Trying To Separate An Ocean From These Tears We Cried...

It's February, it's snowing like a madman and you've been very patient so let's back into this...

All of the official reviews and whatnots shall commence starting tomorrow, but today I just thought that I'd get all random and just talk about whatever I darn well feel like talking about. Musically speaking, of course.

First of all, looks like I won't be freezing my can off with The Weakerthans tomorrow after all. You see, when I got married 10 and a half years ago, my wife took on the job of remembering stuff and I took on the job of not. So she remembered that we have a family engagement this Saturday night and I, of course, did not. Family first, kids, which means the rest of y'all will have to tell me how the show went. I guarantee that I'll be catching them someday, but whatever.

Download Weakerthans songs:
Last Last One mp3 / Aside mp3 / Plea From A Cat Named Virtute mp3

Also, I made a promise to myself and others that I'll be toning down the concert goings this year (last year almost killed me,) but that doesn't mean that there aren't any good shows awaiting my future. This month I've got Dean and Britta at The Mod Club on February 9th. They're actually opening for Keren Ann, who sounds very reserved from what I know of her, which isn't much.

(UPDATE: Apparently, Dean & Britta and Keren Ann are doing a double headlining tour which means that they will take turns as headliners. This means that for the Toronto show, Keren is the opener and D&B takes the headlining slot. Suh-weet!!)

I've also got the magnificent Nicole Atkins on February 17th, who is going to blow your mind if you take this opportunity to see her. I can't wait. I'm hoping to catch Mr. Dan Bejar as Destroyer at Lee's Palace on April 19th. He'll be supporting his new CD 'Trouble In Dreams' which is out in March. And the most exciting news is the return of R.E.M. Now I truly hate the Molson Amphitheater with an intense passion, but check out this lineup: R.E.M. has The National and Modest Mouse opening for them. That's ridiculous. I'll have to wait on the price, but I may be willing to break into the piggy bank for that one. That show is on June 8th. The new CD is called 'Accelerate' and it's out on April 1st. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but from what I've heard it sounds like this has the potential to be the college rock comeback that I've been waiting for. Sweetness follows....

Download:
Destroyer - Foam Hands mp3
The National - Fake Empire mp3
Keren Ann - Lay Your Head Down mp3
Dean and Britta - Words You Used To Say mp3

Finally, I'm not sure if I'll be able to attend all of the TWM showcases to come, but even if I can catch one a month, that'd be wicked cool. And this month's first one sounds like a good place to start. The Schomberg Fair, The Stables and B.A Johnston. Mmm-hmmm. February 8th. There's more neat shows coming up, but gah, I'll talk about that another time.

Download:
The Schomberg Fair - John The Revelator mp3 / Some Things Never Change mp3
The Stables - Too Old To Skate mp3

My latest issue of Under The Radar has just arrived. I decided to subscribe since I pick up every issue anyways. Right now it's doing a whole half price thing and of course, you get the free CD too (mine was Prefuse 73's 'Preparations'. I'll let you know if it's any good.) The cover features a project that I'm mega excited about, going under the name She & Him. It's actually Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward and what I've heard sounds amazing. The CD is called 'Volume One' and it's out on March 18th on Merge.

Download:
M. Ward featuring Zooey Deschanel - When I Get To The Border mp3 (from The Go-Getter Soundtrack)

I think that'll do, donkey, that'll do. Enjoy the downloads and hopefully tomorrow I'll be throwing up some reviews on the artists that have been exciting me over the last few weeks.

NXNE 2007: Day 4

In order to squeeze every last drip of life from our NXNE badges, we headed on down to Lee's Palace on Sunday night to check out one of my all-time faves, Fountains of Wayne. As I've acknowledged before, many people slag them for silly pop hits like "Stacy's Mom" but the fact is that if you dig a little deeper into their catalogue, you'll find that they've released some of the greatest and wittiest songs of the last 10 years. They showcased a large majority of them last night, including some lesser known ones like "Red Dragon Tattoo" and "No Better Place." I loved that when it came time to play the inevitable aforementioned hit song, they chose to play a completely stripped down acoustic version of the tune. I also really enjoyed that at least half of their set was comprised of songs from their stellar 1996 debut. Sure, there were noteworthy songs missing from the set ("Denise" and "Valley Winter Song") but overall this was a very enjoyable show and a great way to end a weekend of rampant concert going.

Fountains of Wayne on myspace / Download: Denise mp3
Check out my pics of the show on flickr.

A pleasant surprise for me was the fact that, opening for FoW was California's The Broken West, who's "I Can't Go On, I'll Go On" CD is amongst my favourite releases of the year. Their recorded sound reminds me of Teenage Fanclub or Big Star, but live they bring me back to Wilco's heyday, perhaps around the time of "Summerteeth." Their set seemed particularly short to me, but what they did play sounded great and I wouldn't be surprised if we see them headlining their own show next time around.

