Wednesday, November 7th, 2012
Win an evening with Escort! No, not like that.
Jody KivortI’m not diversifying into the adult entertainment industry, despite what some ads that occasionally get served here might imply, but am instead talking about New York’s Escort. Sometimes a lean five-piece band, sometimes a proper orchestra numbering as many as 17 – but always fronted by diva Adeline Michele – Escort have been busting out old-school yet thoroughly contemporary dancefloor disco electro-soul since 2006 but only just released their full-length debut Escort earlier this year and are now taking their legendarily slick and irresistibly fun live show on the road.
They’re hitting The Horseshoe this Saturday night, November 10, and if you’re thinking there’s no way they’d fit 17 people on that stage, you’re right – it’s going to be a smaller-form Escort that rolls into town, but if you think that means it’ll somehow be a smaller party… no. Just no. Tickets for the show are $16.50 in advance, but courtesy of Webster Media Consulting, I’ve got two pairs of passes to give away for the show. To enter, email me at contests@chromewaves.net with “I want an Escort” in the subject line and your full name in the body, and have that in to me before midnight, November 8.
Metro has an interview with Michele about the genesis of the band, and the band’s just-released remix album – Escort Remixed – is available to stream in full.
MP3: Escort – “Love In Indigo”
MP3: Escort – “Make Over”
Video: Escort – “Why Oh Why”
Video: Escort – “All Through The Night”
Stream: Escort / Escort Remixed
School Of Seven Bells have made a track from their new EP, Put Your Sad Down, available to download. It’s out November 13.
MP3: School Of Seven Bells – “Secret Days”
The Antlers have released a new video from their last EP, Undersea.
Video: The Antlers – “Drift Dive”
Ahead of their appearance warming up for Titus Andronicus at Lee’s Palace later that night, Ceremony will play an in-store at Sonic Boom’s Kensington location on November 27 at 6:00PM.
MP3: Ceremony – “Hysteria”
And speaking of Titus Andronicus, The Village Voice has a profile piece on the band. As mentioned – Lee’s Palace, November 27. Them.
Passion Pit will team up with Matt & Kim for a Winter tour that stops in at The Kool Haus on February 16; tickets for that are $32.50 in advance.
MP3: Matt & Kim – “Let’s Go”
Video: Passion Pit – “Take A Walk”
Denver Westword and The Seattle Times have interviews with Greg Dulli of The Afghan Whigs, who also just recorded a World Cafe session with NPR.
Benjamin Gibbard submits to a questionnaire from Exclaim and answers some more questions beyond that. He also performs video sessions for The Fly and NPR, and has released a video from his solo joint Former Lives.
Video: Benjamin Gibbard – “Teardrop Windows”
MTV Hive talks to Jason Lytle, opening up for Band Of Horses at Massey Hall on December 5.
Nicole Atkins talks to The Village Voice about the damage that Hurricane Sandy did to her beloved New Jersey shore. She’s re-recorded the title track of her 2007 debut album, Neptune City, and re-released it to raise funds to rebuild the shore.
Stream: Nicole Atkins – “Neptune City (For The Shore)”
Bob Mould plays a video session for NPR.
Sam Fogarino reflects on Interpol’s past ten years to Spin. The Turn On The Bright Lights anniversary edition is out November 19. They’ve also shared a live video taken from their first Los Angeles show in 2002.
Video: Interpol – “Obstacle 1” (live at The Troubdaour, 2002)
Congratulations on doing several right things last night, America. First time I haven’t been bitterly disappointed by the outcome of an election in, oh, four years. I’ll be down there later this week to give some of you a big hug.
Tuesday, November 6th, 2012
Review of El Perro Del Mar’s Pale Fire
Memphis IndustriesIt’s been interesting tracking the musical evolution of El Perro Del Mar, the musical project of Sweden’s Sarah Assbring. Her 2006 self-titled debut cast her as the mournful ghost of a ’50s doo-wop girl while the 2008 follow-up From The Valley To The Stars invited fuller arrangements into the mix – even getting jaunty at points – while keeping the sentiments beautifully downcast. 2009’s Love Is Not Pop was took great strides towards feeling more modern, mostly via studio-slick musical arrangements, and while surprisingly short compared to Valley – seven tracks versus its predecessor’s 16 – assuming that that the three dancey remixes appended as bonus tracks to the US edition were just filler would have been a mistake; they were more of a signpost.
In the three years between that release and her fourth album Pale Fire, Assbring seems to have completed the transition from old-school chanteuse to dance diva and also invested in a lot of keyboards in the process. Pale Fire is an unabashedly synthetic record, built on beats and loops and existing in a haze, sounding largely like a remix album of a more conventional work. Assbring’s retro stylings have been wholly subsumed by the dedication to the groove, but her signature sadness is still detectable – it seems the dancefloor isn’t necessarily any less lonely a place than one’s bedroom.
