Posts Tagged ‘Joel Plaskett’

Thursday, September 12th, 2013

Reflekhoter Chamber

Arcade Fire blah blah Reflektor blah blah

Photo By Korey RicheyKorey RicheyBlah blah Arcade Fire blah blah? Blah blah Reflektor blah blah, double album blah blah Rodin’s Orpheus and Eurydice blah blah October 29. Blah blah “Reflektor” blah blah first single blah blah 9/9/9:00 blah blah – weekend leak blah blah David Bowie blah blah James Murphy – blah blah disco-riffic.

Blah blah video premieres blah blah Anton Corbijn blah blah conventional video blah blah Vincent Morriset blah blah Google Creative Lab blah blah interactive video blah blah Creators Project blah blah boombox collaboration.

Blah blah Win Butler blah blah interview blah blah BBC1’s Zane Lowe; blah blah summaries blah blah Pitchfork, blah blah CBC Music, blah blah Spin.

Blah! Blah blah semi-secret shows blah blah Salsatheque in Montreal blah blah world tour coming. Blah blah promotional machine, blah blah blah. Blah, blah Saturday Night Live blah season premiere blah Tina Fey blah September 28.

Whew.

Video: Arcade Fire – “Reflektor”
Video: Arcade Fire – “Reflektor” (interactive)

With their new 7″ out this week, Stars have deemed it safe to stream the b-side over at Under The Radar.

Stream: Stars – “The Light”

The Weeknd has put out a new video from the just-released Kiss Land. He plays three nights at Massey Hall on October 17, 19, and 20.

Video: The Weeknd – “Live For”

Bullett got to premiere another new track from The Darcys’ new album Warring, but the fact that CBC Music now has the entire record available to stream ahead of its release next week, September 17, makes it kind of moot. For those outside Canada and geoblocked, KCRW also has a stream. The Darcys play Adelaide Hall on October 11.

Stream: The Darcys – “Horses Fell”
Stream: The Darcys / Warring

Also out September 17 and available to stream is Internal Sounds, the latest effort from The Sadies and you can hear that at Exclaim as well as read an interview with the band about the new album.

Stream: The Sadies / Internal Sounds

Beatroute has an interview with Young Galaxy, who’ve made another new track from the Ultramarine deluxe edition coming out September 24 available to stream.

Stream: Young Galaxy – “Sea Drug”

Hear Nebraska and NOW talk to Basia Bulat about her new album Tall Tall Shadow, coming out October 1. She plays The Polish Combatants Hall on October 10, 11, and 12 to celebrate its release and if you’re thinking that’s one extra date than the last time you checked, you are correct – they’ve added a third show on the 12th, which makes this less a concert than a veritable Basia-fest. Tickets for that show, like the others, are $20.

Video: Basia Bulat – “It Can’t Be You”

Exclaim has got the video for the title track of Great Lake Swimmer Tony Dekker’s solo debut, Prayer Of The Woods. It’s out October 8.

Video: Tony Dekker – “Prayer Of The Woods”

NOW catches a quick word with Shad, whose new album Flying Colours is out October 15 and who plays The Opera House on October 19.

Montreal’s Suuns have slated an October 19 show at the Adelaide Hall in support of this year’s Images du Futur; tickets for that are $15.

MP3: Suuns – “Edie’s Dream”

Vancouver’s excellent Belle Game will be at The Drake Underground on October 25 behind their equally excellent debut Ritual Tradition Habit, tickets an eminently reasonable $12.50 in advance.

MP3: The Belle Game – “Blame Fiction”

Because he really doesn’t need a particular reason, Joel Plaskett will be at The Danforth Music Hall on November 2 to play some songs accompanied by his father Bill. They’ll do two sets that night and tickets run $29.50 in advance.

MP3: Joel Plaskett – “When I Go”

Former Forest City Lovers frontwoman Kat Burns has announced details of her full-length debut as the electro-pop act Kashka; Bound will be out November 5 and details can be found at Exclaim and a super-brief trailer below.

