Filter

Random on so many levels, and yet now that it’s done and the results a matter of public record, I have to say that I’m quite enjoying the results. The song selections are relatively obvious but not cliched (okay, the Kelly Clarkson maybe) or ironic (okay, the Miley Cyrus) and cover a decent range of genres, and TPC’s sound isn’t so unique that they can’t tackle most pop songs without rendering them unrecognizable. They strike a pretty good balance between remaining faithful to the original and still sounding like Tokyo Police Club – in fact, I’ll go a bit further and say that this set presents a much rangier and versatile TPC than their own albums have.

But if it wasn’t obvious, I’m a soft touch for cover versions so cheers to Tokyo Police Club for making up, taking up and beating the challenge. For their next little project, I suggest they pay tribute to a fellow 905 musical icon and try to rhyme the world in 80 days.

They’ve made all the tracks available to download, but if you don’t want to commit you can also stream it all at Soundcloud. And if you want to follow the actual internet release tour – each song was premiered at a specific website – and read some of the accompanying commentary, head over to any and all of Entertainment Weekly, Alternative Press, Mashable, Spinner, The AV Club (double-shot here) and Filter (another double shot). “Party In The USA” didn’t seem to get a proper premiere, but whatevs.

MP3: Tokyo Police Club – “Southside” (Moby cover)
MP3: Tokyo Police Club – “Sweetness” (Jimmy Eat World cover)
MP3: Tokyo Police Club – “Under Control” (The Strokes cover)
MP3: Tokyo Police Club – “Since U Been Gone” Kelly Clarkson cover)
MP3: Tokyo Police Club – “Little Sister” (Queens Of The Stone Age cover)
MP3: Tokyo Police Club – “Long Distance Call” (Phoenix cover)
MP3: Tokyo Police Club – “All My Friends” (LCD Soundsystem)
MP3: Tokyo Police Club – “Kim And Jessie” (M83 cover)
MP3: Tokyo Police Club – “Strictly Game” (Harlem Shakes cover)
MP3: Tokyo Police Club – “Party In The USA” (Miley Cyrus cover)
Stream: Tokyo Police Club / 10 Days, 10 Covers, 10 Years

Keeping in the Canuck covers theme, check out this video of Evening Hymns trying on a little Tom Petty for size. Their new album of original material Spectral Dusk is due out this Fall – I expect formal details to be announced soon. ‘Cause it’s already Fall.

Video: Evening Hymns – “Learning To Fly”

Southern Souls has branched out from just videos to include editorial content, like this interview with Neil Haverty of Bruce Peninsula. The topic at hand being, of course, their second album Open Flames, which is due out October 4. They play a release show at Lee’s Palace on October 27.

Though their second album Tosta Mista has been out since late July, Hooded Fang are only now getting around to organizing an official release party. It’ll be a Wavelength Presents joint and happen September 24 at the Academy of Lions Crossfit Gym – how rock’n'roll is that – on Dundas West near Dovercourt, tickets $10 in advance.

MP3: Hooded Fang – “ESP”
MP3: Hooded Fang – “Den Of Love”

The Stool Pigeon and Beatroute talk to the Lightman twins of Tasseomancy. They have a release show for Ulalame at The Great Hall on October 20 and open up for Austra at The Phoenix on December 1.

Miracle Fortress has assembled some “what I did on my Summer vacation”-style films for the first video from Was I The Wave?.

Video: Miracle Fortress – “Miscalculations”

The Line Of Best Fit is streaming Memoryhouse’s revisited debut EP The Years, out next week. Now that their local dates opening up for Peter Bjorn & John are done, I expect confirmation that they’re doing the same for The Radio Dept at The Mod Club on November 17. If not, then perhaps a hometown release show of their own is in the works? The Milford Daily Times has an interview with Evan Abeele of the band.

Stream: Memoryhouse / The Years

Toronto country-rock stalwarts Cuff The Duke have commandeered The Horseshoe for the weekend of November 25 and 26 to celebrate the release of their new record Morning Comes, out October 4.

MP3: Cuff The Duke – “Standing On The Edge”
Video: Cuff The Duke – “Standing On The Edge” (Paper Bag sessions)

Beatroute interviews The Besnard Lakes, who will be at Lee’s Palace on October 13.

If you were wondering, “hey – why does Los Angeles get a special intimate preview of Metals and not, oh, Feist’s hometown?” then relax… or get more agitated. Exclaim reports that the Glenn Gould Studio at the CBC’s headquarters will host a very special concert on October 8 – just four days after the album’s release – wherein the singer will be joined by such guests as Jeff Tweedy, Ed Droste, Bry Webb, Joel Gibb and Doug Paisley. Tickets for the show are only available via a CBC Radio 2 contest but is open to all residents of Canada and will include airfare and accommodations if you hail from outside the Toronto area. If you are local, well maybe they’ll splurge for a cab. One-way.

