VIDEO: "Moonlight" by Message to Bears

I fell in love with this track last December, shortly after Jerome Alexander as Message to Bears released his third album, Maps. "Moonlight" is the first music video from the record, shot by Beanpole Productions's Benjamin Dowie and starring Sophie Milera.

If the baroque acoustic guitar and handclaps aren't captivating enough on their own, the costuming, Dowie's cinematography, Milera's beauty, the lighting, the landscapes... everything here really nails it in.

I'm in love again.

Introducing Clockwork Noise, wizards of ill

In addition to his aptitude for taking group selfies, Clockwork Noise vocalist Robert Maguire is the grandmaster of "hi okay bye". (On their site, the band has mentions in Missouri, Calgary, Montreal, and California; impressive for a group with just north of 500 likes on Facebook.) Not so fast, boy. Toronto wants a word with you.

With an excellent play on words, the Irish five-piece released their debut, Whethermachines, a surging, nine-track storm of angst and independence this past May. The band zeroes in on its juxtapositions: grungy vocals, frantic drum fills, and punk guitars on Whethermachines redeemed by intricate string arrangements and percussion. It's most obvious in the album's finale, "The Tourists", where a voice-isolating accompaniment is suddenly interrupted by a blasting riff. Here's a video for the second single, shot entirely with a GoPro camera.



"Wizard of Ill", the black sheep middle child of the album begins the second half of Whethermachines with a classic church-organ synth progression and enters into a sweet melody nobody saw coming after the first four songs on the album. The sixth track is another showstopper, with power riffs and moody vocals; "inaction is our addiction; responsibility lies somewhere else," Maguire sings matter-of-factly on "Windows". The final three tracks create a calm, folk-oriented bubble in the midst of a rock album, a noticeable departure from spastic earlier tracks like "Advocate", which possesses its own charm.

All in all, Whethermachines is a pretty darn cool and versatile debut. It's raw in that "our producer's no Steve Lilywhite" way, but there are moments throughout the album that blend so naturally, like on "A Wake Up Serenade", they'd probably sound incredible with that sort of production. (Ivan Jackman, you've done wonderfully yourself, but um, Lillywhite does Phillips commercials.) Download Whethermachines off their bandcamp below, free of charge.


The band thinks they're like "Nine Inch Nails playing Buddy Holly songs, with a string section". Egoeccentric, much? They're pretty "ill", I guess. (So. Many. Puns.) Is there such thing as "baroque punk"? Like, what if we hybridized Fleet Foxes and Middle Class Rut? Eureka, it's Clockwork Noise!

MUSIC: new flesh, Old Bones, and tears on our bodies

I'm not one for true love and marriage, but I've been sitting on this cache for a while now. The treasure? The Medicine Hat, who describe themselves as "the sound of falling in love". But unlike the elusive sound of one hand clapping, Old Bones's magic is audible and made real by folk-induced guitar and a beautiful vocal meld between Nabi and Tyler Berche.

The musical couple wed and debuted their musical baby, this album, in June of this year. Old Bones is meant to chronicle the early stages of their relationship, but its nine tracks remain wild and wanting -- but domestic.

"I think we could be a good thing", Nabi insists on the title track. "I think we could work out," she sings, alternating between airy pleas and deeper certainties. All the while, keyboardist Aaron Hoffman and drummer Michael Boyd keep an upbeat, driving accompaniment. The addition of accordion on songs like "Going", a departure song, provide a baroque element, while the use of familiar thematics on songs like "All These Eyes", an acutely self-aware outro, evoke child's play, twirling marionettes on a stage.

Twinkly synth and a river music element are spot on in "Spits Out the Light". By that "river music element", I'm speaking of a repeating, straight, natural V-I chord resolution, dear to most baroque pop and happy campers. I'm particularly drawn by "Bodies", whose syncopated piano ostinato and bass hook magically align with each chorus when it comes around, but seem to do their own thing elsewhere.

"Our bodies are only save souls, skin and skeletons... such a gentle touch... [tears] there they fall from your eyes to the dreams that cover your body... I watched you when you cry... I don't mock the pain you feel; my tears are on their way... well my drumbeat continues to play... all I wanna know is the truth."

I've been sitting on this album for a couple of weeks and it's time you all take a listen. Five of nine tracks can be downloaded via The Medicine Hat's label, Sonic Bids, but show your support by purchasing the rest of the album or attend a show: the Toronto Area natives will be playing at Rancho Relaxo this Thursday, November 14th. Don't forget to RSVP on Facebook!