“The seven-song EP is the perfect showcase piece for Rennison’s spectacular pipes, which sound like Etta James on a bender in some Mississippi roadhouse, lacing a menacing sweetness (If Anything, Call My Name) with a heartbroken snarl” - vancouver sun

“A bona fide Pavlovian trigger for Summer, Rennison’s soulful vocals ride the wave of guitar and god damn, if your mouth doesn’t start salivating and get you daydreaming about cold beer and grilled meat, your a better man than me. It’s tailor made for good days and better nights and should be on everyone’s playlist” - herohill

“…giving Rennison plenty of space to show off her impressive vocal chops that at their best recall Bettye LaVette and Amy Winehouse”. - exclaim

Hamilton said, “My parents were always the type to find an artist and album they liked and then listen to it non-stop in the car for years. It’s these tapes which, whether I liked them at the time or not, formed an undeniable part of my musical DNA: Carole King, Falco, a truck-stop Hits of the 1960s compilation.The songs of the For Paolo EP are a valentine of sorts to those old cassettes of my parents – I’d like to think there’s more than just a dash of Fleetwood Mac’s “Tango in the Night” in the title track, a little bit of girly one-hit wonder in “One To Many”. But then again, whenever I think I’m getting pretty close at sounding one way, I’m the only one who hears it – so you’ll have to excuse the thought that there’s a little bit of Boys Don’t Cry’s “I Wanna Be a Cowboy” and Iron Butterfly mixed in here somewhere too.”

Woodpigeon’s title track from the new EP can be heard in full here:

For Paolo track listing:
1. For Paolo (Right click and “save link” for FREE download)
2. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Mark
3. Winnebago
4. By Lamplight
5. One To Many
6. For Paolo (Acoustic)

Praise for Grey Eyes

“Grey Eyes isn’t just something new for the Salteens, it’s a kind of masterpiece.” - AllMusic

“A pop album with a deep, innocent heart that tackles the uncertainty of the future [with] incomparable Spector/Bacharach/Wilson-esque melodies.” - Vancouver Sun

“Scott Walker has a gift… [Grey Eyes] is alive with brass dominating and arranging subtleties… [with] a respect for songwriting values à la Burt Bacharach.” - The Province

“Dropping the guitars altogether and adopting ’60s orchestral pop, à la Tin Pan Alley and Pet Sounds… It’s a welcome return from a too often overlooked gem in Canadian indie rock.” - Exclaim!

“I love everything that the wind section and standing bass bring to the sound of [these] formerly simple pop rockers… this is definitely their best album so far.” - In Your Speakers

“Grey Eyes is a record of sublime beauty and infectious brilliance.” - Tuesday Guide

“‘Weird Times’ which veers towards the sublime… might be the band’s finest piece to date.” - Eye Weekly

“Layered, orchestral soundscapes that listen like a dramatic movie score mixed with perfect, Pet Sounds pop.” - Uptown Magazine

BALLADEER was recorded at home in Calgary and in a Dublin hotel, and was completed last autumn while Mark Andrew Hamilton was in Banff, Alberta working with producers Steve Albini, Howard Bilerman and Husky Hoskulds. The resulting twelve beautifully crafted and intimate songs feature collaborations with England’s Beth Jeans Houghton, Montreal’s Witchies and Scotland’s Eagleowl.

Our Love is as Tall as the Calgary Tower features a cover of Withered Hand’s “No Cigarettes”, two remixes including one of the title track by Montag, plus the brand new song, “Hove Beach”. In addition, Woodpigeon has a new video out today for “Our Love is as Tall ad the Calgary Tower”, directed by Darren Pasemko.

Woodpigeon is currently on tour in Europe, with two Canadian dates announced in Toronto and Calgary as well.

