Wednesday, April 29, 2009

it all seemed perfect

The Sounds—April 28, 2009 @ The Mod Club

So I went into The Sounds concert last night without really knowing their music. I listened to their music once or twice, but I wouldn’t consider myself a fan at all. Well, that has changed completely now that I have seen them live! The Sounds are incredible live! It was by far the best show I have been since seeing No Age last November! Make sure you make it out to one of the remaining North American dates!

4/29 Montreal QUE @ Club Soda
5/01 Portland ME @ Port City
5/02 West Chester PA @ The Note
5/03 Giants Stadium NJ - Bamboozle
5/05 Cleveland OH @ The Grog Shop
5/06 Detroit MI @ St. Andrew's Hall
5/07 Chicago IL @ Double Door
5/08 Minneapolis MN @ Varsity Theatre
5/09 Milwaukee WI @ The Rave
5/11 Des Moines IA @ Peoples Court
5/12 Lawrence KS @ Bottleneck
5/13 Columbia MO @ The Blue Note
5/14 Tulsa OK @ Marquee
5/26 Colorado Springs CO @ The Black Sheep
5/29 El Paso TX @ Take IIII
6/04 Orlando FL @ Firestone


The Sounds—April 28, 2009 @ The Mod Club
The Sounds—April 28, 2009 @ The Mod Club The Sounds—April 28, 2009 @ The Mod Club
The Sounds—April 28, 2009 @ The Mod Club
The Sounds—April 28, 2009 @ The Mod Club
The Sounds—April 28, 2009 @ The Mod Club
The Sounds—April 28, 2009 @ The Mod Club

see more photos at my flickr page

Friday, April 24, 2009

lawrence english: a colour for autumn

Lawrence English is back with another beautiful collection of dreamy ambient songs in A Colour For Autumn. The seven tracks are carefully stringed together to create a cohesive sound while each track stills maintain its own personality. The opener, "Droplet" feels like a transformation/transitional track... maybe it is a follow-up to English’s last seasonal-themed album, For Varying Degrees of Winter. A feeling of anticipation hangs in tracks like "Watching It Unfold" and "The Prelude To". My favourite song on the album belongs to "The Surface Of Everything". I absolutely love the recurring sound in the background—either the wave or wind blowing through trees, I am not quite sure what it is—regardless, I love the added effect! Lawrence English is a genius at creating atmospheric music and A Colour For Autumn is just exceptional… it is also one of the most calming and relaxing albums I have ever heard.

Watching It Unfold
The Surface Of Everything [wicked-cool song]

visit Lawrence English's site here
buy A Colour For Autumn here

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

this battle will be won!

Patrick Wolf once again made an appearance on John Kennedy’s XFM show last night, download the interview + mp3s below!

Live on XFM with John Kennedy (April 20, 2009)

The Tinderbox (Live on XFM) [wicked-cool song]
Hard Times (Live on XFM) [wicked-cool song]
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

Thank you allanah for the rips!

Sunday, April 19, 2009

vulture 7" is out tomorrow!!!

Patrick Wolf was a guest on Tim Jonze’s Guardian Music Weekly this week for an exclusive interview podcast... at the end of the show, Patrick played a beautiful acoustic version of The Bachelor. Check out the song below!

Patrick Wolf: The Bachelor (Acoustic Version) [wicked cool song]
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

Thank you Daniel for ripping and sending me the song!

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Friday, April 17, 2009

record store day is almost here!

Record Store Day is less than 24hrs away! If you are in the downtown Toronto area, make sure you stop by Criminal Records (493 Queen St West) for non-stop celebration. The good folks there are giving away tones of wicked-cool stuff starting at 11am! There is even a free in-store by Great Bloomers and Rock Plaza Central at 6pm!

Also, they just got tons of new concert posters from SXSW/Flatstock... the Todd Slater’s Modest Mouse one is by far my favourite!

