Tuesday, February 17th, 2009
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart and the Depreciation Guild at Lee's Palace in Toronto
Frank YangWhen last week’s The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart show was announced way back in December, I figured it would be a nice little underground thing (literally and figuratively) with myself and the small but loyal posse of Toronto shoegaze devotees in the subterranean environs of Neutral. Sure, their unabashedly retro but still nearly perfect fuzz-pop in theory had mass appeal, but the same could be said for most stuff I like but never manages to catch on – it’s pop music. It’s not difficult.
But as the early February release date of their self-titled debut drew near, a buzz that couldn’t be credited just to the shoegaze loyalists was quickly growing around the band, culminating in a “Best New Music” review from the old Pitchfork and just like that, you knew it wasn’t just going to be a handful of people staring at each others’ sneakers. The fact that the show had already been moved from Neutral to the much larger Lee’s Palace was just a coincidence due to work permit issues rather than demand, but it proved to be a most necessary move – by the time the much-feted band took the stage, Lee’s was nearly packed.
Leading up to that point were a couple of support acts, one local and one tourmate. The former, an outfit called Don Mills, were hopelessly miscast for the audience with their decidedly anonymous-sounding rock. The only remarkable thing about them was their singer’s utter commitment to his performance, with stage moves that seemed laughably ironic until you realized they were totally genuine – and then they were oddly commendable.
The Depreciation Guild were a far more compelling warm-up. I commented favourably on their free-to-download debut In Her Gentle Jaws, with its M83-gone-8-bit charms, but wasn’t fully prepared for the transformation their sound would take in a live setting. Their secret weapon – an old Japanese Famicom game console – was very much on display beside frontman Kurt Feldman and set the table, musically speaking, for their songs but its bleeps and bloops were soon drowned out by the live band’s dual guitars and thundering drums, the synthetic wall of sound ever-present on the record replaced by a decidedly organic one. On one hand, it’s sort of unfortunate that their most distinctive element was lost in the din but the intensity of the attack – while somehow maintaining the dreampop delicacy of the songs – more than made up for it.
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, on the other hand, delivered exactly what was expected – twee-pop confections dressed up in big outfits of noise – but they fared less well in the live setting. The band’s inherent feyness wasn’t quite able to overcome their own sonic attack and as a result, some of the little touches that give the album enough variety to transcend its admittedly limited aesthetic, in particular the boy-girl harmonies of Kip Berman and Peggy Wang, were simply buried and the net result was a cheerful but rather monochromatic show. Though they’re not an overly charismatic bunch, it was fun watching them obviously have a blast and in particular Berman’s incredulousness at the sheer number of people in attendance – at one point he said that it was the biggest show they’d ever played. With a barely 45-minute set including encore, it’s impossible to say that they overstayed their welcome but what would have seemed like a too-short show from most bands felt just right for the Pains. I don’t want to use the word “disappointment” as that simply wasn’t the case, but they didn’t manage to make me feel any greater love for the band or the record. But I still love the record a fair bit so that’s okay.
eye also has a review of the show and Express Night Out, Tripwire and The New Gay have interviews with the band.
Photos: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, The Depreciation Guild, Don Mills @ Lee’s Palace – February 12, 2009
MP3: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Everything With You”
MP3: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Come Saturday”
MP3: The Depreciation Guild – “Darklooming”
MP3: The Depreciation Guild – “Butterfly Kisses”
Video: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Everything With You”
Video: The Depreciation Guild – “Nautilus”
MySpace: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
MySpace: The Depreciation Guild
Clash interviews Asobi Seksu. Hush is out today and they play the El Mocambo on March 3.
Clash talks to Ben Curtis of School Of Seven Bells.
eye, Metro and JAM talk to Antony Hegarty of Antony & The Johnsons, who are playing the Queen Elizabeth Theatre tonight.
Details have finally emerged about the new record from Grizzly Bear. It’s called Veckatimest and it’s out May 26 – for more, head over to Pitchfork.
Spinner is featuring Black Kids in an Interface session. They’re at the Phoenix on April 10.
The New York Times, Hartford Courant and The Los Angeles Times talk to M Ward about his new record Hold Time, out today.
San Diego one-man act Wavves – who’s apparently all the buzz with blogs which are not this one – is coming to town for a show at Sneaky Dee’s on March 31.
MP3: Wavves – “So Bored”
TV On The Radio have a date at the Sound Academy on June 2.
Virgin Music interviews Aaron Dessner of The National about his role as curator for the Dark Was The Night AIDS benefit compilation, out today.
Monday, February 16th, 2009
An introduction to The Joy Formidable
MySpaceSo even though I’ve got a mighty backlog of stuff to cover and even though this has been a long weekend (or maybe because), I’ve still not had time to get to any of it properly. So coverage of the past few days worth of showgoing will start tomorrow. For today, you get this. A free album. Which is probably better than my concert reviews.
