Spinner http://www.spinner.com Spinner http://www.spinner.com/media/feedlogo.gif Spinner http://www.spinner.com en-us Copyright 2013 Blogsmith, LLC. The contents of this headlines and excerpts feed are available for limited commercial distribution. You may repost this feed to your site provided you link back to the original story, do not edit the material, and do not remove this copyright notice. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/ Jamie Lidell's Musical Plan: He's Just 'Trying to Keep it Spicy' in Nashville http://www.spinner.com/2013/04/08/jamie-lidell-nashville/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/04/08/jamie-lidell-nashville/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/04/08/jamie-lidell-nashville/#comments Filed under: , , ,


Jamie LidellBertrand Langlois, AFP

Every new Jamie Lidell album feels like a clean slate. There's a different sound, a different cast of characters and different setting. The British-born electro-soul singer might not consciously make these decisions, but they're constantly changing variables in his life and his records. His latest self-titled release is, yet again, a new beginning of sorts and Lidell has a name for this new chapter.

"I call it 'Nashville house music,'" Lidell tells Spinner. "A lot of that clean slate feeling came from moving to Nashville and having a home studio again and just resetting my expectations."

After several years of living in New York, Lidell and his wife, being the "realists and dreamers" that they are, up and left for Nashville where they had more space to work on their respective passions (his wife's a photographer) and it was there that Lidell began working on the new album, mostly on his own. ]]> Jamie LidellJamie Lidell electronicJamie Lidell NashvilleJamie Lidell princeJamie Lidell soulJamieLidellJamieLidellElectronicJamieLidellNashvilleJamieLidellPrinceJamieLidellSoul Melody Lau 2013-04-08T16:30:00 00:00 Kate Nash, 'Girl Talk': Brit Singer Believes the World Needs a Riot Grrl Update http://www.spinner.com/2013/04/02/kate-nash-girl-talk-riot-grrl/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/04/02/kate-nash-girl-talk-riot-grrl/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/04/02/kate-nash-girl-talk-riot-grrl/#comments Filed under: , ,


Kate NashMike Coppola, Getty

Some folks have been quick to label British musician Kate Nash's recent leap from bubblegum pop to punk rock as a riot grrrl transformation. And while her latest release Girl Talk may share a message of female empowerment with acts like Bikini Kill and Sleater-Kinney, Nash wouldn't necessarily put that label on her current sound.

"I don't think that this is the most riot grrrl stuff that I've done," Nash tells Spinner, citing older songs like "Mansion Song" and "Model Behaviour" as some of her more appropriately riot grrrl releases. "I am definitely inspired by them, but more for what they stood for."

The riot grrl tag doesn't exactly bother Nash, what bothers her more is the fact it's the only reference point people have been able to come up with. ]]> bikini killBikiniKillKate NashKate Nash girl talkKateNashKateNashGirlTalkLena DunhamLenaDunhamriot grrlRiotGrrlsleater-kinneyTavi GevinsonTaviGevinson Melody Lau 2013-04-02T15:30:00 00:00 Chvrches, 'Recover': Glasgow Buzz Band Learns to Become a 'Band' http://www.spinner.com/2013/03/26/chvrches-recover-glasgow/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/03/26/chvrches-recover-glasgow/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/03/26/chvrches-recover-glasgow/#comments Filed under: , , ,


ChvrchesCMW

When a band gets thrown into the spotlight by a hurdling wave of online buzz, it's hard to get a good grasp on things. Especially when you're not quite a proper band yet.

Glasgow electro-pop trio Chvrches learned this recently when -- with nothing but a handful of songs and a full-length still in its final stages -- the band grabbed music bloggers' attention. They've been gradually learning how to ride out this initial hype wave.

"We didn't know what to expect from this because we were all doing other things at the same time," Martin Doherty tells Spinner. "The reaction was overwhelming, but because there was no information on us online, there was this mystery to us." ]]> ChvrchesChvrches EPChvrches GlasgowChvrches Martin DohertyChvrches musicChvrches recover epChvrchesEpChvrchesGlasgowChvrchesMartinDohertyChvrchesMusicChvrchesRecoverEpLauren MayberryLaurenMayberryMartin DohertyMartinDoherty Melody Lau 2013-03-26T14:00:00 00:00 Rich Aucoin Wins First-Ever Prism Prize for Best Music Video, Arcade Fire Get Fan Award http://www.spinner.com/2013/03/25/rich-aucoin-prism-prize-winner/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/03/25/rich-aucoin-prism-prize-winner/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/03/25/rich-aucoin-prism-prize-winner/#comments Filed under: , , ,


Rich AucoinYouTube

The inaugural Prism Prize was handed out last night in Toronto, which celebrates the best Canadian music video of the year. The award and $5,000 grand prize was awarded to Halifax's Rich Aucoin and director Noah Pink for the "Brian Wilson is A.L.I.V.E." video.

