The New Music

The Most Serene Republic have always been an overreaching, adventurous bunch. Back in 2005, when they released their debut album, Underwater Cinematographer, ears perked up over the type of effervescence and ability these kids from Milton, Ontario so effortlessly demonstrated. The band joined the Arts & Crafts community and gave the rather dry, predictable indie rock scene a much needed combination of rhythmic whiplash, melodic indulgence and impulsive showmanship.

While they always had the chops to throw down any number of eyebrow-raising arrangements, there was always a sense that TMSR weren’t quite meshing their ambitions together accordingly. Well, fast-forward four years, three other records (2006’s Phages EP, the following year’s Population album and companion remix EP, Digital Population), not to mention a rotation in the line-up, and the septet have finally delivered on their promise with a statement I didn’t see coming.

Recorded with Broken Social Scene’s in-house producer Dave Newfeld, the band’s third full-length, …And the Ever Expanding Universe, begins with a grand proclamation in “Bubble Reputaton,” an urgent opus filled with dizzying twists and turns. From there both “Phi” and “Four Humours” borrow some ancestral inspiration from forefathers Broken Social Scene with heavy distortion and tight Teutonic drumming.

But it’s the album’s central couplet of “All of One is the Other” and “Patternicity” that really introduces the listener to this TMSR’s unlimited ability. The former is a sweeping comedown accentuated by undulating piano keys and languid vocals. The latter is arguably the finest moment of their six-year career: an instrumental juggernaut that eschews the band’s more pop tendencies for classical brilliance and a string-led, dramatic arc that sounds as though it was designed for a BBC natural history series.

Don’t let their aspirations fool you, …And the Ever Expanding Universe is more of a loose, kaleidoscopic pop album than it is a young band indulging in some overexcited prog rock gesturing.

Listen to it Here

Artist: The Most Serene Republic
Album: …And The Ever Expanding Universe
Release Date: July 14, 2009
Label: Arts & Crafts
Genre: Indie Pop/Rock
Author: Cam Lindsay

Track Listing:

1. Bubble Reputation
2. Heavens To Purgatory
3. Vessels of a Donor Look
4. Phi
5. The Old Forever New Things
6. All Of One Is The Other
7. Patternicity
8. Four Humours
9. Catharsis Boo
10. Don’t Hold Back, Feel A Little Longer
11. No One Lieks a Nihilist

Discovery is equal parts Rostam Batmanglij and Wes Miles. If their names sound remotely familiar, that’s because you’ve most likely heard their other bands. Batmanglij spends most of his time playing the organ and miscellaneous instruments in Vampire Weekend, while Miles is better known as frontman for Ra Ra Riot.

Formed back in 2005, Discovery has finally come to fruition with a debut album simply titled LP. Anyone expecting similarities to either member’s other bands will be both a bit disappointed and plenty surprised by what this pair have come up with. Though it can be argued that some of the shuffling rhythms and rich harmonies resemble the Afro-inspired pop of VW, Discovery is a rather minimal project built around simple ideas “where everyone plays synthesizers” and “handclaps keep the backbeat instead of snares drums.”

The results are a shimmering blend of pulsating electronics and vibrant, Caribbean harmonies recorded with a delightfully lo-fi slant. The two share the vocals along with guest takes by Batmanglij’s VW bandmate Ezra Koenig (“Carby”) and Angel Deradoorian from the Dirty Projectors (“I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend”), which presents a rainbow of melodies as sweet and colourful as a Skittles ad campaign.

Not unlike Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamberello’s über successful one-off stint as the Postal Service, Discovery is an unexpectedly enjoyable venture between two parties on vacation from their day jobs.

Listen to it Here

Artist: Discovery
Album: LP
Release Date: July 7, 2009
Label: XL Recordings
Genre: Indie Pop/Rock
Author: Cam Lindsay

Track Listing:
1. Orange Shirt
2. Osaka Loop Line
3. Can You Discover?
4. I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend [ft. Angel Deradoorian]
5. So Insane
6. Swing Tree
7. Carby [ft. Ezra Koenig]
8. I Want You Back
9. It’s Not My Fault (It’s My Fault)
10. Slang Tang

So what is the Rural Alberta Advantage? Well, according to Nils Edenloff, it’s a philosophy his brother came up to describe the finer, simpler side to growing up in the land of gas and oil. It’s also the name of the band the singer/guitarist shares with drummer Paul Banwatt (also of Woodhands) and keyboardist/singer Amy Cole.

Oddly enough, they came together at an open mic night in Toronto as an outlet for Edenloff to address his homesickness for the province he left behind. A few line-up changes, gigs with friends like Henri Faberge and the Adorables and Ohbijou, and a self-recorded/released EP later, the band were primed to move to bigger and better things.

Their debut album, aptly named Hometowns, first premiered at gigs in early 2008, sold at merch tables during gigs and eventually via eMusic.com, as part of its eMusic Selects series. And on July 7, the band will see a proper home given to Hometowns, thanks to Saddle Creek Records (Bright Eyes, Tokyo Police Club, The Faint).

Full of wistful referencing (i.e. “The Dethbridge in Lethbridge,” “Frank, AB”), the album is a postcard written to home sweet home in the form of rapid-fire rhythmic fits, mopey melodies and folk-infused indie rock idiosyncrasies last heard by the godlike Neutral Milk Hotel.

Listen to it Here

Artist: The Rural Alberta Advantage
Album: Hometowns
Release Date: July 7, 2009
Label: John Dear / New Prey
Genre: Indie Pop/Rock
Author: Cam Lindsay

Track Listing:
1. The Ballad of the RAA
2. Rush Apart
3. The Dethbridge in Lethbridge
4. Don’t Haunt This Place
5. The Deadroads
6. Drain the Blood
7. Luciana
8. Frank, AB
9. The Air
10. Sleep All Day
11. Four Night Rider
12. Edmonton
13. In the Summertime

Super fresh New York band, Amazing Baby have just released their full-length album, Rewild following their debut EP, Infinite Fucking Cross that was a free digital download back in July 2008.
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