  Broken Social Scene. |
It may seem like a dead time of year for music, but it turns out that even as we speak, a stash of long-awaited new albums is being readied for release in the next couple of months.
Here are five of the most anticipated:
Caribou
Of all the stories of artists forced to change their names, Manitoba's must be the weirdest. The maker of brilliantly innovative collisions between electronica and pop -- raised Dan Snaith in Dundas, Ont. -- changed his name to Caribou after receiving threatening letters from The Dictators' Handsome Dick Manitoba. Whatever Snaith calls himself, though, The Milk Of Human Kindness, the followup to his ground-breaking Up In Flames, is bound to be beautiful, strange and addictive.
Broken Social Scene
The ever expanding and contracting local collective led by Brendan Canning and Kevin Drew opened international doors for Canadian musicians and won hearts and minds with their still fresh and wonderful You Forgot It In People. But now it's time to follow it up. That won't be easy, but two years of touring has made them tighter, and as long as they ignore the hype and follow their instincts they'll be fine. How could they not be? The new album, tentatively titled Windsurfing Nation because of all the "glidey" songs, is expected next month.
Esthero
The Toronto singer made big waves at 18 with 1998's trip-hoppy Breath From Another, then left town and fell out of sight. But things are heating up for her -- first she sang on The Black Eyed Peas' Weekends, then her track O.G. B**tch soared to the top of Billboard's club play chart. Last month she released an EP called We R In Need Of A Musical Revolution, which let loose her anger at the media's soft ride for R. Kelly. Now, finally, comes a full album, Wikked Lil Grrrls, due Feb. 15 and featuring a mix of hip-hop, jazz, rock and soul plus guest spots from Sean Lennon and Cee-Lo.
The Soundtrack Of Our Lives
This six-member Swedish band, led by giant robed singer Ebbot Lundberg, play an interesting mixture of garage rock -- like fellow Swedish invaders The Hives -- hippie psychedelia and plain old solid rock 'n' roll. Their third album, Behind The Music, hit a nerve in 2002 and was nominated for a Grammy, and its followup, Origins, is due next month. Word is that they recorded enough for a double album, so we may see an album of extras called Origins Support and a tour later in the year.
The Two Koreas
This is a local band made up of rock critics and friends -- including eye's Stuart Berman and Jason Anderson, former Sun writer Kieran Grant, The Uncut's Ian Worang and Magnetars' Dave Gee - so I really shouldn't be writing about them. But what started as a fun side project for music nerds has turned into something bigger and much better, and when I see their live show -- a fabulous entertainment that ropes in elements of The Fall, The Strokes and a few other well-chosen influences -- I wonder how long they'll keep their day jobs. The band's debut CD, Main Plates & Classic Pies, is just waiting for them to find the time to mix and release it.
