geekent’s stuff’n things

‘07 vol. 1

Blonde Redhead: 23

This was recommended to me by the owner of Penguin Music as I was touring through the store one day. I’ve always liked BR, since I first heard them on Brave New Waves a decade ago, and I have had a live concert CBC recorded in ‘05 (?) on my iPod for some time, but I’d never bought an album. The title track, “23″, had come my way via music bloggers, and on the strength of that song alone I succumbed to the record store owner’s sales pitch. I have to say it’s a good album, but not as pulsating or driven as the opening track would have you suspect. I find Kazu Makino’s hushed, Swedish-popstar-style vocals to be overwhelmingly twee at times though, and that sensation only seems unfortunately to grow the more I listen to the album. The lyrics are always interesting, the epic rhythm and atmospheric guitars almost always generate something aurally interesting, but the sound doesn’t retain it’s initial mystery very well. The switchoff on vocals to one of the Pace bros. is welcomed and needed, but I still find it unusual the rarity of Pace and Makino performing vocally together.
-3.5/5-

Cex: Sketchi

Electronica wunderkind Rjyan Kidwell (now all grown up) has abandoned his curious (and not altogether unpleasant) fixation with rapping and turned his complete focus back onto his computers and sound collages. Sketchi is utterly downtempo, and even moreso in the skein of ambient rather that driven electronic music, looking yonder The Orb’s way, with eight tracks each clocking a minimum of six minutes. The standout is “Oregon Ridge”, highlighting a global fusion sound building into some crunchy, fuzzed-out electro. It’s not nearly as immediate as his previous electronic works, but is another flex of Cex’s composition muscles, playing with his sounds and adeptly fidgeting with as many different genres of computer-centric music. A great late-late night wind-down or atmospheric while-you-work record.
-3.5/5-

The Rapture: Pieces of the People We Love

Perhaps a sister band to !!!, the Rapture is intent on creating funky, danceable indie-rock tracks. Swirling 70’s synths, heavy bass grooves and, yes, more cowbell/hand claps/woodblocks, accompany a lot of hooked-in choruses and chants, screaming guitars and pounding kick drums, all of which combine to create a quite infectious listening, even if it’s actually a little forgettable. Although I’ve listened and enjoyed the album numerous times over, it’s rare that the funked-out tracks permeate my subconscious in any manner and I rarely find myself humming or repeating a refrain at any point, even though you’d think with the hooks of “Get Myself Into It” or “Whoo! Alright- Yeah…Uh Huh” would have me humming all day. There is some twinges of The Cure (”Calling Me”), Happy Mondays (”Down For So Long”) and even the Thrill Kill Kult (”First Gear”) throughout which, although appealing, I’ve yet to decide is really a positive thing or not. I can recommend the album, but for a good time only.
-3/5-

Modest Mouse: We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank, Modest Mouse: The Moon & Antarctica

A fortunate finding at the now lamented Sam The Record Man: all Modest Mouse albums for $9.99. Having quite fondly encountered the Mouse in 2004 with “Good News For People Who Love Bad News” (which still plays quite nicely 3 years later) I had been contemplating acquiring more of their back catalogue, but just never got around to it, and when the new album came out I was in a music acquisition lull. Too often I wind up buying and really enjoying an album from an artist only to find past material not nearly as entertaining or new material to be too far deviated from what I enjoyed about them. With Modest Mouse, however, I’m finding them to be incredibly consistent in both their ability to maintain an audio aesthetic but also sweeping broadly through different experimental styles, with their older album (”The Moon…”) as well as their latest (”We Were Dead…”). I’m a fan.
The Moon & Antarctica - 4/5
We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank” - 4.5/5

Sloan: Never Hear The End Of It

This is the album Sloan fans have been waiting for since Navy Blues nearly a decade before. For all their dips into era-centric concept records, no matter how focussed or meandering, they seemed like a lost entity for three albums. I can’t say this a return to form, because it’s a definite step forward rather than back for them, but what it is, actually, is their first capitalization on the expectation fans have from a Sloan record. In fact, they not only meet expectations, but exceed them. 30 songs on one CD pushed to its very limit, the tracks are generally about 2 minutes in length, sometimes less, sometimes more, but the flow I think is the key. What Sloan have done is provided us with an album, not a collection of singles, something I’m not sure they’ve ever really done before. While maybe two of the tracks stand out awkwardly, and another two or three stand out due to sheer energy, the bulk of the album falls in line, one song segueing itself into another, into another, into another. The songs all are quintessentially Sloan, with an assortment of love songs, party jams, and contemplation songs with great harmonies, catchy hooks and a good, upbeat feeling overall. Though few of these songs can hope to match the great Sloan tracks released over the past 15 years, this may very well be their tightest and best album yet.
-5/5-

