As winter once sets its icy grip on these fair isles, Best Fit’s thoughts once again turn to a place that, to be fair, tends to deal with chilly weather slightly better than us. We’ve come back with a packed 20th edition, which finds us welcoming back some Oh! Canada veterans (No Gold, Elliott Brood, Hooded Fang, Chains of Love, BA Johnston, The Darcys), discovering new projects from familiar faces (Del Bel, Phèdre , Bernice, Marine Dreams, Whitehorse) and showcasing tracks from a host of our favourite new discoveries of 2012 so far.

Our thanks go out to Jon Janes for creating the artwork, and to all those who made this edition possible.

Enjoy Oh! Canada 20 and stay warm! Stream in full below or alternatively, download the entire compilation in a handy .zip file here.

You can follow Oh! Canada on Twitter @ohcanada_uk

When we spoke to Neil Haverty of Bruce Peninsula back in 2009, the band had just been Polaris long-listed for their debut album A Mountain is a Mouth. Back then Haverty spoke about the logistics of putting a multi-membered project together both in the studio and on the road, introduced us to some of the band members’ other projects, and placed a lot of stock in the band’s capacity to be adaptable in the face of change. This skill has been vital to the band in the two years leading into the release of their sophomore record Open Flames.

The Line of Best Fit: As a whole, the record seems more driven, songs feel more taut and muscular – like the sometimes overwhelming energy of A Mountain Is A Mouth has been harnessed in a more subtle but direct way. I know the aim was to write quicker this time round – did that happen?

Neil Haverty: “Definitely, it was intentional to tighten up and tuck in a bit more with these songs. We made A Mountain Is A Mouth out of the first 10 songs we ever made as a band. None of us had ever been part of something like this band before and for the first couple of years, I think we were operating on instinct alone and just throwing it all at the wall and seeing what stuck. There was definitely a lot more reckless abandon in regards to overdubbing on the first record. Every song had about 100 tracks and I’d say about half of those you can’t even really hear. The vocals were all done in a church, often with all of us singing at the same time, and that sort of overwhelms any other sounds we were trying to cram in there anyways. And it took us a year and a half to make it because it always felt like it ‘needed something else’.

The whole approach leading up to Open Flames felt streamlined and we realized really early in writing it that we had to keep it that way to keep sane. Getting bogged down on little parts of a song dooms it to the unfinished pile so we tried to not let anything linger there for too long. We were all pretty open minded to changes and let it happen whenever someone wanted to trim the fat. It was really exciting that way because you couldn’t get too attached to something you were working on, because at any point another member could come in and chop out a lyric or move a bridge from the back to the front of the song. That’s hard to let happen at first but eventually, as the song grows up into something better than you envisioned it to be, it seems like the only way to work.

We were all guns blazing on A Mountain Is A Mouth and that’s something we felt we had to do then. It was a strength-in-numbers thing. You know, “If we all shout together, somebody will hear us”. This time we knew a handful of people were already listening and it wasn’t about some grand introduction, so we just focused on the songs and refining what we’re trying to do. I really do feel like Open Flames is a whittled and crafted reinterpretation of the kind of music we were starting to get at with A Mountain Is A Mouth and this record plays to our individual strengths and talents a lot more than the last one.”

How does it work with  writing – do you, Matt and Misha all bring stuff to the table or do you work together with all the other band members?

“It always starts with one person with an initial kernel. That could be a melody from me, a drum beat from Steve, some lyric from Misha etc. After it gets presented and tossed around to the rest of the core band (which includes Matt and Andrew, as well as the three I just mentioned), that first person usually takes it back and does more homework on it and pushes it so it’s further along for the next practice. Once the core five can sort of play it from front to back, we start to teach our imagined choir parts to the rest of the band and they put their own stamp on it. Usually we’re demoing all along. You should hear all the falsetto harmonies that Matt and I do to emulate what we think the girls might sound like! Actually, they’re totally embarrassing, so I hope you never do.”

The Small Town Murder Songs soundtrack consists almost entirely of your songs. How did the soundtrack come about, and is it something you would be interested in working on more in the future? Did you write ‘As Long As I Live’ specifically for the film or was it just one of the songs they chose?’

“The director, Ed Gass-Donnelly, approached me at one of our shows and said he was a big fan of the band and that he was making a movie and wanted to talk about us contributing some music. We have always loved the idea of being a ‘soundtrack band’ so we jumped on the chance. I went to work the next day and came home and Misha and Matt had transformed a drum pattern that Steve had recorded into the song ['As Long As I Live']. We had just started recording Open Flames but as soon as it started to come together we were all pretty sure it would end up on the record. We finished the version for the movie and submitted it and then kept working on it after that to give it some verses and a bit more structure. We liked it so much, it ended up being the first track of the record and the first video we put out!

What shocked us was that it totally snowballed from there. We knew he was gonna use [that song] as the main theme but he kept asking us for more songs. Slowly but surely he had replaced nearly every song in the movie with one of ours. There’s one non-BP song that stayed in, a recording of Sacred Harp singing. We were gonna record a version of it but didn’t have time in the end so he used the original. The rest is all us, which is pretty mind-blowing. It was a very proud day to go to a Toronto International Film Festival premiere for something we ended up being a very big part of.

We all want to do more movie work. We’ve been close to signing on to a couple other projects but nothing has worked out just yet. Fingers crossed for the future.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Your diagnosis with leukaemia came just after the record was finished – and obviously came as a shock to everyone. Did you revisit the album afterwards and change anything, or add bits?

“No. We got the master the day before I was diagnosed. I’m really thankful for that… I really don’t know what would have happened if the record was left open-ended. I mean, I’m sure the others would have finished it up but I’m very happy it was done already because the record and the illness can be two totally separate chapters.”

You’re now officially in remission, with the record out and the band on a grand tour of Canada. How are the shows going? Is the record working out live as you’d hoped? What is the touring make up of the band at the moment?

“It was a blast. I think we’re a better band than ever. It all seems sort of effortless now and maybe that’s just that we’re generally putting less pressure on ourselves. Lots of people have asked me if it’s been hard to relearn the songs and get into them after so much time away but I think that’s been a real blessing. We were only just getting the hang of them when we recorded these songs anyways.

The major positive of so much distance is that we’re not sick of them. Usually you make a record and you listen to each song a million times and when you’re done you don’t want to hear them again for a very long time. That makes it hard to get behind them when it comes time to play them live. In this case though, I was excited to listen to the record again and when I did, I wasn’t just listening to all the flaws or things I would change. It took me a year to enjoy A Mountain Is A Mouth after we were done recording it. I love Open Flames every time I hear it. That’s a really nice feeling.”

During your recovery you put together a project called Bruce Peninsula Fire Sale, featuring covers, one offs and live videos performed by various different members of the band. It must be amazing to see how parts of the BP family have been succeeding. Last time we spoke, you talked about Snowblink, Ohbijou, Timber Timbre and Katie Stelmanis of Austra. We’ve worked with you to put together a stream of the artists you’ve been involved with, can you tell us a little about the other bands that feature on it?

“I think everyone really stepped up to the plate for that covers project and that the band hit some real home-runs with the Fire Sale material. It was a really exciting project for me to be a part of while I was recuperating. The crazy website, the videos, the slow roll-out – those are all things we had talked about as a band for ages and we actually got the chance to try them.

Almost all of our members, past and present, were recruited for Bruce Peninsula because we were fans of the music they made in other projects. Most of the people that have left left because their own projects took off and they didn’t have any more time to lend us. We just feel lucky to get a little bit of their magic injected into what we do. We’re probably the only band in existence to have as many former members as we do current, but turnover is just sort of part of this band, it seems.

We’ve been doing shows lately where we go back and forth between Bruce Peninsula songs and songs from the individual members’ solo projects and its been a really good time and made for some pretty special shows. We all get to sit back for parts of the set and listen to each other play and there’s been some cross-pollination on each others’ songs too. I don’t think we imagined this sort of thing when the band first started but I think it’s a natural development considering that all these solo projects have run simultaneously all along. If you add up all of the Bruce Peninsula material and throw in some solo repertoire, we can pretty much play all night!

I think this might be the first time someone has collected all of our stuff for one big mixtape. I hope people like it! Thanks for making it happen.”

Finally, What are your plans for 2012 – are you planing on heading to the UK sometime soon?

“The plan is just starting to come together for 2012. We are working on setting up shows on the actual Bruce Peninsula and we’re eyeing a few places in Canada that we haven’t been. We’d love to get to the Territories this year, so we’re working hard on that. We’re trying to do a bunch of things we’ve never done before. I really, truly hope that includes a trip to Europe. I think that has been the top goal of our band since day one. It’s looking pretty good for a trip this Fall. We’re crossing our fingers. I’d love to hear from more folks over there who want to see us or have suggestions of places we just can’t miss. Send us an email. When it comes to touring foreign lands, no tip or word of encouragement is too small.”

Open Flames is available now and can be heard in its entirety at Bruce Peninsula’s Bandcamp page.

2011 has been quite a year here at TLOBF and I think we have all been amazed by the quantity of great records that have come out this year. It’s been another busy year for Oh! Canada too- one that has seen us extend our Oh! Canada Road-trip series to the West coast and almost up to the Arctic Circle in Dawson City. We also proudly teamed up with Kelp Records for a party at NXNE in Toronto in June, and presented a showcase at Halifax Pop Explosion in October. Our thanks to all the acts who played those: Pink Moth, The Elwins, Slow Down, Molasses, Shuyler Jansen, Kite Hill, Paper Beat Scissors, Giant Hand, The Provincial Archive and Snailhouse.

As a thank you to all those who have supported the Oh! Canada compilations we are proud to present the third edition of Ho Ho Ho Canada. Once again we asked a selection of artists for festive or seasonal contributions and once again they didn’t disappoint- some gave album tracks that fitted the wintry theme, some tackled traditional songs or treasured festive favourites, while others penned entirely new content exclusively for you!

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to contribute to an Oh! Canada compilation this (or indeed any) year, everyone who took the time to listen to them and to contact the bands to thank them. As ever- you can hear more from each artist by clicking on their name.

DOWNLOAD
[.zip] Ho Ho Ho Canada III

1. Jim Bryson – Silent Night
2. The Evaporators – Who Are You?
3. Malajube – Le Blizzard
4. Apollo Ghosts- Money Has No Heart
5. Slow Down, Molasses – Silver Bells *
6. Carnival Moon – Ring Christmas Bells *
7. Kith & Kin – Bright Morning Stars
8. Lake Forest – Little Drummer Boy *
9. The Mountains And The Trees – Winter Blues (With Ruth Minnikin and John Mullane) *
10. The Wooden Sky – Christmas All Over Again *
11. Shotgun Jimmie and Cole – Lazy Boy *
12. Werbo – Jesus Are You Santa?
13. Les Breastfeeders – Manteau De Froid
14. Ryan Driver – Oh Snow Angel
15. Jason Zumpano – Vato’s Gold (from the upcoming documentary Cartoon College)
16. Muskox – Riu Riu Chiu *
17. The Wilderness of Manitoba – Hark! The Herald Angel Sing *
18. Artur Dyjecinski – Christmas at Turnagan Pass *
19. Ivy Mairi – Wintry City
20. Kellarissa – Enkeli Taivaan
21. Al Tuck - O Come O Come Emmanuel

* = Recorded for this compilation.

All of these songs have been given free for your listening pleasure. We hope you enjoy them and have a fantastic festive season. At this time of year especially there are hundreds of good causes all seeking your help-we hope that, in keeping with the spirit of giving, if you enjoy this compilation you might consider giving a donation to one of them.

If this doesn’t satisfy your festive Canadian needs- a quick shout out to Sound Vat who have put together “If Jesus had been born in Canada he would have needed more than swaddling clothes” and Devon Sproule contributes to the For Folks Sake Christmas album (sales of which go to Integrated Cancer Care). Sloan are giving the proceeds from their version of 12 Days of Christmas to The Daily Bread Food Bank, while Zunior have put together a compilation for the same cause blending Canadian classics with Christmas tunes. And finally…Apollo Ghosts teamed up with wrestler The Honky Tonk Kid for Honky Tonk’s Blue Christmas.

And of course, we wish you all a Happy Christmas and look forward to bringing more Canadian goodness to you in 2012.

You can follow Oh Canada on Twitter at @OhCanada_uk for news, links and more.

Artwork from the desk of Mr Jon Janes

Having returned with their “Recommended” record Akron/Family II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT this past February following a two-year studio album absence, Akron/Family are all set to head off to Ultrecht in the Netherlands to play Le Guess Who Festival alongside the likes of Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks from 24-27 November. But before they do, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Miles Seaton was kind enough to take some time out in order to put together a selection of tracks for our latest Art of Noise playlist – made exclusively for The Line Of Best and Le Guess Who Festival.

Rather than give us a track-by-track run down of his choices, Seaton wrote a little letter about his mixtape:

“It’s actually a little nerve racking to make mixes, part of me would love to just make a 10 hour mix of a Terry Riley piece I love on repeat and call it a day. And what about those Bee Thousand outtakes, or Dylan bootlegs or the entire super roots series? Sort of feels like I only have a few tickets to a great show and I feel sad for the friends that get left out. Ha! At the end of the day I guess you just have to pick a theme or feel and go with it.

So, this mix highlights a love for both African and African-American music. It’s all based around the grooves, yes we do love a groove. Though I don’t have a lot of patience for music that doesn’t come “from the heart” there’s definitely some freaky zones in here….I love my sweets with salt.

Sorry Mr. Johnston, and Mr. Orcutt, you can come next time.

Love, Miles (Akron/Family)”

Art Of Noise // Akron/Family

Tracklist:
1. Tenere – Group Bombino
2. Mudzimu Ndiringe – Hallelujah Chicken Run Band
3. Susana Wacha Maringo – D.O. Misiani and Shirati Jazz
4. Congo – Voodoo Drummers from Haiti
5. Tumu Pakara – Francis Bebey
6. Rock Out – Art Ensemble of Chicago
7. Come Away – ESG
8. Ogunja – King Sunny Ade’
9. Sunlanding – Dewey Redman
10. Built for Comfort – Howlin Wolf
11. I Belong to the Band-Hallelujah – Reverend Gary Davis

The Art Of Noise is back! Did you miss us? What do you mean “no”?! Well I suppose you won’t want to listen to the exclusive mixtape Frankie and The Heartstrings made for us then will you? Oh right so now you’re interested?!

Yes, it’s our Art of Noise playlist feature and this time around we’ve asked Sunderland’s finest five-piece to delve deep into their record collection to dig out a selection of tracks that have inspired them to keep it real, made them dance around like idiots or transported them to previously foreign musical realms.

Below you can listen to choice picks from Mick Ross, Frankie Francis, Michael McKnight, Dave Harper and Steven Dennis while their words take us on a track-by-track journey from Destroyer to the aptly named The Art of Noise.

Art of Noise // Frankie and the Heartstrings

Destroyer: ‘It’s Gonna Take An Aeroplane’
Mick Ross: I recently rediscovered this band and their latest record after falling in love with them a few years ago at ATP. I’d never heard of them before and bought ‘Your Blues’ – this is the highlight track. Pop genius.

Prefab Sprout: ‘Goodbye Lucille #1 (Johnny Johnny)’
Mick Ross: My current favourite track from one of the greatest records ever made. The chord sequence and brilliance of the harmony work makes it impossible to not keep re-positioning the needle of my record player and dance round like and idiot before a night out. (Sad I know).

The Vaselines: ‘Molly’s Kiss’
Michael McKnight

The Housemartins: ‘Five Get Over Excited’
Michael McKnight

Tindersticks: ‘Tiny Tears’
Dave Harper: Tindersticks are a grown up, very sophisticated band: Everything I am not. They exist in the same space as Tom Waits, Charles Bukowski, Vincent Gallo and others I pretend to understand. That went out of the window when I heard ‘Tiny Tears’. I would get stoned, lie in bed and listen to this. It’s so far away from anywhere I’ve ever been.

George Jones: ‘White Lightening’
Dave Harper: That term, keeping it real. Well George Jones sings about his father’s illegal alcohol production sideline without becoming “a facking graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassss!”. There is a cover by The Fall but this is better because it’s sang by a real rebel and not a man who counts flies covered in his own shit.

Talking Heads: ‘Warning Sign’
Steven Dennis

Dire Straits: ‘On Every Street’
Steven Dennis

The Art of Noise: ‘Close (To The Edit)’
Frankie Francis: When I saw the name of your mixtape piece I instantly thought of this piece of music. It’s something I play when DJing and it’s a brilliantly put together piece of music using what I’m sure were cutting edge production techniques at the time.

The Men: ‘Lotus’
Frankie Francis: I discovered these guys while in my manager’s house. He slipped it on the record player and I instantly felt I had to go out and buy it so I did the next day from Rough Trade. This track is brilliant and I love putting it on really loud. It has the frustrated angst of Fugazi and the noise of an early Valentines song.

As you should know by now, TLOBF and Oh! Canada have returned to the East Coast of Canada for the Annual Halifax Pop Explosion. And, as seems to happen every time we have a Canadian showcase – we have a number in Common – this time Oh! Canada’s 19th Edition is a celebration of 19 Years of the Pop Explosion.

