Friday, August 31, 2007
Well, I had a big old post all ready to go, but while adding links, I googled in the wrong window and wiped out my blog entry. That's it, I'm updating on Firefox from now on. Grrr. More later.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Late last week my review of the new Raising the Fawn album appeared at PopMatters. As you might or might not know, I've always like this band, and feel they're one of the most consistently good indie bands in Canada. Unfortunately, they're also one of the more underappreciated acts in the country...at least out here, anyway. Every time I see them, they're performing in front of sparse crowds, but that never deters them, as they always deliver great sets of spacious, atmospheric, and catchy indie rock. Led by the plaintive tenor voice of Broken Social Scenester John Crossingham, the band's sound has always been a bit dour, but their new CD actually lets the light in a little bit, just enough to make it seem like they're allowing themselves to get a little more optimistic in their music. Just a bit, as we hear on fantastic tracks like "River of Gold", "Cypress Fields", and "A Lion in Winter", three of the best songs the trio has ever recorded. The album is a little bumpy, as the synth experiment "Futurefuturefuture" drags a bit, but overall, it's a good one, a transitional album that hints at even better things to come. Here's hoping they tour soon, and that more than 20 people show up next time!
I don't think I've ever bought two new CDs with uglier cover artwork than I did yesterday. Really, if M.I.A. and The New Pornographers want to sell albums, you've got to have better window dresing than the ideas they came up with. Still, though, they're a mighty fine pair of albums, both of which have had to grow on me before the release date. I was a bit iffy towards the more understated direction of New Pornographers' Challengers...after all, this is a band that has made a living out of generating some of the catchiest pop hooks of the past decade, but much like singer Carl Newman's solo debut from a few years ago, this one works on much more subtle levels. No, it's nowhere near as strong as the last three albums, but it's still a very rewarding one, and interestingly, I think Kathryn Calder outshines Neko Case on this one, especially on "Adventures in Solitude". Plus, I still firmly believe that Dan Bejar's New Pornos songs are vastly superior to his work in Destroyer. While it's doubtful the pleasant Challengers will crack my 2000 year-end list, Kala is a big-time contender. It took me a while to digest M.I.A.'s new stuff, which seemed to lack the immediacy (or shall I say simplicity?) of Arular, but in this album's case, that's a really good thing, as she's upped the ante considerably, loading Kala with vicious beats, a strong world music influence (from Bollywood to African sounds to pre-teen Aboriginal rappers), and loads of Western pop culture references (quoting "Roadrunner" and "Where is My Mind", swiping hooks from "Blue Monday" and the Clash's "Straight to Hell"), and of course, her own rather muddled political views which despite lacking real focus and eloquence, continue to bring a real edginess to the music. This album is just wicked, plain and simple: you've got the psychotic squawks of "Birdflu", the sweet disco of "Jimmy", the house influence of "20 Dollar", the dark shout-out tunage of "Bamboo Banga", and the best of the lot, the menacing and uber-catchy "Paper Planes", whose samples during the chorus are astonishing. Wow. Wow, I tell you, this is thrilling music, essential 2007 listening!
Back on the subject of the New Pornographers for a sec, I can't believe I forgot about Immaculate Machine's show at Amigos last week. Granted, I was exhausted from playing with the nieces that night, but had I remembered, I might have made a go of it, as I really like the band's new disc. Oh well.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Two more reviews to mention today, the first being my review of the new Turbonegro album, which has the lovable Norwegians coming the closest to returning to the form of Apocalypse Dudes as they've ever been. As much as I enjoyed their last two albums, their sound was admittedly getting watered down by slick production and the songs avoided the explicit language in an attempt to appeal to a broader market, but Retox has the rawness back, the bawdiness back, and even the punk rock element, which had gone AWOL these last few years. Well worth picking up.
Also appearing today is my piece on the new Dresden Dolls DVD. As you may or may not know, I'm a bit of a fan of the piano-and-drums duo, and Live at the Roundhouse is a fun live performance shot in London late last year, where singer Amanda Palmer got a whole bunch of artists and buskers to greate a punk-inspired cabaret show during a multi-night stand at the Roundhouse. It's too bad that not many of the other artists aren't on the DVD, but the Dolls' set more than makes up for it, as they perform with an intensity only hinted at on record. Again, good stuff!
Monday, August 13, 2007
I've finally been able to build up a good-sized stack of finished reviews, so there will be plenty of stuff to plug in the next few days and weeks. First off, my brand-spankin' new review of the brand spankin' new Kissology DVD, which hits stores tomorrow. Like Vol. 1, Vol. 2 is hugely enjoyable, but this time around, the three-disc set chronicles the band's rapid decline in the early 1980s and the slow struggle to regain credibility throughout that decade. As I mention in the piece, there are tons of interesting clips and concerts, from an amazing Tom Snyder interview from 1979, to the full Sydney 1980 show from the Unmasked tour, to a surprisingly good 1990 set taped in Detroit, to a restored European theatrical version of the notorious Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park. The one huge problem with the set is that the 1984 Animalize Live show isn't on there...its exclusion boggles my mind. It's a terrific show, a glimpse at Kiss at their absolute goofiest. I still have the VHS dub I made of it 20 years ago, and thankfully, the entire show is on YouTube...here's a sampling of what Kissology Vol. 2 is missing:
"Detroit Rock City"
"Fits Like a Glove"
"Young and Wasted"
"Creatures of the Night"
"Under the Gun"
"Thrills in the Night"
Paul Stanley jumps around like an idiot, and Gene has the silliest wig on, but that early-80s material was solid. Again, why is this show not on the DVD???
