So, obviously I'm on a bit of a Bat for Lashes kick.  If you hurry up and snag her new album, you might see why.  

She recently made an appearance on BBC Radio 1 and performed two songs; the first, a great laptop version of her single "Daniel" and a surprise cover of the Kings of Leon hit "Use Somebody".  I haven't blogged about it, but I dig their album, Only by the Night - It's not typically a genre I'd reach for, but there's something about the quality and integrity with which these dudes from the southern US approach their cock-rock that works for me.  It's got swagger, but not the Chad Kroeger kind.  Natasha Khan's version is fairly loyal to the original, though interesting to hear it from a female perspective.  I like that she's sticking her neck out on something so commercial, so American, and so current - A smart marketing move, if nothing else.  Enjoy!

Download: Bat for Lashes, Live Lounge BBC Radio 1

Another NPR podcast.  This time Metric frontwoman Emily Haines (& the Soft Skeleton) performs tracks from her debut solo album, Knives Don't Have Your Back.  

Download: 

Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton Live in Washington

For whatever reason, I've never gotten into Belle and Sebastian.  Like books and movies, oh-so-long is the list of music I can't seem to get around to.  Stuart Murdoch (of B&S) has put together an amazing project due out in early June on Matador.  While running he had a tune in his head he knew wasn't right for his band; it was a vivid wall of doop-woppy girl-group vocals and a 45-piece orchestra.  Culling together nine amazing vocalists (most notably, Catherine Ireton who worked with Belle and Sebastian in 2006) he recorded the album that had been ringing in his head for the better part of 5 years.  He calls it God Help the Girl and this YouTube clip tells you all about it.

The first single, "Come Monday Night" starts out sounding like something Snow White might trill amongst the wild flowers.  It then kicks into classic old school pop, riffing on the throwback-stylings of M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel's Volume I, though moodier and less California.  If the debut has all the perfect pop of the single with just a bit more melancholic Scottishness, I suspect we'll be hearing a lot about God Help the Girl.  

Download: "Come Monday Night"

(While you're at it, check out Ireton's band, The Go Away Birds for a free download.  While it doesn't excite me half as much as GHTG, I do enjoy Ireton's voice.)

The first CD I ever owned was the soundtrack to the hit show Friends. It was the mid-90s, I was in grade eight and it came alongside my very first CD player on my 13th birthday. After breaking the ice with that amazing compilation I came upon Bjork's Post and unknown hours wailing "Hyperballad". In there somewhere I backtracked all over Sinead O'Connor's catalogue and Annie Lennox released Medusa helping me realize an uncontrollable love for the genre I lovingly refer to as 80s Drama Rock. Amid all the music I love so much, this corner might be my favourite, the one that elicits the most shoulder moves and chills down my spine. I'm not sure what it is, I just love it.

I recently posted about Bat for Lashes' new album Two Suns and have been listening like crazy. Pulling together obvious influences (reverential rather than bastardized, I assure you) like those mentioned above, Natasha Khan seems to come by it all so naturally. Born in the late 70s, perhaps she came up like I did - always lying in wait for her parents to leave the house so she could blast Sinead's "Jerusalem" or "Troy" while throwing herself around her bedroom like some kind of disabled modern dancer. Or maybe that was just me. Whatever the case, Khan seems to be soaked in the sounds she employs, never verging on put-on or disingenuous.

A great next-step from her debut, the Mercury-nominated Fur and Gold, her follow-up is rich and fully-realized, ranging from early (and also Choirgirl-era) Tori Amos through to more modern, danceable artists like Roisin Murphy. The through line is a plethora of organic instruments, heavy bass lines and fantastical programming. She and co-producer David Kosten (who also worked on her debut) layer in seemingly endless amounts of atmospheric background sounds, all adding up to anything but a sophomore slump - theatrical, big and dynamic. I don't call it 80s Drama Rock for nothing. But for all the epic songs, there are a few smaller ones too - On "Moon and Moon" it's mainly piano and voice, a beautiful and cryptic song. "Siren Song" starts out meditative and then grows, exploding into a piano-driven timpani-thumper. I live for this.

The album is available on iTunes now - In the meantime check out these, the album-opener "Glass" and the beautiful "Moon and Moon".

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This Friday I'll see Neko Case live for the first time.  A perfect primer, her recent concert in Washington, DC recorded and podcasted by NPR. I've edited it down for your listening pleasure. Enjoy!

Download: Neko Case - Live in Washington

Patrick Watson is one of the bands I've discovered in recent years who has made it onto the list. It's ever-growing, but limited to those who really get me good. The ever-growing part excites me, suggesting music is getting better. Or perhaps my tastes are changing and with more genres to pluck from I'm finding more greatness. Whatever the case, it's an amazing time in popular music.

