Sound Salvation Army

What the hell Regina?

As previously mentioned, dancey Regina indie rock band Despistado reformed this past week. The series of shows culminated with a set at the Exchange on Saturday night. A set that rocked. It’s just too bad no one was there to see it.

I’m being somewhat facetious. It wasn’t a sell-out, but there were plenty of people there. They drew about as many people as a lot of notable acts that play there do. But there were still tickets being sold at the door and there was people sitting, which means there was still plenty of floor space not getting used.

I suppose it makes some sense; the torch has been passed. The O’Hanlon’s hipster crowd spends their time jerking off to Library Voices albums and filling the room for their shows. Where Despistado was the toast of the town six years ago, playing the larger Distrikt to a much more frenzied crowd, apparently all they get now is a cursory glance from people looking to re-live their heyday.

This band is smart though. Singer/guitarist Dagan Harding, one song into the set, asked the crowd how many of them had never seen the group play before. Half a dozen hands went up. Understandable I guess, considering their name and music has disappeared in the last five years.

Sadly, most of the crowd seemed like they were indifferent to being there. Small pockets of people actually bothered to dance, clap along, or sing. Much of the people towards the front of the stage stood still, mouths slightly agape, watching the resurgent group tear through nearly every song they ever wrote with just as much passion and ferocity as ever.

Craig over at the Dog Blog also noticed some people leaving before the show was over. To them I offer my strongest, “What the fuck, people?” You come for a reunion show and then leave before the encore? Really?

I’ve always thought Regina audiences don’t deserve the quality of music we have here. That view has only been reinforced.

I thought the band had a great set, though. They were incredibly sharp throughout but the beginning of the set seemed slightly off, as though it took them a few songs to get their legs underneath them. It wasn’t that the sound was off, but the chemistry between them just wasn’t popping like it used to. Once things came together (at the perfect moment, no less: the rollicking, tom-heavy harmony-frenzy “Bubbles”) it was like I was back at the Distrikt six years ago seeing them for what would turn out to be the last time. They were all over the stage, rocking out in their muted, understated way. They grooved, they smiled, they laughed, they played hard. They didn’t miss a single note, even on their trickiest songs. It was something to behold.

I chatted with drummer Brennan Schwarz before the show and he said they’d been rehearsing like crazy for the last week or so. More importantly, he stressed how great it was that the members themselves were happy playing them. To hear him tell it the tour that ultimately served as the last nail in their collective coffin ended with them literally at each others throats. The joy on his face while he was pounding out track after track on Saturday showed vividly how far they’ve come.

And the songs! These songs are still so good. I’d forgotten how they come across in a live setting, how energetic they are, how lyrically meaningful and striking they are. I mean, “Lipstick,” people! There just aren’t a lot of songs that are better than “Lipstick.”

Aside from the audience the only complaint I have is that they didn’t go for broke. Schwarz told me that they’d actually written a new song during their rehearsals. He was trying to get the rest of the group to play it during their three-song encore, but they either didn’t hear him or didn’t agree. Hopefully it’s a sign that there’s more to come from Despistado in the future. But even if more shows aren’t in the cards, however, this was a very satisfying note to go out on.

 

 Despistado - Lipstick [3:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Despistado - Burning House [2:15m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Pat entries dance music, Despistado, indie rock, live music, people are the worst, Regina, reunions

Call it a homecoming for four guys who never left.

Like the mythical Icarus, Regina’s Despistado flew a little too close to the sun of musical success and name recognition and shit like that. Together for only three years, the band garnered crazy buzz up to and after the release of their EP, the Emergency Response. Cross-Canada tours helped them eventually sign a deal with moderately big-time U.S. indie label Jade Tree Records. One of their songs got used in a T-Mobile commercial down south; they put part of the money into a tour van and talked about using the rest to help out other local bands. A full-length album was recorded with Phil Ek, a moderately recognizable producer who helmed the boards for albums by Built To Spill, Pretty Girls Make Graves, and the Shins. It was good. Van Johnson good. But tensions were high inside the band, so the story goes; they called it quits in the middle of a U.S. tour just months before that album was set to be released.

Greg Beatty over at the Prairie Dog sums up the crushing sadness and disappointment felt by the band’s boosters back home pretty well. It seems odd now to think of Regina’s scene being “put on the map” when, at the time, there were a handful of local bands that seemed to be gaining more and more attention and acclaim with every passing month. Despistado were like the unofficial leaders of a surging musical community and to have them sweep the rug out from under themselves was devastating.

Over the years that followed I never stopped listening to their music. The galloping drums of “Bubbles,” the impossibly catchy and driving instrumentation of “A Stirstick’s Prediction” with its confrontational lyrics, the near-break-up plea of “Test Tube,” the frantic everything of “Burning House” that never fails to get your blood moving. The songs haven’t lost their vitality and they still sound like the guys you see at every local show squeezing every drop of joy they could into their playing.

