30 June 2008
Snakecharming the masses
Back in 2003, The Stills biggest claim to fame was being from the hyped Montreal scene and sounding more like The Cure than The Cure did. “Still In Love Song” snickered and sneered with all the vitriol of a late 80s new wave/punk/goth band with bird’s nests for haircuts and a penchant for heavy eyeliner.
In reality, The Stills were much more than all that. They didn’t jump on the Montreal scene bandwagon as much as they were forced unto it at knife-point by press and PR people hungry to flesh out and give rise to something that really wasn’t there in the first place. Their debut album, Logic Will Break Your Heart had it’s moments besides the aforementioned single, and their Echo & The Bunnymen Joy Division sound led fans of Interpol and the like to their doorstep. 2006’s Without Feathers failed to catch fire the same way (regardless of the burning bouquet on the album sleeve), perhaps because the darker, denser moments gave way to a little light and breathing room for their melodies to peak through. (I think it’s a classic album overlooked at the time of it’s release, and deserves your attention forthwith.)
The time in between now and then has seen the band work with Stars on their remix album Do You Trust Your Friends? and jump ship to Arts & Crafts, who’ll be releasing their third LP, Oceans Will Rise in August of this year. So far it sounds like The Stills are back in top form: “Being Here” is a gorgeous, sing-along, radio-friendly anthem that should be pumping out of every car stereo and beach party boom box over the next few months. “Rooibos/Palm White Drinkard” has them pulling some rock star poses that remind me of The Verve, oddly enough. Tim Fletcher, the band’s vocalist and guitarist says, “We’ve never felt more driven collectively as a band as we do right now and I think you can feel that throughout the album.” If these two tracks are an indication, then third times the charm for The Stills.
29 June 2008
Everyone gets a star
The Strokes have always been a pretty cool band in my eyes, even when they seemed to have fallen out of favour with the masses. Which is probably why I enjoy
Albert Hammond, Jr.’s solo work so much. His 2006 debut,
Yours To Keep, didn’t stray too far from his main band’s sound, but there was a certain breezy pop element that gave it a solid, clean sound as opposed to The Strokes’ more shambolic moments.
Hammond, Jr. is back this year with the follow-up, Cómo Te Llama?, available July 8 from Black Seal Records. The first taste of a ballsier, more gritty sounding Hammond, Jr. is “GfC.” It’s a somewhat bluesy, mid-tempo rocker that’s catchy and infectious. Matt Romano, Marc Philippe Eskenazi and Josh Lattanzi round out Hammond, Jr.’s band, and they’re as tight musically as their suit trousers are.
28 June 2008
4 for the weekend vol. 38: Canada Day Special 2008!
True patriot love, indeed! Canada Day 2008 falls on Tuesday this year, and like any good Canadian, I’ll be stretching this into a four-day looooong weekend full of family, friends, fizzy drinks and food. Like last year (but a little early), QBiM will celebrate the birth of it’s nation by paying homage to four (+Feist) of the country’s brightest Northern stars (
again, without a Tragically Hip in sight!). No CD giveaway for this one; sorry, folks.
27 June 2008
Technology is a still a bitch, but I’m getting over it.
human As per Wednesday’s post, I’ve had one heck of a time dealing with technology these past few days, and the bulk of my problems haven’t come from the actual technological components but theass wipes that are in control of them.
First off, my iPod is still dead. I’m waiting patiently for the Zune I’ll be test-driving to arrive, and looking more and more forward to giving it a spin. It should be good. (You can get a Zune to try out, too you know? Click here to find out more.)
Secondly, and most infuriatingly, I found out today that a technician working with my ISP re-set my account password without my knowledge or permission after a somewhat heated tech-call I placed on Monday night when I found myself unable to connect to the ‘net. Not only did he not tell me he re-set the password, but he led me to believe that the fault was with my wireless routers. For four days I’ve been trying to figure out why I couldn’t get connected… and now I know. Contravention of their privacy policy? Damned right! What does is get me? A month’s free service. What does it get them? A hole where my account would be, because as of next week, I’m switching providers.
So, needless to say, I’m back online and wired for sound (just not portable sound yet), so I should be up to my old blogging shenanigans soon.
Today it’s just a quick musical note featuring Los Campesinos!, The Welsh seven-piece band who’re signed to Arts & Crafts in Canada and the U.S. and Wichita in the U.K. They’ve been kicking around the blogosphere for a couple years now, but only just released their debut album, Hold On Now, Youngster… in April of this year. The band will be appearing at this year’s Glastonbury Festival. You can catch them this Saturday the 27th on the Other Stage at 12:40 pm. And since you’re there, why not check out the North American label mates–and perennial QBiM favourites–Stars, on the John Peel Stage the next day? You won’t be disappointed, I promise.
25 June 2008
Technology is a bitch
It’s only Wednesday, but I’ve had enough failure and heartbreak when it comes to my wired (and wireless) world since Sunday to last me a lifetime. First off, I’ve been experiencing a lack of Internet access whose source cannot be determined. I’m thinking it’s my Airport Express wireless router, because if I connect computer directly to the modem, all’s fine. That’s a pain, though, if you’re used to blogging and emailing from the farthest flung corners of your home, and not tethered to a desk. I’ve also been extremely busy as of late, so I haven’t been able to sit down and fix the problem, so if my blogging becomes scattered in the next few days, it has to do with inconvenience rather that disinterest in music.
Speaking of which, you may recall that sometime last week I mentioned issues with my beloved iPod mini, which reset itself without warning. Well now them damned thing seems to be tits up and floating on its back in the proverbial goldfish bowl of techno clutter in my office. I think it’s finally dead… not only is it really dead, it’s clearly most sincerely dead. Interestingly enough, only days before it conked out for good, I got an offer to test drive a new
Microsoft Zune mp3 player, so I figured what could be the harm in trying out something new. It should be on it’s way as we speak, so as soon as it arrives, I’ll let you know what I think of it. If you’d like to get your own Zune to test drive, you can go
here and fill in the same survey I did.
Where do iPods go when they die?
