Saturday musings...

Today I’ve been out of the house for approximately 90 minutes, and the rest of my time has been spent lounging (read: being useless) around my apartment in true Saturday style. I don’t care that Monday was a holiday and that this was a ‘short’ week, I’m exhausted.

So while I sit around in my housecoat finding humorous things on Google Image, I’m obviously setting up my own little soundtrack, which I will now be sharing with you. Because I’m nice like that / because I feel like a deadweight and this will count as my contribution to society for today.

First off – last night I went to see The Dark Side of Oz, which –for those of you who haven’t heard of it– is a synchronization of The Wizard of Oz and Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon. The combination of these two absolutely groundbreaking productions is a work of genius, and I was so enchanted that this morning I managed to hunt down the album on vinyl for $5 (hence my only outing of the day). Perfect.

BUT. Let’s not kid ourselves, folks: while listening to classic albums on vinyl is incredible, it’s far from relaxing. The constant getting up to flip the darned thing, meticulously ensuring that you’re not scratching your new baby... And since lazy is today’s theme, I turned to my trusty digital music collection and my new friend Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, who I could listen to without having to exert myself.

Here’s the scoop: he’s 25, from Oregon, and his eponymous album was recorded with Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear fame. Crafted from sweat and tears following Mile's stint at rock-bottom, MBAR is a remarkable compilation of incredibly honest lyrics that move slowly alongside lazy folk melodies. Don't get me wrong, this is not an easy listen - it's a pretty intense package. The Debtor speaks of loneliness, with chilling lines such as “I’m not sure that I want to stay alive, it’s so expensive” and Buriedfed romanticizes the notion of untimely death. One of my favourites is Boneindian, which boasts what I consider to be the most beautiful melody on the album.

Finally, to salvage my sanity and escape from the gloominess that was developping, I turned to my latest obsession, the new Land of Talk album. If you still haven’t heard about this sweet Canadian band, I highly recommend you get on it.

Happy weekend!

Xo

Pink Floyd – Us and Them

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson – The Debtor

Land of Talk – Some are Lakes

The Friday Five

I googled 'Friday 5' this morning and stole this photo from MuchMusic. These songs are awesome, just like that little kid breakin' it down.

I only got on the Of Montreal train after Hissing Fauna... leaked a couple years back and it was in my top 5 that year. They definitely own the operatic glam rock scene right now. Their new disc, Skeletal Lamping, is built upon pop sensibilities yet dense and engaging. Apparently these guys have a wild live show too.

Of Montreal - Plastis Wafers

Next up is Ed Banger Mr Oizo, who is dropping his Lambs Anger LP this fall. I don't think it's going to be the next Cross but it has potential to get a party started. I wasn't a fan of his summertime brain annihilator "Bruce Willis is Dead" track but the stuff floating around the past week or two is much more listenable.

Mr Oizo - Jo

This guy Koushik is out of Ontario. He sounds like Caribou, the 1960's and reverb thrown in a blender and chilled. Relaxing soulful stuff full of instruments, samples and singing.

Koushik - Bright and Shining

Radiohead sure does like a competition. While I don't really think that In Rainbows needed the remix treatment, some top notch tracks have come out of the Nude and Reckoner contests. This Reckoner take comes from a dude named Brendan Merrick who has aparently never done this sort of thing before. Yeah right, he kills it. All the emotion of the original is kept in tack but it gets jazzzed up with some snapping noise and funky bass.

Radiohead - Wreckin'Er (Brendan Merrick remix)

Finally, yeah I know, Kanye West. It's pretty common knowledge that one of the most polarizing players in the rap/r&b/whatever game has a new album, 808's and Heartbreak, coming out later in November. Yeezy has slowly been dropping bits of it on something called the internet and now there is a new radio rip of another track, "Coldest Winter". I've never been excited about an r&b album, but I think this one will kill it. Sorry for the quality but imagine what those banging drums will sound like at 320kbps.

