In addition to the band’s new leaner, meaner lineup, Forgiveness Rock Record has contributions from part-time Scenesters Leslie Feist, Amy Milan, Evan Cranley and Emily Haines, plus members of Do Make Say Think, the Sea and Cake’s Sam Prekop, Pavement’s Scott Kannberg, Sebastian Grainger, and everyone else you were hoping would be a part of this project. The album was produced by post-rock legend John McEntire and, judging by “World Sick” alone, is shaping up to be yet another epic release for the Juno Award-winning collective.

Download “World Sick” by joining the band’s mailing list below:

In the latest City Sonic Films short from storied video director and longtime Arts&Crafts cohort George Vale, Brendan Canning (of Broken Social Scene) waxes nostalgic on the somewhat newly renovated Drake Hotel, a Toronto SRO/dive bar/live music venue turned Ikea-furnished cultural hotbed in the early ’00s.

The Drake (a.k.a. 1150 Queen, a.k.a. Under the Drake Hotel), was imperative in the nineties’ Canadian indie music scene as home to William New’s Elvis Mondays, a no cover new music series that continues to give upstarts a friendly place to play.

Canning played his first gig at the Drake with hHead in 1991, opening for local indie legends, Phleg Camp. “Elvis Mondays just sorta seemed like a hip institution. A good starting spot if you were a new band,” Canning says in the short, sitting atop a King-sized bed in a white Drake Hotel robe.

A Queen Street landmark and neighborhood hub for locals and tourists alike, the Drake sits only a few blocks from fellow BSSer Kevin Drew’s former home, where Broken Social Scene’s debut, Feel Good Lost, was recorded.

“This two block… three block radius, not only does it represent 1991 and ’92, but ‘99 to 2005,” he recalls over live clips of “Stars and Sons” from the early days.

Elvis Mondays is still going strong (26-years strong), and according to Canning, the Drake still, “carries on the tradition of young bands rockin’ out in the basement,” all while being ranked as one of Travel + Leisure’s top 500 hotels in the world.

Check out the video here.

Needless to say, Paper Bag set the bar high with that move, but since releasing what’s inarguably one of the most definitive albums of the decade, the label has continued to nurture a consistently strong roster that includes names like You Say Party! We Say Die!, Winter Gloves, Tokyo Police Club, Sally Shapiro, and Figurines, to name a few.

Seven years on and still going strong, the label has an anniversary treat for fans. The Seven Year Itch sees 12 of the label’s artists performing a collection of covers, and you don’t have to pay a dime to hear any of it. Download it right here, for free.

And here’s to the next seven.

The Seven Year Itch:
CFCF – “How Bizarre” (OMC cover)
Winter Gloves – “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (Nirvana cover)
Woodhands – “Electric Avenue” (Eddy Grant cover)
Sally Shapiro – “Dying in Africa” (Nicolas Makelberge cover)
You Say Party! We Say Die! – “Falling Out” (Rick Agnew cover)
Josh Reichmann – “Daniel” (Bat For Lashes cover)
Laura Barrett – “Gamma Ray” (Beck cover)
Rock Plaza Central – “I Want You” (Bob Dylan cover)
The Acorn – “Strange Animal” (Gowan cover)
Little Girls – “Heinz” (Artery cover)
Slim Twig – “Behold A Lady” (Outkast cover)
Under Byen – “Du er min øjesten” (Peter Malberg cover)