Have you ever been to Quebec? No, Quebec. No not Montreal, Quebec. La Belle Province; home of poutine, Guy Lafleur’s disco album, and Mitsou. Well I have and God bless those Libertarian princes and princesses. They take the government’s money and give them none. Heck, I would vote for the Bloc if only they had representatives here in British Columbia. They are the special people of this country and they deserve every grant they get. So there’s really no turning down a chance to cover a festival in remote Rouyn-Noranda when it’s offered to you. FME (or Festival De Musique Émergente OR Emerging Music Festival) has been running for seven years now and it’s definitely not a shallow who’s who of blog stars. It’s a noble platter of upcoming French artists from Quebec and France with special seasoning of some Anglo acts to cleanse the palate. It’s a festival that’s out in the country. It’s a throwback style festival reminiscent of the first Lollapalooza—which makes sense because The Melvins were headlining and rural Quebec is stuck in 1991. I hope that’s not offensieve to the Quebecois but they’re probably not reading my tête carré words and c’mon guys, you have bingo on the television stations, acutal keys to hotel rooms, and you all tried to get me to do B52 shots out of a beaker… which was actually delicious, so thank you.


There’s nothing better than getting off a plane and heading to a bar. However, there’s definitely a few ways to be less intimidated than walking into a screeching dub rave, cloaked in a language barrier, with torture porn glowering down at you. This is High Tone, a 13-year-old act from Lyon. They’re one of those multimedia acts that sync their live music to a visual effects system that’s basically describing what’s happening in the music. If you’ve ever seen the Super Furry Animals, you know what affect it can have on the audience. High Tone, though, don’t take the cute and cartoony Pete Fowler route. We watched a man get burned alive by scientists all in perfect time to bowel-releasing dub, and after a furrowed exchange we were handed shots of Goldschlager. It was either that or Sour Puss.

Six or seven of those later we hung around and caught Le Catcheur Et La Pute. The next day we were informed that “pute” translates to “whore”, and yep, they were DJ whores. A duo with one in drag and one a superhero, these two ripped through every offensive electro (or eléctro) track you would ever want to hear. All you need to know is that they started with Riva Starr’s “I Was Drunk” and that was the easiest song on the ears all night. Good work whores!

We could drink on the street. Drinking on the street… in Canada. We wanted to hug every Quebecois and Quebecoise we saw. I don’t know if the street drinking is a selling point of the festival, or if the police were asked to look the other way, but walking out of a bar with a drink and smoking on the steps of a church takes any festival from zero to 60 in moments. Either way, we found some food, got yelled at for speaking English (didn’t catch much except the words “espèce de salaud”) and had a Corn Nuts fight. If only the dépanneur was open…

A wake up breakfast, a 30 minute detour, getting lost near the copper mines, 15 drink tickets for $30 and we’re ready for a Friday night in Quebec. A handsome gentlemen with fold out lounge chairs and headsets approaches us. Struggling to find some English, the only words he can find to describe his setup are “brain damage.” Who’s gonna turn down free brain damage? Blindfolded, Tyler and I lay back hoping we don’t get robbed or kicked in the crotch and are soon taken to some sort of outerspace interpretation of the movie The Cell. Okay FME, you’re freakin’ us out. Between the torture porn, the whores, and being made to hear what the earth will sound like when it’s devoid of human life, I’d think you were trying to harvest our organs.

Speaking of organs, keyboard punk act We Are Wolves were one of the Friday night headliners. We Are Wolves are a great live act and on this night their outfits involved 20-foot high digital skulls on poles attached to their backs. They were basically three Master Blasters on a stage and their sign read “Nous Sommes Loups.” Coinciding with the ominous time warp feeling of the festival, We Are Wolves could have easily been from 20 years ago. They wear tiny buttons, they play all vintage gear, and if they were in fact from the past they could have been the first “wolf” band. Alexander Ortiz, the bassist and lead vocalist wears a watch while playing, much like famous early Nineties NFL punter Reggie Roby. They’re a little behind the times but they are the darling ambassadors of Quebec and the province loves them.

I remember the Cardigans being interviewed years ago and talking about Japan and how the audience there doesn’t chatter during songs, they just wait for the song to be over and a wave of applause and adoration pours forward. FME was just the same, and it wasn’t any more obvious than Martha Wainwright performing in a Catholic church. Martha is great; not Loudon Wainwright great but she’s more delectable than her bitchy, name-dropping, queen of a brother, and an old church is the perfect place to see her. However, this may not be the case when two young men are 20 drinks deep. Quickly heading outside, I’m douped by my counterpart Tyler. What was sold to me as a high five was actually a clever ruse to get my arm up so I could be hip flipped over the staircase of the church, and all in front of Martha fans.

After rolling around in the bushes, spilling beer everywhere we pop up our heads, Tyler and I got whisked away to some country bar by a lovely bartender/Quebec City lawyer named Caroline and her counterpart Dan who works for the Bloc Quebecois. There’s some secret show going on but after a Labatt 50 the size of my tibia and shots of Sour Puss all we remember is the entire bar singing a French rendition of “How Much is That Doggie In The Window?” which was actually “Combien est ce chien dans le fenêtre?” Somehow we got back to the hotel. We remembered that the “secret” act was two men who did a Tegan and Sara thing but with French folks songs. The banter was funny to everybody but us.

Okay, so the Melvins played. The fucking Melvins. The organizers must have known that Melvins fanciers would come from anywhere to support them. The Melvins sit beautifully in the Generation X lisener’s idiom. Not only did Kurt Cobain try out for them, but when rejected (he was too nervous during try outs) he roadied for them every once in a while. The Melvins have that built in audience of men who will buy all their albums if only out of responsibility. Luckily for the rest of us their albums are still great, even with the casual and slow removal of vocals over the past few releases. They enter the stage to the famous theme from The Great Escape which is appropriate because they go to work like Charles Bronson, digging a tunnel of sturdy sonic assault. They work hard in their rehearsals and their two drummers, and two new young members tightly grip onto every staccato beat like Pudge Rodriguez catching an 11-inning playoff game. King Buzzo triumphs around the stage like General Patton, puffing his chest out and commanding his army in perfect time. If FME is a holiday then the Melvins are the fireworks. A stumble back to the hotel and a frustrating order of vegetarian pizza later and it’s time to hit the Rouyn airport, an adorable little station where the security is light and the flight attendant ticks your handwritten name off on a clipboard as you enter the gate.

The word “festival” is offputting. I don’t generally get up for the festival season. Here’s how they inevitably go down: I wait in a two kilometer line only to have my pack of cigarettes and sunscreen taken away by a rent-a-cop, because apparently I’ve become very creative with my drug smuggling. Later I wait in another snail line to get my identification checked, get a wristband that means nothing because there’s another line to wait in for the beer tent where they check my ID again. Then there’s a line in the beer tent to get a drink and they check my drivers license one more time before giving me a nine dollar Bud Light (with lime!) all to finally catch some crap band howling at me from two Dallas Cowboys’ Stadiums away. Glad that cost me $400 and lodging. Maybe we can check out the dubstep tent to score some blow that has been hidden beneath some dude’s taint. The beauty of FME is the intimacy. On the propeller plane back I fell asleep on King Buzzo’s shoulder while drummer Dale Crover looked on. The bands and organizers of FME are fans, not just investors. Maybe next time you’re paying ten dollars for a bottle of water, standing in mud, and being asked if you’d like to sign up for a VISA, think about a festival like FME; a festival of tiny proportions but big on substance.

Words: Trevor Risk
Photography: Tyler Quarles

Bad Tits are from Toronto and consist of Sebastien Grainger (Death From Above 1979) and Josh Reichmann. Check out their latest video.

[www.myspace.com/badtits]

The Raveonettes covering The Stone Roses for Dr. Marten’s 50th Anniversary.

In the year 200X, the scientist Dr. Thomas Xavier Light created a robot which he called Mega Man. After the success of his creation Dr. Light and his assistant Dr. Wily built several other robots to defend against the dangers to humans. With what could only be described as premeditated insanity, Dr. Wily re-programmed the new machines to take control of the planet. In a world of allies, heroes and legends, Mega Man was a machine to create freedom. After a most tumultuous fight and adventure, Mega Man was nearly destroyed only to have his unconscious body saved by Breakman, a robot who regularly blocked Mega Man’s path along the way only to disappear after he was defeated. When Mega Man came to, Dr. Light revealed that Breakman was actually his first creation… Protoman. Turns out that Protoman has a band and they will never let the darkness win. We caught up with two of the players in their hometown of Nashville, Tennessee.

Tell our readers about the musical climate of Nashville.
Commander: It’s a strange beast, for sure. Most people associate it with Country music and the industry surrounding it, but in reality, there is a shit load of rock and roll happening there. Secretly, almost every rock band in Nashville is wishing that the rest of the world would appreciate how much good non-country music is coming out of Nashville, and simultaneously terrified that any high profile exposure from the rock community would damage their “cred.” Either way, the best players, country and not, are in Nashville.

If Nashville did get that attention, and it lost it’s underdog mentality would the city lose something? Do you like that the rock and roll talent is somewhat of a guarded secret?
Panther: That’s a good question. Every once in a while something comes out of Nashville that rattles the Rock and Roll cage a bit. Something like Kings of Leon, or that Paramore fellow, or even that hot Ke$ha robot. Even The Pink Spiders made a go of it. It’s strange to watch the musicians in Nashville get ruffled by other Nashville success stories. There’s a camaraderie that exists between all the bands struggling to get by and it seems that once a band has gotten their head above water, they’re banished from the scene. We’ve never really been Nashville darlings anyway, so we’re not really in any danger of being banished… or getting our heads above water for that matter, but I think if that camaraderie could stand even after a band gets it’s feet on solid ground, the whole scene could rise up. Maybe Nashville just wants to live together and die together. Up or down, we’re with her all the way.

