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.

YACHT ROCK: Mange ta Ville et LES SILLY KISSERS

You know, it's all great for Diamond Rings and all, but man, is that record boring. Put the Silly Kissers on the cover of Exclaim already, please.

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!

Cherry Chapstick

Cherry Chapstick The Line
Cherry Chapstick Precious Necklace (Remix)

Cherry Chapstick are a Montreal-based trio who got in touch earlier today with a couple of recent tracks. Members Nigel Ward, Evan Mullen, and Julian Flavin operate in the preternaturally talented world of unabashed pop music that's been percolating in Montreal for the past couple of years, amongst groups like Blue Hawaii, Pop Winds, the Silly Kissers, with some stylistic nods to groups like Lo-Fi FNK and The Avalanches. Kind of makes sense that second track here is a remix of the Silly Kissers song from the recent Arbutus Records 10" of the same name.

Life Is Elsewhere

Photo of your author by the incomparable Michael Chui.

Silly Kissers You Could Even Like Me

More amazing work at 140bpm from Montreal's Silly Kissers, who are only a couple of steps, lucky breaks and acts of fate away from becoming Canada's best band, or, even better, busting out of Canada altogether. At this point, it's getting ridiculous - as if they rubbed the lamp and instead of wishing for a million wishes, asked for an infinite amount of melodies. This is from their Precious Necklace 10", released on that bustling hive of activity Arbutus (nicest publicist ever - hi, Marilis!), but if you read this, you probably already know that.

Use Ether To Subdue Robber

Pop Winds In Harmony

Montreal's newest Great White Hope for pop redemption, the Silly Kissers, will be launching their new 10" Precious Necklace this Friday in the definitely unromantic concrete-bunker of the Torn Curtain. Along for the ride will be Grimes (that's Claire Boucher, who just released a cassette of her own), and Pop Winds. I've already covered the Silly Kissers and Grimes, as well as the solo work of Sean Nicholas Savage in previous posts (here, here and here), so my focus right now is the trio Pop Winds, who seem to be cut from the same cloth as Air France, Lemonade, Tanlines as well as other Sincerely Yours groups: re-formatting Afro-Caribbean poly-rhythms for the less-than-temperate regions of the earth. As superficial as the sampling or adopting of these 'tropical riddims' might be, it's nothing to get your Bermuda shorts in a bunch about - it's pop music, and it rarely gets as lyrically distasteful as 10cc's Dreadlock Holiday or the Bill Wyman song I posted yesterday (Je Suis en Rock Star). If anything, the song that comes to my mind is Siouxsiee & The Banshees' Hong Kong Garden.

So yes, fine, there are the vocal acrobatics and loops of Animal Collective, and those rhythms, but the sentiments and songs are expressed through the production and composition techniques of two very much-maligned genres - 80's industrial and goth. Whereas the post-electric explorations of musicians of that time (Death in June, Current 93 et al.) led to them marching in the wilderness of a martial-pastoral folk almost anti-modernist in its adoption of acoustic instruments, Pop Winds are more comfortable with studio technology, and (in so far as I can tell) less inclined to fascist imagery. And yes, we have a saxophone. (Say what you will about the excesses of the sax-drenched 80's, there's a sonic place the instrument occupies that no other instrument can really move around in.)

It's appropriate that a lot of the lofts and re-appropriated workspaces that house these musicians and events are dank, ranging from the cavernous to the claustrophobic. It's the perfect place to dream of tropical escape in the middle of a bleak Montreal winter. If you're in Montreal, you can catch Kyle Bennett, Devon Welsh & Austin Milne of Pop Winds in just such a place this Friday.

UPDATE: Via Twitter, Pop Winds are recording a new full-length right now at Master Tone in Montreal.

Silly Kissers / Grimes / Pop Winds
DJ sets by Why? Alex Why? and Rough Shape.
Friday, February 19th at the Torn Curtain

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.