Brad Hammonds- Through It All

Brad Hammonds is an acoustic guitarist/ singer/songwriter from New York City. His new album, Through It All, is the sound of an artist discovering another enormous facet of his talent. The guitarist has earned a reputation as a great and inventive player, and now he has created a body of work that will add another distinction to his portfolio – that of “songwriter.”

On Through It All, Hammonds has simplified his music in the best sense of the word, letting the distinctive power of his songs and voice shine through, and what has emerged is the utter soulfulness of his artistry. Through It All, with a style that em‐braces ‘90s US grunge rock and thumping twelve‐ string Spanish guitar folk, takes you from beer swilling anger in Seattle to sangria sipping in the Spanish sun before a quick hoedown in the deep south after a brief siesta in Mexico. Though this is the first solo offering from New York based singer/songwriter Brad Hammonds the vast array of musical influences and fine production could lead you to believe he has been around for years. The sometimes dark and often brooding lyrics combine brilliantly with an upbeat production, full to the brim of international flavor, which results in a superb bitter sweet theme that runs through the album’s twelve tracks.

Hammonds, while performing with his duo Brazz Tree has earned the band a devoted fan base by playing hundreds of shows throughout the country for the past three years, including venues such as the The Blue Note, The Symphony Space, The Living Room, Joes’ Pub in Manhattan, The Whitney Museum, Rockwood Music Hall and BAM Café. He has also played the Electric stage at The South by South West festival in Texas and was voted one of WNYC’s Sound Check best live performances of 2007.

Through It All is a document of a musician’s unexpected expansion into new and powerful terrain; retaining the best of his musicianship while going into more accessible and commercial directions. Brad concludes, “Making this album, I had a very clear idea of what I wanted to do, and it shows in the music. It came out exactly the way I wanted to.”

• Medicine
• Through It All
• The Judge

Brad Hammonds.com ## MySpace ## CD’s ## MP3’s

Said The Whale – Islands Disappear

It wasn’t too long ago that Said The Whale treated some lucky media, industry, and friends to a private boat cruise on a 68-foot antique yacht to preview their album Islands Disappear.  They made the trip around English Bay with Camilo (the magician in which the first single is named after), and while this party was a small one, this release has been anything but.

Following the October 13th release, Islands Disappear quickly climbed the itunes charts hitting #1 on the alternative chart and #5 on the album chart all in the span of two days.  Said The Whale were nominated for a Verge Artist of the Year award for the second year in a row, landed on the cover of The Georgia Straight, were invited to play the Edge 102.1 studios, and received a plug from George Stroumboulopoulos himself on The Hour.  Album copies are quickly selling off the shelves in record stores across the country, and the media is all over them.

“There isn’t a bad song in this bunch. Said The Whale have gone and made a career-defining album much sooner, I’d say, than anyone expected them to.” – CHARTattack

“Camilo (The Magician)” is probably the jam of the year when it comes to Canadian indie rock” – HeroHill

On top of all of this , the video for the ‘Camilo (The Magician)‘ was recently released and basically it’s so cute it hurts.  Directed by Adam Christl and produced by 3:AM Design, for your viewing pleasure you can check it out below.

Camilo (The Magician)—-Download MP3

Said The Whale.com ## MySpace ## CD’s ## MP3’s ## Hype Machine ## YouTube

Ash Koley- The White EP

Nettwerk Music Group is excited to add Canadian singer/songwriter Ash Koley to its management roster.  Ash Koley, along with award-winning songwriter/producer and musical partner Phil Deschambault, have become known throughout Canada for their sophisticated brand of quirky pop music–an eccentric hybrid of Phil’s no-rules approach to pop production and Ash’s velvety voice and emotional delivery.

“Nettwerk stands by its mantra of releasing music that we love, and Ash Koley is no exception to this rule,” says Nettwerk CEO Terry McBride. “Her work with Phil is absolutely brilliant, and I am thrilled to have her join our management roster and look forward to the journey ahead.”

A debut full-length is due in 2010, but in the meantime Ash Koley prepares to release a series of digital EPs comprised of produced demos; The White EP will be released through iTunes and other digital service providers on November 10, with The Blue EP, The Red EP and The Black EP to follow in the coming months. Ash and Phil have also spent time on home-made music videos for most of their songs using what is referred to as “time-lapse photography” – the film frames are captured at a much slower rate, or in this case half-time and played back at normal speed to create the illusion of time moving faster. They also filmed live “Bathroom Sessions” from bathrooms and various locations.

With influences including Eurythmics, The Cardigans, Imogen Heap, Erasure, Madonna and ABBA (Ash actually sang in a Canadian ABBA tribute group!), plus an incredible artistic chemistry between the pair, Ash and Phil create something completely unconventional and refreshing. Music supervisors have already taken notice; the track “Don’t Let Your Feet Touch The Ground” (which will be featured on The Blue EP out in December) was used in an episode of So You Think You Can Dance earlier this year, while other tracks have been featured in the hit Canadian series Degrassi and other films.

• Mary The Inventor

MySpace ## MP3’s ## Hype Machine ## YouTube

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Laurent Bourque- What We Talk About

Born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, Laurent Bourque started playing music at age nine and subsequently began performing and recording with his first band by the age of twelve. The Spark was the name of said band, and it included his current studio drummer and all-around music partner, Jamie Kronick.

Three albums and a multitude of local and out-of-town shows later, Laurent decided to make the move to Montreal at the age of 17 to pursue music as a solo artist. In early 2007 began the writing and recording of his very first solo full-length album. Entitled “What We Talk About”, the album is being produced by Dean Watson at the Gallery Studios in Ottawa and features Jamie Kronick on drums, Dan F-M on Bass, and Laurent on everything else.
It is currently in production after a long stint of concerts, and will be ready for release by November of 2009.

