JBlog

Once again, I’m cutting it close to the wire this month. So with a few minutes remaining in October, I’m going to lay down my Band-o-Month pick for October.

The band that I’m picking for this month is really just the solo project of a frontman of another well respected indie Canadian band … well, really more of a massive collective. This is, of course, Kevin Drew, one of the founders and cornerstones of Broken Social Scene. Kevin released his debut solo CD, “Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew – Spirit If…“, this past month. Now I have to admit, I was not looking forwards to this CD. Kevin’s got a bit of reputation for having a little bit of an ego and being somewhat musically pretentious. I mean, we all remember his rant at the 2006 Juno awards about Canadian idol winners (not that I disagreed with you Kevin, but there are other ways to express yourself that don’t make you look like a dick).

Needless to say, I didn’t really want to like “Spirit If…” (and it didn’t help with the pretentious aura that Kevin admitted that he improvised most of the lyrics during recording). But that album is actually pretty sweet. The music is very similar to a lot of the Broken Social Scene tracks, but slightly different by bringing a little more edge and melody than we’re used to hearing from BSS. The music still has that light experimental feel that we’re used to hearing from BSS, which shouldn’t be surprising since there a lot BSS members that help Kevin out on various tracks. The only real criticism you can make about this album is that some track sound a little to similar to the BSS style, which I guess is alright since no one could get enough of the last Broken Social Scene CD.

So if you like Broken Social Scene, go check out Kevin Drew’s Spirit If… album, and, like me, you’ll probably be presently surprised! Here are some links that may help you out.

• Kevin Drew’s Website
• Kevin Drew on MySpace
• Kevin Drew on New Music Canada
• Kevin Drew on Last.fm

Well, September’s almost done. But before it goes, I have to squeak in my Band-o-Month pick before it’s too late!

This month’s band is Spy Machine 16, a band based out of Guelph, Ontario who before September I had never heard of before. It all started on the first Friday of the month, at the usual meeting of the Scotch Friday crew at the Grad House. The Grad House is a great place to see local bands in the Waterloo area and I was pretty pumped because the next Friday, Knock Knock Ginger, one of my favourite local bands, was coming to play a show. The only thing was that this band I’d never heard of, Spy Machine 16, was opening. Whatever, I planned on going anyways and didn’t give this random opening band much thought.

Fast forward a little later that week, I was at the Gym listening to the Zunior.com podcast for September and heard this track that really caught my attention at the end of the podcast. It was loud, rocking and had more hooks than an elementary school coat rack. I made a mental note that I had to find out who that band was and check them out after I was done at the Gym. Turns out the track was “I Lost My Edge Last Night” by Spy Machine 16. Bizzare? Maybe. But a pretty nice coincidence since I then downloaded all their track from their MySpace page and listened to them all week. I was now really pumped for the concert that Friday!

There’s something about dancing that I just don’t get. Maybe it’s because I really suck at it. Usually, I’m the guy at a show who’s hovering around the back with a beer listening to the music, not tearing it up the makeshift dance floors at the front of the stage. But listening to Spy Machine 16 do their thing, it’s next to impossible not get with the beat. After all, the band’s even got an in-house dance squad! Spy Machine 16’s latest album, How Things Come Apart, is chalk full of amazing pop-punk anthems (kind of like a Canadian Los Campesinos!). Songs that will cheer you up and energize you after you’ve had a crappy day! Plus some of the song have pretty progressive messages (the band describes themselves as “cute as a button, anti-imperialist as fuck”). It’s nice to hear some pop-punk that remains true to its punk music heritage.

So go check out Spy Machine 16 and I’m positive you will not be disappointed! Here are some links that might help you out.

• Spy Machine Sixteen at MySpace
• Spy Machine Sixteen at New Music Canada

Yes, I know it is not August. In fact it’s significantly not August, being actually mid-way through September. And I know some of you have probably just assumed, “Jon’s lazy and he’s not posting his Band-o-Month for August. Hopefully he’s still alive!” Or maybe you’re not really concerned with my current state of mortality. But in the spirit of better late then never, here’s my Band-o-Month pick for August!

There’s something about the summer roadtrip that’s pure zen. Hitting the open country road, with the windows down blasting music through the countryside. I especially love to stay off major highways and take back roads, always trying to take a new route that I’ve never been down before. Plus, there’s no better way to spend the hours in the car than popping in a brand new CD and checking it out.

