UNKLE featuring Nick Cave: "Money and Run" (NSWF video)

UNKLE are always good for interesting stuff.  The latest is a NSFW video for the track "Money and Run".  The song, which features Nick Cave, is from their latest album Only the Lonely.

Check out the clip here:


UNKLE's website

The Kooks announce release of "Junk Of The Heart"

The Kooks have announced the release of their third studio album.  Junk Of The Heart is set for a September 13th release.

Here's the track list for the record:

• Junk of the Heart (Happy)
• How’d You Like That
• Rosie
• Taking Pictures of You
• Killing Me
• Fuck The World Off
• Time Above The Earth
• Runaway
• Is It Me
• Petulia
• Eskimo Kiss
• Mr. Nice Guy

The band have a trio of US dates slated for June, but nothing in Canada yet.

The Kooks' website

Little Foot Long Foot: "Oh, Hell" (album review)

Toronto's Little Foot Long Foot have always been a good blues rock band.  On their new album they take another huge step forward.  The album, Oh, Hell (out June 28th), is the first one with Caitlin Dacey (Bella Clava) as a member, providing keyboards and vocals.

The move to a trio pays almost instant dividends.  The benefits are obvious with the album opener "Nothing".  The double-barreled vocals are an extremely powerful device.

Little Foot Long Foot have always done the blues rock thing extremely well, and with tracks like the visceral "Neko Case Hate Fucks Kurt Cobain", that's no different this time around.  What is different is the unmistakable country influence that's seeping in.  Sometimes, as on "Fugato", that only manifests in a slight vocal drawl.  Other times, like on the hook-laden "May" and clever "Missing The Point", it's a delicious full out blues-country-rock concoction.

The band even touch on classic rock on "Kickface".  That track does exactly what it's name suggests, opening with a Sabbath-style guitar riff and finishing up with a Doors-esque organ breakdown.

There's not a lot of room for nuance amidst the bombast, but producer Ian Blurton has done a magnificent job  in allowing the group's character and soul to cut through the intimidating wall of noise.

Little Foot Long Foot were a duo that really didn't need to change anything up in order to keep creating great music.  They rolled the dice by making a radical change in their line-up, and it has paid off.  Oh, Hell is a keeper.

Little Foot Long Foot play a CD release show at the Silver Dollar in Toronto on June 4th.

Best tracks: "Nothing", "May"

Track listing for Oh, Hell:

• Nothing
• Fugato
• Neko Case Hate Fucks Kurt Cobain
• Missing the Point
• Kickface
• Sell Out
• May
• She Looks To You
• Eff That
• Sensual Pounding

8.5/10

Little Foot Long Foot's website

New releases for May 31st: Death Cab For Cutie, My Morning Jacket

There may not be a huge number of new albums out this week, but what is coming is significant.  Check out:

• Tristan Clopet
• Death Cab For Cutie
• Flogging Molly
• Matthew Good
• Ron Hawkins- Interview
• The Melvins
• My Morning Jacket- Review
• Rival Boys- Review
• Eddie Vedder- Review

Library Voices premiere new single "Generation Handclap" today

Delightful Saskatchewan indie popster Library Voices have added a firm release date for their sophomore full length album.  Summer Of Lust is now slated for an August 23rd release.

We've got artwork for the record now (right), as well as the previously cited track list.

The band's new single, "Generation Handclap", premieres today on Lanarama on CBC Radio 3.  The single will be available digitally tomorrow.

Here's the track list for the album:

• If Raymond Carver Were Born In The 90’s
• Generation Handclap
• Reluctant Readers Make Reluctant Lovers
• Que Sera Sarah
• Traveller’s Digest
• Be My Juliette Gréco, Paris 1949
• The Prime Minister’s Daughter
• Me, Myself, and ID
• Anthem For A NewCanadia
• Regina, I Don’t Want To Fight

Library Voices have two NXNE performances, June 15th at midnight at The Rivoli, and June 17th at the Mod Club with Most Serene Republic and Art Brut.