It only seems fitting, then, that we should put together a compilation of 19 (see what we did there) tracks from bands playing the Pop Explosion this year, so those folks not at the event can get a taste of what they are missing, and those who are can perhaps find something new to go and see.

As ever our thanks go out to the good folk who have made this edition possible. Please support the artists and click through to find out more about them.

If you are at Halifax Pop Explosion be sure to come and say hello at our showcase at The Bus Stop Theatre on Friday 21st with Snailhouse, The Provincial Archive, Giant Hand and Paper beat Scissors, and to pick up one of our Screenprints as part of the Poster Fair. You’ll also be able to keep up with us at the festival on twitter at @ohcanada_uk

DOWNLOAD
[.zip] Oh! Canada Volume 19

1. Vkngs- Eighteen
2. Born Gold- Morning Bath
3. Honheehonhee- A is For Animal
4. Dog Day- Part Girl
5. The Balconies- Kill Count
6. Cold Warps- Hang Up On You
7. The Deadly Hearts- Moon Walk
8. Shotgun Jimmie- Late Last Year
9. The Skeletones Four- Empty Eyes
10. Camp Radio (Chris Page)- The Girl Who Stole My Motorbike
11. Long Weekends- Quarter Sticks
12. The Paint Movement- Young Lights
13. Graham Wright- Soviet Race
14. JF Robitaille- For Better Or Worse
15. Ben Caplan And The Casual Smokers- Southbound
16. Adam & The Amethysts- Prohecy
17. Dan Ledwell- Little River
18. Gianna Lauren- Standstill
19. Bruce Peninsula- In Your Light

After a summer spent taking in the sights and sounds of, er, Canada, Oh! Canada returns from our scouting mission refreshed and ready to present another bumper issue of Oh! Canada – our 18th edition, showcasing some of the many acts we discovered along the way.

The Pack AD are no strangers to the Oh! Canada playlists and their new album Unpersons is as good a reason as any to present them to you again. The snarl and promise of the Vancouver duo’s NXNE performance is more than delivered on with the heavy riffing ‘Sirens’. Also heavy on the riff are Toronto’s Biblical, whose ‘Oubliette’ gives more than a little nod to Rush and Yes along the way.

This month also sees selections from new albums from The Deep Dark Woods, Jon McKiel, Sandro Perri, Kathryn Calder, Ohbijou, Siskiyou, Dan Mangan and The Weather Station. There’s also the return of Memoryhouse with an extended version of the Years EP , a new project from Teen Daze based on ‘Out Of The Silent Planet’ by C.S. Lewis and Rich Aucoin’s riotous party pop sounds more anthemic by the day on ‘It’. We are also pleased to introduce you to Fond of Tigers, Muskox, Deloro, Trips and Falls, Doug Tielli and Resorts.

As ever, we hope that Oh! Canada introduces you to some new favourites and encourages you to click on the artist links to find out more about (and hear more tracks/order albums/heap praises upon) the artists who have made it possible.

DOWNLOAD
[.zip] Oh! Canada Volume 18

1. Fond Of Tigers - Soheb
2. The Pack A.D - Sirens
3. Biblical - Oubliette
4. Muskox - Lutonian Knights I
5. Sandro Perri - Love & Light
6. Ohbijou -Niagara
7. The Deep Dark Woods - Westside Street
8. Jon McKiel - Strands
9. Deloro - Joy Joy
10. Trips and Falls - This Is All Going To End Badly
11. Siskiyou - Twigs and Stones
12. Dan Mangan - Post War Blues
13. Rich Aucoin - It
14. Kathryn Calder - Who Are You?
15. Teen Daze - Surface
16. Memoryhouse - Quiet America
17. Doug Tielli - Riversea
18. The Weather Station - If I’ve Been Fooled
19. Resorts - Maven FM 1.0

Keep an eye out for another Oh! Canada in the coming weeks as we head to the East Coast for Halifax Pop Explosion!

Follow us @ohcanada_uk

We here at TLOBF Towers (not an actual tower but separate computers in separate buildings in separate cities) have a bit of a crush on the Swedes and those north of the American border. We’re not being pretentious in our love for all things native of these far off lands (for the record, I’m Welsh and that’s the indie version of being English, right?), but instead we see some truly exciting things happening in and coming out of these two countries.

These last few months have seen great music spawn from our Scandinavian blood brothers and sisters and the point to our case came just earlier this week when Canada’s Polaris Prize shortlist was unveiled. To celebrate, we give you a playlist complied with love, each track a superb song hand-picked from the Polaris-nominated artists and albums. Don’t ever say we never treat you.

My money, if I had any, would be on that little-known band Arcade Fire. But if I were on the panel, which I am not, I’d have to give all the marbles to 2011′s success story (Sorry James Blake) The Weeknd for creating undoubtedly the coolest, sleekest, smoothest album this year and still having the balls to release it for nothing.

Enjoy.

Oh! Canada returns with another sample of some of the best new music coming out of Canada. This month we have a handful of songs from bands playing at NXNE in Toronto, including Grimes, Doldrums, Red Mass, Modern Superstitions, Imaginary Cities, Heartbeat Hotel, Bruce Peninsula, The Darcys and Chains of Love.

We are also new material from Esmerine (featuring members of Godspeed You ! Black Emperor and A Silver Mt Zion), recent Timber Timbre and Arcade Fire collaborator Colin Stetson, The Burning Hell, Ryan Driver, Cyrillic Typewriter, Joel Plaskett, and many more. We are also delighted to include Christine Fellows, with a track from her fantastic Femmez des chez nous album.

DOWNLOAD
[.zip] Oh! Canada Volume 17
[.zip] Oh! Canada Volume 17 (alternate link)

1. Grimes -Crystal Ball (Doldrums Remix)
2. Colin Stetson – The Stars In His Head (Dark Lights Remix)
3. Tasseomancy – Healthy Hands
4. Esmerine – A Dog River
5. Ryan Driver – Everything Must Spin
6. Lake Forest – Autumn Skies
7. The Barr Brothers – Beggar In The Morning
8. Christine Fellows – Mlle Sténo
9. Cyrillic Typewriter – Blue Coat, Brown Ink
10. The Burning Hell – Kings of The Animal Kingdom
11. Dog Is Blue – Southern Ontario
12. Bruce Peninsula – Light Flight
13. Rah Rah – Sailors
14. Mark Davis – Eliminate The Toxins
15. The Darcys -Edmonton To Purgatory
16. Red Mass – Cadavre Mecanique
17. Joel Plaskett and Shotgun Jimmie – Jimmie’s Still Jimmie
18. Modern Superstitions – Visions of You
19. Imaginary Cities – Ride This Out
20. Chains of Love – You Got It
21. Heartbeat Hotel- Windowsill 1
22. Doldrums – Euphoria
23. Chris Field – Steel Tiger

As ever our thanks to all the people who make these Oh! Canada compilations possible. Please show your support by following the links, going out to shows, and sharing the compilation with others. Let the artists know if you have enjoyed the music!

Follow Oh! Canada at @ohcanada_uk

It’s turning into a busy year for Canadian Blast. Having already showcased at Camden Crawl and presented a handful of shows in London and Berlin, they will once again head down to Brighton for The Great Escape this year. As in previous years, they will be hosting a showcase of some of the finest Canadian talent at the festival. This year they takeover Upstairs at The Komedia during the day with a show featuring Braids, Young Empires, Hey Rosetta, Woodhands and Said The Whale.

If you are heading down to the Great Escape (and even if you aren’t), Canadian Blast have put together a Soundcloud playlist for your listening pleasure to introduce you to some of the Canadian artists showcasing at the festival (even those not playing their showcase)

Head over to www.canadianblast.com or follow @canadianblast on twitter to find out more about their upcoming events, including the huge free show in Trafalgar Square and a special show at The Barbican featuring The Hidden Cameras, Chilly Gonzales, Woodpigeon and Devon Sproule.

Once again Oh! Canada has put together a compilation of some of the finest new music Canada has to offer for your listening delight. This month’s compilation offers a number of artists heading to the UK in the next few months (Destroyer, Hey Rosetta!, Bonjay, Hooded Fang), You’ve Changed Record’s Daniel Romano, new offerings from Chad VanGaalen and Frederick Squire and plenty more besides. We are also delighted to have an exclusive taken from the breathtaking new record from Kite Hill, the new project from Ohbijou’s Ryan Carley.

DOWNLOAD
[.zip] Oh! Canada Volume 16
[.zip] Oh! Canada Volume 16 (alternate link)

1. Bonjay – Want A Gang
2. Geoff Berner – Wealthy Poet
3. Destroyer – Chinatown
4. Les Breastfeeders – 400 Miles
5. Hey Rosetta! – Yr Spring
6. Malajube – Synesthésie
7. Hands & Teeth – Until The Night
8. Hooded Fang – Green River
9. Giant Hand – Another Step Down
10. Monogrenade – M’en Aller
11. Typewriter – D’Argent, D’Or
12. Racoon Bandit – Wooly Toque
13. Little Scream – The Heron and The Fox
14. Daniel Romano – Time Forgot (To Change My Heart)
15. Chad VanGaalen – Sara
16. Frederick Squire – All Things Past Serve To Guide You On Your Way
17. Jennifer Castle – Neverride
18. Kite Hill – Picton Trip

As ever our thanks to all the people who make these Oh! Canada compilations possible. Please show your support by following the links, going out to shows, and sharing the compilation with others. Let the artists know if you have enjoyed the music!

WIN!

Oh! Canada will be DJing between acts at Canadian Blast’s London showcases Upstairs at the Relentless Garage next month, including:

May
10 – Hey Rosetta!, Brasstronaut and Said The Whale (SOLD OUT)
11 – Hey Rosetta!, Winter Gloves, Bonjay and Modern Superstitions
17 – Inflight Safety, Carmen Townesend, David Myles and DUZHEKNEW (Canadian Blast w/ Music Nova Scotia)

We have a pair of tickets to both the May 11 and May 17 shows up for grabs.
Just email competition@thelineofbestfit.com with the subject “Canadian Blast” by May 10 for your chance to claim a ticket.

As if all this wasn’t enough, don’t forget to pick up Paper Records “True Blue” featuring the likes of PS I Love You, The Acorn, Young Galaxy, The Acorn and The Rural Alberta Advantage amongst others covering Madonna’s “True Blue” album, for free.

Finally, don’t forget that for more Canadian goodness, and plenty of free downloads, follow us on Twitter @OhCanada_uk

As the sun comes out and winter finally seems to be behind us (hopefully), we are pleased to present a bumper edition of Oh! Canada. We’ve got new material from previous Oh Canada artists as well as tracks from The Rural Alberta Advantage and a track from the forthcoming Buck 65 record, which sees the man from Mount Uniacke Nova Scotia team up with Nick Thorburn (The Unicorns/Islands/ Mister Heavenly) and sample Daniel Johnston. And of course, we hope there are plenty of new discoveries for you here too.

As ever, we hope that you enjoy these compilations and hope that you click on the artists to find out more about them and give them your support. There are also a couple of full album downloads to be had, if you just look (er…click) hard enough.

DOWNLOAD
[.zip] Oh! Canada Volume 15
[.zip] Oh! Canada Volume 15 (alternate link)

1. Mister E : ‘My Turn’
2. Maylee Todd: ‘Summer Sounds’
3. Bikini: ‘ACheerlaeder’
4. Buck 65: ‘Gee Whiz (with Nick Thorburn)’
5. Cyrillic Typewriter: ‘Fellow Workers’
6. Quaker Parents: ‘Layer Me Down’
7. Apollo Ghosts: ‘Validation!’
8. Slam Dunk: ‘Do The Slam Dunk’
9. FUNS: ‘Date Night’
10. Boats: ‘Chrome Eyelids’
11. It Kills: ‘Sailor’
12. Slow Down, Molasses: ‘Wake Me Up At The Coast’
13. The Rural Alberta Advantage: ‘Stamp’
14. Bear Trees: ‘Oh, My Soul! (Flemmington Version)’
15. North Lakes: ‘Gutter’
16. Shotgun Jimmie : ‘King Of Kreuzberg’
17. Shimmering Stars: ‘I’m Gonna Try’
18. Snailhouse: ‘Sentimental Gentleman’
19. No Gold: ‘Weird Week’
20. Michael Rault: ‘Call Me On The Phone’
21. Peter Elkas: ‘Cool Thing To Do’

As an extra bonus this month we also want to point you in the direction of yet more goods…
Paper Bag Records are offering a free download of “Leftovers“, a collaboration between P.S. I Love You and Diamond Rings, as well as a “Cover Your Tracks” a Young Galaxy remix EP featuring remixes from the Teen Daze and CFCF.

Speaking of Teen Daze, not content with being one of the most prolific acts out there at the moment, he has found time for a new project, Two Bicyles, as well as setting up an online free label called Cultus Vibes.

Finally, over at Bandcamp D-Sisive is offering up the whole of his new album Jonestown 2: Jimmy Go Bye Bye

We are delighted to bring you another installment of our Oh! Canada compilations. This month we kick things off with the welcome return for Braids (who featured on the first Oh! Canada back in 2009 and release their debut album Native Speaker this month). This edition also features some of the many bands we discovered while visiting the East of Canada last year, including pop-jangle mastery from John McKiel and Prince Edward Islands’s Paper Lions, ferocious grunge-blues from husband and wife duo Cursed Arrows, classic pop sounds from Laura Key, and Frederick Squire‘s delicate finger picking.

We also bring you some familiar faces in new forms: Chris Reimer and Matt Flegel of Women join forces with James Cullen for his project Church of The Very Bright Lights, while Friendo sees Michael Wallace (also of Women) step out from behind the drumkit and take to the guitar. Memphis is the side project of Torquil Campbell of Stars, while Sister is the new project of the Gillis sisters of Plumtree.

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[.zip] Oh! Canada Volume 14
[.zip] Oh! Canada Volume 14 (Alternative download link)
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1. Braids: ‘Plath Heart’
2. Church Of The Very Bright Lights: ‘Words’
3. Jon Mckiel: ‘Motion Pictures’
4. Paper Lions: ‘We Lost The War’
5. Parlovr: ‘Hell, Heaven’
6. Memphis: ‘I Want The Lights On After Dark’
7. Cowboy Junkies: ‘Wrong Piano’
8. Cursed Arrows: ‘Death Rattle Blues’
9. DUZHEKNEW: ‘Home Caste’
10. Gamma Gamma Rays: ‘Roam’
11. Wildlife: ‘Sea Dreamer’
12. DVAS: ‘Questions’
13. Silly Kissers: ‘Sweet Adrian’
14. The Luyas: ‘Tiny Head’
15. Friendo: ‘Pass Times’
16. Grimes: ‘Devon’
17. Sister: ‘Feather On The Ocean Floor’
18. Laura Peek: ‘Stay Sharp’
19. The Tom Fun Orchestra: ‘When You Were Mine’
20. Frederick Squire: ‘Pretty Bird’
21. Spring Breakup: ‘The Effect I Have On Women’

The cover art for this edition was again produced by Jon Janes using an image taken by Jasper Baydala.

Our thanks to everyone who helped make this months compilation possible. Be sure to click on the band names to find out more about each artist, and in some cases you will find more music to download (including three full records for free). On the subject of free, be sure to catch Tom Fun Orchestra for free shows at Manchester Trof Fallowfield (31 Jan), London AAA (1 February) and Cardiff’s Buffalo Bar (2 February).

And finally don’t forget you can follow Oh! Canada at www.twitter.com/ohcanada_uk

As the nights draw in and the temperatures drop, Oh! Canada has been looking back over 2010. We hope that through this years interviews, mixes and reviews we have introduced you to some of best new music Canada has to offer, and that we have helped you to discover some new favourites. We will be looking back on 2010 and looking forward to 2011 with a handful of Canadian artists and writers in the next few weeks, but in the meantime, to get you in the festive spirit we are proud to present Ho Ho Ho Canada Deux!

A follow up to last years Ho Ho Ho Canada, Ho Ho Canada Deux hopes to provide an antidote to hearing the same old Christmas tunes year after year.

The compilation includes new compositions, covers, traditional songs (including one in Norwegian), the occasional curse word (you have been warned), and sleigh bells and festive cheer aplenty. We’d like to thank all of the artists involved for their time and effort in putting this together-please be sure to click on their names to find out more about them and find out what they are up to in the next few months. The artwork was created by Jon Janes using an image of Clear Creek, Yukon by Michael Edwards.

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[.zip] Ho! Ho! Ho! Canada Deux
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1. By Divine Right: ‘Mall Santa’*
2. Paper Lions: ‘Jingle Bells’
3. The Mountains and The Trees: ‘My Favourite Sweater (Happy Holidays)’ *
4. Great Lake Swimmers: ‘Gonna Make It Through The Year’
5. Ox: ‘Xmas In the Jailhouse’
6. Baby Eagle: ‘Fearfully and Wonderfully’ *
7. Boxer The Horse: ‘Material Xmas’
8. Sean Nicholas Savage: ‘Snowflake’
9. The Russian Futurists: ’100 Shopping Days Till Christmas’
10. Kashka (Kat Burns of Forest City Lovers): ‘Picture Books In Winter’ *
11. Hooded Fang: ‘Tundra Nights’ *
12. Teen Daze: ‘Medley In D (Holy Holy Holy/ Christmas at Sea/ Goodnight, Sleep Tight)’ *

*= recorded specially for Ho Ho Ho Canada Deux

All of these songs have been given free for your listening pleasure. We hope you enjoy them and have a fantastic festive season. At this time of year especially there are hundreds of good causes all seeking your help-we hope that, in keeping with the spirit of giving, if you enjoy this compilation you might consider giving a donation to one of them. Thank-you.