Soren Solkaer Starbird

And so here’s the 411 – the North American tour kicks off March 14 in Edmonton (!) and takes a leisurely route eastwards, eventually stopping in Toronto at the Sound Academy on March 30. That’s right, Vampire Weekend are playing a 3000-capacity venue, and they’re charging $27.50 a head to see them do so. Tickets go on sale this Friday.

Considerably less costly is the opportunity to hear their new record a week before release. It’s currently streaming on their MySpace and additionally, PitchforkTV has a “Juan’s Basement” live video session to watch. Also worth noting is that folks who buy Contra at their local indie store rather than, say, Wal-Mart, will receive the Vampire Weekend Meets Toy Selectah bonus CD for their conscientious consumerism. Details on the what and where here. Spinner talks to bassist Chris Baio about the new record.

MP3: Vampire Weekend – “Horchata”
Video: Vampire Weekend – “Cousins”
Stream: Vampire Weekend / Contra

Certainly the most intriguing announcement of the day yesterday was that Charlotte Gainsbourg would be coming to town. Gainsbourg has many claims to fame – daughter of Serge, actress (The Science Of Sleep, Antichrist), singer – and it’s as the last of these that she will be at the Phoenix on January 29. Her third album IRM, out January 26, was produced by Beck, who also duets on the first single, and it’s his band that will be backing Gainsbourg on this tour. Tickets for the Toronto show are $21.50.

Video: Charlotte Gainsbourg – “Heaven Can Wait”

Fans of the now-defunct Be Your Own Pet may be interested to know that a couple of spin-off acts (who are not Jemina Pearl) are hitting the road this Winter. JEFF The Brotherhood, featuring former BYOP guitar and drums Jake and Jamin Orrall, are out and about including a January 29 date at Sneaky Dee’s in support of their record Heavy Days while Turbo Fruits, which is led by the BYOP guitarist and drummer at the time of their dissolution, are hitting the road in support of Echo Kid with Surfer Blood and will be at Sneaky Dee’s on March 6.

MP3: Turbo Fruits – “Pocket Full Of Thistles”
MP3: Surfer Blood – “Swim”
Video: JEFF The Brotherhood – “The Tropics”
Video: JEFF The Brotherhood – “Bone Jam”

Fucked Up have a date at the Opera House on February 26 with Kurt Vile as support, as part of a North(eastern) America tour. Fucked Up’s new singles comp Couple Tracks is out January 26.

MP3: Fucked Up – “Neat Parts”
MP3: Fucked Up – “No Epiphany”
MP3: Kurt Vile – “Overnite Religion”
MP3: Kurt Vile – “Hunchback”

Cuff The Duke have a date at Lee’s Palace on March 20.

Video: Cuff The Duke – “Promises”

Nada Surf have yet to reveal full details of their forthcoming covers album but they have put a demo version of their redo of Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy The Silence” on their MySpace and announced some live dates, including a March 29 date at Lee’s Palace – tickets $16.50. Update: Some details revealed – if i had a hi-fi will initially be available only at shows starting March 25. Regular retail info still to come.

MP3: Nada Surf – “See These Bones”

Philadelphia dream-pop outfit A Sunny Day In Glasgow will make their Toronto debut on April 2 at the Garrison; tickets $10. I didn’t take to their 2007 debut Scribble Mural Comic Journal nearly as much as I thought I would/should, but am willing to give last year’s follow-up Ashes Grammar a shot, especially with a live date in the offing. Anyone care to comment on the live Sunny Day In Glasgow experience? I would imagine that reproducing the cut-and-paste sonics of the records verbatim isn’t on the agenda. There’s interviews with the band circa their US tour last month at The Village Voice, Express Night Out and Washington City Paper.

MP3: A Sunny Day In Glasgow – “Ashes Grammar/Ashes Math”
MP3: A Sunny Day In Glasgow – “Best Summer Ever”
MP3: A Sunny Day In Glasgow – “Watery (Drowning is Just Another Word for Being Buried Alive Under Water)”

Toronto’s Japandroids and Sweden’s Love Is All will make the Horseshoe loud and sweaty on April 3. Tickets $12.

MP3: Japandroids – “Young Hearts Spark Fire”
MP3: Love Is All – “Wishing Well”

With next Tuesday’s Mod Club show well and truly sold out, Owen Pallett has scheduled another hometown date for April 8 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre – tickets $25. XTRA and Reuters have interviews with Pallett, whose Heartland is out next week.

