The hipsters are dead, long live the hipsters!
Although many are mourning the demise of Toronto’s Broken Social Scene, the pieces that made up the hipster collective will surely find their way into innumerable projects in the near future. And the parts could potentially surpass the whole. Case in point: Eight and a Half. The band, made of ex-members of The Stills, which disbanded last spring, and Justin Peroff, from BSS, has already pegged Feb. 7 as the release date for their self-titled debut album. The lush, dreamy single “Scissors” is available for free download via the band’s website. It bodes well.
The big ticket
Couer de pirate (pirate heart), a.k.a Béatrice Martin, checks into the The Mod Club (Virgin or whatever) on Friday night, Nov. 11, on the heels the release of her latest album, Blonde. It looks like it could be the hottest ticket in town this weekend. The sweet-voiced singer and keyboard player released her debut album in 2008, which was subsequently nominated for a Juno Award as her popularity blossomed across the country (despite singing only in French). Earlier this year, Martin worked alongside Bedouin Soundclash’s Jay Malinowski to produce a well-crafted and subtle pop-rock gem under the moniker Armistice. She’s good. Go. Have fun.
The ultimate covers album
In 2001, a group of Ontario music writers put together Have Not Been the Same, a massive volume chronicling the “golden years” of Canada’s indie music scene between 1985 and 1995, including the birth of bands such as the The Tragically Hip, Barenaked Ladies, Sloan and Blue Rodeo, but also the more obscure, but also perhaps more influential bands such as Change of Heart and 13 Engines, to name a few. Over the past summer, the book had its 10th anniversary and a new, updated volume was released. Okay, great. But, the really cool news is that a new CD of really cool current bands covering songs from that golden era will be released on Nov. 15 at zunior.com — with all proceeds to benefit the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. The track list is impressive, and all the songs are currently posted on SoundCloud. Standouts include Forest City Lovers’ cover of Sloan’s “The Lines You Amend” and Corb Lund’s killer version of awesome prairie band Jr. Gone Wild’s “In Contempt of Me.”
Cool new track
The very original Bob Wiseman just posted a whack of new “work in progress” songs via SoundCloud including “Giulietta Masina at the Oscars Crying,” “You’re a Witness” and “In The Era We’re In” outlining Wiseman’s thoughts on the events surrounding the G20 in Toronto. One of the country’s most unique and enduring musicians (and the original keyboard player for the band Blue Rodeo), Wiseman’s recent works often include short films that are played along with his songs at live shows. You can see him live in Toronto next month, on Dec. 29 at Supermarket in Kensington Market as part of The Boom Show.
Album of the week (No, not Drake): Sing In My Meadow, Cowboy Junkies
Sure, Drake and his carnival of samples will steal all the headlines/album sales this week, but the smart money is on the impressive new disc that venerable local outfit Cowboy Junkies released a couple weeks back. The album is the third in the band’s recent Nomad Series, and from the first song, listeners are in for something completely different from a band known more for its melodic alt-country than this ragged blues-rock extravaganza. When was the last time a wah-wah pedal was heard on a Cowboy Junkies record? This is killer stuff; so impressive it could easily be place alongside the best releases of the year in Canada. Margo Timmins’ voice is as deep and emotionally jarring as it’s ever been and is a perfect compliment to a rhythm section that is right at home bringing a wild flurry of grungy guitar madness to the mix. The band seems to be content to do their own thing in relative obscurity, releasing music through their label Latent Recordings. But will anyone else hear Sing In The Meadow? We really hope so. It would be a shame if this album went unnoticed. Listen for yourself here.
