Blog: BowlingStone.com

Here's a fun little activity for everyone:  The next time you have nothing to do, grab the blankets off your bed, throw them across your couch/coffee table creating a fort of sorts, shut off every light in your house/apartment, climb in with a flashlight, and listen to the new Timber Timbre album; friends of mine will know this activity as "Saturday Night".  Though I'm only half-serious, there is a certain quality to Taylor Kirk's indie-folk project that begs to be consumed in a manner that compliments the strange atmosphere the work creates.   Lay Down in the Tall [...]

I haven't listened to a lot of Dallas Green / City and Colour in about 6 months.  This is due in part to a self-inflicted saturation of the project in 2008 and early 2009, and in part to my discovery of Dan Mangan last year, who has fared quite admirably in satisfying my moody acoustic/folk-rock needs.  However, when I heard The Girl today I was unavoidably returned to my spot on the City and Colour wagon.  The track can be found on Dallas Green's second full-length solo effort Bring Me Your Love , [...]

After a relatively quiet 2009 (It would be nice if my relatively quiet years included an album I produced being shortlisted for the Polaris Prize ), Hawksley Workman is poised once again for a big year; the Polaris-shortlisted album Workman produced was Hey Rosetta! 's masterpiece Into Your Lungs (and around in your heart and on through your blood) .  Workman's 11th full-length album "Meat" is scheduled for a January 19th release, which will be followed by Workman's 12th full-length album "Milk", which will be released digitally over a 5-month period.   We'll Make Time [...]

Up today is some sublime lo-fi indie-rock/pop, care of Vancouver-based The Awkward Stage .  Consisting of frontman Shane Nelken, Tygh Runyan (Beans) on guitar, Tony Koelwyn (Bossanova) on drums, and Chris Mitchell who plays with the Vancouver Symphony on trumpet and keyboards, The Awkward Stage have two full-length releases to their name since forming in 2006.   Heaven Is For Easy Girls can be found on the band's 2006 debut LP of the same name, released via Vancouver-based independent  record label Mint Records .  The band followed up on the album with the 2008 effort Slimming [...]

There are a lot of things to like about today's tune.  There's that sort of  Jim Cuddy mixed with Joel Plaskett vibe that can be heard, there's the fantastic harmonies during the chorus that just ache to be turned up, and then there's the charming lyrics like "I'm too old for the girl I love but she doesn't know it yet" throughout.   Blood's Too Rich is the title track from indie/folk/country-rocker Luke Doucet 's 4th full-length solo album , released in Canada early in January of 2008 and in the US in late [...]

The Toronto indie-rock/electronic duo of Dan Werb and Paul Banwatt, known as Woodhands , are slated to release their highly anticipated follow-up LP this month.  "Remorsecapade" will be released via Paper Bag Records in Canada on January 26th and in the US on February 23rd;   CP24 will be one of the tracks featured on the new album.  "Remorsecapade" follows up the band's acclaimed 2008 LP "Heart Attack" (also released via Paper Bag Records) and the accompanying tour through North America, Europe, China, and Japan.  A limited edition vinyl copy of "Remorsecapade" can be pre-ordered right [...]

Today's track is another gem from the Montreal indie/electronic-rock husband/wife duo of Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry , otherwise known as Handsome Furs .   Radio Kaliningrad can be found as the closing track to the band's sophomore full-length album Face Control , released via Sub Pop Records in March of 2009.  Music fans will likely recognize Dan Boeckner as one-half of the two-headed monster known as Wolf Parade , or digging even deeper, as the front man of the now defunct British Columbia indie-rock act Atlas Strategic .  For [...]

Really cool song up today, and an even cooler delivery.   Marlaina Kamikaze comes to us via the Vancouver, British Columbia duo of Zachary Gray (guitar) and Tom Dobrzanski (piano), otherwise known as The Zolas.  The song can be found on the band's 2009 debut LP "Tic Toc Tic" which appears to have hit the streets early on in November.  This particular version of the song is a live "first take" effort of the song that was done for Southern Souls .  Southern Souls is the music/video project of filmmaker Mitch Fillion, inspired by efforts such as the [...]

More up today from the experimental music ensemble  Animal Collective and their most recent EP Fall Be Kind , released digitally on November 23rd of this year, and physically on the 15th of December.   What Would I Want? Sky found it's way into the #11 spot on Pitchfork 's Top 100 Tracks of 2009, and was the 2nd song ever to receive a 10-out-of-10 rating from the publication;  the first was While You Wait for the Others from the Brooklyn-based indie-rock band Grizzly Bear .  Interestingly, the song features the first ever [...]

A Better Son/Daughter can be found on the LA-based indie-rock act Rilo Kiley's 2002 sophomore release The Execution of All Things .  The album, which follows-up on the band's debut LP Take Offs and Landings , was released via the Oberst brothers' ( Bright Eyes ) founded label Saddle Creek Records ; the album also features contributed instrumentation/vocals from one half of the the Monsters of Folk ensemble via M. Ward and Conor Oberst .  Since "The Execution of All Things" Rilo Kiley, which consists of former child-actors Jenny Lewis [...]

