Me On The Zygiella Podcast

Hey, I'm just running off to work so I don't have the time to put up anything overly worthwhile at the moment, but if you're from the Toronto area and you haven't already been faithfully listening to the Zygiella podcast, then you're missing out on one of the good ones. On this weeks episode, Tyler figured that no podcast is holy and decided that defiling it with my presence would be a good idea. Just kidding; I was actually flattered about being included in one of the only podcasts that I listen to with any regularity these days. It was a lot of fun. The bands featured on the 'cast are The Hoa Hoa's, Oh No Forest Fires, The Stormalongs, The Dress Whites, Invasions, and Clouds (that look like things).

Subscribe to the podcast here or on iTunes and Zune by searching "Zygiella"
Download: Zygiella podcast #18 mp3

Invasions - Magic EP

Local garage band Invasions are set to release their debut EP Magic sometime in mid October, but I've been privileged to hear it ahead of time and I've got to say that it's pretty dang good. I saw them perform at Rancho Relaxo a few months ago, and I was entirely blown away by their authentic 60's rock sound, as well as their clear grasp on how to successfully capture an audience and completely put them under your rock 'n roll spell. Besides the obvious 60's bands that they clearly emulate, they also do a good job at harnessing that 70's punk rock D.I.Y. aesthetic, keeping their sound successfully rough and gritty. The first couple of songs are basically garage rock by number, which is not a bad thing. But by the time they get to track three (Atlantic Boulevard) they clearly prove that they are more than a one trick pony, introducing a little bit of carefully placed harmonica. The next song Day By Day begins with an eerie organ sound, not unlike what you might hear in something by The Doors or The Animals, before settling into an almost ska-like territory. And the EP closer Hopeless Magic is a great end to the album, starting out sounding like a lounge lizard of sorts before morphing into an exhilarating garage rock build up that leaves us wanting more. Invasions are the type of band that I can see releasing a couple of albums of solid straight forward garage rock before stretching themselves into other areas, proving that a garage band doesn't need to stay confined to any particular comfort zone.

Invasions have a Toronto date at the El Mocambo tomorrow on Sept 27th before heading to Pop Montreal to play the Petit Campus with some other amazing bands like The Disraelis and Black Mountain Bay. Full lineup can be found here.

Myspace: Invasions
Download: Out Of Touch mp3


Hearya.com has mp3's and video footage of a live studio session featuring Your 33 Black Angels. They have a new 22 track CD coming out with the ultra-cool title Tales Of My Pop Rock Love Life. Three songs from the upcoming CD are featured at this session.

Myspace: Your 33 Black Angels

Ray Foley's Mark Olson documentary - The Salvation Blues - is screening at the Sound Unseen festival in Minneapolis, which runs from October 23-30th. I had never even heard of this movie but apparently it's only 30 minutes long, and it chronicles the making of his last album, the reasons why he left The Jayhawks as well as some details on the break up of his marriage to Victoria Williams. I don't know how you cram all of that drama into only 30 minutes but I'm definitely intrigued. You can view the trailer here. Ready For The Flood is his upcoming collaboration with Gary Louris and it's due out in January 2009.

Myspace: Mark Olson

Nicole Atkins talks about her love of Metallica as well as her time hanging out with Springsteen over at Von Pip Musical Express.

Myspace: Nicole Atkins

I can't believe how out of the indie rock loop I can be sometimes. I've been reading some great reviews of TV On The Radio's new CD Dear Science, which apparently came out last Tuesday. Would it kill someone to tell me about these things? Love TVOTR. Gotta pick it up immediately!

Myspace: TV On The Radio

Finally, I hope that you're enjoying this new "reviews with other indie rock news" format that I'm trying out. It's a direct rip off of most other music blogs that I read and enjoy and that are significantly better than mine, but I notice that the more bands you cram in, the more hits you get. So I thought, hecks, why not try it? Can't guarantee that my posts will always be this jam packed with info though. It takes an awful long time to post things this way.

TWM Presents: The Job, Invasions, Leonids and The Diamond Teeth @ Rancho Relaxo

I hadn't been to a TWM Showcase for a little while, and interestingly enough, my return to Rancho Relaxo on Friday night had me seeing one of the bands that I saw last time: The Diamond Teeth. When I saw them before, I thought they were a grand slab of fun, but there was definitely room for improvement. So how were they this time? Well, what can I say .. they improved!

The sound was a lot more controlled and the band was significantly tighter. But the best thing about this performance was the fact that the band was still having a blast onstage. Oftentimes that enthusiasm is sacrificed when a band reaches a greater level of professionalism, but if anything, the band was even more enthusiastic. And Friends Forever still had me busting a gut, along with a ridiculous cover of M.I.A's Paper Planes, complete with hyperactive spazzy sound effect screaming. Way too much fun.

Photos: My pics of The Diamond Teeth @ Rancho Relaxo are on flickr.
Download: Friends Forever mp3

Myspace: The Diamond Teeth

The next band of the night was Leonids. According to wikipedia, the literal Leonids are a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Tempel-Tuttle that is visible every year around November 19th, give or take a week. All fun facts aside however, the band Leonids are equally as impressive. I really appreciated the non-threatening nature of their songs. They were easy on the ears, without ever being boring, and they were non-controversial, yet far from stagnant. Incorporating elements of Yo La Tengo and Pavement, with also a touch of the Velvet Underground, Leonids have the potential to be real indie rock contenders. I'd personally like to see them showcase just a tad more confidence in their live show, but that really is only a minor quibble. I think there are more good things ahead for them and it'll be interesting to catch their live show again in a year or so.

Photos: Leonids @ Rancho Relaxo on my flickr page.
Download: Ark mp3

Myspace: Leonids

The rest of the evening was all about the rock, and to kick that off was a local garage band called Invasions. I don't like to throw the genre term 'garage' around unless its receiver is firmly ensconced in authenticity. That having been said, Invasions are definitely authentic. They display a rock swagger and a U.K. punk attitude that I haven't seen or heard since I first saw Tangiers a few years back. That band went on to streamline their sound significantly since then, which I guess some people like, but I prefer my garage rock rough, and that's the sound that I was hearing from Invasions on Friday night. Their raunchy vocal rasp coupled with their guitar rock assault whipped the already enthusiastic crowd into a frenzy. They've obviously already built up quite the local following as I noticed several people screaming along to the lyrics while tearing up the dance floor.

Photos: Invasions @ Rancho Relaxo on flickr.
Myspace: Invasions

And if Invasions didn't rock hard enough, well The Job cranked the rock level right off the rock scale, so to speak. They rocked! Their punk influenced high energy blast was a great way to end the evening. It was as if they took the frenetic vibe created by all of the other bands of the evening, loaded it into a weapon of mass destruction and fired it into the air so as to create a mushroom cloud of intensity that was going to make it very difficult for people to simply leave the Rancho, call it a day and go to bed. This is the spirit of rock 'n roll, and I'll bet that people must have felt the same way leaving CBGB's in '75 after watching The Ramones or Television play. I love the fact that, although the likelihood of these bands solidifying a comparable spot in rock history is probably non-existent, an event like this still has the power to raise an eyebrow and get people excited about local talent. The people in that room were clearly having a great time, and creating a personal rock history of their own.

Photos: The Job @ Rancho Relaxo on flickr.
Download: Killer mp3

Myspace: The Job