speed of dark

I spent most of Tuesday and Wednesday going through my blog e-mail box. I had about 150 unread e-mails. If anyone has sent me anything, and it seems like I'm ignoring you, I'm not, I'm just overheavelled, to use a word a friend of mine coined. I'm going to start trying to pass some of the really good stuff on to the blog.

That doesn't necessarily mean that things I don't post aren't good--I am just pedalling as fast as I can. Here are some quick picks with the focus on female vocals.

French Disco

Although vocalist Myriam de la Jara does sing in French sometimes, French Disco are based in San Francisco and the music is not disco. Their sound is more closely-related to classic shoegaze like His Name Is Alive, Ride, and Swervedriver. Two older EPs are available for sampling on iTunes, and their latest, released earlier this month, will be there soon. From the samples on their MySpace page, the new songs take a clear leap forward in defining their sound. Sean Smith's and Jason Fessel's guitarwork seems more bold, and the songwriting more confident.

From Mirror Stage (2007)
French Disco: Avant Garde Bubblegum
MySpace | Website | Label: Independent
Buy at CD Baby



Hot Springs


Montreal's Hot Springs first full-length album, Volcano, due for release September 18, hits your face with a hard-rocking punch and Giselle Webber's Bolan-worthy vibrato. Think how the Hard-Hearted Bastards would sound with Bjork as the vocalist and the prance of Franz Ferdinand, and you get the idea. I am especially fond of "The Fog and the Horn."

From Volcano (2007):
Hot Springs: Headrush
MySpace | Website | Label: Quire Records
Buy at iTunes



Show Schedule:
Sept 27 - Quebec City, QC - Velvet
Sept 28 – Montreal, QC– Le National (CD Release Show)
Sept 29 - Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace (CD Release Show)
Oct 20 - Sherbrooke, QC - Téléphone Rouge


Cannonball Jane

If you always daydreamed that your teacher had a wicked other life after school, you'd be right in the case of Sharon Hagopian, an elementary school music teacher from Bridgeport (U.K.) who performs as Cannonball Jane. This one-woman band combines 60's disco-pop with modern hip-hop, with a bit of torch and soul mixed in there. Although her album Knees Up!, scheduled for release October 9, was recorded completely in her home, it includes a remix by Adrock from the Beastie Boys of this song. Very sassy!

From Knees Up! (2007):
Cannonball Jane: Take It to Fantastic
MySpace | Website | Label: Gaddycat Records
Buy Street Vernacular (2006) here and at iTunes