Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
Review of Monsters Of Folk’s self-titled debut and giveaway
last.fmUsually when you assemble a “supergroup”, you assemble top-notch artists for each conventional band position – kick-ass drummer from group A, shredmaster guitarist from group B, supreme bass-slapper from group C and a lead singer (assuming they’re not already one of A, B or C) whose usual bandmates are probably more than happy to get a break from and voila – a can’t-miss recipe that usually misses as often as it hits, if not more. Rarely, however, do you find multiple frontmen working together, with even the notion of managing egos and personalities enough to scare any right-thinking people away. The one notable exception being The Traveling Wilburys and the names involved there were so huge that it’s hard to imagine any of them really feeling insecure. Okay, maybe Jeff Lynne got tired of always being the last one to be named, but whatever.
While the principals of Monsters Of Folk – My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, M Ward and She & Him’s Matt Ward, Bright Eyes and The Mystic Valley Band’s Conor Oberst and Bright Eyes sideman and producer extraordinaire Mike Mogis – aren’t household names on the scale of the Wilburys, they are essentially superstars in the circles they run in. And while the first three’s getting together to tour as solo artists in 2004 made perfect sense, heading into the studio to craft a record of original material was less of a sure thing. After all – getting onstage to harmonize or tackle a cover is one thing, creating all new material together is quite another.
So the fact that the Monsters Of Folk self-titled debut, five years or so in the making, is pretty good on a universal scale can probably be interpreted as being terrific once the supergroup curve is applied. It achieves this largely by not trying to be much more than exactly what it advertises – James, Ward and Oberst contributing songs while Mogis ensures that while each composer’s tunes sound very much like they could have appeared on one of their own records, they still hang together seamlessly. James continues with the soulful excursions that marked the last couple of MMJ records, Ward’s pieces are rollicking AM radio revivals and Oberst still plays the moody, angsty card though he thankfully keeps his love-or-hate vibrato largely in check and doesn’t bring down the prevailing sense of fun that runs through the record as everyone romps in their common ground of classic rock, country, and yes – folk. No one would accuse them of saving A-grade material from their day jobs for this project, but nothing’s a throwaway, either. It’s a solid collection of songs from some top talent – nothing more, nothing less.
And it gives them an excuse to tour, as they currently are, and they’ll be in Toronto on Monday night, November 2, for a show at Massey Hall. Tickets are $36.50 to $49.50 with $1 from each going to Food Share, but courtesy of Against The Grain, I’ve got two pairs of tickets to the show to give away. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to be a Monster Of Folk for Hallowe’en” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest closes at midnight, October 31. Update: Special four-packs of tickets for the show are now available – buy four and they’re $25.50 each (plus $1 charity fee).
The Vancouver Sun, The Chicago Tribune and Victoria Advocate have interviews with the Monsters Of Folk.
MP3: Monsters Of Folk – “Say Please”
Video: Monsters Of Folk – “The Right Place”
MySpace: Monsters Of Folk
Express Night Out and The Vermont Cynic chat with Annie Clark of St. Vincent.
Austinist talks to Jonathan Meiburg of Shearwater about their forthcoming album The Golden Archipelago, tentatively set for a February 9 release.
Rolling Stone declares The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart to be a “breaking band”. Way to stay ahead of the curve, Rolling Stone.
The Aquarian interviews Charlie Fink, frontman for Noah & The Whale. A reminder that their double-header performance in Toronto this Saturday comes with a 12-hour gap – the in-store at Criminal Records starts at noon while their headlining set at the Horseshoe begins at midnight.
The xx’s remix/cover of Florence & The Machine’s cover of Candi Staton has been given an official video, which is itself a remix of sorts of the official video of Florence’s version. Good luck sorting out the royalties on that. Florence is at the Mod Club on November 2, The XX are at the Phoenix on December 2 – if they don’t burn out first.
Video: Florence & The Machine – “You’ve Got The Love” (The xx remix)
Video: Florence & The Machine – “You’ve Got The Love”
Ian McCulloch of Echo & The Bunnymen talks to Exclaim.
Radio Free Canuckistan has a fascinating conversation with to Stuart Berman about his Broken Social biography
This Book Is Broken, and the past ten years in Canadian independent music in general. Berman is being interviewed about the book in front of a live audience this Friday night at Harbourfront Centre as part of the International Festival of Authors – congratulations go to Janet for winning the passes to the event.
