Bumbershoot Festival, Seattle (WA)
Bumbershoot Festival, Seattle, WA
Bush Hall, London (UK)
End of the Road Festival, Dorset (UK)
Haldern Pop Bar, Rees-Haldern (Germany)
dB's, Utrecht (Netherlands)
Introducing at Magnet, Berlin (Germany)
La Fleche D'Or, Paris (France)
Incubate Festival, Tilburg (Netherlands)
The Ruby Lounge, Manchester (UK)
King Tut's, Glasgow (UK)
The Brudenell Social Club, Leeds (UK)
The Showbox, Seattle, WA
The Vogue Theatre, Vancouver, BC
Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR
The Fillmore, San Fransisco, CA
Mayan Theater, Los Angeles, CA
House of Blues, San Diego, CA
House of Blues, Anaheim, CA
The Beauty Bar, Las Vegas, NV
The Clubhouse, Tempe, AZ
The Loft, Dallas, TX
Stubb's BBQ, Austin, TX
Walter's on Washington, Houston, TX
Tipitina's, New Orleans, LA
Secret City signs Diamond Rings, Daniel Isaiah Schachter
Very exciting days here at Secret City. We're pleased announce that we've made not one but two fabulous additions to the homegrown, worldwide roster. Though he's yet to release a full length album (more on that soon), Toronto-based artist Diamond Rings likely doesn't need much of an introduction. Between last year's "All Yr Songs" video, the "Wait & See" 7" and the new "Show Me Your Stuff" 12" (featuring a B-side remix by Secret City label-mate Miracle Fortress), Diamond Rings, aka John O., has been pretty busy these past few months. We're stoked to be announcing the October 26th release of his debut full-length Special Affections today.
Daniel Isaiah Schachter has made at least as many videos as Diamond Rings, but not of the musical variety. Though he's an award-winning up-and-coming filmmaker, he's also been fronting bands in Montreal for years, quietly penning song after song and turning into one of the city's best lyricists and songwriters—at least to those in the know. We have a feeling he's going to reach a much wider audience very soon as he wraps up recording his debut solo record under his own name this summer. Daniel will be kick-starting Osheaga this Saturday in Montreal, so don't be late.
Plants and Animals road warriors hit home with big Toronto, Montreal shows this week
Plants and Animals close out the first long leg of their North American tour in support of La La Land this week, with big shows in Toronto and Montreal. They'll also be on MTV live this evening at the Masonic Temple in advance of their show at the Opera House tomorrow night. Tickets for the Opera House are available here. On Friday night they make their Montreal Jazz Fest debut at Metropolis, with the Besnard Lakes supporting. Tickets for that show are available here. Fear not, however, other folks around the globe will have ample opportunity to catch Plants and Animals this summer, as they're set to play a number of other festivals starting July, including dates in Ottawa, Chicago and Seattle, the UK and Germany. They've also just announced a big show in NYC in the fall at Terminal 5 with Frightened Rabbit. Check the shows section for more details.
Heart of My Own and La La Land get early Polaris Prize nods
Both of Secret City's releases so far this year have made the long list for the 2010 Polaris Prize. Basia Bulat's Heart of My Own and Plants and Animals' La La Land are two absolutely phenomenal records that we're very proud to be behind, so congrats to them. Our only regret is that both of them can't win the whole thing (though both had a shot with their respective debuts as short-listers in 2008!). Here's hoping we at least get a repeat of that scenario.
La La Land All Music Guide Review
"La La Land takes its name from what the band has described as a "vortex of confusion," but the dizzying effect that the album's disparate stylistic strains might incur is an altogether charming one ... For a trio that remains consistently unpretentious and accessible, Plants and Animals seem to have sucked up a fair amount of art rock influences somewhere along the way; [but] If there's a connecting thread running through the album, it's the chunky, insistent guitar riffs that pop up repeatedly ... Whatever you call it, that predilection for juicy hooks is a major part of what keeps this mercurial bunch solidly grounded."
New Patrick Watson single available today
Well this is fun. Patrick Watson recorded a new song so we decided to release it. It's called "Sit Down Beside Me" and it's available as of today exclusively on iTunes in Canada and the USA.
"Sit Down Beside Me" sees Watson return to the more accessible dreamy pop of 2006's Close to Paradise while incorporating the rhythmic lessons learned on 2009's Wooden Arms. Like Watson's breakthrough hit "The Great Escape," the new single has piano and a simple catchy melody at its core, but this one uses that as a launch pad before taking off into outer space. Good luck getting the vocal refrain out of your head when it's done. Enjoy!
Basia Bulat brings Heart back to Canada for the summer
Basia Bulat is not done sharing her Heart with Canada! She's been all over the world since the release of her sophomore album Heart of My Own in January, and her nationwide tour that followed. The US, the UK, Poland, Sweden; the list of countries that have taken her into their hearts just seems to grow and grow. But in June she returns home to kickoff a summer schedule that's heavy with love for Canada, playing both intimate shows and some of the country's biggest summer festivals.
She returns to Toronto on June 4th at the Phoenix for the first time since her sold out album launch in January, visits Quebec City for the first time this year and plays three consecutive nights at the Montreal International Jazz Festival, and will appear at Hillside in Guelph, Bluesfest in Ottawa, and the Folk on the Rocks Festival in Yellowknife. She'll also be headed down to New York in August for a show with St. Vincent at Central Park Summerstage.
Rave reviews for Patrick Watson's New York shows, more US dates next week
People are raving about Patrick Watson's recent performances in Brooklyn and Manhattan last week. Brooklyn Vegan says that "he mesmerized a room full of chattering adults at 92YTribeca Friday night, into respectful silence. According to friends at the Bell House for the show the previous night, at one point you could actually hear crickets." You can read PopMatters glowing review of the Brookyln show here. Watson & the Wooden Arms are playing a few more select US dates starting next week, with shows in Chicago, Denver, LA, San Diego, San Fransisco, and wrapping things up at the Sasquatch! at the Gorge.
