I posted this on thenewspin.ca last week.

Featured Artist of the Week: Samamidon

for fans of folk music, Samamidon is from Vermont and his voice reminds me of Nick Drake, but man is this dude skinny…like me! I just can’t believe that voice comes out of that little body, but what a voice!

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Unless you’re from St. John’s, there’s a damn good chance you’ve never heard of the band AM/FM Dreams. And if you are from St. John’s, well, you may have heard of them, but they don’t seem to play too often unlike some of the bands that are always downtown giggin’ every other week or so. Needless to say, they deserve some serious attention ’cause I’ve only just heard of them about a month ago, and they have two songs that have forced me to take notice. “Flying Machine” gets lots of airplay on The New Spin, which is the debut track from their latest album How the Aviator Sees the Rainbow. “Flying Machine” is easily one of the best songs I’ve heard this year, and I’m not just saying that. Why it hasn’t been released as a single, I have no idea, but bands are going to do what they’re going to do. If I were in the band, that single would be all over the world by now because I would be promoting the shit out of it. Maybe someone’ll take my cue. 

The other track you have to hear is “Nico’s Lament,” and this one can actually be heard on their myspace page, which only has 33 plays!!!! hello? this is a WTF moment for me, but again, I’m not in the band, so I’ll just write this post about it and wait patiently for the band to put out a video or something so it’ll spread on YouTube, facebook, and any other viral promotion mechanism.

Meanwhile, if anyone wants to help me bug the band and get ‘em to do a show downtown, please don’t hesitate. These songs show amazing talent from a band that seems to be hiding indoors for some reason. Maybe they’ll pop their heads out when it gets warmer. Maybe they’re hiding away making some more amazing songs. If they are, I can’t wait.

If you want to show them some love, go check out their songs now and shower some praise on them. They deserve it. Songs range from Leonard Cohenesque minor-key intensity to 60’s psych-infused rockin’ out indie rockers. “Flying Machine” is on my CBCradio3 playlist, but you can always request it on my show (709-737-7935), or by contacting me thenewspin.at.gmail.com, and I’ll happily play it.

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sprial beach

Spiral Beach is a thrash/pop/dance-punk/rock outfit out of Toronto and they have a sick new EP called Bonus. Their EP has been getting lots of rotation on The New Spin, especially the track “Made of Stone,” which begins with one of the most wicked guitar riffs ever to trigger a track. They share the same “high kicks” energy as another New Spin-featured band, The Stolen Minks.

Apparently they do shows that include all sorts of carnivalesque jungle-gym escapades complete with bright balloons, kaleidoscopic vid screens, and all-ages playgrounds with ropes and tire swings.  Sounds some wicked. You can listen to their last album, Ball, on their website.

Here’s the video for “Made of Stone.”

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diableros

Two years ago, The Diableros (from Toronto) came out with their fantastic debut album, You Can’t Break the Strings in our Olympic Hearts, and NOW Magazine called it one of the best of the year. Now they have a new album, Aren’t Ready for the Country, though maybe not as strong as their first, which demonstrates they still have some tricks up their sleeve. Apparently they formed their band in order to do a tribute to Jesus & Mary Chain. Their sound is like a cross between The Walkmen and Interpol, where singer Pete Carmichael takes the time to explore each song and give attention to it. These are not fast, tight pop songs, but rather loose and soulful; they are in clearly no rush to go anywhere. Listen to “Turning Backwards” to get an idea of what I mean (Track 5 on the player. Click Listen on the link for Aren’t Ready for the Country.)  Also listen to Nothing Down in Hogtown.

And a reminder, Tune into The New Spin tonight!

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I play this song all the time on The New Spin, so check out this video. Herman Dune are brothers of Jewish descent from Stockholm and were propelled into the limelight by John Peel. His latest album, Next Year in Zion, is fantastically orginal and has the homegrown anti-folk sound that sprung from New York in the early 80’s. When Lach got kicked out of Folk City, he started a place for folkies that were “too punk,” the Sidewalk Cafe in the East Village–this began a rebellion against the commercialization of the mainstream folk-scene that dominted in Greenwhich Village. Read more about it here in NY Times. I actually played there ten years ago, and Lach was still the MC there for open-mic night. It turns out that Lach’s new album The Calm Before is nominated for a Grammy in the “Best Contemporary Folk/Americana” category. In celebration of this, he has the entire album streaming here. It’s not my favorite, but certainly worth a listen–there are some gems on it.

Herman Dune is currently on tour with Arcade Fire and The Kooks. The John Natchez Bourbon Horn Players give a wonderfully full sound on the album, who also lend a hand to Arcade Fire and Beirut.  For fans of Johnny Cash, Calexico, and anywhere in between, this is my Track O’ the Week for sure.

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New Spin Track of the Week is Chad VanGaalen’s “Molten Light”.  You can read my review of his new album, Soft Airplane, in Current Magazine, Oct. 17 edition.  Also, you can read this interview to learn more.  

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The New Spin now features a track of the week.  This week is “Taking the Farm” from War on Drugs, post folk rock for the new generation. 

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