Yesterday afternoon Pitchfork posted The Pitchfork Guide to Upcoming Releases: Summer ‘08, a massive listing of albums to watch for in the coming months.

Of course, there’s no way any one person can feasibly pay attention to everything they’ve mentioned (let alone any one person who needs to work for a living!)—hell, I have a hard enough time keeping up with local indie stuff. For that reason, I’ve created my own tiny list (most of which will likely be represented on Pitchfork’s, but might not stand out among the hundreds of albums accounted for).

Here are some of the releases I’ll be watching out for:

July 8:Women - Women (Flemish Eye)
July 8:Matt Mays & El Torpedo - Terminal Romance (Sonic Records)
July 8:Vancougar - Canadian Tuxedo (Mint)

July 15:Ghostkeeper - The Great Northern Muskeg (Saved By Radio)

July 22:Broken Social Scene Presents: Brendan Canning - Something for All of Us… (Arts & Crafts)

Aug 19:Human Highway - Moody Motorcycle (Secret City)
Aug 19:The Stills - Oceans Will Rise (Arts & Crafts)

Sept 09: Chad VanGaalen - Soft Airplane (Sup Pop)

Sure, it’s not nearly as big in scope as Pitchfork’s, but much more manageable for one lone, pro-bono blogger to handle.

—

Women - Black Rice
(from their upcoming self-titled debut)

The Stills - Being Here (from the upcoming Oceans Will Rise)

In honour of Canada Day here are ten quick facts about the Great White North:

1. It is the world’s second largest country.

2. My British friends call it “Canadia” to annoy me.

3. Popular Canadian creations include: Basketball, Superman (co-created with American writer, Jerry Siegel) Five Pin Bowling, the Wonderbra, Standard Time, the paint roller and Insulin.

4. My British friends insist on referring to our official winter sport as “ice hockey,” also to annoy me.

5. Contrary to what many might think, soccer is actually the sport with the most registered participants in Canada (saw that on CTV news the other night).

6. I once met a pair of American tourists in France who were pretending to be Canadian, but cracked under the pressure when I asked where in Manitoba they were from. They later confessed that they were masquerading as such out of fear that being from America would get them beaten up (not an uncommon story, from what I hear).

7. Tommy Chong, Peter North and Wolverine were all born in Canada.

8. In 2004 the “father of Medicare”, Tommy C. Douglas, was declared the greatest Canadian of all time after a nationwide vote, though the entire shebang loses a bit of credibility when confronted with the fact that Celine Dion was #27.

9. It was 141 years ago today that the British colonies of the Province of Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia shacked up, giving birth to the federation of Canada in the process (so says Wikipedia). It’s grown in size quite a bit since 1867 and even cut the British umbilical in 1982.

10. Poutine is awesome.

—

Now that the history lesson is over, here are a few of my favourite Canadian tunes, the last of which can be heard in pubs the world over (I actually first heard it in Taiwan):

Rheostatics - Saskatchewan

Stompin’ Tom Connors - Cross Canada

Stan Rogers - Barrett’s Privateers

Incidentally, Stompin’ Tom and Stan Rogers were voted 13th and 60th respectively in the same vote for the greatest Canadian back in 2004.

There you have it, Happy Canada Day!!!

There hasn’t been much mention of the 2008 Polaris Prize on WHK as of yet. In fact, I think I’ve only touched on it during a review of the latest Plants & Animals release, Parc Avenue. I’ve been planning on posting my picks for this year’s award, but given that the long list of nominees has just been announced, my energy might be better spent writing about albums I thought deserved to be there that were overlooked.

Let’s face it, if you ask me there’s a lot of filler on the list of nominated albums. Sure, there are 40, which means you’re likely to hit some less than perfect releases to make up that number, but—of the releases with which I’m familiar enough to judge—there are only about 3 or 4 present that I really consider to be top-notch (Wintersleep, Plants & Animals and Sandro Perri spring to mind immediately).

