Arts & Crafts
Review: Los Campesinos! – Hello Sadness
Winter and summer, tea and coffee, a hug and a kick in the pants. Some of the juxtapositions to try to explain Los Campesinos’ transition from 2007′s Hold On Now Youngsters, to this year’s release Hello Sadness. Since the first outing there have been enough line-up changes to rival The Fall and due to these they’ve gone from sickly twee-pop to… Depressing twee-pop? Hello Sadness, written in the wake of Gareth’s recent breakup with Slow Club‘s Rebecca Taylor; and to be honest, who wouldn’t be depressed with that! The whole album is setup by this, as well as some death and morality to go with it. A cocktail Ben Gibbard would be happy to drink, I’m sure. Read more…
This Week’s Free Music Downloads!
Boy, oh boy! Do we ever have some goodies to share with you this week! It seems bands are being extremely productive lately, and are backing their sweat and labour-filled releases up with freebies, just to prove the perseverance they have make us happy fans, and/or to win the new listeners over. Obviously, it is our great pleasure to share with you this week’s new releases and free downloads, so read on to listen on, and grab a few (or all) that please you! Read more…
This Week In Montreal
We’ve got a bit of a slow week ahead of us this week in Montreal when it comes to concerts. We’re not really surprised considering the folks at Osheaga brought in pretty much every band under the sun for the 2011 editon of the summer festival. But despite the fact that there isn’t much going in this week there are still a couple of really exciting shows that you should definitely check out. Tonight we’ve got Gardens & Villa and Craft Spells playing at Casa Del Popolo and if you fast-forward to Saturday we’ve got Moonface (AKA Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade) playing at Il Motore. Here’s the rest of the highlights for the week… Read more…
Freedom or Death Release Free Single, Play Osheaga Kick Off Party
Freedom or Death are a Toronto based duo made up of classically trained pianist and DJ, Fernandez, and vocalist, Sway. The duo have just released a brand new single entitled “This Crowded Room” as a part of their seven-track debut album EGO, which was released on April 26, 2011 through the band’s own imprint Liars & Thieves and via Arts & Crafts.
Memphis Return With New Album/Play Il Motore April 7th
It has been forever and a day since we have heard anything new from Canadian duo, Memphis. I guess the reasons are good enough. Torquil Campbell, who forms half of Memhpis, is also the head honcho in another very popular Canadian indie rock band. Maybe you’ve heard of them? They’re called Stars. Well when he’s not rocking out with Stars he likes to team up with friend and fellow musician Chris Dumont as Memphis. The duo is back in 2011 with their first new release in five years and an east coast tour to go along with it.
Ra Ra Riot + The Most Serene Republic – Il Motore – 12.03.10
If you are like me then you probably think the end of the week never comes soon enough, especially when you are anticipating the exciting events happening on the weekend and/or dreading those stressful end-of-term exams. Well, I for one decided to leave the academic part of my mind in a shoebox this past Friday, to settle for a more thrilling evening at Il Motore, escaping in the raw sounds of Imaginary Cities, The Most Serene Republic, and Ra Ra Riot. Beat that, philosophy essay! Read more…
Jason Collett – Il Motore – 10.23.10
I arrived at Il Motore a little after 8:00 PM on Saturday night, worried I was going to be late for Daniel Romano, the folk soloist opening for Jason Collett that chilly evening. What I came upon, however, was an almost empty venue. I figured I must have gotten there early, so I got a drink and chilled with the bartenders as a few more people filtered in. To my surprise, it wasn’t long until Daniel Romano stepped quietly onto the stage, slinging on an acoustic guitar with a man (his brother, apparently) taking to a lone snare drum beside him. Read more…
Ra Ra Riot – The Orchard
The Orchard is Ra Ra Riot’s sophomore album, released August 24th, 2010 on Arts & Crafts/Barsuk. Listening to it for the first time is like finally reading the sequel to a book series you started years ago. The first chapters are slow, and you feel doubtful about whether you are going to enjoy it as much as you did when you first started the series. But you slowly realize that as they roll by you are becoming more and more immersed into that magical universe you once fell in love with; this story that comes to too quick of an end. Read more…
The Most Serene Republic – Bar St. Laurent II – 08.27.10
Dear Montreal’s indie music loving scene, please eat some jumping beans or jitterbugs next time you go to a show. You are too stiff. With that said, on Friday August 27th, I arrived at Bar St-Laurent II a little after ten-thirty, having underestimated the level of difficulty involving biking up Clark street with a full bladder.
