Impressionable Youth

Wait and See

2010-11-02T23:27:00.002-04:00

John O'Regan (D'Ubervilles) has a new one man group: Diamond Rings. I don't know about you, but when I see neon, eighties fashion, guyliner and neo-romantic haircuts, I automatically assume 80's new wave. But this is nothing like 80's new wave.

The actual music surprised me a little bit. It wasn't as Europop or glam as I assumed it would be. Sure there are computer beats and synthesizer, but he's got a clear baritone and I can imagine these songs as pure guitar power pop. The electronic elements add to the mystique of the Diamond Rings, but they don't seem to be at the forefront of the music. You could strip down the electronic elements down to just a guitar and these songs would still hold their own.

Diamond Rings - Wait and See (mp3) (buy)

Paper Lions lost the war, but won the battle.

2010-10-25T16:27:00.006-04:00

Can't get enough of Paper Lions' Trophies EP. It's catchy and poppy and rocky and perfect! I felt so proud of them when I saw it for sale at a major record store about a week ago. Immediately I started reminiscing about going to one of their shows last year and getting a free hand out of a previous EP with a hand-stamped brown paper bag casing.

Here's their video for the first single "Lost the War".

I LOVE flip books!

Buddy Holly Glasses

2010-09-08T18:09:00.002-04:00

Nobody in Melbourne's the Greasers wears Buddy Holly glasses, but if it wasn't for this press shot, I would have assumed that they would. They definitely pull most of their influences from the days of Chuck Berry, Roy Orbison and girl groups like the Ronettes. They have the bouncy guitar, glottal stop vocals, and you could also hear the "whoo-oo-oohs" and "sha-la-las" coming up.

But they're sound production is much more indie and there are hints of Pavement-esque slacker attitude that carries throughout their album Night to Night, which is available for free on their myspace.

According to their myspace, "Now that I'm a Rock N Roller, I don't ever have to write a resume again." Amen to that.

Greasers - Shelley (Likes to F**k) (mp3) (download entire album for free on their official site)

Disco Kisses

2010-09-01T20:11:00.000-04:00

You know how you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover? It's bad form. But... I totally judge books by their covers. And I judge bands by their band names. I'm sorry, but it's a first impression kind of response. If a band has a silly name, I'll be less likely click on a link that leads to their myspace page. I think that a band should have a name that somehow conveys what they are trying to achieve with the sound.

The name Kisses just sounds like it's going to be a a girl group or a boy/girl duo. It's definitely not stuff you wanna listen to when drinking beer with the boys. And that assumption is more or less correct. Jesse Kivel (Princeton) and Zinzi Edmunson have created sad-eyed songs that have strains of 70's disco, 80's new wave and electro Europop. Sounds about right.

Kisses - Bermuda (mp3) (buy)

When I'm With You

2010-08-31T15:09:00.003-04:00

If you were to ask Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast which is the best coast, the answer is obvious: it's the west. Hailing from Los Angeles, Best Coast's new album, Crazy for You is an ode to sunny LA and it's boys.

While lyrically, the songs sounds like a page out of a 16 year old girl's diary, the fuzzy l0-fi surf-rock with girl group vocals makes it work. A little retro with some modern cynicism, it's a hazy summer sound that can just transport everyone in the Western world to a time in their lives when it was all about lounging around and dreaming about boys (or girls).

Best Coast - Boyfriend (mp3) (itunes)

F*** You!

2010-08-29T12:49:00.003-04:00

Along the lines of "Song for the Dumped" by Ben Folds Five, but only more explicit, the Cee-Lo half of Gnarls Barkley is releasing a CD in October titled "The Lady Killer". His latest single is making the internet rounds at an incredible rate. Be warned, it's super catchy. Oh, and there are swear words (gasp).

Business Casual

2010-08-25T21:33:00.002-04:00

Montreal duo Chromeo's third studio album, Business Casual is set for release September 14, 2010. Featuring first two singles "Night by Night" and "Don't Turn the Lights On." According to P-Thugg, it's got more sexytime tracks on it than Fancy Footwork.

Chromeo - Don't Turn the Lights On (mp3) (buy)

Goodbye Bad Vibrations

2010-08-04T11:07:00.003-04:00

I have been obsessed with surf pop lately. Oakley, CA's Dashing Suns has got that vibe that makes you wanna get out your swimsuit, bottle of SPF and go eat junk food by the nearest sandy shore. It's garage rock that's poppy, jangly and slightly fuzzy with reverb.

Their LP, Really Like You, will be released on August 24, 2010.

Dashing Suns - Future Thunder (mp3) (iTunes)

Civic Holiday... um, Simcoe Day!

2010-08-02T15:51:00.006-04:00

It's the August long weekend here in Toronto. Widely known as Civic Holiday, it is beloved for breaking up the dog days of summer. But it's also known as Simcoe Day in Toronto, Mountie Day in North York, Colonel By Day in Ottawa, George Hamilton Day in Hamilton, British Columbia Day in British Columbia, Heritage Day in Alberta, as well as various other names in other provinces and municipalities (Wikipedia told me so). Oh Civic Holiday, why didn't we just stick to one unifying name?

In celebration of this holiday that seems to have an identity crisis across Canada, I present Broken Social Scene's new video for their single Forced to Love. Awesome song, trippy video. I generally dislike describing something as "trippy" because really, what does that mean? But this video is what I imagine hallucinating would be like.

I also highly suggest picking up the CD (Forgiveness Rock Record). It's short-listed for this year's Polaris Music Prize for a very very good reason! You can stream this entire record at their website.

I Need Fun In My Life

2010-07-20T18:36:00.002-04:00

The Drums have the worst haircuts. Their music videos look like they've been using film equipment from old British sitcoms. Their sound references 1960's girl groups, surf pop, synthesizer bands from the 80's and a whole lot of reverb. How can these guys be from the States?

Normally, any of the above would get a kid beat up by the other kids. But I guess it works if you're in a band. Their sound is a delicious sprinkling of everything unabashedly fun and geeky. So behind the times, it's actually cool.

Drums - Forever and Ever Amen (mp3) (buy)

Big Jet Plane

2010-07-16T00:01:00.001-04:00

It was 31 degrees celsius in Toronto today and you could see the heat rise from the pavement making the air look a bit wavy. I was driving and listening to Australian brother and sister duo Angus and Julia Stone.

Most folk music reminds me of the winter. It's probably because of the melanchony, introspective quietness that's found in alot of acoustic guitar songs. And yeah, it's true that Angus and Julia Stone fall into this category with their hushed tones and lush guitar work. But it was strange how the intense temperature gave the perfect backdrop to these songs. It's not beach music by any means, but these are folk songs meant for hot weather. It just evokes the sentimentality of summer days.

It's amazing how context can change things.

Angus and Julia Stone - Big Jet Plane (mp3) (iTunes)

Take My Hand

2010-07-15T20:17:00.005-04:00

New Cut Copy! They've got the first song off of their next LP available for download from their official site for the low low price of an email address.

It reminds me a little bit more of stuff from Bright Like Neon Lights rather than In Ghost Colours. It's more ambient, fuzz and straight-forward math-rock than the shimmery post-New Order dreamscapes of In Ghost Colours. It's still got the heart that's so hard to find in electro-pop, but this time, it's ruled with more black and white logic.

Can't wait to hear more of it.

Cut Copy - Where I'm Going (mp3) (download from official site)

Cymbals Likes Pavement

2010-07-11T22:22:00.002-04:00

What's this? A British band that likes Pavement? I think you had me at "hello." Cymbals has released two tracks, one is energetic, falsetto-inducing angular post-punk and the other is a stylized cover of Pavement's "Kennel District." I'm not such a fan of their cover, but their original track, "Summer Job" is quite addictive. They have no other information posted anywhere on the web or their official myspace, but I hope there's more music to come from these Londoners.

Cymbals - Summer Job (mp3) (bandcamp)

Cuff the Duke

2010-07-08T18:55:00.002-04:00

The first time I ever saw Cuff the Duke perform, I hated them. They were opening for another band a few years back and it was the first time I had ever even heard of them. I thought they sounded like a weird mix of experimental Radiohead and country-folk. It was WEIRD.

Somehow I keep running into their songs on TV, on the internet through Podcasts and whatnot. They do have a country-ish twang to their sound, but no KID A weirdness, thank goodness. It's actually pretty good stuff.

And now I'm trying to figure out if they ever sounded like Radiohead or if I was just completely out if it that night. W-T-F?

Cuff the Duke - Follow Me (mp3) (buy)

Animal!

2010-06-25T19:16:00.005-04:00

Staring contest!

It's OK Go's Dan vs Animal from The Muppets. Loser gets to be roadie for the winner for a year!

You Say Party

2010-06-23T21:26:00.004-04:00

You Say Party! You Say Die! has taken some time off after the passing of drummer, Devon Clifford and just released an official press statement regarding the future of the group.

The press release states that after Devon's parents' blessing, they will forge ahead as a band. Krista Loewen has opted out to pursue school, while good friends Robert Andow and Bobby Siadat will complete the five piece lineup.

The band will no longer be called "You Say Party! We Say Die!," but simply you "You Say Party."

You Say Party! - Laura Palmer's Prom (mp3) (buy)

We're Having Fun Now

2010-06-22T20:43:00.003-04:00

All that is known about Jenny and Johnny is that this is a duo comprised of Jenny Lewis (of Rilo Kiley) and Johnathan Rice. They're releasing music at the end of the summer and are going on tour, but boycotting Arizona because of their recent politics. They want you to know that they're having fun and they think you should too.

Jenny and Johnny - Scissor Runner (mp3) (download from official site)

Shine a Light

2010-06-14T20:37:00.003-04:00

Wolf Parade: Angular guitar, vocal yelps, frantic post-punk awesomeness. Expo 86 is out June 29, 2010.

Wolf Parade - Little Golden Age (mp3) (buy)

Wolf Parade - Shine a Light (mp3) (buy)

I Have a Story To Tell....

2010-06-08T20:35:00.000-04:00

Fullerton, California's the Steelwells sure captured my attention with their indie/dance/rock/pop hybrid. And that's kinda hard to do nowadays. With the proliferation of music on the internet, there's just too much to get through and my attention span has seriously disingrated into what's probably normal for a fifth grader.

Once you hear the Steelwells, you can tell it's indie rock of the late 2000's. It's quintessentially indie and they do it SO well!

Steelwells - Boxes (mp3) (buy)

Listen Honey

2010-06-07T21:03:00.000-04:00

Every so often, I get an album that I can't stop listening to. These are the ones that get played on repeat in the car stereo. You know, the ones that only have one CD drive and are not adaptable to mp3 technology. Out sheer addiction to the songs (and laziness), the Tails' self titled album is one I can't stop listening to.

A little info about the Tails: they're two cousins from South Beach, California who engaged in many years of musical rivalry over who can write a better song. Somewhere along the line, they decided to join forces, hire Robb MacLean as producer and thus begot a self titled EP.

They've got insanely catchy tunes that just ask to be put on repeat. It's like musical candy. It seems light and sugary at first, but the lyrics are deceptively sly. It's such good stuff, can I have some more?

The Tails - Surely (mp3) (myspace)

The Tails - Appreciate (mp3) (myspace)

Look What Love Has Turned Us Into

2010-06-07T19:49:00.003-04:00

Barzin's third album, Notes to An Absent Lover, is a quiet melodic reflection of a breakup. But before you roll your eyes at another folky breakup album, let me tell you that this one is quite pretty and haunting.

It's quiet and introspective, with weepy slide guitar, but doesn't get too get self-indulgent. While the lyrics focus on the sadness, anger and generally confused quality associated with breakups, its the orchestral arrangements that really drives this record. It's reverb heavy folk for those days when you only want to hear sad songs.

Barzin - Look What Love Has Turned Us Into (mp3) (buy)

Girl, This is the Season

2010-06-03T20:14:00.002-04:00

Chicago, IL's the Yearbooks have only been around for a year and a half. They're unsigned, but if they keep the hooks coming, they're already ahead of the game. These guys have a warm power pop sound that conveys summer days and the headstrong romaticism of 80's new wave. This is definitely not music for cynics.

