Sound Salvation Army

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

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

Tanis said it first: we are staunchly Team Conan around these parts.

I’ve been watching Conan since I was old enough to stay up late enough to watch Conan. I have vivid memories of his trip to Canada; I watched every night with exceeding joy as he and Triumph traipsed around Toronto. I relished each and every appearance of Norm MacDonald. I loved his apple orchard piece with Mr. T so much I took it out behind the middle school and got it pregnant. His old-timey baseball bit was unbelievable. I downloaded every episode during the writer’s strike, unable to look away as he clamored for ways to fill the time (and out of curiosity about the extent to which he would grow his beard). Of late, his nights and days out on the town in L.A. with staff member Jordan Schlansky revealed a whole new side of him (namely the kind of dickish side). While I thought the ‘celebrity survey’ bit was getting very old in the tooth and the ‘Twitter Tracker’ segment was woefully underused I still watched every night of his Tonight Show run.

I’ll admit it: I cried a little during Neil Young’s performance and Conan’s speech. I know, it seems like petty nothingness in the face of Haiti’s devestation and a million other serious and impactful things that happen all over the world every day. But I don’t have a lot going on in my life right now and Conan has been there with me for more than ten years. He didn’t deserve this. He was really coming into his own and the show was on a level it hadn’t been before.

In hindsight I only wish Canadians could contribute to the Neilsen ratings. Or that my TV had channels so that I could watch Conan when it might’ve slightly (not at all) counted. I’ve always thought Conan’s style and sense of humour played so much better in Canada. It’s a shame our TV industry clearly cannot support a late night talk program. Mike Bullard, you were meant for better things (no, he wasn’t).

So I thank Tanis for her previous post (and for explaining Conan’s appeal with the elequence my sleep-deprived brain just doesn’t have today) but that post was missing something. Something I either have the advanced technological capabilities or a willingness to breach NBC Universal copyrights that she does not.

Look below for Neil Young’s tear-stirring performance of “Long Will You Run” and a faithful take on “Free Bird” courtesy of Conan, his axe, Will Ferrell, Beck, ZZ Top, Ben Harper some dude that looks exactly like Ben Harper named Robert Randolph Ben Harper, Max Weinberg and the Tonight Show Band, some pregnant hippy, and Will Ferrell’s cowbell. So appropriate it hurts.

 

 Neil Young - Long Will You Run (live on the Tonight Show) [4:08m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Will Ferrell, Conan O'Brien, Beck, ZZ Top, Ben Harper, some pregnant hippie, and the Tonight Show Band - Free Bird (live on the Tonight Show) [6:51m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We love you Conan. Hurry back to us.

Pat entries Beck, Ben Harper, comedy, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, Late Night Wars, live music, more cowbell, Neil Young, Will Ferrell, ZZ Top

I saw the new Sherlock Holmes movie on the first day of this new decade of ours. I liked it a lot. It had many things I love including: Hot guys, sassy women in hats, explosions, smart people, period clothing, Robert Downey Jr., VERY thinly-veiled homoeroticism, gritty turn of the century London and fightin’. And it made me not hate Jude Law quite as much as I did before I saw it. (That guy was in a lot of movies and I saw them all and it got old faster than his hairline.)

Sometimes, all I need is a bunch of things I like arranged in a pleasing manner. Bonus points if it is slightly off kilter.

That’s how I feel about Montreal’s Clues and their self-titled album from 2009 on Constellation Records. It did not blow me away with awesomeness, but it was pretty great because lots of stuff I like makes its way into their music and then, they play it very well.

To describe their sound, I could use a lot of hyphenated words containing other words like post and wave and art. I could name a few very famous bands who are also from the Montreal area who they might sound a little like. But that’s just so tedious and annoying, don’t you think?

Just know that there are some neat surprises here and the songs go places you don’t expect them to (what does that even mean?) and uh, I’m running out of ways to say that I like this music and you should go see this band live, if you live in Ottawa or Guelph or Hamilton or Toronto.

GET A CLUE. THEY ARE GREAT. (See what I did there?) 



Mmmm. The more I listen to this, the more I feel my hatred for Jude Law seep away!

