Sound Magazine » Mike

Sub Pop’s Record Store Day Offerings

Michael Connelly — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 07:26:10 +0000

Seeing as how Record Store Day is today, Sound figured the time was right to take a look at some of the swag up for grabs. Sub Pop has certainly done its part, releasing a live album from Iron & Wine as well as four limited-edition seven-inch singles from Blitzen Trapper, Vetiver, Obits, and Flight of the Conchords. Read on for more details on the releases.

Blitzen Trapper: “War Is Placebo” / “Booksmart Baby”
Portland boys Blitzen Trapper have made a couple of old songs new with this release. Says Marty Marquis of Blitzen Trapper on the band’s forum:

Yo, the 7″ is a couple of older recordings, both rad songs: War is Placebo b/w Booksmart Baby. The A side was part of the abortive Waking Bullets record, B side was recorded as part of something Earley ended up calling “Wooden Dress and Dresser Set”, the same source as Going Down and Shoulder Full of You off the tour EP.

Along with the singles from Vetiver and Obits, only 1,500 copies of this single will be released. Blitzen Trapper won’t be back to the Northwest until April 22, when it plays the McDonald Theater in Eugene, then hits both Sasquatch and Pickathon in May.

Vetiver: “Wishing Well” / “Pay No Mind”
If you haven’t heard this San Francisco band’s February release Tight Knit , this seven-inch could be a great introduction. “Wishing Well” has the same sort of smooth-rolling vibe as many a great CCR jam. Anchored by a bouncy guitar riff and a feel-good attitude, this could be a perfect soundtrack to some of the lazy, first-taste-of-summer days we’ve been having in Seattle lately: mellow fare you can relax to on porch, grass, or stoop. B-side “Pay No Mind” adds some harmonica and piano to the mix. A little looser than “Wishing Well,” this gently-rollicking number drifts off into some charming instrumental sections that end up stealing the show.

Obits: “I Can’t Lose” / “Military Madness”
One of Sub Pop’s most recent signees, Brooklyn-based Obits plays rock in the vein of the Wipers - or so said Sound correspondent Chris Coyle in his review of Obits’ warehouse show in the ID in February. The band is fronted by Rick Froberg, formerly of Drive Like Jehu and Hot Snakes.

Flight of the Conchords: “Pencils In The Wind” / “Albi The Racist Dragon”
Fans of the bumbling New Zealand duo can now get their hands on a couple tracks from the HBO series that didn’t make it on Flight of the Conchords debut release. In “Pencils in the Wind,” Jermaine and Bret wax melodramatic, crooning about how “Love is like a roll of tape / It’s real good for making two things one” before hitting the chorus hard: “Brown paper / White paper / Stick it together with the tape / The tape of love.” On the B-side, “Albi The Racist Dragon” tells a cautionary fairy tale of sorts. The lesson? Racist dragon tears turn into rainbow-colored, racism-curing jellybeans. There will be only 3,000 of this limited release.

Iron and Wine: 2005 Woman King Tour 18-track live album
There’s no track listing for this one, but the title is pretty self-explanatory. Unlike the other offerings, this one will be on a CD (though with “extra cute packaging to make it look like a tiny 45,” says Sub Pop).

You can get your hands on these at all Sonic Boom, Easy Street, and Silver Platter locations, as well as at
a ton of other participating record stores throughout Washington.

Tonight: Scratchmaster Joe Record Release

Michael Connelly — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:51:39 +0000

Personality-hopping electronic artist Scratchmaster Joe (a.k.a. Nicemaster Nice, a.k.a. Joe Martinez) has a new record out, the follow-up to last year’s Scatchmaster Joe Is Nicemaster Nice. The new album, also released by Famous Records, is called Joey, Be Nice. Scratchmaster Joe will be celebrating tonight with a record-release show at Sole Repair. He will be joined by FCS, Specs, Recess, NKO, and Truckasaurus.

