Sleeper Set Sail for Home

St. Catharines, Ontario's Sleeper Set Sail is about as close to a "boy band" as you are going to get from the small Southern Ontario town. With the release of their debut full-length album entitled "Eyes Just Like Forest Fires", we find the band moving up in popularity each day and with each stop along their current tour. Ever since the band signed with their current label Sonic Unyon they have matured as a band and that has showed with the music they are putting out. Sleeper Set Sail are incredibly skilled as individual musicians and as songwriters. As mentioned the guys are currently on tour across Ontario, out to the east coast and back again with Marigold and Soap Opera Coma. As prices under $10 for a three band set as this, it is well worth an evening out. :: Apr 16th - Hamilton, ON :: Apr 17th - Woodstock, ON :: Apr 19th - Moncton, NB :: Apr 20th - Halifax, NS :: Apr 21th - Fredericton, NB :: Apr 22nd - Halifax, NS :: Apr 23rd - Cape Breton, NS :: Apr 25th - Ottawa, ON :: Apr 26th - St. Catharines, ON Marigold is a punk/hard-rock band but claim to be much more melodic than hardcore. They will surely get the kids 'dancing' up front so be prepared. Not sure if they named themselves after the flowering plant or the Nirvana song of the same name - guess that is a question for them to answer. The Soap Opera Coma are a London, Ontario based band who like their tour mates also play hard. If they don't get you moving, then you'll probably just end up with a headache. Track samples for the bands can be found on their MySpace sites. :: Sleeper Set Sail :: Marigold :: The Soap Opera Coma

The Canadian post-hardcore metal band, with a good deal of punk influences, Protest The Hero are off and running strong with their current tour across Canada with an American tour to follow. Tonight they stop in Calgary, Alberta to start something. They have recently released their debut album Kezia under their new label Vagrant. The band’s 19-year-old frontman Rody Walker sat down with Melissa Hetu of Truth Magazine to share his thoughts on their recent signing with Vagrant. :: more ::

The Boy Least Likely To Tour is Ready to Tour

The English twee pop/indie rock duo The Boy Least Likely To are set to release their debut album "The Best Party Ever" in North America in a couple of weeks. This album has been available to those in the United Kingdom since the summer of 2005 off their own label Too Young to Die Records. To support the release in North America, the duo has announced a tour for the coming months - first stop, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on May 30th. :: May 30th : Vancouver, BC :: May 31th : Seattle, WA :: Jun 1st : Portland, OR :: Jun 2nd : San francisco, CA :: Jun 3rd : Los Angeles, CA :: Jun 6th : Boulder, CO :: Jun 8th : Minneapolis, MN :: Jun 9th : Chicago, IL :: Jun 10th : Toronto, ON :: Jun 11th : Montreal, QC :: Jun 12th : Boston, MA :: Jun 13th : New York, NY For those who have not heard anything from The Boy Least Likely To then check out their MySpace site for track samples and tour updates (also available from their band site)

Helsingborg, Sweden's indie rock band The Sounds are in the midst of a North American tour to promote their latest album "Dying to Say This to You" which was released in late March 2006. Tonight they make a stop in Montreal, Quebec for a show Le National and tomorrow in Toronto, Ontario at the Opera House. Skratch Magazine caught up with keyboardist Jesper Anderberg on back in late December (2005) to tall about their love/hate relationship with America and his European beers of choice. Who would have known that Toronto was one of their favourite places to play. I'm sure their fans from the GTA are looking forward to tomorrow night too! :: more ::

Voxtrot, Irving and Spiral Beach Hit Toronto

The Montreal Gazette catches up with Ramesh Srivastava of Voxtrot before their Montreal show. There is a little background information to the story about a girl named 'Jenny' that Ramesh met while spending time in Scotland. OK, it doesn't talk in tells about 'Jenny' but after seeing the show last night at Sneaky Dee's in Toronto and 'Jenny' being present, those in attendance got a little more of the story. :: more ::