Library Voices' website

The Rosebuds: "Loud Planes Fly Low" (album review)

If you're anything like me you have the temptation to grab your dancing shoes every time you hear that there's a new album on the way from The Rosebuds.  If so, you'll need to restrain yourself a bit with their forthcoming album Loud Planes Fly Low, out June 7th.

It's a more reflective and introverted Rosebuds that we get on the new record.  The endlessly catchy hooks of songs like "Bow To The Middle" and "Get Up Get Out" are nowhere to be found this time around.

Sure there are still slick vocal harmonies, like those on "Come Visit Me" or "Second Bird of Paradise", that will undoubtedly catch your ear.

The tempo has gotten ratcheted down as well.  On songs like "Cover Ears" and "Worthwhile" the frolicking rhythms have been replaced by more serious cello parts.  It's not even a stretch to claim that "Without a Focus" comes eerily close to sounding like a Lou Barlow bedroom recording.

There's nothing wrong or bad about the evolving direction.  In fact, everything comes together very nicely on the gauzy dreamlike "A Story".  I guess it's just that I miss the good fun times we used to have together.

The Rosebuds play the Sound Academy in Toronto on August 8th, opening for Bon Iver.


Best tracks: "Without a Focus", "Come Visit Me"

Track listing for Loud Planes Fly Low:

• Go Ahead
• Limitless Arms
• Second Bird of Paradise
• Come Visit Me
• Without a Face
• Waiting for You
• Woods
• A Story
• Cover Ears
• Worthwhile

7.0/10

The Rosebuds' website

This week's entertainment picks: Ray LaMontagne, Robyn

It's a pretty good week for music in Toronto as we get one last gush of concerts before NXNE consumes all else.  Here are my picks for the week:

Ray LaMontagne w. Brandi Carlile, Massey Hall, May 30
LaMontagne is widely regarded as one of this generation's best songwriters, even if he did win a Grammy Award.  Carlile is no slouch herself.  So this should be a solid evening at the venerable old venue.


Ray LaMontagne's website
Brandi Carlile's website

Robyn w. Diamond Rings and Natalia Kills, Molson Ampitheatre, Jun 3
What better way to really get the outdoor season going than with infectious indie pop.  The menu for the evening will be chock full of it with the Swedish sensation Robyn and Toronto's own Diamond Rings.


Robyn's website
Diamond Rings' website

...also this week:

• Friendly Fires, May 30
• Shawn Clarke, May 31
• Love Inks, May 31
• The Maine, May 31
• Sondre Lerche, May 31
• Sexy Mathematics, Jun 1
• The Baseball Project, Jun 1
• Bell x1, Jun 1
• Jesse Labelle, Jun 2
• Jonny, Jun 3
• Brendan Perry, Jun 4
• Jonny, Jun 4
• Sam Roberts, Jun 4
• Zoe Keating, Jun 4
• Doug Paisley, Jun 5
• Panic At the Disco, Jun 5
• Thao & Mirah, Jun 5

Toronto concerts announced this week: Fleet Foxes, Ellie Goulding, Peter Bjorn & John

Here's a look at some of the noteworthy concerts announced for Toronto over the past 7 days:

Fleet Foxes

• JEFF The Brotherhood, Wrongbar, Jun 21
• Crooked Fingers, Horseshoe Tavern, Jul 3
• Jolie Holland, Horseshoe Tavern, Jul 9
• Fleet Foxes, Massey Hall, Jul 14
• Marissa Nadler, The Supermarket, Jul 19
• Thomas Dybdhal, Drake Underground, Jul 19
• Pretty Lights, The Phoenix, Jul 23
• Cass McCombs, The Rivoli, Jul 23
• Ellie Goulding, Kool Haus, Aug 1
• KMFDM, The Phoenix, Aug 16
• Blink 182, My Chemical Romance, Manchester Orchestra, Molson Ampitheatre, Aug 17
• Peter Bjorn & John, Lee's Palace, Sep 2
• Peter Bjorn & John, Lee's Palace, Sep 3

Eddie Vedder: "Ukulele Songs" (album review)

Admit it, when you first heard that Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder was making an album of ukulele songs, you thought it was going to be a train wreck didn't you?  I certainly did.

