Articles posted in April 2009

Beating like a hammer

April 18, 2009
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After “Combat Baby” was released in 2003, an estimated 35% of Canadian women between the ages of 18 and 24 had a Metric button pinned to their backpack (citation needed). Unfortunately, the band’s latest single, “Help, I’m Alive,” is unlikely to return Emily Haines & co. to the same ubiquity they once enjoyed: the song is too dour to appeal to a mass audience, with lyrics that make Haines sound like she’s on the verge of a nervous breakdown the entire time (which, according to interviews, she was). It’s like an electrified version of Haines’s 2006 solo album Knives Don’t Have Your Back, an impression that’s confirmed by the acoustic version of the song, which is available as a free download from Metric’s MySpace.

The video looks like it was spliced together with minimal input from the band, editing together concert footage with random b-roll footage and disorienting computer-generated effects. Still, it’s weirdly compelling in a retro sort of way: some of the footage looks like it was culled from old black and white movies, while the simplistic effects appear stuck in the 1980s. The video bombards viewers with images of pulsing hearts as the song repeats its refrain, “My heart keeps beating like a hammer.” It’s a bit too literal, but it doesn’t a good job of recreating the song’s panic-attack inducing claustrophobia.

Check out the video here, courtesy of Stereogum.

“Help, I’m Alive” is available on the album Fantasies, which is out now via Last Gang.
 
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You gotta move your idiot body around

April 17, 2009
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On June 23, Sunset Rubdown will release its fourth full-length album, Dragonslayer (no word if that refers to slaying a dragon or laying multiple dragons). The first single is called “Idiot Heart,” and Jagjaguwar is offering it as a free download. Rather than the weirdo piano dirges than make up much of Krug’s output, the new song is straight-up guitar rock, recalling the more earthy delights of Krug’s sometimes songwriting partner Dan Boeckner. There is some gentle tinkling from what sounds like a toy piano, but for the most part, the song favours immediacy over atmosphere, with steadily chugging guitars and a thundering rhythm section.

Of course, Krug’s lyrics are as oblique as ever, with cryptic allusions to “The Icarus in your blood.” Even so, “Idiot Heart” is as close as Krug will ever get to writing a song that can be described as “fun.” It doesn’t quite match up to the haunting otherworldliness of his best work, but it’s still well worth the listen.

mp3: “Idiot Heart”
 
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Alden Penner, in the garage, with a guitar

April 16, 2009
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Five years ago, I would have gotten really excited about the news of a new album from an ex-Unicorns member. But since that time, Nick Thorburn has released a string of projects ranging from decent to mediocre to downright awful, meaning that I feel some trepidation about any new material from the once-legendary collective.

I needn’t have worried, since the self-titled album by Clues, the new project by Alden Penner (Thorburn’s one-time songwriting partner) is the best post-Unicorns release yet. Not coincidentally, it’s also the project that sounds most like Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone?, with no-nonsence production, and Penner’s unsettling, whispered vocals. The songs toe the line between creepy and ridiculous, with morbid warnings about death and a “dragon’s mouth.” The instrumental arrangements are equally twisted, as the album is full of squealing feedback, warped guitar riffs, and childish falsetto humming.

But Penner can’t receive full credit for the success of Clues, since he is supported by four other musicians, including Brendan Reed, a pre-Funeral member of Arcade Fire. Penner’s bandmates prevent Clues from sounding like a Unicorns rehash, with eclectic arrangements that range from white-washes of ambient sound (”In the Dream”) to snarling punk (”Approach the Throne”). “You Have My Eyes Now” begins as an aimless dreamscape of feedback and reverb-soaked guitar, but halfway through it suddenly explodes into a theatrical, arena-sized waltz. The band also knows when to scale things back—the closing track, “Let’s Get Strong,” is a piano-and-voice ballad that’s so sweet and gentle, it could almost be Coldplay.

mp3: “Perfect Fit”
mp3: “Remember Severed Head”

Clues doesn’t quite reach Unicorns-worthy levels of brilliance, but it’s a more cohesive and satisfying listen than any-other post Unicorns project. It’s due out on May 19 via Constellation.
 
