Listen to Sleigh Bells new song- "Born to Lose"

Sleigh Bells was my favorite new group of 2010, and their upcoming second LP, Reign of Terror (awesome name!) is my most anticipated of an already crowded 2012. I was satisfied for the time being with a simple knowledge of it's existence and a quick glance at the track listing. So when Spin got their hands on the first single of Reign, "Born to Lose", you can imagine my palpable excitement. "Born to Lose" is fantastic, an intoxicating blend of dread and playfulness with Sleigh Bell's trademark devastating guitars playing with slightly quirkier synth and samplers than they usually produce. It's an interesting evolution of the group's dynamic while still capturing the ferocious energy that made them such a blast the first time. Check it out.

M83 at Venue

Saturday, November 12

Doors open at 7pm. It's an early show, supposed to be over by 10, so expedience is of the utmost. It's 7:28 and everyone is still outside. It's cold enough that my extremities have slipped uncomfortably into that purgatory of numbness. Things are behind schedule, I'm cold and pissed off- it could be going better. It's times like this that I sometimes ask myself how much I really want to be going to what ever show it is I'm in line for. Not this time, M83 was playing and I wasn't going anywhere. No level of frostbite, hypothermia, or barrage of scalpers and homeless people was going to keep me away from my most anticipated show of the season. The same unfortunately can't be said for the 50 plus people lined up hoping to get a ticket at the door. Not likely as they were only selling 20; it would seem the show, part of their tour promoting the recently released double LP, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, had more or less sold out some time ago. Those people missed out on one of the best shows I've ever been to.

Special and innovative efforts seem to have been afforded to setting the mood as the festivities initiated. One of Dreaming's most fascinating attributes is how it's such a transformative and other worldly experience. To successfully recreate this state of mind the crowd would have to be sufficiently divorced from reality. A certain level of sensory deprivation and disorientation would be required to accomplish such a feat. Well, that definitely happened. A phalanx of assaulting and vivid flood lights, blanketed the audience, as ferociously deep and absurdly heavy tones engulfed the room. You couldn't so much as hear the sounds as you could feel them- battered and burdened by them, deep in your core; and maybe even a little below it. You could't so much as see the lights as your retinas were scalded by them. It was intense and destabilizing, shaking you loose from an apparently tenuous grasp on reality. Perfect. As the sensory bombardment eased, a figure emerged from the chaos. Rather than any obvious member of the band, a just shy of impossibly tall figured took to the stage, cloaked in black ceremonial robes, and wearing something similar to the alien/anteater mask that was revealed with the debut of “Midnight City”. He raised his hands as if he was gesturing to a brainwashed cult. It wasn't until after the shock and awe of such a creature wore off that I noticed that the standard and mundane constructs that cluttered the back wall of the Venue stage had been draped with a starry light back drop. It was gorgeous and went a long way from orphaning me from the last cognitive vestiges of being at regular show in a regular building. I was out in space (I promise I wasn't on drugs).

Playlist: Murder Camp Horror Weekend

Halloween is this weekend, so now is the perfect time to post my horror music play list. I got the idea to do this when Shangri-La by YACHT was released earlier this year. It struck me how much the music seemed like science fiction. Then I began to think about how genres in music relate to genres in film. Certainly a rock album is analogous to an action flick. You could perhaps liken a hip hop release to some kind of gangster type film. If Shangri-La is like a sci fi movie, where else can one take this idea? There isn't really any kind of neat and simple basis for comparing music to the horror movie genre- but hell, it's worth a shot. While doing this, I didn't want to take the obvious route and going with just loud, visceral, angry music- though there is some of that here. Instead regardless of volume and output, I wanted music that invoked senses of dread, anxiety, nervousness, and terror. Yes, I opened and closed with Crystal Castles- stuff creeps me out. play list is below with track listings underneath.

1. Crystal Castles- Fainting Spells
2. Radiohead- 2+2=5
3. Grizzly Bear- Dory
4. The Knife- The Captain
5. Bjork- Hunter
6. Justice- Stress
7. Boards of Canada- Music is Math
8. Emily Haines- Doctor Blind
9. The Rapture- Olio
10. The National- Afraid of Everyone
11. The Organ- Steven Smith
12. Arcade Fire- My Body is a Cage
13. The Mars Volta- Interstatic esp
14. Boards of Canada- The Beach at Redpoint
15. Crystal Castles- I am Made of Chalk

Review: M83- Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

The tumultuous and disruptive decade since the onset and onslaught of the digital revolution has transformed not just the music industry, but has done a pretty neat job of changing music. As the synthesizer and the computer replaced the piano and the studio, people began to realize en mass that anyone could be a musician. For better or worse this is the state of affairs we find ourselves in as we scan the internet, sleuth the blogs and sites, dig through torrents looking for increasingly aggregate numbers of new music, new artists, new genres. I tend to think of it for the better, as the late 90s saw the traditional pillars of rock, pop and hip hop decaying and rotting from the inside out due to a void of creative contributions. The caveat to this situation and challenge to all potential contributors is how do you make yourself noticed? When every divergent genre and sub genre is constantly flooded with new content running the gambit along on all levels of quality and taste, what chance does an artist have beyond being innovative or spectacular. M83 does both; with Hurry up We're Dreaming, M83's Anthony Gonzalez creates an adventure that completely subverts and surpasses genre, even breaking free of the limitations on how music should be crafted, as dictated by things as blase as reality. With cutting edge modernity, coupled with a respectful talent for the classical- both in terms of instrumentation and the merits of the studio process- Dreaming is an album that seems future perfect and timeless all at once.

