Up today is some sublime lo-fi indie-rock/pop, care of Vancouver-based The Awkward Stage.  Consisting of frontman Shane Nelken, Tygh Runyan (Beans) on guitar, Tony Koelwyn (Bossanova) on drums, and Chris Mitchell who plays with the Vancouver Symphony on trumpet and keyboards, The Awkward Stage have two full-length releases to their name since forming in 2006. [...]

Today’s song comes from the Kelowna solo artist Cary Pratt, and his solo project Prairie Cat; see what he did there?  Just Cuz can be found on Pratt’s most recent album “It Began/Ended With Sparks”, which appears to have been released digitally late in October of this year, and physically early in December.  The song [...]

In the same fashion as every music blogger in the world, I’ve spent the last couple weeks working on my “Best of 2009″ list.  However, it seems like as soon as I get the song-filled post-it notes in an order I feel good about, I hear something that makes me re-consider the list; is that [...]

Mr. Carl Newman (known as A.C. Newman in the context of his solo work) comes in with a gem for us today.  Powered by a driving drum beat, and Newman’s unmistakable wordplay and delivery, The Palace at 4 AM is certain to get a head bobbing, or foot tapping at the very least.  The song can [...]

Yesterday, Vancouver’s indie/folk-pop ingénue Hannah Georgas walked away with CBC Radio 3’s Bucky Award for “Best New Artist”.  Not 10 minutes later, I received a text from a friend letting me know that Radio 3’s best new artist was somehow missing from my blog that was supposed to highlight best new artists; she quickly followed this up [...]

Today’s song comes to us from the Toronto, Ontario indie-rock/pop group The Ghost is Dancing.  This Thunder can be found on the band’s sophomore full-length release “Battles On”, which hit shelves on April 28th of this year; the album follows up the band’s debut effort The Darkest Spark, which was released in the summer of [...]

Today’s song is off the highly anticipated forthcoming album from Owen Pallett aka. Final Fantasy aka. one of the best live performers you will ever see.  Lewis Takes Action can be found on Final Fantasy’s 3rd full-length effort Heartland, set for release on January 12th of 2010.  Earlier this year Pallett revealed that the follow-up to [...]

Tonight’s song comes from John O’Regan, and his indie-pop/electronic-folk (yeah I’m genre tagging something electronic-folk) side-project Diamond Rings; his main project is fronting the Toronto-based indie-rock act The D’Ubervilles.  As far as I can tell, the ridiculously charming All Yr Songs can only be found on a 7-inch vinyl split-release featuring Diamond Rings and Kingston, Ontario’s [...]

I’ve got another song for everyone today from the Montreal-based indie-rock/pop band Islands.  Switched On can be found as the opening track to the band’s 3rd full-length album Vapours, released on September 22nd of this year.  In an interview with Pitchfork over the summer, Islands’ front-man Nicholas Thorburn (Nick Diamonds) described his mindset during the [...]

This afternoon’s song comes to us from the Canadian indie-rock/pop ensemble The Hidden Cameras.  Walk On can be found on the band’s fifth studio album Origin:Orphan, released on September 22nd of this year; the song was actually released prior to the album as part of the Arts & Crafts compilation album “Crafts Sampler Vol. 6″. [...]

Today’s song comes from the Canadian independent music journeyman John Southworth and his 6th full-length album “Mama Tevatron”, released on October 13th of this year.  The album marks a distinct shift in Southworth’s discography, towards a much more minimalist brand of pop instrumentation; according to his press releases this makes for a more accessible sound, [...]

We’re venturing south of the border for the first time in a couple weeks for today’s song.  Walkabout is the first single out in support of Atlas Sound’s sophomore album Logos, released stateside on October 20th of this year; Atlas Sound is the solo experimental-rock/shoegazing project of Deerhunter frontman Bradford James Cox.  The album follows up [...]

I’ve got another song for everyone tonight, this time coming from the Montreal indie-rock/pop act Islands.  No You Don’t comes from the band’s 3rd full-length album Vapours, released on September 22nd of this year.  Fans of the now defunct Canadian indie band The Unicorns will recognize key Islands members Nicholas Thorburn and Jamie Thompson, who [...]

Today’s song is coming in from the Guelph-based musician/visual artist Gregory Pepper, and his musical project “Gregory Pepper and his Problems”.  7ths and 3rds can be found on Pepper’s 3rd album “With Trumpets Flaring”, released in June of this year via the Canadian independent label Fake Four Inc.  This relationship marks a milestone for Pepper, as his [...]

Today’s tune is a cover of the Stars classic One More Night, from their cheekily titled 2007 remix album Do You Trust Your Friends; the album features covers of Stars songs from artists such as Final Fantasy, The Most Serene Republic, Metric, and Young Galaxy.  This particular cover is done by Broken Social Scene lead guitarist [...]

This morning’s tune is a gorgeous piece of work from the indie-pop Winnipeg-native Jody Glenham.  Coffee Soaked can be found on Glenham’s sophomore album “Focus Pull”, released this past March; Glenham’s debut album was a 2006 effort entitled “Brave New World”.  The bouncy delivery of the verses, juxtaposed with the somber feeling conjured up by the grand piano, [...]

For all the brother/sister combos out there that have dreamed of forming an electronic-pop band (Julie and myself included), there is now a living breathing example set.  Made up of the brother/sister duo S.J. and Maygen Kardash, the Canadian electronic-pop band Violent Kin released their debut LP “Bitter Blood” this past June.  Blue Eyes was the [...]

Tegan and Sara’s new album Sainthood,  scheduled to be released on October 27th of 2009, was leaked over the weekend.  I’m not a big fan of downloading music without paying, especially when I genuinely dig the band, so I’ll wait to get the full version.  However, while we wait for the release date, I see [...]

I often find that my reception of a song is overly coupled to my state of mind at the time.  Julie is aware of this, as she has learned to never introduce me to a song first thing in the morning, after a night of drinking; I stopped listening to Crystal Castles for about 3 months after an [...]

Today’s song comes to us from the Vancouver-based indie-pop collective The Choir Practice.  Described as “an excuse to drink wine and sing with friends”, the group is made up of Vancouver artists who perform pop songs in a choral style.  The song I chose to share today is the group’s take on The New Pornographers‘ [...]