featured releases
(Fonal) CD & LP
Blossoming from the minds of two brothers from Finland, it seems this fragmented work of melodic semblance & textural melancholy includes the whole Scandinavian forest & its elves. With glitchy bursts, music box curdlings, Finnish spoken word & angelic ghost melodies, it sounds as though it was recorded over the ebb of a tide. “Kevätrumpu” grazes between wind chimes and a lo-fi dance party, with vocals that flirtatiously allude a Finnish Kate Bush. “Italialaisella Laivalla” & “Tyttö Tanssii” sound like they’re left to be sung by a man on a tree-stump on the last desperate night of summer. This is living in a Scandinavian forest inebriated with memories of all-night parties in Helsinki – it flickers like an eerie twilight whilst carrying a bag of magic raindrops.
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28 August 2008 by Tara Campbell
| All Around The World, Pop / Rock
(We Are Free) CD
From the world of the frenetic Baltimore scene (Dan Deacon, Video Hippos, Ecstatic Sunshine) comes another crew, this time with two guitars, no bass & lots of fucking energy. On their second album Ice Cream Spiritual, Ponytail create an erratic train running with high-freted guitar work, rolling drums & the artistic flamboyance of lead vocalist Molly Seigel, who sounds like something between a hyperactive parrot & a wild boar in heat. The record’s turbo fluster of crayon-coloured-craze certainly will leave those involved with a heart beat per minute that would worry a physician. The sound of punk-infused paint colour aimed at the art gallery: yes, please.
16 July 2008 by Tara Campbell
| Pop / Rock
(Pink Flag) CD
Object 47 is just that; it’s the 47th “thing” that UK former-post-punkers Wire have released. Since their unbelievably influential opening salvo of releases (Pink Flag, Chairs Missing & 154), the London band has basically written the textbook on how to be a non-compromising, academic art-rock band. Object 47 ain’t gonna blow the socks off anyone (except maybe me), but it’s startling that these 50-somethings are still pumping out music with texture, urgency & a keen sense of structure & melody. Despite original guitarist Bruce Gilbert having officially left the band, Wire’s brilliant mastery of tone & texture is splattered all over this. Opener “One Of Us” could be a lost New Order gem from their classic period if it weren’t for the bassline being, well, bassy & ballsy. It drives the tune pretty much to the dancefloor, with a wide-screen chorus about dissolving relationships. That transition from verse to chorus, the “opening up” of a track, is what gives spirit to much of the rest of 47, especially on “Mekon Headman” (sung by bassist Graham Lewis) & “Perspex Icon”, both of which pit contrasting lyrical & melodic hues against each other. Object 47 isn’t retro; it’s un-modern… but ain’t that refreshing nowadays?
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16 July 2008 by Chris Long
| Pop / Rock
(Flemish Eye) CD & LP
It sounds like it was recorded on a four track, and it plausibly was as bedroom-recording-mastermind Chad Vangaalen was the one that did it. The lads that compile Women – two of which are members of Calgarian co-patriots Azeda Booth (debut album out July 22 on Absolutely Kosher!) – throw together glistening harmonies as divided by drills and drones. With emphasis on pedals, distortion and a fuzz box; at times they allude the air of the Dischord catalogue, as on “January 8th”; before they catch the flipside of the coin like a walk home from a summer barbecue, as per “Black Rice.” Through interchanges of clamour and clarity; Women seem to be another element into what might be introducing Calgary, AB as the home of a blooming music scene, indeed.
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14 July 2008 by Tara Campbell
| Pop / Rock
(Ipecac) CD
Melvins’ re-invention of sorts on 2006’s (A) Senile Animal was a welcome return to the riff-tastic prolificacy of their 90’s major label heyday. Joined again by Jared & Cody of Big Business, Nude With Boots, like (A) Senile Animal, sounds re-invigorated & shows the accessible Melvins that you don’t have to work to enjoy. The proof here is in the double drum kit-laced pudding (two drum kits people!!!); from the thick, chugging layers of “The Smiling Cobra” to the near-jovial catchiness of the title track, Buzz & Dale seem as relevant as ever… bottom line: Melvins kick major ass & don’t even care about taking numbers… the riffs are that good. I don’t even know what that means, but this album is awesome.
