Stuff I'v

Luke Simcoe, OP Columnist

pice clue
Downloaded:

Tokyo Police Club — Smith EP & “Your
English is Good” Single

Husker Du — Zen Arcade

Listened To:
Love of Diagrams — Mosaic
New Pornographers — Challengers

Tokyo Police Club — Smith EP / “Your
English is Good”

I’m actually writing this the morning
after Tokyo Police Club’s show at the
Plaza. How was it, you ask? I wouldn’t
know. Some doofus forgot to put my
name down on the media guest list, and
the promoter (some dude in his 40’s
with an International Noise Conspiracy
Tee?) took the opportunity to flex his
authoritative muscle. Anyway, TPC’s
first full-length isn’t going to drop
until early next year (I keep hearing
February), so to tide me over and
assuage my grief at missing their gig,

I logged myself onto iTunes and for
way less than the cost of a)sandwich at
Chartwells, I snagged their digital-only
EP, Smith, and their latest single “Your
English is Good.”

Despite an average age that just lets
them drink in America, Newmarket,

Ontario’s finest are possessed of a
lyrical and musical acumen beyond
their years, and it’s exciting to see

them. push their songwriting into
second gear. The tracks are a little less
straightforward than on their debut

EP, A Lesson in Crime, and there are a
couple of attempts to break the mold
here, most notably on the slower piano
ballad “A Lesson in Crime” (which

was curiously not on the EP with which
it shares a name). Still, the songs that
succeed the most are the ones that

stick to the band’s formula. “Box” and
“Your English is Good” are vintage
TPC: three minute (or less) mash-ups of
catchy keyboards, fuzzy bass, and Dave
Monks’ whisky and cigarettes meet
puberty vocals.

Husker Du — Zen Arcade

Husker Du is one of those bands that
I’ve heard more about than I’ve actually
heard. The Minneapolis trio, formed in
1979, consisted of Bob Mould, Grant

' Hart and Greg Norton. Originally

gaining notoriety as a hardcore punk
band— Husker Du toured with Black
Flag and the Dead Kennedys—the
group’s trajectory would see them
push their sound forward, ultimately

Been Listening

paving the way for the alternative

rock breakthrough of the late 80s and
early 90s. They became one of the

first ‘underground’ bands to sign with
a major label— Warner—and their
contract, which gave them full creative
control over their recordings, became
the blueprint for other ‘alternative’

bands that made the jump to the majors.

Zen Arcade was released in 1984 on
SST Records, before the group made
the jump, and it is widely regarded as
their best record. It loosely chronicles
the story of a teenage kid who runs
away from home, and incorporates a
wide variety of elements from piano
interludes, to acoustic folk, to jazz, and
60s pop into the broader landscape of
hardcore punk.

Love of Diagrams — Mosaic

The sophomore record from this
Melbourne trio is a big step forward
from their mostly=instrumental debut,
The Target Is You. Mosaic is dark,
angular, Sonic Youth-inspired—trust
me, they LOVE their Sonic Youth
down under—dance rock at its best.
Sadly, like so many records, it’s front-
loaded with the better tracks like “Form
& Function” and the “Pace & the

 

Patience.”

The New Pornographers —
Challengers

I actually gave this record a bit of a
hard time when I heard the songs live
last time the Pornos rolled through
town, but I take it back. I realize now
that I was initially reluctant to embrace
the record because it’s so flawless—it
lacks the —little imperfections that
made the band’s first few records seem
like such spontaneous and joyous
affairs. I’ve long been a proponent of
Carl Newman, and with all but three
songs written by him, Challengers
reflects Newman’s newfound
confidence as the de facto leader of
the Pornographers. It does seem as if
he’s settled down a bit—he’s recently
married after all—and while he’s no
longer singing ditties about his ‘slow
descent into alcoholism,’ tracks like
“My Rights Versus Yours,” “All the
Things That Go to Make Heaven &
Earth,” as well as the title track are the
product of a songwriter at the height
of his capabilities. My only complaint
is that he should have thrown in a final
chorus in “My Rights” instead of letting
it sputter out.

 

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