Tag: Indie

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Tunes

Best tunes of 2020: #29 Matt Berninger “Distant axis”

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This here is an example of one of those situations where you like a band so much, a band that can do no wrong in your eyes, that has consistently put out great album after great album, but one that you can’t fathom its talented parts making music outside of the near perfect whole. You don’t want to listen to solo material from any of its members, least of all that of its golden-voiced lead singer. You don’t want to like it. You don’t want there to be even more solo material released to take away from the possibility of another great album from the singer’s band.

No?

Okay. Maybe it was just me.

To be honest, I know a lot of diehard fans of The National that couldn’t wait for Matt Berninger’s debut solo album and that ate it up the moment it was released. Perhaps curmudgeonly, I probably waited two or three weeks after its mid-October release date before I gave in and tracked it down on the Spotify. And though it didn’t necessarily push any of my favourite albums of the year out of the top ten that had pretty much been set by that point, I couldn’t bring myself to hate “Serpentine prison”. Scratch that, I couldn’t even bring myself to discount the album as subpar. Nope. It was actually quite lovely.

In spite of myself, I was especially enamoured by track two, pretty much from the first few seconds of impassioned guitar strumming. That intro, mired in smoky washes, smacked nostalgically of Smashing Pumpkins’ “Disarm” or James’s “Ring the bells”, but when Berninger’s fine baritone crackled in, those similarities faded right away into the ether. “Distant axis” is like a howling in the night, a call out between lost lovers, a demand for warmth and understanding. It’s a message that Berninger delivers as if out of breath, as if he had just run the length of a cold and cloudy beach in the hopes of catching a fleeting glimpse of hair or a slip of a dress. And he almost seems resigned to his fate.

“There’s a pattern to the way the world is tearin’ up
I think it’s happening to me”

With tracks this heartbreaking, I’d be hard pressed not to hope for more solo material from Matt Berninger.

But not at the expense of a new National record…

For the rest of the Best tunes of 2020 list, click here.

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Live music galleries

Live music galleries: Broken Social Scene [2017]

(I got the idea for this series while sifting through the ‘piles’ of digital photos on my laptop. It occurred to me to share some of these great pics from some of my favourite concert sets from time to time. Until I get around to the next one, I invite you to peruse my ever-growing list of concerts page.)

Broken Social Scene at CityFolk 2017

Artist: Broken Social Scene
When: September 15th, 2017
Where: Main stage, CityFolk, Lansdowne Park, Ottawa
Context: Broken Social Scene were a big part of the Canadian indie rock renaissance of the mid-2000s and really epitomized the sense of community and collaboration of that scene. They truly were a collective, built around the core of Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning, but boasting upwards of close to twenty members at different points in their history, including members of Stars, Metric, Apostles of Hustle, and many others. But to be honest, I couldn’t actually get into them back then, always claiming that they were a band with whom I preferred their parts to their sum. Somewhere along the way, though, I gained an appreciation for them and finally got a chance to see them as part of the line up for the 2017 edition of Ottawa’s CityFolk festival. As with many collectives of this ilk, you never know whom you might see perform with them on any given night. We were lucky enough to have Stars members and husband/wife duo of Evan Cranley and Amy Millan make the two-hour drive up from Montreal, partly as a way to celebrate Cranley’s belated birthday with his musician friends. It was an incredible show and so amazing to see so many talented musicians trade instruments and vocals and contribute to a huge and cohesive sound. I was so impressed that I saw them again six months later and would definitely jump at the chance to do so again.
Point of reference song: “Protest song”

BSS on the chalkboard
Sam Goldberg Jr of Broken Social Scene
Brendan Canning of Broken Social Scene
Ariel Engel of Broken Social Scene
Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene
Amy Millan of Broken Social Scene
Charles Spearin of Broken Social Scene
Andrew Whiteman of Broken Social Scene
Evan Cranley and David French
Sam Goldberg Jr and Brendan Canning
Celebrating Evan Cranley’s belated birthday in style
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Tunes

Best tunes of 2003: #27 José González “Crosses”

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Much like most people, I came across Swedish singer/songwriter, José González’s debut material two years after it was originally recorded and released. This is because it was two years before “Veneer” saw the light of day outside of his home country.

Gonzàlez was in the middle of completing his PhD in biochemistry when, after years of performing in various bands, his solo work caught the ear of Joakim Gävert and he was signed as the first artist to Gävert’s new record label. The PhD was dropped in favour of a focus on music and a 7” single was soon followed by the aforementioned debut long player. He has since released three more solo albums and two albums as part of the indie rock band Junip.

“Crosses” was the second single to be released off of “Veneer” and was my own gateway to Gonzalez’s indie folk sound. I remember first seeing the video late one Friday night on MuchMusic’s The Wedge and finding it perfect for that time and place, went searching it out online. I was happy to find that the song is indicative of the rest of the album’s sound, mellow and intense and austere, just Gonzàlez and his acoustic guitar. But “Crosses” is particularly haunting and harrowing, contrasting the menacing and violent plucking against gentle fingertip brushing styles at different and key points. Meanwhile, González leans into the mike, singing to himself about the crosses we are all carrying, as if reassuring himself that his own sadness will be short-lived and that the sun will return eventually.

In 2006, Gonzàlez was enlisted by English electronica duo, Zero 7, to provide vocals to a number of tracks on their third studio album, “The garden”. One of these is a remake of “Crosses”, a longer and more drawn out piece that builds to a fulfilling climax. It is the high point on that particular release for me but it’s still not quite as beautiful as the original. Sometimes quieter just creates the right mood.

“Disturbing silence darkens your sight
We’ll cast some light and you’ll be alright
We’ll cast some light and you’ll be alright for now”

And you almost believe him.

For the rest of the Best tunes of 2003 list, click here.