Their follow-up to 2006's Close to Paradise (for which they won the Polaris Prize - Canada's Mercury) continues in a similar direction. No major shifts, really, though it's got its own energy. While Paradise felt like a gigantic opus of grand sounds, Wooden Arms has a few more moments of quietness, smallness. On "Man Like You" it's downright tiny, just vocals and an acoustic guitar, an album high-point, Watson's voice reaching into the highest parts of his limitless upper-range.

While slightly more intimate than their last effort, this one loses none of the manic, driving intensity. If you've ever heard an interview with the guys from the band, their surprisingly easy-going. I would have thought they'd be boorishly intellectual, but no. They are kind of dopey and quirky, actually.

With just enough blips and blops to satisfy my secret love of Space Rock, Wooden Arms moves through a lot of influences - Everything from cinematic orchestral ("Hommage") to plucky country on "Big Bird in a Small Cage" through to circus-dirge on "Traveling Salesman". It's one of those albums that grows with each listen, new sounds heard each time. While not everyone's cup of tea, I'm sure, it's definitely mine and will be on my playlist for many years to come.

Download: "Man Like You"

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No Doubt is back with the first new song from their much-anticipated follow-up to 2001's Rock Steady. It's a cover, but that's okay. Adam and the Ants' "Stand and Deliver" gets the No Doubt treatment, and it makes me feel so old to think that, while singing a song from the 80s, Gwen and Co. sound so retro in their own right. I can remember being in grade nine listening to Tragic Kingdom, front to back, for months on end, single after spaghetti-covered single. And now I imagine sitting in the car, "Sunday Morning" blasting on the radio, whooping it up with Jeff, while our kids roll their eyes collectively.

Download: "Stand and Deliver"

Bat for Lashes (the moniker of British drama-rocktress Natasha Khan) releases her new album Two Suns tomorrow.  At times recalling early Sinead O'Connor and Roisin Murphy-lite, this is an organic, percussive mix of the hyper-intellectual with groovy beats.  I dig it.  I dare you not to get sucked into the album highlight (among many), "Daniel" - Download now!  

Download: "Daniel"

Metric's new album is pretty good -These acoustic versions of two of its tracks are, perhaps, even better.  If you haven't looked into Emily Haines' solo material, you should.  She's great. These stripped back tunes definitely come from that part of her brain.

Metric - "Gimme Sympathy"

Metric - "Help I'm Alive"

So, I'm going through a bit of an Antony phase. After downloading his fantastic concert podcast, I've been listening non-stop to his entire catalogue. Newly released, the Epilepsy is Dancing single includes a b-side from their Crying Light sessions called "Where is my Power". A great track, percussive and plucky, it's a bit of a sonic departure, though I would have loved to see it on the album proper. The album art is also quite lovely, very Bjork-esque.

Download: "Where is My Power"

You all know how I feel about iTunes, iPods, and all things Apple. Well, further to that, I wanted to gush for a moment about podcasts. While not everyone should have one, anyone can, so that means there can be a lot to wade through. National Public Radio, however, provides some really great ones, from features on writers and personalities to live music. Obnoxiously well-read hosts and interviewers notwithstanding, these are the podcasts I tend to go for.

I recently snagged the live concert and interview they did with Antony Hegarty (and the Johnsons) in February and it's amazing. Not only are podcasts free, but they're generally quite high quality. So, for nothing, you're getting a live concert album that wouldn't be released for commercial consumption. Marvelous!

Using Adobe SoundBooth, I imported the large, uncut, nearly-two-hour MP3 file and chopped it up into tracks, faded in, faded-out, the whole nine yards. I tossed together some album art and everything. Please enjoy.

Download:
Antony and the Johnsons

Live in Washington

I wrote about the English bluegrass band Mumford and Sons recently and have been listening like crazy since discovering them.  Their driving, stomping, thumping style is often countered by intensely gentle lyrics. Growling vocals soften into deeply romantic proclamations.

On "Hold Onto What You Believe" Marcus Mumford sings "This land means less and less to me without you breathing through its trees," which instantly conjures an image of my grandparents' farm, modest acreage in the heart of South Western Ontario, a cluster of trees in the distance.  I love this song.

Download: "Hold Onto What You Believe"

Forgive me for repeating myself, but I wanted to get this into your hands. If you don't want to download the whole album, just grab this one. One of the most gorgeous songs ever. Particularly at 1:38-in. Gentle, lovely, perfect. The Middle East's "The Darkest Side". Download now!

A recent discovery (via the fantastic blog indiepassion) is The Middle East, a quintet from Australia. A quick-comparison would be Patrick Watson, the Montreal group specializing in atmospheric and dreamy folk-pop whose third album will be out in April. American Football comes to mind, too.

