I’ve spent the last couple of days in Calgary for my day job, but back in front of the home computer now, and can’t stop listening to this track from Toronto’s Bravestation. Kind of a fun little name too, though reminds me perhaps a bit too much of Superstation TBS, where the Atlanta Braves used to play until they split it into TBS and Peachtree, which is a complete waste of a channel in my opinion.

Back in the music world, though, Bravestation weaves ambient, new wave, and indie pop sounds on a giant loom of music. Their debut full-length “Giants & Dreamers” is to be released on July 10, with a release party at The Drake in Toronto on July 7.

A video for another track – “Signs Of the Civilized” – will also be available soon; you can stream that track by checking out their bandcamp site.

Tracklist

1. Tides of the Summit
2. Western Thrills
3. Fluorescent Scenes
4. Signs of the Civilized
5. Amaranthine
6. Lines in the Sand
7. Marble Sky
8. Kaleidoscope
9. Future Love

Phil Elverum was in town on Tuesday night. Performing solo at the Wunderbar under his stage name Mount Eerie. For those of you that weren’t there, I’m so very sorry (more so if you were stuck at Rexall).

You see, Phil is a musician’s musician. I know that because I met The Joe beforehand, and Elverum is one of his favorites (if not very favorite). It’s so impressive to hear another musician rave about another, how they were so dramatically influenced by the artist, how even they, an accomplished musician in their own right, went completely ‘fanboy’ the first time they met him. And then to see him live for myself, just Phil and his guitar (and various loops and feedbacks of course), it was truly a monumental experience. It’s like the roof parted and a beam of light just shot straight down into the venue, encompassing Phil and the crowd in a perfect halo of sound, and time stood still for the far too short time we had together. And the crowd, who was completely rapt, unwavering in their attention, who weren’t speaking even during breaks between songs, all eyes glued on him. Hell, a few people were probably welling up, though I didn’t look hard enough I can say that with 100% confidence, my own eyes too fixed on Elverum.

I probably should’ve picked up an album – apparently he has a new one dropping next Tuesday – though maybe it’s one of those events that was so transcendental that trying to relive it via recorded media would just be a hopeless cause.

When last we left our good friends Said the Whale they were in the midst of releasing videos (the last one we featured was “We Are 1980” in February). Since then …

Their video “Loveless” is in a competition over on the MTV website; the winning video gets added to rotation. I’m not a big fan of the music video channels anymore (hell, they don’t even show videos that often anymore last I checked), but that would still be pretty awesome. Click here to help ‘em out.

They were robbed while in Manchester (yep, second time in not too long). I heard they recovered some of their stuff, but still, kinda sucks. Our best to them.

Also, yesterday was the band’s FIFTH BIRTHDAY. Five years ago, they played a release show for “Taking Abalonia” at the Media Club in Vancouver. Congrats, guys.

( you know what’s weird, as often as we’ve talked about them, we’ve never shot one of their shows; we’ll have to rectify that next time they’re through )

North America Festival Dates

My favorite festival of the year – SLED ISLAND in Calgary – is inching up on us closer and closer. I already have a hotel booked, and just sent in my vacation request today, so barring unforeseen circumstances I’m all set (I’m continuing on from Calgary to hook up with one of my favorite music bloggers – Ethan from 83Music – in Boise to see Wilco on the Tuesday night).

The festival announced some killer new bands to the lineup today, including The Dudes, Japanese noise artist Boris (been wanting to see them for a while now), Shabazz Palaces (who I’ve also heard incredible things about, though you may be surprised by that I’d be interested in them), and Daedalus.

They also announced a new addition to the schedule, the East Village Block Party on Thursday night, which will include performances from Flosstradamus,  HUMANS, and Max Ulis, in addition to DJ’s and other intriguing ideas (a skateboard competition – we’ll see how that goes).

Finally, they’ve announced the schedule for Olympic Plaza.

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

The festival runs June 20 – 23; hope to see everyone there. You can get your passes through the Sled Island website – click here.

We’re going to start featuring one Sled Island band per week here on NMM as a special feature; watch for that next week.

My selection of Adam-Lambert-free new releases this week. Some exceptional options, including Beach House, Best Coast, and mewithoutYou.

Beach House – Bloom (Sub Pop). Dream poppers from one of my favorite all-time labels out of Seattle, though this band is from Baltimore. Still riding quite the blog buzz wave, this is their fourth album, and second on Sub Pop (they were previously on another of my faves, Carpark).

Best Coast – The Only Place (Mexican Summer). This band could only come from Los Angeles, with a surf rock monothesis parted only gingerly by garage. Am I still in love with Bethany Cosentino? Hell, yes, along with probably millions more. Absolutely loved loved loved their 2010 “Crazy For You” (though once in a while when I say that album name I still hear a Bangles song in my head). I expect I’ll love this one too. It’ll undoubtedly be in my iTunes by the time you read this.

Birthmark – Antibodies (Polyvinyl)

Godsmack – Live & Inspired (Universal Republic). Ha, you weren’t expecting to see this band here were you. 2CD live package, the first with 13 tracks recorded during a performance at Detroit Fox Theatre in 2010; the second with four cover tracks. Hence, Live and Inspired.

