Posts Tagged ‘2010’

Best of 2010: Amanda

January 3rd, 2011 | By: Amanda Macchia

Our Editor Amanda Macchia shares her top 10 albums of 2010 as our album listings wrap for the year.

10) The Tallest Man On Earth - The Wild Hunt

Kristian Matsson stayed true to his folk roots on this sophomore record. Pairing his bright acoustics with his unconventional vocals, Matsson made The Wild Hunt an album not only a pleasure to listen to, but downright interesting as well.

9) Vampire Weekend - Contra

It’s probably true that Vampire Weekend is a taste which many people will never acquire, but it’s fair to say that the heightened quirkiness of their songs and the Ivy League lyrics featured on their second album make for a pretty fun record, whether you’re willing to admit it or not.

8) The Love LanguageLibraries

Unlike their first record and much of the work of their lo-fi peers, The Love Language found a perfect balance on Libraries of minimal audio quality and great pop songs.

7) Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be

Yes, their album cover is the poor man’s version of Contra, but beyond the record sleeve is an impressive collection of catchy shoegaze pop, all the way from California.

6) Best CoastCrazy For You

Although criticized for its overly-simplistic chord progressions and lyrics, Crazy For You clearly resonated with music-listeners this year as Best Coast took it easy with the reverb for their full length debut, and stuck to their redundant, but relatable, themes of the beach and boys.

5) Beach House - Teen Dream

It’s been said time and time again, but Beach House really hit the nail on its head this time around, producing an album consistent in its dreaminess and synthetic sounds, unheard in the same fashion anywhere else.

4) Arcade FireThe Suburbs

There were obviously high expectations for the release The Suburbs, and thankfully the Arcade Fire did not fail to disappoint. This album is one with an abundance of characters and plots – a thorough story set to quality sounds.

3) The WalkmenLisbon

Similarly to The Suburbs, The Walkmen demonstrated their undeniable ability to use songwriting as a vehicle for creating a picturesque collection of music, painting a different picture with each song on the tracklist.

2) Zeus - Say Us

With their debut LP, Zeus proved that it’s possible to bring The Beatles and The Band into the 21st Century and transform their sound into something that is still current and developed enough that it can stand on its own as an innovative spin on classic rock.

1) The Black Keys - Brothers

For 2010, The Black Keys take the cake. Brothers is evidence that sophisticated blues-rock is still very much alive, and that it is possible to sound cool for a 15-track duration.

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The Singing Lamb Recommends…

January 24th, 2010 | By: Guest Contributor

Braids

Braids

“2010: FULL LENGTH.”  These three words are literally making my year right now, especially since they are coming from the MySpace page of Braids, an experimental pop band that was formed in Calgary, but now based in Montreal.

After stumbling upon them several months ago, I simply couldn’t get enough of Braids, especially their song ‘Lemonade’, which, after at least 50 plays, still has not lost its charm.  Unlike many bands who tend to sound boring in a 7+ minute track, Braids managed to open their 2008 Set Pieces EP with a nine minute track and start with a bang.  Though clocking in at five minutes apiece, Braids’ songs have a very unique dynamic to them that demands the listener’s attention as we navigate through the twists and turns of each song.  Unlike most guitar-and-drum bands (like every band), Braids songs follow a unique pattern in which the guitar softly plucks away, taking listeners on a gentle journey involving several changed in tone and pace.  However, the drums are only introduced during the fantastical climax of addictive layers of vocals and musical tones.

After recently landing on The Ampersand’s The Canadian Futures List for 2010 and a track in one of the Line of Best Fit’s Oh! Canada mix tapes, Braids is gaining lots of popularity from fans and critics alike. Hopefully their first full length album will result in continued growth in their popularity.

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For more on Braids,
MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/braidsmusic
CBC Radio 3: http://radio3.cbc.ca/#/bands/Braids

Post By Athena Ngai

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Resonancity’s “Bands To Chase 2010″ – The Singing Lamb’s Picks!

January 16th, 2010 | By: Melody Lau

Sheezer

Sheezer

I had the pleasure of partaking in Resonancity’s “Bands To Chase 2010″ list recently where we got to pick bands we think are going to be big in the new year. Here are links to all the lists:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Here are my official picks:

The Balconies – If the end of 2009 was any indication of things for the Balconies, 2010 should be the year they take over the music scene. This Ottawa power-pop trio (recently relocated to Toronto) comprised of brother-sister duo Jacquie and Stephen Neville and drummer Liam Jaeger released their self-titled album late last year to much praise and admiration from local bloggers and music fans. Bursting with catchy melodies, dynamic vocals and a maturity that some bands on their third or fourth album strive to achieve, things can only go up for these guys in the new year.

Diamond Rings – John O’Regan (The D’Urbervilles) a.k.a. Diamond Rings was the toast of the local music scene, international artists (opening for La Roux) and even Pitchfork last year with his breakout YouTube hit “All Yr Songs”. But the video and the song are only a little sneak peek into the spectacle that’s to come. In the midst of finishing up his debut album, Diamond Rings will finally release his much-anticipated album this year and if his live material is a sign of anything, it will be incredible.

Novels – This super-band made up of Will Currie, Graham Wright (Tokyo Police Club), Luke Lalonde (Born Ruffians), Dean Marino (Ex-po) and Jason Sadlowski (Jay Sad) is basically destined for success. Though the band won’t be selling their debut EP in stores (the band has opted to just let people download it for free online), their music will undoubtedly reach a wide audience and gain lots of press, as it has already in the blogosphere.

The Elwins - This Newmarket duo of Travis Stokl and Matthew Sweeney are certainly an up-and-coming act to watch for this year. With a full-length on its way, the Elwins’ brand of sugary sweet pop-rock is comparable to The Strokes or friends, Tokyo Police Club and The Bicycles. It’s definitely cheerful and a ray sunshine into your ears.

Sheezer – This all-girl Weezer cover band debuted on New Years Eve at the Tranzac and literally blew everyone away, even if you weren’t a Weezer fan. The band’s made up of Dana Snell (The Bicycles), Laura Barrett (The Hidden Cameras), Magali Meagher (The Phonemes), Robin Hatch (ex-Sports The Band) and Alysha Haugen and even though they don’t take any particularly unique approaches to covering hits like “Buddy Holly” or “My Name is Jonas” they do a hell of a job rockin’ them out. Fingers crossed for more shows soon! If they wanted to, I think Sheezer can take over the world; one Weezer fan at a time.

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Check out Resonancity – fantastic new blog and deserving of many, many visits and reads! Blog love!

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Video: Woodhands – “CP24″

December 17th, 2009 | By: Melody Lau

Woodhands’ upcoming album Remorsecapade has to be one of the most anticipated 2010 releases for me. After seeing them open for Junior Boys last month, I gradually grew pretty impatient for news of the new album. But luckily enough, we’ve been given this gem of a video recently, for the duo’s new track, “CP24″ (not joking, was super jazzed when I read that in their tracklisting). I’ve been watching/listening to this non-stop for the past couple of days. Also, if that’s still not enough, click here for a free download of their new single “Pockets”! Woodhands, my 2010 year-end list already has a spot waiting for you. Remorsecapade will be out January 26, 2010.

Woodhands – CP24 from Paper Bag Records on Vimeo.

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