Make Some Noise | Local Music Collection

May's Recommended Recordings

The Weeknd
Trilogy (2012)

In 2011, the music world was taken by storm by a series of freely released mixtapes by elusive Toronto singer The Weeknd. Since then his style of brooding, self reflexive R&B that conciously eschews pop-friendly elements has rebooted the Rythm & Blues genre and The Weeknd (aka Abel Tesfaye) has become an international sensation. Trilogy is the re-release of these three mixtapes (House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence), accompanied by three previously unreleased tracks.

The Besnard Lakes
Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO (2013)

Since 2003, Montreal's husband and wife team The Besnard Lakes have produced moody atmospheric rock albums that have won over fans and critics alike. On their fourth full album, Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO, Besnard Lakes are joined by Spencer Krug to create eight tracks of minimalist, artfully orchestrated shoegaze pop.

Daphni
Jiaolong (2012)

Daphni is the current stage name of Canada's chameleonic Dan Snaith. Previously releasing highbrow electronica as Caribou and Manitoba, Dan's name change indicates a shift in focus to more straight-up EDM. While this has made his latest album more accessible to the average listener, Snaith still deploys his considerable artistic chops to Jialong, and the result is a series of adventurous, inventive and seriously danceable tracks.

 

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April's Recommended Recordings - The Dusted Edition

We're very excited that Dusted will be playing in the stacks at the Parkdale Branch at the end of the month for a free, all-ages show. A collaboration between Brian Borcherdt and Leon Taheny, Dusted's album Total Dust was easily one of our favourite recordings of the last little while.

An amazing project in its own right, Dusted is only one of the many great groups that these two talented musicians have had a hand in. Keep reading for a list of other great albums from Brian & Leon!

 

March's Recommended Recordings

PS I Love You
Death Dreams (2012)

Kingston rock duo PS I Love You are the type of band meant to be listened to loud. Paul Saulnier's dense, intricate melodies laid over top of Benjamin Nelson's hypnotic enveloping percussion on the band's sophomore full-length result in a fist-pumping sonic explosion that fully deserves to be cranked to 11.

Moonface (with SIINAI)
Heartbreaking Bravery (2012)

Spencer Krug has played with a whole pile of exciting Canadian acts (including Wolf Parade, Frog Eyes and Swan Lake to name but a few). His newest musical project under the stage name Moonface sees Krug look across the Atlantic to pair with Finnish epic rock quartet SIINAI. The resulting project is an album replete with hallucinatory lyrics and rich audio landscapes, demonstrating Krug's continued exciting artistic exploration.

Snowblink
Inner Classics (2012)

In 2008 Daniela Gesundheit moved to Toronto, partnered with Dan Goldman, and founded the dreamy folk duo Snowblink. Since then, the two of them have toured with a whos-who of the Canadian music scene (including Feist, the Hidden Cameras and Owen Pallett), and released two critically acclaimed albums. On Inner Classics, Gesundheit's ethereal lyricism blends with complex and lush synth-augmented orchestrations to create one of the most beautifully memorable albums of the year.

February's Recommended Recordings

Mac Demarco
Rock and Roll Night Club (2012)
We can't even begin to figure out how to describe this recording. David Bowie meets Twin Peaks soundtrack with a little splash of late night radio? Whatever it is, its also really good. The first of two albums released by Montrealler Mac Demarco in 2012, Rock and Roll Night Club is a risky and welcome contribution to Canada's sonic landscape.

Dirty Ghosts
Metal Moon (2012)
Its a bit misleading to suggest that Dirty Ghosts is a Canadian band, given that it's lived out its entire existence in San Francisco. That being said, the band is composed of some expat Canadian punks who moved down to California a couple of years ago (for the burritos, no doubt). Dirty Ghosts combines the best elements of thrashy punk guitars with danceable drumbeats, resulting in an album that equally at home on a dancefloor or a moshpit. Now if we could only convince them to move back North...

The Diodes
Action/Reaction (1980/2012)

In the late 1970s and early 80s, the Diodes were making quite a ruckus in downtown Toronto. Often hailed as the city's preeminent punk band of the period, this fourpiece is credited for laying the foundation for Canada's punk scene. In 2012, Bongo Beat rereleased the Diodes classic Action/Reaction, 32 years after its initial release.  

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Get published: Broken Social Scene-inspired story contest

Remember YOU FORGOT IT IN PEOPLE?

Think Broken Social Scene-sters Leslie Feist, Charles Spearin and Brendan Canning might like to read a story by you?

Enter the Broken Social Scene Story Contest, sponsored by House of Anansi press, and get a chance to have your story published in THE BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE STORY PROJECT.

Need some inspiration?

 

Borrow the CD

Or read Anansi's book about BSS, THIS BOOK IS BROKEN.