The Broken West on myspace / Download: On The Bubble mp3
Check out my pics from the show on flickr.

And so ends this year's NXNE festival and I'm amazed at the amount of shows I was able to catch this time around. It wiped me out mentally but I had a lot of fun. The next few weeks of my life are going to be very busy and I'm not sure how much blogging I'll be able to do but hopefully I'll still be able to post something every week. the next show that I'm really going to try to be at is They Might Be Giants on July 23rd at The Mod Club.

Loney, Dear w/ The Guest Bedroom @ Lee's Palace

Upon seeing Loney, Dear at Lee’s Palace last night, one thing became really apparent to me…people MUST get to know this act. The show was one of the best shows (if not THE best) that I have attended in the last couple of years. I know that I lack some credibility considering the fact that I just made a very similar comment about the Peter Bjorn and John show from a few weeks ago. But Emil Svanängen, knows how to please a crowd, and his already stellar music becomes even more of a delight onstage.

The show opened with a local band known as The Guest Bedroom. Vocallist Sandi has a little bit of a Sleater-Kinney or Yeah Yeah Yeahs thing going on but it really is the instrumentation that I found most enjoyable. They have a slight art-house post-punk sound to them and what really threw me for a loop was the inclusion of saxophone. It shouldn't work but in a strange way, it did. For a relatively small crowd, the band really gave it their all, and I think for the most part, they won them over.

Sadly, the crowd grew only moderately for Loney, Dear. On the one hand it was good, because I was given more room to enjoy the show. On the other hand, it saddens me that the rest of the Toronto population had to miss this. They played just about every song from the Sub/Pop release “Loney, Noir” and Emil made good use of stage banter and crowd singalongs in order to keep us thoroughly entertained. The celebration of life that seemed to be displayed during the performances of “I Am John,” “The City, The Airport” and “Carrying A Stone” was supremely addictive. What a voice! And Emil is funny. Very funny. So funny in fact that it actually got to the point where just knowing he was going to say something had the audience chuckling. This had all of the ingredients of what makes a perfect show, and the way that the audience begged for a second encore was proof of this fact.

Downloads:
The Guest Bedroom – Fake Flowers mp3
The Guest Bedroom - We Need Trips mp3
Loney, Dear – I Am John mp3
Loney, Dear – The City, The Airport mp3

The Guest Bedroom on myspace
View my pics of The Guest Bedroom at Lee’s Palace on flickr.
Loney, Dear on myspace
View my pics of Loney, Dear at Lee’s Palace on flickr.

Sky Parade

I’ve recently stumbled across an amazing band that delivers the most captivating psychedelic 60’s-style rock that I’ve heard in a long time. They’re called Sky Parade and I don’t believe that there is any possible way to dislike this band. Lead vocalist Tommy Dietrick was also in Brian Jonestown Massacre and it’s definitely in a similar vein of high energy retro rock ‘n roll revivalism. I don’t yet have their new album “Love Is Forever” but from what I’ve heard, this is a band that could certainly develop into being one of my favourites. Just sampling the songs they have posted on their myspace page sets me in a “my mind is blown” state of mind. You’ve got to hear the song “Free My Love” which is a must for fans of the aforementioned BJM as well as Stone Roses, Love and Rockets or The Verve. Apparently, their first album “Fire In The Sky” was relatively successful for an indie release. After hearing what I’ve heard recently, it’s unfortunate that I didn’t get to know this band sooner but I’m looking forward to hearing them even more in the future.

Listen to their music on myspace.
Purchase their album on CDbaby.com
Watch the video for “Losing Control” on youtube.

Photo appears over at Melanie Leigh.com

Five Foot Nine

Chicago based Five Foot Nine, is a band that throws a wrench in the huge guy-girl indie pop machine. There has been a massive influx of that style over the last few years and I’m an avid sucker for it almost every time. There’s just something about the boy singing with girl aesthetic that puts me in my happy place (even when they’re being kind sad.) But FF9 really stands out from the rest, sounding more like Wild Strawberries or The Jayhawks than their modern day sugary-sweet contemporaries. Lead vocalist Michael Hushel sounds like Cat Stevens on an all-night caffeine fix, which makes for some very cool harmonies with female counterpart Laura Coleman’s slightly Natalie Merchant-ish vocals contributions. The opening track of their self-titled CD is entitled “Back To The Tunnels” and it’s an appealing little pop number who’s hooky refrain encourages us to “turn on the tunnel vision” in a way that would make Roger McGuinn proud. “O La Moana” has some beautiful harmonies that are set off nicely by some subtle horn playing towards the end of the song. “Where Am I?” delves into slightly funkier territory, even reminding me a bit of Jane’s Addiction at certain moments. Another twist comes in the form of “Lana Marie” where the band successfully dives head first into the alt-country end of the pool, complete with some steel guitar and cello. Add to that the psychedelic keyboard action of “European Tour” and the new wavy “Jardin du Luxembourg” and you have a band that really does have something to offer to fans of all types of music.