Here are a few albums that would have been on my list, as I enjoy them from start to finish:

Culture Reject - Culture Reject
(previously featured here)

Lush, layered and hypnotizing, this self-titled debut from Toronto’s Culture Reject had me thinking big things from the very first time I pressed play. Think Plants & Animals meets Apostle of Hustle, but without having to try so hard.

Culture Reject - Fireflies Are Fading

Entire Cities - Deep River
(previously featured here and here)

I’ve been wagging my tongue about Entire Cities‘ debut full-length quite a bit lately and with good reason, as Deep River is the epitome of energy and rootsy charm. I can play this album ad nauseum without a single complaint.

Entire Cities - Dancing With My Brother

Olivier Jarda - Diagrams
(previously featured here and reviewed here)

He may currently reside in Oxford, England, but Olivier Jarda hails from New Brunswick and is a world class songwriter. If you ask me, his debut solo album, Diagrams, was probably the best album to seemingly come from absolutely nowhere last year.

Olivier Jarda - Victorian Faces

Nifty - A Sparrow! A Sparrow!
(previously featured here)

It’s not often that I’d be so gung-ho over an album as strange as Nifty’s A Sparrow! A Sparrow!, but that’s just a testament to how intriguing it is from start to finish. Innovative and never tiresome, you’re not going to hear much else like it.

Nifty - Tune Into You

There you have it. These albums might not have made the mighty Polaris long list, but they made my short one, so that’s got to count for something (at least to me…).

I wasn’t able to hit any shows this past weekend, as I was visiting a friend out of town. We caught up over a few drinks and a good time was had by all, but I must say that the drive to Windsor is pretty damn boring. Thankfully my girlfriend and I crammed our rental car full of CDs, so at least we had some good tunes to give the 4 hour drive some pizazz.

Speaking of which, I threw in a couple of old mixes I made years ago and was instantly reminded of some great songs I’d forgotten about. Not only did it give me the chance to renew a past fondness for all things Lemon Jelly and Solomon Burke, but there was some excellent Canadian stuff tossed in there as well. Case in point, the Jimmy Swift tune “Now They Will Know We Were Here” proved to be an excellent traveling ditty and Royal City’s “I Am a Raw Youth” is always a great sing along anthem.

That said, if I had to choose I’d say that Entire Cities‘ new album, Deep River, won the coveted status of “official soundtrack to our road-trip” hands down. There’s just so much to like on this album. Personally, I got a kick out of blaring the fantastic (and profane) chorus to “Dancing With My Brother” (previously featured here) in a crowded service centre parking lot. Of course, the entire album is more than worth cranking—I know we played “Coffee” over and over throughout the trip.

As for Windsor itself, there’s really not much to say. Downtown was packed for an air race over the river facing Detroit, but we didn’t really stay long enough to get a true feel for the atmosphere—just turned around and popped in a few more CDs.

—

Entire Cities - Coffee

Jimmy Swift Band - Now They Will Know We Were Here

Royal City - I Am a Raw Youth

Catch Entire Cities at the Cadillac Lounge on June 14 as part of NXNE. In the meantime, grab a digital copy of Deep River here.

There are a few albums I really want to chew on at the moment, but I just couldn’t help posting this video of The Sadies…er…more appropriately, of The Sadies getting the GPS stolen out of their van!

Posted at the Outside Music website, this short video contains security footage of some jerk continuing the perpetual cycle of musicians being ripped off. I won’t prattle, as it pretty much speaks for itself. All I can say is at least they got the dickhead’s mug on camera.

I wonder if they could use the GPS to track him?

—

The Sadies - The Trial

Hear more at The Sadies’ Myspace page or grab digital copies of their albums from Zunior.

Also, they’ll be at the Ricoh Coliseum on June 5 opening for The Raconteurs.

