Live And In Person...

Generally I like to stick to writing about albums and leave the Upcoming Shows listings to the blogs that do a really thorough job of it - like Painting Over Silence. But a few artists that I've featured on Ear To The Sound are coming to town and it bears a brief mention and a hearty "GO CHECK THEM OUT" for all my Winnipeg peeps.

First off - mark your calendar for May 27 and 28, 2009. That's when Timber Timbre rolls through town playing a show at the LO on the first night and an in-store at Music Trader and a show at the Graffiti Gallery on the second. Three opportunities to see 'em play so you have no excuse for missing this fantastic act (who just signed to Arts & Crafts, it should be added).

Come to think of it, that's the only artist featured so far on this blog but there are a few others that I feel are worth mentioning.

The self-titled record from CLUES (on Constellation) has been getting A LOT of spins amongst a few of us at UMFM. The band features former members of Arcade Fire and Unicorns and if the live experience is anything like the record it should be a hella good show at the Pyramid on May 25th. Clues is in serious consideration as an upcoming post album-wise.

Speaking of the Pyramid, there's a clutch of great shows coming up at the downtown landmark worth checking out including Israeli punks Monotonix (May 21st), Grand Analog & Nestor Wynrush (May 27th - Grand Analog will be releasing their new record Metropolis Is Burning), and The Stills and Gentleman Reg will be playing on the 16th (if you aren't headed to the lake this May long weekend).

Indie-darling Julie Doiron is touring on the strength of her great new record I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day (umpteen consecutive weeks at #1 on Earshot) and she'll be in Winnipeg June 5th at the Albert with Halifax's Dog Day and local act Les Jupes.

The Winnipeg Jazz Festival line-up has been announced and if you slept on Alice Russell last year ask someone who didn't why you should catch her at the Pyramid on June 29th. This year's sleeper artist (i.e. the one everyone doesn't know about but will be talking about)is definitely Quantic (playing at the Pyramid on July 2nd), but I'm also excited to introduce my new son Archer to his namesake when The Sea & Cake play the Pyramid on June 30th.

Finally, one act that I never got around to writing about but who I heartily recommend checking out is New Zealand band Cut Off Your Hands. They released a great record on Frenchkiss called You & I that caught my ear earlier this year. They'll be playing the Albert on June 27th so I have time to find a babysitter.

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...