Download:
Back To The Tunnels mp3
O La Moena mp3

The Five Foot Nine myspace page.
Purchase their self titled debut over at CD Baby.

Wilco - Sky Blue Sky

Upon listening to the advance release of the long anticipated new one by Wilco, my immediate reaction was one of confusion. I didn’t know if I thought it was boring or really catchy. I thought it was perhaps their worst album to date, or maybe their best. I will say that this is Wilco sounding, once again, totally different than they’ve ever sounded before. It does sound like they’re another band caught in a wave of nostalgia for AM 70’s radio. I do hear touches of Wings, Steely Dan, even Dr. Hook and perhaps the side project of bandmates John Stiratt and Pat Sansone (Autumn Defense,) has spilled over a bit onto this one. It’s definitely what I would call a 3-listener release, meaning that you should not judge this one based on your first listen. I think “Impossible Germany” is my favourite song, which is interesting because it’s really the only one that sounds like it may have been a castoff from a previous album (maybe “Being There?”) Also, the instrumentation is another definite selling point for this album, in that the band is playing better than ever before, most noticeably lead guitarist Nels Cline. “What Light” has a certain Band feel to it. Finally, I particularly like the final song “On and On and On” which is incredibly simple and stripped back, which is ironic considering that usually a Wilco song title like that means that the song may literally go “on and on.”

Wilco will be performing at Massey Hall on June 30^th with Low.

Download:
What Light zip file mp3

Wilco is on myspace.
Pre-order the new album “Sky Blue Sky” at Amazon.ca.

Tin Bangs, Danielle Duval & Reily @ The Mod Club

A dude on a budget should not be attending as many shows as I have this past month, but hey, if the price is right…

A mere toonie was the cover charge for Friday night’s show and to see four stellar bands, well that’s quite a deal. The night kicked off with Reily. I may have mentioned them to you before. OK, fact is I’ve reviewed them to the point of mild obsession this month so I won’t bore you with the details yet again, but I’ll just say that although the crowds didn’t really show up until later that night, Reily’s professionalism is becoming more and more apparent with every show. Feel free to read my other reviews here, here, or here.

Reily’s myspace page.
I took pics again. They’re on flickr.
A fan made sort of a video type thing for the song “Talk Sweet; Walk Tall [Breathe Deep]” on youtube. It’s pretty good.

Danielle Duval is a singer-songwriter from Montreal whom I heard was Sam Roberts’ cousin. I have yet to confirm that though. Regardless, she put on an excellent performance that had sort of a barroom feel to it. Her voice has a whisky-stained sort of huskiness that sounds like she’s already lived a fairly intense life for a young girl. Her original material sounds like it had been written and performed for decades. She sounds like the type of artist who’s been playing her songs for years at divey bars where you perform behind a mesh of chicken wire and old time drunk cowboy’s chuck beer bottles at you. (Most. Obscure. Reference. Ever.) Anyways, what I mean is there’s a real timelessness to her sound that gives her music an edge that I like. She also did a few covers, most noteworthy being the classic Bill Munroe hit “Blue Moon of Kentucky.” This song has already been covered by the best (Patsy Cline, Elvis, Ray Charles, etc.) but she still managed to make it her own. On the other hand, her cover of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John’s “You’re The One That I Want” just may be one of the more original covers I’ve ever heard. How she ever came up with the idea of countrifying that song is beyond me, but it was definitely one of those rare strokes of genius.

You can hear that cover, and some of her other songs on her myspace page.
You can see my pics of the Danielle Duval band over on flickr.

Next up was local rock and roll sensation Tin Bangs. These guys had the honor of opening up for The Killers just a few months ago and I’ve heard more than a couple of people claim that they blew those guys off the stage. After Friday night’s show, I believe it. These guys are everything a rock ‘n roll band is supposed to be. Their music screams with the simple intensity of a bomb going off, reminiscent of bands like The Clash, Hüsker Dü or even current bands like Editors. They display an outrageous overabundance of rock ‘n roll swagger, that was most noticeable in percussionist Robbie Butcher’s drum solo. (That’s right, there was a drum solo baby!) He reminds me of my other favorite drummer, that of course being Animal from The Muppets. Except I think that Robbie has more hair. Although the songs are hooky, riffy, and catchy, and I loved them in a live setting, I did have my doubts that the tracks may not translate as well offstage. However, I’ve been listening to them a little bit since the show, and they are definitely solid. I’ll certainly be checking out their show again in the near future.

Download:
Shake mp3
The Skinny mp3

Visit them on their myspace page.
Purchase their EP “Heavy Handed Darling” at Indiepool.com
Check out my pics of Tin Bangs over on flickr.