What is your live show like? How do you pull it off?
Panther: We pretty much do everything that the Blue Man Group does, except we’re silver instead of blue…. and don’t have anywhere close to the budget they have. Oh, and we play much tougher jams. On the road, we take 10 brave men and women, forgo sleep and nutrition, disregard any and all safety precautions and barrel our way through the country playing rock and roll. It’s not a pretty job…. but at least it doesn’t pay well. We take three times as much gear as any smart traveling rock band, spend twice as much time getting ready for shows, and take nine times as long loading out. But what we lack in blazing speed and efficiency, we make up with sassy good looks and raging beauty.

So when “Give Us The Rope” begins, do some uninitiated fans think you may be busting into a cover of Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s “Shimmy Shimmy Ya”?
Panther: By God, if they don’t, we haven’t done our job.

The Protomen: Jesus Christ Superstar sung by “Thunder Road”-era Springsteen… if Christ was actually Mega Man. Is that a fair observation?
Panther: Yes. Nailed it. That’s the best description we’ve heard so far. Truthfully though, the religious overtones probably stem from the fact that the Bible is one of the best tales of good vs evil ever. We also would’ve accepted “The Protomen: Masters Of The Universe, as sung by Streets Of Fire era Diane Lane…. if that Dolph Lundgren fellow was actually Mega Man… and If Diane Lane was a bunch of dudes in makeup.” Actually, our description wins because it has the all-important “as written by Jim Steinman” clause implied…. and it also has Diane Lane.
Commander: Originality is like dancing with a one legged bear…nearly impossible, and if you mess up, you’re dead.

Take us through the process of writing to recording, specifically the parts that feature a choir of voices.
Panther: Ah yes. The Human Choir. It was, personally, the most entertaining part of the writing/recording process. I wrote almost all of the choir parts myself and even demoed some of them, Jeff Lynn style—Me recorded over and over and over. In the end, we really needed more voice than just mine. We ended up with some really amazing girls that the Gambler has worked with in the Nashville theatre scene, as well as some tough-ass guys that Murphy and I have worked with in the rock world. The blend of classically trained vocalist and fury-filled amateurs gave us what we were looking for.

Act II has far less Mega Man overtones than your self titled previous album. Why the retreat?
Panther: We don’t view it as a retreat. This new act dealt more with the humans that created the robots. Mega Man wasn’t even a character yet. Protoman is just being created during the last 16 measures of the act. On the whole, this new album is far more… human… than Act I. Because of that, it deals with much more universal themes than say, a robot army takeover, and a robot on robot grudge match. We’ll get back to the robot destruction. That’s what Act III is for.

So what can we expect from Act III and when can we expect it?
Commander: All out war. It’s too soon to get into details, but it’s going to be huge. We’ve already started working on some things, but don’t expect to see/hear it for a while. Touring with Act II is taking up most of our time, but I can tell you there won’t be as long of a gap between Acts II & III as there was between I & II.

Capcom; what’s their reaction?
Panther: I’m going to tell you the honest-to-God truth here. Capcom is sort of like a giant corporate goldfish. Once every six months, their community representative contacts us with a very polite “Hi, we’re Capcom… we really like your band and wanted to say hi and introduce ourselves” letter. We respond with “Hi. We’re the Protomen. We really like you too, but we’ve already met.” They’re like some sweet good-looking sorority pledge that had too much to drink at a party and couldn’t remember who she’d made out with. That being said, we love the hell out of Capcom, and we look forward to all of their sweet letters of introduction. Someday, perhaps, we’ll meet. We’ll make the cutest couple!

What percent of audiences think that you aren’t serious? Is it a higher percentage in certain cities or countries?
Commander: We’re very aware of the dragon that we ride. We know how we look to the outside world. We’re sort of like that Michael Bolton looking lion guy in Linda Hamilton’s Beauty and the Beast show… Once you get to know us you realize that we’re really a beautiful prince man in a Michael Bolton monster suit that just happens to be living in a sewer. Our show is a somewhat careful balance of all the most ridiculous and fun things possible. Some people like the pretty prince side…. some people like the Michael Bolton monster living in a sewer side. In the end, all we’re shooting for is that people are entertained…. and don’t worry, I don’t follow any of my analogies either.

[www.protomen.com]

Words: Trevor Risk
Photography: Jonathon Kingsbury

The Maryland foursome of Mike, Brian, Archie and Pam known as Black Tambourine are the The Velvet Underground of fuzzy noise pop; not everybody bought their records but everyone who did formed a band. They’re all still very active within the genre and music in general with specific kudos to be given to Mike for keeping the Slumberland label going strong and recently celebrating its 20-year anniversary. ION was luckily enough to catch up with all four of them to spitball about the reissue of their complete recordings, Eric’s Trip, their song about The Pastels and Seattle based bands namechecking them in songs about being twee.

Is re-issuing this record just for your fans, to put feelers out for a revival or adorable self-indulgence?
Mike: I guess it’s for the fans but also a little bit self-indulgent, what with the gatefold sleeve and all. When putting this together I tried to imagine what a fan would want to have, hence the nice sleeve, extra liner notes and documentation. I don’t think we left anything out.
Brian: To me it was a great way to help promote Slumberland on its 20th anniversary, and it’s hard to imagine there would be a better time to do it given the attention that noise pop music coming out of Brooklyn and elsewhere is getting now.

Are you involved with that Brooklyn noise pop scene at all? Do you have some favourite acts?
Brian: I’m only involved as a fan. I really like Crystal Stilts and Pains of Being Pure at Heart.
Archie: I love a lot of that stuff, particularly the Pains, Crystal Stilts, Vivian Girls, the Girls at Dawn, and the now-defunct Cause Co-Motion!. I got to mix a bunch of the Pains’ songs for Slumberland, and it was probably the most satisfying music-making experience I’ve had.

A lot of the myth that surrounds your creation refers to Black Tambourine as a reactionary band to UK staples of the time like Sarah Records. Were you directly influenced by the goings on across the great pond or was there a more organic beginning?
Archie: We were very much influenced by that stuff, particularly the noisier, Psychocandy-influenced bands. We were all fanatical record-buyers, and we were really excited by a lot of things coming out at the time, or from the previous few years.
Mike: For sure, I think we all were very inspired by the pop coming from outside of the US, the UK and New Zealand in particular. There were a lot of common influences—Ramones, Shangri Las, Byrds, Buzzcocks—with a lot of those bands, so when I’d hear records by people like Shop Assistants or Bubblegum Splash or Razorcuts I just felt a real kinship.

How did a band from Silver Spring, Maryland get noticed before the advent of blog culture and MySpace?
Archie: For the most part, we weren’t noticed. But just as we were able to keep up with a bunch of new, obscure stuff through resources like the K Records newsletter or Parasol distribution or really great record stores like Vinyl Ink, people who were into our kind of music were able to find out about us through the same kinds of things. It just took a bit more work back then.
Brian: We used more primitive means of communication: pen and paper, wired telephone, public and private transportation.
Pam: In addition to hanging out at the record store, trading fanzines/cassettes/records and word of mouth were all great ways to find out about small releases of vinyl on independent labels. Getting mail you could open and put on the turntable and sending a note with a mixtape were mostly yesteryear activities that I confess I miss.

There was a strong compilation culture in the late Eighties with records like SpinArt’s One Last Kiss and Creation’s Doing It For The Kids. With it all but gone do you feel there is something missing from the organic stumble-across culture of discovering bands?
Archie: Honestly, I don’t. Personally, I really, really miss spending hours at record stores, but I feel like it’s actually pretty easy these days to stumble across new and exciting music through the internet, especially blogs.
Mike: It’s definitely different now. I feel like there’s a little less community, a little less of actually meeting fellow music fans face-to-face and a bit more just sitting at home downloading stuff. I won’t say it was better then, but the amount of effort one had to go through to find out about and actually hear new music made it seem much more valuable to me.
Brian: There’s definitely a devaluation of the music with the ease of access now, but at the same time for me now as a father of two kids with very little time it’s great to have quick and easy access to music via the internet. I’m not sure how I’d feel about it if I was 20 again.
Pam: I wouldn’t say compilation culture is all but gone. I’m definitely buying less music these days than I used to, I don’t have as much time and disposable income as I did 20 years ago, but I still buy actual records and CDs instead of downloads and I’m still hearing great bands for the first time on compilations from the likes of Matinee Recordings and Jabalina and Where It’s At Is Where You Are. I’m more likely to buy-and-try a comp over one band’s LP if I’m impulse buying things I don’t know much about, but maybe I’m in the minority here.

We’re a Canadian magazine so I have to ask you if you ever listened to/played with/were friends with Eric’s Trip. They were our fuzz pop heroes.
Archie: I think Black Tambourine broke up before Eric’s Trip released anything over here. Brian and I were subsequently in Velocity Girl, who were Sub Pop labelmates with Eric’s
Trip, but we never met or played with them. I always liked what I heard by them. If it’s any consolation, Velocity Girl played shows with Jale, Sloan, and Zumpano…
Mike: You can count me as a fan—I have a few of their records and like them a bunch.
Brian: I remember playing a show in Halifax and hanging out with Jale, with whom we’d toured quite a bit, and thinking it felt like such a great supportive music scene there.
Archie: Brian, dude, Eric’s Trip were from Moncton.
Brian: It’s just an elk’s ride down the road right?

Could you describe for our readers what “Throw Aggi Off the Bridge” is about and what your relationship with The Pastels was like after the release?
Pam: I was a big fan of the Pastels and had seen a great video on SnubTV for Crawl Babies—I just watched the video again on YouTube and that cracking tune definitely stands the test of time—where Stephen was spinning around singing on a bridge. Out of that unrequited popstar crush came a song featuring a crime of passion. I don’t guess at the time I expected the Pastels to ever hear that record, but I did meet the Pastels after that and they were as ace as you would expect (and thankfully not grudge-holders, either).

