Another One Gone, Kinnie Starr, from A Different Day (forthcoming from Last Gang, streaming at myspace.com/kinniestarr)
Like one of those epic movie shoot-outs that happen in slow motion, Kinnie Starr's sultry tune about guys and guns slinks along with deceptive softness, her guitar strumming dry, her arresting voice sounding a little hoarse, as if the shouting part were already over
Cannibal, Fan Death, from A Coin for the Well (Last Gang, streaming at myspace.com/fandeath)
The video for this spring-loaded disco number is a wonderfully creepy thing about a guy whose best friends are a couple of live-sized dolls in his bedroom. It's almost as sinister to hear a down-home fiddle break into this compulsive dance number, by the Vancouver duo now touring Europe with Vampire Weekend.
She Believes Her Own Lies, Slim Milkie, from Silverado (Bearwood Music, sample streaming at bearwoodmusic.com)
West Coast art-rodeo cowboy Slim Milkie offers a tender warning about women who don't know right from made up, with Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson holding down the bass on tuba. Finally, a politician who really cares about the bottom line.