With apologies to Frank Yang's twitter slogan , I think the new fre-EP from Slow Down, Molasses should pique your interest. For anyone unfamiliar with the band the Saskatchewan collective, just know they write songs that hit with the drama and intensity of post-rock, but still offers the tenderness of the music more often played on long, straight prairie roads. When I talked about the band's last album, one I mistakenly left off my Favorites-of '11 list, I mentioned that the band would be perfect to soundtrack a Friday Night Lights like [...]
I know he's a rather buzz-tastic chap these days, but I've loved Michael Silver's (aka CFCF) stuff for a while now , so I'mma go ahead and post this new track from his upcoming album Exercises . Exercise #3 (Building) is a peek into the contemplative nature of CFCF's new record (which was partly inspired by "institutional architecture and 702s Canadiana" amongst other things), and it is really rather beautiful and hypnotic. Web:: cfcf.bandcamp.com
As a musician, it's hard to define Klarka Weinwurm. She's one of the staples of the East Coast scene, routinely supporting Jon Mckiel and Shotgun Jimmie, but you'd be forgiven if you hadn't heard her songs. The soft spoken Weinwurm doesn't have a Web site and unless you cornered her in a dark alley, I'm not sure you could even buy her latest EP. Thankfully, that will all change soon. Klarka is set to release her debut LP, Continental Drift on Saved By Vinyl this Spring and the songs show a huge, but [...]
I don't know about you, but after a long hard Wednesday, there is only one thing that can soothe my savage beast of a soul: street gang-related hi-jinks. Luckily Wildlife has me covered with their new video for Sea Dreamer off of their amazingly well received last album, Strike Hard Young Diamond . The video features the band messing with girls, doing some parking lot bowling, and it culminates with a good ol' fashioned brawl with a rival gang. I enjoyed it's Warriors-esque vibe, you may as well. You can catch Wildlife here in [...]
When they sent me their new album, 5 Year Journey , it struck me that Vancouver hip hop outfit Self-Taught chose a very appropriate name for themselves. I'm sure it certainly describes how they learned their craft, but to me, it's fitting because the guys that invented hip hop actually created this movement & music that we all love by teaching themselves how to cut a record and move the crowd whilst on the mic. So anyhoo, I enjoy Self-Taught's name, but what of their album? ST is actually a 3-man crew: MC/Producers Vintage and [...]
Zachary Lucky sounds like man that had love break his heart and the road break his spirit. Words fall from his lips, heavy and heartfelt, and you wonder how a man so young became saddled with such weight. Lucky's anguish is the listener's reward. "Back in the fall", the first single from his new Saskatchewan EP, is built from straightforward strums, tasteful pedal steel and subtle banjo, but the sounds come together nicely to lift Zachary's heavy heart. Thankfully, Lucky never comes off as a sad sack, woe is me coffee shop warrior. He's confident [...]
Marc Morrissette has seen the world as a tourist, as a foreigner. Years ago, his solo work was a collection of observations and memories from his travels, held close and shared openly like sepia toned photos. The songs were stripped down, which made complete sense considering they were born in new countries and lonely hostels. Like most of us, Morrissette traded his backpack for a more permanent postal code and his songs have become more of a community than quiet observation. Octoberman is a full band experience and the addition of harmonies, tempo, horns and noisy tangents [...]
Well this bit of news has plenty of people in Halifax excited, so why not share it: Jon Epworth has a new album coming out at the end of the month. Failure Epics will be released in digital form on the 28th and on vinyl in March via Diminished Fifth Records . The Epworth and D5R match seems an odd pairing at first, based on the label's current heavy duty metal catalog, but the conceptual Failure Epics was "inspired by King Crimson and Yes as well as more modern metal acts like Meshuggah, [...]
Seems today is Bob Marley's birthday, so I figured we might as well celebrate with the most famous Marley sample in Old School hip hop history - EPMD's Strictly Business , the title track from their debut album. Obviously an amazing jam, but of course it's not really a Bob Marley sample that is uses, but it famously flips the riff from Eric Clapton's cover of I Shot The Shreriff . So not strictly Marley I guess, but still a fitting OSM-style tribute I'd say. Happy Birthday Bob.
