New Music: Bleeding Rainbow- Waking Dream

Hot on the heels of Pink Ruff and Drift Away, Philly fuzz rock band Reading Rainbow have just released another track from their forthcoming LP Yeah Right. Waking Dream is less fuzzy than their other songs and might be considered sunshine pop. In fact the chorus of the song is "Sunshine is all I see, light flooding over me,". If you suffer from the winter doldrums and hate that their is little sunlight at this time of year then this is a great track to pick you up. Listen below:

Yeah Right will be released on January 29th via Kanine Records.

New Music: Modern Superstitions- Bad Habit

Some nice garage pop emanating from right here in Toronto Ontario. Bad Habit is taken from Modern Superstitions self titled debut album which was released back in October. The album is co-produced by two Toronto fucks....that is Brian Borcherdt of Holy Fuck and Ben Cook of Fucked Up. Download Bad Habits below courtesy of Soundcloud.

Modern Superstitions debut self titled album is available through Last Gang Records or download on iTunes.

New Music: Cineplexx- Cosas De La Vida Normal

No, this post is not about the money grubbing movie chain that has a monopoly here in Toronto. Cineplexx are a Barcelona band who specialize in laid back indie pop. I don't understand a word that these guys are singing, but I do know that this is some pretty good Balearic dreamy goodness. Listen below:

The band's new album Perfume is available now and you can get it here.

New Music: Mac DeMarco- Ode To Viceroy + Music Video

It's about time I wrote a post on this guy. I've been ignoring Mac DeMarco all year, even though he has released some excellent singles and two great albums in the last 12 months. I've also been kicking myself for missing his performance(s) at this years NXNE festival. I was at The Drake Hotel the night of his gig watching Eternal Summers and left before his performance to watch some punk band, who I can't remember the name of, at another venue up the street. I'm sure I will catch him live some time in the future.

Meanwhile, Mr. DeMarco has just come out with a video for the track Ode To Viceroy off his fine 2012 LP 2.  The song and video has DeMarco displaying his love for Viceroy cigarettes, a discount brand of cancer sticks I have never heard of. But then again I don't smoke and Canada has strict rules where you cannot have cigarettes on display in stores. Watch and listen below:

2 is out now and is available through Captured Tracks or iTunes.

For fans of Naomi Punk, Jonathan Richman, Daughn Gibson.

New Music: Ra Ra Riot- Beta Love

Upstate New York indie pop band Ra Ra Riot have just announced their long awaited follow up to Orchard and Beta Love (which also the name of the album) is the first single from the new LP. The band have been pared down to a four piece but that hasn't slowed them down. The first single is a danceable synth pop jam that is quite different than the Arcade Fire like indie pop sound the group has employed in the past. Download the single courtesy of Soundcloud.

Ra Ra Riot release their third album, Beta Love, on January 22nd via Arts & Crafts/Barsuk Records.

Ra Ra Riot are touring North America next year and plan to make a stop on March 3rd in Toronto at Lee's Palace. For all tour dates check your local listings.

For fans of Passion Pit, Discovery, Arcade Fire.

New Music: Nothing- Downward Years To Come

Nothing are actually quite something. Nothing are a really good band hailing from Philadelphia who make expansive reverb happy shoegaze music. Quite a nice find...thanks to the guys over at Stereogum.

The track will be featured on an upcoming EP of the same name via a389 records.

For fans of Slowdive, Whirr, Swervedriver, Young Prisms.


Nothing - "Downward Years To Come" from stereogum on Vimeo.

New Music: Holobody- Ninnyhammer + Music Video

Some sweet new synth pop from Montreal duo Holobody. Ninnyhammer is defined in the dictionary as a fool or a ninny. This track is anything but foolish, as it features sugary falsetto vocals and off kilter synths that make this song a pop favourite. Watch the video for the track below and if you like it, snag the song from Soundcloud courtesy of Bad Panda Records.

For fans of Grimes, and Purity Ring.

New Music: Veronica Falls- Teenage

Some great new jangle pop from London's Veronica Falls.  Their new track, Teenage, sounds a little more upbeat than the songs on their previous self titled album. The song is taken from their upcoming new LP, Waiting for Something to Happen, which will be released February 12th via Slumberland.

