Toronto-based indie-poppers Ohbijou delivered their long-awaited (I suppose it was only 3 years) soph0more album "Beacons" this past year, following-up on their 2006 debut release "Swift Feet for Troubling Times". Make It Gold can be found in the oft-controversial #9 position on the album, and is gorgeous number that begins by feeling almost underscored (by Ohbijou standards) before swelling into another one of their orchestral masterpieces. For more from the 7-piece ensemble, consisting of sisters Casey and Jennifer Mecija, Heather Kirby, James Bunton, Anissa Hart, Ryan Carley, and Andrew Kinoshita, check out their MySpace below. The [...]

radio rock wednesday. Pascal Babare - Ceremony Jonathan Boulet - A public service announcement (Album Leaf remix) Immaculate Machine - Sound the alarm Lawrence Arabia - The undesirables
For anyone accustomed to the CD versions of Kraftwerk 's albums, The Catalogue is more interesting to the accustomed who are also completists, collectors, and die-hard fans. I am none of the latter but as accustomed as I can be with the CD versions without actually having owned any of them. By the time I started listening to Kraftwerk in my early teens, around 2004-2005, The Catalogue had been circulating as a rumor for quite a while before ultimately being announced by Ralf Hütter himself earlier this year. So that's why I, metaphorically speaking, soiled [...]

It was a tough call between this and the Strokes' first album, which I danced to at my school leavers' ball, throughout university, in house parties beyond and even at a friend's wedding this month, and I know I'll be dancing round my residential care home to. They reminded us that traditional cool signifiers are still the coolest - cigarettes, hair, leather, denim, staring, New York. And they made them human with a faint undertow of desperately wanting all the uncool human things - acceptance, friendship, love. And all with sensational, sneer-resistant songs. I deeply, deeply love it, and it will certainly provoke the most vivid [...]
cc-lizenz von simon law @ flickr viel zu lange schon unterlaufen die new pornographers zumindest in deutschland den radar selbst musikalisch gebildeter und interessierter menschen. und viel zu lange gab es schon kein neues album mehr. in den letzten jahren wendeten sich die bandmitglieder ja vor allem ihren soloprojekten zu: a.c. newman und neko case waren jeweils solo unterwegs, die erst vor kurzem vor allem als liveersatz für sie engagierte kathryn calder brachte mit ihrer anderen band immaculate machine ein [...]
Last time this year I was worrying about writing an annual top 10 albums list. There simply wasn't enough albums that I felt happy about including on the list, causing several entries to appear in the final list that wouldn't have even dreamed of making it on any other year. In other words, 2008 was disappointing . I'm worrying slightly again, wondering what on earth to include on this list and in what order. This time however it's for the completely opposite reason. 2009 has been a brilliant, brilliant year in music and as I choose to [...]

Here is #11-#20 of my picks of Canadian albums of 2009 . A Mountain Is A Mouth - Bruce Peninsula Can't stop listening to this album by this big Toronto band. Best tracks are Inside/Out, Steamroller, Satisfied and Crabapples. Islands Disappear - Said The Whale A very tight in production and more of a bigger sounding album than previous album. Best tracks [...]

Illustration by Lanni You ready for this? Hell, I don't even know if I am... This is the biggest post we have ever done. This is huge. Here we go. OH! Before we begin... Don't forget! TOMORROW IS YOUR LAST DAY TO ENTER OUR BUTTON ILLUSTRATION CONTEST!!! Details and prizes (and a vinyl rip) after the link!!! HURRY! [...]