I don’t actually believe there exist enough vehicles in Charlottetown, PEI to create traffic dense enough to delay anyone for two hours. And despite their name, Two Hours Traffic don’t offer much evidence that they know first-hand the tedium of gridlock, what with having turned out a record chock full of top-down, joyriding, sing-along power-pop goodness such as Little Jabs, their second album. Produced by Joel Plaskett, a man who knows a thing or two about pop songs, Jabs is chock full of tight, janglesome and hooktacular anthems to girls and sunshine, it’s infused with a sense of wide-eyed youth that makes me nostalgic for the long-gone days when I actually had Summer vacations. Little Jabs is out on Tuesday and the band will celebrate with a free show at the Horseshoe that night. They’re also playing the Hillside Festival on Saturday at 2PM.

MP3: Two Hours Traffic – “Stuck For The Summer”
Stream: Two Hours Traffic / Little Jabs
Video: Two Hours Traffic – “Stuck For The Summer” (YouTube)
Video: Two Hours Traffic – “Jezebel” (YouTube)
MySpace: Two Hours Traffic

The Parkas / Put Your Head In The Lion’s Mouth (Saved By Radio) The Parkas also know a thing or two about the road. Hailing from all over Ontario but based out of Toronto, last year they released A Life Of Crime, a DVD documenting an arduous and exhausting 2004 cross-Canada tour that cost them a guitarist and nearly destroyed the band. But offering proof the the old cliche about whatever doesn’t kill you makes you taller, The Parkas have returned with their second album which, even if you don’t know the back story, is infused with a sense of defiance, glorious raggedness and probably more than a little liquid courage. Lion’s Mouth is a strong, heartfelt and sweaty statement of rock from a band that’s paid its dues many times over and is ready for their just rewards. They’re at the Horseshoe this Friday night, July 27, for a CD release party. MP3: The Parkas – “You And What Army?” Video: The Parkas – “Darling, The Wolves” (YouTube) Trailer: A Life Of Crime MySpace: The Parkas

]]> http://www.chromewaves.net/2007/07/sunday-cleaning-volume-74/feed/ 0 http://www.chromewaves.net/2007/06/theres-a-lot-to-do/ http://www.chromewaves.net/2007/06/theres-a-lot-to-do/#comments Wed, 06 Jun 2007 05:22:03 +0000 Frank Yang http://chromewaves.webfactional.com/?p=2165 So the 2007 edition of NxNE kicks off tomorrow evening (if you don’t count the satellite “NxNExtra” shows) and I must say I’m more excited about this year’s lineup than I’ve been before. Of course, I’ll be missing many of the bands who’ve piqued my interest because I haven’t yet mastered the art of being in three places at once, but as a matter of principle, it’s a good sign for the fest.

One act that’s coming to town who might be flying under the radar but are worthy of note are North Carolina’s Schooner. I caught them at Pop Montreal last October and just got a copy of their new record Hold On Too Tight, due out on August 21. Live, they demonstrated a good blend of classic 50s and 60s pop traits combined with some of the college rock skronk that put their home state on the music map in the 90s.

The album, on the other hand, still combines those same ingredients but in markedly different proportions. Though still pop to the core, there’s a much stronger Motown and Stax vibe throughout with some orchestral flourishes and the occasional foray into gently twangy country, all anchored by Reid Johnson’s weary croon. But what I found to stand out the most was just how beautifully downbeat the record is, an impression bolstered in no small part to the deliberate haziness of the production. Even when things get uptempo, there’s a glumness that I personally find quite appealing. The best parallel I can offer is that at their best moments, they sound like a bummed-out Saturday Looks Good To Me. This is definitely meant as a compliment.

They’re playing on Saturday night at C’est What, 10PM. Check them out.

MP3: Schooner – “There’s Enough To Do”
MP3: Schooner – “They Always Do”
MySpace: Schooner

As for the rest of the fest, I’ll repost the rough list of names I put up a few weeks ago, with some additions and edits (Nicole Atkins & The Sea are no longer at the Reverb on Friday night, so that’s one I won’t feel bad about missing but they will still be at Lee’s Palace on Monday night with The Long Blondes). My Thursday will pretty much find me fixed at the Horseshoe and Friday is overbooked as is (see below) but Saturday is still a bit up in the air, mainly due to logistics. I’ll figure that out later, I guess. But also refer to NOW‘s festival preview and note that Torontoist has begun offering day-by-day recommendations.

