- TD Winnipeg International Jazz Fest 2011 (Photo republished with permission from TD Jazz Fest)
Festival season’s here and the time is right for dancing in the street this weekend!
RatTail :: Self-Proclaimed Weirdos
By Janet Adamana
After only a few short years of writing, touring and performing, the slightly bizarre but incredibly creative Toronto trio RatTail continue their path of injecting contagious, raw, experimental pop into the Canadian indie music industry. Continue reading “RatTail :: Self-Proclaimed Weirdos”
Tonstartssbandht Starts Shit
TONSTARTSSBANDHT- Hotel For Gods – (SIDE B) from Spencer Gilley on Vimeo.
Tired of life’s daily drags, its brumal breath on the back of your neck? Doing fine and want to be doing even finer still? TONSTARTSSBANDHT! Become enraptured in the music of these Floridian born brothers gone Montreal. The bros, Andy and Edwin White, also play in High Rise II and Superbud. With MC5 vigour Tonstartssbandht are kickin’ out extensive BJM style jams – psychedelic noise pop if you want to try to pin them – they’re one of those duos who “don’t give a fuck about genres or movements.”
This video for “Hotel for Gods” came out not long ago and was shot the same day as their interview on CKUT. Relish in your perceptions for a while. All filmed in the lowest quality: so colourful and homey mmm.
Scratch that! Just follow this link to side A, “Sinkhole Storm and Sandwich” and imbibe in the whole record! Recorded live on a four-track, each in one take. Available on Arbutus. Play ‘em and get lost, lost, lost.
FOUND: Some trance with your dubstep?
In the recent history of dubstep there has been an undercurrent of tracks that mix extremely melodic trance leads and builds with dubstep beats. This banger here is one of them. Produced by an up-and comer named Kid-Alt-Dub from Leicester in the UK, this has been getting a lot of play recently on Plastician‘s Rinse.fm show. (Look up some podcasts if you haven’t heard Plastician spin: it is divine.) Big, big choon right here.
LOST: Stan Getz and João Gilberto-Getz/Gilberto
These songs have been covered by numerous adult contemporary artists. However, comparing adult contemporary versions to the original is like holding up a mall-rat’s cheaply made sports jersey knock off to your parent’s old little league jersey. Please do not peg me as one that peddles the superiority of all things “vintage”. The fact of the matter is that Getz and Gilberto sound BETTER than most, maybe all the new jazz I have come across. It is delightfully smooth (though not superficial or unremarkable). Getz and Gilberto being the founding fathers of bossa nova jazz, blend rhythm guitar, saxophone, simple hi-hat/cymbal/snare rim beats and a slow and essential bass line. Along with the vocals (English or Portuguese) these elements create a dreamlike state of relaxation and appreciation. This is an album perfect for listening to as you are walking home on a sunny morning after a night of partying or lying on a beach or playing with your cat or cooking, the list goes on. The bottom line is that this music makes me incredibly happy and that’s not just because it reminds me of Peter Sellers from the 1968 film “The Party”. (Verve Records www.vervemusicgroup.com)
Emma Cloney – Something to Say
Emma Cloney’s debut Something to Say has the sound of an old favourite. Like something pulled out of a box of long forgotten albums. Maybe it’s that Gordon Lightfoot influence she nods to. Or her adherence to a classic folk sound tempered by her feminine rumbling voice. A voice that takes you back to the female artists boom of an early Lilith Fair variety (think Jewel, McLachlin, Harris). And by familiar we don’t mean tired but comforting. Perhaps, even a breath of fresh air. Assuming, of course, you appreciate a roots sound that gets at times a little Country. Representing Manitoba in the Canadian music scene, Cloney stays true to her love of a more traditional folk sound embracing the classic instruments of her genre like the fiddle, mandolin, upright bass and banjo. No electric guitar, no skinny jeans, just a girl and her guitar singing about rivers, home and her family. Song not to miss on this one: a hootenanny of a track entitled, “Daddy’s Guild Guitar.” But for a more contemporary listener “Love the Way You Love Me” will suit you fine. (STUDIO 11, www.studio11audio.com, www.emmacloney.com) Cindy Doyle
Review: Jenny Berkel – Gather Your Bones
From the local “one to watch” category comes an introductory, five track e.p. from singer/songwriter Jenny Berkel. The southwestern Ontario-bred Berkel sings with a deep and rather resonant voice evoking an old soul-like veracity and with the sparse, all-acoustic accompaniment creates something a pleasant, albeit gloomy sound. The depths of Berkel’s lyrics are what really sell this piece. Her geographic displacement has taken its toll on her psyche and she tries to sing away her sadness with lyrics like “You come from far away / You come to give and take / Pull the city, she cannot stay”. Joining Ms. Berkel for the quiet ride are a few friends that add poignant musical filigree such as banjo, harmonica and slide guitar – just enough so you would almost notice, somehow necessary to the overall drift of this set. By the sound of it, Berkel may be just passing through and Winnipeg folk music fans should take note of this burgeoning talent before she again follows her muse to points beyond the Perimeter. (Independent, www.myspace.com/jennyberkel) Jeff Monk
Dec/Jan Issue Preview: Diamond Rings
Hey folks! It’s the first Thursday of the month, which means there’s a shiny new issue of Stylus out on stands, and it’s a big one. In addition to our regular slew of reviews, we’ve got a whackload of features on folks from Jason Collett to John Waters. AND our annual rundown of the year’s best albums and shows.
