AWmusic

“Is This the Way the Good World Will End” begins the EP, offering the listener with a pretty superior shoegaze experience. I’ve read that guitar solos in this day and age are becoming taboo and tacky—that if a band incorporates one into their tunes, they are stretching the “limits” of rock music too far. I’m sort of on the fence with this one. This particular track does end off on a guitar solo. I am pretty indifferent to it, however. On one hand, it blends in a very subtle manner in that it is not just an awkward addition, but on the other hand, the song could have been done without it. “Nothing Will Break Me Now” is a pretty mellow track. Boris Skalsky’s vocals really shine here, in my opinion. I’m actually very fond of his tenor singing voice; it’s quite mesmerizing. I believe that throughout the entire EP, this is the song that captures the full range of his vocal capabilities.

I suppose I don’t have the merit to say much in this, but perhaps as a lover of folk/acoustic rock, I feel this EP doesn’t reach the level of the band’s older stuff (Chelsea Diaries was very well-received). At a first listen, Fall In sounds quite inconsistent, but I believe it’s all held together with the vocals. Stylistically, the vocals are quite consistent with each track. I’m afraid that might be the only thing that really holds it all together. All in all, it is an enjoyable album, and I’m definitely looking forward to the future releases.

Fall In is currently available online for free download. You can’t go wrong with free downloads. You can also purchase the physical album through the band’s official website.

Dead Heart Bloom – Is This The Way

Dead Heart Bloom – Nothing Will Break Me Now

If you didn’t already know this band whose CD I’m just about to review, they are my favourite band on the face of the entire Earth because not only am I friends with two of the members of the band, they are also three rock gods among us mortals. Who are these three gods you may ask? Well they go by the names of Solsolido Ron “Sol” Butcher, Rickence Raine Ronnie R. “Ricky” Butcher, and Dougland Peyronie “Doug” Borski. Together Sol (guitar, vocals, and tamborine), Ricky (guitar and vocals), and Doug (bass and vocals) make up the mouth watering, ear popping, power house trio known as Sons of Butcher.

Now some of you may remember the Sons of Butcher cartoon which ran for two seasons on Teletoon before they were eventually unplugged indefinatley by the heads of Teletoon to make room for a show that could never stand up to the likes of Sons of Butcher in a million years. I took the chance to see them play on night at the MOD Club up in Toronto and what I found was out of this world. Sons of Butcher are even better live than when actually watching their cartoon on TV. Before I knew it I was set for a night I would never forget. I first off rushed to the merch table and bought everything I saw in sight and met up with the band who actually took the time to not only sign everything I had bought, but actually took the time to chill and talk with me for a while. They are seriously the most relaxed and chill band I’ve ever met and more loyal to their fanbase then I have ever seen before. That night they rocked the MOD Club a good twenty times over, while Sol continued to throw pepperoni sticks and at the same time passing out meat to the crowd, and since it was a televised concert and I was front row, I got plenty of air time on the televised concert special.

Ever since that night I have made it my personal goal to try and never miss one of their shows, and for every show I attended, I started to become closer with two of the band members, so this review is being dedicated to both Jay and Trevor Ziebarth, you guys are truly awesome.

The band has come out with two albums so far and a third is on its way. The album I’m reviewing today is their debut album aptly named Sons of Butcher and is definatley not their longest abum running at just over twenty minutes but it is still a classic and will have you quoting “Fuck the Shit” even at the most unoppurtune of times. The main vocals found on this CD come straight from the mouth of self proclaimed rock god Ricky Butcher with Sol on lead in a couple songs leaving Doug on backup vocals for the entire album. The songs are all that you would expect from the minds of the Butchers including such songs as “Fuck the Shit”, “Cherrythief”, “We Fuckin’ Rule”, and “Rockload”. All the songs are made to be humorous and are either sexual in nature, self glorifying, or just total vulgarity and swearing. This is what makes the album so great and will have you or any of your friends who you let listen to the CD for the first time just stop, drop, and roll on the floor laughing asking if this album is actually for real. The sound is crisp and clear and sounds very professional, the guitars and bass are beyond amazing and will blow you right out of your car even going at just 20 km/hr along the 401 in rush hour traffic. Now you may be asking who the drummer of the band is, well Sons of Butcher like to play on the Spinal Tap side of things and have never had a recurring drummer, but the drumming on the album is just as superb as everything else on the album.