Man Forever – Pansophical Cataract (Thrill Jockey)

mewithoutYou – Ten Stories (Pine Street). Fifth album from these eclectic Philadelphia rockers with considerable religious imagery in their music. Should be a good one.

Nelson, Willie – Heroes (SMG). Pretty positive reviews so far, a lot, and I mean a lot, of collaborative work between Willie and various musicians. Features his Coldplay cover as the last track as well.

Plankton Wat – Spirits (Thrill Jockey). Stage name for a solo project by Portland’s Dewey Mahood, who also plays with Eternal Tapestry, Garden Sound, and Edibles. Psych-rock intertwined with transcendant musings. My #2 for the week, despite some pretty heady competition (B/C is gonna be my #1, no competition apologies to everyone else).

Slugabed – Time Team (Ninja Tune). Bath’s Greg Feldwick throws a potpourri of various inspirations into a giant kettle and out pops some unique twisted electronic music.

Stone Iris – Illuminations EP (na). A local Edmonton artist;  check out the first single, “Hide and Seek”, over at Soundcloud.

Tucker, Alexander – Third Mouth (Thrill Jockey). This English artist (hailing from Kent) started his musical career by singing for hardcore band Suction in the 1990’s, and has since gone on to working with a whole swack of famed artists, as well as on his own as well. This is his sixth solo album, where his stylings tend towards “folk, drone metal and electronica” (Subba Cultcha). He’s also played in Fuxa, Papa M, and Unhome, as well as The Stargazers Assistant and Grumbling Fur, and let’s not forget side projects Ginnungagap and the Stephen O’Malley and Alexander Tucker Duo. One of the busiest artists in the UK without a doubt. Pictured.

Violens – True (Slumberland). Previewed the album last night. I liked it, but enough to buy it – probably not this week with all the other notables above.

Williams, Andre & the Sadies – Night & Day (Yep Roc)

Photos by Aaron Vanimere / Words by New Music Michael

A week ago a number of us made our way down to McDougall United Church on the Sunday night for the Great Lake Swimmers show. Even though they’re from Toronto, they have a massive following here in Edmonton, and for very good reason. Even better, Cold Specks was opening. And everyone I know made sure to be in their seats in plenty of time for Cold Specks (the stage name for the solo project of Etobicoke’s Al Spx), our expectations were definitely high coming in. We weren’t disappointed. She has a fantastic voice, and is a marvelous songwriter, and that’s just her performing solo (which absolutely mesmerized the entire church).

I picked up my lithograph and signed CD of the Great Lake Swimmers, and then after a short break they proceeded onto the stage. Frankly, I think they’re one of the preeminent folk-folk-rock bands of Canada right now. Which would likely mean North America too, I suppose. If you’ve never heard them you’re doing yourself a great disservice. Spectacular. Extraordinary. Jaw-dropping. Honestly, I was sitting there in the church (hoping I wouldn’t be struck down by lightning, obviously), but at the same time wondering how it’s possible for humans to create such beyond-perfect songs. One would think some sort of heavenly beings, or at least from some different plane, were involved. Of course, we were in a church, so who knows. And obviously because it was a church the acoustics were just phenomenal. Some of the sightlines were challenging, though our seats were perfect.

At any rate, Aaron had a photo pass, so do check out below for all of his amazing pics. And further beyond that, the rest of the itinerary for this tour, and all other announced dates for both acts.

Cold Specks

Great Lake Swimmers

Tour Itinerary (GLS/CS)

Tour Itinerary (Great Lake Swimmers Only)

Tour Itinerary (Cold Specks only)

Ended up seeing The Black Keys / Arctic Monkeys show at the last minute here in Edmonton on Saturday night. Click here for my thoughts and pics over at Gig City.

A couple firsts for me – FIRST time shooting a Grammy award winning act; and FIRST time shooting at Rexall Place. The latter wasn’t quite as big a deal as the first; they have a special route to escort the photographers to the front of the stage and then right back out again (after which I just stashed my camera and went back in to see the rest of the show). But the former was a bit of a big deal to me. The other photogs didn’t seem at all phased, they’re obviously long-term professionals and this was just another assignment to them. In, out, off to the next event or home to process the photos. The life of a photog. Whereas I watched the rest of the set, went for a beer (in which we discussed current folk fest debate shimmying around the city), then went home to write the review and process some of the photos (probably/hopefully the best ones, though we’ll see when I get a chance to sit down with the rest of them).

I have to admit, this is the least amount of information I’ve ever had to go on from a band whose name I received via a bonafide press release. All I can tell you is this: (1) the band’s name is MS MR; (2) they’re from New York; (3) their track “Hurricane” (stream above) is freaking amazing.

Well, I guess that’s not all; they do have some tour dates, most (except for June 1st) are with Marina & the Diamonds. Undoubtedly we’ll be hearing more from these guys in the near future.