When you hear the grunge strumming of the album opener "Can't Keep", coupled with Vedder's signature growl, your suspicions would seem to be confirmed.  It's an awful mess of a song.

In fact, all too often on this record, Vedder tries to shoehorn in his Pearl Jam trademarks, the angsty lyrics, the big-lunged vocals, rather than adapt his songs to work within the range of the instrument he has chosen. When that happens, the songs sound absolutely ridiculous.

Guest appearances by Chan Marshall and Glen Hansard help a little bit, softening the songs, but it's really not enough as Vedder seems intent on his direction.

The most successful songs are actually when Vedder dials up the kitsch factor.  Cheesy tracks like "Tonight You Belong To Me", "Sleepless Nights", and the classic "Dream a Little Dream" are the ones that are best suited to this type of treatment, and the results reflect that.

While Ukulele Songs is an album that grows on you the more you listen to it, one would have to spend a lot of sleepless nights before it gets anything beyond "alright".  It's a cool gimmick that yields unsurprising results.

Pearl Jam play the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Sept. 11th and 12th.


Best tracks: "Sleepless Nights", "Tonight You Belong To Me"

Track listing for Ukulele Songs:

• Can't Keep
• Sleeping By Myself
• Without You
• More Than You Know
• Goodbye
• Broken Heart
• Satellite
• Longing To Belong
• Hey Fahkah
• You're Ture
• Sleepless Night
• Once In a While
• Waving Palms
• Tonight You Belong To Me
• Dream a Little Dream

4.0/10

Pearl Jam's website

Last minute plans: The Wilderness, The Ruby Coast, Bella Clava, and more @ The Great Hall

If you're one of those lame-os who doesn't have plans for a Saturday night, I have something that may just salvage your weekend.

Toronto experimental rockers The Wilderness are part of a rock-solid line-up at The Great Hall tonight.  The band, renowned for their live shows, are promoting their latest album Modern Superstitions.

Also on the bill are much-buzzed-about The Ruby Coast, Lovely Killbots, Alphabots, and a personal favorite of mine: blues rockers Bella Clava.

Quick Hits: Sloan, Swollen Members

As always, here's more stuff I couldn't handle this week:

Sloan, The Double Cross
The Canadian rock vets bring out their entire bag of tricks on this, their tenth full length album.  Keyboards and more are added atop the sometimes jangly, always boppy music.  Hooks abound and there isn't any obvious filler, making it enjoyable, but at this point it's hard to imagine that anyone will take away anything really new from another Sloan record.

Sloan play the Mod Club in Toronto on June 22nd.

Sloan's website

Swollen Members, Daggermouth
Another iconic Canadian act that returned with a new album recently is Swollen Members.  The pioneering hip hop act dropped Daggermouth only to see it race to #1 on the Hip Hop charts.

The rhymes are crisp and the beats are crisp and varied as they continue to steer away from the cliches that we hear all too often in the genre.  That's not to say they shy away from tough subjects; they just tackle them in their own unique way.

Swollen Members' website

My Morning Jacket: "Circuital" (album review)

Right away I have to come clean and say that I've never been a huge fan of My Morning Jacket.  I particularly dislike them when they get into their drawn-out jam band mode.  That's the bias with which I approach their new album Circuital, out May 31st.

The band caught me off-guard right away with the thunderous rumble of "Victory Dance".  The album standout, "Holdin On To Black Metal", continues the ominous vibe, this time melding it with unexpected horns and backing vocals as it occupies every corner of sound.

There has always been a melodic side to MMJ, and that hasn't gone away.  "Outta My System", "The Day Is Coming", and the mid-tempo frolic "First Light" all demonstrate that.

