Saturday, June 21st, 2008
Smoking is technically banned from indoor venues in Toronto, but if you think that means that Lee’s Palace isn’t going to be smelling a bit funky next Thursday night when Austin’s Black Angels and Los Angeles’ Warlocks take the stage… Well you’re just silly.
The Black Angels are touring in support of their loud and unsettling new album Directions To See A Ghost and courtesy of Against The Grain and Light In The Attic I have three pairs of passes to give away for the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see the Black Angels” in the subject line and your full name in the body and have that in to me by midnight, June 23.
The Chicago Tribune has an interview with guitarist Nate Ryan about their writing process and influences.
MP3: The Black Angels – “Doves”
MySpace: The Black Angels
Saturday, June 21st, 2008
Photo by
Jeff GrosI realize it should be totally irrelevant, but what I find most interesting about the bill rolling in to the El Mocambo next Thursday night are the artists’ significant others. After all, both the headliners are dating the king and queen of the indie kid prom – Maria Taylor having shacked up with Conor Oberst and Johnathan Rice with Jenny Lewis. I know it’s not important, I just found it interesting.
Both are continuing to promote albums released last year – Taylor with Lynn Teeter Flower and Rice with Further North – and should satisfy the most discriminating connoisseur of singer-songwritery types. Also on the bill is Nik Freitas. I don’t know who he’s dating.
Courtesy of Against The Grain, I’ve got three pairs of passes to give away for the show – to enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see Maria Taylor and Johnathan Rice” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest will close at midnight, June 23.
MP3: Maria Taylor – “A Good Start”
MP3: Maria Taylor – “Lost Time”
MP3: Johnathan Rice – “We’re All Stuck Out In The Desert”
MP3: Nik Freitas – “Sun Down”
MP3: Nik Freitas – “Come To Me”
Video: Maria Taylor – “A Good Start”
MySpace: Maria Taylor
MySpace: Johnathan Rice
MySpace: Nik Freitas
Friday, June 20th, 2008
Hooray for the end of the week and another decks-clearing post, starting off with something of a decidedly time-sensitive nature.
Icelandic ambassadors Sigur Ros are set to release their latest opus Med sud I eyrum vid spilum endalaust on Tuesday, but North American fans had best not be looking past this morning – more specifically about 40 minutes from now – as the presale for their just-announced North American tour begins today at 9AM EDT, including their September 22 date at Massey Hall. I’ve seen them there I think three times now and each one has been a distinct kind of magical. Looking forward to date number four. As for the album, you can stream the whole thing at sigurros.com as well as download the single as an MP3 and watch the nudity-filled video. Scandalous! Update: The Massey Hall presale only appears to have balconies… wish I’d known that before I sat here for 20 minutes hitting refresh trying to get the page to load. I will wait for the regular on-sale, hope for floors…
My Bloody Valentine begin their official comeback starting tonight at the Roundhouse in London and reports from last weekend’s warm-up shows are definitely promising, and it’s good to see that even after all the time away, they band still looks reasonably fit. The absence of any recent photos – promo or otherwise – prior to the show had me a bit worried. The Telegraph charts the long and winding comeback road to tonight’s show, and also mentions that the remastered reissues of Isn’t Anything and Loveless that were supposed to arrive this week have been delayed at least a month while Kevin Shields ponders over the liner notes. I would love it if someone did an A-B, and in the case of Loveless and the two different remasters an A-B-C, between the current issues and the new ones to see how great a sonic difference there is. I’ve never thought that Loveless on CD sounded as good as it should so if they’ve managed to get it right, I’ll be right there in line with everyone else. If it’s just louder, then hell. I have a volume knob on my stereo, thanks. The MBV reunion hits the Ricoh Coliseum on September 25.
Nick Cave, not content to release one of the best albums of the year in Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, will release a book about the creation of the title track from said record on July 8 and, as Undercover reports, he’s also set to get to work on a second Grinderman record with an eye towards an early 2009 release. Cave and the Seeds are at the Kool Haus on October 1.
And how ridiculous is it that if all goes according to plan, I’ll be seeing Sigur Ros, My Bloody Valentine and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds all in the same week? That is what we call an embarrassment of riches.
