Canrock 90s: Matthew Good Band – “Alabama Motel Room”

Celebrating the best(?) of 90s Cancon sanctioned modern rock.

Okay, so Matt Good has actually done a lot with his lengthy career, first solo, the with Matthew Good Band and now solo again. My favourite incarnation remains the early Matt Good Band records Last of the Ghetto Astronauts and Underdogs (not to mention his 1992 demo cassette tape Broken that I have tucked away somewhere in my parent’s house) back when he didn’t seem like such a prick and before writing partner Dave Genn split and married the local weather girl in Vancouver. These days Matt plays the role of professional asshole (or now that’s he’s getting on in years is he just a curmudgeon?). Just the other day he was cutting down on the Junos for their crass commercialism, despite having won three himself back when people gave a shit. Oh Matty…

I saw Matt many times at festivals in Vancouver, but my fondest memory is seeing him open the three day “Fox Fest” festival at the Plaza of Nations. This was his only single at the time and he seemed genuinely happy to just be there with people listening.

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Record Review: Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – “Beware”

Under his Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy alter-ego, Will Oldham had quietly plucked away at a career as an indie folk hero for years.

Then a new generation of indie bands discovered Dylan and The Band’s Basement Tapes and started falling over each other while reaching for banjos and acoustic guitars. Though the fervor over this sound may have peaked, Oldham shows no signs of slowing down, with Beware being his eighth full-length release since 1999.

Beware mixes Oldham’s more recent country leanings with the Appalachian folk that first brought the Kentucky native to prominence. As always, he’s augmented by a rotating cast of backing musicians who move seamlessly between moody dirges (“Heart’s Arms”) and soulful blues laments (“My Life’s Work”).

Despite releasing new material at a breakneck pace, Oldham retains a sense of quality control that other artists in his position lack (read: Ryan Adams). His dedication to making each record and the songs they contain just a little different shows a devotion to a career rather than a fleeting trend. That will keep Oldham’s records spinning for years to come.

This review originally appeared at Chartattack.com

Record Review: Junior Boys – “Begone Dull Care”

Indie-dance had critics running for the club floor back in 2006, the same year Toronto’s Junior Boys dropped their much-lauded sophomore album, So This Is Goodbye.

But the indie-dance floor has gotten pretty crowded over the past two years, as a bevy of new bedroom knob-twiddlers flood the airwaves with would-be club-bangers for skinny, pale kids drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon. Not that you’d know about any of this from listening to Junior Boys’ new record.

Its title suggests a euphoric shrugging off of worries much like Primal Scream’s Screamadelica, or at least following in the footsteps of contemporaries like Hot Chip. But Begone Dull Care is far too cautious and self-aware to fill that role with every bleep and beat in its carefully considered place. It’s a slow burner of a record that outlasts the weekend and demands repeat listens for thoughtful consideration.

But most importantly, it’s a declaration from Jeremy Greenspan and Matt Didemus that So This is Goodbye’s success came less from lucky timing and more from the fact that it was a good record. Junior Boys are in this for the long haul.

This review originally appeared at Chartattack.com

Record Review: 1990s – “Kicks”

1990s first gained notice due to their ties to Franz Ferdinand (Alex Kapranos and Paul Thomson did time in Yummy Fur with 1990s mastermind John McKeown) but quickly established themselves as a separate entity with tunes like “Arcade Precinct.”

Kicks is less immediate than the band’s debut but offers more with repeated listens. Again produced by Bernard Butler, it’s a more careful record, ditching breakneck guitar lines and snappy rhythms for nuance and melody. But that’s not to suggest that the album lacks hooks. “Balthazar” and “59″ are early contenders for hazy summer anthem of the year and there’s not a dud on the album’s dozen tracks.

If there’s one thing the Glaswegian three-piece know how to do it’s write catchy tunes.