Blogotheque - The Mama Papa recording sessions
Blogotheque has posted a unique Take-Away show today that features Plants and Animals recording "The Mama Papa" in France. They shot this at the same time as the series that ran in June 2009 featuring songs from Parc Avenue. You get to see the band in the recording process. Ultimately the band would actually re-record The Mama Papa with a different arranegment, but the take you see here is include on the iTunes release of the album as an extra: "The Mama Papa (Paris Basement Mix)". It rocks.
La La Land - Paste review - 85
"The record is alive with a lush, symphonic sensuousness that recalls Of Montreal; it’s as layered and ornate as an origami crane, but as organic and effortless as the real feathered thing. While the songs are shorter and punchier than the seven-minute marathons of Parc Avenue ... they’re complicated and gorgeous and feel as innate as desire itself." 85/100
La La Land landed! Tour starts tonight with live online stream.
If you've visited the Secret City site at all in the past month or so, you know how excited we are about today and the release of Plants and Animals' La La Land. Well that's today. The album is available on CD and LP format in stores across North America, or directly from us. And of course it's also available at fine digital stores. The iTunes version in Canada and the USA also features a pretty slamming alternate version of "The Mama Papa".
The band starts their massive North American tour tonight in Toronto with a free show at the Horseshoe. They're hitting a ton of cities across the continent, but regardless of where you are you can tune in tonight at 10:30pm for a live stream of the the show courtresy of LiveStream. We'll be embedding the show here, on plantsandanimals.ca, and you'll be allow to integrate it with Twitter and Facebook as well.
Here are just a few things people are saying about La La Land:
"Psychedelic, amplified and momentous, songs are multifaceted, with a sense of Radiohead importance, Arcade Fire intensity and très cool dirty-basement rock and roll ("American Idol" gets my vote as the missing link between Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street)." - The Globe and Mail
"utterly thrilling while still retaining all the muted joy and gentle perfection of Parc Avenue ... an album for the ages and Plants and Animals' ultimate piece of work thus far" - Under the Radar
"rife with chiming bells, ebullient trumpet blasts, and whistled outros. It's a bewitching record — a mix of soft-rock luster, classic-rock grit, and indie-rock dexterity — a sort of AM Gold for the dark-hearted." - eMusic
""By the time the amps stop ringing, you feel you've travelled through a cohesive, front-to-back, old-fashioned album, one that you probably wouldn't be surprised to learn still got plenty of spins decades down the line." - Blurt
La La Land is out tomorrow, entire album now streaming
We always take it as a good sign when what one person has to say about a record's sound completely contradicts what someone else says. Some seem to think Plants and Animals' new album, La La Land is a more laid back affair and others seem to think it's more aggressive. It's fitting then to be completing the staggered album-reveal today with the last two songs on the record, "Future from the 80s" and "Jeans Jeans Jeans," two tracks that probably represent the furthest the band goes in either direction on La La Land. And props to The Globe and Mail who counter the album's multi-faceted nature with an "inspired hallucation" in this great review. Do yourself a favour and pick up a copy tomorrow to make up your own mind.
"Tom Cruz" is KEXP's song of the day
"an angular mixture of post-rock and pop fuzz ... an intelligently eclectic funsplotion"
La La Land reveal: Side 2! Album out next week.
Plants and Animals' La La Land is out one week from today, so we figured it was a fitting date to roll out another chunk of the ongoing album reveal. We've put up three new tracks today, considering the fact that anyone who's paying attention has probably already heard "The Mama Papa," the first single and the lead-off track for Side B of the album.
The two tracks that follow came from the band's sessions in France. “Fake It” is the first song the band recorded there, and the drummer’s favourite. It’s not hard to see why. This is one you need to hear on the turn-table, loud. "Celebration" was originally supposed to close the album. Another La Frette offering, it was written almost on the spot with a simple chord progression Warren came up with sitting in the garden outside the studio. “We worked quickly on a structure with Warren playing some soul guitar,” Nic says, “with me on the B3 and Woody on drums. We brought the tape back to Montreal and added a world a fuzz guitars and some horns. Our first plan was to end it with the pretty birds from La Frette singing at the end but instead we crashed a jet on another planet.”
La La Land revealed: Side A complete with "Kon Tiki" and "Game Shows"
If “Undone Melody” is the album’s emotional centerpiece, “Kon Tiki” is its sexy soul. Inspired by a cheesy California hotel Plants and Animals found themselves in on tour, you can pretty much smell the sunset on this one. “’Kon Tiki’ is making it to the coast,” Woody says. “We did the North American circle a few times and California always felt like the pinnacle, the instinctive arrival point. One night we found a nice hotel to chill-out in called the Kon Tiki. We followed the trade winds across America and ended up in a trashy coastal dance bar. Continental zenith.”
“Game Shows” is another epic builder that starts soft, builds quickly and then takes a curious twist before a classic rock outro effectively closes side one of the album. It's also one of the album's most touching, a love song that features one of Warren's best intimate vocal performances to-date. Brad Barr stopped by the studio the day they were tracking this one and guests on piano.
As always, the continuing unfolding album stream is here. We're accepting Mail-order Pre-orders as of now for both CD and LP versions of the album, the latter of which includes a free 320kbps mp3 download of the record. And for those of you always on the lookout for bonus material, you can Pre-Order La La Land on iTunes now, and get access to some exclusive extras from the recording sessions.
Today's La La Land reveal: "Undone Melody"
Today we roll ahead with another installment of the staggered album reveal of La La Land. And no, if you're just catching up now, this isn't an April Fools joke.
