Yacht Club
A RETURN TO FLASHY POP Story by Laura Hermiston Editing by Olenka Szymonski Video by Jordan White Photo by Danielle Nemet Yacht Club is a band from Toronto featuring music veterans Ben Cook and Matt DeLong. It is a project that has a well thought out artistic vision that is heavily influenced from early 1980s...
Press Play x B-17
OUR LAST EDITION OF PRESS PLAY FEATURING ONE OF TORONTO’S MOST EXCITING BANDS RIGHT NOW Story by Laura Hermiston Video by Olenka Szymonski If you like bands such as Jesus Mary Chain, Suicide, or Spacemen 3, check out B 17 from Toronto psych/pop label Optical Sounds. Their debut record release party for Wishing Won’t Make It So is...
The List
FOURTEENTH EDITION Story by Jordan White Sky Ferreira “Sad Dream” At first she looks like a sweet delicate flower, who has been hurt by someone. Then she starts to sing and her voice is full of confidence and wisdom. The video is set in the desert, which is always pleasing to the eye. ...
Show Pick of the Week
TORONTO PSYCH POP COMPILATION CURATED BY SHOEGAZE PIONEER WILL CARRUTHERS Story by Laura Hermiston Psych Pop From Toronto is a look into Toronto’s under the radar indie-psych-shoegaze scene with a tracklist selected by Will Carruthers (Spacemen 3, Spiritualized, Brian Jonestown Massacre). This compilation is available for download and is 100% free. The release for Psych Pop From...
Press Play x The Holiday Crowd
TORONTO BAND GETTING BUZZ IN THE UK Story by Laura Hermiston Video by Olenka Szymonski Check out Plaid’s photoshoot with The Holiday Crowd earlier this year. The Holiday Crowd play The Comfort Zone Thursday Nov. 8 in support of Dignan Porch (Captured Tracks) from London, UK.
Banks
PAUL BANKS STILL SOUNDS LIKE THE GUY FROM INTERPOL; NOT NECESSARILY A GOOD THING. Story by Adam Steel Full disclosure: while listening to Paul Banks’ new album, I was (legally) burning leaves. As many Fall-enthusiasts and campground aficionados can attest to, even the most pedestrian of tasks can seem downright enchanting when one eye is...
Allah Lahs
TALKING ABOUT L.A. AND INSTAGRAM Story by Laura Hermiston Video by Olenka Szymonksi On Canadian Thanksgiving night, the Allah Lahs from L.A. played the Great Hall in Toronto. Their sound check ran late and evidently Ola and I bumped into the jacketless men on the red velvet stair case in a fluster. They asked us...
Le Kid & Les Marinellis
FRENCH GARAGE BAND IS MAKING ITS WAY TO TORONTO Story by Laura Hermiston Photo provided by Le Kid & Les Marinellis Plaid first told you about Le Kid & Les Marinellis when our staff did a wrap up of our Osheaga 2012 experience. We saw this band unexpectedly at a bar called L’Esco and we...
Press Play: Odonis Odonis
YOU NEED TO CHECK OUT OUR NEW FAVE BAND THIS FRIDAY Story by Laura Hermiston Video Production & Editing by Olenka Szymonksi Plaid Magazine’s Laura and Ola from Press Play teleported to the 90s (well we thought we did) to a cafe to talk to Dean Tzenos about his band, Odonis Odonis, and what to expect at...
Diamond Rings
OUR OLD COVERBOY IS COMING OUT WITH A NEW ALBUM Front Photo by Norman Wong A couple weeks ago, Plaid Magazine got the chance to check out Diamond Rings play a set at The Drake. As expected – it was full of poppy hooks and high glam energy. It is a mystery as to how...
The List
TWELFTH EDITION Story by Adam Steel Sky Ferreira “Everything is Embarrassing” “Maybe if you let me be your lover / Maybe if we tried than I would not bother” Simple words. Simple beats. It is the emotion that 20 year-old Ferreira thrusts into the fuzzy backing vocals that bolsters this superior love song from landing...
Press Play: Young Lions Music Club
WE’RE BACK WITH A SPECIAL EDITION Story by Laura Hermiston Video Production by Olenka Szymonksi Usually we interview bands with upcoming shows. However this week we interviewed the brain behind the shows. Young Lions Music Club is a music and culture agency in Toronto that prides itself in being young, creative, and “the right amount of...
Wild Nothing
WILD NOTHING MATURES WITH NEW ALBUM Story by Ashley Lewis Wild Nothing‘s second full-length album Nocturne, released today, embodies the definition of it’s title. In the music world, nocturne means: “A short composition of a romantic or dreamy character suggestive of night.” If the lyrics of the songs – which can we please pause for...