Elsewhere on the subject of comebacks, Billboard reports that Mercury Rev will be releasing not one but two new records, their first in three years, on September 29. Snowflake Midnight will be released through regular channels while Strange Attractor will be available digitally for free to everyone on the band’s mailing list. I’m not sure how much I still care about Mercury Rev. Deserter’s Songs was and still is a masterpiece, but All Is Dream was forgettable and The Secret Migration, doubly so, but I’m still prepared to be pleasantly surprised. Or disappointed. Whichever.
Also filed under disappointment – my inability to find a copy of The Wedding Present’s new album El Rey in either of the local stores I tried. Apparently the demand in Toronto is just enough that stores will sell out of the copies they have on hand, but not so much that they’d have any extra. Bah. The Daily Yomiuri talks to Dave Gedge about the return from Cinerama to The Wedding Present, even though that angle is really at least an album old. Anyway, hoping to turn up a copy of the album over the weekend and until then, there’s an MP3 of the first single.
MP3: The Wedding Present – “The Thing I Like Best About Him Is His Girl Friend”
Liz Phair gets testy with an interviewer from Time Out Chicago – on one hand, I feel for her a bit for being asked the same sort of questions about her rise and fall and attempts to rise again, but on the other hand, she has no one to blame but herself. And whoever told her that using a headset mic when playing live was a good idea. The Los Angeles Times also reconsiders Phair and her legacy. The deluxe, double-disc, fancy-pants reissue of Exile In Guyville is out next week. There’s also a trailer from the DVD portion of the set.
Trailer: Guyville Redux
Junkmedia talks to Los Campesinos!, whose new video I don’t think I’ve linked yet.
Video: Los Campesinos! – “My Year In Lists”
Spin caught up with Aimee Mann backstage at Bonnaroo for a video interview. The Independent also has an interview, MPR has a studio session and there’s a new video from @#%&! Smilers for “Freeway”. She’s at the Kool Haus on August 28.
Video: Aimee Mann – “Freeway”
The Portland Mercury, I Am Fuel, You Are Friends and The Arizona Republic (Kevin from So Much Silence, more specifically) profiles Frightened Rabbit. Still waiting on a local date, fellas. Still waiting.
Don Caballero will be at Lee’s Palace on August 26. Their new album Punkgasm hits a week previous on August 19. First taste courtesy of Pitchfork.
MP3: Don Caballero – “Bulk Eye”
IndyWeek talks to Will Johnson of Centro-Matic
Richard Thompson chats with the Colorado Springs Independent. He’ll be at the Danforth Music Hall on July 6.
Drowned In Sound talks to Rogue Wave.
Maisonneuve contemplates the post-Arcade Fire state of the Montreal music scene.
Thursday, June 19th, 2008
If it were still the ’90s and Low were still kings (and queen) of slowcore, then the need for a Retribution Gospel Choir would be completely understandable. There is a time and place for extended rock guitar jams, and that incarnation of Low was not it. But since 2000’s Things We Lost In The Fire, the band’s aesthetic has become far more malleable and if they were willing to release 2005’s hard rocking The Great Destroyer under the Low marque, why would Alan Sparhawk need to assemble a side project to house his more garage-y inclinations?
It’s really a moot point – the band does exist and so does their self-titled debut. Produced by Mark Kozelek and released on his Caldo Verde label, the 30-minute album finds Sparhawk once again fronting a trio, but one with no time for doing things slowly. Sparhawk has always wielded a mean guitar and didn’t necessarily get to showcase those skills in Low – here, he cuts loose, and not just with the six strings but in the songwriting as well. The anger and angst that coloured the last couple Low records show up here as well, articulated not only by Sparhawk’s keening vocals but his fierce guitarwork as well and the band’s thundering rhythm section. Retribution doesn’t have the needle-in-red, modern white noise sonics that Dave Fridmann gave Destroyer, instead favouring a more classic rock-sounding, Neil Young & Crazy Horse approach.
