Photo Credit: Steve Gullick
Sylvan Esso so not slaves to the radio, slaves to the radio
Fans of Mother Mother (count me in) and Jenn Grant (count me in twice) could get behind the latest track from , “Radio”. Its a jaunty smart number, Emily Haines smart, that calls out the music industry obsession with numbers, all the while riding the crest of of Underworld waves. The 12" will be out Nov. 18, with "Kick Jump Twist" on the B side.
Photo by Colin Medley
TUNS return to the Moustache Club Sept 8, this time they bring their debut album
Strangely enough although Chris Murphy is part of TUNS, for the most part TUNS’ self-titled debut album has more of the jangly 60s pop sensibility usually associated with his Sloan mate Jay Ferguson. TUNS is Murphy, plus Matt Murphy and Mike O’Neill, three who were at the forefront of Canada’s 90s indie assault on the nation’s mainstream, Matt in Flashing Lights and O’Neill in the Inbreds.
With their combined talents its a given the album is going to be accomplished, they are among the finest songwriters, so really its just a case of figuring out what direction the supergroup of super friends and its a simple turn they took, a melding of what they are individually known for.
Mostly TUNS sound like a band that listened to a lot of Sloan and 90s era Cancon indie, a band like the Taylor Knox Band, which is not to say they sound like the sum of the parts, maybe the sum of their parts' parts; “Mind Your Manners” digs into early Joe Jackson with a chorus K-Os could be crooning, “To Your Satisfaction” nudges April Wine “Sign of the Gypsy Queen”, “Its My Lonely Life” touches onto Wings and “Throw It All Away” picks up Buffalo Springfield’s “Flying On The Ground.”
The allusions are there, but its the lyrically allusions that shed the most light, titles "Back Amongst Friends" and "Look Who's Back in Town" checkmark their collective past. To be back however one must have left and the three grew in different directions. Its their growth apart not just their roots together that show on this record.
The album is out on Hollarado’s label, Royal Mountain, making TUNS labelmates with Alvvays and PUP. TUNS will be opening for Hollerado who play the Moustache Club in Oshawa Sep 8 2016
Photo credit: Kristina Ruddick
Brendan Canning airs it all out with "Book It To Fresno"
Brendan Canning’s latest solo record Home Wrecking Years is available now on Arts & Crafts. The single Book It To Fresno has been released with an accompanying video that leaves little to the imagination. The video shot by Luke McCutcheon & Michael Yablonski and is set in Bare Oaks naturist park, just north of TO. The song feels like a comfortable jam with friends and the video slides easily into all them grooves.
Tasseomancy Do Easy like no one else
Last I heard from Halifax sisters Tasseomancy was they were Ghost Bees and working with Timber Timbre. They had a stint in Austra also. Romy and Sari Lightman aka Tasseomanacy have a new album Do Easy due November 18 on a co-label venture between Hand Drawn Dracula and Outside in Canada and Bella Union worldwide. The title track is the first single and its a wonderful weird trip, a kaleidoscopic history of pop music from 80’s new wave to 50s bobby sox pop and tentacles that weave Kate Bush into Lou Reed then washes away with moonlight saxophone.
Strumbellas take "Spirits" and Hope back across Canada and the States
Raucous folkies The Strumbellas head out on a headlining tour of North America after returning from a late summer festival tour which will see them play England, Germany, Switzerland, France and Italy. The six-piece also played Lollapalooza and Osheaga. The closest date they have to their East of the GTA beginning is west in Hamilton at Supercrawl Sep 10. The band's single "Spirits" has flown in the public consciousness and is now what we called back in the day "a hit".
