Who’s that writin’: Whitehorse share their take on “John The Revelator,” an ominous reckoning with a modern apocalypse in mind. Listen here.

Hot off holiday album coverage from Rolling Stone, Los Angeles Times, CBC’s q, The Edge and more, Toronto duo keeps rolling with The Northern South Vol. 2, out next week (1/18/19).

“These are six songs from the past, but Whitehorse revive them through their alternative instrumental contributions and their inventive vocals.” – PopMatters

Whitehorse delve into end of days overtones with a fuzzed out, swampy take on the nearly century-old seven seals song “John The Revelator,” the third track the duo has shared in advance of The Northern South Vol. 2’s upcoming release on Jan 18, 2019.

In keeping with the larger mission of The Northern South project, where Whitehorse transpose 50s and 60s blues cuts into a contemporary framework, the duo’s treatment of “John The Revelator” sees the biblical signs of the apocalypse modified to comment on present realities: political, environmental and beyond. “We wanted to tell a more current, relevant tale,” says Melissa McClelland, one half of the duo. “We pieced together the lyrics from several different versions to form something new, to touch on the end of days issues that feel pressing to us: global warming, Trump presidency, consumerism and religion itself, among other things.” Luke Doucet adds, “There’s a long history of rewriting this classic; many renditions include reworked lyrics since Blind Willie Johnson recorded it. So we’re not taking special liberties here but rather continuing the tradition of reinterpreting the story for the current era, as has repeatedly been the fashion.”

From the depression and disaster of the song’s 1930s origins to the present-day calamities that weigh on Whitehorse’s minds, “John The Revelator” remains an ominous and churning narrative, an unsettling minor key disaster fantasy. “John The Revelator” is much darker in tone than the previous tracks released thus far, the willingly provocative “Baby, Scratch My Back” and the back-and-forth self-blame game of “Who’s Been Talkin’.” Whitehorse’s harmonies and their canny interplay of lead vocals play exceptionally well as a reframing device throughout The Northern South’s two volumes (the first released in 2016) to underline the saucy, shady and slinky nuances of early blues.  

The Northern South Vol. 2 will be released on January 18, 2019.

We are thrilled to offer a special vinyl edition of Tanya Tagaq’s bestselling, Giller Prize long-listed debut novel, “Split Tooth.” Our limited edition LP features poems excerpted from the audiobook, read by Tagaq.

You’ll want to see the very saucy, highly NSFW cover art by Love & Rockets’ artist Jaime Hernandez, who illustrated the book. Click the here below to reveal… if you dare.

Well, it’s only been a few hours since the Great Pumpkin vanished, but you know what that means — the Christmas onslaught is on, and that goes for holiday albums, too. Fortunately, bringing the best of season’s greetings is Whitehorse, the Toronto-based husband-and-wife duo of Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland, and you’ll want their music in your home for the holidays.

A Whitehorse Winter Classic, a nine-song collection that included seven stunning originals written by Doucet and McClelland, along with faithful, delightful renditions of “Blue Christmas” and the Pretenders’ “2000 Miles”, will be released on Friday, 2 November via Six Shooter Records. But the Whitehorse power couple are presenting a sneak preview today at PopMatters by premiering the entire album.

Toxic lakes, wellness clinics and mud-caked bodies: the cardinal direction of Ensign Broderick’s BloodCrush is a saline fever dream, calibrated to the cultish wraith waste vibes of California’s Imperial Valley. Inspired by pilgrimage, anti-war protests, Decca-era Stones and Smetana, BloodCrush is the first new collection from an artist who announced himself earlier in 2018 with four archival albums of wildly ambitious, hyper-referential art pop, a fraction of his forty years’ of recordings.

Pre-order BloodCrush on 180 gram vinyl or CD here. You can also pre-save on Spotify and Apple Music by following this link.

Tanya Tagaq’s stunning new book, Split Tooth, hits the shelves on Tuesday, September 25, but it’s already been added to his year’s Giller Prize long list. The long list was selected by a five-member jury made up of Canadian writer and journalist Kamal Al-Solaylee(Jury Chair); playwright Maxine Bailey, who is vice-president of advancement for the Toronto International Film Festival; American writer John Freeman; English novelist Philip Hensher and Canadian author Heather O’Neill.