How does the band feel about the Tullycraft song “Twee”?
Mike: I’ve never heard it.
Archie: Me neither.
Pam: I think Mike should start putting Slumberland guitar cases on his merch table!

Have you actually never heard it or are you sarcastically avoiding the question and taking the piss out of me?
Mike: I’ve really never heard it.
Brian: I really haven’t heard it either.
Pam: I have heard it and I was serious about the guitar cases.
Archie: Nope, really never heard it. I’ve heard “Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend’s Too Stupid To Know About” though, and it seemed like a pretty cool jam.

What is everyone spending their time on currently and what’s next?
Mike: I try to spend as much time as possible with my little boy, though work and the label keep me pretty busy. I’ve got a single coming out in a few weeks by my most recent band, called Manatee.
Archie: I’ve been recording and mixing some songs of my own after my daughter goes to bed. I’ve released a couple of them on Slumberland over the past few years, and hope to finish a record someday.
Pam: I’ve got two fab daughters in the five-n-under set and I work freelance from home at night after they go to bed, so I don’t have enough time as I’d like to for getting up to non-work craft and music stuff. But when I can I make things with a sewing machine, print things on the Gocco and letterpress, do a bit of recording in the kitchen and some hanging out in the garden. I’m one third of the Gregory Webster Trio—we’re recording some new songs this month—and I sang some songs with my old Shapiros bandmate on the new Bart & Friends CD that just came out.

[www.myspace.com/btambourine]
Words: Trevor Risk

A O C is throwing you a summer party! Wednesday June 23rd you’ll be treated to Vancouver’s three best and diverse acts. ION staff writer Stefana Fratila performs her Coco Rosie-esque songs and at her best will stretch your heartstrings like Link Wray stretches the strings of his guitar. She’s also always good for a tickling laugh in between songs. Did you miss Thrush Hermit in the Nineties because you were too young or too into that song by Train? The (super adorable and young) Hot Moonbeams will revisit Joel Plaskett and his crew while peppering you with the lyrical panache of Steve Malkmus. Capping off the evening has ION favourites Humans who have been killing it at both high end venues and underground parties for the last year. Of course there are your A O C DJs Kellen Powell and Trevor Risk bringing you every hit song you loved from the previous outings. Join the Facebook event group and get free song downloads of new and old indie hits everyday for a week leading up to the party. Let’s all clink glasses and duck walk all night long!

When: Wednesday June 23rd
Where: The Biltmore, Vancouver
Cover: $8

Acts:
www.myspace.com/dashumans
www.myspace.com/stefanafratila
www.myspace.com/thehotmoonbeams

Feverishly trying to catch up with a tour schedule, driving a Subaru through a “horrible blizzardy mess” in Pennsylvania is probably the most representative setting to catch up with Minneapolis’ two-piece Lookbook. Their debut LP Wild At Heart is a collection of brilliant tracks which have all the power of a four-wheel-drive vehicle, but have a soft, aural snowfall surrounding. While Maggie Morrison drives to the next gig, Grant Cutler rides shotgun and speaks to ION over the telephone about the Minneapolis scene, “stupid” drum breaks and how they’re trying to escape the word Eighties.

Tell me about being based in Minneapolis.
Well, Minneapolis is really far away from everything, so touring is kind of a challenge because you start out with a huge drive. We go to Madison and Milwaukee a lot, but the next big market is down in Chicago which is six or seven hours away. But Minneapolis has its own little community which, is, like really awesome and the music scene is cool—everybody is accepting and wonderful and it’s a cool place to be based out of. The trick is just getting out of town, like getting everybody ELSE to pay attention.

Are you tired yet of the word Eighties being associated with Lookbook?
OH MY GOD. SO MUCH! I don’t ever want to talk about my Eighties influences ever again. We’ve been working on some new music now and we’re really trying to get away from that even though there are still plenty of synthesizers and crazy beats and shit. That’s what everybody starts with and it seems like no matter where the interview goes it always ends up written up like “these guys just sound like the Eighties!” and I’m like “we didn’t even talk about that in the interview!” I can’t believe that’s what they get out of it.

It’s getting increasingly more difficult to make pop music without being derivative. Explain how Lookbook makes this happen.
Oh god, I don’t know. We really work on it. It seems like now the song structures are kind of the same but a lot of it is using new sounds, textures, and having Maggie write really great lyrics that aren’t necessarily your typical pop lyrics.
It’s a combination of all those things and being thoughtful about it I guess. If it does come across as derivative or “cheesy” we usually change it. Like, we actually think about that when we’re working on this music.

Some of your songs start off with ominous tones and notes, but continually resolve into a sweet piece of music. Is this intentional?
I guess it’s always something that I’ve enjoyed listening to. I never did it on purpose. But it is always kind of like a trick. I have the worst intros I always think. They’re always so long, y’know? Some of our songs are, like, way over a minute before a verse or anything.

Well the first song I heard was “True To Form” and that long intro might be the most charming part about it.
Yeah that one was totally a surprise because that song could turn into anything, I mean it’s got that stupid drum break that comes in and I think it’s a happy surprise for most people when that happens.

I gotta ask, there’s a Myspace photo where you are performing in a room that is four walls of high bench seats and a skylight. Where and what is that?
Yeah! Okay, so that is at the Walker Art Center and it is called a “Sky Pesher” [by James Turrell]. It’s like a sweet, stone room and you walk down this big hallway into this hill and then there’s benches on all four sides and there’s a cutout in the sky and the whole idea is to build this artistic frame around something in nature which is the sky and you sit and focus on that. They actually did a concert series there last summer and we were the first band that got to play there. It sounded kind of horrible in there because it was a big stone room but it didn’t matter because the idea of it was so cool, to be performing in this piece of art. It’s really amazing and I think it’s open all year round, day and night.

How do local bands feel about The Replacements?
At this point, I think that our generation knows ABOUT The Replacements. The dudes one generation above us are like really really into The Replacements because they were still kind of around when they were growing up or when they started playing music or something. They got huge, and they are actually great. I really like The Replacements, but I’m not a huge crazy fan or anything. Minneapolis really does have a ton of talent and it does feel like people spend a lot of time on their song writing, instead of just going for some quick flash in the pan thing.

Is Lookbook considered party music somewhere?
People definitely come out and dance especially if we play all-ages- shows, the kids will come out and cut a rug, but old people never dance.

Where do you want Lookbook to end up?
I don’t know. I would like to be a successful musician for a long time and I think Maggie’s the same way. I’d love to just tour and get our records out there for the next five or 10 years of my life. I think we’ll just keep our slow climb here going and see how far we can get.

[www.myspace.com/lookbookmusic]

Words: Trevor Risk
Photography: Joe Johnson

Lookbook – Over and Over from Bo Hakala on Vimeo.

Reviews of the latest by Charlie Alex March, Martha and The Muffins, Massive Attack and Vampire Weekend.

Charlie Alex March
Home/Hidden
Lo Recordings
I know that it’s lazy to say that albums are an amalgam of two other bands or records (“It’s like Grizzly Bear meets GWAR!”), but this is the first time I’ve ever done it, so don’t send me hate mail … or do, it’s always nice to meet a reader. When I was approximately 15, the two CDs I farmed more than any for my mix tapes were Aphex Twin’s Richard D. James Album, and the soundtrack to The Kids in the Hall movie, Brain Candy. They were both so good for putting on while opening the little convenience store I worked at on those early -30 degree winter days in southern Ontario, with their sad but not pathetic instrumental compositions (the latter being almost entirely Matador bands like Pell Mell and Pizzicato Five). The nostalgic ease I feel listening to Charlie Alex March’s second effort is special, but maybe only to me. Because honestly, I’m pretty certain that I was the only one in the Ottawa Valley listening to Aphex Twin and the Matador roster on those cold mornings while trying to decipher the looks on all those loggers’ faces when they heard what was coming from a tiny stereo behind the long haired skinny kid selling them lottery tickets and Players Light Regular.
—Trevor Risk

Martha & The Muffins
Delicate
Muffin Music
mmmMuffins! After three decades and only one hit song (you know “Echo Beach”. It’s basically “The Killing Moon” of Canada), the Toronto based synthpoppers have unveiled Delicate, their first album of new material in 18 years. Long-time partners in music and in life, Martha Johnson and Mark Gane took the best of the Muffins’ past and paired it with more current musical tastes, which, lucky for us, involve absolutely no Eighties saxophone farts. Martha’s clean and sober vocals trot alongside jaunty jams like “One in a Million” and “Drive,” while lullabies like “Even in the Rain,” and “Life’s Too Short to Long for Something Else,” are intense and emotional without a curd of melodramatic cheese. Simply put, Delicate is well-aged synthfolk fun.
—Jules Moore

Massive Attack
Heligoland
Virgin
Dude! Chillax and gear down, because when it comes to Heligoland, this one’s a slow burner. It’s the first offering from Massive Attack in seven years, so there’s a bit of pressure surrounding its release. That said, Massive Attack isn’t exactly arena rock whose listeners hard fuck and do coke all the time. No, they hit that “I’ll cook you dinner then we’ll love make” and “I stare out into the universe while riding the bus” kind of demographic. Shall I say that they are successful in this? Yes. There really are some great songs and guest vocals here, but dude, what did I tell you? Inhale, hold it… slow burner. I had to listen to this a few times to get it, but now that I’ve got it, I don’t want to give it back. Fans of Massive Attack will be happy with this one, and as someone who still feels stabbings in my heart whenever I hear the song “Protection” because my fucking heart was broken around the time I was listening to it (all the time), I am very pleased with Heligoland indeed. Buy it for “Paradise Circus” alone. Great song.
—Dr. Ian Super

Vampire Weekend
Contra
XL
The funniest thing happened when listening to Vampire Weekend’s latest release. Within the first few soft caressing beats of “Diplomat’s Son” I was hooked by a strong sense of deja vu. Shaken for a few minutes with a broad, Cheshire Cat smile on my face, I was struck by the source of my “Oh-my-goodness-this-sounds-familiar” feeling. Lead singer Ezra Koenig could have a great and profitable career doing voiceovers for Paul Simon. The similarities between Koenig and Simon are startling yet have just increased my love for Contra that much more. Koenig’s croonings are potential swoon material. Paul Simon-ness aside, Vampire Weekend craft each of the tracks on Contra with the same effort one puts toward perfecting one’s fashion style. All the musical elements fit perfectly together, like a complementary equation of shoes, hair and accessories. This sophomore album of VW is more than just a disciplined musical musing; it is a bona-fide time travel to summer warmth, lazy beach days and the honourable right to take that well deserved ‘chill pill’.
—Danielle Sipple

Reviews of the latest by Basia Bulat, Beach House, Four Tet and Los Campesinos!

