Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career

Should I be worried that some tortured souls make me happy? It's just a fact that there are some artists out there who have built their career on depressing music yet oftentimes, those very songs for some reason put me in my happy place. The Smiths, for example, are funny to me, but not depressing. The Cure makes me dance. To some people this is just weird. Thankfully, there are other artists that do manage to somber me up, like Ryan Adams for instance. I suppose the fact that I do not derive joy from every maudlin career should be enough to keep me from seeing a therapist just yet.

Still, I gotta say, that even though Camera Obscura's Traceyanne Campbell has described the new CD as "dark and brutal", I have to admit that I actually find myself feeling inspired by the album's larger than life sound. It's very common for people to refer to the band as 'twee' and to make innumerable comparisons to Belle and Sebastian, but I think at this point the band has moved quite a bit beyond that, chartering the same course they set on 2006's Let's Get Out Of This Country, but solidifying their sound with even greater production and very solid track organization. The flow of the album is seamless, and the sound is once again a Spector-inspired toast of saccharine perfection. This is noticeable right from the first song French Navy, a song with delicious orchestration and the sweetest dang vocals around. That description continues to grow ever more appropriate with each successive track. The Sweetest Thing is a definite standout with its emotive vocals, harmonies that are heavy on the 60's girl group throwback vibe and more heart tugging orchestration. In mellower numbers like James and You Told A Lie, the sincerity in her voice are sure to soften even the hardest of hearts. I also appreciate the fact that, although the band certainly has their sound, I don't get the feeling that their simply treading the same ground. Careless Love for example, has some pretty kooky tempo changes that keep things interesting while still remaining subtle enough not to detract from the overall feel. And finally, although the album does fall into the category of devastating break up album, it still ends on an upbeat high note with Honey In The Sun which contains a horn section that leaves me with a satisfying smile when the whole thing is done.

Camera Obscura are playing Lee's Palace on June 27th, 2009.

Myspace: Camera Obscura
Video: Franch Navy on youtube
Download: My Maudlin Career mp3


Other Stuff:
Stereogum is streaming a new Beastie Boys track that was released as a surprise bonus 7" with their recent Check Your Head reissue. The song has probably my favourite song title of the year so far: Lee Majors Come Again. [Myspace: Beastie Boys]

Arietta (who's new album Migration I reviewed yesterday) are interviewed on this week's Zygiella podcast. They're at The Horseshoe tomorrow night (May 7th) [Myspace: Arietta]

Nevado Records has announced the East vs West Tour featuring two of my faves The Paint Movement and Fox Jaws. It's an interesting idea: After playing a gig together in Sudbury on May 30th, the Jaws will head for the east coast, while the Movement will embark on the west coast. They'll be blogging their adventures at Exclaim.ca, and then uniting back in Toronto for a NXNE showcase. [Myspace: Fox Jaws, The Paint Movement]

Regina Spektor's new album Far is set to be released on June 22nd and it features the production work of none other than ELO's Jeff Lynne (among others.) Details on the album are over at Clash Mgazine. [Myspace: Regina Spektor]

Both Pete Nema and For The Records have reviews of last week's Dears show at The Mod Club. Their video for Disclaimer is relatively new and relatively cool also. [Myspace: The Dears]

The Paint Movement - Our Eurythmy

It's becoming more and more obvious that Nevado Records and I are entirely on the same wavelength when it comes to music. Besides being headed by former members of my crush of 2007, the now defunct Reily, their label now boasts an impressive roster that includes Bass Lions, Elephant, Yukon Blonde and Fox Jaws. These are all bands that I feel quite strongly about. In fact, they are some of the best bands I know. So when they contacted me about their latest signing, a band from Mississauga called The Paint Movement, I really had no reason to doubt their judgment. Upon hearing the advance release of their upcoming full length entitled Our Eurythmy, all I could think was 'wow!'

