Sound Salvation Army

For a band that has always asserted its punk rock spirit, the group’s new EP Peacemaker is probably the softest the City Streets have ever sounded.

That’s not a bad thing.

In fact, even if you don’t venture further into this eight-song collection than opening track “Windowpanes” you’d best consider yourself lucky. It sets a remarkable tone for the generous EP, a gorgeous opening number that really shows the depth of understanding of the human condition this band has. Still young men, the group, led by prolific songwriter Rick Reid, presents a startlingly mature and insightful perspective on life in all of their work and “Windowpanes” is just one more example. It wistfully recalls the diminished scale of adulthood, how as a child something as simple as spending a night in a hotel with nothing to do seems like an adventure; as a grown up the closest you can come is trying to recall how it felt to have that experience in your advanced years. Certain things may stay rigid and unchanged, but in the context of memory there’s something else at play: while the things we derive pleasure from are constantly shifting we don’t have to be devoid of pleasure. Reid relishes in the simple pursuit of the feeling.

While the band’s music never comes close to the kind of reckless hedonism such a philosophy might suggest, they seem to enjoy and exploit their ability to constantly change their sound in subtle ways. This record carries “Windowpanes” wistful, contemplative vibe throughout its entire running time, making it a stark contrast to the comparatively harsh punk rock tones of 2010’s The Jazz Age, one of my favourite albums of last year.

It’s easy to see how the two fit together and where the divide between them lies. Texturally, Peacemaker is closer to their previous full-length, cleanly and sharply produced; The Jazz Age was steeped in reverb, fuzzed-out bass, and furiously-strummed power chords, it’s production and arrangements giving the songs a calculated grit and danger that matched the lyrics perfectly.

The Jazz Age and its accompanying aesthetic is perhaps best summed up in the track “Irish Rose.” It’s Reid at his most damaged, a whiskey and cigarette-ravaged growl taking the place of his usual cleanly-sung vocals, standing in for the gutter heroes of punk rock’s yesteryear. References to drug use and women that are no good for you, sung from the perspective of a man that’s no good for anyone, paint the picture of a tumultuous downfall that plays its way through the album’s length before reaching a kind of redemption in the final song.

It’s a big rock record that stands as a singular feat, but one that also cries out for Peacemaker, a quiet companion piece that serves as the logical cool-down to it’s predecessor’s righteous fire. Built more around acoustic guitars and gentler rhythms, the songs here feature more stand-alone hooks and traditional song structures (choruses are back!). Even better, crossover-country sister act Myrol provide some sublime vocals that flesh out Reid’s melodies in a whole new way.

One of two tracks available on the group’s website, stand-out “Outside A Lover” could be a duet from Elvis Costello’s quieter moments, its casual pace and plucky guitars frame a sultry duet that is a perfect showcase for Reid and the Myrol’s. The lyrics are fairly surface-level but the demanding love story and folk pop backdrop makes for one of the band’s most accessible songs to date.

Perhaps it’s the Myrol influence manifesting in the music, but there are more country influences than normally manifest on the City Streets’ records. It’s most prominent on “Red Light Runner,” where shuffling drums and pedal steel guitar work alongside Reid’s vision of a dusty little town. “St. Avarice” also melds the group’s rock leanings with a shuffling old-country beat, dusting off the spirit of a ramblin’ man looking for a good woman to change his life (until he remembers that women aren’t good for him after all).

“Neon Lights” is the lone menacing piece here, the thundering toms and anxious bass compressed and high in the mix. It’s a moody piece about conflict in relationship and how a person’s identity can be affected by something that may or may not be something after all.

On The Jazz Age the group sang about, “the disappointment of imagined lives,” a narrative that allowed them to develop character pieces about people likely more damaged, dramatic, and deluded than they ever will be. Peacemaker offers a more real-life set of circumstances, hewing closer to a more relatable, everyday experience. But these songs never come off as plain or recycled. Following their muse has helped this band create some seriously interesting pieces of rock and roll and it is and always will be a treat to see where their seemingly boundless creativity takes them.

