OhbijouA bit short on time today, so just a quick one with a Canadian focus.

The release of Ohbijou’s second album Beacons is still over a month away – April 14 is the date to circle – but thanks to the deluge of MP3s that accompanies the official SxSW lineup and schedule, a sample is now available to download. I’ve had the privilege of living with a copy of Beacons for a little while now, and can say that “Black Ice” very much captures the feel of the record – taking everything that made Swift Feet For Troubling Times such a cozy orch-pop gem and makes it more expansive without losing the intimacy. A more proper review will be forthcoming, but for now enjoy the tune and remember they have a CD release show at the Opera House on April 18. And for anyone heading down to SxSW, do make an effort to catch them – in addition to their official showcase at The Ranch on the Thursday, they play the AV Club’s party on the Friday and the M4MTL vs. T4TO party at El Sol (formerly Emo’s IV at the corner of 6th and Red River) on the Saturday.

MP3: Ohbijou – “Black Ice”

Also found via the SxSW schedule – a sample of Jenn Grant’s new record Echoes. In case I don’t get around to doing a full review of the record anytime soon – entirely likely – I’ll first point you my review of her 2007 record Orchestra For The Moon and say that Echoes is almost the record that I was hoping Grant would make. She’s said in interviews that it’s a break-up record, and that emotionality is definitely reflected in the sparer, darker sound which I think suits her quite well. There’s still a bit more vocal acrobatics than I’d like but that’s a minor complaint when held against the strengths of the album. Grant plays the Reverb at midnight on March 14 for CMW and her SxSW itinerary currently consists of a couple performances on the Thursday – a 2PM afternoon performance in the Convention Centre and a 9PM official evening showcase at the Velveeta Room. Belletristic Impressions has an interview with Grant.

MP3: Jenn Grant – “Sailing By Silverships”

Another artist doing the CMW/SxSW thing – the former finds him at the Horseshoe on March 12 at 11:10PM, the latter at Beauty Bar at 9PM on March 21 – is Gentleman Reg. The SxSW site is also offering up another track from his just-released Jet Black. Interviews with Reg abound at Exclaim, The Toronto Sun, Chart, Dose.ca and Black Book, and though I couldn’t make his in-store at Soundscapes on Tuesday, videographer Colin Medley did and has a really nice HD clip of one of the songs performed.

MP3: Gentleman Reg – “How We Exit”

Human Highway will also be hitting the highway between Toronto and Austin next month. They’ll be at the Horseshoe at 11PM on Friday, March 13 and then for SxSW at Red-Eyed Fly at 11PM on Wednesday, March 18. Also look for them at Red 7 on the afternoon Thursday and Urban Outfitters’ parking lot on the Friday at 1PM. And Stereogum has what they call the premiere of the video for Human Highway’s “The Sound”, which means that the stuffed animal version which surfaced a little while back isn’t actually “official”. Which is too bad, because I prefer it to the new one.

MP3: Human Highway – “The Sound”
Video: Human Highway – “The Sound”
Video: Human Highway – “The Sound” (unofficial)

The Daily Growl has a handful of new Woodpigeon songs which they took the trouble of ripping from a BBC Radio 6 session.

There’s a number of excellent Bruce Peninsula live videos up over at aux.tv as part of their “Camera Music” series, though the song recorded at the Soundscapes in-store is conspicuously absent. Still forthcoming or didn’t make the cut?

Exclaim‘s cover story this month is Montreal’s Malajube, thanks to the recent release of their new record Labyrinthes. Their CMW showcase finds them at the El Mocambo at midnight, Thursday March 12.

MP3: Malajube – “Porte Disparu”

Spinner talks to Metric’s Emily Haines about their new album Fantasies, due out April 14. They’re slated to play Edgefest on June 20 at Downsview Park.

Okay, that wasn’t so quick. I have no idea why I ever say that.

