Welcome to Endless Volume, a new Nic Bragg column that details all the good tunes he currently has on heavy rotation, plus one local show on the immediate or near horizon that shouldn’t be missed. Scroll, press play, enjoy!

ON HEAVY ROTATION

MY MORNING JACKET Compound Fracture

Here’s one of the first new tracks from Louisville’s finest roots rockers, My Morning Jacket. Their forthcoming ‘The Waterfall’ release has all the right vintage tones and epic Americana song craft to give Wilco and Ryan Adams runs for their money. Compound Fracture makes pretty deft use of the electric piano lead-off riff…

TWIN SHADOW I’m Ready

Everyone was pretty bummed to hear that Twin Shadow had to cancel shows – including here in Vancouver – as a result of a tour bus crash. Let’s hope everyone is ok and things can get rescheduled. In the meantime, here’s a very stylish new vid to support his first major label release. I’m Ready is a tight jam that pushes the 80’s synth pulse to an ecstatic high. Enjoy.

NINA K Impossible

Sweden is currently a hotbed of sweet and soft pop music. There’s a radio friendly late night vibe to their sound that magically blends the richness of classic era Fleetwood Mac with the ethereal haze of Cocteau Twins or This Mortal Coil. Maybe this is the first you’ve heard of Nina K or maybe you recognize her voice as the guest on many of the records associated with famed producer Lexxx. Regardless, 2015 is going to be a busy one for Nina.

JAMIE XX Gosh

Jamie XX announced a Vancouver show at the Commodore last week and it sent panic through the hipster ranks, selling out in a matter of minutes. Best known as the programmer/producer being England’s chillwave pioneers The XX, Jamie is also starting to push his own scene as remixer and dance party pouncer. This is the first track officially credited to his solo debut, ‘In Colour’. Great song, great video.

MIKAL CRONIN Turn Around

Mikal Cronin first came into view as the foil to Ty Segall’s shredding mustang leads. As the bass player in his band, Cronin must have seen a lot of shit go down and slowly figured what his own solo career would look like. Now signed to Merge Records and out on the road supporting his most refined set of songs in ‘MCIII’, Cronin is finally starting to get his fair share of attention.

NIC HESSLER I Feel Again

Like Cronin, fellow Californian Nic Hessler is also starting to gain traction as one in a group of young Los Angeles players that are leaping out of the dingy downtown scene that revolves around shows at The Smell and Ham & Eggs Tavern. Hessler just inked a deal with Captured Tracks and will be out on the club circuit for most of the summer. ‘I Feel Again’ kind sounds a bit like a time-warp with obvious nods to MBV, Ride and JMAC; Hessler riffs hard on his shoegaze heroes and it might actually make sense to have him open for one of those acts as the original bliss rockers are all back at it.

METZ The Swimmer

‘The Swimmer’ begins with nearly a full minute of white noise before launching into a massive blast of Big Black-esque fury. Metz are probably one of the loudest bands in Canada and viscerally assault the stage. You can currently stream their entire Sub Pop release ‘II’ via their website – do it!

THE GIG

SPOON and FUTURE ISLANDS May 24th at The Malkin Bowl

The Malkin Bowl has long been a part of Vancouver’s summer rock experience. Austin/LA’s classic adult contemporary rockers Spoon holding it down with Future Islands in the Stanley Park woods should be the first in a series of great shows there this year. Both bands are on tour and in our neck of the woods for Sasquatch. Their loyal following is rabid enough to easily sell out an indoor soft-seater like The Vogue on their own, so the idea of combining two great acts for one night in a concert bowl setting should make a lot of folks super happy.