Monday, April 13, 2009

the thermals: now we can see

The Thermals’ fourth album, Now We Can See is full of cheerful and catchy melodies; however, if one really paid attention to the lyrics, they reveal something that is quite the opposite. The opener, "When I Died", is a song about someone who is sick of life and everything around him; thus, he decides to drown himself in the sea. Lines like “Nature sure took her sweet time/I was already losing my spine” and “I was sick with horror/When my curtain fell/It’s the end of the story/I was certain to tell...” are chilling! "We Were Sick" is another ultra catchy tone polished with negativities—“Fed on the dirt/Laid on the land/Never gave a day away/Never gave a damn...”—it is an attack on mankind's carelessness and selfishness.

On the contrary, there is a slight sense of optimism in the anthem like title track. This is a song about evolution and the hope for progress in the wake of false promises and mistakes. Similarly, "When We Were Alive" celebrates our pasts in that somewhat optimist tone as well... and it is the loudest and fastest song on the album as well!

For me, "When I Was Afraid" and "Liquid In, Liquid Out" are somewhat interconnected. The former is about missed opportunities as a result of constantly holding back and being too cautionary (“Falling away/Out into space/Losing all my breath when I was afraid”) while the latter speaks about the repetition and dullness of life (Liquid in, liquid out/It’s what my life was all about/It’s what my life was all about/It was all about.”)

Certainly, there are plenty of gloomy lyrics in Now We Can See; however, it is also full of joyous and exceedingly poppy melodies that surely drown out the negativities surrounding the album. Until I heard the new Horrors album about two weeks ago, The Thermals’ Now We Can See was my favourite album of the year... I mean, how can you go wrong with an album that sounds like the best of Guided By Voices!

Ps, Now We Can See sounds sick on vinyl!

When I Died [wicked-cool song]
Now We Can See [wicked-cool song]
Liquid In, Liquid Out [wicked-cool song]

visit The Thermals' MySpace here
buy Now We Can See here

Saturday, April 11, 2009

find yourself a new boy

The Whip and Late Of The Pier — April 10, 2009 @ Kool Haus

The Whip
The Whip — April 10, 2009 @ Kool Haus The Whip — April 10, 2009 @ Kool Haus
The Whip — April 10, 2009 @ Kool Haus The Whip — April 10, 2009 @ Kool Haus
The Whip — April 10, 2009 @ Kool Haus

Late Of The Pier
Late Of The Pier — April 10, 2009 @ Kool Haus
Late Of The Pier — April 10, 2009 @ Kool Haus Late Of The Pier — April 10, 2009 @ Kool Haus
Late Of The Pier — April 10, 2009 @ Kool Haus Late Of The Pier — April 10, 2009 @ Kool Haus

see more photos at my flickr page

Thursday, April 09, 2009

it doesn't evaporate in the light anymore

I just found out yesterday that The Whip and Late Of The Pier are playing in Toronto tomorrow night at the Kool Haus... man, where have I been!

The Whip:
Divebomb [wicked-cool song]
Divebomb (Crystal Castles Mix)

Late Of The Pier:
Focker [super-wicked-cool song]
Focker (Rolmops Remix) [wicked-cool song]
Broken (Fairylights Remix)
The Bears Are Coming (Beyond The Wizards Sleeve Remix)
Space And The Woods (Switch Remix) [wicked-cool song]
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

visit The Whip's MySpace here
visit Late Of The Pier's MySpace here

new horrors is absolutely brilliant!!!

Watch The Horror's new video for "Sea Within A Sea":


"Sea Within A Sea" is the last track from my favourite record of the year so far, Primary Colours, out on May 4th.

The Horrors: Sea Within A Sea [super-wicked-cool song]
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

Friday, April 03, 2009

i found a home in your eyes

Watch the making of the video for Bat For Lashes' "Daniel":

new york i love you but you're bringing me down/lucky new yorkers/people who can afford to go to new york

Patrick Wolf is travel ling to New York on May 6th for a one-off acoustic performance at Le Poisson Rouge. Bandstockers can buy pre-sale right now while the general sale starts on Monday, April 6th.