Frank YangIf there’s an advantage to writing about the same band for the third time in the span of a month, it’s that rather than try and lay down some background, I can just point you here and here and voila – you’re up to speed. If there’s a disadvantage, it’s completely running out of things to say. But I’ll soldier on.

Sunday night was the long-awaited album release party for Bruce Peninsula’s debut A Mountain Is A Mouth and there was simply no better place to be than the Polish Combatants Hall, and that includes in front of a television watching the Academy Awards (though Hugh Jackman’s opening song and dance number was pretty awesome). The hall was decorated with all manner of fake foliage, giving the environs a sort of nature-themed senior prom feel, and filled rows of chairs to accommodate the sold-out house. Indeed, there was an unmistakable sense of occasion in the air.

Considering many of the Bruce Peninsulans do duty in other bands, it wasn’t surprising that one of them would be tapped to open things up – this time, it was recent addition Daniela Gesundheit and her band Snowblink. Although an almost completely unknown quantity to myself and everyone I asked, after seeing them play there’s little chance anyone will soon forget who they are. By means of instruments both conventional and not – I don’t know the last time I saw someone play glasses onstage – she and her shifting lineup of musical compatriots put on a performance that transformed the stage setup into nothing less than an enchanted, fairy tale forest. More descriptively, they crafted ethereal folk-pop that reminded of St Vincent with a dash of Feist, but were entirely their own thing. Utterly beguiling.

This gave middle act Alex Lukashevsky, he of Deep Dark United and writer of the songs on Final Fantasy’s recent Plays To Please EP, a tough act to follow and at least as far as showing me something I’d never seen before, he succeeded. Lukashevsky himself didn’t do anything especially unusual, delivering rough-hewn folk-blues songs via acoustic guitar, but with his two bandmates providing almost orchestral accompaniment with just jazz vocal lines, they took on a theatrical aspect that was certainly unique. I don’t know that I’d find Lukashevsky’s unadorned solo work all that compelling, but definitely enjoyed the live performance.

There’s not a lot I can say about Bruce Peninsula live that I haven’t said before. This show wasn’t necessarily a better performance than any of the others I’ve seen them give – this is not a slight, as all their shows have been pretty incredible – but as mentioned earlier, the context of the night made it extra special. It was a celebration of friends and family, of fans gained by fervent word of mouth, of a band with a sound that manages to be fresh and distinctive while also feeling as old as the earth itself and of a record that implausibly manages to capture it. And with all that going around, it’s no surprise that the band was extra boisterous as they hollered like wild men and sang like angels through pretty much their entire repertoire, welcoming back departed members to join in one more time and filling their spectral songs with joy and life. A remarkable evening.

Chart also has a review of the show. RCRDLBL has some more background on Snowblink and an MP3 to download. Bruce Peninsula play again on March 28 at Lee’s Palace.

Photos: Bruce Peninsula, Alex Lukashevsky, Snowblink @ The Polish Combatants Hall – February 22, 2009
MP3: Bruce Peninsula – “Crabapples”
MySpace: Bruce Peninsula
MySpace: Snowblink

SoundProof talks to Angela Desveaux. She plays the Gladstone on March 12 for CMW.

MP3: Angela Desveaux & The Mighty Ship – “Sure Enough”

NPR is currently streaming the whole of Neko Case’s Middle Cyclone for the week leading up to its release next Tuesday. Her show in Amsterdam this past Sunday was supposed to be streamed live on FabChannel but had to be cancelled due to illness. It’ll be made up this Summer. Neko plays two sold-out shows at Trinity-St Paul’s on April 17 and 18.

Stream: Neko Case / Middle Cyclone

The little digital music store that could – Zunior.com – is celebrating its fifth anniversary as the finest online shop for Canadian music this year, and are celebrating with a party. Thick Specs has details on the show which will take over the Tranzac on June 27 and feature performances from Forest City Lovers and The Violet Archers, among many others. Tickets are $10 and on sale now at Zunior (duh) and advance purchases come with an MP3 compilation of rarities from the artists playing the show. And if you didn’t know, they offer free weekly MP3 mixes via the widget dealie over there on the right. Go get. And check out some recent interviews with Forest City Lovers at The Charlatan and The Silhouette.

