A no messing around guide to the coolest things to eat, drink and do in Vancouver and beyond. Community. Not clickbait.

Zulu Report: 10 Records To Get Really Excited About In 2010…

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

Owen Pallett | Lewis Takes Off His Shirt from his latest release HEARTLAND

Toronto’s golden boy Owen Pallett (having dropped the Final Fantasy moniker) has had his finger on the trigger for the last several years. He rose up from the depths of the Hogtown’s Blocks Recording Club scene, a loose coterie of tunesmiths, going on to record on the second Arcade Fire, write the string arrangements for Fucked Up’s breakthrough release, and of course become a much loved (and blogged about) sensation in his own right. He’s just dropped his first release under his own name, Heartland, and seems poised to blast even deeper into the hearts of the indie nation. Like Grizzly Bear, Pallett dishes out the kind of intelligent tunes that both the indie kids and the New Yorker writers can get down to. Check out this clip for Lewis Takes Off His Shirt and you’ll see what I mean (more sounds on his MySpace page).

The Playlist

10 Records to Look Forward to in 2010 (click the links for some tastes)

BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB Beat The Devils Tattoo (Capitol)
A blackened sun and drugged out reverbo-sprawl offering from these survivors of the 2001 rock revival movement.

THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS Together (Matador Records)
Voted Discorder’s #1 band of the decade, Van’s finest pop rock export get Together one more time.

SHE AND HIM Volume Two (Merge Records)
Resurrecting the glory years of Topanga Canyon, She And Him channel Orbison and Fleetwood Mac for smooth pop perfection.

YEASAYER Odds (Secretly Canadian)
NY art school dropouts drop acid and start a drum circle in the middle of Brooklyn.

HOT CHIP One Left Stand (Capitol)
These London pranksters have it dialed in: the glorious party vibe of the Happy Mondays in their prime, minus the obscene drug use.

MGMT Congratulations (Sony Records)
NY art school dropouts drop acid and turn up the awesome on this psychedlikaleidoscopic fantasy ride, produced by Spacemen 2 mastermind Sonic Boom. Take notice.

JOANNA NEWSOME Have One On Me (Drag City)
Untouchable brilliance from the waifish, doe-eyed mysterio harpist who broke Bill Callahan’s heart.

TED LEO The Brutalist Bricks (Matador Records)
First Matador offering from the literate-minded mod-rocker who could teach the youngsters a thing or two.

GORILLAZ Plastic Beach (Capitol)
Damon Albarn and his band of merry cartoon pranksters scour the underground and come up for air with an exotic amalgamation of vulture-culture observations.

ARCADE FIRE tba (Merge Records)
The U2 of our time prepare to make another landing on planet earth, bringing the pop hooks with them.

The Gig

Great Lake Swimmers – Vogue Theater | Friday January 29th

Tony Dekker – the voice and writer behind Great Lake Swimmers – has a lot to be proud of. Over the last five years he’s established a stone cold solid catalogue of lonesome folk rock, Canadian style. Heck, I can remember him playing a solo performance in our store a few years ago. The hush was tangible, every person in the store was concentrating on Dekker’s pained delivery. His music is not exactly designed for a bar setting, so a chance to see the man in the beautiful confines of the Vogue Theater is not an opportunity to be missed.

The Glance

IMG_3973-264x1024112111111Tue JAN 26

HAR MAR SUPERSTAR – FORTUNE SOUND CLUB

Wed JAN 27

ZOLAS – BILTMORE
KRAZY BALDHEAD – FORTUNE SOUND CLUB

Thu JAN 28

THE HOOD INTERNET – FORTUNE
FEDDE LE GRAND – CELEBRITIES

Fri JAN 29

GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS – VOGUE
BART B MORE – CELEBRITIES
RUDE CITY RIOT – SHARK CLUB
DJ KRUSH – BILTMORE

Sat JAN 30

NOMO – BILTMORE

Sun JAN 31

THE CRIBS – VENUE
KOOL KEITH – BILTMORE

Wed FEB 01

DOWN WITH WEBSTER – VENUE

Thu FEB 4

HEALTH – BILTMORE
ST.VINCENT – VENUE

Fri FEB 5

BIG JOHN BATES – RICKSHAW
EYEDEA & ABILITIES – BILTMORE
MIKE RELM – GREAT NORTHERN WAY CAMPUS
ADALINE + DAN MOXON – THE RIO
RUSKO – CELEBRITIES
NOUVELLE VAGUE – VENUE

Wed JAN 27

KRAZY BALDHEAD – FORTUNE SOUND CLUB

Thu JAN 28

THE HOOD INTERNET – FORTUNE
FEDDE LE GRAND – CELEBRITIES
PREFUSE 73 – BILTMORE

Fri JAN 29

GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS – VOGUE