I’ll be honest with you and say I’m not the biggest fan of No Age’s work so far, but I will also say that the new tracks they have released sound really great. Their song Glitter has me pumped for Everything In Between and now they’ve also announced their tour dates (which include a stop in Montreal and Toronto). Awesome! If you’ve been keeping an eye on the No Age blog as well you’ll have seen an interesting “video teaser” go up for Life Prowler. We’ve got the video and tour dates — as well as Glitter in case you missed it — through the jump! Keep reading →
Mike Kinsella — who was in the influential ’90s emo band Cap’n Jazz but now records solo as Owen — has taken time off from readying the new Owen full-length to release a brand new 7-inch called Abandoned Bridges through Polyvinyl. The record features the title track streaming below, as well as a cover of Wilco’s I’m Always In Love on the B-Side. The 7-inch will be released as a physical album limited to 500 copies, as well as digitally on September 28th. Keep reading →
How would you like the chance to win two tickets to see every Dine Alone Records band playing in your Canadian town this fall? Sounds awesome, right? Well you’re in luck because Dine Alone are doing just that with their new contest, and the only thing you need in order to be eligible is a facebook or twitter account. All you have to do is take a photo of yourself “dining alone” and tweet it or post it to their facebook group. Full details are below — but the contest ends September 13th — so you better get started thinking up hilarious/clever photos! Keep reading →
Matt and Kim are hitting the road in support of both their new single — “Cameras,” out August 31 — and their new album — still untitled, out this fall. Keep reading →
Of Montreal have a new album, False Priest, coming out on September 14. They also have a new EP, The Controller Sphere, out next spring. They’ve been busy. Keep reading →
This may be news to you, but there is a really awesome hip-hop community in this city. So many Toronto show goers are really stuck in one genre or another and would never consider going to see a hip-hop show. That is too bad, because the scene in Toronto is burgeoning.
One crew, Backburner, are building a home at Rancho Relaxo. After having played a ton of shows there over the years, Wordburglar and More or Les stepped up and started the monthly 5 Dollar Rap Show. Just last week Backburner artist Timbuktu (of Toolshed fame) released his debut solo album as part of the showcase. The night was insane! D-Sisive played, and even Now Magazine had to take notice.
Hip-hop warriors Toolshed have always been at the forefront of the Backburner crew. They started off in London playing with a backing band, and have now evolved to a crew featuring DJ Irate, Fresh Kills, Chokeules and the aforementioned Timbuktu. They are some of the funniest and nicest guys playing music in Toronto right now. And that playfulness and just love for what they are doing shines through on Stranger Danger. Keep reading →
Future Islands are one of my biggest surprises of 2010, for a couple reasons. The first reason: their album In Evening Air is the best record I heard this year on a complete whim. I didn’t know anything about the band going into it, and now it’s totally one of my top albums of 2010.
The second: How criminally under-listened they are right now. The record was critically acclaimed and got a good amount of press, but they still deserve more recognition, in my opinion. More people should be listening to this great band! Keep reading →
Bands form, bands play shows and release albums, and then bands break up. That’s the reality of being an indie band, anywhere.
In the current music landscape, the life expectancy for a band seems shorter than ever. Sometimes they don’t even get around to releasing an album. But even bands who have garnered success seem to fall victim to this. Recently in Toronto we’ve seen Oh No Forest Fires, Beth in Battle Mode, Arietta, Cool Dad, Burn Planetarium, and so many other cool bands who had received press and buzz break up, all for their own reasons.
Another band that went that way was Ottawa’s For the Mathematics, an excellent band with a loyal following not just locally but all over the place. I still regularly see people at the bar rockin’ For the Mathematics shirts. While that band did pack it in, what is so exciting about Higher Rites is that they’ve risen from those ashes to keep the spirit of For the Mathematics alive — with some new band members and in an entirely new way. Make no mistake, Higher Rites is a new band, but they are a new band with a core who have some unfinished business to take care of. You can hear that urgency in their debut Refusenik. Keep reading →
