Pick of the Week #20: Black Hat Brigade

Alright, I'm going to try and make it through this post without any Austin Powers 'faja' jokes...

There are probably about four of you who will remember when I mentioned the first Black Hat Brigade EP and said flat out that it was better than anything Wolf Parade has ever done (note: this claim will only make any sense if you know that the Black Hat Brigade get compared to Wolf Parade). Well, this EP/album is equally good, maybe better.

Certainly Fathers covers a little more ground that the BHB EP, in part, because its longer; but also because the band has branched out from using (incredibly catchy) guitar riffs to carry their songs. The band has kept the (incredibly catchy) guitar riffs, but has built in the use of keys, a few more vocal harmonies, and an unidentified instrument which I'll call the suzaphone (for entertainment purposes). In addition to branching out instrumentationally (yes, instrumentationally, when you have your own blog - which I realize you probably do - you can invent your own words), they also demonstrate that they've got a softer side toward the later half of the album with "Lost Boys", "Vera" and "Vera (reprise)".

And, those who are fans of the BHB should make note of a couple of things:

• Fathers meets the length requirement for the Polaris Prize, so, expect them to get a few votes (hopefully, a lot of votes).
• Matthew at i(heart)music has reviewed their album and also thinks its excellent.
• The band is posting a new song (presumably from Fathers every day this week) on their myspace page.
• They've got a few shows coming up, in particular Torontonians will want to check out their May 29 CD release at the El Mocambo as part of the Pitter Patter Music Festival (which, is a pay-what-you-can or $7).
• You may want to (or not) check out "Exchanging emails with... the Black Hat Brigade"

[mp3] Black Hat Brigade - Zombie City Shake
[mp3] Black Hat Brigade - Lost Boys


Pick of the Week #1: Ketch Harbour Wolves
Pick of the Week #2: Rah Rah
Pick of the Week #3: Glasvegas/Animal Collective
Pick of the Week #4: Bruce Peninsula
Pick of the Week #5: The Antlers
Pick of the Week #6: The Darcys
Pick of the Week #7: Ohbijou
Pick of the Week #8: Gentlemen Husbands
Pick of the Week #9: Chris Whitley
Pick of the Week #10: Alela Diane
Pick of the Week #11: K'naan
Pick of the Week #12: TOR/Sufjan Stevens
Pick of the Week #13: Timber Timbre
Pick of the Week #14: Justis
Pick of the Week #15: Hibiscus & Rosehips Compilation
Pick of the Week #16: Patrick Watson
Pick of the Week #17: Olenka and the Autumn Lovers
Pick of the Week #18: The Liptonians
Pick of the Week #19: Sunparlour Players

Hayden's new Album, The Office, Party Down, Rafa v. Fed, Simmons v. Gladwell II,

• I can't believe it, but Hayden has a new album coming out The Place Where We Lived, May 26. Yeah, that was fast...

• How 'bout the Office? What a nice finale. I'm not sure whether its the mockumentary format, but 5 seasons in and its still going strong (not sure how long they are going to be able to keep this together). Ordinarily I'd be a little worried about the PB&J pregnancy thing, but they handled the couple getting together so well....

• I've started watching Party Down, and I gotta say, its growing on me. I do like Rob Thomas (mostly, that he created Veronica Mars), and the fact that he's bascially re-hired the cast of V-Mars (minus Kristen Bell). There've been some great cameos by Rob Coddry (Daily Show), Juno's dad, Breckin Meyer (Road Trip), and a bunch of other "that guys". Oh, did I mention that the show is being directed by Fred Savage (Kevin from the Wonder Years)?

• There was some great tennis on this weekend - Masters Series Madrid. Normally I don't watch anything outside the Grand Slams, but the Nadal v. Djokovic semi was probably the best match I've seen since the epic Nadal/Fed Wimbledon final. And it was great to see Federer get a win under his belt this year (especially over Nadal on clay), even though the courts were/are supposedly much faster. Does the win boad well for Federer going into the French? Sure, but its going to take a hell of an effort to take 3 sets off Nadal on a slower court...
  

