Palms

I had a VHS compilation of stuff from Playboy After Dark that also has Fleetwoood mac and Grand Funk Railroad on it pus most of the other stuff mentioned. I no longer have a VHS machine, so if I still have it, I would gladly donate it to someone that would be willing to convert it to DVD and seed others.

Same goes for my GD Copenhagen 72 tv broadcast. I'd prefer to try annd get these to someone in Hamilton though.

Mogwai and Explosions in The Sky are both great, as is Mono.

I really love the band Pelican too, who are also similar to these bands, but at times heavier.

Kepler isn't really all that similar to the above bands, but they are fantastic. They are playing in Brantford this weekend with the Hamilton drone-pop band A Northern Chorus (similar to Slowdive/Mojave 3/Low/Sigur Ros in sound with great songs) at the Ford Plant.

Another band that is worth checking out, especially live, is Below The Sea from Quebec. I just saw them play in Hamilton last week and they were mindblowingly good. Similar to gy!be I suppose...

Anyone need to get rid of one ticket for the upcoming Phil and Friends show in Buffalo? I missed the initial on sale dates and would still like to find an orchestra seat. Please get in touch.

stop fuckin around hippies...

4/5/69

Someone else mentioned previously how they thought this show was great. I was surprised, especially after checking the Deadhead's Taping Compendium, which called it the worst show on 1969. I'm pretty open minded though, so I downloaded mp3s of it and had it in my iPod for a little bit, but I have to say this is not a great show.

While there are brief glimpes of brilliance (a very nice dark star), the first set is like a harbinger of things to come in the 1980s, length-wise.

The second set starts off brutally as well, as they completely muck up Hard To Handle and Cosmic Charlie. The rest of the set was better -- I can't comment if it was the worst show of 1969 because I haven't heard them all, but honestly it sure pales next to that FIllmore run from 2/27 to 3/2 that the Dead are officially releasing in a few months.

If showtime was 10 PM instead of 9, I might try to boot in from Hamilton, but taking my two and a half year old son trick or treating is one of those things I absolutely cannot miss. I think I might just do Buffalo instead.

I don't think Ryan Adams will be with Phil in Buffalo. It looks like it will be Chris Robinson.

Sufjan Stevens - Illinois

Wilderness - Wilderness

Hell, just go to Pitchfork and do this yourself ya lazy bastard!

Well, they wouldn't have had either of those, because I didn't send them to the Ottawa Sun! Same goes for The Magic Numbers. They didn't get sent any of them for review.

My Morning Jacket - Z

Wasn't the rumour that Lesh was so disappointed with the Toronto turnout for the Molson Amphitheatre show that he said he wouldn't be back in Toronto for a long, long time?

Buffalo and Albany - yay!

Mother Hips - Everybody Knows This is Nowhere

-the whole Neil album done from start to finish live, available only through their website

http://www.motherhips.com/downloads/index-ektin.htm

Marillion? Really?

Wow, I have a relative who was married to one of those dudes in the 80s and early 90s. I have seen them live at least 10 times. Never thought I would EVER see them mentioned on here. (Haven't heard that album - my older brother no longer gets freebies from them and I've never seen it in a store...)

For a complete change of pace, I would recomment the new OPETH album Ghost Reveries. Amazing Swedish metal with strong 70s prog and folk undertones. Great players who can stretch songs out to 8+ minutes without becoming wank-offs.

If you want something more psychedelic, then Da Tet Lungt by Dungen.

We had them for a year in the mid-80s, then switched to the CCM pants that had zip-off bottoms. I had those until I was 25 (till 1995). Cooper-alls were crap pants.

Why should I cut him some slack? What does it matter if he has made 40 albums if I think the new one is weak?

Bob Dylan made a few clunkers before he really hit his stride again in the mid-90s. Maybe Neil will do the same, but my wife and I gave the new Neil Young a few chances and, apart from a few songs, it doesn't cut it. Same with Greendale (which I enjoyed more in concert than on record, attending two shows form that tour) and same with Are You Passionate. If you really think this record is going to stand out like his great ones, then great, good for you. It's not for me. It's better than say Landing on Water or Life, but probably isn't going to get any more plays than say Trans or Re*act*or does. Very sporadically.

I will still probably fork out $100 to see him play live though.

Actually the album is pretty damn disappointing. Lyrically, it is pretty hokey stuff. A number of the song melodies are direct rip off of other, older songs from his catalogue.

I haven't really liked a new Neil album for many years, although he remains one of my favourite artists of all time, the last three or four albums have been total stinkers. They all have maybe 2 or 3 good songs and that's it.

I thought that Phil only missed the Jerry thing to get his son off to college?

I have heard though that Phil was pretty much in control of the Dead. Or was...

Sonic Unyon has only released about 5 albums on vinyl of the 106 releases in our label history.

In our warehouse we have a lot of indie rock, jazz, hip hop, classic rock reissues, punk, funk reissues, psychedelic reissues. We also carry major label vinyl, since many labels (Sony, EMI, Warner) don't sell Lps to chain stores and concentrate on CDs. So we have stuff like Willie Nelson, Sam Roberts, Radiohead, etc on 12" LP. A whole wall of our warehouse is dedicated to vinyl. My guess is we carry between 2-4000 different titles on vinyl, plus the insane amount of CDs, DVDs, etc that we carry

The price range is 20% off of our regular retail price, which is almost always lower than what you pay in a chain or mall store.

We use tomato torrents. Well, my wife does - I have no idea how to do it...

I did pre-order one through a friend. That might have to be my last big GD purchase for a while, with my wife recently losing her job due to company cuts.

I'm interested though to see what other stuff is still in the works for fall 2005 - apart from the upcoming DVD issue of Dead Ahead...

Sonic Unyon Distribution is having a huge warehouse sale this Saturday.

We're opening our warehouse doors for all you vinyl lovers out there for the first time ever. Lots of indie rock, jazz, hip hop, great classic rock and funk reissues. More than you'd expect.

20% OFF EVERYTHING (except concert tickets)

Huge bargain bin section / sidewalk sale

Saturday, September 10th, 10 - 6 PM

The Sonic Unyon Store, 22 Wilson Street Hamilton

905-777-1223

Some good A NORTHERN CHORUS press:

1) Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/28/AR2005072800591_pf.html

Friday, July 29, 2005; Page WE07

A NORTHERN CHORUS"Bitter Hands Resign"Sonic Unyon

A Northern Chorus's third CD has a wind-swept quality about it -- atmospheric, layered, chilly, enveloping. In short, it's an acquired taste.

But if you're in the mood for rock meditations, "Bitter Hands Resign" may well be your cup of Zen. The Ontario-based ensemble specializes in mood pieces that are meticulously arranged and dotted with subtle variations in tone and color, all contributing to a peculiar ebb and flow. The instrumentation alone is distinctive enough to catch your ear: guitars, cello, piano, organ, bass and percussion. But what consistently stands out, albeit often in the subtlest of ways, are the sonic weaves that tie one tune to the next, almost seamlessly at times.

If the sextet has any commercial ambitions, it's not letting on. Each of the album's eight songs is long enough to discourage airplay. The lyrics, which range from the poetic to the ponderous, aren't exactly radio-friendly, either. Just scan the opening lines to "Costa Del Sol," a ballad that inspired the album's title: "Please direct your eyes to the trembling skies, to the trembling skies / And catch every glimpse in all your words, in all your conjured chords / As sure as bitter hands resign, the past will be seen in new light, cast upon old words that you thought you'd lost in the fire." Get the picture?

Not every lyric appears torn from the band's own book of revelations, though. "Winterize," which concerns the death of pop tunesmith Elliott Smith, brings the CD to a haunting close.

-- Mike Joyce

2) ALTERNATIVE PRESS

A NORTHERN CHORUS

Bitter Hands Resign

(SONIC UNYON; sonicunyon.com)

Rating: 4 / 5

WHO? Canadian dream-pop quintet, back with their third full-length.

SOUNDS LIKE? Gorgeous, grandiose soundscapes that’ll take you to your safe place faster than a fistful of Valium.

HOW IS IT? Anyone with a pulse should be wary of a band who’ve previously covered Low, but A Northern Chorus have finally come into their own here, surpassing Tom Cochrane as Canada’s greatest musical export.

