out this week

What a weird release week: three dramatic changes in musical style coming from PJ Harvey, Iron and Wine, and Múm… it’s like The Twilight Zone!!!

The Weakerthans: Reunion Tour
The highly-anticipated and long-awaited follow-up to Reconstruction Site is another lycially satisfying record by The Weakerthans.

Civil Twilight [wicked-cool song]
Reunion Tour [wicked-cool song]

buy Reunion Tour here


PJ Harvey: White Chalk
Hauntingly gorgeous!!! PJ Harvey has taken a brand new direction on White Chalk: musically, the angry rock guitar melodies are replaced by haunting piano notes whereas vocally, her commanding deep voice is replaced by mesmerizing soft tones as well as unusual high pitches.

The Devil [wicked-cool song]
When Under Ether [wicked-cool song]

White Chalk is out this week in the UK, but it won't be out till next week in North America


The New Amsterdams: At The Foot Of My Rival

Hughes
Fortunate Fool

buy At The Foot Of My Rival here


Iron & Wine: Sheperd's Dog

Wolves (Song of the Shepherd's Dog)
Boy With a Coin [wicked-cool song]

buy Sheperd's Dog here


Tiny Masters of Today: Bang Bang Boom Cake
Two kids (13-year-old Ivan and 11-year-old Ada) making rebellious punk songs – wickedly entertaining!!! Already had a profound impact in the UK, Bang Bang Boom Cake will try to make some noise in North America this week.

Stickin' It to the Man [wicked-cool song]
Bushy [wicked-cool song]

buy Bang Bang Boom Cake here


Múm: Go Go Smear The Poison Ivy
So different... ???

They Made Frogs Smoke 'Til They Exploded
Dancing Behind My Eyelids

buy Go Go Smear The Poison Ivy here


Two Gallants: Two Gallants
A good folk rock record full of heart and soul! Indeed, it is a giant step up from What The Toll Tells.

The Deader [wicked-cool song]
Despite What You've Been Told [wicked-cool song]

buy Two Gallants here


Devendra Banhart: Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon

Shabop Shalom

buy Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon here

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oh, ontario... oh, jennifer jason leigh!

On September 25, The Weakerthans will finally release their follow-up to Reconstruction Site. Given that Reconstruction Site is one of my favourite records in the past ten years, I was very nervous to hear the new record even though I have been looking forward to Reunion Tour for a long time. In the end, I am far from being disappointed with the band’s new record as it is everything I was hoping for. Like most work by The Weakerthans, Reunion Tour is another tour de force in the lyrics department. The album begins brilliantly through the perspective of a bus driver. In "Civil Twilight", a bus driver is passionately recollecting his memories of a former commuter. Reunion Tour is full of genuine emotions: "Sun in an Empty Room" provides a saddening tone as it tells the parting of two roommates; and "Utilities" is narrated by a self-conscious individual who wishes that he/she is more useful. Lighthearted songs such as "Tournament of Hearts" and "Elegy for Gump Worsley" further enhance Reunion Tour. The former uses curling lingoes as metaphors to a relationship while the latter is a tribute song to Lorne John "Gump" Worsley, an ex-NHL goalie. It has been four very long years since The Weakerthans released their 2003 masterpiece; although I still think the absent was ridiculously long, I am very impressed and tremendously satisfied with Reunion Tour.

Civil Twilight [wicked-cool song]
Elegy for Gump Worsley [wicked-cool song]
Sun in an Empty Room
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Reunion Tour comes out on September 25, you can pre-order it here

doctors played your dosage like a card trick

Holy crap, I am finally going to see The Weakerthans live!!!!! I have been wanting to see them for like ever… they played a few shows last year in Toronto, but I could not find anyone to go with me (so sad)... I missed them again this summer because I was in Japan… but in about sixteen hours, I get to see them for free at U of T... and guess what, Metric is playing also!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry folks, the show is for U of T students only (even though I don’t go there anymore… but I still have my student card!) I can’t wait! I have posted some songs from one of the best albums in the past five years, Reconstruction Site, check them out!

