Kickball Katy of the Vivian Girls and Gregg Foreman of Cat Power got together to make some summer fuzz pop with a new band called All Saints Day. Other than the previous sentence and the song you’re about to listen to, not much is known about this side-project. Hoping for info more….. soon.

All Saints Day - It’ll Come Around

here’s a growing culture, deep inside a corpse, ages stuck together
takin it to the source, timeless desperation, pictures on a screen scream
hey people, what does it mean?

Here’s the latest triptastic video from the MGMT for their new single off Congratulations. Hearing ‘Flash Delirium’ for the first time left me unimpressed and disappointed, but after a few listens I’ve really warmed up to it and now I’ve got a taste for 70’s psychedelic mod-pop that just won’t go away.

I can’t get enough of this fuzzy dream-pop revival and LA’s Dum Dum Girls pull it off like no other. In ‘Rest of Our Lives’ Dee Dee sings about her perfect lover like she just woke up from a thoughtful dream of her romantic subject. It’s innocence is it’s beauty and it’s charm. You’ll find this track on I Will Be released today on Subpop. Get it here, somebody grab me a tissue *sniff*.

Dum Dum Girls - Rest of Our Lives

Small Black is playing with Washed Out and Silly Kissers April 8th at Il Motore, its going to chill so hard.

[TICKETS]

I downloaded a great mix (Volume#2) from a little label called The Friendship Bracelet, available on their website for nothing. On that mix is a excellent little song called Bag of Plantains by Byrds of Paradise from Washington/Brooklyn. The main-byrd Kenny Brown sings his romantic desire for another with condescension and desperation in his words that I sometimes wished I could muster in those awkward situations.

Byrds of Paradise - Bag of Plantains

October ‘09 Murder Ford Monument self released their debut self-titled album [buy]. Since then they have been building momentum playing Pop Montreal, Art Pop and generating a ton of buzz at CMW. I’ve been itching to catch a Monument live show for some time now and this morning I find out that Passovah Productions is putting Murder Ford Monument, Nightwood and Distant Shores together for a show at the Green Room April 30th. See you babies there!

Murder Ford Monument - The King Is Dead

JEFF The Brotherhood are rock and roll, not in that trashy misogynistic-cocks-out kind of way but in an I-am-awesome-you’re-awesome-high-five-chuck-berry kind of way. It’s not surprising, the post-SXSW love for these Nashville bros: their live show, though minimal, is electric. Their latest release Heavy Days has been a breath of fresh air for my stereo since the latter part of 2009 and will probably continue to dominate my record collection until the snow comes back.

Currently, these guys are hitting the road hard and will be coming back to Montreal June 18th at La Sala Rossa with Quintron and Miss Pussycat. You can following them via their road blog, which keeps you JEFF-heads update on the latest snacks eaten and dudes with dreads discovered.

Check out the song ‘Steamship’ from Castle Storm. It steals my heart every time I hear it–songs about complicated love get me every time.

JEFF The Brotherhood - Steamship

[buy at infinity cat]

I’ve always been fascinated by Norwegian black metal. I have no idea how I even caught wind of the genre growing up in rural Newfoundland. But I remember calling Fred’s Records in St. John’s and special ordering Merciful Fate records, then Venom records and finally graduating to Mayhem records. The darker, the more sinister the better. I remember having dial up internet access and using up all my 10 hours per month reading about murder and church burnings related to black metal scene across the ocean, it was a savage scene to read about.

Tonight you can catch the premiere screening of Aitres’ and Ewell’s documentary of black metal in the early 90’s at Cinema Du Parc at 9:30PM. Pop Montreal is also giving away some free passes on their website here.

Until The Light Takes Us trailer

CLICK HERE FOR CINEMA DU PARC SCHEDULE

James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem is a genius to most and a god to some. His new, dare I say it, masterpiece is out May 17th on DFA. Murphy recently stated in an interview with Rolling Stone that:

[I] made a band that was about how I felt about music, as an argument, and I feel like I’ve kind of explained myself and it’s time to do something else.

Will this record be Murphy’s final magnum opus? Let’s not jump to conclusions, let’s chill out, breathe deep and listen to the new anthem of the ever approaching summer.

