Jupiter One

A "sunshower" is a rare meteorological phenomenon in which rain falls while the sun is shining. Sunshowers often lead to rainbows. "Sunshower" is also the title of Jupiter One's sophomore album.


There are rainbows and plastic foxes on the cover. Fantastic! Jupiter One has got a chipper pop-rock sound with the occasional pinch of trippy. Upbeat and fun enough to party with a mainstream audience, but still casual and progressive enough to be considered cool by the indie kids. The first single Flaming Arrow is the best example of such a happy median.

Track List:

1. Volcano
2. Lights Go Out
3. Flaming Arrow (mp3) (iTunes) (amazon)
4. Made In a Day
5. Anna
6. Simple Stones
7. High Plains Drifter
8. Find Me a Place
9. Come On
10. Strange Teacher
11. People In the Mountain

This album is like getting to know someone that you might meet at a party. The first five tracks are the head-bopping, toe-tapping good times that you share laughing and living it up like we young people are supposed to. As he launches into an anecdote about a "Flaming Arrow", you think to yourself, "this guy is crazy-awesome, we should totally hang out more often", and you invite him along to your next shindig knowing that he'll be the life of the party. You really hope that he'll sing that song about "Anna" again. You could listen to that over and over again without getting tired of it! Then you realize in tracks six through eight that this guy's actually got some depth to him. It turns out your new friend Sunshower is a real person too, with real issues that are a lot darker than your first impression of him lead you to believe. Tracks like "Simple Stones" and "Find Me a Place" leave you with the feeling of reluctant realization. You miss the happy-go-lucky Sunshower you thought you knew from your first meeting. You can tell he's still in there somewhere when "Come On" starts playing, but he lapses back into a contemplative state for the last two tracks. The last half of the album really is quite good when you look at it objectively, but deep down, if you're being honest with yourself, you're just gonna keep putting those first five tracks on repeat. You were just too smitten with Sunshower when he was happy; it's hard to picture him any other way.

But enough of my albums-are-people-too nonsense. Jupiter One's Sunshower drops into records stores on September 15th. See what kind of impression it leaves you with.

Black is the Colour of My True Love's Heart

Even though Richard Hawley's upcoming album, Truelove's Gutter explores the idea of broken things, damaged people, and the alienation surrounding modern life, his voice still makes everything sounds hopelessly romantic. This guy is a definitely a crooner. And while all the places he mentions in his songs are geographic landmarks in his hometown of Sheffield, UK, the lush instrumentation and vocal style bring to mind a fantasy world that's classy, timeless with an air of mystery. That place and time could be in real time, in Sheffield. But it could also be anywhere else from a idealized time period long ago. It could be Shanghai from the turn of the century; It could be in smoke filled bar from the 50's; It's any place where magic can happen.

Truelove's Gutter is set for release on Sept. 22, 2009.

Richard Hawley - Darlin' Wait for Me (mp3) (buy)

Richard Hawley - Tonight the Streets are Ours (mp3) (buy)

Disappearing Act

Brooklyn, NY's the Antlers got their start when Peter Silberman began writing what would become Hospice as a explanation of why he disappeared and moved to New York in 2006. The storyline of this concept album also weaves the story of man who loses someone he loves to disease and struggles morality. After two years of creating the record, the songs are a "reminder to never lose oneself again."

Released on Aug. 18, 2009, its gotten high praise from indie snobs from bloggers to Pitchfork alike.

Antlers - Bear (mp3) (buy)

Antlers - Two (mp3) (buy)

Where's the Fire?

Where's the fire? I'll tell you what it's at. In Newfoundland.

Fire!

Oh No Forest Fires is headlining the Wallsaway Arts and Music Festival in St. John's Newfoundland on August the 29th. I've been meaning to write about these guys since I saw them live at the Mod Club with Five Blank Pages and the Boys Who Say No. Beforehand I knew that they were a pretty big Toronto indie landmark, but with a cute name like "Oh No Forest Fires" and an EP called "The War On Geometry" I wasn't expecting the explosion of epic-awesome hyper pop that they delivered that night.

