Paula's Gentle Apparel

Here's yet another gem in the crown of lo-fi powerhouse Arbutus Records.  Paula's Relaxed Fit is the debut solo outing of David Carriere of TOPS/Silly Kissers.  It's a remarkably buoyant contribution to an already enjoyable body of work that mines a similar vein as Ariel Pink or the more lively elements of the Postcard Records back catalog, albeit with a pedigree all its own.  Guest appearances by Cadence Weapon and bandmate Penny Jane of TOPS make the package even sweeter, as well as expert mixing and mastering duties by Sebastian Cowan - who, by the way, often goes unacknowledged for his studio acumen and skills.  Go grab Relaxed Fit off of Bandcamp and make a monetary contribution to their ongoing mission to keep music interesting.

666th Post - Grimes By Cotton Mouth

Grimes Devon (Cotton Mouth Remix)

"It's got samples from A Guy Called Gerald, Talking Heads, a miami bass group called Rican Crew, and most of the beat is from "Beat Bop" by Rammellzee and K.Rob, "produced" by Jean-Michel Basqiuat."
- Martin Horn, Cotton Mouth

Arbutus continues its long ascendancy to that great plane where crucial and relevant music is made with some more of their remixes. In this case, fellow Montreal-er and studio wizard (owner and producer at Digital Bird) Martin Horn, known to many as Cotton Mouth, takes a stab at Grimes' Devon and comes up with a beautiful Colin Newman-esque variation on an ethereal classic. 4AD or Mute should be on the phone in minutes.

Goldkicks Loves Arbutus Records

Silly Kissers You Could Even Like Me (Remix Pack)

I've never made a secret of my undying affection for the Silly Kissers (and the rest of the Arbutus Records stable!), and of course, it's an affection that's shared by others with more musical skill than I, which is why I'm really excited that this came to fruition. I'm super-pleased to present a special collaboration between Arbutus Records and three amazing artists, with minimal executive production assistance from myself. Jack Tennis, Sven Gully, and Martin Horn of Cotton Mouth contribute three different takes on You Could Even Like Me. Big-ups to Marilis Cardinal (super-PRista!) for making this all happen!

L'Enfer

Flow Child Less Of It, More of Having

Visit Flow Child. From the Arbutus crew.

New Sounds From Pop Winds

Pop Winds Feel It

Pop Winds Little Sister

The only Easter candy I received this year around was an e-mail from Devon Welsh featuring two new songs from his group Pop Winds' new album The Turquoise. I posted their song In Harmony in mid-February and grouped them in with a number of (what I saw as) similarly sounding groups, like the Sincerely Yours roster (Air France, the Embassy et al.), but noted an undercurrent of industrial production techniques and sensibilities that, really, pulled them from the wreckage of a genre that I don't have much love for. That undercurrent seems to have really come to the surface on these songs: the jerky stop-start dynamics, as well as the arpeggios, in Feel It remind me of Flux Information Sciences (albeit blissfully free of their pranksterish nihilism).* The new album was recorded by Chris Ploss at 1616 (CORRECTION: not Mark Sandford at Mastertone as I erroneously reported.) Little Sister is from their Understory EP.

To see how it holds up live, the CD release party is here in Montreal on April 16th with Blue Hawaii and the Silly Kissers. Before that, Devon will be going solo, opening for (of the Silly Kissers) as he marks the release of Movin On Up In Society tomorrow night at Club Lambi. Sean Nicholas SavageFurther details at Arbutus Records.

William de Samman is a former short film festival programmer, current communications genius, and also the resident DJ (along with Heidy Pinet) at Movement - a night of house & disco (deep and otherwise) that takes place Fridays at Kafein in a part of Montreal poorly served by great DJs such as those two. As Heard From Mars had him curate their 2nd podcast, which I highly recommend checking out here. I've had the great pleasure to DJ a couple of times with William, and I have to say, the guy's got great taste (Paperclip People!) to match his straight-up robot-like beat-matching skills.

* I just re-listened to some Flux Information Sciences after five years and I have to say that it's not as similar sounding as I thought. Damn my faulty memory.

Grimes

Polaroids by Carlo Mollino, architect of the Societa Ippica Torinese

Grimes Caladan

Outremont's fleetest-of-foot hustlers Arbutus Records, home to the Silly Kissers and Blue Hawaii amongst others, released a couple of notable records earlier this week. The first is a 12" by frequently blogged Edmontonian transplant Sean Nicholas Savage, titled Spread Like a Butterfly and the second is Geidi Primes, a cassette release by Grimes (Claire Boucher), who carefully embroiders loops, delayed melodies and her own voice in a manner evocative of, but not derivative of, Kate Bush, Gang Gang Dance, and the less indulgent 4AD bands of years gone by. If you want to grab a copy, physical or otherwise, check out the Arbutus website, where it's also available as a free download.