It’s been over 2 years since I last regularly wrote about music on this sidebar, part disillusionment with live gigging, and part just apathy at the end of last year, beginning of this year about music in general. It’s taken a heavy investment in the CBC Radio 3 podcasts to pull me out of my music slumber, but even then I’m nowhere near as invested in music as I was 3 years prior, but my interest in Canadian musicians is at an all time high, I’d say.
Anyway, It’s The Music was my way of recapping my musical investment in ‘05, and it’s back again in ‘07. Now, honestly, I don’t like writing about music very much anymore, so these will be blunt and laden with my own personal biases, so fair warning.

Dave Gorman’s Genius

The man who search the world for 52 other namesakes on a bet and became addicted to tracking down Googlewhacks takes a breather from time-zone hopping and instead takes on the role of host of this non-gameshow wherein people bring their ingenious ideas to a panel (usually Dave and one guest of some repute) where they proceed to either praise, deconstruct, or completely annihilate it. Like a low-stakes version of the Dragon’s Den meets the anti-quiz show of QI, it’s charming and entertaining if somewhat forgettable.
-3/5-

The Bicycles: The Good The Bad and The Cuddly

I bought this at the request of a good friend and decided to thriftily rip the disc before I passed it along. To be honest, I’ve barely given it a listen. I can’t even give it an out-of-five ranking, that’s how unfamiliar I am with it.

!!! : Myth Takes

Without the endlessly plodding three tracks of “Shit, Scheisse, Merde”, !!!’s previous album would have been a much stronger album, but still probably a half dozen tracks too long. I saw !!! as, really, a singles-only band, the songs on their debut just too long to generate any real flow from one track to the next. But for whatever faults they may have had, the dance-pop-punk returned this past January with an honest-to-gosh album that scaled back in duration, tightened up the beats, grooves and switch-ups, infused with energy and, best of all, has held up over nearly a year of repeated listening with much enjoyment still readily derived.
-4/5-

Holy Fuck: S/T, Holy Fuck: EP, Holy Fuck: LP

My favourite discovery this year, Holy Fuck is a collection of musicians from other bands come together to make some of the best electronica/dance music of the past decade. Deliciously fuzzed out, the group take as many different found objects that can produce sounds and patch them into some archaic looking mixers and amps and get to work. Armed with live drums and guitars along with their crazy Frankenstein-patchwork of technology new and old, they can assault, inspire and sedate with equal measure. While some songs have hooks that just get your head and body moving, there are some that just flutter about your ear canal, pleasuring your eardrum and resonating to your brain. If I have one problem with Holy Fuck it’s that I had already bought their independently released self-titled EP, all but one songs which were transferred over to the LP. F***! My advice, get one or the other, but not both.
-4.5/5-

De La Soul: Impossible Mission TV Series Pt. 1

Released in Europe about 6 weeks before North America (or else De La’s independent distribution channels just took their time), this is a real treat for De La Soul fans who have suffered through some rather lackluster conceptual albums over the years. While their last effort, the Grind Date, was a decent record, it’s somewhat forgettable in De La’s oeuvre (where their first two album still shine as twin towers of brilliance in the hip hop world). “Impossible Mission” is a departure from the trio of Pos, Dave and Maceo, playing like a mixtape rather than a proper album. The tracks are all over the map, but by staying below the radar of corporate-owned music, they are able to return to a more sampleadelic formula, poaching loops from their record collections and devising pleasurable beats that aren’t a crunk assault delivering rhymes with flow and harmony, not to mention a message, which most mainstream rappers these days just don’t understand. The mixtape takes a look back at some cutting-room-floor tracks from their early years which sound out of sorts amidst today’s material, and yet perfectly in place with the mixtape format. It’s a great album, smooth and head nodding, which, although I’m a huge fan, surprised me.
-4/5-