There's was so much energy on the stage when they came on, I just didn't know what to do. Frontman Rajiv Thavanathan was going ape shit, bouncing off walls, equipment and other people. I was worried he was going to hurt himself, or someone else. There were instruments being swung around and poor life advice being tossed at the youth (it was an all ages show). Damn it was a good night!

Oh No Forest Fires - It's Not Fun and Games Until Someone Loses an Eye (mp3) (iTunes) (amazon)

If you're into something a little more chill, visit Secret Sessions at TARA to download a live acoustic set.

And if you're in the Toronto area like I am, check 'em out at Lee's Palace on September 25th with the Balconies, Fox Jaws and Whale Tooth. I highly reccomend it. Oh No Forest Fires isn't just a band. It's an experience.

Baby Boy, Baby Girl, It's Gonna Be Okay

Modernboys Moderngirls are releasing their first album, I Might as Well Break It on Sept. 15, 2009. Vocalist Akira Alemany states that "the album is meant to never let up, never give you a chance to catch your breath. I wanted to make a record about people and relationships falling apart not brick by brick but all at once."

It's got upbeat beats, garagy vocals and rock swagger, just what modern boys need.

Modernboys Moderngirls - Miss My Baby Girl (mp3) (buy)

Modernboys Moderngirls - I Don't Need to Understand (mp3) (buy)

V Fest Will Be Where It Should Be

That's right, Virgin Festival Ontario is back where it should be. Because of low ticket sales, the CNW Group announced yesterday that they are moving the event from Burl's Creek back to Toronto. It'll be taking place on August 29th and 30th at the Molson Ampitheatre and tickets include admission to the CNE. It's a huge step forward, moving it back to the city, but I disagree with seating for a festival. It takes away from the free-spirited nature of a music festival, doesn't it?

The Lineup hasn't changed much since our last update, other than Pitbull being announced as the headliner for the Virgin Radio Stage...

LOL.

Oh wait, you're being serious?

SATURDAY the 29th line-up:
Ben Harper & the Relentless7
the Pixies
Frans Ferdinand
Paolo Nutini
Grizzly Bear
Lights
Mates of State
Sloan
Down With Webster
Plants & Animals
Rural Alberta Advantage
Iglu & Hartly
Anjulie
Candy Coated Killahz
Pitbull

SUNDAY the 30th line-up:
Nine Inch Nails
Pet Shop Boys
Our Lady Peace
N.E.R.D.
Cold War Kids
Mute Math
Mew
Coeur de Pirate
Von Bondies
Thunderheist
Data Rock
Hypercrush
Trouble Andrew
Silver Starling
D'ubervilles
Sean Kingston
Melanie Fiona
The New Cities

Here's the official statement if you want to read it in full.

With Night, Comes Danger

Good ol' In-Flight Safety are giving you their With Night, Comes Danger Tour EP. Free! It features a couple of their classics, some good covers and a new demo. Like these for example:

In-Flight Safety - Somebody's Watching You (mp3) (amazon) (iTunes)
In-Flight Safety - Karate Man (Super Friendz cover) (mp3)

Download the full EP here.

I also had the chance to catch part of their set at Yonge and Dundas Square when they performed for NXNE, so here's a little live and unreleased bootleg from me to you. Nice and fuzzy quality like an illegit mp3 should be. It hadn't a name when I recorded it, so I've appropriately dubbed it "Lightning Bolt", at least until someone comes along to correct me.

In-Flight Safety - Lightning Bolt (live and unreleased) (mp3)

More rockin' than I've ever heard In-Flight Safety before. I can't wait for the finished track.

Spells

Don't let the demure non-assuming picture above fool you, Wired Magazine calls Happy Hollows singer Sarah Negahdari “a killer hybrid of Kim Deal, PJ Harvey and Emily Haines. Negahdari has the guitar chops, explosive energy and winning sense of humor that should make The Happy Hollows one of the more interesting bands of our new millennium’s next decade.”

The Los Angeles band has toured with the Silversun Pickups and Deerhood and are finally releasing their debut Spells on Oct. 6, 2009.



