Webcuts Music

Much-loved upon release earlier this year was the ninth album by 80′s referencing eccentric / romantic Dan Bejar aka Destroyer entitled Kaputt. If his work as Destroyer draws a blank, you may well know him as a member of fellow Canadian indie-rock outfit, The New Pornographers. There’s good news for people in the UK waiting for Kaputt to get a local release as that day is finally going to happen through Dead Oceans on June 13. Which also happens to coincide with Destroyer’s first ever European headlining tour, including an appearance in London at Heaven on June 28. Oh, happy days.

The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horses. A fitting album title for these Montreal, Quebec, Canadians, as much as it was a challenge for a band who’ve skirted success but in turn garnered acclaim for their lush and psychedelic sound. Their most recent album The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night appeared in early 2010, and once again it was that intimate and expansive sound, coupled with vocalist/guitarist Jace Lacek’s Beach Boys-like falsetto that saw the band release their most definitive collection of songs yet. Touring Australia for the very first time, Chris Berkley of Static caught up with Lacek and drummer Kevin Laing of The Besnard Lakes to talk about the slow rise of the band and their move into film scores.

Infectious electro-opera outfit Austra are to release their next single, “Lose It” on May 9. One of the stand-out tracks played on their recent UK tour, (that Kate Bush cat-call chorus…) it’s the second track taken from the Toronto band’s forthcoming debut album, Feel It Break, following the dark dancefloor incantation of “Beat And The [...]

Debut album from Montreal’s Braids. Like a Canadian Animal Collective with female vocals? Read on and find out…

There’s been a noticeable shift slash longing backward glance in music trends towards all things 80’s. It seems that the product of that era now want to know everything about where they came from and the music that was made. For synth pop acts like Summer Camp and Twin Shadow, the 80’s are a nostalgia/inspirational goldmine, but with the rise of Zola Jesus, Salem, oOoOO, etc, it was inevitable that Goth music and its mutated electro/dark wave offspring would get discovered by the black clad suburban misfits of today. Enter, Austra from Toronto, Canada.

It’s been a busy year for electro/noise duo Crystal Castles. Non-stop touring, sold out shows, releasing their second album to modest acclaim, having a single remixed by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, etc, but it doesn’t end there. Filing this one under “Unexpected Pairings”, they’ve gone and recorded their next single with (press release says “icon and legend” and I’m happy to go along with that) Robert Smith of The Cure. A new version of “Not in Love” (the original appearing on Crystal Castles II) will be released on December 6 through Fiction Records.

The not-so-big question of 2010 is what happened to Canadian electro-enfant terribles Crystal Castles? The follow-up to their self-titled debut was one of 2010’s anticipated releases but it fell short of delivering the same sensory assault. Lead single “Celestica” was a neat bait and switch that showed they could mainstream it with the best, while giving hyperactive, speaker-stack ascending singer, Alice Glass a chance to show her x-factor. In an attempt to move into the realm of exercise videos, Crystal Castles have given Crystal Castles II track “Baptism” a work-out makeover. Released to coincide with a forthcoming European Tour, the beat-bouncing “Baptism” has Glass working up a sweat to her own music over images of sick children, deer and burning houses. A curious choice, but whatever gets you in the mood, I suppose. Should be noted, their instore at Rough Trade records in London earlier this year — one of the best live shows of 2010.

Brooding psychedelic rock with some Zeppelin-esque undertones, Canada’s Black Mountain let loose on their third.

Touring off the back of their third studio release The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night, the Quebec-based The Besnard Lakes returned to London to treat us with some more of their epic Beach Boys meets Spiritualized jams. Given the massive sound present on …The Roaring Night, there was some anticipation in how the band were going to pull this off as a four piece. With the newer tracks being a lot denser and harder to recreate live without either a 10 piece line up or a maze of effects and loop pedals, assistance came via laptop, which helped embellish the sound and keep true to their recorded material.

From a Funeral to a Neon Bible and now out to The Suburbs, the long-awaited third album from Arcade Fire has Webcuts feeling right at home.