Sunday, December 6th, 2009
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds cover Pulp
PulpwikiThe points at which Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Pulp intersect aren’t plentiful. The former’s blackly humourous murder balladry is some distance from the latter’s droll yet incisive social commentary, but they both have tall, gangly and unconventionally charismatic frontmen, a preternatural ability to tell a vivid tale in song, and a general undeniable awesomeness. And on Pulp’s 2001 “Bad Cover Version” single, they shared a song.
In keeping with the theme of the song, which also yielded one of my favourite videos ever, linked below and with a spotters guide here, Pulp commissioned Nick Cave and crew to do not one but two covers of their massive hit, “Disco 2000”. The first, which appeared as the proper b-side and is featured this week, had Cave doing a slower, croony, piano bar-ish version – a far cry from the celebratory tone of the original, but far from a “bad cover version”. The second version was acknowledged to exist but remained unreleased for years until the deluxe reissues of His’N’Hers, Different Class and This Is Hardcore.
Then it appeared on the bonus disc of Different Class, despite not being period-correct since it was a b-side from the band’s 2001 swan song We Love Life. But We Love Life wasn’t getting the deluxe reissue treatment and the second cover, dubbed the “Nick Cave Pub Rock Version” was too good/fun to leave in the vaults. The version note pretty much tells the tale, as Cave and the Seeds bash their way through the tune in finest, loudest, bar rock fashion and considering that style is natural to neither Pulp nor Cave, the finished result can’t help but be fantastic.
Though released in the UK and other places back in 2006, the deluxe editions of Pulp’s holy trinity of albums remained unavailable domestically in the United States until now – all three are being released this coming Tuesday. And I will testify that the extra goods on all three editions make them worth owning, absolutely. Pulp are not planning on reforming for Glastonbury 2010 or any other occasion. Jarvis Cocker continues on with his solo career, appeared (in voice) in Fantastic Mr Fox (which I still have to see) and is interviewed by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Brisbane Times. Nick Cave released his second novel this Fall in The Death Of Bunny Munro and will release a new Grinderman record in the new year.
MP3: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – “Disco 2000”
Video: Pulp – “Disco 2000”
Video: Pulp – “Bad Cover Version”
Saturday, December 5th, 2009
Audio BloodIf you’ve been making your way around the Toronto music blogosphere over the last little while, you’ll likely have seen a certain giveaway popping up over and over again, promoting a certain show going down at the Horseshoe next Saturday night. Well here it is again.
The occasion is dubbed “Jingle Bell Rock” and is being presented by the folks at Audio Blood with support from aux.tv and Exclaim and will feature performances from Oh No Forest Fires, Make Your Exit, The Clothes Make The Man and The Balconies. It will rock, that is not up for debate. Interpret the jingle bells end of things as you see fit.
The prize pack in question consists of a pair of passes to the show, a CD from all the bands performing, a screen-printed poster and an Exclaim! t-shirt – if you want it (or have already entered all the other contests and want to hedge your odds even more) then email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to Jingle Bell Rock” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest closes at midnight, December 9.
MP3: Oh No Forest Fires – “Robin The Boy Wonders”
MP3: Make Your Exit – “Through The Winter”
MP3: Clothes Make The Man – “Telescopes”
MP3: The Balconies – “Serious Bedtime”
Friday, December 4th, 2009
Friendly Fires and The XX at The Phoenix in Toronto
Frank YangWhen I caught Friendly Fires at Lee’s Palace back at the end of March, they were here as support for White Lies and their high-energy disco party easily stole the show from the angst-ridden headliners. And while their profile has since grown to the point that they were able to play their fourth local show in just over a year on Wednesday night at the Phoenix, buzz-wise the shoe was on the other foot – the gig was sold out, but that was largely because the show also marked the Toronto debut of the astonishingly-hyped (including in these parts, yes) London outfit, The xx.
