Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Review-kus.

My goal is to review every album I bought (or otherwise listened to) this year. But there are just so darn many albums, and sometimes I just don't feel like writing a full reviews. So to combat this, I have decided that I shall give a few really quick reviews all at once... in haiku form. Here we go!

Dark Eyes by Fanshaw
Intriguing lyrics
And interesting arrangements
The star is her voice

Download O Sailor by Fanshaw

Yukon Blonde by Yukon Blonde
Clear influences
But never derivative
Catchy power pop

Download Brides Song by Yukon Blonde

Bear Bones EP by Said The Whale
Five acoustic songs
Recorded in Ben's bedroom
Yields awesome results

Download The Fish and The Stars by Said The Whale

Monday, April 19, 2010

Say Us by Zeus

A couple years ago, I went to see Jason Collett at Richard's. Due to the poor planning (on their part) and a curfew, I thought I was getting there early, but actually caught the last couple songs of the bands set, in an almost-empty room. They came back later as Collett's backing band, and Jason was nice enough to let them play another one of their songs in the middle of the set, for those who missed them. They were also the band that opened for, and backed up, Collett when he was back a couple months later as kind of a make-up show. That time I caught the whole set, and while I was interested in them the first time, this time I was won over. And then when Metric came through town, I was excited enough, but when they added this band as their opener, I was thrilled. Who am I talking about? Zeus, of course. After a fantastic teaser EP last year, they released their first full length this year, Say Us. A few times I've been burned by bands with great EPs, but mediocre full lengths -- mostly the same amount of good songs, spread out over twice as long -- and while I wasn't really worried, since I had heard some of it live, it was still in the back of my mind.

The album sets the stage with, "How Does It Feel?", a holdover from the EP which gives you a hint of the catchiness that will pop up in the next 40 minutes or so. "Fever Of The Time" is a bit more mellow, but not without a subdued energy, and then one of my favourites, "Kindergarten", builds to a fantastic finale. It is perhaps the best proof that "[they] got fire within [them]", along with the next track, "The Renegade" and its climb to a great ending. "Greater Times On The Wayside" is a short track that almost leads perfectly into "The River By The Garden", which has an upbeat mood that belies its darker lyrics (that remind me a little of Where The Wild Roses Grow). After that, "You Gotta' Teller" ramps up the energy with distortion and fuzz, and is probably the most intense on the album. "I Know" and "Marching Through Your Head" are another couple from the EP, with the latter being fantastically catchy (an apt title, too, since that is what the song will be doing). "The Sound Of You" brings the tempo down, if only for a moment, when "Heavy On Me" starts with an energy and intensity that keeps boiling just under the surface, breaking through every so often only to be contained again, before letting loose at the end. The album closes with the piano-heavy "At The Risk Of Repeating", which is a nice way to close the album.

One great thing about Zeus is the fluidity of the band. With the exception of drummer Rob Drake, the members Mike O'Brien, Carlin Nicholson & Neil Quin all trade off instruments and lead vocals throughout the album. But there is never a jarring shift; the songs all blend together so seamlessly that you might not even notice. It's rather Sloan-esque, showing off how multi-talented the whole band is, and is especially cool when seeing them live. Needless to say, my worries were for nought, as the album more than matches the awesomeness of the EP. It is undeniable contagious and infinitely re-listenable, and will no doubt be remembered by the time the year-end best-of lists roll around.


Download Kindergarten

Download The River By The Garden

Download Heavy On Me

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Sunday, April 11, 2010

We Are The City w/ Library Voices @ Five Sixty -- 04/10/10

Before I get to the show itself, I'm gonna talk briefly about the venue, Five Sixty, which is the new club on Seymour, replacing Richard's on Richards. It was my first time being there, and I think their first live show, as it was billed the "Independent Music Launch Party". The layout of the place was kinda odd; the main area was just one big room, with the stage at the front (durr) and a bar, DJ, etc on the side. I can see this being problematic, as if you're not right at the front, you could have a hard time seeing the band, especially because the stage isn't very high up (and especially for short people). There was a balcony for the upper level at the back, but it didn't really look like you'd get a good view from the stage up there either. The strangest part is downstairs, as it's just a large unisex bathroom, with individual rooms for the stalls, and only a small divider-wall separating it from a lounging area with seats. The coat check is also down there, which is odd since it is about the furthest possible place from the entrance...
But the most important part is how the place sounds, and it was pretty damn awesome. Overall, aside from the somewhat bizarre layout, I quite liked it. I mean, it's no Richard's, but then again, what would be?

On to the music now! The show started at 8 sharp, as I guess they had a curfew and wanted to open it for a club night after. I had heard a couple Library Voices songs on R3 prior to the show, but aside from that (and rave reviews from others), I didn't know much about the band, and was intrigued to see them live. I certainly didn't expect them to pack the stage with 8 members (good thing the place has a large stage), nor did I expect them to blow me away as much as they did. There are some bands with as many members that end up just stepping all over themselves, but everything came together for a rich sound. With an insane energy and incredibly catchy songs, they played for about 40 minutes and I have no doubt they won over each and every member of the crowd. The two songs I recognized, "Drinking Games" and "Step Off The Map & Float" were fantastic, and I was impressed enough by the rest to pick up their new album -- which doesn't actually come out until this week, but luckily they had some for sale at the back. For the last song, lead singer jumped off the stage and sang the whole thing wandering through the crowd, jumping up on the bar at the back, then making his way back, all while the rest of the band played on. And as if they needed any more reasons for me to love them, at least one of their songs featured a theremin! (I am a sucker for any band that uses a theremin)
Their "tagline" (for lack of a better word) is "Pop as Fuck!" and I couldn't have put it better myself.

The stage was cleared in what must've been record time, and promptly at 9 We Are The City hit the stage for their first headlining show in Vancouver. With less than half as many member as Library Voices, the stage almost looked sparse, but no less rocking. This is my fourth time seeing them (in as many months, no less), and they just keep getting better each time. They seem much looser and more confident (though, not like they didn't have confidence in spades before), and they were playing with their songs more, too. A few songs had extended intros & outros, or just some additions in them.
The set kicked off with the first three songs off In A Quiet World, with "There Are Very Tiny Beasts in the Ground" getting everyone into it, clapping along, then one of my favourites, "Peso Loving Squid", before a new song, which started off calm and then build to a pretty powerful ending. I didn't catch the name of it, but I really liked it. "Time, Wasted" was great (and I finally got a good picture of David and his mouth-guitar-ing), and was one of the songs with a cool extended ending. There was a funny moment in "There Are Very, Very Big Lights in the Sky", as the song pauses before going on... at which point Cayne & Andy needed quick refreshment, and they went on to talk about being ripped off for pizza... before launching back into the song. Some bands either have no banter, or it just seems forced, but WATC seems natural; almost as if they don't even notice the crowd and are just trying to make each other laugh... which works a lot better than forcing it. After another new song -- I didn't catch the name of this one, either, but I am going to guess "Morning Song" based on the lyrics -- they ended the set, as usual, with "Astronomers" (the starry projection on the side was was quite fitting) and this, too, had an extended ending, which saw the band just going crazy, for an awesome way to close both the song and the set.
They came back out for a quick encore, sheepishly admitting they didn't have many more songs. After some prompting, from both the crowd and Andy & David, Cayne did his "spot on" Gandalf impression, before they finally ended the night with an older song, which, yet again, I didn't catch the name of.

It seems like I've had good luck this year, seeing shows where two (or more) awesome bands are playing together, and this just continued that trend. A great pair of bands for the first show at the Five Sixty (I am still not sure if I like that name or not...), which turned out to be a pretty damn good venue. I just hope they can keep up the quality shows.

setlist:
Intro, Feel is a Word, There Are Very Tiny Beasts in the Ground, Peso Loving Squid, [new song], April, Time Wasted, There Are Very Very Big Lights in the Sky, [new song], Astronomers.
(encore) [old song]

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Review-kus.

My goal is to review every album I bought/otherwise listened to this year. But there are just so darn many albums, and sometimes I just don't feel like writing a full reviews. So to combat this, I have decided that I shall give a few really quick reviews all at once.... in haiku form. Here we go!

Heartland by Owen Pallett (formerly known as Final Fantasy)
Majestic and rich
An epic tale of Lewis
His finest to date

Download E is for Estranged by Owen Pallett

Heart of my Own by Basia Bulat
Much as expected
Some great versatility
A beautiful voice

Download Walk You Down by Basia Bulat

Henry & The Nightcrawlers (EP) by Henry & The Nightcrawlers ("Henry" being Henry Alcock-White of Bend Sinister)
A few catchy tunes
Nice teaser for the full length
Hopefully out soon

Download 100 Blows by Henry & The Nightcrawlers

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Jónsi @ The Vogue -- 04/06/10

One of my four favourite bands is Sigur Rós, so when I found out that lead singer Jónsi was not only releasing a solo album, but coming to town, too, it was a no brainer. I got tickets before I heard a single note of the album. I'd seen Sigur Rós twice before, and both shows are among my favourite concerts I have seen, so he kinda had a high standard set for him.

At about 8, a lone gentleman took the stage with guitar in hand. For a brief moment, I thought he was a roadie, especially with his extremely long hair, but it turns out he was the opening act, Death Vessel. I wasn't sure what to expect from a band named Death Vessel, but Joel Thibodeau (it's one of those One Guy With A Band Name deals) showed us a name does not make a band with his folksy, almost blues-y guitar playing and soprano voice (which was a little bit of a surprise). Even though he didn't really say anything to the audience -- only when he had two songs left, he thanked us for coming and Jónsi for having him, and didn't even say his name -- he still managed to captivate the crowd. I am pretty interested to hear some of his recorded stuff, to see if it matches the minimalistic set he played, or if it has more musicians to it.

