Sound Salvation Army

Standards are the bread and butter of the jazz world. Generally defined as compositions that are “held in continuing esteem and commonly used as the basis of jazz arrangements and improvisations,” tracks like “Bewitched,” “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “The Lady Is a Tramp,” “My Funny Valentine,” and “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” are instantly recognizable. But they’re also malleable, a familiar canvas that every artist can transform just enough to plant their own signature on them, almost giving the listener a baseline expectation by which to gauge someone they’re hearing for the first time.

You know you’ve found a singer that’s truly special when they’re capable of absolutely murdering a standard but they don’t need them to get your attention.

Melanie Hankewich is one of those singers. She’s been making a name for herself in Regina the last couple of years, performing under the moniker of Belle Plaine. You can expect her profile to grow by leaps and bounds in 2012 on the back of her stunning first full-length album. Notes From A Waitress was released last Friday with a very special show at the beautiful Artesian on 13th Avenue. AND I WAS THERE, YOU GUYS.

From the moment she stepped on the stage with a special backing band that, at times, numbered as many as half a dozen (including trumpet player Cheney “Thunderclap” Lambert from the Pile O’ Bones Brass Band and vocalist Anna Rose) Plaine had a firm grasp on the sold-out and packed-in audience. Wearing the black and white polka dot dress seen on the cover of the album, she took some time to welcome the crowd before launching into a set of mostly-original material.

Most of Hankewich’s press tends to focus on her voice, and rightly so; she took classical voice lessons as a kid and studied jazz at the well-regarded Grant McEwan University in Edmonton. Her voice sounds timeless, somehow equally sultry, seductive, fragile, and dusky while still capable of room-filling bombast when the moment calls for it. One gets the sense that she could sing anything and she proved it last Friday by effortlessly switching from the jazz-pop numbers on Waitress to the folk-based songs on her preceding EP. It’s not so much that her voice changes in any way to suit those styles, more that she has the strength, control, and natural tone to make it almost universal in its application. To borrow an old cliche: she could sing the phone book and The Artesian would still be standing-room only.

But Hankewich doesn’t need to. She and co-writer/pianist Jeremy Sauer collaborated on much of the songs on the new record, if not all of them, crafting unique takes on timeless jazz and sepia-toned lullabies about far-away lands. In fact many of the songs on the record are directly inspired by locales of varying degrees of exoticness from around the world (the mid-record trio of “Port Angeles,” “Vegas,” and “Waikiki” being the most overt examples). During the release show Hankewich also provided some excellent background information on their lyrical origins, like how she found a scrap of paper in Las Vegas with a few lines of poetry scrawled on them and incorporated them into a forlorn remembrance of how bleak reality can turn expectation on its head in Sin City. Or how her time spent in Victoria informed the dourly-beautiful “Port Angeles,” a song that’s roughly as beautiful as anything you’ve heard before. But as well-crafted as her lyrics may be it’s when she sings on the latter that “There’s some things you see approaching but life just doesn’t always turn out the way you wanted it to,” that you get a sense of how far her voice can take you. Her wounded, emotive performance explains exactly how the relationship between the song’s undefined subject and a blind cook’s son from the east coast ended, even though her words don’t. Sauer picks apart the song’s minor chords and creates an upper-range piano melody that is as patient as it is heartbreaking, the individual notes twinkling as brightly as the lights flickering on the water’s edge in Hankewich’s memory and/or imagination.

The closing trio of songs also provide an unexpected but endlessly-pleasant surprise for me personally. The songs were written by Hankewich and Sauer when they put together a show for Regina’s Globe Theatre called The Unforseen Journey Of Nathaniel Dunbar And Other Tales Of Whimsical Sadness. One of the most unique and engaging performances I’ve seen at the Globe in my time, the cabaret-style concert performance accompanied a combination of animation, slide show, and video that told Dunbar’s tragic tale while the band waltzed it’s way into my heart. I can’t even describe what it was like but I’m absolutely thrilled that the two decided to include a few songs from that show on the album, especially the wistful rainy-day ballad “Legendary.” As reminiscent of Patsy Cline’s tear-jerkers as it is any jazz number, the ukulele helps a painful romantic memory seem a little sweeter. It’s a true classic and, along with any number of songs on the new CD, a serious contender to become a new standard.

