Blog: Chipped Hip

Here's the title track from Best Coast 's sophomore album, The Only Place . It's not exactly a big departure in terms of its style (sunny indie pop) or lyrical content (California, the beach), but it sure sounds lovely. Producer Jon Brion 's input is felt here. The album is out May 15 through Mexican Summer .

My girlfriend and I are farm sitting this week, so today I walked the dogs down to Ye Olde Country General Store (real name) and bought a Coke and a Mr. Big. When in the country, do as the country folk do. Then one of the dogs managed to fall in a lake somehow. Still not quite sure how she managed that. Anyhow, what I'm trying to say is that I wore a sweater with no jacket, and that's the first time in 2012 that I've been comfortable without my winter coat on. Spring! I [...]

Wonderfully fuzzy Vancouver act Weed is back with another EP. It's called Gun Control and it's out on May 19. Below, listen to the satisfyingly sludgy single "Ben's Tour." Don't be fooled by the long intro and low-mixed vocals, this isn't an instrumental. Ben's Tour by Weed

Said the Whale has been rolling out videos for every song from the excellent Little Mountain , and I'm very happy to be able to offer the world premiere of the clip for the closing number, "Seasons." The track is a delicate and romantic piano ballad sung by drummer Spencer Schoening. While the lyrics describe the changing of the seasons, this frosty video is pure winter. I first heard this song when Spencer played it during a solo set at a coffee shop a couple of years ago. I thought it was [...]

In addition to manning the bass in Apollo Ghosts , Jarrett Samson fronts the shit-kicking Vancouver outfit Korean Gut . Here's the band's scuzzy surf stomper "Hard to Say," which is coming out through Student Loan Records on a split 73 with Babysitter . This band is quickly becoming one of my new local favourites. Hard To Say by Korean Gut

Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields has written some of my favourite songs ever, so I was happy to interview him recently for the Georgia Straight . Below is the video for the hooky electro number "Andrew in Drag," which is the most pop-friendly song on the recent Love at the Bottom of the Sea . Be forewarned that the clip has a small amount of nudity.

Here's an honest question: what do musicians really have to gain from SXSW ? I imagine it's heaven for music fans (at least it might be were it not for the crazy lines and overcrowded hotels), but what's the point in driving across the country to play for five people at a PM barbecue at 2 PM in the back yard of some bar? But hey, maybe I'm just bitter that I'm not in Texas watching Jack White . His new solo jam, "Sixteen Salteens," is below. The White Stripes live on through this [...]

PS I Love You 's upcoming sophomore LP, Death Dreams , is a total banger, and that also goes for the single "Sentimental Dishes." This song is every bit as noisy and fuzzy as 2010's Meet Me at the Muster Station , but the pop hooks are perhaps a little more front-and-centre. That is, until it ends with some face-melting guitar shredding. You're going to want to get ready for this album. Go to Exclaim! to read my story about it.

Back when I was in high school, my stepbrothers and I had an inside joke. After hearing the song "Schism" by Tool , we would repeatedly ask one another, "You know what I know?" The other would respond, "That the pieces fit." It wasn't exactly a clever joke, but it went on and on and on. And that song was pretty cool too. I definitely didn't ask Tool singer Maynard James Keenan that same question when I interviewed him about his band Puscifer for the Georgia Straight . The [...]

There are plenty of bands around that pilfer from the synth-heavy pop sounds of the '80s. Some do it well, some don't; Bishop Morocco falls into the former category. The band will release the Old Boys EP through Arts & Crafts on March 13. I wrote about it for Exclaim! , and you can hear the effectively wonky title track below.

I've been meaning to post Hey Ocean! 's "Big Blue Wave" on here for a while, but the band hadn't previously made it available for streaming, meaning that all I had were shitty radio rips and live versions. Well, here's a video for that ultra-poppy, totally catchy song. I interviewed the band for Exclaim! last year, and we talked about the band's upcoming album.

I'm very happy to be able to offer the Canadian premiere of "The Diamond Sea," a Sonic Youth cover by folksy Ontario rock crew Cuff the Duke . The dudes make the song their own by giving it a countrified makeover. Yes, the band jam it out a bit, but no, it's not twenty minutes long like the original. Singer Wayne Petti said this about the cover: "We're all fans of Sonic Youth but I have to say, for the record, that they are easily my favourite band of all time. Their uncompromising ability [...]

• Cuff the Duke - The Diamond Sea (Sonic Youth cover)

I interviewed Nick Thorburn of Islands for Exclaim! , and also reviewed the band's latest album, A Sleep & a Forgetting . Below is a music video for the single "This Is Not a Song," which is a wonderfully simple piano-based soul ballad that's probably my favourite track on the album.

I recently wrote an Exclaim! article about the best crowdfunding campaigns, and I included Black Tambourine 's Kickstater drive to fund a new EP of Ramones covers called OneTwoThreeFour . This is actually the first time I've contributed to a crowdfunding campaign. Below, listen to the EP cut "What's Your Game. This features Dee Dee from Dum Dum Girls and Vancouver's own Rose Melberg on backing vocals.

Vancouver piano rock purveyor Bend Sinister is back with another EP, On My Mind , due out on March 6 through File Under: Music . Below, listen to the charmingly bombastic single "Give It a Rest," which is as brash, theatrical, and Bend Sinister-y as always. If you liked the band's past work , you'll be pleased to note that not too much has changed.

Humans have a new single out, and it's a hell of a lot poppier than the last one I posted by the Vancouver electronic duo. Take a listen to "De Ciel" below. This comes from the upcoming EP Traps . Go to Exclaim! to read more.

As a journalist, conflict of interest (whether real or perceived) can be kind of a drag. Case in point: the new Chris-a-riffic 73, Bible Belts . I don't know Chris very well at all, but I won't be able to write about his newest release for any respectable publication (this one certainly doesn't count) because, well, look at the credits on Bandcamp to see why. Below is the song "I Can't Carry That." Yes, technically I sing on this song, but the fact that I participated in a group vocal session (it [...]

Yesterday I was a panelist at a Polaris Music Prize event in Vancouver, and fellow juror Lana Gay pointed out that the new Grimes album, Visions , is one of the standouts of the year so far. Don't believe her? Below is the ethereal pop treasure "Oblivion."

When I posted the Drums ' previous video , I complained about the choice of single, and wrote that any of the first three tracks from Portamento would have been a better choice. Now I've gotten my wish, since the band just rolled out a clip for the ultra-minimal pop masterpiece "Days." Rarely does a song accomplish so much with so little.

As I recently wrote about for Exclaim! , members of You Say Party , Oh No! Yoko and GSTS! formed a new band called Real Boys . Listen to the perky, pop rocking, rather ON!Y-sounding single "Vacation" below. VACATION - STUDIO by Real Boys