The last band of the night was post-punk revivalists The Amber Room and although I was pumped to see them as well, sadly I had to bolt before their performance. But I’ll check them out sometime soon. They sound pretty good.

Menomena - Friend And Foe

I had never heard of Menomena prior to the release of this year’s “Friend and Foe,” but apparently this is the third in a series of wonderfully eclectic releases by this Portland, Oregon three piece. Their music seems to attack you from all over the place, and the first comparison that comes to mind upon listening to opening track “Muscle ‘n Flo” is that of the excellent TV On The Radio. The vocals are somewhat similar and their use of loops and beats show that these guys are at least on the same wavelength. The greatest difference however, is that Menomena clearly relies more heavily on improvisation than TTVOTR, and they do so to mixed results. When it works, the sound is nothing short of spectacular. A song like “Weird,” for example, is a real experience, where the steady groove is poised to reel you in, before a densely sporadic saxophone burps and toots its way into the proceedings, making for a strictly free sound. On the other hand, “Air Raid” seems to rely too much on improv, causing the song to lag and drag a little bit. The melodies are there as well, most notably in “My My,” where it sounds as if Thom Yorke may have given them a pointer or two on how to effectively balance art and the mainstream. I’m enjoying this album quite a bit and I would be interested in revisiting some of their older works and seeing how they compare with this one.

Downloads:
Wet and Rusting mp3

Stream the entire album here.
Go to the Menomena mypace page.
Purchase "Friend And Foe" over at Barsuk Records.

Loney, Dear - Loney, Noir

As much as I love the Canadian music scene, I have to admit that the Swedes are definitely giving us a run for our proverbial money. In the last year or two, I have been exposed to acts such as Jens Lekman, Peter Bjorn And John, El Perro Del Mar, I’m From Barcelona, Suburban Kids With Biblical Names, as well as several others. I don’t know what the kids are eating over there but the quality of music coming from that part of the planet is staggering. I finally got around to purchasing “Loney, Noir,” the latest release by the one-man Swedish spectacle Emil Svanängen, otherwise known as Loney, Dear. Like all of the artists mentioned earlier, Loney, Dear is another purveyor of perfect pop music. The album gets better with every song, and it’s remarkable that a recording that is this animated is the brainchild of only one man. The songs are upbuilding and content, focusing on all things positive. That in itself is different that usual indie pop fare. The songs race along at a rapid clik, keeping the listener enthralled and enthused. I’ll lay off the song-by-song review this time since it’s already been done at length throughout happy blogland, but if you’ve been on the lookout for your good mood, it is sure to be found in the sweet falsetto of Emil Svanängen.

Download:
I Am John mp3

Loney, Dear on myspace
Purchase Loney, Noir at Amazon.ca

!!! - Myth Takes

Sorry for the lack of posting lately but I took a bit of a blog break last week, with the exception of the Cold War / Tokyo Police concert review. Once in a while I’m kind of a busy guy, believe it or not. However, while not writing, I was still listening to a lot of music.

!!! is a band that I really shouldn’t like. First of all, their name is unpronounceable. That’s annoying. Secondly they play sprawling dance punk music with completely inane lyrics. However, when I started listening to “Myth Takes” in my ipod while doing the dishes, my booty started shaking and my feet could not stop moving. While my dancing will likely be enough to turn everybody else off of their music, I have to admit that there is something addictive about their style of new wave P-Funk. They’re not a band to be taken seriously, but they are a band strictly made for dancing and having fun. My favourite song has the great title “All My Heroes Are Weirdos.” It has an enigmatic thump to it, and the way he turns “weirdos” into a 3 syllable word makes me laugh. While it’s true that certain aspects of the album will likely grate on me depending on my mood, overall this is probably their most accessible release and it’s one where they sound like they’ve finally found their groove.

!!! are playing Lee’s Palace on May 19^th.

Download:
All My Heroes Are Weirdos mp3
Heart of Hearts mp3

!!! on myspace.
Purchase "Myth Takes" on amazon.ca

Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank

There has been an awful lot of anticipation over Modest Mouse’s new CD “We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank.” The reason of course is that indie rock legend and former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr is now an official member of the band. When I first heard that, my feelings were mixed to say the least. The Smiths, of course, are one of my favourite bands of all time. Modest Mouse, on the other hand, I’ve never really understood. It’s not that I dislike them, it’s just that while many of my peers feel that they’re the saviors of indie rock, my feelings have always been more, well, modest. I do like a lot of their music, but they are flawed in many ways as far as I’m concerned. Still, I am mildly fond of the “The Moon And Antarctica”, and songs like “Space Travel Is Boring” are fantastic. But I never ever ever have to hear “Float On” again for as long as I live. So how do I feel about the new one?