New Music: Big Deal- Teradactol

New dreamy indie rock from across the pond by London's Big Deal. Teradactol is the band's new single that will be part of their second full length LP, out sometime next year. This one is on the heavy side of the dream pop spectrum, listen below:

New Music: The Mary Onettes- Evil Coast

Sweden's The Mary Onettes are back with a new album, Hit the Waves, slated for March of next year. The Mary Onettes are one of favourite indie pop bands and their two previous LPs are a couple of my most treasured albums that I own from the great musical country of Sweden.

The first single from the album is titled Evil Coast. The sweeping melodies of the song combined with singer Philip Ekstrom's beautiful voice makes this new track an almost pop masterpiece. The single will be out on November 27th. Listen below:

Hit The Waves will be out on March 12th via Labrador Records.

For fans of The Shout Out Louds, The Radio Dept., Peter, Bjorn & John.

New Music: Yo La Tengo- Before We Run + Music Video

Beautiful new song from Yo La Tengo.....

Before We Run is taken from the band's new album, Fade, which will be released in the new year. The track is not too different from the tunes on Popular Songs and will be the ending song on the album. Listen below as singer Georgia Hubley coos over a emotional mix of strings, horns and intricate guitar. The colourful video was made by Georgia's sister Emily.

The new album is produced by John McIntire of the Chicago band Tortoise who has also worked with Spoon and Broken Social Scene. There will also be a deluxe vinyl addition of Fade that will include a bonus 7" featuring covers of Todd Rundgren's I Saw The Light and Times New Viking's Move to California. Fade will be out January 15th via Matador.

For fans of Broken Social Scene, Guided by Voices.

Five Star Songs: The Long Blondes- Giddy Stratospheres

I really miss The Long Blondes.....they broke up way too early in their career. I hear that lead singer Kate Jackson is now using the name Madame Ray and that she is working with Bernard Butler on new material. Looking forward to hearing her new stuff.

The sweet dance oriented post punk song Giddy Stratospheres was released on 7" back in 2004 and then re-released as the third single from the group's excellent 2007 debut album Someone to Drive You Home. Check it out below:

Someone to Drive You Home is available on iTunes, Amazon or check your local record store.

New Music: Kate Boy- Northern Lights

Nice electronic pop from Sweden's Kate Boy and their debut single Northern Lights. Everybody is comparing this track to The Knife, but for me it also sounds a lot like 80's pop group Nu Shooz. Listen and watch the video below:

For fans of The Knife, Robyn, Nu Shooz.

New Music: Widowspeak- Ballad Of The Golden Hour

Sweet new song from Brooklyn folky psychedelic dream pop band Widowspeak.  Ballad of the Golden Hour is a contradiction that features a syrupy mix of acoustic guitar combined with lead singer Molly Hamilton's sugar sweet voice that eventually fades into a thunderous conclusion. Download the song below:

Widowspeak will release their second album, Almanac, January 22nd via Captured Tracks.

For fans of Stars, Mazzy Starr and Built To Spill.

New Music: Johnny Marr- The Messenger + Music Video

Twenty five years after the break up of The Smiths, Johnny Marr has finally released a solo LP. His list of credits is very long since 1987. The busy man has formed bands (Electronic, The Healers), has joined bands (The The, The Pretenders, Modest Mouse, The Cribs), and even helped score a movie (Inception) but he has never done anything for himself, until now. After living in Portland for several years, Marr grew homesick for Manchester and his new album, The Messenger, was born out of his return to his native city. The new LP will be available February 26th via Sire/ADA.

Meanwhile, Marr has just come out with the title track for the album and accompanying music video. Nice song that showcases the guitar work of the legendary axeman. The music video is a simple black and white scene of Marr walking through the woods and on to a beach. Watch and listen below:

For fans of The Smiths, Edwyn Collins and Richard Hawley.

New Music: Pat Jordache- steps (Damaged Goods)

Is it me or does this Pat Jordache sound like Stephen Merritt and his 80's synth pop act Japan......

