New Spins: February 5-12, 2012

New week, new playlist. Feeling organic and guitar oriented this week. Dance with your inner hippie, cry yourself to sleep, or just bathe in the bliss this time around.

Set to the hard beats and stark guitars of "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings" dark twists follow each step of hedonism, foreshadowed with a bloody awakening on the pavement. Last week, I posted a video by The Do directed by Noel Paul, who with Stefan Moore, are the directing pair 'That Go' responsible for this fantastically shot Father John Misty clip. 



Merival (Anna Horvath) creates crushing splendour; future desires sung to an empty apartment. See her play El Mocambo in Toronto on March 7th, look for her album (hopefully) this winter from Mudtown Records or hear her as part of the collaborative efforts of First Rate People.


Dr. Dog is new to me - a random long-tail find courtesy of aggregator Metacritic - but by no stretch, are they new. Here's a live version of "Lonesome" from the Pennsylvania psych-rockers' 7th (???!) album Be The Void thanks to WFUV.


Fresh off a tour promoting his solo album The Outcome of Weather, Leathan Milne (also of Miami Device & Zoomafloome) hints at elements of Sun Kil Moon through lush harmonies and open guitar chords in his gorgeously sad song "Here I Lie With You."
 


She caught my heart with Failer almost 9 years ago now. Voyageur has garnered a lot of attention lately and the better writers have paid attention to Kathleen Edwards' ability to tell stories and captivate with a voice that sounds at the edge of breaking under the sheer weight of emotion behind it. Album production set aside, here's Edwards in her own light.


In about a month, Baltimore via Montreal quartet The Barr Brothers (not to be confused with Guelph's Barmitzvah Brothers) will play the Great Hall in Toronto with Little Scream, in what is undoubtedly, the show I'm most looking forward to this winter. As part of a CBC series, here they are handing vocal duties over to Francophone indie-folk singer Marie-Piere Arthur on the shiver-inducing "Beggar In The Morning."

New Spins: January 29 - February 4, 2012

It's been an incredibly long time since I last posted. Travel and life have interrupted my usual patterns of devouring everything I can get my ears on. Back with renewed appetite, here's what I've been voracious about lately. Quiet, loud, invigorating, enthralling, bohemian, garage, folk, bliss, post-metal batch of miscellany... eat up, it's damn good stuff.

Review - Show #116: Whitehorse @ The Casbah Lounge

"How does this one go again?" Luke Doucet was worried about starting a band with wife, Melissa McClelland at first, he said. Giving over your words to someone else? Messing with your lyrics? What if they're not good? How do you tell your wife you don't like what she wrote? "Fortunately she came back and had included two of my favourite albums by two of my favourite artists ever." With Blood On The Tracks and Let It Bleed affirming the partnership, Doucet's song "Broken One" was only one of a large handful of songs both he and McClelland have written and recorded over the years that found new life through Whitehorse at the Casbah Lounge last night.

With keys, bass, a stomp box, kick drum and a looping pedal, the duo built layers of rhythm and texture into their typically pluck and strum sets for the first of two rehearsal nights at the Hamilton venue, prior to their fall tours with first, Frazey Ford and then, Stuart McLean's Vinyl Cafe. "This was supposed to be a rehearsal gig with like 2 to 4 people here," said McClelland. "But then I was at my dentist today and he asked me about it." Word had spread and we tangled tightly amongst each other in the sweaty confinement of the lounge, leaning on every wall, sitting in every seat, or cross-legged right in front of the stage; a mixed crowd of old and young, family, friends, strangers.

It started with comfortable versions of Doucet's "Cleveland" from Blood's Too Rich (Six Shooter, 2008) and McClelland's "Go Down Matthew" from Thumbelina's One Night Stand (Orange, 2006) before moving into the first Whitehorse track "Killing Time Is Murder." We had been given the heads up that these gigs were to work out the kinks. The tech was new, looping new. A nervous energy pervaded the room as the track built up. Doucet in a cowboy hat and plaid, legs bowed saddle style and his right foot stomped out the kick drum pace; McClelland's tanned leather boots snapped back in response on the hardwood box beneath her feet, the loop pedal capturing the beat as she twisted her toes inward and dug her hips into the song's stomp/clap rhythm and dark harmonies. As if superstitiously holding our breath through a tunnel, we cheered, emerging on the other side, able to breath and relax.

