Sound Salvation Army

Standards are the bread and butter of the jazz world. Generally defined as compositions that are “held in continuing esteem and commonly used as the basis of jazz arrangements and improvisations,” tracks like “Bewitched,” “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “The Lady Is a Tramp,” “My Funny Valentine,” and “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” are instantly recognizable. But they’re also malleable, a familiar canvas that every artist can transform just enough to plant their own signature on them, almost giving the listener a baseline expectation by which to gauge someone they’re hearing for the first time.

You know you’ve found a singer that’s truly special when they’re capable of absolutely murdering a standard but they don’t need them to get your attention.

Melanie Hankewich is one of those singers. She’s been making a name for herself in Regina the last couple of years, performing under the moniker of Belle Plaine. You can expect her profile to grow by leaps and bounds in 2012 on the back of her stunning first full-length album. Notes From A Waitress was released last Friday with a very special show at the beautiful Artesian on 13th Avenue. AND I WAS THERE, YOU GUYS.

From the moment she stepped on the stage with a special backing band that, at times, numbered as many as half a dozen (including trumpet player Cheney “Thunderclap” Lambert from the Pile O’ Bones Brass Band and vocalist Anna Rose) Plaine had a firm grasp on the sold-out and packed-in audience. Wearing the black and white polka dot dress seen on the cover of the album, she took some time to welcome the crowd before launching into a set of mostly-original material.

Most of Hankewich’s press tends to focus on her voice, and rightly so; she took classical voice lessons as a kid and studied jazz at the well-regarded Grant McEwan University in Edmonton. Her voice sounds timeless, somehow equally sultry, seductive, fragile, and dusky while still capable of room-filling bombast when the moment calls for it. One gets the sense that she could sing anything and she proved it last Friday by effortlessly switching from the jazz-pop numbers on Waitress to the folk-based songs on her preceding EP. It’s not so much that her voice changes in any way to suit those styles, more that she has the strength, control, and natural tone to make it almost universal in its application. To borrow an old cliche: she could sing the phone book and The Artesian would still be standing-room only.

But Hankewich doesn’t need to. She and co-writer/pianist Jeremy Sauer collaborated on much of the songs on the new record, if not all of them, crafting unique takes on timeless jazz and sepia-toned lullabies about far-away lands. In fact many of the songs on the record are directly inspired by locales of varying degrees of exoticness from around the world (the mid-record trio of “Port Angeles,” “Vegas,” and “Waikiki” being the most overt examples). During the release show Hankewich also provided some excellent background information on their lyrical origins, like how she found a scrap of paper in Las Vegas with a few lines of poetry scrawled on them and incorporated them into a forlorn remembrance of how bleak reality can turn expectation on its head in Sin City. Or how her time spent in Victoria informed the dourly-beautiful “Port Angeles,” a song that’s roughly as beautiful as anything you’ve heard before. But as well-crafted as her lyrics may be it’s when she sings on the latter that “There’s some things you see approaching but life just doesn’t always turn out the way you wanted it to,” that you get a sense of how far her voice can take you. Her wounded, emotive performance explains exactly how the relationship between the song’s undefined subject and a blind cook’s son from the east coast ended, even though her words don’t. Sauer picks apart the song’s minor chords and creates an upper-range piano melody that is as patient as it is heartbreaking, the individual notes twinkling as brightly as the lights flickering on the water’s edge in Hankewich’s memory and/or imagination.

The closing trio of songs also provide an unexpected but endlessly-pleasant surprise for me personally. The songs were written by Hankewich and Sauer when they put together a show for Regina’s Globe Theatre called The Unforseen Journey Of Nathaniel Dunbar And Other Tales Of Whimsical Sadness. One of the most unique and engaging performances I’ve seen at the Globe in my time, the cabaret-style concert performance accompanied a combination of animation, slide show, and video that told Dunbar’s tragic tale while the band waltzed it’s way into my heart. I can’t even describe what it was like but I’m absolutely thrilled that the two decided to include a few songs from that show on the album, especially the wistful rainy-day ballad “Legendary.” As reminiscent of Patsy Cline’s tear-jerkers as it is any jazz number, the ukulele helps a painful romantic memory seem a little sweeter. It’s a true classic and, along with any number of songs on the new CD, a serious contender to become a new standard.