The song is from Aucoin's 2011 debut album, We're All Dying to Live, and a video was released late last year. In the clip Aucoin pays homage to the Beach Boys leader by re-enacting the story of Wilson's life in a constant rotation of sets, costumes and make-up.

Aucoin was not in attendance to accept the award, but offered a quick "holy shit! thanks!" on Twitter and also congratulated Pink. Pink was at the Soho House last night, though, to take home the giant novelty cheque and thanked everyone involved in the production following the announcement. ]]> Arcade FireArcadeFireBeach BoysBeachBoysBrian WilsonBrianWilsonNoah PinkNoah Pink Prism PrizeNoahPinkNoahPinkPrismPrizePrism PrizePrism Prize 2013Prism Prize Arcade FirePrism Prize Rich AucoinPrismPrizePrismPrize2013PrismPrizeArcadeFirePrismPrizeRichAucoinRich AucoinRich Aucoin videoRichAucoinRichAucoinVideo Melody Lau 2013-03-25T10:40:00 00:00 CMW, The Indies: Metric, Japandroids, Deadmau5 and Carly Rae Big Winners http://www.spinner.com/2013/03/23/cmw-indies-metric-japandroids-deadmau5-marianas-trench/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/03/23/cmw-indies-metric-japandroids-deadmau5-marianas-trench/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/03/23/cmw-indies-metric-japandroids-deadmau5-marianas-trench/#comments Filed under: ,


MetricMMI

Canadian Music Week's marquee CMW event, The Indies, took place last night with Japandroids snagging best album for Celebration Rock, Deadmau5 winning best live act and Metric taking home best group and best-selling independent album, Synthetica.

But Vancouver pop-rockers Marianas Trench emerged as the big winners of the night with three awards: Video of the Year for "Fallout" and Pop Artist or Group of the Year while lead singer and songwriter Josh Ramsay also took home the Songwriter of the Year award. The latter was partly thanks to his co-write credit on Carly Rae Jepsen s smash hit "Call Me Maybe," which was also a notable winner, nabbing the awards for Most Played Independent Artist or Group of the Year as well as Single of the Year. ]]> canadian music weekCanadianMusicWeekcarly rae jepsenCarlyRaeJepsencmfcmwCMW 2013Cmw2013deadmau5japandroidsmetric Melody Lau 2013-03-23T16:40:00 00:00 CMW 2013: Austra, Metric, Suuns, Stars Highlight Canadian Music Fest Lineup http://www.spinner.com/2013/03/19/cmw-2013-bands-preview-austra-metric-suuns-stars/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/03/19/cmw-2013-bands-preview-austra-metric-suuns-stars/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/03/19/cmw-2013-bands-preview-austra-metric-suuns-stars/#comments Filed under: ,


AustraAustra photo Paper Bag Records

Suffering from SXSW withdrawal already? Well, Canadian Music Week kicks off today in Toronto, and though not as chaotic (and BBQ-filled) as Austin, Texas, there's still a packed line-up of acts ready to make you do some venue-hopping.

Here's our list of best bets:

Tuesday, March 19
Rihanna, A$AP Rocky @ Air Canada Centre
Pop star Rihanna might have canceled a couple of gigs recently due to a bout of illness, but she picks up where she left off on her Diamonds world tour in Toronto with the second of a two-night stand at the Air Canada Centre.

Other options: Brews Willis @ Horseshoe ]]> AustraCanadian Music WeekCanadianMusicWeekCMWCMW 2013CMW 2013 bandsCMW 2013 lineupCMW bandsCMW lineupCmw2013Cmw2013BandsCmw2013LineupCmwBandsCmwLineupDaniel RomanoDanielRomanoMetricStarsSuuns Melody Lau 2013-03-19T16:30:00 00:00 Wavves, 'Afraid of Heights': Jenny Lewis' Weed and Cookies Adds New Dynamic to Sound http://www.spinner.com/2013/03/19/wavves-afraid-of-heights-jenny-lewis-weed-and-cookies-adds/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/03/19/wavves-afraid-of-heights-jenny-lewis-weed-and-cookies-adds/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/03/19/wavves-afraid-of-heights-jenny-lewis-weed-and-cookies-adds/#comments Filed under: ,


WavvesGetty

California pop-punk duo Wavves has done some serious growing up in recent years, both in life and musically.