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
An introduction to The Wilderness Of Manitoba
MySpaceOpening up with the sound of bird noises might be a bit of an over-sell, but forgiveness comes easily when the multi-layered harmonies of Toronto’s The Wilderness Of Manitoba arrive and usher in their debut EP, Hymns Of Love And Spirits. Sharing members with Provincial Parks and Key Witness, The Wilderness of Manitoba come with a very clear and direct mandate – to craft gentle, intricate folk songs of the sort that no one seems to make anymore. Of course, that’s a mandate that many have taken on in recent years and so, ironically, there’s a good number of artists presently making those sorts of songs.
The Wilderness Of Manitoba still manage to stand tall amongst their peers, however, and stand out. Obviously drawing inspiration from both the English and American folk revivals of the 1960s, they place an emphasis on choral vocals that give the mini-album a certain dreamy quality that splits the difference between spiritual and ghostly. The musical arrangements are similarly kept ethereal, all gentle acoustic guitar, spare percussion with an occasional guest appearance from a banjo, cello or keys and carried aloft on a plush cloud of reverb. It’s a record that drifts by prettily, seemingly untethered from earthly concerns yet tangible enough to still carry a very real emotional heft. It haunts, like a fond but faded memory.
The Wilderness Of Manitoba are playing The Garrison tomorrow night with Olenka & The Autumn Lovers and Slow Down Molasses. BlogTO interviewed the band at the end of the Summer while The Line Of Best Fit had a more recent conversation.
MP3: The Wilderness Of Manitoba – “Bluebirds”
Timber Timbre has made his self-titled debut available as a free download through the end of Saturday, October 31. He plays a free show at the North York Central Library on November 7. It’s all about the free.
MP3: Timber Timbre – “Demon Host”
Video: Timber Timbre – “Demon Host”
Video: Timber Timbre – “We’ll Find Out”
ZIP: Timber Timbre / Timber Timbre
Examiner.com talks to Liz Powell of Land Of Talk.
Blurt reports that Midlake will finally release their new record The Courage of Others on February 2.
Fazer has got an interview with Logan Kroeber of The Dodos.
Tiny Mix Tapes talks to Thao. Aaah, that’s some good alliteration right there. Thao plays the El Mocambo on November 1.
The Quietus asks Alison Mosshart what’s up with each of her bands, The Kills and The Dead Weather – new records from both in 2010. There you go.
PitchforkTV has added a video interview segment with Yo La Tengo to go with their Don’t Look Down session performances. The Skinny, San Diego News Network, The San Francisco Examiner and Vail Daily also have interviews.
Magnet picks their five most overrated and underrated Galaxie 500 songs. Is it really possible for a band that’s chronically underrated to have overrated songs?
Sweden’s Shout Out Louds have completed their new album and named it Work – look for it February 23 of next year.
Mid to late December is usually a real dead zone for tours coming through town, so what are the odds that two shows I’d want to see would arrive on the same night? Apparently pretty good. There’s no way I’m not going to be seeing Fanfarlo at the El Mocambo that night, but am sad that it means missing seeing Blue Roses – aka English singer-songwriter Laura Groves who released a lovely self-titled debut back in the Spring – at the Drake Underground, opening up for Marcus Foster, whom I don’t know at all. There’s no reason I can think of not to be at Fanfarlo, but if you can come up with one it better be because you’re at this show instead.
MP3: Blue Roses – “Doubtful Comforts”
MP3: Blue Roses – “I Am Leaving”
It’s not new album news, per se, but NME’s reporting that Lightspeed Champion will have a new single out entitled “Marlene” on January 25 is certainly a good omen that record number two is coming.
Exclaim talks to The xx. They’re at the Phoenix on December 2.
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
Review of Bishop Allen’s Grr… and giveaway
Sebastian MlynarskiLet it never be said I’m beholden to the traditional press cycle when it comes to reviews. At least not when it comes to Brooklyn’s Bishop Allen. I only got around to writing up their second album, The Broken String last December, almost a year and a half after it was released, and here I am now just getting to their latest Grr… though in this case, the delay is a mere seven months. Almost eight. At least I got the review of their show here in January up within days.
