Sunday, August 5th, 2012
A Place To Bury Strangers cover David Bowie
ManimalIt’s amazing what a bed of face-shredding distortion can do to the character of a song. If Oliver Ackermann, who when he’s not fronting Brooklyn sonic anarchists A Place To Bury Strangers is designing and selling the tools of his trade via Death By Audio guitar pedals, needs to offer more compelling evidence for what his goods can do than his own discography, he can certainly point at this David Bowie cover from the 2010 tribute album We Were So Turned On.
The original, which appeared on The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars, was no bit of politeness for its time, but with its old school rock’n’roll roots showing and general sense of gleeful abandon, it was still a pretty fun-sounding number. The A Place To Bury Strangers version, on the other hand, thanks to the white noise treatment and echoey vocals, sounds downright sinister – their Suffregette City doesn’t sound like anywhere you’d like to visit. No sir.
Toronto, on the other hand, is somewhere A Place To Bury Strangers seem to like visiting – their closing performance at the ALL CAPS! island festival next Sunday night will be their third time through in less than six months, all in support of their latest album Worship. This year marks the 40th anniversary of Ziggy Stardust, but David Bowie isn’t doing anything in particular to celebrate beyond the obligatory reissues – and you can’t blame him. He’s probably afraid to come out of retirement lest someone gets Gary Busey and a hologram Sam Kinison to do another cringeworthy introduction to a public appearance.
MP3: A Place To Bury Strangers – “Suffragette City”
Video: David Bowie – “Suffragette City” (live on the International Rock Awards, 1990)
Saturday, August 4th, 2012
Frank YangWho: My Morning Jacket and Band Of Horses
What: Flagbearers of the technically-Southern-but-not-really-Southern-rock movement with a specialty in beards, yodels, guitar solos, and generally melting faces.
Why: Band Of Horses are gearing up to release their fourth album Mirage Rock on September 18 and My Morning Jacket are still riding last year’s Circuital. And they just like to tour.
When: Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Where: Echo Beach in Toronto (all ages)
Who else: What, you want more? Pssh.
How: Tickets for the show are $52 in advance but courtesy of LiveNation, I’ve got two pairs of passes to give away for the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want My Morning Horses” in the subject line and your full name in the body, and have that to me before midnight, August 11.
What else: Spin and NME talk to Band Of Horses leader Ben Bridwell about the new record while Jim James talks to Westword about turning to social media to pick MMJ set lists.
MP3: My Morning Jacket – “Heartbreakin’ Man”
MP3: My Morning Jacket – “You Wanna Freak Out”
MP3: Band Of Horses – “Factory”
MP3: Band Of Horses – “No One’s Gonna Love You”
Friday, August 3rd, 2012
Sigur Rós and Perfume Genius at Echo Beach in Toronto
Frank YangFor a band for whom a large part of their appeal is being unknowable and otherworldly, there’s been a high degree of predictability with Sigur Ros, at least when it comes to their Toronto shows. For over a decade, they’ve come through town in support of each record for an exquisite show at Massey Hall that would send 2700 or so of their fans dazed into the night. For the last time they set up anywhere besides the Grand Old Lady of Shuter Street, you’d have to go back to May 2001 when they made their local debut with a legendary show at Palais Royale. On Wednesday night, it was back to the shores of Lake Ontario they returned with a show at Echo Beach, the outdoor setting ensuring that the vibe of things would be different than what we were used to, to say nothing of allowing more than twice as many people as usual to witness the Icelanders in action.
Support for their short run of headlining dates before entering the festival circuit came from Perfume Genius, an unexpected but welcome choice. Mike Hadreas’ work elicits many of the same adjectives as Sigur Rós – beautiful, heartbreaking, transcendent, what have you – but whereas the they work in mystery and epic-scale sounds, Perfume Genius is all about being laid bare and raw in small, perfectly imperfect pieces. Though distracted by the planes coming in to land at the island airport and suffering from a cold – though he mentioned that he could still “smell weed and pork” – Hadreas proved that the intimate piano songs which would have seemed to be tailor-made for cozy rooms like the Drake, where he was in April, or 918 Bathurst, where he’ll be on October 5, also sounded great loud; the drums on “Dark Part” were particularly dramatic at that volume. The set was mainly comprised of material from this year’s excellent Put Your Back N 2 It and his 2010 debut Learning, as well as a couple covers – Madonna’s “Oh Father” and a surprisingly perfect cover of Neil Young’s “Helpless”, Hadreas’ vulnerable warble and piano phrasing doing the near-impossible and making the classic almost seem like it was his own.