MP3: The Violet Archers – “Sunshine At Night”

Keane have made a date at the Sound Academy for May 23. Support will come from Mat Kearney and The Helio Sequence.

Billboard has lineup details for this year’s edition of Edgefest, taking place June 20 at Downsview Park. Acts this year will include Metric, k-os and The Stills.

People will be digging out their threadbare Pretty Hate Machine and Ritual de lo Habitual t-shirts and pretending it’s 1990 again when the Nine Inch Nails/Jane’s Addiction tour rolls (creaks?) into the Molson Amphitheare on June 23. Full dates at The Music Slut.

Daytrotter welcomes Nellie McKay to their studios for a session. Naples News has an interview.

Happy 9th birthday to Bradley’s Almanac, who is marking the occasion by sharing a live Bedhead show circa 1998.

Frank YangSo yes I’m a bad Torontopian. I know it’d been a while since I’d been to Wavelength, but a little archive digging revealed that it’d been almost four years since I last darkened Sneaky Dee’s doorway on a Sunday night. That’s a long time. And so with the local institution not only celebrating its ninth anniversary but its upcoming final year this past weekend, I got off my butt and headed out.

Don’t get me wrong – I’ve always loved and supported the idea and mission of Wavelength, but I’m a pop guy and in recent years their programming has gotten more eclectic and less personally interesting to me. And late Sunday nights are hard. So anyways, of the four nights of anniversary shows I opted for the one the Saturday night soiree at the Polish Combatants Hall (a community centre now hosting shows), which featured a few bands I wanted to see and was (therefore) the most “conventional” lineup of all the Wavelength parties.

Or so I’d thought – any notions that this was going to be an evening of just guitar rock were dispelled with the very first act, The Element Choir. An improvisational choir featuring a couple dozen members, they gathered in the centre of the hall’s floor and proceeded to create a downright mesmerizing sound sculpture constructed of just their voices. The troupe utilized yelps, hums, moans, animal noises and random chatter to create an ever-morphing soundscape that was hypnotic to listen to and also fascinating to watch, as they took direction from conductor Christine Duncan. Certainly not something I’d ever seen before.

Next up were The Luyas, who despite having been around for a while sounded like a work in progress – not incomplete but more in the process of deconstructing what they were and seeking to become something new. There were vestiges of the pop leanings from Jessie Stein’s last band, the SS Cardiacs and from what I’d heard from the Luyas before, but it seemed like they were trying to become something more oblique or inscrutable. Not the most enthralling performance, but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and check back in if/when they get where they’re going.

Faring much better were pop collective Hooded Fang. I had figured that since I saw them just a month ago that they’d deliver much the same set, but in fact they were much more assured and polished yet managed to not sacrifice any of the playful whimsy they’d demonstrated before. Considering how much better they’d gotten in just a month and factoring in the fact that they’ve only been in existence for a year, it seems like a mathematical certainty that they’ll be the best band on the planet in another two years. Okay, probably not, but if being the next Los Campesinos! is something that anyone would aspire to, it could well be in their grasp.

Though you could accurately describe Guelph’s Brides as atonal, skronky, and not at all pop – generally things I don’t look for in music – they more than surprised by turning out to be the highlight of the night. I’m at a bit of a loss to articulate exactly what it was about their performance that I found so engrossing. Perhaps it was the way that they managed to be all the things mentioned above without being deliberately difficult and sacrificing some structure or even melody for the sake of exploration, and deliver it all with intensity. I don’t really know what it was, but I liked it.

