https://www.facebook.com/balkansbalkans
http://balkansbalkans.com/

Two Step
This is a catchy tune from a Vancouver electronics and live instruments duo. They layer some old audio sample under a rolling drum riff, deep synths, a thudding bass, and voices aah-ing and oohing. It's a happy fun tune.

http://soundcloud.com/bearmountain
http://mybearmountain.com/
https://www.facebook.com/mybearmountain

Chair
This starts with a Billy Bragg-like chugging guitar, and then the female voice comes in, disinterested, just reciting. A male voice comes in, singing harmony. And then, suddenly someone stomps on an overdrive pedal, and we are in harmonized Billy Bragg land. Nice. This song is pretty catchy, and the two voices blend together well. Plus i like that they just play electric guitars and sing... I wonder if they are Marxists? They should cover Levi Stubbs' Tears.

https://www.facebook.com/weareabigdeal

Patent Trolls
This is a fascinating tune. The guitars sound both western and post-punk to me, like Gang of 4 from Tombstone, AZ. They are high-pitched and twangy, but also trebled all to hell and back. To this, Crystal Swells adds a rolling bass riff, and a heavily echoed voice. The overall effect is vaguely spacey, but really good.

Albatross
This is a pretty and slow post-rock tune. A lone guitar echoes over a subtle bass riff. Eventually a slight drum beat comes in, and an e-bowed guitar drones over it all. The melancholy pacing and tone remind me of July Skies, but the execution is completely different.

http://www.bantermm.com/tracks/NorthAtlanticDrift-Albatross.mp3

Waiting In the Afterglow
This starts off like a mellower SIANSpheric tune, with an echoed haze of guitar playing slow notes while a bass rumbles very slowly. Eventually an electronic drum crunch comes in, and the song progresses nicely. In a way, this reminds me of Worriedaboutsatan, or, at least, when the drums comes in the tone of the electronically modified drums seems to shift the whole song in that general direction. Well, it's good stuff at any rate.

https://www.facebook.com/northatlanticdrift
http://soundcloud.com/northatlanticdrift
http://northatlanticdrift.bandcamp.com/

Keeping Secrets
This is new wave-ish fun. A bass riff bounces over a jaunty drum beat, while jangly guitars echo and chime as a male voice wails away. I find it impossible to not want to bounce along to this one -- it is just the right mix of The Cars and LCD Soundsystem.

Ne Reviens Pas
I am not that fluent in French, but i know that this means "no returns" or perhaps ideogramatically "no going back". So, not the most upbeat theme. However, Mlle. LeClerc has a great smoky voice, and she really knows how to use it. She is also a pretty good guitarist, strumming furiously. However, the real star here is her drummer, whoever he is. He plays deeply, lots of toms reverbing behind her voice to great effect. And to top it all off, occasionally a horn wanders through adding accents… This is really lovely and catchy. She is doing some pretty cool stuff.

http://salomeleclerc.com/nouvelles.php