Stylus Magazine -- June/July

Published by the University of Winnipeg Students' Association

S

02 2009

Stylus Magazine

December/January

Stylus

June/July Issue3 2011Volume22

On the Cover WILLIAM KONRAD is primarily an ink artist but also enjoys painting. He has played on-stage with live painting as a performance art piece and has created eye-catching posters for other performers. This pleasant person can presently be emailed at will.konr@gmail.com.

Production Team Editor . . . . . . . . . . . Taylor Benjamin Burgess Assistant Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . Brietta O’Leary Art Director . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrew Mazurak Distributor . . . . . . . . . . . Patrick Michalishyn Advertising Manager . . . . . . . . . . Ted Turner

204-786-9779, outreach@theuwsa.ca Cover Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William Konrad Printed by Copy Plus Inc. . . . . . 204-232-3558

Contributors Kent Davies Kyra Leib Nick Van Doeselaar Elise d’Awson Riel Lynch David Nowacki Victoria King Patrick Michalishyn Scott Wolfe Adrienne Yeung Cindy Doyle Michael Elves Devin King Kevin Strang

Stylus is published bi-monthly by the University of Winnipeg Students’ Association, with a circulation of 2,500. Stylus serves as the program guide to 95.9FM CKUW and will reflect the many musical communities it supports within Winnipeg and beyond. Stylus strives to provide coverage of music that is not normally written about in the mainstream media. Stylus acts as a vehicle for the work of new writers, photographers and artists, including members of the University of Winnipeg, of CKUW and of the Winnipeg community at large. Stylus reserves the right to refuse to print material, specifically, that of a racist, homophobic or sexist nature.

All submissions may be edited and become the property of Stylus.

All opinions expressed in Stylus are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors. Contributions in the form of articles, reviews, letters, photos and graphics are welcome and should be sent with contact information to:

TableofContents Blah, Blah, Blah Events around town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Sound Off Lost Records: Maple Flag Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Jazz Festival Preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 CKUW Program Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 CKUWho Joke’s On You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Folk Festival Preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Live Bait Protest The Hero, Cantor Dust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Local Spotlight The Blowholes, Katie Murphy, Greg Arcade . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Iconoclast Cobra Skulls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Mental Notes Tyler, the Creator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Ulteriors Austra, Ladytron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Jukebot Moon Duo, Munk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Under the Needle The Kills, Edwyn Collins, Mogwai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Cinematters Hobo With A Shotgun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Weird Shit with Kent Davies What Got This Weird Shit Started? . . . 36

Features Miracle Fortress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Stylus Magazine

The Blowholes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Bulman Student Centre, University of Winnipeg 515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2E9 Phone: 204-786-9785, Fax: 204-783-7080 editor@stylusmagazine.ca www.stylusmagazine.ca

Sean Nicholas Savage . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Colin Stetson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 This Hisses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Kid Koala . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Contributions will be accepted in the body of an email. No attachments please. All submissions may be edited and become the property of Stylus. Unauthorized reproduction of any portion of Stylus is strongly discouraged without the express written consent of the editors.

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June/July 2011 Stylus Magazine

01

The Black Keys will be playing the MTS Centre on July 2, with Cage the Elephant.

Blah, Blah, Blah On Thursday, June 9, Little House (from the illustrious and local I’m Trying record label) will be playing with Sebastian Owl, and mostly-art-students Mise En Scene at the Lo Pub. *** Winnipeg sweetheart Del Barber will be playing with Meghan Smith at the WECC also on June 9. *** Over at the Park Theatre, PechaKucha, Vol. 6. is also going to happen on June 9. Apparently, it’s a mish-mash of inspirational speakers who are creatively driven, and ready to serve up some sweet creativity for your ears too. *** On Friday, June 10, badass Greg Arcade will be releasing his CD at the Lo Pub. *** Faye Blais is coming to the Mondragon also on June 10 and will be playing with the mega-talented Franklin the Turtle and J.R. Hill. *** Also also on June 10, it’s War on Music’s Fourth Anniversary Celebration, featuring Tu Sufres, The City Champs, Arctic Circle, Rock Lake, surprisingly not at their former digs (now known as the Death Trap), but instead the show is at the Albert. *** Over at the Pyramid on June 10, Eminem’s former cohorts D12, along with Trick Trick, Dub C, & Winnipeg’s Most will be holding down the Pyramid. *** Robert Allan Wrigley will be releasing an album at the Park theatre on June 10. *** On June 11, The Details will be releasing their album Lost Art with help from Royal Canoe at the WECC. *** In what is to be their first punk night, King’s Hotel (at 114 Higgins Ave.) is going to be hosting The Ruffnecks, The Animalistics, The Pinkslips, and Memorial Fund. That’s happening June 11. Fuck shit up. (Kidding!) *** June 11 is also a night for some weirdo pop down at the Death Trap, headlined by the Victoria rabble-rousers Slam Dunk! Their catchy bebop rocksteady tunes are to die for, so check those cats out. Also playing will be Winnipeg’s own Johnny Riverboat, The Rastamils, and Sheriff Marshall Birch. *** On June 14, Rise recording artists SHARKS from the U.K. will be playing at the Albert, with Mockingbird Wish Me Luck from Kitchener, ON. *** On June 15, JD Edwards and The Solutions will be at the Pyramid. *** To kick off the TD Winnipeg International Jazz Festival, there’s going to be free shows at Old Market Cube on the weekend of June 16-19, featuring Born Ruffians, Royal Canoe, This Hisses, The Liptonians, The Noble Theifs, and wayyyy more awesome local acts. *** June 16 is a Marymound fundraiser with Keri Latimer, Jess Reimer, Righteous Ike & the Spellcasters, and the Magnificent 7s. That’ll be at the Pyramid. *** On June 16, Putrescence, Beseiged, Flash Out, and Tu Sufres will rip up the Park Theatre. *** June 17—Castanets with Seaweed Head, and Aceta. Seven bucks at the Lo. *** Two events we can note for Aboriginal Music Week: On June 17, the award-winning George Leach will be releasing his new album with the Juno-winning

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Burnt-Project 1 at the Pyramid. And the next night, June 18, also at the Pyramid, there will be an Electric Powwow with Bear Witness, DJ Shub, DeeJay NDN of A Tribe Called Red. *** Saturday, June 18 holds Zoppa’s tour kick-off show at the Lo Pub. *** June 18 will also be the JP Hoe Prom Show at the Park Theatre. *** June 17 and 18 will see the bluegrass-playing Claire Lynch Band at the WECC. *** In what should be an exciting time, SeaFreezing’s debut at the Graffiti Gallery will be accompanied by Freeform Quartet “#3,” Taylor & Young, and Scab Smoker on June 18. *** On Sunday, June 19, Montreal loft-rocker Pat Jordache (who formerly played in Islands) will bring his band to the Lo Pub. *** Everyone’s favourite Irish-tinged punks Dropkick Murphys will play the Burton Cummings Theatre on June 19 with guests. *** Over at the Park Theatre on June 19, there will be a Father’s Day special, with a tribute to Lenny Breau, who was Winnipeg’s premiere jazz guitarist. *** There’s a slew of dudes at the Pyramid on June 19; Lil Pappie with Mista Vibez, The New Addiction, Tyson Anderson Photography and more. *** The TD Winnipeg International Jazz Festival begins on Monday, June 20 and through Saturday, June 25 at various venues around the city. Check out our recommendations in this issue, and check online at www.jazzwinnipeg.com for complete listings. *** Carmen Townsend will be at the Park Theatre on June 20 with guests, and the Academy will see Tailwind, Dave Barchyn, and Carly Dow of Bog River. *** Tuesday, June 21, will see the return of Montreal rockers Duzheknew and Cousins, presumably on the way home. They’ll be playing at the Lo. *** Check yo self! Poetry Slam Finals at the Park Theatre on June 22. *** Brian Wilson (of Beach Boys fame) will be at the Pantages Playhouse for June 22. *** Everyone’s least favourite comedian Neil Hamburger will be at the Royal Albert Arms for June 22, with guests. *** On Wednesday, June 22, The Peaches will be prog-exploring the Lo with Man Your Horse and Enjoy Your Pumas. *** There’s a bit of Skool’s Out party over at the Academy on June 22, with Mad Young Darlings, Dani Jean, and Larrikin. *** At the Park Theatre on Thursday, June 23, there will be the release of Rebondir, an album from vocalist Mariejosee. She used to be a part of percussion group Insisto—and her solo act sees her powerful voice soaring over a lot of oddly-cool sequenced synthesized sounds, (think Herbert) and French-folk-pop tracks. *** Over at the Lo Pub, June 23 is also the album release of Gt. Dane, the former frontman of the seriously underrated All of Your Friends. *** MEME 2011 happens at the Cube, Alive, The Albert, The Zoo, Ozzy’s and many more through June 23 to 26.

Check www.memetic.ca for upcoming details. ***

Yet another CD release at the Park Theatre on June 24, this time by Jordan St. Cyr. *** From Winnipeg’s Woven Records, the hazy-folk-popsters The Blisters will be playing with A Waste Odyssey on June 24 at the Lo Pub. *** Not to be taken lightly, there will be a Five Hundred Pound Furnace CD release at the Zoo on June 25. They’ll be joined by Seventh Sin and Tinnitus. *** Ahoy! On June 25, Surf Surf ALOHA will turn the Lo Pub into a gigantic Hawaiian Party with The Rockadoras, Bible Belt Badlands & Slattern all playing. *** Calgary’s Caught Off Guard will be at the Pyramid on June 26. *** Everyone’s fat punk buddies NOFX will be at the Burton Cummings Theatre for June 27 with Teenage Bottlerocket and Old Man Markley. *** At the Park Theatre on June 27, Aussies An Horse will be playing with Enjoy Your Pumas. *** On June 28, our favourite family metal band Krazy Madness will be playing at the Park Theatre doing Sabbath and Ozzy covers. KRAZY MADNESS! *** Swollen Member and Sweatshop Union associate Moka Only is to play the Pyramid on June 29. *** Also on June 29, Still Lights, Grey Kingdom, and Young Wife are all going to be at Park Theatre. And on June 30, The Afterbeat will also play the Park Theatre. *** Hate Eternal will damn the Royal Albert on July 1, with Origin, Vital Remains, Abysmal Dawn, PMPR, and Antikathera. *** Simplistic/wonderful The Black Keys will be at the MTS Centre on July 2 with Cage the Elephant. *** Expect some mayhem when Children of Bodom play Garrick Centre, July 4, with Obscura, Devin Townsend, and Septicflesh. *** On July 6, Fred Eaglesmith will be at the Park Theatre, and to turn things around, Impending Doom and Mychildren Mybride will be there on July 7. *** July 6–10, marks Winnipeg Folk Festival out at Birds Hill Park. We’ve got our recommendations for the festival in this issue, and check out winnipegfolkfestival.ca for full listings. *** On July 9, 77 Guns, The Pinkslips, and The Afterlife will rock out Royal Albert. *** Saskatchewan popsters Library Voices return on July 14, to the WECC. *** The Resignators will take over the Royal Albert on July 14. *** Also on July 14, the wonderful Ingrid Gatin will be releasing Time Will Change Us Vol. 1 at the Park Theatre. *** Between July 22 and 24, Winnipeg will play host to the International Copwatching Conference.

Check http://conference.winnipegcopwatch.org/ for full listings and details. *** On July 23, This Hisses will be releasing their debut full-length at the Pyramid. We’re excited! *** And to end off our listings, two shows at the Park Theatre: July 29 has Big Trouble In Little China, Still Lights, and Irreversible in store, and July 30 will show Red Edison, The Newmans, and Plainview.

June/July 2011 Stylus Magazine

03

MIRACLE FORTRESS A

L I T T L E

L E S S

G R E E N

By Victoria King

M

iracle Fortress is the solo project of Montréal’s own Graham Van Pelt. In 2007, Van Pelt released Five Roses, which garnered him honorable mentions from the Polaris Music Prize and wide-sweeping acclaim. Now 2011 sees the release of Was I the Wave? and Miracle Fortress corresponded via e-mail to talk about the new album.

Stylus: There’s a definite shift in both overall vibe and sound from Five Roses to Was I the Wave? What do you attribute this to?

Graham Van Pelt: I spent quite a bit of time between the two, putting a new palette of sounds together with which to write a record. I had little desire to make a similar record to Five Roses, which I enjoyed, and hoped instead to move on to ideas that would be new to me. Lots of time had passed before I really got into the new record, and my tastes have had a chance to evolve quite a lot.

Stylus: Since the release of Five Roses, what has changed for you as an artist and as a person?

GVP: I think any young person accumulates quite a bit of experience over a term like that.

There wasn’t much chance of my staying in the same state of mind and wanting to work on a similar project over again.

I do feel a little less green and a bit more comfortable making mistakes and taking risks.

Stylus: What are the creative advantages and/or disadvantages to working solo?

GVP: Avoiding compromise is the main benefit. Compromise can unlock new avenues between artists, but I also value the chance to follow my own ideas as far as they’ll go. I enjoy puzzling out a song over an extended

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“Compromise can unlock new avenues between artists, but I also value the chance to follow my own ideas as far as they’ll go.” period when necessary, which can be trying if collaborators are waiting to contribute. This is something I’ve had to learn about my process through experience, and its valuable to know.

Stylus: In recognizing the electronic influence that is strong on this

album, does it change the way you approach writing?

GVP: Though this record is more traditionally “electronic” sounding than Five Roses, they were composed pretty much the same way. I used most of the same techniques, such as self-

sampling, looping, my personal sound treatments, and drum programming. My approach in this project has tended towards feeling pretty unlimited in the studio.

Stylus: As we’ve seen with multiple artists with 2010/2011 releases (Sufjan Stevens’ Age of Adz and Iron & Wine’s Kiss Each Other Clean), there’s been a shift to experimenting with synthetic sounds. Does this reflect modern culture or is it merely a musical coincidence?

GVP: I’m unfamiliar with those records, but I would assume that the accessibility of digital instruments encourages artists interested in using new sounds. This has been true for at least a decade or two, though.

Stylus: When considering projects between Miracle Fortress and Think About Life, how does each outlet satisfy a musical/ creative need?

GVP: I enjoyed Think About Life because I’m more of a supporting player. I felt less personal pressure and let go of expectations a little more easily. It’s fun to play on stage when your band has more energy than anyone else’s. I like the personal pressure of Miracle Fortress though, it satisfies like a solitary accomplishment does.

Stylus: What’s the best environment for listening to Was I the Wave?

GVP: I like it on walks at night, but that’s true of most music for me. There isn’t an answer to this.

Stylus: What is one thing you hope people can take from this album? What did you take from this experience?

GVP: I hope they feel free to take whatever they like from any music they hear. Pop music is best enjoyed independently. As for my own experience, I enjoyed finishing the thing, improving my talents, learning what there was to learn, feeling proud, listening occasionally, and moving on.

June/July 2011 Stylus Magazine

05

NARWHALS ARE GNARLY!

An interview with The Blowholes

By Kent Davies

Attention buoys and gills! Once in a whale an act

comes along that is destined to have bad oceanic puns follow them wherever they go. The all-female garage rock foursome known as The Blowholes have been making waves since forming in early 2009. Their ferocious wailing and catchy guitar work are a tidal wave of fun-filled exuberance that few bands can match.

