Yukon Blonde

Yukon Blonde (Nevado Records)

Review By Sarah Berman

Yukon Blonde - s/t

Yukon Blonde - s/t

Innovation and artistry are often touted as the ultimate pillars of indie achievement—which is probably why it’s difficult (at first) to get excited about a standard, well-executed pop record like Yukon Blonde’s eponymous debut. Like a vintage flannel shirt, the sound and aesthetic are consciously derivative. But the Vancouver-based indie poppers have conjured enough reflection and polish to make their ’60s rock-inspired album a worthwhile listen.

Yukon Blonde are not arty or eccentric; their approach is thoughtful and inoffensive. Formerly called Alphababy, the all-dude foursome originally hailing from Kelowna have crafted a crisp and accessible sound that is unabashedly reminiscent of long drives and beat-up furniture. While other local bands are off experimenting with bhangra fills and feedback noise, Yukon Blonde is carefully honing nostalgic, light-hearted riffs and echoey vocal harmonies. “Babies Don’t Like Blue Anymore” sounds like a Two Hours Traffic song you’ve heard on the radio, while “Loyal Man” could easily have been written by the Fleet Foxes. Read More »

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Yes Nice

Blindfolded (Independent)

Review By Doug Mackenzie

Yes Nice is an orchestral pop duo that has recently escaped the tundra of Edmonton, to attend art school and be near the sea in Vancouver. Blindfolded, their second album, is an intriguing and tuneful collection of songs, full of lush, layered instruments. In fact, between them, Scott McKellar and Nathaniel Wong seem to play about a dozen different musical instruments, bending the timbres of acoustic and electric guitar, piano, strings, flute, woodwinds, organ and others to the cause of giving their music voice.

Having the option of playing whichever of those instruments best suits the song gives them an awesome degree of freedom in crafting the album—they have access to many sounds, but the lushness and diversity of sound is different from that of a band like Broken Social Scene or Arcade Fire; in those bands, a different person is behind each instrument, and one can sense that the more unified vision of only two artists lends the affair a more cohesive, orderly air. Read More »

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Laura Veirs

July Flame (Raven Marching Band Records)

Review By Gracelle Bonifacio

Laura Veirs - July Flame

Laura Veirs - July Flame

After three years of plucking her nylon-string guitar at a barn turned recording studio in her current home of Portland, Laura Veirs’ seventh folk album offers an earthy, grounded and edgy perspective to the world of music. After gaining a considerable amount of media buzz, as well as topping Billboard’s Heatseekers and Folk charts, Veirs’ album proves that artistic simplicity can overcome the inexorable auto-tuning and synthesising that many artists have been reduced to (no names mentioned. Ahem, ahem). [ed. Despite this dig at autotuning Discorder feels that autotuning and other forms of synthetic processing have made, and continue to make, some wonderful sounds.] Embodying an artistic amalgamation of Feist and Stevie Nicks, the album creates a harmonious balance of sounds, with gentle soothing instrumentals being complimented by raw, edgy and haunting vocals. Stripped down to its bare essentials, there is no reverb, techno beats or anything else to mar the tranquility of the album. It’s the kind of stuff you take with you on a summer scenic road trip by yourself or your favourite backseat driver. The track “July Flame” serves as a patriotic kudos to all things associated with summer, from July Flame peaches (which in fact, were the original inspiration for the track), to “sipping lemonade in a backyard.” Such an album serves as a great reminder to the thousands of students stuck in a dreary, stressful, midterm-laden month, that El Niño levelled temperatures, sun, and a few months of blissful nothingness is not far from sight.

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Vancouver Killing Spree

It’s Not About Murder… (Independent)

Review By Sarah Charrouf

Vancouver Killing Spree has recently released their five-track EP It’s Not About Murder… The band is comprised of Jesse Weymer, Jamieson Cleary and Brad Anderson. VKS mentioned a fan reviewing their music on Facebook by saying “It’s not punk, it’s not metal, it’s no rock, it’s not roll, it sounds like all those things got in a knife fight, and punk and roll won.”

This description definitely sheds light on the band’s sound. Another way to imagine what they sound like is to transport yourself to the now-deceased Calgary bar The Castle and to picture a room full of black tee shirts and blue jeans, hands waving in the air avoiding the inevitable point that they spill their Pilsner or Kokanee while sweaty bodies jump and smash around.

Drum fills and heavy bass dominate this punk album, while the lead guitarist pays heed to the power chord. The lyrics, sung by Anderson, have filled a space somewhere between political and love poetry. More than anything, though, it sounds like the three of them are having fun. To get a full grasp of this three-piece punk band, you’re best off seeing them live. Vancouver Killing Spree is playing the Bourbon, March 13. Go forth and listen!

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Triodes

Chunked (Modica Music)

Review By Adam Mannegren

Saxophone solos, “solid grooves” and rhythmguitar, oh my! Highly calculated jazz licks become mind numbing in this musical version of Seinfeld’s jeans-and-white-sneakers outfit. This is a smooth jazz 101 album. It sounds a bit like that band that opens for Jay Leno but with some strange modes and scales and some esoteric, yet simple, noodling for a bit more spice. The track “Blue Pepper” for example features a psychedelic and/or drunk guitar solo that is kind of interesting, but otherwise most of this can be found on your local TV weather station. The self-described “genre-jumping instrumental group” play it safe, too safe. So safe it’s almost groan worthy. Even the edgier tracks, like “The Kick,” are scrubbed clean of anything interesting, even with the added distortion on the guitar. They do dabble around other genres a lot though. Reggae, jam-band and funk are fit into the Triodes PG-13 formula. Triodes are good musicians, and they play well together, but it’s just a little too clean and boring. It sounds like TV-interlude music. It isn’t surprising that producer Roberto Occhipinti also writes music for TV and film. Too bad they couldn’t use their technical skills to step outside of the broadcast-safe spectrum and write something a bit less like elevator-music.