And though there’s no Toronto date to announce right now, Pitchfork’s list of Joanna Newsom tour dates has a very conspicuous three-day gap between Grand Rapids and Montreal. It does not take three days to drive from Grand Rapids to Montreal.

Ryan Pfluger

But the new album is finally done and will arrive on January 12 complete with a typically high-minded and utterly bizarre concept behind it. Pallett’s full explanation can be found in the press release, but key phrases that should give you some idea of what to expect are “a farmer named Lewis and the fictional world of Spectrum”, “compositionally modeled upon the principles of electronic music” and, “inversion of a Tomita record”. What any of that means is unclear to me, but at least one can be reasonably assured that whatever it is, it will come wrapped in strange and delicious orch-pop wrappers. Unless, of course, it doesn’t.

Pitchfork has a look at the album art for Heartland and as we await a first sample of Heartland‘s aural delights, enjoy a couple of tracks from last year’s EPs.

MP3: Final Fantasy – “The Butcher”
MP3: Final Fantasy – “Ultimatum”

And if you want to talk strange synchronicity, consider Final Fantasy and Woodpigeon. Woodpigeon will also release their next album Die Stadt Muzikanten on January 12, both records will be orchestra-enhanced (Die Stadt also featuring a 30-piece choir), both just performed at the Rifflandia festival in Victoria, BC and while Pallett fell ill with what was originally feared to be swine flu (but wasn’t), Woodpigeon’s Mark Hamilton actually has come down with what appears to be the dreaded H1N1 virus. He’s been treated and is hopefully on the road to recovery, though it’s unclear if he’ll be well enough to make it to Pop Montreal this weekend. Fingers crossed. Either way he should be recovered enough by mid-month when Woodpigeon is set to participate in this Fall’s Banff Centre residency, where they’ll work on honing their craft with the likes of Steve Albini. Woodpigeon and Steve Albini – there’s a combination I’d like to hear. Update: And to be clear, the exact phrasing above was “appears to be” – tests are still not conclusive as to what grounded the ‘Pigeon and called for Jane Vain to cover for their Pop Montreal showcase, but the important thing is that Hamilton is on the mend and will be back in the (broad) general vicinity for a show at Cafe Deckuf in Ottawa on October 16 presented by I Heart Music. And he will not be contagious.

Also moving into the Banff Centre for that fortnight is Basia Bulat, also with a much-anticipated new record out in January. Heart Of My Own is out on the 26th of the month, and JAM has a chat with Bulat about the new record. Also check out a video of Basia performing “Gold Rush” in a DUMBO session.

MP3: Basia Bulat – “Gold Rush”
Video: Basia Bulat – “Gold Rush” (live at DUMBO Sessions)

As I’m following little threads and segues, It occurs to me that in addition to seeing the release of a follow-up to the inaugural Polaris Prize-winning record (He Poos Clouds, if you weren’t paying attention), both Woodpigeon and Basia’s last records were the top picks on my Polaris ballots this year as well Ohbijou’s new one Beacons, and its predecessor Swift Feet For Troubling Times topped my 2007 Polaris ballot… AND the new record was much-informed by their session at the Banff Centre last year. I daresay this post is at risk from collapsing in on itself in a quantum singularity of circular references, so I’ll finish this thread by saying that as much as I’d like to say that next year’s ballot will be full of fresh faces and new discoveries, all of the new Ohbijou, Woodpigeon and Basia records make strong arguments for repeat appearances. Wait, does that mean I’ve heard those last two records? Oh, uh, hey – look over there!

The National Post talks to Cuff The Duke’s Wayne Petti about the heaviness that informs their new record Way Down Here. There’s also features at The Georgia Straight, FFWD and Edmonton Journal. They play two nights at the Horseshoe on October 16 and 17.

MinnPost.com has an interview with Glenn Kotche of Wilco, who will be at Massey Hall for two nights on October 14 and 15.

Joe Pernice discusses his new book and album with Exclaim.

In addition to their October 31 show at the Horseshoe, Noah & The Whale will be doing an in-store at Criminal Records earlier that night, precise time to be announced. Perfect for everyone with Hallowe’en plans as well as those who need a double-dose of weepy break-up tunes. And the band will probably have replaced if not recovered all the gear that was stolen the other night – tough break, that. Some seriously nice equipment in that trailer.

Never ones to be slaves to convention, Wheat have decided that rather than release another video from White Ink Black Ink, they’re releasing a video game. It’s Windows-only, unfortunately, so I can’t tell you if it’s any good or if up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right-B-A-start gets you any free lives, but if you’re on a PC and take it for a spin, let me know how it is. I’m curious.

Volcano Choir has released a first video from their debut album Unmap.

Video: Volcano Choir – “Island, IS”

Love Shack, Baby and The Diamondback have interviews with The Antlers.

