benoît pioulard: temper

I just love it when a song or an album is able to create some sort of dreamy atmosphere/sensation. Sigur Rós has always been the band at creating the best atmospheric music. Lately, I have been drawn to Temper by Benoît Pioulard. Pioulard’s structure and arrangement to each song are fascinating. From found sound to drone noises, Pioulard beautifully integrates countless elements with tradition folk music. The end product is multi-dimensional, adventurous, gorgeous and completely mesmerizing!

Ragged Tint [super-wicked-cool song]
The Loom Pedal
Cycle Disparaissant
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

visit Benoît Pioulard's MySpace here
buy Temper here

The video for "Ragged Tint" is just perfect:

Brasstronaut — October 9, 2008 @ Criminal Records

fall horsie: devil(e)durge

Fall Horsie’s Devil(e)durge is one stunning record! The 10 lyrical songs play like a bizarre fantasy/odyssey. The piano, guitar, strings, and percussion are theatrical sounding (think along the lines of Franz Schubert’s Der Erlkönig). There is a sort of spookiness/darkness in Devil(e)durge, but it is mostly contained by the transcendent arrangements and gentle vocals. Justin Karas (the mastermind behind Fall Horsie) has composed a record that is absolutely stimulating and delightful to the ears!

Cloudy Eyes Over Arid Face [wicked-cool song]
The Devil's Performance [wicked-cool song]
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

visit Fall Horsie's MySpace here
buy Devil(e)durge here

i’m gonna miss the sea, i’m gonna miss the snow

Antony and the Johnsons has a brand new single, video, and EP! The single, "Another World", is the first track from the EP by the same title (out now). It will also appear on the new album, The Crying Light, which will be released January 2009.

Another World [wicked-cool song]

bradford is back!

After about a month+ of non-blog action, Bradford Cox has posted the October Micromix and a new Atlas Sound song entitled "Coffin Trick"!

a-a-a-a-a-a-ashley

The Dodos — October 6, 2008 @ The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern

busy

Sorry for the week long absence folks! Anyway, I have put up a new song under the 'New Noise of the Week' section. It’s "Oceanus" by High Places, a track from the out of print Xiu Xiu/High Places Split 7". Enjoy.

johnny flynn: a larum

From Sam Amidon’s All Is Well and Fleet Foxes’ Ragged Wood, so far, 2008 has been an amazing year for folk music! And it continues to shine as I discovered yet another wonderful folk record—A Larum by Johnny Flynn. The record is fantastic right from the get-go: "The Box", a song about Rob the homeless man sets up Flynn’s entertaining narratives and characters evident throughout A Larum. The up tempo melodies and gorgeous fiddlings are more than pleasing to the ears. Flynn’s grave voice, brass sections, shouting of "I’m alright!/I’m alright!", tipping, and whistling are the components to the perfect sad song in "Hong Kong Cemetry". I can go on forever telling you how great A Larum is, but it’s probably best if you just check out the songs below; or better yet, if you are in Toronto on Saturday, stop by at Criminal Records (493 Queen St. West) around 5pm to see a free in-store performance by Johnny Flynn!


The Box [wicked-cool song]
Sally [wicked-cool song]
Hong Kong Cemetry [super-wicked-cool song]
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

visit Johnny Flynn's MySpace here
buy A Larum here

and the winner is...

Caribou’s Andorra is the winner of this year’s Polaris Music Prize, congratulations!

they gave out earplugs at the doors... they should’ve given everyone a pair of sunglasses too!

My Bloody Valentine live is a visual and auditory workout! Despite the fact that the band played in my second least favourite concert venue in Toronto last night, their sound was mind-blowing! This is the only time (and probably the last time) that I can say the sound was actually good at the Kool Haus; in fact, it was nearly perfect! "(When You Wake) You're Still In A Dream", "Only Shallow", "You Never Should", and "Nothing Much To Lose" were so loud and so incredible! ...oh and that last song, "You Made Me Realise" + "the holocaust" ...a 25 mins of noise so loud that the ground was shaking the entire time! It felt like a train was passing directly below and thunder striking at the same time... holy crap... what an experience! There are only four My Bloody Valentine shows left, anyone who even has a slight interest in the band or want to experience something ground-breaking should really go to one of the reminding shows!

Sept 27 at Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, IL
Sept 30 at The Concourse in San Francisco, CA
Oct 1 at Santa Monica Civic in Los Angeles, CA
Oct 2 at Santa Monica Civic in Los Angeles, CA

Here’s a recording from a show at ICA in London, England (June 13, 2008) that’s been flowing around the internet:

My Bloody Valentine, Live at ICA in London, England (June 13, 2008)
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit