Sound Salvation Army

For a while this cover art made me not even want to play the record. Look at it. It’s amazing. Is there any way a record could live up to that stirring image? It is perhaps the most bad-ass cover art I’ve seen in a very long time.

Now that that’s out of the way: well done, Black Mountain. Your latest album, Wilderness Heart continues to impress. You apparently can do no wrong.

If you know the group and its members’ history at all you know how prolific, varied, and good their past and present projects are. Stephen McBean continues to release material under the Pink Mountaintops moniker (as recently as last year), a sly and slick counterpoint to the proggy and riff-heavy Black Mountain. Drummer Josh Wells and singer Amber Webber also comprise the creative core of Lightning Dust, who released their own incredible album last year. Guitarist Matt Camirand is a principal member of the gloomy alt-country group Blood Meridian. And those are just the bands that are still active; the past project list on their Wikipedia page is so long you’ll need a nap halfway through.

Black Mountain’s last album was the apex of their Led Zepplin guitar histrionics and Sabbath bombast paired with some spacey, ethereal moments reminiscent of Pink Floyd (or so I’m told; Floyd was never my cup of tea). I loved the album for its sprawling, ambitious structures, especially on the eight minute opus “Tyrants” and the languorous “Stormy High.” While the groove of first album standout “Druganaut” was less present it was more than made up for thanks to stylish atmospherics and a sound boiled down from every form of rock imaginable.

Wilderness Heart may be a slightly lesser album, but not because the band has cooled its ambition to be everything to everyone in the rock kingdom. “Let Spirits Ride” is one of their hardest and fastest numbers yet, channeling Lemmy Kilmister’s right hand in all its glory. Keyboardist Jeremy Schmidt throws some incredibly dense tracks on songs like “Old Fangs” and fleshes out some of the more low-key arrangements on “Radiant Hearts” and “Buried By The Blues.”

Those softer sounds might be the most prominent feature on the record, in fact. The massive riffs are still present on the album but there is also a lot more acoustic guitar, slower tempos, and gentler sounds. In a good way, I mean; it’s still bombastic, but not in an “amps to 11″ kind of way. The new dynamic is introduced right from the opening track, “the Hair Song.” It’s possibly the most 70’s element here when taken as a whole. It also pushes the interplay between McBean and Webber to new heights. This is possibly the most well-integrated the two of them have ever been. They sound more like a pair than ever and the result is fantastic.

There’s no huge left turn here, no massive departure. If you’ve enjoyed Black Mountain’s previous work then you’ll dig what’s happening here. Hell, the extra sheen and time-capsule tunes might even have a chance at gripping some airplay on modern or classic rock radio. As pretty much the best band that ever opened for Coldplay maybe its about time.

 

 Black Mountain - Let Spirits Ride [4:20m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Visit Jagjaguwar for all your Black Mountain music needs!

Pat entries Black Mountain, Canadian content, classic rock, folk rock, indie rock, rock, rock and roll, rock monsters, rock rock

I quite like the cover of this record. Its a nice piece of photography, yes, but like a really good record cover should it speaks to what the listener has to look forward to once that plastic cling wrap is removed.

With If I Don’t Come Home You’ll Know I’m Gone Ontario’s the Wooden Sky have crafted an intensely, at times achingly, personal record with a stark confessional tone that makes it seem like you’re looking in on Gavin Gardner’s dirty laundry as it spins inside the washing machine of his brain. Every failed relationship, every shameful wish for harm to befall an ex, every wilting plea for reconciliation, its all in these songs.

The band identifies as folk-rock but they have worked hard to tone down the rock and connect more heavily with their roots (double meaning!) since their first record. Throughout the album there are subtle guitar arrangements, gentle percussion, sprightly piano, even a whirly-wind. Texture comes from violins, organ, even clarinet at one point. The pace has been scaled way back from the group’s first album (re-released last year), many of the songs slinking by in a subdued manner, punctuated by barely-perceptible percussion and Gardner’s emotive vocals.

The rock edge pops up once in a while on tracks like, “When We Were Young,” countered by the frail and lovely “Oslo,” with its fragile lady-singing harmony and echoey steel guitar. “Angels” boasts a slick, fluid tempo change that really stands out against Gardner’s shouted vocals (singing that would fit right alongside current tourmates Elliott Brood). The easy, lilting vocal melodies are the thread that runs the full length of the album, elevating first single “Something Hiding For Us In The Night” above its meandering tempo and creating a dynamic sing-along song in “the Late King Henry.”

The arrangements on the album are incredibly engaging and far from uniform. The seeming undercurrent of melancholy never gets mired in hopelessness and the band sequences the album well, providing a couple of energetic, rockier breaks to counteract the more dour low points. Its a move that demonstrates their growth and maturity as songwriters and recording artists. It’s also the hallmark of someone that is actually considering the album as a wholly unified piece of work, something I quite appreciate.

