music

Wake Owl's New EP, Wild Country

This EP by Wake Owl just came out today and it's been on repeat a few times around here. The title track and album opener, Wild Country is the front runner after the first few listens.

Born and raised in California, Colyn Cameron of Wake Owl now calls Vancouver and Portland home. It's good to think that much of these songs could have been written while experiencing the mix of city and wilderness in British Columbia, our old home.

Wild Country EP, by Wake Owl
With this EP I was really focused on just creating recordings I could be proud of and felt connected to as a group of songs. I wanted to capture and represent, in all its instrumentation and arrangement, what those songs mean to me.

It looks like, at least for now, the whole album is available to stream off of SoundCloud. If you don't already subscribe to a service like Rdio (or Songza, GrooveShark, Spotify), do it. Rdio is just about the best thing to music discovery and listening that has happened in ages.

If you're on Rdio, come find me.

The Debut EP "Wild Country" Available Now! Purchase On: iTunes: smarturl.it/wakeowlwildcountry Amazon: http://smarturl.it/wildcountryamazon

Check out Wake Owl's Facebook page, or learn a bit more about them with their bio on Vagrant's site.

Rock & Roll in Vancouver: Japandroids do work at The Rickshaw Theatre

Japandroids at the Biltmore Cabaret in Vancouver

How the hell were your holidays? Sick of people asking that? Well, the holidays are over, you're coming out of a daze and you've most likely already broken two or three of your New Year's Resolutions. In a week the rest will all be forgotten while laying in wait for next year.

Speaking of holidays and a New Year's daze, dear friend, drink pal and photo contributor to Love & Rum, Tom Nugent recently went to the Japandroids show at The Rickshaw in Vancouver. Reid Stewart from Lifetime Collective was good enough to connect some dots and bring Tom and the band's manager together to get ol' Thomas into the sold out show. 

Check out a few of the resulting photos below, and then head over to Lifetime Collective's blog to see the rest. Oh yeah, and a freebie of Fire's Highway recorded at the show.

Rah Rah, Rahgina

Rah Rah is a Canadian band from Regina. I hadn't heard of them before seeing this new album, "The Poet's Dead" show up yesterday in my feed. The album was released a day before that, on October 2nd. Now I'm going to have to dig up their two older albums and a couple of EPs.

The songs on this album are a mix up between male and female leading vocals for various songs, and I like it that way. It makes the album almost feel like a mixtape more than a series of songs by the same band, even though the style is pretty consistent. Well then, that's the extent of the review you're going to see here. You'll have to head somewhere else for an adjective riddled review about prose and poise.

Oh, Wikipedia had this to say...

Rah Rah was named ‘Best Alternative New Artist’ and ‘Best New Canadiana Artist’ in iTunes Best of 2009 list. Rah Rah headlined the Whistler Live! stage during the 2010 Paralympic Games and performed at the Saskatchewan Pavilion. The group has been noted for their energetic live shows which often feature Pop Rocks candy and confetti.
— Wikipedia

He's new here and his name is Tom Nugent

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Good friend, drinking buddy, music lover and all around Top Shelf Human, Tom Nugent is joining Love & Rum. He'll be heading out with his camera to document music being played and alcohol being drank around Vancouver. Look at that damned photo of Willis Earl Beal above. Fantastic stuff, my man. Expect more like that real soon.

​His personal site, tomnugent.ca can be found here.

Don't know Willis Earl Beal? Watch this video below. The boy's got chops!​

Twin Shadow, Dancing, Leather Jackets

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​If you're reading this blog you're either super hip, super drunk or super bored. If I'm a month late on posting this album it's because you're amazing and always a month ahead on music, yet a week behind on your school work and a lifetime behind on finances. Anyhow...

Look, we all know I don't know how to review music. I can't tell you anything about composition or intention, but what I can tell you is... This album is a banger attempt at luring my 80s Synth Pop heart into thinking it's amazing. I do enjoy it and have been playing it lots in the last few weeks, but what I've noticed more than the play count in my iTunes rising rapidly is... 

This guy looks like the lovechild of Prince and Kanye if making sweet, sweet synth love and popping out a 25 year old child was trendy.