The end of the week has finally arrived, and I think we all want the same thing right about now: to watch a video of Old Man Luedecke playing a song in his bathtub. Well the folks at the very impressive Nova Scotia-based video site Analog Songs have you covered in fine style. So here's to the weekend, and may all your parties feature at least one person falling down drunk. In a good way of course. Web:: www.oldmanluedecke.ca Web:: www.analogsongs.ca
I shant lie to you, I pretty much loved Teenage Kicks last EP , Rational Anthems , and so any news from the band is welcome on my cyber doorstep. And there appears to be TK news aplenty right now, as not only will they be playing in Halifax on March 30th (Michael's with Wildlife and Glory Glory), but their new EP, Be On My Side will be released on March 2nd. But that's not all! Teenage Kicks recently launched their Singles Club , and for the low, low price of simply your [...]
It's no secret that I love the visceral country songs One Hundred Dollars delivers each and every time out. The band hits like a sledgehammer; sure any country purist will soak up the melodies, but Simone Schmidt refuses to settle for cheap cliches and tried and true imagery. Her pen cuts deep as she tells modern stories, framed by those traditional sounds. Make no mistake, this band has some f@cking chops, and the fact they appreciate the legacy of the genre but want to push it forward makes One Hundred Dollars the most exciting country band in Canada. [...]
It's fitting that Calgary's Reuben Bullock describes his state of mind, and musical perspective, as simply going where the river takes him. In a time when most folk/roots acts feel as natural as salmon fishing in the Yemen , Bullock lets go of any expectations and floats with the current. Bullock is a self-admitted work in progress, a man trying to build chemistry with his band and find his sound, but if Man Made Lake is any indication, he's well on his way. With the help of a full band that understands his [...]
If you had taken a poll a few years ago, when PEI was spitting out awesome young bands like they were some new form of hybrid potato (a PEI/potato ref, unexpected right?), around which band would end up having the most interesting body of work over their career, the winner would likely have been Boxer The Horse. Maybe. I mean if you asked us, it likely would have, as ever since they ethered a loudmouth brah at a hill-related HPX showcase , we've had a soft-spot for these guys. Their debut full-length album, Would You Please [...]
Alright, Fredericton. You and I haven't seen eye to eye much in the past, but I'm willing to forgive and forget what with you playing host to the 2nd edition of the Shivering Songs festival. Like most fantastic festivals, Shivering Songs isn't about Redbull tents, corporate sponsors and buzz bands that will be lucky to be working at the festival in a few years. No, Shivering Songs is about giving fans of great music and under appreciated artists a chance to bask in the sun. This weekend - Feb. 3rd - Feb. 5th - Fredericton [...]
B.A. Johnston, Canada's favourite sweat-soaked and/or shirtless bon-vivant, has a new album called Hi Dudes! coming out February 21st. The lead single is entitled Truffle Shuffle and features Laura Barrett on the guest vocals. You can call me Chris Traeger, because that is literally all you need to know about this enterprise. Get on it. MP3:: B.A. Johnston - Truffle Shuffle f. Laura Barrett WEB:: www.bajohnston.ca
I'll freely admit to not knowing much about Etta James, outside of the fact that she seemed to be a pretty amazing woman. That said, I certainly had a song come to mind when I heard about her passing a couple weeks ago - it just so happens that the song which started playing in my head was Def Jef's Droppin' Rhymes On Drums. Droppin' Rhymes on Drums has always been a favorite of mine , but I have no idea how the Jef/Etta collabo came to pass. I've always assumed there was [...]
A few years ago, I tried to pressure The Just Barelys to put out a new record with an incessant amount of myspace queries (when that was actually still a thing) and blog posts. Jesus, if Twitter was half as popular as it is today or kickstarter existed, #justbarelyspleaserecord would have been trending daily and my bank account would have been drained. But unlike so many bands with even a fraction of their talent, The Just Barelys slow played their hand and made us wait… and wait and wait. On Feb. [...]
If you're only going to download one mixtape today, please make it this one: KREAM2: The Purple Kicks from the Freshco & Miz of Halifax, Ambition & Uncle Fester. Of course I'm being facetious there, the internet is your mixtape-containing oyster, so by all means, harvest away, but please make sure KREAM 2 is included. I loved the original incarnation of Kicks Rule Everything Around Me, so I was looking forward to the 2nd edition, but somehow I missed it's original release in December and I'm [...]
Starting your Friday with a new Yukon Blonde song? Works for me. YB's new album, Tiger Talk , comes out on March 20th, but you can OOOOooooOOOoooooOOOOOO along with new single Stairway right now. MP3:: Yukon Blonde - Stairway Web:: yukonblonde.com
Herohill
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