Welsh trio The Joy Formidable know how to get media attention. Last Summer, they had a video for debut single “Austere” banned from YouTube on account of it being comprised of video clips of people… well, I’d rather not have my site indexed for THOSE particular keywords but even though it was just a fan-made clip, the band gave it their seal of approval by posting it on their own website. And it’s probably NSFW. The band also made an official clip, but it’s far less controversial. And now, they’ve opted to take their debut album A Balloon Called Moaning and give the whole thing away for frees via NME. It was already released in a limited edition box set which sold out in a heartbeat and will be out in physical form tomorrow, but you can have it digitally now.
Now both of these might seem like gimmicky ways to get people talking about the band, but fact is that even without these talking points, The Joy Formidable would be more than worthy of your attention. Its eight tracks veer from dreamy to wide-awake and in-your-face but always maintain a gleeful enthusiasm, propelled on a wave of fuzzy, barbed hooks and snarlingly saccharine vocals. It sounds like a being hit in the face with a sack of sugar. When anyone asks me next week what I did over the long weekend, I’m going to say (and truthfully) that I listened to this record ad nauseum and didn’t tire of it at all. Is that sufficient endorsement to get you to go download and listen? It’s free for goodness sake. Just go get and listen. Thank me later.
Uncensored has an interview with the band.
MP3: The Joy Formidable – “Austere”
MP3: The Joy Formidable – “Cradle”
Video: The Joy Formidable – “Austere”
Video: The Joy Formidable – “Cradle”
MySpace: The Joy Formidable
The Joy Formidable had been listed as one of the acts heading to SxSW next month and surely would have been one of my highlights, but with the release of the official schedule last week, they’re nowhere to be found. Actually, instead of heading to Texas, they’ve opted to go out on a UK tour as support for Howling Bells, another band I was hoping was going to be in Austin. In fact, the entire Sx lineup is looking pretty weak. I know I said the same thing last year around this time and ended up having the best time ever anyways, but there’s going to be a lot of digging to find acts that will get my attention. But on the plus side, I already know how my Saturday night is ending – seeing Echo & The Bunnymen play a gay Texan cowboy bar.
If you missed the numerous edits to last week’s post about Polly Scattergood, allow me to sum up – rather than her debut album being entitled Other Too Endless and being released on March 9, it will now be self-titled and be coming out on May 19. But there’s a new video for the next single, which would have been the title track but is now just a song. A great song.
Video: Polly Scattergood – “Other Too Endless”
Emmy The Great week at Drowned In Sound wrapped up with another set of interviews conducted by Emmy. First off, she talks with Aidan Moffat, formerly of Arab Strap and who’s just released a new album in How To Get To Heaven From Scotland. There’s also a piece with Darren Hayman, formerly of Hefner and also with a new solo record in Pram Town, a talk with Mica Levi of Micachu. And to wrap up, a heart-to-heart with Dev Hynes, aka Lightspeed Champion, about the genius of Steve Martin. She also lets Metro have a look at her iPod (though they evidently look at her as they’ve run a picture of Los Campesinos with the piece, and helpfully identify the one of them as Emmy) and gives an interview to Virgin Music.
BBC profile Saint Etienne.
This Is Nottingham talks to Bloc Party drummer Matt Tong. They have two dates at the Kool Haus on March 13 and 14.
The Boston Globe, Boston Music Spotlight, Metro and The Village Voice have interviews with various member of Los Campesinos!, in town at the Opera House on April 1.
Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 may be saying Goodnight Oslo on their new album, out tomorrow, but they’ll be saying “hello Mod Club” when they come to town on April 16. Tickets $20.
Sunday, February 15th, 2009
amazon.co.ukThis week will see the release of the third benefit CD for the War Child organization, dedicated to providing aid to children in regions affected by conflict and poverty. This latest one, entitled War Child: Heroes, consists entirely of covers with the musical legends such as Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson and David Bowie choosing one of their songs and an artist to cover it. The resulting collection of talent involved is breathtaking.
Covers and heroes weren’t an official theme of the original Help! album, released in 1995 to benefit those in war-torn Sarajevo, but it was a running theme. One of the contributions came from Suede, who crafted an elegant version of Elvis Costello’s Falklands anti-war song, originally written for Robert Wyatt, formerly of The Soft Machine, but which he also recorded himself for 1983’s Punch The Clock.
War Child: Heroes is out tomorrow in the UK and next Tuesday in the US and not till March 3 in Canada. The North American and European versions differ slightly – besides a different running order, North America gets Adam Cohen covering dad Leonard’s “Take This Waltz” while those on the other side of the Atlantic do not. A curious decision, since I doubt anyone really cares about Adam Cohen’s presence one way or the other, anywhere.
