New Music Monday: Green Go

I've never been to Guelph, Ontario as far as I can recall. But thankfully it's close enough to my city that us Torontonians get more than a healthy dose of the musical offerings of the hometown of Robert Munsch. Bands such as the D'Urbervilles, the Magic, and others have built an ever-growing fan base outside of their hometown, generally lead by us big city kids.

Next on the list of Guelphites with rising profiles is the sweaty dance party starters commonly known as Green Go. Lead by the shared keyboard/vocals of Fezz Stenton and Jess Tollefsen, the often-costumed 5-piece excels when the air conditioning caves to the demands of a house full of energetic young men and women with dance moves to spare. And while they're not exactly a brand new creation having released an EP on Burnt Oak records in 2007, only those in southwestern Ontario have had the pleasure of checking out their brand of Think About Life-meets-the Rapture disco-infused indie rock.

That is all until now, as the band is preparing tour plans on the heels of a limited-print 3-song teaser (available only at shows) which aptly demonstrates their energy, but also their range. While tunes like 'Cash Money Gremlins' and 'Ghosts of the Future' will certainly inject any party with all the dance opps it can dream of, my personal favourite 'Fool Me Once', which the band has decided to hold tight for a 2009 full-length release, showcases some of the strongest tools this talented bunch possess: Tollefsen's sultry vocals which touch on Emily Haines at her best set to a backdrop of grooves that snake through every crevice and build just to drop on a dime, and build back up again.

For those of you attending Pop Montreal next week, they'll be playing the Fuzzy Logic showcase on Thursday at O Patro Vys. Following that, they'll be doing what they do best in Ottawa on Saturday, at a sure-to-be-packed house show at 276 Nelson. As their bio suggests, you might want to bring a change of clothes.

Green Go - Ghosts of the Future
Green Go - Fool Me Once

Disco Intelligence

And the lord said...let there be new wave electro pop for all.

If you put Crystal Castles and Mates of State together in some crazy experiment, you might get something resembling Perth's Voltaire Twins. Having performed a mere fifteen or so shows and only a few demo's to speak of, the wonder twin duo have caught the attention of several labels and are currently a featured group on Australian radio station, Triple J. Catchy hooks and synth heavy bass lines are what make "Disco Intelligent Light" a fun dance beat. Having already backed some big Australian names, and heading out to support Ladytron in October, you may start to hear more about James and Tegan Voltaire. I'm looking forward to hearing more from these guys once they've recorded their debut EP, currently in the works. This will probably eliminate any of the mic or pitch issues people have with these early recordings. It will be interesting to see where they take their sound. Wonder twin powers, Activate!

Voltaire Twins - Disco Intelligent Light
Voltaire Twins - London!

Polaris Music Prize Preview

Tonight is the annual gala to announce the winner of the Polaris Music Prize, the award given to the best Canadian album of the previous year, "judged solely on artistic merit". The winner tonight will leave with their record amongst the likes of previous winners Patrick Watson (Close to Paradise) and Final Fantasy (He Poos Clouds), the knowledge that a bunch of music journalists really dug their shit, and one of those gigantic cheques for $20,000.

This is when I go on record to proclaim my prediction for who that may be. And by tomorrow, if London, ON's MC extraordinaire Shad takes home the hardware, I'll look like I actually know what I'm talking about.

Shad's nominated record, 2007's The Old Prince is about as strong of a hip hop record as Canada has ever seen, and perhaps stronger than any we may see for years to come. Musically, his band (and yes, he plays live with one), fuse elements of jazz, soul, hip hop, and rock while Shad's rhymes are clever, intelligent, honest and just overall enjoyable even to those who balk at 98% of the urban music genre. His lyrics are distinctly Canadian, yet his widespread potential appeal leave us thinking that, unlike basically any Canadian MC's to date, his success may not be limited to within our own borders. Given that, the Polaris panel could (and should) recognize The Old Prince as an opportunity to acknowledge and encourage quality urban music in Canada.

By comparison, co-nominees such as the Weakerthans, Stars, and arguably Kathleen Edwards are riding their nomination on the back of records that are not only not the best album of the previous year, but aren't even close to the best albums in their own discography. Had the Polaris existed when Left and Leaving dropped, John K. Samson and co. would have had a strong case for the cheddar, but such just isn't the case as Reunion Tour is widely considered their most uninspired effort to date.

