Sound Salvation Army

It’s a fine line between theme and gimmick. One has to wonder if/when the Library Voices literary bent will come back to bite the group.

The Regina band’s latest album, Summer of Lust, is out today. Like their previous releases it pairs immense pop hooks with wry lyrics stuffed full of literary name-drops, references, and allusions. Roughly equal amounts of press has been given to the band for its catchy musical arrangements and its willingness to play up their apparent bookworminess, be it in song titles (”Things We Stole From Vonnegut’s Grave,” “Reluctant Readers Make Reluctant Lovers,” “If Raymond Carver Was Born In The 90s,” “Bodies Of Fiction,” etc) or in lyrics (authors like Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Joseph Heller and Richard Yates are mentioned in just one single song). It’s a device that plays to a decidedly hipster fan base, but while it might be seen as charming by some it can also be interpreted as pretention, having the potential to drive away listeners before they even push the play button.

That would be a shame, now more than ever. The band has hit a stride, paring down this year to its smallest line-up yet (six people) and quickly recording an album that overtakes its predecessors in nearly every way.

Like their previous albums, the band leads off Summer of Lust with an unimpeachably rock-solid lead track. “If Raymond Carver Was Born In The 90’s” is a terrific piece of pop that is also emblematic of the album as a whole. Awash in keyboard and synth sounds (I’m pretty sure there’s some theremin in there as well), it’s an upbeat rock song that simultaneously laments and celebrates the road-weary life of touring musicians trying to live their dream. I will admit to not being familiar enough with the American short story author referenced in the title to know if the song’s theme echo his work but either way the song starts the album out on a high note, introducing new listeners to the swirling synths and Carl Johnson’s desperate tenor that are the hallmarks of their sound.

From back to front this record is extremely upbeat, taking on galloping rhythms and elements of classic early-era pop and rock songs to give the tracks some backbone. Take for example the early-release track “The Prime Minister’s Daughter,” a song deftly released a month before Canada’s federal election (nearly five months before the album release date). The group’s first blatant protest song, singer Carl Johnson shimmies his way through another pointedly synth-drenched track whose lyric condemns the Tory government for rolling back arts funding. It’s a pretty damn perfect song, an incredibly catchy number that pleads with Stephen Harper’s daughter by name to realize that there are young musicians in Canada that have to work double shifts tending bar just to be able to afford to live while making music. The wryly disingenuous line, “Ordinary people don’t care about art,” is a perfectly back-handed swipe at the Harper government (or any government for that matter) that uses the idea of imaginary “meat and potatoes,” blue-collar citizens who demand to see less “frivolous” spending as a justification for reducing support to areas they don’t like or understand.

The plight of the beleaguered musician is here in full force, but there are other thematic arcs on the record as well. “Anthem For A New Canadia” isn’t as geographically centered as its title may suggest; like single “Generation Handclap” it uses modern technology as a jumping-off point to express something between criticism, concern, and observation about the current state of adults who aren’t quite adults; they’re the people approaching their thirties who don’t have a home, aren’t settling down and having babies, or even have what’s typically considered a “career.” They’re the people who, as lyricist Mike Dawson puts it, “write letters to home and then send them by phone.” It’s a succinct encapsulation of how the times, they are a-changin’.

Like any good poet, Dawson also tends to over-romanticize his sexual dalliances. “Be My Juliette Gréco, Paris 1949″ is a great example in which he compares a lover he is “always coming back to” to Miles Davis and the titular French singer. How a 30 year-old Saskatchewanian has an intimate knowledge of the age “before Photoshopped hips and collagen smiles” is beyond me but it makes for a good, obscure reference (akin to the average John K. Samson song) that will send listeners running for their Google search bar (see what I did there?).

Lyrics aside the album’s production helps feed the more immediate sound the band has cultivated, the studio less of a presence than on their previous full-length. The tracks have a “live from the floor” feel that scrapes off the polish of the last album that glossed up the songs to an almost absurd degree. While synths and keys are the most prominent musical force here Brennan Ross’ guitar also shines with creative leads soaked in reverb that help fill out the arrangements in a wonderful way. Paul Gutheil’s saxophone also continues to be a delightful break from the norm, although it seems to have been used more sparingly this time around.