With regards to the lag times, for The Broken String the defense was that, well, I didn’t really know the band but had hung onto the CD for just that long because I had a hunch I’d like it. Why I didn’t just spin the thing sooner and find out is an excellent question. I have a team of experts researching that right now. But for Grr…, it was simply a matter of waiting for the record to win me over the way its predecessor did. And waiting. And waiting. See, what I appreciated about The Broken String was the collegiate cleverness, tempered with open-hearted earnestness and mated with terrific singalong melodies.
And while you can still sing along with Grr…, the band seems to have regressed to a simpler state as far as songwriting goes. This doesn’t seem to be an accident, but a deliberate stylistic shift – the lyrical density and detailed storytelling has given way to more impressionistic wordplay and sometimes nonsensical rhymes. The production is much drier and leaner, often emphasizing just Justin Rice’s voice and Christian Rudder’s guitar, and even the album title and art is primary school basic and playful. And maybe that’s the point of this record, to step back from The Broken String, strip things down to and get back to basics for a spell. If so, job well done. Grr… is a study in simplicity, doing more with less and seeing just how far you can go powered just by melody. It was personally a bit frustrating to have a band I’d just gotten into shelve from those characteristics that drew me to them in the first place, but Grr… is still a pop treat by more objective standards.
The band is currently on tour and will be at the El Mocambo in Toronto on Friday night, October 30. Tickets are $15 in advance but courtesy of REMG, 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 go Grrr” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest closes at midnight, October 28.
MP3: Bishop Allen – “Dimmer”
MP3: Bishop Allen – “The Ancient Commonsense Of Things”
Video: Bishop Allen – “Shanghaied”
Video: Bishop Allen – “Dimmer”
MySpace: Bishop Allen
Pitchfork and Offbeat have interviews with Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips.
PopMatters and The AV Club chat with Thao Nguyen, namesake of Thao with The Get Down Stay Down. They’re at the El Mocambo this Sunday, November 1, and passes and CDs are still up for grabs.
Daytrotter has got a massive session with The Magnolia Electric Co available to download.
Stereogum points out that a the CBC’s QTV has been compiling a series of video guitar lessons from musical guests passing through their studios, including The National and Vampire Weekend. Did I just stop writing to dust of the guitar and learn to play, “Fake Empire”? Maybe I did. Maybe I did. Also discovered I lost my capo. No “Slow Show” for me.
Neither of these are officially confirmed, but February 9 may see a new record from Shearwater entitled The Golden Archipelago appear in stores. Jonathan Meiburg provided some details on the record this Summer to Michael Hoinski and chimed in on the band’s message boards to discuss some of the possible forms the album would be appearing in – namely different tracklistings and running orders for the CD and LP editions, with the LP coming out as a longer entity than the CD.
PitchforkTV coaxes Yo La Tengo onto a rooftop to play some songs. Or else.
The California Literary Review has an extensive feature on Nicole Atkins, currently on the road with her band The Black Sea road-testing material for album number two, set to be recorded this Winter and released next year.
NPR has a World Cafe session with New York’s Freelance Whales, who will be touring with Fanfarlo this Fall including their December 9 date at the El Mocambo so if you’re planning on being at that show – which you obviously should – make their acquaintance now. Stereogum also declared them a band to watch back in September.
Check out the third new video appearing on the Land Of Talk EP Fun & Laughter, out today. It’s stunning.
Video: Land Of Talk – “It’s Okay”
Basia Bulat will lead up to the January 26 release of her new record Heart Of My Own with her biggest and fanciest Toronto show yet, playing Trinity-St. Paul’s on January 16. Tickets are $20 in advance, on sale Thursday.
MP3: Basia Bulat – “Gold Rush”
The Line Of Best Fit has details on the next Los Campesinos record Romance Is Boring, due out January 26.
Interview has a short chat with The xx. They’re at the Phoenix on December 2.
Elbow’s Guy Garvey gives Drowned In Sound a track-by-track blow-by-blow of the deluxe edition reissue of their debut Asleep In The Back, due out on November 10.
As much as I want to put stock in this typically sensationalistic NME piece on a possible Pulp reunion for Glastonbury next year, I’m far more inclined to side with Idolator’s take on it. Jarvis is much too canny to let something as huge as that slip in that manner. And on second thought, I hope it’s false because I don’t want to have to really face the question of just how far (distance, expense, camping in mud) would I be willing to go to see Pulp live. I suspect the answer is not as far as would be necessary.