For the record, if it's not Shad, then my runner-up votes go to co-Londoner Basia Bulat's folk gem Oh My Darling, and Parc Avenue by Montrealers Plants & Animals.

Review - Archive "Live at the Zenith"

Live albums always present an interesting juxtaposition of pure, unbridled honesty and a certain level of fabrication within the context of the source environment. Take for example Live at the Zenith, the 'new' release from UK's Archive ('new' in that it has been out for some time in Europe, but just reached shelves in North America recently).

The album was recorded at Paris' sold-out Zenith Arena in January of 2007 and fully captures their building, epic throwback too-new-to-be-considered-classic rock sound that fills stadiums in many (mostly non-English dominated) countries across Europe. The crowd's response to tracks such as "Fuck U", "Pulse", and "Black" provide the listener with the context of a large, spanning audience completely enthralled by their Floyd-esque vibe. In listening to it, one can't be blamed for assuming that Archive is the biggest, most influential rock band on the planet.

The main problem with this listening experience across the Atlantic, however, is that it evokes an atmosphere with which us North Americans just can't relate. Even if we are Archive fans (which painfully few are compared to our European counterparts), our live experience with the band is far more likely to be taking place at the El Mocambo than the Air Canada Centre. Not to say that the show wouldn't be great at the El Mo (it would probably be better), but the overall experience of "Live at the Zenith" doesn't adequately represent the North American listener experience.

Perhaps its North America's general apathy for the band which has caused this release (and 2006's Lights) to take so long to reach shelves here, or rather its that they seem to not mark us on their map of priority that has caused them to not fully take off over here; regardless of cause, all Live at the Zenith does for American and Canadian Archive fans is remind us that short of hopping a plane, we'll never experience the ethereal magic of seeing the band amongst thousands of others who actually give a shit.

Remix Sunday: Justice on the Radio Weekend

Tomorrow I start my adventure to become a studio engineer. I'm so excited that I'm at a loss for words for pretty much any conversation. After a year and a half of straight working my bawls off I'm going back to learn how to record your favorite bands and maybe win a Grammy. Yeah, that's my ultimate goal in life accept an award from the awards show that is just basically a circle jerk for industry hot heads. I wanna be one of those hot heads. Money, power, women, sold out arenas, music videos with naked bitches and champagne. That's the life for me. Oh wait, this is a music blog not my stoner dreams blog.

Theres a few remix's that I've been listening to non-stop this week. I thought I was tired of all this remixing and jive talking but I guess there are still some quality ones out there. First off there is obviously huge hype surrounding anything TV on the Radio these days. There new album 'Dear Science' is a strong candidate for album of the year already and really, who expected any less. Every TotR record put out so far has been an almost instant classic. Here's a remix to every ones favorite TotR song;

Staring At The Sun (Byran Hyde Remix) - TV on the Radio

Next remix? Justice. OH EM GEE! JUSTICE DID A REMIX?!!! HOW SURPRISING!!! It even sounds like a Justice remix. Who woulda thunk it? Still good...

As Above, So Below (Justice Remix) - Klaxons

Last on the docket comes a remix from a record that I consider to be the best of the year. Vampire Weekends' self titled debut has been played over a thousand times in my car and is probably gonna get spun a few more times before I throw it in the discount bin in my basement.

Oxford Comma (Burntpiano Edit) - Vampire Weekend

Thanks to The Mixtape Podcast for these lovely remixes and, by the way, when I'm inside Jessica Alba, I'll let you all know.

Keep it to myself, no way.

No, it's not your speakers. That buzzing, lo-fi romp resonating from the speakers is meant to sound that way. Vivian Girls are a recent find for me, labelmates of Jay Reatard, Black Lips, King Khan and other In the Red bands I don't know but deserve mention for moniker alone: Lamps, Sonic Chicken 4, Pussy Galore.

These Brooklynite plain janes play quick, reverb-heavy rock with nods towards mod and shoegaze acts of the past. If you like The Raveonettes, Sonic Youth, Palomar, or anything similar, you'll enjoy the emotionally distant wall of sound. Their music skips along to foot tapping drums and layered vocals overlapping and decaying into one muddled mess. If that doesn't sound like an affectionate description, it's meant to be. "Tell the World" is a prime example:



Their Myspace says their album is sold out, but I'd venture a guess that it can be picked up on tour, so catch them at Pop Montreal on the 5th if you can. Mates overseas will have to wait until December 2nd when they begin their UK stint at Brixton Windmill in London.