LCD Soundsystem - Drunk Girls

::: friday @ studio juste pour rire :::
black lips ::: demon’s claws ::: box elders
::: tickets :::

I was carried to Ohio in a swarm of bees
I never married but Ohio don’t remember me
I still owe money to the money to the money I owe
I never thought about love
When I thought about home

Here’s the latest taste of the upcoming record from The National, High Violet, called “Bloodbuzz Ohio”. Those familiar with their recent live shows from the past year will no doubt recognize it as it has been a staple in their set while tooling the song for the new album.  Between this and “Terrible Love” which debuted on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, High Violet is shaping up to be one solid album.

The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio

Check them out live at Osheaga.

….I’m still awaiting a new Silver Jews record

Remember that “hi-fi” release from Golden Girls I was telling you about? Well, the EP is called U L T I M A T E F R E E D O M, second it’s coming out first as a 7 incher May 1st and on compact disc April 1st (no fools), thirdly you’ll be able to get your hands on this via Burning Mill Records. Here’s a samplin’ to tide you over. The tracks “Newport” and “Dreams” are full of teenage issues, wants, needs, desires and killer riffs! The breakdown in “Dreams” at 1:40 is text-book awesome.

Golden Girls - Newport

Golden Girls - Dreams

“You must never be satisfied with losing. You must get angry, terribly angry, about losing. But the mark of the good loser is that he takes his anger out on himself and not his victorious opponents or on his teammates.” - Richard Nixon

Sometimes a man puts his money where his mouth is. Sometimes a man is victorious. Sometimes a man loses. I lost…

There’s this excellent label out of Ottawa called Kelp Records. Home to such great artists as Andrew Vincent, The Acorn, Camp Radio. They just released a great compilation in honor of their 16th anniversary aptly titled,  Kelp 16. The compilation is a mix of Kelp artists, friends bands and fans bands in the Ottawa scene. What follows is 16 reasons why you should keep your ear to the capital city.

[Download the entire Kelp 16 here]

Andrew Vincent - Keep It That Way

Chris Page - Two Twenty-Twos

The White Wires - I Remember How

Winchester Warm - Up in the Belfry

Sarah Hallman - Electricity

Male Nurse - Cavities

Year Zero - No Tongue for Eros

Andy Swan - Come to the Island

Matt Ouimet - Is It Me?

Jim Bryson - Rust and Fade

The Michael Parks - Are You Brokenhearted?

Mike Dubue - Vampiro: Angel, Devil, Hero

The Flaps - The Wiper

Camp Radio - Murder On My Skin

The Secret Loves - Jimmy St.Valentine

Flecton Big Sky - Surrountains (live)

Back to how I lost. I live in Montreal, home to the greatest hockey team on the planet. Yesterday there was some twittering between @trendwhore and @kelprecords regarding the outcome of last nights Sens/Habs matchup. A bet was put on the line, if the Habs win @kelprecords will emcee this years Kelp BBQ @ Pop Montreal May 15 in a (beautiful, magnificent) Habs jersey, however if the Sens win @trendwhore will  host in (ugly, disgusting) Senators jersey.

See you at Kelp BBQ.

Probably the best looking lineup I’ve seen at Osheaga since moving here in 2007.

• ARCADE FIRE
• WEEZER
• PAVEMENT
• METRIC
• THE NATIONAL

• DEADMAU5
• THE CAT EMPIRE
• KEANE
• THE BLACK KEYS
• STARS
• THE JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION

• JIMMY CLIFF
• ARIANE MOFFATT
• THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM
• CHARLIE WINSTON
• BEACH HOUSE
• JAMIE LIDELL
• ROBYN
• SARAH HARMER
• FRANK TURNER
• BLITZEN TRAPPER
• AVI BUFFALO
• BAHAMAS
• AMANDA MABRO
• IAN KELLY

For information about tickets and the festival check the official Osheaga website.

Arcade Fire - Intervention

The National - Fake Empire (White Session 2007)

::: tonight @ le national :::

henry rollins

tickets here

Some how some way I got my hands on this album from Cloud Nothings called Turning On and it has absolutely everything a good garage record should have; muddled vocals, sludgey (not too sludgey) twangers, and hooks that will keep you up all night. The opening track of Turning On, ‘Can’t Stay Awake’ has been playing on my stereo for that last 48 minutes and I’ve still got a few more listens left before I pass out. Pass out with me.

