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

WOMEN’S HOUR Her Ghost

London’s modern quiet storm r’n’b four-piece, Woman’s Hour, just inked a deal for North America with Secretly Canadian Records. Their sound is built around classic mid-80’s period Sade infused with electronic elegance a la Art of Noise‘s classic late night jam ‘Moments in Love‘. The video is clever – one long, locked-off black and white shot of a sign language interpreter signing the lyrics to Her Ghost. Hypnotic! This is their debut 7″ track – let’s hope the impending full length is just as smooth.

THE PLAYLIST

KEVIN DREW Good Sex

Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene fame is preparing his sophomore solo album ‘Darlings’ and has decided the upbeat track ‘Good Sex’ will be the lead-off single. Time away from the band’s intense spotlight has made Drew a lot more relaxed and open. This video sort of captures that vibe from one of Toronto’s most misunderstood players.

THURSTON MOORE Heavenmetal

Here’s another chilled-out guy who has made the most of taking time away from the spotlight of his bigger band. Thurston Moore had a rough year in 2013. He and long-time life partner and music collaborator Kim Gordon split, and subsequently Sonic Youth took a bit of a break. Moore retreated to his upstate New York digs and took some time to just jam with friends. Here’s the result – a laid back song that features Thurston in a more introspective mode.

DEATH GRIPS No Love

To give a fuck or to not give a fuck? That is Death Grips’ current obsession. This 3D-esque video features a montage of live clips demonstrating the chaotic confrontational nature of the band. Everything about Death Grips is an attempt to agitate the environment they’re in. In 2013, they fucked with the industry, screwed their label and leaked their own record. So 2014 should be good.

REAL ESTATE Crime

Real Estate (who are in town next week) have taken the time to tab out one of the more breezy numbers from their forthcoming new album. If you want to play along at home, go for it!

LONDON GRAMMAR | Hey Now

From the opening notes on their Fender Rhodes electric piano you know London Grammar are all about the hush hours. Chilled ambience and delicately programmed beats are the main focus of this new track that really focuses in on vocalist Hannah Reid’s late night coos. Voted a British Breakthrough Act of 2014!

DUM DUM GIRLS Too Good to Be True

Flowers, Lava, Dum Dum Dee Dee and a shitload of special effects all play a prominent role in the second video out to support this Sub Pop Records signing. We played this in the store and someone mentioned a band called The Primitives from a long time ago…does anyone remember them? Is this what they would sound like today?

PINK MOUNTAINTOPS Ambulance City

Having recently supported Band of Horses here in town at the Vogue, Stephen McBean (Black Mountain) is shaking off the rust and getting things tuned up for his solo project Pink Mountaintops to hit the road and channel his madness. April’s new record Get Back is great! Who’s going to Austin Psyche Fest in May?

THE GIG

ANGEL OLSEN Thursday March 6th at The Media Club

Historically, March and April are great months for gigs. Pretty much every young North American band is on the road and planning their routing around either SXSW dates or Coachella. As a result you have to plan your rock calendar wisely and choose a few key shows to take in. Catching a band at the Media Club is pretty much akin to getting in on something at the ground level. This is one of the smaller rooms in town (until the Fox is officially a booker’s paradise) that showcases bands on their first swing through town. With this in mind, a lot of people are pegging Jagjagwaur Recording Artist Angel Olsen as one of the early stars of this year’s fresh faces. A couple weeks back Angel released her second album Burn Your Fire For No Witness and the critics quickly gravitated to her ability to evoke the greats like Cohen and Orbison without pushing too hard and losing some of her immediacy. There’s a natural confidence to Olsen’s recordings – let’s hope it translates well live!

