Late of the Pier

Note: When I wrote this post to tell you about some of the bands that I’ve been listening to recently, intending it to be a spring new music guide of sorts, I was confident that we’d finally seen the last of winter. However in the past two week, the temperatures have plummeted yet again and we’ve had some light snow and flurries. Mother Nature is a bitch like that. Hopefully the warmth will be back by the time you read this.

Ah, springtime in Toronto. The bars and cafes teeming with patrons are spilling over to sidewalk patios, stores are unveiling their colour-infused spring fashion collections, and here at university, students are keeping the stress of the final few weeks of school at bay by playing Frisbee, catching some much-appreciated rays of sunlight and starting impromptu jam sessions in the quad. And eschewing that “time of year when one young man’s thoughts turn to fancies of love” bullshit (sorry about the cynicism), there’s one other not-so-appreciated tradition associated with this season of warmer weather and a reduction of clothing - spring cleaning. While there’s not that much housekeeping to do with my drab, little dorm room, I have been doing a little cleaning of my own, pruning through my iTunes to get rid of the junk and put on some new albums now that – thanks to a friend – I have a bigger internal hard-drive installed. So I thought that I would share some of my favourite new artists (in alphabetical order nonetheless) that I have been listening to the past week and a half to help you whether you are hitting the books for final exams or cycling the streets. Hopefully you find something that you like, enjoy!

Arkells
The question is not if, but when, are these five guys from Hamilton going to become the next biggest rock band in Canada? We’ve already seen that the band is able to strike that fine balance between being original and maintaining artistic integrity, while at the same time, having a lead single that has achieved massive radio airplay. There isn’t much about the rollicking, anthemic “Oh, the Boss Is Coming!” (and the accompanying music video) that hasn’t been said, but with songs like “Tragic Flaw” and “Abigail” from their debut albumJackson Square (released on Dine Alone Records), they prove they have a softer side as well. You can check them out in Toronto this summer as the band is part of this year’s Edgefest lineup in Downsview Park. It’s yet to be confirmed, but also it’s a pretty safe bet to say that those in St. Catharine’s will be able to catch the band at the S.C.E.N.E. Music Festival (June 28th, more details tba).

Famous Players
We’ve already mentioned that these Toronto DJs will be opening for The Carps and Woodhands at the Phoenix on April 17th, but it bears repeating that if these guys don’t get you up off your ass and dancing, you should probably check to see if your legs are working properly (and if you have a heartbeat for that matter). Famous Players are the duo of Jeff Hayward and Adam Jackson, who describe themselves as collectively influenced by The Coen Brothers (who were responsible for this) /The Pointer Sisters (who were responsible for this)”, and create some pretty crazy mashups. For awhile they had a fantastic remix of Blink 182′s “Rock Show” – which evokes fond memories of junior high for me – up on their MySpace, but it has since disappeared. You can also get some of the mixes they’ve done here.

Faunts
First Shout Out Out Out Out, then Hot Panda, and now these guys – there must be something in the Edmonton water these days. The band consists of Rob Batke, Steven Batke, Tim Batke, Scott Gallant and Paul Arnusch (who was in town this weekend with his other band, The Whitsundays), and their second full-length album Feel.Love.Thinking.Of. was released this past February. This is ambient, experimental pop music with slight electronic undertones that is perfect for chilling out (or playing video games - “M4 (Part II)” was used in the end credits of the adventure RPG Mass Effect). To listen to more from the band, including various remixes of their originals, head over to their MySpace or their website.

Late of the Pier
I’d listened to these guys briefly before, but after reading nothing but positive reviews of their appearances atSXSW (well…everyone except for the bouncers at Austin’s Cedar Street Courtyard that is), I figured I’d give them another listen. You know what they say, it’s never to late to jump on a bandwagon (they don’t actually say that, do they?). This U.K. quartet takes spastic electronica, Brit pop and a healthy dose of MGMT’spsychedelia (see their music video for “The Bears Are Coming” for further proof), throw it all in a blender, and the result is their debut album Fantasy Black Channel. And if that wasn’t enough reasons for the hipsters to love ‘em, they’ve also had Erol Alkan produce the album and had remixes from the likes of Switch and Boys Noize. You can check Late of the Pier this Friday, when they are at The Guvernment alongside Deadmau5 andThe Whip – this show is all-ages and you can get tickets online or at the door. The band is also featured in this month’s issue of Death + Taxes magazine.

Oldfolks Home
This is what happens when robots grow hearts – they make music like Oldfolks Home’s Ricardo Lopez. Winnipeg isn’t exactly the music capital of the world, but producer, engineer and song-writer Lopez is determined to prove otherwise, with the release of his debut album We Are The Feeding Line. The clear standout track is the peculiarly-titled “I Hate Dells”, which takes Lopez’s gentle laptop sighs and gets some vocal assistance from Rebekah Higgs. This track recently got some love from CBC Radio 3 and was remixed by Higg’s electronic side-project Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees. To listen to more from Lopez, you can head over to his MySpace here.

Ou Est Le Swimming Pool
Best band name ever? Quite possibly. These three, skinny British louts wear Adidas tracksuits, sport cheap sunglasses and Fernando Percival has the finest 70s pornstache I have ever seen in a band. They also make some damn catchy, synth-infused, dance-pop songs that are in the vein of countrymen Friendly Fires or a British Passion Pit, and the band counts everyone from Cyndi Lauper (damn straight) to Run DMC(umm…right) amongst their influences. These guys are all about getting the kids on the dancefloor, and the iced-out nouvelle disco of their lead single “Dance The Way I Feel”, is a surefire guarantee to do just that. You can check out the band at their MySpace here and you can also read a good article about the band over at London Kicks’ website

Cheers,
Max