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June 27, 2011

North of Northwest: Handsome Furs

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The future will need dance music too.

Daft Punk has the corner on the Disney version, with their shiny round helmets and their Tron appearance. But in the darker, dystopian, Blade Runner edition of the future, Handsome Furs will rule the dance floor.

The husband-wife duo, comprised of Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry, will release their third album, Sound Kapital, June 28. Inspired by travels in East and Southeast Asia, continues exploring the themes of 2009′s Face Control: alienation, oppression, and the lingering remnants of totalitarianism in a post-Soviet world.

Here comes the future, it’s violent and bright.

The screeches and beeps of “Serve the People” repeat like an alarm, setting all your systems to alert. “Kids are making noise when the generator’s on / And the cops said move along.” A keyboard screeches an alarm. “You kick ‘em in the head and you kick ‘em when they’re down.” Among Perry and Boeckner’s travels was a trip to famously oppressive Myanmar. This is the music of fear and flight.

Boeckner brought a characteristic anxiety to Wolf Parade, but without Spencer Krug’s moderating influence, the feeling is stronger here. The imagery is everywhere: reference to “an army of bees” in “What About Us,” in the above-quoted lyric from “Memories of the Future.” But it’s even more prevalent in the music itself. The beats are fast-paced and move forward at a rush, often just a tiny step ahead of the vocals and ready at any moment to run off altogether. Boeckner’s voice tends to tighten at the bridges, seeming about to crack under the strain of pressure and fear.

A similar feeling of discomfort is brought by the duo’s homage to the Chinese experience of “rennao” – essentially, cacophony. Perry and Boeckner strive to recreate the experience of walking through a crowded night market, strangers brushing past on all sides, neon flashing, bubbles blowing, and megaphones blasting music and advertisements in interfering patterns. Closing track “No Feelings” erupts suddenly halfway through into an irregular hum of static and fuzz, just after Boeckner proclaims “All my life I’ve always found / It returns, returns to sound.”

But Sound Kapital is not merely a work of fear and resignation. “Cheap Music” is in fact an ode to the future of underground music, to the “thousand lonely kids making noise in a basement.”

Because it sounds right, now that the money’s gone Because we need it just to get along It’s the heartbeat, little heartbeat.

If the future is dark and oppressive, these kids in basements in China and Vietnam, in Moscow and Myanmar will be the rock’n'roll superheroes that save us from it all. And maybe we’ll have Handsome Furs to thank for it.

One final note: my original plan for this column was to discuss my struggle to enjoy Handsome Furs in the wake of the breakup of Wolf Parade, a band I loved very much. As it turns out, there is no struggle. Sound Kapital is an excellent work, and I would have enjoyed it had I never heard of Wolf Parade. And besides, as Boeckner himself sings, “Nostalgia never meant much to me.”

____ Sound Kapital is streaming in its entirety on Spin.com. It will be released by Sub Pop on June 28. Handsome Furs play the Capitol Hill Block Party on July 23. _____

June 3, 2011

North of Northwest: It’s Polaris Prize Season

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On June 16, the Polaris Prize organization will release 2011′s Long List, and Polaris Prize season will officially begin. This list of forty records is compiled from the votes of over two hundred jury members, each of whom submit a list of their top five Canadian albums released during the eligibility period (June 1, 2010 – May 31, 2011). Jurors then vote again, choosing from these forty albums, and on July 6 the ten-album Short List is published. At that point we all have ten weeks – conveniently – to frantically examine, consider, discuss, and debate the finalists before the winner is revealed at the prize Gala on September 19.

I’m not a jury member, but I’ll be playing along at home, starting with my own hypothetical first-round ballot. Here, in no particular order, are my chosen contenders:

Wolf Parade – Expo 86

The Rural Alberta Advantage – Departing

PS I Love You – Meet Me At The Muster Station

Imaginary Cities – Temporary Resident

Diamond Rings – Special Affections

Feel free to play along with me by letting me know if I’ve missed anything or by sharing your own list. I’ll check back in on the 16th to see how I did. Until then, enjoy the recently-relased video for Imaginary Cities’ “Ride This Out.”

December 31, 2010

North of Northwest: 11 Things to Look Forward to in 2011

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Dan Mangan ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

The New Year is possibly my favorite holiday. For a few hours every year, everyone in the world reserves the right to turn to his neighbor, share a high-five, and say “Fuck yeah! We did it! One more year survived.” It’s a fine sense of accomplishment, and a great excuse to drink champagne.