Also appearing today at PopMatters is the 20th installment of my Blood & Thunder column, and this month's is a good one, based on an interview with Guy Kozowyk of The Red Chord. The guy was really fun to talk to, and his stories behind the songs on the great new album were so funny and interesting, I was better off just quoting the dude entirely. So it's a bit of a departure, but I hope you find it as entertaining as I did. I think the piece turned out rather well. Like the last column about Pig Destroyer, there are plenty of "outtakes" that didn't make the final article, so here is a sampling of some choice quotes that didn't make the cut:
Guy Kozowyk on having Mirai from Sigh contribute synth on the instrumental "It Came From Over There":
"It turned out that Gunface [Mike McKenzie] did solos on two different Sigh records. We had talked about the idea of Mirai guest appearing on this one, and he ended up sending over some Moog tracks, because Mike had asked him to make some sort of contribution. So before hearing anything, Mirai sent these tracks, and Mike was pretty blown away and influenced by them, and actually wrote that song around Mirai's parts. So it's co-written by the two of them based on the fact that Mirai came up with the stuff before Mike did."
On how the band originally hooked up with renowned cover artist Paul Romano:
"We played a show in Philadelphia and Paul came down, and he had Mastodon vinyl and was showing me the artwork, and I was pretty intrigued by it, and he told me he just liked the band, and he followed the Black Market stuff and followed the Red Chord a little bit and had liked what we were doing, and initially, on the clients record I was trying to get Sam Keith, the artist on the Max or Simon Beasley who did Lobo and Judge Dredd, and he did a lot of covers for the magazine Heavy Metal, and I started reaching out to them at that point, and it got a little bit weird in that it seemed like if either of those artists were definitely going to do it, they weren't going to take the priority, and Paul was actually pursuing us at that point, so we ended up getting to be close friends and he showed me some sketches, and it just felt right. I don't think anyone could have executed Clients quite like Paul did. [laughs]"
On collaborating with Romano:
"Clients was more of a collaborative effort, this one, I had a bunch of ideas that didn't really get presented, but at the same time he came up with something kind of cool and crazy regardless. He's a really amazing artist, and he's got a vision. I think everybody in the band is stoked on the layout. This record was less of a back and forth and more of Paul getting fired up and rolling with it. I think Paul's definitely given us a certain degree of priority, and he's always said that he's been really proud of his stuff. I think that he really likes the was that he and I work together, and the ideas I throw at him, I think he's pretty intrigued by them."
On Romano's artwork for Prey For Eyes:
"At one point the record was going to be called Birdbath. And I had kind of built up this weird concept around what Birdbath was. Basically, the birdbath was a place or a thing somewhat like the fountain of youth that over history, the people who possessed it or had access to it which was usually czars and emperors, the richest people of society could go and have their ages and ages of sins absolved. Based on that conversation with Paul, he got influenced, and instead of it being Birdbath as a place or a thing, he changed the birdbath into the woman on the cover, and instead of it being people that were getting absolved, it became more like symbolism where it looks like crows but it's supposed to be white birds covered in oil, so it's like literally the woman is cleaning the birds by digesting them and nurturing them, and she will lay an egg, and I guess it has something to do with Greek mythology where she lays an egg and then the egg becomes a lion, and the lion eventually turns into a warrior. So it ended up going off into this weird metaphorical thing, all kind of inspired by this conversation I had. I wasn't expecting it to be as weird and mythological as Paul had ended up going off with it, but I definitely appreciate the open-ended thong. So on the layout, there's a play on "prey", like the predator-prey sense, and then there's the eyes play on words that he's got with optical illusions and stuff all over the layout."
Sunday, August 12, 2007
I don't know what it is about Rylys bar here in Saskatoon, but every show they have there attracts such a large number of idiots. Every time I endure a show there, it involves having dunken idiots constantly run into you, booze spashing all over you, fights starting everywhere...yet somehow, the actual music turns out to be very enjoyable, despite the tacky, unfriendly surroundings. That was the case with Motorhead a couple years ago, and it was the case tonight, as Clutch paid a long-overdue visit to this town.
I arrived just in time to see opener Year Long Disaster, who delivered a stoner-like set that seemed part High on Fire, part Wolfmother, with a really annoying vocalist who has no charisma whatsoever. After grabbing a swanky (and cheap) t-shirt, I managed to find a decent spot behind the main moshpit floor on the stage right side, and waited anxiously for the dudes to arrive. Clutch is known for their eccentric setlists, as each member takes a turn selecting each set, and tonight was loaded with curveballs. Personally, I was hoping for a strong emphasis on the band's 2004-2007 material, because I'm such a huge fan of their last three albums, but they threw us for a loop time and again, starting off with "Who Wants to Rock", and kicking into a bunch of more obscure cuts, like "Big Fat Pig", "Raised By Horses", "Basket of Eggs", "Slow Hole to China", "Hoodoo Operator", and "Sea of Destruction". It was ages before we got to the newer material, which got a huge reception from the crowd. Oddly, we only got one song from Robot Hive/Exodus ("Of Mice and Gods"), and none whatsoever from Blast Tyrant. Six Beale Street songs were performed: "Child of the City", "The Rapture of Riddley Walker", "White's Ferry", "Mr. Shiny Caddilackness", and the show-stopping combo of "Electric Worry" and "One Eye Dollar". One cool part of the show was the whopping total of four songs pulled from the band's famous self-titled album, "Animal Farm", "The House That Peterbilt", and an extended, jammy version of "Big News I" and "Big News II". The folks in the floor were getting quite violent the further the band got into the set, and singer Neil Fallon didn't exactly look too impressed. By the time the band finished "Cadillackness", it was clear that it would be, "Good night, Springdon! There will be no encores!", and the recorded music started despite the protestations of those of us who were having good harmless fun.
So all in all, it was a very enjoyable night in spite of the ugly venue, the jerks in the crowd, and the lack of an encore. That said, the band's 40 minute set at Sounds of the Underground two years ago still gives me chills. They were en fuego that night. Tonight's set was more drawn-out, with extended solos and whatnot, not quite as immediate. Here's hoping they come back to my city...it's clear the band has a good fanbase around these parts. Maybe next time they can perform in a better venue than that dive.