Vivian Girls - Tell the World
Vivian Girls - I Believe in Nothing
Vivian Girls - Where Do You Run To

Friday Five!

The Tunics – Cost of Living
Utterly thrilling, anthemic rock ‘n’ roll with obvious echoes of The Libertines, Oasis and Artic Monkeys. Lyrically centered on a frustration with the rise of knife and gang culture in London, but given a duel dimension by the deteriorating state of the world economy. The most culturally vital music I’ve heard all year.

White Lies – Death
Intense, haunting, gothic power pop, for fans of Interpol, Editors, The Killers and all the bands who inspired them. Tension is adeptly built throughout leading to a pulsting conclusion where they repeat the chilling "Yes This Fear's Got Hold On Me" line until the music fades into the distance, evocating images of life's final fleeting moments.

Stricken City – Tak o Tak
Compulsive drum beats, heavy reverb and a dash of synths perfectly complement the female singer's sultry, gravelly female voice. Yet another Moshi Moshi band of exceptional promise.

My Sad Captains – All Hat and No Plans
I must have listened to this over 100 times in the last few weeks and still have no clue what it’s meant to be about, as each time I find myself equally lost and enchanted by it’s lush melodies and soothing vocals which bring back fond memories of The Delgados, Goldrush and many other Truck Record stablemates.

Apache Beat - Tropics
Pretty much what the names suggest, a mix of African bongo drums, synths and impressive amounts of distortion to create a droning tribal sound. Offering such an eclectic concoction, this is perfect for fellow sufferers of musical attention deficit disorder.

Still Staring At The Sun

Get over it, TV on the Radio are awesome. Without question, I hold these guys as one of the most innovative and captivating rock bands in operation today. Sure, everyone thinks that 2006's, Return to Cookie Mountain, was the cat's pyjamas and how can you beat powerhouse tracks such as "Wolf Like Me" and collaborations with Bowie. But newly released Dear Science is just as good - if not better.

The truth is that TV on the Radio have been making incredible music for the majority of my credible music listening years. Their sound is accessible in some aspects and totally abstract in others, sometimes I can understand the lyrics, sometimes I can't. Regardless, they make exciting music and it keeps me interested longer than a week. And I have ADD bad.

From Dear Science (2008):

TV on the Radio - Halfway Home
TV on the Radio - Crying
TV on the Radio - Family Tree

*The new disc in it's entirety is spinning over on the band's myspace.

What started it all for me, from Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes (2004):

TV on the Radio - Staring at the Sun

Southern Discomfort.

Nothing like dirty rock to kick off a Thursday morning - semi hung-over, tired and oh-so-close to the weekend, I had been in my cubicle for mere minutes when "Wrecking Ball" by Dead Confederate came on the (online) radio.

So I immediately did a bit of research and jumped on here to share, because who knows how many of you are out there in the same situation, stuck at work and waiting to be distracted.

Hailing from Athens, Georgia, Dead Confederate is like a Nirvana / Kings of Leon hybrid. Grungy and whiny, these guys have an enjoyable heavy sound and include fun contractions like 'yer' in their song titles, clearly confirming their southern heritage.

Wrecking Ball is their first LP, and from what I've heard so far, it's solid. While I remain partial to the title track, it's not on their MySpace, but I'll try to find it by tonight. In the meantime, give them a go!

Inbox Wednesday - Good, Better, Best

Since we started the blog, the BTA inbox has become rich with track submissions from some incredible artists from all over the world. Given this, the BTA staff has decided (in a blaze of glory) to feature the best of these submissions regularly with Inbox Wednesdays.

There are three artists that made the cut this week, and I have decided to share each of them with you in a post called Good, Better, Best.

Good.
The Legends - Seconds Away

This upbeat electro track includes a catchy melody sung with a modest harmony backing. The hook is accompanied by an incredible amount of static-ey distortion that hits in a very original way. And it works.

Formed in Stockholm in January 2003, The Legends are made up of 9 energetic Swedes with varying degrees of musical talent (some picked up an instrument just to be in the group). They are signed to Labrador Records. Check out the track.