The rest of the set followed suit. Anxious smiles, relieved smiles, McClelland and Doucet exchanging glances. Pausing mid-song to remember lyrics, or re-work a mis-timed loop; the audience glowing and radiating awe and captivation, in on the fun and the fuck ups. The two worked well off each other's talents; Doucet's impossibly fast hands producing cavernous, reverberant notes from his Gretsch, McClelland's careful acoustic strumming providing the horizon for reference and a way home through "Glenrio," "Emerald Isle" (another new song), "Mitzi's" from Doucet's 2001 album Aloha Manitoba, and McClelland's "Passenger 24."

Like couples do, they shared too much at times; Doucet built camaraderie by embarrassing his wife. "This next one is by a guy who's on my wife's 'list'." "Too much information! And he's way too old for me." The reply before Springsteen's "I'm On Fire." Doucet's revelation giving the song an unintended infidelitous subtext as McClelland sang "... tell me now baby is he good to you, can he do to you the things that I do." With a finale of "Broken One" and "Long Haul Driver," instantly recognizable tracks from Doucet's back catalogue, we disentwined and scattered. Whitehorse undoubtedly adds to Doucet and McClelland's live performance. I had seen the song-trading, guitar only approach before, and though captivating due to the enormous talents of each artist, never achieved this potency. Stomp away, Whitehorse.

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Catch Whitehorse again on August 30 @ The Casbah Lounge, Hamilton (Free) or on any of their other tour dates from now through to Halloween: http://www.whitehorsemusic.ca/tour.html

Listen to "Killing Time Is Murder" on their website (http://www.whitehorsemusic.ca/index.html) or, grab the album Whitehorse on iTunes (August 30th release for other formats).

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Set List (First recorded by, Album, Year)
Cleveland (Doucet, Blood's Too Rich, 2008)
Go Down Matthew (McClelland, Thumbelina's One Night Stand, 2006)
Killing Time Is Murder (Whitehorse, Whitehorse, 2011)
Glen Rio (McClelland, Victoria Day, 2009)
Emerald Isle (Whitehorse, Whitehorse, 2011)
Mitzi's (Doucet, Aloha Manitoba, 2001)
Passenger 24 (McClelland, Thumbelina's One Night Stand, 2006)
I'm On Fire (Springsteen, Born in The U.S.A., 1985)
Broken One (Doucet, Broken, 2005)
Long Haul Driver (Doucet, Fokestar EP, 2006)

Osheaga 2011: Day 3

*For more photos from these sets and the rest of Osheaga visit: http://bit.ly/iyrNcR

The final day. The Metro was noticeably busier than it had been the day before, and the sub-par AC that has come to define summer in Montreal's subway system was equal to it's reputation. On the island, it was like the end of a semester, a final day to complete all that work that had been put off; scrambling to cram in as many bands as possible. There was a heightened energy, and determined footsteps making direct lines through the shortest routes to each stage.

I hurried through the gates and headed straight for the Scene De La Montagne to catch Scottish rockers Frightened Rabbit. On tour with Death Cab For Cutie, Scott Hutchison and crew have spent the summer playing to larger crowds, and it was incredible to see the gathering hoard show genuine excitement. Singing and clapping along to favourites, the audience was treated to an assortment from The Winter of Mixed Drinks and The Midnight Organ Fight and the surprising presence of Sing The Greys track "Music Now." Theirs is typically a melodramatic tone. Hutchison's lyrics are unapologetic, the music layered and cathartic. "This next one is one to jump to, but people don't usually jump at our shows," Hutchison told us. " So, you jump... I jump. A suicide pact." Joyfully bouncing to "Living In Colour" the fire hose was unleashed. Grateful hands touched the stream, cooling the dancing bodies below. After "The Wrestle" there was time for one last song and the words "...it takes more than fucking someone to keep yourself warm" flew out over the sunny afternoon, met with cheers.