The liner notes for Summer of Lust feature (surprise!) a quote from Pablo Neruda that sums up the album for me, although probably not in the way the band intended. “I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too,” it reads. That accurately describes my relationship with the band because, while I could not have enjoyed a handful of the songs on their previous records more, they haven’t stuck with me in a very big way. As much as the songs on Denim on Denim were archetypal pop songs of the highest order the album as a whole had no staying power with me; it isn’t something I frequently seek out, something that I crave. Summer of Lust is a different creature altogether, an album that is delightfully cohesive and decidedly memorable. It’s another accomplishment for Regina’s music scene that should have an impact far and wide.

Here’s hoping that unlike Dickinson, Plath, and Thoreau they’re appreciated in their own time. I promise you, reluctant readers, if you can get past their occasionally-cloying literary crutches there’s plenty for you here.

 

 Library Voices - The Prime Minister's Daughter: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Library Voices - If Raymond Carver Were Born In The 90's: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

You can buy Library Voices albums through their website or via iTunes. They’re also touring like the dickens with a ton of Canadian dates already booked.

Pat entries Canadian content, hipsters, indie pop, Library Voices, local flavour, local music, Regina

Parting can be such sweet sorrow but I have to say the end of the 2011 Regina Folk Festival was more the former than the latter.

The closing Sunday of the show had a distinct air of youth, vitality, newness in a very simple way. That’s not to say that the two previous days were hopelessly mired in the past, far from it; there was just a whole lot of enthusiasm at play.

Audiences (and the twitterverse alike) were abuzz with excitement over the daytime workshop sets, which began with a meeting of the minds Regina indie fans were clamoring for: Mike Dawson and Carl Johnson from Library Voices, along with local pianist Jeffery Straker and Marta Jaciubek-McKeever from weekend favourites ESL, teamed up with Fred Penner for a songwriting seminar. It apparently caused more than a little excitement, not just for the fact that Penner gave Johnson a bit of a clinic on how to properly tune a guitar. Later in the day the most adorable and enthusiastic acts possible teamed up for a workshop about love songs, including members of Hey Ocean!, Straker, and the boundless enthusiasm of Calgary’s Michael Bernard Fitzgerald. Crowds were also impossibly deep during the last set of workshops, including a grouping of locals Rah Rah, Library Voices, and Indigo Joseph. Hawksley Workman also hosted one of his own at the same time, surrounded by a cadre of ladies including Ashleigh from Hey Ocean!, Cris Derksen of ESL, and Cœur de pirate’s Béatrice Martin. That is some kind of inspired combination of artists and they did not fail to give the audience a unique experience to take home with them.

In the interest of full disclosure I have to admit I missed out on much of the day’s events. In addition to writing about my Saturday experience I was also dog-tired; I’d been out sick from work literally all week and two nights of festival-ing took a toll. So, sadly, I missed the main stage performance by Vancouver’s delightful gospel-inflected vocal group The Sojourners. It was one of the sets I’d been the most excited about, truthfully, especially after hearing all of (and seeing some of) their Saturday workshop session with Etran Finatawa and Shakura S’Aida’s backing band. During our interview the group detailed the decades they spent singing gospel in their American hometowns before getting together a few years ago, becoming Canadian citizens, and recording for the marvelous Black Hen label run by Steve Dawson. The constantly-smiling troupe were gracious and conciliatory, belying the belly-fire their powerful singing produces. Their music has undeniably blissful results, whether you’ve got the faith or not. My favourite example is their take on The Mississippi Sheiks’ song “He Calls That Religion (But I Know He’s Going to Hell When He Dies),” which brought a certain amount of fire and brimstone to the Saturday proceedings. I’m sure it must have gone over well on the main stage too.

Swift Current’s The Hard Ramblers provided some semi-local flavour in a teaser set after The Sojourner’s main stage kick-off to the evening. Banjo player and singer Eliza Doyle stopped by the CJTR tent earlier Saturday to outline the group’s deep-roots sound. Still a young group, the band put out its first CD Way On Down The Road this year, a collection of originals and a couple covers that Doyle promises is only the beginning of the group’s recorded output.