Anyway, here's the full setlist:
Who Wants to Rock
Big Fat Pig
Basket of Eggs
Slow Hole to China
Hoodoo Operator
Sea of Destruction
Child of the City
Of Mice and Gods
Animal Farm
The Rapture of Riddley Walker
Electric Worry
One Eye Dollar
Big News I
Big News II
White's Ferry
The House That Peterbilt
Mr. Shiny Cadillackness
Friday, August 10, 2007
Finally, new writing to plug! Decibel's site has been updated, so that means a new pile of stuff to mention. It's a big issue for me, but I have yet to see it, so hopefully it will arrive in the mail soon, because no stores carry it here. First off, there's my big Clutch feature...I said when I finished it that I'd tell the convoluted tale of how it came to be, so here goes. I was asked to do a piece involving Clutch, and since this is the stoner rock issue, I suggested we take a look at how the band had grown out of the stoner sound in favour of a more blues-based sound. It was then suggested that I get in touch with a certain stoner rock legend who has also moved past simple stoner rock and include him in the story. I quickly arranged an interview with the latter guy, but getting ahold of Clutch was another matter entirely. Their label DRT had just gone under, and everyone involved with it had vanished, so the band had no publicist. I had the email address fo their manager, but my repeated requests were unanswered. My hands were tied. A week or so later, out of desperation, I emailed a former DRT employee I know to point me in the right direction, and she suggested the band's Australian publicist. So the Australian publicist got in touch with the manager, who then got in touch with another publicist, who got in touch with someone else, who then arranged the phone interview with singer Neil Fallon. Ridiculous! Anyway, Neil was a great interview...he's a quieter dude, really chooses his words carefully, but is tremendously witty, and it was an enjoyable conversation. Meanwhile, my other interview with the other guy, the one that was arranged without a hitch, started to become a big problem, as on two occasions we had a phoner set up, but he never called, leaving me hanging by the phone for hours. Turned out he was in Europe and had limited phone access, and he did call to apologize after I was forced to write the article without him (my deadline had long since passed), so that was cool. So yeah, that Clutch piece was a bigger hassle than it really should have been, but I'm very happy with the end result. And coincidentally, I'm finally going to see Clutch for a second time tomorrow night, as they pay my city a visit, so a full recap will be posted afterward!
The new Decibel has another big moment for me, as I have my first lead review, which tackles the surprisingly good new album by Through the Eyes of the Dead. They were half decent in the past (I saw them at Sounds of the underground a year ago), but they really stepped it up this time, thanks to the addition of a new vocalist, and employing the services of Eric Rutan, the best death metal producer in the business. Solid, solid album.
I also review the new Pulsefear disc, yet another top-notch release from Profound Lore, my favourite label. When you write about ambient drone metal, you have to get creative, so I had some fun with the piece. Also up is my review of the excellent Nightwish DVD, which features the last concert of the band's 2005 tour, the one where they fired singer Tarja Turunen immediately after. Via open letter. Vicious! In the accompanying documentary, you can see how nervouse the band is before the show. Fascinating viewing, even if you don't understand Finnish. Solid concert, though, and Tarja will be tough to replace. The new album with new singer Annette Olzon sounds pretty darn solid, though.
Lastly, I got to write two blurbs for the Top 20 Stoner Rock Albums feature, High on Fire's Surrounded By Thieves, and the first Black Sabbath album, the latter of which I was thrilled to be able to write about.
Last month, Rhino Records announced the details of the upcoming four-disc set The Heavy Metal Box, and when the opportuniy to write about it arose, I jumped at the chance, and yesterday the advance CDs arrived. Although to be honest, I never really needed the CDs, as I'm extremely familiar with the entire tracklisting, but it's still a fun thing to have...you won't find a better driving mix anywhere (I just wish I had it on my overnight trip to Edmonton and back a couple days ago!). Back in March 2005, I curated a homemade 80s metal box set of the same size, and much of what was included on that set shows up on this one, which actually covers 1968 to 1991. The first disc covers 68-80, and is solid, but it's very weird how Black Sabbath's "Black Sabbath", in my opinion the first "true" heavy metal song in history, is absent. In fact, all Ozzy-era Sabbath has been ignored, with the Dio-era classic "Neon Knights" closing out the CD. A glaring omission, but the rest of the disc is good, highlighted by Hawkwind's "Lost Johnny", Montrose's awesome "Bad Motor Scooter", UFO's "Lights Out", and Girlschool's "Demolition Boys". Disc two (80-83) is simply perfect, I think, as it covers the NWOBHM explosion and carries over to the American scene, which was set to explode. Disc three (84-86) puts the spotlight on the pop metal phenomenon, slipping a bit with the inclusion of Stryper and Spinal Tap, but it ends on a strong note with the US thrash sound. Disc four (87-91) is again a bit lightweight in places (sorry, Lita Ford and Living Colour are not metal), but again, ends strongly with pantera's Cowboys From Hell", Prong's great "Beg to Differ", and Sepultura's "Dead Embryonic Cells". So the tracklisting is imperfect, but for such a set, it's next to impossible to get it completely right. I can see why they didn't want to go deeper into the early death/grind, it's the same conundrum I had when piecing the 80s set together. If you have Death, you have to have Possessed, if you have Napalm Death, you have to have Carcass and Godflesh and Bolt Thrower, if you have Kreator you have to have Sodom and Destruction...it opens a huge can of worms. So the folks at Rhino stuck to the "classic" heavy metal sound, and have done a good job balancing the melodic/pop oriented with the innovative. That said, though, there are three omissions that are inexcusable: Voivod, Celtic Frost, and Bathory. To not have those three innovators included is just plain wrong. So to summarize: Disc one is an 8/10, disc two is a 10/10, disc three is an 8/10, disc four is a 7/10. So overall, I'd give this about an 8. I'll be writing a big review for PopMatters in the coming weeks, so watch for that one!
