Black Rebel Motorcycle Club to release new album in March

Oh, it’s a happy morning over here at the RoundLetters residence. I received a lovely newsletter email this morning all about everything upcoming with one of my favourite bands, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

In the past year or so, the band once and for all lost their drummer Nick Jago, released a live DVD/CD set and did some tours that were not here, basically.

2010 holds not one but three amazing bits of news for this Califor-ni-ay band:

-Peter Hayes and Robert Levon Been are introducing their new drummer, Leah Shapiro from The Ravonettes (yes! woman! making this band even more bad ass, who thought that was even possible?!)

-Releasing their fifth studio album Beat the Devil’s Tattoo on March 9 in US & Canada (album name suggests yes, they can be even more bad ass)

-and doing another crazy bout of touring, one day of which lands them in Toronto (April 1) at the Phoenix.

I’ve seen this band twice and both times were some of the most amazing performances I’ve ever seen. I’m not such a big fan of them playing at the Phoenix. I must say they really used Kool Haus well, but hey I can’t complain, I’ve also seen them in a tiny venue in Buffalo.

Here’s a video of them playing a different show in Toronto in 2005. Check out the bad ass!

P.S. I love how they update their website but still keep some old things intact, like their Press section in which there is the  interview I did with Hayes in 2007!

Interview: The Swell Season Feeling Lucky With Strict Joy

The following was originally published on Exclaim.ca.

Exclusive: The Swell Season Feeling Lucky with Strict Joy
10/16/2009 By Jessica Lewis

For Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová of the Oscar-winning duo the Swell Season, things just seem to be “written in the stars,” whether it’s the elements that went in to putting together their upcoming new album, Strict Joy, or just knowing one another.

Even though the record’s main themes seem to be about the romantic break-up between the pair, who had the surprise breakout hit with Once, they’re still strong enough to make another record. So it’s the technical background we can get interested in now.

Hansard and Irglová took just under a month recording the album in Connecticut with the Frames and acclaimed producer Peter Kadis in his home studio. Hansard and Irglová went to the studio because they were enamoured with Kadis’s past work with the National’s album Boxer, and ended up recording a handful of songs in a whirlwind.

“We just play songs out, to figure them out, to feel out what they’re doing, what they’re saying,” said Hansard in a recent interview with Exclaim! “And when you get enough of them, you go and put them down, and really, going into making a record sometimes, you’re not even set out to make an album. You’re just setting out to put stuff down. That’s what happened with this. It was a very easy record to make, we’re very happy with it.”

Irglová agrees. “It was written in the stars,” she said. “I think life is full of those magical moments, if you just allow them to happen. If you live your life deciding you’re going to go with the flow and trust life, then you do find yourself in places you never imagined yourself being and for me that’s what it’s all about.”

Hansard goes on to say that the luck isn’t just in the stars, but also in the unassuming business model, saying, “It was more just the main concern of any band is to put out decent work and to continue doing gigs where you can communicate your songs clearly and correctly. And hopefully, if you’re doing your job right, to be able to play the same room every time you come back to town or play a bigger one. Some bands might say, ‘Okay, here’s the end game, and here is what we need to do to get there.’ We pretty much made a record and said, ‘Right now we have a record. What do we do with it?’ So it is a slightly different way of looking at it. It definitely works for us so far.”

The duo commissioned Hansard’s fellow Frames members to be the support on the album after a tour, as well as included a few guests. What they ended up with was a full sound complete with just that: more voices, more sound and more ambitions.

Originally due out September 29, Strict Joy’s release date was pushed back a month due to artwork conflicts. It will now be released on October 27 through Anti-.

The Swell Season will be wooing Canada on these dates:

11/3 Toronto, ON – Massey Hall
11/4 Montreal, QC -; Olympia de Montreal
11/25 Vancouver, BC – The Center

Sidenote: You can now stream Strict Joy in full over at NPR.

Album Review: The Temper Trap – Conditions

The following was originally published on Exclaim.ca.

