exploremusic

Despite a long, cold winter and a spring that wouldn’t (a) warm up or (b) dry up, I still couldn’t believe it when I woke up this morning that we are, in fact, halfway through 2009 already. Did I miss Tax Freedom Day? No one sent me a card, so it must still be coming up.

Now that we’re on the slow slide towards winter (That’s the thing about Canadians, isn’t it? No matter how good the weather, we’re secure in the knowledge that things can only get worse) I thought I’d make a list of my five favourite Canadian releases of the year—so far, and in no particular order.

Alexisonfire – Old Crows/Young Cardinals
This record came out of the chute HARD with a strong debut. Instantly #1 on iTunes, too. You gotta love these guys. When everyone was telling them to tone it down, they refused to compromise on their sound and their fanbase only grew bigger. Plus they’re evolving as musicians and songwriters. If the Tragically Hip were into metal and Screamo, their name would be “Alexisonfire.”

Jason Bajada – Loveshit
Jason is a sensitive singer-songwriter dude from Montreal with two indie albums to his name. Then a girl broke his heart. So he did what any sensible sensitive singer-songwriter would do: he wrote an entire album based on this soul-crushing experience—and then he released it in February, the dreariest, dullest, saddest month of the year. There’s more raw emotion and feelings in this one record than there is in an entire box set of Grey’s Anatomy. By all means, listen to the CD—but do it on a sunny day and away from the knife drawer.

Beast – Beast
I know, I know: the album came out in late November 2008. But it took until I waded through all the Christmas releases and pulled my head out of my January VISA statement before I really started to pay attention to what was going on. Betty Bonifassi—the voice on the Champion record, Chill ‘Em All—has really found a niche with this aggressive trip-hoppy, soulful and occasionally gospel-y record. Cool video for the “Mr. Hurricane” single, too.

Handsome Furs – Face Control
Yet another Montreal band, this time an offshoot of Wolf Parade. Dan Boeckner (the Wolf Parade dude) and his wife, Alexei Perry, are now onto their second album with Sub Pop. And before you think they’re like the White Stripes, give it up because (a) they’re still married; and (b) no one plays the drums. It’s just voices, synths, guitars and drum machines. Few Canadian bands sound like this today.

Metric – Fantasies
I love this band’s DIY ethic and Emily Haines believes she’s destined to be a super-duper star. And because she believes it, so does everyone else. The album has only been out since April, which means they’ve only just started working it. This could be the Canadian band that breaks out internationally above all others in 2009.