. In other words, mostly everything I’d already bought.
But as I said, that’s my own fault; for everyone else, Passive Aggressive is pretty much essential. There are no deep cuts from their three records, only the singles – and just one song from the sublime second record Pet Grief – so for newcomers to the band using the collection as an introduction, the incentive to buy those studio records remains and for those who’ve already made their acquaintance but not gone all trainspotting on their back catalog, there’s over 20 tracks that are likely to be new to their ears. Pretty much the definition of win-win. And any way you come at it, the set is a testament to just how superb, consistent and unique the band has been over the course of their career, filtering the confluence of synth-pop, shoegaze, and C86 tweeness through a distinctly Swedish melancholy for irresistible results.
So while Passive Aggressive doesn’t provide me hours of new Radio Dept. listening, it does save me the trouble of swapping out all those CDEPs and most importantly, remind me in the most enjoyable way possible what an amazing band they are. And there’s nothing disappointing about that.
Spinner talks to Martin Carlberg about the band’s vault of unreleased songs – which clearly DOES exist – although there’s no plans to mine it for release anytime soon. The band’s North American tour kicks off tonight in Washington DC and hits Toronto on February 7. Tickets for the show are $12.50 in advance but courtesy of The Musebox, I’ve got a grand prize to consisting of a pair of passes to the show and a copy of Passive Aggressive on CD to give away and a second prize of just the CD. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to join The Radio Dept” in the subject line and your full name and mailing address in the body. If you’re in the Toronto area and want to be eligible for the passes and CD, say so and if you’re just a resident of Canada looking for the CD, say that as well. Contest closes at midnight, February 3.
MP3: The Radio Dept. – “The One”
MP3: The Radio Dept. – “The New Improved Hypocrisy”
MP3: The Radio Dept. – “Freddie & The Trojan Horse”
The artist anointed by the BBC as “The Sound of 2010” – Ellie Goulding – will be releasing her debut album Lights Stateside on March 8 and follow it up with dates that include a March 27 stop at The Great Hall in Toronto. Tickets for that are $17.50 in advance.
Video: Ellie Goulding – “Starry Eyed”
The Raveonettes have slated a Spring tour in support of their fifth album Raven In The Grave, which according to this interview with Sune Rose Wagner at The San Francisco Examiner is due out on March 22. The itinerary includes an April 2 date at The Phoenix, tickets for which are $20, and there are still plans to release a compilation of b-sides and rarities at some point this year.
MP3: The Raveonettes – “Last Dance”
The Black Angels return for an April 14 date at Lee’s Palace, tickets $18.50, as part of a tour in support of last year’s Phosphene Dream. Montreal’s Suuns will support.
MP3: The Black Angels – “Telephone Blues”
MP3: Suuns – “Up Past The Nursery”
Pixies have added a second Doolittle show at Massey Hall for April 19. Tickets $44.50 and $64.50 in advance.
Video: Pixies – “Monkey Gone To Heaven”
Fleet Foxes have announced their second album Helplessness Blues will be out on May 3 and the title track is available to download.
MP3: Fleet Foxes – “Helplessness Blues”
Vivian Girls’ new record Share The Joy has been given an April 12 release date, just days before they hit The Phoenix with The Black Lips on April 16. Pitchfork has details and the first MP3 is up for grabs.
MP3: Vivian Girls – “I Heard You Say”
NPR is streaming Bright Eyes’ new album The People’s Key in advance of its February 15 release and Spinner has got an MP3 available to download in exchange for your email. Bright Eyes plays The Sound Academy on March 13.
Stream: Bright Eyes / The People’s Key
Also streaming at NPR and out February 15 is 12 Desperate Straight Lines, the new album from Telekinesis. They play The Horseshoe on March 6 and Pepper Rabbit appear to have replaced The Love Language as support.
Stream: Telekinesis / 12 Desperate Straight Lines
Monday, January 31st, 2011
Review of Shugo Tokmaru’s Port Entropy
PolyvinylSo I’ve had to check myself a couple times from taking a, “Shugo Tokumaro‘s music is so weird and wonderful, it must be because he’s Japanese!” angle on this writeup. Because even though it’s not incorrect – Tokumaru IS Japanese and sings entirely in Japanese and many things that come out of Japan are weird and wonderful to Western sensibilities – it’s too reductive and doesn’t give Tokumaru enough credit for what he’s done with his music.
His latest album, Port Entropy is the second of his records I’ve had the pleasure of immersing myself in after 2008’s Exit and like its predecessor, it’s a whimsical whirlwind of instruments and orchestration, almost all played by Tokumaru, that lifts aloft his winsome and dreamlike melodies. For all the musical sophistication and cinematic scope of his recordings, the songs at their core have a childlike simplicity and pop appeal that transcends things like language or culture, and anyways “la la la” pretty much means the same thing universally.