Basia Bulat
Heart of My Own
Secret City
Initially when I heard Basia’s sophomore album I thought, “Yup, that sounds like a sophomore album.” That is, it didn’t hit me with the same force as the first album. I mean, Basia’s sound is such that she’s always going to sound like Basia and if you like her you’ll like this. I also knew, however, that I had a huge crush on her first album and probably wasn’t being objective. Heart of My Own has a slightly more sombre feel than the first album and most critics would call that ‘mature’. So after a few more listens I too think I like the more ‘mature’ Basia. I’ve listened to “Run” over and over and still can’t for the life of me figure out why I find the chorus (which consists entirely of her repeating ‘Run, run, run, run, run’ over and over) as moving and catchy as I do. Although it sounds to me like some of the musicianship has been turned down for this album, it’s a little less frantic and it sounds like the drummer might actually be able to play most of it live (which wasn’t the case when I saw them last year).
—Bix Brecht

Beach House
Teen Dream
Sub Pop
Once upon a time, I received hate mail for hating a Death Cab For Cutie record. I was told to keep my “sassy pants” in my bottom drawer with my Beach House CD. Now, the time has come: Beach House’s third album is released and I can hold my hate mailer to his word and make him grimace as I give Beach House a high rating and complete his wish as I’m sure he cherishes my opinion! Anyhow, I am certain that poppy organ songs and Victoria Legrand’s raucous vocals are not for everyone, but we have all been teenagers. We also all occasionally recall high school and the familiarity of having a locker, leading to a sudden slip of feelings that we only address when listening to a song like “Better Times.” Why would we otherwise try and answer, “How much longer can you play with fire before you turn into a liar?” Was high school all bad? Wasn’t the sushi okay? Teen Dream is, unlike past releases, a planetary delight. But not boundless.
—Stefana Fratila

Four Tet
There is Love in You
Domino
The last decade had some hilarious sub-genres that we’re all going to laugh about over beers (that will come in pill form probably) in 25 years. I know that I will never forget hyphy and ghost ridin’ the whip. Specifically, I will never forget the time Dr. Ian Super ghost rode his Volvo to Q Lazzarus’ “Goodbye Horses.” Although it would have had more effect if he had done it nude with his piece packed back. I’m getting off track though. Hyphy, Grime, Fidget and Electroclash? These will all be remembered with about as much fondness as the Ewok movies. Four Tet has often been classified as something with “glitch” in it—glitch hop, glitch pop, sexy thrash synth glitch jazz or something equally as HMV-esque. As we get older though, it appears that at least one artist from each narrowcasted genre should be looked upon fondly. Four Tet has made another lovely record. It’s not brilliant, but it’s consistent, the highlight being the track “Plastic People,” which waltzes along until ever so subtly the intro from The Chiffons’ 1965 classic “Nobody Knows What’s Goin’ On (In My Mind But Me)” rolls in over the track. It’s one of those moments that makes other producers curse out loud for not thinking of it first.
—Trevor Risk

Los Campesinos!
Romance is Boring
Arts & Crafts
I was first introduced to this band live in NYC, on a cool summer night with some good friends and a LOT of tequila. Needless to say, I had a real cool time, not only from my buzz, but because Los Campesinos! is a perfect band to see when you’re high on life. Thankfully, this exact feeling is captured on the group’s most recent effort, Romance is Boring. Singer Gareth Campesinos!, through clever tales of self-doubt and deranged young love, articulates a British (or Welsh, in his case) brashness reminiscent of PiL or even The Jam. Their songwriting is honest without being earnest and introspective without being precious. On the band’s website, they describe their latest effort as being about how “there probably isn’t light at the end of the tunnel.” This may sound grim at first, but fear not! Los Campesinos!, or “the country people,” have written a record so fun and engaging that it doesn’t really mater if we’re all doomed. At least we’ll have something to talk about.
—Louise Burns

Trevor Risk’s Best of ‘09

5. Girls – Album
Kip Berman from The Pains of Being Pure At Heart turned me on to Girls. Their band name and album name are cumbersome, but their music is a broad collection of Attractions-era Elvis Costello tunes, but narrowed down lyrically for the youth of today. Wanting a pizza and a bottle of wine is a perfectly acceptable topic to sing about, don’t you think?

4. Major Lazer – Guns Don’t Kill People… Lazers Do
Major Lazer had the best publicity campaign of 2009. Switch and Diplo collaborated with a virtual plethora of artists to make a full LP of dance music, which isn’t easy to do. Their campaign started with the idea that Major Lazer was actually a guy, some fictional Central American commando thug who had a lazer for an arm, and in his spare time his cartoon image was seen canoodling with Angelina Jolie and Jack Nicholson (helping children and at a Lakers game respectively). Release these photos, remix and re-edit old sounds and songs, press record, and collect your cash. It’s just that easy.

3. Passion Pit – Manners
Music geeks from your high school are getting more ass than you now. That’s the way it works. They went to Berklee College of Music and Emerson College and wrote songs for girls they met there and then they were on Jimmy Fallon and then they made a bunch of money and then they came back to town with girls who looks like Brazilian Kelly Bundys and then you buried your feelings under a pile of PBRs because all you did in high school was chase teenage sixes and get real high behind the hotel where your prom was.

2. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart – S/T
Early My Bloody Valentine records like Ecstacy and Wine were unjustly never really appreciated, and The Pains of Being Pure At Heart are going to make sure that they are. This is the band that many of us in our twenties wished existed in the cassette era. They would have been the perfect wine pairing for a plate of Black Tambourine with a side of Felt. What a beautiful, fully realized record. The best album I’ve heard in three years.

1. The Raveonettes – In and Out of Control
I think this record is probably the best one I’ve heard in about five years, and if I think about it with serious scrutiny, it’s definitely in my top five of all time. I listened to this three times in a row from start to finish when I first heard it, not doing anything but listening. I haven’t done that since I was probably 15. This is their best record, their forever remembered record, and that’s saying something because, in this writer’s opinion, they haven’t ever made a bad song.

Trevor Risk is Ion’s Music Editor. With the rest of his time he writes and produces music, smokes cigarettes, pets cats, watches football, fears whales, DJs, buys scotch, drinks scotch, wears glasses and sneezes.

Stefana Fratila’s Best of ‘09

5. Thao with the Get Down Stay Down – Know Better Learn Faster
This record will likely go unnoticed because it’s nothing extraordinary, but also, it’s perfect. Thao with the Get Down Stay Down is Virginia’s Thao Nguyen with her boys backing her melodiously uplifting and lyrically destructive songs. Destructive in the way that Thao hits a giant heart-shaped piñata to the cheers of a crowd (see the cover art!) Apparently, sad people dance too. Dance! Because Thao tells her ex “If this is how you want it, OK.” And you should too.

4. Timber Timbre – s/t
A bracing darkness, an auto-harp in the left speaker, a crooning man, and slow beats constant and dry! Do your remember the hidden track (Porcelain) off the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Fever To Tell? There’s an even better version of it by Timber Timbre, called “We’ll Find Out”. Your New Year’s Resolution: put the tabs for the song up so guitar newcomers can roar it in their rooms!

3. The Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
“Solange fuckin’ Knowles covered Stillness Is The Move!” I quote myself only to intensify how adamantly I believe in the tables turning. So, if you’re one of those listeners who just don’t get The Dirty Projectors I only ask you to imagine yourself playing this music – because you can’t! So, that’s it Solange!

2. The xx – xx
When the ‘Intro’ of a record can blow someone’s mind and then repeat listens of slow songs with unassuming lyrics continue to blow someone’s mind, that someone has made contact with music. Boom! Can you imagine singing a song so personal to your band-mates who know exactly who it is you are singing about? That takes courage!

1. Apollo Ghosts – Hastings Sunrise
A year is not a year without walking home to “the streets are different at night, I carry my keys in my knuckles in case I have to fight.” Can you live here without hearing Adrian Teacher’s references to late night Chinese restaurants, the Hell’s Angels, and Dobermans scaring immigrants on Canadian soil?? Once you’ve grooved to this, walked home to this, made love to this – you will always have Vancouver in you

Stefana Fratila wishes you a merry new year of being too broke to buy the new Beach House CD.

Check out her adorable music video!

Stefana Fratila- Vista Voyager from small fists! on Vimeo.

Chad Buchholz’s Best of ‘09

5. The xx – xx
The problem I had with The xx when I first picked it up (or, loaded it down) was that it was the summer, we were in the middle of the ‘chillwave,’ and it just didn’t fit in with the breezy, sun-soaked, sand-rolled playlist that I had had on repeat for the better part of three months. But then the sun died, the rain set in and the ice followed. Suddenly the spare, crystalline, restrained intensity of the thing all started to make sense. And they stole all the good guitar tones from Interpol’s first album, which was maybe my favorite album of the last 10 years. Impressed.