Monday, August 6, 2007
It's been kind of slow on the writin' front, at least when it comes to published material, but that should soon be changing, as I've gotten back into the swing of things in the past week. Excellent new column coming, a feature piece that I think turned out quite well, and a pile of reviews...plus the new issue of Decibel, which I'm very excited to see. If it ever arrives.
When I haven't been hunched over the keyboard day and night, I've been reading the new Harry Potter and trying desperately not to fall asleep while doing so, and it's nice to see the story come to a satisfying conclusion. The last 15 pages just raced by. Oh, and Hot Fuzz is the funniest movie I've seen in ages. Incredible, really, how the word "narp" can will go on to be one of 2007's great comedy moments.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Well that was a crazy week. And a great one, too. After all, it's not every day that an incredibly adorable new niece comes in5to the world. So after several days ooh-ing and aah-ing at the little jellybean, it's time to drag myself back to the real world, where my writing schedule is going to get even crazier than it's been in the past. First thing I have to do: Finish that new column. No wait, I have to review the new Dresden Dolls DVD. No wait, I have to think of some questions to ask Machine Head on Monday. No wait, I have to review the new Smashing Pumpkins. No wait, I have to figure out how to write about the new Slayer deluxe edition. No wait, I have to wade through the stack of CDs that arrived while I was gone. No wait, I have to finish watching the new Kissology DVD. Argh.
I could have stayed an extra few days in Edmonton and gotten a media pass for Sounds of the Underground, but this year's lineup is so boring, it wouldn't have been worth slogging out 10 draining hours at the Shaw Conference Centre. Amon Amarth and Darkest Hour were the only bands I wanted to see, anyway. Meh.
Hey, there are a couple of reviews to mention! The biggest of which is the new Caina album, which is an incredible piece of work by 20 year-old Andrew Curtis Brignell, who combines black metal, folk, post rock, and shoegaze on his second CD. It's brilliant, easily one of the best discs of the year, and I'm quite happy with how the review turned out. Profound Lore and Curtis-Brignell both seem chuffed by it, too, which is nice.
Also appearing last week was my big review of the new Twisted Sister DVD. I had so much fun writing about Dokken a few months ago, that I had to tackle Twisted Sister's anthology of their 1980s out put. Not only is it a cool collection of classic videos and their long out of print 1984 live video, but it serves as a fascinating glimpse at the band's career trajectory through the videos, from the days of anonymity, to meteoric stardom, to bad business decisions, to one of the most rapid declines of the 1980s. They spent a good decade slogging it out in clubs, finally scored a massive hit, enjoyed 12 months on top of the world, only to see it all disappear instantly. As I say in the piece, they're lumped in with the 80s hair bands these days, but in Twisted's heyday, they were a terrific hard rock/metal band, as the Stay Hungry Tour live performance proves. I only with they'd given us the uncensored version instead of the old MTV one...Dee Snider is an incredible frontman, and his prodigious profanity is something to behold.
One thing I didn't get around to writing about was my spur-of-the-moment Tragically Hip show back on the 18th. I'd been showing more interest in the ubiquitous Canadian band in recent years, thanks, oddly enough, to my American friends who love the band, who are not privy to the Hip's omnipresence on rock radio north of the border. Anyway, this past spring, when the outdoor show at the gorgeous Bessborough Gardens was announced, I was handcuffed...it was too close to little Julianna's potential birthdate to commit to well in advance (the little goober kept me from finally seeing Rush this summer as well...a trade I'll take any day!), so I was a bit disappointed, but on the day of the show, a radio station announced the availability of 50 more tickets, and I was able to snag one.
It was an interesting introduction to the Hip live experience. The setting was stunning, in the shadow of the grand old hotel, the stage framed by elm trees, with the riverbank in the background, while the crowd was interestingly diverse, ranging from hippies, indie kids, boomers, and most prominently, backwards cap-wearing thugs and their hideous fake-tanned girlfriends. And the obsessiveness of the fans is disturbing...here's a band that specializes in understated music with enigmatic, poetic lyrics, yet everyone, including the thugs, recite every line with liturgical devotion. It lent a desperate air to the concert, almost bipolar, veering from moments of pure joy ("Fireworks"), to sublime beauty ("Wheat Kings", "Bobcaygeon"), to blues-drenched catharsis. It was cool during the mellow songs, just harmless fun, everyone singing all the words, but whenever they cranked up the volume, it got shockingly rowdy. I thought they'd be mellower, but no. The thugs pretty much took over during the last half hour, especially when "High Dough" and "Little Bones" were cranked out. I felt safer in the pit at Slayer. I mean, I like this band an all, but not that much. It was a great show, but with fans like that, once might be just enough.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Well, I was supposed to be posting at length about what's been going on this past week, but all that was scuttled when little Julianna Linda Marie decided to arrive a little early. What a little cutie. That makes it niece number three. Regular updates will resume as soon as I catch up on my sleep!
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
This past Friday my review of the new Neurosis album appeared. At the beginning of the year when it first leaked, I could never bring myself to listen to it...Neurosis's style of sound has been duplicated to the point of overkill these days, some bands doing quite a good job, some rather mediocre and boring, and I'd heard so much stuff that I sort of forgot just how great Neurosis really is. I should have known better, seeing that I went through the exact same rigamoly last September, acting chilly towards Isis and then loving In the Absence of Truth when I did end up giving it a listen, but although I was a bit late, when I popped that CD in, I was floored. Crushingly heavy, moreso than their last album, as epic-sounding as you'll ever get, and yet often insanely catchy. Highly, highly recommended...as my mid-year list states, this is a big-time contender for my 2007 best-ofs.