Ditching the lo-fi "chillwave" label, the band has since created a new sound for themselves, one that embraces cleaner and bigger pop sounds rather than reverb-heavy jams. And even though they still harbor a "we don't give a fuck" attitude, their upcoming album Afraid of Heights shows us a different side of Nathan Williams and Stephen Pope; one that shows vulnerability and, frankly, quite a lot of paranoia. ]]> fear of heightsFearOfHeightsinterviewjenny lewisJennyLewisWavveswavves afraid of heightswavves albumwavves jenny lewisWavvesAfraidOfHeightsWavvesAlbumWavvesJennyLewis Melody Lau 2013-03-19T14:00:00 00:00 Majical Cloudz Use Matador Records to Get Free Cat Power, Belle and Sebastian Albums http://www.spinner.com/2013/03/01/majical-cloudz-matador-records/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/03/01/majical-cloudz-matador-records/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/03/01/majical-cloudz-matador-records/#comments Filed under: , , , ,


Majical CloudzArbutus

When Montreal's Majical Cloudz recently signed with indie heavyweights Matador Records, frontman Devon Welsh found a distinct perk to sharing a label with some of his favourite artists.

"I got to go through their warehouse and I got to take a bunch of records," Welsh tells Spinner. "It was cool because it was a lot of things that I listen to a lot, like Belle and Sebastian and Cat Power, it's amazing to have them also release my music."

Although pleased by his new stack of records, Welsh admittedly doesn't own a record player. Compelled to buy one now, Welsh unabashedly claims to be an mp3 guy, adding that he's "been like that since I figured out how the internet worked." ]]> ArbutusArbutus RecordsArbutusRecordscat powerCatPowerMajical CloudzMajicalCloudzmatadorsxsw Melody Lau 2013-03-01T16:30:00 00:00 Hilly Eye, 'Reasons to Live': Life Post-Titus Andronicus Has Singular Focus http://www.spinner.com/2013/02/28/hilly-eye-reasons-to-live-life-titus-andronicus/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/02/28/hilly-eye-reasons-to-live-life-titus-andronicus/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/02/28/hilly-eye-reasons-to-live-life-titus-andronicus/#comments Filed under: ,


Hilly EyeHaley Jane Samuelson

Last October guitarist Amy Klein left New Jersey rock band Titus Andronicus not because of any blowout or disagreements, but simply because it was time for Klein to move on. Klein now plays in two bands, Leda and Hilly Eye, but for the past year, her new priority has clearly been the latter.

"I left Titus in October and we started recording this record in October," Klein tells Spinner about the band's Reasons to Live album. "So pretty much, it was from one thing to the other. I can only really focus on one thing at a time so it was get the record done, get the record done, get the record done, and it took about a year to finish it."

Hilly Eye is a two-piece featuring Klein on guitars and vocals and Catherine Tung on drums and vocals. Although the pair initially met in college, it wasn't until they both moved to New York that they became close friends and collaborators. ]]> AfrirampoAmy KleinAmy Klein Hilly EyeAmy Klein Titus AndronicusAmyKleinAmyKleinHillyEyeAmyKleinTitusAndronicusCatherine TungCatherineTungHilly EyeHillyEyeLedaTitus AndronicusTitusAndronicus Melody Lau 2013-02-28T16:30:00 00:00 Hollerado's 'White Paint' Album Has a Deeper Meaning You Scratch to Find http://www.spinner.com/2013/02/26/hollerado-white-paint-album-cover/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/02/26/hollerado-white-paint-album-cover/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/02/26/hollerado-white-paint-album-cover/#comments Filed under: , , ,


HolleradoListen Harder

Hollerado's 2009 debut album Record in a Bag got the band a lot of attention for being exactly that. It was a CD in a Ziploc bag, filled with confetti. They're not taking the same gimmick route with their next album.

"We got sick of people asking us if the next record was going to be a record in a box or something," lead singer Menno Versteeg tells Spinner. "So, we just told people that the next one would just be Hollerado the album, with no artwork, because we didn't want to think about it.

