Articles posted in July 2010

Go in lightly

July 29, 2010

Or were you looking at the woman in the red dress?

After a brief stint singing with Broken Social Scene, Montreal songstress Elizabeth Powell is back to fronting her own band, Land of Talk. The trio’s second full-length, Cloak and Cipher is coming out on August 24 via Saddle Creek. Head to Exclaim! to read my album announcement.

Here’s the first single, “Swift Coin.” It’s got a buzzsaw guitar and thundering drums, but at it’s core, it’s a sweetly wistful pop song. There’s no mystery why Powell was recruited to sing for Broken Social Scene, since her vocals bear a distinct similarity to Emily Haines.

Oh hey, Land of Talk is going on tour. I wrote about that for Exclaim! too.

I’m spending the long weekend in Nelson, BC, so I’m not sure how much I’ll be posting in the next few days. Happy summer—it’s all downhill from here.

MP3: “Swift Coin”

Posted in Tracks Tagged Land of TalkLeave a comment

She said she loves me

July 28, 2010

Other former lo-fi favourites have embraced more polished studio sounds as of late, but Ty Segall is sticking to his guns. His new album, Melted, is a stellar slab of fuzz, with retro garage pop songs fleshed out by the occasional synth or flute solo.

The album’s single is “Girlfriend,” which wouldn’t have been my first choice (that would be “My Sunshine”—holy crap) but it’s nevertheless the solid tune. With his sneering vocals and roaring guitar distortion, Segall somehow manages to turn a love song into a taunt. Just when you think you’ve got it worked out, a one-note piano solo enters at 1:41, giving an expected touch of quirk to this summery rocker.

MP3: “Girlfriend”

Find all the best pubs for underground music at YellowPages.ca

Posted in Tracks Tagged Ty SegallLeave a comment

Children having their fun with the blues

July 27, 2010

When I interviewed Stephen McBean of Black Mountain for Exclaim! back in the spring, he name-dropped a new tune called “The Hair Song.” Now, the song has been released as the new single from the upcoming Wilderness Heart, due out in Canada on September 14 via Outside Music. It’s a bluesy sourthern rocker, as McBean and Amber Webber trade off on lead vocals over acoustic strums and whiskey-soaked slide riffs. It’s a catchy tune, and is more straightforward than anything the band has released since 2005’s self-titled debut.

MP3: “The Hair Song”

Posted in Tracks Tagged Black Mountain 1 Comment

Sleepless nights won’t fade to black

July 25, 2010

Four to one? The Reckoners are skeptical.

I was recently on the bus and overheard a man speaking with some tourists about our province. Here’s what he said:

“BC’s the most beautiful place in the world. Lotta beautiful Chinese girls, lotta beautiful white girls. Girl are beautiful to look at. There are more girls than guys in BC, about four to one. I’m not complaining!”

I’d like to see his sources on those statistics. Here are the Reckoners from Vancouver, who are probably much better ambassadors for our province than that guy and his questionable anthropological research. If you’re into countrified vocal harmonies and wistful dirt road folk, check out the new EP …And the Sky Opened Up. Here’s the opening track, “Eye for an Eye.”

MP3: “Eye for an Eye”

Posted in Tracks Tagged The Reckoners 1 Comment

The children are running scared now

July 23, 2010

By the sound of things, the members of Vancouver’s Black Wizard really like things that are Black: Sabbath, Mountain…even Jack, kind of. This is pure, old-school, head-banging, devil horns-raising blues metal.

“Long Way Home,” which opens the band’s self-titled album, is 6:22 long. Four-and-a-half minutes of that is intro, with half-time blues breakdowns, riff-driven rockouts, a “Sanitarium”-style cool-off and a punishing heavy metal explosion. When frontman Adam Grant finally starts singing, it’s with a stadium-sized howl, offering apocalyptic warnings about a red sky and falling ashes. These dudes probably love “Stairway to Heaven,” but only the last two minutes.

MP3: “Long Way Home”

Posted in Tracks Tagged Black Wizard 2 Comments

I cannot bear

July 22, 2010

There are two kinds of people in this world: people who read Stereogum and people who read Pitchfork.

Okay, I have literally no idea what that means, but I heard someone (it was me) say it and everyone (actually just me) thought it was funny.

I guess this song is one for the people who read Pitchfork, because that’s where I got it from. It’s the new single by shred-vixen Marnie Stern. If you liked her last album, you’re gonna dig this jittery rocker too. It comes from her upcoming self-titled album, due out October 5 via Kill Rock Stars.

MP3: “For Ash”

Posted in Tracks Tagged Marnie SternLeave a comment

Nowhere left to go

July 20, 2010

Not sure this picture is conveying how funny Piper is

I’m not sure what a “California Shakedown” is, but I want in. This awesome track comes from Puro Instinct (formerly Pearl Harbour), who channel the hazed-out jangle of early Lush.

I interviewed the band’s singer, Piper Kaplan, for last week’s issue of the Georgia Straight. She’s the kind of interviewee who would work perfectly for a Q&A-format article, since pretty much every answer she gives is succinct and hilarious.

MP3: “California Shakedown”

Posted in Tracks Tagged Puro Instinct 1 Comment

Get those thoughts out

July 19, 2010

I accidentally titled this image "badladies." I decided to keep it.

I was born in the ’80s, but I’ll always consider myself a child of the ’90s. I’m thrilled that ’90s nostalgia is upon us, since I can participate in it without feeling like a fraud. (’80s nostalgia is great and I love the Smiths as much as the next guy, but it’s a little hard to feel to sentimental about the old days considering that the band broke up when I was two.)

The six members of Vancouver’s Bad Fate clearly grew up on a steady diet of ’90s guitar rock, and you can hear echoes of Pavement and Dinosaur Jr. in “Brain Enthusiast” from the newly-released Olympic City.

It’s more than just a throwback, however, since there’s also a hint of Broken Social Scene in the song’s spiraling riffs and driving rhythm section.

MP3: “Brain Enthusiast”

Posted in Tracks Tagged Bad FateLeave a comment

The aqua on the air

July 18, 2010

This Welsh duo might be called Under Alien Skies, but there’s something distinctly earthy about “Overseas.” With its tropical guitar licks, reverb-soaked harmonies and the sampled sounds of lapping waves, this one is bound to make you think of sitting in the sun on a white sand beach. By the sound of things, the chillwave has made its way to the UK.

The band has an EP, Powder, but this track isn’t on it. No word on how/if it will be officially released.

MP3: “Overseas”

Posted in Tracks Tagged Under Alien Skies 1 Comment

Until our hearts are aligned into the sky

July 17, 2010

The Drums‘ “I Felt Stupid” was my jam this winter—ironic, I suppose, since it’s a distinctly summery tune.

The band recently released an awesome self-titled LP, which includes the jangly gem “Forever and Ever Amen.” Here’s a Thieves Like Us remix of the track, which relocates the beach-friendly original to a nightclub in Ibiza. With its techno beats and squelchy synths, this one is pure alcohol-fueled, sweat-dropping excess.

The original version of the song has a hilariously dorky video which you can watch here. The Drums are from Florida, but somehow this video makes me miss my family in England.

MP3: “Forever and Ever Amen (Thieves Like Us Remix)”

Posted in Tracks Tagged The Drums 1 Comment