Montreal

grrrl with a farkin piercing voice makes up for a poppier sound than I prefer in my punk rock, so it's not complete crap - takes punk in new directions which I like very much - who said "punks dead?" - stream the entire Anthologie Des 3 Perchoirs Album here

3 peoples: one ukelele, one guitar, and more than one drum come together from other places and make some bang up indie pop with extremely cool experimental vocal harmonies and driving rhythms. If you haven't heard these cats yet you will... or if you won't you should... or just listen already! Aren't you tired of reading my ramblings?

Unique wailing vocals that remind me of Native American chants. Anthem rock with elaborate arrangements featuring huge arrays of musicians. Their debut album funeral was arguably the best indie release of 2004.

A synth guitar duo + drum machine constructing picturesque and dynamic sound scapes in the vein of a Thoreau Ziggy Stardust. Listen to their debut Plague Park in entirety here: one of the best albums of 2007.

Yet another wonderful band of Canucks. Beautifully layered indie rock delivered to us as if a live performance thanks to the good folks at daytrotter. Indeed, the bottoms of my pant legs are burning.