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.
Grimes – devon
Grimes – wereglid

From the hidden burials of Aaron Levin:
Huckleberry Friends continue wayfaring through the mystic burial grounds of druidic psych. Drones of timbre, pulsing æther, and ceremonial groove permeate their latest 10″, pushing the coven of femme-pop conjuring into heights of lysergic divinity. The EP is delicately packaged in a textured black triple gatefold complete with ephemera, clear bronze vinyl, and a download. Listen at full stone.
Huckleberry Friends – WWHBF
Huckleberry Friends – Feasting Ceremony

From the teen steamings of Jesse Locke:
Inside its shiny wrapping paper and tiny Ziploc bag, this split cassette from two of Toronto’s weirdest offers a veritable smorgasbord of smeared sonic exploration. Side A finds Doom Tickler phreeking the beat with goosepimply processed vocals pitched somewhere between Black Dice, black metal and Sméagol. Of their four songs, “School Jungle Mud Pool” is the standout, with its demon-possessed singsong melody, squelching synths and jackhammer rhythms resulting in the most hellish Acid House since Love’s Secret Domain. Spectral Forum, meanwhile, jam-pack the flip with 10 wildly varying selections. From the watery miasma of “Mystic Pointe Mississauga” to the spacey grooves of “Corpse Made of Lint”, dubby ice- cream truck ditty “Heavy Metal Homeroom” and upbeat Moroder-nodding finale “Here 2 Eternity,” it’s all too easy to get lost in the steam.
Spectral Forum – Here 2 Eternity
Doom Tickler – School Jungle Mud Pool
Spectral Forum – Mystic Pointe Mississauga

Sled Island 2010 is upon us. Calgary’s premiere indie music, video, and art festival is a treasure trove of exploratory stimulus. It’s the largest concentration of insanity west of everywhere (in Canada). Weird Canada and Texture Magazine will be presenting the SHRED ISLAND BBQ (x2), a free all-ages afternoon showcase on Thursday and Saturday at Tubby Dog (w/ Dropping Out, Fist City, Mount Analog, Feral Children, JAZZ, Sans AIDS, Puberty, GOBBLE GOBBLE, and (hopefully) Famines).

However, there is so much more than just our wonderful little showcase (obviously). With over 150 bands, there’s a lot to chose from, so I thought I’d filter the complete list of performers down to a “Weird Canada Selection.” The below list includes all Canadian bands that I have reviewed or seen. I have left off American bands I’m stoked about, as well as bands I’m stoked about but haven’t heard yet. I may have also forgotten one or two shows. I’m just one boy and it’s really late…

Have fun! I hope to see you there!

Hearts,

Aaron Levin
Weird Canada / Cantor Records

PRINTABLE GUIDE
(w/ additional practical info)

WEDNESDAY :: June 30

THURSDAY :: July 1

FRIDAY :: July 2

SATURDAY :: July 3

From the catalyzed expressions of Aaron Levin:
Soft Coast is a drum machine-laced krautno adventure catalyzed by morbid visions of a future techno. Lurking minor-key experimentalia draggle the distorted grooves and subtle Much Dance vibes while cosmic drones pace the whole adventure. Grip now or regret missing the disjointed journey through Vancouver’s avant-Mise en scène. Conjured by the wyrd mind of Konrad Jandavs.
No UFO’s – Evidence / Century Park
No UFO’s – untitled II
No UFO’s – 00/00/2010

From the there-is-no-describing-this-confusion of Paul Lawton & Aaron Levin:
Long overdue debut LP from Toronto-based sexual hyperbole that collects material recorded between 1983 and 2009. Tonetta’s recipe for success consists of wasted erotic lo-fi dripping in wet bass, fruity drum loops, and occasional 80′s guitar sleaze; backdrops for his variety show of graphic sexual acts, perverts, prostitutes, drug use, hedonism and occasional political rhetoric. Once a song is recorded, Tonetta dons a costume (g-string, Kabuki mask, demon makeup, etc), takes off most of his clothes, and dances. After the initial sexual overload, a gripping desire to break through the facade takes over. The songs are compelling enough to dive right in and the LP, removed from the visceral overload, allows a new entry-point into Tonetta’s garish existence. As a compilation of material spanning 25 years, the album is one highlight after another, from the soaring 80’s cheese of “Drugs Drugs Drugs” and “I Want to Marry a Prostitute” (which could be a viagrafied Jimmy Buffett song), to the Bowie-esque album standout “I’m Still a Slave.” In the tradition of musical oddities like Jandek, J.T. IV, or more recently Blank Dogs, Tonetta is a mystery best left unsolved. Weird Canada grants this our highest recommendation.
Tonetta – Still A Slave
Tonetta – Drugs Drugs Drugs
Tonetta – John And Yoko

