Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew - Spirit If... (Arts & Crafts, 2007)

As founder - and one of the core-members - of Broken Social Scene, a collective of Canadian musicians that includes the likes of Feist, Metric's Emily Haines, Stars' Amy Millan, and many others, Kevin Drew has spent the better part of the new millenium creating life-affirming albums full of sonic-pop experiments, beguiling lyrics, and often sweet and tender melodies.
In comparison to the group's previous albums, Spirit If... - a Broken Social Scene album in all but name - is a far more refined affair, and is all the better for it. While I am a big fan of Broken Social Scene, I find that on occasion, the impact of their songs is lost beneath the multi-textured layers of sound that are one of the band’s trademarks, but which can be distracting at times.
The focus of Spirit If… is squarely on Drew and his fine songwriting ability. Songs such as TBTF, F..cked Up Kid and Gang Bang Suicide all share a tender fragility that belie their somewhat provocative titles, and which seems to be a template for most of the album. Drew knows his way around a pop song and this album is littered with gems that will stay with you long after the album has finished spinning. The joyful spirit of the album is perhaps best conveyed in the celebratory Backed Out On The…, which features lead guitar and backing vocals from Dinosaur Jr. front man, J Mascis, and is one of the best sing-a-long songs of 2007.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/kevindrewspiritif

Sounds A Bit Like: The best parts of Broken Social Scene; hearts mending; one of the best albums of 2007.

In(High)Fidelity In Urbancode

As some of you already know, I recently wrote a feature article about Okkervil River for Urbancode magazine's September issue. If you would like a pdf-copy of the magazine, let me know and I will send it via email.

In(The)Flesh - Lucinda Williams, El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles, 09/08/07

On the third night of a five night stand at L.A.'s intimate El Rey Theatre, Lucinda Williams was in fine form. With the novel concept of performing one of her five classic albums in its entirety each night, followed by a second set of songs spanning her entire career, each show promised to be special in its own right. On this night, much to the delight of the rapturous crowd, Ms. Williams performed 1998's brilliant Car Wheels On A Gravel Road.
Lucinda Williams is smart, sexy and sassy, and she knows how to entertain. Album cuts such as Right In Time and 2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten sounded fantastic. Williams went into detail about each song's meaning, interacting with the crowd in her thick southern-drawl, and eliciting laughter and declarations of love from both the men and women in the crowd. Drunken Angel -dedicated to two Texan musicians - Blaze Foley (of whom the song was written) and Townes Van Zandt - oozed country soul.
The night was made all the more special by the revolving door of special guests that joined Williams on stage. Steve Earle's presence on stage had some in the crowd weak at the knees, and his guitar, harmonica and road-worn vocals were a welcome addition to the smoking-hot band that Williams had behind her.
The second set was made up primarily of songs from West - the fantastic album Williams released earlier this year - the highlights of which included Come On & Unsuffer Me. Williams seemed truly happy to be on stage - and said as much on many occasions; her happiness was reflected back by the many smiles in the crowd. Lucinda Williams is a very, very cool person; living proof that when the world tries to knock you down, you have to just pick yourself and keep on going. Luckily - for us - she has the continuing ability to write amazing songs as this process repeats itself.

Life Without Buildings - Live At The Annandale Hotel (2007, Absolutely Kosher Records)

In the middle of the year 2001, the weather report inside my mind was correctly predicting extended periods of bleak, cold weather, with a 75% chance of rain. Various storm systems had come and gone, and I was feeling water-logged and tired, though I continued to hold out hope that I would once more be touched by the sun's warm rays.
It was during this time - a time spent looking for a place to hang my hat - that I discovered a strange gem of an album called Any Other City, by an obscure Scottish band named Life Without Buildings. In fact, I bought the album without hearing any of the music, solely based on the allure of band's name. What type of music would a band named Life Without Buildings make?
Much to my pleasure they made very good music. A blend of angular guitars, post-punk danceability and the beautiful, off-the-wall vocals of lead-singer, Sue Tompkins, who sings-shouts-speaks lyrics that seem to be being beamed in from a distant satellite.
I loved the album; some of my friend hated it, which made me love it all the more. Songs such as The Leanover and New Town filled my head with a beautiful rock'n'roll sound; Tompkins vocals were like a riddle, begging to be solved.
When Life Without Buildings played in Melbourne in December 2001, I was on a tight budget, and had already committed to Meredith Music Festival; so I passed on the opportunity to see them play live. If I had have known then that the band would break-up within the year, I would have certainly altered my decision.
Live At The Annandale Hotel was recorded in Sydney on that same tour and features live versions of most of the songs from Any Other City (the band's only studio album), plus tracks from the Is Is & The IRS EP. The sound of the recording is excellent and the band are at the height of their power. Tompkins is splendidly manic - her between-song banter sweetly naive - and the band are raw, punchy and precise. Standout tracks include 14 Days, Sorrow and the amazing, set-closing New Town.
Life Without Buildings are a criminally over-looked band from the early days of the new millenium; and this album is as good a document of their live presence as one could ask for - real memories of live shows aside. Some of you will love them, and some of you will hate them, which will cause those of you who love them, to love them all the more.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/lifewithoutbuildingsuk

Sounds A Bit Like: Karen O before Karen O; dancing to the voices in your head; the weird kids and the cool kids making music together.

In(The)Flesh: Wilco, Greek Theater, Los Angeles 08/29/07

Wilco are, without a doubt, one of the greatest American bands of our generation. Rising from the ashes of alt-country heroes, Uncle Tupelo, Wilco have spent the past twelve years releasing one excellent album after the other; constantly reinventing their sound: beginning with the country-rock flavor of A.M., Being There and Summer Teeth, before delving into noise experiments with 2002's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Kraut-rock voyages on 2004's A Ghost Is Born, right through to the sublimely brilliant Sky Blue Sky, which was released earlier this year.
The beauty of Sky Blue Sky comes from repeated listens. On the first few listens it sounds like a more stripped-back version of Wilco than we have been exposed to in recent years, however, upon further listens, the complexity of the musicianship, particularly that of guitarist, Nels Cline, comes to the fore.
In Jeff Tweedy, Wilco have a singer-songwriter who is capable of composing tunes that stay with you long after the final note has been played; and with guitarist Nels Cline and drummer Glenn Kotchke, long-time bassist John Stirratt and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansome, Tweedy is backed a formidable group of musicians capable of sending songs off into the stratosphere, with sounds that other bands can only dream of creating.
The setting tonight was perfect, Tweedy was in an upbeat frame of mind and the band were in top form, as they tore through tracks from their entire back catalogue. Stand-out tracks - from the twenty-two song set - included I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, A Shot In The Arm, Impossible Germany, and the touching On And On And On, the closing track on Sky Blue Sky. The California crowd cheered loudly for Woody Guthrie-penned California Stars, while the closing encore set of Heavy Metal Drummer and Spiders(Kidsmoke) had everyone on their feet, clapping and shouting for more, as the houselights came on and Wilco left the stage triumphant.