The flip side of the new year is also great: the delicious sense of possibility that develops as you gaze wide-eyed ahead into the unknown expanse of the next twelve months. For a few brief moments as the clock turns over, you stare down nothing but untouched hope and joy. We have everything abstract to look forward too; here are eleven concrete things, too.

1. Native Speaker, the debut album of shimmery electro from Montreal band Braids. Listen to preview track “Lemonade” here.

2. The Rural Alberta Advantage’s sophomore release, Departing. It drops March 1, but you can download the lead single, “Stamp,” right now for free.

3. A second album from The D’Urbervilles , the synth-rock band fronted by John O’Regan, now better known as Diamond Rings. Recording is said to be finished, though no release date has been set. (The band is also said to be changing its name.)

4. A new project from Forestry guitarist Peter Gardner, which he says will lean “a little more towards the country side of things.”

5. Japandroids taking a pause from their constant touring to recorded a much-anticipated second album.

6. A new Dan Mangan album, already at least partially recorded. No release date is set, but Mangan says that he’s “thinking Fall 2011.”

7. Wolf Parade offering a temporary reprieve from their hiatus by playing Sasquatch in May.

8. Additionally, a “late Spring / early Summer” release from Wolf Parade singer Dan Boeckner’s side project, Handsome Furs.

9. A new album from Ontario folk talent Basia Bulat. Though no date has been offered, Bulat says she “has nearly all of it written.”

10. The eternal hope and possibility that the Constantines’ Bry Webb will offer the world something, anything from his solo project, the Harbour Coats. We’ve been subsisting on a Vimeo video and an infuriatingly dead-end webpage for far too long.

11. Justin Bieber in 3D.

December 30, 2010

North of Northwest: Brittney’s Not-Entirely-Canadian Top 10 Songs of 2010

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I won’t pretend this is a comprehensive list of the great songs of 2010; I could spend a month re-listening to and evaluating all of this year’s tracks. However, these are definitely /some/ of the great songs from the past twelve months, ten tracks that have impressed and stuck with me. Consider it one volume of a possible multi-disc set.

1. “Brutal Hearts” – Bedouin Soundclash ft. Coeur de Pirate

The song I love so much I wrote an entire column about it.

 

2. “You Wouldn’t Have To Ask” – Bad Books

Catchy, melodic pop at its very, very finest, featuring some of the year’s most beautiful vocal harmonies.

 

3. “Rose Garden” – Shad

Most of Shad’s songs offer great beats and great puns, but accompanying vocals by Broken Social Scene’s Lisa Lobsinger push this track over the edge.

 

4. “Paris (Ooh La La)” – Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

There’s really nothing not to love here. Potter has pipes. Potter has legs. And this song has a hook big enough to catch a whale.

 

5. “Darkness on the Edge of Gastown” – Japandroids

This song has all the elements of Japandroids’ finest work: brutal guitars, screamy vocals, and a refrain sudden and sweet like the center of a chocolate covered cherry.

 

See the rest of Brittney’s not entirely Canadian favorite songs of 2010 after the jump (more…)

December 17, 2010

North of Northwest: The Top 10 Canadian Albums of 2010

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The world needs Japandroids right now.

These two young men from Vancouver take all of the fear and joy of twenty-something life, everything we stare down as we move from youth to real adulthood, take it and grapple with it, think about it, right about it, and express it through the one language we all speak, rock ‘n’ roll. Loud but also sweet, melodic but above all cathartic, Japandroids bring us together in the church of rock, screaming our sweaty hearts out in a crowd, beautiful and ecstatic and secretly terrified.

My Top 10 Canadian Albums of 2010

1. Japandroids, No Singles 2. Wolf Parade, Expo 86 3. Baby Eagle, Dog Weather 4. Frog Eyes, Paul’s Tomb: A Triumph 5. Diamond Rings, Special Affections 6. Plants And Animals, La La Land 7. Besnard Lakes, The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night 8. PS I Love You, Meet Me At The Muster Station 9. Forestry, s/t 10. Shad, TSOL

A note: Many of you will be surprised not to see Dan Mangan’s Nice, Nice, Very Nice among the ranks. In evaluating albums’ eligibility for this list, I used their Canadian release dates; Nice was released in Canada in 2009.

July 29, 2010

Wolf Parade Brings A Little Golden Age To The Showbox

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Wolf Parade Crowd ::: Photo by Brittney Bush Bollay

Before Moools took the stage, I knew only two things about them: that they were Japanese, and that they were “weird.” Though they turned out to be more one (Japanese) than the other, both descriptors definitely applied.

