What: Pop Punk
Where: Toronto, ON
CM Issue: May – June 2013
Visit: www.thegentlementhieves.com

When I was growing up outside of Toronto, I used to venture into the city to check out Fat Wreck Chords and Epitaph bands playing some
of the city’s storied music venues. As a suburban kid trying to expand my taste in music, I was often just as impressed with the opening acts,
which were often new to me, than I was with the headliners. My early live music memories are filled with summer nights where I’d pop a new
CD from a new band into the car on the drive home, listening to it with the smells and sounds of a young summer night passing through the
open windows.

The Gentlemen Thieves represent the kind of band I remember from those nights. These guys play a poppier NOFX style of melodic punk that’s unrefined but full of potential. Their Crafting Lies EP brought them across Canada on one tour so far and they will be playing dates across eastern Canada by the time this column goes to print (and after they finish recording a new album), just in time to create memories similar
to mine for a new generation of music fans.

What: Hip-Hop/Rap
Where: Edmonton, AB
CM Issue: March – April 2013
Visit: www.thisisrellik.com

Edmonton’s Rellik is a genre-bending hip-hop group fronted by group namesake Billy “Rellik” Leblanc alongside R&B vocalist Andrew Decorby and DJ Sean Joyner. The eclectic project is sometimes joined live onstage by four-piece backing band 3 Days Per Diem.

Mixing live instruments with classic hip-hop turntablism, crew vocals, and inclusive lyrics, Rellik summons the best parts of ‘90s revivalists Jurassic 5 or Talib Kweli, and has performed alongside the latter. The group’s lyrics also highlight the adversity experienced by Leblanc while growing up native in low income housing and going through a custody battle for his two sons; however, Rellik attempts to be inclusive in his music, saying, “While still in touch with our aboriginal roots, I feel the need to write material that all hip-hop listeners can relate to, regardless of their ethnic background or experiences.”

Rellik released their first album, Mighty Mouth, in 2011 as well as a remix of the album in early 2013 with contributing producers from across Canada. Despite having just one album under their collective belt, Rellik has played hundreds of shows in the Edmonton area and abroad. The upcoming release of Cut From a Different Cloth, the band’s sophomore LP due in late spring 2013, should ensure that the number of pins on the map continues to grow.

What: Avante-Garde Rock
Where: Calgary, AB
CM Issue: March – April 2013
Visit: www.jungpeople.bandcamp.com 

Calgary’s Jung People (that’s “Young People” for those not in the know) are an instrumental rock group that formed just over two years ago. Featuring just two members (Bryan “Octobuss” Buss on synth, lap steel, effects, and eight-string guitar and Giordano W. Bassi on drums, keys, samples, and more), the band crafts deeply textured walls of noise that blur the lines between progressive/indie/post-rock and even metal, folk, jazz, and punk.

However, it’s not all pedal mashing and knob turning, as both Bassi and Octobuss attended Musicians Institute in Hollywood, CA. They released their debut EP, Tenterhooks, in December 2011. They dedicated that album to all domestic animals hurt by or lost to “the human path” and have dedicated all future album proceeds to humanitarian causes. But that’s not to say they’re not fun to listen to! While they might be easier to get into for fans of acts such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, King Crimson, or Explosions in the Sky, they feature some of the musical elements that make such popular acts as Radiohead and Mogwai so beloved.

What: Pop/Singer-Songwriter
Where: Vancouver, BC
CM Issue: March – April 2013
Visit: www.alexandriamaillot.com

Alexandria Maillot may only be 20 years old, but this Vancouver-based indie pop artist has a stunning voice, a resume that would make many a seasoned performer envious, and the potential every young musician strives for.

By the time Maillot was 16 she had been featured on MTV, had played Canada’s largest Canada Day celebration, had her music pumped through to 500,000 ears on American Airlines flights, played throughout Six Flags parks in the United States, and appeared on Oprah’s website. Not bad!

While Maillot’s songs have the charm we’d expect of a Canadian indie-pop project, she has also demonstrated an international demand for her music. She’s performed in Egypt and Romania, winning numerous competitions, caught the attention of impresario David Foster, and earned a spot onstage with famed singer Jann Arden during a televised concert in Toronto. She also inked a songwriting deal with Universal Music Group in Europe and has contributed songs to gold-certified recording artists.

For a taste of the artist in her element, check out 2012’s Just Another Girl and hear why she’s been dubbed “Canada’s answer to Adele.”

What: Hip-Hop/Pop
Where: Burnaby, BC
CM Issue: January – February 2013
Visit: www.daydreamermusic.com
Vancouver’s Daydreamer is an eclectic and lyrically-focused hip-hop project from the Russian-born artist whose mother calls him Boriz. His latest album, P3, is a six-song EP that’s as substantive as it is catchy. The album’s pretty heavy on the crossover (both electronic and rock) but hip-hop fans who aren’t scared by a little bit of musical exploration should have a fine time with it.

Daydreamer exercises a wide range of flow on the album, which can serve as more of an interruption than anything else on such a short collection of songs. That said, they all stand out on their own, making them perfect fodder for a mixtape – or, as the technologically savvy like to say, a playlist.