“Undone Melody” might be the best track on the record, if not also its emotional centerpiece. One of the only songs to have been fleshed-out and played on tour before the band went to record (they debuted it in Montreal in late 2008), fans of previous P&A songs like “Faerie Dance” and “Lola Who?” will see the logical progression here. At six minutes it’s not the longest song they’ve ever recorded, but it certainly stands up as one of their most epic and immediately engaging. Don't be fooled by the gentle entry; this one gets heavy. Enjoy.
Plants and Animals in La La Land - Episode 8: Fake It
Plants and Animals to reveal La La Land piece-by-piece starting today
We couldn't wait any longer. And we also couldn't choose just one more song from La La Land to share with the world. So we decided to stream the whole thing. But not all in one shot. Starting today we'll be revealing La La Land piece-by-piece leading up to its official release on April 20th. So in addition to the lead-off track "Tom Cruz" that we dropped back in January, we're now also streaming "Swinging Bells" and "American Idol," tracks 2 and 3 on the La La Land page.
There are a few reasons behind this. Mainly we've been digging deep into this record for a few months now, and it's still getting multiple daily rotations in the office. Everyone seems to have a different favourite track, but more importantly there's no wasted space on this record. And while everyone is free to listen to a record that they buy any which way they like, or burn a hole in a single, we wanted to do justice to this front-to-back album by giving each piece of it a moment in limelight, in sequence.
So today we've got "Swinging Bells" and "American Idol" on the table, two of the album's shorter offerings, partially due to the fact that were originally one complete song. “Swinging Bells” starts off with Plants and Animals at their most eerie and off-kilter, with delicate dabs of rickety 70s piano, but quickly builds to a rousing “la la la” peak that seems to introduce the record in earnest. The “la la las” that in part inspired the album name eventually land in “American Idol,” the upbeat sequel that, according to Nic Basque, “brought to life one of our musical dreams: to record a rock sax solo.” But there’s no irony here. With the help of sax all-star Colin Stetson (Arcade Fire), and some crazy Huey Lewis style arrangements from Warren and Nic, the song more than lives up to its over-the-top title.
But hey, for those of you that prefer to digest things via weirdo minute-or-less Youtube clips, the band has prepared a series of episodes starring their friend Joe Cobden, and a pickle.
We'll have the next offering up on Thursday! Enjoy.
Plants and Animals in La La Land - Episode 5: Kon Tiki
Plants and Animals and Basia Bulat hit SXSW this week
Plants and Animals and Basia Bulat will be hitting SXSW any moment now. P&A play no less than six times over four crazy days, and will be giving people a sampling of their forthcoming record La La Land due on April 20th in North America. They just destroyed the new material in Toronto over this past weekend, having torn off Chromewaves' face at Lee's Palace. Their full schedule can be viewed here.
Basia Bulat, whose January release Heart of My Own seems to be amassing new rabid fans every day, is also hitting the Austin fest. Our good friends at Rough Trade released the record down south, but that just means she'll have at least two labels cheering her on. Check out her schedule here; she shares two showcases with P&A!
Plants and Animals announce US tour, new single/video
Plants and Animals have just announced their most exhaustive North American tour to-date, with the addition of over 20 US dates (and packed SXSW schedule) to their already announced Canadian itinerary. They'll be heading down to Brooklyn next week for a sneak-peak, opening for Broken Bells on March 10th, before their CMW appearances in Toronto. You can see the full list of shows here.
The band has also released a new video for another song from La La Land, entitled The Mama Papa. Directed by Sinbad Richardson, inspired by Frederico Fellini, and starring P&A, and Joe Cobden.
Patrick Watson announces US dates
Patrick Watson & the Wooden Arms have just announced a string of U.S. shows in May, including shows in New York, Chicago and LA, and wrapping up with an appearance at The Sasquatch Fesitval at the Gorge in Washington. These will be their first US shows since the jaw-dropping CMJ performance in new York back in October. (Which by the way, you can still hear in its entirey thanks to NPR and KEXP).
Plants and Animals announce Canadian Tour in support of La La Land
More news today in Plants and Animals land, as the band has announced Canadian dates in support of their forthcoming album, La La Land, which we announced back in January. The tour starts April 21st in Quebec City, and wraps May 5th out in Vancouver. Tickets for the tour go on sale this Friday, February 5 at 10:00 a.m. (dates are listed below, with more details in the shows section). The band will also be showcasing the new material during a series of performances in March at both CMW in Toronto and at SXSW in Austin, Texas. For fans outside Canada, fear not, there's lots more where this came from; stay tuned.
La La Land live:
Heart of My Own is out today
Basia Bulat's Heart of My Own is finally out! And people seem to love it as much as we do, as the album has received some rave reviews across the country already. Don't forget that Basia starts her cross-Canada tour on February 2nd, and it runs all the way until early March, so odds are she's coming to your town. As always, you can get the record directly from us, your favourite record store, 
, and everywhere else fine records are sold.
Plants and Animals announce new album, La La Land
Very exciting day here at Secret City, as we're pleased to announced the release of Plants and Animals second full-length record, La La Land, due out in North America on April 20th. And if you're already familiar with their debut, Parc Avenue, you know why this is a big deal. And let us be the first to say this album is bigger, smoother, tougher and tighter than the last one. The La La Land album page has a whole lot more to say, but more importantly, also has the first sneak listen—a little warm-up number called "Tom Cruz" to get you through the cold months until the rest of it drops...
Pre-order Basia Bulat's new album
Basia Bulat's new album, Heart of My Own, hits the street on January 26th, but folks in Canada can pre-order the album directly from us now. It's available on CD and LP (with free digital download), and we'll be shipping the orders to arrive on or before January 26th. We'll also be giving away an exclusive bonus new track that doesn't appear on the album to everyone who orders a physical copy from us. Basia kicks off a whirlwind tour in support of the album starting this coming Saturday in Toronto, at Trinity St. Paul's. Stay tuned for lots more...
