David WaldmanSo yesterday was P-Day – the announcement of the short list for the fourth annual Polaris Music Prize – and perhaps the biggest surprise with the results was the fact that there weren’t any surprises. Of the ten, six were previously nominees from years past which, some might say, just shows they’re among the country’s elite artists and while they may well be, I can say personally that few of the final ten albums really stirred me in a significant way – certainly not as much as any of the ones on my final ballot. I should note that between my first ballot and final ballot, I dropped Metric in favour of Coeur De Pirate so my picks are actually not represented at all in the final tally.

But anyways. Perusing the list, all I can think is that I’m glad I was a member of the grand jury last year and not this year because I’d have trouble really getting impassioned about championing any of the nominees – of course, you could argue that would make a more ideal, objective juror, but that’s someone else’s problem this year. And I’ll tell you this – having been in that room, anyone who thinks that they can guess who will walk away with the big cheque this year based on, well, anything at all, is just wrong. It is fascinating what some people like and use as criteria for this stuff, and they’re generally not nearly as adventurous, safe, predictable or random as you might expect.

My thoughts on the nominees are random at best. As mentioned both above and previously, I think the Metric record is a superb pop record – hence its inclusion on my first ballot – but I can’t say it has that ephemeral something special that would make me go to bat for it as the best the country has produced in the past year. The Great Lake Swimmers nomination has a whiff of lifetime achievement recognition about it – even just four albums in – but I also think it’s their best yet so I can get behind that, although its adherence to such traditional song forms may work against it. Same for Plaskett. By the same token, I think that being so untraditional – at least in terms of what people think of as “Canadian music” – might work against Fucked Up and K’Naan. I’m no expert in either hardcore or hip-hop, but enough who are get behind those two records that I will happily accept that they’re outstanding examples of their respective genres. Chad Van Gaalen I’m on record as just not getting the way many others do, and I’ve accepted that and moved on. The Malajube I thought was just okay and not as good as their last nominated record. The rest of the nominees, I have no strong feelings about one way or the other. And that’s my immediate overall reaction to the whole list – just, “huh”.

So yes, here’s the nominees in alphabetical order with some A/V accompaniment. I do feel compelled to point out that since there’s not actually anyone in the band named Elliott Brood, they should probably be filed under “E” rather than “B”. But anyways.

Elliott Brood / Mountain Meadow
MP3: Elliott Brood – “Write It All Down For You”

Fucked Up / The Chemistry Of Common Life
MP3: Fucked Up – “No Epiphany”

Great Lake Swimmers / Lost Channels
MP3: Great Lake Swimmers – “Pulling On A Line” (zip)

Hey Rosetta! / Into Your Lungs (and around your heart and on through your blood)
Video: Hey Rosetta – “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

K’Naan / Troubadour
Video: K’Naan – “ABC’s

Malajube / Labyrinthes
MP3: Malajube – “Porte Disparu”

Metric / Fantasies
Video: Metric – “Gimme Sympathy”

Joel Plaskett / Three
Video: Joel Plaskett – “Through & Through & Through”

Chad Van Gaalen / Soft Airplane
MP3: Chad Van Gaalen – “Willow Tree”

Patrick Watson / Wooden Arms
Video: Patrick Watson – “Fireweed”

More Polaris commentary at Zoilus, where Carl has a typically insightful look at how and why he thinks Polaris year four shook out the way it did, Exclaim and eye were slinking around the announcement ceremony yesterday, notebooks in hand, talking to whomever and Chart got to talk to Damien Abraham of Fucked Up about the nomination. They’re pictured above not because I’m particularly biased towards them, but because I’ve never used one of their photos before and they are about as much of a dark horse as you’re going to find in the class of 2009. The winner will be chosen on September 21 in a ceremony to be held at the Masonic Temple in Toronto – a different and smaller locale than the Phoenix, where it’s been the last three years. Maybe they’re cutting down on the attendees…? Or maybe just our cheese platters?

