A few things: Woodhands, Delhi 2 Dublin, The Acorn, Shawn Clarke.

My favourite live band has a new remix EP out this week. Who's that, you ask? Woodhands! (D'uh.) Download the EP for free from the band's label, Paper Bag Records. Here's what you can look forward to:

Track Listing:

1. Pockets (Diamond Rings Mix)
2. Dissembler (Mathemagic Mix)
3. Dissembler (French Husband Mix)
4. CP24 (Teen Mix)
5. Pockets (Jeremy Glenn’s Stay Real Dub)
6. Dissembler (Dan’s Piano Version)

Catch Woodhands on the road this summer:

May 25 @ Habourfront Centre, Toronto (Inside The Musician’s Studio)
July 1-2 @ Sled Island, Calgary
July 3 @ Pride Festival Outdoor Main Stage, Toronto
July 12 @ Le National, Montréal (with Passion Pit)
July 15 @ Blues Fest, Ottawa (with Champion)
July 24 @ Evolve Festival, Antigonish

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There's a weird "world music"-type Vancouver band you may have heard of called Delhi 2 Dublin. Their mix of, let's see [checking press release], "Bhangra, Celtic, Dub Reggae and Electronica" is creative. They've landed high-profile gigs like Canada Day on Parliament Hill and a free Yonge-Dundas Square performance last summer, and while I doubt indie music tastemakers like Pitchfork would approve, interesting, fun music is interesting, fun music. Their second album is out on Tuesday. It's called Planet Electric.

(That was them at Hillside Inside.) Oh, and if you like what you hear, you can "like" it on Facebook, too. If the band gets itself 7,000 fans by the end of 4 May, it'll offer up the EP version of its new album as a free download to everyone who wants it.

Delhi 2 Dublin celebrate the release of their album at the Drake Hotel on 11 May. Tickets are $15 at the door.

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One of my favourite bands, The Acorn, whose album is due out on 1 June, have released the first single off it for free download. Head over to Paper Bag Records to preorder No Ghost. The band is in Toronto on 11 June for a show at Lee's Palace. For full Canadian tour dates, check here.

Download: "No Ghost" (No Ghost, 2010).

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I got a CD in the mail recently from a guy named Shawn Clarke. I've met Shawn a few times at shows, and have seen him play saxophone with Olenka & the Autumn Lovers and Timber Timbre. He's also got a nice arts & culture blog that I read. Shawn's got a musical project of his own and performs around town in singer-songwriter-type evenings. And it's his own album, Like Birds Too Tired To Fly, that came for me. Why am I telling you this? Because I finally today tore off the cellophane wrapping and popped the disc into my stereo, and I loved what I heard! Seemingly simple, yet meaningful songs with strong vocals and good arrangements. I need to listen more. Right now.

Check him out.

A few things: The Sadies, The Darcys, Caribou, Young Doctors in Love.

Monday night I had the privilege of going to see the Sadies perform a short but blistering set at the intimate Rivoli for an invite-only audience. The Sadies are, I think it's fair to say, Toronto music legends. Their new album, Darker Circles, is out on 18 May. You can listen to it over at Outside Music. The band---headed by brothers Dallas and Travis Good, with bassist Sean Dean and drummer Mike Belistky---knows how to provide a stand-out live performance complete with impressive musical tricks. Catch them at Lee's Palace on 22 May.

The Darcys are giving away the digital version of their new 7", The House Built Around Your Voice. Trade your email address for the songs. They've got a release show at the Horseshoe Tavern on 3 June, after they come back from a month-long tour. The band is featured on a great new Toronto music website I recently discovered, The Take.

Polaris winner Dan Snaith, AKA Caribou, is back with a new album, Swim. The album is currently streaming in full. Go listen, it's really fun, lots of great beats. The band is currently touring in Germany, and will headline a sold-out all ages show at the Phoenix on 3 May to kick-off the North American part of its tour.