Basia Bulat announces 2010 Canadian tour
Basia Bulat will head out on a winter tour beginning in February in support of her new album, Heart of My Own, due out on January 26th. The first single from Heart of My Own, "Gold Rush" is available now on 
.
Basia has already announced a kick-off show in Toronto prior to the album's release, at Trinity St. Paul's on January 16th, which is on sale now. She'll also e supporting Secret City label-mate Patrick Watson at Metropolis on December 16th. Tickets to the rest of the tour go on sale this Thursday, November 19th.
The tour dates are as follows:
Patrick Watson's first album finally available
We're particularly excited to announce that Patrick Watson's first album, Just Another Ordinary Day, has finally been re-issued and is available as of today...especially because this means people will stop emailing us asking where they can get it!
Originally self-released in 2003 in very limited quantities, this was the first recording prominently featuring all four members of the band: Patrick Watson, Simon Angell, Robbie Kuster, and Mishka Stein. All the band’s current touchstones are apparent on the album: from Watson’s intimate-sounding vocal and piano performances, to Simon Angell’s dreamy soundscapes, and Robbie and Mishka’s intricate space-rock rhythms. But it also gives an interesting window into the band’s early stages, with moments of subtle electronica, and arguably some of their most accessible pop songs to-date.
Patrick Watson's CMJ show streaming on NPR
"Recorded with the help of Seattle's KEXP, this was one of the best live shows I've seen all year, anywhere. Watson is a dynamic performer who gets deep inside the songs, and you can tell. His face contorts, his body shifts as he becomes the characters and stories he sings. But there's more to Watson than his colorful songs. He has one of the best bands performing music these days, able to shift moods from funny to scary, and from cartoony to evocative of street life, often in the same song."
Basia Bulat hosts the CBC Radio3 podcast
Basia hosts the CBC Radio3 podcast this week...
Wooden Arms LP finally available
Yes, you heard us right. The vinyl format of Patrick Watson's 2009 gem, Wooden Arms, is finally in and dying to be laid on your table. It won't be in stores until November, but you can order it from us as of now and we'll ship it out right away.
If you happen to be in Montreal this weekend (and you should, it being Pop Montreal and all...), we'll also be selling the vinyls (along with goodies from the rest of the Secret City catalog), at the Record Sale/Gear Swap at the Ukrainian Federation on Saturday as part of Puces Pop. Come say hi!
Secret City to release Basia Bulat's sophomore album, Heart of My Own
Secret City Records is pleased as punch to announce that we’ll be the Canadian home for the sophomore offering from Basia Bulat. Entitled Heart Of My Own, the album will be released on January 26, 2010.
Basia’s 2007’s debut, Oh, My Darling, was a success both at home and on the international scene, garnering a Polaris Prize nomination, and praise from outlets like NPR, who labeled “In the Night” as “one of 2008’s great singles,” citing Bulat’s “graceful effervescence and … innate understanding of momentum.”
Like its predecessor, Heart of My Own was produced by Howard Bilerman at Hotel2Tango in Montreal, but it’s a decidedly more eclectic record in terms of the songwriting and instrumentation. “I think it is at times extremely sparse and, well, spacious, with big choirs singing,” Bulat says, “and then it gets really dense with really spirited and rolling drums.”
And you can hear one of those spirited songs right now, right here.
Basia has a few select Canadian dates upcoming, but expect lots more announcements in the weeks and months to come.
UPCOMING SHOWS
Sept 19 - The Grad Club - Kingston, ON
Sept 23 - St. James Hall - Vancouver, BC
Sept 24 - Metro Studio - Victoria, BC
Oct 3 - Black Sheep Inn - Wakefield, ON
Plants and Animals on Blogothèque's Concerts à Emporter
Plants and Animals are featured on Blogothèque today, with three fabulous Concerts à Emporter sending off songs from Parc Avenue and the with/avec EP. These were recorded at the magical La Frette studio just outside Paris back in May while the band was recording their new album. The record is almost wrapped. And they'll be back in Europe in October for a bunch of dates we'll be announcing soon. In the meantime, check out the great Take Away shows... And if you're in Ontario or Quebec, Peterborough and Wakefield are host to two pretty intimate shows this Labour Day weekend. These will likely be the last Canadian dates for sometime!
Patrick Watson At the Concert Hall on Bravo
Patrick Watson fans set your PVRs. The band recently taped a live performance in Toronto for Bravo's At the Concert Hall series. It airs tomorrow night, August 25th, at 10PM eastern time.
The band has just wrapped up their European festival tour and will be making their way back home for some September dates in Quebec, and a long overdue return to California in October. They'll be in San Diego on the 15th, L.A. on the 17th, and San Fransisco on the 20th. Details are over in the Shows section.
Wooden Arms shortlisted for 2009 Polaris Prize
Patrick Watson's Wooden Arms has been shortlisted for the 2009 Polaris Prize. This is the second time they've been nominated for the award, after having won it the first time around in 2007. You can see the rest of the Short List here.
Patrick Watson Jazz Fest show to be streamed live
For those of you jealous of the thousands of people who'll be seeing Patrick Watson's free outdoor show at the Montreal Jazz Fest this Sunday, we've got some good news. The show will be broadcast live on Sympatico / MSN as a special Bell Special Event. Starting at 9pm on July 5th, you'll be able to watch the entire performance here: http://inmusic.ca/patrickwatson. If you are in Montreal, the band will be doing an autograph session after the show at 11pm at the Archambault tent.
