New Arcade Fire Tune – Coming Soon

Montrealer’s Arcade Fire posted a cheeky postcard giving clues to a new song being released.  It states the following:

Howdy yall- Just finishing up pressing our new 12″. Should be in stores in the next couple weeks. God willing. Good luck with finals. See you this summer!”

It should be part of their upcoming release that’s scheduled to be coming out this year.

Add comment May 18th, 2010

Giving back to the fans | BSS play in TO’s top indie record stores

Broken Social Scene is giving back to their fans yet again.  In support of their new album, Forgiveness Rock Record, Toronto’s favourite indie mega-band returns with 4 in-store performances in the 4 top Toronto indie record stores tomorrow.

What a great way to recognize some of the best record stores in the city, and show the fans how a accessible such a behemoth-sized orchestral indie band can really be.

Sunday May 9th
2pm – Criminal Records (493 Queen Street West) - crimedoesntpay.ca
4pm – Rotate This (801 Queen Street West) - rotate.com
6pm – Soundscapes (572 College Street) - soundscapesmusic.com
8pm – Sonic Boom (512 Bloor Street West) - sonicboommusic.com

Add comment May 8th, 2010

Showing potential

Band of Skulls and the Whigs
Mod Club |04.28.10
7.5/10

It was a nice warm night in the city to check out one of my latest faves, Band of Skulls at the Mod Club on Thursday night.  I’ve had a heart-on for this trio ever since hearing their catchy, head boppy track ,”I Know What I Am” last year.  I can’t get enough of guy/girl vocal combos these days (ala The XX and Stars), and the blend of Russell Marsden’s raspy rocker and Emma Richardson’s warm sound is no exception.

Montreal’s Silver Starling opened the night with a short set of indie pop to warm the crowd.  They were troubled with some sound issues; the bass overdrive and subwoofer was set to sloppy nightclub, and vocals were washed out.  I also found lead vocalist Marcus Paquin’s voice wasn’t strong enough to carry the band, but it could have been the mixing issues (did you do a soundcheck?), which is a shocker as the Mod Club typically has great sound.  The best songs of the night were “Closer” and “Something for Nothing” – the rolling drums and pulsing melodic sound was quite infectious, showing essences of the Stills/Arcade Fire.

The Whigs exploded onto the stage with a high octane set of garage rock. Lead vocals/guitarist Parker Gispert was a real showman with his Liu Kang karate kicks and speaker jumping antics.  I was personally enthralled by the shag bopping stylings of drummer Julian Dorio, reminding of the Muppets’ Animal.  He was the true key in driving their gritty power chord rock, with his smash-happy crash symbols and heart stomping bass drums.  Their hit, “Like a Vibration” had a much stronger attack and grit than their recorded version, pumping up the crowd.

Once the Whigs left the stage, I was saddened to see about a quarter of the crowd bail before the Band of Skulls came on stage.  I realize that the Whigs are more more established, and perhaps should’ve closed the night, but at least give them a chance!

Band of Skulls was smart to begin with a few of their known and heavier tunes “Light of the Morning” and “Diamands and Pearls”.  Lead Marsden’s vocals were bang on and drew me right into their sound, even if the rest of the crowd was ready for bed.  Emma Richardson wasn’t as strong as I would’ve liked, at times going a little over zealous at times with her vocals, likely to keep up with Marsen.

But overall I did find their stage presence a little lack lustre, with at times facing their backs to the crowd for a little too long and stiff banter with the crowd.  To their defense, the crowd was quite drowsy and still coming down from the Whigs’ set.

What also didn’t help was playing their 7-minute rendition of “Cold Flame”, which happens to be one of my favourite tracks from their title album, “Baby Doll Face Honey”.  I’ve always equated this track to be a cathartic finishing piece to cap off a hard party night.  Placing it right in the middle of their set of wasn’t best choice in keeping the drowsy crowd awake.

Once they kicked it back up a notch with “I know what I am” and crowd favourite “Blood”, the energy did rise, but it never peaked.  Was it a little too late?  Thankfully, their encores “Hollywood Bowl” and “Honest” (see clip below) left on a good note, showing potential of what could have been.

Video: “Honest” by Band of Skulls (Clip)

Despite being overshadowed by The Whigs, overall The Band of Skulls did put on a decent show.  With such a great breakout album, I’m still amazed that they haven’t caught on yet.  After their tour this summer, they’ll back in the studios to recorded their follow up album.  Perhaps then, they’ll get the attention they deserve.

Video: “Cold Fame”

-REVIEWED BY: ROBB ENG

2 comments May 1st, 2010