Off the Dial

Hot off the presses is the release date for the forthcoming album by OK Go.

The album titled, Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky, is scheduled for release on January 12, 2010 and according to the band “it’s fantastic”.  I’d like to give them props for spelling ‘colour’ the way they did and not shorting us a vowel.

Head over to the band’s myspace page to hear the first single, “Skyscraper”.

The band is using the 90210 soundtrack (in stores October 13 – circle the date!) to offer up the second single, “I Want You So Bad I Can’t Breathe”.

A third single, “Shooting the Moon”, will be on the upcoming movie soundtrack for Twilight: New Moon which comes out October 20. This single is not going to be available on the new album so you’re going to have to swallow some pride if you really want this track. (Editor’s note; You could always circumvent this by purchasing the individual tracks, if they are available on iTunes.)

Author’s note – if you’re excited about either the 90210 or Twilight soundtracks please take a long hard look at yourself in the mirror, then quietly navigate away from this page and never return. While it’s alright for the band to shamelessly pander to the ‘tween’ demographic in the interest of album sales, it is not okay for you to actually enjoy either one of those things. Shame on you…SSSHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMME!

And for those of you looking to come down on the band for using either of these avenues to generate sales, remember that the Flaming Lips played the Peach Pit back in the day without hurting their street cred.

Show

Popularity: unranked [?]

If you’re a fan of U.K. hardcore punk group Gallows, you either already took them in at the Warped Tour this year or are itching to see them open for either AFI (in the U.S.) or Flogging Molly (in Canada).

However, for those of you fans who also like to take in some boarding (snow, skate or surf), you’ll be ecstatic to hear that Gallows will be featured in a new DVD  by Relentless Energy titled Lives of the Artists. This week, the trailer for said video was released;

Despite the fact that the trailer features no music by Gallows, it is impressive none-the-less (and the live footage, although brief encompasses the experience many have tasted at a show). Relentless Energy (who are known for their energy drinks as well as extreme sports sponsorship) have indicated that the video will be out in October but no firm date has been released.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Here’s a short list of this week’s new releases! To read more details, please visit the Tuesday Guide site for full coverage! (Canadian artists in RED);

Alice in Chains ~ Black Gives Way to Blue

Jann Arden ~ Free

Paramore ~ Brand New Eyes

Jesse Cook ~ the Rumba Foundation

Default ~ Comes and Goes

Lynyrd Skynyrd ~ God & Guns

illScarlett ~ 1Up!

Ghostface Killah ~ Ghostdini

Dragonette ~ Fixin to Thrill

AFI ~ Crash Love

Barney Bentall ~ the Inside Passage

the Avett Brothers ~ I and Love and You

Landon Pig ~ the Boy Who Never

Popularity: unranked [?]

With the release of their second album, Common Dreads, U.K. based Enter Shikari singer Rou Reynolds sat down for an interview to talk about the band, the new album and…Stonehenge?

Your first album Take To The Skies–released on your own Ambush Reality label–debuted at #4 on the U.K. chart, becoming one of the most successful self-released rock albums ever. With your choice of major label offers in the U.K., why did you decide to release it on your own and what did you learn from it?

At the time, we didn’t really feel like we had a choice–we’d been touring for around two years properly without any press or label interest. We’d done everything along the way ourselves from the booking to the designing and printing of T-shirts to recording our demos. It was only as we released “Sorry You’re Not A Winner” that the interest suddenly boomed and by that time we realized we could do it ourselves with the help of the family we had built up around us. I’m glad it happened just as it did as I’d hate to be tied up in a major label deal now in this current era of uncertainty.

Your new album Common Dreads will be officially released in the U.S. in the Spring of 2010. For the U.S. release, you are partnering with DGC/Interscope. What made you decide to join forces with a major at this point?

We were lucky enough to get involved with a good crowd over there as there’s no way we could repeat the same rise in the U.S. as we did in the U.K. It’s obviously colossal in size compared to the U.K., so we knew we’d always need some help along the way and have to play a different game. Saying that, we have done a fair few tours now by ourselves– just playing the toilet circuit and it’s been really fun and still feels organic.