Take a deeper look at Vancouver’s gigscape for the rest of January after the jump…

THE GLANCE

Sat Mar 01 DOM KENNEDY – FORTUNE – EARLY SHOW
Sat Mar 01 THE COUP – MEDIA CLUB
Mon Mar 03 SOLIDS – MEDIA CLUB
Mon Mar 03 BOTTOMLESS PIT – BILTMORE
Mon Mar 03 BEARDYMAN – FORTUNE – CANCELLED
Tue Mar 04 DR.DOG – VENUE
Tue Mar 04 REAL ESTATE w/ THE SHILOHS – RICKSHAW – WE’RE SOLD OUT
Wed Mar 05 An Evening w/ ASAF AVIDAN – ELECTRIC OWL – WE’RE SOLD OUT
Wed Mar 05 CANDYLAND/KILL PARIS – CELEBRITIES
Thu Mar 06 ANGEL OLSEN – MEDIA CLUB – WE’RE SOLD OUT
Thu Mar 06 KULKID – FORTUNE
Thu Mar 06 RAZIHEL – ELECTRIC OWL
Fri Mar 07 CITR FUNDRIVE FINALE w/ Gal Gracen, War Baby, Cowards, Defektors – BILTMORE
Fri Mar 07 SPRING (Album Release) w/ Inhabitants, Johnny de Courcy – RICKSHAW
Fri Mar 07 DIGITALISM – SHINE
Fri Mar 07 REBECCA & RIONA – CELEBRITIES
Sat Mar 08 G EAZY – FORTUNE
Sat Mar 08 THE KNOCKS – FORTUNE
Mon Mar 10 NICK WATERHOUSE – BILTMORE
Tue Mar 11 JD SAMSON + MEN – COBALT
Tue Mar 11 THE CAYUCAS w/ MINER – MEDIA CLUB
Wed Mar 12 ELECTRIC SIX – VENUE
Wed Mar 12 DEAD MEADOW – ELECTRIC OWL
Wed Mar 12 BRO SAFARI – CELEBRITIES
Thu Mar 13 CAZZETTE – CAPRICE
Fri Mar 14 ALPHA YAYA DIALLO – AFRIKA SHRINE
Fri Mar 14 THE WAILERS – COMMODORE
Fri Mar 14 MAX GRAHAM – CELEBRITIES
Fri Mar 14 GUTTERMOUTH w/ DREADNOUOGHTS – RICKSHAW
Sat Mar 15 ST PATTY’S DAY SPARKLY SPANDEX PARTY – ELECTRIC OWL
Sat Mar 15 PETE SEEGER TRIBUTE CONCERT – RICKSHAW
Sat Mar 15 RICH HOPE & HIS BLUE RICH RANGERS – BILTMORE
Sat Mar 15 ANCIENTS – ASTORIA
Sun Mar 16 BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY – FORTUNE
Mon Mar 17 ST.PATRICK’S DAY PARTY: RIVER & THE ROAD – BILTMORE
Tue Mar 18 REDMAN – FORTUNE
Wed Mar 19 HOSPITALITY – VENUE
Wed Mar 19 GTA – CELEBRITIES
Thu Mar 20 JULIO BASHMORE – SHINE
Thu Mar 20 DOUGAL BAIN + THE CRACKLING – COBALT
Thu Mar 20 NILS FRAHM w/ DOUGLAS DARE – ELECTRIC OWL
Thu Mar 20 SLEEPY SUN – BILTMORE
Fri Mar 21 THE OH WELLS – RICKSHAW
Fri Mar 21 MARTIN BUTTRICH – SHINE
Sat Mar 22 ROOTS ROUNDUP – FAIRVIEW – WE’RE SOLD OUT
Sun Mar 23 YELLOW OSTRICH – MEDIA
Sun Mar 23 JOHN NEMETH W/ THE BO-KEYS – ELECTRIC OWL
Tue Mar 25 WAKEY! WAKEY! – MEDIA
Tue Mar 25 PERFECT PUSSY – THE COBALT
Wed Mar 26 WEEKEND – MEDIA
Thu Mar 27 LOST IN THE TREES – MEDIA
Thu Mar 27 MARCO V – CAPRICE
Sat Mar 29 THE WAR ON DRUGS – BILTMORE – WE’RE SOLD OUT
Sat Mar 29 MARK SULTAN – ELECTRIC OWL
Sat Mar 29 SMALL BLACK – MEDIA CLUB
Mon Mar 31 ISLANDS w/ Escondido – FORTUNE