Better.
We Plants are Happy Plants - UITC (Up In The Clouds)
Anyone in the market for a Disco Banger should be ecstatic with We Plants are Happy Plants' Up In The Clouds. This victorious son-of-a-bitch leaves your head bobbing and your heart pounding. Plus, it's vaguely reminiscent of that Street Fighter dance track that kicked ass during jr. high.

We Plants are Happy Plants aka Peter Bergmann hails from Budapest Hungary an pulls influence from the trendiest of dance masters - Daft Punk, Justice, Sebastian Tellier, Hot Chip and more. Check out the myspace for more juiced up tracks.


Best
Nancy - Keep Cooler
Nancy - Keep Cooler (Born Ruffians Remix)
This was a great email to receive... thanks to Praxis from the band. The Born Ruffians Keep Cooler Remix is the first song which the Canadian indie kings have remixed, and they chose a great original track to start with.

Nancy is a five piece hailing from Brasília, Brazil that has been featured by the BBC, USA Today, and more. Keep Cooler is their flagship track; one that is highlighted by engaging vocals, a fun interplay of instruments, and an eclectic song structure that keeps you on your toes. The Ruffians remix is a quicky and peaceful take on the track, but I enjoy the original just as much. You decide which you prefer.


And if your band would like to be featured in an upcoming version of Inbox Wednesday, email us at bridgingtheatlantic@gmail.com. Thanks team.

New Music Monday: Chad VanGaalen

So maybe I’m lying a little and this isn’t entirely new. To be quite honest, this album came out earlier this month with rave reviews and I’m tardy aboard the buzz train. But we’ll go with the ‘better late than never’ mantra. So here it is – Chad VanGaalen’s Soft Airplane.

This Calgary artist and musician has certainly come a long way since his days of recording songs in his bedroom. His previous album Skelliconnection (2007) was shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, and Soft Airplane (2008) is quickly gaining momentum. While this man’s work can only be described as eclectic, the electro-psychedelic-folk sound (uh...) found on this third LP is all kinds of wonderful. TMNT Mask waxes poetic about everyone’s favourite mutants while showing that electronica can mix with harmonica, the folk staple making an unexpectedly appropriate appearance. Poisonous Heads is a work of genius, pairing VanGaalen’s frail albeit haunting voice with deep gurgling beats. And Molten Light deserves a mention, if only for the fact that it inspired this acid-trip of a video (VanGaalen's own animation):

Chad VanGaalen - Poisonous Heads

Chad VanGaalen - Molten Light

Contest: Santogold/A-Trak/Lets Go To War - THIS WEDNESDAY

Wednesdays get absolutely no more exciting than this one upcoming.  Neither do contests, for the record.  Read on, young lads and lasses.

Philadelphia's Santogold, arguably the title-holder for most emergent artist of 2008 is coming to the Guvernment for her first headlining show in Toronto.  I first saw her at Osheaga in 2007, and have been spinning her s/t debut album constantly since it hit the streets this past April. 

Alongside Ms Gold (actually Ms White) comes Fool's Gold records founder and Kanye's former DJ A-Trak, and local electro-lites Lets Go to War.

In a very kind gesture from the ladies and gents at Live Nation, we've got 5 (yes 5!) pairs of tickets for this eye-popping lineup.  All you have to do is email us with the subject line "this is one Santo-Golden contest!" for your chance to get one of them.  But since the show is so soon, you best get on it.  Contest closes at noon on Wednesday, aka the day of the show.

But, since I'm sure we'll get a serious response and you basically need to be at this one, I won't take it personally if you were to run out to secure your pair just in case.  Last I heard, there were still a handful left at Rotate This and Ticketmaster.  Your $25 plus charges couldn't possibly be better spent.

Because I'm currently very sick of shitty electro remixes (gasp!), here are a couple tracks straight from what is a fantastic album.

Santogold - Say Aha 

Santogold - Shove It (ft Spank Rock) 

Herv & A-Trak ft Cadence Weapon - Roll With the Winners

Remix S-Monday - DATA feat. Sebastien Grainger

Due to technical difficulties with my house's wireless network, BTA presents Remix S-Monday!


My roommate and fellow BTA contributor, Matty B., showed me this track a week or so ago. Apparently, French producer DATA isn't anything new but I only recently got hooked on the different incarnations of his track "Rapture". The original track, and accompanying remixes, feature former Death from Above 1979 drummer/singer Sebastien Grainger singing about some girl "telling her lies again, running around with other men" reminding me of his DFA79 days.