Trailer: Kashka / Bound

Beatroute has a feature on Braids, who play The Great Hall on November 10.

Hayden has announced a Fall tour which wraps up with a hometown show at the Danforth Music Hall on November 30, tickets running from $32.50 to $39.50 in advance. He’s also released a new video from his latest effort, Us Alone.

Video: Hayden – “Blurry Nights”

Mechanical Forest Sound is sharing a recording of Ohbijou’s farewell show at The Great Hall last weekend.

Monday, July 8th, 2013

Toronto Urban Roots Fest Day One

She & Him, Camera Obscura, Joel Plaskett, and more at TURF 2013

Photo By Frank YangFrank YangI don’t know if the troops who manned Fort York in the 18th and 19th centuries necessarily knew that they were potentially laying their lives on the line so that future generations could wander the grounds, tall boy in hand and Ray-Bans on head whilst listening to live music, but if they did, they’d be proud. After serving intermittent duty as an outdoor venue over the past few years, Fort York and Garrison Commons has become the go-to site for music festivals in downtown Toronto, effectively replacing the picturesque but logistically problematic Olympic Island. And while it’s not large enough to host something on the scale of Lollapalooza or Osheaga, or even necessarily our own late and qualifiedly-lamented V Fest, it’s a convenient, scenic, and effective space for events like the inaugural Toronto Urban Roots Fest this past weekend.

Unlike the Arts & Crafts anniversary Field Trip in June, the Lolla-Osheagea-drafting Grove Fest in early August, or the Replacements-reuniting Riot Fest later that month, TURF comes out of the gate homegrown – put on by local promoters Collective Concerts – and extra-ambitious, stretching over four nights and two full days plus club shows at The Horseshoe and Lee’s Palace, and with a definite eye towards becoming an annual Summer tradition in the city, filling a glaring need in a town that’s otherwise pretty generous for its live music-going patrons (for more background on the festival, check out interviews with founder Jeff Cohen at The Toronto Standard, The Grid, The National Post, The Toronto Star, and The Toronto Sun).

And it all got underway last Thursday evening, under sunny and sweltering skies, with Barr Brothers, the multi-instrumentalised, harp-enhanced quartet from Montreal ably represented the “roots” end of things. Being largely unfamiliar with the band, their musical personality felt somewhat broad, but as the set progressed, settled into an enjoyable range, dwelling largely in the intricate and lovely folk end of things but with confident forays into rougher, bluesy territory, all of it elegantly and impeccably executed.

Photos: The Barr Brothers @ Garrison Commons, West Stage – July 4, 2013
MP3: The Barr Brothers – “Beggar In The Morning”
Video: The Barr Brothers – “Old Mythologies”
Video: The Barr Brothers – “Beggar In The Morning”

No such stylistic figuring out was needed for Scotland’s Camera Obscura, up next at the other end of the park. I’d seen them what seems like a million times – most recently their second-last visit in June 2009 behind My Maudlin Career (they circled back for another show that November) – but it had still been far too long. But now they were back with a charming new record in Desire Lines and back on the road. And, had there been any doubt, they confirmed that in addition to being top-class purveyors of indie-pop tunes, they could still look unsmiling and dour even on a beautiful Summer’s evening. That’s just them, though, and with a couple touring players utility filling things out on percussion, horns, and steel guitar, they were able to string together all the bright and jaunty pop numbers in their catalog – with a few of the slow burners dropped in for variety – for an ideal smile-inducing, hand-clapping festival show.

The Philadelphia Inquirer and Boston Globe have features on the band.