4. Real Estate – Real Estate
I wish I didn’t have to contextualize albums in terms of the weather so often, but I can’t get away from it with Real Estate. Many of the reviews of the album refer to it as ‘sunny,’ or ‘dusty,’ or ‘beach music.’ To me it doesn’t sound like any of these things. While it may be an album set in the summer, it’s one spent recollecting seasons past. But even in this, it’s beautiful, hopeful, and totally transcendent of any simple categorization.

3. Ganglians – Monster Head Room
The Woodsist imprint – with releases this year by the likes of Kurt Vile, Vivian Girls, Woods, Blank Dogs, etc. – would probably take the “Label Of The Year” award if anybody out there in the list-making universe ran out of things to rank. Monster Head Room is, to me, the standout amongst a pretty impressive roster. Like the feral child conceived in an orgy including the Beach Boys and The Grateful Dead, MHR is alternately soaring and joyful, dark and thundering, relaxed and mellow, intense and brooding. “Valiant Brave” may just be the track of the year.

2. Japandroids – Post-Nothing
On paper it might be tough to sell a two-person garage-rock racket-fest paean to lost youth, lost love, and lost bros as one of the best albums of the year. But somehow, with Post-Nothing, Japandroids made this seemingly tired formula something much larger than the sum of its parts. For what it lacks in musical variety, the album makes up for in an unapologetic, wide-eyed, desperate belief that what it has to say has to be said. Maybe this is best summed up in the hometown anthem (elegy?) “Rockers East Vancouver,” with singer Brian King declaring, “We used to go out / Get drunk and get sad / Good friends / But this town / And this scene / Has gone bad”. Yeah, it may not be “Empire State Of Mind,” but a good artist learns to work with what they’ve has got. Out of the ashes of burnt out dreams Japandroids have managed to make something beautiful.

1. Flaming Lips – Embryonic
This is strange for me, because it’s something I usually consciously avoid (see: my omission of anything called “Animal Collective” or “Grizzly Bear” on this list), but I feel like I have to put this album on the list even though I don’t find it endlessly listenable and even though I’m able to think of three or four other albums who I feel more inclined to support. I mean, I’ve never been a huge Flaming Lips fan, feeling – up to this point – alienated by their ‘conceptualism,’ but holy fuck, Embryonic may very well be (one of) the most insane and important pieces of music released in the last year. It’s a monster – towering, threatening, undeniable. By the time you get to the last thundering bass hit of closer “Watching The Planets” you feel like you might have to pull the cover off of your speakers to see if the assault that was just waged didn’t shred the cones. Jesus.

Chad is a writer living in Vancouver who works as a carpenter to pay the bills. Or, when he is working and paying the bills he is doing it by working as a carpenter, because being a writer is turning out to be a difficult way to make any money for him. Right now he’s not doing either of the former (carpentry, bill paying), but he has been better at more consistently doing the latter (writing). You can find his writing on subjects ranging from his own haircuts to the impending apocalypse at crbuchholz.wordpress.com.

Louise Burns’ Best of ‘09

5. Cass McCombs – Catacombs
My bestie got me into this, and I find it so bizarre that more people don’t know about Cass McCombs. I am in LOVE with this nomadic gentleman (who has apparently been a gypsy for most of his adult life) and his reverb soaked charm. His music is reminiscent of late Eighties/early Nineties alt-country (early Blue Rodeo included), and even hints of the classics, like Ricky Nelson. It’s quite hard to compare his music, however, as he is entirely his own mystic cowboy type. He is truly the “songwriter’s songwriter” with “Dreams Come True Girl” being the kind of ditty that makes us humble: so simple, so brilliant. We are not worthy!

4. Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
Pitchfork approved, Brooklyn based, blah blah blahhhh. None of this would matter if I didn’t love this album so much. Wearing both Beyonce AND Talking Heads influences in the most tasteful fashion, this album is a guilt-free guilty pleasure. Fun to sing! Fabulous beats! I am jealous of this band.

3. Makeout Videotape – Heat Wave
These little creeps know how to write a song. I’m not going to kiss their ass anymore than I already have this year. So here is my cheers to you, fine humans, for mastering low-fi pop music like its 1969, ok?

2. Fever Ray – S/T
Every time I listen to this, I feel like I’m on some kind of Swedish drug or coming down from one, rather. Dark ambiance, sometimes hinting at Brian Eno circa Another Green World, other times Angelo Badalamenti’s Twin Peaks, but still remaining entirely its own. I loved the Knife, but I think there is something truly magical about Fever Ray – black magic, of course. Without the driving backbeat of The Knife, Fever Ray bears a sort of intensity, yet containing lyrics like “I’m very good with plants when my friends are away”. Karin Dreijer Andersson paints a rather psychotic character that you can’t help but want to befriend. Zone-out record of the year!

1. Timber Timbre
I was first introduced to the spooky southern swagger of Timber Timbre at one very late night social gathering, which ended up being highly appropriate: this is the kind of album best listened to in a state of half-consciousness. Woodsy night folk creates a haunting soundscape with striking tremolo and tasty reverb, accented by Taylor Kirks cavernous vocals. Makes me want to drink whiskey in a forest.

John Mutch’s Best of ‘09

5. Wild Beats – Two Dancers
Wild Beasts really are spoilt. In singers Hayden Thorpe and Tom Flemming the Leeds, UK foursome have two of the most freakishly talented singers in music today. Their debut, Limbo Panto, released in 2008, showed the full extent of Hayden and Tom’s outlandish vocal ranges via a flurry of spiraling wails and bile curdling wails. Number two though, is all about finding that perfect middle ground between the ostentatious and the downright theatrical. Their voices remain the centre pieces of the composition but instead of dominating, they swoop and soar gracefully and naturally, driving the whole album perfectly.

4. Micachu – Jewellery
In a year dominated by female songwriters Mica Levi has been criminally overlooked. Sure she doesn’t quite fit within the La Roux and Little Boots’ Eighties vibe and sure, she does kinda look and sound a LOT like a boy – but Micachu and her faithful backing band “The Shapes” are nevertheless responsible for writing some of THE edgiest and the unluckiest pop songs of ‘09. In a musical landscape dominated by synthesizers and drum machines, it takes quite an imagination to pull together the sounds of broken glass bottles, vacuum cleaners and computers farting and somehow make them sound melodic.

3. Islands – Vapours
Montreal boys Islands are surely Canada’s reigning indie pop merchants. After a slightly disappointing second album in 2008’s Arms Way, 2009 saw Nicholas Thorburn and his gang return to full stride once more with a glossy 12-track collection of indie pop perfection. No matter what weird avenues music may travel over the next year, there will always be room for a bit of well-rounded indie pop from Canada’s finest.

2. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
Apparently pretty confident, Animal Collective released Merriweather Post Pavilion in January – a notorious black hole in the music industry’s calendar. Such self-assurance seems to have paid off too – 11 months later and songs like “My Girls” and “Summertime Clothes” remain first choices for just about any playlist going. Their equally brilliant follow-up EP Fall Be Kind – released in December – sees the loop-pedal-loving foursome sign out from 09 in the same brilliant way they checked in.

1. The xx – xx
It took me a while to get round to properly listening to this one. I mean, lets face it, The xx are hardly the most enticing or original sounding proposition. Schooled in South West London (where else?), they’re a four-strong gang of moody looking kids who enjoy dressing up in black, leaning against walls for press shots and playing scuffed-up indie pop. But man am I glad I gave them the time they deserve. Without sounding massively different from their peers, they’re light-years ahead of them in quality. Their debut, xx is so perfectly simple and unassuming you won’t even notice as it quietly gnaws away at your soul before it takes full-control of your senses.

John Mutch was unable to face life as a graduate in the recession-doomed UK, John has recently immigrated to Vancouver in search of work, music and Mexican food. He has written for UK mags Clash, The Fly and a handful of publications in Oregon, where he spent a year studying.

Reviews of the latest from Gift of Gab, Eugene Mirman, RJD2 and Tegan and Sara.

Gift of Gab
Escape 2 Mars
Cornerstone
My first response to Gift of Gab’s latest effort was that it was soft, like it gave me that feeling I get when hip hoppers do a slow ballad for their girl and try to sing the chorus. Luckily I don’t review things until I’ve listened to them at least four or five times. So let’s be serious for a second. Gift of Gab has one of the best flows ever (YouTube him freestyling with Tom Green and tell me otherwise), and could probably rap over baby’s-first-Reason-beat and still come out the other end cooler than everything on the radio. On top of amazing flow, this album has a level of future anxiety reminiscent of Curtis Mayfield or Marvin Gaye, but with heavy, twitchy future beats to match, namely on the seventh track “Electric Waterfalls” where G.O.G. tells you how corporations killed the electric car. The first single, “El Gifto Magnifico,” comes to your house with a heavy kick and a Cubano-bop feel that’ll get your head bobbing, but the standout track in my mind has to be “Rhyme Travel.” But then I’ve always been a sucker for the bounce.
Bix Brecht

Eugene Mirman
God Is A Twelve-Year-Old Boy With Asperger’s
Sub Pop
There are varying theories on why comedy started to suck and when exactly it happened. Some blame cocaine culture, some blame the lack of comics who were dedicated to coming up with fresh original material and others blame the virtual explosion of comedy clubs across North America. Whatever it was, stand-up comedy had become a joke. What nobody realized was that a lot of the younger comics had been taking their acts to non-traditional venues. Comics were performing in coffee shops and community theatres and being billed with musicians and poets instead of standing in front of a brick wall. Troupes like the highly influential Upright Citizens Brigade were established and a whole new generation of “alternative comedy” was blossoming. This was where we got our Sarah Silvermans and our David Crosses from. Incredibly, we now find ourselves almost at the point where the ‘alternative comics’ are the status quo. Although Larry the Cable Guy still probably outsells either of the aforementioned, we’re lucky that we get to enjoy the fruits of alternative comedy’s maturity without having to reach too far for it. I implore you to enjoy this particular fruit. It is hilarious.
Kellen Powell

