Sebastien Grainger

By the time you read this post, you will have already forgotten all the good, bad and Pitchfork’d of 2008, but for those who want one last reminder, I am going to go through a couple of things one more time; for 08′s sake.

As I flip through the pages of the Spin, Under the Radar and Exclaim’s year-end issues, I can’t help but realize Saddle Creek’s Canadian additions this year, which came as a pleasant surprise.

Known for being the one-time home of Rilo Kiley and the original creation of Bright Eyes heartthrob, Conor Oberst (along with Justin Oberst), Saddle Creek was, at one point, the rulers of “the Omaha Sound” and more importantly, strictly American. But as of July last year, all those notions were shot down, or shall I say headed north, to snatch some Canadian talent.

July 20th 2007 saw the first of three signings, Tokyo Police Club. These Newmarket natives’ debut EP, A Lesson in Crime, was an immediate success with critics and although I had lost all interest by July, anticipation was running high for their follow-up, debut album. This signing clearly made an impact on the label and the band as publicity was at a high (again, not that I noticed…I don’t like Tokyo Police Club, to be frank – that rant will come soon though). Since then, TPC have embarked on some exciting tours around the world, made an appearance on Desperate Housewives (Nice. Was Lipstick Jungle not available?), and are now – as I write this post, not as you read this – finishing off a Christmas tour with Metric, Sebastien Grainger, The Dears and DJ Mike Relm. With the release of Elephant Shell in April ’08 on Saddle Creek as just the beginning of TPC’s relationship with the label, the band is sure to have many more successes in the New Year. Oh, and they were even given a brief shout out at the beginning of a Hills episode. Wow. Please don’t ask me how I knew that…

Roughly a year later, on July 17th 2008, Saddle Creek went on to announce two more signings – this time, Montreal’s Land of Talk and ex-DFA1979 drummer/vocalist Sebastien Grainger. Now these were the truly pleasant surprises. As a long-time fan of Land of Talk’s debut EP, Applause Cheer Boo Hiss, I’d been waiting for too long for this band to release an LP. And with Grainger, I’d been a die-hard fan of Death From Above 1979 for years and with the disappointment of MSTRKFT’s LP, The Looks, I anxiously awaited Grainger’s return to rock. But thankfully, with the help of their new home at Saddle Creek, both were able to release their long-awaited albums later this year to fairly good reviews across the board. 2009 will surely be a good one for both. If you haven’t listened to Land of Talk’s album, Some are Lakes or Sebastien Grainger’s self-titled debut, I seriously advise you to do so. The rest of this post can wait!

So will this be a regular, routine investment by Saddle Creek from now on? Have they foregone their Omaha roots for our Maple Leafs? Only 2009 (and on) will tell now, won’t it. Here’s to hoping though as I quite like this union. Saddle Creek, good job.

Tangents of Angry Proportions:
I write this additional section as a way to beg for arguments. I would like to think as a journalist I can and will view all perspectives of an issue – and my issue just so happens to be Tokyo Police Club. Don’t get me wrong, I loved A Lesson in Crime and I can understand that their formulaic successes are credited to their energetic, short tunes. But therein lies the problem – you can’t do much with such a formula. With these boundaries, where can one really go? To me, since that EP, everything this band puts out sounds similar to one another and with repetition, you may get consistency but you also get boredom. I am bored of this band.

This theory was projected to new heights when I saw TPC play (for the second time) at the aforementioned Christmas tour (named Jingle Bell Rock) at the Sound Academy (don’t even get me started on my hatred for the venue). I had two problems, one relevant and one irrelevant.

Irrelevantly, I personally thought that The Dears deserved a longer set than TPC as the Dears were robbed of their time onstage. If you haven’t seen the Dears live, I highly recommend you do; if you have seen them, at the Jingle Bell Rock tour, I suggest you see them again, when they play a real set. These guys are amazing.

But back to relevancy, Tokyo Police Club’s set was way too long. Half-way through, I grew angrily impatient and knowing that their set wasn’t going to be over till they played “Nature of the Experiment”, I prayed every time they began a song that it would be that one. It felt like I was watching them play the same song over and over, but in slightly different variations of rhythms and riffs. Now repetition has induced boredom and anger. That mixed in with a very claustrophobically crowded venue and it will drive anyone insane.

I liked them the first time I saw them because they played a short set. Short and energetic – just like their songs. That was before Elephant Shell though so they only had a handful of songs to play. But I liked that. So my solution, either have them play sets restricted to 30 minutes and under or don’t have them play at all.

Correct me if I’m wrong.

Musically,
Melody