Frank Yang

Then in May, word of a live show for the Fall. Not a tour, but the sort of special event that happens when Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips calls up and asks you to come out of hiding and play a show at an old country club in the Catskills, aka ATPNY. And as befits such an occasion, rather than just call up his usual co-conspirators and play a typical Caribou show, Snaith went through his rolodex, gathered together folks from Four Tet, Junior Boys and Enon, amongst many others, and essentially assembled a super-sized Caribou, an uber-Caribou – The Caribou Vibration Ensemble.

So while the ATP performance this past weekend in Monticello, New York was the big event, Thursday night’s show at the Opera House in Toronto was much more than just a dress rehearsal. The opening act for the evening however, Koushik, may have been. Though Koushik is billed as a downbeat electronic/pop/hip-hop artist, on this night he/they were essentially 3/4 of the Caribou Vibration Ensemble – of which Koushik Ghosh was part of – in jamming mode. Not jamming in the sense of everyone on stage trading solos, but more establishing a solid, unshowy groove and building simple melodies over top. They played pretty much straight through, trading instruments and letting things go where they would, then wrapping it after about 30 minutes – right about where hypnotic began to give way to tedious. Wise.

After about a half-hour intermission, Caribou took the stage, less a band than an orchestra with distinct sections (brass over here, massive percussion setup in the middle, strings in back, keys and electronics over here) and at a full fifteen members, dwarfed the nine-piece configuration of the openers. Now at this point, I have to offer context – or lack of. I’d only gotten into Caribou during the Polaris process last year, so I’d never seen them live and further had never really listened to any of the albums previous to Andorra, so frames of reference for the performance and reinvention of the songs is limited at best. But in this instance, I think that’s alright because doing things the way they were was entirely beside the point of the evening.

Across approximately 90 minutes and ranging through the two Caribou records and one Manitoba album, the Ensemble took Snaith’s already widescreen compositions and enhanced by an impressive light show, blew them up into IMAX-scale. Describable at various points thought the set – and sometimes within a song – as electronica, jazz, tribal, psychedelic or noise but never losing sight of the pop roots, the Caribou Vibration Ensemble was a sight to behold and a sound to be heard. The high points would have been the vocal numbers – a choral “Melody Day” and Jeremy Greenspan-sung “She’s The One” – had they been properly audible. Note to sound guy – when six people gather around the mics at the front of the stage, that might be a hint that you should turn them on in the PA. As it was, from up front they were still audible enough to impress but those should have been the show-stoppers.

Those complaints aside, it was still a wholly impressive and memorable evening and I can only imagine how terrific their set was at ATP – surely standouts of an absurdly stacked lineup. And now Snaith returns to crafting the third Caribou record and the rest of us return to waiting patiently, though he’s already on record as saying it will be a departure from the classic pop of Andorra. Holding up this experience as a benchmark for future Caribou live performances is also probably unreasonable, but that’s fine – it works quite well as one of those unique experiences that I feel lucky to have been able to witness. eye and Exclaim have reviews of the show while NOW was on hand to catch some video.

Photos: The Caribou Vibration Ensemble, Koushik @ The Opera House – September 10, 2009
MP3: Caribou – “Melody Day”
MP3: Caribou – “Barnowl”
Video: Caribou – “She’s The One”
Video: Caribou – “Melody Day”
Video: Caribou – “Irene”
Video: Caribou – “Hummingbird”
MySpace: Caribou
MySpace: Koushik

And to anyone who enjoyed – as I did – watching Caribou’s touring drummer Brad Weber beat the tar out of his kit for both the Caribou and Koushik sets, note that he has his own band in Pick A Piper and they will be at the Horseshoe this coming Friday, September 18, as part of the 100th show celebrations for local promoters No Shame. Also playing are Green Go, Ruby Coast and The Skeletones Four. This is something you should attend.

Land Of Talk have released a new MP3 from their forthcoming Fun & Laughter EP, out October 13. It dost scorch.

MP3: Land Of Talk – “May You Never”

The Hidden Cameras have finally added the hometown finale to their massive Fall tour in support of new album Origin:Orphan, out September 22, by scheduling what’s sure to be an over-the-top show at the Opera House on December 5.

Video: The Hidden Cameras – “In The NA”

And if you don’t want to wait till Winter for a little Hidden Cameras fix, consider heading out to James St in Hamilton come October 9 for Supercrawl, a combination street fair, art show and music festival that will be headlined by the aforementioned Hidden Cameras and also feature performances from Ohbijou and many more. And it’s an excuse to go to Hamilton. Who doesn’t want to go to Hamilton?

A whole mess of new videos meeting Can-con requirements hit the web last week. Great Lake Swimmers released a new one from Lost Channels. There’s features on the band at The Courier-Journal and Nashville Scene.

