Blog: bridging the atlantic

This week's featured group is The O'Darling . Made up of Eastern and Western Canadians, this group has a great jazz-folk thing going. It's not quite like anything I've heard of late, surely that's what made it intriguing. The group's release A Nice EP is buoyed by the excellent multi-instrumental arrangements and the beautiful female vocals. The tracks are paced, with soft horns and strong strings. From listening to the release, I get the impression The O'Darling must be a treat to see live. If you're in Toronto tonight catch The O'Darling at The Concord [...]

There's plenty of new music to cover, so let's get right to it: Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll Could this be my favourite Yeah Yeah Yeahs song yet? Yup, it sure is. The New York City band will release their third album, It's Blitz! , on April 13th. The album's first official single 'Zero' can be heard on their MySpace page . The Thermals - Now We Can See I properly fell in love with The Thermals following their 2006 [...]

The Sydney duo that makes up Empire of the Sun is not to be confused with it's 1987 movie counterpart of the same name. Which oddly enough I am watching on TV as I write this post. Ben Stiller's in it..but he's not very funny so far. And so is Batman! Anyways, Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore have created one of the most impressive debut albums I have heard as of late. The production is fantastic with the highlight being the oh so crisp vocals. The ten track album starts off strong with instantly loveable tracks like [...]

I've had a crush on Nous Non Plus ever since I heard their super catchy ditty "French Teacher". This ahem, 'francophone' band from NY is almost painfully kitsch, with cheesy videos, silly lyrics and even more ridiculous pseudonyms (Céline Dijon and François Hardonne, to name only a few). While they might seem to be crafting some kind of parody, they are in fact a bona fide band, complete with a messy history (check out their former ensemble, Les Sans Culottes ) and multi-talented band members. You can sample their latest album, Ménagerie (2009), [...]

Loney, Dear (aka Emil Svanängen) is a Swedish musical genius whose latest album Loney, Noir is receiving a ton of buzz. What's even more fantastic than his sound is this sweet animated video for his single "I am John". It was created by fellow Swede Andreas Nilson, whose video for The Knife (below) is also worth your while. Enjoy! Loney, Dear - I am John The Knife - N.Y. Hotel

BTA was very lucky to receive a physical copy of The Withering Pines first release Into Corners for this edition of Inbox Wednesday, I guess that makes it mailbox Wednesday? Nevertheless, Ottawa's established and well-respected musician Eric Vieweg and friends have skillfully wrapped-up some soul-filled rock numbers in the first release for The Withering Pines. What is so refreshing about this album is how the emotion permeates through every inch moment of the album. The songs are raw, yet calculated; this allows each song to stand alone. Highlights of the album include "Lines Upon Our Skin" [...]

Tribute Tuesday is not a regular segment on BTA, but I felt that I should give recognition where it's due. Blossom Dearie passed away of natural causes on February 7th, 2009 at the age of 82. She'll be remembered for her jazz vocal inspiration and her piano-boop sound. There isn't a song that won't put a smile on your face. The above photo is dated 2007; At the age of 80, Dearie maitained a regular stints in New York and London. Maybe it's because of the Grammys, but sad news went virtually unnoticed. For those who [...]

Just before heading out to check Kid Sister, A-Trak and subsequently, Shaun White of snowboarding fame I came across this dope remix of Sebastien Tellier by A-Trak . A-Trak pumps up the slow burn feel of Tellier's original while adding some Rasputin-inspired strings and that bass funk he does so well. Check it. Sebastien Tellier - Kilometer (A-Trak remix)

Just a quick note for any Vancouver readers that A-Trak, Kid Sister , and Team Canada will all be hitting the stage this weekend at the LG Mountain Festival in West Vancouver. The event will span over 3 days, starting tomorrow and includes a snowboard comp and some snazzy fashion stuff. More importantly are the three previously mentioned heavy hitters that will all be performing on Saturday. And the best part of it all...it's free. Team Canada kick things off at 4:00 pm on Saturday. Check the website for all the [...]

I've been meaning to post about The Joy Formidable ever since I caught a section of their BBC Introducing set at this year's Reading Festival but they never quite reached the upper echelons of my to do list. Now they've decided to give their debut LP "A Balloon Called Moaning" away for free I can no longer justify my procrastination. In the fields of Berkshire, the initial attraction was to Ritzy Bryan's vocals which held an instantly enviable nature of appearing simulataneously pure, jagged and imbued with character. This is even more evident on record and fits [...]

