Category Archives: indie pop

Apr 21 2012

New music preview, Metric – Synthetica

Well, I was originally was going to reblog the blog post I first saw about the new Metric (not quite as easy as retweeting!), but his post is fairly personal, so I will just ‘borrow’ from it! Original post can be found here: New Music 2012 – Part 14 – Metric ‘Synthetica’

So the new Metric, Synthetica, is due for release June 12, and the first single, “Youth Without Youth”, will be released on May 1, 2012.

According to Emily Haines, Synthetica “is about forcing yourself to confront what you see in the mirror when you finally stand still long enough to catch a reflection. Synthetica is about being able to identify the original in a long line of reproductions. It’s about what is real vs what is artificial.”

Perhaps it is just me, but I find the cover art would feel at home on a Rush album, and Emily’s comments could easily have come from Geddy Lee referring to a Rush album!

Click the above image for a massive JPEG of the album cover. And below, the album cover upside down to save you the trouble of standing on your head, or turning your monitor upside down…

Full tracklisting:

1. “Artificial Nocturne”
2. “Youth Without Youth”
3. “Speed the Collapse”
4. “Breathing Underwater”
5. “Dreams So Real”
6. “Lost Kitten”
7. “The Void”
8. “Synthetica”
9. “Clone”
10. “The Wanderlust”
11. “Nothing But Time”

Head on over to the official Metric website, ilovemetric.com for plenty of tidits on the new album, and “when the lyrics are where they belong, a secret little prize will be unlocked. And so it begins…”

More Metric: Facebook, Twitter, and Soundcloud.

Follow me on Twitter, where I tweet everything about music, including new music releases (watch for hashtag #FutureMusic)!

Mar 9 2012

Women innovating in music today

In celebration of International Women’s Day, I am writing this post, which I have had in my head for a while, but today is the perfect day to write and post it! So today’s artists, St. Vincent, and fellow 4AD labelmate tUnE-yArDs (and maybe a bonus or two at the end!).

I will start with Annie Clark, better known as St. Vincent. I first got to know her when she performed on Austin City Limits, back on October 24, 2009. That was a few months after she released her second album, Actor.

She plays a mix of indie-pop meets baroque pop, or the other way around. Her guitar, along with numerous effects pedals play a very important part of her work. And along with her guitar work, her arrangements are superb as well!

Prior to recording her own material as St. Vincent, she was a part of the Tim DeLaughter (of Tripping Daisy fame) collective known as The Polyphonic Spree. It would seem she did not record with them, only tour, as she joined in 2004 after they released their second album, and left before they released their third album in 2007. She played guitar with the group. Annie then went on to join Surfjan Steven’s touring band briefly, and not long after that, in 2007, she released her debut, Marry Me.

Music video break. St. Vincent’s latest, “Cheerleader”.

Now, promoting her third album, Strange Mercy, Annie Clark has really come into her own with St. Vincent. Quite the talented guitar player (and multi-instrumentalist), singer, songwriter, and performer!

Next, Merrill Garbus, better known by her stage name, tUnE-yArDs. Merrill actually started her music career here in Montreal (where this blog is based!), yet I only really got to know her when her second album, w h o k i l l came out. Her first album was recorded on a handheld voice recorder, and it is noticeable at times (if not all the time depending how one looks at it versus the very polished popular music of today), but it actually fits well. The genre is hard to nail down, but it is a lot of experimental pop using plenty of loops.

Music video break. tUnE-yArDs’ “Bizness” from w h o k i l l

Her second album relies a fair amount on loops as well, however it was recorded professionally. When I saw Merrill doing a symposium at Pop Montreal last year (last paragraph), she explained how she is involved in a singing collective (or something along those lines) that explores various singing styles of the world. She also stated how she is looking to moving away from using looping. The future is bright for tUnE-yArDs!

Both St. Vincent and tUnE-yArDs are definitely innovating in today’s music scene!

Bonus:

For another great guitar playing woman, I recommend checking out Marnie Stern‘s work. I have only listened to her most recent self-titled effort from 2010. It took a few listens, but I quite enjoy it! Her accompanying style is experimental/indie rock, but her technical guitar playing skills makes the music all that more unique, not unlike St. Vincent!

Check out “Transformer” from her 2008 album, This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That.

