New Order, Lost Sirens
I had the pleasure of attending New Order’s October concert in Toronto, my fourth time seeing the now-quintet but the first time since 1993. New Order created some of my most favourite music of the 80s and early 90s – “Blue Monday”, “The Perfect Kiss”, “Temptation”, “Fine Time” among others. While the group no longer had Peter Hook’s one-of-a-kind bass playing in the mix, the diversity of their 30-year repertoire plus the bang-0n addition of bassist Tom Chapman and the return of keyboardist Gillian Gilbert to the fold all took precedence (multi-instrumentalist Phil Cunningham had replaced Gillian for the Get Ready album). It was probably the most entertaining and tight New Order show I’ve seen, with Bernard Sumner a particular joy on stage, the most communicative and appreciative the band has been. They announced at the show that Lost Sirens would be dropping in January, this set consisting of songs that didn’t make the final cut for the 2005 swan song with Hook, Waiting For The Sirens’ Call. There is so much great music out there in storage that none of us will ever hear, so I’m pleased that New Order chose to raid their vaults.
Lost Sirens is more than simply impressive as the group’s 9th album, even though it won’t see the light of the same kind of hype that a brand new album would be given by its record company. While the songs may not have fit into what they wanted in ’05, 8 years later they are highly contemporary while remaining definitively New Order. It doesn’t get much better than “Shake It Up”, which would normally be a New Order song that would take off in dance clubs. “Hellbent” has some driven guitar work and effects, while other songs like “California Grass” and “I’ve Got A Feeling” change up the mood as you might expect in any New Order album. Bernard sounds as fine here as he did in concert. So I hope Lost Sirens isn’t the last we hear from New Order. Peter Hook is also on tour playing songs from Joy Division’s records. Perhaps Bernard and Peter will bury their differences for at least one more album together, who knows? You can stream Lost Sirens in its entirety at Rolling Stone’s website right here.
David Usher, “Operator”/”Répondez-moi”
It’s hard to believe that I haven’t written about David Usher in these pages over the last three years. Having seen him about a half dozen times in concert and heard all of his albums, with many favourites I play regularly (“Black Black Heart”, “Blinded”, “Kill The Lights”, “The Music”, and more) I am having some difficulty connecting with his 8th solo album Songs From The Last Days On Earth. It’s essentially a mellow side of David that reminds me most of his debut solo album Little Songs, recorded in 1998 when he was on a break from his band Moist.
I guess I prefer a mix of edgier rock and soft songs from David, but I’m glad he’s released “Operator” as a single from Last Days On Earth. It has that familiar theme of wanting to call and talk to someone, but not getting through, but with a difference – it’s the end of the world. It’s a song that features one of David’s best vocals on the album and hopefully will help reignite my interest in it. Residing in Montreal and being bilingual, he’s been taking advantage of recording songs in French (most notably “Je repars” – the French version of “I’m Coming Down” – with Quebec chanteuse Marie-Mai two years ago), so “Operator” is also available as “Répondez-moi”. Listen to both below. If David is on tour, you can’t go wrong by checking out his show and his 14 year song catalogue.
Magneta Lane, Witchrock
Savvy Toronto indie scenesters will know all-girl trio Magneta Lane from their three previous releases, which were all recorded when they were teens between 2004 and 2009. When you thought that too much – well too much everything – had done in the band, they have resurfaced with the four song EP Witchrock. Since I hadn’t heard their early material, I’m treating Witchrock anew. Led by singer Lexi Valentine and featuring bassist French and drummer Nadia King, Witchrock is a bona fide throwback to post-punk women of the early 80s like Debbie Harry, Chrissie Hynde, and Joan Jett. The band also cites singers like Courtney Love and Patti Smith as inspiration, but with a three-piece band it’s hard not to think of The Runaways, but with a modern twist. Teaming up with producers Rick Jackett and James Black of Finger Eleven, Witchrock delivers a sparse but highly melodic sound that showcase’s Lexi’s forthright vocals. The best songs within are the scathing “Burn” and the bass-led rave-up “Lucky”. Witchrock is due for release on February 12 and the trio will be performing at Toronto’s The Rivoli on February 14. Watch the teaser trailer below.
Final State featuring Laurence Pagé, “Make Up Your Mind”
Every now and then I come across some bilingual songs from Quebec performers and I wonder why they can’t cross over to the rest of Canada. The latest is “Make Up Your Mind” by Final State, the Quebec City quartet led by singer Rick Pagano. Add female singer Laurence Pagé (noted for a viral cover of Flo Rida’s “Whistle”) and you have this insanely catchy slice of sincere and danceable pop/rock reminiscent of groups like The Midway State that deserves a wider audience. Watch the video below and see why!
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