Parc Avenue 2LP available
Happy Canada Day! To celebrate this year Secret City is please to announced that the sold out 2LP of Plants and Animals' Parc Avenue is re-mastered, and finally back in stock. You can get it directly from us at our new and improved web-store.
Secret City seeks intern
Secret City is looking for someone to help us out with the incredibly glamorous day-to-day operations of the label. Interested parties should contact info@secretcityrecords.com.
Patrick Watson to play free outdoor show at Montreal Jazz Fest
The world tour for Wooden Arms has just wrapped, but that doesn't means Patrick Watson is going back into hibernation just yet. We're pleased to announce that Patrick Watson & the Wooden Arms will be performing a very special free outdoor show on July 5th as part of the 30th Anniversary edition of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal. You can find all the details here.
New Patrick Watson Take Away show
"Over the past 3 years, we have filmed more than 150 bands, inside/outside/acoustic/electric, fun for most, boring sometimes. Never any band made us such a great impression as Patrick Watson and the Wooden Arms. It was a year ago, it’s finally online, and it still remains one of my favourite movies, and probably the best Take Away Show ever." (Vincent Moon)
Overwhelming praise for Wooden Arms...
People love Wooden Arms. Response to Patrick Watson's latest offering has been nothing less than staggering, with glowing reviews and praise coming in from SPIN, the Toronto Star, KCRW, NME, La Presse, and NPR, just to name a few.
Take a look at what people are saying ...
Wooden Arms is out today in Canada!
Wooden Arms is out today in Canada! Our new web store is just about ready, but in the meantime, there's a bonus version available on right now.
The band played their first show of the release tour last night in Quebec City. Reviews are starting to pour in about the album and consensus seems to be pretty fantatsic. NPR and KCRW are already singing it's praises, La Presse called the album 'Magnifique' and gave it an unheard of 4.5 stars ... and Eye Weekly came in with a 4 star review. We suspect that's just the beginning.
We're really pleased that people seem to be responding to a record that's maybe more difficult, but also more rewarding ... especially because it does such a good job of representing what Patrick Watson & the Wooden Arms (yes, you can call them that) are all about.
Wooden-Arms.com launches, complete tour announced
We're pleased to announce that Wooden-Arms.com—the official website for Patrick Watson's new album—is now live, and also streaming a new song from the album. The website will be growing as the year progresses, and will be one-stop location for every single and video we release.
Wooden Arms is out in just over a month in Canada, and the rest of the world follows suit closely after (you can see all of the various international release dates on the album site). That's how the Wooden Arms tour is going down, too, as the full international tour has now been announced. If you don't see your town here, don't worry, the band will be playing plenty more shows as the year goes on. But this is the first leg. Dates below...
Patrick Watson Canadian dates
Wooden Arms is on the way, and so is a whole new Patrick Watson tour in support of the record.
The madness starts at home. There's lots more to come on an international whirlwind tour, but to whet your appetite, check out these Canadian dates. Details and ticket information (these are on sale Friday March 6th at noon!) is in the shows section.
April 27 - Quebec City @ L'Imperial
April 29 - Montreal @ La Tulipe
April 30 - Montreal @ La Tulipe
May 2 - Toronto @ Trinity St. Paul's
May 13 - Vancouver @ Richard's on Richards
May 15 - Calgary @ Grand Theatre
May 16 - Edmonton @ McDougall United Church
Wooden Arms is coming...
Wooden Arms is coming. It's been a while since Patrick Watson's last record. Close to Paradise was Secret City's first ever release way back in 2006, and we're pumped to be able to announce it's follow-up, which is due on April 28th in Canada and May 5th in the USA. (We'll have more news soon on the European release, too).
We also think this record is going to win over quite a few new fans. Stay tuned!
New Human Highway video
If you're reading this you've probably already seen it, but Human Highway just debuted their first official video, for Moody Motorcycle's catchy lead track "The Sound". There are two versions courtesy of director Olivier Groulx: the straight up Norman McLaren NFB throwback, and the full on interactive, move-it-yourself version. Check them out at moodymotorcycle.com. Human Highway, by the way, is hitting the road shortly, including dates in Montreal and Toronto. Check it:
Plants and Animals nominated for two JUNO Awards
Plants and Animals have been nominated for two JUNO awards. One for Alternative Album of the Year (for Parc Avenue), and the other for New Group of the Year. The awards will take place March 29 in Vancouver. Go P&A!
Plants and Animals on tour
Hey folks, happy New Year from all of us at Secret City.
We've got a big Plants and Animals update for you, as the band plays their first show of the year tonight in Los Angeles at the Natural History Museum. At the end of the month they'll do a mini-tour of Canada's East Coast with Wintersleep. Then the big tour gets rolling at the end of February with two shows supporting Blitzen Trapper in New York / Brooklyn, and continues all the way through March, with shows on both U.S. Coasts, some big cities in between, and more dates in Western Canada. The band is already working on the follow-up to Parc Avenue, so expect to hear some fresh material at these shows. Check full dates and details in the shows section. More will be added in the coming days, too.
Human Highway announce first-ever Canadian dates
Human Highway hit the road! If there anyone feared that the collaboration between Jim Guthrie and Nick Thorburn was going to begin and end with Moody Motorcycle, rest easy. In December the duo will bring their melancholy melodies and happy hooks to the stage spanning four shows in Canada. They'll hit Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and Guelph. Check the shows section for more details; these are likely to sell out!
Miracle Fortress out on international adventure
Miracle Fortress are off on a quick international adventure. They're the third consecutive band to make the trek out to Iceland for the excellent annual Airwaves festival, and will be playing a showcase tomorrow night in Reykjavik. Then it's off to London for what are sure to be two packed shows. If you're on either island, check 'em out!