Lastly, another guitar playing female, Anna Calvi, who just released her debut at the start of 2011. Anna is British, whereas St. Vincent, tUnE-yArDs, and Marnie Stern are all American. Her distinct dark voice, at times sultry, and at times even Shirley Bassey once again create an element to the music that makes it very distinct!

Check out “Suzanne and I”.

Sep 16 2011

Pop Montreal 2011 preview (September 21 – 25)

I am not too great at previews, Sean over at Said the Gramophone is, but I will try.

Slowly but surely as I heard more and more bands announced, this years Pop Montreal has quite a diverse lineup with plenty of well known, and lesser known acts. Apologies on the formatting, as I do not have enough text, and I wanted to get the pics in!

After reading this blog post, head on over to Pop Montreal for official times and information regarding the concerts. And for Montrealers, the latest Montreal Mirror has a handy pull out day by day schedule of music listings. Or view it online. And on the official Pop Montreal users can build their own personalised schedule.

(Bold in the next two signifies Canadian acts.)

A few of the shows I am personally really looking forward to include tUnE-yArDs, Rebekah Higgs, Ohbijou (new album, Metal Meets hits stores September 27, I might get to buy it before the official release!), Kid Sister, Laura Marling, and Q-Bert. I am also very much looking forward to local Montrealer Charlotte Cornfield (who has two sets on opening Wednesday, one opening for Philémon Chante, and later that evening as part of the Let Your Hair Down Showcase!), Kid Koala (opening for the giant free Arcade Fire show), the giant free Arcade Fire show(!), Krista Muir, Samiam (who I just saw were playing a few minutes ago!), Real McKenzies (Awesome Scottish influenced Celtic punk!), and The Planet Smashers. Oh, and in the course of writing this blog post I see in the official Pop Montreal program Maylee Todd is playing Saturday night set as L’Esco (basically a small semi-basement bar/venue). No word online, so I will not hold my breath! She rules by the way! And I got to know her from Pop Montreal last year! I also see that the Sarah Blackwood (from psychobilly act The Creepshow) set for the Stomp Records BBQ is at 4PM, before local rockabilly act The Hellbound Hepcats! And although I really do not know his solo work, Liam Finn is playing the fest too.

Also a few acts I know little to nothing about, and in many cases am just going by their pictures (press photos are indeed important!), that I would like to see include Lindi Ortega, Cherry Chapstick (another Montreal act!), Megan Bonnell, Marques Toliver, Vilify (Montreal again!), Natale (from Paris, booming pop vocals and insect-like acrobatic dancing apparently!), UN (514 represent!), D-sisive, Molly Sweeney (Montreal!), Dinah Thorpe, Emma-Lee, Caroline Keating (Montreal), Old n’ Weird, Shaydakiss (Montreal) and Azelia Banks (both opening for Kid Sister), Frankie Rose, Dominique Young Unique, Anna Rose, Yuck, Gianna Lauren, Alessi’s Ark (London, according to Pop, folk songs that make you want to cycle down an English country road!), Allie Hughes, Sheezer, and The Raincoats.

There is no way I will be able to catch them all, but I will try and catch a fair bit, all of what I really want to see, and hopefully some of the ones I would like to see barring any personal scheduling conflicts, and definitely catch some artists that are new to me.

tUnE-yArDs

So knowing what I know, a few I would recommend include tUnE-yArDs. I have only heard some of her stuff, and I saw her performing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, but she, Merrill Garbus et. al., definitely have an innovative sound.

Laura Marling

Laura Marling and her blend of UK folk should prove to be awesome, her third record, A Creature I Don’t Know, came out on Monday. Hopefully I can pick it up at the show!

DJ Qbert

Q-Bert is a legendary DJ, thus making him big in hip hop, since hip hop, that is to say rapping, emerged from the DJ, the disc jockey. His turntablism skills are crazy good! I see quite a fair amount of shows, but I do not get to see proper DJ/scratching shows often at all.

A few locals I can highly recommend include Charlotte Cornfield (folk/rock), Krista Muir (multi-talented, ukelele playing and then some!), Kid Koala (speaking of turntablism!), and the ever impressive some 15 plus years on, The Planet Smashers (ska extraordinaire!).