On Common Dreads, you teamed with producer Andy Gray (U2, Tori Amos, Korn, Gary Numan) and holed yourselves up in the isolated Isle of Wight. How did this work for you? What did you feel the result was for Common Dreads ?

It was superb– it couldn’t have been more of an opposite experience from the recording of our first album. That was rushed down in two weeks and I’ve never been happy with the way the vocals sound. This time around, it was a conscious decision to get away for a few months and experiment. Andy (Gray) was wicked as well–he was up for anything from burning pianos (“Havoc B”) to breaking into churches and recording organs (“Fanfare”) to singing outdoors in boxers whilst it was snowing at 1:00AM to get that real ‘cold’ vibe (‘’All Eyes On The Saint’’). It was a real fun experience and I’m really proud of the result! Common Dreads really captures the live feel of the band and our vision.

Fusing such polar genres of music such as electronic and hardcore, how would you describe your music to someone who has never heard of you?

Good Music. There’s good music and bad music. That’s all.

What would you describe as the most powerful song to you on this album? Which new song do you really enjoy performing right now?

That’s a tough one–I’d probably have to go with “Fanfare.” It was all done pretty last minute, so I guess it came out as a final outpouring of frustration with both our countries’ aggressive foreign policies this past decade. I’m loving performing “Havoc B” at the moment–Chris pulls down some vicious sub bass to get the ground shaking and at the end hearing the crowd join in with the chanting creates such an unbelievable sense of unity.

What was it like growing up in St. Albans, England and how did it shape you as a musician?

St. Albans has always had a struggling, but thriving music scene. First getting into the local hardcore, punk and ska scenes was great, but as we got older we noticed the local Council really started coming down hard on gigs and local venues. We fought for years putting on shows at our local youth club, and they’d actually go to crazy lengths to try and pull our live shows. Ironically, it created a sense of community for our scene and everyone got involved to do what they could to keep it alive. It still happens to this day; the last time we did a homecoming the Council tried to pull it–luckily the local press were on our side and exposed them for how stupid and malicious they were being. Other than the music, St. Albans has a great Roman history and the most pubs per square mile in the U.K.!

You’ve performed at some of the most impressive festivals in the world including Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, Download Festival, Reading, Leeds, Summersonic and all of the major European festivals. What’s the difference between your festival performance and your club show?

Nothing really–we don’t really approach them any different. It’s just a longer run to get to the crowd at a festival which is always a bummer, but we get there.

What was the inspiration behind the song “Juggernauts?”

We campaigned to stop a local superstore giant here in the U.K. from building a store right in the center of our town. It was just a nice quaint victory that was really inspiring to see everyone getting involved. The song itself is about how important it is to feel involved and to have a sense of belonging to your community and how our current economic and social system actively discourages this.

Describe your worst night on tour, ever.

On our last U.S. tour our van broke down as we were leaving Philadelphia. We spent 12 hours in a Walmart car park with a mechanic trying to fix it from 1:00AM whilst right in the middle of a thunder storm. It was pretty horrendous. We had no sleep and had to miss our show the next day so we were totally gutted.

What do you think is the biggest misconception about ENTER SHIKARI in the United States?

Rob isn’t allowed in the States because he posted a box full of his own shit to Walmart’s Headquarters and there was consequently a bomb scare and the whole building was evacuated (joking).

The name ENTER SHIKARI came from a boat that belonged to your uncle. Why did you choose it and what do you feel it means?

Shikari means “The Hunter” in many Indian languages. My uncle was a fisherman and back when I was a kid I used to go out onto the high seas with him and just thought it was an awesome word. When we made the band, it just kind of fitted into what we had to do. We knew to make changes in this world you have to get out there and hunt yourself. It just seemed apt for how we were working as a band (the whole DIY style) as well as our political outlook.

Have you been to Stonehenge and what do you think of Spinal Tap?

Stonehenge is awesome. Still fills me with absolute wonder and awe every time I go there. Spinal Tap is just the industry standard, total classic.

If you could record a song with an artist outside the genre of music for which you are known, who might that be?

I’d love to work with a rapper called Lowkey from London. He does really political hip-hop, which is such a breath of fresh air from the normal commercial bulk of hip hop which just glorifies violence and condones negativity and greed.

If you could have a conversation with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?

