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

LOUISE BURNS Emeralds Shatter

Louise is easily one of Vancouver’s hardest working musicians. When not gigging with her own solo project, she is either on the road sitting in as a member of the Lightning Dust band, touring with Gold & Youth, or DJing at a number of local bars. Hard work in this biz actually pays off and we should all step up and support. This track, Emeralds Shatter, is the leadoff single for her latest release ‘The Midnight Mass’ on Light Organ Records. On first listen, you can easily tell that Louise has upped the ante significantly since her debut. Here she hooked up with the production skills on none other than Sune Rose Wagner of the Raveonettes, as well as local mainstay Colin Stewart (New Pornographers, Black Mountain). Another smart move on her behalf was to invite a whole host of guests including members of Ladyhawk, Dum Dum Girls, and Cat Power to session on the record. Face it folks, Louise leveraged her cred to make an outstanding sophomore release… Now all you have to do is wait for permanent midnight and tune her in.

THE PLAYLIST

DIANA Perpetual Surrender

Toronto’s DIANA have it and everyone else wants it. Their debut full-length on Jagjagwaur is less than a month away and they are poised to make some serious noise in this Fall’s back-to-school music scene. Smooth grooves, deep bass, and icy coos, that together channel the fleeting hedonism of the late night party that asks ‘How long can you last?’… Perpetual Surrender is the jam!

WASHED OUT Don’t Give Up

Georgia based Ernest Greene began collecting keyboards about 10 years ago. When he amassed 50 of them he made this record. As the name suggests, his sound as Washed Out is all about textures and meshing tones that blur the melodies. Add a healthy dose of tropical vegetation porn and the mind does wander.

KING KHAN AND THE SHRINES Darkness

King Khan has signed up with our good friends at Merge Records and dialed in a bit more of a soul rock vibe to his signature intense garage rock aesthetic. Regarding this sweet vocal track, King Khan says, it is about the “ugly beasts that must be tamed inside of us all” and also his “attempt to do something as real as Nina Simone.” Yes, we dig!

MIKAL CRONIN Change

Staying with the Merge family, here is another newcomer that we also love! Mikal Cronin is usually found on stage as a foil to the manic energy of Ty Segall. Here making his TV debut on Conan, Cronin seems pretty relaxed blazing the fuzz on his electric 12-string – but honestly, the chap on the violin with the white framed glasses steals the show!

VOLCANO CHOIR Byegone

Volcano Choir is of course the other project of Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. This should appease all big time fans out there who think that Justin is too busy party-crashing Kayne records etc. Byegone moves away from Justin’s normal pastiche and alludes to a darker more brooding sonic vision. The forest shots lit by neon are a most fitting visual accompaniment.

THE GIG

WHITE FENCE – BILTMORE CABARET Monday August 5

West Coasters are well versed with the psychedelic garage rock sound of Tim Presley a.k.a. White Fence. Based out of LA, Presley is a one man band and a complete sonic destroyer as his guitar chews up 40 years of post Floyd-meets-Velvets outsider rock. Ramshackle and definitely lo-fi, White Fence shows are more about getting a buzz on and turning up the volume than perfectly recreating any of the tracks from Presley’s most recent Cyclops Reap release. Expect a wall of shitty tube amps and 60’s fuzz boxes that buzz together perfectly to recreate some exquisitely soupy sounds that are the closest thing we have to a present day Syd Barrett, Michael Yonkers, or Jandek! Bigger glance at local shows after the jump…

THE GLANCE

Thu Aug 01 PRIDE KICK OFF PARTY! – FORTUNE
Thu Aug 01 HUDSON MOHAWKE – SHINE
Thu Aug 01 FOXYGEN w/ Twin Peaks – BILTMORE – WE’RE SOLD OUT
Thu Aug 01 THE FELICE BROTHERS – ELECTRIC OWL
Fri Aug 02 SEAN NICHOLAS SAVAGE – ELECTRIC OWL
Fri Aug 02 FM ATTACK – BLVD 22
Sat Aug 03 CONTE – ELECTRIC OWL – early show
Sun Aug 04 PRIDE CLOSING PARTY – FORTUNE
Mon Aug 05 KURT VILE & THE VIOLATORS – RICKSHAW
Mon Aug 05 WHITE FENCE – BILTMORE
Mon Aug 05 JJ GREY and MOFRO – VENUE
Tue Aug 06 KING TUFF – ELECTRIC OWL
Tue Aug 06 LAUGH YOUR ASS OFF – MEDIA
Wed Aug 07 SHAKEY GRAVES – ELECTRIC OWL
Wed Aug 07 BEENIE MAN – BAR NONE
Thu Aug 08 THE SWORD – BILTMORE
Thu Aug 08 SANGO – FORTUNE
Thu Aug 08 PIGEON PARK EP RELEASE – VENUE
Fri Aug 09 EATS EVERYTHING – SHINE
Fri Aug 09 ALEX BLEEKER (REAL ESTATE) & THE FREAKS -ASTORIA
Fri Aug 09 AudieN & MAX GRAHAM – CELEBRITIES
Sat Aug 10 GEOGRAPHER w/ GRMLN – MEDIA
Sun Aug 11 BALMORHEA – RICKSHAW
Sun Aug 11 PRIDE SUNDAY – ELECTRIC OWL
Mon Aug 12 BEST COAST – RIO THEATRE – ALL AGES
Tue Aug 13 SLUM VILLAGE – FORTUNE –
Thu Aug 15 THE BALCONIES – VENUE
Thu Aug 15 MADCHILD & SLAINE – FORTUNE
Thu Aug 15 MADCHILD VIP MEET N GREET – FORTUNE
Thu Aug 15 KAYTRANADA – SHINE
Fri Aug 16 LEE FOSS – SHINE
Fri Aug 16 SCOTT PERRIE EP RELEASE PARTY – BACKSTAGE LOUNGE
Fri Aug 16 THE REVENGE – ELECTRIC OWL
Fri Aug 16 THE HOOD INTERNET – RICKSHAW
Aug 16 – 19 ONE LOVE FESTIVAL – PARADISE VALLEY SQUAMISH BC
Sat Aug 17 SMITH WESTERNS w/ Wampire – ELECTRIC OWL
Mon Aug 19 MAJICAL CLOUDZ w/ Moon King – ELECTRIC OWL
Wed Aug 21 THE OCEAN – BILTMORE
Thu Aug 22 EVEREST w/ Old Man Canyon – ELECTRIC OWL
Thu Aug 22 SOULS OF MISCHIEF – VENUE
Thu Aug 22 THE WHITE PANDA – FORTUNE
Fri Aug 23 DRAG THE RIVER – BILTMORE
Fri Aug 23 SCOUT NIBLETT – COBALT
Aug 23-24 OTALITH MUSIC FESTIVAL – UCLUELET B.C
Sat Aug 24 IAMSU! – FORTUNE
Sun Aug 25 NAUGHTY BY NATURE – BAR NONE
Tue Aug 27 O’BROTHER – BILTMORE
Wed Aug 28 THE PROTOMEN – BILTMORE
Fri Aug 30 GARY NUMAN w/ COLD CAVE – FORTUNE
Fri Aug 30 DEERHUNTER – RICKSHAW – WE’RE SOLD OUT
Sat Aug 31 THE BREEDERS – COMMODORE – WE’RE SOLD OUT
Sat Aug 31 FLUME w/ Touch Sensitive – VOGUE
Sat Aug 31 SUN FEST – POLISH COMMUNITY CENTRE