Shout Out Out Out Out — Not Saying/Just Saying

With Montreal/Toronto music fever almost completely abated, it's about time other parts of the country started getting involved in making great music. Vancouver and Victoria have been doing their part for some time, but now Edmonton is getting in on the action. The latest wunderkinds to burst out of Champion City are Shout Out Out Out Out, a dance rock sextet led by Veal's Nik Kozub. Not Saying/Just Saying is the record MSTRKRFT wish they'd made. The tracks are expertly layered with synth, bass, two drum kits worth of beats (not to mention the automated ones) and tons of vocoder. The themes of "Forever Indebted," "Self-Loathing Rulz" and "Procrastinator's Fight Song" are all as lyrically dark as their titles suggest, but they're also catchy enough to fill the dance floor and edgy enough to rock out to. This is one of this year's must-own discs, Canadian or otherwise.