Cloud Nothings - Can’t Stay Awake

[buy cloud nothings]

Internet hype is one thing (think Wavves), internet mystery is another (think iamamiwhoami). jj had a little of both a few months ago. But it seems now that all the mystic has been dissolved and woman (and man) behind the curtain have our attention. From what I heard via Twitter regarding jj’s performance at SXSW was nothing less than lackluster. A glorified karaoke. On top of that, no˚3 is getting panned by critics across the blogosphere. The same blogosphere that held jj’s debut, no˚2, in such high regard.

I want defend jj. I really do. For starters, one bad performance is just that, one bad performance. The Replacements had more bad performances than good. If we look at the albums, yes no˚2 is stronger, its track for track gold. no˚3 in comparison is slower, more R’n'B maybe, more background music than its predecessor. But both of these albums are running at 28 minutes in length, a running time of an EP. At the end of the day, jj appears to be rushed. Had they have waited and combined both albums we’d have a different story altogether. For comparison that new Surfer Blood album (running time 40:40 mintues) is arduous listening mid-way though (specifically after ‘Neighbour Riffs’).

In conclusion I write this because jj has a place in my heart. The past 4 days have been beautiful in Montreal. The filth of winter is washing away and summer is so close I can taste it in the air and when I hear “Are You Still In Vallda-”, I’m in heaven. Give jj a chance.

jj - Are You Still In Vallda-

[buy jj @ secretly yours]

Let me take a minute to introduce Halifax transplants Drunk Dial (formerly Denial Tone). I saw these cats open for JEFF The Brotherhood a few weeks back at Friendship Cove and was taken away by their fierce show. Keep checking their myspace page for your chance to get savaged by their music in the flesh, until then order their cassette (available on their myspace) while supplies last.

Drunk Dial - Mid-Evil Methods

Another sad day in Memphis, and the world for that matter. Alex Chilton has died at the age of 59.

From P4K:

Crushing news today from the Memphis Commercial Appeal: Alex Chilton, the legendary singer, songwriter, and performer, died today. Chilton was in New Orleans and was scheduled to play in Austin this weekend with the reunited Big Star as part of SXSW. According to the paper, he complained of feeling ill and was taken by paramedic to the hospital. Cause of death has not been confirmed, but the Commercial Appeal reports that it is believed to be a heart attack. Chilton was 59.

Big Star - Thirteen

If he was from Venus, would he feed us with a spoon?
If he was from Mars, wouldn’t that be cool?
Standing right on campus, would he stamp us in a file?
Hangin’ down in Memphis all the while.

Children by the million sing for Alex Chilton when he comes ’round
They sing “I’m in love. What’s that song?
I’m in love with that song.”

Cerebral rape and pillage in a village of his choice.
Invisible man who can sing in a visible voice.
Feeling like a hundred bucks, exchanging good lucks face to face.
Checkin’ his stash by the trash at St. Mark’s place.

Children by the million sing for Alex Chilton when he comes ’round
They sing “I’m in love. What’s that song?
I’m in love with that song.”

I never travel far, without a little Big Star

Runnin’ ’round the house, Mickey Mouse and the Tarot cards.
Falling asleep with a flop pop video on.
If he was from Venus, would he meet us on the moon?
If he died in Memphis, then that’d be cool, babe.

When I was checking my blog stats yesterday, I noticed a spike in a post I did for April Fool’s day last year, where I wrote that Pavement were set to reunite at Osheaga, a joke that lead to strangers spitting on me.  At the time it looked like a long shot but it seems this year my lies will come to fruition and we’ll hear their sweet gold soundz come August (rumor link). There is also some discussion about the reunion of The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, which is a good thing but Soundgarden are also set to reunite and we might get that, which is a bad thing. We’ll find out in a few weeks.

Until then put Quarantine The Past in your stereo, cut your hair and stop breathin’.

Pavement - Date W/ IKEA

UPDATE: Looks like all the rumors are true, well the good ones anyway.