This week’s roundup required me to listen to a bunch of new music in order to figure out what the hell was going on. First among the gems was Toronto’s own The Wilderness (August 19 @ Lee’s Palace). Their press material namedrops indie-cum-mainstream juggernauts Interpol, and with good reason: their debut e.p., .272, mines the same danceable post-punk rhythms and minimalist/maximalist dichotomies that made Turn on the Bright Lights so great. But where that record was a laser-guided missile, The Wilderness are a cluster bomb, embracing sonic sprawl and messier textures. What could’ve been a downside ends up being the band’s greatest strength: their sound suggests plenty of space left to be explored, plenty of promise still to be delivered upon. And here’s the gravy: their live reputation is stellar. See for yourself this Friday.
No too-cool-for-school snark or backtalk about Blink 182 (August 17 @ Molson Canadian Amphitheatre): I honestly, un-ironically like a lot of their old songs. The first step towards recovery is the end of denial, so I want you to say it with me. "I like ‘Dammit.’ I like ‘Adam’s Song.’ I like ‘Man Overboard.’ I like ‘What’s My Age Again?‘." See… doesn’t that feel better? I thought so. Reminisce and heal with Hoppus and the boys this Wednesday.
Last week, Josh Boles from Singapore, a band that writes classic rock-inspired pop songs about heavily intoxicated real estate agents, called Lil Wayne (August 19 @ Molson Canadian Amphitheatre) the Bob Dylan of our generation. Whether or not comparisons to Dylan hold any water, I think it effectively illustrates the breadth of Lil Wayne’s influence. His weird, tangential, free-association, deconstructed delivery and unstoppable sense for interior rhymes have already assured him a place in rap history: everything else is just gravy. A whole subgenre’s worth of imitators are going to be working through the foundation he’s laid for the next twenty years, but you can catch a glimpse inside his extraterrestrial noggin this Friday.
Like The Wilderness, I hadn’t heard of Amos the Transparent (August 20 @ Horseshoe Tavern) until this week. The problem with an industry rife with indie acts vying for your attention is that bands who work in the language of subtlety run the risk of being ignored. These bearded song-slingers aren’t going to bludgeon you to death with sonic shocks: Ottawa’s Amos the Transparent wrap their self-assured songwriting chops in tasteful arrangements to deliver a warm, delicate product. Their recorded tracks showcase a band with a great sense for the studio, while their YouTube videos prove they can sound just as good stripped down to two acoustic guitars.