Threat Shark Summer – Playlist #3

Tres ball! Ice tres! Tres bien!

Ok, so maybe languages aren’t my strong suit, but you get the picture. I hope.

In case you haven’t already figured it out, this marks the second week and third edition of the Threat Shark Summer Playlist series.

Unlike Brendan, I’m staying away from the themed playlists for now. Usually I am pro-theme, but this time around, I don’t want to limit myself or the music.

This week, I’ve got a great variety of tunes for you. From Vancouver to Nova Scotia, we’ll hear from one of my favourite bands and some other artists that just might become your new favourites!

Welcome to Threat Shark Summer – Playlist #3!

CLICK HERE TO HEAR THE MUSIC!

1. Grab Me by the Lapel by The North Lakes – Hailing from the Atlantic coast of Canada, The North Lakes call Charlottetown, P.E.I. When I first heard this track, I was instantly reminded of Foxboro Hot Tubs, a 1960s-influenced rock ‘n’ roll side project of Green Day. Grab Me by the Lapel comes from The North Lakes’ Music PEI-award winning album, Grand Prix.
2. The Night by Lioness – Another of the up-and-coming indie-alt. rock bands from Toronto, Lioness features the deep and energetic vocals of Vanessa Fischer. With a catchy guitar track and upbeat sound, Lioness has been garnering attention in the industry, having recently toured with acts like k-Os, You Say Party and The Cult. The Night can be found off of Lioness’s album, The Golden Killer.
3. Strange Film by Caracol – Earlier this year I reviewed Caracol’s latest album, Blanc Mercredi, for TRU’s Omega. Unfortunately the review isn’t on the web. That being said, Caracol’s soulful folk vocals and overall pop sound are very pleasing to the ear. Blending a few French and English language tracks, the Montreal-based Caracol is a fantastic representation of what Canada has to offer with its unique indie music scene.
4. Turn Around by Eight and a Half – Eight and a Half is an interesting and intriguing indie group. To a certain extent, you might even consider it a Canadian indie-super group. Featuring Justin Peroff of Broken Social Scene and Dave Hamelin and Liam O’Neil, both of The Stills, this group calls Toronto home. Eight and a Half is not considered a side project for the band members, rather they say they approach it as an opportunity to reinvent themselves. Turn Around can be found on the group’s debut self-titled album.
5. How Darwinian by Dan Mangan – After spending our first four songs in Canada’s eastern region, we jump back to the beautiful west coast and Vancouver, the home of Dan Mangan. This Canadian folk songster lists his influences as including Radiohead, Wilco and Bon Iver, just to name a few. Mangan won an iTunes Album of the Year Award for his 2010 album Nice, Nice, Very Nice. How Darwinian can be found on his latest album, Oh Fortune.
6. Drain the Blood by The Rural Alberta Advantage – We stay out west for this next track, well, sort of. The Rural Alberta Advantage (The RAA) technically works out of Toronto, but the band members all originate from the golden prairies of Alberta. Upon listening to the indie rock ballads of The RAA, the Alberta influence rings loud and clear to anyone within earshot. Drain the Blood comes from The RAA’s 2009 album, Hometowns.
7. Darling, Darling, Darling by Cory Isenor – Sticking with the overarching and somewhat existent folk theme of this week, Cory Isenor is a folk singer-songwriter from Halifax, N.S. And if you ask me, Isenor is a man who doesn’t get nearly the recognition that he should. He’s toured with the aforementioned RAA, Said the Whale and Two Hours Traffic. Darling, Darling, Darling is an emotional track about the ending of a relationship and I’ll be damned if it doesn’t pull on your heart strings, even if just a bit. It can be found on Isenor’s 2011 release, The Hunting Party.
8. Sentimental/Oriental by Boxer the Horse – The fact that we are back in Charlottetown, P.E.I. for the second time this week amazes me. Until we started this little Threat Shark summer foray into Canadian indie music, I didn’t realize that the Maritimes had such a rockin’ indie scene! In 2010, Boxer the Horse received the CBC Radio 3 Bucky Award for Best New Band. Sentimental/Oriental comes from the band’s latest album, French Residency, released in March 2012.
9. No Common Ground by Gabrielle Papillon – When this track first found my ears via the CBC Music airwaves, at first I thought I was listening to a Caracol track. I was shocked to discover that I was listening to a different singer-songwriter, this one originally from New Glasgow, N.S., by the name of Gabrielle Papillon. With a very similar acoustic folk sound and deep soulful vocals, Papillon soothes the listener. No Common Ground can be found on her 2011 album, The Currency of Poetry.
10. I’d Raise My Hand by The Schomberg Fair – We spent most of this ten track trek listening to some relatively chill folk tracks. I figured I needed to kick it up a notch to close things out. The Schomberg Fair calls Toronto home and the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan as influences. This gritty track features elements of Audioslave’s heavy sound as well as backing vocals provided by gospel singers, making for quite the juxtaposition.

Thanks again for listening to Threat Shark Summer. I hope you’ve discovered some new Canadian talent that you enjoy. Share the love! If you liked the tracks, pass ’em on to your friends, family and pets! Music is meant to be shared, so do the world a favour and pass this along.

Tune in on Thursday for ten more tracks courtesy of Captain Victoria, Mr. Brendan Kergin! Cheers! – Taylor Rocca