Thursday, July 12th, 2007
I have to wonder if, when preparing his first solo album Sirens Of The Ditch, out this past Tuesday, if Jason Isbell had any inkling that he was going to be leaving the Drive-By Truckers? And if not, did that affect the selection criteria for the material? Did he set some songs aside for the next Truckers record? Would this have been a different record otherwise?
These are all strictly rhetorical questions that hinge largely on whether or not Isbell jumped from the truck or was pushed and that’s not something that’s likely to be addressed by either camp any time soon. The fact is, Isbell would sound like Isbell no matter what band he was in and Sirens Of The Ditch sounds like Isbell. Sirens is a mix of searing rockers and plaintive ballads which showcase his fearsome guitar chops and whiskey-soaked vocals respectively, as well as serving as a reminder that he was responsible for some of the poppiest stuff the Truckers ever put out. And while his last outfit is a tough act to follow, his players on this record – the 400 Unit – definitely don’t let Isbell or the material down. Sirens more than proves that for Isbell, there’s plenty of life after the Truckers. We’ll have to see if there’s life for the Truckers after Isbell… of course the answer to this is “yes”, as there was plenty of life in the band before Isbell. I guess the real question is as to the quality of that life.
Isbell is on the road in support of the record and will be at the El Mocambo on July 24. He was in town back in April and turned in a fine set of new and old material opening for Son Volt – I would expect this tour is more of the same. Only more. Isbell talked to The AV Club, Style Weekly, The Day, The Huntsville Times and Creative Loafing about his new record and his old band. And Philadelphia City Paper talks to his old band.
MP3: Jason Isbell – “Dress Blues”
eCard: Jason Isbell / Sirens Of The Ditch
MySpace: Jason Isbell
The National have announced a Fall tour that brings them back to Toronto for a show at the Phoenix on October 8. That’s both Thanksgiving and the day I roll back into town after Pop Montreal, which they are almost certainly closing out with their show the night before at Le National. The National at Le National. Oprah, Uma, Uma, Oprah.
Will Sheff of Okkervil River talks to Billboard about crafting The Stage Names, out August 7. Jagjaguwar is offering folks who pre-order either the regular or double-disc deluxe version of the record through them the opportunity to download the album (almost) immediately. Folks like me who pre-ordered through Insound get to pay a couple dollars more and receive nothing in advance. Boo. They’re in town September 21 at Lee’s Palace and then down the QEW in Hamilton at the Pepper Jack Cafe on September 22.
Some MP3s and details from the forthcoming Mendoza Line release have surfaced on the band’s website. Out August 21, 30 Year Low comprises new recordings and the final ones with vocalist Shannon McArdle while companion disc The Final Remarks Of The Legendary Malcontent clears out the vaults of live tracks, rehearsals and covers. The future of the band got discussed quite thoroughly on this very site a few months ago – sift through the birthday greetings in the comments for news on the current state of the band and even a message from McArdle herself.
MP3: The Mendoza Line – “Since I Came”
MP3: The Mendoza Line – “Thirty Year Low”
MP3: The Mendoza Line – “Aspect Of An Old Maid (alt)”
Also coming out August 21 is The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter from, well, Josh Ritter. He tells Billboard the new long-player will be his most “rock” record yet.
Paste reports that The Sadies’ new album New Seasons will be out October 2.
Nellie McKay will release her third album, Obligatory Villagers, this September. Since she’s releasing it on her own label, there’s unlikely to be the same major label drama that plagued and delayed Pretty Little Head for almost a year.
Scottish all-girl punk-pop band The Hedrons are at the Boat on Sunday night and at the Horseshoe on Tuesday night for a free show. PopMatters likes them.
Wednesday, July 11th, 2007
Early yesterday afternoon at a press conference I couldn’t attend because I have a job, the finalists for this year’s Polaris Music Prize were announced and after the surprising eclecticism of last year’s list, this year’s list was just as surprising but for its uniform indie rock-ness.
Interesting geographical observations: Half the nominees call Montreal home but all are Anglophone acts. The only Ontario-based nominee is from Hamilton, thus scuppering any claims of Toronto-centricism. Two hail from the Maritimes, only one from the west and one is really of no fixed Canadian address.