ROCKS LIKE: Sigur Ros * Low * Raising The Fawn

-Jonah Bayer

Alternative Press Magazine, August 2005, page 156

3) All Music Guide

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:69kbu3xsan4k

A Northern Chorus

Bitter Hands Resign

Sonic Unyon

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

Review by Kenyon Hopkin

Whether it was caused by yet another lineup change (newer members' Alex McMaster (cello) and Steve Hesselink (percussion), who add to the stellar rock), or an urgency to put atmospheric guitar effects back on the map, the difference from Spirit Flags to Bitter Hands Resign is virtually night and day. With Spirit Flags, A Northern Chorus were comfortable with their dream pop, but they weren't able to lift themselves from mediocrity by simply following the conventions laid down by the original shoegaze bands. The Ontario group's third album is a noticeable improvement, and melds the extended pieces and touching vocals of Sigur Rós with the emotional rock of Appleseed Cast's Two Conversations. A Northern Chorus seem more confident and solid, as they allow their works to drift unhurriedly, yet they always retain a firm command of its direction. And, as if to show A Northern Chorus don't always need to hide behind their instruments, "This Open Heart" ends solely with vocals and lyrics that, like much of this record, are as fragile as snowflakes.

4) PASTE MAGAZINE

http://www.pastemagazine.com/action/article?article_id=1765

Writer: Emerson Dameron

2005-05-31

A Northern Chorus

Bitter Hands Resign (Sonic Unyon)

Four Stars out of Five

Slo-glo fuzz is back. Or it never got the telegram announcing its demise. Or the news never made it to Canada. Or A Northern Chorus didn’t care.

The clanging cathedral bells on “Watershed Divideâ€â€”a protracted prelude to the mournful “Prisoners of Circumstanceâ€â€”are merely suggested. But the militaristic drum rolls on “Costa Del Sol,†are actually there, snapping away beneath the frothy mix.

As this record tiptoes to the fridge for a post-midnight parfait, it catches its reflection and sees the sort of decadent grandiosity heard in theatrical post-Bowie British pop. But music like this moves more gracefully on tiptoe. Bitter Hands Resign eulogizes humanity’s most hopeless hopes and lifts up its pulverizing regrets, but eschews self-importance. Elegant sadness never rousts the neighbors.

Don’t file this away with the latest bundle of anemic My Bloody Valentine throwbacks. With rain damage and coffee rings, Bitter Hands Resign will only grow more elegant.

5) CHICAGO READER

A NORTHERN CHORUS

I can't argue with the aptness of the term "dream pop" -- the stuff puts me to sleep. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, because I could always use some. I've probably clocked more hours listening to Sigur Ros asleep than awake, and I've always felt bushy-tailed after a 50-bpm disco nap. So I'm adding A Northern Chorus's new CD, Bitter Hands Resign (Sonic Unyon), to my arsenal of melatonin tablets, herbal tea, and Dharma & Greg reruns: on its third full-length the Ontario band borrows from the languid, sweeping textures of groups like Slowdive and Explosions in the Sky, with majestic swells, hypnotic drumming, and Thom Yorke-like vocals about something or other. Some might protest that the average song length of seven minutes is self-indulgent, but I think the tunes could be twice as long.

--J. Niimi

6) EXCLAIM! MAGAZINE

A NORTHERN CHORUS

Bitter Hands Resign

With its delicate instrumentation and ample musicians, the songs found on the attention-grabbing Spirit Flags were strong, but there was the feeling they were still finding their way. That should all delightfully change with Bitter, as the songs showcase an energised and confident band at the top of their heart-melting best. The glorious noise of “Subject & Matter†sets the stage, as it rollicks back and forth between sweet floating vocals, cello, strong, fuzzy bursts of ringing guitar and crashing cymbals. This back and forth is prominent but it never tires. Particularly uplifting and strong is “Costa Del Sol,†with its breathy harmonies and perfect haze of guitars never overpowering the delicate strings. Bitter won’t just put A Northern Chorus on the map, it’ll help take them over the world one dream at a time.

(Sonic Unyon, www.sonicunyon.com)

-Chris Whibbs

Exclaim! Magazine, April 2005, page 78

7) TORONTO STAR

A NORTHERN CHORUS

Bitter Hands Resign

(Sonic Unyon)

On its third full-length, this Hamilton-based sextet strikes a perfect shoegaze-meets-dreampop balance of droning guitars and wistful singing, underscored by keys, bass percussion and cello. Opener "The Shepherd & the Chauffeur" establishes the template, alternating decisively between hammering chords and more delicately phrased passages.