But if you're secretly an optimist, this is for you.

Their Have a Great Summer EP is available on iTunes.

Yearbooks - Season of Love (mp3) (iTunes)

Scott Pilgram vs. The World

2010-06-01T22:10:00.002-04:00

I'm pretty excited to see this. I think George Michael has finally got it right this time.

Path of Least Resistance

2010-06-01T21:54:00.004-04:00

Burlington, ON's Sandman Viper Command is your quintessential 90's band. Without existing in the nineties. Their power pop/garage fuzz references from Sonic Youth to Sloan to Pavement and adds some frantic ADD energy to the mix.

These guys shot out of nowhere, opening shows for Holy Fuck, The Arkells, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Hollerado and have been hailed as one of the bands to watch for this year.

See them this summer for yourself:

May 29 @ The Atria, Oshawa, ON
June 17 @ NXNE Nacho House, Toronto, ON
June 18 @ Sneaky Dees, Toronto, ON
June 27 @ Scene Music Festival, St. Catharines, ON
July 9 @ Living Arts Centre, Mississauga, ON

Sandman Viper Command - Strawberry Quick (mp3) (buy)

Ra Ra Riot

2010-05-30T21:23:00.002-04:00

Syracuse, New York's Ra Ra Riot will be releasing it's second full length, the Orchard, on August 24, 2010. The group consists of a vocalist, bassist, guitarist, cellist, violinist and drummer. Their first album was indie rock with chamber music sensibilities. It's wonderfully contradictory with joyous noise, syrupy giddiness and dark tones throughout. I'm hoping for some more complex pop from these guys.

Tracklistings for the Orchard is as follows:

1. The Orchard
2. Boy
3. Too Dramatic
4. Foolish
5. Massachusetts
6. You and I Know
7. Shadowcasting
8. Do You Remember
9. Kansai
10. Keep It Quiet

Ra Ra Riot - Ghost Under Rocks (mp3) (buy)

Levi's Cover Songs

2010-05-27T11:39:00.007-04:00

Nope, I'm not referring to Matthew McConaughey's adorable son's favourite bedtime songs.

Levi's (the iconic jeans company) has started a series of sessions call "Pioneer Sessions 2010 Revival Recordings". They've asked artists from different musical genres to record a musical track that is special to them. Best part, they're giving these songs away almost free (provided you sign up for a promotional newsletter you can totally ignore and send away as spam)! Two new cover tunes each week for 6 weeks!

The Swell Season is one of the first to put out a song. "Young Hearts Run Free" is originally a 1976 disco tune. Yes, that's right, disco! Don't worry, The Swell Season put their own spin on the song and it works beautifully.

The Swell Season - Young Hearts Run Free (mp3)

Check out the Levi's Pioneer Sessions 2010 Revival Recordings. There are many more fantastic artists such as She and Him, Dirty Projectors and Jason Mraz in the coming weeks that will be discussing their choice for cover tunes.

Come On Now

2010-05-20T10:14:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure if Atlanta, GA's Gringo Star is the worst band name I've ever heard. Or if it's the most awesome thing ever.

And aside from the fact that their first full length is called All Y'all, this is some serious shit. It's southern swagger, straight forward garage rock with hints of jangly britpop thrown in. It's fantastically catchy with just the right about of cynicism and devil-may-care attititude to make it work.

Gringo Star - All Y'all (mp3) (buy)

International Waters

2010-05-19T21:32:00.005-04:00

International Waters are a jangly indie-pop band based in Austin, TX led by Mitch Calvert (of my beloved Voxtrot). They've recently completed a 10" EP and will be recording their first full length this summer.

It's funny that their myspace states they sound like "post-partum depression." Those liars. It's nothing like post-partum depression, or maybe post-partum depression should sound this good! It's more like the "kaleidoscope of pop music" like their influences.

Check out a little sample below:

International Water - Flashes (mp3) (buy)

Letting Up Despite Great Faults

2010-05-07T22:24:00.004-04:00

Los Angeles's Letting Up Despite Great Faults is wash of shoegaze dream pop with punches of electronic beats and guitar poking through the fuzziness. It's light, airy and sounds like the soundtrack (real or film version) of a modern day hipster romance.

It's a difficult task to create introspective, shimmery and subdued music by using mostly electronic beats. Alot of electro pop acts ends up sounding too cynical or futuristic or dance oriented. Here it sounds almost organic, only interspersed with pops bips and whirs that somehow create a warm fuzzy feeling.

Letting Up Despite Great Faults - Photograph Shakes (mp3) (buy)

Creatures Stirring

2010-05-02T16:45:00.002-04:00

Interpol has made a special announcement:

"We're stirring.
Please take a moment to visit our website: www.interpolnyc.com
We want to show you something.
And make sure you come back soon."

That special something is a new song made available for a free download from their not-yet-titled forthcoming LP on their official site. Since that announcement was made on April 28th, 2010, the demand has been so strong, their server has spontaneous combusted. Keep checking back as more updates are made.

Interpol - Lights (mp3) (download from official site)

Trangressions

2010-04-30T23:54:00.004-04:00

I'm liking the sound of a band called Modern Mothers. I know absolutely nothing about them, other than they're from Philadelphia. I suppose they like a little mystery. I found out about them through a guy named Judd Ba Da Bing. And their band shots are random shots of random people.

I do know this:

"Modern Mothers = T. Rex + Gang of Four + a pinch of Wolf Parade"

Modern Mothers - Allison (mp3) (buy)

Their newest offering Transgressions, will be released May 10, 2010 and the band will be giving away free tracks from it on their official site!

Tardy Series #10 - Ume

2010-04-29T23:11:00.003-04:00

This is the tenth official installment of the Impressionable Youth Tardy Series. Sometimes (a lot of the times) great music ends up getting lost in our inbox. If we eventually find it and like it, you'll see it here. It's old news, but it's good news. Sorry we were tardy!

The Band: Ume

The Album: Sunshower EP

Date Received: December 2009

You Should Give It A Listen If You Haven't Already.

Ume - East of Hercules (mp3) (buy)

Tardy Series #9 - Make Your Exit

2010-04-29T22:58:00.006-04:00

This is the ninth official installment of the Impressionable Youth Tardy Series. Sometimes (a lot of the times) great music ends up getting lost in our inbox. If we eventually find it and like it, you'll see it here. It's old news, but it's good news. Sorry we were tardy!

The Band: Make Your Exit

The Album: Remind Me the Reason I Came EP

Date Received: January 2010

You Should Give It A Listen If You Haven't Already.

Make Your Exit - Leave This Town (mp3) (buy)

Black Lips Wanna Take You To Court

2010-04-28T17:35:00.005-04:00

That's right. The Black Lips wanna take you on! On a basketball court, that is. It's happening Saturday May 1st at Clark Atlantic College.

They'll be playing and donating their participation fees for the Auditory Verbal Centre Inc, a non-profit organization dedicated to the rehabilitation of deaf children, some of whom have been outfitted with cochlear implants. The Black Lips are challenging you and other bands to play and donate to charity :

So far, takers include rapper/producer Jermaine Dupri and Of Montreal. Think you got what it takes punk?

Black Lips - Short Fuse (mp3) (buy)

The xx

2010-04-25T22:02:00.003-04:00

There's a lot of hype about the British band The xx. Their debut album (simply titled 'xx') has been critically acclaimed. Their music has been in a variety of TV shows like Gossip Girl, Lie To Me and Grey's Anatomy.

A friend recently gave me their CD with high recommendations and for some reason I haven't been able to get into them the way my friend expected me to. Mostly, I feel this is because The xx is a band that I need to be in a certain mood and environment to fully appreciate. Somehow sitting in a car in the middle of rush hour traffic (because, unfortunately I spend a good chunk of my music listening time in this state) doesn't lend itself well to this band.

But I do enjoy this video.

The xx - Basic Space (Sampha Remix) (mp3) (myspace)

Farewell Cruel World Tour

2010-04-24T00:17:00.002-04:00

Today, I accidently banged my leg against a filing cabinet leaving a large bluish bruise.

Today, I found out an entire part of my email account had been lost due to a server error.

Today, I had to beg a local concert hall to reinstate $200 tickets that my sister had lost.

No biggie. It's not such a bad day.

Then I find out Voxtrot broke up. WTF?! FML!

Voxtrot is/was one of my favourite bands of the last few years. I have played their songs so many times in the car, on my computer, on CD, while studying, that if you factor in all that time, it probably adds up to tens of thousands of hours. It's just THAT fantastic. They were a Texas band with anglophilic tendencies, loved by bloggers and sad eyed kids alike. They were awesome popsmiths and they leave us with a few EPs and one full length LP. Luckily for those in the States, they will be a few final shows on their Farewell Cruel World Tour:

MAY 21 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
MAY 22 – Appleton, WI @ Lawrence University
MAY 27 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex *
MAY 29 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall *
JUNE 3 - Austin, TX @ Emo's
JUNE 23 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
JUNE 26 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom

* w/ International Waters (Mitch from Voxtrot)

Voxtrot, you'll be missed!

Although I am happy to report that many of the members have new projects in the works. Mitch Calvert is in a band called International Waters, Jared Van Fleet has his solo project, Sparrow House, and Matt Simon and Jason Chronis play in JC & Co., The Black, and Belaire. Ramesh Srivastava probably has some tricks up his sleeve too.

Voxtrot - Berlin Without Return (mp3) (buy)

Voxtrot - Raised by Wolves (mp3) (buy)

Tardy Series 8 - Red Cortez

2010-04-22T12:18:00.000-04:00

This is the eighth official installment of the Impressionable Youth Tardy Series. Sometimes (a lot of the times) great music ends up getting lost in our inbox. If we eventually find it and like it, you'll see it here. It's old news, but it's good news. Sorry we were tardy!

The Band: Red Cortez

The Album: Hands to the Wall EP

Date Received: October 2009

You Should Give It A Listen If You Haven't Already.

Red Cortez - Fell on the Floor (mp3) (buy)

NXNE 2010

2010-04-18T21:23:00.004-04:00

North by Northeast (NXNE) has just announced the first of the 2010 music lineup in Toronto. The festival starts on June 14 and its been extended past four days into a seven day event. Tickets are available here.

Iggy Pop and the Stooges are to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and are also going to be playing a free show at Yonge and Dundas Square on Saturday June 19, 2010! Yes, please keep rockin' in the free world...

Other musicians taking playing the festival so far include X, the Raveonettes, De La Soul, Mudhoney, Les Savy Fav, Man or Astroman, Cold Cave, Japandroids, Surfer Blood, Kid Sister, Wavves, Thee Oh Sees and Sloan. More will be announced in the coming weeks.

Iggy Pop - I'm Bored (mp3) (buy)

Tardy Series #7 - The Radio Dept

2010-04-18T12:37:00.003-04:00

This is the seventh official installment of the Impressionable Youth Tardy Series. Sometimes (a lot of the times) great music ends up getting lost in our inbox. If we eventually find it and like it, you'll see it here. It's old news, but it's good news. Sorry we were tardy!

The Band: The Radio Dept

The Album: Clinging to a Scheme LP

Date Received: February 2010.

You should give it a listen if you haven't already.

The Radio Dept - This Time Around (mp3) (buy)

Record Store Day - Toronto Listings

2010-04-16T22:20:00.007-04:00

Tomorrow, Saturday April 17th, 2010, is International Record Store Day! If you haven't heard of it before (gasp!), Record Store Day is essentially the indie music geek's Christmas. It's a magical day that comes only once a year to spread song and joy throughout the land. Everyone gathers at their local independent record store to celebrate. Wondrous sales, limited edition merchandise, giveaways and in-store performances are aplenty. On Record Store Day high fives are given higher and man hugs become manlier. Find out more about Record Store Day at its official website.

There are tons of great sales and deals at the various independent store around the city, but the free acoustic performances are really what makes the day so great for music fans. Here are the Toronto listings for in-store performances:

Sunrise Records (336 Yonge St. location)

12:00 - Hunter Valentine
1:15 - Fox Jaws
2:30 - Ash Koley
3:45 - Moneen
5:00 - Justin Nozuka

Sonic Boom (512 Bloor St. West)

Sonic Boom asks only for a non-perishable food donation for the food bank in exchange for admission into the otherwise free show. Be a dear and bring something nice, won't you?

