You Must Be Dreaming.

I first heard Neva Dinova in 2004 when he did a split with Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes. The EP featured “Poison“, which I think is a perfect example of what Jake Bellows & company can do when they are at the top of their game. I moved on from there to their self-titled full album which included the creepy, stalker tale “Brooklyn“, this was the song that truly endeared me to the group. If it doesn’t move you then you clearly never followed a woman to her home and stood outside her door before (you’re missing out, man).

So, I was obviously pleased to find out that the crew had released a new record on Saddle Creek called “You May Already Be Dreaming”. The title and lyrical content remind me a little bit of Richard Linklater’s Waking Life, I’m not sure if the reference is intentional but it’s completely possible. The stand out track after a few listens is “Squirrels“, a trippy, confused little ditty that flows all liquid with lovable yet confusing lyrics (“I saw a squirrel in the yard doing back flips for change / For a lady who vacuums her heartache away”) and (“I called you up late at night / I just can’t speak when I’m high”). I’m also starting to warm up to “Supercomputer” which is the first song I’ve heard that references Google with complete sincerity.

Neva Dinova’s Myspace.

You May Already Be Dreaming is available NOW.

Random Downloadables

The Black Keys – Remember When (Side B)- The new album isn’t their best but this song is fun.

Amos The Transparent – After All That, It’s Come to This – This Ottawa foursome do not have the best stage presence but they make up for it with well crafted rock songs. They are starting to get the exposure they deserve, which is good news.

Lofine – Remotely Together – This song sounds like it was made for me. I don’t know ANYTHING about these guys but I certainly dig this. I will look into them further and keep you posted.

The Katie Stelmanis Experiment

I have seen Katie Stelmanis three times.

First time: (The Horseshoe – opening for The Acorn, Sun Parlor Players, Plants & Animals)

What a disappointment. I had heard people going crazy about her music and after watching her performance, I was scratching my head to figure out why. On stage were four completely bored individuals who seemed truly indifferent to their surroundings. The music was repetitive and bland. I had made my judgement and things weren’t looking good.

Second time: (Lee’s Palace – opening for Basia Bulat)

If it was up to me, I never would have heard Katie’s form of hypno-soul music ever again. Fate, however, had other plans. She opened up for one of my favourite artist to emerge on the scene in 2007, Basia Bulat. My girlfriend had bought me tickets for my birthday and I figured that we might as well watch the whole damn show. Katie and her percussive bandmate Maya Postepski walked on stage (note that the foursome had morphed into a duo) and I braced myself for a tedious forty-five minutes in hell. Surprisingly, it wasn’t that bad. I’m not sure whether it was because they had dropped two of the members (probably) or if they had gotten better (unlikely as it had only been a couple weeks) or if my brain had just sort of adjusted to the noise (probably) but it was actually listenable. I say LISTENABLE because I most definitely wasn’t sold. The fact of the matter was that I still thought it was bland, just less so.

Third time: (The Great Hall – opening for Jens Lekman and Final Fantasy)

Despite harrowing sound issues, they literally blew my mind. I believe that Katie Stelmanis is going to be part of the next big movement in the Toronto music scene (along with the other equally great band she is apart of, Bruce Peninsula). Her music has been stuck in my head for days. I can’t stop thinking about how much I want to see her play again. It’s the weirdest damn thing and I don’t know what to do about it. I honestly can’t think of one artist coming out of the Toronto music scene or elsewhere for that matter at this time that compares to it. She overloads your brain and it’s just plain awesome.

I’ve made some bold statements that I’ll probably regret in the morning but I couldn’t sleep until I wrote them down.

Here’s her myspace. Enjoy!

I’m Alive.

Yes, I am alive. I’m just having trouble remembering that I have a blog. I promise I haven’t abandoned my (two) loyal readers. To be honest, I’ve been spending a lot of my time listening to older tunes ie. the soft machine, human league, woody guthrie but this blog is about new music and thus I will refrain from posting any of that nonsense.

With that said, I would like to discuss the following:

- “Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea” is the best record of the year (or atleast, one of them). It’s messy! clever! poppy! in other words, everything I look for in a record. I will do a full-scale review of the album but for now, listen to these songs and you will understand why Silver Jews rule all.

Silver Jews – Party Barge

Silver Jews – Strange Victory, Strange Defeat

- I kind of like this song. It’s catchy, but a little overdone. They’re from that same school of bands reproducing eighties power pop with great conviction.

The Sister Lovers – Sleepwalker

That’s it for now.

Quick Post —

This is just a quick reminder for those not in the know:

Bon Iver will be at Soundscapes tomorrow at 4pm to perform songs from his latest album For Emma, Forever Ago (which is amazing). This is great news because his show at Lee’s tomorrow evening with Black Mountain is completely sold-out.

Bon Iver -Skinny Love
Bon Iver’s Myspace

I have a couple projects in the works for the blog. Give me time and they will bloom into beautiful whatever-they-are’s.

I’m Too Ordinary.

I was tipped off by Song, by Toad about these guys in an angry rant he posted a couple weeks back. He thinks they deserve more attention and I agree. In particular, this song really hits me deep. It’s insecure with feigned confidence (I can relate) and he has a killer croon. They live somewhere in the British Isles. I should probably research bands before I post about them but this song is great, I think it says everything about the band that needs to be said.

Honeytrap – Death Before the Silver Screen
(left click and the download SHOULD start)

The Basement is BACK!

It’s been nearly a year since I randomly decided to shut MCB down. It was a lame call on my part but I promise to try and stick it out this time. If you’re not familiar with the blog at all, I’ll let you know how I do. I write about music that moves me and I try my best to attach neat and friendly mp3’s along with those posts. I’m not someone who ejaculates over every single band that crosses my path. I’m not buying this epidemic of over-buzzing local bands who don’t suck but in reality aren’t that awesome either. I want to introduce people to great music no matter where the band is from or how “well-known” (in a blogosphere sense) they are. Of course, I love helping out bands in the area but I can only do that if I really like what they do. That said, I have a pretty broad taste in music so it shouldn’t get too dry or boring.

Anyways, I’m glad to have this thing back up and hopefully people will start reading again. Enjoy!