Music Review - Elevator Music

FULL DISCLOSURE: THIS IS NOT ACTUALLY MUSIC YOU ARE LIKELY TO HEAR IN AN ELEVATOR!

That said, Elevator Music is a great indie-pop group hailing from the winter worn land of Calgary, Alberta. My first impression, listening to "When We Were Nocturnal" was that these guys could use a little more polish. The instrumentation itself is done well, but the low-fi attitude of it caught me by surprise. Then it began to grow on me. By the end of the self-titled EP, I was loving it. It was a nice throwback to a time when everything wasn't so clean and digitally scrubbed.

There is beauty in simplicity here. The music isn't pointlessly complicated, and, along with the vocals, make for a nostalgic innocence. These songs aren't immature, but they do give that sense of your last summer before college and tall the possibilities that were ahead, and all the pitfalls too (note, this may be heavily influenced by the track "Treason in the Season of Summer").

This EP is highly enjoyable, and a great escape from winter doldrums. Many bonus points for the French version of "Mirabelle".

Where to find them:

• BandCamp


• MySpace


• Facebook

RIYL: The Shins, Phoenix, PlayRadioPlay!

Music Review - Aaron Stoquert

Aaron Stoquert is a musician looking to make a name as a singer/songwriter. A musician of understatement, some might say as they listen to his first EP, Run For Your Life.

While it seems Stoquert is referring to love and lose and the way things take their course in life, I can't help wondering if he's referring to a zombie apocalypse. I know the sample on the opening track, "Bunker Hill" might make it obvious, but I couldn't let myself think such a concept could be so well done, and with such a subtle delivery too.

The delivery is the focus here. Stoquert is a talented musician, technically proficient and creative to not just play the notes. This is really brought out in his voice. I hate to use a cliche term for it, but his voice is soaringly haunting. On each song, I feel transported to the desolate air of the South in the 1930's. He gives a sense of desperation without passion, as if you know everything is lost, and you would love to get it back, but you know the odds...so you won't do a thing. This is especially clear on the track "Pass Me By".

This being his first, I think we can only expect great things from Aaron Stoquert as time passes.

Where to find him:

• the album is downloadable on BandCamp where you can name your price

RIYL: Leonard Cohen, Cursive, Afghan Whigs

Music Review - Kids Icarus

People have talked for a long time about whether or not the genre of emo (or emo-punk to be even more specific) is dead. Well, Kids Icarus vote no. I vote no with them.

Their self-titled EP brings me back to basement parties circa mid-90's, a time before rocking hard and singing great lyrics made you emo, not wearing tight jeans and shopping at Hot Topic (once upon a time, kiddies, emo wasn't a bad word).

In it's simplest terms, Kids Icarus is a 5-piece, made of crushing percussion, amazing vocals, bright and soaring harmonies, tight basslines, and guitars that will rip your damn face-off. The band kicks it off fast with the no-holds-barred "It's on Me". Probably the simplest song in the group of four on this EP, but a great anthemic start to get the listener interested. The real shiner, though, is "Monster". Great lyrics, hard dissonant beat structures and crushing guitars. That's what this game is about.

The only short coming here...it's only four songs long. C'mon, Kids Icarus...give us more...soon!

Where to find them:

• BandCamp


• Twitter


• Apparently in Connecticut...a state I can't say correctly


• Facebook

Note - Special thanks go out to Athletics for tweeting about this and bringing it to my attention.

RIYL - Kill Creek, Samiam, Gameface

Music Review - Sledding with Tigers

It seems a lot of people can make songs quickly these days. With the advent of sites like SoundCloud, Media Fire, Reverb Nation, and the more obscure YouTube (not sure if you've heard of it), some people seem to think they can just write a quick song and make it available and therefore they are musicians. Let me start by saying this...no, most people are not. But Sledding with Tigers is a bit different.

This week, Sledding with Tigers released The Hill Sheep, a collection of 8 folk-punk songs. If nothing else, SWT writes and releases a lot of songs. But these aren't some basement jams with shitty drum loops and some dude who was told he could sing in Junior High and thinks he still can. These 8 songs are something a lot of those quick-release basement singers are missing: honest.

It seems the biggest part of this massive honesty is the lead singer's ability to almost laugh at himself when he realizes what he's talking about is something everyone goes through yet is a ridiculous situation we should all be able to overcome. But no one can, everyone has been there, and it isn't going to change.

The Hill Sheep breaks a bit from the previous release No Randy No in that there is some new instrumentation (a violin, or fiddle for you hipsters out there, for one thing), some more subtle tonality changes, and a more dynamic vocal range. What hasn't changed are the great group vocalizations that make you want to start singing along...even before you've learned the words. It seems "sick & tired/sick & tired" is the best examples of this, with a chorus sung behind the main chorus...utterly brilliant when you consider this is mostly one vocal with an acoustic guitar.