The last act of the night was $100, and after the stylistic smorgasborg of the night leading up to their finale, their decidedly traditional country songs seemed almost out of place. But straightforward isn’t a slight when you’re talking about hurtin’ songs and the directness of their approach, in particular the raw, honest rasp and twang of singer Simone Schmidt, conveyed that emotion quite effectively. I’ve gotten so used having country used in a hybrid sense with other styles that hearing it in such a pure, undiluted form was pretty eye- and ear-opening. There’s good reason that people are talking about $100.

Though the Polish Combatants Hall is certainly not Sneaky Dee’s – there’s no way I’d have sat on the floor at Sneaks – the evening was a terrific reminder of what makes Wavelength great. You may not like everything you see, but it’ll almost never be uninteresting. Happy birthday to a great Toronto institution and hopefully it won’t be a year before I see you again. But no promises.

BlogTO also has a review of $100’s set if not the rest of the evening.

Photos: $100, Brides, Hooded Fang, The Luyas, The Element Choir @ The Polish Combatants Hall – February 14, 2009
MP3: $100 – “No Great Leap”
MP3: $100 – “Forest Of Tears”
MP3: $100 – “Nothing’s Alright”
MP3: Hooded Fang – “Land Of Giants”
MP3: Hooded Fang – “The Pageant”
MP3: The Luyas – “Cats In A Bag”
MP3: The Luyas – “Tantamount”
MySpace: $100
MySpace: The Luyas

And speaking of the Polish Combatants Hall (a nice and large community centre-type building by the University, if you were wondering), if you didn’t have tickets for Bruce Peninsula’s record release show there next Sunday (still some left but not many) or just couldn’t make it, take heart because they’ve already announced another show for March 28 at Lee’s Palace, tickets $8. And I don’t recommend sitting on the floor there. The National Post has a video performance and interview with the band.

Making it a three-peat, the “Rolling Tundra Revue” featuring Constantines and Weakerthans has added a third and final show at the Phoenix for April 2. Tickets $25. If you manage to miss out on this one as well as the two previously announced ones for March 31 and April 1, then congratulations – you are the absolute worst procrastinator in the world.

Tricky, who was here for a show at the Phoenix last September, returns for a much more intimate performance at the Mod Club on April 2. Tickets $29.50.

It’ll be all about the UK dance-rock at the Kool Haus on April 10 when The Whip and Late Of The Pier roll into town. Both are touring behind their debut albums – X Marks The Spot (out March 3) and Fantasy Black Channel respectively. Please don’t ask me what the mash-up below is, I really don’t know. It’s just there.

MP3: The Whip – “Trash”
MP3: The Whip Vs. Britney Spears – “Trash Circus” (Ruben X Trashmash)

The polar opposite of the previous bill – Damien Jurado and Laura Gibson – will folk things up at the Drake Underground on April 14. Jurado released Caught In The Trees last year and Gibson’s Beasts Of Seasons is out next week, though you can stream it right now at NPR. The song below is an older one. The Daily Vanguard has an interview. Full dates at BrooklynVegan.

MP3: Damien Jurado – “Gillian Was A Horse”
MP3: Laura Gibson – “Hands In Pockets”
Stream: Laura Gibson / Beasts Of Season

The Dears have scheduled at date at the Mod Club for April 30, tickets $20. The Montreal Mirror talks to Murray Lightburn.

Students.ch and The News interviews White Lies, whose debut To Lose My Life is out Stateside March 17 and they play Lee’s Palace on March 31 with Friendly Fires and The Soft Pack.

MP3: White Lies – “Death”
Video: White Lies – “Farewell To The Fairground”

Paste declares Alela Diane their artists of the week. Her new record To Be Still came out yesterday and is streaming at Spinner. She plays an in-store at Soundscapes this Saturday at 6:30PM and at the Horseshoe that night with Blitzen Trapper. That’s sold out, if you were wondering. Billboard has an interview with Blitzen Trapper.

Stream: Alela Diane / To Be Still

Also new this week and streaming – M Ward’s Hold Time. He also gave a solo performance and interview you can stream at NPR.