Which brings me back to standards. Oh, those standards. None of the classics appear on Waitress but there are some that have been made staples of a Belle Plaine set. The most memorable one from Friday’s show is a captivating take on “Fever” (originally performed by Little Willie John but made famous by Peggy Lee) which features only Hankewich’s sultry singing and Elizabeth Curry’s lithe bass. The two have been playing together for years and their timing is perfect, their performances seamlessly intertwined, Curry watching Hakewich intently to get the timing just right as she plunks out a deft and dynamic solo that leaves the crowd clamoring for more. A fantastic rendering of “My Funny Valentine” also popped up, though Hankewich wasn’t really a part of it. She introduced the number and let Sauer and Lambert take over, the piano providing the backbone while Cheney layered on some brassy bombast.

That moment was essentially a space-filler, giving Hankewich some time to run backstage for a costume change. But it’s also evidence of how smart she is in her efforts to make a go of a music career. Both in the studio and on the stage she makes sure that she’s surrounded by collaborators that have an innate understanding of what her songs need. Curry’s bassline is an essential part of a song like “Swamp Lullaby,” such an integral part of the composition it simply couldn’t be the same without it; Sauer has enough chops for a five-star kitchen and has clearly played a huge part in forming Hankewich’s sound. She’s also recorded and toured with Regina’s hidden gems, The Lazy MKs, the group that helped realize the folk-country sound of her previous EP. She seems to be less a solo artist than she is a ringmaster, someone who recognizes the talent of those around her and ensures they also get to stand in the spotlight even as they help make hers burn brighter.

Hankewich gave herself until this spring to try and make it as a musician. With 3,000 copies of Notes From A Waitress to get rid of I doubt she’ll be calling it quits any time soon. Here’s hoping she doesn’t; this gal is possessed of a truly world-class voice and she knows how to use it. She has a specific musical vision that truly stands out in the modern music industry and a stable of friends and collaborators to make it a reality. If Belle Plaine doesn’t put Regina on the map I don’t know what will.

 

 Belle Plaine - Port Angeles [3:07m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Belle Plaine - Advice From A Vicar [4:06m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

You can buy Belle Plaine’s music from Bandcamp, both physical and digital, because she’ll make more money that way. Her site also offers a few other choices.

Here are the tour dates. You can find more show details at Belle Plaine’s web site.
February 3 Biggar, SK
February 4 Saskatoon, SK
February 11 Regina, SK
February 23 Regina, SK
June 8 Sudbury, ON
June 16 Montreal, QC

Pat entries Belle Plaine, Canadian content, country, folk, jazz, live music, Regina, standards instant classics

I am not the target audience for remixes.

I freely admit that. There’s just something about them that generally irks me. It can most likely be chalked up to hearing too many rote, bland, predictable cut-and-paste techno overdubs masquerading as remixes. When punk bands like Face To Face have their songs techno-fied for the Mortal Kombat soundtrack there’s no real reason or need to listen to it; it’s clearly just novelty for novelty’s sake.

Rah Rah may be a different beast, however. The band’s anything-goes attitude and upbeat, undeniably energetic spirit makes them just the kind of band that would happily open themselves up to a full-fleged remix experiment and expect the results to be nothing but fantastic.

Call it my remix bias but that’s expecting too much. There are definitely plenty of tracks that offer genuine, thorough re-imaginings here, even if others prove to be less effective. That is, of course, being examined through the lens of comparison, measuring the original number against the final product.

Look at “Henry” for example. The peppy, energetic single with a brilliant video is one of the stand-out tracks on the Breaking Hearts full-length. The remix by Toronto’s Rich Kidd entirely strips away the galloping drums, replacing them with a loping beat and synthesized hand claps that create a relaxed slow-jam feel. Some cooing background vocals and the band’s urging for the titular character to “lock that shit down” are repurposed from the brief bridge, becoming a near-constant refrain that takes on a sultry new life when interwoven with some intimate lounge piano. Kidd himself drops in for a guest verse, adding some pretty adorable hip hop into the mix, referencing his lunch and his “tummy crunches” before “Canada is running this bitch.” It’s really adorable, just like Rah Rah’s original material! The remix is a complete 180 degree turn but without sacrificing the spirit of the original — it’s exactly what I was hoping for.

