Paisley parks it
Local crooner Doug Paisley has announced plans for a new album. Strong Feelings will be released on Jan. 21 via No Quarter Records/Warner Music Canada. The legendary Garth Hudson (The Band) returns to play keys on the new album. Other guests include Bahamas, Colin Stetson, vocalist Mary Margaret O'Hara, and others. According to press information, fans can expect Strong Feelings to "feature broader instrumentation than his previous work, but the fuller arrangements do not overshadow the depth of the songwriting."
The boys in Blue
Toronto musicians Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo are amongst the 90 new appointments to the Order of Canada alongside author Douglas Coupland and filmmaker Sarah Polley. The induction ceremony will be scheduled for later this year. In other news, the boys kicked off a new tour last week in support of their just-released album In Our Nature.
Chrome dome
Canadian electrofunksters Chromeo have announced an impending new album set to drop this spring, courtesy of the fine folks at Last Gang Records. Their new album, dubbed White Woman, is described as refining "their signature '70s and '80s-influenced quirky pop songs, masterfully crafted in the tradition of the finest R&B, disco, and funk." The band makes a stop at the Danforth Music Hall on May 2.
Alvvays on my mind
Local band Alvvays have amassed a sizeable following thanks (at least in part) to stunning vocalist Molly Rankin, of East Coast Rankin Family fame. The band is getting set for a short tour that they're calling the "weird lap of lake ontario tour 2014" with stops in Philadelphia, Cambridge, Montreal, Chicago, and a hometown Toronto date of Jan. 17 at The Garrison. The band is working with Chad VanGaalen on their debut album.
The South shall rise
Last month, I tucked into the beautiful basement of the Dakota Tavern for a special show to preview the new album South from wizened roots band Blackie and the Rodeo Kings. It didn't take long for the talented trio of Stephen Fearing, Colin Linden and Tom Wilson, supported by a drummer and stand-up bass, to win over the crowd — two, maybe three chords, tops. The album is a fine piece of work, and because all three members write songs, and have distinct personalities and talents, it is the type of project that allows listeners to discover new favourites and hidden layers with repeated spins. These guys are seriously skilled and polished in the rock 'n' roll game. I highly recommend picking up this record when it is released on Jan. 14, and checking the boys out when they play in Mississauga on Jan. 31.
HIdden in plain sight
A new album from Toronto's The Hidden Cameras will hit record stores Jan. 21. Age is said to chronicle band founder Joel Gibb's adolescence, and he describes it as his most personal album to date. The Hidden Cameras play The Great Hall on Jan. 10 as part of Long Winter Arcade, as well as Lee's Palace on Feb. 15. Check out our feature on Gibb in the current edition of Post City Magazines. One tidbit that we didn't mention? Gibb told us the first album he remembers buying as a kid was Madonna's Lucky Star, which he picked up at Sam the Record Man in Meadowvale Town Centre as well as Corey Hart's First Offense on cassette.