Some of you might be interested, too, in a remix project that's now underway. Go download the parts, and then upload your contribution. The competition ends May 7.

Last Thursday, I went to see a newer Toronto band called Young Doctors in Love. They've been playing around town a bit to build an audience, after having celebrated the release of their first EP, 5 Golden Greats. That EP's been garnering some really positive reviews, and I agree: it's a stellar beginning. Last week's show an Earth Day celebration, and so the band went for a minimalist configuration, and unplugged entirely for a couple tunes. Given the chatty-chatty audience at Sneaky Dee's that night, it's didn't really work as well as it might have (like, say, at Tranzac's front room), but it was a valiant effort that certainly made more than a few people shut-up and pay attention.

As for me, I'm keen to see the band perform with a little more oomph; they show great promise. Solid, catchy pop songs, lovely vocals, great bass lines . . . now just add some more energy to the live performance, and it'll be great. Highlights included "Eloise And Her Sister Marta," "Oh Caroline," and "(And If You Really Want To) Say That Again," all off the EP.

Download: Young Doctors in Love, "Eloise and Her Sister Marta" (5 Golden Greats EP, 2010).

A few things: Megan Hamilton, Nightwood, Doc Pickles, Silver Speakers.

The talented, wicked-smart, beautiful, and otherwise awesome Megan Hamilton, who last fall relocated to Kingston, Ontario, has a central/western Canada tour coming up next month. It starts in Ontario and then she and her band will make there way out to Vancouver and back in a van. I wish them well! Go see them if you can. They are in Toronto on 14 May at the Holy Oak, host to many charming lower-key (but still rocking) shows.

Download: Megan Hamilton & the Volunteer Canola, "From Here to Vancouver" (See Your Midnight Breath in the Shipyard, 2009). I just had to offer up this one... ;-)

Here's the promo video for the tour:

A couple Thursdays ago I went to see a young Montreal band called Nightwood. The trio played at the Boat to a boisterous group of well-wishers and fans. I've been hearing some good things about this band from local music bloggers, and I wasn't disappointed by their set. Great vocals! Spunky attitude! So cute! My favourite song of theirs that I heard that night was "Sunken Mountain."

Download: "Sunken Mountain" (Carta Marina, 2009).

Wavelength co-founder and longtime MC Doc Pickles (Duncan McDonell) has been making music on his own and with friends for many years. And when he's done putting songs together and making some recordings, he shares them with the world, for free. He recently finished one such project, an "audiozine." It's called Move the Cube, and it's available here. In return for downloading the tracks, all Doc asks is that "you make some free songs for people." Anyone who knows him knows Doc's musical philosophy is basically that: Start your own band! Do it now! Do it often!

But that's not all. After doing Move the Cube back in early March, Doc recorded two more albums of free stuff, Throughth and Tesseract. If you check Internet Archive's own archives, you'll find plenty more Doc Pickles' compositions. Over at the Wavelength blog, Jonny Dovercourt tells us more about Doc and his music.

Another free recording comes from Tyrone Warner's Silver Speakers. The 6-song EP, called Fracture Clinic, may be downloaded here from GravenRecords. Here's a taste:

Download: Silver Speakers, "Wrong Blood" (Fracture Clinic, 2010).

Tyrone writes that the EP "is about my own struggle with faith and the battle against the physical implications of anxiety and depression. . . . The album also includes a cover of my favourite Mountain Goats song, and a echo-drenched version of an old hymn. Please note, this record has not been mastered, so at times it may be quieter than the highly compressed/produced tracks in the rest of your audio collection. Thanks for listening."

A few things: Green Go, Liz Worth, Bishop Morocco, Sing Leaf.

Today Guelph/Toronto electro popsters Green Go released their second remix project on the internet. Like the first one, volume II features reworking of Canadian bands. The band remixed one of their own songs ("Watch Your Step") from 2009's Borders, as well as tracks by some of my favourites: Diamond Rings ("All Yr Songs"), Think About Life ("Sweet Sixteen"), Gregory Pepper & his Problems ("7ths and 3rds"), and Woodhands ("Can't See Straight")! Here's the Woodhands' cut, plus the original.

