Little Foot Long Foot: Woman EP release party at Cherry Cola's

I discovered Little Foot Long Foot during Indie Week 2013. I thought they were a fantastic blues/rock band with tons of talent, especially their singer/guitarist Joan Smith, who has a powerful voice and rocks on the guitar. When I heard they had a new EP titled Woman coming out and they were doing a release party at Cherry Cola's, I just had to be there.

Little Foot Long Foot did not disappoint. Their tight set was high in energy and musicianship from start to finish and I don't think I was the only one left wanting more. The tunes are all riffs and emotional vocals, taking classic influences and rolling them up in a unique package. The new EP has made a quick impression on me, coming in at number 9 on my Favourite 25 Albums of 2014, while "Woman" and "Mess" made it into my Favourite 60 Songs of 2014 at numbers 8 and 41 respectively. Of course, Little Foot Long Foot featured on my Top 10 Canadian Bands of 2014, too. Needless to say, I love this band and can't wait to see them again.

They opened with "The Worst" from the new EP and included tunes from their 2009 début Harsh Words, their 2011 album Oh, Hell, their 2013 single Bridge Concerns and of course, more from Woman. Of course, "Kickface", which featured on season one of Orange Is The New Black, was a highlight. At the end of the set, Colin MacDonald, the producer of Woman and singer for The Trews joined the band on stage for the EP's title track. Great set. Great night. Great band.

Now take a listen to this incredibly talented band's amazing music:

"Neko Case Hate Fucks Kurt Cobain" (that's quite a visual, isn't it?)

"Bridge Concerns"

"Kickface"

"Mess"

"Woman"

Best of: Top 10 Canadian Bands from 2014

Another great year for music? Check

Another great year for Canadian music? Check

Here's a list of the 10 awesome Canadian artists that appear on my Favourite 60 Songs of 2014 list and my Favourite 25 Albums of 2014 list.

Public Animal "Careful" and "High Pony"

The Balconies "Boys and Girls", "The Slo" and "Do It In The Dark"

Lowell "The Bells", "Cloud 69" and "Palm Trees"

Little Foot Long Foot "Woman" and "Mess"

Mounties "Headphones" and "Pretty Respectable"

The New Pornographers "Dancehall Domine" "Brill Bruisers"

The Pack A.D. "Big Shot"

The C'Mons "Only Ghost" They're currently on hiatus, but they're one of two great discoveries at 2013's Indie Week (along with Little Foot Long Foot). I love their EP Places and am hoping for great things from them upon their return.

Death From Above 1979 "Trainwreck 1979"

Stars "From The Night"

Best of: My favourite 60 songs of 2014

It's the time of year for reflection. I say it was another great year for music. I think I saw more bands this year than any other year in my life. I had a great time taking pics of shows. Most of all, I loved the music. It's always about the music. And so without any further ado, here is my list of my favourite 60 songs of 2014.

60. Stars "From the Night"

59. The War on Drugs "Red Eyes"

58. Interpol "All the Rage Back Home"

57. Royal Blood "Come on Over"

56. Lowell "Palm Trees"

55. Blood Red Shoes "An Animal"

54. Band of Skulls "Asleep at the Wheel"

53. Elbow "New York Morning"

52. Temples "Mesmerise"

51. Alex Clare "Never Let You Go"

50. Split Single "Never Look Back"

49. Bob Mould "Hey Mr. Grey"

48. The New Pornographers "Brill Bruisers"

47. Death From Above 1979 "Trainwreck 1979"

46. Mounties "Pretty Respectable"

45. Ex Hex "Don't Wanna Lose"

44. PAWS "Tongues"

43. The C'Mons "Only Ghost"

42. Drowners "Luv, Hold Me Down"

41. Little Foot Long Foot "Mess"

40. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart "Simple and Sure"