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I didn’t know that girl was loaded

April 15, 2009
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If brevity is the soul of wit, then Apollo Ghosts are the funniest people in the world. On their debut album, Hastings Sunrise, they blow through 14 songs in just 27 minutes, meaning that each track averages at around two minutes long. It’s a pace that would make Robert Pollard proud (or, at least, would have made him proud 15 years ago), especially since the album shares the lo-fi aesthetic of classic Guided by Voices—producers David Carswell and John Collins (Tegan and Sara, the New Pornographers) recorded the band live off the floor without the assistance of a click.

With bite-sized track-lengths and lo-fi production, the songs on Hastings Sunrise have a tendency to sound tossed off. But thanks to the band’s sharp pop hooks and often-hilarious lyrics, songs that might be throwaways for a lesser band become the highlights. The opening track, “Dobermans,” is a tongue-in-cheek ballad about a troupe of Chinese acrobats; with a pump organ set to sound like an accordion, the song’s gorgeous melody evokes Brian Wilson, making an otherwise goofy story sound almost heartbreaking. Similarly, on “Angel Acres,” singer Adrian Teacher’s fragile vocals give the hilarious lyrics an unexpected poignancy (”And in my defense, I didn’t know that gun was loaded / And in my defense, I didn’t know that girl was loaded”).

On Hastings Sunrise, Apollo Ghosts tackle a wide range of genres, from Ramones-inspired punk (”Land of the Morning Calm”) to folk (”Hastings Sunrise”) and even lounge rock (”While You’re up There”). The overall result recalls the jangle of ’80s college rock and the ’90s slacker ethos of Pavement. Still, despite outdated influences and archaic production, Hastings Sunrise never sounds like a throwback record, since its eclectic mishmash of styles is distinctly 21st century.

The group has shot three videos, the best of which is for “Angel Acres,” and features the band squaring off against pro wrestlers from the BC-based federation ECCW.


Apollo Ghosts are selling vinyl copies of Hastings Sunrise for a measly five dollars, and the first pressing is almost entirely sold out. The album will soon be rereleased on coloured vinyl and CD by Catbird (in the US) and Geographing (in Canada). In the meantime, it can be streamed in full here.
 
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Isn’t it funny? Don’t ya think?

April 14, 2009
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For reasons I can no longer exactly recall, I used to be obsessed with Dave Matthews Band. During high school, I spent an entire year listening to almost nothing else, and there are few albums I’ve ever listened to as many times as Under the Table and Dreaming. Since that time, however, any enjoyment I have received from DMB has been purely sentimental; still, nostalgia is a strong incentive, and so I continue to follow the band, regardless of the fact that I don’t really like the music.

DMB has a new album, the unfortunately-titled Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, due out on June 2, and its first single, “Funny the Way It Is,” was released today. The horns are conspicuously absent, due to the tragic passing of saxophonist Leroi Moore last year, and the band cranks the electric guitars to compensate for the absence. Stylistically, it falls somewhere in between the group’s jam band roots and the pop sheen of its more recent works—it has an immediately singable chorus, but still makes room for noodling instrumental sections and a violin solo.

Despite being catchy, the song is hindered by clunky lyrics, with half-baked philosophizing about the sometimes-sweet/sometimes-bitter nature of life (”Somebody’s going hungry and someone else is eating out”). It’s all a bit like rain on your wedding day. Isn’t it ironic? Still, Carter Beauford is a monster behind the drums, and there’s enough going on to make the song an interesting listen for a DMB sentimentalist such as myself.

The song is available here in exchange for an e-mail address.
 
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A beautiful place to get lost

April 13, 2009
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In Canada, Toronto is about as far as you can possibly get from anything approaching a natural wilderness. And that’s what makes it so surprising that one of the country’s best pastoral folk groups, Great Lake Swimmers, is Toronto-based. On the newly-released Lost Channels, the quintet sounds almost like a Newfie band, especially on the lead single “Pulling on a Line.” With high, harmonied verses and a deep, sea-shanty chorus, the song’s strummy mixture of guitars and mandolins sounds inherently nautical. Even when singing about a dirty metropolis, as they do on “Concrete Heart,” Great Lake Swimmers always come off as lush and organic, thanks to the largely acoustic arrangements that include a sawing fiddle and the occasional banjo. Best of all is “Everything is Moving So Fast,” a dreamy, mid-tempo groove that belies its title with reverb-soaked arpeggios and soothing vocal harmonies from singers Tony Dekker and Julie Fader.