Patrick Watson to play two intimate shows at Pop Montreal
Secret City's first ever release, Patrick Watson's Close to Paradise, first hit Canadian shelves two years ago today, so all the more fitting that we come to you with some exciting recording news about the band. After two years of non-stop touring, the boys are finally in recording mode again. They're currently knee-deep in microphones at Breakglass Studios in Montreal, recording their much-anticipated follow-up to Close to Paradise.
They'll be taking a break from studio time (but not recording) however, to play two intimate shows during Pop Montreal at l'Église St-Jean-Baptiste Chapel on October 1st and 2nd. Spaces are extremely limited, and it should get pretty interesting in there...
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On that note, if you're looking for an advance scoop on this kind of thing, make sure and sign up for the new-and-improved Secret City newsletter. We'll be doing a lot of interesting things with it in the coming months. The sign-up field is over in the right column.
Plants and Animals fall tour underway
After a packed sold-out kickstart last week at the Horseshoe in Toronto (check out a quick review and some great pics here), Plants and Animals fall tour begins in earnest tonight in Wakefield. To celebrate, Parc Avenue is going for cheap at the iTunes store as Album of the Week. If you don't have it already, pick it up!
The band will be making a short stop in Toronto over the weekend for Monday's Polaris Prize gala. Secret City wants to wish them the best of luck, and is sorry that they've had to answer so many questions about the young label's history with the even younger prize. Such is the territory!
Plants and Animals on Pitchfork.TV
When Plants and Animals were down in New York earlier this summer for a show at the Mercury Lounge, they spent an afternoon on a rooftop in Manhattan playin' some tunes. If you haven't checked out Pitchfork.Tv's rad show "Don't Look Down," now's your chance ... P&A are the featured band today, with live performances of Faerie Dance, Bye Bye, New Kind of Love and Lola Who?
Plants and Animals announce North American fall dates
Folks dig the P&A. It's been a big year for the trio, and the last quarter of it isn't about to get quieter. The band caps off their summer tour this weekend with a couple Quebec shows. The first in Quebec City on Friday, and then at the FME festvial in Rouyn-Noranda on Saturday. And then the fall tour starts a couple weeks later and doesn't let up until Halloween.
September will see them in Toronto a whole bunch, starting with a big show at the Horseshoe Tavern on the 18th, as well as the big Polaris Gala on the 29th, when the prize (which they're up for) will be handed out. After a few other Ontario stops, the band will hit the road with Born Ruffians for a massive tour that will take them out to Vancouver, down to LA, across to Texas and back up to New York. Check the show dates for the nitty-gritty.
Miracle Fortress to play September dates
Little known fact: the evolved Miracle Fortress live show is the best kept secret of the Canadian indie touring circuit. Anyone who has seen the foursome over the past month or two knows that this band means business on stage. Fortunately for a bunch of you, they've be hitting a smattering of U.S. towns on the East Coast in September to win over your hearts. There's also one big final hometown show in Montreal at La Tulipe before Graham and co. hunker down to record the follow-up to Five Roses in earnest... Details in the shows section!
Moody Motorcycle is out today!
The wait is over. Human Highway's Moody Motorcycle is out today across North America in quality record shops, on iTunes, and via mail-order directly from us.
Plants and Animals to play free show at the Montreal Apple store
Plants and Animals are home for an extended rest after a busy summer of touring, and an even busier fall lined-up (more on that soon...). Before they kick up their feet, though, they'll be busting out one more summer set, this time indoors, at the newly opened Montreal Apple Store. The show is tomorrow (August 19th) at 8:00pm, and is entirely free; first come, first in.
Moody Motorcycle streaming in its entirety on Myspace...
Yup, that's right. If you've been revving to hear more swoony sweetness from Human Highway, look no further. The album is currently streaming in its entirety on the band's Myspace page.
It'll be in stores across Canada next week, and as always, you can pre-order the thing directly from us, too.
Get the new Human Highway single on iTunes!
Little known fact: the Human Highway album, Moody Motorcycle, was the first thing to be played over the big fancy sound system at the new Apple Store in Montreal. Ok, so it was only full of employees and members of Adam & the Amethysts (Miracle Fortress fans take note!), but still. Anyway, the fine folks at iTunes are also offering an advance single from the album for your purchasing support. Check it out!
Plants and Animals to open for Gnarls Barkley, the National
Crazy times for Plants and Animals. As momentum continues to swell for Parc Avenue and word of the band's all-out awesomeness with it, bigger and wilder things seem to be coming out of nowhere. The band has just added a last minute gig for this Friday in Columbus, Ohio, where they'll be opening for Gnarls Barkley. The label is currently encouraging them to prepare a Goodie Mob cover.
They keep with the grand-company theme through the weekend with their home-town Osheaga appearance on Sunday (before Cat Power and Iggy & the Stooges), and their Central Park gig with the National on August 4th.
Moody Motorcycle hits the street August 19th
Not long now! Word of Jim Guthrie and Nick Thorburn's swoony new collaborative effort as Human Highway is starting to get around. Moody Motorcycle hits the street on August 19th, and we think it's going to have more than a few people talking about it. It's pretty, it's catchy, it's deceptively simple at times, but also full of all the strangely enticing nooks and crannies you'd expect from both these guys.
For those curious about how the album came to be, Pitchfork has a recent interview with Nick about the whole thing. For the rest of you just anxious to get your hands on it... get your pre-orders in!
Parc Avenue makes Polaris Prize short list
Plants and Animals' much-loved Parc Avenue has made this year's short list for Canada's prestigious Polaris Music Prize. It's the second year in a row Secret City has been represented on the list, after both Miracle Fortress and Patrick Watson (who went on to win the award) showed up on it last year. As always, the list is full of great albums, and we encourage music lovers everywhere to go and check out all of them. If for some reason you haven't heard Parc Avenue in its entirety yet, maybe now's a good time to do so? The band is playing summer festivals throughout its native land through the rest of the summer, with one extra stop in New York at Central Park's summerstage, where they'll be playing with the National and Yeasayer.
Plants and Animals hit the West coast
Fresh off their first European jaunt, Plants and Animals are set to make another round of great first live impressions, this time on the U.S. west coast. The short tour starts next Monday in Seattle, where they'll also be appearing live on KEXP (12 noon Pacific time), performing a few songs and chatting with Cheryl Waters. Do to fan-driven demand, they've also added a show in Phoenix at the tail-end of the tour. They'll be back in Canada in time for Canada Day on July 1st for a gig at Habourfront in Toronto.
Behind Miracle Fortress's "Have You Seen In Your Dreams"
If you haven't already seen the wonder-video that is Sinbad Richardson's take on "Have You Seen In Your Dreams", you should. For those who are curious about its actual creation, Sinbad has a little piece in the newly-launched Savfaire magazine all about it.
Plants and Animals to play Central Park with the National, Yeasayer
Concert in the park! Plants and Animals are adding at least one more fun outdoor show to their summer festival itinerary this summer, and it's a fun one. On August 4th they'll be in some very good company at Central Park's Summerstage, where they'll get things rolling for a night of music that will also feature The National and Yeasayer.
Patrick Watson to play KARKWATSON shows in June
Anyone who's seen Patrick Watson perform live knows that the four-piece put on an amazing live show, often changing song-arrangements on a dime, extending parts, and generally exploring the big musical soundscapes they're able to create. Well that whole spirit of their performance is going to be taken a step further when they team up with fellow Quebec artists Karkwa in June for some 9-piece action. You can expect some Patrick Watson songs, some Karkwa songs, but probably a whole lot of crazyness in between. They play June 12th in Quebec City, and June 13th and 14th at Le National in Montreal.
After these shows Patrick Watson will be playing a handful of European summer festival dates, and spend the rest of the summer recording the follow-up to 2006's Close to Paradise.
See the shows section for more Karkwatson and festival information.
Listen to 'The Sound' from Human Highway's upcoming record....
Pitchfork has a stream of one of the many lovely songs that pack Human Highway's Moody Motorcycle, which Secret City will be releasing this August. It's awesome. Once you've given a bazillion listens you can hit Human Highway on Myspace or Facebook, too. And keep watching all these spaces for more moody motorcycle music....
Plants and Animals on the Canadian summer festival circuit
Plants and Animals will be playing on a bunch of big, sunny, outdoor stages across Canada this summer. The quintessential summer festival band? You'll be able to decide for yourself as they hit summer faves like Hillside, Ottawa Blues, Wolfe Island, Salmon Arm, and play some home-province stages at Osheaga, in Quebec City, and at FME Abitibi. They'll also be making the trek all the way up to Yellowknife to get some fresh air at the Folk on the Rocks Festival. More to come, too!
The band does part one of their summer U.S. tour starting next week in Philadelphia. All details can be found in the shows section.
Secret City to release Human Highway this August
Secret City is pumped to announce that it will be releasing Human Highway’s Moody Motorcyle in Canada on August 19th. The project is the new collaboration from two of Canada’s most-loved troubadours: Jim Guthrie and Nick Thorburn. The album will be simultaneously released by Seattle’s Suicide Squeeze label in the US.
Plants and Animals to play a bunch more US dates
Plants and Animals will be hitting both coasts of the USA as the summer months creep in, starting with a string of dates in the North East in May. In June they'll be off to the West Coast for their first ever shows out there, including stops in Seattle, Portland, San Fran and LA.
Secret City featured on CBC today
With the whole home-grown roster in action tonight (Plants and Animals are in Minneapolis, Patrick Watson & Miracle Fortress are sharing a bill at Scala in London), CBC.ca has a piece about the label on the front page of their arts section today.
Parc Avenue out in the USA next week...band head West through Canada
People everywhere seem to love Parc Avenue, and on March 25th, people in the USA can go to stores and buy copies of it. Meanwhile the band is headed West for a string of more Canadian shows that will take them out to Vancouver and back.
The album is also avaible across North America on iTunes and eMusic. A really nice gatefold 2LP is coming, too, but we're taking our time with that one and getting it right, because this album deserves it. Check back soon or sign up for our newsletter for official updates on the catalog and release-territories.
If you haven't already checked out Plants and Animals (or Secret City), by all means do so now, and feel free to start with Parc Avenue...it's a whale of a record.
Miracle Fortress in the U.S., Patrick Watson in Europe, to play together in Germany, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, UK
Plants and Animals SXSW schedule...
After rocking CMW (and CBC's Q; grab the podcast here!) last weekend in Toronto, Plants and Animals are on their way down to Austin, Texas where they'll make at least three appearances at SXSW. They are thus:
March 14th
Homeslice Pizza (Party) @ 12:45pm (afternoon)
1415 South Congress
March14th
Maggie May's (M for Montreal - Official Showcase) @ 11pm
323 East 6th Street
March 15th
Urban Outfitters (Party) @ 3pm
2406 Guadalupe St. (behind the UO)
Come check them out if you're in town....
Miracle Fortress double feature!
Yup, that's right...the fountain of joy that is Five Roses keeps on gushsing, this time in the form of not one, but two marvelous music videos. Though "Have You Seen In Your Dreams" (directed by Sinbad Richardson here in Montreal) and "Maybe Lately" (directed by Daniel Stafford-Clark across the pond) were each created independently of the other, we think you'll agree they play of each other rather nicely. Enjoy!
