Secret City Records

Secret City signs Diamond Rings, Daniel Isaiah Schachter

Very exciting days here at Secret City. We're pleased announce that we've made not one but two fabulous additions to the homegrown, worldwide roster. Though he's yet to release a full length album (more on that soon), Toronto-based artist Diamond Rings likely doesn't need much of an introduction. Between last year's "All Yr Songs" video, the "Wait & See" 7" and the new "Show Me Your Stuff" 12" (featuring a B-side remix by Secret City label-mate Miracle Fortress), Diamond Rings, aka John O., has been pretty busy these past few months. We're stoked to be announcing the October 26th release of his debut full-length Special Affections today. Daniel Isaiah Schachter has made at least as many videos as Diamond Rings, but not of the musical variety. Though he's an award-winning up-and-coming filmmaker, he's also been fronting bands in Montreal for years, quietly penning song after song and turning into one of the city's best lyricists and songwriters—at least to those in the know. We have a feeling he's going to reach a much wider audience very soon as he wraps up recording his debut solo record under his own name this summer. Daniel will be kick-starting Osheaga this Saturday in Montreal, so don't be late.

Plants and Animals road warriors hit home with big Toronto, Montreal shows this week

Plants and Animals close out the first long leg of their North American tour in support of La La Land this week, with big shows in Toronto and Montreal. They'll also be on MTV live this evening at the Masonic Temple in advance of their show at the Opera House tomorrow night. Tickets for the Opera House are available here. On Friday night they make their Montreal Jazz Fest debut at Metropolis, with the Besnard Lakes supporting. Tickets for that show are available here. Fear not, however, other folks around the globe will have ample opportunity to catch Plants and Animals this summer, as they're set to play a number of other festivals starting July, including dates in Ottawa, Chicago and Seattle, the UK and Germany. They've also just announced a big show in NYC in the fall at Terminal 5 with Frightened Rabbit. Check the shows section for more details.

Heart of My Own and La La Land get early Polaris Prize nods

Both of Secret City's releases so far this year have made the long list for the 2010 Polaris Prize. Basia Bulat's Heart of My Own and Plants and Animals' La La Land are two absolutely phenomenal records that we're very proud to be behind, so congrats to them. Our only regret is that both of them can't win the whole thing (though both had a shot with their respective debuts as short-listers in 2008!). Here's hoping we at least get a repeat of that scenario.

La La Land All Music Guide Review

"La La Land takes its name from what the band has described as a "vortex of confusion," but the dizzying effect that the album's disparate stylistic strains might incur is an altogether charming one ... For a trio that remains consistently unpretentious and accessible, Plants and Animals seem to have sucked up a fair amount of art rock influences somewhere along the way; [but] If there's a connecting thread running through the album, it's the chunky, insistent guitar riffs that pop up repeatedly ... Whatever you call it, that predilection for juicy hooks is a major part of what keeps this mercurial bunch solidly grounded."

New Patrick Watson single available today

Well this is fun. Patrick Watson recorded a new song so we decided to release it. It's called "Sit Down Beside Me" and it's available as of today exclusively on iTunes in Canada and the USA. "Sit Down Beside Me" sees Watson return to the more accessible dreamy pop of 2006's Close to Paradise while incorporating the rhythmic lessons learned on 2009's Wooden Arms. Like Watson's breakthrough hit "The Great Escape," the new single has piano and a simple catchy melody at its core, but this one uses that as a launch pad before taking off into outer space. Good luck getting the vocal refrain out of your head when it's done. Enjoy!

Basia Bulat brings Heart back to Canada for the summer

Basia Bulat is not done sharing her Heart with Canada! She's been all over the world since the release of her sophomore album Heart of My Own in January, and her nationwide tour that followed. The US, the UK, Poland, Sweden; the list of countries that have taken her into their hearts just seems to grow and grow. But in June she returns home to kickoff a summer schedule that's heavy with love for Canada, playing both intimate shows and some of the country's biggest summer festivals. She returns to Toronto on June 4th at the Phoenix for the first time since her sold out album launch in January, visits Quebec City for the first time this year and plays three consecutive nights at the Montreal International Jazz Festival, and will appear at Hillside in Guelph, Bluesfest in Ottawa, and the Folk on the Rocks Festival in Yellowknife. She'll also be headed down to New York in August for a show with St. Vincent at Central Park Summerstage.

Rave reviews for Patrick Watson's New York shows, more US dates next week

People are raving about Patrick Watson's recent performances in Brooklyn and Manhattan last week. Brooklyn Vegan says that "he mesmerized a room full of chattering adults at 92YTribeca Friday night, into respectful silence. According to friends at the Bell House for the show the previous night, at one point you could actually hear crickets." You can read PopMatters glowing review of the Brookyln show here. Watson & the Wooden Arms are playing a few more select US dates starting next week, with shows in Chicago, Denver, LA, San Diego, San Fransisco, and wrapping things up at the Sasquatch! at the Gorge.

Blogotheque - The Mama Papa recording sessions

Blogotheque has posted a unique Take-Away show today that features Plants and Animals recording "The Mama Papa" in France. They shot this at the same time as the series that ran in June 2009 featuring songs from Parc Avenue. You get to see the band in the recording process. Ultimately the band would actually re-record The Mama Papa with a different arranegment, but the take you see here is include on the iTunes release of the album as an extra: "The Mama Papa (Paris Basement Mix)". It rocks.

La La Land - Paste review - 85

"The record is alive with a lush, symphonic sensuousness that recalls Of Montreal; it’s as layered and ornate as an origami crane, but as organic and effortless as the real feathered thing. While the songs are shorter and punchier than the seven-minute marathons of Parc Avenue ... they’re complicated and gorgeous and feel as innate as desire itself." 85/100

La La Land landed! Tour starts tonight with live online stream.

If you've visited the Secret City site at all in the past month or so, you know how excited we are about today and the release of Plants and Animals' La La Land. Well that's today. The album is available on CD and LP format in stores across North America, or directly from us. And of course it's also available at fine digital stores. The iTunes version in Canada and the USA also features a pretty slamming alternate version of "The Mama Papa". The band starts their massive North American tour tonight in Toronto with a free show at the Horseshoe. They're hitting a ton of cities across the continent, but regardless of where you are you can tune in tonight at 10:30pm for a live stream of the the show courtresy of LiveStream. We'll be embedding the show here, on plantsandanimals.ca, and you'll be allow to integrate it with Twitter and Facebook as well. Here are just a few things people are saying about La La Land: "Psychedelic, amplified and momentous, songs are multifaceted, with a sense of Radiohead importance, Arcade Fire intensity and très cool dirty-basement rock and roll ("American Idol" gets my vote as the missing link between Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street)." - The Globe and Mail "utterly thrilling while still retaining all the muted joy and gentle perfection of Parc Avenue ... an album for the ages and Plants and Animals' ultimate piece of work thus far" - Under the Radar "rife with chiming bells, ebullient trumpet blasts, and whistled outros. It's a bewitching record — a mix of soft-rock luster, classic-rock grit, and indie-rock dexterity — a sort of AM Gold for the dark-hearted." - eMusic ""By the time the amps stop ringing, you feel you've travelled through a cohesive, front-to-back, old-fashioned album, one that you probably wouldn't be surprised to learn still got plenty of spins decades down the line." - Blurt