Video: Great Lake Swimmers – “Still”

ChartAttack talks to Amy Millan about her new solo record Masters Of The Burial, out next week, as well as what’s going on with her bands Stars and Broken Social Scene. She plays the Mod Club on October 14 and has a new video from her new album.

Video: Amy Millan – “Bury This”

Also with a new vid are Cuff The Duke, who’ve got a two-night stand at the Horseshoe on October 16 and 17. There’s interviews with the band at Metro and The Corrie Tandem.

Video: Cuff The Duke – “Promises”

Oh No Forest Fires went wandering in a Newfoundland forest and refrained from setting any fires, instead they shot a live video. They’re part of a stacked bill at Lee’s Palace next Friday night, September 25, with The Balconies, Fox Jaws and Whale Tooth.

Video: Oh No Forest Fires – “New Cove Road Back Home” (Live in a Forest)

ChartAttack spends some time with Two Hours Traffic. They’ve got a gig at Lee’s Palace on October 16.

Threadless has a video interview with t-shirt models The Rural Alberta Advantage, and they’re also asking for help to name a new song.

The Line Of Best Fit declared last week Bella Union week, in honour of the UK label who brings the likes of Ohbijou and The Acorn to adoring British masses, and in an apparent show of solidarity with the label’s website, which went AWOL, TLOBF too went offline. But they’re back now and I can point you at a few of the features they offered including a guide to west Scotland from My Latest Novel, an interview between label boss Simon Raymonde and Midlake (new album forthcoming entitled The Courage of Others) and Ohbijou have put together a “get to know Canada” crossword puzzle. Of course, Line Of Best Fit readers are already well-acquainted with the Great White North thanks to their series of Oh! Canada posts and mixes, the fourth volume of which is now available to download.

saddle-creek.com

They returned to live duty with some shows over the course of the Summer, but have now put together a proper if shortish tour for the Fall, taking them from south to north along the Pacific coast, though east coast dates are also promised. And while the current live itinerary will only benefit westerners, they’re also releasing a new EP on October 27 that people can enjoy irrespective of their personal geography. Fun And Laughter will contain four new songs and three videos from Some Are Lakes. The clip for the title track emerged a few months ago, the one for “The Man Who Breaks Things” has just hit the interwebs and the last one for “Troubled” will probably surface closer to the actual release date.

The news of new music from Land Of Talk is certainly welcome, but not as much as the fact that they’re back, presumably in good health and raring to go. Good to have you back.

Video: Land Of Talk – “The Man Who Breaks Things (Dark Shuffle)”
Video: Land Of Talk – “Some Are Lakes”

The Wooden Sky, whose acquaintance you may have made last month, will be playing an in-store at Sonic Boom on Monday night, August 24, at 7PM, to mark the release of their new album If I Don’t Come Home You’ll Know I’m Gone, which will be officially out the next day. Of course you’ll be able to buy it early at this show, but don’t tell anyone.

MP3: The Wooden Sky – “Something Hiding For Us In The Night”

Cuff The Duke are also celebrating the release of their new album Way Down Here with an in-store at Criminal Records on September 8, the date of release. They’re also doing two nights at the Horseshoe on October 16 and 17. Exclaim talks to the band about their Fall plans.

The Bravery are at the Opera House on October 6, previewing their new as-yet-untitled album due out November 10.

Boston’s Hallelujah The Hills have made a date at Sneaky Dee’s for October 17 to support their new album Colonial Drones, out September 22.

MP3: Hallelujah The Hills – “Blank Passports”

White Denim will make an appearance at the Horseshoe on November 9 as part of an extensive tour in support of their new album Fits, out October 20. Grab a track at RCRDLBL.

MP3: White Denim – “You” (live at KVRX)

Camera Obscura’s last show here in June was super-sold out on account of being at Lee’s Palace, several degrees smaller than their usual accommodations when the Scots visit. Well those shut out of that performance will be pleased to know that the band is staging a Fall tour that will bring them back to the more appropriately-sized Phoenix on November 26 with Papercuts as support. Camera Obscura recorded a session for NPR which is available to stream.

MP3: Camera Obscura – “French Navy”
MP3: Papercuts – “You Can Have What You Want”

And shocker – The Charlatans won’t be crossing our path after all. They’ve canceled their Fall North American tour on account of drummer Jon Brookes requiring shoulder surgery. This, of course, includes their September 23 date at the Mod Club – the second time in the past year and a bit they made and then broken a date in Toronto.

MP3: The Charlatans – “You Cross My Path”

Luxury Wafers is sharing the audio and video fruits of a session with The Rural Alberta Advantage. They’re playing day one of V Fest at the Molson Amphitheatre on August 29.