And don't miss BBS at the Field Trip festival in June, marking the 10th anniversary of the record label that started it all, Arts & Crafts.

January's Recommended Recordings

The Wooden Sky
Every Child a Daughter, Every Moon a Sun (2012)
2012 was a good year for Toronto folk rockers The Wooden Sky. Their third LP was released to critical acclaim, and they spent the year touring around the world with the likes of Great Bloomers and Evening Hymns. Quiet and contemplative, Every Child a Daughter, Every Moon a Sun is an intimate experience that demonstrates this five piece's considerable musical talent.

Rae Spoon
I Can't Keep All Of Our Secrets (2012)
Spoon established their musical reputation as a country balladeer, and so for longtime fans their latest recording's electronic influences may come as a bit of a suprise. Written after the sudden death of a close friend, the album's sometimes poppy, danceable rythms create a counterpoint to the emotional depth to the rest of Spoon's superb songwriting.

Eight and a Half
Eight and a Half (2012)
Already dubbed a pop "supergroup", Eight and a Half is composed of drummer Justin Peroff of Broken Social Scene and Dave Hamelin + Liam O'Neill of (now defunct) Montreal scenesters The Stills. Like many of the other recordings released of late, Eight and a Half has traded in the straight-up rock sounds of the members' previous projects for more synth-driven pop tunes.

 

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December's Recommended Recordings - The Misha Bower Edition

We here at Make Some Noise are pretty excited for Misha Bower's upcoming reading and performance at the Lillian H. Smith library this Friday (December 14th). Misha's an incredibly talented singer who performed with her band Bruce Peninsula at a Make Some Noise concert way back in 2009. Before you come to hear Misha this Friday at the Lillian H. Smith Library, (which we highly recommend you do), check out some recordings her voice has graced recently.

Bruce Peninsula
A Mountain is a Mouth (2008)
Open Flames (2011)

It's hard to describe Bruce Peninsula, one of Misha Bower's main musical concerns. Songs that start out feeling like footstomping roots-rock quickly morph into rich choral soul or blues or straight up headbangers, sometimes over the course of a few minutes. Their perpetual genre-shifting performances coupled with their sheer energy make BP a perpetual fan favourite in Toronto (and one of the best bands to see live if you ever get a chance).

 

November's Recommended Recordings - The Kontravoid Edition

On November 9, electronic musician Cameron Findlay will be stopping by the Bloor/Gladstone library for a free all-ages performance. Cam's current musical incarnation as the dark and brooding techno composer Kontravoid is by no means his sole stage persona though, and many music fans have likely encountered him gracing the stage with one of a wide range of Toronto's most impressive artists. Here are recordings by just a few of Cameron's collaborators.

Crystal Castles
Crystal Castles [II] (2010)

Enfants terribles of the Toronto scene, Crystal Castles' Alice Glass and Ethan Kath are notorious for their fast-paced aggressive tracks and wild live performances. Findlay performed with Crystal Castles as their stage drummer in 2007-08, and has joined them as an opening act on their current North American Tour.

October's Recommended Recordings

Kontravoid
Kontravoid (2012)

Electronic music fans first encountered Cam Findlay as the tour drummer for Crystal Castles, and later sharing the stage with Holly Dodson in the synth-duo Parallels. In 2012, Cam donned a mask and a new nom de guerre and began ripping up stages with his doom-laden electronic perfomances as Kontravoid.

Stay tuned for more exciting Kontravoid news coming soon!

Army Girls
Close To The Bone (2011)

Army Girls' music is a wonderful mashup of heartfelt, delicate lyrics, screamalongable chorouses and some serious thrashing on the drumkits. While very worth seeing live if you get a chance, their first 5-song EP Close To the Bone is one of the most fun fifteen minutes you're likely to encounter.

 

Austra
Feel It Break (2011)

Shortly after performing at the Bloor/Gladstone library in 2009, Katie Stelmanis joined up with a host of other talented musicians (including members of Spiral Beach, Trust, and occasionally Sari and Romy Lightman of Tasseomancy) to form Austra. The group's post-industrial electronica have won it critical praise as well as a legion of fans both at home and around the world.

Feist wins the Polaris Prize

Congratulations to Leslie Feist, winner of the 2012 Polaris prize!

Facing stiff competition from a diverse and talented cross-section of Canada's music community, Feist won the top honour for her 2011 recording Metals; an understated masterpiece and critical favourite that turned away from the single-heavy style of her previous album The Reminder (who can forget Leslie rocking out with the muppets to 1 2 3 4?)

Take a listen to some of her tracks online here, or check out Metals at a Toronto Public Library branch near you!

 

(Interested in hearing some of the other Polaris-Nominated albums? We made a list of them a little while ago you can check out).