Monday, October 26th, 2009
White Rabbits, Suckers and The Balconies at The Horseshoe in Toronto
Frank YangWhite Rabbits have got it covered in the name-dropping department. Via TBD Records, they’re labelmates with a little British outfit called Radiohead and their critically-hailed second album It’s Frightening was produced by Britt Daniel, who sometimes moonlights in a band popular in some circles called Spoon. Yeah, the Brooklyn sextet have got plenty of ammo for cocktail parties, but it doesn’t necessarily tell you much about their actual music, does it.
Well the Britt Daniel part does, somewhat. It’s Frightening certainly borrows from Spoon’s dry, lean and punchy aesthetic and frontman Stephen Patterson’s voice does have a familiarly hoarse, wound-up quality, but dismiss them as Spoon-alikes at your peril. Not, like, “mortal danger” peril but “you’re missing out on a pretty great record” peril. Frightening kicks off with “Percussion Gun”, an intense bit of truth in advertising powered by the thundering tribal attack of the band’s dual drummers – one on a conventional kit, the other tasked with exponentially increasing the impact via big-ass toms. Add in Patterson’s aggressive piano (piano can indeed be aggressive) and howling vox and you’ve got not only one of the best opening tracks on any album this year, but maybe one of the best singles and videos. Translation, it’s impossible to not want to hear more of the record after that first salvo. And while It’s Frightening never quite reaches those heights again, it takes those same elements that make “Percussion Gun” such a blast and turns it into an undeniably solid record that crackles with energy that you just know would translate fantastically on stage. Toronto finally got a chance to find out if that was true on Saturday night when the band made their Hogtown debut at the Horseshoe with fellow Brooklyners Suckers in tow.
Rounding out the bill and providing the local flavour were recent The Balconies, recently transplanted from Ottawa and already becoming live fixtures and certainly one of the better/best new bands in the city. They again proved this to be true with their opening set, showcasing their terrific energy, razor-wire hooky tunes and the dueling sibling vocals of Jacqui and Steve Neville. Though there were a couple technical and performance flubs, I’d still put this performance as even better than when I saw them in August in terms of delivery and charisma, implying that as good as they already are they’re just going to get better. And that’s a scary thing. Find out for yourself at their next local gig on November 5, again at the Horseshoe, opening up for Dog Day and Immaculate Machine.
I’ve heard a lot of people talk about Suckers for months – mostly in a breathless, “oh my god, have you heard?” context – but had managed to not familiarize myself with them right up until the quartet took the stage. And after they left, I wasn’t grabbing people around me at random, breathlessly asking, “oh my god have you heard Suckers?” because, well, if they were right there then they would have, but I was pretty impressed. To say they have a lot going on is an understatement – all four are multi-instrumentalists, changing up instruments between guitars, electronics, percussion and brass, often in the same song, and taking turns with their distinct vocals or harmonizing in a way that probably shouldn’t work but sounds fantastic regardless. And that sentiment largely applied to their music at large – a collision of sounds and styles ranging from rock to soul to pyschedelia to gospel that by rights, should be a multi-car pileup but instead becomes a ballet. Not everything they did tickled my ear, but it did make a unique impression.
To answer the earlier posed question, yes indeed, the energy of It’s Frightening does indeed come to life on stage – and then some. Their set was pretty much a non-stop barrel ride through their two records, delivered with ferocious energy and no small amount of sweat. The band’s precision and rhythmic power was astonishing and watching them perform gave an even greater appreciation for the band’s musicianship. In particular, guitarist Gregory Roberts should get more credit for his vocal contributions (or maybe he already does, just not from me) and his ability to double Patterson’s leads or harmonize, depending on what’s needed – it may seem like just another cog in a complex musical machine, but it’s really a crucial element. And Patterson, even seated at an electric travel upright piano (not just a keyboard) as he was for most of the set, managed to inject a lot of physicality in his performance and while unable to match his bandmates’ stage wanderings, did get to partake in some instrument swapping in strapping a guitar on for a couple of tunes. As expected, “Percussion Gun” closed out the main set was the highlight of the night, putting the crowd into mosh mode for a few minutes. I wouldn’t even say that it was a conscious decision, but as most were already in a constant state of dancing/bobbing from the insistent rhythms, when hit with the big song, there was only one place to go – into the people around them. The band returned for a couple more songs and called it a night, closing out a tremendously solid night of rock. Add the band’s first show in Toronto to the list of things they can brag about t their next cocktail party.
hour.ca, Fazer, St. Louis Today and Seizure Chicken have interviews with White Rabbits.