Stream: M. Ward / Hold Time

And to wrap up this week’s other new release streams of interest – Asobi Seksu’s Hush – they’re at the ElMo on March 3 – and Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3’s Goodnight Oslo. They play the Mod Club on April 16.

Stream: Asobi Seksu / Hush
Stream: Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 / Goodnight Oslo

Frank YangPlease understand, as much as I like them, I have no desire to make write-ups on Bruce Peninsula a weekly feature. However, their in-store performance at Soundscapes on Wednesday night to mark the release of A Mountain Is A Mouth merited a little more than cursory, “hey Bruce Peninsula played an in-store it was great let’s see what else is going on”.

Typically, in-stores involve a minimal setup – say acoustic guitar and mic into a PA – and a handful of songs, hopefully just enough to entice folks to buy a CD or attend a concert. And Bruce Peninsula did indeed invite the packed store to buy their album – cannily, the band set up across the width of the entire store and thus prevented anyone from being able to buy a CD from any other local independent artist – or a ticket to their February 22 show at the Polish Combatants Hall, but as far as the performance went there were no half-measures. The full band was in attendance – 10 members strong, though some different faces from when I saw them last – and they came equipped with electric guitars and drums (though just individual drums rather than full kits), intent on delivering almost a complete and proper show and demonstrating for those who hadn’t seen them before, the full power of the Bruce Peninsula live experience.

Their set ran almost 40 minutes, culminating in a stunning double-take of “Weave Myself A Dress” – double because it was being filmed for the Camera Music series on aux.tv – and to thank the audience for sitting through the same song twice (though really, we should have been thanking them) the band moved the drums into the middle of the audience for a rousing, pounding finale of “Crabapples”. A headshakingly good performance – isn’t it great/scary when bands you already expect the world from still manage to raise the bar? And I promise this’ll be the last BP-led post until their February 22 show. Unless it’s not.

Hour.ca and Metro have brief interviews with members of the band.

Photos: Bruce Peninsula @ Soundscapes – February 4, 2009
MP3: Bruce Peninsula – “Crabapples”
MySpace: Bruce Peninsula

Also at aux.tv’s Camera Music – an episode with Ohbijou, who will release Beacons in April and play the Opera House on April 13.

And to finish off the live video component of the post, head over to Baeble Music to see footage from Constantines’ show in Brooklyn last December. They’re at the Phoenix on March 31 and April 1.

The Toronto Star, National Post and Exclaim talk to Jenn Grant, who just released her sophomore album Echoes this week and will play the Mod Club on next Thursday, February 12.

Glasswerk and Edinburgh News introduce The Coast to the UK, where the band are kicking off a tour this weekend. They’ll be back in town for a homecoming show at the Horseshoe on February 28 alongside The Diableros and Oh No Forest Fires.

PopMatters chats with AC Newman, booked in at Lee’s Palace for March 11.

Austin Town Hall talks to Brendan Canning and Charles Spearin of Broken Social Scene, while The Georgia Straight talks to Spearin about his solo work with The Happiness Project, who have two dates at the Music Gallery on March 11 and 12.

The Vancouver Sun profiles Angela Desveaux, whose CMW showcase will find her at the Gladstone on Thursday, March 12.

Wireless Bollinger interviews Tony Dekker of Great Lake Swimmers. Lost Channels is out March 31 and they play the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on April 25.

Mark Hamilton of Woodpigeon makes a playlist for taking the train around Europe for The Calgary Herald and are the subject of a feature at The Georgia Straight.

Paste has details on the John Doe/Sadies collaboration Country Club, due out April 14.

Collider has a video interview with Brandon Routh (aka evil ex-boyfriend #3 Todd Ingram) wherein he says that the film adaptation of Scott Pilgrim, set to begin filming here in Toronto next month, will be a combination of live-action and animation. The penultimate volume of the series – Scott Pilgrim Vs The Universe – came out yesterday and I expect the final book will be timed to come out at the same time as the film next year, whenever that’ll be. I think one of the (many) reasons I love the series is that it creates a mythological Toronto which for me, at least, has never existed in any medium. And the mythology around cities is one of the reasons I love places like New York and London so much. The fact that our developing mythology includes killer robots and subspace expressways is just so much the better. And anyone who wants to set up field trips to stalk the production crews around the city, get in touch. No, I’m not kidding.