John Lennon.

What has surprised you most in your career so far?

How nice the majority of people you meet around the world are.

Any hobbies outside of music? Sports, etc?

I like swimming and dirt jumping (bikes), but other than that I’m not really into sports. I don’t like the sense of rigid and ruthless competition promoted in most sports. It always puzzled me in high school the amount of anger sports produced in people. I think it’s kind of pointless and silly.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Written by: Nic Gouveia

Oh how I love female vocalists. I am yet to be convinced that a man can sing anything better than a woman. And so I wait, four fucking years in fact, for Magneta Lane to release a follow up to the very successful Dancing with Daggers. Breath held for the next time I get to hear Lexi Valentine croon and subsequently make me melt into gleeful pop-noir gelatinous goo. With new album Gambling with God loaded into the iPod, I spent a cool autumn afternoon strolling thru Queen Street West in Toronto finding my answers.

You’d think with the band moving to Last Gang Records (Home for The New Pornographers and Metric) that Gambling with God would feature a more progressive sound. Sadly that’s not the case. It’s not that the album is bad, it just sounds like the previous two offerings by the band.

“Lady Bones” kicks the album off and given it’s an older tune in the Magneta catalog, you get the distinct feeling that the album will follow the tried and true blueprint the band has used before. Again, not necessarily a bad thing for a band that hasn’t quite “made it” but for fans, hearing an old song on a new album (in the first track no less) doesn’t exactly excite the old ear drums.

“Violet’s Constellations” makes up for the first track as the synthesizers compliment the driving bass line and backbeat altering my previous perceptions on where this was going. Sadly, it wasn’t long until I found myself forgetting about that and realizing the statement being made by the band. “Castles” “Bloody French” and “Queen of Hearts” are all standouts, but clearly Magneta Lane songs. The hope of a left turn in the trip fades and what you’re left with is a band who knows that this is what they are.

A strong statement and one I got loud and clear. Magneta Lane can progress, or at least change the style up a bit, but they are going to do it on their own terms. For that I cannot fault them and as I found myself walking south towards the lake I came to the realization that perhaps this album was released later than it should’ve. Gambling with God could have been my summer album, a perfect disc for a sunny road trip, but not for a chilly stroll.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Written by: Chris Andrade
Thursday, September 24th, 2009 ~ Calgary, AB

Quite some time ago, I read an article about the Tragically Hip regarding a show they did in the Southern United States. The setting was a small bar and the article quoted singer Gord Downie reciting some story about he and his partner proudly hoisting up their new-born baby, only to have it’s head chopped off by a ceiling fan. The story, along with ‘Killer Whale Tank’ and ‘Mutual Suicide’ live versions of “New Orleans is Sinking” plus the half-dozen shows I’ve witnessed personally have left an everlasting impression of their performances, above and beyond the fantastic music. Yet it had been a while since I last saw the Kingston, ON group in action and I was in for yet another phenomenal performance.

Downie, ever the showman, has virtually become a caricature of himself. Sharply dressed for both sets, he almost immediately shed his evening jacket to reveal his sweat soaked button-up shirt. Flailing and dancing across the stage, Downie belted his lines into the microphone (which was often found twirling around him or on the stage floor during vocal breaks) as if he couldn’t possibly be happier or more excited about performing these songs. He also employed the use of white handkerchiefs which appeared soaked presumably to cool himself off but were more entertainingly used as a flamboyant prop and as gifts to those fans in the front. He also ventured out into the audience on a couple of occasions delighting fans. All eyes were on him for what I believe was the majority of the time.

Of course, having played together since the 1980s, guitarists Paul Langlois, Rob Baker, bassist Gord Sinclair and drummer Johnny Fay were absolutely impeccable. They are the true definition of professional musicians and they are perfectly happy to let Downie lead the charge of exciting the fans.

They started the first set on time with the epic 10 minute We Are the Same track “the Depression Suite” which was fantastic but blew the roof off the Jube by immediately following with “New Orleans is Sinking”. Through both sets, they played at least one track from every album except for their debut EP and 2004s In Between Evolution while naturally favouring their latest release, We Are the Same and their biggest success, 1992s Fully Completely.