You can follow Oh Canada on Twitter at @OhCanada_uk for news, links and more.

In a year that’s seen chill-wave-no-wave-witch-house-glo-fi-lo-fi (delete as applicable) erupt over the internets like a virus (before eventually imploding in on itself), one band have remained a constant – cruising steadily throughout the crud, Yuck – masters of their own destiny – have set their own pace whilst casually overshadowing whatever *scene* is in vogue in any given month.

By now, we know all about their nineties inspired college jams that soar with ease; filled to the brim with melodic pop hooks and blissed out guitar breaks. But underneath it all, what music actually makes them tick? Here, Max Bloom (guitar) and Daniel Blumberg (vocals) curate a special downloadable mix-tape in which track-by-track they take us on a tour of their current musical crushes. Whether they’re revealing their introspective side with a choice cut from Red House Painters, classic case studies of dysfunctional pop with classics from Wilco and Grandaddy or bigging up fellow up and coming British talent A Grave With No Name – there’s something for everyone here. Special thanks goes out to the band for the fantastic artwork they created especially for this mix.

Yuck’s latest single – ‘Rubber’ – is out now and available on 12″ vinyl. More info via the bands website (watch the video below).

Red House Painters: ‘Grace Cathedral Park’
Listening to this song and album for the first time was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. No words to describe how beautiful the record is and this track sets the scene.

Ivansxtc: ‘Yesterday’
This song literally came from no where. It was put up on the Ivansxtc MySpace along with two other incredible songs and then just left. There have been no gigs, no one knows who he/they is/are and no one knows if he/they will ever make any music ever again. All that contextual crap aside ‘Yesterday’ is one of the greatest, most powerful songs of the last 10 years.

Kurt Vile: ‘Freak Train’
Kurt Vile’s style is something I’ve never really heard ever before, his chords and the way he plays guitar are all quite new to me. I love the production on this and the whole album. I also love the simple drum beat that runs throughout the track and never changes, it’s the one constant thing throughout the whole song, everything is quite chaotic around that one thing and I LOVE IT I REALLY DO.

Wilco: ‘I Am Trying To Break Your Heart’
This album was mixed by Jim O’Rourke, and it’s my favorite song on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. The melodies are so perfect, they’re never overdone. Jeff Tweedy has a voice that makes me shiver. I saw Wilco live at End of the Road festival with all the band, it was probably the best gig I’ve ever seen, and there were loads of stars in the sky, and I was really high!

A Grave With No Name: ‘Streams (Demo)’
Alex Shields for me is by far the most exciting songwriter in this country at the moment. This demo is the first thing I’ve heard since his debut album Mountain Debris and it made me think he’s going to make incredible records for years to come. He’s a classic songwriter, a Mark Linkous type genius and I’m so excited about what he’s going to produce in the future.

Built to Spill: ‘Randy Describes Eternity’
This song has amazing lyrics, as does the whole album. Built to Spill have been a really big influence on my guitar playing, especially with their lead parts, every note makes complete sense and all the guitars sound perfect.

Grandaddy: ‘He’s Simple, He’s Dumb, He’s The Pilot’
From the album The Sophtware Slump.. musically they are so inventive and original, all of the sounds are absolutely perfect and there is not one note out of place. Jason Lytle’s lyrics are also so imaginative and unusual, they just show everything I love about simple, beautiful songs.

Codeine: ‘New Years’
Codeine ruined my summer :(

Jim O’Rourke: ‘Something Big’
There is something so incredible about the songs on this album, the production is so simple and understated. Jim O’Rourke is one of my favorite producers. I love hearing this song on the album, because whenever it starts it makes me so happy. I imagine the female backing singers in the chorus to be wearing cocktail dresses. Not sure why.

Silver Jews: ‘Trains Across The Sea’
Starlite Walker is the best Joos album hands down. WHAAAAAT AN OPENER !!!

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- – - – - – - – - – -

Click here to view the embedded video.

Our sporadic Art Of Noise feature returns in style with a monstrous (see what I did there?) live-mix from Fraser Moss of the super influential clothing brand You Must Create (or YMC as it’s more commonly known). A huge vinyl junkie, Fraser recently recorded a series of mixes using his vast array of 45rpm singles and, being the kind gent that he is, offered the first mix – a Halloween special no-less – exclusively to The Line Of Best Fit.

Fans of rockabilly, psych, soul et al will  reap dividends. Speaking of reaping, if your wardrobe currently makes you feel grim (couldn’t resist), fear not – as Fraser is kindly offering one lucky reader £250 worth of YMC gift vouchers to be used either on-line or in-store. To enter the prize draw, just fill out the form at the bottom of this post.

Here are a few words from Fraser himself:

Music has been an obsession of mine since I bought my first 45 at the age of 6 (Sparks – ‘This Town Aint Big Enough For the Both Of Us’) and I’ve never looked back. I feel really lucky that I grew up though a healthy period of youth culture in the UK which sparked my love of clothes. From YMC’s beginnings, LPs and singles artwork played a big part in our graphics; I’m not sure how much this influences my designs today but music is integral to me and therefore I cannot seperate the two they are just parts of my life.

Art Of Noise // Halloween Special, curated by Fraser Moss of YMC

1. Gary ‘Spider’ Web: ‘The Cave’ (Bamboo Recordings)
2. Curtis and the Creepers: ‘The Thing’ (Dauntless)
3. Evans Carroll and the Tempos: ‘The Monster’ (Bangar)
Radio Spot – Mephisto Waltz (20th Century Fox)
4. Elliot Small: ‘I’m a Devil’ (A.B.S. Records)
5. The Metropolitans: ‘Screaming Part II’ (SMC)
6. The Motivations: ‘The Birds’ (Pride)

Radio Spot – Frogs (American International Pictures)

7. Googie Rene: ‘Big Foot’ (Class)
8. Lavern Baker: ‘Voodoo Voodoo’ (Atlantic)
9. Randy Fuller: ‘Wolfman’ (Mustang)

Radio Spot – Audrey Rose – Reincarnation (United Artists)

10. Screaming ‘Lord’ Sutch: ‘‘Til the following Night’ (HMV)
11. Jan Davis: ‘Watusi Zombie’ (Holiday Records)
12. Wolfman Jack and the Wolf Pack: ‘Wolfman Boogie part II’ (Bread Records)

Radio Spot – Night Child and Beyond the Door (Film Ventures International)

13. Velvetones: ‘Hairy Lumpty Bump’ (Verve)
14. Joe Cota: ‘Creep-a-Con Rock’ (Locket Records)
15. The Tomko’s: ‘The Spook’ (Artistique Records)
16. The Duponts: ‘Screaming Ball (At Dracula Hall)’ (Roulette)

Radio Spot – The Possession of Joel Delaney (Paramount Pictures)

17. Christopher Love: ‘You May Be The Next’ (London American Records)
18. Claudine Longet: ‘Sleep safe and Warm (Lullaby from Rosemarys Baby)’ (A&M Records)
19. The Frantics: ‘Werewolf’ (Dolton)
20. The Shadow Knows: ‘Link Wray’ (Swan)
21. Billy Massey: ‘Ghost Town’ (Lanier)

Radio Spot – The House by the Lake (American International)

22. Jack Hammer and The Pacers: ‘Black Widow Spider Woman’ (Milestone Records)
23. Magnificent Monta-Gue: ‘The Breather’ (ERA Records)
24. Big Bob Kornegay: ‘Hocus Pocus Voo Doo’ (Herald)
25. Virgil Holmes: ‘Ghost Train’ (Atlantic)

In the week of the Polaris Prize, Oh! Canada is pleased to continue the celebration of new Canadian music with the latest edition of our Oh! Canada compilations. This month we bring you a wide range of musical stylings from the folk roots and Canadiana of Blue Rodeo, Basia Bulat and Amelia Curran, via the punk explosion of Nutsak to dance and electronica from Rich Aucoin and Flowers and Sea Creatures. Along the way we take notes from Montreal’s underground in the form of Red Mass, Black Feelings, Devil Eyes and Valleys. We also catch up with some new projects from familiar faces: Steve Lambke (The Constantines) reveals a new album from his Baby Eagle project while Sebastien Grainger (DFA1979/Sebastien Grainger and the Mountains) presents Bad Tits. As ever there is plenty more besides for your listening pleasure.

The autumn promises to be a busy time for Oh! Canada, so look out for more news and competitions in the coming days and weeks. Until then, enjoy latest installment #13 and, as ever, our thanks go out to everybody who helps to make Oh! Canada possible each month. Particular thanks go to Jon Janes of The Mountains & The Trees who provided us with this months cover art.

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[.zip] Oh! Canada Volume 13
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1. Basia Bulat: ’If Only You’
2. By Divine Right: ’I Will Hook You Up’
3. Mark Berube & The Patriotic Few: ‘Tailored to Fit’
4. Jonas Shandel: ’Time’
5. Po’ Girl: ’To The Morning’
6. Amelia Curran: ’The Mistress’
7. David Vertesi: ’All Night, All Night, All Night’
8. Blue Rodeo: ‘All The Things That Are Left Behind’
9. Dark Bird: ‘Burning Hearts’
10. Valleys: ’The Heavy Dreamer’
11. Black Feelings: ‘Jupiter’
12. Nutsak: ‘Last Train To Nutsak NJ’
13. Devil Eyes: ‘Rip My Heart Out’
14. Luke Doucet and The White Falcon: ’Thinking People’
15. Red Mass: ‘Saturn’
16. Baby Eagle: ’Crooked Coin’
17. Glory Glory Man United: ’Pop Song Automaton’
18. The Coast: ’Lovers Go’
19. Bad Tits: ’No Skin’
20. Rich Aucoin: ’Push’
21. Flowers & Sea Creatures: ’At Night’
22. B.A Johnston: ’Taste The Shame’

What with Yuck and Fanzine acting as my own personal UK consituency currently reigniting my faith in good wholesome guitar music, Herzog complete this imaginary holy trinity by bringing their own brand of college-slacker-post-scuzz-goofball-rock (I’m just throwing words together here) to the masses. Their album Search (available now via Transparent) is a work of understated craftsmanship. It may hang looser than an oversized pair of lumberjack pants but the melodies are so tight, and at times so euphoric (see ‘West Blvd’ and ‘Living Alone’) that by the end of the short 35 minute running time you’re left feeling like you’ve been hit by a canonball straight in the chest. It’s staggering – one of the best records of 2010, no doubt. You can stream the album in full via the bands bandcamp page, right here.

We got in touch with the guys in order for them to throw together a 10-track playlist of some of their favourite jams, new and old. Much like their music, their selection of tracks may vary in genre but there’s a loose thread that hangs everything together. From Ron Sexsmith to Fugazi. It. Just. Works. Download the entire compilation at the bottom of the post, or stream each track individually right here – it’s your call.

Ron Sexsmith: ‘Strawberry Blonde’
The pacing in this song is amazing. Six verses of four lines each, each capped with a refrain. Pacing is a mid-level soft rock shuffle. He introduces and names the character. Without referring to himself in the first person, he establishes the character. The bridge takes it much darker (and sealing Sexsmiths’ hope at radio success) with a girl who’s mom killed her self going down a slide and staring at the ground. Then in true pop song sense, he goes back the main melody, speaking in the first person a few years later, with no explanation or attempt to fill in the gaps. No judgment, no foreshadowing. Just a dark story with a perfect melody. It’s one thing to quote life goes on statements; it’s a whole other skill to arrange your song with such symmetry that the sentiment is perfectly broadcast

Fugazi: ‘Break’
Nick just watched Instrument, the documentary about them, and I think it was the first time he got what is truly great about them. The thing I love about Fugazi is that play every song like its the only song they’ve ever written, and they’re never going to waste your time. Even the weird shit on Red Medicine and End Hits is very direct. And I think “Break” is Fugazi at their leanest. Starts off with the trademark staccato guitars with bass lead. Then the lyrics ask the eternal question “Can’t ask for more/ so why unfulfilled?” One ear piercing scream later you’ve learned everything about Fugazi that hardcore kids from 80′s who have been listening for twenty years know. And now you have to do something

Raymond Scott: ‘Lightworks’
Raymond Scott was a notorious prude, so he probably won’t like what I’m about to say. I think “Lightworks” is incredibly sexy. Also, I’m pretty certain the vocalist was his wife… Sorry Ray… anyway the pulse is so glittery and futuristic and seductive. It’s like being winked at by a hologram. But when you go to touch her, she’s just light and air, and the suggested sex never materializes. Which is probably way hotter.

The National: ‘Afraid of Everyone’
The National have gone from cleverly describing things to soberly realizing them. This song hits that terrible revelation that some problems are so complicated, there aren’t drugs in existence you can take that will solve them. It’s a terrible moment that I guess makes us all adults. The other great thing about The National is every time you think they’re settling into moderate rock, they come at you with one part in one song that is so much more intense then the rest of the song.

Hum: ‘Afternoon with the Axototls’
Ever seen those really high-res pictures of nebulae? Hum found a way to make their guitars sound like that. They’re infinitely complex but wispy and they float away with a moments daydream. Hum are on a rocket ship, but it’s not powered by liquid oxygen and benzene, it moves as fast as their hearts beat.

Phil Ochs: ‘The Scorpion Departs but Never Returns’
I’ve probably spent more time analyzing and writing about this song that any other piece of music in my collection. The USS Scorpion was a fast attack submarine that went down due to mechanical failure with all hands in 1968. Apparently one of the torpedo tubes flooded, and the ship slowly sank to the bottom until the hull was crushed. Ochs uses this as metaphor for both the fruitless-ness of subservience and the hopelessness of life. The trust the crew place in the captain is abandoned when the captain won’t even say how long must remain and the ship slowly sinks to the bottom of the ocean. I could write about this song forever and still not encompass all of the emotional and musical depth.

Titus Andronicus: ‘Four Score and Seven’
I really oppose new age, feel-goodery. I have finally found a band that speaks to that. Arcade Fire are too scared and my beloved The National too physical. Titus Andronicus never shy away from moral complexity and they embrace it to the point where you have to ask the question. And these aren’t questions you ask while staring into space, these are questions you ask when someone is in your face. Patrick Sickles is so fed up with your hipster bullshit, he’s willing to embrace genocide as a reasonable solution. And what are you going to do about it?

The Mice: ‘Not Proud of the USA’
Similar theme as Titus, I guess. Quick note for foreigners: The Mice were a Cleveland punk band in the mid 1980′s who were a pretty direct influence on Guided By Voices and their quick, dirty & catchy pop styles. This song repositions rejection of nationalism into family struggles about a narrator not wanting to accept his father’s version of history. It’s a pretty classic tale. This song is waiting to be rediscovered by audiences outside of Cleveland, and we’re going to talk about it until it is.

Perfume Genius: ‘Mr. Peterson’
Eventually, Perfume Genius will descend into gay new age feel-goodery, but right now, it’s still simple, raw and perfect. A lot of critics compare him to Daniel Johnston, and there are some stylistic similarities, but I find it has more in common with Deerhunter’s doctor’s office confessions. I also hear a little of the Elliott Smith/Ron Sexsmith school of balanced controlled pop melancholy. But he, like Deerhunter, has this sense that everything will be alright. Not everything has to be doom & gloom, right?

Refused: ‘The Apollo Programme was a Hoax’
Pitchfork recently put Refused into the canon, and I couldn’t be happier. Refused definitely grabbed me as an impressionable youth, and schooled me in the ways of musical resistance. Music should not be empty of political content, nor politics should not be devoid of passion, and Refused stood for those. This song is the least punk sounding thing they ever did with rocking chair creaking and upright bass. But it’s also perfectly punk: The first line in the song is the last line in the sand. What side are you on? – “Petrol bombs and barricades/ anything to have our say”

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[.zip] Art Of Noise // Herzog
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Hot on the heels of the August edition of the TLOBF podcast, Oh! Canada returns to once again bring you a selection of some of the finest music coming from Canada. This month we feature tracks from Polaris shortlisters Shad and Radio Radio (fresh from their “Canada” festival appearance last month), more lyrical wordplay from Nova Scotia’s SJ the Wordburglar and Grand Analog, an exclusive preview from the new Provincial Archive record, plus new tracks from the likes of Women, Ten Kens, Bird & Bear, Les Jupes and Mardeen.

Guest artwork for this edition comes courtesy of Jon Janes (aka The Mountains & The Trees) who will be heading back to the UK in September for a handful of dates, including shows with Horse Feathers, fellow Oh! Canada favourites Elliot Brood and also a show at End of the Road festival. Also heading this way in the autumn are Women and Ben Rogers (keep an eye on Oh! Canada in the coming weeks for more details).

As ever our thanks go out to everyone who has made Oh! Canada possible. Show support to these artists by clicking on their names- you might even find there are some extra tracks, video’s and sessions hidden away amongst the links….