Cate Le Bon
NEW ALBUM CYRK II OUT NOW Story by Adam Steel Densely populated with only a handful of stark compositions, CYRK II—technically an EP, and fitting supplement (not sequel) to CYRK, released earlier this year—is a fine mixture of confessional musings and wistful folk-pop songs that billow their way from the smoky throat of Welsh-native Cate...
M83
OSHEAGA 2012 SHOW REVIEW Story by Laura Cappe The sun had set; the air was thick, but cool – a result of the constant showers that had cleared only minutes before. A crowd of wet and sticky fans began to form at the Green Stage, with mud stained legs and smiles as big as the...
Osheaga 2012
MONTREAL MUSIC FESTIVAL AT A GLANCE Story by Laura Hermiston I took off for Montreal before the break of dawn last Friday and had no idea I was about to have one of the best weekends/festival experiences to date. First off, I have to mention that on my first night in Montreal I saw a...
The Balconies
SHOW PICK OF THE WEEK Story by Ashley Lewis Photo by Courtney Lee Yip “Our band is a lot about the live performance, being a part of the energy.” When I called Liam Jaeger from The Balconies this week to chat about what the band’s been up to this summer I heard one word repeatedly...
The List
NINTH EDITION Story by Laura Cappe The Raveonettes “She Owns The Streets” “She Owns The Streets” is the first video off of The Raveonettes new album Observator. The video captures the energy of New York and the people that bring it alive – namely the infamous NYC street dancer Loan Tran (the focus of this...
Scion Sessions Top Picks
CAR COMPANY PUTS ON WEEK LONG FESTIVAL Story by Ashley Lewis Scion Sessions, the event dedicated to progressing Canadian music, takes place this coming week in Toronto, July 27 to August 4. Despite this being a big marketing blitz for a corporation, what festival isn’t a marketing blitz for a company? These are some must-see...
The List
EIGHTH EDITION Story by Adam Steel The xx “Angels” With a Mercury Music Prize under their belts, the pressure is on for London’s The xx to replicate that all-too familiar indie pop sound that was virtually inescapable in 2009. With the recent Facebook-debut of “Angels,” a stark and compelling composition with trademark minimalist vocals, the...
Alexi Murdoch
REFRESHING TAKE ON AN OVERLY DEFINED WORLD Story by Kate Davies It is an undeniable fact that the world is getting smaller every day. Through the Internet, a rise in the use of social media outlets, expanding immigration, and general globalization, our planet is quickly becoming one large community. However, as the world gets “physically”...
Elk
DAYDREAMS OUT TODAY The third album released by Toronto-Niagara band Elk, Daydreams, is more than appropriately titled. The minute you start listening to their first single, “Riverview,” your mind will start drifting. Imagine yourself in a crowd of people (probably somewhere outdoors) listening to Elk perform this song – the whole crowd is dancing. Elk...
The List
SEVENTH EDITION Story by Laura Hermiston Kontravoid “Cut to Cleanse” Kontravoid is the solo project of Cam FIndlay- writer/producer of Parallels, as well as the tour drummer for Crystal Castles, and now currently the tour drummer for Trust. Findlay has left the kit behind and entered into the spotlight as a solo artist. His self-titled...
Bravestation
DEBUT ALBUM REVIEW Story by Laura Cappe Giants and Dreamers – the first full-length release from Toronto boys Bravestation (dropped today) is the perfect summer soundtrack. The mix of ambient rhythms, tropical beats, New Wave styled guitar rifts, and vibrant harmonies is like a sonic long island iced tea – an enjoyable combination of musical ingredients...
Press Play: Dusted
TOTAL DUST RELEASE PARTY PREVIEW Story by Laura Hermiston Video production by Olenka Szymonski Photo courtesy of Julia Schill Dusted is made up of two of Toronto’s most prolific musicians, Leon Taheny and Brian Borcherdt. I’m going to go out on a limb and say they will be the next big band to hit Canadian...
The List
Sixth Edition Story by Kate Davies Oppossom “Fly” Best known as a member of the Unknown Mortal Orchestra, New Zealand’s Opossom is due to release a new album in August. First single “Fly” is a 60s-inspired ditty, which features a male-female harmony throughout. The music video is stylized much in tune with the song itself,...
Canadian National Canthem
VIDEO PICK OF THE WEEK IN HONOUR OF CANADA Story by Kate Davies “I’m not a lumberjack, or a fur trader. I don’t live in an igloo, eat blubber, or own a dogsled,
and I don’t know Jimmy, Sally, or Susie from Canada, although I’m certain they’re really really nice.” Surely we all remember those infamous...