Leave it to Sigur Rós to release their most ambient and abstract record in a decade with Valtari and then take it on the road not to the theatre settings that it might be best served live, but to the big outdoor stages of fests and amphitheatres where its intricacies would most certainly not be appreciated. Or so you’d think. Opening up with two selections from the new record, Sigur Rós took advantage of the fact that their audience would be so enraptured with their first local appearance in almost four years that they’d just stand there and take it all in – which they did. “Ekki Múkk” and “Varúð” were met with as close to total silence as you’ll likely get from 6000 people. Then they turned back and up for “Ný Batterí” from Ágætis Byrjun and it was within their back catalog that they would remain for most of the rest of the night.
Though core member Kjartan Sveinsson elected to sit this tour out, the band were hardly shorthanded – performing as an 11-piece, with horns and strings and all the trimmings, it was as big-sounding a Sigur Ró as we’d ever seen in these parts, performing on a stage lit with incandescent bulbs and projections shone onto three sides of the band. And yet for all the power at their fingertips, the prevailing mood of the evening was of serenity and celebration – a perfect fit for a warm Summer’s night with a breeze off the lake and a full moon in the sky. There were certainly dramatic moments, often courtesy of Jonsi’s bowed Les Paul, but even those were more of the awe-inspiring majesty of nature sort, like a glacier cutting through land and centuries.
The breadth of the catalog was well-represented, though Ágætis Byrjun did get extra attention, perhaps at the expense of the lighter tones of Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, which was represented only – but well, thanks to a horn-powered finale – by “Festival”. Some may have bemoaned the absence of “Gobbledigook”, but perhaps it was for the best – if it hadn’t ended in a massive explosion of confetti the way it did at Massey in September 2008, it would have felt a touch disappointing.
And disappointing is not a word that should ever be associated with a Sigur Rós show. For almost two hours, and benefitting from really immaculate sound – no compromises with an outdoor venue here, thankfully – it was as good a show as they’ve ever put on here, but thanks to the setting, even for those with an extensive catalog of live Sigur Rós memories, it will be a standout.
The Toronto Sun, BlogTO, and National Post were also in attendance. NPR has their show from Tuesday night in Brooklyn available to stream and Stereogum and The Montreal Gazette have interviews.
Photos: Sigur Ros, Perfume Genius @ Echo Beach – August 1, 2012
MP3: Sigur Rós – “Gobbledigook”
MP3: Sigur Rós – “Hoppípolla”
MP3: Sigur Rós – “Popplagio / The Pop Song”
MP3: Sigur Rós – “Staralfur”
MP3: Sigur Rós – “Svefn-G-Englar”
MP3: Sigur Rós – “Nýja lagið”
MP3: Perfume Genius – “Rusty Chains”
MP3: Perfume Genius – “Hood”
MP3: Perfume Genius – “Dark Parts”
MP3: Perfume Genius – “All Waters”
MP3: Perfume Genius – “Learning”
Video: Sigur Rós – “Rembihnútur”
Video: Sigur Rós – “Fjögur Píanó”
Video: Sigur Rós – “Varúð” (version two)
Video: Sigur Rós – “Varúð” (version one)
Video: Sigur Rós – “Ég anda” (version two)
Video: Sigur Rós – “Ég anda” (version one)
Video: Sigur Rós – “Ekki Múkk”
Video: Sigur Rós – “Við Spilum Endalaust “
Video: Sigur Rós – “Inní mér syngur vitleysingur”
Video: Sigur Rós – “Gobbledigook”
Video: Sigur Rós – “Sæglópur”
Video: Sigur Rós – “Hoppípolla”
Video: Sigur Rós – “Glósóli”
Video: Sigur Rós – “(Vaka)”
Video: Sigur Rós – “Viðrar vel til loftárása”
Video: Sigur Rós – “Svefn-G-Englar”
Video: Perfume Genius – “Dark Parts”
Video: Perfume Genius – “Hood”
Video: Perfume Genius – “Lookout, Lookout”
Sessions From The Box is streaming a studio session with The Deer Tracks.
Drowned In Sound talks to Maria Lindén of I Break Horses, who are aiming to have their second album out in Spring of next year.
Maxïmo Park gives The Line Of Best Fit a track-by-track walkthrough of their latest album The National Health.
Ellie Goulding has announced an October 9 release date for her second album, entitled Halcyon. She recently released an Active Child cover because why not and has also been declared one of Rolling Stone‘s “Women Who Rock”.
MP3: Ellie Goulding – “Hanging On”
The San Francisco Examiner and DIY get to know Alt-J, in town at Wrongbar on September 19.
DIY checks in with Mica Levy of Micachu. A couple more tracks from Never have also been made available to download.
