Happy birthday to me

Two years ago, I started this site with a simple dream: to get as many free CDs as possible to give independent Canadian music a tiny bit more exposure. Whether I've succeeded in that goal is up for someone other than me to decide, but I can honestly say that it's been a lot of fun keeping this thing up. I have no idea how much longer I'll go, but as long as there are great Canadian bands out there who are willing to send me their CDs for review, I'll keep on trying to write about them.

Anyway, to celebrate the occasion, I figured I should do some kind of megapost. After putting literally minutes of thought into it, I came up with this: 24 songs (representing, of course, 24 months) from 24 of the best independent bands this country has to offer. Some are sure bets to become signed and big in the very near future, while for others just mounting a tour and putting out a new album may represent the apex of their achievements. All, though, are bands I love, and all of them deserve a listen. NOTE: If you just want to download the .zip of the whole thing, scroll down to the end of the post! I don't know how long it'll stay up, given that it's really large (nearly 100 MB), so it may just kill my bandwidth.

Anyway, on to the bands, in no particular order...



Ennuie

Possibly the nicest band I've ever dealt with, every time I see this duo I find myself more and more impressed with how rapidly they've improved. They're definitely not for everyone, and I have no idea how I'd describe their sound (folk meets feedback meets jazzy-rap-scatting meets a toy store), but I have a sneaking suspicion that if and when they ever harness the energy they put into doing what they do, it's going to be amazingly impressive.

Download "8-7-6 The Cowboy Song"


Kickers

How much longer Kickers will be around is a bit of an unknown, given that their drummer is also in The Hot Springs, and that band just got signed to Aquarius/DKD. Hopefully, though, they'll at least be able to release the album they've had sitting on the shelf for the last few months, because as anyone who's ever seen them live can attest, they make one impressive racket for a duo. It would be a shame if they never followed up their self-titled EP with a proper full-length, because they're just too good to be known as "The Hot Springs' drummer's side project".

Download "Gallic"


The Wooden Sky

I still find that Gavin Gardiner, frontman for The Wooden Sky, sounds far too much like Chad Kroeger for his own good. That said, the more I listen to When Lost At Sea, the less I notice the vocal resemblance, and the more I notice that it's a quality album.

Download "The Wooden Sky"


Vivek Shraya

If If We're Not Talking wasn't enough to get Vivek Shraya embraced as the indie rock equivalent of Justin Timberlake, his amazing cover of The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" should be enough to do it. His danceable electro-rock is seriously fun, and it's great to see that he's found the music to go with his amazing vocal range.

Download "Seven Nation Army"


The Superfantastics

The East Coast has been churning out poppy rock bands ever since the Halifax Pop Explosion was a movement rather than a festival, and The Superfantastics show that there's no sign of the supply running out any time soon.

Download "Tonight Tonite"


Rah Rah / Kyrie Kristmanson

I'm know that I'm hedging my bets here (and also screwing up the whole 24 songs by 24 bands thing, since this makes it 25 songs from 25 bands), but I just can't talk about Rah Rah without including Kyrie Kristmanson. When she's in Regina, she's in the band, whereas when she's in school in Ottawa she's on her own. Regardless of her location, she's an incredibly talented artist, and when she's back home she's one-third of an astoundingly talented band. I get the feeling that its just a matter of time before she's forced to choose between the jazz-tinged direction of her own solo career on this side of the country and the Arcade Fire-on-a-budget sound of the full band, but in the meantime there's some great (and diverse) music to be heard.

Download "Cuba Vs. Peru" and "Eruption!"


We're Marching On

It's unfortunate that We're Marching On lost a whole year while one of their members was gallavanting around China (even if the ones who stayed behind did turn around and form the equally awesome Germans while they were waiting), because it meant that by the time Argh! Umph! Ahh! was able to be toured, it was already a year old. Still, they share a manager with Junior Boys and Born Ruffians, so it shouldn't be too long until WAMO's weird blend of prog and dance-rock gets the kind of notice it deserved a year ago.

Download "1800s"


Boats

Mat Klachefsky's voice is undoubtedly going to turn off far more people than it will attract, but if you can get around that -- or, better yet, embrace it -- you'll find that Intercontinental Champion is a pretty fun record. Now Boats! just need to change their name to something you can Google easily, and they'll be set.

Download "Two Of Every Animal"


Entire Cities

Entire Cities are getting to a point where they have (and have had) so many members I don't even know how many people are in the band anymore, but they've managed to develop a very, very talented core of people who've ensured that the band has developed into something special. They just released their debut in the spring, but they've already recorded a follow-up (due out in a month or so) with Dale Morningstar, so it will be interesting to see how they've progressed on record with all their personnel changes. Based on history, I'm guessing they'll have made themselves even more fun, with even catchier songs.

Download "Coffee"


Woodhands

I'd say you'd have to be dead or in a wheelchair to not dance to Woodhands, but after seeing him live twice in the last four months, I have a sneaking suspicion he has enough energy (not to mention good enough beats) to raise the dead and make parapalegics walk.

