The opening track “Heartbroken” is the perfect mood setter for Meaghan Smith’s debut album The Cricket’s Orchestra. The song introduces snapshots of the 1920’s to 1940’s inspired music that can be heard throughout the record, while Meaghan’s voice is sophisticated and rich with a vintage tone.

While Meaghan Smith’s music has plenty of a wartime influence going on, her vocal style bares little resemblance to famous songstresses of that era like the Andrews Sisters or Kate Andrews. Rather, her voice is more contemporary, a little bit like Norah Jones, but I liken her to sounding closer to fellow Canadian songstress Jill Barber.

“There is an innocence and air of grace to everything that seems lost in the time that Meaghan’s music is so greatly influenced by.”

The vintage vibe is one that is epitomized well by the retro animated characters that feature in her music videos, such as the one for “I Know”, which is the second track on the album. “I Know” builds on the strong start to Cricket’s Orchestra and adds in elements such as some elegant keys and a gentleman whistling – with the man in question being Meaghan’s father. There is an innocence and air of grace to everything that seems lost in the time that Meaghan’s music is so greatly influenced by. The retro theme never comes across as being a gimmick, while both the lyrics and their elegant delivery are genuine.

The music often has a slow pace but this adds to the old-school vibe, and it’s sometimes the slowest moments, as with “Drifted Apart”, that can be the most disarming. In other places there is a more up-tempo swing to proceedings, especially with the toe-tapping, finger-snapping number “Take Me Dancing” – a song that could easily have been taken from the ballroom scene of some old black and white movie.

Given the nature of the music, I’d consider this best fitting for “occasional listening”. Granted, it’s not going to appeal to everyone’s tastes, but if the hack writing this whose wearing a Dead Kennedys tee can like this then I’d suggest the appeal here might be broader than you may first imagine. The old-fashioned flavour of the music brings something different to the current female singer-songwriter scene – without a doubt, this is a classy debut.

With Valentine’s Day falling on the Sunday just a few days after the Canadian release of The Cricket’s Orchestra, the timing could not be better, and I’d suggest this as a fitting musical gift for a guy to give his doll.

© Brian Banks

Related links:
Meaghan Smith – Official Website

Australia

Soundwave Festival
Check out our special Soundwave preview for full details.

AC/DC
Australia’s favourite sons play dates nationwide in February and early March.

11 Feb 2010 Etihad Stadium, Melbourne
13 Feb 2010 Etihad Stadium, Melbourne
15 Feb 2010 Etihad Stadium, Melbourne
18 Feb 2010 ANZ Stadium, Sydney
20 Feb 2010 ANZ Stadium, Sydney
22 Feb 2010 ANZ Stadium, Sydney
25 Feb 2010 QSAC, Brisbane
27 Feb 2010 QSAC, Brisbane
2 Mar 2010 Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
6 Mar 2010 Subicao Oval, Perth
8 Mar 2010 Subicao Oval, Perth

Ash Grunwald
Aussie blues singer-songwriter Ash Grunwald is playing a few dates in February and one in early March. His live album Live at the Fly by Night is released this February, and we recommend you catch him in the flesh if he’s coming to your town.

5 Feb 2010 HiFi Bar, Melbourne, Victoria
12 Feb 2010 The Metro, Sydney, New South Wales
13 Feb 2010 The Zoo, Brisbane, Queensland
27 Feb 2010 Corinbank Festival, Corinbank, Australia
4 Mar 2010 Coolangatta Hotel, Coolangatta, Queensland

A Place To Bury Strangers
Catch them if you can at one of two East Coast dates before they head back to North America in March for a tour with The Big Pink.

11 Feb 2010 Oxford Arts Factory, Sydney, Australia
12 Feb 2010 Corner Hotel, Melbourne, Australia

Kill Devil Hills
“With more hair than a barber-shop floor and their rocking, outlaw sounds, the Kill Devil Hills are a spectacle not to be missed.” So, you know, don’t miss them.

KDH are playing dates in Australia throughout February. See their show listings here.

Related link: Live Review, Photos and Setlist – Kill Devil Hills at Mojo’s Bar, Fremantle, 17 July 2009

US/Canada

Meaghan Smith
In the run up to the Canadian launch of her debut album The Cricket’s Orchestra which is set for release on February 9th, Meaghan Smith is playing three shows. A class act worth checking out.