The band’s narrative had taken a turn over the past month, gone from focusing on their slinky and skeletal blend of R&B and indie rock to the departure of guitarist Baria Qureshi and their subsequent reconfiguration as a trio, not that any of the off-stage drama had dampened anyone’s enthusiasm for the performance. Very few were playing the “show up late, nuts to the opener” game this evening and when The xx strode onstage, you’d be forgiven if you thought, from the response that they were the main attraction. Coming in, I’d heard that the band were both extremely dull and amazing live – and I can see how both points of view could be reached. To the former, they don’t really do much. Jamie Smith perches behind a DJ booth emblazoned with glowing band logos working the sampler and drum machine while Romy Croft and Oliver Sim stand on either side with guitar and bass, respectively, and do their sleepy, seductive thing. The thing is, what should they be doing? Their music isn’t the sort that requires a lot of visual accompaniment, and if either of them were to act out, it would be completely at odds with their aesthetic. No, gentle swaying and the occasional sideways glance was pretty much what was demanded of them and their performance matches the atmosphere of the music perfectly.
Musically, they struck a perfect balance between reproducing the spaces and textures of XX and stretching out a bit – when you’re working with structures as minimalist as they, moving something around a little makes a big difference. Obviously I’ve no point of comparison, but it was hard to imagine where Qureshi’s contributions would have gone – Croft seemed able to cover all the necessary guitar parts with no problem, and intertwined seamlessly with Sim’s basslines and Smith’s real-time drum machining (is there a word for that?). Playing the triggers live rather than relying on loops or samples kept things from feeling overly mechanical, for as much as technology underpins their sound, the net result is wholly organic. Their set ran just over half an hour – short and efficient, but not unreasonable considering the amount of material they had to draw on – but most importantly, it established that they could weave the same magic live as they do on record. Definitely looking forward to their April 20 return engagement at the Kool Haus in support of Hot Chip.
I’d heard that at other stops on the tour, much of the crowd cleared out after the opener and left no doubt who they were there to see. I was pleased to see that that wasn’t the case here, because really – even if you wanted to see The xx, you paid for the ticket, were already here and unless you were truly committed to the art of the mope, you couldn’t not enjoy Friendly Fires live. As they did in March, they delivered a set that was absurdly tight, pure discofied fun though this time they brought along a little extra in the form of a horn section to go with their manic percussion, synth and guitar maelstrom. In addition to extra players, another benefit of the larger tour was the real estate – frontman Ed Macfarlane took full advantage of the larger Phoenix stage in busting out his uniquely undulating dance moves, all shake and shimmy and equally awesome and ridiculous to behold.
Like the openers, their set was brief by conventional rock show standards – 50 minutes including encore – but in that span they put more sweat and kinetic energy they put into their performance than most bands do in twice the time. And anyways, they played the entirety of their Mercury-nominated self-titled debut plus latest single “Kiss Of Life” – pretty much their whole repertoire. I’d challenge anyone complaining about the length of the show to tell me what else they’d have expected to hear, but really, I don’t think I’d have been able to find anyone complaining. Come for The xx, stay for the Friendly Fires, leave completely satisfied.
Panic Manual, Exclaim and eye were both in attendance and have reviews. hour.ca has an interview with Friendly Fires while AUX.TV has a video interview, eye, Metro, Time Out and Rolling Stone print features and MPR a streamable session.
Photos: Friendly Fires, The XX @ The Phoenix – December 2, 2009
MP3: Friendly Fires – “Jump In The Pool”
MP3: Friendly Fires – “Paris” (Aeroplane Remix)
MP3: The xx – “Basic Space”
Video: Friendly Fires – “Kiss Of Life”
Video: Friendly Fires – “Skeleton Boy”
Video: Friendly Fires – “Paris”
Video: Friendly Fires – “Jump In The Pool”
Video: Friendly Fires – “On Board”
Video: The xx – “Basic Space”
Video: The xx – “Crystalised”
MySpace: Friendly Fires
MySpace: The xx
The Village Voice talks to The Big Pink’s Robbie Furze.
AUX.TV has a video interview with Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine, The Irish Independent a profile.
Lots of new videos coming out of the UK – Richard Hawley has one from the second single off of Truelove’s Gutter
Video: Richard Hawley – “Open Up Your Door”
The Twilight Sad have released a new clip from Forget The Night Ahead.
Video: The Twilight Sad – “Seven Days Of Letters”
Have a first look and listen at Lightspeed Champion’s next album Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You, out February 16.
Video: Lightspeed Champion – “Marlene”
Good news – Fanfarlo has released a new video from Reservoir. Bad news – both Canadian dates have disappeared from their tour itinerary. Actually, make that “terrible news”. The only upside is that I can now go see Blue Roses at the Drake that night, but it’s small comfort. Boo. The Houston Chronicle interviews bassist Justin Finch.