On the other side of the spectrum is “Fuck NAFTA.” Produced by a fellow Reginan (”beatsmith” Merky Waters) the track leaves Marshall Burns’ vocals more or less untouched, along with some of the guitar parts. The drums and bass are swapped out, replaced with similarly-paced but altered drums and beefier bass. Some DJ scratching is overdubbed as well but on the whole it’s not a drastic shift. Still, it’s impactful; the song seems less successful as a low-tempo jam than it did in the original, almost making it sound like Burns is on valium. The energy and anger of the song is damaged if not lost entirely.

It is nice to see Rah Rah include some of their local pals in the process. The always-sharp Kitchen Party gives a nice 8-bit keyboard feel to the Breaking Hearts‘ frantic opener “Arrows,” taking away the frenetic pace but retaining the energy. He also lends “Towers” (from The Sailors EP) an early-pop feel thanks to a hand-clap heavy reworking that puts the focus on Burns’ vocal melody and the accompanying harmony. The syth instrumentation is decidedly upbeat despite the song’s beautiful minor-key tone. Kitchen Party’s contribution also includes a simply gorgeous take on “Chimneys” (another Sailors cut) that offers a variety of sampled and synthesized percussion that doesn’t overwhelm the lovely piano samples that provide the song’s biggest melodic element, blending and contrasting with swirling atmospheric tones.

The biggest disappointment for me is probably Cadence Weapon’s take on the sprightly and charming “What About Love.” Rollie Pemberton’s reworking has quite literally the opposite feel of the original, which was a short blast of absolute adorable-ness, a playfully piano- and guitar-driven number with uncertain, fragile, chirping vocals opining on love in what could be a series of Facebook status updates. But Cadence Weapon’s take is dark, plodding, bleak, almost dangerous-sounding, at least until a single synth tone comes in and repeats over and over and over. The vocals are spare and pushed deep in the mix, creating a cold and unfeeling number from source material that is anything but.

In the end, Rahmixes is a remix album. Anyone who has heard a remix album before likely has a pretty fair expectation of what they’re going to get. That fact makes reviewing the record seem futile at best; there’s a vast number of people who will have the literal opposite reaction to most of or perhaps all of the music here. I have a feeling the Kitchen Party tracks stand out for me because they keep the vocal elements of the original tracks consistent; there’s no chopping up the lyrics, no parsing out a single phrase and repeating it ad nauseum. The songs’ lyrical intent remains intact and it helps the song feel whole, as though there’s a deeper meaning than just inspiring a dance floor booty-quake. But for someone who comes to this album in the hopes that they’ll find exactly that will be inversely disappointed.

So obviously it’s hard to offer a fair assessment of the larger product here. If we’re being honest this will never be the first Rah Rah album I reach for — and there is absolutely no way the band intends for it to be. If that was the case their original songs would be comprised entirely of 808s and Casios instead of being crafted using a variety of more-traditional instruments.

As I mentioned earlier, remixes of rock and roll songs are almost universally exercises in curiosity (and novelty songs are almost never someone’s favourite songs). In the end I’m a big fan of Rah Rah’s original material so if this helps them gain more fans I’m all for it. At the very least it’s worth a listen for other fans to see how they react to the altered tracks. But I’ll still be waiting for the next “proper” record.

 

 Rah Rah - Henry: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Rah Rah - Henry (Rich Kidd remix): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

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

 

 Rah Rah - Fuck NAFTA (Merky Waters remix): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

You can find Rahmixes through iTunes or, eventually I’m sure, through Hidden Pony Records.

Pat entries Canadian content, electronic, pop music, projects, Rah Rah, Regina, remixes

What a weekend to not be in Regina.

I’m kicking myself, you guys. I’ll be in Winnipeg this weekend for a very important trip with my special lady to a city that’s not as bad as people (from Saskatchewan) think it is but I have an obligation (as a Saskatchewanian) to pretend like it stinks. But I’ll be missing SO MUCH good music, you guys!

It’s almost hard to keep it all straight but let’s start with Friday night.

