Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010
Review of Warpaint’s The Fool
Mia KirbyI somehow managed to see Los Angeles’ Warpaint no less than four times this year before hearing their debut album The Fool, so you could say that their live shows have coloured my impressions of their music just a touch. And that’s a good thing because as a cursory scan of past write-ups will attest, I find their performances to be swirling, mesmerising affairs anchored by the pulsing, organic rhythm section and lifted by the airy vocals and shimmering guitar lines. More often than not, it seems that the band is willing to simply surrender themselves to the musical chemistry that occurs between the four of them and let it take them where it may.
That sense of spontaneity is successfully captured on The Fool, wherein Warpaint allow the nine songs here to grow into themselves in real time. Sometimes it sounds like they’re jamming them out, other times that they’re following a meticulous blueprint, but they always come across as though they’re following their collective muse like it was magnetic north. Songs often start from a single musical element and bloom and/or sprawl through time signature shifts and clouds of reverb and delay into their sometimes amorphous but always fascinating and emotive final forms. They clearly bear the influence of ’80s 4AD dream-pop and that era’s post-punk/goth forebears, but those are evident as reflections, echoes and shadows of Warpaint’s own, distinctive creations.
The Fool is more opaque and requires more work to absorb than I’d have expected, and the relative pop conciseness of their debut EP Exquisite Corpse is missed a little. One suspects that every outtake ended up in a significantly different place than the version of the song that was selected for the album, and while it’s hard to not want to hear some of those to compare and contrast, that way lies madness. What matters is that The Fool succeeds as more than just a solid album; it also confirms Warpaint as a unique and exciting new act with an immensely deep well of ideas to draw on, hopefully for many albums to come. Maybe the debut of the year not for what it is, but what it augurs.
Check out a behind-the scenes video of their cover shoot for NME, this video interview at Dirty Laundry and a video session at Yours Truly.
MP3: Warpaint – “Undertow”
Video: Warpaint – “Undertow”
MySpace: Warpaint
The Chicago Tribune talks to Sharon Van Etten about her transition from solo artist to bandleader. See her as the latter on Friday night at Lee’s Palace opening up for Junip. hour.ca also has a short chat.
eye talks to Morning Bender Chris Chu in advance of their show at the Mod Club on November 5.
Stereogum checks in with The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart on the status of their second album Belong, currently being recorded and due for a March 2011 release.
The Line Of Best Fit interviews The Thermals.
Beatroute talks to Dean Wareham about his decision to revisit Galaxie 500 on his current tour.
Dan Snaith of Caribou talks with Soundproof.
Kathryn Calder has released a second video from her solo debut Are You My Mother?.
Video: Kathryn Calder – “Arrow”
Dan Mangan chats with Beatroute.
Also with a new video are The Wilderness Of Manitoba, taken from their debut When You Left The Fire. They’re at the Horseshoe on November 25.
Video: The Wilderness Of Manitoba – “November”
Murray Lightburn of The Dears talks to aux.tv about their new record Degeneration Street, out on February 15.
Beatroute’s latest issue has a feature piece on Diamond Rings.
Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010
Today’s new album news brought to you by the year 2011 and the letter D
Gary Isaacs2010 has been kind of a watershed year for great records. I did some math back in April about how many acts who’ve appeared on past year-end lists were in contention for this coming one, and the result was pretty impressive, and that doesn’t account for new discoveries in the past 10 months. To wit, 2011 will have a hell of an act to follow. But, as a flurry of announcements and press releases yesterday will testify, it’s not without a few releases worth getting excited about.
Starting with Portland folk-rock faves The Decemberists, who invite no shortage of “January-ist” jokes by slating the release of their follow-up to 2009’s rock opera The Hazards Of Love for January 11 18. Presumably less conceptual than its predecessor (it couldn’t possibly get more), it will wear Colin Meloy’s Morrissey adoration on its sleeve/spine, being entitled The King Is Dead. Direct Currents has details and the track listing. Update: The first MP3 is available to download, via email widget, on their website now. Update 2: Release date confirmed as January 18 by Pitchfork.
Ritual, the second album from UK’s White Lies has gotten a confirmed North American release date of January 18.
MP3: White Lies – “Death” (Crystal Castles remix)
Denver’s DeVotchKa have announced details of their first album since 2008’s A Mad & Faithful Telling. The record will be entitled 100 Lovers and be out February 15. Telling didn’t elicit as much swooning as its 2004 predecessor How It Ends, but when no one else out there operates in the same terrain where gypsy, mariachi, folk and rock stylings overlap, any new release is cause to celebrate. Hopefully they’ll include Toronto in any tour routing, as they haven’t played a headlining show here since June 2006 – they were here this past Spring, but only as support for the more popular but less interesting Gogol Bordello.
