Sound Salvation Army

I don’t like big crowds.

I’m not agoraphobic or claustrophobic or any kind of phobic, really. Wait. What’s clowns? I’m that kind of phobic. I just don’t like standing real close in huge groups of people. So a few months ago, I might have said something like “You couldn’t PAY ME to be in Vancouver during the 2010 Olympics!”

But, uh… it turns out, you CAN pay me to be in Vancouver during the 2010 Olympics. And here I am. The local broadsheet is paying me to edit things and design things and tell people that while bobsleigh is correct, bobsleighers is not. It’s bobsledders. Because. It just is. Don’t argue.

I miss newsrooms. I miss the immediacy and the rush and the late nights where I’m up for a reason. I miss the wire photos (FYI, if you think the video of the luge death was bad…consider yourself lucky that’s all you saw. The photos that DIDN’T run were pretty gruesome). I don’t miss the jawline acne and the unpleasant gutrot that comes from drinking four to six cups of coffee a day. I especially missed all of this happening around some big event where people with black hearts and quick wits push themselves to their limits and put together a newspaper. It feels nice to have this back because I’m pretty sure that soon it’s going to be gone altogether. The newspaper as you know it won’t exist. The job I’m doing now will be obsolete and I’ll have to stop giving it away for free online. But until then: Wheeeee!

Where was I? The Olympics. Yes. Stephen Harper invited himself to address the B.C. legislature Thursday. In his speech, he wanted us to know that it’s OK to be patriotic. That we can be just as loud and proud as our American counterparts. Sure. We COULD do that. But why would we? Stephen Harper can’t even be bothered to govern this country, so I’d really appreciate it if he stopped telling me how to be proud of it.

Fuck that guy.

this guy (gal?) knows what I'm talking about

Of course, I DID see a lot of people literally draped in flags on the SkyTrain when I was going in to work this afternoon. They’re allowed to do that. And I’m allowed to be kind of weirded out by it. Seriously guys. Save your head painting antics for when it matters. Like when football is on and the supermarket is out of watermelons. Or something.

To me, being Canadian means I don’t have to drape myself in a flag and paint my face and sing the anthem in my outdoor voice to prove that I love my country. Canada’s awesome. The end.

So thanks for stopping by to light the cauldron, Wayne. Don’t hurt yourself scurrying back to the states and your losing hockey team.

You guys to the south can keep Gretzky. We’ll throw in Bryan Adams, too. I don’t even know what to say about his shitty performance. So I won’t talk about it. Accentuate the positive. Let’s celebrate something nice. Something meaningful. I am super-pumped that Shane Koyczan got such a huge stage for his poetry.

He and his band, the Short Story Long, performed at Hillside Festival in Guelph last year and they lit the place up. In fact, I wrote about them right here! The song they performed then was this awesome version of their spoem (Song/poem — you can’t make this shit up, people! That’s what they calls these things!) Skin:

During the otherwise predictably lame opening ceremonies, he performed his piece We Are More. You could buy it from iTunes, but, um, you could also watch it on youtube:

You can find out more about Shane Koyczan and the Short Story Long at their website. You may also buy their stuff on iTunes. And buy k.d. lang albums on her website.

 

 k.d. lang - Hallelujah: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 shane koyczan and the short story long - Skin: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tanis entries Canadian content, k.d. lang, Leonard Cohen, mp3, Olympics, opening ceremonies, poetry, Shane Koyczan, spoken word, Vancouver

Thanks for coming out Attack in Black. You sure made things interesting.

Alright, listen: we’ve all been on road trips that have lasted just a bit too long. By the end it’s all you can really do just to keep your car in between the lines without your brain having a complete freakout. I get it. I really do. I’m hoping that’s what was weighing on the minds of Dan Romano, Ian Romano, Ian Kehoe and Spencer Burton when they stopped by the Exchange a couple of weeks ago. Otherwise they may not have engendered themselves to the Regina audience that well.

They took to the stage looking none-too-impressed to be working, faces looking dour as they dryly went through the motions of tuning and checking their monitors. The early part of the set seemed fairly workmanlike, almost detached at times as they ran through several newer songs.

Things started to go off the rails a bit when Romano asked the crowd if there were any requests. Now, just to be clear: Attack in Black doesn’t get played on the radio in Regina, Saskatchewan. Maybe they do in Ontario, but there’s no modern rock radio stations here and what we do have isn’t hip enough to the “scene” to be playing Attack in Black. That’s just a fact. I don’t expect Attack in Black to know that, but regardless they recoiled when several audience immediately shouted out “Young Leaves.” My understanding is that is probably the most popular song they have, released on a first album they’ve stepped back from in recent years (they’ve stated in interviews that the interference of producers and engineers in the studio led to a sound they didn’t intend). Clearly they’ve come to resent this song in particular, as Romano indicated, “This is what you get for asking for that one,” before the band launched into a toned-down cover of NOFX’s “Please Play This Song On The Radio,” a song drenched in cynicism and condemnation for bands that purposefully write accessible songs to gain airplay.