From the phantastic visions of Aaron Levin:
Phantasy Visions commandeers the disturbed ritual-waves emanating from the depths of a cosmic jungle-vortex. Busted drums churn through a minor-key cult-fest that rivals The Pink Noise for its basement-macabre. PRADADA wins by reaching new levels of phantasmic antipathy within the layers of echo and destruction. A disturbing record not for the light of spirit and a certified contender for strangest album of the year. Forward all psychological damage claims to Hobo Cult mainstay Francesco de Gallo.
PRADADA – Lay Down Your Heads
PRADADA – Drunk Ship
PRADADA – Wasted Indians

From the staff of (omon) Ra, as wielded by Aaron Levin:
Omon Ra II lands in Montreal and immediately unleashes a seething explosion of post-hyperbole psych-punk: relentless equalizer rejection and blazing guitar shreddery battling for every magnetic millimeter. Meanwhile, Dirty Beaches departs Montreal for sunny Vancouver and metamorphoses into wild nullophonic mystic rockisms; wasted, minimally-greased rockabilly for deadbeat cowboys and vintage thuggery. An odd paring, but this isn’t the first time the Omon moniker sat beside something equally disparate. Mind = blown.
Dirty Beaches – Black Horses Take 1
Omon Ra II – Jimmy

From the Kimono-draped androgyny of Aaron Levin:
Geidi Primes is a landmark album of modern Canadian fringe, an assemblage of space-station pop memorabilia teleported from a time-static nether-zone beyond the scope of our earthly understanding. I’ve been waiting months for this, posting anxious pleas to Grimes after hearing the sinuous, harrowing bass-line on Rosa. With the curiously packaged cassette in my fiending grip, the orbiting swaths of synthetic warmth and echoing drum-machines have caused exciting astral projections outside my usual mental musicalia. Geidi Primes takes off from Rosa’s minimal bass-lines and launches straight into a strange hybrid of Björk, The Cure, Micachu, and other avant seamstresses, leaving a footprint in every decade and thankfully landing in ours. Chord progressions and samples are pulled from any source imaginable and the aggregation results in a Kate Bushian trail of decadence. It seems pointless and restrictive attempting to describe its brilliance, so I’ll stop with this: Geidi Primes is a flagship of hyperbolic dimensions. Get on board.
Grimes – Rosa
Grimes – Venus In Fleurs
Grimes – Zoal, Face Dancer
Grimes – Sardaukar Levenbrech

From the brotherly womb (?) of Jesse Locke:
Any brother with a brother will tell you that brotherly love is some of the best love there is. Bare chested wrestling in the basement, giving each other noogies, pickin’ on your little sister and pickin’ boogers from your nose are all timeless ways to have fun, but bros Andy and Edwin White have translated their sibling revelry into some of the freshest music coming out of Montreal. Alongside their military grade crew cuts, baggy white t-shirts and Too $hort pants, you can see the love in their eyes when they take the stage in either this guise or as their High Rise tribute band, High Rise II. You can hear it in their music as well, in An When‘s mix of trippy vocal loops, daffy raps and lo-fi loner rock, packing in 10 originals with inspired re-imaginings of Spacemen 3′s “Walkin’ With Jesus” and the Bambi soundtrack’s “Little April Showers” (no joke!). I’d be remiss not to mention the sonic similarities Tonstartssbandht share with the Animal Collective – or maybe Panda Bear’s “Bros” is a more fitting reference point – but they’ve carved out their own little cave in the wilderness as well and seem to be cranking out releases at the pace of Guided By Voices in their heyday. Guess the crew cuts run in the family too, ’cause that’s their Dad on the cover. A+++.
[Levin's Note: Weird coincidence? I had this jammy bumping in my car when Jesse e-mailed me with the review. That's because Jesse and I are bros, too.]
Tonstartssbandht – Black Country
Tonstartssbandht – Andy Summers
Tonstartssbandht – Little April Showers