Matthew Barber: True Believer

Matthew Barber is one of those Canadian singer-songwriters who is just sitting on the edge of big-time fame, but just isn't quite hitting it yet. He's toured with Joel Plaskett and Buck 65, he's had a number one single (In adult contemporary. What a horrible genre name. Yuck. It sounds like a swinger party or something.) and has appeared on national TV several times. He's damn good and I'm sure that everyone who has heard him knows it already. I think it's just that not enough people have heard him yet.

John Hiatt: The Open Road

I first heard John Hiatt in a really unlikely place. He did a tune that usually accompanied the phrase: "I've made a huge mistake..."

I think I was kind of late getting onto that bandwagon.

The Dojo Workhorse: Weapons-grade Romantic

"The Dojo Workhorse" is another project from Calgary's Dan Vacon, who you may remember from his other band "The Dudes". He's got a lot of play on CBC Radio 3 and CKUA as well as CJSR and CJSW in Edmonton and Calgary. That's really good, because more people should be hearing his music!

Jason Collett: Rat-a-tat-tat

"Rat-a-tat-tat" is Jason Collett's latest attempt to have his name listed as an alternate definition of "Canadian music" in the Oxford English Dictionary. Jason is taking time off from the ubiquitous Canadian super-group "Broken Social Scene" and his other band "Zeus" and from collaborations with the Weakerthans and Hawksley Workman to collaborate with members of Broken Social Scene, Zeus and the Weakerthans, Metric, maybe Feist and possibly Hawksley Workman on his new album "Rat-a-tat-tat". I apologize if this sounds a little negative, that's not my intention. He isn't actually collaborating with that many people on this album. I'm kind of exaggerating a bit.

Pat Metheny: Orchestrion

No, "Orchestrion" isn't a transformer who changes into a concert hall. This is the latest album from that monster of modern jazz, Pat Metheny. It's a pretty intense album too! Oddly enough, Pat Metheny got into jazz the same way I did. He was a huge fan of Wes Montgomery. I'm not trying to compare myself to Pat Metheny at all, I just find it a funny coincidence is all.  The difference between myself and Pat Metheny is (obviously) he is awesome, and I am not.

Grandmaster Flash, The Furious Five, Grandmaster Melle Mel: The Greatest Hits

I usually avoid posting old stuff because everyone has heard it already, but this one is tough to resist. I found it in a used record store for $12 (which is pretty pricey! Most are only $10!)

Jeff Beck: Emotion & Commotion

I think everyone knows I'm a fan of Jeff Beck. his "Blow by blow" album gets a lot of rotation in my player, and his recent DVD "Live at Ronnie Scott's" is a crazy amount of fun to watch, no less because of his collaboration with the amazing Tal Wilkenfeld. He's just an outstanding guitarist, and it's kind of surprising he isn't more famous than he is. Mind you, instrumental guitar is one of those things that doesn't seem to hit the mainstream very easily. It perplexes me, but I guess I'm the wrong person to ask about that.

Amelia Curran: Hunter Hunter

I'm feeling a bit lazy, so I think I'm just going to borrow a line from the National Post that was up on Wikipedia, particularly because I think they hit the nail square on the head.

“a bit like Leonard Cohen being channeled in a dusty saloon by Patsy Cline.”

3 Inches of Blood: Here Waits Thy Doom

Here waits thy doom. 3 Inches of Blood has pointed it out for you so you don't have to look for it. It's a clumsy fall down a staircase, if you were wondering.

Orbital: In Sides

Yeah, this one is old. Yeah, you've heard it before. So what?

In 1996 Orbital were the kings of techno. I think they even had crowns. They certainly had subjects. Neon wearing, glowstick waving, high on ecstacy subjects.

I'm not a gun: We think as instruments

"I'm not a gun" is a collaborative project between John Tejada and Takeshi Nishimoto. If you haven't heard of these guys before, don't worry. I think they're mostly famous for their work in Germany so...if you haven't been to Berlin lately you may not have heard of them individually.

The Budos Band: II

The Budos Band is another incredible group coming from New York's Daptone Records. If you see a record with the Daptone label on it, just buy it. Seriously, you won't regret it. These guys can do no wrong.

Joe Bonamassa: Black Rock

Joe Bonamassa played his first major gig at the age of 12...alongside B.B. King. Seriously. At the time, B.B. had this to say of Joe Bonamassa:

“This kid's potential is unbelievable. He hasn't even begun to scratch the surface. He's one of a kind.”

The Blue Shadows: On The Floor of Heaven (Deluxe Re-issue)

I'm pretty sure everyone is going to think I'm nuts, but this is my favourite album of the year, and by a longshot.

It's a re-issue of a country album originally released in 1993--that was pretty much only popular in Alberta and in odd parts of Canada. If you don't believe me, check Wikipedia, the band merits only a footnote on Billy Cowsill's page.

O Rappa: O Silencio Q Precede O Esporro

O Rappa, which babelfish tells me means "Rappa" (I can use teh intarwebs) is a Brazilian reggae/rock/rap/hip-hop/funk band, and they skillfully defy my attempts at classification, while keeping just close enough to a pop feel to be very easily enjoyable by pretty much anyone (or so I would contend). I think there's even a little Bossa in there. Rad.

The Apples: Buzzin' About

For the 13th instalment (I was trying for 50, but I guess that might not happen before the end of June) of my album profiling series, I've chosen The Apples' "Buzzin' About". This is "The Apples" and not "The Apples in Stereo". They are two totally different bands. "The Apples" are Uri Wertheim, Erez Todres, Ofer Tal, Yuval Tabachnik, Oleg Naiman, Arthur Krasnobaev, Yaron Ouzana, Shai Ran and Yonadav Halevy. That last sentence took me like, 5 minutes to type.