The Canadian Invasion is Coming! The Canadian Invasion Is Coming !

February 18, 2009 by · 2 Comments
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Here’s one I’ve been listening to for quite a while now, but now it finally saw it’s offical release yesterday so you can too. Canadian Invasion‘s Three Cheers For The Invisible Hand is my favorite record released so far in this still young year, and one that I can pretty confidently say will have a spot in the best of 2009 list when December rolls around. It’s a record filled with soaring melodic pop songs that embed themselves in your subconscious, a sound that a friend who I played it for likened to a mix of Oasis and REM.  But deeper listens reveal that beneath it’s shiny pop exterior lies a dark and biting satirical take on the characters existing in the dead end neverland of modern suburbia. Even the song titles read like the chapters of some bizarre fairy tale, Pop Magic Fantastical Masterpiece, My Swashbuckling Days Are Over, How To Build A Jetpack, and so on. Check out the warped weekend commando surrealism of Standing On The Shoulders Of The Carcass Of John Mayer, an instant classic with it’s opening lines of “Hey, I murdered John today, snuck up like a Green Beret, in line at the grocery store…”

Recorded at Philadelphia’s Miner Street Recordings with production genius Brian McTear and engineer Amy Morrisey, the album sounds amazing and includes guest spots from numerous local luminaries including BC Camplight‘s Brian Christinzio.

The CD Release Party is going to be Saturday March 14th at World Cafe Live(upstairs) and should be a blast. They’ll also be playing March’s Bag Of Songs night at The M Room along with Spin Magazine 2009 Band To Watch, Golden Bloom and NJ’s Sudden Ensemble.

Canadian Invasion – Standing On The Shoulders Of The Carcass Of John Mayer
Buy Three Cheers For The Invisble Hand

Upcoming Shows
Mar 14 2009 8:00P CD RELEASE SHOW!!! – World Cafe Live (Upstairs) Philadelphia, PA
Mar 27 2009 8:00P Matchless Brooklyn, NY
Mar 29 2009 9:00P M Room Bag Of Songs Presents Canadian Invasion w/Golden Bloom and Sudden Ensemble Philadelphia, PA
Apr 11 2009 8:00P Chaplin’s The Music Cafe w/Slo-Mo! Spring City, PA
Apr 17 2009 8:00P The Fire w/Victor Victor Band & more TBA Philadelphia, PA
May 1 2009 8:00P Johnny Brenda’s Philadelphia, PA

[MYSPACE]

Some Photos From This Past Friday’s show with Lambchop and In Grenada

February 15, 2009 by · 1 Comment
Filed under: photos 

A few photos from this past Friday night’s show at Johnny Brenda’s In Philadelphia. Opening the night was Philadelphia’s In Grenada, proving that they are indeed deserving of our artist to watch status for 2009, their powerful double drumming fueled songs only increase in intensity in a live setting. Be on the lookout for their new record coming soon. Lambchop then turned an excellent, albeit somewhat mellow set that recalled the smooth rootsy sound of Bob Dylan‘s recent records.

In Grenada

Jesse Leyh Of In Grenada

Kurt Wagner of Lambchop

Kurt Wagner of Lambchop

Lambchop

Lambchop

Bag Of Songs Presents : Bojiban, The Shots, Sugar Canyon

February 10, 2009 by · 1 Comment
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It’s a President’s Day Weekend Extravaganza this Sunday February 15th in Philadelphia when Bag Of Songs Presents Bojibian, The Shots, and the debut of Sugar Canyon.

Up first the Philadelphia debut of Sugar Canyon, a blend of 60s garage, psychedelia and Beatlesque power pop. Full disclaimer mode : featuring yours truly on bass. Come hear what us bloggers do with our musical free time.

Sugar Canyon – Attack Of The 50 Ft Woman(early DEMO)

Next up, The Shots, they played the very first BOS Presents night and now they’re back for second time to blow you away again. With a blistering bluesy live sound that’s somewhere between ’69 era Led Zeppelin and The Who Live at Leeds, they’re a band you don’t want to miss in a venue this small.  Say you saw them when.