4:00 - Buck 65
5:00 - Metz
6:00 - Meligrove Band
7:00 - Adam Green
8:00 - Sloan

Criminal Records (493 Queen St. West)

TBA. Although it has yet to be officially announced, Criminal Records is hinting at a very special in-store performance. They suggest checking their twitter page often.

Kops Records (229 Queen St. West)

5:00 - The Junction
6:00 - City Sweethearts

If you're looking for something fun to do after your day of record shopping, check out The Junction's headlining spot at Lee's Palace with The Darcys and Amos the Transparent! They've also recently released a video for their latest single No Road off their sophomore release, Another Link in the Chain. Check it!

Happy Record Store Day everyone!

Slooo-oooan

2010-04-15T23:26:00.005-04:00

Sloan is showing their love for their adopted hometown of Toronto playing for free at Record Store Day this Saturday April 17 at Sonic Boom and again at Yonge and Dundas Square on June 18th 2010 as part of NXNE.

Awesome. Just show up and yell your best "SLOOOO-OOOOAAAAAAN" chant when you see the boys onstage.

Sloan - Come On Come On (We're Gonna Get it Started) (mp3) (buy)

Avalanche of Canadian Heavyweights

2010-04-12T09:31:00.002-04:00

Get ready for a busy summer as Canadian heavy-weight indie darlings, the Stars, Broken Social Scene and the New Pornographers get ready to release new albums.

The Stars' the Five Ghosts will be out June 22, 2010. This will be released on their own Soft Revolution label and their first not on Arts & Crafts.

Stars - Fixed (mp3) (download free from official site)

Broken Social Scene's Forgiveness Rock Record is out May 4, 2010. Recorded in Chicago, it ends their four year indefinite hiatus.

Broken Social Scene - World Sick (mp3) (buy)

The New Pornographers' Together is out April 22, 2010. The first single is the mighty catchy "Crash Years."

New Pornographers - Crash Years (mp3) (buy)

All three groups will be touring heavily in the coming months so hurry up and get your tickets. They're already been sold out in quite a few cities.

New Old Fashioned Pop

2010-04-11T11:37:00.005-04:00

According to his myspace, Lawrence Arabia (aka James Milne) is inspired by all of the following:

-T-Rex
-Tall Dwarfs
-stomping bands in 2/4 time
-Beatles
- friendly cats that approach [him] in the street
-Beach Boys
- Dolly Parton
-Olivia Tremor Control
-Lil' Chief Records
-Neil Young
-Bonzo Dog Band
-Brango the Synthesist
-honey bees
-David Kilgour
-all the solo projects of members of The Phoenix Foundation
-fashionable krautrock-type things
-Os Mutantes
-Johnny Cash
-glow worms
-the Pink and White Terraces currently buried under metres of volcanic debris and located 30m beneath the surface of Lake Rotomahana

What does this sound like? Well, the Christchurch, New Zealand popsmith's LP, Chant Darling sounds like old-school pop. Not modern pop, but the pop you would have heard on AM radio in a timewrap. It's got 60's sunny harmonies that provoke sing-alongs in station wagons and dry, witty lyrics. An antidote to modern day cynicism.

Lawrence Arabia - Apple Pie Bed (mp3) (buy)

Lawrence Arabia - the Beautiful Young Crew (mp3) (buy)

Country Soul

2010-04-11T10:12:00.006-04:00

You know a Jakob Dylan song when you hear it. You know what a new Jakob Dylan song will sound like, even if you've not hear it before. You know he's got a slighty raspy baritone and a propensity towards a rootsy Americana folk that'll draw you into a cocoon of warmth.

His latest solo LP, Women and Country follows in the same vein. It's a stripped down mid-tempo affair that creates a faux-history of an average working man. About standing up for yourself, doing what's right, being honourable and dealing with the world in ways that your moral compass will allow.

With a solid discography (solo and otherwise) and rock-royalty lineage behind him, it's not easy to carve a niche for himself in a mass-marketed musical landscape. But I think his songs speak for themselves. Not as a reference for something else, but rather on the strength of his signature style.

Ps. He gets bonus points for getting Neko Case and Kelly Hogan to appear on the record!

Jakob Dylan - Nothing But the Whole Wide World (mp3) (buy)

Sometimes I Wish

2010-04-09T19:43:00.003-04:00

I love having the ability to listen to my headphones at work. Music can make the most mundane more interesting. And I love it when my iTunes shuffle brings up an much neglected track.

"Against the Grain" by City and Colour literally made me stop what I was doing and made me listen intensely, followed by a few thousand repeats of the same track. It's a breathtakingly beautiful soft ditty about following your heart. It made me sad. It made me content. It made me want to be a better person, less shallow person. It's amazing what a song can do.

City and Colour - Against the Grain (mp3) (buy)

Introducing The Rassle

2010-04-04T18:25:00.001-04:00

Something magical happens when you put a virgin in a room with two young lords. Get your mind of of the gutter, you sick bastard. I'm talking about this new band that's made up of old members of the Virgins and the Young Lords. They're called the Rassle, they're from NYC and they're kind of fantastic.

Introducing the Rassle EP Track List:

1. Celebrate the Days (mp3) (mySpace)

2. Full Speed Ahead

3. Wild Ones

4. Born Free

Did you just glance over the titles on this four-track EP and suddenly feel motivated to seize the day? Because I did. If the band has a thesis statement to make, it's that today is rather glorious and you should make the best of it, being the young-free-wild-amazing thing that you are. The Rassles take your New York indie rock sound, give it a southern edge, a charismatic vocal drawl and set it all to lyrics to live by.

In the Rassle's own words:

Once upon a time, we were members of the Virgins and the Young Lords. We teamed up a couple months ago and recorded these songs in our apartment with a 50 dollar mic and an old computer. We think they turned out pretty good. We try and stay optimistic. It ain't easy in these rough and tumble times.

Well, alright then. I can dig that. You can stream the EP in full over at the Rassles' mySpace page. Expect tour dates soon.

Smiling at Disaster

2010-03-31T21:07:00.003-04:00

Washington, DC's Daddy Lion has got it right:

What you want may never come
Don't stay fastened to the ride you're on
We may not live another day
Let's not let our time slip away

Don't waste your time being down, kids. Sure, the narrative throughout some of their songs are about how everything sucks, everything's boring and general angst (much like the rest of us), but the final track puts everything in perspective. We all complain about life all the time, but usually it's not that bad.

The EP is available for free from their official site, so download it and share in the ups and downs that is Daddy Lion.

Daddy Lion - Tomorrow (mp3) (download for free on official site)

Dear Babe

2010-03-30T11:13:00.001-04:00

Most handshakes won't make a significant impact on your life. You shake a hand, you mentally judge the person on how weak or strong their grip was. You wipe your palm on your jeans because their hand was rather sweaty, and you move on.

When Hamilton, Ontario's Matt Paxton was a year old, his parents took him to see Bob Dylan who was in town to to shoot a film that would never go on to be released. The two shook hands that day. As I said, most handshakes won't have much of an impact on your life. This might just have been one of those happy exceptions. Matt Paxton is all about pretty melodies, intricate guitar lines and simple lyrics that capture human complexity. Complete the sound with a warm and honest voice, and you might start to think there really was something to that hand that was shaken years ago.

Matt's second full-length, Until the Sky Begins to Change, is scheduled for release during the summer of this year. In anticipation of that, he's giving us one new track off the upcoming album. Your heart doesn't stand a chance against it.

Matt Paxton - Dear Babe (mp3) (mySpace)

If Dear Babe doesn't break your heart, it's going to warm and melt it.

Top of the World

2010-03-29T17:20:00.004-04:00

Hand claps. Sunshine. Sha-la-las. Ice Cream. If you like all of the above, you'll like A B & the Sea. Originally from Wisconsin and now based in San Francisco, CA, these guys have the sunny west coast sound down pat. Like a modern day Beach Boys.

They're also releasing their first five singles for free from their official website. So head over and get some new songs. It's like Prozac for your ears!

A B & the Sea - Bone Dry (mp3) (download for free from official site)

Tardy Post #6

2010-03-28T22:36:00.003-04:00

This is the sixth official installment of the Impressionable Youth Tardy Series. Sometimes (a lot of the times) great music ends up getting lost in our inbox. If we eventually find it and like it, you'll see it here. It's old news, but it's good news. Sorry we were tardy!The Band: Pixie Carnation

The Album: Fresh Poems EP

Date Received: November 2009

Why You Should Give It A Listen If You Haven't Already: Its Americana by Scandinavia.

Pixie Carnation - Step out of line (mp3) (buy)

Holy Moly, Me Oh My!

2010-03-28T17:21:00.010-04:00

I was browsing around NPR's All Song Considered: Tiny Desk Concerts and found this band.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

The band is fronted by Alex Ebert, who according to Wikipedia, broke up with his girlfriend, moved out of his house and joined a 12-step program for addiction. Normally, this would be enough to keep a person depressed for a good long time, but Ebert then went on and created a story "about a messianic figure named Edward Sharpe... (who) was sent down to Earth to kinda heal and save mankind... but he kept getting distracted by girls and falling in love." Ebert subsequently met Jade Castrinos, the other vocalist in the troupe, and began touring with, like, 10 other musicians.

Normally, I would have a snarky remark and head for the exit when I see a band like this. But I found myself won over by their infectious energy. It is so... endearing! The official video for the single "Home" can be found here. It looks and sounds like a 60s western movie, which I know is not a ringing endorsement. Fear not, this is why I embedded the Letterman clip. Live, this band just shines.

My favourite thing about this video is the dynamic between Ebert and Castrinos. Maybe they are in love now or were in love in the past, or maybe not, but with the energy between them and lyrics like these:

"Alabama Arkansas I do Love my Ma and Pa

But not as much as I do Love you

Holy Moly Me oh My your the apple of my eye

Girl aint never loved one like you."

How can one not be charmed and won over?

In addition, this band is ambitious to boot! They're releasing a 12 part feature length musical, one music video at a time! The second part can be seen here. Visit their website, but be warned, it's liable to give you seizures with that flickering background.

I really encourage you to visit Tiny Desk Concert, they have a really great video of the band live.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Home (mp3) (buy)

Glow

2010-03-26T20:34:00.005-04:00

Finnish-French duo the Dø, (rhymes with "glow") releases A Mouthful April 6th, 2010. Don't worry, it's in English. And even if wasn't, it'll still make the hair on your back stand up. They're hailed as akin to the Cardigans by the press and other bloggers. I can see that. Olivia B.Merilahti has a very pretty voice and Dan Levy is capable of complex arrangements. And like the Cardigans, there's a darkness underneath the shiny pop surface.

What's different here is that there is a strange tension in their songs. Written in minor key, there's a kind of tension that is reserved for empty room scenes in movies and the kind of tension you feel creeping up on you in your twenties. What is that sound? Is it loneliness? Is it the dizziness of dealing with "real" life? What is it?

Maybe that tension comes from songs that straddle between different genres, referencing from all over, but never falling into one category. It's whimsical with an indie weirdness. Blues, jazz, doowop, rock and glossy pop are all covered here and it makes for a very compelling listen.

The Dø - On My Shoulders (mp3) (buy)

The Long Now

2010-03-19T00:01:00.001-04:00

Melbourne, Australia's Children Collide is huge in their native country. They've sold out multiples shows and are headlining major festivals. They've also been touring relentlessly here for the past few months, playing three shows at last week's Canadian Music Fest and jetting off to SXSW and a few other states for more shows. They've just finished recording their sophomore LP, set for release later this year.

Their debut, the Long Now, is filled with angular guitar, high energy and spastic performances. Their songs are brash and giddy with excitement, drawing influences from grunge, electro-clash and punk. All this gets transferred into some powerful rock. And if this is any indication of the next album, I'd say the momentum is definitely building for these guys in North America.

