The Imaginary Cities of Manitoba

No, this post's title is not a stab at the size of Brandon or Winnipeg, the two largest (but perhaps too small to be accurately called) cities in Canada's lake-ridden prairie province, Manitoba. But what the "Heart of the Continent" lacks in population it more than makes up for in flora, fauna, tall-grass and a "suspiciously good" musical act, Imaginary Cities. 

The group formed after a fortuitous encounter between founding members Rusty Matyas and Marti Sarbit. The relationship quickly blossomed into local gigging, a critically praised debut album and an international tour opening for The Pixies, all within a fantastically short period of time. In under two years, Imaginary Cities has risen to Canada's national stage and put out an album that caused a CBC host to declare "I F#%*ing love this band." This is a band that I fully expect to see great things and big moves from in the next year or two. But enough prophecy and praise from me, you simply need to hear their album Temporary Resident and see for yourself. 

For more on Imaginary Cities check out http://www.myspace.com/imaginarycitiesmusic 

The Bad Lamps and the Music of Summer!

While it may seem a bit cliché, as the days heat up I always find myself searching for the perfect summertime tunes to listen to while driving with the windows down, sunglasses on, and the wind in my hair. And this summer I’m definitely adding The Bad Lamps to my playlist. 

The Bad Lamps are a Los Angeles based duo consisting of Patrick Martinez on guitars and vocals and George Russell on the drum machine and synth. They have self-tagged their music as dance, electronic, folk, hippie pop, and Los Angeles — all very appropriate descriptions of their style. 

The Bad Lamps throw a healthy mix of organic instrumentation, electronic beats, and catchy lyrics into their music to create a sound as warm and sunny as the city they take their inspiration from. The Bad Lamps latest release, Soultronic EP, is now available on Bandcamp, and has a maturity and consistency to it usually reserved for albums. Their patent sound of dry electric guitar signal (coming in hot enough for a little digital distortion) juxtaposed with ambient synths and a crisp beat, are the perfect foundation for their raw, present and unaffected vocals. 

Listening to The Bad Lamps my body can’t help but move to the beat, while my mind is stirred by the lyrics, which capture the tenor of a generation struggling to find its way in a time and place of obscured definition. This combination inspires a carefree attitude in myself that makes me want to blow off work and enjoy the summer heat to the fullest. And on that note, I’m getting out of here, and I encourage you to download Soultronic EP and do the same! 

Tiger Love: located on the corner of indie and indie.

Tiger Love is putting the independent back into indie! They have all the markings of a contemporary "indie band"; the unkempt look, the marriage of organic instrumentation and raw playing, with precise electronic sequences and synthesizers, the humorous lyrics and hilarious videos... But unlike most bands from the "indie genre"- who look as good, sound as polished and have as large of a following- Tiger Love breaks the mold by actually being independent! Of course that may not be the case by the time you read this; they are widely marketable, and (from what we gather) are on the hunt for a label. And as much as we at indieAndie hate to hear that, we can't blame them. They have "the goods" and they have acquired a good amount of success on their own. And if they feel a label will help them reach the next rung in their career, we wish them the best of luck. After all, good musicians who work at music professionally deserve to make a decent living (we just wish it didn't take a label to do that, or that labels didn't suck the creativity and money out of their musicians). But all titles/labels/speculation aside, Tiger Love is simply a good band that makes you want to get up and dance, and for the time being we're happy they are a part of the independent music world! 

Tiger Love has less information online about themselves than any band we have ever come across. Their entire bio reads, "New band and an upcoming pop sensation 'Tiger Love', formed in 2010 by brothers Roy and Gigi, and underage drummer Loral." Instead of unnecessary commentary (which is our department) they let their music and their videos do the talking for them- so take a listen! 

Under Control by Tiger Love

indieAndie is thrilled to share an independent band with so much commercial potential! Whatever the future holds for this bunch, we wish them all the success and creative control the music industry has to offer. 

Pussy Cocaine by Tiger Love