Of course, this is not the 80's and this song is not Stephen Merritt, rather Pat Jordache is another modern artist who likes to take us back in time to when new wave ruled the airwaves. Jordache is a Montreal based artist who used to be in the band Sister Suvi with Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs fame and now makes his own solo material.

Jordache is working on his follow up to his excellent 2011 LP Future Songs and to tide us over he just came out with saxy new single steps (Damaged Goods). Listen below:

For fans of Japan, Talking Heads, Ice Choir

New Music: Guards- Coming True

Guards have just come off of a highly acclaimed set at New York's CMJ festival and now they are almost set to release their debut album, In Guards We Trust, to the world. But first, the band have come out with Coming True, the follow up to the excellent single Silver Lining which we featured on the Aural Report back in September.

The track sees singer Richie Follin showcasing his vocal talents on the tracks shimmering choruses which proves to the world that sister Madeline of Cults isn't the only one in the family with a soaring voice. Listen below:

In Guards We Trust will be released on February 5th via Black Bell.

For fans of Bleeding Rainbow, Cults and Willowz.

New Music: Doldrums- She Is The Wave + Music Video

Toronto Experimental pop artist Doldrums, aka Alrick Woodhead, has released a second single, She is the Wave, from his forthcoming new album titled Lesser Evil . The skittish blippy track contains chaotic experimental beats which is appropriate considering the content of the accompanying weird music video. The video shows a ski boot wearing Woodhead desperately pushing a shopping cart through a barren wasteland and almost dying of exhaustion. All is not lost as a man in a kitty cat car, that looks like it was stolen from a Santa Claus parade, comes to the rescue. Watch and listen below:

Lesser Evil, which was recorded on a borrowed laptop from Grimes, will be released on February 26th via Arbutus Records.

For fans of Grimes, Animal Collective and DD/MM/YYYY

New Music: Asobi Seksu- Farewell

This is probably going to be the first single I will look for on Record Store Day, assuming it will be available in Canada........

Just in time for Black Friday/Record Store Day, Asobi Seksu along with their friends in the Japanese sludge metal/shoegaze band Boris have announced they will be releasing a split 7", and even better, the two bands will be covering each other's songs on the limited edition release. On the A side Asobi Seksul cover Farewell, a song from Boris' shoegaze LP  Pink and on the B side Boris cover the Brooklyn shoegazer's Citrus track New Years, which has been cooly renamed Neu Years. Listen to the Asobi Seksu song below:

Make sure you visit your local record store on November 23rd for this 7" and plenty of other great releases.

New Music: Evil Eyes- Keep Your Mind On Me

Free download from San Francisco post punk band Evil Eyes. Keep Your Mind on Me is a dark, twangy, beautiful dream pop song.

Evil Eyes plan to release their debut album sometime in 2013.


For fans of Cold Showers and Lower Dens.

Five Star Songs: Kevin Shields- City Girl

Last week it was reported, in an NME interview, that Kevin Shields will finally release the long awaited follow up to the classic My Bloody Valentine classic album Loveless. You should take his word cautiously, as Shields has been promising a new MBV LP for almost 20 years now, and we are still waiting. He has a great excuse for not putting out the new record; he has stated in earlier interviews that he cannot bear to put out anything inferior to Loveless. That is a tall order because it it one of the greatest records of the last thirty years.

Even though we are still waiting for the next MBV album, Shields has been busy contributing to other musical endeavours, with great success. Not only has he worked with or produced some great bands including Placebo, Yo La Tengo and Dinosaur Jr., he became a full time member of Primal Scream and worked on the albums XTRMNTR and Evil Heat.

One of the other cool things Shields did in the last few years was to contribute four songs to Lost In Translation movie soundtrack. When the soundtrack came out in 2003, it was Shields first original work he had done in ten years. The then reclusive Shields was coaxed to contribute to the LP by Brian Reitzell , the drummer for Air, who was the Music Supervisor for the soundtrack.

The Lost in Translation LP is one of the best soundtracks from the last twenty years. Not only does it have Shields work, but it also includes songs from  Phoenix, Air, and the song Just Like Honey from the Jesus & Mary Chain which is featured just after the wonderful climatic scene where Scarlett Johansson whispers in Bill Murray's ear.