Here’s what the press release has to say:

The disc’s strictly snob-bred and obsessively written tracks are quite simply personalities. With this release Joe eschews all ghetto nastiness; he decisively allows tracks to breathe naturally, infusing sections with original and intriguing scratch and beat-juggle sections with an emphasis on quality. The material on the disc is sourced from original vinyl recordings dating from 1982 to 2003 and shows an emphasis on the 1990s. This release covers a span of genres from hip-hop to electronic to space-age pop, surprisingly conducted by a 77 year old Esquivel. The material on Scratchmaster Joe’s latest release was originally performed at the Free Sheep Foundation, with Filastine and Truckasaurus. It was created with you (music snobs) in mind, so please enjoy.

Scratchmaster Joe
FCS, Specs, Truckasaurus, NKO, and Recess
9pm at Sole Repair (1001 E Pike). $7. 21+

New From Starfucker: “Medicine”

Michael Connelly — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:28:54 +0000

Portland electro-dance outfit Starfucker is back in action with a follow-up to its 2008 self-titled debut. The new album is called Jupiter and it will be released on May 5 by Portland’s Badman Recording Company. Here’s a sneak peak of what’s to come - the band’s new track “Medicine” (which you can download over at My Old Kentucky Blog) - and a look back at a live video of “Isabelle of Castile.” And below the video, the dates of Starfucker’s upcoming tour, which kicks off this Thursday in Vancouver, BC (at the Media Club) and Friday in Seattle (at the Vera Project). Check it out!

LISTEN: Starfucker - “Medicine”

WATCH: Starfucker - “Isabelle of Castile”

Upcoming tour dates (all w/Kuroma)

apr 09 - Vancouver, BC - The Media Club
apr 10 - Seattle, WA - The Vera Project
apr 13 - Fargo, ND - The Aquarium
apr 14 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry
apr 15 - Sioux Falls, ND - Nutty’s North
apr 16 - Des Moines, IA - Vaudville Mews
apr 17 - Chicago, IL - Av-aerie
apr 18 - Toronto, ON - Sneaky Dee’s
apr 19 - Montreal, QC - Il Motore
apr 21 - New York, NY - The Mercury Lounge
apr 22 - Brooklyn, NY - Union Hall
apr 24 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
apr 25 - Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn
apr 26 - Memphis, TN - Hi Tone Cafe
apr 27 - Kansas City, MO - Czar Bar
apr 29 - Denver, CO - Hi-Dive
apr 30 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
may 02 - Portland, OR - Holocene

Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band’s Debut LP

Michael Connelly — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:41:36 +0000

Mount Saint Helens Vietnam Band
Self-titled (Dead Oceans)
4 stars

What band wouldn’t jump at the chance to receive the sort of praise and validation that Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band has been able to drum up in its not-even-one-year of public existence? The group signed to Austin label Dead Oceans (home to Akron/Family and Bishop Allen) fewer than three months after its first show and has been heralded as the next big thing from Seattle by everyone from Stereogum to Spin. With its debut full-length set for national release, however, MSHVB may soon confront hype’s not-so-desirable companion: the skepticism and snark that inevitably follow high expectations. The good news is that the band’s self-titled album is packed with catchy, pulse-racing songs. The bad news—which is only bad in the out-there alternate reality of the hype-osphere—is that, while this album is inventive, it isn’t necessarily groundbreaking.

To its credit, MSHVB takes a refreshing, original approach to its brand of fast-paced melodic rock. Too many bands treading this ground have one sound and one speed, but not MSHVB. The band does have a prevailing high-energy, up-tempo mood, but it is placed in a constant interplay between fast and slow, quiet and loud, and the frequent gear shifting lends the album a jittery, hyperactive feel. At channel-surfing speed MSHVB will jump, for example, from dreamy vocals and acoustic finger-plucking to a tense guitar/drum instrumental to playful, melodic pop vocals—all in the course of one song (“Going On a Hunt”). It’s fitting that MSHVB first drew publicity for a series of YouTube videos; the band is a master of the short and punchy, and it knows how to play to an attention span-challenged audience. In each song, it strings together a series of minute-or-less chunks of what would be, in the hands of many bands, different songs. The end result somehow manages to be both cohesive and charmingly disorienting.

