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
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4. DESTROYER - Have We Met
5. DRIVE BY TRUCKERS - Unravelling

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Friday
Jul082011

UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA - S/T

One of my most favourite feelings in listening to music is that moment when, without any expectations, I press play and the connection is immediate. Like some unsolicited audio eHarmony date, I get it and it gets me: Ssssh, don't speak. Let's just dance, OK?

That's about all you need to know about me and these guys...and there's very little else that you can know about them, really. As the name suggests, much of Unknown Mortal Orchestra's bio is cryptic and slight. What we do know (if you take their bio at face value) is that it's the brainchild of a New Zealander named Ruban Nielson who transplanted himself to Portland, Oregon and made this home-recorded little gem. 

The album's sound matches this description—it has clearly been realized in a quick and dirty fashion, but it also features the kind of cohesion that tends to come from a single mind. Instant hits like "Ffunny Ffriends" and "Thought Ballune" have more in common than poor spelling. A little psych, a little pop, and a ton of reimagined funk, the songs are catchy, chunky and dripping with syrupy fuzz. And these dudes are tight. The drumming, courtesy of some teen whizkid, Julien Ehrich, is insidiously groovy and rich, while Nielson is one heck of a guitar player. 

Altogether, Nielson's creation kind of does for funky indie-pop what fellow Antipodeans Tame Impala already did for psych-rock with their exceptional Innerspeaker LP—the record may borrow shamelessly from other artists, but it does so with great panache, intuition, and joy. And, also like that band, UMO is cunning enough to be able to wriggle away from a clear definition just as you think you have them pegged.

A prime example of this is one of the shortest (and best) tracks on the record, "Nerve Damage!" After a sequence of tunes that all tow the party line of boxy breakbeats and foxy pop hooks, "Nerve Damage!" slams a heavily effected, giddily dexterous flurry of solo guitar headlong into a slice of druggy punk that sounds ripped from the lost demos of Sebadoh's original loon, Eric Gaffney. It as unexpected as it is exhilarating and it packs everything it can into its 2:15 running time. Most impressively, it manages to blend into the rest of record despite being a bit of ugly duckling.

You can ultimately chalk this up to the overall sound of Unknown Mortal Orchestra, which is a great reminder of the benefits of a good lo-fi recording. The record is hazy, but purposefully done. Whether these guys had very little money or not, make no mistake: it is very intelligently constructed and clearly sounds they way they intended it to.

So, will Unknown Mortal Orchestra end up being a fun little fling or a more lasting relationship? It's still a little up in the air. But right now, I'm having too much fun reveling in that kind of excitement that can only come from the surprise of the new. Just when I least expected it, I think I'm in love.

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