This confused me. This is the guy that wrote, “Young Leaves.” Is he implying that he has an unhealthy dose of self-loathing because he wrote a song that people actually like? Is he condemning a paying audience for wanting to hear a song that he wrote? Is he implying that his audience has poor taste because they appreciate a catchy song? It seemed a little needlessly hostile, especially for a group of musicians that are among the most talented and cohesive in the country right now. And frankly, “Young Leaves” is far from the best song on Marriage, nor is it the most accessible or radio-friendly in my opinion. The sour attitude also popped up during “I’m Going To Forget,” the lead-off track to the wonderful The Curve of The Earth. The line, “Never to be back again,” closes out one of the song’s verses and Romano seemed to find it necessary to stress those words. “I promise you,” he emphasized before launching into the song’s refrain. I guess they didn’t like the reception they were getting? At least they gave us some warning we might never see them in our fair city again.

The open-request format came and went for the remainder of the set, with the band shifting course every few songs to adjust to what the audience wanted to hear. The results, however, were mixed; Romano forgot the words on two or three occasions and the band collectively couldn’t remember how to play at least one requested song.

After an admittedly pathetic curtain call from a rather young audience, the band came back out to tear through some older songs. The conclusion saw a surprisingly adept singer pulled from the audience to perform the vocals from a track on their very first EP; Romano insisted no one in the band could sing it anymore. It was an interesting and mostly successful experiment that actually drew a smile or two from the band members.

I can’t fault their actual performance. Sticking with electric guitars gave a new edge to some of their quieter/acoustic songs and they certainly played with plenty of vigor. Romano strained a little during some of the trickier vocal performances but the band believes in their songs and it’s impossible to argue that their writing is incredibly strong, especially for a bunch of fellows that look to be in their tweens still (that’s a joke, mostly, although their bass player does look like he’s 18).

Now. The band seemed to suggest at one point that they were facing an all-night drive home at the conclusion of the show. Like I said, we all know that an eight or ten or twelve hour drive isn’t a thing you look forward to, especially if you’ve already been driving for a few hours in the day. But this isn’t a band that tours occasionally; they’ve spent the better part of the last four years on the road. Even if you’re feeling miserable to be playing a show I would posit that your audience likely isn’t worthy of open contempt and hostility.

Although, seriously. Could Regina crowds be any worse? YOU DON’T HAVE TO STAND STILL WHILE A BAND IS PLAYING, CONCERT-GOERS. YOU CAN MOVE AROUND A LITTLE BIT. THIS ISN’T FOOTLOOSE, DANCING IS LEGAL.

So in summation: Attack In Black is still awesome, and I’m going to chalk this one up to a rough night. Let’s hope things go a little better next time.

 

 Attack In Black - Young Leaves: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Attack In Black - Let Wander Your Restless Heart: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Cheer these boys up by buying some albums! Everyone likes residuals, right?
Physical (& digital): Dine Alone website
iTunes: Yeah, it’s a thing
Zunior: Has the self-titled EP and the Baby Eagle split tracks

These fellows have a couple more tour dates in the immediate future. Check them out, Ontariarians:
02.11.10 – Hamilton, ON @ The Casbah
02.12.10 – London, ON @ Call The Office
02.13.10 – Toronto, ON @ The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern

Pat entries Attack in Black, Canadian content, hostility, live music, minor bummers, rough nights

This blog is only a few years old, but if there’s one thing we’ve managed to establish it should be this: for a multitude of reasons, perhaps too many to count, we love the Burning Hell.

That’s why I’m frankly more than a little surprised that more hasn’t been made out of Mathais Kom’s latest record, released under the name Spring Breakup. That level of surprise roughly doubles when you factor in that Kim Barlow, folk darling of the frozen Yukon, is the group’s other principle member. Surely a meeting of the minds like this cannot be ignored!

The group quietly released a self-titled album in the latter half of 2009 and the muted sound of that record dropping is probably somewhat befitting of the its content. I have no way of confirming this, but I have always pictured the two of them sitting in someone’s living room with a four-track recorder, facing each other, with nothing but a microphone or two between them while they pluck away at the 10 songs that make up the record. The recording is the very definition of bare bones, most often nothing but banjo, acoustic guitar, and ukulele propping up two unique Canadian singers.

Nearly every song is framed in the context of dying love or its characters working through a break-up. If you’re familiar with Kom and Barlow’s work you won’t be surprised to hear them pepper many of the tracks with subversively cynical, cutesy, or dark turns of phrase. In fact that’s where the majesty of this simple record lies, in their ability to frame a universal experience in a number of different ways. The emotional tenor alternatively carries a humorous tone (”Spring Flings”), some are emotionally fragile and unrequited (”Hummiah”), some are quietly angry and desperate (”Came Up Roses”), and some are confident torch songs (”Young Love,” “Cosmic Sea”).

I can’t speak much to Barlow’s side of the affair as I’m less familiar with her previous work, but I’m thrilled to hear Kom’s performance on this record. Where his rich, deep vocals can often take on a blanket of cynicism, sarcasm, and depression in his work with the Burning Hell his singing here is emotionally genuine, bright, and convincing. While many of these songs grapple with the dissolution of something beautiful his voice conveys the sense that he still believes in love. He and Barlow are terrific counterpoints, her sprightly alto a picture of earnestness that always has a hint of a smile peeking around the corners of her phrasing.

