what a day

New albums from PJ Harvey, Great Lake Swimmers, Lotus Plaza and Yeah Yeah Yeahs are all out today!

micachu: jewellery

At just 21 years of age, Mica Levi aka Micachu is by far one of the most talented musicians today. Her debut record, Jewellery is beyond brilliant and absolutely original! A few weeks ago, I tweeted that “Micachu is like the female version of Jamie T!” I still stand by this statement; in fact, that is what I have been telling people when they ask me what Micachu sounds like. Ok, let me be explain... I don’t think that Micachu is a Jamie T rip-off... Jewellery just reminds me of Panic Prevention for its range of style and the cross-genre sound; the imaginative layers of complex melodies; and the overall up-tempo and carefree experience. Micachu has crafted something incredibly unique, lively, and fresh; Jewellery is a pop sensation and it is one of my favourite records of the year so far.

Abandon Ship [wicked-cool song]
Just In Case [wicked-cool song]
Worst Bastard [wicked-cool song]
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

visit Micachu's MySpace here
buy Jewellery here

crystal antlers: tentacles

Thanks to the recent success of noise bands such as HEALTH, No Age and most recently Wavves, more and more bands from this genre are getting noticed. One of those emerging band is Crystal Antlers. Their debut LP, Tentacles is everything a noise fan could ask for—40 minutes of loud and melodic rock. Style wise, Crystal Antlers sound quite similar to their fellow tropical punk act Abe Vigoda. Likewise, their continuous ruckus and wild energy reminds me of The Blood Brothers and Parts & Labor. Tentacles is able to achieve what quite a few noise records failed to do—going all out without being too exhausting.

Andrew [wicked-cool song]
Tentacles
Your Spears [wicked-cool song]
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

visit Crystal Antlers' MySpace here
Tentacles comes out on April 7th, you can pre-order it here

i'm a little garçon in my head

Born Ruffians and Akron/Family - March 24, 2009 @ Sneaky Dee's

Born Ruffians




Akron/Family




go to my flickr page for more photos from the show!

a good day

The Creative Freedom Foundation announced this morning that Section 29A will be scrapped (w00t!) You can read more about the it over at The Creative Freedom Foundation.

On a side note, Bat For Lashes is now on Twitter.

strike me down... i am an island, a mountain, a river

OMG: "Vulture" remixed by These New Puritans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(thank you Liam for the heads up!)

Patrick Wolf: Vulture (These New Puritans remix feat. Other's International Choir) [wicked-cool song]

hooray for the cover!

I think the good folks over at Stereogum like Patrick Wolf as much as I do. They posted a progress report on The Bachelor yesterday along with the cover art as well as a remix of "Vulture".


I quite like the cover for The Bachelor as it reminds me of this:


Remember, "Vulture" is out on April 20th as a digital and 7" single and The Bachelor comes out on June 1st!!!

we were better off as animals

Check out Cursive's amazing performance of "From The Hips" on Late Show with David Letterman:

come now lay me in the creek

Bradford Cox has posted Virtual 7" No. 6 on his blog!

nsfw

New P.Wolf video for "Vulture"



From Patrick's MySpace:
"Filmed in black & white, photographic style, it shows an enraptured, semi naked Patrick writhing in a full S&M, bondage outfit. The controversial scenes are intercut with those of Patrick as the leather clad ‘Vulture’ and as an unmasked icon. Inspired by experiences Patrick gained and suffered on the American leg of the 2007 'Magic Position' tour, the video perfectly depicts these experiences, which Patrick describes as ‘getting involved in some dodgy satanic sex games and exploring the many dark sides of Los Angeles’."

new p.wolf!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can listen to the new Patrick Wolf single, "Vulture" over at BBC6 Music!
"Vulture" will be released as a digital and 7" single on April 20th!

amazing!

Work it!

cover song of the moment

So I had a folder of music by Florence and The Machine on my desktop for a good 3+ months now. I finally upload it onto my iTunes a few days ago and I am completely blown away!

Florence’s debut single, "Kiss With A Fist", released back in June of last year is just an incredible song; but what makes the single even more brilliant is the b-side: a cover of "Hospital Beds" by Cold War Kids!

Hospital Beds (Cold War Kids cover) [wicked-cool song]

Here are some other covers by Florence and The Machine:
You've Got the Love (The Source cover) from Dog Days Are Over Single
Postcards From Italy (Beirut cover) [wicked-cool song]
Galaxy Of The Lost (Lightspeed Champion cover)
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

visit Florence and The Machine's MySpace here

"daniel" is the best track off two suns!

Here's the video for Bat For Lashes's brand new single, "Daniel". Remember, Bat's new album, Two Suns is out out April 6th.



Bat For Lashes: Daniel [super-wicked-cool song]
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

canadian musicfest is such a stupid name... go back to cmw!

