Another year, another bunch of Canadian university kids who fancy themselves rock writers. All Tomorrow’s Concerts was founded in the fall of 2005, a momentous event sure to be lauded forever in the annals of history (or at least sure to make our resumes snazzy and get us into free shows). To ring in our second year of existence, the ATC staffers present to you a list of their favourite Canadian albums of the year. We resisted the temptation to include records from our Yankee neighbours (Ben Gibbard, Colin Meloy and Sufjan Stevens, move up here NOW!), instead hand-picking our favourite albums from the musical sons of our own home and native land. They live in our towns, they play our scuzzy clubs, and sometimes we see them on Bloor St.; they take Canada from being a frigid mix of hockey teams, idiotic beer commercials and politicians with silly names, and turn it into a place that rock-and-roll fans north of the 49th parallel can be fiercely proud of. Congratulations to our picks, and here’s to some more Feist / Sloan / Stars / Arcade Fire / fantastic new bands in Oh-Six!

Broken Social Scene- Broken Social Scene (Arts & Crafts)

I will spare you the You Forgot It In People comparisons - this Toronto collective’s self-titled release stands on its own as a cornerstone in the city’s diverse and thriving music scene. One could argue that the album’s two versions, its undetermined release date and its ever-changing title were appropriate precursors for the sprawling sounds that audiophiles were hit with upon first listen. One cannot help but be shaken by Dave Newfeld’s “wall of sound” production on ‘Superconnected’ or marvel as Kevin Drew’s vocals teeter precariously close to off-tune in ‘Ibi Dreams of Pavement’. Broken Social Scene’s ability to enrapture and evoke emotion makes it one of the best releases of the year. This album will have you humming horn hooks and swinging your hair about-- all without a major label debut.- Martina Zanetti

Buck 65 – Secret House Against The World (Warner)

Buck 65 is a mystery. On each album he’s a different man with a whole new set of stories and beats. He’s an acquired taste, and anyone unaccustomed to his gravelly rhymes might dismiss him immediately as ‘too hip-hop,’ ‘too country,’ or ‘just too weird.’ They’re not wrong, but they are missing out. Secret House Against The World, his eighth album, shows a more romantic side than we’ve previously seen (mostly found in the haunting backing vocals performed by his fiancée Claire Berest). While he retains his grimy sound for opener ‘Rough House Blues,’ he mostly strays from the schtick that brought him into the mainstream. “This one’s for rebels / bad-asses / and mavericks” he growls in ‘Le 65isme,’ but he exposes a different side in songs like ‘Drawing Curtains’ (probably the closest he’ll ever have to a ballad) and ‘The Floor,’ which may very well be the sound of your heart breaking. Anyone who tries to justify him doesn’t understand him; Secret House Against The World is like nothing you’ve heard before. -Allegra Shepherd

Jason Collett- Idols of Exile (Arts & Crafts)

Bramalea-via-Toronto bard Jason Collett delivers the twang and nostalgia. In the semi-narrative Idols of Exile, Collett careens about the shortcomings of his suburban hometown and whispers you to sleep with stories of high school dances and young love. Idols of Exile’s unique brand of folk-pop is defined by Collett’s lush, yet integral instrumentation. The album is rich in horn-lines, string arrangements and the occasional banjo hook, but maintains the simplicity that good ol’ folk ballads need. Guest appearances are numerous, but not over-bearing, leaving focus on the bard’s storytelling drawl. From the eerily serene ‘Tinsel and Sawdust’ to the infectiously poppy ‘I’ll Bring the Sun’, this 2005 release is folk-pop at its finest. -MZ

The Constantines - Tournament Of Heart (Three Gut)