Thursday, June 7

Future Clouds & Radar @ The Horseshoe – 9PM
Les Breastfeeders @ The Boat – 10PM
Sea Wolf @ The Horseshoe – 10PM
Kathleen Edwards @ Lee’s Palace – 10PM
Woodpigeon @ The Drake Underground – 11PM
Buffalo Tom @ The Horseshoe – 12AM
Jason Falkner @ The Reverb – 12AM
The Parkas @ The Dakota Tavern – 12AM
A Northern Chorus @ Sneaky Dee’s – 12AM
Justin Rutledge @ Lee’s Palace – 12AM
Royal Wood @ The Gladstone – 12AM
Adam Franklin @ The Reverb – 1AM
Blue Rodeo @ Lee’s Palace – 3AM

Friday, June 8

The Pantones @ The Savannah – 9PM
Sunparlour Players @ Lee’s Palace – 9PM
The Vulcan Dub Squad @ Holy Joe’s – 11PM
Carmen Elle @ The Free Times Cafe – 11PM
Handsome Furs @ The Comfort Zone – 12AM
Jesse Malin @ The Reverb – 12AM
The Sadies @ Lee’s Palace – 12AM
Therapy? @ The El Mocambo – 12AM
Love Kills @ Clinton’s – 1AM
Jenn Grant @ C’est What – 1AM
John Doe @ Lee’s Palace – 1AM

Saturday, June 9

Ohbijou @ The Horseshoe – 10PM
Schooner @ C’est What – 10PM
She Keeps Bees @ Holy Joe’s – 10PM
Fjord Rowboat @ The Reverb – 11PM
Fox Jaws @ The Dakota Tavern – 11PM
The Coast @ The Boat – 11PM
Man In Gray @ The Kathedral – 11PM
Great Northern @ Lee’s Palace – 12AM
Urge Overkill @ Lee’s Palace – 1AM

And looking to some of the NxNExt showcases (the festival-affiliated shows featuring international/touring bands that allow a limited number of wristbands and passes admission), Harp and NOW have features on Dinosaur Jr, playing at the Phoenix on Friday night. It’s an early show, but probably not early enough to realistically allow me to pull off the double-header with the Voxtrot show at Sneaky Dee’s that I’d hoped to accomplish (to say nothing of the toll it’d take on my limited energy). I’m not taking it off my calendar just yet but I’m thinking that I may end up having to bail on J and gang. Alas.

And speaking of Voxtrot (who’re also doing an early show at Sneaks on Friday), Austin360 has an interview with the band while Daytrotter one-ups them with an interview AND a downloadable session.

Also on the Daytrotter trip, The Broken West were also in their studios recently and have an interview and session for your seeing and hearing pleasure. The Broken West are at Lee’s Palace on Sunday night opening for Fountains Of Wayne – also a NxNExt show if you want to squeeze a little more out of your wristband.

Leading things off were The Parkas, formerly based out of London but now scattered all over Southern Ontario. Big props to them for not only keeping the band together, but still sounding good while doing it. Starting off a little slow, they seemed to gain energy and confidence with each article of clothing the singer doffed. Their set wasn’t long enough for him to do an Anthony Keidis impersonation (thankfully), but by the end they were fully in the zone, sounding not unlike Exile-era Rolling Stones at last call, a staggering (in the wobbling sense, not the heartbreaking genius sense) blend of country rocking soul. The dudes are some kind of funny onstage, too.

The middle act went to Andy Magoffin, who incidentally produced both the Frontier Index and Parkas. First performing a couple of numbers with just Jenny Mitchell of Barmitzvah Brothers as Crime Travellers, he then brought up the rest of the band to complete The Two Minute Miracles lineup. After the high-energy Parkas, Magoffin’s considerably quieter pop gems got lost a bit in the crowd chatter, but still sounded good. I confess that I didn’t give him my undivided attention, I ended up by the merch table talking comics with Graig, but what I heard when I tuned in sounded good. Honest.

