Thick Specs
Head over to Thick Specs (a blog finding the best indie rock… then and now..) to read about one of my first concert memories.
http://www.twitter.com/indiemusicfiltr
Head over to Thick Specs (a blog finding the best indie rock… then and now..) to read about one of my first concert memories.
How do you make a perfect pop song? Ask Thom D’arcy, he’s obsessed with it. Here’s the next song stuck in your head. Check out On The Line by Small Sins. (another track on Indie Music Filter Vol. 4).
Mood Swings is the second album released under the name Small Sins, a band who formerly went by the name The Ladies and Gentlemen. I’ve always thought this band was a great mix between catchy pop songs and rock band with experience in electronic music. Actually, On The Line kind of reminds of Scissor Sisters… The new record is full of gun imagery, organic instrumentation, and the ‘quest for the most shameless pop hooks possible’. Very nice, make sure to catch this band live, they’re hitting the road with a ton of North American dates, check myspace for details.
I Need A Friend is the lead off track on Mood Swings, look for it.
I’ve been waiting quite a while for a new release from this band… now, I sit here smiling with my copy of Welcome To The Night Sky (Labworks) by Wintersleep. A band that I’ve written about before and seen many times live, I’m convinced these guys have the potential to rise to the top of the list of great Canadian bands.
Quick history run on sentence. Couple of guys start band in Halifax, gain momentum with two solid untitled/self-titled full length releases, many days on the road touring, opening shows for big names in music, and playing international music festivals. The result is anticipation and expectations for the new record; can this record and band keep getting better? From a solid two weeks with the new album, I’d say yes.
Check out Archaeologists on their myspace page. **this was also the lead off track on Indie Music Filter Volume 4, get it here.
Welcome To The Night Sky shows growth as a band as songwriters. The album was recorded close to home at Halifax’s Sonic Temple by producer Tony Doogan (Belle & Sebastian, Mogwai, Super Furry Animals) and then mixed at Glasgow, Scotland’s Castle Of Doom. From previous records, I notice a difference in the way lead singer Paul Murphy’s voice sounds. Could it be a little more reverb/echo? Elsewhere in the record, Murderer is going to be the song you’ll really want to see them explode live, Oblivion might make you think they wrote it while on tour with the Hip, and Yellow Bellied will have the band defining a new genre of music called post-celtic. Look for Dead Letter, now my favorite record on the disc.
But, my best guess for the song everyone will know in a month or so? Weighty Ghost. Reminds me of Paul Simon, solid track.
Tons of Canadian tour dates for this band, go see them live, you’ll be impressed.
Had a good night out at Lees Palace on thursday. Went to see Kevin Drew‘s early show, as part of the Edge 102.1’s next big thing concerts in conjunction with Redpipe.ca. It was impressed with the show. From what I’d heard online of Spirit If.. (Drew‘s recent solo release on mini-major Arts& Crafts) it didn’t grab me right away. Again, I needed the live show to get me more interested in the record.
You might have seen this video a little while ago, Back Out On The … by Kevin Drew. And yes, that’s J Mascis playing drums and guitar. Solid track and definitely a girl mover live. My fave track live?? Lucky Ones, featuring Tom Cochrane. And yeah, he came out on stage to perform it live. It was a surprise for sure (I guess I assumed that when Drew tells the audience that he’s got a special guest, it would be someone along the lines of Feist, Emily Haines, or someone else from Stars, BSS, A&C extended family). Pretty star studded band as well, Justin and Brendan from BSS, Sam from Toronto’s Uncut, Andrew from American Analog Set and Bill Priddle formerly of Treble Charger. John Crossingham (Raising The Fawn), Andrew Whiteman (Apostle Of Hustle) and Bloc Party’s Gordon Moakes aslo graced the stage that night.
Head to Drew‘s myspace page to hear some of his songs, Tbtf (to beautiful to f&*k) is free to download and you can find Lucky Ones at the Leather Canary.