And then was Jónsi. Coming out first with just himself and one other band member, at the xylophone, he started off with a beautifully slow song, "Stars In Still Water", before the rest of the band came out for "Hengilás", which was the first major showcase of the stage setup. There was a giant canvas sheet hung at the back of the stage and panes of glass on either side, first with alternating video of Jónsi and the band, but then with some still images of animals and fire. During the third song, "Icicle Sleeves", there was an animation of a wolf hunting a deer, and as the music grew in intensity, the two animals clashed and the curtain dropped, to reveal another worn down glass structure, with plants growing on and behind it, giving it a vaguely apocalyptic feel to it. As they went on, there were some more projections on the glass sections, which was a really cool touch. But nifty visuals does not a show make. Luckily, the music was excellent too.
"Tornado", one of my favourites off the album, was one of the first high energy songs, and the twitchiness (for lack of a better word) worked really well live, and the pair of "Go Do" and "Boy Lilikoi" were excellent together, with the latter being quite powerful. "K12" had the band all together on the side of the stage, around the piano and a second drum set, with some cool back-lighting, and the following, as-yet-unnamed song, had Jónsi by himself at the piano, in silhouette by a single light, which was a great image. But then I'm a sucker for that kind of lighting and imagery (see above picture for me trying to capture it with my sub-par cell phone camera). The main set ended with "Around Us", which had some cool vocal looping trickery at the end.
During the break the stage was light up by flittering lights as fireflies, and the three song encore started with another new song, then Jónsi got a very plantlike hat/headdress for "Animal Arithmetic", which was incredibly energetic, and would have been the best song of the night... were it not for "Grow Till Tall".
The song started off really slow and calm, and soft rain (or snow) was projected onto the glass. Then as the song grew from a soft sprinkle to a typhoon, so too did the rain and flickering lights for the storm. Any description here will not do justice to the performance of the song, but it was possibly the most moving and emotionally draining songs I have ever seen performed live. It was damn near indescribable, and something that I will not ever forget.

I left the Vogue in complete awe of the show, and while it is still too early to call it, I am pretty sure that this is going to be the show that all others need to measure up to, for the rest of the year.

setlist
stars in still water, hengilás, icicle sleeves, kolniður, tornado, saint naive, sinking friendships, go do, boy lilikoi, k12, [new piano song], around us.
(encore) [jonsi new guitar song], animal arithmetic, grow till tall.
this is courtesy of Jónsi's website, which has a page for each show on the tour and includes the setlist, as well as photos, reviews and comments of the show. It was really cool, and a feature I wish more bands would implement. Check out the page for this show here.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Favourite albums of 2009 (part the second)

In case you missed it, part one is here!
It's only a little late, but I finally got caught up on my backlog of albums from 2009 I wanted to review. I think I did just about every new album I picked up during 09 -- which was over 50! -- so now I might as well post my favourite twenty albums. And yes, that is "favourite", not "best", so while something may be technically "better", these were the ones I liked the most. Also, they are in order of release date, as I am terrible at numbering things.
Were I a more organized person, I would have sat down this long weekend and listened to all 20 albums and come up with something new and exciting to say for each, but with my laziness school term coming to a close, I just didn't have the time, sadly. But I have included links to all the previous reviews I did on the albums, which are still as valid now as they were then.

In A Quiet World by We Are The City (original review)
superb debut

"Fathers" EP by Black Hat Brigade (original review)
an EP with more substance than most full lengths

Dragonslayer by Sunset Rubdown (original review)
this is why SR is my favourite of all Spencer Krug's bands

Nice, Nice, Very Nice by Dan Mangan (original review)
the acclaim is much deserved

Bay of Pigs EP by Destroyer (original review[ku])
more proof of Bejar's musical genius

Monsters of Folk by Monsters of Folk (original review)
could've been messy, ended up awesome

Friends & Total Strangers by The Trews (original review[ku])
live & acoustic, shows their true talent

Vancouver by Matthew Good (original review)
favourite album of the year (surprise)

Islands Disappear by Said The Whale (original review)
possibly perfect power pop

Tic Toc Tic by The Zolas (original review)
insanely catchy


So, what do you think overall? Agree? Disagree? Think I missed something major? Just like to complain? Let me know!

