Quick Before it Melts

(08 September 2008) “…Superioryouareinferior, a beguiling album, like it’s creator, defies easy categorization. It’s roots are in folk and country, but there’s inspired moments where computerized beats and sampling adds an unexpected–but very welcomed–twist. His lyrics are like a mini-geography lesson, traversing this country from sea to sea. Along the way, you not only visit physical landmarks and historic sites, but you get to see a soul laid bare, and a life not many of us could ever expect to experience.”

MP3: Rae Spoon “Come On Forest Fire Burn The Disco Down”
Myspace: Rae Spoon

(28 February 2009) “…as much as I liked Marriage I was really looking forward to what they would do next, because like Sloan before them, I could hear the evolution of the music in some of the more pop tracks, and was sure that the best of Attack In Black was yet to come.  I don’t like to say that I was right, but I was.”

MP3: Attack In Black “Liberties”
Myspace: Attack In Black

(28 May 2009) “Those who are familiar with the Black variety of McBean’s Mountain songs may appreciate the softer, sentimental side on display here.  “While We Were Dreaming” features vocals by McBean’s Black Mountain band mate Ashley Webber, set against a hauntingly beautiful tune reminiscent of Mazzy Star singer Hope Sandoval’s work with The Jesus & Marychain.  “And if I could find your heart/I would pull it from your chest/and smash you with my fist til it was beating…” she croons, making your knees buckle, and your heart melt.”

MP3: Pink Mountaintops “While We Were Dreaming”
Myspace: Pink Mountaintops

(21 October 2008) “Missiles is a massive, multi-layered affair, and it’s in no hurry to get from here to there. It’s a decidedly downtempo pace throughout the album’s 10 tracks, but when the music is this beautifully rendered you don’t mind taking your time to stop and smell the roses. Lyrically speaking, the mood is all about atonement, redemption, and rebuilding what once was. Lightburn repeatedly asks the listener for forgiveness or for a second chance, or to scrap everything and start all over again…Some day, the story of how this album got made is going to make a great addition to the 33 1/3 book series.”

MP3: The Dears “Meltdown In A Major”
Myspace: The Dears

(01 January 2009) “It’s kind of hard for me to put into words, but when listening to Bruce Peninsula, it’s almost as if I can smell the earth in their melodies, feel soft, cushion-like moss in the percussion, feel the warm breeze in their rousing choruses, as if the country–the very land of Canada itself–were singing and playing the music.  Earth songs, indeed.”

MP3: Bruce Peninsula “Steamroller”
Myspace: Bruce Peninsula

(29 May 2009) “Post-Nothing surprised me with it’s melodic undertow, dragging the listener into its chaotic clatter.  While they’re just a duo, Japandroids manage to sound as if there’s an army of guitars and drums behind blistering tracks like “The Boys Are Leaving Town”.  I expected something akin to DFA 1979, but instead found a band who are clearly blazing their own trail.”

MP3: Japandroids “Young Hearts Spark Fire”
Myspace: Japandroids

(14 May 2009) “Adam Bentley’s voice is strikingly reminiscent of Robert Smith’s, especially on album opener “Coughing Blood/Fresh Mountain Air”.  That song sort of encapsulates everything that’s great about The Rest: brooding in tone, but airy and spacious in composition; romantic without being sappy; layered and lush without overdoing the melodrama.”

MP3: The Rest “Coughing Blood/Fresh Mountain Air”
Myspace: The Rest

(12 May 2008) “Wolf Parade’s second full-length really sounds like a transitional album, but not in the way you might think. The transition here is between the members side project bands and how the have influenced and infused themselves into the fabric of what is Wolf Parade.  Spencer Krug and Dan Boeckner are beginning to reach Lennon/McCartney-like individuality, as it’s easy to pick out their contributions if you know their side-project work. I think that’s what I’m liking most about this album–a near seamless whole that can still be clearly divided based on the songwriter, and the external influences they bring.”

MP3: Wolf Parade “Call It A Ritual”
Myspace: Wolf Parade