Best Canadian Albums (excluding Toronto) of 2009

9. Dan Mangan (Vancouver, BC) Nice, Nice, Very Nice
[mp3] Dan Mangan - Robots
Elsewhere: Pick of the Week #42
A couple of months ago you couldn't go anywhere, and when I say "anywhere" I mean a Canadian based or Canadian music blog, without hearing about Dan Mangan. Now that his album has been out for a while, the very clever video for "Robots" has been released, he's done touring for a bit (I think), I've begun to appreciate his song-writing more. I'm not sure exactly how to describe his sound to those who don't know him, but suffice to say he may have become my favourite hobo singer-songwriter (I'm sure someone plays the spoons somewhere on this album).


8. The Liptonians (Winnipeg, MN) s/t
[mp3] The Liptonians - Charlie's Back!
Elsewhere: Pick of the Week #18
I haven't listened to the full s/ted album by the Liptonians in a good while, but I can say that "Charlie's Back!" is one of my favourite songs of the year. As I mentioned when I wrote about their album, the melody, the story, the instrumentation all remind me of Ben Folds (before he got neutered and started writing children's songs) and the quirky characters that he used to write about. If you ever enjoyed Ben Folds or piano driven poppy sort of tunes, these guys are well worth checking out.


7. Dog Day (Halifax, NS) Concentration
[mp3] Dog Day - Happiness
Elsewhere: Pick of the Week #26
If Stars wore black, and exclusively black, they would be Dog Day. These songs are every bit as good as Set Yourself on Fire, though they're certainly not as burned into the memory of 'indie' loving hipsters as SYoF.



6. That's the Spirit (Ottawa, On) Staying Places
[mp3] That's the Spirit - Orienteering
Elsewhere: Pick of the Week #40, Exchanging emails with...
If you ever read (or saw the movie) The Phantom Tollbooth when you were a kid you should have an idea of what Staying Places sounds like. Of course there's no auditory component to the actual book (unless it's an audiobook), but it (Staying Places) has this whimsical element to it that makes you feel like you're going off to some sort of fantasy land (even if you're not on drugs). This all makes me wonder what listening to this album on mushrooms would be like... if anyone has any answers there's a guest blog post in it for you...


5. Julie Doiron (Halifax, NS) I Could Wonder What You Did With Your Day
[mp3] Julie Doiron - Consolation Prize
Elsewhere: Pick of the Week #38
I'm not sure how I'd never listened to Julie Doiron before this year, but I hadn't, though if there was one Canadian-folk music icon (stretch?) that I was going to miss it makes sense that it'd be Julie Doiron. Doiron, and her music, are understated to the point that she doesn't seem like she cares a whole lot whether people are listening or not. If you like folky sort of music, and you've heard Doiron, chances are you've been capitvated by her laid-back, conversational style. And this album, from what I understand, is one of her best.


4. Chad VanGaalen (Calgary, AB) Soft Airplane - B Sides EP
[mp3] Chad VanGaalen - Corvette
Elsewhere: Pick of the Week #39
Sure, it's an EP full of B-Sides, but it's still really friggin' good. I'm not sure I read anyone complain about Soft Airplance (the A-sides), but all the talk about how 'accessible' read: not weird, probably peeved a few of his more devoted fans. Well, I imagine that the B-sides'd make those people happy. It's more experimental than the actual album, which may explain why they got relegated to the B-sides EP, but if you're a fan of Chad VanG fan the EP is not to be missed. And it may still be free at softairplane.com.

3. Patrick Watson (Montreal, QC) Wooden Arms
[mp3] Patrick Watson - Wooden Arms
Elsewhere: Pick of the Week #16
I've listened to this album a bunch of times over the past few weeks and I'm convinced that Wooden Arms is the most underrated album of the year. It doesn't have the standout Coldplay impersonations like "Lucious Life" and "the Great Escape", it's more cryptic, more reliant on found sounds (apparently crap found in the Watson household), but the songs and the songwriting are every bit as good as his Polaris winning Close to Paradise... and the more I hear the album the more I think it should move up... maybe this should actually be two... or one... too late now. Also, you should really watch these Blogotheque videos if you haven't...


2. Pink Mountaintops (Vancouver, BC) Outside Love
[mp3] Pink Mountaintops - Axis Thrones of Love
Elsewhere: Pick of the Week #22
Given my distaste for Black Mountain, some other incarnation of this band, I was utterly shocked at how much I enjoyed, and continue to enjoy, Outside Love. The album sort of feels like a cross between the Mamas & the Papas and Led Zepplin, which is an unlikely combination that really seems to work.


1. Said the Whale (Vancouver, BC) Islands Disappear
[mp3] Said the Whale - Camilo (the Magician)
Elsewhere: Pick of the Week #44
I find myself surprised that a pretty poppy album ended up at the top of this list. On Islands Disappear Said the Whale, while poppy, demonstrate that they are capable of writing more dramatic or introspective songs (like Band of Horses or the New Pornographers), and have put out an album that isn't getting nearly enough love. This was easily the second best Christmas gift I got this year (I got one of those sexy iPhones)... thanks Santa.

Pick of the Week #38: Julie Doiron

I wrote (a poorly written and edited) post not so long ago about Julie Doiron, how I'd inexplicably had never heard any of her music, and how supposedly great she was/is. After soliciting some opinions and getting some feedback, I ended up settling on starting into her collection with her newest album I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day.