See Clues in concert:

Wednesday, January 13 — Cafe Dekuf — Ottawa (THIS IS TOMORROW, YOU GUYS!)
Thursday, January 14 — The Ebar — Guelph
Friday, January 15 — Club Absinthe — Hamilton
Saturday, January 16 — Silver Dollar — Toronto

 

 Clues - Perfect Fit : Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

You can buy their album from Zunior and iTunes.

Tanis entries Clues, Guelph, indie, live music, Montreal, mp3

You ever think that one of your favourite artists is sort of off his game? Like, he released a bunch of awesome albums early in his career (seriously, several albums that are well on their way to becoming genre-defying classics not even ten years after their release) and then he started to kind of flame out? Maybe he released some albums that were not as good. Not BAD, just… not quite up to par with what you’ve come to expect.

That’s exactly how I feel about Hawksley Workman.

But based on what I’ve been hearing from his new album, Meat (it drops January 19, which I have already earmarked as a happy day in music land, cuz Spoon’s Transference comes out then, too), this might be the recording that puts him squarely back in my good graces.

He’s released several singles from the album. So far, my favourites are “You Don’t Just Want To Break Me” and “We Ain’t No Vampire Bats,” but “We’ll Make Time,” has all the hallmarks of a great Hawksley song: Chanted almost-rap lines, quirky melodies, driving rhythms, hand claps, a hooky chorus and a big, fat, rockin’ section in the middle. I haven’t heard anything from him that I’ve liked this much since “Striptease.”

When For Him And The Girls came out, I felt like I was listening to Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits meet up and agree that Tom would write and Leonard would sing and they’d make gorgeous, creepy, ethereal music together. Then came Last Night We Were The Delicious Wolves and glam Bowie comparisons were not out of place. Lover/Fighter was a little more commercial, but it still had a distinctly Hawksley way about it. The duality of love and anger was much more obvious, though, I think less fully explored than it could have been. After that, I tuned out for a couple years. Maybe because I was introduced to Hawksley when his songs had a very warm, natural vibe. His later stuff has been kind of antiseptic and, well, cold. It’s the difference between a lumpy loaf of artisan bread with chunks of grains and sunflower seeds in it and a perfectly square loaf of Wonderbread. The new songs seem like a happy return to the chunky, homemade bread. There are still some synth elements, but just enough to make it crisp. When it’s sprinkled into the mix, I don’t mind. In fact, I kinda like it. When it takes over everything, not so much.

My favourite Hawklsey Workman songs are about tender destruction and utter devotion. He sings about beauty and pain and the simplicity of love and I bet you’re thinking “Big whoop. Lots of musicians do that.” I dunno. They might try, but they don’t often succeed on the level he does. When he’s on, he’s fucking ON. Listening to a good Hawksley Workman song is like watching this scene from Punch Drunk Love:

Barry: I’m lookin’ at your face and I just wanna smash it. I just wanna fuckin’ smash it with a sledgehammer and squeeze it. You’re so pretty.
Lena: I want to chew your face, and I want to scoop out your eyes and I want to eat them and chew them and suck on them.
[Pause]
Barry: OK. This is funny. This is nice.

Hawksley, like Barry and Lena, knows what it is to love the sight of something so much that you want to destroy it. Which is why I love “You Don’t Just Want To Break Me.” This song builds to a whooping, screaming, yowling climax that oozes sex and hurt and anger and above all, passion! Hawksley’s voice is like a spreading bruise; violent but beautiful. You want to look away. You want to examine it intimately. You want to listen and that’s, like, all of the battle for a musician. You can stream all these singles on his website, which also has links to iTunes and Six Shooter, where you can buy them as MP3s.

And hey, if you’re in Guelph in February (I won’t be, so sad!), Hawksley is playing the Hillside Inside festival before heading out on a cross-Canada tour of this bad boy. Catch him if you can. His live performances are the stuff of legend and something every fan of live music should see. You can pre-order Meat from Six Shooter Records, where you can also buy all his other albums. Including Almost a Full Moon, which I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend. Let’s call it a “seasonal” album and let’s also say that it’s his best work. I’m giving you a track from that one as an early Christmas present. Enjoy!

 

 We Ain't No Vampire Bats - Hawksley Workman: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 A House Or Maybe A Boat - Hawksley Workman: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tanis entries Canadian content, Hawksley Workman, live music, mp3, new release

A couple years ago, I went to see Jill and Matthew Barber perform at the Dublin Street United Church in a blizzard. Outside it was snowing and blowing and inside, people crowded into the pews for a toasty warm celebration of sound. I love hearing music performed in churches. They’re such great spaces that are built to carry sound.