The Reasons
Reconstruction Site
Our Retired Explorer [wicked-cool song]
Time's Arrow
(Hospital Vespers) [super-wicked-cool song]
One Great City! [wicked-cool song]
Benediction
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buy Reconstruction Site here

CMW... Day No. 4

Last Gang orgy fest tonight!
This is THE show of CMW. I am dying to go to this show tonight! Unfortunately, all of the advanced tickets are sold out, so I will have to see if I can get any tickets at the door. The lineup is going to be a bitch… but it’s worth it, I think. This show features all the “buzzed bands” from Last Gang Records, home to Metric and Death From Above 1979. The Last Gang festivity starts with a band call From Fiction, then from Montreal’s Tricky Woo, and finally, the ultimate MSTRKRFT. MSTRKRFT is a remixing team of Jesse F. Keeler from DFA1969 and AI-P. They bring extra rock and dance elements to songs by artists like Metric, Bloc Party, Buck 65, The Kills, Annie and more. In addition, they have created in my opinion, THE WEIRDEST music video in the history of music video. See post below.

Sounds like: The Faint, !!!, The Rapture

Metric - Monster Hospital (MSTRKRFT Mix)
buy the new MSTRKRFT 12" here


Gentleman Reg
I guess I should have posted this on day one since Gentleman Reg played a show on Thursday at the Reverb as part of the opening day for CMW. I heard about Gentleman Reg for quite a long time now, but have not actually heard their music until a few weeks ago at the Final Fantasy concert. I was mesmerized by the singer/song-writer: Reg Vermue’s stage presence and his unique voice. In addition, I immediately fell in love with a song call ‘The Boyfriend Song’. Really, how can you go wrong with the chorus “boyfriend, boyfriend, I ain't got no money, and I ain't got no boyfriend…” From what I have gathered from the concert as well as the handful of mp3s I downloaded, the musical style of Gentleman Reg is a combination of pop, country, and folk.
On a side note, Reg Vermue sat next to me at the Emily Haines solo concert back in December of 2004 at the Church of the Redeemer on Avenue and Bloor.

It's Not Safe
Give Me A Chance To Fall
buy Darby & Joan (which features 'The Boyfriend Song') here


other notable/up-&-coming Canadian artists that you should check out:
The Most Serene Republic, Propagandhi, Alexisonfire, P:ano, Elliott Brood, A.C. Newman, S.S. Cardiacs, and The Winks


I must now close the celebration of Canadian Music Week with two of the greatest Canadian records ever made:

The Weakerthans
The Weskerthans’ Reconstruction Site is probably my favorite Canadian records ever! This 2003 release is on my stereo regularly. The album features some great and complicated metaphors, as well as references to literature and politics. As a result, certain songs really make you think on top of making you feel stupid. For instance, (and I did not know this until I read it somewhere on the internet), the songs ‘(Manifest)’, ‘(Hospital Vespers)’, and ‘(Past Due)’, which were strategically placed in the start, middle, and end of the album, all followed the sonnet form of Shakespeare. By the way, (Manifest), one of the best songs on the album, is a very strange, yet beautiful song. The other standout song on Reconstruction Site has to be ‘One Great Town!’. The song is clearly about John K. Samson’s (the singer/sing writer) hatred for suburban lifestyle. He talks about meaningless jobs: “…in the dollar store the clerk is closing up, and counting loonies trying not to say, I hate Winnipeg!”; doing the same routines countlessly: “…in the turning lane, someone stalled again, he's talking to himself, and hears the price of gas repeat his phrase, I hate Winnipeg!”; and my favorite line in the song: “the Guess Who suck, the Jets were lousy anyway.” This line always puts a smile on my face.

Sounds like: The Decemberists

Plea From a Cat Named Virtute
buy Reconstruction Site here


Leonard Cohen
Ok, so I don’t know what it is, but Songs of Love and Hate is one of my favorite Canadian albums of all time!!! I know the album is more than 30 years old, but it is a timeless classic. I urge you to give it a try… there are some extremely heartfelt songs on it.

buy and listen to clips from Songs of Love and Hate here