Enjoy Your Pumas. I don't get the name. Is it like, Have fun with your Nikes? Or is it a waiter at a strange restaurant? Or is it a cougar reference? As far as I know, we call them mountain lions around here. At any rate, Winnipeg indie pop/rock band Enjoy your Pumas is releasing their new album Commonality on Tuesday, February 1st. Right now and up until Feb. 3 you can snatch an mp3 of He Was a Fly from Manitoba Music. I haven't heard the whole new album, but this band looks like one to watch.
One of my favourite musicologists of all time, Andy Morton was dormant for alot of years, slowly gathering more ammunition for a new musical onslaught. But with the most fun band in winnipeg, The Wind-Ups, he's entertained and educated thousands of untold 'Peggers in the last few years. A recent reunion with Lousiana Cockfight brought him further into our musical conciousness. Now a cancer benefit for Vicki Banner brings us MortönTed, a Motörhead tribute not to be missed, hitting the Royal Albert Saturday, January 22. Joined by Ted Simm (Trousermouth, SNFU, DOA, Ted) Norm Simm (Unwanted), Brendon Ehinger (The VaGiants), and Jason Whelpton (Multiple Partners), as well as Jill Lynott jumping in to sing some Girlschool/Motorhead tunes, it promises some loud fun. Ehinger and Norm Simm are both playing bass, 'cause one person can't rumble ya like Lemmy.
Of course, a documentary on lemmy appropriately called Lemmy is also coming out on dvd any day now, here's a few trailers.
Remember when Scruffy relayed the hint from Pixies' website that the band would come back to the Great White North? Well, it's now reality, as a cross-country tour has now been announced as a continuation of the band's Doolittle tour. Expect the entire Doolittle album plus all of the b-sides. Tickets will be available starting Friday, January 28th, but a fan pre-sale also started (and ended, in towns like mine) on the band’s website today. Unfortunately, there was a four-hour delay in the timing of the pre-sale, and the website was overloaded by the time it started. Scruffy did not get tix, ain't that a kick in the pants?
Pixies 2011 Tour Dates: 04/09 – Halifax, NS @ Metro Centre 04/10 – Moncton, NB @ Casino Moncton 04/12 – Quebec City, QC @ Salle Albert-Rousseau 04/13 – Montreal, QC @ Metropolis 04/16 – Ottawa, ON @ Civic Centre 04/17 – Kitchener, ON @ The Center in the Square 04/18 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hal 04/20 – Hamilton, ON @ Wentworth Room 04/22 – Detroit, MI @ Fox Theatre 04/23 – Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Ballroom 04/24 – St. Paul, MN @ Roy Wilkins Auditorium 04/27 – Winnipeg, MB @ Centennial Concert Hall 04/29 – Saskatoon, SK @ TCU Place 04/30 – Calgary, AB @ Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium 05/01 – Edmonton, AB @ Shaw Conference Center 05/03 – Vancouver, BC @ Orpheum Theatre
Everyone's got a best of the year list. Sorry, not here. But you do get a bunch of music that I loved in the past year (some of which may have been released prior to 2010, I don't care), some of which I've blogged about already, and some of which I didn't get around to sharing with you. So here it is, Part Four (and of course by This Year I mean last year).
One thing I listened to a lot is various stuff from captains dead. The guy who blogs under the psychedelic skull with the vinyl halo doesn't try to dazzle with words, just speaks his mind briefly and lets the music do the talking. And singing, whispering, screaming, humming, crying, and so on. Guided by Voices, Twilight Singers, The Replacements, Matthew Sweet are mixed with newer acts I've come to love like Ox. No hipper-than-thou vibe here, the same tunes and artists hyped on every other blog won't be found here, but oftimes a rock combo you don't expect shows up.
The Dodos'Fables is not a new song, in fact their new album will be out March 15, but it's still rattling around my head.