 

 The City Streets - Windowpanes: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 The City Streets - Outside Of A Lover [3:33m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Buy Peacemaker and more at the group’s website or iTunes. Check out Myrol’s webstore as well.

Pat entries Best of, Best of 2010, Best of 2011, Canadian content, Edmonton, indie rock, Montreal, rock rock

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

If I could pick one new band at Hillside that I think you should absolutely not miss, it would be Montreal’s Silver Starling.

They’re new-ish and intriguing. The handful of songs up on their myspace page are really, really good. I sense some Wilco and Arcade Fire influences in their music. No surprise on the latter, as member Marcus Paquin is a recording engineer who’s worked with AF in the past. And he sounds a lot like Win Butler.

Especially on “Caught in Your Glow,” where his voice is tremulous but fierce. He sounds like you sound when you hear a noise in the middle of the night and bravely call out into the dark “Who’s there!?” The song is especially sweeping and glorious. The guitar cuts through the string stuff and there are some chord changes halfway through that are really reminiscent of U2 at their most poperatic.

My favourite track is their jaunty, friendly song, “Ghosts.” It starts out tip-toeing along at a gentle whisper, then turns into a full-blown march. The rhythm of this song is so parading, I almost expect them to have a drum major on hand. Maybe I could volunteer. I always wanted to be a drum major.

Silver Starling are also on the bill at Virgin Festival in Toronto this year. Be on the lookout for their debut album on Last Gang Records. It’s set to drop September 22.

 

 Silver Starling - Ghosts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

P.S. Hillside updates for you! Sunday is now SOLD OUT. There are Friday tickets still available and you MIGHT be able to figure something out last-minute on the ticket swap board. You never know! Performer schedules and shuttle bus schedules (It leaves from the Stone Store at 14 Commercial Street, which is literally right next door to me) are up on the website.

I’m getting excited! Because of the music, yes, but also… food! Hillside’s food is RIDICULOUSLY good. I don’t see Diana Downtown on the vendor list this year, which is too bad, because their pakoras and samosas and curries were delicious. Meals that Heal is back, as is Sausage Brothers. I am going to eat so much sausage, you guys! And roasted corn! And ice cream! And Feng’s Dumplings! OM NOM NOM NOM NOM!

Things you should remember: It looks like rain is being forecast for this weekend, so bring an umbrella and rain gear. Bring a blanket and a low chair. Bring your Hillside mug (or buy one from a vendor) to drink beer. Bring a refillable water bottle cuz the tanker trucks full of cold, free water are back. Bring sunscreen and a hat. Bring appropriate clothing. Bring a swimsuit if you want to take a dip in Guelph Lake. Most importantly: Bring your appetite for music, food and fun!

Tanis entries Canadian content, Guelph, Hillside Festival, live music, Montreal, mp3, Silver Starling

Sometimes, I feel the need for a little aural palate cleanser. Usually, I turn to old favourites: AC/DC and Guns N’ Roses for fun, noisy trash, The Rolling Stones and Otis Redding for bluesy, relaxed drinking. It’s like comfort food and junk food all at once. I don’t consume it all the time, but it’s there when I need to indulge. And right now, I need to indulge.

I’m also trying to run, even though I am not being chased. Some friends and I are doing a 10K run in June and I am sadly and sorely out of shape. Today, I ran 5K in 35 minutes. Huzzah! (That’s good for me, all you runners out there.) I need music when I run and though I have tried mightily, most of the aforementioned groups do not put me in a mind to pound the pavement and beat the street.

So I had to mix it up a little bit.

I wrote about Green Go awhile ago and mentioned that they’d signed to Pheromone. While I was nosing around their site, I noticed that Montreal duo Beast is also on that label. I’d seen them rec’d on iTunes a week or so ago and made a mental note to check them out, but I kept forgetting.

Betty Bonifassi (who can be seen below singing the delightful Belleville Rendez-vous from The Triplets of Belleville at the 2004 Oscars) and John-Phi Gonclaves mix infectious beats with a powerful vocal that reminds me of The Bellrays’ Lisa Kekula on the prowl.

