As expected, the new release from Montreal’s Young Galaxy was recently long listed for the 2013 Polaris Prize. Like their album released in 2011, Ultramarine was produced by Swede Dan Lissvik. This time around instead of working over Skype, the band decamped to Lissvik’s studio in Gothenburg to work more closely with the talented producer.
Ultramarine starts out strong with the driving pop of “Pretty Boy” which is given extra warmth by Catherine McCandles who handles vocals on all ten tracks. This is followed by the early 80s Caribbean lite electronica of “Fall Into You” and percussion heavy “Fever”. Beyond the opener, none of the tracks on Ultramarine reach the heights of last year’s excellent single “Youth Is Wasted On The Young” however; there is a lightness of touch that blows through the album making for a fine listen throughout.
A few weeks ago I went shopping for business casual shoes. You know, ones that you can wear to work on casual Fridays with jeans? After checking out numerous stores at the mall I soon discovered that those shoes don’t exist anymore, they’ve all been replaced by boat shoes. Even if my anger at this is misguided, I pin most of the blame squarely on Vampire Weekend. The Paul Simon Graceland indebted band burst out of New York in early 2008 with their self-titled debut and while song titles such as “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” made them an easy target of cynical music critics, it was hard to ignore the hooks that drew in many fans. VW deftly sidestepped the sophomore jinx with the even better Contra featuring the undeniable single “Giving Up the Gun”.
A little over five years after their debut, Vampire Weekend is back with Modern Vampires of the City. Leaving behind some of the more worldly aspects of their sound, VW instead goes for a bit more atmosphere on tracks such as “Ya Hey” and “Hudson”. Thankfully they retained their pop smarts which are expertly shown in the string of songs “Unbelievers”, “Step”, and contender for track of the year “Diane Young”. This may be best run of songs on any indie rock album released in recent memory. Somewhere music critic Jim DeRogatis is cringing at the thought but in Modern Vampires of the City, Vampire Weekend has released one of the best albums of the year.
Just before the release of the latest offering from The National, Stereogum.com printed a post listing the band’s top ten songs up to that point. Such is the devotion of the band’s followers that the list generated nearly 200 responses with fans listing virtually every song the band has released since 2005’s Alligator for consideration. That album was the start of the band’s climb into mainstream consciousness that has continued to rise with each successive release and reached critical mass with 2010’s acclaimed High Violet. Three years later the band has returned with their sixth release, Trouble Will Find Me.
The National decamped to Rhinebeck, New York in 2012 to begin sessions on the album that would prove to be a lot less fractious than the ones that famously plagued High Violet. One of the band’s fortes is the ability to create sing along anthems out of songs that contain the most dour of lyrics. First single “Demons” is a perfect example of this skill. “Every day I start out so great then the great light dims” and “when I walk into a room I do not light it up… fuck” are hardly thoughts that one wants to be heard whispering never mind shouting, however, as the music swells beneath Matt Berninger’s deep baritone it is hard not to get swept away on this new ship of woes.
While the lush production of brother’s Aaron and Bryce Dressner battle with Berninger’s lyrics for attention, one of the secret weapons of The National is the inventive drumming of Bryan Devendorf who provides a kick to both “This is the Last Time” and especially on mid album highlight “Graceless”. Devendorf manages to shine and add texture while Bessinger tells listeners “God loves everybody, don’t remind me”. “Slipped” and “I Need My Girl” follow but while both are good tracks in their own right (especially the former), they somehow feel like a letdown after the build-up in “Graceless”.
Piano driven, “Pink Rabbits” is reminiscent of Boxer’s “Slow Show” in that they are both quietly two of the best the band has ever written. “You didn’t see me, I was falling apart, I was a white girl in a crowd of white girls in the park… I was a television version of a person with a broken heart”. Trust me when I say, if you need a song to have on in the background while you toss out old letters and photographs of those not in your life anymore, this is the one.
Trouble Will Find Me is somewhat hampered by sequencing but still shows off virtually all of the band’s many strengths. Berninger’s lyrics are always downcast but contain enough humour to never be depressing and the musicianship of the Dessner and Devendorf brothers continue to outpace most of their peers. Somehow Trouble Will Find Me sounds elegantly more mature than past releases which for a band like The National is saying something.
In 2006, I got to see Phoenix play at the Austin City Limits Festival. Playing in the early afternoon on the first day, their set was a highlight of the festival. The band’s airy take on indie pop fit perfectly with the warm Texas sun and light breeze that blew through the French band’s hair like models on a runway. Flash forward three years later to the success of singles “Lisztomania” and “1901”, Phoenix were suddenly everywhere; from car commercial ads to festival headliners, they even managed to nab a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album.
Bankrupt! is the follow-up to Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and it picks up right where that album left off. First single “Entertainment” starts things off with a blast, featuring some keyboard assisted Asian flair. This is quickly followed by the equally catchy “Trying To Be Cool” and later on with “Drakkar Noir”. The stellar seven minute title track is one of the few spots Phoenix slows things down for a breather. If you’ve heard Phoenix before, you know the formula. This is hardly life changing stuff but will sound magnifique on patio speakers this summer.
The Besnard Lakes are a cross-Canada success story. In 2000 the husband/wife combo of Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas met in Vancouver, moved to Regina, before finally settling in Montreal. Lasek runs Breakglass Studios in Montreal which allows him and Goreas to start working on material in the studio before guitarist Richard White and drummer Kevin Laing enter to help flesh out the songs. Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO is the band’s fourth album and third with Jagjaguwar Records.
The dreamy vocals and swirling guitars of “46 Satires” sets the tone immediately, recalling both the early 90s shoegazer scene as well as the prog rock of the early 70s. “People of the Sticks” is a love story of finding your kindred soul mate but it can go virtually unnoticed behind Laing’s driving beat and the band’s harder edged guitar sound. Lasek’s falsetto vocals add a bit of Beach Boys flair to both the atmospheric “The Specter” and the mesmerizing “Colour Yr Lights In”.
All of the tracks on Until in Excess… clock in at well over five minutes but never meander into sluggish jam band interludes, melody is always the main focus. It’s an amazing ability that The Besnard Lakes can sit just as easily on a shelf beside your dad’s 60s psychedelic albums as they do the latest My Bloody Valentine. You can hear for yourself when the band plays the Park Theatre on June 18th.
As expected, the new release from Montreal’s Young Galaxy was recently long listed for the 2013 Polaris Prize. Like their album released in 2011, Ultramarine was produced by Swede Dan Lissvik. This time around instead of working over Skype, the band decamped to Lissvik’s studio in Gothenburg to work more closely with the talented producer.
The Light Appears 