RJD2
The Colossus
RJ’S Electrical Connections
I’ve been a big fan of RJD2 for a minute now, and the one thing that has struck me is that with every release he shows that his talent is maturing and evolving. I like the diversity of sounds and genres as well as the collaborative feel of the album. RJ brings in some great brass and strings players who really provide a lot of depth. It should be noted that while listening to The Colossus there are a multitude of events that can be successfully undertaken with the songs serving as a backdrop. These include: making things that have melted cheese, getting low off some dank, booby touching and general fondling, hitting dingers, moving your bodily rapidly upwards then letting gravity take hold then repeating, “guzzling”, asking a friend about dating their sibling, hardening the fuck up, twisting and then shouting, and so forth. It’s a great album—buy it. He wrote the theme to Mad Men for fuck’s sake.
Dr. Ian Super

Tegan and Sara
Sainthood
Sire
You either love or hate Tegan and Sara, and by hate I mean secretly love. They are adorable and fierce in their musical abilities, with lyrics that hit you in your emotional loins. Their new album Sainthood is no exception to the excellence that Tegan and Sara strive for. Sainthood is packed with the crooning of woes of relationships and the struggles of just being human. Their lyrics consistently remain accessible while their band is constantly developing a more mature sound. Tegan and Sara have always made the kind of music that could pull you through a breakup, all while making you dance in your room alone completely content. They are the musical equivalent of best friends that you can put on repeat. Perfection.
Danielle Sipple

Reviews of the latest by Michael Bublé, Echo & the Bunnymen, El Perro Del Mar and Fuck Buttons.

Michael Bublé
Crazy Love
Reprise
Michael Bublé should have been a hockey player. My mom told me this. While the documentation of Bublé’s amour d’hockey is biblical, it’s the message of Adult Contemporary (AC) that Bublé tries to preach en mass. Sadly the results on Crazy Love are as flaccid as a baby’s penis on Bris milah. Peppered liberally with his bread-and-butter big band arrangements (working with the brain-trust of David Foster and Bob Rock), Crazy Love asks for more pop and fails boldly. “Just Haven’t Met You Yet” attempts to explore new territory, but falls far short of the AC benchmark set by stalwarts of the genre like Josh Groban and Daniel Powter. Bublé is a hockey man making music for hockey moms (a demographic sadly underrepresented by this publication). On the road to the rink, this is the soundtrack. While he excels for the Oprah-class-warriors, it is beyond the editorial scope of this contributor to recommend Crazy Love to anyone besides, ahem, my mom.
Joseph Delamar

Echo & the Bunnymen
The Fountain
Ocean Rain
Disappointed—it’s a four-syllable word that describes the sadness we endure when something fails to fulfill our hopes. It’s also the word that best describes my feelings after listening to the musical upchuck that is Echo & the Bunnymen’s new album, The Fountain. For those who don’t know, Echo & the Bunnymen is a British post-punk band that started in the late Seventies and swam alongside bands like The Cure, New Order and Devo. “WELL, THAT WAS A LONG TIME AGO!” shouts their 11th album. It seems they are back with blazers, shades and a sack of poppy, middle-aged rock that is as palatable and contemporary as California rolls or CSI DVDs. Gone are the swirling tummy tickles that came through in such beloved songs as “Killing Moon” and “Lips Like Sugar.” With the exception of the title track, there’s really nothing post-punk, avant-garde or even interesting on the album to speak of. Sorry Bunnies, but The Fountain sounds like Coldplay with street cred.
Jules Moore

El Perro Del Mar
Love Is Not Pop
Control Group
Sarah Assbring, the mastermind behind El Perro Del Mar, has made a career out of heartbreak. Gifted in her subtleness, she manages to make this breakup record sound melancholy without the melodrama—Morrissey, take note. Minimal layering (an art the Scandinavians have so skillfully mastered—Lykke Li and Fever Ray for example) consisting of acoustic guitars, piano, retro synths and sexy drumming, along with Assbring’s girlish-yet-wise voice, equates this record to a warm Swedish hug. It’s like a friend offering comfort when you’ve had your heart freshly torn apart. From the hopeful swell of album opener “Gotta Get Smart” to the icy soundscape of “Let Me In”, she unites her album with the charm of sing-a-long melodies. Love is not pop, no, but heartbreak certainly is.
Louise Burns

Fuck Buttons
Tarot Sport
Atp
Jesus, what is this? I, of course, paid no attention to anything with the “Fuck” word in its name when all this shit started breaking back in 2007, or 08, or whatever, just like I almost ignored all the “Crystal” bands. Now, just like I realized Crystal Stilts were totally fucking awesome and designed to be my favourite band of the year, I’m finally put in a position to listen to Fuck Buttons and to realize that I’ve been missing out on something bordering on ‘mindshitting.’ Here’s a list of adjectives/adverbs to use when describing Tarot Sport: epic, martial, thundering, sprawling, shimmering, propulsive, multi-layered, grandiose, and atmospheric. Genre tags include electro/techno, shoegaze, noise, and/or experimental, with the modifier ‘post-‘ fixable to any of the above. Also worth noting is that this is an ‘album’ and that all the songs essentially bleed into each other, meaning you may feel pressured to listen for the duration of its just-under-an-hour runtime. Not sure how I feel about that, but I think Tarot Sport might be convincing enough to twist my arm into letting it roll through a few more times.
Rich Bucks

Reviews of the latest by Apples in Stereo, Felix Da Housecat, Hope Sandoval, Magenta Lane, No Age, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and You Say Party! We Say Die!

Apples in Stereo
#1 Hits Explosion
Yep Roc
I have always had a bit of a problem with bands releasing hit compilations too early (“too early” in my mind being anything less than two years after a band stops making music). This, combined with the fact that Apples in Stereo never really had any hits per se and have always been more of an album band, leaves me with the sense of having listened to an album without continuity, or at least I would have if Apples in Stereo’s whole career weren’t so continuous. Reviewing an Apples in Stereo retrospective while the Beatles are re-releasing their catalogue is sort of like going to a Ben Johnson play on the opening day of Macbeth. Even so, one cannot help but feel the fun and energy coming off these songs. Simple lyrics and simple melodies are what they are and what they are is infectious, and just like H1N1 you can count on it being more effective on the young while those born before 1957 have immunity. I wanted to say that #1 Hits Explosion sounded more like 16 Split Decisions but the album ended up being too fun for such a dismissive witticism.
Bix Brecht

Felix Da Housecat
He Was King
Nettwerk
Felix Da Housecat is going to be the only one to survive the eventual nuclear attack on electro DJ/producers. Mostly because he understands how absolutely hilarious the nightlife is, and how it’s ridiculous when those conducting the festivities believe that laptop-made, bloggable remixes are going to be remembered for more than one second’s worth of meta-culture. Our man Felix DJs perfectly and produces even more professionally than his buddy Diddy, but he does so with a charming smirk as evidenced by the sardonic titles on his new record like “Spank U Very Much,” “LA Ravers” and the track “Kickdrum” which consists of a deep 808 beat with looped lyrics exclaiming “Big Fat Kickdrum/Makes You Wanna Get Some.” The record’s highlight may be Felix himself singing on opener “We All Wanna Be Prince” and doing a pretty decent job of aping the tiny, purple wonder. He Was King can’t compare to his 2001 effort Kittenz and Thee Glitz, but nothing and nobody ever will.
Trevor Risk

The Fugitives
Find Me
Independent
There is always a very special place in my heart for spoken word. Though it has never quite made a proper communion with energetic music, The Fugitives may be the missing link in this unfinished thought. The band steals your ears with their fierce spoken word and toe-tapping melodies. Their brand new recording Find Me is short but packs a powerful punch. Each of their songs coaxes you to sing along, whether you know the lyrics or not. “Breaking Promises” pulls at heartstrings equally all over, while “Blue Belle Lament” sounds like a heartbroken lullaby that is comforting in all the right places. Deep with soul, The Fugitives have tapped into a space that is heavy with emotion, yet without the dragging force of dramatic drawl. Their music sings sweet and bitter of all the ups and downs of life’s offerings. Find Me is the perfect mixture of past tears, dancing toes and eccentric smiles.
Danielle Sipple

Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions
Through the Devil Softly
Nettwerk
I have this uncle who worked for Warner Music in New York. He was in finances. Whenever I’d go to visit him he’d have a stack of albums for me to take home. My uncle has good taste in music, even though Warner usually doesn’t, so beneath the take-it-or-leave-it riff raff there would often be a gem. Hope Sandoval’s new album, Through The Devil Softly, is not that gem. It is simply 40-some-odd minutes of take-it-or-leave-it drivel. Just a safe, albeit pretty orchestration of breathy vocals and brush stick drums beats. I mean, if my uncle passed this thing on to me I’d probably let it sit in my collection catching dust, but this is the mp3 age so I’m deleting this elevator soundtrack off my iTunes.
Lindsay Lumber

Magneta Lane
Gambling With God
Last Gang Records
Magneta Lane are an underappreciated all-lady three-piece who write alternative rock songs in the Tee-Dot. Their concise debut album, The Constant Lover, took the independent music scene by surprise. Gambling With God is the band’s third full-length record and it undoubtedly carries on many qualities of their debut in the realm of songwriting. Very cleanly produced, the song “September Came” is the standout track as it features pretty harmonies and lyrics that mention the devil. The case is different with “Love And Greed” in which a megaphone-type chorus gives the impression of not being as awesome lyrically as it is musically… but there is something to be said about Magneta Lane getting away with “I’d get all liquored up and fucking crawl in front of you.” If you still listen to The Strokes (or wish you remembered to), this is something worth gambling on.
Stefana Fratila

