i(heart)music explodes into Halifax

With Halifax Pop Explosion getting underway this evening (and i(heart)music being well-represented thanks to the two joint showcases I'm sharing with the fine folks at Herohill), now would be a good time to make a few recommendations. If you want a truly in-depth look at the festival, of course, you should go over to the 'hill, but here are five bands you absolutely don't want to miss.


Sunparlour Players (Tuesday, 23:15 at The Seahorse, with The Grass and Ruth Minnikin)

A few weeks ago at Pop Montreal, Sunparlour Players put on my second-favourite set of the weekend (coming behind only a transcendent performance by Bruce Peninsula). It was sweaty, exuberant fun. Given that the same adjectives could be used to describe my first time seeing them, I'm thinking that a pattern is emerging. I see no reason not to believe that that'll continue on with this performance as well.

Download "Pacifist Anthem"


The Love Machine (Wednesday, 21:00 at The Marquee Club, with The Golden Hands Before God, Rebekah Higgs, Amos The Transparent and The Inbreds)

The first of the two Herohill Hearts Music showcases is getting a lot of attention, largely due to the fact it represents a reunion for '90s Canadian alt-rockers The Inbreds. But the rest of the bill is pretty outstanding, too, and that's thanks in no small part to the presence of two of Ottawa's best bands: Amos the Transparent (who I've raved about at length here) and The Love Machine (who I haven't gushed about enough). The Love Machine are Ottawa's best live band, bar none, because of the simple fact that they know how to make everyone in a room feel as though they're part of the performance. Every song becomes a singalong, and their energy is simply impossible to resist.

(Also, as a bonus, going to this show means you can always duck downstairs and catch The D'Urbervilles and "Mt. Royal!)

Download "We Are Squirrels (And This Is Nuts)"


Rich Aucoin (Thursday, 23:30 at Coconut Grove, with Laura Barrett, Ghost Bees, The Rural Alberta Advantage and Boxer The Horse)

As good as Rich Aucoin is on record -- and he's very good -- it's no match for the experience of seeing him pull off his miniature symphonies live. He's able to generate a whole lot of sounds out of his one-man band set-up. The resulting music is simply dazzling, and his new songs show that his first go-round was no fluke.

Download "At War With The Cynics"


Snow Picnic (Friday, 22:00 at The Seahorse, with Sports: The Band, Innes Wilson and his Opposition and Swedish Death Polka)

I'm not sure I fully grasp the reasoning behind the order in which this line-up is playing, since Snow Picnic sounds more like the kind of act that would segue well into a late-night dance party, but that's neither here nor there. All I know is that the songs of their Myspace sound a heckuva lot of fun, and I'm keen to see whether that translates into a live setting.

Download "Lovers"


The Bicycles (Saturday, 22:45 at Coconut Grove, with Woodhands, Young Rival, The Peter Project, More or Les, Prairie Cat, Township Expansion and We're Scared)

If it weren't for the two Herohill Hearts Music showcases, I'd say this was the most stacked line-up of HPX. Of course, it helps that it also has more bands than any showcase, but that's beside the point. You've got inspired dancefloor fun (in Woodhands), you've got one of Canada's most underrated rappers (in More or Les), and you've got a bunch of other bands that make Fuzzy Logic one of the more fun labels this country has to offer. After listening to The Bicycles' new album, though, I've got to say that their set is the one I'm most excited about. They've retained the sugary, catchy pop that made their last album so good, with the added benefit of the songs not being ones that I've played to death over the last two years. It'll be a fun night all around, but when these guys hit the stage, it should be the high point.

Download "Won't She Be Surprised"