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

On heavy rotation in the store this week…

MGMT’s “Flash Delirium” from their new album Congratulations on Sony.

Congratulations, MGMT’s brand new sophomore album, is a doozy. Let’s start with the album cover itself, which depicts a two headed cat surfing on some kind N-dimensional wave that is itself a cat head. Confused? Don’t be. Congratulations is a dense album, one consciously constructed to encompass a swathe of sounds, histories, moods and emotions. But it’s also an incredibly catchy and clever album, and one with crisp, spark-plug production that makes it an easy listen all the while. Flash Delirium (above) is a case in point: this a song that ping-pongs between more styles and genres that most entire albums contain. It’s also a shockingly clever tune about the ongoing death and rebirth of Rock’n’Roll. Congratulations is the sound of a young band still experimenting with what it wants to be, spewing out 9 golden pop songs in the process. Watch this video and you’ll be transported to MGMT’s bizarre pop world dimension of surfing cats and Brian Eno. Oh, and don’t be scared off by the weird lizard-creature-thing that gets pulled out of the second mouth on the dude’s throat halfway through the song…

The Playlist

Click the links for some audible awesomeness…

THE SOFT PACK s/t (Kemado)
Raggedy pop rock that seems destined to become the soundtrack to summer bike rides and beer drinking in the park. The Soft Pack are the lovable hooligans spiking the punch bowl with LSD at your high school grad ceremony.

CARIBOU Swim (Merge)
Good lord, Dan Snaith (aka Manitoba, now Caribou) continues a flawless run of albums with Swim. Mixing psych, dance, found sound, techno and good ol’ pop music into an uncategorizable mix that sounds futuristic, ancient and immediate all at once.

ROKY ERICKSON and OKKERVIL RIVER True Love Cast Out All Evil (Anti)
The ultimate acid-casualty, Roky, is propped up by one of the more interesting rock bands of our time. The results are some beautiful folk-ruminations on life and death, delivered with the intensity and conviction of a true survivor. Shockingly good.

PLANTS AND ANIMALS La La Land (Secret City)
Montreal’s latest offering to the world of indie rock. Plants and Animals slummed it so hard in La La Land that they had to visit the clinic for some ointment.

DESTROYER Streethawk: A Seduction (Merge).
In which Vancouver’s favourite son officially solidifies his genius with an album of a dozen diamond-cut gems,  replete with criticism of consumer culture, self-referential asides, and a host of mysterious women who haunt. Also, very Bowie.

DESTROYER Thief (Merge)
In which our David takes on the Goliath of the Music Industry. Or not. Bejar finds joy in being barred from temple and we are all better off for it.

DESTROYER City Of Daughters (Merge)
In which a child of the West Coast pokes his head out of the wilderness and makes his first serious statement of intent.  Out of print for far too long, this is where the journey down the golden road begins, containing the first sign of the foxes, women, drinking and treachery that are destined to follow.

SHE AND HIM Vol. 2 (Merge)
Reverb-soaked Everly Brothers-worship from a duo that’s risen to the top of the indie-rock heap seemingly effortlessly. She’s a heartthrob to males with a pulse, and he’s a timeless tune-smith who turns 60 year old melodies into modern hits.

JJ No. 3 (Secretly Canadian)
No. 3 is hazed-out electro pop that sonically drifts you down a lazy river towards some cannabis mecca. Gothenburg’s most blunted.

TITUS ANDRONICUS The Monitor (XL)
This is a history lesson to unscramble, a retelling of American independence as understood through the minds of five New Jersey boys who like heavy drinking and heavy riffing.

The Gig

The one gig we’re really looking forward to…

The Pack A.D. at the Biltmore on Friday April 23rd.

The Pack A.D. are a gift to our city for several reasons. Obviously they write great garage-blues stompers that get stuck in your head. And to be sure they put on a great live show, evoking the kind of debauchery that made the Gun Club and The Cramps legendary. But what’s really great about this band is that they’re able to tap into so many of Vancouver’s various social scenes, bringing them all together for a sweaty, beer-soaked party. Going to their show at the Biltmore this Friday you’ll find guys and gals of all stripes, all backgrounds and all scenes. This band reminds us what going out to catch a great bar band’s live show is all about: dancing, singing along, and spilling beer with people you’ve never met before who are your new best friends.

The Glance

The the better shows to see in the next two weeks…

APRIL

Thu APR 22
GROWING – BILTMORE

Fri APR 23
PACK A.D. w/ Sex With Strangers & Angry Dragons – BILTMORE
BRITISH COLUMBIANS – SHARK CLUB
WASABI COLLECTIVE – 917 MAIN ST.
CJSF PART – WALDORF

Sat APR 24
BAND OF SKULLS – VENUE – WE ARE SOLD OUT
MAD PROFESSOR – SHARK CLUB
BIRD PETERSON – FORTUNE

Sun APR 25
SIDNEY SAMSON – VENUE
DANCING BEAR MUSIC FESTIVAL – QUEST UNIVERSITY

Tue APR 27
SIGHTINGS W/ MYTHS & SHEARING PINX – ANZA
BABY DEE – GALLERY GACHET

Wed APR 28
SHEARWATER – BILTMORE

Thu APR 29
ADHAM SHAIKH – RED ROOM
AQUALUNG – BILTMORE
SPENCER & HILL- FORTUNE

Fri APR 30
RED SPARROW – BILTMORE
MIDI GHETTO TOUR – RICKSHAW
LIARS – VENUE
MORGAN PAGE – CELEBRITIES
RUN WITH THE HEARD / SSRIS – RIO THEATRE

MAY

Sat MAY 01
GLORY DAYS (EMILY CARR GRAD) w/ LADYHAWK – RICKSHAW
ALEX KENJI – GINGER 62
YOAV – VENUE

Mon MAY 03
ISIS – RICKSHAW

Tue MAY 04
THE ANTLERS – BILTMORE – WE ARE SOLD OUT

Wed MAY 05
PLANTS AND ANIMALS – COMMODORE

Thu MAY 06
JONATHAN RICHMAN – BILTMORE
BRASSTRONAUT – ST.JAMES
THE TWELVES – VENUE

Fri MAY 07
DELHI 2 DUBLIN – COMMODORE
Fri MAY 07 DASH BERLIN – GORG-O-MISH
GOODBYE BEATDOWN – VOGUE

Sat MAY 08
DAN MANGAN – VOGUE – WE ARE SOLD OUT

Sun MAY 09
FINAL FANTASY – VOGUE
TURIN BRAKES – VENUE

Tue MAY 11
JOHANN JOHANNSSON – BILTMORE

Wed MAY 12
TALLEST MAN ON EARTH – ST.JAMES
MONO – BILTMORE

Thu MAY 13
FUCKED UP – BILTMORE
EXCISION- FORTUNE

Fri MAY 14
FUCK BUTTONS – BILTMORE

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