The Neighbourhood Mixtape: Leave the Lights

The Neighbourhood Mixtape is a collection of newly-released songs by Toronto musicians. The mixtape is meant to celebrate Toronto's music culture and provide a forum to listen to and discover new local music.

Every Sunday, I post a five-track mixtape (along with my own mini-reflections for each track) that you can download or stream as a soundtrack for the week.

Track #1: Allie Hughes, "Not The Stars"

"I try and keep things exciting every time, so the audience never knows exactly what to expect," Allie Hughes said in our Call & Response interview. "Not The Stars" astounds with a flutter of rumpled noise: floating whistles and handclaps, synth cuts and a bubbly duet between Hughes and The Meligrove Band's Darcy Rego.

Track #2: Little Girls, "Believer (John Maus Cover)"

A new Little Girls EP Cults arrives in September, but for now listen to the atmospheric and throbbing "Believer", a fuzzed-out euphoric track.

Track #3: Memoryhouse, "Quiet America"

Memoryhouse offers another track from the re-release of the EP The Years. On "Quiet America" vocalist Denise Nouvion and guitarist Evan Abeelee continue to haunt with scenic textures and dream-collapsing melodies.

Track #4: HotKid, "Rip It Into Pieces"

HotKid - a classic guitar-drum duo - released a new single "Rip It Into Pieces" for free this week, along with an explosive and vivid video to match.

Track #5: Bruce Peninsula, "Salesman"

Bruce Peninsula are a generous bunch, giving us the Bruce Trail Fire Sale B-side series for free. Their newest addition to the series - the psych-rock track "Salesman" - magnetizes and builds with subtle anthemic surges. And the video is just as impressionistic, recalling the classic Broken Social Scene video for "Almost Crimes".

If you wish to be a part of The Neighbourhood Mixtape, you can contact Aldrin at aldrin [at] blogto [dotcom]