Karma Controllers - Sirens

The littlest big band you've ever heard comes in the form of Toronto's Karma Controllers. Helen Kuan and Jack Jamieson have been playing music together since high school and they're clearly influenced by the likes of Cole Porter and Cab Calloway, as much as they are with Jenny Lewis, Sondre Lerche and Stars.

I basically love this album. The guy-girl harmonies are great and the song structures are sublime. The band would've been great if they chose to go the typical indie pop route. but the fact that they add a touch of jazz (thanks in big part to Jesse Paul's percussion,) kicks their CD up to a whole new plateau that has been mainly untouched elsewhere.

The album opens with the rock by way of mandolin tune 'The Longest Year,' which is cool, but merely just a coming attraction popcorn ad before the main feature hits the screen. 'Searchlights 1' shows off a slight rockabilly bounce and a remote Gordon Gano warble. Track 3 is entitled 'Whisper Sister' and is probably my favorite song on the album. Helen's voice starts off all subtle and hypnotic before the song kicks into full big band shuffle and turns into a saxophone/trumpet assault to the solar plexus. Another song along the same lines is 'Don't Do It, Jack,' where Helen plays the part of the voice of wisdom, while Jack plays the role of the dude who has a little trouble thinking with his head when confronted with the all-too-powerful femme fatale. Sounds like an old film noir? Well, it plays out like one as well. Awesome tune. I could go on and on about all of the tracks on this CD but the best thing you could do is simply check it out for yourself.

Download: Whisper Sister mp3
Video: 'Searchlights 1' @ Rancho Relaxo on youtube
Myspace: Karma Controllers

Beth In Battle Mode - Technical Know-How

Ahhh, it doesn't get much better than Beth In Battle Mode. Take every great band you've ever heard, chuck 'em in a blender, hit "BLEND", and you've got a band that is so insanely fun that I defy you to sit still and contemplate life while their music is playing. Technical Know-How is a real lesson in creating a mood, demonstrating a feeling and showing the universe how to be catchy. The album opens with "Rembrandt Q. Einstein" a jumpy little number complete with Costello-ish keys and Stranglers-ish vocals. "No Feeling" is an oxymoron of sorts in that the songs oozes so much feeling that it literally leaves you feeling exhausted. "Everyone Is In A Band" has all the handclaps and thumping drums necessary to expose the pop music lover in all of us. However it's the keyboard action in this one that made me laugh out loud. It becomes so intentionally overbearing that for some reason I just found it hilarious. When the positively psycho keyboard solo kicks in about three quarters into the song, I found myself ducking in order to avoid the lasers that are sure to come shooting out of the sky like they do at Styx concerts. "Presto's at 8" takes us back a decade earlier to the garage rockin' 60's and this song would not sound out of place on a Nuggets compilation. This time the brief key solo is a little more Deep Purple than Styx but still very cool. "The Sounds Of The Internet" zips ahead to the 80's and (I'm already laughing while typing this) sounds like what The Cars would sound like if Loverboy's Mike Reno sang lead. If you haven't clued in yet, this band is more fun than paintballing with Devo, (not sure what that means but you've gotta admit, that sounds pretty fun) and at exactly 30 minutes, the CD is exactly what the doctor ordered when it comes to a prescription for good times.

Beth In Battle Mode are playing their last show of the year at The Savannah Room on December 1st. Just because I can't make it to this one doesn't mean that you should miss it as well. It's sure to be a whole whack of good times.

Photo is by Moffat media.

Download: No Feeling mp3
Myspace: Beth In Battle Mode
Stream: The entire CD can be streamed over at CBC Radio 3 here.

The Joys, Slakah The Beatchild, Coconut Records, etc....

I've been scraping off the bottom of the piggy bank this week so I haven't gone to many shows or purchased many CD's or done anything really blog worthy so therefore, I've been keeping to myself. However, there's always something to talk about so today's post will be sort of a hodge podge of music related whateverz!

First off, I received the latest single by London Ontario's The Joys. I heard a song by them a few years back entitled "Do I" on the Insomnia Radio podcast. Back then they were called Popjoy, and that was at a time when everything I listened to was pretty much introduced to me through podcasts. I was living in Burlington at the time, and The Joys were playing the annual Sound of Music festival so I had to check them out. Their show was electrifying to say the least, and I still feel that Sarah Smith is probably the most entertaining Canadian frontwoman in indie rock today. Their new CD will be called "Unfold", and it's been taking a while to do just that, but I can be patient if the CD is going to rock my socks off as much as I think it will. The first single, "Soul On Your Sleeve" is very refreshing to me. When it comes to indie music these days, I'm always trying to listen for a new gimmick, or a new sound strategy. But as soon as the guitar smacked me upside the head on this one, I stopped searching and just rocked out! The Joys aren't interested in gimmicks or studio tricks. They just want to rock. I'm not saying the music isn't deep, it definitely is, (just listen closely to the lyrics for crying out loud) But first and foremost they just want to make us feel good. They've used their own music as therapy in their own lives, and I have a feeling that they'll do the same for many others.

Hear Soul On Your Sleeve on their myspace page.