If you’re a fan of Tenacious D then you are going to absolutely love Sons of Butcher. I recommend this CD to anyone and everyone, because no matter who you are, you should at least let out a chuckle listening to “Fuck the Shit” for the first time, which also won The Red Peters Show 2007 Song of the Year award which was also aired on the Howard Stern Show. Seriously this band rocks harder than a thousand giant boulders falling from the sky and crushing a singular tree but hey don’t just take my word for it, go out and see them for yourselves and you’ll see what I’ve been talking about this whole time.

Cherrythief by Sons of Butcher

Fuck the Shit by Sons of Butcher

Buy Sons of Butcher’s CD at Amazon

Buy Sons of Butcher’s CD at CD Universe

The first track is an intro ballad, being only a minute long and very solemn. It uses a piano melody with slow, passionate vocals, and it is a nice listen. Quite uncommon of Hit The Lights, but not exactly out of the ball park, it’s a pop punk ballad that one would expect, and it’s rather nice.

Moving on to the second track, Breathe In, we get a song that gives us a sample of what we’re in for. Right off the bat you get the grungy guitars that is reminiscent of the kind of trend that grew in the late 90’s, before it developed into Simple Plan. The chorus is really catchy and blends with the verse very well, and the whole song is nicely together. The vocals are vintage pop punk, almost generic, but absolutely fitting. Being slightly high pitched, and a tad on the aggressive side, the vocals are really nice. Nick Thompson sounds a bit like Alex from All Time Low, and not surprisingly the styles of the bands are very similar as well, which is always a solid comparison. The other recognizable thing is the lack of synths, which really gives it that mellow punk feel, instead of the new age dance pop punk that’s been booming as of late.

Skipping a track to Drop The Girl, listeners are treated to something a little more unserious, at least the theme anyway. This song is what makes me really think of All Time Low, but had I heard of Hit The Lights first, the comparison might have been the other way around. It has a very catchy chorus that the song begins with, and uses aggressive but fun instrumentals. The vocal melody is what really stands out, because it’s fast paced and constantly changing which is really nice. The backing vocals add the icing to the cake, and overall this song just sticks in your head. Whether it’s the chorus, or just the “whoa oh” in the background, it is memorable and a favourite of mine.

It’s a pleasure for me to say Hit The Lights emulates most of the tracks in this fashion. They have a knack for catchy lyrical melodies and aggressive instrumentals. Although some songs fall behind others, there are more than a handful of really memorable hits, and Hit The Lights does a great job of playing to the tune of that classic pop punk sound. A track I especially enjoyed was Don’t Wait which is a little more serious and mellow, but also still very aggressive. With a very epic climax, it’s sad, emotional, and very passionate. The piano lines in this song are perfectly placed and this track has become my favourite off of Skip School, Start Fights.

Finally another song of note is On And On, the last track and a pretty impressive exit song. It’s hard hitting and again plays to the emotions of listeners. There is a sense of accomplishment in their last song, and I feel it’s well warranted. Hit The Lights has been going at it since 2003 and too hear of them only now feels like a travesty to me. Their catchy chorus’ and passion for memorable melodies is what makes Hit The Lights so good. Sticking to a style of genre that will probably be gone in the next decade, they strip away all the fancy production and just play great music.

Check out their Myspace for official tour dates and album info.

Hit The Lights – Drop The Girl

Hit The Lights – Don’t Wait

There are was some mild raining but nothing too worrisome. By the time we signed in and went inside the rain got a little bit worse and due to having just a cap on and being in a t-shirt we sought shelter in the Nokia DJ Tent. I didn’t mind checking out the music in the DJ tent in the first place but the real problem is that most of the people had their backs turned to them (when we were there) and the rain technically wasted the purpose of the tent though getting away from the rain was a major factor.

The first artist that I saw which hit the stage at 3PM was Dizzee Rascal a rap artist from the UK who was a winner of the Mercury Prize in 2003 and has been critically acclaimed for some time. The crowd was both familiar with his songs and screamed frantically with Dizzee would shout for some crowd noise backed him. It was generally the typical rap concert in my opinion with Dizzee’s support being kind of annoying. After every song, he would yell, “Make some fuckin’ noise”. I think after the 3rd time he said that I was pretty annoyed. Two other guys in front of me were commenting that maybe he should change it up a bit and get creative with trying to inspire the crowd to be even louder. The point being made though is that the crowd was already well into his performance so Dizzee’s support asking for some noise about 10 times was pointless and cliché.

