Author Archive for Joe

21
Jul
09

Shortlists Announced: Women Storm Mercury Prize, Veterans Return for Polaris Prize

By Joe 4 Comments
Categories: Recommendations/Reviews
Mercury prize 2009 nominees ... Bat for Lashes, La Roux, Florence and the Machine. Photograph: PR

Mercury prize 2009 nominees ... Bat for Lashes, La Roux, Florence and the Machine. Photograph: PR

“The music world is supposed to be for people who are terrified of girls. Now that’s who’s in the band, that’s who’s writing about the music, that’s who runs the radio stations. And you have a music scene that resembles the doors opening on sales day at Selfridges. It must be terrifying for all of them.”   – Lauren Laverne, former Mercury judge and TV presenter

I’m not ready to proclaim the music world safe from those “terrified of girls” — as we only recently witnessed with the ridiculous ABC “Hottest 100 Of All Time” poll from Australia released weeks ago that featured ZERO female artists.  As one commentator noted on the ABC site, “…until women are no longer judged on their sex appeal, their poignant lyrics and raw emotion in song won’t touch enough people to make any top 100 lists.”  Not to mention, despite the thoughts of Lauren Laverne, they’re not running the radio stations, much less the majority of writers.

So, it comes as no surprise, that much of the press today about the Mercury Prize shortlist centered on the record-breaking five female artists who made the cut.  Chaired by pop music scholar and former music journalist, Simon Frith, the list includes female performers Bat for Lashes, Florence and the Machine, La Roux, Lisa Hannigan, and Speech Debelle.  Frith, well known for his sociology-based approach to studying rock music,  comments that female artists have benefited from structural changes in the music industry, especially the decreasing role of record labels and the ensuing blurring of genres: “As genres break down it means that women are not having to be pop stars of a certain sort. Somebody like La Roux, who creates fun synth pop, not being pushed in a cutesy way.” Early bets are on Florence and the Machine, led by singer Florence Welch, prevailing as the winner September 8th.

Mercury 2009 Shortlist:

  • Kasabian – West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
  • The Horrors – Primary Colours
  • Friendly Fires – Friendly Fires
  • Glasvegas – Glasvegas
  • La Roux – La Roux
  • Florence and the Machine – Lungs
  • Bat For Lashes – Two Suns
  • Lisa Hannigan – Sea Sew
  • The Invisible – The Invisible
  • Led Bib – Sensible Shoes
  • Sweet Billy Pilgrim – Twice Born Men
  • Speech Debelle – Speech Therapy

See the Polaris Music Prize below the jump…

Continue reading ‘Shortlists Announced: Women Storm Mercury Prize, Veterans Return for Polaris Prize’

13
Jun
09

“Oh! Canada” compilation showcases less familar Canadian artists

By Joe 2 Comments
Categories: Canadian, Culture, Jangle, Music and Recommendations/Reviews

One of my favorite music homes on the Internet is the British music site, The Line of Best Fit.  While I’m relatively new to the site, it has quickly become my number one place for discovering new music–it’s not just another site that primarily regurgitates Pitchfork’s likes and dislikes.  Recognizing the great music coming from Canada, the site has recently launched a recurring column on Canadian music and has worked with artists and labels to offer a companion MP3 “mixtape” download.  Here’s how TLOBF describes its decision:

Those of you who have been loitering around the security doors here at TLOBF Towers for a while now you have probably noticed the frankly phenomenal amount of great new music coming from Canada over the last few years. From the classics (Joni, Neil and Laughing Lenny), the big hitters (Arcade Fire/ BSS/ Feist) to the up and coming (The Acorn, Woodpigeon, Ohbijou) TLOBF has been committed to bring you the best of what the Great White North has to offer. So we figured it made sense to start a new column dedicated to uncovering the latest new talent emerging from Canada, to showcase some of the lesser sung acts, labels, and events that may not have shown up on the collective radar over here in the UK. So from The Acorn to Zumpano TLOBF brings you: Oh! Canada.

The first compilation is one of the best compilations I’ve heard in sometime.  Dan Mangan‘s wonderful song “Robots” is a song so good, so perfect in its (folk) pop construction, that I’m nervous to check out any of his other material for fear it could only possibly let me down.  As someone pointed out on Last.fm, the ending chorus line, “Robots need love too/they want to be loved by you/they want to be loved by you” is not only perfectly orchestrated and catchy as all hell, but a tad eerie too.  There’s a certain quality that makes it seem that the background cacophony of singers might just be robots wanting to join in the robots need love  pronouncement.  Of course, the song is ultimately a larger statement of love akin to Metric’s closer on new album Fantasies, “Stadium Love.”

