Bass Lions - ...Is Diamonds (Early Review!)

We haven't heard all that much from Hamilton's Bass Lions for awhile and I'm sure the fans, like myself, were hoping that this was all for a good reason. 2007's More Than Islands was pretty much perfect, not only as a collection of excellent songs in an individual sense, but also in terms of production and in the way that the album presented itself nicely as one flowing piece of music. I'm not sure if that was the band's intention, but I found it hard to separate the tracks, as the whole EP worked so well together. Still, as good as it was, it still felt like a teaser and it left me with a feeling that the band's best work was still ahead of us. Their latest upcoming release, ...Is Diamonds, hints at the fact that this assumption certainly held true, as well as adding credence to the fact that the time away was likely spent honing this stellar piece of work.

While it still keeps that sublime formula of soulful, melancholic indie pop in tact, this latest work boasts an even larger sound that borders on anthemic, while still remaining quite intimate thanks in part to Nathan Stretch's captivating baritone whisper. The most immediately noticeable thing about this particular release is that it has to be the crispest, cleanest production I've ever heard on an independent release. For example, there's a moment at the start of the song New Intuition where you can faintly hear a female voice say "ok", and when I first listened to this on my iPod while standing on the subway, I actually turned around twice to see who was saying this behind me. The sound is that clear and uncluttered. There are other moments like the opening drums in Wind Up Bird [the creeping glacier] or the acoustic picking in You Brought The Bass that really needs to be experienced in headphones to appreciate to the greatest extent. The album was recorded at Last Ounce Studios (Fox Jaws, Oh No Forest Fires) and mastered at Bova Sound (Bahamas, Zeus), which no doubt explains its superior sound. Still, all of this would be pointless if the songs were not up to par, and this release's 22 minutes ends way too early. One of the highlights for me is the opening track Dynamite Quartz, which boats some subtle keyboard work coupled with some beautifully poetic lyricism and some nice harmonies. I also really like Goodbye, Mouth, which is a song who's lyrics sound comical when read back on paper, yet heartbreaking when set to music.

Like the previous release, it's brevity leaves you wanting more, although I've discovered that both albums when played together make for a very satisfying length; just enough to tie me over until the band releases a full length, should they choose to do so. In the meantime, I recommend throwing this one on your player, getting yourself some good quality headphones, and settling in to the crisp, clean sounds of Bass Lions.

Bass Lions ...Is Diamonds is scheduled for release within the next few months. More updates when they come available.

Myspace: Bass Lions
Video: Goodbye Mouth @ Groundswell, Alliston ON on youtube

Other stuff:
The magic pairing of M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel, known by many as She & Him, have released their second album together today, the brilliantly entitled Volume Two, which is reported to have an even more unabashed old school country feel than the first one. The album is streaming for free on Exclaim until March 29th. They're playing The Phoenix on June 9th. [Myspace: She & Him]

Teenage Fanclub finally have a new album set to be released on June 8th on Merge. It's called Shadows, and judging by the free track Baby Lee, which is available as a free download on Pitchfork, it's going to be more of that perfect power pop that we've come to expect and love by Sctoland's favourite popsters.They begin a tour of the U.K. in May, and they'll be following with an American tour later in the year, that I can only hope will showcase a Toronto date as well. [Myspace: Teenage Fanclub]

For those that had to miss this year's Wavelength 500 festival, or for those that simply didn't get to catch as much of it as they would have liked to, Joe at Mechanical Forest Sound has put together an amazing compilation that features a track from every set of all five nights of the festival. It is available to download in .zip format over here. An amazing idea.

For obvious reasons, the passing of Alex Chilton, one of the founders of Big Star, has led to an outpouring of emotion and tribute from the many acts that have been inspired by him through the years. The Alex Chilton tribute show that took place at this year's SXSW was apparently an affair that was both melancholic and celebratory, but nothing tugs at the heart more than Cerulean Blue (For Alex Chilton), a song that was just written and recorded by Superdrag's John Davis and is available as a free download over at Magnet Magazine, along with other artists paying their respects to his work.

Perhaps You Missed It: Big Star's #1 Record/Radio City

Another weekly post that I would like to start is what I will call the “Perhaps You Missed It…” post. This is where I will feature a release from the past that should have been huge but for whatever reason, didn’t quite make much of an impression at the time. This week I’m starting with the highly influential Big Star. Talk about wrong place, wrong time. If they had come out in the mid-60’s or the mid-90’s, I’m sure more people would have heard of them. However, their first album, ironically titled #1 Record, was released in 1972. With progressive rock on the FM, and mellow singer-songwriter artists on the AM, people were simply not interested in jangly Byrds-esque pop music. Add to that, very limited support and promotion from their record company (big surprise) and you’ve got a band that was destined to sink deep under the radar of popularity. But Big Star has written some of the greatest pop songs of all time in my opinion and this is showcased heavily on their first two albums, which can be easily found on one CD, aptly entitled #1 Record/Radio City.

No doubt you’ve heard some of these songs before covered by other artists. Elliott Smith, Wilco and Mary Lou Lord have all done beautiful versions of “Thirteen.” “The Ballad Of El Goodo” was covered on the Empire Records soundtrack by Evan Dando. The Bangles did a cool version of “September Gurls” which gets my vote for being the greatest pop song ever written. And probably the most popular cover, “In The Street” can be heard by Cheap Trick as the theme song to “That 70’s Show.” Altogether now: “Hangin’ out! Down the street…” Their influence can also be heard all over the music of early R.E.M., The Replacements, and, most notably Teenage Fanclub. I won’t go over the entire history of the band since it’s been documented all over the place in great detail, but if you haven’t yet heard this masterpiece of an album, please do so. Recently, Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens have reformed the band with a couple members of The Posies. They released a new CD a couple of years ago and they play the occasional show. But nothing compares to those first two albums when it comes to pure jangle pop perfection.

Downloads:
September Gurls mp3
Thirteen mp3

You can purchase Big Star’s #1 Record/Radio City here.