Past the Piknic and back to la Scene Verte, indie press darlings nee foetuses, Smith Westerns were starting their set. In the skinniest of skinny jeans, they played their take on garage rock via a shoegazing glam aesthetic. "This is the worst song we have," stated singer Cullen Omori, at one point. The audience showed a measured detachment as well, politely following along, a slight sway being the only indication of sonic penetration. But as the set progressed and the joy and excitement of the band began to emerge - as they began to have fun - it gave the crowd permission to as well. Heads started bopping, hands up, as sparkly synth and a warbling Stratocaster, cut in the chorus by heavy classic rock riffs gave life to Dye It Blond stand out "Still New." As their set came to a close, the atmosphere had changed. Whistles and applause met with smiles and gratitude. But as always seems to be the case in the 'you can't enjoy yourself too much' in world of Pitchfork approved indie rock, enjoyment must be met with equal detachment and snark... "Thanks for choosing us over The Sounds..." "FUCK THAT BAND!" Someone in the crowd shouts. "Yeah! Fuck that band!" Omori responds. They laugh it off.

I relaxed in the grass, edited out shots from previous sets, and jotted down thoughts, it was 30 minutes later that The Pains of Being Pure at Heart began playing. From the first note of "Belong" the crowd was enthusiastic and covered the better part of the 'floor' area in the clearing before the stage. Cheering for solos, clapping to the beat, shouting their love, Kip Berman (vox, guitars) could only respond with "Merci. Merci beaucoup. Bon soir!" exhausting his French language skills. "It's so good to be in Montreal!" said Peggy Wang (keys, vox), "and not in the winter!" Shout outs to appreciative audience members peppered the space between songs; to the guy in the yellow shorts, the fan in the My Bloody Valentine t-shirt, and the guy who knew all the words to "Punk Rock Girl," smiles and thank you's from a band that seemed overwhelmed by the response to their set. "We're flabergasted that this many people are here!" Wang stated. Once a heavily Smith's influenced band whose aesthetic flowed from equal parts post-grunge and Madchester, the group's latest album has cranked the fuzz and crunch in the guitars and gone for the gut with its beats. The material plays similarly live, filling the outdoor space easily, the cranked amps giving new life to the earlier catalogue of songs like "Love Is Right" and "Everything With You" in the same propellant mix as "Heart In Your Heartbreak" and "The Body" from 2011's Belong. It closed with a reach back to 2007 with "The Pains of Being Pure At Heart." As the refrain was sung back by the crowd the stage manager walked out front and gave the kill sign. The band was over time by 3 minutes, they needed to stop; the chant from the band and the crowd as if in response, "We will never die. No, no, we will never die!"

The crowd began cramming in to near Ratatat levels. Ellie Goulding their object of affection. A Brit Award Critic's Choice recipient in 2010, and winner of the BBC Sound of 2010 poll, Goulding has risen to great heights within the UK, even singing as the only live act at the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Her approach is unabashedly pop. But the sexy snarl in minimalist pink and black, dramatic eyes and grinding hips seem to be a front to thoughtful songwriting that comes from a place of honesty and personal connection. She's gorgeous, and sexy, but the music isn't hung on that. Goulding's eyes close tightest in the lyric moments of greatest pain and regret while her feet keep dancing and the beat drives forward. The songs seem as though a sheer curtain of pop had been placed over a bedroom window, Ellie on the other side, acoustic guitar in hand with an open journal on the bed. Her nimble voice is a breathy wisp when needed, belting and soaring when the moment comes, the juxtaposition strengthening the affect of each. She pulls at her hair. "I'm gonna dance to this one because I love it." Wrapping herself in the mic cable she did just that, the enormous crowd followed suit.

Time for a change. To the Scene Des Arbes, it's quiet magical forest feel emphasized by the relaxed attitude of the onlookers assembled. Gentle faces, books and blankets, this was the picnic crowd, the crowd you would expect for The Low Anthem. A pedal organ with the sign "Cancel Columbus Day," rotating speakers and stray signals, brass, clarinets, guitars and percussion, a stand up bass and the voices of Ben Knox Miller, Jeff Prystowsky and Jocie Adams, all these came together in lush splendour to set soft folk ballads aloft on the evening air. The modern tales set in gentle 3/4 waltzes switched abruptly to the cries from Miller's nasal voice of "Hey, All You Hippies!"; the rotating speakers building to a cacophonous wash of sound behind crashing cymbals, organs and vocal harmonies. Adams takes the lead vocally from time to time, a timid demeanour belying a enormous voice and a strength of emotion. All the while every eye in the crowd is fixed on the stage. For the second time in a day, a crew member comes to cut off a divine set. Miller argues with him, the crew member apologetic but unflinching. The crowd backs Miller. "One more song" they called, "ONE MORE SONG!" He conceded and a breathy texture of brass began "This God Damn House" from 2007's What The Crow Brings with its heart breaking line of "I'll be back by 3 and I'll hope you'll be there." Miller wanders the stage in an instrumental moment and picks up a cell phone from the pedal organ, one from his pocket in the other hand. Dialing he returns to the mic. The instruments break away one by one as Miller whistles a tune, the two phones either side of the mic delayed, feeding back and echoing the windy notes.

