Canadian alt-country balladeers NQ Arbuckle teamed up with singer-songwriter Carolyn Mark this past year for a collaborative release.  The result was the full-length “Let’s Just Stay Here”, released through Vancouver’s Mint Records mid-October.  The album marks the first release from NQ Arbuckle since their 2008 Juno-nominated released XOK, and the first from Carolyn Mark since [...]

2009 brought the debut album from Rich Terfry (the man behind the Buck 65 moniker) and his newest collaborator, Belgian producer Joëlle Phuong Minh Lê.  The electronic/hip-hop project, known as Bike for Three!, released More Heart Than Brains this past summer to almost exclusive acclaim.  Today’s song is not from that album, nor is it [...]

There are a lot of things to like about today’s tune.  There’s that sort of Jim Cuddy mixed with Joel Plaskett vibe that can be heard, there’s the fantastic harmonies during the chorus that just ache to be turned up, and then there’s the charming lyrics like “I’m too old for the girl I love but [...]

Vancouver’s indie-rock/alt-country ensemble Ox are back this year, with their 3rd full-length release “Burnout”.  The album, released on November 10th of this year, follows up the band’s 2006 effort “American Lo-Fi”.  Today’s song is the title-track from Burnout, and is a fine example of the dusky Americana-flannel sort of vibe the band is capable of [...]

Keeping with the theme of the last post, tonight’s tune is another number that was performed at this year’s Polaris Music Prize gala; The Toronto alt-country act Elliot Brood enlisted the audience’s help on percussion, resulting in a performance that was hard not to enjoy.  Write it All Down for You can be found on the band’s [...]

I’m a firm believer that there is no feeling more confusing than waking up from a nap.  Every time I go through this ordeal the same three questions race through my painfully soggy mind: Why is there so much damn sun?  How come I’m fully dressed?  Should I be at work right now?  After working [...]