The Wooden Sky is in the midst of a cross-Canada tour with self-professed “death country” superheroes Elliott Brood, which is bringing them to Regina on Thursday. Based on the strength of this album I wouldn’t be surprised to see them winning over a LOT of fans when they hit the stage. This is an extremely strong record that nestles right into the current slate of vaguely rootsy artists in our country like Cuff The Duke, Elliott Brood, et al. Turns out the self-reflection evinced by the cover photo is a good fit for the Wooden Sky.

 

 the Wooden Sky - My Old Ghosts [3:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 the Wooden Sky - Call If You Need Me [2:45m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The Wooden Sky’s webstore is apparently closed. But opening soon. I guess you could go to a record store and find the album, but isn’t it easier just to hop over to iTunes, you lazy so-and-so?

Canadian tour dates are:
10/01/2009 - Regina, SK @ The Exchange
10/02/2009 - Saskatoon, SK @ Amigos
10/03/2009 - Edmonton, AB @ Starlite
10/04/2009 - Calgary, AB @ Dickens
10/05/2009 - Lethbridge, AB @ Henotic
10/06/2009 - Nelson, BC @ Spirit Bar
10/07/2009 - Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore
10/08/2009 - Victoria, BC @ Sugar

ALSO:
While these guys are playing the Exchange tomorrow night, don’t forget that blog favourites Final Fantasy and Timber Timbre will be very gently rocking the same stage tonight, Wednesday evening. I got free tickets from the good folks at the Prairie Dog, but you should come out and fork over some cash too.

Pat entries Blackball Records, Canadian content, folk rock, indie rock, live music, rock, the Wooden Sky

Several years ago, a friend turned me onto Danny Michel. He was common knowledge on the Canadian indie scene by then, but I’d only just heard of him. I agreed to go see him play at a tiny campus bar in Calgary and his charisma and musical ability blew me away.

I bought two CDs that night, then went home and downloaded the rest. I even paid for it! Support independent artists, guys!

Then I moved to Guelph and heard through the grapevine that he lived in the area. He’s played a few shows since I’ve been here, but then he went on tour with Stuart McLean’s Vinyl Cafe and was never around.

The closest I’ve come to seeing Danny play here was watching a Burning Hell set at Hillside Festival last year and standing right behind him. He and Hawksley Workman were watching the show together and instead of being like “why hello talented, artistic, gentlemen who are also very handsome,” I was like “I’m drunk and sunburned.” So I just stood thre and watched the show with them. It was a nice little Hillside moment. But earlier this year, when I heard he was playing the Dublin Street United Church, I knew I’d try to attend.

That show takes place tonight and I’m excited! I love seeing shows in churches. They’re such great venues. Oh, and, um, yay God? And stuff?

Seriously. The acoustics are always amazing and this church in particular has a great, warm sound that I think will really heighten the Danny Michel concert experience. I saw Matthew and Jill Barber play there last year and they were great. I can’t wait to hear If God Is On Your Side performed in a church. Also, if he could perform Elvis’ The Song of the Shrimp from Girls! Girls! Girls! I would be an extremely happy girl.

Because I always try to immerse myself in the music of a particular artist before I see them live, I’ve been perusing my complete Danny Michel catalogue and marvelling at his progression as a songwriter and musician.

His latest, Feather, Fur and Fin is, while not wildly, insanely better than any of his earlier albums, has a different feel. There’s more experimentation with sound and breaks and lyrics and it took awhile for me to warm up to it, but it’s one of my favourites now. It’s hard to beat the nostalgia of Two Hearts on 2003’s Tales From the Invisible Man, where he sings about making out on the shag rug and croons “I got no beepers, no pagers. Just Farrah Fawcett-Lee-Majors” but he manages with the intense howl of “You’re the last match in the pack!” on I’m ‘a Love You Anyway. And whoever suggested the baritone sax and glockenspiel (I’m blaming McLean) has my eternal gratitude. Michel digs a little deeper with every record and I respect that.

I’m gonna go ahead and give you a Danny Michel sampler. And I strongly encourage you to give ‘em all a listen, go out to shows and buy, buy, buy.

And also make sure you check out this amazazing video for Feather, Fur and Fin, featuring more than 3,500 photos taken in Belize.

Right? It’s awesome! So you should come out tonight. Dublin Street United (It’s on the corner of Dublin and Suffolk in Guelph) at 7:30. The opening act is jazz singer Roxann Potvin and she is quite fine. To hold tickets, email milanovichlil@hotmail.com or get ‘em at Ground Floor Music.

 

 Danny Michel - I'm 'a Love You Anyway: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Danny Michel - White Lightening: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Danny Michel - Two Hearts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Danny Michel - Fireworks: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tanis entries Canadian content, churches as venues, Danny Michel, folk rock, Guelph Ontario, Hillside, live music, local music, mp3