Music Update

It's been quite awhile since we last talked about the music gracing the office airwaves of The Daily Wenzel, but lot's of music has come and gone.

First starters, a couple of EPs have caught our attention at the end of march, notably Tokyo Police Club's A Lesson in Crime. This Newmarket, Ontario band has generated a lot of buzz, through their constant touring and appearance at SXSW. They're currently scheduled to appear at Sasquatch later in May. The beauty and grace of The Good, The Bad, and The Queen's live EP kept us mesmorized for a week or two, as did the range of guitarwork displayed by The Ponys on their most recent full length, Turn Out the Lights.

Perhaps somewhat strangely, we have also been listening to Jose Serebrier and the London Philharmonic. Our leader, Elvis Bonaparte, noticed that Serebrier's Fantasia topped the eMusic.com top downloads the week it was released and brought it. It fits in quite nicely with the Storm and Stress self-titled debut and Sonic Youth's Goodbye 20th Century.

More significantly thought,

Hills alive with music and sounds!

So much music has passed through our office this month that you'd forgive us for being somewhat reluctant to post about it all, especially if you factor in the amount of music that we brought back from SXSW and still haven't taken out of our festival bags.

But let us begin in those distant days before SXSW and what we were listening was dominated by The Arcade Fire's Neon Bible. While some of us were hesitant, fearing that the band might be caught in a sophomore slump, these fears proved deeply unfounded. From the first listen we were entranced with Arcade Fire's ability to evoke the streets of Montreal, capturing that unique blend of modern alienation and despair thoroughly steeped in feelings of Catholic longing and guilt.

We were also quite taken with a little EP from The Bombay Bicycle Club. Four songs blending the Strokes, Sonic Youth, and the Smiths. Jangly, pop-oriented guitar songs. Beirut's Pompeii EP helped to whet our appetites for their SXSW performance, as did repeated listens of Blonde Redhead's Misery is a Butterfly.

We also acquired Julie Doiron's latest offering, Woke Myself Up, and while we are enjoy her return to lo-fi rockdom, we do not feel that we've been able to give the able its full due, and expect to hear more from it in April.

The Return from SXSW featured the introduction of the Great Lake Swimmers' album, Ongiara, but their quiet overtones were quickly overtaken by the surprisingly catchy pop-work of the Tokyo Sex Club, who we passed up seeing at SXSW in order to see the Stooges. A fair trade, but we realize that we would have been just as happy watching Tokyo Sex Club open for Cursive. Their high-energy three song Smith EP (again owing a debt to the Strokes) demonstrates that the band would have been a much better time than Spoon. We also picked up the Pony's Turn the Lights Out which is proving to be an enthralling textbook display of guitar work.

However, the class of the end of March clearly belongs to Modest Mouse and their new release, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. As quirky as ever, but with the extra guitar pop of Johnny Marr, we are perfectly happy sailing off into uncharted waters with the band.

SXSW Band Shakedown

The Good
The Early Years
Voxtrot
The Mountain Goats
Bloc Party
Les Breastfeeders
Polyphonic Spree
Les Savy Fav
Daniel Johnston and his Night Mares
Maritime
Andrew Bird
Lee "Scratch" Perry
Million Year Dance
Art in Manila
Kings of Leon

The Bad (or at least indifferent)
Calla
Aqualung
Apostles of Hustle
The Annuals
Badly Drawn Boy
The Simple Kid
Spoon

The Queen!
Beirut
Blonde Redhead
The Dears
Buzzcocks
Peter, Bjorn & John
Field Music
The Stooges
The Good, The Bad, and The Queen

The Indescribable
Perry Farrell

SXSW #2

We left Calgary at seven o'clock Wednesday morning and arrived for our connecting flight in Houston early, at a little before noon. At the airport, while looking for a bite to eat, we heard mention that there had been a tornado sighting a few days earlier, but thought nothing of it, although it soon appeared that our flight was going to be delayed half an hour. A little while later, our flight was delayed another hour, on account of extreme weather at its originating airport. Next, the flight was announced to be overbooked. We began to think of driving straight to Austin and by the time our flight was announced delayed another hour, we were already on our way to the rental agency with our bags when he heard about road closures in southern Houston on account of washouts.

Luckily, we were heading north, and despite the hard rain in Houston, things cleared up about half an hour out of town, and there was just sporadic bursts through to Austin. Once we checked in and picked up our passes at the convention center, it was on to Emo's to catch a double bill of The Early Years, Callas, and Voxtrot in one room, and Beirut, the Mountain Goats, and Blonde Redhead in another.