Anyway, it’s a simply joyous record to listen to, whether you’re lovelorn or not. A friend pointed out today on the Twitter machine that Barlow and Kom are heading out for a short, oddly-routed Western tour next week that includes stops in Regina and Saskatoon. I’m really thrilled to see them perform together. The album may be barely more than a half hour, but even that will be worth the price of admission. You should be there too.

 

 Spring Breakup - Spring Flings [3:26m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Spring Breakup - Young Love [3:09m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

They don’t seem to have a label, but their 2009 full-length is up digitally at Zunior and they’re doing a tiny tour. You can be I’ll be picking up a copy. Also, I don’t normally do this but if you’re the least bit curious check out their myspace page, where you can listen to like half the album for no dollars. It will convince you.

Tour dates are with John Wort Hannam, an old-timey Albertan .

Pat entries acoustic, Canadian content, Kim Barlow, Mathais Kom, quaintness, Spring Breakup

Oh my goodness you guys. I’m am so excited right now. This is the third time I’ve fallen totally in love with Basia Bulat and I’m falling hard this time (wait, it’s the fourth time; I almost forgot the Sam Cooke cover).

Just look at that video. So intimate. Her performance low-key but impassioned before an unyielding, unblinking camera. Her voice elegantly quivering, the melody patient and earnest. The hammered harp is the perfect accompaniment, its percussive tone just unfamiliar enough to the ear to keep it captivated while still carrying a bright but spare melody. This is a torch song for the ages.

That video was recorded roughly two years ago, when Basia Bulat’s new release, Heart Of My Own was likely just a flicker of a future possibility. She was in the midst of touring North America (and eventually much of Europe) playing and promoting her debut, which you might recall was lauded on these pages. All things considered, though, it shouldn’t be surprising that Bulat has had a gem of a song like this in her back pocket for a while. In an interview conducted a few months back with JAM she explains her process a bit: “I like making challenges for myself. It takes a while to know what a song is about because it has a life of its own. It takes a while for their meaning to develop. I need an audience.”

Hopefully the new album will help expand that audience. Having listened to Heart Of My Own dozens of times in the three days since it was released it would seem all of her time on the road has done her a lot of good. The album is more forceful, more propulsive. It just sounds stronger and there’s more in the mix to help reach that goal as well, including electric guitar (although I’m pretty sure that’s just one song). That might not seem too revolutionary, but the whole of Bulat’s debut was crafted with an exceedingly-acoustic aesthetic. To put it in the parlance of that debut, this record is more “I Was A Daughter” and less “Before I Knew,” with faster-paced numbers like “Go On” and “Gold Rush” setting the tempo in the early offing and eschewing the lilting, gentle sounds that marked much of her first record. The latter number serves as the album’s first single and for good reason; the strings that open the track give way to cascading cymbals, galloping toms, and a constantly-building instrumental track that matches Bulat’s strongest vocal performance on record to date. The song apparently triggered the only mosh pit in the history of her career, according to one interview. Several tracks are also punched up with very complementary string and horn sections that sound like they were arranged by Barry Gordy himself. Perhaps it’s a tribute to the AM radio that Bulat has stated was a major influence in her home as a child.

But obviously, based on the above video, she hasn’t left behind her gentler side. “The Shore” is the standout ‘quiet’ song here, but there are other contemplative numbers as well. “Sugar and Spice” is a mournful lament on past mistakes with a lovely string arrangement. “Sparrow” is a spare ukelele piece with a lyric as fragile as the instrumentation. “I’m Forgetting Everyone” is nearly as sparse musically, seemingly focusing on the the lingering effects of a couple of years on the road. These songs succeed because of their simplicity and their reliance on Bulat’s incredibly expressive and emotive voice.

I’ve read a review or two that make loose comparisons to Neko Case, and I suppose fans of one could likely gravitate to the other. Musically the two are not entirely analogous, but as with Case there is an undefinable quality to Bulat’s voice that is completely disarming and impossible to ignore. I wish I could explain it. If I could I’d probably be a lot better at this whole music critiquing thing. All I know is it’s impossible to listen to Heart Of My Own and not be totally enraptured and enamored (for me, anyway, but like I said; I have a huge crush on her).

I mean, just look at that video up there at the start of this post. I think at our very core humans are simple creatures; I could be wrong, but I think we all just want someone to sing us love songs. And that is a goddamn gorgeous love song.

 

 Basia Bulat - Gold Rush [3:33m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Basia Bulat - the Shore [4:44m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Basia Bulat - Touch The Hem Of His Garment [1:57m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

You can purchase Heart Of My Own from Secret City Records (in Canada), Rough Trade (UK etc), and iTunes.

I’ve been looking forward to Bulat’s upcoming Saskatoon show since summer, when she was the first main stage performer of the entire Regina Folk Festival. Her presence was simultaneously demure and authoritative, her voice carrying over the fenced-off park and drawing those that had arrived early closer and closer. I can’t wait to experience the intimacy of her performance from a tiny stage instead of a grand one. Canadian tour dates follow!

