by Nic Bragg | From Kitsilano’s Zulu Records, we once again present our weekly Scout feature, the Zulu Report. Within, we provide The Track – the song that is on heavy rotation in the shop this week; The Playlist – which is pretty self-explanatory; The Gig – the ‘must see’ show of the week; and The Glance – which details the best live acts that are on the immediate horizon. From our ears to yours, enjoy…

THE TRACK

DEERHUNTER 3D

Atlanta’s Deerhunter have quietly become one of the best rock bands in America. The have paid their dues with opening tours supporting Spoon, Wilco and The National, and after four amazing records they have finally carved out their own slot as one of the heavy-hitters on the indie festival circuit. What’s cool about this is that they still imbue their tunes with a real sense of freaky post-psychedelic strangeness rather than water down the mix for friendlier ears! Deerhunter are sort of like 60’s southern acid-rockers The 13th Floor Elevators in that they work the groove of their rock outs into a trance-like pulse that throbs until it causes a form of auditory overload. Add to this some stock surgery footage from the 60’s and you get one really really bad trip!

FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE Spectrum

Some argue that Florence is classy and elegant version of Lady Gaga. Others see her as the second coming of Cher. She is definitely better than Katy Perry. Say what you will, Florence is an operatic force to be reckoned with!

TOM WAITS A Brief History Of John Baldesarri

A good friend tipped us off to this. Tom Waits narrates the trailer for a great documentary! Mandatory watching for anyone into the maverick ways of Waits and the playful art of Baldesarri. It is also cool if you like photos of pencils, chairs, spots and more.

BONNIE PRINCE BILLY I See A Darkness

If you sit in front of your computer all day you end up seeing things. Will Oldham returns with this charming new video that should make your eyeballs roll as he revisits one of the true chestnuts in his back catalog. Shot on location in some quaint Euro town.

YOUTH LAGOON The Hunt

Most of you know Youth Lagoon as an awesome guitar freak out band fronted by shredder Trevor Powers. Well here is the full reveal – Powers’ songs sound just as dialed in when performed stripped down on a cheap keyboard attached to a Honda generator in the rural foothills of Idaho.

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT Jericho

Continuing the music performed in strange spaces theme, here we find Rufus with his Gibson Southern Jumbo in the tight confines of a London taxi cab. Those acoustic guitars really deliver a huge sound, and it sits pretty nicely with Wainwright’s rich voice, so really who gives tweet where this Black Cab is going.

BOB DYLAN Tangled Up In Blue

The footage from Dylan’s 1972 Rolling Thunder Review never gets tired. We dug this up when we heard the fantastic news that Zimmerman has a big year ahead of him that includes a new LP in November (Christmas sales?) as well as a drama that interprets the themes from Blood on The Tracks.

LEE FIELDS Faithful Man

Sometimes there are records that come down the pipe that sit out in the racks waiting for us to discover. Such is the case with Lee Fields, who after 43 years as an r’n’b soul man has found a home on Brooklyn’s Truth & Soul label and now is grooving alongside Sharon Jones and the Daptones! Love it when he tells you “if you keep a laugh inside it will hurt you later”.

THE GIG

JAPANDROIDS – BILTMORE CABARET Saturday July 7th

This band needs no extra hype. You probably can’t pick up a music rag or turn on your computer without getting bombarded by praise for Vancouver’s own punk rock duo Japandroids! The reviews of Celebration Rock – their hard hitting sophomore release – have been overwhelmingly good and they have even received the honour of Pitchfork’s Best New Music. For most bands that is enough to guarantee large crowds, big gates and steady record sales, but Japandroids are not the kind of band to just coast or rest on critical praise… no, instead they plan to work their asses off and start taking their high energy show out on the road. This live footage does begin to do justice to just how much of assault on the ears these two guys are!! Loud buzzsaw guitar hooks over thunderous drums – the Japandroids bring the noise!!

The Glance

Fri Jun 29 FUTURE BASS INVASION – CLUB 560
Fri Jun 29 BASS DRUM OF DEATH – BILTMORE

JULY

Mon Jul 02 EL-P – FORTUNE
Wed Jul 04 JUSTIN TOWNES EARL – RIO
Thu Jul 05 ILL SCARLETT – VENUE
Thu Jul 05 QUINTRON + MISS PUSSYCAT – WALDORF
Sat Jul 07 SHOCKWAVE FEST – VOGUE
Sat Jul 07 LOWER DENS – MEDIA
Sat Jul 07 JAPANDROIDS – BILTMORE
Mon Jul 09 LIARS – BILTMORE
Mon Jul 09 TOOTS and the MAYTALS – COMMODORE
Tue Jul 10 SIMON JOYNER – BILTMORE
Jul 10-14 SKA FESTIVAL FULL PASS SHIP POINT – VICTORIA
Thu Jul 12 THIS WILL DESTROY YOU / A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS – BILTMORE
Thu Jul 12 SWEATSHOP UNION – VENUE
Fri Jul 13 RAY DAVIES – VOGUE
Fri Jul 13 THE PIETASTERS SHIP POINT – VICTORIA
Sat Jul 14 KATCHAFIRE SHIP POINT – VICTORIA
Sat Jul 14 KING KHAN & BBQ SHOW – BILTMORE
Sun Jul 15 MELVINS LITE – VENUE
Tue Jul 17 BRUCE PENINSULA – MEDIA CLUB
Wed Jul 18 TRUST & LIGHT ASYLUM – BILTMORE
Thu Jul 19 BEND SINISTER – VENUE
Fri Jul 20 3 INCHES OF BLOOD – VOGUE
Fri Jul 20 AESOP ROCK – VENUE
Sat Jul 21 SHEARWATER – MEDIA
Sat Jul 21 YOUTH LAGOON – VENUE
Sun Jul 22 TEENAGE BOTTLE ROCKET- VENUE
Sun Jul 22 BEAT CONNECTION- MEDIA