Cardboard Fox - Cardboard Fox [EP]

Hey it's me, Alex Baird.

I don't normally post much about news and releases from local bands in the GTA/Hamilton area, mostly because 90% of it is crap, too many people are starting bands, and I'm embarassed to talk about it. Cardboard Fox however, is an exception. Being the first band in a very long time to win Burlington's Highschool Battle of The Bands while not being some trite and lame screamo/metal band or a painfully generic rock group that's just absolutely boring as fuck, their sucess garnered the attention of Moneen's guitarist/vocalist Kenny Bridges. The band met Kenny after playing Burlington's Sound of Music festival, a gig they landed after winning The Battle of The Bands. Kenny offered to record the band's EP in his personal studio, and after many days and nights spent in his studio, they were able to finish and release their debut, self titled release.

To be 100% honest, this is the first local band who's officially released something for sale that I really liked and enjoyed. What I really dug about this album was how fun it was. It was just very fun, and positive, and stays consistently positive throughout all six tracks; obviously drawing some influence from Tokyo Police Club, The Born Ruffians, while all the sing along chants reminds me of The Japandroids. Another thing I picked up from this album was how the lead guitars (for reasons unknown) sounded to me like the guitars in Explosions In The Sky's album "The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place", in terms of sound of course, not the style in which it is played, as the guitars in this EP are much faster, exciting, and are obviously played for a significantly shorter duration of time.

Sadly, the band didn't print very many copies of their EP, as they didn't expect a lot of people to purchase it. Nevertheless you can stilll listen to all of the songs on their myspace page, and if you like it then speak to the band, I'm sure there's still some copies left, they only cost 5 dollars. Go out and grab one while you still can!

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/cardboardfoxband

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Cardboard-Fox/246483062140?ref=ts

Sufjan Stevens - All Delighted People EP

Few people would consider sixty minutes of music to be the proper amount for an EP, in fact I believe that many could call sixty minutes of music a full album. However this is not the case with Sufjans Steven's latest EP "All Delighted People", which clocks in at 59:15, and has a total of eight tracks. This album was a great improvement from his previous album "The BQE", which, for lack of better words, was a piece of shit. The best and most exciting feature of this album was Sufjan's integration of the common elements and instruments of electronic music into his well known folky/baroque pop sound, which is something we've never really seen before. He adds it in well, without letting it become too dominant. I first heard it on the track "From The Mouth of Gabriel", where it really took me by surprise, but I really liked it at first listen, and still now, after many listens. Another good thing about this album was its price, which was only five dollars if you buy it online, good price! This EP made me look forward to his next full length album "The Age of Adz", which was something I wasn't really excited for prior to this release (because of how disappointing "The BQE" was). That album will be released in October, so get excited!

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?uqq8sssqnpzwwr2

Antarctica Takes It! - Constellations

Hey there cool cats, thanks for stopping by to check out my music blog! In return I present you with great new music. If you like what I post, please subscribe, or let me know that you like what I'm posting!

Antarctics Takes It! is a 6 piece indie pop group from Southern California whose music revolves around it's naivety. Both the somewhat simple songs, and their lyrics, which usually deal with love and crushes, have the innocence of a highschool musical. I made that comparison because after a lot of listening this album sounds like a soundtrack to a musical put on by highschool kids. With light guitar tracks which are dominated by male-female vocals and piano, you'll see why. It truly is an adorable album, and its sound is a breath of fresh air from all of the other beach-themed albums that have been coming out recently.

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?12ammclfyofhxmb