Ah, summer. With all your sun and your heat and your humidity and your sweat. How I missed you so. I just ran 2.5 miles, the furthest I've been able to go since my knee surgery, and you know what, it hurt like hell, but out under the summer sky on a beautiful day, all is right with the world. Barbecues and blooming trees, sandy beaches and broken dreams. Summer comes only once a year. Let's enjoy it this time. Download Camera Obscura - "Honey in the Sun".mp3 [...]
Well, June has started and that means we need a new Music Nova Scotia Band of the Month. This month, for me, the pick was easy. From the first time I heart Seaside blast out of my shitty computer speakers, I knew the Halifax/Truro trio Kestrels was going to be a band I was all about. In fact after one or two listens to the 7", I said: Seaside starts with a simple electric that resonates in the vast emptiness, but quickly vocals and rapid fire drums fill [...]
It seems like I've been waiting to hear the full length from Halifax/Truro-based noise affectionados, Kestrels for decades. Their teaser 7" - Seaside ( review )- that came out last year warmed my J Mascis loving heart and the play count on iTunes shows that I've not even come close to tiring of the jam. The thing that makes them so appealing is how well they balance melody and layers with a love of noise that reminds me of the music I grew up, but never sound dated or formulaic. Honestly, they [...]
This week's New Music Tuesday is going to feature several bands that are new to me this year and have caught my attention for their brilliance. If you haven't heard of them yet, take a sample and enjoy... Kestrels A kestrel is a type of bird, a member of the falcon genus. Unfortunately, that Wikipedia reference has little to do with the Canadian band whose debut single has been lodged in my Top 10 of the week for a couple months [...]
On the day that I get an email from British Sea Power, Eamon Hamilton's former band, informing me that BSP will be playing Regents Park, where they allege Eamon buried 24 cans of Kestrel draught-flow in 2003 but can't remember where. We happen to be in Derby to see Eamon and his band, Brakes. Eamon is obviously a fan of The Voluntary Butler Scheme because again this one-man-band is supporting him. Rob doesn't appear quite as shy as when we saw him last year and is quite chatty with the crowd but he's still doesn't look exactly comfortable [...]
(photo: Robin Hart Hiltz) Like the Elvis Costello songs says, I feel like a man out of time. When it was in its prime, I didn't pay much attention to the droning, feedback drenched alt-rock of bands like Pavement and Dinosaur Jr., or really whole -heartedly embrace shoegaze (although I made exceptions for My Bloody Valentine and Ride). Now, as a new wave of artists look to the mid-90s for inspiration, I'm drawn to bands like Phillipines' Moscow Olympics and Brooklyn's The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart like a moth to the flame. [...]
myspace :: label In all honesty, Halifax has so many little side projects cropping up that it's hard for a blogger to keep it all straight. So you'll have to excuse my ignorance and oversight in not mentioning Kestrels on herohill yet. In fact, when Chad sent over the new A-side to their debut 7", I quickly wondered why no one in Halifax was talking about this impossible-to-google band. It would be easy to just point out that the trio consists of members from the Medium Mood and [...]
VAGUE SPACE
Herohill
Fit For Moshing
Quick Before It Melts
I’ll Just Leave This Here #161
BAND OF HORSES – The Funeral (Sound Remedy Remix)
Angger Dimas – Ribon Dooh (Preview)
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs: Stronger
Video: Dreamers - "Appaloosa"
