The Coast

Coming from neither the west nor the east side of our country, the Coast — actually named after the Paul Simon song — have got to be one of Toronto’s hardest working bands. With tour dates already lined up through July, the indie alt-pop quartet shouldn’t have any problem selling their first full-length, Expatriate, at every stop on their trip. Ben Spurr’s voice soars through every song on the new record like it did on the Coast’s self-titled EP, but this time with more texture added via layered group vocals, like in album opener "Tightrope.” The band keep things interesting and upbeat by weaving a purposefully playful piano with distorted-sounding guitar riffs and incessant drumming on "Nueva York,” but still know how to slow a song down without making it boring or having it lose the catchiness of its faster-paced counterparts (check out "Ceremony Guns”). If they keep creating records like this, the Coast definitely won’t be expatriated any time soon.