Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton

Emily Haine's debut solo disc, Knives Don't Have Your Back was released on September 12th of this year, making this review exactly a little late.

Her first foray from her band Metric, and then the Broken Social Scene (and all related) collective shows Haine's softer side: the lyrics do not differ much from Metrics, however the music is definately not only driven from a different place, but driven to a different place. Instead of a rock out and have a good time sort of feel, this album lets off a quiet desperation. Tracks like Doctor Blind and The Lottery both slowly grow, to then slowly fade away, as if they were never there at all.

To hear Doctor Blind, The Lottery, and Our Hell check out Emily's myspace. Trust me, it's worth it.

Now, the reason this review is following the cd so many months later: when I first heard this cd, I hated it. It didn't seem worth it. Roughly three days ago, I threw the cd in my cd player after not listening to it since September, and something clicked. It all made sense. I'm putting it down to me thinking that it's more of a winter album - it just does not give off an autumn feel.

[Purchace Knives Don't Have Your Back from the Metric Online Store.]


Coming soon to WHYH: Something vaugely holidayesque. Tis the season!

Feature: The Golden Dogs

Hey all...Ju here. And no, I am not, in fact, dead.

I am UNdead. As in, the witch administrators of art school killed me with cut paper assignments, then resurrected my corpse for their own, evil purposes.

*shrugs* You'll all get used to the change eventually. I already have; you wouldn't BELIEVE how much you save on food when all you consume is human flesh. In fact...I highly doubt you'll even notice the difference.

Anyways, my new lifestyle is not the topic here. What IS the topic is The Golden Dogs...a wonderful rock/pop/indie band from Toronto. Which means, of course, that they're right close-by. And they tour, once in a while. ^^

Not for those who require every member of the band to possess and eight octave singing range and the lungs of a sherpa, but the rest of you should be just fine. Bouncy and exuberant music, without ever being trite or overly studied. The one impression you get when listening to these songs is that somewhere in the world...people still have fun making music.

I know. I thought fun was dead, too. O_o

Jangling guitarwork over female/male vocals with more hooks than an Alberta slaughterhouse (I lied. You WILL be able to tell the difference, what with the disturbing imagery >.>)...you've heard it all before. And while the Golden Dogs never sound like something you've never heard coming through your eardrums before, it's a good thing. This is the kind of pop music that doesn't get made much, anymore, and trust me, it's nice to have it back.

Also, the absent Philip once told me that they sounded like the Ramones. Which is a bald-faced lie, but a comparison like that can never be a bad sign, since THAT band wrote some of the loopiest pop music ever. *grins*

The Golden Dogs can be found at their Myspace. Yes. Um...probably on a website, as well. They probably have a website, too. O_o

...

Wow, it's been so long I've forgotten how one commonly ends these things. A handshake? Is that...um...does that work?

*coughs*

>.>

~Ju