The Medicine Hat - St. Cecilia

I remember my hometown
And this new one's a let down
When I think of how I used to be
I used to be kind
I used to be kind
Oh St. Cecelia I know you're singing the best song
But these melodies, ecstasies, can only keep it going for so long

Another great Canadian band to close out the week. This time it's experimental pop quartet The Medicine Hat, out of Ontario. Looks like they play all kinds of fun local gigs but aren't quite on the Bands In Town radar yet. Their two debut singles are right up my alley. Hat tip (pun intended) to Spotify for bringing them to my attention. Here's hoping they'll release more music soon. 

RIYL: Flor, Grouplove, Islands, Hannah Georgas

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Monogrenade - Ce soir

Ce soir j'te fait danser
J'te jure j'te fait danser
J'tai pas oublié
C'est juste que ça me hante
Que tu me vois étrange
Qu'un jour on se réveille

I've been wanting to share this wonderful song from Montreal's Monogranade for awhile now. They do have an English version of the song, "We Will Be Free" but even though I can't understand a lick of it, I like the original French. Most of their other music has a similar atmospheric and sophisticated feel that's really chill.

The stop-motion video for "Ce soir" is also excellent. Check it out:

RIYL: Editors, Starsailor, Bon Iver, Phosphorescent

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Phoenix - J-Boy

Something in the middle of the side of the store
Got your attention when you ask for more
I was excited to be part of your world
To belong, to be lost, to be mostly the two of us
Something I was stealing for no reason at all
They hang me higher than a disco ball
But you talked them into letting me go
It's no Picasso, Michelangelo

New music from Phoenix!!! It's been four long years. Was super excited to see this single drop a few days ago, but it got my hopes up that they'd appear on the ACL lineup released this morning. Womp. Tons of other Most Important artists, though, so still plenty of reason to attend. 

RIYL: Vampire Weekend, Two Door Cinema Club, Miike Snow, Passion Pit

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Satellite Stories - Campfire

It’s 7 AM
And the letters I send
Won’t follow you home
It’s too late to go

Waited all summer to get to you
Campfire outside, we fell and kissed
There were only a few words said to you
Sunshade, this lake, one to cherish
Waited all summer to get to you
Campfire outside, we fell and kissed
There were only a few words said to you
Sun, shade, this lake, one to cherish
There were only a few words said to you
Sunshade, this lake, one to cherish

Another wanted-to-see-but-missed band at SXSW this year was Satellite Stories. They are huge in their native Finland, and getting more renowned throughout Europe, but that was their first appearance in the US. (Although I'm sure they'll catch on soon and be invited back.) This track, "Campfire", was the most blogged about song of 2013, according to Hype Machine, so I picked it as their debut Most Important despite their release of a new single just last week that is every bit as catchy, so have it for a bonus.

RIYL: Coasts, Wolf Gang, Circa Waves

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The Japanese House - Face Like Thunder

And you question your lover, did she really believe
That this new taste of love is obsolete?
It just couldn't compete and so you'll
Keep dragging your body through life by the hair
So you can say that you've been somewhere and you don't care
Of your receipt, you're sentenced to death and you can't be reprieved

Babe, you've got a face like thunder
Always trying to get in and under
Just stay still 'til I say it's over
Babe, you've got a face like thunder

Say sorry for what, for what, for what?
You know I didn't mean it
I said something terrible and I tried to redeem it
I can be so cruel but now I don't seem it
 

The Japanese House were another SXSW discovery, although unfortunately a casualty of my overfull and overlapping who-to-see wish list, didn't get to see [her] perform live. The solo project of Londoner Amber Bain, she chose the moniker based upon a childhood vacation, staying in a thusly-named cottage in Devon, during which she pretended to be a boy. England appears to be the capital nation for androgyny (amongst all the obvious music history examples that leap to mind, see also Eliot Sumner).

RIYL: Imogen Heap, Chairlift, Frou Frou, Christine and the Queens

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