Photos: Camera Obscura @ Garrison Commons, East Stage – July 4, 2013
MP3: Camera Obscura – “Fifth In Line To The Throne”
MP3: Camera Obscura – “My Maudlin Career”
MP3: Camera Obscura – “If Looks Could Kill”
MP3: Camera Obscura – “Lloyd, I’m Ready To Be Heartbroken”
MP3: Camera Obscura – “Suspended From Class”
MP3: Camera Obscura – “Come Back Margaret”
Video: Camera Obscura – “The Sweetest Thing”
Video: Camera Obscura – “Honey In The Sun”
Video: Camera Obscura – “French Navy”
Video: Camera Obscura – “Lloyd, I’m Ready To Be Heartbroken”
Video: Camera Obscura – “If Looks Could Kill”
Video: Camera Obscura – “Let’s Get Out Of This Country”
Video: Camera Obscura – “Tears For Affairs”
Video: Camera Obscura – “Teenager”
Video: Camera Obscura – “Keep It Clean”
Video: Camera Obscura – “Eighties Fan”

It stands to reason that if you open up something of local importance, like say a shopping mall, you’d have the mayor on hand to cut the ribbon (maybe not Toronto’s mayor, but I digress). So if you’re inaugurating a new music festival in Canada, you bring out the de facto mayor of Canadian music, which is to say Joel Plaskett. Following an introduction from fellow sort-of Canuck icon, sportscaster Dave Hodge, Plaskett and the Emergency got to work with a set not too different from the one I saw at The Horseshoe in December, with a solo acoustic set sandwiched between classic rock-outs, but angled more for broad crowd-pleasing than just the die-hards. It’s pretty safe to say there’s no size stage that Plaskett doesn’t feel right at home at, whether playing the rocker or troubadour. And it seemed fitting that having largely missed Canada Day earlier this week because I was in the US, I was now marking Independence Day with as concentrated a dose of Canadiana as you could hope to find.

The Gate has an interview with Plaskett.

Photos: Joel Plaskett Emergency @ Garrison Commons, East Stage – July 4, 2013
MP3: Joel Plaskett – “When I Go”
MP3: Joel Plaskett – “Deny Deny Deny”
Video: Joel Plaskett Emergency – “Somewhere Else”
Video: Joel Plaskett – “Through & Through & Through”
Video: Joel Plaskett – “You Let Me Down”
Video: Joel Plaskett Emergency – “Fashionable People”
Video: Joel Plaskett – “Happen Now”
Video: Joel Plaskett – “Natural Disaster”
Video: Joel Plaskett – “Paralyzed”
Video: Joel Plaskett Emergency – “Work Out Fine”
Video: Joel Plaskett Emergency – “Come On Teacher”
Video: Joel Plaskett Emergency – “True Patriot Love”
Video: Joel Plaskett Emergency – “Maybe We Should Just Go Home”
Video: Joel Plaskett Emergency – “Clueless Wonder”
Video: Joel Plaskett – “She Made A Wreck Outta Me”
Video: Joel Plaskett – “News Of Your Son”

On an evening of TURF firsts, She & Him had the distinction of not only being the first headliner, but the first ones to reveal the very existence of the festival to the world when it was listed in their tour itinerary in support of Volume 3 back in January. It was a personal first for me, as well, seeing them for the first time outside of SXSW where I caught one of their earliest shows in 2008 and again in more seasoned form in 2010. It looked to be Matt Ward and Zooey Deschanel’s same six-piece backing band in place as at that second show – nice to see they’ve kept the unit together over the years – and also in place was their strict “no photos” policy, applied to the entire audience and most of the media. This was a source of some grousing from those hoping to leverage the star power on display into more Instagram likes, but for those who accepted it and watched the show with their eyeballs, it was a pretty enjoyable show.

It may be an overstatement to say that had She & Him been exactly what they are musically but without the principals being who they are, they wouldn’t be where they are now – okay, any outfit with someone of Matt Ward’s guitar and arrangement skills would demand to be heard – but you can’t argue that having someone of Deschanel’s profile fronting them offered a pretty big leg up. She’s not an astonishing talent as a singer or a songwriter, but she’s certainly good enough to pull off the uncomplex but endearing retro-pop songs that she writes, particularly when surrounded with the players that she is. And considering that between the release of their first record in 2008 and now, she’s gone from an indie film darling to legit network sitcom star, the her commitment to She & Him remains as strong as it is actually pretty impressive.

