We'd Tear Our Hearts With Jagged Truths

Seona Dancing, "More To Lose" (12" version) - Earlier this year, I had some random iTunes radio station open while I cleaned my room when all of a sudden I was bum-rushed by this song. It's not hard to see why, of course; it's classic gloriously embarassing new wave pop drenched in charging pianos, crashing synth drums, and pained affectations - basically it's the greatest Aztec Camera song ever. More intriguingly, however, this song was also a hit of epic proportions in the Philippines, which is less of a Spinal Tap-esque claim to viability than you'd think. Back in the mid-1980s, the Philippines was one of the most vibrant hotspots for new wave anywhere on the planet; radio stations would cater to listeners' demands for the bleeding edge of the pop movement not just by serving up the latest Smiths or New Order singles as quick as they came out, but also by constantly searching out classics missed by everyone the first time around.

It's possible that "More To Lose" is one of the most wildly successful examples of the latter around; neither the song nor the band have much of a presence on the internet these days, but they don't turn up without being accompanied by a gushing "These guys soundtracked my life"-type testimonial, the kind you usually only get out of Joy Division fans. According to legend, when the song was first broken on one Filipino radio station, DJs would go to extraordinary lengths to keep competing stations from stealing such a corker, like crediting the song to a (fake) band called "Medium" as "Fade", or recording station promos over the breakdown. Speaking as someone for whom, for a LONG time, giving away personal favorite songs was like pulling teeth, I can't say I don't understand the impulse, although considering how awesome the song is I'm overjoyed that they eventually failed.

Oh, and the lead singer? Some cat named Ricky Gervais. Maybe you're familiar with his later work.

(Click here to buy the long out-of-print "More To Lose" single from GEMM. Also, to learn more about the Filipino New Wave scene, click here to visit WXB 102 Forever, a site dedicated to the memory of legendary radio station DWXB 102.)

Heroes & Villains, "ESA-2000" - So I guess you all heard the new Strokes song by now. I for one am actually warming to it in a way that makes me think I'm not just acting on the irrational helpless victimhood I tend to have towards anything the Strokes put out, but it's definitely a lot less shrugged-off and a lot more physical than anything I've heard from them since "Hard To Explain", and it's mighty hard for me to want to mess with success when you're talking about one of the most absolutely crucial bands of my life (*ducks*). As you may have noticed, however, the world is not exactly hurting for bands eager to pick up wherever the Strokes leave off. My favorite recent discovery in this field is up-and-coming Montreal buzz band Heroes & Villains; after beating the living fudge out of my iPod with this song for a little under a week now, their debut EP All The Giants Are Buried At Sea is unbelievably near the top of my list of albums to buy once I land a kerfungled J.O.B. Bands that write songs this good this early in their careers are always worth rolling the dice with your money for.

(Click here to visit Atomheart, a Canadian record store selling All The Giants Are Buried At Sea. The EP is unavailable through their site, but they do have it in stock and respond quickly to email. The Heroes & Villains homepage also lists a few other retailers carrying the EP and offers up more mp3s to download.)