On the first few songs, they wear their influences pretty heartily on their sleeves. When those influences are Broken Social Scene and the like, this is a good thing. The songs plow ahead with the same sense of triumph, displaying a full sound that is completely intoxicating. It's on track three however, when things start getting really interesting. Right from the get-go, the horns are featured quite prominently on this release, but it's on this song called Knock Knock where you start to recognize that their influences come from another very unique territory. The amalgamation of jazz and rock music was very common in the late 60's and early to mid 70's, as showcased by bands like Chicago, Blood Sweat and Tears and, most notably, Steely Dan. However, by the time the new wave 80's came around, jazz must have been considered to be too pretentious and scattered to mix with the country, rockabilly and punk influences of the college rock scene at the time. But as we all know, what comes around, goes around, and it looks like The Paint Movement are working hard to make their brand of lush sounding jazz-tinged indie rock a viable force on the music scene. Some of the highlights are the aforementioned Knock Knock, whose infectious saxophone sneaks up on you so as not to be too much of a shock to the system for those who are not used to hearing it in a modern rock song. The bongos also add to the full sound, as the song continues to build to lilting heights. Eternity Seems To Live Here is a masterful post-rock instrumental piece, that strikes a unique balance between grungy feedback and orchestral swirls. Howl At The Moon allows Kevin Kralick's voice to take center stage, which displays a subtlety that allows the song's lyrical intensity to shine through, while benefiting from the female vocal accompaniment. If Kevin Drew singing lead for the early stages of the Chicago Transit Authority is an idea that you've never contemplated before, then I've Got The Ghost is sure to be an interesting musical journey for you as it starts out sounding like your basic indie pop song before it goes off on an ethereal progressive tangent. And Groovy Bones is the penultimate brass rock comeback that we've all unknowingly been waiting for. This song is huge, with its big band horn section duking it out with a hyperactive percussive assault before exploding into a fusion of jazz, funk and progressive rock.

The Paint Movement contains elements of several bands from the past and present, but from what I've heard, there is not a current band, indie or otherwise, that has a sound like theirs. To say that they're presenting us with something new may be a bit unrealistic, but it's admirable to encounter a band that is exposing a long forgotten sound that was motivational in the past, and can continue to be so today.

The Paint Movement are playing The Silver Dollar on Feb 27th, and The Boat on March 15th.

Myspace: The Paint Movement
Download: Knock Knock mp3


Other stuff:
I recently contributed some of my photos to a very comprehensive article about Brooklyn's Chairlift up on hubpages.com. They're opening for Peter Bjorn and John at The Phoenix on April 25th. [Myspace: Chairlift]

Ingrid Michaelson has a new video for her song Breakable up on vimeo. [Myspace: Ingrid Michaelson]

I may have missed my chance to see Blitzen Trapper's sold out show at The Horseshoe on Saturday night (Feb 21st) but buzz girl Alela Diane, who will be opening the show for them, will be playing a free in-store at Soundscapes at 6:30pm. [Myspaces: Alela Diane, Blitzen Trapper]

Also doing the in-store thing is Ben Kweller, who will be playing Sonic Boom at 3pm on Sunday, February 22nd before hitting The Mod Club later that evening. [Myspace: Ben Kweller]

Brendan Canning is celebrating the release of his new video for Love Is New at Lounge 88 (12 Clinton St) on February 19th. Apparently the video is inspired by John Travolta's opening credit sequence from Saturday Night Fever, which sounds hilarious. The video is not yet online, but here's a link to the Travolta original. [Myspace: Brendan Canning]

Nevado Records Presents Seedy Ease, Bass Lions, Elephant and The Monster Show: One Night Only! @ The Rivoli

Nevado Records is an awesome local based indie label that features some of my favorite bands of the moment, including Fox Jaws, my current rave-about band of choice. They hosted a special show at The Rivoli last Thursday featuring two bands that are on their label, and two more that aren't. As you are very well aware, that was four days ago but it's been a busy weekend and only now do I have time to post a review. So let's dig into the ole memory banks and see what we come up with, shall we?

The first band of the night was The Monster Show. They are from Guelph and Waterloo, and oh my! did they ever impress me! The band features Duncan Nicholls (guitar, vocals), Daev Mulholland (bass), Kerry Mullen (drums) and Jennie Jackson (keys, percussion.) My immediate reaction to their music was that it had a very authentic rootsy feel, reminding me of Son Volt and Drive By Truckers, with the pop sensibilities of The Lemonheads. There is a real maturity to their sound that is incredibly rare to hear in such a new band. It was a brief set, comprised of only about 7 songs, so I didn't really have the opportunity to completely absorb them but I really liked what I heard and I'll definitely go and see them again.