Of the four songs Shields contributed to the album, three were instrumentals and only one, City Girl, featured Shields vocals.  City Girl is a pretty dream pop song that makes you wonder why Shields has not put out any other new material in the last ten years. The track features simple garage guitar work and is reminiscent of the pre-Loveless MBV era.

Buy the soundtrack to Lost in Translation on iTunes, Amazon or check your local record store.

Watch the video for the track and see Scarlett Johansson do a bit of sight seeing in Japan.

New Music: CSS- I've Seen You Drunk Gurl

I've Seen You Drunk Gurl is a fun new song from Brazilian electro group Cansei De Ser Sexy. The song is produced by Dave Sitek and also will be the first song to be released from Sitek's new Federal Prism record label.

Listen to the funky number which has cutie singer Lovefoxx singing/chiding a friend about her state of drunkenness.

For fans of Diamond Rings,Kreayshawn, New Young Pony Club.

New Music: Vex Ruffin- Same Thing Tomorrow

Last September the Aural Report featured lo-fi psychedelic artist Vex Ruffin and his new single Take It. Now he is back with a more sedated track titled Same Thing Tomorrow which is part of a cassette only compilation of 10 songs taken from the almost 300 songs he submitted to Peter Butter Wolf at Stones Throw Records.

If you are like me and don't have a cassette player anymore, you can grab the digital mp3 for free below:

For fans of Dirty Beaches and Ty Segall.

Psych Pop From Toronto

Great compilation put out by Toronto indie label Optical Sounds featuring many of the diverse bands that make up the local psych rock scene.

The compilation is curated by Will Carruthers, former bass player for Spacemen 3, Spiritualized and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, who spent a year living in Toronto where he got to know many of the groups in Toronto's indie scene. The music of these bands covers a broad range and is not strictly psychedelic rock. The diversity makes this a great album, as there is something for everyone including shoegaze (Volcano Playground), post punk (The Disraelis), lo-fi girl group like the Vivian Girls (The BB Guns), garage psych (Action Makes) and 60's psych pop (the Hoa Hoa's).

Best of all it is free!!!! Download the album below.

New Music: El Perro Del Mar- Hold Off The Dawn

El Perro Del Mar, releases her new album, Pale Fire next week, but if you can't wait head on over to the Hype Machine where you can stream the entire LP in full.

Meanwhile, the Swedish singer has offered up another tune from the album to tide you over until the proper release. Hold Off the Dawn is the second track previewed from the album after the 90's throwback Walk on By was presented here a couple of weeks ago. The synth pop song finds the singer examining how darkness can be a haven when there is a question of love in times of uncertainty. Listen to the Balearic upbeat song below:

Pale Fire will be available November 13th via The Control Group.

For fans of Lykki Li and Sally Shapiro.

New Music: MillionYoung- Lovin

MillionYoung is Mike Diaz, a producer from South Florida who makes some sweet chillwave music. His new song, Lovin,  is a great track to listen to while sitting round at home on a cold day dreaming of warmer climes and wishing you were walking down the beach with a beautiful girl. Download the song below:

MillionYoung will release a new album, Variable, on February 12th just in time for Valentine's Day.

For fans of Washed Out and Toro y Moi

Tamaryn: Live At The Garrison

Before I got to The Garrison last Saturday to see Tamaryn, along with their Bay Area contemporaries Young Prisms, I thought the relatively small venue would be jam packed. After all, Tamaryn had just released their buzzworthy great new album Tender New Signs. Surprisingly, when I walked in the door The Garrison was very quiet with only a few people sitting around talking or reading books.

The venue did fill up after a a solid set from newish shoegaze band Young Prisms. Young Prisms songs feature the dreamy vocals of singer Ashley Thomas complemented by the hypnotic drone of guitarist Matt Allen.  These guys are very similar to Tamaryn and provided the perfect opening. They played a tight 30 minute set with songs mostly from their 2012 album, In Between.