Their song Mr. Hurricane is so goddam awesome. I love, love, LOVE the shouted vocal arrangement on the chorus. Sounds like a baptist choir on fire with righteous indignation. I’m a fan.

Usually, you could purchase Beast’s self-titled album at Maple Music, but it doesn’t look like it’s available right this second. Still, there’s always iTunes, where they’re conveniently featured right now.

I also recently stumbled onto Florence and the Machine while watching ABC’s The Unusuals. Florence (last name Welch) and the Machine (her backing band) are going to blow up HUGE when their debut album, Lungs, is released in July. For now, you can purchase the EP A Lot of Love. A Lot of Blood at IAMSOUND Records.

Flo’s been blessed with a Feist-ian voice, a pretty face and the ability to write incredibly catchy music that would not be out of place selling you some newfangled Apple product in the future.

Check out the video for her debut single, Kiss With a Fist:

Right?

The second single, Dog Days Are Over, is great to listen to while running. Cuz it mentions running. Synergy! Speaking of synergy: Behold! Their myspace, where you can, if you are so inclined, listen to a remix of Dog Days. Unfortunately, it’s not as good as the original. Still. There if you want that option.

***

This right here is completely unrelated to music, but I’m gonna mention it anyway: How big of an ass is Stephen Harper when a court has to order him to petition to bring Omar Khadr back to Canada?

Apparently, not a big enough ass. He’s debating whether or not to consider appealing a court order that would force him to seek repatriation for Khadr, who was charged with throwing a grenade that killed a U.S. Soldier way back in 2002.

The defence of this behaviour is ridiculous. According to the Conservative Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon who claims Khadr is charged with “very serious crimes.” I guess this means, logically, that he should not be afforded any basic human rights.

Except for how that’s ridiculous. Omar Khadr has been locked down for seven years in Guantanamo, where it has recently been revealed that authorities have admitted they used torture to obtain information. Shocking! (No pun intended.)

Stephen Harper has done a lot of shitty things since becoming Prime Minister, but letting a teenage boy rot in a prison cell where torture takes place as a matter of course is one of the worst. He’s said he wants to wait to see if the U.S. will drop charges before bringing Khadr home. What the what!? How long are they going to play this weird game of chicken? It’s strange how this observance of niceties didn’t apply to all the other prisoners who were repatriated to other countries around the world.

And those dudes were adults! Khadr was a kid. He was 15 when he was first taken to Gitmo. His lawyers argue that he was a child soldier. There are no international war-crimes tribunals that prosecute child soldiers or terrorists. And Guantanamo Bay isn’t exactly a shining example of a war crimes tribunal.

Harper continues to claim that he doesn’t buy the child soldier argument because Khadr didn’t belong to any army when his alleged crimes were committed. Gee, if only al-Qaeda were more organized! Those guys should really get their act together!

Omar Khadr was brought up by terrorists and encouraged to commit acts of terrorism. We are fighting a war on terror, are we not? Where’s the logic in expecting terrorists to register as recognized armies? The reason we don’t prosecute child soldiers is because to do so legitimizes the act of recruiting them in the first place.

The actions of this government puts the onus to resist recruitment into terrorism onto a child who is not old enough to drive, vote or drink and who has barely gone through puberty. And resisting peer pressure would be one thing, but the pressure Omar Khadr faced came from his family, many of whom are either terrorists themselves or made statements supportive of terrorism. That’s something even the strongest of adults would have a hard time with.

Two years in Gitmo with no lawyers. Five more spent fighting and scraping for even an opportunity to defend himself. If Omar Khadr wasn’t full of hatred for the Western world seven years ago, he probably is now.

Good job, Steve.

 

 Beast - Mr. Hurricane: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Florence and the Machine - Dog Days Are Over: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tanis entries Beast, Canadian content, Florence and the Machine, Montreal, mp3, musings, Stephen Harper is an ass, videos