I personally didn’t know Dizzee was so loved by the critics and I wasn’t wowed by his performance. He did work the crowd a bit and had some songs worth mentioning.

The next band, Vampire Weekend was clearly the reason I decided to go to Rogers Picnic in the first place. Ezra Koenig was in short-shorts, which he called a bathing suit, maybe, he was going to bathe in the rain? Anyway having caught Vampire Weekend at the Horseshoe, I was quite aware at hw good their live performance was already. They played a new song, which featured some fun singing from both Rostam and Chris. I have no idea what the title is but it was a fun song. They were great live and had a lot of fans singing and jumping around. Otherwise, it felt like a short set but were very good nonetheless.
MP3: One (Blake’s Got A New Face) by Vampire Weekend

The next band was Animal Collective and while I know about them, I’m not exactly their biggest fan. Their music is mainly weird and they seemed out of place at Roger’s Picnic. They definitely were more suited to Pitchfork’s Festival, which they played the day before. However, quite a few Animal Collective fans sang along. Animal Collective only came out with two of their members, with Noah Lennox aka Panda Bear and Avey Tare as the only members. The fans were generally quiet while Animal Collective played incredibly long tracks. The only track I knew beforehand was the song Comfy in Nautica. It was an alright performance but the crowd had blank stares for the most part. At the end of show, Animal Collective threw out T-shirts but Avey Tare didn’t have much of arm and could only throw them a few feet.
MP3:Comfy in Nautica by Panda Bear

The next band was Chromeo, from Montreal/New York, which had the crowd on fire. I may not be the biggest Chromeo fan but they had the type of performance that won people over. They kept things fun and a lot of the crowd was dancing. They occasionally threw drumsticks into the crowd, which kept everyone on their feet. They won over Kevin and in general, they were quite enjoyable which is important for a festival.
MP3: Fancy Footwork by Chromeo


Tokyo Police Club came out to one of the loudest cheers and has quite a few raucous fans. Overall, I was impressed with their guitarist, who played some awesome riffs occasionally. I had an issue with the guy behind me singing his lungs off lyric after lyric. In this case, this was bad for my impression of the band as lyrically it seemed weak and I could not judge how good the vocals were as Dave Monks singing was overshadowed by the overzealous fan (They haven’t seen this guide to not be a douchebag). They were alright, they didn’t change my opinion of the band though and it didn’t force me to like them at all.

Cat Power came out to a modest cheer but for the first 3 songs her performance seemed to lack an intimate feeling and it was something to just sit through. I absolutely had to leave early as my legs (specifically my ankles) gave out and I was forced to leave just as she was going to play Lost Someone. I wasn’t impressed with those 3 songs but I’m sure the show would have been much better had I stayed. Sorry Dallas Green.
MP3: Lost Someone by Cat Power

Out of all things from the festival, I was most impressed with the fans. The fans endured through the rough rain and still managed to provide much needed support. Crowd morale was generally quite high and an outdoor festival in the rain is something to be experienced once.

(more…)

Speaking of bad album title names, LP3 comes off as one the blandest ways of naming an album. Let me guess, it’s their 3rd LP? Much worse of a name then calling your album self titled, oh wait never mind, they already took that idea.

As much as hate the album name, the music itself is decent and I won’t hold any grudges. The album starts off with Shiller, a track that starts off slow and keeps a rather slow pace until around 2:30 in where we get some cool guitaring to add to the mix of sounds and ultimately takes. For the guitar riffs late, it ends up winning me over. The next track Falcon Jab starts with a more demanding introduction. It’s an alright track at best, I won’t say it’s amazing but I like it.

The next track Mi Viejo has some decent arrangements that reminds of me of world music with the drumbeats and hand claps. I actually don’t like this track as it’s played very safe and slow. At this point, there’s nothing that I’m overly amazed by. However, the song Mirando is quite hot. Definitely danceable but also some stuff I like, with the beats and occasionally changing it up. There’s probably a lot more in this 4 minutes then most songs of the rest of the album.

After having high expectations after liking the 4th track, the 5th is only two minutes long and for the most part is empty with some moments that are good but they rarely last for more then a few seconds.