Gonzalez makes it immediately and enticingly apparent that this will not be an album defined or restrained by traditional and tangible barriers such as linearity, pacing, or thematics. In the expansive and dazzling depth of “Intro”, before Zola Jesus' commanding and celebratory voice kicks in, we hear a diminutive girl whisper, “we didn't need a real world, we didn't need a story... I knew you before you even existed”. Things like time and space are rendered meaningless here, Dreaming aims to exist where such concepts can't be accurately measured- in our dreams. Gonzalez has said he no longer wants to live in the real world, rather he would prefer to escape into the endless but stimulating void of our dreams. Here, story and structures, time and space, are nebulous and variable; and possibilities open up infinitely. This album codifies and embraces that sense of discovery and the wonders of the unknown. Instrumentation and arrangements are spacious and lush. Massive crescendos and dizzying dissents are common place to the point of being not just expected but unalienable, yet always introduced and handled in refreshing and creative ways. Synthesizers are purposed towards otherworldly and celestial hooks like the dazzling and potent beat of “Midnight City”, and the boisterous “Year One, One UFO”. Vocals and choirs, like those found in the bizarre and exciting melodic hook they form in “Ok Pal”, are heavily altered by modifiers and post production to ensure the album's ample background vocals carry the signature of something beyond human- alien and heavenly all at once. I hope the technical and evangelical implications of such a descriptor are not lost on people, for when do such concepts ever operate so beautifully together, as opposed to diametrically clashing. This paradigm is replicated in other ways like in the overtly artificial and crass 8-bit measures of “Another Wave From You”, beautifully and dutifully ferrying Gonzalez's demure and frail vocals along. More classical instruments, horns, piano, supplement this by adding an ever intensifying sense of grandeur, but only to some of the tracks.

Songs of The Week: "Suns Irrupt", "The Undiscoverd First", and "Helix"

Lot's of cool stuff lately, so I'm going to throw a few things at you this time around. While I wasn't a huge fan of the new Neon Indian, Era Extrana, it does have a few err, polished tracks. One of the more exciting and sensory engaging songs is the sublime, “Suns Irrupt”. With a robust and textural percussion back bone and a swell of slightly queasy yet soothing synth tides, it's a joy to listen to. While much of the album is too cluttered and messy to discern, “Suns Irrupt” is distinctly and properly layered. Alan Palomo's voice is sedate as usual, but in this case betrays a sort of mystic echo in the background. It seems steeped in a fantastical kind of history, yet is carried along by an overtly tech oriented sci fi psychedelic beat. I like it.

The new Feist album, Metals dropped pretty recently, and to the shock of no one, it's pretty good. What's a little more surprising is the territory she traverses, in her own delicate sort of way in “The Undiscovered First”. It starts off so restrictive, so frail and uneasy. Feist sings with a inalienable confidence. She conveys hints of sweetness slightly mixed with just a touch of scorn and contempt. The melody in turn timidly stalks her voice; scratchy and haphazardly arranged guitar strings and snake rattles keep their distance from her at first. It takes a partly domineering yet supportive horn section to kick in to match Feist's particular brand of restrained passion and for the arrangement to rise to the occasion- and then does it ever. The guitar expands with gruff reverb, and Feist starts channeling some serious Dead Weather and together the whole song just seems dauntingly fierce- especially verses it's diminutive origins.

The new Justice album, Audio Video Disco, is finally approaching, and the few brushes we've had with it so far are extremely promising. Their hooks just keep getting better, and so far “Helix” is the best. Aiming to be more arena rock oriented than dance club pop, “Helix” fits the bill, with a highly punctuated and rapid fire guitar hook that's way too much fun. A ghostly echo of a voice that would apparently rather dance than haunt you makes it all the more goofy and delightful. With the song's conclusion, Justice gracefully takes their hook and transitions it from dirty guitar staccato, to exclamatory and dramatic keyboard finale. So much fun!

Listen to Bjork's new album

After months of mysterious clues and bizarre and mind boggling videos, Bjrok's multimedia experiment Biophillia is just about here. It's been years since her last full length and people are no doubt eager to see what kind of metamorphosis Bjork has undergone this time. Early previews reveal a fixation on the lesser dramatized or sermonized aspects of existence- viruses, bacteria, the celluar inner workings of life. Is Biophillia some musical microcosm of the universe, an endeavour by Bjork to take her mammoth in scale and gorgeous stylings, and pervert and invert them inwards? Who knows, it's streaming on NPR so give it a go! As always, big thanks to NPR!

Broken Social Scene at the Malkin Bowl

September 24, 2011

Broken Social Scene is a band- or perhaps more accurately a brand- that seems to be in a perpetual state of productivity, even when it's been a while since their last official release. As a group comprised of so many artists accomplished in their own rights, there is vast catalogue of musical projects spread across Canada that carries anything from a semblance of their aesthetic to their guiding influence. Everything from Fiest to Metric to Stars and countless others is seeded with the spirit and the biology of Broken Social Scene. No matter what the current shape of the musical sound scape, Broken Social Scene seems to maintain a sort of seasoned and historical relevance. When not the subject of current events, they still linger in the background with a sort of parental gaze. You'd think with the foundation that has coalesced around them within the Canadian music industry, I'd have gotten around to seeing them live before now. I hadn't. Sorry. Rest assured I was immediately aware of the error of my ways when I went to see them at the Malkin Bowl.

I rarely see a group where the first thing to occur is the singer walking up to the edge of the stage for a brief moment or two of light banter with the audience, but Kevin Drew was happy to take the time do so. Drew, throughout the evening would continue to do so, proving to be easily one of the most likeable performers I have ever seen on stage. He has a talent for supporting his band and their performance, with a sense of drama, heart, and meaning- but doesn't indulge in the slightest in the pretentious artistic high horse he could so easily mount. He could hammer out an achingly raw and personal rendition of an already emotionally weighted track like “Sweetest Kill”, and then just as quickly seem completely unaffected by it, effortlessly sliding back into playful back and forth with his band mates or the audience. He could be on his knees, perilously perched upon the precipice of the stage (thankfully not a rain slicked precipice as the weather was quite nice), bellowing out a tune in the most hyper dramatic style, without making it seem overwrought and hammy. I got the sense that if he so casually yet earnestly engaged with others, always brimming with optimism, his more theatrical efforts carried a similar kind of sincerity. Between his limitless congeniality and harrowing intensity, I can see why people often say Kevin Drew is one of the coolest people in the business. Or is that just me saying that? I'll be saying it more often anyways.