Kanye West - Coldest Winter

New Music Monday: Amazing Baby

Photograph Cred: PR (guardian.co.uk)

As a natural cynic, the quickest way of ensuring I'll gloss over a new band is to hear them described as "the new ...". It generally results in a diluted imitation of said group carrying at best one lead single of any merit. So when I hear the excitement surrounding Amazing Baby centres around their similarity to fellow Brooklynites MGMT, and that they only formed after "Time To Pretend" started pervading our consciousness, my "unwarranted hype gauge" goes off the scale.

Thankfully, I cast aside such discursions because Amazing Baby offer considerably more than a stay as MGMT warm-up act. From the first introduction to their demo you can hear the confidence oozing out of every orifice. "Pump Yr Breaks" starts with a classic rock axe wielding guitar assault, before exploding into a rich wave of swirling sound. They're blessed with the absurdity of the Flaming Lips, the genre-bending ethos of Primal Screen and the sheer euphoria of the Polyphonic Spree. The latter comparison is especially relevant given they follow the same rotating band personnel policy of the Texan troop.

It's on repeated listening that their ambition and ideas really shine through and you appreciate the multiple layers and influences. My current favourite is the swaggering, psychedelic, prog-folk demo closer "Head Dress" but everything I've heard to date has been consistently excellent. One of the real bright hopes for next year.

"Pump Yr Brakes" is released in the UK on 10th November on Another Music Another Kitchen. You can download the "Infinite Fucking Cross EP" for free below:
http://www.theamazingbaby.com/download/ep.zip

Newish, or New Ish (for the streets)

First off is Marvelous Toy, a band with an indie sound if you know what I mean, which I don't.  Kind of the Okkervil River hop, step, and a strum kinda deal.  Nothing groundbreaking, but"The City is a Washing Machine" is swell enough to keep from masking its goodness behind any sort of washing machine joke, and you know how plentiful those are.

Marvelous Toy - The City is a Washing Machine

Second off, which deservedly should be first given the picture, is Friendly Fires and their new album.  "In the Hospital" finds them playing The Rapture with less gusto, peppered with a little funk making it decidedly different than "Paris." "Jump in the Pool" is more of a middle ground between the latter and what they'll do in future, meaning slightly better.

Friendly Fires - Jump in the Pool

Friday Fast-Fix: Terry Lynn

Because it's turkey weekend and I'm pressed for time, this week's Friday Five will be demoted to a single artist. Lucky for you, it's an effing amazing one.

Terry Lynn is socially conscious, angry and undoubtedly tough. Her MySpace photos boast a variety of firearm glamourshots, and her aggressive lyrics are wrapped in a heavy Jamaican accent. I only have one word to describe her sound: powerful.

With her debut Kingstonlogic 2.0, this Last Gang prodigy raises awareness of her country's social issues with intensity and riddim. Her first-person accounts of life in Jamaica's most impoverished regions add substance to her art, taking her way beyond the usual dancehall sound.

If I had more time, I would love to tell you more. But I don't, nor do I think you'll need much convincing.

Move over, MIA.

Review - BCK IN MTL w/ MGMT

Let me set the stage; a concert hall, 2000 seats, and anticipation that filled the air. With all the hype surrounding the show, the audience was thirsty for a Beck fix. Montreal is known for its love of all things Beck, so you can be sure this show was sold out before it went on sale. Luckily, I discovered this interweb classified site by the name of Kijiji. Moreso, the seller only asked for face value since she had made a mistake in ordering 4 tickets as opposed to 2.

MGMT did their thing in warming up the crowd. These guys sound great live, but lack the show aspect. I know they'll learn a thing or two from Mr. Hansen.

Beck's set speaks for itself. It was a good mix of old and new and Beck proved that truly has fun playing. Opening with "Loser" set the night off in style. Not a person was left seated after the first note. 25 song sets are rare, but he pulled it off with ease. In an act of appreciation, he invited the MGMT boys back at the end of his set for 2 covers and "Where it's At". The encore had everyone humming, whistling or singing "NA, NA, nanana NA!" out the door.

