earbuds & ticket stubs

Hermetic is made up of two friends from BC, Eric Axen (baritone guitar, vocals) and Bart Newman (drums, backup vocals), who have been playing music together since their preteens. Their self-released album Civilized City draws from a wide variety of influences from grunge, lo-fi pop, to surf rock. Their sound is impressively full considering there’s only the two of them. Throughout, the album is filled with seamless tunes bolstered by rollicking drums and catchy guitar riffs, which are occasionally crisp and occasionally dirtily distorted.

Take a listen to Civilized City above, and grab it over on Hermetic’s Bandcamp if you like what you hear.

Cold Specks - “Winter Solstice.” A quivery, soulful voice that drills into the depths. Her debut album I Predict A Graceful Expulsion was released on May 22nd, and you can stream it over at Exclaim!.

Wow. Here’s a track to listen to over and over again. Stream Del Bel (ft. Bry Webb)’s nostalgic, boozy “No Cure for Loneliness” (B-Side) above, and download it for free over on Soundcloud.

Recorded in a lofi environment on a 4 track cassette tape player to capture the aesthetic of a 1930’s recording, Guelph-meets-Toronto collective Del Bel offers their new free tune featuring former Constantines frontman Bry Webb singing alongside Del Bel frontwoman Lisa Conway.

Stream the new Metric track - “Speed the Collapse” from upcoming Synthetica. The album will be out on June 12. Check out more album details and the previously released single “Youth Without Youth.”

Wind Up Radio Sessions - “Little Bird.” This Montreal quartet will be releasing their sophomore album Bird Eyes on May 22nd. Stream the single above, grab it for free over on Soundcloud, and check out the album and the band on tour if you like what you hear!

The Crackling - “Keep Me Drunk.” Loving his gritty voice, and the angelic accompaniment by the Vancouver Children’s Choir near the end. Kenton Loewen, best known for being a part of Dan Mangan’s band, will be releasing Ashen to follow his debut album under this moniker. The EP will be released on May 22nd. In the meanwhile, listen to the single streaming above, and download it over on Soundcloud.

exclaimdotca:

Kingston, ON hometown heroes PS I Love You are on the cover of Exclaim! this month and their new album Death Dreams is streaming over on exclaim.ca now.

Here’s last year’s video for ‘Get Over’ off PS I Love You’s 2010 debut, Meet Me At The Muster Station.

Shameless plug: I was an extra in this video and you can see me for about a second around the 0:34 mark wearing plaid and playing pool! -JM

Metric have finally released the first single from upcoming album Synthetica, “Youth Without Youth.” It’s a guitar-driven rocker, a departure from the dreamier synth pop aesthetic of Fantasies. Synthetica will be out June 12th.

This is really lovely. Winnipeg’s Jenny Berkel has a warm, inviting voice. Coupled with skilled and gentle guitar plucking, “Love Is A Stone” is a folk gem. Stream the single above, and grab a free download of the track on Soundcloud. Berkel will release her debut Here On A Wire on May 1st. 

Jenny Berkel will be touring across Canada with another prairie gem, Demetra Penner. See the tour dates below:

Upcoming tour dates:
May 5th – London, ON – The Brass*
May 6th – Guelph, ON – The Cornerstone*
May 8th – Hamilton, ON – Homegrown*
May 9th – Windsor, ON – Phog Lounge*
May 10th – Toronto, ON – OCAD Student Gallery*
May 12th – St. Catharines, ON - The Mansion*
May 14th – Montreal, QC – Casa Del Popolo*
May 16th - Woodstock, NB - Fusion Cafe
May 21st - Antigonish, NS - House show
May 25th - Fredericton, NB - Charlotte Street Arts Centre
May 24th – Halifax, NS – The Company House
May 26th - Montreal, QC - Le Depanneur
May 28th - Toronto, ON - The Gladstone Hotel
* w/ Demetra Penner

Well this is a fun one. Charlottetown’s North Lakes will be releasing their sophomore album Grand Prix on May 15 after receiving much acclaim for their debut Cobra in 2011. Stream the punchy pop rock single “Grab Me By The Lapel” above, download it over at Soundcloud, and catch them on their east coast tour. (Fredericton: no excuses; they’re playing three times!)