Leeroy Stagger: “Beautiful House”

As a 22-year-old veteran of British Columbia Punk bands, Leeroy Stagger has evolved into a Folk-tinged singer-songwriter. The writing on his sophomore release, Beautiful House, promises to propel him into national stardom. The title track combines slide guitar, layered vocals, and tosses in a banjo for good measure. Like another gem on his disc, the Cure-influenced “Just in Case,” Stagger’s songs succeed because of their vivid, descriptive lyrics. In “Beautiful House”, he sings about a comfortable, cottage-like country home: with kids watching Mickey Mouse, the sun beating off his wife’s wedding ring, the mild frustrations of a neighbour’s dog and a creaking door… and the record room smelling of pot smoke. This song makes you want to curl up with your girlfriend, a pair of hot drinks, and dreams of domestic bliss.

www.myspace.com/leeroystagger

Our Mercury: “The Rats”

Smallman Records, the Canadian label that carries Moneen, Choke, and Small Brown Bike, will release From Below from Our Mercury in late February. Our Mercury has been together for over a decade, even though the band members are all in their early twenties. The catchy bridge of “The Rats” illustrates this band’s best element: dueling, harmonizing vocal lines. The band claims they play “eighties-Clash-influenced punk rock,” and any group that compares themselves to Joe Strummer’s work needs to prove a lot to me. The organs and melodies contain a hint of Clash, but I’m more inclined to call them Canada’s answer to Hot Water Music.

www.smallmanrecords.com

Jason Jang: “Green, Red, and White”

Jason Jang, a Richmond Hill songwriter currently living in Korea, writes with honesty like he’s Rivers Cuomo at Sunday confession. His blog examines his experience teaching English in Korea, and it includes a Christmas song that he created “after a two-year songwriting hiatus due to injury (writer’s block).” Jang wins over the listener with simple, overlapped harmonies, one guitar, and lyrics describing his attempt to live in the North Pole and snap photos to prove the existence of Santa Claus. If you listen closely at the end, he calls Santa a “bearded home intruder.” Genius. Editor’s note: I realize that the inclusion of a holiday song is not very timely, but I just heard it a few days ago, ya grinch.

www.jasonjang.com