From the bronzed text of Aaron Levin:
From the wispy ashes of guitar soli’s earthic remains, Bronze Leaf’s lysergic embers warm our minds to the emerging angles within acid folk. Rooms fall silent as she conjures gentle finger-picked reverberations; lofty vocals hovering like ghosts above stretched hallways and vacant beaches. Armed with guitars, delay pedals, and looping mechanicals, Bronze Leaf joins the new wave of psychedelic folk artists transcending Canada into the bewildering nether-zone of fringe success. Catch her now while she remains within our ether!
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From the cosmic slop of Aaron Levin:
If Grimes’ tour CDR (to be officially released via Arbutus on September 30th at Pop Montreal) is any indication, the cosmic-pop deity is transcending into a vocal-cruising eidolon of celestial proportions. Layers of wyspy vocals form the cooling galaxies of Halfaxa while her minimal drums synthesize Enja‘s lingering espers into a club anthem fit for the Restaurant at the End of the Universe. Or the Mos Eisley Cantina. Either way, Grimes’ future-stream sinusoids are peeling wigs.
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From the dead love of Jesse Locke:
Chiming and charming six-string jangle-pop moves from this aptly named quartet currently on tour across Canada. Following up the Cold Crystal Shield cassingle with a full-length eponymous effort, the band from three cities can now boast six record labels to its name (including Germany’s Coraille) and a pristine mastering job from none other than Chicago indie-rock vet Bob Weston. Male/female falsetto/hushed harmonies offset an onslaught of hooks and tricky licks, resulting in an ace set of tunes with endless replay value. RIYL: Let’s Active, Keep It Like A Secret and “I Am The Cancer.” Go see them at a bar, hot dog shop or house show near you!
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From the Betamax catalog of Aaron Levin:
The shrieking energy behind Futensil emerges with a beautifully shot black-and-white visive for Montreal’s most bewildering basement conjuror, Pink Noise. Emily brilliantly captures Pink Noise’s wyrd cabaret via Residential eyeballs flickering between blurred belly dancing and a wicked multi-limbed goddess. A++++.
From the fast-build of Aaron Levin:
Another Montreal-Beijing connection reigns supreme here at Weird Canada HQ. Parallel Pyres’ self-titled debut is a looping pop fantasy of eccentric panoramas. Busted Casio drums slowly build into a brilliant hooked-filled chaos of repetition that shines through the churning fidelity. The wide palette of pop simplicity will grant heavy doses of play in both sweat dripping basements and Casino lobbies. There is a Hobo Cult connection and it makes a lot of sense.
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From the summery low-life of Aaron Levin: Arbutus Records is at the centre of a monstrous pop vortex. Sean Nicholas Savage, Silly Kissers, Braids, Pop Winds, Grimes, and now Montreal’s Blue Hawaii showcase the breadth of avant-pop nuances circulating in their sphere of electromagnetic influence. Every burnout needs a soundtrack to escape the sun; a reason to ride the swashes of summery circuitry and gluey harmonies that crest upon Blooming Summer‘s self-referential manifesto. With Blooming Summer they will reach a chromatic zenith and swim in a stew of summer evenings and midnight exotica. So can you. GRIP.
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From the swampy high-life of Aaron Levin:
Between the legs of a warped B-52s / Cramps hybranoid exists the maligned and twisted vibrations of Montreal’s Futensil. Their atonal jungle of mystic wyrdabilly shivers beneath Emily’s shrieks while Psychic Handshake CIO Graeme Langdon chants his way through a distant spell of psychedelic conjure. The overall emotional damage is an addicting aural experience for any futurotic voodoo voyeur.
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From the infinite hypnotism of Aaron Levin:
Existing within the submerged foliage of a hyper dimensional psychedelic jungle, Hypnotic Infinitum captures the untamed reverberations emanating from the core of unknowable places. At their centre there exists a triforce; a triumvareate of underwater libraries, astral exotica, and the granular brilliance of experimentation, from which Hobo Cubes emerge as a new wave of brilliant fringe mascinations. Yet another side project of the highly imaginative Francesco de Gallo (with some help from Bernardino Femminielli). The album is packaged beautifully by the die-cut masters from Patente. Amazing.
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From the Black Magic frequencies of Jesse Locke:
Continuing in their 10th birthday brew-ha-ha, Montreal’s busiest promotion company and occasional record label has dropped this doozy of a 7” split. Grand Trine get the A-side with a fuzzy caveman rocker of Stoogian proportions, teeming with ‘tude, revved-up guitars and a middle section washout of snowstorm static (now the song title makes sense). On the flip, Black Feelings submit an underwater-fi take on the song they’ve been playing as a closer the last few times I’ve seen ‘em live, complete with stroboscopic rhythms and chiming guitars that ring out like steel drums. Still, when that triumphant riff kicks in for the first time at the 1:50 mark, life is a NES and you’re Kid Icarus.
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