"But even then, people would say something. No matter what you do you're making a statement, so you might as well put some thought into it." ]]> HolleradoHollerado White PaintHolleradoWhitePaintMenno VersteegMennoVersteeg Melody Lau 2013-02-26T16:00:00 00:00 Jessie Ware, 'Devotion': Screams at Ryan Gosling, Wants to Work With Kanye West http://www.spinner.com/2013/02/21/jessie-ware-devotion-ryan-gosling/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/02/21/jessie-ware-devotion-ryan-gosling/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/02/21/jessie-ware-devotion-ryan-gosling/#comments Filed under: ,


Jessie WareCherry Tree

Jessie Ware's debut album Devotion made a big splash in the U.K. last year, garnering her a number of Brit Award nominations as well as a Mercury Prize nod. Across the pond, though, America is still catching on to her infectious soul pop. Having just wrapped up a small, yet successful warm-up tour in North America, Ware is pleasantly surprised by the reception, but was never really intimidated by the pressure to succeed here.

"I don't think it's scary," Ware tells Spinner, in regards to making it here in North America. "I didn't know if it would work out or not, if it did then amazing, but if not, then I'll just go off and do another album. I don't feel pressure to make it work. I'm just trying to enjoy myself." ]]> ASAP RockyAsapRockyJessie WareJessie Ware devotionJessieWareJessieWareDevotionKaty PerryKatyPerryRyan GoslingRyanGosling Melody Lau 2013-02-21T13:00:00 00:00 Junos Nominations 2013: Japandroids, Leonard Cohen, Carly Rae Jepsen, Metric Score Nods http://www.spinner.com/2013/02/19/junos-2013-juno-awards/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/02/19/junos-2013-juno-awards/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/02/19/junos-2013-juno-awards/#comments Filed under: , ,


Juno Nominees Japandroids, Leonard Cohen, Carly Rae Jepsen, MetricSimone Cecchetti, Getty, AP, Metric

Carly Rae Jepsen may be leading the Juno Awards pack with five nominations thanks to her hit single "Call Me Maybe," but fellow Juno nominee Louis-Jean Cormier from Karkwa definitely has no clue who she is.

"I've never heard of Carly Rae Jepsen," Cormier tells Spinner. His band of Quebecois rockers -- who won best Francophone Album in 2011 (as well as the 2010 Polaris Prize) -- are nominated again this year in the same category for his solo album, Le treizième étage. Cormier hopes to finally hear the "Call Me Maybe" phenom when he tunes in on April 21 to watch the show from his home in Quebec. "If anything, this helps us discover new artists and it helps to be discovered by others."

Perhaps the Karkwa boys are more familiar with their fellow Polaris nominees who dominate the alternative and breakthrough categories. Indie rockers Metric are nominated for both Artist of the Year and Best Alternative Album, in which they're going up against their friends Stars, Said the Whale, Hannah Georgas and Japandroids, the duo behind Spinner's number one song and number three album of 2012. ]]> Call Me MaybeCallMeMaybecarly rae jepsenCarlyRaeJepsenCeline DionCelineDionjapandroidsJuno AwardsJunoAwardsJunosjunos 2013Junos2013karkwaKathleen EdwardsKathleenEdwardsLeonard CohenLeonardCohenMetricrural alberta advantageRuralAlbertaAdvantage Melody Lau 2013-02-19T15:25:00 00:00 Tegan and Sara, Heartthrob: New Album Aims to be Pop With 'Edge' http://www.spinner.com/2013/01/29/tegan-and-sara-heartthrob-pop-album/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/01/29/tegan-and-sara-heartthrob-pop-album/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/01/29/tegan-and-sara-heartthrob-pop-album/#comments Filed under: , , ,


Tegan And SaraTeganandsara.com

Tegan and Sara have written their fair share of love songs. Currently promoting their upcoming seventh full-length, Heartthrob, the Canadian twin sister duo have collectively penned a number of songs about the trials and tribulations when it comes to matters of the heart. But, as Tegan Quin admits, there was one kind of love song she had never tried her hand at until now.

After writing an initial slew of songs and sending them to Sara, Tegan was reminded to challenge herself by Sara.

"She told me to be brave and to write something that I've never covered before," Tegan tells Spinner. "And the only thing I've never written about was love -- like real, happy love."

