Best Canadian Albums (excluding Toronto) of 2009

9. Dan Mangan (Vancouver, BC) Nice, Nice, Very Nice
[mp3] Dan Mangan - Robots
Elsewhere: Pick of the Week #42
A couple of months ago you couldn't go anywhere, and when I say "anywhere" I mean a Canadian based or Canadian music blog, without hearing about Dan Mangan. Now that his album has been out for a while, the very clever video for "Robots" has been released, he's done touring for a bit (I think), I've begun to appreciate his song-writing more. I'm not sure exactly how to describe his sound to those who don't know him, but suffice to say he may have become my favourite hobo singer-songwriter (I'm sure someone plays the spoons somewhere on this album).


8. The Liptonians (Winnipeg, MN) s/t
[mp3] The Liptonians - Charlie's Back!
Elsewhere: Pick of the Week #18
I haven't listened to the full s/ted album by the Liptonians in a good while, but I can say that "Charlie's Back!" is one of my favourite songs of the year. As I mentioned when I wrote about their album, the melody, the story, the instrumentation all remind me of Ben Folds (before he got neutered and started writing children's songs) and the quirky characters that he used to write about. If you ever enjoyed Ben Folds or piano driven poppy sort of tunes, these guys are well worth checking out.


7. Dog Day (Halifax, NS) Concentration
[mp3] Dog Day - Happiness
Elsewhere: Pick of the Week #26
If Stars wore black, and exclusively black, they would be Dog Day. These songs are every bit as good as Set Yourself on Fire, though they're certainly not as burned into the memory of 'indie' loving hipsters as SYoF.



6. That's the Spirit (Ottawa, On) Staying Places
[mp3] That's the Spirit - Orienteering
Elsewhere: Pick of the Week #40, Exchanging emails with...
If you ever read (or saw the movie) The Phantom Tollbooth when you were a kid you should have an idea of what Staying Places sounds like. Of course there's no auditory component to the actual book (unless it's an audiobook), but it (Staying Places) has this whimsical element to it that makes you feel like you're going off to some sort of fantasy land (even if you're not on drugs). This all makes me wonder what listening to this album on mushrooms would be like... if anyone has any answers there's a guest blog post in it for you...


5. Julie Doiron (Halifax, NS) I Could Wonder What You Did With Your Day
[mp3] Julie Doiron - Consolation Prize
Elsewhere: Pick of the Week #38
I'm not sure how I'd never listened to Julie Doiron before this year, but I hadn't, though if there was one Canadian-folk music icon (stretch?) that I was going to miss it makes sense that it'd be Julie Doiron. Doiron, and her music, are understated to the point that she doesn't seem like she cares a whole lot whether people are listening or not. If you like folky sort of music, and you've heard Doiron, chances are you've been capitvated by her laid-back, conversational style. And this album, from what I understand, is one of her best.


4. Chad VanGaalen (Calgary, AB) Soft Airplane - B Sides EP
[mp3] Chad VanGaalen - Corvette
Elsewhere: Pick of the Week #39
Sure, it's an EP full of B-Sides, but it's still really friggin' good. I'm not sure I read anyone complain about Soft Airplance (the A-sides), but all the talk about how 'accessible' read: not weird, probably peeved a few of his more devoted fans. Well, I imagine that the B-sides'd make those people happy. It's more experimental than the actual album, which may explain why they got relegated to the B-sides EP, but if you're a fan of Chad VanG fan the EP is not to be missed. And it may still be free at softairplane.com.

3. Patrick Watson (Montreal, QC) Wooden Arms
[mp3] Patrick Watson - Wooden Arms
Elsewhere: Pick of the Week #16
I've listened to this album a bunch of times over the past few weeks and I'm convinced that Wooden Arms is the most underrated album of the year. It doesn't have the standout Coldplay impersonations like "Lucious Life" and "the Great Escape", it's more cryptic, more reliant on found sounds (apparently crap found in the Watson household), but the songs and the songwriting are every bit as good as his Polaris winning Close to Paradise... and the more I hear the album the more I think it should move up... maybe this should actually be two... or one... too late now. Also, you should really watch these Blogotheque videos if you haven't...