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[.zip] Oh! Canada Volume 12
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1. John Kameel Farah: ‘Crystalline’
2. Grand Analog: ‘I Play My Kazoo’
3. Shad: ’Yaa I Get It’
4. Ten Kens: ’Screaming Viking’
5. Kill The Lights: ’Lleggs’
6. Mardeen: ’Ice Truck Killer’
7. Courtney Wing: ’Chances’
8. The Provincial Archive: ’Weight and Sea’
9. Raised By Swans: ’Hail Of Arrows’
10. Les Jupes: ’Mathematics’
11. Radio Radio: ’Guess What?’
12. SJ The Wordburglar: ’The WB’
13. Lisa Bozikovic: ’Take and Take’
14. Sarah Harmer: ’Captive (Acoustic Version)’
15. Bird & Bear: ’Bird & Bear’
16. Ben Rogers: ’Criminals’
17. The Mountains and The Trees: ’Minimum Wage Lovers’
18. Jasper Sloan Yip: ’The Path Of Least Resistance (live at CBC)’
19. Women: ’Eyesore’

And as if all this isn’t enough we would also like to point you in the direction of Secretly Canadian, who, for a limited time only, are offering up the debut Zeroes EP from Montreal’s Suuns, for the price of an email. If dark, pulsating synth, propulsive drum lines and breathy lyrics that call to mind Clinic or Suicide are your thing then this something you definately should investigate. The band head off on tour of Canada and the US with The Besnard Lakes (whose Jace Lasek produced the band at his Breakglass Studios) and Land of Talk in October.

We’ve had this kicking around in the archives for a while now, today just seemed the perfect day to post it up. Had a pretty mesmerising gig experience last night at a Jens Lekman show – won’t go into the details but it was nothing short than life affirming. As expected, the come-down really kicked in this morning and this mixtape by Delorean – creators of one of this years finest records with Subiza – was the perfect antidote.

Considering they’re an act constantly flirting with uplifting balearic house, the following 10 tracks see Delorean reveal their more introspective side – Arthur Russell, Brian Eno and Cocteau Twins all looming large. Download the entire mix at the bottom of the post.

Subiza is out now via Matador / True Panther

The Cocteau Twins: ‘Lazy Calm’
They say it’s not the best CT album but it surely is one of the most embracing, so easy listening and good.

Anna Domino: ‘Land Of My Dreams’
One of the best pop tunes lately, a great and unique pop ballad.

Arthur Russell: ‘A Little Lost’
Arthur Russell needs of course no introduction and this song is simply one of the main reasons to start loving his music.

The Durutti Column: ‘The Rest Of My Life’
This song is taken from the Sex and Death album. Gently played guitars, pop chords and subtle vocals; another great source of inspiration and perfect after Arthur Russell’s song.

John Maus: ‘Through The Skies For You’
This one’s taken from the album Songs and it kind of condenses what John Maus is, all his drama and beauty.

Brian Eno: ‘The Big Ship’
Doing research on my iTunes folder I found this one, perfect as an interlude.

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti: ‘Can’t Hear My Eyes’
Included in his great new album this song is one of my Ariel Pink favourites, found it on a blog a few months ago and surely on the top list of the most played songs on my iTunes.

Boubacar Traoré: ‘Mantjini’
First discovered on awesometapesfromafrica.blogspot.com, Western African guitar music, kind of blues sometimes and incredibly sung.

David Crosby: ‘I’d Swear There Was Somebody’
Taken from the album If I Could Only Remember My Name, pretty sure Crosby did some drugs on this one.

Brian Eno and John Cale: ‘Spinning Away’
Brian Eno and John Cale put out Wrong Way Up, it’s kind of like a dream team album. This one’s a perfect goodbye for the mixtape.

Art Of Noise #11 // Delorean

Happy Canada Day! For those of you not heading down to Trafalgar Square for the free concert featuring Radio Radio, Sarah Harmer, Jully Black and Dan Mangan amongst others to celebrate Canada’s 143rd Birthday (and indeed for those of you who are), TLOBF has put together a Canada Day special edition of our Oh! Canada Compilation. We are also delighted to have specially crafted artwork made by Forest City Lover Kat “Kashka” Burns, whose latest album Carriage came out in Canada this week.

Taking in music from Prince Edward Islands in the East to British Columbia in the West, this months edition opens with Jason Collett’s ode to his home country, and ends with ‘National Lullaby’, a track from Sevens Project, including members of Moondata, Bell Orchestre and Patrick Watson, as well as contributions from the likes of Kid Koala and The Besnard Lakes.

As ever, our thanks go out to all involved with putting together the compilation. We hope you enjoy it and it becomes part of the soundtrack of your summer. And of course, Happy Canada Day!

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[.zip] Oh! Canada Volume 11
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1. Jason Collett: ‘Love Song To Canada’
2. Dukes of Burgundy: ‘Talking Backwards’
3. Dizzy Eyes: ‘Let’s Break Up The Band’
4. Tricot Machine: ‘Defier Les Rites’
5. Boxer The Horse: ‘Mary Meets The Pilot’
6. Long Long Long: ‘Ponytail Ambition’
7. Meligrove Band: ‘Halflight’
8. Rae Spoon: ‘You Can Dance’
9. Bishop Morocco: ‘Last Year’s Disco Guitars (Graham Walsh Of Holy Fuck Remix)’
10. Sans AIDS: ‘Flashlights’
11. The Magic: ‘Never Made A Sound’
12. Blue Hawaii: ‘Belize’
13. Cyrillic Typewriter: ‘Dreams Through A Cup Of Tea’
14. Julie Fader: ‘Skin and Bones’
15. Typewriter: ‘So Far’
16. The Order Of Good Cheer: ‘Be My Cub’
17. Seven Project: ‘National Lullaby’

Welcome back to our increasingly sporadic mixtape feature. You should know the deal by now…We pick a band / artist / label we love; ask them to make us a playlist of their favourite songs, adding in a brief explanation as to why they picked each track; we post said playlist for your aural satisfaction.

Team Ghost are a band who have been on constant rotation at TLOBF Towers for a fair few months now. Signed to the consistently worthwhile Sonic Cathedral, their debut EP You Never Did Anything Wrong To Me was a masterstroke in applying a new direction to the currently (over?)crowded shoegaze revival. Read the TLOBF review here.

Here, Team Ghost take us on a trip through their dusty record collection. Unearthing classics from their musical touchstones Drop Nineteens and Fad Gadgets to more recent discoveries Small Black and Maps. Plus lots, lots more. Dive straight  in via the MixCloud link below, or download the entire mix in mp3 format at the bottom of the post.

Ridiculously excited today to be able to offer out this collaborative EP from Memoryhouse, Visions Of Trees, How To Dress Well & Prizes to celebrate the forthcoming “TLOBF Presents” concert at The Social, London on 2 July. (Tickets for this one-off event are available now, priced at £5.)

Featuring two unheard tracks –  Visions Of Trees reveal the hypnotic sub-tropical world of  the ‘Black River’ plus ‘Volcanic Ash’, a charming paen to the recent events in Iceland from Prizes (formerly Treasure). There’s also a stripped bare ‘acoustic’ version of the Memoryhouse classic ‘Lately’ and the haunting ‘Suicide Dream 2′ from How To Dress Well.

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[.zip] The Social EP
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Visions Of Trees: ‘Black River’ *
How To Dress Well: ‘Suicide Dream 2′
Prizes: ‘Volcanic Ash Cloud’ *
Memoryhouse: ‘Lately (Troisieme)’

* new material, exclusive to this EP

The Social EP artwork by Denise Nouvion of Memoryhouse.

On 2 July 2010, all four of these bands will come together for a one-off show at Central London venue The Social which will feature live visuals from video artist Jamie Harley.

Based in Paris, Harley’s deft touch marries sound and vision flawlessly. By using found footage, cross-processed with lucid colours and psychedelic imagery, the results are nothing short of breath-taking. A true visionary, Jamie’s recent work includes videos for Memoryhouse, How To Dress Well, The Forest & The Trees and Prizes.

After a month off…Oh! Canada returns with 20 songs to make your summer better. Kicking off the proceedings with a jaunty Casio-beat are The Endless Bummer, revealing the missing link between listening to Merzbow, looking at paintings by Mark Rothko and the buildings of Mies Van Der Rohe. Elsewhere we have bouncy synth pop from Gobble Gobble and bleeps from Rich Aucoin, while Aucoin’s fellow Nova Scotian Great Escaper Joel Plaskett (winner of a Juno award for latest album Three) takes us ‘Through & Through & Through’ with the aid of a horn section.

The Cowboy Junkies return with a preview from their forthcoming Renmin Park album, plus new music from Ketch Harbour Wolves, Hard Drugs, Attack in Black’s Daniel Romano, Golden Dogs, Plants and Animals, Hannah Georgas, Winchester Warm and the debut solo record from New Pornographer Kathryn Calder. Then there is new (old) material from ex Islands and Royal City man Jim Guthrie… and more, and more… all aiming to soundtrack your summer.

Keep your eyes on TLOBF this month as we go more into Canadian Blast and The Local’s “Canada” festival featuring Plants and Animals, Dan Mangan, Hawksley Workman, Diamond Rings, Think About Life and lots more. For more info on the festival and tickets head here.

In the meantime, as ever, please click on the links and support the artists and labels who make Oh! Canada possible……

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[.zip] Oh! Canada Volume 10
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1. The Endless Bummer – Boring But Beautiful
2. Rich Aucoin – At War With The Cynics ( An Opening)
3. Hard Drugs – Bad Ideas (Don’t Give Up)
4. Seth Smith – Warm Regards
5. Hannah Georgas – Lovers Breakdown
6. Attics and Cellars – Just To Make Them Tired
7. Daniel Romano -A Losing Song
8. Jim Guthrie – All Gone
9. Joel Plaskett – Through & Through & Through
10. Octoberman – Dancing With Your Ghost
11. Cowboy Junkies – Stranger Here
12. The First Aid Kit – My Resignation
13. Said The Whale – Camilo (The Magician)
14. Ketch Harbour Wolves – August 12
15. Golden Dogs – Permanent Record
16. Gobble Gobble – Lawn Knives
17. Doldrums – I’m Homesick Sitting Up Here In My Satellite
18. Plants and Animals – Undone Melody
19. Winchester Warm – Cracks and Clues
20. Kathryn Calder – Slip Away

Our sporadic mix-tape feature returns with someone that has well and truly won over our hearts and speakers over the past couple of months. Pat Grossi aka Active Child is a name that you’ve no doubt read an awful lot about on these pages lately. With a recent appearance on Song Of The Day, plus the announcement of a headlining performance at a ”TLOBF presents” show next month – Grossi is currently straddled on the top of a long list of incredible artists emerging from Los Angeles at the moment (see also; Kisses, Teen Inc.).

We asked Pat to put together ten of his favourite songs and talk us through the reasoning of each choice. What follows is an interesting insight into Grossi’s rich and varied musical palate. You can stream / download each of the mp3′s separately, or grab the complete compilation as a .zip file at the bottom of the post. Enjoy.

Chromatics: “I Want Your Love”
Put this track on, loud, and drive somewhere. One of the best freeway songs i’ve ever heard, and living in LA you spend a fair amount of time on freeways. From deep gritty synth and delayed muted guitar to beautiful breathy vocals from Ruth Radelet, doesnt get much better for me.

Glass Candy: “Rolling Down the Hills”
On the rare occassion that I do go out and end up dancing in some dark club with friends, I always hope somewhere deep down that this song will come on. But it never does. So good, I cant get enough.

Sally Shapiro: “He Keeps Me Alive”
More silky smooth lady vocals plus a production style that i am incredibly envious of. Sally Shapiro has this effortless quality to her voice that leaves you feeling like she does an entire song in one take.

Empire Of The Sun: “Without You”
What can I say, I’m a sucker for sappy romantic songs. I feel no shame when blasting this song at a red light mid day Pasadena. Plus Luke Steele has this simultaneous grit and shine to his voice that is really like nothing else out there right now.

Mirage: “Lake of Dreams”
My obsession with Italo-Disco continues…..this time with Mirage and nine minutes of robotic dance funk that drifts in and out of dream mode. Really love all the synth textures in here.

John Maus: “The Silent Chorus”
I am on my bike in Denver with this in my headphones. Its late July 2008, 3 am, muggy, warm, and perfect. Lightning cracks in the distance and makes a silhouette of the treeline. It drizzles a bit and the streets begin to steam, releasing the days heat. This is the first time I hear this song. One of the rare moments when you cease to be just a listener and become a character within the narrative of the sound.

Broadcast: “Arc of a Journey”
Was introduced to this group a a few years ago by a good friend and found myself searching for everything they had ever released after just a few listens. Tender Buttons is still one of my favorite albums start to finish, which is hard to find. Love all the nuance. I need more noise pop in my life.

Kraftwerk: “The Hall of Mirrors”
One of the most entrancing songs I have ever listened to, but what Kraftwerk song isnt entrancing to a certain point. To that point of about four minutes in when you come to and realize you have been led into the mind of a psychotic electronic mastermind. i always find myself turning this track up more and more as it progresses, until the sharp synths leave a ringing in my ear. Headphones encouraged, unless you happen to be on a freeway. in which case headphones are illegal and dangerous.

The Knife: “You Make Me Like Charity”
The oscillating synth lead in this song guts me every time, and to boot the track never gets old. Just long enough to absorb and short enough to put on repeat.

Atlas Sound: “Quick Canal”
I have probably listened to this song more than any other in the last six months. One that comes in and out with such ease. It has no beginning or end, just plays out beautifully. Halfway through swallowing itself and reemerging more choatic yet still calm. And deep within the layers, hidden, are the profound thoughts of Laetitia Sadier:

“i thought saints were born saints
i looked in the dirt
and found wisdom is learnt
through a costly process
of success and failure ”

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[.zip] Art Of Noise #9 :: Active Child
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Artwork photograph by Neil Krug.

Welcome once again to TLOBF’s monthly Oh! Canada compilation, now reaching it’s 9th regular installment (not counting the Christmas special). In the coming months the Europe is facing something of a Canadian invasion, with tours from Oh! Canada faves Broken Social Scene, Timber Timbre, The Wilderness of Manitoba, Japandroids, The Pack AD, The Mountains and The Trees, Hawksley Workman, Cam Penner, Shout Out Out Out, No Kids, Zeus, Coeur De Pirate to mention just a few. To celebrate this fact (and to encourage you to go and support them) we’ve include songs from many of these artists on this addition. Any artist with (*) at the end of their song is either currently or about to tour the UK and/or Europe. Please click on the band name to view their full tour dates.

As ever, we also have great pleasure in introducing you to some new acts, including the all out power-pop goodness of Toronto’s Young Doctors In Love, a must for anyone with a penchant for fancy chords, shimmying tambourines and “lalala” choruses, a sneak peak from The Shiny Diamonds new record (which was produced by Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart) with the wonderfully titled “Portrait Of The Artist (Formerly Known As Prince) As A Young Man” and an ode to love and shoplifting from Parksville, BC natives The Plastic Chair Explosion, part of Vancouver’s Kingfisher Bluez collective (which also includes The Shiny Diamonds).

Huge thanks go out to all those who have made this compilation possible. Please show your support by clicking the links and finding out more about the bands-there are plenty of goodies hidden away if you look for them.

Until next time……..

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[.zip] Oh! Canada Volume 9
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1. Hawksley Workman – (The Happiest Day I Know Is A) Tokyo Bicycle (*)
2. Paper Beat Sissors – Flicker
3. My Lovely Son – New Chance
4. Gigi – The Old Graveyard (Feat. Karl Blau)
5. Coeur De Pirate – Comme Des Enfants (*)
6. Lee Harvey Osmond – Cuckoo’s Nest
7. Cam Penner – All Of Yesterday (*)
8. Chris Page – Two Twenty Twos
9. Milks & Rectangles – Don’t Fall Into The Wrong Hands
10. We Are Wolves – Paloma (*)
11. The Shiny Diamonds – Portrait Of The Artists [Formerly Known As Prince] As A Young Man
12. Ghostkeeper – By Morning
13. Plastic Chair Explosion – Shoplifter
14. David Myles – Gone For Long
15. Apollo Ghosts – Snow On Mount Benson
16. Young Doctors In Love – Eloise And Her Sister Marta
17. No Kids – The Jazz Singer (*)
18. La Patere Rose – La Marelle (*)
19. Shout Out Out Out Out – Guilt Trips Sink Ships (*)

For those unfamiliar with Richard Norris – the esteemed producer, DJ and one-time NME journalist – you may well have come across him via his many guises. Be it from The Grid (who had a huge hit in 1993 with ‘Swamp Thing’), Beyond The Wizards Sleeve (a remix/dj project with Erol Alkan) or indeed his latest solo outing as The Time and Space Machine.

It’s The Time and Space Machine that we’re focusing on here, the following tracks were handpicked by Norris and perhaps act as the bare bones of what his latest project is all about. Fusing psychedelia and freakbeat with modern recording techniques, new album Set Phazer To Stun, really is a kaleidoscopic wonder of sounds. Listen to the ten tracks, accompanied by Norris’ explanations of why he picked each one below. Set Phazer To Stun is released on March 22nd.