On the remaining seven tracks, the deck is reshuffled again and again to produce variations on the basic package, with harder or softer elements rising and falling in unhurried patterns that seem as natural as breathing. At its best, on "Subjects & Matter," "This Open Heart" and the pastoral closer "Winterize," the layers are joined in a seamless and insinuating synthesis of sonic textures. Understated but captivating.

-Vit Wagner

Toronto Star, Toronto ON, April 21, 2005

8) THE COAST (HALIFAX NS)

A Northern Chorus

Bitter Hands Resign

(Sonic Unyon)

Known as a hotbed for quality underground acts, Hamilton is arguably the home of some of the finest musicians in the country. A Northern Chorus, staples in the steel city scene, are renowned as one of the most underrated Canadian bands, but their new album should bring some attention to the veteran rockers. Recorded, produced and mixed by pianist/organist Graham Walsh, Bitter Hands Resign, the band’s third wistful, dreamy masterpiece is exactly what it needs to shine a light upon its musical mastery. ANC has finally emerged from its shell, taking a more passionate intellectual stance than on previous recordings. Vocalists Stu Livingstone, Pete Hall and Alex McMaster weave their respective ways through the band’s epics, providing everything from ample three-part harmonies to thoughtful solo muses, allowing for a more complete aural experience. Musically, A Northern Chorus’s careful, slowcore design tears a page from the book of In-Flight Safety, at times resembling Minnesotan Sub Pop rockers Low, with a touch of Coldplay and electronica-less modern Radiohead for good measure. The album kicks off with the melancholic ballad “The Shepherd and The Chauffeur,†and carefully sifts through eight colourful, weighty tracks, highlighted by the atmospheric “Costa Del Sol.†Concluding with the melodic “Winterize,†the song’s finale epitomizes the album: It begins with a lull and builds to a climax before veering off into a bridge and fading into oblivion. Despite the sparse number of tracks, Bitter Hands Resign clocks in around the 50-minute mark and is a complete musical experience, leaving little to be desired upon its completion.

—Jon Bruhm

9) PITCHFORKMEDIA.COM (excerpt)

If it's a musical massage you're after, and more to the point, if you like the idea of Coldplay's Chris Martin singing for Explosions in the Sky, this third LP from Ontario sextet A Northern Chorus will be the object of your pleasure and esteem. Resonating with Pink Floyd's cold and swirling qualities, EITS's delicate textural layers, Godspeed's epic thrust and Sigur Rós's inexorable freeze, A Northern Chorus has turned out the record that Death Cab for Cutie might make after taking an online classical composition course and a near-fatal overdose of tranquilizer cocktails.

This might be a pre-master promo - i.e. not mastered - but it is louder than the advance CD I got for It Still Moves.

I know enough about music and what things sound like before and after mastering that it wouldn't effect my judgement of the music itself.

I have The Tennessee Fire on LP (with bonus 7"), At Dawn 2 CD version with demo disc, split CD w/ Songs: Ohia, Christmas CDEP, Sweetbees CDEP, Chocolate and Ice CDEP, It Still Moves CD and LP, Acoustic Citsuoca CDEP and the two new rarities CDs that Darla put out.

I know the earlier material is more mellow, obviously. It Still Moves, especially the first half, is MMJ at their most rocking, IMHO. Z is more varied, not as rock but it does have rocking moments. I am listening to it again right now. Production wise, it has a much different use of Reverb, which changes songs like Into The Woods (love the saw being played in this song though!).

I haven't listened to it for about 2 weeks now, so maybe my judgement is a bit off. I'll have to take my iPod to work tomorrow and spin it a few more times (although, to be honest, with some many other great albums out right now it's tough to give it the time it probably deserves)...

... then check your local Walmart. Seriously. I think it was $19.99 for Truckin Up To Buffalo at the one in Ancaster. I don't usually shop there, but we had to take the throwaway cameras from our wedding there to be developed and was surprised to find it in their G section...

Much cheaper than ordering it from the Dead for $25 and paying $9 shipping (all US funds).

(I actually ordered it from DVDuniverse.com along with a children's music CD and got it for $13 US plus $2.50 shipping. I was happy with that price and it arrived on the day of release.)

I would say they are going less rock. There is a reggae-tinged song that is awful and a few more soulful moments than on the last record. It definitely is not as rock-oriented as the last studio album was.