After awhile the music gets quite boring. I think it may be due to being a little formulaic, repetitive beats and the use of handclaps and guitaring in every other song. It’s hard to notice but sometimes there’s just not enough in each song to let this slide (it’s usually not a big deal for a band to use the same formula in and out an album). It doesn’t mean that these songs are bad at all but after awhile I find myself not recognizing the difference between each songs or in whole forgetting that I’m listening to the music itself.

I personally think that the songs are good but depending on which half of the album you listen to, the first half you’ll like more by default.

Rating: 3.4 out of 5.

Shiller by Ratatat

Mirando by Ratatat

Buy this album from Insound/CD Universe/Amazon

After arriving, I was pretty confused as to the schedule and locations of the stages. After about twenty minutes of wandering and what not, I found the schedule and planned the day accordingly. Seeing as how I had already missed The Academy Is…, We The Kings, and Automatic Loveletter, I headed towards the Myspace tent to watch a special acoustic set by Forever The Sickest Kids. The tent was packed, but there probably weren’t more than fifty people, and the performance was amazing. The vocals were spot on to the recordings, and the acoustic instrumentals were warm and mellow. While their personalities really shined, I expected that their performance on stage would be ten times more energetic with room to rock out. So after that acoustic set, I was bent on seeing them later that afternoon.

After the acoustic set by FTSK, I caught the last three songs by A Cursive Memory. One of the songs they played was a cover of Vanessa Carlton’s A Thousand Miles, which was actually really good. They also played their infamous single, Everything, and if you haven’t seen the music video for that song, do it now. I was shocked to see a very small crowd formed in front of the stage, with not more than forty people. Nonetheless the performance was still amazing, and everything from the vocals to the drums stood out. I was pleased to see that the two vocalists had really talented voices, and they complement each other very well. While I only caught three songs, I had to head over to their merch table and get some stuff.

At this point I had a bit of a break to check out all the merch tables and different shops setup. The venue was located at the parking lot in front of Arrow Hall, so it was quite a big venue, although Downsview Park would have been much nicer. At the ACM table all the cds were sold out, so I left empty handed but my friend scored a free EP. I did get a chance to pick up some EPs that would otherwise be hard to find in Canada, such as Automatic Loveletter’s. Being my first time at a music festival I enjoyed the whole walking, and choosing what I wanted to see and how my day would go, though I didn’t quite agree with the schedules, since they had bands in similar genres on different stages. It was quite a hassle to walk from one end of the venue to the other to see bands that should be grouped together, but not exactly a big deal.

(more…)

I’ll prove some mp3s along the way and you can share your own shuffles.
Invasion by Eisley
The Longest House of My Life by Everybody Else
Lousy Reputation by We Are Scientists
Lost At Sea by Eisley
Lions of the Kalahari by Sam Roberts
Who You’d Kill Know? by Frightened Rabbit
100 Degrees by Shout Out Louds
Hysteria by Muse
Burn The Witch by Queens of The Stone Age
Hello, My Treacherous Friends by Ok Go

Wow I dodged some big bullets. Songs that I will keep a secret but I have quite a bit of guilty pleasure. This list is actually a list I could listen to on occasion.

Their myspace page includes of picture of Johanna kissing the cheek of Mark who’s holding a Hello picture. This picture is almost fitting on how I perceive the album, they seem quirky and undeniably cute together (maybe too cute?).

When checking out their first track, “I Wish I Could Keep You” immediately won me over. It’s a simplistic song that could be looked at a love song but it’s more so the vision of a child not letting go of a toy, doll, or stuffed bear perhaps. It’s a lovely infectious song.

Little Pictures’ songs are quite simplistic pop, they aren’t going to wow you on the creative front but I can’t help but like them. It’s a bit lo-fi and I must compare it to Suburban Kids With Biblical Names but more on the cute/lovely side then strange.

Watching their videos, it’s really great to watch them. They are just having a great time, laughing more times then not and their attitude goes well with their music.

The best part is that this music remains consistent and extremely catchy throughout the album. According to Einstein Music Journal they spent two weeks recording the album at their home and one can only wonder what they can do moving forward.

I’m trying to be critical towards pop music these days but I can’t help. They’ve managed to put a smile on my face on a rather busy weekend and I have to thank them for that.

If you love simple but fun pop electronic music this is worth checking out!

Check out their video for “This House Can Fit Us All”:

Rating: 4 out of 5
Buy the album here.
They have 4 songs available for free on their myspace too.

