Daughters
Hell Songs (Hydra Head, www.hydrahead.com)
Imagine you took a schizophrenic to a circus that Tim Burton and Charles Manson created and then the cast of Sliders got shit out of one of those worm holes in the middle of all the action except it wasn't a normal alternate reality but actually Hell as depicted in that movie Event Horizon. Now if you are curious as to what might be going on in the head of the aforementioned crazy persons head during all of these fantastical revelations all you have to do is listen to Hell Songs by Daughters by yourself in a scary closet that is probably haunted and surround yourself with mirrors and sit back and freak the fuck out. This CD is awesome. I'd say it's better than their previous album, Canada Songs, but it's actually kinda hard to compare, it's just so musically different. It still has that crazy tight, break-neck speed grind feeling to it, but it's also a little more rhythmical and varied (there's even a horn section in one of the songs!). It's also produced by Andrew Schneider, who has produced other crazy shit like Cave In and The Blue Man Group(?!?!), which I assume is a driving force behind how different this is. I am once again very impressed with how much these guys push the genre and experiment and aren't afraid to be different and still fucking kill. '“ Spencer Butt
File next to: An Albatross, The Locust, Buckethead

The Ghost is Dancing
s/t EP (Sonic Unyon, www.sonicunyon.com)
Most of the time a band's name doesn't really say much about the band itself, but The Ghost is Dancing hauntingly embrace exactly the sound of a spirited apparition. With drums and guitars at the forefront of the eight-to-twelve piece band, the music rushes forward, carrying in its wake a lush tapestry of sound. Jim DeLuca and Jamie Matechuk preach righteously while a choir of jubilant optimists join in, shouting the words they can't sing. Creaking violins and moaning accordions fall into the songs like sunlight through a dusty attic window. You might rush to shrug off The Ghost is Dancing as a band of juveniles, revelling in childlike amateurism as a form of escape. But if you spend some time with the band, you'll discover a swelling heart of maturity at the source of their sound, sharing war stories about the slow raid of time and innocence. Often described as an "orchestral" undertaking with aspirations to the Arcade Fire and Most Serene Republic, The Ghost is Dancing truly unfolds as a whole different kind of animal, one without fangs nor teeth. As the communal cheer indicated at the end of the EP's last track, "Organ," this band attains to nothing more than the simple rejoice of melody amongst friends. - Tyrone Warner
File next to: That insane youth group all-nighter down the street

Kid Metropolis
A Blueprint for Modern Life (Independent, www.kidmetropolis.com)
Kid Metropolis provides a mixed bag of moods and melodies. While the album is bookended by a pair of somewhat cheesy piano ballads, what lies between is an admirable collection of upbeat pop-rock tunes. The production is slick and loaded with background beeps and whirls. Liberal use is made of reverbed guitars and synths to elevate the overall sound, yet the songs are grounded enough that they don't quite take off into the stratosphere. Vocalist Bayan Foyle provides sugary sweet vocals to tackle some unsugary songs about heartbreak, heartache and more heartbreak. The songs are hit and miss: "Dear Bob Costas, Elvis Lives" tends to drag a bit, while "Are You With Me or Against Me" is a catchy pop masterpiece. Meanwhile, "A Tale of Hope and Fear," the heaviest track on the album, is almost a direct lift of Evanescence's "Bring Me to Life." Kid Metropolis seems to be at their best when they're at their loudest, where their knack for urgency and drama can really shine. - Jon Sohn
File next to: Marvelous 3, Jimmy Eat World

Lesbo Vrouven
Je Reviens Genevieve (GoeGo, www.goego.ca)
While this CD definitely fits into that whole I-wish-I-was-James-Chance/disco-punk thing, it's still really catchy. As far as all that whole genre of music, I'd say this would be one of the better bands I've heard. I think it's because I feel like there's more punk than disco coming out of this band. It sounds a little grimier or darker than a lot of the other stuff floating around out there. The song The Agency is a really good example of this; the chorus slows down and gets chuggy at the end. Some parts even kind of remind me of old Trail of Dead. Long story short, this is a fairly enjoyable album, but in the end there are still a trillion other bands that sound pretty damn similar to this and I got bored of it a long time ago. '“ Spencer Butt
File next to: The Rapture, Trail of Dead, The Fever, The Gories
Lesbo Vrouven play Wavelength on Oct. 15.

Maniac Mansion
Pizza Time Theatre (Alarming Press, www.alarmingpress.net)
This is pretty much awful. I know that they call themselves the world's first arcade punk band but what I'm left with is 22 tracks (but not all of them work) of old video game music and shitty synth guitar solos. Sure there's a bit of a nostalgic effect sometimes, but I mean, who didn't turn the volume down on Excite Bike or Blades of Steel after about ten minutes and put on their own music? And that's exactly what you're gonna wanna do with this. Most of these songs should be about 30 seconds long, and technically, most of these songs just sound like the same 30 seconds looped. Not only that, but they've soiled the name of a perfectly mediocre television quasi-classic. Fuckin' assholes. If you want Nintendo-core, listen to Horse The Band. '“ Spencer Butt
File next to: Atom and his Package, the theme music religious cults use in their recruitment videos and late night cable porns use during their erotic scenes.

