Need to Know: Every kid of the 80’s and 90’s grew up watching LeVar Burton’s educational television series on PBS, Reading Rainbow, but Phildelphian husband-and-wife duo Sarah Everton and Rob Garcia loved it enough to name their band after it. Forming in March 2008 after the drummer of their former band, Forensic Teens, bailed on a tour, Everton taught herself how to play the drums, spawning the birth of Reading Rainbow. With 2009’s debut LP Mystical Participation, a few singles and a split 7″ with Eternal Summers, all of which was recorded out of their basement, the pair has cultivated a brand of psychedelic garage pop that is nostalgic just like their name.

In 100 Words Or So: Reading Rainbow’s enthusiastic sophomore album Prism Eyes is conspicuous in the generic sea of lo-fi bands emerging right now. Their dreamy unison vocals and heavy distortion as a staple on each of Prism Eyes’ tracks, promotes the 60’s psychedelic pop influences, stemming from their love for Velvet Underground. While the album as a whole lacks some variety with few tracks that stand out from the rest, that doesn’t mean they aren’t all impressive. In fact, it’s difficult to even come to a conclusion on which is the best track. Instead I will leave it at a tie between “Always On My Mind”, an effervescent track with catchy keyboards and the album opener “Wasting Time”, an energetic anthem for doing nothing.

Best Track: Always On My Mind

RIYL: Dum Dum Girls, Women, Zola Jesus, Holy Shit, Ganglians, Best Coast

Rating: 7.5/10

Buy, download, steal or don’t bother: Download

Website: http://rreadingrrainbow.blogspot.com/

Four records, a book, Polaris nominations and Juno wins, a couple of side projects, and a movie. It’d be an understatement to say that Broken Social Scene are an accomplished band. They’re much more than that. The Arts & Crafts family band that varies between six and nineteen members have stolen our hearts and are a band we’re proud to call our own. Thursday, December 9th the hometown heroes played the first of their two-night stint at Toronto’s Sound Academy, and the whole gang stopped by to say hi.

The night was a jam-packed mix of songs off all four of their records, with a focus on this year’s release, Forgiveness Rock Record. After opening with World Sick and Texico Bitches, they kicked into 7/4 (Shoreline) as some more Arts & Crafts friends joined in the fun. This included Metric’s Jimmy Shaw joined in the horn section, darling songstress Leslie Feist danced and belted her heart out, and the very preggers Amy Millan of Stars was as stunning ever.

Filled with conversation, BSS chatted to the crowd about G20, Mayor Rob Ford, and their love of Toronto. With a show that reached about two and a half hours, the songs just kept going and going and the fun didn’t stop. The night didn’t end until around 1 am (Kevin Drew crowd surfing included).

Care to see the setlists from both Thursday and Friday? You’re in luck!

Thursday
World Sick
Texico Bitches
7/4 (Shoreline)
Fire Eye’d Boy
Stars and Sons
All to All
Cause=Time
Sweetest Kill
Forced to Love
Art House Director
Guilty Cubicles
Superconnected
Anthems for a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl
Lover’s Spit
I Feel It All
Almost Crimes
Ungrateful Little Father
KC Accidental
Water In Hell
Meet Me in the Basement

Encore
Looks Just Like The Sun
It’s All Gonna Break
Major Label Debut

Friday
Pacific Theme
KC Accidental
7/4 (Shoreline)
Texico Bitches
Fired Eye’d Boy
Cause = Time
All to All
Sweetest Kill
Forced to Love
Art House Director
Hotel
Guilty Cubicles
Superconnected
World Sick
Water In Hell
I Feel It All
Anthems for a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl
Sentimental X’s
Ungrateful Little Father
Almost Crimes
Meet Me in the Basement

Encore:
Looks Just Like The Sun
Ibi Dreams of Pavement (A Better Day)
Major Label Debut

[View with PicLens]

All photos by Kate Millet.

Song: Grace (Love on the Block)
Artist: Bran Van 3000
Label: Audiogram/Select
Directors: Martin Laporte & Jean-Hervé Désiré
Album: The Garden

Watch the video here!