I was asleep at the wheel last week, as I didn't even notice that Decibel actually did publish the list of the 20 Best Death Metal Guitarists on the website. So my two blurbs, in which I sing, erm, growl, the praises of Nergal and Muhammed Suicmez, are indeed out there for your perusal.
Had a very enjoyable interview with Guy Kozowyk from the red Chord yesterday, in which he went on about new Hampshire militia men, The Devil Wears Prada (the movie, not the book, and nor the band), Trailer Park Boys, prison guards, Bubba Ho-tep, Genghis Khan, women eating oily birds and laying eggs, and other such miscellany. Should make for a fun column, which I hope to finish this week. Oh, and the Red Chord's new album is excellent.
A song I currently cannot get out of my head: "Autumn Cannibalist", by Toronto's Die Mannequin. I first heard singer Care Failure on the ripping good cover of "I Fought the Law" from the Trailer Park Boys Movie, and her band's 2007 EP is strong punk pop, led by this single. It was produced by T.O. hipsters-slash-Daft Punk wannabes MSTRKRFT, and you can hear it in the song, with the pulsating dance-inspired beats and claushtrophobic mix. Watch the video here.
Jason Isbell's debut solo album was one of those records that was shelved so many times, that we never thought it would ever see the light of day. He kept saying it was done, those close to the Drive-By Truckers were saying it was a great album, and he started playing some of the songs at DBT shows, but the release date was always being pushed back. Of the three central songwriters in the Drive-By Truckers from 2003 to 2006, Isbell has always been the favourite of the indie scenesters, and for good reason, as his compositions like "Decoration Day", "Outfit", "Danko/Manual", and "Daylight" were highlights of the band's last three albums, but when I first heard Isbell's MySpace demos this past spring, I was a bit underwhelmed, as the songs lacked the grit of the beloved DBT, and sounded middle-of-the-road. So while the hipsters were declaring that the band would never recover from Isbell's departure a few months ago, I was concerned that the young phenom would lose his edge on his album. Now that it finally came out this week, I am pleased to say Sirens of the Ditch, while it does play it safe for the most part, shows that the young dude has a promising future as a solo artist. In fact, this CD is surprisingly close to being a Drive-By Truckers album, as every member (save Mike Cooley) plays on it. Their presence lends the record the kind of robust feel that the demos sorely lacked, which you hear on the Stones-ish "Brand New Kind of Actress" and the dark "Try". It's Isbell's tenor voice that carries the disc, however, the mid-album highlights "Chicago Promenade" and "Dress Blues" (as heartbreaking an Iraq War protest song as you'll ever hear), "Grown", and "Hurricanes and Hand Grenades" show a tender side that Isbell wasn't able to fully exhibit in the DBT. It's an understated beaut of an album, one that is not afraid to find a comfy spot in the middle of the road, and just sit back and enjoy the ride. Consider it a very pleasant surprise. Seek it out!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Two reviews of two very good albums to mention...first of all, my badly overdue Short Takes piece on the new Angelic Process album. If you like My Bloody Valentine, Neurosis, Swans, Jesu, or all of the above, you need to hear this album. The guitar tone is incredible, the melodies haunting. Yet another classy release by Profound Lore (I'm this close to looking like a streetteamer for these guys), it's one of my metal faves of 2007. So take a peek at the review, download the sample track, and by all means, order the album from the label. Their prices are insanely cheap.
The other review is another metal disc that's one of my faves, but it's completely different. I'm talking about Vancouver's retro-metal warriors 3 Inches of Blood, whose new album has been impressing me for several months now. While some are declaring that the band will never top "Deadly Sinners", I think the new album is far more consistently good, with far, far better musicianship. Some of the guys who played on Advance and Vanquish admitted after leaving the band that they didn't actually like metal, and on Fire Up the Blades, you hear six guys who love it to death, it's that much of an improvement. They do start to sound a bit samey deeper into the album, but now that I've been spinning the thing for so long, the entire disc has grown on me significantly. Highly recommended!
On Tuesday, the Polaris Music Prize Shortlist was announced, and I'm glad to see two artists I voted for on the final list of ten, those being Junior Boys and The Besnard Lakes. I'm glad to see Patrick Watson on there, as he was the last cut I made from my ballot. Arcade Fire is no surprise, but I am surprised Sloan didn't make it...lots of people loved their album (I remain somewhat chilly toward it). Quite a singer-songwritery feel to the list as a whole, with Feist, Julie Doiron, Chad Vangaalen, Joel Plaskett, and Graham Van Pelt's Miracle Fortress making the cut. The inclusions I'm not too crazy about are Plaskett and The Dears...Plaskett is the most overrated indie artist in Canada, while I found the Dears' last album to be on the boring side. No Francophone revelations like Malajube a year ago, but I wasn't familiar with Miracle Fortress, whose new album is quite likeable, although I think The Besnard Lakes do a far better job incorporating lush vocal harmonies into their music. The obvious favourite would be Feist, but it's a good bet it'll be an underdog again this year, and I'm willing to bet it'll be The Besnard Lakes, over the much-beloved Doiron. We'll see, come September!
