Talk about a solid lineup and a solid venue. Paul Murphy's new personal outlet - Postdata - is locked and loaded on my Polaris ballot, and throwing the engaging Julie Fader and rock steady Brian Borcherdt into the mix makes this one of the best shows that will come out way this year.

The three acts are going to spend an intimate evening playing for 60 - that's right, only 60 - people at The Sonic Temple. In such a small space, with a respectful crow you will get to hear the songs as they were intended; emotional, heartfelt and pure.

So, how can you get in? Well, we have two tickets - guest list + 1 - for the Match 7th show and all we ask in return is you to email us your contact info or leave it in the comments below. If you wanted to buy a herohill t-shirt, we can't say that would improve your chances, but it couldn't hurt!

MP3:: Postdata - Tobias Grey
WEB:: http://www.postdatamusic.com/

Labels: Brian Borcherdt, contests, Halifax, Julie Fader, Postdata

To be fair, I wouldn't really say we missed this one. When Brian Borcherdt offered up his collection of demos for free earlier this year, we happily hit the old "right-click, Save as" and waited impatiently for the goods to find a home on our hard drive. The thing is, by the time I could load the songs into iTunes, tons of bloggers had already cranked the hyperbole levels up to the gigawatts, professing the greatness of Brian and this collection of songs.

It's not that I disagreed with the assessment - obviously, as Coyotes demonstrated (review), he's a talented song writer - it's just that with any of Brian's solo work, I don't find the rewards as immediate. His intimate, stripped down songs are hushed, emotional and personal and like a nice bottle of wine, they need time to breath to reach their peak. These songs are his lifeline back to shore from the stormy seas that are Holy Fuck and quite honestly I prefer to travel in the calmer waters he offers up when he takes that step back. Instead of the thrills of huge crashing waves and blustering winds, Brian sits alone in his boat, accompanied by only his thoughts and fears without the crutch of energy and adrenaline to help him make it home.

More importantly, with Torches, you are left with snippets of thoughts that date back as far as 5 years. While Coyotes was a cohesive, slow burner that presented ideas clearly and concisely, Torches is almost like diary entries Brian jotted down when Holy Fuck was running on all cylinders. It's more of an adventure to listen to the complete collection - a rewarding one, make no mistake - but not something that can be processed in a few listens.

Swells of sounds and emotions stand along side hushed confessionals and beautiful moments (like Oh Oh Oh and Steady Hands) and surprising melodies (the title track for example) battle the darkness and loneliness (Vanishing Act), all leaving you with an stark and very intimate window in to Brian's heart during those years. From a musical perspective, the songs show Borcherdt trying countless styles as he battled through any uncertainty or insecurity he might have had as a song writer, and for him to finally release the tracks and admit they had evolved to a point where a perfectionist could release them is a big step, but for him to jump from this mixed bag to the focused output of Coyotes is even more impressive.

For the denizens of Halifax, Brian is playing a show tonight at The Company House with some support from The Prospector's Union and Dance Movie. I'd highly suggest heading down, as the warm confines of the small bar are a perfect setting for his stories. As a fitting treat, I thought I'd link the very timely Furnaces for you to enjoy, but suggest you head over to the label and grab the whole collection.

MP3:: Brian Borcherdt - Furnaces
MYSPACE:: http://www.myspace.com/brianborcherdt
D/L Torches:: http://www.handdrawndracula.com/store.html#torches

Labels: Brian Borcherdt, Halifax, Hand Drawn Dracula, Music

It's Thursday, it's raining cats & dogs here in Halifax (and perhaps wherever you are) and so you're trapped inside. That means one thing here at the hill: videos. We've been having some jumbo editions of Video Hits over the last few weeks, and that continues un-abated today, with some fine Canadian musical fair committed to metaphorical video tape.

We have a bit of a loose theme with these videos, as we're gonna start things out rather slow & moody, and steadily work our way up into a happier frame of mind. As many of you might know, Yarmouth ex-pat Brian Borcherdt released a new, free album recently, but he also released a new video from his previous release, Coyotes, as well. This clip for While I was Asleep finds Borcherdt at his morose best - the word haunting comes to mind. Somewhat less morose is the clip for Steven Bowers' Comfortably Sweet, which is a duet off his recent EP Circadian Anthem, that features the always-excellent Christina Martin. The video is morose, in that it's about a lost loved one, but the Bowers turns into a zombie, and zombies always bring the fun. The video for The Wheat Pool's This Is It also brings the fun, well, if you're idea of fun is calmly destroying everything in your boyfriend's house, then it's a blast. Just as an aside, The Wheat Pool's Hauntario is really great, I know the Ack told us all this a couple months ago, but I'm late to the party and I just thought I'd mention it in case some of you are also in that boat. Another album the Ack enjoyed: Burnout from Sudbury roots rockers Ox. I myself love their video for Prom Queen, which is a white trash-tastic slice of fun.