The album’s only failing is its pacing: by stacking the slowest songs together at the end, Lost Channels finishes on somewhat of an anticlimax. The ballads are unfailingly gorgeous, but they could have more impact if interspersed between the more upbeat material towards the front of the disk. Still, its a minor complaint, since the quality of the songwriting never lags.

The band shot an appropriately rustic video for “Pulling on a Line,” featuring Tony Dekker singing the song from within a boat in the middle of a misty forest. The scene is lit with antique lamps, and features a bunch of children dressed as animals. It might come off as a little creepy if only the song weren’t so gorgeous; as it is, it’s more A Midsummer Night’s Dream than Friday the 13th.


Lost Channels is out now via Nettwerk.
 
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Savidge Love

April 7, 2009
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I’m flying high over Tupelo, Mississippi with Britain’s hottest band, and we’re all about to die. Okay, that’s not entirely true. In fact, I stole that line from Almost Famous. (”Mmm. Dark. Lively.”) But I did interview Jack Savidge, of the English electro-rock trio Friendly Fires, for BeatRoute. You can read that here.

I also covered Chad VanGaalen’s February 27 concert for this month’s Discorder. Read that here. In the same issue, I reviewed the new albums by Mt. St. Helens Band (here) and the Perms (here).

In an hour, I’m leaving for the airport to spend a week in New York. I probably won’t have time to blog while I’m there, but be sure to check out Crystal Antlers‘ debut full-length, Tentacles, which came out today.
 
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Women @ the WISE Hall, 4/5/09

April 6, 2009
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A few weeks ago, my friend Mike told me that he had seen Women live, and while they had been good, the set was cut short due to an over-exuberant opening band. Perhaps this is a ploy to get away with playing a shorter set, or maybe they’re just unlucky—whatever the case, Women’s set last night at the WISE Hall was similarly truncated. With a midnight sound curfew looming, the band didn’t take the stage until 11:30, offering an advance apology for the necessary brevity of the performance.

The band opened with a chirpy, ska-infused new song, followed by the bouncy pop-rock of “Black Rice.” But it wasn’t long before things veered into noise-rock mayhem, with a feedback-laden take on “Woodbine.” Much of the set sounded like Liars at their most murky, with the guitar part of one new song consisting of little other than wild open-string strumming and manic whammy bar dives. As on their self-titled debut from last year, Women turned the rhythm section up high, to the point that the vocals were almost inaudible.

After half an hour (down to the minute), the band left the stage with a mumbled thank you, waiting several minutes before granting the audience an obviously-reluctant encore of “Group Transport Hall.” Unlike the snappy, acoustic strumming of the album version, the song was slow and chugging, a fittingly ominous end to a blistering set. It’s just a shame Women didn’t really seem to want to be there.

It’s no surprise that Women ran out of time, since the show had three opening acts. Church of the Very Bright Lights and Kidnapping both delivered solid sets, with each group showing promise, but lacking a strong enough vocalist to deliver on its potential. The clear standout of the openers was the local punk-metal duo Nü Sensae. Dressed in flannel and looking like they had wandered off the set of Airheads, the pair delivered a series of relentless of drum-and-bass thrashers; squealing feedback marred the few brief pauses between songs, ensuring that the audience didn’t have even a moment to catch its breath.
 
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Sebastien Grainger @ Zulu Records, 4/5/09

April 5, 2009
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No matter what he does, Sebastein Grainger’s name will always be affixed with the qualifier “formerly of Death from Above 1979.” But it’s a shame that he’s doomed to be compared to his prior work, since his solo debut album, last year’s Sebastein Grainger & the Mountains, is worthy of being judged on its own merits. His music can still be roughly described as dance-punk, but compared to DFA 1979’s brutal minimalism, Grainger’s solo work is slicker and more easily-palatable. With soaring choruses and arena-sized guitar chords, there’s even a hint of classic rock traditionalism to compliment the ever-present new wave influence.

Grainger is playing a show tonight at Richard’s on Richards, which I am unfortunately unable to attend, due to it being on the same night as Women (more on that tomorrow). Still, I was able to catch him this afternoon at a free in-store appearance at Zulu Records.