Setlist:

Loser
Nausea
Girl
Timebomb
Devil's Haircut
Soul of a Man
Mixed Bizness
Nicotine & Gravy
Guero
Hell Yes
Black Tambourine
Think I'm In Love
Modern Guilt
Orphans
Walls
Missing
Chemtrails
Lost Cause
The 15th (by Wire, cover)
Planet Queen (T.Rex, cover)
The Wind Cries Mary (Jimi Hendrix, cover)
Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat (Bob Dylan, cover)
Where It's At
------------------------------
ENCORE:
Gamma Ray
E-Pro

Beck - Gamma Ray

Inbox Wednesday: Cryptonites Remix

Cryptonites remix of the Futurecop! track "NASA" arrived in the BTA mail last week. Originally meant to appear on the bands debut EP, Futurecop! decided to leave it out as they were going for a different feel with the album. But Cryptonites still wanted to share it with all of us. They've given it a definite 80's feel with their string and slap bass combo. Makes me feel like there needs to be a triumphant video montage to accompany it where the underdog trains really hard under the watchful eye of his teacher, getting little better each time. And of course, winning the big match in the end and saving the school...or the puppies, or whatever. Enjoy.

Futurecop! - NASA (Cryptonites Remix)

From Portland, with love.

Along with crunchy leaves and drawn-out sunsets, autumn never fails to materialize with a pretty serious cold epidemic. So while I sit here miserably nursing my sickness and wishing I had spent the extra fifty cents on the higher-end snot paper, I am comforted by what I consider to be yet another fall staple: folk music. Because as the weather cools, nothing warms you up quite like the slow guitars and the soothing voices of bearded men wearing plaid shirts. No?

Now if you’re not already deterred by the fact that I used ‘sunset’ and ‘snot’ in the same paragraph, bear with me, I’ll eventually get to the point.

Here are two bands I have grown quite fond of this week. They both hail from Portland, Oregon, which is the land of The Decemberists, microbreweries and um, roses.

Blitzen Trapper is a six-man (six-person? sextet?) ensemble who have been around for a few years. Their new album is called Furr and is their first release under Sub Pop. The title track was quick to seduce me, with its strange lyrics about a boy raised by wolves. Or maybe it was the sound of loons in the background which reminded me of childhood camping trips (please note that this memory triggered thoughts of hot dogs and juice boxes, causing me to walk away and make snacks, briefly forgetting about this post). In a nutshell: this whole album is beautiful and worth your while.

The second band is called Horse Feathers and are completely adorable. Their quiet but gut-wrenching Iron and Wine-type sound has earned them a spot touring with Jose Gonzalez .Their latest album is called House With No Home and I would like it to be my soundtrack as I bike to work in the morning, please. Here it is.

xo.

Remix Sunday: Emilie Simon vs. David Bowie

Bowie covers are a dime a dozen; for every Seu Jorge-calibre unique take on one of the Thin White Duke's classic cuts there are literally hundreds of lame renditions waiting in the wings.

Thankfully, this version of 'Space Oddity' by Montpellier-based musician Émilie Simon definitely does not fall into the latter category. Her powerful voice is layered and backed by just the right amount of organic strings, beats, and gentle glitched-out electronic effects to create a track that takes the original concept just a bit further without losing what made it so amazing in the first place.

Mme Simon composed the original soundtrack for the 2005 documentary March of the Penguins, but this version was not featured in the North American release of the movie (except in Québec) as the producers were afraid it would be "too challenging" for audiences there. Her third studio album will be released in early 2009.

Émilie Simon - Space Oddity

Bonus cover of 'Come As You Are':

Friday Five: Weekend Entertainment Edition

So, I was wracking my brain trying to come up with something original or interesting for the Friday Five; this is the result.  Feeling inspired by all the shows I'm going to see in the next few days I decided to feature a track from each artist, off their latest albums.  Here's my schedule for Thursday through Monday: 

Thursday, Oct. 2nd, Chad Vangaalen and Women at Zaphods in Ottawa.  This was an extremely inpressive show.  It's very hard to fill Zaphods on any day at 9:00, but this lineup was able to pull in a very good crowd.  Both acts responded well.   Women put on a lo-fi inspired set with excellent guitar harmonies.  Chad managed to silence the crowd with a banjo during the opening song "Willow Tree".  He proceded to play a headless guitar for the rest of the set.  Chad's live show screamed of Neil Young, who better to emulate than transplanted folk-rock extraordinaire.  By the way, Mr. Young will make his way across North America in the next few months.