Plants and Animals at CMW, SXSW
Fresh off Parc Avenue's first week in Canadian stores, Plants and Animals will be hitting up Canadian Music Week in Toronto on Thursday (March 6th) at the Horseshoe Tavern, and will follow that up with an appearance at SXSW in Austin next week. See the shows section for details..
Parc Avenue has burst out of the gates here and has a lot of folks saying awfully nice things about it. The album will be out in the U.S. on March 25th.
Welcome to the new website!
Well if you're reading this you're also seeing our brand-spanking new website. There are still some things we're ironing out, some things we're going to add, and some things we haven't accounted for...but for the most part, you probably get the idea. Cool, huh? Plants and Animals (whose Parc Avenue dropped in Canada yesterday) have also relaunched their band site. It's a weblebration!
A couple things to note: if you're seeing www.secretcityrecords .net in your address bar, fret not. That's only temporary until we get a few more things moved. You can leave your bookmarks at www.secretcityrecords.com. If you notice any problems or are having trouble with anything, let us know!
Parc Avenue is out today in Canada!
Plants and Animals much anticipated full length release, Parc Avenue, is in stores today across Canada. You can also grab it at iTunes Canada , where "Bye Bye Bye" is being offered as the free single of the week. If you're in Montreal, might we recommend heading on over to Phonopolis (on Parc Avenue!) to pick up a copy? There's a wild re-creation of the (already wild) album cover in the store window. You can't miss it. There will also be plenty of copies at La Sala Rossa tonight, where the band will be launching the record along with lots of surprises. We're super proud of this one. Spend a little time with "New Kind of Love" and we think you'll see why.
PARC AVENUE coming soon, available for pre-order, tons of Plants and Animals tour dates, and more...
Hmm, where to begin? Well, for those of you late to game: we're pumped to be releasing PARC AVENUE—the full length debut from Montreal trio Plants and Animals—in Canada on the 26th. It's available for pre-order from us, here, right now. And speaking of us, here, Secret City Records.com will be relaunching completely very shortly to coincide with Parc Avenue's release. It's gonna be purdy. The band is doing a whackload of shows in support of the album across Canada, starting next Thursday in Toronto. We'll be doing a special album launch at La Sala Rossa in Montreal on the day it comes out, too. They'll also be doing a bunch of stuff at SXSW in Texas (the album drops March 25th in the U.S.). Check the shows section below for more.
Miracle Fortress to tour U.S. and Europe; might we recommend FIVE ROSES for your Valentine?
Those initiated into the church of Five Roses know that's its a beautifully cohesive song-suite—with atmospheric bombast and pop hooks of all kinds—that gets better with each listen. Not a day goes by that we don't hear from someone who's just discovering this record for the first time and expressing their undying love for it. In that spirit, if you're looking for something new and lovely to bless your valentine with (or better yet, with which to bless yourself, because hey, true love starts ...
Plants and Animals to play five shows in the US next week
Plants and Animals were pretty much born for the road. And starting next week, you're going to be seeing a lot more them on it. Parc Avenue doesn't drop in the USA for a couple months, but folks south of the border won't have to wait that long to hear these songs. The band hits Boston, Baltimore, Brooklyn, Philly and NYc starting on Wednesday. Check their band site, soon to be relaunched (like this one!), for details.
Plants and Animals' opus Parc Avenue to hit streets starting February
This is a big one. Plants and Animals long-awaited full length opus, Parc Avenue, will hit the streets on Feburary 26th in Canada, and March 25th in the USofA. We'll be announcing dates on both sides of the border soon with lots more to say about the record. We're also preparing for a re-launch of this here SCR.com, long in need in of an overhaul. We've been busy trying to get records out, but it's time we did our virtual little home here a bit more justice. We think you're gonna like it. Stay tuned!
Secret City roster on tour!
Hey folks, Secret City is on tour in November in a big way, and most of it gets going tonight, with Plants and Animals starting their cross Canada tour in Toronto, and Miracle Fortress with Stars out in Seattle (they'll be going west to east with them in Canada through the month). Plants and Animals are on the Canadian east coast next week, and then hit the road west with Patrick Watson on November 28th. The Watson boys are just back from Europe and embarking on long awaited Canadian dates...their first since taking home this year's Polaris Prize, and last shows before they hunker down to record the follow-up to Close to Paradise. Check the shows section below for details.
Patrick Watson wins Polaris Prize
Wow. Well. Secret City's Patrick Watson took home Canada's Polaris Prize last night, and we're pretty much speechless. We were thrilled as it is when both they and Miracle Fortress made the shortlist amidst some very good company. To see Patrick, Simon, Mishka and Robbie walk away with the Prize was something else. There were some amazing records up the award, many of which we at Secret City are huge fans of...so all we can say at this point is a really humble thanks.
More award nominations for Patrick Watson
The praise just keeps coming for Patrick Watson and Close to Paradise, with an event-topping six GAMIQ nominations coming in this week. The newly minted GAMIQs are awarded to independent Quebec artists, picking up where the MIMIs left off. Patrick Watson is up for "Artist of the Year", "Songwriter of the Year", "International Career", "Show of the Year", "Breakthrough Artist of the Year" and "Best Indie-Pop Album". All these awards are partially determined by public voting, so by all means, go and vote!.
Patrick Watson
Sit Down Beside Me (2010)
SCR012-20 DD
Plants and Animals
La La Land (2010)
SCR014 LP CD
Basia Bulat
Heart of My Own (2010)
SCR013 LP CD
Patrick Watson
Wooden Arms (2009)
SCR012 LP CD
Human Highway
Moody Motorcycle (2008)
SCR011 LP CD
Plants and Animals
Parc Avenue (2008)
SCR008 2LP CD
Miracle Fortress
Five Roses (2007)
SCR004 CD
Patrick Watson
Close to Paradise (2006)
SCR002 LP CD
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