Free music is always a good thing—even more so when it helps to promote local indie acts. In this case I’m talking about the latest EP from Toronto’s Spiral Beach.

Available for the next little while from Zunior.com and consisting of 3 songs, this EP is no doubt an attempt to gain some new supporters to the Spiral Beach camp. Of course, lead track “New Clouds Hot Clouds,” with its seductive rhythm and catchy hooks, is likely to do just that.

Fans of the band’s debut release, 2007’s Ball, will also be interested to hear the chunkier and slightly more raucous take on “Made of Stone.” In any case, these guys are definitely honing their craft and I’m looking forward to hearing their next full-length.

I’ve just been informed that these tracks were actually recorded live for an XM Radio session. In any case, free music is fine by me!

—

Spiral Beach - New Clouds Hot Clouds

Hear more at Spiral Beach’s Myspace page or grab your free copy of the new EP from Zunior.

I’ve got a few posts on the docket at the moment, but seeing as today was Victoria Day (a holiday celebrated in Canada since 1854–thanks Wikipedia!) I let my brain have most of the day off. In fact, the afternoon was basically spent walking around Riverdale (the east-Toronto neighbourhood where I live). My landlord was doing construction anyway, so I had to get out while the getting was good.

Somehow I had actually forgotten that this was a popular weekend for letting off fireworks. Of course, I was quickly reminded when the sun went down, as the colourful explosives littered the early evening sky. Bright bursts peeked above the Danforth like a breadcrumb trail in the woods, and my girlfriend and I couldn’t help but detour towards the most prevalent display in one of the many local parks.

The air was hazy with a strong musk of smoke and the prerequisite “oohs” and “ahhs” permeated the scene. In fact, everywhere you looked someone was lighting a fresh batch of pyrotechnics (be it in one of the many scattered wheelbarrows or a group of teenagers firing roman candles at each other) and children with sparklers could be seen far and wide.

Actually, I was impressed by the unkempt nature of the whole thing. We were able to just stroll through the park as explosions burst above us from all directions. I felt as though an extra in a happy and flamboyant recreation of a movie war scene.

All told, not only was this a great opportunity to reaffirm why I enjoy this neighbourhood so much, but it also served as an excellent reminder that it’s always good to get away from the laptop every once in a while.

—

Here are a few tunes befitting of the theme. The first is an old Canuck standard that I’m sure graced most cottages this weekend, while the latter is a down-tempo number from last year’s highly enjoyable Fall Horsie album, From the Seam of Doors, a Cone of Light:

The Tragically Hip - Fireworks

Fall Horsie - The Fireworks

Looks like The Coast are the latest band to have their gear stolen. On the eve of releasing their highly-anticipated—not to mention highly enjoyable—debut full-length, Expatriate, their Myspace page reports that the Toronto outfit lost everything in Vancouver the other night:

“After travelling through DC, New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles, it was little ol’ Victoria BC that finally got us. We got off stage last night after our first Canadian gig of the tour, to find that our van was broken into, valuables stolen. Computers, ipods, and all of Ben’s clothes. There’s one snazzily dressed crackhead walking the streets today.”

This unfortunate news comes just over a week after The Black Halos went through a similar situation, as their van—with all their gear and merch inside—was stolen in Montreal (get the details from this post on their Myspace page).

Is there something in the air? I mean, during CMW The Burning Hell’s Mathias Kom reported that his baritone ukulele had been pilfered and just the other day Crush Luther had a handful of guitars stolen from a shared jam space. I suppose this sort of thing happens all the time, as instruments are pretty damn expensive and often have quick resale potential, but this seems a bit much. I don’t know about you, but I’m putting a lock on my tambourine.

All kidding aside, those of you who share my addiction for sites like Craigslist and Kijiji ought to keep an eye out for anything that fits the bill. In the meantime buy Expatriate from places like Zunior on April 1 and help The Coast buy some more gear.