The Constantines’ previous album, Shine a Light, was a powerful collection of rock anthems. Tournament of Heart, by contrast, is Shine a Light’s gentler, younger brother. Many songs replace the driving speed of the previous albums with a more tempered, almost story-telling pace. Songs like "The Windy Road" and "Thieves" are departures from the established Constantines sound; vocalist Bry Webb finds that he does not always need his hoarse D.C. rock voice to make a song work, instead using a softer, moaning vocal technique.
Change isn’t always accepted with open arms. Many of the band’s fans have been put off by - even been disappointed with - this different face of the Constantines, but ultimately, the album grows on you. To use a cliché, it is a diamond in the rough. The songs have a subtler quality than those of Shine a Light, one that takes a few more listens to find, but is ultimately as rewarding. Anyone who has ever had a go-nowhere , dead end job can relate to the album’s themes working-class, day-in day-out job and take comfort that there are others out there who understand. - Ludwik A. Sobiesiak

Cuff The Duke - Cuff The Duke (Maplemusic)

It's true that country music is all about legendary figures. It would also seem true that there are few things less legendary than a bunch of fresh-faced, bookish types from Oshawa, but Cuff The Duke, armed with their charmingly written and impeccably performed eponymous LP, are doing their damndest to prove that the Great White North is anything but wussy. The Dukes rock like the guys Kings Of Leon paid to write their essays for them in high school, and the lack of badassery pays off; we can be pretty sure that Johnny Cash never actually shot that man in Reno, but frontman Wayne Petti is utterly believable as the jilted lover moping in "a little church down in Mexico" in ‘Belgium Or Peru’. Elsewhere, the spooky Radiohead pastiche ‘No Sleep, No Heat’ manages to be just as successful as the joyously vitriolic "Take My Money And Run" (even though the practice of rhyming "bullshit" with "shit" is somewhat dubious). But it's the album's sweet little indie-fied hoedowns like ‘Ballad of Poor John Henry’ that best illustrate what CTD are out to do: put on their plaid shirts, hoist their hollow-body electrics up in the air, and get you moving, if it ain't too much trouble, ma'am. - Natalia Manzocco

Luke Doucet – Broken and Other Rogue States (Six Shooter)

Luke Doucet calls his latest album his “breakup” album. It’s song after song of alcohol-soaked heartache and woe. Sounds like a complete downer…not this time! There’s almost always a point in a song about failed relationships and heartbreak where you just want to scream “Just get over it, already!” This time, though, the only person who’ll want to yell at Doucet is the woman the album was written about. This alt-country crooner has done it again. Even when the subject matter of his songs should only depress listeners, they're inevitably eating it up. Catchy lyrics and upbeat tempos make up the framework of an album into which Doucet pours out his feelings. It's vulnerable and honest - maybe a little too honest. It's easy to be weirded out by songs that begin with lines like “It takes a uniquely fucked up man to break his own heart”, or by the bitterness of the album’s title track (“You’ve gotta have a heart to have a broken one”). Ultimately, however, the vulnerability helps the album. Instead of being left disheartened or disillusioned by the man who has been called “one of Canada’s treasures”, listeners are endeared by Doucet’s sincerity and wowed by his new songwriting territory. - Saburah Murdoch

Final Fantasy – Has A Good Home!!! (Blocks)

One of the greatest albums of 2005 features only a violin, a looping pedal, and the shy, yet striking voice of one of the cutest gay men in Toronto. Owen Pallett, violinist and string-arranger extraordinaire for the likes of Arcade Fire and The Hidden Cameras, presented his solo project, Final Fantasy, to the general public in the form of a gallant and progressive release. The most admirable quality to Pallett’s music is his sheer ability and innovation on the violin. Marked by frequent backwards passages, pizzicato strings and complex looping arrangements, Has a Good Home!!! takes Vivaldi’s instrument to a new level. With string instruments gracing the melodies of dozens of heavy-hitters in the Canadian music scene, Pallett’s first release instills respect for the underrated violin, and proves that its bow-on-bridge action can sound just as loudly as any rock’n’roll guitar. - MZ

The Ladies & Gentlemen – Small Sins (Boompa)