You've got to like the bold approach Arts & Crafts took with the new Stars album, preventing a leak by releasing it online themselves...not only does it show some forward thinking ( a rarity from a record label), but it also shows great confidence in the product, knowing theat a great deal of those who do download the album through dicey means will go and buy the CD when it hits the stores in two months. I'll be one of them, as In Our Bedroom After the War is a gorgeous follow-up to the breakthrough Set Yourself on Fire. There's more focus on synths and less on guitars, but essentially, it has everything we want from the band:lovely pop hooks, the chemistry between vocalists Torquil Campbell and Amy millan (they're so much better together than on their own), lyrics that start off rosy hued but wind up slipping into the murky shadows, ultra-slick, but never pandering production. Some interesting twists, as "The Ghost of Genova Heights" goes for an R&B sound and "My Favourite Book" echoes the smooth Continental sounds of Feist, but there are plenty of potential Stars standards here, like the beeyootyfull "The Night Starts Here", the Smiths-ish "Take Me to the Riots", and the heartbreaking boy-girl character sketch "Personal". It's perhaps not quite the start-to-finish knockout that the last album was, but it's still immensely pleasing, and I can't wat to see them live again. The fall leg of their tour hits the States, but they've always been loyal to Canada, especially Saskatoon, where they have a very loyal following, so hopefully we'll get them at Amigos before long.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Decibel's site has been updated for July, so that means I have a pile of reviews to mention again. I actually wrote four for this issue, but one was bumped, so it's three this month. Next issue should be a biggie for yours truly, but I'll get to that when it surfaces.
Anyway, there are three reviews definitely worth mentioning. There's my piece on the new Behemoth album, which was one of the year's most anticipated metal releases. The album doesn't disappoint either, as it has that combination of brutality and catchiness that Behemoth is so good at, but the more I listened to it, the more I'd come to prefer the previous one, Demigod. If you're a fan of death metal, it's still a buyer, though. An album I like even more is the new Korpiklaani...some might find their "humppa", or polka, metal weird at first, but these guys are so genuine, and so full of joy and soul, it's impossible for me to find any fault. I reviewed their last CD a year ago, and I find the new one to be even more consistent, as I elaborate in my piece. And yeah, I still think it warranted a '9' rating. Lastly, there's the debut album from Trivium wannabes Sanctity, a band that is getting a lot of flak for being Matt Heafy's pet project and being hyped to death by Roadrunner Records, but in all honesty, while the CD is far from perfect, it has its share of decent moments. Though "Beneath the Machine" is a really dumb song about getting a tattoo.
I also contributed a couple of blurbs to the magazine's list of the 20 best guitarists in death metal, both of which were fun to do, but sadly they're not online. So if you can, grab the issue this month, the list is a good one. Oh, and I wrote about cover story Nergal (my second Behemoth-related piece in the mag) as well as the great Muhammed Suicmez, he of Necrophagist notoriety.
I never mention my "Short Takes" reviews I do for PopMatters, mainly because they're releases that are barely worth mentioning (you don't need someone else telling you Sick Puppies suck, right?), but every so often I do a short review of an album that is actually pretty darn good, and it's about time I started mentioning them here. Take the new Big Business album, for instance. It was buried under a stack of more pressing albums, but once I gave it a spin, I was mightily impressed with the duo's scorching, often extremely catchy music. They helped make the last Melvins album a great one, so the success of their own band shouldn't be much of a surprise. Because the CDs are usually ridiculously short, I'll sometimes do a grindcore review for the section, and the new Graf Orlock CD is extraordinary. How extraordinary? Well, not only is it surprisingly accessible grindcore, not only does it contain loads of hilarious movie dialogue samples, but the CD has the coolest art design I've seen all year.
I'd been waiting for a certain show this past Saturday for a good five or six months, ever since Amigos inexplicably announced on their website that the legendary Damo Suzuki would be playing in the city. As you may or may not know, I'm a big fan of German progressive rock innovators Can, of which Suzuki was a major part during an extremely influential run of albums between 1969 and 1973. His vocal style is among the most unique in rock history, serving more as a musical complement than a definitive focal point of a rock band, full of cryptic, barely discernable turns of phrase ("I saw mushroomhead / I was born and I was dead"), his energetic, charismatic live presence a perfect foil for the somewhat studious rest of the band. As of late, Suzuki has been toruing worldwide, performing improvised sets (which he calls "instant composing") with local musicians, ranging from unknowns to notable artists, and on this night his supporting band featured members of local bands Golden Smoke, Slowdown Molasses, and Blood Music. When Suzuki (who is incredibly short!) and the band took the stage, we had no idea what to expect, and perhaps neither did the band, who started somewhat surreptitiously into an atmospheric intro. Then Damo started to sing, and the place was utterly captivated. We had no idea what the heck he was saying, but he did so with a power and intensity that belied his diminutive stature. The guy has presence, it's as simple as that, as he howled, crooned, and roared, and before long, the entire six-piece was completely in synch. The 90 minute set was nothnig but continuous music, basically in three parts, the first a massive wave of Isis/Pelican-inspired metalgaze, building up to a crashing climax, the second a subdued foray into ambient drone, and the third a slow, steady build to a furious, electrifying rock-oriented cacophony, driven by propulsive drumming. The set ended at the perfect moment, right when the folks on the floor were really into it (even though they weren't too sure what "it" was)...if they'd carried on into another mellow interlude, the place would have cleared, but no, they endeed to rapturous applause, a beaming Damo striking a triumphant, yet humble pose, slapping hands with those adjacent to the stage. it was enigmatic yet joyful, very loud but very moving, a performance folks will be talking about for quite some time.
Seeing Damo's larger-than-life persona in person, I was inspired to go back to my Can CDs and DVDs on Sunday and have some fun listening to one of the greatest bands of all time, revisiting some of Damo's most memorable musical moments. The band went on to do just fine after he left (1974's Soon over Babaluma is a personal fave), as they were all extraordinary musicians (professorial keyboardist Irmin Schmidt, intense yet funky bassist Holger Czukay, fluid guitarist Michael Karoli, and ultra-tight drummer Jaki Liebezeit), but those days with the skinny little Japanese dude yielded some of the most stirring, challenging, thrilling music ever made. Want some examples? Here are a few from YouTube worth checking out (all of which can be found on the oustanding Can DVD):
"Paperhouse", 1971
"Spoon" (live), 1972
"Bring Me Coffee or Tea", 1972
"I'm Too Liese", 1974
Friday, July 6, 2007
Here's the full setlist from Sunday's White Stripes show:
Blue Orchid > Party Of Special Things To Do
Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground
Icky Thump > Highway 61 Revisited
Jolene
Catch Hell Blues
Effect and Cause
Hotel Yorba
Lord, Send Me An Angel
Black Math > Satisfaction
You Don't Know What Love Is
I Think I Smell A Rat
The Union Forever
Cannon
I'm Slowly Turning Into You > Dust My Broom
We're Going To Be Friends
A Martyr For My Love For You
My Doorbell
Screwdriver
Apple Blossom
300 Pounds of Heavenly Joy
Ball and Biscuit > Death Letter
Encore:
Let's Shake Hands > Keep On Trash
In The Cold Cold Night
I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself
Seven Nation Army
Boll Weevil
Monday, July 2, 2007
Not only was yesterday Canada Day, but it was also the day the White Stripes paid a visit to my city, something many of us had been looking forward to for months now. And in the case of yours truly, it turned out to be an especially enjoyable day.