Port Entropy was released in the Spring of 2010 in Japan and will be out in North America on February 15. Tokumaru toured over here behind Exit, assisted in the live setting by members of such acts as Beirut and The National, and word is that he’ll be crossing the Pacific again to support the new record.
MP3: Shugo Tokmaru – “Lahaha”
Video: Shugo Tokmaru – “Lahaha”
Video: Shogu Tokumaru – “Tracking Elevator”
Video: Shugo Tokumaru – “Rum Hee”
Spin talks to Bob Nastanovich about the future of the Pavement reunion, which apparently isn’t as over as though who saw them melt down at Matador 21 might have guessed – but even if they play more shows, don’t expect any new material.
PopMatters, Exclaim and The Star-Tribune talk to Mark Olson of The Jayhawks.
Spinner talks to Nicole Atkins about her Canadian connections while Vol. 1 Brooklyn asks her about her reading habits. Atkin’s second record Mondo Amore is out February 8 and she plays The Horseshoe on February 26.
State and Baltimore Magazine talk to Dean Wareham.
Black Book returns to Chicago’s Wicker Park with Liz Phair. Nashville Scene also has an interview.
The National Post, The Independent and Time talk to Colin Meloy of The Decemberists, who are at The Sound Academy tomorrow night. NYC Taper is sharing a recording of their show in New York from last week.
Paste catches up with Sam Beam of Iron & Wine.
Le Blogotheque serves up an order of Take-Away Show with Spoon, up-sized to include downloadable MP3s of the performance.
The Georgia Straight talks to Daniel Kessler of Interpol, who have a date at The Sound Academy on February 15.
The Strokes make the press rounds in advance of the March 22 release of Angles, offering interviews to Spinner, Myspace and Spin.
Beggars USA reports that Alela Diane will release a new record entitled Alela Diane & Wild Divine on April 5th.
The New Zealand Herald and Pitchfork talk to Sufjan Stevens.
In support of the release of their new record Long Live on February 15, Snowblink will play an in-store at Soundscapes on March 3 followed by a record release show at The Music Gallery on March 5.
MP3: Snowblink – “Ambergris”
Plants & Animals will warm up for their March 5 show at Lee’s Palace with an in-store across the street at Sonic Boom that same afternoon at 4PM.
MP3: Plants & Animals – “Tom Cruz”
The National has words with Dan Bejar of Destroyer. They are at Lee’s Palace on March 31.
NOW checks in with Joel Gibb of The Hidden Cameras.
Sunday, January 30th, 2011
The Radio Dept. covers The Go-Betweens
Friendly NoiseSweden’s Radio Dept. have a pretty singular sound when compared to the rest of the pop music landscape – making static and melancholy gleam and glisten as they do is easier said than done – but their musical genome is actaully pretty easy to map. That they use take texture from Jesus & Mary Chain and balance it with Belle & Sebastian’s soft, open heart is most obvious but the swooningly sophisticated pop sensibilities of, say, The Go-Betweens might be overlooked at first – or at least until you hear them covered.
The Radio Dept. covered The Go-Betweens’ “Bachelor Kisses” from their 1984 release Spring Hill Fair as a contribution to a 2007 issue of the Friendly Noise zine and it’s rather astonishing how they manage to make it sound exactly like something from their own canon while simultaneously paying tribute to the original by playing it as straight as they’re capable of doing. And from whichever angle you choose to look at it, It’s a gorgeous piece of work.
The Radio Dept. releases their singles/b-sides compilation Passive Aggressive last week – and “Bachelor Kisses” is included amongst the latter – and their first full and proper North American tour starts on Tuesday night, making its way to Lee’s Palace in Toronto on February 7. The Go-Betweens came to an end in May 2006 when Grant McLennan died of a heart attack. His songwriting partner Robert Forster has continued on as a solo artist, most recently releasing The Evangelist in 2008.
MP3: The Radio Dept. – “Bachelor Kisses”
Video: The Go-Betweens – “Bachelor Kisses”
Saturday, January 29th, 2011
Christopher NelsonWho: The Moondoggies
What: More harmony-laden rootsiness from the Pacific northwest, but with more rock of the classic variety in their souls than their peers. And soul.
Why: Their second album Tidelands was released in the later part of 2010 and they’re now on the road to support it.
When: Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Where: The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto
Who else: Portland – or should that be Portlandia – outfit Quiet Life is accompanying them on this tour.
How: Tickets for the show are $10 in advance but courtesy of Collective Concerts, I’ve got six pairs of passes to give away for the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see The Moondoggies” in the subject line and your full name in the body and get that in to me before the end of January 2011.
What else: Express Night Out and SF Weekly have features on the band and their live shows are available to download at Archive.org.
MP3: The Moondoggies – “It’s A Shame, It’s a Pity”
MP3: The Moondoggies – “What Took So Long”
MP3: The Moondoggies – “Changing”
MP3: The Moondoggies – “Fly Mama Fly”
Video: The Moondoggies – “Empress Of The North”
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