Sunday, April 3rd, 2011

"Magic Arrow"

The D’Urbervilles cover Timber Timbre

image via FIBFriends In BellwoodsGetting kind of hyper-local for this week’s selection. About a week ago, Toronto post-punk stalwarts The D’Urbervilles appeared ready to be calling it a day, putting a cryptic “The D’Urbs are dead” message on their website along with a countdown clock. Many were disappointed but not surprised if this was indeed the case, given frontman John O’Reagan’s successes with electro-pop side-project Diamond Rings. But as it turned out, that was just marking time until the band emerged from their chrysalis, butterfly-style, in their new guise as Matters – an outfit with the same members, same tense and hooky musical stylings and presumably same great taste. Just now with an 80% less Google-able name.

So to mark the occasion, here is what I believe is was The D’Urbs’ last officially-released recording, a Timber Timbre cover that came out on the Friends In Bellwoods 2 charity compilation circa Summer 2009. In it, they take their labelmates’ dark and swampy blues and completely transform it, digging through the gloom to detonate an anxious and glammy energy bomb into its ghostly atmosphere. If it had appeared on their 2008 debut We Are The Hunters, it’d have been a highlight.

Matters officially release their debut single this coming Thursday at The Garrison when they open up for PS I Love You. Timber Timbre release their new record Creep On Creepin’ On this Tuesday and follow up with a sold-out show at Trinity-St. Paul’s on Friday night, April 8. Toro has an interview with frontman Taylor Kirk. There don’t appear to be immediate plans for a Friends In Bellwoods volume three, but donations to the Daily Bread Food Bank, for which the compilations were raising funds, is always a good idea.

MP3: The D’Urbervilles – “Magic Arrow”
Video: The D’Urbervilles – “Magic Arrow” (live in Ottawa)
Stream: Timber Timbre – “Magic Arrow”

By : Frank Yang at 9:57 am
Category: Chromewaves Radio

Tags: , ,

RSS Feed for this post2 Responses.
  1. frostBiteBoy says:

    Not sure why they’re calling “Get In or Get Out” a new Matters single, when the D’urbs have been playing it at live shows since at leats 2008 (see link below). It may have made sense to launch the new name/brand with an actual new song. Odd…

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-D2UlHRbs4

  2. flipzoso says:

    Magic Arrow cover shot live

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKywBKeT2gc