It took some time to recover for all of us. Mostly we stood around for a moment in the blue-hued evening. I had other places to be. Across the bridge past the War Child Busking For Change tent, a short-cut to the main stage. My university-age self compelled me to see second headliner Death Cab For Cutie. Standing amidst the crowd of hugging couples and young girls, the first distinct bass notes of "I Will Possess Your Heart" immediately captivated that dormant part of my musical maturation. "We were worried you'd be too tired!" Ben Gibbard (vox, guitar) called out. Running around the stage with frenetic energy, the band followed the hits from Narrow Stairs and Codes and Keys with the interjection of The Photo Album's "Why You'd Want To Live Here." Guitar issues dogged Gibbard through the song, two successive guitars yielding silence and being tossed in rock star fashion towards the side of the stage as the vocals carried on unmarred. After the song, a break to fix the issue, guitarist and producer Chris Walla chatted the crowd up. "It's feels a little weird having the Tragically Hip play before us. It's great to play the same festival. They're personal favourites of mine," Walla having produced Hip singer Gord Downie's 2010 solo album The Grand Bounce. Tech issues sorted, "Grapevine Fires" came to glorious life, the thousands in attendance singing the words back in perfect unison. And as the "ooh's" and slow beat died out, I made my way through the crowd towards la Scene Verte, "You Are A Tourist" playing the walk out.

Soaked anticipation, fueled by alcohol and drugs, glow sticks tossed from the stage as the lighting rigs began to pulse and spin in lock step with the focus and coherence of the crowd. Jesse Keeler (JFK) and Alex Puodziukas (Al-P) are the East York electronic duo MSTRKRFT. They plan out the vibe of each show; create intentional feedback loops. They design the set specifically for the energy they want from the crowd; the music and the response symbiotic and exponential in their effect. They planned for sweat and ecstatic delirium. Cigarettes in hand, Crown Royal on the table, they took the stage. Cavernous vibrations of bass, hard enough to push my lungs into exhaling, spread like fissures through the ground, moving the crowd into a pulsing lunge. Hands high or caressing our own bodies as synth wound up and down our spines. Pressed close to strangers in the darkness, our faces were lit only in the blinding flashes of light the punctuated the drop of each new beat; we beamed at each other. Pure drenched bliss.

Osheaga 2011: Day 2

(For more photos from these and other Osheaga bands, visit: http://bit.ly/iyrNcR)


The atmosphere was noticeably different on Day 2. A crowd of 38,000 had shrunk to 20,000 (still considered by the organizers as a successful day) and the composition of that 20k seemed more interested in the variety the day had to offer than any single headliner. Lunch put me late on the island, but I managed to sneak in with enough time to catch the end of BRAIDS' set. Pulsing and looping in the mid-afternoon sunlight on la Scene Verte, the band seemed transfixed by their own efforts; eyes almost always closed either to forget the hundreds gathered, or simply to find rapture in their own sound.

Soaked in 80's new wave, George Lewis Jr.'s debut album Forget, under the monicker Twin Shadow is a beautiful throw-back. Guitar in hand it's Lewis who also drives the live performance, pacing the stage, twitching madly at the shoulder with each chorused strum, singing with impassioned earnestness. A city not unfamiliar with melodramatic 80's influenced music (see: The Dears), the Montreal crowd happily danced and sang along to album standouts like "I Can't Wait" and "Castles in the Snow."