Any one of these songs could fit easily into a recent Low record – indeed, “Breaker” appeared on last year’s Drums And Guns in a skeletal form, but was originally written as a Gospel Choir song – but as a collective it stands rather apart from Sparhawk’s day job. He’s hinted at this more aggressive side of himself on past Low records and demonstrated it more fully in live settings, but as the central theme of the Retribution Gospel Choir, it’s an impressive display. Going so far as to create a new band to exercise these muscles might not have been absolutely necessary, but it’s certainly welcome.
The Retribution Gospel Choir is in town Saturday night for a show at the Rivoli and Sparhawk talks to Express and The Austin Chronicle about the current gig.
MySpace: Retribution Gospel Choir
A few years ago I put together a Velocity Girl post wondering what happened to their brief but shining reunion, and actually got a response back from guitarist Kelly Riles with an update as to the members’ whereabouts. He mentioned that drummer Jim Spellman was now working for CNN, but didn’t mention that part of his job description appeared to be getting tasered on camera (via Pitchfork). On the non-self abuse side of things, he’s fronting a new outfit called Julie Ocean who just released their debut Long Gone And Nearly There, a short and sprightly collection of fuzzy power pop the likes of which you’ve probably got loads of in your collection but always seem to find room for one more.
MP3: Julie Ocean – “Number 1 Song”
Video: Julie Ocean – “Ten Lonely Words”
Bradley’s Almanac has got the audio from R.E.M.’s recent Boston show, again with a set list chock full of old stuff and a Johnny Marr-powered encore. New York Magazine has an interview with Mike Mills and Metromix with Michael Stipe.
Unfortunate news from Hot Press in that Irish shoegazer outfit Butterfly Explosion, who impressed when they visited last April, have called it quits. Unfortunate because though their recorded stuff only demonstrated potential, their live show demonstrated that it was being fully realized. Ah well.
MP3: The Butterfly Explosion – “Sophia”
MP3: The Butterfly Explosion – “Chemistry”
Pitchfork reports that The Broken West have completed work on their sophomore album and will release Now Or Heaven on September 9. They’ve also got the first MP3 from it:
MP3: The Broken West – “Perfect Games”
The Montreal Gazette has a feature on Shearwater, as well as the compete interview transcript with Jonathan Meiburg. He also chatted with The Torture Garden last month and talks to eye about touring and making the almost-universally praised Rook, which brings them to the Horseshoe on Monday night. And they’ve just been picked to open up a number of west coast dates for Coldplay. Seriously.
Muzzle Of Bees asks five questions of Ladytron and gushes about their live show which you can see for free when they hit Harbourfront Centre on July 4.
The Guardian profiles Fleet Foxes, in town at the Phoenix on July 16.
Le Blogotheque has a two part Take-Away Show with Bon Iver. He’ll be at Lee’s Palace on July 22.
NPR is streaming a World Cafe session with She & Him. They’re at the Opera House on July 23.
NME asks Duffy if she’s going to be singing the new Bond theme for Quantum Of Solace. She doesn’t say yes, but doesn’t say no. She has a show at the Phoenix on August 2.
The Telegraph has an interesting interview with Martin Mills, the man who founded and still runs the Beggars Group of record labels, aka the people who put out some of the best records around today.
The Los Angeles Times talks to Bryan Lee-O’Malley about all things Scott Pilgrim. Things I didn’t know before – Mary Elizabeth Winstead has been cast as Ramona Flowers against Michael Cera’s Scott Pilgrim – this, I can get behind – and the film has the official title of Scott Pilgrim Vs The World… but still nothing about whether the Toronto setting will be maintained.
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
Oh the wonders that a solid eight hours of sleep can do. After finally being able to sleep in Saturday, I was actually feeling rather human again and almost eager to tackle the final night of NxNE rather than fearful. Up until Swervedriver, my NxNE had consisted pretty much exclusively of Canadian acts so I opted to devote the last evening of the festival to those acts who, for whatever reason, thought that crossing international boundaries and coming all the way to Canada would be a good career move.
