Munroe - Summer - 2015 single

Somehow, in between filming ABC’s ‘Resurrection’ and living in Los Angeles, Munroe was able to record seven original tracks with co-producer and fellow Hamiltonite Michael Keire. Munroe features instrumentals from friends and collaborators such as Noah Fralick of Young Rival, Ben Munoz of New Hands, Julie Fader of Etiquette, Billy Holmes of Dark Mean, and Steve McKay of YerYard and incorporates lo-fi influences like Mazzy Star, west coast flavor of the Best Coast, and haunting tones of Timber Timbre and Angel Olsen

Links: Facebook & Twitter & Soundcloud & Exclaim! Article

Aside from learning guitar basics from her father, Kathleen is generally self-taught on a variety of instruments - including piano, guitar, and ukulele. “This album was definitely a learning experience,” she explains. “We wanted to create a certain tone, there was a lot of trial and error and ultimately some restraint, opting for stripped-down versions on songs instead of adding too many layers.” 

Rah Rah - Vessels - 2015

http://www.rahrahband.com

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Winter is like a house guest who overstays their welcome, but those chilly days can also offer a wealth of nostalgia.

Regina-based indie folk-rockers Rah Rah harnessed this notion on “Good Winter,” the first single from its forthcoming album Vessels, due out later this year (no release date just yet).

“A lot of this album, one of the main ideas that I was working with lyrically was thinking about memory a lot, and home and nostalgia and how time and nostalgia alters the past because we forget,” explains guitarist and vocalist Marshall Burns. “What actually happened doesn’t matter anymore—it’s how it’s remembered, right?”

Burns acknowledges that winter is an unfavourable season, particularly among those on the Canadian prairies, but there are also “fun little memories that are highly romanticized,” like the ones on “Good Winter”—brunch the day after a night spent tobogganing while slightly intoxicated, relationships, skating, hockey and plenty of pints... Vue W.

We Are The City – Violent - 2015

Violent is an album of soaring highs and hushed comedowns, with dense syncopations going toe-to-toe with noise-soaked crescendos and delicate pop melodies. Produced by Tom Dobrzanski (Said The Whale, The Zolas, Hey Ocean) at his Monarch Studios; “King David” moves from aggressive distortion to gentle acoustic plucking to swirling ambience, while “Bottom of the Lake” places marimba tinkles atop a gritty guitar backdrop, and the cerebral “Baptism” builds towards the album’s most thunderous climax. The album is also a companion project of the now internationally celebrated and award-winning film of the same name, written by We Are the City and filmed by Vancouver’s Amazing Factory Productions in Norway.  With a script penned entirely in Norwegian despite the fact that the band members didn’t speak the language, the subtitled film utilizes melodic motifs from the songs, while the story shares themes with the lyrics. boompa

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Haley Blais - rain knee - 2015

Haley Blais is a lonely musician dreaming of puppies and residing currently in Vancouver, BC. She can be found strumming on her ukulele whilst singing songs about breakups she never had. Compared to the likes of First Aid Kit for her soft, fluttering vocals, Haley will make all your dreams come true- wait this is getting off base.

acab rocky - Truce - 2015

Crossing of emo, dream pop and a little twinkle helps to create a nice release a la deerhunter.

▲҈҉ - ▲҈҉ - 2015

deep rivulets filled and unfilled with smoke and fog 

sometimes visible 

most times not 

This one will have you coming back for more, perhaps solely to understand the layers and textures embedded within - very interesting to say the least!

Purple Hill - Top 40 Radio Memory Dream (Oh Yeah​!​) - 2015

Purple Hill is difficult to define as anything but Rock and Roll. Driving, catchy, exploratory, a Rock and Roll that encompasses decades. From the roots of The Velvets and The Feelies, Big Star and beyond, the band is now a complete package and compliment to the the style, mind, and song writing of Owen Marchildon 

Bronx Cheerleader - Sam is Dead - 2015

bandcamp | soundcloud

"The guitar riffs swirl and soar, the layered vocals drip with the perfect mix of moodiness, and the hooks are as interesting as they are immediate." - CMJ

“Sweetly swirly psychedelicacies.”

- Darryl Sterdan, Sun Media Entertainment Editor

"You guys sound like My Bloody Valentine's van running over a wild turkey." - Dr Johnny Pee, The Dinner Is Ruined

flower face - funeral kid EP - 2014

Beautiful bedroom pillow love pop songs; get stripped down acoustic music accompany chorus-washed vocals. 