The ten records that will be fighting it out for the $20,000 prize are:
Arcade Fire / Neon Bible (Merge/F>A>B)
The Besnard Lakes / The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse (Jajaguwar/Outside Music)
The Dears / Gang of Losers (MapleMusic Recordings/Universal Music Canada)
Julie Doiron / Woke Myself Up (endearing records/Fontana North/Universal Music Canada)
Feist / The Reminder (Arts & Crafts/EMI Music Canada)
Junior Boys / So This Is Goodbye (Domino/Outside Music)
Miracle Fortress / Five Roses (Secret City Records/Fusion III)
The Joel Plaskett Emergency / Ashtray Rock (MapleMusic Recordings/Universal Music Canada)
Chad VanGaalen / Skelliconnection (Flemish Eye/Outside Music)
Patrick Watson / Close To Paradise (Secret City Records/Fusion III)
Shockingly, 4/5 of my list made the cut – the Miracle Fortress wasn’t on my original list but in the second round of voting I swapped it in and the Great Lake Swimmers out – sorry Tony – as well as shuffled my order a bit. Of all the nominated records, it’s probably already benefited the most from its inclusion as it was arguably the lowest profile of the releases before yesterday and now, all respect to the Besnard Lakes, is almost certainly the dark horse favourite.
A betting man working off of logic should and would give short odds to the Arcade Fire and Feist records, but consider this – everyone I talked to about my selections and the Polaris in general shook their heads when those records were mentioned and responded that they hardly needed the money. After all, this is Canada where rooting for the underdog is part of our national character and probably part of our constitution. We did, after all, select Final Fantasy last year over big names like Broken Social Scene and The New Pornographers. I’d go so far as to suggest that The Reminder and Neon Bible are long shots. The mandate of the Polaris is for the winner to be selected “solely on artistic merit, without regard to genre or sales” – a lovely sentiment but pretty pie in the sky when you get down to it. Everyone’s got an agenda. Alls I know is that I’d much rather be a fly on the wall of that Grand Jury room in September than I would an actual juror.
Some blog commentary from Zoilus, Torontoist, the CBC Radio3 podcast and Public Broadcasting.ca. A compilation album featuring tracks from the ten nominees will be available on August 28 and the winner will be selected at a ceremony in Toronto on September 24.
And that’s just one of many things happening around town in September. Also consider: Minneapolis’ Cloud Cult are at the El Mocambo on September 4, The Clientele have been added to the second day of Virgin Fest on September 9, Andrew Bird is at the Opera House on September 25 and the thought of having to hear him in as acoustically unfriendly a room as that makes me sad. Opening acts for Bloc Party’s show at the Ricoh Coliseum on September 28 have been announced – show up early and catch the arena-rocking stylings of Deerhoofand Smoosh. Strange lineup? Yes. And finally, Great Lake Swimmers face the task of trying to make the Phoenix and intimate environment when they play there on September 29 (via For The Records).
Those of you waiting impatiently for the September 25 release of Stars’ In Our Bedroom After the War would do well to scurry off to the iTunes store or Arts & Crafts’ boutique as it’s been made available digitally a full two and a half months early in an effort to foil those who leak and those who download leaks. Pitchfork has details on the unusual move by the label. Stars play day two of V Fest on September 9.
Billboard talks to Matt Pond PA about the long, hard road to their new album Last Light, out September 25 and they just released an EP – If You Want Blood – last month.
Stereogum celebrates the 10th anniversary of Radiohead’s OK Computer with a free tribute album featuring the likes of The Twilight Sad, John Vanderslice and My Brightest Diamond. Pitchfork declares it to be as great as a box of kittens.
Tuesday, July 10th, 2007
Spoon have achieved that rare and enviable position in modern music where you can truthfully say that sound like no one else, and no one else sounds like them. From this, you can conclude that only Spoon sounds like Spoon, ergo only Spoon albums sound like Spoon albums and it therefore follows that all Spoon albums sound alike. QED.
This is not intended as a criticism, not at all. Since 2001’s Girls Can Tell they’ve been honing their craft, building lean, indie rock skeletons and infusing them with and hip-shaking soul and by now they’ve got the process down to an art. Their latest Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, out today and henceforth known as Ga5, doesn’t stray far from the blueprint with its jagged, stacatto guitars, pounding piano, impeccable drums from Jim Eno and Britt Daniel’s cryptic lyrics and ragged vocals. More than on previous records, certain songs seem like direct descendants of past works but rather than rehashes they sound more like refinements. If you’re looking for distinctions, it’s arguably looser and more upbeat as well as a bit poppier compared to Gimme Fiction but even these variances stay well within Spoon’s tight musical tolerances.