Sep 23: Berlin, DE - Comet Club
Sep 24: Hamburg, DE - Platzhirsch
Sep 24: Hamburg, DE - Hasenschaukel
Sep 25: Schorndorf, DE - Manufaktur
Sep 27: Munich, DE - Ampere
Sep 28: Milano, IT - House Concert
Sep 30: Vienna, AT - Rhiz
Oct 01: Feldkirch, AT - Sonderbar
Oct 02: Hasselt, BE - Mod Club
Oct 04: London, UK - XOYO
Oct 06: Toronto, ON - Yonge-Dundas Square
Nov 18: Calgary, AB - The Gateway

That’s a slew of activity for the Salteens. And all well warranted, what with Grey Eyes featuring 10 of the band’s most spectacular songs recorded to date. Grey Eyes nods towards sophisticated ‘60s European and American pop constructionists and the brass-tacks workmanlike hit-makers of yore, while acknowledging transformative pop heirs from the ‘70s and ‘80s. The album captures the freshness that marked the dawn of popular music and periodically renews it – no matter what hurts and indignities pop songs are woven from, a transcending embrace of possibility remains a genre fundamental.

This is key to an album that was inspired by a great deal of grief for Walker, whose father passed on and whose mother struggles with Alzheimer’s, leaving him to assume those adult roles we all try to push off, accept dashed dreams and expectations and look forward in this uncertain time. Through this, the pop law holds: the lower the lows, the higher the highs. And so it is that Grey Eyes – polished, crisp, sprightly, and architecturally realized – is a sublime and energetic continuation of the band’s catalogue.

The Salteens released their debut, Short-Term Memories in 2000, followed by the acclaimed, college-radio topper, Let Go of Your Bad Days in 2003, which The National Post called “Summer-perfect pop” and Entertainment Weekly declared “Canadian pop… that would do Karen Carpenter proud.” Grey Eyes more then lives up to the anticipation of 7 years, and boldly looks forward.

Download a free mp3 of “If Love Is Gone Where Do We Go From Here” off the band’s website here.

Yo Gabba Gabba Tour

:
9/8/10 – Edmonton, AB @ Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, 6:30pm
9/9/10 – Calgary, AB @ Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, 6:30pm
9/11/10 – Vancouver, BC @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre, 1:00pm and 4:00pm
9/12/10 – Vancouver, BC @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre, 1:00pm and 4:00pm
9/14/10 – Regina , SK @ Brandt Centre, 6:30pm
9/15/10 – Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre, 6:30pm
9/18/10 – London, ON @ John Labatt Centre, 1:00pm and 4:00pm
9/19/10 – Ottawa, ON @ Scotiabank Place, 1:00pm and 4:00pm

Upcoming Tour Dates

July 23: Pop Montreal/Wavelength Showcase - The Garrison - Toronto, ON
August 06: Wolfe Island Festival - Waterkeepers Showcase - Kingston, ON
August 10: Summerworks Festival - Lower Ossington Theatre - Toronto, ON
August 12/13: The Town Hall - Bayfield, ON - with Ron Sexsmith

Having started out as a visual artist, Smith’s pieces were exhibited in galleries throughout Vancouver before he had even finished high school. When work began on his first complete album, Christopher retreated to his studio of choice—a bedroom. Modest in execution, the resulting recording, The Beckon Call, is a hushed and intimate affair.

“Gently Gently”, the first single from The Beckon Call, is available today with 2 b-sides via Smith’s website, thebeckoncall.com. The video, with shimmering snow globe landscapes designed by Hitoshi Okamoto, was created by the Vancouver-based collective SALAZAR. The feelings of loneliness and vulnerability that course through The Beckon Call are perfectly crystallized in this tale of a young adventurer lost in the wild.

May tour dates in New York and the Pacific Northwest will soon be announced. In the meantime Christopher Smith and his band, also The Beckon Call, will open for Lightning Dust at The Cultch in Vancouver on April 25.

Amidst several attempts at completing a full length album the band was taken off task by numerous personal upheavals, artistic miss-directs, and an appearance on Yo Gabba Gabba--clearly a confusing time. Pulled together from a number of recording sessions that took place during 2007 and 2008, Moths is a document of songwriter Scott LD Walker’s angers and frustrations, resulting in a typically Salteens-like call to arms in attempt to overcome life’s hardships.

Pre-order and stream the EP now!