As a side-note and recomendation. I strongly urge you to seek out the 12″ single ‘Ride’ by the London based A Mountain Of One. The Time and Space Machine remix (and indeed the Fontän rework) is possibly one of the best remixes I’ve heard in years. Seek it out, you won’t regret it.

Ok, here are Richard’s choices… For a download of all 10 tracks combined, click on the link at the bottom of the post.

Serge Gainsbourg: “La Horse”
Masterful instrumental arrangement from France’s number one horny old goat. Almost as good as the ‘Melody Nelson; album.

Dungen: “Satt Att Se”
Looking forward to seeing them play in England this year. The summer is theirs.

Beck: “Sunday Morning”
Beck covers the Velvets – most satisfying.

Donovan: “Wear Your Love Like Heaven”
Often seen as a bit of a Dylan impersonator or something, Donovan is hugely underrated. Zeppelin play on his singles, and they are as catchy as anything – check out this chorus.

The Girls: “Here I Am In Love Again”
Reminds me of Connan Mockasin, who is about to put an album out on Erol’s Phantasy label. In fact I gave Conan my copy.

Lee Dorsey: “Ya Ya”
The guy has that easy New Orleans thing that I never tire of listening to. He used to be a boxer called Kid Chocolate.

Todd Rundgren: “I Saw The Light”
Everyone needs this one. Supreme pop music.

Jacques Dutronc: “Le Responcible”
Ace Stones-influenced 60’s Paris go go. Ooh la la.

Protein Bros: “Drainpipe”
Early 70’s instrumental, a bit of a hairy library track vibe.

Marsha Hunt: “Walk On Guilded Splinters”
Dr John’s voodoo given a soul makeover.

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[.zip] Art Of Noise #8 :: Richard Norris
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Artwork photograph by Sandra Croft.

With the world’s eyes on Canada and the various variations on sliding, slipping, falling over and leaping that is going on right now in British Colombia, Oh! Canada returns to remind everybody that Canada isn’t just about drawing on to the button in the house (curling), or successfully overcoming wutangs (ski-across). Indeed, musical celebration seems to have been integral to the Vancouver Games – the nation embracing the idea of the cultural olympiad seemingly as much as the sporting one. With huge shows from the likes of Broken Social Scene, Dan Mangan, Sloan, Metric, Deadmau5, Feist and more, the whole event seems to have been very TLOBF friendly. We can only hope that London embraces and supports British acts in a similar way, rather than just wheeling out the usual suspects. Fingers Crossed.

Representing Vancouver on this months Oh! Canada are three bands heading to these shore in the next few months: Japandroids, The Pack AD and The New Pornographers, Also hailing from Vancouver are The Fugitives, Brasstronaut and We Are The City, who recently won the Peak Performance Prize.

On top of all this we are also pleased to have previews from the forthcoming Woodpigeon and Jason Collett albums, the debut of KASHKA, Kat Burns of Forest City Lovers’ new solo project, a couple of moments of dreamy pop brilliance from Dinosaur Bones and Memoryhouse, a face melting, fuzzy explosion from PS I Love You, and fine tunesmithery from the likes of Deromantic, Paul Pigat, Old Man Luedecke and Madison Violet. Danny Michel chips in with some pop bluster and a killer chorus, while to close things off Kat Burns returns, hooking up with James Bunton of Ohbijou for a remix of Forest City Lovers latest single, “If I Were A Tree” which may well be the first pop song to mention dendrophilia. Blimey.

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[.zip] Oh! Canada Volume 8
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1) Japandroids – Art Czars
2) PS I Love You – Facelove
3) The New Pornographers – Your Hands (Together)
4) The Pack A.D. – Crazy
5) Jason Collett – Love Is A Dirty Word
6) Deromantic – Drunk & 35
7) Paul Pigat -John Henry Part 2
8) Madison Violet – The Woodshop
9) Woodpigeon – My Denial in Argyle
10) We Are The City – There Are Very Tiny Beasts In The Ground
11) KASHKA – Hands In
12)Danny Michel – Sweet Things
13) The Fugitives – All This Trouble
14) The Gertrudes & PS I Love You – Sailor
15) Old Man Luedecke – The Rear Guard
16) Dinosaur Bones – Ice Hotels
17) Brasstronaut – Slow Knots
18) Memoryhouse – To The Lighthouse
19) Forest City Lovers – If I Were A Tree (J-Buntz Remix)

As ever our thanks go to everyone who has made this edition of Oh! Canada possible. To find out more about the artists featured, and pick up a few extra surprises click on the bands names above.

Check back with Oh! Canada next week for an interview and competition with Montreal’s Besnard Lakes.

Welcome once again to Oh! Canada, TLOBF’s one stop shop for the best new music coming out of Canada. We kick off the year with a bumper crop of artists, going from spiky New Wave to minimal folk ballads and taking in heavenly harmonies, parping horn sections, sweeping strings and plenty of fuzzed up guitar along the way. Following up on our review of 2009, we’ve tried to give you a sample of our guest reviewers tips for this year and highlight some of the acts that they felt you needed to hear. Plus we are very pleased to say that when we bumped in to Andrew Vincent at Shhh! Festival earlier this week he gave us an exclusive sneak peak from his upcoming EP, in the form of ‘Ambassador Bridge’.

Our thanks to all the artists for agreeing to take part in Oh! Canada, and for tipping us off on what they like hearing! Please click on the links to find out more about each of the artists involved, and as ever there are a few extra freebies lurking somewhere within.

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[.zip] Oh! Canada Volume 7
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1. La Casa Muerte: ‘All The Wrong Moves’
2. A History Of: ‘Action In The North Atlantic’
3. Martha and The Muffins: ‘Mess’
4. The Darcys: ‘House Built Around Your Voice’
5: Feral Children: ‘Safe Language’
6: Andrew Vincent: ‘Ambassador Bridge’
7: The Wooden Sky: ‘When We Were Young’
8: Aidan Knight: ‘Jasper’
9: Yukon Blonde: ‘Wind Blows’
10: Slow Down, Molasses: ‘Fuckin’ Up’
11: Zeus: ‘How Does It Feel’
12: Whale Tooth: ‘Hibernation Song’
13: Kae Sun: ‘Lion On A Leash’
14: Fanshaw: ‘Strong Hips’
15: The Balconies: ‘Serious Bedtime’
16: Spiral Beach: ‘Cemetery’
17: Daniel, Fred And Julie: ‘Runner’
18: Giant Hand: ‘Down By The River’
19: Leif Vollebekk: ‘Quebec’
20: Postdata: ‘Tobias Grey’
21: Al Tuck and No Action: ‘Ready (As I’m Ever Going To Be)’
22: Gentleman Reg: ‘Wicked Game’

Plus don’t forget there are some splendid things to be had elsewhere at the moment including Spencer Krug’s Moonface, Caribou a whole lot of great live sessions over at CBC, not forgetting the new A Silver Mt Zion track the band are previewing on their website.

You can catch Oh! Canada down the front (and playing some records) at Pure Groove in London on February 2nd, where Canadian Blast will be putting on Deromantic, She Keeps Bees and litllelostdavid. Entry is free and the first act starts at 7.30 sharp:

Meursault

Scotland’s music scene is in rude health. Bands are blooming like it’s spring-time and the support of bloggers and punters has created a biosphere of creativity. So, in the first of what’s to become a regular column, Billy Hamilton – co-editor of The Scotsman’s Under the Radar new music site – delves deep into its tartan-toned landscape. At the bottom of the post, you can download a free mixtape featuring all of the bands mentioned.

If 2009 was Scotland’s cultural homecoming, then 2010 is the year its musicians need to pack their bags and finally move out.

For the bands that enthralled local gig-goers last year, the next twelve months are critical. Sure, the swollen cyber-palms of backslapping bloggers suggests a limited degree of success beckons, but true worth can only really be gauged if the tartan-kilted nest is vacated for a sojourn to more robust climes down south.

One glance at the upcoming gigs of our lauded young ‘uns shows a burning want to remain within the ball-court that begins and ends on both sides of the M8. Granted, there’s an admirable grit in believing success lies beyond fellating the barnacled cock of Big Ben, but even if the thrill of being sucked into a whorehouse of in-store shows and vacuous T4 slots isn’t your game, the possibility of discovering new audiences should be incentive enough.

In recent years, the most successful (and by successful I mean in terms of collecting critical adulation) Scottish bands to seep into the national hemisphere have been 4AD’s Broken Records and FatCat Records trio The Twilight Sad, Frightened Rabbit and We Were Promised Jetpacks. Yes, they may be enrolled on national labels but these acts had already proven themselves as capable wooers of unfamiliar crowds; each band confident in its ability to unravel the crossed arms of cynics based purely on their music. And it’s this sort of confidence the new breed of Scottish act has to exude in 2010. They need to move away from the Scottish music scene’s cotton-wooled bosom and furrow a pathway through the UK, not just across the Central Belt. Almost certainly, many will fail and return to familiar haunts to be consoled by familiar faces but, hell, at least they tried; at least they can say they gave it a stab, even if they didn’t draw blood.

Positively, 2009 saw the likes of Meursault, There Will Be Fireworks and Panda Su make their first tentative footsteps south – 2010 needs to see this turn into a concerted effort on a broader scale. Many a promising Scottish act has rotted in the gutter because of a lack of national exposure. To avoid joining them, the new batch of Scottish music makers needs to grab its future by the balls because, quite frankly, no one else will.

So, this inaugural dip into the Scottish music scene is not a start of year tiplist. It’s more a roll call of the bands that are closest to being ready to step up and make the breakthrough from local heroes to national runners.

Conquering Animal Sound
The tightly woven swell of Conquering Animal Sound provides the perfect antidote to this year’s Siberian weather front. As enchanting as a pixie snake charmer, the resplendent chimes created by Jamie Scott and Anneke Kampman have caused a drooling melee in the ranks of Scotland’s indie press. Whooshing to the gentle hum of Scott’s deft guitar, each arrangement is blessed by Kampman’s pin dropping mew. With a mixtape down and a tour of the UK to come, you’ll soon find yourself being conquered by this animal sound.
www.myspace.com/conqueringanimalsound

Dead Boy Robotics
Like running your nails against a grater to pulsing tribal rhythms, Dead Boy Robotics (DBR) are very much an acquired taste. As co-founders of the semi-defunct BEAR Scotland collective Mike and Gregor were left toiling in the wake of their more accessible counterparts. But 2009 saw the synth punk duo crank up the engine from nihilistic electro-boys to resplendent lug-rapists, coarsely running against the grain of Edinburgh’s bulbous folk scene. With a new EP of abrasive hexagonal-sonics due to be unleashed soon, 2010 promises to be the year Dead Boy Robotics shunt the gear-sticks into overdrive.
www.myspace.com/deadboyrobotics

Dupec
If We Were Promised Jetpacks are the delinquent younger brother of Frightened Rabbit and The Twilight Sad, then Dupec are undoubtedly their intellectual cousin. Bestowing a scree of math signatures and hexagonal percussion over James Yuill’s emotive tones, the Auld Reekie trio’s first two EPs helped soil the already befouled underpants of Scottish bloggers. Now with support slots alongside Rollo Tomassi and Crystal Antlers peeking over the horizon, as well as a much needed trek south, 2010 should be the year slip from the shadows of their more renowned, if lesser accomplished, compatriots.
www.myspace.com/dupec

Meursault
It may have bookended the Noughties, but Meursault’s Pissing on Bonfires/Kissing with Tongues represented a new dawn on Scotland’s musical terra firma. Scruffy and ill-fitting, every cut embodied the fabled do-it-together ethos of Edinburgh’s Bowery congregation. Live, Neil Pennycook’s inimitable warble strikes the first blow; his masterful bellow strangling the airwaves just as readily as it soothes them. But it’s the group’s concentrated melodics that’s the real draw. By spinning together the frayed ends of parochial folk with wiry electronica, Meursault bleed a sound quite unlike anything in Scotland. Now with album number two on the horizon, this is a band that now has to step over the cusp.
www.myspace.com/meursaulta701

Mitchell Museum
When Mitchell Museum breached the lower echelons of Scotland’s toilet circuit last year, gas canister in hand (seriously), a jumble of words filtered into the brainboxes of easily amused hipsters: Collective. Animal. Wannabes. Thankfully, the Glasgow quartet proved to be so much more. A gargling waterboard of effects may cornerstone their effervescent cacophonies, but the bubblegum melodies and flash-gun rhythms cut a more populous pathway than Baltimore’s finest. Their debut album should rear its cranium in early spring and, with it, expect your ear sockets to be plugged with nothing else.
www.myspace.com/mitchellmuseum

Yahweh
Yahweh must be churning bile at all the Arab Strap comparisons. Desperate for a new miserable mainstay to call their own, musos up here have been flinging the tenuous simile Lewis Cook’s way over the past year. But buried within the Glaswegian’s cascading synths lies a beautiful songwriting accord that’s more akin to the bearded lilting of Casiotone’s Owen Ashworth than Aiden Moffat’s monotonic yarns. Either way, Cook’s star is on the rise and his intelligent, heel-gazing pop is coming your way – be sure of that.
www.myspace.com/thisisyahweh

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[.zip] AyeTunes #1
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Our latest downloadable mixtape comes courtesy of new Sonic Cathedral signings Yeti Lane who formed last year out of the ashes of Parisian dream-pop outfit Cyann & Ben. Whilst keeping their former bands pop sensibilities, Yeti Lane manage to mould and manipulate their sound into a pulsing, psychedelic shoegaze-fest. It’s really brilliantly executed stuff. Their self-titled debut is out on 25th January and I strongly urge you check it out. Download a free track from the album over on the Sonic Cathedral website.

I’m always interested in discovering what shoe-gaze bands and artists listen to when not crafting out sonic plates of sound. Their taste always seems more eclectic than most; this can be said about Sonic Cathedral founder Nat Cramp’s mix-tape from last year (download it here – if you’ve not yet heard it, it’s essential). Charlie from Yeti Lane supplied us with the following mix and it’s a fantastic journey through the bands sound… Kraftwerk meets Soft Machine via The Velvet Underground. Download the full mix in mp3 form below.

mp3:> Art Of Noise #7 :: Yeti Lane
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Animal Collective: “What Would I Want, Sky”
Animal Collective is probably my favorite band of these last years. Merriweather Post Pavilion is the number 1 of my 2009 top, and their latest EP is great too. I picked this track because I like its pop melodies, combined with twisted sounds and 9/4 rythm.

Tortoise: “Ten-Day Interval”
I’m not a huge fan of Tortoise music, but in each of their albums there is a jewel, and this track is one of them.

Kraftwerk: “Radioland”
Hard to select one song, but Kraftwerk are such an important influence that I had to include it on the mix. This one is also one of LoAc’s favourites.

Raymond Scott: “Auto Lite Sta-fu”
We like analog synths, Raymond Scott was one the pioneers…

Soft Machine: “Hope for Hapiness”
Robert Wyatt is my all time favorite artist, I totally admire the man, his music, and the way he feels music. From Soft Machine to his solo carreer, he has had (and still has) a great influence on me, my drumming, and also the last bands I’ve been playing with…

The Velvet Underground: “White Light White Heat”
Because it’s the Velvet Underground and it’s the seed of so many good things…

The Flaming Lips: “Silver Trembling Hands”
Also taken from one of the best records of 2009. I’ve been liking the Flaming Lips for a couple of years, but this one is their best produced record to me. The sound is terrific!

No Age: “Cappo”
I don’t know why, but I’m listening to a lot of duos these days (Japandroids, AU…), I like No Age’s latest album, and I missed the EP they released a couple of months ago. I’ve been told it is even better than the album…

Raymond Scott: “Cheer Revision 3″

Broadcast: “Tender Buttons”
Broadcast has always impressed me, from the first EPs to the one they released recently. “Tender Buttons”, with its rough sound and kraut-pop tunes is a masterpiece, and the show they did in Paris was just wonderful.

Fuck Buttons: “Surf Solar”
They found the perfect alchemy between electronic sounds and shoegaze feelings. Tarot Sport is less underground than the previous album, but it works so good!

Oneida: “Each One Teach One”
Another band that I’ve been following for years. I like that blend of tribal rythms and keyboards, of pop music and experimental stuff….

This Heat: “The Fall of Saigon”
I like This Heat so much… I chose this one but I could have chosen any other track. I’m too young to have listened to it when it came out, but I imagine how this mix of experimental-prog-rock played with a punk-rock energy has been welcome then…

By now the dust should have just about settled on the TLOBF Christmas party, and no doubt many of you reading this will have a whole plethora of events coming up in the next few days. Add this to the “seasonal” weather (read: it’s bloomin’ cold) and it all it begins to seem a lot like…..well, you know, that time of year.

Oh! Canada has been working with a whole host of Canadian acts to bring you 25 (see what we did there?) tracks to celebrate the winter and the upcoming festive season. The Wilderness of Manitoba found the time to slip into the studio and record their take on “Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel” exclusively for us. Jason Zumpano evokes the spirit of Vince Guaraldi with his solo piano piece, while The Acorn, Jason Collett, Cinderpop, Zumpano (the band, not the solo artist) and The Pointed Sticks bring the power pop to the party. Ohbijou and Paper Moon take on some seasonal classics, Evening Hymns sing in Norwegian and elsewhere there is plenty of winter wistfulness to chill the bones and warm the coldest of hearts! And so without further a do we bring you: Ho! Ho! Ho! Canada.

