Toronto-based new-wave rock band THE FRAMEWORK’s highly anticipated sophomore album ‘Before Tonight’ will be released August 4th.

THE FRAMEWORK formed in late 2006. At barely 3 months old, the band garnered national attention as a result of winning runner-up in the Toronto Mix 99.9’s 2007 RadioStar Songwriting Contest, for the song, “She Thinks I’m Famous”. The combination of buzz from the contest and the band’s catchy synth-rock epics instantly set The Framework up with an extensive online international fan base and sparked the interest of media outlets such as Metro and InsideE Magazine who describes the band’s new record ‘Before Tonight’ as “A confidently cool synth-rock assault that strikes a nonchalant medium between happy pop and stadium rock”. International attention has ensued with the band scoring invites to perform at the coveted Midpoint Music Festival in Cincinnati, packed shows in New York City at the Canal Room and the North by North East music Festival in Toronto (being named one of 5 top acts at NXNE 2007).

The Framework – Upcoming Dates ::
June 13th School of Rock – Molson Amphitheatre – Toronto, ON
June 19th The Rivoli – Toronto, ON
June 25th London Music Club – London, ON
June 26th Seventy Three – St. Catherines, ON

Some exciting news for fans and friends of Spiral Beach: They are releasing a disc of brand new recordings (unofficially) entitled Bonus! EP. And the even-better news? They’re holding a contest for anyone who’d like to create the artwork for this brand new bonus material disc!

The disc will be only be available in stores attached to copies of their newest album BALL, but the artwork you create will appear online as a downloadable CD sleeve and they’re offering to send the winner some physical copies as well as a few T-shirts with their design printed on them.

To submit artwork – it can be a collage, drawing, painting, photograph, computer-generated image – or whatever you choose – just upload a JPEG to their Flickr group. Click here to access it. If you don’t have a Flickr account, it’s free to join. Don’t want to join? You can also send the images to Spiral Beach’s Facebook, Myspace or email account.

And, if you’re in the Ottawa area for the Ottawa Folk Festival, be sure to hit up the festival on August 16/17 to see Spiral Beach live!

Upcoming shows:
August 16 – 17 Ottawa Folk Festival, Ottawa, ON

Related Posts:
NXNE Saturday Night Impressions

Taking its name from a religious tract, The Burning Hell has been slithering around in the muck in one form or another since the dawn of the millennium. Fronted by the moderately agoraphobic songwriter and occasional history teacher Mathias Kom on electric ukulele, The Burning Hell currently features between one and twelve people, depending on the night.

The variable lineup promises a very different show every time: sometimes loud, sometimes quiet, sometimes rock, sometimes roll. Always folk, never anti. Quirky? Maybe. Cute? Never.

The latest Burning Hell album, ‘Happy Birthday’, celebrates the beauty of age, the joys of decay, the possibility of dating after death, and the inevitable repetition of mistakes. Combining happy little melodies and depressing Old World fatalism, the music of The Burning Hell is sure to make you smile and want to give up.

(and if you want a good laugh, check out these boys doing an impromptu cover of Outkast’s ‘Hey Ya’)

Upcoming shows:
31 Jul 2008 21:00 Ampersand Charlottetown, Prince Edward
2 Aug 2008 20:00 Sappyfest Sackville, New Brunswick
15 Aug 2008 21:00 Rancho Relaxo Toronto, Ontario
21 Aug 2008 20:00 The Montreal House Peterborough, Ontario
25 Aug 2008 21:00 Solo at Bread & Circus Toronto, Ontario
27 Aug 2008 21:00 The Apollo Thunder Bay, Ontario
28 Aug 2008 21:00 Times Change(d) Winnipeg, Manitoba
1 Sep 2008 21:00 The Club (at The Exchange) Regina, Saskatchewan
2 Sep 2008 21:00 Ottoman Lounge Medicine Hat, Alberta
3 Sep 2008 21:00 The Slice Lethbridge, Alberta
4 Sep 2008 20:00 Tubby Dog Calgary, Alberta
5 Sep 2008 21:00 Little Mountain Studio Vancouver, British Columbia
6 Sep 2008 21:00 Hermann’s Victoria, British Columbia
9 Sep 2008 21:00 Deux Soleils Vancouver, British Columbia
10 Sep 2008 19:00 Meow Records Prince George, British Columbia
11 Sep 2008 21:00 Likwid Lounge Edmonton, Alberta
12 Sep 2008 21:00 Amigos Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
14 Sep 2008 21:00 The Apollo Thunder Bay, Ontario
16 Sep 2008 21:00 Solo at The Spill with Al Tuck and Black Molly Peterborough, Ontario
18 Sep 2008 20:00 The Montreal House Peterborough, Ontario
10 Oct 2008 20:00 Aufsturz Berlin
13 Oct 2008 20:00 Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival Nancy
14 Oct 2008 21:00 Le Sirius Lyon
16 Oct 2008 20:00 Mistral Palace Valence
17 Oct 2008 20:00 De Nieuwe Anita Amsterdam
19 Oct 2008 15:00 DB’s Utrecht
28 Oct 2008 20:00 West Germany Berlin
31 Oct 2008 20:00 The Montreal House Halloween Party Peterborough, Ontario
1 Nov 2008 21:00 The Black Sheep Inn Wakefield, Quebec
11 Nov 2008 20:00 Gus’ Pub Halifax, Nova Scotia
12 Nov 2008 20:00 Struts Sackville, New Brunswick
13 Nov 2008 21:00 Baba’s Charlottetown, Prince Edward
15 Nov 2008 21:00 Grumpy’s Montreal, Quebec

Summertime is always a great chance to appreciate Canada’s cultural scene, especially with the many festivals happening all over the country. Thankfully, Exclaim magazine has put together a useful musical festival guide so you know about all the wonderful music taking place around you. You can sort festivals by month or by region, which is quite helpful!

Speaking of music festivals, make sure to check out all our coverage of this summer’s festivals via our festival category.

Click here to see Exclaim’s list of Canadian music festivals.