No Age
Losing Feeling
Sub Pop
I think No Age is probably going to have a good year and be even more prominent then they were after Nouns. Or during that period when everyone was talking about some club in LA called The Smell and the bands who had played there but who most people have kind of forgotten about now, even though it seemed like some sort of movement or zenith just last year. This EP is good. I like when a band can make four songs sound like a fully realized idea. I think maybe four songs under fifteen minutes is the best length for a piece of recorded musical output. I think in the wake of this EP you’re probably going to hear about No Age’s “new sound,” which is going to mean “tremello + reverb + melody” instead of, or in conjunction with, “fuzz.” Which is good, because I think by the time the winter hits, lo-fi backlash is going to be in full effect (if it’s not already) and No Age will hopefully come to exemplify how to successfully transition into the cleaner, soberer years of the second decade of the 2000s.
Rich Bucks

The Pains of Being Pure
At Heart Higher Than The Stars
Slumberland
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart sound like early My Bloody Valentine; we know this already. Pleasantly enough though, instead of mirroring the careers of the inventors of loud and letting the morphine drip take over as the main instrument on their next effort, Pains have decided to not only jangle, but thud, soar, and play their instruments like they mean it. The title track of this half-album will prove to be a jewel in the crown of these Brooklynites (Brooklynians? Brooknadians?) mostly due to the relatable refrain of “In The Back Of Your Mother’s Car” and the other songs (like on their self-titled debut) that don’t miss either. For dessert we’re treated to a remix treatment of “Higher Than The Stars” by long-forgotten UK indie dance outfit Saint Etienne, which admittedly sounds better on paper than speakers, but at its very least reminds us to put on Foxbase Alpha and maybe flip through a copy of Select. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart are making everyone else look lazy and stupid.
Trevor Risk

You Say Party! We Say Die!
XXXX
Paper Bag
XXXX is just fourletters and the title of You Say Party! We Say Die!’s third full-length album. XXXX is also a placeholder for some mystery word. Could be it’s a place holder for the listener saying “Oh XXXX!” YSP!WSD! has really smoothed down the rough edges of their previous recordings with the help of producer Howard Redekopp (The New Pornographers, Tegan & Sara) without sacrificing any of the energy. In fact they polish off all the sharp spikes that were hurting their previous records and what is left is a glossy surface with satisfying peaks and valleys. Not that they have strayed so far from their roots that you can’t tell where they are coming from. It’s just the opposite: the production quality here only clarifies things like Becky Ninkovic’s vocal talents and Krista Loewen’s keyboards, which only broaden the scope of the songs. I think that maybe they could have gotten away with calling this album Love; I‘m pretty in love with it…. It’s too bad the Beatles and Cirque beat them to it….
Troy Sebastian Alden

Twenty-five-year-old Garret Egles’ posters are disgusting. Not Cannibal Corpse-disgusting, but pretty gross. This style may be considered pretty off-putting when it’s shoved in your face by a crackhead while in the undesirable quadrant of your city, but when it’s used to promote hands-up, wild parties, it proves effective. “Overall I would say it’s generally bloody as hell with some kind of gnarly cartoon gore,” Garret states about his style, “but with posters I try to do something a little different than what I normally like to draw while still keeping some sort of style continuity to them. I definitely take a lot of influence from old Eighties trash metal artwork, comic books and cartoons/movies I grew up watching.” His “bloody as hell” artwork can be enjoyed at:

www.garretegles.blogspot.com

Reviews of the latest from The Almighty Defenders, Girls, The Hidden Cameras, The Raveonettes, Taken by Trees, TV Heart Attack and Yo La Tengo.

The Almighty Defenders
S/T
Vice
Look deep into my cobra. Now here, take this crushed velvet sack of broken instruments and opium bagels, go into the garage and make Mama Vice some magic. And so it went for two of said record label’s finest. The Black Lips have joined forces with tickle-trunk twosome The King Kahn & BBQ Show (aka Mark Sultan and Blacksnake) for The Almighty Defenders. Written, recorded and mixed in one week, the result is a new indie super-album of the same name, a stew of the best ingredients from both parties. With jams like “All My Loving” that light a stick of boogie and shove it straight up your bungus, to softer melodies like “Bow Down and Die” that drool out a desperate plead, “does he hold you like I hold you?” Together the six wizards are channeling the restless ghosts of Jerry Lee, Little Richard and The Falcons in this great bigamous marriage of Fifties doo-wop, punk and Seventies genitalia psychedelia. What is that exactly? This album. Four out of five tambourines.
Jules Moore

Girls
Album
True Panther If Phil Spector had his way with Elvis Costello he would take away all of his shoes but tell him he could leave if he wanted to. Elvis would have no choice but to stay. He would be sad. He would write slow songs about getting away to a better place. Phil would care in his own way, he would make sure that Elvis had very nice things and he would never pull a gun. But Elvis would never be happy. He would sit alone on the cold floor in Phil’s cavernous mansion and write songs to the echoes in the hallway. His own voice would be his audience. Phil would come home from a long day at the studio and pause standing at the front door, just listening. He would later record those songs and it would come to be known as “Elvis’ Sound.” The Beach Boys and the Beatles would want “Elvis’ Sound” and they would try, but they would never really truly get it. They just weren’t sad enough.
Hayz Fisher

The Hidden Cameras
Origin:Orphan
Arts & Crafts
I found the perfect soundtrack for sitting at the Incheon Airport, waiting to fly home. Origin: Orphan starts with a long, ominous hum which builds into pounding drums and strings and Joel Gibb’s dramatic vocals messing around a bit and then fading away. The song feeds my teary nostalgia for events that have happened even just this past summer. But before I take out the barf bag to get deathly homesick for gay men and blissed out 2 a.m. bike rides, “In the Na” pipes in and I’m okay. “Colour of a Man” could definitely be made into a Korean traditional flute anthem. The beautiful “do do do’s” in the choruses? I could very well be on the KTX going through the lush, green mountainside right now. “Do I Belong?” gives me a spring for my step as I walk to the gate and it’s perfect for remembering why I can’t wait for home: “waking up with you beside me, how can I go wrong?” The “wa-ooh-wa-ooh-wa-ooh’s” in “Underage” and the low little bits of (ha!) “The Little Bit”, and the rollicking lullaby of “Silence Can be a Headline” end this lovely record so well. I’m again feeling wistful, but happy.
Natalie Vermeer

The Raveonettes
In And Out Of Control
Vice
The Raveonettes have always made records that were easily the best records put out by anybody that year, but an eyelash away from being a perfect ten. If a listener were to criticize their previous efforts, the one thing, the ONLY thing that could be said on the unhappy side of them was that maybe the albums sounded like they were one big movement, rather than treating each song individually. This isn’t always the worst possible idea, but particular fans may grow tired of the concept. Well, congratulations are in order for the Danish duo. They finally did it. They made their forever record. They’ve grabbed the music world by both ears, and made the best rock record possible. When Sharin Foo says “Fuckers” right before the chorus of “Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed)” try not to punch something with excitement and anger. The song “D.R.U.G.S.” marks the only time in contemporary music where the listener will actually put THE VERSE on repeat. Choke back tears during the album’s finale “Wine” and curse out loud that “Bang” wasn’t released in the summer, because in a summer devoid of the elusive “summer hit,” we all could have used that particular number. Thank you Sune and Sharin. You’ve pitched a perfect game.
Trevor Risk

Taken By Trees
East of Eden
Rough Trade
Victoria Bergsman, the woman we know as the girl in Peter Bjorn and John’s “Young Folks,” has put out a kind of ‘Indian’ themed album under her solo project, Taken By Trees. Although her voice is definitely beautiful on every track, the record is mostly kind of lame. Listening to East of Eden makes you ask questions—questions like: “Is this supposed to be good?” or “Why am I listening to children repeatedly chanting something I don’t understand?” While the combination of sounds and instruments of an unfamiliar nature creates a setting of maybe… Pakistan (where the album was recorded), it also sometimes sounds really distant. Like the unreachable tabla! Perhaps the only familiar aspect of the record is her cover of Animal Collective’s “My Girls” (turned into “My Boys”) which is kind of cute. Aside from that, this album will only satisfy those who frequent trendy, nouveau-Indian restaurants and those who want to be satisfied.
Stefana Fratila

TV Heart Attack
Lost In The Sway
Thorny Bleeder
My immediate reaction to Lost in the Sway is one of nostalgia, which is weird because I’ve never heard TV Heart Attack before. I imagine an alternate and timeless reality where I do my grade six math homework while listening to CHEZ 106 in Ottawa. They’re playing a superset with Terrence Trent D’arby, Midnight Oil and a U2 track off War but my pencil stops being for learning and starts being for air drums when “A O” comes on … then it’s back to fractions. Meanwhile back in this reality “The Ghost Inside” spends four minutes in that perfect straight swing beat pioneered by Bonham (think bridge from “Dazed and Confused”) and shined up and sold to the masses by Three Doors Down’s “Kryptonite”. TV Heart Attack would have been a fantastic radio band when radio was relevant and if they’re not right now it’s radio’s fault (and loss). Six songs in 20 minutes is smart, there is no room for filler, there is no time to become unfocused; this record is what it is from start to finish. I also really like “Wolves” but don’t have room to say anything witty about it.
Bix Brecht