Which brings me back to standards. Oh, those standards. None of the classics appear on Waitress but there are some that have been made staples of a Belle Plaine set. The most memorable one from Friday’s show is a captivating take on “Fever” (originally performed by Little Willie John but made famous by Peggy Lee) which features only Hankewich’s sultry singing and Elizabeth Curry’s lithe bass. The two have been playing together for years and their timing is perfect, their performances seamlessly intertwined, Curry watching Hakewich intently to get the timing just right as she plunks out a deft and dynamic solo that leaves the crowd clamoring for more. A fantastic rendering of “My Funny Valentine” also popped up, though Hankewich wasn’t really a part of it. She introduced the number and let Sauer and Lambert take over, the piano providing the backbone while Cheney layered on some brassy bombast.

That moment was essentially a space-filler, giving Hankewich some time to run backstage for a costume change. But it’s also evidence of how smart she is in her efforts to make a go of a music career. Both in the studio and on the stage she makes sure that she’s surrounded by collaborators that have an innate understanding of what her songs need. Curry’s bassline is an essential part of a song like “Swamp Lullaby,” such an integral part of the composition it simply couldn’t be the same without it; Sauer has enough chops for a five-star kitchen and has clearly played a huge part in forming Hankewich’s sound. She’s also recorded and toured with Regina’s hidden gems, The Lazy MKs, the group that helped realize the folk-country sound of her previous EP. She seems to be less a solo artist than she is a ringmaster, someone who recognizes the talent of those around her and ensures they also get to stand in the spotlight even as they help make hers burn brighter.

Hankewich gave herself until this spring to try and make it as a musician. With 3,000 copies of Notes From A Waitress to get rid of I doubt she’ll be calling it quits any time soon. Here’s hoping she doesn’t; this gal is possessed of a truly world-class voice and she knows how to use it. She has a specific musical vision that truly stands out in the modern music industry and a stable of friends and collaborators to make it a reality. If Belle Plaine doesn’t put Regina on the map I don’t know what will.

 

 Belle Plaine - Port Angeles [3:07m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Belle Plaine - Advice From A Vicar [4:06m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

You can buy Belle Plaine’s music from Bandcamp, both physical and digital, because she’ll make more money that way. Her site also offers a few other choices.

Here are the tour dates. You can find more show details at Belle Plaine’s web site.
February 3 Biggar, SK
February 4 Saskatoon, SK
February 11 Regina, SK
February 23 Regina, SK
June 8 Sudbury, ON
June 16 Montreal, QC

Pat entries Belle Plaine, Canadian content, country, folk, jazz, live music, Regina, standards instant classics

Starting fresh is the name of the game for Swift Current’s The Hard Ramblers. The roots music trio provided local colour to the festival roster as well as one of the “folkiest” sounds in this year’s line-up. The group has a decidedly bluegrass feel to it, the kind of bluegrass you’d find on a compilation record featuring the likes of Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt, and Earl Scruggs, genuine outlaw bluegrass with rockabilly bass lines and furiously picked guitar and banjo. Call them cousins of a group like The United Steel Workers Of Montreal, with perhaps a little bit less fire in the belly.

When Eliza Doyle (songwriter, singer, banjo-ist) approached us at the CJTR tent during our Saturday broadcast she was a little bit nervous, asking about what kind of questions we wanted to ask her. Our tack was pretty simple; Doyle and her bandmates are starting over after years and years in other groups. Doyle herself had actually appeared at the festival before years ago, as you’ll hear in the interview, with her band The Cracker Cats. But this was her new trio’s first kick at the can and they were eager to show the crowd what they’re made of.

The band’s appearance had a lot to do with the release of their first album, a collection of 14 tracks of fairly aggressive twang. The collection is a mixture of originals, traditional numbers, and antiquated covers that suit the band very well. Doyle, stand-up bassist Paula McGuigan, and guitarist Jody Weger’s voices all come together in delightful harmony, trading off lead and backing vocals as easily as can be. The content is exactly what you expect it to be, tales of romantic longing and prairie scenescapes rendered simultaneously familiar, energetic, and timeless.