Regina’s own Library Voices appeared next, stoking the home-town crowd ahead of the release of their sophomore album Summer of Lust, out in less than three weeks time. My prairie dog pal Stephen Whitworth described the set thusly:

One of the liveliest shows I’ve ever seen at the Folk Fest. “Proof of what a lot of sugar in your diet can do,” as emcee Fred Penner said.

Now if you’ve seen the band you know that’s saying an awful lot. It isn’t too hard to picture, considering the band is firing on all cylinders right now: they’ve booked shows for this summer and fall as far away as California and their new record is a barn-burner. They put a limited number of copies up for sale over the course of the weekend, one of which I happened to have the good fortune to pick up. It’s a lithe set of songs that have a live-from-the-floor feeling, with much less of a glossed-up and studio-y temperance to it. After a few introductory listens I’m inclined to say the songs might have more impact and staying power than their debut (which, despite having some unadulterated pop gems for songs has not found as permanent a space on my iPod as I would’ve expected).

I finally managed to drag myself out to the park just as Cœur de pirate was beginning their set. Béatrice Martin and her three-piece backing band were a surprisingly big draw. During our Saturday interview she seemed genuinely flummoxed about her success the last few years in English-speaking areas (the project got a big boost in 2009 when a viral video containing one of her songs was played on Good Morning America south of the border). She admits the brunt of her efforts have been made in Quebec and France, but I have to say nearly every woman in her 20’s I spoke to ahead of the festival insisted Cœur de pirate was one of the acts they were most excited for and only one of them speaks any French.

The appeal, I have to say, isn’t entirely unsurprising. Whether or not you speak en francais the songs have a very immediate quality that is undeniable. On record Béatrice’s voice is sprightly and coy, a cooing soprano that comes across as delicate, playful, and fragile in all the places that it needs to be. Those same qualities are just as readily apparent in a live setting but the songs don’t seem to have the same power without a bit of compression and studio polish to make them pop. Martin avails herself best when her piano is in play, but when she stepped away from the keys and let her band’s acoustic guitars carry the brunt of the musical burden the songs came across as flimsier, thinner. Perhaps it had more to do with where we were standing but the “country” song in the midst of a stretch of brand new material towards the end of the set had guitar that was practically inaudible. Everything seemed to go swimmingly for Martin, however; she was free and easy with her smiles and ended many songs with a flourish of her arms, as if to say, “That’s it. What do you think?” She even giggled openly during one or two songs, apparently a sign that she was happy with the response she was getting. From the looks and reaction from the crowd she has every reason to be.

In perhaps the most unnecessary move of the entire festival, Sunday night MC Fred Penner played a teaser set between Cœur de pirate and Hawksley Workman. Not messing around, the bearded icon reprised Friday’s biggest numbers, “Sandwiches” and “The Cat Came Back,” even slipping a bit of K-Os’ hit “Crabbuckit” into the latter. The somewhat inebriated audience issued several jubilant meows back at him as well, applauding giddily at any given opportunity. Whatever the reason for his sudden resurgence it’s well-deserved and no one can deny it. After imploring us to never lose our youthful exuberance someone in the audience handed Penner a long-stem rose, which he dutifully tucked behind one ear before introducing the night (and the festival’s) final headliner.

I kind of wish Hawksley Workman’s music could always be like it was last night. The flamboyant performer was in fine, albeit vaguely schizophrenic, form. Performing in a pinstriped suit and accompanying hat alongside piano player “Mr. Lonely,” Workman took his time launching into each song, almost as if he was doing a Storytellers episode or something. A series of apparently stream-of-conscious stories and admissions began nearly every song with Workman speaking at length about each one’s origin and cracking a joke a minute. At times it almost seemed like the music was getting in the way of Workman’s stand-up material, as he interrupted himself by talking about his extensive knowledge of The Bob Newhart Show or wondering why someone left half the lights on in the “lightning bolt” (re: SaskPower) building across from the park. At one point he extended the bridge of one song by five or six minutes to explain a sudden vision that he had of inviting the whole audience into his basement to watch him play the drums, closing his eyes and swinging at an imaginary kit for a few minutes. “And maybe I’ve locked the door behind you,” he deadpanned as the entire audience erupted in laughter.