Also on day one of V next week will be Franz Ferdinand, whose 2005 mini-doc Tour de Franz is the movie of the week at PitchforkTV.

Video: Franz Ferdinand: Tour de Franz

And appearing on day two of said festival are Mew, who are streaming their new album No More Stories on their MySpace leading up to the album’s release next Tuesday. SF Station has an interview with singer Jonas Bjerre.

Stream: Mew / No More Stories

Spinner talks to Victoria Bergsman of Taken By Trees, whose new album East Of Eden is out September 8.

NPR is streaming a radio session with A Camp.

The Galway Advertiser talks to Okkervil River’s Will Sheff on the Irish influences on his writing and songwriting inspiration in general.

Joe Pernice talks to The Portland Mercury and Oregon Live. He’s at the Dakota Tavern on September 24.

Nick Cave is coming to town, but not for a concert – Exclaim reports that Cave will be in town on September 16 for a live interview and signing at the Indigo at the Eaton Centre to promote his new novel The Death Of Bunny Munro, which will be released on September 4.

And if you can’t get enough rocker/lit convergence, be sure to check out Word On The Street in Queen’s Park on September 27, where in addition to the infinite kiosks of booksellers and publishers, there will be a music stage where the songwriters of Bruce Peninsula, Ghost Bees and Sandro Perri will be discussing their creative process.

MySpace

It was with their 2007 record When Lost At Sea that they really seemed to step up their game, moving from a band seemingly content to operate proficiently within a musical idiom into one more interested in colouring outside those lines, offering up a record with much greater sonic and emotional depth than I’d expected, spreading out the high points equally between the rockers and weepers. It wasn’t a dramatic reinvention, but apparently a significant enough transformation that the band saw fit to shed the name that had served them well for so long and adopt a new one, The Wooden Sky, taken from one of the tracks on the new record. And though copies of When Lost At Sea had already been released under the Friday Morning’s Regret marque, subsequent copies came out as the first Wooden Sky record.

And now they’ve completed their next album and first wholly recorded as The Wooden Sky in If I Don’t Come Home You’ll Know I’m Gone, due out on August 25. It’s a touch less raucous than its predecessor but more than makes that up with greater beauty and elegance – “Oslo”, in particular, is a stunner. It doesn’t immediately come across as a record that will vault the band to the forefront of the national musical consciousness, but it is another confident step forward and if by some confluence of events The Wooden Sky do find themselves in the spotlight, Gone will find them ready for it.

The band are setting out on a cross-Canada tour in late July to lead up to the record’s release though the jaunt. Dubbed the “Bedrooms and Backstreets Tour”, it will find them playing cities big and small and some rooms that probably aren’t even proper rooms – I don’t think the July 23 listing for “Rooftop Affair” in Toronto is so much a location as a description. Expect more details on that and other shows to come out as the dates draw near. And in the meantime, enjoy a track from the new record and a couple plus video from When Lost At Sea.

MP3: The Wooden Sky – “Something Hiding For Us In The Night”
MP3: The Wooden Sky – “North Dakota”
MP3: The Wooden Sky – “The Wooden Sky”
Video: The Wooden Sky – “When Lost At Sea”

Another of Canada’s greatly underappreciated roots-rock bands – Cuff The Duke – are gearing up for the release of their new record Way Down Here on September 8 and have also slated a slew of dates to promote. Locally, they’ll play the Festival Of Beer at the CNE Bandshell on August 9, then set out on a cross-country tour in September and October, including two nights – October 16 and 17 – at the Horseshoe in Toronto.

Julie Doiron has a new MP3 and video available from her latest record I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day.

MP3: Julie Doiron – “When Brakes Get Wet”
Video: Julie Doiron – “Consolation Prize”

Jenn Grant has a new video from Echoes and VUE has an interview. She’s playing a free show at Harbourfront Centre on July 24.

Video: Jenn Grant – “Heartbreaker”

Joe Pernice’s concert/book reading at the Dakota Tavern in support of his new book/album It Feels So Good When I Stop has been moved from September 15 to the 24th. The record is still out August 4 and the book is out August 6.

Decider talks to Mark Olson of The Jayhawks about the band’s reunion and just-released anthology, Music From The North Country.

Spinner has an acoustic Interface session with Phoenix.

