by Miné Salkin | Jun 15, 2010 | albums, news
Arguably one of the most predominantly powerful bands that really got Montréal music out to the rest of the nation, Arcade Fire recently baited fans with two songs from their upcoming The Suburbs. Being released by Merge Records on August 3, this is the rock collective’s third full-length offering.
Hosted by Soundcloud, you can listen to the following track by following the links below:
“Ready to Start” here
“We Used to Wait” here
This band has been making some pretty epic albums so far. In 2008 they won two awards, a Juno for Alternative Album of the Year and the Meteors Best International Album award for Neon Bible.
by Miné Salkin | Jan 20, 2010 | albums, news
Spoon, photo courtesy from an emo blog
They’re starry eyed, attractively geeky and downright infectious. Let’s forgive them for being featured on the O.C.’s soundtrack in 2004 because I’ve tried my hardest to forget that.
The Texas-based alternative rock group has released their seventh studio album Transference, a follow-up from their acclaimed 2007 album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. While their trademark sound is typically pared down, simple beats and catchy guitar-heavy riffs, Transference points to something a little more complex — the introjection of a misdirected feeling at someone or something. Maybe the boys are growing up.
Here’s a taste of the new record, released by Merge Records. Enjoi.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHYi-CpzhBU]
by Miné Salkin | Nov 14, 2009 | film stripped, news
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukxu8FgrW10]
An eye-popping delight for the indie-experimental lover.
I don’t think I’ve seen a decent music video since the 1990s. I believe the last “good” one would either be Radiohead’s “Just” (1995) or “Californication” by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers in 1999. A music video that doesn’t detract from the beauty of the song itself is a fine balance most bands and video directors bludgeon with a club.
This time, leave it to the Danish to make something interesting, beautiful and haunting. Oh No Ono is an alternative experimental space-rock band from Copenhagen. Their fourth album Eggs hit the shelves this week. The single “Swim” is delicately layered, with chorus singing and complex instrumental passages reminiscent of the Arcade Fire. Part eerie, part intriguing, the song is unforgettable.
Oh No Ono looking pretty
The video, directed by fellow Dane Adam Hashemi, is a sweet coming-of-age story about an over-imaginative and aroused child. It’s about the shame of the first sexual experience, from the perspective of a creepy pre-pubescent boy. Like I said, I was surprised to find a music video that I would enjoy again!
by Miné Salkin | Aug 5, 2009 | live action
Ladies and gentlemen, the 2009 V-Fest was altogether epic — two days of blistering heat, one pelting lightning thunderstorm — couldn’t sway the spirits of 22 bands and their some 15,000 fans.
The morning and early afternoon were spent getting used to the grounds; the fest was held at Deer Lake Park in Burnaby, a beautiful and almost bucolic setting not too far from the city life. From pole dancers to beer tents, the grounds had it all.
At approximately 4:30 in the afternoon, Kevin Brereton a.k.a. K-OS strutted onstage and glamoured the audience with his funk-reggae-rock jams and charismatic showmanship. Gradually, people from around the park come closer to the glorious thumping basslines. At this point, K-OS tells “all the ugly people be quiet” before an immaculate performance of his 2002 hit “Heaven Only Knows.”
Shortly after that, the very talented Jules and I prepared for our interview with the guys from Plants and Animals, which is coming to SPINearth.tv soon! They took the festival stage and played a furiously energetic set, finishing off with a rendition of “Bye Bye Bye” from their Juno-nominated album Parc Avenue. Their performance of “Faerie Dance” was played with an edge that made the show all that more cathartic.
Being a proud devotee to the musicians of Arts & Crafts, I was incredibly excited to see Broken Social Scene take the main stage. Brendan Canning showed off his newly trimmed-appearance, and luckily for the audience Jimmy Shaw from Metric played guitar and horns onstage too. Not too long into their second track, clouds of pot smoke wafted through the grounds, an all-too necessary component of the BSS experience. Things got heavy when the band tore through “KC Accidental,” a classic single from their debut album You Forgot it in People. Kevin Drew killed it in the finale with “Superconnected,” truly reigning in the spirit of the festival with their powerful baroque-rock symphonies.
Then at the most perfect time, Our Lady Peace took the stage and took us all back to that memorable time… mid 90s Canadian popular rock. The quartet, older, more mature than the videos I remembered them from in elementary school, played classic hits such as “Clumsy,” “Naveed” and “Superman’s Dead” and took the crowd down nostalgia lane.
Despite the glory of all these wonderful bands, it couldn’t keep mother nature’s wrath at bay. Huge raindrops fell from the angry sky, causing organizers to cancel the final set being The Roots! Huge disappointment to miss out on the headliners, but all in all it was a fun day…
If you want to see some RAD photos of the Virgin Festival weekend, check out David Thai’s photoreport on SPINearth.tv.
K-OS Myspace
K-OS Official Website
Plants and Animals MySpace
Plants and Animals Official Website
Our Lady Peace MySpace
Our Lady Peace Official Website
Broken Social Scene MySpace
Broken Social Scene Official Website