A snow ice princess, a knight on a horse, woodland nymphs, and a magic sword. These are just a couple of things you’ll see in Bran Van 3000’s music video for “Grace (love on the block). The Montreal electronic collective explain on their website how they got the images for the video from a classic Russian film titled “Ruslan and Ludmila” by Russian filmaker Aleksandr Ptushko released in 1974! Whoa! To quote Bran Van 3000…

“Based on a poem by the great Alexander Pouchkine, the film’s epic fairy tale tells the story of a young bride kidnapped by a villainous dwarf.”

Kinda crazy. Kinda awesome. “Grace (love on the block)” is the first single off of Bran Van 3000’s fourth record The Garden.

Want more? Check out their Myspace or their website!

Need to Know: Despite my bias against Girls for being the most un-google-able band ever, I have decided to put it aside in order to revere in their genius. Painstaking research has seemed to pay off however, because the biography of frontman Christopher Owens has lead me to infer that the immediate success of Girls is a reflection of the chaotic nature of Owens’ own life. He grew up around the world in the Children of God cult with his single mother who had to prostitute herself and allowed her eldest son to die in infancy because the cult was against medicine. Later, Owens was coined a “problem child” and subsequently ran away to the States to become a gutter punk, soon finding himself at a famous artist’s ranch in Texas, until eventually joining Holy Shit with Ariel Pink. Suffice to say, the dramatic turn of events of Girls’ stardom after their critically acclaimed album ‘Album’, only seems fitting.

In 100 Words Or So: In a handwritten letter, Christopher Owens refers to ‘Broken Dreams Club’ as a “a snapshot of the horizon”. Indeed, the six track EP is assurance of the positive direction in which Girls are heading. ‘Broken Dreams Club’ is a clear indication of their talent for creating sincere tracks like 50’s opener “The Oh So Protective One” with its Costello-esque vocals. Despite the unfortunate likeness to Conor Oberst in the title track “Broken Dreams Club”, the EP is saved by the upbeat yet melancholic “Alright” and the seven-minute long instrumental closer “Carolina”. Though there is no equivalent for “Lust for Life”, the EP’s single is easily “Heartbreaker”, a hybrid of “Summertime” and “Laura” off ‘Album’, which lends a tone of familiarity.

Best Track: Heartbreaker

RIYL: Elvis Costello, Smith Westerns, Best Coast, Wavves, No Age, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Rating: 9/10

Buy, download, steal or don’t bother: Buy

Website: http://www.truepanther.com/#/artists/girls

“Yours and Mine” by HotKid
Director: Alon Isocianu
Label: Independent

It’s Friday and about time for another Weekly Wedge Pick! This week’s video? “Yours and Mine” by the gritty indie rockers HotKid! Just the thing you need to get your weekend started right! The video is spastic, bright, jumpy and a whole lot of kick-ass! Fun fact: this crazy video was actually released in tandem with HotKid’s oh-so-still yet heavy hitting minimalistic music video for “Fake It“. Because they’re that cool. Both tracks are off of their latest EP “Under the Streetlight”.

Where has HotKid been all your life? The Cambridge, Ontario duo (made up of Shiloh Harrison and Rob Butcher III) have been kicking it for about five years now! And yeah. You heard me. They’re from lil old Cambridge, Ontario. Who’d have thought with edge like that?!

Want more? Follow them on Twitter @iloveHotKid or give them a listen on their Myspace ! They also play Toronto’s Painted Lady on December 1st!

Song: Yulia
Artist: Wolf Parade
Album: Expo 86
Label: Outside/Sub Pop

Astronauts! Space! Ground control to Major Tom! Love? Montreal-Canadian indie rockers Wolf Parade have got it all in their new music video for Yulia! Their third album just came out this summer, and is named Expo 86 after the World’s Fair of that year that took place in Vancouver (that each band member happened to attend)!

Sub Pop has written up a funny and informative explanation of the album and said expo that’s worth the read!

Currently touring North America, Wolf Parade play Toronto’s Sound Academy November 26th! Want more? Check out their Myspace!

Watch the video here!