“I Like The Summer” by The Michael Parks is as effortless a pop song should be about liking the summertime.  Jim Bryson’s “Pissing on Everything” is stellar too and sounds like a song culled from the set of a much more famous singer-songwriter.  Timber Timbre, aside from having a great name, has a great song with “Lay Down in the Tall Grass.”  No wonder the band was  recently signed to Arts & Crafts who will rerelease its self-titled album worldwide in July.   I could go on and on.  The whole album makes for a great listen.

TLOBF’s article about many of the artists included on the CD, performing at the Canadian Blast! showcase during the Great Escape festival can be found here.

The compilation, “Oh! Canada, Vol. 1″ can be found here.

Thanks to the fines folks at The Line of Best Fit for making the beginnig of summer sound so much better!

UPDATE: I’ve since purchased through Zunior.com Dan Mangan’s new EP, Roboteering. It doesn’t disappoint.  I agree with each of these sentiments that Mangan proudly displays when you visit his webpage.  Hear it on his Myspace.

  • “If this is the quality of the forthcoming album then it will be immense.” -Americana UK
  • “It’s all great, just great. Hurry up with the rest of it, dude.” -Exclaim!
  • “Mangan’s distinctive voice, which is confident and weary beyond his years, sounds like it’s been aged in oak… Compelling, twisty and imaginative.” -The Georgia Straight
  • “Mangan’s next move is definitely going to be worth waiting for.” -London Tour Dates
  • “Feels so beautiful and personal that time ceases to exist.” -CHARTattack
05
Jun
09

“Bollywood, pop, and sitars”

By Joe Leave a Comment
Categories: Canadian, Culture, Music and Recommendations/Reviews

Not many blogs would be able to drop back-to-back posts about vastly different pop music each featuring sitars, but that’s what we can do here at MiS.  Montreal-based Elephant Stone, named for the first single by The Stone Roses (and apparently a reference to Hindu elephant god, Ganesh) have released their debut album, The Seven Seas. Featuring former bassist/sitarist of The High Dials (Rainbow Quartz), Rishi Dhir, with friends from The Dears, The Besnard Lakes, and The High Dials.  Produced by Jace Lasek (The Besnard Lakes), who runs Montreal’s established Breakglass Studio, the album beautifully brings together 60s psychedelic pop and Dhir’s sitar playing to bring out, as the band’s website indicates, “Rishi’s obsession with the perfect pop song and the trippiest raga.”  Rishi Dhir’s obsession is evident from just a few listens of these exceedingly well crafted pop songs.

This album is all about Rishi Dhir and his Indian homeland.  Speaking in a recent article in the Canadian music magaizine, CHART, Dhir sums up his influences:

This band is a very direct representation of who I am. I’ve always loved Bollywood, pop, and sitars. Philosophically, the band is what I believe in, and it’s a very personal album.

Elephant Stone :: “The Seven Seas”

Elephant Stone :: “Bombs Bombs Away”

Elephant Stone’s MySpace

03
Jun
09

Oh, Oh, Oh [hand clap, hand clap] The Lovely Feathers Are Back!

By Joe 4 Comments
Categories: Canadian, Culture, Music and Recommendations/Reviews

One of my most anticipated releases of 2009 dropped yesterday, in the form of The Lovely Feathers’s third album Fantasy of the Lot. I saw them play in their hometown at Pop Montreal in 2006, opening for the buzz band of the moment, Tapes ‘n Tapes.  They were playing in a bizarre Ukrainian church that I nervously found walking aimlessly in the streets of its Francophone working-class neighborhood.  The Feathers were the clear highlight.  Throughout the show, I was amazed by the energy, quirkiness, and pop pastiche exhibited by the band.  They immediately reminded me of a band universally loved by all of us here at MiS, The Features, mixed with some XTC and Loud Family for pomp and circumstance.  They had the same kinetic, back-and-forth energy, curious eye rolls from the lead singer, and all-around manic energy displayed proudly by Matthew Pelham & Co.  Beyond that comparison though, was the off-kilter and non-linear song structures, straight from the Scott Miller school of songwriting.  Since that first performance, I picked up their early releases and managed to catch the band as an opener at the Boulder Theatre.  Despite the dubious distinction of making my dissertation because none of the band members seemed to have heard that Canada funds popular music (I’m happy to see they’ve switched labels and joined Tin Star Orphans at Sparks Music!), the guys in the band were gracious and I think surprised by the large smattering of fans who left after they left the stage (they had opened for the very different avant-garde band, The SLIP).