I also received the latest single by Toronto's Slakah The Beatchild. You've probably noticed that I don't review a lot of R&B on this blog, simply because most modern R&B just leaves me cold. Often overproduced, usually a little too streamlined for my tastes, I just find that when it comes to R&B, I still long for the classics like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and that classic Detroit sound. That's what makes Slakah's music such an enjoyable listen. He's constantly looking forward to the future of R&B by being heavily inspired by the past. He's a multi-instumentalist who has produced several other artists, and he's now taking the leap into crafting his own sound. The first single is entitled "Enjoy Ya Self" and I would describe it as equal parts Stevie and Marvin, with a hint of Ben Harper thrown in for good measure. Although I personally really like the simple 3:05 version of the song, the single I received contains several different versions, along with a sampling of his upcoming full-length which I believe is to be entitled "Soul Movement Vol 1."

Download: Enjoy Ya Self version 2 (featuring Drake) mp3
There's another great song on his myspace page called "What's This Feeling." Check it, yo!

I guess that I'm a little late to this party, but Jason Schwartzman has another great musical project in the works called Coconut Records. I tell ya, when he was drumming for Phantom Planet, I thought that they were one of the greatest pop bands out there. Unfortunately, the O.C. decided to use their song "California" as their theme song and I've got to say that the OC caused me to OD on PP. (I am however glad to say that I have NEVER actually watched an entire episode of the OC. Lookit how credible I am!!!) Well Schwartzy is back with Coconut Records, which follows along in the same vein of deliciously prepared power pop. I've only sampled a couple of the songs on his myspace page but they are definitely of the stick-in-your-head vibe. "Nighttiming" has a bit of a mock disco feel, another in a long line of newer bands that remind me a bit of ELO. He sites Canadian supergroup Sloan as one of his influences and this is very evident in his new single "West Coast" which is a straight ahead pop song. Despite his popularity as an actor, Jason has opted to go the indie route on this release. For now, besides the usual download sites, it is only available as a hard copy on his personal website, Young Baby Records. You can watch the video for "West Coast" there as well.

Myspace: Coconut Records
Videos: There's a hilarious video on youtube for "Nighttiming" that features Jason's brother Robert (from Rooney) lip-synching the song. He keeps messing up the words and stuff. It's funny.

How The Lassue Yous Changed My Life

or The Reason Why I’m The Type of Indie-Rock Nerd Who Goes Online and Pretends To Be A Music Journalist For Fun!!!Music is very important to most young men between the ages of 15 and 25. They base their cliques on it, they base their vocabulary on it, they design their rooms and lockers by it. But then most guys reach an age of responsibility, where music starts to take a back seat in their lives. Just a few short years ago that’s exactly where I was. I was bored with classic rock radio so I moved on to alternative rock radio. I had grown bored with that too, and I figured that I was finally reaching that age where music is just simply not that important anymore. After all, I’m now an old married man and music is, well, it’s for teenagers. Right?

Then something happened that fateful day (if I believed in fate, which I don’t!) just a few years ago. The wife had planned an “evening out with the girls” and I was left to entertain myself for a few hours. The thought had crossed my mind to possibly go to the local Chapters and read several magazines without actually buying them. Or perhaps I’d rent a couple of movies. However, I picked up The View, a local free indie-paper and I read an interesting article about a band from London, Ontario called The Weekend. They sounded very interesting. They were to be playing that evening at a little place called The Hudson in Hamilton at 9pm. Hmmm. That sounds like something. I didn’t have to pick up my wife until about 11:30 or so. Why not?

Now, being new to the way the whole “small band at a small venue” thing works, I didn’t realize that “doors at 9” actually means that the band will likely go on closer to 11. The opening act that day was a little band consisting of 3 brothers from Dundas, Ontario who call themselves The Lassue Yous. The Hudson was empty. I grabbed a beer, and sat down at a table near the stage. After nursing that beer, (by myself) for just under two hours, The Lassue Yous were ready to take the stage. As soon as they hit the first note, I was starting to believe that I may be in the midst of a particularly historic moment in the life of yours truly. The jangly guitar! The crazy lyrics! The handclaps! The energy! The excitement! They reminded me a bit of Thrush Hermit. Or Sloan. Or, heck, they even reminded me a bit of the Liverpudlian fab four themselves! At that moment, I felt as if I was Rodney Bingenheimer, and I had just discovered the GREATEST BAND OF ALL TIME! Yes, that is truly how they sounded to me that night! You see, that was the night that I realized that I was still in love with music as much as I ever was. The problem was that mainstream radio was not providing me with anything new. And these crazy Dundanites were! And if these guys have been kept a secret from music lovers everywhere, than how many more unsigned artists are hiding out in the clubs of their respective towns? How much music have I missed out on over my 20-something years of existence?

Well, from that day on, I have constantly been on the prowl for new and interesting music. Sadly, I didn’t get to see The Weekend that night, but I have seen them several times since. I’ve seen The Lassue Yous a few more times as well although I think they’re on a bit of a hiatus at the moment. I’ve been introduced to so many other bands that have changed my life and rocked my world. I’ve had the opportunity to expose some of my favourite bands to others as well, by means of my blog or by introducing them to podcasting. And the music scene has never been more exciting to me than it is right now. I often wonder, if it had been a dude with a casio singing Pat Boone covers that night, I may have given up on music altogether. Thank goodness for The Lassue Yous!

Download:
Rock “N Roll Your Saturday Night mp3
Toughen Up mp3