By this point, it was pretty goddamn late, the guests of honour at this particular party not taking the stage until 12:30. I’m impressed by how much better of a live band Frontier Index have gotten since the first time I saw them last August (opening for the Parkas, coincidentally). They’ve headed further in the country direction, playing up the natural twang in guitarist Corey Hernden and drummer Mick Jackson’s voices but keeping one foot in the rock world (on the monitor whilst soloing, natch). The best touchstones I can think of are post-Olson Jayhawks with a dash of ‘Mats swagger thrown in. That’s about how I’d describe the album as well, after just one intial listen. The production is very clean and reminiscent of Wilco’s A.M.. But back to the live show – the band was certainly feeding of the positive energy of the crowd, composed of family, friends, fans and general well-wishers to put on a terrifically tight show. Now with a proper album to support, I’m expecting Frontier Index to start making some waves in the greater public consciousness through the second half of the year. Hopefully big things are coming.

The album is out in Canada on Tuesday, the US in August and internationally come Fall. Check out their electronic press kit for some audio that I couldn’t actually get working and pics – six of the eight of which are mine! Here are some more for them to pad their press kits.

Various corners of blogsburg are taking advantage of the year’s halfway point to compose those ultimate in music writer indulgences, the best-of list. Brooklynvegan has his up and My Old Kentucky Blog has his favourite AND his biggest disappointments. Muzzle Of Bees has chosen to accentuate the negative and has only listed off his worst of ’05. I may whip together a list next week if it’s a slow one.

Rolling Stone talks to Carl Newman about what to expect from the new New Pornographers record, Twin Cinema, out August 23. Link from Largehearted Boy. This report that they’re playing the Docks here in Toronto on October 9 really makes me unhappy. Unhappy enough to not go.

Embrace has never done much for me, but with Longwave opening up on their upcoming tour, I guess I’ll be giving them another look. They’ll both be at Lee’s Palace on July 26 along with Augustana. You can listen to all of Longwave’s new album There’s A Fire over at MySpace. The audio was kind of fucked up earlier this week, but the proper authorities have been notified so hopefully that’s sorted out. Either way, the album is out for real on Tuesday.

CMJ talks to Stephen Malkmus about domesticity and Face The Truth.

Explosions In The Sky apologize for the continuing non-functionality of their website and make up for it by re-releasing their long-out-of-print debut album How Strange, Innocence, on or around October 11. Until then, check out these live tracks from a show in San Francisco in June 2003, courtesy of Transmission 3000.

Yeah, late post. Late night.

np – Explosions In The Sky / Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever

April 13 brings Ash and The Bravery to the Opera House. They will be pushing new records Meltdown (out March 8) and The Bravery (out March 29) respectively. Ash shmash. I want a Charlotte Hatherley show!

Stephen Malkmus’ third solo disc, Face The Truth, will be in stores May 24. Matador describes it as his “first bona fide solo recording” – which also draws attention to the fact that the album is NOT credited to “The Jicks” the way Pig Lib was. Hmm. I liked his first two post-Pavement efforts well enough, but that doesn’t make the new one a must-have. We’ll have to see how it sounds. Pitchfork has more deets.

With the impending release of Ivy’s In The Clear on March 1, some folks have been wondering what that means for the timing of the promised b-sides/rarities album – sez Andy Chase, “The Ivy bsides/dvd should appear sometime in late 2005/early 2006, once In The Clear has basically run it’s course”. I guess I didn’t really need to quote that directly.

Tired of waiting for that new Sigur Ros record? Stop waiting – play your own, with these Sigur Ros guitar tabs! Perfect for singalongs around the campfire. Actually, it’s a pretty neat site – the tabs with MIDI accompaniment are actually quite nice. I am going to learn to play “Vaka”. Someone else can sing.

And you know what’s fascinating listening? The individual instrument tracks for “Hunted By A Freak” on Mogwai’s Happy Songs For Happy People (these tracks were provided along with some multitracking computer software to allow the fans to make their own remixes of the song). Following along with just one guitar line, say, is like an education in space. Anyway, I think I need a new Mogwai record – the BBC Sessions disc out on February 22 will satisfy for a bit, but I want a new studio album.

Happy Groundhog Day. Celebrate by eating a groundhog.

np – Mogwai / Happy Songs For Happy People

Magic Pony is a neat shop – I am definitely going back to pick up some of the Kozyndan prints they have for sale (and very reasonably priced, too). I’ve loved their work since they designed the artwork for the two Postal Service singles (The District Sleeps Alone Tonight and Such Great Heights) but didn’t know that the prints would be available locally. Yay. This one, titled “The Household”, is the one I want, though I wouldn’t be surprised if I got this one as well – just look at the detail on them. Amazing. I’m not sure where I’d put them up yet, the walls in my apartment are weirdly-shaped and not necessarily conducive to hanging artwork, but I’ll find somewhere.

