Alternative-Rock News

A BAND of school friends with their eyes on the stars have set their sights on the Isle of Wight.

Born from a reaction to the big group/big sound trend of the early '00s in Montral when outfits like the Arcade Fire were climbing the popularity scale, Parlovr's Alex Cooper and Louis Jackson started pounding out songs of their own in their respective bedrooms.

Following a June 2 digital release, the original cast recording of the Tony-nominated Best Musical Rock of Ages arrives in stores July 7 on the New Line Records label.

Released: Jul 23, 1999 Genre: Alternative Rock, Indie Rock, Progressive Rock Label: Self-released Number Of Tracks: 12 Watoosh! by Pezz combines a great mix of genres.

Very few albums manage to capture snapshots of a quality of life in the manner that Congo Norvell's sophomore record, "Abnormals Anonymous," does.

Montreal's Clues is used to the label "buzz band." Its members have clocked time in Unicorns and Arcade Fire.

Asthmatic Kitty's recent decision to issue a b-sides compilation for Royal City was one of my favourite pieces of news this year.

The spark is back for Arcade Fire, NME reports, with bandleader Win Butler telling the magazine that the Montreal crew is at work on their first album since 2007's Neon Bible and is interested in re-entering the spotlight.

AFTER parading their talents around the UK on tour with Elliot Minor and Kill Hannah, it's a return to home soil tonight for five-piece melodic punk/metal band Serpico, who, despite being on the brink of something big, are still to take off in their native Edinburgh.

And chances are you've never heard of many, many of those 500 bands. So, in what has become a tradition here at TheAmpersand.ca, we're making the necessary introductions, by way of our annual NXNE Q&A: Q. Describe your band .

Over the years, Merge Records has brought us Neutral Milk Hotel , Arcade Fire , Spoon , She & Him , and many other excellent bands that hold a permanent places on our playlists.

Stone Temple Pilots were able to make alternative rock into stadium rock; naturally, they became the most critically despised band of their era.

Published: Friday, June 19, 2009 at 2:04 p.m. Last Modified: Friday, June 19, 2009 at 2:14 p.m. Music fans don't have to wait for next year's Riverfest to hear live music.

Montreal's Clues is used to the label "buzz band." Its members have clocked time in Unicorns and Arcade Fire.

Chapel Hill John Vanderslice Local 506 - Emerald City , the sixth album from West Coast songwriter and sonic auteur John Vanderslice, was, for me, an exit: I love the sense of musical plunder on Vanderslice's earlier works and his brusque, overemphatic delivery.

The North by Northeast Festival takes place in Toronto from June 17-21, bringing 500 bands to 50 venues across the city.

The reunited Six Finger Satellite are coming back in NYC, having scheduled August 15th at Southpaw, their only date at the moment.

Spike Jonze's adaptation of Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are" tells a tale of a unruly boy named Max who escapes into a fantasy world of his own creation.

Clues is a band composed of core elements from Montreal's now-legendary indie rock scene.

Canadian indie, Arcade Fire, yawnorama... Win Butler still thinks he invented a new place for pop music to go.