The band has been doing a free "secret" show at every tour stop in Canada, and after helping Erin & Steve get to the one in Edmonton on Saturday afternoon, I was at the computer waiting for word on where and when it would be. Edmonton's free show was at an inner city community centre, so I figured it would be the same here, but I was really surprised to hear at 2:15 that it was going to be at Eastview Bowl, of all places, which is about a six minute drive from where I live. So I made it there when there were about 30 people waiting, and the closer it got to the top of the hour, the more the word of mouth had spread, one TV station saying there were 300 people there. The set-up was cool, on the floor directly in front of the lanes, and I was able to get a great spot to watch from. And it was just like how the other free shows have gone off, Jack and Meg popping in at exactly the announced time, playing a short set, and running straight out. It was lighthearted and loosey-goosey when they arrived, Jack hopping across the lanes, Meg toting bowling pins and seeing if she could drum with them (they both went, "nah, this isn't going to work"), and the pair launched into the hilariously appropriate "Red Bowling Ball Ruth", and ripping into four more songs, making for a short but extremely sweet 15 minute set. The highlight was when Jack concluded "Let's Build a Home" by throwing a couple balls, which you can see here (the lighting was weirdly backlit (hey, it's a bowling alley), but you can still make out what's going on). A bunch of photos have been posted here. Here's the full setlist:
Red Bowling Ball Ruth
Let's Shake Hands
Lafayette Blues
I Fought Piranhas
Let's Build a House
Four hours later, it was time for the main event at TCU Place. It's interesting, I haven't been to a rock show at that theatre since seeing Helix in 1987, would you believe, so it was a real change to see a full-scale concert at such a swanky venue. Not surprisingly, the classy confines resulted in a rather reserved crowd, but while it was a far cry from the reportedly insane moshpits in Edmonton, the sell-out audience was extremely receptive. Opener Dan Sartain was okay, but I find his rockabilly rather repetitive, but I have to give him credit for a great choice of cover song, that being the early Alice Cooper nugget "Second Coming". And he also worked in a little "I Love the Dead", too, which was cool.
But it was all about Jack & Meg, who performed on a multi-leveled, all-red stage set, Meg drumming in that loose, fluid, but remarkably tight style of hers, and Jack extremely manic, gesticulating, dancing, going to one of the four different mic stands, and basically shredding maniacally on his trademark Airline guitar. Talking was kept to a minimum, as the pair sped from song to song to song...I wish I had the full setlist (they jumble up their songs to an astonishing degree, it's practically impossible to keep up), but until the audio bootleg surfaces, I'll just have to guess. The show got off to a blazing start with "Black Orchid", "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground", "Icky Thump" (which included a verse from Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited", which was great), "Jolene", "Catch Hell Blues", and "Effect and Cause", and just carried on from there: "Apple Blossom", "I Think I Smell a Rat/The Union Forever" (probably my favourite moment), "Lord Send Me an Angel", "Truth Doesn't Make a Noise", an epic "Slowly Turning Into You", "Hotel Yorba", "We're Going to Be Friends", "My Doorbell", "Black Math", "I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself", "Black Math", "In the Cold Cold Night", plus a bunch more I can't remember. They launched into "Ball and Biscuit", to a great ovation, but there was a guitar glitch (out of tune or broken string or something, and Jack immediately halted, switched guitars, and went right into an intense rendition of the blues-drenched "Death Letter". The encore included the requisite "Seven Nation Army", and the show ended on a whimsical note with the cover of the folk standard "Boll Weevil". They cram a lot of music into an hour and a half, and their back catalogue is so deep, that popular tunes like "Fell in Love With a Girl", "Hardest Button to Button", and "Little Ghost" were all left off. If and when I find the full setlist, I'll post it here.
