Since MUTEMATH released its first EP in late 2004 and hit the road in 2005, their inherent nature has challenged limitations and expanded parameters. By the time of the 2006 self-titled debut, their blending of adverse genres into its own innovative creation earned them a reputation as one of modern music’s most daring young groups.  By 2007, they would find themselves Grammy nominated and declared by Alternative Press as “the #1 band you need to see live before you die.”

SPINNERETTE

Spinnerette comes with experience. Lead singer Brody Dalle’s last long-term relationship with The Distillers, ended messily, the way relationships tend to do.  Recording started with idealism and a desire to finally lay down two years’ worth of ideas.  Having assembled Alain Johannes (Eleven, QOTSA), Tony Bevilacqua (Distillers), and Jack Irons (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Eleven) to make the studio sweat, the creative process was imbued with an ‘anything goes’ spirit.  Over the course of the fall, the record took shape. Dalle provided the lyrical thrusts and bed music, which she had written almost entirely on the bass, before she and Johannes expanded the musical palette together. After walking away from the record company with her master tucked under her arm, Dalle assembled a team of people she could trust and enjoy working with.  The proof is on the platter and Spinnerette both coos and bares teeth coming out your speakers. You’ll think you’re being caressed but Dalle isn’t offering a cuddle.

Plants and Animals are a rock band. The Montreal trio has received international acclaim since the release of their 2008 full-length debut, Parc Avenue.  The album was nominated for Canada’s prestigious Polaris Prize, is up for two JUNO Awards, and has garnered praise from everyone from NPR to Danger Mouse.  Hailing from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Warren C. Spicer and Matthew ‘the Woodman’ Woodley met at a young age and played together in various bands all through high-school.  Plants and Animals didn’t always make rock music.  Their first entirely instrumental recording in 2003 was an experiment in sound and took almost three years to complete.  By the time a record deal with Secret City Records was complete, the album was almost finished. In February 2008 Plants and Animals released Parc Avenue and spent most of the year touring, playing shows across Canada, the US and Europe.

CHRIS VELAN

 

Chris Velan’s music is born of duality, singing of darkness and beauty, love and destruction, and of the struggle for personal fulfillment against the doubts that so often hold us back. Solidago, his third solo album gets its name from the late blooming Goldenrod plant, and represents the blossoming of Velan’s musical identity. A classically trained guitar player from the age of nine, this album marks the culmination of a journey from a young boy holding a giant classical guitar to a mature artist finally giving himself permission to let go.