Last night we jumped at the opportunity to see Austin's export Voxtrot at Sneaky Dee's in Toronto. With little left of their own equipment to play the set with they were forced to borrow a piece or two from tour mates Irving. We see their time in Canada has been good to them so far. "This is our first time in Canada" singer Ramesh Srivastava tells the crowd. "Maybe Canada is superior to the United States" (crowd cheer) "haha I thought you would like hearing that". With this being the first time Torontoians had the chance to catch the guys we were pretty excited to see and hear the guys. They don't have a lot of music to choose from with only 2 EPs being released from their vault, so there weren't many surprises as to what was going to be played, other they the order they were going to be played. The guys did not disappoint the faithful, playing high energy guitar getting most into a head-bobbing dance. The set wasn't long but as their EPs, its all about the quality in their songs then anything else. The only thing that would have topped off the night would have been if Ramesh's friend 'Jenny', to whom the last song of the night was going out to, would get up on stage for a promising dance... but that is a story in itself. As most bands, Voxtrot has a MySpace page where you can listen to some sample tracks. Just remember that the band doesn't have many released tracks as it is, so you will have to opportunity to hear about 40% of their collection directly from their MySpace page. Opening up the night was a local group from Toronto called Spiral Beach. They are 1 part Sugarcubes, 1 part B-52s, 1 part Devo and a pinch of Mini-pops (oh you remember them). Nevertheless, they were the biggest surprise of the night and thats in a good way. The kids from Spiral Beach have good harmonies, and the singer Maddy Wilde added the spark to the each song. They are no stranges to the city of Toronto, so if you are in the city you can probably catch them somewhere, until they are old enough for mom and dad to let them out on tour. Here are some MP3's for your listening pleasure found from the Spiral Beach website. :: New Clouds :: Voodoo :: Day OK If you like what you hear, you can always contact the band to purchase the CD :: spiralbeach@spiralbeach.com

Between the bands Spiral Beach and Voxtrot, Irving took the stage at Sneaky Dee's to add a heavier sound to the night. The guys out of California brought a lot of energy by kicking off the set with some new songs off their new album Death in the Garden, Blood on the Flowers. All the songs were new to us since we had not heard anything from Irving in the past, but it all sounded great live. Other then the odd feedback noice they were clear, loud and packed with a lot of bunch. I think they are worth checking out if they are in your hood and since they are in the middle of a current tour they just might be. Check out their MySpace page for sample songs and tour schedule.

Voxtrot EP Will Please Mothers, Sisters, Daughters and Wives

Despite the fact that they have yet to release a full-length album Voxtrot still manages to pickup high praise for the quality music they are releasing. I guess its a case of quality vs quantity for the guys from Austin, Texas. We may be a little late with the announcement of their latest EP to be release, but better late then never. On April 4th Voxtrot put out a five-song EP, the band's second, entitled "Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives" (label: Cult Hero). From the sample tracks that we did get our hands on we can certainly say that the EP contain consistent guitar energy and a refreshing sound. Lets hope that if they ever do release an LP in the future they can keep up the energy and quality throughout the entire album. Check out some samples off the latest EP - "Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives" and other tracks from previous releases off their MySpace site. Check out the "The Voxtrot Kid" blog by band member Ramesh Srivastava. It isn't updated very often but still worth checking out every once in a blue moon. The guys from Voxtrot are currently on the road to showcase their talents. Here are some dates and locations on their journey: :: April 12th - Montreal, QC :: April 13th - Toronto, ON :: April 14th - Detroit, MI :: April 15th - Chicago, IL :: April 17th - Minneapolis, MN :: April 18th - Des Moines, IA :: April 19th - Lawrence, KS :: April 20th - Norman, OK :: April 21st - Denton, TX :: April 22nd - Austin, TX :: more ::

Sometimes people just don't understand how artists struggle each and every day financially to bring us the valued entertainment we crave for with live music. It can really make us sick to hear that some thief's made off with Arab Strap's tour money over the weekend. It all went down at a Philadelphia restaurant while the guys were on tour. Just don't ask them why they were carrying around $6,000 with them without it being handcuffed to their arm. :: more :: A follow-up to their very popular release album "Gimme Fiction", Spoon have found themselves a home in the studio with the expectations to release a new album in early 2007. They will be playing the odd show in the meantime, including a scheduled performance in London, UK on May 16th. :: more ::

Indie rock band Calexico have followed up their 2005 album "In the Reins", recorded with Iron & Wine, with a new treat. On April 11th, Calexico released their latest creation entitled "Garden Ruin". :: Jim Harrington, liveDaily :: Andy Heater, Kevchino.com :: Matt Schild, Aversion :: Tracy M. Rogers, Hybrid Magazine :: Brian Orloff, Harp Magazine

What A Way To Go - Death By Sexy!