Like the young Scots quartet who kicked off the night at Neutral, Grace Emilys. Some might think an early 8PM slot is a curse, but it can definitely be a blessing as there’s far less competition for attention at that time. A lack of options wasn’t the only reason I was there, though. The samples of the band that I’d heard were compelling enough to make me genuinely interested, a sort of melange of scrappy Futureheads-y peppiness and Libertines-y scrappiness, if more wide-eyed and earnest than either. Though they didn’t necessarily demonstrate a really distinct personality, they showed they’ve got the tools and the talent to cobble together some sharp pop songs – worth keeping an eye on. The National Post interviewed the band before the start of NxNE.
Photos: Grace Emilys @ Neutral – June 14, 2008
MP3: Grace Emilys – “Falling Down The Stairs”
MP3: Grace Emilys – “Air”
Englishwoman Carina Round was a familiar name that I couldn’t place, until some digging revealed she’d not only been around for a while but had kept (touring) company with the likes of Mark Eitzel and Ryan Adams. That, and the fact that my bike was locked up right in front of the Savannah Room, were enough to get me to check things out. It was interesting that an artist as relatively established as she was booked into a room as small as the Savannah, but she seemed to appreciate the opportunity to play a stripped-down, acoustic set (augmented for a couple numbers by an electric guitarist). Even though her recorded output is decidedly more produced and electric, she was still quite impressive in this context showcasing her hugely versatile voice without showing off and moving effortlessly through a range of musical styles. An entertaining and hypnotic set from a veteran performer.
Photos: Carina Round @ The Savannah Room – June 14, 2008
MP3: Carina Round – “Ready To Confess”
Video: Carina Round – “Down Slow”
Video: Carina Round – “Into My Blood”
Video: Carina Round – “Come To You”
Video: Carina Round – “January Heart”
MySpace: Carina Round
From the Savannah Room to the Cameron House, I went from the pro to the newbies with London’s 6 Day Riot but they were no less impressive – in fact, factoring in the thrill of discovery, they may have been my favourite act of the festival. The five piece, fronted by an adorable Scottish girl, work similar terrain as Beirut and DeVotchKa, which is to say indebted to old world, eastern European Gypsy-folk influences. But rather than the dramatic weight of those two acts, they offer up celebration and delight delivered with superb songs, musicianship and period costumes. It’s not necessarily difficult to fill the tiny Cameron House to capacity, but it’s saying something that throughout their too-short set, people kept trying to get in and were turned away. The band have one full-length under their belts and have released a new EP for this year – Bring On The Waves – which I foolishly didn’t grab a copy of. Alas.
Photos: 6 Day Riot @ The Cameron House – June 14, 2008
It was then back to the Savannah Room for Toronto ex-pat Erin Lang, now based in London, England. Utilizing a range of instruments from ukulele to electric guitar to accordion to accompany her sweetly delicate voice, she and her band served up a set of ambient folk in the vein of Lori Carson that I might have been able to enjoy more if not for the constant talking of the two ladies sitting beside me. You know, if you sat in the restaurant section of the club rather than right in front of the PA, you wouldn’t have to shout the whole time.
Photos: Erin Lang @ The Savannah Room – June 14, 2008
MP3: Erin Lang – “Daisy”
MP3: Erin Lang – “You’re Coming Home”
MP3: Erin Lang – “Lightning”
MP3: Erin Lang – “Happy To See You”
Video: Erin Lang – “Daisy”
Video: Erin Lang – “Happy To See You”
MySpace: Erin Lang
I rolled into my final stop for the night and for the festival just before midnight – once again, Lee’s Palace. If I didn’t already know Miss Derringer were from Los Angeles, I could have hazarded a guess – the costumes were a big hint. With the boys dressed as some sort of pirate-cowboy hybrids and lead singer Liz McGrath in a rather eye-catching ’40s cigarette girl outfit, the five piece were really setting themselves to be dismissed as some sort of novelty act, but woe to anyone who was willing to dismiss them so readily. Their blend of girl-group pop and Hazlewood-Sinatra country noir, all delivered with punkabilly verve, was a real treat. And while also entertaining, the costumes were almost an unnecessary distraction – with a happening sound and a couple of killer singles, the band’s good enough to not need to hide behind any gimmickry.