Basically a straightforward Big Loud Rock Band with three normal dudes and one kooky, charismatic frontman, Moools put on one of the most entertaining shows I’ve seen all year. Vocalist Yasuaki Sakai’s antics – hopping around the stage in his red-socked feet, repeatedly picking up and dropping his harmonica, making unintelligible statements in a played-up mix of Japanese and English – had me belly laughing, but at the same time the music had me stomping my feet and shaking my head. It’s a strange duality, but Moools made it work.

Wolf Parade took the stage to the thunderous applause of a capacity crowd, and from the beginning seemed humbled by the audience’s enthusiasm. “Holy crap, thanks!” said an abashed Dan Boeckner, then launched into “What Did My Lover Say? (It Always Had to Go This Way).” The thrilled all-ages crowd immediately sent the Showbox’s trampoline floor bouncing, and kept it going for most of the hour and a half set.

The energy of the audience was matched by the band, whose four members gave relentlessly all night. Spencer Krug was a feral thing on the keyboards, stretching and kicking and clawing at them like a wild cat. Dan Boeckner, thrashing and straining, quickly became six-odd lean feet of sweat.

The speaker stacks began to sway alarmingly, but no one noticed. A perfect storm of pop was building in the Showbox, and everyone was seeking the thrill of the ride. Together, we journeyed through Wolf Parade’s tempest, and then, all too soon, were delivered safely out into the night.

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The Mools ::: Photo by Brittney Bush Bollay

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The Mools ::: Photo by Brittney Bush Bollay

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Wolf Parade ::: Photo by Brittney Bush Bollay

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Wolf Parade ::: Photo by Brittney Bush Bollay

July 23, 2010

North of Northwest: Wolf Parade

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Wolf Parade ::: Photo by Meqo Sam Cecil

I probably don’t have to tell you about Wolf Parade. The Sub Pop four-piece has risen safely from obscurity to sell thousands of records and play Successful Band venues like the Showbox. What I can tell you, though, is a little something about their new album, Expo 86.

That little something is this: it is very, very good.

Expo 86 rings with the sound of a band coming into its own. Songwriters Dan Boeckner and Spencer Krug have said repeatedly of Expo 86 that it was the most fun Wolf Parade album to make, that it is the most cohesive, that it best showcases the true “essence” of Wolf Parade. “We’re embracing our strengths,” Krug told Pitchfork [http://pitchfork.com/news/38417-listen-two-new-wolf-parade-songs/], “just going with our initial instincts.” The result is a confident, mature record that still makes you want to shake your booty.

One of the most obvious characteristics of Expo 86 is the way it practically crackles with energy. This stems at least partly from the recording process — the band played in ensemble, to tape, allowing their renowned live energy to be captured, at least a little, for the home listener. With headphones on and eyes closed, you can often imagine yourself in the dance hall, crowd moving sweaty all around you.

Despite the band’s assertions of fun, though, they’re not only happy-go-lucky feelings that the album generates. Underneath the prominent danceiness often lies a layer of marked anxiety. This theme is set only ten seconds into the album’s first track, “Cloud Shadow on the Mountain,” with Krug’s tense three-peat refrain of “I’d say that I was all alone.” Even more than lyrically, though, this anxiety is manifested musically: dark metal notes come fast and hard, and free-form noise swells and ebbs just beneath the melody. Krug’s tone of voice – often reminiscent of the famously tightly-wound Matt Berninger of The National – is both taut and wavering, seeming to teeter on the edge of hysteria but never falling over. This lack of release, of course, simply extends the apprehension indefinitely.

Of course, from a band with two songwriters – each preferring a markedly different aesthetic from the other – and an avowed musical philosophy of “maximalism,” nothing is ever really straightforward. The eleven songs on Expo 86 are dense, multi-layered affairs, at times almost symphonic in the way melodies conceal sub-melodies and hidden themes and refrains chase each other around. And always, of course, there is the hook, and the beat that makes you want to move.

So here we seem to have the album’s central conflict: rich, catchy pop sensibilities versus darkness and foreboding. Here’s the funny thing though: it’s really not a conflict at all. Somehow, the two personalities of Expo 86 (which, admittedly, comes from a group who has basically made a career out of harmonious dichotomy) merge beautifully to create an absolutely fascinating listening experience: suddenly you find yourself in a place where the line between fear and exultation is delightfully, unnervingly thin. You feel a restlessness, and how you use it is up to you. The moment is yours. Do you run, or do you dance? _____

Wolf Parade plays Monday, July 26 at the Showbox at the Market. _____

Download mp3: What Did My Lover Say (It Always Had to Go This Way) courtesy of Sub Pop

July 24, 2008

SP20: Sunday

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Photo by ktjen

It’s been almost two weeks since SP20 occurred, Capitol Hill Block Part is, well by the time I finish this at least, tomorrow and I’m just attempting to polish off my coverage of the event. So, in true Noah Sanders tradition, I’ll be truncating my extensive thoughts (quickly dwindling as time goes on) in to five very quick, very informative bullet points about the events/thoughts I most vividly remember on day 2 of what I’ll continue to refer to as “the greatest musical experience I’ve been a part of”.