Various Artists
The National Parks – A Film By Ken Burns OST
National Parks Film Project
Ken Burns is prolific. His documentaries captivate and educate, and in his productions he uses some of the best in the business. These are true musicians, dedicated to their craft, producing wonderful music and some of the cleanest mandolin tremolo I’ve ever heard. Unfortunately, folk music gets slept on, maybe that’s because it’s so honest. You feel the humanity in the music, you catch yourself making profound statements about the good ‘ole days when, “a man could stand tall, knowing that his sweat and tears were feeding the ground on which he walked.” See it was a simpler time then, a nation newly formed struggling to find its identity, while becoming a place of refuge for dreamers. If there is such a thing as strength, America (‘Murica’?) made its own. And the locals? Well, “we gave ‘em about as much choice as a fiddle in a fire. A man had three things to eat: beef, beans, and his own soul. On the bright side this is God’s country, our country, our God, our hopes, our dreams, our ‘Murica.”
Dr. Ian Super

Yo La Tengo
Popular Songs
Matador If birds of a feather fly together, then the Hoboken-based trio of Yo La Tengo has stuck around for 20 years and over 12 albums by their willingness to ruffle their own feathers and see what comes out. Returning from their migration as soundtrack scorists, their new Popular Songs reminds us why we’ve always loved these genre-hoppers: the LP is neither scattershot nor measured; it’s simply a jam of what the group can and wants to play. The ambient “Here to Fall” becomes the indie-rock sucker punch “Nothing to Hide,” the Motown wink “If It’s True” becomes the 11-minute lulling of “The Fireside,” before the dissonant shredding of 16-minute closer “And the Glitter is Gone.” It’s sweet, raucous, and fun, and it’s always pitch perfect, no matter which way the wind blows.
Nojan Aminosharei

Journalist reception
Yeah, we love free drinks, and any event with the word “reception” in it better have some. Tipped some bottles with people whose jobs it is to smile no matter what off-colour comments we make (see: Toronto Tourism Board). Dude from the Polaris Prize hates Factor as much as we do, but has a deep love for Tom Cochrane… like our editor does.

Some art show at some guy’s gallery on Shaw street
Wine nearly as delicious as the photographs by Seth Fluker. The Risk brothers got drunk, and are told by a foxy stylist that they’re the low-grade Chase brothers. Derek hasn’t seen Entourage, but still manages to accidentally do his best Johnny Drama impression.

Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head
Ah to be young. Naming your band something stupid and playing warped-pop-disco-punk reminiscent of 2002 is perfectly acceptable when you’re just barely the age of majority. A good band to book if you’re planning on throwing a party that consists mostly of drinking killer Kool-Aid.
www.myspace.com/natalieportmansshavedhead

The Juan MacLean
“I wanna introduce my band…” exclaims Juan. “…this is the theremin. It’s the hardest fucking instrument in the world to play.” He’s right, but plays it with aplomb. Only Angelo from Fishbone can do a better job, but that guy’s nuts. Enjoyed the band’s twenty-seven minute version of “Happy House” that slows down about 60 bpm before rising back up to make us sweat more. Good times, bad venue. The Tattoo Rock Parlour is an “alternative” club in the truest, most Nineties, most HMV sense of the word. Heard “Hey Man, Nice Shot” DJed in the secondary room.
www.ionmagazine.ca/2009/08/the-juan-maclean

Free Legal Advice Lecture
NXNE has a series of lectures from industry experts, and although most were thin, confusing, and downright bad, listening to Stacey Mitsopolous and a troupe of entertainment lawyers (most American, thank fucking God) was enlightening. They made certain to remind us that this kind of Q&A with a lawyer would generally cost an artist or a band about four hundred dollars an hour.

Songwriters Association of Canada Lecture
Have you ever wanted a team of (all-but-one) irrelevant idiots who you’ve never heard of try and tell you why your music isn’t going to make it anywhere, all the while trying to figure out why somebody with almost no credits you’ve heard of was chosen to sit on a panel and masquerade as an expert? Ever wanted to sit in this very room while listening to the worst music you’ve ever heard? We didn’t know what was worse, the supposed “experts” deciding what was good (sounds like a Factor jury) or listening to the music of artists and producers who are more interested in “making it” than they are in making reasonable music. We walked out of this one. This may have been the moment we realized how dire the Canadian music industry is. No wait… that moment was clearly somewhere in the midst of our time at the Junos.

Lecture on promotions
We skipped the “How to Slay On Stage with Moe Berg” lecture (trying to avoid Robin Black) and sat in on a lecture about advertising and marketing. Kenny Mac from Red Bull and the guy from Jagermeister get it. They share with us about how to have support from both companies without having to wear T-shirts emblazoned with logos. The lady from Fred Perry appears to have a scripted speech about her company, while the baby boomer in a suit who works for advertising laughs at our question about advertising being archaic, but looks nervous the entire time. Wished we could’ve TiVo’ed him.

Piper Davis
Maybe the most charismatic female performer in Canada. Sounding like a white Santigold, Piper lights up a stage (literally, she has a young lady on stage with her singing backups AND putting on a light show) despite a very early show and a poor turnout. Risk brother Derek thinks she channels Mick Jagger with her swagger. Just cocky enough while performing, she lights up when we talk to her after. “Thanks for coming! I had a great time!” Band that goes on after her puts up a visual that reads something about “As heard on MTV’s The Hills!!!”. Ew.
www.myspace.com/piperdavis

Matt and Kim
I’m reminded of the story of Charlie Parker hating free jazz and pulling a depression-era okie-doke by placing a group of children behind a sheet playing instruments for the first time, billing it as a free-jazz show. After applause thunders though the club, he pulls the sheet back and reveals the stupidity of the genre. One day, Matt and Kim will pronounce their fans’ ineptitude by revealing that they were making garbage sounds in an attempt to create a contemporary version of the Emperor’s New Clothes fable. As ION staff writer Nojan Aminosharei would say, “I don’t listen to music made by ugly people. That’s why I don’t watch music videos.”
www.myspace.com/mattandkim

Pants and Tie
If any of the Matt and Kim fans had stuck around the Whippersnapper Gallery (instead of wandering around the city to find the cheapest beer), they would have been treated to this Television/Suicide throwback outfit. Two young, handsome gentlemen dressed accordingly (see: band name) set up a bass rig, guitar rig, and sample station while a leisure-suited, middle-aged man paces around the venue. Risk brother Derek whispers, “See that guy who looks like their manager? That’s the singer.” Lighting up the art space with Alan Vega-esque antics, the frontman stands in the crowd for the last number, hollering in the face of our fashion editor Toyo about putting his penis inside an un-named actress. Finishes off with a polite “Thank you!”
www.myspace.com/pantsandtie

Factor Lecture
Hungover and in need of a comfortable chair, ION entered this lecture late. Too bad too, because we didn’t know what had already been covered. Questions we would have liked to have asked: “Why does 85 percent of Factor money have to go to Universal Canada artists?” “Is it true that Factor only has about eight months left?” “Don’t you think they have a better system in places like Sweden where the government will give out instruments or rehearsal spaces and let the artists make their own art?” “How do you justify making music an objective art by deciding what’s good and what’s bad with a council/jury?” “Why does Gene Simmons hate you, and has decided to crusade against all that’s wrong in the Canadian industry?” Listening to over-the-hill women try to encourage young, vulnerable minds to apply and “maybe you too can get a record deal!” makes tears stream down the faces of the ION staff. For shame Factor.
www.factor.ca

Danny Fields
A living legend, but maybe on his last legs. Defiantly states that he hasn’t enjoyed music since Soundgarden broke up, and has no time for stupid questions, like that of a pretentious, T-shirted snot; “When The Stooges recorded with a vacuum…” “What???”, interjects our lecturer “Where the hell did you hear that? Next question.” Danny Fields doesn’t disappoint. He does an impression of Nico, hits on a pretty girl who is clearly giddy to speak to him, and recounts some very candid stories about everybody from the MC5 to The Velvet Underground. Only time he enjoys a question is when we ask him about Jonathan Richman.

The Sonics
After ION interviewed these creators of all things loud and garage-y, they take the outdoor stage at Yonge Dundas Square. We were lucky enough to sit side stage while about 1500 suckers stuck it out in the rain. Drummer Ricky takes a break mid-set to pee, but that was about the only time the energy dropped. Hammond organs, Leslie speakers, raging sax, and songs about witches. The Sonics nailed it.
www.ionmagazine.ca/2009/08/the-sonics

Teen Anger
Love bands like this. Dirty Telecaster-a-billy, with a destructive drummer and a gorgeous, technically apt female bass player. The only shortcoming is their singer, who appears to have missed that day in music history where the melody was invented, and who dick-ishly barfs out something about how he just saw The Sonics and how he felt like he was at Casino-Rama. His Mom and Dad probably don’t understand him… hey! Maybe that’s where the band gets its name!
www.myspace.com/teenangerrr

Fake Blood
Late that night, the ION crew stammer over to Wrongbar, which we’re told is mostly for youngsters and ecstacy. Being held up at the door despite having press passes, our creative director Danny promises one of the festival’s domestiques an internship if she squeezes us in past the giant line. Have fun spending your days running to get Danny hair gel sweetie! Once we get inside, Fake Blood is surrounded by e-tards hanging from the ceiling, but with good reason. Not only does he play two CDJs and two turntables at once, but his technical ability is matched by his song choice, and aren’t those the only two important things about DJing? Okay, too hot in here. Time for bed.
www.myspace.com/welovefakeblood

North By Northeast isn’t without its charms, but we’re left to wonder if maybe they could eliminate the out-of-touch, Canadian industry lectures, and half-famous headliners (barely any of whom had any new material out this year) and sink back into a showcase of this country’s young, legitimate artists. There are a roster of artists and bands who have foregone the two decade-old idea of hustling a record deal out of a 55 year old execs who are the only hope for flipping Canada’s industry status as the most pathetic and misguided of the industrialized nations.

Words: Trevor Risk
Photographs of Teenanger: Jeremy R. Jansen