Download "I Love You"


Spy Machine 16

Equally adept at getting people moving are Spy Machine 16. They have one of the highest-energy shows I've ever seen, and with the release of How Things Come Apart", they've shown that they know how to transfer all that energy to disc. If this is a world where both Tokyo Police Club and You Say Party! We Say Die! (the two bands to whom Spy Machine 16 are most similar) can achieve fair amounts of success, it seems impossible to imagine that SM16 don't have the same destiny in store for them.

Download "I Lost My Edge Last Night"


Spiral Beach

You know how I said, way up there, that success is a near-foregone conclusion for some of these bands? Spiral Beach are the band I had in mind when I wrote that. If Ball, their forthcoming release, doesn't make these guys huge stars and catapault them to success at a freakishly young age, I'll be astounded. They're more mature and poised than bands twice their age, but they still have so much talent (particularly in the hook-writing department) that it's scary to think of how good they might get.

Download "Casual T"


Relief Maps

I can't think of many bands who know their way around a riff like these guys (and girl). They're set to record their next album sometime in the next few weeks, and after seeing live some of the songs they plan to record, I don't think I could be any more excited.

Download "Stamp Out Fatigue"


Famous Lovers

Not only is their music pretty good, I can't think of a band I've ever seen who've oozed so much cool. The combination of those two things, coupled with a great touring ethic, leads me to believe success for Famous Lovers is pretty much a sure thing.

Download "Blind Control"


Hi Lo Trons

Hi Lo Trons may actually be the least likely band on this list to go anywhere, but it's not for lack of ability. They're Ottawa veterans who are one of maybe two or three local artists who are guaranteed to pack their shows, and it's entirely because they make music that always makes people dance. The only strike against them, really, is the fact that they're veterans of the scene, and "consistent" and "reliable" are two adjectives that you almost never hear being used to describe buzzy new bands. Still, I've heard their new album (due out early in 2008), and it's a continuation of everything they've done right so far, so it'd be foolish to count them out before that comes out.

Download "Astroman"


These Hands

This country has produced some all-time greats when it comes to folk-rock, and These Hands seem like a pretty good bet to carry on that lineage. He adds enough ambient noises to make things sound current, and his new album (whenever it comes out) should solidify him as one of this country's more impressive and promising talents.

Download "He Himself and Him"


Tin Bangs

Any time a band can say they've opened for Art Brut, Editors and The Killers, they're clearly doing something right, and chances are they're already on the radar screen of people who sign bands like...well, like Art Brut, Editors and The Killers. Sp there's not much I can say about Tin Bangs that will help them out much anyway, but I will say that if you want to hear a band who have a legitimate shot at superstardom on the level of, say, U2 or Coldplay (but without the hamfisted attempts at being meaningful), you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of Heavy-Handed Darling.

Download "He's So Pretty"


The Coast

On that note, The Coast also seem like they belong in any conversation about Canadian bands who are most likely to attain impressive levels of stardom. They have the sound, with their stadium-ready anthems, so all they really need are the right circumstances and they'll be set.

Download "Circles"


Ohbijou

I was actually shocked to discover that Ohbijou are an independent band, given that they've toured from coast-to-coast a couple of times, not to mention recently re-released their debut, Swift Feet For Troubling Times. Nonetheless, they're currently label-less, which means they have to be counted if youre talking about the best independent bands in the country.

Download "St. Francis"


The Nymphets

The Nymphets play loud, fast, hard punk rawk. They play it so hard and so loud and so fast it actually deserves being called "rawk". They also play it extremely well. Making it any more complicated than that is pointless.

Download "I Don't Care"


Said The Whale

Even if it hadn't been for a mention on Perez Hilton, I'd still guess that Said The Whale are a band worth watching (and listening to, of course). Why? Because they make very catchy indie-pop, and "Live Off Lamb" is the best song The Shins never wrote.

Download "Live Off Lamb"


The Rural Alberta Advantage

The Rural Alberta Advantage are great live. They're great on record. The RAA are just plain great all around, and there's every reason to believe that their new album (which apparently is still being recorded) will live up to those high standards.

Download "Sleep All Day"


These Electric Lives

It's been a whole season since I first listened to TEL's self-titled EP, and I'm still getting the songs stuck in my head. If any of them ever make it to mainstream radio or TV, I'm certain that this will be the case for large swaths of the English-speaking world.

Download "Keep Love Safe"


Barons & Lengthy

They've released two EPs, and both have been instantly added to my list of favourite albums ever. Nine songs, nine classics, and their blend of The Libertines-meets-The Rolling Stones just keeps sounding better and better. If there's a better independent band in Canada, I've yet to hear them.

Download "The Moving Song"

You can download the whole thing here if you're not in the mood to read all that. Thanks to everyone who's ever read, even more thanks to any band who's ever sent in a CD, and here's hoping there's at least another two years left in this whole enterprise!