SoundSalvationArmy

I’ve said many times on this site that I don’t listen to a lot of electronic music.

This isn’t helping.

See, we get a lot of emails from artists, labels, and promoters. A surprising amount, more than I ever would’ve expected. Every week they come in and I like to think our discerning tastes are up to the challenge. But while I’ve said I’ll listen to anything once that’s not always the case.

I won’t listen to your album if the most prominently-placed note in your bio is that you’re a Suicide Girl pin-up. This site focuses on independent music, not independent pornography. Promo photos like the ones above may help Britney Spears move units but they aren’t going to have an effect on me. Weak performers rely on showmanship to overcome their weaknesses. One thousand emo bands have learned that lesson already.

I won’t listen to your album if you send me nothing more than a link to your myspace page. Myspace is the goddamn devil and if you can’t spare the time or energy to at least attach an mp3 to your email then I can’t be bothered to seek it out myself. I may spend an unhealthy amount of time on-line, but I haven’t got enough time for that.

I may not listen to your album if every email I get from you is about shows that aren’t happening on my continent. I love how much attention we’ve gotten from the UK, but I don’t need to hear about every tour or festival date your band is playing at this summer. I’ll let you know if I’m heading across the pond.

I hope we understand each other. I don’t mean this to be overly dickish, but I’ve had a pretty rough 10 days or so and the site going down was sort of the cherry on top of my shit sundae. I’m a little aggro.

 

 Beatallica - I Wanna Choke Your Band [2:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Thanks for stopping by. Regular updates will resume as early as later today.

Pat entries blogging, don't bother, the music business, what not to do

Our site is back up! Sorry about the downtime, world!

As I mentioned yesterday on our twitter, Ghosts of Modern Man are doing their last show ever in Regina tonight. Their last show ever, mind you, not just the last one in this city.

They’re really awesome, as you can attest if you’ve listened to the songs below. They’ve had a long (like 14 year) career arc that has seen plenty of ups and downs, and its a shame we only got one (two) records out of them. They really have done some incredible things and have been very inspirational to the locals here.

Even better, the opening band slays. Half of Passenger Action has very close ties to GOMM, so there should be some heavy emotions flowing all night long.

Do them a favour, Regina: pack the Distrikt tonight or else I’m coming after you.

 

 Standard Podcast [3:58m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Ghosts of Modern Man - Mauvaise Foi [4:33m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Passenger Action - Tonight We Resonate: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Pat entries Canadian content, live music, punk rock, Regina, rock

There is apparently no shortage of charismatic guitar rock in oil country.

A few months ago we heaped glowing praise on the Dudes’ latest album; now their spiritual cousins in the Fast Romantics are looking to grab some of the spotlight with the release of their self-titled debut.

The Romantics play a brand of rock and roll that simply doesn’t work without a lot of confidence and a very assured swagger is evident on this record. Don’t worry: it falls well short of cock rock but brings the handclaps, bluesy riffing, and lead guitar skronks you’d expect of a quality Canadian guitar rock band.

Immediate comparisons have been made to groups like Blur and Spoon and in many ways they make sense. The band has the purposeful guitar stab of Spoon and the propulsive, often-buoyant bass is as integral here as it was on Kill the Moonlight and Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. The songs collected here have plenty of charisma and the well-toned keys are a nice flourish, but the band seems to be a touch less playful than Blur.

Some high energy marks the album’s opening, the initial three tracks serving as some of its strongest numbers. The quartet opens the bag of tricks wide on first cut “Spooning the Gorilla,” grooving stabs at guitar and bass joined by purposeful drums, handclaps, and oozin’ aahs maximizing the pop sound. Some nice arhythmic bass flurries co-mingle with playful guitar leads and some impressive drum fills on the second track. The song also has a well-layered sound with the backing vocals a constant presence throughout and a strong, almost Brian Wilson-esque harmony in the chorus. The beat on “Moneymouth” is a classic, most recently resurrected for Jet’s “Are You Going To Be My Girl?” The song is also supported by a familiarly-funky bass intro and tambourine. Whether or not it indicates a desire for crossover appeal remains to be seen.

The remainder of the record strikes a middle ground, that question of intent coming up again and again. There is a heavy late 70’s boogie rock influence happening here, with some Ray Manzarek keys coming in on many of the tracks. The arrangements are deft, the solos noteworthy, but the band definitely falls into a comfort zone. While each song has its own subtle differences there is a bit of same-ness to the bulk of the Fast Romantics.

Closing track “Mr. Magoo” attempts to break from that, incorporating strings and a New Orleans-style horn showdown into a positively Tom Waits-ian shanty song before breaking back into a rock and roll rumble. Its definitely the odd man out here and it stretches the listener in a way that might’ve played better earlier in the album, couched among the slate of similar-sounding tracks.