If there is a downside to Spoon’s consistency, it’s that while they always meet expectations and never disappoint, they don’t astonish either. I will always welcome a new record but I don’t think I’ve ever counted down the days to one. By the same token, I don’t ever get into those intense moods where I need to listen to Spoon, the way I do some other bands. You might take this as meaning that I take Spoon for granted, and I probably do. But that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate them or that I won’t be in the audience when they’re at the Phoenix on October 15, dancing awkwardly. This really isn’t much of a review but come on. It’s a Spoon album. You know what you’re getting and you know you’ll love it so why ask why.
The Globe & Mail talked to Daniel about the new record a couple weeks ago in Calgary, Austin360 has an interview and Metacritic has aggregated a number of reviews thus far.
MP3: Spoon – “The Underdog”
MP3: Spoon – “The Ghost of You Lingers”
Stream: : Spoon / Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Video: Spoon – “The Underdog” (MySpace)
MySpace: Spoon
Daytrotter has posted their interview and session with The National. Surprisingly, they cover The Psychedelic Furs. Unsurprisingly, it all sounds great.
September 11 brings the release of Hideout, the new album from San Francisco’s Film School. With 3/5 of the lineup that recorded last year’s eponymous album replaced, it’s sure to be a different affair and based on the first MP3, it’s a positive step. It’s still got the driving, hypnotic droniness of that album but new bassist Lorelei Plotczyk’s vocals add a new, softer counterpoint to Greg Bertens’ voice that I like quite a bit. Looking forward to hearing the rest of the record.
MP3: Film School – “Lectric”
Billboard gets some hints from Robert Smith about what to expect from the next Cure record, which will be out in October and not be previewed much on their Fall tour which hits the Air Canada Centre on September 27.
Another Smith from the UK, Maximo Park’s Paul Smith, talks to MTV UK in an interview from mid-June but which I never posted. The Boston Herald has a more recent chat and either way, it gives me an excuse to remind you that they’re at the Mod Club this Saturday but since it’s sold out, said reminder doesn’t really do anyone much good. Ahem.
Added and then removed from the lineup for V Fest Toronto, The Hives will still be coming to town this Fall – the only catch? You have to see Maroon 5. Well I suppose you don’t technically HAVE to stay for the headliner, but otherwise that’s an awful expensive ticket for just the opener. Your call. That show’s at the ACC on October 4.
CMJ has details on the Pixies tribute album coming out this Fall and all its myriad configurations. Normally the formats would be so confusing I wouldn’t bother but the lineup is tasty enough that I’ll keep paying attention. For now.
As CD sales plummet, The Guardian considers the resiliency of vinyl in the music marketplace.
So yesterday I pulled the trigger on a Macbook Pro – one of the 15″ jobbies. My Windows machine is creeping up on four and a half years old and for desktop replacements, the Mac simply looked like the best option. After a lifetime on Windows – and I’m never personally had any problem with it, particularly XP – it’s a little strange and fearful to be moving to a new OS to say nothing of how much trouble it’s going to be getting everything I’ve got currently, both data and hardware organized (I’m keeping the desktop as a storage unit for now). I’ll let you know when it arrives since I know there’s nothing Apple acolytes (Mac-olytes) like more than patting themselves on the back whenever another PC user crosses over.
Monday, July 9th, 2007
Having already seen the resurrected Buffalo Tom twice this year – once at SxSW and again at NxNE, there wasn’t the sort of trepidation you might normally have when approaching a beloved band’s comeback album – in this case, Three Easy Pieces, out tomorrow. Those performances proved that they still had the fire and energy of a much younger band and the new material didn’t sound out of place alongside the classics but still – I didn’t expect the album as a whole to impress as much as it does.
Unlike other more high-profile reunions making the rounds this Summer, the Buffalo Tom story doesn’t come with a lot of excess baggage or drama. The band never officially disbanded – they just set about getting jobs and starting families when they reached the age where people do such things. They continued to play one-off shows here and there, but eventually decided that without new material it was starting to feel a little too much like a nostalgia act, hence the new record. And it really does sound like they picked up where they left off – there’s no indication that the boys have mellowed with age or that they’ve even been away for as long as they have.