This past weekend English folk rockers Mumford & Sons ripped the roof off The Sound Academy with a stellar show. From the opening strings of Sigh No More to the massive sing-along of The Cave the energy of the crowd did not die out once and the guys in Mumford seemed to feed off the energy. No matter if what they were playing was a single or a new track the crowd ate it up with everyone jumping, dancing or bopping their heads.

Heading into the show I knew that Mumford & Sons had a good size fan base but didn’t think they have the fan base they have. The Sound Academy was packed from the front of the floor right to the back where the merch stand was and was nearly impossible to move once the show started. I believe the show was sold out but I have a feeling that they may have oversold the show, but that didn’t matter because the lads from London, England put on one hell of a show.

It all started with the lead track off the album Sigh No More. Although it is not a single the crowd showed that it didn’t matter because they sang along just as if it were on the radio three times a day. After playing a few more tracks they slowly started to play Little Lion Man at which point the crowd kicked it into a higher gear. I can honestly say that I haven’t seen a crowd over power the band during the chorus singing but it was not your fault but mine, and it was your heart on the line, I really f**ked it up this time, didn’t I, my dear? didn’t I, my…. It was amazing to see how involved everyone was and I couldn’t get enough of this. However that was nothing compared to how they ended the show.

After performing for over an hour and starting the encore with members of the opening acts Cadillac Sky & King Charles, Mumford & Sons started The Cave. At this point the crowd went nuts! Throughout the whole song everyone was singing along while jumping with their hands in the air! What a way to end an amazing show. This was definitely one of the best shows I’ve been to this year and for once The Sound Academy sounded good!!

If you haven’t checked them out yet please do and you’ll see why these guys are good.

Links:
Official Site: Mumford & Sons
MySpace: Mumford & Sons
Facebook: Mumford & Sons

Let’s forget Weezer’s last decade. Forget everything since they re-emerged with 2001’s untitled “Green Album.” Weezer have been a shell of the band since they went on an unannounced hiatus in 1997. Songs like “Beverly Hills,” “Dope Nose” and the Lil Wayne-assisted “Can’t Stop Partying”? Nope, not buying them.

This post-millennial abandon they have full-on embraced has produced nothing but anthems for whoopee cushion enthusiasts. Barring the lovely “Island In The Sun” (and it’s animal-friendly video), it’s as if Rivers Cuomo, Pat Wilson, Brian Bell and insert bassist’s name here ______ ________ were invaded by the body snatchers.

So, how exciting it was earlier this year when they “emancipated” themselves from major label Geffen and signed to “indie” label Epitaph, fueling rumours that the ’90s-era Weezer we once loved would finally return for an eighth album? But then, slowly it began to fall apart. The name? Hurley. The album cover? Hurley from Lost!?! The promotional tie-in with Hurley, the “youth lifestyle brand.” The flaccid single “Memories.” And then the finished product, which resulted in their sixth clunker in nine years. Sigh.

Thankfully, we always have the past and this week marks the deluxe reissue of Weezer’s 1996 opus, Pinkerton.

Weezer’s 1994 debut self-titled “Blue Album” will always go down as one of the greatest, straight-forward power pop albums of all time. But their sophomore effort is a complex, multi-faceted achievement that is has a back-story to rival the music itself.

Originally, album number two was planned as a synth-based space-themed rock opera featuring the band playing characters with a seamless flow from track to track. The title was Songs From The Black Hole, but then bassist Matt Sharp released a Moog-heavy pop album by his side-project The Rentals, which completely derailed Cuomo’s concept. Instead, he rewrote most of the record based on his miserable time studying at Harvard University and an obsession with the play Madama Butterfly, which can be found in the album’s title and final track, “Butterfly” for direct evidence. (It should be noted that Pinkerton’s “Tired of Sex”, “Getchoo”, “No Other One” and “Why Bother?” were all part of Black Hole’s tracklisting.)

When it was released in September 1996, Pinkerton was a head-scratcher for many fans of their debut. Gone was the catchy, carefree geek rock about sweaters, looking like a dead bespectacled rock star and surfing to work, only to be replaced by anxious confessionals about a forbidden long distance relationship with a Japanese cellist, falling for a lesbian and growing old too soon set to a much rawer sound.