Ilia Horsburgh

In addition to the gorgeously stark songcraft, the most distinctive feature of the debut were the acoustics, recorded as the record was in an abandoned grain silo. The rustic aesthetic was less outwardly pronounced on subsequent records but the spirit of it remained, seemingly infused in Dekker’s voice itself – you could put the man in an anechoic chamber and have him sing, and it’d still sound like it was coming from another world. What also changed was the musical adornments – with each album, things grew more expansive and textured. It felt like the sepia-tones were slowly bleeding away and leaving a greater palette of colours – not blindingly vibrant by any means, but certainly richer in hue. This was most evident on 2007′s Ongiara, which saw Great Lake Swimmers sound more like a band than a solo project and the pop sensibilities that had always remained as more undercurrents to the folk bubble up to the surface – these weren’t tunes for driving around town with the top down, but there was an immediacy to some of the songs that hadn’t been there before.

That trend continues on Lost Channels, which takes even bolder steps into the pop realm without giving up any of the homespun intimacy that sets Great Lake Swimmers apart. There’s a newfound sprightliness and shimmer in the record’s more upbeat moments that provide a greater sense of dynamic alongside the quiet. It’s hard to imagine “Palmistry” having a place on the first record, but on this one, following Ongiara, it makes perfect sense as an opener and sets the table for what’s probably their finest collection of songs yet, at least until the next one. The understated nature of the band and their music probably hasn’t garnered them the amount of praise or attention they deserve and many are probably guilty of taking their unwavering consistency for granted – myself included. But stopping and taking a step back, it’s hard to argue they’ve quietly become one of Canada’s finest bands and Lost Channels is one more compelling reason why.

Guelph Lake isn’t technically one of the Great Lakes, but it’s a pretty terrific little body of water and unlike the big ones, you can actually swim there without fear. It also hosts one of the finest music festivals in southern Ontario every Summer in Hillside, and this year Great Lake Swimmers will be performing on the Sunday bill on July 26 and courtesy of Nettwerk, I’ve got two day passes (one pair, essentially) for that final day of the fest to give away. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to be a Guelph Lake Swimmer” in the subject line and your full name and mailing address in the body. They also ask that if you’re Facebook-indoctrinated, that you join up with the Great Lake Swimmers Facebook page – honour system, I can’t follow up on ya. Contest will run until midnight, July 19.

There’s an interview with the Dekker at hour.ca.

MP3: Great Lake Swimmers – “Pulling On A Line” (zip)
Video: Great Lake Swimmers – “Pulling On A Line”
MySpace: Great Lake Swimmers

Exclaim examines the whirlwind last few months for The Rural Alberta Advantage, leading up to next Tuesday’s official release of Hometowns and their July 30 record release show at the Horseshoe.

I Heart Music has taken the time to MP3-ify Woodpigeon’s set from NXNE a couple weeks back.

The self-titled debut from Reverie Sound Revue was released last week but is available to stream this week over at Spinner. Still waiting on the second stop of their blog tour, which kicked off here last week.

Stream: Reverie Sound Revue / Reverie Sound Revue

SoundProof talks to Joel Plaskett.

Exclaim has details on Cuff The Duke’s new album Way Down Here, due out September 8. Their next local show is August 9 at the CNE Bandshell for Toronto’s Festival Of Beer. Yeah. You’re going to go to see Cuff The Duke, and that’s all. Sure.

Spiral Beach have readied their second full-length album The Only Really Thing for a September 22 release and are giving away a first MP3 from it.

MP3: Spiral Beach – “Domino”

Gentleman Reg has released a couple new videos from Jet Black and talks a bit about the one for “Rewind” on his MySpace blog. Reg is playing a free show at Harbourfront Centre on July 25.

Video: Gentleman Reg – “How We Exit”
Video: Gentleman Reg – “Rewind”

Murray Lightburn of The Dears doesn’t necessarily give JAM good odds on the prospects of the most recent lineup of the band sticking together. Hopefully long enough to make their free June 26 show at Harbourfront Centre.

So the fourth of the five Canadian Virgin Festivals was unveiled yesterday for August 8 and 9 in Calgary, Alberta, and like all the others so far, you certainly can’t say it’s a predictable lineup. On the plus side, it has arguably the biggest single headliner of them all so far in Pearl Jam but thing drop off a fair bit from there, filling itself out with mid-level Canadian acts like k-os and Tokyo Police Club. I supposed Metric and Billy Talent are reasonably big draws, but it’s pretty obvious they broke the bank securing Pearl Jam. Of course, this leaves just Ontario/Toronto/Orillia to be announced, and I’ve been told to expect something within the next week or so on that front. I’m not going to spill anything but I know some of what’s been booked, have strong hints/rumours about others and all I’ll say is that it’s not what you might be expecting. Though with pretty much every band you might expect already booked elsewhere that weekend, it really couldn’t possibly be.