The original is a dark, '80's-inspired, synth number with a little guitar wankery and Grainger's sexually fuelled vocals. This track could have been called "Nightdrive", but Kavinsky already penned that (in a good way).

DATA - Rapture feat. Sebastien Grainger

Then DatA apparently reworked the track into "Rapture Pt 2" by dropping a suspiciously Timbaland-influenced beat and putting some reverb on Grainger's vocal track to heighten the tension. Definitely a slow burner, but I'd go nuts if I heard this in da club.

DATA - Rapture Pt. 2

Finally, we have Edwin Van Cleef's remix of "Rapture" which cements the original even deeper in '80's nostalgia. Beginning with some menacing drum pounds and minor chords, it quickly gets washed in bright synths creating a more uplifting take on the original.

DATA - Rapture (Edwin Van Cleef remix)

Friday Five!

The Walkmen - In the New Year

A wailing good time with organ-drenched choruses and all sorts of jangly goodness. One of, if not the best song from their latest, You and Me, which is terrific.

Jadakiss feat. Jay-Z - Who Run This

Jada, or Al Qaeda, his less than clever gangstaish tag (but why not, it rhymes) gets some help from Jiggaman on this track from Jada's new LP. Jay adlibs in place of any real hook, no verse from him either, but the beat makes up for that, rumbling with a murky east coast vibe.

Ra Ra Riot - Dying is Fine

Well written pop rock, bounces along, string backing, etc. Sounds like it could be many other bands but it's secretly a few notches above mediocre.

Thee More Shallows - Fly Paper

This album (Book of Bad Breaks) came out last year on Anticon and really didn't/doesn't seem to be on anybody's radar, at least where I'm at. A shame really, as it shares a lot of what makes Why? so compelling, with headphone-worthy production and tense and scatterbrained sing-speak lyrics.

The National - Santa Clara

This Virginia E.P. track continues to be a favorite from my favorite band of a while now. They can do no wrong with beautifully melancholic and tongue in cheek songs like this, and end it with some horns why don't you. This is the B-material from a band making so much A stuff they have to curve the grade somewhere.

Heartbreakers

I first discovered Metronomy several months ago when they opened for some band I now remember nothing about. Metronomy's set was all zany dance routines, strobe lights and outlandish outfits. I was hammered, they were awesome; it was love at first sight.

But what really stuck with me was just how good their music is. As it turns out, most of the tracks I was digging are from the group's second album, Nights Out, released last week. Genre-wise, it's all over the place (electro, funk, rock, and disco all feature) but the overall quality of the album's 12 tracks easily places it among my favourites of 2008.

First single 'Radio Ladio' (video below) was released in the UK way back in November 2007 and three other Nights Out tracks have subsequently been released as EPs, the most recent being the insanely catchy 'Heartbreaker'. 'The End Of You Too', albeit not one of the choices for a single, makes good on the promise that Foals made a while ago but never totally deliver on. It's real electro-fied indie rock, and it is awesome.

Metronomy - The End Of You Too
Metronomy - Heartbreaker

The band is about to embark on a European tour, returning to London for a show at ULU on October 31st.



Oh, and by the way: Metronomy don't yet have a North American label, so if any of you aspiring music-industry types are looking for a winner you might want to consider putting your money on this horse.

The Wednesday Mail Room: Young Lords

The BTA inbox has recently been a source of great musical discoveries, and one of the best arrived last week in the form of an email from New York City's Young Lords. These guys pump out grimy blues/rock numbers that bring to mind Beggars Banquet-era Rolling Stones with a little Strokes and Kinks thrown in for good measure. Check out "Rodeo Songs" and "Turn It Up" below to see what I'm trying to get at.

Young Lords - Rodeo Songs
Young Lords - Turn It Up

The debut album Rodeo Songs will be released on October 9th.

RIP Richard Wright

The man behind some of the most haunting sounds in rock and roll history has passed away today. Pink Floyd pianist and founding member Richard Wright died following a brief and sudden battle with cancer. He was 65 years young - a long life for a rock star, but a short stint for a legend.

Check out the full story here.

The news of this premature death has mobilized thousands of fans and has already resulted in a myriad of YouTube tributes in his honor. Not that YouTube is a measure of one's importance, but it's impressive nonetheless. Who am I kidding, YouTube is totally a fame barometer - the number and complexity of the photo montages people are creating for this man kind of blows my mind.