I had planned on putting a Boxing Day post together, but as so often is the case around the holidays, family Scattergories was beckoning.  Tonight's song comes from the Toronto, Ontario indie-rock threesome Magneta Lane .  The all female act of Lexi Valentine, Nadia King, and Francine DiBacco have released 3 full-length albums since their inception in 2003; Lady Bones can be found on the band's 2009 LP Gambling with God , released on September 15th.  The band supported the release by opening for Canadian indie-rock legends Sloan on a North American tour in [...]

I've got a quick Christmas Eve post for everyone today, before the circus known as the Ukrainian Christmas Feast begins at my family's place.  With all the recent hoopla surrounding a possible Arcade Fire release in 2010, now seems like a good time to post another tune from the band.  If you haven't heard the aforementioned hoopla, early on in December Marcus Mumford of Mumford and Sons revealed that producer Markus Dravs had been working with Arcade Fire for the last 6 months.  The following day, Rolling Stone announced (though it was quickly refuted) that the [...]

Today's song comes from the Kelowna solo artist Cary Pratt, and his solo project Prairie Cat; see what he did there?   Just Cuz can be found on Pratt's most recent album "It Began/Ended With Sparks", which appears to have been released digitally late in October of this year, and physically early in December.  The song delivers a story about a breakup, or breakups, in way that is refreshingly sardonic over sappy.  "It Began/Ended With Sparks" follows-up on Pratt's debut 2007 EP "ATTACKS!", which was mixed by former Limblifter / Age of Electric frontman (co-frontman) Ryan [...]

Today's song comes from the Kelowna solo artist Cary Pratt, and his solo project Prairie Cat; see what he did there?   Just Cuz can be found on Pratt's most recent album "It Began/Ended With Sparks", which appears to have been released digitally late in October of this year, and physically early in December.  The song delivers a story about a breakup, or breakups, in way that is refreshingly sardonic over sappy.  "It Began/Ended With Sparks" follows-up on Pratt's debut 2007 EP "ATTACKS!", which was mixed by former Limblifter / Age of Electric frontman (co-frontman) Ryan [...]

Wicked catchy tune today from the Cape Breton, Nova Scotia trio of cousins Mardeen.  From what I've read, members Matthew Ellis, Travis Ellis, and Jon Pearo have been playing together since the age of 12; other than brushing my teeth, I'm not sure there's anything I've done consistently since the age of 12.   Kids can be found as the opening track to the band's 2008 debut LP "Read Less Minds", which follows up on the band's 2005 EP "Friends Don't Love".  The band wrapped up 2009 with a number of Atlantic Canada shows, and have yet to post a [...]

In the same fashion as every music blogger in the world, I've spent the last couple weeks working on my "Best of 20093 list.  However, it seems like as soon as I get the song-filled post-it notes in an order I feel good about, I hear something that makes me re-consider the list; is that Islands song really as good as I think it is?  Does Dan Mangan need to be listed multiple times by another indie blog?  Today's song is anther number that has me spreading songs out over my coffee table.   [...]

Amongst other things, 2009 will be remembered as the year I re-discovered my fondness for hip-hop; equally as important, it was the year I discovered Steam Whistle, but my beer preferences don't fall under the ever expanding umbrella of indie-music.  Today's song comes to us from D-Sisive , the stage name of Canadian rapper Derek Christoff, and his debut full-length release "Let the Children Die".  The album, which was long-listed for the 2009 installment of the Polaris Music Prize , follows up the 2008 Juno-nominated EP "The Book".  Preceding the release of "The Book", Christoff endured a 6 year [...]

I've got another fantastic song today, from a band that seems to have an affinity for creating fantastic songs.  Last year, Hey Rosetta! unleashed (yes, unleashed is a fair description) their second album Into Your Lungs (and around in your heart and on through your blood) to the masses.  With Canadian indie legend Hawksley Workman at the helm as producer, the album delivered a Tour de Force of passion-filled sweeping epics.  The album would go on to win the Album of the Year award at the inaugural  Verge Music Awards , receive a nomination for [...]

Mr. Carl Newman (known as A.C. Newman in the context of his solo work) comes in with a gem for us today.  Powered by a driving drum beat, and Newman's unmistakable wordplay and delivery, The Palace at 4 AM is certain to get a head bobbing, or foot tapping at the very least.  The song can be found on Newman's second solo album Get Guilty , released on Matador Records on January 20th of this year.  The album follows-up on Newman's debut solo release, the 2004 effort The Slow Wonder .  When not [...]

More quality Canadian content coming from the west coast today, this time via the indie/alt-rock duo Kristen Cudmore and Gregor Phillips; otherwise known as Language Arts.  Originally from the other Canadian coast, Nova Scotia (I suppose we have a northern coast as well), the duo's biography describes their latest album as "celebrating obscurities and word entanglements with poetic poise, paired with an alt-rock foundation yet fleshed out with classical instrumentation"; that's  exactly how I described them to a friend of mine today oddly enough.  Today's song is the title track from the band's 2009 sophomore full-length release "Where Were [...]