At this point, the plan at first had been to get myself set up at the main stage in anticipation of the long awaited return of Death From Above 1979, the duo of Jesse Keeler and Sebastien Grainger that called it quits in 2006. So out to the gravel pit I went. Sam Roberts was just closing out his set with "Where Have All The Good People Gone," thousands shouting the lyrics back on cue, and a crowd was gathering at the Scene De La Riviere for the start of the set by 2010 Polaris winners and 2008 long-listers, Karkwa. Though not well known outside of Quebec prior to their Polaris win, the band has been performing and recording for over 12 years at this point, and their following at the Montreal festival was not insignificant. Despite this, after performing Les Chemins de Verre lead off "Le Pyromane," singer Louis-Jean Cormier addressed the crowd. "We're Karkwa, we sing in French so don't worry if you didn't understand. Just dance and smile." The crowd obliged as the band smiled, exchanging looks and jokes.

Here's where the plan goes differently. Having seen Death From Above 1979 a handful of times back at the release of You're A Woman, I'm A Machine, I decided that this Osheaga afternoon would be about exploring artists who's music I've heard about, but never experienced. So it was back to la Scene Verte for Yoav. With only an acoustic guitar in hand, the Israeli-born, South African Yoav Sadan, layered and looped slaps, scratches and eerie vocals into the pickup, strumming and picking over the dense rhythms and soundscapes to create a mesmerizing form of near trip-hop. Smiles from the crowd, unprompted clap alongs and dancing urged it on. Sadan smiled in return, barefoot and happy, covering The Pixies "Where Is My Mind" to our delight. "A few years before my album came out, I played Osheaga," he told us. "I was on the first stage, first time slot, of the first day. It's good to be back."

Anna Calvi's music is hard to pin down. Equal parts Elvis, Hendrix, southern European folk music and gypsy soul, all hung of the deft fingers that seem to fly across the fretboard of her Fender. It started abruptly and there seemed to be barely a person in the hundred or so jammed to the front of le Scene Des Arbes who was actually there to watch the chanteuse. Heckling from the 6pm drunks waiting for Sam Adams an hour later. But as the murderous blues riffs mixed with her seductive, perhaps even malevolent voice, singing tales of heartbreak and heart breaking, appreciation grew for the artist who's 2011 debut album has been short-listed for the UK Mercury Prize (see: Polaris). Through pained expressions and emotive red lips, she played and a breeze swept over us, perhaps a reminder to exhale as we held out breath in the final notes.

If there was to be an unofficial headliner to Day 2 of Osheaga, it would be New York electronic duo Ratatat. With Bright Eyes and Elvis Costello to come on the main stages, those looking to channel the wind up of DFA 1979 headed to la Scene Verte. Every inch of space was filled save for a thin pathway along vendors tents, the horizon littered with raised hands attached to dancing bodies below. Head banging, and mugging for the audience over backing beats, Mike Stroud and Evan Mast manned guitars, synths and drums in what became an elegant grunge dance ballet of coordinated sound and visuals. Bobbing heads of birds projected on the screen behind them, danced in kind before giving way to a remix of Arnold's struggle with The Predator. The beats were enormous, and the crowd was euphoric.

The close of Day 2. Sound check at la Scene Des Arbes and a small blonde child is sitting behind the drums, headphones on, and being cheered on by the crowd. It's Holden, Fucked Up singer Damien Abraham's son, here on the last night of the band's summer of touring in support of David Comes To Life. Holden takes off in time for the band to take the stage. The late night crowd salivates and readies themselves for the onslaught. Droning guitars signal the lead-in riff to David single "Queen of Hearts" and as the notes break, Abraham jumps from the stage to stand on the barrier dividing him from the crowd. Screaming and sharing the mic with the crowd, the energy is incredible, full of rage yet joyful. Bodies begin flying over the top of the crowd and Abraham himself tosses his bulky frame onto waiting hands. On stage, Mike Haliechuck, Sandy Miranda, Josh Zucker and Ben Cook focus on their work, building the buzzing wall of sound that has come to characterize Fucked Up's music. "Twice Born" from 2009's The Chemistry of Common Life brought Sebastien Grainger to the stage in his shirtless, bleach blonde glory, screaming along and surfing the crowd. As it started, feedback squeals hummed over the night to close the set. Guitar upon guitar built higher to climactic release as Fucked Up closed the night with "Son The Father." The circle pit ramped up for one last riot; teenage angst or boyish idiocy powered the tossed bodies and violent shoves, smiles on their faces.