This review originally appeared at Exclaim.ca

Record Review: Chris Cornell – “Scream”

When someone with Chris Cornell’s rap sheet makes a stylistic turn as dramatic as Scream, it’s difficult to take critical stock of the music on its own. The record sees the former Soundgarden and Audioslave singer embracing modern R&B with the help of super-producer Timbaland. The obvious question is: why? But Cornell’s not supplying any answers. The good news is Scream is nowhere near as embarrassing as it sounds on paper. Cornell’s voice is surprisingly suited to the genre. But Cornell had one of the greatest wails in rock — Mudhoney wrote the song “Overblown” making fun of his metal god image. And like much of Audioslave’s output, everything here, including Cornell’s voice, plods along like a One Republic rip. Even the beats from the usually reliable Timbaland sound like leftovers from one of his J.T. collabs, who actually lends his pipes to “Take Me Alive.” It’s the album’s lack of energy, rather than the endeavour itself, that sinks Scream.

This review originally appeared at Exclaim.ca

Take a look here to see what his former bandmates are up to.

“Part of Me”

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Record Review: Fever Ray – “S/T”

Fever Ray is the debut solo album from Karin Dreijer Andersson, one-half of Swedish electro-pop duo The Knife. Andersson wrote the album’s 10 tracks over an eight-month period, at first working eight hours a day alone in her Stockholm apartment, then later bringing in Christoffer Berg and Van Rivers & The Subliminal Kid for assistance with production and mixing.

As The Knife’s readily identifiable voice, it’s difficult to separate Fever Ray from Andersson’s day job. But the aura of isolation from which these songs were sprung is all over the album as if it was the soundtrack for getting lost in the wilderness. Like fellow electro artists Burial and Salem, Fever Ray taps into the dark and brooding vibes of Tricky’s Maxinquaye for inspiration, but not imitation. Fever Ray is prickly and cold to Tricky’s karmacoma haze.

Midpoint tracks “Seven” and “Triangle Walks” give listeners a chance to come up for air and are probably the most Silent Shout-esque tracks. But the reprieve is short-lived and Andersson quickly throws us back into the deep, murky depths.

This review originally appeared at Chartattack.com

“If I Had a Heart”

A Fully Loaded Road Trip

Fully Loaded are a band on the brink.

The Vancouver quartet have worked tirelessly since they won a local radio contest in 2006. They’ve racked up music industry accolades, scored a Canadian Music Week showcase and just released their second EP, Inside My Head.

Fully Loaded have built a tremendous following in their home province and have toured to Winnipeg and back several times. But save a gig or two, including a CMW show last year, the eastern half of the country remains relatively unaware of the band.

Fully Loaded hope to change that this week when they take the stage at Toronto’s Tattoo Rock Parlour as part of a CMW showcase presented by booking giant The Agency Group.

The quartet didn’t want to leave anything to chance. They decamped from Vancouver two weeks ago and moved into a two-bedroom apartment in Toronto. The band plan to spend a month in Ontario running raids on nearby towns like London, Ont. and Peterborough, Ont., playing shows and trying to break into new markets. It’s all part of a strategy to conquer the province and start creating a national profile.

“Whatever works, we’re going to do it,” says bassist/singer Chris Ball.

That attitude sums up Fully Loaded’s modus operandi. They’re an independent band determined to make it. They speak very casually about “markets” and putting their “best foot forward.”

At the conclusion of our interview, lead singer/guitarist Mike Twining hands me his business card. On one side is his contact info, and on the other is a picture of the band standing in line, looking ready to take on the world.

“We really felt we needed to make a serious eastern connection,” explains Ball. “Each show we play is just the next step in the level of connections that we make.”

But Fully Loaded’s serious business-minded side is easily shaken — mentioning the Vancouver Canucks or defunct west coast punk bands seems to do the trick — and the image of calculating rock stars-in-waiting quickly melts away into a series of in-jokes and knowing laughter, no doubt the product of friendships that extend well past the group’s short lifespan.