So sweet, so innocent, so perfect!

Elder Sister Plum - People Like Us - 2013

1. eldersisterplum.com

Twin sisters that sing together is a magical formula in music that I can never get enough of, plus these two are from the homeland - double bonus!

Elder Sister Plum's tunes go down smooth like a good whisky. Her swashbuckling folk lullabies and musical ghost stories provide a treat for every listener.

Plum is a queer folk musician and songwriter based out of Victoria, BC.

Big Lonely - "Dirty Clocks" - 2014

London, ON surf rock-inspired four-piece Big Lonely are gearing up to release their debut album Close Your Eyes, Keep Talking on December 5, but today Exclaim! has got you covered with the premiere of the band's brand new video for "Dirty Clocks." 

The clip shines a spotlight on the great Canadian pastime of table hockey, documenting the action of a professional tournament — complete with the drama of a red vs. blue rivalry. The band describe it, however, as "an underdog story gone wrong."

In a statement about the video, Big Lonely said, "The audience is meant to sympathize with Cole's humility and his lack of fan support, however, he ends up losing really badly anyway." 

Ending on a less than optimistic note, they added: "Basically, we all lose."

Get your popcorn and beer ready, sport your favourite team's jersey and watch the action unfold in the video for "Dirty Clocks" below. Exclaim!

Here's your listening options:

Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Download

The Bandicoots - "No Turn On Red" - 2014

"No Turn On Red" is the second single of our upcoming EP, "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things".

The video for the song was filmed & edited by the band in true DIY fashion… but really, we think Nicolai just wanted an excuse to throw on a wig. The video is 3 minutes of channel surfing; making pit stops on some of the most ridiculous commercials, t.v. shows, and movies from the 50's, 60's and 70's  (Including our twist on Happy Days, Monty Python, and A Hard Days Night).

The EP was produced by Michael Keire (The Dirty Nil, Wildlife), and mastered by Brian Lucey (The Black Keys, Arctic Monkeys).

Hamilton, ON-based indie rock brigade the Bandicoots pay homage to the rules of the road on their track "No Turn on Red," and now the band have green-lighted some accompanying visuals for the tune. You can get the first look at the new video right here on Exclaim.ca.

The Arctic Monkeys-esque number gets paired with shots that show the band goofing off and spoofing cheesy commercials, movies and old TV favourites from the '50s, '60s and '70s. Watch for references to Happy Days, Monty Python and A Hard Day's Night.

The clip was filmed and edited by the guys in the band, and as for the inspiration? "Really, we think Nicolai just wanted an excuse to throw on a wig," reads the press release.

"No Turn on Red" is slated to appear on the group's upcoming EP, which was produced by Michael Keire (the Dirty Nil, Wildlife) and mastered by Brian Lucey (the Black Keys, Arctic Monkeys). Until more details of the EP's release emerge, kick back and enjoy the channel surfing vibe of the new video. Exclaim!

Big Lonely - Dirty Clocks - single 2014

The first single off of our full length album, "Close Your Eyes, Keep Talking" - To be released on December 5th, 2014. 

Big Lonely is a picnic basket of smoldering emotion, waiting to erupt. When the band members aren't busy being best friends, they spend time pairing dark themes of heartbreak and confused morale with aggressive surf/dance rock.

I’ve come to hate birthdays 

And appreciate loss 

Tell me how your days been 

I seem to have missed it I slept too long 

Do you have any good reads? 

Could you send them my way? 

I’ve been running out of original ways 

To spend my day 

But just because I closed my eyes once 

Doesn’t mean I’m blind 

Discomforting condolences bring my mind up to speed 

But I’ve been trying not to think fast thoughts 

It’s been easy with dirty clocks 

My hands can’t help but move slow 

I’m tired of holding burning ropes 

But I’m too tired to let them go 

Just because I closed my eyes once 

Doesn’t mean I’m blind 

Do you still wear my t-shirt underneath his old sweater? 

Is there something else behind your heart? 