Also impressive is how much she’s grown as a frontperson and performer. She’s not Juliette Lewis, by any measure, but considering how deer-in-the-headlights terrified she was at that first SXSW show, the assuredness she’s got on stage now if nice to see. Ward, also, was more engaged with being the titular Him in the band, stepping out of the shadows for some showy guitar moves and to elicit swoons with his gravelly vocals on the duets. Together, Ward and Deschanel have a charming if decidedly PG sort of chemistry, perfectly suited to the chaste, sock hop-esque concepts of romance that they specialize in. High points were the Chapin Sisters-harmonized rendition of the Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody” against a backdrop of stars, a sweet version of Ward’s own “Magic Trick”, and a fiery guitar duel between Ward and Mike Coykendall to close out “In The Sun” and the main set. And also that the first day of the first TURF ever went off beautifully.

Photos: She & Him @ Garrison Commons, East Stage – July 4, 2013
MP3: She & Him – “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?”
Video: She & Him – “I Could’ve Been Your Girl”
Video: She & Him – “Don’t Look Back”
Video: She & Him – “Thieves”
Video: She & Him – “In The Sun”
Video: She & Him – “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?”

Exclaim has a conversation with Louise Burns about her new album The Midnight Mass as well as an advance stream of said record ahead of its July 9 release date.

Stream: Louise Burns / Midnight Mass

Exclaim gets Diamond Rings to play an acoustic video session. He’ll be fully plugged-in when opening up for OMD at the Danforth Music Hall on July 11 and 19.

Exclaim talk changes in direction with Lightning Dust, in town at The Drake on September 10.

The Grid checks in with Dallas Good of The Sadies, whose new album Internal Sounds will be made external on September 17.

Exclaim has the first batch of live dates from Rae Spoon in support of his new record My Prairie Home, coming August 13, and they include a September 18 date at The Gladstone in Toronto.

MP3: Rae Spoon – “Crash Landing”

The Montreal Gazette and Spin have feature pieces on Austra, who play a hometown show at The Phoenix on September 27.

The Grid talks to Joel Gibb of The Hidden Cameras about their new 7″ “Gay Goth Scene” and the new album, Age, that it precedes. That is due out sometime this Fall.

Evening Hymns have released a new video from their Polaris-longlisted album Spectral Dusk.

Video: Evening Hymns – “Song To Sleep To”

Stars have premiered the newest video from The North at The Huffington Post.

Video: Stars – “Hold On When You Get Love And Let Go When You Give It”

Huffington Post talks to Al Spx of Cold Specks about collaborating with Moby on his new record and where she’s going with her own next album.

The Guardian has a video session with Rachel Zeffira, wherein she performs her version of The Beatles’ “Because”; she plays one of her own songs in session for Chart.

aux.tv has an interview with Odonis Odonis.