So, I listened to it, and didn't really think much of it. It's unassuming, conversational, and not something that is going to blow you away, knock your socks off, or otherwise rock your cazbah. Based on this interview with Colin Medley (see below also) that kind of seems fitting. She doesn't seem like one for self-promotion, which is rare for a musician, let alone a successful musician, and she generally seems like a pleasant, humble sort of person. I've come to appreciate that this is the beauty of her music, that it's not about creating a persona, making people's heads turn, or anything else except for her songs. She's not, or doesn't seem like, she's interested in celebrity or the other trappings of professional musicianship. She likes writing songs, having people hear them, and isn't worried so much about what happens after that.

There are a couple of songs that feature an electric guitar "Spill Yer Lungs" and "Consolation Prize", otherwise the songs are JD picking/strumming away on her guitar. The songs are simple, and I kind of feel like they're the kind of songs that anyone could write, but that's the beauty of them, because 100s and 100s of people try to write songs like these, and they can't. It's like watching a great athlete, you watch them and it looks easy, and then you try to copy them and you hurt yourself, badly.

Now, not having much beyond this album I can't speak with any sort of authority about Julie Doiron being a Canadian 'indie' music icon, but I can extrapolate and suggest that mentioning her alongside BM favourite Hayden wouldn't be completely out of place. I mean, for her to end up in the BM Hall of Fame (note, this does not actually exist but I feel like I might actually start my own Hall of Fame) she's going to have to produce on some of her other albums, but she's well on her way (I'm sure she feels like she's really made it now!)...

Also, kudos to JD for winning NxEW's Shadow Polaris Prize.

[mp3] Julie Doiron - Consolation Prize
[mp3] Julie Doiron - When Brakes Get Wet

"Soundcheck #23 w/ Colin Medley"




Pick of the Week #1: Ketch Harbour Wolves
Pick of the Week #2: Rah Rah
Pick of the Week #3: Glasvegas/Animal Collective
Pick of the Week #4: Bruce Peninsula
Pick of the Week #5: The Antlers
Pick of the Week #6: The Darcys
Pick of the Week #7: Ohbijou (Swift Feet for Troubling Times)
Pick of the Week #8: Gentlemen Husbands
Pick of the Week #9: Chris Whitley
Pick of the Week #10: Alela Diane
Pick of the Week #11: K'naan
Pick of the Week #12: TOR/Sufjan Stevens
Pick of the Week #13: Timber Timbre
Pick of the Week #14: Justis
Pick of the Week #15: Hibiscus & Rosehips Compilation
Pick of the Week #16: Patrick Watson
Pick of the Week #17: Olenka and the Autumn Lovers
Pick of the Week #18: The Liptonians
Pick of the Week #19: Sunparlour Players
Pick of the Week #20: Black Hat Brigade
Pick of the Week #21: Howie Beck
Pick of the Week #22: Pink Mountaintops
Pick of the Week #23: Still Life Still
Pick of the Week #24: Hayden
Pick of the Week #25: Snailhouse
Pick of the Week #26: Dog Day
Pick of the Week #27: Ohbijou (Beacons)
Pick of the Week #28: Dog is Blue
Pick of the Week #29: Parkas
Pick of the Week #30: The Wooden Sky
Pick of the Week #31: Bowerbirds
Pick of the Week #32: Miss Maya
Pick of the Week #33: Ben Folds Presents ...
Pick of the Week #34: Mantis
Pick of the Week #35: Diamond Rings
Pick of the Week #36: The Wilderness of Manitoba
Pick of the Week #37: Asher Roth

When Brakes Get Wet We'll Hope For The Best

(photos via JulieDoiron.com)

One of the most fun things about the interweb music era is finding something new, interesting, but also something that you say to yourself, I'm curious where that came from I want to know more (if you're more smart than me, you'd probably say something eloquent). Anyways, as you may have guessed by my lead in, I'm in that sort of discovery phase with (apparently) Canadian indie music icon, Julie Doiron.

This, to me, is a pretty cool thing, since I don't really get to 'discover' stuff so much anymore. Which is certainly not to say that I know everything, but I feel like its rare for me to find someone who has been this prolific (she has been making records since 1993 on her own, and since 1990 w/ Eric's Trip) but also someone who is so universally adored by everyone who has written about her. Also, I think being on the Jagjaguwar label (Bon Iver, Besnard Lakes, Pink Mountaintops, etc.) speaks volumes about her street cred, as it were.

I guess all this stuff about how great JD is has led me to wonder why I hadn't heard her stuff before. I've got some theories, one involves her establishing herself in the pre-interweb, digital media era; another involves her un-Jessica Simpson/Jenny Lewis/Santigold sort of look/persona that isn't marketable, or that; she just may like making music, touring and playing, and isn't really interested in being rich, famous, or otherwise adored by people like me (and probably you to).

But rather that fleshing out those (half-baked) theories, I thought I would solicit some suggestions on JD's best work from those who are familiar. I e-mailed Bryan from Herohill and he suggested: the new one, I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day [2009]; the Polaris nominated, Woke Myself Up [2007]; or Heart and Crime [2002]. I'm wondering if anyone has any other suggestions....

Here's what the fuss is about...

[mp3] Julie Doiron - When Brakes Get Wet

"Consolation Prize" from I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day [2009]