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Spoon River

Kingdom of the Burned (Northern Electric)

Review By Robert Fougere

The only uncertainty about Spoon River is how they came up with their name. The rest is dirt simple: sideburns for miles and harmonica in a neck rack. This band has talent to spare, namely drawing from former membership of Montreal-based Royal Mountain Band. Spoon River frontman Tavis Triance lends honesty to the band with hints of tremolo and lyrics that speak to a life lived. The sounds of the ensemble blend to one harmonious symphony of Americana that is an absolute pleasure to listen to live as it is on their debut release. Track highlights include “Buried in the Sun” which features melodies by Rachel Horst on keys and in “The Wind in the Trees.” This band and album strike a refreshing balance between radio gold and bar room gnash that is a rare treat. It’s sure to be enjoyed on heavy rotation by both old men and young women alike. With such a refined premier album, one cannot help but imagine the directions to be travelled by this tight tootenanny.

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RJD2

The Colossus (RJ’s Electrical Connections)

Review By Mark PaulHus

RJD2 - The Colossus

RJD2 - The Colossus

DJ/producer superhero RJD2 is back with his fourth solo release; aptly titled The Colossus, the album offers up 14 huge tracks that showcase his diverse musical talents. “Let There Be Horns” starts things off with a groove that will have James Brown dancing on his own grave; tight, symphonic horn loops, funky beats, dark riffs and slick licks get your head bopping. Then our superhero slides gently into “Games You Can Win,” a slower, soulful track (the beats just as deep however), featuring Kenna on vocals. From here on in, The Colossus weaves in and out of genres flawlessly. Tracks like “Giant Squid” and “A Spaceship For Now” play like symphonies, proving RJD2 to be as much a composer as a songwriter. The fun lounge groove of “Tin Flower “ offers a bit of a ’60s feel, while “The Stranger” focuses again on tight horn loops and solid beats broken up with a beautiful melodic bridge. RJD2’s songwriting talents can be found throughout the album on funk-R&B tracks like “Walk with Me” and “Crumbs Off the Table” (featuring Aaron Livingston), or the dark hip-hop of “A Son’s Cycle” (featuring the Catalyst, Illogic and NP). In the end, The Colossus lives up to its bold title. All 14 tracks are brilliantly composed, flawlessly executed and masterfully produced, ultimately holding RJD2 up to his reputation.

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OK Go

Of The Blue Colour of the Sky (Capitol)

Review By Doug Mackenzie

OK Go - Of The Blue Colour of the Sky

OK Go - Of The Blue Colour of the Sky

Chicago band OK Go, probably best known for their delightfully choreographed YouTube hit video for “Here it Goes Again” (the one with the treadmills), are back with a killer batch of power-pop songs on their new album. Throughout, they display a willingness to keep things interesting for the listener, with inventiveness both in terms of sounds and arrangement.

The band has a cheeky, quirky vibe that guides them towards witty lyrics and whatever instrumentation the song seems to demand. OK Go can do the big four-on-the-floor stompers with gang vocals, stadium reverb and fuzzy guitars (like “White Knuckles” and “This Too Shall Pass”), but they’re also quite capable of integrating the synthetic textures of drum machines and programmed synths into a tension-building New Wave harmony. Read More »

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Owen Pallett

Heartland (Domino)

Review By Sarah Charrouf

Owen Pallett - Heartland

Owen Pallett - Heartland

In case you don’t pay attention to these things, let me start by telling you that Owen Pallett produced his work, up until this new release, under the artist name Final Fantasy. For four years, Pallett has poured his energy and sweat into Heartland, and it’s now paying off. This third album has been well received and much of the tour he’s now on is sold-out.

Heartland begins with organs and a choir-like harmony. This culminates into a peak and suddenly throws the listener into something completely different than what it started as. Tribal drum patterns are matched by Pallett’s tenor vocals. The melody has a summer Caribbean feel to it while what sounds like a string quartet balances the tone and style of Pallett’s voice. Read More »

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Lightspeed Champion

Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You (Domino Records)

Review By Adam Mannegren

Lightspeed Champion is comprised of Devonté Hynes, and with his second album Life is Sweet! Nice to Meet You, he delves deep into a Queen-drenched, pop sound. With the help of producer Ben Allen who’s worked with the likes of Gnarls Barkley and Animal Collective. Rich indie-pop with a lot of diversity is what can be expected from the former Test Icicles singer. There are lots of influences, plenty of musical throwbacks to pop and rock of yesteryear, but the album lacks consistency. Hynes’ singing leaves something to be desired, and the songwriting is sophomoric at times, detracting from the production. But then there are some really catchy melodies and compositions that make the album worth a listen to. And Hynes singing isn’t all bad. One of the more well-rounded tracks off the album is “Sweetheart.” Hynes’ somewhat more restrained vocals are roughly hewn and contrast to the polished sound of the track well. The country/western-tinged track is full fledged, with a sparse guitar and vocal intro, building on atmospheric feel to a full blown crescendo. With a couple catchy tracks, Lightspeed Champion is a decent second fulllength. The musical interludes are a bit of a stretch and a questionable addition to the album. The simple hodgepodge sound adds to the somewhat adolescent feel of the album.

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