Feb 02, 2010 - Kingston ON
Wed Feb 03, 2010 - Peterborough ON
Thu Feb 04, 2010 - London ON
Fri Feb 05, 2010 - Orillia ON
Sat Feb 06, 2010 - Guelph ON
Sun Feb 07, 2010 - Hamilton ON
Wed Feb 10, 2010 - Halifax NS
Thu Feb 11, 2010 - Halifax NS
Fri Feb 12, 2010 - Montreal QC
Sat Feb 13, 2010 - Ottawa ON
Thu Feb 25, 2010 - Winnipeg MB
Sat Feb 27, 2010 - Saskatoon SK
Tue Mar 02, 2010 - Calgary AB
Wed Mar 03, 2010 - Edmonton AB
Fri Mar 05, 2010 - Vancouver BC

Pat entries acoustic, Basia Bulat, Canadian content, crushes, folk, love songs

If music is indeed moving back towards shorter formats like vinyl and digital singles I think we’ll be just fine. While there’s something to be said for the mastery and majesty that goes into crafting a real back-to-front piece of art (ie OK Computer, Paul’s Boutique, or my favourite album of 2009, the Wheat Pool’s Hauntario) there is still the possibility of creating something transcendental on a smaller scale. Many notable bands (including Radiohead and hardcore punks Paint It Black) promised to move exclusively to single formats and why not; digital is king now, right? Well, maybe we won’t go that far.

07. Bon Iver - the Blood Bank EP
If we’re being honest this is really only on here because of the title track. That’s it. The rest of it is pretty much unnecessary. Especially that goddamn vocoder or auto-tune or whatever track. Pitchfork can talk about how it runs so contrary to his established aesthetic and how the coldness of the computery sound mirrors the tenor of same. But it sucks a big fat one and that’s all there is to it. But the title track is unimpeachably brilliant. Read more here.

06. Small Brown Bike - Composite, Vol. 1
In my round-up of the top five albums of the year I included a wonderful album called Chasing Hamburg by Polar Bear Club. I lot of why I liked that album has to do with both my and that band’s affection for Small Brown Bike. They were occasionally written-off as Hot Water Music devotees but as their career progressed they developed a more complex post-rock sound that really was unique. To see them reunited and creating new music after a few years apart is goddamn heart-warming. I love this band.

05. the Lazy MKs - A Field Guide To…
A local addition from a group of guys I hadn’t heard of prior to last summer. Their blend of roots and rock, combined with their instrumental aesthetic, is a very singular thing. It’s a purposeful step well outside of the boundaries Regina’s music scene is used to and that boldness should be rewarded, especially since their audience already has been with the release of this EP. Read more here.

04. the Lawrence Arms - Buttsweat and Tears
As long as these guys release something, I’ll include it on a year-end list. That doesn’t diminish the quality of this product, however. Hell, “The Slowest Drink At The Saddest Bar On The Snowiest Day In The Greatest City” alone could carry this EP onto this list, never mind the presence of four other great songs. Their melancholic sense of self-loathing shouldn’t lend itself to music this catchy, but somehow it does. Read more here.

03. A Wilhelm Scream - self-titled EP
Probably the most talented band in punk today takes their first stab at a short-form release in a very long time and make it work. “Fun Time” might be seen as a mis-step if you’re used to hearing them play the most complicated shit they can think of 24/7, but its straight-forward, no frills, pop rock arrangement is just another example of the level of skill these guys possess; they have so many talents they rarely if ever utilize some of them. Read more here.

02. Laura Stevenson & the Cans/Bomb The Music Industry! split 7″
While there are four very good songs on this 7″ one soars above the others (previously documented here). Laura Stevenson’s cover of BTMI!’s “It Ceases To Be ‘Whining’ If You’re Still ‘Shitting Blood’” (yes, gross) is one of most beautiful songs with multiple f-bombs in it I’ve ever heard. Rest assured, that’s an unnecessary qualifier. She can’t help but create slightly off-kilter yet ceaselessly gorgeous songs and here she proves as capable with interpretation as she does with creation.

01. Jon Snodgrass/Cory Branan split LP
Each of these two country-influenced singer-songwriters could’ve released their individual tracks from this release on their own and garnered a spot on this list, but the fact that they combined forces to put out an album of mind-boggling quality makes them a clear favourite for top spot. Snodgrass continues the dour acoustic arrangements that marked some of the high low points of his first solo LP, Visitor’s Band; the highlight here from him is “Wild One,” a tortured plea for a lost lover to come home. His deft chord changes propel a powerful vocal performance to a conclusion that comes way too soon. As for Branan, I’ve NEVER been as immediately and fully impressed by a musician as I was after my first listen to his tracks on this album. Never. I cannot pick a favourite from his songs here; “the Corner” is a meditation on lost love that falls somewhere in between absolute misery and whistful remembrance, “Walk Around” is a joyful romp that runs awfully close to being too clever by half, and “Yeah, So What?” is a shamelessly flirtatious cover that swaggers through its entire length. I swear I’ve listened to this EP 100 times at least since November. It is absolutely without peer.