The Feathers were probably most accused in their early releases of being quirky for quirky’s sake (top tracks included “Rod Stewart” and “Pope John Paul” from previous album, Hind Hind Legs)  While the new album exhibits the same quirkiness to an extent, it’s more focused and directed toward creating an album of unabashed hooks and melodies.  These guys have only gotten better, through honing and sharpening their song craft.  And, the recording captures the band much better than previous releases.  While some of the pure madness is lost from its earlier albums, I think this is a more coherent and identifiable collection of songs, which should only help the band garner a larger fan base.  With all the albums receiving praise this year, of which I’m still searching for the hooks, I simply don’t understand how these guys won’t get more attention.  I wish Monolith knew about them, because there are few other small, indie bands today that deserve to be heard by a large audience.

The band’s album was only released in Canada yesterday (available through Zunior.com), and the U.S. will see the album release later this summer.  I hope then, the band will embark on a tour of the lower 48.  No previously unheard band has impressed me so much in concert, and the Boulder show only backed that up and then some.  These guys take the pop sensibilities of their albums and create an all-out dance party when they hit the stage!

First single “Lowiza” can be had for free, direct from the band here.

Listen to streaming samples of each song via Zunior.com here.

The video for “Frantic” (taken from Hind Hind Legs) captures some of the band’s early promise and pop.

29
May
09

Dog Day? Not With Concentration

By Joe 2 Comments
Categories: Culture, Jangle, Music and Recommendations/Reviews

I should be going to Halifax in a matter of weeks, but, ever behind in my work, I’ve set an embargo on all academic travel (at least until 2010, I must be reasonable).  I’ve always wanted to visit Halifax for its apparent splendor, and since it’s home to many of my earliest indie pop music loves (hell, I chose my MA program in Athens, GA in part for its music scene).  My Halifax favorites include The Flashing Lights, The Super Friendz, and, of course, the Beatles of Canada–Sloan!  A nice overview of the “Halifax Pop Explosion” can be found here.   In light of my absence from Halifax, even though there’s a panel basically devoted to my dissertation topic on popular music policy, it’s really quite nice to lose myself in a new album straight out of Halifax, Dog Day’s Concentration.

In a year proving to be my favorite for Canadian music in ages, Dog Day’s new album is an amalgamation of many of my favorite pop music attributes: jangly guitars, well-done (not over-done) synth work, boy-girl vocals, hooks galore, and enough atmospheric elements to remind one of the The Smiths or The Stone Roses.  There’s a bit of Dunedin in this Halifax too.  Along with the sophomore effort by Finnish band Cats on Fire (see  video for “Tears In Your Cup“), my retro-ish tastes for still  fresh pop are well alive in 2009, amid the monotonous, Pitchforkian Monolith announcements I must continue to endure.

“Happiness” is the first single, and somewhat unique in that its vocals are led by Seth Smith (husband to female vocalist, Nancy Urich, who usually takes the lead).

28
May
09

Get Creepy with Grizzly Bear

By Joe Leave a Comment
Categories: Culture and Recommendations/Reviews

It’s hard to avoid Grizzly Bear these days.  Whether your reading material of choice is Pitchfork, The New York Times, or one of the first negatives reviews from the Chicago Sun-Times.  Drowned in Sound has declared it Grizzly Bear Week.  Alas, there are many others, including:

About.com- Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest: 4.5/5
Allmusic- Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest: 4/5
Gigwise- Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest: 4/5
MusicOMH- Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest: 4.5/5
NME- Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest: 8/10
Q- Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest: 4/5
Reax- Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest: 5/5
Slant- Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest: 4/5
Spin- Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest: 4/5
Uncut- Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest: 4/5
Under the Rader- Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest: 9/10

The first single, “Two Weeks” is pretty nice chamber pop, quite reminiscent of Cardinal and The Heavy Blinkers, although nothing touches Cardinal’s greatness quite yet that I’ve heard.  It’s nice to see essentially a chamber pop album getting such attention though, even if it’s all a tad hyperbolic.  The new video, released this week of “Two Weeks,” is equally memorable, if merely for its stark creep factor.

UPDATE:  The Irish Times on Grizzly Bear, the so-called Pitchfork effect, and the changing popular music landscape.   One point about the opening assertion by Jim Carroll of Grizzly Bear; twenty years ago such bands did exist and enjoy careers.  The year was 1989, and I will let Scott Miller continue from there.  I understand his point, but it’s foolhardy, and way too technologically deterministic,  to think independent bands are only just now having careers.  If anything, there’s often not enough discourse today because of the said Pitchfork effect–a gatekeeper of merely a different sort.

27
May
09

The National intro new song

By Joe 5 Comments
Categories: Recommendations/Reviews

The CBC’s QTV Channel on Youtube, with live performances from its Studio Q, features some of the best live performances on the Internet.  It’s no different with The National debuting a new haunting tune this week.  Stellar material.  One of the best bands around.

Watch in high defintion…tentatively titled “The Runaway.”

