Old Friends, Back Again...

A brief post on some past Ear To The Sound favourites that have recently released new records worth a listen:

I guess we'll take this alphabetically and start with the Bowerbirds.
Upper Air was released on Dead Oceans July 7th and it is a strong follow-up to Hymns For A Dark Horse. None of the songs have stuck in my head the way "Bur Oak" did, but it's still a solid collection with the same blending of folk and indie as on the prior record.

Have a listen to "Northern Lights"


Next up is Victoria, B.C. band the Paper Cranes who followed up Halcyon Days with Chivalry's Dead - an album that came out on my birthday this August. When I spoke to Ryan McCullagh from the band recently, he explained that the title isn't a statement about the state of manners in contemporary society or the impact of feminism on notions of chivalry. "[The phrase] just stuck in my head from Archie comics when I was a kid. Archie wouldn't hold a door open for Veronica and she would say "oh, chivalry's dead." I wish I could say there was some deeper meaning to it than that, or I had some sort of social commentary but it was Archie comics."

You can listen to the title track, and many other Paper Cranes songs here.

Lastly, we've got Geneva - the follow-up to Station from Chicago's Russian Circles. Still with Suicide Squeeze, they have grown from a duo to a trio adding bassist Brian Cook to the official lineup after he guested all over Station. The album will be released on October 20th, but I've had a couple listens to an advance copy that just landed at the station and Geneva is every bit as monstrously beautiful and punishing as my #1 record of 2008. Good god - could they repeat the feat in 2009??!!

Feast your ears on the Suicide Squeeze stream of the entire album while I go watch my Twins feast on the Tigers.

Thanks for reading, now start listening...

The noises Machines make...

Another double-stuffed Oreo of an entry, this time from two acts who share a titular commonality.

First up is the much-anticipated solo project from TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone, Rain Machine. The self-titled debut on Anti- (seriously, this Epitaph subsidiary has a friggin' dream roster: Tom Waits, Joe Henry, Mavis Staples, Islands and more) just dropped to whatever hysteria is smaller than 'mass' but still sizable.

The album is as difficult to pin down and as challenging a listen as you would expect of someone involved with TVOTR. There are beautiful passages, noise, nonsense, rawk and more on offer on Rain Machine and it has quickly earned a spot on the longlist.

Stereogum posted "Smiling Black Faces" at the beginning of the month if you want to take a listen, though that track and "Give Blood" are both streaming on Rain Machine's Myspace page.

Here's a recent live performance of "Give Blood" from a show in Brooklyn:


Speaking of Brooklyn, the second album comes by way of an East Village band called Electric Tickle Machine who played selections from their album Blew It Again at a show early this summer when this video for "Something Else" was recorded:


The band will be back in Brooklyn for a spate of dates as part of the CMJ extravaganza/bonanza (if you're going, I am indeed jealous) October 20 - 23 so check the band's Myspace page or the CMJ site for more info.

Blew It Again is a solid offering of fuzzed out rock with some really catchy pop hooks buried beneath the squall of guitar (nowhere more-so than on the title-track). The band is unsigned but getting promotional support from the fine folks at Pirate! promotion (who have no affiliation with Andrew McCutchen*) which is how the album landed on my desk recently.

Thanks for reading, now start listening.

*McCutchen for NL Rookie of the Year!!

The Kings Live, Long Live The Kings!

This isn't my typical album-in-a-nutshell type post as Declaration of Dependence has yet to be released but two singles from the long-awaited new Kings of Convenience record are out and videos have been made.

Bask in the greatness that is "Boat Behind"


And then follow this link to see/hear "Mrs. Cold"

New album posts coming soon!

Thanks for reading, now start listening...

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...

B(l)ack and blue...

After a lengthy delay thanks to my life outside the internet, I've got a couple posts coming down the pike. But until I wrap 'em up, here's another Miike Snow video to enjoy. This one featuring a Bob Ross / The Dude type fella in his housecoat.

Talking It Out...

Rarely has an album title been more on-the-mark than Speech Therapy, the debut record from UK MC Speech Debelle. With an honesty that is virtually unheard in rap music, Debelle lays it all out there for listeners. We're talking The Bell Jar level honesty (though without the suicidal feelings) and at times the confessional nature of the lyrics can feel like a little too much. Debelle even recognizes this when she notes on the title-track that "this is my speech therapy / this isn't rap."

But I was thinking recently about how self-revelatory we as a society have become on reality television, blogs and social-networking sites; and re-listening to Speech Therapy before writing this entry I now realize that Debelle is just doing what we're all doing, only in a more artful way.
When she addresses her ex-lover leaving on "Go Then, Bye" she immediately echoes the abandonment issues buried in that song in the more forthright "Daddy's Little Girl" which rails against the father who walked out on her family when she was younger. It's a one-two punch to the guts and the mixture of pain and strength, hope and sadness is bracing. No wonder then that Speech Therapy is nominated for the Mercury Prize [the UK's version of the Polaris, though since it came first, the Polaris is actually Canada's version of the Mercury...]

Released on the ever-outstanding Big Dada imprint (home to Roots Manuva, Ty, etc.) the album is finally making its way across the Atlantic and was officially released to North American audiences on Tuesday the 18th of August.
As unusual as her lyrical honesty is, Debelle's record also benefits from some unusual production and beats making it a rewarding listen for those who have tired of the cookie-cutter hip-hop being made in North America. For evidence, check out one of my favourite cuts from the album, "Better Days" featuring Micachu:


And don't forget to check out Debelle's Myspace page and website.

Thanks for reading, now start listening...

Smooches to Frenchkiss

A little over a month ago we received Hospice, the debut record by Brooklyn band The Antlers. The cover art immediately caught my eye and first and subsequent listens definitely caught my ear. "Bear" for one has been on heavy rotation when I take my beagles on their nightly gambol (we don't say 'walk' in front of them or else they go apeshit and start barking up a storm).

Hospice arrived directly from the band, but it's getting re-released to the wider audience it deserves via Frenchkiss Records. The remastered version is available now digitally, but will be released on CD and vinyl on August 18 (MY BIRTHDAY! Thank you Frenchkiss!!). If you still base your music-purchasing (or -downloading) decisions on what Pitchfork thinks, you'll be pleased as punch to hear that it was awarded Best New Music. I'm just surprised to note that there's been more overlap between me and the kids these days...

The music that The Antlers make vacillates between delicate and chaotic, sometimes within the confines of a single song. Hospice begins with the ominous "Prologue," which is followed by Peter Silberman's wispy whisperings on "Kettering." As weightless as that track is, the band's tribute to Sylvia Plath that follows is a heavy piece of work replete with horns and mighty percussion. The Antlers demonstrate repeatedly that they know how to build within the context of a song (most clock in at over 5 minutes) and have arranged those songs for their maximal effect as an album. Best New Music indeed.

On a somewhat-related/somewhat-tangential note, Frenchkiss Records has been on a pretty solid little roll lately: Sean Bones' Rings, Passion Pit's Manners and Cut Off Your Hands' You & I have all come out recently and have all been worth a listen. Speaking of listening, check out the Frenchkiss audio player where you can hear the above-mentioned artists as well as a new track from the upcoming Dodos record.

Thanks for reading, now start listening...