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Small Brown Bike - Hourglass: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 the Lazy MKs - Burgess Lake [3:25m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 the Lawrence Arms - The Slowest Drink In The Saddest Bar On The Snowiest Day In The Greatest City [3:13m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 A Wilhelm Scream - Australias [2:49m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Laura Stevenson & the Cans - It Ceases To Be "Whining" If You're Still "Shitting Blood" [2:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Cory Branan - Walk Around [3:10m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Bon Iver: Physical and iTunes
Small Brown Bike: Physical and iTunes
the Lazy MKs: Physical (although you could probably just go to a record store near you) and iTunes
Lawrence Arms: Physical and iTunes
A Wilhelm Scream: Physical and iTunes
Laura Stevenson/BTMI: Physical and iTunes (Bomb The Music Industry! only)
Jon Snodgrass/Cory Branan: Physical and iTunes (together, Branan solo, Snodgrass solo. Keep in mind, however, that Suburban Home/Vinyl Collective has their own digital download service that is cheaper than iTunes. That can be accessed through the first link.

Pat entries A Wilhelm Scream, acoustic, best ofs, Bomb The Music Industry!, Bon Iver, Canadian content, Cory Branan, indie rock, Jon Snodgrass, Laura Stevenson and the Cans, punk rock, Small Brown Bike, the Lawrence Arms, the Lazy MKs, year in review

At various points in 2009 each of these records have been my absolute favourite of the entire year. Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear be damned, these bands have written truly intimate and affecting songs, not dissonant and disaffected studies in sound. These songs have heart and soul and emotion and enlightenment woven into their very fabric. They are indeed my favourite, if not the best, albums of 2009.

05. Polar Bear Club - Chasing Hamburg
This site has taken a big hit in the last five weeks and it has everything to do with this record. I’ve essentially listened to nothing in all of December except for this album. They sound like a pop rock/hardcore punk hybrid band with a bit of Gatsby’s American Dream-style quirk in their songwriting. There is a huge amount of passion at play here, even if their subject matter runs pretty frequently towards being in band and the experiences and emotions that come along with it. I just can’t get over how good this record is. It’s a shame it took me four months to actually listen to the damn thing.

04. Why? - Eskimo Snow
Yoni Wolf’s songs keep getting more and more interesting. He’s focused like a laser beam on making miserable sound as lovely as possible. The complexity of both the sentiment and the mixed meter arrangement of a track like “Berkeley By Hearseback” is not come upon easily. The imagery of “Against Me” is not something you hear or read every day. An acoustic guitar rarely sounds as full when sparingly plucked as it does on the album’s title track. Misery has rarely sounded so beautiful.

03. the Deep Dark Woods - Winter Hours
This band is so good it’s hard to believe they come from this tiny, insular province. Their songs are a slow walk down a back country road, an afternoon spent staring at the sky as the clouds morph into shapes that evoke the old west, a sad story told around a campfire late at night. These are songs sung by drifters on lonely back roads as they lament how everything’s gone wrong while thumbing for a ride. These are songs plucked on a beat-up acoustic guitar on a back porch as faint solace after a lover/dog has left you. These are ramblin’ men playing ramblin’ tunes of lives lived hard and fast and the consequences that follow. Plus the song found below sounds like Neil Young performing a song written by Radiohead. Fun!

02. Strike Anywhere - Iron Front
Strike Anywhere realized long ago that you can’t start a revolution without a hook and they’ve come out swinging harder than ever with this record. In addition to being the most immediately-catchy album I heard all year it’s also the most hopeful. Sure, the songs alternate between despondent reality-checks and desperate pleas for change but the tone and tenor of the album as a whole is at least mostly uplifting; the melodies are too buoyant, too catchy, too (dare I say it?) pretty for it to be anything else. They can keep promising they’ll return to a more hardcore sound but this sure as hell isn’t Black Flag or Bad Brains or the Germs. This is pop music through an activist, hardcore filter. But damn it, it’s good.

01. the Wheat Pool - Hauntario
I am quite confident I didn’t hear another album all year that boasts songwriting as fully-realized as Hauntario. Their lyrics go beyond vivid, reaching an incredibly admirable level of descriptive and evocative wordsmithery. The overarching themes of the album are not heavy-handed, the emotional elements are honest instead of exploitative, and the undercurrent of absolute misery on some (re: most) of these tracks seems absolutely genuine. They even manage to reprise an upbeat song as a morose closing number without making it seem like a cloying re-tread. In every way this is Canadian music and storytelling at its finest.

 

 Polar Bear Club - Boxes: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Why? - Against Me: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 the Deep Dark Woods - the Birds On The Bridge [6:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Strike Anywhere - Omega Footprint: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 the Wheat Pool - Italy [3:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Polar Bear Club: Webstore and iTunes
Why?: Webstore and iTunes
the Deep Dark Woods: Webstore and iTunes
Strike Anywhere: Label webstore, band webstore, and iTunes.
the Wheat Pool: Webstore and iTunes.

