Hello again Concordians,
This is week two of the On Beat newsletter, where The Concordian’s Music Editor keeps you “on beat” for everything happening in the music world. From now on, we’ll include the “On Repeat” column in the newsletter, where I will share my three favorite recently released songs. With that said, here are three incredible tracks that I have been enjoying this past week.
“It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody” - Weyes Blood
“It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody” is the first single off Weyes Blood’s forthcoming album And In the Darkness, Hearts Aglow dropping Nov. 18. This song feels like being trapped in a very lucid dream underwater and sees the continuation of the very refined sound she forged on her last album Titanic Rising.
“Jesus Freak Lighter” - Blood Orange
I’m cheating a little here since this song has been out for a couple months, but Blood Orange just released a new EP that contains “Jesus Freak Lighter,” so I’ll make an exception here. I’m the one making the rules okay? So deal with it! I can’t say enough good things about this track as it meshes harsher industrial drums and heavy distortion with Blood Orange’s pleasant voice and soothing guitar chords to perfection.
“Queen Space (with Summer Walker) - Ari Lennox
“Queen Space” is an incredibly infectious tune that sees the coming together of two of the sexiest voices in R&B to deliver a song that exudes sex like no other this year. I have been loving this new Ari Lennox record, check it out!
There is always a lot to write about in music so if you are interested in writing for us, whether it’s an album review, a concert review, a profile of an artist, an interview with a band, or even a piece about current events in music, reach out to music@theconcordian.com and I’m sure we can figure something out :)
Linked below is what you might have missed this week on The Concordian’s website.
Quebecois Singer-Songwriter Elliot Maginot Is Taking The Province By Storm With His Indie Music
The Concordian Sat Down For An Interview With The Musician Between A Sound Check And His Biggest Headliner At Outremont Theatre
Elliot Maginot, whose real name is Gabriel Hélie-Harvey, has been slowly winning over the hearts of la belle province since his first EP was posted to MySpace in 2013.
He calls himself a “contemplative soul” and is always looking to explore new sounds and avenues with each album release. His songs combine different musical instruments, sometimes including a saxophone, a cello, two guitars, a keyboard, a drum-set and backing vocals all playing together.
After discovering the guitar early on, Maginot dipped his feet in the musical universe as a teenager and doesn’t plan on leaving it.
Although he writes and sings his songs entirely in English, the artist is a dedicated Québécois francophone through and through.
His album Young/Old/Everything.In.Between which released in 2014 propelled him into the spotlight. He quickly joined the lineups for important cultural scenes, like the Montreal Jazz Fest or the Festival d’été de Québec.
Staying in his comfort zone
Although he was not raised religious, Maginot often writes songs with Christian influences. “Holy Father,” “Holy Water” and “Dead Church” are only a few of the songs where the singer uses spiritual vocabulary.
“I guess I am fascinated by the symbolism because it’s so unknown to me. It’s cathartic to sing ‘hallelujah.’ When I sing ‘holy’ I just want to raise my hands,” he said.
One tradition he and his band members share is to dress up in Christmas sweaters in mid-July — right when the heatwave peaks — and write a yearly holiday song.
“I do like Christmas, but it started more as a running gag and now it’s become tradition. It’s a way to return to the studio mid-album. It’s a song we’ll never play live so it’s less pressure and the recording sessions are lighter.”
Future possibilities
Having two previous Gala GAMIQ nominations under his belt, Maginot certainly hopes to win an award in the near future “just to have it at home so [he] can use the statue as a paperweight.” He is currently nominated for two categories in the upcoming Gala de l’ADISQ.
He’s currently working on his next album, in which he hopes to include more collaborations with other artists. As he put it, “My creative bubble is very closed and airtight. I feel intimidated. I’d like to sit down and write something with another artist.”
With every new project comes the goal of exploring new sounds and ideas. Keeping a consistent aesthetic without repeating himself is a challenge Maginot takes on with each new creation.
The singer is currently touring across Quebec promoting his latest album, Easy Morning. On Sept. 16 he passed by Montreal, playing in the Outremont Theatre. It was his biggest show as a headliner.
With a full house, the show offered an intimate performance, with Elliot and eight accompanying musicians delivering a touching rendition of his work.
Concert Review: The Paper Kites At Théâtre Fairmount
The Australian Folk Group Banded With The Hudson Native To Create An Intimate Night For Their Montreal Fans
Matt Holubowski opened the show with nothing but reverb and delay on his guitar. The Hudson native lulled the crowd with his Rufus Wainwright-esque voice over the flowing hammer-ons and pull-offs that echoed. It was his unique way of playing finger-style.
