Much like bourbon and apple juice, the two parts of Blue Hawaii mesh perfectly together. Also like bourbon and apple juice, I cannot get enough of them. But my taste in beverages aside, Raphaelle Standell-Preston and Alex Cowan are Blue Hawaii, a couple, and two of the greats coming out of the ever-expansive Montreal scene. They make music that is perfect for dancing, dating, breaking up, hiding in your room, coming together, and singing to cats (also babies, both confirmed by experience). Mood music that lets you choose the mood.

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Vancouver has long been rife with successful musicians that run the music-genre gamut, from Japandroids to Heart, The Be Good Tanyas to The New Pornographers. Slam Dunk adds another slice to the area’s local musical spectrum with their wildly boisterous second album, Welcome to Miami.

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Brooklyn’s Ancient History make mellow sounds for your late night summer subway ride – or for anything really, as long as it’s chill. The intricate compositions feature Donald Ducote (who really looks like Patrick Dempsey in 1987) on vocals, backed by a group of friends playing just about everything you can think of (vibraphone chimes were my favorite addition).

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Decades, not to be confused with the outlandish number of classic rock cover bands currently hawking their wares across the planet, are a breathe of distilled fresh air, ever so slightly polluted with the fumes of ice cold vodka.  Black and white and garage days are forgotten.  No more empty beer cans crushed and stuffed with cigarette butts.  Decades have polish, sophistication and a well-oiled maturity beyond their years.  And while their apparent influences may seem obvious in the immediate sense, the band has written their own cache of disparate pages that bind together so well: emphatic yet atmospheric guitars drift through a decisive backbeat to create a layered haven for a vocal range that swallows either Quaaludes or broken glass as the moment requires.

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So, you think you're Punk Rock? In a land where their music was deemed illegal, Yellow Dogs became a band on the run and found themselves living abroad in Brooklyn, NY. Pounding out a classic punk sound influenced by the decades old music they grew up listening to in Tehran, Iran, Yellow Dogs specialize in smart, edgy beats and an ultra-stylized approach to dance floor-approved indie rock.

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With gritty, blues inspired guitar licks, brassy vocals and catchy 50’s style horns, there’s a lot to love about Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside. Although a clear throwback to a more classic sound, the quartet doesn’t lean on nostalgia; their songs are as fresh and dynamic as anything on the radio today. The band owes no small part of their success to the incredible vocal talents of Ms. Sallie Ford herself. The attitude of Joan Jett combined with the raw singing ability of Adele, Ford demands your attention with every track. Her pipes are supported by the masterful guitar work and thrashing drums of her faithful backing band. From the Surf-rocky Bad Boys to the raucous Rockability to the soulful Write Me a Letter, the band catapults around musical styles without straying far from the core elements that make them who they are. Hipster style mavens, start your engines: Every single member of the band has a look you’re going to covet. Listening to their sophomore album Untamed Beast made me an instant fan, and I have no doubt Sallie Ford will win your heart as well.

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This band consists of the Jeffrey brothers; Keith, Michael, and Steven, on guitar, drums and bass, and their friend Darren on keys. Atlas Genius is already in rotation on MTV, satellite radio and the band is so radio friendly, that I thought I had already heard all their songs during my first listen to the album. The band just embarked on a US tour that will keep them in North America til August, and have performed on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show, which usually marks the beginning of at least a little success. Atlas Genius was not a full-time project: the boys were working or going to school, and recording in their home studio during the down time. After a few years of this, they decided to put up a track – “Trojans.” Because of blogs and a few iTunes features in different countries, the song caught the attention of a lot more people than they expected. The band got a ton of offers, and eventually traveled to the US and signed to Warner Brothers (home of MGMT, Cher and a zillion others – luckily for Atlas Genius, the roster is in alphabetical order so they are on the first page of the artists list). The music is a little 80s, stumbles from emotion to emotion, and promotes toe tapping if not full on dancing. In 2012 the band released an EP, Through The Glass, based on the strength and success of “Trojans.” Their debut full-length,When It Was Now, just dropped in February. Catch Atlas Genius on tour now (if you’re lucky, because many shows have already sold out), or just grab the album and prepare for summer by listening to it on repeat.

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These days the term “Artist” is, for the most part, used interchangeably with titles such as “musician”, or “painter”, depending on the context. But rarely do we think of an “artist” in the 21st century as someone who is capable of combining two different mediums successfully . For example, we tend to write off a musician’s attempt at poetry as “cute” or as a “nice hobby”. Perhaps this is what makes the indie pop band and movement collective “People Get Ready” so impressive. Their music is only half of their appeal. But that doesn’t diminish its quality. Frontman Steven Reker's haunting and unique vocals mesh effortlessly with the rhythmic and jagged melodies supporting him. To complement the rhythm driven music, Steven (who toured with David Byrne as a guitarist and dancer) creates choreographed sequences for live performances making them a must see for both the music lover and dance enthusiast.

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If gritty, clattering soundscapes are your bag, then look no further than Cold Pumas. Cold Pumas deftly crafts lo-fi epics into five to seven minute long compositions, perfectly encapsulating the heartbreak and disappointment that you would expect from an album titled Persistent Malaise. This isn’t to suggest that the music is difficult to listen to. While the album is a challenging one (It’s a far cry from a safe pre-packaged pop song), the music is absolutely accessible. With a crashing wave of distorted guitars and lazy drums, the music washes over you all at once. Unlike many post-punk artists, Cold Pumas doesn’t skimp on the lyrics, lines so deeply integrated to the songs that you can’t tell if the music is supporting the words or vice versa. Ultimately, the band’s unique blend of poetry and ruckus is the perfect opportunity to unplug your brain for a bit and allow the music to happen to you. You’ll be glad you did.

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These guys are all around cool. They come from a cool city (some might say the coolest city), named themselves after a cool song by a cool band (Dive by Nirvana) and are on a mighty cool label (Captured Tracks).

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