Lunice ft Young L - "Hip Pop". Love that this sounds midway between two bozos purring nonsense into their MacBook microphone and, um, dry wet spectral Neptunes snap shit. It's that subgenre of hip-hop which is best suited to miners, moth-men, solar astronauts and midnight dancers. Only it was made in Montreal, probably some #based NDG 3 1/2, just a bike-ride to Akhavan and Momesso's subs. Whatever the water that fed this awesome thing, it's the water that runs in my own taps, right here, hot and very cold.

[more Lunice]

T H O M A S - "Jesus Was Born".

I do not believe in your god; but all right I will lie in your garden and I will eat these grapes and I will watch the lion gambol with the lamb; but only because it suits me, and it suits my sweetheart; and what else would we do on a Sunday.

The way Toronto's THOMAS opens the song, it feels more like over-earnest pastiche than anything else - a man with a lute, Sufjan at his worst. But by the time he is halfway through, THOMAS has gathered friends, he has picked up a flute, and he is sounding out an exceptionally beautiful nothing. My friend, who has met THOMAS, says he can never tell if he is being sincere or sarcastic. Here, I am not sure whether THOMAS is distilling the sugar of celestial ambrosia, or spritzing the sweetness of the masses' best opiate. It's very pretty, all the same.

[THOMAS on Bandcamp / merci philippe]

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Montrealers, lots of lovely things on this week's calendar:

• Monday
  
  • Mali's inimitable Khaira Arby plays a free show at Jazzfest. Her gig at Pop Montreal was one of our favourites of 2010; and her songs too. [MySpace]


• Tuesday
  • The Greasy Goose Salon continues, with the theme SCRAPS. Greasy Goose is our wonderful informal community lecture series, from the academic to the loony. This month's speakers include Endless Banquet's Anthony Kinik.
  • Later on that night, there's a stupendous riot grrrl night: five bands, formed randomly, had one month to become tribute acts. From the Raincoats to Bikini Kill, it'll be live at Il Motore. And it's a fundraiser for Rock Camp for Girls! I wrote some more about it for this article in Hour.


• Thursday
  • Maisonneuve magazine is launching its summer issue with a comedy night. And guess who is among the performers...


• Sunday
  • Speaking of Endless Banquet... Anthony and Michelle have organised a stupendous Strawberry Social for Sunday (so far, facebook link only - sorry!). Location TBD. Have I mentioned this will be stupendous? Yes.

(photo and installation by Nathaniel Lewis)