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1. Years – ‘The Fall Of Winter’
2. Jason Zumpano – ‘New Morning’
3. The Wilderness of Manitoba – ‘Oh Come, Oh Come Emannuel’
4. Canadian Wildlife – ‘Winters Moon’
5. Paper Moon – ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’
6. The Acorn – ‘Snowfall’
7. Ohbijou – ‘Last Christmas’
8. The Deep Dark Woods – ‘The Winter Hours’
9. T. Nile – ‘The Ballad Of Jack Pine’
10. The Pointed Sticks – ‘Power Pop Santa’
11. Zumpano – ‘The Mods Of Christmas Town’
12. Jason Collett -’A Beguiled Christmas In Sales’
13. David Carswell & Megan Barnes – ‘I Wanna Kiss You This Christmas’
14. Cinderpop -’Cinnamon Winter’
15. The Great Outdoors – ‘The Garbage Man Song’
16. The Mountains & The Trees – ‘All Together Now (For The Holidays)’
17. Woodpigeon – ‘Xoxmas’
18. Evening Hymns – ‘Sonjas Sang Til Julestjernen’
19. Olenka and Simon – ‘The Red and Green Blues’
20. Brasstronaut – ‘Diwali Time’
21. Hoffenheimer – ‘Klausmas’
22. Lightning Dust – ‘Ho Ho Ho’
23. Detective Kalita – ‘Let’s Bury Christmas (And Watch It Grow)’
24. Dan Mangan – ‘Reason To Think Aloud’
25. The Ramblin’ Ambassadors – ‘Don’t Fear The Reindeer’

As ever we would like to thank everyone who contributed to the compilation. However, this being the season of giving there a couple of releases featured here, and available elsewhere, that are supporting good causes that we would like to highlight:

The Brasstronaut and Lightning Dust tracks are taken from The Eggnog Experience, a 30 track Christmas download album featuring 30 of Vancouver’s best artists. You can download the album for free here. All donations are going to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society.

The Canadian Wildlife track is featured on Friends in Bellwoods II, which you can buy here. Proceeds go to Toronto’s Daily Bread Food Bank.

Elsewhere, proceeds from The New Pornographer’s “The Spirit Of Giving EP” (which features one of Oh! Canada’s all time Christmas faves “Joseph, Who Understood”) go to the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation and the money raised by Fucked Up’s all star take on “Do They Know It’s Christmas” will go to a number of charities supporting Aboriginal Women.

And with that Oh! Canada wishes you all a very happy Christmas. Join us between Christmas and New Year when we will be reviewing the years best Canadian releases with help from the likes of Gentleman Reg, Spiral Beach, The Hidden Cameras, Jason Collett, Dan Mangan, Ohbijou and more…

It’s hard to believe a month has flown by since we bought you Oh! Canada 5. As ever, we here at TLOBF have been busy uncovering some gems to present to you as the nights draw in. This month’s Oh! Canada comp features two tracks taken from tape only releases, and taking this as an inspiration, we have divided the comp into two sides…

Side one kicks off with the stars of this weeks Oh! Canada presents… The Wilderness of Manitoba, pays a visit to the twinkling xylophone realm of Vancouver’s Wintermitts, spends some time in the cinema with handclaps, muted horns and swears of Culture Reject before giving you a sneak peak of a song from the forthcoming Woodpigeon record, recorded live at the Jack Singer Concert Hall in Calgary.

Meanwhile, side two turns the volume up and things take a turn to the dark side, as we introduce you to the melancholy brooding dub of Babe Rainbow, Friendo (featuring Michael from Women), Puberty (featuring Nicole from Friendo), and Basketball (Featuring none of the above) as well as brand new tracks from Tegan and Sara and You Say Party! We Say Die!

Don’t forget to keep an eye out for Dan Mangan, Hey Rosetta!, Spiral Beach and The Tragically Hip who will all be making it over to these shows during November.

As ever our thanks go to all those who make Oh! Canada possible. Please follow the links to find out more about the artists featured and let them know what you think! There’s also a couple of ’special links’ in there if you know where to look…one of which has a particularly Halloween-y flavour.

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[mp3] Oh! Canada Volume 6 Side A
[mp3] Oh! Canada Volume 6 Side B
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Side A:
1. The WIlderness of Manitoba – Bluebirds
2. Wintermitts -Schoolyard
3. Eamon McGrath – Big River
4. Culture Reject – Inside The Cinema
5. Royal Wood - Thinking About
6. Olenka and the Autumn Lovers - Flash
7. Hooded Fang – Land of Giants
8. No Gold – Hot Bay
9. Woodpigeon featuring Voicescapes - Morningside (live)
10. Howie Beck – Save Me
11. The Mountain and The Trees – Up & Down

Side B:
12. Babe Rainbow - Like I Give A Care
13. Friendo - Callers
14. Little Girls – Youth Notes
15. A Horse and His Boy – Home
16. Tegan and Sara – Hell
17. You Say Party! We Say Die! – Laura Palmer’s Prom
18. Puberty – Common Sense
19. Precious Fathers – 100% Pure Rock Fibres
20. World Club - Sick Machines
21. Basketball – Journey To The End Of The Night

So another month rolls by, and Oh! Canada are pleased to bring you another edition of our compilations showcasing the best new Canadian music. This month we celebrate the start of the Ice Hockey season (always a big event in Canada), kicking off with a hockey song from 21 Tandem Repeats. We also bring you tracks from bright new hopes Yukon Blonde, the Japandroids endorsed Makeout Videotape, lo fi-meets-saw charm from Aaron Read and a track from the forthcoming Carolyn Mark and NQ Arbuckle duets album while the Julie Doiron supporting Construction and Destruction make not one but two appearances, contributing guest vocals (and namechecking themselves) on The Burning Hell‘s contribution. To close this month’s compilation we are very pleased to bring you a new track from one of Canada’s biggest acts. In all The Tragically Hip have clocked up 8 Canadian number one albums, and it would be no surprise if the forthcoming We Are The Same achieved the same accolade!

As for Oh! Canada, keep your eyes peeled for an exhaustive track by track from Bruce Peninsula, an introducing piece with Vancouverite Hannah Georgas and keep your eyes peeled for more from The Tragically Hip.

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1. 21 Tandem Repeats – On Frozen Pond
2. Metal Kites – Schoolyard
3. Aaron Read – Forest Falcon
4. Language-Arts – Cavity
5. Grassmarket – Endless Summer
6. Ox – Burnout
7. York Redoubt – I Said Slightly
8. Duplex! – Alive
9. Milks & Rectangles – Slander Debunked
10. Great Bloomers – The Young Ones Slept
11. Dirty Beaches – Low Rider (Demo)
12. Carolyn Mark & N.Q. Arbuckle – All Time Low
13. Octoberman – Run From Safety
14. Analog Bell Service – There She Goes
15. Makeout Videotape – Heat Wave
16. Construction & Destruction – Balaenoptera Borealis
17. Owl – Airport
18. Yukon Blonde – Streets
19. The Burning Hell – The Things That People Make, Part 2
20. The Tragically Hip – Coffee Girl

As ever thanks to everyone who makes these Oh! Canada compilations possible. Please follow the links to find out more about the artists featured and let them know what you think! There’s also a couple of ‘special links’ in there if you know where to look.

Finally, Oh! Canada couldn’t possibly let the start of the Ice Hockey season go by without mentioning these guys- so, for your viewing pleasure here are the mighty Hanson Brothers with their cover of Stomping Tom Connors’ all-time Canadian classic ‘The Hockey Song’. Enjoy.

Click here to view the embedded video.

So yeah, we mentioned ILL FIT is back, starting in October.

Now, we love TV and Brian Wilson only knows we love our sofas. Mine is a little bit broken now (in a good way) and it kind of envelops you when you sit in it. But going out is good for the soul. It really is.

We have lined up our best bill yet for 12/10/09 @ Old Blue Last, London. We can prove it too. See, all of the acts have given us a brilliant song for a download EP. Free to you.

DOWNLOAD IT HERE. Do it now and let us know what you make of the tunes in the comments section below. We really do want to know.

Sebastien Schuller has played with Animal Collective and Beirut and is pretty damn cool in France. Think piano, Thom Yorke and Four Tet. Cate Le Bon‘s eerie tunes seems to be the talk of the town at the mo, she’s just signed to Gruff Rhys’ label and comes NME, Radio 1 and MOJO endorsed. ILL FIT will be the debut UK show from Canada’s The Rest and they are most certainly going to knock your cotton socks off too. Think Bunnymen/Arcade Fire/Broken Social Scene and you’d be part of the way there. ILL FIT DJs on the decks. Entry is free.

We’ll even throw in some free shots and CD giveaways on the night.

We are making hard for you to say no. On purpose.

No excuses now.

Fore more info on ILL FIT and the other show we have in October, click here.

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1) Sebastien Schuller: ‘Open Organ’
2) Cate Le Bon: ‘Hollow Trees House Hounds’
3) The Rest: ‘Apples and Allergies’

How quickly September has arrived. As the trees start to loose their leaves and the long festival season comes to the end of the line, we can at least rejoice in the fact that bands are starting to tour again…This month will see shows from Oh! Canada faves The Pack A.D, Julie Doiron, Bell Orchestre, The Acorn, Ohbijou, Sunset Rubdown and the Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir while shows from Do Make Say Think, Wintersleep, Immaculate Machine, The Tragically Hip and Ox are also in the pipeline. In the meantime, Oh! Canada is ready to unleash Volume 4 of our download series, including music from Chad Vangaalen’s Black Mold project, a double whammy of Canadian goodness with Kid Koala remixing Bell Orchestre, exclusives from Ohbijou sideproject Kite Hill, a straight from the mixing desk sample from the forthcoming Evening Hymns record, not to mention a unique collaboration between John K Sampson of The Weakerthans and Inuit throat singer Nikki Komakslatiksak. And, as ever, plenty more besides.

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1. The Pack A.D. – Shiny Things
2. Black Mold – Tetra Pack heads
3. Flotilla – Ghost In A Landscape
4. The O’Darling – La Prarie
5. Two Hours Traffic - Territory
6. The Fugitives – Breaking Promises
7. Young Galaxy - Destroyer
8. Share – Maybe Always
9. Meatdraw – Black License Plates
10. Flecton Big Sky - She’s Out Of Sight
11. Jenn Grant – You’ll Go Far
12. Extra Happy Ghost !!! - Mash Up- Neither Being Nor Nothingness
13. Snowblink – Ambergris
14. Bell Orchestre -Icicles-Bicycles (Kid Koala Remix)
15. Nikki Komakslatiksak and John K Sampson – Keewatin Arctic
16. Novillero – A Little Tradition
17. Fox Jaws -Home & Native
18. Sunparlour Players – Battle of ’77
19. Carbon Dating Service – Melted Mixtape
20. Evening Hymns – Dead Deer
21. Kite Hill - Wild Birds

As ever, please click through the links to support the artists and labels that make these compilations possible. You may even find a few extra goodies along the way.

Ahh! The summer. Sun, the sound of leather on willow….. As we move in to August the UK’s promised ‘barbeque summer’ seems to have fizzled out rather, replaced by muggyness and rainstorms. Spare a thought though for Ottowa resident and Oh! Canada favourite Jim Bryson. The unseasonal deluge that hit his city on July 24th resulted in flood damage to his basement, which contained all his instruments. We hope some of the guitars are salvageable and send him our best wishes.

In the meantime, with Oh! Canada we’ve been continuing our search for the very best in Canadian music. This month’s compilation features 19 great tracks including songs from the forthcoming Hidden Cameras, Amy Millan and Volcanoless in Canada long-players, exclusives from Vancouver Nights and Luxury Pond as well as an appearance from the legendary Nardwaur the Human Serviette and his band The Evaporators.

Check out the links and keep your eyes out for more Canadian goodness over the next few weeks including an interview with Vancouver troubadour and TLOBF fave Dan Mangan, interviews with Casey and James from Ohbijou about the ‘Friends in Bellwoods’ project and a track by track guide to Bruce Peninsula‘s A Mountain is a Mouth.

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1. Dog Day – Rome
2. Shotgun Jimmie – Mind Crumb
3. Lightning Dust – I Knew
4. Vancouver Nights – Lovers, Leavers
5. Bahamas – What’s Worse
6. The Hidden Cameras - Walk On
7. Amy Millan – Bruised Ghosts
8. Bloodsport -Swallowing Werewolves (I Heard Mary Timony Used To Live There)
9. Luxury Pond – Boulders
10 Rock Plaza Central - (Don’t You Believe The Words Of) Handsome Men
11. Julie Doiron – When Brakes Get Wet
12. The Danks – Die Young
13. Doug Paisley – City Lights
14. The Paint Movement – Faults
15. Kestrels – The Heart Of A Lonely Storm
16. Shapes and Sizes - Alone/Alive
17. Volcanoless In Canada – Shedding Skin (Corner Gas)
18. Rah Rah – Tentacles
19. The Evaporators – The Bombs In My Pants!

TLOBF would like to thank all of the bands and labels who have given us their music to share with you. If you like what you are hearing, get in touch and let us (and them) know.

Our sporadic mix-tape feature is back! Art Of Noise sees us ask our favourite bands to create their own mix and give explanations on why they chose each track. Simples.

Now, we have a huge lists of bands who we’d love to have as mix curators, and at the top of that list are/were Air France. A young duo from Gothenburg, Sweden who in 2008 released one of the finest pop albums in recent years with No Way Down (out now on Something In Construction, fans). Said album scored a whopping 89% when we reviewed it and it’s worth every single percentage mark, perhaps more. For it is the epitemy of cool. Effortless, breezy, melodic – frankly, bloody gorgeous. Joel and Henrik are rather good DJ’s too – if you’ve ever been lucky enough to catch one of their sets then you will have witnessed some serious 80′s cheese mixed with neat vodka and bad dancing. In a nutshell – we’re big fans, and you should be too.

Keep an eye out on their website for mp3′s of new songs, videos and travel guides. Gbg Belongs To Us.

And, as a special treat – after the guys have explained their choices, we bring you a special ‘On Song’ interview with the pair where they delve a little deeper into their influences. Enjoy.

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Bill Withers : ‘Lovely Day’
Can liven a funeral, I tried and It worked. Makes you move on.

Museum of Bellas Artes: ‘Who Do You Love‘
They will run this show in a few months. They released their first single some days back.

Lemonade: ‘Big Weekend (Delorean remix)‘
Sets us tumbling down heights every saturday. Makes you feel good looking and drink faster.

Walker Brothers: ‘Make It Easy On Yourself‘
Breaking up is hard to do. A friend of a friend’s ex-gilfriend always send a tape with this song instead.

Ilona Staller – ‘Pane, marmellata e me‘
Sophisticated Italian 70s dub and giggles.

Yppah – ‘Gumball Machine Weekend‘
No fucking clue who this is, but it sounds like a Japanese Lo-Fi version of Saint Etienne’s “Nothing can stop us now”, innit?

Altered Images: ‘I Could Be Happy‘
Maybe this years best evening so far must have been when we put this on at Old Blue Last and David from Sic and his wife Melissa danced like two teenagers in love and the last sunrays slipped in through the windows and covered them in the warmest light you have ever seen.

A.R. Kane: ‘A Love From Outer Space‘
I think Tahiti 80 did a great version of this too some years ago. It’s the feeling you get when you land a girl that plays in a completely different, and better, league.

CFCF: ‘You Hear Colours‘
I have had this in my head for a while now. Really suits days when the flowers on my balcony dies after too much rain and nothing seems to happen.

Sylvie Vartan: ‘La plus belle pour aller danser‘
Some days you just want to die and wake up in Paris in the 60s.

- – - – - – - – - -

On Song :: Air France

What was the music your parents liked and do you think it’s influenced you at all?
Henrik: I don’t think they like music. I can’t recall a single day of my childhood when there was music in the house unless maybe some italian Christmas songs.
Joel: My dad was a punk. He listened to the Boys, Sex Pistols, Buzzcocks, stuff like that, and claimed to have tagged his apartment walls. But he stopped listening to music when I was born, the last record he bought was Joy Division’s Closer I think. My mom was into girl groups and divas.

What posters did you have on your wall as a kid?
Henrik: I had a photograph of Robert Desnos grave hanging over my desk.
Joel: Nicole Kidman was very important to me as a seven year old, can’t remember why.  I had a BMX Bandits poster. I always fall in love with older girls.

Which songs or albums would you play at a party?
Henrik: Kish Mauve’s “Lose control” (Fred Falke Rmx), the intro over and over again.
Joel:Right now, Amadou et Mariam’s “Sabali”. My fucking top tune of last year, no doubt.

Which songs remind you of a rainy day?
Henrik: “NYC Smile on Me” by Aqua Regia sounds just like when you’re out in a field and get caught in a summer rain that only last for about seven minutes and twenty seconds and still soaks you through and through.
Joel: The Go-Betweens “Streets of your town”. It’s like when you’re mad in love and you ride your bike around her block when it’s pouring.