So you should not miss tonight’s show there by the saucy, harmonious, gorgeous Good Lovelies: Caroline Brooks, Kerri Ough and Sue Passmore.

Ain’t they sweet?

They sang backup on Jill Barber’s last album (which was awesome) and they are fresh off a win at the Canadian Folk Music Awards, where they took home the prize for best New/Emerging Artist. They’re going to fill Dublin Street United to the rafters with their beautiful music and I think you should go.

I know for a fact that this trio from Toronto has been wowing the folk festival set this summer with songs from their first, self-titled album, their earlier five-song EP Oh My, and the newest addition to their discography, a Christmas album called Under the Mistletoe.

They don’t reinvent the wheel on the seasonal album, and why should they? Finding an album of Christmas Carols has lately become an exercise in annoyance and futility. For example, I saw the latest A Very Special Christmas album recently. And I realized that while I might have recognized a name or two, I couldn’t tell you what the performers looked like or name another song of theirs. Gone are the days when U2 and Springsteen and Bon Jovi played on those things. Look, I know Christmas songs are lame. But you are talking to a woman who knows all the words to Christmas Wrapping and Christmas in Hollis. So this throwback of singing classic Christmas songs beautifully is a nice respite and I should thank the Good Lovelies for their effort in stealing Christmas music back from Taylor Swift. I’m very sorry to say this, but she cannot sing. She’s terrible. I’m sure she’s quite nice, but her voice is just… not good. Please, instead of buying your mom her album for Christmas, maybe give the Good Lovelies a try. YOU might even like them!

Beyond the Christmas album, I really love what the Good Lovelies are doing elsewhere. I’m biased though, cuz harmonizing is one of my favourite things to do when I’m singing along to stuff while puttering around in my apartment. I frequently entertain the thought of putting together a smart, sassy girl group that would perform retro pastiche songs in kicky matching outfits. Though I gravitate more to the Phil Spector wall-of-sound girl groups when I do this in my head, I also love the straight-ahead harmonies of the 40s.

The Good Lovelies are what you would get if the Andrews Sisters met the Be Good Tanyas in a saloon. Their songs are upbeat and swinging and fun and they’ll leave you with a smile on your face. Who could resist such lush harmonies? Don’t front. It’s not you.

My favourite song of theirs is “Whiskey.” It’s a charming little ditty about bad behaviour encouraged by sipping on whiskey and tequila and the ramifications of the resulting hangover. You’ve been there, swaying slightly in your nylons and party dress in the kitchen, staring bleary-eyed at the bunch of bananas on your counter, your drunken brain telling you that you should eat one because electrolytes. It won’t be the first time your foggy mind betrays you that night. Bonus material on this track: Listening to the post-track patter as the Good Lovelies try to work up some burps.

You can hear some of their best harmonies are on the track “Sleepwalkin’” from their debut. Just gorgeous. Keep up the good work Good Lovelies!

I command you to buy their albums from Maple Music. And check them out on tour, especially if you live in Guelph and want to hear some magic tonight at Dublin St. United Church with Roxanne Potvin. Doors are at 7:30, the show gets started at 8 p.m. and tickets are $20 at the door.

 

 Good Lovelies - Santa Baby: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Good Lovelies - Whiskey: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Good Lovelies - Sleepwalkin' : Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tanis entries folk, Guelph, live music, mp3, the Good Lovelies

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

Today we’re talking about two records. Two records that are joined at the hip, both philosophically and by personnel. Two records that share a love of major chords, handclaps, and classic pop sensibility. Two records that should offer yet another bump in profile for Prince Edward Island’s burgeoning rock scene.

Two Hours Traffic broke out thanks to an upbeat radio rock single a couple years ago and rode the album it was taken from to a Polaris Prize nomination (recently losing out to blog favourites Fucked Up). “Stuck For The Summer” was a cherry piece of guitar pop with an undercurrent of melancholy that was so good it (and two other gems) were taken from a preceding EP and re-recorded for the album Little Jabs. A few years later, the boys are back with another full-length, produced once again by Island chum Joel Plaskett.

