Topping year-end lists everywhere, the Arcade Fire seemingly appeared out of nowhere to claim a whole clutch of hearts with their debut album Funeral. Stylus writer Josh Drimmer called the album, “as celebratory, emotionally rich and life-affirming as a good funeral should be, but never is.” We asked drummer Jeremy Gara to share some of his recent favorite tracks.

The Wooden Stars– Uncivilized

One of my favourite bands, and easily one of the most influential in my social scene. From Ottawa, The Wooden Stars put out records and toured for years until around 2002 when they disbanded. Reformed just recently—accepting the challenge as a 40th birthday wish for friend and producer/engineer Dave Draves—they’ve since played a few shows and have a few more lined up, and there’s talk of getting back in the studio to finish an album started before they stopped playing a few years ago. This song is my favourite of the sessions, and as luck would have it, it’s close enough to being done that it’s up there on their website.

[visit the website here]

Cocteau Twins– Cherry Coloured Funk

When I was a teenager, I started visiting Toronto pretty often to see some new friends. One of the roomies where I stayed had always been a Cocteau Twins fan. She had all the records and she’d re-recommend them every now and then. Maybe, subconsciously, I was waiting for the right time to explore, because I only put one on a few months ago. Since then, I’ve barely listened to anything else.

[visit the website here]

The Books– A Little Longing Goes Away

Despite a recent surge of press and their names popping up here and there, I’ve still not read a thing about The Books. I think it’s a couple of guys? Either way… the music is so curious, beautiful, and unpredictable. It’s not too often I can either totally enjoy it all the way through, or decide to dig in, repeat some sections and raise an eyebrow and wonder “how in the hell do they do that?” I think that’s why I’m nervous about reading into what they do. I enjoy not even being able to picture the number of people there, let alone what they’re doing.

[visit the website here]