Birds Are Dinosaurs are undoubtedly Regina’s most interesting group. The post-rock instrumental group frequently has a lot of members, including two drummers, and creates many-faceted songs that range from ominous to ecstatic, urgent to patient, bright to bleak, and everything in between. They also but on a downright entrancing live show, weaving textured arrangements with a studied expertise. They put out their first full-length back in 2009 and, word has it, they’re going to be working on another one. You’ll likely get a taste of that new material when they headline this month’s chapter of CJTR’s 10th Anniversary Showcase Series at the Exchange on Friday night at the Exchange. Also on the bill is the newly-renamed Sun Zoom Sparx, formerly known as Coelacanthdance. I promise, their music is better than their new name and easier to wrap your head around. Tickets, I believe, are $10 at the door.

HOWEVER, friends, conflict abounds on Friday night as well! Also playing tomorrow at the delightful Creative City Center are Surrey’s Sumner Brothers. Described by our friends over at Herohill as a roots act that even the most ardent Willie Nelson fans would have trouble finding fault in, the west coasters have toured Canada multiple times on the strength of a few criminally underrated albums (so underrated we haven’t even covered them before, in fact). Thankfully they continue to traipse across the country, guitars in tow, playing to ever-larger audiences. If a more traditional type of songcraft is your thing I highly recommend checking them out. Local musical mainstay Cam Wensel’s latest effort Black Drink Crier opens as well! Tickets are just $8 at the door (1843 Hamilton Street above Loggie’s Shoes).

Montreal by way of Calgary act Braids (mentioned all too briefly in our round-up of Regina Folk Festival’s first day) are also visiting the Exchange this weekend. They’re playing Saturday night with Pepper Rabbit and Painted Palms, two bands I literally know nothing about. I mean it; literally nothing. Braids, however, are tearing up the indie rock world right now. Their album Native Speaker has been short-listed for the Polaris Prize and is, according to some, an odds-on favourite to win. It’s layered, twisted versions of pop and rock songs are enough of a head trip to set them apart. Just take the Winnipeg Free Press’ word for it. This one is going to be jam-packed, so get your tickets at Vintage Vinyl if you don’t already.

Sunday is also going to be VERY exciting, as Hollerado roll into the Queen City on their “Meet The Mayor” tour. The concept has been so successful even the band has been surprised by it, but it goes like this: a month or so ago when they announced the show dates for their latest cross-Canada trek, the pop rock band joked on Twitter that they would endeavor to meet the mayor of every city they played. CJTR’s own Indie Insider and I relayed the message to Regina’s own Pat Fiacco and, being the amiable and eager politician that he is, he agreed to greet the group when they arrive in the city. From there, the idea spiraled, as Mayor Nenshi in Calgary also got on board. Odds are good they’ll talk about that meeting during their set, but even if they don’t you still get some of the finest pop rock happening in Canada these days. Young Rival and Wildlife open this one.

So there you have it folks. Way more amazing music than Regina is used to seeing in a month, let alone a week, crammed into a three day span. Please, miss as little of this line-up as you can.

 

 Birds Are Dinosaurs - Tragedy: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Sumner Brothers - Going Out West: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Braids - Lemonade [6:46m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Hollerado - Americanarama: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Links!:
Birds are dinosaurs Facebook is here, because I can’t find anything else.
Sumner Brothers are on iTunes and they also have a web store.
Braids’ album is pretty cheap on iTunes and they also have a web store.
Hollerado are also iTunes fans, I guess or you can attempt to navigate their, um, unique website for physical purchase links. I sure as hell am not.

Pat entries acoustic, Birds Are Dinosaurs, Braids, Hollerado, instrumental, live music, pop rock, Regina, rock, roots, Sumner Brothers, Surrey, Toronto

The 42nd annual Regina Folk Festival probably put a lot of performers outside of their comfort zone, but probably none more so than Regina’s own Rah Rah. The sassy sextet has only grown more appealing to me as it’s widened its tent the last few years, allowing contributions beyond Marshall Burns’ stately rock songs to occupy space on their records. Good idea, because the rest of the group has put forward some of their best numbers.

But the comfort zone thing: the reference is two-fold. Our interview was with the band’s unassuming drummer and singer Erin Passmore, who approached the tent with a modicum of nervousness (a quality that carried through into the question and answer session as well). Whether or not she’s getting used to interviews I can’t say but despite whatever hesitancy she was feeling her answers were more often than not wry and hilariously self-deprecating. I’d interview her again in a second.

