Sunday, November 2nd, 2008
Dale NixonBlack Mountain frontman Stephen McBean has had a busy 2008, what with working that band’s breakout album In The Future for most of the calendar year. So how does he take a break? By dusting off his other band, Pink Mountaintops.
So far, there’s just a single live show scheduled – this Friday night at the Drake Underground – but as this Exclaim piece rounding up Black Mountain’s myriad side-projects points out, it’s been a couple years since the last Pink Mountaintops record Axis Of Evol so it’s reasonable to expect that this show will not only be showcasing a lot of new material, but also be just the tip of the, uh, mountain, of activity for Black Mountain’s more psychedelic sibling.
Courtesy of Against The Grain, I’ve got two pairs of passes to this Friday night’s show at the Drake, which is a) an early show and b) also features Nordic Nomadic and Castlemusic. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to climb Pink Mountaintops” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest closes at midnight, November 5.
MP3: Pink Mountaintops – “New Drug Queens”
MP3: Pink Mountaintops – “Rock N Roll Fantasy”
MP3 Pink Mountaintops
Sunday, November 2nd, 2008
Frank YangThis trend of released expanded and remastered versions of just-released records has got to stop. Newmarket moppets Ruby Coast just released their debut EP of peppy, Clap Your Hands Say Tokyo Police Club-ish indie pop earlier this Spring and already, they’re giving it a spit and polish and putting it out again, but with a name this time – Projectable Collections – and just in time for holiday gift giving…
Actually, the official line is that the original release was a rush job in order to get something out there, and this release is the “proper” debut, given the proper love and attention they’d always intended. Indeed, it’s a tighter and punchier record – the fact that it’s four of the five songs from the original reappear here in re-recorded form makes comparing the two records easy. And even if you’re one of those who has one of the now sold-out first run (and enjoys it), the presence of two new songs on the new edition ensures that you’ll want the new one. Who says that indie bands can’t learn a thing or two about marketing from the majors?
And with a CD release comes CD release shows, and Ruby Coast have one of those coming up – this Saturday Friday night, November 7, at Sneaky Dee’s and courtesy of the band, I’ve got a pair of passes to give away to said show. If you want, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to travel to the Ruby Coast” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest closes at midnight, November 5.
And the MP3 below comes from the original EP, the video comes from the new one. But both songs appear on both. Got it? No? Okay.
MP3: Ruby Coast – “Brittle Bones”
Video: Ruby Coast – “Neighbourhood”
Friday, October 31st, 2008
The Rumble Strips in Toronto
Frank YangI’m going to have to stop using my line about any British band being able to fill a venue in notoriously Anglophilic Toronto… this past Wednesday night at the El Mocambo, The Rumble Strips were not only able to draw just a couple dozen people, they couldn’t even get their support act to show up.
Okay, in the case of tourmates Birdmonster, it was less the Rumble Strips’ fault than the border guards who wouldn’t let the San Francisco outfit into the country (I think this is at least the second time they’ve been turned away – a topic they address in a MySpace blog in a manner that pretty much guarantees they’ll never be let in…) but otherwise, I was perplexed as to why the low turnout. Sure, they’re not exactly NME darlings, but the horn-driven soul-pop of their debut Girls & Weather (reviewed here) is eminently likeable and it was hardly an expensive ticket. Was it the cold? Got news for you, Toronto, it’s only going to get worse. Wimps. I was out, and on my BICYCLE no less. Anyway.
But, as the sage show business advice goes, you play for the people who show up – not the ones who don’t – and so even to the thin house, The Rumble Strips weren’t going to phone it in. They did indeed bring it, albeit quietly at first. They led with a new song that was decidedly more sedate than anything you’d find on their debut, one of a few that would be scattered throughout the set and none of which were as immediate as the Girls & Weather material – which is as much of a commentary as I feel fit to make after a single live listen. Cue the more introspective sophomore effort? Everything else, however, was pure extroverted pop goodness.
Everything that makes The Rumble Strips distinctive on record – the horns, the hooks, Charlie Waller’s voice – somehow comes across even stronger live. The rhythm section sounds huge, with duties frequently divvied up between Matthew Wheeler on drums and bassist Sam Mansbridge on what they call “Rumble Drum” but is actually just the floor tom beat extra hard, and is super-tight. The horns… well another thing I’m going to have to stop saying is that I don’t like horns, because I loved theirs. In fact, all the band’s orchestrations and arrangements were impressive to witness. One strength that I hadn’t noticed on record but was quite evident on stage was their harmonies. Waller’s huge vocals – pitch perfect with loads of character – obviously take center stage, but three of the other four also quite ably stepped up to add their voices to the mix.
But above all else, they brought the songs. Each listen to Girls & Weather only makes me grow fonder of uptempo, feel-good, sad-sackery – with so many strengths and such personality, I am really astonished that they weren’t able to draw out more of the curious to go along with the converted who did show up. And though it’s damn near impossible to turn a room that’s only 5% full into a party, The Rumble Strips certainly tried.