Twining and his brother, guitarist/singer Andrew, formed the group one summer after Mike returned from university. They quickly recruited childhood friend Ball, and were introduced to their singly named drummer Jovan through a mutual friend.

Though Fully Loaded are busy hawking their new record, their performances continue to be their focus.

“We’re totally a live band,” says Andrew. “Touring is just a no-brainer for us.”

They say they’ve received positive feedback from their gigs in the area so far, and have managed to snag the opening slot for two shows with State Of Shock and Default this week.

“I think that Ontario is going to be a big part of our lives for a while now,” says Mike, “at least until the funds run out.”

This story originally appeared at Chartattack.com

DVD Review: Metal Machine Music – Nine Inch Nails and the Industrial Uprising

Some would argue that trying to give a complete history of a musical genre is next to impossible. Others would say framing a genre through the lens of one band is just stupid. But that’s not stopping the makers of Metal Machine Music: Nine Inch Nails and the Industrial Uprising, which tries to accomplish both at once. The film begins with a brief but informative history of industrial music from its ’70s art-rock beginnings up through its fusion with dance and metal cultures in the ’80s. Heavy emphasis is rightfully placed on Throbbing Gristle, whose singer (Genesis P-Orridge) is included in the film’s small number of interview subjects, and Ministry, whose Al Jourgensen is not. Focus quickly shifts however to Nine Inch Nails, who as far as the filmmakers are concerned, are the be all and end all of the genre — save a brief mention of ’90s NIN-aping acts Stabbing Westward and Filter, the history of industrial music stops with them. It should come as a shock to no one with even a modicum of knowledge about Nine Inch Nails that Trent Reznor didn’t authorize this doc; he being a notorious control freak. So immediately we’re denied any sort of definitive account of Nine Inch Nails’ rise to stardom since the main dude involved is conspicuously absent. The filmmakers manage to dig up former band-mates Chris Vrenna and Richard Patrick, who offer the only first-hand accounts in the film. The rest of the critical analysis is given by music media types, including Toronto’s own Alan Cross. An extended interview with Genesis P-Orridge is included in the package, as are a handful of other extended interviews. But save for a rental out of curiosity, this one’s better left alone until Reznor decides on his own legacy.

This review originally appeared at Exclaim.ca

Nine Inch Nails – “Perfect Drug”

Stabbing Westward – “Save Yourself”

Record Review: Zero Boys – “History of…”

Zero Boys started life as the midwest’s answer to Black Flag and Minor Threat, but quickly established themselves and their regional scene as an entity onto its own.

History Of is a collection of odds and ends left over from sessions for the Indianapolis-based band’s aborted second album and a handful of compilation tracks. It was previously only available on a limited edition cassette, which made getting your hands on a copy like an ’80s punk rock holy grail.

These tracks are the missing link between early-’80s hardcore and the more ambitious and tuneful punk played by fellow midwestern acts Husker Du and The Replacements later in the decade.

The folks over at Secretly Canadian also tacked on the group’s debut EP, Livin’ In The ’80s, to this reissue, and it shows how much ground Zero Boys covered in their five-year lifespan.

This review originally appeared at Chartattack.com

Record Review: Mirah – “(a)spera”

Mirah blows away the competition after a four-year hiatus from her solo career by combining bedroom record intimacy with orchestral pop ambitions on this new album.

The Portland, Ore.-based singer has always had big ambitions, hampered only by financial logistics. But it’s the limits placed on her creativity that make her records crackle with energy. (A)spera would sink under the weight of its different parts if recorded in a big, expensive studio.

Seldom does Mirah use the same instrumentation on two songs, which gives every track its own personality. “Country Of The Future” sounds like she recruited a band of gypsies from the side of the road, threw them in a studio and hit record, while the low dirges on “The River” are tight and calculated.

The spacious production (it feels like you’re standing in the studio next to the musicians) and crystal clear vocals hold these 10 tracks together while giving (A)spera a fantastic sense of time and place missing in most modern recordings.

This review originally appeared on Chartattack.com