Adam Rich
You Can't Escape Life (Love Muffin, www.lovemuffinrecords.com)
Adam Rich's second album "You Can't Escape Life" is a welcome throwback to the mix 'n match alternative rock records of the 90's. Consisting of six songs with guest vocalists and four instrumentals (Rich plays guitar and bass on essentially all of the songs) the album is able to keep things fresh by doing a bit of genre hopping. Be it the hillbilly punk of "Perfect" or the gravelly blues of the title track. Standout track "Vultures" is full of hooks and "Frizzhead" is a worthy opener with its electric-classical feel. What brings the album down, unfortunately, are some fairly mediocre lyrics throughout. Worst case is "Go Away Mr. Telemarketer" which isn't nearly as funny as it hopes to be. There's some good stuff on here, but you might want to try before you buy. - Jon Sohn
File next to: Dangerman, Joe Satriani

Andre Ethier
Secondathallam (Paper Bag, www.paperbagrecords.com)
Two years ago Andre Ethier took a pause from his work as lead singer with The Deadly Snakes to produce his first solo work "Andre Ethier with Christopher Sandes featuring Pickles and Price," a stripped down, slap-dash affair that emphasized whimsy over perfection. Now, after the demise of The Deadly Snakes, Ethier is back on his own with Secondathallam, another off-the-tracks record in the same fashion as the first, this time illuminated with the fire of love instead of lament. That doesn't mean Ethier sidesteps the blues; he still sits onstage in a rundown bar, personifying the pain time etches upon our hearts. Ethier still sings in a Van Morrison like drawl, and you'd be hard pressed to compare this album to anything else but a woozy Bob Dylan album slightly melted by the sun, or a Tom Waits dirge pulled from a whisky-soaked swamp. This is the kind of album where everyone is going to have their own favourite song, simply because there is so much there to discover. So far, I'm enraptured by "You Still Have Me" and "Blacker Gold," but ask me again in a couple weeks, and I'm sure I'll be in love with different songs on Secondathallam. -Tyrone Warner
File next to: The bar that has blacked out windows down the street.

Dresden Radio Star + Electric Motel
Motormachine (independent)
The latest from Toronto electro-disco producers Dresden Radio Star and Electric Motel is a delicious journey into the heart of the dope computer. Surprisingly, his independently released four track EP, entitled Motormachine, released on a home done CDr with a blue ball point custom cover is better than most of the electro you can find coming out on wax from internationally respected labels. Photograph is a funky 808 driven number with a super funky bass line and compu-voices singing I'm in love with the photograph. The stars twinkle as the well-equipped rocket ship goes on a voyage through the cosmos in Space Flight, my favorite track on this EP. A grinding bass line drives Soldier, a track with R+B inspired vocals and an aggressive Detroit style electro beat. Maggie's Farm takes things back to the old school, built up out of a simple synth, a bass line, a banging beat and a sample from a hippy classic ain't gonna work, no more. Dresden Radio Star and Electric Motel drop it hot and heavy with their debut. To get a piece of the action, link up with dresdenradiostar@gmail.com. -Marinko Jareb
File next to: Electro Boogie

Fire Hydrant
Better Late Than Never (Independent, www.firehydrant.ca)
The vocals here resemble what they could have been on a well-produced Mentally Ill album, if one ever existed. If you like cult hits of such an out-of-left-field nature, you might enjoy this too. Fire Hydrant manage to create a balance between bizarre humor and serious musicality on this debut; their riffs turn into static beats (staccato bass rhythms) that play along well with minimal, sarcastic, vocals. After so many times of listening to this album, the silly puns (take note of Robots For Dinner) start to take on unintentional meanings, and vicariously turn into weird narrative characters. There is something here for more than one type of audience, and it creates a fun listen. - Gena Meldazy
File next to: witty remarks you wear on your sleeve