Photos: My Monster Show @ The Rivoli pics are on flickr.
Download: Beautiful Lost mp3 / Waiting For Rain mp3
Myspace: The Monster Show

The last time I saw Elephant was approximately a year ago, and if I'm having trouble remembering what happened four days ago, then I certainly don't remember too much about what happened a year ago, that's for dang sure! I do remember really liking them, but I had forgotten how atmospheric yet aggressive their sound was. They had become a four piece since the last time I saw them, the band now being held together by the likes of Matthew MacInnis (vocals, guitar), Daniel Tal (keys, bass), newest member Brett Watterton (guitar) and Ian Kennedy (drums.) The appeared to have the biggest fan base of the evening, mostly made up of young girls who obviously thought Daniel was dreamy. (Yes, I do believe I overheard someone use that exact term. Seriously.) Thankfully, the music was pretty dreamy as well, stylistically drifting in and out of dreamland, while also incorporating harder edge sounds. This is most obviously showcased in the song Eulogy, which they wisely chose to close their set. Matthew's vocals are very powerful, cutting right through you, and the ringing guitars continue to echo along until the song builds to its cataclysmic crescendo creating an epic that sounds good on a crappy myspace mp3 player, but truly awe inspiring on a live stage.

I highly recommend seeing Elephant with Fox Jaws at El Mocambo on April 25th. After that, they'll be leaving the city for a few months so I'd jump on this one right away if I were you. Which I realize I'm not, but still...

Photos: My Elephant @ Rivoli pictures are on flickr.
Download: Space and Time mp3 / Colour Your Frailty mp3 / We Need To Rethink This mp3
Myspace: Elephant
Video: Afraid To Die on youtube

From the ashes of Reily, rise one of the most buzzed about local indie bands of the moment, Bass Lions. I have been meaning to check out their show for a while now, but due to life and stuff, I hadn't been able to make it ... until now. Definitely worth the wait. First off, roll call: you've got Nathan Stretch (guitars, bass, vocals), Charlie Murray (bass, keys), Anthony James (drums), James Vander Zaag (guitars, drums) and joining them for the evening was the sometime member Lisa Horvath (vocals, glockenspiel.) To be honest, I wasn't sure what I was going to think about this band because the vocal play between Lisa Horvath and Megan Bonnell was the major selling point of Reily for me. However, each new song being posted on Bass Lions myspace was better than the one before, and by the time I got around to seeing them, I was actually very intrigued. My intrigue turned into enthusiasm as I came to realize that Bass Lions, although a slightly different band in sound, is every bit as good as Reily was, and dare I say, possibly even better. Having the word 'bass' in their moniker is actually quite accurate, since Murray's heavily structured bass playing is what immediately grasped my attention. Also, making an impression on me is the uniqueness of Nathan's voice; deep and (again) bass-y. They opened the night with a reworking of We Are Geologists, a song by the former band. Giving it such a fresh approach was a good idea, because the song seemed to be infused with a more stunning vibrancy than before. Songs like Ransom Sunset and Like Ashes In My Mouth also got the crowd clapping along. Most of their setlist was, of course, made up of songs from their new More Than Islands EP. The EP is immaculately produced, sounding very crisp and the songs work together in such a way that it's difficult to listen to it on a song by song basis. It definitely works better as an entire piece of music, although it feels like it's over before it's even begun. That's the sign of a great EP, when it leaves you longing for more. Sometimes I listen to an EP and am left wondering if the artist has the ability to keep it going for an entire album. I'm not worried about Bass Lions. I've got a feeling that the full length, should they choose to do one, is going to be amazing.

Photos: My Bass Lions @ The Rivoli photos are on flickr
Downloads: Ransom Sunset mp3 / Like Ashes In My Mouth mp3
Myspace: Bass Lions

The evening ended with Seedy Ease. They are another band that I've been hearing an awful lot about, but still had yet to actually hear. I realize that I referred to them in an earlier post as 'wicked awesome' which leads one to ask, how do you know they're 'wicked awesome' if you haven't heard them? Let me explain: Their drummer is none other than local rock star, Robbie Butcher of Tin Bangs. Now I think Robbie Butcher is 'wicked awesome' so I came to the natural conclusion that anything he touches would likewise be both wicked and awesome. However, I have to admit that they didn't completely blow my mind. Rounding out the rest of the band is Daniel Brooks (guitar, vocals) and Hollie Stevenett on bass. They definitely have the potential for greatness in the sense that they got a lot of things going for them. They have an infectious sound and Daniel's vocals remind me a bit of Glenn Tilbrook. And reminding me of Squeeze could never truly be a bad thing. However, I just thought their songs all sort of sounded the same. It was the end of the night, and I was tired so who knows? Maybe the next time I see them I'll have a totally different opinion.

Photos: My Seedy Ease @ The Rivoli pics are on flickr.
Download: Love Song mp3 / Smash The Black mp3
Myspace: Seedy Ease
Video: I Am A Dreamer, I Dare To Dream on youtube