I Wish I Could Keep You by Little Pictures

Tips for Domestic Bliss by Little Pictures

This House Can Fit Us All by Little Pictures

The main problem is that I personally just hated noise rock and couldn’t get into them and never bothered to check out their self-titled disc despite the good reviews.

It’s always dumb heck maybe even idiotic on my part to listen to the remixes before I listen to the original songs but I don’t know if I’d like the originals and HEALTH//DISCO is more dance-orientated with some major key elements of noise rock taken out (that I dislike).

This album is pretty good, it includes the track Crimewave that’s been an internet favorite for quite awhile. It’s a mix between dance/psychedelic nature containing electronic pop elements with synths and sometimes just “weird” things here and there that really stand out. It’s meant to be a dance album but I don’t need to want to bust a move in order to like it.

For the most part this album is wickedly awesome. One problem I have is the repeated remix of the track Triceratops. They are significantly different but I would have preferred hearing all of the tracks from the original album remixed rather then being replaced twice by the same. Triceratops was remixed twice by the Acid Girls but I ended up listening to CFCF version. We also have a 2 remixes of Heaven which I enjoyed the Narctrax version thoroughly compared to a decent version of Heaven.

Aside from repeatedly remixed tracks almost all tracks display some level of electronic excellence even if its from a different group of artists. All of them seem to be worthwhile, with lyrics and vocals usually out of the way. There are a billion elements all over the place and it’s hard arguing with anyone that rates this album well.

Not really any other weaknesses.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Triceratops (CFCF Remix) by Health

Heaven (Narctrax Remix) by Health

Lost Time (Pictureplane Remix) by Health

Get this album from Insound

Anyway, I’m reviewing her album Oh, My Darling in celebrating and ranking my top 10 on the shortlist for the Polaris Music Prize, a big independent achievement. Oh, My Darling was released on April of 2007 so it’s a long time since it’s been released. It got a modest review from Pitchfork which disappointed a lot of Canadian bloggers.

The album starts off with “Before I Knew” and I almost fell in love. I believe she’s using an autoharp then sounds brilliant. I think it’s still my favorite song off the album. I would also like to point out that her voice surprised me. I guess in my mind after looking at her photo/album cover it gives me the idea that she has a more modest voice. Lesson learned: never judge an album by its cover.

Basia Bulat is great in her own right, she has an amazing voice and while I’ll call this an above average album, considering her genre, it’s hard to pick out where she stands out among the rest. It’s still great music though and it’s more of finding the right mood.

She’s definitely very talented but I don’t think this album fulfils her potential after listening through the album a few times. It’s good but I feel like everything could be that much musically and lyrically.

Tone may be a big factor, it’s a very soft and mellow tone and I’m generally the impatient type. Maybe’s it’s a personal thing or the fact that I’ve been spammed and e-mailed with hundreds of singer songwriters of the pop-folk genre that I’ve soured a great deal on due to the vast amount of artists.

Still a solid album. It’s one of those albums that doesn’t quite grab instantly but I can understand once the effort is there to let the album take over, I start liking the album more and more. At this point it’s still in it’s early stages, maybe a month or two from now that might be different.

Rating: 3.9 out of 5
Maybe I’ve taken up too much of a negative tone but I do like the album more then quite a few of the other releases on the shortlist. I don’t want to start rewriting the review.

In The Night by Basia Bulat

Before I Knew by Basia Bulat

December by Basia Bulat

Here are other reviews by bloggers from other Canadian blogs:
Rob from London…(it’s too long) listed it as his #14 album of 2007.
HeroHill was singing high praises.
Lycanthropy listed it as #23
(gave up my search… hard to find)
Mike’s For the “Records” listed it as one of his favorite records of ‘07 but unranked.
Just so you’re keeping tabs on what my list looks like so far: (Shad and Kathleen Edwards to come!):
(with links to the reviews)
1. Two Hours Traffic – Little Jabs
2. Black Mountain – Into The Future
3. Holy Fuck – LP
4. Caribou – Andorra
5. Basia Bulat – Oh, My Darling
6. The Weakerthans – Reunion Tour
7. Plants and Animals – Parc Avenue
8. Stars – In Our Bedroom After The War (not a review at all, opted to ignore it)
I subconsciouly rated them based in order of the score I gave. Wow.