Review: Neon Indian- Era Extrana

Era Extrana, the new release by Neon Indian, is not awful. A disclaimer as such is necessary as I'm going to spend most of my time here explaining all the things that are wrong with it. Again, the album is by no means a complete misfire, like some ill conceived experiment that births a wretched creation terrorizing an unsuspecting lot of villagers- although that is sort of the imagery that formed in my head. It's just that it's most pronounced attributes are also it's most glaring flaws, concealing the more admirable aspects. However I cannot claim Era Extrana to be a great, or even good album either, as Neon Indian has failed to expand or improve upon the shaky yet promising ground the broke in their first LP, Psychic chasms.

Ultimately I feel as if a thorough and deeply objective analysis of the counters and crevices of Era Extrana is sadly unwarranted when all that is required of me to say is that this album suffers from the same nearly crippling aliment that Physic Chasms did. That being a deeply rooted lack of confidence in their abilities as musicians coupled with their grotesque over indulgence as editors and post production hucksters. This album is at its core comprised of competent, and occasionally alluring tech-synth beats, only to be smothered and congested by an obtrusive and offensive amount of musical detritus. The melody is strangled and snuffed out by a tangled and ill defined web of haze and subterfuge in the form of obtrusive distortions in bloated numbers. I mean that last part rather literally as the basic beat of some of their tracks show real promise. The endearing and remorseful few seconds of their opening interlude, “Heart: Attack”- which is made all the more impressive and expressive since they composed it via canned 8 bit audio tracks provides hints of grandeur and importance. The inquisitive parading scales of their lead single, “Polish Girl” are equal parts superficially catchy and mentally stimulating- and in just the right balance. Clearly Neon Indian can at times, construct a good tune. Why they feel the need to consume these tunes in an unbalanced tide of post production bullshitery is distressing as both of these tracks quickly loose direction awash in a mess of distorted measures. Before one dissents and says there is no basis to say this is all egregiously applied after the fact and argues that much of what you here is performed in real time- stop. It's not. I have seen Neon Indian live, or should I say I have had the pleasure to see Neon Indian live. Their songs are significantly striped down; considerably leaner and more linear. The simplicity that they seem “restrictively” forced to convey is so much more appealing than their sloppy mosaic approach to music.

Songs of The Week: "Honey Bunny" by Girls and "Girl" by Das Racist

You'll have to forgive the corresponding symmetry between these two entries; it was not intentional. I meant to throw up one of these songs last week but a mastery of time and even basic coordination are skills that continue to elude me- so let's do a couple at once. The first track is "Honey Bunny" by Girls, off their new LP Father, Son, Holy Ghost- which some people are just retarded for. I think the album is quite good, if somewhat derivative of Belle and Sebastian, who are in turn occasionally riding the coat tails of The Beatles, who's influence is also quite prevalent throughout the album. "Honey Bunny" seems to stand out as the album's best track, with a tight surfer grunge guitar riff to open things up and singer Christopher Owens proving to be an inescapably endearing and inviting force with his soothingly care free voice. He jumps back and forth from jaded albeit brushed off rejection, to pure adoration. And while the best part of the song is that amazing hook- "They don't like my boney body, they don't like my dirty hair"- I appreciate that he didn't end the song with it. If the romantic side of him didn't overcome the cynic, it wouldn't be the gratifyingly optimistic track that it is.

Next up is "Girl" by Das Racist off their new album, Relax, marking their first release on a record label, Greedhead music in this case. Relax is condescendingly referred to as their first "real" LP, relegating the equally valid offerings Shut Up, Dude and Sit Down, Man to the quasi legitimate status of mix tapes. Just because they made these records themselves without the distributive assets or production capabilities of a record label, they are marginalized as lesser forms of art. Why most sources of music criticism are so complacent in this admittedly mild form of discrimination is unclear. Perhaps not being on a label and not officially releasing their work as an "LP" allowed Das Racist to avoid potential obstacles in the form of royalties due to all the people and intelectual properties they reference; royalties that a label backing them may be willing to pay. That rant aside, I was interested to see how the guerrilla warfare brand of hip hop that Das Racist indulges in would change under the production and scrutiny of an actual label. "Girl" is indeed the most produced and glossy experience on Relax. It has a wonderful if perplexing- considering the group here- spaced out pop melody that would feel more in place in an MGMT song. Das Racist has, if not a striking talent, than at least a persistent habit of creating pretty interesting rhythms, but paying them little or no regard when building lyrics around them. They deviate from this custom, but only at first, surprising many no doubt by actually, you know, singing. Half way through they switch over to not quite rapping, more some sort of spoken word monologue. The beat proves expansive and melodically stimulating enough to support both styles I think. I really enjoyed this singular instance where the Das Racist crew was more interested in using their music as a means to communicate something sincerely, rather than a crude delivery system for their still rather amusing lampooning of obscure and washed up pop culture references. They have the rest of the album for that after all.

Listen to Ladytron's new album

If you're looking for some music to help you transition smoothly from summer into fall, Ladytron might do the trick. The fifth LP from the moody synth duo, Gravity The Seducer- cool name by the way, and really cool album cover!- is out now and you can stream the whole thing via the always useful Soundcloud, or right here if you're too lazy to hit a link.

 Ladytron - Gravity The Seducer by nettwerkmusicgroup

Review: The Rapture- In The Grace of Your Love

“You need to un-quit your band”, said DFA frontman James Murphy to Luke Jenner, singer of the then disbanded group, The Rapture. With the breakout success of their scathingly raw album, Echoes, and then the rave pop stylings of Pieces of the People We love, The Rapture had seemed to cement their status as a group on the bleeding edge of pop, dance and punk. To the surprise and dismay of many Jenner seemed to want no part of this, opting instead for seclusion and parting ways with The Rapture. With the surprising death of his mother, the birth of his son, and finding his role in the band grow increasingly distant from what he wanted, Jenner decided to call it quits. As celebrated was their accession, so to was their painful demise mourned. Times, thankfully, have changed; Jenner is back, The Rapture is back. In The Grace of Your Love is the result. And it's damn impressive.

