Best of 2016 #9: Bear Mountain - Badu (Last Gang)

To be honest, I added Bear Mountain to my Top 10 list as almost an afterthought. After my first review of my favourite albums, I had Phantogram's Three in my Top 10. After many listens to Phantogram, the album started to sour on me. Then I picked up Bear Mountain and things became clear. This is the album that Three was trying to be, but falling a bit short of the mark.

Vancouver's Bear Mountain started as a solo project in 2012, but quickly became a full band. Their debut EP, XO, was very solid, a nice mix of melodic, upbeat electro-pop. The full length album Badu continues upon the path they laid down, with a bubbly, soulful take on electro-pop. What Bear Mountain has over Phantogram (who did put out a good album) is a lack of cynicism.

XO was more on the electronic end, but Badu adds some soulful, poppy vocals to the mix, making them sound like a more electronic version of Future Islands. It's a sunny, fun and uplifting listen. This is a band to watch and they can only go up from here.

Best of 2012 Honourable Mentions

Touching on three releases I really liked but didn't make my Top 10 for 2012:

Dirty Ghosts - Metal Moon (Last Gang)

Allyson Barker is Canadian born and bred, but has been based out of San Francisco lately. Their music is noisy rock, with some new wave and psychedelic influences. I liked this album a lot, I was impressed by the loose, noisy rock side of it paired with a more melodic, catchy end. It's a nice mix of offbeat and accessible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZQXmmHb920


Men Without Hats - Love in the Age of War (Independent)

Montreal's Men Without Hats will always have a special place in my heart. During high school,  Folk of the 80s (Part III) got my through some rough times, and it still stands up as one of the best synth-pop albums ever recorded. This is the band's first album since 2003's poorly received No Hats Beyond This Point, and it's a solid synth-pop album with a classic sound. Granted, this style of music hasn't aged well, but this is a fine effort. The title track was very evocative for me; when I first heard it, I was struggling through a confusing relationship break up. It resonated well for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7zYQQA1Cwk


Grimes - Visions (Arbutus)

I'd be very remiss to not mention Grimes' meteoric rise this past year. Grimes, the Montreal-based Claire Boucher, has a breakout year on the hot, hot, hot record label Arbutus this year. Her voice is babyish and naive, the music is creepy, deep and gothy. Montreal has been the centre of artsy and strange music in Canada, and Grimes fits into that scene well. She should explode internationally in the coming years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FH-q0I1fJY

Best of 2012 #6 : Purity Ring - Shrines (Last Gang)

2012 was an amazing year for Purity Ring. The duo had been kicking around Toronto under other names (Gobble Gobble, Born Gold) until landing their sound with the dark electro-rock of Purity Ring. The band has a nervous tension, plied into 2-3 minute pop gems. They exploded into prominence in Canada this year, and landed an international distribution contract with the lauded 4AD label. A stellar debut from Purity Ring with Shrines. I'm sure we'll see more of this great band in the near future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqw4wo8vdY8