Moonstarr is back with a vengeance. After a long minute making beats for other peeps like Voice, LAL, Daedelus, DJ Kentaro, Zero DB and scoring music for film, our man heeded the calls and poured energies into his latest album, Instrumentals Forever. This is his second full-length release on Public Transit Recordings. Definitely a treat for all the heads, given the worldwide rounds and critical acclaim that followed his bossabreakbeat and synth-infused debut album Dupont earlier this century. Check it out!

Get your sneak peak available here exclusively for the next two weeks for $9.99 (USD).

Peep samples and pick up the album here.

Get more info about the album here.

Title: Leif Vollebekk
Location: Black Sheep Inn, Wakefield (Ottawa)
Link out: Click here
Date: 2008-11-27

Leif Vollebekk is from Montreal and his music is an acoustic guitar country meets Arcade Fire that reminds me of a never-ending road trip through rural Quebec. That doesn’t mean anything does it? In any case, his CD release party is going down at the Blacksheep Inn in Wakefield, just outside of Ottawa, on Thursday November 27. The Blacksheep is an awesome venue and he’ll be playing with OK Giraffe and Charlotte Cornfield.

One of my local favourites, Meredith Luce has got some new upcoming concert dates!

Check out the video above and when you absolutely love it (like I know you will), be sure to check out one of her upcoming shows!

14 Nov 2008 22:00 ** CD RELEASE *** IRENE’S ** Ottawa, Ontario
15 Nov 2008 20:00 Town Hall (opening for Rob Lutes) Almonte, Ontario
13 Dec 2008 20:00 The Branch Kempville, Ontario

Once in a lifetime comes a band so awesome… Darn, my Don LaFontaine voice just does not come through via text. I promise to try harder next time, good readers. But in all seriousness, the hottest Canadian band of the week goes to Nothing. Not no one… but Nothing.

The band Nothing is unpretentious in nature but its growing fan base and enthralling songs are making it a name to remember.

Drawn from Buddhist ideology and a line from Bob Dylan’s classic Like A Rolling Stone – “When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose” – the band’s mission is not just to entertain with pleasant sounds and melodies but also go beyond the ears and straight to the heart where the strongest currents flow.

Backed by a solid team of friends – Ben Larabie on drums, Paul Pettinella on bass, Christian Barrette on flute, and Luke Levandusky on vocals, keyboards & guitar, Nothing has a unique sound that builds each song into a big plush sofa that has fans crawling in and never wanting to leave.

These guys come very highly recommended by yours truly. And, as always, be sure to stay tuned to TransCanada Radio for the latest show listings for Ottawa’s Nothing and go ahead and get excited – soon I’ll have some video, audio, and more photos for you straight from Nothing.

Ghost Notes is the title of a stunning new record by acclaimed Canadian singer-songwriter Matthew Barber, his first since 2005’s Sweet Nothing. Produced by Barber and engineered by Ken Friesen, Ghost Notes departs from Barber’s most recent efforts in that it emphasizes the moodier, more stripped-down side of his songwriting. Recorded in six gray November days at the famed Bathouse studio near Kingston, Ontario, Ghost Notes is the culmination of almost two years of writing and demoing, and stands as Barber’s most mature record to date.

22 Oct 2008 21:00 The Carleton House Halifax, Nova Scotia
23 Oct 2008 21:00 The Capital Fredericton, New Brunswick
24 Oct 2008 21:00 UPEI Charlottetown, Prince Edward
27 Oct 2008 20:00 Zaphod Beeblebrox Ottawa, Ontario
28 Oct 2008 21:00 L’Escogriffe Montreal, Quebec
29 Oct 2008 21:00 The Montreal House Peterborough, Ontario
30 Oct 2008 21:00 The Montreal House Peterborough, Ontario
31 Oct 2008 21:00 The Merchant Ale House Kingston, Ontario
1 Nov 2008 21:00 Black Dog Bayfield, Ontario
4 Nov 2008 21:00 Club Vinyl Guelph, Ontario
5 Nov 2008 21:00 PepperJack’s Hamilton, Ontario
6 Nov 2008 21:00 The Phog Lounge Windsor, Ontario
7 Nov 2008 21:00 The Horseshoe Tavern Toronto, Ontario
8 Nov 2008 21:00 The Townhouse Sudbury, Ontario
12 Nov 2008 21:00 The Lo Pub Winnipeg, Manitoba
13 Nov 2008 21:00 The Exchange Regina, Saskatchewan
14 Nov 2008 21:00 The Gateway Calgary, Alberta
15 Nov 2008 21:00 The Pawn Shop Edmonton, Alberta
17 Nov 2008 21:00 Doc Willoughby’s Kelowna, British Columbia
18 Nov 2008 21:00 The Media Club Vancouver, British Columbia
22 Nov 2008 20:00 The Capital Theatre Moncton, New Brunswick

This is the brand new video from Calgary’s Chad VanGaalen for his song “Molten Light” off of his newly released album Soft Airplane which came out on September 9th on Sub Pop Records.