The Nein
Transitionalisms (Sonic Unyon, www.sonicunyon.com)
While this unfortunately titled six song EP suggests themes of change, you'd be hard pressed to find much of that on here. This is hardly a new direction for The Nein, who have decided to steadfastly stick with the warped grungy post-punk aesthetic that defined their last release, 2005's Wrath of Circuits. Truth be told, this EP has both the feel and sound of a hastily thrown together b-side and outtake collection from the Wrath of Circuits sessions. One of the songs is a remix of a track on that album, while another is an aimless ambient piece originally intended for the Wrath of Circuits. Then there's the genuinely uninteresting cover of the Zombies' "Butcher's Talk", which is followed by a clipped 38 second musical interlude. This leaves us with two "new" songs, neither of which is worth writing home about. It seems that it would be in everyone's best interests to pretend this EP never happened and just move on. - Pras Rajagopalan
File next to: Extras from the cutting room floor of the last album.

The Northern Arm
The Winter Music Project 2005 (Independent)
The concept for The Northern Arm's Winter Music Project is a simple one: write some music, head out into the outdoors and record it onto an 8-track in the freezing cold. The result is a cluster of recordings that evoke not only the weather they're recorded in, but the moods of the players performing them. Most of the songs consist of sparse vocals and droning guitars with the odd saw or steel drum thrown in for good measure. Some tracks are downright creepy, such as "The Dead Man's Band" which utilizes drones that sound halfway between bomb-warning sirens and screaming ghosts. The banter that occurs between tracks (or during, in the case of a security guard interrupting "Aeroplane Time") serves well to break up the repetition that comes with such minimalism. While not exactly the most engaging experience, fans of lo-fi guerrilla-style recordings will get a huge kick out of this record and its loose feel. With the Winter Music Project, the backstory is just as important to the record as the music. - Jon Sohn
File next to: Godspeed! You Black Emperor

Pan Out Now
Aspirate (Independent, www.panoutnow.com)
Toronto vets Pan Out Now return with their fourth release, the 5-track "Aspirate." It's a welcome mix of heavy melodic post-grunge with a few twists thrown in to keep things interesting. The thick riffing guitars are met with piano and new age synths. Both vocalists, Tim Foley and Stephanie Sheri, boast powerful sets of pipes, which leads to some great harmonies and some strong melodies. The album is fairly consistent throughout, relying on big rockers before finally breaking down on finale "End Game," which starts hot 'n heavy, then stops suddenly and cuts into a piano solo of all things. The musicianship is tight and the songs are well crafted, particularly "Agawa Bay" which sounds like a mechanical military march. Pan Out Now's style differs just enough from most of the other generic post-grunge bands clogging the airwaves. Hopefully for them, the fourth time will be the charm. - Jon Sohn
File next to: Puddle of Mudd, Fuel

Square Root of Margaret
Cloud Nine Revisited (independent, srom.net)
Chatham, Ontario's Square Root of Margaret effortlessly toss together sunny pop songs like they were blankets at the beach, all bright orange and yellow. "Cloud Nine Revisited," which according to the band is about "life, love, alien frequencies and time travel," is the band's second release after coming out of nowhere with "Levitation Days." For fans of Grandaddy and Fountains of Wayne, SROM will satisfy your itch for spaced-out keyboards and artificially chilled guitar solos in all their over-processed glory. There's no designs here on taking over the world Square Root of Margaret are ready to rock, and they've brought a bagful of reject Radioshack electronics along for the ride to add a certain wild current to the electric carnival. "Circuitry Knee" and "Disappearing Hands" are straight up catchy pop tracks, while the band later pushes themselves through "Brain" and "Wow" into heavier, more experimental territory. Vocals are twisted and mixed and bounced around through a spectrum of sonic frequencies, blending them into an internet bred siren of sorts. Be sure to reach for this album when you are heading out to the cottage, or need a few solid standby tracks for your radio show, because you can't go wrong with any of these pop-rock symphonies. - Tyrone Warner
File next to: Grandaddy, Fountains of Wayne, The Sins

Under Byen
Samme Stof Som Stof (Paper Bag, http://paperbagrecords.com)
As Paper Bag's first international signing, Under Byen is already receiving online buzz, and doubtless the Scandinavian octet's fjordian sense of grandeur will have Sigur Ros fans everywhere wetting their pants over this album. But is it actually any good? In short, yes - although the LP is a grower that demands repeated listens, full of dense songs replete with all manner of pedals, strings, saws and sundry percussive instruments. Singer Henriette Sennenvaldt's muffled Danish cooing is at times employed somewhat predictably, yet works well as a focal point for Under Byen's murky atmospherics. The arrangements emphasize push-pull dynamics in tension and cheekily toy with structure, as some steadily building pieces are left unresolved, while others climax emphatically. This can almost as easily make for a frustrating listen as an exhilarating one, but Under Byen's spirit is heartening they value experimentation and playfulness while still incorporating an underlying pop aesthetic. Samme Stof Som Stof is a worthy pickup for those into the whole spacerock thing, while those who aren't still might encounter moments to get excited about. - Pras Rajagopalan
File next to: Sigur Ros, but less warm and fuzzy and with more twists and turns.