It’s pretty good. The first song “March Into The Sea” is very energetic, and while Isaac Brock’s voice usually gives me a migraine, I actually found his maniacal cackle to be somewhat amusing on this one. Many people are referring to “Dashboard” as this album’s “Float On”, but I think “Dashboard” is a significantly stronger single. The tracks that appeal to me the most are “Spitting Venom” and “Parting Of The Sensory.” “Parting…” has James Mercer of The Shins lending his vocal talents, and “Spitting…” is classic epic MM, 8 minutes of fevered intensity. To be honest, I can’t say that I really hear Johnny Marr’s influence all that much on this album. In the past, I always thought that he had a very unique style to his playing, but this CD doesn’t sound all that different than MM’s past releases. I suppose it’s a little bit more upbeat than fans of the Mouse are accustomed to, and that may be a result of Marr’s influence. But overall, the things that I enjoy about MM are still there and the usual complaints are still there too. The CD’s way too long as usual and Brock’s voice does grate on me after awhile. However, the “it’s not you, it’s me” adage can certainly be applied to my relationship with this band. Regardless of my personal views, the talent they possess cannot be denied, and I think we’ll be seeing this album on many a “best of 2007” list come year-end.

Modest Mouse will be at the Hummingbird Centre on April 24^th.

Downloads:
March Into The Sea mp3
Dashboard mp3

Visit Modest Mouse on myspace.
Purchase “We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank” on Amazon.ca

Sebadoh @ Lee's Palace

This will be a relatively brief post because I’m insanely tired today, but last night the original lineup of Sebadoh performed live at Lee’s Palace to a full house of people who have been waiting 14 years for this to happen.

I think I missed the first opening act, but the second one was a local act known as Flecton Bigsky. This was a two-piece that played very bluesy, stripped down rock that I thought was actually quite good. The lead singer, Miche Jetté seemed like a genuinely down to earth kind of guy. Y’know, the beer guzzlin’, rock ‘n roll type who still hasn’t really decided how much to sell his CD’s for. The songs were fun, strange and deep; and the audience was poised and ready to hear the lo-fi, indie noise-rock of Lou Barlow, Eric Gaffney and Jason Lowenstein.

Downloads:
Death By Vibration mp3
Summer Down In Flames mp3
Truce Is Stranger Than Fiction mp3

Visit the Flecton Bigsky myspace page
Purchase Flecton’s “Never Took A Wife” CD over at Kelp Records
View my pics of the Flecton Bigsky show on my flickr page.

The last (and only) time I saw Sebadoh, it was just Jason, Lou and some mechanical sampling machine acting as drummer. Needless to say, it was a good show but obviously lacking in a few ways. This show, on the other hand, was a real tribute to 90’s indie-rock, with all three members having a share as frontman. I’ve always been partial to the Lou Barlow material, while mostly dismissing a lot of the other songs. But this show has caused me to reassess the way I feel about the others. Gaffney gave it all he’s got, acting genuinely thrilled to be back in the fold again. And Lowenstein, looking about 35 pounds lighter than I remember, simply oozes with grunge-styled conceit, but in a cool way. For one portion of the show, Eric and Jason left the stage while Barlow was talking about the Dinosaur Jr. reunion. After quipping about how the other guys don’t like to hear about Dino Jr., Lou performed a chill-inducing rendition of “On Fire” from the “Harmacy” album, alone and acoustic. At another point of the show, Lou introduced a member of the audience to the stage, who then proceeded to propose to his girlfriend in front of all in the audience. Incredibly cheesy, but the crowd ate it up. The show ended with two encores, culminating in a really really bad version of Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin” that I have to believe was intentionally bad, and then a truly psychotic rendition of the classic “Gimme Indie Rock!” The crowd was stoked, the fans were satisfied, and Sebadoh is now free to go back to not getting along and carrying on with their respective solo careers or whatever it is they’re doing now.

Downloads:
The Freed Pig mp3
Gimme Indie Rock mp3

Visit the Sebadoh myspace page
Purchase Sebadoh CD’s on Amazon.ca
View my pics of the Sebadoh show on the flickr page.

Kaspar Hauser - Quixotic / Taxidermy

Kaspar Hauser is basically a musical project ring-led by midwesterner Thomas Comerford, who had played in several bands in the past. “Quixotic / Taxidermy” is his 2^nd full-length, and his 5^th release altogether. It is an extremely tight sounding album, with glimpses of Jay Farrar, Neil Young and J. Mascis throughout. The liner notes recommend that you play it loud, and that’s excellent advice because this album is chock full of rip-snorting rock and roll. The album kicks off with “Fossil,” a Rolling Stones style riff that attacks the listener right away, and pins him to the ground to make sure he keeps listening. “King Pop” introduces some slightly new-wavy keys and handclaps, but it still manages to have an alt-country bite to it that sounds out of this world, along with lyrics of one who would “trade his kingdom for a song.” Which is what pure country is all about, isn’t it? Comerford also shows that he is willing to take risks, especially by successfully covering Big Star’s “Holocaust,” not one of their easier tunes to cover. My personal favourite song is “Mercury”, a hooky tour de force full of passionate harmonies. Actually, my other favourite song is the excellently titled “Roar or R.I.P.” which reminds me a lot of the aforementioned Farrar, with a real cool sounding honky-tonk piano backing up this fanatical rocker. In fact, the best moment of the whole album is at about 1:51 into that song, the part where a highly infectious bridge leads into the climactic dénouement, the music stops … briefly … drum roll … explosive ending!!! Awesome!