The recipe doesn’t stray far from that which made Let Me Come Over and Big Red Letter Day staples of college radio in the 90s. Bill Janovitz’s rasp trades off with Chris Colbourn’s boyish vocals overtop strummy ballads and barn-burning rockers and while there might be a little less angst in the brew, the anthemic earnestness and yearning remain. But excepting maybe the first two records, and even that’s not necessary if you strip away some of J Mascis’ white noise production, Buffalo Tom have always been incredibly consistent from record to record in sound, style and songwriting and even a nine-year layover hasn’t disrupted that streak. Anyone who has any interest in the existence of this album, and based on the enthusiasm of the crowd at that SxSW show there’s still a lot of them, should find nothing whatsoever to be disappointed in here and anyone who isn’t interested, well it’s their loss.
Naturally, their return has piqued the interest of their hometown media – The Boston Globe and The Phoenix talk to band about the end of the first phase of their career, their time off and their return.
MP3: Buffalo Tom – “Three Easy Pieces”
MySpace: Buffalo Tom
Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips gives The AV Club a survival guide for Summer concert festivals. The outhouse tips are all well and good but he neglects to mention the benefits of giant plastic bubbles for maintaining personal space and UFOs for quick arrivals and departures from the festival grounds.
The Independent talks to The National’s Matt Berninger about anthems, cats and cobras.
Interpol drummer Sam Fogarino took some time to talk to JAM! about Our Love To Admire during their recent Canadian tour while The Sun scores face time with Paul Banks and Daniel Kessler. The album is out tomorrow.
The New York Times goes to dinner with Dean & Britta and discuss Justine Bateman.
Austin’s Peter & the Wolf are at the Music Gallery on August 10.
The Guardian goes on a quest for the lost soul of the UK indie scene and coming up with the likes of Arctic Monkeys and Art Brut. I have to think they can do a little better than that…? Tangentially, Art Brut’s Eddie Argos contributed a piece to Filter, also pondering the state of the UK indie scene and dividing it into two camps he calls “Crackheads” and “Gang Of Fours”.
And congrats to recent contest winners – Hijab gets the Ryan Adams lithograph, Derek and Ginette are going to see Cat Power and a different Tom won each night of the Built To Spill giveaways.
Sunday, July 8th, 2007
Today’s Sunday Cleaning is brought to you by artists named Ben.
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Benni Hemm Hemm / Kajak (Morr)
It used to be you could trust a label. It used to be you could trust a German. And yet Berlin-based Morr Music, formerly reliable for pop-tinged but synth-heavy electronic music, has gone off and released the third record from Icelandic collective Benni Hemm Hemm and there’s nary a synth or laptop to be found (that I can hear, anyways). Instead, it’s almost overwhelmingly organic and orchestral, all horns and strings woodwinds, but rather than sounding as immense as you’d expect a 17-piece band to sound, Kajak is a very cozy and intimate listen. Thanks to the vocals sung entirely in Icelandic, North American ears will naturally draw parallels with Sigur Ros – at whose studio the record was recorded – but rather than their epic glaciers of sound, Benni Hemm Hemm’s songs prefer to stay in the village gathered around a campfire. They’re currently on tour across America but with no Canadian dates.
MP3: Benni Hemm Hemm – “Snjorjljossnjor”
MySpace: Benni Hemm Hemm |
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Benjy Ferree / Leaving The Nest (Domino)
Benjy Ferree’s debut full-length, and expansion on his 2005 EP of the same name, seeks to reconcile his inner folkie with his outer glam-rocker and comes up with a melange of strummy acoustics, weepy strings and fuzz guitars delivered in both Bolan-esque stomps and elegant waltzes. It’s a bit of a strange blend but Ferree’s light and breezy songwriting and croony delivery ties it all together quite nicely and naturally. Check him out this Thursday night at Lee’s Palace when he opens for Mirah.
MP3: Benjy Ferree – “In The Countryside”
Stream: Benjy Ferree / Leaving The Nest
Video: Benjy Ferree – “In The Countryside”
MySpace: Benjy Ferree |
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