While some of the band’s palette recalls Wolf Parade (mainly Benjamin Verdoes’ strained vocals), MSHVB places that sound in a much different setting. Many of the songs (“Masquerade” and “Albatross, Albatross, Albatross” in particular) draw on the bewildering combination of bouncy, urgent phrases reminiscent of Tapes ’n Tapes’ most white-knuckled moments paired with epic guitar riffs swiped from Led Zeppelin. The milder moments between the rock-outs are no less varied. There are moments when MSHVB recalls TV on the Radio’s barbershop harmonizing with its group vocals (“Who’s Asking,” “Dull Reason”). Then there’s the outro of “Masquerade,” in which the band slows down into an acoustic indie pop waltz complete with hand claps and tambourines.

Notwithstanding the media flurry that MSHVB has quite adeptly stirred up, the band doesn’t seem poised to follow the same stratospheric trajectory as, say, Fleet Foxes. But with this batch of songs and a reputable live act, MSHVB will surely prove that its hasty leap to a national audience was not premature.

Standout tracks: “Albatross, Albatross, Albatross,” “Masquerade”

Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band’s debut full-length is out today on Dead Oceans.

First Listen: Mirah’s (a)spera

Michael Connelly — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 18:18:56 +0000

Mirah’s new album (a)spera, out tomorrow on K Records, is her first solo album in nearly five years. It’s a showcase of Mirah’s versatility, a varied collection of tracks relating a gamut of intimate emotions, from sultry longing and wistful melancholy to hushed anxiety. Accompanied by strings, horns, and the otherwordly tones of the madinka kora, among other instruments, Mirah sings delicate love poems, ominous fairy-tale narratives, and laments for innocence lost and love left behind. To create this beautifully temperamental album, Mirah worked with longtime producer Phil Elverum (Mount Eerie, the Microphones), as well as Adam Selzer (M. Ward, Norfolk and Western) and Tucker Martine (the Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens). Read on for our track-by-track breakdown of (a)spera.

1. “Generosity” - The album opens on a baroque note; the first sound you hear is a flourish of strings. Then Mirah’s voice breaks out, singing a jaded but melancholy song to the lush accompaniment of what sounds like a string quartet. At times some low electric guitar sneaks in the mix, along with some hushed drums. Sometimes the strings lend a pulsing rhythm, other times they hit soaring melodies that intermingle with Mirah’s vocals. From Mirah’s declaration that “I gave you all my energy / and you took it without thanks,” the song moves into a call and response outro, with Mirah declaring “I won’t give more” to a chorus of voices chanting “We just want more.”

2. “The World Is Falling Apart” - Even before you dig into the lyrics, this song is pretty eerie. Backed by a ghostly chorus of “oohs” and “ahs,” Mirah paints a grim scene while a creaky, acoustic guitar makes painfully audible, squeaking chord changes. She tells a dark tale of a doomed sea voyage: “There’s a knocking on the hull you hear it / There’s bones a rattlin’ under us.” The song, produced by Phil Elverum, ends with a very Elverum-esque, foreboding instrumental climax.

3. “Education” - Now we’re into mellow, sultry territory. This track, produced by Tucker Martine, is gently rolling, with xylophone and glossy guitar whispering while Mirah sings, somewhat wistfully it seems, about a past love: “love might just be an economy / but I don’t believe in property / we don’t own nothing”. Strings join in for a swelling finale during which Mirah abandons lyrics and lets her voice roam.

4. “Shells” - What is that instrument? It sounds vaguely harp-ish, but with a delightful buzzing that accompanies the lower notes. “It’s the kora,” explains Mirah. “It’s an African harp, such a beautiful instrument. That was played by my friend Kane [Mathis], who is a member of the Spectratone International Band.” This fleeting track just might be my favorite on the album. The delicate plucking of the kora gorgeously complements Mirah’s voice. “It’s like the best sound I’ve ever heard,” she confesses. Also produced by Phil Elverum, “Shells” couldn’t be more different than “The World Is Falling Apart,” intimate and comfortable instead of epic and ominous.

5. “Country of the Future” - Another Tucker Martine-produced track. This song has a great Latin feel created mostly by some amazing, rapid-fire percussion and a driving bass-line. Sung to a distant lover, this song smolders with pent-up sexual energy that builds throughout the song: “When you look at the stars at night /remember oh love / my longing makes them shine so bright.”