MP3: Micachu & The Shapes – “Low Dogg”
MP3: Micachu & The Shapes – “You Know”
Kele Okereke talks to Spin about how cracking a joke turned into a productive crisis for Bloc Party in completing their new album Four, out August 21. This hot on the heels of another quote he gave The Music about this maybe being the band’s last record, which he’s already taken to his blog to clarify. Oh, Kele. Bloc Party are at The Danforth Music Hall on September 10 and their gig at Terminal 5 in New York next week, August 8, will be streaming live on YouTube.
Rolling Stone has a video of Neil Halstead playing a song off his new solo record Palindrome Hunches, out September 11.
Elbow namedrops some very tasty reference points to The Worksop Guardian with regards to their next studio album. Their Dead In The Boot rarities comp is out August 27.
Spinner chats with Lætitia Sadier, in town for a show at The Drake on September 18. She’s just released a new video from Silencio.
Video: Lætitia Sadier – “The Rules Of The Game”
DIY investigates the many creative phases of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds; kudos to them for not making it about his facial hair.
Mono turns to Iceland for inspiration in the new video from For My Parents, out September 4. It’s enough to make you want to hop on a plane to Reykjavik – which I wholly endorse – but maybe wait until after their show at The Horseshoe on September 12.
Video: Mono – “Legend”
Thursday, August 2nd, 2012
Divine Fits show their band is real
FacebookIt would seem to be a mathematical and scientific fact that Divine Fits – the band meticulously assembled from the Britt Daniel quarter of Spoon, the Dan Boeckner half of Handsome Furs/quarter of Wold Parade, and Sam Brown quarter of New Bomb Turks – would be a swaggering rock juggernaut, but what works on paper or even in a lab setting doesn’t necessarily translate to real world settings.
So with the August 28 release of their debut album A Thing Called Divine Fits still a few weeks off, the world got its first taste of Divine Fits the other night when in advance of their first announced gigs – one in the hometown of each of the three principals of the band – they hit the Continental Club in Austin and by all accounts, it went over like gangbusters. Ultra8201 has got some videos of their inaugural performance, while Spin, Columbus Alive, and Donewaiting have interviews with the band about who they are and how they came to be.
And in addition to those hometown performances, the band have begun booking shows in other cities – including Toronto. They’ll be at Lee’s Palace on September 5, tickets $20 and on sale now.
Stream: Divine Fits – “My Love Is Real”
Stream: Divine Fits – “Would That Not Be Nice”
Quite pleased to see that LA’s Tashaki Miyaki are finally coming to town, but not so happy that it’s tonight as a last-minute-ish support act for Florence & The Machine at The Molson Amphitheatre (it was originally supposed to be the UK’s Spector but I guess that didn’t end up happening). I saw them at SXSW and their dreamy, Mazzy Star-ish garage pop went down real good, yes it did. I don’t expect their presence to sell any tickets but if you’re already going, I would suggest showing up early enough to see them – they’re on at 8. Spin has a stream of a new song and Spoonfed an interview. Update: Thanks to Mechanical Forest Sound for pointing out that they’ve also got their own show at The Garrison on Saturday night. THAT you should go to.
MP3: Tashaki Miyaki – “Somethin’ Is Better Than Nothin'”
Stream: Tashaki Miyaki – “Paisley Spangled Jangler”
James Mercer of The Shins talks to Spinner about the joys of analog recording; they’re at The Molson Amphitheatre on August 4 opening up for The Black Keys.
Interview and The Village Voice talk to Al Spx of Cold Specks. They play The Great Hall on August 8.
Chan Marshall of Cat Power discusses the heartbreak that led to her new record Sun with Exclaim. It’s out September 4.
Drowned In Sound conversates with J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. Their new album I Bet On Sky is out September 18 and they’re at Lee’s Palace on September 24, 25, and 26.
San Francisco’s Fresh & Onlys have made a date at The Shop Under Parts & Labour for November 14. Their new record Long Slow Dance is out September 4. The Bay Bridged has an interview and DIY a video session.
MP3: The Fresh & Onlys – “Waterfall”
MP3: The Fresh & Onlys – “Do You Believe In Destiny?”
The Line Of Best Fit, Macleans, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Age interview Metric. They play The Air Canada Centre on November 14.
The Skinny gets School Of Seven Bells to put on their reviewer hats for a batch of recent singles.
Wednesday, August 1st, 2012
Bill Doss of The Olivia Tremor Control, The Sunshine Fix, and Elephant 6 (1968-2012)
Frank YangTerrible news yesterday out of Athens, Georgia as it was announced that Bill Doss, co-founder of The Olivia Tremor Control and The Sunshine Fix and one of the original members of the Elephant 6 movement, had passed away at the too-young age of 43. Details on the cause of death have not been revealed, but it must have come as a shock considering that Doss had been playing with The Olivia Tremor Control as recently as last week at a hometown show in Athens.
