Posts Tagged ‘little boots’

News Update!

June 11th, 2009 | By: Melody Lau

Ghost Bees

Ghost Bees

Disappointed by the slew of Toronto Island shows that have been cancelled this summer? Well, there’s always the 3rd Annual Poor Pilgrim Island Show! Taking place on June 28th, with performances from The Silt, Castlemusic, Nifty, Isla Craig, Bruce Trail, Transcendental, Ghost Bees, $100 and many more, this show is definitely worth taking a ferry to. Yes, I understand it’s no Virgin Festival or Broken Social Scene lovefest, but it’s got a kickass line up and how can you say no to a “Musical Scavenger Hunt”? That title literally put together the two best things in life – music and scavenger hunts. For more information, click here!

Miike Snow will be opening for Lykke Li at the Sound Academy on August 9th.

ZS, Child Bite, Feuermusik, and Talk Normal will be at the Boat on June 28th. Tickets will be $8.00 at the door!

The beloved Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine will be at the Phoenix on July 26th.

If you miss out on Health next week at NXNE, don’t panic. The LA band will return on September 19th for a record release show at Wrongbar with Pictureplane and guests.

Speaking of NXNE – too poor to attend this year? Not old enough to go to 99% of the shows? Head over to Criminal Records! The following shows will be going down:

June 16th – Apostle of Hustle (7:00 pm)
June 19th – Said the Whale (6:00 pm) and The Daredevil Christopher Wright (7:00 pm)
July 1st – Black Joe & The Honeybears (time TBA)

Two more in-stores will be announced soon! Apostle of Hustle will also be at MTV Live on Wednesday June 17th (right before their set at the Courthouse, as part of Broken Social Scene’s Book Launch Party). Said the Whale will be releasing a limited-edition 7″ this fall that will feature their latest single, “The Magician (Camilo)” along with other tracks: “Strong Swimmers”, “Love is Art” and “Upset Her” – watch for that and definitely check them out at Criminal Records!

Little Boots will be in town on September 14th for a gig at Wrongbar. Tickets will be on sale this Friday and it will be 19+. I was originally thrown off by a bad (live) review of Little Boots that I had read on Pitchfork a while ago but I am going to see her for the following reasons: a) I’ve really grown to love her music and b) I read it off Pitchfork. Pitchfork reviews are like weather forecasts in Toronto lately – always shitty and sometimes off; you’d have to go and see for yourself. Then again, maybe I just don’t check the forecast often enough. Either way, I’m seeing her.

The Fiery Furnaces have a new song out called “The End is Near”. Click here to listen/download.

Yes, Le Tigre are indeed “still a band” according to lead singer Kathleen Hanna in a recent MySpace blog post. And yes, they are working with Christina Aguilera. What’s wrong with that? Read more about this collaboration and the state of Le Tigre here.

Venice is Sinking still don’t have any Toronto dates lined up yet, as it was explained in a recent interview with The Singing Lamb, but if you happen to be in the States this summer, here are some of their current tour dates!

06/18/09 – Atlanta, GA
06/19/09 – Decatur, GA
06/27/09 – Athens, GA
07/08/09 – Charlotte, NC
07/09/09 – New York, NY
07/10/09 – New York, NY
07/11/09 – Chapel Hill, NC
07/12/09 – Columbia, SC
07/18/09 – Savannah, GA
07/24/09 – Athens, GA
07/30/09 – Lexington, KY
07/31/09 – Champaign, IL
08/01/09 – Daytrotter Session
08/01/09 – St. Louis, MO
08/07/09 – Orlando, FL
08/08/09 – Tampa, FL (Ybor City)

And last but not least, June 7th is officially Julie Doiron Day in Bruno, Saskatchewan. I suggest we all celebrate though. Come June 7th, 2010, I expect to see everyone busting out their Julie Doiron or Eric’s Trip albums and dancing along to her sweet tunes. Read more and watch a video clip of the news here.

PSST: No Age will be the ‘surprise’ guests at the Whippersnapper on June 18th, as part of NXNE. If anyone asks, I didn’t tell you.

Happy listening!

Musically,
Melody

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Singing Lamb Playlist (Vol.1)

January 13th, 2009 | By: Melody Lau

Little Boots

Little Boots

Here’s a quick summary of what I’ve been listening to recently!

1. Mothers Fathers
I accidentally stumbled upon this Montreal band’s site the other day when I was browsing MySpace profiles and I ended up spending hours listening to them. Mothers Fathers consists of Marika Shaw, Peter X, Marcus Paquin and Liam O’Neill, who also used to be a part of Montreal’s Young Galaxy and is currently a part ofZeroes (who are opening for Land of Talk this week at the Horseshoe). From what I’ve heard on their MySpace, this band seems to ooze of potential, through its lush instrumentation, pop-infused hooks and harmonic sing-along tunes. This is especially apparent on the track, “Ghosts” where lead singer repeatedly sings, “Oh no, I don’t believe in ghosts” while the music charmingly marches on behind. Definitely a band worth checking out, though there is no news as to whether material will be released or if touring is in their future. I’ll keep you posted!