2. Pink Mountaintops (Vancouver, BC) Outside Love
[mp3] Pink Mountaintops - Axis Thrones of Love
Elsewhere: Pick of the Week #22
Given my distaste for Black Mountain, some other incarnation of this band, I was utterly shocked at how much I enjoyed, and continue to enjoy, Outside Love. The album sort of feels like a cross between the Mamas & the Papas and Led Zepplin, which is an unlikely combination that really seems to work.


1. Said the Whale (Vancouver, BC) Islands Disappear
[mp3] Said the Whale - Camilo (the Magician)
Elsewhere: Pick of the Week #44
I find myself surprised that a pretty poppy album ended up at the top of this list. On Islands Disappear Said the Whale, while poppy, demonstrate that they are capable of writing more dramatic or introspective songs (like Band of Horses or the New Pornographers), and have put out an album that isn't getting nearly enough love. This was easily the second best Christmas gift I got this year (I got one of those sexy iPhones)... thanks Santa.

Exchanging e-mails with... That's the Spirit

Now that I've got a little more time on my hands I think I'm going to start up this "Exchanging e-mails with..." segment again. It's been really interesting getting some insight from different bands/artists and figuring out what their life with music is like: what their goals are, their motivation, what tours are like, etc.. Hopefully it's an interesting read, but, if not, I think it makes me a slightly better (sort of) music blogger...

This time around I bounced some electronic mails back and forth with Ottawa singer-songwriter That's the Spirit (Pick of the Week #40), or, Ben Wilson.

* * *

Ben.

So, I guess the first thing I'm sort of curious about is how you respond to reviews both from blogs and from "real" print media, and how successful you think you've been in getting reviews? I think, at this point, it seems like getting someone to write about you seems like it must be a challenge. I mean, I don't run a big operation here, but I'm getting all kinds of emails from all kinds of people -- and especially PR companies.

BTW - I'm not sure if you saw the Nilsson videos that I linked to when I wrote about your album, but the Ringo narrated version is pretty brutal so I hope you weren't/aren't offended...

Rob

* * *

Not at all. But I was wondering whether you thought I might be on acid, or had a pointy head...

Staying Places was the first time I released an album into the world of blogs and internets, so yeah, at first it was daunting, and a little bit upsetting. I really thought people would like it, but the Pitchforks, the Stereogums and the Brooklynveganses, etc. weren't answering my emails and I never took into account that they're getting hundreds of similar emails a day, from trusted sources. I had no idea what I was doing; I was pretty naive and thought the 'big ones' are the ones that decide whether or not your record is good enough...that my music would speak for itself in this new democratized blog world where 'cool people my age are deciding what gets press'!

It sounds kind of stupid but it's easy to let that stuff get to you, you know? Especially when things are so new. But despite the challenges I think the record's had a good run so far in terms of press and blog reviews. And in the end, nothing's better than having someone see a show or listen to the CD and like it so much they start genuinely forcing people to listen to the songs - when you feel you've really connected somehow, which is worth a thousand articles really. So I just take things in stride.

b

* * *

Ben.

Acid, pointy head, whatever, I'm not one to judge. Although, I'm kind of curious what inspired your whole sound. Is it something that you try and work at to create some sort of affect, or is it just what music sounds like when you play it? I often wonder with albums like yours, or others like any of Beirut's albums, the Sufjan Stevens state albums, Bruce Peninsula, Timber Timbre, etc. etc. etc. how you create a sound that seems to create an entire world or something. I think that's something really unique about Staying Places that I don't see on a lot of other albums. I'm very curious to your response to this one, because the only explanation I can think of is that you watched/read the Phantom Tollbooth repeatedly as a kid.