Singer Tamaryn must be very meticulous about her shows. Before Young Prisms set, she was seen adjusting the spotlight and assisting the sound guy behind the mixing board. When the band did come out, the only lighting was that aforementioned spotlight, otherwise the stage was very dark. This provided the perfect setting for the bleach blonde singer Tamaryn. The goth looking singer was wearing a a very short black blouse (as some of us in the front row found out, it was little too short), and bright red lipstick.

The band started the night with my favourite Tamaryn single, Mild Confusion, from their 2010 album The Waves. The dream pop classic flowed hypnotically into the small space leaving the audience in a hazy trance. Unfortunately, from where I was standing, I could not here Tamaryn's vocals.

The sound did improve for the rest of the group's short set which featured songs from Tender New Signs. The band distanced themselves from the crowd and from each other, as they seem to play with an intensity that is very much in their own world. Song highlights included The Garden, Heavenly Bodies and I'm Gone which featured Tamaryn singly mostly with her eyes closed. When she did open her eyes it was an icy stare far into the back of the venue. These guys sure do have the coolness of the dream pop aesthetic down pat.

The band went back to The Waves album for their encore and the beautiful track of the same name. The song is one of the band's more fitting, as it provides an aural blast of wavy guitars. Unfortunately that was the only song of the encore. The group waved and beat a hasty retreat into the night.

New Music: Crystal Castles- Sad Eyes

Hometown Toronto euphoric electro heroes Crystal Castles will release their appropriately named third album, (III), next week and to take us there is the fourth track to be leaked to the world. We've already heard Plague, Telepath and Wrath of God and now Sad Eyes, which is anything but sad. Listen below to the skittish pulsating track:

Crystal Castles are now streaming their new LP on Spotify. Unfortunately, their Canadian fans will not be able to listen to the album because Spotify is not available in Canada, which is stupid. Anyways, the album will be out on November 13th via Last Gang.

My Bloody Valentine Plan to Release New Album This Year

Big news out of London today.....

In an interview with NME this week, My Bloody Valentine genius frontman Kevin Shields announced that the long awaited follow up to Loveless will be released on his website by the end of the year. Shields also stated that My Bloody Valentine have a new EP that will come out early next year.

We can only hope. Shields has been promising new material for 21 years now.

Listen to Feed Me With Your Kiss from the Isn't Anything LP.

New Music: Ex Cops- James

Some nice twee indie pop from Brooklyn duo Ex Cops.

Ex Cops debut album, True Hallcinations, will be out on January 22nd via Other Music.

For fans of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and The Feelies.

New Music: Prince Innocence- To My Right

Prince Innocence are a Toronto/Montreal super hip couple who make some really cool synth pop music. The band just dropped their new single, To My Right, that is so laid back and dreamy that it almost hypnotizes you into a state of minimalist glee.

The duo also debuted their first ever cooler than cool music video last week that features singer Talvi Faustmann enjoying a night out on the town. Watch as she roller skates in sexy knee high socks and joins friends at a Chinatown karaoke bar.

The band are signed to Pretty Pretty Records and you can download To My Right on iTunes.



Prince Innocence - To My Right from Pretty Pretty Records on Vimeo.

New Music: Foals- Inhaler + Music Video

Totally psyched that Foals are returning in the new year with a brand new album. To tease us the band gave us their brand new single today, Inhaler, plus an accompanying NSFW music video. The new album, Holy Fire, was helmed by the tag team of Flood and Alan Moulder who are known for producing Depeche Mode, among others.

Inhaler is a lot more harder edged than their previous work, but the band still manages to maintain that funky math rock vibe.

The video features all sorts of pulmonary imagery including a topless girl with a painting of lungs on her chest and group of kids writhing on the ground and doing weird breathing exercises before they break into a big synchronized dance. Watch and listen below:

Holy Fire will be released on February 12th via Warner.

New Music: Young Dreams- Fog Of War

Young Dreams are an indie pop band who hail from the black metal centre of Bergen Norway. The band have just put out a new single, Fog of War, which has a sound that is very apt when comparing it to the group's name. The psycehedelic pop song starts and ends in a flurry of timpani drums and has a fantastic dreamy mushy middle. Nice track.....download it below.

The band plan on releasing a new album early in 2013 via Modular.