After wrapping up the first set with “Love is a First”, the group took a scheduled 15 minute break and returned to the stage with stools for a short acoustic set of songs including “My Music at Work”, “Boots or Hearts” and “Scared”. As the lights dimmed and the chairs were taken off stage, Downie began citing lyrics from “Springtime in Vienna” and plowed through the song as if it were his favourite. They would also play another fan favourite, “Nautical Disaster” and Downie made sure the whole auditorium were engaged for “the Last Recluse” before closing off the set with “Little Bones”.

Of course, that didn’t mark the end of the evening as they returned for a spirited two-song encore, playing “Grace, Too” and an especially vigorous “Fire in the Hole” before Downie thanked everyone for such a fantastic evening.

And what and evening indeed!

Set List:

• “the Depression Suite”
• “New Orleans is Sinking”
• “Don’t Wake Daddy”
• “The Exact Feeling”
• “Pigeon Camera”
• “Morning Moon”
• “Fireworks”
• “So Hard Done By”
• “In View”
• “At the Hundredth Meridian”
• “Love is a First”

Break

• “My Music at Work” (Acoustic)
• “Boots or Hearts” (Acoustic)
• “Scared” (Acoustic)
• “Springtime in Vienna”
• “Bobcaygeonn”
• “Nautical Disaster”
• “Throwing Off Glass”
• “The Last Recluse”
• “Fifty Mission Cap”
• “Frozen in My Tracks”
• “Fully, Completely”
• “Little Bones”

Encore

• “Grace, Too”
• “Fire in the Hole”

Popularity: unranked [?]

Written by: Matthew Kosinski

If you had told me just a year ago that Dan Bejar of Destroyer would be penning a 13-minute disco epic, I wouldn’t have believed you. In fact, I probably would have laughed off the idea quickly, maybe patted you on the back and thanked you for your little piece of absurdist humor, and then been on my way without a second thought.

And yet earlier this year, Bejar himself announced just that without so much as a slight tinge of sarcasm boiling under his words. So Destroyer fans waited patiently for Bay of Pigs to drop, and when it finally did a few months later they found themselves pleasantly surprised.

Really though, is the song’s emergence that much of a surprise? Sure, dance music is far removed from Bejar’s typical folksy throwback pop, but this is a man who rose to popularity and critical acclaim because of the sonic curve-balls he’s so adept at throwing. As anyone who has even a faint familiarity with Destroyer’s past output would know, Bejar’s music is full of oddball idiosyncrasies, from his rambling madman vocal style, to his dense, highly self-referential lyrics, to his puzzlingly pleasing compositions themselves. It all adds up to set Bejar far, far from the pack, in a desperate, poetic universe all his own. So sure, on first thought disco is a highly unexpected turn for Destroyer, but once you chew on the idea for a little while, it starts to make sense.

Now that we’ve established that the aforementioned 13-minute disco epic isn’t so far-fetched, we have to move on to the more important question; is it good? The answer; absolutely! Admittedly, Bejar’s announcement is a bit of false advertising. The song isn’t so much disco as it is void of a definite genre tag. It starts off as a quiet piece of meandering, minimalist electronica, swooping along lazily on what seems to be the sound of a spaceship taking off. After a couple minutes, the song starts to build slowly. Small bits of vocals, synthesizers, sequencers, and guitars begin occasionally emerging from the drone, breaking the monotony with an almost startling force, their melodic beauty only emphasized by the distinct lack of a melody in all of the noise behind them.

With each brief verse, Bejar’s voice becomes more and more pronounced, escalating from his first whispered supplications of “listen, I’ve been drinking” into the hectic, semi-babbling of “love is a political beast with jaws for a mouth/I don’t care,” until finally, the song morphs into a weird approximation of disco, complete with thumping back-beat, hand-claps and a highly danceable guitar riff. It only lasts for 3 or 4 minutes of the song’s total run time, but it’s easily the song’s high point. A brilliant, joyful explosion that caps the slow, churning buildup which leads to it. Afterwords, the song descends once more into to the minimalism of the beginning, peeling each added layer away until there is only silence.

