Au
Verbs
By Brock Thiessen

While it’s not always wise to judge an album by its cover, take one look at Verbs and you just know this isn’t the same Au from a year ago. The jacket’s abstract collage of inviting reds, blues and greens stands in stark contrast to the frosty, monochrome design of the Portland collective’s self-titled debut and, more importantly, so do the sounds within. All the tension, all the harsh bleakness of Au’s maiden voyage have been left behind now, and in their place 40 minutes of blissful folk séances, tribal-tinged pop and, above all, warmth. From brass and woodwinds to a 20-plus person chorus to the proverbial kitchen sink, Luke Wyland and his group of Oregonian collaborators flood Verbs with a bombast of aural excitement, rivalling both the ecstatic extremes of the Polyphonic Spree and the back-porch psychedelia of Animal Collective’s Campfire Songs. Yet obvious comparisons aside, Wyland shows a surprising amount of depth in his asymmetrical designs, filtering welcoming left-field pop through an avant-garde lens that’s all his own. Perhaps the only difficulty with Verbs is reminding yourself that the band’s name is actually pronounced “ay you.” (Aagoo)
Sam Sparro - Sam Sparro
The last decade and a half has seen women corner the market of danceable pop music, as most male solo artists are draped over their acoustic guitars weeping. Well, L.A.-based Aussie Sam Sparro has already made waves with his UK chart-reigning single “Black and Gold,” a broodingly sublime slice of ’8 ...Read More
Abe Vigoda - Skeleton
No, it’s not what you’re thinking. This isn’t the debut album by the veteran actor best known for ’70s sitcom Barney Miller and his multitude of premature obituaries. Instead, it’s a relatively young band from Los Angeles via Chino who have enough pep and pop in them to resurrect any dead TV ...Read More
The Ting Tings - We Started Nothing
Whoever’s picking songs for iPod ads sure knows what they’re doing. First, they managed to pick up on CSS, then they latched onto our already beloved Feist, and now they’ve gotten their grip on everyone’s favourite new Brit-pop duo, the Ting Tings. After all the hype that comes with the newly cred-b ...Read More
Vancougar - Canadian Tuxedo
East Vancouver’s thriving music scene has filled the Canadian soundscape with a healthy crop of bands over the last few years, but too many have opted for the drugged-out, sombre route. Fortunately, there’s an underground rock’n’roll movement that knows all about having fun, and the ladies of Vancou ...Read More
4D - L’Equanimité
Aimee Mann - @#%&! Smilers
The Awkward Stage - Slimming Mirrors, Flattering Lights
Beat Circus - Dreamland
Bottomless Pit - Congress
Brant Bjork - Punk Rock Guilt
C.R. Avery - Magic Hour Sailor Song
Charlatans - You Cross My Path
Dawntreader - Santa Fe Stalker
Devon Williams - Carefree
Elvis Costello and the Imposters - Momofuku
For Against - Shade Side Sunny Side
Fratellis - Here We Stand
French Kicks - Swimming
The Furious Seasons - The Furious Seasons
Health / Various - Disco
I Love Math - Getting to the Point is Beside It
James - Hey Ma
Kensington Prairie - Captured In Still Life
The Lexie Mountain Boys - Sacred Vacation
The Lines - Memory Span
Local H - Twelve Angry Months
The Lodger - Life Is Sweet
Mattress - Heavy Duty
Mount Eerie - Black Wooden Ceiling Opening
My Education - Bad Vibrations
The New Odds - Cheerleader
Occasional Keepers - True North
Okay - Huggable Dust
Park Avenue Music - By Heats + Horses
Phantom Planet - Raise the Dead
Politique - Politique
Puscifer - "V" Is For Viagra
Scott Kelly - The Wake
Screaming Trees - Clairvoyance
Shearwater - Rook
Sound And Fury - Sound And Fury
Steve Von Till - A Grave is a Grim Horse
Thank You - Terrible Two
Tim Fite - Fair Ain't Fair
The Ting Tings - We Started Nothing
Uh Huh Her - Common Reaction
Various Artists - Causes 1: A Compilation to Benefit Doctors without Borders, Human Rights Watch, and Oxfam America
The Virgins - The Virgins
Weezer - Red Album
Windsor For The Derby - How We Lost
Grizzly Bear - Vogue Theatre, Vancouver, BC October 14
Before the release of 2009's Veckatimest, Grizzly Bear stood at a career watershed of sorts. Critical darlings without much mainstream success, they could very well have continued in the direction set with 2007's Friend EP and become perennial indie overachievers, in the vein of the Li... Full Review
Hostage Life - Centre Of The Universe
It's unfortunate the words "maturity" and "growth" are stigmas in the world of punk rock. They would be the perfect descriptors for Toronto, ON-based Hostage Life's tertiary release. Maintaining the adage that a band never realize their true potential until their third album, the quintet prove thems... Full Review
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant Dir. by Paul Weitz
In an interesting twist of Hollywood fate, Chris and Paul Weitz have entered the final stretch of 2009 each in control of a major vampire franchise built from the pages of popular young adult fiction.

From one half of the brotherly team who brought us American Pie and About ... Full Review
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