Remember the tattooed musician strumming his guitar in the corner of your college coffee shop? You couldn't take your eyes off his subtle, yet intense performance, and secretly wished you were the girl his songs were written about. Today it seems harder to find that genuine passion in the music industry—raw vocals, ego-less devotion and a stripped down style that doesn't rely on bells and whistles. City and Colour feeds that need. You may have heard of Dallas Green through his first musical project, the hardcore band Alexisonfire. Never intending to a launch a solo career, one night he laid down a few acoustic tracks for fun and his best friend—who happens to be his manager—encouraged an album release. "I was like 'No, no, no, never!' and he said, 'Let's just put it out, and we won't do anything with it. We'll just put it out for the kids that like Alexis,'" explains Green.

The events of that night transpired into the platinum-selling album Sometimes, followed by a soulful live album and most recently a sophomore studio record entitled Bring Me Your Love. "With the newer record, I really wanted to make an effort to make it sound like me playing the songs for you live, as opposed to tracks that have been uploaded to a computer, processed, compressed and made to sound good for the radio," he explains. "That's just not who I am or the way I sing. I wanted it to be more about feeling than about perfection."

City and Colour heads to Henry Fonda Theatre for a four-night engagement with Tegan and Sara October 16th; visit cityandcolour.ca for ticket information.

- Susan Waits

Few bands are able to evade the curse of a sophomore slump. New York-based trio Secret Machines managed to trade that cliched pitfall for another when co-founder/guitarist/vocalist Ben Curtis left the band in early 2007 in the wake of critical praise for their second album, Ten Silver Drops. The band's keyboardist/bassist (and Ben's brother) Brandon and drummer Josh Garza were left with a freaked out record label and doubts about whether they could continue. Thanks to a friend with a recording studio, a confidence boost in the form of a track called "Dreaming of Dreaming," and a new guitarist, Phil Karnats (who had played with Ben in Tripping Daisy), Secret Machines realized that they were ready not only to go on, but to kick things into high gear, tweaking their earlier sound for something darker and more aggressive on a third, a self-titled album which drops tomorrow. The only hiccup? Warner was not interested in the "new" band.

"When we turned in the record at the end of the process, they decided it was something that they wouldn't be able to pay its full attention to," Brandon has explained. The company gave them the option to license back the material, so they did and opted to self-release the album through World's Fair Label Group, a move which allowed them more creative freedom.

So we're supposed to believe that losing a band member and major label backing is a good thing? "For a while, it took a minute to be what we were without Benjamin. But we're still a band and we're still the Secret Machines. And with Phil coming in, getting used to his personality what he brings to the table, I think it has been really rewarding and exciting. We have this chance to continue and for it to work so well, I think we're really lucky."

Secret Machines play Metro with Dears this Friday; click here for ticket info.

- Caroline Stanley

Ever since watching the film adaptation of Marguerite Duras' The Lover (disclaimer: not a film I'd recommend watching with your mother) I've coveted a closet full of effortless silk dresses fit for any and every occasion. Since the backdrop here is New York City, not Saigon, my new silk wardrobe would naturally need a little edge to it. Enter Corinne Grassini, the answer to my sartorial prayers. Grassini founded her line Society for Rational Dress with the idea that clothes should be unique and inspired, not the mass-market mess American fashion has evolved to. The LA-based designer loves to mix industrial materials like rope and metal with the soft, simple beauty of silk—a juxtaposition she readily borrows from architecture and furniture.

SFRD's Spring 09 collection boasts silk tops, jumpsuits and dresses, draped to perfection in the muted tones that Grassini's known for. The pieces fit perfectly into my 1920s-French-girl-in-Saigon-meets-the-Lower East Side dream aesthetic, and the statuesque garments translate perfectly from day to night.

Rent the movie, lust after the ingenue, get involved with the Society for Rational Dress.

Society for Rational Dress is available at Eva New York, 227 Mulberry Street, (212) 925-3208.

- Meredith Chamberlain

The directors Rachel Getting Married spins gold out of the very bleak. Plus, Body of Lies launches a new star.

One mans vandalism is anothers political art. Just ask Poster Boy, the Matisse of subway-ad mash-ups.

Martha Rosler, like too many artists, cant move beyond the easy arguments of her youth.