Favourite albums of 2009 (part the first)

It's only a little late, but I finally got caught up on my backlog of albums from 2009 I wanted to review; I think I did just about every new album I picked up during 09 -- which was over 50! -- so now I might as well post my favourite twenty albums. And yes, that is "favourite", not "best", so while something may be technically "better", these were the ones I liked the most. Also, they are in order of release date, as I am terrible at numbering/ordering things.
Were I a more organized person, I would have sat down this long weekend and listened to all 20 albums and come up with something new and exciting to say for each, but with my laziness school term coming to a close, I just didn't have the time, sadly. But I have given quick thoughts about each one, as well as included links to all the previous reviews I did on the albums, which are still as valid now as they were then.

Stay tuned tomorrow for part two!

Get Guilty by AC Newman (original review [warning, on the lamelivejournals])
catchiest songwriter around?

Tonight: Franz Ferdinand by Franz Ferdinand (original review [warning, on the lamelivejournals])
full of surprises

The Beat Stuff EP by Hannah Georgas (original review[ku])
can't wait for a full length

The Happiness Project by Charles Spearin (original review)
most interesting album of the year

Middle Cyclone by Neko Case (original review [warning, on the lamelivejournals])
unparallelled voice

Three by Joel Plaskett (original review [warning, on the lamelivejournals])
not many artists could pull off a triple disk

The Hazards of Love by The Decemberists (original review)
is there a more epic word than epic?

Calm Awaits by Black Diamond Bay (original review)
patrick krief is my new hero

Fantasies by Metric (original review)
a culmination of their strengths

Battles On by The Ghost Is Dancing (original review)
criminally under-looked.


So, what do you think so far? Agree? Disagree? Think I missed something major? Just like to complain? Let me know!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Tic Toc Tic by The Zolas

While this may be the first album under this name, Zach Gray and Tom Dobrzanski are definitely not new to the Vancouver music scene. They first earned attention and acclaim as half of Lotus Child, but after that band dissolved, they joined forced once again as The Zolas and burst forth with the released of their first album, Tic Toc Tic. Produced by Howard Redekopp (New Pornos, Mother Mother, Said The Whale, 54-40 and many, many more), the album also features a few other Vancouver musicians, like Aidan Knight, Ali Siadat (Mother Mother), Ashleigh Ball (Hey Ocean!) and Shane Nelkin (The Awkward Stage), among others.

The album comes out swinging with "You’re Too Cool", an insanely catchy and somewhat scathing look at hipsters, which even name checks their Vancouver headquarters, the Biltmore Cabaret. The high energy of the opening track not only manages to be kept up, but even surpassed as the album goes on; "The Great Collapse" has a deceptively upbeat sound masking the dark lyrics about the fall of civilization, and "Marlaina Kamikaze" features quick and almost frantic & rambling verses, which fits the theme of post-breakup psychosis. This is countered by the overt sexually frustration in "Body Ash" which is then the released for all the wrong reasons in "Cab Driver", proclaiming "I'm gonna love you to cancel my mistakes" in one of the most straight up rocking tracks, with an insane outro that really highlights the piano in their piano-pop. "Marionettes" brings things down for a moment, showcasing the bands skill as balladeers, but the somewhat dark and eerie "I’ve Got Leeches" cranks it back up, if only for a moment. "These Days" is the slowest song on the album, and while it's by no means a bad song, it's probably the least good... I think it would have worked better coming off of "Marionettes" without Leeches splitting them.
One of my favourites, "You Better Watch Out", is another highly energetic track with cascading piano and a touch of horns, and sees the narrator wresting with his shyness on the bus while "here beside me sits the girl of my prayers" (which is a feeling I relate to far too well). But then that is followed by "No Talking" which comes right out with an anthemic chorus and a carpe diem vibe. The final two songs on the album see the band stretching their stylistic muscles, with "Queen of Relax" overflowing with cynicism and asking, nay, sneering: "Don’t you think it’s time for a car crash?", and "Pyramid Scheme", which is a lot looser that the tight and fiery passion of the rest of the album, and brings the album to a sprawling, shouting end, almost abruptly.
(And a random aside, just a strange personal anecdote: the first time I listened to the album, it was while I was reading the excellent I Kill Giants, and during the climax of the book, the lyrics "Fee-fi-fee-fi-fo-fum / I smell the blood of a Caucasian. / Be we alive or be we dead, / He’ll grind our bones to make his bread." came on. So very fitting, and I love it when things sync up like that)

Tic Toc Tic manages to keep its energy and catchiness throughout, and underneath the flash, it has substance -- something that is sometimes forgotten by bands looking to be more punchy than poignant. It is also yet another good example of how friendly and tight knit a lot of Vancouvers bands have become. It is really nice to see a music community where it isn't just a handful of unrelated bands, but a group of musicians who are friends, help each other out and even tour together. You needn't look farther than their show at the Biltmore earlier this year.

Overall, is a very solid album, an excellent debut, and I can't wait to see where they go from here.


Download The Great Collapse


Download Marionettes


Download You Better Watch Out

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