Laurent Bourque - What We Talk About

So I've been sitting on Laurent Bourque's impressive debut CD for a few months now, trying to come up with the right way to describe it without making it sound like it's a bit on the dull side. You could slide it into the singer/songwriter genre, but that makes it sound boring. You could say it's a rock album, but that conjures up images of bar bands and classic rock, and that's not doing it justice either. And it's certainly hooky enough to be called a pop album, but the sounds are a tad too organic for it to be lumped in with a genre that is usually synonymous with overproduction. However, upon repeat listenings it's become obvious to me that to avoid certain tags would be equally unjust, as this Montreal (by way of Ottawa) musician incorporated all of these styles into his work in a way that is affective and enjoyable. In much the same way that a slew of overused ingredients can still mix together to create a pretty impressive omelet, Bourque has discovered a way to create a listening experience that may not be altogether new, but is rather inspiring nevertheless.

The mellower moments are handled by tracks like At Your Door and Calm Down, which both feature some beautiful harmonies and distinguished vocals that are hushed and effectively understated. The rock quotient is filled by songs like Always Alright which is a head bobbing rocker that enlists vocal and lap steel help from Amos The Transparent's Daniel Hay and Jonathan Chandler, as well as some inspired vocals by Zoe Speed. And finally there's some catchy pop music found in the likes of All You Beautiful Girls and Fall In And Out, as well as a notably Cure-ish guitar vibe in Coming Up For Air. The album ends with what is probably my favourite track, a song called Living In a Movie that makes good use of moderate production and some atmospheric instrumentation to create an ending that lingers on long after the album is finished.

What We Talk About is a reminder that oftentimes the genres and styles that we think we have grown weary of are usually the fault of the artists using them, and not of the genres themselves. Laurent Bourque has used these styles to create a collection of music that is endearing upon first listen, and continues to captivate more fully with each subsequent play.

Myspace: Laurent Bourque
Video: All You Beautiful Girls (live @ Canteen) on vimeo

Other stuff:

There's a lot of buzz surrounding local band Sandman Viper Command and I've just started listening to their latest release entitled Everybody See This the other morning and it's pretty dang good. You've got a few opportunities to see them this month during their free Tuesday night residency at C'est What. They play tomorrow night, Feb. 9th with The Darcy's, next week Feb 16th with Clothes Make The Man and Feb. 23rd with some "special guests". It's a good opportunity to see what everyone is talking about. They've also been interviewed at Blare Magazine. [Myspace: Sandman Viper Command]

In the late 90's, while everybody else was getting depressed, I was listening to a lot sunshiny happytime pop music, and one of the bands that made me smile was California's The Orange Peels. Well, after spending some time away from them, they released a peppy little album at the tail end of last year called 2020. To prove that they're still riding the wave of creativity, they've just released a new single called The Real You, which you can download here. They do know how to do upbeat, that's for sure! [Myspace: The Orange Peels]

For those of you that have missed out on grabbing some tickets to see The National at Massey Hall on Tuesday June 8th, it looks like they've added a second show for Wednesday June 9th. Tickets range from $32.50 to $52.50 and go on sale on Friday. [Myspace: The National]

Peter Gabriel finally has a new album coming out here in Canada on Feb. 15th entitled Scratch My Back. It's rare that I'd get excited about a covers album, but I have an almost unnatural obsession with PG, and his choice of covers has me more than a little bit curious also. He covers the likes of Magnetic Fields, David Bowie, Arcade Fire, Regina Spektor and Radiohead, and he's offering his cover of Bon Iver's Flume for free on his website. (It does require you to enter your email) [Myspace: Peter Gabriel]

Dog Day - Concentration (Review, CD & Ticket Giveaway)

A quick Dog Day scan on the net reveals that the critics already get it when it comes to this band. I'm just wondering what everybody else's problem is? They may be the furthest cry from being a household name as you can get for many, but their last album Night Group was one of my most played albums of 2008, and the only reason it didn't make my year end list is due to the fact that it actually came out in April 2007 and I just found out about it too late. While that album was a fun and upbeat display of Nova Scotia meets New York swagger, it presented only a smidgen of what Dog Day are apparently capable of. Concentration is more mature and focused, with a sound that bands in the past have only accomplished after 3 or 4 albums worth of paying their dues. If Dog Day is this good already, than their future is going to be frightening.