With In The Grace of Your Love, Jenner returns to his former band with drastically altered ambitions and intentions, and the band's tool set is equally repurposed. Indeed it may be more apt to describe The Rapture under it's current incarnation as using an entirely different set of styles and techniques. This was my initial reaction to the album, however in the end In The Grace of Your Love is really still just pop music, an entity not entirely disparate from Pieces of the People We Love. The key differences that divides the two albums by such a wide margin is purpose. With In The Grace of Your Love, Jenner channels a insatiable passion for true and genuine sentiment. This is a far cry from, by comparison, a collection of party pop superfluousness in the previous album; one that was comprised mostly of songs about partying, dancing, copulating. Don't get me wrong, I love Pieces of the People We Love, but In The Grace of Your Love radiates an emotional functionality and depth that reveals the slight shallowness of their earlier work. In retrospect I can understand Jenner's prior frustrations that led him to part ways with the band; If all you can communicate is a desire for hedonism, then stagnation will surely kick in, festering and strangling the creative process. Better to move on before that happens. Thankfully in this case, Jenner returned with a renewed sense of purpose eager to explore his capacity for more emotive offerings.

Song of the Week: "Baby Missiles" by The War on Drugs

With such a culturally loaded name and obtusely abstract couple of album covers, I felt that I currently lacked the intellectual stamina to tackle The War on Drugs. Imagine my surprise when I finally gave it a go and discovered a much more approachable and nostalgic type of music. Exuding a kind of working class spirit and rustic energy, The War on Drugs is hard not to like. "Baby Missiles", first debuted on his EP Future Weather last year and has been repackaged in his new recent LP, Slave Ambient. This song in particular has very natural, tall tale style of lyricism with a lush celebratory rhythm comprised of equal parts synth and country style rock. Furthermore, holy cow, how much does lead singer Adam Granduciel sound like Bruce Springsteen!! Check it out.

Review: Little Dragon- Ritual Union

July kind of sucked in Vancouver- weather wise. It was cloudy, cold, it goddamn rained. But right towards the end of the month, things turned around. As if Mother Nature in all her venomous and contemptuous wrath decided to show some mercy. At right around the same time, Ritual Union, the third LP from Little Dragon dropped; to those familiar with Little Dragon headed up by Yukimi Nagano, they would agree that the timing could not have been more perfect. Little Dragon's mysterious, quirky, delightful, and uplifting brand of electro pop goes perfectly with my favourite season once it's in full effect. When I listened to Ritual Union for the first time, it was obvious that I liked it, but I wasn't sure if it was better than their previous album, the excellent Machine Dreams. If I was going to answer this question I needed to understand in what ways it was different, and if those differences yielded a better or worse album.

Upon initial inspection, Nagano's voice is immediately familiar to those who spent any time with their previous album, Machine Dreams. Instantly alluring, silky smooth, and paced elegantly and logically with the music it accompanies, listening to Nagano throughout Ritual Union reaffirms my belief that she is one of the premier vocal talents out there right now. My first few plays of the album had me more or less convinced that Ritual Union, at least in terms of Nagano's vocal contribution, was a logical and sensible continuation of the ground explored in Machine Dreams. While that is certainly satisfactory to some degree, there is something slightly disappointing about a group like Little Dragon, who I found so vibrantly unique at first, to stumble tragically into redundancy and repetitiveness. I wanted to give Nagano more credit, so I forced Ritual Union through a much more rigorous and borderline anal analytical wringer; I'm pleased I did, for I believe the findings to be most positive. It took repeated listenings, but I'm now certain there are some pretty key differences between how she sang on this album versus the last.

Cults at Venue

Cults is relatively new to the indie pop scene; it's something of a wonderful yet curious rarity these days that a group's dynamic can be described as simply and directly as "indie pop"- so thanks Cults. This is a group that is also fairly new to my own particular arsenal, as I suspect is the case with most burgeoning fans. Furthermore, this is their fist serious tour, which is something I perhaps did not appreciate when I saw them. Since their inception, this is the first time they have exposed real live people to their distinct brand of stylings. I use the term "distinct" with purpose and intent in this case as I do find something compelling and unique about Cults. The best descriptor or reference point I can liken them to is a synthesis of Bats for Lashes and the Brunettes. Front woman Madeline Follin and back up vocalist Brian Oblivion (cool name!) display a personal camaraderie and commitment to each other in a way that reminds of the Brunettes, and the way they use light and fleeting instruments and arrangements to dance just on the edge of darker tones seems like a tactic similar to Bats. Yet the two groups that I use here as reference points for Cults operate on very different poles, so the fact that Cults avoids any discontinuity in their album and on stage seemed so acutely comfortable with the sound they have cultivated is worth praising.

TV on the Radio at the Commodore

While I'm not so informed and hip to be able to proclaim that I was a fan of TV on the Radio before they got big, I really wish I was. Nevertheless, they've been a big part of making me look cool via showing off my bloated and pretentious music library for quite a few moons. So it comes as a slightly embarrassing that I had never etched out a date in my calender to see them live before. Rest assured, the moment I learned TVOTR was hitting Vancouver, I was instantly committed to the event.

Listen to M83's New Single: Midnight City

Yes, that's the artwork for the single...