I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness
According to Plan (single) (Secretly Canadian, www.secretlycanadian.com)
In car racing video games, there's always one course that is set within a big, dark, modern city. Passing under streetlamps, you steer your souped-up car around corners and down alleyways, up and down off ramps to the freeway, which always eventually leads underground through a dimly lit tunnel. But I never really thought about the fact that these games never drive through poor places, or "trendy" places or "ethnic" places (except for Chinatown, naturally) it's just generic vacant city streets there are no onlookers hanging their arms over the barricades, checking out the action on the street. It's like the city is completely empty. And it's night, but all the signs and indoor lights have all been left on. There's no grime cluttering up the gutter, and the pavement is free from potholes or any other signs of heavy usage. Despite how immersed in the game you get, you never shake "the game" feeling. It's really just you and this imaginary car in an imaginary city, flying through an imaginary world. But in the moment, you feel like it's really happening, and your brain just fills in all the details, even if you're sitting on your mother's couch. "According to Plan" is the perfect song for that moment, driving in your simulated car, imagining yourself in the fantastic world of excitement, isolation and speed. I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness masterfully utilizes a U2 style chorus and a trunk full of whip-crack drum sounds that creates it's own atmosphere within the song. Other tracks on the single, "Close to Here" and "Better Strangers" encompass the more traditional sound that ILYBICD embraces, but works as a cohesive whole. If you want to give this band a chance, this is a good place to start. -Tyrone Warner
File next to: Jets to Brazil, Explosions in the Sky

Tin Bangs
Heavy-Handed Darling (independent, www.tinbangs.com)
Upon first listen it would be easy to dismiss Tin Bangs as just another indie band on the Britpop bandwagon. All of the ingredients are present: the uptempo backbeat, mildly distorted trebly guitars and a howling vocalist (whose style of delivery lands somewhere between Jarvis Cocker and Ian Curtis.) What sets Ting Bangs apart from the wannabees is some solid songwriting. A prime example is second track "He's So Pretty," even though the surprise ending is somewhat spoiled by the giveaway title. Other winners are the anthemic "The Skinny" and "City Lights" which will liven up any dance party with its catchy "get up and dance" refrain at the end. If you're among the cynics wondering why Toronto needs another Britpop band, this EP probably isn't for you. However, if you're finding that you can't get enough of the stuff, Tin Bangs is a solid option. - Jon Sohn
File next to: Joy Division, The Strokes

The Visit
s/t (Whistling Records, www.thevisit.ca)
This record, for the most skeptical of listeners, will no doubt create mixed feelings. For someone looking for more than a standard song construct and punk vocal stylings, this won't provide anything new, and the album doesn't stray from a tried and tested formula. It isn't a solid album, but it is predictable, and it works within a safe set of rules. But the high praise The Visit has received from other media outlets, with flattering comparisons to bands like The Clash, may well be justified for other reasons. It is a worthwhile listen, even to get a sense of what Toronto rock is consisting of at the moment. And despite the formula, the lyrical wordplay is clever, the tempos are catchy, and singer Ryan Rothwell has an almost stellar off-key whine. -Gena Meldazy
File next to: the other post- punk bands in this city

Vitaminsforyou
The Legend of Birds Hill (sfeercile Records, www.sfeericle-records.com)
Vitaminsforyou has come a long way from the art galleries and broadcast booths of Winnipeg's experimental music scene. Best described as an experimental electronic singer/songwriter or a purveyor of folk-tronica, Bryce Kushnierís first album, I'm Sorry Forever and For Always was a critically acclaimed success, getting praise from some of the most respected voices in the international music press (The Wire, De:Bug, Stylus, Exclaim). Since then Bryce has been giving out vitamins to fans all over the world, mainly at electro associated events even though his sound is all about the tug and pull of logic and emotion; computers and acoustics, where guitars live side by side with digital signal processing and loop based composition. The Legend of Birds Hill, released in late May, 2006 is the latest from Kushner, who now lives in Toronto. Clocking in at nearly 80 minutes, this album is a compelling listen from beginning to end with moments of stunning sound design that send heads spinning, groovy dance beats and straight up, good songwriting and heartfelt lyrics that tug at the heart strings. There is a certain maturity to the sound that might be misconstrued as being a little adult contemporary, but in general the music is a little too dusty and a little too lofty for the masses. This album is worth tracking down and digging into - a perfect warm and toasty listen for the upcoming harvest season. -Marinko Jareb aka DJ $tink*$ki
File next to: Postal Service, Manitoba, Schneider TM