Photos: White Rabbits, Suckers, The Balconies @ The Horsesehoe – October 24, 2009
MP3: White Rabbits – “Percussion Gun”
MP3: White Rabbits – “Kid On My Shoulders”
MP3: White Rabbits – “Percussion Gun” (live on MySpace Transmissions)
MP3: White Rabbits – “Rudie Fails” (live on MySpace Transmissions)
MP3: Suckers – “It Gets Your Body Movin'”
MP3: The Balconies – “300 Pages”
MP3: The Balconies – “Smells Like Secrets”
Video: White Rabbits – “Percussion Gun”
Video: Suckers – “Easy Chairs”
MySpace: White Rabbits
Thanks go out to The Indie Files and Hero Hill for bringing to my attention Worauf wartest du?, a collaboration between Albertan folk singer Rae Spoon and German electronic artist Alexandre Decoupigny which is available to download – presumably with artists approval – over here. And also exciting is the news that Rae Spoon is undertaking a tour of eastern Canada starting in November with a stop at the Rivoli on November 11. You may recall I was quite taken with Spoon’s latest Superioryouareinferior – quite looking forward to seeing him live.
MP3: Rae Spoon – “Come On Forest Fire Burn The Disco Down”
More dispatches in song form from Woodpigeon, currently in the middle of their residency at the Banff Centre. Die Stadt Muzikanten is due out January 12.
MP3: Woodpigeon – “Under, Behind & Between”
MP3: Woodpigeon – “Whole Body Shakes”
MP3: Woodpigeon – “Summer Side Of Life” (Gordon Lightfoot cover)
Gentleman Reg is putting out a new EP this Fall entitled Heavy Head. The six songs will be released digitally, two at a a time grouped by theme (covers, b-sides, remixes), starting on November 10 and be available as a complete package as of December 1. The Ontarion has an interview with Reg, who plays the Opera House in support of The Hidden Cameras on December 5.
Great Lake Swimmers will play a special benefit show for War Child on November 5 at the Dakota Tavern, the very thing Sloan did at the same venue just last week. Tickets are $35 and available at Maple Music. They play a regular show at Trinity-St Paul’s on February 6 of next year.
NPR, Cleveland Scene and The San Francisco Chronicle talk to Jay Farrar and Ben Gibbard about their Kerouac project One Fast Move or I’m Gone, which is streaming at NPR.
Stream: Jay Farrar & Ben Gibbard / One Fast Move or I’m Gone
Billboard talks to Gibbard’s Death Cab For Cutie bandmate Chris Walla about their contribution to the New Moon soundtrack.
Paste and Entertainment Weekly have interviews with The Swell Season. Strict Joy is out tomorrow and they play Massey Hall on November 2.
Apparently having still not paid off their ridiculous stage setup, U2 are extending their world tour and will be hitting Toronto for the third time in less than a year on July 3 at the Rogers Centre. Tickets on sale November 2.
Sunday, October 25th, 2009
Matt MartinAm I excited about this coming Wednesday night and the opportunity to see Sky Larkin at the Cameron House? Yes, yes I am. But they’re not the only reason to haul one’s butt down to the back room of the Cameron that evening – the Leeds trio are touring with fellow Brits Peggy Sue (nee Peggy Sue & The Pirates), whose decidedly off-kilter folk is some distance away, stylistically, from Sky Larkin’s barbed sugar guitar pop but their four-song, 10-minute Lover Gone EP is an intriguing tease. I look forward to hearing more of what they have to offer – presumably their set will go longer than 10 minutes.
Admission is $5 at the door but courtesy of Outside Music, 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 say hello to Peggy Sue” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest closes at midnight, October 26. Yes, that’s tomorrow.
MP3: Peggy Sue – “Lover Gone”
Video: Peggy Sue – “Lover Gone”
MySpace: Peggy Sue
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