Listen to the interview below to hear Doyle’s perspective on introducing a new group to a familiar audience and building from the ground up.

 

 The Hard Ramblers interview: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 The Hard Ramblers - Hard Travelin': Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 The Hard Ramblers - Flatland Boogie: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Reginans can get another taste of The Hard Ramblers’ medicine this Thursday, August 18th when they return to town for a headlining show at the delightful downtown venue The Creative City Centre. You can find it on the third floor of the old Leader building at 1843 Hamilton Street. Tickets are just $8 in advance, $10 at the door.

Pat entries #RFF11, Canadian content, country, folk, live music, Regina Folk Festival, roots, The Hard Ramblers

During what can only be described as an indescribable set at the Regina Folk Festival on Saturday night KD Lang encouraged us all to repent. So here it is: I’m sorry I’ve taken you for granted for so long.

Let’s back up. My day was jam-packed with festival goings-on, due in no small part to my inclusion on CJTR’s first-ever live broadcast from the RFF site. The four hour spectacular saw us interviewing a boatload of performers, organizers, volunteers, even festival-goers. We’ll talk more about that later, along with the rest of the night’s main stage performers.

But my goodness, even if KD Lang was the only performer on Saturday I think it would’ve been one of the more memorable nights at the festival. Taking the stage as headliner after an incredible set by Taj Mahal and his backing band, Lang strode purposefully to the front of the stage after her band The Siss Boom Bang fell into position. From the first chord that stage belonged to Lang and only Lang.

I don’t think it’s inaccurate to say that she has swagger. Stage presence like this is a rarity. From the outset Lang alternated between stalking, lunging, walking, and dancing over every single available inch of the stage, making constant eye contact with audience members, even stopping at the front of the stage and staring intently at one person for ten seconds at a time. Intensity in 10 cities, Live at Budokan, as Wayne Campbell would say. At times she began gyrating her hips, the visual and her unmistakable voice making a pretty goddamn good argument that KD Lang is the closest thing we’ve got to Elvis Presley right now (in a good way, obviously).

Her band is big and brilliant. Six players flawlessly recreate Lang’s catalogue numbers and tracks from their latest album, Sing It Loud. Lap steel, piano, and fantastic guitar work are all effortlessly performed and the band look good doing it; like Lang, they dress in all black, including matching tailored jackets. Most of the group looks young enough to have missed out on much of Lang’s career but their performances are fantastic, especially the spot-on, perfectly harmonized backing vocals.

But the show is 100% Lang. She is as malleable performer as she is a singer, putting forth an incredible intensity for new track “I Confess” before switching to a coquettish vampiness (including unexpected self-groping at the front of the stage) during a terrific rendition of the vaguely Latin-flavoured “Miss Chatelaine.” She emoted about as much as one can responsibly get away with during her hotly-anticipated cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” long a centerpiece of her own act but given new vitality after her crackerjack performance at last year’s Vancouver Olympics. I’ve long held that Jeff Buckley’s version is the definitive one but I’m having doubts after seeing the power and intensity of Lang’s live arrangement. It was nothing short of astounding, I assure you — it might actually be the best argument I’ve heard yet for the existence of God.

And the surprises kept coming. After Lang exhorted the crowd to repent, she and the band broke into a song that made my face look like this:

Lang and the band played a cover of “Heaven” by the Talking Heads, one of my all-time favourite bands of all time. And it was a great cover. Like all of Lang’s songs her voice makes whatever she plays her own. Her tenor never wavers, carrying even the lengthiest notes at a strong and steady clip. Even when it drops to a whisper it has total command of the audience, even more so than her physicality and performance. She’s the total package as an entertainer.

Leaving nothing to chance, Lang pulled out all the stops for the fevered audience of thousands (including more than a few people who were listening in from outside the fence). She went all the way through two encores, even playing what is arguably her most well-known hit, “Constant Craving.” Needless to say no one left unsatisfied.

RFF artistic director Sandra Butel has said that there are still people who talk about Lang’s 1985 performance at the festival. I have no doubt that’s true, just like I have no doubt that people will be doing the same about this set in the same fashion for decades to come.

