Tinderbox - no, really, let go (1996)

We're veering off from our last post, at least in terms of musical styles. The smarty-pants folk-ish tunes of Tinderbox are a far way from Britpop, but this is the starting point for the work of Kris Demeanor, so, uh, take note, will you?

We posted the band's tape a few years ago, and a few songs from that outing are also on here. In fact, reading back to our post for that tape, we don't know that we have too much more to say about Tinderbox. Quirky storytelling, check. Manic guitar playing, check.

Download link, check.

Red Autumn Fall - Debutant (1996)

So, the weirdest thing has happened to Gene Poole over the past nearly ten years of running the CCPS: he now claims that he has come to like Red Autumn Fall. In fact, when we pulled out this CD, his eyes lit up and he said, "that one! That's their best It's super good!"

And we actually have to agree - this is an absolutely solid CD that really shows what Red Autumn Fall were about. Sure, Simeon's vocals are over-wrought, but that's what it was all about. "Josephite" and "The Revenge of the Blazer Boys" are near-perfect pop songs (so good, in fact, that the band re-recorded them for 1998's Departure CD). And the closing track, "Leopard Skin Seat Cover" takes us back to the Republik and the giddy heyday of Calgary's Brit pop scene. We really need to go to Ming for cocktail now...

Get the Debutant here.

Lotus Galaxy - Lotus Galaxy (1996)

We may as well carry on with posting a few CDs that meet our guideline of being more than 20 years old. Mostly because we have no old tapes to post right now. Hey, if you want to fix that and donate something, drop us a line, will you?

Anyways, this CD was hiding in our collection in its slimline case. Very sneaky. But we're glad we dug it out, it's a pretty great sample of how good Britpop got in our city. Buoyed by Sheila Mann's ethereal vocals, Lotus Galaxy redeemed a lot of the stuff out of that part of the scene. The track "Butterfly" still holds up. Although it does make us want to go grab a cocktail at Ming.

Get the Lotus here.

Knots - Four Years In The Shade (2016)

Bart Records is on fire this year (metaphorically, that is), and this new Knots cassette is a great addition to the label's already impressive discography.

Where the first Knots tape from a few years ago was a sparse affair, this new release sees Neal Moignard leading a full band for a tape full of pop goodness. There's a great balance between Moignard's folk tendencies and power pop that works really well here, delivering songs like "Higher Ground" as hooky gems.

Get it from the Bart Records store or listen via the Knots bandcamp.