I can hear this stock villain refrain when confronted with our double-whammy of Toronto power pop goodness. I mean, there is something rather Dudley Do-Right about Canada’s largest metropolis. The place tends to register a ‘meh’ on the list of world class cities. Recently though the local music scene been blowing up the world stage, gaining international attention for its eminently discoverable talent. These two acts are ready for their close-up.

I’ve been waiting for Pony’s new album to drop for some time. Clearly Cursed really delivers on the promise of its early release singles and even adds more stylistic diversity over its ten tracks. “Superglue” and “Freezer” came out last year, brimming with should-be hit-single hooks. My immediate go-to comparisons were The Primitives for the former and Juliana Hatfield on the latter. These were headphones-on, soundtracking-your-life, spirit-lifting stuff. The band presser made mention of inspiration from The Cure and Jesus and May Chain but I think “Middle of the Summer” opens more like a 1983 synth-rock entry, aided by some cool guitar riffs and a Tristen-worthy vocal. Then there’s the striking vocal turns-of-phrase on “Blame Me” and “Sunny Something” that are just so Juliana Hatfield. Things do get a bit more rocking on “Hot and Mean” and “Every Little Crumb” where the band crank the amps and add some crunch to the guitars. But the pop instincts on this record is where the real magic happens. I hear it on “Clearly Cursed” with its swinging Go Go’s vibe and “Swallowing Stars” where we head back to a shoegazey Tracy Tracy territory. If Clearly Cursed is an affliction let’s hope there’s no cure.

Triples was originally a duo of sisters, Eva and Madeline Link. Then Madeline left to focus on another musical project, leaving sister Eva to either go solo or re-invent what Triples was about. She opted for the latter, filling out the band’s early indie DIY sound with a more expansive full band feel. Every Good Story is the EP evidence of this transformation. It’s just four songs but the selections give us a good snapshot of what is going on here. Opening cut “Old Routine” pushes some dissonant guitar work to the forefront but the vocals are pure power pop in a Liz Phair kinda way. “Gonna Be Good” gives us some crashing rhythm work that slides a hummable vocal melody overtop. “Happy” too opens with some big guitar noise only to resolve into a skipping along, singalong vocal. “Be Around” builds its sonic cocoon around some neat lead guitar licks. The only misstep here is that the whole EP adds up to a miserly 12 minutes of recorded music. Cruelty. That’s what I call it. Only a full LP will soothe my savaged breast.

Villains always react poorly when obviously good things arrive on the scene. Pony and Triples bring a little Canadian light to our increasingly dark world. Soak it up via the hyperlinks above.

Photo ‘There Was Someone That I Knew Before’ courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.