4 Feb, 2010 Centennial Hall, London, ON
5 Feb, 2010 Olympia Theater Montreal, QC
6 Feb, 2010 Centerpoint Theater, Ottawa, ON

Taken By Trees
Victoria Bergsman takes her solo project on the road with dates in US and Canada. Taken By Trees’ debut East Of Eden was fantastic.

Taken By Trees

13 Feb 2010     UNION HALL BROOKLYN, New York
14 Feb 2010    WORLD CAFÉ with EL PERRO DEL MAR, PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania
16 Feb 2010     LE POISSON ROUGE with EL PERRO DEL MAR, NEW YORK, New York
17 Feb 2010     THE KNITTING FACTORY with EL PERRO DEL MAR, BROOKLYN, New York
19 Feb 2010     CAMBRIDGE YMCA THEATRE with EL PERRO DEL MAR, CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts
20 Feb 2010     IL MOTORE with EL PERRO DEL MAR, MONTREAL, Quebec
21 Feb 2010     MOD CLUB with EL PERRO DEL MAR, TORONTO, Ontario
22 Feb 2010     SCHUBAS with EL PERRO DEL MAR, CHICAGO, Illinois
23 Feb 2010     CEDAR CULTURE CENTER with EL PERRO DEL MAR, MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota
26 Feb 2010     TRIPLE DOOR with EL PERRO DEL MAR, SEATTLE, Washington
27 Feb 2010     BILTMORE with EL PERRO DEL MAR, VANCOUVER, British Columbia
28 Feb 2010     DOUG FIR with EL PERRO DEL MAR, PORTLAND, Oregon
2 Mar 2010     CAFÉ DU NORD with EL PERRO DEL MAR, SAN FRANCISCO, California
3 Mar 2010     THE TROUBADOUR with EL PERRO DEL MAR, LOS ANGELES, California

Editors
One of the better British indie bands to emerge from the last decade.

Feb 05 Showbox at the Market, Seattle, WA
Feb 06 Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC
Feb 08 The Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA
Feb 09 House of Blues, San Diego, CA
Feb 11  The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA
Feb 13 Ogden Theatre, Denver, CO
Feb 15 Victoria Theatre, Chicago, IL
Feb 16 Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, ON
Feb 18 House of Blues, Boston, MA
Feb 19 Terminal 5, New York, NY
Feb 20 Trocadero, Philadelphia, PA
Feb 21 9:30 Club, Washington, DC

Fucked Up
Following the recent release of their latest record Couple Tracks, Toronto hardcore troubadours Fucked Up hit the road.

Fucked Up go on tour this February

12 Feb 2010 The ‘Sco / Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio
13 Feb 2010 Empty Bottle, Chicago, Illinois
14 Feb 2010 Video Saloon, Bloomington, Indiana
15 Feb 2010 Southgate House Newport, Kentucky
16 Feb 2010 Ottobar Baltimore, Maryland
17 Feb 2010 Barbary Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
18 Feb 2010 Maxwell’s, Hoboken, New Jersey
19 Feb 2010 Europa Brooklyn, New York
20 Feb 2010 Middle East, Boston, Massachusetts
21 Feb 2010 La Sala Rossa, Montreal, QC
23 Feb 2010 L3 Nightclub, St Catharines, Ontario

Mumford & Sons
Probably of the most exciting things to happen to folk since, well, since ever. The North American release of their debut album Sigh No More is slated for February 15th. Highly recommended.

9 Feb 2010 The Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA
11 Feb 2010 Pop Scene, San Fransisco, CA
15 Feb 2010 Lee’s Palace, Toronto, ON
18 Feb 2010 Bowery Ballroom, New York City, NY

United Kingdom

Shockwaves NME Awards Tour

Seems like most the bands in the UK are hibernating right now from what’s been pretty much the coldest winter ever, while others are playing Down Under or over in North America. So some slim pickings for February, but the NME Awards Tour is worth a look to catch the Big Pink, The Maccabees, Bombay Bicycle Club and Drums.

4 Newcastle O2 Academy
5 Glasgow Barrowland
6 Manchester Academy
7 Leeds O2 Academy
9 Nottingham Rock City
10 Norwich UEA
11 Birmingham O2 Academy
13 Cardiff University
14 Bristol O2 Academy
15 Brighton Dome
16 Bournemouth O2 Academy
18 Portsmouth Pyramids Centre
19 Cambridge Corn Exchange
20 Brixton O2 Academy
Related links:
Live Review – The Maccabees at Manchester Academy, 6 October 2009, Live Review – The Big Pink at Lee’s Palace, Toronto, 29 November 2009