1. Fever Ray – Kool Haus – 10/02/2009
“The set that followed was probably the most intense (in a good way!) concert I have ever witnessed, dark, a bit chilling but overtly enjoyable. Karin stayed in “character” the entire set, did not speak or take part in any stage banter, which added to the performance. I guess you could say that it really wasn’t just a concert, but a performance art piece, every sense what stimulated, the music could be felt in your bones, the visuals (lazers, lighting, costumes) and I will always remember the dense smell of dry ice that was forever being pumped into the venue.”
“Last but not least Think About Life took the stage at 11:30pm, and launched into Havin’ My Baby, the second track on their new album. Perfect song to start their set. High energy, fun, and totally danceable. Their set was super upbeat and got the room going. They played pretty much all ofFamily including Johanna, Sweet Sixteen, Young Hearts, The Wizzard and Set You On Fire. The material is even better live than recorded. They finished with Paul Cries (from their debut), which saw a good chunk of the audience take to the stage for a full dance party invasion. In convinced that their set last night will be one of my favourite shows of the year. It was near perfect.”
3. The XX – Phoenix – 12/02/2009 – The most hyped band of 2009 delivers a set so strong that anyone doubting the British threesome’s sheer talent were automatically converted. Stark, simple and using a drum machine instead of a drum kit, the band worked their way through their debut starting with the gorgeous Intro climaxing with the dead-sexy Shelter, everything was perfect. Except for all the frat boys there to see Friendly Fires.
4. Patrick Wolf - Mod Club – 06/17/2009 – Nylon Magazine’s Summer Tour brought Patrick back to Toronto in support of The Bachelor and with a slew of “up and coming” indie bands. Painfully terrible sets by Jaguar Love and Living Things were endured by the pay off was magical. Wolf has transformed himself into an indie gay icon, a camped-up diva who threw more than one fit during his set due to the poor sound system in the venue. But when he was on, it was near perfect. Playing songs from his entire back catalogue, he ran through a set that brought out his many different personas, the tortured artist, the sad indie boy, the campy sexed-up pop star. The show finished with Patrick clad only in a leather g-string, dancing on the floor of the venue in the heart of the crowd. This was one show that shouldn’t have been missed.
5. Antony and the Johnsons – Queen Elizabeth Theatre – 02/17/09 – Antony is one of our generations greatest artists. Period. On the heels of the release of the brilliant The Crying Light, Antony brought his Johnsons to the Queen’s Elizabeth Theatre for a magical evening of music and laughter. Antony is a great performer and tells really funny stories about each song, little antidotes about their origins. The set features songs from all three albums including Epilepsy Is Dancing, Aeon, Kiss My Name and crowd favourite Cripple and the Starfish.
I can’t believe that Vampire Weekend’s new album Contra comes out in two weeks. It feels like only yesterday it was announced. In anticipation of the release, they have taped an episode of Juan’s Basement for Pitchfork. Watch it below.
They have also confirmed a Toronto date at Sound Academy on March 30th. Ticket details to come.
For the last three or so years, I have reviewed my favourite 25 releases of the year. This year, I’m cutting it down to ten. This is not due to the lack of releases that I have love this year, but because the year is closing out and I don’t think I’ll be done writing up 25 releases in 7 days. Here they are:
01. Fever Ray – S/T – Fever Ray is the solo project of Karin Dreijer Andersson who is also part of the brother/sister electronic duo The Knife. Fever Ray’s album is full of dark beats, scatter-brained vocals and child-like lyrics, very close to what Bjork would sound like if she was still producing decent music. They also get my vote for best live show of the year as well as best videos of the year. Stand out tracks: Triangle Walks, Concrete Walls, Dry & Dusty, Seven, If I Had A Heart.
02. The XX – S/T – The XX captured my heart the moment I heard Intro, the lead track on their debut self-titled album. It’s a musical time warp back to the early 90s shoegaze scene that I grew up listening to. But don’t write these kids (all are under 23) off as modern day copycats, their debut is nothing short of spectacular. Their R&B vocal influences mixed with their sparse melodies and airy ambient song structures is a breath of fresh air and somehow sounds completely new and original. The sexed-up girl/boy vocal trading adds to the overall appeal as does their frumpy image and all black clothing. Stand out tracks: Heart Skipped A Beat, Shelter, VCR, Islands.
03. The Drums – Summertime EP and S/T EP – The Drums should win an award for writing the most infectious, catchy song of 2009 for their single Let’s Go Surfing. Upbeat, poppy and fun, this band appears on my list even though they have yet to release a full album worth of material. From start to finish, their EPs are chalk full of tooth-rotting sugary pop with a tinge of 80s Factory Records thrown into the mix. And they are the most adorable band I have ever seen. For fans of dancing. Stand out tracks: Let’s Go Surfing, I Felt So Stupid, Best Friend, Me and the Moon.
04. Think About Life – Family - Montreal’s Think About Life are constantly looked over, I don’t understand why they aren’t huge, playing bigger shows and getting tons of love. Family is the funkier, more fun little brother of TV on the Radio. Tunes like Havin’ My Baby and Set You On Fire make you want to dance. A lot. And as a live band, these guys can’t be beat. Their set at Over The Top this year blew me away. Stand out tracks, Sweet Sixteen, Havin’ My Baby, Set You On Fire.
05. Antony and the Johnsons – The Crying Light - Another heartbreaking album by Antony. He has a way of capturing emotion like no one else. And with each album, the songwriting gets better. Antony is one of those rare performers that will never garner the critical acclaim and album sales he deserves due to the fact that he has a voice that you either love or hate. Truly one of our generations best musicians. Stand out tracks: Epilepsy Is Dancing, The Crying Light, Aeon, Kiss My Name.
