Basia Bulat - Tall Tall Shadow

Toronto singer-songwriter Basia Bulat's third album 'Tall Tall Shadow' was released Tuesday, October 1, 2013 by Secret City Records. It was co-produced by Tim Kingsbury (a member of Arcade Fire) and Mark Lawson (a grammy awarded studio alchemist recognized for his work with Arcade Fire), and it promises her bravest work yet. Without losing the Basia Bulat that I love, she has found a way to revitalize her music and please both existing and new fans. As a super fan, I must say that I love this CD. It did take some time for it to grow on me, but now that it has, I can't stop playing it. Wires is probably my favourite song, but I also love 'Five, Four' too. It's definitely worth a listen and if you haven't heard me say it before, Basia Bulat is my favourite singer song writer! So she is a must must MUST listen. That and if you haven't heard her previous work, get on that right away. 

Songs to listen to: Wires, Five, Four, From Now On 

Mumford and Sons - Babel

Mumford and Sons - Babel
Released: September 25, 2012 (Canada)

    Such a great album. As soon as I heard the single for the album 'I will wait' I knew I was going to like it. I find their music to be so enlightening and proud. It's almost as though each song is an orchestrated prayer off to the sunrise; It's just that exciting for me. Best part is they balance these loud and powerful songs such as 'I Will Wait' with more mellow and sympathetic songs like 'Ghosts That We Know.' Let me put it this way, it's the Mumford and Sons we first fell in love with no surprises, just new songs and lyrics to fall in love with. They really do do a good job writing music to relate to; I always find myself quiet and just listening to every word when I hear a song of theirs. So far, I'm in love with the first track 'Babel' but I'm sure I'll just be going down the list changing favourites day to day just as I did with 'Sigh No More.' It's exactly what I need right now during this changing of seasons. Good bye summer, and hello fall!

Songs to listen to: Babel, I Will Wait, Below My Feet (Sooooo good!)

Top 5 Albums of 2011 so far!

___Here are some of the albums that have been on heavy rotation for me this year. You will notice that the greater majority of these are folk related, that's because I've been addicted to nothing else. However, since my recent Pains of Being Pure at Heart addiction, I have good reason to believe my horizons will expands. Hurray for good music!

The Middle Brother - The Middle Brother
Released: March 1, 2011

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

Released: May 3, 2011

Cults - Cults
Released: June 7, 2011

The Head & The Heart - The Head & The Heart
Released: April 19, 2011

Dawes - Nothing is Wrong

Released: June 7, 2011

I wasn't able to include my fave Dawes tracks due to the fact they got wiped off Groove Shark, but click here for a Dawes Youtube playlist that showcases some of the new tracks.

Leann Grimes

Attention The Head and The Heart fans! My mind exploded today. Why? Well, I was checking my gmail today and came across an email from a gentleman by the name of Shane Concerty AKA LEANN GRIMES. If you aren't familiar with Leann Grimes, today is your lucky day.

http://leanngrimes.bandcamp.com/

Leann Grimes
AKA Shane Conerty
-Age: 23
-Location: Asheville, NC
-Also in a band called "Now you see them"
(Also worth checkin out!)

Track Listing:

1. "Cats & Dogs"
and "Coeur D'alene", by The Head and the Heart
2. "Egyptain Robe", by Miniature Tigers
3. "Memory Boy", by Deerhunter
4. "Got To Move", by CAKE
5. "Under Cover Of Darkness", by The Strokes
6. "Shadow People", by Dr. Dog
7. "Mrs. Cold", by Kings Of Convenience
8. "Excuses", by The Morning Benders
9. "One Last", by Avi Buffalo
10. "Mary", by Yellow Ostrich
11. "World News", by Local Natives
12. "Keep Me In Mind", by Little Joy
13. "Summersong", by The Decemberists

My Thoughts:
If you're a TH&TH nub like me, then you can surely appreciate the first track of Leann Grimes... it's just what I needed, and I didn't even know it. Take all you know to be indie blog worthy and remix that with how you feel about hype machine's remixes (minus the dubstep) and this is what you get. It's a breath of fresh air without stepping to close to dubstep... which is over by the way... I am over dubstep. So enjoy this gem, and pass it on!

Oh, and PS. you can download this album for free!