Also, she spoke about the difficulty the six-piece band was having trying to nail down a set list for their main stage festival performance, considering their “teaser” set on Sunday was restricted to only three members. You can probably see why that might be tricky, considering a lot of their songs utilize some pretty fancy electric guitar work and the playing of more people than I can count (on one hand, anyway). Sadly I wasn’t present to see the results but I imagine it would’ve been a treat to see a band Regina knows very well deviate from their norm.

Now, that’s all well and good but one of the highlights of our chat was when Passmore revealed the first few details about some forthcoming solo material she’s been working on. That, to me, is exciting because she just happens to be responsible for my second-favourite Rah Rah song (1. “Fuck NAFTA” 2. “Salty Cities”). To say my hopes are high for that material is to say the least!

Listen on, dear readers!

 

 Erin Passmore (Rah Rah) interview [7:06m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Rah Rah - Salty City: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Rah Rah’s latest release is the EP Sailors, which can be found on iTunes, along with their other material. Their new label, Hidden Pony, is also getting set to release an EP of remixes of their songs. Fun!

Pat entries #RFF11, Canadian content, Erin Passmore, local flavour, Rah Rah, Regina, Regina Folk Festival, rock

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

Listening to Northcote’s latest album is kind of like listening to the first solo record Sarah Harmer put out some 12 years ago. There’s something about back-porch acoustic guitar song craft that just feeds the soul. It’s comforting, it puts a smile on your face. Is it groundbreaking? No. Quite the opposite, I suppose: it’s built on a very solid footing.

Matt Goud has been around the block a few times. His recent acoustic guitar-slinging folk project has previously produced a flawless EP, Borrowed Chords and Tired Eyes, that perfectly sets the stage for this full length effort. Like that previous recording the songs here are built around Goud’s steady acoustic chords, sometimes bashed out like he’s playing to the rafters, sometimes strummed at a barely audible level. The EP was notable for it’s extremely deft use of subtle percussion and less-subtle horns that helped prop up his wonderfully sturdy vocal melodies and that aspect of his songs certainly hasn’t changed. If anything, Goud is expanding his sonic palette in a very logical way here.

For me the high points lie primarily in the more energetic numbers. On the EP it was those songs that really grabbed me; while not necessarily “upbeat” they’re the songs that are more fully-orchestrated, tracks like “Energy” and “Wheels” that are fantastically fleshed-out bedroom songs that really found their teeth in the studio. There are a number of tracks in a similar vein on Gather No Dust, such as first single “Free Tonight.” Like a few other numbers here Goud’s band is fully fleshed-out in the in the traditional rock band sense, adding electric guitar, bass, and a full drum kit to the mix. It’s got a propulsive rock and roll energy that pairs exquisitely with Goud’s world-weary voice, which may not be silky-smooth or studio-polished, but has an immense depth of character and feeling. “The Beat” and “Battle” follow in a similar vein while “Devils” is carried by one of the most fantastic drum beats I’ve ever heard on a primarily folk/acoustic record.

The heart of the record and perhaps the heart of Goud himself is reflected most clearly in the album’s gentlest number, the patient “Not A Home.” Practically a lullaby at it’s core, the song features Goud cleanly strumming an electric guitar and opining on the very nature of humanity and finding comfort in the choices you make in your life. Less a chorus than a mantra, the song’s last 45 seconds consist of him repeating over and over, “Some people have your heart and the wind has got your soul/but a place is not a home.” Accompanied by his sweetest and most reassuring melody yet, the sentiment makes sense for a songwriter who has relocated from Saskatchewan’s plains to Victoria, BC.

While Goud may be far from “home” he retains the spirit of a prairie philosopher. “Take The Ride” boasts the kind of optimism some people can only dream of as he gleefully exhales, “Tonight feels as wide as a prairie night.” The song and Goud’s lyrical spirit still seem to be informed by that landscape; perhaps that’s why this set of songs feels so at home in my stereo.

 

 Northcote - Free Tonight: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Northcote - Not A Home [2:07m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Gather No Dust is available from Black Box Recordings web site or digitally via iTunes.

Pat entries acoustic, Canadian content, folk, Northcote, reformed rockers, Regina, Victoria

If Rah Rah were a character in a romantic comedy it would be the quirky best friend that is too adorable for words but serves mostly only as exposition for the story, prodding one of the protagonists into taking a leap of faith and overcoming their fears or some shit.

