Friday Five

2009 is shaping up to be a banner year musically. Some selections from noteworthy recent releases:

Fever Ray - Seven
Sure, Sweden's The Knife may currently be "on hiatus", but for me Karin Dreijer Andersson's debut solo album as Fever Ray is The Knife's new album.

Metric - Waves
Although I really enjoyed Emily Haines' 2006 solo effort Knives Don't Have Your Back I've had high hopes for a new Metric LP for almost 4 years now. Released this Tuesday, Fantasies was worth the wait. 'Waves' is not actually on the album itself but was made available as a bonus when ordering from www.ilovemetric.com.

Cymbals Eat Guitars - Cold Spring
Yet another NYC indie rock band, Cymbals Eat Guitars released their debut album Why There Are Mountains independently in January and have since received praise from just about every indie music media outlet and countless comparisons to Modest Mouse and Pavement. They deserve the praise (if not the comparisons) - the album is fantastic.

Junior Boys - Work
Album number three from Hamilton-based electro duo Junior Boys was released on March 24th and after a few cursory listens is standing up pretty well in comparison to 2006's excellent (and Polaris Prize nominated) So This Is Goodbye. 'Work' is easily my favourite track.

Camera Obscura - Honey in the Sun
My Maudlin Career, the fourth album from Glasgow's Camera Obscura, will officially be available on April 20th but unsurprising leaked a few weeks ago. The single (and first track) 'French Navy' has already been getting decent exposure here in the UK and is set for release on Monday. It's stellar, but then the album is filled with highlights including the title track, 'You Told A Lie', and closer 'Honey in the Sun'.

Contest: Sally Shapiro, DJ Set in Toronto

There are few greater niceties in life than the elements of Swedish culture which manage to spill over onto the North American radar: delicious meatballs, ideal human specimens, and pretty pop music.

On the topic of the latter, Sweden's Sally Shapiro (alongside producer Johan Agebjorn) makes a kind of euro-disco-house pop perfectly prescribed for a Volkswagen commercial or a delightful spring day. And, as the weather has just recently begun hinting at greener pastures here in Toronto, it can't be more suiting that they're on their way here.

Sally Shapiro & Johan Agebjorn play a DJ set at Wrongbar next Tuesday, March 4th. And thanks to our new best friends at ATG, we've got a pair of tickets to give away. To enter, simply email us with "Sally Shapiro the Swedish Sensation" in the subject, and include your full contact information. Contest closes at noon on March 3rd.

The fact that they've opted for a DJ set isn't terribly surprising to anyone who is remotely familiar with the mystery surrounding Ms. Shapiro. She's never once performed her own songs live, and her real name (Sally Shapiro being a pseudonym) is a complete mystery.

Sally's album, Disco Romance, is available across the globe on Toronto's own Paper Bag Records. Also available is a full remix album, Remix Romance Vol. I, featuring the revamping skills of Junior Boys, Holy Fuck, Lindstrøm, and others. Both are really super great.

Sally Shapiro - Jackie Jackie (Dylan's Subzero Remix)
Sally Shapiro - He Keeps Me Alive

- bbbykmbrly.

Ankle Injuries

Maybe the reason why the new album is entitled Transparent Things is because after one listen, I immediately discerned that Fujiya & Miyagi listened to quite a bit of Hot Chip, Junior Boys, and other popular-of-late chilled contemporaries while jamming out ideas for this newest full-length. If they didn't, well, it sounds great anyhow.

Most songs on this understated release carry subdued and often whispered vocals, which, aligned with funky, rhythmic bass lines, have led me to make the above comparisons. This being said, the majority of the album's tracks are minimal compared to the amount of layers and instruments incorporated by their peers, a trait best exemplified on leading track "Ankle Injuries" and "Conductor 71." On the other hand, the aforementioned funk does eventually surface in the second half, most easily identified on "In One Ear & Out The Other." Hopefully the irony is purposeful as the groove tends to stick in your head. There is a similarly clear intent in all of the album's instrumentation and knob-twiddling, leaving listeners with a carefully constructed effort that should be considered among the best of its kind thus far in '07.

Fujiya & Miyagi - Ankle Injuries
Fujiya & Miyagi - Conductor 71

Speaking of Hot Chip:
Amy Winehouse - Rehab (Hot Chip Remix)

- Brad

Bonde do Role

I caught Junior Boys at Dingwalls in Camden last night (seriously amazing show) and was pleasantly surprised by openers Bonde do Role. The trio's spastic dance routine and Portugese/English rappping over old school beats quickly won over a crowd largely there to experience the Boys' frigid and precise electro. As I learned from a fan at the show, the Brazilian crew is notorious for their high energy shows and standout tracks from upcoming release With Lasers definitely hint at the intensity of their live perfomances.

Bonde do Role - Gasolina

-Andrew M.