6. “The Forest” - This hard rocking track rides thundering drums and fiery electric guitar punctuated by blasts of powerful, Mexican brass. Like “The World Is Falling Apart,” the lyrics describe a grim narrative, about wanderers far from home meeting desperate, hard times: “reaching for the belly / hollow from the cold long rest / we slupped up all the fat / but they’ll be no more of that / cause there must be some disease beneath the canopies.” The instrumental capping off this track is the album’s loudest, most epically rocking moment. (Produced by Adam Selzer).

7. “Gone are the Days” - A breath of air after such an intense track, “Gone are the Days” has a light, bouncy feel. To hand percussion and brass accents, Mirah voice sits front and center on this sultry track. There’s a dark undercurrent to the lyrics, however; what seems at first nostalgic soon turns into a tale of innocence and prosperity lost: “then the darkness came a creepin’ / over every place / over time they took to sleepin’ / and let the weeds take over this place.”
Adam Selzer

8. “The River” - This sparse track finds Mirah singing in a hushed voice to a gently reverbed guitar. It’s 7 minutes and 49 seconds long, the longest on the album. It gives Mirah plenty of time to spin one of the more complex poetic visions on the album, and producer Tucker Martine lots of room to work in an array of subtle touches–gentle swells of horns, fleeting synth lines, and moments where the guitar runs wilder–that come and go throughout the song.

9. “Bones & Skin” - Mirah pulls off a Jeff Buckley feel on this song, which manages to be haunting and kind of sexual at the same time. Breathy vocals over simple guitar arpeggios give way to a chaos of snarling guitar and tumbling piano runs.

10. “While We Have the Sun” - This track finds the finest balance between the themes of love and mortality that Mirah has been exploring on this album. It’s a gently gorgeous track that finds Mirah tackling these themes head-on: “Let’s take the time to walk together while we have the sun / you never know when temperamental weather’s gonna come / and if want to face the death you’re never that far from / just take a breath and sing to it when all the day is done.”

Meet Chain and the Gang

Michael Connelly — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 21:54:24 +0000

As Pitchfork recently announced, K Records founder Calvin Johnson (after hitting Japan with Karl Blau) will be embarking on a national tour with his new band the Hive Dwellers as well as the Ian Svenonius-fronted Chain and the Gang.

Details on these two groups are pretty scant so far, but here’s what we know:

The Hive Dwellers will be fronted by Calvin Johnson, who will be backed by Fred Thomas (Saturday Looks Good to Me, City Center), Brett Lyman (Bad Thoughts), Brian Weber (Dub Narcotic Sound System) and Sarah Pedal.

Chain and the Gang consists of Ian Svenonius backed by this same band (Thomas, Lyman, Weber, and Pedal). If you were at last year’s What The Heck? Fest, you might have caught its first–and, so far, only–performance. Here’s my account of Chain and Gang’s public debut, from my Heck Fest wrapup:

When you’re the founder of K Records, you can kind of do whatever you want, especially at What the Heck? Fest. And Calvin Johnson did. His set started off with Johnson on guitar for a band fronted by Ian Svenonius. (Apparently the band was fresh off recording together for a few weeks recently; should be interesting to see what comes of it.) The charmingly brusque Svenonius introduced the band’s performance as “the soundtrack for a film.” Everyone turned to watch a slide projection on the wall opposite the stage of an introductory narrative of sorts. Two female band members provided the voices of two aliens headed towards Earth, contemplating humanity’s primitive capitalist way of life. The dialogue consisted of vaguely-Communist, mostly-comprehensible ruminations on the role of “groups” (as in musical groups) within this primitive society. It was funny and not overly serious, and eventually transitioned into an example of what one of these Earthling “groups” might sound like, which involved Johnson, Svenonius and the band playing some sixties revolutionary-style garage rock anthems. The first song ended in staged confusion, band members arguing with each other that they had played the wrong number of verses or choruses-a jab at some of the conventional expectations of “groups” and their performances.