I feel extra-fortunate to have caught the recently reunited Olivia Tremor Control when they came through Toronto last September but had really hoped that the vague intentions Doss and Will Cullen Hart had for new recordings would come through and bring them back again and again with new material. Alas, it was not to be but there is some comfort to be found in the two masterpieces of psychedelic-pop he made with the OTC – Dusk At Cubist Castle and Black Foliage: Animation Music Vol. 1 – and the more classically pop work he did with The Sunshine Fix is also worth hearing.
A lack of details on what happened and an overall sense of shock have mostly limited coverage of Doss’ death to straight reportage, but expect heartfelt tributes from friends and fellow musicians in the coming days and weeks. A couple worth reading are already up at Chunklet, You Ain’t No Picasso, Pitchfork, and NOW. And if you’re new to or unfamiliar with the legacy of the Elephant 6, this primer at Spin is a good entry point; they’ve also assembled a playlist of some of his work. NPR still has the Olivia Tremor Control’s New York show from that Fall 2011 tour available to stream and a couple of clips from their appearance at Pitchfork Fest a couple weeks ago are up on YouTube; hopefully more will follow.
Rest in peace, Bill Doss.
MP3: The Olivia Tremor Control – “Love Athena”
MP3: The Olivia Tremor Control – “A Familiar Noise Called Train Director”
MP3: The Sunshine Fix – “Age Of The Sun”
Video: The Olivia Tremor Control – “Jumping Fences” (live at Pitchfork Festival 2012)
Video: The Olivia Tremor Control – “The Games You Play In Your Head” (live at Pitchfork Festival 2012)
For a while it seemed like Rich Aucoin was never going to play a regular, non-festival-type show in Toronto. Well now he is. He and presumably his crowd-surfing surfboard will be at Lee’s Palace on September 20, tickets $12.50.
MP3: Rich Aucoin – “It”
If you thought that Lee’s Palace was an awful small a venue for an artist having as good a year as Grimes, you’d be right. She’s added a second show at Lee’s on September 22 to go with the one on the 21st, tickets again $20. The Globe & Mail has a feature piece on Ms Claire Boucher.
MP3: Grimes – “Circumambient”
John Lydon brings his Public Image Limited to The Opera House on October 18 in support of their first record in some twenty years, This Is PiL, tickets $39.50.
Video: Public Image Limited – “(This Is Not A) Love Song”
As the October 2 release date of Transcendental Youth draws lazily closer, The Mountain Goats have announced the first leg of North American touring in support, which includes a Toronto date at The Phoenix on October 20, tickets $21.50 in advance. Word is they’re bringing horns! And also in Goats news, they recorded the theme song for this week’s episode of Weeds so you can download that if you want to hear it but don’t want to watch the show. Which is totally reasonable.
MP3: The Mountain Goats – “Cry For Judas”
MP3: The Mountain Goats – “Little Boxes”
London’s Wolf Gang are at Wrongbar on October 22, part of an extensive North American tour in support of their debut album Suego Faults.
Video: Wolf Gang – “The King And All Of His Men”
Video: Wolf Gang – “Lions In Cages”
It’s been hard to say if this counts as a reunion or if they’ve been reunited for years but just not very active, but in any case The Super Friendz will be getting off their duffs for a show at Lee’s Palace on November 16, tickets $15. Power pop will ensue.
Video: The Super Friendz – “Up And Running”
Because some folks were asking – tickets for the New Order show at the Sony Centre on October 23 go on sale tomorrow. No they’re not remotely cheap. Why did you think they would be cheap?
Pitchfork and Spin talk to Jack Tatum about Nocturne, the new Wild Nothing album due out August 28. They’re at The Great Hall on September 18.
Bob Dylan discusses his new record Tempest, out September 11, with Rolling Stone. He brings it to the Air Canada Centre on November 14.
Pitchfork is has posted the first sample of the new Dum Dum Girls EP End Of Daze, out September 25.
MP3: Dum Dum Girls – “Lord Knows”
The Phoenix New Times and Minnesota Daily talk to Sharon Van Etten.
Another of Wilco’s New York shows from this past week are up to download at NYC Taper.
That unexpected Feist/Mastodon split 7″ released for Record Store Day has yielded a cool interactive video that allows you to choose your preferred ratio of Feist-to-Mastodon. Check it out at Pitchfork.
Video: Feistodon – “A Commotion”
Kathleen Edwards picks her top five albums of the last two decades for CBC Music.
The 405 has a video interview and session with Memoryhouse.
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