Toronto - The Charlatans have released their latest 2008 album - You Cross My Path, FOR FREEe. They love us. Yes they do.

Download Charlatans Album for Free

Alan McGee: “I completely mean it when I say this is their best record in year, their best since ‘Telling Stories’. I think for ten years they’ve been a brilliant band but they haven’t fulfilled their full potential until now.”

I have to say, I am a big fan of downloading for free concept. I think it will end up earning the Charlatans a lot of new fans. Their old fans will buy their cds anyway, so why not snag a few noobs and get them hooked on the new album and attend the shows? Great idea man.

I am including a single of their song on this post for you to preview, however, since its free and stuff, go grab it off the xfm link and save me some bandwidth please.

Review for album will come sooner or later, maybe my friend Jeff can tell me how good it is since hes a big fan of theirs.

 

 The Charlatans - You Cross My Path: Play Now

Toronto - Immaculate Machine. I always confuse this band with another band called the Secret Machines. It also reminds me of the Immaculate Reception by Pittsburgh Steeler (holla!) Franco Harris back in the seventies. And Micro Machines, which I only had a few of growing up in the dark and barren ghettos of Edmonton. You must be asking yourself now - what? well, lemme tell you what.

The Immaculate Machine are band from Victoria, British Columbia. They are on the Vancouver label Mint Records, also responsible for the New Pornographers and Young and Sexy. You might recognize one of the members, Kathryn Calder, who is also a member of the New Pornographers, and is the niece of A.C. Newman. Nepotism at its best. No, seriously, the Immaculate Machine excel in that type of music you expect from the BC community. You know the type - soaring chorus, guitars, collaborations, a general ‘we live in an area that doesn’t have snow year round’ vibe to it. They released an album called Fable sometime last year, and it is a pretty good album. The video game, I enjoyed too. But that is entirely unrelated, besides the namesake. I really have to become less literal with my posts.

The Immaculate Machine are playing Thursday 8:30 at the Horseshoe as part of the CHART Annual showcase at CMW. Other notable acts on this bill include Katie Stelmanis and Plants and Animals, two acts that Wade has already written about on this blog. You should go check it out.

Note: Immaculate Machine has an in-store session at Soundscapes (where else..really) at 5 pm on Thursday. So do that, go to Duffs or Utopia after then, I dunno, check out other shows on Thursday.

Here is a tune off their 2007 album.

 

 Immaculate Machine - Dear Confessor: Play Now

Toronto - Remember when the Manic Street Preachers were the anti-everythings? The socialist group with the politically charged lyrics that so took themselves seriously that guitarist and main man Richie Edwards CARVED 4-REAL into his arm in front of a reporter when they questioned whether their act was all for show? Well, its been a decade and Richie Edwards had committed suicide (or not…) and lets face it, people get mellow with age.

At the recent 2008 NME awards, the Manics fully embraced their slow grace into old age by covering Rhianna’s Umbrella. Now don’t get me wrong, that tune is awesome. But a part of me thinks that 1993 Manics would look at 2008 Manics and be all like WTF.

Sorry if the picture was graphic.

 

 Manic Street Preachers - Umbrella: Play Now