I have not heard them yet, but hope to check out Montreal’s own electro dur UN. Just by Pop Montreals description: “Toronto’s weirdo pop princess”, Allie Hughes sounds like a great bet! Frankie Rose of Crystal Stilts, Dum Dum Girls, and the Vivian Girls fame, enough said!

Another artists I just listened to, Dominique Young Unique, is a young female MC from Florida. Upon hearing and watching “Show My Ass“, I was reminded of Rye Rye, although no doubt they differ quite a bit, Rye Rye coming from the Baltimore scene and being a M.I.A. protégée.

Cannot say as I know them, but given their history, having formed in the U.K. in 1977, I might just have to check out The Raincoats.

Of course Pop Montreal is far from just music, it is Film Pop, Art Pop, and more! Last year Feist’s film Look at What the Light Did Now had a screening, and this year PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake will have a screening. Also there is Bloodied But Unbowed: The Birth of Vancouver Punk Rock 1977-82.

And among the symposiums, there is Voices on Voices, which, to steal Pop Montreal’s description, is “a workshop/discussion on writing and arrangement with Merrill Garbus, aka tUnE-YaRds.” Very nice. And The Raincoats – Adventures, which as you may have guessed, is about The Raincoats!

Allie Hughes

Charlotte Cornfield

Dominique Young Unique

Bookmark this page, and come back, as I will continue adding links to the artists’ official websites while I check them out.

Who or what are you looking forward to at Pop Montreal? Do not be shy, comment, and plug your blog (if you have one), it may just end up on my blogroll! It might also influence me to go see a certain show! Les commentaires en français sont également les bienvenus. Heck, since this is the digital age, any language will do, even binary or hex code (okay, perhaps a tad too geeky).

Sep 12 2011

The Tower of Song Tour preview, featuring Alysha Brillinger and Kristen Bussandri

Since I will not be able to catch this show (unless I can make it towards the end (I am volunteering at Pop Montreal, and have to get my ‘training’ — I volunteered last year, so I should be able to get the hang of it! By the way, it is not too late to volunteer!)), I am giving it some publicity over here in order to generate some additional buzz!

I am only familiar with both singer-songwriters from hearing their audio online, and sounds like it would make for a good show. So to steal from their bios, as I do not know too much about them, “Alysha Brillinger’s blues and reggae influenced songs combine her funky guitar playing and unique voice to create a fresh new organic vibe of music.” I find she has a bit of a jazzy delivery as well. Check out her song “Better Soon” below (I actually hear a bit of Bob Dylan’s “Lay Lady Lay” in the melody. She is presently signed to Lava/Universal Republic, and is a native of Kitchener it would seem. Hence the tour (see below) doing their respective hometowns, and Toronto in between!

The first time I heard Kristen Bussandri, a local (Montrealer), who has split her time between New York City and here in Montreal, I thought sultry, and lo and behold, in her bio: “Kristen Bussandri is a long-legged sultry brunette who will stop you in your tracks with her timeless pop songwriting and heartbreaking vocals that transcend genres, embracing everything from intimate acoustic ballads to gritty R&B to rock with uncompromising sophistication and depth.” In July, she just released her debut EP, Diamonds to Dust. It can be heard and purchased online, just head on over to her official website, kristenbussandri.com. Embedded below, a live rendition of her song “If You Don’t Love Me You’re Wrong.”

The three city micro-tour starts in Montreal Wednesday night (September 14), and the next two nights are Toronto and Kitchener, Ontario, respectively. Head on over to Dukits.com, which seems to be a crowdsourcing (as they say) meets a deal of the day site, for advance ticket, and show information. As of this writing there is only a couple of hours left to get Toronto and Kitchener tickets at a reduced rate, so hurry!

And individually they will be doing shows in the future (I reckon!), so check out their official websites: AlyshaBrillinger.com and KristenBussandri.com.

Aug 15 2011

New Music and upcoming music

Been a while since I have posted a new music post, it is about time! On with the list.

Rebekah Higgs – Odd Fellowship – August 16 (Canadian!)

Red Hot Chili Peppers – I’m With You August 26

Lil’ Wayne – Tha Carter IV August 29

The Kooks – Junk of the Heart September 12

Laura Marling – A Creature I Don’t Know September 12

Primus – Green Naugahyde September 12

Anthrax – Worship Music September 13

St. Vincent – Strange Mercy September 13

The Pack A.D. – Unpersons September 20 (Canadian!)