Their debut album features a series of wonderfully strange, rockin’, porpoise-ful numbers about all things under the sea. Recently Stylus managed to reel in guitarists/vocalists Melody Titus and Alana Mercer to explore the depths of their chart-topping debut album.

Stylus: How did The Blowholes come into being?

Alana Mercer: Julia Ryckman and I had originally had been in The Gorgon and The Blowholes formed in an emergency situation where The Gorgon was unable to play a show. It was basically Leanne Grieves, Julia and I playing covers. We played another show when we were asked to play The ExGirlfriends CD release party. We asked Erica Jacobson to fill in and the show was so much fun. After No Fun broke up Leanne brought up, why not make The Blowholes a real band? Erica was in because she wasn’t doing anything and Leanne asked Melody if she wanted to join because we knew her from Space Amazon and the Warrior Queens. When Melody showed up right away we all knew it was going to be awesome.

Melody Titus: I told them I think I have a song or five…

AM: Or 18! I think our album was written three years ago.

Stylus: Local label Transistor 66 put it out. How did you join the family?

AM: Art rules. We told him that The Blowholes were thinking of recording an album and instantly he was like, “Yeah we’ll help you out.” He’s pretty adorable. That is a man who believes in rock ’n’ roll.

It’s so inspiring.

Stylus: Who produced the album?

AM: We wanted to record right away and we were thinking who had the equipment to record us and it’s Bill Northcott from the Angry Dragons.

MT: BILL! Bill is amazing.

AM: I think we asked him and then we did it all in

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18 hours the following weekend. We did it in Erica’s basement bedroom, which is lined with hardwood floors and is super small. We were all crammed in there and Bill had to straddle everything and lightly step over stuff to get to his board.

MT: His system kept overloading because it was too loud.

AM: Poor Erica had to play quietly which is not what she’s used too. We had to put a sock over her mic and it was a smelly sock. I felt bad but it turned out.

MT: There was a lighting storm during the recording. It was a sign from the skies that we should be playing.

Stylus: The album deals with the themes of the sea. Being from the prairies what inspired you to sing so many songs about the ocean?

MT: I think it started off with whales.

AM: I think we just wanted to write about things that mattered to us. We all had a natural fixation on the ocean. Leanne is a biologist. I lived by the ocean in B.C. We all practically dream about the ocean all the time. We all like to call each other by our whale names. No one knows our whale names except us.

No one is allowed to call me by my whale name except for The Blowholes. I might punch them. It’s too cute coming from anyone else.

MT: Shhhh. It’s a secret.

AM: We miss the ocean all the more because we’re in Winnipeg and it’s hard to come by any water that isn’t brownish. We write about what we know and collectively we all seem to know a lot about the ocean. We’ll all have tidbits for each other. Leanne is like, “Do you know cephalopods move by using siphuncles to pump air out of themselves?” And I’m like, “Leanne, you are amazing.”

MT: We’re pretty educational.

Stylus: Do you think you may want to integrate some sort of seventies style educational slide show to your music show?

AM: I like the idea of Iron Maiden-sized puppet sea creatures that come out and interact with the audience.

MT: So far all we have a rotating fish lamp that sits on the stage. It’s quite small though.

Stylus: What’s your song “Huck Fin” about?

AM: It’s not actually about Huck Finn. It’s about shark finning. It makes me so angry and kind of hopeless. I took the name because it’s the image I saw of people just hocking fins over the boat that weren’t worth enough money. There are these limbless little sharks that are slowly floating to the bottom of the ocean to sit there and die. It’s like AHAAAHRRRA! Right now I really want to yell.

MT: The screaming sound in the song is a reflection of the sound of sharks dying.

Stylus: You’ve been a band with a pretty good cult following despite not having any web presence at all.

MT: I think we just haven’t got around to doing it.

AM: I don’t know if it’s like an underground cult following. I could wear suspenders and a skirt and people would be doing it next week.

MT: I don’t know how to do anything on computer anyway. We’re not all about technology. We like to do crafts instead.

AM: We totally do. I’ve never painted much, even as a child. We make all our Blowholes merch from scratch and everything is one of a kind, t-shirts, buttons, crafts.

Stylus: Who did the art for your album?

MT: We all did. Alana did the cover. The next one over Leanne did. I did the one under the CD and Erica did the one at the back. It’s important to say that because I don’t think it says it on the actual CD. Stylus: What is your favorite ocean creature?

MT: My favorite one is a mermaid. I would like a book for Christmas all about mermaids.

AM: My favorite sea creature is a whale—a narwhal, the unicorns of the sea. They have a tooth that sticks out, they clean with it, and they greet each other by crossing horns, which I think is amazing. They can also tell ocean depth and temperature with it. It’s basically a raw open root from your tooth. I love them.

They’re so cool.

Since the interview The Blowholes have managed to please marine and music lovers alike with a #1 album on the CKUW charts. If you want to catch a live show that will blow you away find out when they’re playing next at http://theblowholes.transistor66.com.

June/July 2011 Stylus Magazine

07

PHOTO BY JASPER MANDUS

Phone calls with

By Kyra Leib

I don’t like to toot my own horn, but I worked my butt off to get this interview, traveling across the great city of Winnipeg with t-minus two hours until interview time to acquire equipment. And even once we did connect, Sean and I were disconnected on the phone three times during the course of this interview. Nothing could faze Mr. Savage’s winning charm, however. Here is what came of our conversation…

Stylus: Motown, disco and funk influences show up very clearly on Trippple Midnight Karma. How have your musical influences changed or progressed since you first started recording music?

Sean Nicholas Savage: I’ve been really into a few different albums for a period of a couple months and I’m really influenced by them while I’m making whatever I’m working on. I was listening to Marvin Gaye and ’80s rarities and singles. Things like less successful ’80s R & B. Stylus: Was Marvin Gaye a main inspiration?

SNS: Yeah, hugely. Midnight Love, that album.

Stylus: What is it about his music that has inspired you so much?

SNS: I love his voice, I love his words, and the production on Midnight Love is unique and cool, too.

Stylus: How long have you been playing music?

SNS: Since I was ten. Well, I have been making up songs for my whole life. I started playing guitar when I was ten years old.

Stylus: Is there a story behind the name Trippple Midnight Karma?

SNS: I was playing lots of shows out of town and I had been awake for three days. I was playing a set and I started seeing shadows in the room. It seemed like the corners of my vision were really dark. And I said: “Man! It feels like triple midnight!” Everyone around me was laughing and saying, “Triple midnight? That’s crazy.”

Stylus: So where does the “Karma” part come from?

SNS: Well, I wasn’t going to include karma. People say that karma can be either good or bad but apparently karma is always a good thing. So it’s like triple

midnight… good times.

Stylus: Are you currently touring?

SNS: I’ve been doing little tours, I’m going to Halifax. I am going to play in the east a bit, four shows in the east and then Toronto sometime.

Stylus: Any chance of coming to Winnipeg?

SNS: To Winnipeg? Hmmm. I don’t think I’m going to drive across the country for that.

Stylus: No? Hopefully sometime in the future?

SNS: Mm-hm.

Stylus: You’ve had a very prolific career. Do you have a favourite moment when recording an album?

SNS: I like when I finish writing a song, when I’m recording it. Whenever you get the first part of the idea and then the ball is rolling. When recording and you think, “Aw, I’m singing well” and you think the words sound good or the pieces are fitting together; that is exciting.

Stylus: So what is the biggest hurdle for you when you are writing?

SNS: If I try too hard or I’m stressed out in my life I just get creatively constipated. So that can be a hurdle sometimes.

Stylus: What is your songwriting process like?

SNS: Well, today I have been working on a split with my friend and I just finished my side of it.

There’s going to be nine new songs at the end of May and I wrote most of the words for it. I would have a little bit of a melody and then I would just work on words for a while.

Stylus: So do you mainly like to come up with a melody before the lyrics?

SNS: Well, usually when I have written the melody there is a bit of words and then I just expand on it.

Stylus: Do you have a permanent lineup of musicians that play with you?

SNS: Well on Trippple Midnight I played all of the keyboard. The last two albums I have done by myself. I have a bassist and drummer that I have been working with. Mostly I just play all the instruments.

For my last four shows and for live shows this summer I will probably have a band.

Stylus: You’ve been collaborating with other musicians signed to Arbutus—how did these relationships start?

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SNS: Well Arbutus is just kind of our friends in the neighbourhood. Some of us live in the same building. I live a little south from everyone else with my girlfriend but everyone else is on the same block, most of our friends. There are a lot of musicians here in my building, not on Arbutus. Mac DeMarco from Makeout Videotape lives here and Michael Rault and there’s another guy named Matt Perri. There are a lot of songwriters around here.

Stylus: Who are the men dressed up as ghosts in your music video “Like a Ghost is White”?

SNS: They’re my friends. One of them is another songwriter: Matt Perri. We actually made that video right when I came to Montréal and I was meeting new people and it was really fun. They were all just friends, some were painters and others were songwriters.

Uh-oh my friend is locked out; I have to let him in.

He locked himself out the window. [Pause in interview while Sean unlocks the window.] Yeah, I’m still here.

Stylus: If you were any animal, which one would you be and why?

SNS: A Seagull! The seagull is my favourite animal.

I like how they fly, I watch them all the time and I really like them. They adapt to the city well and they’re very carefree—they eat garbage and things.

Stylus: But you don’t eat garbage, right?

SNS: No, but I dumpster dive a little bit. Seagulls are nice-looking though and I like the sounds they make. When you can hear them in the background or the distance and they’re like: EEHHHRRRREHHH! Stylus: Well I hope to see you in Winnipeg soon!

SNS: Look for a new release—it’s called Won Ton Jaz. Stylus: Looking forward to it! Will I be able to get it off the Arbutus website?

SNS: Yeah it will be out at maybe the beginning of June, it will be available for download on Arbutus’s website.

Sean Nicholas Savage’s latest cassette, Trippple Midnight Karma, is sold out in physical form, but you can still donate and download a digital copy on the Arbutus Records website, www.arbutusrecords.com.

June/July 2011 Stylus Magazine

09

Colin Stetson

breathing history

By Riel Lynch

12 Stylus Magazine June/July 2011

Colin Stetson is a saxophone player from Montréal

who plays like no other. He released his second album New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges in Feburary 2011 and it’s still making waves—because of his unusual techniques, which allow him to play notes continuously for several minutes. Besides playing solo shows, he plays in Belle Orchestre, has opened for Arcade Fire, collaborated with Bon Iver, and has played in festivals around the world. He took enough time to breathlessly answer the phone and talk to Stylus.

Stylus: How do you breathe in an entirely different fashion for extended periods of time and not pass out?

Colin Stetson: Well, you aren’t getting any less air then you are breathing regularly. It’s just a different way, like you said. Sometimes you actually get a little more oxygen than normal. You breathe through your nose while air is coming through your mouth, so there is no lack of air. After awhile, your muscles in your face start to break down, not so much in your lungs.

Stylus: Where was this technique learned?

CS: From my high school teacher, I was around 15.

This was something he had just learned, and he found it difficult to do, because it was better to learn early on. The hardest part is tricking your body to allow air to come in down through your nose. I don’t think it took me anymore than a week to figure out how to do it. I don’t even remember not being able to do it. It definitely takes awhile to adjust and to find your equilibrium and not give so much air that you pass out.

Stylus: Contrasting between your first album New History Warfare Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, I found that in your first, you are telling this story... you can hear it. But in your second, you’re still telling a story, but it’s much more advanced in its details. How was this transition made?

CS: The transition between the two albums was actually the longest bracket of time that I’ve really spent focused on that solo plane of composition. I did this album on the side of a lot of things I was working on. I think it fits thematically in the trilogy; it’s very aquatic, it’s very amorphous, really churning. There’s a lot of creation going on. And it’s still not fully formed. Since that record was finished, I’ve started to perform solo and to write more and to really bring myself to a high level of proficiency, playing-wise. So, in Vol. 2 I had a lot more freedom—things are fully developed and realized. But thematically I feel like that’s where I wanted to go with the second one. A definite and concrete place.

There’s character and scenery and all this really tangible physicality that the first one although is not devoid of, lacks it to a certain degree.

Stylus: You’ve said that you’re doing a lot besides just your solo projects. What are you working on?

CS: I’m constantly doing recording projects for people, doing horns and arrangements. One of them just came out on Timber Timbre’s record, and another will be on Bon Iver’s in June. There’s a number of things that will be coming out the rest of this year and next year. Long-term collaborations I continue to work with are Laurie Anderson and Bon Iver, who I’m now joined with and will be touring with for the foreseeable future.

Stylus: Throughout all these collaborations and solo shows, where in the world have you been brought to? Including festivals and such.

CS: I’ve not yet been to South America. I’ve been

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to Asia four times, I was in Mali, bringing my bass saxophone to the middle of the Sahara Dessert, and been to Australia and New Zealand, and Europe many times.

Stylus: How do you find the receptiveness between crowds cross-continentally? Similar?

CS: I guess that’s kind of a yes and no. The general feeling is that in Europe there is a built-in audience who are purveyors of experimental and avant-garde, or ‘art music’. But at the same time there is a growing scene for that here and in the tates and Canada that people are getting into. It’s like a new thing, an artistic trend, in the past decade or whatever that people are getting into. Bands like the Arcade Fire and the National that have brought in the aspect of classical music and minimalist music; different instrumentations. Really opening people up, using it like a springboard into a lot of other things.

Stylus: How did you come to play with Belle Orchestre?

CS: Well, me and Sarah from Belle Orchestre and Arcade Fire have been together for the past 5 years.

Belle Orchestre was the first group I played with in Montréal. I guested at the Spectrum and I’ve always really adored their music. We collaborated together for their latest release; a remix of one of their songs.

A good and organic mix. It’s nice to be a peripheral member of that band.

Stylus: It’s good to grow on your own, but in the same time, it’s nice to have a group of people you can grow with, and you’re growing on your own too.

CS: Family is definitely very very very important part of all this. It’s key that I keep a good balance between with my communal music relationships

and the aspects of my life that are all by themselves.

Stylus: How did you find incorporating the vocals in your second album with Laurie Anderson and Shara Worden [My Brightest Diamond]?

CS: For the first album, I had all these ideas floating around; like I loved the way that early hip-hop records were put together with found clips. Like clips of people speaking, or taking things out of context and putting them into speaking; re-contextualizing, telling a new story because of their juxtaposition. I did not do that to the degree that I had planned in the first record because time, etc. So, the only thing I did was clips of Buckminster Fuller speaking, talking about things with his distinctive voice. When I came to the second record I knew I wanted to have a more in-depth utilization of the spoken word in the record. At the time I was working with Laurie and I asked her to collaborate, she agreed. Lucky me! She can make these entire new realities all her own with just a word. Perfect for what I was going for with all these records.

Stylus: Will you attempt at more vocals for the third album then?

CS: I have most of the music and I’m demoing and basically collecting it together, trying to make it walk around and see what it looks like. I’m still writing the ideas for the vocals. I know one person i want, but everything else is up in the air. In the next six months I should have that all hammered out.