Once again, thanks to Sub Pop for continuing to remind me why they’re hands down the greatest record label working this days by truly putting on a celebration of their music, their friends, and all of their extremely respectful fans. It was a magical weekend and, again, I pity those who didn’t make the effort to get out there. Oh, how I pity.

So here we go:

1. No Age was, well, exactly what you’d think a live performance by No Age would be like. Dean Spunt and Randy Randall acted like a couple of talented hipsters, who’d snuck on stage with some stolen equipment to jam out some noisy melodics for a bit. It wasn’t amazing, but it was certainly solid and it did nothing to damage my huge adoration for their recent release Nouns. There were rumors that the duo would be playing within the confines of a dank basement for an unannounced house party and thats where I’d like to see them, in a tiny, sweaty little hole where the tricky distortion and Spunt’s oozing, dirty vocals could really sink in.

Fleet Foxes::Shawn Brackbill

2. I’ve seen the Fleet Foxes maybe five times now, in Austin, in Seattle, at festivals, in small clubs – hell, I feel like I’ve literally watched this uber-talented band grow in both stage presence and fanbase like a creepy old uncle. And I’ll say this: while the band, mainly Robin Pecknold, continues to blow my mind with the sheer force of beauty they’re able to create, I think they might be getting a little big for their britches. The sense of playful modesty I encountered the first few go-arounds is pretty much gone these days. Maybe it’s been the extensive touring that’s whittled them down, but I feel as if they’re very conscious of this newfound fame and they seem almost too cool for school. I’m not poo-pooing the outfit, Pecknold still has some of the more stunning pipes out there these days, I just miss the modest “gee shucks” attitude these local yokels used to expound. If you haven’t seen them, check them out this Saturday at the Block Party, your mind will be blown.

3. Blitzen Trapper has to be one of the more talented, more underappreciated bands working today. I’ve seen them live three times now, and after each performance I fall more in love with their indy-alt-country sensibilities. It was a sad sight at SP20 to watch majority of the crowd clear, favoring the shade of the adjoining stage, leaving only a small contingent of intelligent fans to truly enjoy a more country-minded collection of Blitzen Trapper tracks. On stage audience size doesn’t seem to matter to these gentleman, be it four fans or four hundred these guys are giving it their all, yelling, screaming, jumping, shaking their money makers to entertain the shit out of the audience. Even in the frequent soft moments during their SP20 set, their was such palpable emotion flowing from the stage. It was mighty impressive, and I can only wish that more were around to see it.

(more…)

May 5, 2007

An Invitation to Abbey’s April Listening

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Sorry I skipped out on March, but I’m coming back with avengance for April. April went by pretty quickly but it was one of those months where everything goes awry. Seattle is in transition from winter to spring-ish weather and it’s a horrible tease the month of April. 25 days of shitty weather interspersed with 5 perfect days of sunshine. What appealed to me musically with similarly manic… here’s a peek:

* Come Back and Zombie – The Trucks * La De Da- Link Ray  * Praying Hands Will Make Fists – The Hands * Squalor Victoria – The National (from the forthcoming, brilliant, Boxer) * The Black Keys – The Big Come Up * Nothing for Nothing – A Gun That Shoots Knives * Heretics – Andrew Bird (playing the Showbox 5/5, WWU in B’ham 5/6) * Carrie Ann – Hopscotch Boys * Sea Wolf – Get To The River Before It Runs Too Low (ep, release date 5/8/07) * Laura Veirs – Saltbreaker (the album, not the song) * X-Ray Eyes – The Whore Moans * Amy Winehouse – Live in Amsterdam at Paradiso – 2/8/07 * The Cave Singers – espescially Jacket of the Cave… * Blues Song – Blair (i believe that’s the name, mine’s just listed as track 04) * Wolf Parade – Live from The Showbox, Seattle (08/21/06) * Sometimes A Blonde – Robyn Hitchcock * Shake Shake Shake – White Denim * Bang Bang – The Racounter’s (a Nancy Sinatra cover, saw it on ACL on PBS and it was perfection) * The White Stripes – White Blood Cells and De Stijl

If a song or artist is linked above, the link will lead you to where you can listen to the actual song I’m loving.