The Shots – Do Me Wrong
[MYSPACE]

closing out the night in grand style will be Bojibian. Their Myspace bio describes their sound like this “the group draws from many different influences, at times sounding like some sort of post-modern mash-up of pop, post-punk, classic rock, post-grunge, Southern rock, and arena rock…or something like that.” I have to say that sums up the range of influences heard in their music about as well as I could ever hope to. They’ve perfected that fine musical art of being as familiar sounding as they are original, a surefire key to success. Their new cd All Night, All Day is due March 10th.

Bojibian – Hallway
Buy Bojibian EP
[MYSPACE]

Bag Of Songs Presents:
Bojibian, The Shots, & Sugar Canyon
Sunday February 15th
The M Room
15 W Girard Ave
Philadelphia PA
8PM | $8 | 21+UP

HOT New Music : The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

February 8, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
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Here at BOS we’ve been big fans of The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart ever since we first heard them back in 2007 when their Cloudberry Records EP for This Love Is Fucking Right was released. Their first couple singles were excellent slabs of noisy melodic pop, and their self titled debut full length on Slumberland Records fully delivers and expands upon the promise they showed. It even garnered them an 8.6 and Best New Music rating from the notoriously finicky Pitchfork. Check out a couple tracks from the new album below and be sure to catch them when their tour heads your way, they’ll be at Philly’s newest musical hotspot tonight, Kung Fu Necktie, with the equally excellent locals Brown Recluse Sings , and NY’s The Depreciation Guild opening. See you there.

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – Come Saturday
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – Everything With You

Buy The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

Upcoming Shows
2/8 – Philadelphia, PA – Kung Fu Necktie*
2/9 – Washington, DC – Black Cat Backstage*
2/10 – Pittsburgh, PA – Garfield Artworks*
2/11 – Chicago, IL – Schubas*
2/12 – Toronto – Lee’s Palace*
2/13 – Montreal – Il Motore*
2/14 – Winooski, VT – The Monkey House*
2/15 – Boston, MA – Middle East*
2/27 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg%

3/13 – Brooklyn, NY – Bell House#
3/14 – Baltimore, MD – Talking Head Club#
3/15 – Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506#
3/16 – Atlanta, GA – Earl#
3/18 – Austin, TX – SXSW – Red 7 (Terrorbird/Force Field Day Party)
3/19 – Austin, TX – SXSW – TBD
3/20 – Austin, TX – SXSW – Emo’s Jr. (Slumberland Records/Cake Shop Showcase)

4/24 – Wallingford, CT – Wallingford American Legion (All Ages)

6/18 = New York, NY – Cake Shop w/ Crystal Stilts

*Depreciation Guild
#Let’s Wrestle
%…And You Shall Know Us By the Trail of Dead

[WEBSITE] [MYSPACE] [FACEBOOK]

Artist To Watch : In Grenada

February 7, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
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Here’s one to keep your ears peeled for as winter gradually winds it’s way into spring. Philadelphia’s In Grenada are currently hard at work crafting an album that, if the demo tracks they sent me to are any indication, will be solidly sitting amongst 2009’s best records when all is said and done. Although painting from a sonic pallet that invokes easy comparisons to  Arcade Fire or The National, their music is infused with a countryish warmth and pop sensibility that is distinctly their own. Beating Heart with it’s shuffling rhythm and reverb laden textural flourishes of glockenspiel and percussion is one of those addictive songs you can listen to ten times in a row and not tire of at all. Or, check out It Doesn’t Matter, where the melodies and vocals intertwine and skitter about on top of a driving, hypnotic, drum dance.  Amazing stuff and I for one can’t wait to hear the whole album when it’s completed.

They’ll be taking a break from the studio to play a couple shows this coming week that you don’t want to miss. On Thursday February 12th they be doing an interview and playing live in the studio on Philly’s WKDU 91.7FM between 4 and 6 PM. On Friday the 13th they’ll take the stage at my favorite venue, the always excellent Johnny Brenda’s, opening for Lambchop (the band, not the puppet show).

In Grenada :
Jesse – Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica
Evan – Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals
Kevin – Keyboards, Melodica, Harmonica, Vocals
Chris – Bass, Vocals
Monika – Glockenspiel, Percussion
Steve – Drums
Devin – Drums, Percussion

In Grenada – Beating Heart (DEMO)
In Grenada – It Doesn’t Matter (DEMO)

[MYSPACE]