Chain and the Gang’s debut Down With Liberty…Up With Chains will see release on April 7 on K. The Hive Dwellers’ debut is still in the works and due out around the end of 2009 or early 2010. You will be able to enjoy Johnson’s new project before that by catching one of its many upcoming live shows. The joint tour wraps up towards the end of May with shows in Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, Anacortes, and Olympia.

Apr 9, 2009 - Salem, Oregon
Cherry City Music Festival - Chain and the Gang, Jeremy Jay, Calvin Johnson and Wallpaper

The Hive Dwellers AND Chain and the Gang

Apr 14, 2009 - Springfield, Illinois
Black Sheep Cafe - w/ Seething Coast

Apr 15, 2009 - Bloomington, Indiana
Russian Recording

Apr 16, 2009 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
The Nerve

Apr 17, 2009 - New York City, New York
92Y Tribeca - w/ City Center

Apr 18, 2009 - Boston, Massachusetts
Outside the Lines Gallery

Apr 19, 2009 - Providence, Rhode Island
AS220

Apr 20, 2009 - Annandale on Hudson, New York
Bard College

Apr 21, 2009 - Danbury, Connecticut
Heirloom Arts

Apr 22, 2009 - Montreal, Quebec
Lab Synthese

Apr 23, 2009 - Hamilton, Ontario
The Casbah

Apr 24, 2009 - Toronto, Ontario
Whippersnapper Gallery

Apr 25, 2009 - Buffalo, New York
Soundlab - w/ Mahjongg

Apr 26, 2009 - Brooklyn, New York
Market Hotel - w/ Mahjongg

Apr 27, 2009 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Barbary - w/ Mahjongg

Apr 28, 2009 - Baltimore, Maryland
Talking Head Club - w/ Mahjongg

Apr 29, 2009 - Washington, DC
Comet Pizza and Pong - w/ Mahjongg

Apr 30, 2009 - Akron, Ohio
Musica - w/ Mahjongg

May 1, 2009 - Detroit, Michigan
UFO Factory - w/ Mahjongg

May 2, 2009 - Chicago, Illinois
Co-Prosperity Sphere - VERSION FEST w/ Mahjongg

May 3, 2009 - Grand Rapids, Michigan
The DAAC

May 5, 2009 - Minneapolis, Minnesota
The Eclipse Record Store - w/ Vampire Hands and Mystery Palace

May 6, 2009 - Iowa City, Iowa
Public Space 1

May 7, 2009 - Indianapolis, Indiana
Moria

May 8, 2009 - Louisville, Kentucky
Skull Alley - w/ Young Widows

May 9, 2009 - Greensboro, North Carolina
UNC - Greensboro Campus

May 10, 2009 - Athens, Georgia
Secret Squirrel

May 11, 2009 - Atlanta, Georgia
Eyedrum - w/ The Coathangers, Pine Hill Haints

May 12, 2009 - Huntsville, Alabama
Vertical House Records - w/ Pine Hill Haints

May 14, 2009 - New Orleans, Louisiana
Spellcaster

May 15, 2009 - Scott, Louisana
Bourque’s Social Club - w/ Pine Hill Haints

May 16, 2009 - Austin, Texas
Emo’s - w/ Peel

May 17, 2009 - Denton, Texas
Hailey’s Club

May 19, 2009 - Santa Fe, New Mexico
Warehouse 21

May 20, 2009 - Tucson, Arizona
Solar Culture

May 21, 2009 - Isla Vista, California
Biko’s Garage

May 22, 2009 - Los Angeles, California
The Smell - w/ Jeremy Jay

May 23, 2009 - San Francisco, California
Dreamers and Make Believers - w/ Thee Oh Sees

May 24, 2009 - Oakland, California
Ghost Town Gallery - w/ Gowns

May 25, 2009 - Santa Cruz, California
Crepe Place

May 27, 2009 - Eureka, California
Accident Gallery

May 28, 2009 - Portland, Oregon
Rotture - w/ Starfucker, Wallpaper

May 29, 2009 - Seattle, Washington
The Vera Project - w/ Wallpaper

May 30, 2009 - Vancouver, British Columbia
The Sweathshop - w/ Wallpaper

May 31, 2009 - Anacortes, Washington
The Department of Safety - w/ Wallpaper

Jun 1, 2009 - Olympia, Washington
Northern - 321 4th Ave. - w/ Wallpaper

Don’t Miss Karl Blau, LAKE And More

Michael Connelly — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 19:27:33 +0000

It’s a K Records weekend in Seattle. Tonight, LAKE and Karl Blau will be performing at 20/20 Cycle. Both bands put on great live shows - Blau has some mean loop pedal skills and LAKE has great energy and fun group vocals - so this is sure to be a cool, intimate night. If that’s not enough K goodness for you, tomorrow Desolation Wilderness and Angelo Spencer will play the Comet.