The Futureheads - News and Tributes
Vagrant
The Futureheads - News and TributesThe debut self-titled album from England’s The Futureheads is still an excessively engaging and listenable album, one of my favourites from 2004, and an easy contender for one of my favs for the decade. Full of catchy pop hooks with sweet in-harmony vocals contained in a dozen concise nuggets, it would prove hard for their sophomore album to measure up to it. News and Tributes is that album, and as much as I hated to admit it, I was disappointed. The songs aren’t as immediate as their debut, however there is a definite growth in the sound, extending songs more and more beyond the two and even three minute mark with more instrumentation (though still not straying from the drum/guitar/bass ensemble). I gave News and Tributes a few listens, each time feeling a little less disappointed, but still not engaged. Then one day, standing at a transit stop, I found myself singing along to almost every song. Though less overt, the latest Futureheads is just as infectious, and songs like “Skip to the End”, “Burnt” and “Yes/No” are some of their best yet. Disappointment has made way for pleasant surprise, and perhaps another favourite album.
4.5 out of 5
Republic of Safety - Vacation
Ta Da! Records
The politically and/or sexually charged Republic of Safety have been local Toronto ambassadors for a few years now, spreading their gospel sardonic to the masses. Vacation is their second EP, a quartet of garage punk growling over things like overpackaging and small town living. Though hardly a one person act, artist/playwright Maggie Macdonald is the obvious spearhead for the group, taking the lyric writing and lead vocal chore for the band. The standout track, featuring Owen Pallet (aka Final Fantasy) and Gentleman Reg, has a catchy big-band pop sing-n-clap-a-long sound that feels Hidden Cameras-esque (which is no surprise given Macdonald/Pallet/Reg’s ties to that group). The other three tracks, however, don’t feel so big and aren’t nearly as infectious. Macdonald feels stuck in a pseudo-Elastica impersonation, which isn’t that awkward but it never seems natural. There’s a theatricality to it that’s on the one hand interesting, but on the other somewhat disingenuous.
2.5 out of 5
Islands - Return to the Sea
Equator Records
The Unicorns’ quirky brand of folk-punk-electropop didn’t last long, and the trio’s highly touted live antics either inspired or outraged potential fans. One thing that could always be said about them was they were definitely different. Out of the ashes, two of the group’s members, Nick Diamonds and J’aime Tambeur forged on, with new members and an arsenal of instruments. Return to the Sea was recorded in Montreal, and mixed in a bedroom, giving it an intimate and yet monstrous sound. Kicking off the album is a sweeping nine-minute-plus track, “Swans”, which is as epic as “Bat Out of Hell” but more adventurous, less aggressive (and sounds nothing like it). Followed by the baroque “Humans”, the Unicorns’ sound still seeps through, but here is more polished and sonically dense, to its advantage. Hints of Brian Wilson, Simon & Garfunkel, and 60’s Ameri-pop waver through, but Islands twists and turns any sound-alike conventions on their head with a hyper dose of multi-instrumentation, some electronic tinges, and even the odd-but-fitting foray into calypso, hip-hop and math rock. Where they succeed best is in the long-form near-operatic, but each song has its own unique style while blending in with the album as a whole.
4.5 out of 5
The Diableros - You Can’t Break the Strings In Our Olympic Hearts
Baudelaire
With the success of both the Montreal and Toronto music scenes on an international scale, a large-ish (6-member, co-ed) band such as the Diableros is bound to get comparisons to the big names from the respective cities. Yes, there is a passing likeness in sound to the Arcade Fire, most specifically in the vocals, as the Diableros’ singer Pete Carmichael does have a wavering, strained rasp that is akin to the Fire’s Win Butler. But Carmichael’s vox are fuzzed out, which is consistent with the overall tone of …Olympic Hearts, the Toronto band’s debut album. In this manner they remind me more of the Rock*A*Teens, (an underrated 90’s underground Merge act) with urgent, pleasing, and romantic-sans-cliché, making muddy, noisy-but-tender rock songs floating atop a subversive Stereolab-like drone. There’s complexity toe tunes like “Push It To Monday” or “Through the Foam”, but also an uplifting sensibility which is already spreading out from Toronto to multi-national realms.
4 out of 5
DANGERDOOM - Occult Hymn EP
www.adultswim.com
The success of last year’s merging of (now superstar) DJ Danger Mouse and notorious rhymesayer/producer MF Doom didn’t really surprise anyone with passing familiarity of the duo’s individual output, but the success of The Mouse and The Mask transcended performance expectations in part because of their alliance with the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim cartoon lineup. In some respects it’s a novelty album, with the success of shows like Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law already on the wane, but in other respects, it’s a phenomenal combination of Danger Mouse’s always inventive sound collages and MF Doom’s even cleverer, pop-cult infused wordspeak. By all rights DANGERDOOM was an on-off project, and I doubt anyone was expecting a follow-up, but Adult Swim commissioned more tracks from the duo, making them available on-line rather than in stores, together under the mast of Occult Hymn EP. You have to expect a certain level of quality from DANGERDOOM, and they deliver to that level, but rarely exceed it. Hardly a disappointment, it’s an extension to The Mouse and The Mask rather than its own independent project. Seven tracks, comprised of three remixes (standout track is Madlib’s flutey 70’s remix of “Space Ho’s”, two interlude skits featuring cartoon excerpts, and a couple bonus tracks.
3 out of 5

