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

Solitude Is Bliss from Tame Impala’s Innerspeaker (Modular).

Listening to Tame Impala’s debut, it’s shocking that this album was recorded primarily by one Australian guy in his basement. Kevin Parker is the mastermind of the band and recorded the bulk of Innerspeaker on his home computer in his parent’s Perth basement. But this album is no woozy, lo-fi, low budget, rickety chillwave affair; no, this album has a dense, expansive sound designed as much for solo headphones trips as for stadium sized rock shows. It’s a retro, psychedelic sound to be sure, but Tame Impala also flirt with psychedelia in a way that’s fresh and undeniably contemporary. Sure, they have their moments of bluesy, classic rock, but more than that the band embraces blurry guitar-scapes, hypno-grooves, and childlike melodies that get stuck in your craw. Seeing Flaming Lips/Mercury Rev producer Dave Fridmann’s name on the credits gives you reference point, as Tame Impala seems to be perfectly positioned to carry the torch of those great bands.

The Playlist

SILK FLOWERS Ltd. Form (PPM)

Silk Flowers hail from LA but wallow in the kind of late night goth-incantations of lost souls. They’re part of the lineage that can be traced to the mighty Joy Division, which is never a bad thing.

RICHARD PINHAS L’Ethique (Cuneiform)

France’s Pinhas was part of the heady vanguard of early ambient synth explorers, right alongside Eno, Tangerine Dream and all the German greats. L’Ethique is a great lost treasure, an album the confidently fluctuates between beautiful ambience and thrashy heavy rock(!). Unique and rewarding.

TORO Y MOI Underneath The Pine (Carpark)

Chillwave’s leading light is also one of the most prolific of the genre. With his second full length under his belt, Chaz Bundick proves he’s got the chops.

NIRVANA Incesticide LP Reisssue (DGC/Universal/Org)

Reissued on vinyl for the first time in 10 years, pressed in Germany, remastered from the original analog tapes, here’s a nice great way grip this album. And really, this is maybe the best Nirvana albums. “Mexican Seafood,” is my track, what’s yours?

ARIEL PINK House Arrest and The Doldrums LP Reissues (Paw Tracks)

Paw Tracks reissues these two fine mid aughties Ariel Pink albums on wax, including digital downloads. This is the birth of chillwave right here folks.

SPIRITUALIZED Lazer Guided Melodies and Pure Phase LP Reissues (Plain Recordings)

Finally, after far, far too long of being out of print, Plain Recordings rectifies the situation by giving us these beautiful 180 gram reissues of the first two Spiritualized albums. Absolute classic UK dream pop, this is the pinnacle.

MADLIB Medicine Show Vol. 11 (Fat Beats)

28 tracks from the bowels of Madlib’s LA studio dating from 2005 to 201o that were heroically saved from a California forest fire, and we are all the better off for it.

PURO INSTINCT Headbangers In Ecstasy (Mexican Summer)

This LA sister-duo is Ariel Pink approved, Altered Zones approved, and for good reason – like Ariel, these two gals have a knack for crafting tunes that sound uncannily like should-have-been soft rock stadium hits from the 1970s.

THE RURAL ALBERTA ADVANTAGE Departing (Paperbag)

The RAA are the latest band to assume the coveted mantle of Canadian Indie Rock royalty. Folky, catchy, Departing chronicles love and life in the Great White North .

The Gig

Sat MAR 19 WARPAINT – BILTMORE

LA’s dreamy all girl combo Warpaint are making their debut visit to Vancouver, so let’s make them feel welcome. The band’s been tearing up Zulu’s charts with their dreamy, spaced out sound. We like. And as an added bonus, they’re bringing NY’s Family Band, which features Vancouver’s own Johnny O, of S.T.R.E.E.T.S. fame. It’ll be quite the homecoming on a typically beautiful spring Saturday night.

The Glance

Mon MAR 14
TOTALLY ENORMOUS EXTINCT DINOSAURS – VENUE

Wed MAR 16
MICKEY AVALON – VENUE
FAKE BLOOD – FORTUNE

Thu MAR 17
DESTROYER w/ WAR ON DRUGS- COMMODORE

Fri MAR 18
THE TOWN PANTS – COMMODORE
DIRTY SOUTH – CELEBRITIES

Sat MAR 19
WARPAINT – BILTMORE
WEST COAST REGGAE CARIBBEAN MUSIC AWARDS – DIAMOND BANQUET HALL
THE RESIDENTS – RICKSHAW
BASS KLEPH – GINGER 62

Tue MAR 22
GOLD PANDA – FORTUNE
MEN – BILTMORE

Thu MAR 24
TATE RADIO – BILTMORE

Fri MAR 25
ELECTRIC SIX – COMMODORE
AKRON FAMILY – BILTMORE

Sat MAR 26
THE PARLOTONES – BILTMORE
ESBEN AND THE WITCH – WALDORF

Sun MAR 27
TELEKINESIS – MEDIA CLUB

Mon MAR 28
TORO Y MOI + BRAIDS – BILTMORE

Tue MAR 29
ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE – BILTMORE
SHARON VAN ETTEN – MEDIA

Wed MAR 30
SAY HI – MEDIA CLUB
O’DEATH + STRANGE BOYS – BILTMORE

Thu MAR 31
MOUNT KIMBIE – BILTMORE
THE DODOS – RICKSHAW