Colin Stetson’s latest record was released on Constellation Records, which has been home to artists like Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Do Make Say Think, and Vic Chesnutt.

95.9 FM CKUW CAMPUS/COMMUNITY RADIO TOP 30 ALBUMS (Mar 21, 2011 – May 15, 2011) !=LOCAL CONTENT * =CANADIAN CONTENT re=RE-ENTRY TO CHART TW LW ARTIST

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Oh My Soul The Blowholes Thai? Dai! Collapse Into Now Nine Types Of Light Dubber Side Of The moon Ravedeath, 1972 Aam Zameen Hans My Lion Let England Shake Les Sexy Smoke Ring For My Halo Lucky Tonight Eureka Temporary Resident Gods of Love In... Hawaii Cannon Bros.

Creep On Creepin’ On Smokrydence Colour Trip Zoppa Wounded Rhymes Victory Party The Holler The Party Ain’t Over The King Is Dead Long Player Late Bloomer Sampling With Impunity Moonshine

Self-Released Transistor 66 Finders Keepers Warner (WEA) Interscope Easy Star Kranky Self-Released Self-Released Island Self-Released Matador Self-Released Last Gang Hidden Pony Transistor 66 A1 Self-Released Arts & Crafts Self-Released Sonic Unyon I’m Trying Atlantic (WEA) Mint Self-Released Nonesuch Records Capitol (EMI) WEA Little Whore Confusion Unlimited

Trio Bembe The Blowholes Various Artists R.E.M. TV On The Radio Easy Star All Stars Tim Hecker Kiran Ahluwalia Flying Fox & the Hunter Gatherers PJ Harvey Les Sexy Kurt Vile Romi Mayes Mother Mother Imaginary Cities Miesha and The Spanks Greg Arcade Cannon Bros.

Timber Timbre Smoky Tigr Ringo Deathstarr Zoppa Lykke Li Geoff Berner Dennett & DeGroot Wanda Jackson The Decemberists Ron Sexsmith Boy Genius Kate Maki

June/July 2011 Stylus Magazine

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Stylus Magazine

December/January

THIS HISSES super sibilant

By Scott Wolfe

O

ne of Winnipeg’s most thrilling live acts is releasing their first full-length in July on local family label Transistor 66. I sat down at the Legion in the Exchange District with band members Julia Ryckman, J.P. Perron, and, later on, Patrick Short for some cheap beverages and to exchange a few words with this local trio regarding their highly-anticipated debut.

Stylus: To begin, out of curiosity I have got to know, why This Hisses and not The Hisses?

J.P. Perron: It’s kind of a weird iteration I guess, but not really. There is actually a funny quote addressing that on the new album. [Reads] When attempting to enunciate the group’s moniker, most tend to slur over the words carelessly, gurgling some incoherent mumble. However, such a cavalier introduction to This Hisses is calamitous at best.

Stylus: Brilliant and accurate, as I clearly demonstrated when this interview began.

JPP: Yeah I do that as well just the other day I called us The Hisses. People tend to like it though, however I can imagine that radio announcer would not.

Julia Ryckman: Also, ‘this’ is a word that hisses, which adds to our name.

Stylus: Each of you have been submerged in the Winnipeg music scene before with other acts such as The Gorgon [Julia], Mahogany Frog [J.P.] and Under Pressure and Electric Candles [Patrick Short]. But how did This Hisses come to be?

JR: When The Gorgon broke up, I had some songs I wanted to try and I thought of Pat because we had talked and jammed before. I also wanted to work with J.P. because he had always been my favourite drummer in Winnipeg and I knew he was available because he had just moved back from Montréal. I asked him at a party if he wanted to jam, but he was very guarded.

JPP: I knew both Pat and Julia before and was a fan of both their work and after the first jam we knew it was going somewhere. The first jam was so amazing, we had like four songs written in the first session.

JR: At that point each of us knew it was a serious,

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focused band. I also really appreciate the experience aspect that we each bring to the table because we all collaborate equally and know we can rely on each other, kind of like a marriage I guess.

JPP: We put a lot into the band and each of us specialized in certain aspects and knew our strengths when it came creating the album.

Stylus: Yes, the new album! You were recently signed to local label Transistor 66. So when can we expect your full-length or EP? JR: It’s a full-length and it will be available on vinyl, CD and digital download and it will be out on radio in June.

JPP: The album comes out July 23rd at the Pyramid Cabaret and was recorded last year at Private Ear with Matt Peters [Royal Canoe, the Waking Eyes].

JR: Matt mixed the album and also played a definite producer role. He understands the direction we want to go so he was great to work with.

JPP: Transistor 66 is full of great bands and people so we are excited to be on it and we worked extremely hard to make the album sound and look great.

Stylus: Your live show is insanely fun and quite the roller-coaster ride and you have made quite a name for yourself strictly based on your live performance. Could you explain the process of creating your setlists?

JPP: I find a good setlist keeps us guessing and makes the show more interesting. There was one show where Pat started to play the wrong song and we just went with it so we can still go with the flow and it turned out great at that particular show. But usually we have a plan.

JR: To vary the setlist also creates a different narrative and we always try a setlist out before the show, make alterations and try it again, so the whole process is very planned. I use to be in bands where we

would write the setlist 20 minutes before the show but we do things differently.

Stylus: At a show the other night you mentioned a scene in Regina involving a sketchy hotel with an unconscious lady being carried by two burly dudes that sparked the lyrics for your song “Bad Vacation.” Does weird shit that happens on tour primarily influence songwriting?

JR: Well there are two parts to songwriting; I do all the lyric writing but the actual song construction is pretty balanced between Pat and I, but J.P. will give the song a lot of structure after it has taken some shape.

Patrick Short: I bring in the riffs.

JPP: Generally a jam session involves a lot of wine in the basement and then we just go to it, with Pat generally leaving late to go work the graveyard shift.

I kind of just add the drums once the song has begun to take shape.

JR: In terms of lyrics I would say my lyrics are autobiographical and generally stem from an intense emotional experience. In the song you mentioned, “Bad Vacation,” we were on tour in the middle of winter and ran out of gas outside Regina. We ended up in a sketchy motel after some very expensive gas was sold to us and after a huge fight erupted outside the hotel. Our room was trashed and when we finally got settled in, we see these two men carrying this shoeless, under-dressed, unconscious woman up the stairs. We were so freaked out we couldn’t sleep and had no idea what to do.

Stylus: Will we be seeing This Hisses around Winnipeg this summer or is there some touring in the works?

PS: We are playing a ton of shows both Jazz Festival and NXNE. We plan to take July off and then August we have a cross-Canada tour.

JR: Hopefully followed by some more recording.

See you all at This Hisses’ CD release, July 23 at the Pyramid Cabaret, to celebrate the drop of Surf Noir.

It will be quite a show, so let’s show some support for this unreal local act.

June/July 2011 Stylus Magazine

13

A L A O K KID 3030: How I Learned to love the Bomb

By Patrick Michalishyn

Those who tuned into CKUW 95.9 FM on the

morning of Friday, April 22, heard nothing for an hour and a half from midnight on. But from the void comes everything, and Radio Schizophrenio host and Stylus writer Patrick Michalishyn had secured an interview with Kid Koala, and proceeded to drill him for several hours until they left the station to get Breakfast Nips. These are some excerpts of that interview.

[After a couple of songs, Patrick apologizes for being late, but talks at length to Kid Koala, Eric San, about hoop-dancers at the show, touring constantly, and the koala suit that San has to wear for 100 shows because he lost a bet. The Winnipeg show was number 33.]

Stylus: Are you in the mood to listen to anything?

Eric San: Do you have anything cued up? Actually, what we were just listening to was Money Mark! He was a mentor of mine in 1998, very much so. That’s a funny story of how things happen in the music industry. He was playing as a part of the Beastie Boys band, playing keyboards on Check Your Head and Ill Communication, and those records, and I just loved all of the stuff that he did on those records.

On their website, they said Money Mark just put out a 10 inch of his stuff—and you had to send a

16 Stylus Magazine June/July 2011 14

cheque. So I sent it to get this 10” record of Money Mark’s solo stuff called Mark’s Keyboard Repair on Pinto records. And I never got the record. I was just crushed. That was the first time I sent away money for anything.

Sty: What a bad experience, what a souring experience.

ES: Yeah. Anyways, fast-forward a few years. The Beasties came through for Ill Communication, and the promoter was a friend of mine, and he said, “Hey do you wanna meet the guys?” And I was like, cool. And so I met Money Mark that time for the first time and I said, “Mark, I sent you a cheque like four years ago, and I never got my record!” And he’s “Oh really? Man, keep me posted and I’ll send you a record.” Anyway, I had a tape, called Scratchcratchratchatch and I handed him a copy of it, and it had my number on it.

Fast-forward a couple months again, and I totally forgot about this transaction. Then I get a call at my house. He says, “Hey is this Eric? This is Mark.”

I was in this band called Bullfrog at the time, and there was this guy named Mark also in that band.

And I was like yeah, sorry, we should get together and rehearse, blah blah blah, thinking this was Mark from my band. He goes, “No this is Mark—yeah, Mark from L.A.” I said, “I don’t know any Marks from L.A.” He said, “Money Mark!” I almost

dropped the phone.

I say, “Hey, what’s up? Why are you calling me?” He was like, “I listened to your tape. I really dig it.” He said, “I’m going to do a tour for Push the Button,” which was his second album that he was putting out. “We’re gonna do a tour with the Beasties, with them, opening for them. Do you want come to play turntables in the band?” And I was like, yeah, let’s do it! So he was one of the first ones to take me under his wing and teach me about music and playing live and all that stuff.

Stylus: How does feel to meet a hero, and, instead of just being a super-fan, to start a working relationship with these people?

ES: Well I’m still awestruck by all these dudes.

Coldcut, who owned Ninja Tune records—they were one of the reasons I started scratching. So to be touring for them and recording for them, it’s like total dojo-master-student style.

I’m just going to record stores with these dudes, or Mark, going to keyboard shops or Salvation Armies, pick up an old synth, and be like, “Have you heard this record? This why it sounds like that.” They’re just encyclopedias of knowledge. I mean, before I met Mark, I didn’t know what a blues scale was!

I knew what it was, but I didn’t know the actual notes. I studied classical music exclusively before scratching.

[Musical Break. Pat relays some frightening tales of hosting late-night radio, and talks at length about Salisbury House, which is when they decide to go for nips. Questions continue.]

Stylus: You play with the Gorillaz!

ES: I don’t technically play with the Gorillaz. The Gorillaz are cartoons.

Stylus: Don’t make me look stupider.

ES: Okay, I did some recording with the people behind the cartoons. They are still cartoons. Dan the Automator actually hooked me up with that gig, to segue into the CD you’re holding in your hand [Deltron 3030]. He called me and said, “You’re in London, I’m in London, come down to the studio. I’m working on this record called Gorillaz and we need some turntables!” I went down and it was Damon Alburn’s studio. Jamie Hewlett—who drew all the Tank Girl stuff, and designed the Gorillaz characters—he had his studio upstairs and that was exciting on a couple different levels.

Stylus: Segue! Back to— ES: Back to Dan the Automator! He is also one of my mentors, along with Money Mark. He came to my first New York show when I was touring with Ninja Tune. He had just put out Dr. Octagon at the time and a couple other things under Dan the Automator, but I was aware of his work and a fan of his work. We met there and hit it off right away. A couple years later, we working together for Handsome Boy Modeling School, and we did a song with Del [tha funky Homosapien]. Del was talking about this character that he wanted to write for this character in his mind, named Deltron Zero, who lived in a post-apocalyptic age. And that’s where this idea for Deltron 3030 came around. And we did that record, I believe, in 2000. Right?

Stylus: I’m looking, I’m looking. You caught me

off guard.

ES: We actually did 12 shows with that record. Unfortunately, Winnipeg wasn’t one of them.

Stylus: So, they’ve been saying for the longest time that the new [Deltron] record will be coming out soon. Wikipedia has been giving me the updates.

ES: Wikipedia? How would they know? Who is that anyways? I’m checking my emails—and it doesn’t seem to be coming out any time soon. [laughs] The beats are done. I’ve done one layer of turntables—this is a fact, these are all facts—Del has written about nine of the tracks.

Stylus: Out of how many?

ES: Well we have 14 that we’re going to whittle down to 11 or 12 good ones. The last I heard, Del is going to finish his lyrics on a few things, and then Dan is going to fly out to Montreal and I’m going to do some counter-point turntables for the choruses and outro sections. Then we’re going to mix it, and put it out.

Stylus: And which album am I holding now?

ES: That is The Slew, 100%.

Stylus: And whose brainchild was this?

ES: That was a project of Dynomite D, from Seattle, and myself. And that started about five years ago.

See, all the records I’m involved with take at least five years to complete! That’s just part of the process.

I’m like the Miyazaki of records.

Stylus: Art takes time.

ES: Well, it’s the process. We have to make source vinyl, cut that to vinyl, and reassess it for turntables live, which is how we did The Slew. We didn’t use any drum machines or computers for any of that. It was all just vinyl.

Stylus: With a live dr—

The

Les Jupes

Royal Canoe

Modern Myths

Co-op Mode

ES: No, actually the live drummer and bass only came into the picture for the tour. That [album is] all records. But if you listen to the new Slew album, which we’re also working on right now, it does feature drum and bass parts from Chris and Miles, formerly of Wolfmother. But again, we’ve decided to keep that hip-hop turntable stead again, take their drum and bass parts, solo them, cut that record, and reassemble them off turntables. Then you get that hand-cut flow, which I think is pretty key to The Slew.

Stylus: So, can we get some exclusive info on this record? Like sometimes Pitchfork comes out with news of a record, and say that it’s exclusive information. Then you would tweet and say, “Actually I broke this news all on CKUW 95.9 FM months ago, bitches.”

ES: [laughs] About the Slew. I don’t know, what do people want to know?

Stylus: Jon Spencer is rumoured to be on this new album.

ES: Yes, Jon Spencer has agreed to sing on some Slew stuff, as Mike Patton has as well. [Patrick quietly gasps] They were both fans of the first record.

I think just because I know Mike and John, and they’d seen us perform, they were down even before I sent the record to them. I worked with Mike Patton a little bit on Lovage and his Peeping Tom stuff, but Jon I haven’t worked with, but I’ve been a big fan of his stuff. I think they’re going to add another level to The Slew trip.

Stylus: “Slew trip.” Well said, Eric.

[Another musical break, and Patrick and Eric talk about CKUW’s range, one of the hoop-dancers calls in, and Pat and Eric talk at length well into the night.]

Family

Flying Fox and the Hunter Gatherers

Record of the Week Club

Demetra Lone Migration

Hans My Lion Les Jupes’ Modern Myths: "...as epic as it is primal and as stirring as it is sad and introverted". - National Post Royal Canoe’s Co-op Mode: "...gives Prince a run for his purple money". - Winnipeg Free Press

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June/July 2011 Stylus Magazine

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018 2009

Stylus Magazine

December/January

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Welcome to Stylus’ Sound Off, a feature that will be gracing our centre spread for the next few issues to come. We’re planning on using this

space for a series of articles that weigh a little more heavily on our writer’s opinions and connections to music and will get further away from the here-and-now of traditional music journalism. To ease into the sometimes-scary realm of subjectivity, we’re looking back at some of our favourite Canadian records from just the past ten years, which, I admit, is still pretty close to the here and now.