Musical pranksters the The Lonely Island released their highly anticipated album Incredibad today. Fans will be plenty familiar with SNL/internet hits such as 'Dick in a Box', 'Jizz in My Pants' and 'I'm On A Boat'; they're all there, alongside collaborations with Julian Casablancas, Natalie Portman and Jack Black, among others. The video for the 'I'm On A Boat' (see below) featuring T-Pain was made available on YouTube a few days ago and is absolutely hilarious. Folks have began touting TLI as the internet generation's answer to the Beastie Boys, and Incredibad 's slick production [...]

BTA has mentionned Late of The Pier before (thanks G.R.O), but I think they deserve a little bit of individual attention. I KNOW, this album is not from 2009, and it is therefore passé. But it's SO good. To summarize: they're British, their sound is infectious, synth-laced electro-punk and their lyrics address issues such as unrequited love and, um, radiation suits. ...Ok, so they're not making any radical political statements or producing the cleverest of poetry, but sometimes, you need a break from all that thinking, no? In any regards, Fantasy [...]

Here it is, your Friday Five: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Young Adult Friction My new favourite band The Pains of Being Pure at Heart released their self titled debut on Tuesday and are now ardently loved by everybody and his dog. New York City's latest indie rock offering will be in Toronto on February 12th and Montreal the following night. Canadians, please don't miss them. Andrew Bird - Tenuousness Andrew Bird has returned, warbling and whistling his way through [...]

Zombie-Zombie consists of two French guys who possess a large array of electronic noisemaking gadgetry and an unbridled love for vintage horror film soundtracks. Sounds familiar, you say? Their beats will, too. But the duo's 2008 debut A Land For Renegades is of a high enough standard and treads enough new ground that comparisons to Justice and the rest of the Ed Banger crew are simply sonic references rather than marginalisations. Tracks like 'Before Night Falls' and the epic opener 'Driving This Road Until Death Sets You Free' are essential listening for anyone who even remotely enjoys [...]

Squeezing as many songs as possible into 80 minutes in order to summarise the best of a whole year of music is a pretty daunting task involving tough decisions and regrettably obligatory omissions. But after much deliberation, here are my favourite tracks from 2008: 01 Why? - Fatalist Palmistry 02 Amadou and Mariam - Sabali 03 Born Ruffians - Kurt Vonnegut 04 TV on the Radio - Family Tree 05 The Walkmen - In the New Year 06 Titus Andronicus - My Time Outside [...]

Random MySpace discoveries are my favourite. This one in particular, mostly because they are Canadian and that tickles my fancy. Here's a brief bio, but I'm going to rush through this because I want you to hurry up and click on their MySpace to have a listen. They are called Faunts (a name that spellcheck desperately wants to spell Fonts), they hail from Edmonton, AB and have been around since the turn of the century (that makes them sound epic, no?). Their sound is ethereal, buttery post-rock with breathy vocals - [...]

This track arrived in the BTA email today and I was pretty stoked on it upon first listen. It comes from Shuttle, one of the the latest additions to the Ninja tune label, and features the vocals of Canada's own Cadence Weapon . Shuttle has released a number of remixes in the past of artists including Crystal Castles , Caribou , and Justice . As well as other tracks under his other alias, Etan. The title track to his upcoming EP entitled "Tunnel", opens itself up to RJD2 comparisons. But [...]

I think 'The Internet' would be a sweet club name... Just a quick note for fans of Franz Ferdinand all throughout the interweb, The Glasgow quartet will be performing in Hollywood on January 30th at 7:00 pm PST. Since science has really been letting me down lately, what with the lack of teleportation devices or affordable flying cars, the friendly people at Amoeba music will be streaming the performance live via web cast for Franz fans to enjoy near and far. You can go here for more info.

After much consideration (and procrastination), i've compiled my favourite songs of this past year. what follows is my 'best of two thousand and eight' compilation, in no particular order. Special mention to Chad VanGaalen (whose art illustrates this post), the man behind my pick for best album of the year - Soft Airplane. 1. Happens To Us All Otherwise - Bound Stems 2. Bare Feet On Wet Griptape - Chad VanGaalen 3. Casscade Kisses - François Virot 4. Give a Little Love - Noah and the [...]

Cripes. Franz Ferdinand 's much anticipated third album isn't even out yet (first single 'Ulysses' will be officially released tomorrow) but the obligatory remixes have already begun. Fortunately, this one is a solid effort. King Kong DJ Christian Vorbau stays fairly true to the original and adds some nice tweaks; the modified version features as the first track on Vorbau's December King Kong Mix, available in full here . Franz Ferdinand - No You Girls (Christian Vorbau Remix) Franz Ferdinand - Ulysses

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