Laurent has been performing in Montreal and its surrounding cities over the past year or so, gaining credibility and recognition from his peers and from industry professionals alike.
Here’s what they have to say:

“Laurent Bourque “gets it” – his voice, his guitar playing, his songs – he’s simply got a sound that pulls you in from the start and keeps you hanging on to every bit. A fresh mint sound with crafty songwriting and arrangements.”

-John Klepko (Producer – CBC Radio)

“Laurent Bourque is like a beach. captivating like the waves. sounds like the breeze and puts that Beach Boy smile on your face. Unlike modern trends, Laurent took the best of the 90’s and made it sound like today. There’s a youth knocking at your door again.”

Mikey Bernard (Talent Scout – M For Montreal showcase)

Laurent performs the majority of his shows with his full backing band, at times featuring an extended strings and horns section, and he is also known to play solo acoustic shows.

He has shared the stage with the following great acts: Jonah Matranga, Miracle Fortress, Amos The Transparent and Hollerado. Most importantly though, every night he shares the stage with some of his greatest friends and fellow musicians… which is all he really cares about in the end.

• At Your Door
• Coming Up For Air
• Happy, Alone

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Laurent Bourque.com ## MySpace ## YouTube

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The Eels- Hombre Lobo

Four years ago, Eels frontman and songwriter E penned a collection of intimate, often gentle, and very revealing songs called Blinking Lights and Other Revelations. It reflected songs of personal experience and the human spirit. But E, aka Mark Oliver Everett, never seems to look at things the same way twice. In many ways, Hombre Lobo: 12 Songs of Desire is the mirror image of that album. And, as Everett himself claims, this one is more about animal instinct. That’s fair enough as far as it goes, but this recording, while reflecting a more primal side of human experience as it engages the primacy of desire, actually recalls—and feels like an extension of—the song “Dog Faced Boy” from Souljacker. That kid, caught in his loneliness because of his difference, seems to be speaking — albeit as a grownup — through many of the songs here. His difference is both his gift and his curse and he understands both sides. He’s finding his loneliness to be both the bane of his existence and his strength to survive and succeed in finding love no matter what. His protagonist, through thoroughly human, is still regarded as an animal because of his hirsute appearance, and he deals with that in these 12 songs with tenderness, rage, and reckless abandon. The sound of the album seems divided in two, the brazenly rockist set betraying the side of animal instinct in all its guises, from anger to wanton lust, desperation, and swaggering self-confidence, with E using resolute raw, distorted roots rock (“Prizefighter“); piledriving, careening garage rock (“Liliac Breeze“and “What’s a Fella Gotta Do“); howling raucous blues (“Tremendous Dynamite“); and the brilliant boasting pomposity portrayed by distorted pop/rock (“Beginner’s Luck“).

Then there’s the other half, meant to portray the very human face of the ache that desire causes. These nakedly sensitive, embarrassingly frank ballads literally pour tenderness and reveal the other side of “Prizefighter.” They begin with the self-explanatory wish revealed in the simple four-chord “That Look You Give That Guy” and continue with the lilting “In My Dreams“; the somber, minor-key waltz called “The Longing“; the midtempo pop disappointment that is “My Timing Is Off“; and the resolute truth and acceptance in “Ordinary Man,” where he speaks to the absent object of his desire and gives her the benefit of the doubt that on “Another warm day, in the city of cold hearts…/You, you’re not like that…/And you seem like you could appreciate the fact/That I’m no ordinary man.” Ultimately there’s the thread of hope, because the instinct of desire brings it to us in so many different ways, and E understands this better than most. This is a beautifully crafted, stripped-down recording, showcasing once more that E uses searing honesty and a canny sense of pop, rock, blues, and everything else to chronicle his own strange path through life and its labyrinth — he combines them all with an endearing craziness that most of us feel every day, but dare not speak of. He may be a loopy poet and songwriter, but here, as is his norm, he’s spot-on and a joy to listen to.

• The Longing
• That Look You Give That Guy
• In My Dreams

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The Eels.com ## MySpace ## CD’s ## MP3’s ## Hype Machine ## YouTube

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Tahiti 80- Activity Center

Tahiti 80 will release their fourth studio album, Activity Center, on November 24th.

While Tahiti 80’s Activity Center may have been out for quite some time over in France (their stomping ground) and across Europe, we in the US have had to wait. Activity Center will be released just around Thanksgiving stateside.

Tahiti 80 have been releasing acclaimed albums for a long time now, making atmospheric pop/rock long before their country-mates Phoenix ever washed up on our shores. With disco-esque, yet mellow vocals, Tahiti 80 really hit it out of the ballpark with Activity Center, out Tuesday, November 24th.

• All Around
• 24 X 7 Boy
• Unpredictable

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Tahiti 80.com ## MySpace ## CD’s ## MP3’s ## Hype Machine

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EP’s Trailer Park- The Black Heart EP

EP’s Trailer Park was founded back in 1999 by lead singer and songwriter Eric Palmqwist. Former members include Tobias Fröberg, Magnus Tingsek and Björn Yttling of Peter, Bjorn & John. The Black Heart EP is the bands first release in five years and the first on their new label Brus & Knaster.The first single “Black Heart” features fellow swedes Frida Öhrn and Christian Kjellvander on backing vocals.

• Black Heart

EP’s Trailer Park.com ## MySpace ## YouTube