30 seconds is all Dallas Green needs. 30 seconds into his favorite song, “Hope for now,” is all it takes for him to lure you in so he can pour his uneasy heart out to you in a sorrowful serenade. But Green, under the moniker of City and Colour, vows that making you cry isn’t the sole purpose of his third album release, Little Hell, which snagged the top spot on the iTunes album charts in Canada this week. Within the minor chords and lyrics of despair and disdain are flickers of light and life lessons learned. When we caught up with the Canadian indie-rocker, we chatted about his new album, the “riveting” derivation behind C&C and of course, why, oh why, his songs are so sad.
As hordes of producers and artists have hopped on the wave of analog instrumentation in the last half-decade (see: Señor Stereo, Miami Horror, Brothertiger and Theophilus London) Junior Boys prove that those who did it first (since the 1980s) still do it best. If we ever doubted it, the pair’s fourth album, It’s All True, has cemented the duo as model producers of contemporary electro-funk and R&B. The soulful, analog-laced tracks push the envelope of Jeremy Greenspan’s and Matt Didemus’ traditional sound but do not leave behind the Junior Boys’ distinctive and redefining ‘80s tone.
Arkells at Rickshaw Stop and all those fancy lights. (Ryan Mac/treeswingers)
They’ve made plenty of noise up north–four years’ worth–but it sounds like Arkells are finally ready to make a name themselves below the border. The Canadian quintet were the opening act for the recent Freelance Whales/Tokyo Police Club Tour, introducing themselves to American crowds as a band from a hardknock hometown with an impulse to jam.
“Who’s from Oakland?” asked frontman Max Kerman at Rickshaw Stop earlier this month. “Hamilton is to Ontario, as Oakland is to San Francisco.”
Presidents’ Day — a holiday so often misunderstood. Not only do people brutally misplace its apostrophe, but they are misled to believe that it’s an unholy amalgamation of the birthdays of Presidents Lincoln and Washington.
Although it’s often misconstrued as a celebration of two (or many) presidents of our fair country, whose honors are upheld by this illustrious band and its incisive lyrics regarding a wholesome American fruit…
…the holiday is actually just a celebration of our first president’s birthday. Lincoln’s just a tagalong. And everyone knows that lovely, honest G-Diddy Washington had teeth made — not of wood — but of hippopotamus and elephant ivory…
But in the spirit of American patriotism, let’s focus our minds on furthering our national cause — namely at the Olympics, where our foes up north, America’s hat, are hosting the Olympics. They’re bitter because we stole the name “America” in common use despite their very legitimate occupation of (North) American soil; we’re bitter because they’re bilingual and we’re jealous. So in the name of friendly rivalry…
Broken Social Scene – Canada vs. America(download)
Happy Presidents’ Day, all. May your day be full of Mt. Rushmore façades and Oval offices. Celebrate the POTUS.
I really don’t know what’s going on these days and I have little explanation for this. This lipdub from students of Arcade Fire’s “Rebellion (Lies)” at the University of Guelph up there in Canada is further evidence that our Northern neighbors are in desperate need of some help.
These kids basically invaded their school’s engineering building and after massive amounts of choreography made this masterpiece of a video. In the words of the wise, but kooky Christopher Walken, they “really explored the studio space.” Where did Walken get his stage acting start? Canada. Coincidence? I don’t know anymore.
treeswingers 