i(heart)music Festival Playlist

This past weekend featured a collection of some of the greatest live music I've seen in a while. Unfortunately, I missed the first day which featured Sadie Hell, Still Life Still, Parlovr, and Converters. Word is that Still Life Still and Parlovr killed it in front of a less than sizable crowd.

Friday, featured The Balconies, The Love Machine, Modernboys Moderngirls, and Oh No Forest Fires. As far as energy goes, this was the festival's highlight show; with the largest turnout and two local acts, most were ready for a good time. I assure you that neither of the local acts let down; following Oh No Forest Fires is no easy task, those boys don't let down. Modernboys Moderngirls did there thing and people were pretty receptive. I like what they do, but I can't help but think that it lacks dynamic. The Love Machine played set full of new songs and rarities; it was great to see these guys step out of their comfort zone. It was definitely the best show I've seen them play. Now for The Balconies, the buzz around this crew grows by the second. They continue to hone their craft and bring more life to their songs in the live setting.

The closing night's line up included On Bodies, Giant Hand, Black Hat Brigade, and The Lovely Feathers. I'm always impressed by the boys in Black Hat Brigade, they bring a no frills approach to their music, which translates well live. The headliners, The Lovely Feathers capped off the weekend by playing a flawless set comprised of mostly tracks of Fantasy of the Lot. I truly appreciated the newer tracks with touches of their earlier work. After numerous requests of "Pope John Paul", singer Mark Kupfert stated that the rest of the show would continue by request. These guys have big plans for the coming year, hushed for now, but we'll be sure to let you know once more info is available.

Kudos to i(heart)music's Matthew Pollesel for putting together a flawless weekend showcasing some of Canada's most talented and underexposed acts. Ottawa needs more support for independent music.

Hear are a couple tracks featuring personal highlights of i(heart)music Festival.

Still Life Still - Neon Blue

Parlovr - Sever My Ties

The Balconies - Rest Up

Modernboys Moderngirls -My Baby Says Boy, Don't You Ever Go

Oh No Forest Fires - Swing and a Misdemeanor

Black Hat Brigade - Whale Falls

The Lovely Feathers -Finders Fee

P.S. Zaid Khan was nice enough to allow us to post his video of The Balconies performing at i(heart)music Festival. Check it!

New Music Monday: Black Hat Brigade

Don't know how many of you own the first EP release from Black Hat Brigade, but it's well worth your coin.  I had the pleasure of seeing this very talented group open for the Handsome Furs a couple weeks back and I was impressed.  Energetic and on point, these guys have knotted some tight tracks.

Got my hands on some exclusive tracks from the upcoming Fathers EP as well as a great acoustic version of "Zombie City Shake".  The boys are using the sampler as a way to raise money to finance the release of the EP.  You can contribute here, $5 gets you a sampler and a thank you in the liner notes, $10 gets you the sampler and a pre-order copy of the EP.  Help these good-looking boys out!

Black Hat Brigade - Zombie City Shake

Black Hat Brigade - Zombies (Basement Session)

Friday Five

Here it is, your Friday Five:

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Young Adult Friction
My new favourite band The Pains of Being Pure at Heart released their self titled debut on Tuesday and are now ardently loved by everybody and his dog. New York City's latest indie rock offering will be in Toronto on February 12th and Montreal the following night. Canadians, please don't miss them.

Andrew Bird - Tenuousness
Andrew Bird has returned, warbling and whistling his way through a strong follow up to 2007's Armchair Apocrypha. New album Noble Beast has received much critical acclaim and currently sits at number 12 in the Billboard 200. It's well worth a listen.

Freeway - Bank Rollz
During the month of December Philly rapper Freeway released a new track for free download every day as his 'Month of Madness' project. You'd think that 32 free hip-hop tracks (31 plus the "Month of Madness" intro) would amount to a pile of crap, but you'd be wrong. The compilation exudes quality and the production is top-notch, as are Freeway's flawless rhymes.

Éléphantine - En attente d'un moment présent
Éléphantine are from Montreal and create intricately layered electronic-infused indie rock of the highest calibre. My first listen to "En attente d'un moment présent" brought to mind a francophone Radiohead circa OK Computer. Their only release thus far is last year's 6 track EP Sous le règne des lampadaires but the band is currently in the studio putting the finishing touches on their debut album which is scheduled to drop on May 5th. Anglophones, don't let the exclusively French lyrics put you off. These guys are brilliant.

Black Hat Brigade - Swords
Another talented Canadian group, this time five guys from Toronto (Brampton, actually) creating post rock goodness under the name Black Hat Brigade. This track is from their first EP which was released last year and drew a plethora of Wolf Parade comparisons. A new EP is tentatively set to be completed for March. Torontonians can catch them at the Horseshoe Tavern on March 13th with Handsome Furs.