Their first single, "Closer" is the product of this. The song is a synth-laden slice of pop perfection that highlights that moment of happiness people experience right before something happens with someone you like. It's upbeat and it's the happiest love song Tegan has written to date, but she advises listeners to pay a little more attention to the subtext. ]]> Greg KurstinGregKurstinMike ElizondoMikeElizondoSara QuinSaraQuinTegan and SaraTegan and sara heartthrobTegan and Sara interviewTegan and Sara musicTegan QuinTeganAndSaraTeganAndSaraHeartthrobTeganAndSaraInterviewTeganAndSaraMusicTeganQuin Melody Lau 2013-01-29T16:30:00 00:00 Alexisonfire's End of Days: Band's Farewell Was More Celebration Than Funeral http://www.spinner.com/2013/01/25/alexisonfire-farewell-tour/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/01/25/alexisonfire-farewell-tour/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/01/25/alexisonfire-farewell-tour/#comments Filed under: , ,


Alexisonfire City and Colour GallowsAlexisonfire Facebook

Last August, Canadian post-hardcore darlings Alexisonfire called it quits. After two years of touring behind their fourth and final album, 2009's Old Crows/Young Cardinals, the band revealed in a blog post on their website that singer Dallas Green had left the band to continue his solo career as City and Colour and that guitarist/singer Wade MacNeil was not far behind, becoming the lead singer for British band, Gallows.

During their last tours, the band kept this a secret and avoided discussions with the media and with each other, which inevitably made their last days on the road not the happiest.

"We don't look back on that time very fondly," frontman George Pettit tells Spinner. "It was a weird time and we were all in a weird headspace." ]]> AlexisonfireAlexisonfire break upAlexisonfire reunionAlexisonfire reuniteAlexisonfireBreakUpAlexisonfireReunionAlexisonfireReuniteCity and ColourCityAndColourDallas GreenDallasGreenGallowsGeorge PettitGeorgePettitwade macneilWadeMacneil Melody Lau 2013-01-25T16:00:00 00:00 Tegan and Sara on Celebrity: 'I Don't Want to Tweet Pictures of My Boobs' http://www.spinner.com/2013/01/15/tegan-and-sara-heartthrob/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/01/15/tegan-and-sara-heartthrob/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/01/15/tegan-and-sara-heartthrob/#comments Filed under: , , ,


Tegan and SaraTegan and Sara Facebook

The word "heartthrob" immediately conjures up images of nostalgic boy bands from decades past and adolescent obsessions over the latest rising star actors sporting mushroom haircuts. Rarely do we think of female stars when that word gets thrown around.

This was just one of the myriad reasons why Tegan Quin of Canadian duo Tegan and Sara liked Heartthrob as the title of their upcoming seventh full-length, set for release Jan. 29.

"I love that it was a term associated with men and that we're re-appropriating it for ourselves," Tegan tells Spinner. ]]> sara quinSaraQuinTegan and SaraTegan and sara heartthrobTegan and sara musictegan and sara quintegan quinTeganAndSaraTeganAndSaraHeartthrobTeganAndSaraMusicTeganAndSaraQuinTeganQuin Melody Lau 2013-01-15T15:00:00 00:00 Alexisonfire Singer Calls Fucked Up 'The Band of this Generation' http://www.spinner.com/2013/01/02/alexisonfire-fucked-up/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/01/02/alexisonfire-fucked-up/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/01/02/alexisonfire-fucked-up/#comments Filed under: , ,


Getty | Daniel Boud

Two years after they announced their break up, Canadian hardcore punks Alexisonfire banded together one last time this year for a farewell tour to coincide with their 10-year anniversary. To many, these last shows were filled with celebration and nostalgia, a blast from screamo's short-lived mainstream past. But, as frontman George Pettit points out, genres may come and go, but punk will never go away.

"It's a difficult thing to kill," Pettit tells Spinner. "Punk and hardcore is not going to go away, it goes through those waves where it becomes popular, people get excited about it again and they start putting out zines and promoting their own shows; they build a scene again.

"And then you get an asshole band like Alexisonfire who comes up and they kind of get co-opted by the public and it becomes popular culture and goes into a different direction... that sort of scenario is always happening." ]]> AlexisonfireFucked UpFucked Up alexisonfireFuckedUpFuckedUpAlexisonfireGeorge PettitGeorgePettitMetzMoneen Melody Lau 2013-01-02T14:45:00 00:00 Dragonette Come Home: Wandering Toronto Band Returns for New Year's http://www.spinner.com/2012/12/24/dragonette-toronto/ http://www.spinner.com/2012/12/24/dragonette-toronto/ http://www.spinner.com/2012/12/24/dragonette-toronto/#comments Filed under: ,


DragonetteMichael Buckner, Getty

Canadian electro-pop trio Dragonette has spent the past year touring, preparing and releasing their third album, Bodyparts. But, somewhere in between all that work, band members -- and husband and wife -- Martina Sorbara and Dan Kurtz managed to relocate their home from England back to their hometown of Toronto.

