We’re right in the middle of all our Canadian Music Week shows. The festival starts Wednesday in Toronto and goes until early, early Sunday morning. And all this week, all the bands on our lists are going to be performing at some point in some capacity.
“Orson Brawl” by 100 Monkeys
Two things about 100 Monkeys. First, they’re not monkeys. Second, there are just four of them. They’re in the midst of figuring out what they want to do label-wise.
They’re from Los Angeles, but you’d be excused if you expected them to be British. The singer has this Bowie/Peter Murphy thing going on. Their indie record—their first studio album—is called “Grape”. And try a song called “Orson Brawl”.
“Lost In The City Lights” by The New Cities
The new cities is a six-piece from Montreal who had a song picked to be on “Gossip Girl”. That’s like indie anointment from heaven. They remind me a little bit of Blink 182. You’ll hear it when you check them out. The album is “Lost In The City Lights” and the title track is the one that got them on TV.
“Down In Your Valley” by Dead Letter Chorus
Alan likes the name “Dead Letter Chorus”. He doesn’t know why. He just does. There are four people—three guys and a woman. They’re Australian and are making Canadian Music Week part of their North American tour. The current album is “The August Magnificient” and Alan really likes a track called “Down In Your Valley”.
“Withering Heights” by The Two Koreas
Here’s another name Alan really likes: The Two Koreas. They’re Canadian. Toronto. They’ve been described as “lovingly lo-fi”. Chances are there are some fall records in their collection, too—which is never a bad thing. “Withering Heights” is a song worth your time.
“Lay Down On The Tall Grass” by Timbre Timbre
And finally, Timber Timbre. Another Toronto band. Very gentle, very sparse. There’s a cool vibe on a song called “Lay Down In The Tall Grass”. If this song hasn’t been in a low-budget slasher movie already, it should be.
All five of the preceding bands will be performing in some respect at Canadian Music Week. For a full list of bands—and there are literally hundreds of them—go to www.cmw.net and click on “festival”.