Being the sole proprietor of a 3+ year old music blog, I tend to get a ton of email on a daily basis from publicists, labels, venues and bands. And, unfortunately, I simply don’t have the time to read a large number of the emails I get — or, more importantly, to listen to the music that I’m sent. I try, I really do, but if I listen to 50% of the music I get, that’s a pretty good day.

So why do I mention this?  Certainly not to scare anyone off from sending me music.

Rather, I mention it because, every once in a while, when I happen to have 4 or 5 free minutes, I’ll randomly pick one of my unread emails and read and/or listen to whatever it is that I happen to have been sent.
(Sidenote: I do not, ever, under any circumstance, listen to anything labeled “Remix” or “Party mix”.
I simply do not understand the concept of the remix.)

And that’s exactly what I did this morning with an email that I got about the band The Rest.  And I cannot tell you how glad I am that I did. The band, which hails from Hamilton, Ontario, is set to release its second album, entitled Everyone All At Once, and I gotta say — it’s absolutely stunning.

Beyond “stunning”, though, I have a hard time accurately describing the album. It’s dark, and sweeping, and orchestral, and emotional, but still none of those words really do it justice. It’s so much bigger than that. I guess the best thing I can say is this — on the day that Wilco’s Wilco (The Album) leaked, THIS is the album I choose to spend more of my time with.

Take a listen to the incredible first track from the album:

The Rest, “Coughing Blood/Fresh Mountain Air”

You can hear the album in its entirely at the band’s MySpace page from now until May 24th. And, more importantly, you can order a physical copy of the CD here.

And those of you in New York can see the band live next month at Pianos on June 18th, and then at NYC Taper’s showcase at Monster Island Basement on June 19th. I really need to find a way to get to one of those shows.