It's the place to be now.

"Toronto's changed a lot in the past five or so years," Kurtz tells Spinner. "[Drummer Joel Stouffer] has been here for a while; he paved the way and said it's okay to move back." ]]> DragonetteDragonette musicDragonetteMusicmartin solveigMartinSolveigSnoop LionSnoopLion Melody Lau 2012-12-24T13:30:00 00:00 Serena Ryder, Harmony: Ex-Folkie's New Album is Adele-Meets-Black Keys http://www.spinner.com/2012/12/07/serena-ryder-harmony/ http://www.spinner.com/2012/12/07/serena-ryder-harmony/ http://www.spinner.com/2012/12/07/serena-ryder-harmony/#comments Filed under: , , ,


Serena RyderSerena Ryder Facebook

Over the last 13 years Serena Ryder has carved out a career as a folk singer-songwriter, which is why our first taste of her new album, Harmony, might be a bit of a shock.

Lead single "Stompa" barrels right out of the gates with electrifying guitars and a strut similar to The Black Keys and Ryder's voice, soulful and full of conviction, feels closer to Adele than Joni Mitchell. These aren't exactly the worst artists to be compared to, but neither of which are remotely close to the style of music Ryder is known for.

"I can see why people would say it's different," Ryder tells Spinner. "I've been doing so many different styles of music for so long, but always as kind of a side project." ]]> Serena RyderSerena Ryder HarmonySerena Ryder harmony albumSerenaRyder Melody Lau 2012-12-07T11:00:00 00:00 AroarA: Broken Social Scene Member Andrew Whiteman's Poetic New Band http://www.spinner.com/2012/11/26/aroara-broken-social-scene-andrew-whiteman/ http://www.spinner.com/2012/11/26/aroara-broken-social-scene-andrew-whiteman/ http://www.spinner.com/2012/11/26/aroara-broken-social-scene-andrew-whiteman/#comments Filed under: , ,


AroarA Broken Social Scene Andrew WhitemanAroarA Facebook

Ever since Broken Social Scene announced their hiatus last year, guitarist Andrew Whiteman has been refocusing all of his musical energy into his new home and a new project called AroarA with his wife, Ariel Engle. Relocating to Montreal from his hometown of Toronto, Whiteman and Engle always knew that they would eventually make music together. It was just a matter of time.

"When I first met her, she was like 'I'm going to make music with you someday' and I said 'sure,'" Whiteman tells Spinner, recalling when they first met five years ago at the Osheaga Music Festival in Montreal. "You just have that feeling and it eventually happened."

That feeling came shortly after Broken Social Scene wrapped up their final tour. While reading a book of poetry by Alice Notley called In the Pines, Whiteman began noticing old American folk lyrics hidden in them and became fixated. Wanting to rework Notley's 14 poems in the book into folk songs, he bought Engle -- whose musical history mostly consisted of background singing in bands -- a cigar box guitar and the two went and recorded in a friend's house in the forest. ]]> Andrew WhitemanAriel EngleAriel Engle AroarAAroarAAroarA Andrew WhitemanBourbon Tabernacle ChoirBroken Social SceneBroken Social Scene AroarABroken Social Scene side projectsSandro Perri Melody Lau 2012-11-26T16:30:00 00:00 The Luyas' 'Animator' Isn't Indie Pop: New Album is 'Not a Dance Party' http://www.spinner.com/2012/11/15/the-luyas-animator/ http://www.spinner.com/2012/11/15/the-luyas-animator/ http://www.spinner.com/2012/11/15/the-luyas-animator/#comments Filed under: , , ,


The LuyasPaper Bag

Don't call the Luyas an indie-pop band. The Montreal band's frontwoman Jessie Stein just doesn't feel like her band belongs there.

"I love a good pop song, but I think that our band has been slightly misunderstood by some people," Stein tells Spinner. "I don't think that we were ever really a pop band."

Instead, Stein believes the Luyas are closer to the art-rock scene and its experimental, free-form nature. The band's new album Animator certainly has little to do with "pop."

"When people think it's a pop record, they're like, 'Where are the hits? Why is this not catchy?' and that's never been what I've been interested in," says Stein. "it's always been more about patience and restraint." ]]> Arcade FireBell OrchestreLuyasLuyas AnimatorSS CardiacsThe LuyasThe Luyas AnimatorTheLuyasTorngat Melody Lau 2012-11-15T14:00:00 00:00