Gord Downie & the Country of Miracles'The East Wind threw quickly-strummed percussive acoustics at us, added snappy drums, topped it with a tasty twangy guitar line, then layered on some more shimmery, shaky sounds (I know not what, exactly), covered it with a short, sharp chorus that may be the catchiest in Downie's repertoire, and ended up with a shivery, danceable radio hit. Or a drunken sea shanty for landlubbers and pirates alike. Huh.
Adam Franklin and Bolts of Melody gave us the sublime Yesterday Has Gone Forever (from the album I Could Sleep for a Thousand Years), which nods back to his days fronting shoegazers Swervedriver, but also winks at Teenage Fanclub's Bandwagonesque era, too. Get it free by going to his site. Beauty.
'Nother cool blog Herohill put together Herohill and Oates, which ain't Christmasy at all but is all about artists (mostly Canadian?) covering Hall and Oates. Scruffy faves Brian Dunn and Ox contributed tracks.
Saw some lukewarm reviews for the Freedy Johnston single Don't Fall in Love With a Lonely Girl, but it's prime powerpop to me. Get it free by going here.
La Roux might be the artist most unlikely to be suggested by Scruffy, but that chorus is the catchiest thing going, acoustic or not.
Music Ruined My Life is a meticulously-researched, impassioned blog, mostly about artists of yesteryore, but sometimes featuring newer troubadours. More punk than you can shake a stick at, more power-pop than you can eat at once, still managing to unearth hard to find boots or rare treats from Springsteen, Dylan, Strummer, Graham Parker, Billy Bragg, DOA, Jerry Jerry, Jason & the Scorchers, Elvis Costello, and so on. Consistently one of the best blogs out there.
The Soft Pack. C'mon! I still haven't decided if I like the band name The Soft Pack, but I definitely enjoy the hurry-up-and-get-down vibe, and the chorus says it all. Two minutes thirteen seconds of fuzzy energy and crashing cymbals bliss, who needs Red Bull?
Call Superchunk's Digging For Something a comeback if you want, it's even more hooky, well-produced angsty lovable yelps. Dancin' on the propane tank, indeed. Oh oh oh!
So there you have it. Honourable mentions go to Hanson for their cover of Radiohead's Optimistic, Jason & the Scorchers return with Moonshine Guy, The Afterbeat's Unity, Alex Gruenberg's Hey Katy Hey, and Luke Doucet's The Ballad of Ian Curtis. If you didn't like anything Scruffy recommended in this series of four posts, you are in the wrong place. Go print out the yak at the top of the post and get your crayons out, there won't be anything for you here. If there was anything for you, feel free to leave a comment, that's what the comments section is for, and my dogs appreciate it.
For 2011, Scruffy's looking forward to (or hoping for) new R.E.M., Sons of York, The Cars, Scott Nolan, Urge Overkill, Apex Manor, Crooked Fingers, Buffalo Tom, Quinzy, Robyn Hitchcock, Rupert Hine, Wilco, Matt Epp, Ox, JP Hoe, Pixies, and The Watchmen. Okay, so we'll probably never see the last two, but I can still hope.
Montreal's Jon Cohen Experimental put out an unusual album called Behold, and it's been circling around in my head like a magical bee for the past few weeks. Featuring members of The Dears, The Stars, and The Stills, among others, the record often seems dreamlike, oweing in part to layered, hushed vocals. Although parts of the album may faintly recall the whimsy of The Flaming Lips, mores cues seem to be taken from early to mid-period Pink Floyd (more David Gilmour vocally than Syd Barrett or Roger Waters), but overall, it sounds like when seventies rock musicians began to expand their conciousness. You get the feeling that any instrument could find its way into the mix, and in fact 17 different players lend their expertise. Lyrically, I detect a wicked anti-corporate stance, personal politics of choice against a dehumanizing society, a crafty vote for going against the grain while utilizing a musical palette that is catchy yet still slightly going against the grain - not too far from what The Dears or The Stars do in their own way. My favourite so far is Hold the Fire, featuring sold in-your-face drums, melodic fuzzy bass, shimmery and spiky guitar, and smooth, warm vocals. Jon Cohen Experimental will play in Winnipeg at the Cavern Club January 14.