I posted a new song of the week just a couple of days ago; I don't care this is too exciting to ignore. For the last few months we've been learning more and more tantalizing details about M83's upcoming double(!) album- but no name. That all changes today as news comes that the album will be titled Hurry Up, We're Dreaming. Of course that's what it's called. Even better, the first single "Midnight City" just dropped. We were promised something that would be "very, very, very epic", and goddamn if this doesn't fit the bill- that hyperbolic promise might actually require one more "very" just to do it this track justice. You can check out "Midnight City" here, or head over to Soundcloud to give it a go. (via Pitchfork)

 Midnight City by M83 

Song of the Week: "Plaything" by Wild Beasts

This uncharacteristically lousy Vancouver weather- did i say uncharacteristic? I meant so goddamn common and frustrating these days I wanna start burning leaves without a permit just to spite that cold bitch mother nature- has put me in a somber mood. My recent summer mix tape seems out of place considering the down pour outside. So I find myself turning to Wild Beasts; Smother, their new album dropped about a month ago, but I afforded it only the briefest attention, as the more sedate and down beat offering from the group didn't seem like appropriate summer listening, but it certainly fits the bill now. Upon further review of Smother, "Plaything" instantly struck me as a standout track. Something about the eerie key boards and slightly bizarre and varied percussion gives me some serious Mike Oldfield vibes. In other words, I highly recommend it. Give it a listen.

Review: YACHT- Shangri-La

In the spirit of full disclosure, I feel compelled to disclose that this will be a heavily lopsided analysis of Shangri-La, the new album from electro-dance poppers, YACHT headed up by Jona Bechtolt and Claire Evans. Whenever I attempt one of these things, I endeavour to give an equal amount of time examining an album's aesthetics, concept, writing, etc. In this case however I am undoubtedly incapable of achieving such balance. The story that is told in Shangri-La, as communicated by a cinematic style narrative and brimming with a plethora of amazing one liners, is too interesting and successful not to give most of my attention to when writing this. Yes I will give some mention to how it sounds (really good, thanks!) but the main body of this will be reserved for plunging the depths of Shangri-La and trying to absorb the story it tells.

But first- I find it worth mentioning that both Bechtolt and Evans' voices has progressed notably since See Mystery Lights. It can be at times difficult to discern which of the two is singing as the both tend to revel in their slight androgyny, and they often perform in tandem. They definitely run along the same trajectory, however certain vocal inflections have been dialled up to be more noticeable. The cocky swagger, the dismissive antagonism, the slightly irritable staccato are all more discernible this time around, and it makes the album better for it. In contrast however some of the experimental approaches to sound and music have been dialled back here. The types of music created are a little more linear and straightforward, a little less expansive than the last album. This is not terribly surprising as See Mystery Lights was as ambitiously diverse as it could get without crossing over into nonsensical batshit insane. Rather then spreading the instrumentation out in a vast space if stimuli, all of the beats and sounds are more tightly coiled together and focused, seeming more dense and moving at a faster pace. This more controlled and tempered sound seems necessary to effectively carry the albums narrative forward logically. This is not to say that Shangri-La sounds too traditional or boring- far from it. The slurring bass line that scuttles forward at a propulsive rate, mixing together with the tropical melody in “Utopia” sounds amazing. The tremor inducing synth notes that erupt throughout “Dystopia” are brilliant. I love the menacing and macabre key boards that sloth forward in a dizzying almost roundabout way in “Love in the Dark”. There are many overt and well placed musical cues and aesthetics taken from the DFA coda. The coarse rapid fire hum of high octave punk guitar interspersed with a more elegant and regal sounding piano beat in “I Walked Alone” come to mind. There's something I love about DFA albums, that while they sound so refreshingly distinct, they strive to share a semblance of musical DNA. However, as is always the case with YACHT, its the vocals that tend to be the most dramatic and interesting instrumentation.

Top 5 Albums of 2011 to Still Look Forward To

We're about half way through 2011, and so far there's been some pretty good stuff! PJ Harvey, Radiohead, Destroyer,  Cults, Fleet Foxes, Cut Copy, Tune Yards, and plenty of other acts have made our last year before the apocalypse well worth our while. But what have we to look forward to heading into summer and fall? Well quite a bit actually! Read on if you dare! Or something.

5. Bjork- Biophillia- release date TBA

Over the past few years and couple releases, Bjork has ejected much of the slightly tragic innocence and cultural naivety from her persona. She's transitioned into something of a more matriarchal, even monarchical role. Between tracks like “Oceania” and “Declare Independence” she has become downright domineering. While this new role has grown increasingly divisive among fans- Volta was not as universally well received as past offerings- I really like it! Bjork's been by no means absent from the industry, as she's been involved in multiple collaborative efforts, but it it's been too long since a full LP. The announcement of Biophillia- cryptically dubbed as some sort of multi media project, now appears to be just what we need to fill the gap. Biophillia goes far beyond just another collection of songs, as every track will also be released with a corresponding ipad app. The functionality and connectivity of the songs and the apps so far has yet to be fully disclosed, all though one appears to be some sort of space invaders style mini game, with the catch being if you win, the song ends prematurely. Judging by the slightly bewildering but undeniably cool new website Bjork's put up, where you can hear some of her insight on the process, Biophillia will be nothing if not interesting. Remember back when people thought it was weird when she made an album without instruments?

Check out the first track “Crystalline”

Sleigh Bells at the Vogue

Wednesday, May 25 2011

I once mistakenly thought the minimalist and rapid fire lyrics of “A/B Machines” by Sleigh Bells went, “Got my A machines on the table, got my B machines on tour”. Of course I am now more informed and aware that is not how the song goes- there's a point to this, I assure you. Right before I took the trip to the Vogue to see Sleigh Bells, easily one of my most eagerly anticipated shows of the year, I got to thinking about an interview I recently saw with Alexis Krauss and Derek Miller, discussing the group, the new album (!) and touring. They both agreed while touring had its merits, it was a gruelling endeavour that forced them out of the studio for too long, keeping new ideas and songs mostly on the back burner much to their lament. I was thinking about these two things on the way to the show, for the first time, and only for a brief moment, worried that maybe they wouldn't put their all into it, that the visceral and intimidating energy they exude would be at least in part absent from the stage. Such fears were unwarranted; Sleigh Bells was absolutely incredible. To use their own referential and slightly obnoxious tour branding- they slayed it

Song of the Week: "Sail Away" by The Rapture

One of my most anticipated albums of 2011 has got to be The Rapture's upcoming 3rd LP, The Grace of Your Love. It's been an agonizing 5 years since their last effort, the brilliant but criminally underrated Pieces of the People We Love. As the release date slowly draws near information about the album is starting to trickle out including track lists and producers- Phillipe Zdar, namely. The biggest bombshell however is that the Rapture are back on the DFA; so I'm pretty excited. To get others excited here's a clip of The Rapture performing a track from the new album called "Sail Away". It's not officially released yet as they only occasionally play it at shows so far, so the video quality could be better. But that doesn't stop it from being a damn good song. Hurry up September 6!