“We were looking for books that were written in elevated, idiosyncratic, original prose that exhibited an exquisite command of the art of language, and unparalleled mastery of structure and storytelling,” the jury said in a statement. “We argued viciously over books, expounding on their merits. But when the battle was over, what remained left us in awe.”

Read the full list of nominees via the Toronto Star here.

The Six Shooter Records’ Webstore is offering a limited edition Split Tooth package that includes Split Tooth and seal skin bookmark made by Snowfly. Buy it here.

SECOND INSTALMENT OF JUNO AWARD-NOMINATED PROJECT DEALS 1950s BLUES BOPS, HELLFIRE GOSPELS AND SEXED-UP CUTS. 

LISTEN TO LEAD TRACK, HOWLIN’ WOLF’S “WHO’S BEEN TALKIN'” NOW.  

Itches, urges, dirges and scourges: welcome back to The Northern South. Whitehorse makes their return to the early days of electric blues with the second instalment of a project that melds original grooves and melodies with the duo’s steamy, swampy, squalling approach. There’s foreplay, foreboding, fever and Fenders — plenty of them — with cuts from Howlin’ Wolf, Willie Dixon, Jimmy Reed, Slim Harpo and more.

“Blues gave rock ‘n’ roll its nerve. It breaks, bends and distorts rules,” offers Melissa McClelland, one half of the duo. “This sense of abandon, emotional and musical urgency trickled into all forms of modern day music. There would be no Cardi B without Lucille Bogan. There would be no Tom Waits without Howlin’ Wolf and there would be no Stones without any of it.”

On opener “Who’s Been Talkin’” (1957), Luke Doucet serves up a hearty White Falcon slice of love and respect for Howlin’ Wolf and his right-hand man, guitar hero Hubert Sumlin, while melodica and Wurlitzer wind around the deft dance of the lyrics. “The nuance of simultaneously accepting responsibility and accusing a lover of doing him wrong was very subtle,” says Doucet. “It’s a rabbit hole of contrition.”

From there, Whitehorse gets loose and languid with a Jimmy Reed via J.J. Cale take on “Baby What You Want Me To Do” (1959). With a few Gretsch squelches for good measure, Whitehorse’s tribute to Reed’s laid-back minimalism and melody mastery moves along no faster than a Sunday morning.

An exercise in subtlety it is not: Whitehorse’s version of Slim Harpo’s “Baby, Scratch My Back” (1965) is a lap dance, an unapologetically erotic, red-hot take. With McClelland on lead vocals upending the original dynamic, Whitehorse’s version is one of female desire and pleasure. Less girls gone wild, more sexual intellectual.

Next up is “I Just Wanna Make Love To You” (1954), a Willie Dixon original given a Jon Spencer Blues Explosion-inspired treatment—McClelland’s idea. “It would be impossible to top Etta James’ steaming vocal, so I suggested we turn ourselves into a garage rock band, a little scrappier, punchier and live off the floor.”

From a turbulent, direful crackling rapture to a haunting, minor key requiem, The Northern South Vol. 2 goes further back in time with two traditional gospel blues selections, “John The Revelator” and “St. James Infirmary.” The latter features one of the EP’s highlights: a righteous noisescape outro from McClelland, played on Doucet’s Les Paul. “John the Revelator was an interesting song to delve into,” says McClelland. “We liked the intensity of the end of times bible story but we wanted it to tell a more current, relevant tale. With some new words, we touch on the end of days issues that feel pressing to us: global warming, the Trump presidency, consumerism, and religion itself.”

Both snapshot and slingshot,The Northern South Vol. 2 cycles back and careens forward, taking a twelve-bar trip through the chart-toppers of the era.  “These aren’t deep cuts, they are the Top 40, the pop hits of the blues world, what was happening at the time,” explains Doucet of the song selection process. “These songs spoke to the basics. They communicated simple truths and realities in ways that transcended boundaries.”

The Northern South Vol. 2 will be released January 18, 2019.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Who’s Been Talkin’ (Howlin’ Wolf)
2. Baby, What You Want Me to Do (Jimmy Reed)
3. John the Revelator (Traditional)
4. Baby, Scratch My Back (Slim Harpo)
5. I Just Wanna Make Love to You (Willie Dixon)
6. St. James Infirmary (Traditional)

Listen to the first single Who’s Been Talkin’ on Spotify below or click here to listen on your preferred streaming service.