Crouched on a small stool in the folk/country section, Grainger played an electric guitar with a tiny amplifier that was barely able to fill even the small record store. He began with a cover of the blues traditional “Nobody’s Fault but Mine,” singing so far back from the microphone that it hardly picked up his voice at all. This quiet opener segued into a slow-downed take on the album-standout “(Are There) Ways to Come Home.” Played back-to-back, the two songs were surprisingly similar, making Grainger sound almost like a blues revivalist.

It was a haunting and intimate beginning, but the set lost track during the pauses between songs, when Grainger made awkward banter with the crowd who had gathered in a semi-circle around him. Confessing that he was hungover and sick, Grainger went through the motions for two more songs before announcing he was finished and cracking opening a beer.

Unfortunately, however, the show didn’t end there; although he didn’t play any more songs, the crowd remained gathered around Grainger as he continued to make awkward banter for 15 excruciating minutes, rambling on about the economy, the Bible, the Junos, and seemingly anything else that came to his mind. Unable to take anymore, I left as Grainger requested than the house music be turned back on, hoping to disperse the crowd still gathered around him.

Be sure to listen to Grainger’s solo debut (out now via Outside Music), but perhaps give any local in-store performances a miss.
 
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Swan Lake redeems itself

April 4, 2009
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Swan Lake’s 2006 debut, Beast Moans, was so drenched in sludgy fuzz and reverb that it sounded like it could have been made by almost anyone (as opposed to three of Canada’s best songwriters). So it was with some trepidation that I listened to the group’s follow-up, Enemy Mine. Thankfully, this time around, the results are much more satisfactory, as Dan Bejar (Destroyer, the New Pornographers), Spencer Krug (Sunset Rubdown, Wolf Parade), and Carey Mercer (Frog Eyes, Blackout Beach) have opted to strip back some of the layers that made the last album such a messy, confusing listen. The result is a solid collection of songs that allows the talents of the three members to shine through.

Which isn’t to say that Enemy Mine doesn’t have its fair share of atmospherics. The second half of “Battle of a Swan Lake, or, Daniel’s Song” is made up of densely overlapping vocals and swirling distortion that could just as easily been made by a synthesizer as a guitar. Similarly, the outro of “Peace” sounds a bit like Bejar and Mercer are singing entirely different songs.

But on Enemy Mine, such moments are flourishes to compliment the songwriting, rather than the primary focus. For the most part, the album actually sounds like the work a band, rather than a self-indulgent, studio-based experiment. It’s possible to imagine these songs being taken out on tour, something that cannot be said of almost anything on Beast Moans.

Best of all, Enemy Mine actually sounds like the work of the three songwriters listed in the liner notes. “Heartswarms” is a Destroyer-worthy acoustic ballad, sung in a theatrical slur than only Bejar could pull off. The Krug-fronted “Settle on Your Skin” is jittery and upbeat, with a punchy synth line that could have easily been slotted onto the next Wolf Parade album. As for Mercer, he sounds a bit like someone doing a really over-the-top David Bowie impression. (Ever see that episode of Flight of the Conchords in which Bret and Jermaine sing “Bowie’s in Space”? Yeah, kind of like that.)

The album’s highlight comes on the second-to-last track, with Krug’s classically-tinged piano ballad “A Hand at Dusk.” Krug is such a cryptic lyricist that its disarming to hear him singing such an unabashedly romantic lyric as “You still look good to me in that knee-length checkered dress.” The song’s minimalist arrangement sounds different from anything else the band has done, as much of the song is unaccompanied, save for the distant swells of synth and guitar. Some clip-clop percussion joins for the final section of the song’s six-minute runtime, as Mercer’s close-miked vocals enter, placed startlingly high in the mix, and sounding a bit like Major Tom being beamed in from outer space.

mp3: “A Hand at Dusk”

Admittedly, Swan Lake still doesn’t reflect the best work of its three songwriters. But Enemy Mine is worthy addition to the collected works of these prolific Canadian indie icons. Rather than a completists-only side-project, Swan Lake now sounds like a band, and is a must-listen for any fans of its members.

The album is out now via Jagjaguwar.
 
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