Children Collide - Social Currency (mp3) (buy)

Children Collide - Skeleton Dance(mp3) (buy)

True Lovers

2010-03-18T19:25:00.003-04:00

If you ever wanna strut around town with your leopard print jacket and Pulp Fiction dance moves, the True Lovers have your soundtrack for the night. It's a raw, lusty affair, hidden behind layers of gritty distortion, swagger and hushed tones.

Comprised from the break up of D4 and Boxcar Guitars, this Auckland, NZ by the way of Los Angeles/New York group's sound wouldn't seem out of place in dusty bars or dark back streets.

True Lovers - Cougar (mp3) (buy)

True Lovers - Death Threat (mp3) (buy)

Tardy Post #5: Local Natives

2010-03-16T14:35:00.004-04:00

This is the fifth official installment of the Impressionable Youth Tardy Series. Sometimes (a lot of the times) great music ends up getting lost in our inbox. If we eventually find it and like it, you'll see it here. It's old news, but it's good news. Sorry we were tardy!

The Band: Local Natives

The Album: Gorilla Manor

Date Received: Jan. 25, 2010.

Why You Should Give It A Listen If You Haven't Already: There's much talk of the Local Natives sounding like a folkier Arcade Fire or a groovier Fleet Foxes. Not that the Local Natives are derivative. While they sound somewhat familiar, there's an organized chaos that pushes the envelope further and further. Like the aforementioned groups, they have the technical ability that layers rock-classical-world music together in a way at anytime could burst forward with jittery energy or the most dramatic sonic swells before bringing it down to a quiet hush.

Local Natives - Sun Hands (mp3) (buy)

Audio Blood Showcase at CMW!

2010-03-11T11:07:00.002-05:00

Yesterday marked the beginning of Canadian Music Week in Toronto. So with 700 artists at 45 venues spread over 5 nights, have you made your schedule yet? As with every big music festival, it'll be impossible to catch absolutely every show that you want to see. Tonight I've got work until the sun sets and then an hour and a half commute to get downtown so I'm going to try to pick a combination of a guaranteed good show, and the chance to find some new artists that I haven't seen or heard before. Hence, you'll be able to find me at the El Mocambo tonight for Audio Blood's Showcase.

I mean, how can you go wrong with a showcase where the musicians trained SO hard to prepare? Check out the intense workouts that they've been put through just to put on the best show that they can, for YOU!

The Darcys - House Built Around Your Voice (mp3) (~~iTunes~~) (download full Audio Blood Mix Tape!)

Make Your Exit - Through the Winter (mp3) (iTunes) (download full Audio Blood Mix Tape!)

Sandman Viper Command - Strawberry Quick (mp3) (iTunes) (download full Audio Blood Mix Tape!)

These are actually a few tracks off Audio Blood's CMW mixtape, featuring all of their artists playing the festival. Hot damn, free music! Download the entire 10-track mix tape HERE!

More CMW suggestions to come!

She and Him in School

2010-03-09T18:21:00.004-05:00

She & Him (consisting of M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel, the new Mrs. Ben Gibbard) have a new video for their single In the Sun. How adorable is Zooey Deschanel? She makes going to school look a lot more fun and cooler than it is in reality.

Music Box

2010-03-07T18:16:00.002-05:00

It takes most bands a while to find their sound, one that's unique to them only, one that you would recognize immediately upon hearing. I would confidently say that a lot of bands will get it right on their second or third album, and some bands just never find it at all. On the rare occasion, we get bands like Hamilton-based trio Dark Mean who seem to have completely skipped those metaphorically awkward pubescent years of being a band. They seem to know exactly who they are and what they sound like. They have only just released their second EP, Music Box, and already they've got a truly wonderful, distinct soundprint.

In four tracks, Music Box captures Dark Mean's signature style of composing songs that are strikingly powerful, and at the same time soothingly restrained by the most delicate of melodies. There is a bit of a surreal quality to it, set most notably by an experimental blend of guitars, piano, banjo and strings, and it's all tied together by a voice that's both familiar and sincere. If you've had the chance to listen to their first EP, frankencottage, you'll know just what to expect from Music Box. The first and title track is both pretty and dreamlike, even disregarding the idyllic lyrics about dreaming and waking up to songs, probably sweet and pleasant just like this one. Piano & Beat follows up as the second track with a richer, darker tone and dynamics that shift from the almost chaotic swelling of instruments to a soft solo. And still, it flows seamlessly from note to note. Completing the EP are more subdued third and fourth tracks, Acoustic and Dark Banjo, an aptly titled, haunting response to the first EP's "Happy Banjo". Collectively this little batch of songs is standout among EPs. It's beautiful to listen, no matter how many times you listen.

Dark Mean - Music Box (mp3) (Get the full EP FREE!)
Dark Mean - Dark Banjo (mp3) (Get the full EP FREE!)

While I don't want to overstress how unique I think Dark Mean's sound is, it's something that I haven't gotten over since hearing them for the first time during the summer of last year. Rarely do I get introduced to a band that I have difficulty comparing to any other. It's a real treat when it happens.

Dark Mean are planning to release their full-length debut, The Constant K Determines the Ultimate Fate of the Universe, later this year. It will include some of their tracks off their first two EPs as well as a handful of new ones. In the meantime, you can download both EPs for free by visiting their official site.

Lady Dior

2010-03-06T12:55:00.008-05:00

What do you get when you put Marion Cotillard and Franz Ferdinand together? Lady Dior.

Since Marion Cotillard was selected as the new face of Lady Dior, there have been plenty of print ads by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz. The latest addition to the campaign is an original song by Marion and Franz and a rockin' music video by Jonas Akerlund. Some of Jonas Akerlund previous works include Lady Gaga's Paparazzi video (featuring fellow Swede Alexander Skarsgard, who is ridiculously good looking) and Madonna's Ray of Light Video.

Isn't she pretty? For more on the lovely Lady of Dior, visit http://www.ladydior.com/.

Franz Ferdinand (feat. Marion Cotillard) - The Eyes of Mars (mp3) (buy)

Dance, Mother Fucker!

2010-03-04T14:56:00.002-05:00

For the last two years, I've been urging all of my friends to see Sweet Thing whenever they had a show around Toronto. I'd tell them about how great of a concert they put on and how much fun was guaranteed with the purchase of a ticket to see them. I would make sure to describe in detail the band's musicianship and the intricacies of their vocal harmonies. Most importantly, I'd tell them that their lead singer always wears the best of vests, and that he'll get you clapping along until your hands are aching and then some. He's got such a great stage presence, you'll be absolutely giddy when he raises the mic stand dramatically or hits those high vocal wails. Yeah, smash that tambourine, boy! Fist pump that air! Damn it, I think I love this band! Collectively, Sweet Thing are without doubt one of the best live acts around Toronto. And of course, after my long glorifying speeches prasing this band, few of my friends would believe me. A band can't possibly be that great. On occasion, one of my smarter friends would follow me to a show and every time that happened, I got the opportunity to grin at their stupefied faces, and say "I told you so".

After what seems like years of having only a five-track EP to appease fans and being signed to EMI, then opening shows for everyone from LIGHTS, to Dragonette, to the Arkells, Sweet Thing is finally preparing to release their debut full-length. There's no set title or release date yet, but they've put the first single up for download on their official site.

Sweet Thing - Dance Mother (explicit version) (mp3)

Maybe you don't want to dance. But Sweet Thing gives you no choice. Laden with their signature high energy guitar hooks and group harmonies in all the right places, Dance Mother will not only have you dancing, but it'll also have you telling all of the other mo' fo's around you to do the same. Try not to offend anyone by doing that. You can also get a clean version of the single, (without all the f-bombs in the chorus) over at the official site, if you feel so inclined.

As much as I love the single, epic over-the-top lyrics and all, Sweet Thing is definitely a band you have to see in concert to really appreciate. Seriously, catch them around southern Ontario and Montreal for their quick tour before they bring it back home to Toronto for Canadian Music Week.

March 9th @ Call the Office, London
March 10th @ Starlight Room, Waterloo
March 11th @ La Sala Rossa, Montreal
March 12th @ Maverick's Bar, Ottawa
March 13th @ Lee's Palace, Toronto ** CMW

Canon Logic - FM Arcade

2010-03-01T21:27:00.006-05:00

The Canon Logic have been around since 2006, releasing EPs and making rounds in various music festivals like CMJ and Warped Tour. On March 9th, they'll be releasing their debut full-length, FM Arcade.

Pure American power pop is the best way to describe their sound. It's fun, harmony driven, rock music with influences referencing both the Beach Boys and the Killers. It's upbeat with mainstream appeal and I can imagine someday turning on the telly and seeing one of their videos on MusicMusic or hearing one their songs on product commercials (ie. Rogers Home Phone, iPods etc). Hey, all you marketers and PR people, get on that!

Oh and by the way, they have the best endorsement ever! According to their myspace, Bill Murray says "Oh, I've heard of them."

The Canon Logic - Nights at Armour Mansion (mp3) (iTunes)
The Canon Logic - Avenues of Criminals (mp3) (iTunes) (download from official site)

Peasant at Rancho Relaxo was rather pleasant

2010-02-28T15:26:00.003-05:00

"I could take this photo a million times and I would still look the same." - Damien DeRose, aka Peasant

I didn't know a lot about Damien DeRose, better known as Peasant, before going to see him at Rancho Relaxo in Toronto last Thursday night. Joanne, who also writes for the blog, has been a fan for quite the while so I've heard that he's a singer-songwriter with a simple vocal-piano-guitar sort of set-up, and that his music is very pleasant and honest. I was baffled to arrive at the venue to see the poster for the night's lineup. To me, it seemed kind of off putting to put the soulful solo artist with his acoustic guitar and apologetic but endearing smile onstage following local acts "The Panty Peelers" and "The Dildonics". Seriously, guys?

So following a surfer-rock set by The Dildonics that sounded more like a soundtrack to a teen beach movie than a live band, Peasant took to the Rancho stage. He apologized for not rocking as hard as the bands before him, and he apologized for being American since we had just found out that the Canadian women's hockey team had beat USA for gold, 2-0. He let us have our hoots and hollers, and he proceeded to serenade us with some standout tracks off of his upcoming album, Shady Retreat, as well as some older ones from On the Ground.

I've finally had the chance to listen to the album now, and I can say that much like Shady Retreat, Peasant's live set was short and sweet. The album is about thirty minutes long, and I can't imagine that his set at Rancho was much longer. But no matter how short or long that amount of time was, it was then that I was introduced to his music. And I do love it! While the album is fairly bare essentials in itself, his live performance is even further stripped down. It was a man and his guitar. Minus the production work, his songs can sound even more familiar and closer to home in that rare, comforting way. Between endearingly enthusiastic and sometimes apologetic banter about being American and his loving relationship with Canada, he delivered a collection of casually contemplative folk-pop songs. Peasant has a way of putting his inner monologue into pretty melodies and songs that simplify the same thoughts and feelings that you and I tend to over-complicate from day to day into something clear and understandable. It's this kind of clarity that came out best in his performance of We're Good, and the first single off of Shady Retreat, The End. It's really a shame that the clarity became muddled in the drunken, boisterous conversation of Panty Peeler and Dildonics fans that stayed behind.

My thoughts now said, are you ready for some Impressionable Youth blog bad quality bootlegs? Well, alright!

Peasant - We're Good (live at Rancho Relaxo) (mp3) (amazon) (iTunes)

Peasant - The End (live at Rancho Relaxo) (mp3) (amazon)

Peasant - The End (mp3) (amazon)

Despite the inappropriate crowd and opening bands, the singer-songwriter had nothing bad to say when we met him at the merch table after the set. In fact, he appreciated an eclectic mix of music. What a trooper. Following a truly pleasant conversation and photo-op with him (above), I feel like the music industry needs more guys like this.

So it really wasn't his crowd last Thursday, but he had another show in Toronto the following night at the Opera House. Opening for Fucked Up... I agree with Peasant when he says that variety in music is great and all but personally, I think someone needs to talk to his booking manager.

Shady Retreat is released March 2nd. Go ahead and pre-order it at Paper Garden Records, and check out more from Peasant at his mySpace.