Assbring doesn’t have the sort of voice one would typically associate with dance music – it’s not an especially powerful or sensual instrument – but it’s that dissonance that helps Pale Fire stand out from the current crop of electro-pop, and when when Pale Fire reverts to a more traditional sonic form, as on “I Was A Boy”, the other would-be peers just fall away. Given the number of guises that Assbring has donned over the course of her career, it’d be presumptuous to think that Assbring will dwell in Pale Fire‘s aesthetic for too long, but it does feel like the end of the transformation that she’s been undertaking since Valley; maybe she’ll keep it on for a little while.
Pale Fire is out next week but now streaming in whole over at Hype Machine. A Heart Is A Spade has an interview with Assbring.
MP3: El Perro Del Mar – “Hold Off The Dawn”
Video: El Perro Del Mar – “Walk On By”
Video: El Perro Del Mar – “Innocence Is Sense”
Stream: El Perro Del Mar / Pale Fire
Interview talks to Joachim Läckberg of Sambassadeur, who may be releasing a new single in “Memories” in a few weeks but aren’t looking to put out their next album until late next year. Teases.
The Line Of Best Fit note that Icona Pop’s self-titled debut will be released in their native Sweden as soon as next week, November 14. A worldwide release will follow next year. They open up for Marina & The Diamonds at The Kool Haus on December 1.
Those who’ve been following along with Sigur Rós’ Valtari Mystery Film Experient and wish they could see the works on a bigger screen may be interested to know that a goodly number of the films – at least 17 – are being compiled and taken on the road for some worldwide screenings over the course of a weekend in December. Toronto gets ours on December 8 at The Bloor.
And if that’s not enough Scandi-music film action for you, 4AD has released some details on The Ghost Of Piramida, a film that documents Efterklang’s visit to the abandoned Russian town of Piramida, from which their latest album drew inspiration and its name.
Foals have confirmed the February 12 release of their next record Holy Fire with the release of the first video from the record.
Video: Foals – “Inhaler”
Pitchfork has more specifics on the solo debut from Johnny Marr; The Messenger will be out on February 26 of next year.
Justin Young of The Vaccines offers an interview to Drowned In Sound. They play The Phoenix on February 4.
The 405 meets Field Music.
NPR has a World Cafe session with Beth Orton.
Mumford & Sons enlisted Stringer Bell – that’s actor Idris Elba, for non-Wire watchers – to star in the new video from Babel.
Video: Mumford & Sons – “Lover Of The Night”
The Quietus talks to Neil Halstead about all things Slowdive, Mojave 3, and Neil Halstead. Denver Westword also has an interview.
Drowned In Sound makes a case for the importance of Manic Street Preachers’ debut Generation Terrorists, turning 20 and out in deluxe reissue form now.
The National Post and eMusic talk to Bernard Sumner and Gillian Gilbert of New Order, respectively.
The Irish Times, Burton Mail, Gigwise, and The Edinburgh Evening News talk to David Gedge of The Wedding Present.
Clash and Exclaim have features on Tame Impala, in town at The Phoenix on November 12.
Monday, November 5th, 2012
Spinoffs, videos, and other Can-Con miscellany, featuring L Con
Andréa de KeijzerShaking out the “Made in Canada” box to kick off the week.
L Con is the sort-of but not-really pseudonym for Lisa Conway, perhaps better known as the voice of Toronto’s moody, art-orch ensemble Del Bel, who’ve been wholly endorsed in these parts. Conway just released her solo debut as L Con in The Ballad Project and while it doesn’t necessarily put a lot of sonic distance between itself and Del Bel’s Oneiric, as the name implies it’s less atmospheric and more song-centric, specifically with string- and horn-laden, torchy ballads that are perfectly suited to Conway’s smoky, forlorn, and strategically soaring vocals.
CBC Music talks to Conway about the new record, which is available to stream in whole, and aux.tv premiered the first video from the release a little while ago. A set of tour dates was just announced and includes a November 24 date at Cinecycle in Toronto.
Video: L Con – “Oh How Love”
Stream: L CON / The Ballad Project
BlogTO talks to emergent disco-pop outfit Diana, whose impressive collective resume includes Army Girls, Destroyer, The Hidden Cameras, and Bonjay. They play the first installment of Fucked Up’s Long Winter series at The Great Hall on November 9.
The Magic, who count Evening Hymns’ Sylvie Smith amongst their members, have released a new video from their debut Ragged Gold. OTM has an interview with the bandleading Gordon brothers.