Photos: The Rumble Strips @ The El Mocambo – October 29, 2008
MP3: The Rumble Strips – “Time”
MP3: The Rumble Strips – “Motorcycle”
Video: The Rumble Strips – “Girls And Boys In Love”
Video: The Rumble Strips – “Alarm Clock”
Video: The Rumble Strips – “Motorcycle”
Video: The Rumble Strips – “Oh Creole”
Video: The Rumble Strips – “Time”
MySpace: The Rumble Strips
The Independent profiles Noah & The Whale, who will be returning to Toronto for a show at the El Mocambo on December 9.
The Quietus interviews A Place To Bury Strangers. NPR is streaming part of their CMJ set last week.
Pitchfork talks to Portastatic’s Mac McCaughan.
Austin360 asks three questions of Decemberists drummer Nate Query.
The Drive-By Trucker/Hold Steady-powered “Rock & Roll Means Well” tour kicked off last night, and while the November 11 show at the Phoenix is sold out, a small block of tickets was released earlier this week via Ticketmaster and at last check, were still available. And I’m still giving away a few pairs. The Courier-Journal profiles The Hold Steady, The Winston-Salem Journal talks to the Truckers and Nashville Scene and The Village Voice talk to them both.
Paul Westerberg reflects on the legacy of The Replacements for The Guardian.
NPR welcomes Okkervil River to their studios for a World Cafe session.
Exclaim! and Get Wokingham have interviews with Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner.
An Aquarium Drunkard and The Colorado Springs Gazette interview members of DeVotchKa.
One of the Jonas Brothers interviews Elvis Costello for Rolling Stone.
The Grace Potter & The Nocturnals gig originally scheduled for the El Mocambo on December 10 now appears to be happening at Lee’s Palace.
Matador has made their Fall 2008 sampler available to download and it includes tastes of new and upcoming releases from Belle & Sebastian, Shearwater and Fucked Up.
Thursday, October 30th, 2008
Love Is All Halloween video
Swedes Love Is All are celebrating Hallowe’en by recording dark (as in luminescence, not necessarily tone) costume-laden videos for each of the songs for their forthcoming album A Hundred Things Keep Me Up at Night, out November 11.
I’ve been given one of them, for “When Giants Fall”, to premiere and you can find some of the others at Pitchfork, Stereogum and Gorilla Vs Bear with more to follow.
Love Is All play the Horseshoe on December 11.
Thursday, October 30th, 2008
School Of Seven Bells / Alpinisms review
Amanda MertenIt’s not often that the the first taste I get of a new band or album sends me scrambling to blog, but that’s what happened in August when I got the first taste of Alpinisms, the debut album from School Of Seven Bells. And while it’s not as though they were an unknown to me – I was more than familiar with their collective past projects (On!Air!Library!, The Secret Machines, Daylight’s For The Birds) but even with those expectations, the first two MP3s released from said album – “Conjurr” and “Half Asleep” – still floored me.
I got a full copy of the album not long after and though there’s nothing that matches those two tracks for pure pop glory, it’s because they don’t really attempt to. Though favouring the dream-pop and electronica musical niches, Alpinisms is a remarkably diverse collection that, for all its eclecticism, still manages to craft a distinct sonic identity. Much of that can be attributed to the dual vocals of sisters Alley and Claudia Deheza, whose tightly intertwined, angelic and otherworldly voices really sound unlike anything else out there. And its this uniqueness that allows the musical backdrop to liberally borrow from the last 20 years or so of sonic ideas – a little Peter Hook bass line here, a little Kevin Shields glide guitar there – and make it sound fresh.
Not everything works – some pieces meander a little more than you’d like, but given the soaring heights of the record’s high points and the obvious talent and creativity the band has on tap, it’s hard not to get excited about what else they might come up with in the future. I only hope that this project has a longer lifespan than their previous ones.
School Of Seven Bells are at the Opera House on November 20, opening for M83. Exclaim! has a review of the record and a short interview with guitarist and former Secret Machinist Benjamin Curtis.
MP3: School Of Seven Bells – “Connjur”
MP3: School Of Seven Bells – “Half Asleep”
MP3: School Of Seven Bells – “Chain”
Stream: School of Seven Bells / Alpinisms
MySpace: School Of Seven Bells
Bradley’s Almanac has got MP3s of My Bloody Valentine’s show at All Tomorrow’s Parties New York in September. Amazingly, they sound quite good and not just like “KKKKKHHKHKHKKKKK”. And if you want to full experience of the “holocaust” section of “You Made Me Realise”, I suggest standing in front of an oscillating fan so that your pants flap while simultaneously getting a full body massage. That’s a start.
Paste talks to Matt Tong of Bloc Party and Le Blogotheque ambushes the band in Paris into giving them a Takeaway Show.
NME reports that White Lies will release their debut album To Lose My Life on January 12.
Nick Cave brags to Spinner about the size of his unit.
Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips talks to The Los Angeles Times about the release – finally – of Christmas On Mars on November 11 (straight to DVD, natch) and the soundtrack of which will pretty much constitute the new Flaming Lips album.
Trailer: Christmas On Mars
Stars have added a third date to their residency at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in December. In addition to the 12th and 13th, they’re now also playing on the 11th.
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