But what I find most interesting/ironic about the timing of the Polaris announcement was that it came on the same day as the official release of what was, for my nickel, easily the most interesting, heartfelt and altogether excellent Canadian album of the second half of 2008 and first half of 2009 – Hometowns by The Rural Alberta Advantage. Perhaps you’ve heard of them. They failed to meet the eligibility requirements on account of having made their self-release of the album available for sale via their website and at shows a couple of months before the May 31, 2008 cut-off. This probably netted them a few hundred sales, if even, but cost them a shot at the Polaris, although I did nominate them last year, obviously to no avail. But they’re doing alright – regardless of what you think of Pitchfork, the 8.0 score bestowed upon them yesterday can only help their wonderfully upwards trajectory. In fact, this piece at Hit Singularity uses the band as a case study of how to become a “buzz band”, thankfully in a non-cynical context. Exclaim has a video interview and live performance, The Edmonton Journal an interview and Spinner has an interview as well as a stream of the album. Their label has also made another MP3 available to sample. And if you didn’t think their July 30 show at the Horseshoe was going to be totally sold-out, you’d better think so now.

MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Frank, AB”
Stream: The Rural Alberta Advantage / Hometowns

NXEW interviews Matt Cully of Bruce Peninsula, who surprised some/many by not making the short list – I’ll pin that one on simple geography, as though they made a pretty huge impression on those in their hometown Toronto area, they’re only just now beginning to spread the gospel through the rest of the country.

NPR has a Tiny Desk concert with Julie Doiron, one of the few (?) eligible past nominees who didn’t make the short list. Actually, I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day didn’t make the long list either.

New York Press talks to Dan Boeckner of Handsome Furs, another act many thought would be on the short list.

Buzzgrinder has part the third of the Reverie Sound Revue blog tour – a live performance of “Prelude To A Debut” from their self-titled debut. They’re also sharing up another MP3.

MP3: Reverie Sound Revue – “Opposite Of Thieves”

A release date for the second Friends In Bellwoods charity compilation, mentioned last week, has been given a release date of August 25. It’s 40 songs across two CDs and, if you want to stick with the Polaris theme, features no shortage of artists who’ve already been nominated for the prize and plenty more who surely will be in the future – think of it as a snapshot of everything that’s musically great in Toronto right now. Release shows have already been scheduled – a pre-release shin-dig August 19 at the Gladstone, and a two-part party at the end of the month – August 28 at Lee’s Palace and on the 29th in Trinity-Bellwoods Park. Details on performers and whatnot forthcoming.

Frank YangYou might think the novelty of seeing Phoenix (the band) at the Phoenix (the venue) might have worn off during the two months between the announcement and the actual show on Monday, but it really didn’t. But besides that, the prospect of seeing the French band perform their superb new album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix live was plenty of reason to be excited, and I wasn’t alone in that sentiment – the show was completely sold out.

Their tourmates for this jaunt were Amazing Baby, hailing from the slightly less glamorous locale of Brooklyn. Though the band had played our Hot Freaks showcase at SxSW back in March, I missed them on account of being terrorized by Peelander-Z – I had given their new album Rewild, out next week, a few spins so they weren’t a complete unknown. The album is a melting pot of rock styles, most prominently glam in the ’70s sense of the word, but in live presentation the band’s aesthetic was more garage/80s rock-correct than anything else – lots of hair whipping and even some two-handed guitar tapping. You don’t see that every day. Their set barely clocked in at 25 minutes and didn’t make as much of an impression as their album was beginning to – I’ll spend more time with that before firming up any opinions.

I required no such critical faculties for Phoenix – just set endorphin receptors to 10, wait for them to kick off with “Lisztomania” and let go. If you’ve only heard their studio albums, or even just their latest as I’ve already said I have, you might think that their pristine production and absurdly precise musicianship is a studio creation. Live, however, they expand from a four-piece to six and are every bit as tight and even more dynamic. The massive pop hooks were recreated impeccably but the also demonstrated their ability to get far heavier and funkier than their recorded works had ever implied. It’s easy to think of Phoenix as a breezy pop band but they can get down and dirty – yet remain sonically immaculate – when they choose to.