Which album do you seek solace in when you are feeling sad?
Henrik: I want to listen to cheerful music when I’m sad, and find a way out of it instead of burying myself deeper. So maybe New Order’s Technique.
Joel: I always need something that’ll calm me down. Since I became an international pop artist things have been so hectic for me. So I have a bunch of French and Italian soundtracks from the 60s that I like listening to.

Which album would you play when you wanted to get down to some lovin’?
Henrik: I want silence, otherwise it makes me try to do it in synch and it throws me off.
Joel: I have a friend that made love listening to New Order’s Technique, can’t say who, but he’s an international pop star. Now he can’t listen to it anymore. Sad story.

What music was, or would be, the “first dance” at your wedding?
Henrik: When I got married we danced to an early demo version of “Collapsing at Your Doorstep”. All the people where like, “ahh the Avalanches!” and joined in. I stormed out and left my wife crying on the floor. Sad story, again.
Joel: It didn’t go too well for me either, but I’ll keep it to myself. Too complicated to think about. I go to a therapist because of it.

What was the first gig you went to as a paying customer?
Joel: I think it was this Swedish rockabilly artist called Jerry Williams. It was me, I must have been about eight years old, and 300 pissed greasers.
Henrik: You were there too??

Name the one song you think everyone should hear.
Henrik: New Order’s “All the way”. I have really mixed up emotions about it now, but it blew me away the first time I heard it. I wish I could go back and hear it with innocent ears again, but it’s too late for me.
Joel: There’s a lot of music from the Brazilian 60s and 70s which I always return to periodically every year. I can find everything I like with music there; airy sounds, piping flutes mingling with the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks. More modern? Maybe Julian Jabre’s “Swimming Places” or Rah Bands “Sam the Samba Man”.

Which one artist do you think not enough people know about?
Joel: Robert Wyatt, Tessi Uiovo, Marcos Valle, Ngou Bagayoko, Marine Girls, Blueboy and so on.
Henrik: Cath Carroll maybe? She deserves to be a millionaire.

What’s the best thing you’ve heard recently?
Henrik: The CFCF remix of Cassie’s “Official Girl”.
Joel: Daaahling, “4 Steps Closer”

Dead or alive, what 5 acts would you have play with you at a festival?
Henrik: What a question. Confetti, Orange Juice, Prefab Sprout, Francis Lai and I don’t know, Edwyn Collins?
Joel: Fleetwood Mac, Astrud Gilberto, High Places, Main Attraction, Beach Boys.

And finally, who would win in a fight: a stoat or a goat and why?
Henrik: Stoat?
Joel: Goat. He is bigger.

While some of our writers can be found skating around Trafalgar Square this afternoon (Good luck Shain!), TLOBF are celebrating Canada Day by bringing you Volume 2 of our Oh! Canada compilations featuring the very best of new Canadian talent. There’s some old friends in disguise (Silkken-Laumann feature a familiar vocalist and his room mate, guesses in the comments section!), new material from The Most Serene Republic, Ford Peir and Hannah Georgas, a track from the soon to be reissued Wintersleep back catalogue and a bunch more besides. As ever keep your eyes out for interviews and reviews from featured artists in the coming months in TLOBF’s Oh! Canada Column. There’s even a few nice surprises hidden amongst the links!

Happy Canada Day!

Oh! Canada Volume 2:
1. The Rural Alberta Advantage – Don’t Haunt This Place
2. Japandroids – Young Hearts Spark Fire
3. The Got To Get Got – Gettin’ Dirty In The Afterlife
4. Royal City – Bad Luck
5. Deep Dark Woods – All The Money I Had Is Gone
6. Snailhouse – (Not) Superstitious
7. Melissa McClelland – God Loves Me
8. Ford Pier – Sick Of The Good Times
9. Elliott Brood – Write It All Down For You
10. Hannah Georgas – The Beat Stuff
11. Ryan Driver – That’s Which Way The Water Falls
12. The Superfantastics – Lullaby Punches
13. Said The Whale – This City’s A Mess
14. The Most Serene Republic – Heavens To Purgatory
15. The Olympic Symphonium – Intentions Alone
16. Immaculate Machine – Sound The Alarms
17. Wintersleep – Fog
18. Geoff Berner – One Shoe
19. Silkken-Laumann – Soleil Moonfrye
20. Years – Are You Unloved?

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TLOBF would like to thank all of the bands and labels who have given us their music to share with you. If you like what you are hearing, get in touch and let us (and them) know.

To celebrate the launch of our new Oh! Canada column, we thought it was only right that you should get to hear just what it is thats getting us so excited about what’s coming out of the “Great White North” right now. While we all know about the Broken Social Scene’s, Arcade Fire’s and Fiest’s of the world, TLOBF will be searching the grass routes to bring you the best up and coming Canadian talents. Over the next few months you will find reviews and interviews of all of the artists featured here, so, without further ado, we present:

1. Andrew Vincent – Canadian Dream
2. Ultimate Power Duo – Jack The Space/ Time Continuum Ripper
3. Ohbijou – Intro To Season
4. Dan Mangan – Robots
5. Timber Timbre – Lay Down In The Tall Grass
6. The Michael Parks – I Like The Summer
7. Pale Air Singers – Convict Escapes
8. Jim Bryson – Pissing On Everything (Live)
9. Bruce Peninsula – Steamroller
10. No Horses – Grab Yer Coat
11. The Provincial Archive – We Work Better
12. Forest City Lovers – Sudden Seas
13. The D’Urbervilles – Dragnet
14. Zeus – I Know
15. Hey Rosetta! – There’s An Arc
16. The Wind Whistles – Judo
17. The Weather Station – Coming Into Town
18. Ghost Bees – Vampires of The West Coast
19. Braids – Lemonade

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TLOBF would like to thank all of the bands and labels who have given us their music to share with you. If you like what you are hearing, get in touch and let us (and them) know.

Mr Sonic Cathedral - Nat Cramp

As a companion piece to our recent review of the new compilation from Sonic Cathedral records Cathedral Classics Vol. 1 we asked label boss Nat Cramp to create a mix exclusively for TLOBF. Obviously, a man with as much love for music as Nat jumped at the chance and a week later he delivered a single mp3, all flawlessly mixed with some of the most serene, ambient shoegaze you are ever likely to hear.

Think of the 80 minute mix as an added bonus to the Cathedral Classics album currently available to buy here from our favourite record store Pure Groove for a bargain price of £8.

We’ll hand you over to Nat, as he takes you on a brief history of the label and guides you track by track through the mix.

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

When I started Sonic Cathedral as a club night to celebrate shoegaze back in 2004, there were lots of records from the ‘classic’ era (roughly 1988-1992) that I was keen to play in public. I also realised that there wasn’t an endless supply of these, as many of the bands were not exactly prolific: My Bloody Valentine famously released just two proper albums and Ride a mere four (and two of them you can pretty much forget about). So, to get around a possible lack of material I added the premise that we would also be celebrating the “influences and inspirations” of the scene, which allowed a lot more flexibility on the decks and, over the four and a half years since, has led to quite an idiosyncratic selection of music being played, taking in everything from bluegrass to dub reggae. This approach has also influenced the releases on the label, which are not just pale retreads of what’s gone before, but more forward facing.

This non-stop mix (hey, I’m not Soulwax, but I’ve tried) is an attempt to reflect of the broad church that is Sonic Cathedral.

mp3:> Sonic Cathedral: ‘Art of Noise Mixtape’
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To start we have the instrumental version of Syd Barrett‘s ‘Golden Hair’ (as covered by Slowdive on their 1991 EP Holding Our Breath, more of which later). Obviously, Syd wasn’t a shoegazer, but his whimsical psychedelia and very English qualities were clearly a big influence on the scene (and judging by his liking of stripy T-shirts, not just for his music). Following his death in 2006 Sonic Cathedral hosted a memorable tribute night featuring rare films and bands covering Syd songs.

Seefeel‘s ‘Climactic Phase #3′ is the opening track from their 1993 debut album, Quique. It’s one of the most perfect blends of shoegaze atmospherics and dance dynamics you’ll ever hear. You really should own this record.

Mark Clifford from Seefeel’s remix of the Cocteau Twins‘ ‘Feet Like Fins’ comes next and, despite only taking snippets from the original, it retains all of its oddness and otherwordliness.

Next up is Ulrich Schnauss‘ ‘Gone Forever’, the opening track from the German electronica genius’ landmark album A Strangely Isolated Place. Ulrich is definitely in the ‘inspirations’ category I mentioned above and, as a result of Sonic Cathedral, we have become friends; he did wonderful mixes of the Mark Gardener and Daniel Land & The Modern Painters singles and has played and DJd at Sonic Cathedral more times than I care to remember.

Sandy Denny‘s beautiful ‘Listen, Listen’ clearly isn’t a shoegaze song (despite the added reverb), but like a lot of folk and country music it has a similar melancholic, minor key quality. I know that Ulrich is a big fan of this kind of thing and surely it’s no coincidence that Moose ended up roping in the pedal steel and Slowdive morphed into Mojave 3?

There’s an Ulrich connection to Faith Over Reason‘s beautiful ‘Lullaby (Mother Love)’ too – he bought me the album it’s taken from, Eyes Wide Smile, from a record shop in Norwich when we did the Sonic Cathedral tour together last year. It’s a collection of demos, but they’re very accomplished and there’s a lovely cover of Nick Drake’s ‘Northern Sky’ on there too. Interesting fact: singer Moira Lambert provided the vocals on Saint Etienne’s ‘Only Love Can Break Your Heart’.

Next up two Boards Of Canada tracks for the price of one: ‘A Moment Of Clarity’ and ‘Peacock Tail’, both taken from the duo’s last album The Campfire Headphase. Such is their influence and elusiveness they’re almost like an electronica version of My Bloody Valentine, not least because surely a new album’s due by now?

The ambient beauty of Stars Of The Lid‘s ‘The Daughters Of Quiet Minds’ is almost classical in its scope. Just one of many amazing records released by Kranky (Bowery Electric, Labradford, Deerhunter) over the years.

Japancakes‘ version of ‘Sometimes’ comes from their song-for-song cover of Loveless. A lot of people violently hated that record, but I don’t know why; if anything it brought the beauty and simplicity of the My Bloody Valentine original to the surface and made you appreciate it even more. I’m a sucker for pedal steel anyway, but I loved it so much I got two remixes (of ‘Soon’ and ‘Touched’) done and put them out as a single to coincide with the MBV dates last summer.

Along with Hope Sandoval, MBV’s Colm O’Ciosoig features on the Bert Jansch (yes, more folk) track ‘All This Remains’, which would sit nicely on the wonderful Warm Inventions record, Bavarian Fruit Bread, that the two released a few years ago.

The picture and fonts on the cover of Rafael Toral‘s ‘Wave Field’ pays homage to Loveless, but the music is much more minimal – just amp drones that ebb and flow.

‘Ponce De Leon Blues’ is from Beachwood Sparks‘ final EP, Make The Cowboy Robots Cry. They reformed for the Sub Pop anniversary last summer, so hopefully they’ll get around to making a new album soon. I’d say they’re my perfect band, like a shoegazey Flying Burrito Brothers…

…speaking of which, Acetone‘s cover of the Burritos’ ‘Juanita’ is so beautiful it doesn’t even need the words. If you can find a copy of I Guess I Would, the mini-LP this is taken from, do yourself a favour and buy it.

I fell for Miranda Lee Richards‘ original version of ‘Life Boat’ because of the pedal steel again. When I put it out as a single I thought that Neil Halstead would be the perfect person to remix it, but I didn’t anticipate him setting the song adrift on an ocean of feedback and distortion. I’m glad he did though.

Mark Van Hoen was a member of Locust in the early-’90s. He, Mark Clifford from Seefeel and Neil Halstead apparently used to live together – surely a key influence on the sparse, electronic sound of Slowdive’s final album Pygmalion. ‘You And Me Inside’ is from Hoen’s 1998 album Playing With Time.

Engineers were one of the new bands who inspired me to start Sonic Cathedral in the first place. Their second album is – finally! – coming out this July, but ‘Said And Done’ is from their debut, which is one of those albums that will still be talked about as a landmark in 20 years’ time.

More folk next in the form of Ramblin’ Jack Elliott covering Tim Hardin’s ‘If I Were A Carpenter’ (also tackled by Engineers on their Folly EP, another essential purchase). Is it just me who thinks that the keyboard drones and tablas on this aren’t a million miles away from the likes of Spacemen 3?

Eat your heart out Bobby Gillespie and Kate Moss – Slowdive did the best ever cover of Lee Hazlewood & Nancy Sinatra‘s ‘Some Velvet Morning’. The original’s pretty good too and inspired another Sonic Cathedral tribute night, featuring Dot Allison, The Tamborines and more, following Hazlewood’s death in 2007.

Finally, we end where we began. Syd Barrett‘s original ‘Golden Hair’ mixed into the coda from Slowdive‘s Peel Session cover version recorded in March 1991. The perfect ending…

Tracklisting in full:
Syd Barrett – Golden Hair (Instrumental)
Seefeel – Climactic Phase #3
Cocteau Twins – Feet Like Fins (Mark Clifford Remix)
Ulrich Schnauss – Gone Forever
Sandy Denny – Listen, Listen
Faith Over Reason – Lullaby (Mother Love)
Boards Of Canada – A Moment Of Clarity
Boards Of Canada – Peacock Tail
Stars Of The Lid – The Daughters Of Quiet Minds
Japancakes – Sometimes
Bert Jansch featuring Hope Sandoval – All This Remains
Rafael Torel – Wave Field (Radio Edit)
Beachwood Sparks – Ponce De Leon Blues
Acetone – Juanita
Miranda Lee Richards – Life Boat (Neil Halstead mix)
Mark Van Hoen – You and Me Inside
Engineers – Said and Done
Ramblin’ Jack Elliott – If I Were A Carpenter
Lee Hazlewood & Nancy Sinatra – Some Velvet Morning
Syd Barrett – Golden Hair
Slowdive – Golden Hair (peel session)

mp3:> Sonic Cathedral: ‘Art of Noise Mixtape’
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Happy Friday! The kind folk at Hinterland Festival; Glasgow’s brand new arts and music festival (in a similar vein to Camden Crawl, Stag & Dagger, Concrete & Glass et al) have given us a pair of tickets to give away for one lucky reader!

The event, which takes place April 30th and May 1st across 15 venues in Glasgow City centre promises to be a fantastic event. There are  literally a sack load of TLOBF approved bands to choose from – with a large percentage being Scottish. Check out the final lineup above, and whilst you’re salivating over it – work out the answer to this (not particulary) tricky question…

The Fall, who are headlining the Hinterland Festival played Londons KOKO on April 1st. What method of transport did Mark E. Smith use to perform the majority of the set from?

Was it:
a) A Moped
b) A Wheelchair
c) A Spacehopper

Email your answer with the subject line HINTERLAND to competition@thelineofbestfit.com - please remember to include your name and a contact telephone number.

Closing date for the competition is Friday 24th April (a week today) and the lucky winner will be notified via email.

Over 18′s only please.

Good luck!

As well as this pretty awesome competition, we have super 9 track compilation to offer you for nowt! All the bands on the mix are playing the festival – so it is sure to get you in the mood!

1) ‘Years Days Months’ – Prego
2) ‘Jumpin’ With Joe From The Highest Step’ – 85 Bears
3) ‘If They Ain’t Vertical, They Are Horizontal’ – Geordi La Force
4) ‘Hardcore Girls’ – The Count & Sinden
5) ‘Gilt Complex’ – Sons & Daughters
6) ‘Fonz’ – Eugene McGuinness
7) ‘Sorry For The Inconvenience’ – Elks
8) ‘Sissy Spacek’ – Edie Sedgwick
9) ‘Last Waltz’ – Foxface

Hinterland Playlist [.zip]
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The return of our sporadic mix-tape feature which sees us ask our favourite bands to create their own mix, artwork and give explanations on why they chose each track. Last year saw awesome mixes from Action Beat and Gregory & The Hawk. Go seek them out here.

So the first Art Of Noise mix of 2009 sees the guitar-slinging-indie-pop-noiseniks Copy Haho curate their own 10 track playlist. In doing so, they reveal a whole heap of influences that are hidden throughout their debut EP Bred For Skills & Magic (out now on Big Scary Monsters). From the epic gang rowdiness of Dexy’s Midnight Runners to the pop swagger of fIREHOSE. There is really something for everyone here.

So without further adieu, we shall hand you over to the very capable hands of Joe and Richard from Copy Haho. Enjoy.

mp3:> Copy Haho: ‘Art of Noise Mixtape’
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Dexy’s Midnight Runners: ‘Burn It Down’
Richard: “I’ve been getting obsessed with this band for the past month or two – we listen to ‘Come On Eileen’ on almost every journey to a show. This song sums up what made Dexy’s both stand out as a band, and also what they stood against, that is, the stagnant and stale punk scene – you’ve got the radio tuning into the garbage that they railed against – Sex Pistols et al, Kevin Rowland calling to his bandmates before spitting “Oh for God’s sake, burn it down,” before you’re punched in the face with a gang of brass instruments and the start of the best debut album of that era. Paul from Hot Club de Paris has an amazing story about Kevin Rowland, you should ask him about it.”