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5 (it’s a big’un with three of the year’s best albums):
Caribou: The Milk of Human Kindness
Spoon: Gimme Fiction
Novaillero: Aim Right For The Holes In Their Lives
Planet Smashers: Unstoppable
The National: Alligator
The Rogers Sisters: Three Fingers

(more…)

I’ve been doing this sideblog for over two years now, and as of late I’ve been primarily focussed on movies, dvds and linking to my comic reviews over at Thor’s Comic Column (I did it again!). I’ve had the occasional concert review but one would almost think I’ve been listening to no music at all. Well, the stack of CDs on my table next to me says different, so I’m starting a multi-part review series, ploughing through all of my 2005 CD purchases.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Part 4:

Broken Social Scene: You Forgot It In People
Gift of Gab: 4th Dimensional Rocket Ships Going Up
Mike Relm: Radio Fryer

(more…)

I’ve been doing this sideblog for over two years now, and as of late I’ve been primarily focussed on movies, dvds and linking to my comic reviews over at Thor’s Comic Column (I did it again!). I’ve had the occasional concert review but one would almost think I’ve been listening to no music at all. Well, the stack of CDs on my table next to me says different, so I’m starting a multi-part review series, ploughing through all of my 2005 CD purchases.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3:
Kid Koala: Live From The Short Attention Span Theatre (plus DVD)
The Diskettes: Weekend At Island View Beach
Scanner + Dessy: Play Along
Ghislain Poirier: Beats As Politics

(more…)

I’ve been doing this sideblog for over two years now, and as of late I’ve been primarily focussed on movies, dvds and linking to my comic reviews over at Thor’s Comic Column (I did it again!). I’ve had the occasional concert review but one would almost think I’ve been listening to no music at all. Well, the stack of CDs on my table next to me says different, so I’m starting a multi-part review series, ploughing through all of my 2005 CD purchases.
Part 1
Part 2:
Sixtoo - Chewing on Glass
Subtle - A New White
Mia Doi Todd - Manzanita

(more…)

I’ve been doing this sideblog for over two years now, and as of late I’ve been primarily focussed on movies, dvds and linking to my comic reviews over at Thor’s Comic Column (I did it again!). I’ve had the occasional concert review but one would almost think I’ve been listening to no music at all. Well, the stack of CDs on my table next to me says different, so I’m starting a multi-part review series, ploughing through all of my 2005 CD purchases.
Part 1:

• MF Doom: MMFood
• Swell: Whenever You’re Ready
• V/A: Stone’s Throw 101 cd/dvd

(more…)

So the year of 2004 still has a few weeks to go, but some of us have had quite enough of living for today and have begun thinking about yesterday… 11 months of yesterdays to be exact.
I’ve begun compiling a list of the “best of” lists, primarily for alt.music but some movie lists and other things might crop up too, mostly of things I read or come across.

(more…)

the suicide squeeze release of the Unicorns’ “2014 b/w Emasculate The Masculine” ep.
A great companion to the Unicorns’ full length “Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Dead?”

Balanescu Quartet: Possessed
an awesome string arrangement of 5 classic Kraftwerk songs, 1 classic David Byrne song, and 3 original compositions.