Review: Tune Yards- Who Kill

Listening to Who Kill, the new LP from UK artist Tune Yards, headed up by Meryl Garbus, really makes me want to employ one of those “What do you get when you cross 'this' with 'that'” kind of equations. Unfortunately, as fun and helpful as those measurements often are, in this case they proved ill equipped to define Tune Yards, leaving the listener equally ill prepared. Preparation is necessary when listening to Who Kill. While light hearted in demeanour, it is not to be taken so, as it's confoundedly condensed and chaotic structures will potentially leave you overwhelmed and maybe even annoyed. After some time, the web seems to untangle however, and one can discern strands of mostly interesting and at times dazzling music.

Garbus' voice can prove at times challenging to get a grasp on and grow accustomed to. Her range of verbosity, volume and output, pacing, and even style is constantly shifting and modulating. It does so at seemingly random and unpredictable intervals. She'll go from a traditionally linear pathway of vocal utterances, to hyperactive and frenetic tantrums of singing. In the opening track “My Country” a silky smooth and relaxed pace sharply diverts into a lighting fast spoken word section and then jumps right back. Her decibels bounce disorientingly from restrained and seductive whispers to erupting and escalating wails, as in “You Yes You”, leaving your volume setting completely helpless. Her vocal aesthetic is sometimes set to wispy tremors like in “Riotriot”, then transitions to something much more brash and bellicose in songs like “Buisnezz”. At times her voice is akin to a cross between Amy Whinehouse and Missy Elliot. She spends most of the songs brazenly and at times violently switching back and forth. Despite the many bodies and conceits she seems to occupy she always does so from a position of either serene calm or strict confidence. The result being, while it seems alien at times, her voice always seems within her control and firmly grasped by at least some kind of logic and intent, as opposed to her just screwing around with no regard for what works and what doesn't.

Playlist: Feel Good Hit Summer

Pay no attention to the currently abysmal May weather here in Vancouver. I assure you summer is coming. It just... it just has to. Any day now, right? In what is hopefully not too premature preparation for the coming sun, we're all gonna need some appropriate listening music. Of course, if you're at the beach, you're not likely to have a computer with you; so you won't be reading this, and this playlist will be of no good to you... I didn't really plan this out. I suppose you could always listen to it at home during these frustratingly common torrential down pours and pretend it's nice out. You're welcome?

Music below, with track listings underneath

1. Broken Social Scene- (7/4) Shoreline 

2. The Knife- Heart Beats

3. Vampire Weekend- White Sky

4. Kid Cudi, Best Coast, & Rostam- All Summer

5. Caribou- Sundialing

6. Delorean- Seasun

7. Modest Mouse- Gravity Rides Everything

8. Little Dragon- Runabout

9. Mark Mothersbaugh- Let Me Tell You About My Boat

10. Animal Collective- Summertime Clothes

11. Miike Snow- Cult Logic

12. Arcade Fire- Haiti

13. Ween- Ocean Man

14. M.I.A.- Amazon

15. The Russian Futurists- Paul Simon

16. Metric- Waves (B side)

17. Panda Bear- Alsatian Darn

18. Wavves- King of the Beach

19. Broken Social Scene- Pacific Theme

Fleet Foxes at the Vogue

Friday, April 29

After something as monumental and landmark as the final LCD Soundsystem show, seeing Fleet Foxes at the Vogue seemed a little underwhelming. I feel hesitant opening with such a descriptor, and while it's certainly not my thesis on the matter (if I even need one), it was and is an opinion that stubbornly refuses to yield to other much more positive thoughts. Rest assured, this is merely comparative analysis and should not be used to infer that the show was in any way disappointing- it was quite good. Not every show needs to be a superlative spectacle- a grand finale as James Murphy and company just put on. Nevertheless, I couldn't help but shrug the feeling. Part of the issue is that Fleet Foxes' particular brand of pop folk is a partly subdued and mostly intimate offering; a smaller venue like the Media Club seems more appropriate for their stylings. But the Fleet Foxes brand has expanded beyond the diminutive proportions of such tiny environments resulting in something of an unsolvable paradox for the group. Their songs as constructions and intentions are not designed for larger venues, but tell that to their ever growing legion of followers and fans.

Top 10 Albums of 2010- Part 2

Yes, yes the second part of this list is very late; part one was posted way back in February. I initially had every intention of posting part two a week or so later, but school- finals, papers- got in the way for the last few months. Anyway it's done now. Better late than never? Ya, sorry.