Saturday, June 29th, 2013

CONTEST – Toronto Urban Roots Fest @ Garrison Common – July 4-7, 2013

Photo By Frank YangFrank YangWhat: Toronto Urban Roots Fest, the inaugural edition of a new multi-day festival that’s aiming to do what Bluesfest does for Ottawa and the Jazz Festival does for Montreal – namely bring in a lot of bands that have little to nothing to do with the festival’s titular genre but make great music. And let’s not get pedantic about the “urban” part, hey?
Who: Arkells, The Barr Brothers, Belle & Sebastian, Camera Obscura, Neko Case, The Cat Empire, Dawes, Justin Townes Earle, Alejandro Escovedo & The Sensitive Boys, The Felice Brothers, Fitz & The Tantrums, Flogging Molly, Hannah Georgas, The Hold Steady, Larry and his Flask, The Lowest Of The Low, Matt Mays, JD McPherson, The Joel Plaskett Emergency, Xavier Rudd, The Sadies, She & Him, Skydiggers, Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls, Kurt Vile & The Violators, Whitehorse, The Wooden Sky, Yo La Tengo
When: July 4 to 7, 2013
Where: Garrison Common at Fort York, Toronto
How: Single-day tickets for the show range from $50 to $60 in advance, but courtesy of Collective Concerts, I’ve got one pairs of passes for each day of the festival to give away. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to TURF” in the subject line and your full name in the body along with which days, in order of preference, you’d like to attend – consult the schedule for who’s playing when. Contest closes at midnight, July 2, 2013.

Wednesday, February 20th, 2013

Another Sunny Day

Belle & Sebastian ready to show off their urban, rootsy side at Toronto Urban Roots Festival

Photo By Reuben CoxReuben CoxThe Toronto Urban Roots Festival has existed under a shroud of mystery since its existence emerged late last month, and even with its grand unveiling last week, it still only had two acts on its opening night – She & Him and Camera Obscura – to its roster. A promising start, but still eliciting more questions than excitement.

That balance has arguably skewed in the other direction considerably with yesterday’s announcement of Belle & Sebastian as the headlining act on the festival’s closing night, July 7. That they’re coming to town isn’t a big surprise – their presence at the Montreal Jazz Festival a few days earlier was a matter of public record since the start of the year and the idea of their not playing Toronto was absurd – but it’s nice to be able to put a date and place to it. It will be quite a different setting from Massey Hall, which has hosted their finest moments in the city, but considering that without a new album to promote and a Summer itinerary of only big festivals, a set list packed with fan favourites from throughout their career seems likely – plus there’s something to be said for being able to get up and dance without worrying about venue security descending upon you. People, this will be great. And to further whet your Scots-pop appetites, PitchforkTV has created a documentary feature/oral history on the making If You’re Feeling Sinister.

On top of the Belle & Sebastian add, TURF will also feature Neko Case, The Joel Plaskett Emergency, and Flogging Molly amongst their performers. Neko – who could well have a new record out by then because goodness knows it’s been long enough – will also be playing on July 7, while Plaskett and Flogging Molly (Flogging? The Flogs?) have yet to confirm which of the four days they’ll be slotted on. In any case, all this – plus the promise of another 25+ acts – makes the $99.50 early bird, four-day pass seem like a pretty good deal when it goes on sale in mid-March.

MP3: Belle & Sebastian – “The Boy With The Arab Strap”
MP3: Belle & Sebastian – “Another Sunny Day”
MP3: Neko Case – “People Got A Lotta Nerve”
MP3: Joel Plaskett – “When I Go”
Video: Belle & Sebastian: If You’re Feeling Sinister

Those concerned about being able to get into UK post-punk buzz-band Savages’ March 23 Canadian Musicfest showcase at Lee’s Palace on March 23 should take note that they’ve added a second showcase the night before, March 22, at The Horseshoe. Not that Horseshoe shoes are any easier to get into during CMF, but still.

Stream: Savages – “Flying To Berlin”

Jenn Grant is at The Horseshoe on April 13, still touring last year’s The Beautiful Wild. Tickets for that show are $15 in advance.

Video: Jenn Grant – “The Fighter”

Widowspeak have finally plotted out a North American tour in support of their excellent second album Almanac; catch them at The Garrison on April 14, tickets $10.50 in advance.

MP3: Widowspeak – “Ballad Of The Golden Hour”

Marnie Stern will be at Parts & Labour on April 16 behind her new record The Chronicles Of Marnia. Hit up Pitchfork for full dates and a stream of a new track.

