Thank You!

Soundscapes will be closing permanently on September 30th, 2021.

Open every day between Spetember 22nd-30th

We'd like to thank all of our loyal customers over the years, you have made it all worthwhile! The last 20 years have seen a golden age in access to the world's recorded music history both in physical media and online. We were happy to be a part of sharing our knowledge of some of that great music with you. We hope you enjoyed most of what we sold & recommended to you over the years and hope you will continue to seek out the music that matters.

In the meantime we'll be selling our remaining inventory, including thousands of play copies, many of which are rare and/or out-of-print, never to be seen again. Over the next few weeks the discounts will increase and the price of play copies will decrease. Here are the details:

New CDs, LPs, DVDs, Blu-ray, Books 60% off 15% off

Rare & out-of-print new CDs 60% off 50% off

Rare/Premium/Out-of-print play copies $4.99 $14.99

Other play copies $2.99 $8.99

Magazine back issues $1 $2/each or 10 for $5 $15

Adjusted Hours & Ticket Refunds

We will be resuming our closing sale beginning Friday, June 11. Our hours will be as follows:

Wednesday-Saturday 12pm-7pm
Sunday 11am-6pm

Open every day between September 22nd-30th

We will no longer be providing ticket refunds for tickets purchased from the shop, however, you will be able to obtain refunds directly from the promoters of the shows. Please refer to the top of your ticket to determine the promoter. Here is the contact info for the promoters:

Collective Concerts/Horseshoe Tavern Presents/Lee's Palace Presents: shows@collectiveconcerts.com
Embrace Presents: info@embracepresents.com
MRG Concerts: ticketing@themrggroup.com
Live Nation: infotoronto@livenation.com
Venus Fest: venusfesttoronto@gmail.com

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Thank you for your understanding.

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1. TAME IMPALA - The Slow Rush
2. SARAH HARMER - Are We Gone
3. YOLA - Walk Through Fire
4. DESTROYER - Have We Met
5. DRIVE BY TRUCKERS - Unravelling

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Saturday
Sep112010

LAND OF TALK - Cloak And Cipher

For a while now, people have been betting on Liz Powell's excellent indie trio, Land Of Talk, to do the big blow-up. All the elements are there—great songs; a contract with a well-respected label, Saddle Creek; a terrific lead singer in Powell (not to mention a brief stint as Broken Social Scene's female vocalist); and, perhaps most importantly, an international musical community wherein Canadian success is not only possible, but seemingly expected.

Despite all of these factors, though, Land Of Talk haven't quite made the anticipated leap. (Powell's career-pausing vocal chord surgery in late 2008—coming just as their debut, Some Are Lakes, was released—certainly didn't help matters.) But as much as this could be viewed as a disappointment, listening to the new Cloak and Cipher, Land Of Talk's current position feels just right. It's not that they couldn't reach or don't deserve a larger audience, but missing in all of the hype surrounding the group has been an understanding of just how intimate their music is. So even though a song like the peppy "Swift Coin" has the immediate appeal to sound killer blasting over a festival crowd, the record is better understood over time. From the subtle ride cymbal flourishes in the choruses of "Goaltime Exposure" to the way that the gorgeous "Quarry Hymns" spins and revolves around itself, it takes a while for some of the best moments to come into their own.

Then there's Powell's reconstructed voice—surgery or not, it was never primed to blow anyone out of the water. Rather, it's soft, supple, graceful and expressive and it's at its best in the personal sphere. It's in fine form here, making Cloak and Cipher kind of like the best rock album Sarah Harmer never made. When you can nail that, taking over the world sorta pales in comparison.

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