5- Beach House- Teen Dream

Victoria Legrand understands the communicative capabilities of a song better than many. In Teen Dream, she shows her mastery of the medium. Speaking in terms of vague memories and personal metaphors, she has crafted a dazzlingly written and performed collection of songs. Her voice and words are deeply imbedded with meaning, intent, reminiscence, and heartbreak. But what makes Teen Dream such a stunning thing to listen to is she doesn't over sentimentalize the past or remember things through the hazy cloak of nostalgia. It's a refreshingly rationale and balanced memorializing of her past experiences; all of the good, and all of the bad. She speaks of a boy she new better than any one in “Zebra”. She realized as good as he seemed, it was all a deception. Not an oasis as she sings, but a mirage. It's a eloquent metaphor that warns us to acknowledge all the blemishes and excruciating truths of the past, not to gloss over them with some fictional history- or teen dream if you will. The point of this album isn't some starry eyed half remembered journey down memory lane. Rather it's a difficult, at times agonizing endeavour to confront all of the awful memories that linger in her mind. In “Norway” she attempts to recall a past love, confidently revealing it for what it was, “The beast he comes for you, the hunter of a lonely heart”. It's a far cry from something more analogous to a fairy tale romance. While Legrand shines a penetrating and revealing light on her past, she romanticizes it as well. She acknowledges the devastating events for what they were, but also aware, at times blissfully, of the character these events have forged her into. Not a jaded, cynical shell of a person, but someone fully in tune with her own self. Capable of absorbing the depths of misery but also experiencing pure elation. This mixture of opposites swirl together in a surprisingly harmonious fashion in both her voice and words. In “Walk in the Park” she boldly states “In a matter of time, you will slip from my mind”; despite the damaging implications of such, she sings in an almost triumphant manner. Listening to her purge herself of these demons conveys a wonderful sense of catharsis, and only after she spends most of the album doing this, can she once again give herself over to the hopeless romantic in her. The final tracks, “Real Love” and “Take Care” are about as reassuring and comforting as a song would ever need to be. It's all the more endearing in the context of the harrowing path she had to follow to get there. It's funny that she calls the album Teen Dream, as it is much more seasoned and devoid of immature hormonal myopia that taints so many other ballads and dreamy offerings of less weathered musicians.

Song of the Week: "Lotus Flower" by Radiohead

We all know that Thom Yorke is something of a musical genius, with a talent for intuitive melodic creations and exploratory lyrics. But who knew he could dance? Watching the video for the new single "Lotus Flower" has me wondering if this is a career he overlooked- the guy's got moves. Aside from that, "Lotus Flower", from the surprise release of King of Limbs, is pretty terrific. With what seems like an improvisational mix of blues and dubstep- the beat moves along in a less than linear fashion. Yorke's voice is full of bold ideas that slowly swell from him, but the music doesn't seem to match his words. However the somewhat amorphous and less than fully formed structure of the melody keeps it from being too rigid, so it manages to accompany Yorke's voice quite nicely. It's sort of like a ballad- but only in terms of a post Kid A kind of way. Give it a listen!

Watch the Muppets dance along to LCD Soundsystem

File this under, "you're a cold heartless bastard if you don't love this" The always relevant cadre of Muppets are back. This time they're rocking out to my 4th favorite song of last year, "Dance Yrself Clean" by LCD Soundsystem. Playing on top of a roof top to a delighted crowd in England, Kermit shows himself to be a suitable substitute for James Murphy. After that the Muppets head off to the club for their particular brand of freak out. The whole thing is hilariously charming, especially with the crew getting drunk at the beach, and Kermit still not quite sure how to master the art of seduction. But when you're trying to seduce Miss Piggy, I suppose there's no rush. Watch the clip.

Wavves and Best Coast at the Rickshaw

The Rickshaw is a favoured venue among several people I know. I get it, I suppose; It's small enough to provide a reasonable sense of intimacy, yet large enough and sporting the proper dimensions to move and thrash around, should one so choose. They sell beer, right there next to the stage- it certainly has thing's going for it. Yet I feel like I can't quite get behind the place. Perhaps it seems a little too analogous to the conveyance with which it shares its name. Aging, rickety, constantly at risk of falling apart- the celling was leaking after all. It might be a combination of seasonal and geographic issues. Being in Chinatown, it's a little beyond the realm of super fast public transportation that I'm used to, and is a venue more booked in the fall and winter, as opposed to places like the Malkin Bowl, which gain in primacy during the summer. In other words, I'm often walking to the Rickshaw or waiting for a bus to get there in shit weather, putting me in a less than stellar mood upon my arrival. On the other hand, I usually see a pretty decent light show there, something I would be reminded of when I saw Wavves and Best Coast. I have to express a touch of regret and disappointment that I couldn't see these groups on a warmer summer night, outdoors- these groups are growing more and more synonymous with my favourite season. Nevertheless, this was the date and location, so I dutifully went.

Review: Cut Copy- Zonoscope

After multiple listenings of Zonoscope, by Aussie elctro-wavers Cut Copy, I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on what it is I'm listening to. The only lingering question that frustratingly seems unsolvable is just what exactly a zonoscope, if anything, is. Alas any attempts at googling merely yields results for the album, which either spawned the term, or is more interestingly, its namesake. I really want to know. The album cover itself reveals some potential insight. An image of an impossibly beautifully, yet logically realized landscape framed through a circular, perhaps ocular lens; a scope if you will. My fixation on the issue is not random and superficial, not entirely at least. I am compelled to explore the meaning behind a zonoscope because for all of this album's compelling qualities and soothingly catchy hooks, what has me most interested is the way it looks back on and surveys the trends and styles of pop music's past. While this endeavour is not always fully realized or articulated, Cut Copy makes up for this short coming by proving their own stylings capable of filling in the gaps with incredibly catchy and palatable offerings.