 

 KD Lang - My Last Cigarette: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 KD Lang and The Siss Boom Bang - I Confess: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 KD Lang - Hallelujah [5:37m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Check out KD Lang’s web store for for physical albums and iTunes for digital.

Pat entries #RFF11, Canadian content, country, covers, k.d. lang, KD Lang and The Siss Boom Bang, live music, Regina Folk Festival, rock

Canadian culture is an odd thing. In a lot of respects it is as much a mirror of the pervasive American entertainment spectrum we’re inundated by through no fault of our own. But while Canada struggles to create mainstream, popular art in the film and television realms truly Canadian music is a lot easier to come by. You know it when you hear it, whether it’s the punk-tinged story songs of John K. Samson or the choral allegories of Bruce Peninsula or, yes, even the overtures to modern rock radio of The Tragically Hip.

That’s a big part of what makes The Warped 45s’ sophomore LP such an unexpected delight for me. I’ve heard great things about their debut, 10 Day Poem for Saskatchewan, but I’ve never managed to find a copy of the damn thing. So when I got an email asking if I’d be interested in giving new record Matador Sunset a listen I jumped at the chance. And boy howdy is it ever Canadian.

The easiest shorthand for describing The Warped 45s is probably alt-country, but they see it differently. Their bio suggests “northern gothic,” “back porch of the apocalypse,” or “alt-country noir.” They’re a little more country than The Wheat Pool, a little more rock (at times) than Elliott Brood. But they also don’t pigeon hole themselves, at times fully embracing either or all sides of that spectrum.

Matador Sunset gets its hooks, both Can-con wise and musically, into the listener right from the get-go. A pure example of the band’s storytelling, “Pale Horse” paints a picture as stark as a Saskatchewan sunset, describing in vivid detail the visage of a stallion galloping out of a burning forest against the backdrop of a golden sunset. The band backs it up with some honky-tonk piano, loping bass, and lap steel guitar, a taste of the more country side of their particular brand of alt-country. This song is an antiquated oil painting flecked with specks of wind-blown dust, slapped together on a dirty canvas on a sun-baked porch in a Louis L’amour novel. But with, uh, words and music and stuff.

The story-song gets a lot of play on this record, in fact. “Grampa Carl” is a detailed account of Ryan McEathron’s great grandfather, who was a rum runner who traveled across the border via Lake Eerie and the Detroit River during prohibition. The song chronicles the sudden rush of wealth he experienced after the beginning of those dark, dry days in the U.S. and the bad deal that eventually sent him home penniless. It’s a superbly-written tale that is backed up by a stellar, muscular rock guitar riff that carries the band into a meaty bridge that will no doubt be an overpowering moment on a live stage.

There are splashes of genuine rock throughout the album, including the 50’s-era stomp of “Grime of Earthly Glow” (which features gospel-ish backing vocals and an energetic rhythm that would work equally as well for spiritual cousins The United Steel Workers Of Montreal) and “Live Bait,” an apparent long-time live favourite that found its home on this more upbeat album. It’s a lively number that seems like it would have had to come out of the west, not Ontario. The following track shows what happens when the rock edge wears off as the group gets downright old-timey on “Talk About Evil,” a fiddle-laden colonial-era country vibe that could practically give you the vapours.

The intriguing musical mix might most readily bring to mind the band’s American contemporaries in Okkervil River, another band that has crossed and melded together many different genre lines over the course of their six LPs and numerous EPs and singles. The two diverge in that Okkervil saw a fairly gradual progression from the heavier country influence of their first record through to the rock/folk meld of Black Sheep Boy and beyond to the more typically-structured pop and rock of The Stand-Ins and The Stage Names. This is only the second album from the 45s but the mandolin-heavy tracks here are very reminiscent of Okkervil’s first effort. The outlaw country vibe on “Grampa Carl” and “Hurdle River Crossing” bring “Westfall”’s dark brilliance to mind while tracks like “Widow’s Well” and “The Blade Thrower’s Wife” (an incredible number about a woman who puts everything on the line night after night only to have someone else win the praise and applause) have the deft story-song element that makes so much of Okkervil River’s work (”A Stone” or “Okkervil River Song” are some of my favourite examples) so intensely evocative. 