Highlights here included the crescendo, wall of sound, descent into showgazing reverb madness that was the Early Years, and Voxtrot really made the most of its hometown status, delivering a high energy show. But it was Blonde Redhead in the Main Room that had the audience. Simply taking the stage changed the atmosphere of the club, making things darker, with shrieks of feedback piercing the air like lightning. Playing mostly songs off their upcoming album, things appear to be more muscular and menacing a complete contrast to the innocence and exuberance of Beirut - sweat-drenched, hanging from the rafters, playing their backyard bar mitzah Bowery folk music.

Compass Bearing - SXSW

Up and at'em early in the morning. The espresso machines on rapid fire as we all prepare for the short jaunt out to the airport to catch our flights to Austin and SXSW. Once there, we'll be making contact with other members of the Calgary media namely Fast Forward, CJSW, and Beatroute Magazine. We are prepared to be overwhelmed by bands, music, and film. We can't imagine what this week is like for the residents of Austin as a small town of music industry types descend on their city. One estimate we saw suggested that 17,000 people will visit the SXSW festival at some point, though by this time SXSW is really three festivals or conferences in one: music, film, and technology with each one drawing a sizable crowd.

Some things on our agenda for SXSW: the 4AD Showcase tonight, featuring (among others) Beirut and Blonde Redhead, both of these bands have been getting heavy rotation in our office speakers. The film Helvetica. Yes, it's about the typeface - hey, we read The Gutenburg Galaxy, it's only natural. People have been telling us to check out Andrew Bird all week. Damon Albarn's The Good, The Bad, and the Queen seems like a one-time only deal. Most anticipated pre-SXSW rumour? Arcade Fire to play a secret show. They've got a four day window in their Ireland/UK tour to pull it off. Crazier things have happened.

Check out our SXSW side project: Bands, Blogs, and Buzz.

Music Update

A couple of things have been Floating On the airwaves here at the Daily Wenzel the last few weeks, not least of which have been Arcade Fire's Funeral, or Modest Mouse's Good News For People Who Like Bad News, as well their respective singles as we gear up for the new albums. Blonde Redhead's 2004 release, the hauntingly beautiful, yet surprisingly fragile (for a former Touch & Go band) Misery is a Butterfly has perhaps been getting the most play.

In between, Chumbawamba's latest polemic, A Singsong and a Scrap, a collection of pro-worker songs of resistance and rebellion, including the Clash' "Bankrobber", has been finding it's own airspace as well. With all the songs being performed either a capella, or acoustically, the band seems to have completed its metamorphosis from piss and vinegar youthful punks, to thoughtful rootsy hippies. Also making the office charts are two new K7! albums, Appendix, a collection of solid, yet somewhat dissonant remixes from Funkstorung, and the one that we're quite interested in, as it seems a return to more organic, rock-based samples, Joakim's Monster's and Silly Songs.

To be fair, Blood Stained Love Story, from Saliva, a Memphis-based Creed/Nickelback band with serious adult contemporary religious rock tendencies got one play in the office, but has not been back since.

March Madness

No, we're not talking about college basketball.

March is shaping up to be quite the music month. The release of the new Bloc Party album , and the new Damon Albarn side project, The Good, The Bad, and the Queen, have only served to whet our appetite for major releases by the likes of The Arcade Fire and Modest Mouse. That Blonde Redhead have a new set for March doesn't hurt, nor does the slate of new music being released in advance of the spring festival circuit which kicks off with Austin's industry orgy known as South by Southwest, something we at the Daily Wenzel are desperately trying to wrangle our way into.

Music Update

Amidst all this tennis we've still been listening to our fair share of music. One of the albums that barely missed our top ten faves of last year was Built to Spill's You in Reverse, an album that's been getting some pretty heavy play lately, at least the stellar epic "Goin' Agaisnt Your Mind" with it's heavy reverb and distortion droning on into the seven minute mark. Similarly, we've revisted the Arab Strap's live album Mad for Sadness which contains a delightful intermezzo of feedback and distortion that demands to be played at maximum volume. We are somewhat disappointed at the band's announcement that they were breaking up last month, though not really surprised.

Also finding itself in heavy rotation has been Blonde Redhead's multi-lingual Melodie Citronique five song EP with their post-modern no wave take of various European chanteurs like Serge Gainsbourg's "Slogan". Our favourite has been the Italian "Chi E E Non E" and we were quite excited to come across their 2004 album, Misery is a Butterfly and are very excited about their forthcoming album "23" to be released in April.