While southern rock grit does seep into cuts like the title track, the band does a good job of showing restraint.  On several occasions things could have devolved into the extended jam snore-fests of the past.  The fact that it doesn't is a tribute to a band that's moving beyond their own cliches.

Nearly all of these songs are solid, if not exceptional.  The only failure among the lot would have to be the album closer "Movin Away", a dull waltz which see many of the traits I dislike about My Morning Jacket creeping back into the mix.

Overall though, as a traditionally non-MMJ fan, I'm pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed Circuital.

My Morning Jacket play the Kool Haus in Toronto on July 11th.

Best tracks: "Holdin On To Black Metal", "Victory Dance"

Track listing for Circuital:

• Victory Dance
• Circuital
• The Day Is Coming
• Wonderful (The Way I Feel)
• Outta My System
• Holdin On To Black Metal
• First Light
• You Wanna Freak Out
• Slow Slow Tune
• Movin Away

7.5/10

My Morning Jacket's website

CONTEST: Win a copy of BOB MOULD's autobiography "See A Little Light"

Indie music icon Bob Mould releases his very revealing autobiography See A Little Light on June 15th.  I'm excited to have two copies to give away to readers.

To enter to win a copy, hit me up one of these ways:
Email
Twitter
Myspace
Facebook

This contest is open to residents of Canada and the United States only and are limited to one per household.

Read my review of the frank book here.

Bob Mould's website

3 More To Explore: 88 Days of Fortune, New Pyjamas, Northpilot

Here are three more artists I suggest are worth taking a look at this weekend:

88 Days of Fortune
For those who like: weird arty stuff

The 21-member music and multi-media collective is based in Toronto, with members hailing from as far away as Japan.  They celebrate their 2nd anniversary with a show on Toronto Island on June 11th.

88 Days of Fortune's website

New Pyjamas
For those who like: trippy stuff

Pulling in elements of jazz, rock, and California pop, this group led by Max Crowning have just released their debut EP Subterranean Clothes.

New Pyjama's website

Northpilot
For those who like:  rocky stuff

This Chicago band also recently released their debut EP, The Bright Brigade.  Think Modest Mouse and you'll be somewhere in the area of their sound.

Northpilot's website

Q&A with: Ron Hawkins

Ron Hawkins burst onto the indie music scene in Toronto as a member of the seminal band Lowest Of The Low.  He's never really gone away and returns with another solo album, Straitjacket Love, coming out on May 31st.

I had the chance to ask him a few questions before his album launch at Graffitti's in Toronto tonight and tomorrow:

T.O. Snob: Thanks for doing this.  Shakespeare...My Butt came out when I was 14 and I've been a fan ever since, so this is a thrill for me.  You've got your new album, Straitjacket Love coming out next week and you play a pair of shows tonight and tomorrow at Graffitti's to kick it off.
RH: And I'm touring with a new band in June and July, including a residency at The Drake.  The Graffitti's shows are all acoustic.

T.O. Snob: What can fans expect from the new songs?
RH: I consider it a continuation of the last album I made called 10 Kinds of Lonely, which was very much more down a country road than I had ever gone.  I dabbled in that genre, on all the records there has been something that was country or folk based, but this was the first one that went totally down that road.  The last one was more stripped down.  The new one, Straitjacket Love, is a continuation but it has more full band arrangements on it. 

T.O. Snob: What keeps you motivated to write songs and do you come from a different place now when you write?
RH: The glib answer would be poverty.  It's not a matter of coming from a different place but whatever things launched me as a songwriter when I was 16, 18, 20, and breaking through at 25 with Lowest Of The Low, I'm just doing more of now.  I'm just more assured.  There have been 12 records so I have more colours on the palette or tools in the toolkit, whatever metaphor you'd like to use, I just have more ability to get the things out of my head and onto the disc.

T.O. Snob: Do you find that it makes the entire process easier or more enjoyable for you?
RH: It's never easy, at least for me.  I never know if I'm going to be able to write another song.  I'm not being disingenuous, after writing this many songs I never know if one's coming out again.  When it does it surprises me and surprises me about where it goes.  Every one is like the first one you write, I get excited about it.