And if were talking Canadian how about “Victoria Day,” a song that openly questions the need for continued celebration and/or recognition of the monarchy. The McEathrons sing, “It’s less about history than a day without labour” and insist that if we’re honouring history we should go back to before colonies and queens and borders and do it right, honour Canada and not the antiquated forbears that spurred its creation. 

Matador Sunset is a real accomplishment, especially for such a young group. Their alt-country sound covers enough territory to put them alongside Okkervil River, Drive-By Truckers, The Wheat Pool, United Steel Workers Of Montreal, Elliott Brood, and others but their detailed tales of pale, riderless horses, regretless rum runners, buffalo jumps, and mysterious river deaths will continue to set them apart. 

Here’s hoping we get another record within another two years.

 

 the Warped 45s - Window's Well: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 the Warped 45s - Grampa Carl: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 the Warped 45s - Live Bait: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Matador Sunset can be purchased through Maple Music or digitally through iTunes.

The 45s will be on an extensive tour this summer that will see them play both Saskatoon and Big River (through the Ness Creek festival). Check out the long list of dates here.

Pat entries alt country, Canadian content, country, Pheromone Recordings, rock, storytelling, The Warped 45s

It’s been too long since I’ve seen a good, energetic, original, live set of music. It’s been an area in which I’ve cut corners recently, partly because it’s winter so good shows are harder to come by and partly because I’m thousands of dollars in debt and struggling to save enough money to take a trip to Hawaii in a few months. But friends, let me tell you: if I was rolling in dough I’d be heading on up to Saskatoon Thursday to see one of the niftiest little bands out of Montreal you may not have heard of.

United Steelworkers Of Montreal (heretofore referred to as USWOM because that’s a lot to type out every time and I’m pretty lazy) are heading out on tour. They’ve actually been at it a week already and this here post is mostly just to let you know they’re coming our way. Well, that and the fact that they are most definitely worth seeing in your local little sweaty club.

The six-piece group fancies themselves a more urban kind of alt-country, which (in my head at least) conjures up an image of a rap group with banjos. That’s pretty far off the mark, listening to the group’s 2009 record Three On The Tree (released on the pretty-much flawless Weewerk Records label, issuers of albums by everyone from Two Minute Miracles to the Barmitzvah Brothers to Elliott Brood to the Burning Hell and more). The instrumentation is fairly traditional country, let alone alt-country; there are no warmed-over electric power chords here, just quickly-strummed and -plucked acoustic guitars, upright bass, and banjos. Percussion is even sparing, as was the fashion in the old days when you just couldn’t spare a goat hide to stretch over your home-made drums.

Well, that’s getting a bit silly. What I’m saying is this band is terrifically gifted. The record spans everything from hard-edged outlaw country and bluegrass tunes about shooting down one lousy good-for-nothing man or another to tender standards-era folk crooning on “Little Girl” to hellacious, harmonica-drenched near-rockabilly on impassioned closer “Jesus, We Sweat.” USWOM also boast at least three singers trading lead vocals on songs, each with their own dynamic range and style. It really helps the flow of the album to have that kind of variety.

Okay! So admittedly this is a very cursory little “review” but I need to get it done so I can tell you guys about the tour dates! USWOM are playing Winnipeg and Saskatoon this week! Those are practically in your backyard! Go see them! Apparently dancing is all but inevitable at their gigs.

 

 Untied Steel Workers of Montreal - For Love and Your Mother's Sake [3:37m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 United Steel Workers of Montreal - Jesus, We Sweat [3:26m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

You can learn the words by getting USWOM albums direct from their website. Learn the words BEFORE they hit your town!