Panda Bear - Tomboy

Panda Bear - Tomboy
Released: Tuesday, April 19, 2011

What an impressive album. Panda Bear, otherwise known as Noah Benjamin Lennox of Animal Collective, released this album to the public April 19, 2011, after pushing it back time and time after time! At first I had the impression that this was going to be another overly hyped letdown that somebody paid Pitchfork too much to endorse, but it turns out I was totally wrong. When I was listening to the record, there were times I felt like my iTunes was skipping... I went from thinking it was really annoying to wow, I think I'm being brainwashed and I kinda like it. I mean it is really late (in the morning) and I may be losing consciousness, but this album is really making me feel like I'm legitimately turning inside out. Not sure if somebody told me this... but it totally has the Fleet Foxes harmony appeal with the equal computerized electro that I can't pinpoint towards another band. It's fricken good. My advice is to listen to this when you're stuck awake at ridiculous hours of the morning, it just makes a lot more sense in those hours. The beginning of "Surfer's Hymn" made me feel like a kid entering a candy shop for the first time... and "Last Night at the Jetty" had me feeling like an ant in a factory line that casually ditched to lay in a puddle... and trust me, I'm perfectly sober. Without going crazy with these thoughts, listen to the record and judge for yourself. It makes being awake at the hours worth while... I'm serious!

Songs to listen to: Tomboy, Last Night at the Jetty, Surfer's Hymn

The Strokes - Angles

The Strokes - Angles
Released: Tuesday, March 22, 2011.

Releasing their fourth album since "First Impressions of Earth" in 06', The Strokes came together and recorded "Angles". The first album with songs written by all members of the group, a project described by Julian Casablancas as "Operation make everyone satisfied." What do I think of the collaborative writings? I think a lot of it's kinda boring and not as impacting as I had hope. According to Pitchfork, Julian separated himself from the recording process by sending a lot of his vocal tracks electronically... That's kind of awkward. But who knows, this kind of stuff probably happens all the time. Anyways, I'm rather disappointed with this album... There was definitely too much hype around it and it only lead to somewhat of a let down...but maybe I expected too much? I mean, there are some songs that will make it to my iPod, like "Under Cover of Darkness" and "Call me back"... but yeah, it unfortunately wasn't what I expected. It's super 80's, which is cool... but yeah, "Angles" just didn't do it for me. Although, there is still possibility that it'll grow on me... we'll see.

Cut Copy - Zonoscope

Cut Copy - Zonoscope
Released: Tuesday, February 8, 2011

___Since releasing their third album in 2008 "In Ghost Colours", Cut Copy's "Zonoscope" came short of expectations. I mean the sound is familiar, but I've had it in my iTunes for the past 2 weeks and I think it's time to say goodbye. It sounds like a forgotten mix tape recorded casually in the 80's... forgotten for a reason because quite frankly... what's special about it? I mean some of the songs do have catchy bits of lyrics, but nothing I'll remember next month. It's just not the "Hearts on Fire" or "Feel the Love" I fell in love with in the summer of 08, instead it's ... it's what it is...

Don't get me wrong, Cut Copy is cool! But this album? Not so much.

Cut Copy - Take me Over


I give it 3 "MEH"s out of 4 .

Matt & Kim: Sidewalks

Matt & Kim, Sidewalks. Following the release of Grand (January, 20th,2009), this Brooklyn duo released their third album Sidewalks on November 2nd, 2010. What I personally really like about this band is just what each of them has to offer. We have Matt's corky happy go lucky voice and Kim's talented drumming skills. Although an OK sounding album, I just don't think it properly showcases their charm as artists. There are a lot more synthesizers and mellow electronic indie songs and It's just not the Matt & Kim I fell in love with. Although there is still the possibility that I could learn to love the album, my first impression of it was mediocre. I don't want to sound like I'm totally hating on the album, I just had expected more from this release. I still love them, and will continue to listen to them. If you're not a fan already then I recommend you check out my early post on the band's profile. (Click here to see it!)

Free Downloadable MP3 of Cameras, CLICK HERE!

Songs to listen to: Where you're coming from(no where on youtube, strange!), Block after block, Cameras.

DOWNLOAD ALBUM TORRENT, CLICK HERE!

Arcade Fire: The Suburbs

Arcade Fire, The Suburbs.

The Montreal's groups' third album release since Neon Bible in 2007. Released August 2, the Album is con-prised of 16 songs which are relative to the Album title. I love it! What I really love about it is how nicely the album flows together. Song Sequels that take you from the beginning to the end with the great excitement similar to the Neighbourhood songs, to the mellowness that was Crown of Love, Arcade Fire did it again! :D

Quick Facts:

-Markus Dravs helped produce a lot of the album. He also did Coldplay's Viva la Vida and Mumford & Son's Sigh No More.

-Lyrical content inspired by Win and William Butler's Suburban Upbringing.

-Album described by the Band as a Letter from The Suburbs.

-Album was recorded in both Quebec and New York.

Check out this Interactive Video. Click here!

Two of my Favourite Songs from the Album right now:

Download The Sprawl II, Click Here.

Download The Suburbs Continued, Click Here.