For whatever reasons the band has decided to give us a taste of nostalgia. Starting tonight they’re playing three reunion gigs: one in Regina tonight, one in Saskatoon tomorrow, and then another in Regina Saturday. Singer/guitarist Dagan Harding is off to grad school in Montreal so this isn’t likely to turn into a full-fledged thing, but you can bet your as there’s going to be a lot of people in Regina who will be taking advantage of the opportunity to sing along with these tracks one more time.

If nothing else, perhaps it will be a chance to properly say goodbye once and for all. Better six years late than never, right?

 

 Despistado - A Stirstick's Prediction [3:38m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Despistado - Bubbles [4:18m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Despistado - If Relationship's A Construct Then I'm A Construction Worker [3:35m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Despistado - Test Tube [3:41m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Despistado return to the stage tonight at the Lazy Owl at the U of R. Friday night is in Saskatoon, then back to Regina at the Exchange. Grab tickets for the Saturday show at the World of Trout or the Exchange before they’re gone.

Pat entries break-ups, Canadian content, Despistado, indie rock, live music, Regina, reunions

Ola, amigos! I’m feeling festive cuz it’s so nice out here! I can finally run outside again, the arena isn’t freezing cold during derby practice and my cats are done shedding. Another sign of impending summer: Hillside tickets went on sale this past weekend.

Weekend passes sold out in record time, as usual. It’s been my experience that you can find some on craigslist or kijiji or some extremely last-minute options (like, day of, people putting signs up) at the Stone Health Store on Commercial St. You can also still gain entry via volunteerism.

Site favourites performing at Guelph’s big/little music festival include Basia Bulat, Calexico, Corb Lund, Shad, Stars, Sarah Harmer and local teens The Canned Goods — I’m super excited to see them score a spot because I know it was a big goal for this group. Don’t miss them!

As always, it’s a good, solid lineup worth the hassle of festival-going. If there’s one festival that might change your mind about festivals, this would be it. I’ve seen a lot of these acts before and they will inevitably put on a great show. Gord Downie is performing with his backing band and I know for a fact that Hillside organizer Sam Baijal is super excited about scoring Los Lobos. I’d love to see those performers play with Sarah Harmer and Calexico, respectively.

There are a host of other performers that you can check out on the official Hillside site. Hope to see you there!

 

 Calexico - Roka: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Sarah Harmer - Escarpment Blues: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 The Canned Goods - Julia: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tanis entries Calexico, Canadian content, concerts, Guelph, Hillside Festival, live music, mp3, Sarah Harmer, The Canned Goods

I teared up a little this morning listening to Hot Water Music. It wasn’t the first time.

Since seeing them at Warped Tour in 1999 I’ve had a deep connection with this band and the unwavering passion with which they create music. It reached a head in 2003 when they released what I consider one of my favourite albums of all-time, Caution. While fans of the band are often deeply divided between their older, more intricate and challenging records and the more immediate, hooky, perhaps even poppy Epitaph-era output I celebrate their entire catalog (that might be evident in the amount of times I have referenced them on this site in the past).

They’ve been dormant for years now, at least as far as recorded output goes. After a while on hiatus they reformed to start performing reunion shows all over the U.S. and Europe. I think they’ve stopped in Toronto or Montreal at one point, but that doesn’t really fit into my budget.

I’m still working on a means to procure a physical copy of this baby, but they also put out a very limited Record Store Day exclusive 7″ single with four live tracks recorded in Chicago at the vaunted Metro Theatre. Thank Al Gore for the internets, because it only took a couple of days for the tracks (which sound entirely digital, not like a vinyl rip at all) to hit the interweb. And I couldn’t be more excited that they have.

From the intro to the first track I was transported back to Winnipeg’s Pyramid Lounge in 2004. HWM was touring with the Bouncing Souls on the punnily-titled “True Bromance” tour (I’m pretty sure they invented that phrase) and I was frothing at the chance to finally see them again. Caution had, in the six months since its release, become one of my most beloved recordings ever. It’s urgency, emotional depth, and message of perseverance and prospering in the face of immense challenges all resonated with where I was in my life then. Seeing their furious live show only cemented that adoration. I wept just a little bit that night, possibly more than once, perched directly in front of Chuck Ragan as he and the band growled their way through a set that still stands as one of the greatest I’ve ever witnessed.

The brief collection of live cuts on this 7″ single are absolutely representative of that experience. The performances are virtually flawless, the energy is infectious, and the vocals are unrelenting. The song selection is brilliant as well. With only a few minutes to relay that experience I don’t think you could ask for more appropriate songs.