MP3: Marnie Stern – “Transparency Is The New Mystery”

EmptyMansions, aka the solo project of Interpol drummer Sam Fogarino, will release their debut album snakes/vultures/sulfate on April 2 and be at Garrison on April 30 in support. Toneluster has an interview with Fogarino about the project and Rolling Stone has premiered the first video from the record.

Video: EmptyMansions – “ThatMan”

Booking two shows three months apart isn’t usually considered prudent – they just played The Phoenix at the start of February – but arguably Purity Ring still have the demand to do it. Plus, they’re bringing along Blue Hawaii – side-project of Braids frontwoman Raphaelle Standell-Preston – to sweeten the bill. They’re at The Danforth Music Hall on May 5, tickets $22.50 for floors and $20.00 for balcony.

MP3: Purity Ring – “Belispeak”
MP3: Blue Hawaii – “In Two II”

And in long-awaited – as in ten years or so – news, The Postal Service are finally coming to Toronto. To mark the 10th anniversary of the release of Give Up – a decade ago this past Monday, to be exact – they’ve announced a massive North American tour that brings them to the Air Canada Centre on June 11, tickets $49.50 to $59.50, on sale February 25 (presale) and 28 (general onsale). And to the FAQ section: yes, it will be in theatre configuration but I wouldn’t be surprised to see that expand if demand outstrips the 6000 or so seats that allows – remember, they sold out the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn in a heartbeat; yes, Jenny Lewis will be along for the ride to sing her parts and presumably cover Jen Wood’s parts for “Nothing Better”; yes, the album is only 45 minutes long but think of all the extra material that the April 9 deluxe edition of Give Up will bring. It’ll run an hour at least.

MP3: The Postal Service – “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight”
MP3: The Postal Service – “Such Great Heights”

Tuesday, December 18th, 2012

Scrappy Happiness

Joel Plaskett Emergency and Always at The Horseshoe in Toronto

Photo By Frank YangFrank YangA little piece of trivia that surprised even me when I learned it (and is really of no relevance to anything save this opening paragraph) – save for his two appearances at the Polaris Prize galas in 2007 and 2009, I’d never seen I’d never seen Joel Plaskett live. And it certainly hasn’t been for lack of opportunity – while it’s highly unlikely Plaskett will ever uproot himself from his beloved Halifax, he’s played Toronto enough to claim honourary residency.

No, it’s been partially deliberate on account of the fact that while I like Plaskett’s stuff, I’m in the seemingly minuscule group that just likes it and doesn’t love it. I’ve heard a number of – but not all – of his records and respect the work ethic that’s made him one of this country’s most beloved artists (at least in the demographic that I run with), but the breadth of his catalog and the passion of his fanbase has made the prospect of finally going to one of his shows a daunting one. Would I know (m)any songs? Would I enjoy it? If I didn’t and said so, would his street team put a hit out on me? Real concerns, people. But with the man setting up shop at The Horseshoe for five straight nights in honour of the bar’s 65th birthday and the fact that I really quite like his latest effort, this year’s Scrappy Happiness, I decided it was finally time. But of course I waited until the very last show – partly because it was an early show being a Sunday night, and partly because Always was opening.

I’d seen them a few weeks ago supporting The Joy Formidable, but while I went into that show thinking, “Always?” on account of not knowing who they were, I went into this one thinking, “Always!” on account of knowing who they were and liking what they did. Notes from that past show mostly still applied this time out, but it’s worth noting that even though they were a rhythm section-less three-piece this time out, the songs didn’t seem to suffer at all for it. The sequencer pinch-hitting in laying down backing tracks kept in the spirit and sound of their janglesome old-school indie-pop aesthetic just fine, and the simple beats kept things sprightly. The demos I originally linked to in that last review are now hidden from prying ears – apparently they weren’t for public consumption – but hopefully something finished will be revealed soon and y’all can hear – and decide – for yourselves.

