Music, musings and miscellanea

30. Jamie Woon – Mirrorwriting (Polydor)

29. !Attention! – Another Year (Square Up)

28. Shimmering Stars – Violent Hearts (Hardly Art)

27. Iceage – New Brigade (What’s Your Rupture?)

26. Gang Gang Dance – Eye Contact (4AD)

25. James Blake – James Blake (Polydor)

24. Shabazz Palaces – Black Up (Sub Pop)

23. Hudson Mohawke – Satin Panthers EP (Warp)

22. Fucked Up – David Comes to Life (Matador)

21. Junior Battles – Idle Ages (Paper + Plastik)

20. Grimes/D’Eon – Darkbloom (Hippos in Tanks)

19. Huddle  – All These Fires (Independent)

18. Battles – Gloss Drop (Warp)

17. Lemuria – Pebbles (Bridge 9)

16. Heartsounds – Drifter (Epitaph)

15. Trash Talk – Awake EP (True Panther Sounds

14. Babe Rainbow – Endless Path EP (Warp)

13. The Wonder Years – Suburbia, I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing (Hopeless Records)

12. Yuck – Yuck (Fat Possum)

11. JEFF the Brotherhood – We Are the Champions (Infinity Cat)

10. Kidstreet – Fuh Yeah (Nettwerk)

9.   The Weeknd – House of Balloons (Independent)

8.   Elite Gymnastics – Ruin (Acephale)

7.   Bon Iver – Bon Iver (Jagjaguwar)

6.   Cloud Nothings – Cloud Nothings (Car Park

5.   EMA – Past Life Martyred Saints (Souterrain Transmissions)

4.   SBTRKT – SBTRKT (Young Turks)

3.   M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming (Naive)

2.   Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Belong (Slumberland)

1.   Rich Aucoin  – We’re All Dying to Live (Sonic)

All of these reviews originally appeared at Exclaim.ca

The Lytics @ Rancho Relaxo 03/11

A four-man Winnipeg hip-hop crew with a Vancouver-based DJ, the Lytics threw down old-school style rhymes for one of Canadian Music Week’s few hip-hop gigs. They deftly replicated the excellent tracks from their self-titled debut, throwing in choice remixes to boot. The quartet’s ability to harmonize onstage was an added bonus, avoiding the tone-deaf shouting matches of many hip-hop gigs. The venue’s cramped confines created the perfect conditions for the crew’s infectious energy to spread through the crowd, which needed little poking or prodding to get into the groove. This is a group not to be missed live.

Rich Aucoin @ the Rivoli 03/13

Rich Aucoin’s ambitious live show just keeps growing and growing. The Halifax musician, who famously wrote a 30-minute EP that sync with How the Grinch Stole Christmas in Wizard of Oz/Dark Side of the Moon style, now has a band (bass and drums) and a crazy amount of audience participation, including singalongs, hand claps and group huddles. Songs from the aforementioned Personal Publication EP have evolved to match the amalgam of Flaming Lips’ revelatory pop and Daft Punk robot rock of new tracks like “Brian Wilson is A.L.I.V.E.” Video syncs, confetti and a growing sense of showmanship made Rich Aucoin’s all-too brief set the highlight of the fest.

Yukon Blonde @ the Horseshoe 03/13

Like the late, great Pride Tiger, Vancouver’s Yukon Blonde celebrate rock’n’roll’s past with little regard for hipster trends. Taking the best from Neil Young and Southern rock bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers, the quartet would find kindred spirits in Drive By Truckers. Live, they’re a no nonsense rock band, never taking themselves too seriously, but never afraid to jam out on each song. Elevating this type of music out of the local bar band realm is rare and these guys make it look effortless. Bonus points to the guitarist for proudly sporting a Wallflowers T-shirt.

The Balconies @ the Horseshoe 03/13

Live, Ottawa three-piece the Balconies come off as a more visceral force than their debut ever suggested. Fronted by siblings Jacquie and Steve Neville, the trio ripped through their short set with Jacquie shredding her guitar Heart-style in between batting her Zooey Deschanel-eyes for photographers in the front. Not that she let that get in the way of the music; she has a note-perfect rock’n’roll wail. The whole thing is anchored by drummer Liam Jaeger, who looked like he was relentlessly punishing his kit. The Balconies’ live show still outpaces their ability as songwriters, but if they catch up (and they probably will), this band could be unstoppable.

Hannah Georgas @ the Drake 03/12

Vancouver’s Hannah Georgas is tipped as the next big thing and consequently her all-too-short Friday night set was crawling with industry types too jaded to respond to her onstage queries. Not that Georgas let their indifference phase her. Backed by a four-piece band, she worked through tracks from her forthcoming debut, making every note she sang look effortless. There’s no denying her natural stage presence; she carries herself with Feist-like down-to-earth quirkiness, though she brings a relative edge to her über-accessible indie-influenced pop songs. Whether or not she becomes Canada’s next great indie chanteuse is irrelevant, as Georgas proved herself more than worthy of all the fuss.

Ladies of the Canyon @ the Drake 03/12

Ladies of the Canyon are a technically flawless band, both musically and physically. Made up of four Montrealers, the ladies sing ’70s country rock tunes in perfect harmony without a single strand of hair out of place. But their level of perfection has sapped the band of any personality. They dress like a quartet of out-of-place Laurel Canyon ingenues, bred on a steady diet of the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac, but their music lacks flare. The best part of the set was when they dropped a couple of F-bombs between songs. The band should stop imitating their heroes and start blazing their own path.

Brasstronaut @ the Drake 03/12

“Can I get more clarinet in the monitor” isn’t something normally heard from the stage at a rock show, but then Brasstronaut aren’t you’re average rock band. A six-piece experimental pop act from Vancouver, the group mix the standard guitar, bass and drums with keyboards, horns and, yes, clarinet to achieve their intricate textures and grooves. Live, songs from the band’s just-released Mt. Chimaera, such as “Heart’s Trompet” and “Slow Knots,” were given extra muscle creating a visceral experience as each song built to spectacular climax. Tight scheduling ended the band’s set just as it was picking up steam, but this was a definite highlight of the busy CMW weekend.

The Rhythm Method @ Ranch Relaxo 03/11

The Rhythm Method are three girls rapping about drunk moms, crushing on dad and getting pregnant, dropping lines like “My dad threw a ball to me yesterday / But I know mommy’s gettin’ all the good play.” Dressed in gaudy ’80s get-ups (pant suits, side pony tails) the Haligonian trio rhymed over beats played through an iPod, adding a haphazard DIY feel of the set. But where such a set-up could have ended in a disastrous technical problems, the set ran smoothly, as band members Snakechains, Handjob and Xteva exchanged choice onstage banter amongst themselves and the packed crowd.

Leif Vollebekk @ El Mocambo 03/11

The sensitive dude with guitar thing is so played out, which is why Leif Vollebekk is such a breath of fresh air. Mixing Bob Dylan’s gruff voice and off-kilter phrasing with Antony Hegarty-style falsetto, Vollebekk sang tracks of his debut, Inland, to a bar two-thirds full. Presenting himself as a humble, self-deprecating performer, the Montrealer easily bantered with the crowd while tuning his guitar between songs, not letting sound filtering down from the club’s upstairs phase him. He even engaged in some Owen Pallett-styled violin looping, making for some truly engaging listening that transcended any genre ghettoization.

HippyMafia @ Bread & Circus 03/10

Hippymafia are made up of three Mancunians and a Kitchener, ON MC; that one of those Mancunians is Happy Mondays drummer Gaz Whelan accounted for the high level of anticipation at this, the quartet’s North American debut. All-star guest rumours proved false, but the band made up for it with a brilliant set of Northern Soul and heavy British rock. Unfortunately, the set was plagued with technical difficulties, not that that took the swagger out the band’s step. These guys already present themselves as rock stars, and if the high points of their set are any indication, it shouldn’t be long before the achieve such status.

Spirits @ Bread & Circus 03/10

Hippymafia are made up of three Mancunians and a Kitchener, ON MC; that one of those Mancunians is Happy Mondays drummer Gaz Whelan accounted for the high level of anticipation at this, the quartet’s North American debut. All-star guest rumours proved false, but the band made up for it with a brilliant set of Northern Soul and heavy British rock. Unfortunately, the set was plagued with technical difficulties, not that that took the swagger out the band’s step. These guys already present themselves as rock stars, and if the high points of their set are any indication, it shouldn’t be long before the achieve such status.

Believe it or not, but Halifax’s very own Grinch Rich Aucoin has played under his own name for just 9 months and he’s already making his debut at the annual Halifax Pop Explosion this month.

Aucoin previously played with his brother Paul’s band the Hylozoists, but began recording what would become his calling card last year. The result was Personal Publication, a 30 minute EP purposely recorded to accompany the visuals of Dr. Seuss’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

In May Aucoin took his Grinch synch with him when he biked across-Canada to raise money for the Childhood Cancer Foundation. The attention surrounding the tour caught the eye of Dr. Seuss Enterprises LP who, in the middle of the tour, sent a cease and desist letter.

“They were really nice. They said ‘we understand that you’re doing this for charity and we think it’s great that you’re biking across Canada. But you’re breaking a number of copyright laws.’”

Aucoin retired the Grinch synch upon his return to Halifax, but is already hard at work on his next EP which he has planned to once again to contain a large visual component.

“I’m going to try and be a little sneakier with this one,” he says.

He’s also scored several short films for local filmmaker Eric Duncan, one of which screened at the Atlantic Film Festival last month.

“I like putting constraints on my writing” he says. “It you have too much freedom, you just kind of get lost in the malaise.”

A version of this story originally appeared in Halifax Magazine.