Review: The Torrent's debut, Leonora Moreno, Electronic Post Punk Retro 80's Drone

Easily one of the most exciting releases of the year, Toronto's The Torrent are Cameron Groves and ex Hidden Camera's Mike Barry who left his band because it "felt like more of a job." A fuse of early post punk and new wave (supposedly this might be considered "No Wave,") The Torrent are not so much about rehashing old sounds, as blending the old with the new giving birth to a whole new post-millenial baby, what with minimal drum machines, atonal singing, scales and modes outside of conventional Western ones, not to mention the droning and Krautrock styles suggestive of the uberprolific Stereolab, and you have an idea of why this album should be on the top of your playlist. Cameron Groves also adds some intense violin to create the droning effect that I love with so much Scandinavian music, Swedish bands like Garmarna and Hedningarna. Other bands that come to mind are Early Jesus and Mary Chain, Joy Division, Bauhaus, B52's, Beat Happening, Magnetic Fields, Public Image Ltd., etc. This is crazy good. Crazy good you can dance to, or drug out to, either way, you'd be a fool to overlook it. 

Hear it on The New Spin this Thursday night, 9-11 P.M. on 93.5 CHMR-FM, 7:30 EST.
--
in sound,
dashiell brown, host of The New Spin, "the best music you've never heard."

New Spin Podcast: Interview with Smiley Ralph, one of the few indie acts in St. John's, NL

Smiley Ralph is about the only local indie pop act in St. John's, Newfoundland that I know of, other than Greg Hewlett's wonderful band Pelago. And let's not forget AE Bridger. Smiley Ralph just played a wonderful show at The Ship on Saturday, truly proving themselves as one of the freshest indie acts out there. Ryan Kennedy (guitars, keys, vocals) and Andrew Strickland (bass, vocals) sung harmoniously with each other, Chris Donnelly ripped it on the drumz, and Justin Frampton colored the well-crafted songs with wonderful min7 chords. If you are a fan of Pavement, Sebadoh, Built to Spill, and any other band associated with the indie-rock cannon, this is your band to watch in St. John's. Like their name suggests, Smiley Ralph will put a dance in your step and a smile on your face.

Listen to the podcast.

in sound,

dashiell brown, host of The New Spin

Album Review: Patrick Watson's Wooden Arms is Nothing Short of Incredible

Winner of the Polaris Prize in 2007 for Close to Paradise, Patrick Watson's new album on Secret City Records, Wooden Arms, will truly leave you spellbound, especially if you're a fan of progressive/experimental (and even classical) music that utilises the whole gamut of the musical spectrum for pure sonic ear candy. Any instrument you can think of, it's probably on here, with just about every style, save perhaps Latin American. Though originally from CA, like me, he lives in Montreal and this album could be easily classified under the new weird America tag that you might've seen on last.fm.

With a tenor-like/falsetto voice similar to M. Ward, Devendra Banhart, Iron and Wine, Nick Drake, and Bon Iver, Patrick Watson serenades with you sweet nothings and lullabies, but these songs are anything but simple, rather they are meticulously layered and composed with complex arrangements like Animal Collective, Yeasayer, and The Microphones, leaving you with unlimited opportunites to explore this album's exciting depths like an undiscovered gold mine. Every song on this incredible album will take you far on a journey somewhere that you never knew you could go to or even wanted to. Whether it is the stunning barrage of Kodo drums thundering in your ears on "Beijing" taking you to fog drenched hidden mountains in the farthest depths of Asia, the Cabaret-like Tom Waitsian numbers, the beautiful classical arrangment of "Hommage", the exquisite alt-country/folk harmonies of "Big Bird in a Small Cage" against a backdrop of quiet guitar fingerpicking and banjo, or the utterly exciting track, "Where the Wild Things Are," this is easily my favorite album of the year, one I will play constantly on The New Spin.

Having also released last year's Polaris Prize-nominated Plants and Animals to well-deserved critical acclaim, Secret City Records are clearly a label that wants, deserves, your attention, and Patrick Watson's Wooden Arms is their latest secret weapon, one that will shoot you straight in the heart and leave you begging for more.

--Dashiell Brown, host of The New Spin, "the best music you've never heard."