That passion is something I’m hoping to witness again. Despite the very shaky financial ground I find myself on these days, I fully intend on heading to Calgary in a couple of months to take in the Sled Island Festival. I’ll admit Sled Island hasn’t really been on my radar before but with a line up like they have booked this year I would be kicking myself for years to come if I missed it. And it isn’t because personal favourites like Austin Lucas, Les Savy Fav, the Thermals, Fucked Up, Ted Leo, the Bronx (and Mariachi el Bronx), Why?, Greg MacPherson, Nomeansno, Northcote, Bison BC, Chuck Ragan, and more are included. It’s because fucking Hot Water Music is one of the headliners.

So it should be the summer of road trips and sweet jams, hopefully for this reason and many more. Feel free to donate gas money!

 

 Hot Water Music - Trusty Chords (Live in Chicago) [2:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Buy every fucking thing you see here: No Idea Records’ HWM site. In honour of Record Store Day no digital links will be provided. That works, right?

Pat entries festivals, happenings, Hot Water Music, live music, punk rock, road trips, Sled Island

And that’s just fine with me.

They have never put out an album I have disliked. But it’s unlikely they’ll ever produce an album that so perfectly captured the mood of the times like 2007’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. It was a high water mark in their career of being awesome, and this year’s Transference is much the same, if more of a grower.

There were songs on Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga that I immediately took to and loved and they’re now some of my favourite songs of all time. I’m really trying not to sound like a super fan, but I think I’m failing. Anyway, I like this new album. I’ve listened to it non-stop since I got it. But I’m having a hard time writing about it. I’m not sure why.

As a whole, Transference sounds a lot like their last album. And every Spoon album, really. There are moments of brilliance. Sheer genius. Jangly, discordant notes that somehow, in Spoon’s hands, sound right together. Jarring sounds — including Britt Daniel’s craggy, lonely voice — come together to make beautiful music. There are a lot of songs on Transference that remind me of other Spoon songs. And that’s not a bad thing, because they’re good. But they’re kinda interchangeable. So I picked one, “Trouble Comes Running” to play for you here.

Last time out, the listening experience felt extremely intimate and personal, but Transference feels slightly removed and chilly. It’s surprising, but beautiful in its own way. Like going to bed on a steamy, hot summer evening and waking up to frozen streets and trees covered in prickly hoarfrost.

And another thing I’ve noticed that seems different here is the percussion. It seems a little samey, a little drone-y. And it carries over on almost every song. There are things that break it up, but it can be a little much.

“Got Nuffin” is one of those songs where the drums just overwhelm you, but the scratchy, fuzzy guitar cuts through that drumming cleanly. Britt Daniel does his gravel-voiced falsetto to perfection and, in fact, on a few songs, like the slow, simple, quiet rightness of “Goodnight Laura” I think he sounds remarkably clear and smooth. Like he’s been taking vocal lessons or something. I can’t decide which version of his voice I like better, but I like that he made an effort to try something slightly different.

Really, this is a fantastic album and another fine addition to Spoon’s ever-expanding catalogue of fantastic albums. It’s going to be tough to beat Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga and ultimately, I’m not sure they’ve done that with Transference. But I can’t wait to see them tonight in Toronto at Sound Academy.

Buy their stuff, including vinyl, on their online store or iTunes.

 

 Spoon - Trouble Comes Running : Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Spoon - Goodnight Laura: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Spoon - Got Nuffin: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tanis entries Britt Daniel, concerts, live music, mp3, Spoon

In the mood for a little death country? Me too.

So I’m gonna maybe possibly perhaps go see Elliott Brood tonight at The Vinyl.

It’s cold and dreary and I feel the pressure of make-believe deadlines and no money beating down on me. I’d like to remedy that with a little heat, a little booze, a little power, a little rock and roll. I want to feel that kick drum through the fuckin’ floor and with Elliott Brood taking the stage, I know I will. It’s been two years since they released their Polaris-nominated and me-declared brilliant album, Mountain Meadows, so maybe they’ll be playing some new stuff. Who knows?

I just think it would be a shame for you to miss a chance to see this band live. Because I think they’re one of the best little touring acts in the country right now and they play with an intensity I’ve rarely seen duplicated.

Come see them live! Doors at the Vinyl open at 7:30 p.m. (early show).

Can’t see ‘em in Guelph?

Mar. 26 - Montreal House (MOHO) in Peterborough, ON
Mar. 27 - Avening Community Centre in Creemore, ON
April 15 - Call the Office in London, ON
July 16-18 - Dawson City Music Festival in Dawson City, Yukon

 

 Elliott Brood - President (35): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Elliott Brood - Fingers and Tongues: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Elliott Brood - Miss You Now: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Get their shizz at their official store, zunior or iTunes. Get it! Now!

Tanis entries Canadian content, death country, Elliott Brood, Guelph, live music, local music, mp3, The Vinyl

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