I'm an extremely adept Googler, but there's very little available about the unsigned band online; no Wiki page, no official site, just a MySpace. The album is out of print and impossible to purchase legally, so here's the link. Check it out. Girl-boy harmonies, twinkly pianos, whistling. It's sweeping and rich, moody and ambient. Buzz word buzz word. Buzzword. Buzzzzzzzzz.

There are certain songs that take me back to high school. Anything by the Spice Girls, for example. My dear friend Sandi and I spent a lot of time listening to music. We did a lot of duetting Sarah McLachlan songs (see: Teenage Fagatron) while Sandi plucked her acoustic guitar. As years went on, our musical tastes changed. After the Lilith Fair phase, we went through the requisite Can-Rock phase, which included Our Lady Peace, The Tea Party and Moist. We attended EdgeFest. We rocked out.

In our last couple years of high school Sandi started a band and while I remember our time with The Smashing Pumpkins and Jewel, the overarching musical-memory of our teenage experience will always be her band, a pop-rock quartet who pumped out punk-lite songs about secret crushes and bitchy girls from English class. Ironically, I promise. We spent nights at gigs and weekends at indie rock festivals hosted by rural Ontario hedonist campgrounds. Or something. It was a strange and beautiful time.

Sandi's band evolved and got more intense, less poppy. They ditched their Veruca Salt overtones and got a bit dark, a bit first year college. Eventually the group disbanded; one member joined the Green Party, another got married, and the third (an inexplicably tall, blonde girl) got pregnant. Or her sister got pregnant. Or something. It's all a bit hazy.

Sandi and I moved to Toronto and she soon assembled a new band, The Guest Bedroom. Described as "brain-infecting, angular post-punk pop" (Now Magazine, NNNN) they have definitely carved out a place in the Toronto music scene. I won't gush, because Sandi wouldn't stand for it, so take a listen. If you're in the city, check them out live.

Download: "Planted" from their new EP and visit their site for more.

But while I'm walking down memory lane . . . Since preparing for our big move, I've been digging through many boxes, purging as much as I can tear myself away from. Out with old movie stubs, but in with the letters and report cards. I was also happy to stumble upon CD-Rs filled with wonderful (read: hilarious) memories. When Sandi was in college studying music production we recorded a few little songs together. Just for funsies. When we lived together we recorded one last song, a cover of Aimee Mann's "It's Not". It's a terribly low-fi glitchy little thing, but it's nice. Take a listen. Sandi and her impromptu white-girl rapping on the bridge will live in my brain as one of the best things to ever happen.

Download: "It's Not" recorded by us in our living room in 2003

I was one of those teenage fagatrons who liked Tori Amos. In recent years, my love has greatly diminished. 2007's American Doll Posse promised a return-to-form, though fell short due to a total lack of editing. There are some great tracks ("Big Wheel", "Boucing off Clouds") buried under so much junk ("Fat Slut") that the whole thing was a first class bummer.

She's about to release her tenth album, the obnoxiously-titled Abnormally Attracted to Sin. The first single ("Welcome to England") takes me back to the glory days of From the Choirgirl Hotel, my personal favourite in her catalogue and something I still listen to triennially. Fool me once (Fat slut!) shame on me, but fool me twice, Tori Amos, and shame on you! This song makes me have high-hopes. Skeptical ones.

Download: "Welcome to England"

Julie Doiron's new album I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day starts and ends enthusiastically, with "Life of Dreams", a plucky minute-and-a-half complete with bird-chirps, and "Glad to be Alive", a list of reasons she's . . . well, you know. If you're a fan, your heart swells upon first listen; anyone who has followed her knows of her emotional ups and downs, so to hear her sound up is like knowing a dear friend is in a good place. This collection runs the gamut between her early 90s noise and her more-recent skeleton-purging autobiography.

Doiron is as straight forward as they come. No bullshit, she's a genuine lady whose made a serious mark on the Canadian music landscape. From her early days in Eric's Trip to the misery-ridden era under the Broken Girl moniker to Indie Soccer Mom moments on more recent albums, she writes and records from a startlingly raw place. Few modern artists are as laid-bare, sometimes to the point of indiscretion. There's almost nothing we don't know about her, from her issues with booze to her children to her recent divorce. Somehow it never reads as self-indulgent, but rather, a reminder to note the particulars of daily life, or sometimes as a cautionary tale.

This album is, often, considerably more amped-up than recent releases. With nods to her days in Eric's Trip, she shouts and sings in full-voice atop a band full of guitars and drums and a cacophany of fuzz. (It might seem strange to those who don't know her, but suggesting she sings in more than a whisper is saying something. In concert, crowds are hushed as she fumbles charmingly through her catalogue and awkward stories between. It's one of the most intimate concert experiences available, catch it if you can.) "Consolation Prize" is full-on, and, for me, edging into a genre I have trouble with. Picks scraping along strings and the sound of a rotary telephone being thrown through an amp are just a bit hard for me to get behind, and perhaps even a bit overwrought. I'll likely stick to songs like "Blue", a ghostly dirge laced with harmonies. "Heavy Snow" bridges the two perfectly.