06. Passion Pit – Manners - After listening to Manners a few times, I realized that Passion Pit’s debut EP (Chunk of Change) only hinted at the greatness this band could be. For me, Manners is this year’s In Ghost Colours (Cut Copy), an indie dance record so infectious that I couldn’t stop listening to it. On repeat. For at least a month. Everything falls into place perfectly on the album, the 4×4 beats, the soaring synths and lead singer Michael Angelakos falsetto vocals. Stand out tracks: Little Secrets, The Reeling, Fold in Your Hands, To Kingdom Come.
07. Discovery – LP - Discovery is a side-project featuring Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend and Wes Miles of Ra Ra Riot. The side-project sounds nothing like either of their main bands. What they do sound like is Postal Service produced by T-Pain. Room-filling hip hop beats, auto-tune and the catchiest hooks and sing -along choruses ever. Stand out Tracks: Orange Shirt, Osaka Train Loop, I Wanna To Be Your Boyfriend, Can You Discover.
08. jj – no 2 - Another incredible release from my favourite Swedish label Sincerely Yours, which has previously brought us The Tough Alliance and Air France. jj are in the same vein, less dance-oriented and more influenced by island reggae (in a good way). Beautiful vocals, lounging-on-a-beach-pina-colada-in-hand music, and a wicked tongue in cheek ode to Lil’Wayne. Stand out Tracks: Things Will Never Be The Same Again, From Africa to Malaga, Are You Still In Vallda, Ecstasy.
09. Girls – Album - Girls’ singer Christopher Owens has quite a backstory. He grew up as a member of the Children of God cult (with his mother) and travelled all across Europe busking for change. Owens fled the cult at 16, moved to San Francisco and immersed himself in all things pop culture and music. Girls debut is a sloppy mess of songs about…girls, love and being messed up emotionally. The dark content is hidden in sugary pop, kind of like the Beach Boys Pet Sounds. Stand out Tracks: Lust For Life, Ghostmouth, Hellhole Ratrace, Laura.
10. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz - YYYs return to form with the release of their third album. Mixing dance beats, disco and their existing unique sound, they were able to create an album that brought back the youthful fun of their debut (even though they sound nothing alike). Karen O is as engaging as ever, and Nick’s guitar work is pretty great too. Perfect soundtrack for nights out. Stand out tracks: Zero, Heads Will Roll, Dragon Queen, Skeletons.
Sincerely Yours’jj have recently signed to Secretly Canadian in North America and are embarking on a full tour of the continent. A portion of the dates will be a double bill with The XX, but sadly it does not look like it will happen in Toronto, even though they will be playing together the night before in Montreal (ROAD TRIP???). The XX will be at Kool Haus with Hot Chip on April 20th.
Dates are as follows:
3/22 Baton Rouge, LA – Spanish Moon*
3/23 Birmingham, AL – Bottletree
3/24 Atlanta, GA – The Earl
3/25 Carrboro, NC – Cats Cradle*
3/28 Washington, DC – Sixth & I Historic Synagogue*
3/29 Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church Sanctuary*
3/30 Brooklyn, NY – Knitting Factory
3/31 New York, NY – Webster Hall
4/02 Boston, MA – Paradise*
4/03 Montreal, QC – Le National*
4/04 Toronto, ON – Lees Palace
4/05 Columbus, OH – Wexner Center*
4/06 Bloomington, IN – Buskirk-Chumley Theater*
4/08 Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall*
4/09 Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater*
4/12 Bellingham, WA – The Nightlight Lounge*
4/13 Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom*
4/14 Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom*
4/16 San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill
Final Fantasy is gearing up to release his third record, titled Heartland on January 12th. That night, Owen is playing an album release all-ages show at Mod Club. Tickets are $13 and are available here and Diamond Rings support. Watch Owen play Lewis Takes Action live below.
tUnE-yArDsblew me away when she opened for Think About Life back in the Spring at the Polish Combatants Hall. It was one of the most inspiring sets I have seen in a long time, Merrill Garbus has a wonderfully unique voice and her songwriting is nothing short of genius. Her debut BiRd BrAiNs has been officially released by 4AD (after circulating on cassette tape for the last year) and she’s just wrapped up a supporting tour with Dirty Projectors. Let’s hope a headlining tour is in the works! She has recorded a live version of Real Live Flesh for a 4AD session, check it out below.
This Friday (November 20th), Toronto’s Steamwhistle Brewery will be presenting a pretty wicked bill at the Phoenix. On the bill are two of my favourite Paperbag Records bands, B.C.’s You Say Party! We Say Die!, Toronto’s Little Girls as well as my vote for best party band of the year, Montreal’s Think About Life. In between sets, DJ Vaneska will play some tunes. Tickets, $12, are available now here as well as in person at Rotate This! and Soundscapes.
I’m pretty excited to see YSP! WSD!, haven’t seen them in a couple years and have had their new album XXXX on constant rotation since its release. They have really matured as a band, their new stuff has less of a dance-punk sound and relies more on pop structures and good songwriting. Think Yeah Yeah Yeah’s slower, more introspective material. I’m sure XXXX will end up on tons of best of 2009 year end lists.
The tour will continue throughout Ontario then head west to ending in Calgary. Little Girls continues to support for the rest of the tour. Remaining dates are as follows:
November 21st: Townhouse, Sudbury, ON*
November 26th: Royal Albert, Winnipeg, MB*
November 26th: Amigo’s, Saskatoon, SK*
November 27th: New City, Edmonton, AB*
November 28th: Hi-Fi, Calgary, AB*