Watching the band run through a set naturally heavy on Wolfgang but still drawing from their other three albums, you couldn’t help but be impressed with how hard they worked to make it sound so effortless. Singer Thomas Mars frequently looked winded and got progressively sweatier after each song, unsurprising considering how much physicality he put into his performance, roaming around the stage, climbing monitors and generally working the crowd like a pro. It was thus understandable that during the instrumental interlude of “Love Like A Sunset”, he simply lay down on the stage, back against a floor monitor, to recover for a few minutes. And the breather did him well as the band managed to take a show that had run pretty much full-tilt from the word go and take it to another level for the end, whipping the crowd into a frenzy.

All through the night Mars and his bandmates had a sort of incredulous look on their faces, perhaps not quite believing the breadth and intensity of the audience’s enthusiasm. After all, Phoenix were supposed to be one of those bands that no one could understand why they didn’t break out big – they weren’t actually supposed to break out big. But for this night, at least, they were greeted like conquering heroes and no one wanted it to end. So with the final number of the encore, the irresistible “1901”, the band thought they were finished – instruments were unstrapped and amplifiers turned off – but guitarist Laurent Brancowitz kept playing the staccato riff, unwilling to admit it was over – and quickly instruments and amps went back on and they played the outro again, Mars taking the opportunity to leap into the audience and commune properly with their fans. After that euphoric finish, it was finally over and one of the better albums of the year so far had begot one of the best shows of the year so far.

The AV Club has an interview with Phoenix’s Thomas Mars and The Boston Herald with Laurent Brancowitz, while Daytrotter recently posted a session with Amazing Baby recorded back at SxSW.

Photos: Phoenix, Amazing Baby @ The Phoenix – June 15, 2009
MP3: Amazing Baby – “Bayonets”
Video: Phoenix – “1901”
Video: Phoenix – “1901” (acoustic)
Video: Phoenix – “Lisztomania”
Video: Phoenix – “Consolation Prize”
Video: Phoenix – “If I Ever Feel Better”
Video: Phoenix – “Long Distance Call”
Video: Phoenix – “Twenty-One One Zero”
Video: Phoenix – “Run Run Run”
Video: Amazing Baby – “Headdress”
MySpace: Phoenix
MySpace: Amazing Baby

Austin instrumentalists The Octopus Project are at Lee’s Palace on July 28, tickets $8.50.

MP3: The Octopus Project – “I Saw The Bright Shinies”
MP3: The Octopus Project – “Music Is Happiness”

Cursive have a date at The Horseshoe on August 1 in support of their latest album, the horribly-titled Mama, I’m Swollen. Tickets for that one are $15.50.

MP3: Cursive – “From The Hips”
MP3: Cursive – “Mama, I’m Swollen”

Apparently a new 7″ is all the excuse that Modest Mouse need to hit the road. They’ll release a new single on June 23 – Spinner is streaming the a-side right now – and traverse North America in August. The Toronto date is August 21 at the Sound Academy and tickets are $30.

Loney Dear, who had to cancel their May Toronto date on account of a busted-up van, will make that up on October 13 with a show at the Horseshoe – and as a bonus, they’re bringing Asobi Seksu along with them. Actually, Asobi might headline – they’re a much larger draw hereabouts. Full tour dates at Pitchfork.

MP3: Loney Dear – “Airport Surroundings”
MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Familiar Light”

The Fiery Furnaces have a new album in the can called I’m Going Away and will release it on July 1.

MP3: The Fiery Furnaces – “The End Is Near”

Black Book and The Aquarian profile School Of Seven Bells.

Interview interviews TV On The Radio.

Muzzle Of Bees asks five questions of Handsome Furs.

MP3: Handsome Furs – “Radio Kaliningrad”

Mason HastieIf there’s one thing I learned from being on the Grand Jury for last year’s Polaris Prize, it’s that the duties of being a regular jurist are far, far, far, far less stressful. There’s a real burden of responsibility when you’re one of the 11 whose duty it is to choose Canada’s “best album of the year”, forcing you to consider each nominee on the short list objectively, checking as much as possible personal biases towards genre, personality, history, whatever. It’s a lot of work.

