Arts & Entertainment

 

 

 

BLACK KIDS
WIZARD OF AHHHS
Okay Black Kids... even a clever

band name, an even cleverer album
title, and a perfect back-story (your
singer is a male nanny for Pete’s sake)
can’t fool me. Even though you’ re the
cause of countless blown loads all over
the blogosphere, all I can hear when
listening to your debut is The Cure, The
Cure, and yes, you guessed it: The Cure.
Okay... maybe there’s a little bit of
Morrisey in there too, but only a pinch.
It’s as if you sat next to Robert Smith in
music class and copied all his answers:
The sunshiney keyboards and horns, the
faux British vocals, the jangly guitars,
the hopelessly romantic frontman, the
bubblegum hooks—they’ re all there.
Your debt to the emo pioneers is about
as subtle as Robert Smith’s eyeliner.
Anyway, maybe I’m just being a cranky
sack; Wizard of Ahhhs is actually a

lot of fun, and you guys do get some
brownie points for releasing the record
for free via your MySpace page (www.
myspace.com/blackkidsrock).

- Luke Simcoe

RAY CONDO AND HIS
HARDROCK GONERS
SELF-TITLED

Hello Douglas College rockabilly
fans...yes, all two of you, loitering in
the parking lot. The self-titled “Ray
Condo and his Hardrock Goners” is
marked throughout with a slick, sharp
rockabilly sneer and Ray Condo’s reedy,
genre-shifting playing. Often referred to
as “the best musician you’ll never hear
of’ for his refusal to compromise the
authenticity of his music by signing to
a major label, Condo died in 2004. This
CD is a compilation of Ray’s earlier,
wilder performances, recorded while

he was living in Montreal. Outstanding
tracks include a howling, haunting

take on the traditional folk tune “St.
James Infirmary,” the greasy bump-and-
shimmy of “Crazy Date,” and a tight,
maniacal version of Carl Perkins’s “Her
Love Rubbed Off.” These songs are
blessed by vigorous performances on
slap bass, pedal steel, rhythm guitar, and
drums, while the more traditional folk
numbers include fiddle and accordion.
Indisputably, this CD deserves a

place in the collection of anyone who
appreciates roots music in its most fierce
and authentic form. Pick up a copy,

and play it on May 16, declared “Ray
Condo Day” by the Vancouver music
community in honour of his passing.

- Leah Giesbrecht

    

AQAL rocu |. WES ASLAINAY THE GRADS

AGALLOCH
ASHES AGAINST THE
GRAIN

Agalloch, Oregon’s answer to Europe’s
metal monopoly, never disappoint—
except when it comes to touring, as
they have yet to visit Vancouver. Still,
it’s easy to forgive the band while
listening to their latest album. The

band continues their seemingly endless
journey through the landscapes of
winter and desolation, while not coming
across as whiny or tired. Although
Ashes is well produced, it still emits a
raw and authentic sound while blending
acoustic and electric guitars. Agalloch
has a signature sound that remains
untarnished by the hauntingly clean
melodies that entangle with the death
vocals. The latest album is as lyrically
and artistically organic as their previous
efforts (such as Pale Folklore, 1999,
and The Mantle, 2002), with tracks like
“Limbs” and “The White Mountain

on Which You Will Die” immersed in
natural inspiration. “Not Unlike the
Waves” is the perfect example of a band
that seamlessly intertwines sub-genres
and styles to create exceptionally epic
songs. Ashes Against the Grain isa
must for Agalloch fans and newcomers
alike.

- Laura Kelsey

 

PIPER DAVIS
SELF-TITLED

Full disclosure: My roommate is not
only good friend with Ms. Piper Davis,
but also sings back-up alongside the
local songstress when she performs
live. The only thing separating my
room from my roommate’s room when
I sleep at night is the kitchen. And do
you know what the kitchen is full of?
Knives. So, what I’m getting at here is
that if I don’t review Piper’s demo in a
positive light, my roommate is going to
sneak into my bedroom during the dark
hours and shank me. Fortunately for
me, spilling some favourable ink about
this record is actually pretty easy. Piper
sounds kind of like a soulful, slightly
more brazen Leslie Feist, but she spins
her lyrical yarns over curiously organic
laptop funk instead of folky guitar. The
result is both original and sporadically
mesmerizing, and some of the songs are
practically salivating to be remixed. The
recordings would have benefited from
some clearer vocals, as sometimes it’s
difficult to hear what Davis is singing
about. But then again, it doesn’t really
matter, as her music strikes me as a dish
best served holistically. Check her out
for yourself on January 26 when she
plays alongside Stolen Bicycles Gang at
Hoko’s on Powell St.

- Luke Simcoe

 

 

eae
is slow and elegiac—something akin to a funeral

ae ee eee eee “Your

fitting. Mournful and ponderous, the music seems to
iar perfectly capture the sentiment carried by the words.

: On the subject of the lyrics, “Your Ex” is a
- narrative relating to a specific time and place. With
> clearly articulated and concrete imagery, its story-

name.” —
:

telling style seems to draw the listener in closer:

“captured a taxi despite all the rain/we drove in
silence across Point Champlain/and all of that time
you thought I was sad/I was trying to remember your

ot. Although “Your Ex” sounds as if it’s the
y direct personal experience of the songwriters, its
very specificity gives the song its compelling force.
compulsion or Sein: the