However, there are a number of reasons why we should examine any artyfacts temporally or physically close to us. One of the big reasons is sociological – we can understand different circles of people who have had a shared experience that was as simple as listening to a record or seeing a band play live.

Another reason is to be revisionary. Stylus didn’t necessarily cover these albums the first time around, or give them a glowing write-up.

And even if the entirety of Stylus’s writers hate an album that hypothetically came out last week, all of Stylus’s writers could slobber over it five years from now. Viva la revolucion! As a side note, over the course of the Sound Off, we’re planning on looking back at other lost records, at least once more.

Another reason yet of revisiting is that most people are used to looking back rather than keeping up. This doesn’t give you license to torrent all of these titles just to keep up with what Stylus recommends—I haven’t listened to all of these albums either, FYI. But let these pages raise some questions amongst you and your friends around the morally ambiguous area of downloading. Whether a disc is brand new or a classic that’s decades old—local or foreign—chart topping or not, where do you personally draw the line?

Many writers were claiming how these albums can’t be “overlooked” because they’re still too new. Which is true, some of these bands are still gaining notoriety, and there’s probably a couple hundred or thousand people across the nation who would list these records as necessary, if not more. But given the lightning-speed at which today’s independent music scene progresses, it’s easy for an album barely in its toddler years to fade into obscurity, or at least from your iPod’s rotation, especially if it ends up being a band’s lone outing. We’d rather touch on these favourite records while they’re still in our rear-view mirrors than let them become long-forgotten.

And yah, yah, I know. tl;dr.

THE ORGAN Grab That Gun One fine fall day in 2005, the University of Winnipeg’s LGBT* Centre won over the quad during free period when they brought in Vancouver-based quintet The Organ to play their annual meet ‘n’ greet barbecue. As a queer first-year student who’d made gotten through high school on a steady aural diet of The Cure and Joy Division, The Organ seemed like the sum of all my musical interests, except Canadian, still touring and comprised entirely of cute girls. Grab That Gun, The Organ’s lone LP, offered a fierce brand of moody, synthy and jangly pop songs that were both intimate and a bit majestic. Opener “Brother”, which was featured in an episode of The L Word, “Basement Band Song” and “Memorize www.stylusmagazine.ca the City” are the album’s standout tracks, and

the band’s name is more of in spirit than actuality - the strongest set of pipes belonged to vocalist Katie Sketch, and the sound was more Moog than Wurlitzer. About a year after the quad performance, the band went on “hiatus”, a term that rarely results in new material. While The Organ never truly reunited, they did manage to release a posthumous EP, Thieves, in 2008. Grab That Gun has barely left my stereo’s rotation since I picked i t up that day in the quad, and anyone fond of Young Galaxy would be far amiss to not give it a spin. (2004, Mint Records, www.mintrecs.com) Brietta O'Leary THE WAKING EYES Holding Onto Whatever It Is In 2008, local rock gods The Waking Eyes released an album too good for the world to handle. It took them four years of hard work after their second album Video Sound to finally come out with Holding Onto Whatever It Is, which seemed to hold their

true sound. The problem could have started with Video Sound. Although it’s a solid album with classy garage rock and buttery catchy licks, it is very different than their latest album which holds many styles of acoustic pop and indie rock swarmed with synths. Due to this change, all the fans they had garnered with the commercial success of Video Sound were confused with where the band was going, and so was their marketing and management. Not to say no one liked the album. Many people enjoyed this album, especially the Winnipeg folks. The Waking Eyes most definitely have grown bigger as a band, and grew a larger fan base with their latest album, but they didn’t know how to hold on to whatever it was. We have not heard much from The Waking Eyes Stylus in a December/January while, but they are 2009 still alive andMagazine well, in oth 019

ILLUSTRATION AND COVER ART BY NICHOLAS VAN DOESELAAR

er noticeable bands like Royal Canoe, Jicah, and Imaginary Cities, all of which I suggest you look into. (2008, Warner, www.thewakingeyes.com) Nicholas Van Doeselaar THE UNICORNS Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone?

ISLANDS Return To The Sea Two albums that I keep side by side on my usually-alphabetical+chronological CD shelf are The Unicorns’ Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone? and Islands’ Return To The Sea. They made a pop on the same radio stations paved the way for Broken Social Scene, Feist and Arcade Fire and that like, but then they kinda just... went away. Why? The Unicorns’ sole album was non-stop fun, never-serious twisted quirky pop. Bent melodies, cheap instruments and toys, happily un-selfconscious weird rock.

The Canadian outcast, the underdog hero. Listen to the abrasive, in-the-red synth of “Jellybones” crash into the drums and lift itself into classic rock territory. (Note: not ‘classic rock’.) Same with the recorder solo on “Unicorns Are People Too.” Maybe off-putting to the cool rocker, but if you quit worrying what everyone thinks, it’ll make you grin like a five-year-old on Trix.

After The Unicorns’ break-up, Nick Thorburn was the first to put out new music. Islands’ Return To The Sea sounded like Unicorns postpuberty: more mature, retaining the twisting structures but losing the screeches, squelches and burps that made The Unicorns so... special.

It’s like that taking the little kid out of his backyard and showing him the world. “Rough Gem” was the first single off of the album that got some decent airplay on campuses across Canada and became the song that everyone would come out to see. Apparently they don’t even play it anymore. “Where There’s A Will, There’s A Whalebone” gets eerie about halfway through and pulls the rug out, having Busdriver spit rhymes and leaving indie kids wondering what the eff just happened.

I wouldn’t necessarily say that The Unicorns’ Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone? is an “overlooked” Canadian album. I mean, they’re no Arcade Fire or Broken Social Scene, but there is a solid cult following for this little band from

Campbell River, B.C. Since it’s release in late 2003, the cult of The Unicorns had already been growing at a steady clip. Costumes at shows, great banter, quirky-ass pop songs; the kids couldn’t get enough. Web sites on social networks had songs posted under various names by band members and side groups (All Makes Parts and Collision, Th’ Corn Gangg, Nick Common et al.) set people off on the hunt for everything this group of pervy popsters had recorded. There’s a good double-album’s worth of Unicorns material (at least!) that didn’t make the debut (and that’s not even mentioning the limited-to-500 debut they released earlier that same year).

Like all things, they came and went.All you can do now is call up your local campus radio station and bring these wicked albums back up for air. (2003, Alien8, www.alien8recordings. com // 2006, Equator, www.equatormusic.ca) Patrick Michalishyn NOMEANSNO All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt Canada’s greatest secret in music is that we are home to one of the best punk bands in the world--Nomeansno. Ausfahrt isn’t necessarily Nomeansno’s best; they have an extensive back catalogue and that honour could go to any number of their albums. Ausfahrt was, in some ways, a retread of many of the same socially-con-

scious, aggressive ideas and sounds we’ve heard before from the band. However, it’s an important album because it shows that this is not a band that has lost its edge.

Despite 30 years of making music, they’re still great. Here, the rhythm section--always powerful--seems larger than ever, focused on taut, quick punk rock. Some thought it too “pop” at the time, or even too strange with an incorporation of synths at times. However, this album demonstrates a longevity in the band, fully realized in the sheer muscularity of the music. They were as good as ever, and musically bigger than ever. Unlike the Rolling Stones, whose longevity is often touted though their later album releases don’t hold up musically, Ausfahrt proved that Nomeansno had the longevity and the sheer talent to sustain it. Released only in 2006, it is perhaps too recent in our musical history to be considered overlooked. As a testament to the longevity, lead singer Rob Wright is 57 – most would have burnt out or faded away by that age. All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt exemplifies a band still going strong, solidifying themselves as the premiere punk band of Canada’s present, and well into the foreseeable future.

(2006, Ant Acid Audio, www.antacidaudio.com) Devin King

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HOLY FUCK LP It did get some acknowledgements such as a nomination for Polaris Prize but it seemed that the buzz died down before people could take notice. Holy Fuck plays a unique type of electronic music flared up with real instruments that actually requires talent to play. Not to say electronic music doesn’t require skill, but if you attend an electronic show you will most likely have a great time dancing to some DJ pumping his fist over a laptop. Yet with a live band most people are found standing around because they don’t know how to dance to rock music. Holy Fuck combines the two!

This is the most organic electronic music around, and it’s coming out of Canada. As their MySpace once read; “Find something in the trash... plug it in.” These boys are incredible live--the lead-off track “Super Inuit” is actually recorded live and yet it fits right in with the rest of LP. The music is superior and the fact that real instruments coupled with whatever other weird shit (cheap keyboards, noises, guitar pedals, film synchronizer, etc.) they can incorporate into their music keeps it fun and interesting. And compared to the electronic music genre at a distance, where loud repetitive beats that have barely changed since the ’90s, Holy Fuck created a stunning, progressive album that reinvents what electronic music can be. So underrated, this album and band--their latest release Latin also rocks. Innovative and Canadian…What’s not to love? (Young Turks, theyoungturks.co.uk) Scott Wolfe UNDER PRESSURE Come Clean Under Pressure was significant and this album was their master offering. The members on Come Clean had been making music for years together; this album perfectly represents a height for them as a group. Hardcore is an extremely formulaic genre that can be easily replicated. People take cues from bands such as Poison Idea and Black Flag, as Under Pressure initially did, and replicate them in their own way.

This makes way for a lot of very mediocre representations.

Over time, the music that these players loved was internalized and practiced in perfection, usually causing other bands to pale in comparison. Their devotion to form eventually turned into mastery and this album represents that moment in time.

Come Clean is not just a hollow repetition of forms from the past. Rather, it is those forms mastered through dedication over time and

ILLUSTRATION BY ELISE D’AWSON

presented for others to take cue from. A step away from their earlier, faster and more youthful hardcore sound, Come Clean lies in a darker, more serious territory on its own. Taking more of a rock direction, the listener is grabbed and assaulted aurally from the first riff of the album.

Lyrically, the harshness of existence is presented in a notable step above average, further separating this album from the masses of thoughtless clones. Come Clean will leave an impact on those who hear it for years to come.

As time progressed and line-up changes occurred, the quality of the band never diminished—Under Pressure’s conclusion in 2009 denied the band the time needed to surpass Come Clean, leaving it as their masterpiece to which heads will nod to in the future. (2006, Primitive Air-Raid, www.primitiveairraid.com) Kevin Strang DUCHESS SAYS Anthologie des 3 Perchoirs Duchess Says’ first recordings was accompanied by a lot of French propaganda about worshiping budgies, purposely confusing the shit out of anyone (namely me) who looked up their MySpace. But if anything, Annie-Claude’s impenetrable (yet charming) stage performance gives it away: these Quebec City/Montreal nerds are rocking out, and it’s all posturing.

This extremely up-tempo punk is driven by the bass and Moog (and sometimes guitar) and Annie-C’s vox are tightly chaotic. Like on lead-off “Tenen Non Neu,” in time with the post-DFA1979 drums, she’s just spouting off “tiki-tiki-tak, tiki-tiki-tiki-tak,” (which doesn’t mean anything in English or French) but then she’s wailing in time with the growling synthesizer and the chaos is right on. “Black Flag”

and “Ccut Up” take the honours of catchiest tunes, simultaneously putting the band daringly close to electroclash territory. And after time away from this record, I feel like even the weirdo bits like “Les Residents” and “Lip Gloss Babyla” deserve revisiting and some interlude spots on mixtapes. (2008, Alien 8, www.alien8recordings.com) Taylor Burgess THE MAGNIFICENT SEVENS Dirty Roads Losing Dirty Roads would be like ‘losing’ a screaming child. The album contains all the ingredients we Winnipeggers pride ourselves on when considering our “homegrown” talent—a well rounded group of lads and ladies, committed to the art of ‘givin’r hard’ and brought up on nothing but the most inspiring Winnipeg has to offer—desolate buildings, a quirky urban life and a community always willing to support their local artists. The Mag 7’s are a boisterous bunch with an album full of fun twang-punk and folk to prove it; listening to this album is like the soundtrack to a rowdy barn-party. I propose that we move away from our ignorant ways, and push play on Dirty Roads, because with June and July already here, this album is perfect for your summer and more specifically, your Folk Fest experience. Can you say 2012 Main Stage? Yessir.

(2009, Transistor 66, www.transistor66.com) Victoria King

Jazz Fest Preview

DAM-FUNK w/ PUJOL Apologies to fans of Quintron & Miss Pussycat, but their loss is a huge gain to fans of future-funk auteur, Stones Throw artist, and Pasadena native Dâm-Funk. A late addition to the Winnipeg Jazz Festival line-up, you want to add this show to your dance card pronto. Bursting onto the scene in 2008, Dâm-Funk released five mind-bending albums in 2009 that were ultimately edited down to a doubledisc barnburner entitled Toeachizown. Synth-heavy, bass driven boom-bap; this is what the band in the Mos Eisley catina should have sounded like.

(Tuesday, June 21 @ Pyramid, 10 P.M., $18 adv.)

Michael Elves

THE LOST FINGERS Covering chart-toppers from yesteryear in a gypsyswing style might tickle some people the wrong way, but Quebec City’s The Lost Fingers have certainly been noticed, especially here in Canada—their 2008 debut album Lost in the 80s went platinum!

And whatever your stance is on original-versus-cover material, the trio’s chops, style, and humour are undeniable. For example, when they’re covering the French ’70s punk classic “Ca Plane Pour Moi,” they take the song’s already over-the-top attitude and rev it up to Technicolor proportions. Regardless of who you are, you could end up at this show and end up recognizing a fair chunk of the band’s repertoire in a style that’s growing trendier. (Tuesday, June 21 @ WECC, 8 P.M., $25 adv.)

May we recommend?

Editors’ picks for the shows you should see during the 2011 TD Winnipeg International Jazz Festival

BLONDE REDHEAD w/ THE LUYAS This New York trio started densely, as a group of art students referencing No Wave and trying to purposely warp minds and expectation on their 1995 self-titled album. Since then, they’ve undergone a quiet evolution (revolving around 2000’s Guy Picciotto-produced Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons) and emerged with classic tragic albums like 2007’s 23 and last year’s Penny Sparkle. Much like last year’s Deerhoof show, these indie darlings stopping into town isn’t happenstance, and seeing them return soon is unlikely. You can expect a packed house with this show, and with Montreal’s intricately talented The Luyas setting the mood, you’ll be able to smell the melodrama. (Monday, June 20 @ Pyramid Cabaret, 10 P.M., $20 adv.)

SHAD w/ NESTOR WYNRUSH As it stands, Shad is Canada’s youngest hip-hop talent that damn near everyone can agree on—his raps are self-conscious, setting positive role models, and are full of clever pop-culture references to boot.

His beats are a conglomerate of chipmunk soul and tight drum work, like everything’s a victory lap and a positive lesson. The noveau-backpackers won’t really need much convincing but for everyone else: Shad’s received not one but two Polaris Prize nominations, has had guest vocals from Broken Social Scene’s Lisa Lobsinger and Brendan Canning, and spoofed the Fresh Prince of Bel Air on the video for his “The Old Prince Still Lives at Home” track. Good times to be found for everyone. (Friday, June 24 @ Pyramid Cabaret, 10 P.M., $18 adv.)