The first song, Happiness, immediately emanates John Agnello's production. Having worked with both Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr. in the past, he has managed to harness the production qualities heard on albums by both of those bands. It's that sweet meeting of high production with lo-fi gutteral sounds that allows the album to simmer in sinisterism. Stray is another example of this. Seth Smith's droning vocals accompany a Joy Division-ish bass and drum line, while the female backing vocals remain in a near monotone creating a very hypnotic vibe. Nancy Urich does a good job of harnessing her inner Julie Doiron meets Kim Gordon vocal style. This is noticeably captivating whether she's singing lead, as in the slightly masochistic Neighbour and the epic Rome, or she's singing accompaniment as on the shoegazey Saturday Night. What's most amazing about this release is the fact that although it is all quite deep, dark and brooding, it is also all very very catchy. Judgement Day is a case in point: the song is ultimately about death yet I defy you to avoid dancing and singing along to the vocal doot-doot-doo's.

I don't think that it's a huge stretch to say that Dog Day is one of the most underrated bands in Canada right now. Part of this might be the fact that both shoegaze and psych-rock are a couple of the more underrated genre's in Canadian rock right now. Dog Day is a high quality amalgamation of both and I think that Concentration is a must-have to any fan of either.

Dog Day is playing Lee's Palace on Thursday May 28th. The photo above is on myspace.

Myspace: Dog Day
Video: Happiness on youtube
Download: Rome mp3


***CONTEST UPDATED MAY 15TH***

I've got two Dog Day prizes to giveaway. There are as follows:

1) Two tickets to the show at Lee's Palace on May 28th along with a copy of the new CD. This one is only open to those who are geographically able to attend the show.
2) A copy of the new CD. This one is available to anyone anywhere with a mailing address.

Contest is now closed; thanks to everyone that entered. Congrats to Justin M. and Alex H.

Other stuff:
Bobby B. Fun Fact: Did you know that Peter Gabriel is actually my favourite artist of all time? And while we're on the subject: Magnet Magazine lists their opinion on Pete's most overrated and underrated songs. I would agree with most of it, although Family Snapshot is actually his most underrated and Shock the Monkey is his most overrated IMHO. [Myspace: Peter Gabriel]

Neko Case is back in T.O. again and she'll be playing the acoustically pleasing Massey Hall on July 14th. Tix are between $29.50 and $40.50. Details are at Chart. [Myspace: Neko Case]

Jack White confirms that The White Stripes are still very much together and they do, in fact, have a new album on the way. He also talks about Meg's anxiety and the reasons for their recent hiatus over at Music Radar.com [Myspace: The White Stripes]

This weekend is the Festival In The Square at Don Mills Town Square. On the Saturday night (My 16th) Serena Ryder performs with special guests Carly Rae Jepsen and Danny Michel. It's free and it starts at 7pm. [Myspace: Serena Ryder; Danny Michel; Carly Rae Jepsen]

Because I'm an idiot, I forgot to RSVP to this year's NXNE press conference yesterday, but thankfully it doesn't look like there were any real surprises. The big names at this year's fest are Black Lips, Matt & Kim, Woodpigeon and No Age. The biggest deal for me though is the return of 60's garage rock giants The Sonics, whose "hits" include Psycho and Strychnine. They will be playing Yonge and Dundas Square on Saturday June 20th at the end of the night. Now that's pretty cool. As usual, the best of our locals are playing too and you can see the full lineup over here. [Myspaces: Black Lips, Matt & Kim, Woodpigeon, No Age, The Sonics]