RAISED BY SWANS

Origin: London, ON
Category: EMERGING ANTLERS
Cherchez La Moose: I almost classified these guys as Lost In The Wilderness, but they finally released their long-awaited sophomore album No Ghostless Place earlier this year. Raised By Swans' debut came out at a time when the soft rock fad popularized by bands such as Coldplay, Keane, and Snow Patrol was starting to turn people off. We Were Never Young is a single from the new album, and it thankfully has found an audience because it was also used in the Atom Egoyan film Chloe. The song gives me chills, and it has a timelessness to it that leads me to believe that Raised By Swans have more to offer than their more popular peers.

A Message

I have the next two weeks off from school, and I will be traveling to London, Ontario to hunt some moose with my friends. Kidding! I would never injure a moose. I will be visiting my sister, who is awesome. I might try and blog a bit here and there, but I'll be away from the computer most of the time. Come back to check Moose Tracks at the start of October though, I have lots of exciting things planned!

-Moose X 

MEMORYHOUSE

Origin: Guelph, ON
Category: EMERGING ANTLERS
Cherchez La Moose: I don't usually hype bands that only have a few songs. I also tend to question a band's authenticity when they just happen to come out with a sound that is very of-the-moment. Such is the case with Guelph duo Memoryhouse - but you know what? I love this song and video, and nothing else matters. I first heard it earlier this year, right before my trip to Niagara Falls. The song played over and over in my head as I stood by the edge, feeling the mist of the crashing waves. Memoryhouse have another great song and video on YouTube; it's called To The Lighthouse, and it's equally as awesome.

KITTENS

Origin: Winnipeg, MB
Category: LOST IN THE WILDERNESS
Cherchez La Moose: Kittens are brutality. I discovered them last year, purely by luck, while researching a different Canadian 90's band that they used to tour with. There are a lot of heavy bands in Canada - a bunch in Winnipeg, even - but none of them actually intimidate me like these guys do. When the singer mumbles "don't do it again to me, don't do it again...." I have to look over my shoulder to make sure he's not standing there with an axe. Kittens rip through Jack Knife like their best friend's dog's dad's ex-wife's life depended on it. They have a bunch of other awesome videos on YouTube that are just as ferocious and enigmatic.

BRAN VAN 3000 - 'Drinking in LA'

Origin: Montreal, QC
Category: NORTHERN ELIXIR
Cherchez La Moose: "Hi, my name is Stereo Mike!" This song is a total nostalgia trip for me. Drinking in LA was on the radio every 30 minutes or so in the Summer of 1997. These days when I hear it, all I can think of is warm sun, camping, golfing with my Dad, and being prepubescent. Oh, and not knowing most of the lyrics, but singing along anyways, murmuring similar-sounding words instead. Bran Van 3000 played a free outdoor show in downtown Montreal a few Summers ago, and I decided to attend because I wanted to support them. Turned out the entire city wanted to show support as well, because the turnout was one of the craziest things I've ever seen. So yeah, no worries Stereo Mike - no one has forgotten about you.

CUBE

Origin: Better left to the imagination

Cherchez La Moose: Cube shivered me timbers back in high school. I hadn't heard much about it beforehand, but the movie box always seemed to stick out at my local rental store in Nanaimo. Cube proved to me that Canadian cinema can be badass. It's scary, thought-provoking, and extremely resourceful considering how much needed to be created with only a shoestring budget. The Saw franchise borrowed a lot of ideas from this movie - in fact, Saw 2 is almost the exact same movie as Cube (except it's gorier and not nearly as imaginative). Some of the acting in Cube is less than stellar, but overall it's a great premise with an awesome ending. I don't recommend the sequel, but the prequel - Cube Zero - is also worth checking out.

HEDLEY

Origin: Abbotsford, BC
Category: VOLCANO TOSS
Cherchez La Moose: A beautiful baby moose was born the same day that Jacob Hoggard was eliminated from Canadian Idol....and that same moose ate a poison berry and died the day that Hoggard's new band signed with a Major label. Obnoxious attention whores bother me, and so does painfully generic songwriting, so it was inevitable that I was going to trash Hedley. Did we really need another craptastic mainstream rock band from BC? It also chafes my balls that these guys' songs are used almost every single week for routines on SYTYCDCanada. Smarten up, CanCon. Oh and nice job plagiarizing Hoobastank on this lame track I embedded.