That train of thought was interrupted when “Mr. Lonely” pulled off an intriguing piano run that caught his imagination. Workman strode purposefully over to the electric piano and Lonely slid down the bench, allowing Workman to take over the bass notes while he worked the high end. The two improvised for a few minutes, no words being uttered. Just as impressive was his sudden breaks into heavy metal-esque guitar solos during an otherwise-sparse version of “Jealous Of Your Cigarette” and “Tarantula.”

Of course, his style of performance could only be pulled off by a supremely confident musician and that is Workman to a T. Having played with his sideman on piano for more than a dozen years the two clearly have a close kinship that allows them to follow each other’s musical whims in an almost intuitive way. Workman has a knack for crafting fanciful songs of unyielding beauty, his voice alone driving them into a higher atmosphere. His wild falsetto, while not always necessarily in the right key, is a wonton display of passion, undeniable evidence that he’s simultaneously both lost and present in the moment and the song, whichever one he happens to be in.

With no shortage of passion he brought thousands of festival audience members along with him. It was a scene, man.

After Workman’s electric set Fred Penner emerged from the wings and called out more performers: Shakura S’Aida, The Sojourners, Workman and more came out for a two-song finale that included “This Little Light of Mine” as a closer. Inviting and applauding the volunteers, Penner called for as many of them as possible to take the stage and sing and dance along, which they were more than happy to do. It was a very “folk festival” move, but you wouldn’t have found a person in the crowd that wasn’t lit up with a smile when it happened.

Here’s to next year, Regina!

 

 Hawksley Workman - Warhol's Portrait Of Gretzky: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Coeur de pirate - Berceuse: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Library Voices - Generation Handclap: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

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

 

 The Sojourners - Nobody Can Turn Me Around [3:37m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Pat entries Canadian content, Coeur de Pirate, Fred Penner, Hawksley Workman, Library Voices, live music, Regina Folk Festival, Shakura S'Aida, The Hard Ramblers, The Sojourners

It’s that magical Regina Folk Festival time of year again!

We’ve done some cursory coverage of the festival in previous years but we’re going full-tilt this time around, as the kind folks in the front office have decided our site is an “approved and well-established website” and thus is worthy of media accreditation. That means I’ll be down in Victoria Park all weekend long taking in the sights and songs for the entire festival.

There’s a lot that I’m looking forward to, although some people are saying this year lacks the punch of a really big name to draw a sizeable crowd. That might be borne out by the fact that none of the day’s passes have been sold out yet.

However, if you can’t get excited about K.D. Lang’s return to the crown jewel of Regina then you’re a damn fool. Festival artistic director Sandra Butel told the media earlier this year when the line-up was announced that there are some festival die-hards that still talk about her breakout set at the festival in 1985 and what an incredible revelation it was. That sounds like a show worth seeing, never mind the fact that she’s had 26 years to polish her show. Her new album Sing It Loud (which comes on the heels of a two-disc greatest hits package issued last year) finds her reinvigorated by her new backing band, The Siss Boom Bang (a name, I admit, I hate). It’ll be a tough set to beat, I’m quite sure.

Closing out Sunday night is Hawksley Workman, a performer with no shortage of stage presence or desire to wow a crowd. He’s also in a creative peak, having released two complete albums in the span of about a year and a half. There’s no way he’ll play the song I’ve posted below but by god that would be something, wouldn’t it? Having never seen him perform live it will be interesting to see what kind and how fervent an audience he’ll draw on the last night of the show (which, by the way, could have rain if the forecast holds true).

Let’s not forget the artist with the most pedigree in the bunch. Taj Mahal is most often described as a blues artist but he is also known for folding world music elements into his guitar-driven numbers. I’m not sure if or how often he’s been in Saskatchewan but I’d be surprised if it hasn’t called to him in the past; the American singer has a serious passion for farming. As a younger man he was forced to choose between his two passions, having graduated with two agricultural degrees before going into music full-time. He’s a classic of the genre that I can’t wait to see.