Pat entries alt country, best ofs, Canadian content, Canadiana, country, indie rap, Polar Bear Club, punk rock, roots, Strike Anywhere, the Deep Dark Woods, the Wheat Pool, Why?, year in review

There was a number of artists that broke new ground this year after having come a long way already. Here are two singer/songwriters that really hit their stride with their latest albums, a French pop band that people finally started paying attention to after four albums, a punk rocker that underwent a total rebirth, and a Toronto band that actually became a band.

Away we go!

10. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
They’re so French! Have you seen their Take Away Shows episode? Its a brilliant, joyfully ecstatic set that perfectly encapsulates Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. The band shows up out of nowhere in front of the frigging Eiffel Tower after achieving fame around the world (several albums into their career) and at first people don’t even seem to believe it’s them. Much like their extremely slow and steady rise to prominence in the States, South America, and elsewhere a crowd starts to grow around them as the genius of their songs starts to become apparent. This band just continues to get better and better and its almost getting ridiculous. Read more here.

09. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
Fox Confessor Brings The Flood be damned, this is Neko Case’s best album yet. That is a simple fact. From the first track (found below) Case and her collection of players meld the alt-country she’s best known for with a rock edge, pop hooks, and simply stunning songwriting. She’s completely unfettered here, the incredible singles interspersed with a pair of covers perfectly suited to her, all of it giving way to a final track comprised of nothing but a half hour of frog noises. What more could you ask for? Read more about Neko here.

08. Ohbijou - Beacons
This is an album of love songs for the sake of love songs. Songs filled with deliberate, frequently orchestral arrangements that swirl and sway through the speakers and surround the listener. Casey Mecija’s vocal melodies constantly yearn for weightier gravitas and a bigger emotional response, the warmth of her tone (as well as warmth of the very organic production) helping to counter the chill that pops up in the lyrics due to constant references to winter, snow, and ice. This band should be on soundtracks. Soundtracks to movies about knitting.

07. Chris Wollard and the Ship-Thieves - self-titled
This album is in a bit of a grey area. Some might argue it shouldn’t because a pre-release run of 500 or so copies was pressed on vinyl for a big festival in the states run by his label. But it was technically released in 2009, so I’m including it (incidentally the mp3 below is a vinyl rip of that pre-release version). Regardless, this record is far from what I would’ve expected from the other half of the Hot Water Music songwriting duo. At a time when every punk in North America is picking up an acoustic guitar for some country/folk-inspired solo performances Wollard embraces his inner 90’s alt-rock nerd and makes a nuanced and varied album that has a little bit of everything (including a couple acoustic-based tracks). This is pop rock for grown-ups, done extremely well.

06. Dan Auerbach - Keep It Hid
One might wonder what the need is for Dan Auerbach, half of the essentially-flawless Black Keys, to record a solo album. Why bother when you already contribute the majority of the writing in a two-man group? Well, regardless of motivation Auerbach made the right decision. He expands the bluesy stomp of the Keys to include a few more instruments and a modicum of funk, throws in a couple contemplative acoustic tracks, and then spends the rest of the album doing what he does best. This isn’t a sea change from the Black Keys sound but when your songs are as perfect as Auerbach’s they really don’t need to be. Just marvellous.

 

 Neko Case - This Tornado Loves You [3:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Phoenix - 1901 [3:18m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Ohbijou - Black Ice [3:41m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Chris Wollard - Oh, Whatever: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Dan Auerbach - I Want Some More [3:49m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Neko Case: Webstore and iTunes.
Phoenix: Webstore and iTunes.
Ohbijou: Doesn’t actually seem to have a place on the web you can buy their physical albums, but MapleMusic still has copies of their split LP with the Acorn available if you dig around. Go digital with iTunes and Zunior.
Chris Wollard & the Ship Thieves: No Idea Records Webstore and iTunes.
Dan Auerbach: Webstore and iTunes.

Pat entries alt-rock, best ofs, blues rock, Canadian content, Chris Wollard, Dan Auerbach, indie, Neko Case, Ohbijou, orchestral, Phoenix, pop rock, rock, year in review

It was a long, long year of self-reflection. This portion of the best-of rundown has changed a lot even right up to the last minute. I had to re-jig a lot of stuff in the bottom top 10 to get the line-up just right. You’ll see a few rockers in this section that have been consistent for years and years and a couple that have gone in the literal opposite direction in 2009. But all remain very, very tasty.

Here we go, jerks!

15. O Pioneers!!! - Neon Creeps
If you haven’t figured it out by now I love this band. Neon Creeps finds Eric simultaneously getting more desperate and harrowed lyrically while taking a bit of the edge of what is normally his extremely acerbic guitar tone. His playing sounds more precise, less hack-and-slash, and while it shouldn’t make that big a difference the addition of bass to the mix really helps flesh out the arrangements and support Eric in the quieter bits. Lyrically it might be kind of a bummer, but these songs are real; the desperation and depression is genuine. This is the sound of a man working through everyday frustrations with dramatic results. Read more here.