39. Dum Dum Girls "Rimbaud Eyes"

38. The Pack A.D. "Big Shot"

37. Augustines "Weary Eyes"

36. Elbow "Charge"

35. The Districts "Funeral Beds"

34. Dinosaur Pile-Up "Peninsula"

33. The Both "Milwaukee"

32. The Balconies "Do It In The Dark"

31. Band of Skulls "Nightmares"

30. Royal Blood "Little Monster"

29. Lykke Li "Gunshot"

28. Spoon "Rent I Pay"

27. Kasabian "Eez-Eh"

26. Jimi Goodwin "Oh! Whiskey"

25. The Jezabels "The End"

24. Lykke Li "No Rest for the Wicked"

23. Bob Mould "The War"

22. Kasabian "Bumblebee"

21. Owl John "Red Hand"

20. The Balconies "The Slo"

19. Public Animal "High Pony"

18. The Hold Steady "I Hope This Whole Thing Didn't Frighten You"

17. Blood Red Shoes "The Perfect Mess"

16. St. Vincent "Birth In Reverse"

15. The New Pornographers "Dancehall Domine"

14. Augustines "Cruel City"

13. Split Single "Monolith"

12. Lowell "Cloud 69"

11. Haerts "All The Days"

10. St. Vincent "Digital Witness"

9. Mounties "Headphones"

8. Little Foot Long Foot "Woman"

7. Strand of Oaks "Goshen '97"

6. Lowell "The Bells"

5. Royal Blood "Out of the Black"

4. Bob Mould "I Don't Know You Anymore"

3. The Balconies "Boys and Girls"

2. Public Animal "Careful"


1. Augustines "Nothing to Lose But Your Head"

Check out my Favourite 25 Albums of 2014 list, too.

Best of: My top 25 favourite albums of 2014

As 2014 draws to a close, I've taken a few moments to assess my favourite albums of the year. This list is always harder, and shorter, for me than the songs list. A song jumps into my consciousness quickly and I can say, "Yup. Great tune!" much more easily than I can say, "Wow. Solid album."

The other thing I've noticed is that I've seen 18 of the 25 artists on this list live in the past year. Perhaps that's a reason for more of the bands' tunes making an impact.

So, for better or for worse, here's my list of my 25 favourite albums of the past year.

1. Augustines Augustines

2. Royal Blood Royal Blood

3. Public Animal Habitat Animal

4. Bob Mould Beauty and Ruin

5. The Balconies Fast Motions

6. Strand of Oaks Heal

7. Lowell We Loved Her Dearly

8. Split Single Fragmented World

9. Little Foot Long Foot Woman

10. Kasabian 48:13

11. Blood Red Shoes Blood Red Shoes

12. The Districts The Districts

13. Haerts Haerts

14. Dinosaur Pile-Up Nature Nurture

15. The Hold Steady Teeth Dreams

16. Owl John Owl John

17. The C'Mons Places

18. Spoon They Want My Soul

19. Drowners Drowners

20. Mounties Thrash Rock Legacy

21. Elbow The Take Off And Landing Of Everything

22. Lykke Li I Never Learn

23. The Jezabels The Brink

24. St. Vincent St. Vincent

25. Steel Panther All You Can Eat

New Little Foot Long Foot EP Woman

I caught Little Foot Long Foot for the first time during 2013's Indie Week. I was blown away by their powerful blues-rock sound, their songs and their musicianship. They've got a new EP coming out on November 18 called Woman. It sounds like another dose of powerful riffs and melodic heaviness. Check out the lyric video for the title track below and check out a stream of the whole thing over at Exclaim.

These guys excel on stage so go see them live. The EP release party is on December 6 at Cherry Cola's in Toronto.

Little Foot Long Foot

Little did I know when I wrote a little post on blues rockers Little Foot Long Foot that I would be seeing them live in quite such short order. I saw them on the Friday night of Indie Week at a great little venue called Cherry Cola's.

What can I say about this band? Just listen to the tunes and catch them live. They are amazing. The songs, the sound, her singing, her guitar playing - it's all captivating and amazing.

The won the night at Cherry Cola's but weren't able to make it to play the Saturday night semi-finals at The Hideout so they had to concede. Really a shame as I would have loved the opportunity to see them again the next night.

I'll definitely be on the lookout for shows so I can see them again. Until then, I have their recorded music, available on their Bandcamp, to keep me satisfied.

Now for the music.
"Sell Out While You Can"

"May"

"Bridge Concerns"

"Kickface" featured in the Netflix show Orange Is The New Black.

Great blues/rock from Little Foot Long Foot

Getting your song in a TV show or movie has long been a strategy for bands to get exposure. Little Foot Long Foot did so with their track "Kickface" on the hit Netflix series Orange is the New Black. They're a blues/rock band from Toronto who deliver a gritty, classic rock sound with lots of distortion and plenty of attitude.

Check out these four awesome tunes.

"Kickface"

"Bridge Concerns"

"May"

"Sell Out While You Can"

You can buy their tunes at their Bandcamp.