And while in theory, the regular jury is supposed to apply that same criteria to their ballots, but it’s more of a free-for-all, some choosing to vote strategically to try and get lesser-known acts some exposure, others opting to ignore more commercially successful artists (though that’s probably the same thing). I took the same approach as in past years – essentially a combination of 85% personal favourites and 15% critical merit – and went with the following picks and rationale:

1) Woodpigeon / Treasury Library Canada & Houndstooth Europa
– one of my favourite albums of 2008, it hasn’t lost any of its winsome charm in the subsequent months. Expansive in scope yet exceedingly intimate-sounding, it’s simple and heartfelt and just beautiful. Dose.ca has an interview with bandleader Mark Hamilton.

MP3: Woodpigeon – “Knock Knock”
MP3: Woodpigeon – “Love In The Time Of Hopscotch”
MP3: Woodpigeon – “Oberkampf”
MP3: Woodpigeon – “Lay All Your Love On Me”
Video: Woodpigeon – “A Moment’s Peace for Mary Christa O’Keefe”
MySpace: Woodpigeon

2) Land Of Talk / Some Are Lakes
– I’d originally pegged this as a bit of a disappointment as it didn’t have the same buzzsaw intensity as their debut EP, but in time I’ve realized that the restraint and nuance of the full-length reveals them to be a much more sophisticated band than you might have originally expected. And it still kicks hard when it needs to.

MP3: Land Of Talk – “Some Are Lakes”
MP3: Land Of Talk – “Corner Phone”
Video: Land Of Talk – “Some Are Lakes”
MySpace: Land Of Talk

3) Rae Spoon / Superioryouareinferior
– The latecomer, dark horse, call it what you will, I’ve explained how this record from an artist completely unknown to me prior to a few months ago quickly became one whose melodies and emotional content would come to haunt the corners of my brain.

MP3: Rae Spoon – “Come On Forest Fire Burn The Disco Down”
Stream: Rae Spoon / Superioryouareinferior
MySpace: Rae Spoon

4) Bruce Peninsula / A Mountain Is A Mouth
– That the recorded artifact even comes close to capturing the intensity of the live Bruce Peninsula experience should earn it some sort of prize. That it dropped a couple of spots where I might have placed it a few months ago is more testament to the quality of the competition than a slight on the record itself.

MP3: Bruce Peninsula – “Crabapples”
MySpace: Bruce Peninsula

5) Metric / Fantasies
– This one might surprise some people who know I’m not even remotely a rabid Metric fan, but I’d be lying if I said that Fantasies didn’t have some of the best hooks and choruses of any record from any country this year. Spinner.ca, North Country Times and Decider have features.

Video: Metric – “Sick Muse”
Video: Metric – “Gimme Sympathy”
MySpace: Metric

And to my surprise, all five of my picks made the official long list, announced yesterday, which means that not only can I rest easy knowing that my tastes broadly align with the rest of Canada’s music critics (or maybe I should despair of that?) but that I now no longer need to do anything between now and the official ceremony in late September, when I will have to help myself to cheese and crackers. The short list of ten finalists will be unveiled on July 7, and I’m not going to speculate as to how many of the above choices will still be standing when the dust settles there. Hopefully at least a couple, so I have someone to root for.

I don’t know if the timing of the Polaris long list announcement was deliberately set to coincide with the start of NXNE this week, but it certainly makes my segue easier. I took an early pass at the lineup a while back, and now that the schedule has mostly worked itself out, my picks for the week are becoming somewhat clearer. Each night would seem to have what I’ll call an “anchor” act for me to either plan around or use as a starting point for the evening. Thursday night at 10PM at Neutral for Austin’s Ume, Friday at the Dakota at 8PM for Coeur De Pirate, with whom Singing Lamb has an interview, and Saturday at the Horseshoe, 9PM, for the aforementioned Woodpigeon.

Options for the Thursday night include Kensington Prairie at C’est What or The Balconies at the Drake for 9PM, Kittens Ablaze at the Rivoli or Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head at the El Mocambo at 11 and probably The Darcys at midnight.

