First Person Shooter
1st to 20 (Independent, www.firstpersonshooter.ca)
Right off the bat, I'm going to give a truckload of respect to First Person Shooter for daring to write a song with the word "Toronto" in the chorus, which would be the first track from their EP, "Green Grass of Toronto." Every other city on the planet gets romanticized into oblivion, but our little Utopia only gets sly references at best. "Green Grass of Toronto" is a straight up anthem for dreaming about the big city and escaping your fucked up little town behind. Maybe it's just me, but it seems like the only people who love this town are the ones who weren't born here. The freedom that a first-time big city dweller feels is the spirit of this song that really encompasses the whole band at this point, which is also a part of Toronto's burgeoning "New Grunge" movement. The band's alt-pop could use a few more interesting or memorable riffs to compliment their unabashed enthusiasm, but I suppose in rock and roll, as long as you can bring a few watts of excitement to the stage it really doesn't matter. Like looking at many of the city's west end haunts for the first time, that level of distance a long-time resident generally feels about the trendy areas doesn't really exist within the realm of First Person Shooter's uncomplicated outlook. Like any newcomer to the city, First Person Shooter would do well to shun trends while developing their own personality, while never forgetting that you have to go deep in order to be important. Not surprisingly enough, this disc should appeal to the Bovine Sex Club/Queen West crowd, who have just the right loud guitar pop-rock itch that can only be scratched by a finely tuned band like First Person Shooter. Oh, and my one last bit of advice: this band should drop the whole video game shtick -- they clearly have enough talent that they don't need to overcompensate like other gimmicky bands. - Tyrone Warner
File next to: College radio podcasts

Idiots!
Spring Is Here (MATAPOP Records, matapop.com)
What to say about this CD? Well, it's stupid, as the name of the band implies, but it's still pretty catchy, for now. I'll be back in five and let you know if it's still good.

No, no it's not. The guy's voice is killing me a little bit; he kind of sounds like a deaf opera singer. I mean, the songs are still kind of catchy and dancey and all, but it's all a little too American Apparel for me. Yeah, that's exactly it. It's the music they play in AA or Urban Outfitters. So at first you're like, hey, this lo-fi, synth dance shit is pretty catchy, but then in like five minutes you're like fuck this, I hate this store, I don't even remember what I was looking for and now all of a sudden I'm really annoyed and itchy and over-heated and I think my nose is bleeding. And all the lyrics sound like they could be lyrics for some shitty cartoon and I just can't listen to this anymore. - Spencer Butt
File next to: Gravy Train!!!, Adam and his Package, an issue of Vice magazine.

Uncut
Modern Currencies (Paper Bag, www.paperbagrecords.com)
Opening for Bob Mould has both changed this band for the better and, at times, for the worst. As the band proclaims, their old dance-music influences have been left behind, traded in mostly for a healthy dose of swagger and detachment, and yeah, VOLUME. The guitars here are jacked up with stacks and stacks of amplifiers, all buzzing in a twisted industrial cesspool of steel and cement. The bass slogs across the stereo spectrum, giving the album a murky bottom end that adds a certain heft to the overall tone. The Jesus and Mary Chain influence is evident, found in the way singers Ian Worang and Sam Goldberg slur their way over lush waves of distortion and echo. Their lyrics surely tell the tale about loss, misery and the slow disintegration of time. One track that looms like a mountain over the Modern Currencies would be 'œOut of Sight'?, a monstrous song that begins with drums that beat against every wall and door, followed by a surging guitar riff, searing with a sharp industrial edge, totally slick and professional. Here Mould's influence is evident, while the band is large, amped and ready to dominate modern rock radio and outdoor festivals from coast to coast, there's almost too much polish to the whole package, which may be a touch too sweet for fans craving something messier. But that's no insult to Uncut's producer and drummer Jon Drew, who definitely knows his way around the studio, with experience producing other Paper Bag acts like Tokyo Police Club and Magneta Lane, but also recorded and engineered Modern Currencies. I really love how the band creates an epic wall of sound, but when it's placed under closer scrutiny, there's an intricate layer of sound that shows that Uncut may continue to master rocking out, they haven't lost any attention to detail. - Tyrone Warner
File next to: Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine