It’s Canadian Music Week this week in Toronto and hundreds of bands are playing around this fine city. The first page of the CMW Gig Guide has some curators Buzz Bands list, and if you’re a Radio 3 fan most of these acts– from Diamond Rings to Cold Specks to The Besnard Lakes– are familiar to you already.
Regardless of if you are attending CMW or not, WHO'S ON YOUR RADAR?
Who are the bands you think deserve some buzz?
Here are some my picks for CMW this year:
Peter Peter– Ever pick up an album, have no clue about the artist and dig the record completely? That’s what happened when I picked up Peter Peter’s latest release "Une Version améliorée de la tristesse" (translates to An Improved Version Of Sadness). Went in blindly, left a huge fan. Also, I don’t speak French nor have a clue what the lyrics mean. Let the music do the talkin’, the synthy shoe-gaze talkin’.
Sharon van Etten - The Brooklyn via Tennessee via New Jersey singer songwriter is extremely captivating and honest. I like her. I have a feeling I will fall in love with her live.
Chvrches– as much as I despise the vowel hating band name trend (MSTRKFT I’m looking at you) everyone keeps talking about Chvrches (they added the ‘v’ to be more search engine friendly, so it does make sense.) I want to see what all the fuss is about, and will wear my dancing shoes in case they’re necessary for the electro pop show.
Thus: Owls - If you’ve heard Patrick Watson’s song “Into Giants” then you’ve heard the lovely voice of Swedish singer Erika Angell, the brainchild of Thus: Owls. The chamber pop band is now based in Montreal waltzed into my heart a few years back with their debut Cardiac Malformations. If you love the beautiful arrangements of Patrick Watson, you’ll be delighted with Thus: Owls.
Nautiluss– After Thunderheist broke up Grahmzilla started performing under the name Naitiluss. Don’t expect anything Thunderheist-y, but if you haven’t heard his track with Lord Skywave, let it be your Nautiluss introduction.
Protest the Hero– I remember seeing this band a decade ago when they weren’t even old enough to play bars... and they were amazing then. Protest the Hero just raised $341,146 thousand dollars for their next album via IndieGogo, so, yeah, I’m pretty, pretty sure they’re still awesome.
Lowell– Apparently Lowell is the Canadian act that was discovered by a member of Coldplay before anyone knew what this Toronto singer was about. It’s time to see if there is more to Lowell than the super catchy “Shake Him Off.”
Mise en Scene– I stumbled across this Winnipeg band because I got confused and thought they were Winnipeg’s Chic Gamine (I’m clearly not great with French names.) The duo reminded me a bit of the 90’s Halifax band Jale, so I’m going to see how they are live. Simple as that.