Ali in the Jungle

2010-02-25T14:47:00.001-05:00

Whenever anyone mentions the word "Pulp", I immediately whip my head around and demand "WHERE", expecting to see some grand image of the band, older and more mature, ready to reunite and challenge the new modern social issues about the working class with ultra-catchy Britpop music. But alas, my dreams are never the ones to come true. Nonetheless, when I received an email about The Hours, a new band featuring Antony Genn, former Pulp and Elastica member, and Martin Slattery of The Mescaleros, I felt a little flutter in my heart.

I know, I shouldn't be comparing to the past. It's a bad habit. The Hours have an essentially recognizable Britrock sound, although different from all of the bands I've mentioned above. The one most important aspect of their four-track Ali in the Jungle EP, released Jan. 24th, is honesty and it comes across in a way that is really quite inspiring. So inspiring in fact, that Nike used the title track in one of their most recent campaigns. It references some of the most triumphant moments, heroes and icons in history, putting them alongside lyrics that remind us "it's not how you start, it's how you finish. It's not where you're from, it's where you're at. Everybody gets knocked down. How quick are you gonna get up?" Set these words to a strong drum beat, strings, and the first perfect take of the piano track that the band got down, and you've got a song that will make you feel like you're ready to take on all the world.

Check out the video for Ali in the Jungle, directed by Jonas Odell. It's kind of like video for Take Me Out by Franz Ferdinand meets the Float On video by Modest Mouse, coloured by your typical inkjet cartridge.

The four track EP, featuring two more songs as well as an orchestral version of the title track, really reinforces that sense of perseverance and determination as first outlined by Ali in the Jungle. Definitely a good choice for a rainy day. Listen to the Ali in the Jungle EP in full at the Hours' mySpace, or get it at iTunes!

Aestheticism

2010-02-24T23:07:00.002-05:00

Dance music. What is it really? What makes it that makes us want to put on our dancing shoes? What is it that makes us wanna dress up and go out and bring our A-game?

Chicago based dance-rockers Kid Savant want the night to last forever. They're able to take that feeling and create a four minute pop song that references everything from Pink Floyd-inspired funk rock to modern piano rock and infuse it with bass-heavy club-friendly trance. It's not an easy mixture to do well and they certainly manage to pull it off. This is dance music, but there's also an emotional resonance that is often lacking in typical dance music. Inspired by DJ sets in Montreal, they bring a synth-heavy-electro-rock sound and add elements of house and techno over top. It's got a grainy quality, not in terms of production quality, but like that sound you hear when you're at a noisy club where there's alot of excitement and the music just washes over you.

It's dance. It's pop. But its complexity and delivery makes it so much more.

Kid Savant - Ominous Dance Floor (mp3) (buy)

Kid Savant - Better Side of Paradise (mp3) (buy)

Greens & Honey

2010-02-23T23:33:00.005-05:00

Dress Rehearsal whispers softly. Acoustic at it's core, this London/St. Mary's/Toronto, ON group layers on guitars and vocal harmonies ala Smashing Pumpkins Gish-era, if it was whispered rather than amped up. But without Billy Corgans voice. And Kevin Graham (the brainchild and lead singer), has a much more pleasant voice. On second thought, maybe it sounds like a sunnier Sunny Day Real Estate. It's a got warm sound, with swirling guitars gving it a dense feeling, like the air when the late afternoon sun streams through the curtains midday. Perfect for downtime.

Their Greens & Honey LP is out on iTunes now.

Dress Rehearsal - Platypus (mp3) (buy)

Dress Rehearsal - Featherbrain (mp3) (buy)

Dress Rehearsal - Gumdrop Hills (mp3) (buy)

The Girl of My Dreams

2010-02-23T22:43:00.003-05:00

Is this you?

Okay, this post is not so much about music. It's about a boy, the girl of his dreams and his search to find her at theGirlofmyDreams.co.uk.

The story goes like this: Adam Pacitti had a nightmare about zombies one night and in the dream, he met the girl of his dreams. He quickly woke up to draw a picture of her (seen above) and notes that he sucks at drawing and this is not even close to 1% of her beauty and her hair is actually more like Kate Nash's.

He states "I don't think I dream about people that don't actually exist. Whether they are friends, family, or people that I've seen on television; everyone that has even been in my dream I've seen somewhere. I genuinely believe this person exists."

So help the bloke out. If you look like the person above or know someone who this could be, send them to this website. It could be true love.

Daniel Johnston - True Love Will Find You in the End (mp3) (buy)

Smiths - Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me (mp3) (buy)

Cass McCombs - Dreams Come True Girl (mp3) (buy)

AHCF

2010-02-21T22:56:00.004-05:00

Dinosaur Bones are having a release party Friday March 5, 2010, at the Steam Whistle Brewery in Toronto, with 100% of the ticket sales donated to the Artist's Health Centre Foundation. This is for the outreach, education and prevention services for over 20,000 professional artists in the Toronto area. To date Steam Whistle Unsigned has raised over $18000 for the AHCF.

Dinosaur Bones - N.Y.E. (mp3) (buy)

I Have a Dream in My Heart

2010-02-21T22:13:00.003-05:00

Singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Evan Voytas paints mystical quality of Americana in his songs. This ain't no Bruce Springsteen Americana. Rather, it captures a dreamy west coast pop landscape, where the young and fearless look up to the stars above and follow their dreams into the unknown. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Voytas beautifully captures the idealisms of the Hollywood mythology in the American dream. I'm not sure if he meant to do this as his songs are basically about "feeling good" or "feeling bad," according to his myspace.

The tinny synth-pop layers create within the songs create a strange space, like being the only car on an long unknown stretch of highway with only distanct stars as light, but somehow feeling very safe. The harmonies sound fresh and new, but like they've distilled over many decades. It's futuristic, but it draws alot from the past. It's very strange, but also very exciting.

Evan Voytas - I Run With You, Spirit Animal (mp3) (buy)

Gimme Indie Rock!!!

2010-02-21T21:50:00.003-05:00

Volcano Playground - Waiting (mp3) (buy)

Irresponsible Logic

2010-02-18T20:30:00.002-05:00

There's no doubt the Stance is from Halifax. What is in the water in the East Coast that churns out so much hook heavy rock and roll. This is a classic example of garage mixed with equal parts power pop.

Their new album, I Left Love Behind a Long Time Ago is out Feb 23, 2010. The story behind this collection of songs is that they hid for months from their label (Just Friends) while working on the record. The label got quite nervous as to the whereabouts of the band and the progression of work. The group stayed quiet the entire time and the record was at the pressing plant before anybody got a whiff of what it would sound like. Luckily for the label, they had nothing to worry about.

The Stance - Jenny Jitters (mp3) (buy)

I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart

2010-02-18T13:28:00.010-05:00

Butch Walker is preparing for the street release of his new album, I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart, with the help of the Black Widows. The entire album is available for streaming on the preorder website, and the good people at One Haven Music are giving out the track Trash Day for free!

Butch Walker and the Black Widows - Trash Day (mp3) (amazon) (iTunes) (mySpace)

Even if you haven't heard the name before, you've most definitely heard his work. Butch Walker has been in the music scene for quite a while and he's built up an impressive resume for himself. At the age of twelve he was playing drums in an Elvis cover band, though he's probably better known for later fronting The Marvelous 3. More recently, he's been writing and producing for such big acts as Avril Lavigne, Fall Out Boy, Simple Plan, Hot Hot Heat, Weezer and the All-American Rejects. He also played banjolin onstage at the Grammys this year with Taylor Swift for her hit You Belong With Me (his cover version is amazing). All name-dropping aside, Butch Walker is first a talented artist in his own right and those of you who stick your nose up at top 40 artists will find yourselves pleasantly surprised.

I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart is Butch's fifth full-length studio album. I didn't know about it until very recently (just yesterday in fact), but I immediately fell in love with it during my first listen. While I can't give you a comparison to his older work, that I have yet to hear, other reviews have compared it favourably to his previous album, Sycamore Meadows.

Trash Day is the opening track to I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart. It's a good introduction to Butch, his voice and his narrative, but has a stronger country twang influence than implied by the rest of the album. It was during the second appropriately titled track, Pretty Melody, that I really started to get into his music. The song is reminiscent of old 60's ballads, complete with sweeping strings and a dainty piano that lead into the story-telling, love-song verse. Accented with delicate pizzicato and sweet, longing lyrics ("I'll be your waste of time/You'll be be happy end/You're such a pretty melody/I'm just another tattooed tragedy"), Pretty Melody, makes for one of the strongest tracks, and my personal favourite on the record. The strings and country feel are reoccurring throughout the album, though often crossing-over an blending in with other styles, most notably in the soft, folky Don't You Think Someone Should Take You Home, and rockabilly inspired Days Months Years. With a multitude of genres and influences that it draws from, I Liked It Better manages to keep together as an album with strong cohesiveness, perhaps pulled together by great composition and an overall underdog narrative. It just goes to show how talented and versatile of a song-writer Butch Walker is, even disregarding the many guilty-pleasure pop hit songs he's been involved with.

To help promote the new album, Butch recently offered fans a chance to spend a day working on a song for the new album with him in exchange for a $25 000 preorder for the album. And who else would take him up on the offer but lovably geek-tastic Brendon Urie of Panic at the Disco fame? Watch the video as hilarity and horror ensue.

I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart is already out on vinyl, but you can get your digital and CD copies on February 23rd. He's going on tour to open for Train, and those of us in Toronto will be able to catch them on March 24th at the Phoenix. Hear more from Butch on his mySpace, and stream the entire new album at the official site.

Rejoice

2010-02-11T00:06:00.000-05:00

Pearly Gate Music is the project of Zach Tillman, who plays songs that sound crystal clear. Songs that sound like they would cut through a fog and bring out some of that fresh-after-the-rain smell. Pearly Gate Music is simple but it does so much. It's acoustic, confident, poppy in a 60ish way and..... fresh.

The self titled debut LP, Pearly Gate Music is out May 18, 2010 on Barsuck Records.

Pearly Gate Music - I was a River (live take) (mp3) (buy)

Song for the Gang

2010-02-10T14:44:00.005-05:00

Thrush Hermit. A much beloved band when I was too under-aged to get into their shows. And then the broke up.

Luckily for me, one of my teenaged hopes that someday "Thrush Hermit will get back together and play a show" came true! (Ah, the non-reality based problems of being young). They're actually play many shows around the East Coast and Ontario:

Thurs. March 18, 2010 Moncton, NB @ The Manhattan
Friday March 19, 2010 Halifax, NS @ Paragon Theatre
Sat. March 20, 2010 Halifax, NS @ Paragon Theatre
Tues. March 23, 2010 Waterloo, ON @ Starlight Social Club
Wed. March 24, 2010 Peterborough, ON @ Historic Red Dog
Thurs. March 25, 2010 Ottawa, ON @ New Capital Music Hall
Fri. March 26, 2010 Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace (sold out)
Sat. March 27, 2010 Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace (sold out)
Sun. March 28, 2010 Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace (early all ages 4:45pm show)

Thrush Hermit - From the Back of the Film (mp3) (buy)

Thrush Hermit - Before You Leave (mp3) (buy)

There is a Light that Never Goes Out

2010-02-08T16:41:00.012-05:00

An album inspired by the metallic pings you hear in an MRI machine (or "IRM" en francais), doesn't seem like it would translate well into into 43 minutes of listenable audio. But Charlotte Gainsbourg manages to pull it off. IRM is a spacey and subdued album much like producer Beck's Mutations, but haunting and effortlessly cool. Either though a potentially life threatening accident and recovery was a driving creative factor behind this work, it shows there's always a light at the end of the tunnel.

Even Charlotte states in Flaunt Magazine about the incident, "I can't say it changed my life, but it's true that when you wake up-I don't mean physically when you wake up-but when it's over and you realize that you are still there, there's something very exhilarating. But it passes very, very quickly and you go back to normal."

And she adds "I don't think that way [about survival]. I just hope I'll continue, I hope I'll get to meet people. I just hope I get to do exciting things. And I hope that I am at the beginning."