International flavour is always a big draw at the RFF as well, and this year is no exception. Butel explained that she worked with artistic directors of other western Canadian folk festivals to ensure that acts like Etran Finatawa, a group of musicians from two separate African tribes that joined together in unity to promote peace among their people, had a string of dates across the country that would ensure it would be fiscally viable for them to come to the country. Quebec resident Marco Calliari has deep Italian roots and accesses them in his solo work, which has been compared to the high-energy melodic frenzy of Gogol Bordello. Honduran Aurelio Martinez plays a variation on the percussion-driven Paranda style of Garifuna music (in addition to being an incredibly-captivating singer.

Hip indie kids will have their run of great acts too. Vancouver’s laid-back acoustic song-slinger Dan Mangan, violinist and whistler extraordinaire Andrew Bird, french-speaking QC piano ingenue and tattoo maven Béatrice Martin (aka Coeur de Pirate, represented below with a track by her side project Armistice, which sees her singing in English for the first time), east coast quirk-rocker Shotgun Jimmie, indie rock upstarts Braids, and the newly-revitalized children’s songsmith Fred Penner will all take the main stage. All have their own uniquely melodic styles and I’m dying to see all of them.

And that’s just the main stage. The free daytime “workshops” on Saturday and Sunday are always a big reason to head back to the park outside the headliner hours. Local/provincial superstars like Library Voices, Slow Down Molasses, Jeffrey Straker, Zachary Lucky, Rah Rah, and the Hard Ramblers are all involved in the free day events, in addition to main stage appearances.

And the beer gardens last ALL DAY now! All day! Amazing!

 

 Armistice - Mission Bells: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Dan Mangan - Robots: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Etran Finatawa - Kel Tamasheck: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Hawksley Workman - Warhol's Portrait Of Gretzky: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Rah Rah - Fuck NAFTA: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Taj Mahal - Fishin' Blues: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

It’s all so much to take in! You can get the full details from http://www.reginafolkfestival.com and tickets can be bought from the festival site starting on Friday. DON’T MISS IT!

Pat entries Andrew Bird, Aurelio Martinez, blues, Braids, Canadian content, Coeur de Pirate, Dan Mangan, Etran Finatawa, folk, Fred Penner, Hawksley Workman, indie rock, Jeffrey Straker, k.d. lang, Library Voices, Marco Calliari, Rah Rah, Regina Folk Festival, rock, Shotgun Jimmie, Slow Down Molasses, The Hard Ramblers, world music, Zachary Lucky

Sorry for the unexpected downtime, avid readers. I’m assuming one or two of you noticed, anyway. We’ll try to avoid that next year. Please accept my apology in the form of a short mix of some of the best songs you’re going to hear this year.

Library Voices
Call them local favourites if you will but Library Voices stands on their own merit. Their debut full-length came out this past Tuesday and managed to find it’s way to the fifth spot on the iTunes sales chart. Pretty fucking good for a bunch of fauxhemians from Regina. It isn’t hard to understand after setting your ears on the lead-off track and first single, “Drinking Games,” found below. Combining some Beach Boys-style harmonies and a copious amount of handclaps (underpinned by a quietly melancholic melody and lyric) it’s an engaging and infectious slice of pop perfection. And it’s got a fantastic video to go along with it.

Ted Leo & the Pharmacists
Ted Leo is an all-time favourite of mine and it’s great to see him back on his game. Inspired by 80’s hardcore (more in tenor and aesthetic than sound), the Brutalist Bricks sees Leo and his latest batch of Pharmacists pounding out his most focused collection of songs since Shake The Sheets. Not only that but it also features what might be among his greatest songs ever. “Bottled In Cork” distills a wide range of international sentiment towards Americans in the light of Bush-era foreign policy into three minutes and fifteen seconds that’s jammed with a whole pile of wordiness. He doesn’t shy away from the song’s central melody for a moment, pushing it constantly to the forefront and leaving it out there until it sticks. And stick it will. The frantic, infectious drumming and a ripping guitar solo don’t hurt either.