But I digress - sorry, grief makes me nervous. All this to say: Mr. Wright, it's now your turn to Shine On... RIP.

Lil Wanye Surprises Me Every Day

Really all you need to watch is after 3 minutes 30 seconds.

And in other news, whose sex is on fire? The new Kings of Leon record leaked about a week ago and it's a solid effort by the Followill boys. But as my good friend bbbykmbrly. put it, "There's alot of Knocked Up and not enough Charmer". I have to agree, but more Kings later; for now just continue laughing hysterically at the epic guitar solo provided by Mr. Lollipop.

New Music Monday: Relief Maps

Ottawa's Relief Maps have just celebrated the release of their album Graveyard Smash. After many listens I haven't quite pinpointed what I especially love about them. Let's just say there's a certain je ne sais quoi. The band's sound is well-balanced between lead keys and guitars with good ol' rock drums to bring it all together.

Simple songs, singable choruses, toe-tapping rock. Check out the title track "Graveyard Smash" and my favorite song that anyone can scream along to "Young Typist". There are obvious comparisons to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but sometimes it's nice to hear something familiar.

I was able to catch their release party and these guys put on a great show. In Ottawa, there is a lot of respect for what these guys produce, let's see what that translates into.

For shits, check out this Youtube clip of their singer and guitarist akwardly rock tambourines for The Walkmen!

Relief Maps - Graveyard Smash

Relief Maps - Young Typist

So Good it Couldn't Wait for New Music Monday: Chairlift

Brooklyn, NY's shoegaze poppers Chairlift are exposing a regret in myself tonight that I didn't know I had.  As I am ingulfing myself in 'Earwig Town' from their brand new debut LP, I remember painfully the night this past spring when they opened for MGMT at the Mod Club down the street.

The pain spurs from the fact that, although I was in attendance at that show, the convenience of living 5 minutes away got the best of me;  I skipped their set in favour of the company of a couple friends and the bong.  We were plenty high to appreciate what was the best MGMT performance I've seen to date, but missed out entirely on their personal friends as openers.  

My stupidity was unbeknownst to me for months, as only tonight have I gone to their myspace to find out that they're fucking amazing.   They call it live music for haunted houses.  I call it pop created for the stoned sad kid on a summer's day.

They're at the Horseshoe on October 25th with Yeasayer.  And, thusly, so am I.

From their debut LP Does You Inspire You:

Chairlift - Bruises

Chairlift - Earwig Town

And I'm all about their video for 'Planet Health', directed by Polachek herself:

Remix Sunday: HAUNTS REMIX

HAUNTS, or 'The Haunts' (they don't seem to care much) are an up and coming four-piece London band whose new wave style is fueled by some heavy guitar riff action and some catchy synth. After being picked up by Black Records they released an album this summer, and have steadily been gaining a following on their home turf ever since.

Warning : Do not go to their website unless you want to enjoy a small epileptic fit today. But you're going to go to it now anyways, aren't you?

That's fine, I'll wait................

Told you.

Anyway, aside from inducing seizures the guys have been pumping out a slew of dance tracks, remixing the likes of Midnight Juggernauts, CSS and Late of the Pier (Check these guys out) through their side-project, Haunts Remix, . BTA received some tracks from them a little while back, and their remix of 'The Bears are Coming' always got me bouncing when it crept up on the playlist. Have a listen and if you like what you hear, you can download a whole bunch more tracks from their myspace. Or if you're across the pond, check out HAUNTS live all over England starting this week.

Late of the Pier - The bears are coming (HAUNTS Remix)
The Music - Drugs (HAUNTS Remix)

Spleen United are Neanderthals

Spleen United have been around for a while but I only discovered them a few months ago. I'm assuming that they're huge in their native Denmark as their album Neanderthal, released back in January, quickly earned gold record status in their home country and the first two singles ('My Tribe' and 'Suburbia') have been getting tons of airplay. The band has been selling out Scandinavian venues all year and recently ripped it up at the Roskilde Festival this summer.

I haven't listened to the whole album, but I do like the tracks I've heard so far. Comparisons to Muse and The Killers make sense, and these guys actually do synthpop without coming across as lame.

Spleen United - Suburbia

Orchestral Riot

Ra Ra Riot was not one of the band's I checked out when I first saw their name across the blogosphere this past summer. But then I read about their recent debut disc, The Rhumb Line, in Rolling Stone on the plane to Vancouver and was intrigued. They described them as a mix between Arcade Fire and Vampire Weekend, and I guess that's an alright basis for description. Their music gains depth from the classically trained orchestral section yet can still be playful through their vocals even if they are singing that 'dying is fine'. Regardless of any artistic comparisons, I think I've found one of my fall's first gems and one of this year's best new albums.

Ra Ra Riot - Dying is Fine
Ra Ra Riot - Too Too Too Fast

And a bonus mix these guys and Andrew Murray of the RAC did of Tokyo Police Club...

Tokyo Police Club - Juno (Ra Ra Riot/Andrew Murray remix)

Free Glasvegas in-store tomorrow

Sure, I've posted about Glasvegas before, but as they just released one of the year's best albums earlier this week I have no qualms about covering these guys again.

Yet more tour dates were announced yesterday and sold out in under five minutes, but for those of you who missed your chance the band is playing a FREE in-store gig at HMV's Oxford Street store tomorrow at 6:00pm. Thanks to a hookup at HMV (cheers, Jason) I'm on the guestlist for the event but wristbands are only available on a first come, first served basis from 9:00am so I encourage anyone who is interested to show up mighty early. Glasvegas will be signing everything you can shove in front of them before and after their performance. More info is available here.

Glasvegas - It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry

Bonus goodies that didn't make the album:
Glasvegas - Legs 'n' Show (from the 2006 Go Square Go 7" single)
Glasvegas - Stabbed (alternate version)

MTV UK Glasvegas session videos

Festival Season: Many Thanks, Sir Richard Branson

Reflecting on the past few months, I’d say that this summer’s predominant themes were a) bi-polar weather and b) music festivals. This last weekend honoured both, sealing the season with the much-anticipated Virgin Festival and a pleasantly sporadic alternation of rain, toe-numbing cold and scorching heat. Whatever, at least it wasn’t Gustav.

While I must say my opinion of this festival is slightly biased by my attendance at the glorious Lollapalooza in August, I’ll try to highlight my best and worst V-Fest moments as fairly as possible.

Highlights:

The Kooks: I love these Brit boys, and their show was as amazing as I expected it to be. In the middle of the set, lead singer Luke Pritchard ordered everyone around (audience and band members alike) to take a seat, and the performance continued like pre-school story time.

The Pigeon Detectives: I had never even heard of these guys, but I was told that they were worth seeing. Dressed in matching leather jackets, this new-wave ensemble put on an effing brilliant show. Mostly, I was mesmerized by the frontman’s ability to throw his mic and other miscellaneous objects way up in the air and catch them effortlessly, in spite of his wildly apparent inebriation. Oh, and they sound pretty good, too.

Drunken Dave Grohl: Despite the fact that I haven’t cared about the Foo Fighters since high school, I was highly entertained by how hilarious this man is. A solo take on Everlong had me swooning, but it was the triangle solo that stole the show.

Bathroom line-ups: Did I just have excellent timing, or were these nonexistent? Maybe everyone was in line for funnel cakes (see below)... While the obligatory porta-potties were still available, V-Fest also boasted REAL washrooms, a rarity at festivals.

Low points:

Food line-ups: When the security is as lax as these guys got by mid-afternoon, you know that a lot of people will have the munchies by evening time. And a 45-minute line-up for funnel cake is NOT cool. The variety of food was fantastic, but a greater number of concession stands would have been nice.

Special effects: While most of the setups were pretty low-brow, there seemed to be an overzealous use of smoke machines. I just want to state that this effect -in broad daylight- is probably one of the most useless things I’ve ever seen. Far from creating the ‘mysterious’ effect they were prooobably going for, it just looked like the tech guys had been hot-boxing the backstage area.

Paul Weller: Dude, you’re kind of old. And what the hell is with that haircut??

Overall though, amazing weekend of fantastic music. Honorable mention to The Constantines, The Weakerthans and MGMT, who were some of the only performers from whom I was not distracted by the slew of stupid text messages scrolling along the stage-side video screens (wedding proposals and Chuck Norris jokes??)

And yes, I missed the Oasis incident trying to sneak out early.

The Kooks - Naïve
The Pigeon Detectives - Keep On Your Dress