For me there are artists who can do no wrong. Julie Doiron is one of them. While my favourite part of her discography will likely always remain the gorgeous 2002 companions Heart and Crime and Desormais, I appreciate it all. Everything from Julie sounds like a secret, and thus, an honour to be privy to.

Download: "Blue"

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You might remember Keri Hilson from Timbaland's cameo-heavy Shock Value (2007). She sang some fierce-ass vocals on "The Way I Are" and definitely made an impression on my pop sensibilities. She finally releases her debut solo album, In a Perfect World and rather than being the lick-vocal artist tearing up the background, she has a slew of big names backing her up; Kanye (back to rapping for all you 808s haters), Keyshia, Ne-Yo and Timbaland (who produced the album) make appearances on the album Brandy should have released this year but missed the mark on with Human. With Perfect World she's set to make the move from background vocalist and songwriter-to-the-stars to front woman. I'm ready for a hot new pop album. If summer is on the way, I need something to drink gin to by the beach while my shoulders bounce. This might be it.

Download: Knock You Down (feat. Kanye West and Ne-Yo)

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Metric - Fantasies (2009)
Gold Guns Girls

A rockin' song. Even though Emily Haines is a giant asshole, she tends to produce good music.

If you haven't climbed on-board, come on! Allow me to satiate/convince you with one more track from Neko Case's incredible Middle Cyclone.

Download: "The Pharaohs" and head to iTunes for the rest. Seriously. You can't miss this album. Come December it'll be on all the lists and you'll feel like a fool for missing ten amazing months in its company.

Read the review I posted on These Roving Eyes for more info.




My friends and loved ones really like to rip on me about my taste in music. Jeff (whose favourite bands include Coldplay) likes to joke that I have the taste of your average Art House Lesbian. After all these years his prodding still gets me. I get my back up, reeling off the reasons why Rachael Yamagata is fantastic, or why Annie Lennox is a legend or why Neko Case is one in the making. My friend Nick got in a real good one just the other day. While listening to music, my iPod inevitably shuffles to any number of "girly" artists. In his hilarious accidentally-funny way he proclaimed: "Your iPod would make anyone get their period three days sooner." Now, while I resent the sentiment, I appreciate a zinger like nobody's business.

Neko Case releases her much-anticipated follow-up to the bananas-amazing Fox Confessor Brings the Flood on Tuesday and all I can say is: Jesus Christ. A perfect next-step, this album has a similar feel to Confessor, though stands on its own entirely. Case is an exacting musician, her phrasing and diction clean and organized, her tone effortlessly pitch-perfect. Listening on headphones (you must!) you hear every breath and each pause, utter control over every aspect of the record. That said, there's nothing robotic about her. It's simply pure talent and musicianship. And she surrounds herself with the same; guests on the record include M. Ward, Garth Hudson, Sarah Harmer, members of The New Pornographers, Los Lobos, and Calexico.

"This Tornado Loves You" gets the album started in a frantic and mildly-manic state, a runaway song convincing a man she loves him. "I miss the way you sigh yourself to sleep." With a jittering guitar under the whole thing, it races along and gets your feet stomping.

"The Next Time You Say Forever" is just shy of two minutes long. She has a way of writing chorus-less songs that just drive, leaving you wanting so much more. When each set of sounds happens just once, you pine for more. We're so used to a great harmony coming around two and three times, but Neko insists you just listen to the album on repeat if you want that. "I've been away for so long, I've lost my taste for home. And that's a dirty fallow feeling to be the dangling ceiling from when the roof came crashing down." And a wordplay mastermind to boot. Throughout her entire catalogue she dangles great runs or melodies, but sparingly. 1:16 into "Vengeance is Sleeping", a swell of harmonies never heard again makes you want it all the more.

"Polar Nettles" is a great example of something else Neko is skilled at. Sometimes the character she sings about doesn't particularly interest, the story, the setting, something doesn't grab you, but then a little detail in the music does: 1:23-in, a rattling snare drum makes this song. The first time I heard it, it caught me off-guard and I could feel my eyes widen, my smile too. My stomach dropped a little and I scanned back to hear that again. Fantastic. Those dangling moments, so unexpected.

"Did someone make a fool of me, for I can show 'em how it's done." At her best on tracks like this one ("Middle Cyclone") she sings three verses about something other than an old-timey murder, in this case, it seems, her own inability to get close to others, singing "I can't give up acting tough, it's all that I'm made of. Can't scrape together quite enough to ride the bus to the outskirts of the fact that I need love." All to a quiet guitar and the twinkling of a little girl's ballerina musicbox. Economical songwriting like this is so rare, so perfectly restrained.

Download: "Vengeance is Sleeping"

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