Feb. 15: Winnipeg, MB @ Times Change(d) High & Lonesome Club
Feb. 17: Saskatoon, SK @ Lydia’s
Feb. 18: Calgary, AB @ Ironwood
Feb. 19: Coleman, AB @ Blackbird Coffee House
Feb. 20: Nelson, BC @ Royal On Baker
Feb. 22: Vancouver, BC @ Railway Club
Feb. 23: Revelstoke, BC @ Big Eddy Pub
Feb. 24: Golden, BC @ Rockwater Bar
Feb. 25: Canmore, AB @ The Drake
Feb. 26: Lethbridge, AB @ The Slice
Mar. 03: Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
Mar. 04: Kitchener, ON @ The Boathouse
Mar. 05: Hamilton, ON @ This Ain’t Hollywood

Pat entries alt country, banjo music, bluegrass, Canadian content, country, live music, rockabilly, United Steel Workers of Montreal

No offense, Daniel Romano, but you’re kind of a whiner.

Seriously dude. I know you think you’ve had it tough but you could be doing worse. I know your band, Attack in Black (which I love, by the way; each of your albums has been on my best of lists for their respective release years) was made to re-record your debut album to have a harder-edged sound than you wanted. That’s a total dick move, I agree. I know it’s impossible to say whether or not you’d be in the same position you are now if that hadn’t happened but even if it didn’t come about how you’d imagined can’t you be thankful for that exposure and attention?

I know your knee-jerk reaction was to immediately follow up the release of Marriage with an album you had complete control over. I loved The Curve Of The Earth too, with all its lo-fi home-recorded charm, a gentle counterpoint to Marriage’s rockinger moments. I thought showing off the full range of the band’s abilities was a terrific move and each release only made me even more excited to see what you’d come up with next. Years (By One Thousand Fingertips) didn’t carry quite as much water with me but it still had some terrifically engaging moments.

But I have to say the tenor of some tracks on your new solo record comes across as a tiny bit resentful of the acclaim and success Attack in Black has received. Don’t get me wrong — I really like the album. The relaxed demeanor and aesthetic continuation of your flawless work on the Daniel, Fred, and Julie record is such a good fit. The country tinge suits the songs very well and your melodies, as always, are captivating.

But as I mentioned in a live show review earlier this year it seems like you are a very unhappy fellow when it comes to actually making music.

The title track(s) and “A Losing Song” come off as a little bit petty after the strides you’ve made the last few years. Again, I know you’ve had some bumps and bruises in the business but the narrative that you’ve been done wrong and are a slave to music industry suits is growing less and less believable now that you’re in complete control of your fate: you’ve started your own label, you release your own records, and you’ve abandoned the sound that gained you notoriety in the first place. I know your write-up on this record mentions how you wish you could bury every copy of every record you ever made and I feel badly that you suffer from such a crippling case of self-doubt (if that’s what it is, I’m no therapist). Of course, it’s not easy to accept that as the truth, considering the ridiculously outlandish “biography” included on the back of the record itself.

And while music history is littered with people like Kurt Cobain who railed against their own success, it doesn’t change the fact that music is art and art becomes a commodity. If you’re not comfortable with that why bother releasing music? If the system is broken you have the option of divorcing yourself from it. We’re told most musicians make their money from touring and Attack in Black’s frequent jags across Canada are evidence you can live that lifestyle. Take your product off the sales market and you eliminate the commercialization of the art that you clearly hold so dear.

(Although, incidentally, if you’re so resentful of having to re-do that first full-length and having your music be overly commodified by record labels why didn’t you raise any objections when that label [which still releases Attack in Black's albums, I see] put out a 180 gram vinyl re-release of said album last year?)

You ask on this record, “Why should I play the chords? Why should I even make a sound?”

Well, you tell me. I know why I listen to you but if you’re feeling the need to question your own motivation you might have to actually come up with an answer at some point.

Anyhow, congratulations on your solo album. I really, really like it. It’s probably one of the best records I’ve heard all year. I just wish you could move on. I feel like dwelling on the past isn’t that healthy, even if it does inspire such good music.

 

 Daniel Romano - Workin' For The Music Man [3:29m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Daniel Romano - A Losing Song [3:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Workin’ For The Music Man is mostly available through Outside Music’s distribution arm, sort of. Zunior has a great digital package as well.

Pat entries acoustic, Canadian content, country, crybabies, Daniel Romano, record industry, the music business

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

Is our dear friend Corb Lund looking to sell out?