Video: Fanfarlo – “Harold T. Wilkins”
Liam Gallagher tells This Is London that he may well continue on with Noel as Oasis. An album’s worth of Liam compositions. That can’t possibly go wrong.
The Age talks to Patrick Wolf.
They Shoot Music has a video session with Camera Obscura. The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, Jackson Free Press and St. Louis Today have interviews with various band members.
Despite having their Fall US tour scuppered by the IRS, Echo & The Bunnymen’s Ian McCulloch tells Spinner that they intend to return to this continent in the Spring and following the success of the Ocean Rain shows, perhaps play both Crocodiles and Heaven Up Here in their entirety. If you’re a fan of Porcupine, however, you are SOL. Sorry.
Adam Franklin & The Bolts Of Melody have scheduled a North American tour, including a January 31 date at the Drake Underground, that’ll probably cover their 2009 release Spent Bullets and their just-completed new record I Could Sleep For A Thousand Years, out sometime in 2010.
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
Shearwater chart course to The Golden Archipelago
ShearwaterIf there was a reason I finally got off my ass this past month and got my turntable fixed up with a shiny new cartridge, it’s this. Shearwater’s forthcoming The Golden Archipelago. The Austin band’s latest album, which is due out on February 23, has enormously high standards to live up to thanks to its two predecessors Palo Santo and Rook, but based on the just-released first MP3 from the album, the third part of this triumvirate will more than measure up if not eclipse the others. “Castaways” is nothing short of majestic, capturing the grand scope of Shearwater’s vision without giving up the the structure and immediacy of the pop song. It is amazing.
And it will look as grand as it sounds. Firm believers of the art of the album, both as an artistic statement and a physical package, Shearwater will be releasing The Golden Archipelago in distinct vinyl and CD formats that both appear to be essential to own. The CD will come with a 50-page perfect-bound book containing, as Matablog puts it, “a set of extracts from a dossier of records, photos, regulations and images collected by Shearwater’s Jonathan Meiburg” – probably not unlike that which you see in the video trailer released a little while back. As for the vinyl edition, the LP has two extra tracks making for a different running order and a coupon for digital downloads of the album and a PDF of the dossier, though those who pre-order will also receive a physical copy of the book.
As for the “why” of the differing editions, Meiburg chimed in with an explanation on the Shearwater message board in October. He described the CD as having “one running order, which we selected to be as concise as possible, so that it’s easiest to take in at one sitting” and the LP as “the version of the album I prefer, and the song that’s been placed back in the sequence was one of my favorites (and the one our co-producer, John Congleton, liked best of all). These songs make the LP about 20% longer than the CD”. So there you have it, the digital and analog offer two different experiences of the record though, obviously, if you have to choose one and are equipped to do so, the vinyl would be the way to go. Hence my getting the ol’ Rega serviced. February 23. I am ready.
MP3: Shearwater – “Castaways”
Pitchfork talks to Will Schaff, whose wonderful and often creepy artwork adorns the albums of Okkervil River. Buy one of his shirts, scare the neighbourhood children.
Blurt and New York talk to John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats.
There’s a new video out from The Dodos.
Video: The Dodos – “Long Form”
Spin declares Thao with The Get Down Stay Down to be a “hot new band”.
Interview and Stereogum interview Sufjan Stevens.
The Submarines have a new video from Honeysuckle Weeks.
Video: The Submarines – “Submarine Symphonika”
Spiral Stairs tells The Age that Pavement’s “no new material” edict for their 2010 reunion tour is doomed to fail.
Matt Ward and Zooey Deschanel tell Paste that She & Him Volume Two will be coming in Spring 2010. Deschanel also talks to The Wall Street Journal about her favourite music. I declare that this year, I will finally watch Elf. I’ve never seen it and it’s not the sort of film you can trot out in May. This year.
Holly Miranda records a Black Cab Session in the streets of New York.
Ca Va Cool interviews The Antlers.
Telekinesis stops in for a session with Daytrotter.
The Thermals certainly believe in long deadlines – Paste reports the band has gotten to work on album number five and are looking at a September 2010 release.
Craig Finn discusses the differences between Lifter Puller and The Hold Steady with Spinner.
You simply don’t get more French than Phoenix, Takeaway Shows and the Eiffel Tower. All you need is a fellow in a beret, striped shirt carrying a bague They’re at the decidedly un-Parisian Sound Academy this Saturday night, there’s an interview at The Detroit News and Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix was just nominated for a “best alternative album” Grammy.
