Apostle of Hustle is on the move

Like a mirror of the dislocation explored on Apostle of Hustle's new CD, "National Anthem of Nowhere," the past few years of singer-songwriter Andrew Whiteman's life have been strangely nomadic -- an existence where the difference between being everywhere at once and nowhere in particular has become a bit blurred.

As guitarist for the Toronto cult faves Broken Social Scene, Whiteman has been busy recording and touring the world since that group's 2003 breakthrough CD, "You Forgot It in People," made the post-rock collective rising stars of Canada's burgeoning indie scene. Somehow in between, with Apostle of Hustle, a group he founded a year before even joining up with the Social Scene, he's managed to make not one but two well-regarded albums -- the latest of which is "Nowhere," whose atmospherically abstruse, Latin-influenced rhythms and sense-memory meditations pull the listener in like a fog surrounding, then overtaking, a sleeping city.

"With Broken Social Scene, I'm fortunate enough to be busy all the time," Whiteman says by phone from Toronto, where he and his Apostle bandmates -- drummer Dean Stone and upright bassist Julian Brown -- are getting ready for their first headlining US tour after a handful of warm-up dates last month supporting Andrew Bird, and shows in Germany, Austria, and Spain. "We made 'National Anthem of Nowhere' between Social Scene tours, so I'd come off tour and go straight to the recording studio. Some of the sessions got interrupted because I had to go do a [BSS] gig and then come back, so that's kind of how it got done."

Despite the stop-start quality of nine months' worth of recording sessions, judging by the vibrant, sustained splendor of "Nowhere," the interruptions did little to dampen or derail the band's creative spirit. The rehearsals and recording sessions were also nowhere near as protracted as those for Apostle's first CD, "Folkloric Feel," which, Whiteman recalls with residual frustration, "dragged on and on" for four years. Still, there have been other things to worry about: Like performing densely percussive, lushly layered tracks such as the Los Lobos-esque "Fast Pony for Victor Jara" or the "Tusk"-era Fleetwood Mac-style skewed sea shanty "Haul Away" with three musicians instead of the five Apostle featured when touring with Bird last month.

"Certain pressures have forced us to change what we're doing , and we're down to a trio -- just the essentials," Whiteman says, initially with trepidation but brightening to the prospect of paring back the presentation. "Certainly, in a Radiohead sense, it's impossible in terms of mastering your album and being able to replicate it. But this is the first time we're really figuring out what we're about as musicians. I've been playing with these guys for seven years, but we've never gotten to spend a solid amount of time playing music together, so it's kind of great, actually."

Of the dramatically different dynamic that drives Broken Social Scene, Whiteman says, "I'm lucky enough to be in a fantastic 8- to 16-piece rock band, and the camaraderie and community and dysfunctional family that comes with that is fantastic. But [Apostle] is a three-part musical conversation, and I'm starting to enjoy the smallness of it. It's like guerrilla warfare -- we can change the arrangement of a song in a day if we have to. Social Scene is like a celebration, a communal event between the audience and the band. Apostle doesn't really celebrate, and we don't really want people to jump up and down. It might be more about going into a dark corner of a room and fondling in the shadows."

BITS & PIECES Tonight The Woggles headline T.T. the Bear's on a bill that includes local faves Muck & the Mires, Classic Ruins, and Midnight Creeps. The Tampoffs are at the Abbey Lounge. Tomorrow Hallelujah the Hills hosts a CD-release party at Great Scott. The Silver Lining is at the Lizard Lounge. Josh Lederman Y Los Diablos are at Toad. Monday Local guitar master Duke Levine continues his monthlong residency at Atwood's (yes, he's bringing friends). Tuesday Paul Rishell and Annie Raines are at Johnny D's. Wednesday Horse Feathers are at the Middle East Upstairs. The Texas Governor is at T.T.'s with Tigersaw. Thursday The National play a sold-out show at the Middle East Downstairs. Frank Morey is at Toad. The Resophonics are at Atwood's Tavern.