Downloads:
Fossil mp3
King Pop mp3
Without A Word mp3

Visit the Kaspar Hauser myspace page.
Purchase “Quixotic / Taxidermy” here.

The Portraits - Kin

I don’t usually review bands that sound like The Portraits. Most of the bands I feature are either very raw in sound or they have a lo-fi appeal about them. But The Portraits, who are a song-writing duo from the British Isles, have a very slick and smooth sound that I’ve been finding personally very addictive. The obvious, and most often made comparison, seems to be to The Beautiful South. Like that band, there’s a very warm English breeze that wafts through their music. Just listen to the harmonies contained in songs like “Fortune", which is clearly the product of a little bit of studio wizardry, but I don’t mean that like it’s a bad thing. The band has worked hard to hone a sound that is excessively easy on the ears, and their vocals work together in such a pleasant-sounding way, that before you know it, you’ve become so completely engrossed in them. It should also be mentioned that their musical work ethic is something to be applauded. They firmly believe that music should be invisible. To quote them directly from their website, they choose to remain visually elusive, avoiding the video and image-led trends of the present day music industry, preferring their listeners instead to identify with the content and cultural and age references of their lyrics and melodies. Admirable indeed.

You can go straight to their website to download many of their songs for free, and you can listen to them on myspace. You can also purchase the CD here.

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

I guess I should be used to the fact that my opinion continues to be completely different than everybody else’s on Earth. However, it still continues to shock me every time. Case in point: Arcade Fire.

‘Funeral’ is, arguably, the most important indie release of all time. Music lovers everywhere were completely smitten with it. It topped more year-end lists than any album in history and it earned Arcade Fire enormous amounts of respect. I thought it was great…but not THAT great. It was not my album of the year, but it did make my top 10. It didn’t blow my mind, it didn’t restore my faith in humanity and it didn’t cure my blindness. (OK, I’m not blind, but you get the point.) I just simply thought it was very good, and it got better as time went on. However, upon hearing "Neon Bible", I was ready to post an “OK now I get it...” type of review. Because upon first listen, this one did, in fact, blow my mind. I think this CD is a significant step up for the band. The playing is tighter. The writing is more imaginative and Win Butler’s voice is not only better, but I think it’s WAY better. But again, people seem to disagree with me. Phrases like “sophomore slump” and “it’s not 'Funeral' but…” seem to be circulating throughout the review world. The reviews seem to be generally positive, but not overwhelmingly so, as was the case with “Funeral.” I, (surprise surprise) disagree.

Since this is my blog and I’m entitled to my opinion, I would like to go on record as saying that I think “Neon Bible” is every bit as good as "Funeral" and, at this point, I would say even better. That having been said, there’s no doubt that every music blog on earth will be reviewing this little ditty this week, so I’ll keep my personal observations brief. "Keep The Car Running" is a burst of energy with vocals a la David Byrne. “Black Waves / Bad Vibrations” is another astonishing epic, which seems to be the band’s specialty. "No Cars Go" a reworking of a song from their first EP, with extra oomph and bravado, but the shouts and “heys” are going to be a definite crowd pleaser on the live stage. Like "Funeral", the CD sucks you in to the point where you’re completely lost in the moment; the strings and organs creating a wall of sound that is, in an overused hyphenated word, earth-shattering! The real test will be to see what I think of “Neon Bible” a few weeks from now. It’s always been my experience that my favourite albums take some time to grow on me. Albums I immediately love, on the other hand, I often grow tired of after a few listens. I’ll just have to wait and see.

Downloads:
Black Mirror mp3
Intervention mp3

Arcade Fire on myspace
Purchase “Neon Bible” over at Amazon.ca.

How The Lassue Yous Changed My Life

or The Reason Why I’m The Type of Indie-Rock Nerd Who Goes Online and Pretends To Be A Music Journalist For Fun!!!Music is very important to most young men between the ages of 15 and 25. They base their cliques on it, they base their vocabulary on it, they design their rooms and lockers by it. But then most guys reach an age of responsibility, where music starts to take a back seat in their lives. Just a few short years ago that’s exactly where I was. I was bored with classic rock radio so I moved on to alternative rock radio. I had grown bored with that too, and I figured that I was finally reaching that age where music is just simply not that important anymore. After all, I’m now an old married man and music is, well, it’s for teenagers. Right?