After the show we headed over to the Horseshoe to catch some local music. There were four bands on the bill but we were only collectively interested in two of them, The Frontier Index and The Parkas. There’ll be no comment on the other two bands – Supergarage I didn’t stick around for and Stirling… Well, if you can’t say anything nice (and I could say a lot not nice), then we’ll leave it at that.

Carla had been telling me about Frontier Index since I missed them (but she hadn’t) opening for Preston School Of Industry earlier this year. The stuff on their website sounded promising so I made a note to try and catch them the next time the opportunity presented itself. They trade in fairly standard ‘cosmic American music’ (read: alt.country) but with some particular attention paid to the ‘cosmic’ part of that. The unconventional spacey and textural lead guitar work was distinctive as well as their glorious three-part harmonies which weren’t used nearly enough. It looks like these guys are on an upward trajectory, if the remarkable attendance in place for their early set is any indication. Furthermore, word is they’re on the verge of signing with Rainbow Quartz though their country-esque sound would probably be more at home on their Turquiose Mountain imprint. Good stuff, and worth watching.

Then Stirling played. I blacked out for about an hour.

I saw Thunder Bay-via-London’s The Parkas last year at an Endearing Records showcase at CMW last year, and while I think I liked them alright, I don’t remember anything about them. They certainly made more of an impression last night, though. Going through some recent lineup flux, they were playing with a couple of ringers to fill in for a departed guitarist/vocalist but if that had put them off their game at all, I certainly couldn’t tell. The guys are a quintissentially Canadian rock band (in the Joel Plaskett vein, not April Wine) and sure know how to throw a party and work a crowd. I didn’t know any of their stuff and still had a great time at the show – that’s not an easy feat. I wouldn’t have wanted to be the band that had to follow them.

I got pics of the Frontier Index and Parkas sets here.

The Rilo Kiley/Now It’s Overhead/Tilly & The Wall show has a venue – you will want to be at the Horseshoe on October 3 to take in the show.

Okay, wait a minute – THIS is the guy who beat me for best music blog this year? Only Moby could make a night out with strippers, cocaine, booze and all-night sex sound utterly lame and pathetic. Bitter? Me? Nah. From 10:51am Toronto.

np – Sonic Youth / Daydream Nation

First up – The Parkas. From various points around Ontario, they performed a solid if fairly generic set of country-tinged pop rock. Stellar harmonies, though.

Calgary’s Hot Little Rocket put on a very energetic show of angular post-punk rock. Kevin said they sounded just like Sparta. Having never heard Sparta, I’m in no position to debate. But full points for playing the opening of Television’s “Marquee Moon” for soundcheck.

Next up were Paper Moon from sunny Winnipeg. Formerly twee-poppers B’Ehl, Paper Moon offered up lots of sugary pop goodness with just enough grit to keep from getting a toothache.

By this point the cozy (read: small) Silver Dollar room was filling with scenesters eager to check out the Heavy Blinkers, Endearing’s latest signing from Halifax. If you’ve never been to the Silver Dollar, the stage is small. Smaller than the Horseshoe, which is not big. Well the Heavy Blinkers are a 10-piece band, and we’re not talking small pieces, like kazoos or tambourines. We’re talking keyboards, organs, pedal steels, horn sections… It was a Herculean feat. The Heavy Blinkers’ thing is full-on orch-pop. Bacharach may be an overused reference point, but it’s still an apt one. Really fun, sophisticated and impressive stuff.

By this point I was too bushed to stick around for Vancouver’s Radiogram, which is a shame because some good roots music would have been a good way to wash down the evening. Maybe next time.

I burned my first CD yesterday. I feel mighty. It was the second disc of the Wilco live in Philadelphia set – I had the first one courtesy of 517. It’s so quick and easy. Now I can get to work on making CDs for everyone who’s given me stuff over the years.

I don’t know what this is, but it looks cool. Apparently the shrimp car has kick-ass acceleration.

np – Billy Bragg & Wilco / Mermaid Avenue