RCRD LBL

The story begins with a 26-year-old beat-maker Factor. Rumor is he culls together hip hop, soul and rock into a wild, bubbling cauldron (read: production station) somewhere in the prairie hinterlands of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Truth be told, we don't really know what Saskatoon is like nor can we even say it 29 times fast. And we also really don't know the morale of this story.

Alls we know is that we find this track "Good Old Smokey" hypnotic- deep musky rap over bluesy coos and jewelry box tingles that float in and out of a mellow rhythmic soundscape.The lyrics feel like they are being churned out in slow motion like a 68 year old woman churning butter - you know- so that the richness and texture of each word is retained.............?(Far be it of me to shove an drugged out analogy next to one of dearly beloved elders- but here goes:)....The cadence makes you feels like the pot has just hit, your eyelids droop, and everything suddenly feels light and subdued. Smokey indeed.

Sounds Like: Microphone Mike, Myka 9, Sadat X, Tyron Davis

Download: Factor - Good Old Smokey My Kanine Feat Myka 9

Factor @ Myspace

Band names are important.  If you're named the Fluffy Princesses and sound like Brutal Knights there is certain to be a tragic disconnect.  Then there is Heavy Creatures.  They could be Dirty Animals or Sexy Beasts - essentially you'd just need an adjective to convey purringly thick swagger and a noun that remained as primitive as possible and you would get the idea.  Heavy Creatures is fronted by two women who use classic 60s female harmonies in "Family Tree" as effectively as they combine their vocal power to create a primal drum circle feel in "Love Come Down."  And the music - well, shit is heavy.  It chuggs along beneath grandly gesturing keyboard and guitar lines while toying with the blues and psychedelic music so cleverly you're hard pressed to assign them a genre.  These creatures understand the meaning of "momentum" and "build" and "crescendo" so well, you'd swear they were mounting a charge on all the mediocre bands in NYC.  Heavy Creatures is the closest thing to Jefferson Airplane when they were interesting, sexy and just a bit creepy we've seen, so put on something beaded and dig. 

Sounds Like: Jefferson Airplane, Big Sleep, Beach House, Black Keys, Black Horse

Download: Heavy Creatures - Family Tree

Download: Heavy Creatures - Love Come Down

Heavy Creatures @ MySpace

Heavy Creatures @ RCRD LBL

This new version of The Heavy's "Coleen" for simplicity's sake should be titled "Coleen- With Attitude." This striped down acoustic version is most appropriate for a late-night retro diner that's cloaked in smoke and reeking of whiskey - with sticky leather seats and a surprise burlesque show every hour. In struts Kelvin Swamy in suit, collar up. His voice curls over heavy, hard power chords - each chord plunked to deliberately heighten the soul and blues. You're sitting in your seat- feeling like you lost your love or your love lost you and you start to shake your head slow to the beat – feeling like the song is calling your name. Just when you can't tell if the music or scotch is hitting you harder, the song ends, your cigarette is out, and you’re again alone in the dark. And you realize the song was hitting you harder. Welcome to the blues.

SOUNDS LIKE: Sly and The Family Stone, Curtis Mayfield, Gnarls Barkley

Download : The Heavy- Coleen (Alternate Take)

Download: The Heavy - Coleen

The Heavy @ Myspace

We haven’t felt this sort of quirky down-home, jazz-infused Americana blues since, well, our grandpapas frequented 1920s red-velour smoking lounges. In "Beautiful Once" you imagine William F. Gibbs floating from guitar to piano effortlessly, throwing instruments in the air and catching them with bravado, while still stirring his martini. In his album "My Fellow Sophisticates" (to be released in June), the Alabama native proves he's undoubtedly talented- in the way he’d probably still figure out how to churn out music if his palms were tied behind his back. He describes his guitar as his “gateway drug to songwriting, arranging, singing, and exploring music” with long fingernails and non-standard tuning. Keep an eye on this maverick…..his music is a precious drug.

SOUNDS LIKE: Jeff Buckley, M. Ward, Ferraby Lionheart

DOWNLOAD: William F. Gibbs - Beautiful Once

William F. Gibbs @ Myspace