Our friends over at Kitsilano’s Zulu Records once again present their weekly Scout feature, the Zulu Report. Within, staff from the West 4th music store provide The Track, the song that is on heavy rotation that week; The Playlist, which is pretty self-explanatory; The Gig, the must see show of the week; and The Glance, a view ahead to music on the horizon. From their ears to yours, enjoy…

The Track

KURT VILE | “Hunchback”. From his debut album Childish Prodigy on Matador Records.

When Kurt Vile was scooped up by Matador earlier this year I breathed a sigh of relief. What better label to release the first long player, Childish Prodigy, for this long-hair mysterio who quickly rose up from nowhere (actually, Pittsburgh)? It didn’t take long for the blogs, the music mags and Pitchfork to pick up on Vile’s warbly, home-recorded interpretation of classic rock, and for good reason. Vile is as right at home singing lonesome boxcar blues with an acoustic guitar and harmonica as he is flopping his long hair in front of his ace backing band The Violators. And The Violators merit mention too – they’re a rag tag bunch of hesher rockers from the back alleys of Pittsburgh that are like the E Street band to Vile’s Boss. Living in the age of reruns and reformations (Matador’s Pavement are reuniting in 2010), it’s heartening to know that there are rockers like Vile, and labels like Matador, that keep the freaktrain rolling. More Kurt Vile sounds here.

The Playlist

PRAiRIE CAT It Began/Ended With Sparks (Fuzzy Logic)
PrairIe Cat is CaryPratt – a Kelowna boy with a knack for the kind of catchy home-recording pop that never sounds old, always sounds good.

BLACKROC s/t (Blackroc Records)
Black Keys enlist some leading MCs and pull off the impossible – an album of half rock, half rap that’s actually really good.

SPACEMEN THREE Forged Prescriptions (Space Age Recordings)
Blues, folk, and minimalist psychedelia collide for stunning results on these demo versions of Spacemen 3’s classic Perfect Prescription.

VARIOUS CAN YOU DIG IT? (Soul Jazz)
Soul Jazz can always be relied on to dig deep into the crates and unearth timeless gems, and Can You Dig It? is no exception.

MF DOOM Unexpected Guests (Gold Dust)
This rarities and b-sides would make a lesser MCs career, but for DOOM it’s just further proof of his masterful, villainous skills.

ETHERNET 144 Pulsations Of Light (Kranky)
Sublime Euro-flavoured abstract electronic ambience, courtesy of the always tasteful Kranky label.

WAR ON DRUGS Wagonwheel Blues (Secretly Canadian)
Kurt Vile’s pre-solo career band sounds desperate but hopeful, like Mick Jagger fronting the VU at some New Jersey dive on a Tuesday night.

SPORTS Drumheller LP (Triple Crown)
Ladyhawk members turn up the loud and blaze through a brand new set of wintertime anthems for the cold and alone.

BROADCAST AND THE FOCUS GROUP Investigate… (Warp Records)
A striking collaborative collage piece that finds abstract pop hooks and groovy drum breaks bleed into one another like some kind of haunted dream that you never want to wake up from.

GRIZZLY BEAR Two Weeks EP (Warp Records)
As if we didn’t all agree that NY’s G-Bear were the topmost ranking tunesmiths, this EP proves the point.

The Gig

J TILLMAN Thursday Dec 10th at The Biltmore.

Fleet Foxes basically owned 2008. Their self-titled debut was on most Top Ten lists of that year, their appearance at Richards was a sold out show, and now the band is taking a well deserved rest from the spotlight. That is except for one of the Foxes, J Tillman. He’s no slouch – he had a solo album in his own right before signing on with the FF money gig, and he’s kept busy by quietly releasing a half dozen albums over the last 5 years. Like the Foxes’ appearance last spring, Tillman’s show will likely be much talked about well after the fact and that’s because there’s no better time to see Tillman play a set. His hushed, introspective folk music is the perfect soundtrack to the dark winter days ahead. More sounds here.

The Glance

Wed DEC 09

Z-TRIP – OPERA
TOTAL CHINESE BUFFET – KENTIZEN CHINESE CUISINE

Thu DEC 10

PATRICK WATSON – VOGUE
J TILLMAN – BILTMORE
PEAK XMAS W/ BEND SINISTER – VENUE
JARIMBA + MYLES BIGELOW – VENUE

Fri DEC 11

ALLISON CROWE – ST.JAMES
TERRA GRIMARD BAND – RAW CANVAS
STEVE ANGELLO – CELEBRITIES

Sat DEC 12

GLITZORAMA – RED ROOM
DEATH SENTENCE – RICKSHAW
COCO LOVE ALCORN – RIO

Sun DEC 13

ETIENNE DE CRECY – VENUE
DICK DALE – YALE

Tue DEC 15

SLOAN – COMMODORE

Thu DEC 17

PEAK XMAS W/ TV HEART ATTACK – VENUE
WOLFGANG GARTNER – MODERN

Fri DEC 18

JOACHIM GARRAUD – CELEBRITIES
SIC ALPS / MAGIK MARKERS
HEY OCEAN (ALL AGES) – VOGUE

Sat DEC 19

SUMNER BROTHERS XMAS – WISE HALL
POINTED STICKS (ALL AGES) – RIO