2. The Bird and The Bee
Call me slow but I had honestly never listened to this Los Angeles duo before. Sure, I’ve heard of them on countless occasions through friends and I was aware of their popularity but I just never got around to actually searching them up. So a couple of weeks ago, in a search for new music to listen to, I dug up some old music instead and got The Bird and The Bee’s self-titled LP (2007, Blue Note). First off, I immediately recognized the opening track, “Again & Again” – but I don’t know where. It has one of those ubiquitous qualities that make it seem like I could’ve heard it anywhere. It’s an incredibly catchy song though. The rest of the album follows with a similar yet consistent sweetness projected through simplistic melodies and singer, Inara George’s beautifully hypnotic voice. Look for their new album entitled Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future to be out on January 27th! I’d suggest you to listen to them, but I’m going to assume you have already.

3. Little Boots
I’ve mentioned Little Boots before but I’ve found myself obsessed with “Stuck on Repeat” lately. In recent weeks, it seems like Little Boots has been exploding with popularity, from gracing the cover of Fader Magazine to being one of NME’s “Artists to Watch in ’09″, Little Boots (Victoria Hesketh) looks like she’ll be having a very Lykke Li-esque year ahead. She’s even been dubbed the “future of pop”, which is quite the title to be given so early on. With heavy synth hooks and undeniably danceable beats, Little Boots pulls off a Goldfrapp-meets-Kylie Minogue vibe. You should definitely keep an eye out for Little Boots on Pitchfork posts to come in upcoming months – after all, that’s where I had originally discovered her. Also according to P-fork, Hesketh is not nearly as good live as she is on record, which doesn’t scare me off (for when she eventually decides to tour Canada) as much as it makes me even more curious to see her live. Oh P-fork, you and your reverse psychology…I like it!

4. Boys Who Say No I missed Two Hours Traffic when they played at the Whippersnapper Gallery a couple of months ago – one of many regrets of 2008. But now that I’m listening to one of their opening acts that night,Boys Who Say No, I’m even more depressed. This local acoustic-indie-folk quartet is energetic, fun and definitely a band destined for great success in the New Year. With an EP release coming up on January 31st, I don’t feel nearly as bad for missing them the first time around, but that line up months ago still looks amazing.

Happy listening!

Musically,
Melody

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Wishing Well

October 26th, 2008 | By: Melody Lau

Love is All

Love is All

Have you ever felt like you’ve been stuck in a listening rut? Well that’s exactly what I’ve been feeling right now. Everyday I turn on my Windows Media Player and scroll through my artists, I think to myself, “Why don’t I have anything to listen to?!” (Similar to when I look into my closet in the morning and think, “Why don’t I have anything to wear?!”). So I’ve been on a quest – a musical quest for new music. And I guess that little push was just what I needed!

I’ve heard of Love is All for quite some time now (since the release of their 2005 LP Nine Times That Same Song) but I just never actually listened to them. So when I saw a new video for their single, “Wishing Well” on Pitchfork, I decided to give it a go – and I loved it! Lead singer, Josephine Olausson’s voice seriously reminds me of someone, but I just can’t put my finger on it… it’s good nonetheless. Their sound is a perfect combination of punk and pop and a sprinkle of Swedish charm. If you’re also enjoying what you hear, Love is All will be making a tour stop in Toronto on December 11th at the Horseshoe Tavern (19+) and their new album, A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night, will be out on November 11th.

While I was on Pitchfork, I also read up on some of their coverage of this year’s CMJ Music Marathon and Film Festival, particularly taking notice of Amy Philips’ Thursday coverage. At first, I read her post because of Sebastien Grainger, but when I scrolled to the end, I noticed a few shots of an artist named Little Boots. The review was not a positive one, as it criticizes her live act but I was intrigued anyway. So I immediately looked her MySpace up and began to listen to “New in Town”. At first, the keys and snyths were a little overwhelming but as soon as the chorus kicked in, I was hooked. That is one gosh darn catchy song! Definitely check her out if synth-disco-pop is your thing. Maybe not live though… It’s okay though, she’s not stopping by Toronto anytime soon anyway.

And most recently (as in this morning), I just started listening to a great Australian duo named An Horse. Sara Quin (of Tegan and Sara) had written a MySpace blog about the duo and in my curious state of mind, I decided to check them out. And they are definitely perfect for fans of Tegan and Sara. The duo of Kate Cooper and Damon Cox are currently doing some tour stops with the T&S and their new album is available now on iTunes.

I’ve also downloaded (whoa, I haven’t done that in a while…) some Hercules and Love Affair, Marnie Stern and the new Land of Talk album, so I’ll get back to you when I finish listening to them all. I feel rejuvenated with musical energy! But please, if you would like to feed me more music, send me your suggestions at melodylau.620@gmail.com!

In other news around the city…

Pink Mountaintops will be at the Drake Hotel on November 7th. Tickets are $10 and are available now at Soundscapes and Rotate.

Tokyo Police Club are playing an exclusive show, brought to you by The Edge 102.1 and Jack Daniel’s Studio No. 7. The event will be taking place on November 9th at 8:00 and it will be 19+. Details as to where are still TBA and if you want to win tickets, you’ll have to listen to The Edge or go to jdstudiono7.com for further details.

That free Diableros show at Kensington Market today has been cancelled. The band apologizes and will be playing at The Boat in December instead.

Goodnight Loving, The Stolen Minks, The Weirdies and WWI will be at Sneaky Dee’s on November 5th.

Hot damn, I wished I was there.

That’ll be it for now! Happy listening. If you were also in a listening-rut recently, I hoped this helped.

Musically,
Melody

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