Cursive
If there’s one thing Tim Kasher does well consistently it’s tension. This highlight from Mama, I’m Swollen (a bit of a WTF album title if ever there was one) has it in spades. Music and art have often been a stand-in or metaphor for sex in Kasher’s songs; consequently sex has often been a topic of much attention and contention in his writing. Needless to say, the underlying meaning here is as clear as day. Like the best intimate encounters it stars out quiet and subtly and builds to an energetic and unrestrained climax that only makes you anxious for the next one. If you caught the band’s amped-up performance of this track on a certain late night TV show (don’t worry if you didn’t, we’ve got you covered) you’re already sold, but a single listen to the track should do the job also.

Silver Starling
The slow-burner of the group, this track serves as the big, slow-moving hook that opens this Montreal band’s self-titled debut. Tanis has previously mentioned them and their ties to certain Canadian indie rock royalty, so we won’t re-tread that. Instead I’ll simply say that the coy, pained delivery of the vocals in this song tell all the story the lyrics forget to. The expressive, redolant vocals of Marcus Paquin might be their strongest weapon. I’m surprised I haven’t heard more people talk about this album. We might have to do more on this one in the near future.

So there you go, folks. Sorry for the two week lapse. Stay tuned for more of what you’re used to and maybe some new things here and there. We’re working on some pretty big projects for the summer and if my plans come to fruition it should be a busy but productive time.

 

 Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - Bottled In Cork [3:18m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Library Voices - Drinking Games [4:24m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Cursive - From The Hips [3:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Silver Starling - Something Over Nothing [4:24m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Library Voices: Find Denim on Denim on iTunes or in stores. First EP can be found at Zunior as well.
Ted Leo: Physical albums through Matastore, merch is available through his webstore and albums are digital via iTunes (with bonus track)
Cursive: Albums are all available through this here webstore and digitally through the iTunes
Silver Starling: Digital purchases through Last Gang and the iTunes. Might have to check stores for physical purchases.

Pat entries Canadian content, Cursive, indie pop, indie rock, Library Voices, pop, pop rock, Silver Starling, singles, Ted Leo

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

I’ve been on the road for the last month, backpacking through central and eastern Europe. Internet access has been spotty and despite my best efforts, I missed my mom’s birthday. I feel like poop. And I’m still employment free, so I don’t know if going home for Christmas is going to happen, but being away from Canada for so long has me longing for my prairie home. Saskatchewan is hard to explain to people here, so when they ask where I’m from, I just say Canada and tell them I live near Toronto, which is true. But there’s a little part of me that thinks “liar!” every time I say that.

When I was young, it was drilled into me that where you are from is everything. My grandpa loved paging through local history books that detailed the families in the area and what they did and how many kids they had, how many acres they farmed, etc. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of those things. Whenever I would tell him about a new friend I made whose parents farmed, he’d look them up in one of his books and then, the next time we spoke, he’d go “Say, that Marcotte girl you roomed with, the one who reads the news on the CBC, is she from Southie? I knew her grandpa.” Of course he did.

Travelling has made me a little resentful of the fact that in a sea of foreigners, I feel the most foreign. I am not from Toronto or Vancouver or Montreal, one of the three Canadian cities foreigners seem to recognize immediately. I’m from the huge, expansive middle part, the one with straight sides that everyone says is flat and boring. Even back in Canada, I get the sense that people brush my home province off as if it didn’t matter or was the worst place to be from, so why advertise that fact? Here, at least it is understandable that nobody has heard of my home town. In Canada, I get a little indignant, because Tommy Douglas, the greatest Canadian, introduced the country to universal health care there.

I have to imagine that Library Voices co-lead singer Carl Johnson would understand. He used to be with National Frost, a band that got its start in Estevan, which is the Ying to Weyburn’s Yang.

