Archspire – Relentless Mutation
Archspire have also delved into more unorthodox and experimental territory on this record, with layers of mesmerizing dynamics that enhance their unique sound. The title track features progressive melodies, while the chaotic “The Mimic Well” contains jazzy guitar noodling. “Calamus Will Animate” combines an unpredictable mix of heavy staccato riffs and rapid-fire vocals with melodic ambience, which is both intriguing and gut-wrenching.(Exclaim!)
Cold Specks – Fool’s Paradise
“Fool’s Paradise” is also the first time Cold Specks’ music has incorporated the Somali language. The words in the song’s bridge are “kala garo naftaada iso laftaada,” or “understand the difference between your bones and your soul”—a phrase Hussein says she learned from her grandmother, and a sentiment entirely at home amidst Cold Specks’ brand of spare, meditative soul.(Spin)
Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Luciferian Towers
“An end to foreign invasions. An end to borders. The total dismantling of the prison-industrial complex. Healthcare, housing, food and water acknowledged as an inalienable human right. The expert fuckers who broke this world never get to speak again.” Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s demands are firm, but, you know, fucking fair.(Pitchfork)
Lights – Skin&Earth
Since the beginning, it’s been clear that Canadian electropop princess, LIGHTS, has had something special. Starting with her debut album, The Listening, she infected the listener with her incredibly upbeat, unique and airy voice. Of course, this being her debut, there was still a lot of room to grow… and grow, she did. Now, with the impending release of her fourth studio album, Skin & Earth, she takes a bold step in a new direction. A captivating story, told through the eyes of a renegade and filled with twists and turns, she decided that this release needed to be more than just the music. Thus, her first concept album was born, along with an accompanying comic book series. Partnering with DYNAMITE, she is able to bring her love of “geek culture” to life, by releasing a six-issue series, completely self-written and illustrated. The illustration part should be no surprise to her fans, as she’s always had a major hand in the artwork for her albums, in addition to her many paintings and drawings she’s always posting to her social media channels.(New-Transcendence)
METZ – Strange Peace
There is a brilliant and brutal simplicity to the music the Canadian punk band Metz makes: loud, cynical, severe, sharp around the edges. The group is composed of three members—guitarist and vocalist Alex Edkins, bassist Chris Slorach, and drummer Hayden Menzies—who seem to share the same goal: to create maximum friction between their instruments and to do so at the highest possible volume. As a result, the music has almost no concern for melody. It has more in common with the sounds of factories, of hard and dangerous work that requires large machines and hot materials. Some punk bands will give you a great tune. Metz is not one of them. Their songs resemble panic attacks, convulsions, violent spasms. In the act’s harsh asceticism, you feel a retrenchment toward punk’s original values and a way forward.(Pop Matters)
Megan Nash – Seeker
Produced with engineer Orion Paradis (Library Voices), at Soul Sound in Regina, Nash collaborated with ambient alt-rock unit Bears In Hazenmore on the albums 11 self-penned tracks and the result is brilliant. In sharp contrast to the starkness of her previous album, Seeker takes Nash’s songwriting into confident new aural territory, displaying the undeniable chemistry she forged with the group over the past year and revealing the spirit of adventure that is prevalent throughout the entire album and on tracks like “Girl VS Ocean,” “Summer,” and “Lavender & Leather”.(Vents Magazine)
The Souljazz Orchestra – Under Burning Skies
Just like the audience during their concerts, the Souljazz Orchestra can’t stand still. The Ottawa-based Afrobeat collective’s sound has flourished over their previous seven releases, and their progress continues on Under Burning Skies, which adds drum machines and vintage 1980s synthesizers to make this their most refined and infectious record to date.(Exclaim!)
Ummagma – LCD
It’s always a pleasure to feature new music from the fantastic Canadian based electronic dream-pop/shoegaze duo of Shauna McLarnon (vocals) & Alex kretov (multi-instrumentalist) aka Ummagma and I take any release from them as a sign that all is well within this burgeoning underground music scene. Never ones to shy away from challenging their musical boundaries, Ummagma continuously push the sonic bar higher and higher with every single one of their releases and this latest four track EP entitled ‘LCD’ is no different. It features three stunning remixes by two legendary musicians, the fantastic Dean Garcia (SPC ECO/Curve) and the masterful Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins fame, both with wide and varying musical styles but who both shine and buff, twist and reshape some of Ummgama’s finest tracks into absolutely incredible soundscapes. The EP gets its full release through both ‘Label Obscura (Cassette)’ and ‘Somewhere Cold Records (CD)’ on the 22nd September 2017 with pre-orders available right now on various formats via ummagma.bandcamp.com(Primal Music Blog)
Worst Gift – World’s Worst
What releases are you looking forward to the most? What releases did we forget? Let us know in the comments below and feel free to tell us about any upcoming album or EP releases by Canadian artists so we can add them to our calendar.
Good morning!
Hey ho. Have you heard about all the snow in Jasper?
I saw your FB post, but have not read it yet.
Hello hello! Lot of great new releases this week!
I spent yesterday doing a community service project with the people I work with. We cleaned up a community garden at a local elementary school. I did more yard work yesterday for them, than I do at my own place!
Is everybody aware that Regina Sienra (a.k.a. reginula) has been interviewed by CBC news? On Facebook.
Yup.
Aaaaand Chopz is safe, according to his sister.
Russ! Yes, fine, but what about his records?! small smilie
That’s good to hear.
Yay for new releases!!
And yay for friends being safe!!