Then something happened that fateful day (if I believed in fate, which I don’t!) just a few years ago. The wife had planned an “evening out with the girls” and I was left to entertain myself for a few hours. The thought had crossed my mind to possibly go to the local Chapters and read several magazines without actually buying them. Or perhaps I’d rent a couple of movies. However, I picked up The View, a local free indie-paper and I read an interesting article about a band from London, Ontario called The Weekend. They sounded very interesting. They were to be playing that evening at a little place called The Hudson in Hamilton at 9pm. Hmmm. That sounds like something. I didn’t have to pick up my wife until about 11:30 or so. Why not?

Now, being new to the way the whole “small band at a small venue” thing works, I didn’t realize that “doors at 9” actually means that the band will likely go on closer to 11. The opening act that day was a little band consisting of 3 brothers from Dundas, Ontario who call themselves The Lassue Yous. The Hudson was empty. I grabbed a beer, and sat down at a table near the stage. After nursing that beer, (by myself) for just under two hours, The Lassue Yous were ready to take the stage. As soon as they hit the first note, I was starting to believe that I may be in the midst of a particularly historic moment in the life of yours truly. The jangly guitar! The crazy lyrics! The handclaps! The energy! The excitement! They reminded me a bit of Thrush Hermit. Or Sloan. Or, heck, they even reminded me a bit of the Liverpudlian fab four themselves! At that moment, I felt as if I was Rodney Bingenheimer, and I had just discovered the GREATEST BAND OF ALL TIME! Yes, that is truly how they sounded to me that night! You see, that was the night that I realized that I was still in love with music as much as I ever was. The problem was that mainstream radio was not providing me with anything new. And these crazy Dundanites were! And if these guys have been kept a secret from music lovers everywhere, than how many more unsigned artists are hiding out in the clubs of their respective towns? How much music have I missed out on over my 20-something years of existence?

Well, from that day on, I have constantly been on the prowl for new and interesting music. Sadly, I didn’t get to see The Weekend that night, but I have seen them several times since. I’ve seen The Lassue Yous a few more times as well although I think they’re on a bit of a hiatus at the moment. I’ve been introduced to so many other bands that have changed my life and rocked my world. I’ve had the opportunity to expose some of my favourite bands to others as well, by means of my blog or by introducing them to podcasting. And the music scene has never been more exciting to me than it is right now. I often wonder, if it had been a dude with a casio singing Pat Boone covers that night, I may have given up on music altogether. Thank goodness for The Lassue Yous!

Download:
Rock “N Roll Your Saturday Night mp3
Toughen Up mp3

Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?

Of Montreal have really got their nose to the funk-stone on their latest offering, “Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?” Incorporating a heady mix of Prince-like soul, Flaming Lips influenced weirdness and even quite a bit of disco, this CD is as infectious as it gets. Now when I say disco, I don’t mean real disco, but I mean the type of disco that mainstream 70’s pop bands would occasionally venture into, like Alan Parsons or ELO (and by the way, does it sound like a lot of bands are being compared to ELO these days? Has pop finally eaten itself?)

If you stop dancing long enough to listen to the lyrics, you’ll recognize that the content is actually rather depressing. The song, “Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse” occasionally utters the phrase “c’mon mood shift, shift back to good again.” What’s funny is that I actually found myself laughing when that line was uttered because it’s set to the happiest beat I’ve ever heard. “A Sentence Of Sorts In Kongsvinger” starts out sounding like one-hit wonder George McRae’s "Rock Your Baby" from 1974 before turning into an Abba-esque type of number. (And yes, the song titles are all strange like that.) The CD’s central piece is a little ditty called “The Past Is A Grotesque Animal” which is a bit of an animal itself, clocking in at almost 12 minutes in length. It’s completely cynical and emotional and very very angry. "Some how you red rovered the Gestapo circling my heart." Yep, definite issues. Overall, a pretty strong album although it’s about partway through that song, when the CD starts to feel a bit long for me. It’s only 50 minutes long, but it feels a lot longer for some reason. Still, it’s one of the most original releases so far this year, and if you’re looking for something new, and you know what it’s like to feel alone, this CD is perfect for you.

Of Montreal will be at The Opera House on March 13th. Tickets are $15.

Download:
Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse mp3

Visit Of Montreal’s myspace page.
Purchase “Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?” here.