FEFE DOBSON - 'Bye Bye Boyfriend'

Origin: Scarborough, ON
Category: STUFFED CRUST PIZZA
Cherchez La Moose: A part of me feels bad for Fefe Dobson. She hit it big with her debut album, recorded an edgier follow-up that never ended up being released, got dropped by her label, then disappeared. She made a comeback earlier this year and generated a hit single with the catchy synth pop track Ghost, but Bye Bye Boyfriend is what I will always remember her for. This is a great comedic video - too bad it's supposed to be serious. My favourite moments are the trying-way-too-hard-to-be-edgy seatbelt strangulation at 2:21, the epic teenage sweet revenge nod at 3:08, and the split second orgasm at 3:23.

YUKON BLONDE

Origin: Kelowna, BC
Category: EMERGING ANTLERS
Cherchez La Moose: Yukon Blonde are having quite the year. They received some great reviews and even a longlist Polaris nomination for their debut album, which they have been touring North America non-stop to promote. Their harmonies bring Fleet Foxes to mind, but these guys throw more of a classic rock feel into the mix. There is an official video for Wind Blows, but it's really boring and it doesn't add anything to the song, so here is a fan video instead.

SIANspheric

Origin: Hamilton, ON
Category: LOST IN THE WILDERNESS
Cherchez La Moose: I used to hate this song and video when I was younger. Imagine watching it on MuchMusic in broad daylight, in the middle of the afternoon, when you're 13 years old. I rediscovered it two years ago and wanted to have another laugh at it, but not a single chuckle was made. I became obsessed with it, watching it every morning before work in November of 2008. I would eat a bowl of oatmeal, sit in my cold, dimly lit apartment, and feel the warmth of a thousand suns every time the song switched from minor to major at 1:45. SIANspheric still have a MySpace page, and they have some other great songs uploaded to YouTube if you're interested.

DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979 - 'Romantic Rights'

Origin: Toronto, ON
Category: NORTHERN ELIXIR
Cherchez La Moose: Death From Above 1979 didn't last long, but they still managed to make a huge impact. Romantic Rights was total sex when it came out in 2004, especially for 80's kids who were starving for a fresh spin on alternative rock. It's too bad these guys hated each other, because they were well on their way to world domination after releasing the now-classic You're A Woman, I'm A Machine LP. Maybe it was strategy - break up when you're at the top, and make your fans worship your one album even more. As much as I wish that I could have seen them live, I'm not going to hold out for a reunion any time soon...(or ever). 

BIF NAKED - 'Lucky'

Origin: Winnipeg, MB
Category: VOLCANO TOSS
Cherchez La Moose: Bif Naked has written some great songs over the years. Lucky is not one of them. What's fascinating here is that the song and video both start out promisingly, but get progressively worse at the exact same moments. All is well up until the second verse, where she throws in the cringeworthy 'roses' and 'poses' rhyme. Meanwhile, the camera focuses in on a picture of her and her lover....at a Western saloon? Why is he in the picture? Where are the roses? All of a sudden, really fake-looking birds emerge and Bif does some hammy acting. Later in the song, when she is screeching "tiiiiiiime to let youuuu know" out of tune, her string orchestra reappears looking like drugged out hookers who got their dresses thrown into a paper shredder. The song finally hits its emotional climax at the end, and hearing Bif shout DEEEAARR! DDEEEARRR! is enough to make me want to toss myself into a volcano.   

STACEY TOOKEY

Origin: Edmonton, AB
Cherchez La Moose: So You Think You Can Dance Canada features dancers with as much talent and X factor as any other version in the world. What I find to be lacking in the Canadian series is innovative and memorable choreography. Stacey Tookey is on a mission to change that. She choreographed several of the best routines in Season 1, was scouted for the US version, and is becoming a fan favourite down in the States as well. The routine that I uploaded is from Season 2 of our series, which features the talented Kim Gingras and Emanuel Sandhu from Montreal and Vancouver, respectively. The routine is art in motion - everything from the costumes, dancing, lighting, and music are all perfectly matched and cohesive. The moments where Gingras and Sandhu freeze and a sepia tone lights the stage (meant to represent a dated photograph, I'm assuming) are more profound than anything I've seen to date on our series.

A Message

I have decided that today is a day of new beginnings. Moose Tracks will still focus predominantly on music, but it will also branch out every so often and feature classic television shows, films, and artists who are pushing the boundaries for Canadian art and entertainment. Good day, and thanks for reading.

-Moose X

AZEDA BOOTH

Origin: Calgary, AB
Category: EMERGING ANTLERS
Cherchez La Moose: Back in 2008, glitch pop mavericks Azeda Booth stirred up quite a bit of interest when they released In Flesh Tones, their debut full-length. Even influential tastemaker Pitchfork gave them a well-deserved 7.9 rating. They have been keeping a very low profile as of late, and judging from their Myspace profile, it appears that they have lost a member and are now a duo. Squall is from last year's Tubtrek EP, and it is a good introduction to what the band has to offer. Mark my words, these guys are something special - download their EP for free at azedabooth.net.