NEW 'LIGHTS' TRACK

"I know where I am when you're here."


One of my favourite up-and-coming artists, young Torontonian Valerie Poxleitner who goes by the stage name of Lights, has dropped a few new songs into the interweb. I've had 3 or four of her songs for months, waiting for more output, and lo and behold, I hear a new song on an Old Navy commercial! All the power in the world to her on that front, as I'm hoping it'll give her some great exposure. We know from the overnight success of Feist that great music + popular commercial = greatness.

Is Lights' music great music? Not quite yet, though I think she has potential to be a great pop artist without selling her soul (or in the case of Spears and her ilk, body and mind as well). She's pretty new to the scene compared to the greats, and that's okay because it leaves her room to grow. Her music is nice, poppy and just makes me grin when I hear it.

That room to grow is shown both ways in her new song, "Drive My Soul", which I'm divided on. The core concept, comparing a soul to a car and driving, feels very tween, very Avril Lavigne, and that weakens the message. But the song itself, even when the songwriting dips, is pretty damn enjoyable because our girl manages to sell it, and the song has a couple really nice moments. The music is exactly as we expect from Lights, and the vocals are just vulnerable enough to make the sometimes cringeworthy lines feel genuinely expressive. Really, it sums up a lot of my feelings about her music - it could be great pop to hop to, once she starts pronouncing "February" right and letting her songs grow into themselves.

The other newbie, "White" is nice and doesn't present the flaws of "Drive" so obviously - but, alas, doesn't capture my attention in the same way either. When it comes to Lights, I'd say get on the train now, because the only direction I see her going in is up.

Lights - Drive My Soul

MYSPACE (including previews of "Drive My Soul" and "White", as well as "I Owe You One" and "February Air")

MAINTENANCE POST #3

Here's a maintenance post. This is for:

* A hub for you guys to request reuploads, which I will reupload and edit into this post.
* A place where those who cannot use Sendspace/Rapidshare (for some older posts), or prefer not to, can request uploads from other sites - Megaupload, Rapidshare, etc.

Anything I can help with, just comment!

Reuploaded for idkristen: Lights - February Air (Sendspace)

EDIT Also reuploaded for idkristen!: Lights - I Owe You One (Sendspace)

NEWCOMERS: WHO TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2008 AND BEYOND

One of the best feelings in music searching is uncovering a new artist, one with limitless potential who has their whole career coming for you to enjoy. The bands and artists contained herein are, like Dragonette and A Fine Frenzy last year, great ones coming up with their debut album. Some have great careers behind them already (M. Ward, looking at you) but these are still all new beginnings.

THE GRAND ARCHIVES

Led by Carissa's Wierd's and Band of Horses' Matt Brooke, this dreamy band is looking to have an amazing debut. In 2007, they released a quartet of demos that blew me away, including the amazing Sleepdriving and damn good Torn Blue Foam Couch. Their self-titled debut album comes out in February, and I'm foreseeing a great hit here.

Sample: The album version of one of their demos, Torn Blue Foam Couch, in all it's finished glory.

JAYMAY

This quirky young singer has a lot of talent, and I've managed to grab a scattered sample of her work that popped up on last year's EP and will pop up on March's debut, Autumn Fallin'. Lyrically fun, low key, some nice humming. Should be nice.

Sample: Nice, quiet song See Green, Sea Blue.

SHE AND HIM

This intriguing pairing of Matt "M." Ward and Zooey Deschanel drew my attention from the moment they sang a duet together, and they apparently feel the same way. Their debut, Volume One, should hit shelves in March, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited.

Sample: The two take on Ward's Magic Trick, a song I've always liked, in a live recording.

AMANDA PALMER

The Dresden Dolls vocal powerhouse's debut album, Who Killed Amanda Palmer? is one of my most anticipated albums of 2008. Her work with Dresden Dolls and her various covers have shown power, range and emotion, and a live recording of Ampersand (a song I desperately hope finds its way onto the album) made me fall in love with her and her gorgeous voice.

Sample: The gorgeous Ampersand, performed live.

MOLLY MCQUEEN

Former lead singer of The Faders before their break-up, she's now moving to a solo career and using their most well-known track, No Sleep Tonight, as a single. There's no concrete news about the debut other than it's coming, and honestly, I can't wait.

Sample: The original Faders version of No Sleep Tonight.

HELLO, BLUE ROSES

Their debut, The Portrait is Finished and I Have Failed to Capture Your Beauty..., has already been released, I believe, but they qualify as newcomers in the 2008 year. This comes from visual artist Sydney Vermont and Dan Behar, best known of Destroyer, Swan Lake, or The New Pornographers. The album has a delightfully sweet, soft golden feel to it.

Sample: The single, and my personal favourite so far, Shadow Falls.

BELLE'S WAKE

A new band I discovered through thesixtyone, last year's release The Nature of the Ground EP, is quite good, and one of their songs has particularly caught my attention (see below). No concrete news of a possible album, but I'm hopeful as I'm interested to see what happens with these guys next.

Sample: Their most interesting track from the EP, Wild Creatures of Doubt.

LIGHTS

Toronto-based youth Lights makes sweet pop music that never fails to make me at least smile. The lyrics, the music, the sound, it's all very nice, and that's refreshing.

Sample: I've already posted my favourite of their tracks before, February Air, so this time I'll let you guys have I Owe You One.

STREAMS OF EUROPE

Oddly enough, this gorgeous instrumental music isn't from a band at all, but from a video game composition for an independent video game. This, however, doesn't detract from its beauty one bit. It's, in fact, excellent sleep music. I don't know if we'll be hearing from this artist once the score, and the game are completed, but I definitely hope so! The whole album, Meanders, was released free on the 'net last Christmas here.

Sample: The song that led me to fall in love with Streams, the quiet, beautiful and epically long From the Top of the Mountain to the Bottom of the Sea.

So, there's my upcoming newbies for 2008. Anyone have any suggestions for new bands or artists who I might wanna check out in 2008? Other than that, enjoy!

ROULETTE 2

Hey, guys. I haven't felt too bloggy lately, even on the one-month anniversary last week, but I guess it's the Christmas business keeping me away. Look, ideally, for a Kate Havnevik showcase later on, the one I planned to write yesterday but ended up skipping out on.

For now, I'll give you guys a roulette. Simple, easy, varied and hopefully just as quality (in music if not in writing) as a Showcase or Playlist.

The Dismemberment Plan - Crush (Jennifer Paige cover) (Sendspace link)
Lights - February Air (Sendspace link)
Sufjan Stevens - Sister Winter (Sendspace link)
A Fine Frenzy - Let It Snow (Sendspace link)
Ron Sexsmith - Maybe This Christmas (Sendspace link)
The Sunshine Underground - Borders (Sendspace link)

Some Christmas- and winter-related songs to fit thematically with the time of year, plus a cover I find awfully amusing and a song from a band I really like.

And as always, if you like the artists, feel free to check them out elsewhere. And enjoy!