Tag Archives: Inukshuk

Band of the Day (11.22.10) Memoryhouse

22 Nov

BOD (11.22.10) Memoryhouse

With the success of Florence and The Machine, there will be a slew of new female led, drama queens hitting the scene. Unfortunately, every single one will be compared to the “Oh I wish I was Siouxsie Sioux” vocals standards. I think our team at NBD has profiled at least 60 bands that I would consider far more inventive and stylish to that of Florence. Today is definitely one of those days.

Memoryhouse is so good, she actually gave me chills the first time I listened. I love The xx for one reason, it’s that simple solo guitar that intros Romy Madley Croft’s vocals. I find that so alluring and it really draws the emotion of the vocals. Memoryhouse is Guelph, Ontario’s Evan Abeele, classically trained and Denise Nouvion’s photographic mind, melded together to form a soulful Beach House/My Bloody Valentine. They don’t conjure sadness, but rather a sense of passion. They make me want to create. Their simple electronic drum beats never seem Yacht-like, or campy, they are better than The xx and I think you’ll find their music a great accompaniment to the blustery winter weather. Denise’s voice will warm your heart as your bearing the snowy winter doldrums. I think we’ll add them to the mainstage of our Inukshuk Festival

Hear:
“Sleep Patterns” – Simple guitars, electronic drum beats and Denise’s beautiful vocals.

“To The Lighthouse” – My favorite song off the EP and I really think it will make our 2010 Top 10…lovely tracks.

Memoryhouse “To the Lighthouse”

Follow:
MemoryHouse Blog
MySpace
Facebook

Band of the Day (8.17.10) The Acorn

17 Aug Canada owns it again. This time with the best new music to date

BOD (8.17.10)

The Acorn are one band that never leave my daily playlist since 2007. I’ve refused to share my favorite band, because sometimes I just want to keep things a secret. Well it wasn’t until this last weekend where I read this amazing review of The Acorn that I realized, I’m doing myself more harm than good by not sharing it with you. So here they are, the best new band of 2008, June & July & August. I won’t give them September yet.

The Acorn formed in Ottawa back in 2003, but 2007 was the first album that launched them to the forefront. They’re ambitious, mysterious and troubled. They’re soft pattering sounds, couple multiple acoustic guitars, brush drums and Rolf Klausener dented childhood. His mother, as profiled in their first album Glory Hope Mountain, barely survived birth, ran away from an abusive father and emigrated to Canada from Honduras.

Their newest album No Ghost is yet another gem. They recorded the album in a tiny little cottage in Ottawa, where they isolated themselves from the daily noise. The result is beautiful. They’ve embraced their Indie folk bones and the result is a cross between Travis, good U2, Vampire Weekend, Fleet Foxes layered with David Byrne vocals. My favorite track is “No Ghost” hear below.

They too will be on the NBD Inukshuk Festival line-up and yes they will be added to The Best New Bands of 2010…so far list.

Hear:
“No Ghost” – Title track from the new record. See above for the sonic similarities

“Flood Pt. 1” – From their debut album and a beauty of a track.

The band as profiled on MySpace:
Rolf Klausener: chirp
Jeff Debutte: neigh
T. Jeffrey Malecki : caw
Pat Johnson: cackle
Steven Lappano: bleat

Follow The Acorn:
MySpace
Facebook

Buy

Band of the Day (8.16.10) Emma-Lee

16 Aug Canada shines bright with Emma-Lee

BOD (8.16.10) Emma-Lee

It’s Monday morning and I was in the mood for something a little more emotional. Something a little out of character for me, but I puttered around the web and stumbled on this absolute beauty…Emma-Lee. Her album came out back in March 2009..I may be a little late to the game here, but I don’t care. She’s a Toronto native, one part Bonnie Raitt, one part Norah Jones, one part Chrissie Hynde and one part Rickie Lee Jones. She can sing with the electric guitars, full orchestras, or sound as if she’s recording in Nashville with a slide guitar. She makes the guitar sound better and she has a deep understanding of the music she loves. Even covers Skeeter Davis “The End of the World” in the YouTube video below. Her voice is sultry and big all at the same time, listen and follow please. She might even be a headliner at The NBD Inukshuk Festival.

Emma-Lee is accompanied by:
Devrim Eldelekli
Kevin Mendes
Mark McIntyre

Hear:
“Never Just A Dream”

Watch:

Follow:
Emma-Lee site
Facebook
MySpace (Buy her new album Never Just a Dream from MySpace and get an autographed copy)

Band of the Day (7.23.10) KARKWA

23 Jul French mood rock.

BOD: (7.23.10) KARKWA

It’s Karkwa. Heard of them? No…well it’s okay, they’re a little obscure to us down here in the US of A. I stumbled on them on Sirius this morning.

I feel badly about making Karkwa band of the day being that they are 12 years old. But it’s passionate fans like us that might make that 12 year commitment pay off. Louis-Jean Cormier, François Lafontaine, Martin Lamontagne, Julien Sagot, Stéphane Bergeron have put in the time now give them 3:00 minutes of your precious life. I promise you’ll love it. The band’s name is a phonetic rendering of carquois (French for a quiver of arrows). Oh they’re from Montreal and they sing in French and they just nail that East Coast Canada sound. Think The Arcade Fire, with a splash of Sigur Ros, a dash of Volcano Choir and sprinkle of Radiohead. They’ve evolved over the years, but they just have a nice big bhttps://newbandday.wordpress.com/wp-admin/edit.phpand sound with layered vocals, strings, acoustic guitars, pianos…all of it. Don’t be surprised if you see them at a Festival near you. They will be a headliner at Inukshuk. They are once again a favorite to win the Polaris Prize in 2010.

HEAR
“L’acouphène” MP3

“Marie tu pleures”

“Les Chemins de Verre”

Follow Karkwa:
MySpace
Band site