T.O. Snob: Do you have a favorite song on the new record?
RH: Yeah, there are a couple, for different reasons.  The last twos songs.  There's a song called "Diamonds In the Water" which is a metaphor I started playing with.  Like someone having a handful of diamonds and dropping them and watching them slowly sink and trying to reach in to get them.  But the farther they reach the farther they sink towards the bottom.  I thought it was a cool image and I started writing lyrics around that.  At the same time my grandmother had been going through late stage Alzheimer's.  She died with very disorienting Alzheimer's.  The two things came together and became a metaphor for someone losing their powers of memory.   She was a very smart woman and a very quick woman.  So the song began to make a lot of sense to me as a song about her.

The very last song on the record, "Prairie Girl", is about my partner Jill.  She was born in Winnipeg.  Often times I'll start a love song as a song that starts out light and there's darkness in it at some point.  With this one I joke with people on stage that this one's light and it just continues to be light.  It's an anthem to her and how fantastic she is.

T.O. Snob: You really set an example for independent Canadian artists, and the Canadian indie scene is stronger than it's ever been.  Do you take some pride in that?
RH: Not anymore than I would just liking bands and pulling for someone who's trying to get their music out, especially if they're trying to do it themselves.  We, the Lowest Of The Low, sometimes get a lot of big statements written about us being part of that movement.  From our point of view we were just a bunch of guys in a band trying to do our best.  

T.O. Snob: It's funny you answered that way because this week on Toronto.com I noticed they have you in the running for the online voting for best Toronto band ever.  I think they pitted you up against The Sadies to begin with.
RH: I thought that was kind of rough to go against The Sadies to begin with.  The first week I saw that I think it was Rush vs. The Four Lads.  It was like grapefruits vs. iPods and didn't make much sense to me.  

T.O. Snob: You guys also played Massey Hall recently and it's been seven years since Sordid Fiction, so it begs the question: is there any chance of a new LOTL record?
RH: I don't know I really am in the dark about that as anybody is.  We've said after a few reunion situations that we'd stop saying never, because we've embarrassed ourselves a few times doing that.  Two months later some happens and we end up playing together.  So I would never say it's not going to happen, but there's no real plan for it right now.  If something happens organically that's one thing.

The tour we just did was sold out.  We started in a 60-seater Irish pub in Kingston that we always used to play and the last show was at Massey Hall.  So it was really a Low tour, play the smallest places and the biggest places.

We're all very aware that this was all about the 20th anniversary of Shakespeare...My Butt, which was by far our most popular record.  Whether there's even a desire out there for a new Low record I don't know.  If it happened organically I could see it happening.  But it would have to add to the story.  If it's just to get more Low songs out there, I don't know if that's enough.

T.O. Snob: I know you do a lot of painting as well.  Of course, everyone I want is sold already.  What got you specifically interested in doing portraits of musicians?
RH: I've done some abstract painting, I've done some landscape painting, I've done some industrial cityscape stuff.  But if you look on my website the vast majority of the stuff portraiture, and it's usually very close up portraiture, faces and people.  I think it's for the same reason song-wise, that I'm really interested in people and how they interact and the quirks, what separates and makes them different or similar to each other.

There's a great quote for this painter Alice Neel, who all her life did portraits.  For most of her life she was not well known, until the 70s.  She was in her 60s when she was sort of discovered by the feminist movement.  She was a very sharp woman and she always referred to herself as a "collector of souls", because she painted and apparently just talked to people and got into their heads as she was painting them.  I see her as a kindred spirit that way.

T.O. Snob: One last question and it's been a bit of a pet peeve of mine for a while.  I grew up about 6 blocks from the Carlaw Bridge and I'm pretty sure that The Only is a little more than 4 blocks away.  How do you explain the discrepancy?
RH: I believe you call that poetic licence.  I like to contract things.  I can't explain EVERY block between the Carlaw Bridge and The Only, it would be a 7 and a half minute song.

