it's coming from the sky

Sonic Cathedral recently released a limited split 7-inch between Maps and M83. Side A of the record is a remix of Maps' "To The Sky" by M83 while the other side consists of Maps' remix of "We Own The Sky" by M83. This is truly a very special release; both songs are quite incredible... download them below and make sure you go by the 7-inch!

To The Sky (M83 Remix)
We Own The Sky (Maps Remix)
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

visit Maps' MySpace here
visit M83's MySpace here
buy Maps/M83 split 7-inch here

i get bored far too easily

You can download Portishead's entire set at this year's Coachella over at Deaf Indie Elephants and Mystic Chords Of Memory. Also, go look at some pretty photos from the show at Brooklyn Vegan and Flickr!
Thanks to For the 'Records' for posting the links!


CSS recently posted a song from their upcoming record, Donkey for download on their site.
CSS: Rat Is Dead (Rage)


Good Shoes have started a blog called the Boxer's Baby.


Finally, Does It Offend You, Yeah? have some new North American dates:
July
28 at The Glass House in Pomona, CA (w/ Bloc Party)
29 at Mayan Theatre in Los Angeles, CA (w/ Bloc Party)
30 at Fillmore in San Francisco, CA (w/ Bloc Party)

August
04 at Drakes in Toronto, ON
05 at Theatre of Living Arts in Philadelphia, PA (w/ Bloc Party)
06 at Webster Hall in New York, NY (w/ Bloc Party)

go! with fourteen o: the end is close

Have you ever wondered what screaming vocals plus 8-bit Nintendo like music sound like? Well, look no further than GO! With Fourteen O’s The End Is Close. Almost No Need For Money. ...this album will blow your socks off!

Made A Gun With My Fingers And Shot At My Friends
Four More Years
George Orwell's Collection Of Hidden Cameras
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

visit GO! With Fourteen O's MySpace here
email dennis_wedin@hotmail.com to order The End Is Close. Almost No Need For Money.

cover song of the moment

A historic performance this weekend at Coachella... Prince covered "Creep" by Radiohead!!!!!!!


Speaking of Prince, has anyone heard the new My Morning Jacket album, it sounds like Prince! ...very strange!

give us your vote

The lovely folks over at Criminal Records (493 Queen St. West) will host a free Tokyo Police Club in-store on Saturday, May 3. Stay tuned for set time. Show starts at 12:30pm!

from CBC Radio3 Session (May 17, 2006)
1. Box
2. Citizens of Tommorow
3. Cut Cut Paste
4. Your English Is Good
5. A Lesson in Crime
6. Nature of the Experiment
7. Be Good

from Elephant Shell (Bonus Disc)
Centennial (Remixed by Dntel)
Listen to the Math (Remixed by The Good Life)
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

visit Tokyo Police Club MySpace here
buy Elephant Shell here

the time i spent with nico

There are lots of new Atlas Sound tracks over at Bradford Cox's blog.

santogold: santogold

One of the last projects I had to do for school this year was to create a Flash page for a musician/band that features their music, video, bio, lyrics... you know, things that you would find on a band’s website. I was pretty excited to do it because I could do an entire project on Patrick Wolf! One of my classmates did her Flash page on someone named Santogold. She played a couple of songs by the Philadelphia native and I immediately fell in love with her. Initially, I thought Santogold sounded like M.I.A.; but after listening to more songs from her self-titled debut, I had a much different opinion about her. A few songs such as "Shove It", "Creator", and "Unstoppable" do have somewhat similar style and energy as M.I.A., but the album overall has more of an alternative dance pop feel. Regardless, Santogold is full of perfect summer party anthems and it is just an incredibly enjoyable record!

You'll Find A Way [wicked-cool song]
Creator [wicked-cool song]
Unstoppable [wicked-cool song]
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

visit Santogold's MySpace here
Santogold comes out on April 29th, you can pre-order it here

new mates of state video

Here's the new Mates of State video for "Get Better", a track from the duo's fifth record, Re-Arrange Us, out on May 22nd.

mystery jets: twenty one

I was never really a big fan of Mystery Jets’ Making Dens. I only listened to it because I wanted to know what all the fuss was about... it was an alright album, but nothing special at all. Nonetheless, I have this philosophy that I should never shut down a band/artist even if I disliked their previous releases (I hated everything Arctic Monkeys when their first record came out, but I listened to Favourite Worst Nightmare and my opinion of them had completely changed!)

So yes, you guessed where this is going; I am recommending Mystery Jets’s sophomore album, Twenty One, in this post. I can’t explain why... maybe because I just finished school and finally get to relax, but I absolutely love the fact that Twenty One is such a pop driven record full of cheesy relationship songs. It just sounds so simple, care-free, and pleasant to me! This is probably the only time I would recommend a song ("Young Love") even with the lines: "Is that you on the bus? Is that you on the train? You wrote your number on my hand but it came off in the rain." With such a cheering vibe and 80s/XTC influenced sound, Mystery Jets' latest is the perfect album to listen to while talking a stroll in these gorgeous spring afternoons!

