Baltimore's Future Islands arrived in Toronto for a sold-out gig at the Horseshoe Tavern last Thursday. While the band has been honing their synth-based sound for almost six years now, their fanbase has been rapidly expanding with each subsequently release, and the exuberant crowd gathered on the rainy night was proof of this.

Death Cab for Cutie, Washington's favourite sons of modern rock radio, dropped by Massey Hall Saturday night for their second local performance in support of last year's Codes and Keys. Opting to forgo the typical guitar-bass-keys-drums combo in favour of all that plus an eight-member orchestra, the band was all set to flesh out their sound with classical embellishments that so often result in a flop when paired with a relatively conventional rock band (see: Metallica). However, San Francisco's Magik*Magik Orchestra (who first arranged for the band on a few Codes and Keys tracks) were more than seasoned vets, expanding the sonic territory of Death Cab's tracks to allow for textural improvements without coming off as self-indulgent or needlessly epic.

Less was more on Sunday night at the Garrison, as Chicago's Disappears rolled through town to promote their third and best LP, Pre Language. This is not to say their live sound is plain or uncomplicated, but rather that the band practices a sonic minimalism without sacrificing volume or intensity.

With Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth fame joining the ranks on drums to tour their last album, Guider, Pre Language marks his first appearance on their studio recordings. Merging equal interests in the krautrock of Kraftwerk and the proto-punk of the Stooges, Disappears focus on repetition and texture to create riff-heavy drones that never overstay their welcome.

Brooklyn noisemakers Japanther stopped by the Garrison Friday night to headline a benefit concert for Whippersnapper Gallery. Specifically, proceeds from the show are being directed towards the funding of the New Traditions festival, a day of arts and music programming taking place on Toronto Island on Saturday, June 30. The day will be the culmination of a month-long Artists in Residence series, during which four selected Canadian artists will be able to live on the island, actively engaging with their environment in site-specific research for presentation at the festival.

Shabazz Palaces stopped by Lee's on Tuesday night for their debut Toronto performance. Originally beginning to generate interest by virtue of being the first hip-hop group signed to venerable Seattle label Sub Pop (to which they also share a hometown), the intrigue of the band has only increased since they dropped their debut LP, Black Up, last June. Little was known about Shabazz at the time, other than that group was helmed by Ishmael 'Butterfly' Butler, now going under the moniker Palaceer Lazaro, formerly of celebrated 90s jazz-rap greats Digable Planets.

Despite legitimate criticism concerning Canadian Music Week's relative lack of A-listers this year, it had been a more than exhausting five days as the fest drew to a conclusion Sunday night. It occurred to me as I walked into the Horseshoe Tavern that aside from Friday night's set by New York-based Nicolas Jaar, every band I had seen (and there were a good many) had actually been Canadian, making the festival nothing if not true to its name.

With my Canuck quota more than filled, I anticipated at least some degree of eclecticism as the Wedding Present, originally from Leeds, were currently on tour with two international acts, Tokyo's Toquiwa (formerly Pinky Piglets) and Washington, D.C.'s the Jet Age.