Charlotte Gainsbourg - Trick Pony (mp3 link deleted as per request) (buy)

One Life Stand

2010-02-05T18:00:00.002-05:00

Hot Chip is a group I couldn't really get into. They have all the elements of sound that I would love to hear, but on the whole, the pieces just don't quite fit together. I've listened to their albums and it's not an earth shattering experience like some would say. However, when they get a song right, they get it RIGHT.

Hot Chip - Touch Too Much (mp3) (buy)

Hot Chip - Alley Cats (mp3) (buy)

It's Time to Write a Happy Album!!

2010-02-03T20:41:00.004-05:00

One day (sometime during that faint memory that was 2008) David Macmichael of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia band The Danger Bees decided "it's time to write a happy album". With the drumming and production help of fellow Danger Bee James MacNeil, that's exactly what he did. And that's exactly what he called it.

It's Time To Write a Happy Album!! Track List:

1. Lolcats 4 Cats
2. Video Games!! (mp3)
3. Don't Call It Being Lonely Anymore (mp3)
4. Brad + I: Team Supercop
5. James + I's Big Night Out (mp3)
6. maybe there was just a suck portal in your life that hammer sank into accidentally, meanwhile ice would up on the center of a life sized turntable.
7. Parents Bass
8. The Open Mic
9. My Room Is The Greatest
10. A Conversation I Have With My Friend If, While Waiting in the ER for Antibiotics, A Wheelchair Becomes Unattended and She Can't Resist It's Call
11. Shark Guitar (Is a Pretty Good Axe)
12. Lunchtime II
13. I Know, Kitteh... I'm Hungry Too

Download It's Time to Write a Happy Album!! in full for FREE over at The Danger Bees' MySpace page.

Admittedly, I had my doubts about the Happy Album at first. Surely with cover art and track titles like that, it must be a novelty comedy album, right? Well, I've had it on my iPod for about a week now and I've listened to it an embarrassing number of times.

Totaling to just under twenty minutes, with none of the individual thirteen tracks exceeding two and a half minutes, Happy Album is the epitome of short and sweet. It's got lovably simple guitar and piano hooks that'll easily having you humming and toe tapping. And while it's pretty to listen to, the true genius lies in the anecdotal lyrics and the charmingly playful, mildly absurd narrative. It obviously stems from someone with a particular appreciation for the more mundane things in life. Take the lyrics from James and I's Big Night Out for example. "Some drunk jerk came and pushed past us then turned around and laughed at our matching glasses". Or how about the line in Video Games!! that says that Guitar Hero is "the very best thing to play. Just between you and me it's better than the real thing anyway. It's probably just because I'm really bad at guitar". I'd love to go on ruining the lyrical punchlines and discussing the precision of the album's subtle humour, cleverly strewn among melodically ear-pleasing tunes. I'd love to but I feel that I've talked for too long. I'm sure that the word count in this review has gone beyond the word count of the album.

Case in point, the Happy Album will make you happy. Surprise, surprise. Give it a couple of spins and I guarantee that you too will be singing bromantic odes to Brad, James and a cat named Fancy R2D2. Download it in full at no cost by visiting the Danger Bee's mySpace page, and catch them live in Toronto:

Feb. 3rd @ Poor Alex
Feb. 8th @ Drake Hotel
Feb. 9th @ The Central (with Ryan MacGrath)
Feb. 25h @ C'est What?
Mar. 17th @ The Supermarket

Don't Regret a Thing

2010-01-27T00:07:00.002-05:00

What's the dealio? Why did it take me so long to get hooked on King Khan's music? Was I living under a rock?

He's released three albums over the course of the last year through various projects and several tours. And now King Khan and the Shrines are back playing their loud psychedelic rockabilly soul explosion in North America in the spring. And if you were living a rock too, crawl out, stretch towards towards the sun and check out the shows below if you live the in following cities:

03-27 Atlanta, GA - The Earl
03-29 Carrboro, NC - Cats Cradle
03-30 Asheville, NC - Orange Peel
03-31 Chattanooga, TN - JJ's Bohemia
04-01 Nashville, TN - Exit/In
04-02 Memphis TN - Hi-Tone Cafe
04-03 Birmingham AL - Bottletree
04-05 Austin, TX - Emos
04-06 Dallas, TX - Sons of Hermann
04-08 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
04-09 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
04-10 Boise ID - Neurolux
04-11 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
04-12 Vancouver, BC - Venue
04-13 Seattle, WA - Neumos
04-15 San Francisco, CA - Bimbos 365 Club
04-18 Indio, CA - Coachella

King Khan and the Shrines - Land of the Freak (mp3) (buy)

I've Been Thinking

2010-01-26T22:37:00.011-05:00

Those of us who aren't actors have the inability to emote, to express ourselves in such a way as to convey something more exaggerated than the everyday human emotions of joy, anger, sadness and so on.

Peasant, aka Damien DeRose, to my knowledge is not an actor. According to his bio, "when Damien DeRose turned eighteen, he dropped out of school, packed up his guitar, and bought a sailboat in California with a friend. The plan was to sail down the coast, live life the simple way, and let the wind dictate the pace. However, as life would have it, DeRose’s journey took a different course and while the ship may not have left the harbor, he would find himself on a new journey writing and traveling across the U.S and Europe".

Since then, he's released the On the Ground, and has appeared on Daytrotter, WOXY, and Amsterdam Acoustics amongst others. Based in folk, his simple song structures and instrumentation allows for his transendent voice to shine through. He's got a voice that just expresses so much emotion without any effort. There are no vocal gymnastics or production tricks to help him with this, he's just blessed with a voice that embodies the complexity of the human spirit.

His next LP, Shady Retreat is out March 2, 2010 in North America and April 5th in Europe. There will also be a tour in the spring to support the release and judging by some of his recordings, I think this is one of those cases where you just have to hear it live.

Peasant - Hard Times (mp3) (buy)

Peasant - Well, Alright (mp3) (buy)

[Edit:] Peasant fans in Toronto will be able to catch him on Feb. 25th at Rancho Relaxo, and Feb. 26th (with Kurt Vile and Fucked Up) at the Opera House. Oh, happy days!

Galapaghost

2010-01-24T13:12:00.000-05:00

Exactly one month ago we received a few tracks off Galapaghost's EP, Our Lost Generation. It's really a shame that I didn't listen to them earlier, but I guess finding them in my inbox now is just as well. They're keeping me good company in my love-hate relationship with the winter blues.

Our Lost Generation was written, recorded and produced by Casey Chandler. He calls his music the fusion of ukulele and indie pop, "ukel-indie rock" if you will. You know what? I think that's one of my favourite genres of music. The EP sways between summer lullabies and sweet contemplative ballads. It's perfect for a cloudy Sunday afternoon like today, where all you really want to do is curl up in bed with a decent book and some relaxing tunes.

Galapaghost - Lost Generation (mp3) (amazon) (iTunes) (mySpace)
Galapaghost - Smile (mp3) (amazon) (iTunes) (mySpace)

You can stream the entire 6-track EP on his mySpace page. Currently Casey is putting together a band to further the Galapaghost project that, as you can hear has already seen a very promising beginning.

The Pinecones - Sage

2010-01-22T14:33:00.001-05:00

I think one of them knows something that the others don't.

The Pinecones, formerly Brent Randall & His Pinecones, have a new album. The 15-track record entitled "Sage" pays homage to tea parties, gentlemanly gentlemen and shoemakers. It's the result of a collaboration between Randall, Brian O'Reilly, (Meligrove Band, Their Majesties), Paul Linklater (Bindiband), and Joel Goguen (Laura Peek & The Winning Hearts). Each member wrote and sang their own songs, and it all comes together in this amazingly cohesive and charming piece that sounds like it came from a better time.

After however long of listening to songs and albums with an obviously insane amount production and polish, Sage was a nice breath of fresh air. The Pinecones embrace a DIY, lo-fi sound that completely compliments their songwriting styles. The opening track and also the title track, Sage, will immediately locate you in a time that isn't quite past, and isn't quite present, but some bizarre amalgamation that takes from the best of the two. In this case I suppose it would be the stylistic psychedelic whimsy of the 60s, and the modern appreciation for the understated. Whenever it is, it sounds like a time when complementary colours pallets are encouraged, tambourines are meant to be in the foreground, snapping is on par with clapping, and structured facial hair is THE thing. Past, present, both? For a much better sense of what kind of atmosphere that The Pinecones manage to create, better than my rambles of past and present can describe, listen to the subtle drama on I Think You're Blind (Starlit One) or to the fun and bouncy piano track, Mr. Shoemaker Man, literally about how amazing being a shoemaker would be. Also, read a little track by track writeup that the band did over on mySpace.

The Pinecones - Sage (mp3) (amazon) (available on iTunes Feb. 9th)

You can catch The Pinecones in Toronto on Feb. 5th at the Magpie, or on March 5th at The Garrison. They recently moved into the city from their hometown of Halifax, so let's give them a nice welcome, shall we?

Black Magic

2010-01-21T16:14:00.004-05:00

I will never get tired of post-punk, fuzzed out, reverb heavy synth rock with whiffs of dazed romanticism. It'll never happen. If it does, it'll either mean that:

a) my hearing is completely gone or
b) my heart is actually made of stone or
c) why would I even discuss this? It'll never happen.

Enter the Magic Wands. Their Magic, Love and Dreams EP is appropriately titled, a dreamy landscape of drum machines, echo-ey vocals and shoegaze weirdness. It's the perfect example of the type of sound I'm talking about. It's like a continuation of groups ranging from Blondie to OMD to the Jesus and Mary Chain to Cocteau Twins to the Raveonettes to the Handsome Furs. Their full length EP is out in June and I'm hoping they keep the tradition alive.

Magic Wands - Black Magic (mp3) (buy)

Video Updates!

2010-01-21T00:13:00.007-05:00

It's been a really good week for new music videos, folks! Here's five of them that have caught my attention:

Dinosaur Bones - Ice Hotels

For a band that has thus far only released a 4-track EP, Dinosaur Bones have been doing pretty well for themselves. They've already made quite a splash on the Toronto-indie scene, playing with various shows and festivals. On February 2nd they're releasing a 7-inch vinyl featuring the new track, Ice Hotels and Royalty. These two tracks really do sum up the kind of great music that's been coming out of our city recently. Of course, this is all just the teaser for their upcoming debut full-length that they've recorded with Jon Drew, the man behind such beloved Canadian acts as Tokyo Police Club, the Arkells and Fucked Up. You can preorder the limited edition white vinyl (classy!) over at Hi-Scores Recording Library now. In February, Dinosaur Bones will also be doing a quick romp around the States before bringing the tour back home for Canadian Music Week.

Hollerado - Juliette

I love Hollerado. I really do. They are synonymous with "fun". Their record, Record in a Bag, will be available for purchasing on Feb. 9th. Each will be hand packaged by the band in a ziplock, and it will include the CD, a card for bonus track downloads, stickers, and possibly a prize card for various goodies. Goodies may include free admission to Hollerado shows or guitars. I'm so fuckin' serious.

Hawksley Workman - We Dance To Yesterday

Here's a video that made me go WTF a couple of times. Hawksley plays a mullet-topped Japanese game show character in this video... I really never know what to expect from this guy. I've been hearing very good things about his album, Meat, which was released this last Tuesday. I'm going to have to pick it up sometime soon.

Raveonettes - Boys Who Rape

This is a DIY style video for one of the oddest tracks on their latest record, In and Out of Control. Match a saccharine sweet tune and voice to lyrics about the rage felt toward men who take advantage of women, and you get this song.

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass

Surely you've all seen their video for A Million Ways, Here It Goes Again, and WTF already. OK Go has announced that they're planning on doing a video for each track on their new album, released earlier this month. I look forward to it. Without doubt they are the kings of the one-take video.

Sambassadeur

2010-01-20T23:08:00.002-05:00

This is the fourth official installment of the Impressionable Youth Tardy Series. Sometimes (a lot of the times) great music ends up getting lost in our inbox. If we eventually find it and like it, you'll see it here. It's old news, but it's good news. Sorry we were tardy!

The Band: Sambassadeur

The Album: European

Date Received: Got a notice in Nov. 2009 that the band were working on a new album. We're so tardy, we're actually early by default this time! The band is finished their recording and will be releasing European on Feb. 23, 2010.