Happy Hollows - Faces (mp3) (buy)

Happy Hollows - Monster Room (mp3) (buy)

If I Don't Come Home You'll Know I'm Gone

I suppose writing a little review for the Wooden Sky is the least I could do. After all, one of the guys from the band was an exceptionally helpful teaching assistant. We had a joke among some of the students 'cause he totally ditched us mid-semester to go on tour with his band. Thanks, man. You're awesome.

The Wooden Sky - Like City and Colour but less depressing.

Again, it was one of those bands on my peripherals that I had never truly paid attention to during their first release. Although I do admit that the Wooden Sky's track, called "the Wooden Sky", well it really impressed me.

The sophomore album If I Don't Come Home You'll Know I'm Gone is this mass collective effort of all sorts of important Canadian indie names. The band must have called in all their favours because the credentials on this record include members and ex-members of Mars Volta, Ohbijou, Forest City Lovers, Arcade Fire and Mother Mother.

From the few tidbits I had heard from them before and judging by the title of album, I had my hesitations going in. To be honest, I was bracing myself for something long, heartbreaking and emotionally draining; something that I wouldn't want to listen through in one sitting. Instead, I was quite pleasantly surprised. Although it has its wonderfully dramatic moments including the tracks Angels and Call If You Need Me, they don't run into the trouble of becoming overbearing. In fact, a hefty portion of the record is warm and has the tendency to induce subtle smiles.

The Wooden Sky - Something Hiding For Us In The Night (mp3) (amazon) (iTunes)

It's what I like to call "thinking music". Good for driving along to on rural roads, or for curling up with a book on a quiet night. More folk than rock, but they'll rock anyway just to prove that they can. Take a listen to the first single Something Hiding For Us in the Night to get a sense of what I'm babbling about.

Personally, I like to compare the sounds to City and Colour. I keep thinking that the Wooden Sky is what Dallas Green would sound like if he wasn't so depressed all the time.

If I Don't Come Home You'll Know I'm Gone drops on August 25th.

Hawt in Here

Is it getting hot in here? Check out the new video "Games for Days" by Julian Plenti (aka Paul Banks of Interpol). And who's the little lady in the video? None other than Emily Haines (from Broken Social Scene and Metric). It's filmed at the slightly sketchy Waverly Hotel in Toronto.

Interpol - Hands Away (mp3) (buy)

Julian Plenti - Games for Days (mp3) (buy)

Emily Haines - Our Hell (mp3) (buy)

Metric - Too Little Too Late (mp3) (buy)

Paolo!

Why have we not written about Paolo Nutini before? He's such a mix of contradictions. A young guy with an old-man voice. Foot stomping and jig dancing. But it totally works. A fellow with street-cred respect but is able to induce panty and bra throwing at his shows. It's true. At his Opera House show in Toronto on July 31, 2009, bras and panties were thrown with glee. One with a perfect aim that landed right on his microphone.

Here he is removing the red-padded distraction from his microphone:



Paolo Nutini - Candy (mp3) (buy)

Paolo Nutini - Last Request (mp3) (buy)

Grammar, kids

New age brit-pop kids, the Grammatics, sound like combination of all we love about Britpop. Along with the hated having-to-buy-high-price-CDs-since-they-are-import-versions from the UK. Why can't UK hard-copy releases be made more easily available?

The Grammatics - Shadow Committee (mp3) (buy)

Stars Brightest at Civil Twilight

Okay, I'll admit it. I thought Civil Twilight was a Canadian band named after the Weakerthans song. But no, it's a band from Cape Town, South Africa and Los Angeles. Also, according to Wikipedia, during civil twilight circumstances, "the horizon is clearly visible, and terrestrial objects are easily perceptible, without artificial light."

"South Africa can be a hard place to explain," drummer Richard Wouters explains on their official site. "It's very heavily influenced by American and British bands, but it also has this aspect to it that's totally unique. Being situated at the tip of Africa, and with its history as both a British and Dutch colony, we kind of create our own worlds." In 2005, they moved to Los Angeles and guitarist Andrew McKeller remarks "we'd kind of always wanted to come and live [in the US]. Musically it's so huge and there's so much going on. America is an incredible place to start something new, to start over. It has an air about it that makes dreaming big possible."

Civil Twilight - Soldier (mp3) (buy)