Hideaway [wicked-cool song]
Young Love [wicked-cool song]
Two Doors Down [wicked-cool song]

Hideaway (Switch Remix)
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

visit Mystery Jets' MySpace here
buy Twenty One here

happy earth day!

Earthday 08
Earth Day Canada

no age: nouns

It is no secret to regular readers of this blog that I love No Age. Weirdo Rippers was my favourite record of last year and I have been blogging about them regularly for the past year. Indeed, Nouns is my most anticipated release of 2008 and I am naturally far too excited about it!

No Age’s Sub Pop debut begins with a track characterized by lo-fi vocal drowned out by noisy distorted guitar melodies, rhythmic hammering of the drums, and endless awesomeness. "Miner" really sets up the tone for the rest of the record, tracks such as "Teen Creeps", "Sleeper Hold", "Cappo", "Ripped Knees", and "Brain Burner" all follow a similar structure. The duo made a great choice in picking "Eraser" as their first single. The accompanying tambourine enhances an already brilliantly rich texture. In addition, the single uses the signature Weirdo Rippers sound with its surreal/dreamlike build-up, which aside from few other tracks, is mostly absent from Nouns.

Back when Weirdo Ripper was released, I wrote that it was the result of noise rock mixed with 80s' hardcore punk, indie pop and Suicide influenced style. There are some changes this time around: the instrumentations are overall more 80s hardcore/Hüsker Dü sounding while the vocals are rawer and rather lo-fi. Nevertheless, just like Weirdo Ripper, Nouns is another exceptionally solid and engaging record from start to finish!

Miner [wicked-cool song]
Teen Creeps [wicked-cool song]
Here Should Be My Home [wicked-cool song]
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

visit No Age's Myspace here
buy Eraser 7" here
Nouns comes out on May 6th, you can pre-order it here

happy record store day...

Go buy some records!

cover song of the moment

I am very trilled about the Constantines and Feist’s cover of "Island In The Stream". The original song, written by Bee Gees, was performed by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton... and for you 90s hip-hop kids, it was sampled in Pras’ "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)". I absolutely adore the cover; these is such a beautiful chemistry coming from the voices of Constantines’ Steve Lambke and Feist as I am mesmerized by the song every time I hear it!

Constantines and Feist: Islands In The Stream (Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton cover) [wicked-cool song]
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

visit Constantines' MySpace here
visit Feist's Myspace here
buy Islands In The Stream 7" here

the stitches of space that slowly come and go

There is a new track up for download over at deerhunter/atlas sound/lot plaza's blog.
Check out this Bento lunches decorated as album covers... very cool!
I found a pretty good remix of Klaxons's "As Above, So Below" by Justice the other day, you can download it below.

Klaxons: As Above, So Below (Justice Remix)
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

she was walking on the tables in the glass house she was walking on the tables in the glass house

Miles Kane of The Rascals and Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys, aka The Last Shadow Puppets, are set to release their debut record on April 21st in the UK & Europe and on May 6th in North America. I am quite excited to hear it because it features tracks recorded by the 22-piece London Metropolitan Orchestra, which were arranged and conducted by Owen Pallett! The duo visited New York earlier this year and recorded a couple of stripped-down versions of tracks from The Age Of The Understatement, make sure you check them out below!

My Mistakes Were Made For You (Acoustic)
The Age Of The Understatement (Acoustic)

the pace, the time, i can't survive

Current TV premiered a very special studio performance by Portishead last Friday night. The group played seven songs from their new record, Third. You can watch the entire set here... and download the mp3 version of the performance below, enjoy!

1. Intro
2. Silence
3. Hunter
4. We Carry On
5. The Rip
6. Machine Gun
7. Magic Doors
8. Threads
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

Third comes out on April 28th, you can pre-order it here

lil' jon, he always tells the truth

Vampire Weekend will be releasing the A-Punk 7” Single on Record Store Day (April 19). It includes "Oxford Comma (Rehearsal Version)" as the b-side. Remember to go support and celebrate with your local record stores on April 19!

Canadians, don’t forget to vote for “The Best Record Store in Canada” over at CBC Radio 3... it is now down to the Top 10!

Oxford Comma (Rehearsal Version)
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

our sleepless forest: our sleepless forest

Our Sleepless Forest’s self-titled debut is like one big dream compressed into a 43-minutes album. The tone and the environment that the album creates is completely refreshing; the drone sound produces calmingly peaceful and airy atmosphere. The best feature of the album is that the only vocals come from animals and a short segment of a person talking in "The Tinderbox". All there is really to say is that Our Sleepless Forest is surely one beautiful and surreal sounding ambient journey.

I know that a lot of people are feeling pretty hectic, frustrated and not getting much sleep lately because school is almost over and the due dates for final projects/essays/exams are coming up very soon. My suggestion, the next time you feel stuck and aggravated, close your eyes for a few minutes and unwind yourself with the songs below.