Video: The Magic – “Call Me Up”
Little bit of trivia – once upon a time, Smith played in a band with John O’Regan of The D’Urbervilles called Habitat; I saw them back in in 2007. That project didn’t last too long but O’Regan has found a little more success with a new non-D’Urbs project he calls Diamond Rings. NOW talks to him about being voted “Toronto’s best male vocalist” in this year’s reader’s poll. He shows off those pipes at The Mod Club on November 29. The Horn also has an interview previewing this past weekend’s appearance at Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin.
The Quietus talks to Dan Snaith about what separates his Daphni project from his Caribou project.
Evening Hymns have a new video from Spectral Dusk, directed by Bruce Peninsula’s Neil Haverty. Evening Hymns play the Church Of The Redeemer on December 15.
Video: Evening Hymns – “Spirit In The Sky”
Consequence Of Sound has premiered the latest video from Shad’s ’90s-saluting Melancholy & The Infinite Shadness mixtape.
Video: Shad – “It Ain’t Over”
CBC Music has premiered the new video from Cold Specks’ I Predict A Graceful Expulsion, and the b-side from the single release of the song is also available to stream. And if that’s not enough, DIY has a video session with Al Spx and The Coast a short interview. Cold Specks support Conor Oberst at Massey Hall on December 8.
Video: Cold Specks – “Hector”
Stream: Cold Specks – “Post-Operative #8”
Feist has squeezed another video out of Metals.
Video: Feist – “Graveyard”
The Wilderness Of Manitoba have put out a second video from their new record Island Of Echoes.
Video: The Wilderness Of Manitoba – “Echoes”
The 1st Thursday monthly series at The Art Gallery of Ontario will have Yamantaka//Sonic Titan as their musical performer at next month’s edition, happening December 6. The Coast also has an interview.
Video: Yamantaka // Sonic Titan – “Hoshi Neko”
Stereogum interviews Damian Abraham of Fucked Up. They’re also playing the aforementioned Long Winter at The Great Hall on Friday night.
Crystal Castles weren’t able to get their new album III ready for release this Tuesday as originally intended, but they have made another song from it available to stream before its officially out next Tuesday, November 13.
Stream: Crystal Castles – “Affection”
Woodpigeon has announced a February 25 release date for his new record Thumbtacks & Glue, and to hold you over until then, this Fall’s Diamonds tour-only album is now available to mail order.
DIY interviews Grimes.
A.C. Newman chats with DIY.
DIY has written up their visit to the Polaris Music Prize gala in September and in a bit of fun, have rated the respective winners of the Polaris and Mercury Prizes over the last seven years head-to-head.
Sunday, November 4th, 2012
Aimee Mann covers Carly Simon
WikipediaSkyfall, the twenty-third film in the James Bond franchise, is now here and with it comes another Bond theme, this one courtesy of Adele. “Skyfall” is a solid tune in the Bond tradition and charted respectably – number two in the UK – but only time will tell if it becomes as famous a contribution to the Bond canon as, say, Carly Simon’s theme for 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me, though “Nobody Does It Better” is arguably one of the least Bond-like themes of them all, more romantic ballad than spy-game thriller.
Still, it wasn’t going to be left out when British composer David Arnold assembled his Shaken and Stirred tribute compilation to Bond themes in 1997, which included Aimee Mann doing a slick version of Simon’s song. And while intended as a labour of love, it turned out to be a pretty good job application as well – with legendary Bond composer John Barry’s endorsement, Arnold would be hired as composer for five 007 films from Tomorrow Never Dies through Quantum Of Solace.
Aimee Mann is at The Danforth Music Hall on Tuesday night, November 6, in support of her latest, Charmer. Skyfall premiered in the UK on October 23 and has been rolling out worldwide since then; the North American release is this Friday, November 9.
MP3: Aimee Mann – “Nobody Does It Better”
Video: Carly Simon – “Nobody Does It Better”
Saturday, November 3rd, 2012
BarsukWho: Yellow Ostrich
What: Brooklyn-based trio led by Alex Schaaf who deal in indie rock the way it used to be – jagged guitars, keening vocals, hooks a-plenty.
Why: They already released a new full-length in Strange Land earlier this year, but have just put out a follow-up EP in Ghost. And of course touring in support of two releases instead of just one is just efficient.
When: Monday, November 12, 2012
Where: The Garrison in Toronto (19+)
Who else: Pennsylvania’s Timothy Showalter, aka Strand Of Oaks, supports.
How: Tickets for the show are $12 in advance but courtesy of Barsuk, I’ve got two prize packs to give away consisting of a pair of passes to the show and a copy of Ghost on vinyl. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want the Yellow Ostrich” in the subject line and your full name and mailing address in the body, and have that in to me before midnight, November 8.
What else: The Diamondback talks to Alex Schaaf.
MP3: Yellow Ostrich – “Ghost”
MP3: Yellow Ostrich – “Marathon Runner”
Video:
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