PETE ROCK w/ POLITIC LIVE This year’s premiere hip-hop guest is NY’s veteran producer and rapper Pete Rock. He first made a critical splash in the early ’90s alongside rapper C.L. Smooth with records that showcased Pete Rock’s marvelous ability to make head-bangers’ tracks with explosive horns, and drew on jazz as influence like other hip-hop greats of the time. Now he works with the greatest hip-hop artists, having made tracks for Ghostface Killah and Talib Kweli, and he’s a star of his own right, having made several solo and instrumental albums. (Thursday, June 23 @ Pyramid Cabaret, 10 P.M., $18 adv.)

ROBERT GLASPER TRIO Houston, Texas native Glasper is an accomplished pianist who is equally comfortable playing alongside hip-hop heavyweights like Mos Def, Jay-Z and Kanye West as he is fronting his own jazz trio. His latest album on legendary label Blue Note, DoubleBooked, finds Glasper straddling the genre divide with material drawn from traditional jazz idioms as well as from funk and hip-hop. Tributes to J Dilla rest comfortably alongside Herbie Hancock covers and all of it is ultimately just great music. Glasper’s performance, like Christian Scott’s at last year’s fest, is sure to be the sleeper hit of the fest. (Friday, June 24 @ WECC, 8 P.M., $28 adv.) Michael Elves

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GARAGELAND ~ Every Saturday in June on CKUW THE DETAILS CD RELEASE Sat June 11th @ WECC

PRESENTS:

3RD ANNUAL WALK-A-THON ~ WALK FOR WEST CENTRAL WOMEN Wednesday June 15 CLAIR LYNCH CONCERTS AND WORKSHOPS June 17 & 18 @ WECC ART CITY PARADE Sat June 25th PICNIC FOR OLD AND NEW FRIENDS Saturday, July 16 Noon - 9:30p.m. @ Broadway Neighbourhood Centre Park

CKUWho

Joke’s On You with Jon Wilson PHOTO BY TAYLOR BURGESS

Mondays, 11:00-11:30 p.m. on CKUW 95.9 FM or streaming online at www.ckuw.ca

JON WILSON

Stylus: When and why did Joke’s On You start?

Jon Wilson: It started in September, and I started it because there wasn’t any comedy programming on the station for one. I’m involved in the local comedian scene, and I think it should be promoted and exposed, and laughing is always a good time, and the jokes are funny. I thought those are all good reasons to start a show.

Stylus: What kind of comedy scene do we have in Winnipeg?

JW: In the past year, it has grown immensely, especially in the number of comics looking for stage time. There are two open mics every week—one at the Standard [Thursdays], and one at the Cavern [Sundays]. There could be a lot more stage time for all the comics who are in the city. There could be people getting paid for what they’re doing, because www.stylusmagazine.ca

so many people are doing it well.

Stylus: What’s the format of the radio show?

JW: Essentially I play a few audio clips of wellknown comedians, and then do interviews with one or two local comedians, delving into their personal life, getting to know them outside of them being comedians, as well as talking about their comedy. It’s a pretty relaxed, conversational show. I try to get different people on as guests every week, so I’m afraid that I may eventually run out—but I’m always finding new people to come on.

Stylus: What are some of the names on the show that we might know?

JW: I interviewed Kevin McDonald [from Kids in the Hall], for his film festival at the Winnipeg Comedy Festival. That was interesting, because he insisted on running on a track while he was doing it. His

cell phone kept cutting out, and I had to keep calling him back. I spent about 45 minutes trying to talk to him, but only got nine minutes of an interview. I wouldn’t exactly call it a highlight of the show.

Also, there’s Mike Green, who hosts the open mike at the Standard on Thursday nights. He was on the first Joke’s On You show and he’s been a returning guest. He says that he wants to have the most appearances on the show out of any comedian.

Stylus: What are Winnipeg’s open mic comedy nights like?

JW: Both are over-attended by comedians. About a year ago, you could show up and get a spot with no problems. The difference over time might be due to the popularity of my radio show—I don’t know. If that’s true, I apologize to everyone.

Stylus: Do you do stand-up comedy yourself?

JW: I’ve been doing stand-up open mics for about a year and a half. I put on a show for the CKUW FunDrive at the Lo Pub with ten comedians who had been on the show at one point or another. I was a little nervous because I had never performed somewhere that wasn’t at an open mike, and I had never hosted before. There was supposed to be a metal show that night, but it was mixed up at the last moment. Thankfully, comedians are more than happy to perform for anyone and most comedians are happy to be paid in free beer, and lots of people came out.

Stylus: Why do you think the Winnipeg Comedy scene has such a following?

JW: Probably due to the dedication of the people who are there at the open mike nights, and the comedians who are always there. The talent sometimes inspires people to do it for themselves. And sometimes the failures are as funny as the successes…

I have to mention John B. Duff, who hosts the open mike at the Cavern and also Tuesday nights at the King’s Head, which is the most premiere and polished comedy show. He’d probably kick me in the balls if I didn’t mention him—he’s the most mentioned name on the show, and he’s probably the reason for this huge surge in popularity.

June/July 2011 Stylus Magazine

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Folk Fest Preview

May we recommend?

Editors’ picks for the shows you should see during the 2011 Winnipeg Folk Festival.

JEFF TWEEDY Yes, the man who sang “I assassin down the avenue” is coming to the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Who’s excited? Given that Tweedy has no solo material, he’ll be drawing heavily from his Wilco and Uncle Tupelo back catalogue—which dates back to 1990, without any breaks longer than a couple years. However, just before the release of Wilco (The Album), he had told Exclaim that he “kinda hates” Wilco’s past six albums, and that they were artistic statements he wouldn’t feel comfortable making again at this point in his life. Will a singing crowd daunt him from playing classic Wilco tracks?! Doubtful, but stay tuned!

TEGAN & SARA We don’t have to convince anyone to see these hardworking Alberta-born twins—seeing how they’re one of Canada’s successful musical acts—but they’re certainly worth our recommendation. Their last two albums, The Con (2007) and Sainthood (2009), cashed in on their energetic pop-punk hooks and emotional turmoil to make wonderful music that is seemingly ubiquitous, but totally harmless. After all, Sara Quin is the only one who stepped up to criticize Tyler, the Creator. (I just had to mention it.)

It’ll be pretty intriguing to see how Tegan & Sara transfer their sound to the Folk Fest, considering that Sainthood had a number of electronic sounds in it, but there are many classics to be heard from this duo.

CHUCK PROPHET With an impressive back catalogue that’s been covered by everyone from Solomon Burke to Heart, Chuck Prophet is a singer-songwriter that’s a force to be reckoned with—even if you don’t know him yet. He first sprang on the California scene touring with the psychedelic/Paisley Underground band Green on Red, which was always good for its country-tinged rock. At the helm of writing, Prophet writes from mod-inspired numbers, to garage rock stompers and yearning love ballads—and pretty much the whole spectrum of all post-Beatles return-to-form rock, all with total lyric mastery.

MOUNTAIN MAN Since most of the dust has settled on that “freak folk” wave, some bands have post-ironically returned to the roots of roots music. Enter Mountain Man, a trio of Vermont women who met at college and sing Appalachian-style folk. Two of the three of them come from singing families, and have had experience singing in church, and the result is beautiful, haunting harmonies backed by one guitar, or simply singing a cappella. Though they’re still on the rise and only have one full-length (on Partisan Records), they’re a must-see for fans of Fleet Foxes and The Decemberists.

TINARIWEN In what has to be one of the most exotic stories in rock & roll, Tinariwen formed in ’79 from a Tuareg rebel community in the Sahara Desert region of Mali, influenced by Moroccan protest music and rock artists like Elvis and Bob Marley. They’ve played for decades, bringing their wistful African pop and blues to other Tuareg camps and recording widely traded scarce cassettes, without being known by the western world until the last decade. Now that their sound is globally recognized, they’re bringing their unique blend of hypnotic rock and blues to stages everywhere.

M. WARD Many probably know this Oregon singer-songwriter from his recent collaborations with Zooey Deschanel as She & Him, but the intrepid music lovers probably know him from the Jim Jamesproduced Post-War, or even earlier. He’s renowned for his contemporary storytelling, like using that aforementioned album as a means to wonder how the American public will heal after the Iraq war. He draws on universal themes, has covered a great deal of the indie-pop canon (Beach Boys, David Bowie, Daniel Johnston) and he mixes the influences of gospel, southern rock, and ’60s pop into thoughtprovoking catchy hooks.

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PHOTO BY ANDREW MAZURAK

Live Bait PROTEST THE HERO W/ MAYLENE & THE SONS OF DISASTER AND TESSARACT @ the West End Cultural Centre Wednesday, March 30, 2011

By Scott Wolfe A metal show at the West End. Why!? Winnipeg has venues far better suited to this type of music.

What’s next, Metallica at Silverado’s or some shit?

It is a good thing this show blew my mind and left me scrambling to pick up my brain fragments on the clean floors of the West End, otherwise I would be even more pissed. Now on to the music, since I’ve finished my personal rant regarding a metal show that started at 7:15!

First up, TesseracT, who started off the night in a big way. I am willing to bet that the majority of people who got to see these British dudes/mates (myself included) had no idea who they were or what they were about to do to the ears in attendance. They played an unreal set—the extreme riffs coupled with long flowing masses of head-banging hair tempted everyone to indulge and left me wanting to grow my hair. The singer danced between soft vocals and harsh screams fluently in perfect time with the music, the audience completely absorbed.

These guys are touring in support of their debut album entitled One, a concept album with a massive sound. Show-goers were left chatting about the unexpected surprise they just witnessed. Certainly keep an eye out for these guys in the future. When the opener kicks this much ass, one hell of a night is in order.

Maylene and the Sons of Disaster followed up with their brand of lovable southern metal. Nothing groundbreaking musically but the live show captures the band at its best. Each member is so unique it seems like they are from a different decade or musical genre based on appearance; one of the guitarists had a Woodstock hippie vibe while the other looked like an emo lumberjack; the drummer looked like a tattooed punk and the singer appeared to be a regular guy that could probably take your face off with his screaming ability. This set was a lot of fun because you can’t help but start moshing when the melodic yet heavy breakdown comes roaring at you. “Caution, Dangerous Curves Ahead” had everyone in the pit going crazy, while the outer layers of people were at least tapping their feet. Another pleasant opener and already the money was worth it.

Finally… Protest the Hero, and considering the

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two openers’ superior performances, expectations were high. The Ontario boys came out the gate strong with the new single “C’est la Vie” off their new album Scurrilous and they appeared to be in fine form. However, a couple songs in, lead singer Rody Walker explained that an Australian tour had slightly taken his voice away, narrowing his range.

Understandable, but let me assure you Australia has gone down in my books—just kidding, but I’m not, but I am. Some fans may have noticed this on songs such as crowd favorite “Turn Soonest to the Sea” where he neglected to hit some of his more impressive notes but he got the crowd singing instead.

Musically, this was one of the most impressive shows I have seen. I was wondering if what they do in the studio could be replicated and my fears were put to bed immediately. The set consisted of songs from all three of their equally amazing albums with a slight favoring to their second album Fortress. This appeared fine by the crowd since “Sequoia Throne” and “Bloodmeat” ended the night with fans screaming for more. Walker mentioned that encores are not something that they have ever done which was disappointing but since the lead guitarist’s fingers may have fallen off or caught on fire if they played another song, considering the rate at which that man plays, I will let it slide.

CANTOR DUST CD RELEASE W/ CHRIS MAMA BAUER AND TRIUNFO DO GATO @ Lo Pub Monday, April 9, 2011

By Victoria King Homer’s Odyssey is epic. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech was epic. Corn dogs and chili cheese fries are epic. Turning the Lo Pub into a safari-themed jungle? Pretty damn near epic. Also epic was the array of men and women in animal costumes. Not the cheap, slutty Halloween costumes either—I’m talkin’ full body-suits, masks and tails of all sorts. I was also witness to multiple accounts of vine swinging! ( Just kidding, no vines were involved.) No, this wasn’t some Anti-PETA rally.

Rather, this was the release of Cantor Dust’s 12th album The Safaris I’ve Been On. Get it? The Lo, jungle-themed? Safaris? Funny, right?

Jokes aside, Cantor Dust is a local group fronted by Mark Klassen with his accompanying band members, who were all easy to discern that night on account of their uniform Safari garb. The Safaris I’ve Been On is Klassen’s 12th studio release and it

is sure to meld well into his already highly identifiable niche. Cantor Dust has a penetrating sound, both tense and dramatic. Klassen’s stage presence also has a lot to do with the appeal that the band holds. Klassen is theatrical and, as a self-confessed people-watcher myself, extremely entertaining to watch. Klassen’s enunciation is impeccable, and this was my far the best articulated show I’ve seen yet, where word for word, each lyric was clear.

The openers for the night were Chris MAMA Bauer and Triunfo Do Gato. I sort of had an idea of what to expect from Cantor Dust, but the openers were a mystery to me. As I discovered, Chris MAMA Bauer is an experimental artist, while Triunfo Do Gato is led by Julia Ryckman of local punk triumph This Hisses. Gotta be honest, I didn’t enjoy Bauer. Not even a little bit. Note that I’m no expert in the genre, but this really sounded like bad static to me. As for Triunfo Do Gato, they were a lot tamer than This Hisses and lacked the spark that really gives This Hisses their punch.

The openers lasted just over 2 hours and by 12:15 I was ready to pack it in, write off the show as pretentious and call it a night. Even if it is your own CD release, there’s only so much leeway for selfindulgence. As a side note, I did discover Half Pint’s Stir Stick Stout, a beautiful coffee-beer fusion that’s perfect for a bad case of the yawns.

Cantor Dust finally got onstage around 12:30, and I’m actually extremely glad to have stayed. Cantor Dust was really good. Having previously seen Klassen once before at the Querkus CD release, I had a bit of an upper hand in knowing what to expect.

In cleaning out my room the other day, I’d found my notes from the Querkus show where I apparently noted Klassen to be a “Pavarotti and Meatloaf hybrid.” Well, I was half right. Whatever I had seen before was a pretty honest example of what I got.

Klassen sat at a keyboard with band members on either side, playing atypical horn, strings, and percussion. In comparison to my previous experience, this show was toned down on the theatrics, which I gotta say I’m thankful for. The safari-themed transformation of the Lo was drama enough for me without out-of-control onstage antics to boot. The show was a solid, confident example of the self-described “exploration” and “story-telling” style (re: Facebook).

As a final note, it was totally worth racing to catch my bus in order to stay for an encore of “Eye of the Tiger.” Looking back now, I really should have seen it coming (Safari + Tiger = Lolz). Should Klassen ever look to some new endeavor, ’80s power hits would be a lucrative career for him if this night was any indication of another potential outlet.

