The Robot Ate Me - "You Smile". A crisp leaf of bedroom pop, with curly strings and a slowsmiling organ. It shuffles towards you like a kid with a deep crush, an awkward child full of disappointment and infatuation. "Something makes me shiver / your eyes were laced with ice." Like Ugly Casanova gone twee, with Phil Elvrum producing. Spooky and romantic; strange but very compelling; a first kiss. From the band's debut, They Ate Themselves. The new one, On Vacation is out now, and (sadly) I haven't heard it yet.

Boy - "French Diplomacy". Boy's Stephen Noel Kozmeniuk recorded this album in his family's Yukon home, in a basement he dug out himself. He's since moved to Toronto and made enough waves to appear with Broken Social Scene and The Dears, among others. His brand indie rock is a long way from either band, however - it's Sloan doing the twist with The Strokes, Rufus Wainwright jamming with Paul McCartney. This is a jaunty chamber-pop stroll, a navyblue parade with oboes and a string section. Lest you dismiss my Strokes comparison completely, understand that "French Diplomacy" is the most Beatlesy thing on the record, but the pop panache is typical of Boy's style. While there are moments of precocity ("Nobody said that you were Escher"), it's sung with more of a shrug than a wink. The song's in thrall to the melody, and everything comes together around the hopeful marching splendor of the chorus. (With all the Risk I've been playing lately, I feel a deep empathy when Kozmeniuk sings "Might it be that France just isn't so sincere?")

Jeremy Brendan's interview with Wolf Parade scores a number of make-my-day scoops: 1) Spencer used to play synthesizer for Frog Eyes; 2) the Sub Pop rumours are likely true; 3) Isaac Brock will be producing their record.

No Frontin', Just Music is a new mp3blog with a fine Knife In The Water song for you and y'all.