Caribou: European Summer Festivals and More

It's been a while since we've heard a new release since Caribou's acclaimed 2007 release, Andorra, which also resulted in Caribou winning the 2008 Polaris Music Prize. (Although Snaith used some of the prize money to help with a new record, a large part was also donated to two important charities: Ecojustice and the Stephen Lewis Foundation.)

But Dan Snaith (a.k.a. Caribou, and Manitoba before being threatened with a lawsuit from the Dictators' Handsome Dick Manitoba) will have a busy summer, hitting several festivals in Europe and ending up in North America for some great shows as the Caribou Vibration Ensemble.

The Flaming Lips (in spite of erstwhile feud with Arcade Fire) have invited Caribou (as the Caribou Vibration Ensemble) to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties Festival in Montecillo, NY, on September 13th. The Ensemble features electronica luminaries such as 'Kieran Hebden (Four Tet, Fridge, Kieran Hebden & Steve Reid), Koushik (Stones Throw Records), John Schmersal (Enon, Brainiac), Kathryn Bint (One Little Plane), Ahmed Gallab (Sinkane), a four piece horn section, choir, four drummers, etc.'

Sounds like a great line up. If you can make the All Tomorrow's Parties show in New York, you'll be treated to a special appearance from Marshall Allen, Sun Ra Arkestra leader and Arkestra member for over 50 years. But don't fret if you can't get south for that gig: the Ensemble also performs at the Opera House in Toronto on Sept 10th.

Album Review: Patrick Watson's Wooden Arms is Nothing Short of Incredible

Winner of the Polaris Prize in 2007 for Close to Paradise, Patrick Watson's new album on Secret City Records, Wooden Arms, will truly leave you spellbound, especially if you're a fan of progressive/experimental (and even classical) music that utilises the whole gamut of the musical spectrum for pure sonic ear candy. Any instrument you can think of, it's probably on here, with just about every style, save perhaps Latin American. Though originally from CA, like me, he lives in Montreal and this album could be easily classified under the new weird America tag that you might've seen on last.fm.

With a tenor-like/falsetto voice similar to M. Ward, Devendra Banhart, Iron and Wine, Nick Drake, and Bon Iver, Patrick Watson serenades with you sweet nothings and lullabies, but these songs are anything but simple, rather they are meticulously layered and composed with complex arrangements like Animal Collective, Yeasayer, and The Microphones, leaving you with unlimited opportunites to explore this album's exciting depths like an undiscovered gold mine. Every song on this incredible album will take you far on a journey somewhere that you never knew you could go to or even wanted to. Whether it is the stunning barrage of Kodo drums thundering in your ears on "Beijing" taking you to fog drenched hidden mountains in the farthest depths of Asia, the Cabaret-like Tom Waitsian numbers, the beautiful classical arrangment of "Hommage", the exquisite alt-country/folk harmonies of "Big Bird in a Small Cage" against a backdrop of quiet guitar fingerpicking and banjo, or the utterly exciting track, "Where the Wild Things Are," this is easily my favorite album of the year, one I will play constantly on The New Spin.

Having also released last year's Polaris Prize-nominated Plants and Animals to well-deserved critical acclaim, Secret City Records are clearly a label that wants, deserves, your attention, and Patrick Watson's Wooden Arms is their latest secret weapon, one that will shoot you straight in the heart and leave you begging for more.

--Dashiell Brown, host of The New Spin, "the best music you've never heard."