June/July 2011 Stylus Magazine

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Local Spotlight

THE BLOWHOLES The Blowholes It’s the high school under-the-sea dance come to life. The Blowholes have been blowing people away with their lo-fi twangy strings and shrill screams since forming in 2009. It’s hard not to fall in love with a series of whimsy-laden songs about whales, sharks and octopuses. Unlike some of their local garage-rock counter parts, The Blowholes’ sound is disarmingly casual and almost hypnotic. Fluctuating between mid-tempo slow dance numbers like “Moonlighting” and breezy rockin’ tunes like “the Haunt,” the ferocious foursome have a knack for creating alluring numbers. Trying to pick out standout track in this sea of songs is next to impossible. From the pick-a-licious licks of “Poseidon’s Daughters” to rockingly-shockingly devastating “Huck Fin” to the playful theatrics of “Remember,” each cut is uniquely catchy and perfect for burning one down by the beach. (Transistor 66, http://theblowholes.transistor66.com) Kent Davies

ABSENT SOUND Turn Them Off EP The Absent Sound’s fifth release opens with “TV Song,” containing the simple and resounding message; “Talk back to your TV as if it had something to say.” The guys from Absent Sound have always put an astounding importance on community, having organized the semi-annual celebration of Element Sircus for years, and this album is a call-to-arms for

28 Stylus Magazine June/July 2011

those looking for more than a mundane electronic/escapist life. It’s obvious that Turn Them Off is the product of A.D.D.-free minds. Absent Sound negotiate these five-minuteplus songs in a pretty calm and collected (though energetic) headspace and the band’s songs turn slowly from start to finish, revealing more mysterious layers as they go along. The time signatures and tempos of “Occupying Home” shift prismatically like few other bands in the city (except maybe their peers Mahogany Frog) could replicate, and the self-effacing angst of “Stuck in Line” is for great dramatic effect. Closer “Hip Hop Knights” keeps its groove for a good seven minutes, making it a great ethereal pop song that closes the album and echoes off into the distance. (Independent, www.absentsound.bandcamp.com) Taylor Burgess TWIN Sharing Secrets with Strangers EP TWIN is focused around Dave Fort (Absent Sound) and he’s really prepared to give you the best and worst news as if you’ve never heard it before.

He’s spouting off hard truths like on the back half of “Prairie Loon”—like, “Well some friends are gonna die / Some are gonna take their own life / There’ll be no reasons why / And, boy, you’re gonna cry.” The first two songs and the last song, strongly focused on death, are fleshed out with strings and back-up vocals and it makes for a pretty emotional listen—although they’re words of comfort rather than naysaying. Meanwhile, on the other end of the life spectrum, “Fine Clothing” is definitely the album’s cheeriest, urging you to “Sing all of those old songs / Those one your granddaddy used to love.” Given Fort’s electric background, these songs aren’t ripping off traditional folk ballads but instead are thoughtful, spacey progressions backed by all the usual folk instruments which are played by musicians from the community (David Dobbs of Vampires and Ingrid Gatin to name a couple) and other friends who have since become the rest of TWIN. For the moment, the five-song EP stands alone in Winnipeg—Sharing Secrets with Strangers is much more sinister than any other folk being made, and it’s much more heartfelt than any indie rock. (Independent, www.myspace.com/twintwa) Taylor Burgess

SUTURE Live Fragments This CD was recorded over five shows and six months—and a little bit of a warning—the music on this CD is freeform. It isn’t for the faint of heart or mind. But the music on Live Fragments every bit emotionally and cerebrally fulfilling as any other genre.

Greg Hanec and Sarah Otsuji use both electronic and acoustic instruments; they electronically manipulate to the point of knotty loops and use their instruments like virtuosos, and drench it all in delay like Bitches Brew.

It’s a solid set of improvisations and is highly recommended for putting you in alternative headspaces. The minor disheartenment of this disc is the “Fragments”—some of the tracks fade out to silence prematurely, and fade back in to a different part of the show. Given the post-modern nature of the music, the album could’ve been given a post-modern treatment like Burning Star Core’s Papercuts Theater, which was made up of 40 live recordings and arranged into four non-stop parts. This is totally nitpicking though, and Live Fragments is another find in Winnipeg’s lawless noise scene. (Independent, www.myspace. com/greghanec) Taylor Burgess

pick up the pace again closing with a slow-building, bittersweet power-ballad titled “Walking Alone” (think of a more subdued “Dog Days Are Over”).

Featuring a slew of contributors from some of Winnipeg’s most prominent musical acts like Marie-Josee Dandeneau (Oh My Darling) on bass, David Pankratz (Quinzy) on drums, Jessee Havey (formerly of the Duhks) on backing vocals as well as producer Lloyd Peterson (The Wailin’ Jennys, The Weakerthans, Los Lobos), Exes and Uh Ohs offers a consistently polished and appealing sound. Murphy’s bluesy vocals are silky but husky in a way that only hints at how mesmerizing she must be live. A nice, soulful piece from a local artist worth checking out. (Independent, www. katiemurphy.ca) Cindy Doyle

KATIE MURPHY Exes and Uh Ohs Exes and Uh Ohs is the latest EP from Winnipeg pop-folk artist Katie Murphy. Featuring six songs about breakups written during a trial separation from her husband, it opens strong, the first two tracks providing playful and energetic melodies. With both vocals and instruments hitting the ground running, Murphy then pulls back for a few introspective ballads, only to

GREG ARCADE In…Hawaii It seems A1 label head Greg Arcade (Noble Thiefs) has traded in the ska for a solo album featuring a variety of ass-shakin’, rockin’ genres. Following in the footsteps of his Beach Bum Singles EP, In…Hawaii features blaring distorted Hives-like garage rock with lead off track “No! You Shut Up!” coupled with the classic surf rock sound in “Filament” and “Hawaii

Electric.” It even has a couple rockabilly numbers with “I’m a Lion” and “Shake your Feet.” In…Hawaii may not seem unique because each cut is somewhat based on familiar song structures that we’ve heard before, but it’s in how Greg Arcade builds on them which makes it so perfectly conceived. Each track is a thoughtout homage to rock ’n’ roll with great lyrics and attitude to match. Arcade even ends off this perfect party album with the whimsy-laden “After-Glow,” which sounds reminiscent of Skynyrd’s “Tuesday’s Gone.” Well done.

(A1, www.gregarcade.com) Kent Davies STEVE BASHAM Thick Cuts Basham’s latest is dripping with Mortfell Oktorium’s goofy-yet-relatable character of humour and DIY production, in the form of some seriously up-tempo numbers. Seriously, no one can deliver a punch line like

that of “Bad Mood:” A mermaid pops out of the river and makes a comehither motion. “I wasn’t really in the mood / But I didn’t want to be rude! / She was quite the dish / And I wanna return that fish!” This is his third solo album as a follow up to Thick and Thicker, and he recently, to really prove that he’s serious, started playing with The Upsides and they’ve donned themselves The Girth. Unfortunately, length is seriously lacking here (none of these tracks break the 2-minute mark) but that’s not a problem as they certainly are thick with lightningquick quips and proto-punk energy.

“Seriously Not Serious” is the album’s “Marquee Moon” as the most serious number (or is it?!) with Basham analyzing his own talents and it ends with a palatable guitar duet in under a minute and forty seconds. (Independent, www. soundcloud.com/stevebasham) Taylor Burgess

Winnipeg Art Gallery presents

Iconoclast COBRA SKULLS Bringing The War Home The Spanish-English bilingual punks are back, but not in a big way. This EP satisfies but leaves one unfulfilled. Twenty-two minutes is just not enough and the listener and fans alike are left hungry for more. The EP hits hard and fast with their typical political lyrics and rants on injustice while still keeping the whole formula fun. This is the band’s first release

on Fat Wreck Chords and they certainly prove themselves. The first three tracks are all good and each have their moments but the last two tracks are what really grab the listener. The interesting version of Bad Religion’s “Give You Nothing” is pretty good, and although it is hard to make a great song by a great band even better, Cobra Skulls still give it

a nice twist by making it their own.

The real highlight of the album is the closer “Life In Vain” which is a prime example of what really sets these boys on par with the most exciting punk bands. The next album should hold something great and it’s no doubt that fans are left wanting more after this teaser EP. (Fat Wreck Chords, www. fatwreck.com) Scott Wolfe

becomes jarringly clear that time will be an issue. The album cues in at an hour and fourteen minutes and, at times, quantity outweighs quality: tracks like “Window” are laughable in a bad way. The rest of the Odd Future crew perform terribly when featured, sans Hodgey Beats and Left Brain, but fortunately Tyler carries each track by growling lines and dictating slogans. Frank Ocean, who saw critical fame this year with his mixtape nostalgia, ULTRA, also helps the album on “She” and “Fish” and remains an absorbing upcoming vocalist to follow. Goblin is one part introspective and one part misguided. The album features a handful of memorable

new tracks but production eventually becomes monotonous and the lyrics, while consciously dark and perverse, are overly juvenile. The album is an honest and direct follow-up to last year’s Bastard but it is ultimately another mixed bag. This collective needs Earl Sweatshirt back even though they are blowing up to Nirvana proportions. (XL Recordings, http:// oddfuture.tumblr.com/) Andrew Mazurak [Ed. note: This album contains lyrics that are overtly homophobic, sexist and violent. We highly advise that you read Sara Quin’s online criticisms of Tyler, which tackle this more in-depth.]

Mental Notes

TYLER, THE CREATOR Goblin OFWGKTA went from beginning as an acronym quietly plugged on underground forums to the most hyped collective of teenage rappers/produc-

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ers/singers in the viral game. Tyler, the Creator is the outspoken ringleader of the Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All circus – yes, that’s what it actually stands for – and Goblin is his highly anticipated sophomore release. Tyler, the producer, sets the mood on the opening title track with his unique blend of heavy bass laced under eerie piano loops as the album jumps slowly into its lead single “Yonkers.” “Yonkers” is arguably his most cohesive track and has been heightening buzz for months, as Tyler, the rapper, delivers some of his smoother lyrics on top of a crisp evolving beat.

The seven-plus minute hype track “Radicals” comes next and it already

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Jukebot

MOON DUO Mazes / Mazes Remixed Moon Duo’s Mazes mixes elements of all of my late-night driving pleasures (Spacemen 3, Can, Eric’s Trip, V.U.’s “Sister Ray”) into a great listen, start-to-finish. The synth and guitar alternate between making the drone and taking the lead, hypnotizing you then smacking your face to get your attention back. The album kicks off with “Seer,” squiggly synths and a three-note synth pattern that carves out a groove for you and vocals that

just haze about. Then this guitar solo comes out at you like a laser-pointer through a fog machine. Yee-owch!!

The track (despite the ‘late-night’ stuff I mentioned) that got the most earplay was the track “Mazes” with its cheery summer-crunch vibe. And, to me, “Run Around” sounds like a Bo Diddley number with Alan Vega on vocals, and “In the Sun,” with its heavily-reverbed vocals, sounds an awful lot like Rick White’s stuff. When I started listening to this album, I had several moments of, “Wow, I know this from somewhere...” Somebody’s created a Frankenstein’s monster of happy-psychedelic music. And if that’s not enough, the first run of this kickass album came with a bonus disc of remixes (plus one cover), and for the most part, it’s a pretty fine freebie.

Standout remixes are the Psychic Ills’ remix of “Seer,” adding sitar and shruti to great effect, and brings in that eastern tinge that you felt was missing from the album version. Purling Hiss’s remix of “In The Sun” ups the hypnoqualities with the title repeating over

itself and some stellar guitar work.

There are three major parts which could be their own songs, but layer so well here, creating something that might surpass the original. And the reason I picked up this album: Gary War and his exclusive re-working of “When You Cut.” Completely gutting the song, manipulating individual tracks, then forcing it back together...

It’s the oddest and the best track on this bonus disc. Find it before it’s gone.

(Sacred Bones, www.sacredbonesrecords.com) Patrick Michalishyn MUNK Cloudbuster Play Munk’s first full-length album on a late-night stalk around your neighbourhood and just listen as what might otherwise be a mundane walk for munchies is utterly transformed into a struttin’, edge-cuttin’ experience.

Even if you happen to live in a beige suburb, the driveways will slowly seem to turn into the Strip, and you, (now wearing the sharpest of suits) will

have an impeccably choreographed spring in your step. Halfway through “Monopteros” you’ll hear neon lights flow out of the night like toothpaste from a tube, lighting up the streets in figures of muscle cars and waves.

“The Knights of Heliopolis” has some sweet piping against a soundscape of ever-changing ambience and shuffling, clapping percussion. Fortunately, despite its dancy-ness, this is definitely not something sleazy you’ll hear at the club. “No Milk” starts off with a hilarious yet oddly cool background of someone muttering “no milk” in a computerized gnome-like baritone, soon joined in by Asia Argento whispering about what she doesn’t like (surprise: milk doesn’t make the list). Yes, these descriptions make Cloudbuster sound like a mixed bag of shrooms, but this album works because each song is carefully crafted and confidently catchy, and the album holds together with the strength of its beats and total lack of cliché. (Gomma, www.gomma. de) Adrienne Yeung

Ulteriors

AUSTRA Feel It Break It’s hard not to draw comparisons between Austra’s debut and Hercules and Love Affair. And it’s not that they even sound alike. Austra’s not even remotely disco. But Feel It Break picks up on what were H&LA’s strongest aspects: the Antony-helmed tracks that positioned flawless, operatic vocals against strong electronic beats, too rhythmic to really be sor-

rowful, too emotionally resonant to be pigeonholed as just a dancefloor staple. It’s not a bad place to be, at all. Katie Stelmanis’s vocals are stunning, weaving effortlessly from aching vibrato to choir-like highs to echoed and breathy, and looped to the point where she’s often harmonizing with different manifestations of her own voice, which she’s damn good at. The synthetic beats are gentle rather than forceful, cradling Stelmanis’s voice for a seamless effect. “Lose It” is Feel It Break’s most powerful track, and features one of the loveliest, most angelic all-vowel bridges I’ve heard in a long time — and let’s be honest, those really are everywhere. It’s heartful, pleading and upbeat all at once.

Synths and mixers let up at the end for the piano-driven “The Beast”, a distinctly visual number that could fucntion as a soundtrack to a fairytale in and of itself. “Beat and the Pulse” — the lyrics of which the album title

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is derived from — is dark and atmospheric, and more than lives up to its name. “Hate Crime” and “The Choke” are hauntingly intimate, blending sorrowful vocals with twinkling synths.