T.O. Snob: Alright I give you that.  Thanks for doing this I really appreciate it and thank you for all the music all these years.  Good luck with the shows and the new album.

Ron Hawkins' website

Rival Boys: "Mutual Feelings Of Love" (album review)

May 31st will see the release of Mutual Feelings of Love, the new album from Toronto's Rival Boys.  The trio have been slowly building a local following and look to add to the momentum.

 The band plays uncompromising rock with tinges of roots music and an underlying pop sensibility.

Tracks like "Mutual Feelings" and "Mean Home", with it's deep groove, are foreboding but never threatening.  They are tempered somewhat by the melodic hooks of a song like "Recovery".

The roots influence is most apparent on "No Selfish Love", with an undeniable twang creeping in.  A rockabilly cha-cha chugs along during the screamer "Fine Lines".

The frustrating part about Mutual Feelings of Love is that Rival Boys don't use their ear for melody nearly as much as you would like them to.  The brooding rock is fine, but it's not head-and-shoulders above the crowd.  It's their knack for melodies and harmonies that make Rival Boys special, and they simply don't utilize that gift enough.

The album standouts employ both a catchy hook and darker rock elements.  "Dark Science" begins its live as a bouncy pop number, only to satisfyingly collapse in on itself.  Backing harmonies rush beneath the shadowy arrangement on the monumental "Dream of Stones".

Mutual Feelings of Love is a bit of a missed opportunity.  The record shows hints of how good Rival Boys could be, but it just doesn't do it often or consistently enough to push them over the top.

Rival Boys play The Garrison in Toronto on June 4th.

Best tracks: "Recovery", "Bow and Arrow"

Track listing for Mutual Feelings of Love:

• Movement
• Dark Science
• Bow and Arrow
• React To It
• A Lover's Anvil
• Mutual Feelings
• No Selfish Love
• Mean Home
• Recovery
• Fine Lines
• White Light
• Dream of Stones

6.0/10

Rival Boys' website

Gillian Welch set to release "The Harrow and The Harvest"

It looks like the seemingly endless wait is coming to an end.  Alt country royalty, Gillian Welch, is finally releasing a new studio album.  The record, The Harrow and The Harvest, comes out on June 28th.

Welch and producer/colleague will be touring with Buffalo Springfield (including a Vancouver stop) in June.

Gillian Welch's website

Kidcity: "Blackened" (MP3)

It may not be my bag of fun, but Toronto's really becoming a mecca for electronic music.  One of the latest on scene are Kidcity.  They've got an interesting gloom that hovers around their drone.

Download "Blackened" and hear it for yourself.

Kidcity's website

Little Foot Long Foot set to release new album

Toronto indie noise rock duo Little Foot Long Foot are releasing a new album in June.  And, they've become a trio for this one, adding Bella Clava singer/keyboardist Caitlin Dacey to the mix.

The new album, Oh Hell, was produced by Toronto independent music legend Ian Blurton.

Little Foot Long Foot have a bunch of Toronto shows coming up including: a CD Release Party at the Silver Dollar on June 4th, and NXNE performances on June 17th at the Comfort Zone and June 18th at The Hideout.

Little Foot Long Foot's website

Lindi Ortega: "Little Red Boots" (album review)

This (unpaid) gig is most rewarding when something unexpected comes my way.  Occasionally, you pop in an album from an artist you aren't too familiar with and it just rivets you from the very start.  That is exactly what happened to me when I played Little Red Boots, the forthcoming album from Toronto singer Lindi Ortega.

The record, out June 7th, is nothing short of an astonishing achievement in alternative country music.

Ortega wastes no time in grabbing the listener with the straw-kicking romp of an opener "Little Lie".  She almost dares you to turn away as she burns through some of the freshest, most vibrant sounding songs in any genre thus far in 2011.

Vocally, Ortega can hold her own with almost anyone.  A song like "When All the Stars Align" is the exactly what it would sound like if the best pop divas in the world sang songs that didn't suck.  She caps it all off with a soaring big vocal on "So Sad".