As a music enthusiast it’s probably no surprise that I’m also a sucker for gear. What can I say, making noise is fun and anything that helps to do that is fine by me! That said, the latest piece of sonic equipment to incur my obsessive interest has been the idea of a loop pedal. I’m afraid I’m only jumping on an already rampant bandwagon in this case though, as many of you will no doubt have seen any number of artists using a variation of one of these. Basically, it allows them to play a riff or sing a melody that will repeat at the push of a button (or stomp of a pedal). UK songwriter David Ford, for instance, is pretty much a wizard with a loop pedal, as can be seen in a number of videos on Youtube.

Of course, one needn’t look across the pond to find examples of musicians making use of these toys, as there are a number of Toronto-based artists sampling themselves on stage these days (that almost sounds dirty…). In fact, it’s widely reported that Final Fantasy uses one to great affect during his live shows (see video evidence here), as does Nifty (so says CJAM). Personally, I’ve seen both Sandro Perri and Timber Timbre make use of the same pedal (a Boss RC-20XL) during their respective performances. The former used his at the Dakota Tavern to layer a short acoustic riff under a tune, while the latter built an entire bed of ambient noise upon which to play eerie folk gems in a Toronto loft.

Of course, how much is too much? I spoke to Timber Timbre briefly about his loop station and it’s obvious that he values its propensity to thicken up his live sound, but is smart enough to know not to rely too heavily on recorded phrases.

That said, in a fit of spontaneity I bought myself a Boss RC-20XL last weekend (David Ford’s camp has informed me that he used to use one of these, but has since moved up to the pricier Electro-Harmonix 2880—a bit out of the hobbyist’s price range unfortunately) and have since been playing like a kid with a chemistry set, looping, reversing, overdubbing and just generally causing sonic havoc to all those within earshot.

—

Here are a couple of tunes by the above mentioned artists:

David Ford - Go To Hell

Nifty - Traful

Free music is always good. Of course, being able to give away whole albums with consent from the bands is even better.

That said, I’m constantly bombarded with all sorts of unsolicited emails from bands or PR companies offering me free releases in return for a mention (positive or otherwise, as I make no promises), but it’s a rare case when I’m able to simply post those download links for all to share (pun-intended?). That makes this a really great way to start my week, as I’m in a position to send two full albums your way without stealing any of your billions (ok, ok, too much…):

The Weather - Stolen Billions

This album is a bit of an anomaly. Released in January 2008, the Vancouver band itself actually broke up in 2006. That said, it makes sense that The Weather would decide to release Stolen Billions as a free download posthumously. I mean, what have they got to lose? Thankfully though this isn’t just a case of clearing the decks for the hell of it, as there’s some worthwhile music on offer here.

Flamboyant and brimming with confidence, The Weather embody the endearing messiness of the Velvet Underground while tempering that with a David Byrne-like sense of adventure. Tracks like “Hope and Maybe” and “In Denial” alone are definitely worth revisiting. It’s just too bad that the band couldn’t stick around to keep delivering the goods.

Check out my favourite track from Stolen Billions below or just go ahead and download the whole shebang for free right here.

The Weather - Hope and Maybe

Share - Ukulele Tragic

Recently made a free download from Forward Music Group (home to both Sleepless Nights and The Olympic Symphonium), Ukulele Tragic is the 2005 debut release from Share. Mainly the vehicle for the New Brunswick born Andrew Sisk, Share has received some critical acclaim on the East Coast and this inaugural release is a great place to find out why.

Simply put, Ukulele Tragic is full of endearing hooks that make for an intimate and uplifting listen. It manages to be delicate and understated while also exemplifying an enviable nonchalance. All told, it was a smart move making this debut available for free, as I for one will definitely be seeking out more from the band after hearing this.

Sample a track below or download the entire album for free right here.

Share - Soil

Stop by Share’s Myspace page for more info on the Halifax band before catching them live in Toronto at the Tranzac on Mar. 7 with the Two-Minute Miracles.