If this doesn’t end up on my end of year “Best of ”, you’re welcome to slap me. (Paper Bag Records, www.paperbagrecords.com) Brietta O’Leary

LADYTRON Best of 00-10 Ladytron has been around since

2001, when they released 604. In the following decade they released three full-length albums and an array of EPs, and amassed a large amount of popularity and success due to their very danceable electronic pop. Among my favorites on this compilation are “Ghosts,” “Destroy Everything You Touch,” and “Discotraxx.” “Ace Of Hz” sounds like an electronic disco musical. I don’t like musicals. If you are like me and feel like taking off at a run whenever someone utters “musical,” never fear. “Fighting In Built Up Areas” is nothing to sneeze at, with ethereal sounding backup vocals and echoed/ layered German vocals on top accompanied by laser noises and a sweet bass hook. I was disappointed to see that “He Took Her To A Movie” did not appear on Best of 00-10, and it could easily replace “Runaway” which still stands flat and too poppy for my taste. (Nettwerk, www.nettwerk.com) Kyra Leib

Under The Needle mention the thundercrashes? There’s freaking thundercrashes, folks.) Higher production values are put to great use on Blood Pressures, and if you’ve even remotely liked what you’ve heard of The Kills in the past, snap this up asap. (Domino, www.dominorecordco.com) Brietta O’Leary

THE KILLS Blood Pressures Let’s be honest: The Kills haven’t changed all that much since 2003’s Keep On Your Mean Side. Distorted garage rock guitars, angular keyboards, marching band drum beats, sensual and soulful vocals with a tinge of desperation and longing, and the occasional synth bridge — it’s a pretty solid formula, when it’s carried out well, which The Kills consistently manage. But while their style hasn’t really wavered, vocalist Alison Mossheart and guitarist Jamie Hince just keep making their sound better and better. I remember being rather impressed with 2008’s Midnight Boom when it was released, but Blood Pressures blows it out of the water. While they’ve kept their established (enjoyably) jarring sound for the most part, they’ve manage to concoct a few low-key tracks that take on a bit more experimental tone, rather than just a slightly slower and quieter garage rock tune (which is still displayed on tracks like “Dammed If She Do” and “Pots and Pans”). Blood Pressures’ most amped-up track is “Nail In My Coffin”, a vicious breakup song that manages to come across more empowered than angry (“Quit being a nail in my coffin, lord knows I ain’t ready yet.”)

Hince takes over lead vocals on “Wild Charms”, which ends up sounding like McCarthy mashed up with Jesus and Mary Chain. “The Last Goodbye” sees Mossheart taking things down a notch, replacing the usual guitar with a melodic string section, and it’s gorgeous. “Heart Is A Beating Drum” makes fantastic use of keyboards reminiscent of Wire (also heard on “DNA”) and thundercrashes married with (relatively) sparse guitars. (Did I

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BEADY EYE Different Gear, Still Speeding Wait, this isn’t Oasis? It kind of is/ kind of isn’t. It’s Oasis, minus one Gallagher. So really, it’s Oasis-MinusNoel. But what’s any form of Oasis without the stumbling, pissed off brothers we’ve all come to know and love/fear—another pack of seemingly drunk floppy-haired Englishmen?

A band that wouldn’t have received half the notoriety that they did if not for their wild antics? Well no, actually. The new term for “Oasis-MinusNoel” is Beady Eye. Different Gear, Still Speeding is decent on the whole, pretty good at some points, irritating at others and nasally overall. (In saying this, I hope I am not the only one that wants to punch Liam in the nose to clear his sinuses.) It’s clear that this album was inspired by all the classics (track #4—”Beatles and Stones”) with all the big bravado lyrics and guitarheavy beats. The only problem is that Beady Eye sounds dated before they’ve even really got started (recognizing them as obviously soooo different from Oasis). A handful of the songs of this album sound like something from a Power 97 “Greatest Hits” list—the kind that gets played annoyingly often, to the point where each becomes nauseatingly synonymous to the last.

If I were going to make a couple recommendations though, “Millionaire,” “Bring the Light,” “Wigwam,” and “Three Ring Circus” are worth your time. And “Wonderwall.” (Maple Music Recordings, www.maplemusicrecordings.com ) Victoria King CHAIN & THE GANG Music’s Not For Everyone “If you feel like you’re not good enough then you’re probably not / And you know what / You never, ever will be.” Singing this silently for a

whole week may seem to be disparaging to the extreme, but after listening to Music’s Not For Everyone, it could hardly be helped. Chain & The Gang have written 14 catchy blues and garage rock tunes, each one with clever and simple lyrics that you will find yourself singing incessantly. On the surface, the defining themes of these lyrics would be drug taking, and music making, however, these guys are not some superficial rock & roll losers. When you listen to the lyrics of “Detroit Music”: “With all these factories closing down / Who is gonna make that sound!” You’ll realize that these guys have political and philosophical convictions. “Music’s Not For Everyone” is a Jim Morrison type psychedelic spoken word-and-musical piece about the appreciation of music.

“Does a moth know a flame just because it’s drawn to it? / Does a body know a bullet just because it got hit? / Do people who are listening to music even like it? / Do people deserve it, even when they buy it?” Also notable is the theme of self-loathing in “Not Good Enough” and “Can’t Get Away From Myself.” This album is the band’s second full-length and I would be remiss if I did not mention that these guys are a bunch of filthy Marxists. Their first full-length album is Down With Liberty…Up With Chains! “Liberty” is used as a symbol of Western greed and capitalism. Ian Svenonius, the lead singer of Chain & The Gang has released a book called The Psychic Soviet which might well be worth a read through! I love every single track on this brilliant album. (K Records, www.krecs.com) Kyra Leib DIAGRAM BROTHERS The Peel Sessions You’ve probably never heard of the Diagram Brothers, so here’s a fast breakdown: four English lads who took the last name Diagram; played punk songs you could dance to, with simple lyrics set to a musical formula of discordant chords only; they only put out one album and a handful of singles (all of which were collected on Brit label LTM’s reissue, Some Marvels of Modern Science); and they

sound like a mishmash of Devo, The Jam, and Man...Or Astro-man? While only being active for three years, they were invited by John Peel just as many times to record Peel sessions. This CD collects them all. What’s great about these Peel sessions (and the sessions in general) is that bands only have a few takes before they move on to the next song, giving each track the sound of raw and live immediacy. The album tracks “Those Men In White Coats,” “I Didn’t Get Where I Am Today

by Being a Right Git,” and “My Bad Chest Feels Much Better Now” sound angrier, slashier and more paranoid than the versions that have been floating about for years, which only leaves me thinking, “How would songs like ‘Atom Bomb’ and ‘Bigger Box’ sound if they were picked for Peel sessions?”

The biggest treat (besides essential versions of album and single tracks reworked) is the third Peel session.

It contains five songs, three original and two covers, that haven’t been released in any form before this. The feel of the final session is looser and more fun than anything I’ve heard by them. “Hey Dad” is a call and response between a teenage girl asking his dad for things that a teenage girl would want, and the father shooting down every request (putting it over the top, dad sings back opera-style). And by far, the best tracks here are inspired covers: the first being “You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two” from the musical Oliver!, replete with whistling and bouncy feel, it’s twisted into something that a droog would sing. The other cover is a completely hammed up-and-warped rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel. Wavering between a Nick Cave in the Birthday Party and drunken Elvis, it’s a total piss-take, and a window into a band that knew how to have fun. Essential.

(LTM Recordings, www.ltmrecordings.com) Patrick Michalishyn EDWYN COLLINS Losing Sleep Losing Sleep could have been boring if the vocals were by anyone but Edwyn Collins. Make no mistake, Losing Sleep

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is good. It’s a pretty pleasing album, filled with hooks and tambourines and handclaps and jangly guitars.

Johnny Marr is featured on one track, the uplifiting, smile-inducing “Come Tomorrow, Come Today”, but his influence runs clear through the entire album. But were it performed by someone with a less distinctive voice, it’d risk fading into the background, just another sunshiney post-Britpop (Is that even a term? It should be.) album. But the former Orange Juice frontman possesses a sort of magic, in that his otherworldly, yet comforting warble makes even the most straightforward alt-rock album seem a little bit odd. Like many an eighties postpunk hero recording solo material in the age of post-punk revival, Collins is joined by a few of his contemporary followers, most notably The Cribs’ Ryan Jarman, and Nick McCarthy and Alex Kapranos from Franz Ferdinand. “Losing Sleep”, which sounds like it could be the long-lost sister of The Jam’s “Thick As Thieves” — same ingredients, different recipe — kicks off the album, and “In Your Eyes” — co-written with Brooklyn surfmagic indie band The Drums — is a solid love song, filled with old-school longing and guitars meant to be listened to in direct sunlight. With Losing Sleep, Collins is ready to acknowledge his influence, embrace the next generation, and showcase his voice in a sunny, upbeat atmosphere with just the right amount of help from his friends. (Heavenly Recordings, www. heavenlyrecordings.com) Brietta O’Leary

AUNTY PANTY AP EP LIPSTICKFACE Gimme Both of these albums were handed to me at the Death Trap by Julia Ryckman, because they’re by her Saskatoon friend Tiffany Paige—who she did a 12” split with last year as Slattern. Yet another positive attribute we can add to Ryckman’s list in this Stylus—she keeps good company.

Paige, as Lipstickface, blatantly singraps about sex, backed by blunt drum machines. So yeah, it’s a must-listen for all you rio tgrrrls/riot grrrl fans/

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riot boiiis out there. Thing is though, Lipstickface gives me such a raging hard-on while she’s doing it, and she does it with the haunting minimalism of Young Marble Giants or the Pop Group (which might add to the boner that I’m pretty sure that she’s intentionally giving me). Over 15 tracks and nearly an hour, Lipstickface has some sure-fire hits (“Make My Day”), exploratory sound art (“Oh Baby” and the intro and outro) and some house-referencing madness like that of Pictureplane (“Dirty Boy” and “Pretty Baby”).

And as if the mad post-punk respect didn’t stop there, Paige also drums in Aunty Panty, which rounds up all these aforementioned musical references but slanted the other way, guitar-driven, with drum machineinformed drumming. (i.e. 4 on the floor, and straight eighth on a tightly closed hi-hat or cymbal, and tons of other rip-it-up-and-start-again aural treats.) Aunty Panty’s release is certainly way more cohesive than that of Gimme (although I really admire Gimme’s huge scope) and it doesn’t have a single hiccup for the entire six tracks and 15 minutes. If you’re into two-minute scream fests (“Mal Au Coeur”), or four-minute broods of a two-chord jam (“Mama Don’t Like You”), pick AP EP up or see them whenever they come into town, which I currently only assume they would. I mean, c’mon, it’s Saskatoon! I mean, yeah, Saskatoon! Fuck yeah, Saskatoon.

(Independent, www.myspace. com/lalalalipstickface // www. myspace.com/auntypantpantpanty) Taylor Burgess GRAILS Deep Politics Grails is, by all accounts, a postrock band. But they exist sequestered on the far fringes of what one could call post-rock. The only remnants of the subgenre many call their home is the instrumental quiet-loud-quiet structure that defines it. Every other trapping of the pigeonhole has been discarded for something strange and beautiful, anything strange and beautiful it seems. Not showing any sign of being from such a drab place as Portland, they rather embody a world of musical influences. This particular record borrows heavily from the spacey melancholia of Ennio Morricone and the robust orchestral flourishes of Jean-Claude Vannier all in one breath, and mixes them somewhat seamlessly into what could best be called a soundtrack to a Baguette Western. This is

the shell. The minute you finally put your finger on the multifarious influences they’re harping on, another has slipped under your radar and out into the forefront. Arabian-influenced chord progressions, the aforementioned mainland European masters, and once and a while some good old British space-rock. From Histoire de Melody Nelson to Hamza El-Din to Pink Floyd, sometimes all flopped on top of each other, Grails have truly put in their musical research, and taken their time to make sure they are all intricately woven so that you’d never notice unless you were being a persnickety reviewer. This is certainly a soundtrack to a movie that doesn’t exist, but I would love to see. (Temporary Residence, www.temporaryresidence.com) David Nowacki THE MACHAMS Stare Smile Talk The MacHams are a Canadian band formed of three brothers. Yes, exactly like Hanson, except not at all aside from the brother bit. My first impressions from the artwork are that three idiots got together and thought it would be keen to start a band. These Toronto boys have a pretty generic brand of sappy pop rock. Album opener “Save Me” is about falling in

love and not knowing what to do or something along those lines and the remaining songs are essentially a scrambled version of that first song.

The guitar is the only standout feature of this album and is average at best with each track usually featuring a guitar solo at some point. However, the guitar takes a back seat when coupled with the reoccurring theme of heartbreak and falling in love. Within about three tracks, redundancy sinks in and it’s painful. Nothing groundbreaking here. I honestly want to like this album due to the Canadian content but I cannot. A shimmer of something inoffensive is found in the catchy hooks on “Lucky Number 7,” which is a feel good summer song with a bouncy bass line and it’s track number seven… Clever fellahs!

By the end of the album, you sort of want to throw it out the window, but then album closer “Home” shows a brief heavier section and a decent brotherly gang vocal. To cap it all off there is a bonus ska-ish track, which also sucks... I hope they do not read this as they could probably kick my ass. (Independent, www.themachams.com) Scott Wolfe

13 & GOD Own Your Ghost 13 & God is a peculiar super group that formed after a tour bus spontaneously combusted on unfamiliar Canadian soil leaving its seven members buswrecked. German rock/pop giants The Notwist and the Californian hiphop collective Themselves return with their long overdue follow-up to the heavily rotated 2005 self-titled debut.

The opening tracks re-introduce these groups within a group on divided levels as Own Your Ghost plays out like a schizophrenic beast stalking itself.

Instead of forcing an entirely interwoven album, both sides compliment one another and act as limbs that seize control when needed. It may feel more like an album-sized split 7” than a combined effort by a singular group, but this is what makes the album/ group special. The Notwist seem to take the lead through most of the album and have written some of their best tracks to date while Themselves enforce their usual eeriness (You‘re just another sound / Stomping in a major city). Maybe my initial problem was consciously separating identities.

Juggling lead vocalists occurs on some of my favourite albums – Blonde Redhead’s Misery Is A Butterfly and Wolf Parade’s Apologies to the Queen

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Mary quickly come to mind – and this should be no exception. This album will infatuate the ears of fresh listeners who know little about either group but enjoy fellow Anticon groups like WHY?. Own Your Ghost is beautifully haunting and undoubtedly one of my favourite releases of the year.

(Anticon, http://www.anticon.com/) Andrew Mazurak SWEATSHOP UNION The Bill Murray EP Before any reviewing goes on, I need to get this straightened out: Sweatshop Union is made up of 4 collectives: Pigeon Hole (Dusty Melo and Mr. Marmalade), Dirty Cicus (Mos Eisley and Metty the DertMerchant), DJ Itchy Ron (just Itchy), and Conscience. Kyprios was in Sweatshop, but has since left to pursue a solo project. Moka Only often collaborates with the guys, so while he isn’t technically part of the group, he is a frequent addition. Oh right! But then there’s also another group within the group called Innocent Bystander, whose members I simply cannot figure out.

Alright, enough of this trickery. The Bill Murray Ep is Sweatshop Union’s sixth release. The band has achieved a surprising amount of notoriety with

college radio stations and among critics since their first release Local 604 in 2002. Surprising because S.U. started off as a bunch of Vancouver guys just getting together to put out a bit of their own music. My guess is their next album will likely keep them in the same good graces they earned.

Their rhymes are smart, while sometimes surprisingly wholesome for a group who accredits Bill Murray as their “patron saint.” What I was most pleased with is the depth and intellect that these guys have. One common theme that pops up throughout the album is the appreciation and respect for life. While their rhymes are smart, their beats are hit and miss. They are at their best when layering vintage backgrounds with fresh lyrics, rather than mixing their own tracks. As far as recommendations go, skip through “Bring Back the Music” and “Staring At The Walls (Too Late).” The message is there, but altogether the songs become forgettable. The rest of the album is pretty sick. Keep an eye out a release within the next year from Sweatshop Union. (Urbnet, www. urbnetrecords.com ) Victoria King WILDLIFE Strike Hard, Young Diamond Toronto band Wildlife are smart.