The band is continuing to develop its own rock and roll take on radio pop of an era long since past. Most of the songs here coast along on a mid-temp groove, propulsive bass providing a solid backbone to the relaxed feel of tunes like “Weightless One,” “Drop Alcohol,” “Painted Halo,” and others. Not to say its a “softer” album, but the record as a whole is a more down-tempo affair, relying less on upbeat, peppy arrangements and focusing more on tense, airy grooves and an expanded lyrical focus. There are more sing-song tracks, greater use of acoustic guitar and sunny vocal harmonies.

Taking a more serious approach this time around, there are songs about the dangers of alcohol dependence, one-sided relationships, and the camaraderie of misguided youths. Possibly their most engaging and atypical song yet, “Sing A Little Hymn” is an honest number about singer Liam Corcoran’s modicum of faith. He talks about a simple method he uses to lift his spirits without being overly spiritual. He’s far from evangelical, professing his adoration for both Darwin and the triceratops. But the gentle, piano-led track is quietly respectful of all levels of worship, emphasizing that Corcoran is mainly concerned about the wonder of love and its profundity.

Lead single “Territory” is one of few uptempo songs, recalling the rush of “Stuck For The Summer.” But by expanding on their sound and grabbing for the next rung Two Hours Traffic is taking another step towards longevity, even if youthful enthusiasm takes a hit.

The Danks flip the script, providing an eerily similar sound to Two Hours Traffic’s more upbeat moments, but with a quicker, more aggressive pace and tone. The guitar and bass comes courtesy of Two Hours Traffic personnel, but the vocal melodies and general tone of the songs definitely have a few things in common as well.

The general pop sensibility has close ties to both bands. Bouncy, simple bass lines, jangly guitar parts, and quietly emotive singers are common traits. Highlights on Are You Afraid Of The Danks? like “No Radio” and “Shifty” are the archetypes: jagged, raw-sounding guitar grabs your attention right out of the gate, falling off slightly as the vocals come in before reasserting itself in the chorus. Its a basic song structure as old as time itself, but the Danks’ unaggressive, unpretentious attitude puts the focus solely on the hooks and the strength of their arrangements. The bouncy “Die Young” sounds like a classic THT cut, its slinky bassline and tweaked guitar solo providing a danceable moment. The synth that opens “What’s The Rush?” could be ripped from a Cars album.

Frankly there isn’t a single dud in the bunch here, each song catchier than the one before it. This is driving music so good it will have you looking for an excuse to hit the road, even if only for a track or two. It cries out for motion, the blinking of the highway’s white line the perfect accompaniment.

I can only imagine that when these two groups hit the same stage back to back it rips open a hole in the time/rock continuum, plunging the audience into dizzying fits of ecstasy one has to see to believe. Dig it tonight in Regina at the Exchange and later elsewhere. You’ll regret it if you don’t. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but definitely when it comes time for next year’s Polaris nominations.

 

 Two Hours Traffic - Territory [2:56m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Two Hours Traffic - Just Listen [3:12m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 the Danks - No Radio [2:37m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

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

Two Hours Traffic merch is at Maple Music, as is the Danks. Convergence, meet synergy! Tour dates below!

October 8, 2009 - Sault Ste Marie, ON @ Lop Lops
October 9, 2009 - Sudbury, ON @ The Townehouse
October 10, 2009 - Brantford, ON @ The Ford Plant
October 13, 2009 - London, ON @ Call The Office
October 14, 2009 - Hamilton, ON @ Casbah
October 15, 2009 - Guelph, ON @ E-Bar
October 16, 2009 - Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
October 17, 2009 - Ottawa, ON @ Zaphod Beeblebrox
October 23, 2009 - Halifax, NS @ Coconut Grove (Halifax Pop Explosion)
October 24, 2009 - Charlottetown, PE @ Hunters Alehouse

Pat entries Canadian content, live music, PEI, pop rock, Prince Edward Island, punk rock, rock, the Danks, Two Hours Traffic

Hey you — if you’re feeling a little flat today, go see the classy and talented gentlemen in the Perms for a pick-me-up. They’re playing in Regina tonight at McNally’s. Don’t forget to check them out if you’re in the mood to have your face politely rocked by tasty power pop.

 

 the Perms - As You Were [4:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

They’ve got a few more dates booked on this tour as well, Albertans. You’re on notice!