The second and final song of the EP is the nearly 8-minute “Ravers.” Here, Bejar gives us more swirling minimalism. Unlike “Bay of Pigs,” “Ravers” never reaches coherent pop song status. Rather, the synths billow like ominously elegant clouds for pretty much the song’s entire duration, usually taking the back seat to Bejar’s disjointed delivery, although they do swell and burst in a couple places, delivering some needed release. Lyrically, the song is incredibly strong, possibly even stronger than “Bay of Pigs” but as a whole, “Ravers” falls a little flat. It drags on for too long without giving the listener the same kind of release that “Bay of Pigs.” Admittedly, the song’s shortcomings may very well be cast into light solely because of the powerhouse they follow. “Bay of Pigs” is a phenomenal work, and most songs would feel flimsy if they had to arrive on its heels.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Written by: Laura Melvin

Phish has released their 11th studio album entitled Joy – their first album in 5 years.  The band was an important part of 90s music, and Joy reminds listeners why Phish still deserves their own fan base of “Phish-heads”.  They became well known for many things; their avid following, their annual “Phish Festival” and their association with pot culture.  But it’s their tendency to dabble in other genres and incorporate extended improvisational jam sessions into their songs that made them famous.

The first song on Joy, “Backwards Down the Number Line”, is an upbeat track reminiscent of 90s pop-rock, followed by the 70s-groove inspired “Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan”.  Title track “Joy” is a slow, though not depressing, song that starts with simple piano and then builds with backing drums and guitar for the chorus.

This album is certainly not confined to a specific genre.  “Sugar Shack” accomplishes its Caribbean vibe with steel drums and harmonized vocals.  Then we have “Ocelot”, which sounds almost like a children’s song, the country-rock “Kill Devil Falls”, psychedelic “Light”, the short and bluesy “I Been Around”, and the supposedly-epic album closer “Twenty Years Later”, which, unfortunately, is a weak finisher for an otherwise good album.

In true Phish fashion, the band includes one marathon track clocking in at over 13 minutes – track 9, “Time Turns Elastic”.  Phish changes tempo, mood, instrumentation, and throws in mini-jams between lyrics throughout the 13 minute 30 second song.  At approximately the halfway mark, the song switches to a very long, and improvisational sounding, jam session, interrupted only briefly by occasional vocals.  When the jam lets up with 2 minutes left, you feel like you just heard a bunch of musicians completely zone out and then suddenly realize that they were supposed to be playing something else.  Fitting for Phish, who have a reputation as a green band, if you get my drift.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Who knew that in the middle of recording and promoting the most anticipated rock super-group (Them Crooked Vultures) that Dave Grohl would be able to deliver a new Foo Fighters single to go along with their Greatest Hits package out later this year? However, that’s exactly what we got today with the announcement of the release.

Sounding like it took a page form Tom Petty, Foo Fighters today revealed the single “Wheels” with the following “video” on YouTube;

I quite like it actually. The Foo Fighters Greatest Hits package hits stores and online on November 13th. It’s believed there will be a second brand-new song included in the release.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Written by: Nic Gouveia

It’s been three years and you could be excused for thinking the boys of Moneen had called it quits. In reality, the absence was due to the revolving door that has eaten up band members in the past. This time around, drummer Peter Krpan decided to start a solo project and made way for new drummer Steve Nunnaro. With the dust settled, Moneen presents their forth studio album The World I Want to Leave Behind.

The tone of the album seems fairly obvious in the title track as a quasi melodic guitar, softly leads the listener into the depths of jaded pessimism that carries throughout much of the album. Tracks “Hold That Sound” “The Long Count” and “The Glass House” hold true to Moneen’s generic pop-punk sound that will ring true to fans but misses the mark for those who are hearing them for the first time.

Moneen does stray from the usual, if only for a moment and provides quite a bit of experimentation on tracks “Believe” and “The Way.” Sadly, that gets lost in lyrical content that appeal more to the teen scene. Fans of earlier Moneen incarnations aren’t seventeen anymore and the continuation of whinny, teen angst overpowers what could’ve been an evolution for the band.

If you are in a place right now where being jaded about life is status quo, this album isn’t going to give you a fresh perspective on things, but likely will validate your feelings towards the world. Now cheer up you Misfits t-shirt wearing douche bag.

Popularity: unranked [?]