Upper Class Records burst onto the indie scene last year with a rash of stellar indie-pop records that mixed the joyous strains of 60s guitar melodies and the new wave of the 80s. The label has called their aesthetic “newer wave”. Derek Miller called the debut album of one of those bands, the Cansecos: “woozy with electronic bliss and chomping at the bit with bottom-heavy beats and pummeling drum machines”. We asked one half of that group, Gareth Jones, to talk about some of his favorite recent tracks.

girlsareshort– I Wonder If I Take You Home

girlsareshort released two absolutely brilliant albums and then, in these past few months, broke up to pursue individual projects. This is the final thing they did. A cover of Lisa Lisa & The Cult Jam’s 80’s dance anthem. It is not available, but I think Upper Class will release a 12” of it in the spring. Go check out the two girlsareshort albums if you enjoy being excited about music. Only 300 copies were ever pressed of their first album, Contact Kiss (you can get one at www.hi-hat.ca), while the second album, Early North American is probably available from Insound. If not, go to Upper Class Records.

[visit the Upper Class website here]

The Russian Futurists– Still Life

The Russian Futurists (Matt Hart) is about to release his new album. It is another 10 songs of psychotic fun hooks and beats. Every song on the new album is fucking incredible. I pick this song to share because of the rhymey smarts that Matt brings:

Are you getting the sense that your days are numbered, but still hoping they end fast?
Is it consolation to know that it will end; you just have to be patient
I don’t mean to be bleak but that’s the sense that I get when we speak
I don’t like to showboat because everything that I’ve done, you co-wrote
I scored a film on a notepad; you’re in the credits so you should know that
In subtitles I wrote that “Oh I Love You, How I love You”
When I die, put a ring on your finger, you were always mine
And we both know we’re just painted on canvas but it’s still life

I’m pretty sure this is the first mp3 posted anywhere from the new Russian Futurists album, so go tell your friends!

[visit the Russian Futurists website here, buy Russian Futurists stuff here, read Kareem Estfan’s review of Let’s Get Ready to Crumble here]

The Leak Brothers– Gimmesumdeath, [Water World]

Cage and Tame1 recorded a rap record about PCP and Dipped cigarettes. Do you need any more reason to listen to this? It’s fucking hot. The above-mentioned Russian Futurist Matt Hart calls this the best hip hop album of 2004. I hereby agree. And this is the #1 song.

[visit the Eastern Conference Records website here, buy Water World here]

Vast Aire feat. Akrobatik– Fly, [The Way Of The Fist]

Another recent favourite album of mine was Cannibal Ox’s “The Cold Vein” a few years back. Then Vast Aire, ½ of Can Ox put out a pretty good album. Then in the fall of this year somebody decided to start pushing these bootleg CDs called The Way Of The Fist – Vast Aire Collabo’s and Classics Vol. 1 and 2. “Fly” is one of many, many, many hot tracks spread across the two discs.

[visit the Vast Aire website here, buy Look Ma No Hands here]