To get you even more excited, here’s a preview of Stylus editor Taylor Burgess’s interview with the glam-tastic Diamond Rings. (Think a of a synthier, Canadian Patrick Wolf ,with occasional rapping.)
“I had this batch of songs written that I was performing, acoustically, for friends, at little hole-in-the-walls around town, just as something to do. You know, so [my make-up artist] was aware of the material, Colin Medley [my video director] was familiar with a lot of the work – just people who were really close to me, you know, they’d come and see the shows, and we just decided that we wanted to take it a step further. I had never done anything like that before – I remember the first time trying to put on mascara, I almost, like, passed out.”
Review: Kelley Stoltz – To Dreamers
Sub Pop might be my favorite label going today. In the two years that I have been writing for Stylus, an album from the Seattle label has finished high in my top ten albums of the year, with last year’s release from the Fruit Bats (The Ruminant Band) taking the number one spot. The quality of albums released through the label‘s history is very high, and as a result, my expectations get raised every time a new release enters my CD player. Kelley Stoltz, thankfully did not disappoint me. On his eighth album, Stoltz offers the listener more of his 1960’s inspired lo-fi sound. He is still a one man band for the most part, though he has help from others for the background instruments. For the majority of the album, I can picture Stoltz sitting on his living room floor playing the guitar. As mentioned earlier, Stoltz lets his influences shine throughout the album. There is a heavy heaping of Ray Davies, sprinkled in with some David Bowie esque glam, and some Brian Wilson inspired psychedelic music for good measure. A common criticism leveled at Stoltz is that he rarely feels original; he is more content to pay homage to his influences rather than showing what he can do as an artist. But, while I can see this criticism, Stoltz’s enthusiasm for his music is enough to make the familiar feel original. (Sub Pop) Charles Lefebvre
Live Bait: Stars lay golden eggs of love, etc.
Stars and Young Galaxy
@Burton Cummings Theatre
October 29, 2010
The Burton Cummings Theatre has played host to a huge number of exceptional artists over the years. October 29’s show was no different, with indie acts Young Galaxy and Stars gracing the stage for two stellar performances that stand up with some of the best the theatre has seen in recent years.
Young Galaxy was charged with getting the night started, serenading the crowd with their dreamy brand of pop. The Montreal four-piece is a Canadian band that is sounding more and more like a U.K. band, something not lost on the group as they focused their brief-but-powerful set around some of the more danceable numbers in their catalog. Stephen Ramsay and Catherine McCandless swapped vocal duties on the thundering opener, “Destroyer,” rousing the crowd to the front of the stage and making it clear that this is a band best experienced live.
“The Buzz In My Flesh” and “Outside The City” hooked the crowd with pulsing rhythms and McCandless’s icy vocals echoing out across the hall at all the right moments. She was never better than when clawing her way across the stage during “Queen Drum,” though her voice managed to bring the entire theatre to a hush with a crashing rendition “Firestruck.”
Ramsay gave his thanks to the headlining Stars, describing them as “golden eagles coming to drop golden eggs of love” into the audiences’ hearts. Joking aside, the bands’ huge crescendos coupled with McCandless’s mesmerizing stage presence made for the perfect lead up to the act to come.
Stars quickly took to the stage to deliver a tightly packed 100-minute set, launching into a haunting performance of “He Dreams He Is Awake” and calling the audience to their feet. Torquil Campbell illuminated the room from the stage with a handheld floodlight, announcing, “There’s a lot of beautiful ghosts in the building.” The band moved effortlessly between older pop numbers like “Elevator Love Letter” and newer electro cuts off this year’s The Five Ghosts LP, endlessly captivating the audience the whole way through.
Though much of the set was filled with swirling layers of synthesizers and electronic percussion, the best songs were those when the band took a reprieve from their posts to deliver an “unplugged” performance. Amy Millan and bassist Evan Cranley took presented and delicate acoustic rendition of “Ageless Beauty” while sitting centre stage upon a white bench. Shortly after, Campbell and Millan shared the mic on “The Woods,” flanked by Cranley and keyboardist Chris Seligmanon trombone and French horn, respectively. The crowd was silent during these two stunning numbers, lending even more intimacy to the moment.
Stars’ encore once again brought the audience to their feet, swaying and clapping along to “I Died So I Could Haunt You” and “Reunion” while Campbell and Millan danced across the stage, stomping their feet recklessly in time. The night was brought to a close with the softer “Changes,” and before the band bounded off the stage, Campbell was sure to graciously thank his audience, calling them the best Winnipeg audience he’s seen.
– Kevan Hannah