Regina, which is close by, also has a rep as a place you don’t want to advertise being from. I cannot tell you how many bands I have seen come through the city only to make that stupid, aging joke about the name (city that rhymes with fun/I won’t make fun of your city’s name because your mayor asked me not to, but I don’t want to sound like a pussy/your city sounds like vagina!), perform a mediocre set and leave. Bah, to them! We will make our own bands! And they will rival any of those that have come before! THEN you’ll see!

I’m not sure if Library Voices exactly rival, say, the New Pornographers, but they’re on their way to that! They are a big, sprawling collective (ten members) and they certainly sing kicky, energetic songs with clever lyrics.

And I love them for it. In particular, Things We Stole From Vonnegut’s Grave is special and interesting and sweetly indifferent, just like Vonnegut himself. I love the chanted chorus: “And so it goes…/ And so it goes…/ Until you’re unstuck in time/ Fate’s worse than death/ Don’t hold your breath/ There’s an asterisk before your name” Plus, they quote my favourite Vonnegut saying: We are who we pretend to be, so we must be careful who we pretend to be.

The song is on their debut EP, Hunting Ghosts & Other Collected Shorts and if it seems like they should hurry up and release a new, full-length album, don’t worry. It’s on its way! I saw them play at Hillside Festival this summer, where they had one of THE best sets of the weekend. Everyone loved them and with good reason. Soaring harmonies, complex songs with a variety of unexpected instruments and chords that sound maddeningly familiar. They’re like faces you can’t quite place. You may think you’ve heard them before, but every listen reveals new surprises and twists. They’re also purveyors of my favourite pop-song accoutrement: hand claps.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but they are a band on the way to big, huge, exciting things. Their songs are hooky, danceable and sing-along-able, filled with riffs on all kinds of ‘tures, including pop culture, literature and adventure. And because they are from Saskatchewan, you can bet they have a mom or a grandpa or an uncle or some other relative who won’t let them get big heads about their future success. That’s just the way it is back home.

Speaking of back home…

I love the crush and the rush of the big cities I have visited. I love the insular beauty of the secluded villages I have visited. I keep threatening to move to Europe, because what have I got to lose? But it doesn’t matter how far from Saskatchewan I wander or where I end up living. I will always be from the same place and that place will always be home. Thanks for reminding me of that, Library Voices:

You should know by now
Lost girls don’t find
Themselves over seas
You can never go back to young & free
Just tell story through laptop screens

I can tell you that these lyrics from Love In the Age of Absurdity are true. Because I am writing this on a laptop in a hotel room in Istanbul and I am almost ready to go home with no big revelations about myself other than that I will never take coin-op laundry for granted again.

Check out Library Voices when they come to a city near you, Ontario:

Oct. 27th - Hamilton - The Casbah
Oct. 28th - Guelph - The E-Bar
Oct. 29th - Toronto - The El Mocambo
Oct. 30th - Ottawa - Live Lounge
Oct. 31st - Barrie - The Mansion

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

 

 Library Voices - Things We Stole From Vonnegut's Grave: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Library Voices - Love In The Age Of Absurdity: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tanis entries Canadian content, Library Voices, live music, mp3, Regina, travelling

I’m going to preface this entry by mentioning that I recently wrote a piece for the Toronto Star about some upcoming festivals in southern Ontario that you can go see this summer if you wanted to get out of Toronto. I was just there last week for the Neko Case show at Massey Hall (I was gonna review it and then I had interviews and stuff to do, so I didn’t, but she was brilliant, obviously.) and she said she was glad she could make it to town for the biannual garbage strike. What I’m trying to say is: Toronto smells. It’s not their fault, but really, if you can leave that behind for a weekend, why wouldn’t you?

One of the festivals I mentioned in the article is Hillside in Guelph and it starts Friday. One of the commenters on my story rightly points out that you cannot call this festival “little.” And I did not. So there. The commenter also says it is now nearly impossible to get tickets. This is true. But it is also true that I said there are Friday passes left. And if you wanted to, you could buy some. Like, say, if you went to TicketPro, you would find tickets for Friday. AND Sunday! Man, look how nice I am!

