Arts

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Big sound on ‘Little Mountain’

By Angela Espinoza, Arts Editor

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NF IS

n March 6, Said the Whale
C )ieessi their third album

Little Mountain. The
Vancouver darlings have won over
the hearts of many with their gentle
sound and use of Canadiana; have
they done it again here?

Little Mountain features much
of the same old, same old: an
extended track list of Canadian call
outs and soft rock. But with the
reuse of format of course comes
the inevitability that the listener is
going to fall in love all over again
with the group.

There’s an ambitious energy
felt on every song in the album.
Ben Worcester’s smooth voice
narrates this great tale of a cross-
Canada love story, filled with lost
and found romances, reflections on
the past, and self-discovery.

Said the Whale’s nailed it, plain
and simple. They’re a talented
quintet of musicians who've found
their sound. The group knows
what clicks within them and their
listeners, and they manage to work
off both to create experimental
pieces such as “Guilty Hypocrites”
as well as fun pop sing-a-longs like
“The Reason.” Little Mountain is
a necessary addition to anyone’s
music collection.

 

 

Lifestyles of the

By Angela Espinoza, Arts Editor

AAA

CNS

rooklyn-based experimental
B rock band White Rabbits

released their third album,
Milk Famous, on March 6. Known
partly for their affiliation with
Spoon, the group’s unique
sound has led to a steadily rising
popularity with albums like Fort
Nightly (2007) and It’s Frightening

ch

 

‘Milk Famous’

(2009). Is that unique sound still
prevalent on this album?

It’s easy to group White
Rabbits with bands like, again,
Spoon and even Radiohead, which
makes distinction on their part
somewhat difficult. While White
Rabbits don’t necessarily bring
anything new to the table on Milk
Famous, it can’t be denied that this
is a solid album with solid sound.

Singer and pianist Stephen
Patterson and guitarists Alexander
Even and Gregory Roberts shine
through, amidst steady bass and
drums beats. Despite falling into
something of a category, White
Rabbits retain their own space age
blend on tracks like “Everyone
Can't Be Confused” and their
flawless opener “Heavy Metal.”

Again, true independence is
what's keeping this band from
making an otherwise excellent
album. White Rabbits have
rightfully earned every bit of
respectable credit on Milk Famous,
but it wouldn’t hurt to go back to
the drawing board once this ride
is over.

 

Of fugu

es and fandangos

Chopin and jazz percussion make for an interesting

Arts at One showcase

By Kealy Doyle, Contributor

week at Arts at One, with four

students and the Douglas College
Percussion Ensemble taking the
stage in a varied programme which
ranged from Chopin (a perennial
favourite) to contemporary jazz
drumming. Fugues and fandangos
were the order of the day ina
concert which sometimes made for
difficult listening, but allowed the
young performers to showcase their
wprodigious skill.

Anyone expecting a familiar
tour of classical music’s great and
good was quickly mistaken, as
Konstantin Klimov immediately
threw the audience off balance
with a torrential opening “Prelude
and Fugue in C Major” from
contemporary Russian composer
and pianist Rodion Shchedrin.
Utterly fixated on the Steinway’s
keyboard, Klimov skilfully
constructed a steady barrage
of sound which built into truly
extraordinary cacophony. It was
over as soon as it had begun:
an edgy, deliberate assertion of
a confidence echoed by every
performer that afternoon.

Jordan Charette then took
the audience in another direction
entirely with a gentle, pleasant
rendition of “Julia Florida” by
Paraguayan guitarist Agustin
Barrios. Barrios was forgotten for
many years, but is now considered
one of the greatest classical guitarists
of all time. Charette did him justice
with a dextrous, unhurried account
of this ambling, relaxed Spanish
meditation.

The pace (and pulse) quickened
with Santiago de Murcia’s
“Fandango.” This was music for the
matador: a driving, strumming beat
mellowed by some lovely baroque
interludes. It became increasingly
complex, as Charette danced up and
down the fingerboard in trilling,
falling motifs before returning to
the chase. The Arts at One series has
featured some tremendous Spanish
dances, full of verve and moxie, and
this was a welcome addition.

Chopin made his first and only
appearance of the afternoon in his
challenging “Etude in C Minor, No.
12,” tackled with gusto by pianist
Chris Hsu, who launched into the
opening frenzy after momentary
pause and didn’t let up until the
final tumultuous conclusion. Hsu’s
body followed his frenetic hands
from one end of the keyboard to
the other, swaying with the rolling

[ was the understudies’ turn last

 

sequences. Like many of the other
pieces, this was a technical showcase
for the performer and a barrage of
loud emotion for the audience.

Etudes are usually demanding
works designed to improve the
performer’s technique. Christian
Bideau’s was certainly on show
in Québécois composer Francois
Morel’s “Etude de sonorité II,” a
piece of such fearsome complexity,
shifting tempo, and surprising
direction that it defied this writer
almost entirely. Bideau hammered
bass notes and treble, veering from
forte to pianissimo and all the ‘mos
in-between. It was truly a sonic
experience.

With the audience suitably
braced, it was time for the Douglas
College Percussion Ensemble
to end the proceedings with a
triumphant finish. They did so in
style, with a raucous rendition of
Sherrie Maricle’s “Street Beats.”
Anyone who remembers the mid-
nineties will remember Stomp, the
wildly popular percussion troupe
who thundered tribal rhythms on
garbage cans, oil drums, brooms,
and any number of unlikely
household objects. Maricle’s piece
is a glorious homage, and the
ensemble did her proud.

Led by Robert Caldwell, the
group beat the daylights out of the
drum skins, their sticks, even the
floor, in a martial, tribal beat so
furious and sustained it resonated
in your chest cavity. The soloists
were exceptional, their hands and
sticks a wild blur before they united
in flawless time and ended in a
brilliant rebel yell. It would take
a sour audience member indeed
to resist a smile at the sheer joy of
making noise together. This was
ear-splitting, primal, and joyous—a
perfect finish.

The Arts at One series continues
on March 22 with an award winners’
concert. Performances are free to
attend and begin every Thursday
at 1 p.m. in the Laura C. Muir
Performing Arts Theatre, New
Westminster campus.

STEINWAY & SONS