21
May
09

Am I Leaving Indie, or Is It Leaving Me?

By Joe 2 Comments
Categories: Culture, Music and Recommendations/Reviews

Based on all but one act announced thus far for Monolith (that Scottish band Dave mentions below…) I must no longer be a fan of indie music.  All of these synth-loving, Cut Copy wannabes are BORING.  Monolith just announced the latest from Toronto called Woodhands.  Whatever.  I know Dave’s a bigger fan of the new indie, but I miss 2007.  If you’re going to announce a quality band from Toronto, why not Tin Star Orphans who dropped their debut Yonder on May 5th in Canada?   Maybe they play too many real instruments.  Monolith to me sounds like a retreaded 80s dance party through its early announcements.  Call me a cynic.  Hopefully this trend will reverse and match last year’s stellar lineup.

I’m still digesting Yonder, but it seems to have already entered my Top 10 Albums of  2009.  More to follow…

Tin Star Orphans

“Let You Down”

“Miss You”

01
May
09

Doing a Music Video One Take Canadian-Style…and Revealing All

By Joe Leave a Comment
Categories: Culture, Music and Recommendations/Reviews

One of the best music videos of the last few years for me personally was Feist’s excellent “1234,” made famous by Apple, and further appreciated for being shot entirely in one take.  Aside from the fantastic use of colors and first rate choreography, Feist released a “Making of” video demonstrating how the entire video was filmed in a single take–much to the surprise of many doubters.

Metric, led by Feist cohort Emily Haines, just released its kick ass new album Fantasies, impressively sold through the band’s website in lossless FLAC for $8.99.  While I am slightly bias, since I interviewed a gracious Chris Taylor, who founded Last Gang Records initially as a vehicle for Metric, for my dissertation, I must applaud the label’s foresight and Metric’s decision to promote FLAC at no additional cost.  It should be noted too, that  the majority of well-known Canadian indies have embraced FLAC (for a $2.00 surcharge)–through the fantastically wonderful digital store Zunior.com (which allows Americans to purchase away).

Getting to the point, Metric’s new video for single “Gimme Sympathy,” not to be outdone by friend Leslie Feist,  Haines & Co. decided they would switch up the one take video by featuring each member of the band supposedly alternating roles during a performance.  Similar to Feist, the band has released a “Behind the Scenes” edition that captures the madness and ingenuity of the film shoot.  Aside from producing what I believe is wihtout a doubt the band’s strongest album, seeing the enthusiasm of the members moving between their filmed roles, makes me anxiously await their live performance next month in Denver at the Ogden.

Metric’s “Gimme Sympathy” (Behind the Scenes)

29
Apr
09

Indie Folk-Rock from Toronto and Calgary

By Joe 1 Comment
Categories: Culture, Music and Recommendations/Reviews

Sadly, many music listeners only know Toronto-based Great Lake Swimmers for its terrific kid-friendly song, “See You On The Moon” now featured in an Honda Insight commercial.  The track originally appeared on the Canadian compilation See You on the Moon: Songs for Kids of All Ages.  The band produce some of the most beautiful alt-folk/rock/indie around, and have been doing so since 2003 over the course of four excellent albums.  Their mild hit song, “Your Rocky Spine,” featured on Showtime’s sublime show Weeds and on various other recent compilations, is a memorable opus about physical affection and desire.

Great Lakes Swimmers’s newest release, Lost Channels, ranks among its best, reminiscent of early R.E.M with its folk-rock and jangly guitars/banjos structured in three-minute nuggets of outstanding song craft.  Lead-off track, “Palmistry”, relates palmistry with loneliness–”Won’t you come and read the future, turn it on/Won’t you tell me how I will not feel so lonely?”  The band has managed  to expertly connect its lyrics with its often stark instrumentation and lovely vocals.   Amazon.com just concluded its digital $2.99 sale for Lost Channels, but it’s still only $7.99 in 256 kbps DRM-free MP3–and well worth it!

Not to be outdone by its folky indie Ontario breathren, collective Woodpigeon from Calgary, similarly brings together folk-rock and indie, while making heavy use of jangly banjo, glockenspiel, choirs, long song titles, and Sufjan Steven-eque wispery vocals.   The band’s recent double CD, Treasury Library Canada c/w Houndstooth Europa should be enjoyed by any Sufjan  fan and anyone appreciative of indie music that captures the earnestness of folk.  The original single CD was originally only sold at concerts, but its brilliance required an official release with Houndstooth Europa, a 10-song bonus CD, thrown in for good measure.

Great Lake Swimmers :: Palmistry

Woodpigeon  :: Piano Pieces for Adult Beginners

Simply phenomenal performance of “Your Rocky Spine” from the CBC’s Studio Q:

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