Travis Morrison - "My Two Front Teeth, Parts 2 and 3". When I saw Dismemberment Plan in Montreal a couple of years ago, Travis Morrison was a maniac. He gnawed on his microphone, climbed the wall, spazzed and grimaced and then sang dead-serious choruses. Since the band's break-up last year, Morrison's attention-grabbing behaviour has continued - contrary to the stock indie rock position, he supported the Iraq war. To the horror of hipsters, he also recorded a cover of Ludacris's "What's Your Fantasy".

But on Travistan, which is due out on Barsuk at the end of September, Morrison's not exactly ca-ray-zee. Sure, he takes potshots at Che Guevara, but, uh, yawn. And where the Plan sounded lurching and kinda punk, Morrison solo is much more pop. Like John Vanderslice or maybe an american A.C. Newman. Heck, Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla produces (along with Don Zientara).

But even if Travistan's not Emergency & I redux, it's good! "My Two Front Teeth" is a full, happy-dark pop-rock tune - looping guitar that goes cosmic by the end. At fifty-three seconds there's terrific, crusty drums, and soon after things bustle up to full driving speed. A synth cowbell knocks at Travis's knees. When the piano comes in I think of Charlie Brown at age 17, Good-Griefing with patches on his surplus jacket. Travis gets beat up "in front of the Gap," he hunts for his teeth, he looks "like Gordie Howe." And then of course there's the last minutes' echoing jazzy sweep, crest after crest of vocals. "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth." Serious goofiness.

Abigail Lapell - "Waking up in Boston". A song like a freshly-healed wound: tender, strange, smooth to the touch. I've written about Abigail before -- she's a Montreal songwriter, and this is from her new CD (which doesn't seem to be available on the net). I like this song very, very much. The guitar is a nagging thought, simple and electric. She sings like a lilting dark line - beautiful, sad. "I want to be alone / all alone / in the town where I was born." A sombre plea, and yet a happy one - the lift of major chords, the subtle appearance of a smile. Two and a half minutes of transporting sound, a postcard photograph of pavement, smoke, a woman in black. [buy]

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I am so delighted that Tuwa has started his own mp3blog -- Tuwa's Shanty. He's passed me so many good songs over the past months - from Beyonce to bluegrass - and I've shared several of them on this blog. The best thing about Tuwa - and what makes his internet debut so great - is that when he hears a wonderful song, he recognizes its beauty. His taste is sharp as a chisel, and it could carve out a big ole' smiling face. Go get that Taj Mahal song immediately.

Tikun Olam has recently started musicblogging, adding downloadable mp3 and wma files to its profiles of folk and world-music icons.