UPCOMING TOUR DATES:
Aug. 24 – London, UK – The Borderline
Aug. 26 – Saint-Cloud, FR – Rock en Seine
Aug. 27 – Zurich, SW – Zurich Openair
Aug. 29 – Cologne, GR – Gloria
Aug. 30 – Lausanne, SW – Les Docks
Aug. 31 – Sestri Levante, IT – Mojotic Festival
Sept 1 – Milan, IT – UnaltroFestival
Sept 10 – Hamilton, ON – Supercrawl
Sept 17 – Baden Baden, GR – SWR3 New Pop Festival
Sept 20 – San Francisco, CA – Fox Theatre ^
Sept 23 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium ^
Sept 24 – Franklin, TN – Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival
Sept 25 – Las Vegas, NV – Life Is Beautiful Festival
Sept 26 – Flagstaff, AZ – Orpheum Theater ^
Sept 27 – Tempe, AZ – The Marquee Theatre ^
Sept 29 – San Antonio, TX – The Aztec Theatre ^
Sept 30 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Music Festival
Oct 5 – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom ^
Oct 6 – Houston, TX – House of Blues ^
Oct 7 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Music Festival
Oct 8 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues ^
Oct 10 – Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater ^
Oct 12 – Missoula, MT – The Wilma Theatre ^
Oct 14 – Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo ^
Oct 15 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom ^
Oct 16 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom *
Oct 19 – Calgary, AB – MacEwan Ballroom *
Oct 20 – Edmonton, AB – Francis Winspear Centre for Music *
Oct 21 – Whitecourt, AB – Allan & Jean Millar Centre *
Oct 23 – Winnipeg, MB – Burton Cummings Theatre *
Oct 24 – Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line +
Oct 25 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall +
Oct 27 – Washington, DC – U Street Music Hall +
Oct 28 – Philadelphia, PA – Underground Arts +
Oct 29 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom +
Oct 30 – Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall +
^w/Cold War Kids, *special guests: The Zolas, + special guests: Foreign Air
Wintersleep sense something in the ether with "Spirit"
Wintersleep returned from a long break with the monster “Amerika”, a timely assessment of our pals to the south. It was the first single from The Great Detachment available on Dine Alone Records. The Halifax band are back with “Spirit” and they have released a CBC session video to accompany. Wintersleep are heading out on a broad Fall European tour after a quick run out west. They play Toronto Aug 16 at the Blue Jays Fan Festival.
Crown Lands at the Moustache Club Aug 18, Mantra EP release party
There's just two but they are mighty, mighty like the White Stripes covering CATL covering Soundgarden covering Led Zeppelin. Oshawa-based Crown Lands are Kevin Comeau on lead and bass and Cody Bowles on vox and beats, just two but an almighty rock ' roll blues riot ensues. The mighty two have released a five song EP, Mantra. The title track roars and has been on repeat in my car, turned up loud as in LOUD!!!. There's a video. The two are on an almighty tour through Ontario and on to the East Coast.
Aug. 18 Oshawa, On - The Moustache Club
Aug. 19 Guelph, On - DSTRCT
Aug. 20 Peterborough, On - The Spill
Aug. 23 Charlottetown, PEI - Babas
Aug. 24 New Glasgow, NS - The Commune
Aug. 25 Halifax, NS - Gus' Pub
Aug. 26 Dartmouth, NS - Montes
Aug. 27 Sydney, NS - Embers
Aug. 29 Quebec City, QC - Le Knock Out
Aug. 30 Montreal, QC - L'esco
Aug. 31 Ottawa, ON - Live On Elgin
Sept. 01 Toronto ON - Junction City Music Hall
Sept. 03 Maynooth, ON - Labour Day Fest
Ptarmigan fly in with O Zephyr
That scene when 007 returns to his home in Skyfall and there's a long brooding aerial shot following the route to the remote Scottish castle. Think music, think Ptarmigan, thats O Zephyr.
New Pixies, that is all "Talent"
Love is all is love is Sunshine & the Blue Moon
The album is called Welcome to the Future but Sunshine & the Blue Moon dig deep into the past for first single “Sunshine & Lucy”. There’s even a Super8 shot video out to accompany the disarmingly honest love song. So yes folks, some Peter Bjorn & John, some Sufjan Stevens and not a hint of irony, thats just so passé. The album from the TO band is out Sep 16 2016.
Post-punk pre-apocaylypse Preoccupations reveal "Degraded", play Danforth Music Hall Oct. 8 2016
“This video offers an encounter with the primordial ruins of a post-human landscape, where sentient sculptural artifacts attempt to reassemble themselves piece by piece. Unidentified abstracted organisms carry on and thrive in a terrain that’s begun to settle back into itself, as rendered in scenes of mixed digital and painted 2D and 3D animation.” - Director Valentina Tapia
Sultry driving track from Calgary's Preoccupations, its all shards of feedback, tunnels of percussion and rain on the windshield electronica, and Peter Murphy croons. The stunner is available on the band's S/T due on Flemish Eye Sep 16 2016.
How Will Butler spends Friday Night
Will Butler (Arcade Fire) released a solo album Policy in 2015 and will release a live album Sep 9 2016 curated from the subsequent tour. The new video is for "Friday Night" and was directed by comedian Jo Firestone who opened for him on tour. The live album includes five tracks recorded at the Lincoln Hall in Chicago June 4 2016 and two of the five tracks Butler wrote for the Guardian newspaper. based on the headlines of the day.