So yeah, great show, hugely enjoyable. But a tiring day, too. Can't quite pack it in yet, as I have a quick review to mention, as my piece on the new Immaculate Machine album went up on Friday. It's a fun little record, with plenty of the kind of bouyant indie pop that singer kathryn Calder performs with the New Pornographers. And nearly as strong, too. Their opening set at the New Pornographers show last October was pretty good, but now that I'm such a fan of the album, I just might have to go see their headlining show here in August.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Well, we're halfway through the year, and so begins my bi-annual state-of-the-year-in-music address. At least pertaining to my own weird little world. Last year was all about disappintments in the first half, but this year has been quite different, often for the better, but bittersweet as well, as some of my favourite bands have undergone upheavals, with Anneke van Giersbergern leaving my beloved The Gathering (less than two weeks after I saw them for the first time!), Jason Isbell leaving the Drive-By Truckers, and Peter Lindgren departing from Opeth. While I've heard plenty of good music from several genres, it's been the metal scene that has been absolutely torrid, as a great new release seems to floor me on a biweekly basis. It's nuts, I keep thinking to myself that I shouldn't be liking this much new stuff, but seriously, it's that good. So good, that there were at least ten titles I had to leave off this mid-year list. There are plenty of exciting new releases on the horizon, too...Arch Enemy, Nile, Interpol, Richard Hawley, Caribou, M.I.A., Stars, Baroness, Leviathan, Wolves in the Throne Room, among most likely many others, including the usual surprises that I greatly look forward to unearthing. I can only hope that the next revelation will be as big as the instant when my current album of the year contender blew me away:
The Best Album of the Year So Far:
Battles - Mirrored
At first I was skeptical about all the over the top hype that surrounded the debut album by the experimental math rock project. The single "Atlas" was catchy and all, but I tended to think it sounded more novelty than anything else. As I delved deeper into the album the more I came to realize just how much fun Mirrored actually is. It's a fascinating contradiction; on one side, you have the progressive/post/math rock angle, that channels three different bands that I am crazy about: 70s legends Can, 90s eccentrics Disco Inferno, and current genius Dan Snaith of Caribou notoriety, placing electronic loops and triggers alongside challenging guitar and drum work, and cramming it all into shockingly conventional song arrangements. On the other side is a complete lack of pretentiousness, which we hear in the ebullience of the performances and the lilting, sing-along melodies, whether it's the whistling on "Race: In" or the nonsensical vocals on "Atlas" and "Tonto". This is exactly what I want progressive rock to be, bold and eccentric, yet entirely accessible and not self-important in the least. A band like the Mars Volta can keep noodling away for hours at a time, tossing in boring solos and arbitrary time signature changes, but I can no longer care, especially when Battles it astonishingly proficient at embracing innovation and convention, balancing it to perfection. This album is a treasure.
As per usual, here are the ten leading contenders for my year-end top twenty, in alphabetical order:
Alcest - Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde
From France comes this absolutely, drop-dead gorgeous album by multi-instrumentalist Neige, combining the subtlest of black metal influences with a strong shoegazer sound. No screaming here, it's all melody, the kind of stuff that elicits comparisons to Slowdive and Lush. You won't hear a prettier album all year.
Apostle of Hustle - National Anthem of Nowhere
Broken Social Scene alumnus Andrew Whiteman makes a bit of a departure on the second Apostle of Hustle album, broadening the sound (a bit of rock here, some electronic there), but never strays from his band's central theme of Cuban music, making for a varied yet consistent record.
Clutch - From Beale Street to Oblivion
One of the most consistent rock bands in the US, Clutch continues their evolution from stoner rockers to a brilliant blues/jam outfit on a scorcher of an album, toning down the huge riffs and attention-grabbing vocals for a much more well-rounded sound. Their best album yet.
Dungen - Tio Bitar
Sweden's great psychedelic rockers don't disappoint on the follow-up to the much-loved Ta Det Lugnt, sounding more focused than ever before, the songs more direct, more dynamic, and often darker. If anything convinced me that this album is superior, it was the stunning epic "Mon Amour".
Patty Griffin - Children Running Through
Patty Griffin's resume is already one of the most impressive around, but while she is arguably the best female singer-songwriter of the last decade, she hits an artistic peak on her sixth album, finally finding her perfect sound, blending folk, gospel, and country. A landmark album.
Jesu - Conqueror
Justin Broadrick's post-Godflesh project had always been hinting at greatness, and he achieves it on his second full-length, and follow-up to 2006's lovely Silver EP. The guitars sound huge, the drumming hard-hitting yet minimal, his voice contemplative, as the trio alternates between the accessible and the massive.
LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
Okay, we might as well declare that James Murphy can do no wrong. Every single LCD Soundsystem release turns out to be a winner, and this one is the band's best effort yet, as they start to shed the "dance punk" tag in favour of a much richer sound.
Neurosis - Given to the Rising
I'd been growing tired of the "post-metal" clones lately, but like Isis's last album, Neurosis's new one serves as a reminder that nobody does it as well as the masters, a monstrous, crushing, invigorating piece of work that seems far shorter than its hour-plus running time.
Pig Destroyer - Phantom Limb
The metal album of 2007, bar none. All bets are off, this is a slam dunk, as the notorious Virginia trio come up with something earth-shattering, fusing enough sounds to escape the grindcore tag for good, and with some of the most moving lyrics you'll hear anywhere. Absolutely thrilling.
Rush - Snakes and Arrows
The Canadian legends have been going strong for well over three decades, but their 18th album is their strongest in 16 years, yielding a great single in "Far Cry", three terrific instrumentals, tight arrangements, and Alex Lifeson's most impassioned guitar work in a very long time.
Ten more non-metal favourites, in alphabetical order:
!!! - Myth Takes, The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible, The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse, Dalek - Abandoned Language, Siobhan Donaghy - Ghosts, Feist - The Reminder, Immaculate Machine - Immaculate Machine's Fables, Maximo Park - Our Earthly Pleasures, Plastiscines - LP1, You Say Party! We Say Die! - Lose All Time
Ten more metal favourites, in alphabetical order:
The Angelic Process - Weighing Souls With Sand, Behemoth - The Apostasy, Bergraven - Dodsvisioner, Bloody Panda - Pheromones, Caina - Mourner, Dimmu Borgir - In Sorte Diaboli, Korpiklaani - Tervaskanto, Machine Head - The Blackening, Watain - Sworn to the Dark, Rwake - Voices of Omens
Lastly, here are my ten favourite singles of the first half of 2007:
1. Battles – "Atlas" (video)
2. Clutch – "Electric Worry" (video)
3. Manic Street Preachers – "Your Love Alone is Not Enough" (video)
4. Sophie Ellis-Bextor – "Catch You" (video)
5. Roisin Murphy – "Overpowered" (video)
6. Plastiscines – "Loser" (video)
7. Feist – "My Moon, My Man" (video)
8. Rush – "Far Cry" (video)
9. LCD Soundsystem – "North American Scum" (video)
10. After Forever – "Energize Me" (video)