Kenneth CapelloThough Midnight Boom came out almost a year ago, The Kills aren’t done with it yet – not even close. The sultry “Black Balloon” will be released as the lead track on an EP due out March 23 in most of the world but April 14 in North America, and be backed up with a selection of acoustic tracks.

They’ve also cut a video for the song, the fifth from the album – that’s almost half the songs on the record with their own promo clips, if you’re counting. Sure, their cheap and cheerful aesthetic makes knocking them out easier than it’d be for acts beholden to higher production values, but it’s still a testament to the top-to-bottom excellence of the album. And the scary part is, almost all the remaining tracks could realistically be worked as singles as well.

And with a new release, of course there needs to be touring. The duo will be taking their ridiculously potent live show right across North America this Spring including a May 7 stop at The Phoenix. Support will be The Horrors and Magic Wands, neither of whom I know but who can’t possibly be worse than the band they brought with them last time, Telepathe. They simply cant. Music Snobbery, however, suggests The Horrors might be just as awful for other reasons and doesn’t give good odds on them even making it far enough along in the tour to visit Toronto.

And anyone worrying about rumours that he-Kill Jamie Hince’s fiancee Kate Moss was going to start recording with the band, fear not. She-Kill Alison Mosshart told The Daily Mail that was simply not going to happen.

MP3: The Kills – “U.R.A. Fever”
MP3: The Kills – “Cheap & Cheerful”
Video: The Kills – “Black Balloon”
Video: The Kills – “Tape Song”
Video: The Kills – “The Last Day Of Magic”
Video: The Kills – “Cheap & Cheerful”
Video: The Kills – “U.R.A. Fever”
MySpace: The Kills

Exclaim talks to Bishop Allen about new album Grr…, which will be out March 10 but which has two tracks available to enjoy now.

MP3: Bishop Allen – “Dimmer”
MP3: Bishop Allen – “The Ancient Commonsense Of Things”

A Place To Bury Strangers have a new video.

Video: A Place To Bury Strangers – “My Weakness”

With Christmas On Mars finally done with, CMJ asks Wayne Coyne what’s next for The Flaming Lips – back in the studio this Spring, hoping to have an album out by Summer. XFM are also running a video interview/documentary series on the band.

SFist talks to Dean Wareham about the 13 Most Beautiful…Songs for Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests project for which Dean & Britta are doing live scores for at screenings across the US. The film will be coming out on DVD on March 24. And no, Dean and Britta will not come to your house to play for you while you watch it.

For those of you in the UK, BBC is streaming the video of Elbow’s performance of The Seldom Seen Kid alongside the BBC Concert Orchestra from last December. For the rest of us, well, we’ll have to wait for the CD/DVD package. Though the DVD will almost certainly be region 2 and PAL. Which means those of us in North America will never see it. Hrmm…?

MusoGuide finds out what’s up with The Twilight Sad, currently at work at album number two. And did you know their limited-edition Killed My Parents and Hit the Road tour album of odds, sods and covers was now available on eMusic? Me neither, until now. Depressed Scots make me happy.

Another new video, this one from Oasis.

Video: Oasis – “Falling Down”

Pitchfork has got an MP3 from Bruce Peninsula’s A Mountain Is A Mouth, finally out in physical form. Don’t forget their in-store at Soundscapes this evening starting at 7PM, though if you want to get in and/or see, I recommend being there considerably earlier. The band alone will take up half the store.

MP3: Bruce Peninsula – “Crabapples”

Spinner talks to Gary Louris about Ready For The Flood, the album that brings he and Mark Olson to the Mod Club tonight. He also reveals that an extensive Jayhawks reissue project is underway.