The packaging of his latest album, Losin’ Lately Gambler, reeks of a mainstream reach-around. From the Kenny Chesney-looking candid photo on the album’s cover to the insert in the digipack hawking ringtones to the blurred-out curse word on the gatefold of the CD, it seems like Lund is looking to get a little more Wal*Mart in his sales statistics.

Oh, but ol’ Corb is too gin-yoo-wine for that, isn’t he? The Hurtin’ Albertan, the even-keeled prairie redneck with a winning sense of humour, he’s still as subversive and dark as he was when he fronted the (legendary) Smalls. Look no further for evidence than lead track, “Horse Doctor, Come Quick,” a track about some poor country folk getting hooked on animal tranquilizers. Yeah, put that on CMT and see how the baby boomers react, marketing department at Lund’s new label.

See, I’m assuming that’s the genesis for the shift in presentation: Lund is now a member of the influential U.S. roots label New West Records, a means to increase his profile south of the border. Understandable, I suppose, even if the physical product that comes out is much more commercially packaged. Ironically, however, Lund has written his most overtly Canadian set of songs yet, his new bosses giving him a blank slate upon which to write.

So its basically more of what those that know and love Corb Lund would be expecting: more country than alt-country, more twang than clang, and clever without being too clever by half. An album with Lund’s tweaked, modern take on country coupled with a half-dozen songs referencing places that most Americans likely don’t even know exist. Enjoy, plainsmen of the United States.

There are a few more tracks on here that lean more towards modern country instrumentation (ie. electric guitars) than rootsy acoustic guitar strumming, but that fits Lund’s M.O. He’s an easy-going country rocker and age is only turning him easier. These songs are overwhelmingly sunny, even the odd track about dark addictions coursing through with a subtle vein of optimism. A majority of the songs are odes to the Canadian prairie and the lifestyle tied to it: rodeo dreams and cold Pilsner wishes. Poker stories, warm chinook winds, tales of the good life in Saskatchewan, saying hello to prairie ex-pats in fancier Canadian cities…it’s aimed squarely at his comrades, compatriots, and countrymen.

There is a distinct lack of the dark, dark edge that has run through some of his previous solo work, most notably his last release, Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier!. Gone are the impossibly bleak wartime scenarios of “I Wanna Be In The Calvary: Reprise” and “A Leader On Losing Control” and the tweaked-out PTSD veteran in “Student Visas.” Those were powerfully effective, albeit impossibly dour, story songs. Things are significantly lighter this time around.

But I don’t think you can blame Corb for making some of these tunes a little more accessible to “mainstream” baby boomer types. A lot of the success he’s enjoyed since returning to his roots has come from some of his “cuter” tracks getting minor play on country radio and CMT. It seems like this album strikes a very purposeful balance between his iconoclastic nature and his potential mainstream appeal. Why fight it if you’re able to do what you do on a higher level?

In all sincerity, here’s hoping the marketing campaign pans out; I’d really like to see Corb do well. Any Albertan that loves Saskatchewan is a friend of mine.

 

 Corb Lund - Talkin' Veterinarian Blues [3:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Corb Lund - Devil's Best Dress [2:32m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Get six big releases, including Losin’ Lately Gambler, from Lund’s on-line store. Do it now, please. iTunes has his solo material and his “Corb Lund Band” releases available as well.

Pat entries Canadian content, Corb Lund, country, hillbillies, roots, selling out

Quick hit today!

We’ll have a lot more coming in the next few weeks about the Wheat Pool as they bring forth their latest album, the interestingly-titled Hauntario. Expect a full review before its October 6th release date, but here’s a hint: it’s pretty awesome. The track “Right Arm” is a great window into their sound and aesthetic: coming off far less twangy than their name might suggest, the band presents a break-up song that’s a lot more realistic than pretty much any you’re heard before, combining rock elements and cursing with lap steel and acoustic guitars. Its very affecting and personal and genuine. It aches.

The reason for this post is not only to give you a little tease, but also let you know you can get the jump on the release by hitting up the band’s tour dates in the next month, starting here in Regina.