Jan 9 Behold Tour Windsor, CA Jan 10 Behold tour Hamilton, ON, CANADA Jan 11 Behold tour St. Catherines, Ontario, CANADA Jan 12 Behold tour Sudbury, Ontario, CANADA Jan 13 Behold Tour Thunder Bay, Ontario, CANADA Jan 14 Behold Tour Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA Jan 15 Behold tour Edmonton, Alberta, CA Jan 18 Behold Tour Regina, Saskatchewan, CA Jan 20 Behold Tour Calgary, Alberta, CA Jan 22 Behold Tour Golden, British Co, CANADA Jan 25 Behold tour Penticton, British Co, CA Jan 26 Behold tour Kelowna, British Co, CA Jan 29 Behold tour Victoria, British Co, CA Feb 17 Behold Tour Vancouver, British Co, CA Feb 18 Behold Tour Burnaby, British Co, CA Feb 24 Behold Tour Duncan, British Co, CA Mar 7 Behold Tour San Francisco, California Mar 9 Behold Tour San Diego, California Mar 9 Behold San Diego, California Mar 17 SXSW Austin, Texas
Everyone's got a best of the year list. Sorry, not here. But you do get a bunch of music that I loved in the past year (some of which may have been released prior to 2010, I don't care), some of which I've blogged about already, and some of which I didn't get to sharing. So here it is, Part Three (and of course by This Year I mean last year), come on back for the next parts.
Crocodiles: a perfect mix of psychedelia, Jesus & Mary Chain, and shoegaze euphoria still gets me stoked.
Cut Copy's name has come up in my endless search for fine music, but I ignored 'em, because with a name like that I stupidly guessed I was gonna hear techno or industrial-type sounds. I still don't know anything about the band, but this song sounds like a joyous celebration of something; the future? the road right in front of you? Re-claiming Gary Glitter's stomping beats for a pretty possibility party? For an email address, Cut Copy will give you this song for free.
Old 97's The Grand Theatre Vol. 1 contains this raucous, raw stomper, proving that not only can the band ace alt country and sweet pop, garagey rock is also in the arsenal.
Winnipeg's Telepathic Butterfliesseem to have skipped the last three decades in their quest to make sounds less fleeting than disposable pop. Reverb-drenched guitars, thick harmonies, literate lyrics and well-crafted tunes are a good start, and since thousands of people like you listened to their songs in previous posts on this blog, many of you agree.
The Thermals released their new album Personal Life and continued their fine tradition of short, hook-filled, rocky-road-flavoured gems. The band members have a sense of humour. They have conveniently provided useful terms such as mid-fi, post-pop-punk, and post-power-pop, among others, which you may apply or not as you see fit. Near as I can figure, The Thermals are a power trio from the future. And they wrote a song called Canada.
Urge Overkill came back to ready their first album in more than a decade, performed on Yo Gabba Gabba, and gave a away a new song, Effigy. Bring back the swingin' medallions and they will come, boys.
The Cars have released another teaser, Free, on their Facebook page, with the added note, "Spring 2011" at the end of the video clip. Maybe the album will also be called Free? Wish I had time to break into The Cars so I could post the song or video, but it's my b-day, I'm busy. Do you think The Raveonettes ever listened to The Cars, maybe tried to stick some new wave pop genius into the chorus of Breaking Into Cars?
mp3s will be posted for a limited time and are for promotional purposes only. If you like it, buy the albums, go to the shows, buy the t-shirts - support the artist so they can keep on keepin' on. Artists - if you would like an mp3 or video removed, please contact me directly at chrisyakchart@hotmail.com.
If you've got something Scruffy should hear, same email. Snail mail is cool too.
Scruffy the Yak 34 Allenby Cres Winnipeg Mb R2C 3J4
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