Tori Amos – Night of Hunters September 20

Blink-182 – Neighrborhoods September 27

Ohbijou – Metal Meets September 27 (Canadian!)

Evanescence – Evanescence October 11

Coldplay – Mylo Xyloto October 24

Miranda Lambert – Four the Record November 1

Release date to be determined:

Michelle Branch – West Coast Time September?

Dido – yet to be titled

Queens of the Stone Age – yet to be titled

Esthero – yet to be titled

Apr 20 2011

Free music, Florrie – Introduction EP!

I am far from a musical scout at this point. I am only working on learning some musical instruments at this point (guitar at the moment), to help my musical knowledge (and perhaps create some music down the line!).

With that in mind, I do have good musical taste (I also have some poor taste, but I can differentiate the two), and sometimes I know who is talented and who is not, who deserves fame, and who does not. Sometimes those that deserve the recognition do not get it, that is just how the major record labels are set up, as they are indeed a business after all.

A little while ago I somehow stumbled upon Florrie, obviously there is some buzz going around since I found her. Anyway, her debut EP, Introduction, is up at her website, florrie.com as a free download. I only now just read her statement about why she has not signed yet with a major label, or label period. Basically she wants to have time to grow as an artist, to evolve her sound the way she sees fit. That is pretty cool, given most artists would jump at the opportunity to be signed by a label, especially a major label.

So I feel there is no doubt she has the potential to be big! And not only is she a singer, she is a drummer! It is not often we hear of singer-songwriter/drummer! She actually has drummer first on her website!

So, I highly recommend checking her out, it is even possible to download her tracks in FLAC!

Florrie – Introduction EP – free download!

Here is a live performance of the outstanding percussion heavy “Give Me Your Love”:

Florrie has a new EP coming soon, and a music video to accompany the first song from the EP, both April 28!

Also stay tuned to this blog, I plan on linking to some quality free (legal) MP3s I find elsewhere on the web! Like this post, I’ll link to the page not to the direct files.

Mar 29 2011

Music Video of the Day week 23 weekly recap (January 21 – 27)

Starting this Friday April 1, a new theme week, girl singers you probably have not heard of! That will not fit well in a Tweet, so I figured I would have to plug it here as well!

Okay, it dawned on me I can take the lazy route, and just add the URL of the Tweet, and WordPress automatically displays it. Did I say lazy, I meant descriptive, as I can add my commentary that exceeds 140 characters, and you, the reader can read the original Tweet at the same time (well, one right after the other)!

Very nice collabo. Of course, inspired by the similar Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson song “The Girl Is Mine”.

I never really had listened to Team Sleep prior to this Tweet/MVOD. I knew they were the side project of Deftones’ Chino Moreno.

I still have to give 10 000 days some proper rotation! Regardless, Schism is awesome! I call Tool the Radiohead of metal!

Very nice new Pink track. Of course, the uncensored version that is! The uncensored is still good, but just does not seem right.

Similar to Team Sleep, I had not heard She and Him really before this. Quite good, look forward to listening to their albums!

Excellent Face to Face track from 1996. From their equally excellent major label debut. I caught them live this past summer at Warped Tour, it is like they did not take any time off! Yet, their new album comes out May 17, their first in 9 years!

Similarly for Spinnerette, I have not listened to them very much. Of course, Brody Dalle formerly of the front-woman of The Distillers. Anyway, this is not bad!

Again, follow me on Twitter, @tmmblog, for this week’s theme week, girl singers you probably have not heard of!

Feb 5 2011

New (and future) music February edition

No doubt I am missing several (feel free to fill me in), as there is always good music on the horizon. Regardless, here is the latest edition of upcoming music. A few releases I am looking forward to. Some more than others, but I still like to list them. And I am saving one for its own blog post!

Nicole Atkins – Mondo Amore February 8

I have not heard her since Neptune City, which still is her last proper release, but that goes back to 2007! Time flies!

Jessie J – Who You Are February 28

Bumped forward a whole month just a couple of days ago. Probably good for her, and the fans of course, as she is really being hyped now. Here is hoping the album lives up (I am sure it will).

Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes February 28

Interesting direction on her new single “Get Some”, but I am liking it.

