I have to say I am terribly embarrassed about the dearth of soundunheard posts over the last many months. Not to delve too much into the nitty gritty… but it has been somewhat of a transitional period for me and some of the other writers. In the mean time I have seen a lot of this country, and very little internet. I have settled, am returning to my regular listening habits and plan to get the site going again, this time from the other side of the country.

In the mean time, here is a review I wrote for another great – more up-to-date and widely read – site, of Toronto-based electro-indie-rock duo Woodhands.

Woodhands – Dissembler

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Woodhands – Coolchazine

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Woodhands – I should have gone with my friends

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The problem with playing guitar behind a pretty girl (especially when that pretty girl is wily temptress Zooey Deschanel) is sometimes people forget you’re there. But when it comes to getting noticed, instead of cutting some man-bangs and competing for hearts, you should just craft a jaunty and complex (that’s right) folk album that softly sways votes your way. From For Beginners, the first track on M. Ward’s Hold Time, his classic style and layered lyrics capture your attention and don’t let go. This album sounds extremely American, in the best of ways. Think long stretches of highway, milk in glass bottles, soft plaid shirt cuffs. The songs range from up-tempo, jangly road songs to contemplative folk ballads, and as a whole, does an extremely excellent job of suspending time for fourteen tracks so you can sip on whiskey and do some wistful window gazing. Guests include Zooey herself (swoon), Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle, and Lucinda Williams.

M. Ward – For Beginners

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It’s takes no great leap in logic to say that the longer an established artist waits to release an album, the more the anticipation from the fan base grows. Pressure is on to achieve a delicate balance between what made you successful while still growing as an artist, remaining relevant to the fickle masses. Do you shed your Oops I did it again image to become a Womanizer, or can you have it both ways, being not a girl and not yet a woman?

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs got it wrong…. on their sophomore album. Show Your Bones was squeaky-clean when we wanted at least some of the fuck-me, balls out raw tracks of Fever to Tell. The range between Rich and Maps showed a depth that was sorely missing on the following album. Granted, there were some perfect pop songs (Cheated Hearts, Gold Lion), but the whole album generally left a feeling of “huh?” lumped at the bottom of your throat.

For this reason, I approached It’s Blitz! with some apprehension, keeping my still tender feelings well guarded after the prior disappointment. That Karen O’s lyrics were going to be nonsensical and disjointed with the occasional mind-blowing line, was a given. Suspicions were confirmed with the opening line of Zero – what exactly is a “latitude sun” and does it shake? Maybe its just Karen being madman on the run again.

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Illinoize: a remixtape imagining a hip hop world where Sufjan Stevens is the sought-out producer. Where he has the magic formula to let Brother Ali talk his shit funkier and make the dress look nice on Gift of Gab. Yet Montreal-based producer Tor is the true Socrates behind Illinoize, marrying Sufjan with the kings of hip hop to create a rich and surprisingly natural mix, and available for free download at Illinoize, we’re all richer for it.

1. Star of Wonder/None Shall Pass (ft. Aesop Rock)
2. Dumb I Sound/ATLiens (ft. Outkast)
3. John Wayne Gacy Jr./Specialize (ft. Pete Rock & C L Smooth)
4. The Tallest Man/I Like It (ft. Grand Puba)
5. Kill/Any Type of Way (ft. Big Daddy Kane & DJ Premier) 
6. Night Zombies/Talking My Shit (ft. Brother Ali)
7. The Dress Looks Nice On You/Make You Feel That Way (ft. Gift of Gab)

As some of you already know, everyone’s favourite Canadian combination of dance beats and heartbreak, Metric, are back at it again with a new album, Fantasies, due out on April 7th from Last Gang Records. It will be almost four years since the release of their third album, Live It Out, which was not a complete disappointment but was perhaps more exciting as remix fodder for MSTRKRFT than as an actual album, especially when compared to Old World Underground which managed to do in six songs what the former could not do in nearly double that, actually get me dancing.

UPDATE: Right after posting this I noticed this over at Sterogum. So through the magic of the internets, we can also stream the whole album, right here! (MP3, and streaming version of the album after the jump)

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