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7 July 2008 by Chris Long
| Metal, Pop / Rock
Nude With Boots is a crushing reminder of how amazing Melvins are. Entering their 25th year as a band, they are still indignant of anything other than their own creative pursuit.
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7 July 2008 by Chris Long
| Metal, Pop / Rock
(XL) CD, 2LP coming soon
Sigur Rós’ whimsical first single “Goobledigook” primarily introduces Með as a turn for the group. With the bouncy march of a Panda Bear bass drum & Birgisson’s coos in English(!), the track treds in the same water as Animal Collective or Adem. English, Icelandic or Hopelandic, the vocals are still as evocative as they were on ( ). Meanwhile, the album slowly parts from its glockenspiels & xylophones to retreat back to the traditional symphonic prolifia that has marked Sigur Rós as the kings of a genre one might call “Icelandia”. Once again, there are nods to both Constellation records and philharmonic orchestras as they greet the album’s many pocketed crescendos. With equal doses of experimentation & the familiar soundscapes that have embraced our headphones on many winter walks; the whole thing might just be evoking enough to bring you to the Croatian Cultural Center by the time they play Vancouver in October.
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6 July 2008 by Tara Campbell
| Pop / Rock
(XL) CD & LP
On their, ahem, third full length, the NY duo slow things down a bit. Spreading out the ecstatic romp of ‘hits’ like “Wildcat”, “Seventeen Years” & “Lex”, LP3 explores the latin/tropicalia/scoring tendencies of Ratatat’s more subdued side. Tracks like “Flynn” splice 8-bit bloopery with scenic vibes & vocal samples, while “Brulee” is kind of um, cute I guess? There’s a lot of rhythmically rich tonal adventuring going on here: wildlife samples, claps for days, chopstick breaks & tons of tinkly noises… still, “Shempi” will make you want to grind your hips & bang your head at the same time with it’s crazy organ line…
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3 July 2008 by Chris Long
| Electronic, Pop / Rock
(Matador) CD & LP
Texan band that garnered critical acclaim for their last release, Palo Santo. Shearwater end up sounding like what Bill Callahan or Will Oldham’s music would if it were channeled through more direct rock influences. Rook is majestic, meandering from the driving rhythms of “Century Eyes” to the epic, Radiohead-isms of “The Snow Leopard”. Vocalist Jonathan Meiburg weaves melodrama & bird imagery with the vocal histrionics of Scott Walker & Jeff Buckley. Many tracks smolder before revealing their true nature & this pacing (despite the short album length of 36 minutes) serves Rook well. For fans of Radiohead, My Morning Jacket, Wilco.
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3 July 2008 by Chris Long
| Pop / Rock
(Old Life) CD
A genuine article of note within the confines of our fun little shanty town here on Vancouver Island! Old Life Records is a meshed web of some of Victoria’s most promising new-ish groups. Swapping roles, instruments, vocal duties, styles, vibes, clothes & hi-fives, the Old Life camp inevitably recall Broken Social Scene’s tendril-like sprawl of indie-rock & some of it’s fun cousins. Label big guns Dreamboat, Colourbook, Cobras Cobras Cobras & Balacade feature here (all in fine form), but Vol. 2 also illuminates the talents of (relative) newcomers Onaping Falls, The Macadamia Brothers, Blanck, Mount Royal & Almonds, Cohen. Quiet folky ballads, twee-pop, dancey electro, laptop ditties & good ol’ rockin racket all appear here. We’re excited to hear what this collective produces over the next little while.
PS – the comp is only $3.00!
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1 July 2008 by Chris Long
| Local, Pop / Rock
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