Ok, that's a lot of heavy packed into four videos right there. So I need to go Son Of Bazerk on you kids and change the style. I could find nothing better for that then the new video from hill favorite Louwop. One Two Check/Get Up is a live mashup of two songs from Lou's last release, The Great Escape (which is available as a free download this month I should mention), and features Shad and Zaki Ibrahim. Good stuff.

Brian Borcherdt - While I was Asleep

MP3:: Brian Borcherdt - Torches
MYSPACE:: www.myspace.com/brianborcherdt

Steven Bowers - Comfortably Sweet f. Christina Martin

MP3:: Steven Bowers - Comfortably Sweet f. Christina Martin
MYSPACE:: www.myspace.com/stevenbowers

The Wheat Pool - This Is It

MP3:: The Wheat Pool - This Is It
MYSPACE:: www.myspace.com/thewheatpool

Ox - Prom Queen

MP3:: Ox - Burnout
MYSPACE:: www.myspace.com/oxmusic

Louwop - One Two Check/Get Up LIVE f. Shad & Zaki Ibrahim

MP3:: Louwop - One 2 Check f. Shad
MYSPACE:: www.myspace.com/louwop

Labels: Brian Borcherdt, Canadian Hip Hip, Louwop, Ox, Steven Bowers, The Wheat Pool, Video hits

Its a fine Friday here in Halifax, and if you are here, you are no doubt busy working out your weekend plans in order to take advantage of the lovely weather we seem to have on tap. Well let's see if we can assist with a quick rundown of some events of interest. I say some events, but really, we all know there's only one can't miss show this weekend: Rob Base at The Palace.

I keed, but only slightly. If you know the Ack and I at all, you know very well that the only two things that will make us rush the dance floor at our advanced age is either strong hallucinogens or It Takes Two. In fact I went to see Rob Base play the Palace in the late 90's, so don't think I'm not tempted to see him again, but unfortunately/fortunately, my plans dictate otherwise. But if any of you can brave the douche nozzles that frequent The Palace, go for it. But of course, the real marquee lineup is at the old Marquee, with Wax Mannequin, Rae Spoon, Brian Borcherdt and Julie Fader all playing the Paragon on Saturday night. I dare say, if you make it out to that one, you are going to get your money's worth and then some. Yarmouth native Mr. Borcherdt is pistol-hot right now, having just released a new, free album, but Julie Fader's recent release, Outside In, is a collection of lovely songs that's worth your time.

There are certainly some other solid shows this weekend, which you can check for yourself below, but I'd also like to take a minute to pass on word of a couple of great events taking place next week. Trevor Murphy (Sleepless Nights, Quiet Parade), and his radio show Halifax Is Burning, is presenting a couple of very cool shows that will hopefully help out the Parker Street Food bank, so if you're in town next week, grab yourself a donation and head out to one of these events:

Halifax Is Burning Presents:
If It's Too Loud, Turn It DOWN!

featuring:
Jon McKiel & Klarka Weinwurm (http://www.myspace.com/jonmckiel + http://www.myspace.com/klarkaweinwurm)
Gianna Lauren (http://www.myspace.com/giannalauren)
Quiet Parade (solo) (http://www.myspace.com/quietparade)
Sam Ryan (http://www.myspace.com/samryanband)

Wednesday, November 25th
The University of King's College Chapel - 7:00pm - FREE!

AND

Halifax Is Burning Presents:
If It's Too Loud, Turn It UP!

featuring:

The Establishment (http://www.myspace.com/theestablishmentband)
Kestrels (http://www.myspace.com/kestrelskestrels)
The Bad Arts ((http://www.myspace.com/thebadbadarts)

Thursday, November 26th
Gus' Pub - 10:00pm - $5.00

*At both shows, there will be a donation box for the Parker Street Food Bank so bring any extra non-perishable food you have and make a donation, especially with the holidays coming up. If you make a donation, you are automatically entered into a draw for sweet prizes (details to come)*

Halifax Is Burning airs Tuesdays from 6:30pm to 7:30pm on CKDU 88.1FM in Halifax.

http://halifaxisburning.blogspot.com
http://www.ckdu.ca

MP3:: Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock - It Takes Two

MP3:: Brian Borcherdt - Workin For The Weekend

MP3:: Rae Spoon - Come On Forest Fire Burn The Disco Down

MP3:: Shotgun Jimmie - Mind Crumb

MP3:: Jon Mckiel - Fist Fight (Live @ Gus')

Labels: Brian Borcherdt, Friday Showstravaganza, Halifax, Julie Fader, Live, Rob Base