This is an album that’s been several years in the works for the group’s songwriters, one of whom was nearly killed in a car crash during the recording sessions. The songs have definitely been polished to an immaculate sheen during that time, the level of and attention to detail being very striking. But having said that, its kind of a shame it doesn’t result in a more memorable product. The Fast Romantics isn’t an offensive or boring listen by any stretch, but it seems to fall short of mind-blowing — though not for lack of trying.

 

 the Fast Romantics - Spooning The Gorilla [3:38m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 the Fast Romantics - Mr. Magoo [3:58m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Get the album from iTunes digitally and there doesn’t seem to be a specific avenue for purchasing a physical copy, so here’s their Facebook page. It’s the new/old myspace!

I nearly forgot to mention they’re playing in Regina tonight! Saturday, September 5th at the Gaslight Saloon. Come on by for the show and I’ll let you buy me a beer!

Pat entries Calgary, indie rock, pop rock, rock, the Fast Romantics

I think I’m getting ready to declare the eastern bits of Canada this year’s Next Big Scene. Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver have had their turns; heck, even Saskatchewan has had a few bands gaining steam lately. But the Ocean-adjacent provinces on the right coast are striking with fervor in 2009. We already had Joel Plaskett drop a rock-bomb on us in the form of his three-disc tour de force; singer-songwriter Jenn Grant has gotten a lot of attention and adoration for her newest album, and Two Hours Traffic will follow-up their Polaris-nominated debut long-player in a few weeks time.

But today we’re talking about Nova Scotia’s Share, a band that has every right to stand alongside those artists. I have a precipitous feeling they might get passed by, however, and I don’t like the thought.

Slumping In Your Murals is a studious, deliberate collection of songs that have a gentle tenor, a restrained and lovely atmosphere that betrays some murky emotions. The most immediate comparison that comes to mind is the churning misery of the National’s Boxer, the moody feel of that album’s back half reflected starkly in Andrew Sisk’s sombre writing.

Sisk calls this album the first Share effort that can truly be credited to a full band, having released three previous records as more of a solo project. That lone wolf aesthetic remains on a couple of the tracks here when Sisk is accompanied by little more than a ukelele (”Maybe Always” featuring Jenn Grant, “Lights Overhead”) and some ethereal slide guitar, which comes courtesy of Sailhouse’s Mike Feuerstack. Synthesized string and piano creep into the back end of “Maybe Always.” The songs sound like they’re being performed in a vacuum, the loneliness and isolation of the lyrics surrounded by the sound of hopelessess.

Those tracks are countered by the first two cuts on the album, which are the brightest and most uptempo of the bunch. Share go full rock band here, a similar beat and chord structure serving as a bridge between the two songs. The electric guitars, while distorted, are not overpowering or terribly overdriven, providing an even tapestry of sound. The otherwise bright mix boasts a pretty, ethereal lead guitar that floats in and out of the background on “Broader,” the cooing back-up vocals in the insistent chorus adding further texture. This is as close as the band gets to letting loose for most of the album, the muscular drums and sharply-strummed chords resonating behind the solo in a truly Boxer-ish fashion.

The remainder of Slumping In Your Murals is a quieter, more subdued affair to be certain, striking a middle ground between Hayden’s downtrodden worldview and the deliberate and persistent arrangements of groups like the Walkmen and the National.

The music is always sparse, but lovely; many tracks feature tweaked, atmospheric lead guitar that lends a somewhat spacey tone to some tenuous, almost bridled arrangements. Reverb-soaked guitars churn in the mix, lilting vocal harmonies, and occasional ukelele accompaniment prop up the patient tempo of songs like “Fish Out Of Water” while the band slowly builds to a heady, furious release on “KC.” That sets up the ominous bass and floor toms of the closing track, which is lent further murkiness due to what is either an odd-sounding accordian or a curiously-distorted guitar.

Lyrically the album strikes a pretty uniformly miserable impression. These songs talk a lot about lost love or the possibility of experiencing it, of a sense of futility in trying to make it work, of the important things we all fail to notice, about the hit people take when their expectations are thoroughly dashed. In the midst of that Sisk also manages to use rodeo as a metaphor for love in a much more elegant way than I ever would’ve thought possible.

It’s a moody, engaging listen to be sure, not the kind of album one would throw on when the sun is shining and birds are singing. Still, it is hard not to feel a connection to the metaphors and allegories used by Sisk in his songwriting and the emotional tenor of the arrangements is a mature balance of isolation, misery, and beauty. While its lyrical content might betray it, there is a significant amount of accomplishment here and a helping of potential to grow as well.

 

 Share - Horse & Rider: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Share - Penmaship [3:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Buy buy buy from Zunior in the digital form or Sonic Unyon. Physical copies should be coming soon, release date is today!

Pat entries Canadian content, east coast, indie rock, Nova Scotia, Share, Slumping in Your Murals