This a great album to usher in the end of the year and welcome the new one. With an upbeat feel even in the songs with awkward moments ("5432 Fun"), the only negative I can find is it only being 8 songs long. Luckily, with this continued free-distribution paradigm moving forward, we won't wait too long for more good tunes from Sledding with Tigers.

Where to find them:

• Media Fire


• a few tracks from The Hill Sheep and other albums are on YouTube


• Shows and new songs and releases are always announced on the Sledding With Tigers Twitter Feed

RIYL: Matt Pond PA, Bright Eyes, Sinners Repent!

Top 5 Albums of 2010 - A Year in Review

I generally do reviews, but it's been a busy holiday season, so I will fill this space with what I feel were the 10 best albums I came across this year.

To say the Athletics had a great year is an understatement. An amazing album, a huge move, and a record deal with Deep Elm Records, what more could a talented, young indie band ask for. I'm looking forward to their tour schedule in 2011. Hopefully they'll be in my area at some point.

No Randy, No! by Sledding with Tigers was an unexpected gem. Coming from a guy and his acoustic guitar, these reflective punk tunes made a great listen...almost to the point of singing along with my headphones on (N.B. this is frowned upon in an office environment).

I've been listening to Matt Pond PA for awhile now and their latest effort The Dark Leaves was a welcome listen after 3 years without a recording. Deep and introspective, this album is filled with great rainy day tunes

While it was released in Europe in 2009, Mumford & Sons' Sigh No More didn't make it across the pond until February of this year. And we're glad it did. Every song on this album is powerful and passionate. There is no downside, even for a band with percussion, but no actual drummer.

What list of best albums is complete without Bad Religion? These guys are, hands-down, my favorite punk/hard-core band of all time. Although they have been doing this for 30 years, they haven't missed a step and are always poignant, fast, and intelligent. Dissent of Man is no different.

That's a quick list. There are many more bands I enjoyed this year, and I'm sure not everyone agrees with my picks, but time and space is limited. Let's hope 2011 is another year of great music.

Music review - The Last Dinosaur

Hailing from the metropolis of Newark, Delaware, The Last Dinosaur is a band ready to take on conventional alt/pop with some new sensibilities and true angsty rock songs.

Their latest EP, Tales, is a melodic blend of guitar and vocal driven post-rock. The team puts together a nice blend of off-kilter beats with pleasantly repetitive guitar hooks and vocals that range from melodic to passionately raised yelling. To be clear, this is NOT screamo. They do yell, but without resulting in screeching or growling.

Tales kicks off with with the upbeat and (dare I say) dancy "Fractions". This immediately sets a mood for the rest of the EP and gets you in the mood to move with the music. The title-track is more introspective and is perfectly placed in the middle of the album, and is quickly followed by "Sway" which is bit more experimental than other tracks with a heavy keyboard riff flowing throughout the song. "Sway" is a bit of a departure, but you will be sucked right back in by the high energy closer "Loughton".

Each song is well written, well balanced, and well produced. I can see The Last Dinosaur becoming much bigger than their hometown in the near future, if some wicked smart record company will scoop them up quickly enough.

Where to hear them:

• Tales is available for free download at Mediafire


• MySpace


• YouTube

RIYL: Athletics, Head Automatica, Rival Schools

Music Review - The Fairweathers

The Fairweathers are a 3 piece alt/pop outfit based in the small town of Caledonia in Ontario. Their self-titled EP will be coming out shortly, and I gave the songs a listen after hearing about them on reddit

The music offered up by The Fairweathers is a blend of upbeat pop with other influences that seem to change from song to song. For example, "Give My Love to Her" has a clear country twang, whereas "Just Jenny" is an attempt at something more punkish.

Each member seems to be pretty good at playing their instruments: a capable drummer who keeps the beat, a bass player who ably follows the guitar line, a guitarist who plays chords rythymically in line with the song, and vocals that are clear and concise. But there is something lacking here. It seems almost that the songs are too poppy, too simple. Listening through each song I realized I would forget almost as soon as I heard it. Each song, while wholly different, blends into the next and by the time you are through listening to all four tunes, you're ready to hear something else.

The tunes are likable, but the feeling that these tunes belong in commercials and not on my headphones can't be escaped.

Where to hear them:

• Sound Cloud


• The Fairweathers website

RIYL: Jonathan Richman, Sledding With Tigers, The Goo Goo Dolls (Superstar Carwash and later)