PUT THE RIFLE DOWN

Forestalling winter, we're loving the summery sounds of Shades. Sending us chill waves from Boise, Idaho, here's their video for 'Ghostlike'.

And check out the hook-and-beat of 'Seasons":

Seasons by Shades.

Watch the video for our song Girls by filmmaker Jen Gallagher.

The release party for our new record New Dance is this Thursday night at the The Drake.

Exclaim has posted a preview of our new record New Dance (out October 20).

Stream the whole the record here.

On October 20, we will release a new record called New Dance. The release party will take place at The Drake Underground as part of Silent Shout. (More details soon to follow.)

The album contains ten new songs, and has artwork by James Harrison of Plaid Magazine. Stream the first single, Alphanumeric, here:

Big thanks to Joel at the untold city for making this video of us playing a live version of a new song called Cell Death.

Two PTRD songs were used in BlogTO's coverage of Toronto Fashion Week.

The best finds are accidental: at the How To Dress Well show this January, we caught opener Grimes, a siren from Montreal who paganizes R'n'B by channeling Kate Bush and early 90s Bjork into a dark and vocally gorgeous sound that, it turns out, you cannot resist moving to.

Since playing three quite different shows here in the past three months, Grimes has found her place on the international radar, currently touring the UK and having just released a video for "Vanessa".

"Vanessa" appears on the 12" split Dark Bloom, put out with D'Eon on Hippos in Tanks/Arbutus. No more of my mind, indeed.

We've remixed one of the haunting and beautiful songs from How To Dress Well's first LP, Love Remains, a record we still can't stop listening to.

It's called "You Won't Need Me Where I'm Goin'".

A new mix of songs.

Put The Rifle Down - Winter Mix

1. Young Blood - The Naked and Famous
2. Dancing On My Own - Robyn
3. Take Me Over - Cut Copy
4. Lady Daydream - Twin Sister
5. Greenlight - Starfawn
6. The Great Pan Is Dead - Cold Cavem
7. Slow It Down - Bewilderbeast

Download the mp3 here.

Stubborn stillness on local dancefloors has greatly receded in recent years: with bands like Kidstreet, Digits, Foxfire, Dakota and Trust, there's no shortage of undeniably thumpin' dance music in Toronto's bars and clubs. Along with Trust's drummer and the Lightman sisters of Tasseomancy, Katie Stelmanis has crafted a deep, dark and intensely danceable sound under the name Austra.

Check out their lead-off single, Beat and Pulse and keep an eye out for their debut record Feel It Break in May.

Already on Pitchfork's radar and playing this year's SXSW, Austra played coven to a packed, roused and cursed crowd at Wrongbar to kick-off CMW. With a voice that rivals any in dance and pop, Stelmanis is what we lovingly refer to as an electrowitch.