Words by Sarah Silver

When I entered the modest back room of Pianos Friday night, the five members of Karkwa were scurrying to get their equipment set up for a quick soundcheck just moments after arriving in New York. “It’s so funny to see them carrying their own stuff,” remarked a Quebecker fan who happened to be in town for the show.  “In Quebec, they have a huge team that sets everything up.”  Indeed, everything is bigger in Canada for Karkwa, who formed in 1998, and whose most recent album, Les Chemins de Verre, won last year’s Polaris Music Prize for best full-length Canadian album.  Lucky for me, they are still obscure enough here in the States that I had the pleasure of talking with Louis-Jean Cormier (lead vocals, guitar), François Lafontaine (keyboards, vocals), and Stéphane Bergeron (percussion) over an intimate dinner.

Click here for full interview

Like a deserted beach in the midst of a chilling winter, The Judy Blooms are love and depression; only highs and lows lead by desperate manic vocals pleading over frivolous love and missed connections. Grieving guitars wailing in regret and drums that beat like a breaking heart mold their despondent lullabies of infatuation and self-loathing. Influenced by bands like Nirvana and The Walkmen, The Judy Blooms write romantic anthems for the troubled and the emotionally unavailable. Originally from the Gem City, a proletariat factory hub in Dayton Ohio, The Judy Blooms exert just the right touch of Retro and Grunge smudged in a little elbow grease.

Curious? Check them out Saturday, April 16th at Lit Lounge.

Listen, Befriend and Go!