Why You Should Give It A Listen If You Haven't Already:
It's orchestral. It's earthy 70's folk. It's Swedish twee-pop and it's light, airy and sunny. It makes me picture a picnic with a significant other, a gingham sheet and wicker basket and fluffy clouds overhead. It's dreamy and seemingly devoid of modern cynicism and every once in a while, you need that.

Sambassadeur - Days (mp3) (buy)

Sambassadeur - Stranded (mp3) (buy)

Oh no, Oh No Forest Fires!

2010-01-20T15:40:00.000-05:00

[EDIT:] I've decided to re-post this feature on account of some important updates.

Photo by Kyle Hutton

Toronto's favourite indie-math-rock-guitar-spazz band, Oh No Forest Fires, has announced their final show. Ever. Mark Saturday Jan. 23rd on your calender, and head to the Horseshoe Tavern for one final epic hurrah to raise money for relief in Haiti.

In front man Rajiv Thavanathan's own words:

"All four of us are adults. Well, maybe not entirely full-time adults, but at least some of us are closer to adults than others, sort of maybe almost. And life has started adding responsibilities and commitments that weren’t there before. They are quite varied in nature, and that makes me happy- it is a reflection of the fact that all four of us are extremely different people. For some of us these responsicommitibilityments means starting a career in a very demanding and time-consuming industry. It also means finishing school. It also means quitting a job that you’ve been doing for years to try and figure yourself out a bit. It also means exploring how to be creative in a post-Napster/file-sharing/record-it-yourself-at-home kind of world. It also means trying to go back to a school that was never actually attended before, but I thought about it and now I’m actually applying in a way that I was expected to back in 2004 and maybe/probably/almost definitely having to move out of this wonderful city that I love because of it."

Read the full explanation-apology-thank-you-love note at Oh No Forest Fire's mySpace page.

It's sad, but understandable. Oh No Forest Fires have been around since before I got really into the local music scene (which actually wasn't that long ago, now that I think about it). They were one of the first small Toronto bands that I latched onto as a music fan, so it's kind of difficult to imagine the city without them. They're one of those bands with crazy energy, and walking into a venue that they were playing at, you knew it was guaranteed good time. They're also going to be releasing a new album as a final goodbye gift to their fans before the end. It's going to be called Wants To Try Something, it's going to be 22-26 minutes long, and it's going to be free. They've already put out the first track through their mySpace.

Oh No Forest Fires - Spontaneous Changes In Isolated Systems (Bobby's Song) (mp3)

And check out an acoustic version of the song performed for The Uncharted Territory on Ryerson University's internet station, SPIRITlive.net:

Remember, the final Oh No Forest Fires show is happening at the Horseshoe Tavern this Saturday, January the 23rd. Tickets are $7 at the door, and they'll be joined onstage by Arietta, Songs From a Room and The Darcys. All proceeds from the night will be donated to the Haiti Emergency Fund through Partners In Health.

Click here to RSVP on the Facebook event page.

Minor Love

2010-01-19T15:51:00.006-05:00

Adam Green must have been born with a sly grin.

He always manages to write songs comprising of quirky, sometimes utterly silly lyrics with a sometimes filthy mouth into pop songs that don't automatically throw you into his unpredictable world. For a casual listener, it sounds like lo-fi guitar pop, but if you listen carefully to his words, it seems like he's raising one of his eyebrows and nodding at you while telling an inside joke. His sixth solo effort, Minor Love has just been released on Rough Trade and dare I say it, it's more mature sounding than his past recordings.

Rough Trade says that the "the inspiration for this album lies in Green’s fatalism. Despite a fairly normal upbringing, and a generally optimistic world view, he often contends that nothing lasts… that there is nothing to look forward to…and that “we are all living in a butcher shop,” which Leonard Cohen told him while at a Bar-B-Que at Lou Reed‘s house".

But how is that so? Minor Love doesn't sound like the world is going to end, but then again, there's always more than meets the eye.

Adam Green - What Makes Him Act So Bad? (mp3) (download from official site)

Leif Vollebekk - Inland

2010-01-18T05:38:00.002-05:00

Photo by: Caroline Desilets

Leif Vollebekk's debut album Inland is being re-released through Nevado Records this week on Jan. 19th, which is just as well because it seems that not enough of us, myself included, paid the deserved attention to him the first time around.

Folk singer-songwriters have the difficult task of standing out from all of the other folk singer-songwriters in existence. Everyone and their mom is a singer-songwriter so it takes a little extra special something to get noticed among the sea of bed-head hair styles, beat-up guitars and soulful facial expressions. And while I'm sure that Leif already has, and can pull off all those mentioned above exceptionally well, there is a certain quality to his music that goes above and beyond the generic expectations.

Inland is a collection of songs arranged and performed with a simple and understated sort of elegance. On top of providing a unique voice to his songs, Leif integrates guitars, pianos, violins and a very powerful harmonica to create warm, contemplative soundscapes, all without compromising modesty or honesty. It never becomes overcrowded, or overcomplicated with instrumentation or themes that try to sound larger than life, a fault that emerging artists too often get caught up in. There is heartache in this album, but it's not glorified into something unrecognizable. Its presence is undeniable and familiar, just like you and I know it to be. This kind of gentle familiarity, particularly in tracks like In the Midst of Blue and Green and Don't Go to Klaksvik remind us that, yes, heartbreak is out there, but it's bearable. Even poetic and beautiful if you let it be.

Leif Vollebekk - Don't Go To Klaksvik (mp3) (amazon) (iTunes)

The re-release of Inland on iTunes, available on Jan. 19th, will include a new live recording of Don't Go to Klaksvik and a previously unreleased track called Te og Kaffi.

Leif Vollebekk will be in Toronto on Jan. 22nd to celebrate the CD release at the Cameron House. Although I haven't seen his live show yet, I will say that every show I've been to with a brass section and a stand-up bass has been very enjoyable. Leif's band includes both. So I guess I'll see you there, right?

Burn Bright

2010-01-14T17:11:00.003-05:00

San Francisco's City Light's sophomore effort, Burned Out Bright is out January 26.

The duo of rap producer Nick Andre and indie Postal Service-esque Matt Shaw, bring together their backgrounds in a collaborative effort with various artists with a variety of histories, sounds and influences. It's indie-pop, it's electronic and it's rock. It also happens to be very accessible. The kind of thing you'll hear on mainstream music stations soon.

City Light - Apologies (mp3) (buy)

City Light - Let's Not Speak (mp3) (buy)

Can't Stop the Fire

2010-01-11T15:09:00.005-05:00

I think there are two types of bar bands:

1. Those consisting of local indie kids who exude mad bubbly energy jumping up and down on the stage, inviting the audience to do the same. These are the bands who you drag your friends to see and drink and dance the night away.
2. Then there are those who are more refined. Where the music is arcane and complex (or pretentious) and it requires thinking and admiring from afar.

Most bands are a mix of these two types. Some lean towards the first group (ie. Weezer) and some lean towards the second (ie. Radiohead), but there's always some interchangeability.

The Balconies lean towards the first group. With boy-girl vocals, strong riffs and lots of sing-along choruses, their energetic guitar pop already makes me want to dance like the token drunk girl at their next show.

The Balconies - Smells like Secrets (mp3) (iTunes)

Go see them live:

Jan. 28 @ Clark Hall Pub, KINGSTON
Jan. 30 @ L'Absynthe, MONTREAL (w. The Darcys)
Feb. 3 @ Tantramarsh Pub Mount Allison, SACKVILLE (w. The Darcys, By Divine Right)
Feb. 6 @ Seahorse Tavern, HALIFAX
Feb. 26 @ Blacksheep Inn, OTTAWA (w. The Golden Dogs)

Pretty Girls and Lasers

2010-01-05T23:00:00.000-05:00

(Pretty) Girls and Lasers.

Now what first grabbed my attention is their name. What is not to love about pretty girls or lasers? It's such an awesome title! It may be a little bit hard to live up to the expectations since they aren't girls or lasers but... they make this up with their electro-indie remixes.

These guys are New York DJs who spread the indie sound in small clubs around NYC. I love this idea, because I hate going dancing in places that play crap music. These guys create a bridge between indie rock and dance music for the alternative masses and judging by the 10 minute and hour long mixes up on their official site, it sounds like a fun night out.

When you're a fan of indie rock, there are only a few places in the city, even in our indiephilic city of Toronto, where you can access this kind of scene.

If you're in New York, check these guys out. Their next show is tonight:

What: Primary Colors with (Pretty) Girls & Lasers
Cost: Free with RSVP at www.prettygirlsandlasers.com
When: Wednesday, January 6th – 9:30pm ‘till the end of the night.
Where: Arlo & Esme – 42 East 1st Street (between 1st & 2nd Avenues)
Why: Great music, a great crowd, and $5 Vodka drinks all night

(Pretty) Girls and Lasers - Taste of Lasers #3 10 Minute Mini-Mix (mp3) (download from official site)

And as a special incentive, they debuting their remix of Regina Spektor's "Folding Chair" and giving a copy to those in attendance. Here's the original (not yet remixed) for your perusal:

Regina Spektor - Folding Chair (mp3) (buy)

It's almost 2010!

2009-12-31T18:13:00.001-05:00

Counting down from 10 on New Years Eve is one of the best social activities you could share with someone.

Jupiter One - Countdown (mp3) (amazon) (iTunes)

Cheers to the end of a fantastic year, and the beginning of another.

- the Impressionable Youth team

Life Is A Gun

2009-12-29T10:08:00.005-05:00

Have you heard that Bedouin Soundclash's frontman is releasing a solo album in the new year?

Peek-a-boo!

Jay Malinowski's album, Bright Lights & Bruises, is set for release on February 16th, 2010.

Jay Malinowski - Life is a Gun (mp3) (not yet available for purchase)

This song here is just some simple drums, guitars and voices and it's lovely. I do love the sound of Jay Malinowski's voice. It's got one of those soothing masculine rasps that I can't help but respond to with a girlish sigh. A stripped down acoustic album that focuses on this is going to be a very pleasant listen indeed. According to the official bio, it's the result of hardships and conflicts, band-related and otherwise.

"Being in a band through bad times is the worst marriage ever. You argue all the time, and it's sexless" he says with a laugh. "We started Bedouin Soundclash when we were really young and hadn't gone through many trials yet. You say you're not going to become the cliche, but if you spend enough time around cliches you become one. Basically that's what happened to us, and that's what happened to me."

He'll be touring Canada come March. You know, after he's done shooting a new video in Iceland and running the Olympic Torch in Vancouver. It's true!

Collectively, Bedouin Soundclash will be making an appearance during Canadian Music Week on March 12th at the Mod Club. They'll be launching Pirates Blend Records at the start of the new year, and plan to release another album in the late summer.

Last Minute Christmas Tunes

2009-12-24T23:55:00.006-05:00

Some people go last minute Christmas shopping. I make last minute Christmas mixes. Here's a small handful that I rummaged up for today. Happy holidays, merry Christmas, and all that jazz everyone! I don't want to fight tonight.

In-Flight Safety ft. Jenn Grant - Fairy Tale of New York (mp3)

Sweet Thing - Merry Christmas, I Don't Want To Fight Tonight (Ramones Cover) live at The Hour (mp3)
Download all of the performances from the Hour's Holiday Music Special at cbc.ca/thehour!

My First Earthquake - Together in Our Holiday Sweaters (mp3)

Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart - Can I Interest You in Hanukkah? (mp3)

Heavy Blinkers - Silence Your Drum (mp3)

OK Go - Father Christmas (Kinks cover) (mp3)

Action Motors - Hey Now, Santa Claus (mp3) The most friggin' adorable Christmas song, lead by Brian Sendrowitz' (Beat Radio) 6 year old.

Bookie's Holiday Bash 2009

2009-12-24T09:47:00.000-05:00

Here in Toronto, local Edge 102.1 DJ Dave Bookman (Bookie) has a tradition of bringing great rock to the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern every Tuesday night. No cover. What a great guy! This particular Tuesday night was his second annual Holiday Bash with the Arkells, joined by Hollerado and The Order of Good Cheer. I'll be using the word "fun" many times in this post.