Way to go Janet! I have had that feeling before of doing a lot more work for someone else than I do for my own place. I often scratch my head and wonder about that for a bit.
Good morning everyone!
Hello Justin!
I am excited about Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Cold Speck and Metz the most. The Souljazz Orchestra should be interesting and Megan Nash with Bears in Hazenmore are some Sask talent I have been following for a few years. I would love to see this album do well nationally.
can’t say as I like METZ. I don’t mind the Mets though.
I like CUB, and the Cubs.
Har har
Hi tron. Metz are pretty loud but what I have heard so far sounds pretty great. I get it isn’t everyone’s thing though.
I’ll buy the new METZ album tomorrow when we see them with Preoccupations on a boat on the Detroit River.
from the write up, “Some punk bands will give you a great tune. Metz is not one of them. Their songs resemble panic attacks, convulsions, violent spasms. In the act’s harsh asceticism, you feel a retrenchment toward punk’s original values and a way forward.”
I fully agree with the first part of this statement – punk rock is full of great tunes and metz does not give you great tunes – their songs really do resemble violent spasms.
I disagree with the second part of the statement – I don’t feel the “original values” of punk in their sound… I hear some nirvana type tendencies though. Which is not a bad thing.
I doin’t know. It’s too… spasm-y for me. Not enough melody/harmony/tuned guitars. Too much feedback.
I like the Cubs too.
I saw preoccupations last year. they are like Metz… a lot of hype, not my thing. Too much noise. nobody dancing or moshing for it being loud music… arms folded…
Boats are fun though.
I can’t wait to get the frig out of the city this weekend… so ready for a vacation, even if it is only 1 day off work. Heading north to lake country and woods.Can’t frigging wait for this 12 hour day to be over…
thanks for listening to my unfiltered thoughts…
We saw Boats at Phog Lounge, which is ACROSS the Detroit River.
Thanks for dropping in tron/tom! Ha!
Just listening to a new DFA track. How do you feel about DFA?
I am a fan of DFA. They’re coming this way at the end of October, but unfortunately, I think it’s the same day that we already have Wolf Parade tickets, so I’ll have to hope they come back soon.
I just found out why I think METZ sounds like Nirvana (specifically In Utero)
Steve Albini produced both
Also, I’m very fortunate to be in a place where I get to regret not seeing one band because I’m seeing another.
as a general rule, I like Death From Above. I haven’t heard the new song… unless I have? I hear them on the rock station here sometimes, and it’s “new” songs, just not sure what. (The new, greyish looking album – which I like.)
This one, actually. Is this there newest?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNbVvE-u-vk
They have a new album that came out Sept 8, Outrage is Now. I need more listens but I do like DFA.
Wolf Parade and DFA!? Lucky indeed!!
Interesting that they were produced by the same person. I will have to take a listen to the whole Metz album.
One of the top 5 craziest shows I’ve seen was DFA79, at the attic in halifax about 10 years ago +/-. That was peak shit show.
Steve Albini made a lot of famous albums. the sound he got for In Utero was what Kurt Cobain had been after the whole time, based on things I’ve read in the past. He was never happy with their previous records. In Utero is such a good album, 20+ years later.
Interesting.
You are starting to sound like one of those old guys that gets stuck in the music of his youth. :p
I am just listening to some old tracks now. The Polaris Heritage playlist. Harmonium came on and took me back to my youth!
http://play.spotify.com/user/polarismusicprize/playlist/7eJx119KGZ45lwxQ0yeBUF
I mostly just listen to “good” music (to my ears) and don’t care if it’s new or old. I listen to a lot of music from before I was even born. Most new music that is “trending” I don’t care for though – I don’t give much of a shit anymore about discovering new music. I attempt to listen to playlists of new and modern indie every now and then and I usually end up turning it off before too long – more garbage than gold I find.
I love new music. I enjoy going back from time to time but in small doses as I tire of it quickly. “Good” music is found in old and new for sure. I feel I find more gold than garbage though.
I used to love searching for new music, especially stuff that nobody had ever heard of before. Now, I don’t know. I just don’t care.
I’d rather spend my time and money on things I like. I think my former love of finding new stuff was related to being at clubs and bars all the time catching shows of bands who played a total of 5 shows and the like. But I don’t go to those places all that much anymore… kind of a trigger for certain behaviours if you know what i’m sayin’.
Point is, I don’t put labels on the music I am into anymore, I either like it or don’t. I’m sick of hipster shit. I’m sick of pop music. I just like whatever. (it is true that the best rap is 90s rap though).
I have never been much for labels and have always been the “it’s got a good beat and I can dance to it” kind. Ha!
I say I love new music but that doesn’t mean it has to be a recent release. I love discovering new to me stuff that may be 40 or 50 years old or brand new. I just want to keep finding more. I love it.
Ain’t music great? It can mean different things to different people and what one calls good another calls garbage. Bottom line is Music is Great!
totally agree! lots to love. more love than hate.
one of my favourite records lately has been Dan Auerbach’s “Malibu Man” which has a total throwback vibe to it. I really like that album. Pretty much every song is a real head bopper or finger snapper haha. It’s pretty mainstream but I’m way beyond caring about that kind of thing anymore!
meanwhile…. a favourite from 1994 that I’ve since been reacquainted with since seeing Beck this summer. (He didn’t play it but whatevs) SO GOOD THEN STILL GOOD NOW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVay-RfNGv8
I am going to go check that out…at home. I think I am coming down with a cold and I need my couch.
Love Beck!
Later!
peace!
only 4 more hours of work then long weekend up north… ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
buh bye