Tour Itinerary

If you asked me, which you didn’t, but in a way you sort of did since you’re hear reading my blog, I’d tell you the Portland scene has been heating up pretty significantly over the last year and a half. Dorian Duvall (who performs under the stage name Onuinu) is part of that scene, assembling glitzy electro pop to the point where his debut full-length will hit shelves (servers?) on August 21^st. The album, titled “Mirror Gazer”, was written and produced by Duvall himself, with help co-producing, recording and mixing from Jeremy Sherrer (The Gossip, Dandy Warhols, Hockey). Oh yeh, Sherrer also played drums.

Stream “Happy Home” below, as is the track listing for the new album; and even further below, check out his current tour itinerary (opening up for YACHT, pretty plum gig). If he’s in your neighbourhood, definitely do yourself a favor and check him out. You won’t regret it, especially with YACHT performing as well.

Tour Itinerary (all dates with YACHT)

Track Listing for “Mirror Gazer”

1. Mirror Gazer
2. Always Awkward
3. A Night With
4. A Step In the Right Direction
5. Last Word
6. Lost
7. Forever
8. Ice Palace
9. Happy Home

It would appear that once every year or so I end up submitting comments to the Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on some matter. I guess that’s just part of the deal of being a music blogger, and having a father who sat as a Commissioner for five years. These comments were submitted last night (the last time I submitted comments to the Commission was in regards to a radio station in Fort Saskatchewan).

On 11-April-2012 Stingray Digital Group (“Stingray”) submitted an Application to the CRTC in relation to CBC Music, and its apparent “undue advantage”. The counsel for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation / Societe Radio-Canada (“CBC”) responded on 16-April-2012, asking for a summary dismissal (describing the application as “vexatious”), which garnered further response from Stingray on 29-April-2012. CBC then asked interested the public via social media to respond a couple of days ago, obviously hoping those viewing the enterprise favorably would add their comments.

Initially I figured I would be adding to the weight of those favorable comments. However, after reviewing all documentation, I find myself in alignment with Stingray, and ask the CRTC to rule for the remedy repeated by Stingray in their further comments on 29-April-2012 – allowing CBC Music to remain as is, except that it be restricted to Canadian content only, “with a particular focus on emerging artists”.

As a music blogger and fan, I use CBC Music as a reference source on a number of occasions. It has become an extraordinary warehouse of information on Canadian musical acts, which are often hard to find elsewhere (biographies, releases and upcoming albums, website and social media links). However, until recently I haven’t listened to any of their “streamed” or “on-demand” options. When I did look into these, I have to admit I was deeply dismayed. I too believe the CBC’s mandate is to provide significant impetus for Canadian culture, and in monitoring many of these “streams” it would appear that Cancon represents approximately half of the music played. In a random scenario, looking at the four “web radio stations” under the rock genre, of the next eight tracks that came up (two songs per ‘stream’), exactly four were from Canadian artists (Canadian: Cannon Bros, Alexisonfire, Yukon Blonde, Augury; Non-Canadian: Cardinal, Bob Seger, The Who, Mastadon).

I also concur with Stingray’s assertion that, since the offering is not a subscription/for-pay service, it must necessarily be “drawing resources away from CBC’s core broadcasting mandate”, which has been hit hard recently with significant budget decreases, resulting in many popular television and radio programs being summarily cancelled permanently. While the CBC argues it’s in its early stages, with a general understanding of online advertising that comes from running my own blog, it’s pretty clear that the limited advertising on the CBC Music would result in revenues far, far below any costs they’re incurring for hardware, software, and staff. Adding additional ‘banners’ to the site would be difficult in the future, as users would likely rebel at the sight of significantly more advertising staring them in the face. One would also suspect that, with the CBC’s wealth of online, television, and radio advertisers already, it should’ve been easy enough to convince them to support this enterprise as well – if they had wanted them to.

In further research, the effort, though early in its lifecycle, is in fact eerily similar to the Galaxie enterprise that the CBC sold to Stingray in December 2007. The only difference is that it’s a “free” service to the public (again, theoretically supported by advertising revenue at some point in the future), which could easily be argued as a way to get around the non-compete agreement that was also finalized at that time, which was specifically “a pay audio programming service similar to the Galaxie Service or a music on demand pay service distributed via the Internet” – thereby complying with the agreement’s specific terms, but very likely not its intent.

And finally, while I don’t pretend to understand the nuances and complexities of the royalty system inherent in Canada for either radio or online streaming, there is certainly enough tangential evidence to make me think it’s not a level playing field between the CBC and private enterprises. And while that may be perfectly fine for terrestrial radio, where the CBC’s offerings have a distinct purpose and intent, it may not be fair at all when it comes to online enterprises, where CBC offerings (such as CBC Music) are very similar to others’.

As a result, I concur with Stingray’s opinions on the matter, and believe the CRTC should weigh in on the matter, and find in their favor and require the CBC to remedy the situation in some manner – the easiest of which would be to restrict them to playing only music from Canadian artists on their “web radio stations” and on-demand options.

Sincerely yours,

Michael Senchuk