Tuesday, January 28, 2014

3am Mixtapes: Episode Twenty Two: Co-Ed Vocals

Each week on the 3am Mixtapes podcast, I will share with you the Top Six Songs of a certain subject. The topics can be as general like best breakup songs. Or some might be a little more... specific. Top Six Songs With Opposite Titles.

This week I’m taking a look listen to bands with split vocals. Those double threats of mixed gender, the duelling boy/girl voices, the Top Six Co-Ed Bands! And not just guest or backup vocals, but dual lead singers.

Here to get you awake are:

"Time Is Passing" by Shred Kelly
"The Garden" by July Talk
"Rowed Away" by The Tom Fun Orchestra
"Duet for Emmylou and the Grievous Angel" by Rah Rah
"Saucerful of Fire" by Young and Sexy
"Let Spirits Ride" by Black Mountain

Any questions or comments or waffles or criticisms or suggestions for future themes are welcome!



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Sunday, January 26, 2014

Toque Sessions: The Belle Game @ CBC Vancouver -- 01/24/14

For a fifth year, the CBC Toque Sessions return to CBC Vancouver. The sessions are a series of free shows featuring some great local talent, running through the end of February, and are recorded for later broadcast of CBC Radio 2, and streaming on CBC Music.

The second session of this year (and the first I saw) was hosted by Radio 3's Lana Gay, and was one of my favourite new bands from the last few years, The Belle Game. The last time I saw them was a few months ago at a sold out Vogue Theatre, so going from that to a room with less than 200 people was a nice treat.

They kicked off the set with the haunting "Traditional", one of the tree title tracks for their recent album Ritual Tradition Habit, before launching into "Wasted Light", their lush, atmospheric pop swirling around the room. The seated audience was soon on their feet for the more energetic "Blame Fiction", and Andrea Lo's always powerful voice floored the room on songs like the dark "River".

The highlight of the set was a new, as yet untitled song, that absolutely blew me away. It started slow and haunting before building to a gorgeous and soaring climax. The song had something of a Broken Social Scene vibe to it (the bend recently completed a residency at the the Banff Centre for the Arts with Kevin Drew & Charles Spearing) and if it is any indication of their new stuff, I can't wait to hear more.

Near the end of the set the band was joined by Louise Burns for a couple of songs; a pretty cool cover of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart", and the final song, ending the set as they usually do with the raucous "Wait up For You". Burns' voice blend in perfectly with the bands' sound, for a great ending to a pretty fantastic Toque Session.

setlist
Tradition, Wasted Light, Keeps Me Up At Night, Blame Fiction, Little Wars (Causing You Trouble), [Untitled New Song], Bruise to Ash, River, Love Will Tear Us Apart [Joy Division cover], Wait Up For You.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

3am Mixtapes: Episode Twenty One: Alarm Clocks

Each week on the 3am Mixtapes podcast, I will share with you the Top Six Songs of a certain subject. The topics can be as general like most anticipated new releases of 2014. Or some might be a little more... esoteric. Top Six Songs By Bands Featuring Vancouver Trumpet Player Andrew Lee.

And this week, it’s the Top Six Songs To Wake Up To! Sure, you could wake up the the screeching WAH WAH WAH or BRRRRRRRING of an alarm clock, OR you could set one of your favourtie songs into your phone to wake up to every morning. Or I suppose you could put one of your least favourite to force you to get up and shut it off, but I’m gonna focus on the good songs.

Here to get you awake are:

"Letter From an Occupant" by The New Pornographers
"Romantic Rights" by Death From Above 1979
"Typical" by Mutemath
"Creatures Great & Small" by Aidan Knight
"Know Til Now" by Jim James
"Wake Up" by Arcade Fire

Any questions or comments or waffles or criticisms or suggestions for future themes are welcome!



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Tuesday, January 14, 2014

3am Mixtapes: Episode Twenty: 2013 Favourites

Each week on the 3am Mixtapes podcast, I will share with you the Top Six Songs of a certain subject. The topics can be as general like favourite Maritime Bands. Or some might be a little more... esoteric. Top Six Songs From Musical Episodes of TV Shows.

Now, tell me, who says two weeks into 2014 is too late to do a 2013 Favourites list? I scoff at them! Scoff! But anyway, this week is not necessarily the Top Six Songs of 2013, but rather Six Of My Favourite Songs of 2013. There was a lot of good stuff released last year, and I'm terrible at picking favourites as it is, so this week is not THE Top Six Songs of 2013 but A Top Six Songs of 2013.

Featuring:

"The Wolf" by Phildel
"River" by The Belle Game
"Nearly Midnight, Honolulu" by Neko Case
"Sandcastles" by Paper Lions
"Bathtubs" by Royal Canoe
"Push the Sky Away" by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Any questions or comments or waffles or criticisms or suggestions for future themes are welcome!



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Saturday, January 11, 2014

Chersea @ Backstage Lounge -- 01/10/14

For years now I've had a love of looping musicians. It's always fascinating to watch someone single-handedly craft a song on stage, adding layer upon layer, to do what a whole band does alone.
A few months ago I was introduced to a local looper Chelsea Laing -- who performs under the name Chersea, and had recently won a Boss looping contest -- and was instantly enamoured with her music.
Now gearing up to release her debut EP, she took to Granville Island's Backstage Lounge to unveil her first music video for the title track, "Grey Matter".