On the second point, re: being discouraged about stuff on the internet I completely understand because that's essentially what I went through when I tried to figure out how to start a blog. I know almost literally nothing about computers and so when I decided that I wanted to do it -- the third or fourth time -- I started emailing guys that ran the blogs that I read and basically no one answered back. Finally, a couple of people Ack at the Herohill, Matthew at i(heart)music and Allan at AWmusic, Paul at the now basically defunct Wolves, Hawks and Kites (but also of Zunior) all turned out to be very helpful -- in fact, Allan actually hosts all the mp3s here and I write a weekly, sometimes more, post at his site. It's the same things that keeps this site going, getting emails, people leaving comments, that makes you feel good about what you're doing.

Now that I've made this about me... I'm wondering what the best feedback or the best comments you've got on your music are? Best show moment? Place you'd most like to play? What would be the best possible break for you right now?

And lastly, so we don't run out of stuff to talk about, since I'm in the midst of doing my write up for the hottest Canadian Bands Poll, do you have any suggestions?

Rob

* * *

Phantom Tollbooth - nice. Funny you should tie in the children's book theme(s) too. The cover art was made for me the year I was born by my uncle, a children's author named Tim Wynne-Jones. There is something child-like to the record, thematically - the travel theme is something everyone can relate to I think. The endless car trips with the family as a kid, the constant desire to be somewhere else...

My sound just comes out, i really don't try to sound like anything. except that i usually write around a theme, since i don't want to have albums that are just collections of songs. in terms of the creativity question, you can't really create in a vacuum. any music you create, whether you like it or not, has to come at least in part from the neural synapses, sounds you've heard recently. i listen to a lot of classical and orchestral stuff as well as a lot of indie rock, and whatever's lying around. but it's those two worlds, classical and indie-rock-folk-whatev, i feel most comfortable in, that's what i grew up with, and i guess as a result that often comes out as 'bedroom folk music that's maybe just slightly challenging'?!

I think there's a lot of 'hot' bands in Canada, which is great, but I'm a bit jaded and picky about what I think is truly artful. The artists I'm obsessing over at the moment would have to include tune-yards, lightning dust, timber timbre... and snailhouse and yellow jacket avenger will always be on that list. But local is where it's at. Everyone should make a point of spending at least a weekend or two going to see bands from their own town that they've never heard. I'm always surprised to hear what i hear, when i get a chance to go out just because i'm curious to hear stuff...music that's often way before the point band members decide 'it's time to monetize this'! There's the drunken bar bands and the serious metal bands and the singer-songwriters in restaurants fighting to be heard above all the talking...for me it's not as exciting to see folks that have been trying to perfect the same set, or worse, the same banter, for years. There's something real and inspiring about getting out to see a fledgling local band or artist that's just a sort of intangible inspiration because it comes from a real place.

b

* * *

Ben.

Sorry about the delay - things have been... well, I bought both NHL '09 and NCAA Football '09 and I've been watching a lot of TV. So, no real good reason for being slow.

That's really cool about the album art and your uncle... I think that might be where I'm getting that Phantom Tollbooth vibe from.

And I completely agree re: people seeing local music. It's kind of a shame for me that I just started to get into the London (On) scene right before I left, then, it was too late. But Toronto has been awesome - there are so many bands and so much going on that it is basically impossible to keep track of. One extreme to another. What's the scene like where you're at? Ottawa, right?

That said, and I do really like local, small venue sort of stuff -- but aren't there times where you really want to see someone who is really, really, really, good? Typically, I think, that doesn't happen in small venues -- at least for long. I mean, if you're really good (typically) you move on to bigger venues/audiences, more money, endorsements, your own clothing line.... thoughts?

Rob

* * *

I've been meaning to get back to my Wii Zelda myself!! Somday soon....working too hard these days.

The Ottawa music scene is kind of small - Ottawa's really just a village-like capital city. But it depends on how you look at it I guess - like every city there are a tonne of bands doing really different things - it's only small in the number of them that appeal to the indie rock/folk/experimental-type CBC-radio 3 friendly crowd. I love it here. Ottawa's small enough to be recognized easily in the music community and get gigs fairly often, but big enough to carry some weight in Toronto and Montreal where the crowds are. Some amazing artists right now - there's the Kelp Records clan (the Acorn, Hilotrons, etc), a new band called The Gallop that are fantastic, Poorfolk/Winchester Warm and the White Whale gang, anything Paul Granger is doing, and some new favourites like the Balconies...nearly every weekend there's a good local band playing. Ming Wu (local photographer)'s website and natcaprock.blogspot.com are good sources to catch up on all things local rock....the scene is really growing and folks are coming out to more shows, which is great.

But yeah, sometimes I just want to see a touring band that is just insanely tight and talented. Zaphod's is a great spot for that, since it's big enough for a lot of national touring acts but still pretty intimate, and has amazing sound. The thing about Ottawa is we're not always the most adventurous sort here. We're a lot of public servants, I guess, so lots of good restaurants around, but we're not so much the late-night music venue-goers. Which is good in that awesome bands like Said the Whale, Two Hours Traffic or Amy Millan will still play Zaphod's (just 180 capacity I think)...but bad too, in that getting people to come to the local shows is still a challenge. I tend to stay away from the bigger hall- or theatre-type shows unless there's something really amazing in town, which isn't that often.

b

* * *

Ben.

Yeah, I get that - re: the types of show goers. London is, or at least was, the same sort of crowd except replace civil servants with rich university students. From what I can gather, that may have started to turn around a little bit -- now we (they) have the London Live Arts Festival which is free, and they've got some relatively big names in the past few years: Final Fantasy, Grizzly Bear, and, actually, that's where I first came across the Acorn (who are probably one of my top-10 Canadian artists of the last 3/4 years).

I always felt like, with London at least, half the problem was getting a venue that would fit bands like -- I don't know Chad VanGaalen, Great Lake Swimmers, etc. the sort of top-level "indie" bands. The kind of venues like Toronto has in spades: Lee's Palace, the Horseshoe, El Mocambo, and on and on and on. I feel retarded for not going to more shows, but I feel like there must be like 20 of those kind of venues in Toronto. Do you think the scenes are tied to the venues i.e. a "Field of Dreams" sort of thing -- "If you built [the venues] they will come?". Does that make any sense?

If there's anything else you want to say - or plug - please feel free to do so. I think we're starting to reach the point where very few people are actually going to read this (though it's been fun) except possibly my parents (to check that I'm not doing drugs)...

Rob

* * *

Yeah, one of the cool things about Ottawa, though, is that there are lots more tiny venues (like, under 100 capacity) popping up, which is great, since it adds a sense of community where smaller or less-known artists can get together, and not be constantly under pressure to sell beer (i.e. get hundrends of bums in seats) for the clubs which is just impossible sometimes. That said I think we still need a mid- to large-size venue in Ottawa that would appeal to agents for bands like Iron & Wine or Fleet Foxes etc. who always skip over our fair city! Though bands like that do come eventually when they're on the 'sympathy tours' (those tours hitting the towns they didn't hit when their records came out 2 years ago....)

well then I just want to give a shout out to your folks. hey Rob's parents! and anyone else out there!

b


A friendly reminder that you can check out Ben's music on myspace at: http://www.myspace.com/thatsthespirit or you can purchase Staying Places for only $5.55 at Zunior.

[mp3] That's the Spirit - Head for the Hills
[mp3] That's the Spirit - It's Curtains for You

Pick of the Week #40: That's the Spirit

That's the Spirit's Staying Places has been on my computer since sometime around the end of last year, maybe early this year. Since then, whenever that was, I've put the record on roughly once a month and every time I've said to myself, hmph (or something like that) this is a pretty good record, and then I've gone about the rest of my morning/afternoon/evening. So, when I put it on the other day I figured being a (sort of) music blogger this is probably something I ought to write about.

Ironically, with an album titled Staying Places, Ben Wilson (That's the Spirit) was created that reminds me a lot of Harry Nilsson's The Point. For those of you that had parents did not make them listen to this cassette tape ad nauseum on family car trips (and are unwilling to check the link), The Point is a weird little tale about a boy who doesn't have a point on his head in a land of people who do, and he consequently gets banished from the kingdom, goes on a long strange sort of journey, and then, of course, he returns to his town to find that he does, in fact, have a point on his head.