With a frontman named Jesse "The Devil" Hughes, you would expect to be listening to a hardcore death metal band from the deep desert of Arizona. Eagles of Death Metal may have started from the desert, Palm Desert, California, but they are about as close to death metal as "Hotel California" is to being classified as a Heavy Punk track. Needless to say, you shouldn't judge a band by its name. You may know the drummer of the band as Queen of the Stone Age member Josh Homme and dEUS member Tim Vanhamel. With the success of their performance in SXSW and mass media that has been flowing out from the festival, many around the country have been looking extra forward to the new release by the Eagle of Death Metal. The album entitled "Death By Sexy" was released today (April 11th) and was worth the wait. With opening tracks such as "I Want You So Hard (Boy's Bad News)" will give you a jolting taste of exactly what this band is all about - pure energy (no not techno energy). Now we all look foward to seeing the day that they take their act on the road for the reason of North America to bring the energy to a concert hall near you. If you have not heard anything by Eagles of Death Metal OR just haven't heard any tracks from their latest album "Death By Sexy" then have a listen to some samples on their MySpace site. The guys do not have any plans in the near future to jump into their rusty old tour van for a cross country adventure, hitting every major city with at least two 10 story office builds along the way to give local kids something to get excited about. However, if you live in one of the following locations you can grab your boots and join Jesse Hughes in the movement. :: April 11, 2006 - Minneapolis, MN :: April 21, 2006 - Philadelphia, PA :: April 22, 3006 - Washington, DC :: April 23, 2006 - New York, NY :: April 24, 2006 - Boston, MA :: April 29, 2006 - Indio, CA

Frontman Billy Lunn of The Subways has lost his voice and was forced to cancel some shows in England over the last couple of days. Lets hope that he gets well before making the trip over the pond to North America in the near future. :: more ::

Zach Hoskins of Modern Pea Pod sits own with Jesse Hughes of Eagles of Death Metal to discuss "movement and phenomenon" that EODM have become. He also gets the opportunity to discuss the Eagles' spring tour with the Strokes, as well as touching on everything from groupies to girl-phobic indie kids and Rick Springfield. :: more :: Skratch Magazine also got a hold of Jesse "Boots Electric" Hughes to talk about SXSW. :: more :: Andy Smythe of Zero Magazine talks with Jesse Hughes about the upcoming release of "Death By Sexy". :: more ::

They may have started as just another side project in Josh Homme's Desert sessions, but eight years later, the Eagles of Death Metal are really making a name for themselves. With their second proper studio album hitting store shelves today we can guarantee that you won't have another album like this in your collection. The latest album "Death By Sexy" is well worth the additional to your collection, but don't take our word for it, here are some others with a thought or two. :: Jennifer Kelly, PopMatters :: Christian Hoard, Rolling Stone :: Phil Villeneuve, ChartAttack :: Kamran Rouzpay, Decoy :: Jason Crock, Pitchfork

No Graves in the Future for Pretty Girls

Pretty Girls Make Graves are currently in Los Angeles, California getting ready for the big day tomorrow. On Tueday April 11th, the band will be hangin' out on Sunset Blvd. to promote the release of their new album "Elan Vital" at Amoeba Music. Even if you can't make it down to LA to see the band and pickup the album there we should all still have an opportunity to see the event through Derek Fudesco's eyes as he takes some pictures throughout the day. Check out his photo album of big day and other dates on his blog. Have a listen to some of the tracks off the new album from their MySpace site. The "Elan Vital" tour starts up on April 26th at the Wonder Ballroom in Portland, OR. Still no stops have been annouced for Canada during this North America trip... Canadian's will continue to cross their toes. :: more ::

There will be a name change for Jack White's (from the White Stripes) new band The Raconteurs in Australia. Because of legal issues with another band with the same name, The Raconteurs will be known as The Saboteurs in the land down under. :: more :: Mark your calendar with a big circle around January 2007, maybe even preparing to more that circle onto February later. Ever rising star Feist has plans to release her next studio album early next year, hopefully in the January timeframe. Following up her amazing last album "Let It Die" Feist fans have been keeping their ears and eyes wide open for news like this. She is keeping us from total withdrawal by releasing a remix album entitled Open Season in a couple of weeks. :: more ::

Neko Case has been making headlines around North America as she continues her tour in support of her latest album "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood". One thing you can expect from Neko Case is that her songs are not a joke and she isn't a joke artist... take her serious and get to know her as Pitchfork's Ryan Dombal sits down with her to discuss a think or two, including her thoughts on Feist. :: more ::

Elan Vital, the new album by Pretty Girls Make Graves which reaches store shelves tomorrow has much to be praised about. The third album by the Seattle group takes some risks with their instruments, which paid off in many ways, but the end result is that listeners will be hitting the play repeat button more often then not. Don't just take our word for it, get a second opinion and to help you along here are some additional reviews of the album by other sources. :: Jamil Ahmad, musicOMH.com :: Matt Schild, Aversion :: Stephen Thompson, Online Scene :: Fred Mills, Harp Magazine