New Music: School of Seven Bells- Secret Days

This came as a complete surprise. On the heels of their really good album Ghostory, electronic dream pop band School of Seven Bells are releasing a new EP titled Put Your Sad Down.

Secret Days is the first single from the EP which will come out next week. Really loving the beat on this song which has a bit of an industrial feel to it, while lead singer Alejandra Deheza's multi layered harmonic voice has never sounded better. The looseness of the track fits perfectly with the theme of the song which has Deheza reminiscing about youthful adventures from the past.  Download the song below:

Put Your Sad Down will be available November 13th via Vagrant.

Five Star Songs: Wall of Voodoo-Far Side of Crazy

I was perusing through the used vinyl at the record store yesterday when I came upon an old Wall of Voodoo album from 1985 titled Seven Days in Sammystown. I looked at the track listing on the back of the LP and noticed the first song, Far Side of Crazy. I then I had one of those " I remember that song" moments. I recalled seeing the video for the song on a Sunday Morning music show on the CBC called Switchback, thinking it was really cool, and then never hearing it again.

Wall of Voodoo will always be remembered for both their lead singer Stan Ridgeway and for their hit song Mexican Radio. The band broke up after the US Festival in 1983 and Ridgeway went on to forge a successful solo career. It didn't take long for the band to be revived with the help of new lead singer Andy Prieboy. The album Seven Days in Sammystown was a critical failure, except for the lead single Far Side of Crazy which did well in Australia.

The song lyrics are really dark and try to delve into the mind of John Hinckley, the murderer who killed John Lennon. The music is really cool and has guitar that is reminiscent of the Enrico Morricone spaghetti western sound.

Watch the video below and don't be creeped out too much by the weird clown.

New Music: Desire- Tears From Heaven

Johnny Jewel seems to be the Jack White of italo disco and synth pop music. Not only does he have the bands Chromatics and Glass Candy to keep him busy, now he has formed a new group with singer Megan Kelly and percussionist Nat Walker. The first song from the new band, Tears From Heaven, sees all the same ingredients that make up Jewel's other two groups, that is, keep the music simple with a disco beat, cascading synths and a beautiful female voice. Listen and watch the video below:

This is the second song to be released from the After Dark II compilation (we already featured the Chromatics track Looking for Love) which will be available soon....

New Music: Azar Swan- Amrika

Rising out of the ashes of Brooklyn orchestral goth project Religious to Damn comes the new electro duo Azar Swan. The couple have discarded the instrumentation and gone in a more pop direction, albeit still dark. For those who like Bat for Lashes or Zola Jesus.

Listen to the duo's new track, Amrika, below.

Sons & Daughters Break Up

So sad to here that Scottish indie pop band Sons & Daughters broke up today. On the band's Facebook page singer/guitarist Adele Bethel wrote the following:

"Hello friends, it is with heavy heart that I type Sons and Daughters are no more:( On behalf of all of us I want to to thank you from the bottom of my knee high boots for all the love and support you have shown us over the ten years we have been together, we had a blast!Take care and stay cool, much love, Adele XXXXX"

Great band that will be missed. Listen below to the single Dance Me In from the album The Repulsion Box.

New Music: The Ruby Suns- Kingfisher Call Me

The other day I was walking home from the drug store when I saw a bunch of people hunched over looking at something on the ground. When I passed by, I noticed they were looking at an injured bird with an elongated beak, that looked like a Kingfisher. Toronto is located on a major migratory path and is infamous for having a large number of bird maimings and deaths due to multiple high rise office buildings and condos with glass windows.

A soon as I got home I noticed that New Zealand psych pop band  The Ruby Suns had just come out with a new single titled Kingfisher Call Me. Probably nothing to do with the bird- or the Indian airline or the Indian beer- but a great song nonetheless. Just thought it was a weird coincidence.

The song Kingfisher Call Me is taken from the band's forthcoming fourth album, Christopher. The track and album was mixed by Chris Coady who did the same for Grizzly Bear.  The track sees the band go in somewhat of a more synth pop direction and sounds a little bit like the aforementioned Grizzly bear, but probably is more akin to Yeasayer. Download the track below:

Christopher will be available on January 29th via Sub Pop.