heavens to purgatory

After a thoroughly rotten week last week (hacked debit card, iPad wi-fi issues, computer virus on my home PC, ruined pedicure, etc) it did my soul good to stay up late at Bottom of the Hill Friday night and rock out to one of my favorite Canadian bands The Most Serene Republic, who were co-headlining with the also-fabulous Annuals.  TMSR's last full-length ...And the Ever Expanding Universe was their best yet, full of imaginative and literate indie rock that is inclined to switch time signatures at a moment's notice.  I'm always impressed with how they pull off their sound live too and even manage to casually throw horns and banjo into the mix.  I did notice the lone woman in the group Emma Ditchburn was conspicuously absent from the stage (and from the current TMSR line-up), and I missed the way her vocals used to twine with those of vocalist Adrian Jewett.  With Ditchburn's departure and the release of their new EP on their own record label the band appears to be at something of a turning point, and I am curious to see where they go next.