Not only is her voice stunning, but she's a pretty damn good songwriter as well.  Whether her song is defiant ("I'm No Elvis Presley"), confident ("Little Red Boots"), hopeful ("Fall Down Or Fly"), or vulnerable ("Dying of Another Broken Heart"), Ortega has the uncanny ability to put a smile on your face and feel good.

If you're like me and you're a sucker for a good hook, you won't be disappointed either as Ortega has some razor sharp one's in her bag of tricks.  Cuts like "Blue Bird" and "Jimmy Dean" are bursting at the seams with catchy hooks.

On "I'm No Elvis Presley Ortega states: "I'm nothing extraordinary".  Sorry Lindi, but I'm going to have to beg to differ.

Best tracks: "Little Lie", "Blue Bird"

Track listing for Little Red Boots:

• Little Lie
• When All the Stars Align
• Blue Bird
• Angels
• I'm No Elvis Presley
• Little Red Boots
• Dying of Another Broken Heart
• All My Friends
• Fall Down or Fly
• Jimmy Dean
• Black Fly
• So Sad

9.5/10

Lindi Ortega's website

Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks to release new album "Mirror Traffic"

Well it's not the new Pavement album that everyone was hoping for on the heels of last year's reunion tour, but it's noteworthy nonetheless.

On August 23rd, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks will return with a new studio album Mirror Traffic.  The record was produced by a very busy Beck Hansen.

Tour dates should be announced soon.

Stephen Malkmus' website

Data Romance: "Data Romance" (EP review)

Vancouver duo Data Romance release their self-titled EPon June 7th.  The group, consisting of Ajay Bhattacharyya and Amy Kirkpatrick, take a harsh approach to their electronic music.

There's a dark aura that hovers over songs like "The Deep" and "Arms".  That feeling is pounded home by an unrelenting beat, spiked with unexpected piercing flourishes (a la Sleigh Bells).

The most surprising part though is that despite the raw nature of the music, there is still an underlying melody that can't be restrained.  The hook in the standout "Bullets", for example, will have you grooving along, no matter how sombre Data Romance's overall outlook is.

Four tracks isn't enough to judge a band by, but this EP seems to point to nothing but good things to come in the future.

Data Romance play the Mod Club in Toronto tonight, opening for CSS and Sleigh Bells.


Best track: "Bullets"

Track listing for Data Romance:

• The Deep
• Bullets
• Arms
• Street Lights

7.5/10

Data Romance's website

New releases for May 24th: Thurston Moore, The Most Serene Republic

There are some potentially great new albums coming out this week.  Some of the noteworthy ones are:

• Bootsy Collins
• King Creosote
• Kate Maki
• Thurston Moore- Review
• The Most Serene Republic
• Raleigh- Review
• She Wants Revenge
• White Denim

Stephin Merritt readies rarities compilation

Stephin Merritt, who released one of the greatest album sets ever with the Magnetic Fields' 1999 3-CD set 69 Loves Songs, will be releasing a new album on August 23rd.  Obscurities is not a new record, but a compilation of hard-to-find tracks from Merritt's time on Merge Records (1994-99).

Download the track "Forever and a Day" now.

Here's the track list for the album:

• Forever and a Day (previously unreleased)
• Rats in the Garbage of the Western World (The Magnetic Fields)
• I Don’t Believe You (The Magnetic Fields)
• Plant White Roses (Buffalo Rome)
• Rot in the Sun (the 6ths)
• The Sun and the Sea and the Sky (previously unreleased)
• Yet Another Girl (the 6ths)
• Scream (Till you Make the Scene) (previously unreleased)
• The Song from Venus (previously unreleased)
• Beach-A-Boop-Boop (The Magnetic Fields)
• When I’m Not Looking, You’re Not There (The Magnetic Fields)
• Take Ecstasy with Me (The Magnetic Fields)
• When You’re Young and In Love (previously unreleased)
• You Are Not My Mother and I Want to Go Home (The Gothic Archies)