The sins may be small but there isn’t much else that’s undersized about this album. Former Carnations frontman Thom D’Arcy’s breakout solo project combines smooth electro and power-pop sounds with honeyed synth hooks that D’Arcy claims you can “fall asleep to or hear at [Toronto’s] Dance Cave.” Recorded in his basement, Small Sins is the epitome of a solo endeavor. Unlike the Ladies and Gentlemen’s live shows, which D’Arcy shares with fellow Carnation Steve Krecklo and several other Toronto musicians, the album consists of the talents of only its creator. Playing all instruments on the disc, D’Arcy chose the ambitious route, bringing in as many instruments as possible - including a large collection of keyboards, Farfisa organs, Rhodes piano and Moog synths to make up the constant catchiness that holds the album together. The album’s single ‘Stay’ (“you can stay if you want to...but you can’t sleep in my bed”) leaves listeners singing along for hours, though its ability to earworm does disguise some of the album's weaker songwriting. The sheer musical talent that comes across in the musicianship, however, transforms the amateur songwriting into cute indie-musings, and the fact that D’Arcy seems to sometimes be baring his soul in the subject matter adds depth to the unpolished words. This inviting and confident album comes across as a successful marriage between the recreational indie-scene and the talents of a future heavy-weight, and is definitely the humble “grownup” album that D’Arcy was striving to make. It’s the triumphant coupling of strong and weak that can only come out of Canada. -SM

Joel Plaskett – La De Da (MapleMusic/Universal)

When Halifax’s Joel Plaskett croons “there are many a wonder in this world” in ‘Wishing Well,’ he must be referring to his latest masterpiece, La De Da. In his fourth solo album, Plaskett’s gift of narration shines through. Accompanied by fingerpicked guitarmonies, his lyrics tell stories of where he is, was and wants to be. The album begins with ‘Absentminded Melody,’ a vivid, cathartic tale of a night out in a new town and winds itself up and down twelve tracks that each paint vivid mental pictures. ‘Nina And Albert’ was based on half of an overheard telephone conversation in west Texas. The highlights, though, are the two final tracks – ‘Natural Disaster’ and ‘Love This Town’. The former is an anthemic rhapsody; a lush and full climax, Plaskett is at his most powerful. The latter is a soft, bare song of homecoming. Plaskett’s voice soothes and acts as a lullaby as he recounts his favourite things about his hometown. La De Da is a poignant step forward for Plaskett, and its raw emotion lingers after the record stops spinning. -AS

Spitfires & Mayflowers – Triumph (Independent)

If there was an award for the cutest album of the year (the Snugglies? the Twee-cademies? the Jay Fergusons?) this debut EP from Toronto quartet Spitfires & Mayflowers would win it hands down. Triumph is a mellifluous poppy mess reminiscent of early Sloan; the up-tempo guitar hooks and organized drumming play like lost Twice Removed tracks. Opener ‘Pirates’ is a well-chosen takeoff, not only because of its energy but also because it segues to a live recording where each member is introduced. The S&M boys (with the exception of drummer Tim Oakley) each take turns as vocalist, which gives the album a bit of flavour and diversity. ‘Don’t Get In A Fight’ and ‘Hows & Whys,’ sung androgynously by bassist Andy Lloyd, bring to mind 60’s tambourine power-pop, while ‘Bad Grammar’ and ‘Hallowe’en Fable’ are clever and infectious enough to get any jaded rock nerd dancing. Though Triumph is only seven tracks long, it packs a sweet punch. -AS

Wolf Parade – Apologies to the Queen Mary (Subpop)

It is difficult to pinpoint just what draws the masses to Wolf Parade’s Apologies to the Queen Mary. Could it be the subtle, yet dangerously catchy riffs? Is it the band’s ability to use synth without getting annoying? Is it Dan Boecker’s quasi-punk growl, or the counterpoint of Spencer Krug’s lovable wail? The presence of perfectly executed keyboard lines? Or is it just because Arlen Thompson has a really sweet moustache? Whatever the reason, there is no denying that the two-headed songwriting monster of Boecker/Krug is a force to be reckoned with. The album’s highlight lies in the three-song climax of ‘Shine A Light’, ‘Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts’ and ‘I’ll Believe in Anything’; anthems that could get any indie kid moving. Apologies to the Queen Mary proves that Wolf Parade’s bark is just as powerful as its bite. -MZ