14. the Bronx - Mariachi el Bronx
As I previously stated, I’m not the least bit qualified to critique mariachi music. I have zero qualifications. But to paraphrase some old dude, I may not know mariachi but I know what I like and I like this album. It has a relaxed rhythm, shamelessly full arrangements, some great singing, and huge hooks. That Prince cover was a perfect teaser and the album delivered on all of its promise and then some.

13. Chad Price - Smile Sweet Face
This is the opposite of ground-breaking but Smile Sweet Face is both impossibly heartbreaking and improbably beautiful. There’s nothing revolutionary about a sad white dude and his acoustic guitar but the simple fact that Price’s world-weary voice can carry such incredible melodies and devastating sentiments is worth celebrating. “This War” perfectly captures the crushing weight of infidelity and “Peachy Tuscadero” sounds like the opposite of what it is: a mash note to a misfit puppy. This album has everything.

12. Propagandhi - Supporting Cast(e)
Fat Wreck Chords who? The long-running Winnipeg anarcho-punks say goodbye to their long-time associations and deliver what is unequivocally their best album ever, How To Clean Everything be damned. A second guitarist has them sounding huge (the compression helps the loudness as well, of course) and they’re still highly aggressive, but Cast(e) is also their most melodically rich and complex work yet. Aside from the horrifying death knell that starts “Human(e) Meat (the Flensing of Sandor Katz)” they don’t strike a single wrong note.

11. the Thermals - Now We Can See
Hutch Harris and Kathy Foster still writes songs that consist of little more than four chords and a heartbeat, but they’re sounding more at home than ever on Now We Can See. Down-playing the aggression that marked The Body, The Blood, The Machine, these songs are 100% anthemic and still rather thought-provoking. I maintain my assertion that “When I Died” is the best pop song you didn’t hear on the radio in 2009. Read more here.

 

 O Pioneers!!! - Stressing The Fuck Out [2:36m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Mariachi el Bronx - Quinceniera [3:27m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Chad Price - With Bleeding Wrists: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Propagandhi - Dear Coach's Corner [4:29m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 the Thermals - I Let It Go [3:36m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

O Pioneers!!!: All music physical, some files digital.
Mariachi el Bronx: Get the album (and/or Mariachi el Bronx’s exclusive cologne) from their webstore. Here’s the iTunes.
Chad Price: Smile Sweet Face and a bevy of other Price-related albums can be foundin the Suburban Home/Vinyl Collective webstore. The album is on iTunes, but you’re better off getting it from Suburban Home/Vinyl Collective’s own digital store. It’s cheaper.
Propagandhi: CD/LP/download is available through the G7 Welcoming Committee site, which I didn’t even realize still existd. Surprisingly, they’re also on iTunes. A lot.
the Thermals: Physical purchases can be made through Kill Rock Stars’ website. Old releases are on Sub Pop. iTunes is a thing too.

Pat entries acoustic, best ofs, Canadian content, Chad Price, mariachi, Mariachi el Bronx, O Pioneers!!!, pop punk, pop rock, Propagandhi, punk rock, roots, the Thermals, year in review

Ooooh, boy. Year-end list. Best albums of 2009. Here we go.

I’m going to start with the ones that didn’t quite make it, the albums that were excellent but not the very top of the heap. Some Canadian groups shone brightly, groups like The Rest, Bruce Peninsula, and Passenger Action are getting off to amazing starts. Bob Mould continued to excel in his new solo career, his prolificness exceeded only by the quality of the songs. Austin Lucas continued to shine with the help of his friends and family and Tegan and Sara’s familial connection continued to result in great pop songs. Attack In Black, Vivian Girls, Manchester Orchestra, Two Hours Traffic, and Dead To Me put out great second albums. Thursday, Lucero (and Ben Nichols), Pete Yorn (with Scarlett Johansson), and William Elliott Whitmore all wrote compelling new chapters in their songbooks.

But I’m going with a top 20 this year for the absolute cream of the crop. Let’s begin.

20. Converge - Axe to Fall
This album is so good it makes me wish I listened to heavy music more often. It’s not their albums specifically, I just only listen to a few heavy bands with any regularity. I’ve always liked Converge but I tend to listen to them much less than most other heavy bands. Which is odd, because their work has been transcendental; they’ve changed hardcore at its very roots and literally everything they’ve done is as the very least highly interesting. This album is very, very good. It would be ranked higher if I felt compelled to listen to it more but for some inexplicable reason I just don’t. Even though it’s amazing.

19. the Danks - Are You Afraid Of The Danks?
Spiritual cousins to fellow PEI rockers Two Hours Traffic, the Danks have a slightly more energetic, driving sound that embraces the hooks-only aesthetic of bands like the Ramones. Throw together some Super Friendz, Thrush Hermit, Stone Roses, and Buzzcocks and you’ll be tapping your foot until you start to lose feeling (or until the half hour is up). Read more here and celebrate the East Coast resurgence.