At the time it was considered a bit of a disaster not just by fair-weather fans and some critics, but even Cuomo who later disowned it in Rolling Stone as “a hideous record… It was such a hugely painful mistake that happened in front of hundreds of thousands of people and continues to happen on a grander and grander scale and just won’t go away.” So bad was it that when the band reunited in 2000, they refused to play any of the album at their shows.

But a funny thing happened. As the years went by, Pinkerton began to grow a cult following and earn a reputation for being a misunderstood masterpiece. As ludicrous as it sounds, it’s also considered one of the inspirations for many emo bands. Though Weezer were far removed from the self-mutilating, whiny joke that emo eventually became, there are few albums as emo-tional as Pinkerton.

Fourteen years after its release, Weezer are now publicly promoting their second album more than they did the first time around, and even as much as they are their latest album Hurley, I might add. In fact, the band are set to launch a short tour called “Blinkerton,” which will see them play their first two albums over Cuomo has changed his tune, recently admitting to Exclaim!, “I think it’s a brilliant album; I love it. I love the songs and I love playing those songs and I hope the positive message gets through.”

Of course, the best part of this re-appreciation is Geffen’s reissue of the album as a deluxe edition. Aside from the original ten-track album getting the remaster treatment, there are 33 additional tracks altogether. Yes, the bulk of them are either a live, acoustic or alternate version with radio mixes of singles thrown in, but it’s the bonus tracks that make this reissue worth the hefty price alone.

Comprised of mostly B-sides, there are some real gems here. “You Gave Your Love To Me Softly,” originally from the “El Scorcho” single and Angus soundtrack sounds like it was accidentally left off their debut, while that single’s other B-side, “Devotion,” a Black Hole cast off, is all gorgeous harmonies and crunchy fuzz. “The Good Life” single spawned two more beauties, another Black Hole throwaway, the Moog-heavy “I Just Threw Out The Love Of My Dreams” sung by Rachel Haden (that dog., The Rentals) and the longing “Waiting On You.” Disc two begins with “You Wont’ Get With Me Tonight,” which sounds like their heroes Kiss, had they been AV nerds instead of Gods of Thunder. “Long Time Sunshine,” on the other hand is worshipping at the altar of Lennon & McCartney. “Getting Up And Leaving” and “Tragic Girl” are both undercooked production-wise, but nonetheless sound like the kind of thing they should re-record for future albums… God knows they could use a decent song these days.

And for kicks, there’s “Interview - 107.7 The End - Blue vs. Pinkerton,” where a caller phones in to complain to Weezer about how much better the band’s first album is compared to the second. Awkward!

In just over two months, the debut album by Denver couple Tennis (Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley) will be with us. Titled Cape Dory, the album will be released by Fat Possum and based on our listens, will wipe away whatever winter blues await us.

In writing “Take Me Somewhere,” they were obviously thinking of a warm, pastoral location, most likely a beach, which seems to be the feel everyone attaches to them. Maybe it’s just the mile-high elevation of their hometown, but this is the kind of breezy, indie pop that will make you swoon.

If you’re looking to hear more, check out the Daytrotter Session they recorded back in September.

Tennis - Take Me Somewhere by forcefieldpr

Song: Nova Leigh
Artist: Born Ruffians
Album: Say It
Director: Jared Raab

Watch the video here!

This week’s weekly Wedge pick is from Torontonian indie rockers/generally cool nice guys, Born Ruffians! Like the cover art off their second album “Say It”, the video features a similar broken-up (almost Picasso-y) faced guy. Fader talked to director Jared Raab who explained…

“We knew that the footage of the band, shot in studio, couldn’t just be straightforward performance footage if it was going to match the fragmented face narrative, but we also didn’t want to use some sort of cheesy computer generated kaleidoscope effect either. In the end we devised a system of shooting into shattered mirrors that had been reassembled by hand. We spent an entire day just breaking mirrors and gluing them back together, only to smash them again on set.”

Crazy! But all that mirror breaking? I wonder if they’re scared of seven years bad luck?! Let’s hope not! The Born Ruffians are currently touring the UK, Europe, and Australia. You can catch up with their gallivanting by following them on Twitter or checking out their blog.