Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Last Saturday I headed down to Call The Office to check out one of the strongest bills CTO has put on in a long time: Land Of Talk, Shout Out Out Out Out, and Holy Fuck. Overall the show was fantastic. Almost had my head handed to me on the way home due to a misguided glance, but gladly I lived to tell the tale.

Land of Talk have been getting considerable attention on the strength of their first EP Applause, Cheer, Boo, Hiss. Hailing from Montreal, this is the brainchild of Elizabeth Powell and her compatriots. Catchy their music may be, catch them that evening i did not. Unfortunately things at work kept me late and i missed their entire set. They were the ones I was most hyped about seeing.

Land of Talk - All My Friends
Land of Talk - BreaxxBaxx

Alas, my broken heart was assuaged when I walked in to the dance party that is......
Shout Out Out Out Out. Besides having an incredibly annoying name to type out, they also put on the best dance party I've seen in awhile. Its always a great feeling when you walk into a club and the air feels warm and electric and the collective heads and bodies are dancing and moving in tandem spirit. I've heard of the supposed legendary shows SOOOO puts on from a couple of friends who live in the band's homebase of Edmonton. I was definitely grooving within moments. They come off as a bit shticky, what with the excessive high kicks and all that vocoder. Nonetheless in the moment, its just the band and its collectively sweaty and entranced audience.

SOOOO - Forever Indebted
SOOOO - Nobody Calls Me Unless they Want Something

Holy Fuck is the electronic project of Brian Borcherdt. As stated by his bio on New Music Canada, Brian "founded the indie collective Dependent, whored music out to FOX's '24', makes music videos, is developing a piece of film editing equipment as a music instrument, frequently makes up alter egos, plays in By Divine Right, and is friend to all animals."
As you can see, he is a busy man. I'd contest the last claim though after seeing Mr. Borcherdt bite the head off a bat on Saturday. This may or may not be true. I first came across Brian through his work in By Divine Right. I fell in love with him after I heard the song "Can't Stop Loving You" off his 2004 solo release The Remains of Brian Borcherdt. His music with Holy Fuck could most aptly be described as electronic. What separates them from the norm is their assortment of trash toys and instruments which aid their sound. Although they start from a base, their songs are never the same twice. Incredibly captivating to watch and listen to. The band released an LP last year. You can grab it over at Maple Music.
Holy Fuck website

Holy Fuck - Tonebank Jungle
Holy Fuck - Casio Bossa Nova

Holy Fuck, Shout Outx4, and Land of Talk are crossing Canada together. Most of their Ontario dates have already passed, however if you are hailing from outside of the province, you may still yet get to see this great bill. Check their respective websites/myspace to find a date. Also check out the aforementioned Dependent. Its a great label with a charming roster of bands.

Wrapping things up I'll leave you with the link for the video for Can't Stop Loving You. I take back my earlier claim. Watching the video you can clearly see Mr. Borcherdt shows an incredible empathy and understanding in his capturing of the urban ennui of the adult bunny rabbit.
The Remains of Brian Borcherdt - Can't Stop Loving You(mp3)

1 comment:

Sarah Mckendry said...

hawker, baby, you need to get your writing published... of all the zines i am constantly reading on the indie scene and others, not one person truly captures the music with words as you so easily do.... but, until you do become a famous writer mofo, keep this good stuff coming my way...

mckendry.