Bellwoods Two For The Price Of One...

Here's one I've been meaning to write about for quite some time - in fact it's a two-fer as both albums arrived on my desk around the same time and have a connection (in addition to both being "sophomore albums" of a sort).

The first of these is the second volume of the Friends In Bellwoods benefit compilation. The original comp came out in early 2007 and featured a litany of fantastic indie artists that (to quote the liner notes):

"captures the spirit and camaraderie that has come from Bellwoods, a small house on the fringes of Queen St. West in the heart of downtown Toronto."

The house may be on the fringe of Queen St. West but it's at the heart of Toronto's indie music scene with two members of Ohbijou residing there and many more dropping through the doors to spend time. The album was the first release by Out Of This Spark which has gone on to release records by the D'Urbervilles, Timber Timbre and many more of my favourite albums of the past two years. AND they'll be releasing the next album from Ear To The Sound friend (and past post subject) Evening Hymns.

Many of the artists that contributed to the first record return for Volume 2 - even those who have blown-up in the intervening couple years. The Acorn and Rural Alberta Advantage for example have both had rapturous responses to their recent albums but still lend their talents and time to "Slippery When Wet" and "Rough and Tumble" respectively (the former has nothing to do with Bon Jovi, btw). There are also newcomers to the project including the lovely Basia Bulat who shines on "My Heart Is A Warning," and Snailhouse, who follows-up a fantastic album with "Don't Go Anywhere."

The compilation is so chock-a-block with great material that it is a freakin' double-disc. It's a freakin' bargain and as with the first FiB, all proceeds from sales go to benefit the Daily Bread Food Bank and can be purchased via Zunior, mail-order or on iTunes.

The second album I want to mention is from a group that has appeared on both volumes of FiB, but they were credited as Friday Morning's Regret on the first. Interestingly, the song they contributed to Volume 1 became their new band name. I'm talking about The Wooden Sky. They close out disc two of FiB v.2 with "My Old Ghosts" but soon after the release of the compilation they came out with the full-length record from which that track is taken.

If I Don't Come Home You'll Know I'm Gone is the band's follow-up to The Wooden Sky and their first for Black Box Recordings. It's a magnificent record that flips a middle-finger to the notion of a sophomore slump by besting a solid first record with even better material. Things begin with the impassioned "Oh My God (It Still Means A Lot To Me)" and never let up.
"(Bit Part)" may just be the best song Blue Rodeo has never written and the quality of this baker's dozen collection of songs is uniformly strong and memorable.

The album was recorded by Howard Bilerman (though it's credited to "Billerman" on the liner notes), who has done fantastic work with Basia Bulat, Vic Chesnutt and others and turns in yet another note-perfect, un-flashy job here.

Check out the video for "Oh My God"


And don't forget to visit The Wooden Sky's Myspace page.

Thanks for reading, now start listening...

Contest Time: The Wooden Sky

Thanks to the fine folks at Musebox, I've got another contest for readers of Ear To The Sound and listeners of Thank God It's Free Range.

On August 25th, Ontario roots-rockers The Wooden Sky will be releasing their new full-length, If I Don't Come Home You'll Know I'm Gone. But prior to that, the band will be hitting the road for a jaunt they're calling the Bedrooms and Backstreets Tour. The name is significant because the band will be performing at unusual venues the entire way with few bar or club shows on the agenda. Backyards, house-parties, and out-of-the-way venues will be privy to their wonderful music in an intimate setting. The band will hit Winnipeg on August 12th, playing at Ragpickers, so to mark the occasion, I've got a sweet prize pack that includes the limited-edition Bedrooms and Backstreets EP for one lucky duck.

To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment on this post with your name and email address OR email me at michael dot elves at gmail.com with "Wooden Sky Contest" in the subject line by midnight August 11th. I'll be putting all the names in a hat but only one entry per person will go in the chapeau.

Here's The Wooden Sky’s “Something Hiding For Us In The Night” mp3 to get you motivated.

As an added bonus, I've also posted the band performing "The Wooden Sky" live on Thank God It's Free Range when they last rolled through town.

Be sure to check out The Wooden Sky's Myspace page for complete Bedrooms and Backstreets tour dates.

If A Tree Falls In The Winter, Will Anybody Hear?

Yeah. I too am scratching my head at the picture above, which can be found on the artist page of this entry's label, Out Of This Spark. But as unsettling as a half-naked man beside a barbecue, WITH A DOG'S HEAD is, it's only half as unsettling as some of the material on Timber Timbre's self-titled album.

But I mean that in a good way.

I received this album at the station on the Friday before Christmas this December past and it was the greatest of early Christmas presents - the album has found a recurrent place in my CD player and has wormed its way under my skin. When I mentioned the album being unsettling above, what I mean by that is the material has a spooky tone, made more so by the instrumentation that accompanies the lyrics. I don't for even one moment mean BAD by saying unsettling - Timber Timbre carries some of the same tonal qualities as Nick Cave's Murder Ballads; an album I LOVE.
Consider the song "Lay Down In The Tall Grass" which is queued first in the player on Timber Timbre's Myspace page as of this moment. That organ has an eery tone to it with the left hand all languorous, draggin along just a hairs-breadth off the drum pattern while the right hand stabs out a chord pattern that echoes Bernard Herrmann's Psycho violin shrieks. When Taylor Kirk's vocals come in they have a detached, echoey vibe that reinforces the ghost's story he's telling (and yes, I mean ghost's story and not ghost story). "Lay Down" actually follows opener "Demon Host" which begins with lyrical references to willing for death and the Reaper's veil. This is not music for the faint of heart.
Perhaps the most ominous of the songs on the album is my personal favourite; "We'll Find Out." I don't know if there's a topic scarier than a soul laid bare for all to see. Desiccated bones and the spectre of death have nothing on a final judgement in my books. With Kirk's wispy warble joined by a chorus of voices the result is 'soul gospel' of a kind decidedly different than the Staples Singers and their ilk practice.

I'm kicking myself a little for not digesting this album fully before assembling my Best of 2008 list - and I'm scared to know that I'll be judged for this lapse. Somehow, they'll find out.

Instead of posting an mp3 to listen to, I thought I'd post part 1 of Timber Timbre's awesome performance for aux.tv's Camera Music series. Check it out and when you're finished, go check out the Wooden Sky's rooftop performance as well.


Thanks for reading, now start listening...