Billboard reports that the Arcade Fire’s third album is on track for a May 2010 release and that they’ll likely be doing (headlining) the Summer festival circuit.
The Varsity interviews Think About Life.
Malajube discuss their touring schedule and plans to release an EP entitled Control with Chart.
Quick Before It Melts and The Brock Press interview Two Hours Traffic.
Steeltown label Sonic Unyon is going for a ghosts-of-Christmas-past/ghosts-of-Christmas-present theme for their annual holiday fete, drafting SIANspheric and Tristan Psionic out of retirement/hiatus/whatever to perform alongside Spirits and Quest For Fire at This Ain’t Hollywood in Hamilton on December 19. Admission $10, $5 with a donation of a non-perishable food item or a toy donation.
Some previews of the new Final Fantasy album Heartland are available via live videos on PitchforkTV’s “Tunnel Vision” series and a free download of “Lewis Takes Action” from Domino Records.
Fans of $100 may be interested to know they’ll be performing as a duet this Saturday night at the Royal Canadian Legion Hall (Bathurst and Niagara) as part of a special fundraising event – details here and here.
Canadian Interviews talk to Jenn Grant.
Spinner enumerates the best Canadian songs of the decade.
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
Shout Out Louds get back to Work
MergeLast week, I was complaining that with the US holiday season, there wasn’t nearly enough blog fodder trickling out of the interwebs. This week, it’s like a deluge.
We begin wading through it all in Scandinavia, particularly Stockholm, Sweden, home of the Shout Out Louds. The quintet turned in one of the indie-pop highlights of 2007 with Our Ill Wills and are set to follow it up with the release of Work. For this outing, they’ve opted to not work with Bjorn Yttling, who manned the boards for Our Ill Wills and have instead enlisted producer Phil Ek, best known for his work with The Shins and Built To Spill, amongst many others. And if the band’s idea of adding an American accent to things means going for a drier, less shiny sonic approach without giving up any of the hooks, then judging from the just-released first MP3 and video they’ve succeeded.
Work is out on February 23 of next year and they promise to spend most of the year touring to support. They posted up a short video clip of the recording sessions back in September.
MP3: Shout Out Louds – “Walls”
Video: Shout Out Louds – “Walls”
PopMatters interviews Anna Ternheim, who will be supporting El Perro Del Mar on her Winter 2010 tour including the February 21 date at the Mod Club. After her too-short set opening for Loney Dear at the Horseshoe in October, I had hoped she’d be back soon for a longer performance – wish granted.
MP3: Anna Ternheim – “What Have I Done”
Serena Maneesh are offering a taste of their new record, still untitled and due out in March 2010, by way of a Norwegian television session.
Clash gets a guided tour of Reykjavik from Mum.
DCist interviews Jonas Bjerre of Mew, who will be at the Mod Club in Toronto on December 6.
Chart talks to The Raveonettes.
The National Post profiles Jonas Bonnetta of Evening Hymns, who are playing an in-store at 7PM at Soundscapes tonight and a full show at the Tranzac on Friday night.
Resonancity interviews Matt Cully of Bruce Peninsula.
One of the great mythical unicorn-griffin-dragon hybrids of the indie rock world, the solo debut from Beulah frontman Miles Kurosky, should become a reality on March 9 under the title of The Desert Of Shallow Effects… unless it doesn’t. Details at AntiMusic.
There’s still no North American release date set for Sigh No More, the debut album from Mumford & Sons, but considering they’re cobbling together a North American tour for February, including a February 15 date at the El Mocambo (tickets $12), mid-February seems like a reasonable guess.
Video: Mumford & Sons – “Winter Winds”
Video: Mumford & Sons – “Little Lion Man”
Johnny Flynn, with whom Mumford & Sons made their Toronto debut last October, has put out a new EP entitled Sweet William, from which you can download a track, courtesy of Drowned In Sound.
MP3: Johnny Flynn – “Drum”
The third member of that bill, Laura Marling, is still targeting a Winter 2010 release for her sophomore effort and will release the first single from album number two in “Goodbye England (Covered In Snow)” as a Christmas single on December 14.
Magnet and Filter Q&A Ray Davies.
Daytrotter has offered up a session with The Swell Season.
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