18. We Were Promised Jetpacks - These Four Walls
Perhaps their eyes are bigger than their stomachs, but We Were Promised Jetpacks have come forth with a stirring debut packed tight with tension and youthful energy. Compressed to within an inch of their lives, each song is big, loud, and brash and full of life. Not every moment is flawless, not every note resonates, but everything comes together in an inspiring package. Commenters liken it to a Scottish version of Bloc Party covering Thursday’s Full Collapse. Read more here and decide for yourself.

17. Bomb The Music Industry! - Scrambles
It took me forever to “get” Bomb The Music Industry! Or at least what seemed like forever, seeing as Jeff Rosenstock puts out an album or two every single year. While his arrangements continue to have a considerably chaotic tapestry this is lyrically his most mature offering to date. Yes, he’s aping Springsteen more than Black Flag but he’s also making it work. He still talks about “the scene” to an ob-scene degree (which is a little Inside Baseball for me sometimes) but no one speaks for the slowly-maturing punk rockers of this generation quite like he does.

16. Andy Shauf - Darker Days
This is easily one of the best albums released by a Regina artist in a long while. Shauf’s style is understated and gentle, his tender singing voice a perfect compliment to his acoustic guitar and banjo arrangements. Some are hushed and atmospheric, some are peppered with sprightly electric guitar runs, and all are imbued with the quiet intensity and intimacy of bedroom recordings. Even better for Shauf and the world at large, the album has been released on a wide scale by P Is For Panda, an imprint of the wonderful Hopeless Records. And he has a new EP out! Huzzah!

 

 Converge - Dark Horse [2:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 the Danks - 374 [2:46m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 We Were Promised Jetpacks - It's Thunder and It's Lightening [4:49m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Bomb The Music Industry! - Fresh Attitude, Young Body [3:38m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Andy Shauf - the Darker Night [3:58m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Andy Shauf: Website and iTunes
Bomb The Music Industry!: Donation-based label, vinyl purchasing, iTunes
We Were Promised Jetpacks: Fat Cat Records store, iTunes
the Danks: MapleMusic, iTunes
Converge: Buy music, iTunes

Pat entries acoustic, Andy Shauf, best ofs, Bomb The Music Industry!, Canadian content, Converge, pop rock, post-punk, punk rock, rock, the Danks, We Were Promised Jetpacks, year in review

When I was in University I edited and wrote for my school’s student newspaper, the Carillon. I also had an advice column for the romantically retarded. It was called the Book of Love (for what should be obvious reasons). That title had nothing to do with Stephin Merritt.

But there is a tangential connection. At the time I had no business dispensing advice to people with romantic problems, having fallen into a series of ineffective and one-sided relationships with sexually aggressive women with low self-esteem (how little things change). The advice that came out of that piece of work was based more around a loose concept of what should work in any given situation: communication. I’d make a few jokes, impugn someones manhood (either theirs, mine, or their boyfriend), and then tell them to talk about whatever was bothering them with their partner. To say it was half-assed is putting it mildly.

Stephin Merritt, on the other hand, doesn’t do things half-assed and when he bases a project around an idea it comes out a little more successful. That’s what lead to the release of 69 Love Songs a little more than ten years ago. The triple album was less a collection of love songs and more a collection of songs about love songs.

Of course, that would be nearly impossible to pull off without penning a few earnest, genuine love songs along the way. “The Book of Love” is a classic of the genre, covered by a variety of artists that showcases how pervasive and wide-raging Merritt’s work really is. Peter Gabriel’s version is best-known, a treacly string-bomb that was included in a romantic comedy starring (blech) Richard Gere. Quirk-filled singer-songwriter and former Soul Coughing frontman Mike Doughty offers a rather faithful live take, although he drops a few notes here and there (Fleet Foxes singer Robin Pecknold’s take is also pretty straight-forward). British multi-instrumentalist Catherine A.D. released a version on her first EP, flipping the acoustic guitar for piano, synths, and some masked glock.

Then there’s Library Voices. Regina’s highest-profile band of 2009 start with electric guitar as the lead instead of acoustic, but they keep the reverb wet and roomy. One singer keeps Merritt’s baritone melody intact while Carl Johnson overlays the same melody an octave higher, giving the lyrics extra weight and depth. Two-thirds of the way through an authoritative drum line, tambourine, and some ethereal synths give the track a strong full-band finish. The band, notorious for its double-digit membership, keeps restraint at the forefront by including nothing that’s unnecessary. The gorgeous arrangement is simultaneously at odds with and complementary to Merritt’s original; moving beyond the sparse arrangement conflicts with Merritt’s slavish devotion to the idea as the sole focal point, but I’ll be damned if this track isn’t pretty enough to be an inspiration for the 70th love song song.

 

 Library Voices - the Book of Love [3:29m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Magnetic Fields - the Book of Love [2:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Peter Gabriel - the Book of Love [3:37m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Mike Doughty - the Book of Love [3:17m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Catherine AD - the Book of Love [2:56m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Robin Pecknold - the Book of Love [2:34m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

You can get their album in any fine record store and on zunior and iTunes.

Pat entries anniversaries, Canadian content, Catherine AD, Library Voices, love songs, Magnetic Fields, Mike Doughty, Peter Gabriel