Fri 10/02/09 - Calgary, AB (Liberty Lounge)
Fri 10/02/09 - Calgary, AB (That Empty Space)
Sat 10/03/09 - Medicine Hat, AB (The Ottoman)

Pat entries Canadian content, live music, McNally's, Regina, the Perms

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

So I just got a new computer. I’m typing this on a brand new MacBook Pro. So pretty. So shiny. So precious.

But I faced a serious challenge when it came to transferring my music library. It was a headache and a half and the only relief came when I realized that the first music I put on this bad boy was Rah Rah’s Going Steady.

It was the perfect way to bust this machine’s MP3 cherry. This album has been around for awhile, but it’s a feat that it still feels as fresh as the day I first downloaded it.

Rah Rah is another one of those huge collectives born in the wake of Arcade Fire’s success. Their sound is big and lush, but folkier than Arcade Fire. The songs are poppier, the lyrics sing-a-longier and if they are sometimes depressing, they are humorously so.

At Hillside Festival this year, another Regina collective topped many a “best performance” list. And Library Voices had a brilliant set. I walked into that performance a fan and walked out a bigger, drunker fan. Any band that can write a song dedicated to Kurt Vonnegut with the lyrics “There’s an asterisk beside your name” is all right by me.

I feel sorry for anybody who had to listen to me that weekend, but after seeing Library Voices perform, I was overcome with a profound and lengthy bout of homesickness. Which I expressed by morphing into Slater from Dazed and Confused and extolling the musical virtues of my home prairie province, saying loudly, to anyone who would listen “Maaaaaan, Saskatchewan bands, man! The prairies are where it’s at!” And “I miss the State. We were hardcore back in the day. You know a club is good when there are no doors on the stalls in the bathroom!”

And finally: “If you think Library Voices are good (and if you don’t, you’re stupid), you should hear Rah Rah! They’re even better!”

It’s nice for a change, to see bands from the prairies get their due. I had a big schwak of complaints written out, whining about Regina’s concert scene and the mandate to bring huge, awful acts through the city since the Stones brought their walkers and canes to town and put on the biggest outdoor concert in Canadian history a few years ago. But the I realized that I can’t very well talk about what I don’t know. And I don’t know Regina anymore, but Rah Rah does. And they hearken back to a time when the city was undiscovered on The Innocent One.

What I do know is that the city is breeding a new guard of bands that are gaining some deserved attention. Rah Rah was best band in Regina by the Prairie Dog in 2007, and it is a goddamn shame that they weren’t included on the Polaris list because Going Steady is an album deserving of your attention.

“Duet for Emmylou and the Grievous Angel” is the gem of the album. It plaintively laments living the single life in a small town the way you and your single friends do, but with a bittersweet The chorus wails “It is fashionable, to be single/ in big cities but not in small towns/ in Regina, Saskatchewan/ I fell in love with her frown.” That is the charm of Saskatchewan (and this group) in a nutshell. It’s easy to fall in love with a smile of a city like Vancouver. But falling in love with Regina’s frown is another thing. I also dig the fantastical love story that is “Tentacles” (he loves her and if not for the language barrier, he might marry her, though she has tentacles.) There’s the sweetly simple back and forth of “Cuba/Peru” that highlights the way this group has mastered silly love songs.

In fact, they’ve moved on to hate songs.

Both “F**CK NAFTA” and “The Innocent One” have deceptively soft intros. Both are driving, frustrated anthems for a generation growing up in the wake of corruption, scandal and two huge, unwinnable wars. Going Steady is a near-perfect album filled with soaringly happy songs and bittersweet memories of a fading city. It is made better by its fortuitous release during an era characterized by its unending appetite for destruction of icons held dear by the generation before them. It don’t get much better than the command “Fuck all you stockbrokers in the crowd.”

It gives me heart that this is a band that has not yet had its dreams crushed by a harsh world and is still writing songs about damning the man and saving the empire.

Buy Going Steady from Sonic Unyon, Zunior, and iTunes and more importantly, go see them when they come to a town near you on their It’s Never Too Old To Believe a Dream Tour.

 

 Rah Rah - Tentacles [3:56m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Rah Rah - Duet For Emmylou and Grievous Angel: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tanis entries live music, mp3, Rah Rah, Regina