Song of the Day: Alt J – Breezeblocks

Posted on by halley in Song of the Day | 1 Comment

alt j

I am obsessed obsessed obsessed with a song that glorifies domestic violence. Judge me as you will. Alt-J’s Breezeblocks has literally been on repeat for over a week now and I can’t get enough of it. I mean, I guess if you wanted to romanticize the song’s plot, you could call it “beautifully twisted” or “a heart- wrenching tale of love gone wrong”… but at the end of the day it’s about a man drowning his wife in a bath tub. I had some idea of the gist of the song when I was just listening to it, but then when I saw the music video the violence of the lyrics took on a whole new meaning.

Have I sold you on it yet?

But seriously, if you can put the graphic violence, very real danger of domestic violence, and sinister undertones aside for a second, I can almost guarantee you’ll find yourself singing along. This band’s got a way with rhythm that I would call not only distinctive but unparalleled in today’s soundscape. Combine that with great instrumentals and hypnotic vocals and you have a hit. I cannot wait to see this band live.

I would wait to watch the Youtube music video until you’re out of the office.

Concert Review: Pink Mountaintops, December 11, The Garrison

Posted on by Paul in Concerts | Leave a comment

Pink Mountaintops, Stephen McBean’s other band when he’s not occupied with Black Mountain, have always seemed to me to represent the somewhat softer side of his songwriting, even though it’s ultimately no less amplified than his other gig. It could be that I got that impression since the only other time I saw them was an instore at Sonic Boom a few years ago where I’m pretty sure McBean was playing an acoustic. So when I heard that this tour would feature McBean alone without any other backing musicians, I figured it might be a bit more of a stripped down affair. This was not quite the case. Even on his own, this guy’s capable of creating a pretty big sound.

Somehow hitting the sweet spot somewhere between Jesus And Mary Chain and Black Sabbath, McBean offered up lots of melody combined with just the right amount of guitar solos. There wasn’t much in the way of stage banter other than thanking opener Chad Ross, aka Nordic Nomadic and McBean mentioning that his parents were in attendance that night, but from what I’ve seen, he never seems to say a whole lot onstage regardless. Instead though, we were treated to some awesome space rock effects to fill the gap between songs. I’m sure Hawkwind would approve. Though he had nothing new to support on this tour, McBean still drew a fairly large crowd for a Tuesday night with those in attendance eager to hear many of their old favourites. I heard one guy in the crowd asking if McBean was planning on playing “Vampires” soon. McBean didn’t acknowledge the fan’s question but did indeed play the song towards the end of his set. And it was quite possibly the highlight of the set … not that the rest of the set was anything to sneeze at.  Nicely done, Mr. McBean.

Concert Review: Trust, 9:30 Club, December 5, 2012

Posted on by halley in Concerts | Leave a comment

TRST

Trust is the least banter, the most smoke, and the best spirit fingers I’ve seen in a while. I’m not going to lie, when Robert Alfons (aka Trust) took the stage, my initial reaction was “oh my god I hate this.” He took the stage with no introduction, a falsetto voice, and a borderline garage-punk-metallica sound. But, as Trust threw himself around his microphone, flipping his overlong Mohawk and busting out dance moves that incorporated fast flying fingers and elbow jabs, I found myself bobbing
along to the beat.

His next few songs were a bit more poppy and ‘fun’ (still in a dark way) and you could see the entire audience (primed for headliners The Faint) getting into his sound. My favorite track, Sulk, also highlighted the fact that Alfons has true vocal power – his voice, when not falsetto – is smooth, sultry, and – in a way – comforting. The smoke machine on the stage was going beserk (whether by accident or intention I’ll never know) and the fact that Trust kept his head, his falsetto, and his hair in working condition for the entire set is no small feat. I also very much appreciated his fashion style –man can work a mean boat neck shirt. Essentially, Trust’s own description is, I find the most accurate: the man is “a pop hit factory buried deep in the mud.”

Concert Review: Other Lives, Lincoln Hall, December 8th

Posted on by Ricky in Concerts | 3 Comments

Other Lives lit up the stage at Lincoln Hall Saturday night both literally and figuratively. The band had the stage decked out with oversized light bulbs that flashed rhythmically throughout the set. Added to the fog machine that looked to be working overtime at some points in the set, it created a really splendid streetlight in the fog effect that added ambiance to the already stellar music.

While the light bulbs were impressive (especially because the first thing the band did upon taking the stage was make the lights flash in time to a little trumpet intro) what floored me were the amount of instruments on the stage: trumpet, guitar, kettledrum, drum set, keyboard, violin, cello, bells, tambourine, glockenspiel, and to top it all off, a hand pump organ.

Not much for chatting, the band got right down to the music, with front man Jesse Tabish leading the way through tracks from their new album Tamer Animals, as well as their 2009 self titled debut album. The group members moved seamlessly between instruments – the guitarist/glockenspiel/trumpet/violin player being the most impressive, often playing two instruments at once and at one point taking his bow to his guitar and the glockenspiel. Didn’t even know that was possible.

The abundance of instruments filled out the music to create a rich, warm feeling that paired well with the mournful and lonely sound of Tabish’s voice. In the intimate venue of Lincoln Hall the sound reached every corner and filled the space beautifully. I came away from the night with two things: a clear mental image of a mysterious solo figure walking through the lonely and foggy streets of some unnamed city backed by this music and a desire for more from this band.