Calories: ‘Adventuring’
Richard: “Played with these guys’ old band Distophia quite a few times, and got this first release from Calories last week, it’s really ace! near-perfect indie rock, just in time for the days getting longer and the sun staying out for more than four minutes at a time. I completely recommend that everyone who reads this buys this album.”

The Halo Benders – ‘Don’t Touch My Bikini’
Joe: “Calvin Johnson & Doug Martsch’s mid-90s side-project. This track is from the album ‘God Don’t Make No Junk’. It’s got that Johnson swagger to it that makes so much of Beat Happening’s music really great. There’s also a few comical cartoonish samples in there to break up his rapper-like flow. A good song to play at a party.”

Spectrum: ‘How You Satisfy Me’
Joe: “Peter Kember post Spacemen 3 breakup. Wikipedia tells me this was their first single. Pretty much a pop hit – fuzzed up keyboards and a great chorus.”

Black Tambourine: ‘Throw Aggi Off The Bridge’
Joe: “Black Tambourine have been on my list of bands to check out for about a year now. Luckily, last November, I finally got ’round to buying the ‘complete recordings’ album Slumberland Records put out. It’s really great. Hooky indie pop with lots of distortion and some pretty dark lyrics, a combination I will never tire of!”

The Delgados: ‘Akumulator’
Joe: “Perhaps my favorite song of theirs (or a close second to ‘american trilogy’). Quite like Pavement had they listened to the Pastels and lived in Glasgow. I love the line ‘take me to a park, leave me there, sitting on the ground, smiling’.”

fIREHOSE: ‘Time With You’
Richard: “Minutemen finished when D.Boon was killed in a van/car accident. Sad times. Minutemen fan tracks down Mike Watt and asks him to start a band with him. Mike Watt – and George Hurley – agree, and continue to make amazing music with fIREHOSE into the 90′s. This is pretty much the perfect song for a Saturday Night Fever-esque strut/swagger down the street.”

Titus Andronicus: ‘Upon Viewing Breughel’s’
Joe: “A brilliant band. I saw them supporting Yo La Tengo at the Mccarren pool in brooklyn last summer and they blew me away! I remember the singer chopping at his beard with a pair of scissors mid-song, it made for quite a spectacle (and a moderately hairy stage).”

Van Morrison: ‘Caravan’ (from The Last Waltz or It’s Too Late To Stop Now)
Richard: “I can’t decide which live version of this song to include; the former features The Band and a bunch of stupidly good session musicians, the latter is about twice the length at 9 or so minutes, and features a lesser quantity of stupidly good session musicians. This song has the best brass arrangements I can think of, and the version on It’s Too Late To Stop Now features a young Van Morrison letting out a small guffaw, dispelling any rumour that he’s completely grumpy. I’ve included ‘The Last Waltz’ version here, but you should seek out the other version too!”

Life Without Buildings: ‘New Town’
Richard: “My favourite version of my favourite LIfe Without Buildings song, the studio version of which appears on my favourite album of all time. I’ve tried to explain why I like them so much in the past, and it just turns into a complete fanboy lecture. I think it’s fair to say that all of Copy Haho are obsessed with this band, and rightly so. It completely warrants a reissue so people can buy it here without resorting to import/ebay. Somebody buy the rights off of Tugboat/Rough Trade and do it!”

We’re good to you, and you know it! This months playlist features some of the best new music we’ve wrapped our ears round. We have a taster from Stolen Recordings new artist, My Sad Captains, a track by hotly tipped post-hardcore band The Tupolev Ghost some more laid-back tunes from perennial favourites Air France as well as the latest from The Thermals and Of Montreal. To top it all off, there’s even a TLOBF Exclusive from Fat Cat’s latest band, Storsveit Nix Noltes, who mix the majesty of Beirut with the care-free madness of DeVotchKa. Enjoy!

DOWNLOAD
[mp3] TLOBF PLAYLIST #2.09 [.zip]
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STREAM
Check out the playlist and stream the 15 songs in their entirety below …

2009 is but a young, carefree child in our eyes. As each month passes, we will endeavour to keep your ears as youthful as possible by feeding them the best new music around. All these bands are TLOBF Certified for maximum enjoyment, from the Swedish pop of Loney dear, the thrilling guitar romps of Copy Haho to the accordion fuelled folk of Dark Dark Dark, there’s something for everyone!

Now GO! Download! And count down the days till pay day in aural bliss!

DOWNLOAD
[mp3] TLOBF PLAYLIST #1.09 [.zip]
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STREAM
Check out the playlist and stream the 15 songs in their entirety below …

Photograph by Lucy Johnston

Welcome to the second edition of our new monthly feature: ART OF NOISE. It’s a simple concept. We ask bands we love to make us a mixtape and tell us exactly why they picked each track. Thus, you get some free kick ass music AND find out more about some of your favourite artists taste. Everyone literally, is a winner.

This months mix tape was curated by Meredith Godreau, the brainchild behind FatCat Records’ newest act Gregory & The Hawk. Her beautiful debut album Moenie & Kitchie (TLOBF review) is available through all good outlets now and she is about to embark on a TLOBF sponsored tour of the UK. Click here for the dates.

The nine tracks here show clearly where Godreau’s roots lie.. The Sundays, Sebadoh, The Velvet Underground, plus tracks from TLOBF heroes The American Analog Set and Guided By Voices. Needless to say it’s an essential mix.

1. The Juliana Hatfield Three: ‘My Sister’
Juliana Hatfield was a role model of mine from the Blake Babies days.

2. Sebadoh: ‘Social Medicine’
I got introduced to Sebadoh last year through the song ‘Brand New Love’, which I couldn’t stop listening to. This song was new to me when I added it to the mix, but i immediately liked the slow unfolding.

3. Karl Blau: ‘Before Telling Dragons’
Mike and I first heard about Karl Blau this past August when we visited the Secretly Canadian office and Nick gave us a copy of the brand new album Nature’s Got Away. This track immediately stood out because of the funny way the melody goes with the words and the addictive drum beat.

4. The Softies: ‘Awful Mess’
Used to dabble in The Softies, but hadn’t listened to them in years. I found this song and remembered how pretty it was.

5. The Sundays: ‘You’re Not The Only One I Know’
The Sundays are the perfect band, Harriet Wheeler is the perfect singer, and all the songs are perfect. I picked this one cause I like the singing riffs at the end.

6. Mew: ‘A Dark Design’
I just heard mew last week and mistook it for mum doing a My Bloody Valentine cover version.

7. The American Analog Set: ‘Sharp Briar’
A nice song that sounds good loud.

8. Guided By Voices: ‘Everywhere with helicopter’
Another old favorite of mine, I think to love Guided By Voices involves listening to whole albums at a time, but this is maybe a good representation of their energy ad sound.

9. The Velvet Underground: ‘Stephanie Says’
A cheesy song for the end of the mix.

Download: Art Of Noise #2 : : ‘Gregory & The Hawk’ [.zip file]

Click on the image to download the mixtape

On a day where our American cousins decide on the future of the World at large, or so it seems, we’re your light refreshment. This months Mixtape, cunningly entitled Remember Remember, sees us go a little more left-field than usual. These are some of the greatest new bands we’ve heard in the last month, with a smattering of established favourites (The Wave Pictures), hotly anticipated comebacks (Wilderness) and a new project from an old friend (School of Seven Bells).

So, wrap up warm, it’s cold out there – sit back with a mug of something hot, forget about the disaster of the outside World, and just listen to what we’ve put together.

Remember, Remember

1. Wilderness - Strand The Test Of Time [download mp3]
2. The Pack A.D. - Making Gestures [download mp3]
3. Frightened Rabbit - Old Old Fashioned (Live) [download mp3]
4. The Wave Pictures - Long Island [download mp3]
5. Sarah Siskind - Lovin’s For Fools [download mp3]
6. Women - Black Rice [download mp3]
7. School Of Seven Bells - Connjur [download mp3]
8. Over The Wall - A Grand Defeat [download mp3]
9. Jay Reatard - See/Saw [download mp3]
10. Slag Rabbit - The Summer Sun [download mp3]
11. Ace Bushy Striptease - Panda Love Unit [download mp3]
12. Popular Workshop - Villains Who Twirl Their Moustaches Are Easy To Spot [download mp3]

[DOWNLOAD ALL TRACKS] - right-click and choose save-as to download complete .zip file

I listened to a lot of music at Airwaves, in some pretty extraordinary circumstances.

In a hired 4×4, cruising around a volcano on a flat lava plain, surrounded by sea and sky… driving over a long land bridge or through a seemingly endless tunnel… waking up in Reykjavik 101 with huge, rolling snow-capped cliffs at the bottom of the street… playing records in Kaffibarrinn, my new favourite bar in the world… or listening to my iPod while strolling down Laugavegur, my head buzzing with excitement and optimism.

This mix is made in response to all of that happy overload of stimuli and circumstance. It’s sprinkled with field recordings from Reykjavik and the Snæfellsjökull volcano – church bells ringing, the tide on the black sand beach, skimmed stones skittering over a frozen lagoon, and a harmony sung in the Songhellir singing cave all feature here too.

Click on the image below to download the podcast.

Look out for an in depth review of this years Airwaves Festival coming to TLOBF this weekend.

Click on the image to download the podcast

Welcome to our brand new monthly feature: ART OF NOISE. It’s a simple concept. We ask bands we love to make us a mixtape and tell us exactly why they picked each track. Thus, you get some free kick ass music AND find out more about some of your favourite artists taste. Everyone literally, is a winner.

Kicking things off this week are the self proclaimed ‘Noise Band From Bletchley’; Action Beat. Freshly signed to Southern Records imprint Truth Cult Records, these guys seriously know how to make a big, loud fucking racket. And we love them. To describe what they sound like is a fairly difficult task so I’ll just refer to their myspace page: “Raping de-tuned guitars. Abusing old drum kits. Molesting golden Basses. Dean Gaffney.” Nice.

Heres Don McLean from the band to guide you through his twelve choices. Download link is at the bottom of the post… Remember to look out next month for a mixtape from FatCat Records’ newest signing..The magnificent Gregory & The Hawk. Enjoy.

1. Trencher: ‘Nightmares On Crack St.’
The name of this track is reason enough to pick the song!! A nightmare on crack street would be a horrendous torment!! We love Trencher and their humour… describing themselves as ’20 dying spastics’ for instance. To us, they’re one of the few ‘good’ grind bands, and we’ve put them on more than once in Bletchley. They offer something different with their kiddy keyboard, furious basslines and tumultous drumming styles!! A lot better than the shite third rate locust ripp offs!

2. Melvins: ‘The Kicking Machine’
I picked the Melvins because I simply love the band, and it’s not hard to see why they are one of the most important bands in rock history. They’ve gone a bit more ‘kiss’ recently, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing!! hahah!! Big rock riffs, and 80′s singing!! I love the way the two drum kits sound on record, and live, they kick the shit out of most bands!!

3. Asva: ‘A Trap For Judges’
Atmospheric, powerful, brutal, loud, intense. I like this a lot more than most doomy, gloomy earth influenced jive…. I have just recently got into ‘Asva’ and never seen them in the flesh. I’m sure they’re even better live than on record.

4. Sofa: ‘ON/OFF’
This is simply an amazing song!! I ordered this from the southern mailorder years ago, and it made me continue buying constellation records. Think I was 18 or so, so it was a long time ago now, but sofa had an influence on my first bands sound. I believe this song is called ‘ON/OFF’, because you can here the guitarist switching the distortion on and off to cut sustain etc. Is that just me?! mmm. The Ian Curtis style vocals are really haunting and give the band a very dark sound. Listen to the hook at about 3 minutes in!! Fucking incredible, everyone should own this record!!! Wish I had seen these guys live!!

5. Death Sentence Panda: ‘A+ Cannibal’
Carney bought this vinyl when we were on tour with Parts and Labor. He had heard them before, but I just loved the artwork. This song is extremely erratic and experimental, and we love this shit. It sounds like a big Baritone saxophone, but in fact it’s a pitch shifted clarinet!! Brilliant!!

6. Enablers: ‘Glimpses, Audio: Driving Late’
Enablers are a very important band in Bletchley. I am ashamed to say that I’ve still never seen them live, but everyone says the front man has a very intense personna. I am attracted to the poetic, Johnny Cash style vocals, and the post rock sounding riffs. I mean, I have gone off post rock, and the riffs in general. You know, the third rate Mogwai/God speed bands. Enablers definitely don’t deserve to be lumped in with these bands, they are in a league of their own.

7. Fugazi: ‘Smallpox Champion’
Fugazi are one of the best bands in history, period (Ha, Mackaye abuse’s that shit).  I am absolutely head over heals in love with this band and everything they have stood for!  This song was my favourites on ’in on the kill taker’, not just because it has an incredible sound, but because it is about one of the most dispicable acts in US history. The way Guy Picciotto deliver’s his lyrics are so unique and original. I’d go as far to say he is one of the greatest singers ever!!  This song is so fucking good. “Small pox Champion, U S of A, give Natives some blankets, warm like the grave!! This is the pattern, cut from the cloth, this is the patten, designed to take you right out, right out”!!

8. Bellafea: ‘Depart’
I heard this song a few weeks ago, and I am a big fan of the 90′s indie rock sound. Youth, Sebadoh, Pavement. I think that’s where they’re coming from!? It sounds like Polvo.  The female vocalist delivers well, and the riffs are super sounding!! Give me more!!! I need to put this band on before they get too big!!

9. Ten Grand: ‘Fuck You Guyses Teams’
Man, I am absolutely gutted that I never saw Ten Grand live. Carney and my brother managed to catch them on their last UK tour, and I was speaking to the band about booking another UK tour for them. I loved the way they described themselves as 4 men of average intelligence (Henry Rollins influenced for sure). When Matt Davis tragically passed away, I remember feeling so sad. Not that I had any real connection with the band, or that I had ever seen them, or met them. I just knew that they were going to be a very important band and make alot of great albums. They remain to be a very important band to a lot of people, including ’Action Beat’.  ’This is the way to rule’ is a must have!

10. Karate: ‘The Roots and The Ruins’
Man, Karate are a strange band. They went from a heavily influenced Fugazi sounding band, to an all out sexy jazz ensamble!! hahah!! The riffs are out of this world man. Farina is a poet, and singing and playing that shit an outstanding accomplishment!! Pretty gutted that they had to give it up. Tenitus is a bitch man. I have to look after my ears these days.

11. Sweep the Leg Johnny: ‘Walking Home On The Emergency Bed’
Listen to this song!! How good is it?!?! Listen to the break at 2.32!!! Man, it’s so beautiful!!! Fuck man, this track is unreal!! It’s schitzophrenic, hypnotic, incredibly well arranged!! The ending of this track is mind destroying!!! What a dark band!! Again, gutted that they called it a day!! I hope they can get together again and make more music. Whos is the erratic guitarist?!?! Daly?! There is a clip on you tube, where he climbs into the ceiling, falls through it, and lands very awkwardly, just to continue playing!! Fucking animal.

12. Dalek: ‘Distorted Prose’
Dalek are our boys man. We have a great respect for this band and what they have accomplished over the years. You should hear their collaboration with ZU!!! Played with them a few times now, and we have dates with them in Spain and Germany. I put them on in Bletchley this year, and they absolutely destroyed it!! One of the best gigs I have ever put on. It was an exteremly intimate show, with only about 40 people there. They played on the floor, and we even managed to get an encore out of them!! Dalek was like “Yo Bletchley, you mother fuckers are live O”!!! hahahaha!!! He told me aftewards that they hadn’t done an encore in years!!! hahah!!

Download: Art Of Noise Vol.1 : : ‘Action Beat’ [.zip file]

Thirteen may be unlucky for some, but not for us this month as we bring you the best new music we could get our greasy mitts on. And it’s a great mix as well. From the Can-tastic rhythms of Fujiya & Miyagi to the rock ‘n roll of The Dudes, we’re also featuring some of the most promising new acts around, including New York’s Crystal Antlers, Cambridge’s Victoria & Jacob and Brighton’s The Leisure Society. We honestly think this is our best Mixtape yet… Click, download and enjoy.

Electronic Surgical Words

1. The Dudes – Fist [download mp3]
2. The Standard – Hotel [download mp3]
3. Jenny Lewis – Acid Tongue [download mp3]
4. Dungen – Sätt Att Se [download mp3]
5. Fujiya & Miyagi – Dishwasher [download mp3]
6. Victoria and Jacob – Clash [download mp3]
7. Shoreline – Daybreak [download mp3]
8. Micah P Hinson – Tell Me It Aint So [download mp3]
9. Crystal Antlers – A Thousand Eyes [download mp3]
10. The Leisure Society – We Were Wasted [TLOBF Exclusive] [download mp3]
11. The Spinto Band – Pumpkins and Paisley [download mp3]
12. The Miserable Rich - The Knife Thrower’s Hand [download mp3]
13. High Places – From Stardust To Sentience [download mp3]

[DOWNLOAD ALL TRACKS] – right-click and choose save-as to download complete .zip file

Hungry for more? Delve into the mixtape archive HERE.