A friend once asked me who the definitive Canadian band would be. Well, the Rheostatics composed "Music inspired by the Group of Seven" for the National Gallery of Canada, scored the film to Paul Quarrington's Canadian novel Whale Music, and wrote songs like "Northern Wish" and "The Ballad of Wendel Clark"... so I'd say they've held that title for over fifteen years.
This band constantly evolves and puts out inspired music, and four distinct personalities contribute to songs that teem with intelligence, freedom, and happiness. This band engages not only the mind, but the heart; and for dancing, the feet. Their live shows and their records show both sides of great art: flawless technique and free inspiration, combining to create songs with a life of their own. This is as life-affirming as any good pop music, and as satisfying artistically as any classical composer. Highly recommended.
Suggested downloads include "king of the past", "horses", "california dreamline", and "you are a treasure".
Their best albums are "Whale Music", "Melville", and "Music Inspired by the Group of 7".
Rachel's.
This is modern chamber music at its best - without any contrivances. There is no self-conscious desire to sound original at the expense of real, soulful artistic expression, and yet the band sounds like no other. Melodies of sublime purity rise and swell like miniature oceans, tempos extend and contract in the space between notes, and instruments from clarinet to french horn to violin subtly blend together, each adding something significant to the mix, yet all held in harmony by an exquisitely played piano. There is nothing overly pretty or predictable about this music, and at times it moves from gentle rain to a thunderstorm... yet it is always as coherent and expressive as good music should be. The liner notes to Rachel's albums teem with paintings and poems, and they take an active role in soundtracking film and stage performance. This is the strong and sincere passion for art that characterizes all their music.
Over the course of five and a half albums, Rachel's has continued to evolve. Their latest album systems/layers is an exploration of the urban landscape, reflecting the development of unique lives behind architecture, the subtle presence of nature in a world full of cars and concrete. As always the music creates a calming depth that draws one in and elevates their whole state of consciousness. This music is perfect for reading, writing, meditating, or soothing a nervous mind into sleep.
Suggested downloads include "esperanza", "Lloyd's register", and "full on night, recension mix." My favorite albums are "the sea and the bells", "systems/layers", and "music for egon schiele". If you like Rachel's you might also like Sigur Ros.
Elliott Smith.
Until his death by suicide in 2003, Elliott Smith wrote beautiful songs full of subtlely, depth and emotional resonance. His development as an artist began with quiet acoustic songs that remind one of rain and mist, but are powerful enough to stop a train; he began to draw listeners in with his intricate guitar work, thoughtfully poetic lyrics, and eerily beautiful voice full of both inner strength and vulnerability. His later work found him writing more complex arrangements for a full band, yet he always returned to deceptively simple, pensive, heartbreaking songs, crafted them with the utmost of melody and harmony, and filled them with an irresistable emotional force. Smith was both blessed and cursed with rare sensitivity and intelligence, and he developed an equally rare musical talent that made him one of the most memorable songwriters in the world.
Suggested downloads include "miss misery", "angeles", "the biggest lie", and "a fond farewell".
Albums to buy first include "Elliott Smith" and "Either/or".
Other favorite bands:
Aphex Twin
Crooked Fingers
Do Make Say Think
The Fire Theft
Iron & Wine
King Cobb Steelie
Portishead
Rodan
Sigur Ros
Slint
Sunny Day Real Estate
Tortoise
Tom Waits