Photos: Miss Derringer @ Lee’s Palace – June 14, 2008
MP3: Miss Derringer – “Black Tears”
Video: Miss Derringer – “Black Tears”
Video: Miss Derringer – “Better Run Away From Me”
MySpace: Miss Derringer
And finally, to finish it all off, Redd Kross. Many had been waiting a long time for the return of the legendary glam-punk-bubblegum-power pop outfit, only recently put back into full-time mode after nearly a decade of being on hiatus, and twenty minutes after their scheduled start time, we were still waiting but when the band, classic Neurotica-era lineup, freakishly tall and natty in suits, strode out on stage no one cared about a few more minutes on top of all the years.
I can’t put myself forward as a big fan, but Phaseshifter has been one of my go-to good times records for over a decade and I’ve also recently begun exploring their earlier works. But theirs is not a sound that requires a lot of research to enjoy – if you’ve a taste for hugely hooky, high-energy, guitar rock then Redd Kross will be your favourite band, at least for as long as they’re playing. The McDonald brothers – Jeff on guitar and lead vocals, Steve on bass – may no longer be the pre-teens who started the band in the late ’70s, but the sheer joy and energy the displayed was eternally youthful. Add in drummer Roy McDonald and unbelievably gangly lead guitarist Robert Hecker – a man who apparently needs more upper fret access on his guitar than Joe Satriani – all going full tilt, somehow cramming upwards of 20 songs into a set just over an hour in length, and you’ve got a good time and for me, an ideal way to cap off an intense week of live music.
The Toronto Sun and Rock Sellout talk to Jeff McDonald about the band’s return to active duty. Chart has a review, Stoner Rock a review and a set list.
Photos: Redd Kross @ Lee’s Palace – June 14, 2008
Video: Redd Kross – “Jimmy’s Fantasy”
MySpace: Redd Kross
The Guardian, who apparently had a writer in town last week, wonders if NxNE is the new SxSW. I can answer that one in a word – no. NxNE has nothing on the scale, size and importance of SxSW but for what it is, it’s definitely getting better. By taking a somewhat less cynical attitude to it going in, I found I had the best time at NxNE that I can recall – no, the lineup didn’t and probably never will have the brand name recognition that its similarly-adjectived Texan counterpart does, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s not a lot of talent on display, you’ll just have to dig a little more.
Mind you, there’s still lots of room for improvement: The website is awful and there’s simply no excuse for having the schedule be as unusable as it was and be completely down for a third of the festival. While clearer than in the past, the whole rigmarole with the wristbands – how it guarantees entry for some shows but not others and the specifics of which are which are still byzantine. The habit of co-opting bigger, touring acts for marketing purposes when only a handful of wristbands and badges will be granted entry to their shows has always been lame. A constantly morphing schedule and lineup, right up until show times. And the whole “lets have bands play at the airport to utterly indifferent travelers” was just a terrible, terrible idea from top to bottom. Keep it to the parks and public places that are actually easily accessible to people who might give a damn.
But that said, there’s a lot going right with NxNE in recent years. Most every show I attended was quite well-attended and people seem genuinely interested and excited to do the festival – a far cry from shows in the past where acts would play to mostly empty rooms (which isn’t to say that didn’t happen this year…). There were more shows and events outside the standard club circuit, like in-stores, day shows and free public events (airport notwithstanding). There just seemed to be more energy surrounding things this time around. Emulating SxSW shouldn’t be in NxNE’s mandate – the culture around Austin and that festival is unique to the world – but Toronto is definitely capable of doing something excellent in its own right, and I’d like to think we’re (slowly) getting there.
PopMatters also contemplates festivals, in particular the logistics and economics of the big multi-day affairs. Alls I know is that just looking at the accompanying pictures from Coachella, Bonnaroo and Glastonbury, among others, totally exhausts me.
The Montreal Gazette talks to Billy Bragg.
With the North American release of her Youth Novels set for August 19, Lykke Li has put together a Fall tour that will bring her to the Mod Club on October 24. BrooklynVegan has full dates and MusicOhm has an interview.
And this just in – The Verve’s new album, still untitled, will be out August 19.
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