Regularly scheduled publishing will return here sometime soon (there’s a lot to catch up on when that does happen), but until then, enjoy some new tunes courtesy of the first, as-yet unfinished mixes from the band kinda-sorta formerly known as The Darns, now going under the moniker “George”.

We spent two days at Sleepytown Sound in the east-end of Toronto this past weekend to begin recording an EP which will eventually be released in some form or another, possibly a limited run of vinyl.

The songs here are unmixed, unbalanced and still in need of a few touch ups. That said, please enjoy. On behalf of Ed, Tom, Kevin and myself, we’d love to hear what you think of them, good or bad.

Bonus points if you can pick out what font that is in the logo ;-)

It’s been nearly a month since I put together the last mix tape and a new tape felt like a good way to start the year off; this time under the guise of celebrating music and/or artists from my home and native land. Yup, this one’s all Canada.

These tracks comprise, for me, either quintessential Canadian artists or in maybe one case, that artist’s quintessential song — the one they may be most well-known for. In a few cases, I just picked oddball songs that I happen to really like. Bear in mind it’s not intended to be the essential Canadian artists or songs, but rather just some that speak to me for various reasons.

Download “Oh Canada!” (56MB/m4a bookmarked format)

1. Far Too Canadian - Spirit of the West. What some might describe as a typical Canadian conscience.
2. Of Montreal - The Stills. While I have no idea whether this song really has anything to do with the city of Montreal or not, it does have a great rhythm and even after a few years this track still sounds fresh to me.
3. Tournament of Hearts - The Weakerthans. What can possibly be more Canadian than a band from Winnipeg and a song about curling?
4. Bass Song - Hayden. A slightly twisted story about being murdered while recording a song.
5. Seventeen Seconds - Cowboy Junkies. Although outside of the country, the Junkies are probably best known for their version of “Sweet Jane”, this has got them covering The Cure; and a really old Cure track at that.
6. Execution Day (Live) - The New Pornographers. Dan Bejar. Neko Case. Live. The counterpoint melodies between Neko, Dan and Carl that start about halfway through this track are killer.
7. Fifty Mission Cap - The Tragically Hip. A song about our national sport — hockey, Bill Barilko, the Leafs and the Stanley Cup. Pure Canadiana.
8. Metaphor - The Pursuit of Happiness. Singer Moe Berg and TPOH are a true Canadian classic. An older incarnation of the guys I write and play music with opened for them back in the mid-to-late nineties which was a real treat and a lot of fun.
9. 10th Grade Love - Treble Charger. Treble Charger, a band that started out with a true DIY indie spirit sadly slowly faded away but left us with a few real gems like this track which brings me back to my university days in the early 90’s.
10. Silver Road - Sarah Harmer with The Tragically Hip. The better version of this particular track, featuring The Hip as her backing band. This song fits in beautifully with the movie and soundtrack from which this version came.
11. The Tigers Have Spoken - Neko Case. Recorded in Toronto at the legendary Horseshoe Tavern with the Sadies. Oh, to have been there for this show…
12. The Tower of Learning - Rufus Wainwright. A favourite track featuring one of my favourite melodies. It’s big, full of pomp and just plain gorgeous.

The tape, as with the previous one has been assembled as a bookmarkable m4a file with chapter tracks (and album art) making it easy to jump between songs.

The idea of mixed tapes seem to be all the rage again among a number of my interweb friends, so in the spirit of the season and because I remember how much fun I used to have making them years ago, I’m tossing my hat into the mix tape ring too.

Although this one doesn’t really have an obvious theme throughout aside from being songs and artists that I enjoy, I do have a second one lined up (if there’s sufficient interest) which does have a stronger musical thread throughout. But enough yammering… here’s what’s on the (virtual) tape.

Download “The Tips of my Ears” (61MB/m4a bookmarked format)

1. You Remind me of Home - Ben Gibbard. A simple, catchy acoustic tune from a split album he did with Andrew Kenny of the American Analog Set. I love the guitar lick throughout the last bit of the song.
2. Please Read the Letter - Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. A track from the unexpected and surprisingly well matched duo. One of my favourite albums from this past year.
3. Virtute the cat Explains her Departure - The Weakerthans. Quite possibly the best and most poetic Canadian band to come out of Winnipeg. This song is both funny and yet incredibly sad. To fully appreciate it you also need to hear “Plea from a cat name Virtute” from their previous album called “Reconstruction Site”.
4. Midnight Coward - Stars. Gotta make sure Montreal is representing! One of my fave tracks from their latest and possibly best album.
5. White Lightning - Danny Michel. Probably not known outside of Canada, but Danny’s a phenomenal songwriter, inventive guitar player and captivating to watch perform. And he did an entire album of David Bowie covers which is really cool.
6. Debaser - Rogue Wave. Go indie rock! This is a great take on one of the more well known Pixies tracks and has a great groove and really cool drum parts and multiple harmonies happening throughout.
7. Rise Up - Glen Phillips. Performed live with his Mutual Admiration Society partners otherwise known as Nickel Creek. You likely know Glen not from his great solo work, but from his past work as the lead singer in Toad the Wet Sprocket.
8. Johnny Rouke - Elliott Brood. Yet another Canuck export. Guitarist Casey used to work with a few friends of mine and even helped out as guitar tech at a few Darns shows. A great live act if you ever get a chance to see them. It’s not often you see a drummer who uses an old suitcase for a bass drum.
9. Second Chance - Liam Finn. Son of Neil (of Crowded House). He looks and sounds remarkably like his father and clearly has many of the same songwriting sensibilities so he’ll definitely be someone to watch over the next few years.
10. Drunk Teenagers - Joel Plaskett. Ok, one more Canadian. This song has rawk written all over it.
11. Shadow Falls - Hello, Blue Roses. Otherwise known as a Dan Bejar (he, of Destroyer and The New Pornographers) collaboration, but something a little different. Based on this, I’m looking forward to hearing the rest of the album when it’s released.
12. The Thief - Jeremy Larson. I don’t really know anything about this guy other than I came across this track ages ago and really loved the production.
13. If I Live or If I Die - Cuff The Duke. I don’t really know where these guys would fall categorically (maybe a little country, some rock, a bit bluesy), but it doesn’t matter because they’re just plain good. Great counterpoint melodies happening in this particular track.

Oh, and I even included some artwork to go along with it. Nothing fancy, but better than nothing!

Last week after a bit of a slow patch, a stint of writers block perhaps, The Darns decided to call it a day. Yep, the band is no more; well, sort of.

You can still buy all 3 releases from the band on iTunes or can order a physical CD copy of the band’s last full release, “What It All Turns Into” from thedarns.com. We sold more than enough to cover manufacturing and marketing expenses so, for the foreseeable future they’ll be on sale at a discounted price for anyone that wants one.

SXSW attendees can request one in the comments and I’ll bring some along with me next month.

Now, back to the earlier sort of comment. Ed, Kevin, Tom and I are continuing on as a unit but shifting musical gears. We’re simplifying and refocusing. It may be 4 of 5 members, but it will not be the same band. It’s a fresh start.

Although we’re debating what to do about a singer long-term, Ed has currently taken up the challenge while we focus on the task of songwriting. Starting fresh means leaving behind years of material, but that, ultimately will be a good thing for us.