Even though I freely admit to not having heard all of Plaskett’s oeuvre, I know that you don’t really have to have to know what he’s about. From grunge-pop beginnings with Thrush Hermit, he’s spent two decades establishing himself as a sort of Canuck Springsteen, specializing in The Boss’ nostalgic anthems of youth with a certain Maritime bent and intrinsically Canadian reliability – kind of an arena rock/kitchen party hybrid. You don’t have to listen long to note his habit of repeating references to people and places, but rather than sounding repetitive, it helps create and define the world his songs and their loose autobiographical narrative exist within. He believes in the purity of the rhyme and riff – particularly of the ’70s rock vintage – and the power of the “la la la” singalong. It’s not a complicated formula, but that’s what makes it so difficult to get right. And as Plaskett showed me, he’s gotten it right and makes it look easy.

Though his voice did show some of the strain of the past nights’ performances – and their respective afterparties, I’m sure – Plaskett’s energy was unflagging for the two hours he was up there. After all, it was their last show of the year; if ever there was a time to leave it all on the stage, this was it. With a couple of animatronic monkey toys adding a little Disneyworld/Chuck-E-Cheese flavour to the evening, Plaskett proved a terrific and engaging performer. Whether the acoustic troubadour crooning sensitively or the electrified preacher ripping guitar solos – with plenty of entertaining banter for either guise – he was every bit the showman without getting overly showy and selling the flair with his total earnestness.

Not being intimately familiar with the catalog proved not to be an issue, either, as there were enough tunes I knew and liked to keep me fully engaged and, for reasons noted above, the ones I didn’t were hardly difficult to get into and enjoy – though being in a big crowd who seemed to know every word to everything helped with that. And you need that kind of fanbase if you’re going to encore with an iPod-assisted musical history lesson as a lead-in to a partially-lip synced dance routine, as he did for “Fashionable People”, or turn a jam into a freestyle not-rap tribute with 65-beat count-up to mark The Horseshoe’s anniversary. As first-time Joel Plaskett shows goes, I think I could have done much, much worse.

Panic Manual has an interview with Joel Plaskett.

Photos: The Joel Plaskett Emergency, Always @ The Horseshoe – December 16, 2012
MP3: Joel Plaskett – “When I Go”
MP3: Joel Plaskett – “Deny Deny Deny”
Video: Joel Plaskett Emergency – “Somewhere Else”
Video: Joel Plaskett – “Through & Through & Through”
Video: Joel Plaskett – “You Let Me Down”
Video: Joel Plaskett Emergency – “Fashionable People”
Video: Joel Plaskett – “Happen Now”
Video: Joel Plaskett – “Natural Disaster”
Video: Joel Plaskett – “Paralyzed”
Video: Joel Plaskett Emergency – “Work Out Fine”
Video: Joel Plaskett Emergency – “Come On Teacher”
Video: Joel Plaskett Emergency – “True Patriot Love”
Video: Joel Plaskett Emergency – “Maybe We Should Just Go Home”
Video: Joel Plaskett Emergency – “Clueless Wonder”
Video: Joel Plaskett – “She Made A Wreck Outta Me”
Video: Joel Plaskett – “News Of Your Son”
Video: Thrush Hermit – “The Day We Hit The Coast”
Video: Thrush Hermit – “On The Sneak”
Video: Thrush Hermit – “French Inhale”

Electro-goth locals Trust have made a date for February 22 at Lee’s Palace and also released a new video from their debut TRST.

Video: Trust – “Heaven”

aux.tv has premiered the new video from Modern Superstitions’ own self-titled debut.

Video: Modern Superstitions – “Last Night’s Dress”

The Grid declares locals Moon King as “one to watch”; having seen them back in October, I concur. They’re at The Drake on December 28 as part of the $5 “What’s In The Box” concert series.

Japandroids talk to Pitchfork about making the video for “The House That Heaven Built”, to CBC Music about making their #1 rock record of the year, and The Calgary Herald, StarPhoenix, and The National Post about whatever.