Happy Friday everyone. Check out the track Revolution, by Dr. John below. His most recent album Locked Down, was produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. The song has a great sound.
Ariel Pink covered the song "Baby" from the 1979 album, "Dreamin' Wild", from Donnie and Joe Emerson. When this record came out there were around 1000 copies made but it developed a following and it has since been reissued/remastered. Hopefully with the same cover! It really is an amazing slow jam. I would love to get my hands on that original vinyl. Check out Ariel Pink's version followed by the original below.
Well folks, it's time to dust off those cowboy boots and practice your two step because Corb Lund has just released, "Gettin' Down on the Mountain", their lead single for the upcoming album, "Cabin Fever", out August 14 from the folks at New West Records. Check out the video here!
Chromatics is an American electronic music band from Portland, Oregon, formed in 2001. This cover of the classic Neil Young song "Into The Black" is the second single from Chromatics' "Kill For Love" album. Its pretty awesome!
East Coast Canadian rocker Matt Mays has just released the lead single for his new album Coyote, which is set for release on September 4th. It's been 4 long years since Matt's last album Terminal Romance, so I am definitely excited to see what these new songs bring.
The new song is called Take it on Faith, and you can stream that below:
Yeasayer's new album Fragrant World is set for release on August 21st via Secretly Canadian. Fragrant World is the follow up to the much loved and hated, Odd Blood, so it should be interesting to see the direction they take with this album. Although Yeasayer is definitely not a band to adhere to any particular formula. Nonetheless check out the first single "Longevity" below as well as amazingly strange "Ambling Alps" from Odd Blood.
This brother and sister duo from Chicago received a lot of attention at SXSW after they were labelled as a ‘Band to Watch’ by The Guardian UK and NME. Right now Wild Belle only have their self-released 2-track debut out and I haven't heard anything about an album release date. Check out "Keep You" here:
If you don't know what Sled Island Music Festival is about, you should read the paragraph below:
Founded by Zak Pashak in 2007, The Sled Island Music and Arts Festival is an annual independent festival held in over thirty venues in downtown Calgary, Alberta. Sled Island allows many generations of festival goers to gather for four days each year to celebrate the wealth of creative talent that exists within Calgary, and experience an array of music, film and visual art. The mandate of Sled Island is to celebrate, showcase, and nurture emerging and established local talent alongside national and international music, film, and visual art in an inclusive, engaging setting.
Wikipedia
Now that we're all on the same page, I would like to talk about this years festival. Matt and I had the privilege to take in about 15 shows this past week and it did not disappoint.
Wednesday
We kicked the festival off at Theatre Junction Grand to watch CFCF and Timber Timbre. CFCF's show was not overly engaging and I would attribute that to the presentation of the music. There was little acknowledgment of the crowd and it made the audience feel awkward. No one knew if the sole member of CFCF, Michael Silver, even knew that we were there. To put it short, I would say... Music Good, Presentation Bad.
The mood of the night changed once Timber Timbre took to the stage. The theatre was completely silent for every song as everyone soaked in every note of the spook folk. Timber Timbre had a way of commanding the stage without any antics or tricks, they simply knew their craft and played it well. One of the highlights of the set was when front man, Taylor Kirk, looped different noises to make it sound as if we were outside with owls, coyotes and other animals. I almost forgot we were inside at one point when a lone moth came into the red light that was covering the stage and fluttered around. Overall, Timber Timbre put on a great show and the whole theatre made sure they knew it with a big standing ovation at the end.
CFCF
Thursday
Unfortunately, our personal and volunteering schedules kept us away from seeing shows on Thursday night. However, Matt got his share of bleep-bloop knob twisters while helping out with security at the East Village Block Party.
Friday
On Friday, we started our night off at The Ironwood and took in shows by Forest Tate and Shotgun Jimmie who was playing with the Polaris Long-Listed Canon Bros. It was great to see both of these bands in a space like the Ironwood. Both bands played great sets and had everyone bobbing their heads. Stream Forest Tate, Shotgun Jimmie and the Cannon Bros.
Check out this pop-up show of Shotgun Jimmie playing near St. Patricks Island:
To finish the night off Matt and I cruised over to Palomino to see Cowpuncher rock the late night crowd. Their brand of garage country rock was great party music and I suggest you go see Cowpuncher if you get the chance. Stream their new album below:
Saturday
Saturday brought the last day of the festival and a lot of rain. Our day of sledding started out by checking out Jon Mckiel at the Palomino. I really enjoyed his album Tonka War Cloud, but his live performance was nothing to rave about. The sound was crappy, the set was very short, and Jon didn't even try to engage the afternoon crowd. Nonetheless, I still suggest you check out his Bandcamp Page to stream some of his stuff.
In the evening we went and caught the indie staple Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks, at the Olympic Plaza main stage. They put on a great set and helped keep the rain drenched crowd into the show. It would have been nice to see more people show up, but Matt and I got a great spot.
After the show we cruised over to The Area in Inglewood to catch Indie Rock/Alt Country locals, The Bitterweed Draw. If you want to catch a local band and be guaranteed a good time, you should go see this group. They rocked out hard and played a good 20 minutes over their allotted time.
The Bitterweed Draw
These were some of the highlights from the Sled Island Music Festival 2012. I hope I helped you discover a couple new bands.
Check out this pre-performance interview on June 23 at Olympic Plaza in Calgary with the incredibly talented Stephen Malkmus before his Sled Island performance, brought to us by CBC Radio 3. Malkmus gives some thoughts on Canada, visiting Calgary, the recently released Silver Jews compilation and most importantly, the fact that he and the Jicks will be back in the studio working on a new album in the fall! Thank you CBC Radio 3! Also see the video, "No One Is (As I Are Be)" below from his recently released album "Mirror Traffic".
Check out a couple of songs from the Baltimore based Lower Dens below. I love the first song, "Brains", followed by their latest video/single, "Propagation". The video is a bit of a trip but pretty cool. Enjoy!
Matt & Kim are set to return with their fourth full length album and follow up to Sidewalks, titled Lightning which is due out this fall, but the first single "Let's Go" comes out tomorrow! Check out the teaser trailer for the "Let's Go" below and check in tomorrow for the full single.
Canadian indie heavyweights, Stars, will be releasing their 6th studio album this September 4th. The album will be entitled The North and you can check out the lead single, The Theory of Relativity, below.
If you like what you heard, you can download that single on the Stars Website in exchange for an email.
Check out the tracklisting as well:
1. The Theory of Relativity
2. Backlines
3. The North
4. Hold On When You Get Love And Let Go When You Give It
Check out a couple singles from the Montreal based (originally from Vancouver) artist Grimes. Her third album "Visions" has been met with critical acclaim. Grimes, along with Skrillex and Diplo are going to do a train tour across Canada called the 'Full Flex Express Train Tour 2012', hitting up the following locations:
July 13 - Toronto @ Fort York
July 15 - Montreal @ Parc Jean Drapeau
July 18 - Winnipeg @ Shaw Park
July 20 - Edmonton @ Kinsmen Park
July 22 - Vancouver @ PNE Coliseum
To Calgary's dismay, Grimes was originally going to play at Sled Island Music Festival but her set was later cancelled.
Check out this tune, "Doused", the new single from DIIV's forthcoming debut LP "Oshin" out on June 26, 2012. This has to be up there as one of my favourite jams of 2012. DIIV, formerly known as Dive, is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York City.
On behalf of Bryce and I, I would like to introduce and welcome a new Blue Sloth contributor, Matt Mosher. Matt is Bryce's brother-in-law and friend of mine, he will help reach a new direction on the blog posting on genres, bands and artists that Bryce and I typically do not follow intently. As well, he will help up our content which is good for you. Matt has already made his first post about Montreal's Purity Ring, go check it out.
Wil has been a busy man over the past year releasing his album Heart of Mine last October and then he was asked to create two songs for the Travel Alberta Remember To Breathe campaign, and if you remember from my post in January, those songs were titled "Roam" and "Here We Go".
Subsequently, The Calgary Stampede commissioned Wil to compose a song called “Ride” for
their 100th Anniversary commercial campaign. So blown away with the
short commercial version they asked him to extend it as their official theme song.
The single "Ride" is was released today and can be downloaded for free at Wil's website ibreakstings.com. In conjunction, Wil has been invited to perform nightly; the show, aptly named "Light Up The Park" will also coincide with ‘Light Up the City’ for six of the ten nights at the Bell Centennial Plaza.
Check out The 100th Calgary Stampede commercial below as well as the "Roam" from the Remember To Breathe Campaign, which still gives me chills.
Sea Wolf's third studio album Old World Romance is set for release on September 11th this year. The artwork is above and the track listing is below. We will be posting updates as the album release approaches.
1. Old Friend
2. In Nothing
3. Priscilla
4. Kasper
5. Blue Stockings
6. Saint Catherine St.
7. Changing Seasons
8. Dear Fellow Traveller
9. Miracle Cure
10. Whirlpool
Personally, I was unimpressed with Sea Wolf's last album White Water, White Bloom, I hope I don't feel the same way with this record. Check out that album below or head over to their SoundCloud Page to stream all of their releases:
Victoria, BC's Jon and Roy released their fourth full length album Let It Go last week on June 12th. On Let It Go to they return to their excellent brand of summer folk rock which will leave you tapping your feet and signing along.
Head over to jonandroy.ca to stream Let It Go as well their previous efforts. And if you have the time I suggest to listen to Another Noon, which still remains one of my favorite summer albums.
Montreal based Purity Ring (originally from Edmonton) are releasing their debut album, "Shrines" on July 24 via 4AD/Last Gang. They seem to be getting a lot of hype these days and I quite enjoy their sound. I expect good album reviews. You have the chance to see them yourself September 9 in Calgary at The Republik. Check out their new song “Fineshrine” and the previously released “Belispeak” below:
Check out of Strands of Oak album Pope Killdragon via his bandcamp below, he will be opening for The Tallest Man On Earth on number of shows this summer. As well check out The Tallest Man on Earth tour dates which includes a stop in Calgary.
The Tallest Man on Earth North American Dates with Strand of Oaks and SoO
06/20/12 New York, NY - Town Hall w/ Strand of Oaks 07/23/12 Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge w/SoO 07/24/12 Asheville, NC - Orange Peel w/SoO 07/25/12 Saxapahaw, NC - The Haw River Ballroom w/SoO 07/26/12 Washington, D.C. - 9:30 Club w/SoO 07/28/12 Danbury, CT - Heirloom Arts Theatre w/SoO 07/29/12 Newport, RI - Newport Folk Festival w/SoO 07/30/12 Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer w/SoO 08/01/12 Pittsburgh, PA - Hazlett Theater w/SoO 08/02/12 Columbus, OH - Wexner Center w/SoO 08/03/12 Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza 08/04/12 Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza 08/05/12 Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza 08/05/12 Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater w/SoO 08/06/12 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue w/SoO 08/17/12 Kiewit-Hasselt, BE - Pukkelpop 08/18/12 Wales, UK - Green Man Festival 08/28/12: Austin, TX- Paramount Theatre w/SoO 08/29/12: Dallas, TX- House of Blues w/SoO 08/31/12: Tucson, AZ- HoCo Fest 09/01/12: Phoenix, AZ- Crescent Ballroom w/SoO 09/02/12: San Diego, CA- Birch North Park Theatre w/SoO 09/04/12: Los Angeles, CA- J. Anson Ford Theatre w/SoO 09/05/12: Oakland, CA- Fox Theatre w/SoO 09/08/12: Portland, OR- Crystal Ballroom 09/09/12: Seattle, WA- Moore Theatre w/SoO 09/10/12: Vancouver, BC- Vogue Theatre w/SoO 09/13/12: Calgary, AB- MacEwan Ballroom w/SoO 09/14/12: Edmonton, AB- McDougall United Church w/SoO
CBC Radio 3 recently wrapped up their Tracks-on-Tracks project. Which featured a group of bands and artists such as Chris Ho, The Matinee, Portage and Main with many more. The bands/artists were selected by fan voting to join a train traveling from Vancouver all the way to downtown Toronto for the NXNE (North by Northeast) festival. Encompassing stops in random small town as well as impromptu performances anywhere you could imagine.
Check out Grant Lawrence's of CBC Radio 3 video summarizing some of the highlight of the trip as well as "Sweetwater" by The Matinee, a personal favorite of mine from following the Tracks on Tracks adventure.
Every year the Polaris Music Prize is handed out to a Canadian Band of the judges choosing based upon 'their own tastes and determinations'. The winner this year will join the ranks of Arcade Fire, Patrick Watson and many others who have earned this honour.
Polaris is A not-for-profit organization that honours, celebrates and rewards creativity and diversity in Canadian recorded music. Polaris recognizes and markets albums of the highest artistic integrity, without regard to musical genre, professional affiliation, or sales history. it is is adjudicated by selected music journalists, broadcasters and bloggers.
The Long List for the Polaris Prize has been released and you can check that out over on the Polaris Site.
If you are familiar at all with the movie Once or the bands The Swell Season or The Frames then Glen Hansard should be a familiar name to you. Glen released his first solo album today and it is entitled Rhythm and Repose. The album is a collection of songs as quiet as the ones he wrote with The Swell Season, but his poweful voice fills the empty spaces. NPR has yet again provided a "First Listen" to the eager fans who want to hear what this new album has to offer. You can check that out over on the NPR Site.
This week is proving to be a big for new releases that come out tomorrow (June 12th).
The Tallest Man on Earth - There's No Leaving Now.
This album is our most anticipated this year as it is the follow up to The Wild Hunt, Blue Sloth's #1 album of 2010 on our unreleased list. Stream the album at NPR First Listen.
Metric - Synthetica
Over the past couple months Metric has created significant hype about this album by releasing tracks through clues provided by various tweets and social media posts. Emily Haines claims this is their most organic album yet and a accumulation of Metic's ten years together. Stream the album at Consequence Of Sound.
Wintersleep - Hello Hum
The Canadian indie veterans return with their fifth full length album Hello Hum. I wasn't much for the likes of their last offering New Inheritors,however the first single "In Came The Flood" is showing good promise for the new album. Stream the ablum at Exclaim.ca.