Criminal Records has a few in-stores lined up this week to celebrate Canadian Music Week... I mean fest.
Friday, March 13: Hannah Georgas @ 6 pm
Saturday, March 14: Jon-Rae Flethcer @ 6 pm and Hollerado @ 7pm

Unfortunately, I will not be able to participate this year as I have way too much school and work related things to do; however, if I were to go, these are some of the bands I would probably check out:

March 12
8:30 pm The Lovely Feathers @ Horseshoe Tavern
9:00 pm Duchess Says @ El Mocambo
11:00 pm Mother Mother @ Supermarket
1:00 am The Rural Alberta Advantage @ Gladstone Hotel
or
1:00 am Rae Spoon @ Clinton’s

March 13
1:00 am Hot Panda @ Horseshoe Tavern
or
1:00 am Amos The Transparent @ Rancho Relaxo
or
1:00 am The D'Urbervilles @ Silver Dollar
2:00 am The Ghost Is Dancing @ Silver Dollar

March 14
10:45 pm Basia Bulat @ Lee’s Palace
11:45 pm Elliott Brood @ Lee’s Palace
or
12:00 am Jenn Grant @ Reverb

Head over to For the 'records' and chromewaves for their recommendations!

i know it's my destiny... pokemon!

This is pretty great:

soap&skin: lovetune for vacuum

I have been longing for some good new piano music recently; something along the line of Sigur Rós’ "Samskeyti" and Eluvium’s astonishing 7xLP, Set Life Through Bombardment… well, I think the answer to my craving is Lovetune For Vacuum by Soap&Skin. In many ways, Lovetune For Vacuum reminds me of PJ Harvey’s 2007 masterpiece, White Chalk. If anything, Soap&Skin’s piano-melodies are even more haunting and her incredible vocal range is equally mesmerizing and vulnerable. Lovetune For Vacuum also projects this beautiful mysterious sound as well... very similar to what Patrick Wolf did on Wind In The Wires, Anja Plaschg brilliantly mixed dark electronic sounds with classical arrangements. Soap&Skin is one of my new favourite artists right now and Lovetune For Vacuum is by far one of the best releases of 2009!

Cry Wolf [wicked-cool song]
Fall Foliage [wicked-cool song]
Spiracle [wicked-cool song]
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

visit Soap&Skin's MySpace here
Lovetune For Vacuum is out in Austria now; it comes out in Switzerland and Germany on Tuesday (March 13) and the rest of Europe on April 14th, you can pre-order the album here and here

go west! life is peaceful there

I kept forgetting to post this:
Pet Shop Boys performing a medley of their classic hits at the 2009 Brit Awards!


and then there is this:
Pet Shop Boys performs "Go West" at the 1994 Brit Awards... AMAZING!


Pet Shop Boys: Go West [super-wicked-cool song]
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

southeast engine: from the forest to the sea

Southeast Engine's latest record, From the Forest to the Sea takes listeners through a soul-searching journey. It is an album that focuses heavily on human exploration and self-discovery. Adam Remnant’s vocal is sort of perfect for these intense subject matters. His voice is tender, honest and humble, making all the songs passionately genuine! I am not sure how to explain it, but the album reminds me a bit of Guided By Voices... "Black Gold" and "Malconte" in particular; but mostly, it features that folk driven indie rock sound. Give it a try if you are into bands like Port O'Brien and The Arcade Fire.

The Forest I [wicked-cool song]
Two of Every Kind
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

visit Southeast Engine's MySpace here
buy From the Forest to the Sea here

leave my body, leave my bones

The latest episode of The Take-Away Shows features the talented Mr. Johnny Flynn!

new look!

I think this is the third time that I changed the look of things since I started this blog, hope you all like the new design!

ribbons: royals

Is it possible to not think of Radiohead after hearing the first two songs from Ribbons’ Royals? "All of Us" screams "15 Step" while "The Last and Least Likely" sounds like something out of OK Computer. Nevertheless, these first two songs are phenomenal! The drum machine, string arrangement and Jherek Bischoff’s vocal contribute to the beautifully mysterious opener. From the noisy, distorted vocal and guitar in "Children's Song" to the minimal eastern sound of "Miu Miu", Bischoff experimented with an incredible range of musical styles. For the most part, Royals is very dreamy and atmospheric and without a doubt, it is a brilliantly rich musical experience. Ribbons’ Royals is probably not everyone’s cup of tea, but fans of experimental music like Xiu Xiu, The Ruby Suns, Benoît Pioulard and Scott Walker should definitely give this a try!

All of Us [wicked-cool song]
Children's Song [wicked-cool song]
Silver Locket [wicked-cool song]
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

visit Ribbons' MySpace here
buy Royals here