Every now and then I come across something I’ve missed in my admittedly arbitrary review schedule, or my attention gets drawn to a musician to whom I might like to give more rounded treatment. This was the case with Toronto folk rocker, Megan Hamilton, who has subsequently become the focus of my first spotlight.

Co-founder of Toronto’s Familiar Music, which is also home to Shelby Lamb, Deromantic and Products of Better Living, Megan Hamilton trades in haunting and ethereal folk that has garnered favourable reviews since her 2006 debut.

Of course, you can read all about her influences and how she got started (not to mention how both her releases were recorded in a church in Saskatchewan) at both her Myspace page and official website. That said, for the purposes of this spotlight I asked her a few of the usual questions.

WHK: Favourite album of all time?

MH: “It changes all the time, but I would say that At Dawn by My Morning Jacket is always in my top favourites. ”

WHK: What are you listening to most lately?

MH: “Panda Bear’s Person Pitch - It is so good. I’m also listening to Strawberry Jam (Animal Collective) a lot - I’m really fond of that whole gang. I feel like some actual originality is happening there. Deromantic (S/T) is always in the player, and I’ve been listening to the MySpace songs of Chris Picco’s new album Ferris Wheel until I can get my hands on an actual copy. And I’m starting to get back into my usual winter staple of On The Beach, which potentially means dire times ahead - haha. ”

WHK: What do you do when not writing/playing music?

MH: “Hmm, when I’m not making music or going to see shows, lately I’ve been pretty crafty - making jewellery and painting and stuff like that. I work for a theatre consulting firm, and I help run the label - Familiar Music, which I co-founded. I was making music for my friend Jennifer Fawcett’s play Goat Show that’s running in Iowa City until December 3rd. I’m reading Shakey.

I walk a lot. Like, a lot.

My Dad lives on a farm with dogs and cows and lots of space, so I want to get there for a bit over the holidays to chill out and snowshoe . Last time I was there in the winter we went for a walk in one of the fields, and we noticed that there were bunny tracks that just. stopped. Couldn’t figure it out for a while, but then we realized we were witnessing a murder scene involving an ambitious hawk. Do hawks eat bunnies? That seems crazy to me. They used to have turkey vultures that would sit up on the barn roof - 4 huge ones, and watching them lift off was pretty freaky. So I like being there. You don’t see turkey vultures in the city. Although, at a restaurant I used to work at right downtown, there was a Snowy Owl who used to rest on our patio at night. ”

WHK: What have you got in store for 2008?

MH: “We’re going into the studio in early 2008 to begin test recordings for the next record. This one will be a little different as we’re recording it in Ontario, and that means we get to have the Volunteer Canola play their parts - so that’s exciting. No clue as to the release date, yet - I’m going to take my time with this one. I’ll also be recording for Shelby’s next record in that time, too. We have lots of shows coming up in February/March and we’ll be touring Southern Ontario in the Spring with Deromantic. There are other things in the works, but I’d better not talk about them yet. ”

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As for her albums, here’s a brief synopsis of each:

Feudal Ladies Club
(2006, Familiar Music)

With airy and often understated vocals taking centre stage, Feudal Ladies Club makes for an intimate debut where the delicacy is tempered by just enough grit to the keep the tunes from being too pretty—the sound of seeing your own breath as you take in the winter streets.

Megan Hamilon - Prophecy

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How We Think About Light
(2007, Familiar Music)

Continuing in the same direction as her debut, this follow-up EP has Hamilton adding a little more diversity, not to mention addictive melodies, to her reverberated repertoire. Be it the haunting and ethereal opener “Are the Birds Caught in the Trees?” or the driven and scrappy energy of “Detroit,” How We Think About Light is a powerful step forward that delivers on the some of the potential promised by her debut.

Megan Hamilton - Are the Birds Caught in the Trees?

Megan Hamilton - Detroit

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There you have it folks—Megan Hamilton in a nutshell. Check her out live during the Familiar Music Holiday Party at the El Mocambo on Dec. 20 or buy digital copies of both her releases here.

PS. The above photograph is from Megan Hamilton’s Myspace and was taken by Corey Goodyear.