You can catch Blau and LAKE in the Northwest for a couple more dates together before they go their separate ways (Blau to Japan, LAKE to SXSW and elsewhere in the West). Angelo Spencer also has a few upcoming local shows. See below for dates.

LISTEN: Desolation Wilderness “No Tomorrow”

LAKE & Karl Blau

Feb 26, 2009 - Olympia, Washington
the Big Room

Feb 27, 2009 - Anacortes, Washington
Department of Safety

Feb 28, 2009 - Port Townsend, Washington
Water Street Brewery

LAKE:

Mar 10, 2009 - Arcata, California
The Treehouse

Mar 11, 2009 - San Francisco, California
Hemlock Tavern - w/ Little Wings, Nodzzz

Mar 12, 2009 - Los Angeles, California
Echo Curio - w/ Bodies of Water

Mar 13, 2009 - San Louis Obispo, California
SLO Art Center - w/ Quiet Life

Mar 14, 2009 - San Diego, California
Che Cafe, UCSD - w/ Red Pony Clock, Coo Coo Chaos

Mar 15, 2009 - Tucson, Arizona
The Hangar Art Space - w/ The Besties, Monster Pussy

Mar 16, 2009 - Phoenix, Arizona
Rhythm Room

Mar 18, 2009 - Austin, Texas
Red 7 Club - SXSW

Mar 21, 2009 - Albuquerque, New Mexico
Burt’s Tiki Lounge

Mar 22, 2009 - Denver, Colorado
Hi-Dive - w/ Viva Voce and Rafter

Mar 23, 2009 - Logan, Utah
Why Sounds

Mar 24, 2009 - Missoula, Montana
Zootown Arts Community

Mar 25, 2009 - Moscow, Idaho
Nuart Theater

Mar 26, 2009 - Kennewick, Washington
The Red Room

Mar 29, 2009 - Portland, Oregon
Rontoms

Angelo Spencer

Feb 25, 2009 - Portland, Oregon
The Wail - w/ The Bash Brothers, Your Heart Breaks

Feb 27, 2009 - Tacoma, Washington
The Den - w/ The Bash Brothers, Marmits

Feb 28, 2009 - Spokane, Washington
Caterina Winery - w/ The Bash Brothers

Mar 22, 2009 - Seattle, Washington
Tractor Tavern - w/ The Bash Brothers

Mar 22, 2009 - Seattle, Washington
Tractor Tavern - w/ The Bash Brothers

Photo by Rebecca Sikes, courtesy of K Records

You Can Wonder What Julie Doiron Did

Michael Connelly — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 20:09:37 +0000

Whether you only know Julie Doiron for her collaboration last year with Phil Elverum, the simple, beautiful Lost Wisdom, or for being in the nineties indie group Eric’s Trip, you should definitely keep an eye out for her new solo album. I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day (out March 10). The album features Doiron’s vocals backed by former Eric’s Trip bandmate Rick White and Fred Squire, a bandmate of Doiron’s who was the other contributor to Lost Wisdom. The album has moments as hushed and solemn as those found on Lost Wisdom, most notably “Blue,” a slow, wistful song featuring Doiron singing phrases like “I’ll never do that / again” over a dreamily reverb-heavy guitar. At other times, Doiron sounds more like Kimya Dawsom with playful acoustic tracks like “Glad To Be Alive” and “The Life of Dreams”. I Can Wonder hits its peak with upbeat tracks like “Spill Yer Lungs,” a bouncy track with some gritty, catchy guitar riffs that provide a dramatic backdrop to Doiron’s crystalline voice; or “Consolation Prize,” which finds some memorable vocal melodies riding a chugging rhythm through clouds of distortion.