I hadn't heard of The Order of Good Cheer until the show. They're from Toronto, they're a little bit punk, a little bit country blues, and a little bit unexpected. Their frontman, Francesco Guidoccio came out all decked in white, pants, shirt and blazer. I thought he looked friendly but tired and disheveled in a very rock and roll kind of way.

Francesco Guidoccio displays good cheer.

They sang about taking it off, marijuana girlfriends and trannies. No, I'm serious. When I type it out it sounds immature and silly, but really they've got a wicked sense of humour in their songs and lyrics. I insist that you go out to their next show to witness them perform Lady Pizzle live. "Oh my god... it's bigger than mine". The few tracks and videos on their mySpace page don't do them justice in showing what a fun live act they are. Also, I'd like to give credit to their ukulele player. Never have I seen a person so enthusiastic about such a tiny instrument. He was really, really into it. That guy was shredding!

The second band of the night was Hollerado. Oh, Hollerado. I was just as excited to see these guys live as I was to see the Arkells, headlining later that night. They've been one of my new favourites since I found out about them last month and downloaded their record, Record In A Bag, for free on their official site. They sell their home-burned album at shows in Ziplocks, use doot-do-doos instead of la-la-las, send postcards to their fans, and exude an all-around aura of fun and good times. Last month they won $250,000 at a battle of the bands type gig hosted by Live 88.5, a radio station in Ottawa, and then immediately flew to China for a brief tour and about 24 hours after arriving back in Canada, they played this show.

In addition to spurring shout-along choruses with loud and boisterous crowd-winning tracks from Record in a Bag, they also conducted us through a drunken rendition of "Happy Birthday to... JESUS...", not because they're at all religious, but because Jesus has the best birthday parties. They tossed out paper cups with hand-drawn marker doodles on them, inviting whoever caught them to share a round of shots with them at the bar later. Even the people that weren't familiar with Hollerado's material were jumping and singing "whoa-oh-oh"s and pseduo-moshing. In fact, they were so won over that they continued singing the last song's whoa-oh-ohs even after the band left the stage!

Hollerado - Do the Doot Da Doot Doo (mp3) (download the album free at hollerado.com)

And of course, to top of the night- The Arkells.

You know how some people talk with their hands? One of my favourite things about seeing the Arkells live is that their lead vocalist, Max Kerman, sings with his hands. If the lyrics of a song tells you to reach out, he'll raise his palms to the sky. If the lyrics say that "there's no room for the sweaty", like in their hit single, Oh, the Boss is Coming!, he'll wipe his brow with a sleeve. It's the most charming thing. I think you should click here to vote for Max, or Arkells guitarist Mike DeAngelis, at Chart Attack's annual poll for sexiest Canadian man... Currently, Deryck Whibley is winning.

This was not your regular Arkells set. This was their Holiday Motown Dance Party. The entire tavern was singing along to Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder and Four Tops covers, just to name a few. You could tell that the guys in the band were having a genuine good time playing an entire show of songs that they loved without having the obligation of playing songs that they wrote. It was a very fun-loving and care-free vibe that they spread through the crowd. It's kind of like there was an unspoken but mutual agreement between the band and the audience that they'd play whatever the hell they wanted, and make Beck references whenever they wanted, and invite their friends onstage whenever they wanted, and the audience only encouraged it further.

There were actually a lot of people that shared the stage with the Arkells that night, including Josh Tranger from the Sam Roberts Ban d, and this guy:

Figure 1: This is what awesome looks like.

"This guy" is actually a dude from local Toronto band, Dinosaur Bones. He got his very own rap interlude during the Arkell's rendition of Ms. Jackson (wooo!). Isn't he awesome with his facial hair and Casa Loma t-shirt? I've changed my mind; you should vote this guy for Chart Attack's sexiest Canadian man of 2009. He joined them onstage once again with Order of Good Cheer and a handful of guys I don't recognize for a massive rendition of Don't Let Me Down.

Some might call this a dance party. Some might call it a fine bromance. Some might call it a sausagefest. In any case, it was definitely one of the highlights of the set and it gave everyone at the Tavern a warm, fuzzy, feel-good sensation. What a great way to kick off the holidays.

The Beatles - Don't Let Me Down (mp3) (amazon) (~~iTunes~~)

The Arkells - John Lennon (mp3) (amazon) (iTunes)

Let's do it all again next year, yeah?

Futureless

2009-12-23T23:10:00.004-05:00

The future looks bright.

The Futureless sounds like mix of trance, techno, ambience and indie. The 3 track Futura EP showcases drum machine and synthesizer samples, layered together with dance beats and bass lines that are at once cold and abrasive, but oddly compelling. Like it's leading up to something. It's like an abandoned warehouse that with the right amount of TLC will turn into a goldmine of a loft conversion. Their full length is expected to be released in the spring.

So maybe there's a future for the Futureless after all...

The Futureless - Lowest of the Dead (mp3) (buy)

Grime, Glam and Regional Mexican

2009-12-22T21:40:00.003-05:00

Blane Fonda sure loves irony.

Their name makes me think of 80's jazzercise workout videos.

Their press shot looks like it was shot with the technology and clothing styles available in the 90's.

The sound is described as "grime, glam and regional mexican" on their myspace.

All this irony. That's so post-modern of you, Blane Fonda!

But their music is in no way related to jazzercise videos or regional mexican. There is a little bit of an atmospheric, heavily layered 90's influence from bands like the Smashing Pumpkins, perhaps owing to their hometown of Chicago. But overall, it's a post-modern sound, with 80's glam dance-rock elements, the kind that cleverly weaves lyrical stories with a sly eye towards the obvious and the ironic. Frontman Mark Wetzel's emotive voice makes these tracks stand out and the overall sense of urgency of the songs will make floppy haired, skinny jean wearing romantics sing along to these tracks over and over again.

Blane Fonda - Salacious Love (mp3) (buy)

Blane Fonda - Opportunity Rocks (mp3) (buy)

Chinese Rock

2009-12-21T20:56:00.009-05:00

Is there legitimate Chinese rock? I mean cool Chinese rock music. One with street credit. I thought it was a myth. All the Chinese music I've heard since 1995 has sucked. So I've been on a half-assed quest to find some. I think we're getting closer to some good Chinese (indie) music.

There are Chinese music blogs (they also write about English-speaking indie rock), like http://www.wooozy.cn popping up and some indie Chinese labels like Maybe Mars. Sonic Youth and Yeah Yeah Yeahs have played in Chinese music festivals so maybe there's finally market for this stuff.

PK14 - Behind all Ruptures (mp3) (buy)

Hollerado is from Manitock, Ontario and they're also opening the floodgates for indie rock from Canada to mingle with Chinese culture. They've just come back from touring in China and Hong Kong and they've even have a Chinese version of their website. While their songs are in English, they attempt Mandarin in "Dragon, Dragon, Tiger, Goat", which you can hear over at Exclaim! Magazine. In the meantime, you can hear one of their English tracks below:

Hollerado - Juliette (mp3) (download from official site)

Examinations? The Kids Don't Stand a Chance.

2009-12-16T06:56:00.004-05:00

Hey readers. We're busy doing our school exams. After that, we'll be back to update you properly about music, up-and-comers, year end lists and all of that other fun stuff. For now, we have to buckle down, sharpen our HB-2's and think about grown-up stuff, communications theory, stats and other not fun stuff.

Vampire Weekend - The Kids Don't Stand a Chance (mp3) (amazon) (iTunes)

Christmas '09

2009-12-12T22:52:00.016-05:00

Sorry for the Christmas card tardiness this year. You may not get them in the mail before the 25th. At this point, maybe I should just write "Happy Easter!" on the cards instead?

Anyways, here's some tunes to kick start your holiday festivities!

Coldplay - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (mp3) (buy)

Foxes! - Christmas Songs (mp3) (buy)

Hush Now - Wishing You a Happy Christmas (mp3) (download from official site)

Weezer - O Come all Ye Faithful (mp3) (buy)

Julian Casablancas - I wish it was Christmas today (mp3) (buy)

Beck - The Little Drum Machine Boy (mp3) (buy)

Wedding Present - White Christmas (mp3) (buy)

White Stripes - Candy Cane Children (mp3) (buy)

Blitzen Trapper - Christmas is Coming Soon (mp3) (buy)

Busking for Change VANCOUVER

2009-12-10T15:21:00.007-05:00

Although the Impressionable Youth blog is based in Toronto, I'm very excited to announce that Vancouver's Busking For Change event is happening on Friday December 18th at Library Square. Busking For Change is an amazing event in which a handful of celebrated musicians take to the streets with their instruments to raise support for War Child Canada, an organization that aids children in war-torn areas of the world. It's also a rare chance for music fans to catch a couple of their favourite artists playing stripped down acoustic sets in support of a great cause.

Here's the Vancouver Busking For Change 2009 lineup:

Carly Rae Jepsen
Elias
Said the Whale
Joe from DOA
The Painted Birds
The Februarys
Yukon Blonde
We Are The City
Jessie Farrell
The Zolas
Current Swell
JP from Maurice
Sam Bradley
Winston Hauschild
Chad Brownlee
[EDIT: More musicians have since been added to the lineup.]
Adaline
Benjamin Keith
Morgan Cameron Ross from Birds of Wales
Joseph Blood from Bend Sinister
The Goodbye Beatdown
The Racoons
[EDIT: Even more artists have been added!]
Henry and the Nightcrawlers
The Autumn Portrait
Sweetheart

I had an absolutely fantastic time during this year's event in Toronto and although Busking For Change has been part of the city's tradition for several years now, Vancouver is having its very first, thanks to their hometown band Elias, who coordinated this whole shindig.

In addition to making some great atmospheric rock, they've been busy calling in favours from their musical Vancouver buddies (see lineup above) in hopes of making this event a success. The guys are also asking you to show your support for War Child by signing a petition to increase the currently dismal amount that Canada's government puts toward overseas development assistance each year. In exchange for showing your support, the band will give you a free digital music bundle, which includes a couple of tracks and a video from their recent album, Lasting Distraction. Click here to sign the petition and to get some nice swag in the process!

Elias - Thousand Pieces (mp3) (amazon) (iTunes)

If you're in the Vancouver area, mark down December 18th on your calendars, gather up all of your spare change, witness some great live music and mingle among some of your favourite Canadian artists at Library Square. And of course, great big kudos goes out to all of the musicians, coordinators and volunteers that are helping to make Busking For Change Vancouver a reality!

To learn more about War Child Canada, visit their website, here.

Audio Blood + Third Estate's Jingle Bell Rock

2009-12-10T13:18:00.001-05:00

The first major snow fall of the year has taken Toronto. Yeah. Hey Winter, fuck you too! So the festive spirit hasn't descended upon me yet, but I'm sure this upcoming show will brighten up the winters of many of my fellow Toronto-nians.

You've probably already heard all about it even before you visited our humble blog. Audio Blood is a relatively new Toronto-based publicity/artist development company that's been helping to promote the local music scene, and they've been doing a pretty great job of it so far. They've even given us here at the Impressionable Youth blog quite a lot of the news and music that we've passed onto you too! Thanks, Audio Blood! Well, Audio Blood has teamed up with Third Estate (expect some really sweet swag and merch from these guys) to bring you "Jingle Bell Rock", happening at the Horseshoe Tavern this Saturday December 12th. It's going to feature four of Toronto's most engaging bands, The Balconies, Clothes Make the Man, Make Your Exit and Oh No Forest Fires! It's a guaranteed good time!

The Balconies - The Slo (mp3) (iTunes)

Clothes Make the Man - Telescopes (mp3) ~~(iTunes)~~

Make Your Exit - Leave This Town (mp3) (iTunes)

Oh No Forest Fires - It's Not Fun And Games Unless Someone Loses An Eye (mp3) (iTunes)

Here's a video featuring all four bands getting into the holiday spirit. It's just like Christmas at home with the folks!

Get in on the festivities at the Horseshoe Tavern on Dec. 12th! Doors at 9 PM, $7 cover.