Chad Vangaalen - Rabid Bits of Time

Women - Black Rice

Saturday, Oct. 4th, Wintersleep at Barrymore's in Ottawa SOLD OUT.  I like Wintersleep and everyone has told me to see them live.  Any past reviews would be greatly appreciated.  Their last album was solid, so here's a great track from Welcome to the Night Sky, no not THAT song that we have heard a million times.

Wintersleep -Laser Beams

Monday, Oct. 6th, Beck and MGMT at Theatre St. Denis in Montreal SOLD OUT.  I haven't been so excited for a show in AGES.  This anticipation is only intensified by the rumours that this may be Beck's last tour.  I have never seen Beck live, but I'm told that he is amazing.  MGMT produced one of my favourite albums of the past year, so I'm excited to see if MGMT can start the party right.

Beck - Volcano

MGMT - Pieces of What

With that, have a great weekend!  I know I will.

Inbox Wednesday: Delorean

While scoping the far reaches of the BTA email, I came across these guys from Spain who go by the name of my favourite time traveling car. Delorean remixed The Mystery Jets' "Half in Love With Elizabeth" and have turned it into a piano-banging, uplifting house anthem. The vocal loop even gives them shades of Animal Collective at their brightest sounding.

However, I did manage to find another Delorean remix that they did for The Teenagers earlier this year. These guys also have a pretty cool Spanish blog called Desparrame, which an online translator tells me means 'it scatters' and it is definately a scattering of random stuff from the internet.

The Mystery Jets - Half in Love With Elizabeth (Delorean remix)

The Teenagers - No Love (Delorean remix)

Enjoy.

New Music Monday: Green Go

I've never been to Guelph, Ontario as far as I can recall. But thankfully it's close enough to my city that us Torontonians get more than a healthy dose of the musical offerings of the hometown of Robert Munsch. Bands such as the D'Urbervilles, the Magic, and others have built an ever-growing fan base outside of their hometown, generally lead by us big city kids.

Next on the list of Guelphites with rising profiles is the sweaty dance party starters commonly known as Green Go. Lead by the shared keyboard/vocals of Fezz Stenton and Jess Tollefsen, the often-costumed 5-piece excels when the air conditioning caves to the demands of a house full of energetic young men and women with dance moves to spare. And while they're not exactly a brand new creation having released an EP on Burnt Oak records in 2007, only those in southwestern Ontario have had the pleasure of checking out their brand of Think About Life-meets-the Rapture disco-infused indie rock.

That is all until now, as the band is preparing tour plans on the heels of a limited-print 3-song teaser (available only at shows) which aptly demonstrates their energy, but also their range. While tunes like 'Cash Money Gremlins' and 'Ghosts of the Future' will certainly inject any party with all the dance opps it can dream of, my personal favourite 'Fool Me Once', which the band has decided to hold tight for a 2009 full-length release, showcases some of the strongest tools this talented bunch possess: Tollefsen's sultry vocals which touch on Emily Haines at her best set to a backdrop of grooves that snake through every crevice and build just to drop on a dime, and build back up again.

For those of you attending Pop Montreal next week, they'll be playing the Fuzzy Logic showcase on Thursday at O Patro Vys. Following that, they'll be doing what they do best in Ottawa on Saturday, at a sure-to-be-packed house show at 276 Nelson. As their bio suggests, you might want to bring a change of clothes.

Green Go - Ghosts of the Future
Green Go - Fool Me Once

Disco Intelligence

And the lord said...let there be new wave electro pop for all.