On one of my frequent trips between Haliburton and Waterloo this summer, I popped in Mother Mother’s debut CD Touch Up and was enthralled. The band started out as an acoustic outfit focusing on vocal harmonies, but later added a bassist and a drummer to become a full five piece band. But there’s still a glimmer of their early acousto-harmony mix that makes the songs so interesting. The Vancouver based band managed to create a unique sound, what they call post-modern pop but what I think should be called dirty folk music on speed. The songs are fast, the lyrics are quirky and the harmonies are haunting. The result is a CD that you can pop in your car, crank that stereo up to 11 and slam on that gas pedal till you can feel that cool summer breeze in your face. Just make sure to keep your eyes peeled for cops. Nothing ruins a good road trip like a moving violation!

Here are some links that may help you out:

• Mother Mother Website
• Mother Mother on MySpace
• Mother Mother on New Music Canada
• Mother Mother on Last.fm

Well, it’s time for another edition of what’s becoming the only regular feature this blog has!

This months band hails from Charlottetown, PEI. They first appeared on my radar last November, when they opened for Joel Plaskett at the Starlight in Waterloo. In the past, I never really liked to go see opening bands. But lately I’ve discovered that opening bands are a good way to expand my musical horizons, so the concert crew and I decided to see what this band Two Hours Traffic was all about. Needless to say we were not disappointed! In fact, after their set, I immediately bought their Isolator EP from the table at the back of the show. Joel Plaskett, gave a solidly awesome performance, like he always does, but Two Hours Traffic was the highlight of the night!

Two Hours Traffic reduces Indie Rock to its purest form, with heavy emphasis on the rock part. In fact they can switch from power pop, to rock to alt-country with ease, making each song sound as good, if not better than the last. Their new album, Little Jabs, which was produced by Joel Plaskett, doesn’t disappoint. The album will be released physically on July 24th, but you can grab it digitally on the iTunes Music Store or Zunior.com now. Although it contains some songs off their Isolator EP, it’s a pretty sweet track list. If I had to pick a favourite track, it would probably be Heatseeker with its slow alt-country buildup and loud rocking finish!

Two Hours Traffic can be summed up with probably the greatest compliment in indie rock: solid! Here are some links that may help you out.

• Two Hours Traffic Website
• Two Hours Traffic on MySpace
• Two Hours Traffic on New Music Canada
• Two Hours Traffic on Last.fm

So I figure in order to gee me to update this blog more regularly, I have to get more regular features for the Blog. Since I listen to a lot of music, and most of that is music that generally unknown or unpopular, I figured once a month I’ll share the band that’s making the most headway on my iPod playlist. Of course, you can always keep track of my music taste in near-real-time by checking out my Last.fm profile!

I recently bought the latest A Northern Chorus CD, The Millions Too Many, from the iTunes Music Store. They had a song featured, Remembrance Day, on the ITMS a while back, and like most free ITMS songs, I listened to it quickly, downloaded it and never really listened to it much afterwards. Fast forward a couple weeks, and A Northern Chorus reappeared on my musical radar (can’t remember if it was from a CBC Radio 3 podcast or a Zunior.com podcast) and taking a quick look through my music library I found that free song I downloaded. So I started listening to it and was instantly hooked. So much so, that I bought the album a few weeks later. Now normally, I don’t like buying albums based only on a single song. I’ve made some terrible music purchases in the past based on that philosophy. But I was none disappointed by this purchase.

A Northern Chorus is band out of Hamilton that’s been around since 1999. I’ve heard some of their early stuff and it’s pretty low-fi and somewhat inaccessible to the average music listener. But The Millions Too May, is quite catchy a beautifully sounding. Most songs start a little slow and minimalistic, but gradually reach this crescendo of orchestral awesomeness! Like some hidden love child between Death Cab for Cutie and The Cure. The first three songs on the album give a killer 1-2-3 punch and I’ve been known to listen to them over and over again. So much so that I made the band’s weekly top listeners on Last.fm. 

Anyways, if you want to find out what Wikipedia describes as dream pop, or are just interested in some good indie Canadian music, got check out A Northern Chorus. Here are some links that may help you out:

• A Nothern Chorus Website
• A Northern Chorus on MySpace
• A Northern Chorus on New Music Canada
• A Northern Chorus on Last.fm