Oh yeah, happy Canada Day. Celebrate with a cold one, and Radio Free Canuckistan’s list of 30 Canuck singles he couldn’t live without, The National Post’s list of 10 Canadian bands you should be listening to (not all the usual suspects, thankfully), The Line Of Best Fit’s second downloadable Canadian mix and Quick Before It Melts’ coast-to-coast salute to Canadian blogs (disclosure: I’m flattered to be on the list).

elliottbrood.ca

Or is it? Maybe not! Because courtesy of Billions, I’ve got a pair of passes to give away to the show which is quite possibly the first bill in history to feature two bands with proper names for moniker but who aren’t actually individuals. Wrap your head around THAT. Anyways, if this dost tickle thy fancy, drop me an email at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want a Canadian Music Week-end” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Get that in to me before midnight, Friday night (March 13).

MP3: Cuff The Duke – “Ballad Of A Lonely Construction Worker”
MP3: Elliott Brood – “Write It All Down For You”
MP3: Basia Bulat – “In The Night”

Frank Yang

What I’d heard of BIBM past had made me associate them with New Wave power pop, thanks in no small part to their big keyboard sounds and devotion to the art of the hook, but live there was an extra oomph to the delivery that you couldn’t hide behind a skinny tie. In particular, singer/guitarist Ed Maher’s pipes are a lot more powerful than I’d expected, more reminiscent of a ’70s arena rock delivery with a touch of white boy funk-soul, though the transistor-y distortion of the venue’s PA certainly kept things honest and suitably lo-fi. A short set, but definitely sweet. The trio have just finished work on their second album Hot Science and aim to have it out in mid-March.

Receivers aspire to a noble end – to blend the noir-ish atmosphere of ’60s film soundtracks with concise and evocative pop song structures. It’s harder to do well than one might think, but I think Receivers are just about getting it. As with Beth In Battle Mode, the recorded samples I’d heard before the show painted an accurate and yet incomplete picture of the band. Emilie Marzinotto is a much more expressive singer live, though I suspect there’s still more upside to be tapped and the rest of the band was also more dynamic and ragged – in a good way – than on their debut Consider The Ravens. Most tellingly and probably importantly, the songs they introduced as new ones were easily the most immediate and impressive in their set.

I saw much promise in both acts, certainly worth leaving the house for (that is NOT faint praise, FYI) and even the venue – generally known as Toronto’s goth bar and now title-bearer for worst club lighting in the city as far as I’m concerned – left a favourable impression if for no other reason than starting off their club night, just as I was leaving, with The Chameleons’ “Up The Down Escalator”. If this is what goth kids are listening to, then hell – get me some mascara.

I don’t actually mean that.

Receivers will be back in town mid-March for CMW and BIBM will be having a CD release party for the new album around the same time.

Photos: Receivers, Beth In Battle Mode @ The Velvet Underground – January 24, 2009
MP3: Receivers – “Changing Of The Guard”
MP3: Receivers – “Matinee”
MP3: Receivers – “Petrograd”
MySpace: Beth In Battle Mode

Seriously, it’s an awesome song. Check it.

Video: The Chameleons – “Up The Down Escalator”

And because it’s an appropriate segue, there’s been a new communique from Joe Pernice, dispatched from somewhere in Toronto’s west end. In it (you can read it on the Pernice Brothers site), he mentions that his first novel It Feels So Good When I Stop is complete and will be released in September, and that there’s not one but two Joe Pernice albums in the works. The first is a set of covers intended as a soundtrack of sorts for the book, the second is of originals and entitled Murphy Bed, set to come out sometime this year. Though he refers to it as a Joe Pernice record, many of the players of Pernice Brothers – including Bob, the actual other Pernice Brother – appear on it so maybe it’ll carry the oh-so-slightly more marketable band name on release. Who knows. All I do know is that Joe has been living in Toronto for over four years now, and hasn’t done a show of any sort here since July 2005. Would it kill you to throw your new home a bone, Joe? Geez. Oh, and the segue I mentioned above? This Pernice Brothers cover of the aforementioned Chameleons song which I posted as Cover Of The Week waaaaay back in 2004. But which I still love.

MP3: Pernice Brothers – “Up The Down Escalator”

DeVotchKa turns in an unusually long set to NPR’s World Cafe.

Paste serves up not one but two features on Neko Case. Her Middle Cyclones is out March 3 and she plays not one but two shows at Trinity-St Paul’s on April 17 and 18.

Metro Vancouver talks to AC Newman. He’s at Lee’s Palace on March 11 and congratulations to Kaley, Bruce, Kelly, Garret and Alicia, all of whom won copies of Get Guilty.

Cuff The Duke will play a free show at the Natrel Ice Rink down at Harbourfront this Saturday night, January 31, as part of CBC Radio 3′s live broadcast that evening. On the plus side, free show. On the down side, the waterfront is NOT really the place you want to be at night in the dead of Winter. Just saying.