LISTEN: “Consolation Prize”
DOWNLOAD: “Consolation Prize”

Rick White also made this music video for I Can Wonder track “Heavy Snow.” Check it out.

Broken Social Scene = Epic (Photos)

Michael Connelly — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 22:48:17 +0000

Brendan Canning of Broken Social Scene

[UPDATE: Just added some photos from the show taken by Chona Kasinger. See below.] Catching a band at the tail end of an extended tour can be a dicey proposition. If you’re lucky, you get to hear an immaculately perfect performance honed by months of practice. Other times, you suffer through a mechanical, lifeless set from a band run-down by life on the road. All of which cast an ominous tone to Kevin Drew’s prefacing banter to last night’s Broken Social Scene show at Showbox SoDo. After expressing how happy they (the band, Canada, the world) were about Obama’s election, Drew basically said how happy BSS was to be almost done with its tour, which concludes tonight in Vancouver. Not a good omen.

Photos by Chona Kasinger

The band, though by all appearances road-weary, laid waste to any such worries by playing for a solid two hours, summoning an energy, not to mention endurance, that seemed fueled by the knowledge that the end was near. (After tonight’s show in Vancouver, BSS will be on sort of an extended hiatus.) Eight members strong, BSS blazed through nearly twenty songs with the sort of desperate adrenaline of say, a band playing on a burning Viking funeral ship. The band played songs from across its catalog, drawing heavily on 2003’s You Forgot It In People and its 2005 self-titled full-length, as well as on its recent “Broken Social Scene Presents…” albums by Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning, giving a little something of everything for the sold-out crowd.

After an initial hour-long set highlighted by some of its past hits (You Forgot It In People’s “KC Accidental,” “Stars and Sons,” and “Looks Just Like The Sun”; “7/4 Shoreline” and “Fire Eye’d Boy”), Do Make Say Think’s Charles Spearin came out and played two songs from an upcoming album (The Happiness Project) based on the vocal rhythms of his neighbors. (Thankfully, this turned out to be nothing like Peter Frampton’s talking guitar.) As Spearin explained, he has been inviting people from his neighborhood over, recording them speaking, then picking out sections that have a musical quality to their cadence or rhythm and using them as the basis for songs. The first song consisted of Leon Kingstone matching the lilting accent of Spearin’s neighbor Mrs. Morris with some jazzy saxophone blasts. The next track was built on a loop of speech from Vanessa, a deaf woman who recently received a cochlear implant and was able to hear for the first time. As Spearin laid down guitar and Kingstone sax, they were joined by most of the rest of the band, who sang along to the looped dialogue (”All of a sudden I felt my body moving inside”). It was a moving moment that provided a mellow pause in the midst of BSS’s epic set.

They came back strong with a rousing four-song encore anchored by “Cause = Time” and the delicately beautiful “Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl” (with Lisa Lobsinger handling lead vocals), followed by another final encore that kicked off with the Talking Heads-recalling jam “Love Is New” from Brendan Canning’s Something For All Of Us. Despite the band’s marathon effort, by the time BSS launched into its closing track, the ten-minute-plus “It’s All Gonna Break,” the crowd was fading. A large portion of the audience had already trickled out before the song segued into a loose medley of sorts, incorporating snippets of “Swimmers” and “Ibi Dreams of Pavement” before its final climax. Had this been a normal-length show–say, in the forty-five minutes to one hour range–I might have been disappointed with a last song that sent most of the audience packing, but at the two-hour mark it seemed an appropriate ending.

Photos by Chona Kasinger.

New Desolation Wilderness

Michael Connelly — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:43:56 +0000

Fans of Desolation Wilderness’ K debut White Light Strobing should be pleased to hear that the band has a new album coming out (relatively) soon. Here’s what Nic has to say on the band’s blog:

We just posted a New Year’s jam on the Myspace. It’s called No Tomorrow. It’s about living in the moment and being happy. It’s going to be on our new album, which is almost done and due in the summer.

Also, we’re going to Austin for SXSW, maybe we’ll see you there.

We think it’s a sign of more good signs to come from this band. Listen for yourself.

LISTEN: