Holy fuck. It’s about time we get something new from Twin Shadow. I’ve been actually hoping to hear something new from him soon and here we are, treated to the first song called “Five Seconds”. The first album Forget is one of my all-time favorites and it’s been awhile since we’ve heard from George Lewis Jr. But now we can all take a breathe as a new album, titled Confess, is scheduled for a July 9th release.
RAC drops his first official single called “Hollywood” on Green Label Sound. The track features Penguin Prison on the vocals. I actually had thought RAC had dropped singles before, but I guess not, because everything I can think of from him was a remix of somebody else’s song. This is a solid single with dancey pop vibes laced all over it. Green Label Sound continues to impress by working with great talents.
Review by Michelle da Silva (@michdas)
Photos by David Thai (@david_thai)
During late spring, Vancouver gets a flood of awesome live shows coming our way, thanks to festivals like Coachella and Sasquatch close by. Hot off their much-talked-about performance in Cali, Neon Indian played at Venue in Vancouver on April 28. Accompanied by Brooklyn band Lemonade, the Texas-based band fronted by the talented Alan Palomo gave synth-pop music lovers a show to remember.
The night opened with the three-piece Lemonade, which formed in 2005 in San Fran. Now residing in Brooklyn, the band’s sound reflects its eclectic neighbourbood, with elements of world music clashing against synth-driven pop. With just their 2008 self-titled debut to ride on (Lemonade will release Diver at the end of May), the band isn’t well known to Vancouver audiences, and its lackluster performance on Saturday night failed to enthral the young crowd. Frontman Callan Clendenin’s vocals struggled to make an impact during their half-hour set; however, the ‘80s pop sounds and Phil Collins-esque drum beats managed to get a few bodies moving while queuing up at the bar.
Time could not move fast enough for Neon Indian to hit the stage. Accompanied by Leanne Macomber on keyboard and backup vocals, Jason Faries on drums, and Lars Larson with live visuals, Palomo kicked off his hour-long set with “Local Joke” off 2009’s Psychic Chasms. The feel-good pop number sounded record-perfect and got the revved-up, dance-hungry crowd excited and cheering.
Review by Michelle da Silva (@michdas)
Photos by David Thai (@david_thai)
Few live shows are as hotly anticipated as M83’s return to Vancouver was on April 27. Frontman Anthony Gonzalez’s rock-infused electro-pop band has played to nothing short of sold-out shows almost every time they’ve made their way to Canada’s West Coast, and Friday night’s concert at the historic Vogue Theatre was no different.
Swedish export I Break Horses opened the night with a selection of songs from their 2011 debut Hearts. Made up of Maria Lindén and Fredrik Balck, I Break Horses’ sound is soft shoegaze amped up with galloping drum beats, all done electronically. While the band’s stage presence exposed their naiveté in front of a live audience, they managed to push out a few noteworthy songs, including “Empty Bottles”, “Load Your Eyes”, and “Winter Beats”, which showed off Lindén’s soft-spoken vocals.
When M83 finally hit the stage, they opened with a dramatic, nearly seizure-inducing light show. Four large V-shaped beams gleamed bright neon lights, while strobes attached to the top end of each V created a hypnotic effect as the band dove into “Teen Angst” off 2055’s Before the Dawn Heals Us. Without stopping, Gonzalez (accompanied by Morgan Kibby, Yann Gonzalez, and LoÏc Maurin on stage) started up the alt-rock sounding “Graveyard Girls” off Saturdays = Youth.
Wow, what an impressive collection. True, you may have heard a handful of these songs already but to be honest, I personally didn’t realize this stuff was all under Plant Music. This is the first compilation (CD and Digital) that the label is putting out which features a more sexy dance vibe, allowing you to take the dancing from the upright position to the horizontal position. This compilation is officially available now through your choice of digital music service provider or record shop. Hit the read more link below to stream the compilation.
Oligee and U-Tern, better known as Oliver, are back at it once again with two new remixes that were recently posted to their SoundCloud page. The first one below is for the latest track from Punks Jump Up called “Mr. Overtime”, when the duo first posted the instrumental a few days ago there was no question the final with vocals would be exceptionally good and there was no disappointment there.
The second remix that they posted yesterday was a remix for Foster The Peoples’ “Don’t Stop” and actually making FTP…dare I say…palatable. Actually a lot more than palatable, the production on this is pretty exceptional. Check out both tracks below.
Review by Nicole (@tokyo_to)
Photos by David Thai (@david_thai)
Since the release of Passive Me, Aggressive You back in 2010, The Naked and Famous have been touring and promoting the album pretty much non-stop for the past couple years. This North American tour is their last for the album and what a way to end this chapter of their career with two sold-out shows at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver.
Opening for The Naked and Famous were Minneapolis’ Now, Now and Philadelphia’s Vacationer. Now, Now got things going while many concert-goers began trickling into the venue. The three-piece band, consisting of two girls and a guy, played through their set and even gave Vancouver a special mention, as they recorded an album here. Next up was Vacationer, which fans of the pop-punk band, The Starting Line, will know as Kenny Vasoli‘s newest project. Chill and dreamy would be the best way to describe Vacationer’s tunes, which I found to be a little out of place in comparison to the other bands. If anything, they definitely mellowed out the entire audience in the sold-out venue.
Download: The Magician Magic Tape Twenty-Two