If you put Crystal Castles and Mates of State together in some crazy experiment, you might get something resembling Perth's Voltaire Twins. Having performed a mere fifteen or so shows and only a few demo's to speak of, the wonder twin duo have caught the attention of several labels and are currently a featured group on Australian radio station, Triple J. Catchy hooks and synth heavy bass lines are what make "Disco Intelligent Light" a fun dance beat. Having already backed some big Australian names, and heading out to support Ladytron in October, you may start to hear more about James and Tegan Voltaire. I'm looking forward to hearing more from these guys once they've recorded their debut EP, currently in the works. This will probably eliminate any of the mic or pitch issues people have with these early recordings. It will be interesting to see where they take their sound. Wonder twin powers, Activate!

Voltaire Twins - Disco Intelligent Light
Voltaire Twins - London!

Polaris Music Prize Preview

Tonight is the annual gala to announce the winner of the Polaris Music Prize, the award given to the best Canadian album of the previous year, "judged solely on artistic merit". The winner tonight will leave with their record amongst the likes of previous winners Patrick Watson (Close to Paradise) and Final Fantasy (He Poos Clouds), the knowledge that a bunch of music journalists really dug their shit, and one of those gigantic cheques for $20,000.

This is when I go on record to proclaim my prediction for who that may be. And by tomorrow, if London, ON's MC extraordinaire Shad takes home the hardware, I'll look like I actually know what I'm talking about.

Shad's nominated record, 2007's The Old Prince is about as strong of a hip hop record as Canada has ever seen, and perhaps stronger than any we may see for years to come. Musically, his band (and yes, he plays live with one), fuse elements of jazz, soul, hip hop, and rock while Shad's rhymes are clever, intelligent, honest and just overall enjoyable even to those who balk at 98% of the urban music genre. His lyrics are distinctly Canadian, yet his widespread potential appeal leave us thinking that, unlike basically any Canadian MC's to date, his success may not be limited to within our own borders. Given that, the Polaris panel could (and should) recognize The Old Prince as an opportunity to acknowledge and encourage quality urban music in Canada.

By comparison, co-nominees such as the Weakerthans, Stars, and arguably Kathleen Edwards are riding their nomination on the back of records that are not only not the best album of the previous year, but aren't even close to the best albums in their own discography. Had the Polaris existed when Left and Leaving dropped, John K. Samson and co. would have had a strong case for the cheddar, but such just isn't the case as Reunion Tour is widely considered their most uninspired effort to date.

For the record, if it's not Shad, then my runner-up votes go to co-Londoner Basia Bulat's folk gem Oh My Darling, and Parc Avenue by Montrealers Plants & Animals.

Review - Archive "Live at the Zenith"

Live albums always present an interesting juxtaposition of pure, unbridled honesty and a certain level of fabrication within the context of the source environment. Take for example Live at the Zenith, the 'new' release from UK's Archive ('new' in that it has been out for some time in Europe, but just reached shelves in North America recently).

The album was recorded at Paris' sold-out Zenith Arena in January of 2007 and fully captures their building, epic throwback too-new-to-be-considered-classic rock sound that fills stadiums in many (mostly non-English dominated) countries across Europe. The crowd's response to tracks such as "Fuck U", "Pulse", and "Black" provide the listener with the context of a large, spanning audience completely enthralled by their Floyd-esque vibe. In listening to it, one can't be blamed for assuming that Archive is the biggest, most influential rock band on the planet.

The main problem with this listening experience across the Atlantic, however, is that it evokes an atmosphere with which us North Americans just can't relate. Even if we are Archive fans (which painfully few are compared to our European counterparts), our live experience with the band is far more likely to be taking place at the El Mocambo than the Air Canada Centre. Not to say that the show wouldn't be great at the El Mo (it would probably be better), but the overall experience of "Live at the Zenith" doesn't adequately represent the North American listener experience.

Perhaps its North America's general apathy for the band which has caused this release (and 2006's Lights) to take so long to reach shelves here, or rather its that they seem to not mark us on their map of priority that has caused them to not fully take off over here; regardless of cause, all Live at the Zenith does for American and Canadian Archive fans is remind us that short of hopping a plane, we'll never experience the ethereal magic of seeing the band amongst thousands of others who actually give a shit.