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

currently on heavy rotation in the store…

Bob Dylan’s The Bootleg Series Vol 9: The Witmark Demos -1962-1964 (Columbia).

Dylan’s been unrolling various previously unheard, archival goodies via his Bootleg Series, the quality of which has been extremely good. This latest installment, The Witmark Demos, consists of his earliest demos recorded to secure a publishing deal. Early Dylan classics like I’ll Keep It With Mine, Don’t Think Twice, Hard Rain and others sit alongside blues and boxcar standards that paint a portrait of a different era of music and American culture. As with other installments, Witmark features a hefty book of killer liner notes and unseen photos of Dylan doing his thing, being the ragamuffin street troubadour weirdo that he was in his early 60s Village phase.

As much you might get irritated by the hero-worship, legend-building that has erupted around Dylan in years since his criticial resurgence with Time Out Of Mind, the bootleg series reaffirms how shockingly great the man’s work truly is.

The Playlist

The records we can’t get enough of this week…

WARPAINT The Fool (Rough Trade)

This all lady combo specializes in dreamy, shoegazed pop that’s perfect for a rainy day or a long night drive.

THE FRESH AND ONLYS Play It Strange (In The Red)

We here at Zulu simply cannot get enough of Tim Cohen and company’s reverb-drenched, garagey new wave pop stomp. Yep, it’ll be on the stereo next time you pop in the store.

THE CROCODILES Sleep Forever (Fat Possum)

This black leather duo could really send you to sleep – but in a good way! – with their dreeeamy droney garage rock songs. I suspect there be some mighty strong Spacemen 3 worship at play, but that’ s never a bad thing. Bedtime.

WOMEN Public Strain (Flemish Eye)

Damn, these Edmontonians have dialed it in on their second release. Public Strain features a nice balance of pop tunes and junkyard skronk ambient, twists at every turn that keep me interested.

DIE ANTWOORD S.O.S. (Universal)

What can I say? These backwoods, redneck South Afrikaans have found a place in the heart of many a curious-minded North American. Enter The Ninja plus nine other wiggedy-wigged out jams that keep the party going.

DEERHUNTER Halcyon Digest (4AD)

ATL’s favourite sons produce their most classic rock sounding release to date. The dreamy atmospherics have been dialled back slightly to showcase tight songwriting and the mature use of saxophone in a non Kenny G context. Fly away on their Helicopter.

SUN AIRWAY Nocturne Of Exploded Crystal Chandelier (Dead Oceans)

Sounding something like a laptop Brian Wilson, Sun Airway are all majestic beauty and dreamy layers of shimmering harmonic explosion. Impressive and inventive.

MEGAFAUN Heretofore (Universal)

We like our classic rock indebted modern acts here at Zulu, and Megafaun fit that bill pretty well, falling somewhere between the Grateful Dead, Lou Reed and the outer cosmos of pop perfection. We dig it.

MOONDOGGIES Tidelands (Hardly Art)

Sounding kind of like our own Ladyhawk, these PacNW brethren have that whole it feels good to feel bummed out-vibe down, and with some blazing guitar leads to keep it all from being too fey.

The Gig

The one show that you shouldn’t miss…

THE SOFT PACK + KURT VILE at the BILTMORE on Friday November 5th.

Too often I see the crushed look on our beloved customers’ faces as they approach the ticket board only to see that all we’re sold out of all of the shows that they want to buy tickets for. It pays to act fast my friends, the faster the better. Well, here’s a great show that we still have tickets for: Kurt Vile and his might Violaters and the Soft Pack. Two fine, fine acts that deal in roughly the same 90s-indebted vein of raggedy slop-rock. It’s going to be a blast of a show as neither of these guys have played town before. As your unofficial weekend planner I highly recommend that you get tickets now, so that you won’ t be disappointed once November rolls around and all your friends are going to this show.

The Glance

The better shows to see on the immediate horizon…

Thu OCT 28
SUFJAN STEVENS – ORPHEUM – WE ARE SOLD OUT
DJ PREMIER – BAR NONE
DR. MADD VIBE – VENUE

Fri OCT 29
NERO (UK) – CELEBRITIESWE ARE SOLD OUT
DEADBOLT – CHAPEL
NIGHT OF THE UNDEAD – RICKSHAW
KIM BEGGS – ST.JAMES
AVI BUFFALO – BILTMORE
PANTY RAID – 560 SEYMOUR
BOY 8-BIT – POP OPERA
GRAPES OF WRATH – VENUE
LIBRARY VOICES – PIT PUB
BEST COAST w/ Sunny & the Sunsets – THE COBALT – WE ARE SOLD OUT
DEADBOLT – CHAPEL

Sat OCT 30
GLORY DAYS HALLOWEEN – BILTMORE
SUPER DELUXE HALLOWEEN (feat. NADASTROM) – SHINE
DETROIT GRAND PUBAHS – LOTUS
DR.DOG w/ HERE WE GO MAGIC – VOGUE
WOMEN w/ NU SENSAE – BILTMORE
TWO HOURS TRAFFIC – PIT PUB
HI-5 HALLOWEEN – W2
GLORY DAYS HALLOWEEN – BILTMORE
SANCTUARY HALLOWEEN – SANCTUARY
JACKBEATS / AC SLATER – HASTING RACEWAY

Sun OCT 31
SIN CITY FETISH HALLOWEEN – CELEBRITIES
LADYTRON DJ SET – FORTUNE
FEDDE LE GRAND – CAPRICE
NIGHTMARE ON ABBOTT – LOTUS

NOVEMBER

Mon NOV 1
PVT – MEDIA
KT TUNSTALL – COMMODORE

Wed NOV 3
GORILLAZ – ROGERS ARENA
KATE NASH – COMMODORE

Thu NOV 4
NASHVILLE PUSSY – RICKSHAW
ONRA – SHINE
JOSH RITTER – COMMODORE
LYRICS BORN – BILTMORE
STARS w/ Young Galaxy – VOGUE WE ARE SOLD OUT
THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART w/ WEEKEND – VENUE

Fri NOV 5
THE SOFT PACK + KURT VILE – BILTMORE
TIM KASHER – MEDIA CLUB

Sat NOV 6
THE RURAL ALBERTA ADVANTAGE – BILTMORE
CREEPSHOW – RICKSHAW
TIM LINDBERG – DODSON

Mon NOV 8
MAYER HAWTHORNE – BILTMORE

Tue NOV 9
DOOMTREE “WINGS + TEETH TOUR” – BILTMORE