MP3: DeVotchKa – “Along The Way”
Adele has revealed her second album will be entitled 21, ensuring that it’s at least two better than her debut 19, and be released on February 22 of next year. She talks to Spin about the new record.
Drive-By Truckers had originally intended to release two albums this year – the first being The Big To-Do back in March – but sanity has prevailed and they’ll settle for releasing two albums in the span of less than a year. Go Go Boots will come out on February 15 and, leading up to its release, the band will be previewing the new songs via live performance video clips.
Video: Drive-By Truckers – “Used To Be A Cop”
Death Cab For Cutie haven’t gotten so far along with album number seven to be able to give it a title or release date, but as Ben Gibbard tells Spin that it’ll be out in the Spring and that he really likes it.
Fact reports that Patrick Wolf will be giving vinyl-philes an early taste of his next record, making the 7″ of his new single available on December 6 but hanging onto the CD and download editions until March, a much more sensible timeframe considering the album is out in May. Personally, I’m more interested in hearing the b-side to that 7″ – a cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Anthem”. I have no idea what that might sound like but I really want to find out.
The Toronto date of the just-announced Winter tour teaming up Tokyo Police Club with Two Door Cinema Club clearly should have been booked into the Mod Club, but instead it will be happening on January 15 at the Kool Haus, tickets $20. They should at least borrow/duplicate Guided By Voices’ “The Club Is Open” sign.
MP3: Two Door Cinema Club – “Something Good Can Work”
Video: Tokyo Police Club – “Bambi”
If you’ve no interest in catching them open up for U2 at the ACC next Summer (July 12) and either missed or didn’t get enough at their Kool Haus show in August, Interpol are going to be at the Sound Academy on February 15, tickets $30 in advance. Creative Loafing interviews drummer Sam Fogarino.
MP3: Interpol – “Lights”
The Los Angeles Times talks to Kevin Barnes of Of Montreal.
Local Natives have put out another video from Gorilla Manor.
Video: Local Natives – “Who Knows Who Cares”
The Vine talks to Laura Ballance of Superchunk, who celebrated Hallowe’en this weekend by giving away a Misfits cover. They play the Sound Academy on December 9 opening up for Broken Social Scene.
MP3: Superchunk – “Horror Business”
Pitchfork gets all POV in session with Titus Andronicus.
JAM talks to Elvis Costello, whose new record National Ransom is out today.
Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai tells NME where they came up with the title of their new record. Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will is out on February 15 of next year.
Mother Jones chats with Basia Bulat.
Spinner talks to Daniel Lanois about he and Neil Young’s pet names for one another whilst making Le Noise, and I’m embarrassed to say I did not make the connection between the album title and Lanois’ surname until, well, right now.
Monday, November 1st, 2010
Ohbijou, Rock Plaza Central and $100 rally to raise funds for Tranzac Club
Jess BaumungToronto’s Tranzac may have been founded as the gathering place for the Toronto Australia New Zealand Club, but for the city’s musical community its role extends far beyond a place to discuss the mysteries of the Coriolis effect. It’s also one of the city’s all-ages venues and as such, has been both an incubator for many of Toronto’s up-and-coming acts and a low-key stop for bands touring through town.
I personally have fond memories of seeing Beach House’s first show here in November 2006 with about a dozen people in the building’s front room, an intimate performance from then-reigning Polaris winner Final Fantasy in February 2007, a matinee throw-down to maybe 30 people by Matt & Kim later that May, the release show for Evening Hymns’ debut Spirit Guides just last Fall – a lot of great stuff has gone down in that room
And, like many/most/all things run for love over profit, it needs money. The hows and whys of its finances go well beyond its role as a music venue, but needless to say if the city were to lose the venue, it’d be poorer for it. So with an eye towards doing what they can, a number of bands are returning to their roots over the next couple months by holding some fundraiser shows. On November 19, Rock Plaza Central will come out of their vague hiatus for a show of their own songs and collaborations with other city musicians – tickets $12 in advance, $15 at the door. The following evening, November 20, Ohbijou will hopefully offer a preview of their forthcoming third record in what is, I believe, their only hometown show of the year. Support comes from Lisa Bozikovic and tickets are $15 in advance, $17 at the door. And a couple weeks later, $100 will get up close and personal in the venue’s tiny Southern Cross Lounge, supported by Doug Paisley – tickets $12 in advance, $15 at the door.