The Temper Trap
Conditions
By Jessica Lewis

This is the wonderful debut album from four fun-loving natives of Melbourne, Australia. Packed with a big sound (they’re already filling arenas in the land down under and the UK), uplifting melodies and characteristically friendly guitars, the pop rock on this album is done right. Front-man Dougy Mandagi’s voice is noticeable for his long, drawn-out high notes; there is nothing out of place between him and other members Jonathon Aherne, Lorenzo Sillitto and Toby Dundas Michael Nixon. “Sweet Disposition,” best known for its inclusion on the (500) Days of Summer soundtrack, boasts the nicest harmonies and teamwork, while “Fader” is just as worthy of a compilation appearance, with the contagious “Ooos” and guitar solos, and should have been the first single, rather than “Science of Fear.” “Fools” is such a dead wringer for Radiohead it’s almost scary, complete with fantastic drumming. The Temper Trap clearly have some great influences but have found their sound amongst the notes. (Universal)

Sidenote: The Temper Trap will be in Toronto on October 20 at the Horseshoe Tavern.

Check out these upcoming free concerts in Toronto

Ah, I love free concerts. Well, I pretty much love anything free. This apparently is due to my generation, according to an editor of mine, but he’s right. How can you deny free concerts?! I think anyone would feel this way though.

So, to jump to the point: here is quite the list of free shows you can catch around Toronto soon. From the independent record stores to the public library.

Criminal Records

October 9 *TODAY!*: Said the Whale @ 6 p.m. Also their record release party for the new Islands Dissapear.

October 16: Dan Mangan @ 5 p.m.

October 31: Noah and the Whale @ TBA

November 20: You Say Party! We Say Die! @ TBA

Soundscapes

October 16: Two Hours Traffic @ 6 p.m.

Sonic Boom

October 16: Spiral Beach @ 7 p.m.

College and Shaw streets location of the Toronto Public Library

November 5: Grand Analog @ 8 p.m.

November 10: DJ workshop with Grand Analog @ 7 p.m.

North York Central Library location of the Toronto Public Library

November 7: Timber Timbre @ 8 p.m.

Bloor and Gladstone streets location of the Toronto Public Library

November 20: Katie Stelmanis @ 8 p.m.

For the library shows, it looks like there will be more shows coming.

Alright, get out there and have fun with all this free goodness!

Watch Spiral Beach’s new video for “Domino”

A local band by the name of Spiral Beach that I have no problem in supporting highly has just released a new video for their single “Domino” off of upcoming album, The Only Really Thing.

It was filmed between all of their appearances at this year’s North by Northeast festival. Unfortunately, I’m feeling the burn as I somehow missed every single show of theirs that weekend, but at least I have this now!

Watch another colourful experience from Spiral Beach:

Spiral Beach releases The Only Really Thing on September 22. They will be touring with Two Hours Traffic and The Danks this fall. Go after the jump to see the dates!

Download compilations from Oh! Canada and Yellow Bird Project

Two great compilations have recently been released for download on the internet, and they are two that should not  go unnoticed.

In the third installment, Brighton-based Ro Cemm from the Line of Best Fit has released another compilation of great Canadian music for the end of summer. It includes artists such as Dog Day, Bahamas, Amy Millan, Julie Doiron and The Paint Movement (all artists that have been mentioned on RoundLetters!). You can download it here.

A fabulous non-profit that RoundLetters happily promotes (and writes about in the latest issue of Broken Pencil) is Montreal/London’s the Yellow Bird Project. Recently they released their project with illustrator Andy J. Miller, the Indie Rock Colouring Book. This compilation is to  commemorate the release. Blogger the Middle Distance Runner makes tons of mix tapes for Baeble Music, titled T.G.I. Mixtape, but this time the talents are turned towards YBP. Now, it appears you cannot fully download this compilation, but it is for full listen here. Artists include Stars, Broken Social Scene, Of Montreal, Au Revoir Simone, K-Os feat Murray Lightburn and Elvis Perkins.

Sidenote: YBP will be touring the Indie Rock Colouring Book. Click here for more details.

Another sidenote: If you want to see the Broken Pencil article on the Indie Rock Colouring Book, jump on.

Polaris short-listers Elliott BROOD announce new tour dates

Elliott Brood, this year’s Polaris country-rock nomination, have just announced new tour dates around Canada after the fated Polaris gala date, and believe me, they will bring their high and loud spirits if they win or not.

The tour takes them through Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, then through the states and back up to Ontario and towards the Eastern provinces.

The band will be playing the Polaris gala, with the other 9 nominees. This is the first year that all nominated bands will be performing. The grand juray was also recently announced.

If you want any indication as to how awesome an Elliott Brood show is, go watch my SPIN Earth report from London from early this year.

Tour dates after the jump.