Top 10 Albums of 2010- Part 1

10- Gorillaz- Plastic Beach

Think of Plastic Beach as an experiment gone horribly wrong, and then wonderfully right. Originally conceived as a sort of mix tape featuring various artists with Damon Albarn and Gorillaz acting as producers only, the whole thing sort of devolved into an incoherent mess of misdirection. So Albarn stepped in with a much more direct and patriarchal role; scraped what didn't work, and repurposed what did, inserting parts of prior recordings into their own songs and reconstituting the roles of the various contributing artists. The end result is a widely varied and engrossing album loosely centred around the concept of climate change (as if the album's title wasn't obvious enough). What makes the album so compelling is that although the narrative is fairly consistent throughout, the tone and source of narration is constantly shifting, creating a densely layered and challenging album to fully decipher. The central message is inserted in most of the tracks, but done so in multitude of ways, based on the stylings and mannerisms of whichever artist is prominently featured. In several cases, the topic is approached by taking the better and most adored aspects of our culture and mixing them together with the subtle metaphors related to the detriments of our planet. Lou Reed at one point goes on about the beauty of person, he wants to preserve it... by wrapping it in plastic. Part of the fun of Plastic Beach is rummaging through it, looking for such examples. The genre spanning and, at times genre defying body of work takes so many different types of music and packages them in Gorillaz' characteristic blend of goofiness and subtle insight. Gangster rap from Snoop at his most relaxed, playful hip hop in the form of “Super Fast” and the utterly engaging “Sweepstakes”, deathly serious funk in the form of “Stylo”, illicit club freak outs like “Glitter Freeze”, and mammoth works of pop art like “Empire Ants”- there's a lot to Plastic Beach. Some of it's just reasonably fine, but so much of it is terrific- like nothing else this year.

Song(s) of the Week: "Painted Eyes" by Hercules and Love Affair and "Helplessness Blues" by Fleet Foxes

There's just too much good stuff coming out lately. With the recent release  of Zonoscope, the new Strokes album finally lurching forward, and the advent of a new TV on the Radio release that is tantalizingly close, things don't seem likely to change any time soon. That being the case, I am forced to throw two songs of the week at you. The first is a track off the new Hercules and Love Affair album, Blue Songs. Many fans of the last album were concerned by the departure of producer Tim Goldsworthy and contributing lyricist Antony Hegarty. While the album definitely is a departure, "Painted Eyes" seems to be somewhat alleviating as it is the most familiar, carrying that seemingly trade mark disco and funk heavy bass. Does it remind you of their earlier work, or is "Painted Eyes" even too much of a change?

The second song of the week is "Helplessness Blues" by Fleet Foxes. After making a huge splash in 2008 with their terrific self titled album, the group kind of fell off the map. Upon learning of a new album and tour, I was surprised that all I could muster was mild enthusiasm. After hearing this new single, I'm excited again. I forgot how grand and affecting these guys can make simple folk music sound. They're playing two shows in Vancouver at the end of April. The first show sold out pretty quickly, but if you hurry you might still be able to grab ticket for the second one.

Das Racist at Fortune

Pop Pete promised us all completely naked women. It did not happen. Truth be told, I was reluctant to believe such an exuberant claim, but it's fun to dream. He proceeded to ask the audience who among us was gonna do some e and than cheat on their girlfriend; preferably with a fat chick? Pop Pete, the front man from Hot Sex and High Finance does not mince words. He is blunt, and conducts him self in a slightly vulgar and grotesque manner. Yet he also seems rhetorically ironic in a reassuring sort of away. If I for second thought he actually believed his egotistical bullshit, I'd be put off; but he puts on a hyperbolic facade to mock those in the electro/progressive/hip hop scene that take themselves too seriously. Just to make sure no one mistook him for the persona he intimidated, he made sure you know how ridiculous the names of the group's songs were. “Patrick Bateman”, “Black Gretzky”- “Death Star”? More like Super Death Star. At the end of the set Pete demands that we download his album- for free! No one callously attempting to live the gangster Gordon Gekko life would issue such a proclamation.

Review: Destroyer- Kaputt

After listening to Kaputt by Destroyer, one may wonder why the creative force behind the act, Dan Bejer, refers to it as Destroyer. It's a pretty harsh moniker for music that is anything but, at least as far as Kaputt is concerned. Admittedly the career of Destroyer has seen many twists and turns and delved, at times rekclessly and aimlessly into many aesthetics and tones. The musical make up of Kaputt, while not the first time adventured by Bejer, is a recent development. It is breed from familarity, yet at the same time crafted in away that seems positively unique. Bejer, with the help of vocalist Sibel Thrasher, have made an expertly constructed and beautifully performed piece of work here; one that is refreshingly devoid of the cynicism that has crystallized like an impenetrable husk over the genres and stylings that Bejer draws inspiration from.

Part of why Kaputt works so well is it is propelled by a very clear sense of direction and well defined structure. At its core Kaputt employs a contemporary version of inoffensive smooth jazz that was more or less rendered obsolete by the early 90s. It's really a shock to hear it resurrected so casually and successfully in this collection. However the peripheries, or casing of these songs are comprised of modern hi fidelity indie pop and slightly dreary 80s new wave. Much of the bass is reminiscent of The Cure and Joy Division. Each element is applied pretty liberally on top of the aforementioned jazz center, maybe even heavy handedly at times. But both aspects are balanced admirably so the album manages to avoid any blase synth malaise that tarnished the 80s somewhat, nor does it seem to fall between the cracks of countless other fusion upstart groups. But then why would it?- as Destroyer, this is Bejer's 9^th album; he was honing his craft when the barren existentilism of the 80s was still considered modern and inovative in the early 90s. Again, these facets really are just ancillary to the core of Kaputt which is constructed from more orchestral and classical instruments. Flute, clarinet, saxophone, and trumpet, and bass- in it's diminutive way- make up the backbone here. But they aren't all employed in tandem or conjunction, rather sprinkled sporadically throughout the songs, with only occasional intermingling of all the instruments. “Suicide Note for Kara...” provides a perfect example of this as throughout the 8 minute track the central instrument keeps shifting; kind of like Mike Oldfield only not as jarringly mind bending and alienating. The shifting in arrangements here seem much more natural and unobtrusive. As a result, while the overall aesthetic is consistently orchestral jazz, the specifics and details are varied and even spontaneous. The music carries a sort of aged and eloquent wisdom to it, developing into a reassuring sense of warmth and comfort. For someone who was recently trumpeting the merits of the bizarre and slightly unsettling stylings of acts like Caribou, it's nice to be reminded of the joys one finds at the opposite end of the spectrum.