Minding your tongue when you know that you’re wrong 

At least you have the decency to stay far 

I know what I won’t ask of my new friend 

And I will only speak in half-truths 

Time hides more than it heals 

Mend the glass on your watch, if you want time to heal 

Time is hiding everything 

Don’t worry, don’t wait 

I’ll run into you again 

But just because I closed my eyes once 

Doesn’t mean I’m blind

Craig McBrine - Letters - 2013

I like music that doesn't try to be more than it is... These pillow penned songs keep it simple, straight forward, but possess a wonderful sentimentality...

Letters is about the years 2010 to 2013. A lot happened. Letters reveals my deepest fears throughout those years, fears that I've now grown out of. But it reveals something that happens to all of us - change. The defining moments in our life that shape us into who we will be. And for me, that was Letters.

From Bandcamp: Kenneth McBrine Great Music. Hard to explain without bigger words so think of it as a bubble on the outside of a bubble, expanding at a fast rate until it explodes in amazingness. Favorite track: The World is a Hologram.

Pet Sun - Gimme Your Soul - Single 2014

Some serious Canadian Rock for you here...

Canada's Pet Sun recently put out their debut EP, Feel Like I'm Going Away, on Sleepless Records. It's an album of mostly poppy mid-fi garage punk a la Wavves and Black Lips, but with a few slower, trippier dirges too. You can stream the whole thing below, as well as check out the brand new video for its track "Gimme Your Soul" (one of the poppier songs) which premieres in this post. BV

Pet Sun -- 2014 Tour Dates

10/15 The Casbah Hamilton, Canada

10/24 The Flat Brooklyn, NY w/ Weird Womb

Everything's Alright Forever Vol. 1 - 2013

Exhale's first year anniversary compilation includes fourteen bands from seven different collectives from around eastern Canada. It acts as a statement of what we've had a pleasure of being a part of in the past year as well as a look into what the future holds. 

Collective labels involved in the project: 

OPTICAL SOUNDS- www.opticalsounds.com 

ROTTEN FOLK- www.rottenfolk.com 

OUT OF SOUND- www.outofsoundrecords.ca 

PERDU- secretsound.ca 

WOLFSHIRT- wolfshirtrecords.com 

PONCHO RECORDS- ponchorecords.bandcamp.com 

BRUISED TONGUE- bruisedtongue.com 

Bass Lions - "We Got Guts" - Single 2014

Bass Lions are a magnanimous quintet. Like the five golden rings on the fifth day of Christmas, they're fit for the fingers of god: one glorious fist.

Welcome Back Gentle Destroyer.

Bass Lions make winter music so wherever or whenever you are, get ready: winter is coming. Their sophomore release ... is Diamonds is angular and hard; it is multifaceted; reflective. There Is A Glow. Bass Lions have been through the eye of the needle: winter as a narrow, defining portal-they took with them only what they could. Here are threads, here are bones, here are trees without foliage. Stark, specific, linear. And then repeating.

Bass Lionstake their double-drumming close-singing, organ-swirling, bass-slapping, guitar-clawing show on the road. They play with Malajube, Young Galaxy, Y∆CHT, Bahamas, Yukon Blonde, and Brasstronaut. They crash their van somewhere in the Rockies. They crush their debut More Than Islands nightly and merge its songs seamlessly with those from ... is Diamonds in a smooth and scrabbling, highly syncopated live show that has people craning their necks.

They find hooks where nobody's been looking and they hook you with them.

Momuments and Statues - Oh Great Rose! - 2014

Monuments & Statues, based in Kingston, Ontario, combine traditional folk/classical instrumentation with quirky songwriting to produce an eclectic yet familiar hybrid-genre sound.

"Oh Great Rose!" features heavily intertwined vocal harmonies backed by rhythmic banjo and the eventual buildup of layered cello. Written in the midst of personal upheaval, "Oh Great Rose!" is a breezy number with a folksy figure, reflecting the vulnerability of love. Monuments & Statues' overall sound owes much of its influence to vintage Mother Mother, Sufjan Stevens, romantic era classical music, and Simon and Garfunkel.

Blackburn Hall - 2014

"In a haze of fuzz saturated in an endless loop of tape delay that races as if it were a machine.. you will find our latest self titled record.."

Dinner Belles - Wandering Eyes - 2014

Dinner Belles formed as a family of fast friends over a mutual love of folk, roots, rock and roll and country music. Comprised of singers and songwriters, the band calls Southern Ontario home, and is all about good vibes and good times. The seven members of Dinner Belles come from a variety of musical projects and together are known for their original sound and infectious live performance.