February 2009 Archives

Jet Black was recorded in Ottawa, Ontario with producer Dave Draves (Kathleen Edwards), and features guest appearances from long-time drummer and collaborator Greg Millson (Great Lake Swimmers), Bryan Webb (Constantines), Elizabeth Powell (Land of Talk) and Katie Sketch (The Organ). The eleven tracks are Reg's strongest and most diverse collection to date. The first single, "You Can't Get It Back", released on 7" in November, had the Toronto Star say "Once the chorus kicks in, all bets are off" and URB declared the track an "irresistible pop confection".

Recorded primarily in Kingston, Jamaica where K'Naan was granted unprecedented access by his friends Stephen and Damian Marley to their father Bob Marley's original home studio at 56 Hope Road and the legendary Tuff Gong studios Troubadour is a Hip Hop album like no other. K'Naan successfully blends samples and live instrumentation for a sound that's both rooted in traditional African melodies and the classic Hip Hop tradition. Features Kirk Hammett of Metallica on the song 'If Rap Gets Jealous'.

For the past year, Beirut has alternated between touring in support of 2007's much-lauded The Flying Club Cup and writing a wealth of new material. With no sense of a release in mind, bandleader Zach Condon recorded in any style that struck his fancy. Some early discussions about recording material for a film being shot in Mexico morphed into a new idea: What about finding a local band in a small city in Mexico, hiring them to play some new material, and recording the result.

Pop sensation. Fashion designer. Political activist. Mouthy blogshite. X-rated sexpert. Fall-down drunk. WAG-tagoniser. Queen of MySpace. Exhibitionist. Primadonna. Style icon. Celebrity girlfriend. Celebrity daughter. Paparazzi prey. Party starter. Princess. Lily Allen has been called all these things, and much, much more - sometimes with justification, often without. Coming off of the heels her critically acclaimed certified gold debut Alright Still... selling in excess of 60,000 units in Canada, and struck hits with "Smile", "LDN" and "Alfie". Lyrically, It's Not Me, It's You is both a continuation of the preoccupations of "Alright, Still", as well as a stiletto-heeled leap forward. The forensic, affecting, often very funny examinations of relationships and sexual politics are still there - and joyously so - but bigger themes are also tackled. It's Not Me, It's You is unmistakably Her: bracing home truths and pungent social commentary delivered in the voice of an angel. It's a potent combination. It could only be Lily Allen - amazon

These are my neighbours. My wife and I have two little kids and live in a multi-cultural neighbourhood in downtown Toronto. In the hot summer months all the kids in the neighbourhood play outside together and everyone is out on their porch enjoying each other's company, telling stories and sharing thoughts. A year or so ago I began inviting some of them over to the house for a casual interview vaguely centered around the subject of happiness. In some cases we never broached the subject directly but none-the-less my friends began to call it my "Happiness Project".

With any luck, L'ile de Sept Villes will rocket Canadian supergroup The Hylozoists to previously unthinkable heights of popularity. Not because the album is amazing, but because the band's grandiose, orchestrated indie rock instrumentals would sound absolutely monumental late at night at some gigantic, outdoor summer festival.

On his past three albums, Ben Kweller timidly hinted at his alt-country side, but here he really lets his belt buckle show. The Texas native trots through hymnlike hootenannies ("Fight") and honky-tonk ditties heavy with slide guitar and choogling piano ("Old Hat"), and on the decade-old "Ballad of Wendy Baker," he even tackles the death of a high-school classmate. Changing Horses' Americana journey is hardly inventive, but Kweller's boyish charm and quirky songwriting keep it more promising than predictable. www.spin.com