So whatever incentive works for you, be it the opportunity to see some acts who’ve generally graduated to playing bigger rooms in more intimate environs or just helping out a local cultural hub while getting some entertainment out of the deal, hit up one/some/all of these shows if you can. It’s the right thing to do and the easy way to do it.
MP3: Ohbijou – “Black Ice”
MP3: Rock Plaza Central – “Handsome Men”
Vancouver’s Yukon Blonde will be making the most of their stop in Toronto on their Fall tour, adding an in-store performance at Sonic Boom at 3:30 on November 6 before their show across the street at Lee’s Palace later that night with The Wooden Sky. Admission to the in-store is free with a donation of canned good.
MP3: Yukon Blonde – “Wind Blows”
NYC Taper is sharing a recording of Diamond Rings’ short set at CMJ in New York last week. He’s the subject of feature pieces in The Toronto Sun, Vancouver Sun, Montreal Mirror and Queens Journal.
Uptown and The Gateway get into the head of Owen Pallett.
Liz Powell tells Spin how Land Of Talk got their name.
Look At What The Light Did Now, the documentary film on Feist, is still without a Toronto screening date and it appears that fans might get to watch the film in the comfort of their own homes before they see it in a theatre – Exclaim reports that the DVD edition of the film will be released on December 7 and come with a 13-track bonus CD. Just in time for Christmas – fancy that.
Daytrotter has posted up a session with Tokyo Police Club.
aux.tv asks Hallowe’en-related things of Fucked Up’s Damien Abraham.
NOW devoted this week’s cover story to visiting Vancouverites Black Mountain.
The Take and Sticky talk to Dan Mangan while eye tries to figure out why he’s so darned popular.
This weekend, The Toronto Star ran a terrific feature about the realities of being a touring musician in Canada – the main feature is worth a read, as are the side-pieces including a Q&A with Dallas Good of The Sadies, the collection of touring stories, collection of road-related health risks and piece on the problems with not being on the road.
Sunday, October 31st, 2010
The Shins cover The Magnetic Fields
Frank YangTo all outward appearances, Stephin Merritt is a prickly (to put it mildly) curmudgeon whilst James Mercer is unassuming, shy and friendly. And yet while Merritt has somehow managed to maintain the same circle of Magnetic Fields bandmates and collaborators for the better part of two decades and ten albums (plus countless side projects), Mercer’s Shins have had not small amount of musician turnover over just three albums in nine years. Album number four, which should see the light of day in 2011, will retain only bassist Dave Hernandez from past lineups – or so Hernandez hopes.
But managerial styles aside, both Merritt and Mercer have a gift for pop music and a fixture on The Shins’ 2007 tour set list was early Magnetic Fields single “Strange Powers”, which dated back to 1994’s Holiday. Its synthetic nature translates nicely to the traditional guitar-bass-drums format and though Mercer’s voice lives several octaves away from Merritt’s, it doesn’t really sound a lot different from the original. I’m sure more than a few performances were captured on tape/HD, but the two I’ve got are an acoustic studio performance and a live show recording. The former sounds better, the latter has drums.
The Magnetic Fields released Realism earlier this year and Strange Powers, the documentary film on Merritt and his works, makes its Canadian premiere opens a run at TIFF Lightbox in Toronto this Thursday. James Mercer’s 2010 was devoted to Broken Bells, his project with Danger Mouse.
MP3: The Shins – “Strange Powers”
MP3: The Shins – “Strange Powers” (live)
Video: The Magnetic Fields – “Strange Powers”
Saturday, October 30th, 2010
Matt JacobyWho: Dawes
What: Los Angeles quartet whose jangly, melodic pop-rock comes with distinctly rustic overtones. Assuming that they hail from the Laurel Canyon is not unjustified, and not just because they do.
Why: Their debut album North Hills was released in August of last year and a second album is already in the can, targeted for a Spring 2011 release. So in the meantime, they may as well tour. Which is what they’re doing.
When: Monday, November 8, 2010
Where: The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto
Who else: Also on the bill are Peter Wolf Crier and Vetiver
How: Tickets are $13.50 in advance, but courtesy of Collective Concerts, I’ve got two pairs of passes to the show to give away. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see Dawes” in the subject line and your full name in the body. The contest will close at midnight, November 4.
What else: Charleston City Paper has an interview
MP3: Dawes – “Love Is All I Am”
MP3: Dawes – “When My Time Comes”
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