With Coeur De Pirate being an early show, Friday is kind of wide open. Will almost certainly hit up Parlovr at Supermarket at 9, hope Swedes via Ireland Kill Krinkle Club are better than their name at Holy Joe’s for 10 and if not, there’s The Superstitions playing just downstairs at the Reverb. The UK’s Koogaphone have piqued my interest for 11PM – they’re upstairs at the El Mocambo – and seeing as how I’ve meant to see Provincial Parks for some time now, midnight at Rancho Relaxo seems as good an opportunity as any. 1AM will probably send me back to the Reverb for Parallels, though having The Sadies at the El Mocambo at the same time is about as sure a bet as you can get.

Saturday starts at the Horseshoe for Woodpigeon, and while staying at the ‘Shoe for NXNE for the stacked CBC-sponsored lineups is always an option, I will likely head to Bread & Circus to see Caledonia – though they didn’t make the long list, they got some substantial last-minute Polaris nomination buzz. Speaking of buzz, Band Of Skulls is getting enough that I’ll likely check them out at the El Mocambo but staying at Bread & Circus – with their lovely bright lights – for Olenka & The Autumn Lovers is also an option. Post-midnight is still entirely up in the air – suggestions are welcome, though they’d have to compete against the “go home and go to sleep” option, which is always a compelling one.

And if the official showcases aren’t enough to keep you busy, there’s always the unofficial ones, which generally take the form of in-stores. I haven’t seen anything slated for Sonic Boom, which is a bit unusual, but Criminal Records has a nice little lineup this week – Apostle Of Hustle at 7PM tonight, Said The Whale and The Daredevil Christopher Wright on the 19th, starting at 6PM.

As mentioned before, Ohbijou are doing an in-store at Soundscapes on Wednesday, June 17 at 7PM to mark the release of Beacons, a record you can probably expect to see me talking about when I do my Polaris Prize writeup for 2010. They talk to CBC Radio 3 and The National Post about the new album. They’ll also do a full show at the Opera House on June 25 – still have passes and prizes to give away for that.

The National Post has a Soundcheck video feature on Dog Day.

Someone obviously thinks I need to visit Montreal again. Today, Pop Montreal, taking place September 30 to October 4, revealed their initial lineup and as rumoured, the list includes the likes of Dinosaur Jr, Chairlift, Destroyer and the Dalai Lama (what?) – all fine acts, but their presence in Montreal almost certainly augurs a trip down the 401 to Toronto within a day or two. But more compelling is the addition to Osheaga (August 1 and 2) of Yeah Yeah Yeahs. When the initial lineup was announced and it was obvious they were importing chunks of All Points West’s roster wholesale, I bemoaned the fact that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs weren’t among them. Well apparently it was just a matter of time, because now with them and Elbow performing along with The Decemberists and Lykke Li amongst a host of others – and the fact that until V gets their act together and gives me a reason to head up to Orillia – 2009 is looking festival-free and that simply will not do.

Jess BaumungThere’s many reasons to be thankful that Beacons, the sophomore effort from Toronto’s Ohbijou, has finally arrived. Twelve at least, but for me there’s also the fact that two and a half years after first discovering the act at the very first V Fest, it gives me something new to talk about as I’ve completely run out of things to say about them with respect to their debut record, Swift Feet For Troubling Times.

If Swift Feet was the aural equivalent of a walk through the woods on a crisp and silent Winter’s day, Casey Mecija’s voice and the band’s bedroom chamber-pop orchestrations keeping your head warm like the furry lining of a parka, then Beacons continues that walk through the city on the cusp of Spring. It’s not concerned with the bright lights and hustle and bustle of downtown, but the side streets where real life happens and a thousand individual stories unfold behind closed doors. And it’s these intimate tales that populate Mecija’s songs, impressionist in rendering yet exquisitely detailed and lifted up by a band that’s infinitely more confident this time out. Whereas Swift Feet was happy to keep things consistently cozy, Beacons embraces Ohbijou’s more extroverted side, which frequently bubbled up and over in their live show. Songs like “Make It Gold” and “Black Ice” build and swell to crescendos that might have been jarring on Swift Feet but feel not only natural, but necessary on Beacons – the sense of renewal and potential that permeates the album demands action. Sweeping, musical action.