Alexis Jordan – Alexis Jordan February 28

Marsha Ambrosius – Late Nights and Early Mornings March 1

I have not heard any of her solo stuff yet, should be promising! Digging the LP cover!

Britney Spears – Femme Fatale March 14

Rise Against – Endgame March 15

I did not listen to Appeal to Reason too extensively, but if you are looking for quality punk rock that is socially aware, look no further.

Travis Barker – Give the Drummer Some March 15

Album title of course pays homage to the Ultramagnetic MC’s song of the same name. And James Brown uses the line in the hugely important “Funky Drummer”.

Katy B – On a Mission March 28

I have only heard a couple of the singles, as I guess is the case for everyone pretty much. Anyway, I am looking forward to her proper album. This may not be the proper album cover, since it is just shy of two months away, I would not be surprised if it changes.

Vivian Girls – Share The Joy April 12

Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Make a Scene April 20

Foo Fighters – ? April 12

I am really looking forward to this one, recorded entirely in analog (see my Tweet below)! And in Dave’s garage! I hope that will bring back some new energy! Plus it was produced by Butch Vig. Following the release, they will be keeping busy this summer festivals (Hangout Music Festival, Sasquatch! Music Festival, Isle of Wight, etc.) and shows around Europe.

Melanie Fiona – The MF Life July

Sep 19 2010

Music Video of the Day week 4 weekly recap (September 10 – 16)

For those following only my blog, over on my Twitter (@tmmblog) for this blog, I have a feature going, that is the Music Video of the Day. I recap them weekly here, but to be fresh, you can see the new ones posted every evening (Eastern Daylight Time)!

So anyway, here is the week four weekly recap. As usual, some do not allow embedding, so just click-through to view them on YouTube.

Red Hot Chili Peppers – Dani California (September 10, #22)

Great Red Hot Chili Peppers song, debut single from their latest, Stadium Arcadium. Great video as well, as it pays homage to so much, from British Invasion, to punk, funk, hair metal, grunge, etc. And they can be seen dressed up as the Misfits among many others! And the first artist to be featured twice in the Music Video of the Day, first with their song “Road Trippin’” on September 1.

Tegan and Sara – Northshore (September 11, #23)

These Canadian sisters generally can not go wrong, another awesome track from their latest, Sainthood.

Sloan – The Good in Everyone (September 12 #24)

No words describe the awesomeness of these guys. A Canadian staple without a doubt. I will see them live in late October!

Marina and the Diamonds – Shampain (September 13, #25)

Latest from Marina! Also, second artist to be featured twice. First with “Mowgli’s Road” on August 24.

Janelle Monáe – Many Moons (September 14, #26)

This is what introduced me to Janelle. Although I would have seen the edited for television version first. This being the complete short film (as I said on Twitter, click for the HD version, as I am just linking the SD one). ON BET no less, as Canadian music video channels have an allergy to many awesome artists/videos. From her 2007 EP Metropolis. Oh, and third artist to be featured twice, first time was on August 23 with her latest for “Cold War”.

Beastie Boys – Alive (September 15, #27)

From the Beastie Boys Anthology: The Sounds of Science. Sweet Beastie’s song and video that has them referencing Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, among others in typical Beastie Boys fashion!

Jay-Jay Johanson – Believe In Us (September 16, #28)

The compact disc audio, or another high quality source is necessary to get the chilling bass effect from this track. The YouTube audio definitely does not do justice. Anyway, this is the track I best know from Jay-Jay. I’d like to listen to his previous releases, and also newer as well for that matter. “Believe In Us” is from his 2000 album Poison.

Aug 29 2010

Music Video of the Day recap (week 1)

I mentioned in my Tweet from August 24 (via twitlonger), that I’d do a music video of the day recap weekly. This will be instead of posting individual videos to Twitter and here (when I feel like writing more than 140 characters).

Videos that are on Vevo, do not seem to work on WordPress.com, as the embed code is not supported on WordPress.com. Using the embed code works (I tested on Blogger). It probably would work using WordPress.org (all the more reason to get a dot com!). Anyway, I’ll embed when I can, otherwise just click to go to the video. Most of the time I prefer the actual site as to choose the resolution, etc. I want.

Sia – Soon We’ll Be Found (August 20)

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