That might seem like a strange connection, I realize. After all, Staying Places isn't a story or a cohesive narrative, but it feels like Ben Wilson is taking you on a trip of sorts, even it is sort of imagined, which, in my estimation, is more fun anyways. He kind of hints throughout the album at themes of navigation, traveling, meeting people along the way, but the instrumentation (and the cover art, above) on the album all hint that this is taking place in some sort of Point or Phantom Tollboothesque universe.

I guess the point (no pun intended) of all this is that, much like my experience with The Point -- which I now love -- is that it took a while for me to come around on it. Not that I disliked it at the beginning, but more that the more time I spent with it the more I came to really dig that whole universe. I'm having that same sort of relationship now with Staying Places, and the world that Ben Wilson has created, and I suspect if you are a fan of any sort of folk music at all, you'll feel the same way.

Now if you'll excuse me, someone has uploaded the entire 1971 movie version of The Point on youtube (narrated by Ringo Starr!), so, you know...

Update: I watched it last night and turns out Ringo's narration and the animation leave a lot to be desired. It really did not hold up as well as I'd thought. So, if you check it out, please don't hold that against Ben Wilson aka That's the Spirit...

[mp3] That's the Spirit - Orienteering
[mp3] That's the Spirit - Head for the Hills


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 (Swift Feet for Troubling Times)
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
Pick of the Week #20: Black Hat Brigade
Pick of the Week #21: Howie Beck
Pick of the Week #22: Pink Mountaintops
Pick of the Week #23: Still Life Still
Pick of the Week #24: Hayden
Pick of the Week #25: Snailhouse
Pick of the Week #26: Dog Day
Pick of the Week #27: Ohbijou (Beacons)
Pick of the Week #28: Dog is Blue
Pick of the Week #29: Parkas
Pick of the Week #30: The Wooden Sky
Pick of the Week #31: Bowerbirds
Pick of the Week #32: Miss Maya
Pick of the Week #33: Ben Folds Presents ...
Pick of the Week #34: Mantis
Pick of the Week #35: Diamond Rings
Pick of the Week #36: The Wilderness of Manitoba
Pick of the Week #37: Asher Roth
Pick of the Week #38: Julie Doiron
Pick of the Week #39: Chad VanGaalen

Sexy Singles! Pseudonymns Edition: That's the Spirit, Kalle Mattson, Dog is Blue

Ben Wilson a.k.a. That's the Spirit - contributor to my Best ____ of '08 project - was recently featured on NPR's "All Songs Considered", and, well, if its good enough for them... actually, it just made me re-listen to his myspace tracks, which led to me giving his latest album Staying Places a few serious spins. I like what I'm hearing, and its decidedly more substantial than I was expecting (i.e. its much more than just the terrific single "Orienteering").
[mp3] That's the Spirit - Orienteering



I expected when I got the friend request from Kalle Mattson that I'd be listening to a Nordic songstress not unlike Lykke Li, rather than a quartet from Sault Ste. Marie, but the world is a weird and wonderful place sometimes, isn't it? Kalle's album Whisper Bee is a quaint, pleasant, conversational album from what seems like a really nice group of kids(?)... so, if you ever find yourself in the SUE with nothing to do, I'd look them up; or, if for one reason or another Northern Ontario isn't in your travel plans, you might consider catching them this summer when they swing down to SW Ontario...
[mp3] Kalle Mattson - Whisper Bee


Paul Watson's alter-ego Dog is Blue is in process of putting together a covers EP as a follow up to his debut album ...Makes Ghost Noises. Currently, I think Paul has got some covers of some of his favourite Torontonians, including the one featured below of Jenny Omnichord's "Blankets and Bones". That said, I'm crossing my fingers and hoping he might throw in a some type of hip-hop cover... I'm going to suggest the new Sean Kingston single "Fire Burning" or the Black Eyed Peas "Boom Boom Pow", but I'm not an actual musician, nor will I have to ever perform it, so I suppose I can't be too upset if that doesn't happen...
[mp3] Dog is Blue - Blankets and Bones