I Spies Get Smart In The Night

Toronto quartet The I Spies have been selling their In The Night full-length debut in local independent record stores, but the album will receive a national release on Feb. 5.

Johnny Kay (lead vocals, keyboards, guitar), James Robertson (lead guitar, vocals, keyboards), Markus Saks (drums, percussion) and Steve Payne (bass) formed in 2003. They recorded the album at Toronto's Signal To Noise Studios, with Robertson helping engineer/mixer Rob Sanzo produce it.

The group — inspired by British greats The Police, Elvis Costello, The Clash and XTC — collaborated with Small Sins main man Thom D'Arcy on four of the album's songs, including "To The City." That tune and the title track are the first two singles.

The I Spies will present an event called Spy Vs. Spy, where guest DJs will battle head to head, at Toronto's Sneaky Dee's on Friday. The spinners will include Pete Carmichael (The Diableros), Stuart Berman (The Two Koreas, Eye Weekly), Jay Ferguson (Sloan), Ronnie Morris (Lioness, Controller.Controller), Randy Byres (Born In The 60's), Stephen Kozmeniuk (Boy), Ben Buchanan (Easy Tiger), Ian Worang (Uncut) and Todor Kobakov (Small Sins, Major Maker).

The I Spies will also play Toronto's Mod Club on Jan. 26 and the Horseshoe Tavern on Feb. 1 (with Modernboys Moderngirls) before embarking on a national tour in the spring.

Here are the songs on In The Night:
"Talkshow"
"Sleepwalkers"
"I (Heart) The Middle Mind"
"Spare Your Secrets"
"To The City"
"In The Night"
"Up All Night"
"Stop Screaming"
"Blurring Dots/Fading Lines"
"Are You Talking To Yourself Again?"
"Save Yourself"
"Thump, Thump, Thump"