I decided that this week, I would pick a handful of groups that I love who are performing at Hillside and write a bunch of entries about them for this poooooooor commenter who tragically could not plan ahead or get his ass online to buy tickets when they went on sale and apparently could not be bothered to click a link where tickets for two days are still available. You can’t tell, but I’m crying a single tear for this commenter.

ANYWAY! Hillside is famous for its community spirit, commitment to environmentalism and ability to pick unknown bands right before they make it big. There are a few groups on the roster this year that I think are poised to blow up huge and I thought, why not talk about them here while I’m figuring out what to see when?

Leading off is Regina’s Library Voices, one of my favourite discoveries from last year.

Yes. This photo is accurate. There are ten members of this group writing clever lyrics, soaring harmonies and creating a whirling dervish of sound. Library Voices made a six-song EP - Hunting Ghosts and other Collected Shorts - that is filled with hooky pop music that alternately yells its greatness from the rooftops and whispers its witty bon mots in your ear. But there’s always an urgency to it, like: “Listen! Listen! Please listen! Oh! Get this part… hear that? Yeah! We are on the same page! The best part is coming up… man! So awesome! Right?” Like they croon on the title track, “time is of the essence.”

At first, the only song I liked on Hunting Ghosts was the single, “Step Off the Map and Float,” but the more I listened, the more I heard. God. That sounds so lame, but it’s true. I don’t get people who claim that indie music is inaccessible. That is so fucking lazy and untrue. For instance, “Love in the Age of Absurdity” has a wailing guitar solo and a woo-woo-woo chorus of which Weezer would be jealous.

And how - HOW? - can you not love a band that extensively references Kurt Vonnegut in its lyrics? On “Things We Stole From Vonnegut’s Grave,” jaunty guitar riffs meet handclaps meet lush harmonies meet the shouted chorus of “And so it goes, and so it goes.” This equals big fun. We are who we pretend to be, so we must be careful who we pretend to be, indeed. The title of this post is what Vonnegut requested for his epitaph if, God forbid, he should die. One cannot presume to know what Vonnegut would have thought of a band incorporating his words into their lyrics, but I guess he might be amused. And so it goes.

And they continue to grow, musically. The dynamics on their new song, “Drinking Games” (which you can stream on their myspace because I don’t have it), are amazing. It’s like the goddamn Beach Boys I’m picking up so many good vibrations from this shit!

I can’t wait to see them live. It’s my experience that most collectives are great live. There’s more that can go wrong, sure, but the energy is always infectious and I’ve never had a bad experience with seeing groups that have more than seven members. Library Voices play Saturday, which is the one day of the festival that is sold out at all points of sale, so it’s a good thing you’re here!

The group joins Rah Rah, the Polymaths and Goldenmile in the growing category of great groups from the Reeg getting some much deserved buzz. They’re all on Young Soul Records, which hasn’t got a very up-to-date website, but maybe that’s because they’re busy signing more great groups. The Queen City should brag long and loud about these talents. Maybe then they wouldn’t all move away and I would no longer have to hear jerks from Winnipeg rag on the city as a talentless void. As if Winnipeg didn’t suck too. But I promise, Ontario, if you catch Library Voices on tour in Ontario in July, you will not be sorry. Here’s some tour dates, so you have no excuses!

July 21 - Toronto, On - @ Horseshoe Tavern
July 22 - Hamilton, On - @ The Casbah
July 23 - Windsor, On - @ Blind Dog
July 24 - Peterborough, On - @ Montreal House w/ The Burning Hell (Oh man, DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW!)
July 25-26 - Guelph, On - Hillside Festival
July 28 - Toronto, On - @ Horseshoe Tavern
July 29 - London, On - @ Call The Office w/ Songs From A Room
July 31 - Thunder Bay, On @ Apollo

You can read about their tour adventures on their blog, and buy their stuff on zunior, sonic unyon and iTunes.

 

 Library Voices - Step Off the Map and Float: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Library Voices - Things We Stole From Vonnegut's Grave: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Library Voices - Love in the Age of Absurdity: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tanis entries Canadian content, collectives, Guelph, Hillside Festival, Library Voices, live music, Regina, Toronto Star