• If you haven't caught the Simmons v. Gladwell II email exchange do...

• And I was all excited about the Lakers/Rockets & Celtics/Magic game 7s... gawd... that was disappointing...
  

Help i(heart)music

Via the NxEW twitter feed, i(heart)music is in a little bit of legal trouble...

The nuts of it is that Matthew has been helping put on shows in Ottawa for a while now, and SOCAN is coming after him for about $2,000 bucks. Why? Well, apparently every time you promote a show with a SOCAN artist they are entitled to $35 or 3% of the door. I guess no one explained this to Matthew (one would think the venues might be aware of this sort of thing), and so now he's kind of up the creek as they say...

If you (heart) music you can make a donation at the i(heart)music site. Let's all cross our fingers and hope that Matthew can afford to keep doing what he does...

Damages

Given how much TV I watch I'm surprised how little I talk about it here, especially since there has been a lot of shows that continue to be excellent: the Office, Friday Night Lights, 30 Rock; plus, the ones I've really gotten into this year: Chuck, Summer Heights High, Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Breaking Bad and... Damages.

I definitely don't watch that much serious TV, in part, I think, because there aren't many shows that do it well. But also, because its tough to sustain the necessary interest and intensity over a regular 40 min x 22 episode season. That's why I gave up on 24 earlier this year, they really had me hooked, but I just got tired of the twists and turns (it kind of felt like I had been on the spinning tea cups for 8 hours worth of TV... twist after twist after twist).

With Damages, like many of the great cable shows that have come out in the last few years (namely, The Wire, Dexter, and Breaking Bad), have managed to avoid the filler, and have produced shows that are tight and read like a novel. In my books (pun intended), that's a good thing. Sure, maybe part of my affinity for Damages is my love for Ted Danson (from his appearances on Curb) or that they've brought in a bunch of characters from the Wire for season 2. But, its also that its a well crafted show that has really mastered the flash forward, we'll show you the end, but you know that we haven't given you the whole story. There are 24-esque number of twists and turns each season, but they're far more manageable in the 13 ep. season.

The synopsis: The show is part 24, part John Grisham novel, part Veronica Mars (in the way it does that flashback/forward) and its probably my favourite show on TV right now (unless you count the Office).

Pick of the Week #19: Sunparlour Players - Wave North

The Sunparlour Players are probably my favourite band. And their my favourite for a variety of reasons: they're small enough that they don't play huge venues, they're from Toronto so I can see them frequently enough, and they put on a hell of a live show. I've seen them, in their various incarnations, I'd guess at least a half dozen times (many of which pre-dated this blog), and so my expectations for their album were extraordinarily high. So high, in fact, that I may have made an off-hand prediction that this would be my album of the year.

After spending the last week with the album, I'm awfully impressed. Not just because the album is a sonic step up, the album sounds much 'fuller', the instrumentation is a little more varied (note: it might not actually be, but it feels like it); as the guys from Herohill said, its a step forward. But I think the biggest leap for the SPP is their ability to put the listener in Tomato country (Leamington, On), and to tell stories about the area/the town/whatever (before they were, as HH points out either a bundle of energy or quiet and folky). Songs like "Battle of '77" and "Point Pelee is the Place to Be!" have a kind of Sufjan-esque quality to them, in their ability to create a kind of narrative around people and places, but they do it their own SPP kind of way.

Of course, the most exciting thing about Wave North (available on Tues., May 19.2009) is that having this library to draw on (although fans - not unlike myself - will recognize a number of these songs they've been playing live for the last few years) is that it'll add another dimension to their live show. The shows have always been mind blowingly energetic, but I think adding in the more narrative character in a few of their songs will make the raging foot stomping and gentle picking on the steel guitar stand out that much more... although I hope they'll still leave room for their "Thunderstruck" and "In the Air Tonight" covers...