If Beacons had come out on its original mid-April release date, it would have been a wonderful record for Spring. But the business of signing of record deals both at home and abroad necessitated its
delay – it was released in the UK last week via Bella Union and Last Gang is putting it out in Canada next Tuesday, June 16, and in the US on June 23 – so it will simply have to settle for being a wonderful record.

Ohbijou will play a hometown record release show at the Opera House on June 25, and courtesy of LiveNationa, Last Gang and the band, I’ve got three terrific prize packs to give away consisting of a pair of passes to the show, a copy of the album on CD and an Ohbijou t-shirt. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to Ohbijou” in the subject line and your full name, mailing address and t-shirt size in the body. Contest open to local-type folk and will close at midnight, June 20. And if you can’t make the show for whatever reason, take heart – the band have announced that they will play an in-store at Soundscapes on June 17 at 7PM and Casey Mecija will play a set accompanied by Evening Hymns at the Whipper Snapper Gallery on June 20 at 9PM as part of NxNE.

MP3: Ohbijou – “Black Ice”
MySpace: Ohbijou

Also playing a just-announced in-store, Pink Mountaintops. They’ll warm up for their show at the Horseshoe the evening of June 14 in support of Outside Love with a short set at Sonic Boom at 3PM.

MP3: Pink Mountaintops – “Vampire”
MP3: Pink Mountaintops – “While We Were Dreaming”

NPR gets Great Lake Swimmers’ Tony Dekker to play a Tiny Desk Concert. I’m sorry, but that desk looks decidedly normal-sized, if not rather large.

The Seattle Times interviews Dan Boeckner of Handsome Furs.

The recent revival of interest in the life and times of Royal City may center on the Royal City compilation of rarities due out June 23, but in the band’s former home base of southern Ontario, at least, that’s not the end of it. Exclaim has details on a pair of tribute shows dubbed “Burning Torch: A Tribute to Royal City” taking place at the Ebar in Guelph on June 24 and at the Tranzac in Toronto on June 26. Performers will include Gentleman Reg, The Wooden Sky’s Gavin Gardiner, Constantines side-project Woolly Leaves and former Royal City skinman Nathan Lawr.

MP3: Royal City – “Can’t You Hear Me Calling”
MP3: Royal City – “A Belly Was Made For Wine”

It’s not much secret I’m an unrepentant Anglophile (I was actually repentant for a few years in the early part of this century but I got over that) so it’s good that UK music blog The Line Of Best Fit is balancing out the cross-Atlantic karmic balance with their Canuckophilia, manifested in their new column Oh! Canada, where they gush about new Canadian talent from a British perspective, and they’re taking it one further but compiling all-Canadian downloadable mixes, the first of which also contains another Beacons track from Ohbijou.

Secret Sessions is a new series coming to the online music portal aux.tv and they’ve just begun filming the first batch of episodes at The Audio Recording Academy in Toronto and will run through the Summer – upcoming tapings will feature Great Bloomers and Oh No Forest Fires, amongst others. Admission to the tapings is free, just RSVP via the information on their website.

And another new show coming to aux.tv is City Sonic, a series dedicated to interviewing Toronto artists such as Holy Fuck’s Brian Borcherdt, Sarah Slean and Sebastien Grainger about the rooms and venues in the city that shaped their careers. A preview of some of the episodes will be taking place at the Drake on June 17 as part of NxNE, along with performances from Woodhands, Lioness and The D’Urbervilles.

Frank YangHandsome Furs
Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Husband-and-wife duo who’ve just released their second album Face Control and are touring America and Europe in the coming months to promote
– Show review
– features at The Montreal Mirror, The Montreal Gazette and The National Post
– streaming radio session at MPR

Photos: Handsome Furs @ Club DeVille – March 20, 2009
MP3: Handsome Furs – “I’m Confused”
MP3: Handsome Furs – “Can’t Get Started”
MP3: Handsome Furs – “What We Had”
Video: Handsome Furs – “I’m Confused”
Video: Handsome Furs – “Can’t Get Started”
Video: Handsome Furs – “Dumb Animals”
MySpace: Handsome Furs