Why? Because when a reviewer pops in an album for the first time, the first song is really what makes you decide if it’s something you care enough to listen to and write about. And Wildlife kicked off their debut Strike Hard, Young Diamond with “Stand In The Water”, an anthemic and mulit-faceted track that sets the tone for the rest of the album in a way that many artists forget in the age of MP3 blogs and YouTube songs. Mellow acoustic strumming builds up to aching, wailing vocals, mathrock drumbeats, and alternating twangy and synthy refrains of oh’s and ooh’s. (The oh’s and ooh’s are a pretty consistent feature of the album). But if “Stand In The Water” is the essence of Strike Hard, the rest of the album follows through pretty well. While group choruses abound, lead vocalist Dean Kovinsky delivers wails worthy of Spencer Krug, and when his voice breaks, it doesn’t detract from the sound. Strike Hard is occasionally rough, and the keyboards can feel a bit formulaic at times. But it smells of potential, of layered basement recordings, and a fervent enthusiasm from the five young lads that make up the band. It’s a strong debut offering that I’ll give repeat

listens, and I’m excited to see what Wildlife can offer with a bit more focused sound. (Easy Tiger, www. easytigerentertainment.com) Brietta O’Leary

JIMMY ZEE Devil Take Me Down Devil Take Me Down features 28 artists…yes 28! That is ridiculous and, to quote my brother, “He’s like a bad rapper.” Well, yes and no. Jimmy Zee is not a rapper but actually a blues musician, and on his latest offering he delivers some nice tunes. This is ideal background music and although the talent is certainly there the album comes off over polished and overproduced at times. Jimmy’s signature growl dominates most of the songs along with fancy some guitar licks from what could be one of 28 musicians. There is something missing on Devil Take Me Down though. You get the feeling that you are in the studio next to Jimmy doing his thing—and this may sound well and good but it fails to capture that feeling of watching blues lives in some run-down local club just reeking of character. Thereby it fails to capture the spirit of blues.

(We are getting deep now.) The album flows rather poorly at times from track to track, which is probably due to the lack of consistency in the band’s line-up. Why listen to this when you can dabble into Howlin’ Wolf or B.B. King? (XL music, www.xlrecordings. com) Scott Wolfe ADAM HAWORTH STEPHENS We Live on Cliffs I would advise against living on cliffs.

Insurance is a bitch, neighbours are hard to come by and there’s a good chance that if you send little Suzie and Johnny out to play, only one may come back. On the other hand, I would advise listening to Adam Haworth Stephens’ solo album We Live On Cliffs.

Also a member of California folk-rock group Two Gallants, Stephens sings with vocals that are reminiscent of a polished, pre-pubescent Bob Dylan.

We Live on Cliffs is gentle and mildmannered with a little bit o’ rock, a

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little bit o’ folk and even the slightest bit of country on certain tracks.

I’m thinking that Stephens’ life over the cliffs is more about self-reflection than danger, which is fine by me. He shows a ‘back to basics’ kind of approach to music, which is refreshing and comfortable. We Live On Cliffs flows without relying on catchy riffs and gimmicky synths to carry it along.

As far as track recommendations go, “The Cities That You’ve Burned,” “Praises in Your Name,” and “Heights of Diamond” are pretty legit. (Saddle Creek, www.saddle-creek.com) Victoria King TWILIGHT SINGERS Dynamite Steps The success of Twilight Singers frontman Greg Dulli is a bit of a mystery.

He has a history of success with different bands and as a solo artist, but many characteristics of great music elude him. He certainly doesn’t have the voice of a great singer, as evidenced on Dynamite Steps’ opening track “Last

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Night in Town.” In fact, it seems like when he tries to sing it makes it even worse. Lyrically, Dulli’s not that great either, and this album showcases weak songwriting for even him. We get less of the general misogyny that Dulli has been claim to (and that has inexplicably charmed many of his fans) on this album, though lyrically the album has less cohesion than his 2006 album Powder Burns. What Dulli is good at though, and what is present here, is his ability to set the mood, and it’s almost always a dark one. It’s this mood that gives the music weight, and even legitimacy. Even when the vocals and lyrics are off, Dulli’s sense of atmospherics and instrumentation work perfectly to draw you in. The strings on “Get Lucky” pack a punch, similar to ones Dulli previously displayed on Afghan Whigs albums.

Though this album dabbles slightly in experimentation for him (“Last Night in Town” and “On the Corner” both feature electronic beats, for example) the tracks in line with his usual style work well. Straightforward rockers

like “Waves” show Dulli channelling the same aggression seen on Powder Burns (along with a similar song name, thematically), while songs like “She Was Stolen” show his pianoballadeering skills. This isn’t Dulli’s best work — see “Dynamite Steps,” the closing track for an example, but it’s certainly consistent with his other work - which means it’s really good.

(Sub Pop, www.subpop.com) Devin King PARTS & LABOR Constant Future Parts and Labor’s sixth noise-rock album bursts into 12 electric-led and thunderous battles – and all of them sound like richly illustrated tales of victory. With 10 years behind them, Parts & Labor have definitely found a structure they like. Lack of variation works in their favour here: these songs are narrated by clear electric guitar melodies riding on top of drums pounding and kicking the sound higher and higher until you’ve got a personal hurricane in your headphones. Dan Friel and BJ Warshaw’s harmonies are magnified and deep, lending an almost religious and kingly feel to this record. “Echo Chamber” has a vaguely celtic intro, quickly punctuated by measured shots of pummelling drums. “Bright White” is pretty unremarkable with

its constant fuzziness, but “Pure Annihilation” has no shortage of hooks.

Definitely a must-listen for fans of Japanther, Obits, and Dan Friel. ( JMZ records, www.jmzrecords.com) Adrienne Yeung SHANNON AND THE CLAMS Sleep Talk Hunx and his Punx recently traded in the Punx for the Punkettes who include bassist Shannon Shaw, the lead singer of Oakland’s Shannon and the Clams. The band enters the spotlight with their excellent sophomore album in the congested genre of lo-fi/garage/ punk/surf/rock revival. And while groups like the Vivian Girls continually release notable albums, including this year’s Share The Joy, the Clams come as a breath of fresh air (especially after the Dum Dum Girls and Best Coast put out kind of underwhelming albums despite crazy hype).

At its core, Sleep Talk is a doo-wop cacophony that jumps from distorted jingles (“Sleep Talk”) to broken-hearted ballads (“Tired of Being Bad”), but the album really shines when Shannon unleashes her brash vocals and the Clams follow with their crunchy guitars and booming drums on “King of the Sea” and ”Toxic Revenge.” The beauty of the recent influx of revival bands is the fluidity among its members. While the genre’s hub bands are

generally more well-known, their side projects like the Mayfair Set, Frankie Rose and the Outs, and, here, Shannon and the Clams become the gems that are proving their worth. Maybe I’ll start working on a garage revival Venn diagram to capture its incestuous behaviour... or maybe I’ll just go back to loving the hell out of this album. (1-2-3-4 Go! Records, www. shannonandtheclams.com) Andrew Mazurak KELLARISSA Moon of Neptune I’m not normally one to quote directly from a press release — it’s inherently biased in nature, and I should be left to my own judgements. However, this one line from the one-sheet accompanying Kellarissa’s Moon of Neptune sums the album up factually: Larissa Lovya’s songwriting “reveals her influences, including her Scandinavian heritage, films, ancient Egypt, Nico, outer space, and eccentric Australian designer Florence Broadhurst.” So if you like those unrelated things, this is the album for you (although listing “films” as one of your influences seems particularly unhelpful and vague since I think most people generally like some films). The other keyword to mention is synth. It’s the only instrument that appears on this album, aside from Larissa’s voice. Only using synths isn’t necessarily a bad thing, nor is her voice — in fact, she has a great voice. What’s problematic is that her voice, paired with such flat and bare synth provides a stark contrast that makes for an unsatisfying listen. The unfleshed synth as it is seems too often like a demo recording — you can sense where different instrumentation would really bring the music to life, enhancing the vocals. (Mint Records, www.mintrecs.com) Devin King

MOGWAI Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will is the seventh studio release by Scottish post-rock/shoegaze group Mogwai. These guys have been to-

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gether for over 20 years now, and it shows. The new album is pulled together and packed with a ton of energy and tenacity. You’ll get no comparisons from me of Hardcore to previous Mogwai albums. For that I apologize, both to you (the reader) and myself. I can’t believe I’ve missed out on these guys for the large majority of my young adult life. Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will is a hefty title to put out there, encompassing a dark humor to an odd, uncomfortable irony. In my mind, this album is that story exactly. Synths and distortions simmer with guitars and drums to provide a fast-paced landscape whose music will survive, while its inhabitants pass through unnoticed. City lights glow and cars speed through tunnels while swells and riffs take their hold on a thriving (albeit, doomed) existence.

“White Noise” is a great opener and by far a favorite, along with “Letters to the Metro” and “George Square Thatcher Death Party.” (Sub Pop Records, www.subpoprecords.com) Victoria King J MASCIS Several Shades of Why J Mascis was long known for being one of the loudest dudes in indie rock, or ‘Alternative’, as it was called at the time. His signature Fender Jazzmaster caused many an eardrum to bust in his seminal band, Dinosaur Jr., but in the good way. So, knowing nothing of his solo works, I had the volume knob turned way, way down. I was waiting for the record to start, thinking there was some long, teasing intro before my ears were guitarsmashed into my head, but after tentatively turning up the volume to a reasonable level, I realized that J had gone quiet. This is as delicate and restrained a record as they come. Gently plucked acoustic guitar, lilting string arrangements, and even the electric guitar’s appearance quiet(ish). It reminds very much of fellow ’90s ear-basher Thurston Moore’s recent Trees at the Academy, the difference being that Moore’s roots are in noisy experimentalism (which he can’t shake), whereas Mascis’ lie in good old fashioned rock ’n’ roll in the vein of Neil Young. He is very much doing a reverse Neil Young here, switching gain-heavy distortion for intimate, acoustic-driven introspective pieces, which are okay but show more promise than anything else. A pleasant listen for Dinosaur Jr. fans who hold some sentimentality in J’s moany voice, or fans of nice stuff. It’s really nice. (Sub Pop, www.subpop.com) David Nowacki

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Cinematters

HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN Dir. Jason Eisener, starring Rutger Hauer and Molly Dunsworth This is the story of a man with a dream, a dream to own a lawnmower and beautify the filthy, perverse world

he inhabits. This man is the Hobo (Rutger Hauer). But when he gets off in Scumtown, a place even dirtier than its name, the only cleansing tool appropriate quickly reveals itself to be... a shotgun.

Director Jason Eisener sets the tone for the movie quickly. The town itself looks as scummy as the name implies, every inch covered in graffiti and garbage. After being in Scumtown for barely a day, the Hobo witnesses the town’s vile de facto leader, the Drake (Brian Downey) and his two sons decapitate the Drake’s brother (Trailer Park Boys’ Rob Wells) in the middle of the street, culminating with one of the Drake’s “broads” gyrating in a white bikini over the fountain of arterial spray.

Scenes like this pepper the movie, and escalate in brutality throughout, but Eisener takes the gore to that place where it’s so over-the-top it becomes pretty hilarious. I think they call it ‘splatstick’.

In this cartoonishly sickening world, one can only feel for the Hobo.

Especially since veteran character actor Rutger Hauer puts so much gravitas into his performance that the pathos, often ignored or horribly bungled in films of this ilk, is surprisingly effective; you feel for the Hobo, you relate to him, even when is he spouting crazy hobo-speak about the dangers of bears. (To be fair, I’ve heard bears are dangerous). So when the Hobo finally does give up his dream of owning a lawnmower and picks up the titular shotgun, you are more than convinced this is the right thing—the only thing—to do. Likewise with Abby (Molly Dunsworth), who plays a hooker with a heart of gold (that old chestnut), but she does it with such convincing humanity that the contrast between her and the world around her is incredibly effective and affecting. She is also super Canadian, as are much of the cast.

Eisener could have bungled this horribly. He originally shot this as a trailer for a contest to get into the Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez double feature Grindhouse a couple of years back, and with just that to build on, this movie could have been a fairly thin, hollow experience. But Eisener not only pulled off the movie, he crafted it into an intricate masterpiece of cult cinema. He has a keen eye for detail, from the dirty old Canadian money to the extensive graffiti to the supernatural insinuations of the Drake’s hitmen, the Plague (awesome). That, and injecting some genuine human emotion (heavily helped

by Hauer) into what could have been a soulless, trashy experience makes the resulting film, while certainly not for everyone, a delight and an instant classic for fans of the genre. (2011, Rhombus Media, www.magnetreleasing.com/hobowithashotgun) David Nowacki

Weird Shit with KEnt DAviEs WHAT GOT THIS WEIRD SHIT STARTED?

Off the Charts is a charming, strange

and wonderful documentary about song-poems. Originally appearing in 2003 on the PBS program The Independent Lens, the film delves into a music industry that enables ordinary people from all walks of life to create weird and wonderful music by simply sending in their lyrics to studio professionals. For a fee, these producers and musicians will create conventional tunes with often unconventional lyrics. With their ads hidden in the back pages of newspapers and science fiction magazines, the songpoem industry has thrived for nearly a century; busily turning out hundreds of thousands of songs for the delight of novelty collectors and outsider art connoisseurs.

While the song-sharks of the industry often live off enticing their clients with promises of fame and fortune, unfortunately not one of the song-poems has ever been a hit. Throughout the film we’re introduced to several of the eccentric songwriters, including Caglar Juan Singletary, whose songpoems reflect a deep and confusing love for God, bicycles, kung fu and Priscilla Presley. We’re also intro-

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duced to Gene Marshall, a hilariously foul-mouthed, cynical, self-regarding musician who is one of major voices in the song-poem world. Another character highlight is the film’s venture into the likeable but at times unsettling life of outsider artist Gary Forney. Forney, who originally only sent in poems, decides to pursue his dream and start up his own musical act with his son. Sometimes the results are unbearable to listen to but not impossible to get behind. Fortunately for Forney, the film has since managed to launch himself, his son, and his new band Punk’N into cult status.

I was once asked what got this column started. How did I get into pursuing and promoting all things weird?

The answer is a song-poem by Rod and the MSR Singers about Richard Nixon. From the tune’s opening line, “God in his infinite wisdom put Richard Nixon on this earth,” I was transfixed, in hysterics, and haven’t been the same ever since.

I was surprised and delighted to learn in Off the Charts that the song had a similar effect with NRBQ drummer Tom Ardolino that ultimately prompted him to be one of the world’s largest song-poem collectors. In the film Ardolino describes precisely why we love song-poems so much; “People

are wild. Whatever comes in their mind—you don’t know what it could be? That’s the great thing [about song-poems] if you think about it.”

I highly encourage you to check out

the unique world of song-poems at www.pbs.org/independentlens/offthecharts/ or on the PBS channel on YouTube.

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