The Tinderbox [wicked-cool song]
Aircastles [wicked-cool song]
Afraid of You [wicked-cool song]
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

visit Our Sleepless Forest's MySpace here
buy Our Sleepless Forest here

cover song of the moment

Russian Red: Girls Just Want to Have Fun (Cyndi Lauper cover) [wicked-cool song]
**all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

the cemetery is my home

Watch M83's new video for "Graveyard Girl" below.


Graveyard Girl [wicked-cool song]
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

Saturdays = Youth comes out on April 15th, pre-order it here

serafina steer: cheap demo bad science

I love both Regina Spektor and Joanna Newsom, but they can be a little overwhelming from time to time. So naturally, the combination of the two may not be the best idea, right? Well, not if the mix is a toned-down and mellower version of the two. That is exactly how I would describe Serafina Steer. Her record, Cheap Demo Bad Science is the perfect marriage of the two. In addition to her soft and tranquil voice, Steer captures the humbleness of Joanna Newsom and the spontaneous delivery of Regina Spektor. As for the instrumentations, Steer employs a similar minimalistic approach to Nancy Elizabeth's. Cheap Demo Bad Science is not extraordinary nor is it the most original album ever; it is really just a lovely sounding record, and that is good enough for me.

Uncomfortable [wicked-cool song]
Peach Heart
Cheap Demo Bad Science
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

visit Serafina Steer's MySpace here
buy Cheap Demo Bad Science here

my favourite record store is located at 493 queen street west

For those of you who are keeping up with the CBC Radio 3’s Searchlight competition for "The Best Record Store in Canada" , it is now down to the top 20! Go see if your favourite store is on the list. Keep voting at CBC Radio 3 by clicking on the "The Top Twenty" banner on the left.

does it offend you, yeah?: you have no idea what you're getting yourself into

There are countless dancepunk/electro bands out there that aim to achieve the same success and credibility as The Rapture, !!!, and The Faint. Although many failed to do so, one or two bands do emerge with great potential once in a while. It did not take long for me to get into You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into, the debut album by England's Does It Offend You, Yeah? In fact, I was pretty much crazy about the album by the halfway point during my first listen! Not only does YHNIWYGYI feature some exciting high energy dance tracks ("With A Heavy Heart (I Regret To Inform You)", "Let's Make Out"), but it is also balanced by grand melodic 80s synth pop ballads ("Dawn Of The Dead", "Epic Last Song"). Perhaps the finest quality about the album is that it works perfectly as a whole; it is brilliantly assembled as each song flows naturally into the next. Does It Offend You, Yeah? have effectively combined familiar sounds to produce something fresh and creative, YHNIWYGYI is a highly entertaining debut record.

With A Heavy Heart (I Regret To Inform You) [wicked-cool song]
Dawn Of The Dead [wicked-cool song]
Let's Make Out [wicked-cool song]

Non-album bonus:
Bloc Party: The Prayer (Does It Offend You, Yeah? Remix) [wicked-cool song]
Muse: Map Of The Problematique (Does It Offend You, Yeah Remix)
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

visit Does It Offend You, Yeah?'s MySpace here
buy You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into here

la seule chose qui m’agace c’est de changer les piles!

I hate the 80s. I’m just going to admit that right now. I don’t buy into neo-retro-reebok sneakers, I’m not really a fan of shirt-dresses and MC Hammer tunes don’t make me feel nostalgic. That said, I love Yelle. Her electronica-dance sound has a lot of the elements that you would find in an 80s radio hit, but the rendering of these elements is such that Pop Up is overflowing with fun. And if you understand French, the lyrics add a whole new dimension. Yelle covers all her bases, ridiculing misogynistic rappers in “Je Veux Te Voir”, singing the praises of her vibrator in “Mon Meilleur Ami” and contemplating switching teams if men don’t work out in “Les Femmes”. Yelle was also featured in one of the biggest songs of 2007 in France: “Parle à Ma Main” by Fatal Bazooka. The video for the song is hilarious, and you can watch it here.

Yelle is a breath of fresh air for people who usually don’t enjoy dance music. Pop Up is fun enough that even those who don’t speak French will find themselves vogue-ing to it in the light of their iMacs.


Je Veux Te Voir
Ce Jeu
Dans Ta Vraie Vie

Bonus: Parle à Ma Main by Fatal Bazooka feat. Yelle & Christelle
***Comme toujours all files expire in 7 days

Yelle is about to embark on a U.S.A. & Canada tour:
Apr 22 in Seattle @ The War Room
Apr 23 in Portland @ Rotture
Apr 24 in San Fransisco @ Independent
Apr 26 in Indio @ Coachella Festival
Apr 29 in Chicago @ Mansion
Apr 30 in Toronto @ The Great Hall
May 2 in Montreal @ Club Soda
May 3 in New York @ Highline Ballroom

Buy Pop Up Here.

the rushing river rattlesnakes your legs

Watch The Acorn's beautiful video for "Flood Pt.1":


Flood Pt.1 [wicked-cool song]
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

visit The Acorn's MySpace here
buy Glory Hope Mountain here