God bless the Canadians. I don’t know much about our Northern neighbors (except that they may actually be neighbours, and they are comedic geniuses, and they love donuts and tooks and Scottish people) but I revere them, if you’ll allow me the verb. They’ve produced some really wonderful music. Yes, I found a love for Leeroy Stagger blossoming in a corner of my heart I wasn’t aware of, but I also found many more fantastic artists on the same label, Boompa Records. Why just over yonder is Catlow. Hark! Are my ears deceiving me or has Elastica been resurrected with a more sonically attractive lead? Catlow hangs out in the meadow of Hot Hot Heat guitars and disco trash beats. Very satisfying tunes for the afternoon.

And over dale is the eccentric Run Chico Run, a two-man outfit out of Victoria. I first heard about these guys in the thank-you liner notes of a Hot Hot Heat album (sorry; I know, two mentions in only 4 lines?). Imagine the Count playing organ while cuddly monsters soft-shoe through Hotel California. Or don’t. Would you rather imagine a tighter more sophisticated version of the Unicorns? They’ve put out four albums so far, so you (and I) have plenty of time to figure out what they remind us of most.

Thank you, Canada. I’m sorry I wasted all that time comparing your music and instead of describing it. I still love you, you know. And not just for The Higgins Boys and Gruber any more.

• Catlow – Number One
• Run Chico Run – Lifestyles of the Living Dead

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