No, I don’t really know what that means. But it sounds good right? Well, so does Rah Rah’s latest album, Breaking Hearts.

These days the band itself is a wildly different configuration than it was in the group’s early days. It’s more than doubled in size and boasts more keyboards than the local university’s computer science lab (except not really). Thankfully Marshall Burns seems to be carrying the torch as the major songwriting influence, which is a good thing. But the other members of the group easily carry water in that department as well, making for some highly notable moments from back to front.

Like I said, this band is cute as hell. One need look no further than tracks like “Communist Man” and “Henry” — the former a (dare I say it?) “twee” number featuring ukulele and fragile lady vocals that gives the classic, “I fell in love with a bad boy,” storyline a twist, the latter a tale of unlikely love that comes to a head with the entire bland gleefully imploring their pal to, “lock that shit down.”

It’s hard not to love an album that opens with a song as taught and muscular, no-nonsense, and hooky as “Arrows.” The title track also bristles with energy and power chords, knowingly dropping everything but the vocal and some slight piano at just the right point. “What About Love?” is another cutesy tune that seems as delicate as the titular emotion itself, it’s galloping piano reminiscent of Regina Spektor and the wispy singing sounding subtly like the singer is afraid of what the answer might be.

But it’s not all whimsy and sunshine and smiles and candy and puppies and kittens and love and adorableness. The most powerful cut on the album comes roughly halfway through with the exquisite “Salty City.” In its nascent stages Rah Rah didn’t shy away from writing about Regina as a city (or calling out its business-friendly mayor in song). It returns to Regina on this track, which sees drummer and vocalist Erin Passmore giving perhaps her most impassioned performance as a singer. It’s a synthesis of the frustration a lot of us feel after the winter squalls hit the prairies, how the streets and sidewalks too often feel all but abandoned with little beside the dirty, salty snow and an embarrassing amount of litter to keep us company. The wind blows hard, creating an even more oppressive and depressing environment. Passmore’s voice distills all that and more into the highs and lows of this song. It’s awesome.

The multitude of players on this album never seems to overwhelm the songs; there’s a wide range of instrumentation but the crafting of songs is skillful and you never get the sense there are too many cooks in the kitchen. Even the short, flighty songs that are little more than ideas gently fleshed out come and go, never overstaying their welcome.

It seems the band’s growth spurt has launched it past an awkward phase altogether, instead transforming a tiny group with a healthy dose of sass and spunk into a full-grown pop music contender. Breaking Hearts maps that transition beautifully.

 

 Rah Rah - Arrows: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Rah Rah - Salty City [3:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

They link to iTunes for potential buyers, but as is usually the case with Young Soul Records groups no physical option is mentioned. I might suggest your local record shoppe.

Pat entries Canadian content, collectives, cutie pies, pop, Rah Rah, Regina, rock

One of the least-celebrated yet quietly-achieving local acts Regina has to offer, unyielding tunesmith Andy Shauf is releasing a new EP today. EP may be a bit of an understatement, though; Waiting For The Sun To Leave is actually eight full songs. Definitely a touch on the long side for an EP but a happy development as far as I’m concerned.

His full-length effort, re-recorded last year for a Hopeless Records subsidiary, was a masterful work that belies his young years. You can see it in the video above; Shauf is an effortless performer, unleashing a song with ease in any setting. He may challenge Jonathan Richman for quietest playing but his voice is assured and his guitar work is sharp and flawless.

He recently got a quick write-up in some fancy New York magazine’s blog that I can’t remember. He’s touring the United States of America. This is his third release for an American label. And yet Andy Shauf can’t buy a headline here at home. There may only be one of him (as opposed to the much-inked masses in Rah Rah and Library Voices, whose collective membership could fill a trio of dragon boats, I’m sure) but his accomplishments and accolades are comparable to any other Saskatchewan musicians.

 

 Andy Shauf - The Darker Night [3:58m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Andy Shauf - Your Heart [2:07m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

digital: iTunes seems to be the major carrier
For woefully infrequent tweeting action you can follow Andy on the Twitter machine here. His website has occasional updates if you’re into that sort of thing.

Pat entries acoustic, Andy Shauf, Canadian content, folk, P Is For Panda, Regina

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