Chersea took the stage behind a mountain of instruments; everything from keyboard to synth to drum pads to trumpets to bass guitar, as well as a vocal harmonizer. But despite all those, she opened the set with a flirty a capella vocal loop, "Classy", before delving into her ethereal, synthy ambient-pop sound.
Songs ranged from the upbeat and jaunty "Chemical Polarity" to the more dark and intense "Grey Matter", with the first half of the set being a little darker before shifting gears for a more dancey vibe in second half, matching her bubbly personality and trying to get the noisy Friday night crowd to move.
One problem with playing alone on stage presented itself when a couple times during the set there were technical glitches, and the set slowed while she had to fix them, but both times she quickly got things right back on track.
After a little over an hour, she ended off the set with a pair of strong songs, "I Could Lose It All" with vocal effects hauntingly harmonizing with her strong voice, and the catchy "Mind Porn" getting some clapping along to the rhythmic beat.

It can be hard to translate live loopery to recorded albums, but I am really interested to hear her Grey Matter EP. If she manages to capture the same feeling of her live set, it will definitely be to look out for.


Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Sidney York @ Biltmore -- 01/07/14

I would be very surprised if 2014 does not end up being a big year for Calgary's Sidney York. The duo is on the verge of releasing their new album, <3s (or Hearts) and kicked off their tour in their second home, Vancouver, at the Biltmore Cabaret.
But their new album is coming out in a unique way; instead of a traditional release, they are rolling out the album in five volumes, two songs each, released over ten months. "Subscribers" will get the album delivered to their door (and/or digitally) as well as other goodies, like prints depending on their subscription level. You can check all of that out right here.


Opening the night was Seattle's Lemolo, with a very mellow, melodic sound. It was just a duo on stage, a drummer with lead singer Meagan Grandall on keyboard & guitar.
I only caught the last couple songs and the dreamy pop seemed really interesting, but also a little complex; something that you would need to really dig into. There were also a couple of awkward silences between songs, but I would definitely be interested in catching them again next time they're through town.


Taking the stage next was The Gay Nineties. The Vancouver four-piece exploded out of the gates with their infectious sound, blending hints of 60s psych-rock, 90s grunge, and 00s dance-rock. It's a sound that has the potential to come across as tired and old, but there is so much raw talent in the band that they give it a fresh spin.
While they didn't say too much between songs, they had a great energy and stage presence while playing. Malcolm Holt is a great drummer, and fun to watch play live, and frontman Parker Bossley has an effortless charisma.
Almost all of the songs played throughout the set were newer than their Coming Together EP released a couple years ago, and I didn't catch the name of any of the songs, but there were more than a couple that got me excited to see what they've got coming up.


And finally, the band of the hour, celebrating the release of their new album, Sidney York was up to close out the night. The duo of Brandi Sidoryk and Krista Wodelet were backed by some of Vancouver's finest; Niko Friesen on drums, Shaun Huberts on bass, and Noah Walker on guitar. It was the first show of the tour, and the first time this configuration has played together live, so it took a couple of songs for them to get into the groove, to mesh, but once they did they gelled fantastically.

The two girls jumped between instruments throughout the night, keys and synth and guitar and french horn and bassoon and ukulele were all utilised, with the two of then swapping effortlessly. At one point, they even shared the same keyboard for the dark and sexy "Electrolove". Both also had incredible energy -- Brandi could hardly be contained -- which was especially impressive considering about an hour before going on stage, their tour van was towed from the venue.

The set focused mostly on the new album, <3s, with songs ranging from the incredibly explosive and raw "The Lion. The Tiger. The Bear." to the fun and flirty "Weird For You", and the soft and beautiful "Let The Sparks Fly" which saw Krista taking over lead vocals for an absolutely heartbreaking ballad.
The set ended with my favourite off the new album, "Weapons-Grade Love (Watch Your Back)", which erupted into a chaotic cacophony, a perfect ending for the set. It's a great song that exemplifies Sidney York's ability to blend ridiculously catchy pop with sexy lyrics and dark undertones.

Regular readers (all 21 of you) may remember that their previous album, Apocalyptic Radio Cynic, was one of my favourites of 2011, and if <3s doesn't end up making Sidney York into one of the breakthrough bands of 2014, I will eat my virtual hat.

setlist
Mile High Love, Hearts, I Wait, Dick & Jane, Math & Fractions, The Lion The Tiger The Bear, Lily's Kitchen, Weird For You, Electrolove, Let The Sparks Fly, Weapons-Grade Love (Watch Your Back).

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

3am Mixtapes: Episode Nineteen: "Other" Bands

Each week on the 3am Mixtapes podcast, I will share with you the Top Six Songs of a certain subject. The topics can be as general like favourite Vancouver Bands. Or some might be a little more... esoteric. Top Six Songs To Listen to While Beating Up Bad Guys as Batman in a Video Game.

This week we'll take a look at musicians who are in other bands, with the Top Six Songs From People Who Just Happen To Be In Other Bands. Side projects, solo albums, super groups, and "other" bands. That sort of thing.

With musical accompaniment from:

"Motherfuckers" by Murray A Lightburn
"Go Ego" by Eight and a Half
"Faded" by Bear Mountain
"Storefront Arizona (Lo-Fi High)" by Teenland
"If This Dance Catches On" by Mounties
"Evil!" by Grinderman

Any questions or comments or waffles or criticisms or suggestions for future themes are welcome!



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