Download: Woodhands, "Can't See Straight (Green Go remix)" (Remix Project Vol. II, 2010).

Download: Woodhands, "Can't See Straight" (Heart Attack, 2008).

Head over to Green Go's MySpace page to download the rest of the songs, all for free. Watch the promo video here.

Liz Worth's book, Treat Me Like Dirt: An Oral History of Punk in Toronto and Beyond, 1977-1981, in on its third printing---the first and second runs are entirely sold out! Clearly the publisher, Bongo Beat Books, had no idea that the book would find so many fans among those who were there and younger people who weren't even alive until after 1981 (including the author herself). As both a historian (in training) and someone interested in the Toronto scene, this is a must-read book for me. The book is a compilation of interviews, all put together to make chronological and thematic sense. The story is told through the words of the people who were there, including musicians, promoters, and fans. I would have liked for Liz to have offered some more of her own commentary, but she didn't see this as her role. That's ok. A worthwhile read.

An except is published on Spinner. You can get yourself a copy of the book in local book and music shops.

Bishop Morocco is James Sayce (ex-Tangiers, Deadly Snakes) and Jake Fairly (Fairmont). They've got a full-length album coming out 1 June, and last month the band has released a free digital single. Included is the song "Last Year's Disco" as well as a remix by Graham Walsh from Holy Fuck. Get it from Hand Drawn Dracula. Here's the music video:

David Como (AKA Sing Leaf) has a new single out, too. Released today, you can get it from the band website for the affordable cost of $pwyc. Sing Leaf used to perform as a five-piece band, but David's now going about it as a solo project. Have a listen to the songs and download them at SingLeaf.ca.

A few things: Bruce Peninsula, Born Ruffians, the Acorn, Ruby Coast.

Alright, internet. So far I've managed to avoid doing much "news" writing on this blog. But now comes the time when I find myself sitting on lots of great news and free mp3s I want to give you, that I'm starting this new section: "A few things." As in "I have a few things to tell you about and share with you." Oh, and be sure to check my Twitter feed for more tidbits!

Earlier this month Toronto psych-rock choir Bruce Peninsula released a new split 7" with Kingston's Apple Crisp Records. One side features a reworking of BP's song, uh, "Shanty Song," recorded with Narratives'-favourites Muskox! The other side is a collaboration between two Kingston bands, the Gertrudes and PS I Love You ("Sailor"). Head over to Bruce Peninsula's website to stream both tracks and order the 7" or purchase a digital download. Here's a freebie from the band's album to tide you over.

Download: Bruce Peninsula, "Shanty Song" (A Mountain Is A Mouth, 2009).

We'll have to wait only a little bit longer for new releases from Born Ruffians and Ottawa's the Acorn. Both are putting out new albums on Paper Bag Records, with a shared release date of 1 June. The youngsters' disc is titled Say It, while their elders are calling theirs No Ghost. You can get yourself a free download the first single off Say It, "Sole Brother," if you want it. (You want it.) Both albums can be pre-ordered through the Paper Bag website. No doubt the blogs will comment "matured as a band" (BR) and "rockier sound" (Acorn).

Finally, Ruby Coast are putting together a full-length. This will be a follow-up to their 2008 EP Projectable Collections (which was itself a follow-up to a demo EP which included earlier versions of most of the songs included). The band is heading to the studio to record with some famous people (I'm told): Howard Bilerman and Howard Paulson. These guys have toured with the likes of Tokyo Police Club and Born Ruffians, impressed me way back when they were mostly still underage, and I'm thrilled to see what comes next for them.

As a nice treat, the band is giving away digital downloads of their EP along with a never-released-before song, "Next Season." Grab all the songs here. Awesome! Follow the band's adventures on their new blog. (Blogging is fun.)