After the first two songs “St. Clarity” and “Revelator Eyes”, he chatted with the crowd and engaged in banter with a few folks which is always appreciated by the fans. The last thing anyone wants is a Whitney Houston situation where the artist comes up on stage, sings their set without interacting with the crowd and leaves.
Holubowski ended his setlist with “Exhale/Inhale,” which involved using the shimmer effect on his guitar which makes the reverb “shimmer.” It was a wonderful way to end the set, and it felt like the audience was underwater.
The Paper Kites opened after a 20-minute intermission with their song “St Clarity.” Fifteen seconds into the song, a girl near me fainted and they took her to safety. The crowd was waiting with bated breath as they wondered what the next song would be: it was “Revelator Eyes.” Guitarist David Powys really liked using a David Gilmour tone, probably using a big muff pedal to boot.
After three songs they thanked their fans for coming in to see them and went on to play “Climb On Your Tears” which prompted a lot of couples to slow dance; it was a nice atmosphere indeed.
The singer Sam Bently recounted a story about playing in a pub called The Roadhouse in a small Australian town where no one knew who they were. They played an unreleased song out of the album that they wrote called “Green Valleys.”
Halfway through the set, the singers Bentley and Cristina Lacy sang a duo of “For All You Give.” My favourite song out of the setlist was “Bloom.” To be fair, it is their most popular song; unfortunately, the singer couldn’t sing it in the original key because it was an old release so they had to change the key.
For the next song, “By My Side,” they asked the crowd to sing the chorus with them, and sing they did. Voices filled every crevice of the Fairmount Theatre, and probably all the way down to the marché PA downstairs. The eruption of clapping and whooping probably scared the employees.
They ended their main set with “Electric Indigo” and the crowd immediately started to chant the encore song (Olé Olé).
Their encore setlist, comprised of “Featherstone,” “A Gathering on 57th,” and finally “Give Me Your Fire, Give Me Your Rain.” The latter was easily the loudest song in the entire setlist with that intro guitar strum. Sure enough, the song also ended in a long-ending finale with a roar from the crowd. This concert made me feel different towards the end, because I’m usually riled up when I get out of a show, but The Paper Kites were too intimate and soft for that. If they are ever in town again I highly recommend you check them out.
QUICKSPINS: Blink Twice By Arkells
Arkells Release The Companion LP To Their Blink Once Album
It was to great anticipation that Arkells released their album Blink Twice on Sept. 23. Hailing from Hamilton, Ontario, the Indie band first released their Blink Once LP last year. On their blog, they said that the album was “about resilience. It’s about grieving with loss and fall outs and finding your way back.”
The last track of Blink Once, “Last Night I Heard ‘Em Sing (Outro)” leads right into Blink Twice’s first track “Reckoning” where the opening lyric goes “Last night, I heard ‘em laughing.”
Blink Twice uses a lot of synth, coming off as more poppy than indie, though they don’t lose their soul in the mix, which is something that a lot of indie bands lack once they get into a comfortable spot (I’m looking at you Maroon 5 and Coldplay).
There were a lot of songs on this album that I appreciated on an emotional level.
The first one has to be “Past Life” because it was a breath of fresh air from the previous track “Reckoning.” Arkells frontman Max Kerman and Cold War Kids frontman Nathan Willett sing this song together.
It feels like an ’80s driving song that mentions Bob Dylan’s son Jakob Dylan from The Wallflowers. My favourite part is when Willett sings “I was born an old soul, / I feel like Bob Dylan’s son, / Always in the shadows.” At first I thought it was a diss to the junior Dylan but in fact Willett has expressed his appreciation for Bob Dylan and his son.
Another track that was on repeat for me was “Miracle” for its grittiness that stood out from the other tracks. Honestly, it felt like the lovechild of Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys) and Paul McCartney, which was an even bigger incentive for me to keep repeating it.
My least favorite song is “Dance With You” with Cœur de pirate and Aly & AJ because it sounded way too processed for the band, even if it had an emphasized groovy funk line. Too poppy for my taste, sorry Arkells.
Besides the aforementioned features, there are many other artists in this LP: pop duo Tegan and Sara, Wesley Schultz of The Lumineers, Joel Plaskett, Jake Clemons and Lights.
Do I like the new Arkells? Yes, with an asterisk. While they kept to their roots, there were some songs that could have been less processed, pop oriented and quantized. Could be better.
Trial Track: Past Life (Feat. Cold War Kids)
Rating: 6.5/10