You can currently stream the whole of the album – sans Cohens – at MySpace. And if you’re feeling the charitable compilation thing right now, remember that the Dark Was The Night AIDS benefit is also out this week, and it’s pretty damned stunning – pretty much everyone in the all-star lineup is at the top of their game.
MP3: Suede – “Shipbuilding”
Video: Suede – “Shipbuilding”
Video: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “Shipbuilding” (live)
Video: Robert Wyatt – “Shipbuilding” (live)
Stream: War Child: Heroes
Saturday, February 14th, 2009
Maple MusicI remember when Ben Kweller’s debut record first came out in 2002, all the press was keen to point out that he had formerly been in pubescent-punk-pop band Radish, which may have meant something to someone who had known who Radish were. Which I did not.
But now, with four albums to his name and still not 30 years old, Kweller doesn’t need the “wunderkind” angle to get attention – he’s certainly crafted a respectable career as a singer-songwriter and will bring his latest record, the country-fried Changing Horses, to town for an in-store at Soundscapes on February 22 at 3PM and then a full and proper show at the Mod Club that evening.
And courtesy of Maple Music, I’ve got a pair of tickets to said show to give away as well as a copy of Changing Horses on CD and two more copies of the album for a couple runners-up. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see Ben Kweller” in the subject line and your full name and mailing address in the body. Since these are physical tickets that need to wind their way to you, this contest will close a little early – say midnight, February 16.
Video: Ben Kweller – “Fight”
MySpace: Ben Kweller
Friday, February 13th, 2009
Patrick Wolf fights Battle on two fronts
Ingrid ZThose who sought to ride out the global recession by investing their money in Patrick Wolf should be pleased – the project has already yielded dividends! What had originally been intended to be a double album entitled Battle will now instead be two single-length albums entitled The Bachelor and The Conqueror.
In an interview with Spinner, Wolf describes the differences between the two as follows – “The Bachelor [has themes of] loneliness, hedonism, depression and melancholy, the second album is all my depression being suddenly lifted by true love.” The Bachelor will be released in June, The Conqueror sometime before the year is out. He also talks to Black Book about approaching Tilda Swinton to appear on the new record and his rather unique sense of style and assembles his dream band for The Independent.
Wolf blogs that tthe first single from Bachelor, entitled “Vulture”, will be released in early March but until then, there’s a “megamix” sampler of songs from the new record streaming at his MySpace. There’s also regular updates at his YouTube channel.
Myspace: Patrick Wolf
Stereogum gets a progress report on Kingdom Of Rust from Doves, though with its April 6 release date less than two months off, I hope there’s not much progress left to be made. Which is to say it better be done. The video for the title track is done, at least.
Video: Doves – “Kingdom Of Rust”
Drowned In Sound and Contact Music make conversation with Sky Larkin. My copy of The Golden Spike arrived yesterday. That made me happy.
Nouse and The Irish Independent interview Emmy The Great, who continues her own interview duties for Drowned In Sound by talking to Beach House and Sleeping States.
The Ting Tings have a new video. They’re at the Mod Club on March 14 as part of CMW.
Video: The Ting Tings – “We Walk”
Art Brut will release their third record Art Brut vs Satan on May 12. Pitchfork has specifics.
Clash and Virgin Music interview Saint Etienne, who will release a new best-of comp in London Conversations: The Best of Saint Etienne next week.
NME reports that The Stone Roses‘ debut album will be reissued this June to mark its 20th anniversary in a fancy pants box set form and a less fancy “legacy” edition (yes, they already did this ten years ago for the 10th anniversary). But what might make this more than just a naked cash grab is the fact that the album has been remastered by original producer John Leckie – considering that the original record could do with some sonic polishing, I may be interested to hear if the new version actually gives the album some low end.
Billboard has details on the forthcoming Iron & Wine rarities double-CD set. It’s entitled Around The Well, will be out May 19 and most importantly, will include “The Trapeze Swinger”.
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs give Spin the lowdown on their new album It’s Blitz!, set for release April 14.
Matablog has everything you need to know about The Eternal, the new album from Sonic Yough, out June 9.
Making up for their cancellation in support of Calexcio last fall, Bowerbirds will be at the Drake Underground on May 2.
MP3: Bowerbirds – “In Our Talons”
NPR is streaming a session with Shearwater.
The Wrens have put together a video to go along with the new song they unveiled a few weeks ago.
Video: The Wrens – “Marked Up”
MPR is featuring a session with School Of Seven Bells and The List has a short interview with Alley Dehaza.
There’s now a trailer available for Ashes Of American Flags, the Wilco live DVD due out on April 18
Trailer: Ashes Of American Flags
The Georgia Straight talks to The Airborne Toxic Event, whose March 4 show has been moved from the El Mocambo to The Mod Club.
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