Upcoming concert dates:
1 Oct 2008 20:00 Attenne-A w/ Women Quebec City, Quebec
2 Oct 2008 20:00 Zaphod Beeblebrox w/Women Ottawa, Ontario
3 Oct 2008 19:00 Ukranian Federation w/Women and Julie Doiron Montreal, Quebec
4 Oct 2008 20:00 El Mocambo w/Women Toronto, Ontario
9 Oct 2008 20:00 Richards on Richards Vancouver, British Columbia
10 Oct 2008 20:00 Sugar Nightclub Victoria, British Columbia
11 Oct 2008 20:00 Doug Fir Lounge w/Giant Sand Portland, Oregon
12 Oct 2008 20:00 Triple Door w/Giant Sand Seattle, Washington
17 Oct 2008 20:00 McDougall United Church w/ Guests Edmonton, Alberta
25 Oct 2008 20:00 The Uptown Theatre w/ Guests Calgary, Alberta
20 Nov 2008 20:00 Vera w/ Women Groningen
21 Nov 2008 20:00 Crossing Borders Festival Den Haag
22 Nov 2008 20:00 Trix w/ Women Antwerp
24 Nov 2008 20:00 La Fleche D’Or w/ Women Paris
25 Nov 2008 20:00 The Borderline w/ Women London
27 Nov 2008 20:00 The Captain’s Rest w/ Women Glasgow
28 Nov 2008 20:00 Limelight w/ Women Belfast
29 Nov 2008 20:00 Rosin Dubh w/ Women Galway
30 Nov 2008 20:00 Crawdaddy w/ Women Dublin
2 Dec 2008 20:00 Night and Day Cafe w/ Women Manchester
3 Dec 2008 20:00 Pusterviksbaren Gothenborg
4 Dec 2008 20:00 Debaser Stockholm

Contrived is a 5 piece rock band with principal members from Wintersleep and Holy Fuck. Lending a hand at the mix is Dave Newfeld (Broken Social Scene, Super Furry Animals). Tight, pulsing rhythms and a tapestry of guitars lay the foundation for warm and welcoming vocal melodies.

Their new cd blank, blank, blank will be released October 28th, 2008.

3 Oct 2008 20:00 O Patro Vys Montreal, Quebec

A cheap K-mart guitar with its guts ripped out, a two-piece drum kit and a keyboard with a mind of its own would all be alone if they weren’t all thrown in the mess that PARLOVR got them in when they stumbled together in the wintry months of 2006. Reacting against the multi-instrumental, many-membered orchestral bands that crowded the local Montreal scene at the time, PARLOVR was started with the intention of blowing amps and streamlining pop melodies, bringing back the power-trio of the 90s with an off-the-wall twist.

PARLOVR’s upcoming self-titled debut LP (Independent, 2008) was produced and recorded by Martin Horn at Digital Bird Studios over the course of six weeks and brings into focus each of the three members’ unique personalities while not losing sight of their pell-mell live show. From the anthemic opener, “Pen to the Paper” to “Palace of Identical Things,” Jackson’s voice combines a sense of unabashed emotion and bold-faced cheekiness. Cooper bangs out responses with quivering anger and righteous yelping in songs like “Hiccup!” and “All the World is All that is the Case.” MacCuish holds up the mayhem on songs like “On the Phone” and gives the percussion a voice of its own on sparser numbers like “Speech Bubble/Thought Cloud.”

26 Sep 2008 21:00 Trepid House/GristMill Kitchener/Waterloo
27 Sep 2008 21:00 Ford Plant Brantford, Ontario
2 Oct 2008 21:30 Pop Montreal @ Zoobizarre Montréal, Quebec
22 Oct 2008 21:30 Halifax Pop Explosion @ Hell’s Kitchen Halifax, Nova Scotia
25 Oct 2008 21:00 Le Cercle Québec, Quebec

The Bible All-Stars are releasing a brand new album! Do you like psychobilly? Do you like FUN?! Be there, I say!

October 24 2008 CD release party No Barbers Required L’Escogriffe, Montreal

She’s back with more concert dates and a new album! Monsters is set to be released on October 16th at Ottawa’s NAC!

Be sure to get out and show your support for fiery red heads and accordion music at one of the following shows!

13 Sep 2008 21:00 London Music Club London, Ontario
14 Sep 2008 20:00 Gladstone Toronto, Ontario
25 Sep 2008 20:00 with Meredith Grant, Carden Street Café (CD release tour) Guelph, Ontario
4 Oct 2008 15:00 Hair of the Dog @ Black Dog Edmonton, Alberta
16 Oct 2008 20:00 release of ’Monsters’ @ NAC! Ottawa, Ontario
18 Oct 2008 20:00 w/Jordi Rosen & Raylene Campbell @ St-Ambroise Montreal, Quebec
21 Oct 2008 19:00 Bywords Fifth Annual John Newlove Award Reading 2008 Ottawa, Ontario