Basia Bulat broke into Canada’s national indie spotlight in 2007 with the success of her debut LP Oh, My Darling.  Released through Hayden’s Hardwood Records, Oh, My Darling would go on to share space on the shortlist for Canadian album of the year with the likes of The Weakerthans, Stars, and Holy Fuck.  Bulat’s long-awaited sophomore [...]

Polaris Prize winner/mathematician/artist formerly known as Manitoba/Canadian indie-electronic act Caribou is back with a new album for 2010.  Slated for an April 20th North American release and an April 19th UK release, Swim will mark Caribou’s first full-length effort since the critically acclaimed 2007 album Andorra; Andorra beat out albums from Canadian indie heavyweights such [...]

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 afternoon’s song is a beauty from Amy Millan’s second solo effort Masters of the Burial, officially released on Tuesday of this week; Bruised Ghosts is the opening track from the album.  The album features guest contributions from Millan’s Stars band-mate Evan Cranley and Broken Social Scene band-mate Leslie Feist.  Like Milan’s previous solo release, Honey from [...]

I was listening to CBC Radio 3 at the office today and caught an interview with the founder of the Polaris Music Prize, Steve Jordan.  He announced that the 2009 Polaris Prize long-list will be announced June 12th, and the short-list July 7th.  Keeping with that theme, I thought I would post a song from a past [...]

I found a CD on the floor of my car today, and the only song on it that would play was Take Me to the Riot from Stars; that seemed like as good a reason as any to post it.  The track was the first single released in support of the Canadian indie-rock/pop band’s fourth full-length [...]

I was digging through my inbox today when I came across an unread email from Paper Bag Records.  This immediately piqued my interest as Paper Bag Records are behind a number of my favorite Canadian indie albums.  The label released Broken Social Scene’s Juno winning You Forgot It in People, and the Stars Juno nominated Heart. [...]

Following up on my Your Ex-Lover is Dead post, I’ve got another installment in the Stars‘ saga of a relationship gone sour.  One More Night (Your Ex-Lover Remains Dead) is the 7th track from the band’s Juno nominated 2005 release Set Yourself on Fire.  Running in the category of Alternative Album of the Year, the album [...]

Today’s tune comes to us from the Swedish indie-rock band Surrounded.  Formed in 2000, Surrounded has released two studio albums to the masses.  The first, Safety In Numbers, was released in 2003 and then followed up by the 2007 release The Nautilus Years.  Safe Tomorrow Sun is the second track from The Nautilus Years. What I [...]

Although I haven’t fully recovered emotionally from the Superbowl yesterday, I felt I needed to post today.  The funny thing is that my team wasn’t even in the damn game and I still took the loss harder than a healthy person should.  Anyways, today I felt like sharing a song from the Canadian indie super-group Broken [...]

I’ve got another band-submitted track for everyone tonight, coming from the UK alternative group Lanterns On The Lake.  Citing influences such as Bright Eyes and Radiohead, Lanterns On The Lake delivers an incredibly memorable listening experience.  In fact, on the highlighted track If I Have Been Unkind, from the band’s The Starlight EP, the vocals [...]

Today’s tune comes from the Canadian indie-pop/rock group Stars, and is a new take on the classic Smiths song This Charming Man.  Written by Johnny Marr (Currently with Modest Mouse) and Morrissey, This Charming Man would hit #1 on the UK Indie Chart.  Stars took a run at the track on their first album Nightsongs released in [...]

For many of the non-Canadian readers reading this post, this will an introduction to Stars.  I was introduced by my younger sister a few years ago and have been hooked ever since.  This is due in large part to the unique sound produced by the indie-pop band.  The combination of instruments used and the back and [...]