The Shins - Wincing The Night Away

Personally, I didn’t really understand the great enthusiasm surrounding The Shins. I mean, I had their first CD right away, and I liked it as much as the next guy. Then Zach Braff declared them worthy of specific mention in an indie-type of film. I remember thinking, “that’s cool, decent band, worthy of more exposure.” And then everybody and their gardener decided that The Shins are the greatest band ever. Suddenly, their music is all over the radio, promoting fast food, on the cover of magazines and airplanes are shooting Shins clouds across the sky. Well, I was starting to O.D. on The Shins. However, I would not be writing about “Wincing The Night Away” if it wasn’t as brilliant as it is. This is certainly a more challenging listen I suppose, but darn it, I like challenging. The well constructed melodies are still there, as is showcased in “Phantom Limb,” albeit with a bit of a shoegazey-vibe to it. But the band has really taken a lot of risks on this one. I really dig the experimental “Sea Legs.” It begins with some crazy sounds providing the beat. I found out that the band actually sampled the popping of a plastic bag and bottle caps dropping on the amplifier to come up with that sound. There’s also a bit of flute and strings, as well as a really cool stop-start guitar sound before the song introduces a keyboard “bwop-wow” that sounds like it’s straight out of a 70’s blaxploitation film. For me, that’s my favourite song The Shins have ever done. “Red Rabbits” is sort of like The Beach Boys playing on tinker toys. And listening to “Split Needles” helped me to realize that Jesse Sandoval is actually an extremely good drummer. With The Shins’ last two albums, I listened to them a couple of times each and never really pulled them out again. But “Wincing The Night Away” will definitely be getting repetition on my ipod. Perhaps they were worth all of the hype after all.

The Shins will be performing March 17 at Kool Haus. Tickets are $27.50 and I'd get them quick because it'll likely sell out.

Download:
Phantom Limb mp3

The Shins myspace page.
Purchase “Wincing The Night Away” here.

Perhaps You Missed It: Steve Burns - Songs For Dustmites

I have to admit, I listened to Steve Burns’ “Songs For Dustmites” out of curiosity more than anything else. I read a pretty decent review in Under The Radar and immediately recognized who he was. Those of us with children (which I don’t, so what’s my excuse?) will recognize him as the original goofy host of Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues. However, “Songs For Dustmites” is definitely not a children’s album but a lost indie classic. He has none other than The Flaming Lips backing him up, and although you can definitely feel their influence, this is definitely a brainchild all his own. The opening track, “Mighty Little Man” is outstanding, with his hearty rock vocal being accompanied by a monstrous bass sound and even a little moog. Another song “>1”, has an almost haunting vocal, slightly reminiscent of one of my favourite vocalists, E from Eels. And while most people are more familiar with the very very very simple songs he would sing to imaginary beings on the aforementioned kids’ show, “A Sniveling Mess” has an extremely complex arrangement, perhaps like something on The Beatles Revolver. And I kinda like the lyric that says, “Would you love me if I’m a mess?” Overall, this CD is a lot better than anyone could have possibly imagined and apparently, he’s got a follow up CD currently in the works. If it’s at all as good as this release, then the cartoon pooch and green and white shirt will fade into a distant memory, but Steve Burns will continue to grow as a legitimate force in the indie rock scene.

Download:
Mighty Little Man mp3
A Sniveling Mess mp3

He has some songs from the upcoming CD on his myspace page. They sound incredible.

Purchase “Songs For Dustmites” here.

Jaded - Selling My Soul

I am growing increasingly more impressed with a singer/ songwriter/ performer from St. Catherines, Ontario who calls herself Jaded. Although still quite young, she presents herself with an enormous level of maturity and sophistication that goes way beyond her years. She’s recently released a 3-song EP that she describes as “a peak at her soul” and, if that description is accurate, than there’s a lot going on in there. The songs are extremely personal, and they’ll wrench on your heart in a very original way. I’ve heard literally hundreds of teenage angst-fuelled anthems and I’ve often admired the emotion that can be expressed in these songs. However, sometimes the average tortured teen rock star comes across as one who secretly appreciates and enjoys their level of angst because it causes them to record “really deep music” and, of course, I ultimately grow tired of it. But Jaded sounds sincerely, well, jaded. In “He Let Her Cry,” she sings of a pretty girl, who, at night when she turns out the light, gets scared and literally prays to God to just let her cry. “Hang On” deals with a girl and her alcoholic (and possibly abusive) lover. It’s a subject matter that’s been covered before, but Jaded manages to avoid the Hollywood clichés that often accompany these tales and she just sings it, honestly and truthfully. “One Sweet Day” takes a left turn into happier subject matter, but the piano in that song has burrowed a hole into my brain and resided there so that I simply cannot get it out. It’s a delightful pop song that deserves to be in constant rotation on the radio. I am fully convinced that in the years to come, that’s exactly what is going to happen. Listening to the newer songs on her myspace page, I can see that Jaded still has many creative juices flowing inside of her and I can’t wait till the day she releases her first full-length and the rest of the world gets to discover her enormous talent.

Jaded is currently looking to play as many gigs as possible and, on a personal note, I’d love to see her play here in the downtown Toronto area. If you have any suggestions as to any local spots that might be interested in featuring her, you can contact her at her myspace page.

Download: One Sweet Day mp3
Visit her myspace page and listen to the other great songs that she’s been working on.