 

 the Wheat Pool - Right Arm [4:48m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Live shows:
31 Aug - Regina, SK @ The Exchange
1 Sept - Saskatoon, SK @ Amigo’s
3 Sept - Edmonton, AB @ The Empress Ale House
4 Sept - Grande Prairie, AB @ Better Than Fred’s
8 Sept - Vancouver, BC @ The Railway Club
9 Sept. - Victoria, BC @ Logans Pub
11 Sept. - Kelowna, BC @ The Habitat
12 Sept. - Calgary, AB @ The Palomino
14 Sept. - Winnipeg, MB @ Hi Lo Pub
Previous album available through CD Baby and iTunes.

Pat entries Canadian content, country, indie rock, live music, the Wheat Pool

Guess what? No, not chicken butt. No, also not chicken thigh. Look, you are really bad at this game. Tell you what, I will just tell you instead of having you guess. To save time. I’m sure you would’ve gotten it eventually.

Carolyn Mark and NQ Arbuckle are putting out an album together! I KNOW! They’re two of the best country/roots artists in a country that is full of amazing country/roots artists. Also, they employed a lot of amazing country/roots artists to come in and play on the album! It’s set for release Oct. 13 on Mint. Yipee kiyay!

I’ve been listening to the most recent albums by both Ms. Mark and NQ and I’m impressed all over again. Normally, I like my country rootsy and rockin’. The more banjo pickin’ and mandolin-strummin’ and standup basses being slapped around, the better. If I absolutely HAVE to listen to a country ballad, I want it to be mellow, not whiney and twangy. Basically, I want it to sound like it’s been soaking in an oak barrel with a bunch of whisky for at least three years.

Mission accomplished, guys.

I feel quite comfortable saying “The Business End” is easily the best song on Carolyn Mark’s last album, Nothing is Free. It has the kind of slow, torturous burn you get from falling asleep in the sun. You shut your eyes for a few minutes cuz it’s so warm and nice, and when you wake up an hour later, your skin is so hot that if you hold your hand close, you can feel the heat radiate like you’re some kind of fragile, white-flaked coal.

NQ Arbuckle’s “I Liked You Right From The Start” is a drunken serenade from a decent guy who’s downed a few too many. He’s not quite sloppy drunk, but he wants to let you know that he’s had his eye on you all night and he thinks you’re sumpthin’ awright *hic* and maybe, just maybe, you’ll be charmed enough by his drunken honesty to let him take you home. And you’ll think about it. Flattery, even drunken flattery, gets you everywhere, after all. Besides, you had a few yourself. This will be a mistake of epic proportions, but it might be a mistake that results in a meaningful relationship. And when the grandkids come along years down the road and ask how gammy and pop-pop met, you will look into the eyes of your beloved and say “online dating site” because it is less embarrassing than revealing that you drunkenly went home with a dude and ended up cleaning up his puke.

If you live in Guelph, you can see Carolyn Mark live TONIGHT at Van Gogh’s Ear! That’s just down the street from me! (Don’t come over. My apartment is such a mess.) She’s playing with Sunbear and one of my favourite Ontario bands, $100.

You want to talk about heart-breakingly sad country ballads, these guys do that. They do that soooo well. They’re achingly good. Singer Simone Fornow’s voice is not pretty, but it is real and raw. It’s Marianne Faithfull meets Maybelle Carter. Her croaky, haunting cry of “I never come but it don’t matter” on “Careless Love” is the resigned suffering of every woman left unsatisfied (or worse) by a brutal man. You would do well to buy their album, Forest of Tears.

I saw them earlier this summer at Wally’s with Deep Dark Woods. That was an amazing show and tonight’s do at Van Gogh’s sounds like it’s also going to be a hot time in the ol’ town as well! So go see it and don’t be dumb like I was last time: Buy your merch early or $100 will disappear into the night and take their albums with them.

Carolyn Mark’s music can be found on Mint Records, NQ Arbuckle calls Six Shooter Records home. You can get $100 stuff at Sonic Unyon and check out all three at Zunior and yes, iTunes.

 

 Carolyn Mark - The Business End: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 NQ Arbuckle - I Liked You Right From The Start: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 $100 - Careless Love: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tanis entries $100, Canadian content, Carolyn Mark, country, live music, Mint Records, mp3, NQ Arbuckle, roots, Six Shooter Records, Sunbear