Oh, Canada!

Two Canadian bands are in for a mention today.

First, Winnipeg's Novillero makes a bow on eMusic today with their fine 2005 release, Aim Right for the Holes in Their Lives. If I had to describe them in one sentence, I'd say they're a cross between compatriots AC Newman/New Pornographers and the Ben Folds Five with some indie rock sensbility. Definitely head over to eMu and take a listen.

And more excitingly, we're only days away from the new release by Sloan, Never Hear The End of It (at least in Canada; the US release will probably be months/years away, but I'll get my grubby little hands on it before long). Although I haven't mentioned it in this space much or often, Sloan is one of my all-time favorite power pop bands, and I've been meaning for months to write about how Navy Blues might be one of my 10 (if not 5) favorite records of the 90s. Anyway, there are a couple of tracks from the album streaming at their myspace page, and they sound pretty damn good.