CD release show Friday, June 26 @ the Horseshoe in Toronto and you can check their myspace for other Ontario tour dates in May/June along with the summer festival sched. through July and August.

[mp3] Sunparlour Players - Battle of '77
[mp3] Sunparlour Players - North (live CBC Radio 2/3?)

"Thunderstruck"


Pick of the Week #1: Ketch Harbour Wolves
Pick of the Week #2: Rah Rah
Pick of the Week #3: Glasvegas/Animal Collective
Pick of the Week #4: Bruce Peninsula
Pick of the Week #5: The Antlers
Pick of the Week #6: The Darcys
Pick of the Week #7: Ohbijou
Pick of the Week #8: Gentlemen Husbands
Pick of the Week #9: Chris Whitley
Pick of the Week #10: Alela Diane
Pick of the Week #11: K'naan
Pick of the Week #12: TOR/Sufjan Stevens
Pick of the Week #13: Timber Timbre
Pick of the Week #14: Justis
Pick of the Week #15: Hibiscus & Rosehips Compilation
Pick of the Week #16: Patrick Watson
Pick of the Week #17: Olenka and the Autumn Lovers
Pick of the Week #18: The Liptonians

Mr. G's Song of the Week "Faerie Dance"

I tried to avoid choosing "Faerie Dance" by Montreal-based Plants and Animals for this installment of Song of the Week. I really did. I told myself that I should try to pick a song off an album that is more recent than the 2008 Polaris Prize-nominated "Parc Avenue," which came out over a year ago. Come on, Mr. G, there must be something more recent that warrants a shout-out in this blog column. You want your readers (I know you're out there) to think you're hip and with it. But try as I might, I simply could not escape the unadulterated epicness encapsulated in this grandiose track.

I found myself listening to it constantly. Found myself humming, as I walked down the street, the various melodies that make up the three distinct parts of the song: the sweet and soft beginning... the heavy, dark, and rhythmic meat of the song sandwich... and finally, the tasty "lalala" sing-along that sits in your brain for days and escapes from your lips with such regularity that your friends and loved ones have no choice but to ask you to kindly shut up.

Lastly, I found myself rocking out to "Faerie Dance" live at The Mod Club this past Thursday night as Plants and Animals performed to a packed house. As my head bobbed back and forth and my shoulders shimmied in distinct Mr. G fashion, it became clear to me that this song is as relevant and beautiful as ever. It's one of those musical masterpieces that you'll listen to 10, maybe 20 years down the road and find yourself dancing to with the same energy and enthusiasm that you did in your former youthful state. I'm thrilled to hear what this three-piece band has in store for us on their upcoming full-length release, but until that time comes, "Faerie Dance" should tide us all over just fine.

[mp3] Plants and Animals - Faerie Dance (live @ the Mod Club)

The Parkas: A Life of Crime DVD Documentary

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I had picked up A Life of Crime, the documentary by Jon Eagan and James Loftus on the Parkas, their 2004 cross-country tour, and the subsequent "re-organization" of the band. It was a little strange watching the moving since, as I mentioned previously, I know Mike Brown from school; and, after seeing him in that context for the last 8 months, it was neat seeing him in his other life.

The movie itself was a really interesting look at life in a smaller Canadian band: being trapped in a van driving across the country, having venues screw you around, playing to often indifferent crowds "do you guys know any Jack Johnson?", and the tension that comes with eking out a living playing music. Anyone who listens to CBC radio 3 really ought to track down a copy of the movie, because this'll give you an idea of what your favourite musicians are going through...

Oh, and you should also note that the DVD comes with The Scars to Prove It EP, which is excellent.

And, furthermore, you should also be aware that the Parkas are putting together another record before they (permanently?) go "on a break" since they are becoming teachers, doctors, and other things....

The Trailer: